Tag: UFC 255

Cynthia Calvillo wants title shot with UFC 255 win over Katlyn Chookagian

UFC flyweight contender Cynthia Calvillo wants the next shot at the belt if victorious against Katlyn Chookagian at Saturday’s UFC 255.

[autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag] thinks she’s close to UFC gold.

The UFC women’s flyweight contender is out to earn a shot at the title Saturday at UFC 255 in Las Vegas when she takes on former title challenger Katlyn Chookagian (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) on the pay-per-view main card. Calvillo (9-1-1 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) thinks it’s a two-horse race to the 125-pound belt and she likes her chances of getting the next crack at the champion.

“If it’s not Jessica Andrade, I think it will be me,” Calvillo said in Spanish on Monday’s episode of Hablemos MMA. “Lauren Murphy having taken that last fight against someone new who wasn’t in the rankings, because she didn’t want to wait for me, I don’t think she deserves a fight for the title. I think she needs one more.

“So me, having beat No. 1 and if I beat No. 2 (Chookagian), I should get the next shot. Obviously, Jessica Andrade had her debut where she looked incredible and she picked up a first-round TKO over Katlyn Chookagian, who was No. 1 at the time. I would understand if they gave her the chance. But if it’s not her, I think they should give me the shot.”

The women’s flyweight title is up for grabs in the UFC 255 co-main event when champion Valentina Shevchenko defends her belt against Brazil’s Jennifer Maia. Calvillo predicted Shevchenko will retain her title.

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Even if victorious against Chookagian on Saturday, the American Kickboxing Academy-based fighter knows Andrade could get the next shot at the champion given her impressive flyweight debut last month. If the UFC were to give the next title fight to Andrade, Calvillo is not going to sit out and wait for her turn.

“I want to be more active,” Calvillo said. “The last two or three years, I haven’t been that active. If they give me the chance to fight for the title, I’ll take it, but if they tell me to wait, I’m not going to wait. I want to keep fighting and fighting and winning. I want to be more active.”

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With Orion Cosce out, Daniel Rodriguez steps in to face Nicolas Dalby at UFC 255

After having his fight scrapped at UFC Fight Night 182, Daniel Rodriguez will step in to face Nicolas Dalby at UFC 255.

[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] won’t have to wait too long after his recent fight was scrapped.

[autotag]Orion Cosce[/autotag] has been forced out of UFC 255 and Rodriguez (13-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) will now step in to face [autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] on Nov. 21, multiple people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Junkie on Thursday. They asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Rodriguez was initially scheduled to face Bryan Barberena in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 182, but Barberena was forced out due to emergency exploratory laparotomy surgery and, as a result, the fight was removed from the card. Unbeaten in the UFC, Rodriguez will get to compete just a week later when he faces Denmark’s Dalby (18-4-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC).

After notching three finishes, including capturing the Cage Warriors interim welterweight title, Dalby returned to the UFC in September 2019 and picked up a unanimous decision win over Alex Oliveira on home soil in Copenhagen. However, in his most recent outing, he saw his winning streak snapped when he was submitted by Jesse Ronson at UFC on ESPN 14.

With the change, the latest UFC 255 lineup includes:

  • Champ Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Alex Perez – for flyweight title
  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jennifer Maia – for women’s flyweight title
  • Mike Perry vs. Tim Means
  • Cynthia Calvillo vs. Katlyn Chookagian
  • Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval
  • Paul Craig vs. Mauricio Rua
  • Ariane Lipski vs. Antonina Shevchenko
  • Jared Gooden vs. Alan Jouban
  • Joaquin Buckley vs. Jordan Wright
  • Kyle Daukaus vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
  • Nicolas Dalby vs. Daniel Rodriguez

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Brandon Moreno explains why Brandon Royval matchup is more dangerous than Alex Perez

Brandon Moreno thinks things got a bit more dangerous for him at UFC 255.

[autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] thinks things got a bit more dangerous for him.

The flyweight contender fights Nov. 21 at UFC 255 in Las Vegas. Moreno (17-5-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) was scheduled to take on Alex Perez (24-5 MMA, 6-1 UFC), but a short-notice switch now has him facing rising contender Brandon Royval (12-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC).

After Cody Garbrandt’s withdrawal from a title bout against Deiveson Figueiredo, Perez was promoted to the main event title fight and Royval stepped in to fight Moreno.

The Mexican fighter sees Royval as a more dangerous matchup than the original booking.

“I think it’s a bit tougher,” Moreno said in Spanish on Monday’s episode of Hablemos MMA. “Royval is in a position where he’s in a win-win situation. If he loses with me, he’s going to be like, ‘OK, I lost against a top one or two.’ And if he wins, it’s like, ‘Wow. He took the challenge and he beat the toughest guy in the division.’ So he’s in a good position.

