Tag: UFC 268

Justin Gaethje thinks his UFC 268 war with Michael Chandler ‘was kind of a boring fight’

“It’s the first time I’ve ever wanted to win more than to knock somebody out. So yeah, it was not good.”

Somehow, [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] didn’t enjoy his war with [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag].

Gaethje (23-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) outlasted Chandler (22-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a three-round barnburner at UFC 268 in November, a matchup that was named MMA Junkie’s “Fight of the Year.” It was widely regarded as one of the best fights in the promotion’s history, but Gaethje wasn’t too pleased with his performance.

He explains why.

“To be completely honest with you, I feel like that was kind of a boring fight when I was in there,” Gaethje told BT Sport. “Yeah, it just makes no sense. It’s the first time I’ve ever wanted to win more than to knock somebody out. So yeah, it was not good. I didn’t like it. I want to go back to just wanting to hurt somebody and finish them. But now that I have won and I got my title shot, I can go back to how it should be.”

The win positioned Gaethje as the No. 1 contender in the UFC’s lightweight division and the former interim champion is expected to challenge current titleholder Charles Oliveira (32-8 MMA, 20-8 UFC) next.

With the promotion announcing the title fight between light heavyweight champ Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka for a rumored Brazil card on May 7, Gaethje would love to face Oliveira in enemy territory.

“I want to go down to Brazil; I want to fight in the chaos,” Gaethje said. “If you go back and listen to my early interviews, I said I wanted to go to the enemy territory like Brazil and fight in that chaos. So them screaming ‘I’m gonna die,’ 20,000 people, I am 100 percent confident that when I’m done, they’ll love me.”

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Video: What was said during Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman’s wholesome moment at UFC 268

Who knew referee Dan Miragliotta would be in between these two fierce foes to break up a warm embrace?

Hard to imagine, but [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] showed [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] some respect after their epic rematch at UFC 268.

Welterweight champion Usman got the best of Covington once again, but he wasn’t able to put him away this time. After 25 minutes in which Covington survived two knockdowns in Round 2, he went over to Usman to show some love.

Who knew referee Dan Miragliotta would be in between these two fierce foes to break up a warm embrace?

Covington: “You know I’m just trying to sell it for you.”

Usman: “What?”

Covington: “You know I’m just trying to sell it for you.”

Usman: “I know. I know. I know.”

Covington: “It’s all love.”

However, it didn’t take long for Covington to go back to his trash-talking ways, bashing Usman in the post-fight press conference and beyond. “I can’t respect that guy. How can I respect a cheater?” Covington would later say.

At least he showed Usman some respect in the heat of the moment, though. Right?

You can enjoy that clip and more in a sneak peek for both the UFC 267 and UFC 268 “Thrill and Agony” video below.

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.

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Kamaru Usman says he broke his hand three weeks before Colby Covington rematch at UFC 268

According to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, he went into his past fight compromised once again.

According to UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag], he went into his most recent fight compromised.

Usman (19-1 MMA, 14-0 UFC) revealed he broke his right hand three weeks prior to his rematch with [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] at UFC 268 earlier this month, which he won by unanimous decision.

Though Usman didn’t show any signs of his hand being affected when he knocked Covington down twice in Round 2, the champion says the injury happened during a sparring session with UFC lightweight contender and teammate Justin Gaethje, just a couple of weeks out of the fight.

“I broke it before the fight,” Usman said on a recent episode of the Full Send Podcast. “Most people didn’t know that. I broke it three weeks before, and I didn’t throw it until the day of the fight itself…I didn’t throw it until backstage when you’re warming up before the fight. I didn’t throw my hands for three weeks, my right hand.”

He continued, “I broke it on someone’s head, Justin Gaethje’s head.”

It’s not the first time Usman enters a fight with a pre-existing injury. Prior to his first fight with Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 in July 2020, Usman claimed he broke his nose two weeks before he made the walk. He also won that fight by unanimous decision.

