Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out these photos from the UFC 276 ceremonial weigh-ins and the final fighter faceoffs.
Check out these photos from the UFC 276 ceremonial weigh-ins at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photos by Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie)
Ian Garry will face his sternest test at UFC 276.
[autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag] will face his sternest test in the UFC in July.
Garry takes on [autotag]Gabe Green[/autotag] at UFC 276 on July 2 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight was confirmed on Saturday’s UFC 275 broadcast after an initial report by Green’s management, Iridium Sports Agency.
Unbeaten in his professional MMA career, Garry (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has won his first two octagon bouts. After knocking out Jordan Williams at UFC 268, the former Cage Warriors welterweight champion defeated Darian Weeks at UFC 273 in April.
Since dropping his promotional debut in a short-notice fight against Daniel Rodriguez in May 2020, Green (11-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has rebounded with a decision win over Phil Rowe, followed by a second-round TKO of Yohan Lainesse at UFC on ESPN 35 in April.
With the addition, the UFC 276 lineup includes:
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 Feb. 7-13.
The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 258, which saw Kamaru Usman defend his welterweight title vs. in the main event.
The UFC hosted its second pay-per-view of the year on Saturday with UFC 258, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with 10 fighters on a heavily-altered card.
In the main event, [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) showed there’s no going back in the conversation about him being an all-time great in the welterweight division when he battered Gilbert Burns (19-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) for a third-round TKO to secure his third title defense at 170 pounds.
Usman’s name is all over the record books with the win, and for more on the numbers, check below for 40 post-event facts to come out of UFC 258.
Gabe Green answers questions from the media after his victory over Phil Rowe at UFC 258
Gabe Green answers questions from the media after his victory over Phil Rowe at UFC 258
Two fighters face potential lengthy suspensions as a result of their UFC on ESPN 9 fights on Saturday.
Two fighters face potential six-month suspensions as a result of their UFC on ESPN 9 fights Saturday.
The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) handed [autotag]Spike Carlyle[/autotag] and [autotag]Vince Morales[/autotag] potential 180-day terms for injuries sustained in their respective bouts.
UFC headliners [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] and [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] were each suspended, with Woodley getting 45 days due to a facial laceration. Burns, who was victorious after a five-round unanimous decision, was handed a potential 30-day suspensions.
MMA Junkie obtained a list of the UFC on ESPN 9 athletes’ medical suspensions from the NAC on Monday. Fighters can return sooner than the duration of their suspension if cleared by a doctor.
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UFC on ESPN 9 took place Saturday at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event simulcasted on ESPN and ESPN+.
The complete list of UFC on ESPN 9 medical suspensions:
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Fighters from around the globe dream of the day they’ll step into the octagon the first time. How did the two newcomers perform Saturday?
Fighters from around the globe dream of the day they’ll step into the UFC octagon for the first time. For two athletes, Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 9 event marked that special moment in their career.
Check out this week’s rookie report to see what kind of first impression they made on the sport’s biggest stage from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
* * * * *
Division: Flyweight
Result: Brandon Royval def. Tim Elliott via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:18
Record: 11-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC
Grade: B+
Denver flyweight [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] was handed a tough task for his UFC debut, but the former LFA flyweight champion passed the test with flying colors with an impressive submission finish.
Royval’s second-round arm-triangle finish of flyweight veteran Tim Elliott was one of the night’s outstanding performances at UFC on ESPN 9 as he earned a win on his octagon debut over ranked opposition and bagged a cool $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus in the process.
UFC veteran Elliott has shared the octagon with some of the division’s best over his previous 13 fights for the promotion, and his ability to take the fight to the mat certainly gave Royval problems early on. But, the debutant showed excellent composure as he worked his way into the fight, then used Elliott’s aggression against him to score an impressive submission win.
Despite being forced to fight off the back foot, and his back, in the opening five minutes Royval showed that he’s dangerous in the scrambles as he threatened with a Kimura, then an armbar, during an action-packed first round. And when the action got underway in Round 2, Royval turned the tables and enjoyed some top-position pressure of his own.
