Tag: breaking

Giovanni Melillo fueled by underdog status against Michael Page at Bellator Europe 6

Giovanni Melillo is relishing the experience of fighting Michael Page in the Bellator Europe 6 main event.

LONDON – [autotag]Giovanni Melillo[/autotag] is relishing the experience of fighting [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] in the Bellator Europe 6 main event.

Melillo (13-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) stepped in as an injury replacement to fight Page (15-1 MMA, 11-1 BMMA) in the welterweight headliner of Saturday’s card, which takes place at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London and streams on MMA Junkie, on short notice and is planning to take advantage of the opportunity.

“It’s a big match in a big show and I’m very happy Bellator had me fight with the King of England ‘MVP,'” Melillo told MMA Junkie through an interpreter at Bellator Europe 6 media day.

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With Page currently listed as high as a -1600 betting favorite ahead of the bout, Melillo knows public perception is not in his favor. However, he said he likes that roll.

“I know all the people are for ‘Venom’ Page, but I am quiet,” Melillo said. “This pressure charge me.”

To hear more from Melillo, watch his complete Bellator Europe 6 media day interview above.

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Rafael dos Anjos vs. Michael Chiesa added to UFC Raleigh

A matchup between two top welterweights is the latest addition to UFC Raleigh.

A matchup between two top welterweights is the latest addition to UFC Raleigh.

Former lightweight champion [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] meets [autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag] at the UFC’s Jan. 25 event. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking with MMA Junkie after an initial report from ESPN, which came after Chiesa indicated he had a fight lined up on Twitter.

The event is scheduled to take place at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., and is expected to stream on ESPN+.

Dos Anjos (29-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) most recently competed in July at UFC on ESPN 4, where he lost a unanimous decision to Leon Edwards. The defeat was dos Anjos’ third in four outings, having also dropped recent fights to Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.

Conversely, Washington’s Chiesa (16-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) is undefeated since moving up to welterweight. After he defeated Carlos Condit in his divisional debut at UFC 232 last December, Chiesa won a unanimous decision over Diego Sanchez at UFC 239 in July.

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The latest lineup for the Jan. 25 fight card includes:

  • Curtis Blaydes vs. Junior Dos Santos
  • Frankie Edgar vs. Cory Sandhagen
  • Justine Kish vs. Lucie Pudilova
  • Alen Amedovski vs. Bevon Lewis
  • Jamahal Hill vs. Darko Stosic
  • Felipe Colares vs. Montel Jackson
  • Herbert Burns vs. Nate Landwehr
  • Tony Gravely vs. Brett Johns
  • Lina Lansberg vs. Sara McMann
  • Brianna Van Buren vs. Hannah Cifers
  • Michael Chiesa vs. Rafael dos Anjos

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Colbey Northcutt discusses lofty long-term ONE Championship goals

With Colbey Northcutt’s promotional debut here, is ONE Championship gold in her future?

[autotag]Colbey Northcutt[/autotag] dropped her professional MMA debut, but that won’t stop her from having big aspirations.

Northcutt (0-1) recently signed with ONE Championship, joining her brother, Sage, and will take on Putri Padmi (0-1) in a 135-pound women’s flyweight bout Friday at ONE Championship 104 in Singapore.

Since ONE doesn’t currently have a women’s flyweight champion, Northcutt hopes she can one day compete for its inaugural title and become the organization’s first titleholder.

“Right now, I don’t believe ONE Championship has a flyweight women’s world champion, so right now, coming into ONE, that’s my first immediate goal,” Northcutt said. “Get a few fights first obviously and get my feet wet, and then look to be the first women’s flyweight champ. And then I obviously love that they have kickboxing and muay Thai, so I can definitely branch out and do both. So one step at a time first, get past this fight, and then move forward.”

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It’s been more than two years since Northcutt made her pro MMA debut, and she now finds herself in the same organization as her brother, a chapter in her career that she’s very much looking forward to.

