Tag: Brad Tavares

Callout Collection: Who UFC 250 winners want next – and how likely they’ll get them

Herbert Burns and Neil Magny were among those who name-dropped their preferred next opponents at UFC 250 in Las Vegas.

Earning wins in the UFC is certainly no easy task, but what comes next is often even more important: the post-fight callout.

So after Saturday’s UFC 250 event in Las Vegas, who took advantage of their time on the mic? See below for this week’s Callout Collection – and just how realistic each one is.

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First up, let’s take a look at the preliminary card …

Herbert Burns

Wants to fight: [autotag]Ryan Hall[/autotag] or [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]

The callout: “I want to get back quickly, I want to get back soon. I want to fight on the ‘Fight Island’. We already know the location – they already decided it’s in Abu Dhabi – so the plan is to go there and fight again soon, and hopefully against a good guy. I gave two names: Bryce Mitchell and Ryan Hall, two grapplers. Ryan Hall’s even ranked – he’d be my first choice. But if he doesn’t want (it), I know Mitchell is a tough guy (and) he doesn’t run from a challenger. I’m a challenger, so let’s go.”

The reality: [autotag]Herbert Burns[/autotag] may have kicked off his UFC career with a knockout, but he returned to his grappling roots to score an impressive win over Evan Dunham at UFC 250 and his post-fight suggestions for his next opponent showed where his strengths lie.

Burns very smartly called out a pair of fellow grapplers who few people are keen to face right now, which should give him a great chance of landing one of them for his next fight. Mitchell will face anyone and would have no qualms about testing his own impressive ground game against the Brazilian grappling ace. But the fight that offers the most intrigue for me is the Hall fight. “The Wizard’s” very specific set of ground skills has made him a must-avoid opponent at 145 pounds, which makes Burns’ callout all the more interesting.

Both matchups seem like valid options for Burns, but the Hall fight offers a bout against ranked opposition and gives “The Blaze” the chance to catapult himself towards title contention at 145 pounds while his older brother Gilbert attempts to capture gold at 170. A two-pronged Burns brothers title charge would certainly make for an interesting narrative, so sending Herbert down the faster track could make promotional sense here.

Next up: Middleweight campaigner offers two solid options

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After knee surgery, Antonio Carlos Junior hopes Brad Tavares fight gets rebooked by end of year

Currently recovering from knee surgery, Antonio Carlos Junior hopes a canceled fight with Brad Tavares gets rebooked at the end of 2020.

The ongoing coronavirus outbreak isn’t affecting [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] as many other fighters, the Brazilian said.

That’s because Carlos Junior is currently recovering from a knee surgery that forced him out of a scheduled UFC on ESPN+ 28 fight vs. Makhmud Muradov in Brasilia.

“It actually doesn’t change much for me,” Carlos Junior told MMA Junkie. “I had knee surgery four weeks ago, and all I can do is physiotherapy, but I hope I can get back slowly to training in about a month.”

“I had torn my ACL during a sparring session. Recovery has been good. The doctor was excellent, and I can count on my physiotherapist, who is great.”

Carlos Junior (10-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) was initially scheduled to face [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] in Brasilia. Tavares pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Muradov, b after Carlos Junior suffered an injury of his own, the bout was subsequently scrapped from the card.

With ACL injuries usually taking at least six months for full recovery, Carlos Junior is looking to return by the end of 2020, and he still wants the Tavares matchup.

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“Probably end of the year, November or December,” Carlos Junior said on his return. “I hope I can fight Brad Tavares; he’s a good fighter and is also in the rankings.”

One fighter who recently expressed interest in fighting Carlos Junior is Marvin Vettori, who wants to avenge his 2016 loss to him, but Carlos Junior isn’t too interested in running things back.

“I don’t think so,” Carlos Junior said on Vettori’s callout. “That kid is a good fighter, but he still has a lot to show if he wants to fight me again.”

After winning five straight from 2016 to 2018, Carlos Junior has since dropped back-to-back decisions to Ian Heinisch and, most recently, Uriah Hall last September, a fight he thinks he won.

But Carlos Junior feels primed to return to the win column once healthy and chalks those losses to circumstances outside of the octagon.

“A lot of things happened in my personal life that affected me in the fight, but now everything is going great,” Carlos Junior said. “Besides, I don’t think I lost my last fight.”

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Brad Tavares optimistic about making swift return from ACL surgery

Hawaiian middleweight Brad Tavares is recovering well from ACL surgery and says he’s hopeful to return in the fall.

[autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] has been forced out of action, but after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery, the teak-tough Hawaiian is targeting a return by the end of 2020.

Tavares (17-6 MMA, 12-6 UFC) dropped back-to-back losses to future middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and rising contender Edmen Shahbazyan, and was all set to face Brazilian Antonio Carlos Junior at UFC on ESPN+ 28 in Brasilia before suffering a knee injury in training.

“Just training for a fight with (Cara de) Sapato, planted and my knee just buckled,” Tavares told MMA Junkie during a recent Dominance MMA media day. “Tore my ACL, tore my meniscus, fractured my femur. It sounds a lot worse than it actually is!”

Tavares explained that he initially thought he could bounce back faster without surgery, but eventually he made the decision to go under the knife following the advice from staff at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.

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“What I tried to do at first was, there’s a bunch of fighters who don’t have ACLs, it’s something some people can do without, and I tried to do it and did aggressive rehab for four weeks. I was getting good results, but just not the results that we wanted,” he said.

“So the staff at the UFC PI, we decided that I should go ahead and do surgery, and ultimately that’s what I ended up doing. And I’m honestly glad that I did, because right when I made the decision to do surgery, I thought, ‘(Expletive) it. I can’t mess up my knee any more. I’m going to go spar.’ So I went to sparring the next day and just throwing a jab, trying to plant on my leg, (it) buckled. So I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m glad I made the decision to do the surgery.’

