Despite picking up a submission win, Renato Moicano is not 100 percent happy with his performance at UFC 271.
HOUSTON – [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] got his hand raised, but that’s still apparently not enough for the UFC lightweight contender.
The Brazilian fighter notched his 16th career win on the main card of Saturday’s UFC 271 pay-per-view event. Moicano (16-4-1 MMA, 8-4 UFC) submitted Alexander Hernandez with a rear-naked choke in the second-round.
Yet, despite getting the win and a stoppage, Moicano thinks his performance wasn’t 100 percent.
“My first round was good, but I took him down and I didn’t capitalize on that,” Moicano told reporters at the UFC 271 post-fight news conference. “I train for if I put the guy down, the fight is over. So congratulations to him for standing back up, but I think I need to watch the fight again to see what I did wrong.”
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Moicano is now on a two-fight wining streak and 3-1 since moving up to 155 pounds. The 32-year-old knows he notched an important win in Houston, but still remains critical of his performance.
“I expected a good, explosive, well-rounded fighter,” Moicano said. “I know he has good wins. He knocked Beneil Dariush out and he fought really good guys, so I expected that. But I feel like I could do more and I’m better than that. I could finish him in the first round, so I have to watch the fight again and see what I did wrong and try to correct for the next one.”
Roxanne Modafferi is proud of her performance in her final fight at Saturday’s UFC 271.
HOUSTON – [autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag] didn’t get the result she hoped for, but she’s still happy with her farewell from professional fighting.
The longtime fighter retired Saturday after a nearly 20-year career in MMA. Modafferi (25-20 MMA, 4-8 UFC) engaged in a gritty, hard-fought battle against Casey O’Neill on the preliminary card of UFC 271. Although Modafferi displayed heart, she came up short on the judges’ scorecards and lost a split decision.
“The Happy Warrior” thought she did enough to get the nod from the judges, but either way, is happy with how she performed in her final fight.
“I kind of thought I won,” Modafferi told reporters at the UFC 271 post-fight press conference. “I know we both hit each other a lot. I hit her with some great stuff and I took her down a couple of times. I thought I might’ve gotten the victory. She also hit me a bunch.
“I was happy while they were doing the split, although I wanted the victory. But congrats to her. She’s a really strong competitor.”
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Modafferi has been fighting since 2003. The bout against O’Neill marked her 46th professional contest. The 39-year-old is at peace with her decision to hang up the gloves and her preparation ahead her final battle.
“I feel like I made good decisions for my last training camp and I feel very accomplished with what I did,” Modafferi said. “It’s very unfortunate that I have a loss and it hurts my soul a little bit, but I’m OK with my decisions.
“I just want to take a moment to thank my team, Syndicate MMA, and my head coach John Wood, my strength and conditioning coach Lorenzo Pavlica, Mike Pyle. Also, Johnny Parsons. He really helped me evolve in this last camp. And Chris Roman, my fiance.”
Modafferi retires having fought for several major championship belts, including in the UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC. Modafferi holds notable wins over Vanessa Porto, Andrea Lee, Antonina Shevchenko, Barb Honchak, Marloes Coenen and others.
UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] fended off arguably his biggest threat for a second time Saturday when he beat Robert Whittaker in their UFC 271 main event rematch.
Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) earned a unanimous decision win over Whittaker (23-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at Toyota Center in Houston. It was a highly competitive fight that saw the champion’s reign put to the test. But ultimately, “The Last Stylebender” got the job done and moved his record to 22-0 when fighting at 185 pounds.
It was another positive step for Adesanya’s goal to lap the contenders in the middleweight division, but now he’s likely to get his long-desired fresh face in Jared Cannonier.
Is that truly the fight to make, though? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on Adesanya’s future after UFC 271.
[autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]’s quest to regain the UFC middleweight title came up short Saturday in his rematch with Israel Adesanya.
Whittaker (23-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) dropped a unanimous decision to Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) in the UFC 271 headliner at Toyota Center in Houston, marking his second defeat to the current champion.
Despite the significant setback, Whittaker was resilient in the aftermath of the fight. He insisted he will force his way into a third encounter with Adesanya, and given his track record, that doesn’t seem unrealistic.
How can Whittaker get back into another championship fight, though? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future after UFC 271.
Derek Brunson wants to fight one more time following his KO loss to Jared Cannonier at Saturday’s UFC 271.
[autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] is ready to move on to the next one.
The longtime UFC middleweight contender saw his five-fight winning streak come to an end Saturday at UFC 271 in Houston. Brunson (23-8 MMA, 14-6 UFC) suffered a second-round knockout loss to fellow contender Jared Cannonier on the main card.
