Tag: UFC 310

UFC’s Movsar Evloev pleads for quick turnaround before Ramadan

Movsar Evloev will fight any UFC featherweight if it means the chance to push his record to 20-0 before a break for Ramadan.

[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] is looking to stay busy after adding to his unbeaten record at UFC 310.

Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) is coming off a unanimous decision win over former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling earlier this month. Evloev thinks he’s done enough to warrant a title shot, but if that’s not next for champ Ilia Topuria, he’s hoping to jump right back into action.

With Ramadan scheduled to begin on the last day of February or the first day of March, Evloev is looking to book a fight before then.

“I’m good, feel amazing,” Evloev told TMZ. “Still waiting for news for the next fight, but not yet. Nothing yet so, maybe next week they’ll make something for me because I need fight before Ramadan. We have January and February, so we’ll see.”

Activity hasn’t always been on Evloev’s side. He competed just once in 2022 and 2023, and almost fought once again this year before getting a second against Sterling on the final pay-per-view of the year.

Evloev, who now holds wins over the likes of Sterling, Arnold Allen, and Diego Lopes, doesn’t have a particular opponent in mind. He’s not concerned with rankings.

“There is only couple of names if it’s not title shot,” Evloev said. “So, doesn’t matter.”

UFC featherweight champion Topuria recently teased a potential move to lightweight. But if he remains at 145 pounds, Evloev doesn’t think he’ll be next in line.

“If he’ll stay at featherweight, I’m pretty sure that they will make him and (Alexander Volkanovski) again,” Evloev said. “But his coach or him said that he’s moving up. I don’t know. I don’t care, to be honest. Just give me my title.”

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Aljamain Sterling eyes Arnold Allen or Brian Ortega after UFC 310 loss

Aljamain Sterling wants to jump right back on the horse after UFC 310.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] wants to jump right back on the horse after UFC 310.

Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC) dropped a close decision to undefeated featherweight contender Movsar Evloev less than two weeks ago at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The frustrating loss had Sterling contemplating his fighting future, but it appears “The Funkmaster” has changed his tune pretty quickly.

It was a good showing from the former UFC bantamweight champion, who doesn’t see the Evloev loss as a step back. He’d like to make a quick turnaround against either [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) or former title challenger [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC).

“I would like to make a March return,” Sterling said in an interview with “Home of Fight.” “If I do get to get a fight for March, April the latest, I would like to fight Arnold Allen or fight Brian Ortega. I don’t think that loss to Movsar should push me down the rankings. I almost felt like it should be treated as a ‘W.’

“It’s weird to say it like that because it might come off as funny to people to hear me say that, but honestly, that’s just how I feel. I feel that I shouldn’t have to go fight down the rankings after being 1-1 and losing to a guy that people are saying is going to be the next champion, in a fight that a lot of people still think I won.”

Sterling, who’s been riddled with injuries throughout his past few training camps, wants to capitalize on being healthy.

“I think a March return would be nice,” Sterling said. “I want to stay busy, especially while I can. This is like the first time I’ve actually been the majority of the post fight healthy, so I want to take advantage of that.”

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Michael Page: UFC 310 version of Shavkat Rakhmonov would get ‘munched’ by Belal Muhammad

Michael Page expected more from Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.

[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] expected more from [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] at UFC 310.

Rakhmonov (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) scored a unanimous decision win over Ian Machado Garry (15-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in this past Saturday’s five-round welterweight co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Rakhmonov wasn’t able to maintain his 100 percent finish rate against Machado Garry in a fight that mainly played out in the clinch. After watching Rakhmonov go five rounds for the first time in his career, Page is confident that UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad would’ve had his way with him if their initially scheduled fight for UFC 310 happened.

“Rakhmonov couldn’t get anything,” Page said on his YouTube channel. “Landed some good shots, but his fitness and muscular endurance definitely let him down. His balance seems to be very off. This was definitely, by far, not the best Rakhmonov we’ve seen. Although he’s won it, I think anybody looking at this will look at him like, ‘Yeah, I can beat this guy.’

