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.

Rafael dos Anjos’ Fight Against Rafael Fiziev Moved to UFC 272 in March

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael dos Anjos’ return is being postponed slightly…

The 37-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former UFC lightweight champion will now face off against Rafael Fiziev in the lightweight co-main event of UFC 272 on March 5 in Las Vegas, according to ESPN.

dos Anjos was initially scheduled to take on Fiziev for the UFC Fight Night headliner on February 19 in Las Vegas.

Fiziev reportedly had a visa delay, leading to the change. dos Anjos vs. Fiziev will remain a five-round fight, per sources.

The new UFC Fight Night main event on February 19 will be a five-round light heavyweight bout between Johnny Walker and Jamahal Hill, sources said.

Walker vs. Hill was initially scheduled as the UFC Fight Night co-main event.

dos Anjos (30-13) has not fought since a split-decision win over Paul Felder in November 2020.

The Brazilian-born fighter, who lives in California, moved back to lightweight for that bout after three years at welterweight. dos Anjos had dropped four of five fights against top 170-pound fighters before moving back down to 155, where he was the UFC champ in 2015 and 2016.

Fiziev (11-1) has won five in a row after dropping his UFC debut in 2019. The Kazakhstan-born fighter of Kyrgyzstani descent has won two of his last three fights via knockout, the most recent a third-round spinning wheel kick finish of Brad Riddell in December. Fiziev, 28, is considered one of the top young strikers in MMA.

UFC 272 will be headlined by a welterweight grudge match between former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal, owner of the mythical BMF title.

Pitbull’s NASCAR Team Agrees to Partnership Deal with UFC’s Dana White

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Pitbull is racing to a new deal…

UFC president Dana White has agreed to a partnership deal with the 41-year-old Cuban American rapper/singer and entrepreneur’s NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing, starting this week at the exhibition Clash in Los Angeles.

White’s Howler Head Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey will serve as primary sponsor of Ross Chastain‘s No. 1 Chevrolet in Sunday’s race at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

“This is an absolute (wicked) car, and I can’t wait to see it compete on the track at the Coliseum on Sunday,” White said.

Trackhouse Racing fields two full-time NASCAR Cup Series cars in 2022 with drivers Chastain and Daniel Suarez.

Trackhouse Racing, owned by Justin Marks and Pitbull, ran with Suarez last year. Trackhouse then bought Chip Ganassi‘s team and expanded to two cars for this season.

“We want to transcend our sport, work with innovative minds and powerful brands, and Dana White, along with Howler Head and UFC exemplify that. Dana’s influence, vision, and passion is inspiring and I’m looking forward to working with him on amplifying both our brands and hopefully along the way, learning from him as well,” Marks said.

Charles Oliveira to Defend UFC Lightweight Title Against Justin Gaethje

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Charles Oliveira is going back on the defense…

The 32-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, will seek his second title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 on May 7, UFC president Dana White has told ESPN.

The UFC is working on finalizing the 155-pound title fight shortly. The pay-per-view event now includes two title fights.

Brazilian light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira will face Jiri Prochazka on the same date.

The UFC has not announced an official venue. It had considered holding it in Brazil, but the card is now expected to take place in the U.S.

Oliveira (32-8) is coming off a spectacular year in 2021. He won the vacant title by knocking out Michael Chandler in the second round of an exhilarating title fight in May, and finished off the calendar year with a comeback submission victory over Dustin Poirier for his first title defense.

Gaethje (23-3) has been waiting for another crack at UFC gold since former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov retired in October 2020. Gaethje, of Arizona, challenged Nurmagomedov for the title in the final fight of Nurmagomedov’s career. His record made him worthy of fighting for the vacant title right away, but he was forced to pick up one more win before earning the shot.

That win came against Chandler in November at UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden, where Gaethje won the bout via decision.

Eva Marie to Star in the Action-Thriller “Phoenix”

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Natalie Eva Marie is headed to Phoenix…

The half-Mexican American professional wrestler, WWE star, actress, fashion designer and model will star in the action-thriller Phoenix, from Tadross Media Group, Bulldog Brothers Entertainment and director Daniel Zirilli.

Eva Marie, as she’s known in the ring, will star alongside Randy Couture, Neal McDonough, former WWE tag team champion Oleg Prudius, Bai Lin and former UFC lightweight champion Rashad Evans in the film.

The film has entered production in Miami.

Phoenix centers on Fiona “Phoenix” Grant (Marie), a U.S. Army veteran sergeant who is teaching hand-to-hand combat skills in Afghanistan when she receives word that her father, Everett Grant (Couture), a prominent security specialist, has been killed in Florida. The police report says it was suicide, but Fiona doesn’t believe it. Encouraged to take a leave of absence by her commanding officer (McDonough), she heads back to the U.S. and soon learns that the prime suspect is Maxim Vasiliiev (Prudius), a ruthless local drug kingpin with an army of mercenaries and enough legal, political and business influence to keep him outside the law. Armed to the teeth, she plans to take out Vasiliiev with her bare hands, and nothing is going to stop her.