At times Royval over-committed with his strikes as he attempted to establish his stand-up game, but despite being punished with another Elliott takedown midway through the round, the debutant once again showed his scrambling ability as turned the tables on Elliott and locked up an arm-triangle choke to force the tap.
Royval showed great composure under duress, impressive cardio against a relentless opponent and the grappling smarts to create a submission opening, then finish it. There’s some room for improvement – we didn’t see the best of his striking game – but against such a high-octane opponent, Royval showed plenty to suggest that he’ll pose a serious threat at 125 pounds.
He also gave a hint that there’s much more to come, too. Royval was close to tears with disappointment as he spoke to Daniel Cormier after the fight. To be that disappointed after finishing the No. 11-ranked contender on his debut shows that he’s set sky-high standards for himself. If he comes closer to meeting them in his next few performances, we could soon see him right up there at the sharp end of the division.
Next up: All-action welterweight has plenty of upside, despite defeat
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Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 9, which saw Gilbert Burns beat Tyron Wooley in Las Vegas.
The UFC returns to Las Vegas for the first time in more than two months on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 9, which took place at the UFC Apex with an 11-fight card that aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
In the main event, [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) had his breakthrough moment as a welterweight contender when he overwhelmed and dominated former longtime champion [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] (19-5-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) to a unanimous decision.
The performance from the Brazilian capped off a notable event. For more on the numbers, check below for 35 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN 9.
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The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $114,500.
Debuting fighters went 1-1 at the event.
Burns, [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag], [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] and [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag] earned $50,000 UFC on ESPN 9 fight-night bonuses.
UFC on ESPN 9 drew an announced attendance of 0 for a live gate of $0.
Betting favorites went 8-3 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 6-6 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 11-bout card was 1:58:41.
Burns improved to 4-0 since he returned to the welterweight division in August 2019. He’s 5-0 when fighting at the weight class.
Burns’ five-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is tied for the fourth longest active streak in the division behind Kamaru Usman (11), Leon Edwards (eight) and Santiago Ponzinibbio (seven).
Woodley suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since September 2018.
Woodley has suffered all four of his UFC losses by decision.
[autotag]Augusto Sakai[/autotag]’s (15-1-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at heavyweight is tied with Francis Ngannou for the longest active streak in the division.
[autotag]Blagoy Ivanov[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) has suffered all three of his UFC losses by decision.
[autotag]Spike Carlyle[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by decision.
[autotag]Brok Weaver[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) suffered his first submission loss since Dec. 5, 2014 – a span of 2,003 days (more than five years) and 13 fights.
Dern (8-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) became the first female in UFC history to earn a submission victory with a leg technique.
[autotag]Hannah Cifers[/autotag] (10-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) has suffered all four of her UFC losses by stoppage.
[autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) improved to 5-2 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in January 2018.
Chookagian’s five victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied with Valentina Shevchenko for most in divisional history.
Chookagian has earned 11 of her 14 career victories by decision. That includes all seven of her UFC wins.
[autotag]Antonina Shevchenko[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has suffered both of her career losses by decision.
[autotag]Gabe Green[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of his career.
[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned all of his career stoppage victories by knockout.
[autotag]Klidson Abreu[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has suffered all three of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Elliott’s (15-11-1 MMA, 4-9 UFC) three-fight losing skid is tied for the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since December 2017.
Elliott fell to 2-5 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in December 2016.
Elliott has suffered all four of his UFC stoppage losses by submission.
[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has earned 10 of his 11 career victories by stoppage.
[autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag] (16-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) fell to 2-2 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in November 2018.
Smolka fell to 2-2 since he moved up to the UFC bantamweight division in November 2018.
Smolka has suffered all three of his career stoppage losses by submission.
[autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] (15-4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) earned the 11th finish in UFC history stemming from leg kicks.
[autotag]Vince Morales[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) fell to 2-4 in his past six fights dating back to July 2018.
Morales 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.
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See what the fighters from UFC on ESPN 9 went with as their backing tracks in Las Vegas.
While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a UFC win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.
Inside, see what the fighters from UFC on ESPN 9 went with as their backing tracks in Las Vegas.
