We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 182 event in Las Vegas, featuring Rafael dos Anjos vs. Paul Felder.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 182 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 Fight Night 182 event staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. UFC Fight Night 182 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
MMA Junkie’s Simon Head takes a look back at the best rookie performers in the UFC so far in 2020.
Twenty-two fighters have made their UFC debuts so far in 2020, with 10 of them picking up victories to give their careers on the biggest stage a winning start.
Of those 10 winners, there were five newcomers who stood out as they delivered A-grade performances on their respective debuts. Here, we recap their displays as we look back at the best rookie performances of 2020 so far.
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Daniel Rodriguez
If there’s one thing UFC fans love to see, it’s a fighter who will step in the cage and throw down, even when it’s against someone who has built a winning reputation for doing the same.
That’s exactly what we saw from welterweight [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN+ 25 in Rio Rancho, N.M., as he went toe-to-toe with Tim Means before eventually finishing “The Dirty Bird” via submission inside two rounds.
Despite facing such well-established, respected opposition, Rodriguez (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) showcased the sort of composure you’d expect to see from a 10-fight UFC veteran, as he outstruck Means, dropped him, and then submitted him with a standing guillotine to cap off an outstanding octagon debut.
What made his performance all the more impressive was the fact that Rodriguez had the deck stacked against him but still prevailed. He was facing a dangerous veteran, in Means’s home state of New Mexico, on just three weeks’ notice. That’s as tough an assignment as you could expect to receive in your UFC debut, yet Rodriguez passed with flying colors.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from February 2020.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from February 2020: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Month” award for February.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
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The Nominees
Khaos Williams def. Alex Morono at UFC 247
A short-notice replacement for injured welterweight Dhiego Lima, [autotag]Khaos Williams[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) entered enemy territory and trucked Alex Morono (17-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC) as a massive underdog.
Williams came out fists-a-flying, winging punches at the Fortis MMA product. Morono retreated, but his back hit the cage, and he couldn’t escape Williams’ heat. Eventually Williams landed a hard combination that crumpled Morono. Follow-up shots added insult to injury before the referee pulled Williams off the fallen Texan after just 27 seconds.
Jan Blachowicz def. Corey Anderson at UFC on ESPN+ 25
[autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] (26-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC), who has been on the list of contenders at 205 pounds for quite some time but never quite made it to the top, knocked Corey Anderson (13-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) cold in the opening round of their rematch.
With champ Jon Jones closely watching, Blachowicz earned the knockout just over three minutes into the fight when he connected with a wicked right hand that found the home. Anderson went down in a heap, and Blachowicz got revenge for a decision loss in the first fight back in 2015.
Timothy Johnson def. Tyrell Fortune at Bellator 239
Based on betting odds alone, [autotag]Timothy Johnson[/autotag] (13-6 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) pulled off one of the great upsets in Bellator history when he shocked top heavyweight prospect Tyrell Fortune (8-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) in the first round.
Merely seen as the next name on Fortune’s flourishing resume, Johnson had other plans when he found the chin of his opponent early in the fight. Fortune couldn’t handle the clean shot, and was knocked out upon impact for the stunning result.
😱😱😱@tbeartim drops a bomb! We are LIVE on @paramountnetwork!
Jake Childers def. Nate Togbah Richardson at LFA 82
Undefeated featherweight [autotag]Jake Childers[/autotag] (8-0) kept his perfect record intact with a first-round victory over Nate Togbah Richardson (7-2), and while the result wasn’t necessarily a surprise, the way it ended certainly was intriguing.
Working from the clinch in the opening frame, Childers wrapped the body and elevated Richardson in the air before slamming him to the canvas. The impact was enough to render Richardson unconscious, and Childers was awarded the knockout victory.
Priscila Cachoeira def. Shana Dobson at UFC on ESPN+ 26
In desperate need of a win after dropping three consecutive fights to begin her UFC tenure, [autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) came through big with a brilliant first-round knockout of Shana Dobson (3-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC).
Cachoeira wasted no time getting into the fight. She was aggressive from the outset, and Dobson clearly wasn’t ready for it. The Brazilian caught Dobson with an uppercut in the opening seconds, putting her down and wrapping the fight up in a mere 40 seconds.
Fortune raised eyebrows during Bellator 239 fight week by proclaiming himself the best heavyweight in the world. However, Johnson had something to say about that when they got into the cage together.
