Tag: Karine Silva

UFC on ESPN 45 predictions: Is anyone picking Kai Kara-France over Amir Albazi?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN 45 main card in Las Vegas, featuring Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi at flyweight.

Kara-France
vs.
Albazi		 Caceres
vs.
Pineda		 Altamirano
vs.
Elliott		 Silva
vs.
Souza		 Nurmagomedov
vs.
Zaleski dos Santos
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
77-52		 kara-france2023
Kara-France
(56%)		 caceres2023
Caceres
(75%)		 elliott2023
Elliott
(60%)		 silva2023
Silva
(74%)		 anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
(59%)
Matt Erickson
@MattE
86-43		 albazi2023
Albazi		 caceres2023
Caceres		 altamirano2023
Altamirano		 souza2023
Souza		 anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
81-48		 albazi2023
Albazi		 caceres2023
Caceres		 altamirano2023
Altamirano		 souza2023
Souza		 anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
81-48		 albazi2023
Albazi		 caceres2023
Caceres		 altamirano2023
Altamirano		 silva2023
Silva		 anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
78-51		 albazi2023
Albazi		 pineda2023
Pineda		 altamirano2023
Altamirano		 silva2023
Silva		 anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Nolan King
@mma_kings
78-51		 albazi2023
Albazi		 caceres2023
Caceres		 elliott2023
Elliott		 silva2023
Silva		 anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
76-53
trophy copy 2014 Champion		 kara-france2023
Kara-France		 caceres2023
Caceres		 altamirano2023
Altamirano		 silva2023
Silva		 anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
-74-55
trophy copy 2018, 2022 Champion		 albazi2023
Albazi		 caceres2023
Caceres		 altamirano2023
Altamirano		 silva2023
Silva		 zaleskidossantos2023
Zaleski dos Santos
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
72-57		 albazi2023
Albazi		 caceres2023
Caceres		 elliott2023
Elliott		 silva2023
Silva		 anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
70-59		 albazi2023
Albazi		 pineda2023
Pineda		 altamirano2023
Altamirano		 silva2023
Silva		 anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
70-59		 albazi2023
Albazi		 caceres2023
Caceres		 altamirano2023
Altamirano		 silva2023
Silva		 anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
68-61
trophy copy 2017 Champion		 albazi2023
Albazi		 caceres2023
Caceres		 altamirano2023
Altamirano		 silva2023
Silva		 zaleskidossantos2023
Zaleski dos Santos

Editor’s note: The main card fight between Jim Miller and short-notice replacement Jesse Butler was added too late for our picks deadline and is not included.)

After a week off, the UFC is back in Las Vegas with a key flyweight fight at the top of the bill.

UFC on ESPN 45 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

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

In the main event, [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will try to bounce back into contention after an interim flyweight title loss to Brandon Moreno in July 2022 when he meets [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who has yet to lose in the UFC.

Although the odds at most sportsbooks are a pick’em, it’s Albazi who is our closest thing to a unanimous pick on the main card this week. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have it as a 10-1 blowout for Albazi.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) meets [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag] (28-14 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in a featherweight bout. Caceres has won six of his past seven fights, is a -175 favorite at the betting window, and has a big 9-2 picks lead.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on former flyweight title challenger [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag] (18-12-1 MMA, 7-10 UFC). Elliott nearly is a 2-1 betting favorite, but our pickers have Altamirano in a 9-2 blowout.

[autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Ketlen Souza[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in an all-Brazil women’s flyweight scrap. Silva is more than a 2-1 favorite and has a big 9-2 lead from our staff members.

And to open the main card at welterweight, [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 9-3 UFC). The fight has nearly even odds with Nurmagomedov at -115, but our staff members have him with a huge 9-2 picks win, as well.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Kara-France (56 percent), Caceres (75 percent), Elliott (60 percent), Silva (74 percent) and Nurmagomedov (59 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

[pickup_prop id=”33499″]

UFC on ESPN 45 pre-event facts: Jim Miller can add to octagon wins record, be first to 25

The best facts and figures about UFC on ESPN 45, where Jim Miller and Andrei Arlovski can add to their places atop the UFC wins list.

The UFC opens a jam-packed June schedule on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 45, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with a main card that airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

A rare non-title flyweight bout gets the main event spotlight. Former interim title challenger [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is set to takes on surging contender [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in a high stakes matchup scheduled for five rounds.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card – which features two of the longest-tenured veterans on the roster – check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN 45.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (May 1-7)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from May 1-7.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 23-29)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Jan. 23-29.

UFC in 2022: A ridiculously robust look at the stats, streaks, skids and record-setters

Check out a full recap of 2022’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll, here are some of 2022’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances in the octagon.

UFC Fight Night 207 bonuses: Two debuting fighters among four winners

Check out who took home an extra $50,000 for their performance at UFC Fight Night 207 in Las Vegas.

UFC Fight Night 207 was an exciting event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas that saw finishes from the opening bout to the main event.

Nine of the 14 total fights ended early, giving the official judges an easy night at the office. The decision makers had plenty of options to choose from, but two debuting fighters, who both happen to be Dana White’s Contender Series veterans, caught their eye when it came time to issue bonuses.

Newcomer to the women’s flyweight division Karine Silva pulled off a first-round D’arce choke of Poliana Botelho with just seconds remaining in the first round. It was a slick finish after a solid round of work, and it was a strong enough performance on a card filled with finishes to earn an extra $50,000.

Check out who all earned a bonus for their performance at UFC Fight Night 207 below.

UFC Fight Night 207 video: Karine Silva taps Poliana Botelho with D’Arce choke

Karine Silva’s 11th career first-round stoppage was her most significant to date at UFC Fight Night 207.

[autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag]’s 11th career first-round stoppage was her most significant to date.

Silva (15-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made quick work of [autotag]Poliana Botelho[/autotag] (8-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) in the opening round of their women’s flyweight bout on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 207, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

After landing a thumping punch that put her opponent on the canvas, Silva jumped on top and sliced through her opponent’s defense and into the D’Arce choke, which was just the second finish of its kind in women’s UFC history. It was in deep, too, because Botelho tapped with just five seconds left in the opening round.

Check out the replay of the submission below (via Twitter):

With the win, Silva’s perfect 100 percent finishing rate remained in tact. She’s finished the overwhelming majority of those inside the first round, proving herself to be a potential new threat at 125 pounds.

“The plan was to go in there and touch her a little bit and just go for it,” Silva said through an interpreter in her post-fight interview with Paul Felder. “I said it, ‘If I hit her, I’m going to hit her hard and I’m going to knock her down.'”

Up-to-the-minute results of UFC Fight Night 207 include:

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 7-13)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Feb. 7-13.

Dana White’s Contender Series 45: Grading the winners

MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom takes a closer look at the performances of the DWCS 45 winners.

Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series (2021) took place on Tuesday in Las Vegas, and we’re grading the winners from the six-fight card, which streamed on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex.

With a simple but digestible format that has had the MMA fanbase responding, this series has shown to have legs in multiple ways while serving as a crockpot for contenders whom the UFC matchmakers can use for future events. So, with that trend in mind, I will once again be taking a look at the winning fighters regardless of whether or not they won a UFC contract, grading their performances in regards to their probability of returning to a UFC stage.