Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out the complete list of fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC 247 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 247 went with as their backing tracks in Houston.
Not bad for Khaos Williams making his short-notice UFC debut.
[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag], [autotag]Khaos Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag], and [autotag]James Krause[/autotag] will all take home an extra $50,000 after memorable performances at UFC 247.
Bautista and Williams each earned “Performance of the Night” bonuses, while Giles vs. Krause was named “Fight of the Night.”
Bautista picked up his second UFC victory with a second-round flying-knee finish of Miles Johns. Meanwhile, Williams made a statement in his UFC debut by brutalizing Alex Morono and finishing him in just 27 seconds.
The “Fight of the Night” resulted in a split decision win for Giles over Krause, who took the fight on roughly 20 hours’ notice.
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At UFC 247, James Krause may replace Antonio Arroyo to fight Trevin Giles in Houston on just a day’s notice.
There’s short notice and then there’s no notice.
The UFC is working on a fight that will get [autotag]James Krause[/autotag] as close as he can to a “no-notice” fight at UFC 247. After [autotag]Antonio Arroyo[/autotag] was taken to the hospital following Friday’s morning weigh-ins ahead of his scheduled fight against [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC), Krause (27-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) volunteered to step up in his place.
Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the last-minute fight booking, which is in the works. They asked to remain anonymous since the bout is still being finalized and the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Krause is riding a six-fight winning streak. He most recently competed in November. Against Sergio Moraes in hostile territory, Krause put on a striking clinic en route to a third-round TKO victory.
A Houston police officer, Giles won’t miss out on a homecoming, should this bout get finalized. Instead, he’ll potentially look to snap his two-fight skid against a welterweight-turned-middleweight.
UFC 247 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
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With the change, the UFC 247 lineup includes:
Main card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Preliminary card (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)
Preliminary card (ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)
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Team WEC answers questions from media
Team WEC answers questions from media
The lineups are set for Thursday’s Quintet Ultra team grappling event, and the opening matchups include a few intriguing contests.
The lineups are set for Thursday’s Quintet Ultra team grappling event, and the opening matchups include a few intriguing contests.
Weigh-ins for the event took place Wednesday at Red Rock Casino Resort in Las Vegas, with each five-member team expected to weigh-in under 950 pounds combined. That didn’t prove an issue, with Team WEC registering 947.2 pounds, Team Strikeforce just behind at 946.6 pounds, Team UFC at 942.2 pounds and Team PRIDE the smallest at 936.6 pounds.
Featuring a unique 5-on-5 team grappling concept where the winning grappler of each match stays on the mat, Quintet Ultra takes place Thursday at the same venue and streams live on UFC Fight Pass.
In the opening round of the tournament, Team UFC takes on Team PRIDE, while Team WEC vs. Team Strikeforce.
Team UFC will send out fast-rising bantamweight prospect [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] as their first representative, while Team PRIDE counters with former PRIDE lightweight champ [autotag]Takanori Gomi[/autotag].
On the other side of the bracket, Team WEC is starting with three-time UFC title challenger [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag], while Team Strikeforce opens with two-time K-1 HERO’s middleweight grand prix champion and former Titan FC lightweight champ [autotag]Gesias Cavalcante[/autotag], the man best known as “JZ.”
In each match, the winning grappler stays on to take on the next representative from the opposing team. In case of a draw, both fighters are eliminated.
The two winning teams from the opening round matchups meet in the finals to close out the night.
Full team orders include:
1. Sean O’Malley
2. [autotag]Anthony Johnson[/autotag]
3. [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]
4. [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] (captain)
5. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag]
vs.
1. Takanori Gomi
2. [autotag]Hector Lombard[/autotag]
3. [autotag]Gregor Gracie[/autotag]
4. [autotag]Yves Edwards[/autotag]
5. [autotag]Kazushi Sakuraba[/autotag] (captain)
1. Chad Mendes (captain)
2. [autotag]Mark Munoz[/autotag]
3. [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag]
4. [autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag]
5. [autotag]James Krause[/autotag]
vs.
1. Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante
2. [autotag]Jake Shields[/autotag]
3. [autotag]Muhammed Lawal[/autotag]
4. [autotag]Gilbert Melendez[/autotag] (captain)
5. [autotag]Renato Sobral[/autotag]
UFC vs. PRIDE vs. WEC vs. Strikeforce? The full rosters have been announced for Thursday’s event.
Who would have won a team battle between the UFC, PRIDE, WEC, and Strikeforce? Quintet is hopping in a time machine to take fans back to an era when this question could be answered.
