Tag: Anthony Hernandez

Video: UFC 298 press conference faceoffs with Whittaker-Costa, Neal-Garry, Dvalishvili-Cejudo

The stacked UFC 298 main card engaged in faceoffs following Thursday’s pre-fight press conference.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The UFC 298 pre-fight press conference went down Thursday and it was the initial opportunity to get a look at fighter staredowns for the second numbered event of 2024.

The card, which is headlined by a featherweight title bout between [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) and [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), goes down Saturday at Honda Center with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

In addition to the main event, a stacked slate of matchups round out the undercard. That includes [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (24-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) vs. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) vs. [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) and [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC).

All five pairings were in attendance at the pre-fight press conference, where they answered questions and engaged in faceoffs.

Check out the video above to see all the staredowns.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Anthony Hernandez’s game plan for Roman Kopylov at UFC 298: ‘Gas a motherf*cker out and drown him’

Anthony Hernandez won’t change his approach for Roman Kopylov at UFC 298.

IRVINE, Calif. – [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] won’t change his approach for [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag].

Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) went from being scheduled against Combat Sambo champion Ikram Aliskerov to now facing knockout artist Kopylov (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 298 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main card opener at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Hernandez thinks Aliskerov is the more well rounded fighter, but the submission specialist’s game plan remains the same.

“Obviously this guy is a striker, not a wrestler,” Hernandez said of Kopylov at Wednesday’s UFC 298 media day. “The other guy had way more weapons. This guy is a really good kicker, a good striker. So it does change a little bit, but it’s the same game plan no matter what: Gas a motherf*cker out and drown him.”

Hernandez, 30, is on a four-fight winning streak – most recently stopping Edmen Shahbazyan by third-round TKO last May. Inactivity has slightly halted his momentum, but “Fluffy” hopes to change that with a more active 2024.

“Main goal is to win,” Hernandez said. “Second goal would be to stay healthy and definitely want to bang out some fights. I’m not getting any younger, so I need to go f*cking get this sh*t. I need to make my run at the title, and that’s all I want.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Video: UFC 298 media day interviews

Before UFC 298 on Saturday, the main card and prelim fighters are scheduled to speak to reporters at media day.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The UFC 298, which takes place at Honda Center with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+, goes down Saturday.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card and preliminary are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie will be on-site.

Check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

UFC 298 pre-event facts: Alexander Volkanovski can make history with post-KO title defense

The best facts and figures about UFC 298, which sees Alexander Volkanovski take on the rare task of a title defense after a knockout loss.

The octagon returns to Anaheim, Calif., for the first time in more than two years and ninth time in its history on Saturday with UFC 298, which goes down at Honda Center with a main card on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

An anticipated featherweight championship bout gets top billing. Champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) returns to the division he rules following a knockout loss to lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev in October when he takes on unbeaten contender [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC 298.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria

UFC 298 main card takes hit, but Roman Kopylov steps up to face Anthony Hernandez

Two UFC middleweights on four-fight winning streaks, Anthony Hernandez and Roman Kopylov, will collide.

[autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag] will look to continue his recent success when he steps into the UFC 298 main card on short notice.

With [autotag]Ikram Aliskerov[/autotag] out, Kopylov (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) slides into the void opposite [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on the Feb. 17 pay-per-view main card at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting was first to report the fight.

Aliskerov revealed on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) that a staph infection was the cause of his withdrawal.

Kopylov, 32, kicked off his UFC career at 0-2 but has rattled off four straight wins since. All four of those victories were finishes by strikes, including a brutal body shot TKO of Josh Fremd in his most recent outing in September.

Hernandez, 30, rides a four-fight winning streak of his own. Three of those four performances have been finishes, including a third-round ground-and-pound stoppage vs. Edmen Shahbazyan in May.

With the change, the UFC 298 fight card includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+ pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria – for featherweight title
  • Paulo Costa vs. Robert Whittaker
  • Ian Garry vs. Geoff Neal
  • Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili
  • Anthony Hernandez vs. Roman Kopylov

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Justin Tafa
  • Rinya Nakamura vs. Carlos Vera
  • AJ Dobson vs. Tresean Gore
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Lemos

EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
  • Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick
  • Danny Barlow vs. Josh Quinlan
  • Oban Elliott vs. Val Woodburn

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Ikram Aliskerov vs. Anthony Hernandez joins UFC 298 lineup

Ikram Aliskerov will look to enter the middleweight rankings at UFC 298 when he takes on Anthony Hernandez in Anaheim.

[autotag]Ikram Aliskerov[/autotag] will look to enter the middleweight rankings at UFC 298.

Aliskerov (15-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] (11-2-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Both fighters confirmed the news on their social media platforms after an initial report from MMA Fighting.

Since he punched his ticket to the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series, Aliskerov has scored back-to-back first-round knockouts of Phil Hawes and Warlley Alves. His lone career loss came to Khamzat Chimaev in April 2019.

Hernandez is riding plenty of momentum having won four straight – three by finish. He’s coming off a third-round TKO of Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Fight Night 224 in May.

The latest UFC 298 lineup now includes:

  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria – for featherweight title
  • Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita
  • Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
  • Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Justin Tafa
  • Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick
  • Ikram Aliskerov vs. Anthony Hernandez

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Aug. 21-27)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Aug. 21-27.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Aug. 14-20)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from Aug. 14-20.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 19-25)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from June 19-25.

Chris Curtis set to face Anthony Hernandez at September UFC Fight Night event

A fun middleweight matchup has been added to a September UFC Fight Night event, pitting Chris Curtis against Anthony Hernandez.

An exciting middleweight clash is heading for a UFC Fight Night event in September.

[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] is set to face [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] on Sept. 16 at an event expected to take place in Las Vegas. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking following a first report from MMA Fighting.

Curtis (30-10 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will look to return to the win column as he steps into the cage for the third time in 2023. His last outing at UFC 289 was a no contest result against Nassourdine Imavov due to an accidental clash of heads. Prior to the inconclusive outcome, Curtis was frustrated with his unanimous decision loss to former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. Curtis’ last victory was a second-round finish of Joaquin Buckley at UFC 282 in December.

Meanwhile, Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has been on a hot streak as a winner of four straight. During his run, “Fluffy” has submitted Rodolfo Vieira and Marc-Andre Barriault, including a ground and pound stoppage of Edmen Shahbazyan in his first appearance of the year.

The venue for the event has yet to be officially determined.

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