Yair Rodriguez to Fight Josh Emmett for Interim UFC Featherweight Title

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Yair Rodriguez is headed Down Under…

The 30-year-old Mexican professional mixed martial artist will fight Josh Emmett for the interim UFC featherweight title in the co-main event of the February 11 card in Perth, Australia, according to the UFC.

The UFC is making an interim title, because undisputed champion Alexander Volkanovski will move up to lightweight and challenge champion Islam Makhachev for that title in the UFC 284 headliner.

ESPN has Rodriguez ranked No. 4 in the world at featherweight, and Emmett is ranked No. 7.

Rodriguez (14-3, 1 NC) is coming off a victory over Brian Ortega at UFC Long Island in July. The Mexican-born striker has just one loss in his past five fights.

Emmett (18-2) has won five straight. The 37-year-old California resident is coming off a split decision win over Calvin Kattar in June.

Amanda Lemos Pulls Off Upset Win Over Marina Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night

Posted on November 6, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Amanda Lemos has pulled off an upset…

The 35-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist finished Marina Rodriguez via TKO at 54 seconds of the third round on Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.

Rodriguez was poised for a title shot if she won, but now Lemos has snatched her spot near the top of the rankings.

The finish came after a big counter overhand right by Lemos. The punch landed to Rodriguez’s forehead, as Rodriguez was coming in for a combination of her own. It stopped Rodriguez in her tracks and left her rocked. Lemos pressed forward with another big right hand and then flurried with right and left hooks until referee Jason Herzog stepped in to stop it.

“Her legs started wobbling a little bit,” Lemos said in her postfight interview. “I didn’t think twice. I’m going to finish the fight right there.”

ESPN had Rodriguez ranked No. 4 in the women’s strawweight division coming in, with Lemos at No. 9. The big stoppage victory should push Lemos closer to title contention.

She proposed the idea of being the backup fighter for the women’s strawweight title fight next week at UFC 281 between champion Carla Esparza and former champ Zhang Weili in New York.

Lemos (13-2-1) has won two straight and seven of her past eight fights. The Brazilian-born slugger has finished five of her seven UFC victories. That ties her with Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade for the most finishes in UFC strawweight history.

Lemos was coming off a second-round submission win over Michelle Waterson-Gomez in July. Her only loss at 115 pounds came against Andrade in April.

Rodriguez (16-2-2) had a four-fight winning streak snapped. The Brazilian-born fighter had only lost once before in her MMA career, to Esparza in July 2020.

Rodriguez, 35, was coming off signature wins against contenders Yan Xiaonan and Mackenzie Dern.

Aline Pereira Signs MMA Deal with Legacy Fighting Alliance

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a family affair for Aline Pereira…

The 32-year-old Brazilian kickboxer, the younger sister of Alex Pereira, will be making a transition to MMA.

Pereira, a former Glory kickboxer, has signed a mixed martial arts deal with Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA).

Pereira will make her MMA debut on November 18 against Ultimate Fighter veteran Helen Peralta in a women’s flyweight bout.

Pereira brother, the former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion who is now the top contender in the UFC‘s middleweight division. Alex, 35, will challenge old kickboxing rival Israel Adesanya for Adesanya’s middleweight title in the main event of UFC 281 on Nov. 12 in New York.

Aline, like her brother, trains out of former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira‘s gym in Connecticut. She is 6-2 in kickboxing, most recently falling to Glory super bantamweight champion Tiffany Van Soest via unanimous decision in January 2021.

Raul Rosas, Jr. to Become Youngest Fighter to Compete in UFC with Debut Fight Against Jay Perrin

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Raul Rosas, Jr. is set to earn his place in UFC history…

The 18-year-old Mexican mixed martial artist, known as “El Niño Problema,” will become the youngest fighter to compete in the UFC when he makes his debut against Jay Perrin (10-6) at UFC 282 on December 10 in Las Vegas.

Rosas’ representative agency, Iridium Sports, announced the news on social media.

Last month, Rosas became the youngest fighter to win a contract on Dana White‘s Contender Series when he defeated Mando Gutierrez (7-1) via unanimous decision. Rosas was just 17 at the time of that fight. He celebrated his 18th birthday on October 8.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said White, the UFC president, as he signed Rosas. “The amount of fighters blowing me up saying, ‘You’re crazy not to [sign him].’ … He’s special.”

According to UFC Stats and Info, Dan Lauzon currently holds the record as the youngest fighter to ever compete in the Octagon (18 years, 198 days). He made his UFC debut in January 2010. Rosas will comfortably beat that mark, as long as the fight stays together on December 10.

Rosas was born in Mexico and now fights out of California. Perrin, 29, is 0-2 since signing with the UFC earlier this year. He has fought professionally since 2014.

