The main event for the UFC’s first show of the new year is official after the headliners made weight Friday.
LAS VEGAS – The main event for the UFC’s first show of the new year is official after the headliners made weight Friday.
Ahead of UFC Fight Night 249 (ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex, women’s strawweight standouts Mackenzie Dern (15-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) and Amanda Ribas (12-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) stepped on the scale for their rematch at the official weigh-ins.
Check out the video from their trips to the scale above.
Deshaun Watson’s future with the Cleveland Browns remains uncertain, as Pro Football Focus listed him among 15 potential trade candidates for the 2025 offseason. While the Browns recently restructured Watson’s contract, suggesting plans to keep him next season, some analysts believe a trade could still be on the table.
PFF’s Bradley Locker pointed to Watson’s underwhelming performance in Cleveland:
“The Browns seem to be giving Watson one last chance to prove himself, but that doesn’t mean Cleveland won’t finally cut the cord… It wouldn’t be a shocker if [a newcomer] supplants Watson.”
Watson has struggled since joining the Browns, with no season-long passing grade above 66.8 and just one game graded over 80.0 in 19 appearances. Financial considerations also complicate a trade, as moving him after June 1 would carry a $26.9 million dead cap hit, compared to $80.7 million if done earlier.
Injuries have also taken a toll. Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 7 after playing just six games in 2023 due to injury. In seven games this season, he threw for 1,148 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions while rushing for 148 yards and one score.
Though Watson has career totals of 17,904 passing yards and 123 touchdowns, the Browns face a tough decision as they evaluate their quarterback options for the future.
With GFL his new home, Kevin Lee hopes he can finally run things back with a former rival.
With GFL his new home, [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] hopes he can finally run things back with a former rival.
Lee (19-8) was one of many big-name signings with the Global Fight League (GFL), which officially launches its draft on Jan. 24. On the top of Lee’s wish list is [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] (25-11 MMA, 15-9 UFC), who submitted him in their interim lightweight title fight in October 2017.
“The Motown Phenom” returned to the win column this past September at Lights Out Championship 17 when he submitted Bellator veteran Thiago Oliveira (17-12-1) in just two minutes.
“I’ve heard a couple of names tossed around,” Lee told “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Tuesday. “The one that interests me the most is Tony Ferguson. He’s had his ups and downs in his career, but we’ve had a great fight for the UFC championship.
“That’s something that a lot of people can get behind, and that’s a fight that I really, really want. So, April 4 is the first event, we’re about four months out, I’m working everything, I’m working hard, and we’re going to put on a good fight.”
Check out the UFC Fight Night 249 weigh-in results from Las Vegas, featuring Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas 2.
LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official UFC Fight Night 249 (ESPN+) fighter weigh-ins.
Among those weighing in were women’s strawweight standouts Mackenzie Dern (15-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) and Amanda Ribas (12-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC), who meet in a rematch in the main event, and Carlston Harris (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Santiago Ponzinibbio (29-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC), who fight in the welterweight co-feature.
All those fighters made weight, but that wasn’t the case for prelim fighters Jose Johnson and Ihor Potieria, who were each multiple pounds overweight for their respective matchups.
The full UFC Fight Night 249 weigh-in results include:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
Mackenzie Dern (116) vs. Amanda Ribas (116)
Carlston Harris (170) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (171)
Abdul Razak Alhassan (185.5) vs. Cesar Almeida (185.5)
Chris Curtis (185.5) vs. Roman Kopylov (185.5)
Austin Bashi (145.5) vs. Christian Rodriguez (145)
Uros Medic (171) vs. Punahele Soriano (171)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)
Felipe Bunes (126) vs. Jose Johnson (128.5)*
Ihor Potieria (188)** vs. Marco Tulio (185.5)
Thiago Moises (155.5) vs. Trey Ogden (155.5)
Preston Parsons (171) vs. Jacobe Smith (170.5)
Nicolle Caliari (125.5) vs. Ernesta Kareckaite (126)
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (205) vs. Bruno Lopes (205.5)
Viktoriia Dudakova (116) vs. Fatima Kline (116)
Nurullo Aliev (155.5) vs. Joe Solecki (155)
* Johnson missed flyweight limit by 2.5 pounds; fine amount TBD ** Potieria missed middleweight limit by 2 pounds; fine amount TBD
Steve Garcia isn’t about to “act a fool” in order to get more attention ahead of his UFC Seattle clash with Edson Barboza.
