Ahead of his main event bout with Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC Fight Night 186, relive Ciryl Gane’s finish of Junior Dos Santos at UFC 256.
[autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] continues to make fighting in the octagon look like child’s play.
In his highest-profile fight to date, the unbeaten Frenchman faced former heavyweight champion [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag] at UFC 256 in December 2020.
Always calm and collected, Gane was methodical in his approach, firing low kicks and jabs early. He mixed up shots to the body, too, as he kept Dos Santos on the back foot in Round 1.
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In Round 2, Gane’s kicks started to take their toll on Dos Santos, and the Frenchman hurt the former champion with a stinging jab. Gane then backed him up against the fence and dropped Dos Santos with a beautiful elbow. “Bon Gamin” then moved in and applied the finishing touches with ground strikes as the referee dived in to stop the fight.
Gane (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) returns to action when he faces Jairzinho Rozenstruik (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 186, which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
Before he faces Rozenstruik, relive Gane’s finish of Dos Santos in the video above.
Here are the top four honorable mentions and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Year” award for 2020.
With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best knockouts from January to December. Here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Year” award for 2020.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Knockout of the Year.”
Check out MMA Junkie’s top five fights for 2020, including the first women’s bout to take top honors.
With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best knockouts from January to December. Here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Fight of the Year” award for 2020.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Fight of the Year.”
Brandon Moreno ranks Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk above his thrilling war with Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 256.
[autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] is coming off one of the greatest title fights in UFC history, but he doesn’t think he should take 2020’s “Fight of the Year” crown.
The former UFC title challenger fought champion Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) to a majority draw in the headlining act of UFC 256 earlier this month at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It was a thrilling back-and-forth fight that had many calling it the greatest fight in UFC men’s flyweight history.
But Moreno (18-5-2 MMA, 6-2-2 UFC) thinks the women’s flyweight title fight between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk earlier this year at UFC 248 should win “Fight of the Year.”
“‘Fight of the Year,’ I think Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk should win – that’s me giving you my personal opinion,” Moreno said in Spanish on Hablemos MMA. “But if they gave us that title, that award, I would be very happy. Why not? But me, as a fan, that fight with Joanna and Weili – I got very excited and I think that should be ‘Fight of the Year.'”
It’s a tough competition, since 2020 hosted many high-profile battles that are in the conversation for the award. Moreno won’t jump to call for that title, but he will take credit for having one of the best fights in UFC men’s flyweight history.
“I think that on a drama level and standpoint, yes,” Moreno said. “We can’t discount the technique aspect when Demetrious (Johnson) was fighting. But from a damage and drama standpoint, I’d say yeah, I think it definitely is up there.”
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Although nothing has been signed, UFC president Dana White said at the UFC 256 post-fight news conference that a rematch between Moreno and Figueiredo is coming in 2021.
Moreno said no other fight but a rematch makes sense for him next and finds April to be a good month to run it back with Figueiredo since he needs to recover from the bout and prepare for five rounds.
Despite not taking the belt back to Mexico, Moreno is happy he was able to entertain his fans. He knew the fight would deliver once he signed the contract to fight the Brazilian.
“I did expect a hard fight,” Moreno said. “It was very clear to me that Deiveson, with all the hype that he’s got surrounding his striking and power and all that, he liked to make this aura for his opponents that you couldn’t exchange with him and that you had to respect him at all times.
“So if you look at it from that standpoint, the strategy that I had was crazy – maybe not the smartest thing to do. But I knew that if I took him out of his comfort zone that I was going to get to him and make him uncomfortable, and that’s how it went down.
“So you do expect a hard fight, but the bell rang and Dana White was in awe, everyone was hyped, and that’s great. Although I didn’t take the belt and it ended in a majority draw, it makes me very happy that people loved the fight.”
There’s a New Year’s Eve gift coming from the UFC and ESPN 2, as the UFC 256 main card will re-air in its entirety.
Did you miss the UFC 256 main event slugfest between [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] from earlier this month?
Well, it seems Christmas may have come early for you. Tonight, Christmas Eve night, ESPN2 will replay the pay-per-view main card in its entirety, including the “Fight of the Year” candidate battle between the UFC flyweight champion Figueiredo (20-1-1 UFC, 9-1-1 UFC) and Mexican challenger Moreno (18-5-2 MMA, 7-2-2 UFC).