“I’m so excited to join Sage,” Northcutt said. “This is a longtime coming obviously. We grew up training and fighting together, and I’ve been following his career for years, so to be in the same organization and fight for ONE Championship is a dream come true really.”

A couple of opponent changes later, Northcutt drew Padmi, who, like Northcutt, also dropped her pro debut. Currently training at the Treigning Lab in California, Northcutt has made a lot of changes to her game.

“To be honest, my entire camp I kind of just worked on myself, improving every area that I could,” Northcutt said. “I’m very confident in my striking, but working on my wrestling, I’m at a wrestling camp grappling. But from what I see about Putri, she is a kickboxer like myself, stand-up background, and she’s very aggressive and likes to go forward, so I’m going to be expecting that aggression and waiting for her to come and get me.”

“My training’s been completely different from my last fight,” Northcutt added. “I’ve switched teams. I’ve switched camps. I’m surrounded by entirely new coaches, entirely new teammates, working with some of the best in the world over at the Treigning Lab, and I think that everybody is actually going to see the results out there when I fight.”

James Gallagher: Mike Kimbel’s vulgar comment about my mother led to Bellator media day scuffle

James Gallagher says he threw the first punch because he wasn’t about to let the Instagram comment slide.

LONDON – At Thursday’s Bellator Europe 6 media day, all eyes were on two competitors not competing on this weekend’s card.

Before the interview proceedings even started, a scuffle broke out between Bellator Europe 7 headliner [autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag] and fellow Bellator featherweight [autotag]Mike Kimbel[/autotag].

In a wild sequence of events, Gallagher allegedly walked up to Kimbel and punched him square in the face. Who alleges this? Gallagher himself.

Why did Gallagher strike Kimbel? The brash Irish up-and-comer gave his side of the story when speaking to MMA Junkie. According to Gallagher, Kimbel had long talked trash about him. However, things escalated when Kimbel made a vulgar joke about Gallagher’s mother on Instagram.

“He’s 2-4 or something like this, but he was talking a lot of (expletive) about me,” Gallagher said. “He was saying my name all the time, running me down, saying a lot of hateful, annoying things. But that’s cool. Say what you want about me. I understand the fight game.

“… Then he took it a bit too far and took a screenshot of a picture off of my Instagram. I posted up a picture of me and my mum coming to visit me in Dublin. I brought her out for dinner, and we got a picture outside the restaurant. I was like, ‘Such a good weekend seeing my mother.’ And he screenshotted it and put it up and goes, ‘She should have swallowed the sperm cells that have made this.'”

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Talk all you want trying to hype a fight, Gallagher said. However, when you talk about somebody’s mother, that’s where he draws the line. Disrespecting women is the lowest of the low in Gallagher’s eyes.

“For me as a young man, I don’t disrespect women like that,” Gallagher said. “That’s the lowest of the lowest. I would never disrespect any grown woman, nevermind my mother. Not only has he disrespected a woman that I know, he disrespected a woman that I love to bits. A woman that has made me the man I am.

“And that was it. I didn’t say nothing else. I just left it at that. And he asked last month, could he come to Dublin. I said, ‘Yeah, of course you can come to Dublin. You might not get back out, though. You might not.’ Might’ve, might not, whatever. But when I saw him today for the first time, I didn’t say nothing else to him. I just walked up and smacked him with a left hook on the chin, and that was that. Don’t speak about my mother again.”

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Despite the heat between the two featherweights, Gallagher asserted he’d never fight Kimbel in an actual MMA bout. However, if Kimbel ever says anything else about Gallagher’s mother, the Irishman indicated fisticuffs will come outside the cage once again.

“I will never ever fight Mike Kimbel in an MMA contest – ever,” Gallagher said. “We can leave it at that now. … If I’m somewhere, don’t come. Don’t come. Don’t be around me. Don’t say nothing about me. Get on your way, do your thing, and that’s it. There is no revenge that can satisfy me about what he said about my mother.

“… The biggest (regret) is that I didn’t get him in a room on my own and that there was people here able to hold him back and hold me back. That’s the only regret that I’ve got. Nothing else. He’s a lucky, lucky man – a kid. A stupid little kid. He’s lucky.”