With a five-fight knockout streak inside the octagon, [autotag]Steve Garcia[/autotag] thinks he should be a bigger talking point going into UFC Fight Night 252.
After a string of definitive performances, Garcia (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) will get his biggest test to date when he takes on legendary striker Edson Barboza (24-12 MMA, 18-12 UFC) in a featherweight bout on the Feb. 22 card at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle (ESPN+).
Although some are acknowledging his work, as MMA Junkie did by naming him the 2024 Under-the-Radar Fighter of the Year, Garcia admits he’s not feeling the love across the board.
“I’m definitely under the radar,” Garcia told MMA Junkie Radio. “I don’t feel like I get the respect that I’d like to think I probably deserve. But that said, each person’s opinion (is different). I’ve read articles where people don’t think I’m championship quality, people don’t think I’m ranked quality. They can think what they want to think. Every win in my UFC career is a finish. I’m not barely skating by. I’m not barely getting wins. I’ve been finishing all my opposition.”
Garcia, 32, understands the lack of attention around his name is partially of his own doing. As good as his fighting has been, Garcia, an honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, said he could do a better job playing the game outside of the cage.
It’s not his nature to play that game, however, and if taking a longer road to the top is a consequence of not demeaning himself, then Garcia said he’s accepting of that fate.
“I want to be must-see TV,” Garcia said. “I’m not going to be acting a fool. If you want that out of me, and I’m not saying I won’t talk – there’s times and places for everything, but I’m not a clown. If I wanted to act a fool, I would’ve joined the circus. I’m not trying to make a fool out of myself. My parents didn’t raise me that way. I’m here to be as professional as I possibly can be, and if people want to hop on board, thank you very much. If you don’t, at least you’re going to have something to root for, whether it’s against me or for me. But I promise you’ll be entertained.”
Not much promotional effort is needed to generate excitement between Garcia and Barboza. The highlight reels on both sides are enough to know a Performance of the Night or Fight of the Night bonus is likely being issued after it’s done.
That’s what Garcia is chasing, he said, and he expects Barboza to be a willing participant in the style of fight he’s looking for.
“Sometimes you don’t got to control the chaos, you’ve got to thrive in it,” Garcia said. “I feel like, especially in my fights, that’s where I’ve been the most successful. The moment that chaos happens I seem to find my best shots. I’m hoping that’s what’s going to happen in Seattle. I think Edson’s notorious for welcoming a good striking match, and this is MMA, we get it, it can go up and down and it doesn’t matter, but at least in my eyes, let’s give the fans what they want to see and just go for it.”
Dan Hooker expects Renato Moicano to struggle against Beneil Dariush at UFC 311.
[autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] expects [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] to struggle against [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] at UFC 311.
Lightweights Moicano (20-5-1 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and Dariush (22-6-1 MMA, 16-6-1 UFC) square off in a lightweight bout on Jan. 18 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+).
Moicano and Dariush are currently on vastly different career trajectories. Moicano is on a four-fight winning streak, most recently a dominant stoppage win over Benoit Saint Denis at UFC Fight Night 243. Meanwhile, Dariush is coming off back-to-back first-round knockout losses to Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan.
However, despite his losing skid, Hooker sees Dariush as a bad stylistic matchup for Moicano.
“The way in which (Moicano) beat BSD, (Jalin) Turner and Drew Dober, the style in which he enacted to get those three wins, he cannot do against Beneil Darirush,” Hooker said on Israel Adesanya’s YouTube channel. “He cannot outgrapple Beneil Dariush like he outgrappled those three guys because he’s too good.
“In my opinion, Beneil is technically the best grappler, I would say. Do I see Moicano outgrappling Dariush? Nah. Do I see him even outstriking him? That would be a hard night in the office. Beneil, obviously the question there is about his chin. But is Moicano any way, shape or form a talented striker? No. You cannot say he is.”
Moicano has used his ground game to take out his opponents, but Hooker doesn’t see that being a successful path to victory against Dariush.
“I feel like (Dariush) just shuts Moicano’s game down,” Hooker said. “I feel like positionally, he’s better on the feet. I don’t even see how Moicano gets Beneil to the ground, let alone holding him on the ground. I just believe Beneil shuts Moicano down and kind of cruises to victory and gets back to the win column.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
Merab Dvalishvili’s former teammate is helping Umar Nurmagomedov prep for UFC 311.