“Not saying he’s not dangerous. You can see he’s definitely a dangerous person, but this wasn’t good. This wasn’t his best performance. Even though he’s definitely won it. From both sides, it wasn’t great. … A hundred percent now, this Shavkat here, if he had fought Belal, Belal was munching him, yamming him for breakfast.”

Page (22-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is coming off a close decision loss to Machado Garry at UFC 303 in June. “MVP” is rumored to face Shara Magomedov at UFC Fight Night 250 Feb. 1 in Riyadh, although nothing is confirmed.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Anthony Smith contemplates ‘one final sendoff’ after emotional UFC 310 loss

Anthony Smith knew he was in no condition to fight at UFC 310 following the recent death of his coach, but he powered through anyway.

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] knew he was in no condition to fight at UFC 310, but he powered through anyway.

Smith (38-21 MMA, 13-11 UFC) couldn’t hold back tears during the walkout for his fight against Dominick Reyes this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Lionheart” suffered a second-round TKO loss to Reyes and was visibly emotional after recently losing his longtime friend and coach, Scott Morton.

“I handle things really well,” Smith said on MMA on SiriusXM. “I’m a f*cking gangster, and I just power through it, but this one is tough. I’ve never struggled like this before. When I got to the fight, I knew right away it was f*cked. I knew right away, as soon as I got to the arena.”

Reyes later revealed that Smith dropped his hands and asked to be punched during the fight. The former title challenger explained what was going through his mind in the moment.

“I got impatient,” Smith said. “I just wanted something to f*cking happen. I just forced it. I just got impatient. Nothing was happening. He wasn’t engaging. I’d seen everything. That was the worst part, too. I was in there, and I was like, ‘Goddamn, you’re not that good.’ And then it hit me like, ‘F*ck, maybe I’m not either.’

“Maybe I’m not either anymore. The left hand wasn’t nearly as fast as I expected it to be. I think I over-predicted how good he was going to be on his feet. He landed a shot here or there, and then at some point where I was like, ‘F*cking hit me or something. I need to f*cking feel something. Give me something here.'”

One more time?

Smith’s good friend and “Believe You Me” podcast co-host, Michael Bisping said he’d like to see him fight one more time. Smith agrees that this isn’t the way he’d like to walk away from the sport.

“There’s a circumstance that probably exists where I would do one more,” Smith said. “I think that’s probably the answer. It would have to be the perfect scenario, timing, opponent, and situation. … I know there’s like never the perfect sendoff for the most part. I hadn’t even thought about it before this fight.

“But having the opportunity to have all the people that supported me, give them the opportunity to come one last time and experience fight week knowing it’s the last time, being able to tell everyone in that process what they meant to me over all these years, like one final flight. Win, lose or draw, who gives a f*ck? But one final sendoff would be cool, I think.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

UFC champ Alexandre Pantoja: Kai Kara-France ‘makes most sense’ next

With Demetrious Johnson an unrealistic option, Alexandre Pantoja discusses his next plans for the UFC flyweight title.

UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] doesn’t see too many options for his next title defense.

Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) surprisingly called out Demetrious Johnson after retaining his belt with a second-round submission of newcomer Kai Asakura this past Saturday at UFC 310, but Johnson isn’t interested in coming out of retirement.

A willing and eager contender is [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-11 MMA, 7-4 UFC), who snapped his two-fight losing skid with a first-round TKO of Steve Erceg at UFC 305. Despite Kara-France having lost two of his past three fights, Pantoja doesn’t see a better candidate at 125 pounds.

Pantoja already has a win over Kara-France, but it came in an exhibition bout during Season 24 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” He admits that both fighters have grown since then.

“I’m differentt, he’s different,” Pantoja said of Kara-France on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “Oh yeah (I’m interested). For now, that’s the fight that most makes sense. In the last three fights, he’s lost twice. But for now, after what I’ve done to my division, everything doesn’t make sense anymore.

