Holm vs. Bueno Silva
The UFC is heading back to the Apex for UFC Vegas 77 on Saturday July 15. The main event will be a women’s bantamweight fight with title implications. Former champion #3 Holly Holm will battle rising contender #10 Mayra Bueno Silva.
Holm is 3-1 in her last four fights since challenging Amanda Nunes for the title in 2019. Her only loss during that stretch was a controversial split decision to Ketlen Vieira in 2022. She is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Yana Santos in March.
Amanda Nunes vacated the title in June to focus on retirement after another successful title defense at UFC 289. Does Holm think she will be fighting for the vacant title with a win on Saturday? “I don’t see why I wouldn’t (fight for the belt), we’re No. 1, 2 and 3,” Holm said. “I’ve already had this fight scheduled before a lot of the shake up in the division, but my focus is still on Saturday night because that’s all I’m promised right now because I need to get past that. My focus needs to be present that night and see where we go from there.”
Holm became champion in 2015 with a KO victory over Ronda Rousey in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. The 41-year-old would go on to lose the belt in her next fight to Miesha Tate at UFC 196. Rousey is widely considered the most popular women’s fighter of all-time and there have been talks of her making a return to the UFC now that the belt is vacant. Would Holm fight her again?
“You know, I don’t know if she will really come back. Who knows if it is just talk? I know she is a very competitive person, there’s a reason why she was an Olympian and a reason why she was a champion for so long,” Holly Holm said. “So, I would absolutely revisit that fight at either weight (135 or 145), I don’t think it is an advantage or disadvantage depending on the weight. I think either one. We will see if she comes back, I know she has been pretty busy with her life and whatever she wants to do, more power to her. But, if she comes back that would be great to fight again.”
The talks amongst the analysts and pundits are that former champion Julianna Pena and former title challenger Raquel Pennington will fight for the vacant title. Holm has two victories over Pennignton and has never fought Pena. However, she sits behind them in the rankings at #3 so she will likely have to wait in line. First things first, she will need to take care of business on Saturday and if she does, she could very likely fight the winner of Pena and Pennington for the title.
Bueno Silva has won three straight fights and most recently defeated Lina Lansberg by second round submission in February. She is 5-2-1 in the UFC and will be facing her toughest test on Saturday.
The Brazilian fighter does not believe in Pena vs. Pennington and thinks she should be fighting for the title with a win over Holm. "You want to watch this fight?" Bueno Silva asked a reporter. "No, no, no. Nobody wants to watch this fight. Nobody! ... I believe I need to knock out (Holm). She needs to knock out me, too. If (one of us wins) a good fight, I think (we're) next. Because nobody wants to watch Julianna Peña and Raquel Pennington, sorry."
The 31-year-old has put together a solid gameplan for the fight. “I want to hurt her,” Silva said. “I want to hurt her for four rounds and then in the fifth round, I knock out Holly.”
She continued, “I need to knock her out, and she needs to knock me out, too,” Silva said. “When someone wins a good fight, I think they’re next, because nobody wants to watch Julianna Peña vs. Raquel Pennington, sorry.”
The rest of the main card:
Middleweight - Albert Duraev vs. Park Jun-yong
Women's Featherweight - #13 Norma Dumont vs. #15 Chelsea Chandler
Lightweight - Ottman Azaitar vs. Francisco Prado
Lightweight - Terrance McKinney vs. Nazim Sadykhov
ESPN+ Prelims:
Featherweight - Tucker Lutz vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
Women's Strawweight - Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Istela Nunes
Featherweight - Austin Lingo vs. Melquizael Costa
Welterweight - #14 Jack Della Maddalena vs. Bassil Hafez
Lightweight - Evan Elder vs. Genaro Valdez
Flyweight - Tyson Nam vs. Azat Maksum
Lightweight - Alexander Munoz vs. Carl Deaton III
Women's Bantamweight - Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Ailín Pérez
UFC 290 Preview
The UFC is heading back to the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday July 8 for one of the best fight cards of 2023. UFC 290 will feature two title fights, a title eliminator, and a preliminary card with legends and rising stars.
The main event will be for the featherweight title between pound for pound champion Alexander Volkanovski and interim champion Yair Rodriguez. Volkanovski is trying to rebound from a unanimous decision loss at UFC 284 in which he challenged Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. Many fans and critics believe Volkanovski won the fight and should be a double champion. Despite the loss he willl still have the opportunity to prove that he is the featherweight king.
Does Volkanovski think he should be double-champ? “Obviously, it was a close fight,” says Volkanovski. “I finished very strong. We thought we did enough. A lot of people thought we did enough. It is what it is, and we’ve got to move on, but it definitely was frustrating.”
Has the champion moved on from his first loss since 2013? “It’s been hard,” says Volkanovski. “It was a big title fight, and I wanted that moment in Australia. It was a David-vs.-Goliath type of story. It was shaping up to be a perfect ending. I just didn’t get my hand raised.”
Prior to the his last fight the champion had won 22 straight fights which included three wins over Max Holloway who is considered one of the greatest featherweights of all-time. What does he think about his next opponent?
“Yair is very dangerous, and it’s the biggest fight of his life,” says Volkanovski, who, at 34, has shown no signs of slowing down. “But I’m planning on having this belt for a very long time.”
While there have been talks of a Makhachev rematch, Volkanovski is focused on UFC 290.
“There are a lot of exciting fights in my future,” says Volkanovski. “I want that lightweight title, and there are so many contenders in that stacked division. But all my plans are useless if I don’t get the win this weekend.
“I’m 100% focused on Yair. He’s dangerous, but I’m going to show why I’m the number-one guy. I’m coming for records, starting with the pound-for-pound number one.”
The 34-year-old concluded, “I’m fighting for my legacy,” says Volkanovski. “I’m fighting for people to remember my name. I’m going to keep moving forward until I’m in the conversation as the best of all time.”
Aside from his wins over Holloway, Volkanovski has key victories over Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung, Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and Darren Elkins. A win over Rodriguez will likely determine if we see a rematch with Makhachev. If Volkanovski loses on Saturday we could see an immediate rematch with Rodriguez as he has held the featherweight title since 2019.
Rodriguez won the interim title in his last fight at UFC 284 with a second round submission in a dominant win over Josh Emmett. The 30-year-old has only lost twice since 2017, but has only fought seven times during that period. Should he become champion, his critics will definitely be questioning his activity.
The Mexican fighter is confident he can defeat Volkanovski. "I think he has holes in his game," Rodriguez said. "I've been watching his fights, and I've been finding a couple of things he always does. I'm going to capitalize on those things he does.”
Rodriguez believed he should have been granted a title shot after his victory over former title challenger Brian Ortega, but he explained why he took an interim title fight against Emmett. "Honestly, I felt it would have been the best thing to go straight to the champion," said Rodriguez, who gave the best performance of his illustrious career in submitting Emmett in the fourth round. "With all due respect to my opponent, Josh, I always knew that I could beat him. That's why I didn't want to take that fight and wanted to go straight to fighting the current champion.
"But the UFC offered it to me and this is what I had to do to get the fight I really wanted, so I accepted the fight with Josh Emmett. But I always knew I could beat him and I just did what I had trained to do.”
It is believed that Rodriguez will pose a different kind of challenge to Volkanovski because of his Taekwondo background and his unique striking style. But Volkanovski stated that he is not afraid to stand and strike with Rodriguez. “It’s all about getting good guys in that are gonna give me as many different looks as they can, unpredictable looks. I’ve got a 11-time Taekwondo world champion, Carl Van Roon… throwing tornado kicks and you name it at me… just giving me as many looks to keep me on my toes,” said Volkanovski.
“The fighter Yair is now compared to when he fought someone like Dan Hooker or even Frankie Edgar… completely different fighter. Way better at certain ranges. I think he was better at one range early in his days. Now he’s just as dangerous in every range. So that’s something that excites me. I can’t wait to go out there and systematically break him down, and show people that even the most unpredictable, awkward, and hardest guys to sort of train for, even I can shut them down.”
The champion concluded, “Everyone knows that I love to take people out of their own game as well. I really like challenging people and showing people how wide my skill set is, how well rounded I really am. The Taekwondo challenge excites me. I can’t wait to throw some spinning heel kicks, and Taekwondo Volk’s gonna come for Yair, you know, really beat him at his own game.”
The co-main event will be for the flyweight title as two-time champion Brandon Moreno will defend his title against #2 Alexandre Pantoja. Pantoja has two victories over Moreno before he became champion.
Moreno claimed the title for the second time in his last fight at UFC 283 with a third round TKO over Deiveson Figueiredo in their fourth hard fought battle. Moreno believes the rivalry with Figueiredo has made a better fighter. “I always answer the same. I’m very grateful with Deiveson for what we did in the UFC and MMA, for our careers and the history of the sport, but of course, I feel happy at the same time to fight with another guy. I felt this kinda fresh air when I fought Kai Kara-France in Dallas and this one is the same. I feel very good,” said Moreno.
While Moreno has lost to Pantoja twice, once on The Ultimate Fighter and again three years later, he does not believe there is a personal rivalry.
“Sorry if I’m not this guy who talks sh*t on social media or tries to make some drama, but at the end that works for me,” Moreno said. “The people love what I’m doing because it’s real, it’s natural. It’s nothing personal against Pantoja.
“For sure, there’s a competitive part of myself knowing he beat me twice in the past. It gives me a different flavor. But at the same time, I’m thinking about the opportunity, if you beat Alexandre Pantoja at the T-Mobile Arena, International Fight Week – man, your legacy. I’m just very focused on that last goal, to win my second, first title defense.”
Aside from two wins over Figueiredo, Moreno has key victories over Kai Kara-France (twice), Brandon Royal and Jussier Formiga. A win over Pantoja will truly mark his dominance in the flyweight division.
Pantoja has won three straight fights and most recently defeated former title challenger Alex Perez by first round submission at UFC 277. He is 4-2 in his last six fights and has key victories over Brandon Royal, Manel Cape, Matt Schnell and Willson Reis. Most importantly he has the victory over Moreno in 2018.
The Brazilian fighter is expecting a different fight this time around with Moreno. “That’s a different opponent for me,” Pantoja said. “One thing is, I’m excited to see how much me and Moreno evolved. Everyone talking about much he evolved about his last fight with me. That’s what I want to see, you know? Because I’m training at American Top Team for five years. I never leave out of the gym. I’m training a lot, and I’ve evolved a lot. I want to see how much I evolved with the one guy I fight before.
“That’s a good thing for me, and maybe that’s more energy for Moreno because he lost to me twice. Maybe he’s keeping this in his head. But for me, this is good because I know if I lose to someone twice, I’m going to make a difference. This makes me very alert with that and so prepared for that fight.”
He concluded, “I think that word ‘deserve,'” Pantoja said. “I deserve to fight for the belt. That’s nice fighting with Moreno, one guy that I respect a lot. One of the guys who learns a lot when he loses.
“… I’m expecting the best Moreno. I’m here for that, to fight with the best. I really want to fight with the prime Moreno, with his best skills, his mindset different.”
The rest of the UFC 290 card:
#2 Robert Whittaker (-400) vs. #5 Dricus Du Plessis (+300)
#11 Jalin Turner (-255) vs. #12 Dan Hooker (+215)
Bo Nickel vs. Val Woodburn
Robbie Lawler (+220) vs. Niko Price (-260)
#14 Jack Della Maddalena (-900) vs. Josiah Harrell (+600)
Yazmin Jauregui (-400) vs. Denise Gomes (+320)
#14 Jimmy Crute (-120) Vs. Alonzo Menifield (+100)
Vitor Petrino (-280) vs. Marcin Prachnio (+235)
Cameron Saaiman (-500) vs. Terrence Mitchell (+370)
Shannon Ross (+125) vs. Jesus Santos Aguilar (-145)
Kamuela Kirk (+130) vs. Esteban Ribovics (-150)
Ennis vs. Villa Preview
The Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City will play host to a title fight for the interim IBF welterweight belt. Undefeated champion Jaron Ennis will defend against hungry Columbian contender Roiman Villa.
