Category: Featured

Success paying off for Fortis MMA with big UFC bookings in early 2020

Fortis MMA has been among the hottest gyms in the sport of late, and now the benefits of success are coming.

Over the past two years, Fortis MMA has been one of the most successful gyms in the sport. The wins have been stacking up, and now the benefits are coming with it.

The Dallas-based gym, led by head coach Sayif Saud, has one of the highest UFC winning percentages of any team in the sport. It has gone 18-5 in 2019 (it went 16-4 in 2018), with a scheduled matchup between Geoff Neal (12-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and Mike Perry (13-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) still to go at UFC 245 on Dec. 14.

“It’s just been an incredible year,” Saud told MMA Junkie. “If you told me we were going to win 18 fights and only lose five in 2019, I’d be pretty thrilled. Obviously I’d rather we lose no fights, but we’ve taken a step up in competition this year if you look at our opponents.”

Saud isn’t joking about the level of competition. A scan of the matchups shows accepting bouts against tough, underrated opponents are commonplace for the team. In fact, Fortis MMA athletes entered the UFC cage as the betting underdog for the majority of their fights this year.

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A turn appears to be happening going into 2020, though, because the two fights Fortis MMA has booked so far represent breakthrough opportunities. Not only is the team getting the tough fights, but the names to go along with it, too.

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), the streaking lightweight who has put together five consecutive wins in arguably the sport’s toughest weight class, is scheduled to fight former UFC and WEC champ Anthony Pettis (22-9 MMA, 9-8 UFC) at UFC 246 on Jan. 18 in Las Vegas.

Ferreira’s past two wins have come over Mairbek Taisumov and Rustam Khabilov, who are not names anyone is calling out at 155 pounds. His reward for winning? Thee clash with “Showtime.”

Pettis is coming off a high-profile defeat to Nate Diaz at UFC 241 in August, and there’s an opportunity for Ferreira to capitalize and take his career to the next level.

“Diego took two hard fights against guys no one wanted to fight that were on streaks,” Saud said. “Two guys everybody said, ‘No’ to. Diego went out there and beat them impressively. He earned that spot with his five-fight win streak.”

A similar opportunity goes to [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 247. The surging light heavyweight, who is unbeaten in three octagon appearances, gets his most meaningful fight thus far when he meets Ovince Saint Preux (24-13 MMA, 12-8 UFC) on Feb. 8 in Houston.

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Saint Preux has fought for the interim 205-pound belt and shared the octagon with some of the biggest and best names the weight class has to offer during his lengthy UFC stay. Beating “OSP” means something, and Spann can turn heads as a contender with a win.

“He fought for the interim belt and at just 3-0 we’re fighting a guy that’s got 20 fights in the UFC at light heavyweight,” Saud said. “These guys, they’re moving and some of them might not be loud, but they do their talking in the cage. They’re ready to go.”

As the 2020 schedule continues to fill out, there are several others on the Fortis MMA squad in position to get big opportunities, from Neal to Uriah Hall to Alonzo Menifield to Macy Chiasson and more. The hard work at the ever-expanding Fortis MMA facility (which is adding its own rehab and recovery center next year) is turning into results.

“We’ve got multiple people ranked and the next thing is to penetrate the rankings,” Saud said. “Anything worth anything takes time. That’s going to take time. You win a fight and you get in the top 10, all of those guys are booked and some of them have a lot more name value and it’s going to take time. We’re here to put in the work and get the job done.”

Fortis MMA only got its start in 2017, but Saud’s leadership has produced a significant rise in gym notoriety. The team has still yet to produce a UFC title, but Saud said crowning a champion is merely a natural progression. And he has no intention to stop at just one.

“The goal of the gym is not to just have one belt, but have multiple belts because we’ve got guys and girls in different divisions that can do it,” Saud said. “You should be looking at each fighter and want to take them to the belt. Even if you fall short of that, that’s where you’ve got to be aiming.”

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Ed Ruth vs. Yaroslav Amosov headlines Bellator 239 in Oklahoma on Feb. 21, Girtz-Jury set for co-main

Bellator has booked its first 2020 return to its regular Oklahoma stomping grounds with a welterweight headliner.

