Jose Aldo – Page 26 – Syndication Server

UFC 245 predictions: Who’s picking upsets in the three title fights?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC 245 main card, which features three title fights in Las Vegas.

	Usman vs. Covington	Holloway vs. Volkanovski	Nunes vs. de Randamie	Aldo vs. Moraes	Faber vs. Yan
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2019: 207-123 (63%)	Covington (54%)	Holloway (76%)	Nunes (84%)	Moraes (66%)	Yan (61%)
Simon Head @simonhead 2019: 123-65 (65%)	Usman	Holloway	Nunes	Moraes	Yan
Nolan King @mma_kings 2019: 118-65 (64%)	Covington	Holloway	Nunes	Moraes	Yan
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2019: 212-118 (64%)	Covington	Holloway	Nunes	Moraes	Yan
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2019: 210-120 (64%)	Usman	Holloway	Nunes	Moraes	Yan
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2019: 210-120 (64%) 2017 Champion	Covington	Volkanovski	Nunes	Moraes	Yan
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2019: 207-123 (63%)	Covington	Holloway	Nunes	Moraes	Yan
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2019: 207-123 (63%)	Usman	Holloway	Nunes	Moraes	Yan
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2019: 205-125 (62%) 2014 Champion	Covington	Holloway	Nunes	Aldo	Yan
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2019: 203-127 (62%)	Covington	Volkanovski	de Randamie	Moraes	Yan
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2019: 107-70 (60%)	Covington	Holloway	Nunes	Moraes	Yan
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2019: 197-133 (60%)	Usman	Holloway	Nunes	Moraes	Yan
Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2019: 134-104 (56%)	Usman	Holloway	Nunes	Moraes	Faber
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2019: 173-157 (52%)	Usman	Volkanovski	de Randamie	Aldo	Faber

The UFC is back in Las Vegas for its biggest pay-per-view card of the year with three title fights atop the bill.

UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

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In the main event, welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) puts his belt on the line in a grudge match against former interim champ [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC). Usman nearly is a 2-1 favorite at the sports books. But our 13 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers see it the other way, just barely. Covington has the slightest possible edge at 7-6 in our picks.

In the co-main event, featherweight champ [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) defends his title against [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC). Holloway is about a -175 favorite and he has a 9-4 lead in the picks.

The third title fight on the card sees dual women’s champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 11-1 UFC) put her bantamweight title up against former featherweight titleholder [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC). Nunes is a big favorite at more than 3-1, and she’s got a sizable 11-2 lead in the picks.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) makes his first move to bantamweight to take on [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] (22-6-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC). Moraes is more than a 2-1 favorite, and he’s got a huge 11-2 picks advantage.

And to open the main card, bantamweight [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is the biggest favorite at the event by far against [autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag] (35-10 MMA, 11-6 UFC). Yan is around a -550 favorite, and he has a big 11-2 lead in the picks.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Covington (54%), Holloway (76 percent), Nunes (84 percent), Moraes (66 percent) and Yan (61 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

UFC 245 main card salaries: Usman, Covington get same $500,000 disclosed pay

Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington will make the same disclosed salaries for their welterweight championship grudge match at UFC 245.

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] will make the same disclosed salaries for their welterweight championship grudge match at UFC 245.

Current titleholder Usman (15-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) and challenger Covington (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) are both contracted to receive flat $500,000 salaries for Saturday’s pay-per-view headliner, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

MMA Junkie received the UFC 245 payout sheet on Friday from the Nevada Athletic Commission, which sanctions the event.

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The co-main event title fight also will pay out flat rates. Reigning featherweight champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) has a deal that pays $350,000. Challenger, [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is set to receive $250,000, win or lose, in his first UFC title fight.

Dual-UFC champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 11-1 UFC) is on a bit of a different deal. The Brazilian, who puts her women’s bantamweight title on the line, is set to receive $350,000 to show with a $100,000 win bonus attached. Her challenger, [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC), nets a flat rate of $100,000.

Other notable salaries from the UFC 245 main card include former longtime UFC champ [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who makes $400,000 to show with a potential $50,000 win bonus. His opponent, [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] (22-6-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC), makes $110,000 with the chance to double his money with a $110,000 win bonus.

UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag] (35-10 MMA, 11-6 UFC), who opens the main card, will receive a flat rate of $250,000. That’s significantly more than his opponent [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who makes $66,000 to show with another $66,000 on the hook if he wins.