“I fight the No. 1, No. 2, top 10, then you bring in someone from somewhere else. I think everybody has a chance right now. Very nice fight. Yeah, Kai Kara-France is a very exciting fight. That’s the someone that’s going to bring me to another level.”

Pantoja is also open to testing his grappling against undefeated Muhammad Mokaev, who recently parted ways with the UFC. Deiveson Figueiredo, who beat Pantoja in July 2019, expressed interest in dropping back down to 125 pounds to fight him.

However, with Kara-France being the only active flyweight out of the three options, that’s who the champion thinks makes sense the most for him next.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Why Michael Bisping doesn’t think Anthony Smith will retire after UFC 310 loss

Michael Bisping believes Anthony Smith will want to come back after watching his UFC 310 performance.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] doesn’t think we’ve seen the last of [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] after UFC 310.

Smith suffered a second-round TKO to Dominick Reyes on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena – his fifth loss in his past seven fights. “Lionheart” couldn’t contain his emotions while walking out to his fight after recently losing his longtime friend and coach, Scott Morton.

Reyes revealed that Smith dropped his hands and asked to be punched during the fight. A visibly distraught Smith addressed the fans after the loss and admitted he’s unsure how many times he could compete without his coach by his side. While he didn’t commit to retirement, he said it would “probably” be his last fight.

Bisping believes Smith (38-21 MMA, 13-11 UFC) won’t want this to be his lasting memory in the octagon.

“I don’t think he should’ve taken that fight at all,” Bisping said of Smith on his “Believe You Me” podcast. “I understand his reasoning for that. Maybe to give him something to train for, a way to honor the memory of (Scott) or whatever the case may be, but people won’t remember that when they look back. I feel for Anthony. … He gets paid very handsomely, so obviously there’s that.

“I don’t think he will retire. I think when he watches that back, he’s going to be embarrassed when he watches that, and that’s going to fuel him to want to come back and want to fight again. I’d like to see him fight again because I don’t believe that the world deserves to remember him like that. That wasn’t Anthony at his best.”

Bisping’s message to Smith

If Smith does decide to continue fighting, Bisping urges him to take the fight prep seriously.

“This isn’t a sport that you play, and that’s why people say he needs to retire,” Bisping said. “That’s why Dana (White) says Chris Weidman and Clay Guida need to retire because the more times you step in there and certainly when you get older, and you start getting a bit more frail, and you don’t recover quite, as well. That sh*t will stay with you.

“If he fights, I’m going to give him a call and just say, ‘If you do this, do it for the right reasons. Train as if you’re training for a world title fight, as if you’re going up against Jon Jones.’ You’ve got to leave no stone unturned, otherwise if you’re not willing to do that, then don’t even think about it in the first place.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Kamaru Usman sees holes in Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry’s games after UFC 310

Kamaru Usman says Shavkat Rakhmonov “was a little bit more of a dog” than Ian Garry at UFC 310.

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] believes UFC 310 exposed both [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] and [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag]’s games.

Rakhmonov (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) scored a unanimous decision win over Machado Garry (15-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in this past Saturday’s five-round co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rakhmonov saw the judges’ scorecards for the first time in his career and had to survive a late rear-naked choke attempt by Machado Garry.

Usman, who, like Rakhmonov and Machado Garry, has trained at Kill Cliff FC, wasn’t surprised with the way the fight played out.

“That’s what I expected,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast. “Ian needs to create space. Ian’s a very good and dynamic striker. You could tell. You saw that in the fight. If he’s able to create space, then he’s able to kind of get his flow going.

“And Shavkat wants to get to the action, ‘I’ve got to get my hands on you.’ This is some of the things that I was seeing, but obviously with the potential of me potentially fighting him, I didn’t want to give too much away, but these are some of the things that I’m seeing. There are holes in both of their games.”

Prior to UFC 310, Usman said that the fight is only exciting on paper. He was right to a degree as Rakhmonov and Machado Garry spent plenty of time fighting in the clinch.