Ennis (30-0-1, 27 KO) is coming off his unanimous decision victory over Karen Chukhadzhian to win the vacant belt in January. The win was just his second decision victory in his last 25 fights. Other than a no contest due to an accidental head clash, Ennis has been storming through welterweights in dominating fashion.
There have been heavy talks that the Philadelphia native will challenge the winner of Erol Spence and Terence Crawford, should he defeat Villa on Saturday. Ennis believes he is next in line. “I’m definitely the next guy waiting,” Ennis said. “You’ve got [Vergil] Ortiz, you’ve got [Eimantas] Stanionis, they’re right there, too. The young guys are here. If we can’t fight Crawford or Spence, I’ll take Stanionis, Ortiz, or even the older guys, Keith Thurman and [Yordenis] Ugas. It doesn’t really matter.”
Ennis is ready to prove why he is the next great welterweight champion. “What will separate me from the younger guys is my skills and my ability all around,” Ennis said. “I feel like my style is fan-friendly. Everybody always wants to see me fight. I fight both ways — orthodox and southpaw. I’ve got power, I’ve got speed from the inside. I box, I do everything. I’m like a variety pack. Any chip you want, I’ve got it. I feel like everybody wants to see that, so I feel like I’ve got a little advantage over those other guys.”
While he does have key victories over former title challenger Thomas Dulorme and former champion Sergey Lipinets, Ennis has yet to prove he is ready to mix it up with the pound for pound greats at 147 pounds. However with another dominant KO victory on Saturday, he will be difficult to deny.
Villa (26-1, 24 KO) is coming off a majority decision win over Rashidi Ellis in January. The only blemish on his record is a split decision loss back in 2019 to Marcos Villasana.
The 30-year-old is confident he can shock the heavy favorite Ennis. “I like it because he’s such an overwhelming favorite that I feel like people have me flying under the radar, and that’s just the way I like it,” said Villa.
Villa enjoys being the underdog. “There are no big men. So I’m going to be ready to be up for the challenge, and he’s a quality fighter, but I’m looking forward to showing the fans what I’m capable of,” said Villa.
He concluded that he is not scared like Ennis’ last opponent. “I’m going to pull off the upset. You couldn’t pay me even 10 million dollars to fight scared like that because what happened in the fight is that clearly fear paralyzes the best of them,” Villa said of Karen Chukhadzhian.
“If you allow yourself to be paralyzed by fear, then that’s it,” said Villa. I can promise you that there is not a single ounce of me that’s willing to fight like that. I’m the total opposite.”
The fight can be seen on Showtime starting at 9pm ET
UFC on ESPN 48 Preview (Strickland vs. Magomedov)
The UFC will be hosting another hard-hitting event at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday July 1st. The main event will be in the middleweight division between #7 Sean Strickland and Abus Magomedov.
Strickland is coming off an impressive and dominant unanimous decision victory over Nassourdine Imavov in a light heavyweight bout in January. Strickland jumped in on short notice and much to the surprise of many pundits, he put an end to his two fight losing streak against an opponent many thought was on the rise to a title shot.
The 32-year-old is 7-2 in his last nine fights and he explained why he took a fight against an unranked opponent. “If the money is right, I’ll fight anybody,” Strickland said. “I would like to fight f—kin’ ‘Izzy.’ I think Whittaker is gonna f—k Dricus up. I think we all know that.”
He continued, “I had no idea who the f*ck he was,” Strickland said. “So I’ve been hounding the UFC to fight, I even offered to do 205, but Mick (Maynard) didn’t want me to f*ck up the rankings because there are a lot of 205ers I’d f*ck up. So I had a conversation with Mick, and he pretty much offered me a couple of ranked guys. I said yes to them, they said no.
“So I had a choice: I either wait eight f*cking months or I f*cking fight. The money was right and here we are. I mean, we all fight for money. If the dollar is right, I will f*cking do it. We came to good terms and good pay, and here we are fighting Abus.”
Strickland continued to not spare words about champion Israel Adesanya and middleweight contenders. “It’s kind of embarrassing that Dricus gets a potential shot, but ‘Izzy’ the Chinese — true Chinese — they probably want to bring a real African back to the championship. Can you guys believe that s—t? Is that real when he says look at the color of my skin? Did that really happen? Is that real? This f—king clown, this f—king loser, bro. They need to revoke your black card, bro. I don’t even look at you like a black man. I look at you like the f—king Chinese.”
Despite his title hopes, Strickland as usual took a fun-loving approach to commenting on his current opponent. “This is a fun fight, man,” Strickland said of him vs. Adesanya. “Like, you take Abus. Who the f—k is Abus? Let’s just say Abus knocks me the f—k out and he becomes the champion. Who the f—k is Abus? Do you really want Abus as a champion contender? Does that guy even speak english? A little bit? Well, there we go. I don’t know, man. I barely speak f—king english. Man can’t fight during f—king Ramadan and s—t.”
“I deserve a shot,” he said. “Let’s make it happen. Worst case scenario, me and ‘Izzy’ are gonna fight in the f—king parking lot because that s—t needs to happen.”
The last time Strickland looked into the future at a potential title shot with Adesanya, he was finished badly by Alex Pereira at UFC 276. Strickland has become somewhat of a fan favorite due to his brash trash talk and attempts at being humorous on the mic. So if he can manage to get by Saturday’s fight and follow that with a win, the build up to a fight between he and whoever is champion will be entertaining, especially if it still Adesanya.
Magomedov is coming off a brutal first round TKO victory over Dustin Stoltfzus last September. The win was his eighth in his last 10 fights and it marked a highly successful UFC debut for him.
The 32-year-old did not back down from giving his true thoughts on Strickland. "My advice for Strickland is he has to be quiet. He has to take care of himself, take care of his survival," Magomedov said. "If he wants to talk, we can talk after the fight. But in the fight, we have to fight. It's not a talk show, you know?”
A fight with Strickland is the kind of showcase Magomedov needs to solidify his position as a contender. Both he and Strickland represent “new blood” or a new challenge to the middleweight title so a convincing win could work wonders for either fighters title hopes.
The Rest of the Main Card:
Lightweight - #12 Damir Ismagulov vs. #15 Grant Dawson
Welterweight - Max Griffin vs. Michael Morales
Women’s Flyweight - Ariane Lipski vs. Melissa Gatto
Lightweight - Ismael Bonfim vs. Benot Saint-Dennis
Middleweight - Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Brunno Ferreria
ESPN + Prelims:
Welterweight - Kevin Lee vs. Rinat Fakhretdin
Featherweight. - Joanderson Brito vs. Westin Wilson
Women’s Featherweight - #6 Yana Santos vs. #9 Karol Rosa
Lightweight - Guram Kutateladze vs. Elves Brenner
Women’s Flyweight. - Ivana Petrovic vs. Luana Carolina
Heavyweight - #14 Alexander Romanov vs. #15 Blagoy Ivanov
UFC Jacksonville Preview (Emmett vs. Topuria)
The UFC will be returning to the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday June 24. The main event will have title implications in the featherweight division between #5 Josh Emmett and #9 Ilia Topuria.
Emmett will be trying to rebound from a second round submission loss to Yair Rodriguez at UFC 284 in February, in which he challenged for the interim title. Prior to the loss he had won five straight fights that included victories over Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige.
The 38-year-old will need to make a big statement on Saturday if he wants to remain in the title conversation at 145 pounds. Where does Emmett feel he is at in his career and on his search for a title shot?
“I don’t look and I don’t fight like a 38-year-old. I got into this sport later than a lot of people. I have the best team around me, and I have everything dialed in to a tee; it just wasn’t my night,” Emmett said. "I give it up to Yair. (Alexander) Volkanovski and him are going to fight July 8, I wish them the best — they’re both good people — and I just have to move on, get back to what’s the next task at hand, and that’s June 24.
“With a big statement, a big win, I feel like I’m right back in the mix.”
How does Emmett feel about Topuria? “The UFC is looking to build him up, but I’ve fought a lot of guys that are similar to him, his style. He’s really good. He’s a really good fighter, young, confident, but he’s never fought anyone close to me. There is nobody that is even close to my abilities.”
Topuria is undefeated and has five wins in the UFC. He most recently defeated Bryce Mitchell by second round submission at UFC 282 in December. The 26-year-old is facing his toughest challenge in Emmett, and he will enter his name in the title conversation with a win on Saturday.
Topuria believes a win over Emmett represents a title shot. "What's going to happen is that I'm the next guy in line," Topuria told CBS Sports. "Once I shine on Saturday night, I'm going to beat Josh Emmett and I'm the next guy in line without any doubt. Who else deserves to fight for the championship more than me?”
While he is confident, Topuria knows that Emmett will be a tough challenge. "He doesn't really have many weaknesses. That's why he's one of the best fighters in the world. But I know that he can't match my level of skill inside the cage," Topuria said. "As always, the new generation always brings something new. The level of my fight game is much better than his. This is the way I feel.”
Does Topuria think the spotlight is on him and this fight? "I really feel that especially after my last fight. When I beat Bryce Mitchell, it started to become more huge," Topuria said. "I feel good about that.”
The rest of the main card:
Women’s Flyweight - Amanda Ribas vs. Maybe Barber
Middleweight - Cody Bundrage vs. Sedriques Dumas
Featherweight - David Onama vs. Gabriel Santos
Middleweight - #13 Brendan Allen vs. Bruno Silva
ESPN + Prelims:
Welterweight - #11 Neil Magny vs. Philip Rowe
Flyweight - Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Joshua Van
Heavyweight- Austen Lane vs. Justin Tafa
Welterweight - Randy Brown vs. Wellington Turman
Lightweight - Mateusz Rebecki vs. Loik Radzhabov
Women’s Strawweight - Tabatha Ricci vs. Gillian Robertson
Lightweight - Trevor Peek vs. Jose Mariscal
Featherweight - Jamall Emmers vs. Jack Jenkins
Flyweight - Tatsuro vs. Kleydson Rodrigues
Taylor vs. Lopez Preview
The Hulu Theatre in Madison Square Garden will host a dynamic title fight on Saturday June 10. Josh Taylor will defend his WBO junior welterweight title against former champion Teofimo Lopez.
Taylor (19-0, 13 KO) is coming off a split decision victory over Jack Catterall in February 2022 to defend his titles. The win was his fourth successful title defense since becoming a champion in 2019. With the most recent win Taylor has made it clear that he is on track to becoming the unified junior welterweight champion, but he must first get by a fighter who has something to prove.
The champion is ready to take on the fight no matter where it goes. "The way I think he's going to fight, we'll put him out of there early," Taylor told Sky Sports. "But if it goes the other way, which I think it might do as well, it'll be a boxing match, a clever boxing match but nothing that I'm going to be surprised with.
The Scottish fighter is ready for the skills that Lopez possesses. "I've watched him quite a bit in the lead up to this fight and I think I know what I'm expecting. But whatever he brings, I'm more than ready for.
He continued, "Having said that, the fighter that beat Lomachenko is the version of Teofimo Lopez that I'm preparing for; a very good fighter.”
The 32-year-old is ready to prove what type of champion he really is. "Having said that, the fighter that beat Lomachenko is the version of Teofimo Lopez that I'm preparing for; a very good fighter.”
