Tag: UFC 281

Molly McCann reveals Conor McGregor’s advice about dealing with fame: ‘It was so poetic and so lovely’

A budding UFC star, Molly McCann says Conor McGregor helped her wrap her mind around her newfound fame.

NEW YORK – “You can blow up and then you can blow up.”

[autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] admits the past few months have been a challenge. Her life has changed drastically after all.

As much as McCann (13-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) wants to give everyone the time and attention they deserve, the sudden spike in success and popularity has made that nearly impossible. But some recent advice from former UFC double champion [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] has eased her a bit as she nears her UFC 281 fight Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

They met for a pint at McGregor’s pub, Black Forge Inn, and continued dialogue over the days that followed. His advice? McCann called it “poetic.”

“I messaged him going, ‘How do you handle this? Because you can blow up and then you can blow up. I just couldn’t quite get my head around how some people are with you,'” McCann told MMA Junkie and other reporters at UFC 281 media day. “(McGregor) was just like, ‘When you’re in the gym, it’s just the gym. Don’t let no one else in. Keep everyone outside. Always remember it’s just fighting. You’re a cage warrior. That’s what we are. We’re Cage Warriors champions.’

“He said some mad things about, ‘Valentina is going to get a Mac spanking’ and all these things. It was so poetic, and it was so lovely. My partner, Ellis, printed it off and put it in a sign at MSG. It’s in my front room. So every day, if I’m struggling or I’m feeling good, I don’t get ahead of myself, get a big fat head, and walk around with ego. It’s to stay grounded and realize that I’m just here to win. The rest of it, the external factors mean f*ck all.”

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It wasn’t a linear path to stardom. McCann had six fights under her belt before she really took off. A recent three-fight winning streak, two spinning elbow knockouts, a sponsorship deal with Barstool Sports, and her friendship with budding star Paddy Pimblett have grown her fanbase exponentially. She’s finally taking it in stride.

“It’s been absolutely disgusting, to be honest,” McCann said. “Post-fight, I’ll enjoy an ale, enjoy doing the media with everyone. Then, when you get home, it absolutely kicks you in the face, because you’re not normal any more. I can’t just walk a little Frank and Patty down the streets anymore. So what I’ve had to do is leave a private life, because my life is not private anymore. That’s been something that not everyone has had to deal with. When we start fighting, I think we start to just win a belt. We don’t start for fame. We don’t really start for the money. It’s about the prestige and the honor of winning that belt.

“I’m very fortunate. I suppose that people want to know and that I’m that approachable. But it’s weighed heavy. I’ve just learned how to handle it now. Do you know like me, I never want to not give everyone every a bit of time I’ve got. I want to make everyone feel special. But when you’ve got hundreds of people a day that can drain your energy. I’ve learned to lay boundaries, be respectful to the people when they want to speak to me. But if I ain’t got time, it’s not the end of the world if I say no. That’s been the hardest thing, but I’m learning.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.

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Big favorite Zhang Weili says she has no fear of Carla Esparza in UFC 281 title fight

She may be the challenger at UFC 281 on Saturday, but former women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili is brimming with confidence.

NEW YORK – She may be the challenger Saturday, but former women’s strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] is brimming with confidence.

Weili (22-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) meets Carla Esparza (19-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) for Esparza’s title in the UFC 281 co-main event at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.

Weili won the 115-pound belt in August 2019 with a 42-second knockout of Jessica Andrade. She defended it with a split call over Joanna Jedrzejczyk just before the world shut down for the pandemic.

But in April 2021, she was knocked out by Rose Namajunas and surrendered the title, and about six months later, she lost to Namajunas by split decision in a rematch. In June, though, she knocked out Jedrzejczyk – and that put her in position to challenge for the title once again a few weeks after Esparza beat Namajunas to reclaim the belt.

When they fight Saturday, Weili will be the second biggest favorite on the card at around 4-1.

“No matter if I’m the favorite or the underdog, I prepared for this fight 100 percent,” Weili told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s media day in Manhattan. “I won’t look down at Carla just because I’m the favorite and she’s the underdog. I’ll do my best Saturday night.”

Weili, the UFC’s first champion from China, said she thinks Esparza is an opponent to worry about – but not to the point of fear.

