Tag: ufc 288

UFC heavyweight Braxton Smith suspended for exogenous testosterone administration

After a failed UFC debut, Braxton Smith also is dealing with a failed drug test that will keep him out of action for a long time.

UFC heavyweight [autotag]Braxton Smith[/autotag] failed in his attempt to capture his first promotional win – and now he’s failed a drug test, too.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency publicly announced a two-year suspension for Smith after a urine sample he submitted tested positive for exogenous administration of testosterone and its precursors in two out-of-competition tests on April 19 and May 4, and one in-competition test May 6.

“Smith’s urine sample was analyzed using a specialized test, known as Carbon Isotope Ratio (CIR) testing, that differentiates between anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) naturally produced by the body and prohibited anabolic agents of external origin,” USADA said in a statement. “The CIR test confirmed the presence of testosterone and/or its metabolites of external origin in Smith’s urine sample. All AAS are non-Specified Substances in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and UFC Prohibited List.”

Since Smith was not notified of his failures until the third sample was already submitted, the three tests only count as one violation. The tests occurred in and around his May 6 bout vs. [autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag] at UFC 288. Since Smith lost by first-round TKO, no changes to the bout result are required.

Smith will be eligible to return to competition April 19, 2025 by USADA standards, but he could face different sanctions from the New Jersey State Athletic Commission, who has yet to publicly rule on the matter.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for May: Short-notice newcomer thrills in defeat

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from May 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from May 2023. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for May.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for May: Kennedy Nzechukwu’s standing choke

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from May 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from May 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for May.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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Nominees

MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for May: Diego Ferreira’s one-punch finish

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from May 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from May 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for May.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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Nominees

Kron Gracie blames poor UFC 288 showing on bad advice, says he’s going back to ‘old ways’ next fight

Kron Gracie didn’t put forth his best effort in his UFC return, and he apparently knows it.

[autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag] didn’t put forth his best effort in his UFC return, and he apparently knows it.

Competing for the first time in three-and-a-half years at UFC 288, Gracie was outworked and dominated by Charles Jourdain earlier this month as he dropped a lopsided unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 30-27 against him.

While the fight was billed as a classic striker vs. grappler matchup between the Canadian puncher and Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, many observers were taken aback by just how little striking Gracie used, instead opting to repeatedly pull guard on Jourdain. Gracie’s performance even had UFC president Dana White saying he had a “rough game plan.”

“He came in very limited tonight,” White said afterward. “It was like coming out of a time capsule in 1995, you know what I mean? Tough way to try to win a fight these days.”

With more than week gone by since the fight, Gracie (5-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) finally shed some light on his performance in a post on his Instagram stories, blaming it, at least in part, on a last-minute change to his plan.

“In a lifetime of fighting it’s always been a fight to the death,” Gracie wrote. “Understand the (situation) and willing to limit myself. Even that being said, I threw no punches because of bad (advice) and (tried) to please the jiu-jitsu (community) two days before my fight. First fight in my life I didn’t throw a punch. Going back to my old ways.”

The fight with Jourdain was in stark contrast to his previous UFC appearance in October 2019, when he lost a unanimous decision to Cub Swanson in the Fight of the Night at UFC Fight Night 161.

A member of the famed Gracie family, Kron is the son of Rickson Gracie and grandson of Helio Gracie. He’s friends with Nick and Nate Diaz and has taken part in training with both men before.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.

Aljamain Sterling: Sean O’Malley not that big of a draw, and title fight ‘ain’t going to be in freaking Boston’

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling isn’t sold on Sean O’Malley’s star power.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] isn’t sold on [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]’s star power.

Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) is expected to defend his title against O’Malley next. After he retained his bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo in this past Saturday’s UFC 288 headliner, Sterling called O’Malley into the octagon for a faceoff.

O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) declared himself the biggest draw in the bantamweight division, but Sterling says nothing points to that.

“Sean O’Malley is definitely the No. 1 contender, so he’s going to get the next fight. But he’s not this big draw that he thinks he is,” Sterling said. “If he was as big of a draw as he says he was, he would have done bigger numbers than Bo Nickal did on (Dana White’s) Contender Series. I think we all know that’s not the case. So in his universe, he thinks he’s this big guy. But this is the Aljamain Sterling show.”

Sterling also doesn’t get the appeal behind O’Malley’s character, and questions what makes him a star.

