Tag: UFC 256

Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza steps in to face Marvin Vettori at UFC 256

Marvin Vettori will finally get his wish to fight a big name when he faces Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256.

[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] will finally get his wish to fight a big name in the UFC.

[autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag] has been pulled from a planned matchup with Vettori (15-3-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) at UFC 256, and [autotag]Ronaldo Souza[/autotag] (26-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) will instead step in to face the Italian middleweight on Dec. 12. MMA Junkie confirmed the change in plans after an initial post by Vettori’s coach on social media.

Akhmedov is expected to receive a different opponent, instead.

Since losing to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in 2018, Vettori has won three in a row. Most recently, he submitted Karl Roberson in the first round at UFC on ESPN 10 in June. Prior to that, he picked up back-to-back decision wins over Cezar Ferreira and Andrew Sanchez.

“Jacare” Souza is enduring the roughest stretch of his career with losses in three of his past four fights. After knocking out Chris Weidman at UFC 230 in 2018, Souza has dropped back-to-back fights to Jack Hermansson and, most recently, Jan Blachowicz in November 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 22. He was scheduled to face Uriah Hall at UFC 249 in May but was forced out due to a positive COVID-19 test.

With the change, the UFC’s Dec. 12 lineup now includes:

    • Champ Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson – for women’s featherweight title
    • Champ Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling – for bantamweight title
    • Dwight Grant vs. Li Jingliang
    • Ronaldo Souza vs. Marvin Vettori
    • Mackenzie Dern vs. Virna Jandiroba
    • Omari Akhmedov vs. opponent TBA

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Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling bantamweight title fight set for UFC 256

At long last, Aljamain Sterling’s bantamweight title shot against Petr Yan has been confirmed.

At long last, [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]’s bantamweight title shot against [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] has been confirmed.

UFC president Dana White on Wednesday told Yahoo! Sports that Yan (15-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) will put his title up for grabs for the first time against Sterling (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) in the UFC 256 co-main event.

UFC 256 takes place Dec. 12 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.

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Yan has put together a brilliant unbeaten run in the UFC thus far, vanquishing every foe who has stood before him. After Henry Cejudo vacated the 135-pound title earlier this year, Yan claimed the vacant belt against Jose Aldo at UFC 251 in July.

Sterling, 31, earned his title shot with a five-fight winning streak and victories in seven of his past eight bouts overall. He’s coming off an 88-second submission of Cory Sandhagen at UFC 250 in June.

  • Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson – for women’s featherweight
  • Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling – for bantamweight title
  • Dwight Grant vs. Li Jingliang
  • Omari Akhmedov vs. Marvin Vettori
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Virna Jandiroba

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Dwight Grant vs. Li Jingliang targeted for UFC 256

An intriguing welterweight matchup is being planned for the big December show in Las Vegas.

It appears an interesting welterweight clash will go down in Las Vegas on Dec. 12.

[autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag] has been targeted, though not yet signed, for UFC 256 at the UFC Apex. MMA Junkie confirmed an initial report by MMA Fighting.

The veteran Jingliang (17-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) is looking to rebound from his first loss in awhile, which was a unanimous decision loss to Neil Magny at UFC 248. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak for the 32-year-old Beijing native.

Grant (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC), meanwhile, is also looking to shake off a loss in his last outing. The former Contender Series competitor suffered a first-round KO at the hands of Daniel Rodriguez.

UFC 256’s main event has not yet been named, although a title fight between women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson has already been announced for the card.

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Mackenzie Dern vs. Virna Jandiroba in the works for UFC 256

Mackenzie Dern is keeping busy in 2020.

[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] is keeping busy.

The rising UFC strawweight contender is slated to compete for a third time in less than seven months as she return Dec. 12 at UFC 256, which takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Dern and Brazil’s [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag] have agreed to a strawweight bout, although contracts have yet to be signed.

MMA Junkie verified the news with multiple people close to the situation following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. The person requested anonymity because UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

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Dern (8-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is coming off a quick submission win over Randa Markos at UFC on ESPN+ 36 in August. Prior to that, she submitted Hannah Cifers to bounce back from her first professional loss. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is currently No. 14 in the UFC’s official 115-pound rankings.

Like Dern, Jandiroba (16-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is on a two-fight winning streak with both wins coming by submission. She defeated Mallory Martin in December 2019 and most recently Felice Herrig at UFC 252 in August. Jandiroba’s lone pro loss came in 2019 when she dropped a decision to former champion Carla Esparza at UFC on ESPN+ 8.

The latest UFC 256 lineup now includes:

  • Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson – for women’s featherweight title
  • Carla Esparza vs. Amanda Ribas
  • Omari Akhmedov vs. Marvin Vettori
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Virna Jandiroba

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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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Leon Edwards brushes off ‘Wonderboy,’ lobbies for Gilbert Burns after UFC 256 title scratch

Leon Edwards wants Gilbert Burns to put his No. 1 contender position on the line now that he’s not getting a title shot at UFC 256.

[autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] wants [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] to put his No. 1 contender position on the line now that he’s not getting a title shot at UFC 256.

Burns (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) was targeted to challenge welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman on Dec. 12, but the matchup has been postponed to an underdetermined early 2021 date after the champ’s lingering injuries pushed back his timeline.

Sensing an opportunity, Edwards (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC), a top contender who is on an eight-fight winning streak but has been struggling to get booked for a top-tier fight, is pushing for Burns to fight him and reaffirm who should fight for the belt (via Twitter):

December 12th title fight has been postponed.
#UFC256 needs a main event!
@GilbertDurinho you little tree stump, you have nowhere to run now!
Let’s see who the REAL number one contender is!

I’ll step in vs @GilbertDurinho he was never the real number one contender. see you dec 12

Edwards hasn’t seen action since a dominant decision victory over Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on ESPN 4 in July 2019. He was supposed to fight Tyron Woodley in March, but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic scratched his fight date, and he’s been unable to get a new fight finalized since.

Although the people pleading to fight Edwards are few and far between, one top name at 170 pounds, [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag] (15-4-1 MMA, 10-4-1 UFC), has thrown his name into the hat.

“Wonderboy,” a two-time title challenger in the division, said he wants the matchup with “Rocky” (via Twitter):

you’ve been out over a year now…if I’m on my way down then I should be a nice tune up fight to get people to remember your name again! #JustTryingToHelp #RingRust

Edwards stifled Thompson’s request in favor of his pursuit of Burns, though. The British fighter shut down that request, and said Thompson does nothing to advance his position toward his ultimate goal: fighting for UFC gold (via Twitter):

I know you didn’t write this tweet so I’ll forgive you this time. I don’t get ring rust I’m a championship fighter that stays in the gym. You was knocked out cold one fight ago by a lightweight. fighting you right now does nothing for me. #respectfully

Burns weighed in on the situation, and agreed with Thompson that the Edwards fight is logical (via Twitter):

Go fight Wonderboy!

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Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns title fight won’t happen at UFC 256

The elusive welterweight title fight has been put off once again.

Then on-again, off-again UFC welterweight title fight between champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] and [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] has once again been delayed.

The bout was targeted for the main event of UFC 256 on Dec. 12, but has been postponed with the expectation the fight will happen sometime in early 2021. MMA Junkie confirmed a Monday report by ESPN.

The fight was first scheduled to headline UFC 251 in July in Abu Dhabi, but Burns (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) had to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. This led to Jorge Masvidal accepting the fight on short notice, a bout Usman (17-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) won on a one-sided unanimous decision.

Amanda Nunes’ featherweight title defense against Megan Anderson is also scheduled for UFC 256. According to the ESPN report, the UFC is looking into the possibility of adding heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou to the card, but termed the chances of making it happen as a “long shot.”

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UFC targeting ‘BMF’ rematch between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz

According to UFC president Dana White, the promotion is looking to run back Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz.

It looks like [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] and [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] could be running it back.

According to a report from TMZ on Tuesday, the UFC is “close” to booking a rematch between Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 14-8 UFC) vs. Diaz (20-12 MMA, 18-11 UFC) for its Dec. 12 card, which is expected to be UFC 256.

ESPN later confirmed the targeted booking with UFC president Dana White, who said the fight is not yet signed. White added that the fight could slide to January.

The TMZ report indicated the fight would be for the “BMF” title, which Masvidal currently holds as a result of their first fight.

The initial bout between Masvidal and Diaz took place in November at Madison Square Garden in New York. In the UFC 244 main event, Masvidal defeated Diaz via doctor stoppage TKO due to a cut at 5:00 of the third round. The stoppage was controversial in the eyes of many experts and fans, who claimed the lacerations on Diaz’s face lacked the severity to warrant a stoppage.

Minutes after the fight, Diaz called for a rematch against Masvidal. While Masvidal voiced his interest in other matchups besides Diaz, he has expressed ongoing openness to a rematch against Diaz – even as recently as right after his UFC welterweight title challenge loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 in July.

Since the inaugural “BMF” title fight, UFC president Dana White had largely shot down suggestions of bringing the belt back, saying it was a one-time affair.

Masvidal has competed once since November (the unanimous decision loss to Usman). Diaz, who has fought just twice since 2016, has not made his return to action.

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Amanda Nunes defends featherweight title vs. Megan Anderson at UFC 256

The woman widely regarded as the best female MMA fighter in history is set to return in December.

The woman widely regarded as the best female MMA fighter in history is set to return in December.

UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 13-1 UFC) will put her 145-pound title on the line at UFC 256 against challenger [autotag]Megan Anderson[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC). People with knowledge of the booking confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie on Friday following an initial report from UFC broadcast partner ESPN. The people spoke on condition of anonymity since the UFC has not publicly announced the matchup.

UFC 256 is set to take place Dec. 12. A location and venue for the event is not yet set and likely will depend largely on the state of the world four months from now, given the global coronavirus pandemic. But the main card will air on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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Nunes is riding an 11-fight winning streak that dates back nearly six years. She’s been on a tear after the lone loss of her UFC career to Cat Zingano in September 2014. She won the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 200 in July 2016 and has defended it five times.

In addition, she ran through the previously near-unstoppable Cris Cyborg in just 51 seconds to win the featherweight title in December 2018, making her a simultaneous two-division champion.

Unlike other UFC dual champs, Nunes has not had to relinquish one of the belts. Instead, she’s been able to defend both titles. In June, she put the 145-pound strap up for the first time against a gritty Felicia Spencer and won a unanimous decision at UFC 250. It was her eighth straight title fight victory spread out over the two divisions.

Anderson is a former Invicta FC featherweight titleholder, but has had ups and downs since coming to the UFC in 2018. She lost her promotional debut to former bantamweight champ Holly Holm, but picked up a TKO win over Zingano in December 2018 in controversial fashion when the fight was stopped in part because Zingano couldn’t see from an accidental eye poke.

After that win, Anderson fought fellow ex-Invicta champ Spencer and was submitted in the first round. Spencer went on to a title shot with Nunes from that win. But in October 2019, Anderson bounced back with a submission of Zarah Fairn at UFC 243, and in February she knocked out Norma Dumont for her first UFC winning streak.

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