“I felt like that route would have put me out for a shorter amount of time. Being that last year, after I fought Izzy, I broke my arm and was out for over a year. I wasn’t trying to be out for a long period again. So if that was an option, I wanted to see if I could do it, but I ended up doing the surgery anyway.”

Now in the recovery stage, Tavares says he’s making swift progress and thinks he’ll be back and ready to fight again ahead of the prescribed schedule.

“They told me any ACL is usually six to nine months, ACL reconstruction. But already I’ve been responding really well,” Tavares said. “I’m four weeks post-op now, and my range of motion, my strength, my stability, all of those things are very very good – a lot better than most people on the same timeline. So I’m optimistic, and I’m one of those when they tell me six months, I say four.

“But, that being said, I’m not going to rush it. I’m not doing anything stupid. I definitely think it’s something I can fight at the end of this year. I don’t think that it’ll take me longer than six months. Six months I think is the absolute longest it will take.

“I’m not taking any more chances with anything. I can play flag football when it’s all said and done.”

Brad Tavares has injury setback, but ‘here to stay’ entering 10th UFC year

Brad Tavares had a tough time keeping healthy in recent years, and unfortunately, that trend has continued in 2020.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] has had a tough time keeping healthy in recent years, and unfortunately, that trend has continued into 2020.

Tavares (17-6 MMA, 12-6 UFC), who has been a mainstay of the UFC middleweight division for nearly a decade, has managed to get in the octagon just twice in the past two years.

The last time wasn’t a pleasant experience, either. Tavares suffered a first-round knockout loss to Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC 244 in November, then not long after suffered a serious knee injury. Now, Tavares is going through a familiar process: Rehabilitation.

“Unfortunately a couple months back I tore my ACL,” Tavares told MMA Junkie at the recent Dominance MMA media event in Las Vegas. “I just had a reconstructive surgery, so I’m going to be down again for some months here, but I got a great team over at the UFC PI, a great team behind me with Ali (Abdelaziz) and all my guys.”

Tavares said the timeline doctors have given him would mean being sidelined for the majority, if not the entirety, of the year. However, Tavares said he thinks he can accelerate the timeline and fight sooner than expected.

“I’m hoping – they say six-to-nine months – I’m hoping I can do it in four,” Tavares said. “But I’m going to be smart about it. I’m hungry and I’m pushing through this recovery and I can’t wait to get back in there.”

At 32, it could be argued that injuries are tearing away the prime years of Tavares’ career. He doesn’t see it that way, though, because he now plans on fighting for much longer than he originally intended when he got into the sport. He just needs to get healthy enough to do it.

“I always told myself, in the beginning when I started this, I was like, ‘Hey, I’m going to be out of it when I’m like 35,'” Tavares said. “As I’m approaching 35, I’m 32 now, and when I look at it that’s three years, the last three years have flown by. I’m still eager to learn. I feel like I still am learning, so as long as I’m waking up every day with this fire to go out there and keep doing this, I’m going to keep doing it as long as my body can do it. Injury aside, I feel great. I’m here to stay.”

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Brad Tavares injured, out of UFC Brasilia fight vs. Antonio Carlos Junior

Antonio Carlos Junior is in need of a new opponent.

An injury has forced [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] out of his upcoming bout.

Tavares was scheduled to take on [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] at UFC Brasilia but has suffered an injury that will force him out of the fight. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Junkie after an initial report from Combate stated an injured knee is the reason for Tavares’ withdrawal.

With more than three months remaining until the March 14 event, it’s likely that the UFC will seek a replacement for Carlos Junior (10-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC).

Tavares (17-6 MMA, 12-6 UFC) made his return after a more than year-long layoff at UFC 244 against rising star Edmen Shahbazyan, who won by first-round knockout. After winning four straight fights, Tavares has lost his last two in a row to current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, and Shahbazyan in November.

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Carlos Junior was also looking to get back on track and snap a two-fight losing skid. After compiling a five-fight winning streak, he has dropped back-to-back fights to Ian Heinisch and Uriah Hall.

UFC Brasilia takes place March 14 at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil. The event is expected to stream on ESPN+.

The current UFC Brasilia lineup includes:

  • Aleksei Kunchenko vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
  • Nikita Krylov vs. Johnny Walker
  • Antonio Carlos Junior vs. TBD
  • Jussier Formiga vs. Brandon Moreno
  • Amanda Ribas vs. Paige VanZant
  • Enrique Barzola vs. Rani Yahya
  • Veronica Macedo vs. Bea Malecki
  • Maryna Moroz vs. Mayra Bueno Silva

Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Brad Tavares added to UFC Brasilia in March

A middleweight matchup between Antonio Carlos Junior and Brad Tavares has been added to UFC Brasilia.

A pair of middleweights each will look to avoid a three-fight losing skid in March.

[autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) will take on [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 12-6 UFC) when the UFC returns to Brasilia, Brazil. Following an initial report from Combate, MMA Junkie verified with a person with knowledge of the booking that verbal agreements are in place and bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

UFC Brasilia takes place March 14 at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil’s capital city. Broadcast plans have not yet been announced, but the event is likely to stream on ESPN+.

After an impressive run in the 185-pound division, winning five straight, Carlos Junior has suffered back-to-back losses to Ian Heinisch and, most recently Uriah Hall in September. He will look to get back on track in his home country of Brazil when he takes on Tavares.

Tavares will also look to get back to his winning ways. He hast lost two in a row at the hands of current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and, most recently, a first-round knockout loss to Edmen Shahbazyan in November at UFC 244.

With the addition, the current lineup includes:

  • Amanda Ribas vs. Paige VanZant
  • Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Brad Tavares

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