Tag: Israel Adesanya

Fight Tracks: The walkout songs of UFC 248 with Aerosmith, Lupe Fiasco

Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC 248 event.

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 248 went with as their backing tracks in Las Vegas.

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Dana White regrets booking Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero: ‘Probably shouldn’t have done that fight’

Hindsight is 20/20.

LAS VEGAS – Dana White wasn far from pleased with the UFC 248 main event and didn’t hold back in making that known.

The UFC president was disappointed with how [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]’s title defense against [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] played out Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. Adesanya vs. Romero turned out to be an uneventful five-round decision favoring the UFC middleweight champion. White expressed regret for making the fight.

“When I’m sitting here today talking about this, the matchmakers didn’t love that fight and didn’t want to make that fight,” White told reporters at the post-fight news conference. “They didn’t want to make Romero vs. Adesanya, but the goofy fan in me said, ‘Are you sh*tting me? Come on, this will be a fun fight to do. And the fact that (Adesanya) wants to fight a guy that nobody else wants to fight.’ Now hindsight is 20/20, probably shouldn’t have done that fight and should’ve waited for (Paulo) Costa, but oh well, we did it.”

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White can’t wait for Adesanya’s second title defense against Brazil’s Paulo Costa and said that’s the fight to make next for the Nigerian-born champion. Costa, who has a win over Romero, is regarded as the rightful No. 1 contender but couldn’t fight Adesanya due to injury.

“Costa vs. Adesanya will be a ridiculous fight,” White said. “I guarantee it, I absolutely guarantee it. He got what he wanted, he got him (Romero) on his resume, he beat him, and onto Costa.”

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Twitter reacts to Israel Adesanya’s lackluster title defense over Yoel Romero at UFC 248

See the top Twitter reactions to Israel Adesanya’s title defense against Yoel Romero in the UFC 248 main event.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] registered his first official UFC title defense on Saturday when he defeated [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] in the UFC 248 main event.

Adesanya (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) extended the lengthy undefeated run to start his MMA career with a unanimous decision victory over Romero (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) to retain his middleweight in the headlining bout, which took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and aired on pay-per-view.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Adesanya’s title defense against Romero at UFC 248.

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UFC 248 results: Israel Adesanya keeps title in bizarre win over Yoel Romero

Israel Adesanya kept his middleweight title at UFC 248 with a win over Yoel Romero in a fight the fans seemed to hate from the outset.

Fans watching UFC 248 in person and on pay-per-view were treated to an all-time classic in the co-main event, then had to sit through 25 minutes of ho-hum in the headliner.

When all was said and done, [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) kept his middleweight title with a decision win over [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in a fight that featured a ton of boos from the fans for more inactivity than action. Adesanya won with a pair of 48-47 scores and a 49-46.

After the win, Adesanya told Joe Rogan he and his team expected Romero to try to lull him into a false sense of security. The challenger, who got a title shot off a pair of losses, often didn’t engage, particularly in the first round. Romero said he expected the champ to stand and trade, but didn’t get it.

“People bought the pay-per-view to see a real fight – not this,” Romero said. “You need to have respect for people. People paid for a pay-per-view, for what? For a fight.”

According to the UFC’s official stats, Romero threw just 89 strikes in 25 minutes and landed 40 for a 45 percent success rate. Adesanya’s percentage was much lower at 36 – 48 for 132.

The middleweight title bout was the UFC 248 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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Adesanya sent to the center and Romero immediately put his hands up to cover his face and stood still. Then he shuffled his feet and backed up. The first minute of the fight featured no strike attempts, and fans started to boo. About 90 seconds in, Adesanya threw a low kick and missed. Nearly two minutes in, referee Dan Miragliotta warned them to do something. Adesanya backed Romero up with a punch, then a kick about three minutes in, and shortly after that, when Adesanya was in range, Romero launched a left hand that connected. With 45 seconds left, Romero landed a jumping kick to the body that pushed the champion back.