Lopez is coming off a split decision victory over Sandor Martin in December 2022. He is the former IBF, WBA (Super), and WBO lightweight champion. Since losing his titles in 2021, he has won two straight fights and is looking to prove to the world that he is still the champion we witnessed back in 2019.
The 25-year-old believes he has what it takes to defeat Taylor. “This guy, no one has really called out Josh Taylor. Who knows why, maybe because he beat everybody already,” Lopez said, before talking directly to the champion. “So for me, I’m here. I’m here to come in there and take everything that you’ve got.”
Lopez addressed the pundits who have written him off as a champion. “For me, I think it’s just really the best version of me that I have yet to see in myself,” Lopez said. “I questioned myself because I know I’m greater and every true artist always does that.”
He concluded, “So when it comes to Josh Taylor, junior welterweight, he is the guy and that’s the guy you’ve got to beat to be the greatest, right?” Lopez said. “So this is what we aim for all the time.”
The fight can be seen on ESPN +
UFC 289 Preview
The UFC will be invading the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Saturday June 10th for UFC 289. The main event will be for the women’s bantamweight title between women’s pound for pound champion Amanda Nunes and #5 Irene Aldana. The main event was originally scheduled to be a trilogy fight between Nunes and former champion Julianna Pena, but Pena was forced to withdraw due to injury. Aldana willingly stepped in to offer a new challenge to to Nunes.
35-year-old Aldana has won two straight fights and most recently defeated Macy Chiasson by TKO at UFC 279 in September, giving her two consecutive TKO victories in dominant fashion. The Mexican fighter is 7-4 in the UFC with all four losses coming by decision.
The challenger knows what type of challenge she is up against at UFC 289. “For me, she is the greatest of all time, for me, she is,” Aldana said. “That’s why it makes it even more great for me to be able to have this opportunity against her, to beat one of the greatest.”
Aldana has respect for Nunes, but she has grand plans for the fight. “I respect her, and it’s an honor for me, but as much as I respect her, for me, I’m coming with a mentality of winning,” Aldana said. “It’s not kill or die. For me, it’s kill or kill. That’s it.”
There have been constant talks of Nunes retiring even before this fight because she really has nothing left to prove. Aldana is not worried about what Nunes might do next. “I don’t know what’s on her mind,” Aldana said. “I don’t know if she wants to retire or not. We’ll never know how the other fighter is going to come mentally, but I’m expecting her best version.
“I’m thinking that if she’s going to retire that she’s going to want to retire as a champion, so I’m not taking it in the easy way. I’m expecting her best version and that’s it.”
Aside from Chiasson, Aldana has key victories in her career over Yana Kunitskaya, Ketlen Vieira and Bethe Correia. In order to defeat Nunes she will need to do what Pena did in their first meeting, and that is withstand the power of Nunes and shock her in the earlier rounds. The Mexican fighter brings a different type of boxing and a great left hook that Nunes has not seen in quite some time.
Nunes has only lost once since 2014, and that was to Pena in their first meeting in 2021. She dominated Pena in the rematch at UFC 277 winning by unanimous decision. She currently sits as a double champion in the UFC also holding the featherweight belt, and she is one of only four fighters in history to simultaneously hold two belts. She has done just about everything a fighter can do in their career and has already cemented her legacy as one of the greatest fighters of all-time.
The 35-year-old has not had much to say about Aldana, but has stated the trilogy fight with Pena still could happen. She confidently explained why. “I’ll fight her again after this, no problem at all,” Nunes said. “She makes me better. This is MMA. If she sticks with her style, I’m sorry, you’re going to be gone soon.
“I’m evolving all the time. Yeah, I can strike. I can wrestle you. My wrestling is better than yours. My ground is better than yours. If you attack anything, I can defend. I’m stronger. So I’m better than you everywhere. You’re gone.”
Is Nunes looking beyond Aldana, or is she still motivated? “I am,” said Nunes, who was quick to add “I’m motivated— if it was Julianna too, I would have been too. Because to compete is what makes me excited. So no matter who steps in front of me, that makes me excited.”
Nunes is widely considered the greatest women’s fighter of all-time. She certainly has made a strong argument for the title of women’s GOAT. Aside from being a double-champ, she has key victories in her career over Megan Anderson, Germaine de Randamie (twice), Holly Holm, Cris Cyborg, Raquel Pennington, Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate and Sara McMann.
The co-main event of the evening will be in the lightweight division and will have major title implications in the lightweight division. Former champion Charles Oliveira will battle worthy contender #4 Beneil Dariush.
Oliveira is trying to rebound from his last fight where he was submitted in the second round by Islam Makhachev to lose the title at UFC 280 last October. Prior to the fight he was on an 11 fight winning streak which included wins over Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee, Jim Miller and Clay Guida.
Does Oliveira believe the winner of his fight will be the next to challenge for the title? “Surely,” Oliveira said. “Whoever wins this fight this Saturday is going to go for the title. I’m next. I’m in line for it.”
The former champion has a new mindset on how to get back to the top. “When (my manager) Diego (Lima) told us about the fight, he said, ‘Hey, I have a new challenge for you,” Oliveira said. “There’s a new step that you need to take on your way to the top.’ When I came here, every single time it was cold. It was snowing. Things are changing. It’s nice. It’s warm. It’s beautiful out. Things are changing. Thing are different. This is a new moment. This is a new Charles. Things are going to start changing as well, back to the top.
Dariush is currently on an eight fight winning streak and most recently defeated Mateusz Gamrot by unanimous decision at UFC 280. During the streak he also has key victories over Tony Ferguson, Carlos Diego Ferreira, Drew Dober and Thiago Moises.
The 34-year-old has been fighting in the UFC and is 16-4-1 during that time. He is one of the more under appreciated fighters in the UFC and especially in the ultra competitive lightweight division. Does he think he will get a title shot with a win over Oliveira?
“For the first time, I was told that I’m getting the title shot if I win this fight,” says Dariush. “That’s the first time I’ve ever been told that. Otherwise, I’d be thinking about other fights—like what would happen to the winner of Dustin Poirier and Justin Garthje, or even Conor McGregor’s fight—but I’m not worried about any of that now. I know what I have to do.”
Dariush understands the challenge Oliveira will bring to the octagon at UFC 289. “Charles is absolutely amazing,” says Dariush, who was originally supposed to fight Oliveira in May, but the fight was postponed due to an Oliveira injury. “I think he’s one of the best fighters of all time. I learn so much watching him. He has overcome so many challenges. Look at the obstacles he overcame as champion.”
Despite the respect, Dariush is confident. “I don’t see Charles doing anything I can’t handle,” says Dariush. “Once we’re in the Octagon, people will see the difference. I’m not walking in with any fear. That’s the opposite of faith. I’m entering with the faith that I can overcome him.”
The rest of the main card:
Welterweight - Mike Malott vs. Adam Fugitt
Featherweight - #!3 Dan Ice vs. Nate Landwehr
Middleweight - Marc- Andre Barriault vs. Eryk Anders
ESPN + Prelims:
Middleweight - #11 Nassourdine Imavov vs. #14 Chris Curtis
Women's Flyweight - #15 Miranda Maverick vs. jasmine Jasudavicius
Bantamweight - Aimenn Zhabi vs. Aori Qileng
Featherweight - Kyle Nelson vs. Blake Bilder
Early Prelims:
Flyweight - #10 David Dvorak vs. Stephen Erceg
Women's Strawweight - Diana Belbita vs. Maria Oliveira
Haney vs. Lomachenko
The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada will host one of the most anticipated fights of 2023. The undisputed lightweight championship will be on the line as champion Devin Haney will defend the crown against former champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Haney (29-0, 15 KO) is coming off a successful title defense in a rematch against George Kambosos Jr. in October. The win was his second straight unanimous decision win over Kambosos and his sixth straight fight won by unanimous decision. Haney’s last finish came back in 2019 against Zaur Abdullaev where he won his first major title.
The 24-year-old was calling for a fight with Lomachenko back in 2019, but was dismissed by Lomachenko who was the champion at the time. Haney will finally have the chance to prove that was the fight to make. "He was No. 1 pound-for-pound and I'm going to get there eventually," said Haney, "I got into this business to be the best and to do that, you have to fight the best. I have been trying to fight him for a long time and now this is my opportunity.”
Much has been discussed about the size difference between Haney and Lomachenko, but the champion is not buying into the talk. "I don't really see it like I'm so much bigger than him," Haney said. "He beat [Masayoshi] Nakatani, who is bigger than me. Me and Ortiz are the same size. There was someone else [bigger than me that he beat] but I can't remember the name, but all of this, 'Oh, Haney's so much bigger than Lomachenko,' I don't think it's a factor.”
"Size shouldn't matter. The best fighter will win and that will be me.”
Haney’s main mission is to prove he is the best pound for pound fighter in the world. "There's a lot of talk, 'I want to fight this guy,' or 'I'll do this to that guy when I fight him,' but it's just talk," Haney said. "Until you get in there and fight, you don't know. You know, I've been saying this for a long time. I want all of these guys because I believe I'm the best and I know what I need to do to prove it. Loma took this fight and now I have my opportunity to prove what I've been saying and feeling for a long time.”
Aside from Kambosos, Haney has key victories in his career over Joseph Diaz Jr, Jorge Linares and Yuriorkis Gamboa. A win over Lomachenko will gain Haney the respect he deserves as a must see masterful pound for pound boxing champion.
Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KO) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Jamaine Ortiz in October. He is 3-0 since losing the WBA and WBO titles back in 2020. The 35-year-old is a former three weight world champion having also held titles at featherweight and junior lightweight.
Despite not having a title heading into this fight, Lomachenko is considered one of the greatest and most-skilled fighters of all-time. The Ukrainian fighter became a champion in just his third professional fight and has defended a title 10 times.
Many of the pundits believe that Lomachenko is on the wrong side of 30 to go on a another championship run. The former champion is not concerned about what is being said of the fight. “It’s more pressure for Haney, not me,” said Lomachenko to Top Rank recently. “I already lose, I’m underdog, I’m old boxer.”
Lomachenko finally gets to fight for an undisputed title, but this time as the underdog. Does he care about the odds? “No, I’m not surprised. I understand why people are talking about underdog from my side. I don’t care. I just want to prove who I am,” said Lomachenko.
The main card can be seen on ESPN+ PPV
UFC on ABC 4 Preview (Rozenstruick vs. Almeida)
The UFC will be invading the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina for UFC on ABC 4. The main event will be a high stakes fight in the heavyweight division between long-running contender Jairzinho Rozenstruick and rising prospect Jailton Almeida.
Rozenstruick rebounded from a two fight losing streak in his last fight with a first round KO of Chris Daukuas in December. The 35-year-old entered 2020 as an undefeated fighter in the UFC, but since then he has gone 3-4. However, he is one big win away from getting back in the title conversation at heavyweight. Almeida represents the victory Rozenstruick needs to remind everyone of the title threat he was back in 2020.
The Surinamese fighter stated that he expected a higher fight in the rankings but the UFC thought Almeida was the next best fight for him. “First of all, we didn’t want to do the fight.” Rozenstruik said of his thoughts on the fight.
“Cause me and my team discussed right away, we come off a good win, we want to fight someone higher in the rankings. And the UFC really wanted the fight, so the fights happening.” Jairzinho expressed that he wasn’t shying away from a fight with Almeida specifically, and he that didn’t feel like the UFC owed him anything for fighting a lower ranked opponent and added, “It’s not like I’m doing the company a favor but that’s how it is. You’re looking forward in life, right? You want to go forward.”
Despite what Rozenstruick wanted, he is ready to use a victory on Saturday to move forward in the rankings. “So, I see this as the bigger picture: win this fight, get me ready and then go forward with a higher ranked opponent.”