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Now, the usual disclaimer: The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, including the official UFC 245 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay. They also do not include any other “locker room” or special discretionary bonuses the UFC oftentimes pays. They also do not include pay-per-view cuts that some top-level fighters receive.

For example, UFC officials will hand out additional $50,000 bonuses for “Performance of the Night” and/or “Fight of the Night” honors.

In other words, the above figures are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.

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8 burning questions heading into UFC 245 and its three title fights

MMA Junkie senior editor Dave Doyle walks you through the key storylines on the loaded UFC 245 card.

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The UFC’s 2019 pay-per-view schedule ends with a bang Saturday night. Three championships will be on the line at UFC 245. All three matchups feature worthy challengers, and all have the potential to be great fights.

UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] takes on former interim titleholder [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] in a matchup of competitors with a combined UFC record of 20-1. Featherweight champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] is facing his most serious challenger in Australia’s [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]. And women’s champ-champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] puts her bantamweight belt on the line in a rematch with former featherweight titleholder [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag].

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Throw in a pair of consequential bantamweight matchups in [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] and[autotag] Petr Yan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag] and a smattering of interesting items lower on the card, and it looks like we’re in for one hell of a show Saturday night.

UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Will Colby Covington’s fake shtick lead to his realest moment?

Yeah, we know the score by now. You either love Covington (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) and his MAGA shtick, or you hate it.

Others who have trash talked their way into getting attention and eventually the big fights, like Conor McGregor and Chael Sonnen, walk a fine line, sometimes crossing it but rarely trampling it. Covington’s banter borders on parody, turning off a whole lot of people, while others like him exactly for what his character represents.

Underlying Covington’s trolling, however, has been one rock-solid fact: He is a tremendous fighter. One who won several fights in a row before gaining any recognition. He’s a world-class MMA wrestler, a cardio freak, and an underrated striker. He’s made fighters as great and stylistically varied as Rafael dos Anjos, Demian Maia, and Robbie Lawler look silly, and did so in consecutive fights.

You don’t have to like Covington. But you’re deluding yourself if you think his phoniness outside the cage has anything with what he does inside the cage. Covington wouldn’t be in this spot if he wasn’t the real deal, and as difficult as it might be for many to swallow, Saturday night could very well be his crowning moment.

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UFC 245: Marlon Moraes vs. Jose Aldo official, both fighters make weight

Jose Aldo reacts to Conor McGregor’s defense of his drop to bantamweight for UFC 245

Jose Aldo reacts to Conor McGregor supporting his drop down to 135 pounds.

Support from former foe [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] has warmed [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]’s heart.

Two-time UFC featherweight champion Aldo, who lost his 145-pound title to McGregor in 2015, took a lot of criticism for his decision to move down to 135 pounds.

Plenty of pictures have been spread online highlighting how drained and gaunt Aldo has looked ahead of his fight with Marlon Moraes on Saturday at UFC 245.

And while many fighters have shown their concern toward Aldo and questioned his decision to drop to bantamweight, McGregor was one of the few people to defend him, saying that Aldo looks on top of things.

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An appreciative Aldo was asked by TSN for his thoughts on McGregor’s support, a feel-good moment in the MMA community.

“Of course I took it to heart, the great champions know what it takes to sacrifice things for us to achieve things, the other people, the other fighters only dream of so it means a lot to me that it comes from him. He’s a champion of two weight classes. He knows the sacrifices that I had to make and I really take the compliment, the comment to heart.”

I asked Jose Aldo about these comments and he was very appreciative of them. https://t.co/73T7QX6n6J pic.twitter.com/LMJjn4nSUi

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) December 12, 2019

After Aldo made weight Friday in Las Vegas, coming in at 136 pounds, McGregor put out another show of support.

Tremendously done José! pic.twitter.com/NJKJNcgBLn

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 13, 2019

UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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Alexander Volkanovski: Jose Aldo was tougher style matchup than Max Holloway

Alexander Volkanovski sees the argument Jose Aldo was a more difficult puzzle to crack than Max Holloway will be.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] acknowledges the stiff test he has in front of him Saturday night.

He greatly respects his UFC 245 opponent, UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]. There’s no question. But just because Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) views Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) as a difficult task, doesn’t mean he sees him as his most challenging stylistic matchup to date.

