Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here’s how to watch “ONE Championship: Eersel vs. Sadikovic,” which takes place this Friday in Singapore.
ONE Championship is back Friday with a mixed combat sports event, with 10 of 16 fights designated as MMA. The event also features two title bouts atop the card.
Here’s how to watch the “ONE Championship: Eersel vs. Sadikovic” from Singapore.
Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Fla.
The men’s welterweight division and the pound for pound list saw a few major moves following UFC 273 in this week’s rankings update.
Entering the week in an honorable mention slot, [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag] made a gigantic leap in the welterweight division, landing at No. 5 following his hard-fought victory over former title challenger Gilbert Burns. Their Fight of the Night battle answered many questions about Chimaev, and Burns too, for that matter.
In the co-main event on Saturday, [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] pulled out the win against bitter rival Petr Yan to retain his bantamweight crown. This time, there would be no disqualification, and although the decision was split among the judges, Sterling turned in two very dominant rounds behind his grappling prowess. For his efforts, he has now entered the men’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Sterling wasn’t the only pound-for-pound move. [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] handled business against Chan Sung Jung in the main event, stopping the fan-favorite fighter in the fourth round via TKO. Volkanovski jumps over former UFC flyweight king Demetrious Johnson, taking the No. 4 spot.
Take a look at the full rankings below following UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Fla.
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“I know I’m a smaller 135-er but I think, skillset-wise, I think I can hang with guys like Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling.”
[autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] may be undersized at bantamweight, but knows he has the ability to hang with the UFC’s elite.
Johnson (30-4-1) started out his career at 135 pounds, going 14-2 in his first 16 professional fights. Once the 125-pound division was introduced in the UFC, Johnson took over and defended his title 11 times to become the consensus greatest flyweight of all time.
After moving to ONE Championship in 2018, Johnson returned to 135 pounds and won the promotion’s grand prix. Although he suffered a knockout loss to Adriano Moraes, Johnson went on to submit muay Thai sensation Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a special rules bout in March.
Saturday’s UFC 273 bantamweight title fight features a title-unification bout between champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] and interim champ [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]. When it comes down to skills, Johnson thinks he can put up a good fight with either man.
“I know I’m a smaller 135er, but I think skill set-wise, I think I can hang with guys like Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling,” Johnson said in an interview on Morning Kombat. “I know Adriano Moares can hang with those guys, too. They are definitely a lot, lot bigger, you know? I remember Aljamain Sterling said he walks around at 165 (pounds). I was like, ‘Sh*t, I can barely get over 142 and I’m having ribs and everything.'”
One of Johnson’s two losses in his first bantamweight run came to former WEC and UFC 135-pound champ Dominick Cruz, but “Mighty Mouse” never chased that rematch when they were both UFC champions in their respective weight divisions.
“Dominick Cruz is a great athlete, a great fighter, and I lost to him and learned a lot from that fight,” Johnson said. “I realized how much bigger the 135ers were compared to me in that timeframe. Even now, I think 135ers are so bigger for me. I’m just a smaller guy. I’m an in-betweener, like Matt Serra. He could make 155, but he was too small for 170, so he would go back and forth trying to find his way.”
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With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from March 2022.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from March 2022: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for March.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel discusses the hottest topics in the world of MMA on this week’s show.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week, our panel Mike Bohn, Matthew Wells, and Danny Segura discuss these five topics with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia:
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.
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Check out the top Twitter reactions to Demetrious Johnson’s technical submission finish of Rodtang in their mixed rules bout at ONE X.
Former UFC champion [autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] ventured into the unknown at ONE X, and he came out with a slick submission finish over [autotag]Rodtang Jitmuangnon[/autotag].
Johnson, a former UFC flyweight titleholder, has spent the past few years working his craft with ONE Championship in Asia. He was placed in a unique special rules fight with Rodtang in Saturday’s co-main event, which alternated muay Thai with MMA rules through each round. After surviving the fire of Rodtang’s sensational striking in the opening frame, he turned the tables in the MMA rules by taking the fight to the ground, locking in a rear-naked choke and putting his opponent to sleep.
Check out the top Twitter reactions to Johnson’s win at ONE X.
Follow along with complete results of ONE Championship’s massive 10-year anniversary event in Singapore.