On Thursday, one of the world’s most unique grappling tournaments will return with Quintet Ultra. The openweight elimination challenge takes place at Red Rock Casino Resort in Las Vegas and streams on UFC Fight Pass.
The event will see four teams compromised of five fighters – each team tied to a respective promotion. On Monday, full rosters and first-round team pairings were announced, with Team UFC taking on Team PRIDE and Team WEC vs. Team Strikeforce.
The teams are as follows:
Team UFC
Team PRIDE
Team WEC
Team Strikeforce
In addition to the team competition, Quintet Ultra will feature singles matches. [autotag]Gordon Ryan[/autotag] meets [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag], while Cynthia Calvillo takes on [autotag]Danielle Kelly[/autotag]. A prelims single match between [autotag]Craig Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Fredson Paixio[/autotag] also is set.
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Gross.
On Tuesday morning, UFC welterweight [autotag]James Krause[/autotag] brought the “ewww” factor to the MMA world.
Krause (27-7 MMA, 8-5 UFC) defeated Sergio Moraes (14-6-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC) by third-round TKO on Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 22 in Sao Paulo. After the fight, Krause posted a video of his injured foot being mended in the locker room.
Gross.
The placement of the stitches is gruesome and unusual, at least to an outsider. The hemline placement? In between the toes – in an imaginably sensitive area.
On the ESPN+ post-fight show, Krause referenced the procedure and, somewhat understandably, cringed when talking about it. Before he thinks about returning to the cage, Krause said he’ll have to let his webbing heal.
“When I go home, I’m not going to go train for myself,” Krause said. “Because I need to take time off to heal up. I got stitches in the web of my toe. Yeah, which was terrible. So obviously, I’m going to take time to let that heal.”
Want to get grossed out? Check out the video of Krause getting his foot stitched up in the video below. VIEWER BEWARE.
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.
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Jan Blachowicz and two others are looking at hefty medical suspensions after UFC Sao Paulo.
Three fighters, including headliner [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag], are looking at hefty medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN+ 22.
Blachowicz, who appeared to injure his left foot in his five-round victory over Ronaldo Souza, will need to get clearance on both feet in order to return to in-cage competition. Blachowicz is tentatively suspended 180 days, with a minimum of 30 days and no contact for 21 days.
[autotag]Sergio Moraes[/autotag] and [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag], the lone fighters to suffer knockout losses on the card, are facing similar suspensions. Moraes, who suffered a third-round knockout loss to James Krause, will be suspended 180 days or until he’s cleared by a neurologist.
Gordon, who was brutally finished early in the first round by Charles Oliveira, was suspended 180 days or until he’s cleared by a otolaryngologist (ENT).
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Check out the full list of UFC on ESPN+ 22 medical suspensions, per a CABMMA record acquired by MMA Fighting.
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See whom Jan Blachowicz should fight next after his victory over Ronaldo Souza at UFC on ESPN+ 22.
(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for ‘Jacare’ Souza after UFC on ESPN+ 22 loss?)
After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next.
And with another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC on ESPN+ 22’s most noteworthy winning fighters.
Those winners include [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] (25-8 MMA, 8-5 UFC), who defeated Ronaldo Souza (26-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) by split decision in the light heavyweight headliner at Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, as well as [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] (28-8 MMA, 16-8 UFC), [autotag]James Krause[/autotag] (27-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and [autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag] (24-7 MMA, 14-6 UFC),
* * * *
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Should fight: [autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag]
Why they should fight: He had to work hard for it, but Trinaldo earned his 14th octagon victory when he edged Bobby Green by unanimous decision in their lightweight bout.
At 41, Trinaldo proved he’s still a force to be reckoned with at 155. He clearly wants to prove as much judging by his post-fight callout, which was directed at perennial contender Edson Barboza. He may not get that fight next, but the Brazilian is certainly deserving of another noteworthy matchup at 155 pounds.
Ferreira (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has been on a roll of late, winning his past five fights against some solid opponents. The Fortis MMA product is looking to prove he belongs in the upper echelon of the weight class, as well, and beating someone like Trinaldo to extend his winning streak would be a statement. And if Trinaldo were to win, he would take all Ferreira’s momentum for himself.
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Should fight: [autotag]Gunnar Nelson[/autotag]
Why they should fight: Krause continued to shine in the welterweight division when he put on a clinic against Sergio Moraes that ended with a knockout in the final minute of the third round.
Krause is now riding a six-fight winning streak (including 4-0 at welterweight) and appears to be clicking both mentally and physically. He needs a bigger challenge going forward to see where he really stands, and Nelson (17-5-1 MMA, 8-5 UFC) is an opponent who could test Krause’s value at 170 pounds.
