Tag: UFC 290

Video: How uncomfortable was Israel Adesanya’s racially charged faceoff with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel discusses the UFC 290 faceoff between middleweight champ Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis.

[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] had beef with [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] for weeks before their Saturday faceoff.

But now the heat really is going to be turned up.

After his dominant win over former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) punched his ticket to a title fight with Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC). Then things got ugly.

Adesanya was born in Nigeria in Africa, but lives and trains in New Zealand. Du Plessis was born in South Africa and has lived there his whole life. That fact is what has caused tension between the two.

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That boiled over Saturday when the UFC brought Adesanya into the cage for a faceoff with Du Plessis. Among the trash talk from Adesanya was around a dozen uses of the N-word directed at Du Plessis, apparently to mock him for his past comments about being African.

When UFC president Dana White was asked after UFC 290 about concerns that his champion brought race into the faceoff to end a pay-per-view with his repeated use of the N-word, White said he didn’t care and that it wasn’t racial.

The whole thing set up what could be a very heated buildup to a fight likely to happen at UFC 293 in Sydney in September.

MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Mike Bohn joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia to talk about the matchup, the tension and the controversy.

Check out their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

Esteban Ribovics says weight cut worked against him, despite UFC 290 win

Esteban Ribovics rallied from a rough first round for his first UFC victory at the expense of Kamuela Kirk at UFC 290 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Esteban Ribovics[/autotag] beat Kamuela Kirk with a unanimous decision Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Ribovics, who rallied from a rough first round to win the second and third for his first UFC victory.

Robert Whittaker reacts to UFC 290 loss vs. Dricus Du Plessis, says he didn’t show up to fight

Robert Whittaker is unsurprisingly humble in defeat in the aftermath of a surprising upset loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290.

[autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] is unsurprisingly humble in the aftermath of a surprising upset loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290.

Whittaker (25-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) fell short as a heavy betting favorite Saturday when he suffered a second-round TKO defeat to Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in a middleweight title eliminator at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

A former UFC champ, Whittaker had a solid opening to the fight, but Du Plessis took over as the first round wore on, then secured the stoppage in the second frame to set up a title grudge match with Israel Adesanya. It was Whittaker’s first defeat at 185 pounds to anyone other than Adesanya, which leaves him in something of a state of limbo.

Undeterred in his first statement since the fight, Whittaker acknowledged not living up to his typical standard of performance.

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“Congratulations to Dricus – he showed up to fight, and I didn’t,” Whittaker said Tuesday in an Instagram post. “But that’s the nature of the beast. You can’t have a day off. It is what it is. But I will say that I do believe that challenges and hardships and obstacles that get presented to you that you overcome, make you stronger. Build character, make you a better man and by fact a better athlete, and I will come back stronger from this.

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Whittaker, 32, hasn’t lost consecutive fights in nearly 10 years, and he’s not keen to sit on the result for long. He hopes to return to action this year as he tries to put this result behind him and rebuild some momentum.

“I’ll come back hopefully by the end of the year,” Whittaker said. “I want to get in the octagon by the end of the year, to get in there and close the year on a win and bring back ‘The Reaper’ you guys know.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.

UFC 290 reactions: Winning and losing fighters on social media

See how the UFC 290 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 290 event in Las Vegas, 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.

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The defeated

Vitor Petrino lobbies for teammates and a fight on the UFC’s return to Brazil

Vitor Petrino got the first submission win of his career Saturday at UFC 290. Next, he wants a fight in his home country of Brazil.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag] beat Marcin Prachnio with a third-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Petrino, who got the first submission win of his career – and gave Prachnio his first submission loss.

“Anudda scratch”: Dan Hooker reveals facial fracture suffered at UFC 290

Dan Hooker left UFC 290 with a split decision win, but it cost him a pair of split bones.

[autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] was victorious at UFC 290, but it definitely took a toll on his body.

After a wild 15 minutes of intense action on the main card of the pay-per-view event at T-Mobile Arena this past Saturday, two of the official judges saw Hooker (23-12 MMA, 13-8 UFC) as the winner over Jalin Turner (13-7 MMA, 6-4 UFC). It was a brutal fight that saw both fighters repeatedly land powerful, damaging strikes throughout.

While Hooker was declared the winner by split decision, he also left the cage with a pair of split bones.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan asked Hooker during his in-cage post-fight interview if he broke his arm during the fight, to which “Hangman” responded, “Just a scratch.” Soon after the fight, Hooker shared an X-ray that confirmed his arm was indeed broken, but the injuries didn’t stop there.

Hooker revealed another X-ray on Instagram Monday that shows a facial fracture to his right cheek area, which he dubbed “anudda scratch.”

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It’s unclear how long Hooker will be sidelined to recover from his injuries, but when he does return to action, he’ll look to extend his winning streak to three.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.

MMA Junkie Radio #3377: Guests UFC champ Jamahal Hill, Maycee Barber, UFC 290 review, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”


Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,377, the fellas welcome in a pair of guests: UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] and women’s flyweight contender [autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag]. The guys also take a look back at the incredible UFC 290 pay-per-view event from Las Vegas, and much more. Tune in!

Tatsuro Taira explains punting his mouthpiece into T-Mobile Arena crowd after UFC 290 win

Tatsuro Taira stayed unbeaten and won for the fourth time in the UFC in just 14 months when he beat Edgar Chairez at UFC 290.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] beat Edgar Chairez with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Taira, who stayed unbeaten and won for the fourth time in the UFC in just 14 months.

UFC 290 winner Cameron Saaiman says Cody Garbrandt callout ‘just out of respect’

Cameron Saaiman wants to fight Cody Garbrandt because he’s a fan of his.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Cameron Saaiman[/autotag] wants to fight [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] because he’s a fan of his.

Saaiman (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) scored a first-round TKO of Terrence Mitchell in their bantamweight bout Saturday at UFC 290, which took place at T-Mobile Arena. According to Daniel Cormier, who was on commentary duty for the fights, Saaiman is interested in facing Garbrandt next.

When asked about Garbrandt (13-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), Saaiman explained that the former champion is merely a challenge he’d love at this point of his career.

“It’s just out of respect,” Saaiman told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC 290 post-fight news conference. “I have massive respect for him. I’ve chatted a few times with him at the UFC (Performance Institute), as well. He’s a former champion. He’s someone that I’ve looked up to for years.

“So that fight is just plainly: I want to test my skills against some of the best in the world, and he’s up there in the rankings, as well. A win over him could really solidify my contention to get into those top spots.”

Garbrandt currently is booked to face Mario Bautista at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston. If not Garbrandt, Saaiman just wants someone who will propel him up the rankings.

“I just want to fight someone higher-ranked,” Saaiman said. “I’m 3-0 in the UFC. I’ve fought three times in the last eight months. I deserve someone higher-ranked and I want to start climbing the bantamweight rankings. Fighting Christian Rodriguez makes no sense.

“He’s ranked probably No. 50 somewhere and he beat a guy, (Raul Rosas Jr.,) that I was quite expecting him to beat him. So I would like to fight someone better ranked. Cody Garbrandt is fighting Mario Bautista. Whatever happens in that fight, maybe we can push our bout to later in the year. I would like to fight at least once more this year.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.

Alonzo Menifield urges ‘young as sh*t’ Jimmy Crute to not retire after UFC 290 loss

Jimmy Crute took his gloves off after his submission loss to Alonzo Menifield at UFC 290 on Saturday. Menifield hopes he doesn’t retire.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag] beat Jimmy Crute with a second-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Menifield, who got a measure of revenge from his previous fight – a majority draw with Crute in which Menifield had a point taken away.