Take a look back at the inaugural event of Affliction hosted 13 years ago today.
Thirteen years ago today, one of the best heavyweight fight cards in MMA went down in the U.S., but it wasn’t part of the UFC.
Back on July 19, 2008, Affliction hosted its inaugural event – Affliction: Banned, which took place at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. This card featured a high-profile, heavyweight matchup in the main event with the legendary [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] taking on former UFC champion [autotag]Tim Sylvia[/autotag]. Additionally,[autotag] Andrei Arlovski[/autotag] fought [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] and[autotag] Josh Barnett[/autotag] took on Pedro Rizzo.
The star-studded event even featured [autotag]Vitor Belfort[/autotag], [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag], and [autotag]Gary Goodridge[/autotag] the preliminary card. That’s how stacked Affliction: Banned was.
And to counter-program the card, the UFC put its middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, to fight on a UFC Fight Night event after headlining five consecutive pay-per-view cards. Silva moved up a weight class to take on tough veteran James Irvin at UFC Fight Night 14, which aired on Spike TV. That would be Silva’s only Fight Night performance in a decade, as he would fight again on a non-UFC pay-per-view in 2016 against Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 84.
Take a look back at the stacked Affliction: Banned in the video above.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from July 2020.
With another action-packed month in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from July 2020: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Fight of the Month” award for July.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
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The Nominees
Rose Namajunas def. Jessica Andrade at UFC 251
[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) got the revenge she was looking for when she defeated fellow former UFC champion [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) in their anticipated rematch.
After Andrade took the strawweight title with a stunning slam knockout in May 2019, Namajunas emerged victorious in the rematch with a split decision win. She used superior footwork and striking to win the early portion of the fight, then resisted a late push from her Brazilian foe to secure the win.
[autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) had moments when it looked like he might become a two-division UFC champion. But in the end, [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) may have brought about a changing of the guard in the lighter weight classes.
Yan became the UFC’s new bantamweight champion with a fifth-round TKO of former featherweight champ Aldo. Yan used pinpoint striking and a dangerous overall assault to overcome the moments where Aldo looked like he could successfully turn back the clock and began a new arena in the 135-pound division.
Mounir Lazzez def. Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC on ESPN 13
[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) proved that after two years away he’s still one of the most exciting welterweights on the UFC roster. Newcomer [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) just managed to shine a little brighter, though.
Lazzez made his UFC debut as a relative unknown, but did not leave that way after beating Alhassan by unanimous decision. The pair threw down for 15 minutes, with Lazzez standing up to the trademark power of Alhassan and taking over to claim his first octagon win in the “Fight of the Night.”
Rafael Fiziev def. Marc Diakiese at UFC on ESPN+ 30
[autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) showed how different striking levels can be when he outworked a well respected standup artist in [autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) over 15 minutes of lightweight action.
Fiziev was one step ahead of Diakiese in his unanimous decision win, using techniques that were just a touch more effective than what his opponent brought to the table. In the end, both men took home an extra $50,000 for “Fight of the Night.”
Mauricio Rua def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on ESPN 14
[autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag] (27-11-1 MMA, 11-9-1 UFC) left no doubt he’s superior to [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] (23-10 MMA, 6-7 UFC) when he made it 3-0 over his longtime rival in their trilogy fight.
After “Shogun” picked up wins in the first two meetings in 2005 and 2015, Rua made it a clean series sweep over Nogueira with a split decision victory. They slugged it out in classic fashion, and although it seemed Nogueira might slide out with a win, the judges once again saw it for Rua.
The rematch between Namajunas and Andrade was well worth the wait – for both Namajunas and the viewers who got to witness a tremendous scrap.
In their first meeting, at UFC 237, Andrade took the strawweight belt from Namajunas via a memorable, second-round knockout slam.
Fourteen months later, the duo met again. Namajunas put together two stellar rounds, then showed great heart in withstanding a furious third-round onslaught.
Namajunas, competing for the first time since losing the title, eked out a split decision victor with the better end of two of three 29-28 scorecards.
