Tag: Jared Gordon

After nightmare two weeks, Jared Gordon says he’s ready to make run at featherweight

Back to his natural weight class, Jared Gordon is looking to shine.

ABU DHABI – [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag] is no stranger to overcoming adversity.

Gordon (16-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) picked up a dominant unanimous decision win over Chris Fishgold on Wednesday at UFC on ESPN 13, but the journey to get to the fight might have been his toughest battle.

It started with family tragedy when, 10 weeks into pregnancy, his fiancee had a miscarriage. She then tested positive for COVID-19, and Gordon had to pack his stuff and leave the apartment to isolate.

Gordon’s journey to Abu Dhabi didn’t come without numerous scares, either. After testing negative in coronavirus-blighted Florida, he hopped onto a flight to Las Vegas. However, he boarded that flight without his team after all of his cornermen from Sanford MMA tested positive for COVID-19.

Gordon then tested negative once more in Las Vegas, which allowed him to travel to Abu Dhabi. He had a little extra weight to cut than usual as he was dropping back down to 145 pounds for the first time since his UFC debut in 2017.

Upon arrival, Gordon was tested again and was later told that he had tested positive for COVID-19. After everything he went through, it was all about to be taken away from him, but luckily for Gordon, it was later identified as a false positive.

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Finally, Gordon was able to focus on cutting the rest of his weight, with his friend and managerial stablemate Paul Felder coming to the rescue by leaving the commentary booth to corner him. Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick also stepped into the breach, as did ONE Championship featherweight contender and grappling ace Garry Tonon.

With a makeshift corner team advising him between rounds, Gordon delivered a dominant performance to claim a hard-earned win after an emotional time for the 31-year-old. Now he just wants to look ahead and sees a more successful future fighting back in his optimal weight class of featherweight.

“I want to fight,” Gordon told MMA Junkie. “I finally got to the division that I’m supposed to be in – back to the division after three years of injuries. I had eye surgery in November. I had a plate put in my face. I won the fight before that but the fight before that, I got my hamstring pulled off my pelvis in my fight against Joaquim Silva. I did well when I first got to the UFC. My two first wins were dominant, and I missed weight my first fight, so they made me move up.

“So finally, after three years, I’m able to go back to the division that I belong in. (At) ’55, I’m fighting out of my weight class. When the guys start getting really big and really technical, where do I find the advantage? Today I was the bigger guy, and I was clearly the more technical guy, so I had a dominant performance, and that’s how it should have been. I have to improve, but I’m ready to do that.”

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UFC on ESPN 13 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Tim Elliott tops payouts with $10k

UFC on ESPN 13 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.

ABU DHABI – Fighters from Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 13 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $97,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC on ESPN 13 took place at Flash Forum. The card aired streamed on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN.

The full UFC on ESPN 13 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]John Phillips[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Chris Fishgold[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Liana Jojua[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Jack Shore[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Aaron Phillips[/autotag]: $3,500

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,123,000
2019 total: $7,370,500
2018 total: $6,901,000
2017 total: $6,295,000
2016 total: $7,138,000
2015 total: $3,185,000
Program-to-date total: $34,127,500

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Fight Tracks: The walkout songs of UFC on ESPN 13 with Oasis, Skynyrd, Chili Peppers, Tupac

Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 13 event at “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.

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 on ESPN 13 went with as their backing tracks in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12

Paul Felder will pause broadcast duties for one fight to corner Jared Gordon at UFC on ESPN 13

Paul Felder will be on double duty Wednesday when he steps away from the commentating booth to corner Jared Gordon at UFC on ESPN 13.

[autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] will be on double duty Wednesday.

After all of [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]’s coaches failed to make the trip to Abu Dhabi after testing positive for COVID-19, Felder will step in to corner good friend and teammate Gordon at UFC on ESPN 13.

Gordon, who recently moved to Florida to train at Sanford MMA, traveled to Abu Dhabi alone and will now have Felder and Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick in his corner for his fight against Chris Fishgold on Wednesday.

SuckerPunch Entertainment head Brian Butler revealed the news of Gordon’s new corner in an Instagram post Sunday.

