Tag: UFC 247

Alex Morono vs. Dhiego Lima added to UFC 247 in Houston

A matchup between streaking welterweights Alex Morono and Dhiego Lima is the latest addition to UFC 247.

[vertical-gallery id=451953]

Ask and you shall receive.

After picking up a unanimous decision win over Max Griffin in his most recent outing, [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag] said he wanted [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] next in early 2020. That’s exactly what he got.

Morono (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) gets a home fight at UFC 247 against Lima (15-7 MMA, 4-5 UFC), UFC officials announced Wednesday. UFC 247 takes place Feb. 8 at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card, featuring two title fights, airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Since joining Fortis MMA, Morono has three in a row and looks to continue his climb toward inclusion in the 170-pound rankings.

Two-time “Ultimate Fighter” finalist Lima also is on a three-fight winning streak. Most recently, he beat Luke Jumeau by split decision at UFC 243.

With the addition, the UFC 247 lineup includes:

  • Champ Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes – for light heavyweight title
  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian – for women’s flyweight title
  • Ilir Latifi vs. Derrick Lewis
  • Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
  • Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ryan Spann
  • Andrea Lee vs. Lauren Murphy
  • Juan Adams vs. Justin Tafa
  • Dhiego Lima vs. Alex Morono

[vertical-gallery id=449480]

Valentina Shevchenko sees similarities between Katlyn Chookagian and Holly Holm’s styles

Valentina Shevchenko sees similarities between UFC 247 opponent Katlyn Chookagian and past opponent Holly Holm’s styles.

[autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] believes she’s already faced a similar style opponent to her next challenger, [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag].

Shevchenko (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) defends her flyweight title vs. Chookagian (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at UFC 247 on Feb. 8 in Houston and thinks Chookagian possesses similar traits as one of her past opponents, former UFC 135-pound champ [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag], who she was able to outpoint over the course of five rounds in 2016.

“You know, I see her style a little bit – not completely, but a little bit – similar to Holly Holm’s style,” Shevchenko said on “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.” “Liking fighting on a distance, having her distance, and I think no one was complaining from my fight with Holly. Everybody liked it, so I think it’s going to be good.”

Since dropping down to flyweight, Chookagian has gone 4-1 and is coming off back-to-back wins over Joanne Calderwood and Jennifer Maia, but has yet to score a finish in her UFC career.

[lawrence-related id=466369,458287]

And while Shevchenko received quite a bit of criticism for her last title defense, a unanimous decision win over Liz Carmouche in Uruguay, “The Bullet” said it’s most likely because of the momentum she was riding from her “Knockout of the Year” contender over Jessica Eye.

“Of course I understand why people were expecting, because coming from second-round KO, head-kick KO, everyone was expecting the same, but like I say every time, all people are different,” Shevchenko said.

“I never think about what happened before, because it already happened. I had a great fight there, and if you can take a look at the fight, it was a very technical fight, and I had several knockdowns in this fight.”

One thing’s for sure: Shevchenko does not seem to take any opponent lightly. She said she knew she’d cross paths with Chookagian eventually and is fully focused on her now, since she’s the next task at hand.

“Yes, I saw her fight,” Shevchenko said. “I never was like too much paying attention on her performances because she never was like opponent No. 1 for me because it was every time – you know me, every time I have my opponent No. 1, and I’m ready for this kind of opponent,” Shevchenko said. “I was preparing for Jessica, then for Liz Carmouche. Of course I look at other girls’ fights, … but it’s never paying too much attention, but now it’s time to pay a lot of attention to her fighting style, and I think everything is going to be good.”

[vertical-gallery id=430761]

Success paying off for Fortis MMA with big UFC bookings in early 2020

Fortis MMA has been among the hottest gyms in the sport of late, and now the benefits of success are coming.

Over the past two years, Fortis MMA has been one of the most successful gyms in the sport. The wins have been stacking up, and now the benefits are coming with it.

The Dallas-based gym, led by head coach Sayif Saud, has one of the highest UFC winning percentages of any team in the sport. It has gone 18-5 in 2019 (it went 16-4 in 2018), with a scheduled matchup between Geoff Neal (12-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and Mike Perry (13-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) still to go at UFC 245 on Dec. 14.

