Tag: UFC 276

Brad Riddell vs. Jalin Turner joins UFC 276 lineup on July 2

A battle between rising lightweight contenders Brad Riddell and Jalin Turner is headed to UFC 276.

A battle between rising lightweight contenders is headed to UFC 276.

[autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] July 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial post by Turner’s management Iridium Sports Agency.

Joining his City Kickboxing teammates on the card, Riddell will look to rebound from his first octagon loss to Rafael Fiziev this past December at UFC on ESPN 31, which snapped his seven-fight winning streak. Prior to that, Riddell outlasted Drew Dober in a Fight of the Night effort at UFC 263.

Winner of his past four in a row, Turner is coming off a second-round TKO of Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 272 in March. All four of his wins have come inside the distance.

With the addition, the UFC 276 lineup includes:

  • Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier
  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway
  • Alex Pereira vs. Sean Strickland
  • Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
  • Pedro Munhoz vs. Sean O’Malley
  • Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller
  • Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz
  • Maycee Barber vs. Jessica Eye
  • Dricus Du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares
  • Bryan Barberena vs. Robbie Lawler
  • Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Brad Riddell vs. Jalin Turner

Veteran lightweight matchup Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller rebooked for UFC 276

UFC has rebooked an exciting lightweight matchup between two fan-favorite veterans for its July pay-per-view event.

Two UFC veterans with over 90 professional fights between them are heading to July’s pay-per-view event.

Revisiting a previously-booked matchup, UFC is adding [autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag] vs.[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag] to UFC 276. MMA Junkie confirmed the fight is in the works following an announcement on Twitter by Green’s management agency, Iridium Sports. The event is set to take place on July 2 in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena, and will be headlined by a middleweight title matchup between champ Israel Adesanya against Jared Cannonier.

Green (29-13-1 MMA, 10-8-1 UFC) and Miller (34-16 MMA, 23-15 UFC) were originally set to meet at UFC 258 last February, but Green collapsed backstage after weigh-ins and the fight was scrapped. Since then, both men have made a number of appearances, Green fighting four times, and Miller three.

Green, 35, headlined for the first time in his UFC career in February against Islam Makhachev on the heels of back-to-back wins over Al Iaquinta and Nasrat Haqparast. The fight did not go his way, although he took it on 10 days’ notice after Beneil Dariush sustained an injury.

Miller, 38, tied Donald Cerrone’s record for most wins in UFC history with his second-round TKO victory over Nikolas Motta at UFC Fight Night 201. The win marked the second-straight finish for Miller, previously finishing Erick Gonzalez in October via knockout.

With the addition, the UFC 276 lineup includes:

  • Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier
  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway
  • Alex Pereira vs. Sean Strickland
  • Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
  • Pedro Munhoz vs. Sean O’Malley
  • Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller
  • Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz
  • Maycee Barber vs. Jessica Eye
  • Dricus Du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares
  • Bryan Barberena vs. Robbie Lawler
  • Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Julija Stoliarenko

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Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier middleweight title fight on tap for UFC 276 in July

UFC International Fight Week event has a headliner in the form of a middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier.

The UFC’s annual International Fight Week event has its headliner in the form of a middleweight title fight between [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag].

Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC), the reigning UFC titleholder, will go for his fifth consecutive defense when he puts his belt up for grabs against Cannonier (15-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) in the UFC 276 main event on July 2.

UFC officials announced the fight during Saturday’s UFC 274 broadcast.

UFC 276 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims likely on ESPN and ESPN+.

Adesanya, No. 2 pound-for-pound and No. 1 at middleweight in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, has put together consecutive title defenses over Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori after suffering his first and only career loss to Jan Blachowicz in February 2021. He suffered that defeat in the light heavyweight division in a failed bid to become a two-division champion, but now he’s staying in his natural weight class, where he’s never been beaten.

No. 3-ranked Cannonier will attempt to knock “The Last Stylebender” off his throne. Cannonier has hovered around a title shot for the past several years, but he solidified the opportunity with a brutal knockout of Derek Brunson at UFC 271 in February.

With the addition, the UFC 276 lineup now includes:

  • Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier – for middleweight title
  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
  • Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
  • Bryan Barberena vs. Robbie Lawler
  • Dricus Du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares
  • Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz
  • Maycee Barber vs. Jessica Eye

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Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway agree to trilogy at UFC 276

Alexander Volkanovski will look to go 3-0 against Max Holloway when the pair square off this summer.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] will look to go 3-0 against [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] when the pair square off this summer.