ONE Championship’s 10-year anniversary event, ONE X, takes place Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, with a 20-fight lineup that includes 11 MMA bouts and a special bout involving one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.
In the main event, atomweight champion [autotag]Angela Lee[/autotag] returns from a two-and-a-half year absence to defend her tile against [autotag]Stamp Fairtex[/autotag]. And in the co-main event, former UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] steps into an unknown realm against muay Thai champion [autotag]Rodtang Jitmuangnon[/autotag] in a mixed-rules bout scheduled for alternating rounds of muay Thai and MMA.
Also on the main card, flyweight champion [autotag]Adriano Moraes[/autotag] puts his title on the line against [autotag]Yuya Wakamatsu[/autotag], while Japanese legends [autotag]Yoshihiro Akiyama[/autotag] and [autotag]Shinya Aoki[/autotag] square off in a highly anticipated 170-pound matchup.
Recaps of the four main card MMA bouts (beginning at 8 a.m. ET) and full results can be seen below.
Angela Lee wasn’t surprised to see Stamp Fairtex emerge as her next title challenger.
[autotag]Angela Lee[/autotag] wasn’t surprised to see [autotag]Stamp Fairtex[/autotag] emerge as her next title challenger.
Fairtex (8-1) defeated Alyona Rassohyna, Julie Mezabarba and Ritu Phogat to win the ONE atomweight world grand prix and earned her shot at reigning champ Lee (10-2) in Saturday’s ONE X main event, which takes place in Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
“I thought she would be a strong contender in the grand prix tournament,” Lee told MMA Junkie Radio. “And obviously I followed her journey in the tournament and she did super well and she ended up winning so it was just a matter of time and I was super excited to know who my opponent was, and I just wanted to know when it was gonna go down.”
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Lee, who recently gave birth to a baby girl, will return to competition for the first time in more than two years. At 25, Lee has already accomplished a lot, but being a mother has given her a new added drive going into fight night.
“Definitely now that I’m a mom life and what I fight for is different,” Lee said. “I’m not just fighting for myself, I’m fighting for my daughter, my family, and I definitely want to show her what I love to do, what I’m good at and what I can accomplish. I want to set a good example for her. When she grows up, I want to be someone she can be proud of and say, ‘That’s my mom,’ so I’m just gonna go out there on Saturday night and I want to do my best for her.”
Check out Lee’s complete ONE X pre-fight interview with MMA Junkie Radio above.
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Check out the photos from the ONE X pre-fight press conference and highlight photo gallery.
Fight week for ONE X is underway ahead of Saturday’s 10-year anniversary event.
On Wednesday, competitors of the event, which features muay Thai, kickboxing, submission grappling, mixed rules, and MMA fights, came face-to-face after the pre-fight press conference.
In MMA competition, the main card features two title fights. In the main event, [autotag]Angela Lee[/autotag] will defend her atomweight championship against [autotag]Stamp Fairtex[/autotag] and [autotag]Adriano Moraes[/autotag] will put his flyweight title on the line against [autotag]Yuya Wakamatsu[/autotag]. Also, a long-standing rivalry between Japanese legends [autotag]Shinya Aoki[/autotag] and [autotag]Yoshihiro Akiyama[/autotag] will be settled as they meet in a lightweight contest.
Also in action is former UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag], who will compete in a hybrid rules fight against [autotag]Rodtang Jitmuangnon[/autotag]. Rounds will be alternated between muay Thai and MMA rules.
Watch the full pre-fight press conference staredowns in the video above and check out the photo gallery below.
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Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC Fight Night 204 in London.
Following UFC Fight Night 204, a number of victorious fighters impacted this week’s rankings update.
London’s main event winner, [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], looked incredible as he took care of business against Alexander Volkov in the first round. Entering the fight at No. 14 among heavyweights, Aspinall jumps all the way up to the No. 7 spot after a dominant performance.
On the prelims, the undefeated [autotag]Jack Shore[/autotag] remained unblemished after picking up a unanimous decision win over Timur Valiev. After his fifth UFC victory, the Wales representative broke through from the honorable mentions into the No. 14 spot in the bantamweight division.
The home country talent was on full display Saturday, as [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] and [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] left lasting impressions with their performances. After a first round submission from Pimblett and a knockout of the year contender finish from Molly McCann, both have entered the honorable mentions.
Take a look at the full rankings below, ahead of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 33 in Columbus, Ohio.
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