The event took place on Dec. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Before the flyweights threw down, lightweight contenders Charles Oliveira and Tony Ferguson faced off in the co-headliner.
Also on the main card, Mackenzie Dern fought Virna Jandiroba and Kevin Holland vs. Ronald Souza ended in a “Knockout of the Year” candidate. In addition to those four fights, catch a heavyweight battle between former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos and rising star Ciryl Gane.
The replay action kicks off Thursday night at 9 p.m. E.T. on ESPN2.
Check out Dana White’s announcement below:
Tomorrow watch #UFC256 FREE on ESPN2 at 9pm ET. Our gift to you for being the most BAD ASS fans in all of sports. Merry Christmas Eve pic.twitter.com/oJ4P6w6Tpx
Cub Swanson dug back into what made him a contender to earn his UFC 256 win over Daniel Pineda.
[autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag] is not exactly trying to reinvent the wheel.
The seasoned veteran is taking a step back in order to focus on the things that once made him a UFC championship contender. Swanson (27-11 MMA, 12-7 UFC) feels that in order to move forward at this stage of his career, he needs to hold back on learning new things and adding to his game, and instead sharpen the old tools.
And that mentality paid off with his victory over Daniel Pineda at UFC 256.
“This whole year off gave me the opportunity to think about my game and what made me great,” Swanson told MMA Junkie Radio. “What I did was kind of really dive back in. I said that when I got injured, I wanted to start back over from the beginning and just get back to what I was really good at and what made me shine.
“I really felt like I did that this camp, and I really believe that the little things that I did for so long were giving me an advantage, and at some point I was just kind of … you know, when you’re trying to progress, you always lose certain things. When you’re trying to add something to your game, you always lose something else, and that something else is something so important.
“It turns out that I was missing some important aspects of my game. I knew I was going to bring those back for this fight, and yeah, I felt like I was firing on all cylinders right now.”
Swanson picked up an impressive second-round finish of Pineda. It was his first fight back since undergoing knee surgery earlier this year.
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The 37-year-old now has back-to-back wins, which helped him bounce back from a four-fight losing streak. Swanson feels he’s making the right adjustments to move forward in his game.
“This win meant a lot to me just to kind of put a stamp on this whole year of recovery,” Swanson said. “It’s just a step in the direction of being the best version of myself.”
Swanson would like a quick turnaround, but he suffered a broken hand in the fight against Pineda and said he expects to be recovering for eight weeks before he gets back to full training.
The popular veteran says he’s open to all opportunities when he returns but hopes to get big names and fun matchups.
“I know (the fans are) going to enjoy whatever fight I bring to the table, but people want to see two big names fight,” Swanson said. “I’d love the opportunity to get somebody they wouldn’t have thought I’d fight in my career, so that’s why I’d be open to doing different weight classes. But we’ll see. I’m open for whatever, just trying to get back into shape and have another great performance.”
A total of seven fighters could be facing up to six-month shutdowns after their UFC 256 fights.
A total of seven fighters could be facing up to six-month shutdowns after their UFC 256 fights.
UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (20-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) and [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] (18-5-2 MMA, 6-2-2 UFC) who battled to a majority draw in the night’s headliner, could both have to wait up to six months before running things back.
After delivering a “Fight of the Year” contender, Figueiredo will need clearance by a doctor for a possible broken right little toe and an MRI for his right bicep. Moreno needs an MRI of his left shoulder and an X-ray of his left forearm.
[autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] (25-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC), who suffered a unanimous decision loss to Charles Oliveira in the night’s co-main event, needs an MRI to clear his right elbow or he could be out for up to six months.
[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC), who earned a hard-fought decision win over Virna Jandiroba, needs a facial CT to rule out a nasal fracture and an X-ray to clear her left hand, otherwise she’ll be suspended for 180 days.
[autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag] (27-11 MMA, 12-7 UFC), who returned after a yearlong layoff to knock out Daniel Pineda, may be facing six months on the shelf unless he gets his right hand cleared through an X-ray.
Debutante [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who was diagnosed with a hyphema, or pooling of blood inside the eye in her TKO loss to Tecia Torres, could also be looking at a six-month suspension unless she gets the eye cleared by an ophthalmologist. Hughes’ corner stopped the fight at the end of Round 1 after she claimed she couldn’t see out of her left eye.