“Breaking: @jaredflashgordon’s coaches and team all tested positive for CV and were not able to make the trip to corner him. With no corners or coaches Jared was determined to fight and pressed through set back after setback and still made his way to Fight Island. In an unprecedented move, long time friend, training partner and fellow SP teammate, @felderpaul is scheduled to commentate the remaining events on Fight Island and has gotten clearance to come off the desk to help his friend through the fight during the event. Also long time SP friend @eric_xcmma who is there with fellow SP client @dynamitedan808 will step up and help Jared in his fight. #1team1dream #represented”

Felder, a longtime training partner of Gordon’s at Roufusport in Milwaukee, took to Instagram to comment on his cornering duties.

View this post on Instagram

No way I’m letting my man go into a fight alone. 👊🏼 #Repost @suckerpunchent ・・・ Breaking: @jaredflashgordon ‘s coaches and team all tested positive for CV and were not able to make the trip to corner him. With no corners or coaches Jared was determined to fight and pressed through set back after setback and still made his way to Fight Island. In an unprecedented move, long time friend, training partner and fellow SP teammate, @felderpaul is scheduled to commentate the remaining events on Fight Island and has gotten clearance to come off the desk to help his friend through the fight during the event. Also long time SP friend @eric_xcmma who is there with fellow SP client @dynamitedan808 will step up and help Jared in his fight. #1team1dream #represented

A post shared by Paul Felder (@felderpaul) on

“No way I’m letting my man go into a fight alone. 👊🏼”

Felder is on commentator duty for the remainder of the “Fight Island” events, but will be stepping away from commenting duties for one fight to corner Gordon.

The recently retired lightweight is currently taking time off, but confirmed in a recent interview with MMA Junkie that he intends on returning to the octagon once the right opportunity presents itself.

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UFC announces full ‘Fight Island’ lineup, includes 47 bouts in 15 days

“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.

“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.

UFC president Dana White today announced the complete lineup for the four cards that will take place next month in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The unique setup has been necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has made it difficult to get international fighters into the U.S. to compete.

“I think this is going to be a really unique experience, not just for the fighters, but for us,” UFC president Dana White said during the announcement. “It’s going to be cool. It’s going to be something different. It’s never been done before, and however long this thing goes on, and however long it’s hard to get people in from other countries, we will have these fights at ‘Fight Island’ – Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.”

First up, it’s UFC 251 on July 11, which features a trio of title fights.

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

  • Champ [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] – for welterweight title
  • Champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] – for featherweight title
  • [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] – for vacant bantamweight title
  • [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]

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

  • [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Henry[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Roman Bogatov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Alexander Romanov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Raulian Paiva[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Vanessa Melo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Martin Day[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]
Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige

The promotion then returns on July 15 with an event headlined by featherweight contenders [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC).

The complete lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET)

  • Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige
  • [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Chris Fishgold[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY (7 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Vinicius Moreira[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]John Phillips[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Liana Jojua[/autotag]
Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo

Three days later, on July 18, the promotion hosts its third card in eight days, when top flyweight contenders [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) meet for a second time with the vacant UFC flyweight title on the line.

The full card includes:

MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET)

  • Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez – for vacant flyweight title
  • [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Askar Askarov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (6 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khadis Ibragimov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nad Narimani[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Joel Alvarez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Joe Duffy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Brett Johns[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Aleksander Doskalchuk[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Davi Ramos[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Carlos Felipe[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag]
Darren Till and Robert Whittaker

Finally, the UFC’s run in Abu Dhabi ends on July 25 with a much-anticipated middleweight contest between former champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and former welterweight title challenger [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC).

That night’s full lineup includes:

MAIN CARD

  • Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till
  • [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Peter Sobotta[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Raphael Pessoa[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mike Grundy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Bethe Correia[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ramazan Emeev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]

UFC ‘Fight Island’ targets Jared Gordon vs. Chris Fishgold addition for July 15 card

Jared Gordon and Chris Fishgold will throw down in a featherweight matchup at UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi on July 15.

A featherweight battle between two former lightweight campaigners is in the works for “Fight Island” on July 15.

Pending finalization, former UFC lightweight [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag] and former Cage Warriors lightweight champion [autotag]Chris Fishgold[/autotag] will face off in a 145-pound matchup on the UFC’s second “Fight Island” card at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie following an initial report from MMA Fighting on Saturday. The person asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Gordon (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is making the drop to 145 pounds after a five-fight run at lightweight. He went 2-3 as a UFC lightweight, picking up unanimous decision wins against Hacran Dias and Dan Moret, but suffering stoppage defeats to Diego Ferreira, Joaquim Silva, and, most recently, Charles Oliveira.