“He’s a funny dude when he wants to be,” Sterling said. “I don’t get the infatuation with him, like in terms of his personality. When he talks, I’m like, ‘I don’t get what the big deal is about him.’ Conor (McGregor), I get the Conor thing. The stuff that he says is funny. It’s witty. Sean ain’t saying no sh*t like that. He’s just, like, talking. I guess it’s just the colorful hair, the face tattoos. He’s got some serious skills, I guess.”

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O’Malley wants to challenge Sterling at UFC 292, which is expected to take place Aug. 19 in Boston. But “The Funkmaster” said he won’t fight again until September.

“He’s coming into the Aljamain Sterling show, and I’m going to dictate and pick where we’re going to fight – and it ain’t going to be freaking Boston,” Sterling said. “Sean O’Malley does not get a say in where this fight is going to take place. He’s going to fight on my time and when I feel like going out and competing again. I said September, so he better pony up and be ready to fight in September.”

Demetrious Johnson: Henry Cejudo ‘1,000 percent’ would’ve beaten Aljamain Sterling under ONE Championship rules

Demetrious Johnson weighs in on Henry Cejudo’s decision loss to champ Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288.

[autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] saw [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] beating [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] at UFC 288, but he admits it was a close one.

Sterling defeated Cejudo by split decision. However, if the UFC bantamweight title fight would’ve been under the ONE Championship ruleset, Johnson is convinced the result would’ve gone the other way.

“Oh, 1,000 percent,” Johnson told MMA Junkie when asked if Cejudo would’ve beat Sterling under ONE Championship rules. “One of the things when I was watching with Matt (Hume), Aljo would shoot – and he did it with Petr Yan – he would shoot and fail his shot, or Henry would sprawl and (Sterling) would sit like this [swings head from side to side]. He would use the (prohibited) knee to a grounded opponent to his advantage.

“It’s smart on Aljo’s part because he knows that Henry doesn’t have the right tools. … But if it’s in ONE Championship, when he shot and had the quarter Nelson or the head, he could’ve kneed Aljo in the face and would’ve forced Aljo to move to not stall there and move to a different place. I watched the fight live, and I recorded myself (saying), ‘Knee, knee, knee, knee.’ And I was like, ‘Sh*t, you can’t knee there because it’s not ONE Championship.'”

Johnson (25-4-1), who recently defended his flyweight belt against Adriano Moraes (20-5) at ONE Fight Night 10, still scored the fight for Cejudo using the judging criteria in which it was contested in.

“It was a great fight,” Johnson said. “I was gutted when he came up short. I knew how bad he wanted it. And the same with Aljo: I know he wanted it bad, too.

“The biggest thing is that I didn’t account for Aljo to be able to wrestle with Henry. He is a gold Olympic (wrestling) medalist, obviously. He’s’ never been taken down in his UFC fights. So with Aljo being able to do that and get his back, Aljo wasn’t able to get his submission game going. I know he’s the better grappler, but I felt that Henry did enough to win the fight. Going into the fifth round, I had it even – 2-2 – and I felt Henry did enough to become the new champion.”

Despite the decision loss to Sterling, Johnson is still proud of his friend Cejudo and what he was able to do that night at UFC 288.

“I’m just happy Henry got to go out there and prove he can come back and compete with the best after a three-year layoff,” Johnson said. “I’m sure he made great money, and I know he’s got a baby on the way. Whatever he decides to do, I support him. And he looked great on a three-year layoff. I know I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t want to do three years and come back because it’s a lot. I fight better when I’m active.”

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Henry Cejudo’s coach says UFC 288 did 700K buys; Aljamain Sterling asks, ‘Are you on the bottle?’

Aljamain Sterling calls shenanigans on Eric Albarracin’s claim that UFC 288 sold 700,000 pay-per-views.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] has called shenanigans on Eric Albarracin’s claim that UFC 288 sold 700K pay-per-views.

Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) retained his title against [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) by split decision in this past Saturday’s main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

According to Cejudo’s coach, Albarracin, the event did big numbers.

“Now you’re (Sterling) trying to benefit off the cringe. Are you serious? You know many pay-per-views he got? Seven hundred thousasnd,” Albarracin said on “The MMA Hour.” “He needs to be thanking us. He never even got over 200,000 on a pay-per-view. This one was 700,000. On ESPN+, which is more than double of anything he ever got.”

