Tag: UFC 270

Why Francis Ngannou decided to fight Ciryl Gane injured at UFC 270: ‘I’m losing control of the talk’

Francis Ngannou decided to go against his team’s advice and fought injured to beat Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.

[autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] decided to go against his team’s advice and fight injured at UFC 270.

UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou tore his MCL and damaged his ACL just weeks before his title defense against Ciryl Gane in January, but was dead set on competing that night. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

But why risk it? Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) said he didn’t want to lose his bargaining power with the UFC amidst his contract dispute.

“I couldn’t take that for so long,” Ngannou said on Episode 2 of VLOG. “My only concern was this will keep going for over months again, and then I’m losing control of the talk and everything. Like, no – this is not happening.”

After doctors initially said Ngannou could cause irreparable damage to his knee by fighting, his head coach, Eric Nicksick, tried to talk him out of taking the fight.

“Let me play devil’s advocate in this regard only because I’m talking about – just, we love you,” Nicksick said. “That’s it. The bottom line is, what do you gain by fighting injured? What’s there to gain? If you knock this dude out and we win, then what’s next?

“But what do you have to lose if this gets worse, or you get hurt, or you lose this fight? What are the pros vs. the cons? And I’m not telling you one is more than the other, but I think that’s what we need to decide as a team or a family, and then you have to make the decision at the end of the day. I know, we all know, these motherf*ckers don’t give a f*ck about you, bro. So why are we doing them a favor?”

Ngannou, who underwent surgery after the fight to repair his knee, is targeting a March return and has been linked to a fight with former light heavyweight king Jon Jones for his next title defense. He recently was seen doing kicking drills during a training session as he gears up for his octagon return.

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Francis Ngannou opens up on knee injury prior to UFC 270: ‘Everything was designed for me to fall’

Heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou has given insight into the knee injury that almost forced him to withdraw from UFC 270 earlier this year.

[autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] has given some insight on the knee injury that almost forced him to withdraw from UFC 270.

Less than a month out from his title unification bout with Ciryl Gane in January, Ngannou tore his MCL and ACL. But the heavyweight champion, who’s currently in a contract dispute with the UFC, insisted on fighting even though his knee was heavily compromised.

Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) won the fight by unanimous decision – surprisingly by using his grappling.

“Everything was designed for me to fall and collapse – not to come back,” Ngannou said on his YouTube channel. “That was it. That was how it was designed. Like, ‘OK, that’s how it’s going to be. Let’s go.'”

Ngannou explainsed that the injury occurred in one of the final rounds of a sparring session with a new training partner. His head coach, Eric Nicksick, was hesitant to allow a new body in the session, but ultimately, they went with it.

“The injury itself happened on Dec. 28, exactly three days after Christmas,” Ngannou said. “There was a guy in the gym that just came. I think that was his second training session at the gym.

“We were sparring. I think he got overwhelmed. He shot a desperate takedown. Then when I tried to turn around. I heard the crack on my knee. Then, right at that moment, when you hear that on your knee, you know that something is happening. But I was so warmed up, I couldn’t feel it exactly.”

With the promotion’s plans to have Jon Jones return March 5 at UFC 285 in Las Vegas, Ngannou is the targeted matchup if the champion is healthy by that date.

You can watch Episode 1 of Ngannou’s “Road 2 Recovery” VLOG in the video below:

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UFC 276 video: Julija Stoliarenko snaps Jessica-Rose Clark’s arm in 42 seconds

Julija Stoliarenko opened the UFC 276 mega-card with a gruesome submission of Jessica-Rose Clark.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Julija Stoliarenko[/autotag] opened the UFC 276 mega-card with a gruesome submission of [autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag].

Stoliarenko (10-6-2 MMA, 1-4 UFC) avoided a fifth consecutive octagon defeat Saturday when she secured a nasty armbar that snapped Clark’s (10-8 MMA, 1-4 UFC) arm a mere 42 seconds into the women’s bantamweight bout.

It was the second-fastest submission in divisional history behind Ronda Rousey’s 14-second win over Cat Zingano in 2015, and it was a much-needed one for Stoliarenko.

Check out the replay of the gnarly finish below (via Twitter):

After the win, Stoliarenko told UFC commentator Joe Rogan that she was not aggressive enough with her submissions earlier in her career, so when she isolated Clark’s arm, she twisted until her foe feverishly tapped.

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UFC 270 ‘Thrill and Agony’: Francis Ngannou and Fernand Lopez share a moment

Watch a preview of the latest edition of “The Thrill and the Agony,” which goes behind the scenes in the aftermath of UFC 270.