While he is looking forward, Rozenstruick is well aware of the dangers that Almeida brings to the cage on Saturday. “I definitely think there’s going to be a size difference- Maybe not. Because maybe he cuts a lot of weight to go to light heavyweight.” Rozenstruik said.
Rozenstruick has key wins over Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem and Andre Arlovski. If he wants to make one more run at a title shot, it starts with a win in Charlotte over Almeida.
Almeida has not lost since 2018 and is 4-0 in the UFC. He most recently defeated Shamil Abdurakhimov by second round TKO in January at UFC 283. Rozenstruick represents the biggest challenge of his career thus far.
The Brazlilian fighter learned a valuable lesson after his first loss and is on a new path. "In 2018, after my last loss, it kind of clicked," Almeida said. "I realized changes had to be made in my game, and I think we've been able to perfect it. The grappling was always about control with some ground-and-pound and looking for submissions. I've watched a lot of the Dagestani wrestlers like Khabib [Nurmagomedov], [Islam] Makhachev and [Khamzat] Chimaev. They have a style that appeals a lot to me.
"I'm always watching them and trying to learn from them. I've been able to incorporate some of the things that they do, which we don't generally do in Brazil, into my game. As I've gotten comfortable with them, we've begun to see results.”
The 31-year-old is ready to prove himself in his first main event. "It's great to get the spotlight from a fight with such a big audience and spotlight on it, but I still have to perform," he said. "They put you in position but it's up to the fighter to take advantage. I have my plan and I know my job and I'm going to go out and execute it.”
Almeida talked about what type of fight he is expecting against Rozenstruick. “I don’t think there’s any pressure,” Almeida said. “I’m always ready for the full length of the fight. For this one, I’ve trained everything for five rounds. I guess the style is just more effective than most.
“We are very finish oriented, so that’s what we’re always looking for. Doesn’t matter if it’s the first round, the fifth round, whenever I get a chance to do it. No added pressure, something that I just go with the flow.”
A win on Saturday will put Almeida’s name in the title conversation. While he stands at 6’3, Almeida represents a smaller type of heavyweight typically fighting around 225 pounds, not to mention he is in the prime of his career at only 31 years old. He is a threat on the feet and on the ground so with a win on Saturday he could shake things up in the top five of the heavyweight division.
The rest of the main card:
Light Heavyweight - #5 Anthony Smith vs. #7 Johnny walker
Welterweight - Daniel Rodriguez vs. Ian Garry
Light Heavyweight - Carlos Ulberg vs. Ihor Potieria
Welterweight - Alex Morono vs. Tim Means
ESPN + Prelims:
Welterweight - Matt Brown vs. Court McGee
Heavyweight - Karl Williams vs. Chase Sherman
Bantamweight - Cody Stamann vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
Women’s FLyweight - Kim Ji-Yeon vs. Many Bohm
Welterweight - Bryan Battle vs. Gabriel Green
Women’s Bantamweight - Jessica - Rose Clark vs. Tainara Lisboa
Alvarez vs. Ryder Preview
Jalisco, Mexico will play host to a boxing homecoming of the ages on Saturday May 6th. Jalisco born Canelo Alvarez is returning home to defend his pound for pound status and his undisputed super middleweight title against John Ryder.
Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KO) most recently won by unanimous decision victory in a trilogy fight against Gennady Golovkin in September. The victory put an end to the rivalry making Canelo’s record against his Russian foe 2-0-1. He looks to defend the undisputed crown for the second time against Ryder.
The champion wants nothing more than put on a show at home in front of his fans. “I’m doing it because I love it. I like challenges,” Álvarez told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday. “I want to leave a great legacy that motivates others to beat it.”
Alvarez had a message for his critics who think he has fallen off from being the face of boxing. “I’m still here, I’m still here,” the 32-year-old said. “I lost with one of the best fighters at 175. And I’m still here. I’m still the face of boxing, for sure. The numbers talk, and that’s it. ,,,
“I’m here for a long time and I’m going to show everybody.”
How will Canelo win on Saturday? “Just being sensible,” he said. “… We all know what he’s got, the aura that surrounds him. But … not letting the fans get in my head, just staying focused.”
Alvarez is without a doubt one of the greatest fighters of all-time. A win over Ryder will remind everyone of this fact. The questions is, what is next? He has repeatedly said he wants a rematch with Dmitry Bivol and would also like to defend at super middleweight against David Benavidez and or David Morrell.
Aside from two wins over Golovkin, Alvarez has key wins over Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, Avni Yildirim, Callum Smith, Sergey Kovalev, Daniel Jacobs, Rocky Fielding, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Liam Smith, Amir Khan, Miguel Cotto, Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, Josesito Lopez, Shane Mosley, Kermit Cintron and Alfonso Gomez.
Ryder (32-5, 18 KO) is the former interim WBA super middleweight and the interim WBO super middleweight champion. He most recently defeated Zach Parker by fifth round TKO in November for the interim WBO title.
The British fighter is not intimidated by challenging Alvarez in Mexico. “I’ve been lucky enough to go to the arena in Guadalajara. I’ve seen the venue, seen the changing rooms, seen the pitch. I’m taking myself there every night so there’s going to be no shock,” said Ryder.
Ryder is ready to seize the moment. “I’m actually buzzing. Biggest night of my career so far. I’ve had big fights in the past but nothing compares to this.” Ryder pauses and then, with a cheeky cackle, he adds: “But, if you think this is big, wait until the rematch.”
While he might be confident, Ryder has studied what type of fight he might have with Alvarez. “I’ve trained for the best Canelo, and I want him to be at his best, but it’s hard to say [if his finest days are behind him]. That loss to Bivol obviously took a lot out of him and he had that great year in 2021 when he unified the super-middleweight division [after fighting four times in 11 months].
“That took a lot out of him too, with back-to-back camps, and the fight with Golovkin was not a vintage performance. He got the job done, but since then he’s had surgery. So we need to wait and see what he’s got left.”
Aside from Parker, Ryder’s biggest win was a split decision win over Daniel Jacobs in 2022. This fight with Canelo is without a doubt the biggest of his career and he has the chance to prove that he is worthy of being mentioned as one of the best super middleweights in the world.
UFC 288 Preview
The UFC will be invading the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday May 6th for UFC 288. The main event will be for the bantamweight title between champion Aljamain Sterling and former two-division champion Henry Cejudo.
Cejudo is coming out of retirement at 36 years old to reclaim the title that he relinquished when retiring, but never lost to any bantamweight contender. The former bantamweight champion was also the former flyweight champion and is one of only four fighters in UFC history to hold two belts at one time.
Despite not having fought since 2020, Cejudo is confident heading into the clash with Sterling on Saturday. When asked about the level of difficulty he will face coming back to fight the champion, Cejudo was confident. “It’s easy money. I watched these guys after coaching some of the best in the world – Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson, Zhang Weili, Deiveson Figueiredo, Jiri Prochazka – and I started to understand my talent a little bit better,” said Cejudo.
“I know there is a window, I know there is a gap where I really do have to say goodbye. I’m 36 years old, I’m 36 years young, and I feel good. I feel really good.”
Cejudo continued, “Yeah, I’ve been retired for three years. But really, I’ve been retired for two because this whole last year I’ve been training,” Cejudo explained. “This whole last year I’ve been studying. Those last two years I’ve been training (with) the best in the world, and it’s just the accumulation of knowledge. … I may grow a gut, I may like fried chicken like Daniel Cormier, but I can compete with anybody, and I believe I’m the greatest competitor of all time.”
The man they call “Triple C” confidently concluded, “Not only am I looking to beat Aljamain Sterling, but I’m looking to dominate him,” Cejudo said. “He ain’t going past three rounds.”
Cejudo has key wins in his career over Dominck Cruz, Marlon Moraes, TJ Dillashaw, Demetrious Johnson, Sergio Pettis, Wilson Reis and Jussier Formiga. He is already considered one of the greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all-time, but coming back to become a two-time champion at the age of 36 will solidify his reputation as one of the best fighters in the history of the sport.
Sterling is coming off a second straight title defense with the last being a second round TKO over former champion TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280 in October. The win was the champions eighth consecutive and was the kind of victory he needed to prove he deserves to be considered bantamweight elite.
Despite his success, Sterling still enters the fight against Cejudo as the underdog. But the champion has not wasted time thinking about the odds or why he is disrespected by his critics. "Honestly, I really don't know," Sterling said. "I couldn't give you an honest answer. I think the excuses only started after the first Yan fight. That was also my first title fight. That showing, if I'm being honest, wasn't an accurate depiction of everything I'd done leading up to that title shot. If you've never seen Aljamain Sterling fight, and that was your first time watching because you're a casual, which is OK... I get why those casual fans are like that because it's the first and only ever appearance you've seen of me. They think Yan must be this monster if the hype said, 'Sterling is this, this, and this, and this guy kind of just did whatever he wanted, then rematch! No way he loses to this guy'. You got to the rematch, and it's close, but not really. It's really not close,” said Sterling.
"You almost have to figure a way to cope with your warped perception of reality because you're not a die-hard fan. You don't understand what I've done or have watched my previous fights to understand my entire game. Maybe I'm just too analytical with it. It just makes it easier to make things sit. I'm going to give you the option to go back and watch my previous fights leading up to it (the first Yan fight) and see how I even got there. I guarantee you that tune will change.”
The New York native will be fighting in his own backyard in Newark and will have the added advantage of fighting at home, or will it be a distraction? Sterling is ready to represent his town with pride.
Three champions from Long Island and we never had an opportunity to have a homecoming like this,” says Sterling. “I know Weidman fought predominantly in Las Vegas as the champion, and Matt Serra, I think he had the rematch with GSP in Montreal. Al (Iaquinta) fought on 24-hours’ notice against Khabib at the Barclays Center, but we never had anyone with the belt, defending it on their home turf.”
The champion continued, “I do know what this means and I do know what the crowd is going to look like, sound like,” he adds with a smile, seated in the basement of his home, a little more than a week out from returning to action. “It’s not every day you get to defend a world title pretty much on your home turf, have the home crowd advantage.”
“I’m just hoping Long Island shows out, New York shows out, the Tri-State area shows out and boos the crap out of this man when he walks into the arena.”
Sterling concluded, “This is it — this is what dreams are made of,” he adds. “It’s not every day you have this opportunity and that gives me perspective, gives me a reality check of what it all means to me. It’s another fight, but it’s going to be a special one; something I’m definitely not going to forget for years to come.”
A win over Cejudo would mean quite a few things for Sterling. First, he would break the record for bantamweight wins in the UFC with 14. Secondly, he would be the first bantamweight champion in history to defend the belt three times. This would solidify Sterling’s place as one of the best bantamweights in history and could silence many of the pundits.
Aside from Dillashaw, Sterling has key victories in his career over Petr Yan, Cory Sandhagen, Pedro Munoz, Jimmie Rivera and Renan Barao. Cejudo represents the type of fighter that has entered the octagon many times against Sterling but has come up short. He is a forward-moving wrestler who relies on heavy pressure, but Sterling seems to be built for that kind of fight. The winner of this fight could come down to who can control the later rounds.
The co-main event of the evening will have major title implications in the welterweight division. #4 Belal Muhammad will take on former title challenger #5 Gilbert Burns. UFC President Dana White stated during the UFC press conference on Thursday that the winner will be the best to challenge the winner of welterweight champion Leon Edwards and Colby Covington.
Muhammad has not lost a fight since 2019 and the only non win was a no contest against the champion Leon Edwards in 2021. He most recently defeated Sean Brady by second round TKO at UFC 280 in October.
The 34-year-old has key victories in his career over Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia. A win over Burns means the biggest of Muhammad’s career and a chance at the welterweight title.