Bellator has booked its first 2020 return to its regular Oklahoma stomping grounds with a welterweight headliner.

[autotag]Ed Ruth[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, BMMA 8-1) is set to take on [autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] (22-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) in the Bellator 239 main event, the promotion announced Monday. In addition, [autotag]Brandon Girtz[/autotag] (16-8 MMA, 8-6 BMMA) meets [autotag]Myles Jury[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in the lightweight co-feature.

Bellator 239 takes place Feb. 21, a Friday, at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla., about 75 miles north of Dallas. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Ruth has won back-to-back fights in 2019 to get back on track after the first setback of his pro career. The standout wrestler was submitted by Neiman Gracie at Bellator 213 nearly a year ago in the welterweight tournament. But in July, he stopped Kiichi Kunimoto with a second-round TKO at Bellator 224 to get back in the win column, and he took a split call from Jason Jackson at Bellator 231 in October in Connecticut.

Yaroslav Amosov

Amosov signed with Bellator in 2013 and continued the perfect start to his career with a unanimous decision over Gerald Harris at Bellator 202 in Thackerville. He followed that up with a decision win over former UFC standout Erick Silva at Bellator 216 in February. In August, he got his first Bellator stoppage win with a second-round submission of David Rickels at Bellator 225.

Girtz got back on track in March with a unanimous decision win over Saad Awad at Bellator 219. Prior to that, he was mired in a 1-4 slump that included a submission loss to former lightweight champion Michael Chandler. He was set to return at Bellator 227, but an injury took him out of a fight against Jon Tuck, who was a replacement for the injured Paul Redmond. Now he’ll look to make it two straight and three of his past four.

Jury made his promotional debut in September at Bellator 227, but dropped a unanimous decision to former UFC and WEC lightweight champ Benson Henderson. The setback was Jury’s third straight. He closed out his lengthy run in the UFC with consecutive losses to Chad Mendes and Andre Fili before signing with Bellator. Once an unbeaten UFC lightweight title contender with six straight wins, including victories over Michael Johnson, Diego Sanchez and Takanori Gomi, Jury is just 2-5 over the past nearly five years.

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Years in the making: How we got to Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone at UFC 246

A timeline of all the key moments that led to Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone in the UFC 246 headliner.

How did we get to [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] at UFC 246? Check out this timeline of all the key moments that led to McGregor and “Cowboy” sharing the octagon in the welterweight pay-per-view headliner on Jan. 18 in Las Vegas.

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Jan. 16, 2015: Cerrone’s first words on McGregor

After McGregor defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 178 and Cerrone beat Eddie Alvarez on the same card in September 2014, both men once again landed on the same show at UFC Fight Night 59 in January 2015, with McGregor taking on Dennis Siver in the main event while Cerrone faced Benson Henderson in the co-headliner.

Cerrone is asked about a potential fight between the two by MMA Junkie’s Matt Erickson at media day.

“Sure, (I’ll fight him),” Cerrone said. “Conor won’t be able to talk (expletive) to me, though. He won’t be able to do that (Dustin) Poirier stuff because I’ll (expletive) him up whenever I see him. Because that don’t fly with me. I don’t play that game. He’s a good dude. I get along with him just fine.”

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March 13, 2015: Cerrone praises McGregor at fan Q&A

McGregor’s win over Siver at UFC Fight Night 59 set him up for a featherweight title shot. He was already talking about moving up to lightweight, though, and Cerrone is asked about a potential fight with McGregor during a fan Q&A prior to UFC 185 weigh-ins in Dallas.

“I’d fight anybody if they paid me – free – I’d do it,” Cerrone said. “Conor’s doing it. Great job. Talked himself right into a title shot. Hell yeah. Good job, buddy. Son of a (expletive) fights. He fights. Everyone is like, ‘Wait until he gets a test.’ Then he wins. Now he’s got a real test. What if he wins? Then you’ve got to shut the (expletive) up, huh? Who am I to say he can’t win? I don’t know.”

