Antonio Carlos Jr. Earns No. 3 Seed in Professional Fighters League’s Light Heavyweight Playoffs

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Antonio Carlos Jr. is playoff bound…

The 32-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist (15-5) has earned a spot in the Professional Fighters League’s light heavyweight division playoffs.

Carlos, the 2021 champion, secured the No. 3 seed, with a decision win over Bruce Souto at PFL 4 on Friday.

He’ll face No. 2 seed Omari Akhmedov (23-7), who was a standout of the regular season.

Akhmedov knocked out Viktor Pesta in the regular-season opener and submitted Teodoras Aukstuolis in the second round on Friday.

Rob Wilkinson (15-2), of Australia, claimed the No. 1 seed with a first-round knockout of Pesta. He will meet Delan Monte (9-2), who snuck into the playoffs with a 1:32 knockout upset of 2019 champion Emiliano Sordi. Three of the four light heavyweights bound for the playoffs — Carlos, Akhmedov and Wilkinson — have competed previously in the UFC.

At lightweight, history repeated itself for fan favorite Clay Collard (21-10), who failed to make the playoffs for a second consecutive year thanks to a split decision loss to Alex Martinez. Collard came up just short of the 2021 playoffs, when he lost a controversial decision to eventual champion Raush Manfio. Collard disagreed with the scores and vowed to win the lightweight championship this year.

The bout between Collard and Martinez (10-2) was incredibly entertaining. Collard set a high pace on the feet, as he always does. He knocked Martinez down in the second round with a left hook and worked the body with effective combinations. Martinez took his back in the second round, however, and threatened with a choke. He won some grappling exchanges in a close, back-and-forth third round.

Former UFC champion Anthony Pettis currently leads the lightweight standings with six points. He’s scheduled for his second regular-season bout later this month. Pettis is already guaranteed a spot in the 2022 playoffs.

Meanwhile, Martinez and Olivier Aubin-Mercier each punched their ticket to the playoffs. The fourth spot will either go to Jeremy Stephens or Stevie Ray.

The other weight classes will settle into their playoff matchups in the coming weeks, including heavyweight, featherweight, welterweight and women’s lightweight.

Dominick Cruz to Fight Marlon Vera in UFC Fight Night in August

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Dominick Cruz is heading back to the Octagon this summer…

The 37-year-old Mexican American mixed martial artist, a former two-time UFC bantamweight champion, will face off against Marlon Vera for a UFC Fight Night headliner, according to UFC president Dana White.

The bout is scheduled for August 13, and White said the card is expected to take place in San Diego.

ESPN has Vera ranked No. 6 and Cruz ranked No. 10 in the world at bantamweight.

Cruz (24-3) is one of the best bantamweight fighters in MMA history. A San Diego resident, he’s a two-time former UFC bantamweight champion with a total of three title defenses across both reigns.

Cruz has the most bantamweight wins in UFC/WEC history (13). He has won two straight and 15 of 17 overall.

Vera (19-7-1), 29, has won three straight and nine of his past 11. The fighter from Ecuador, who lives and trains in Orange County, California, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Rob Font in April.

He has the most finishes in UFC bantamweight history (9).

Adriano Moraes to Defend ONE Championship 135-Pound Title in Rematch Against Demetrious Johnson

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s rematch time for Adriano Moraes.

The 33-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist will fight Demetrious Johnson this summer.

Moraes will fight Johnson, one of the best MMA fighters of all time, in a rematch for the ONE Championship 135-pound title on August 26 in Singapore.

Moraes knocked out Johnson in an upset victory to defend the belt in April 2021.

Moraes (19-3) stopped Johnson via second-round knockout with a knee. The Brazil native, who lives and trains in Florida, has won three straight and has held the ONE 135-pound title since January 2019.

Moraes has won 11 of his past 13 fights in ONE overall.

Johnson (30-4-1) owns the record for the most consecutive UFC title defenses of all time (11), holding the title from 2012 to 2018. The Washington native was traded from the UFC to ONE in an exchange for Ben Askren in the fall of 2018.