Andrade make clear from the jump she planned on pushing a strong pace, using fast movement to dart in and out. Namajunas, however, didn’t need much time to figure out her range, and she began using a pinpoint jab, crisp straight hands, and solid counters on the occasion Andrade manage to break through.
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This continued for the better part of two rounds, but Andrade might have the heaviest hands at 115 pounds, and she threw them, like with a wicked body shot in the second, she landed.
And then Andrade turned it on in the third. Andrade threw everything but the kitchen sink at her foe, leaving Namajunas with her nose cut open and her left eye nearly swollen shut. Things looked bad when Andrade landed a strong throw to take her opponent to the mat.
But Namajunas got back to her feet, gritted her way through the onslaught, and got to the final horn to seal the win.
“She went into desperation and started really unloading and she caught me a couple times, obviously,” Namajunas said. “But I just stayed strong.”
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira walked away from MMA following his third loss to Mauricio Rua at UFC on ESPN 14. What’s the Brazilian’s MMA legacy?
Brazilian legend [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] retired from MMA competition following his trilogy-fight loss to Mauricio Rua at UFC on ESPN 14, marking the end of a career that dates back to his August 2001 debut and saw him fight for UFC, PRIDE and more.
Although Nogueira doesn’t have the major accomplishments such as a title in a premier organization, he has a career that was very respectable and left his mark on the sport. What kind of mark, exactly? MMA Junkie writers Nolan King, Farah Hannoun and Danny Segura debate Nogueira’s legacy in this edition of Triple Take.
Nolan King: Creating a legacy is more than wins and losses. Nogueira is a legend.
I’m sure Nogueira isn’t sitting in many people’s top 10 pound-for-pound list for the greatest fighters of all time. However, his accomplishments can’t be measured by wins and losses.
If you know MMA, you know the Nogueiras. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira had the “it-factor” before the “it-factor” was even a widely-recognizable trait in MMA. Identical twins and Brazilian badasses with the same name, both brothers competed at a top-tier level throughout their careers.
Just look at the laundry list of notable fighters Antonio Rogerio Nogueira competed against in PRIDE, Affliction, the UFC, and beyond. From Alistair Overeem to Kazushi Sakuraba to Mauricio Rua to Tito Ortiz to Rashad Evans, Nogueira’s place as a guy who fights top-tier talented translated across fighting generations.
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Sure, his UFC record wasn’t the best. Sure, we have imagery of him getting blasted by Ryan Spann and Ryan Bader, but his late-career stumbles don’t water down the overall legacy.
Think about how many current UFC fighters grew up watching Rogerio and his legendary matchups and were inspired to pick up MMA themselves. That’s a legacy right there not a couple of knockouts. That’s legend status. That’s Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
Next page: Farah Hannoun – ‘Lil’ Nog’ may not enter the UFC Hall of Fame, but he’s still a legend
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 14, which saw Robert Whittaker score a main-event win over Darren Till in Abu Dhabi.
The final stop of the UFC’s inaugural “Fight Island” stretch took place Saturday with UFC on ESPN 14, which went down at Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi with a record 15-fight card that aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
Former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 12-3 UFC) rebounded from losing the title to Israel Adesanya last October when he outworked [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] (18-3-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) to a unanimous decision in the main event.
For more on the numbers behind the historic fight card, check below for 50 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN 14.
The six fight-night bonuses issued at UFC on ESPN 14 set a single-event record for the company.
UFC on ESPN 14 drew an announced attendance of zero for a live gate of $0.
Betting favorites went 11-4 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 14-6 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 15-bout card was 2:40:24.
Main card
Robert Whittaker
Whittaker improved to 9-1 since he moved up to the UFC middleweight division in November 2014.
Whittaker has earned seven of his 12 UFC victories by decision.
Till fell to 1-1 since he moved up to the middleweight division in November.
Till suffered the first decision loss of his career.
[autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag]’s (27-11-1 MMA, 11-9-1 UFC) 23 victories in UFC/PRIDE light-heavyweight competition are the most in combined divisional history.
[autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] (23-10 MMA, 6-7 UFC) fell to 2-5 in his past seven fights dating back to July 2014.
Nogueira has suffered six of his 10 career losses by decision.
Werdum (24-9-1 MMA, 12-6 UFC) improved to 10-4 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2012.
Werdum has earned 18 of his 24 career victories by stoppage. That includes eight of his 12 UFC wins.
[autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag]’s (18-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since May 2017.
Gustafsson was unsuccessful in his heavyweight debut.
Gustafsson fell to 3-6 in his past nine UFC appearances dating back to his first title fight against Jon Jones in September 2013.
Carla Esparza
[autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) improved to 7-3 since losing the UFC strawweight title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2015.
Esparza’s eight victories in UFC strawweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Jedrzejczyk (10).
Esparza’s four-fight UFC winning streak at strawweight is the fourth longest active streak in the division behind Tatiana Suarez (five), Yan Xiaonan (five) and Zhang Weili (five).
Esparza has earned seven of her eight UFC victories by decision.
Esparza’s 39 takedowns landed in UFC strawweight competition are most in divisional history.
[autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] (13-1-2 MMA, 2-1-2 UFC) had her 15-fight unbeaten streak snapped for the first defeat of her career.
Craig (13-4-1 MMA, 5-4-1 UFC) has earned all of his career victories by stoppage.
Craig became the first fighter in UFC history to win three separate fights by triangle choke submission.
Craig’s five submission victories in UFC light heavyweight competition are tied with Jones, Misha Cirkunov, Ovince Saint Preux, and Glover Teixeira for most in divisional history.
[autotag]Gadzhimurad Antigulov[/autotag] (21-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has suffered all eight of his career losses by stoppage.
Antigulov suffered his first submission loss since Apr. 27, 2013 – a span of 2,646 days (more than seven years) and 18 fights.
[autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] (21-8-1 MMA, 11-6 UFC) improved to 9-5 (with one no contest) in UFC welterweight competition.
[autotag]Peter Sobotta[/autotag] (17-7-1 MMA, 4-6 UFC) fell to 4-3 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in May 2014.
Sobotta has suffered four of his six UFC losses by decision.
Khamzat Chimaev
Chimaev (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) set a record for fastest time between UFC wins with two victories in 10 days.
Chimaev earned a fight-night bonus for both of his wins.
Chimaev has earned all eight of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished five of those wins in Round 1.
[autotag]Rhys McKee[/autotag] (10-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Preliminary card
Francisco Trinaldo
[autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag]’s (26-7 MMA, 16-6 UFC) 15 victories in UFC lightweight competition are tied for fourth most in divisional history behind Jim Miller (19), Donald Cerrone (17) and Gleison Tibau (16).
[autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by knockout.
Ronson (22-10 MMA, 1-3 UFC) was successful in his return to the UFC after going winless in his first stint from 2013-2014.
[autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC) fell to 1-1 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September.
Dalby suffered the first submission loss of his career.
Aspinall (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned all eight of his career victories by stoppage.
[autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) was unsuccessful in his UFC heavyweight debut.
Collier has alternated wins and losses over his past eight fights.
Collier has suffered four of his five career losses by stoppage.
[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Mike Grundy[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had his nine-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
Grundy suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Tanner Boser
Boser (19-6-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) earned his second UFC victory in a 28-day stretch. He also won at UFC on ESPN 12 on June 27.
Raphael Pessoa (10-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by stoppage.
Pessoa suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
[autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has earned nine of her 12 career victories by decision. That includes both of her UFC wins.
[autotag]Ramazan Emeev[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) improved to 3-1 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in May 2018.
Emeev improved to 16-2 in his past 18 fights.
Emeev has earned all four of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Niklas Stolze[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered all four of his career losses by decision.
[autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) earned his first decision victory since Nov. 14, 2015 – a span of 1,715 days (nearly five years) and 11 fights.
[autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of his career.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
UFC on ESPN 14 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.
ABU DHABI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 14 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $209,500
The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.
UFC on ESPN 14 took place at Flash Forum in Yas Island. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 14 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 14 event.
While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a UFC win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.
See what the fighters from UFC on ESPN 14 went with as their backing tracks in Abu Dhabi.
[autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]: “I’m A Man” by Black Strobe
[autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag]: “Run This Town” by Jay-Z
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.
Mauricio Rua left no doubt he’s superior to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira when he made it 3-0 over his longtime rival at UFC on ESPN 14.
[autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag] left no doubt he’s superior to [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] on Saturday when he made it 3-0 over his longtime rival at UFC on ESPN 14.
After “Shogun” picked up wins in the first two meetings in 2005 and 2015, Rua (27-11-1 MMA, 11-9-1 UFC) made it a clean series sweep over Nogueira (23-10 MMA, 6-7 UFC) with a split decision victory in the trilogy bout with scores of 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28.
Nogueira was looking to end his MMA career on a high, as he pegged the matchup as his retirement bout. Rua was having none of it, though, and did not allow his fellow Brazilian to go out on a high.
The light heavyweight bout was the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 14, which aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+ from Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
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Both men were tentative to start the fight, but Rua pressed the action first with a pair of powerful leg kicks. He moved in and pressed Nogueira against the fence, but Nogueira broke free and landed a hard hook. Rua respected the striking and landed kicks to the leg and body of his opponent. The offensive moments started to pick up in the final two minutes, with both men tagging each other with hooks. Nogueira seemed to stagger Rua, who answered by securing a takedown in the final 30 seconds.
Rua came out in the second with more leg kicks of Nogueira, who looked to counter with his punches stepping in. Some more intense exchanges followed, then Nogueira ran into Rua with his body and sent him to the ground. Nogueira started to chip away with ground-and-pound as Rua bided his time to get back up to his feet. He did with about two minutes remaining, then came after Nogueira with a punch and kick combination before shooting for a takedown that was stopped. Rua landed his best right hand of the fight moments later, but Nogueira remained composed. They exchanged over the final two minutes, with both landing some solid strikes.
Nogueira came out looking to press the action in the final round of his career. He pushed forward through Rua’s kicks to the body and head and worked his boxing to the head. The pace slowed through the middle of the round, with both men jabbing away at the face and body of their opponent. Rua landed a tight right hand, but his power seems to be doing little to Nogueira. He landed a couple more after before Nogueira stung him back with the left straight. Rua responded with a flurry of clean punches that set up a takedown attempt. He worked away from half guard over the final minute to close out a third and final tightly contested bout.
After the fight, Nogueira confirmed he would be walking away from the sport.
“I fight very well. I know I can fight very well,” Nogueira said. “But I think it’s time for me to leave this behind.”
Rua, meanwhile, was thrilled to get another win.
“I’m very happy,” Rua said. “I beat the legend Nogueira three times. I’m very happy. Every fight with Nogueira is a war.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 14 results include:
Mauricio Rua def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
See the top Twitter reactions to Mauricio Rua’s narrow decision win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on ESPN 14.
[autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag] ended his trilogy against [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] with a clean sweep of wins when he came out on top in the UFC on ESPN 14 co-main event.
“Shogun” (27-11-1 MMA, 11-9-1 UFC), the former UFC light heavyweight champion, made it a clean 3-0 run over his rival Nogueira (23-10 MMA, 6-7 UFC) with a split decision victory in their co-headlining contest, which took place at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and aired on ESPN.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions Rua’s victory over Nogueira at UFC on ESPN 14.
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The trilogy is here! @ShogunRua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (@MinotouroMMA) fight for a third time 15 years after their first meeting in the #UFCFightIsland3 co-headliner.
Bravo to Shogun and Nogueira. This clearly mattered intensely to both, they gave everything they have left in the tank, and put on a pretty compelling fight for a couple old guys.
