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Aljamain Sterling makes the fourth defence of his UFC bantamweight title overnight, and has said plenty in the build-up about how Sean O’Malley – a growing star within the promotion – has purposely been matched up in a way allowing him to fast-track his way to a championship shot. So now, only he stands between Suga Show becoming the second DWCS alum to seize gold…
Continue reading “UFC 292: Sterling says the onus is on him to humble O’Malley tonight, and he’s right”
Perennial bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen is now riding a three-fight win streak for the first time since 2019, but completed the achievement with an underwhelming albeit comfy decision win over short-notice replacement Rob Font in their catchweight clash at 140lbs. Should he be rewarded with a title shot next – depending on how UFC 292 unfolds – or does he need another scalp?
Continue reading “UFC Nashville: Sandhagen nullifies Font to dominant decision win in drab main event”
UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling secured his third title defence with a split decision nod against two-division champion Henry Cejudo, who acquitted himself well after a three-year layoff but wasn’t active nor urgent enough to consistently trouble the 135lb titlist over 25 minutes. Prior, there were big wins for Belal Muhammad and Yan Xiaonan among others. Continue reading “UFC 288: Sterling outpoints returning Cejudo, after Belal’s big decision win”
He apologised to the fans, aware they would’ve been underwhelmed by what they saw: but it wasn’t his fault. Cory Sandhagen scored a decision win over Marlon Vera – split scorecards notwithstanding – before calling out Merab Dvalishvili after the Georgian’s impressive win over former champion Petr Yan two weeks prior. The bantamweight division is bubbling up nicely again… Continue reading “UFC’s 135lb division shuffles once more, after Cory Sandhagen punishes lethargic Marlon Vera”
With no UFC event taking place last weekend, and Saturday’s UFC Vegas 61 card not attracting much buzz, I take a look back at the promotion’s most recent headliner: Cory Sandhagen’s return to the win column at bantamweight against rising young contender Song Yadong. Continue reading “Rewind: Cory Sandhagen’s R4 TKO – doctor stoppage – vs. Song Yadong at UFC Vegas 60 on Sept. 17”
Midway through the fifth, they thought he was demoralised and it was over. Instead, Leon Edwards scored a stunning head kick KO to dethrone Kamaru Usman, as the UK’s second-ever UFC champion since Michael Bisping after big main card wins for former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa and an in-form Merab Dvalishvili at 135lbs – both against MMA legends.
Continue reading “UFC 278: Leon Edwards dethrones Kamaru Usman with R5 head kick KO, new welterweight champion”
Alexander Volkanovski survived a R3 frenzy, where he was knocked down with a bullet left-hand and recovered from two tight submission manoevures before outlasting Brian Ortega (#2) via UD to retain his featherweight title: 49-46, 50-45, 50-44. Valentina Shevchenko made the sixth defence of her flyweight crown against Lauren Murphy, while there were other big winners too.
Continue reading “UFC 266: Volkanovski outlasts Ortega, retaining featherweight title in frenetic thriller”
After more than a 400-day absence, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski defends his title vs. Brian Ortega (#2) at the UFC 266 PPV in September. Elsewhere, Lauren Murphy challenges Valentina Shevchenko for women’s flyweight gold, after Nick Diaz’s welcome return after a six-year hiatus to rematch Robbie Lawler, 17 years on from their first meeting. Continue reading “UFC 266: Volkanovski-Ortega, Shevchenko-Murphy and Nick Diaz’s return on Sept. 25”
Rising light-heavyweight Jiri Prochazka (#5) handed two-time title challenger Dominick Reyes (#3) his third straight loss with a second-round spinning back elbow knockout – the third in UFC history – asserting his credentials as a genuine title contender at 205lbs. Before a chaotic main event, there were big wins for Georgian duo Giga Chikadze and Merab Dvalishvili among others.
Continue reading “UFC Vegas 25: Jiri Prochazka viciously flattens Dominick Reyes in title eliminator”
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Stipe Miocic retained his heavyweight title after going the distance with Daniel Cormier in their highly-anticipated trilogy fight, cementing his standing as one of the UFC’s all-time greats by retiring DC with a gritty unanimous decision win. There were also statement victories for Marlon Vera and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Continue reading “UFC 252: Stipe Miocic defends HW title to end Daniel Cormier trilogy victorious”
Cynthia Calvillo enjoyed a memorable flyweight debut, beating #1 title contender Jessica Eye with an impressive UD win in the night’s main event, after Marvin Vettori settled his score with Karl Roberson – before revealing that type of display will help set up a future rematch with middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Continue reading “UFC on ESPN 10: Cynthia Calvillo dethrones top contender, Vettori earns statement win”
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