Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here are the top four honorable mentions and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Year” award for 2023.
With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best knockouts from January to December. Here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Year” award for 2023.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Knockout of the Year.”
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With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from April 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from April 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for April.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
Watch Gilbert Burns outpoint Jorge Masvidal in his retirement fight in the UFC’s return to Miami.
2023 is painting out to be quite the year for one of the UFC’s most dangerous title contenders.
[autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] already has notched two wins this year and soon will look to add a third. The Brazilian fought in January and submitted Neil Magny. Then he beat Jorge Masvidal in a huge co-main event at UFC 287 in Miami in April. The fight marked the end of Masvidal’s storied career.
You can watch Burns’ win over Masvidal in the video above.
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Burns (22-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) returns to the octagon Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 288. He takes on top contender Belal Muhammad (22-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in a key welterweight bout.
The card goes down at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.
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With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from April 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from April 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for April.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Israel Adesanya said he was not 100 percent going into his middleweight title fight rematch with Alex Pereira at UFC 287.
[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] says he was not 100 percent going into his title-fight rematch with [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] at UFC 287.
Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) revealed that he suffered a grade 1 MCL tear to his right knee just 13 days before he ran things back with Pereira (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) earlier this month in Miami. There also was some damage to his ankle, he said.
His injury started to affect him when Pereira was unleashing staggering leg kicks, but Adesanya was able to knock “Poatan” out in Round 2 to reclaim the middleweight title.
Adesanya explained he sustained the injury while defending a takedown during sparring and released a video on his YouTube channel to show the exact moment it happened. “The Stylebender” powered through the injury and finished off the grappling round, anyway.
“I remember the feeling, as well – it was hot,” Adesanya said. “It felt hot, like a burning feeling. But this is just mental toughness – mental toughness and adrenaline. … We’re fighters, man. Don’t worry. I’ve been through worse. I’ve been through some sh*t.”
Watch the full video below:
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Despite the injury, UFC president Dana White said Adesanya is looking to compete in July. Adesanya already has beaten the top five ranked UFC middleweights, but his next challenger could come from the winner of former foe Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis, who battle at UFC 290 on July 8.
Max Holloway is back at No. 2 after a UFC on ESPN 44 victory over fellow top featherweight Arnold Allen.
[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] is back in the No. 2 featherweight ranking slot after his UFC on ESPN 44 win over Arnold Allen.
Saturday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., Holloway defeated Allen by unanimous decision in a competitive masterclass of a five-round fight.
With the win, Holloway is only behind three-time rival (and UFC featherweight champion) Alexander Volkanovski.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.
Gilbert Burns thinks Jorge Masvidal could get lured out of retirement if offered money fights against Conor McGregor or Nate Diaz.
[autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] isn’t 100 percent sold that [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] will stay retired from MMA.
“Right now he’s retired, and as a title contender he’s retired, but for big money fights against (Conor) McGregor or Nate Diaz or another big name, I think he returns,” Burns recently told MMA Junkie in Spanish.
Burns (22-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) was the final opponent of Masvidal’s career as the two fought in the co-main event of UFC 287 earlier this month in Miami. Immediately after Burns was announced the winner by unanimous decision, Masvidal (35-17 MMA, 12-10 UFC) revealed to the world that it would be his final performance, putting an end to a 20-year career.
Masvidal cited no longer feeling as skilled as he once was as the main reason for his retirement from fighting. Burns thinks “Gamebred” is being too harsh on his self assessment, as he thinks Masvidal is still at a good skill level.
“He was very dangerous in there,” Burns said. “He kept fighting the entire time. He’s very dangerous. Even when I was grappling him, he had all the answers. He knows how to respond, where to put his hands, what to do when he gets brought back to the canvas. He’s very intelligent. With all the training and work that I did with my trainers, he was still very smart.
“Some people ask me, ‘Why didn’t you knock him out? Why didn’t you knock him out?’ Man, he was always fighting. He’s a natural fighter, and there was never a moment I felt I could relax. If he wants it and feels he still has the heart, he can fight. But if his heart is not in it and doesn’t want to work hard, it’s time.”
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“Durinho” felt the latest version of Masvidal in the octagon. He assures Masvidal is far from done skills wise. If Masvidal no longer has the desire to fight, that’s one thing. But if he wishes to return from retirement, Burns thinks Masvidal has the level to be in important fights, even if the title is no longer in his future.
“I feel like if he still wants, he can (continue fighting),” Burns said. “His level is still good. That guy is very intelligent, and he’s got a lot of experience. However, I also believe that when you feel like you don’t want anymore, you should probably stop.