Adesanya opened the second round with a front kick, and when he moved in for a right, Romero landed a big left counter that stunned Adesanya, but didn’t take him off his feet. With two minutes left, Romero put a big combination on Adesanya, but then headed back to the center. When Adesanya landed a left kick to Romero’s right leg, Romero fired back with another big left hand.

Romero continued to counter Adesanya in the third. But at the same time, Adesanya was doing well to not get lulled into Romero’s pace. With 90 seconds left and many fans still restless, Adesanya landed a pair of body kicks – the second of which truly was slappy.

Before the start of the fourth round, Miragliotta pulled the fighters to the center of the cage and told them they needed to get busy and give the judges something to score – that they were there for a championship fight. Romero smiled at it when he backed up to his corner.

Adesanya tried to get things going, but put his left hand out with his fingers extended and scraped Romero’s right eye. THe fight was paused for a doctor to look, and Romero said he could see out of it. Soon after the restart, Romero briefly landed a takedown, but Adesanya was back to his feet quickly. Romero’s right leg was purple around the knee from Adesanya kicks, and with 15 seconds left he again shot for a takedown.

Romero landed a left hand 30 seconds into the final round, then backed away. A minute into the frame, the fans again got antsy. Adesanya landed another leg kick, but then ate a counter. Another leg kick for Adesanya landed, and it didn’t seem like Romero liked it much. With two minutes left, Romero landed a left, then nearly caught Adesanya with more punches. He caught up to the champ a few moments later. With 45 seconds left, Miragliotta again urged them to fight.

Romero landed a pair of left hands with 15 seconds left, and Adesanya threw a cartwheel kick. After the horn, they got in each other’s faces and had to be separated – and it may have been the most action in the fight.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 248 results include:

UFC 248: Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero Preview, Fight Card, Live Stream, How to Watch

UFC Stream: Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero — live stream UFC 248

UFC 248 features not one but two main events for your viewing pleasure. Israel Adesanya will look to defend his middleweight belt against Yoel Romero while Weili Zhang will put her women’s strawweight belt on the line against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The best way to watch the UFC stream is on ESPN+.

Adesanya is the hot newcomer in the middleweight division, beating big names like Anderson Silva, Kelvin Gastelum and Robert Whittaker in his last three fights. Adesanya has won a Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night bonus in six of his seven fights in the UFC, meaning we’re likely in line for another great performance tonight.

Romero is no slouch though and will test Adesanya’s wrestling and chin. The former Olympic medalist in freestyle wrestling has beaten big names like Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Ronaldo Souza and Lyoto Machida and has won via TKO or KO in seven of his 12 fights in the UFC.

You can watch the UFC fight tonight live on ESPN+. Sign up now for UFC 248 as well as exclusive UFC content like live Fight Nights.

How to watch UFC 248: Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero

Main event: Israel Adesanya (18-0) vs. Yoel Romero (13-4)

Co-main event: Weili Zhang (20-1) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-3)

When: Saturday, Mar. 7, 10:00 p.m. ET

Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV

UFC stream:

UFC live stream: Watch the UFC fight tonight on ESPN+.

UFC 248 Main Card (10 p.m. ET)

  • Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero – Middleweight (Title bout)
  • Weili Zhang vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – Women’s Strawweight (Title bout)
  • Beneil Dariush vs. Drakkar Klose – Lightweight
  • Neil Magny vs. Li Jingliang – Welterweight
  • Alex Oliveira vs. Max Griffin – Welterweight

UFC 248 Prelims (8 p.m. ET – ESPN)

  • Sean O’Malley Jose Quinonez – Bantamweight
  • Mark Madsen vs. Austin Hubbard – Lightweight
  • Rodolfo Vieira vs. Saparbeg Safarov – Middleweight
  • Gerald Meerschaert vs. Deron Winn – Middleweight

UFC 248 Early Prelims (7 p.m. ET – UFC Fight Pass)

  • Giga Chikadze vs. Jamall Emmers – Featherweight
  • Danaa Batgerel vs. Guido Cannetti – Bantamweight

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UFC 248 ‘Embedded,’ No. 6: Nipsey Hussle brings Israel Adesanya to tears

The champ had an emotional moment to himself before UFC 248 weigh-ins.

