A key welterweight matchup between Sean Brady and Michel Pereira is the latest addition to March’s UFC on ESPN 42 lineup.
A key welterweight matchup between [autotag]Sean Brady[/autotag] and [autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag] is the latest addition to March’s UFC on ESPN 43 lineup.
Brady (15-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Pereira (27-11 MMA, 6-2 UFC) have agreed to meet on the March 25 card, which takes place at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, and airs on ESPN.
MMA Junkie verified the booking is in the works with multiple people close to the situation, who requested anonymity because the UFC has to make an official announcement. MMAFighting.com‘s Damon Martin was first to reporter the news.
Brady, No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings, will attempt to rebound from his first career loss. After starting his career with 15 consecutive victories, the American suffered a second-round TKO defeat to Belal Muhammad at UFC 280 in October.
Pereira, an honorable mention in the latest rankings, will try to get a number next to his name at Brady’s expense. The Brazilian has won his past five fights, including notable victories over Santiago Ponzinibbio and Niko Price during that stretch.
One half of one of the most legendary fights in UFC history, Stephan Bonnar is dead at 45.
UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Stephan Bonnar[/autotag], who made history as a finalist on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” has died. He was 45.
The UFC announced the news Saturday, Christmas Eve, and cited heart complications at work as the cause of Bonnar’s death, which occurred Thursday.
A legend in the world of mixed martial arts, “The American Psycho” Bonnar served as one half of the fight many credit with turning around a then-struggling UFC. Although he lost that bout at “The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale” against Forrest Griffin in April 2005, its impact was felt for generations to come. Eventually the bout was inducted into the Fight Wing of The UFC Hall of Fame in 2013.
“Stephan Bonnar was one of the most important fighters to ever compete in the octagon,” UFC President Dana White in a statement. “His fight with Forrest Griffin changed the sport forever, and he will never be forgotten. The fans loved him, related to him, and he always gave them his best. He will be missed.”
Bonnar competed 26 times as a professional, with 15 UFC appearances and one for Bellator. He made his pro debut in 2001, with his UFC debut eight fights later. Bonnar entered the UFC at 7-1, and although he lost the fight to Griffin, he won his next three.
He split his next four at 2-2 with losses to Rashad Evans and Griffin, and subsequent wins over Mark Nickals and Eric Schaefer. Bonnar then entered a three-fight skid with defeats to Jon Jones, Marc Coleman, and Krzysztof Soszynski. He won a rematch against Soszynski before defeating Igor Pokrajac and Kyle Kingsbury.
A loss to Anderson Silva in a makeshift UFC 153 main event was his final bout for the promotion. Bonnar parted ways with the promotion after a failed drug test and claimed retirement. However, he reentered competition to fight Tito Ortiz in Bellator in 2014 and lost by split decision.
Bonnar was in the headlines intermittently following his final MMA bout. In 2019, he competed for Impact Wrestling after a two-year build on the independent pro wrestling circuit. In 2020, Bonnar briefly reentered the MMA circuit as a cornerman for fellow TUF 1 contestant Diego Sanchez. In April 2022, Bonnar had more struggles outside the cage when his house burned down.
Throughout the MMA community, Bonnar was a beloved figure for his toughness and significance to the sport. Many fighters, promoters, fans, and loved ones flocked to social media Saturday to mourn the loss of a UFC pioneer.
Rose Namajunas will return to competition before the end of the year, but it won’t be inside the UFC octagon.
[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] will return to competition before the end of the year, but it won’t be inside the UFC octagon.
Namajunas, a former two-time UFC strawweight champion, has been booked in a grappling match against the person with the most submission wins in women’s UFC history, [autotag]Gillian Robertson[/autotag].
The match, which takes place at 135 pounds, will serve as the main event for FURY Pro Grappling 6, which takes place Dec. 30 at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia and streams on UFC Fight Pass.
“Competing in grappling was one of a few different goals I had for myself before I were to compete in fighting again,” Namajunas said in a statement. “I’m very grateful for this opportunity to compete for FURY grappling. I’m very excited.”
