Tag: Marvin Vettori

Injury forces Darren Till out of UFC on ABC 2 vs. Marvin Vettori; Kevin Holland offers services

Darren Till won’t be fighting April 10, but will Kevin Holland?

The UFC is in need of a new main event for UFC on ABC 2 – and a volunteer has already raised his hand.

Due to a collarbone injury, [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] has withdrawn from the April 10 headliner against [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag], sources with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie on Tuesday.

ESPN was first to report the bout was canceled following a tweet from Vettori (16-4-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC), which expressed anger at the situation.

Always do my part 100% and these bunch of p*ssies can’t make it,” Vettori wrote. “I’m next in line for the title, whoever has something to say show the fuck up in 2 weeks so I can whoop your ass and shut you off for good

While Vettori, whose recent career has been plagued with opponent withdrawals, doesn’t appear to be keen on fighting a replacement, [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] has volunteered to step into the spot voided by Till (18-3-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC). His manager Oren Hodak told MMA Junkie on Tuesday that they have accepted the fight but are waiting to hear back from the UFC.

Holland (21-6 MMA, 8-3 UFC) recently partook in his first promotional headliner at UFC on ESPN 21 – a unanimous decision loss to Derek Brunson. Holland lacked offensive success, but talked the entire fight. His performance led UFC president Dana White to make the comment that Holland had a “mental breakdown” during the fight

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UFC on ABC 2 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. With the withdrawal, the April 10 lineup includes:

  • Marvin Vettori vs. TBA
  • Nina Ansaroff vs. Mackenzie Dern
  • Jarjis Danho vs. Yorgan De Castro
  • Ignacio Bahamondes vs. John Makdessi
  • Norma Dumont vs. Bea Malecki
  • Sam Alvey vs. Zak Cummings
  • Jordan Griffin vs. Luis Saldana
  • Arnold Allen vs. Sodiq Yusuff
  • Hunter Azure vs. Jack Shore
  • Kyle Daukaus vs. Aliaskhab Khizriev
  • William Knight vs. Da Un Jung
  • Mike Perry vs. Daniel Rodriguez
  • Impa Kasanganay vs. Sasha Palatnikov
  • Mateusz Gamrot vs. Scott Holtzman

Nevada Athletic Commission approves three UFC event licenses for April in Las Vegas

The UFC has obtained three event licenses from the state of Nevada for April 10, 17, and 24.

Four UFC event applications have been approved by the Nevada Athletic Commission for the month of April.

The NAC’s monthly meeting was held Tuesday via conference call with all five commissioners present. The governing body swiftly granted approval for events on April 10, April 17, and April 24 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The event license approvals don’t mean the UFC will certainly hold events at the UFC Apex, as exemplified by UFC 261 on April 24. On Monday, UFC president Dana White announced UFC 261 will happen at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., without capacity limits on the crowd.

Various fights have been revealed for the April stretch:

  • April 10, UFC on ABC 2, takes place at matinee time in the U.S. In the main event, middleweight contenders [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] and [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] are expected to square off.
  • April 17, a UFC Fight Night event, is in need of a new main event. With [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] ill, former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] needs a new opponent.
  • April 24, UFC 261, is expected to take place in Jacksonville, Fla., but the UFC still has an event license for the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view features three title fights, including UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag], UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag], and UFC women’s strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag].

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Darren Till focused on Marvin Vettori, but eyes ‘magician vs. magician’ fight with Israel Adesanya

With the champion acknowledging him as the frontrunner for a title shot, Darren Till knows what’s at stake on April 10.

With the champion acknowledging him as the frontrunner for a title shot, [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] knows what’s at stake in his upcoming fight.

Till (18-3-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) faces [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] in the main event of UFC on ABC 2 on April 10, a pivotal middleweight clash that could cement him as the No. 1 contender for champ [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag].

With Adesanya (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) failing to capture a second title by falling short against light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259, he has shifted his focus to 185 pounds, and a few top-ranked challengers await.

On the other side of the middleweight bracket is a matchup between former champion Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa just a week after Till competes, but it appears Adesanya has his eyes on a fresh matchup. Having already beat Vettori, Whittaker and Costa, Till is the only man in the equation that Adesanya has yet to face.

Although Till has split his first two appearances at 185 pounds, he remains one of the most popular and sought-out fighters on the roster. He too is eager to lock horns with Adesanya, but insists his focus right now is solely on the hungry and streaking Vettori (16-4-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC).

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“I think me and Marvin are knocking on the door,” Till told ESPN. “It’s like a little mini-middleweight competition right now, the same as lightweight, so it definitely excites me. To just be at the top and to be getting these chances and knowing what’s next and all that – but I’ve got a steamroller in front of me, and I don’t want to look too far ahead. I know Izzy’s calling me out, practically, and stuff like that. I’ve called him out for a long time. We were destined to fight even when I was a welterweight. He called me out then, when I was at the top of welterweight.

