Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
See the top Twitter reactions to Jose Aldo’s victory against Pedro Munhoz in the UFC 265 co-main event.
[autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] earned consecutive victories for the first time since dropping to bantamweight when he beat [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] in the UFC 265 co-main event.
Aldo (30-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC), a former UFC featherweight champion, showed he’s still a contender in his new division when he beat Munhoz (19-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) by METHOD in the co-headliner at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Aldo’s victory over Munhoz at UFC 265.
Jose Aldo reminded fans once again he still has plenty to give inside the octagon with a UFC 265 co-main event win over Pedro Munhoz.
[autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] reminded fans once again he still has plenty to give inside the octagon with a high-profile win over [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] in the UFC 265 co-main event.
Aldo (30-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC) put on a defensive and counter-striking clinic over the course of three rounds to win a unanimous decision over Munhoz (19-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) with a trio of 30-27 scores.
The featherweight bout was the UFC 265 co-main event at Toyota Center in Houston. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Munhoz immediately took the center of the octagon and threw a spinning back kick at Aldo. Munhoz charged forward with combinations before retreating and throwing multiple leg kicks. Aldo, as usual, was content to stay on the outside and looked to counter when Munhoz threw. Munhoz’s output was higher, but Aldo landed some effective body punches in an extremely evenly contested round.
Aldo picked up to the pace a bit more going into the second round. He continued to rip nasty hooks to the body and do good work behind his jab, but Munhoz stayed in his face with low kicks and punches from inside the pocket. Aldo remained composed through all the offense thrown his way, though, avoiding Munhoz’s big shots and sliding in strikes of his own in another competitive round.
With the pair going tit for tat for the first 10 minutes, Aldo and Munhoz came out aggressive to start the third round. Aldo started to put multiple strikes together with his combinations and stung Munhoz with some hard shots that snapped his head back. Munhoz tried to walk his fellow Brazilian down and land a momentum-shifting shot, but Aldo remained too slick in avoiding serious damage. Aldo landed some powerful legs kicks down the stretch, and stayed on point while Munhoz came at him to secure the victory on the scorecards.
Now with back-to-back wins at 135 pounds, Aldo said he’s gunning for a second title shot in the division in pursuit of adding another belt to his long stint as featherweight champion earlier in this career.
“I want to be a champion in this division and I’ve been dedicating myself a lot in Brazil,” Aldo said through an interpreter during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “That’s why I’m here tonight.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC 265 results include:
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Join MMA Junkie Radio hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” for a watch-along of UFC 265 headlined by Derrick Lewis vs. Ciryl Gane.
UFC 265 takes place Saturday with an interim title fight atop the bill, and MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” will host a live streaming watch-along above, which kicks off at 8 p.m. ET.
In the main event, [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] and [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] will meet for the interim heavyweight championship and the right to unify with undisputed champ Francis Ngannou. The night’s co-headliner features a clash of top-10 bantamweights as former featherweight champ [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag].
UFC 265 takes place at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN 2 and ESPN+.
Here are the nine fights included in the watch-along:
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Analyzing Saturday’s UFC 265 odds and lines between Jose Aldo and Pedro Munhoz, with MMA picks, tips and predictions.
In a bantamweight bout on Saturday’s main card, Jose Aldo will face Pedro Munhoz at UFC 265 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Below, we analyze the UFC 265 Jose Aldo vs. Pedro Munhoz odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The prelims start at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN 2/ESPN+, with the main card starting at 10 p.m. ET.
In the co-main event, Aldo will look to cement himself another shot at bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. Aldo currently ranks fifth in the division and is coming off a victory over No. 14 Marlon Vera.
Aldo had dropped three straight fights before defeating Vera including losing the belt to current No. 1 contender Petr Yan July 11, 2020, and dropping a featherweight bout in 2019 against current champion Alexander Volkanovski.
The No. 9 ranked Munhoz is coming off a win over No. 13 ranked Jimmie Riveria. He’s also lost to Frankie Edgar and Sterling in his last three bouts.
