Tag: Hakeem Dawodu

UFC Fight Night 200 pre-event facts: Sean Strickland has elite defensive numbers

Sean Strickland enters Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 200 main event with the best striking defense in middleweight history.

The UFC returns to its home base of Las Vegas on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 200 at the UFC Apex. The entire event streams on ESPN+.

A matchup of middleweight contenders is set to headline the card. [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag] (22-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) will return to the main event scene for the fourth time in his career when he takes on the surging [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (24-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC), who has won his past five bouts.

For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for 30 pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 200.

Hakeem Dawodu vs. Mike Trizano in the works for UFC Fight Night on Feb. 5

A featherweight bout pitting Hakeem Dawodu against Mike Trizano is in the works for UFC Fight Night on Feb. 5.

[autotag]Hakeem Dawodu[/autotag] will return to the octagon in early 2022 to face a past winner of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

The UFC featherweight is being targeted to take on [autotag]Mike Trizano[/autotag] at a UFC Fight Night event on Feb. 5. The location for the card has yet to be announced.

MMA Junkie confirmed the news with sources following an initial report by MMA DNA.

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Dawodu ( 12–2–1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 263 in June. The defeat snapped a five-fight winning streak that extended for over two years.

Meanwhile, Trizano (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is looking to build momentum as he recently bounced back from his first professional defeat with a win over Ludovit Klein in May. The winner of season 27 of TUF suffered his only defeat in 2019, tapping out to Grant Dawson.

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Movsar Evloev vs. Hakeem Dawodu booked for UFC 263

A tilt between a pair of streaking featherweights is headed to UFC 263 this summer.

A tilt between a pair of streaking featherweights is headed to UFC 263 this summer.

Undefeated [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] (14-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is set to take on [autotag]Hakeem Dawodu[/autotag] (12-1-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) at UFC 263. People with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Tuesday. The people asked to remain anonymous since the UFC has yet to make a formal announcement of the fight, which first was reported by MMA DNA.

UFC 263 takes place June 12. A venue and location has not yet been announced, but for the bulk of the pandemic era the UFC has held events either at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas or on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi. The main card will air on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and ESPN+.

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Evloev stayed unbeaten in January when he took a split decision from Nik Lentz at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi. After a 10-0 start to his career under the M-1 banner, where he won the bantamweight title, Evloev came to the UFC in 2019 and moved to featherweight. His first four bouts in the UFC have been decision wins.

After three years with WSOF, Dawodu came to the UFC in 2018 and was choked out by Danny Henry in 39 seconds in his promotional debut. But it’s been all upward since then with five straight wins. After a pair of decisions over Austin Arnett and Kyle Bochniak, Dawodu picked up a performance bonus with a head kick knockout of Yoshinori Horie at UFC 240. Since then, he has two more wins – both by split decision – against Julio Arce and Zubaira Tukhugov, the latter of which came this past September on “Fight Island.”

With the addition, the UFC 263 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno – for flyweight title
  • Jake Collier vs. Carlos Felipe
  • Luigi Vendramini vs. Fares Ziam
  • Hakeem Dawodu vs. Movsar Evloev

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Shane Burgos vs. Hakeem Dawodu added to UFC 257

Rising featherweights Shane Burgos and Hakeem Dawodu will square off on Jan. 23.

Rising featherweights will square off on Jan. 23.

[autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) faces [autotag]Hakeem Dawodu[/autotag] (12-1-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) at UFC 257, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report from MMA Empire.

UFC 257, which does not yet have a location, will be headlined by a Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier rematch.

In his past outing, Burgos saw his three-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Josh Emmett at UFC on ESPN 11, in a “Fight of the Night” effort. Prior to that, he stopped Makwan Amirkhani in the third round at UFC 244.

Dawodu will attempt to crack the top 15 featherweight rankings, having won his past five in a row. The Canadian prospect has not lost since dropping his UFC debut in 2018 and is coming off a split decision win over Zubaira Tukhugov at UFC 254 in October.

