Tag: UFC 251

Rose Namajunas: Jessica Andrade rematch has ‘the makings of a spectacular performance’

“It’s definitely the makings of a spectacular performance and hopefully the best performance yet.”

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] is in a great place.

Namajunas, the former UFC strawweight champion, has regained her love for MMA and is confident she will return to her winning ways.

She took some personal time off after losing her title to [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] last May and withdrew from their scheduled rematch at UFC 249 after two deaths in her family related to COVID-19.

The rematch has been rebooked for July 11 at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi, where Namajunas will get an opportunity to avenge her loss.

Namajunas (8-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) was in the middle of a striking masterclass in her first meeting with Andrade last year before she was slammed and knocked out in the second round.

The disappointment for Namajunas is that the finish came after an impressive Round 1 in which she displayed superior speed and movement, peppering Andrade with slick combinations.

“My striking did feel really good, but I think just based off of the way that I felt – like maybe not just visually, like looking at it but comparatively and from the outside – but the way that I felt as a fighter, I felt the best when I fought Joanna the first time,” Namajunas told ESPN.

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Namajunas’ priorities are back in place, and she is back to her championship-winning mentality that has resulted in numerous great showings.

“Based on my training and based on just my mentality and where everything is kind of led up to this point, it’s definitely the makings of a spectacular performance and hopefully the best performance yet,” Namajunas said. “I mean, my skill and my abilities and even just the control over myself has been the best it’s ever been this whole training camp. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to performing.”

Namajunas admits that the idea of getting even with Andrade (20-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) was initially on her mind, but she eventually put the loss behind her.

“To me, it don’t matter,” Namajunas said. “Fight her, fight Weili, fight Tatiana. Obviously I do want to beat Andrade and correct that mistake, but honestly I’ve put that in the past. At one point, I was like, ‘I’m gonna get this, I’m gonna get this back.’ But to me it’s just a fight now.”

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UFC 251 free fight: Alexander Volkanovski shuts down Max Holloway to win featherweight title

Ahead of his first title defense on July 11, relive Alexander Volkanovski’s win over Max Holloway at UFC 245.

[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] has been able to outpace the majority of the 145-pound division, but met his match when he met [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag].

Unbeaten in the UFC, Volkanovski (21-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) challenged featherweight champion Holloway in the co-main event of UFC 245.

Volkanovski threw hard leg kicks early, a technique that would become the story of the fight. He charged in with combinations, backed  Holloway up and didn’t allow him to control the center of the octagon.

Holloway started to ramp up the offense, countering Volkanovski’s leg kicks with solid one-two combinations and shots to the body. But Volkanovski continued to beat Holloway to the punch and chopped away at his legs throughout the fight. The Aussie’s distance management was impeccable, as he shut down Holloway’s offense and out-struck the Hawaiian.

After five rounds, Volkanovski earned the unanimous decision win to become the first Australian-born champion in UFC history.

Now the newly-crowned featherweight champ returns in the co-main event of UFC 251 when he faces Holloway in a 145-pound title rematch.

Before he faces Holloway, relive Volkanovski’s championship-winning performance in the video above.

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UFC 251 fight poster revealed, with all six title fight competitors

You know UFC 251 isn’t all that far off, because the event’s official fight poster has dropped.

With three title fights, UFC 251 promises to live up to the standards long since set by International Fight Week — even with the traditional major July event moving away from Las Vegas and becoming, well international, and even if they’re not actually using the IFW designation this time around.

The welterweight, featherweight, and vacant bantamweight titles are all up for grabs on July 11 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, one of a slew of July fight cards to be held in the Middle Eastern nation.

And, as is is tradition by now, the event’s fight poster has dropped in advance of the big show.

Check out the poster below, and beneath that, the full fight card for what promises to be an evening to remember.

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

UFC announces full ‘Fight Island’ lineup, includes 47 bouts in 15 days

“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.

“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.

UFC president Dana White today announced the complete lineup for the four cards that will take place next month in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The unique setup has been necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has made it difficult to get international fighters into the U.S. to compete.

