Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out these photos from 17-year-old Raul Rosas Jr.’s dominant unanimous decision win over Mando Gutierrez at DWCS 55.
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Check out these photos from 17-year-old Raul Rosas Jr.’s dominant unanimous decision win over Mando Gutierrez at Dana White’s Contender Series 55 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos courtesy of Joshua Hedges, UFC)
Check out the best images from Dana White’s Contender Series 55 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check out these photos from the five fights at Dana White’s Contender Series 55 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos courtesy of Joshua Hedges, UFC)
See who Song Yadong should fight next after his loss to Cory Sandhagen in the UFC Fight Night 210 headliner.
(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Cory Sandhagen after UFC Fight Night 210 win?)
[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] could not rise to the occasion in his first octagon headliner against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Fight Night 210.
Yadong (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) proved he belongs on the big stage on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, but he couldn’t overcome a horrific cut around his left eye that was inflicted by a Sandhagen (15-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) elbow, forcing the doctor to call it off for the TKO after the fourth round.
Despite the defeat, the 24-year-old from China opened a lot of eyes about the depth of his talent, and there’s no doubt the future is bright for him.
What should be next for Yadong once he heals up and is ready to fight? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future after UFC Fight Night 210.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 210.
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“The King of Rio” is hanging up the gloves.
One of the consensus greatest fighters of all time has retired from mixed martial arts.
“The King of Rio” [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] recently informed the UFC of his plans to stop fighting. MMA Junkie confirmed the news with a source close to the situation following an initial report Sunday from Brazilian outlet Combate. Aldo, 36, had one fight on his UFC contract at the time of his retirement.
In recent weeks, retirement was speculated. Aldo (31-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) mentioned it to opponent Merab Dvalishvili after a unanimous decision loss at UFC 278 in August. The defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak for Aldo.
Aldo steps away from MMA with a 13-7 UFC record and one of the most lengthy accolade lists in promotion history. He is a former two-time featherweight champion, former interim champion, and former WEC champion. His seven UFC featherweight title defenses rank first all-time. He is also a six-time performance bonus winner.
Known for his signature leg kicks and “Run This Town” walkout, as well as his legendary takedown defense and ability to evolve with new waves of talent, Aldo leaves the sport as one of the most elite and respected fighters of his generation.
Born in Manaus Brazil, Aldo started to train martial arts as a teenager, as he put aside aspirations for a soccer career. At 17, he had his first MMA fight, one that kickstarted a seven-fight winning streak. In 2005, Aldo lost for the first time. It would be another decade before he reentered that column.
Three more wins landed Aldo an opportunity in the WEC. Five victories under the WEC banner earned him a title shot against then-champion Mike Brown, who he finished in Round 2. He defended his title against Urijah Faber and Manny Gamburyan before the UFC merger in 2011.
Featherweight was a new weight class for the UFC, so Aldo was adopted as titleholder. From April 2011 to October 2015, Aldo defended his title successfully seven times against the likes of Chad Mendes, Chan Sung Jung, and Frankie Edgar among others.
All this set up the biggest bout of his career, a battle against rising superstar and arch nemesis Conor McGregor. After months of trash talk and a failed booking, Aldo was knocked out in 13 seconds – and a new champion was crowned.
Aldo won an interim title against Frankie Edgar at UFC 200, as McGregor stood cage-side to grill the winner. The rematch would never happen however, as McGregor was forced to relinquish the title.
Undisputed champion once again, Aldo lost the title to Max Holloway next time out. The two rematched six months later, but the result was the same: a third-round TKO for Holloway.
Aldo then won back-to-back fights against Jeremy Stephens and Renato Moicano, but a loss to Alexander Volkanovski caused a drop to bantamweight.
There was much ado about his divisional debut against Marlon Moraes in December 2019. Aldo lost via controversial split decision, but by no means looked out of place against a recent title challenger.
Despite two losses in as many outings, Aldo was granted a title shot against Petr Yan after Henry Cejudo retired and vacated the title. Yan finished Aldo with strikes in Round 4.
Still, Aldo persisted. From December 2020 to December 2021, Aldo defeated Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz, and Rob Font in succession. That led to his UFC 278 defeat to Dvalishvili on Aug. 20.
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UFC 280 faces an injury, a contractual issue, and a lack of heavyweight replacements.
The UFC 280 lineup is stacked from top to bottom, but it’s a little less lengthy than it was seven days ago.
Three fighters are off the card for different reasons, MMA Junkie has learned. All three combatants were expected to compete on the prelims of the Oct. 22 pay-per-view event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
UFC 280 is headlined by two title fights. In the main event, Charles Oliveira faces Islam Makhachev for the vacant UFC lightweight championship. In the co-main event, bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling defends his title against former champion T.J. Dillashaw.
Scroll below to see which fighters have recently dropped off the card.
Gillian Robertson’s name is all over the record books after another submission win at UFC Fight Night 210.
The UFC’s final event of September took place Saturday with UFC Fight Night 210, which went down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and featured 13 fights on the docket.
The last of those fights was an important showdown in the bantamweight division. [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) delivered a fourth-round TKO of [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) after a bad cut forced a doctor’s stoppage, putting Sandhagen back on the winning track after consecutive losses.
For more ont he numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 210.
See the top Twitter reactions to Cory Sandhagen’s doctor stoppage TKO win over Song Yadong in the UFC Fight Night 210 main event.
[autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] snapped his two-fight losing skid on Saturday when he defeated [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] in the UFC Fight Night 210 main event.
Sandhagen (15-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) got a much-needed win to put himself back on the right track in the bantamweight division when he beat Yadong (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) by fourth-round doctor’s stoppage TKO in their headlining bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Sandhagen’s victory over Yadong at UFC Fight Night 210.
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Check out what the UFC Fight Night 210 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.
LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 210 took place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex.
You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 210 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the main card for UFC Fight Night 210, including the Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong main event.
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main card for UFC Fight Night 210.
UFC Fight Night 210 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
Last event’s results: 4-1
Overall picks for UFC main cards in 2022: 93-55-1
Welcome to MMAJunkie’s Quick Picks and Prognostications, where I’ll be giving brief, fight-day breakdowns for UFC main cards.
With that in mind, I hope these write-ups don’t come off as curt or dismissive. My goal here is to offer quick picks and analysis in a digestible format. All odds listed are provided by Tipico Sportsbook.
If you’d like more detailed analysis from me, then feel free to check out my weekly show, The Protect Ya’ Neck Podcast.
So, without further ado …
Former UFC title challenger John Dodson was the highest earner at BKFC 28 in New Mexico.
BKFC 28 payouts have been released by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD).
Thursday, MMA Junkie received a list of disclosed salaries for the bareknuckle boxing event which took place Aug. 28 at Rio Rancho Events Center in Albuquerque, N.M.
All payouts consisted of flat purses – meaning no win bonuses.
Former UFC title challenger [autotag]John Dodson[/autotag] made his BKFC debut in the co-main event, pocketing the highest disclosed payout of $75,000 for his first-round knockout win over fellow ex-UFC fighter Ryan Benoit, who made $20,000.
The event was headlined by a 125-pound title fight, which saw Christine Ferea make quick work of Taylor Starling. Ferea earned $22,500, while Starling took home $20,000.
Scroll below to see the full list of disclosed salaries. These figures do not include any additional bonuses the promotion may issue.
