Tag: Casey O’Neill

UFC 271 medical suspensions: Derrick Lewis gets two months; two fighters out indefinitely

As a result of their UFC 271 bouts, all 28 fighters were handed medical suspensions of varying durations by the Texas commission.

Two fighters are facing indefinite suspensions as a result of their UFC 271 bouts.

UFC 271 took place Saturday at Toyota Center and featured 14 bouts, including a middleweight title rematch between champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and challenger [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag].

Of the 10 main card competitors, hometown favorite Derrick Lewis received the longest suspension from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) for his upset knockout loss to Tai Tuivasa. He now faces two months on the shelf.

Two preliminary card fighters, Marcelo Rojo and Maxim Grishin, were suspended indefinitely. Unlike many other commissions, TDLR does not release injury details, so specific causes for their suspensions are not known.

On Tuesday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of medical suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the official record keeper of the Association of Boxing Commissions. All fighters’ suspensions can terminate sooner should they be cleared by a doctor.

Check out the full UFC 271 medical suspensions below.

UFC 271 results: Roxanne Modafferi loses retirement bout in decision vs. Casey O’Neill

Roxanne Modafferi closes out 20-year MMA career with a loss to Casey O’Neill at Saturday’s UFC 271.

HOUSTON – [autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag]’s farewell from MMA didn’t go as she wanted.

“The Happy Warrior” lost a hard-fought split decision to top prospect [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] in her retirement fight, 29-28, 28-29 and 28-29 on the judges’ scorecards.

The women’s flyweight bout was part of the UFC 271 preliminary card at Toyota Center and aired on ESPN ahead of the night’s pay-per-view main card.

Modafferi leaves the sport with her head held high despite the defeat.

“I’m OK with that last fight,” Modafferi said in her post-fight interview. “I gave it my all. It’s time to pass the torch to the next generation. I’m proud of myself. Even if you don’t win every time, you can still have an amazing time. This has been an amazing life journey.”

[lawrence-related id=2520543,2520241]

It was a hard-fought bout, where Modafferi displayed a ton of heart and toughness.

In the first round, the fight developed solely on the feet. It was clear O’Neill had the better and harder shots, but Modafferi also had her moments. Modafferi bloodied O’Neill’s nose and gave her a black eye in the first five minutes of the fight.

The second round was far less competitive. O’Neill found her range both offensively and defensively and began picking apart Modafferi with slick combinations. Modafferi’s striking was less effective but did manage to score a takedown with seconds remaining in the round.

In the final round, Modafferi put forward a valiant effort, but O’Neill was far ahead in the striking. O’Neill connected hard and often. “The Happy Warrior” never took a step back despite the damage delivered by O’Neill.

With this result, O’Neill (9-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) remains unbeaten in her professional MMA career. She’s notched four consecutive UFC wins in just short of a year, having debuted for the promotion on Feb. 20, 2021. In her previous bout, O’Neill stopped UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko’s sister, Antonina, in a second-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 193 back in October.

On the other hand, Modafferi (25-20 MMA, 4-8 UFC) closes her nearly 20-year professional fighting career on loss. “The Happy Warrior” made her MMA debut in 2003 and since has compiled 46 professional fights.

The 39-year-old retires having fought for several major championship belts including UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC. Modafferi also hold many notable wins over Vanessa Porto, Andrea Lee, Antonina Shevchenko, Barb Honchak, Marloes Coenen, and others.

The up-to-the-minute UFC 271 results include:

[vertical-gallery id=2520073]

7 reasons to watch UFC 271

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan walks you through the key storylines heading into UFC 271 in Houston.

The UFC returns to Houston for the third time in nine months, and a potentially epic middleweight title fight sits atop the bill.

While the championship matchup between reigning titleholder Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker is deservedly getting the lion’s share of attention for Saturday’s UFC 271, it’s hardly the only intriguing storyline that will unfold at Toyota Center.

Ahead of this weekend’s pay-per-view event, here are seven reasons to watch.

MMA Junkie’s 2021 Gym of the Year: Xtreme Couture

Xtreme Couture took home two UFC titles and a host of other major promotion wins.

Xtreme Couture is MMA Junkie’s 2021 Gym of the Year.