At a UFC 245 media day held Thursday, Volkanovski told MMA Junkie he believes his most recent fight against [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] in May was probably a trickier matchup than Holloway, stylistically-speaking.

“I’ve always been confident,” Volkanovski said. “But them last couple of fights really did boost my confidence even more… To completely change my type of style just to adapt to a fighter (against) one of the greatest of all time. I was able to do that and get it done. That just really proved to me that we’re on another level.

“That just made me be like, ‘Man.’ I reckon stylistically, usually you would say that was a harder fight for me than even Max, when you look stylistically. But I mean, Max is a great champion.”

It is seemingly undeniable Holloway is a great champion. He’s defended his 145-pound strap three times, in largely dominant fashion, against Jose Aldo, Brian Ortega, and most recently Frankie Edgar.

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Holloway has won 14 of his most recent 15 outings entering UFC 245, a stretch dating back to January 2014. Holloway’s lone loss came at lightweight by decision against former interim champ Dustin Poirier. So how does Volkanovski plan on beating Holloway on fight night?

“Obviously with my last one, I had to play it a little more safe and I had to work around things,” Volkanovski said. “With this fight, I don’t. He’s going to put himself in positions where he needs to try and break me, right? He needs to work his game. He’s going to try to land is jabs on the outside. He might do what he did with Frankie, but I’m not going to be so easy.

“… We’re both going to try to break each other’s rhythm, but at the same time we’re both not going to let each other take a backwards step. If we’re going backward, we’re doing it on purpose… Mate, you’re going to see fireworks. Again, he’s going to put himself in positions where he thinks he can maybe get a hand ahead, but he’s going to run into a brick wall.”

UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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Today in MMA history: Conor McGregor knocks out Jose Aldo, going from jester to king in 13 seconds

On this date in MMA history four years ago, Conor McGregor became featherweight champion with a 13-second KO of Jose Aldo at UFC 194.

(This story first published on Dec. 12, 2017.)

Months of buildup. Dozens of interviews. Thousands of miles traveled and multiple countries visited on a press tour that seemed to go on forever. Then 13 seconds in the cage.

That was how the saga of [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] finally ended on Dec. 12, 2015. You couldn’t have missed the months of pre-fight hype if you tried. But the fight itself came and went in less time than it would take you to run to the kitchen and get a fresh beer out of the fridge.

Just like that, one era ended and another began. The jester had become king, and the king had become the past. After that, the featherweight division – and arguably the UFC itself – would never be quite the same.

Somehow, this all started with Dennis Siver. In January 2015, McGregor traveled to Boston to meet the stoically inoffensive German featherweight in the main event of UFC Fight Night 59.

Did this seem like it was even intended to be a serious challenge to the streaking McGregor, who’d stormed into the UFC two years prior and reeled off four straight wins while his fame snowballed into an unstoppable force? Not really.

What it seemed like was a setup. Especially after the Irishman had proven his drawing power in a win over Diego Brandao at a UFC Fight Pass-only event from Dublin, the UFC clearly wanted to be all the way in the McGregor business. So it booked him opposite Siver, a good-but-not-great featherweight who seemed to be slowing down in his mid-30s.

“This fight in Boston,” UFC President Dana White said a couple weeks prior, “if (McGregor) wins, he’s going to fight for the title.”

Of course he won. That was the whole point. But a second-round TKO of Siver didn’t make quite enough noise to please McGregor, so after the fight he leapt over the octagon fence and made a beeline for UFC featherweight champion Aldo, who was sitting at cageside.

The confrontation was brief, but tense. With beefy security types quickly intervening between the two men, McGregor leaned toward Aldo’s face with the wide-eyed stare of a madman. Aldo couldn’t stop grinning. The whole thing was just so funny, he explained later.

“He is a fool, and just kept opening his mouth,” Aldo said. “It just made me laugh.”

This would become Aldo’s standard response to McGregor’s many provocations.

At the event, he showed off a poster depicting McGregor as a court jester. “Go Joker, Go…” it read. “Make me laugh.”

After four years as the only featherweight champion the UFC had ever known, it hardly even needed to be said that, at least for the purposes of this metaphor, Aldo was the king.

The fight was set for UFC 189 in July. To promote what it expected to be a blockbuster affair, the UFC took both fighters on a two-week media tour that traveled from Brazil to the U.S. to Ireland, all so fans could work themselves into a frenzy as the two men jawed at one another from opposite sides of a dais.

