Tag: Noche UFC

Chael Sonnen defends Mike Bell scoring Grasso-Shevcheno fifth round 10-8 ‘in one regard’

Chael Sonnen argues that, contrary to popular belief, judge Mike Bell might’ve had a good reason for his 10-8 score at Noche UFC.

[autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag] argues that, contrary to popular belief, judge Mike Bell might’ve had a good reason for his 10-8 score at Noche UFC.

Judge Bell cost Valentina Shevchenko (23-4-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) the win against flyweight champion Alexa Grasso (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) when he gave Grasso a 10-8 in Round 5. His scorecard read a draw, resulting in a split draw in this past Saturday’s headlining rematch.

UFC CEO Dana White was outraged by the 10-8 score and plans on booking a trilogy fight between Grasso and Shevchenko. While Sonnen doesn’t agree with the 10-8 round, he gives Bell the benefit of the doubt based on the visual of the final seconds of the fight.

“I have to defend Mike Bell in one regard,” Sonnen said on ESPN’s “DC & RC.” “That fight was eligible for stopping when she (Shevchenko) was being teed off on. I realize title fights don’t get stopped, and she was going to be shown the benefit of the doubt, but if you’re curled up and you’re taking shots, and that’s what Mike Bell saw – maybe he had a vantage point. I would listen to what he has to say.”

White confirmed that the Nevada Athletic Commission will hold a meeting on Wednesday to address 10-8 scoring, and Sonnen sees it as a very positive step.

“This is a big deal, but there is still some room to learn from there,” Sonnen said. “There is a reason perhaps that Mike Bell has – perhaps there was a vantage point. I didn’t get to see this thing live, so I was at the discretion of whatever the camera angle was. I saw Shevchenko win the round, but maybe there was a different way to see it. That’s all that I’m offering.

“As far as what the checks and balances are, they’ve agreed to hold a meeting, they’re going to do that on Wednesday, and while that doesn’t sound like much, that’s the most I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen a commission step up, step forward, and take any kind of an action. I’ve seen them regulate, bring in fighters, fine them, suspend them, embarrass them, but I’ve never seen them do it with their own personnel. I’ve got to commend them at least to a small degree for even holding this meeting.”

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

Dana White touts Noche UFC success, commits to booking event annually ‘for the rest of my reign here’

“I’m doing this for the rest of my reign here.” Dana White vows to host a Noche UFC event every year going forward.

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LAS VEGAS – Noche UFC was a big success, and UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] intends to make the event a new yearly tradition for the promotion.

This past Saturday, the UFC celebrated Mexican Independence Day with a Fight Night card at T-Mobile Arena. The event was headlined by a women’s flyweight title rematch between champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.

Mexico’s Grasso competing in a major title fight helped carry the load, but the undercard featured a number of the country’s fighters, including the youngest fighter ever signed to the UFC, Raul Rosas Jr. Also, all of the unique promotional elements throughout the week such as a mariachi band playing at ceremonial weigh-ins, special graphics and music on the broadcast, to Grasso’s custom title belt.

There were a number of elements that made the event feel special, and according to White, the numbers showed it.

“‘Hey Dana, your idea to go all-in on Mexican Independence Day paid off. Noche UFC was the most watched Fight Night of all time on ESPN+. One-point-one million unique views,'” White read from a text message on his phone during the Dana White’s Contender Series 62 post-event news conference.

“One-point-one million people that had never been to ESPN+ tuned in for that fight. So, think about that. … Killed it. It was an incredible success.”

As a note of correction, a “unique view” means there were 1.1 million different users that viewed the broadcast, not new users who have never visited the platform before. While White may have been mistaken about that difference, the numbers are impressive regardless.

“I will get that date every year from now on,” White said.

Sept. 16 has traditionally been home to major boxing events featuring Mexico’s biggest stars. Canelo Alvarez has reserved some of his biggest fights for the holiday, perhaps most notably, all three bouts against Gennadiy Golovkin. Going forward, White won’t give any mind to what is going on in boxing, because he intends to make MMA a part of that yearly tradition too.

“I don’t care if somebody here in town gets the date at the arena, I’ll go in an opposing arena and go head-to-head with them next year,” White said. “I’m doing this for the rest of my reign here.

