Paulo Costa embraced the heel role, having revealed his inability to make the scheduled 185lb limit during fight week. Despite explosive moments aplenty and a flurry of furious head kicks that would’ve ended most other nights, he was outworked by a smart Marvin Vettori showing in a highly-anticipated battle between two former middleweight title challengers at 205lbs.
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Tag: Paulo Costa
UFC Vegas 36: Derek Brunson submits Darren Till in R3, on a five-fight win streak
Armed with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman among his circles, confidence brewing on a five-fight win streak and a maiden UFC middleweight title shot in the offing, Derek Brunson has plenty to be happy about after earning a third-round submission win over Darren Till overnight.
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UFC Vegas 34: Jared Cannonier outworks gamely Kelvin Gastelum in tense main event
The striking differential between the pair was razor-thin over five rounds, but middleweight contender Jared Cannonier (#3) returned to winning ways vs. Kelvin Gastelum. Prior to this, there was a big win for possible new flyweight title challenger Alexandre Pantoja after lightweight prospect Ignacio Bahamondes’ crazy spinning wheel kick knockout on the prelims. Continue reading
UFC Vegas 34: Jared Cannonier aims to bounce back vs. a determined Kelvin Gastelum
Although his title-chasing momentum was convincingly halted by former champion Robert Whittaker last October, middleweight contender Jared Cannonier (#3) looks to pick up where he left off this weekend against Kelvin Gastelum (#9) in the UFC Vegas 34 main event. Both fighters find themselves in contrasting situations as far as their promotional stock is concerned too… Continue reading
Talk is cheap: Pivotal moment awaits Marvin Vettori in middleweight championship slot
38 months after suffering a split decision loss to the now-reigning 185-lb champion, the #3 ranked middleweight has been granted an unexpected but nonetheless golden opportunity to exact his revenge – but another defeat in Arizona could be catastrophic for his future title hopes. Continue reading
No Darren Till, no problem for middleweight title-chasing Marvin Vettori
After Darren Till (#5) broke his collarbone in training and withdrew from this weekend’s main event on March 30, Kevin Holland – who recently underwhelmed against Derek Brunson (#4) – is stepping up on nine days’ notice to face Vettori (#6), though the Italian is unfazed as he continues on the trail to get a crack at the middleweight strap and an Israel Adesanya rematch. Continue reading
Caution up ahead: Why Jan Blachowicz presents Israel Adesanya’s biggest test yet
After blasting uncrowned champion Dominick Reyes to bits in September, Jan Blachowicz (27-8 MMA, 10-5 UFC) makes the first defence of his light-heavyweight strap against an undefeated middleweight star in Israel Adesanya – going up a weight class and looking to make his own history this weekend. An underdog perhaps, Jan offers Izzy’s most dangerous challenge yet. Continue reading
Kevin Holland to replace injured Darren Till, faces Jack Hermansson on Dec. 5
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After an already busy 2020, middleweight prospect Kevin Holland is set to seize a golden opportunity against #4 ranked Jack Hermansson on short-notice after reports today emerged that Darren Till (#6) pulled out of their Dec. 5 main event matchup with an undisclosed injury. Continue reading
UFC 253: Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz reign supreme with statement title wins
Israel Adesanya retained his middleweight strap against Paulo Costa in style with a second-round TKO victory, after Jan Blachowicz’s resurgence continued – delivering a similarly excellent display to capture the vacant light-heavyweight championship at Dominick Reyes’ expense during the UFC 253 co-main event. Continue reading
UFC 253: Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa exchange final pre-fight words
UFC 253 pits top-ranked middleweight contender Paulo Costa against defending champion Israel Adesanya in the headliner on Fight Island’s return during the early hours on Sunday morning. Compared with the card’s co-main event, this features plenty of bad blood between two athletes who don’t like one another and are itching to duel in the Octagon this weekend. Continue reading
UFC 248: Israel Adesanya retains middleweight strap, but Weili-Jedrzejczyk steals the show
Israel Adesanya retained his middleweight belt after a bizarre 25-minute showing against Yoel Romero in the UFC 248 main event, though it was the card’s other championship bout which stole the show: Weili Zhang’s first title defence was one for the history books against former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Continue reading
UFC 243: Israel Adesanya is new middleweight champion after R2 KO of Robert Whittaker
Just eighteen months after his first UFC fight, Israel Adesanya (18-0) has silenced critics to reach the summit, beating Robert Whittaker with a second-round KO to become the new undisputed Middleweight Champion infront of a record-breaking crowd at Marvel Stadium in Australia. Continue reading
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