[autotag]Peter Barrett[/autotag] (11-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC), who was submitted after getting caught in a kneebar by Chase Hooper, must have an MRI of his right knee, or he, too, will be looking at six months on the sidelines unless cleared.
MMA Junkie obtained the full list of medical suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com for UFC 256, which took place this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The full list of UFC 256 medical suspensions includes:
Deiveson Figueiredo: Suspended 60 days with 45 days no contact. In addition, needs clearance of possible broken right little toe with an X-ray and MRI of right bicep, otherwise suspended 180 days.
Brandon Moreno: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact. In addition, needs clearance of left shoulder with an MRI and X-ray of left forearm, otherwise suspended 180 days.
Tony Ferguson: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact. In addition, needs clearance of left elbow with an MRI, otherwise suspended 180 days.
[autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact due to cut on left eyebrow.
Mackenzie Dern: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact. In addition, needs clearance of possible nasal fracture with a facial CT and X-ray of left hand, otherwise suspended 180 days.
[autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact.
[autotag]Ronaldo Souza[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with 45 days no contact.
[autotag]Junior dos Santos[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with 45 days no contact.
Cub Swanson: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact. In addition, needs clearance of right hand with X-ray, otherwise suspended 180 days.
[autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with 45 days no contact.
[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with 45 days no contact.
[autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with 21 days no contact due to left eye laceration.
Sam Hughes: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact. In addition, needs clearance of left eye by ophthalmologist, otherwise suspended 180 days.
Peter Barrett: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact. In addition, nneeds clearance of right knee with MRI, otherwise suspended 180 days.
Tony Ferguson’s outlook on his one-sided UFC 256 loss to Charles Oliveira is much different than most observers.
[autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]’s outlook on his most recent loss to [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] is much different than most observers.
Ferguson (25-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC), who lost a unanimous decision to Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 256 last Saturday, thinks the 30-26 scorecards across the board were not an accurate reflection of what actually happened in the fight.
In an Instagram Live session Wednesday, Ferguson broke down the fight, suggesting that Oliveira (30-8 MMA, 18-8 UFC), after failing to submit Ferguson with a nasty armbar as the first round came to a close, was fazed by it for the rest of the fight.
“We’re not gonna waste any energy here, and you guys shouldn’t either in jiu-jitsu matches,” Ferguson said. “Just be patient and wait for the opportunity for him to advance and get so lazy that in the third round he doesn’t even advance to mount anymore. What he does is he stays controlled into side position looking for something completely different, a different move because he was mentally broken in the first round.
“I went back and kind of watched film and without the commentary and how all like, ‘Oh, you got dominated, this and that.’ OK, to the untrained people in jiu-jitsu. Advancing positions in traditional styles of martial arts, you will get points, advantages, and you will get different types of points. But the judging and the contesting as far as the commission, I don’t even know if it’s there. I’m gonna be real. I don’t.”
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With the UFC recently making some surprising cuts to its roster, John McCarthy and Josh Thomson suggested on their “Weighing In” podcast that Ferguson would likely be on the chopping block after suffering his second consecutive one-sided loss.
Ferguson, who promised fans that he’s not going anywhere, took issue with their claim, reminding Thomson of what happened when he bloodied him up in their fight over five years ago.
“So a question for John McCarthy and ‘The Punk’: No, I’m not getting (expletive) cut,” Ferguson said. “Josh, come on, dog, you got your ass kicked. Don’t start that (expletive). Come on. The fans love me, OK. They want to see me fight again, and I love you guys, too.”
In case your wondering how Ferguson’s arm is doing after the dee p first-round armbar he refused to submit to, “El Cucuy” posted a video purporting to show that he’s at full strength:
Sam Hughes and coach Eddie Grant are confident they made the right call in stopping the fight – and the UFC doctor agrees.
Three days after [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag] made her UFC debut, and she was still in Las Vegas, which wasn’t part of her plan.
The extended stay was unexpected, but necessary, given the circumstances. In the 72-plus hours since her UFC 256 loss to [autotag]Tecia Torres[/autotag] this past Saturday, Hughes (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and coach Eddie Grant of Catalyst Fight House have taken frequent trips to see the UFC’s ophthalmologist.
“The doctor told us that he’s been the ophthalmologist for the UFC for 15 years, and he said he’s literally never (seen it),” Grant told MMA Junkie on Tuesday night. “He knows this injury, but he’s never seen it happen in a fight.”
