Category: UFC

New UFC flyweight champ Brandon Moreno not sure who his first challenger will be

New UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno is anxious to get back to work and have his first title defense lined up.

HOUSTON – New UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] is anxious to get back to work and have his first title defense lined up – but his timeline might not mesh with reality.

Moreno (19-5-2 MMA, 7-2-2 UFC) won the 125-pound belt with a submission of Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 263 in June. In an ideal world, the things that go along with being a UFC champ will calm down soon so he can get back to training for a fight – but against whom, is the big question.

“I want to fight in November,” Moreno told MMA Junkie on Friday. “I’ve had just one fight this year. Before all this, I fought four times in one year or something like that.

“Right now, the division is very weird. Askar Askarov had an injury – I think he’s the No. 1 contender. He has an injury. He’s out for a few months. Cody Garbrandt’s not fighting till December, right? So maybe I need to wait a little bit to watch how the division moves – wait a little bit for (Alexandre) Pantoja-(Brandon) Royval, maybe Alex Perez-(Matt) Schnell. I don’t want to talk about Schnell because I love him, but he could be a possibility if he beats Alex Perez.”

If Moreno can’t fight any of the names he listed in a reasonable time frame, then perhaps he’d consider fighting Figueiredo a third time.

His title win over him in June came on the heels of their majority draw in December 2020 at UFC 256. But at the same time, Moreno wouldn’t put a third straight fight against Figueiredo high on his list.

“(A trilogy with Figueiredo doesn’t make sense), but right now the division is so weird – maybe,” Moreno said. “Maybe the trilogy. To be real, real honest with you, to think about the trilogy is boring for me because we fought twice in the past. But at the end of the day, I’m a fighter – we can do that. Or we can wait and see what happens in the other fights.”

The spotlight on Moreno has gotten a lot brighter with a UFC title on his mantle. So until he has a name on a contract, he has other things to get used to and worry about.

“My challenge right now is to keep in shape and keep doing my job,” he said. “… I’m trying to do everything right now, and in August or September I’ll start to get ready again. Everywhere I go, there’s a lot of spotlights, a lot of interviews, a lot of famous people. I know the responsibility, but I know I’m ready. I know I can build a legacy in my life.”

Check out the full interview with Moreno in the video above.

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Twitter Mailbag: Was it smart for Cody Garbandt to drop to 125 pounds?

Was Cody Garbrandt’s flyweight shift smart? Was Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Johnson the right booking?

Questions on your mind about recent happenings in the UFC or sport of MMA in general? MMA Junkie’s Twitter Mailbag is here – and this week, @mma_kings answers:

  • How will Cody Garbrandt do at 125 pounds?
  • Could Michael Chiesa or Vicente Luque sneak into the title picture with UFC 265 win?
  • With Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Johnson booked for Bellator Moscow, did the promotion get the matchmaking correct?

Watch the video above for answers to those questions.

To ask a question of your own, follow @MMAjunkie on Twitter and let us know.

UFC 265 ceremonial weigh-in faceoffs highlights and photo gallery

Did you miss the UFC 265 ceremonial weigh-ins? We’ve got you covered with video highlights and a complete photo gallery if so.

HOUSTON – Did you miss the UFC 265 ceremonial weigh-ins? We’ve got you covered with video highlights and a complete photo gallery if so.

Ahead of Saturday’s event, which is headlined by Derrick Lewis (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) vs. Ciryl Gane (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) for the interim heavyweight title, the fighters appeared one last time in front of the fans and cameras.

Official weigh-ins took place Friday morning. Hours later, they got on the scale one last time to pose before getting face-to-face with their opponents a final time before getting locked in the octagon.

Check out the faceoffs for all 13 bouts in the video above, as well as images from ceremonial weigh-ins below.

UFC 265 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

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Video: Derrick Lewis, Ciryl Gane separated at UFC 265 final faceoff in Houston

The final faceoff for the UFC 265 main event between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane is in the books, and it was a tense one.

HOUSTON – The final faceoff for the UFC 265 main event is in the books, and it was a tense one.

[autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) and [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) meet in the headliner for the interim heavyweight title. Friday, they had to be separated multiple times at the ceremonial weigh-ins.

Check out their eventful faceoff in the video above.

Then don’t miss UFC 265, which takes place Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

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Video: Watch Friday’s UFC 265 ceremonial weigh-ins live on MMA Junkie at 5 p.m. ET

Check out a live video stream of the UFC 265 ceremonial weigh-ins.

