Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2022.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2022: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for November.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from November 2022.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from November 2022: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for November.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from November 2022.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from November 2022: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for November.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Daniel Cormier doesn’t believe Michael Chandler is serious anymore about becoming UFC lightweight champion.
[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] thinks winning a UFC championship is no longer [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag]’s top priority.
Chandler is 2-3 in the octagon, most recently getting submitted by Dustin Poirier at UFC 281. It took Chandler only two UFC fights to compete for the title, but losses to Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and now Poirier have set him back.
Although Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) hasn’t given up on his title hopes, Cormier believes his recent callouts of [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] say otherwise.
“This tells me that Mike’s focus has shifted a bit,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “It feels like now the title isn’t at the forefront for Michael Chandler, because the guys that he’s calling aren’t in championship contention. You all know that Jorge Masvidal’s championship days are a bit behind him, and Conor McGregor also is not in title contention.”
[lawrence-related id=2597361,2597238,2597062]
Chandler openly said a fight with McGregor would do staggering pay-per-view numbers. He sees a fight with “BMF” champion Masvidal (35-16 MMA, 12-9 UFC) also delivering, but Cormier said those fights do nothing to help him reach the title picture.
“Mike’s focused on two fights because they’re fun, they’re tough fights, they make sense, but they’re also two of the biggest names in the game,” Cormier said. “… Michael Chandler saying he wants these dudes, it just tells me that the mindset is changing a little bit.”
[vertical-gallery id=2596102]
Watch a preview of the latest edition of “The Thrill and the Agony,” which goes behind the scenes in the aftermath of UFC 281.
Watch a preview for the latest edition of “The Thrill and the Agony,” which goes behind the scenes of UFC 281.
At the event, which took place Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) dethroned Israel Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) with a late come-from-behind TKO to capture the middleweight title.
In the co-headliner, [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) reclaimed her strawweight title when she submitted Carla Esparza (19-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) in Round 2.
Finally, in the featured bout, [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] (29-7 MMA, 21-6 UFC) submitted Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in a Fight of the Night war.
In a preview of “The Thrill and the Agony” special from UFC 281, which is available for UFC Fight Pass subscribers, we get an all-access look at the immediate aftermath from all three fights, including a testy exchange between Poirier and Chandler that eventually smoothed over.
Coach Eugene Bareman thinks the stoppage was fair in Israel Adesanya’s TKO loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 281.
Eugene Bareman thinks the stoppage was fair in [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]’s TKO loss to [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] at UFC 281.
Although Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) thought referee Marc Goddard stepped in too early to stop the fight in Round 5, City Kickboxing head coach Bareman says it could have only gotten worse for his star student.
Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) had Adesanya badly hurt against the ropes, which led Goddard to wave the fight off while Adesanya still was standing. “The Stylebender” immediately protested the stoppage and thought it was too early – but Bareman thinks it was fair.
“I can’t sit here and truthfully say that that was an early stoppage,” Bareman said in an interview with Combat TV. “I’m happy with the stoppage, personally. I thought Israel was in trouble. Of all my experience that I’ve had in this sport, I saw some signs that he was in trouble.
“I felt that prolonging the fight longer than when Marc Goddard stopped it would’ve ended up not good for Israel’s health. So I’m happy with the referee’s decision. … At the end of the day, we live to fight another day. You never know what could’ve happened if that fight had been allowed to progress.”
Bareman expects Adesanya to get a quick opportunity to reclaim the middleweight title. Up 3-1 on the judges’ scorecards heading into Round 5, Bareman says Adesanya could have just coasted.
“We took some of the positive things out of the fight, and that is that we, for the most part, dominated the fight,” Bareman said. “At that stage, it was 3-1. We could have just about ran around backwards for the last round and we would have come home with the result. We took the positives out of it and we just focused on those and moved on.”
[vertical-gallery id=2596106]
[listicle id=2595679]
“I don’t know what happened in our fight that left him with any confidence that he thinks he can still beat me.”
[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] has no interest in running things back with [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag].
Since losing to Smith (36-17 MMA, 11-7 UFC) by first-round submission in the UFC Fight Night 192 headliner in September 2021, Spann (21-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has scored back-to-back first-round finishes of Ion Cutelaba, and most recently a vicious knockout of Dominick Reyes at UFC 281.
Following his win over Reyes, Spann appeared to indirectly call Smith out, saying that he’s targeting the top five – but not No. 4, 3 or 2. Smith is currently ranked No. 5 in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, so with No. 1 Glover Teixeira slated to rematch champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 282, he understood that Spann meant him.
“I don’t know what happened in our fight that left him with any confidence that he thinks he can still beat me or that he deserves a rematch,” Smith said on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast. “I had him on ice skates until he was shooting takedowns, I strangled him, and then stood over his body, reminding him what he said he was going to do to me. So, he’s my b*tch forever and he knows it.
“Eventually, he may work himself into a situation where we’re gonna rematch, but I already fought down when I gave him an opportunity. Until he does something where I go, ‘Oh, wow, that was super impressive,’ he can f*ck off. Him being an asshole didn’t work out for him the last time… he barely handled the first loss, what’s he gonna do with the second?”
Smith is coming off a second-round TKO loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277 in July, which snapped his three-fight winning streak. He also suffered a broken ankle in the bout which required surgery.
