Tag: Dhiego Lima

UFC 258 results: Belal Muhammad outboxes Dhiego Lima for three rounds, calls out Li Jingliang

Belal Muhammad handled a game Dhiego Lima before calling out “The Leech.”

[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] keeps on rolling.

At UFC 258 on Saturday, Muhammad (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) stalked and boxed his way to a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) victory over [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] in a welterweight preliminary-card bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The fight played out in a repetitive manner on the feet from distance. Muhammad walked down Lima (15-8 MMA, 4-6 UFC) and battered the TUF 19 middleweight runner-up with punches all the way. Lima’s face sported damage, but he didn’t give up on throwing back.

As the fight progressed, Lima found success with low leg kicks. He peppered the inside and outside of Muhammad’s lead leg. Muhammad was hurting but kept pressing forward. After he received some ice treatment on his calf in between the second and third round, Muhammad topped off his performance with a dominant final frame.

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After the fight, Muhammad called out China’s Li Jingliang (18-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) on the broadcast.

“Hey, Li Jingliang, you’re right above me, man,” Muhammad said during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “You’re taking everything I work for. You’re No. 12. I’m No. 13. Let’s do it.”

With the victory, Muhammad extends his winning streak to four, a stretch that also includes Lyman Good, Takashi Sato, and Curtis Millender. The Chicago native has only lost one fight since the start of 2017 – a unanimous decision defeat to Geoff Neal.

As for Lima, the loss snaps a three-fight winning streak. Entering the fight, Lima had defeated Luke Jumeau, Court McGee, and Chad Laprise in succession. He is now 3-2 since he returned to the UFC in July 2017.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 258 results:

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UFC 258 pre-event facts: Kamaru Usman’s winning streak nears historic mark

The best facts and figures about UFC 258, which features a Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns welterweight title main event.

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The UFC is back again on Saturday with UFC 258, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

A welterweight championship fight with a number of underlying storylines takes place in the main event. Reigning titleholder [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) faces former teammate [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in a curious clash of two fighters who know each other well.

For more on the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 50 pre-event facts about UFC 258.

Dhiego Lima vs. Belal Muhammad rebooked for UFC 258 in February

The promise of a new date for a welterweight fight between Dhiego Lima and Belal Muhammad has landed.

The promise of a new date for a welterweight fight between [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] and [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] has landed.

Lima (15-7 MMA, 4-5 UFC) and Muhammad (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), originally booked to fight in December, now will meet at UFC 258 next month. Muhammad revealed the new date while a guest on The Anik & Florian Podcast hosted by lead UFC play-by-play voice Jon Anik and former UFC fighter Kenny Florian, though the UFC has not yet made a formal announcement.

UFC 258 takes place Feb. 13, and while a location has not yet been announced, it is likely to go down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card will air on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and ESPN+.

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In late October, Sean Brady was forced out of the UFC’s Dec. 19 card and Lima took his place against Muhammad. But in the week leading up to UFC Fight Night 183, Muhammad tested positive for COVID-19 and the fight was scrapped to be picked up at a later date.

Muhammad has won seven of his past eight fights, including wins over Tim Means, Takashi Sato and, most recently, Lyman Good at UFC on ESPN 11 in June. Lima has won three straight, but hasn’t fought since a win over Luke Jumeau at UFC 243 in October 2019. He was scheduled to face Alex Morono at UFC 247 in February 2020, but was forced out due to a neck injury that required surgery.

With the addition, the UFC 258 card now includes:

  • Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns – for welterweight title
  • Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera
  • Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman
  • Ian Heinisch vs. Kelvin Gastelum
  • Maycee Barber vs. Alexa Grasso
  • Gabe Green vs. Phil Rowe
  • Dhiego Lima vs. Belal Muhammadc

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UFC’s Belal Muhammad hopes win over Dhiego Lima will finally secure bout with ranked foe

Belal Muhammed hopes to rebook his fight with Dhiego Lima, then move on to a fight against a ranked opponent.

[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] is being made to wait in his quest to climb the UFC welterweight ladder.

Muhammad (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) was scheduled to face [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] last weekend at UFC Fight Night 183, but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19.

Initially targeting a return on the UFC’s first event of 2021, Muhammad realized that might not be feasible after getting hit fairly hard with COVID-19 symptoms.

Before Muhammad was booked to face Lima, he drew another unranked opponent in Sean Brady, but Brady was forced to pull out and he was replaced by Lima. So whether or not the UFC decides to rebook him against Lima, all Muhammad knows is that, if he gets a win next time out, he’d like a ranked opponent next.

“It all depends on whether Lima wants to wait or not,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie Radio. “This thing pushed me back a little bit just because if I do end up having to fight Lima again, I have a set plan where it’s like, ‘Alright, I beat Lima and now I finally get a ranked guy.’ I got my number now, he came up, basically got lucky because he got a ranked opponent now. It took me forever to get a ranked opponent, he got a ranked opponent so it’s all on him if he wants to wait for me to get healthy and fight me because your goal is to be in the rankings. So if he wants to wait for me, that’s a ranked guy, so why not wait for me?