Watch a preview for the latest edition of “The Thrill and the Agony,” which goes behind the scenes of UFC 270.

At the event, which took place Jan. 22 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) rallied to defeat Ciryl Gane on the judges’ scorecards in the main event to retain his heavyweight title.

In the co-headliner, [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (21-2-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) reclaimed his flyweight title when he edged out Brandon Moreno in a back-and-forth battle.

In a preview of “The Thrill and the Agony” special from UFC 270, which is available for UFC Fight Pass subscribers, we get an all-access look at the immediate aftermath of Ngannou and Figueiredo’s wins.

You can watch in the video above.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3229: Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje, Bellator and Eagle FC preview, more

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.


Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,229, the guys went over this week’s Bellator and Eagle Fc cards. They also discussed [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag], Brazil missing out on a huge pay-per-view event, [autotag]Dana White[/autotag]’s explanation for not belting [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] at UFC 270, and so much more. Tune in!

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

Dana White lauds Francis Ngannou’s ‘genius’ game plan to wrestle Ciryl Gane at UFC 270

Dana White and Francis Ngannou may not be on the best of terms, but that didn’t stop the UFC president from praising his performance.

Dana White and [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] may not be on the best of terms, but that didn’t stop the UFC president from praising his performance.

After being down two rounds on a couple of the judges’ scorecards in the UFC 270 main event, heavyweight champion Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) resorted to his grappling to rally for the decision win against [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC).

Ngannou, who entered the fight with a torn meniscus, was struggling on his feet before finding success on the ground, which caught everyone off guard – including White.

“During the fight, I was very surprised,” White said during an ESPN+ Q&A hosted by Laura Sanko. “After the fight, I mean, it was genius. It was genius for him to work on his wrestling. I guarantee you – I don’t know this for a fact – but I would guarantee you that Ciryl Gane did almost no wrestling preparing for that fight. To come in and implement the game plan that he had, it was brilliant.”

White also went on to say there is nothing personal behind his decision to both not wrap the title around Ngannou’s waist and miss the post-fight news conference this past Saturday in Anaheim, Calif. Despite the narrative that White was upset with the outcome due to Ngannou’s contract dispute with the UFC, he revealed that there were things he had to deal with backstage that prevented him from being there.

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Francis Ngannou to have knee surgery, faces nine-month recovery following UFC 270 win

It will be a while before UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou competes again.

It will be a while before UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] competes again.

After being medically evaluated on Monday in Los Angeles, Ngannou will have surgery to repair a torn MCL and damaged ACL, which will require nine months of recovery time. Ngannou won’t undergo surgery until after he visits his native Cameroon soon.

Ngannou’s manager, Marquel Martin, confirmed the details with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn after they were first reported by ESPN.

Ngannou, 35, retained and unified the heavyweight title this past Saturday at UFC 270 where he defeated Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision. Ngannou revealed after the win that he fought with damage to his knee suffered during training roughly four weeks out from the bout.

“It was pretty bad,” Ngannou told reporters at the UFC 270 post-fight news conference. “I have a Grade 3 MCL (tear), I have damage on my ACL and damage on my MPFL. That was 25 days ago.”

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Martin marveled at the toughness his client showed in going through with the fight and winning.

“I continue to be amazed and inspired by Francis’ heart and resilience,” Martin told ESPN. “Fighting on one leg to overcome all odds and remind the world he is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I think we can all agree he deserves some time to go back home and be with his family and countrymen.

“Upon his return, we plan on getting surgery and starting the recovery process so we can get him back to 100 percent as soon as possible. In the meantime, we hope we can find a peaceful resolution in these contract talks. We’d like to thank all the fans for their continued support and belief in Francis.”

Ngannou’s win at UFC 270 marked the eighth and final fight on his UFC contract. He’s tied to the promotion for the next year only because of a champion’s clause.

Ngannou, who wants the freedom to box, said prior to UFC 270 that he would not continue fighting “for $500,000, $600,000” anymore. Ngannou earned a $600,000 purse for UFC 270, according to salaries disclosed by the California State Athletic Commission, which oversaw the event in Anaheim.

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The cops showed up to Deiveson Figueiredo’s UFC 270 after-party, but it was no big deal

It’s always nice when encounters with police end this way.

[autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] has every reason to be celebrating after reclaiming the flyweight title with a hard-fought win over Brandon Moreno at UFC 270, and that’s what he’s been doing.