Burns has won two straight fights since losing one of the best fights of 2022 to Khamzat Chimaev. He jumped into this fight with Muhammad on short notice after defeating Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287 just over a month ago.
The 36-year-old challenged for the title in 2021, but with a win on Saturday over a surging contender he has the opportunity to be a two-time title challenger. Aside from Masvidal, Burns has key victories over Neil Magny, Stephen Thompson, Tyron Woodley, Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson.
The rest of the main card:
Strawweight - #4 Jessica Andrade vs. #6 Yan Xiaonan
Featherweight - #10 Movsar Evloev vs. Diego Lopes
Featherweight - Kron Gracie vs. Charles Jourdain
ESPN + Prelims:
Lightweight - #14 Drew Dober vs. Matt Frevola
Light Heavyweight - Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Devin Clark
Welterweight - Khaos Williams vs. Rolando Bedoya
Strawweight - #5 Marina Rodriguez vs. Virna Jandiroba
UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims:
Heavyweight - Braxton Smith vs. Parker Porter
Middleweight - Phil Hawes vs. Ikram Aliskerov
Middleweight - Joseph Holmes vs. Claudio Ribeiro
UFC ESPN 81 (Preview) Song vs. Simon
The UFC is heading back to the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday April 29th for UFC on ESPN 81. The main event will be a high stakes fight in the bantamweight division between #8 Song Yadong and #10 Ricky Simon.
Song is trying to rebound from a TKO doctor stoppage loss in his last fight against Corey Sandhagen in September. The loss put an end to a three fight winning streak but was only his second loss in his last 13 fights. What did Song learn from the loss?
“Actually, I don’t learn a lot from that fight because I was cut early and it wasn’t my plan,” said Song. “My plan was to push him harder after the second round, but I got cut early in the second round, so I couldn’t take him down, couldn’t kick because I couldn’t see him.”
“A lot of people think the cut was bothering me, but my right eye was worse — the orbital bone was broken, so I could see three Cory’s in front of me. I had to cover my right eye and use my left eye; I could barely see.’
He concluded “Before the fifth round started, I told myself, ‘Protect yourself, protect your eye, and just keep going; this is your last chance to beat this guy.”
Song knows what he is up against in Simon. “I’ve definitely been watching his fights,” Song said of Simon, who sits at No. 10 in the rankings. “He fought with Urijah and (since) that fight, he’s been improving a lot. His striking is getting better and I think he’s stronger.
“He’s powerful and a very dangerous guy. Fighting him is not easy.”
How will Song defeat Simon? “He’s a wrestler — he likes to take people down — but his ground control is not that good,” he offered. “If he takes me down, I can get up, for sure.
“So I think (I just have to) give him some heavy punches, defend the takedown, or take him down. It’s just the details; I have tools to use against him.”
Song has key victories in his career over Marlon Moraes, Julio Arce, Casey Kenney and Marlon Vera. A win over Simon will put the 25-year-old back into the title conversation.
Simon has won five straight fights and most recently defeated Jack Shore by second round submission last July. The 30-year-old was once considered a top prospect at bantamweight but suffered two straight losses to Urijah Faber and Rob Font respectfully. Since then he has reminded everyone that he certainly is a title contender.
The 30-year-old knows that he faces a tough opponent on Saturday. “He’s a great fighter, explosive fighter, but I don’t think he mixes it up as well as I do,” Simon said. “I don’t think anyone in the bantamweight division mixes it up as well as I do. So I have plenty of confidence going into this one.”
Simon is not looking too far into the future and is focused on Song. “I haven’t put too much thought on who’s next, because I’m honed in right now,” Simon said. “I’m focused on beating up Song.”
Aside from Shore, Simon has key victories over Raphael Assuncao, Brian Kelleher, Ray Borg and Merab Dvalishvili. A win over Song will be the biggest of his career and will remind the bantamweight top 10 that Simon will not be forgotten again as a contender for the title.
The Rest of the Main Card:
Middleweight - Caio Borralho vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Middleweight - Rodolfo Vieira vs. Cody Bundrage
Featherweight - Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
Heavyweight - Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Waldo Cortes - Acosta
Welterweight - Joshua Quinlan vs. Trey Waters
ESPN 2 Prelims:
Heavyweight - Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
Flyweight - Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
Women’s Bantamweight - Stephanie Egger vs. Irina Alekseeva
Catchweight (140 lb) Journey Newsome vs. Marcus McGhee
Women’s Bantamweight - Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
Davis vs. Garcia Preview
One of the most anticipated fights of 2023 is going down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 22. The fight will be taking place at a catchweight of 136 pounds between WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis and former WBC interim lightweight champion Ryan Garcia.
Davis (28-0, 26 KO) is coming off an eight round TKO of Hector Garcia in January to retain the WBA regular lightweight title for the fourth time. The 28-year-old has been a three weight world champion, but Garcia represents the biggest win of his career.
The Baltimore native knows what is at stake on Saturday. “This means everything,” Davis said. “We are putting everything on the line. Coming from where I come from, this is big. I witnessed Floyd Mayweather and all the top guys fight in Las Vegas. This is the top-level. I’m ready.
“My first goal was to win a belt. I never thought I would be in Las Vegas having a big fight. This is a dream come true. I won’t let my people down.”
Davis addressed the heavy back and forth of trash-talk between the two fighters. “I think he’s trying to hype himself to get into the fight when he talks about knocking me out in two rounds,” Davis said. “I don’t think he really believes that.”
There was an attempt to make the fight a winner take all purse, but Davis says Garcia’s camp would not commit. “I'm definitely trying to make it official,” said Davis. “His advisor called begging that we don't make that happen. He was scared.”
Davis has key victories in his career over Isaac Cruz, Mario Barrios, Leo Santa Cruz, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Liam Walsh and Jose Pedraza. A win on Saturday will set up the champion for bigger paydays and set him apart as one of the best pound for pound boxers on Earth, in any weight class.
Garcia (23-0, 19 KO) is coming off a sixth round KO of Javier Fortuna in July. The 24-year-old will be facing the toughest challenge of his young career on Saturday. A win will put him among the boxing elite, but a loss will put the California native in a precarious position for big money fights despite entering the fight undefeated.
Garcia represents the new generation of fighter who is known more by a larger audience as a social media influencer and less as a professional boxer. So every loss counts against his popularity as an influencer and not as much as a professional boxing title threat.
Despite what the boxing world thought should happen, Garcia wanted this fight with Davis. “I had a mission, and I had a vision to fight Gervonta Davis, and to bring the fans what they really wanted to see,” Garcia said. “I made it happen. That’s what I’m happy about more than anything in life right now.”
Garcia knows what a win over Davis means for his future. “This one feels like it counts,” Garcia said. “The other ones don’t feel like they count. Because, after I win, it’s, ‘Are you going to fight Gervonta or not?’ Now, I’m fighting Gervonta. So, this one, you can’t say nothing after. Now, I’m in the driver’s seat. You can’t say anything now. There’s nothing left to say. All you have to do is accept that this man is on the road to greatness and let’s enjoy the ride.”
The Main Card can be seen on Showtime PPV
UFC Vegas 71 Preview (Blaydes vs. Pavlovich)
The UFC is heading back to the Apex in Lax Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 71 on Saturday April 22. The main event will be a heavyweight fight with major title implications between #3 Sergei Pavlovich and #4 Curtis Blaydes.
Pavlovich has won five straight fights and most recently defeated Tai Tuivasa by first round KO in December. His only professional loss came in 2018 where he lost by TKO to Alistair Overeem, since then he has tallied five straight finishes in dominant fashion.
The 30-year-old is looking to seize the biggest moment of his career. “I think it’s going to be a great show,” Pavlovich said. “I think it’s going to be a great fight. There’s going to be two fighters in there that are not willing to back down. Nobody is trying to give the other person a chance. Everyone is fighting for the same goal. So I think it’s going to be a fun fight, it’s going to be an interesting fight, and everyone who tunes in is going to see a show.”
While the talks of the winner of this fight could earn a heavyweight title shot, the Russian fighter is not looking that far into the future. “I don’t really think ahead this moment,” Pavlovich said. “I’m only thinking about and concentrating on the fight ahead of me.”
Pavlovich believes he knows how to defeat Blaydes. “Patience will be key,” says Pavlovich. “I can’t foresee the future, but I don’t think this will end in the first round. Curtis knows the stakes, too. There is a potential title shot on the line.”
Aside from Tuivasa, Pavlovich has key victories over Derrick Lewis, Shamil Abdurakhimov and Maurice Greene. Blaydes represents the biggest of win his career and it would be hard to deny him a title shot, especially if he can win in devastating fashion.
Blaydes has won three straight fights and most recently defeated Tom Aspinall by TKO in July, after Aspinall suffered a knee injury. Blaydes has twice in his career potentially been one win away from earning that elusive title shot, a win over Pavlovich puts him in that same position.
Blaydes has come up short in key fights against Derrick Lewis and former champion Francis Ngannou. A win on Saturday puts the Chicago born fighter in a prime position to call for a title shot. But does Blaydes think he will be next in line?
“I know what I’m working toward,” Blaydes said. “If I win, I’ll wait. I’ll wait for a title shot. I don’t care who it is. If it’s Jon (Jones), if it’s Stipe (Miocic), if they bring in Brock Lesnar, I’ll wait.”
Does Blaydes thinks he matches up well with current heavyweight champion Jon Jones? “The wrestling I present, it’s a problem,” Blaydes said. “If you don’t think so, then you don’t really understand MMA. The ability for me to take the fight from on the feet to the ground when I want to puts more mental pressure on my opponents that have to think about it. Even if I don’t actually shoot, you know it’s an option and it’s something for you to think about. I use that and I think I can use that against Jon.”
Blaydes concluded, “I’m not in this for glory,” Blaydes said. “That’s not what wakes me up and gets me working out in the morning. I’m here for money. And I know if I get the belt, I get more money. Whoever I have to fight to get the belt, I really don’t care who it is. It’d help, obviously, if it was Jon. It helps my legacy, but it’s not the end-all, be-all for me.”
Aside from Aspinall, Blaydes has key victories in his career over Jairzinho Rozenstruick, Alexander Volkov, Junior Dos Santos, Shamil Abdurakhimov, Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt and Alexey Oleynik. A win on Saturday will finally prove he can get over the championship hump and be the next fighter to challenge for the heavyweight title.
The Rest of the Main Card:
Middleweight - Brad Tavares vs. Bruno Silva
Lightweight - Bobby Green vs. Jared Gordon
Strawweight - Iasmin Lucindo vs. Brogan Walker-Sanchez
Welterweight - Jeremiah Wells vs. Matthew Semelsberger
ESPN + Prelims:
Lightweight - Ricky Glenn vs. Christos Giagos
Bantamweight - Rani Yahya vs. Montel Jackson
Women’ Featherweight - #9 Karol Rosa vs. #13 Norma Dumont
Heavyweight - Mohammas Usman vs. Junior Tafa
Featherweight - Francis Marshall vs. William Gomis
Women’s Flyweight - Priscila Cachoeira vs. Karine Silva
Bantamweight - Brady Heistand vs. Danaa Batgerel
UFC Kansas City Preview (Holloway vs. Allen
The T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City, MO will play host to UFC on ESPN 44 Saturday April 15th. The main event will be in the featherweight division between former champion #2 Max Holloway and rising contender #4 Arnold Allen.
Holloway is trying to rebound from unanimous decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 276 for the title. The defeat was his third consecutive to the current champion, but a win on Saturday keeps Holloway in firm position to stay in the title conversation.