“I know that he’s excited. He’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain, and that’s very dangerous – very dangerous. But what he doesn’t know is that I don’t see rankings and I go there to beat the guy in front of me.”

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Moreno already has done his homework on Royval and very much likes the matchup despite thinking Royval could be a more dangerous opponent for him.

“He’s a guy that likes to move forward,” Moreno said. “He’s valiant, he’s aggressive, and he doesn’t care about getting hit as long as he’s hitting – and that’s dangerous. I’ve actually seen some of his recent interviews saying that his style adapts well to mine, and I feel the exact same way. I think his style suits me perfectly and I have a ton more experience.

“He’s coming off impressive showings against Tim Elliot and Kai-Kara France. But having studied his fights, I know how to beat him. I have more experience and I have a bigger heart. At the end of the day, I’m Mexican and that’s what represents us. I think us Mexicans like to move forward and trade punches and we don’t care about anything – just getting the victory.”

Moreno, who’s unbeaten in his past four bouts, thought he would serve as a replacement for the title fight between Figueiredo and Garbrandt. He was surprised to find out Perez got the opportunity to fight the champion and not him.

Regardless, Moreno is focused on his craft and said he will continue to rack up victories until the opportunity to fight for the title comes his way.

“At the end of the day, I want to be the best,” Moreno said. “The belt itself, I don’t care about. That same belt you can buy at a UFC store and you can have it. So the belt, per se, doesn’t matter to me. What I do care about is being the best.

“If I beat the champion, I’m the best. I just want to fight for my family. I want to get money and improve the situation for all of us.”

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UFC 255’s Brandon Royval says statement win over Brandon Moreno puts him next in line at 125

Brandon Royval is well aware of what’s at stake on Nov. 21 as he targets a shot at the UFC flyweight title.

[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] is well aware of what’s at stake on Nov. 21.

Royval (12-4 MMA, 2-0 UFC) faces [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] at UFC 255 in a matchup that he knows could propel him toward a shot at the flyweight title.

With only two UFC fights under his belt, Royval is a fairly new face in the division. But, having already notched two bonuses in finishes over Tim Elliott and Kai Kara-France, Royval is looking to leapfrog the other contenders at 125 with a definitive win against Moreno (17-5-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC).

“I don’t know what a win does for me exactly, but I think if I go out there and make a statement then that makes me the title challenger,” Royval told MMA Junkie Radio. “If I go out there and have an exciting fight, I wouldn’t see why they wouldn’t just want to keep just riding my wave and stay with me and try and get that title shot, (that) would be great. But I get that I’d have to go out there and make a statement against Brandon Moreno. I get that I’ve only been in the UFC at this point five months, so I get that. I need to actually do something and go out there and make a statement to earn that spot out there.”

It’s been a fast rise for surging contender Royval, who’s only been on the UFC roster for five months. He credits the matchmaking for his recent success and thinks that the fight with Moreno will bring the best out of him too.

“There’s matchups right here that I think benefit me, and I think that goes all the way to the top three and that kind of benefits me well,” he explained. “I think a bad matchup for me is Tim Elliott, for sure, and you could see a little bit of that in that fight. He’s just a guy who put the muscle on me a little bit and just made me make it a boring fight. But Tim Elliott doesn’t have that boring fight style in him at all so that’s why I was able to do what I was able to do.

“I think that’s what’s contributing to these fights in the UFC is that the UFC is having exciting fighters. They want excitement that pushes the pace and that, and I think anyone who’s trying to kill me or take my head off is more beneficial to my fighting style because it leaves openings and it leaves a lot of chances that I can take and I can gamble in comparison to fighting some dude who doesn’t take too much risk.”

UFC 255 takes place Saturday, Nov. 21 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams live on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN+.

Cynthia Calvillo vs. Katlyn Chookagian in the works for UFC 255 in Las Vegas

A top-tier women’s flyweight matchup is targeted for UFC 255.

A top-tier women’s flyweight matchup is in the works for UFC 255.

The promotion is targeting contenders [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag] and [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] to fight one another at the Nov. 21 pay-per-view event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

A person with knowledge of the targeted booking confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie on Monday after an initial report by ESPN.

The fight takes place on the same card the division’s titleholder Valentina Shevchenko defends her belt against Jennifer Maia.

Calvillo (9-1-1 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) was supposed to compete on Oct. 24 at UFC 254 against Lauren Murphy. However, Calvillo withdrew from the fight days prior due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Since losing to Carla Esparza in December 2017, Calvillo has gone 3-0-1 with wins over Poliana Botelho, Cortney Casey, and most recently, Jessica Eye.