On Thursday, MMA Junkie confirmed that verbal agreements are in place for featherweight champion Volkanovski to face Holloway July 2 at UFC 276, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ariel Helwani was first to report that the bout is in the works for July.

Volkanovski (24-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) was scheduled to face Holloway for a third time at UFC 272 in March, but Holloway withdrew due to injury. Instead, Volkanovski faced Chan Sung Jung one month later at UFC 273, dominating “The Korean Zombie” for a fourth-round stoppage win.

Meanwhile, former featherweight champion Holloway (23-6 MMA, 19-6 UFC) rebounded from his second straight title fight loss to Volkanovski at UFC 251 with back-to-back Fight of the Night wins over rising contenders Calvin Kattar in January 2021, and most recently Yair Rodriguez this past November in the UFC Fight Night 197 headliner.

Volkanovski, No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie pound-for-pound rankings, took the belt from No. 13 pound-for-pound Holloway with a unanimous decision at UFC 245 in December 2019.

With the addition, the UFC 276 lineup includes:

  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
  • Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
  • Bryan Barberena vs. Robbie Lawler
  • Dricus Du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares
  • Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz
  • Maycee Barber vs. Jessica Eye
  • Alex Pereira vs. Sean Strickland
  • Pedro Munhoz vs. Sean O’Malley

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Sean Strickland vs. Alex Pereira shifts from UFC 277 to UFC 276

A key middleweight out between Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira has a new date.

A key UFC middleweight bout between [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] has a new date.

Originally scheduled to take place July 30 at UFC 277, the promotion has moved the bout one pay-per-view event earlier to UFC 276 on July 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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

Winner of his past six in a row, Strickland (25-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) is closing in on his first-career title shot. The 31-year-old is coming off back-to-back main event wins over Uriah Hall, and most recently Jack Hermansson at UFC Fight Night 200 in February.

Meanwhile, Pereira (5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will get a highly ranked opponent in just his third UFC fight. The former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion scored a knockout victory over Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268 in New York,  followed by a unanimous decision over Bruno Silva at UFC Fight Night 203 in March.

With the addition, the UFC 276 lineup includes:

  • Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
  • Bryan Barberena vs. Robbie Lawler
  • Dricus Du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares
  • Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz
  • Maycee Barber vs. Jessica Eye
  • Alex Pereira vs. Sean Strickland

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Sean O’Malley gets step up, meets Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 on July 2

Sean O’Malley will get the step up in competition the world has been pining for when he meets Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] will get the step up in competition the world has been pining for when he meets [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] at UFC 276.

A key bantamweight matchup between Munhoz (19-7 MMA, 9-7 UFC) and O’Malley (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) has been added to the promotion’s International Fight Week slate, which revolves around the July 2 event.

MMA Junkie verified with multiple people close to the situation that verbal agreements for the bout are in place. Those people requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN.com first reported the booking.

O’Malley is currently in the midst of a three-fight knockout streak. The run came on the heels of his first and only career loss, which was a TKO defeat to Marlon Vera in a bout where O’Malley claims he suffered an in-fight injury that hampered his performance.

“Suga” has built back up since that August 2020 contest, though, and will now get a shot at Munhoz, who is No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings. The Brazilian is currently on a 1-4 slump, but his losses came to former champions Dominick Cruz, Jose Aldo, Frankie Edgar and current 135-pound kingpin Aljamain Sterling.

With the addition, the UFC 276 lineup now includes:

  • Pedro Munhoz vs. Sean O’Malley
  • Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
  • Bryan Barberena vs. Robbie Lawler
  • Dricus Du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares
  • Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz
  • Maycee Barber vs. Jessica Eye

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Robbie Lawler set to return against Bryan Barberena at UFC 276 on July 2

A fan-friendly matchup is set as former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler returns to face Bryan Barberena in July.

A banger of a welterweight fight has been added to the UFC’s July 2 pay-per-view event.

Former welterweight champion [autotag]Robbie Lawler[/autotag] is set to take on [autotag]Bryan Barberena[/autotag] in a three-round bout. Multiple people with knowledge of the booking confirmed the news with MMA Junkie, although the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Barberena (17-8 MMA, 8-6 UFC) also announced the matchup against Lawler (29-15 MMA, 14-9 UFC) on social media Tuesday.

UFC 276 is set to take place in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena on July 2.

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Lawler, 40, was last seen in action at UFC 266 last September where he spoiled the return of Nick Diaz, who opted not to continue after the accumulation of damage early in the third round. The win snapped a four-fight skid for the former champion, a stretch that reached back to 2017.

