Tag: Israel Adesanya

‘UFC 248 Embedded,’ No. 2: A Porsche for every day of the week? OK, Israel

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

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

Champ Israel Adesanya chooses a car for each day of the week; challenger Yoel Romero does LA media and demos moves on Paige VanZant. UFC PI is a hub for UFC 248 fighters including champion Zhang Weili, Li Jingliang, Sean O’Malley and Drakkar Klose.

Also see:

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Yoel Romero says one Israel Adesanya mistake at UFC 248 means: ‘Boom’

Yoel Romero said he has a game plan in place for Israel Adesanya in their middleweight title fight at UFC 248.

LOS ANGELES – [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] doesn’t want to feel the heartbreak of another close decision loss in the UFC 248 main event with [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]. So he’s come up with a solution.

Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC), who challenges Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) for the middleweight belt in Saturday’s headliner, has only lost in the octagon due to the judges. There’s a debate to be had both his defeats to Robert Whittaker, as well as his setback against Paulo Costa, should’ve gone his way.

In what could possibly be his final chance at a belt, Romero, 42, said he his strategy is to avoid the fight going to the scorecards by putting Adesanya to sleep.

“Of course. I’ve got to finish,” Romero told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at a media event Monday in Los Angeles. “I don’t want to go too crazy hard, but I need to finish the fight. Me and my team have the plan to knock him out. When he makes the little one mistake – boom.”

UFC 248 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Romero vs. Adesanya headlines the pay-per-view main card, which follows prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

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There is some controversy attached to Romero getting a title shot. He’s dropped back-to-back fights and three of his past four overall. However, Adesanya specifically requested the matchup for his first official title defense, citing “The Solider of God” as his most dangerous threat.

Romero appreciates the sentiment, and pushed back on anyone critical of his opportunity.

“I’m not thinking about that I lost two fights,” Romero said. “I’m not feeling like this. This doesn’t have my attention because we do this like the old school. The best don’t want to fight, but need to fight the best. When (Adesanya) says something like this, I’m not thinking about the record. I’m not thinking about nothing. I just want to fight the best in the division. He said, ‘I want to fight Yoel.’ I say, ‘Thank you.’ Because that’s exactly what we do. I stay in the same position with him.

“I don’t want to fight with No. 10 in the rankings. I want to fight with the next in line – the No. 1 in the line. That’s why I stay here. I don’t stay here because nobody give me nothing. I work a lot – very hard. I won the (Paulo Costa) fight, the (Robert) Whittaker No. 2 fight. It is what it is – that’s what happened.”

As of Monday, Romero can be found listed as much as a +240 betting underdog. He said he embraces that position, though, and intends to prove the doubters wrong – and more important – his supporters right.

“I love it,” Romero said. “Believe me – I love it.”

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‘UFC 248 Embedded,’ No. 1: Zhang Weili details coronavirus impact on her camp

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

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).

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

Champion Zhang Weili’s camp is impacted by coronavirus; opponent Joanna Jedrzejczyk plans to recapture the title. Middleweight king Israel Adesanya visualizes a fight night shower. Bantamweight Sean O’Malley readies after two years away from the sport.

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UFC 248: Make your predictions for two title fights in Las Vegas

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 248 event in Las Vegas, featuring Adesanya-Romero and Weili-Jedrzejczyk title fights.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 248 event in Las Vegas.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC 248 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. 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+.

Make your picks for all five main card fights inside:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7

Video: ‘UFC 248 Countdown’ for Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero

Did you miss the debut of “UFC 248 Countdown,” or just want to watch it again? Check out the main event preview now.

Did you miss the debut of “UFC 248 Countdown,” or just want to watch it again? Check out the main event preview now.

The segment takes a special look at the middleweight title fight between champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and former three-time 185-pound title challenger [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC).

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+.

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“Countdown” goes behind the scenes with the two fighters, and you can watch the full segment above. And don’t miss the entire episode in the video below.

Check out the entire UFC 248 fight card below:

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

  • 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

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

  • Sean O’Malley vs. Jose Quinonez
  • Austin Hubbard vs. Mark Madsen
  • Saparbek Safarov vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Gerald Meerschaert vs. Deron Winn

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)

  • Polyana Viana vs. Emily Whitmire
  • Jamall Emmers vs. Giga Chikadze
  • Danaa Batgerel vs. Guido Cannetti

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UFC 248: Fans invited to Khabib-Ferguson press conference, workouts, weigh-ins in Las Vegas

If you’re heading to “Sin City” to catch a pair of title fights this week, there are a few events you can attend for free.

If you’re heading to “Sin City” to catch a pair of title fights this week, there are a few events you can attend for free.

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).

Prior to the event, fans can attend open workouts featuring the title fighters. The event is free and open to the public on the casino floor next to the Race & Sports Book at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Weili will work out first at 1 p.m. PT, followed in 20-minute increments by Romero, Jedrzejczyk and Adesanya.

Friday, ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans take place at T-Mobile Arena. But ahead of that, there’s a special news conference for UFC 249 featuring UFC president Dana White, lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) and challenger Tony Ferguson (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC). Doors open for the public at 2:30 p.m. PT. The UFC 249 press conference starts at 3 p.m., followed by the UFC 248 ceremonial weigh-ins and faceoffs at 4 p.m.