Jessica Andrade to Fight Lauren Murphy at UFC 283

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jessica Andrade is preparing a highly anticipated bout…

The 31-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a former UFC women’s strawweight champion, and Lauren Murphy – two of the top women’s flyweight fighters in the world – will meet in Brazil.

Andrade and Murphy has agreed to fight at UFC 283 on January 21 in Rio de Janeiro.

Andrade is ranked No. 9 on ESPN‘s pound-for-pound women’s MMA list. At flyweight, Andrade is ranked No. 3 and Murphy is No. 4.

Andrade (23-9) has won two straight and three of four with the only loss in that stretch coming to flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

The Brazilian-born fighter held the UFC women’s strawweight title in 2019. Andrade is the only woman in UFC history to win fights in three different weight classes.

Murphy (16-5) is coming off a unanimous decision win over former women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate in July. The Alaska-born fighter, who lives in Texas, has won six of her past seven fights with the only loss during that stretch coming in a title fight against Shevchenko. Murphy, 39, is 7-3 since starting her UFC run with two straight losses.

Glover Teixeira Reportedly Set to Fight Jiri Prochazka in Light Heavyweight Championship Rematch

Posted on October 13, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Glover Teixeira is heading to the Octagon in December…

The UFC has added a light heavyweight championship rematch between the 42-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist and Jiri Prochazka to its December pay-per-view event in Las Vegas.

Contracts haven’t been signed, but multiple sources confirmed the bout is close to being finalized.

It will take place at UFC 282 on December 10 inside T-Mobile Arena. The UFC has not announced whether it will serve as the main event.

Prochazka (29-3-1) won the title by submitting Teixeira in the fifth round of a back-and-forth fight at UFC 275 in June. Fighting out of Czech Republic, Prochazka has been perfect since signing with the UFC in 2020. He has recorded three consecutive finishes against Teixeira, Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir.

Teixeira (33-8) has strung together some of the best performances of his career at age 42. He upset Jan Blachowicz for the UFC title in October 2021, before surrendering the belt in his first attempted defense. Before that loss, the Brazilian had not tasted defeat since 2018.

The first meeting between Prochazka and Teixeira is considered one of the most entertaining fights of the year. Ironically, it was Prochazka who was adamant about an immediate rematch, as he felt he did not give his best performance despite the late finish.

UFC 282 also features a high-profile light heavyweight bout between Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev.

The news of the bout being added to UFC 282 was first reported by The Underground.

Deiveson Figueiredo to Fight Brandon Moreno in First-Ever UFC “Quadrilogy” Fight

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Deiveson Figueiredo is making history while going on the defense…

The 34-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist will take part in the first-ever quadrilogy fight in UFC history.

Figueiredo will defend his flyweight belt against former champion and current interim champ Brandon Moreno at UFC 283 on January 21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Figueiredo posted about the matchup Monday night on Instagram. Both bout agreements have been signed, according to ESPN sources.

This will be the fourth meeting between the top two 125-pound fighters in the world.

Figueiredo and Moreno battled to a draw at UFC 256 in December 2020. Then in the rematch, Moreno became the first Mexican-born fighter to win a UFC title, defeating Figueiredo via third-round submission at UFC 263 in June 2021. Figueiredo got revenge at UFC 270 last January, beating Moreno in a close unanimous decision to regain the title.

It’s not yet known whether Figueiredo vs. Moreno will be the main event of UFC 283. The UFC is weighing several other headlining options for its return to Brazil, a key country for the promotion.

This will be the UFC’s first trip back to Brazil since March 2020, and the first time fans will be in attendance for a Brazil UFC event since November 2019.

ESPN has Figueiredo tied for ninth on its MMA pound-for-pound list. At flyweight, Figueiredo and Moreno are ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.

Figueiredo (21-2-1) has just one loss in his past eight fights, coming against Moreno. The “God of War” owns a 10-2-1 UFC record and has not fought since taking the title back from Moreno earlier this year. Figueiredo is tied for the most finishes in division history with Demetrious Johnson (7).

Moreno (20-6-2) has only one loss in his past nine fights, coming against Figueiredo. The “Assassin Baby” won the interim flyweight belt by beating Kai Kara-France at UFC 277 in July via third-round TKO. Moreno, 28, is a former LFA flyweight champion.

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire Defeats Adam Borics to Retain Bellator Featherweight Title

Posted on October 2, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire continues his winning ways…

The 35-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist beat Adam Borics via one-sided unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 50-45) in the main event of Bellator 286 on Saturday night at Long Beach Arena to maintain his stranglehold on the Bellator featherweight division.