Usman has been dominant throughout his championship reign, notching five successful title defenses. Already holding wins over four of the top six ranked contenders, the 34-year-old has expressed interest in challenging himself against boxing champion Canelo Alvarez, but he still has streaking contenders such as Leon Edwards, Vicente Luque and rising star Khamzat Chimaev eyeing his throne.

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Chael Sonnen: Frankie Edgar looked great before getting clipped, ‘lost one second’ of UFC 268 fight

Chael Sonnen thinks that despite losing, Frankie Edgar proved he can still compete with the best.

Chael Sonnen thinks that despite losing, [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] proved he still can compete with the best.

Edgar (24-10-1 MMA, 18-10-1 UFC), 40, suffered his second straight knockout loss when he was on the receiving end of a front kick courtesy of Marlon Vera at UFC 268. It was a tough pill to swallow for Edgar, who was competitive throughout the fight and even up 2-0 heading into Round 3 on one of the judges’ scorecards.

Sonnen, however, thinks the fight was going heavily in Edgar’s favor until he was caught with a little more than a minute left in the fight.

“Frankie won every bit of that fight,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “Frankie won every exchange, every round, and every minute of that fight. He lost one second of it – one second, and boom: kicked in the mouth, falls down, fight gets stopped. That’s a hard way to go out. Frankie definitely proved to us he could still do this.

“He definitely proved to us he still trains, he’s still in great shape, he’s got the speed, he’s got the power, he’s got the range. His boxing was on point digging to the body. Frankie looked great. He lost one second. We don’t know if we’re going to see a future Hall of Famer, a former champion of the world again because he lost one second of a 13 and a half minute fight? Man, that’s tough.”

For the first time in his career, Edgar claimed he’s not thinking about his next fight. Although he didn’t give a definitive answer regarding potential retirement, Sonnen thinks that’s a decision “The Answer” will have to make himself.

“Very tough conversation: Are we there yet with Frankie?” Sonnen said. “I hope not. I do have a hard time answering the second part of the question: If this isn’t it for Frankie, I must also be able to submit for you then, what is next? I’ve never felt that Frankie, my favorite fighter, has done a very good job of steering his career. He does not get the game – he does not play the media.

“He is a blue collar, straight-up competitor. Shake hands before, shake hands after, walk away and live with the result. That’s the wrestler in him. I hope he breaks from that ideology because nobody can answer the question of what is next for Frankie, what should be next for Frankie, what makes sense to keep Frankie around and have him go out and try one more time, better than Frankie.”

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Justin Gaethje: I must fight Charles Oliveira-Dustin Poirier winner ‘to justify the integrity of this sport’

After a thrilling decision win over Michael Chandler at UFC 268, Justin Gaethje has no worries that he won’t be fighting for a title next.

After a thrilling decision win over Michael Chandler at UFC 268, [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] has absolutely no worries that he won’t be fighting for a title in his next outing.

Gaethje (23-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) said he hasn’t been promised anything by UFC officials just yet, but he doesn’t think that’s even necessary. After all, he doesn’t think he’d be the only one ready to riot if anyone else got the next crack at the UFC lightweight title.

“I don’t need to hear anything,” Gaethje told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “I do not. I already know. I’m not going to – those are the things I can’t control, you know? I did what I had to do to control the situation. Outside that, I have no more control now. It would be all on the fans, the journalists, the integrity. That has to be questioned.

“People respect us because it’s not boxing because the best fights happen. I have to fight the winner of Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier to justify the integrity of this sport, and I’m comfortable with that. I don’t need to do anything else.”

Just one week prior to Gaethje’s latest win, fellow 155-pound contender Islam Makahachev steamrolled through veteran contender Dan Hooker in Abu Dhabi and then made his case for why his nine-fight winning streak should be enough to catapult him up the UFC’s official rankings and into a title shot.

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But after turning in the UFC 268 “Fight of the Night,” not to mention one of the more entertaining fights ever seen in the octagon, Gaethje doesn’t believe there’s any reason for a discussion.