Nelson may be on a two-fight skid and not in the best place in his career, but he’s been a constant in the top 20 of the division for several years. He needs to display that he still deserves that status, and halting Krause’s streak would help send that message.
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Should fight: [autotag]Al Iaquinta[/autotag]
Why they should fight: The best run of Oliveira’s UFC tenure continued with a brilliant first-round knockout of Jared Gordon that extended the Brazilian’s winning streak to six fights – all of which have come by stoppage.
Oliveira is firing on all cylinders at the moment and at 30, is in the sharpest form of his career. His stoppage of Gordon was his 15th in UFC competition, which trails the all-time record by just one. Oliveira said prior to being booked against Gordon that he wanted a steeper test, but it didn’t materialize this time around.
“Do Bronx” tried to take matters into his own hands by issuing a post-fight callout of Conor McGregor and Paul Felder (who handed him his last loss), but neither of those seemed to register as particularly realistic at the moment (especially McGregor).
What is realistic, though, is that Oliveira could and should get a top-10 opponent at 155 pounds. Iaquinta (14-6-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) has been in one of those spots for much of the past severals years, and in terms of opponent, he should have everything Oliveira is looking for to take him one step closer to title contention.
Should fight: [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag]
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Blachowicz should rematch Anderson (13-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) next after his main event win.
James Krause said he embraced the hostile atmosphere in Sao Paulo, where he knocked out local hero Sergio Moraes at UFC on ESPN+ 22.
[autotag]James Krause[/autotag] made a winning return from a 15-month layoff to score a bonus-winning third-round knockout of Sergio Moraes at UFC on ESPN+ 22 in Sao Paulo. And the 34-fight veteran said that he felt no ill effects of his time away from active competition.
On the ESPN+ post-fight show, Krause (27-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) said that any concerns about possible ring rust laid elsewhere and he didn’t consider it a factor heading into his fight.
“I don’t really believe in ring rust,” he said. “I know it’s kind of a bit of a weird topic in MMA, but I’ve just had a son. He’s about 2 months old – that’s part of the reason for the layoff.
“But I’ve been fighting for 13 years. I have over 60 fights, pro and amateur. I know how to fight. The layoff doesn’t do anything. It’s not a factor for me. And with my style – I’m a high-volume guy – I just don’t think it matters. I think that’s a gun-shy thing, where people go out and they just don’t throw their normal amount of volume. My style is to go out there and get after you early, and I just don’t think it’s ever an issue for me.”
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Another thing the focused, yet laid-back Krause wasn’t concerned about was Moraes’ ground game. The Sao Paulo native has submitted more than half of his victims during his MMA career, but Krause said he was confident in his own grappling skills ahead of the matchup.
“I honestly was not worried about his grappling,” he said. “I’m a black belt too – I’m a first-degree black belt – so I roll with three-time world champions.”
Despite being confident he could hang with Moraes (14-6-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC) on the mat, his decision to keep standing back up and calling his man back to his feet was less to do with the skills matchup on the mat, and much more about the clear advantage Krause had in the stand-up.
“I wasn’t afraid of his grappling.” he said. “I feel like he was stalling me out, and what’s the point? I’m dominating the striking, so what’s the point of me hitting his gloves and stuff? So I’m gonna make him stand back up.
“I think I dropped him in the second and I saw his eyes roll back a bit, and I started hammer-fisting. He came back to a little bit, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna let him stand up. I’m dominating. There’s no point me even hanging around here giving him a chance to win.’ So I let him back up and it worked out good.
“The same thing (happened) in the third. I looked at my team and said, ‘There’s a minute left – do you want me to go back down?’ And my coach goes, ‘No, let him back up. Knock him the (blank) out.'”
While Krause’s composure throughout the fight was a key factor in him earning a third-round stoppage, his ability to embrace the unique atmosphere generated by Brazilian fight fans also played its part. While the Sao Paulo fans did their best to intimidate the American, Krause smiled off the chants and at one point put his finger to his lips to tell the crowd to calm down.
“This (atmosphere) is exactly what I thought it would be,” he said. “I’ve been doing this a long time, so I feed off the energy – good or bad, it doesn’t matter to me. This city is a fighting culture, and I really like to be in those cities where the people are into it.
“When we close the door, they can’t help him, they can’t help me. It’s just him and I out there and our teams versus each other, and we’ve gotta figure it out on the fly. So I don’t really worry about what they say, and that’s why I was like, ‘Shhhh – be quiet.'”
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