Holloway recently commented on Volkanovski. "Yes, I do believe I am a better fighter than Alexander Volkanovki," Holloway said. "If I didn't believe I was a better fighter than him, then why I am fighting in the same weight class as the guy? Ask anybody. Ask anybody who has lost to anybody, 'Do you think you are a better fighter than this guy?' Of course, they are going to say yes, because once we start saying no, once you get the acceptance that this guy might be better than me, then you don't belong, and you should retire. Guys don't understand that.”
The former champion does not care about whether he is considered a contender or a gatekeeper. He is focused on his opponent in Kansas City. “We’ll see what happens,” says Holloway. “First thing first, I’ve got a tall task in front of me with Arnold Allen. He has that crazy win streak, he’s super athletic and he’s super hungry. I can’t overlook this guy. You start overlooking a guy, you fumble the bag. I’m not going to fumble the bag.”
Holloway is preparing for anything to happen, not just what we have seen out of Allen in his last few fights. “It’s hard to use any of his fights,” says Holloway. “He fights like once a year—he always seems to get hurt, then comes back like a different fighter. I can go off some things he might do—I know he’s a very well-rounded mixed martial artist. There are a lot of questions going into this fight, and we’ll get the answers on Saturday.”
A win by Holloway would put him in the unfortunate position of waiting on the winner of the next featherweight title fight between Volkanovski and interim champion Yair Rodriguez. A fourth fight with Volkanovski is a hard sell in the current state of the featherweight division. A loss would put him in the even more unfortunate position as the featherweight division’s stepping stone.
Allen has won 12 straight fights and most recently defeated Calvin Kattar by TKO after Kattar suffered a knee injury. The win was the biggest of his career but there was much left to be desired, hence why Holloway isn’t using that fight to prepare for Allen.
The 29-year-old has nothing but respect for Holloway. “(Max is an) ex-champion, one of the greatest featherweights of all time,” Allen said. “His resume is nothing short of inspiring. He’s done all the things I want to do, and he’s set the path for the things I want to do too.”
The English fighter went on to say, “He’s rarely in a boring fight,” Allen said. The way he fights is going to bring the best out of myself. I’m looking forward to it. … It’s never a thought about trying to be the guy to put him down. It’s never the thought, whoever you’re fighting. You’re always thinking about the five rounds and doing the distance. Obviously the goal is always to try to finish, but the thought is to go five rounds.”
A thirteenth straight win over a future hall of famer will put Allen in a great position to challenge for the title. He has great power but Holloway has proven to have one of the best chins in the UFC. Will Allen finally crack the code, or will he become another fighter to be outworked by Holloway?
The rest of the main card:
Featherweight - #14 Edson Barboza vs. Billy Quarantillo
Light Heavyweight - #13 Dustin Jacoby vs. #15 Azamat Murzakanov
Light Heavyweight - Ion Cutelaba vs.Tanner Boser
Bantamweight - #9 Pedro Munhoz vs. #13 Chris Gutierrez
Lightweight - Clay Guida vs. Rafa Garcia
ESPN + Prelims:
Featherweight - TJ Brown vs. Bill Algeo
Flyweight - #4 Brandon Royval vs. #5 Matheus Nicolau
Light Heavyweight - Zak Cummings vs. Ed Herman
Strawweight - Piera Rodriguez vs. Gillian Robertson
Lightweight - Lando Vannata vs. Daniel Zellhuber
Strawweight - Bruna Brasil vs. Denise Gomes
Bantamweight - Gaston Bolanos vs. Aaron Phillips
Women’s Bantamweight - Joselyne Edwards vs. Lucie Pudilova
UFC 287 Preview (Pereira vs. Adesanya)
The UFC will be invading the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida for UFC 287 on Saturday April 8th. The main event will be a rematch for the middleweight title between bitter rivals Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.
Pereira became champion in his last fight by defeating Adesanya with a fifth round TKO at UFC 281 in November. The champion was down on the scorecards after four hard fought rounds and needed a finish to win the title, he ended up catching Adesanya with his signature left hand to shock the world. Pereira is now 3-0 against Adesanya after defeating him twice in kickboxing before arriving to the UFC. He became one of the fastest UFC champions in winning gold after just four fights with the organization.
The Brazilian fighter believes a win on Saturday puts an end to the rivalry with Adesanya. “Me beating him this Saturday, I will never face him again,” Pereira said. Talks have already begun as to who Pereira could face next with a win. The champion is not looking that far into the future.
“This week I’m absolutely focused on Israel,” Pereira said. “But, talk about Whittaker and Paulo Costa, I know they wanna fight me. They were never disrespectful, they always kept their composure. But when you talked about Chimaev, he’s a kind of guy that seems to be a little lost. Talks too much.
A win by Adesanya would likely mean a trilogy fight and it would not be a tough sell to the fans. Many critics are surprised that Adesanya was granted an immediate rematch after being finished, but the former champion defended the belt five times; so hard to deny him his shot at redemption. He was on his way to middleweight immortality before a lapse in judgement in the final round of the last fight cost him the title. The biggest question is will Pereira force Adesanya to fight moving backwards, or will Adesanya find a way to nullify Pereira’s pressure.
The former champion believes he is the better fighter and he will prove it this time around.
"I know exactly what to do with this guy," Adesanya said. "If you watch me when I fight him, I have him every single time until I don't. I know exactly what to do.”
The 33-year-old knows what a win over Pereira will do for his MMA career. "I care about my legacy. It's not everything but it's important to me," Adesanya said. "The way I am remembered when I am done is important to me. The way I carry myself is important to me. The way I fight and the way people feel when I fight -- it's important to me but it's not everything.
"Once this is done, I'm going to ride off into the sunset and do something beautiful. The world is my oyster.”
Adesanya is arguably one of the top two middleweights in UFC history. A win on Saturday will put him back in the conversation as the best 185 pound champion of all-time. The Nigerian has key defeats over Jared Cannonier, Robert Whittaker (twice), Marvin Vettori (twice), Paulo Costa, Yoel Romero, Kelvin Gastelum, Anderson Silva and Derek Brunson. Despite the fact that this fight is for a title, it is difficult to ignore Adesanya’s desire to finally defeat a bitter foe, rather than win his belt back.
The co-main event of the evening will be in the welterweight division between former title challenger # 6 Gilbert Burns and fan favorite #11 Jorge Masvidal. The fight has title implications and if either wins in spectacular fashion, they could make a case to leapfrog Colby Covington to be the next to challenge Leon Edwards for welterweight gold.
Burns is coming off a first round submission win over Neil Magny at UFC 283 in January. The Brazilian won six straight fights before unsuccessfully challenging for the welterweight title at UFC 258. He is now 2-2 in his last four fights, but a win over hometown favorite Masvidal is what he needs to still remain in the title conversation.
Despite Masvidal’s current losing streak, Burns is not looking passed him towards a title shot. “Very dangerous. Crazy striking, lot of knockouts, 51 fights. Plus the ones that never went to the record. The backyard ones. For sure very experienced. Not coming from a win streak, coming from a losing streak, but very dangerous too. Very dangerous,” said Burns.
“Specially with his back against the wall, fighting at home, come from three loses. Fighting Gilbert Burns. Yeah bro, a lot of pressure on this guy and he seems like he deals good with the pressure.”
Masvidal most recently lost a unanimous decision to Colby Covington at UFC 272 over a year ago. Prior to his most recent loss he challenged for the welterweight title twice but lost by decision and KO to former champion Kamaru Usman. The Miami born fighter believes in his game plan against Burns.
“I’m going to punch him in the face. And then, guess what? I’m going to punch him in the face again. And then, guess what? I’m going to punch him in the face, in the body, I’m going to kick him in the leg, I’m going to kick him in the head. I’m going to stuff his takedowns, and I’m going to continue to punch him in the face and repeat that cycle, rinse that cycle, and repeat that cycle until I break him physically, mentally, and spiritually and my hand is raised,” Masvidal said.
“That’s how I’ve always approached the fights. I see what that guy does. I respect their strengths, but I don’t forget about my strength and what got me here. That’s these bad boys right here (looks at his hands), the above-average speed and power that I’ve been gifted... these God-given abilities. It’s no secret I’m not going to submit somebody off my back. Expect violence. Expect me to put a hole in somebody’s face. “
If Masvidal can win by finish, he will certainly have the fans on his side to be the next to challenge for the welterweight title, given the history he has with champion Leon Edwards. The two were involved in an altercation backstage in London in 2019. Masvidal was being interviewed after his KO victory of Darren Till and was ignited by Edwards who directed words his way interrupting the interview. Masvidal responded by approaching Edwards and landing a combination on the then hopeful contender. Edwards who is now a champion has expressed that he would like to settle the score with Masvidal, and the fans will certain back the idea if Masvidal can defeat Burns.
The Rest of the Main Card:
Bantamweight - #6 Rob Font vs. #12 Adrian Yanez
Welterweight - Kevin Holland vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Catchweight - Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Christian Rodriguez
ESPN + Prelims:
Middleweight - #14 Kelvin Gastelum vs. #15 Chris Curtis
Women's Strawweight - #10 Michelle Waterson vs. #15 Luana Pinheiro
Middleweight - Gerald Meerschaert vs.Joe Pyfer
Heavyweight - Karl Williams vs.Chase Sherman
ESPN + Early Prelims:
Women's Strawweight - #15 Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lupita Godinez
Catchweight (160 lb) - Ignacio Bahamondes vs.Trey Ogden
Featherweight - Shayilan Nuerdanbiek vs. Steve Garcia
Women's Strawweight - Jaqueline Amorimvs. Sam Hughes
UFC 286 Preview (Edwards vs. Usman 3)
UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards and former champion Kamaru Usman are set to complete a trilogy fight for the ages on Saturday March 18 at the O2 Arena in London. At UFC 286, Edwards will be defending the title for the first time since shocking the world in his last fight with a fifth-round head kick knockout victory over Usman at UFC 278 last August.
Usman went into the rematch having had a dominant victory over Edwards in their first fight seven years prior, and was cruising to a decision victory before being caught by Edwards for one of the best knockouts of 2022. The questions heading into the fight on Saturday are how will Usman rebound from his first time being knocked out and will Edwards fight with more urgency earlier in the fight?
Edwards (20-3-1) has not lost since the first fight with Usman in 2015. His first title defense will come in front of a passionate hometown crowd in England. Will this be an advantage or disadvantage? Edwards answered that question emphatically.
“This time around it will be a totally different fight,” Edwards told BT Sport. “I’ve never lost in the U.K. I’ve never lost at UFC London. … Pro and amateur. So, I’m taking that confidence into it. I’m taking the confidence of knowing I can knock him out into it. I’m taking the confidence of knowing I can take him down into it. I’m taking the confidence of knowing that once it hits the mat and I’m on top, I’m way better. Just all taking into it. My heritage, my story, it’s all going into it. I just can’t see how he comes over and beats me.”
The champion believes he won the title despite not having a great performance until pulling out the comeback victory. “To beat the pound-for-pound on your worst night, I think that’s one of my worst performances as far as career-wise goes in the UFC,” Edwards said. “To be able to still stay calm under that going into the fifth round and to get the KO, I think that shows character from me. That shows my mental I.Q. for the fight game, as far as knowing when to land that shot.
“I think taking all that into the fight, it’s going to be a good night for me. I know he’s tough, I know he’s good – I’m not deluded. I know he’s a good fighter, but I truly believe that I’m better and I can’t see how he comes over and beat me in London.”
The 31-year-old thinks he has a different mindset heading into a third fight with the former champion. “Our mentalities are in two different places,” Edwards said at Wednesday’s UFC 286 media day. “I feel like he’s on his way out, and I was going to open the door for him – give him another path to follow his fashion dreams and follow wherever he wants to go.
