Tag: Kamaru Usman

‘UFC 245 Embedded,’ No. 1: ‘Trump, I’ve got a new belt for you’

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the big stars of UFC 245, which features Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington in the main event.

The UFC’s 12th and final pay-per-view of the year takes place Saturday with UFC 245, and the promotion’s popular “Embedded” series returns to get you ready.

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+.

In the main event, UFC welterweight champion[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] attempts to defend his belt against [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] in a long-awaited grudge match. And in the co-main event, UFC featherweight title challenger [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] puts his belt on the line against [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]. Also on the card, [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] faces [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] for the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

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The first episode of “Embedded” follows the big-name stars at the top of the card as they arrive in Las Vegas. Here’s the UFC’s description:

On Episode 1 of UFC 244 Embedded, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman goes from “scruffy” to polished at home and then hits the gym for more finishing touches. Rival Colby Covington arrives in Las Vegas and dedicates his upcoming success to a famous family. Featherweight title challenger Alexander Volkanovski makes the long trip from New Zealand with teammate and UFC 245 flyweight Kai Kara France. Featherweight champion Max Holloway works out and horses around with his team at UFC Performance Institute. UFC 245 Embedded is an all-access, behind-the-scenes video blog leading up to the three title fights taking place Saturday December 14. Order the Pay-Per-View at ESPNPlus.com/PPV

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UFC 245: Make predictions for Usman-Covington, Holloway-Volkanovski, Nunes-de Randamie title fights

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 245 event in Las Vegas, which features three title fights at the top of the card.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 245 event in Las Vegas.

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 245 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. 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+.

Make your picks for all five main card fights inside:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7

UFC 245: How to watch Usman vs. Covington, full card, start time, streaming info

All the info you need to watch UFC 245, which features three title fights, including Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington.

The UFC is back home in Las Vegas for its final pay-per-view and one of the most anticipated events of 2019, which features three title fights at the top of the bill.

In the main event, welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] finally will settle their longstanding when they square off for the title. In the co-main event, featherweight champ [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] will defend his belt against [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]. Also, UFC dual champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] is set to put her women’s bantamweight title on the line in a rematch with former featherweight champ [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag].

There’s that and much more on the stacked card. Take a look at the UFC 245 event info with lineup, start times, and key storylines below.

What: UFC 245

When: Saturday

Where: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas

TV, Live stream: ESPN+ (subscribe here), ESPN 2, pay-per-view

Full fight card, start times

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

Main Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET

  • Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington – for welterweight title
  • Champ Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski – for featherweight title
  • Champ Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie – for women’s bantamweight title
  • Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Moraes
  • Urijah Faber vs. Petr Yan

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Geoff Neal vs. Mike Perry
  • Irene Aldana vs. Ketlen Vieira
  • Omari Akhmedov vs. Ian Heinisch
  • Matt Brown vs. Ben Saunders

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

  • Chase Hooper vs. Daniel Teymur
  • Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Moreno
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Jessica Eye
  • Oskar Piechota vs. Punahele Soriano

Key storylines

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MMA rankings report: How will December’s big fights shake things up?

With a big month of fights on tap to close the year, Gorgeous George and John Morgan project how the rankings might shake out.

Things have been a little slow the past couple weeks in mixed martial arts, but the year will end with a bang, as December features a big slate of important fights.

There are several matchups which will have major implications on both their respective divisions and, in some cases, the pound-for-pound list. Matches such as:

  • [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] at welterweight
  • [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexander Volkanosvki[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] at featherweight
  • [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] and [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Yana Kunitskaya[/autotag] at women’s bantamweight
  • [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] at men’s bantamweight

Those are just some of the matchups over the next several weeks which will have a major impact on the future. What might they mean for the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings? Let MMA Junkie’s “Gorgeous” George Garcia and John Morgan walk you through the changes in the video above.

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UFC 245 judges, referees set: Jason Herzog gets first UFC title fight assignment

Judges and referees assignments are set for UFC 245, which features three title fights on Dec. 14 in Las Vegas.

The UFC will close out its 2019 pay-per-view schedule next month with UFC 245, which features three championship fights.

The Nevada Athletic Commission has assigned judges and referees for those title bouts, which top the Dec. 14 card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. NAC announced the assignments at a Wednesday meeting in Las Vegas.