Johnson most recently competed in a mixed rules match for ONE, beating Muay Thai standout Rodtang Jitmuangnon via second-round submission in March.

“Mighty Mouse” won the ONE 135-pound grand prix tournament in 2019, setting up the fight with Moraes last year. He is 3-1 since coming to ONE and his only loss other than Moraes in the past 11 years came against Henry Cejudo in a UFC flyweight title bout in August 2018.

Ketlen Vieira Defeats Former UFC Champion Holly Hunt

Posted on May 22, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Ketlen Vieira is proving she’s a title contender…

The 30-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist improved to 3-1 in her past four fought contests on Saturday, as she outpointed former champion Holly Holm (14-6) in a five-round main event to make her a new contender for the UFC‘s women’s bantamweight division title.

The 135-pound fight was very close. Two judges scored it 48-47 for Vieira, while a third had it 48-47 for Holm.

The victory could very well place Vieira (13-2) next in line for a title shot.

Current champion Julianna Peña will defend her belt against Amanda Nunes at UFC 277 on July 30. That bout is a rematch of their shocking title fight in December, which Peña won via submission in the second round.

Vieira has built her title résumé off two former champions. Prior to Saturday’s win over Holm, she took out another former champ in Miesha Tate in November.

Holm is a Hall of Fame professional boxer, but it was Vieira’s hands that appeared to be more dangerous on Saturday. She found her distance with the straight right hand as the fight progressed, scoring on Holm at range — where Holm is usually strongest. Vieira’s success at range actually forced Holm to close distance, which Vieira used to her advantage at times by landing counter rights.

Holm’s best work actually came in the clinch, which she tried to apply throughout the fight. According to UFC Stats, she accumulated over 10 minutes of control time by holding Vieira against the fence, where she landed short knees and punches. She out-landed Vieira in total strikes 188 to 122, but many of those short shots along the fence did not carry much weight.

Holm did score one knockdown with a sidekick to Vieira’s body in the fourth round, and she landed a pair of powerful front kicks in the fifth. Vieira’s offense was just heavier, however. She also nearly submitted Holm in the second round with a standing rear-naked choke, after Holm got careless in a takedown attempt.

For Holm, the loss snaps a two-fight win streak. The Albuquerque native had been knocking on the door of her first title fight since 2019, when she suffered a first-round knockout to Nunes.

Brandon Moreno to Fight Kai Kara-France for UFC’s Interim Flyweight Title Fight

Posted on May 14, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Brandon Moreno is heading back to the Octagon in July…

UFC is moving forward with an interim flyweight title fight between the Mexican mixed martial artist – the first Mexican-born UFC champion – and Kai Kara-France on July 30, according to ESPN.

Moreno and Kara-France will meet for the interim belt at UFC 277 at a location to be announced.

It will mark the second time Moreno and Kara-France square off. Moreno took a unanimous decision in their first fight in December 2019.

Deiveson Figueiredo (21-2-1) will retain his title, but is not available to defend against the next No. 1 contender. The Brazilian has not made a public statement on the creation of an interim belt. Previously, he had expressed a desire to fight Kara-France.

Moreno (19-6-2) is coming off three consecutive title bouts against Figueiredo. The two fought to a draw in late 2020 and met in an immediate rematch in June 2021. Moreno submitted Figueiredo in the third round of that fight to claim the 125-pound title, but surrendered it back via unanimous decision in a trilogy bout in January.

Kara-France (24-9), of New Zealand, has surged into contention behind a 4-1 record in his past five bouts. He recorded back-to-back first-round finishes against top-tier opponents in Rogerio Bontorin and Cody Garbrandt in 2021. He also defeated Askar Askarov in March.

Carla Esparza Defeats Rose Namajunas to Claim UFC Strawweight Championship

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Carla Esparza has added to her career honors…

The 34-year-old Latina mixed martial artist upset reigning champion Rose Namajunas to claim the UFC strawweight championship on Saturday.