“I think he’s already got one – something’s out the door and I was going to add to that. Whether he retires after or not, it’s up to him.”
It has been made clear to both Edwards and Usman that Edwards was on his way to losing the last fight before he scored the knockout. The champion only cares about results not could have been’s. “I know Kamaru – he’s using that as, ‘Oh yeah, he was tired in the fight.’ Whether I was tired or not, you got knocked out – and that’s it,” Edwards said. “So at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
“Even though I was tired, he couldn’t hurt me. I wasn’t hurt, really – it was more a fatigue issue. He was wailing at my gloves and I was catching it all on my gloves. Even on my worst day, I defeated him. He’s improved from when we’ve first fought, but so have I.”
If Edwards can win the rubber match with Usman, he will put the rivalry behind him and there are plenty of interesting challenges waiting for him at the top of the welterweight division. Despite being behind on the scorecards in their last fight, Edwards and Usman looked evenly matched. For Edwards, he became the first fighter to take Usman down in the octagon, even though Usman is known as the better wrestler. How will Edwards approach the grappling on Saturday? Will he again try to shock Usman by wrestling or will he put together another signature combination to finish the fight again?
Usman was on a 15-fight winning streak in the UFC heading into the last fight with Edwards and his only other loss came all the way back in 2013. The Nigerian defended the welterweight title five times and before losing last August he was gaining consideration for being the greatest welterweight in UFC history.
The 35-year-old believes he is the better fighter and he must prove it on Saturday. “It’s going to be a little more difficult this time,” Usman said on the Pivot Podcast. “In his head, he forgot what happened four rounds before that. He’s like, ‘I landed the kick, I’m the champ! I’m good.’ But he forgot what happened.
“You forgot that I was taking your soul. So I have to remind him who he is: a guy that’s let somebody take your soul, twice. And I’m gonna take it in London.”
The former champion is enjoying being the challenger this time around and has moved on from the last fight with Edwards. “On the ride to the hospital that night, I was already over it,” Usman said. “When you feel that sense of relief, it’s just like all the expectations, all the this, and all of this ... You just hear it all quiet down.
“It makes the sport fun for me. The sport wasn’t necessarily as fun with all the noise. I love the position that I ascended to and I appreciate it because I know that’s what comes when you really put in the work like I did over the years. But it wasn’t necessarily as fun as the journey.”
If Usman can become a two-time welterweight champion, he can put himself in elite company with legends Matt Hughes and Georges St-Pierre. He will also have distanced himself from the rivalry with Edwards and will likely welcome in a new challenger to the welterweight title picture.
The co-main event of the evening will be in the lightweight division between former interim champion Justin Gaethje and rising contender Rafael Fiziev. The fight holds title implications in arguably the deepest division in the UFC.
Gaethje is known as one of the most exciting fighters in MMA due to his kill or be killed approach in the octagon. He challenged for the lightweight title in his last fight at UFC 274 in May, but came up short losing by first round submission to then champion Charles Oliveira. The fight was not short of explosive moments from Gaethje which is he is sure to bring to the fight on Saturday with Fiziev.
The 34-year-old has acknowledge his exciting status in the UFC. “I’m the most exciting fighter that has ever stepped in that octagon in the history of this sport,” Gaethje said. “Of course, I pride myself on that.”
“I don’t just believe it, you believe it,” Gaethje said. “You all believe it. You know it to be true. It’s not on purpose, it’s just who I am. That’s how I compete. I’m cut from this cloth.”
Gaethje respects his opponent on Saturday, but believes he will take the fight to Fiziev. “He’s got some crazy skills, especially to the untrained eye,” Gaethje said of Fiziev. “This guy is the best of the best. I think I can take advantage of certain situations. I think I can create more damage in certain situations. I think I can control distance better and I’m going to have to be perfect on Saturday in order for that to be the case.”
Despite coming up short in two title fights, Gaethje has key wins over Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, Donals Cerrone, Edson Barboza and Michael Johnson. If he can stop a rising contender such as Fiziev, he will remind everyone that he stills belongs in the title picture at lightweight.
Fiziev has won six straight fights and most recently defeated former champion Rafael Dos Anjos by fifth round KO in July. He has also netted five straight post-fight bonuses and just as Gaethje, he is not afraid to go to war to win a fight.
He believes he is going to win the battle on Saturday. “I’m waiting [for] the best Gaethje in front of me,” Fiziev said. “I’m waiting for best in shape, I’m waiting for hard fight from him. I’m waiting for blood...”
“It doesn’t matter what [happened] with Charles. I go in and make my job. Touch him with first punch, with second, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to take his heart.”
The 30-year-old is confident and he knows what a win over a name like Gaethje represents. “I can’t say it’s just another fight,” Fiziev said. “Of course I’m excited. This opponent is very famous and everybody knows him. ‘Highlight’ is his nickname. But also, it’s just the next fight for me. It’s both.
“I’m just going to keep doing what I do in this fight, and show him real highlight.”
The rest of the main card:
Welterweight - Gunnar Nelson vs. Bryan Barberena
Women's Flyweight - #8 Jennifer Maia vs. #12 Casey O'Neill
Middleweight - #4 Marvin Vettori vs. #9 Roman Dolidze
ESPN + Prelims:
Featherweight - #15 Jack Shore vs. Makwan Amirkhani
Lightweight - Chris Duncan vs. Omar Morales
Lightweight - Sam Patterson vs. Yanal Ashmoz
Flyweight - #12 Muhammad Mokaev vs. Jafel Filho
ESPN +/UFC FIGHT PASS Prelims:
Featherweight Lerone Murphy vs. Gabriel Santos
Middleweight Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Duško Todorović
Flyweight Malcolm Gordon vs. Jake Hadley
Women's Flyweight Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina
Lightweight Jai Herbert vs. Ľudovít Klein
Women's Flyweight Juliana Miller vs. Veronica Macedo
UFC Fight Night 221 (Yan vs. Dvalishvili)
The UFC will be invading The Theatre at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday March 11th for UFC Fight Night 221. The main event will have major title implications in the bantamweight division as former champion #2 Petr Yan will battle #3 Merab Dvalishvili.
Yan is trying to rebound from two straight losses both coming by split decision, with the last being to fan-favorite Sean O’Malley at UFC 280 in October. The Russian fighter is 1-3 in his last four fights but he has strong arguments that he won the two split decisions and the first loss came by disqualification.
While the fight does hold title implications, it is also driven by a personal battle between Yan and Dvalishvili. Yan responded to the back and forth between the two on social media. “I think he doesn’t have any other way to bring attention to himself,” Yan said. “He cannot do it with his fights. In his fights, all he does is, like a dog, take the leg and push his opponents up to the cage. So he’s just trying to get a little attention or something. No one is interested in him.”
“I was leaving the hotel to training at the PI, and he came up to me and he was asking for a cross interview with ‘The Schmo’ to promote the fight, but like I mentioned, no one is interested in Merab. And I’m not interested in promoting him either. He tries to push himself too hard. He tries to force himself on being a fan favorite, but it never works out that way. The way he acts off-camera is different. The way he acts on-camera is a different way. When there’s no camera he’s not saying much.”
Despite the bitterness he might feel for his opponent, Yan knows a win on Saturday is exactly what he needs, claiming Dvalishvili is a “good name to beat,” after accumulating eight straight wins in the UFC.
Yan has key victories in his career over Corey Sandhagen, Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, Jimmie Rivera and John Dodson. While he is still in the title conversation, a third straight loss would put Yan in a compromised position and the path back to the title would be unclear.
There is plenty happening at the top of the bantamweight division with champion Aljamain Sterling set to fight former champion Henry Cejudo who will be coming out of retirement at UFC 288. Cejudo’s return leaves #1 contender Sean O’Malley sitting and waiting for top contender fights to unfold. #4 Marlon Vera fights #5 Corey Sandhagen on March 25th and the winner of that fight will be clamoring for a title shot. So, Yan cannot afford to fall back into the middle of that pack.
Dvalishvili has won eight straight fights and is coming off of a unanimous decision victory over legend Jose Aldo at UFC 278 in August. The Georgian has proclaimed this fight to be about much more than he and Yan. “I have many reasons,” Dvalishvili said. “First, this fight is not only a fight. It’s personal to me. He’s from Russia, I’m from Georgia. We all know Russia what they’re doing to Ukraine now, what they did to Georgia. Russia is not a (politically) democratic country. I know I want to win for my people. I have so much support from my country and so much support from Ukraine, too.’
Despite the bad blood, Dvalishvili does respect Yan’s MMA skills. “Petr is a great fighter. He is a former champion. We all know he’s tough. As a fighter, he’s a great fighter. He’s dangerous. He doesn’t have holes anywhere. He’s a good striker. He is a good striker. He defends wrestling good. His cardio is good. This is my toughest fight. And I have other reasons. I think he’s a great fighter, a good family guy, but he’s not a humble guy. He’s not a great human. It doesn’t matter how good of a fighter you are, you have to be a good person.”
There is no doubt that with a win on Saturday Dvalishvili has a great case for being the next to challenge for the title. However, he has long stated that he will not fight Sterling who is his close training partner. If Sterling defeats O’Malley at UFC 288, what does Dvalishvili do? The 32-year-old must first focus on Yan who remains one of the most well-rounded bantamweights in the UFC.
The rest of the main card:
Heavyweight - #8 Alexander Volkov vs. #13Alexander Romanov
Catchweight (215 lb) - #6 Nikita Krylov vs. #8 Ryan Spann
Featherweight - Ricardo Ramos vs. Austin Lingo
Bantamweight - #14 Said Nurmagomedov vs. Jonathan Martinez
Light Heavyweight – Vitor Petrino vs. Anton Turkalj
ESPN + Prelims:
Heavyweight - Karl Williams vs. Łukasz Brzeski
Bantamweight - Raphael Assunção vs. Davey Grant
Middleweight - Sedriques Dumas vs. Josh Fremd
Bantamweight - Mario Bautista vs. Guido Cannetti
Women's Flyweight - Ariane Lipski vs. JJ Aldrich
Bantamweight - Victor Henry vs. Tony Gravely
Flyweight - #15 Tyson Nam vs. Bruno Gustavo da Silva
Tszyu vs. Harrison Preview
The Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia will play host to a junior middleweight title on Saturday March 11th. Sydney born fighter Tim Tszyu will battle former champion Tony Harrison for the interim WBO junior middleweight title.
Tszyu (21-0, 15 KO) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over former title challenger Terrell Gausha last March. The Australian was originally scheduled to face undisputed champion Jermell Charlo, but a hand injury forced the champion out of the fight. Tszyu commented on Charlo being replaced Harrison.
"I was really devastated," Tszyu said of Charlo’s injury. "I was devastated because it was such a big opportunity. ... But you have to realize, there are so many more problems you face in life than this. It's just a little hurdle. I'm at that top level now where there are plenty of opponents. There's no point crying about things like this.
"Harrison is a bit quicker and rangier. They have some similarities but I think Harrison has more boxing skills."
The 28-year-old undefeated fighter recognizes the skills of his opponents, but he does not get phased by any mystique an opponent such as Harrison may bring into the ring. "Honestly, man, for me, each fight I take it's me versus me," he said. "I try to improve myself all the time and be better than what I was. It's not based upon who is in front of me. I feel like if I keep working and improving myself, I'll be able to handle whatever may come my way."
Despite being scheduled to fight the undisputed champion, Tszyu believes Harrison has the better skillset. “I think he’s got superior skills. He’s got a good jab, and good movement, and is hard to hit, slick, and always moving. Different type of opponent to anyone I’ve ever faced,” Tszyu said.
“I’m not underestimating him. This is going to be a tough fight. I know that. He’s got better skills than Charlo, he beat Charlo and was winning his last fight with Charlo [before the knockout].”