“Right now, I’m just focused on myself. I’m doing my own thing. But this is the thing: I think it’s one of these fights with me and Izzy, I think it’s magician vs. magician. Who’s got, like, the Kryptonite to beat the other guy’s striking, you know? I’ve said it for the longest time, I’m one of the best strikers in the UFC. And I think Izzy is definitely there. He could be ahead the way’s he’s been fighting – he’s ahead of me right now.”

A long and rangy striker himself, the stylistic matchup with Adesanya intrigues Till. He’s confident he has the tools to dethrone “The Last Stylebender” and being the champion’s first desired choice, Till is grateful to be in the position he’s in.

“I just feel like I’ve got the specifics to beat him, and I’m sure he’s up for the challenge and he thinks he’s got the specifics to beat me, so I think it’s going to be a good fight when it happens,” Till said. “It’s good to be getting called out by the champion. Usually, it’s the challengers calling out the champion. The champion’s calling me out. I must be doing something right.”

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Darren Till vs. Marvin Vettori targeted to headline UFC Fight Night on April 10

UFC middleweight contenders Darren Till and Marvin Vettori will square off in a key matchup for the division.

The upper-echelon middleweight matchups keep on coming.

The UFC is targeting [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] to headline an April 10 UFC Fight Night at a location and venue to be announced.

A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the targeted matchup to MMA Junkie on Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. UFc broadcast partner ESPN was first to report the news.

Till (18-3-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) most recently competed in July at UFC on ESPN 14 against Robert Whittaker. He lost the fight via unanimous decision and suffered a knee injury. Till was booked to fight Jack Hermansson in December. However, Till’s injury was still nagging and he pulled out of the fight. Till, No. 4 in the official UFC rankings, has lost three of his past four fights.

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Vettori (16-4-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC) rides a four-fight winning streak. Following victories over Cezar Ferreira, Andrew Sanchez, and Karl Roberson, Vettori stepped in for Till and fought Hermansson in December. In his first UFC main event, Vetttori defeated Hermansson via unanimous decision.

With the addition, the April 10 lineup includes:

  • Darren Till vs. Marvin Vettori
  • Nina Ansaroff vs. Mackenzie Dern
  • Jarjis Danho vs. Yorgan De Castro
  • Ignacio Bahamondes vs. John Makdessi
  • Norma Dumont vs. Bea Malecki
  • Sam Alvey vs. Zak Cummings

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Spinning Back Clique: Weighing Yoel Romero’s options after UFC release, what do cuts mean?

Check out the latest episode of Spinning Back Clique unpacking the big news of “serious” UFC roster cuts coming, UFC on ESPN 19, and more.

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a quick spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week, Simon Head hosts the panel of MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and Brian Garcia, as well as MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura. Let’s get after it!

  • The big news of the week came before Saturday night’s fights when it emerged that perennial middleweight contender [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] surprisingly had been released by the UFC. He’s 43 years old but still among the world’s top 185-pound competitors. Where’s the right landing spot for “The Soldier of God”?
  • When asked about Romero’s release on Saturday night, UFC president Dana White revealed that more cuts are soon to follow, with the UFC set to release as many as 60 fighters in the remaining weeks of 2020. What does this move tell you about the state of the UFC right now, and what do you think is driving such widespread cuts?
  • The issue of COVID-19 is showing no signs of abating anytime soon, and the coronavirus has hit the UFC hard in recent weeks, with positive tests forcing a host of bouts, including the UFC on ESPN 18 main event to be scrapped. Given the increase in lost matchups and last-minute card changes and with the coronivirus surging, what’s your assessment of the UFC’s protocols in the current climate, and do they need revisiting in order to help keep fight cards intact and positive tests down?
  • One man who benefited from all of the COVID-related upheaval was [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag], who stepped in on short notice to defeat Jack Hermansson in Saturday’s main event at UFC on ESPN 19. Now that he’s well and truly in the mix at the top of the 185-pound division, how far away do you think he is from a potential rematch with the last man to beat him, Israel Adesanya, for the title?
  • And finally, one man who is looking to make a big impact in early 2021 is former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]T.J. Dillashaw[/autotag], who is getting ready to return from a two-year USADA suspension after testing positive for EPO. He wants a shot at the title straight away but, given his indiscretions, plus the strength of the bantamweight division right now, should he be granted his wish when he’s eligible to return in late January?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 56 of “Spinning Back Clique” above.

UFC on ESPN 19 medical suspensions: Jack Hermansson, Jamahal Hill facing six months

Five fighters face potential six-month layoffs following UFC on ESPN 19.

[autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag] heads a list of five fighters facing potential six-month suspensions after their respective bouts at UFC on ESPN 19, per commission records.

Hermansson (21-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC), who lost a unanimous decision to short-notice replacement [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (16-4-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC), was given a 180-day term after suffering a fractured left orbital bone during the night’s main event.