Aldo may have started out trying to dismiss McGregor’s antics as harmlessly idiotic, but by the end, he was nearly boiling over. In Dublin, McGregor reached over the podium and seized Aldo’s UFC title belt, holding it over his head as the Irish fans cheered and Dana White tried to restrain the enraged Aldo.

With that image alone, the media tour seemed to have served its purpose.

White later claimed the UFC had spent more money promoting that fight than any other in UFC history. That made it sting all the more when, a few weeks before UFC 189, Aldo withdrew with a rib injury.

The UFC president didn’t take the news well. He accused Aldo and his camp of overplaying the injury, making a bruised rib sound like a broken one. He appeared on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” alongside McGregor to criticize Aldo’s record of pulling out of title fights. Instead, White said, former title challenger Chad Mendes would step in on short notice to fight McGregor for the interim featherweight title.

As for Aldo?

“If a man is scared for his life, we cannot force him to step in and face me,” McGregor said on ESPN. “I feel he is afraid. The doctors have cleared him to fight. It’s a (rib) bruise, but he has still pulled out.”

Even with the late change of opponents, UFC 189 was an unqualified success. The UFC pulled out all the stops with its production, both on pay-per-view and in the arena, with Sinead O’Connor singing McGregor’s entrance music live inside MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Conor Mcgregor and Chad Mendes at UFC 189. (USA TODAY Sports)

And, after a shaky first round in which he was easily taken down by Mendes and bloodied on the mat, McGregor rebounded to knock out an exhausted Mendes in the final seconds of Round 2.

Now the Irishman was the interim champ, and to the tune of more than 800,000 pay-per-view buys, according to reports. The live-gate figures also broke a U.S. record for MMA, according to UFC officials, with just north of $7 million flowing in through ticket sales.

But the fight with Mendes left some doubts. Yes, McGregor had finally defeated a strong wrestler, but one who took the fight on short notice. Plus, his takedown defense was clearly lacking. After being given such a well-manicured path to the title, was McGregor really ready for a focused and prepared champion like Aldo?

We finally got the chance to find out that December. Atop a star-studded fight card that featured Chris Weidman defending his middleweight title against Luke Rockhold (while Yoel Romero and Ronaldo Souza battled beneath them to see who had next), Aldo-McGregor was the unquestioned headliner.

Before the event, White predicted another record-breaker, saying that UFC 194 was on track to be “the biggest thing we’ve ever done.” Sure enough, live gate figures topped $10 million, according to UFC officials, breaking the U.S. record set by McGregor’s previous fight.

At the weigh-ins, a grinning Aldo and a skeletal McGregor had to be separated by White. The arena practically shook with the raucous cheers of the Irish fans, and all with still a day to go before the fight itself.

Asked for prediction before the fight, McGregor explained that he saw himself slipping Aldo’s right hand and coming back with his own powerful left.

“I see him KO’d inside one (round),” McGregor said.

More than 16,000 fans packed MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas that night. More than a million more watched on pay-per-view.

McGregor entered first, grinning his madman’s grin as he draped himself the Irish flag. A tense and serious Aldo followed a few moments later. The longtime champion looked especially nervous as he waited in his corner, head down, swaying from side to side.

Only referee John McCarthy, standing quietly with his arms crossed, seemed capable of underplaying the magnitude of the moment. When McCarthy gave the pre-fight instructions and offered the fighters the chance to tough gloves, neither man moved.

“Conor looks extremely loose,” UFC commentator Joe Rogan said, as McGregor crouched in his corner, mouthing words that were immediately lost in the din of the crowd. “And Aldo looks like he’s feeling the pressure of this moment.”

At the signal to fight, McGregor bounded out to the center of the cage, his lead right hand extended as Aldo stalked forward. McGregor fired a straight left, and Aldo replied with a counter left hook that came up short. McGregor stabbed a kick at Aldo’s thigh, forcing him back, but only for a moment.

Then it was if Aldo had had enough. He came forward pumping his left, missing with his right and landing his left – just as he walked directly into McGregor’s stiff left hand.

The instant the punch landed, it was as if Aldo’s feet stopped working, while his forward momentum carried his upper body on ahead. He crashed to the mat, rolling onto his side as McGregor stood over him and pounded at his unguarded head with two straight left-hand hammerfists.

By the time McCarthy shoved him off to stop it, only 13 seconds had gone by.