Veteran Johnson, who was previously winless in Bellator, used a hellacious right hand to knock Fortune cold in the opening round of their main card bout. The knockout came at the 2:35 mark of the round.
There wasn’t much going on up until the fight’s climactic moment. The duo stalked one another and tried to figure out their ranges.
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Johnson plainly found his first, as he flicked a left and then landed his bomb flush on the jaw. Fortune was out by the time he hit the mat and the fight was waved off.
The Las Vegas-based competitor had been in a bad way in recent outings, dropping five off his past eight and losing his first two bouts after leaving the UFC for Bellator. It’s almost needless to say he was thrilled with the result.
“It feels weird – it’s been a while since I’ve been in the win column,” Johnson said after his sixth career KO/TKO victory. “That was definitely what I needed. I needed to come out and make a statement.”
Fortune, whose entire career has been with Bellator, was knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes are facing short suspensions. Valentina Shevchenko, on the other hand, could be out for a while.
[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] battled for five rounds at UFC 247, but it seems they’ve come out relatively unscathed.
The pair of headliners each received a 31-day suspension, according to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation document obtained Tuesday. The Texas commission was responsible for regulating UFC 247, which took place at Toyota Center in Houston.
Conversely, UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] is facing a potentially lengthy suspension after her third-round TKO victory over [autotag]Katyln Chookagian[/autotag] in the evening’s co-main event. According to the TDLR, Shevchenko is facing a 181-day suspension, while Chookagian was handed a potential 45-day term.
Two other winners, [autotag]Journey Newson[/autotag] and [autotag]Andre Ewell[/autotag], are also facing potential 181-day suspensions.
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Check out a full list of the UFC 247 medical suspensions below.
(Note: No specific injury details were given. It’s also important to note that, due to the lack of specific information, it’s unclear if any fighters have the ability to have their suspensions shortened if cleared by a doctor.)
[autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag]: Suspended 10 days
[autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]: Suspended 61 days
[autotag]Khaos Williams[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
Andre Ewell: Suspended 181 days
[autotag]Domingo Pilarte[/autotag]: Suspended 61 days
Journey Newson: Suspended 181 days
[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: Suspended 61 days
[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]James Krause[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]: Suspended 10 days
[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag]: Suspended 10 days
[autotag]Mirsad Bektic[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
“It felt great walking down to the octagon for the first time. I never fold under pressure. I always perform better under pressure. Pressure busts pipes, but it also makes diamonds. I’m just blessed to be a diamond.”
Williams on making a name for himself
““First off, I just want to thank God. Without him, none of this would be possible. I just want to thank the UFC for giving me this opportunity. I took it on two weeks’ notice. The dude was a hometown guy, 17-5, so it was a pretty incredible win. I’m just blessed to be here, blessed to get the ‘W’ how I did. Khaos Williams: Get used to the name, I’ll be here and I’m here to stay. I’m the future and one day I’ll be fighting for the title.”
Williams on what he wants next
“The fans can expect me to keep getting better, keep dropping bodies and stay hungry.”
To hear more from Williams, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 247, which saw Jon Jones defeat Dominick Reyes in the main event.
The UFC returned to Texas on Saturday with UFC 247, which took place at Toyota Center in Houston with a main card that aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
Two championship fights topped the card. In the main event, [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) defended the UFC light heavyweight title by the skin of his teeth with a ultra-competitive unanimous decision win over [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), while [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (19-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) utterly dominated [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) en route to a third-round TKO in the co-main event.
Both fights for the gold provided some historic footnotes, but that’s not all the card had to offer. For more on the numbers, check below for 50 post-event facts to come out of UFC 247.
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General
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The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $243,000.
UFC 247 drew an announced attendance of 17,401 for a live gate of $3,549,418.
Betting favorites went 6-5 on the card. One fight had even odds.
Betting favorites improved to 3-0 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 2:10:48.
Main card
Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes
Jones’ 14 victories in UFC championship fights are most in company history.
Jones’ 20 victories in UFC light heavyweight competition are the most in divisional history.
Jones’ 18-fight UFC unbeaten streak is the longest among active UFC fighters.
Jones 18-fight UFC unbeaten streak is the longest in company history.
Jones’ 18-fight UFC unbeaten streak in light-heavyweight competition is the longest active streak in the weight class and longest in divisional history.
Jones’ four-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is tied with Corey Anderson for the longest active streak in the division.
