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Jessica Andrade talks to media about her upcoming bout with Rose Namajunas and details how her training has addressed any holes from previous fight with Namajunas.
Jessica Andrade talks to media about her upcoming bout with Rose Namajunas and details how her training has addressed any holes from previous fight with Namajunas.
Check out a preview of a critical rematch taking place at UFC 251.
Did you miss the debut of “UFC 251 Countdown” or just want to watch it again? Check out a preview of one of the night’s key fights now.
The segment takes a special look at the rematch between former strawweight champions [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] and [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag], whose first encounted resulted in Andrade winning the title from Namajunas with a slam knockout.
UFC 251 takes place Saturday at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. 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.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 251 event in Abu Dhabi, which features three title fights at the top of the card.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 251 event in Abu Dhabi.
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 on ESPN 12 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC 251 takes place Saturday at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Dan Hardy breaks down the strawweight rematch between Jessica Andrade and Rose Namajunas ahead of fight night at UFC 251.
UFC 251 brings a stacked card of fights to Yas Island, Abu Dhabi for the promotion’s inaugural “Fight Island” event, on Saturday, July 11, with a pivotal battle in the women’s strawweight division set to play a starring role on the main card.
Former champions [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] and [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] will face off in a fascinating rematch of their bout at UFC 237, where Andrade spectacularly slammed her way to a knockout victory and the UFC women’s strawweight title.
Now the pair are both looking to win their way back into title contention at 115 pounds, but which fighter holds the edge going into their eagerly-anticipated rematch?
UFC analyst Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy invites us into his “War Room” as he takes a deep dive into the strawweight matchup, and offers his technical pointers ahead of the fight. Check out his pre-fight assessment via the video above.
UFC 251 takes place Saturday, July 11 (Sunday, July 12 local time) at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
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.
“It’s definitely the makings of a spectacular performance and hopefully the best performance yet.”
[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] is in a great place.
Namajunas, the former UFC strawweight champion, has regained her love for MMA and is confident she will return to her winning ways.
She took some personal time off after losing her title to [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] last May and withdrew from their scheduled rematch at UFC 249 after two deaths in her family related to COVID-19.
The rematch has been rebooked for July 11 at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi, where Namajunas will get an opportunity to avenge her loss.
Namajunas (8-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) was in the middle of a striking masterclass in her first meeting with Andrade last year before she was slammed and knocked out in the second round.
The disappointment for Namajunas is that the finish came after an impressive Round 1 in which she displayed superior speed and movement, peppering Andrade with slick combinations.
“My striking did feel really good, but I think just based off of the way that I felt – like maybe not just visually, like looking at it but comparatively and from the outside – but the way that I felt as a fighter, I felt the best when I fought Joanna the first time,” Namajunas told ESPN.
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Namajunas’ priorities are back in place, and she is back to her championship-winning mentality that has resulted in numerous great showings.
“Based on my training and based on just my mentality and where everything is kind of led up to this point, it’s definitely the makings of a spectacular performance and hopefully the best performance yet,” Namajunas said. “I mean, my skill and my abilities and even just the control over myself has been the best it’s ever been this whole training camp. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to performing.”
Namajunas admits that the idea of getting even with Andrade (20-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) was initially on her mind, but she eventually put the loss behind her.
“To me, it don’t matter,” Namajunas said. “Fight her, fight Weili, fight Tatiana. Obviously I do want to beat Andrade and correct that mistake, but honestly I’ve put that in the past. At one point, I was like, ‘I’m gonna get this, I’m gonna get this back.’ But to me it’s just a fight now.”
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“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)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)
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)
PRELIMINARY (7 p.m. ET)
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)
PRELIMINARY CARD (6 p.m. ET)
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
PRELIMINARY CARD
The rematch between former strawweight titleholders is back on in a card expected to take place on “Fight Island.”
The rematch between [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] and [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] is back on.
The bout between former strawweight champions will take place on July 11, a card expected to be UFC 251, on the UFC’s “Fight Island,” an as-yet undisclosed location. MMA Junkie confirmed an initial Wednesday report by MMA Fighting.