“Unbelievable,” Rogan said. “The first punch he threw. Slept him.”

As Aldo was being helped to his feet, McGregor celebrated atop the cage before jumping down and jogging around the perimeter, once again draped in his flag.

“The first man to beat Aldo in over a decade,” UFC commentator Mike Goldberg said. “The fastest title fight finish ever, bettering Ronda Rousey’s 14-second armbar.”

Aldo could only stalk the cage, covering his face with a towel as he shook his head. When he came to the center of the cage for the official announcement, he traded a few words with McGregor before standing with his hands on his hips, staring at the mat while blood leaked from a cut on the bridge of his nose.

“He’s powerful, and he’s fast,” McGregor said of Aldo in the post-fight interview. “But precision beats power, and timing beats speed. And that’s what you saw there.”

By the time the post-fight press conference rolled around, McGregor was already talking about his next goal – the UFC lightweight title. His coaches later admitted that the cut to featherweight was a brutal one for him, and one they might prefer him never to make again. But in the immediate aftermath, McGregor was adamant about becoming – and staying – a two-division champion.

“I’ll tell you one thing that won’t be happening,” McGregor said. “If I got up to that lightweight division, there is no way in hell that I am vacating my belt. That is not happening. There will be a belt on one shoulder and a belt on the other shoulder.”

And there was, at least for a time. By then, no one was laughing at the joker anymore.

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UFC 245 pre-event facts: Inside the fifth title triple header in UFC history

The best facts and figures about the UFC 245 main card, which features a Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington welterweight title main event.

The UFC’s final pay-per-view event of the year takes place Saturday with UFC 245, which goes down at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and features arguably the most loaded lineup of the year.

For just the fifth time in company history, three championship fights are on the docket at a single event, meaning the landscape of the sport has the potential to alter significantly by the end of the weekend.

Check below for all the pre-fight facts behind the UFC 245 main card, which features [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) vs. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) for the welterweight title in the main event; [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) vs. [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) for the featherweight strap in the co-main event; and an [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 11-1 UFC) vs. [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) women’s bantamweight title rematch in the featured bout.

* * * *

Main event

Usman enters the event on a 14-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since May 2013.

Usman is one of four fighters in UFC history to start 10-0 with the promotion. Anderson Silva, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Royce Gracie also accomplished the feat.

Usman is the only welterweight in history to start his UFC career with 10 consecutive victories.

Usman’s 10-fight UFC winning streak is the third longest active streak in the company behind Nurmagomedov (12) and Tony Ferguson (12).

Usman’s 10-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is the longest active streak in the division.

Usman’s 10-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is the second longest in divisional history behind Georges St-Pierre (12).

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Usman has earned eight of his 10 UFC victories by decision.

Usman absorbs just 1.6 significant strikes per minute in UFC welterweight competition, the best rate among active fighters in the weight class.

Usman outlanded Tyron Woodley by a margin of 336-60 (+275) in total strikes at UFC 235, the record for a UFC championship fight.

Usman landed 192 body strikes at UFC 235, the single-fight UFC record.

Usman has completed 42 takedowns in his 10 UFC appearances.

Usman has defend 100 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC competition, which includes 17 total.

Usman’s 12 takedowns landed against Rafael dos Anjos at the TUF 28 Finale are tied for second most in a single UFC welterweight fight. Luigi Fioravanti holds the record with 13 at UFC 82.

Covington is one of three interim UFC welterweight champions in company history. St-Pierre and Carlos Condit also accomplished the feat.

Covington’s seven-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is tied with Santiago Ponzinibbio for the third longest active streak in the division behind Usman (10) and Leon Edwards (eight).

Covington attempted 541 total strikes against Robbie Lawler at UFC on ESPN 5, the single-fight UFC record.

Covington attempted 515 significant strikes at UFC on ESPN 5, the single-fight UFC record.

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Covington has landed 58 takedowns combined in his 11 UFC appearances.

Covington’s 58 takedowns landed in UFC welterweight competition are most among active fighters in the weight class.

Covington lands 5.69 takedowns per 15 minutes of fighting in UFC welterweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Covington’s 12 takedowns landed at UFC on FOX 22 are tied for the second most in a single UFC welterweight fight. Fioravanti holds the record with 13 at UFC 82.

Co-main event

Holloway owns or is on the verge of owning several key UFC records, which can be viewed in his complete career stat sheet.