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Sept. 2, 2015: McGregor rips Cerrone’s pay ahead of his title fight

During a media luncheon with reporters in Los Angeles, McGregor, who had just beaten Chad Mendes for the interim UFC featherweight belt two months prior at UFC 189, ripped the scheduled UFC on FOX 17 lightweight title fight between Cerrone and then-champ Rafael dos Anjos

“Rafael has nothing; Donald has nothing,” McGregor said. “Rafael will be lucky to make six figures this fight – and rightfully so. He shouldn’t even make six figures because he doesn’t even bring in six figures. Donald will probably scrape six figures because he shows up and fights every couple weeks, and he earns that six figures. But he don’t earn much more than that.

“Make no mistake: They want it as well,” he said. “They don’t give a (expletive) about each other. If either of them had the opportunity to scrap that fight and come fight me, I can change their life. I can make them rich. I have the numbers.”

It didn’t take long for McGregor’s comments to reach Cerrone, who sent a stern warning over Twitter, reminding the Irishman that the two would share the same building later that week for the UFC’s “Go Big” press conference in Las Vegas.

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Sept. 4, 2015: McGregor, Cerrone trade shots at ‘Go Big’ press conference

The true genesis of McGregor vs. Cerrone starts here. McGregor, who was at the press conference to promote his UFC 194 featherweight title unification bout with Jose Aldo, turns his attention to the lightweight division and has words for Cerrone, planting the seed for a future fight.

“I see stiffness when I look at that 155-pound division,” McGregor said. “Slow, stiff. I feel like they’re stuck in the mud almost. The featherweights, they hit like flyweights. So it’s nice down there just destroying them and killing that division. But I have my eye on that 155 division and I see them all stuck in the mud in there. We’ll see over time. But have I been wrong yet? No.”

Cerrone offers his response: “You have a monster here at 145, Aldo, about to beat your ass. You’ve beat nobody and you think you’re going to come up to 155 and make a statement? Sit down.”

Of course, though, McGregor gets the last word: “You’re fighting a guy (dos Anjos) that whooped your ass next. So you’ve got to come through that. Then I’ll consider. I’ll check the numbers with Frank (Fertitta), then I’ll decide if I want to change your bum life, as well.”

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Dec. 2, 2015: McGregor says UFC wants lightweight title fight vs. Cerrone

As McGregor gears up for his UFC 194 title unification bout with Aldo, he continues to discuss his plans to move up to the lightweight division in the near future. He reveals he spoke to the UFC brass about the move, but claims the promotion was only interested if Cerrone beat dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 17.

“I think the brass want that; they said to me that if Cerrone wins, they would do the lightweight fight,” McGregor said. “They would do a lightweight title fight because dos Anjos wouldn’t bring the numbers. It wouldn’t be as big with dos Anjos. But really, the fight will decide what happens. If it’s a war, if it’s a great fight, then all of a sudden dos Anjos’ stock rises and I’m sure he’s going to call me out. Then it’s there.

“I feel it’s almost set in stone. KO Jose and then KO whoever holds that lightweight belt. Within the next two fights I will be a two-weight world champion once again, but this time in the UFC.”

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MMA Junkie’s ‘Knockout of the Month’ for November: A rare rolling thunder finish

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from November 2019.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from November 2019. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Month” award for November.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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The Nominees

Kevin Lee def. Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244

Fighting in his opponent’s home territory in New York, [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) knocked previously unbeaten Gregor Gillespie (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) cold in his return to the lightweight division.

It took less than three minutes and one perfectly placed head kick for Lee to take back attention as a lightweight contender. Following some early exchanges, “The Motown Phenom” separated Gillespie from consciousness in devastating fashion.

Andrew Kapel def. Muhammed Lawal at Bellator 232

[autotag]Andrew Kapel[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) made sure it was an unhappy end to Muhammed Lawal’s (21-10 MMA, 10-7 BMMA) career, because he sent “King Mo” into retirement on a knockout loss in their 195-pound catchweight fight.

After a brief feeling out process to begin the fight, Kapel threw a body kick which Lawal caught. He went to throw a punch, but Kapel timed the perfect counter shot on him coming in. Lawal immediately went down and out, and retired following the defeat.