It was a tough loss for Brunson since he was nearing a title shot at 185 pounds. Yet Brunson seems to be keeping his head high and is ready to turn the page.
“Made a title push, Number 3 vs. 4 in the world,” Brunson wrote on Twitter. “I came up short. Life lessons. I’m all good. Sad but life will give you theses moments. I’ll pick myself up for one more fight. Blessings all.”
Made a title push . Number 3 vs 4 in the world . I came up short . Life lessons . Im all good , sad but life will give you theses moments . I’ll pick myself up for one more fight . Blessings all 🙏🏾
Brunson had hinted at retirement in the lead-up to UFC 271, saying he’d plan to fight two more times, including the fight with Cannonier, and then “riding out.”
The 38-year-old has been fighting in the UFC for a decade, after coming over from Strikeforce in 2012. Brunson holds notable wins over names like Lyoto Machida, Darren Till, Kevin Holland, Edmen Shahbazyan, Uriah Hall and Chris Leben.
The former UFC middleweight champion feels a third fight with Israel Adesanya is bound to happen once again despite him being 0-2 against the champion.
Whittaker (23-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) lost for a second time against Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) this Saturday in the main event of UFC 271. The two fought for 25 minutes and a unanimous decision was awarded to Adesanya, as he scored 48–47, 48–47, and 49–46 on the three judges’ scorecards.
Whittaker disagrees with the decision and strongly believes he did enough to get the win.
“I thought I did enough, I thought I did enough,” Whittaker told MMA Junkie at the post-fight press conference. “Breaking it down, I think I lost the first round. I put myself together and I beat him to every punch. I got takedowns. I thought I did enough.
“But it is what it is. That’s how work goes in the office. I’m going to go back evolve some more, get better, and fine tune the things that I’ve been working on, and come back a better man. Honestly, though, Izzy was my biggest obstacle, my biggest hurdle. He beat me in a good fashion the first time. I’ve been working and angling myself to evolve and to get better and I’ve done that. You can see it in this fight how far I’ve come. To the point that I think I beat him.
“So, I’m excited. I’m excited for the future. The ceiling is nowhere in sight. There is no ceiling for me.”
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Whittaker had fought three times and defeated top contenders Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum after losing his belt to Adesanya at UFC 243 in 2019.
The 31-year-old has no problem doing the same and expects to see Adesanya once more.
“A third fight between me and Izzy is inevitable because I’m going to stomp anyone that comes in front of me again,” Whittaker said. “He knows that too that’s why he said he’ll be seeing me in the future. I don’t see him losing the belt any time soon. He is good. He is good. I think I’m the person to beat him. And my mission stays the same, beat the next guy in front of me.”
Luckily for Israel Adesanya, fresh meat is on the menu for his next bout, according to Dana White.
HOUSTON – [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] thinks UFC 271 wasn’t his best performance, but it wasn’t his worst.
In a title rematch against [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (23-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC), the UFC middleweight champion Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) swept the judges’ scorecards 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 in front of a capacity Toyota Center crowd.
“7-out-of-10,” Adesanya told MMA Junkie at a post-fight news conference. “Not bad. A good night in the office. A good chess match.”
In the lead-up to the fight, Adesanya reiterated how he wanted to win more impressively than his second-round knockout win over Whittaker at UFC 243 in October 2019. The fight ended up being longer and closer, but it makes sense to Adesanya that his prediction was off.
“It’s easier said than done,” Adesanya said. “It’s easier said than done if you’ve already been in there with him before. I feel like people have goldfish memories. When they get in there with me, they realize, ‘Oh sh*t. It’s not as easy as we thought.’ Yeah, they just have to revert back to what they know. … We’re just two guys trying to be the best in the world, but tonight, I’m the best in the world.”
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As for what’s next, Adesanya already has his next opponent penciled in. UFC president Dana White revealed the next title challenger will be [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag], who defeated Derek Brunson via second-round knockout earlier on the UFC 271 main card.
“I was excited to see (Cannonier vs. Brunson) and see how it was going to play out,” White told MMA Junkie after the event. “It was an awesome fight. And yeah, I’m not going to say, ‘no,’ to Cannonier.”
Cannonier (15-5 MMA, 8-5) has won five of his most recent six outings with victories over Brunson, Kelvin Gastelum, Jack Hermansson, Anderson Silva, and David Branch. His only loss in the stretch was to Whittaker, in a fight in which he severely injured his arm.