Co-headliner [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who picked up his biggest win to date with a second-round finish of [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] (25-15 MMA, 13-10 UFC), requires his left hand to be cleared by a doctor or he may also face a 180-day suspension.

MMA Junkie obtained the full list of medical suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com for UFC on ESPN 19, which took place this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Other fighters facing possible six-month medical suspensions include [autotag]John Allan[/autotag], [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag], and [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag].

The full list of UFC on ESPN 19 medical suspensions includes:

  • Jack Hermansson: Suspended 180 days or until fractured left orbital is cleared by a doctor; also suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days.
  • Marvin Vettori: Suspended 45 days or until cut to left eyelid is cleared by a doctor; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
  • Ovince Saint Preux: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.
  • Jamahal Hill: Needs clearance of left hand with x-ray, otherwise suspended 180 days.
  • [autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag]: Suspended 14 days with 7 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Justin Jaynes[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • John Allan: Needs clearance of right knee with MRI and right ankle with x-ray, otherwise suspended 180 days. Suspended minimum 30 days with 21 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Matt Wiman[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • [autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to cut on right eyebrow.
  • [autotag]Jose Quinonez[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • Damon Jackson: Suspended 180 days or until possible nasal fracture is cleared by a doctor; also suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days.
  • [autotag]Gian Villante[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact due to contusions.
  • Jake Collier: Suspended 180 days or until possible non-displaced fracture of left lateral orbital wall is cleared by an ophthalmologist; also suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days.

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Who’s next for Marvin Vettori after beating Jack Hermansson? | UFC on ESPN 19 matchmaker.mov

MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn plays matchmaker and looks ahead to what makes sense for Marvin Vettori in this edition of “Sean Shelby’s Shoes.”

MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn plays matchmaker and looks ahead to what makes sense for Marvin Vettori in this edition of “Sean Shelby’s Shoes.”

UFC on ESPN 19 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Ovince Saint Preux nets most money

UFC on ESPN 19 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 19 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $120,000.

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 on ESPN 19 took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 19 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag]: $10,000

[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag]: $20,000

[autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Justin Jaynes[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]John Allan[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Jose Quinonez[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Matt Wiman[/autotag]: $15,000

[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Gian Villante[/autotag]: $20,000

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:

Year-to-date total: $6,153,000
2019 total: $7,370,500
2018 total: $6,901,000
2017 total: $6,295,000
2016 total: $7,138,000
2015 total: $3,185,000
Program-to-date total: $37,207,500

Marvin Vettori reneges Paulo Costa plan, wants Israel Adesanya rematch after UFC on ESPN 19

Marvin Vettori was quick to switch gears from his original post-fight callout at UFC on ESPN 19.

[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] is looking to cut the line into a championship bout after his main event win at UFC on ESPN 19.

Vettori (16-4-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC), who beat Jack Hermansson (21-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) by unanimous decision in Saturday’s middleweight headliner at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, originally called out Paulo Costa after his win in pursuit of a title shot.

However, not long after, he changed his mind, and said a title bout should be on deck.

“Before I called out ‘Borrachinha,’ but to be honest with you, (expletive) ‘Borrachinha.’ He just came out of a crazy loss. Why would I even fight him?” Vettori told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the post-fight news conference. “I want to go straight to the title, man. I’ll be honest, I like the fight, but I feel like the top five there’s no opposition. There’s no real opposition.

“(Jared) Cannonier just lost, Darren Till is – I don’t even think he’s top five – ‘Borrachinha’ just lost brutally and Jack was No. 4. (Robert) Whittaker wants to just enjoy Christmas with his kids, but I don’t blame him it just doesn’t really seem like he wants to fight for the title.”

Vettori served as a replacement opponent against Hermansson in their matchup, and ended up putting on a strong performance over five rounds to claim the win. He’s now won four consecutive fights, and is likely to find himself highly ranked at 185 pounds in the coming days.

For the Italian, the win was a big stepping stone to his ultimate goal: A rematch with [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (20-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC). He fought the reigning UFC champ to a split decision at UFC on FOX 29 in April 2018, and has since expressed the belief he deserved the win, which he would solidify in a second showdown.

“Israel is full of (expletive),” Vettori said. “He was like, ‘Oh, I don’t think I will ever see Marvin again, he will never will make it to the title.’ Well guess what mother(expletive)? I’m here. So, he thinks he has it all figured out. He has nothing figured out. I know his true colors. I met him a few times. I fought him. I knew his true colors. I want that fight.”

Vettori brushed off the notion that Adesanya will follow through on a move up to the light heavyweight division, and predicted Glover Teixeira will get the title shot against champ Jan Blachowicz instead.

If Adesanya does get the shot at the 205-pound belt, though, that means Vettori will have to fight someone else.

UFC president Dana White was presented with the idea of a Vettori vs. Costa (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) bout, and although he didn’t commit to making it, his interest was obvious.

“I love that fight,” White said at the post-fight news conference. “Love it. We’ll see (if we make it), but I love that fight.”

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