Magomed Ankalaev def. Dalcha Lungiambula at UFC on ESPN+ 21

[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) capped off a solid performance with a highlight-reel finish when he defeated Dalcha Lungiambula (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in their light heavyweight matchup.

Ankalaev connected with a perfect front kick that made a sickening thud and instantly rocked Lungiambula. From there, the Russian unloaded a clean follow-up shot that put Lungiambula down to stop the fight in the third round.

Davy Gallon def. Ross Pearson at “MTK MMA: Probellum”

Ross Pearson (20-17) had a rude welcome back to MMA from his retirement courtesy of the unheralded [autotag]Davy Gallon[/autotag] (18-7-2), who delivered what could go down as an all-time knockout in the sport’s history.

The lightweight fight was relatively competitive for more than two rounds. In the closing stages of the third, though, Gallon went airborne and unleashed a rolling thunder kick. The heel landed flush on Pearson’s face, and “The Ultimate Fighter 9” winner was immediately knocked out in a shocking finish.

Michael Page def. Giovanni Melillo at Bellator Europe 6

[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 12-1 BMMA) gave his hometown fans what they wanted as he closed the show in style against Giovanni Melillo (13-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with the latest addition to his highlight reel.

Page finished late-notice replacement Melillo in less than two minutes with a thumping right hand. Melillo was out on impact, and “MVP” had the walk-off finish to close the welterweight contest.

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The Winner: Davy Gallon

Pearson’s MMA return was one for the highlight reel – but not in the way he envisioned.

In his first fight in his native U.K. in over four years, Pearson headlined “MTK MMA: Probellum” in London. Taking on Gallon, Pearson was brutally knocked out in the most improbable of fashions.

As the clock wound down in the final round, Gallon threw a rolling thunder kick, which landed flush on the head of Pearson.

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Upon impact, Pearson was knocked out cold and flew backwards, crashing to the mat. The announcer’s, “Oh, sh*t” reaction sums up just how spectacular it was.

“I’ve only hit it in training,” Gallon told MMA Junkie of the knockout. “I saw a kyokushin video on YouTube, and I tried maybe once or twice in training. I was in the hotel room the day before the fight with my coach. I said, ‘Oh coach, come on. I want to try this kick.’ He told me, ‘You know it’s Ross Pearson? It’s a good guy. It’s a big fighter, you know?’ I said yeah, and he told me, ‘OK, you can try the kick. But you have to do it at the end of the fight.'”

The fight was Pearson’s first since being released by the UFC earlier this year. Prior to his UFC departure, Pearson had dropped six out of his final seven fights with the promotion.

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Triple Take: Was Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone the fight to make at UFC 246?

Did the UFC make the right move booking Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone? MMA Junkie’s Matt Erickson, Farah Hannoun and Nolan King discuss.

The fight had been rumored for a while, and Thursday it was made official. Conor McGregor will return from what will be about a 15-month layoff to headline UFC 246 in Las Vegas against Donald Cerrone. But was this the right fight for the UFC to make right now? MMA Junkie’s Matt Erickson, Farah Hannoun and Nolan King break it down in the latest edition of Triple Take.

Matt Erickson: This is smart matchmaking for everyone involved

The oft-rumored [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] fight became a reality Thursday – the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., of all days.

It’s a fight pitting arguably the most bankable star in UFC history – McGregor – against the promotion’s all-time leader in fight-night bonus awards, which makes the matchup seem like a slam-dunk no-brainer where the hype-o-meter is concerned.

But like nearly everything in this sport, we can’t just have nice things without the naysayers getting their $0.02 in. You know the types. They’re the ones who can’t just cruise past a tweet or Facebook post or Instagram photo without chiming in, just so everyone knows they’re here. Gotta put that thumbprint on everything.

We can’t just be happy with a perfectly good fist fight between two fighters who essentially are legends and future UFC Hall of Famers. We have to put it under a microscope and pick it apart and find some kind of fault with it, right? That’s just how we do it in the Twitter Era!