Watch the video above to hear Gallagher’s full breakdown of the Kimbel altercation.

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UFC champ Zhang Weili envisions finishing ‘angry and emotional’ Joanna Jedrzejczyk early

“I think she sounds very angry all the time, and her emotions will get her in trouble.”

It appears UFC strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] will be making her first title defense against former 115-pound queen [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag].

At least that’s what UFC president Dana White alluded to when he said earlier this week that he’s very excited about the matchup, which has been brewing. Weili (20-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and Jedrzejczyk (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) have not minced words toward each other. In a recent interview with South China Morning Post, Jedrzejczyk said she’s willing to take a canoe to China to beat the (expletive) out of Weili.

Weili believes Jedrzejczyk’s emotions will cost her, as she envisions an early finish in their potential fight, just like when she won the title in 42 seconds by stopping Jessica Andrade in August.

“I think she sounds very angry all the time, and her emotions will get her in trouble,” Weili told MMA Junkie in a direct message. “She is willing to fight me now, but there was a time she didn’t want to fight me, as well. I am ready anytime for battle. Just call my manager Mr. Brian (Butler) and the boss Dana, and we can fight next week.”

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“I am always looking to finish a fight as soon as I can so my opponent doesn’t have to endure long periods of damage,” Weili added. “I see the fight ending in one or two rounds. I think Joanna possesses great skill with her striking, along with good power, but I believe in my training and team to have me ready to beat her anywhere.”

After losing her title to Rose Namajunas in 2017, Jedrzejczyk endured a rough stretch in her career, falling in a rematch to Namajunas, as well as a failed attempt to capture the flyweight title vs. Valentina Shevchenko. Jedrzejczyk had dropped three of her last four bouts, but she is back in pursuit of reclaiming her throne, defeating Michelle Waterson via unanimous decision last month in Tampa.

Jedrzejczyk, who said she was promised a title shot with a win over Waterson, is determined to get her title back, but Weili is confident she will shut her down.

“I think she is very angry and emotional, and I will calm her down,” Weili said.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3003: On Shevchenko vs. Chookagian, Adesanya-Costa feud, more

Hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” break down the latest MMA news and notes, from fights booked to feuds ramping up.

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!

On episode 3,002 of the podcast, the guys break down the latest MMA news and notes.

The rundown

  • UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] has her next title defense lined up, and it’ll happen against [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] on Feb. 8 in Houston. We offer our thoughts on the matchup and ponder Shevchenko’s status as one of the all-time great female fighters.
  • Did you see that [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] is set to fight … [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]? Latifi recently announced his move up to heavyweight from light heavyweight, and that’s one hell of an introduction to the division.
  • Question: Would [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] have a better shot in a rematch with UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] than Alexander Gustafsson did his second time around? We discuss.
  • Good news: [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] is on schedule with his recovery to return soon. Bad news: We still have no idea which UFC title he’ll defend first – flyweight or bantamweight. Whose decision is it, and what will ultimately be decided?
  • [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] ranted about UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] this week and called him a “p***y African.” That … might be racist?
  • A potential fight between [autotag]Jason Knight[/autotag] and [autotag]Paulie Malignaggi[/autotag] in either boxing or bare knuckle: Is that something we want to see?
  • [autotag]Josh Thomson[/autotag] wants to run it back with [autotag]Gilbert Melendez[/autotag] for a fourth time, and lobbies for Bellator to make it happen. Are we into it?

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at AudioBoom, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

Corey Anderson scoffs at Jon Jones using ‘MMA math’ to prove point about Dominick Reyes

Jon Jones and Corey Anderson are at it again after the UFC champ started it this time.

UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] are at it again.

Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) and Anderson (13-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) exchanged some jabs on Twitter early Thursday.

Their verbal war has been going on for quite some time, but this battle began after Jones posted a video of Anderson getting knocked out by Ovince Saint Preux in November 2017 at UFC 217.