UFC 288 marked former dual champ Cejudo’s return from a three-year retirement. According to Sterling, their numbers were nowhere near what Albarracin claimed.

“.@CPTdasAmericas I was told yesterday we’d be lucky to break 250k PPV buys and you’re going on air to lie that you know for certain that we made 700,000 buys?! Are you on the bottle this afternoon bro?? Stop the CAP 🧢 #MMAHour.”

Albarracin thinks Cejudo won Rounds 2,3 and 5. The judges’ scorecards were varied, but “The Funkmaster” thinks he should have been awarded the first four rounds.

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With the win, Sterling now holds the record for most title defenses in UFC bantamweight history at three. His next fight is expected to be against Sean O’Malley, who faced off with Sterling in the octagon after his win.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.

Kennedy Nzechukwu already ‘back to the drawing board’ after UFC 288 win, wants quick turnaround

Just 48 hours after his UFC 288 win, light heavyweight Kennedy Nzechukwu already was back in the gym at Fortis MMA in Dallas.

DALLAS – Just 48 hours after his UFC 288 win, [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag] already was back in the gym.

Nzechukwu (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) rallied to submit Devin Clark by standing guillotine choke in the second round on this past Saturday’s UFC 288 prelims at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Two days later, Nzechukwu was back training at Fortis MMA in Dallas.

“I’m happy for the victory, but I have to get back to the drawing board and start working,” Nzechukwu told MMA Junkie. “It’s critical that you get back in as fast as you can – especially when you don’t sustain so much injuries: Get back in here, absorb more knowledge, train and get to the next level.

“There’s so much to cover, and I need to cover so much because you never know when you get the next fight. So the more you learn, the more you grow, and the more you get to showcase your skill set and anything you learned new.”

The 30-year-old rising light heavyweight contender wants to keep riding the momentum after he notched his third straight finish at UFC 288, and hopes to book another fight soon.

“I want to return as soon as possible,” Nzechukwu said. “I know God is going to be able to pave my way before me, and I know he’s going to give me that green light. My coach will know when. He talks to the (UFC) matchmakers every single day, so eventually we’ll get something. I’m ready. I just sustained a couple of superficial injuries.

“I need to get it checked out and see how severe it is, but I’m ready to get back in. I’m ready to get back in as soon as possible. So that’s why I’m in here today rolling, training, sweating, so I can continue to keep my mind fresh and keep that meter running. I need to rack up those points, rack up that experience to continue to go.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.

Diego Lopes felt Movsar Evloev’s ‘knee cracking and hyperextending’ at UFC 288, surprised he didn’t tap

All things considered, Diego Lopes was pleased with his short-notice UFC debut against undefeated Movsar Evloev – even in defeat.

[autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag] gave his all in his UFC debut, and he’s impressed that [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] was able to survive it.

The two featherweights put on a show this past Saturday on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 288 as they went back and forth to the final bell in a dramatic fight. In the end, Evloev (17-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) got the win, but Lopes (21-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) left with the respect of many viewers, especially considering he took the fight on just five days’ notice and gave an unbeaten contender hell.

Lopes came close to securing multiple submissions, but the closest was a kneebar attempt in the final 10 seconds of the third round.

“Yeah, (the kneebar) was the closest one,” Lopes told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I think if I would’ve had 20 or 30 seconds more, the result could’ve been different because his knee was fully extended, and I felt his knee cracking and hyperextending.”

Lopes knew that submitting Evloev and taking his unbeaten status wouldn’t be an easy task, but part of him is surprised he wasn’t able to get it done with the kneebar.

“Yeah, it did surprise me, but we know how these Russians are,” Lopes said. “They don’t like to tap and much more if they’re undefeated, so their mentality is very strong. I wasn’t fully surprised, but when I locked the submission I did believe he was going to tap, but he didn’t.”

The fight against Evloev officially stands as a loss in Lopes’ career. However, the Brazilian left UFC 288 with his head held high.

Despite the defeat, he did make it to the UFC by taking the short-notice fight and got a $50,000 bonus for Fight of the Night. Lopes also told MMA Junkie that UFC president Dana White promised to pay him his win bonus, as well.

“I feel very happy and really excited to have made it to the UFC and have a contract in hand,” Lopes said. “I fought someone who was ranked, who had a good record and is undefeated. Everything that I was able to do in the cage now gives me motivation.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.

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