It almost didn’t matter who McGregor was matched up against. The talk was going to be just that he was coming back, period. He’s been out since his UFC 229 submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov and the subsequent post-fight brawl between their camps. And not coincidentally, that was the matchup (and the UFC 223 bus incident that preceded it) that seemed to kick off McGregor’s spate of outside-the-cage troubles. Add them all together – the bus arrest, the Miami Beach arrest, the Dublin pub incident – and it presents a troubling pattern.

Throw in a couple of reports of sexual assault allegations that have been vehemently denied – and that McGregor hasn’t been charged with – and a case could be made that until the Irish superstar gets his proverbial ish together in the real world, the UFC should just not book him at all.

But c’mon … we all know that’s not gonna happen. When McGregor fights, he makes money for everyone. And with his slate clean from the things he has been charged with, there’s really no reason to keep him on the sidelines if he wants to finally get back to work.

So why is this a good matchup? I’ve got two reasons for you. The first is, while Cerrone might not be a Conor McGregor fan, he almost certainly respects not only his fighting ability, but the way he’s able to get people to pay attention to him. Cerrone goes about it in a much different way – he just puts his head down, does his work, and when he’s off the clock, he goes full-on “Cowboy” doing what he wants to do.

But I’ll predict Cerrone is not going to be the type of opponent for McGregor who will engage in a whole bunch of social media trash talk. More likely, he’s the type who might not be a fan of the guy, but after they fight he’ll smile at him and raise a glass to him for going to battle. And that’s just the type of opponent the UFC needs to give McGregor right now – one who is not a major risk of baiting McGregor into Twitter wars of words, or who might turn things ugly come fight week. McGregor has had enough trouble of late – so put him in there with someone who has the potential to just show up to fight and not turn the whole thing into a sideshow leading up to it.

And secondly, this is the perfect matchup to make not for McGregor, but for Cerrone. The UFC shouldn’t book this fight as any kind of favor to McGregor. They’ve done him enough solids already, and he should just be happy to get a fight. But Cerrone? He’s been just about a perfect company man through the years. He takes fights on short notice, he takes hard fights, he fights up-and-comers – and all he does time after time is deliver. You don’t wind up with 18 fight-night bonuses if you’re not bringing it every time out.

We’ve all heard McGregor talk about the kinds of pay days he brings to the fighters he steps in against. They can be life-altering. And while Cerrone doesn’t seem to have any issues with the checks he gets from fighting, if anyone deserves a pay-per-view main event and the type of check that can come with a fight against McGregor, it’s “Cowboy.”

Everyone wins with this booking. The UFC gets McGregor back in the cage and a likely blockbuster pay-per-view event out of the gate in 2020. McGregor gets back to work against an opponent who is likely to be willing to just fight him in the cage, and not on social media. And Cerrone gets his “Red Panty Night.” It’s a trifecta, and it’s perfect.

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Quintet Ultra adds ‘King Mo’ to Strikeforce, Gregor Gracie for PRIDE, Pearl Gonzalez superfight, more

The roster for next month’s ambitious Quintet Ultra continues to fill, and four new team participants have been booked.

The roster for next month’s ambitious Quintet Ultra continues to fill, and four new team participants have been booked, along with three “superfight singles” matches.

Featuring a unique 5-on-5 team grappling event, Quintet Ultra takes place Dec. 12 at Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas and streams live on UFC Fight Pass. While the events often feature big-name mixed martial artists, Quintet Ultra will see teams representing the biggest promotions in MMA history face off with Team UFC, Team Strikeforce, Team WEC and Team PRIDE.

MMA Junkie today learned from Quintet officials that four new fighters have agreed to compete at the event, with current welterweight contender [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] joining team UFC, former light heavyweight champion [autotag]Muhammed Lawal[/autotag] added to Team Strikeforce, 15-year veteran [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag] repping Team WEC and submission ace [autotag]Gregor Gracie[/autotag] joining Team PRIDE.

Quintet founder, MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba, said he was thrilled to announce all of the additions, but as a former Gracie hunter was now happy to have a member of MMA’s founding family on his side.

“You can’t have PRIDE without Gracie,” Sakuraba said. “I’m very happy to welcome one of the new generation of Gracie fighters to the team. Gregor has fought in Quintet, and he always goes for the win, so he’s a great addition. Hopefully he’ll make things easier for this old man!”

In addition to the team competition, three singles matches were announced, with some notable names in both the MMA and grappling world, with [autotag]Craig Jones[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Fredson Paixao[/autotag] and [autotag]Pearl Gonzalez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danielle Kelly[/autotag] joining a previously announced matchup of Gordon Ryan vs. Aleksei Oleinik.

More details on participating grapplers and team rosters will be revealed in the weeks to come. The card will stream live at 10 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass.

The current Quintet Ultra lineup includes:

TEAM UFC

  • Anthony Johnson (captain)
  • Sean O’Malley
  • Gilbert Burns

TEAM STRIKEFORCE

  • Gilbert Melendez
  • Jake Shields
  • Muhammed Lawal

TEAM WEC

  • Chad Mendes (captain)
  • Glover Teixeira
  • Cub Swanson

TEAM PRIDE

  • Kazushi Sakuraba (captain)
  • Takanori Gomi
  • Gregor Gracie

SUPERFIGHT SINGLES MATCHES

  • Craig Jones vs. Fredson Paixao
  • Gordon Ryan vs. Aleksei Oleinik
  • Pearl Gonzalez vs. Danielle Kelly

Point/Counterpoint – Conor McGregor vs. ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone: Who has the edge at UFC 246?

Who has the edge in the newly announced UFC 246 main event between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone? Dam Tom breaks it down.

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, former UFC champion [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] will be making his return at UFC 246 opposite fellow fan favorite [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag].

The event will take place on Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and the headlining matchup at hand will be contested at welterweight.

McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is coming off of a failed attempt to regain his lightweight crown against current champ Khabib Nurmagomedov back at UFC 229, and has spent the bulk of 2019 with battles outside of the cage that range from formal assault charges to sexual assault allegations.

Whereas Cerrone (36-13 MMA, 23-10 UFC), who – despite starting the year off strong with wins over Alexander Hernandez and Al Iaquinta – is currently coming off of a pair of stoppage losses to two of the toughest hombres at 155 pounds in Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.

Both men will have ample opportunity to take steps in the right direction come January, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to lay out some of the things that I’ll be looking for from an analytical/technical perspective, using a fun point/counterpoint format to help primer the McGregor-Cerrone collision ahead.

Point: Lengthy layoff for McGregor

With most metrics traditionally indicating long layoffs as a negative, it’s hard to ignore the fact that it will be a solid 15 months since we’ve last seen McGregor compete in a cage come January.

If you count his special attraction with Floyd Mayweather inside of the boxing ring, then McGregor’s second-longest layoff comes out to 14 months; but if we’re just sticking to MMA, then his longest layoff technically jumps to a grand total of 23 months – – both of which roads resulted in a loss upon return.

Counterpoint: Prior comebacks and adjustments

Although McGregor’s most recent comeback bore little fruit, he has shown the ability to adapt and overcome adversity at earlier points of his UFC tenure.

After tearing his ACL mid-fight against Max Holloway back in 2013, McGregor took recovery and reinvigoration to a new level, making a successful return the next year (after an 11-month grand total). And in 2016, McGregor, despite suffering a crushing defeat to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 and nearly severing ties with both his head coach and the UFC that same summer, managed to turn things around in just 5 months time – showing off an improved arsenal and ability to manage pace.

Next page: “Cowboy” vs. southpaws, McGregor vs. kickers

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Conor McGregor opens as nearly 3-1 favorite over ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 246

The odds are out for the UFC 246 main event between Conor McGregor and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone – and they favor the Irishman in a big way.

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s long-awaited return to the cage was something many MMA fans no doubt gave thanks for on the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.

McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is set to headline UFC 246 in January against [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] (36-13 MMA, 23-10 UFC), the promotion announced Thursday. The welterweight fight is one that has been talked about for several months, but as with all things McGregor-related seemed to be up in the air pending his decision to put pen to paper.

Now that the fight is official, the opening betting odds have been released – and former dual champion McGregor is a sizable favorite out of the gate. McGregor is a -278 favorite at BetMGM.com. The comeback on “Cowboy” is +200.