Volanovski enters the event on a 17-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since May 2013.

Volkanovski’s five-fight UFC winning streak at featherweight is the fourth longest active streak in the division Holloway (13), Zabit Magomedsharipov (six) and Arnold Allen (six).

Volkanovski has outlanded his seven UFC opponents by a 493-167 margin in total strikes. His strike differential of +3.36 per minute is the highest in UFC featherweight history.

Volkanovski lands 58.2 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.

Volkanovski has landed two or more takedowns against five of his six UFC opponents.

Featured bout

Nunes is one of four simultaneous two-division champions in UFC history. Daniel Cormier, Conor McGregor and Henry Cejudo also accomplished the feat.

Nunes is one of seven fighters in UFC history to win titles in two weight classes. Cormier, McGregor, Cejudo, St-Pierre, B.J. Penn and Randy Couture also accomplished the feat.

Nunes’ four consecutive UFC title defenses are most among current champions.

Nunes’ six victories in women’s UFC title fights are tied with Ronda Rousey and Joanna Jedrzejczyk for most in company history.

Nunes has defeated six fighters who once held an undisputed UFC belt, tied with Jon Jones for the most of any active fighter in the organization.

Nunes competes in her 12th UFC women’s bantamweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.

Nunes’ 11 victories in UFC competition are tied with Jessica Andrade for most for any female in company history.

Nunes’ 10 victories in UFC women’s bantamweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Nunes’ nine-fight UFC winning streak in women’s competition is the longest in company history.

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Nunes’ eight-fight UFC winning streak at women’s bantamweight is the longest active streak in the division.

Nunes has earned 16 of her 18 career victories by stoppage. That includes nine of her 11 UFC wins.

Nunes’ eight stoppage victories in UFC women’s bantamweight competition are most in divisional history.

Nunes’ seven first-round finishes in UFC/Strikeforce women’s bantamweight competition are second most in combined divisional history behind Rousey (seven).

Nunes’ six knockout victories in UFC women’s bantamweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Nunes’ three knockdowns landed in UFC women’s bantamweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Nunes’ 14-second knockout of Julia Budd at Strikeforce Challenger 13 is the fastest knockout in UFC/Strikeforce women’s history.

Nunes’ victory at the 2:36 mark of Round 5 at UFC 224 marked the second latest stoppage in a women’s UFC title fight – behind only Miesha Tate’s win at the 3:30 mark of Round 5 vs. Holly Holm at UFC 196.

Nunes’ four fight-night bonuses for UFC women’s bantamweight fights are second most in divisional history behind Rousey (seven).

De Randamie was the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight champion. She accomplished the feat at UFC 208 in February 2017.

De Randamie is one of six European-born champions in UFC history. McGregor, Jedrzejczyk, Andrei Arlovski, Michael Bisping and Bas Rutten also accomplished the feat.

De Randamie can become the eighth fighter in UFC history to win titles in multiple weight classes. She could join Nunes as the only females to accomplish the feat.

De Randamie competes for the second time in 2019, marking multi-fight appearances inside a calendar year for the first time since 2013.

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De Randamie is 2-0 since she returned to the UFC women’s bantamweight division in September 2017.

De Randamie’s four-fight UFC winning streak at women’s bantamweight is tied with Ketlen Vieira for the second longest active streak in the division behind Nunes (eight).

De Randamie’s three knockout victories in UFC women’s bantamweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Nunes (six).

De Randamie’s 16-second knockout of Aspen Ladd at UFC on ESPN+ 16 is tied with Rousey’s finish at UFC 175 for the fastest knockout in women’s UFC history.

De Randamie defends 88 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC women’s bantamweight competition, the second best rate in divisional history behind Irene Aldana (93.5 percent).

Remaining main card

[autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] (22-6-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is a former WSOF (now PFL) bantamweight champion. He defended his title a record six times.

Moraes is 17-2 in his past 19 fights dating back to December 2011. The only defeats in that stretch came against Raphael Assuncao, a loss he avenged, and Cejudo.

[autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) drops to the bantamweight division for the first time after spending his entire career at featherweight.

Aldo is 3-4 in his past seven fights after going undefeated for more than a decade.

Aldo is the only two-time UFC featherweight titleholder in history and one of eight overall in company history to have two reigns in a single weight class.

Aldo’s 18 UFC/WEC featherweight victories are the most in combined divisional history.

