Tag: UFC 252

Jairzinho Rozenstruik has no regrets calling out Francis Ngannou: ‘I’d fight him again’

Their UFC 249 matchup didn’t go Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s way, but he wouldn’t take anything back.

[autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] took a big gamble fighting [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag], but unfortunately it didn’t pay off.

The Surinamese fighter called out heavyweight contender Ngannou after his big win over Alistair Overeem last December. It was a somewhat unexpected request, as very few aim to fight Ngannou, who’s considered the hardest hitter in the UFC and certainly one of the best knockout artists on the roster.

Rozenstruik (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) got the chance to fight Ngannou on the main card of UFC 249 back in May. The heavyweight contest lasted only 20 seconds as it ended in another knockout victory for the former heavyweight title challenger.

Despite coming up short in what many considered to be a title eliminator, “Bigi Boy” wouldn’t take back his call out of Ngannou.

“Regret, no,” Rozenstruik told MMA Junkie. “It was a big chance. We knew that it was a big fight, a big challenge. And it didn’t go my way, but my dream is still alive. I hope he becomes champion. If you ask me to fight him tomorrow, I’d fight him again. I train to fight him again. Respect, it’s all business. I wish him luck, and hopefully I see him around.”

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The defeat to Ngannou marked the first professional loss for Rozenstruik. The 32-year-old is no stranger to defeat having had a lengthy career in kickboxing. He admits the loss stung, but that is not stopping him from getting back to grind mode at American Top Team in South Florida.

“For me it was more, we didn’t really get into it (the fight),” Rozentruik said. “It happens in fights. And, yeah, a defeat, a loss is always not good. It’s not nice, and yeah it sucks. Now I’m back in the gym training hard, and let’s try again. Let’s get back in the octagon, which is what I’m looking forward to the most.”

Rozenstruik already has a return date to the octagon. The heavyweight contender takes on former UFC champ Junior Dos Santos on August 15 at UFC 252. Both dos Santos and Rozenstruik train at ATT.

“I just got the opportunity, and I said yes,” Rozenstruik said. “No disrespect to Junior, he’s a nice guy. We train at the same gym, and every time I see him he’s always nice. He’s always a good guy, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be business that we have to settle. So I mean, if I get the opportunity, I take it.”

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Junior Dos Santos vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik added to UFC 252

A heavyweight bout between former champion Junior Dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik is the latest addition to UFC 252 in August.

A key heavyweight bout is the latest addition to UFC 252.

Former UFC champion [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag] has been booked to take on top contender [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] at UFC 252 on Aug. 15. A location for the event has yet to be announced. The news was first reported by Combate and later confirmed by MMA Junkie.

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Dos Santos is coming off defeats to Francis Ngannou and, most recently, Curtis Blaydes. His most recent victory came in March 2019, when he picked up a TKO over Derrick Lewis. Dos Santos (21-7 MMA, 15-6 UFC) is 3-2 in his most recent five UFC outings.

Rozenstruik (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) will also be looking to bounce back from defeat. Rozenstruik fought this past month at UFC 249 and suffered a knockout loss to Ngannou. It was his first defeat as a professional fighter. Prior to that, Rozenstruik was 4-0 in the UFC, including wins over Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski.

UFC 252 is headlined by a trilogy heavyweight title bout between champion Stipe Miocic vs. ex-champ Daniel Cormier.

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Felice Herrig targeted to return from torn ACL against Virna Jandiroba at UFC 252

Felice Herrig’s long road to recovery appears set to culminate with a return to the octagon.

UFC strawweight [autotag]Felice Herrig[/autotag]’s long road to recovery appears set to culminate with a return to the octagon.

Herrig, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in April 2019, is expected to fight [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag] on Aug. 15 at UFC 252. A person with knowledge of the situation told MMA Junkie on Thursday that the fight has been agreed to, though it’s yet to be signed. UFC broadcast partner ESPN was first to report the bout is in the works.

UFC 252 doesn’t yet have an official location. A heavyweight title-fight trilogy between champ Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier will headline.

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Herrig (14-8 MMA, 5-3 UFC), 35, hasn’t fought since October 2018 at UFC 229, where she lost a unanimous decision to Michelle Waterson. Herrig had been booked to fight against Yan Xiaonan last June at UFC 238, but she revealed her torn ACL with roughly five weeks to go until fight night. When MMA Junkie Radio caught up with Herrig earlier this year, she was rehabbing her injured knee at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.

Jandiroba (15-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), 32, will be making her third UFC appearance. The former Invicta FC strawweight champion lost her debut against ex-UFC champ Carla Esparza but rebounded to defeat Mallory Martin by submission last December at UFC on ESPN 7.

With the addition, the current UFC 252 lineup includes:

  • Champ Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier – for heavyweight title
  • Felice Herrig vs. Virna Jandiroba

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Summer UFC title fights ranked: Which was the best championship booking?

We rank the UFC’s four recently announced title fights. Which one do you think topped the list?

Tuesday, the UFC made several championship bouts official.

From its largest weight class to one of its smallest, the UFC announced the four title bouts – some were expected, some maybe not so much.

The list of championship fights included the following: A highly anticipated trilogy bout between UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag], an immediate featherweight title rematch between [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] and [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag], [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]’s second title defense against [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag], and [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] for the vacant 135-pound title.

All of these title fights will happen this summer with three happening on one card: UFC 251 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

With so much gold on the line in a short amount of time, I was given the tough task to make some sense of these bookings but also put them in order of which fights I’m looking forward to the most.

(Disclaimer: All these fights are great, but some better than others)

So let’s get started…

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Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Dana White says Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal planned for International Fight Week

It sure sounds like a huge grudge match (and title fight) is making its way to Las Vegas this summer.

If UFC president Dana White has his way, a welterweight title grudge match will be booked for International Fight Week.

Appearing on Friday’s edition of “The Jim Rome Show,” White said the UFC’s plan is to hold a fight featuring the fast-heating grudge between UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] and “BMF” champ [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] at the promotion’s annual International Fight Week event this summer in Las Vegas.

Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) and Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 11-4 UFC) got into a near-altercation this week on Radio Row at the Super Bowl, which is being held this year in Masvidal’s hometown of Miami. White, in talking about Masvidal’s surging popularity, particularly at home, noted that a bout with Usman is probably next.

“We haven’t had a fighter from Miami to embrace yet,” White said. “Since I got here, I went to dinner last night, I’ve been walking around – everybody’s yelling, ‘When’s Masvidal fighting in Miami?’ Not soon. We’re going to bring him to Vegas. Him and Usman will fight in Vegas, probably International Fight Week (in July). If he wins, maybe we’ll do his first title defense down here in Miami.”

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The verbal joust between the duo prompted White to publicly state his intentions for the fight now, rather than wait until it was finalized.

“That was the plan, and whatever happened with them (Wednesday) – we hadn’t announced it yet, but now this has forced me to announce it,” White said.

International Fight Week is traditionally one of the biggest events of the year. While no date or location has been announced, it’s likely to be UFC 252 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena, the home of all major UFC events in “Sin City” since 2016.

White went on to explain that while Masvidal has been around forever, his star recently has exploded, aided in large part by wins over Ben Askren and Nate Diaz.

That Masvidal’s authenticity shines through helps, too, says White.

“People love (Masvidal),” White said. “He’s authentic. He’s real. He’s hardcore. The stuff that went down with Usman, the stuff that went down with (Leon) Edwards – that’s the kind of guy he is. That’s how him and (Nate) Diaz ended up fighting for the ‘BMF’ belt. He’s legit, he’s real, and people feel it, and people like it.”

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