“If you say ‘no disrespect’ to him, you would have to understand how disrespectful you’d be being if you thought in any way that he deserved that, you know?” Gaethje asked. “He fought No. 14, went to No. 5, and he fought a late replacement with Dan Hooker. There’s no world in which, in the integrity of this sport, he would deserve, you know, or justify him doing that.”

And so Gaethje said he’ll now wait for the winner of the UFC 269 main event on Dec. 11, when reigning champ Oliveira takes on Poirier with the belt on the line. “The Highlight” expects to receive a call shortly after.

Whether or not he’ll be in attendance that night at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena remains to be seen.

“I don’t know,” Gaethje said. “I’m a quarter-mile-at-a-time type of guy. I’ll be in Vegas next week. I’m cornering one of my teammates, Rafa Garcia. Then I’m going to go to the Raiders game, then I’m going to fly to Arizona, spend Thanksgiving with my family, and then I’m going to go do the Polar Express with my seven nieces and two nephews, and then I have no plans after that right now.”

To see the full interview with Gaethje, check out the video below.

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Frankie Edgar: ‘I’m not thinking about my next fight’ after UFC 268 loss, unsure of retirement

40-year-old Frankie Edgar, who revealed he recently had hip replacement surgery, is feeling things he’s never felt before in his career.

[autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] finds himself in unfamiliar territory having been finished in three of his past four fights.

Known for his heart and durability, Edgar (24-10-1 MMA, 18-10-1 UFC) didn’t experienced his first stoppage loss until 13 years into his professional MMA career. But as of late, the 40-year-old former UFC lightweight champion has been on the wrong end of a few brutal finishes that beg questions about his fighting future.

A consummate professional, Edgar made his successful bantamweight debut in August 2020 when he outlasted Pedro Munhoz. He was then knocked out just 28 seconds into his fight with Cory Sandhagen followed by a third-round knockout loss to Marlon Vera this past Saturday at UFC 268, a fight that was competitive up to that point.

So what’s next for Edgar? Well, for once, he doesn’t have the answer.

“Everybody’s going to bring up the f*cking retirement and this and that, and I’m not gonna answer it because I don’t know what it is honestly,” Edgar said on his “Champ and the Tramp” podcast. “I just want to know when I do retire, I’m never coming back. I’m not ready for that yet. I’m not ready to make that decision yet.

“But this is probably the first time after a fight where I’m not thinking about my next fight. I’m not thinking about getting back in the gym. I know I’m never gonna stop training no matter what I decide, and I will be back in the gym soon just because I’m addicted to that. But I’m not thinking of it, and this is the first time probably in my fight career that that’s happened.”

Two of the three judges had his fight with Vera tied at one round a piece heading into Round 3, whereas the third judge had him up 2-0. So the idea of walking away is a little tough for Edgar, who still thinks he can compete with the division’s elite.

“I know I’ve got a lot left to give this sport in many ways,” Edgar said. “Like, my spirit doesn’t want to be done, that’s for sure. I feel like I can still do this at a high level. I was doing that at a high level two nights ago and got caught with a good shot. But I don’t like being on this end, and it seems like I’m here often as of late.

“So I’m being real about it, but I’m not gonna make a decision. I don’t know if I’ll ever be the guy that goes out and f*cking announces he’s retiring. I don’t know if I could do that. I don’t know if I’ll be the guy a year from now that’s gonna be like, I want to fight. So I’m just not gonna make any f*cking announcement.”

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Edgar, the UFC record holder for most time spent inside the octagon, revealed that he recently underwent hip replacement surgery, which didn’t have an effect on his performance.

“I never really made it public, but seven months ago I got my hip replaced,” Edgar said. “That’s an accomplishment in itself, coming back from that. That’s something I wanted to prove to myself. A lot of people think you get something like that, it’s the end of something and not only did I do it, I f*cking did it quickly. I felt amazing. My hip f*cking felt amazing.”

Before Edgar decides what’s next, he wants to take care of a lingering back injury, which he plans on doing regardless of whether or not he fights again.

