Tag: UFC 246

Conor McGregor opens as nearly 3-1 favorite over ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 246

The odds are out for the UFC 246 main event between Conor McGregor and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone – and they favor the Irishman in a big way.

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s long-awaited return to the cage was something many MMA fans no doubt gave thanks for on the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.

McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is set to headline UFC 246 in January against [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] (36-13 MMA, 23-10 UFC), the promotion announced Thursday. The welterweight fight is one that has been talked about for several months, but as with all things McGregor-related seemed to be up in the air pending his decision to put pen to paper.

Now that the fight is official, the opening betting odds have been released – and former dual champion McGregor is a sizable favorite out of the gate. McGregor is a -278 favorite at BetMGM.com. The comeback on “Cowboy” is +200.

In other words, a $100 bet on Cerrone would pay out $300 (including the original $100 wager) if he pulls the upset in Las Vegas. A $100 bet on McGregor would pay out about $136 (including the original $100 wager) if he wins.

UFC 246 takes place Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims likely for ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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It probably should come as no surprise that McGregor is favored. He’s only been an underdog twice in his career. In his featherweight title fight against then-champ Jose Aldo at UFC 194, Aldo was just a slight favorite at -135 to -110 for McGregor. McGregor knocked out Aldo in 13 seconds to win his first UFC belt. And in his lightweight title fight against champ Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018, he was as much as a 2-1 underdog in a fight he lost by fourth-round submission.

Cerrone is on just the second losing skid of his career. After starting 2019 with back-to-back wins over Alexander Hernandez and Al Iaquinta, he has dropped consecutive bouts to Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, both by TKO.

Before those setbacks, he was on a three-fight run that saw him pick up a bonus for his submission of Mike Perry, two bonuses for his TKO of Hernandez, and a “Fight of the Night” for his decision win over Iaquinta. He has the most post-fight bonus awards in UFC history with 18.

McGregor hasn’t won a fight in more than three years. In November 2016, he stopped Eddie Alvarez with a second-round TKO at UFC 205 to win the lightweight title. That made him the first fighter in UFC history to hold belts in two divisions at the same time. He was forced to vacate his featherweight belt soon after, having never defended it.

He never defended the lightweight title, either. He chose instead to take a highly lucrative boxing match with Floyd Mayweather in August 2017 in a turn that made him truly a global superstar. He eventually was stripped of the 155-pound belt, and Nurmagomedov claimed it to set up the pair’s vicious rivalry that culminated in a brawl after their fight and suspensions for both.

McGregor has become almost as well known for his issues outside the cage as his fighting. Several months before his fight with Nurmagomedov, he had a now-infamous incident in which he attacked a fighter bus at UFC 223 and was arrested. The brawl at UFC 229, though not started by him, didn’t help matters.

Earlier this year in Miami Beach, he was arrested for taking a man’s phone, smashing it on the ground, then walking away with it. Ultimately, the strong-arm robbery and criminal mischief charges were dismissed. But in August, video surfaced of McGregor punching a man in a Dublin pub. Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to assault and was fined. Reports of sexual assault accusations also have surfaced, though he has not been charged.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship, and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Jon Jones opens as sizable favorite over Dominick Reyes ahead of UFC title fight

The oddsmakers are thinking “And still” is the most likely outcome of the UFC’s Feb. 8 headliner in Houston.

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] has voiced his self-belief going into Feb. 8, when he defends his title against [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag].

But he’s not the only one feeling confident. According to oddsmakers, Jones’ next title defense once again will be his fight to lose.

According to BetMGM, Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) is more than a 4-1 favorite to beat Reyes (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in Houston at an event that is expected to be UFC 246. at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Jones opened as a -455 favorite in the fight, according to odds set by BetMGM. The comeback on Reyes, the challenger, is +300. A $100 bet on Reyes would pay out $400 (including the original $100) if he wins. A $100 bet on Jones would pay out about $122 (including the original $100) if he wins.

The only times Jones has been this small of a favorite since he first became a UFC champion were his two fights against Daniel Cormier and second fight against Alexander Gustafsson.

Reyes never has been an underdog in his UFC career. Most recently, he closed as about a 2-1 favorite against former middleweight champion Chris Weidman in Boston. He also has been favored in fights against former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir and former interim title challenger Ovince Saint Preux.

Jones most recently was seen in action in July when he outpointed Thiago Santos to defend his belt in the main event of UFC 239. The 32-year-old Jackson Wink MMA product remains one of the most dominant champions in the UFC, with his lone loss coming by disqualification against Matt Hamill in 2009.

Reyes recently picked up the biggest win of his career. In October, Reyes scored a first-round knockout over former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC on ESPN 6. Reyes, 29, is No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA light heavyweight rankings.