And she thinks she has seen ways to beat her.

“I think Carla is one of the best in our division,” Weili said. “She was the inaugural champ of our division and won the title back after eight years. It’s a great achievement and I respect her achievement very much.

“I think her previous opponents, the mistake they made is they got trapped by Carla and got in her fighting rhythm. What I’m going to do Saturday night is I won’t be trapped by her. I’ll set up some traps for her.”

And while Weili didn’t say what those traps would be, she thinks she has the edge over Esparza in all areas.

“I think I’m a more well-rounded fighter than her,” she said. “No matter if we fight striking, wrestling, grappling, I have no problem fighting against her. I prepared a lot for this fight. Be ready: Some spectacular moment will happen in this fight.

“I think my fight is going to be a very exciting fight. I don’t fear her wrestling or grappling. I don’t fear anything from Carla Esparza.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.

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Video: Does Israel Adesanya have the right mindset entering Alex Pereira trilogy at UFC 281?

The UFC 281 title-fight main event between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira is a unique one. Yes, Adesanya is the middleweight champion, but how could he possibly feel like the man to beat given his history with Pereira? Pereira owns two wins over …

The UFC 281 title-fight main event between [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] is a unique one.

Yes, Adesanya is the middleweight champion, but how could he possibly feel like the man to beat given his history with Pereira? Pereira owns two wins over Adesanya in two previous kickboxing bouts, one of them being a knockout, and it’s clear those two losses still weigh heavy on the champ.

Heading into UFC 281, Adesanya has flat-out said “f*ck the belt” and that simply beating Pereira on this biggest stage is “what matters.”

“If there’s ever a fight I have to win, it’s this one,” Adesanya said.

It’s not often that we’ve heard Adesanya humble himself like this before a fight, so what do we think? Is he in the right head space for this matchup, or could he be putting too much pressure on himself?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Danny Segura, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Simon Samano give their thoughts with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel.

Alex Pereira: Israel Adesanya would deserve title rematch after UFC 281 but ‘isn’t going to want it’

Alex Pereira is confident his business with Israel Adesanya will reach a conclusion after UFC 281 one way or the other.

NEW YORK – [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] is confident his business with [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] will reach a conclusion at UFC 281 one way or the other.

If Pereira (6-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) follows through on his promise to claim the UFC middleweight title from Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) on Saturday, he would be up 3-0 in their head-to-head matchups between kickboxing and MMA competition. “The Last Stylebender” has six consecutive title defenses and would be warranted to get a rematch if he drops the strap, and Pereira agrees. Whether Adesanya would actually want the fight, however, is a different story.

“It makes no difference who they want to put after (to challenge for the belt),” Pereira told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at UFC 281 media day. “He deserves it, but after this fight he isn’t going to want it.”

Pereira’s pair of kickboxing wins over Adesanya included a decision in the first fight and a knockout in the second contest. He’s the only person to stop Adesanya in combat sports, and that result has been a massive selling point in bringing the pair together for the UFC 281 headliner.

Adesanya has said the matchup, which takes place at Madison Square Garden and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+, is “personal” to him because of the history. Pereira denies that notion on his end and said Adesanya’s comments prove that he’s rattled by the prospect of doing this fight.

“No (it’s not personal), not for me,” Pereira said. “I will do my work and job like I would if I was fighting anyone else. I just focus on fighting for the title. …. I don’t know how he would possibly be over that (knockout). It’s still in his mind.”

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The expectations from many observers is that Pereira and Adesanya will pick up where they lift off in the kickboxing ring and engage in a striking-only affair in the octagon. Pereira said he’s ready for everything, but he has no expectations of grappling. And if Adesanya tries to take the fight to the mat, Pereira said it will already be over for him.

“Anything can happen – many possibilities,” Pereira said. “Maybe Israel can go and try to take me down. If that happens, it’s going to be more of desperation instead of strategy.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.

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Michael Chandler: Islam Makhachev should defend UFC title vs. a lightweight before Alexander Volkanovski

Ahead of his UFC 281 bout, Michael Chandler makes his case for the next title shot rather than Alexander Volkanovski.

NEW YORK – [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] understands the booking.