“But if he doesn’t, cool, I don’t really care. I don’t have anything personal or anything against him. I just want a name, I want somebody to fight, and I wanna move up that ladder. I want to keep moving up that ladder. For me, the only thing that’s heartbreaking is I would have fought him, if I would have beat him, my next fight for sure would have been against a ranked guy. So let’s see who the UFC gives me now, (and see) what they’re thinking now.”

Muhammad admits that though Lima (15-7 MMA, 4-5 UFC) is unranked, it would be convenient if they rescheduled that fight, considering that he was already in training camp for him.

“If it’s gonna be Lima again, I was already training for him, so hopefully that will be a lot easier if we could just do that and then pop that up in February real quick.”

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COVID-19 takes Belal Muhammad out of Dhiego Lima bout at UFC Fight Night 183

A welterweight bout expected to be the featured fight on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 183 preliminary card has been canceled.

A welterweight bout expected to be the featured fight on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 183 preliminary card has been scrapped.

[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) has tested positive for COVID-19 and is out of his fight against [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 4-5 UFC). MMA Junkie confirmed the fight’s removal with Muhammad on Tuesday, and he subsequently tweeted news of it. The bout’s removal first was reported by MMAFighting.com. The bout is expected to be rebooked in early 2021.

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Muhammad was looking to build on a three-fight winning streak that started with a decision over Curtis Millender at UFC 236 in April 2019. Later that year, he picked up a bonus-winning submission of Takashi Sato. In April, a fight with Lyman Good was delayed due to COVID-19 postponements, but he made good when he outpointed him in June. He was supposed to fight Sean Brady on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 183 until Brady withdrew and was replaced by Lima.

Lima has a three-fight winning streak of his own. After a first-round knockout of Chad Laprise at UFC 231 snapped a three-fight skid, Lima picked up back-to-back split decisions over Court McGee and Luke Jumeau in 2019. He was set to take on Alex Morono in February at UFC 247, but had to withdraw with an injury. The cancellation of the Muhammad fight will leave him without a fight in 2020.

With the removal, the UFC Fight Night 183 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal
  • Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera
  • Michel Pereira vs. Khaos Williams
  • Rob Font vs. Marlon Moraesv
  • Greg Hardy vs. Marcin Tybura
  • Gillian Robertson vs. Taila Santos
  • Alex Morono vs. Anthony Pettis

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

  • Sijara Eubanks vs. Pannie Kianzad
  • Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Karl Roberson
  • Antonio Arroyo vs. Deron Winn
  • Drako Rodriguez vs. Aiemann Zahabi
  • Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jamie Pickett
  • Cody Durden vs. Jimmy Flick
  • Rick Glenn vs. Carlton Minus

With Sean Brady out, Belal Muhammad faces Dhiego Lima at UFC Fight Night on Dec. 19

Dhiego Lima will step in to face Belal Muhammad at UFC Fight Night on Dec. 19.

[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] will still get to compete before the end of the year – just not against Sean Brady.

In late October, Brady (13-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was forced out of UFC Fight Night on Dec. 19 due to an undisclosed issue. In his place, [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 4-5 UFC) steps in to face Muhammad (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC).

Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie on Monday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

On the cusp of the top 15 welterweight rankings, Muhammad has won seven of his past eight fights, including wins over Tim Means, Takashi Sato, and, most recently, Lyman Good at UFC on ESPN 11 in June.

Winner of his past three in a row, Lima hasn’t competed since edging out Luke Jumeau at UFC 243 in October 2019. He was scheduled to face Alex Morono at UFC 247 in February, but was forced out due to a neck injury that required surgery.

With the addition, the UFC’s Dec. 19 lineup includes:

  • Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev
  • Geoff Neal vs. Stephen Thompson
  • Rob Font vs. Marlon Moraes
  • Antonio Braga Neto vs. Deron Winn
  • Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jamie Pickett
  • Rick Glenn vs. Carlton Minus
  • Tyson Nam vs. Matt Schnell
  • Manel Kape vs. Alexandre Pantoja
  • Belal Muhammad vs. Dhiego Lima

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MMA Injury Report: Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s face, Alexander Volkanovski’s hand and more

The latest in notable MMA injuries, including updates on Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Alexander Volkanovski and Jessica Eye.

It’s no secret that MMA is a grueling sport. Injuries occur everywhere from the training room to the cage, and sometimes even beyond that.

Injuries can cause the best set plans to fall by the wayside, derail careers or worse. Still, though, the overwhelming majority of fighters overcome their physical setbacks and eventually find their way back to competition.

Below MMA Junkie tracks the latest in notable MMA injuries, including updates on a current UFC champion, a former titleholder, a one-time challenger to the belt and more.