“They can go on the same night, we can go head-to-head. I’m going. The thing was a massive success for us. This is something that I’ve been thinking about since the day we bought this company. So, we’re finally in the position. I’m all in. All my chips are in on Mexico. We’re opening the P.I., which we’ve spent millions and millions of dollars on. … We did it, it was huge, and we’ll do it again every year.”

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

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Sept. 19: Tracy Cortez on the rise

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, which key moves in the women’s divisions.

UFC flyweight [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag] returned to action at Noche UFC for her first fight in 16 months. She defeated Jasmine Jasudavicius by unanimous decision to keep her unbeaten UFC run alive, while also extending her current winning streak to 10.

In this week’s rankings update, Cortez climbs in the women’s flyweight division from No. 14 to No. 9, right behind former title challenger Taila Santos.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

Video: Considering Noche UFC success, should UFC embrace more themed events?

Did Noche UFC, as a celebration of Mexican Independence Day, prove the promotion should try to make more events around a theme.

Noche UFC officially marked the arrival of Mexican fighting culture to mixed martial arts.

This past Saturday, Noche UFC went down on Mexican Independence Day, Sept. 16, in Las Vegas, with a card full of Mexican and Mexican-American fighters, including women’s flyweight champ Alexa Grasso retaining her title by fighting Valentina Shevchenko to a split draw.

Controversy in the headliner aside, Noche UFC delivered in both action fights and a rocking atmosphere as T-Mobile Arena was packed with fans flying Mexican flags to celebrate the event.

Noche UFC is an outlier when it comes to themed events from the UFC, but should the promotion make this an annual thing and/or embrace doing more events like it? Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun and Brian “Goze” Garcia answered that with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

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Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s full episode below on YouTube or in podcast form.

Valentina Shevchenko says she suffered a hand fracture at Noche UFC, will require surgery

Valentina Shevchenko reveals she suffered a comminuted hand fracture at Noche UFC.

[autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] didn’t leave Saturday’s championship fight unscathed.

The former UFC women’s flyweight champion revealed Tuesday that she suffered a comminuted fracture on her right hand, an injury she claims stemmed from the first round of her title rematch against Alexa Grasso in the main event of Noche UFC at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas. “Bullet” said the injury will require surgery, but gave no time frame on a return.

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Shevchenko (23-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) fought Grasso (17-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) to a split draw, both fighters earning a 48-47 scorecard and tying 47-47 on the third. Unfortunately for Shevchenko, because Grasso didn’t lose, she kept her women’s 125-pound title.

“I broke my thumb in the first round, and it’s fractured,” Shevchenko said the night of the fight at the Noche UFC post-fight press conference. “I felt it affect my striking, but at the same time I thought, If I stop, it’s going to be very frustrating for the whole fans for this night because they were waiting for this fight, they wanted to see this fight, and If I stopped in the first round and said, ‘I cannot continue.’ Again, that’s against my personal rules. That’s why I continued to fight with my whole heart. I did everything to secure the victory. But because it’s Mexican Independence Day, it affected the decision of the judges to give a 10-8 in the fifth round.”

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

Robert Whittaker thinks Valentina Shevchenko beat Alexa Grasso, calls 10-8 scorecard ‘mind blowing’

Robert Whittaker thinks Valentina Shevchenko should have gotten her hand raised against Alexa Grasso at Noche UFC.

[autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] should have gotten her hand raised against [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag].

Shevchenko (23-4-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) failed to reclaim her flyweight title from champion Grasso (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) when the pair battled to a split draw this past Saturday at Noche UFC.

Whittaker scored the fight in favor of Shevchenko but understands why one of the judges gave the fight to Grasso based on her big moments in the fight.

“I certainly think they started out very wary,” Whittaker said on his MMArcade Podcast. “They started very wary, very respectful of each other’s abilities. I have got to say Shevchenko’s jab is bar none. It was crisp and on point the way she utilized it from Round 1 through Round 5. It was beautiful. She did get dropped in a scrappy fight, but Grasso was finding it hard to close the distance and get into that scrap distance with that jab being so effective. But it was a close fight and honestly I can see the decision swinging both ways.

“Me, personally, if I was to score the fight, I probably would have scored it in Shevchenko’s favor, and I think she won three of the five. But in saying that, though, it wouldn’t have been mind blowing for Grasso to have won because she did have some really strong rounds like the round where she got the knockdown, she finished on Shevchenko’s back. She was pushing, putting a lot of pressure, and pressure is, I feel in MMA at the moment, is being scored very highly.”