Namajunas, 30, hasn’t competed in MMA since April, when she lost UFC gold to Carla Esparza at UFC 274 in a heavily criticized title bout. She’ll get her chance to regain some momentum against Robertson, who is one of the most active fighters in women’s UFC history.
Robertson’s grappling prowess has been seen time and time again inside the UFC octagon, and she’s competed before under the FURY Pro Grappling banner. Robertson, 27, now looks to put her skills to use against a high-profile name in Namajunas.
“It’s great to be back with FURY for another extremely high-profile card,” Robertson said. “I am thankful for the opportunity to share the mat with such a notable opponent like Rose Namajunas. … We’re both scrappy and submission savvy, so you can expect it to be fight of the night.”
The bantamweight division will be in the spotlight in February with a massive fight between Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen.
The bantamweight division will be in the spotlight in February with a massive fight between [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] and [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag].
The UFC announced on Friday that Vera (20-7-1 MMA, 14-6 UFC) and Sandhagen (15-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will clash in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Feb. 18. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.
Sandhagen, 30, for his part, competed just once in 2022. After losing back-to-back fights in 2021, Sandhagen took 11 months off from the sport before returning in September with a main event doctor’s stoppage TKO win over Song Yadong at UFC Fight Night 210.
The latest UFC Fight Night lineup for Feb. 18 now includes:
Zhang Weili has been named MMA Junkie’s Female Fighter of 2022 after going 2-0 and reclaiming the strawweight title.
After the lowest year of her professional fighting career, [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] needed to get back on track in 2022.
The China-born strawweight who entered 2021 with the UFC title around her waist, not only dropped the belt, but went 0-2 in back-to-back bouts against now-former champ Rose Namajunas. The first loss was a highlight knockout, but in the second, Weili pushed her opponent to the limit, and won over a judge in the split decision result.
Even though she lost a close battle, her performance proved that she belonged at the top of the division, and perhaps, Namajunas just had her number. Regardless, her path back to the title would be tough with “Thug Rose” sitting on the throne.
Weili’s first challenge of 2022 was a rematch against former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 275 in June, who she fought to a split decision 27 months prior. This time, the judges would not be needed to determine the result. Weili finished the fight with a beautiful spinning backfist in the second round, sending Jedrzejczyk into retirement.
It was a huge win for Weili, who not only bounced back into the win column in a big way, but because Carla Esparza defeated Namajunas to become a two-time champion a month before. Weili now had a clear path to a title shot because Esparza was a fresh opponent for Weili, and the UFC was on board with setting up the fight.
At UFC 281 in November, Weili faced Esparza in the co-main event at Madison Square Garden in New York. The stage was set for a big moment in one of the world’s most famous arenas, and Weili capitalized on her opportunity to bring the title back to China. In the second round, she trapped Esparza in a crucifix and then slapped on a tight rear-naked choke to force a tap to become a two-time champion herself.
The few doubters of Weili’s status as an elite of the division were completely silenced after her run in 2022. She looks like a fighter capable of carrying the torch for her country for many years to come. Weili is faster than her peers, and she’s certainly stronger. Look no further than her lifting heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Honorable mention
Larissa Pacheco
PFL 10: Championships at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. (Cooper Neill / PFL)
The Female Fighter of the Year was a two-horse race, and [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] was right on Weili’s heels at the finish line.
The Pacheco who fell to former UFC champions Jessica Andrade and Germaine de Randamie in her first two bouts with the promotion in 2014-15 is entirely unrecognizable from the PFL champion of today.
The Brazilian lightweight hit a new stride after losing to Kayla Harrison at the 2019 PFL Championships. She showed her improvements the following year by recording two first-round finishes of Julija Pajic and Olena Kolesnyk.
But something was different in 2022. Pacheco stepped into the PFL cage with a different look in her eye. This time, she looked every bit the part of the fighter who was going to not only compete for the PFL championship again, but win it.
Her campaign began in May, and the first-round destruction continued. Pacheco starched Zamzagul Fayzallanova in less than 90 seconds. Two months later, Genah Fabian was the next to fall to her crushing power in the opening round. Kolesnyk suffered the same fate as their first meeting, but in less than half the time.
