Ahead of his fourth welterweight title defence this weekend against Jorge Masvidal on a stacked UFC 261 card, Kamaru Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) has vowed to break the #3 divisional contender while saying 170-lb challengers aren’t exciting him – hinting that he may retire if he gets to a point where the landscape doesn’t motivate the same way anymore. Continue reading
During a middleweight matchup three years in the making, Robert Whittaker handily beat a durable Kelvin Gastelum on the judges’ scorecards, once again retaining his #1 ranking while making his case indisputable to finally rematch champion Israel Adesanya later this year.
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After news broke that two-weight champion Amanda Nunes would be defending her 135-lb belt against #6 ranked women’s bantamweight Julianna Pena at UFC 265 on August 7 yesterday, it again reinforced the unwritten rule that some momentum, mixed with trash talk and geniune heat can be utilised to skip the traditional queue under the guise of a fresh divisional matchup.
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After making championship weight as a back-up fighter for last month’s UFC 259 pay-per-view, Glover Teixeira has been granted a second opportunity to become light-heavyweight champion: seven years after his unsuccessful challenge against Jon Jones in April 2014. It’ll also be Jan Blachowicz’s second title defence, having ended Israel Adesanya’s unbeaten streak on March 6. Continue reading
Marvin Vettori amplified Kevin Holland’s wrestling deficiencies with a dominant and record-breaking main event victory – before calling for a rematch against existing champion Israel Adesanya, who beat him by split decision three years ago this month. Elsewhere, there were big wins for women’s strawweight Mackenzie Dern and featherweight Arnold Allen among others.
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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
Newly crowned champion Francis Ngannou had plenty to say at the post-fight press conference, from reflecting on his arduous journey to world title gold in an unforgettable rematch, if there should be a Stipe Miocic trilogy, to when he’ll be ready for his first defence against Jon Jones. Continue reading
Francis Ngannou (#1) showed the requisite adjustments, was measured and importantly picked his moments methodically before dethroning Stipe Miocic during their main event rematch with a devastating second-round knockout – becoming the UFC’s new heavyweight champion.
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A one-off or necessary acid test as she targets becoming a two-time champion? After a four-and-a-half year retirement, former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate (18-7, 5-4 UFC) makes her return on July 17 against Marion Reneau in the latter’s final professional fight.
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#7 middleweight Derek Brunson embraced his role as underdog again, riding the big punches to earn a composed, workmanlike UD (49-45, 49-46 x 2) win over Kevin Holland (#10) with a career-best six takedowns, before calling out Paulo Costa (#2) after a fourth straight victory.
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Dana White has finally thrown in the towel on his stance to try convincing undefeated lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) out of retirement for one more fight, with ESPN reports confirming an in-form Charles Oliveira (#3) will next face three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler (#4) in the UFC 262 headliner on May 15 for a vacant belt. Continue reading
Kamaru Usman will make the fourth defence of his welterweight strap against #4 ranked Jorge Masvidal, headlining next month’s UFC 261 PPV with three title fights – Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili the other champions scheduled for title defences. Set to be held at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, it’ll be the first event with fans since UFC 248 on March 7 last year. Continue reading
