Tag: UFC 270

Greg Hardy shows off gruesome finger injury, announces fight vs. Serghei Spivac is off UFC 270

Greg Hardy’s return to action has been delayed due to a nasty finger injury and will no longer face Serghei Spivac on pay-per-view.

The first UFC pay-per-view event of the year has lost one of its main card bouts.

On Friday evening, [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag]  (7-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) shared a graphic image of a damaged and bloody finger to social media, explaining that the injury will force him out of his upcoming main card bout against Serghei Spivac (13-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) at UFC 270.

Hardy was originally scheduled to face Aleksei Oleinik at the PPV event in Anaheim, Calif., but withdrew from the contest and Spivac stepped up on short notice.

“New date who dis,” Hardy wrote on Instagram. “Gotta keep it light even though I’m kinda sick about it. Putting on a show on the biggest card of the year was my 2022 dream and now I gotta wait. Sorry to all my fans and haters and to my opponent. I wanted this one bad I even took a short-notice change with no question.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYuegtXvxhm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

It is unclear how long the injury will keep Hardy on the sidelines, but according to his social media caption, the controversial former NFL superstar hopes to return to action in a few weeks’ time.

With the removal of Hardy vs. Spivac, the current remaining lineup of UFC 270 includes:

  • Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane – for heavyweight title
  • Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo – for flyweight title
  • Charles Jourdain vs. Ilia Topuria
  • Said Nurmaogmedov vs. Cody Stamann
  • Wellington Turman vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Tony Gravely vs. Saimon Oliveira
  • Jack Della Maddalena vs. Pete Rodriguez
  • Andre Fialho vs. Michel Pereira
  • Raoni Barcelos vs. Victor Henry
  • Trevin Giles vs. Michael Morales
  • Matt Frevola vs. Genaro Valdez
  • Kay Hansen vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez

[listicle id=1987957]

[listicle id=1973202]

Aleksei Oleinik out of UFC 270; Serghei Spivac steps in to fight Greg Hardy

Vaunted submission master Aleksei Oleinik has been forced to withdraw from next week’s UFC 270 event, but a replacement has been secured.

Vaunted submission master [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag] (59-15-1 MMA, 8-6 UFC) has been forced to withdraw from next week’s UFC 270 event, but a replacement has already been secured.

MMA Junkie learned Thursday from two people with knowledge of the booking who that [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has agreed to step in on short notice and will now face [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] (7-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) at the event. The two people requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Featuring a pair of championship matchups atop the bill, UFC 270 takes place Jan. 22 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The night’s main card streams live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

Spivac last saw action in September, suffering a first-round TKO loss to top prospect Tom Aspinall. Prior to the setback, Spivac owned a three-fight winning streak that included Oleinik, Jared Vanderaa and Carlos Felipe.

Meanwhile, Hardy, a controversial former NFL standout, has suffered knockout losses against Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura in his past two outings. The setbacks come after Hardy has earned consecutive wins over Maurice Greene and Yorgan de Castro.

With the change to the lineup, UFC 270 now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Francis Ngannou vs. Interim champ Ciryl Gane – to unify heavyweight title
  • Champ Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo – for flyweight title
  • Ilia Topuria vs. opponent TBA
  • Greg Hardy vs. Serghei Spivac
  • Said Nurmagomedov vs. Cody Stamann

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Wellington Turman vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Tony Gravely vs. Saimon Oliveira
  • Jack Della Maddalena vs. opponent TBA
  • Andre Fialho vs. Michel Pereira

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Raoni Barcelos vs. Victor Henry
  • Trevin Giles vs. Michael Morales
  • Matt Frevola vs. Genaro Valdez
  • Kay Hansen vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez

Poliana Botelho vs. Ji Yeon Kim scrapped from UFC 270 on Jan. 22

The UFC 270 card has taken another hit.

The UFC 270 card has taken another hit.

[autotag]Poliana Botelho[/autotag] (8-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is out of her fight against [autotag]Ji Yeon Kim[/autotag] (9-4-2 MMA, 3-4 UFC) on Jan. 22 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. and as a result, the flyweight contest has been scrapped.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the canceled booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Botelho is 1-2 since moving back up to 125 pounds. The 33-year-old Brazilian picked up a unanimous decision win over Lauren Mueller at UFC 236, then suffered back-to-back losses to Gillian Robertson and Luana Carolina.

Kim would’ve also looked to snap a two-fight losing skid. The South Korean fighter has split her past six appearances and is coming off setbacks to Alexa Grasso, and most recently Molly McCann in a “Fight of the Night” effort.

The UFC 270 lineup now includes:

  • Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane
  • Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
  • Ilia Topuria vs. TBA
  • Greg Hardy vs. Aleksei Oleinik

Preliminary ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET

  • Trevin Giles vs. Michael Morales
  • Said Nurmagomedov vs. Cody Stamann
  • Tony Gravely vs. Saimon Oliveira
  • Andre Fialho vs. Michel Pereira

Preliminary ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET Edit Delete

  • Jack Della Maddalena vs. opponent TBA
  • Kay Hansen vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Matt Frevola vs. Genaro Valdez
  • Wellington Turman vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Raoni Barcelos vs. Victor Henry

[vertical-gallery id=399227]

[vertical-gallery id=449291]

Alexa Grasso pulled from UFC 270 following Viviane Araujo’s injury

A women’s flyweight bout between Alexa Grasso and Viviane Araujo is off UFC 270.

[autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] won’t be competing later this month.

The UFC women’s flyweight contender has been pulled from UFC 270 following the withdrawal of her opponent, [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag], a person with knowledge of the change told MMA Junkie on Saturday. UFC 270 takes place Jan. 22 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Brazil’s Araujo (10-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) pulled out earlier this week due to injury, which first was reported by ESPN Deportes. It’s unknown if the UFC intends to keep the matchup and reschedule for a future date or if Grasso (13-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) will get a new opponent on an upcoming card.

[lawrence-related id=625194]

Grasso most recently fought in February 2021 and outpointed Maycee Barber in a unanimous decision at UFC 258. She was scheduled to return in November against Joanne Calderwood, but an injury halted her return. Grasso is on a two-fight winning streak since moving up to the flyweight division in 2020.

Below is the updated line up for UFC 270:

  • Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane
  • Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
  • Movsar Evloev vs. Ilia Topuria
  • Greg Hardy vs. Aleksei Oleinik

Preliminary ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET Edit Delete

  • Trevin Giles vs. Michael Morales
  • Said Nurmagomedov vs. Cody Stamann
  • Tony Gravely vs. Saimon Oliveira
  • Poliana Botelho vs. Ji Yeon Kim

Preliminary ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET Edit Delete

  • Jack Della Maddalena vs. opponent TBA
  • Kay Hansen vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Matt Frevola vs. Genaro Valdez
  • Wellington Turman vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Raoni Barcelos vs. Victor Henry

[vertical-gallery id=320880]

Warlley Alves out of UFC 270; Jack Della Maddalena awaits new opponent

A welterweight search is underway.

[autotag]Warlley Alves[/autotag] has withdrawn from his scheduled bout against [autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag].

While the reasoning for the withdrawal was not disclosed, Alves (14-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) is out and the search is underway for a replacement opponent to fight promotional newcomer Della Maddalena (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 270.

The event takes place Jan. 22 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.

Two people with knowledge of the change recently informed MMA Junkie of Alves’ removal, but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

The withdrawal is Alves’ first since 2017. He is coming off a knockout loss against Jeremiah Wells in June.

Della Maddalena enters the UFC after an impressive contract-earning performance on Dana White’s Contender Series when he defeated Ange Loosa by unanimous decision. Fighting out of Australia, Della Maddalena captured the Eternal MMA welterweight championship prior to his move to the UFC.

With the change, the UFC 270 lineup includes:

  • Champion Francis Ngannou vs. interim champion Ciryl Gane – for heavyweight title
  • Champion Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo – for flyweight title
  • Greg Hardy vs. Aleksei Oleinik
  • Movsar Evloev vs. Ilia Topuria
  • Said Nurmagomedov vs. Cody Stamann
  • Viviane Aruajo vs. Alexa Grasso
  • Wellington Turman vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Trevin Giles vs. Michael Morales
  • Matt Frevola vs. Genaro Valdez
  • Tony Gravely vs. Saimon Oliveira
  • Poliana Botelho vs. Ji Yeon Kim
  • Kay Hansen vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Raoni Barcelos vs. Victor Henry
  • Jack Della Maddalena vs. TBA

[vertical-gallery id=1950877]

[vertical-gallery id=1959262]

Watch Francis Ngannou spar ahead of title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270

Francis Ngannou has given fans an inside look at one of his sparring sessions ahead of his first title defense.

[autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] has given fans an inside look at one of his sparring sessions ahead of his first title defense.

Heavyweight champion Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) will attempt to unify his belt against interim champ and former training partner [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the main event of UFC 270, which takes place Jan. 22 in Anaheim, Calif.

Ngannou wasn’t too happy with the release of old sparring footage between him and Gane, which is continuously being used to promote the fight, claiming that it painted a false picture. Ngannou parted ways with MMA Factory Paris, where Gane still trains, in 2018 and has since been training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.

Fans will have to wait three weeks until they can see Ngannou and Gane throw down for real, but in the meantime, check out some of Ngannou’s training in the lead-up to the fight, as he spars UFC heavyweight Blagoy Ivanov and muay Thai heavyweight fighter who recently transitioned to MMA Santino Zurita in preparation for Gane.

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.

[vertical-gallery id=521509]

[listicle id=598619]

Spinning Back Clique: Is Dana White in a fight that he can’t win?

This week on “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel looks ahead to UFC 270, discusses the ongoing Jake Paul vs. Dana White saga, and 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.

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King and Mike Bohn discuss five topics with host John Morgan.

  • As we look to the first UFC pay-per-view of the new year, it seems the biggest storyline is [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]’s contract status rather than the unification of the UFC heavyweight title. What do you make of this very public battle, and do you think it will have an effect on what we see in the cage at UFC 270?
  • Speaking of public battles, Jake Paul vs. Dana White seems to be the matchup on everyone’s mind right now, at least if the MMA Junkie numbers are any indication. What do you make of this continued battle? Is Paul really just trying to be an advocate for fighters? And is White making a mistake by engaging him? What is happening here?
  • If we’re looking at fights that might actually happen in 2022, [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] says a matchup with [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] is in the works. “El Cucuy” fought just once in 2021 and is looking to snap a three-fight skid. Meanwhile, Chandler is also on a two-fight losing streak, albeit a “Fight of the Year” effort and a UFC title fight. So does this fight make sense for one man more than the other? Or should the UFC be looking at something different?
  • Meanwhile, over at Bellator, Scott Coker has said that if [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] is victorious at Bellator 273 later this month, [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] wants that matchup for his retirement fight. What do we think of this idea? Is it a good one?
  • Lastly, we didn’t have any major MMA this past week, but we did see no less than 12 UFC fighters in action at FURY Professional Grappling 3. I can tell you first-hand it was a lot of fun, and people got to put some paychecks in their pocket, but there was one very unfortunate result, with [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] suffering a pretty nasty cut, so what do we think here? Do we need more of this? Or does the risk make it a little dangerous? What do we think?

Francis Ngannou, Ciryl Gane tracking as pick ’em fight ahead of UFC 270 unification bout

With the UFC’s first pay-per-view of 2022 less than one month away, oddsmakers have Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane pegged as a dead heat.

With the UFC’s first pay-per-view of 2022 less than one month away, oddsmakers have [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] pegged as a virtual dead heat.

Current odds for the heavyweight unification bout from Tipico Sportsbook, the exclusive sports betting and iGaming provider for USA TODAY Sports and MMA Junkie, have both reigning champion Ngannou and interim titleholder Gane at -112, meaning a successful bet of $112 would be needed to secure a $100 win and a $212 total payout.

Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and Ciryl Gane (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) headline UFC 270, which takes place on Jan. 22 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The night’s main card airs live on pay-per-view.

Ngannou opened as favorite, listed as high as -190, when the bout was first considered earlier this year. However, those odds dropped significantly following masterful victory over Derrick Lewis to claim the interim belt in August, and as it currently stands, a victory from either man would score an equal return on investment.