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  • UFC strawweight contender [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) suffered no serious injuries in her UFC 248 title-fight loss to Zhang Weili, despite sustaining a massive hematoma on her forehead. It took some time, but the swelling and bruising have nearly completely subsided on the former longtime 115-pound titleholder.
  • UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (21-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) has received clearance to resume training on a right hand injury that stemmed from his UFC 245 title win over Max Holloway in December. With the hand good to go, the path is clear for Volkanovski to headline June’s UFC 250 event in Perth, Australia. It will likely be a title rematch with Holloway in his first defense.
  • UFC welterweight [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 4-5 UFC) is nearly six weeks post-op on a neck injury that caused him to withdraw from UFC 247 in February. He said he was dealing with a crack in his C4 vertebrae for 14 years and finally did a fusion surgery that he hopes will eventually allow him to compete at 100 percent for the first time in his MMA career.
  • PFL 2019 finalist [autotag]David Michaud[/autotag] (18-6) is gearing up for the 2020 season after having the pins removed from his hand. He sustained a Bennett fracture in his TKO loss to Ray Cooper III in December, but intends to be healthy enough to return for the upcoming season, which is slated to begin in early June.
  • Former UFC flyweight title challenger [autotag]Jessica Eye[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 5-6 UFC) is about ready to return to full training after undergoing left elbow surgery roughly six weeks ago. “Evil” did not detail the exact nature of her surgery, but said the issue has been lingering “for about three years.”
  • UFC welterweight [autotag]Santiago Ponzinibbio[/autotag] (27-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is nearly ready to return to the octagon after not having fought since November 2018. A plethora of different injuries and infections have kept the Argentinian out of action, but he’s keen to resume his career and build off his current seven-fight winning streak.

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Alex Morono hopes to rebook Dhiego Lima matchup after UFC 247

Alex Morono hopes he can still fight Dhiego Lima after their matchup fell through at UFC 247.

HOUSTON – [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag] hopes he can still fight [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] after their planned UFC 247 matchup fell through.

Morono (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) specifically asked for the fight with Lima (15-7 MMA, 4-5 UFC) and got his wish, but then it fell apart due to an injury. He now meets Kalinn Williams (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in a welterweight prelim bout, but more or less hopes it’s something to keep him busy before going back to his original booking.

“I like that Lima matchup,” Morono told MMA Junkie at UFC 247 media day. “We did so much ground work and I got pretty bored watching tape. There’s a lot of tape and we watched all of it and we don’t want it to be for nothing.”

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Morono has plenty of UFC experience under him and will be welcoming a promotional newcomer in Williams. He definitely has more to lose in this scenario, but Morono is excited to perform.

“Mentally, I always prepare for a third-round knockout or submission, that way if it goes past the first I’m not disheartened,” Morono said. “He will shoot in a lot so I expect a lot of grappling. Best-case scenario he stands and trades, and if that’s the case, it’s the same game plan I’ve had for the last 13 years and that’s to score a knockout.”

UFC 247 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+

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Kalinn Williams steps in for Dhiego Lima, meets Alex Morono at UFC 247

Kalinn Williams steps in for Dhiego Lima, meets Alex Morono at UFC 247

Less than two weeks away from UFC 247, [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag] has a replacement opponent.

Morono (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was set to meet [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 4-5 UFC) at the event until an injury forced Lima out. Now promotional newcomer [autotag]Kalinn Williams[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will step in for the welterweight fight.

UFC 247 takes place Feb. 8 at Toyota Center in Houston. With two title fights atop the bill, the main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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Williams, from Michigan, comes to the UFC on the strength of a six-fight winning streak. This past November, he picked up arguably the biggest win of his career with a unanimous decision over three-time Bellator fighter Jeremie Holloway. Five of his nine career wins have been by stoppage.

Morono has won three straight and four of his past five fights. After a decision loss to Jordan Mein in July 2018, Morono rebounded with a decision win over Kenan Song, then finished Zak Ottow with a TKO and outworked Max Griffin to go 2-0 in 2019.

Lima was set to go after his fourth straight win. In 2019, he had split decision victories over Court McGee and Luke Jumeau to run his streak to three straight after back-to-back losses to Jesse Taylor in the “TUF 25” final and Yushin Okami. His momentum now is on hold.

With the change, the UFC 247 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes – for light heavyweight title
  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian – for women’s flyweight title
  • Juan Adams vs. Justin Tafa
  • Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
  • Ilir Latifi vs. Derrick Lewis

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Marlon Vera vs. TBA
  • Antonio Arroyo vs. Trevin Giles
  • Alex Morono vs. Kalinn Williams
  • Andrea Lee vs. Lauren Murphy

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

  • Mario Bautista vs. Miles Johns
  • Journey Newson vs. Domingo Pilarte
  • Andre Ewell vs. Jonathan Martinez

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