[vertical-gallery id=2596094]
[listicle id=1036477]
“Adesanya stop making excuses saying that the referee stopped the fight early… you have to thank him for saving your life.”
Whether or not Marc Goddard stopped the fight at the moment he did, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] thinks he would have finished [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] at UFC 281.
Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) dethroned Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) of the middleweight title with a fifth-round TKO at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Brazilian had “The Last Stylebender” on wobbly legs with a big combination, prompting referee Goddard to stop the fight while Adesanya was still standing.
Adesanya immediately protested the stoppage and said he would have wanted more time to defend himself. But “Poatan” doesn’t think Adesanya was intelligently defending himself, and the referee did him a favor (via Instagram):
“Adesanya stop making excuses saying that the referee stopped the fight early… you have to thank him for saving your life. The way you were with your head down looking at the ground, I only needed one or two more hits to connect a good knee to your face so we wouldn’t know the outcome.
As I said at that point in the video, you were a great opponent and I respect you for that.
Assume the mistakes along with your team without taking away my merits.
You will have one more chance!
You’re next!”
https://www.instagram.com/reel/ClGzbhtJRrz
Pereira declared that a UFC title rematch with Adesanya is next, and the former champ has already stated he’s eager to run things back after being up 3-1 on the judges’ scorecards prior to the finish. Pereira has now defeated Adesanya three times – twice in kickboxing – and now in MMA to become the man to end Adesanya’s middleweight title reign.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.
[vertical-gallery id=2596106]
[listicle id=2595679]
“We don’t need to see Izzy with his eyes rolled back behind his head, flat out unconscious.”
[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] understands [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]’s frustration with his loss to Alex Pereira, but agrees with the referee’s stoppage.
Up 3-1 on the judges’ scorecards in his title fight against Pereira at UFC 281, middleweight champ Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) was stopped in Round 5. It was a standing TKO finish for Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who had Adesanya rocked and badly hurt three minutes into the final frame.
Adesanya was stumbling, prompting referee Marc Goddard to stop the fight. “The Last Stylebender” immediately protested the result, but Rogan says there’s no need for him to take any more inevitable damage.
“I don’t think Pereira was gonna stop,” Rogan said in a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “He had more time, Izzy was stationary and Pereira was gonna hit him with some big shots. We don’t need to see Izzy with his eyes rolled back behind his head, flat out unconscious. I think it was a good stoppage.”
“I could see where he would be upset about it, too, and I could see where other fights have gone on longer. And they have, but it’s a subjective call and Marc Goddard is one of the very best in the world. He’s top two or three. He might be No. 2. I think Herb Dean’s No. 1 and ‘Big’ John McCarthy doesn’t ref anymore, he was always in that same spot.”
[lawrence-related id=2597539,2597411,2597304]
Rogan lauded Adesanya for the way he handled the loss, saying he did do “better than anybody ever.” Adesanya showed up to the post-fight news conference and has made numerous podcast appearances since to address the fight.
“Like a f*cking king, like a king,” Rogan said on Adesanya. “He was saying bring back Steve Mazzagatti because Steve Mazzagatti was a referee that was famous for letting fights go way too long… Mazzagatti was kind of famous for that for whatever reason, whether it’s justified or not, but it was just hilarious that Izzy was saying bring back Steve Mazzagatti.
“Then he went on Andrew Schulz’s podcast on Monday, so he was on Schulz’s podcast Monday, they were drinking, having fun. He handled it very, very well… it’s f*cking the game they play man. I mean, Izzy knocked a lot of f*cking people unconscious. Izzy put it on everybody in the division.”
[vertical-gallery id=2596106]
[listicle id=2595679]
This is an interesting thought from Chael Sonnen on where Dustin Poirier stands now in his UFC career.
[autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag] believes UFC gold is no longer [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag]’s top priority.
Poirier (29-7 MMA, 21-6 UFC) submitted Michael Chandler in a Fight of the Night war last Saturday at UFC 281, adding on to his already star-studded resume. Outside of two title-fight losses, Poirier has been on a roll at lightweight, holding wins over Conor McGregor (twice), Max Holloway (for the interim title), Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, and now Chandler.
The win over Chandler has reentered Poirier into the title conversation, but Sonnen thinks “The Diamond” has other goals.
“Dustin Poirier right now is not on a mission to be champion,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “And to become champion is very realistic; that’s not the statement I’m making. Dustin Poirier’s No. 1 goal right now is not to reclaim his championship. He wants to go into a category. It’s the elite of the elite. It’s a category so high that when you start training, you don’t even set a goal to do.
“There’s one more category above champion – one category, and that is when the outcome of your fight doesn’t matter. When you get to a level of popularity where the outcome of your match no longer matters. The next time you come out, the crowd will be sold out, and you will be in the main event. Even if you’re coming off of a loss, your next fight will be the main event. I’m talking about a Conor McGregor status.”
[lawrence-related id=2596903,2596882]
Sonnen may not be too off with his point. In a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Poirier said a fight with top contender Beneil Dariush doesn’t interest him and isn’t super exciting in comparison to his previous opponents.
“He wants to do superfights,” Sonnen added. “He wants to do massive fights and the title be damned. He’s already got one. He’s got one sitting in his mantle at home. He will go down in the record books if he never fights again as a champion of the world, which he was. He wants to go into this different realm.”
[vertical-gallery id=2596102]