Zirilli adapted the film from a story he wrote with Alexander Nistratov.

Eva Marie, who appeared in the reality series Total Divas, has appeared in Inconceivable and Hard Kill.

Deiveson Figueiredo Defeats Brandon Moreno to Reclaim UFC Flyweight Title

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Deiveson Figueiredo has reclaimed his belt…

The 34-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist (21-2-1) reclaimed the 125-pound title he lost to Brandon Moreno (19-6-2) in August by defeating his Mexican rival in a unanimous decision.

All three judges scored the flyweight title fight, which co-headlined UFC 270 inside the Honda Center, in favor of Figueiredo, 48-47.

Saturday’s result brings the rivalry to an even record of 1-1-1. The two fought to a draw in December 2020, before Moreno dominated Figueiredo in their second meeting. After losing by submission in the rematch, however, Figueiredo looked like a completely different fighter in the trilogy, as his cardio and mental preparation was obvious.

“Today is my day,” Figueiredo said. “For this moment, for Brandon, for us to give you the gift of a fight of the night, for everyone who was here. I’ve been away from my family for four months. I’m ready for a fourth fight against Brandon in Mexico.”

According to UFC Stats, Moreno outlanded Figueiredo 106-95 in total strikes. But Figueiredo landed several devastating strikes, including a heavy right hand that knocked Moreno down, badly hurting him, at the end of the third round.

“I feel like I threw the better combinations with more speed, maybe he connected a little bit more power,” Moreno said. “Obviously, I thought I won, but it is what it is right now. I feel I was putting better pace on the fight. I don’t know. I need to watch the fight again and see what happened.”

The trilogy bout saw the best of both men. Moreno’s boxing and footwork were on display all night. He had great success with his left hook at the end of exchanges and was hard to track down in wrestling scrambles. Figueiredo answered with heavy low leg kicks that knocked Moreno off balance and powerful right hands.

Figueiredo left his native Brazil ahead of Saturday’s fight to train with former flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo in Arizona, and his adjustments clearly paid off. His patience was better, and his weight cut during fight week was noticeably improved from August.

Moreno’s popularity exploded after he won the belt. Saturday’s crowd was heavily in his favor and played a big role in the UFC setting a new gate record at the Honda Center.

The loss was Moreno’s first since May 2018.

Glover Teixeira to Defend UFC Light Heavyweight Title Against Jiri Prochazka

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Glover Teixeira is going on the defensive…

The 42-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist and UFC light heavyweight champion will defend his title against Jiri Prochazka on May 7, according to ESPN sources.

Both Teixeira and Prochazka have committed to the date and opponent.

The 205-pound title fight will take place on a UFC 274 pay-per-view event. The UFC has not announced an official venue for the event.

Teixeira (33-7) capped off an improbable run to the UFC title in October, when he submitted Jan Blachowicz at UFC 267 to capture a belt at age 42. The victory came more than seven years after Teixeira came up short in his first title bid against Jon Jones in 2014.

Originally from Brazil, now fighting out of Connecticut, Teixeira has won six in a row, including finishes of Blachowicz, Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith.

Prochazka (28-3-1) has been a dark horse in the 205-pound division ever since signing with the UFC in 2020. He’s fought only twice inside the Octagon, but he’s been supremely impressive in finishes of Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes.

Prochazka, of Czech Republic, has recorded 10 consecutive knockout finishes.

Tecia Torres to Fight Mackenzie Dern at UFC 273 in April

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Tecia Torres is headed to the Octagon in April…

UFC has added a strawweight bout between the 32-year-old part-Puerto Rican mixed martial artist and Mackenzie Dern to the lineup for UFC 273 on April 9.

Torres announced the bout via social media, and UFC officials confirmed the 115-pound matchup to ESPN. The promotion has not announced a venue or main event for the pay-per-view.

According to UFC‘s official rankings, Dern and Torres ranked fifth and seventh in the strawweight division, respectively.

Torres, who fights out of Colorado, has won three in a row since 2020. The 10-year veteran has turned things around after a four-fight skid from 2018 to 2020. Three of those four losses came against women who have won a UFC championship: Jessica Andrade, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili.

Fighting out of California, Dern (11-2) suffered a setback in her last bout against surging Marina Rodriguez in October. Before that loss, the submission specialist had won four in a row.

Jorge Masvidal to Fight Colby Covington in Headlining Welterweight Bout in March

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jorge Masvidal is returning to the Octagon in March…

The 37-year-old Cuban and Peruvian American professional mixed martial artist will headline UFC 272, in a welterweight grudge match against Colby Covington, on March 5, UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell has announced.

While contracts haven’t been signed yet for the 170-pound scrap, the bout is nearly finalized, per Campbell.

The UFC 272 pay-per-view will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The match will be a five-round, nontitle bout.