In the main event, [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) will put his welterweight title on the line against heated rival [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC). Marc Goddard will serve as the referee for the 170-pound title bout, while Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato and Eric Colon serve as judges.

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The co-headliner, which sees [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) put his featherweight belt up for grabs against [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC), will see Jason Herzog get his first UFC title fight referee assignment, with Mike Bell, Junichiro Kamijo and Chris Lee slated as judges.

Finally, the women’s bantamweight title rematch between dual-champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 11-1 UFC) and [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) will mark the sixth UFC title fight for referee Keith Peterson. The judges will be Dave Hagen, Ron McCarthy and D’Amato.

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Video: ‘Ready to Rise’ hypes up UFC 245 title fights led by Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington

Check out the “Ready to Rise” video hyping up the three title fights at UFC 245, highlighting Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington.

UFC 245 will feature a trio of title fights, headlined by welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC), who is set to make his first title defense against former interim champ [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC).

In the co-main event, featherweight champ [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC), takes on the surging [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC). And dual champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 11-1 UFC) puts her bantamweight title on the line against ex-featherweight champ [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC).

UFC 245 takes place Dec. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

“Ready to Rise” is a short promo video for UFC 245 centered around the night’s headliner, a grudge match between Usman and Covington. Check out the video below.

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Tyron Woodley has ‘perfect scenario’ of fights but might first have to settle for Leon Edwards

Tyron Woodley is on a mission to be the greatest of all time, wants to fight the top welterweights like Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman.

[autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] is on a mission to become the greatest of all time.

Woodley (19-4-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC), the former UFC welterweight champion, last competed in March at UFC 235, where he lost his title to [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]. It was Woodley’s first loss in over four years, and during his championship tenure he successfully defended his title four times.

During a Monday appearance on “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show,” Woodley said he has his eye on the two top 170 pounders, Usman and [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag], who are set to square off for the title at UFC 245.

“My perfect scenario, to be honest: I want to fight the best the UFC has to offer right now,” Woodley said. “I want to fight obviously Colby, I want to fight Usman, (expletive) I want to fight Israel Adesanya after I wipe out the division. If I can get past that test, I want to fight Khabib (Nurmagomedov).”

Woodley was briefly scheduled to face Covington on numerous occasions, but the fight never came to fruition. With the history of once sharing the same gym in American Top Team and all the trash talk, it would have certainly been a big fight for Woodley, But instead, Usman will get that opportunity Dec. 14.

“I never got showered with the praise,” Woodley said. “I got booed in Madison Square Garden. If I was fighting Colby, I would have gotten the most obnoxious cheer ever, but when you think about it, Colby is an (expletive). He turned down a fight with me three times. Usman should have never fought me first. You’ve got to recognize, Usman was not even the next person to fight me, nor was Darren Till.”

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Right now, it appears all signs are pointing to a potential matchup with Leon Edwards, who has amassed an impressive eight-fight winning streak. However, Woodley is finding it hard to get motivated for Edwards.

While he recognizes his skillset, he’s just not the big name he’s looking for at this point in his career.

“The (expletive) up part is my son was like, ‘Who is that?,'” Woodley said of Edwards. “My kids know everybody. They play the video game, so when you got to explain to somebody who the person is and how good they really are, I have to pump up to the fact, to the people, and to the peers on how dope Leon is, because he is dope. He got super crazy strategic striking, super sharp, great cardio. He has good IQ, switched things around in the (Rafael dos Anjos fight), in the middle of the fight, so he’s dope as (expletive) as a fighter, but I’m going to have to sell the fact on how dope he is.”

Woodley is targeting a January return and has left it up to his management and team to figure out the right opponent. He is not ruling out a fight with Edwards but says the money and stipulations for the fight have to suit him if he were to take the fight.

“Meanwhile, I’m going to have to continue to promote myself. I ain’t getting paid to promote him, so if it makes sense and the UFC makes it make sense with the dollar amount, and my coaches and my team think it’s the best move, then I’m going to go default to them. Because they know me and they know what my end goal is. My goal is to be the greatest of all time, so I’ve got to go and get back my retaliation, the people that defeated me, that I still can. I got to beat Colby’s (expletive) up, because he clearly ran from me three times after making his Instagram page 90% me, extremely unmanly.”

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