Tag Archives: UFC 239

Alex Pereira to Face Rival Israel Adesanya in Fourth Fight

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Alex Pereira is going on the defensive…

The 35-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer will defend his middleweight championship back in a fourth fight against rival against Israel Adesanya this spring.

Alex PereiraPereira and Adesanya will face each other in the co-main event of UFC 287 on April 8, UFC president Dana White has announced.

Jorge Masvidal will return against Gilbert Burns in the other co-main event, while popular welterweight Kevin Holland will take on Santiago Ponzinibbio on the main card, White said.

A location for UFC 287 has yet to be announced.

Perira has beaten Adesanya twice in kickboxing and knocked him out last November in the fifth round of their first MMA fight against one another at UFC 281 to win the belt.

Adesanya is No. 4 in ESPN‘s pound-for-pound rankings.

Pereira (7-1) is 4-0 in the UFC with three victories via KO/TKO. The Brazilian-born fighter, who trains out of Connecticut, only started his full-time MMA career in 2020. Pereira, 35, was once one of the best kickboxers in the world, holding Glory titles at middleweight and light heavyweight.

Adesanya (23-2) had been the UFC middleweight champion since 2019 prior to Pereira’s victory. The Nigerian-born New Zealander had only one MMA loss prior to November, at light heavyweight in a 2021 title fight against Jan Blachowicz.

Adesanya, 33, had five successful middleweight title defenses.

Masvidal (35-16) has lost three straight but remains one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster. The 38-year-old Miami native owns the fastest knockout in UFC history — a five-second flying knee win over Ben Askren in 2019.

Burns (21-5), a 36-year-old former title contender from Brazil who trains out of Florida, is coming off a first-round submission victory over Neil Magny on Saturday at UFC 283.

Thiago Santos Signs with Professional Fighters League

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Thiago Santos is headed to the PFL…

The 38-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC title challenger has signed an exclusive deal with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), according to promotion president Ray Sefo.

Thiago Santos Santos will make his PFL debut in 2023 when he competes in the promotion’s season format with a tournament championship purse of $1 million. Santos will fight in the 205-pound division.

“We are very excited to bring in Thiago Santos to the PFL light heavyweight division,” Sefo told ESPN. “He is known throughout the MMA world as a guy who delivers exciting fights, and I’m looking forward to seeing his elite knockout power up close.”

Santos most recently appeared in a UFC Fight Night main event against Jamahal Hill in August, losing via fourth-round TKO. Six of his past seven appearances in UFC were in main events, including a failed title shot against then-champion Jon Jones at UFC 239 in July 2019. Santos lost that fight via split decision.

He was nearing the end of his UFC contract, and the two sides ultimately decided to part ways. Santos had fought exclusively in UFC since 2013.

“It was an amicable separation with the UFC,” Santos’ manager Alex Davis told ESPN. “Thiago is very grateful for everything the UFC did for him, and he’s very grateful toward the PFL for signing with him. He’s looking forward to winning a million dollars.”

Fighting out of Brazil, Santos came close to dethroning Jones in their five-round title fight despite suffering a serious knee injury during the bout. He has struggled to regain his old form since the injury, suffering losses to Glover Teixeira, Aleksandar Rakic, Magomed Ankalaev and Hill. Nevertheless, he was still ranked No. 9 in UFC’s light heavyweight division.

The 2022 PFL finals are in November. The light heavyweight final will feature two former UFC veterans in Robert Wilkinson and Omari Akhmedov.

Julianna Peña to Fight Holly Holm in Non-Title UFC Bout This May

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Julianna Peña is taking on a former champion…

The 31-year-old mixed Mexican & Venezuelan American martial artist will face former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm in a non-title bout in May, announced Ultimate Fighting Championship officials.

Julianna Pena

The 135-pound contest will take place on a UFC Fight Night event on May 8. The UFC has not yet announced an official location for the event.

Peña (10-4), the first woman to win The Ultimate Fighter, is coming off a submission win against former title challenger Sara McMann at UFC 257 last month in Abu Dhabi.

Fighting out of Chicago, Peña is 2-1 in her past three appearances, with the loss coming against another former title challenger and featherweight champion in Germaine de Randamie. A win against Holm would catapult her into title contention at 135.

Holm (14-5) is coming off back-to-back unanimous decision wins, against Raquel Pennington in January 2020 and Irene Aldana in October. Her last loss came in a bantamweight title fight against dual-weight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 239 in July 2019. Holm’s past three losses have come with a championship on the line, going back to 2017.

Fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Holm, 39, will make her fourth straight appearance at 135 pounds, but she has also competed at 145 pounds.

Amanda Nunes Reportedly Agrees to Defend Her UFC Bantamweight Title Against Germaine de Randamie

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Amanda Nunes is going on the defense…

The 31-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artistand two-weight UFC champion will defend her 135-pound title against Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245 on December 14, according to ESPN.

Amanda Nunes

Both sides have verbally agreed to the bantamweight championship, and the pay-per-view event will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN.