Which way are you leaning as 2021 closes, and we begin to turn our attention to this epic blockbuster?

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

[pickup_prop id=”13240″]

[vertical-gallery id=521509]

[vertical-gallery id=743367]

Francis Ngannou says sparring videos with Ciryl Gane paint a false picture: ‘They’re really good at manipulation’

Francis Ngannou thinks his former gym purposely didn’t release his full sparring videos with Ciryl Gane.

UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] says his former gym purposely didn’t release his full sparring videos with [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag].

Fans got a glimpse of Ngannou’s sparring sessions with Gane more than  three years ago at MMA Factory Paris, but Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) thinks the clips released were only trying to make Gane (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) look good.

 

“When I saw that footage, my first reaction was laughing – because I know exactly what happened at those training sessions,” Ngannou said on his YouTube channel. “But this is the thing: When they want do some highlight, they always choose the part of the video that they use and they have a lot of videos like that because at the time, they were filming our training sessions to promote him, his fight and everything. So there was a lot of footage from those few training sessions, but a lot of them never came out and will never come out, and I know for a fact that they will never come out.

“It’s about to make him look better and make me look bad – to prove that he’s the man. I really get intrigued by (that) stuff sometimes and then how they just control people’s mind, conditioning them to think – and suddenly they just shift from one way to other way of thinking. And I’m like, how easy is that to manipulate people? … They’re really good at manipulation. But at the end of the day, as I said, we both know. Everyone knows for a fact.”

Ngannou’s rift with his former coach Fernand Lopez is well documented. Ngannou parted ways with MMA Factory Paris in 2018 and now that he’s defending his heavyweight title against his former training partner, interim champion Gane at UFC 270, the drama has ensued.

Gane is unbeaten in his pro MMA career and has looked nearly flawless in his octagon performances. He’s had a remarkably fast rise up the rankings, taking out the UFC’s record holder for most knockout victories, Derrick Lewis, to claim the interim heavyweight title at UFC 265.

Ngannou is aware of Gane’s skills, but with everyone super high on “Bon Gamin,” Ngannou can’t wait to remind everyone who the king of the division is.

“He’s good and he’s just going to get better,” Ngannou said. “He’s good. He’s talented, that’s for sure, and that’s the reason why he’s there, where he’s at. Right now? I’m just better, man, I’m just the man that’s going to stop the hype, and I can’t wait to get to this fight because what’s really funny about this is everybody that talks about this fight hypes him up.”

[vertical-gallery id=521509]

[listicle id=662396]

Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier shifts from UFC 270 to UFC 271 in February

The likely middleweight title eliminator between Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier has a new date and location.

The likely middleweight title eliminator between [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] has a new date and location.

After originally being booked for UFC 270 on Jan. 22, the matchup between Brunson (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) and Cannonier (14-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) has been shifted to UFC 271 on Feb. 12 in Houston.

MMA Junkie confirmed the change with a person close to the situation following an initial report from UFC broadcast partner ESPN.

The switch adds more depth at 185 pounds to the lineup, which is headlined by a championship rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.

Brunson, 37, rides a five-fight winning streak into one of the biggest opportunities of his career. The recent stretch of success includes victories over Elias Theodorou, Ian Heinisch, Edmen Shahbazyan, Kevin Holland, and most recently Darren Till.

Cannonier, 37, enters the fight a winner of four of his past five outings. Outside of a loss to Robert Whittaker two fights ago, Cannonier has racked up wins over David Branch, Anderson Silva, Jack Hermansson, and most recently Kelvin Gastelum.

The latest UFC 271 lineup now includes:

Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker – for middleweight title

  • Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier
  • Kyler Phillips vs. Marcelo Rojo
  • Roxanne Modafferi vs. Casey O’Neill
  • Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
  • Mark Madsen vs. Vinc Pichel
  • Fabio Cherant vs. Carlos Ulberg
  • Maxim Grishin vs. Ed Herman
  • Ronnie Lawrence vs. Mana Martinez
  • Alexander Hernandez vs. Renato Moicano
  • AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun
  • Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov
  • Orion Cosce vs. Mike Mathetha

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=none image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]