HOUSTON – UFC 265 ceremonial fighter weigh-ins take place Friday, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMA Junkie at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT).

The weigh-ins take place at Toyota Center in Houston. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event, which has a main card on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

In addition to the video stream above, you can check out the early and official UFC 265 weigh-in results from earlier in the day.

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Francis Ngannou rips Dana White’s interim belt explanation, says ‘it’s been radio silence’ from UFC

Francis Ngannou is not buying Dana White’s explanation for the interim heavyweight title fight at UFC 265.

UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] is not buying Dana White’s explanation for the interim heavyweight title fight at UFC 265.

On Thursday, the UFC president exclusively told MMA Junkie that he thinks the interim belt on the line between Derrick Lewis (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) and Ciryl Gane (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is the perfect way to set up a title unification clash with Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) down the line and likened it to the boxing world.

“When they fight Francis, it’s like the old days of the IBF vs. the WBC champion, and you unify the belts,” White told MMA Junkie. “That’s exactly how I look at it.”

That’s not sufficient to Ngannou, who won the heavyweight belt with a vicious second-round knockout of Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in March. Ngannou poked holes in White’s logic and snapped back on the numerous ways in which it doesn’t add up.

“I heard something today (from Dana White) like, ‘It’s going to be like the IBF and WBC unified title.’ No, there’s not a unified title,” Ngannou told Sirius XM’s Jimmy Smith. “It’s one promotion, it’s one belt, the UFC belt. It’s not like it has a different name like the PFL coming to challenge the UFC, then we talk about unify the belt. I was there expecting to fight, and they just come up with some sort of interim title. That was very surprising because in the past we didn’t get an interim title, because Stipe wasn’t active and they didn’t even consider that at all. They didn’t want to talk about it.

“I’m at the point where, when it comes to me, nothing good is coming my way, it looks like. They aren’t making anything good to come my way. It’s OK, but I think at this point regarding my last run, I deserve at least some respect as a UFC champion. I’ve been down, I know my low time, and I face it.”

Ngannou seemingly has been on the outs with the UFC brass since shortly after he became champion. The promotion wanted him to headline Saturday’s UFC 265 with Lewis, but because of an overseas trip to his native Cameroon, the timeline didn’t add up for him.

That’s when the promotion moved forward and booked Lewis vs. Gane for the interim strap, and Ngannou said it’s one of the many “inappropriate techniques” the UFC utilizes to put pressure on someone like himself to alter his terms.

“We were quite surprised about that,” Ngannou said. “It was just like two-and-a-half months after I won the fight, and the past month was so much pressure. At this time, I shouldn’t be surprised anymore about anything. At the end of the day, I’m the UFC heavyweight champion of the world. I’m still the champion. It’s not like somebody give it to me. I earned it. It’s my title. What they are doing now out there, it doesn’t matter to me. … If somebody say I don’t want to fight, they don’t know what they’re talking about.”

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Since negotiations for UFC 265 fell apart, Ngannou said he hasn’t received any new information about his future. White walked back on a social media spat with one of Ngannou’s representatives, and since then he’s heard nothing.

“Radio silence,” Ngannou said. “It’s been radio silence. Hopefully they will not come out and be like, ‘Oh, you’re fighting this day.’ Then I’m like, ‘It doesn’t make sense.’ Then they’re like, ‘Oh, he doesn’t want to fight.’ I won’t do that again, because apparently they are really good at this type of thing.”

Ngannou said he’s not looking to play hard ball going forward. He wants to fight quite badly and knows, as champion, it’s his duty to take on all comers. He just wants it to be set up in good faith.

“If you ask me who I would like to fight, I would say Jon Jones,” Ngannou said. “But we all know Jon Jones is not going to fight any time soon, and I don’t want to sit there waiting for him. That’s not what should define my schedule. I want to fight, and as a champion, I want to defend my title. But I just want to make it right for me. That’s all. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who it is. When you’re champion, you kind of just assume that you can fight all the contenders. It doesn’t matter the order of them. You’re going to fight them. If they’re a legit contender, you have to fight them. It’s not your choice.”

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UFC 265 ‘Embedded,’ No. 5: Inside fighter meetings with Derrick Lewis, Ciryl Gane

Go behind-the-scenes during UFC 265 fight week ahead of the Derrick Lewis-Ciryl Gane interim heavyweight title fight.