Like many, what bothered Whittaker was judge Mike Bell’s scorecard, which cost Shevchenko the fight. Bell gave Grasso a 10-8 in Round 5, which resulted in a draw on his scorecard and a split draw overall in the fight.

“But what I don’t understand is the way it played out,” Whittaker continued. “It wasn’t like it was scored 10-9, 10-9 split both ways, don’t know what’s going on. No, it was that last round, that last round that Mike Bell scored a 10-8 in Grasso’s favor, and that is mind blowing.”

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

Video: What could’ve happened differently in Noche UFC premature stoppage?

A referee blunder occurred in the Noche UFC prelim fight between Edgar Chairez and Daniel Lacerda. Was it addressed properly?

The Noche UFC preliminary fight between [autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel Lacerda[/autotag] came to an unfortunate conclusion when referee Chris Tognoni stepped in too soon.

Chairez had Lacerda locked in what appeared to be a tight standing guillotine choke up against the cage. Tognoni took a close look at Lacerda once and let the fight continue before Lacerda’s arm appeared to go limp. At that point, Tognoni didn’t check the arm and stopped the fight, and when that happened, Lacerda immediately protested. After replay review by Nevada Athletic Commission officials cageside, the result of a submission win for Chairez was overturned to a no contest.

In your opinion, was this handled correctly? Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun and Brian “Goze” Garcia answered that with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s full episode below on YouTube or in podcast form.

Daniel Zellhuber ‘lacked something’ fighting at UFC Apex, says Noche UFC crowd was unbelievable

Daniel Zellhuber relishes fighting in front of a crowd like he did at Noche UFC rather than at the UFC Apex.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Daniel Zellhuber[/autotag] relishes fighting in front of a crowd.

Zellhuber (14-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) submitted Christos Giagos (20-11 MMA, 6-7 UFC) with an anaconda choke in Round 2 of their lightweight bout at Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Zellhuber got a nice pop from the pro-Mexico crowd, and hopes he never has to go back to fighting at the UFC Apex like he did for Dana White’s Contender Series, then his UFC debut.

“I love fighting for the crowd. I love fighting for people,” Zellhuber told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at Noche UFC. “I feel weird when I fight at the Apex. I remember when I fought on the Contender Series – those types of fights are weird because you lack something, and in these last two fights that I had with big crowds, it’s something unbelievable. That’s the best – fighting for a crowd.”

Prior to cinching the bonus-winning anaconda choke, Zellhuber was rocked early by veteran Giagos before he was able to turn the tide. Although it wasn’t a flawless performance, Zellhuber is overall happy with the win.

“It was a great win against a tough opponent,” Zellhuber said. “A guy that has losses against tough guys, Gilbert Burns, Charles Oliveira, Thiago Moises, Arman Tsarukyan – I just beat that guy, so I’m excited. I’m happy.”

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

Hyperbole aside, Charlie Campbell says he keeps mentality that he is the ‘best in the world’

Charlie Campbell’s quick stoppage of Alex Reyes in his UFC debut picked up a $50,000 performance bonus at Noche UFC in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Charlie Campbell[/autotag] beat Alex Reyes with a first-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Campbell, whose quick stoppage in his UFC debut picked up a $50,000 performance bonus.

Video: We still can’t believe Mike Bell scored Grasso-Schevchenko fifth round 10-8

“Round 5, 10-8 is insane,” and that’s all there is to it.

[autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] and [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] gave us a Fight of the Year candidate this past Saturday in their rematch at Noche UFC, but the quality of the fight has been overshadowed by controversy.

That’s because it ended in a split draw, with two judges awarding opposing 48-47 scores to each woman, while judge Mike Bell scored it 47-47 to make it a draw. In the end, Grasso retained her women’s flyweight title without winning.

Whether you believe Grasso or Shevchenko was the rightful winner, the one thing pretty much everyone seems to agree on is that Bell’s Round 5 score of 10-8 in favor of Grasso was way out of line.

Find out what this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun and Brian “Goze” Garcia thought of the decision from their discussion with host “Gorgeous” George.

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Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s full episode below on YouTube or in podcast form.