In one of the most bizarre title fights in UFC history, Esparza (19-6) upset Namajunas (11-5) via split decision in the co-main event of UFC 274 inside Footprint Center.

Two judges scored the fight for Esparza 49-46 and 48-47. A third had it for Namajunas 48-47.

According to UFC Stats, Namajunas landed just 38 strikes in the five-round fight. Esparza landed 30. It was a fight in which neither woman appeared to have any confidence in her skill set. Neither was willing to take risks. Namajunas defended Esparza’s takedowns but still refused to open up with her striking. Esparza marched forward at times with caution. She was mostly ineffective.

“You never want to be a part of a fight like that,” Esparza said. “I went out there and did my best and tried to come forward. I got the win, that’s what counts.”

One of Namajunas’ coaches, Trevor Wittman, begged her to be more active from the third round on, but her other coach and partner Pat Barry appeared to be happy with the game plan. It was obvious that all three wished to avoid Esparza’s takedowns. That was a key difference when they fought the first time back in 2014, in a fight in which Esparza took Namajunas down and submitted her.

Ultimately, Esparza moved to 2-0 over Namajunas — and it’s unclear whether the sport would even allow a third matchup to happen. This 115-pound contest will be remembered as one of the worst title fights in UFC history. After the first round, each fighter was credited with a total of three strikes landed, and the action never picked up.

Esparza, whose wedding is scheduled in less than a week, improves her win streak to six. Namajunas loses for the first time since 2019. It’s the second time she has seen a title reign end.

Rafael dos Anjos In Talks to Fight Rafael Fiziev in “UFC Fight Night” This Summer

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael dos Anjos could be heading back to the Octagon this summer…

The UFC is targeting a lightweight main event between the 37-year-old Brazilian American professional mixed martial artist and Rafael Fiziev on July 9, according to ESPN.

Contracts haven’t been signed yet, but the UFC is close to finalizing the 155-pound fight.

It will headline UFC Fight Night at a location to be determined.

This will be the third time the UFC has booked this particular matchup. The fight was supposed to happen at a UFC Fight Night event in February but was postponed to March. It fell through again in March after Fiziev tested positive for COVID-19.

Dos Anjos (31-13) ended up fighting Renato Moicano in March and won via unanimous decision.

The former lightweight champ has won his past two via decision, against Moicano and Paul Felder.

Fiziev (11-1), of Kyrgyzstan, is quickly rising up the lightweight rankings thanks to a five-fight win streak. Most recently, he knocked out Brad Riddell in December.

Dos Anjos and Fiziev are Nos. 6 and 10 in the UFC’s official rankings.

Patricio Freire Outlasts AJ McKee to Reclaim Bellator Featherweight Title

Posted on April 16, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Patricio Freire has his title back…

The 34-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist, Bellator‘s franchise fighter, gutted out a unanimous decision win (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) over previously undefeated prodigy AJ McKee to win back the featherweight title in the main event of Bellator 277 on Friday night in San Jose, California.

McKee beat Freire, known as “Pitbull,” for the title via submission in just 1:57 of the first round last July.

Freire is now a three-time Bellator featherweight champion.

“That day, I came in peace,” Freire said, referring to his loss to McKee last summer. “Today, I came for war. And I’m bringing the belt home.”

It was a hard-fought, close battle between two of the best fighters in the world outside the UFC. ESPN had McKee ranked No. 3 and “Pitbull” ranked No. 5 in the world at featherweight coming in.

There was plenty of talk leading into this fight about how McKee, a 27-year-old whom many believe is a future superstar, would fare in a fight with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

But “Pitbull” silenced those discussions Friday night. He did solid work in the early rounds, peppering McKee with leg kicks and punching combinations. In the third, he dropped McKee briefly with an overhand right and grabbed a tight guillotine.

McKee was able to escape that submission and do some of his best work in the late rounds. McKee landed solid combinations in the fourth round and several takedowns in the fifth, nearly getting Freire’s back at one point. In the closing minutes, McKee did his most damage, landing combos with his hands, a takedown and a hard elbow against the cage.