Pacheco was on fire, and her third shot against Harrison was set for the championship and the $1 prize.
The third time was a charm for Pacheco, who pulled out a gritty unanimous decision win over the Olympic gold medalist to claim the title and the biggest payday of her career that began in 2012.
Alex Pereira has been named MMA Junkie’s Male Fighter of 2022 after going 3-0 and knocking out Israel Adesanya to become UFC champion.
All you have to do is go back to Dec. 19, 2019, when the very first MMA Junkie headline on [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] published, to understand the amount of pressure he would be under once his mixed martial arts career got underway.
“The guy who knocked out Israel Adesanya says he can do it again – but in UFC,” it read.
That’s a hell of a way to introduce yourself to MMA fans.
At the time, Adesanya was still undefeated at 18-0 and two months prior, he capped off a meteoric rise to UFC stardom by putting on a masterclass against Robert Whittaker to become undisputed middleweight champion. Meanwhile, Pereira was the reigning GLORY kickboxing middleweight and interim light heavyweight champion with a measly MMA record of 2-1. He hadn’t even tried MMA in more than three years.
It was way too early for fans to think about Adesanya vs. Pereira happening in the UFC, but as was noted in that headline, “Poatan” had this feather in his cap: He’s the owner of two kickboxing wins over Adesanya, including a knockout.
That certainly got the attention of UFC president Dana White and the promotion’s brass. In Pereira’s return to MMA, a vicious knockout of Thomas Powell in November 2020 at LFA 95 was all Pereira needed to secure a UFC contract. That was Step 1 toward his goal.
How would the UFC build up the man being touted as Adesanya’s boogeyman? That was the question. It started out with a bang in November 2021 after a dazzling knockout of Andreas Michailidis with a flying knee and punches at UFC 268. Almost immediately talk of a future fight between Adesanya and Pereira ignited, but there was still a ways to go.
Or was there?
.@AlexPereiraUFC did the work – 3-0, two KOs and winning the UFC middleweight title – to be named our 2022 Male Fighter of the Year. 🏆
Pereira’s lone fight of 2021 set him up for a massive 2022. His first bout of the year at UFC Fight Night 203 in March was a clean-sweep unanimous decision win over Bruno Silva, though it was evenly matched from start to finish. You might’ve figured that would derail Pereira off the fast track, but it didn’t as the UFC booked him against top contender Sean Strickland at UFC 276 – the same event where Adesanya was set to defend his title vs. Cannonier.
It was clear what the UFC hoped would happen. The chatter heading into UFC 276 was that Pereira vs. Strickland could be a No. 1 contender fight. It likely would take something spectacular for either man to guarantee their place, and boy, did Pereira deliver by knocking out Strickland in the first round with a picture-perfect vicious left hand. With Adesanya winning a lackluster affair to keep his crown, it was game on: Pereira would get his shot at Adesanya within his first year in the UFC.
The stage was set for the trilogy between Adesanya vs. Pereira: Nov. 12, UFC 281, Madison Square Garden, New York. It doesn’t get any bigger than that, which told us everything we needed to know about how the UFC felt about the matchup. And the hype was real, with every analyst and pundit chiming in on whether or not Adesanya could overcome Pereira, his Brazilian nemesis who chased him out of kickboxing and into MMA.
For the majority of the fight, it appeared Adesanya would as he put on a tactical striking display that led to him being up on all three judges’ scorecards heading into the fifth round. And that’s when it happened. That’s when Pereira made his move
Alex Pereira finishes Israel Adesanya in the fifth round at UFC 281. (Jamie Squire, Getty Images)
Pereira came out with a real sense of urgency, knowing he was down on the card. He eventually tagged Adesanya with a series of power punches that had him pressed against the cage, on wobbly legs, and with nowhere to go. Unable to escape and intelligently defend himself, referee Marc Goddard waved off the fight, awarding Pereira a standing TKO victory to claim the middleweight after just four UFC appearances.