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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.

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Spinning Back Clique: Is Israel Adesanya inside Jon Jones’ head?

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” unpack the latest MMA news and notes in Episode 4 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” break down the [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]-[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] rivalry, UFC 246’s two title fights in Houston, what’s next for [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] in Bellator and more.

Show rundown:

  • Jon Jones said he’s done talking about Israel Adesanya. But then he went right back to talking about him. So is Adesanya, the UFC’s middleweight champion, in light heavyweight champ Jones’ head?
  • We’ve got two UFC title fights set for February in Houston. Who’s more likely to lose? Jon Jones against challenger [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag], or women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] against challenger [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag]?
  • What should be next for Michael Page in Bellator after his first-round knockout win over another unheralded opponent?
  • Floyd Mayweather said he’s coming out of retirement – and is going to be in business with UFC president Dana White. So what’s it going to be?
  • During Thanksgiving week, what are we thankful for in the world of MMA?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 4 of “Spinning Back Clique” in the video above.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3004: Jon Jones-Dominick Reyes reaction, Bellator London recap, more

Hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” break down the latest MMA news and notes, including the biggest fight booking of the week.

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!

On episode 3,004 of the podcast, the guys break down the latest MMA news and notes, as well as unpack Bellator Europe 6 from over the weekend in London.

The rundown

  • It’s official. [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] will defend his UFC light heavyweight title vs. [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] on Feb. 8 in Houston. Is Reyes ready for this massive challenge, or is it too soon?
  • With [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] left on the outside looking in, should they be booked against each other as insurance? It’d be a rematch of a 2015 fight won by Anderson.
  • Bellator Europe 6 took place Saturday and ended with another highlight-reel knockout by [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag], who finished Giovanni Melillo with one punch early in the first round. Afterward, Page called for a rematch with welterweight champion [autotag]Douglas Lima[/autotag]. Where does Bellator go next with MVP?
  • Did you catch UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] on the set of ESPN “College Gameday” before the Ohio State-Penn State football game? That was cool, wasn’t it? More of this, Stipe.
  • UFC strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] seems to be stirring the pot with [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag]. What do we think of this?
  • [autotag]Floyd Mayweather[/autotag] is back! Maybe. And he’ll be working with UFC president Dana White! Maybe. What do we make of this?

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at AudioBoom, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

Andre Fili vs. Sodiq Yusuff slated for UFC’s Jan. 18 event

A featherweight bout between Andre Fili and Sodiq Yusuff is the latest addition to the UFC’s planned event on Jan. 18.

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A featherweight bout between [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag] and [autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag] is the latest addition to the UFC’s planned event on Jan. 18.

MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup between Fili (20-6 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and Yusuff (10-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) with a person close to the situation. The person wished to remain anonymous because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

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The Jan. 18 show, expected to be UFC 246, doesn’t have an announced location yet, but is expected to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

Fili, 29, has won four of his past five fights. “Touchy” is coming off a first-round knockout finish of Sheymon Moraes at UFC on ESPN+ 13 in July.

Yusuff, 26, is unbeaten in his past five fights including three-straight in the UFC, as well as a victory on Dana White’s Contender Series. His most recent performance saw “Super” beat Gabriel Benitez by first-round TKO at UFC 241 in August.

With the addition, the Jan. 18 lineup now includes:

  • Maycee Barber vs. Roxanne Modafferi
  • Drew Dober vs. Nasrat Haqparast
  • Grant Dawson vs. Chas Skelly
  • Maurice Greene vs. Aleksei Oleinik
  • Claudia Gadelha vs. Alexa Grasso
  • Andre Fili vs. Sodiq Yusuff

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Claudia Gadelha vs. Alexa Grasso in the works for UFC’s Jan. 18 event

A strawweight matchup between Claudia Gadelha and Alexa Grasso is the latest addition to the UFC’s Jan. 18 card.

A matchup between two top-ranked women’s strawweights is the latest addition to the UFC’s first event in 2020.

[autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) will take on [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC), a person with knowledge of the booking told MMA Junkie on Saturday. The person requested anonymity since the UFC has yet to make an announcement.

The Jan. 18 show, expected to be UFC 246, doesn’t have an announced location yet, but is expected to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

Gadelha is coming off a unanimous decision win over Randa Markos at UFC 239 in July. She was scheduled to face Cynthia Calvillo at UFC on ESPN 7 next month, but was forced out due to lingering injuries from her previous bout.