He’ll face off against England’s Fishgold (18-3-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC), who picked up his first octagon victory at the second attempt, courtesy of a second-round submission of Sweden’s Daniel Teymur at UFC on ESPN+ 3 in February 2019.

Fishgold’s last outing saw him succumb to a second-round anaconda choke from Finland’s Makwan Amirkhani at UFC on ESPN+ 11 last June, and after missing out on his scheduled bout with Billy Quarantillo in December, the Liverpool native will look to bounce back against Gordon on July 15.

With the addition, the current July 15 lineup includes:

  • Carla Esparza vs. Marina Rodriguez
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Mounir Lazzez
  • Aleksander Doskalchuk vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Vincius Moreira
  • Chris Fishgold vs. Jared Gordon

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Jared Gordon looks for UFC career reinvention back at featherweight: ‘This is what I needed’

It’s a new chapter in Jared Gordon’s fighting career ahead of UFC San Diego.

[autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag] is on the verge of entering a new chapter in his fighting career.

The 31-year-old will return to his original weight class of 145 pounds for the first time since 2017 when he takes on Matt Sayles on May 16 at UFC San Diego. The shift to featherweight is paired up with many significant changes in Gordon’s life heading into his seventh UFC fight.

For this bout, Gordon (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is now living in a different state, training under a new team, and he’s engaged. Although this amount of change might seem overwhelming, “Flash” is content that it’s all happening at once.

“This is what I need. I find it rejuvenating, and it’s a new chapter,” Gordon told MMA Junkie.

“It’s my resurgence back, to put together a win streak, and I truly believe this is where I’m supposed to be, so I’m really excited. I’m pumped up and excited to see how camp goes, how I feel, and it’s given me a new purpose and a new mission. I believe my strengths as a fighter will be shown more, and I really do think this is what I needed.”

Gordon was training at Roufusport with coach Duke Roufus in Milwaukee, but he made the move to South Florida in December, as that’s where his fiancee lives. Gordon now trains with Sanford MMA (formerly Hard Knocks 365) with Henry Hooft.

“When I was at Roufusport, I went there and thought I was going to be there for a a really long time, and it didn’t turn out that way,” Gordon said. “But I took what I needed, and it got me to where I’m at right now. It got me a new UFC contract and won my first UFC fight there.

“So my first UFC contract, my last fight on that was with Duke, and although I lost that fight, I got ‘Fight of the Night’ (a $50,000 bonus), and they gave me a new contact. Then I won my first fight on my new contract, and then I took a chance. I fought (Charles) Oliveira and lost that fight. So it got me to where I am right now.

“Then I got engaged, and my life changed pretty drastically. In Florida, my training and my living space, it’s in one area – I don’t have to spread myself thin. Also going back to 145, so a lot of things are changing. I truly believe this is the way they’re supposed to be, so here I am.”

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Gordon suffered a broken orbital bone in the loss to Oliveira. It was his second orbital bone injury, and he now has metal plates underneath both eyes.  Despite the severity of the injury, Gordon is now healthy and believes there are major positives to take away from the experience.

“I took a chance fighting Oliveira,” Gordon said. “I wasn’t supposed to fight Oliveira. I was supposed to fight someone else, and they pulled out. They couldn’t get Oliveira a fight because he’s on a tear, and nobody wanted to fight him in his hometown in Sao Paulo. Nobody in front of him wanted to fight him, no one closely ranked behind him wanted to fight him, so they gave me the opportunity, and it didn’t go my way obviously.

“But now I’m looking at it like a blessing because I was fighting at 155 pounds, and I truly believe that I’m too small, too short. Dude, I have a 66-inch reach. That’s like a reach of a 135er, so I believe I really was fighting out of my wight class. But if I would’ve won that fight, I would’ve been ranked at 155, and then I would’ve been fighting people ranked after Oliveira – all monsters, they’re all huge and technically really good. So I truly believe I’m supposed to be at 145 in order to be successful and go where I want to go.”

Gordon is well aware of the impact the recent coronavirus outbreak is having in the U.S. and on UFC events. Gordon admits there are concerns about the event potentially not happening, but will move forward with his fight preparations for now.