In other words, a $100 bet on Cerrone would pay out $300 (including the original $100 wager) if he pulls the upset in Las Vegas. A $100 bet on McGregor would pay out about $136 (including the original $100 wager) if he wins.

UFC 246 takes place Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims likely for ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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It probably should come as no surprise that McGregor is favored. He’s only been an underdog twice in his career. In his featherweight title fight against then-champ Jose Aldo at UFC 194, Aldo was just a slight favorite at -135 to -110 for McGregor. McGregor knocked out Aldo in 13 seconds to win his first UFC belt. And in his lightweight title fight against champ Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018, he was as much as a 2-1 underdog in a fight he lost by fourth-round submission.

Cerrone is on just the second losing skid of his career. After starting 2019 with back-to-back wins over Alexander Hernandez and Al Iaquinta, he has dropped consecutive bouts to Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, both by TKO.

Before those setbacks, he was on a three-fight run that saw him pick up a bonus for his submission of Mike Perry, two bonuses for his TKO of Hernandez, and a “Fight of the Night” for his decision win over Iaquinta. He has the most post-fight bonus awards in UFC history with 18.

McGregor hasn’t won a fight in more than three years. In November 2016, he stopped Eddie Alvarez with a second-round TKO at UFC 205 to win the lightweight title. That made him the first fighter in UFC history to hold belts in two divisions at the same time. He was forced to vacate his featherweight belt soon after, having never defended it.

He never defended the lightweight title, either. He chose instead to take a highly lucrative boxing match with Floyd Mayweather in August 2017 in a turn that made him truly a global superstar. He eventually was stripped of the 155-pound belt, and Nurmagomedov claimed it to set up the pair’s vicious rivalry that culminated in a brawl after their fight and suspensions for both.

McGregor has become almost as well known for his issues outside the cage as his fighting. Several months before his fight with Nurmagomedov, he had a now-infamous incident in which he attacked a fighter bus at UFC 223 and was arrested. The brawl at UFC 229, though not started by him, didn’t help matters.

Earlier this year in Miami Beach, he was arrested for taking a man’s phone, smashing it on the ground, then walking away with it. Ultimately, the strong-arm robbery and criminal mischief charges were dismissed. But in August, video surfaced of McGregor punching a man in a Dublin pub. Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to assault and was fined. Reports of sexual assault accusations also have surfaced, though he has not been charged.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship, and there is no influence on news coverage.

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UFC Fight Pass 500 Moments video: Valentina Shevchenko delivers knockout for the ages

The UFC recently held its 500th live event, and the organization is marking the occasion with a list of 500 Unforgettable Moments.

UFC 244 marked the promotion’s 500th live event, and the organization is celebrating the occasion with “an internally curated list of 500 Unforgettable Moments from UFC history.”

Scheduled to be released in seven installments, UFC Fight Pass 500 Moments shines a spotlight on some of the most memorable highlights – and lowlights – from the UFC’s 26-year run, both in and out of the cage.

UFC Fight Pass officials have committed to sharing video of a few of those key moments with MMA Junkie, as well. This time, we bring you one of the best knockouts of 2019 – and all-time – when UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] knocked [autotag]Jessica Eye[/autotag] out cold with a walk-off head kick finish at UFC 238 for her first successful title defense.

UFC.com’s Walker Van Wey sets the table:

Jessica Eye had one of the greatest climbs in recent memory when she went from four straight losses to flyweight title shot against Valentina Shevchenko. 2018 Comeback Fighter of the Year made it a little over a round before being on the wrong end of possibly the hardest head kick KO in the history of women’s MMA.

You can watch the fight footage in the video above. And check out a few more memorable moments below:

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Conor McGregor vs. ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone headlines UFC 246 on Jan. 18

The long-rumored matchup between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone is finally a reality.

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The long-rumored matchup between [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] is finally a reality.

UFC president Dana White today told ESPN.com that McGregor and “Cowboy” will meet in the welterweight main event of UFC 246, which takes place Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. MMA Junkie subsequently confirmed the plans with White, as well.

According to White, McGregor has already signed his bout agreement for the matchup, with Cerrone expected to follow suit in short order.

More on this in just a moment.

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