“It’s just been an incredible year,” Saud told MMA Junkie. “If you told me we were going to win 18 fights and only lose five in 2019, I’d be pretty thrilled. Obviously I’d rather we lose no fights, but we’ve taken a step up in competition this year if you look at our opponents.”

Saud isn’t joking about the level of competition. A scan of the matchups shows accepting bouts against tough, underrated opponents are commonplace for the team. In fact, Fortis MMA athletes entered the UFC cage as the betting underdog for the majority of their fights this year.

[lawrence-related id=442477,406902]

A turn appears to be happening going into 2020, though, because the two fights Fortis MMA has booked so far represent breakthrough opportunities. Not only is the team getting the tough fights, but the names to go along with it, too.

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), the streaking lightweight who has put together five consecutive wins in arguably the sport’s toughest weight class, is scheduled to fight former UFC and WEC champ Anthony Pettis (22-9 MMA, 9-8 UFC) at UFC 246 on Jan. 18 in Las Vegas.

Ferreira’s past two wins have come over Mairbek Taisumov and Rustam Khabilov, who are not names anyone is calling out at 155 pounds. His reward for winning? Thee clash with “Showtime.”

Pettis is coming off a high-profile defeat to Nate Diaz at UFC 241 in August, and there’s an opportunity for Ferreira to capitalize and take his career to the next level.

“Diego took two hard fights against guys no one wanted to fight that were on streaks,” Saud said. “Two guys everybody said, ‘No’ to. Diego went out there and beat them impressively. He earned that spot with his five-fight win streak.”

A similar opportunity goes to [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 247. The surging light heavyweight, who is unbeaten in three octagon appearances, gets his most meaningful fight thus far when he meets Ovince Saint Preux (24-13 MMA, 12-8 UFC) on Feb. 8 in Houston.

[vertical-gallery id=451999]

Saint Preux has fought for the interim 205-pound belt and shared the octagon with some of the biggest and best names the weight class has to offer during his lengthy UFC stay. Beating “OSP” means something, and Spann can turn heads as a contender with a win.

“He fought for the interim belt and at just 3-0 we’re fighting a guy that’s got 20 fights in the UFC at light heavyweight,” Saud said. “These guys, they’re moving and some of them might not be loud, but they do their talking in the cage. They’re ready to go.”

As the 2020 schedule continues to fill out, there are several others on the Fortis MMA squad in position to get big opportunities, from Neal to Uriah Hall to Alonzo Menifield to Macy Chiasson and more. The hard work at the ever-expanding Fortis MMA facility (which is adding its own rehab and recovery center next year) is turning into results.

“We’ve got multiple people ranked and the next thing is to penetrate the rankings,” Saud said. “Anything worth anything takes time. That’s going to take time. You win a fight and you get in the top 10, all of those guys are booked and some of them have a lot more name value and it’s going to take time. We’re here to put in the work and get the job done.”

Fortis MMA only got its start in 2017, but Saud’s leadership has produced a significant rise in gym notoriety. The team has still yet to produce a UFC title, but Saud said crowning a champion is merely a natural progression. And he has no intention to stop at just one.

“The goal of the gym is not to just have one belt, but have multiple belts because we’ve got guys and girls in different divisions that can do it,” Saud said. “You should be looking at each fighter and want to take them to the belt. Even if you fall short of that, that’s where you’ve got to be aiming.”

[vertical-gallery id=426232]

Dominick Reyes’ authenticity paid off with title shot against Jon Jones

When it became most difficult for Dominick Reyes to stay persistent with authenticity, he gambled and remained so.

It’s official: [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] is next.

After much speculation and debate, Reyes (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) solidified himself as the number one contender for [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ UFC light heavyweight title. The two fighters are expected to square off at an event expected to be UFC 247 in Houston on Feb. 8.

After picking up a win over Chris Weidman in his first main event at UFC on ESPN 6 on Oct. 18, Reyes told the world he believed he deserved the next title shot. But beyond viability, Reyes didn’t worry about its probability. The decision was out of his control, after all.

“You never really know, to be honest with you,” Reyes told MMA Junkie. “You can only control things you can control. That’s all I really focused on. I can control what I do in this fight. I can control how I live my life. I can control how I react. But I can’t control what other people do or say.