In a year filled with ups and downs for the majority of high-profile MMA gyms, Xtreme Couture quietly built up a strong 2021 resume with two UFC titles and assisting numerous other fighters to go undefeated over the 12-month stretch.

Heavyweight [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] and bantamweight [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] both captured UFC titles in 2021 with lead-up preparation at Xtreme Couture.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] emerged as a top middleweight contender with back-to-back wins over Krzysztof Jotko and Uriah Hall, and [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] skyrocketed up the women’s flyweight rankings with three straight victories. In addition, [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] won MMA Junkie’s 2021 Comeback Fighter of the Year for his improbable 6-0 run including two wins in the UFC.

In Bellator, top contenders [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] and [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] called Xtreme Couture their training home and each went 2-0 in the calendar year with wins against some of the promotion’s finest.

Other notable fighters include [autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag], [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag], [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag], [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag], [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag], [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag], [autotag]Cheyanne Buys[/autotag], [autotag]Kai Kamaka III[/autotag], [autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag], [autotag]Jeremy Kennedy[/autotag], [autotag]Tim Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag], [autotag]Roman Dolize[/autotag], [autotag]Gustavo Lopez[/autotag], [autotag]Dalcha Lungiambula[/autotag], [autotag]Puna Soriano[/autotag], [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag], and more.

Headed by coach Eric Nicksick, the staff also includes Eddie Barraco, Jimmy Gifford, Jake Shields, Dennis Davis, Roman Isabell, Rich Castro, Chad Lyman, Bryce Harley, Montel Williams, Jamie Huey, Nate Pettit, Tim Lane, Danny Davis, Gil Guardado, Ryan Couture, Clinton Treadway and more, as well as team captains Randy Couture and Ray Sefo (according to the gym’s official website).

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=01eqvpqbw4ymnv0rjh image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Nov. 1-7)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken 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 from Nov. 1-7.

Roxanne Modafferi announces retirement fight vs. Casey O’Neill at UFC 271

One of the true pioneers of women’s MMA has decided to hang up her gloves after one final fight – her 50th.

One of the true pioneers of women’s MMA has decided to hang up her gloves after one final fight – her 50th.

[autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag] (25-19 MMA, 4-7 UFC) on Thursday announced a women’s flyweight fight booking against [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) for UFC 271. Modafferi made the announcement on her Instagram account, though the UFC has not yet made the matchup official.

UFC 271 takes place Feb. 12, but does not yet have an announced city or venue. The main card will air on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+. The placement of the Modafferi-O’Neill bout is not yet known.

Modafferi has 44 pro fights on her official record, but had another five bouts on two separate seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which bring her unofficial tally to 49. And by her count, that will bring the overall number of fights, including the exhibition bouts on “TUF,” up to 50 when she steps in the cage with O’Neill.

The 39-year-old Modafferi, who startedd her career in 2003, has dropped three of her past four fights, all by decision. The Las Vegas-based jiu-jitsu standout hasn’t been finished in a fight since October 2011.

Modafferi alternated wins and losses for 10 straight fights before a second straight setback in September – a loss to Taila Santos at UFC 266. Prior to that, she was outpointed by Viviane Araujo in January on the heels of an upset win over Andrea Lee in September 2020. Modafferi’s most recent three wins, in fact, have been significant upsets against Lee, Maycee Barber and Antonina Shevchenko.

O’Neill, who has but a fraction of the pro experience of Modafferi, stayed perfect in October when she stopped Shevchenko with a second-round TKO. She debuted in the UFC earlier this year with a second-round TKO of Shana Dobson in February and followed that up with a third-round submission of Lara Procopio in June, which gave her four straight finishes overall.

With the addition, the UFC 271 lineup now includes:

  • Alexander Hernandez vs. Renato Moicano
  • Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov
  • Mark Madsen vs. Vinc Pichel
  • AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun
  • Kyler Phillips vs. Marcelo Rojo
  • Roxanne Modafferi vs. Casey O’Neill

[vertical-gallery id=481454]

Casey O’Neill to fight Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 271 on Feb. 12

Roxanne Modafferi will look to halt another rising contender’s momentum when she meets Casey O’Neill.

[autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag] will look to halt another rising contender’s momentum when she meets [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag].

Modafferi (25-19 MMA, 4-6 UFC) faces O’Neill (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 271 on Feb. 12 at a location yet to be announced. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by Instagram page MMA Ideas.

Modafferi, 39, has dropped three of her past five and is coming off back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Viviane Araujo and Taila Santos. The former title challenger’s two wins in that stretch came in a big upset win over Maycee Barber and Andrea Lee.

Unbeaten prospect O’Neill is 3-0 to kick off her UFC tenure, picking up three finishes in 2021. The 24-year-old scored her biggest win to date in October when she finished Antonina Shevchenko via second-round TKO for the “Performance of the Night” bonus.

With the addition, the UFC 271 lineup now includes:

  • Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov
  • AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun
  • Kyler Phillips vs. Marcelo Rojo
  • Alexander Hernandez vs. Renato Moicano
  • Kyler Phillips vs. Marcelo Rojo
  • Roxanne Modafferi vs. Casey O’Neill

[vertical-gallery id=481454]

[listicle id=1205433]

UFC Fight Night 193 bonuses: Four prelim fighters pocket ‘Performance of the Night’ awards

Check out who took home bonuses after the incredible UFC Fight Night 193 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas.

The UFC handed out post-fight bonuses to four fighters after Saturday’s pay-per-view event. Two fighters took home “Performance of the Night” bonuses while

UFC Fight Night 193 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out the $50,000 winners below.

UFC Fight Night 193 video: 23-year-old Casey O’Neill batters Antonina Shevchenko for TKO

Casey O’Neill showed how devastating she can be from top position against Antonina Shevchenko at UFC Fight Night 193.

[autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] showed how devastating she can be from top position against [autotag]Antonina Shevchenko[/autotag] on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 193.

After facing some compromising positions in the first round, O’Neill (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) rallied in a big way in the second round of her women’s flyweight fight with Shevchenko (9-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The 23-year-old O’Neill stayed unbeaten in her young career by getting into full mount on Shevchenko and pounding away with strikes until the fight was mercifully stopped at the 4:47 mark of Round 2.

Check out the highlights of O’Neill’s handiwork below (via Twitter):

Australia’s O’Neill is off to a hot start in the octagon and said her victory over Shevchenko proved she can compete with the elite at 125 pounds.

“I felt good,” O’Neill said in her post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I say time and time again just because I don’t have the opportunity to fight people like this doesn’t mean I’m not capable of that. … I’m for real and I hope I showed that to everyone tonight.”

Up-to-date UFC Fight Night 193 results:

[vertical-gallery id=1212533]

[vertical-gallery id=1212531]

UFC on ESPN 25 medical suspensions: Chan Sung Jung among seven facing six months

Seven fighters, including headliner Chan Sung Jung, are facing up to six months off after UFC on ESPN 25.

[autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] is back in the win column but could be sidelined for up to six months after UFC on ESPN 25.

Jung defeated Dan Ige in a back-and-forth battle in the main event, but he needs his left shoulder checked out after he dislocated it in the fight.

On Tuesday, MMA Junkie acquired the full list of UFC on ESPN 25 medical suspensions handed out by the Nevada Athletic Commission from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commission’s official record keeper.

Also suffering an arm injury in her fight was [autotag]Kanako Murata[/autotag], who was stopped by Virna Jandiroba in the second round. Murata’s elbow was dislocated in the first round after Jandiroba secured a deep armbar, but she refused to tap and fought the entire second round with a compromised arm. The cageside doctor eventually decided to stop the fight after Round 2 after seeing the condition of her arm.

[autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag], who was defeated by Marlon Vera in a “Fight of the Night” effort, also is potentially facing a 180-day term. Grant must have his nasal bone fracture cleared by a doctor before he can return to competition.

Rounding off the six-month suspension list is [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag], who needs an MRI on his right knee; [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag], who needs an X-ray on his nose; [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag], who needs his nasal fracture cleared; and [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag], who needs an X-ray on her left hand.

The full list of UFC on ESPN 25 medical suspensions can be seen below.