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Jared Gordon on police shutdown of Sanford MMA gym over coronavirus restrictions: ‘It sucks’ 

Jared Gordon and his team were forced to take training elsewhere due to coronavirus restrictions.

[autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]’s training, like many others in the MMA world, has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The 31-year-old UFC fighter and his team were ordered by police on Friday to leave their Sanford MMA gym (formerly known as Hard Knocks 365) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., due to the city’s measures to close non-essential business in hopes of containing and reducing the spread of the virus in the area.

“I walked into the gym, I went  to the locker room, I changed, I was about to get my hands wrapped, and the cops walked in and they were like, ‘Hey, you guys have to leave,'” Gordon told MMA Junkie. “Because we were in Fort Lauderdale, and it’s in a lockdown part of the non-essential establishments, so like gyms, clubs, bars, are not allowed to be open. So they kicked us out.”

Gordon (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC), who lives in nearby Boynton Beach, is scheduled to fight at UFC on ESPN+ 23, which is currently set for May 16 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Calif. He takes on Matt Sayles in a return to the featherweight division after having competed at lightweight for the last three years.

Gordon and his team didn’t suspend training because of police ordering them to leave. Instead, they did what they could and took things elsewhere.

“So that was that,” Gordon said. “We went to the park and got some work in. It wasn’t anything serious, they just told us to leave.”

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Gordon said the team will take training to their second location up north in Deerfield Beach.

“The other location is north, only like Miami and Fort Lauderdale are in lockdown, so they’re going city by city.” Gordon explained. “Right now, we’re all right as far as our other location, but I’m sure it will spread more to other cities.

“The other gym is still open, so we’re going to be there for now.”

Gordon hasn’t spoken to his coaches about a potential contingency plan if the the team’s second gym were to shut down due to coronavirus restrictions.

“It sucks, it’s all is up in the air,” Gordon said. “I’m just going with the flow, that’s all I can do right now.”

For now, Gordon will continue training for his bout but admits he’s concerned about it potentially not happening, as California is currently under statewide “stay at home” orders, and there’s no clear idea when recommended social distancing might come to an end.

“I’m definitely concerned,” Gordon said. “My opponent is from California. and they’re in a state-wide lockdown, so how does he train? That’s unfair for him; I guess it’s good for me. But how does the UFC expect guys that are on lockdown to train, and we don’t even know when the lockdown gets lifted? And who knows if it’ll spread to Florida more and they shut us down? So I’m just going with the flow.”

“Trying to get my weight down, train hard still, and definitely concerned, but I think it will get postponed. I’m still getting ready, staying active, and doing what I can with what I have. Definitely concerned, but just going with the flow, not trying to get worked up about it, not going to freak out because if it gets postponed because there’s a pretty good possibility that it could. I’m just giving it to God; he’s in control, and I truly believe that. I’m just letting it be.”

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Jared Gordon vs. Matt Sayles booked for UFC San Diego

UFC San Diego adds a lightweight fight between Jared Gordon and Matt Sayles to its growing lineup.

Another lightweight bout is on tap for UFC San Diego.

[autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Matt Sayles[/autotag] is the latest addition to the promotion’s return to California, multiple persons with knowledge of the matchup told MMA Junkie on Sunday.

UFC San Diego is scheduled to take place May 16 at Pechanga Arena. The card is expected to stream on ESPN+.

Gordon (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has dropped three of his past four fights. His losses have come to Diego Ferreira, Joaquim Silva and Charles Oliveira – all by knockout or TKO. His lone victory in the stretch came at UFC on ESPN 3 this past June, when he beat Dan Moret by unanimous decision.

Dana White’s Contender Series signee Sayles (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has bookended his lone UFC victory over Kyle Nelson with losses to Sheymon Moraes and Bryce Mitchell. In his most recent fight in December against Mitchell, Sayles was on the receiving end of a first-round twister submission. It’ll be a homecoming for Sayles, who resides in the San Diego area.

With the addition, the latest UFC San Diego lineup includes:

  • Dustin Poirier vs. Dan Hooker
  • Anthony Hernandez vs. Puna Soriano
  • Luana Carolina vs. Ariane Lipski
  • Cortney Casey vs. Lara Procopio
  • Kai Kara-France vs. Alex Perez
  • Jared Gordon vs. Matt Sayles

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