[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]’s former teammate is helping [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] prep for UFC 311.
Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) defends his bantamweight title against Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the Jan. 18 co-main event from Inglewood, Calif. (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
A post on social media from Georgian reporter Giorgi Kokiashvili brought light to the situation, where he claimed that Magdi Amachov is now training with Nurmagomedov after Dvalishvili helped him settle in the United States and gave him a place to stay.
This pic broke my heart a little bit.
Magdi Amachov is helping Umar Nurmagomedov to prepare for Merab Dvalishvili.
Merab helped Magdi to live like a human being in the US. He didn’t had a home and Merab gave him a room for free in his own house and helped a lot.
Dvalishvili was asked about his former training partner, and was very understanding towards the situation.
“I love him and I did help him but I didn’t do it because I own him you know? He’s a big man and he can do whatever he wants,” Dvalishvili told The Schmo. “He’s from Dagestan, and I know he loves Islam Makhachev, I know he loves Khabib Nurmagomedov, of course Umar Nurmagomedov.
“They call each other Muslim brothers, and I’m not surprised, of course. That’s his country, that’s his friends. I mean, I will not do that, but I will also not judge him. I love him, and I understand this, and I’m not mad at him. That’s OK.”
Kansas City #Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce emphatically addresses Cincinnati #Bengals playoffs conspiracy | @EdEastonJr
The Kansas City Chiefs are on their bye week from the first round of the postseason and are still facing criticism for not playing their starters in Week 18. Cincinnati Bengals supporters, who needed a Chiefs victory to clinch a spot in the postseason, are displeased.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce refused to hold his tongue regarding the situation during his rant on the latest episode of the New Heights podcast.
“I ain’t scared of f***ing nobody; I wanted them in the f***ng playoffs,” said Kelce. “I want to slay every dragon one by one, like Mortal Kombat. I don’t even want this to be like we play the lowest seed. Just give me the best teams. AFC, NFC, give me all of them, Mortal Kombat-style; I’ll go through every f***ing one of them just giving them my best f***ing effort. I ain’t scared of a single soul, man.”
The Bengals won their season finale matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it wasn’t enough regardless of the hot streak they carried into the end of the year. Kelce would have welcomed the challenge of a flying high Cincinnati club at Arrowhead Stadium or anywhere else.
“I’ll play them at the Walmart parking lot; I don’t give a s***. We can have our own game in the offseason where we really duke it out,” said Kelce. “Listen, I love competing against the greatest. The Bengals were a fun-ass f—ing team to watch there towards the end of the season, and it’s a shame they didn’t make it in the playoffs because they would have made the playoffs that much f***ing crazier and that much more fun.”
Kelce must wait an extra week before unleashing his aggression on his soon-to-be Divisional Round opponent.
Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this weekend.
This week, the UFC returns to action with its first event of 2025.
UFC Fight Night 249 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and is headlined by a rematch between [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] and [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]. Elsewhere, many other combat sports events are taking place, featuring several familiar names who have competed under the UFC banner.
Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing Jan. 10-11.
Scroll below to see how the UFC veterans fared over the past two weeks during the holidays, and see the names and details of this weekend’s competitors.
Kansas City #Chiefs head coach Andy Reid continues to support coordinators seeking NFL head coaching jobs | @EdEastonJr
The Kansas City Chiefs, the AFC’s top seed and back-to-back Super Bowl champions, won the AFC West for the ninth consecutive season and are focused on capturing an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title. Head coach Andy Reid enters another postseason with many accolades already under his belt as he prepares his team during the bye week ahead of the Divisional Round.
The league’s oldest head coach has 26 postseason wins, the second-most in NFL history. He is also one of five coaches all-time with three Super Bowl victories. Reid has consistently credited his staff with their work and supports their efforts to leave for head coaching opportunities.
“You could take all of the coordinators there and put them right in that mix for sure. Both of them are – offensive and defensive guys are phenomenal, (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Dave) Toub does a great job,” said Reid in his press conference last week. “I know the two names that normally come up are the offensive and defensive coordinators. Both of those two are – warrant that, yeah, for sure.”
Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy’s name has been circulated to multiple teams for their head coach vacancy, and he is already taking interviews. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is another former head coach interested in listening to potential offers as the postseason gets underway.
