If you’re anything like us here atย Bet For The Win, you’re spending a good chunk of your holiday weekend planted on the couch and in front of the television soaking in all things sports. Saturday is the big NFL day and, of course, the NBA is the king of Christmas Day.
But what about college basketball? There won’t be any games played on the women’s side. As for the men, the highlight of the five-game slate is arguably the Big East matchup between Creighton and Depaul โ the first-ever Big East men’s basketball game on Christmas Day in the conference’s history.
The Bluejays started the season 6-0 and were ranked inside of the AP Top 10. A six-game losing streak ensued, which had a lot to do with their star big man Ryan Kalkbrenner missing time due to an illness. However, his return this past Thursday led Creighton back into the win column and for the team to look more like the former version of itself.
Depaul’s season has also seen its share of ups and downs. The Blue Demons stand at .500 (6-6) after beginning the season 3-0, but will have a chance to snap their current two-game skid on Sunday when they travel to Omaha for a date with the Bluejays.
As far as betting goes, this one isn’t projected to be competitive. Creighton is a heavy favorite to win this holiday battle according to BetMGM.
You can follow the game live on FOX at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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 โ but in UFC,”ย 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 โ 3-0, two KOs and winning the UFC middleweight title โ to be named our 2022 Male Fighter of the Year. ๐
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 โ 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.
Already Pereira’s confidence was beaming. “Whenever heโs ready, Iโm good,โ Pereira said after UFC 276.
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 โ 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 โ him or Max Holloway? โ 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.
Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland had their first and only staredown on ahead of headlining the final UFC event of 2022.
LAS VEGAS โย [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. ๐
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.
The final UFC headliner of 2022 is official after Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland made weight for UFC Fight Night 216.
LAS VEGAS โย The final UFC headliner of 2022 is official after [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] and [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] made weight on Friday.
Ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 216 main event, which takes place at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+, middleweight contenders Cannonier (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) and Strickland (25-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) had to step on the scale at weigh-ins and hit the contracted mark.
Both men were successful in doing do, with Cannonier registering at 185.5 pounds, while Strickland was 186 pounds โย albeit in a drained manner as he said “I’m going to go up to 205” after what appeared to be a tough cut.
After Sean Strickland suggested he change his nickname to "Curious George," Jared Cannonier embraced the idea at #UFCVegas66 weigh-ins.
All aside, however, it was a drama-free prelude to the fight that will close the promotion’s schedule for this year, and you can watch the video above.
UFC Fight Night 216 represents an important moment for both men. 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.
Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,320, the guys welcome guest Jarred Brooks to the show coming off his strawweight title win at ONE Championship 164. The fellas also discuss fallout from the Paddy Pimblett-Jared Gordon controversy at UFC 282, including what to do about Doug Crosby’s suspect judging, John McCarthy disagreeing with his son, Ron’s score of the fight, and much more. Tune in!
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts,ย Spotify,ย Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
Check out the latest edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,316, the guys talk to PFL’s [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag], preview the upcoming UFC on ESPN 42 card, discuss the [autotag]Artem Lobov[/autotag] and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] beef, and much more. Tune in!
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts,ย Spotify,ย Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
Check out the latest edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,315, the guys react to the 2022 PFL Championships, where Kayla Harrison was upset by Larissa Pacheco in their women’s lightweight final, the big shakeup at UFC 282 involving the light heavyweight title, Conor McGregor thinking he can get over on USADA, and more. Tune in!
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts,ย Spotify,ย Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