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Chookagian (14-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC), a one-time UFC women’s flyweight title contender, has lost two of her most recent three fights. She was knocked out by titleholder Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 247 in February and rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Antonina Shevchenko in May.

In her most recent outing, which took place in October, Chookagian was finished with body punches by former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade.

With the addition, the UFC 255 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Alex Perez – for flyweight title
  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jennifer Maia – for women’s flyweight title
  • Cynthia Calvillo vs. Katlyn Chookagian
  • Mike Perry vs. Tim Means
  • Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval
  • Paul Craig vs. Mauricio Rua
  • Ariane Lipski vs. Antonina Shevchenko
  • Jared Gooden vs. Alan Jouban
  • Joaquin Buckley vs. Jordan Wright
  • Kyle Daukaus vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
  • Orion Cosce vs. Nicolas Dalby

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Mike Perry to fight Tim Means at UFC 255 after Robbie Lawler withdraws

Mike Perry is still fighting at UFC 255, and he has a new opponent.

[autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag] is still fighting at UFC 255, and he has a new opponent.

Perry, who was slated to meet former welterweight champion [autotag]Robbie Lawler[/autotag], will instead take on [autotag]Tim Means[/autotag] on Nov. 21 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Monday after an initial report from UFC broadcast partner ESPN.

Lawler was forced out of the fight last week because of an injury, although details were not disclosed.

Perry (14-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC), 29, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Mickey Gall in June at UFC on ESPN 12. Perry has been entangled in outside-the-cage issues this year, including a troubling altercation in which he punched a man at a restaurant that was caught on video. Additionally, Perry’s ex-wife, Danielle Nicholson, alleged domestic during their marriage in a recent interview with MMA Junkie. The UFC hasn’t responded to multiple requests for comment, although UFC president Dana White stated publicly that he wasn’t entirely aware of the news.

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Means (30-12-1 MMA, 10-7 UFC), 36, has alternated wins and losses in his last five fights, going 3-2. In his most recent bout in August at UFC on ESPN+ 32, Means won a unanimous decision against Laureano Staropoli.

With the change, the latest UFC 255 lineup includes:

  • Champ Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Alex Perez – for flyweight title
  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jennifer Maia – for women’s flyweight title
  • Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera
  • Mike Perry vs. Tim Means
  • Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval
  • Paul Craig vs. Mauricio Rua
  • Ariane Lipski vs. Antonina Shevchenko
  • Jared Gooden vs. Alan Jouban
  • Joaquin Buckley vs. Jordan Wright
  • Kyle Daukaus vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
  • Orion Cosce vs. Nicolas Dalby

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Viral KO sensation Joaquin Buckley returns at UFC 255 to fight Jordan Wright

Joaquin Buckley has no intention of being a one-kick wonder as he’ll get right back to work.

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] isn’t about to sit back and bask in the buzz after producing one of the most electrifying moments in UFC history. Instead, he’s getting right back to work.

Buckley, whose spinning back kick knockout of Impa Kasanganay last Saturday night at UFC on ESPN+ 37 had the MMA world debating where it places among the all-time great finishes, will meet undefeated [autotag]Jordan Wright at UFC 255[/autotag]. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking forllowing a Thursday report by UFC broadcast partner ESPN.

Buckley (11-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) earned his eighth career knockout and first UFC victory with the win over Kasanganay, bouncing back from a TKO loss to Kevin Holland in his UFC debut. The highlight went viral, even to the point that Kanye West used it on loop to release a new song.

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Wright (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), meanwhile, also brings a finisher’s touch to the fight. All 11 of his professional wins are finishes, 10 in the first round, including his doctor stoppage TKO of Ike Villanueva in his UFC debut on August 22.

UFC 255 will be held Nov. 21 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card features both flyweight champions, with men’s titleholder Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Alex Perez and women’s champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jennifer Maia.

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Will the Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier rematch happen in 2020? Hurdles exist

Both Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier are on board for a rematch, but it’s not so simple to figure out.

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s return to the UFC appears to be closer to reality than at any point in recent months, with the former lightweight and featherweight champion announcing Thursday that he’s agreed to fight [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag].

McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) and Poirier (26-6 MMA, 18-5 UFC) both appear to be on board for a rematch of their UFC 178 fight from September 2014, which “The Notorious” won by first-round TKO. However, there’s a difference between fighters announcing they’ve agreed to a fight on Twitter and actually putting pen to paper to make it official.

Can this matchup actually come to fruition for UFC 255 on Nov. 21 or UFC 256 on Dec. 12, as McGregor explicitly requested?

Watch the video above as MMA Junkie managing editor Simon Samano and senior reporter Mike Bohn discuss the possible avenues to getting there and the potential roadblocks.

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