Tag: Olivier Murad

On the Doorstep: 5 fighters who could make UFC with June wins

For those who make it to the highest stage, the journey starts long before they strap on UFC or Bellator gloves.

Every champion in MMA history started out somewhere.

For those who make it to the highest stage, the journey begins long before they strap on UFC, Bellator, or PFL gloves. Modern-era fighters progress through the regional ranks with hopes of accomplishing the highest accolades. Many will try, few will succeed.

This month, five fighters on the verge of achieving major promotion notoriety – one for the second time – return to the cage for what could be their stepping stone fight. There are dozens of fighters close to making the jump in the coming weeks, but these five are particularly exemplary.

  • A rising Coloradan will compete for LFA for the sixth time, but the stakes have never been higher.
  • A DWCS winner didn’t earn a contract, but he finally has a willing opponent to face as he awaits a second glance from the UFC.
  • A Dagestan-born resident of France with one of the best nicknames in MMA, a slick ground game and the “it” factor hopes a win over a seasoned veteran earns him a slot on the UFC’s debut card in his home country this September.
  • Injuries and opponent withdrawals have delayed his return, but this Pacific Northwesterner is ready to show UFC matchmakers he’s worth the wait.
  • A Nevada native and former military member moved across the country to train under Joe Lauzon – with UFC aspirations on his mind.

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.

Titan FC 67 results: Danny Sabatello blasts boo-birds after dominant title defense

A pair of title fights closed the show at Titan FC 68 on Friday with one champ defending and another being crowned.

[autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] was levels above [autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag] on the ground at Titan FC 67 on Friday, and it led to a one-sided main event.

Sabatello (10-1) put his grappling to use over and over throughout the course of five rounds, and Blackshear (8-4) had no answer. As a result, Sabatello left the cage with a unanimous decision victory, as he successfully defended his Titan FC bantamweight title for the first time. The scores were 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 at the InterContinental Miami in Miami, Fla.

Sabatello’s strategy was no secret from the outset. He attacked with takedowns and established a presence from top position in the first round. It was a route from there on out, with Sabatello controlling Blackshear in the grappling positions, chipping away with ground-and-pound and going for submissions.

The semi-conservative approach from Sabatello garnered come displeasure from the small crowd in attendance as well as the commentary team. Nevertheless, he got his hand raised in his first fight since not receiving a UFC contract for his dominant win at Dana White’s Contender Series 35 in November.

He didn’t care, though, and shared his thoughts to anyone who took issue with his style.

“If you (expletive) (expletives) want to boo me, that’s fine,” Sabatello said in his post-fight interview. “But this is mixed martial arts. You don’t like? Come (expletive) beat me. If it’s not exciting, I don’t give a (expletive). Come beat me. You won’t.”

Blackshear, who, according to the broadcast experienced a travel crisis en route to the event, missed the 145-pound championship limit by three pounds, and would have been ineligible to leave as champion.

Sabatello would have still kept the title had he lost, but it didn’t matter in the end, because he delivered a dominant victory.

Prior to Sabatello’s triumph in the main event, [autotag]Olivier Murad[/autotag] (5-0) claimed the vacant Titan FC featherweight belt in the event co-headliner in a competitive unanimous decision win over [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag] (5-2).

Complete Titan FC 67 result included:

  • Danny Sabatello def. Da’Mon Blackshear via unanimous decision unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
  • Olivier Murad def. Muhammad Naimov via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) – to win vacant featherweight title
  • [autotag]Alberto Montes[/autotag] def. [autotag]Richie Santiago[/autotag] via submission (anaconda choke) – Round 1, 2:01
  • [autotag]Dilano Taylo[/autotag]r def. [autotag]Lewis Gonzalez[/autotag] via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • [autotag]Evelyn Martins[/autotag] def. [autotag]Melissa Croden[/autotag] via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
  • [autotag]Adrian Garcia[/autotag] def. [autotag]Rudy Isidro[/autotag] via TKO (body kick) – Round 1, 4:27
  • [autotag]Adi Alic[/autotag] def. [autotag]Carlos Espinosa[/autotag] via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)