This fight was originally scheduled for UFC 249, but was scuttled when Namajunas (8-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) had to withdraw.
In their first meeting, Andrade (20-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC), a heavy underdog, stunned the MMA world by defeating Namajunas to win the strawweight championship via second-round slam knockout at UFC 237. Andrade then went on to drop the championship to current titleholder Zhang Weili, a loss which snapped a four-fight win streak.
The 27-year-old Namajunas, meanwhile, has not fought since the loss to Andrade. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak.
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From strawweight all the way to heavyweight, these are 10 of the greatest comebacks in UFC championship fight history.
There have been some remarkable performances in UFC championship bouts, but some fighters had to dig deep to get the job done.
Some of the greatest comebacks have come in title fights, whether from a defending champion or a title challenger who showed the heart of a champion to weather the storm and turn things around for the finish.
From strawweight up to heavyweight, here are 10 of the greatest comebacks in UFC championship fight history.
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After defending his title three times, UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Frank Shamrock[/autotag] drew a young [autotag]Tito Ortiz[/autotag] at UFC 22. It proved to be one of the toughest battles of his career, as Ortiz really took it to Shamrock from the opening bell.
Ortiz dropped him with a straight right just seconds in, and the next 15 minutes would be a nightmare for Shamrock. Ortiz landed numerous takedowns, putting heavy pressure in top position, while landing brutal ground-and-pound.
In Round 4, Ortiz started to slow down. Shamrock pushed forward with hard leg kicks, but Ortiz capitalized on Shamrock’s forward pressure, landing another takedown. With less than a minute remaining in the round, Shamrock reversed position, unloading a barrage of punches on Ortiz who ducked under for a desperation takedown.
Shamrock used a mounted guillotine to get back up, dropping big hammer fists on Ortiz, who was holding onto his leg. A couple more shots and an exhausted Ortiz was unresponsive, prompting the referee to call the fight. Shamrock never gave up, throwing everything he had in the small windows he got throughout the fight, showing incredible heart.
Up next: Hughes delivers a moment for the ages
Check out the best highlights from this day in history with MMA Junkie’s “Combat Rewind.”
There’s “Flashback Friday” and “Throwback Thursday” (and Tuesday, too, if you want). But at MMA Junkie, we figured why not expand that to every day?
“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year. It’s a look back at history, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives, featuring stellar finishes and classic moments in MMA and beyond on their anniversaries.
So kick back and relive the following bits of greatness in the video above:
Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.
After the cancellation of UFC 249, Jessica Andrade rewards herself with some McDonald’s.
[autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag]’s week might have been a tad more hectic than the rest.
After flying over to the U.S., cutting weight, losing her opponent, then having the entire UFC 249 event postponed, former UFC women’s strawweight champion Andrade decided she might as well cheat on her diet.
Andrade, who lives in Brazil, was scheduled to rematch fellow former champ Rose Namajunas on Apr. 18, and was recently able to fly over to Las Vegas amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Shortly after her arrival, it was announced that Namajunas had withdrawn from their fight due to coronavirus-related deaths in her family.
Though no replacement was announced, Andrade continued to train and cut weight until the plug was officially pulled for UFC 249 and all upcoming events were suspended indefinitely.
But Andrade was determined to get the bag anyway – the McDonald’s bag – as she rewarding herself for her grueling training camp by loading up on a host of items from the world-famous fast food outlet’s menu.
“@ufc Cancelado! 😭 Ok, que venha o @McDonalds 😋😋😋😉😂😂 “
@ufc Cancelado! 😭 Ok, que venha o @McDonalds 😋😋😋😉😂😂 pic.twitter.com/ahK8yX84ZN
— Jessica Andrade UFC (@jessicammapro) April 10, 2020
Andrade captured the UFC strawweight title from Namajunas last May, but lost it shortly after when she suffered a first-round stoppage loss to Zhang Weili in August. She was looking to position herself back in title contention with another win over Namajunas, but for now, that will have to wait.
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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