Figueiredo, his team, his friends and family, they were festive this past weekend after he won the trilogy bout over Moreno by narrow unanimous decision – apparently a little too festive.

In a video posted by Henry Cejudo on Instagram, it appears somebody called the police on Figueiredo and Co. and made a noise complaint. It’s unclear where this took place or whose residence it is, but it was no big deal. As the video shows, the cops showed, had a few laughs with the new UFC champion, and simply asked them to keep the noise down.

Take a look:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZLVGhChhfH/

We’ve been partying so hard we got the cops called on us. Party till 6 in the morning music 🎶 #andnew

It’s always nice when encounters with police end this way. Another win for the champ.

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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Daniel Cormier: Jon Jones judged a ‘wounded’ Francis Ngannou, needs to stop talking and start fighting

Daniel Cormier thinks it’s about time Jon Jones stopped tweeting and started competing.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] thinks it’s about time [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] stopped tweeting and started competing.

Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) hasn’t fought since retaining the UFC light heavyweight title against Dominick Reyes in February 2020, then subsequently relinquishing the title six months later. The former 205-pound king has since been prepping for his heavyweight debut but is yet to compete in the division.

While he hasn’t been active inside the cage, Jones has been pretty vocal on social media. He had his eyes peeled for Saturday’s heavyweight title unification fight between [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) and Ciryl Gane (10-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) at UFC 270 and wasn’t too impressed with either man’s performance – or Ngannou’s win.

But Cormier thinks Jones isn’t in a position to critique if he’s not actively fighting.

“For me, it’s about Jon Jones needs to fight,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “At some point, you got to fight. You got to fight. It’s one thing to be the champion, defending, fighting – even when him and I were going through our thing, he would get suspended, but then he would come back and he would fight. Even if that meant fighting Ovince Saint Preux whenever I was hurt, but ultimately he was fighting. Right now, he’s just talking. It’s like, when are you going to fight? Because for as bad as it was, Francis had a torn meniscus. Francis was hurt. Francis had a bad training camp. All these things. Francis still fought.

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“So you can say, ‘Well, they’re not that good,’ but ultimately, they’re still in there doing their thing. Why aren’t you in there doing your thing? You are one of the most talented mixed martial artists of all time.Why aren’t you in there doing your thing against these guys, opposed to judging them, because for all of the bad blood and all the bad stuff between Francis and the UFC right now, Francis still went out there. He went out there, he fought hurt, and he got a victory.”

Ngannou dealt with plenty of adversity heading into his fight with Gane. The heavyweight champion was not only going through a contract dispute with the UFC, but he fought with a grade three MCL tear, as well as damage on his ACL and MPFL.

Cormier thinks that UFC 270 wasn’t an accurate depiction of the real Ngannou, who used a grappling-heavy approach to defeat Gane.

“So if you’re going to judge the apex predator that Francis is on last weekend, know that you’re judging a wounded apex predator,” Cormier said. “So you may think that he’s not as good now because of what you saw, but maybe you’re just putting yourself up for a bigger disappointment when you do finally make that jump.”

MMA fan risks life in confrontation with Don Frye

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit into the wind, and you sure as hell don’t touch Don Frye’s hat.

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit into the wind.

You don’t pull the mask off that old lone ranger, and you sure as hell don’t touch [autotag]Don Frye[/autotag]’s hat.

According to TMZ Sports, a fan at this past weekend’s UFC 270 event tempted fate by bumping into the legendary UFC Hall of Famer’s 10-gallon top, leading to the two-time UFC tournament winner delivering a bit of street justice with a short right hand.

Frye told TMZ Sports that he believed the fan was intoxicated, and that the two had a “spirited conversation” before he was challenged to a fight.

Fortunately for the fan, Frye elected to allow the discretion to pass, gifting the man a few additional days in the land of the living, and “The Predator” walked away and watched the rest of the night’s action. Frye, 56, reportedly did not face criminal charges for the incident, which was caught on tape in the video above.

Frye was elected to the UFC Hall of Fame’s pioneer wing in 2016. One of the promotion’s earliest stars, the former pro boxer, Division I wrestler and judo black belt claimed single-night, eight-man tournament victories at UFC 8 and the Ultimate Ultimate 1996, taking out the likes of David “Tank” Abbott, Gary Goodridge and Mark Hall, among others.

He might be best remembered for a legendary brawl under the PRIDE banner, as well, standing toe-to-toe with Yoshihiro Takayama in 2002 in one of the wildest exchanges of punches ever seen in a ring or cage.

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.