The UFC 248 lineup includes:

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

  • 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

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

  • Sean O’Malley vs. Jose Quinonez
  • Austin Hubbard vs. Mark Madsen
  • Saparbek Safarov vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Gerald Meerschaert vs. Deron Winn

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)

  • Polyana Viana vs. Emily Whitmire
  • Jamall Emmers vs. Giga Chikadze
  • Danaa Batgerel vs. Guido Cannetti

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UFC champ Israel Adesanya apologizes for 9/11 comment: ‘I’ll be more careful’

Israel Adesanya has issued an apology for his controversial comments toward Yoel Romero at the recent UFC 248 news conference.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] has issued an apology for his controversial comments toward Yoel Romero at a recent UFC 248 news conference.

Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), the UFC’s middleweight champion who meets Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in the title fight headliner on March 7 in Las Vegas, got himself in some hot water for saying he would make his opponent “crumble like the Twin Towers.”

The comment was in reference to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, which killed nearly 3,000 people. There was no shortage of backlash for the statement, including a harsh response from 185-pound contender Paulo Costa.

Adesanya, who does not have a reputation of those types of slip-ups, but typically stands boldly behind anything he says, appears to recognize he was in the wrong. Sunday, he posted an apology and offered an explanation.

“I never made a joke about people dying or made light of the tragic event that was 9/11,” Adesanya wrote on his Instagram Stories. “I was simply rambling and my brain worked faster than my mouth in a moment to (choose) the wrong euphemism. You speak on the mic enough times and you’re bound to miss the mark with some bars. I did on this one and for that I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful in (the) future with my words.”

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Although Adesanya’s apology is sure to cause a range of reactions, he’s already done more than most in similarly controversial situations by acknowledging an error in judgement.

Now Adesanya can put the drama aside and focus on making his first official title defense against Romero at UFC 248, which goes down at T-Mobile Arena and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

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Paulo Costa lashes out at Israel Adesanya for making 9/11 reference in trash talk

Paulo Costa couldn’t allow Israel Adesanya to go unchecked for his questionable remark at a UFC 248 press conference.

[autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] couldn’t allow [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] to go unchecked for his questionable remark during Friday’s UFC 248 press conference.

Ahead of Adesanya’s scheduled middleweight title defense against Yoel Romero on March 7 in Las Vegas, the champion participated in a satellite Q&A session with his counterpart in front of fans and media. Much of it was typical pre-fight talk, but one answer in particular raised eyebrows.

Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), a Nigerian-born New Zealander, said he would make Romero “crumble like the Twin Towers,” a reference to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, which killed nearly 3,000 people. There were sprinkles of criticism from within the MMA community after the statement, but no response was harsher than what came from Costa (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who went after Adesanya on Twitter.

“You are a disgusting piece of sh*t. How dare you make a joke disrespecting the thousands who died and the heroic firefighters and police,” Costa tweeted. “I will really kill you, dirty kiwi (sic).”

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The disdain between Costa and Adesanya has been building for more than a year. Both men have taken some very personal shots at each other, and now it appears the situation has become that much more tense.

It seems like just a matter of time until they share the octagon, too. Costa originally was pegged as the next contender to Adesanya’s title, but a shoulder surgery disrupted the time frame, and Romero ultimately ended up getting the title shot at UFC 248.

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Israel Adesanya on Yoel Romero: ‘I’ll touch him enough times and eventually he’ll crumble like the Twin Towers’

Israel Adesanya looks to be the only one in the UFC to either finish or dominate Yoel Romero.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] will look to do what no one has done in the UFC to [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag].

UFC middleweight champion Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) defends his title in the UFC 248 headliner vs. Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC), a matchup he specifically chose, to prove that he’s willing to take on the toughest comers.

Despite Romero losing three of his last four, he remains as one of the most difficult outings in the division. All three of his losses in the UFC have come by the way of closely-contested decisions, and he has shown time and time again, his ability to finish a fight at any time.

So why a potential high risk, low reward fight in Romero? Adesanya says he wants to show that Romero is human, as he attempts to be the first fighter in the UFC to dominate or take Romero out. Romero’s lone knockout loss came at the hands of Rafael Cavalcante, way back in 2011 in Strikeforce.

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“He’s a guy no one wants to fight,” Adesanya said at a press conference in New Zealand. “Boogeyman, everyone keeps saying, oh – even Darren Till – ‘I’ll fight anyone except Yoel.’ Like, why? I’ve seen him get rocked. I’ve seen him get stopped. I’ve seen him get bloodied. I’ve seen him cry. I’ll make him cry.

“He’s human like anyone else, and everyone likes to make this myth about, ‘Oh, he’s steel, like kicking steel,’ or you hit him and he doesn’t fall. I’ll touch him enough times. I’ll touch him enough times and eventually he’ll crumble like the Twin Towers.”

But if it were up to Adesanya, the March 7 event in Las Vegas would play out as a 25-minute masterclass, a feat that all three people who beat Romero in the UFC weren’t able to do. Thus far, Romero has been able to inflict serious damage to his opponents, in both his wins and losses.

“Honestly, what I want from this fight, I want 5-0,” Adesanya said. “I want a washout. I want a clean sweep – kind of like what I did with Brad Tavares when I fought him. I want just like a clean sweep, but if he dies, he dies. Not really my problem.”

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