UFC officials have not confirmed the bout’s official placement on the card.

Nunes (18-4) is the current champion of the 135- and 145-pound weight classes. She’s coming off the fourth defense of her bantamweight title in July, a head kick knockout of Holly Holm at UFC 239.

Originally from Brazil, now fighting out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, Nunes is ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by ESPN.

De Randamie (9-3), of the Netherlands, is a former featherweight champion. She won the 145-pound belt in February 2017 by defeating Holm. However, she was stripped of the belt later that year when she refused to face No. 1 contender Cris “Cyborg” Justino over concerns of prior use of performance-enhancing drugs.

De Randamie has since elevated herself to the status of No. 1 contender at 135 pounds with wins over Raquel Pennington and Aspen Ladd.

Amanda Nunes Defeats Holly Holm by TKO to Retain UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title

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Amanda Nunesis making the case to be considered the greatest women’s MMAfighter of all time…

The 31-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter defeated Holly Holm by TKO on Saturday to retain her women’s bantamweight title.

Amanda Nunes

Nunes landed a right head kick to Holm’s face and followed up with a hard right hand on the ground. The TKO finish came at 4 minutes, 10 seconds in the first round of the co-main event of UFC 239at T-Mobile Arena.

Nunes said she’d told her coach beforehand that she wanted to stop Holm with a head kick, because that is Holm’s signature technique. Holm had the only other head-kick knockout in a UFC women’s bantamweight title fight, against Ronda Rouseyin 2015.

Coming in, Nunes, also the featherweight champion, had beaten every other former UFC women’s bantamweight or featherweight champion outside of Holm, and now she has defeated Holm as well.

“I told my coaches I wanted to knock her out the same way she knocks people out,” Nunes said. “I did it tonight. She was the only former champion I didn’t beat yet. Now I beat her, and I’m very happy.”

Nunes (17-4) said that she next wanted to defend her featherweight belt to become the only UFC champion to defend two titles while holding them concurrently. 

The Brazilian fighter, who trains out of American Top Teamin Florida, has won nine bouts in a row. Nunes, 31, has four first-round finishes in title fights, tied for second with Matt Hughes. Rousey is first with five.

UFC president Dana Whitereiterated his stance that Nunes ranks among the greatest MMA fighters ever, putting her alongside the likes of Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones.

White said he was open to booking a rematch between Nunes and Cris Cyborg, who lasted only 51 seconds against Nunes in December.

“This woman is tough, man,” White said of Nunes. “She’s unbelievable. Pound for pound, one of the greatest of all time. But there will be somebody next.”

Holm (12-5) had won two of her past three fights. The former three-division world champion boxer has now lost in four UFC title fights. Holm is only 2-5 since her knockout of Rousey at UFC 193.

Junior Dos Santos to Fight Francis Ngannou at UFC 239

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Junior Dos Santos is ready to rumble…

The 35-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist and a former UFCHeavyweight Champion.has reportedly agreed to fight Francis Ngannou at UFC 239on July 6 in Las Vegas, according to ESPN. 

Junior Dos Santos

The fight isn’t signed just yet, sources say, but is expected to be in the coming days.

This marks the second time the promotion has attempted to book this matchup. It was originally scheduled for UFC 215in September 2017, but it was ultimately canceled after the United States Anti-Doping Agencyprovisionally suspended Dos Santos for a possible performance-enhancing drug violation. 

Dos Santos was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing when it was determined he unknowingly ingested a contaminated supplement that contained a banned substance.

Dos Santos (21-5) has won his past three fights. He most recently defeated Derrick Lewis via second-round TKOearlier this month.

Ngannou (13-3) is on a two-fight winning streak. The 32-year-old is coming off a 26-second knockout of Cain Velasquez in February.

The event, which will be headlined by Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos for the UFC light heavyweight title, will take place at T-Mobile Arenain Las Vegas. It will also feature Amanda Nunes vs. Holly Holm for the UFC bantamweight title.

Amanda Nunes to Defend her UFC Bantamweight Title Against Holly Holm

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Amanda Nunes is ready to defend her title.

The 30-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist, the reigning champion in both the women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions in the UFC, will defend her 135-pound bantamweight title against Holly Holm in the co-main event of UFC 239on July 6 in Las Vegas.

Amanda Nunes

 Verbal agreements are in place for that fight as well, sources said.

The bout will be part of a pay-per-view event, which will take place at T-Mobile Arena. 

Nunes (17-4) is a three-time defending bantamweight champion. She moved up to the 145-pound featherweight division in December and upset Cris “Cyborg” Justino in a first-round knockout for the UFC’s featherweight championship. 

She trains out of American Top Teamin Coconut Creek, Florida.

Holm (12-4), of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is coming off a decision win against Megan Anderson last June. She was scheduled to fight Aspen Ladd in March, but that bout was ultimately canceled and Ladd has since been rescheduled.

She is the first woman in UFC history to become a two-division champion, in addition to also being the first and only woman in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously.