LAS VEGAS – As we inch closer to UFC 248, the top fighters on the card inched closer to each other Thursday.
The main-card fighters, as well as one set of prelim fighters, took part in a media day for UFC 248 at the UFC Apex. After answering questions from the media, the athletes faced off ahead of Friday’s weigh-ins and Saturday’s pay-per-view event.
Champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] meets [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] for the middleweight title in the main event, while [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] puts her strawweight belt up for grabs against [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] in the co-headliner.
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Other matchups to face off included Beneil Dariush vs. Drakkar Klose, Neil Magny vs. Li Jingliang, Alex Oliveira vs. Max Griffin, and Sean O’Malley vs. Jose Quinonez.
Watch the video above for all the staredowns, which included Weili telling Jedrzejczyk to shut up.
UFC 248 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
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 third episode of “Embedded” follows the big-name stars at the top of the card. Here’s the UFC’s description:
Champions Zhang Weili and Israel Adesanya find inner peace in the gym. Joanna Jedrzejczyk says she’s still the top strawweight. Fans from around the world cheer at open workouts ahead of Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero and Zhang vs. Joanna.
There’s no money on the line, but the stakes are interesting.
[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] has been pretty accurate with his predictions in the past, most notably his picks for the UFC 194 main card when he went a perfect 5-0, even picking Conor McGregor over Jose Aldo in the main event.
Among Khabib’s picks that night was [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] over “Jacare” Souza, and it appears the UFC lightweight champion is a fan of the “Soldier of God,” as he is going with the underdog Romero in his UFC 248 matchup with middleweight champi [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag].
His coach, Javier Mendez, however, is going with Adesanya, and the two have placed a bet. If Mendez is correct, Khabib has to give him Islam Makhachev’s Gucci sunglasses. “You think I’m thief?” Khabib told Mendez when the wager for Makhachev’s glasses was set.
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Initially not wanting anything if he was correct, the humble champ settled on a five-round sparring session with his coach.
And why does Khabib want Romero to win? So he can ride into the sunset and eat some burgers in Cuba. That’s Khabib’s definition of the good life.
Watch the prediction video below courtesy of Mendez’s YouTube channel:
Khabib is expected to be in Las Vegas on Friday when he comes face to face with Tony Ferguson for the UFC 249 press conference ahead of their April 18 main event.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom takes a closer closer look at the UFC 248 main event between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero.
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MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for UFC 248.
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+.
+ UFC middleweight champion
+ Regional MMA titles
+ Professional kickboxing experience (76-5-2)
+ Professional boxing experience (5-1)
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt
+ 14 KO victories
+ 7 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Superb feints and footwork
+ Creative striking flow
^ Variates well to the body
+ Dynamic kicking arsenal
+ Improved counter wrestling
^ Underhooks, getups, separations
+ Active and attacking guard game
+ Olympic silver medalist (wrestling)
+ Multiple wrestling accolades
+ 11 KO victories
+ 4 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Incredibly athletic and agile
^ Closes distance quickly
+ Deceptive tempo changes
+ Variates looks and attack levels
^ Dangerous flying knees off fakes
+ Accurate left cross and right hook
+ Good head movement
+ Superb wrestling ability
^ Defensively and offensively
+ Difficult to control in transit
^ Springs and scrambles to safety
Point of interest: Controlling space and time
The main event for UFC 248 features a fun middleweight title fight between two men who seek to control space with unique timing and styles that stand alone from their contemporaries.
Known as “The Last Stylebender,” [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] took to martial arts at a young age and is no stranger performing on the big stage.
A cunning martial artist, Adesanya earned his moniker with his creative striking flow that helped him accrue titles in both the boxing and kickboxing arenas. Seamlessly moving through space, Adesanya will intelligently use feints and footwork to establish his reads and set up his shots accordingly. The reigning champ keeps whipping right hands and crushing check-hooks on a hair-trigger, while offering pinpoint counter-crosses from his southpaw stance.
When feeling in stride, the 30-year-old talent will unleash a dynamic array of kicks, whether they’re powerfully thrown from the rear or sneakily delivered off of his lead. And when Adesanya smells blood in the water, he will celebrate his reach by varying his punches, using extended hands to hide the kill-shots to come.
From hand traps that parlay into elbows to clinches that lead to knees, Adesanya shows solid answers at multiple ranges that will come in handy for this contest. But for as talented as Adesanya is, he, too, is not beyond being touched by fighters who know when and how to commit power.
Enter [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag].
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One of the most intimidating characters in any division, Romero not only carries the physique of a superhero, but he can move like one too. From the springboard-like aerial assaults he uses to misdirect his opponent’s attention to the immediate explosions he hits once touching down on the mat, Romero is one of the most deceptive distance closers in the game. Using changes in tempo to lull his opposition into a false state of security, Romero can quickly change gears at the drop of a dime, which is probably why most of his opponents are a bit more gun-shy when facing him.
The 42-year-old phenom consistently layers his craft, often getting in on a takedown only to abandon ship at the last second. Typically, this will shake up the defensive radar of a Romero foe, making the takedown a real threat and focus. And as soon as he can get his opponent to drop their level in anticipation for a shot, the former Olympian will then fake low to explode high, unleashing hell in the form of flying knees.
Although Romero’s athleticism and agility allow him to conduct himself like a video-game character, he has seemingly taken the time to sharpen his boxing fundamentals in recent years – something that he tends to show off more from his orthodox stance.
Whether Romero’s hitting inside parries to shift forward off of his rear hand or sitting back and looking to counter with check-hooks and crosses of his own, the perrenial title threat has made undeniable strides in this range. Even though Adesanya will have to be careful to not get sucked into the Cuban’s game, Romero will also have to be not too committed to rolling and returning with punches considering how it’s cost him on the scorecards before.
Next point of interest: Potential wrestling threats
Israel Adesanya understands the criticism about his UFC 248 title fight with Yoel Romero, but says it won’t be a regular thing.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] understands the criticism about his UFC 248 title fight with Yoel Romero, but he said these types of fights won’t be commonplace during his reign.
Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) challenges Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) for the UFC middleweight belt in Saturday’s headliner, despite the fact he’s coming off back-to-back defeats and has lost three of his past four overall. The champion specifically asked for the matchup, and the UFC brass obliged.
Although Romero is a serious threat inside the octagon, there’s something to be said for fighting a contender on the upswing, and Adesanya said he’ll do that many times over.
“It shouldn’t be a precedent, but you have to understand the landscape of the UFC middleweight division was weird,” Adesanya told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at UFC 248 open workouts on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to be that guy like the former champion, when you hold the division up. I want to be active. I want to be fighting. When I say I want to fight four times in a year, you’ve seen me do it before. You’ve seen me do it five times with a day extra. I still make it a year. I want to be an active champion. I want to do right by the division like ‘GSP’ did to it, like Demetrious (Johnson) did at flyweight, like Anderson (Silva) did at middleweight. Make the middleweight division great, man.”
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If everything had gone as the UFC originally wanted, Adesanya would not be fighting Romero, but instead [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who beat Romero by split decision at UFC 241 in August.
Unfortunately, Costa suffered an injury that cause him to undergo surgery, and the timeline for the matchup did not sync up. Adesanya said Costa’s time will come, though, likely after he takes care of business against Romero in the headlining matchup, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
“I called him (out) after the last fight, but then – come on, man,” Adesanya said. “I’m going to pop that (expletive) before USADA does, I swear to God. I want to be the first one to do it.
“He’s next in line, but I might not give him any mind (during my post-fight interview). I’ve already done that in Melbourne. The promo is already there, if you will. If you try something stupid, I’ll pop him again.”
Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!
On Episode No. 3,032 of the podcast, the guys are joined by MMA Junkie reporters Nolan King and Danny Segura, who are in Las Vegas to cover UFC 248. They react to the latest MMA news and notes, as well as preview the two huge title fights taking place this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
THE RUNDOWN
[autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] and [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] are set to headline the UFC’s debut event in Kazakhstan, which is a pivotal fight to the bantamweight title picture. With champ Henry Cejudo defending his title against Jose Aldo at UFC 250, that leaves Aljamain Sterling as the odd man out. Was Moraes-Yan the right fight to make, and is all of this fair?
[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] is in the works to headline UFC San Diego in May. The guys react to that matchup and wonder if that could mean we’re moving toward [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag].
Two titles are on the line at UFC 248, with [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] defending is middleweight belt vs. [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag], while [autotag]Weili Zhang[/autotag] will make her first strawweight title defense against ex-champ [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag]. We preview these two huge main events.
[autotag]Josh Barnett[/autotag]’s Bellator debut is on hold once again as he’s out of next week’s Bellator 241 show after failing a “medical requirement.” Matt Mitrione will step in to fight Ronny Markes. We offer some thoughts on this situation.
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
MMA Junkie recaps a fun UFC 248 open workout, where Israel Adesanya, Yoel Romero, Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk were on hand.
LAS VEGAS – UFC 248 fight week is officially underway and the festivities got off to a strong start Wednesday with open workouts.
The athletes from the two title fights atop the card, [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] for the middleweight belt, and [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] for the strawweight title, were on hand to give the fans a show and speak to the media.
There was no shortage of variety from the different personalities on hand, and in case you missed it, MMA Junkie reporters Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and Nolan King were there to recap the festivities from all angles.
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UFC 248 takes place at T-Mobile Arena with the main card set to air on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