With the addition, the latest UFC 257 lineup includes:

  • Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier
  • Joanne Calderwood vs. Jessica Eye
  • Amanda Ribas vs. Michelle Waterson
  • Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Brad Tavares
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. Arman Tsarukyan
  • Ottman Azaitar vs. Matt Frevola
  • Sergey Morozov vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
  • Shane Burgos vs. Hakeem Dawodu

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UFC 253’s Hakeem Dawodu questions Colby Covington’s ‘rude, racist’ comments

Hakeem Dawodu, who fights at UFC 253, didn’t like Colby Covington’s recent “rude, racist” comments toward Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman.

Ahead of UFC 253, [autotag]Hakeem Dawodu[/autotag] spoke with reporters Wednesday during media day.

Dawodu (11-1-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) discussed his featherweight bout with Zubaira Tukhugov (19-4-1 MMA, 4-1-1 UFC), being comfortable in the UFC, his plan to call out a top-10 contender, his reaction to Colby Covington’s press conference after his recent win and more.

You can watch the full interview in the video above.

UFC 253 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

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Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov targeted for UFC 252

A featherweight fight is in the works for the UFC’s August pay-per-view event.

A featherweight fight is in the works for the UFC’s August pay-per-view.

The promotion is currently targeting a fight pinning Canada’s [autotag]Hakeem Dawodu[/autotag] and Russia’s [autotag]Zubaira Tukhugov[/autotag] against each other at UFC 252. The event is currently scheduled to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by the trilogy bout between heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.

Two people with knowledge of the situation recently informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an announcement.

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Dawodu (11-1-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is riding a four-fight winning streak entering his UFC 252 matchup. Since losing his promotional debut to Danny Henry in March 2018, Dawodu has defeated Austin Arnett, Kyle Bochniak, Yoshinori Horie, and Julio Arce in succession.

Tukhugov (19-4-1 MMA, 4-1-1 UFC), a main training partner and friend of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, will look to turn a win into a winning streak. He is 1-1-1 in his most recent three outings. In February, Tukhugov punched his ticket back into the win column when he knocked out Kevin Aguilar in 3:21.

With the addition, the UFC 252 lineup includes:

  • Champion Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier – for heavyweight title
  • Junior Dos Santos vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
  • Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
  • Frankie Edgar vs. Pedro Munhoz
  • Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera
  • Livinha Souza vs. Ashley Yoder
  • Felice Herrig vs. Virna Jandiroba
  • Rogerio Bontorin vs. Manel Kape
  • Zelim Imadaev vs. Laureano Staropoli
  • Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov

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Hakeem Dawodu ready for a step up in competition, wants on UFC Saskatoon card

Hakeem Dawodu, one of the most promising Canadian fighters in the UFC, is ready to take things to the next level.

[autotag]Hakeem Dawodu[/autotag] is one of the most promising current Canadian fighters in the UFC, and he wants to take things to the next level.

Since dropping his UFC debut, Dawodu (11-1-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has won four in a row, most recently against Julio Arce at UFC 244 this past November.

Now he wants to take on the featherweight division’s best.

“I’ve told the UFC I’m ready to fight anybody in the top 15,” Dawodu told MMA Junkie. “I’m hungry. They were working on getting me an opponent till this virus pulled up on everyone. So I’m just waiting.

“Anybody in that top 15 can get slapped. I’m ready for the step up in competition.”

The coronavirus outbreak has caused plenty of uncertainty for the UFC’s schedule in 2020. Three events have been postponed so far, and the promotion currently is working hard to make the UFC 249 card on April 18 happen.

On June 20, the UFC is scheduled to return to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and Dawodu wants to be part of that card. He is a perfect 8-0 in his hoem country. This past July, he had a “Performance of the Night” finish over Yoshinori Horie at UFC 240 in Edmonton.

“If the UFC is heading to Saskatoon, of course I’m going to be on that card,” Dawodu said. “I’m the top Canadian right now. It’s my home. I do feel responsible for carrying the torch and being a leading role for Canadian MMA and representing.”

For now, Dawodu is self-isolating like many in the world. But he said he is able to get some kind of work in to stay ready until he gets the call.

“I’ve been coping all right, just being careful,” Dawodu said. “(I’ve) only been training with like four different people, and luckily I’ve got the keys to my longtime home gym, and still training and just waiting till this blows over. Us fighters don’t get paid at home – (we’ve) still got to make money. I’ve been staying in shape still, hitting pads and the bag. Just sparring has been little to none.”

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