Jones’ 1,835 total strikes landed in UFC light heavyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Jones’ 1,473 significant strikes landed in UFC light heavyweight competition are the most in divisional history.
Jones’ 42 takedowns landed in UFC light heavyweight competition are fourth-most in divisional history behind Anderson (53), Rashad Evans (50) and Ryan Bader (46).
Jones’ total fight time of 5:40:15 in UFC light heavyweight competition is most in divisional history.
Reyes had his 12-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
Valentina Shevchenko
Shevchenko’s two consecutive UFC women’s flyweight title defenses are most in divisional history.
Shevchenko improved to 5-0 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in February 2018.
Shevchenko’s five-fight UFC winning streak at women’s flyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Shevchenko’s five victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Shevchenko’s three stoppage victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Gillian Robertson (four).
Shevchenko’s two knockout victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied with Maycee Barber for most in divisional history.
Shevchenko earned the eighth knockout in UFC history to stem from the crucifix position. Gary Goodridge, Matt Hughes, Dong Hyun Kim, Paul Kelly, Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier and Tyson Pedro also accomplished the feat.
Shevchenko has completed at least one takedown against nine of her 10 UFC opponents.
Chookagian fell to 4-2 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in January 2018.
Chookagian suffered the first knockout loss of her career.
Justin Tafa
[autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] (4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned all four of his career victories by knockout.
[autotag]Juan Adams[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has suffered three consecutive losses after starting his career on a five-fight winning streak.
Adams has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]’s (13-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak in featherweight competition is the fourth longest active streak behind Arnold Allen (seven), Zabit Magomedsharipov (six) and Alexander Volkanovski (six).
[autotag]Mirsad Bektic[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
Bektic suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Derrick Lewis
[autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) 14 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are fourth-most in divisional history behind Andrei Arlovski (17), Frank Mir (16) and Junior Dos Santos (15).
[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]’s (14-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2018.
Latifi was unsuccessful in his UFC heavyweight debut.
Preliminary card
Trevin Giles
Giles (12-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) improved to 2-2 since he dropped to the UFC middleweight division in December 2017.
Krause (27-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has suffered three of his four UFC losses by decision.
[autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) improved to 3-1 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in December 2017.
[autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in her career.
Lee has suffered both of her UFC losses by split decision.
[autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC) has suffered all three of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had his 10-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
[autotag]Domingo Pilarte[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
[autotag]Andre Ewell[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has suffered both of his UFC losses by decision.
[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.
[autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had his seven-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
Fighters from around the globe dream of the day they’ll step into the octagon the first time – so how did the newcomers perform on Saturday?
Fighters from around the globe dream of the day they’ll step into the UFC octagon for the first time. For three athletes, Saturday’s UFC 247 event marked that special moment in their career.
Check out this week’s rookie report to see what kind of first impression those fighters made on the sport’s biggest stage from Toyota Center in Houston.
[autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag]’s UFC debut didn’t go the way the previously undefeated prospect had hoped, but his first career loss certainly wasn’t a result of a lack of effort.
Lingo showcased a solid gas tank and a hard-nosed approach as he set a relentless pace from the start of the fight and pushed forward at every opportunity.
That desire to walk forward throwing punches eventually became his undoing, however, as his opponent countered him smartly and used Lingo’s forward momentum against him by securing takedowns at key times during the fight.
One positive in his defeat was Lingo’s ability to fight his way out of a tricky submission predicament in the second round, when he found himself caught in a D’Arce choke. He stayed composed, fought the hands smartly and eventually freed himself from the hold.
Overall, his approach proved a little too one-dimensional on the night, but not every opponent will be as slick fighting off the back foot as Zalal, and it would be no surprise to see him in a barnburner against a similarly-styled fighter in a fight or two.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 247 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $243,000.
HOUSTON – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 247 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $243,000.
The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.
UFC 247 took place at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
The full UFC 247 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Check out the complete list of fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC 247 event.
While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a UFC win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.
Inside, see what the fighters from UFC 247 went with as their backing tracks in Houston.
Not bad for Khaos Williams making his short-notice UFC debut.
[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag], [autotag]Khaos Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag], and [autotag]James Krause[/autotag] will all take home an extra $50,000 after memorable performances at UFC 247.
Bautista and Williams each earned “Performance of the Night” bonuses, while Giles vs. Krause was named “Fight of the Night.”