The former UFC welterweight champion thinks Rakhmonov’s competitive win over Machado Garry came down to heart.

“I am a wrestler,” Usman said. “Once Ian got taken down a few times then the fight kind of got away from him. Shavkat, as far as standing and putting the combinations together, he couldn’t really do that well with Ian Garry. There are holes in both of their games, but I expected a fight like this.

“And I knew it wasn’t going to be the most barnburner, exciting fight that a lot of people were salivating over. But nonetheless, it shows how Shavkat is a dog. He’s willing to just do whatever it takes to get in there and get that win, and so is Ian. It’s just that Shavkat was a little bit more of a dog than Ian Garry.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Dec. 10: Alexandre Pantoja surges in pound-for-pound

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 310.

UFC 310 took place Saturday in Las Vegas and the promotion’s flyweight champion made a statement in the marquee.

Titleholder [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] made it look relatively easy against debuting Japanese star [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag], as he notched another title defense. Pantoja submitted Asakura by second-round rear-naked choke. As a result, Pantoja jumped a massive five spots in the USA Today/MMA Junkie rankings.

Additionally, contenders [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] and [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] inched upward as a result of their impressive wins over Ian Machado Garry and Aljamain Sterling.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.

UFC 310 winner Joshua Van wants Myanmar flag approved for next fight

Joshua Van hopes he can represent Myanmar in the octagon for his next fight after a big win at UFC 310.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag] isn’t asking for a specific opponent or date for his next fight at UFC 310. He just wants to represent his country.

Following his unanimous decision win over Cody Durden (17-7-1 MMA, 6-5-1 UFC) in their flyweight bout this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena, Van (12-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) declared his hopes for the UFC to finally get his Myanmar flag approved, which is something he’s wanted since making his promotional debut.

“No, it’s not the UFC – some member has to approve it,” Van told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC 310. “But they had to approve my flag that it is a country, so Myanmar is a country. So I really want to carry my flag inside the octagon, so we’re just waiting for them to confirm it. We’ve been trying to get my flag (approved) ever since I got to the UFC, so hopefully by my next fight I get to carry my own flag.”

At 23, Van is arguably the brightest prospect in the 125-pound division. He’s scored back-to-back wins after experiencing his lone octagon blemish against Charles Johnson in July, and he hopes to continue rising up the ranks after beating Durden.

“The top 10 or the top five will do me right.” Van said.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Kamaru Usman mocks Belal Muhammad for being stopped by security at UFC 310, gets response

Kamaru Usman couldn’t contain his laughter when reacting to security stopping Belal Muhammad at UFC 310.

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] couldn’t contain his laughter when reacting to security stopping [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] at UFC 310.

Welterweight champion Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) tried to enter the octagon Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to face off with co-main event winner Shavkat Rakhmonov, but was momentarily stopped by the security before he was let in.

Joe Rogan joked that security didn’t know Muhammad was the champion before ultimately being brought in for a faceoff with expected next challenger Rakhmonov, and Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) thought it was hysterical.

“What are we doing when even the security working the UFC event don’t know you are a UFC champion? Oh my God,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo. “I remember when I saw it too, I was like, ‘Yo, Joe Rogan had to vouch for you to get you to come through security.’

“Did you hear what Joe Rogan said? ‘Oh, he’s the champ, let him in.’ I know Joe didn’t even mean it in a negative way. I mean obviously Joe is a comedian, it’s just natural timing and delivery. He just hit the mark, and that’s what I found really, really funny.”

Usman’s reaction shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The former champion and Muhammad have recently been trading barbs, and Muhammad fired back.

“How is the podcast called pound4pound if he’s not even ranked.”

“Isn’t that the guy I made cry on his own podcast.”

Muhammad was scheduled to make his first title defense against Rakhmonov at UFC 310, but a bone infection in his toe forced him out of the bout. Rakhmonov faced Ian Machado Garry instead, defeating him by unanimous decision to further cement his No. 1 contender spot.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.