Three years earlier, the guy who knocked out Adesanya said he could do it again in the UFC – and he did. Of the 16 UFC fighters who went 3-0 in 2022, nobody’s wins were bigger and none were more impressive. For these reasons, Alex Pereira is the 2022 MMA Junkie Male Fighter of the Year.
Honorable mention
Alexander Volkanovski
Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 276. (Photo by Carmen Mandato, Getty Images)
Just how great was 2022 for UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski? He ends the year No. 1 pound-for-pound in the official UFC rankings and also set himself up for a potentially even greater 2023.
Volkanovski took care of business this past year, going 2-0 to remain the 145-pound champ. Back in April, Volkanovski’s year started with a fourth-round TKO win over Chan Sung Jung at UFC 273. Then in July, Volkanovski put to rest any remaining questions about who the superior fighter is – him or Max Holloway? – as he dominated Holloway to win 50-45 on all three judges’ scorecards and move to 3-0 against him.
As if his run of dominance in his own division wasn’t enough, Volkanovski advocated heavily for himself to get a shot at becoming a two-division champion to the point that the UFC had him weigh in as the backup for the vacant lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira at UFC 280. Now Volkanovski turns the page to 2023 looking to secure a second title when he challenges Makhachev for 155-pound gold in February at UFC 284.
Rising UFC star Erin Blanchfield will fight top contender Taila Santos in an important flyweight bout this February.
The UFC isn’t waiting to test [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] against the top of the women’s flyweight division.
On Tuesday, Blanchfield announced on “Morning Kombat” that she will meet Taila Santos, the last woman to challenge for the title. The bout will take place Feb. 18 as part of UFC Fight Night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, two people with knowledge of the situation including Blanchfield’s manager Oren Hodak, of KO Reps, confirmed to MMA Junkie.
The UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
Blanchfield (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), 23, is one of the youngest fighters on the UFC roster but already finds herself in a top-five matchup. Wins over Sarah Alpar, Miranda Maverick, and JJ Aldrich earned Blanchfield a spotlighted matchup at UFC 281 in November against Molly McCann. Despite McCann’s surge in popularity
Holly Holm and Yana Kunitskaya will battle to return to UFC title contender this spring.
Former champ [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] and [autotag]Yana Kunitskaya[/autotag] will battle to return to title contender this spring.
Holm (14-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) will meet Kunitskaya (14-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in a women’s bantamweight matchup at UFC Fight Night on March 25. The event takes place at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, but broadcast plans have yet to be announced.
MMA Junkie verified the booking with multiple people close to the situation, who spoke on the condition on anonymity. MMA Fighting was first to report.
Holm, 41, is a former 135-pound titleholder. She’s competed just once since October 2020, losing a narrow split decision to Ketlen Vieira in her most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 206 in May.
Kunitskaya, 33, meanwhile, has been out of action since July 2021. The former Invicta FC titleholder took a hiatus from the sport to have a child with her husband, former UFC standard Thiago Santos. She lost to fellow contender Irene Aldana in her most recent contest.
Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland had their first and only staredown on ahead of headlining the final UFC event of 2022.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] and [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] had their first and only staredown on Friday ahead of headlining the final UFC event of 2022.
Cannonier (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) and Strickland (25-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) are set to clash in a key middleweight bout in the UFC Fight Night 216 main event, which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+.
After successfully making weight, Cannonier and Strickland came face-to-face for a photo-op. And unsurprisingly, Strickland had something to say when his opponent got right in front of him.
Sean: "Do we look at each other?"
Jared: "We'll scare the sh*t out of each other."
Sean: "You already scare me, don't worry about that."
The Cannonier vs. Strickland faceoff at #UFCVegas66 had all the banter. 😂
Both Strickland and Cannonier briefly discussed fear in a somewhat jovial encounter. Check out the video above.
Both fighters will be attempting to get back on track at UFC Fight Night 216. Cannonier looks to rebound from his title-fight loss to then-champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 276 in July, while Strickland also aims to return to the win column after being knocked out by Alex Pereira on the same summer fight card.