Hughes was diagnosed with a hyphema, or pooling of blood inside the eye. Per Grant, the UFC doctor informed them her iris was approximately 80 percent-filled with blood. She is expected to make a full recovery but has been prohibited from flying for at least four days as a precautionary measure.
“(The doctor) told me when we were in there,” Grant said. “He was like, ‘I really wanted to congratulate you and tell you good job for catching this. I don’t think other corners would have caught this injury and how bad it is.’ He was like, ‘You looked at it, and you knew right away.’ He was like, ‘I was really glad you decided to stop that fight. That was really smart.’
Image via Eddie Grant
The fight ended in an unusual fashion in between Rounds 1 and 2 after Grant told a commission official that his fighter would not compete further due to an eye injury. Hughes had told him she couldn’t see.
“I felt the poke and then I felt something in my eye,” Hughes said. “All I felt was that it was super fuzzy, super blurry. I remember trying to wipe my eye one time in the fight. Progressively, in not event 10 to 15 seconds, it shifted from being blurry to being dark, to being completely pitch black in my left eye.”
Grant added, “When we got in the cage, she was walking to where she heard my voice but her corner is actually on the other side, to her left. So I’m going in and I’m like, ‘Sam, Sam.’ And I can see she’s trying to find me. Then, she turns her whole body and then starts coming toward me.”
Seconds after the American television audience returned from a commercial break, referee Jason Herzog waived off the fight. While UFC commentator Joe Rogan began to defend Hughes, broadcast partner Daniel Cormier interrupted.
“As an athlete, you know if you say you can’t see, the referee is going to come in there and stop it,” Cormier said in the moment. “You could say, ‘Ah, I want to go. I want to go. I want to go.’ But if that man in the suit goes in, the guy from the commission, and he looks into your eyes – I did this in August (against Stipe Miocic). ‘DC, can you see?’ (You say), ‘Oh, I’m fine,’ because you want to go fight.
“… I’m not trying to crap on Sam Hughes here by any way, but just saying, ‘I can’t see’ tells the guy you’re done. They’re going to make you stop because even if her coaches let her go, the commission will come in and talk to you, and then it’s over.”
Grant wholeheartedly disagreed with any potential implications his fighter wanted out, while Hughes was disheartened by the narrative laid out after only her first UFC outing.
“I’m sorry, but that really got to me,” Grant said. “First of all, Sam is a huge fan of Daniel Cormier – and she always has been. Then for him to be like, ‘She’s quitting’ and all this stuff, I know that that was hurtful to her. … The thing is that she wasn’t quitting. She would’ve continued to fight. Sam got her arm broken in a fight and came back and won. I have no question about whether she’ll continue to fight. You’re going in there in your UFC debut, and it just so happens we took the fight on five days’ notice. We cut 17 pounds, made weight, and then went and fought the No. 10 girl on planet earth.”
Hughes added, “(Quitting) wasn’t my intention at all. He asked a question, and I answered it. But if you look at the footage, I was like, ‘No, no, no, please don’t stop it,’ because I had full intentions of going into the second and third round.”
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Every corner person has their own idea of the role they are supposed to fill. Grant said no coaches have voiced disagreement in his decision that he knows of. Fighters on the other hand, that’s a different story. But for Grant, looking out for his fighters’ safety is a top priority, even if they don’t like the outcomes of decisions.
“We’ve got to decide what we’re doing here,” Grant said. “Is this a fight to the death, or is this a sport that we’re trying to proliferate? If we were signing up for a few thousand dollars to fight to the death, we might not have done that. But if they’re like, ‘Hey, we need somebody to come in and fight against this top 10 girl,’ then we’ll do that, and they’ll pay you a few thousand bucks or whatever. It’s hard.
“I wouldn’t have taken a fight for $1 million if I knew she would lose an eye. I don’t care. Her eye is worth way more than $1 million to me as a coach and to her as a fighter. … If she were to be yelling at me right now, telling me she hated me for it, I’d still be 100 percent fine with it.”
In the moment, she wanted to continue, but now Hughes praises her coach’s decision – especially knowing how much worse her injury could’ve been in hindsight.
“I’m going to have great performances and re-sign multiple contracts with the UFC, so he was protecting me in the long run,” Hughes said. “If I were to beat Tecia with one eye, that would’ve been nice. But if that meant I didn’t fight again, then that would’ve been devastating.”
