Jose Aldo to be Inducted Into UFC’s Hall of Fame

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jose Aldo is head to the Hall…

The 36-year-old Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist, the longest-reigning featherweight champion in UFC history, will be inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame later this year.

Aldo retired from the UFC in September, one month after losing to Merab Dvalishvili in a highly ranked bantamweight fight. Had Aldo won that fight, he might have moved on to fight for a UFC title one more time.

Although he officially retired from MMA and was removed from the UFC’s rankings, Aldo has left the door open to competing in a boxing match.

Born in Manaus, Brazil, Aldo rose to 145-pound superiority in the WEC, where he won his first major championship by knocking out Mike Brown in 2009. He defended the title twice before the UFC brought the division into its fold and crowned Aldo its first-ever featherweight champ.

Aldo (31-8) won 18 consecutive fights from 2006 to 2014 and defended the UFC featherweight title a record seven times. His championship run came to a close in 2015, when he suffered a stunning 13-second knockout to rival Conor McGregor. He reclaimed the title seven months later by defeating Frankie Edgar, but lost it a second time in his next fight to Max Holloway.

Still widely considered the greatest featherweight of all time, Aldo dropped to the 135-pound bantamweight division in 2019 to try to win a second belt. He challenged Petr Yan for the vacant belt in 2020 but lost via fifth-round TKO.

Aldo joins the UFC Hall of Fame’s “modern wing” of fighters that includes Forrest Griffin, BJ Penn, Urijah Faber, Ronda Rousey, Michael Bisping, Rashad Evans, Georges St-Pierre, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier.

Marina Rodriguez to Fight Amanda Lemos at UFC 280

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Marina Rodriguez has lined up her next opponent…

The 35-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist will face Amanda Lemos at UFC 280 on October 22 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Rodriguez and Lemos, two of the top women’s strawweight fighters in the world, form part of one of the UFC‘s deepest cards of the year.

The winner of the bout could have the inside track on a title shot. Rodriguez is the No. 4 women’s strawweight in ESPN‘s rankings, while Lemos is No. 9.

In addition, sources told ESPN that Rodriguez and former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade have left manager Tiago Okamura to sign with Ali Abdelaziz of Dominance MMA, who represents the likes of welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and former pound-for-pound king Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Rodriguez (16-1-2 overall, 6-1-2 UFC) has won four straight and is coming off a split decision win over Yan Xiaonan at UFC 272 in March. The Brazilian fighter’s only career loss was a close split decision defeat to current UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza in 2020.

Lemos (12-2-1), also 35, has won six of her past seven fights, including a second-round submission victory over Michelle Waterson this past weekend at UFC Long Island. The Brazilian fighter’s only loss since 2017 came to Andrade in April. Lemos has finished four of her six wins inside the UFC Octagon.

UFC 280 will be headlined by a fight between former champion Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev for the vacant lightweight title. Also on the card, lightweight standouts Beneil Dariush and Mateusz Gamrot will meet in a potential title eliminator.

Ricky Bandejas to Fight Ray Borg in Eagle FC 46 Next Month

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Ricky Bandejas is readying for a fight…

The 30-year-old Latino mixed martial artist will be among the fighters set to take part in Eagle FC‘s return to the United States.

Bandejas will fight against former UFC title challenger Ray Borg in a bantamweight bout and Rizvan Kuniev will defend his heavyweight title against UFC veteran Anthony Hamilton at Eagle FC 46 on March 11 in Miami, according to promoter Khabib Nurmagomedov.

This will be the first time Kuniev will defend the Eagle title on United States soil.

Bandejas (15-6) has won two of his last three fights with Combate Global. The New Jersey native beat Conor McGregor protégé James Gallagher under the Bellator banner in 2018.

Borg (15-5), known as The Tazmexican Devil, has won two straight after departing the UFC. Most recently, the Mexico native defeated Cody Gibson via unanimous decision last month at Eagle FC 44.

Borg, still just 28 years old, challenged Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight title at UFC 216 in October 2017. He struggled with personal issues, including a brain illness affecting his infant son Anthony, and weight-cutting difficulties in the UFC before being released in 2020.

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva to Fight Tyrone Spong in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s First Eagle FC Event in United States

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva is ready to make history…

The 42-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer will compete in the first United States main event of Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s MMA promotion.

Silva and Tyrone Spong will headline Eagle FC 44 on January 28 in Miami. The three-round heavyweight bout will mark Spong’s return to MMA after eight years. Spong is a world-class kickboxer and an undefeated pro boxer.

Silva, meanwhile, is a UFC veteran and former MMA champion.

Eagle FC 44 will take place at the newly built FLX Arena.

This will be Eagle FC’s first event in the United States. Nurmagomedov, the all-time UFC great, has owned the promotion, formerly known as Gorilla Fighting Championship, since last 2020.

Since he took over, Eagle FC has run 15 events and all but two were in Nurmagomedov’s home country of Russia. Nurmagomedov told ESPN last week that the plan is to run several big events next year in the U.S., beginning with one on January 28.