The UFC returns to pay-per-view Saturday with UFC 265, which means the popular “Embedded” fight week series is back, as well.

UFC 265 takes place at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

The main event features a bout that will decide a new interim UFC heavyweight champion. [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) and [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) are set to clash to see who will unify with Francis Ngannou.

The UFC 265 co-main event features a high-stakes bantamweight matchup with former featherweight champion Jose Aldo (29-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC) continuing his run in the weight class against the always tough Pedro Munhoz (19-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC).

The third episode of “Embedded” follows the featured competitors during fight week. Here’s the description from YouTube:

Ciryl Gane’s coach describes his power. Jose Aldo continues cutting weight. Michael Chiesa relaxes in his room. Pedro Munhoz gets tea from a teammate. Vicente Luque does media day duties. Derrick Lewis embraces his role as underdog.

Also see:

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Justin Gaethje doesn’t like Michael Chandler, tells him ‘it’ll be fun to punch you in the face’

“Something about your face just makes me want to punch it.”

[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] isn’t the type who needs added motivation to get into a fist fight. However, he said he had some extra steam going into his UFC 268 clash with [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag].

Gaethje (22-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) is expected to meet Chandler (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) on Nov. 6 in a high-stakes lightweight fight. It’s a bout that’s been brewing for several months, with both men claiming the other has avoided agreeing to it.

Whether it stems from that drama or something else entirely, Gaethje said he’s no fan of Chandler. Because of that, he’s quite eager to get his hands on the former Bellator champ.

“I got nothing mean to say,” Gaethje said on Friday’s UFC 265 weigh-in show, where Chandler served as a co-host. “We do mean things to each other one night a year. It’s been a while since I fought someone I didn’t like. For some reason you’re a little different. I think it was James Vick, the last guy I fought that I didn’t like. It’ll be fun to punch you in the face.”

UFC 268 is currently planned to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, according to company president Dana White. However, rising COVID-19 cases across the U.S., paired with recently implemented vaccination mandates in New York, leaves the event taking place there in question.

Those mandates could potentially derail the bout, with Chandler already openly stating he won’t be vaccinated by November. Gaethje said he doesn’t want to fight in New York, anyway, and thinks the event will ultimately be relocated.

“I don’t think it’ll be in New York City,” Gaethje said. “I think it’ll be in probably Texas or something, somewhere way sweeter than New York City. New York City sucks. Anywhere outside of that place, and we’ll be good to go.”

Wherever it happens, Gaethje, who hasn’t competed since a lightweight title unification loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 in October, is keen to mix it up with Chandler inside the octagon.

He thinks Chandler has a very punchable face, and Gaethje can’t wait to create more of the violence he’s become so well known for when the cage door finally locks behind them.

“I’m excited to fight someone I don’t like,” Gaethje said. “It’s been a while. I have no reason not to like you. Something about your face just makes me want to punch it.”

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UFC 265 official weigh-in video highlights and photo gallery

Official weigh-ins for UFC 265 are now complete following Friday’s session. Check out our photo gallery and video highlights.

HOUSTON – The UFC 265 fight card is now official following Friday’s weigh-in session, where 25 of the 26 athletes scheduled to compete successfully hit the mark on the scale.

Saturday’s card, which takes place at Toyota Center in Houston with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+, is headlined by an interim heavyweight title fight between Derrick Lewis (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) and Ciryl Gane (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).

Check out the weigh-in highlights in the video above, and a photo gallery from all of Friday’s happenings below.

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UFC 265 weigh-in video: Derrick Lewis has 17.5 pounds on Ciryl Gane for interim title fight

UFC 265’s interim heavyweight title fight between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane is official.

HOUSTON – UFC 265‘s interim heavyweight title fight between [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] and [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] is official.

Lewis (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) and Gane (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) successfully made weight at Friday’s morning weigh-ins at the host hotel, and now the stage is set for them to fight for the interim title that will lead to a unifier with undisputed champ Francis Ngannou.

The pair combined for 511.5 pounds on the scale, with Lewis coming in near the divisional limit at 264.5, while Gane was the lighter man registering 247.

UFC 265 takes place Saturday at the Toyota Center. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

Check out the videos above to see the highlights of Lewis and Gane weighing in for the UFC 265 main event.

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