“I do feel like he’s done chasing the title, but I believe that if McGregor wins or loses against Chandler, they’re going to make that fight with Jorge. McGregor is not really chasing the title, and I don’t see him hungry. I do think a great, a big fight, and Jorge comes back. He won’t return to make a run for the title, but if there’s a mega fight, I think he returns.”
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Eugene Bareman reveals how UFC champ Israel Adesanya had to change his approach when he rematched Alex Pereira.
City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman reveals that UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] had to change his approach when rematching [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag].
Adesanya was able to reclaim his title from Pereira at UFC 287 when he knocked him out in Round 2. After losing to Pereira three times – twice in kickboxing and once in MMA – “The Last Stylebender” finally exacted his revenge.
Speaking to Combat TV, Bareman said Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) had to switch up the game plan when going up against a caliber of striker like former two-division Glory Kickboxing champ Pereira (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC).
“Basically we needed Israel to be more aggressive,” Bareman said. “We needed him to lead more. We needed him to be better in the mid-range, where he used to be a master of, but he hasn’t needed to be a master of because he can just beat guys on the outside where they can’t touch him.
“You can’t do that against a high-level kickboxer anymore. This is high level. You’re fighting a guy that’s done standup his whole life. We had to bring back old things and bring them back onto the table and unlock them, and that’s what he did. He did a fantastic job.”
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Adesanya now holds title wins over top five middleweights Pereira, Robert Whittaker, Marvin Vettori, Jared Cannonier, and Paulo Costa. He was dismissive of a trilogy with Pereira, who announced that he will be moving up to light heavyweight for his next fight.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
Michael Bisping expects former UFC champ Alex Pereira to be a better version of himself fighting 20 pounds heavier.
[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] expects [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] to be more durable at light heavyweight.
Former UFC middleweight champion Pereira (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) announced that he will move up to 205 pounds after losing his middleweight title to Israel Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) by knockout at UFC 287.
With their series tied 1-1 in MMA, Bisping thinks a trilogy between Pereira and Adesanya should have been next. But he sees “Poatan,” who also defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing, benefitting from having to cut a lot less weight at 205 pounds.
“You’ve got to think that Alex Pereira at 205 will be even better than what he was at 185,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Those hard weight cuts, and look at the size of Pereira. That was a tough weight cut every time he did it.
“They drain you, they sap you, they affect your stamina, they affect your recovery, they affect the training camp because you can’t eat carbohydrates, and you can’t recover from one session to the next. You get tired as the fights go on and more importantly, they affect your ability to take a punch.”
Pereira was brutally knocked out by Adesanya in their rematch. In the first fight at UFC 281, Pereira was rocked at the end of Round 1 before rallying to get the finish in Round 5.
Without the draining weight cut, Bisping expects Pereira to have a better chin at light heavyweight.
“All of that would be eradicated at 205,” Bisping said. “He will be a bigger, better, stronger, more stamina, fitter, higher output, and could take a better shot. And he better be able to take a better shot at 205 because they do hit harder.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
If Miami becomes a yearly visit for the UFC, count Gilbert Burns in on fighting there every time.
[autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] enjoyed everything about the UFC’s historic return to the 305.
The UFC welterweight contender made up one half of the co-main event of UFC 287, which marked the promotion’s first card in Miami in nearly 20 years. The card took place at the Kaseya Center, the same venue that hosted its previous event in 2004.
Burns (22-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) defeated hometown hero Jorge Masvidal in the co-main event of the card, winning a unanimous decision. And for Burns, a South Florida resident, it was a special career moment.
“All my friends and family were able to come, everything was nearby, and above all, I got to win,” Burns told MMA Junkie in Spanish when asked about his experience fighting in Miami. “It was spectacular. I got a big win against Jorge Masvidal, a guy that’s super tough and always comes to fight.
“Getting a dominant win over him in front of my friends, students, and everyone who was present to watch me. Also, the atmosphere. I’m Brazilian. It had an atmosphere of soccer. It’s a different feel. We had a lot of Latinos, Cubans, Brazilians, so their energy was great. It was tremendous.”
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UFC president Dana White was very happy with the turnout in Miami, saying it was the “sixth highest grossing event in UFC history.” He wants to keep Miami as an annual destination, just how the company visits Madison Square Garden in New York yearly.
If that’s the case, Burns wants in on all future events in Miami.
“Always, always. Miami is my home,” Burns said. “In September, it’s going to be 10 years since I’ve been living in South Florida. This is my second home for me.
“I like fighting two or three times a year, and if I could fight once in Brazil and once in Miami, that’s good for me. I was very happy. I think this is going to be a new home for the UFC. This is a new home for the UFC. But yes, if there’s a fight here in Miami, I want in. If there’s a fight in Rio, I want in. I only want to fight at home here.”
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