Tag: UFC 250

Henry Cejudo vs. Jose Aldo set for UFC 250 in Brazil

Henry Cejudo will make his first 135-pound title defense against Jose Aldo at UFC 250.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo [/autotag]went after a legend, and will get his wish for his first 135-pound title defense.

A matchup between UFC bantamweight champion Cejudo (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) and former UFC featherweight king Jose Aldo is set for UFC 250, which takes place in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 9.

MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup was finalized after an initial report by UFC promotional partner ESPN on Monday.

Former double champion Cejudo has not competed since capturing the UFC’s 135-pound title at UFC 238 in June, when he stopped Marlon Moraes in the fourth round to fill a title vacancy. He’s been sidelined with a shoulder injury, and in the meantime relinquished his flyweight title.

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Cejudo will head into enemy territory to take on Brazil’s Aldo (28-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC). Aldo failed to make good in his bantamweight debut, when he was edged out by Moraes, in a controversial split decision loss at UFC 245.

Despite the loss, Cejudo proceeded to call Aldo out, after the fight withUFC president Dana White indicating he was open to the matchup. Both Cejudo and White thought Aldo won the fight against Moraes.

While the decision to give Aldo the title shot coming off a loss has gotten brushback, it’s not without precedent: Yoel Romero, on a string of three losses in his past four fights, meets Israel Adesanya for the latter’s middleweight belt on March 7 in the main event of UFC 248.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 17-23)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Feb. 17-23:

UFC on ESPN+ 27: Saturday, Norfolk, Va.

Featherweight: With Chas Skelly out, Darrick Minner (24-10 MMA, 0-0 UFC) steps in to fight Grant Dawson (14-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) (My MMA News).

UFC on ESPN 8: March 28, Columbus, Ohio

Middleweight: With Puna Soriano out, Roman Kopylov (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) steps in to fight Eric Spicely (12-5 MMA, 2-5 UFC).

UFC on ESPN+ 30: April 11, Portland, Ore.

Middleweight: Eryk Anders (13-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (21-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC).

Middleweight: Derek Brunson (20-7 MMA, 11-5) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC).

Next page: UFC on ESPN+ 31, UFC Oklahoma City, UFC 250, UFC TBA

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‘Shogun’ Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira trilogy on tap for UFC 250

It’s the rubber match going down at UFC 250 in Sao Paulo.

They’ve done it twice before, and they’ll be doing it once again.

[autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag] and [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] are booked to square off for the third time at UFC 250. The news was reported Thursday by UFC broadcast partner ESPN, which cited UFC president Dana White.

UFC 250 is scheduled for May 9 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and will stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims likely on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

Rua (26-11-1 MMA, 10-9-1 UFC) returns to the cage for the first time since a November draw against Paul Craig. Prior to that, “Shogun” won four of five outings. His only loss in that stretch came to future UFC title challenger Anthony Smith.

As for Nogueira (23-9 MMA, 6-6 UFC), the 43-year-old light heavyweight has lost four of six fights. His most recent outing came at UFC 237 last May, when he was knocked out by Ryan Spann. “Lil Nog” was scheduled to compete against Trevor Smith in November in what was pegged to be his final MMA fight. However, Nogueira withdrew because of an injury.

May 9 will mark the trilogy fight between the two Brazilian MMA legends. Their first meeting came at “PRIDE Critical Countdown” in 2005. In the PRIDE middleweight grand prix quarterfinal, Nogueira swept the judges scorecards to win a unanimous decision. The rematch occurred a decade later at UFC 190 in August 2015. This time, it was Rua winning by unanimous decision.

With the addition, the current UFC 250 lineup includes:

  • Marion Reneau vs. Kelten Vieira
  • Blagoy Ivanov vs. Augusto Sakai
  • Bethe Correia vs. Pannie Kianzad
  • Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua

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Fabricio Werdum set to return from suspension against Aleksei Oleinik at UFC 250

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum is back and has the fight he called for.

With his suspension reduced last month, former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag] called out [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag] for his return to the octagon.

Consider it done.

Werdum (23-8-1 MMA, 11-5 UFC) and Oleinik (58-13-1 MMA, 7-4 UFC) are set to fight May 9 at UFC 250 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Two people with knowledge of the booking confirmed the news to MMA Junkie but wished to remain anonymous since the UFC has yet to make an announcement.

Combate first reported the fight was in the works on Thursday.

In April 2018, Werdum (23-8-1 MMA, 11-5 UFC) was flagged for trenbolone and epitrenbolone metabolite stemming from an out-of-competition urine test. As a result, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspended him two years. However, the ineligibility was “tolled” because of his subsequent retirement, but last month it was announced that his term was reduced by 10 months because of “substantial assistance.”

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At the time of his positive drug test, Werdum was preparing to headline UFC Fight Night 136 against Oleinik. Werdum has won two out of his past three fights, though his most recent was a knockout loss to Alexander Volkov in March 2018.

Oleinik, meanwhile, is coming off a submission win over Maurice Greene last month at UFC 246.

The fight between Werdum and Oleinik pits a pair of 42-year-old veterans who specialize in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

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Bethe Correia vs. Pannie Kianzad added to UFC 250

A women’s bantamweight matchup between Bethe Correia and Pannie Kianzad is the latest addition to UFC 250.

A women’s bantamweight matchup is the latest addition to UFC 250.

[autotag]Bethe Correia[/autotag] will take on [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]. Both confirmed the booking on social media after an initial report from Ag Fight.

UFC 250 is scheduled for May 9 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and will stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims likely on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

Former UFC 135-pound title challenger Correia (11-4-1 MMA, 5-4-1 UFC) avoided a three-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision win over Sijara Eubanks at UFC on ESPN+ 17. She is yet to pick up a UFC win in Brazil, as she heads into her fourth fight at home with the promotion.

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“The Ultimate Fighter 28” finalist Kianzad (12-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) notched her first promotional win in her last fight when she scored a unanimous decision win over Jessica-Rose Clark at UFC on ESPN+ 21, the second time she defeated Clark in her career. Competing at featherweight during “TUF,” Kianzad moved back down to 135 pounds and is 1-1 in her second UFC stint.

With the addition, the current UFC 250 lineup includes:

  • Marion Reneau vs. Kelten Vieira
  • Blagoy Ivanov vs. Augusto Sakai
  • Bethe Correia vs. Pannie Kianzad

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Ketlen Viera vs. Marion Reneau targeted for UFC 250 in Sao Paulo

Ketlen Viera appears ready to try getting back to her winning ways.

[autotag]Ketlen Viera[/autotag] appears ready to try getting back to her winning ways.

A fight between the previously undefeated Viera and veteran [autotag]Marion Reneau[/autotag] is targeted for UFC 250. A person with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the impending booking on Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous since the UFC has yet to make an announcement.

UFC 250 is scheduled for May 9 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and will stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims likely on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

Viera (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s bantamweight rankings, had been mentioned as a possible title contender at 135 pounds until suffering the first loss of her professional career. Last month at UFC 245, the 28-year-old Brazilian was knocked out by Irene Aldana in the first round to snap her 10-fight winning streak, which included four UFC victories.

Reneau, 42, also will look to get back in the win column. She’s lost her last two fights by unanimous decision to Yana Kunitskaya and Cat Zingano. Last September, Reneau (9-5-1 MMA, 4-4-1 UFC) was scheduled to fight Aldana but withdrew for undisclosed reasons.

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