Check out which UFC veterans are in combat sports action across the globe this weekend.
This week, the UFC is back in Las Vegas at the UFC Apex for a key bantamweight bout. In the main event, [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] in a fight scheduled for five rounds.
Elsewhere, many other MMA, boxing and bareknuckle events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
This weekend, there are a total of 24 veterans of the global MMA leader competing in MMA and boxing this week from April 21-23.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
Cage Warriors’ vacant welterweight title was claimed by Rhys McKee who scored a devastating third-round finish of Justin Burlinson.
Cage Warriors has crowned a new welterweight champion.
Saturday’s main event of Cage Warriors 140 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland would see [autotag]Rhys McKee[/autotag] challenge Justin Burlinson for the vacant welterweight title. The event was packed with exciting finishes from beginning to end, and it would be the UFC veteran McKee (12-4-1) who would close the show with one final knockout.
Just a few seconds into the third round, moments after Burlinson (7-2) would attempt a spinning back elbow, McKee landed a crushing left hand that would leave his opponent slumped against the fence.
Check out video of the title-winning finish by McKee in the video below (via Twitter):
In his second stint with Cage Warriors, McKee has become champion of the welterweight division following a two-fight run in the UFC in 2020. McKee dropped both fights, losing to Khamzat Chimaev and Alex Morono. He has since rebounded nicely with Saturday’s result which came on the heels of a third-round stoppage of Aleksi Mantykivi in October.
Full results of Cage Warriors 140 include:
Rhys McKee def. Justin Burlinson via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 0:20
Caolan Loughran def. Festus Ahorlu via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:20
James Sheehan def. Martin Causse via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:16
Federico Pasquali vs. Harry Hardick results in majority draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-29)
Ryan Shelley def. Matthew Elliott via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Michele Martignoni def. Scott Malone via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
James Power def. Adam Shelley via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:23
Michael Tchamou def. Glenn Irvine via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:30
Adam Darby def. Dorian Cliucinicov via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:29
The UFC has parted ways with three fighters, including “Shoeface.”
The UFC has cut [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] and four others.
On Thursday, multiple people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the roster moves but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
In late 2020, UFC president Dana White had estimated approximately 60 fighters would be cut in an effort to trim a bloated roster.
“We’re going to go through some serious cuts here at the end of the year. We’re probably going to have 60 cuts before the first of the year. Yoel has lost four of his last five. He’s 44 years old. Our roster is very inflated right now. We’re going to have some big cuts coming before the end of the year. You’re going to see a lot of names going here in the next several weeks. … These are the tough decisions you have to make.”
Check out the recent UFC departures below. The roster moves, unless explicitly noted, are not necessarily a “cut.” The UFC may have elected not to re-sign certain fighters who were at the end of their promotional deals.
Paul Felder and three others could be out 180 days unless they’re cleared by a doctor.
[autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] is among four UFC Fight Night 182 combatants facing six-month suspensions from injuries sustained during Saturday’s event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Felder, who took the main event fight vs. [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] on days’ notice, suffered an elbow injury that could knock him out of MMA competition until May.
On Tuesday, MMA Junkie obtained the full list of suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commissions’ official record keeper.
Joining Felder at the top of the suspension-length list is Team Alpha Male’s [autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag], who won a unanimous decision over fellow up-and-comer [autotag]Kay Hansen[/autotag] on the main card. McKenna faces a six-month suspension due to a left ankle sprain.
Welterweight [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag] and heavyweight [autotag]Roque Martinez[/autotag], who competed on the prelims also are facing 180-day terms for knee injuries.
Check out the full list of UFC Fight Night 182 medical suspensions below:
Rafael dos Anjos: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to a “hard fight.”
Paul Felder: Suspended 180 days or until x-ray/MRI of right elbow is cleared by a doctor; also suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days due to a laceration.
[autotag]Khaos Williams[/autotag]: No suspension.
[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days.
[autotag]Ashley Yoder[/autotag]: Suspended 21 days with no contact for 14 days.
[autotag]Miranda Granger[/autotag]: No suspension.
[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days.
Cory McKenna: Suspended 180 days or until left ankle sprain is cleared by a doctor; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 30 days.
Kay Hansen: Suspended 21 days with no contact for 14 days.
[autotag]Kanako Murata[/autotag]: Suspended 21 days with no contact for 14 days due to a “hard fight.”
[autotag]Randa Markos[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days.
[autotag]Tony Gravely[/autotag]: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to a “hard fight.”
[autotag]Geraldo de Freitas[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
Alex Morono: Suspended 180 days or until right knee MRI is cleared by a doctor; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
[autotag]Rhys McKee[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days due to a “hard fight.”
[autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
Roque Martinez: Suspended 180 days or until left knee MRI is cleared by a doctor; also suspended 60 days with no contact for 21 days.
Alex Morono and Rhys McKee will look to get back to the win column, when they square off on Nov. 14.
A pair of welterweights will look to rebound on Nov. 14.
[autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag] (17-6-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) will face [autotag]Rhys McKee[/autotag] (10-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in an event which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Multiple people with knowledge of the situation recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Morono is coming off an upset knockout loss to newcomer Khaos Williams at UFC 247 in February. Prior to that, he picked up consecutive wins over Song Kenan, Zak Ottow and Max Griffin.
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McKee saw his three-fight winning streak snapped in his promotional debut, when he was stopped by the highly touted Khamzat Chimaev at UFC on ESPN 14 in July. All 10 of his professional wins have come via finish.
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 14, which saw Robert Whittaker score a main-event win over Darren Till in Abu Dhabi.
The final stop of the UFC’s inaugural “Fight Island” stretch took place Saturday with UFC on ESPN 14, which went down at Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi with a record 15-fight card that aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
Former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 12-3 UFC) rebounded from losing the title to Israel Adesanya last October when he outworked [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] (18-3-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) to a unanimous decision in the main event.
For more on the numbers behind the historic fight card, check below for 50 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN 14.
The six fight-night bonuses issued at UFC on ESPN 14 set a single-event record for the company.
UFC on ESPN 14 drew an announced attendance of zero for a live gate of $0.
Betting favorites went 11-4 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 14-6 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 15-bout card was 2:40:24.
Main card
Robert Whittaker
Whittaker improved to 9-1 since he moved up to the UFC middleweight division in November 2014.
Whittaker has earned seven of his 12 UFC victories by decision.
Till fell to 1-1 since he moved up to the middleweight division in November.
Till suffered the first decision loss of his career.
[autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag]’s (27-11-1 MMA, 11-9-1 UFC) 23 victories in UFC/PRIDE light-heavyweight competition are the most in combined divisional history.
[autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] (23-10 MMA, 6-7 UFC) fell to 2-5 in his past seven fights dating back to July 2014.
Nogueira has suffered six of his 10 career losses by decision.
Werdum (24-9-1 MMA, 12-6 UFC) improved to 10-4 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2012.
Werdum has earned 18 of his 24 career victories by stoppage. That includes eight of his 12 UFC wins.
[autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag]’s (18-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since May 2017.
Gustafsson was unsuccessful in his heavyweight debut.
Gustafsson fell to 3-6 in his past nine UFC appearances dating back to his first title fight against Jon Jones in September 2013.
Carla Esparza
[autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) improved to 7-3 since losing the UFC strawweight title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2015.
Esparza’s eight victories in UFC strawweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Jedrzejczyk (10).
Esparza’s four-fight UFC winning streak at strawweight is the fourth longest active streak in the division behind Tatiana Suarez (five), Yan Xiaonan (five) and Zhang Weili (five).
Esparza has earned seven of her eight UFC victories by decision.
Esparza’s 39 takedowns landed in UFC strawweight competition are most in divisional history.
[autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] (13-1-2 MMA, 2-1-2 UFC) had her 15-fight unbeaten streak snapped for the first defeat of her career.
Craig (13-4-1 MMA, 5-4-1 UFC) has earned all of his career victories by stoppage.
Craig became the first fighter in UFC history to win three separate fights by triangle choke submission.
Craig’s five submission victories in UFC light heavyweight competition are tied with Jones, Misha Cirkunov, Ovince Saint Preux, and Glover Teixeira for most in divisional history.
[autotag]Gadzhimurad Antigulov[/autotag] (21-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has suffered all eight of his career losses by stoppage.
Antigulov suffered his first submission loss since Apr. 27, 2013 – a span of 2,646 days (more than seven years) and 18 fights.
[autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] (21-8-1 MMA, 11-6 UFC) improved to 9-5 (with one no contest) in UFC welterweight competition.
[autotag]Peter Sobotta[/autotag] (17-7-1 MMA, 4-6 UFC) fell to 4-3 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in May 2014.
Sobotta has suffered four of his six UFC losses by decision.
Khamzat Chimaev
Chimaev (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) set a record for fastest time between UFC wins with two victories in 10 days.
Chimaev earned a fight-night bonus for both of his wins.
Chimaev has earned all eight of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished five of those wins in Round 1.
[autotag]Rhys McKee[/autotag] (10-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Preliminary card
Francisco Trinaldo
[autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag]’s (26-7 MMA, 16-6 UFC) 15 victories in UFC lightweight competition are tied for fourth most in divisional history behind Jim Miller (19), Donald Cerrone (17) and Gleison Tibau (16).
[autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by knockout.
Ronson (22-10 MMA, 1-3 UFC) was successful in his return to the UFC after going winless in his first stint from 2013-2014.
[autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC) fell to 1-1 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September.
Dalby suffered the first submission loss of his career.
Aspinall (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned all eight of his career victories by stoppage.
[autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) was unsuccessful in his UFC heavyweight debut.
Collier has alternated wins and losses over his past eight fights.
Collier has suffered four of his five career losses by stoppage.
[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Mike Grundy[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had his nine-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
Grundy suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Tanner Boser
Boser (19-6-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) earned his second UFC victory in a 28-day stretch. He also won at UFC on ESPN 12 on June 27.
Raphael Pessoa (10-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by stoppage.
Pessoa suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
[autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has earned nine of her 12 career victories by decision. That includes both of her UFC wins.
[autotag]Ramazan Emeev[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) improved to 3-1 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in May 2018.
Emeev improved to 16-2 in his past 18 fights.
Emeev has earned all four of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Niklas Stolze[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered all four of his career losses by decision.
[autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) earned his first decision victory since Nov. 14, 2015 – a span of 1,715 days (nearly five years) and 11 fights.
[autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) suffered the first decision loss 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. How did the five newcomers perform Saturday?
Fighters from around the globe dream of the day they’ll step into the UFC octagon for the first time. For five athletes, Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 14 event marked that special moment in their respective careers.
Check out this week’s rookie report to see what kind of first impression they made on the sport’s biggest stage from Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
[autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag] may not have picked up the victory he would have hoped for in his short-notice UFC debut, the 28-year-old did an admirable job as he held his own against highly-rated British prospect Nathaniel Wood in their preliminary card opener.
Castaneda made good use of his leg kicks early and had particular success on his exits from the clinch. But “Sexi Mexi” also found himself caught by Wood’s strikes throughout a competitive opening round.
Castaneda’s aggression continued in the second round as the Minnesota native pushed forward, but that willingness to step forward saw him present a relatively easy target for Wood to hit and a slick three punch combination from the Brit left him with a cut above the right eye.
He was forced to switch to orthodox from his usual southpaw stance as a result of Wood’s thumping leg kicks, but the debutant kept pushing forward and applying pressure, despite coming off second best in the exchanges.
Encouraged to “fight like a lion” by his corner, Castaneda did just that in the final round as he returned to southpaw and loaded up on his strikes. But Wood’s slicker, more relaxed striking continually punished Castaneda when he stepped into striking range.
All in all, it was a solid debut against a fighter who has been tipped to go a long way in the UFC’s bantamweight division.
Next up: Low strike output costs German debutant dear.
UFC on ESPN 14 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.
ABU DHABI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 14 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $209,500
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 14 took place at Flash Forum in Yas Island. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 14 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 all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 14 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.
See what the fighters from UFC on ESPN 14 went with as their backing tracks in Abu Dhabi.
[autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]: “I’m A Man” by Black Strobe
[autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag]: “Run This Town” by Jay-Z
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
MMA Junkie senior editor Dave Doyle walks you through the key questions UFC on ESPN 14 will answer.
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The UFC’s debut run on “Fight Island” comes to a close on Saturday with a marathon card in Abu Dhabi.
Barring any last-minute dropouts, a whopping 15 fights will go down at UFC on ESPN 14 – the most since UFC 2 in 1994 – and several of those fights are consequential.
None more so than the evening’s main event, in which [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] returns to the cage for the first time since losing the middleweight championship to Israel Adesanya. There, he’ll take on another fighter with something to prove, English star [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag]. Till, a former welterweight title challenger, has successfully transitioned to 185 pounds, and he’s looking to prove he’s here to stay in his new division.
UFC on ESPN 14 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
Without further ado, here are six burning questions heading into UFC on ESPN 14.
****
Does Robert Whittaker still have it?
We’ll admit that, at first glance, this looks like a bit of a harsh question to ask of someone coming off only one loss, to Adesanya at that, following a nine-fight winning streak. But then you stop and consider that Whittaker has fought only once in the past two years and twice in the past three.
And that his body doesn’t seem to want to cooperate, from knee injuries to staph infections to a collapsed bowel.
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And you also consider that, even though Whittaker (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) hasn’t yet hit age 30, he’s been through some wars, including 10 absolutely grueling rounds with a killer in Yoel Romero.
Will this all go down as a detour along the way before Whittaker makes adjustments and returns to the top? Or might the lopsided second-round KO loss to Adesanya prove his ultimate turning point? A battle with Till (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC) should give us a strong indication which way this is going.