The No. 1 and No. 3 pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC are lined up to square off in early 2023, with featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] expected to get a shot at lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag]’s title.

Selfishly speaking, though, Chandler (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) admits he disagrees with the matchmaking decision, should it be finalized.

“I think if there’s a guy out there who deserves to move up, I think it is Alex Volkanovski,” Chandler said during UFC 281 media day. “Obviously the selfish part of me says, ‘I don’t want that to happen.’ I understand how it makes a ton of sense from a promoter’s standpoint, from the UFC’s standpoint. You’ve got the No. 1 pound-for-pound guy in the world vs. the No. 3 pound-for-pound guy in the world. But I also think Islam has proven himself to be our champion. He is our champion, and we have to accept that.

“I think he’s a phenomenal talent. I also think he needs to have his first title defense against a lightweight. He needs to get through another lightweight before we start talking about superfights. I don’t say that to say the UFC is making a bad decision or a wrong decision if they make that decision to let Volkanovski move up.”

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On Saturday, Chandler takes on Dustin Poirier (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) at Madison Square Garden. The bout between two perennial lightweight contenders may not solidify the next immediate title challenger, but Chandler thinks it will line him up for the following crack at gold or another big fight opportunity.

“I think when I handle business on Saturday night, it’ll be undeniable that they’re going to want to see good old fashioned passion in American wrestling vs. Dagestani sambo, Dagestani grappling,” Chandler said. “That’s what I hope we get to see.”

“… It’s my fifth fight in the UFC. Things have calmed down a little bit. I’m seeing things more clearly, as well. This is a phenomenal opportunity. I think this puts me in line for the title or another huge fight by knocking out Dustin.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.

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Beneil Dariush picks Dustin Poirier to win at UFC 281, says Michael Chandler too ‘focused on being entertaining’

Beneil Dariush believes Michael Chandler could beat Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 – if he actually used his complete toolset.

[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] has the tools to beat Dustin Poirier on Saturday night at UFC 281. However, he doesn’t think he’ll use them properly enough to get the job done.

Dariush would like to pick Chandler (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) to beat Dustin Poirier (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) in the lightweight showdown at UFC 281. Yet, he’s siding with the American Top Team product as he believes Chandler is too focused on being entertaining to the point of his own detriment.

“If Chandler fights smart, he should be able to win this fight,” Dariush recently told “Morning Kombat.” “But I think Chandler right now is so focused on being exciting, so focused on being entertaining for the fans, he puts himself in really bad situations.

“I think if he goes out there, plays a very conservative striking game, a lot of wrestling, he should be able to pull this off. But in reality, I think Dustin Poirier is going to end up winning this fight, because Chandler is going to try to be more than he needs to be. I think he’s going to end up losing the fight because of that.”

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There’s no denying Chandler has been nothing but entertaining since his arrival to the UFC. In his four-fight run in the promotion, Chandler has picked up two Performance of the Night bonuses and one Fight of the Night bonus. The Fight of the Night bonus, which was earned with Justin Gaethje at UFC 268, transcended beyond the card and ended up being MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Year for 2021.

Poirier is also famous for putting on a show. The former UFC interim lightweight champion has racked up seven Fight of the Night and five Performance of the Night bonuses in his 11-year career with the promotion.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.

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Julio Arce confident future at bantamweight, says recent weight miss was ‘small miscalculation’

Julio Arce is confident his UFC future is at bantamweight despite missing weight for his most recent outing in April.

[autotag]Julio Arce[/autotag] is not going anywhere.

The former Ring of Combat two-division champion assures he’s here to stay in the UFC’s bantamweight division, despite not making weight for his most recent fight.

Arce (18-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who returns Saturday at UFC 281 against Montel Jackson (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), failed to make the bantamweight limit of 136 pounds for his fight against Daniel Santos at UFC 273 in April.

The decision win over Santos was Arce’s third fight since he dropped from featherweight to 135 pounds. The 33-year-old said it was a mishap that won’t happen again.

“That was my fault, but it was just a small miscalculation,” Arce told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “We just ran out of time. I had 0.5 pounds left, and I was still sweating, but if I don’t get to weigh-ins on time, then I can’t fight. So yeah, I just ran out of time.