Barberena, 33, will be stepping into the cage for the second time in 2022 on the heels of a split decision victory over Matt Brown in March, a battle that won the Fight of the Night bonus. A win over Lawler would make it three straight for Barberena, who defeated Dairan Weeks via unanimous decision in December to get back in the win column.

With the addition, the UFC 276 lineup includes:

  • Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
  • Bryan Barberena vs. Robbie Lawler
  • Dricus Du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares
  • Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz
  • Maycee Barber vs. Jessica Eye

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With Casey O’Neill out, Maycee Barber targeted to step in against Jessica Eye at UFC 276

Maycee Barber will jump right into another training camp when she steps in to face Jessica Eye at UFC 276.

[autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag] will jump right into another training camp.

Casey O’Neill has been forced out of UFC 276 due to a torn ACL and Barber (10-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will step in to face [autotag]Jessica Eye[/autotag] (15-10 MMA, 5-9 UFC) on July 2. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Junkie that verbal agreements are in place after an initial report by BJ Penn.com.

Barber is on the heels of a victory over Montana De La Rosa this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 205. The win marked 23-year-old Barber’s second straight after a two-fight losing skid.

Eye, 35, has lost three in a row. Most recently, she lost a unanimous decision to Jennifer Maia at UFC 264 in July 2021. Prior to that, the former title challenger had won three of her past four, including wins over Katlyn Chookagian and Viviane Araujo.

With the change, the UFC 276 lineup includes:

  • Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
  • Maycee Barber vs. Jessica Eye
  • Dricus du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares
  • Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz

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Casey O’Neill says she tore ACL, out of UFC 276 bout vs. Jessica Eye

One of the brightest rising stars in the UFC will be on the shelf for an extended period of time.

Rising flyweight star [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] won’t be fighting at UFC 276.

On Thursday, O’Neill (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) announced her withdrawal from her scheduled July 2 bout vs. [autotag]Jessica Eye[/autotag] (15-10 MMA, 5-9 UFC) due to a torn ACL suffered in training.

“Unfortunately I have to announce that I need to withdraw from my upcoming fight on July 2 due to snapping my ACL last week in training,” O’Neill wrote in a post on her social media accounts.

“I’ve spent the past 7 days trying to continue on but it’s just not possible on a fully torn ACL. I will have surgery, recover and be back better than ever before you know it.”

“I’m so sad that I don’t get to perform for you guys, I’m so sad that I don’t get to fight but I am excited to get healthy and rebuild. Thank you to the @ufc @danawhite @mickmaynard2 @heatherlinden @drtera @ufcpi for always taking care of me

“I am 24 years old and young in this game. I promise you I will be back better than before and the King is still coming for her crown. Love you guys, thank you for the support.”

O’Neill’s unblemished professional record includes UFC finishes over Shana Dobson, Lara Procopio, and Antonina Shevchenko. In her most recent bout, O’Neill went to the decision for the first time in her promotional tenure when she defeated Roxanne Modafferi by split decision.

It is unclear if Jessica Eye will receive a replacement, though the bout is still over nine weeks away.

With the change, the UFC 276 lineup includes:

  • Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
  • Jessica Eye vs. TBA
  • Dricus du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares
  • Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz

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Dricus Du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares joins UFC 276 lineup

Dricus Du Plessis will still get an opportunity at a ranked opponent when he faces Brad Tavares in July.

[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] will still get an opportunity at a ranked opponent.

Du Plessis (16-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) faces [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] (19-6 MMA, 14-6 UFC) at UFC 276 in Las Vegas. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Tuesday after an initial report by MMA Fighting.

Du Plessis saw multiple fights scrapped for UFC 273. He was initially scheduled to face Chris Curtis, but drew Anthony Hernandez after Curtis was forced out. But when Kelvin Gastelum needed a new opponent, Du Plessis was pulled from his bout against Hernandez to face him.

However, Gastelum ended up withdrawing due to injury and Du Plessis did not get to compete on the night. In two octagon appearances, the 28-year-old kept his 100 percent finishing rate in tact by taking out Markus Perez and Trevin Giles.

Winner of six of his past eight, Tavares was able to snap a two-fight losing skid by picking up back-to-back decision wins over Antonio Carlos Junior and most recently Omari Akhmedov at UFC 264 last July.

With the addition, the UFC 276 lineup includes:

  • Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
  • Jessica Eye vs. Casey O’Neill
  • Dricus Du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares

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