“The division is filled with killers, but I’m looking forward to fresh meat,” Adesanya said. … (I didn’t see his fight in) close detail. I just saw bits and pieces. I think he even got rocked. I saw he got taken down. Then, he elbowed Brunson. I didn’t really take stock. I’ll go back and watch the fights later and see what it is. He made a statement. I even told him after the weigh-in, not the ceremonial one, I said, ‘Please, take this guy out so I can get some fresh meat. He said, ‘Bro, I’m trying to work.’ I said, ‘Me, too.’ So I’m a man of my word.”
Since he defeated Whittaker for the title, Adesanya has gone 4-1 with title defenses against Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori, and now Whittaker. His only loss in that stretch came in a light heavyweight title challenge against then-champion Jan Blachowicz.
Check out the full list of the $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses awarded at Saturday’s UFC 271.
HOUSTON – There was plenty to pick from at UFC 271 for performance bonuses.
The second pay-per-view event of 2022 delivered several exciting fights and finishes that had the Houston crowd off their sears. The finishes included two violent knockouts courtesy of contenders [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] and [autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag]. Both competitors took home an extra $50,000 each in Performance of the Night bonuses.
Check out who all earned a bonus for their performance at UFC 271 below.
Israel Adesanya is still the UFC middleweight champion as he defeats Robert Whittaker for second time.
HOUSTON – [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] is still the UFC middleweight champion.
After five rounds of fighting, Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) retained his title against [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (23-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46). The middleweight title bout was the UFC 271 main event at Toyota Center in Houston.
Adesanya chants bellowed throughout Toyota Center when the two fighters took center cage. The champion came out from his signature crouch. The challenger calmly walked forward. A leg kick battled ensued. The competitors ranged their distance.
A hard stepping side kick to Adesanya’s lead leg and he changed stances, though it might’ve been his plan along. After a few high kick attempts, Adesanya landed the first significant strike – a left hand right down the pipe that dropped Whittaker to the seat of his pants. Whittaker avoided all else in the flurry and rose up. He shot for a takedown but was stuffed. Another less-committed attempt? Same thing.
Round 2 began with more of leg kicks. But it was Whittaker who had the crowd oohing and ahhing. A check lead punch landed on nearly consecutive exchanges. Adesanya took both, reset, and continued to march. Whittaker then completed a takedown, but Adesanya used the cage to get to his feet. Hard leg kicks from Adesanya and simultaneous-landing jabs were the most significant strikes for the rest of the round.
It was more chess-matching for the first half of Round 3. Around the midway mark, however, the fighters opened up for a hard exchange. Adesanya stuffed a Whittaker takedown attempt. Whittaker dumped Adesanya again, but back to the feet they went.
Whittaker began the championship rounds with another check left, which landed flush. A beautifully timed Whittaker takedown resulted in a scramble back upward. Whittaker scrambled to the backpack position and worked for a rear-naked choke. Adesanya walked to the cage, slipped out of Whittaker’s hooks, and gave the slimmest of smirks. Whittaker continued success with his lead left, while Adesanya remained hard to take down.
The Houston crowd gave both men a loud cheer to kick off the final round, a sign of respect for a patient and technical affair. After some more striking, Whittaker shot again. Adesanya utilized a front choke to successfully defend and separate. After an eye poke by Adesanya, the action continued. Whittaker scored a massive takedown, but the slippery Adesanya eluded him again. As soon as they hit the mat, Adesanya scrambled and found a way out. Whittaker shot again and held Adesanya against the fence, where they finished out the round.
The crowd wasn’t happy with the decision once it came, with the boos raining down on Adesanya during the announcement and into his interview. On the microphone, Adesanya mentioned Cannonier, who defeated Derek Brunson earlier on the card, as a possible next opponent. Whittaker utilized his mic time to credit the champion, but respectfully disagree with the judges’ decision.
WHAT A FIGHT 🔥
Who do you think should leave Houston with the belt? 👑
The UFC 271 main event was a rematch of the UFC 243 headliner, which Adesanya won by knockout in Round 2. That event took place in October 2019. In the time between his loss and Saturday’s rematch, Whittaker put together three straight victories over top contenders Kelvin Gastelum, Darren Till, and Jared Cannonier.
The trifecta earned him a second crack at Adesanya, who was 4-1 since their first meeting with his only loss coming in a light heavyweight title challenge against then-champ Jan Blachowicz.
Much of the conversation entering UFC 271 centered around Whittaker’s improvement and reinvention as a fighter. Whittaker spoke openly about mental challenges, deep self-conversations, and how he found happiness at the end of it all. His opponent Adesanya meanwhile expressed he thought the perceived strides were exaggerated due to recency bias.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 271 results include:
Israel Adesanya def. Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
