Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this weekend.
This week, the UFC travels to Anaheim, Calif. for its second pay-per-view event of the year, UFC 298.
The event at the Honda Center features a featherweight title fight between champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] and challenger [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].
Many other combat sports events are taking place that feature several familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing Feb. 16-17.
Scroll below to see how the UFC veterans fared last week, and see the names and details of this weekend’s competitors.
Check out which UFC veterans are in MMA and boxing action across the globe this weekend.
This week, the UFC is in Miami for its next pay-per-view event, UFC 287, which features a middleweight title rematch between champ [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] and former champ [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag].
Elsewhere, many other MMA events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
This weekend, there are a total of 10 veterans of the global MMA leader competing in MMA and boxing this week from April 7-8.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
Check out which UFC veterans are in combat sports action this week.
The UFC is idle this week before another event at UFC Apex in Las Vegas for UFC Fight Night 212.
However, there are a number of MMA, boxing and kickboxing events taking place that feature many familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
From a hardcore fan-favorite welterweight to a legend of the kickboxing and MMA world, these 7 veterans of the global MMA leader are competing this week from Oct. 3-Oct. 9.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
(Note: The fight between Cameron Else and Kyler Phillips was added to the main card too late for our picks deadline.)
The UFC has its second of five straight “Fight Island” shows Saturday, and a former champion is atop the card.
UFC on ESPN 16 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.
In the main event, former women’s bantamweight champion [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) takes on [autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag] (12-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC). Holm is just a slight favorite in the fight at -125, but our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts are siding with Aldana at a 10-4 clip.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Yorgan De Castro[/autotag] (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) meets [autotag]Carlos Felipe[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a heavyweight bout. De Castro is a heavy favorite, and he’s got a big 11-3 picks lead.
Also on the main card, former women’s featherweight champ [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Julianna Pena[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC). Pena is a slight favorite, but it’s de Randamie with a fairly sizable 9-5 picks lead.
And [autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is the main card’s heaviest favorite in his middleweight bout against [autotag]Dequan Townsend[/autotag] (21-11 MMA, 0-3 UFC). Only one of our pickers is going with Townsend in an upset.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Holm (56 percent), De Castro (73 percent), de Randamie (58 percent) and Todorovic (75 percent) are the choices.
Dequan Townsend will step into the UFC cage about two months after two of his brothers were shot and killed.
[autotag]Dequan Townsend[/autotag] almost quit fighting altogether before UFC on ESPN 16.
Throughout his life, Townsend (21-11 MMA, 0-3 UFC) has battled various levels of adversity. From losing his son to cancer to entering a drug program after testing positive for cocaine following his second UFC fight, Townsend has endured challenges far and wide.
But Townsend’s will hasn’t wavered. Just look at his journey to the UFC. Battling on the regional scene for a span of seven years, Townsend competed 29 times before even signing with the UFC.
Despite all of life’s lemons, Townsend was hit with another family tragedy in August. Townsend’s two brothers, Marcus Jackson-Burton and Steven Lee Jackson, were shot and killed at a strip mall in South Lansing, Mich.
The untimely deaths of his brothers devastated Townsend. While Zacharey Leigh Diederichs, 31, of Lansing, was arrested and charged with murder, assault with intent to murder, and five weapons counts, many questions remain for the UFC middleweight.
“It’s just hard when there was just no reason why,” Townsend recently told MMA Junkie. “Both my brothers were innocent. Both my brothers don’t even live here. One came to drop off his kids. My other brother only came to move our sister. These are my immediate brothers. For it being no reason why, it’s never going to be a closure for me. In the end, I guess he obviously will go to prison. He’s not speaking. I’d rather he just give a reason why. I don’t care if it’s just the wrong person at the wrong time or ‘I picked a number out of a hat, (or,) ‘I told myself (it’d be) the first person I saw,’ – just something. Damn, two random people?”
[lawrence-related id=555896,555894,555761]
In the wake of the tragedy, Townsend struggled to come to grips with the situation. At one point, he almost left fighting behind him for good. But after the UFC agreed to postpone his then-scheduled Sept. 12 fight to Saturday, Townsend decided to go all-in at his fourth attempt at a UFC victory.
“(Sept. 12) was the original fight over in Vegas, but due to the passing of my brothers, and being put through hell for two weeks, I was unable to make that situation happen,” Townsend said. “I almost got myself to the point where I didn’t know if I wanted to still take the fight. Then I had some self-reflecting and (I thought) about what my brothers would have wanted. Me knowing both my brothers, they would’ve wanted me to take the fight. So we got the fight agreed upon for (Saturday) on ‘Fight Island.’ Truthfully, I haven’t even dealt with it. I’ve put it behind me. I told myself I’d just go ahead and man up and fight, fight, fight and train, train, train, and I’ll grieve after.”
Townsend, 34, moved to Denver for the camp, training at Team Elevation. In a must-win situation, Townsend will take on Dusko Todorovic at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 16. For the first time in his career, Townsend will strictly be fighting for himself.