The UFC is back in its home stomping ground in Las Vegas on Saturday for UFC 248, and the promotion’s popular “Embedded” series returns to get you ready.

UFC 248 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

In the main event, middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) puts his title on the line for the first time against challenger [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC). In the co-feature, women’s strawweight champ [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) defends her title against former champ [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC).

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The sixth episode of “Embedded” follows the big-name stars at the top of the card. Here’s the UFC’s description:

The UFC 248 stars make weight Friday morning. Sean O’Malley watches tape and gets his hair braided. Champ Zhang Weili faces Joanna Jedrzejczyk and champ Israel Adesanya faces Yoel Romero at the PM weigh-in, with former champ Tony Ferguson backstage.

Also see:

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UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero live streaming commentary with MMA Junkie Radio on SportsCastr

Join MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” for a live UFC 248 watch-along on SportsCastr.

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UFC 248 takes place Saturday night with two title fights atop the bill, and MMA Junkie Radio hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” will have live streaming commentary via SportsCastr that kicks off just before the main card at 9:30 p.m. ET.

In the main event, undefeated middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] puts his title on the line against [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag]. And in the co-headliner, [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] – the UFC’s first Chinese champion – looks to make her first strawweight title defense against former champ [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag].

UFC 248 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Here’s the five-fight main card:

  • Champ Israel Adesanya  vs. Yoel Romero – for middleweight title
  • Champ Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – for women’s strawweight title
  • Beneil Dariush vs. Drakkar Klose
  • Li Jingliang vs. Neil Magny
  • Max Griffin vs. Alex Oliveira

Be sure to check back and follow @MMAjunkie, @MMAjunkieRadio and @SportsCastrLive on Twitter to be notified when the guys go live.

Israel Adesanya ($500k), Yoel Romero ($350k) lead UFC 248 disclosed salaries

Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will take home a cool half-million, win or lose, at UFC 248. But what about Zhang Weili?

Middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] will take home a cool half-million, win or lose, at UFC 248.

Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is scheduled to make $500,000 with no potential win bonus for his main event title fight against challenger [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Romero is set to make $350,000 with no win bonus.

In the co-main event, former women’s strawweight champion and now title challenger [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) actually will make more than defending champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) with a win. Jedrzejczyk is set to make $106,000 to show and another $106,000 to win. Weili is scheduled to make $100,000 to show and another $100,000 to win.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] (17-4-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) can make $70,000 to show and double that to win against [autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag] (11-1-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC), who is set to make $40,000/$40,000.

[autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 14-6 UFC) can make $76,000/$76,000 in his welterweight fight against [autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC), who is scheduled to make $64,000/$64,000.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] (20-8-1 MMA, 9-6 UFC) is scheduled for $64,000/$64,000 at featherweight against [autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 3-5 UFC), who can make $35,000/$35,000.

Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole reported the salaries from the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Now, the usual disclaimer: The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, including the official UFC 248 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay. They also do not include any other “locker room” or special discretionary bonuses the UFC oftentimes pays. They also do not include pay-per-view cuts that some top-level fighters receive.

For example, UFC officials will hand out additional $50,000 bonuses for “Performance of the Night” and/or “Fight of the Night” honors.

In other words, the above figures are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.

UFC 248 faceoff video: Joe Rogan stuck in between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero’s long staring contest

The UFC 248 headlining participants Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero got a final look at each other – and it was a long one.

LAS VEGAS – Friday marked the final time the competitors for the highly anticipated UFC 248 main event cross paths before fight night. The ceremonial weigh-ins are the final bit of official business before the card.

The UFC 248 ceremonial weigh-ins were held at the site of the fight, T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

That included the main eventers, UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and challenger [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag], as well as the other 22 participants on the card. The fighters weighed in officially Friday morning, with all but one of them making weight.

Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) will attempt to make his first title defense, whereas Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) hopes his third shot at UFC gold is the charm. Romero has competed in two career UFC title fights, and has dropped both.

Check out the final pre-fight faceoff between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero, before they go head-to-head at UFC 248.

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