Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Virna Jandiroba won for the second straight time and handed Marina Rodriguez her second straight loss at UFC 288 in Newark, N.J.
NEWARK, N.J. – [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag] beat Marina Rodriguez with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 288 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Take a look inside the fight with Jandiroba, who won for the second straight time and handed Rodriguez her second straight loss.
Aljamain Sterling climbed statistical leaderboards after UFC 288, but where does he ranked in the all-time bantamweight conversation?
[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] continued to chip away at history Saturday, as he banked another victory with a split decision win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 288.
The victory was his third consecutive successful UFC bantamweight title defense, which extended his winning streak to nine. Sterling is now tied for second in bantamweight title victories all-time (4) and has the most overall victories in bantamweight history (14).
Given those statistics, does Sterling have a claim as the best bantamweight fighter of all time? If not, where does he rank and who is atop the leaderboard instead?
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Farah Hannoun weighed in 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. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.
See how the UFC 288 winners and losers reacted on social media outlets such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums, and, perhaps most importantly, social-media platforms.
Fighters interact with fans, each other and many more through the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, which helps outsiders get a deeper look into the minds of the athletes.
Following Saturday’s UFC 288 event in Newark, N.J., several of the winning and losing fighters, along with their coaches, training partners or family members, took to social media to react to the event or share a message with supporters.
Khaos Williams beat Rolando Bedoya at UFC 288 and now wants to be must-see TV for the UFC.
NEWARK, N.J. – [autotag]Khaos Williams[/autotag] beat Rolando Bedoya with a split decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 288 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Take a look inside the fight with Williams, who got back in the win column a year after a split decision loss to Randy Brown.
Parker Porter beat Braxton Smith and snapped a two-fight skid for his first stoppage win since 2019 with a first-round TKO at UFC 288.
NEWARK, N.J. – [autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag] beat Braxton Smith with a first-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 288 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Take a look inside the fight with Porter, who snapped a two-fight skid for his first stoppage win since 2019.
Claudio Ribeiro rebounded from a loss in his UFC debut to put away Joseph Holmes, who missed weight, at UFC 288 in Newark, N.J.
NEWARK, N.J. – [autotag]Claudio Ribeiro[/autotag] beat Joseph Holmes with a second-round TKO Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC 288 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Take a look inside the fight with Ribeiro, who rebounded from a loss in his UFC debut to put Holmes away.
Kennedy Nzechukwu gave future opponents something else to think about when he submitted Devin Clark at UFC 288 in Newark, N.J.
NEWARK, N.J. – [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag] beat Devin Clark with a second-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 288 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Take a look inside the fight with Nzechukwu, who picked up the first submission win of his career.
Ikram Aliskerov had a near flawless UFC debut for his sixth straight win when he knocked out Phil Hawes at UFC 288 in Newark, N.J.
NEWARK, N.J. – [autotag]Ikram Aliskerov[/autotag] beat Phil Hawes with a first-round knockout Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 288 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Take a look inside the fight with Aliskerov, who had a near flawless UFC debut for his sixth straight win.
Paddy Pimblett sees Matt Frevola as an easy ticket into the UFC lightweight rankings.
[autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] sees [autotag]Matt Frevola[/autotag] as an easy ticket into the UFC’s lightweight rankings.
Frevola (11-3-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) challenged Pimblett once again after knocking out Drew Dober in this past Saturday’s UFC 288 featured prelim at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., which marked Frevola’s third consecutive knockout.
“Paddy Pimblett, you absolutely suck,” Frevola said during his in-cage interview with Joe Rogan. “Stop being a b*tch and let’s fight. You’re on a four-fight win streak. I’m on a three-fight win streak. If you’re in the UFC, you can’t pick and choose your fights. You’ve got to fight who the fans want to see you fight.”
Frevola is one of many fighters to call out Pimblett (20-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who’s currently recovering from ankle surgery. But once Pimblett is cleared to compete, he appears open to fighting Frevola.
“Bit of a weird time to call me out when I can’t even train,” Pimblett responded in a recent Instagram post. “But (yes) I’d fight Frevola when I’m back, probably the easiest route into the top 15.”
However, Frevola will likely have to wait for a while. Pimblett recently said he’d be lucky to compete in 2023 and is yet to return to training.
“I’ll get back in the gym when I can pal,” Pimblett said. “For now, the doctors have told me I cannot train.”
[lawrence-related id=2641243,2640684,2597109]
Pimblett hasn’t competed since a controversial decision win over Jared Gordon last December at UFC 282. Prior to that, “The Baddy” earned bonuses for finishes over Luigi Vendramini, Rodrigo Vargas, and Jordan Leavitt.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.
Daniel Cormier doesn’t know what more UFC champ Aljamain Sterling must do to gain your respect after three title defenses.
[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] thinks it’s time [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] got his credit after UFC 288.
Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) retained his bantamweight title against former dual champion Henry Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) by split decision in this past Saturday’s main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. With the win, Sterling became the first champion in UFC bantamweight history to reach three consecutive title defenses.
Cormier was baffled to see Sterling, a native of neighboring New York, receive boos from the crowd.
“Guys, stop booing Aljamain,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Give this man his respect. This dude is doing everything you want as a champion. He’s active, he fights the best guys that they put in front of him, he wins fights, he carries himself in the way of a champion. It’s time to stop booing Aljamain Sterling.
“It sucks that this happens time and time again. And in Newark, New Jersey, which is very close to New York, Aljo’s getting booed. It really made no sense. I don’t know what this man has to do to garner your respect. If tonight wasn’t enough, you’re just never gonna be satisfied.”
No bantamweight champ in UFC history has gone on a run like Aljamain Sterling. Where does he rank among the all-time greats?
More #UFC288 facts: https://t.co/x4VX4wnC7J pic.twitter.com/RXFInxrYW2
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 8, 2023
[lawrence-related id=2641187,2641162,2641115]
Cormier acknowledges that the fight was close, and he wouldn’t have been too disappointed if more than one judge awarded it to Cejudo. But on his scorecard, Sterling won.
“I felt pretty certain that Aljamain had done enough to win,” Cormier said. “47-48, 48-47, 48-47 spoke to how competitive this fight was. I gave Round 1 to Aljamain Sterling, I gave Round 2 to Henry Cejudo, I gave Round 3 to Aljo, Round 4 to Aljo, and I gave Round 5 to Henry Cejudo. Very competitive fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.