Using his MMA math, Jones pointed to the knockout as an indicator that Dominick Reyes was the tougher challenge in the light heavyweight division. Saint Preux, whom Jones defeated in 2016, knocked out Anderson, but was “dominated” by Reyes.

Hours later, Anderson responded in an attempt to disprove Jones’ claim. In Anderson’s eyes, he isn’t the same fighter who was knocked out cold by Saint Preux.

Lol come on jony boi you kno how the fight went all the way up to that point. I took my L and learned from it. And barely been touched since. I don’t think I’ve absorbed 100 strikes in last 4 fights combined. And was domdonating that one. You starting to act like a casual..

In a follow-up tweet, Anderson called out Jones’ use of “MMA math.” Additionally, Anderson took a jab at Jones’ “GOAT” status by saying he was more like – well, a different kind of animal.

We got the “goat” out here using MMA math now to justify his scared ways 🤣🤣 Now I’ve seen it out. When goats turning into dogs..a female dog at that. #casual #ufc

While Anderson is coming off a big TKO victory over Johnny Walker at UFC 244 earlier this month, Jones is likely to face Reyes in his next title defense. There has been speculation the meeting between Jones and Reyes will take place Feb. 8 at UFC 247 in Houston, but no official announcement has been made at this time.

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Luke Rockhold opens up on MMA future: ‘I don’t have the passion I once had’

“Anything can happen,” but there’s a good chance we’ve seen the last of Luke Rockhold inside the cage.

Last month, [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] stated that he has no interest in fighting, and he apparently still feels the same way.

Rockhold’s statement was brief, but now the former UFC middleweight champion has opened up about his most recent knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 and his fighting future.

“You know, it was just – it’s not exactly what it used to be for me,” Rockhold said in an interview with Submission Radio. “I feel like I rushed. I rushed things, I wasn’t as relaxed. I tried to force an issue, an easier way out of the fight, which I thought would be a lot easier, then I got caught up in that style, and I paid for it. So, I believe, obviously if I fought a different fight, it might be a different story.

“I just – I don’t have the passion I once had. There’s a lot of other things that go into fighting, politically and everything else that goes behind it. So, I don’t know. It’s not the same as it used to be. I don’t have the hunger and the passion that I used to have for fighting at this time, so I’m gonna take a break. Take a long break.”

Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) will make a return to combat sports later this month, but it’s not fighting. He is expected to take part in a grappling match vs. Nick Rodriguez at Polaris 12 on Nov. 30, but insists it’s not a step towards returning to the octagon.

“I mean, this is just kind of fun for me. This little Polaris thing just happened to pop up, they kept asking about it, and it’s fun,” Rockhold said. “It’s an opportunity to go out and kind of keep myself goal-oriented. I’m gonna go train, but not take it crazy seriously. It’s jiu-jitsu. So, it’s not a fight. It’s not a fight. This is not like my comeback. This is jiu-jitsu. And everyone wants to call jiu-jitsu fighting, but it’s not fighting. It’s definitely not fighting.”

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If this is it for Rockhold, who was able to capture both the Strikeforce and UFC middleweight titles, he is happy with what he has achieved in MMA. He admits it’s been hard to reignite that fire, considering that he’s reached the pinnacle in both organizations.

“It’s been going on for a while, I’d say,” Rockhold said on losing his passion for fighting. “But I think once you reach the top, once you reach your goal, and that’s in fighting especially, it’s like there’s a sense of relief. And coming down off that and trying to find the hunger and the passion to keep pursuing this lifestyle, which is fighting, it’s tough.

“I don’t know. I’ve been fighting for a long time. I was at the top of the chain with Strikeforce, but there was still that itch, the what if, all the questions that everyone had. So, to go out there and prove myself in the UFC, to obviously take a hard loss from Vitor (Belfort) and climb back up and take it, it’s a different mindset preceding and following that, and I don’t know. I just – I’d say after that, at that point it was a little different, everything was a little different.”

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Rockhold, 35, did try to regain that motivation by moving up to 205 pounds, but was quickly shut down by Blachowicz. It was his third stoppage loss in four fights. The move up to light heavyweight was to prevent the depletion of his body, making that cut down to middleweight. But Rockhold admits that the gap between weight classes is a little too large.