Grasso was narrowly edged in her most recent bout and suffered a majority decision loss to Carla Esparza in her home country of Mexico. She did, however, pick up a “Fight of the Night” bonus in defeat. Grasso, like Gadelha, has alternated wins and losses in her past four fights. Both women will be looking to gain some consistency in the strawweight division.

With the addition, the UFC 246 lineup now includes:

  • Maycee Barber vs. Roxanne Modafferi
  • Drew Dober vs. Nasrat Haqparast
  • Grant Dawson vs. Chas Skelly
  • Maurice Greene vs. Aleksei Oleinik
  • Claudia Gadelha vs. Alexa Grasso

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Maycee Barber: Paige VanZant turned me down, but Roxanne Modafferi way better anyway

“My career will be successful no matter what, if I beat her up or not.”

[autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag] wanted to fight [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag].

According to Barber, however, the same can’t be said the other way around. After multiple callouts of VanZant, Barber is set to take on [autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag] at UFC 246 on Jan. 18.

In an interview with Submission Radio, Barber (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) revealed the fight was offered to VanZant (8-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who turned it down. Barber claims VanZant wants to fight at 115 pounds and needs more time to prepare.

“They offered it to Paige at 125, (and) she said no,” Barber said. “From what I heard, she said she wanted a fight at 115, but she would need more time. So, as far as I know, it’s offered to her at 125 when she wants to take the fight at 125. And other than that, it’s kind of like, I’m just gonna keep doing what I do with my career, and when she decides to fight, we’ll fight.”

Is Barber disappointed she won’t be facing VanZant? Not really. Barber said VanZant would just be an added “bonus” to her resume of work.

“My career will be successful no matter what, if I beat her up or not,” Barber said. “That was kind of like a bonus – like, beat her up and prove a point. But that’s it.”

Additionally, Barber compared VanZant and Modafferi (23-16 MMA, 2-4 UFC). She said she views Modafferi as a more challenging matchup and criticized VanZant’s evolution (or lack thereof) as a fighter.

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“Roxanne is way better of a fighter than Paige VanZant,” Barber said. “And there’s a lot of women out there who are a tougher fight. Paige VanZant just did the marketing well, and that was because the UFC got behind her on that.

“But like I’ve said multiple times, she didn’t hold up her end of the deal and she didn’t continue to progress as a fighter, she just continued to progress on the more marketing and media side of that. So, yeah, there’s a lot more girls that had been working there their butts off a lot more than Paige has.”

Barber’s tune when speaking on VanZant compared to Modafferi was night and day. Barber voiced her respect for one of the most experienced fighters in the history of women’s MMA. She sees the fight as a passing of the guard, of sorts.

“(Roxanne’s) been there so long within the sport,” Barber said. “She has so many fights. She has like 39 fights. And I don’t know if that includes her amateur career or not. She’s been around for a lot of fights and through a lot of the women in MMA. So, it’s really a very historic fight for us. Because we’re taking someone who has pretty much gone and done and seen it all, and then you have someone who’s been working their whole life just to be where they are right now.

“And I’m super young and super new in my career. So you kind of have the new and the old, and I think people are gonna be shocked. They expect, like, oh, you’re fighting her and she’s got so much experience over you. But what they don’t realize is that I’ve been working my whole life, and I’m 21, but that’s like 17 years of work that I’ve put into this.”

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Aleksei Oleinik vs. Maurice Greene added to UFC 246 in January

A heavyweight matchup between Aleksei Oleinik and Maurice Greene is the latest addition to UFC 246 on Jan. 18.

A heavyweight matchup is the latest addition to the UFC’s first event of 2020.

[autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag] (57-12-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) will take on [autotag]Maurice Greene[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at UFC 246, a person with knowledge of the booking told MMA Junkie. The person requested anonymity since the UFC has yet to make an announcement.

Oleinik has dropped his past two in a row, suffering knockout losses at the hands of Alistair Overeem and, most recently, Walt Harris at UFC on ESPN 4 in July. With more than 70 pro fights on his resume, the Russian veteran will look to avoid a three-fight losing skid when he takes on “Ultimate Fighter” alum Greene.

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Greene, who started off his UFC tenure at 3-0, recently saw his winning streak come to a halt when he lost by first-round TKO to Sergei Pavlovich in October.

UFC 246 doesn’t have an announced location yet, but is expected to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

With the addition, the UFC 246 lineup now includes:

  • Maycee Barber vs. Roxanne Modafferi
  • Drew Dober vs. Nasrat Haqparast
  • Grant Dawson vs. Chas Skelly
  • Maurice Greene vs. Aleksei Oleinik

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Owen Roddy confirms he’ll be in Conor McGregor’s corner, discusses potential ‘Cowboy’ matchup

Owen Roddy discusses Conor McGregor’s return, a potential Donald Cerrone fight and gives his thoughts on “BMF” title winner Jorge Masvidal.