Spong (2-0) is a top-notch combat sports athlete in multiple sports. The Suriname native, who trains out of Florida, has not fought in MMA since two fights with World Series of Fighting in 2012 and 2013, both victories. Spong, a former kickboxing champion, has been focusing recently on his pro boxing career. Spong, 36, is the current WBC Latino and WBO Latino heavyweight champion in boxing.

Silva (19-13, 1 NC) is a former EliteXC heavyweight champion in MMA and veteran of 11 UFC fights. The Brazil native is a jiu-jitsu black belt and will have a significant size advantage over Spong — “Bigfoot” is 6-foot-4 and cuts to make the 265-pound heavyweight limit, while Spong is 6-foot-2 and typically weighs in the 230s. But Silva, 42, has lost six straight in MMA and has only one win in his last 11 fights. He has also been knocked out in five of his last six MMA fights, plus a knockout loss to Glory champion Rico Verhoeven in a 2017 kickboxing match and a KO loss to Gabriel Gonzaga in a Bare Knuckle FC bout in 2019.

UFC Hall of Famer and former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans will also return from retirement at Eagle FC 44.

No other Eagle FC 44 matchups have been announced. Nurmagomedov said he plans to make more announcements at a news conference in Miami on December 15.

Charles Oliveira to Face Off Against Dustin Poirier for Lightweight Championship at UFC 269

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Charles Oliveira has a new opponent…

The 31-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist (31-8) will face off against Dustin Poirier for the lightweight championship at UFC 269 on Dec. 11.

The matchup had been in talks for weeks, and Poirier told ESPN late last month there was “a good chance” it would happen. The 32-year-old lightweight mixed martial artist wrote on social media that the bout is now official.

“Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” Poirier wrote on Twitter.

Representatives for Poirier confirmed to ESPN he has officially agreed to the December title fight.

A win against Oliveira would cap off an amazing year for Poirier, who has been fighting professionally since 2009. The Louisiana native kicked off 2021 by knocking out Conor McGregor in January at UFC 257. He followed that up with another TKO win against McGregor at UFC 264 in July, a fight that ended when McGregor suffered a serious leg injury at the end of the opening round.

UFC 269 will mark Poirier’s second attempt at an undisputed UFC championship. He challenged former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in September 2019, and lost via submission. Poirier is a former interim UFC champion, but has never held the undisputed title.

Oliveira, 31, captured the vacant UFC title by knocking out Michael Chandler in May. Fighting out of Brazil, Oliveira is riding a nine-fight win streak that includes eight finishes.

Paulo Costa to Take On Defending Champion Israel Adesanya in UFC Middleweight Title Fight

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Paulo Costa is getting his title chance…

Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight title against the 29-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artiston September 19, according to ESPN.

This weekend, Costa tweeted: “The fight is on folks!” News of the fight was first reported by Combate.

The fight, which will take place at UFC 253, doesn’t have a location yet. It probably will take place in either Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi, but the promotion hasn’t finalized those plans just yet because of the coronavirus pandemic, sources said.

Originally, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje was targeted for September 19. Though no official determination has been made regarding that fight, sources say the current plan is to headline the card with Adesanya vs. Costa and then do Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje for the lightweight title later in the fall.

Adesanya (19-0) successfully defended the middleweight title for the first time in March when he defeated Yoel Romero via unanimous decision. That fight was supposed to be against his bitter rival, Costa, however, Costa was forced out of the fight after suffering a torn left biceps.

Costa (13-0), most recently defeated Romero via unanimous decision in August 2019.

The duo have been entangled in a war of words since before Adesanya won the middleweight title in October.

The fight will mark just the second time in UFC history that two undefeated males fight for an undisputed title. The first time was back in 2008 when champion Rashad Evans defended the light heavyweight title against Lyoto Machida at UFC 98.

Alvarez to Fight Conor McGregor to Retain His UFC Lightweight Title

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Eddie Alvarez is preparing for a highly anticipated Big Apple bout…

The 32-year-old half-Puerto Rican mixed martial artist and current UFC Lightweight Champion will face off against Conor McGregor in the lightweight championship headline UFC 205 bout on November 12 at Madison Square Garden.

UFC officials confirmed the 155-pound title fight to ESPN on Monday. The UFC 205 pay-per-view is historic because it marks the promotion’s first trip to New York since a 1997 ban on professional mixed martial arts was lifted earlier this year.

McGregor (20-3), the current featherweight champion, will attempt to join BJ Penn and Randy Couture as the only fighters in UFC history to win titles in multiple weight classes. Per UFC president Dana White, McGregor will retain his featherweight championship through UFC 205, meaning he has the chance to become the first ever to hold those belts simultaneously.

“This is the fight the fans wanted, and I’m excited that our very first event at Madison Square Garden will be headlined by Eddie Alvarez defending the lightweight title against Conor McGregor,” White told ESPN. “This card has three world title fights and is the best card in UFC history.”

Alvarez (28-4) won the title in a first-round knockout over Rafael dos Anjos in July. The Philadelphia native also has held a 155-pound title in Bellator MMA. Alvarez publicly campaigned for a fight against McGregor, even though White briefly targeted a bout between Alvarez and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

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