And while he’s not completely ruling out a return to fighting, it’s all about finding the right motivation.

“Anything could happen,” Rockhold said. “It’s like, you can’t fight for the rest of your life. If things change in my mind, and I feel like I wanna pursue, if my body can take – there’s a weight problem with both weight classes being caught in between weight classes and where you wanna go, where you feel the best. So, I’m not gonna do it just to go do it. It’s, if I felt good enough to go and compete with the best guy in either respective weight class, that would happen. But otherwise, right now I’m enjoying kind of pursing other things in life. There’s a lot left for me to do. I can do a lot of things in life. And unlike the rest of these guys, who are pretty stuck in their world, I’m not trying to beat it into the ground, I don’t need to or have to.”

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WATCH: James Gallagher and Mike Kimbel get heated at Bellator Europe 6 media day

James Gallagher wasn’t about to let some cheap shots about his mother slide.

Things got heated between [autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag] and [autotag]Mike Kimbel[/autotag] during Bellator Europe 6 media day.

Though neither fighter will be competing Saturday night, both were on hand for Thursday’s festivities in London. The altercation appears to have stemmed from a comment that Kimbel made on an Instagram post of Gallagher with his mother.

According to a post on Sherdogs forums, the since-deleted Instagram post was a vulgar shot at Gallagher’s mom. Kimbel also said “now let me murk him” in a separate birthday post by Bellator’s official Instagram.

At media day, Gallagher and Kimbel shouted expletives and threats at each other from across the room. They had to be restrained from the potential brawl that was brewing. Bellator Europe 6 headliner Michael Page and co-headliner Mike Shipman had to step in, according to MMA Junkie’s Simon Head, who was on the scene. Gallagher was so upset that, at one point, he turned on Page, who was simply trying to keep the peace.

You can watch the chaotic scene unfold in the video above.

While Kimbel doesn’t currently have a fight booked, James Gallagher is set to headline Bellator Europe 7 vs. Cal Ellenor on Feb. 22 in Dublin.

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.

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Valentina Shevchenko set to defend UFC title vs. Katlyn Chookagian on Feb. 8

Valentina Shevchenko is back, and she’ll take on a first-time UFC title challenger.

UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] is back.

Shevchenko (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will take on first-time title challenger [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] at an event targeted for Houston on Feb. 8.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the fight booking to MMA Junkie early Thursday, but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN was first to report the news.

As for Chookagian (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), the New Jersey-based fighter’s first UFC title shot comes on the heels of back-to-back victories.

In her most recent outing at UFC 244 in early November, Chookagian continued her success when she defeated Jennifer Maia by unanimous decision. Prior to the victory over Maia, Chookagian defeated Joanne Calderwood at UFC 238 in June.

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Conversely, Shevchenko hasn’t lost a bout at flyweight in her professional career. After an unsuccessful attempt to dethrone bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 215 in September 2017, Shevchenko elevated to 125 pounds.

At her new weight class, Shevchenko defeated Priscila Cachoeira in her flyweight debut. In her second 125-pound UFC outing, Shevchenko earned the vacant title by defeating former strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 in December 2018.

In her first title defense, Shevchenko added Jessica Eye to her highlight reel at UFC 238. After a lackluster first round, Shevchenko woke up the United Center crowd with a thunderous head-kick knockout in Round 2.

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Shevchenko’s most recent title defense came in August at UFC on ESPN+ 14. In a rematch of her 2010 loss to Liz Carmouche, Shevchenko obtained her revenge by defeating Carmouche via unanimous decision, sweeping all five rounds on each of the three judges’ scorecards.

Check out the current lineup for the UFC’s Feb. 8 event below:

  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian – for women’s flyweight title
  • Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
  • Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ryan Spann
  • Andrea Lee vs. Lauren Murphy
  • Ilir Latifi vs. Derrick Lewis
  • Juan Adams vs. Justin Tafa

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