“He better f—ing show up,” Covington said in a text message to ESPN Tuesday.

The UFC originally targeted featherweight and bantamweight title fights for the event, however those bouts are no longer on the March 5 date. Part of that was due to an injury to featherweight challenger Max Holloway.

Masvidal (35-15) is one of the UFC’s most popular figures. He hasn’t fought since he suffered a knockout loss to Kamaru Usman in a welterweight championship fight at UFC 261 last April.

Masvidal’s past two fights have been against Usman. He also lost to the champ via unanimous decision in July 2020.

Covington (16-3) is also coming off a failed title bid against Usman in his last fight. The 33-year-old also has lost twice to Usman, both via decision. His most recent win came against Tyron Woodley in September.

Masvidal and Covington trained together at American Top Team in South Florida, and even lived together for a period of time. The two had a falling out in 2018, and Covington left ATT in 2020.

Both welterweights still fight out of the Miami area.

Charles Oliveira Defeats Dustin Poirier via Submission to Retain UFC Lightweight Title

Posted on December 12, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Charles Oliveira won’t be underestimated anymore…

The 32-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist weathered an early storm and then finished Dustin Poirier via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1 minute, 2 seconds of the third round Saturday night in the main event of UFC 269 at T-Mobile Arena.

With the victory, Oliveira retained the UFC lightweight title.

“I’m the world champion,” Oliveira said in his postfight interview through an interpreter. “I’m the man. They talk. I do it.”

After back-to-back stoppage wins over Conor McGregor, many thought Poirier becoming UFC lightweight champion was a foregone conclusion.

Instead, Oliveira, the greatest submission artist in UFC history, cashed as a +115 underdog, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

He won the belt with a second-round TKO win over Michael Chandler at UFC 262 in May. That was Oliveira’s 28th UFC fight, the longest journey for any fighter to a UFC title in history. Yet, he remained unheralded with more popular names like Poirier near the top of the division. It’ll be hard to doubt “Do Bronx” any longer.

Coming in, ESPN had Poirier ranked No. 5 and Oliveira ranked No. 6 in the world on its pound-for-pound MMA list. At lightweight, ESPN had Poirier at No. 1 and Oliveira at No. 2.

On Saturday, Poirier rocked Oliveira several times in the first round, dropping him once with a wicked left hook. But Oliveira survived the barrage and gained momentum late in the round with a big left hook.

“They can hit me a lot,” Oliveira said. “I’m gonna walk forward.”

Oliveira took Poirier down early in the second round and remained in top position, landing hard elbows, for most of the round. In the third, Oliveira swooped into a clinch against the cage and immediately took Poirier’s back with Poirier standing up. Oliveira, who has one of the most dangerous back games in MMA, looked for the choke and found it despite Poirier trying to fight his hands.

“I don’t let opportunities get away,” Oliveira said in the postfight news conference. “I always say I have opportunistic jiu-jitsu. When I saw it, I couldn’t pass it up and I had to do it.”

Oliveira (32-8, 1 NC), 32, has won 10 in a row, tied for the second-longest active streak in the UFC behind Kamaru Usman‘s 15 straight. He took home the vacant title with the victory over Chandler following former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s retirement and vacating of the title last year.

A native of Brazil, Oliveira has the most finishes (18) and most submission wins (15) in UFC history. He has a 20-8 (1 NC) record in the UFC going back to his debut in 2010 and is one of only nine fighters in history to win 20 UFC fights.

Poirier (28-7, 1 NC), a former UFC interim lightweight champ, beat McGregor twice this year, the latter a doctor’s stoppage TKO of McGregor at UFC 264 in July when McGregor broke his leg. Poirier, a Louisiana native fighting out of Florida, had won three straight coming in and had just one loss in his past 10 fights, to Nurmagomedov in a title fight at UFC 242 in September 2019. Poirier, 32, has the most KO/TKO victories in UFC lightweight history (8).

“I landed some good, clean shots on him,” Poirier said. “I thought I was gonna get him away in the first round. He’s a champ, man. The game plan was to take my time. I brawled again.”

Poirier said in the postfight news conference that he knows he can work his way back to another title fight, but he’s not sure if that’s what he wants to do yet.

UFC president Dana White said former interim champion Justin Gaethje “makes sense” as Oliveira’s next challenger. Gaethje beat Chandler last month at UFC 268.

Gaethje has made some disparaging remarks about Oliveira, questioning his heart. Oliveira brushed that off Saturday night.

“Look at what they’ve been saying about me,” Oliveira said. “They’re saying I can’t take hits — look at what I’ve been doing. They say I quit — look at what I’ve been doing. I’m just going to keep doing what I do.”

Oliveira also took aim at Nurmagomedov, the legendary former champ who said he was rooting for Poirier in this fight but tweeted his congratulations to Oliveira late Saturday.

Oliveira said this was his era of the lightweight division.

“History and legacy have a new name,” he said, “and that’s Charles Oliveira.”

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