Tszyu may recognize the skills of Harrison, but the Australian is highly confident he will win impressively on Saturday. “If it goes past four he’s going to be in trouble,” Tszyu said. “My aim is to grab him by the neck and pull him down into the ocean and just let him sink – drown him.
“It will start from round one and we’ll see when he gets some air. He’s going to want to tap. He’s going to wish it was UFC. He’s tall but my sparring partners are much taller. He looks fragile. You can just see it. I’ve been sparring big, strong unbreakable blokes and he looks like I could crack him in half.”
Harrison defeated Charlo in 2018 to become champion but lost in the immediate rematch by 11th round KO, all while being ahead on the judge’s scorecards. Since losing to Charlo he is 1-0-1 but most recently defeated Sergio Garcia by unanimous decision last April.
The 32-year-old knows what he is up against in Tszyu. "I'm here on a mission,” Harrison said. “My only focus is on Tim Tszyu. I'm extremely confident in my abilities and in my training, but I know Tim is going to be tough competition. I can't wait to see the crowd all out there to support him, because I'm going to give them no choice but to love me too. I hope he's ready for 12 grueling rounds, because I'm ready to go as long as he can last."
Harrison believes he has faced better competition than Tszyu, and it will show in the fight. “Tim think he’s going to do the same thing, like the same thing is gonna happen two or three times in a row — it doesn’t happen. It doesn’t happen to a Detrioter. I think Tim’s fighting a mature, fine-tuned wine, wine and dine king now. I’m not a young, unstable, vicious lion, I’m more of a seasoned vet now. So all the mistakes I made in the beginning was perfect for me,” said Harrison.
How does Harrison feel the Australian fans will react to him? “I’m really a hard guy not to like. I’m a hard guy not to go for, you know what I’m saying. I think everybody’s going no only — past the skill, just the charisma and just the way I interact with people. And I think Tim is the total opposite, he’s corny.”
The Detroit native is ready to prove he is tougher and has better skills. “His skills are totally beneath me. 100,000 totally beneath me, but does he have other attributes that are tougher than mine? Toughness and pace and stuff like that? Yeah, he can win fights like that,” said Harrison.
“Will it be enough to win this fight? It won’t. It’s not. You’ve got to have everything. Once you get to the championship, you’ve got to have more than toughness and punching ability to punch as many times as you can punch. It comes with a little more.
“You’ve got to dig in your bag. He doesn’t have a bag to dig in because he never had to dig in one. This time, he’s got to dig in that bag and find that. He’s got to find that this time,” said Harrison.
The main card can be seen on Showtime at 10:45pm ET
UFC 285 Preview
The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada is hosting one of the biggest events of the year. UFC 285 will feature two title fights and the return of all-time great Jon Jones. The main event will be for the vacant heavyweight title between Jones and former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane.
Jones will be returning to the octagon after a three-year layoff and will be making his debut as a heavyweight fighter. During his run as light heavyweight champion he was widely considered the greatest pound for pound fighter in the world. Does he believe a triumphant return against Gane means he is back at the top of the pound for pound list?
“I’m honored to still be here,” Jones said at the UFC 285 Media Day. “It’s great to still be here. I’ve been inactive over the last three years when it comes to the UFC space.”
“Volkanovski has been very active, and I do believe that he deserves to be the top fighter in the world, him and Islam. I think Volkanovski kept that title after a loss. He deserves it. He’s refreshing, he speaks well, his country loves him, he represents the sport well... I’m fighting to be the greatest fighter ever, not to be the pound-for-pound best right now. We have two different motivations, and I think there’s room for both of us at the top.”
The 35-year-old knows he is starting a new chapter of his career after becoming the youngest UFC champion back in 2011. “The MMA game is wild,” Jones said. “I have young men coming up to me and they’re like, ‘Dude, I started watching you when I was 10-years-old. Today I’m 22 years-old. I’ve been around for a long time, dude. I’ve got all these gray hairs in my beard. It’s wild.”
Jones has the record for most title fight wins in UFC history with 14 and the only loss of his career was by DQ. What kind of approach will he have in a new division against one of the best heavyweight stikers?
“I’m ready for whatever,” Jones said. “I’m ready to dominate. But if I don’t dominate and the fight goes five rounds, I’m ready to press forward, I’m ready for a dog fight, I’m ready to bleed and sweat and leave my heart out there. I’m ready for however it goes. I feel pretty prepared for victory.”
The former champion has long been accused by his critics of being a “cheater” as it pertains to testing positive for banned substances. He served a 15-month suspension after testing positive for turinabol in 2017. He was also suspended for 12 months in 2016 after testing positive for clomiphene and letrozole.
In 2019 The United Stated Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) implemented a new legal limit rule which would have cleared Jones in both cases. Jones was forced to relinquish his light heavyweight title on both occasions and spent several years trying to wipe away those blemishes.
Jones commented on the new rules and what that means to him now. "I feel set free. People considered me a cheater," Jones said.
"Now, if that same rule would have applied back then, it would have never even made the media. It would have never been a deal at all."
He went on to say, "Usada has changed some of the rules regarding picogram levels and what's allowed, and I've come to find out that all my findings were under the new legal limit, meaning I would have been cleared from every test I've ever taken," Jones said.
"My win over Daniel Cormier [in 2017] would not be a no-contest. It would be a knockout. A KO victory."
Jones vehemently denied being a cheater and will likely spend the rest of his career digging out of that hole, even though USADA believed he did not intentionally take banned substances.
"It was hell being considered a steroid cheat, and I'm glad that people can see clearly now that I never was, and I feel set free," Jones concluded.
Jones has key victories in his storied career over Alexander Gustafsson (twice), Ovince Saint Preux, Daniel Cormier, Glover Texeira, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Quinton Jackson, Mauricio Rua, Ryan Bader and Brandon Vera.
Gane is coming off a much-needed victory in his last fight where he defeated Tai Tuivasa by third round KO in September. The fight was one of the best fights of 2022 and for Gane it was coming off the heels of an unsuccessful title challenge at UFC 270.
The 32-year-old won the interim heavyweight belt at UFC 265 in 2021, but came up short against former champion Franciss Ngannou who has since vacated the title leaving an opening for Gane to try and win gold once again.
While there are many questions about Jones fighting at heavyweight, Gane believes he will bring new skills to the division. “I think he’s going to be okay,” Gane said. “He’s not a small guy, so he can add some weight on him. He worked on this for two, three years, and he’s an athlete.”
“In the heavyweight division, you see some guys are flat-footed, really slow, really fat, and I think he’s going to be better than that,” he added. “I think he’s going to jump into this division and be a good heavyweight.”
Gane thinks Jones will be good, but he believes he will be better. “I think I’m a better heavyweight than him because I move better than him, I’m faster than him,” said the Frenchman, who rebounded from his UFC 270 loss to Francis Ngannou with a third-round stoppage win over Tai Tuivasa at home in Paris in September. “I think I have an advantage because I’m from this division; this is where I started.
“I have more experience with this division, with this weight, so I have an advantage, but he has some advantages, too. He’s had a big career, so he has experience at a high level.”
The French Fighter is on a mission to win gold and at the end of the day it does not matter who he fights to achieve this goal. “I won the belt now, no matter who is the guy,” Gane said. “It’s going to mean a lot for me because he is the GOAT. Everyone knows that, because of his career. … If we win, it’s going to be something big for my career and something big for my life, for sure.”
Aside from Tuivasa, Gane has key victories over Derrick Lewis, Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruick and Junior Dos Santos. A win over Jones would be the biggest of his career and would shock the world as he not only enters the fight as the underdog, but will have defeated one of the greatest fighters of all-time.
The co-main event of the evening will be for the women’s flyweight title between dominant champion Valentina Shevchenko and #6 Alexa Grasso.
Shevchenko won the flyweight belt at UFC 231 in 2018 and has now defended the title seven times. Her last fight at UFC 275 was the toughest challenge she has faced since becoming champion, as she won a close split decision over Taila Santos.
The Russian fighter is business as usual heading into her eighth title defense. “I heard she mention, ‘Everyone has a weak point.’ Something like that. And she kind of will figure it out, where is this weak point,” Shevchenko said. “… I want to leave out my weak point, don’t forget about your weak point. Don’t forget about your fears. I know her fears. I know her weak point and I will use it in my game.”
While she is confident, Shevchenko does respect Grasso as a fighter. “She is very good in what she’s doing,” Shevchenko said. “That’s why she is a contender for this bout, which is my next title defense. Yeah, I took everything seriously about her. I know she’s good in her striking, but we can also not forget we’re fighting mixed martial arts. I prepared for everything as usual. Yeah, (I’ll) just be very attentive for the whole fight and be myself and do everything I have to do to win the fight.”
Shevchenko is largely considered the second best pound for pound women’s fighter in the world behind two-weight world champion Amanda Nunes, who has two victories over Shevchenko at bantamweight. Does Shevchenko believe there will be a third fight with Nunes?
“I do think I will move [back] up, yeah. I do think it’s going to happen someday,” Shevchenko said. “[A Nunes trilogy] is the only one reason why I should move up.”
She went on to say of a fight with Nunes, “This time, it has to go my way. No matter what,” she laughed. “I think will have to do everything that I have to do to win the fight because it’s kind of like what I expect from myself. I think that our second fight that we had, I don’t think I lost that fight, and I rewatched it several times. I still think it should go a different way.”
Shevchenko has wiped out the flyweight division and with a win over Grasso, a move back up to bantamweight to challenge Nunes seems inevitable. The two fights with Nunes were close battles with neither fighter seeming to have a convincing edge. How will a third fight go? Shevchenko must first not look beyond Grasso who is one of the better strikers in the flyweight division.
Grasso has won four straight fights and most recently defeated Viviane Araujo in October. The 29-year-old knows she is facing the toughest test of her career at UFC 285. “I’ve been watching her career for a long, long time, and I think this is the biggest challenge of my life,” Grasso said. “I can’t say that I’m the best striker if I haven’t faced someone like her. I’m truly happy and inspired for this fight. I know she’s tough, I know she’s dangerous in all areas, and this made me train tons. Like, a lot.
The 29-year-old explained how she prepared for the biggest fight of her life. “I was extreme with my discipline, I was extreme with my training, with my diet, with my conditioning. I was extreme in all areas and definitely, I’m a better athlete right now, and I can’t wait to prove that.”
History could be made for Grasso on Saturday by not only defeating one of the best female fighters of all-time, but also becoming the first female Mexican champion in UFC history. “As a competitor, I like challenges,” Grasso said. “Knowing all the things she just achieved, it gives you more motivation. If she’s done so much, and of course, she has a lot more years in the sport, but knowing the credentials she has, and to be able to win (against) someone like her, I think it’s a plus.”
The rest of the main card:
Welterweight - #7 Geoff Neal vs. #9 Shavkat Rakhmonov
Lightweight - #7 Mateusz Gamrot vs. #10 Jalin Turner
Middleweight - Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett
ESPN + Prelims:
Bantamweight - Cody Garbrandt vs. Trevin Jones
Middleweight - #5 Derek Brunson vs. #10 Dricus du Plessis
Women's Flyweight - #8 Viviane Araújo vs. #9 Amanda Ribas
Middleweight - Julian Marquez vs. Marc-André Barriault
ESPN +/ UFC FIGHT PASS Early Prelims:
Welterweight - Ian Garry vs. Song Kenan
Bantamweight - Cameron Saaiman vs. Leomana Martinez
Women's Strawweight - Jessica Penne vs. Tabatha Ricci
Bantamweight - Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Farid Basharat
Lightweight - Esteban Ribovics vs. Loik Radzhabov