“This one is definitely back up against the wall. I’ve got to do it, man. I’m taking the necessary steps, and even then it’s different obstacles for me. I’ve wondered at times why I’ve faced so much adversity. … To put it honestly, this fight is the first time in my life that I can actually say I’m fighting for me.
“I’m not worried about the people back at home. I’m not worried about who I’m doing it for. I’m not worried about making everybody else happy. This fight is for me. This fight is something I’m going to go in there, leave it all in the cage, have fun, and fight my heart out.”
UFC on ESPN 16 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
A middleweight bout is in the works for the UFC’s first October event.
A middleweight bout is in the works for the UFC’s first October event.
The promotion is targeting a fight between [autotag]Dequan Townsend[/autotag] and [autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag] for Oct. 3 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
People with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Townsend (18-10 MMA, 0-3 UFC) has been largely unsuccessful in his career to date. Bouncing between middleweight and light heavyweight, Townsend is still in search of his first UFC victory.
As for Todorovic (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), the Dana White’s Contender Series Season 3 winner has had his debut fight scheduled and canceled three times. All but one of Todorovic’s professional fights have ended with him winning inside the distance.
The UFC’s Oct. 3 event takes place at Flash Forum as the second card on the promotion’s second stint on “Fight Island.” The main card will stream on ESPN+ after prelims on ESPN.
All the notable stats and figures to come out of UFC on ESPN+ 25, which saw Jan Blachowicz knock out Corey Anderson in the main event.
The UFC returned to New Mexico on Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 25. The 13-fight card took place at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho and streamed on ESPN+ 25.
The main event saw a potentially new top light heavyweight contender emerge to fight Jon Jones. Poland’s [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] (26-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) extended his winning streak to three fights with a thunderous first-round knockout of [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC), avenging a decision loss from September 2015.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 45 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN+ 25.
* * * *
General
[vertical-gallery id=490174]
UFC on ESPN+ 25 was the first event in UFC history to feature two disqualification results.
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $186,500.
Debuting fighters went 2-1 at the event.
Blachowicz, [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag], [autotag]Scott Holtzman[/autotag] and [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag] earned $50,000 UFC on ESPN+ 25 fight-night bonuses.
Betting favorites improved to 3-1 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 2:18:54.
Main card
Jan Blachowicz
Blachowicz improved to 7-1 in his past eight UFC appearances dating back to October 2017. The only defeat in that stretch came to Thiago Santos.
Blachowicz’s three-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind Jon Jones (four).
Anderson has suffered all four of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
[autotag]Diego Sanchez[/autotag] (30-12 MMA, 19-12 UFC) improved to 3-2 since he returned to the UFC welterweight division in November 2017. He’s 12-6 at the weight under the UFC banner.
Sanchez’s 19 victories in UFC competition are seventh most in company history. Donald Cerrone holds the record with 23.
Sanchez has absorbed 1,362 total head strikes in his UFC career, the second-most in company history behind B.J. Penn (1,434).
[autotag]Montana De La Rosa[/autotag]’s (11-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC) four victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Valentina Shevchenko (five).
[autotag]Mara Romero Borella[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 2-3 UFC) has suffered both of her UFC losses by decision.
Ray Borg
[autotag]Ryan Borg[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has earned five of his seven UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Rogerio Bontorin[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of his career.
[autotag]Yancy Medeiros[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 6-7 UFC) fell to 0-2 since he returned to the UFC lightweight division in January 2019. He’s 3-6 (with one no contest) in the weight class overall.
Preliminary card
Daniel Rodriguez
Rodriguez (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned 10 of his 11 career victories by stoppage.
[autotag]Tim Means[/autotag] (29-12-1 MMA, 11-9 UFC) fell to 9-7 (with one no contest) since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in May 2014.
[autotag]John Dodson[/autotag] (21-11 MMA, 10-6 UFC) improved to 4-4 since he returned to the UFC bantamweight division in April 2016. He’s 5-4 in the weight class overall.
Dodson has earned all six of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.
[autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has suffered all four of his career losses by stoppage.
Miller’s (31-14 MMA, 20-13 UFC) total fight time of 5:21:47 in UFC lightweight competition is most in divisional history.
Miller’s 11 fight-night bonuses for UFC lightweight bouts are tied with Nate Diaz for third most in divisional history behind Cerrone (15) and Joe Lauzon (15).
[autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past seven UFC appearances.
Clark has earned all five of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Dequan Townsend[/autotag]’s (21-11 MMA, 0-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since March.
Townsend has suffered nine of his 11 career losses by decision.
Merab Dvalishvili
[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has earned seven of his 10 career victories by decision. That includes all four of his UFC wins.
Dvalishvili’s 12 takedowns landed set a new single-fight record for a UFC/WEC bantamweight fight. He was previously tied with two other fighters with 11 in a fight.
Dvalishvili became the fourth in UFC history to have multiple fights with 10 or more takedowns landed. Georges St-Pierre, Demetrious Johnson and Colby Covington also accomplished the feat.
Dvalishvili has completed 39 total takedowns in his five UFC appearances.
[autotag]Casey Kenney[/autotag] (13-2-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by decision.
[autotag]Mark De La Rosa[/autotag]’s (11-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since November 2018.
De La Rosa suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