“I think this is going to be a really unique experience, not just for the fighters, but for us,” UFC president Dana White said during the announcement. “It’s going to be cool. It’s going to be something different. It’s never been done before, and however long this thing goes on, and however long it’s hard to get people in from other countries, we will have these fights at ‘Fight Island’ – Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.”

First up, it’s UFC 251 on July 11, which features a trio of title fights.

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] – for welterweight title
  • Champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] – for featherweight title
  • [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] – for vacant bantamweight title
  • [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Henry[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Roman Bogatov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Alexander Romanov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Raulian Paiva[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Vanessa Melo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Martin Day[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]
Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige

The promotion then returns on July 15 with an event headlined by featherweight contenders [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC).

The complete lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET)

  • Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige
  • [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Chris Fishgold[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY (7 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Vinicius Moreira[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]John Phillips[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Liana Jojua[/autotag]
Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo

Three days later, on July 18, the promotion hosts its third card in eight days, when top flyweight contenders [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) meet for a second time with the vacant UFC flyweight title on the line.

The full card includes:

MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET)

  • Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez – for vacant flyweight title
  • [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Askar Askarov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (6 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khadis Ibragimov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nad Narimani[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Joel Alvarez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Joe Duffy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Brett Johns[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Aleksander Doskalchuk[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Davi Ramos[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Carlos Felipe[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag]
Darren Till and Robert Whittaker

Finally, the UFC’s run in Abu Dhabi ends on July 25 with a much-anticipated middleweight contest between former champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and former welterweight title challenger [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC).

That night’s full lineup includes:

MAIN CARD

  • Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till
  • [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Peter Sobotta[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Raphael Pessoa[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mike Grundy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Bethe Correia[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ramazan Emeev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]

Rafael dos Anjos picks Gilbert Burns to dethrone champ Kamaru Usman at UFC 251

Rafael dos Anjos has known Gilbert Burns since they were kids, and he has a good feeling about his UFC 251 title fight.

[autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] is picking [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] to upset UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag].

Usman faces fast-rising contender and teammate Burns on July 11 in the main event of UFC 251. Since moving up to 170 pounds, Burns has been on a remarkable run, most recently dominating former champion Tyron Woodley last month to secure his title shot.

Burns’ surge comes as no surprise to dos Anjos, who’s known Burns since childhood.

“I’ve known Gilbert since like first grade,” Burns told MMA Junkie. “I was his older brother’s best friend. We were in like second grade, and Gilbert was in first grade. I’ve known Gilbert for so many years him and his brothers, and he’s a great guy. I like him a lot.”

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Dos Anjos, the former UFC lightweight champion, already has spent 25 minutes in the octagon with Usman, losing a unanimous decision to him in 2018. So he’s pretty familiar with the champion’s game, but dos Anjos likes Burns’ mentality heading into the fight.

“I think he’s very motivated,” dos Anjos said of Burns. “One thing I can be sure: He’s motivated. I think since he and Kamaru, they trained a lot together in the past, I think he has a big chance. I’ll put my money on Gilbert, because I feel like he’s on his time, and he feels like he got a chance for the title, and I’m sure he’s going to go with everything.”

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Muslim Salikhov added to UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi

A welterweight matchup between Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Muslim Salikhov is the latest addition to UFC 251.

A welterweight matchup is the latest addition to UFC 251.

[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag] will take on [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag] on July 11 at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi – also known as “Fight Island.”

Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Combate was first to report the news.

After having his seven-fight winning streak snapped against Li Jingliang last August, Zaleski (22-6 MMA, 8-2 UFC) rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Alexey Kunchenko in March.

Since dropping his UFC debut, Salikhov (16-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has won his last three in a row, two by knockout. He is coming off a unanimous decision win over Laureano Staropoli last October in Singapore.

With the addition, the UFC 251 lineup includes:

  • Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns – for welterweight title
  • Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
  • Jose Aldo vs. Petr Yan – for vacant bantamweight title
  • Amanda Ribas vs. Paige VanZant
  • Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Ciryl Gane
  • Volkan Oezdemir vs. Jiri Prochazka
  • Raulian Paiva vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
  • Makwan Amirkhani vs. Danny Henry
  • Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Muslim Salikhov

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Frankie Edgar doesn’t expect size advantage at bantamweight: ‘I probably won’t be the biggest’

Frankie Edgar opens up about his drop to bantamweight ahead of UFC 251.