“I got some nerve issues in my back,” Edgar said. “I had back surgery when I was 18, so it’s on the other side now. … This was over four years ago.”

He continued, “I can’t say it was a mistake (not taking care of his back before), I just f*cking fought. I wrestled in college, I fought for 20 f*cking years, so it did its job. But I need to get that taken care of. Regardless of fighting or not, it’s f*cking with my life.”

Winning a UFC title and competing across three different weight classes should make Edgar a future Hall of Famer. But having lost five of his past seven, is Edgar risking tarnishing his legacy? He doesn’t think so.

“What is legacy?” Edgar said. “It’s what other people talk about. I’ve got to be one with myself, I’ve got to be straight up with myself. Like I said, I really don’t know. I’m not thinking about fighting right now. I’m not talking about fighting. That’s not on the horizon at least in the near future right now. I’ve got to make sure I’m 100 percent OK with that when I do make that decision.

“I don’t know what I want my legacy to be. I go out there, and I f*cking put it on the line, I put my heart into everything. I f*cking prepare 100 percent of the way … but is that legacy? If that’s what I’m defined by, say I go out there again and I’m gonna put my f*cking heart on the line again, and I lose again. I’m tarnishing my legacy? How am I tarnishing that?”

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Nov. 9: Kamaru Usman maintains No. 1 spot

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings after UFC 268 and Bellator 270.

After successfully securing his third title defense of the calendar year, [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] keeps a firm grasp as the No. 1 welterweight on the planet in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.

Although he didn’t get a finish this time around, Usman defeated former interim champion Colby Covington for the second time, notching his fifth title defense by unanimous decision at UFC 268.

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] also defended her crown against Zhang Weili, cementing her top spot among the strawweights.

You can check out the full rankings by division with each dropdown above.

Spinning Back Clique: On Kamaru Usman’s welterweight GOAT status after UFC 268, more

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week, we look back on the UFC 268 and Bellator 270 headliners, look ahead to this weekend’s action, and talk a little Jon Jones.

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and “Gorgeous” George Garcia discuss these topics with host John Morgan.

  • At UFC 268, [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] defended the welterweight title for the fifth time with a unanimous decision win over Colby Covington, and UFC president Dana White said he believes “The Nigerian Nightmare” has supplanted Georges St-Pierre as the welterweight GOAT. Is he right? If not, what is Usman lacking to earn that recognition?
  • Meanwhile, [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] also scored the first defense of her second UFC title reign with a hard-fought decision win over former titleholder Zhang Weili. Namajunas said she thinks Carla Esparza is probably the next logical challenger, but White wasn’t committed to booking that rematch. So put yourself in the matchmaker’s room and book the next fight for Namajunas. Is there another fight that makes more sense?
  • This past weekend also saw [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] claim the Bellator lightweight belt that was vacated by his brother, Patricio Freire. The two Brazilians have been longtime stalwarts of the Bellator roster, so we’ll ask this: Are the “Pitbull” brothers the best sibling duo to ever compete in MMA?
  • This weekend is a Bellator-UFC weekend, with Bellator 271 on Friday night in South Florida and UFC Fight Night 197 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez is a stellar UFC main event, and Cris Cyborg, one of the greatest to ever do it, is in action against Sinead Kavanagh for Bellator. Outside of those headliners, what fight do you think is appointment viewing?
  • To close it out, let’s have a little fun: [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] says the garage won’t be enough for him moving forward, and he’s going to take a look around at some options for training as he prepares for his UFC heavyweight debut. Let’s say Jon calls you up and says, “Where should I go to train?” What would you tell him?

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.

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Dana White: If Kamaru Usman doesn’t exist, Colby Covington is UFC welterweight champion

Dana White thinks Colby Covington would beat everybody in the welterweight division … except champion Kamaru Usman.

NEW YORK – Dana White thinks [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] would beat everybody in the welterweight division … except champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag].

Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC) retained his title in another thrilling war against Covington (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) this past Saturday in the main event of UFC 268 when he was able to fend off Covington’s late surge.

The champion looked sharp early, dropping Covington twice in Round 2. The always tough Covington came surging back in the championship rounds, but Usman was able to survive his rally. Following the fight, White lauded Covington for his valiant effort, saying he just happens to be in the same division as the current No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.

“If Usman doesn’t exist, Colby Covington is the champion here,” White told reporters at the UFC 268 post-fight news conference. “Usman is just – this guy is the best ever. He’s the best welterweight of all time. He is on his way to possible GOAT status, and Colby Covington is one tough dude. He is so tough.

“He’s the second best guy in the division. He’s the second best guy in the world, no doubt about it. The guy is so durable and tough. His fighting style is tough to beat, and his cardio is insane. So I don’t think anybody else beats that guy but Usman. If Usman doesn’t exist, he’s the world champion. But unfortunately for him, Usman does (exist).”

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After his second loss to Usman, Covington turned his attention to former friend-turned-foe Jorge Masvidal, who’s currently booked to face Leon Edwards at UFC 269 on Dec. 11. Covington was disappointed with his loss, but not deterred. The former interim champion vowed not to give up on his title quest.

UFC 268 took place Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN News/ESPN+.

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Israel Adesanya reacts to Alex Pereira’s UFC debut KO: ‘In the next four fights I hope to see him’

Israel Adesanya appears to be happy Alex Pereira – the only man to knock him out – made a splash in his debut at UFC 268.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] was watching [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]’s octagon debut at UFC 268 – and it went exactly as he predicted.

That’s not an exaggeration, either. Adesanya (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) called Pereira (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) would finish Andreas Michailidis with a knee in their middleweight matchup this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Normally Adesanya’s thoughts on a debuting fighter in his division wouldn’t be particularly newsworthy. Pereira is a unique case, though, because he holds two kickboxing victories over the UFC’s current 185-pound one, with one being the lone knockout loss of Adesanya’s combat sports career.

In a new UFC 268 reaction video on Adesanya’s personal YouTube channel, he shared footage of himself watching the fight live, where Pereira stuffed takedown attempted for the first round before landing a flying knee knockout at the 0:18 mark of Round 2.

“It’s pretty much like me and (Derek) Brunson – he’s trying to find a way (to take him down) cause he’s scared of the striking,” Adesanya said. “Cause you know he’s going to shoot, well-timed knee just straight up. Bang. There it is. I thought he was going to do it when he shot in, but I didn’t think he was going to fly at him.”

Pereira, 34, was repeatedly asked about getting a fight against Adesanya, 32, in the UFC prior to making his debut. He kept humble and said his lone goal is to win the title. If he happens to cross paths with “The Last Stylebender” as a consequence of chasing that dream, he would be happy to face his former foe again.

It remains to be seen how UFC matchmakers opt to handle Pereira going forward. Adesanya agreed with one of his friends in the video that the likes of Brunson and Marvin Vettori would pose stylistic issues to Pereira, who still has just five MMA fights despite a wealth of kickboxing experience that includes a GLORY title.

The champion is seemingly hoping for Pereira to find success, though. Adesanya is coming off a title defense against Vettori at UFC 263 in June, and is expected to rematch Robert Whittaker in February, though it’s not official.

Pereira represents fresh blood, and given his history with Adesanya, he’d create a compelling storyline as a challenger. Adesanya rubbed his fingers in a money-making motion as Pereira conducted his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, and he made it clear it’s something he wants.

“We talked about this like two days ago,” Adesanya said. “We need something new. Especially after you lap the division again. … Good job Pereira, that was nice. One thing I notice is everyone always holds on to that win he has over me like it’s the be-all-end-all. I hope he does well. I hope he does well through the ranks. In the next four fights, I hope to see him. They’ll show you the knockout, but they won’t show you what happened before the finish. I hurt him, but I only throw (hands) because I was infiltrated by other people’s thoughts. But that was when I was younger. Not anymore. It’s different now. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

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