“Pitbull” retained his 145-pound belt with the victory and now has a total of eight title defenses across three reigns.

Freire, one of the best MMA fighters ever to not have competed in the UFC, first won the title in 2014. Saturday’s fight marked his first defense of the current reign.

ESPN has “Pitbull” ranked No. 3 in the world at featherweight. His longevity and consistency as an elite fighter have been a marvel.

Freire was better in all aspects of MMA on Saturday night. He landed some clean counter combinations on Borics early, landed some takedowns and got onto Borics’ back in the third round after somehow catching a Borics flying knee and using it for a mat return.

Borics took Freire down in the fifth round but wasn’t able to do much with it, and “Pitbull” ended up sweeping using a Kimura submission attempt.

Freire (34-5) has won two in a row and nine of his past 10 fights, the only loss in that stretch coming to rival AJ McKee. The Brazilian-born fighter is also the former Bellator lightweight champion, courtesy of a knockout win over current UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler in 2019. Freire arguably has the best résumé in Bellator history.

“Maybe I’ll go down to the bantamweight division and take that belt,” Freire said of his potential next move.

Borics (18-2), 29, had a four-fight winning streak snapped. A Hungarian-born fighter who trains out of Kill Cliff FC in Florida, he fell to 9-2 in his Bellator career.

Marlon Moraes Coming Out of Retirement with Multi-Fight PFL Deal

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Marlon Moraes is making a comeback…

The 34-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC bantamweight title challenger has decided to come out of retirement, and will do so under a new multi-fight deal with Professional Fighters League (PFL).In addition to the new deal, Moraes (23-10-1) has agreed to a featherweight matchup against Shane Burgos (15-3) on the promotion’s tournament finals card later this year.

Multiple sources told ESPN contracts haven’t been signed for the bout, but verbal agreements are in place.

The PFL has not announced an official date or location for the event, although it is expected to take place in November.

Moraes walked away from the sport earlier this year following a four-fight skid in the Octagon, but figures to be a prominent new face in the PFL’s season format. He’s actually returning to his former home, in a sense. Moraes was a 135-pound champion at World Series of Fighting, which was rebranded into the PFL in 2017.

Originally from Brazil and now fighting out of Florida, Moraes came within one win of becoming a UFC champion in June 2019, when he came up short in a vacant title bid against challenger Henry Cejudo. He went on to drop four of his next five, although he was fighting the very best of his weight class in the likes of Song Yadong, Merab Dvalishvili, Rob Font and Cory Sandhagen.

Burgos, of New York, also signed a new deal with PFL this year. The 31-year-old fought exclusively in the UFC from 2106 to 2022. He has fought some of the top names of the division during his career. Following his signing with PFL, UFC president Dana White went so far as to admit the promotion made an error in not keeping Burgos on its roster.

Raul Rosas Jr. Becomes Youngest MMA Fighter to Sign with UFC

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Raul Rosas Jr. has earned his place in UFC history…

The 17-year-old Mexican mixed martial artist has become the youngest fighter to sign with the UFC.

Rosas signed with UFC Tuesday night, following a unanimous decision win over Mando Gutierrez on Dana White‘s Contender Series.

White, impressed by Rosas’ performance, offered the teen a contract before the end of the show, which he accepted. Rosas is the youngest fighter to compete on the series.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” White said of Rosas’ age and outing against Gutierrez. “Not only that, the amount of fighters blowing me up saying you’re crazy not to (sign him). … He’s absolutely, positively talented. He’s special, he’s different.”

Rosas, a bantamweight fighter, dominated the 25-year-old Gutierrez for most of the fight with his grappling prowess. He nearly finished Gutierrez in the first round with a rarely used Suloev stretch submission from back control. Gutierrez had moments, taking Rosas down and landing some ground-and-pound. But almost always, Rosas would end up in the better position, using his dexterity, skill and creativity on the ground to scramble his way to the top.

Rosas (6-0) had finished all of his previous opponents before Tuesday night. The Mexican-born fighter, who trains out of Las Vegas, previously fought in the UWC promotion in Tijuana.

Dan Lauzon holds the record as the youngest fighter to compete in the UFC (18 years, 198 days), per ESPN Stats & Information research. As long as Rosas steps into the Octagon within the next 216 days — a likely scenario — he will beat that mark.

And Rosas is already talking about winning championships. The youngest UFC champion was Jon Jones at age 23 in 2011.

“Everybody shouldn’t be surprised,” Rosas said. “I’m the new king in here, so I’m coming for that belt now. … I’m gonna be champion when I’m 20. Respect to everybody, but I’m gonna be champion when I’m 20, or even earlier. Nobody is gonna stop me.”

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: UFC