Aldo’s 15-fight UFC/WEC winning streak before losing to McGregor at UFC 194 is the second longest in the combined history of the two organizations behind Anderson Silva (16).

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Aldo’s 11 stoppage victories in UFC/WEC featherweight competition are the most in combined divisional history.

Aldo’s 11 knockout victories in UFC/WEC featherweight competition are most in combined divisional history.

Aldo defends 91 percent of opponent takedown attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the highest rate in combined divisional history.

Aldo’s nine fight-night bonuses for UFC/WEC featherweight bouts are second most in combined divisional history behind Cub Swanson (11).

[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]’s (13-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at bantamweight is tied with Marlon Vera for the longest active streak in the division.

[autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag] (35-10 MMA, 11-6 UFC), 40, is the oldest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Faber is the only UFC Hall of Fame fighter to earn an octagon victory after being inducted. He accomplished the feat after coming out of retirement to win at UFC on ESPN+ 13.

Faber is the only fighter in UFC history to go 0-4 in title fights.

Faber competes in his 17th UFC bantamweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.

Faber’s total fight time of 3:29:50 in UFC bantamweight competition is the most in divisional history.

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Faber’s 11 victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied with Assuncao for second most in divisional history behind T.J. Dillashaw (12).

Faber’s 12 victories in UFC/WEC bantamweight competition are tied with Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz for most in combined divisional history.

Faber’s seven stoppage victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Dillashaw (eight).

Faber’s 12 submission victories in UFC/WEC/Strikeforce/PRIDE competition are tied for third most in the combined company history behind Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (13) and Charles Oliveira (13).

Faber’s six submission victories in UFC bantamweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Faber’s 26 takedowns landed in UFC bantamweight competition are the second most in divisional history behind Merab Dvalishvili (27).

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.

Jose Aldo: Bantamweight cut ‘very easy,’ will be first on scale for UFC 245 weigh-in

“The weight cut has been the easiest I’ve had in my life. … It reignited a new Jose Aldo. The old Jose Aldo is dead.”

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] has only positive comments about his first cut down to the bantamweight division and insists everything is going smoothly ahead of Friday’s UFC 245 official weigh-in.

After being a career-long featherweight and the longest reigning UFC champion in the division’s history, Aldo (28-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) decided to make a drastic change by moving down a weight class.

It was a surprising development, because the Brazilian has long said if he were to make any change, it would be going up to lightweight. He’s set to try out 135 pounds for a matchup with Marlon Moraes (22-6-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC), though, and although everyone is analyzing Aldo’s physique ahead of the event, he said there’s no concerns to be had.

“If you guys can see my face everything went amazing,” Aldo told MMA Junkie through an interpreter at UFC 245 media day on Thursday. “I’m really excited, I’m really anxious actually to fight and perform. As you guys can see I can make weight very easy. Tomorrow morning I’m going to be the first one on the scale.”

After having his legendary title reign stopped by Conor McGregor exactly four years ago today at UFC 194, Aldo has had ups and downs in his career. He’s climbed back to the mountaintop, but in recent years especially the results have been inconsistent.

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According to Aldo, the change in weight class forced him to explore corners of the sport he’s never encountered in his lengthy career. Through those means, he said he rediscovered his true love for the fight game.

“I believe in my team, I trust my team and we’ve got a nutritionist and we’ve been working diligently with a nutritionist,” Aldo said. “The weight cut has been the easiest I’ve had in my life. I’ve never felt that strong, that fast. It reignited a new Jose Aldo. The old Jose Aldo is dead. It’s a new person, give me new goal. I want to continue to make history and be a legend of the sport. We’ll be the champ at 135.”

Although he has yet to officially make the weight, Aldo said he feels as though he should’ve been fighting at bantamweight long ago. The process has allowed him to rediscover his youth, he said, and that not only means problems for his opponent Moraes on Saturday’s pay-per-view card at T-Mobile Arena, but for the entire division, too.

“It reignited my passion to be champion,” Aldo said. “The last time I felt this quick and this explosive I was in the WEC so many years ago. I feel very young, I feel reborn like a new Jose Aldo. It’s the best thing I could’ve done. I’m reignited and I have the passion to be here. Mark my words: I’ll be the next 135-pound champion of the world.”

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UFC 245: Jose Aldo media day interview

Jose Aldo spoke to the media at Thursday’s UFC 245 ultimate media day in Las Vegas.