Even two weight classes south, [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] still thinks he won’t be one of the biggest fighters in the division.

The former UFC lightweight champion is expected to make his bantamweight debut on July 11. Edgar (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) takes on contender Pedro Munhoz at UFC 251, which is part of the “Fight Island” series of events taking place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

Edgar doesn’t feel like he’s making a big cut to 135 pounds despite having fought a good portion of his career at lightweight.

“Everything pretty similar,” Edgar told MMA Junkie. “I’ve been dieting since I got the call for the fight. So just eating clean and putting the right stuff in my body and being pretty precise and pretty strict in my diet. I feel great … and really good actually. When I was able to fight at 155 and 145, I didn’t have to eat the cleanest and kind of put whatever I want in me. Now, I’m forced to eat very clean, and I actually feel better.”

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A few weeks out and Edgar said he’s already just about 15 pounds away from the bantamweight limit. Even though he spent much of his career at lightweight, Edgar doesn’t think he’ll be one of the bigger fighters in the division.

“I can walk around between 155 and 160 when I’m training hard,” Edgar said. “But I’m around 150 now, so I’m well on my way to 135. I probably won’t be the biggest ’35 for sure.”

Edgar never imagined he’d be fighting at bantamweight when he reigned as UFC champion at 155 pounds. “The Answer” said his success in the two weight divisions above just made the extra cut unnecessary.

However, coming off a loss to Chan Sung Jung in December and a few failed title campaigns, Edgar believes now is the right time for the drop in weight.

“I felt like I could compete at 155,” Edgar said. “I was the champion, and even though I lost, I lost razor-close fights to Benson Henderson and went down to 145 and I was competing with the best there – fought for the title a few times.

“So I really never felt the need to cut a boatload of weight. I didn’t want to be the best dieter. I just wanted to focus on my skill and be the best fighter. The nature of the sport is that everyone is getting bigger and better and better at cutting weight and putting it back on. So I kind of just thought now is the time to do it.”

To hear more from Edgar, check out the video above.

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Jorge Masvidal: UFC’s 11th hour title shot offer was ‘take it or leave it’

Jorge Masvidal has confirmed UFC officials made a final attempt to have him challenge Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title at UFC 251.

[autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] has confirmed UFC officials made a final attempt to have him challenge Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title at UFC 251 before shifting gears to Gilbert Burns.

Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) and UFC brass, particularly company president Dana White, have been engaged in something of a feud in recent weeks stemming from the attempt to book the anticipated championship bout with Usman.

The talks eventually fell apart, with Masvidal claiming he was offered less money than he made for his November win over Nate Diaz at UFC 244 to challenge Usman. He’s since vocalized his opinion on how the UFC unfairly treats fighters, both in terms of revenue and contract negotiations. White has countered by pointing to Masvidal’s existing deal, and how it’s on “Gamebred” to honor the terms.

Just before Burns signed on to take Masvidal’s place in the July 11 title fight in Abu Dhabi, the UFC reached out in a final attempt to get a deal done. ESPN reported that the offer was for the same money Masvidal made for the bout with Diaz, but at that point the fighter’s discontent reached a point where he wasn’t satisfied.

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White said on Friday “it’s not a surprise” the bout didn’t come to fruition, and on Sunday, Masvidal answered with a series of posts on social media stating that he didn’t feel the UFC was working “in good faith” (via Twitter):

I feel bad for Dana. He is just a promoter but he isn’t doing the deals with us

I already explained why I signed a new deal. It’s either take it or leave it and not get paid. I would’ve signed another deal if it was done in good faith. He called me night before he wants to announce and tell me take or it leave it. That’s not negotiating that’s strong arming

And for the #whiteknights that have commentating jobs with the ufc that say “just fight” you guys should be embarrassed to call yourselves current/former fighters. Not one of you been doing it as long as me and like me. There’s a reason you are “commentating”

The future now remains uncertain for Masvidal, who was MMA Junkie’s 2019 “Breakout Fighter of the Year” after stopping Diaz, Ben Askren and Darren Till in consecutive fights. His frustrations don’t appear to be lessoning, and White has dug his heels in on his stance, telling Masvidal to call the matchmakers when he’s ready to fight.