“I tried not to concern myself too much with the goings-ons of other people. I just focused on what I can do and fight the best I possibly can.”

When it became most difficult for Reyes to stay true, he gambled and remained so. Facing criticism he wasn’t “interesting enough,” “promotable enough,” or “different enough.” Reyes elected not to stray from the recipe which got him to the dance: letting his fighting do the talking.

[lawrence-related id=462605,461771]

Throughout his career, the pressure has always been there for Reyes to get the masses on his side. In search of an identifiable medium, Reyes discovered knockouts were successful in gaining fans.

“I’m a good fighter, I’m a good athlete,” Reyes said. “I’m where I’m supposed to be. I’m in the upper echelon of the fighters. For me, the hard part in my career has been finding that thing that makes me relatable to the fans. Finding that thing that is going to get people really excited about. I’ve found that knocking people out helps.”

It’s not just fans and media who have questioned Reyes’ ability to be more than just a foil to Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC). The UFC light heavyweight champ himself has helped build that narrative. Various tweets posted by Jones over the past month have been critical of Reyes. But when it came time to “decide” who we wanted next, Jones chose Reyes.

In response, Reyes tweeted at Jones calling the matchup “an honor.” Jones wasn’t a fan of Reyes’ compliment in the midst of their usual bickering and let him know. “You started this whole thing talking about party favors and now you’re going to show this fake ass respect?” Jones wrote.

“I think his comments are that he’s just confused,” Reyes said. “He doesn’t know how to take me. He hasn’t met me, I’ve never met him. He doesn’t know whether I’m being cocky or what. I have a tremendous amount of a respect for Jon – a huge amount of respect for Jon. Especially in the cage as a fighter and as a champion. As a person? Not as much.

“But he’s still Jon Jones. He’s still the greatest ever. Pound-for-pound number one, right now. If I fight him, it’s huge. It’s this huge opportunity to fight the best fighter ever. I’m aware of what he is. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. It doesn’t mean when I get in the cage I don’t have a tremendous amount of respect for him. We’re fighting. You’re not my friend.

Reyes continued, “I don’t care – I don’t care who you are or what you did before that. This moment is all that matters and your past means zero to me.”

[vertical-gallery id=375856]

Valentina Shevchenko set to defend UFC title vs. Katlyn Chookagian on Feb. 8

Valentina Shevchenko is back, and she’ll take on a first-time UFC title challenger.

UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] is back.

Shevchenko (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will take on first-time title challenger [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] at an event targeted for Houston on Feb. 8.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the fight booking to MMA Junkie early Thursday, but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN was first to report the news.

As for Chookagian (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), the New Jersey-based fighter’s first UFC title shot comes on the heels of back-to-back victories.

In her most recent outing at UFC 244 in early November, Chookagian continued her success when she defeated Jennifer Maia by unanimous decision. Prior to the victory over Maia, Chookagian defeated Joanne Calderwood at UFC 238 in June.

[opinary poll=”who-do-you-think-wins-between-shevchenko” customer=”mmajunkie”]

Conversely, Shevchenko hasn’t lost a bout at flyweight in her professional career. After an unsuccessful attempt to dethrone bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 215 in September 2017, Shevchenko elevated to 125 pounds.

At her new weight class, Shevchenko defeated Priscila Cachoeira in her flyweight debut. In her second 125-pound UFC outing, Shevchenko earned the vacant title by defeating former strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 in December 2018.

In her first title defense, Shevchenko added Jessica Eye to her highlight reel at UFC 238. After a lackluster first round, Shevchenko woke up the United Center crowd with a thunderous head-kick knockout in Round 2.

[lawrence-related id=458287,453528]

Shevchenko’s most recent title defense came in August at UFC on ESPN+ 14. In a rematch of her 2010 loss to Liz Carmouche, Shevchenko obtained her revenge by defeating Carmouche via unanimous decision, sweeping all five rounds on each of the three judges’ scorecards.

Check out the current lineup for the UFC’s Feb. 8 event below:

  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian – for women’s flyweight title
  • Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
  • Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ryan Spann
  • Andrea Lee vs. Lauren Murphy
  • Ilir Latifi vs. Derrick Lewis
  • Juan Adams vs. Justin Tafa

[vertical-gallery id=390009]

[vertical-gallery id=396409]