“He’s a tough guy,” Freire said. “He’s a great opponent. It was a hard fight to me.”

Freire (33-5) has won eight of his past nine bouts, including a 61-second knockout of current UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler at lightweight back in 2019.

The Brazil native held both the Bellator featherweight and lightweight titles from 2019 to 2021. He lost the featherweight belt to McKee and relinquished the lightweight gold last November to focus on featherweight.

Freire has the most wins (21), the most featherweight wins (20) and the most title fight wins (11) in Bellator history.

Jorge Masvidal Signs New Contract Extension with UFC

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jorge Masvidal is celebrating a big extension.…

The 37-year-old Cuban and Peruvian American mixed martial artist has signed a new contract with the UFC just days before one of the biggest fights of his career.

While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, Masvidal’s co-agent, Malki Kawa of First Round Management, announced on social media that Masvidal penned an extension that would make him one of the top-five highest-paid fighters on the UFC roster.

Masvidal, who has been a pro fighter since 2003, fights his former best friend and roommate Colby Covington in a heated grudge match Saturday at UFC 272 at T-Mobile Arena.

Kawa wrote on Instagram that Masvidal’s deal was signed after five months of negotiations with UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell.

Masvidal has become one of the biggest stars in MMA after a late-career renaissance that was jump-started in 2019 with knockouts of Darren Till and Ben Askren and a TKO win over Nate Diaz. Masvidal’s five-second running knee KO of Askren was the fastest finish in UFC history.

“His contract pays him like a champion and then some,” Kawa, who represents Masvidal along with his brother Abe Kawa, told ESPN. “And the length of time will be that he will finish his career in the UFC.”

Masvidal (35-15) has dropped two straight, both in UFC welterweight title fights against Kamaru Usman, ESPN‘s top pound-for-pound fighter. A Miami native, he has been in the UFC for nine years. Masvidal fought all over the world before that and began his career doing backyard fighting in South Florida alongside the likes of the late Kimbo Slice.

At the UFC 272 news conference Thursday, Masvidal noted that he’ll be getting a portion of the pay-per-view revenue from the card, while Covington, his opponent, will not. Covington has said this fight, because of how personal it is, is not about the money.

“My kids’ kids are gonna be good for a long time,” Masvidal said of his new contract. “So you sell that pay-per-view, boy.”

Renato Moicano Replacing Rafael Fiziev for This Weekend’s Bout Against Rafael dos Anjos

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Renato Moicano is stepping up for a battle royale…

The 32-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist will step in on just four days’ notice to battle Rafael dos Anjos in the co-main event of UFC 272 on Saturday, according to ESPN sources.

The fight has been reportedly verbally agreed to and both sides are awaiting contracts.

dos Anjos, the former UFC lightweight champion, originally was scheduled to fight Rafael Fiziev this weekend, but Fiziev withdrew Monday due to being sick with COVID-19. dos Anjos wanted to remain on the card and UFC was able to come to an agreement with Moicano.

The new fight will be contested at a catchweight of 160 pounds over five rounds.

A few other names, including top lightweight contender Islam Makhachev, were in discussions to replace Fiziev but Moicano won out.

dos Anjos tweeted that he called Makhachev’s bluff and Makhachev “folded.” Makhachev beat Bobby Green in the UFC Fight Night main event just three days ago.

Moicano is in Brazil and still waiting to find out when he’ll be able to travel to Las Vegas, per his manager, Oren Hodak of KO Reps. Fighters traditionally arrive Tuesday of fight week if the card is on Saturday.

dos Anjos (30-13) has not fought since a split-decision win over Paul Felder in November 2020. That was the Brazil-born fighter’s return to the lightweight division from welterweight. dos Anjos was the UFC lightweight champion in 2015 and 2016 and has one of the toughest strengths of schedule in the promotion’s history.

Moicano (16-4-1) has won two straight and three of his past four, with the lone loss during that span coming to Fiziev. Training out of American Top Team in Florida, he is coming off an impressive, second-round submission win over Alexander Hernandez at UFC 271 on February 12 in Houston.

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