Tag: Julius Anglickas

Spinning Back Clique: Diaz vs. Luque, strawweight title picture, domestic violence in MMA, more

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” where our panel discusses the hottest topics in MMA.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week, we cover the UFC’s strawweight title picture, a potential matchup between Nate Diaz and Vicente Luque, and the recent domestic violence incidents involving MMA fighters.

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Danny Segura, Matthew Wells, and “Gorgeous” George Garcia discuss these topics along with host John Morgan.

  • This past weekend saw [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] announce herself as a contender in the UFC’s strawweight division with an impressive win over Mackenzie Dern at UFC Fight Night 194. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] and [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] will fight on Nov. 6, and [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] is currently waiting to take on the winner – unless, of course, the UFC goes the trilogy route with Namajunas and Weili. So if you’re Rodriguez right now, what do you do? How should the UFC handle this division right now?
  • [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] remains all-in on a potential fight with [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag]. For his part, Diaz has taken to social media to express interest in this fight. It’s a big name for Luque, especially with Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal now booked for UFC 269. The fight doesn’t really make sense in terms of rankings for Luque who sits at No. 6 in the latest MMA Junkie welterweight rankings. Is this the fight to make, or should Luque set his sights elsewhere?
  • We’ve had quite a few headlines lately that are unfortunately focused on domestic violence incidents. Chuck Liddell was the latest, but we’ve also seen Luis Pena and Jon Jones in the news in just the past few weeks. Do we have a domestic violence problem in MMA? If so, what can be done about it?
  • UFC Fight Night 195 features [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] stepping on short notice to headline an event just two weeks after missing weight for a fight with Macy Chiasson that was ultimately scrapped. She is moving up a division for this one, but should Ladd receive a main event slot after failing to make it to the cage for her previously scheduled bout? Is this a bad look for the UFC, or is it the right call with Ladd clearly needing to move up a division?
  • Bellator 268 takes place this Saturday in Arizona, which includes the semifinals of the promotion’s ongoing light heavyweight grand prix. [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] faces [autotag]Julius Anglickas[/autotag], and [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] meets [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag], with the winners meeting in the finals. There have been some hurdles along the way in this tournament, but now that it’s getting down toward the end, what are the overall thoughts on the success of this grand prix?

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.

With Anthony Johnson out, Julius Anglickas joins Bellator grand prix to fight Vadim Nemkov

Hours after news broke of Anthony Johnson’s withdrawal, Bellator has tapped a replacement.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The void left by [autotag]Anthony Johnson[/autotag] has been filled.

With “Rumble” out of the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix due to serious illness, rising contender [autotag]Julius Anglickas[/autotag] will step into his place, the promotion announced Saturday on the Bellator 266 broadcast.

For his tournament semifinal, Anglickas (10-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) will challenge champion [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] on Oct. 16 at Bellator 268 in Phoenix.

Anglickas, 30, rides a nine-fight winning streak into the bout, which includes three Bellator victories over Jordan Young, Alex Polizzi and Gregory Millard. After his win over Millard this past April, Anglickas was named an alternate by the promotion.

In 2019, Anglickas was featured on Dana White’s Contender Series and defeated Karl Reed. However, he was not offered a UFC contract. The 6-foot-3 light heavyweight is a former LFA champion.

As for Nemkov (13-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC), he enters the fight on an eight-fight winning streak that includes a title-clinching knockout victory over Ryan Bader and a unanimous decision title defense against Phil Davis in a grand prix quarterfinal.

With the addition, the Bellator 268 lineup includes:

  • Champion Vadim Nemkov vs. Julius Anglickas – for Bellator light heavyweight title, grand prix semifinal
  • Ryan Bader vs. Corey Anderson – grand prix semifinal
  • Benson Henderson vs. Brent Primus
  • Henry Corrales vs. Vladyslav Parubchenko
  • Karl Albrektsson vs.  TBA
  • Brett Johns vs. Erik Perez
  • Sullivan Cauley vs. Deon Clash
  • Nick Browne vs. Bobby Lee
  • Gregory Millard vs. Javier Torres
  • Randi Field vs. Sumiko Inaba
  • Lance Gibson Jr. vs. Raymond Pina

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Bellator 257: Make your predictions for Vadim Nemkov vs. Phil Davis

We want your predictions for Bellator 257, featuring champ Vadim Nemkov vs. Phil Davis in a title fight and light heavyweight tourney bout.

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 257 event in Connecticut.

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 Wednesdday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 257 main card staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. Bellator 257 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Make your picks for the fights below.