Odds via Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:42 a.m. ET.
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Records: Jose Aldo (29-7-0) | Munhoz (19-5-0)
BET on PEDRO MUNHOZ (+100) as he’s the more aggressive fighter and has fought better as of late.
Munhoz has defeated a top-15 bantamweight fighter and taken the champion the distance in his last three fights. Averaging a lofty 5.6 significant strikes per minute, Munhoz is both a competent grappler and striker.
Eight of his 19 wins have come via submission, so while he doesn’t get on the ground often he is lethal when he gets there.
Aldo is an experienced and competent fighter but is just 1-3 in his last four bouts and is on a downward slide.
BET on the OVER 2.5 (-220) despite the steep value. Both of these fighters like to brawl and typically avoid going to the ground.
Neither average over a takedown per 15 minutes and both have over 80 percent takedown defensive rate. Grappling likely won’t be a major focus in this fight.
Neither fighter has had a bout go under three rounds since early 2019. While betting that the five-round match goes the distance is a bit trickier, Over 2.5 should hit with ease.
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Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage. This information is for entertainment purposes only. We make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any content.
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Watch the UFC 265 press conference live stream at 6 p.m. ET.
HOUSTON – You can watch Thursday’s UFC 265 news conference from Toyota Center in Houston on MMA Junkie at 6 p.m. ET.
UFC president Dana White hosts the event, which features headliners [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] and [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]. They meet for the interim heavyweight title in the main event.
Additionally, main card fighters [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag], [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag], [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag], [autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag], [autotag]Tecia Torres[/autotag], [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag], [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] and [autotag]Casey Kenney[/autotag] will be in attendance to answer questions from the media.
UFC 265 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
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 May 17-23.
A win for Jose Aldo or Pedro Munhoz would go a long way toward title contention in a crowded bantamweight division.
[autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] and [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] got on track in their last fights. Now one of them is guaranteed to have a setback in their next one.
That’s because a bantamweight bout between the two top-10 Brazilian contenders is in the works for UFC 265 on August 7. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the impending booking to MMA Junkie on Thursday after an initial report from Combate. The person, who requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement, categorized the fight as being a “done deal.”
Aldo (29-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC), the former UFC featherweight champion, picked up his first win as a 135 pounder in his most recent fight, defeating Marlon Vera by unanimous decision last December. The victory snapped a three-fight losing streak for Aldo, which included bantamweight losses to Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan, which was for the then-vacant title.
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Munhoz (19-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) returned to the win column in his most recent fight to snap a two-fight skid. In February at UFC Fight Night 186, Munhoz took a unanimous decision from Jimmie Rivera in the “Fight of the Night.”
A win for Aldo or Munhoz would go a long way toward title contention in what’s quickly become a crowded bantamweight division.
The current UFC 265 lineup includes:
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With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from February 2021.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from February 2021: Here are the four nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Fight of the Month” award for February.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
Check out the full list of medical suspensions for UFC Fight Night 186.
Three fighters from last week’s UFC Fight Night 186 event could be out six months from competition.
[autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag], [autotag]Sabina Mazo[/autotag] and [autotag]Ronald Lawrence[/autotag], who competed at last Saturday’s UFC event in Las Vegas, all are required further testing and doctor clearance in order to avoid lengthy 180-day suspensions. Lawrence (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Moises (15-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) require foot x-rays to get clearance, while Mazo (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) needs an x-ray on her left leg.
On the other hand, headliners [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] and [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] do not need further medical clearance to return to competition after their five-round fight. Gane (8-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) wasn’t given a suspension while Rozenstruik (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) was given 21 days off with 14 days no contact.
MMA Junkie on Tuesday obtained the full list of suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commissions’ official record keeper.
The full list of UFC Fight Night 186 medical suspensions includes:
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Pedro Munhoz details use of calf kicks in UFC Fight Night 186 victory
Pedro Munhoz details use of calf kicks in UFC Fight Night 186 victory