“Now we’ve corrected the details that we needed to correct. Look, the first two fights at bantamweight I made 135 pounds. This last one was just a technical mistake. And I felt bad because regardless, I missed weight. But at least it wasn’t by that much. There are others who miss weight by three, four, five pounds. I did the best I could, but I just ran out of time.”

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Arce has been competing in the UFC since 2018. He’s proud to fight under the Las Vegas-based promotion, but his dreams don’t stop there. Arce is determined to be a UFC champion, and his drop to bantamweight is key in those plans.

“That’s the weight class I needed to return to,” Arce said. “When I was fighting at 145, you could see my opponents were clearly bigger than me, and you could also see the weight class that I needed to be in. So I decided to return to 135 because I do have aspirations of fighting for a title, so it needed to be in this division.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.

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Ottman Azaitar says bag incident caused USADA to test him 26 times in 2021

Ottman Azaitar’s brief UFC release caused him to become one of the sport’s most drug-tested athletes in 2021.

[autotag]Ottman Azaitar[/autotag]’s brief UFC release caused him to become one of the sport’s most drug-tested athletes in 2021.

In January 2021, Azaitar (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was cut from the UFC for violating COVID-19 health and safety protocols during UFC 257 fight week ahead of his fight with Matt Frevola, which was canceled. The UFC later decided to give the unbeaten Moroccan another chance.

UFC president Dana White said Azaitar’s team got a wristband to someone outside the UFC’s COVID bubble. That person dropped off a bag on their hotel balcony. Azaitar’s manager later revealed it was potatoes in the bag, but when asked in a recent interview with MMA Underground what was inside, Azaitar said he wasn’t even involved.

“It was a really strange story, but to be honest, I was not included at all in this  whole story,” Azaitar said. “But it’s OK. I don’t blame anyone for this. It’s no one to blame for, but I was not really responsible for this – especially this thing with the bag.”

The incident caused the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to keep a close eye on Azaitar, who was tested 26 times in 2021 according to the database. He’s only been tested six times in 2022.

“This cost – that I was the second most tested UFC fighter the last year,” Azaitar said. “Also, USADA was listening to this whole trash, and then, ‘Oh, OK, this guy had something in this bag.’ I don’t know what they expect me to have in this bag. I was worried that they think there was something dangerous, but they were thinking there was some forbidden substances and that’s why I was tested approximately 27 times last year. Very weird.”

Azaitar returns for the first time since September 2020 when he faces Frevola (9-3-1 MMA, 3-3-1 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 281. It’s a rebooking of their matchup that was scrapped at UFC 257.

UFC 281 takes place Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.

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Photos: UFC 281 media day in New York

Check out these photos of the fighters from UFC 281 media day in New York.

Check out these photos of the fighters and the faceoffs from UFC 281 media day in New York (Photos by Mike Bohn – MMA Junkie)

Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya full fights, knockout videos: Watch what laid groundwork for UFC 281 main event

Watch the kickboxing knockout that led to the Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira rivalry. They meet Saturday in the UFC 281 main event.

The stars aligned at UFC 276 for a highly anticipated third combat sports meeting between rivals [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag].

Since Pereira fully committed to the mixed martial arts path, the buzz around a potential meeting with UFC middleweight champion Adesanya in MMA steadily grew.

Ahead of UFC 276, promotion president Dana White said that would be the next title fight if both men won, which they did. Adesanya cruised to a unanimous decision over Jared Cannonier shortly after Pereira quickly knocked out Sean Strickland in Round 1.

Saturday, they’ll meet for Adesanya’s 185-pound title in the UFC 281 main event at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.

While fans likely are familiar with their MMA careers, Adesanya encouraged fans and reporters to watch his fights against Pereira. The first meeting took place in April 2016, during which Adesanya lost a unanimous decision to Pereira – a decision Adesanya disputes.

The rematch took place in March 2017 and the full highlights of the fight can be seen in the video above. As Adesanya outlined during his UFC 276 pre-fight news conference, he had Pereira hurt prior to a table-turning left hook knockout by his Brazilian opponent.

Check out the Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 2 fight highlights in the video above from the Glory of Heroes kickboxing promotion. Or you can check out both fights in full below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.

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