BAHRAIN – The band will indeed be back together for [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s return.

Amidst rumors of a potential rift between McGregor and his longtime coaches, Owen Roddy confirmed that he and John Kavanagh will certainly be in McGregor’s corner for his next fight.

“Yup, yup, yup – yeah definitely, yeah,” Roddy told MMA Junkie.

McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) recently announced that he will be making his return on Jan. 18, but no official date or opponent have been confirmed by the promotion. UFC president Dana White did, however, say that the targeted opponent for McGregor’s return fight would be [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag], and that’s a matchup that Roddy would very much like to see.

“If it is ‘Cowboy,’ it would be an exciting fight, yeah,” Roddy said. “I said this a couple of months ago: ‘Cowboy’ and Conor is a great fight for the fans. Two guys that are exciting strikers – although ‘Cowboy’ is phenomenal on the ground, as well, but I think if it was a fight between them, it would be a striking battle, and I think it would be one for the fans, so if it is that, it’ll be an exciting one.”

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And with McGregor’s recent mapped out plan of a Jan. 18 fight, followed by the winner of the “BMF” title fight and then a rematch with Nurmagomedov, Roddy says McGregor is in good spirits, ready to make his return.

“I know he’s working very hard,” Roddy said. “There’s no official date set yet, but Conor’s been training very hard, as you can see. He’s in good nick. If you’re looking at any of the pictures, he’s in phenomenal shape, he’s ready to go. I’m sure everybody’s excited to see him back.”

In his last outing, McGregor failed to recapture his lightweight title and was submitted by Nurmagomedov in the fourth round of their October 2018 matchup at UFC 229. Numragomedov was able to impose his will, as he has done with all his past opponents, nullifying McGregor’s striking. The bad blood continued to boil over after the fight as a brawl ensued, suggesting that the chapter on that rivalry may not be completely closed.

McGregor chalked it up due to being too defensive minded, and while Roddy agrees to a certain extent, he believes that McGregor just wasn’t himself in the fight.

“Potentially, yeah, it was a tricky fight, and take nothing away from Khabib, he came in with a great gameplan,” Roddy said. “He got off, and he executed. but I just don’t think Conor was anywhere near the best of his ability. He wasn’t as good as he can be, and Conor on a night, at 100 percent, can beat anybody in the world.”

Meanwhile, the concept of the “BMF” belt has amassed mixed reviews, but Roddy admits he’s a fan of the idea. And with McGregor saying he’d fight the winner of the “BMF” title fight earlier this month at UFC 244, Roddy believes a potential fight with Jorge Masvidal would be another fan-favorite matchup.

“I thought it was brilliant; great marketing from the UFC,” Roddy said. “Obviously it was Nate (Diaz) that kind of brought it into an existence, but yeah, I love it. I love the idea, it’s a lovely belt, and Masvidal last week, he put on an amazing display and he’s rightfully the ‘BMF’ at the moment, but yeah, that would be a cool one down the line.”

“Yeah, most definitely, who wouldn’t want to see that fight? It would be a cracking fight.”

But for now, Roddy just wants to see McGregor back, shortly after “The Notorious” celebrated the three-year anniversary of his historic double champ feat at UFC 205, one of the many iconic moments in his career.

“I just want to see Conor back in,” Roddy said. “I think everybody just wants to see Conor back in the UFC, bring back that spectacle that is his fights. Nobody does it like Conor, and for me, I just want to see him back in there. Whatever happens after that, who knows?”

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Jon Jones hints that Dominick Reyes fight is a ‘few weeks away’

It appears a fight between Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes is all but done with “Bones” claiming a fight announcement is imminent.

It seems [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] is set to return to action in just a few weeks’ time.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) took to Twitter to further confirm his hints that [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] is next and said the date will be revealed very soon. With “The Devastator” and Corey Anderson emerging victorious in their most bouts, it seemed a two-horse race to see who would get the next shot until Jones decided that he wanted to face Reyes (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) next because he’s the more “dangerous” fighter.

Jones responded to a question on Twitter, offering a hint that his next opponent has something in common with two of his previous foes, Ryan Bader and Daniel Cormier.

The answer, according to Jones, was that both were undefeated when they faced “Bones,” who was able to successfully snatch the zero from both their records – suggesting that the undefeated Reyes will be the next to meet that fate.

 

A few weeks away could allude to the UFC’s planned Jan. 18 card, which is projected to be UFC 246 on pay-per-view. It is widely believed that Conor McGregor will return on that card, as well, which may take place in Las Vegas, but nothing has been officially announced just yet.

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