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Pedro Munhoz wants to be first to submit legend Frankie Edgar: ‘I think about that every day’

Pedro Munhoz discusses his bout with Frankie Edgar at UFC 251 and reveals his plan to become the first fighter to submit “The Answer”.

[autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] wants to make history in his next octagon appearance.

The bantamweight contender welcomes former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar to the division at UFC 251, which is set to go down at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It’s a big bout for Munhoz (18-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) as he prepares to face the biggest name of his MMA career.

“I’m fighting a legend – an OG,” Munhoz told MMA Junkie. “I fought before a veteran, a guy that had a lot of fights back in RFA – Jeff Curran. But fighting Frankie is definitely going to be something of an accomplishment.”

Munhoz, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, has picked up most of his finishes using his grappling, with half of his 18 career wins coming via submission. Now the bantamweight contender plans to make a statement to the rest of the division by becoming the first fighter to submit “The Answer”.

“I think about that every day,” Munhoz said. “Frankie is a tough opponent. He’s really good. He’s a black belt under Renzo Gracie, so to go in there and be able to submit a guy that’s never been submitted in his career before is definitely a big accomplishment. And yeah, it’s going to put my name right there in part of the history.”

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Fifteen-year veteran Edgar is as seasoned as they come and has faced many different fighting styles throughout the years. Yet despite the vast experience, Munhoz thinks he does offer new threats that Edgar hasn’t seen before on the ground.

“Without a doubt, I do believe in my jiu-jitsu. We have a lot of good names out there,” Munhoz said. “We have Charles Oliveira, we have Rodolfo Viera, myself, Demian Maia. But if you see, we all came from the same school. I know all those guys since we were teenagers.

“Rodolfo Viera used to stay in our gym when he came to the hometown, and when we went to Rio we used to stay at his gym. Charles Oliveira, we used to train under the same gym. Demian Maia, he used to come do MMA in our gym, so we were able to train. We’re the dangerous guys in the UFC when you talk about grappling. We’re all good fighters and good at standing, but jiu-jitsu is something that we grew up doing. Our jiu-jitsu compared to the rest is sharper.”

As for Edgar, Munhoz thinks he’ll see a better version of the former 155-pound champion than we saw at featherweight or lightweight.

“I think he’s going to be even better,” Munhoz said. “I think he found his division. I think the weight cut is going to be easy. He’s extremely professional, and we all know his skills are going to be even sharper because he’s going to be able to fight a guy his size. That’s going to be an interesting matchup, and that’s the kind of fight I like to do. I like to fight the best guys (and) challenge myself.”

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Petr Yan: If Henry Cejudo was confident he could clear out the division, he wouldn’t retire right now

“If he had confidence he could clear out the division, he wouldn’t retire right now.”

[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] thinks former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] walked away to avoid facing the top contenders.

Cejudo announced his retirement after finishing Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 and relinquished his 135-pound title. As a result, the UFC booked Yan (14-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) vs. Jose Aldo for the vacant title at UFC 251 on July 11.

Aldo, who was initially scheduled to challenge Cejudo on May 9 in Brazil, was forced out of the bout due to the travel ban restrictions during COVID-19 and replaced by Cruz.

With the title now vacant, the UFC decided to go with Yan vs. Aldo, and Yan thinks Cejudo is the cause for the logjam at 135 pounds.

“Henry didn’t want to fight No. 1 contenders like me or (Aljamain) Sterling,” Yan told MMA Junkie through an interpreter. “He even said it’s his fault Aldo is fighting for the title and it should’ve been me vs. Aljamain. So he admitted himself (that) he wanted to fight someone who didn’t deserve to fight for the belt.”

For Yan, it was never anything personal against Cejudo. He continuously expressed his frustration towards Cejudo‘s choice of opponents, but the goal was always to become champion.

“I don’t hate the guy and I’m not disappointed I won’t get to fight him, because my goal is to win the belt, and not to fight Cejudo,” Yan said. “The division is booming right now and he retired without facing top contenders. If he had confidence he could clear out the division, he wouldn’t retire right now.”

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