Tag: UFC Fight Night 195

UFC heavyweight Carlos Felipe suspended 18 months for failed drug screen

UFC heavyweight Carlos Felipe has been suspended 18 months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

LAS VEGAS – UFC heavyweight [autotag]Carlos Felipe[/autotag] has been suspended 18 months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Felipe (11-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) tested positive for boldenone, an anabolic steroid, following his October fight with Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night 195, which the Brazilian lost via decision.

The suspension was issued at Tuesday’s monthly commission meeting at the Nevada State Business Center. As part of the adjudication agreement, Felipe is eligible to return to action on April 16, 2023 and must pay a fine of $4,200, or 15 percent of his $28,000 purse, as well as attorney’s fees of $489.

Additionally, prior to his next fight in Nevada, Felipe must submit to drug testing 30 days, 15 days and 3 days ahead of the contest.

Felipe’s manager, Tiago Okamura, told MMA Fighting that his client maintains his innocence but did not want to commit the financial resources needed to contest the case, which he anticipated would be around $10,000.

Felipe was previously suspended for two years in 2017 by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for metabolites of stanozolol, a steroid, prior to his planned promotional debut. A second suspension from the UFC’s official anti-doping partner could carry a four-year suspension.

A request for comment from USADA by MMA Junkie was not immediately returned.

Additionally, Georgian bantamweight [autotag]Zviad Lazishvili[/autotag] was suspended nine months by the NSAC for a failed test associated with his October 23 loss to Jonathan Martinez at UFC Fight Night 196. Lazishvili tested positive for clomiphene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator.

Lazishvili was also fined $1,800, or 15 percent of his $12,000 purse, and must pay attorney’s fees of $326. As part of the adjudication agreement, he is eligible to compete again on July 23 and must submit to drug testing 30 days, 15 days and 3 days ahead of the contest.

After upset of record-setting Loopy Godinez, Luana Carolina wants a full camp

Take a look inside Luana Carolina’s win over Loopy Godinez at UFC Fight Night 195 in Las Vegas.

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LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag] beat Loopy Godinez with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 195 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Carolina, who spoiled Godinez’s record-setting turnaround just a week after a win at UFC Fight Night 194.

Aspen Ladd’s coach apologizes for being ‘a little harsh’ in corner at UFC Fight Night 195

Aspen Ladd’s head coach and boyfriend, Jim West, is sorry for his conduct.

The approach [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag]’s head coach took in the corner at UFC Fight Night 195 has been a focal point in the fallout of her main event with Norma Dumont.

As Ladd (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) began to fall behind on rounds to Dumont (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in the women’s featherweight matchup at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, her head coach and boyfriend, Jim West of MMA Gold, grew frustrated in the corner. He repeatedly asked his fighter what she was doing in a perplexed tone, and his bluntness drew the ire of some viewers.

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Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate was the most outspoken about West’s approach, even going so far as to label it “abuse.” Ultimately, West didn’t seem to do Ladd any favors as she lost a largely one-sided unanimous decision and looked flat from beginning to end.

The fighter-coach relationship is an intimate one in most instances, and often coaches will tailor how they use the 60 seconds in between rounds depending on the situation and personality of a given fighter.

Even West admits he did Ladd a disservice at UFC Fight Night 195. He issued a statement in the aftermath of the fight and admitted he did not take the right course of action to help Ladd’s chances of victory.

“Tonight was not our night,” West wrote in a statement on Instagram. “It’s been our night many many times at the highest level but not tonight. I blame myself. Though it may not be my fault. it’s not up for debate. I take all the blame. Yes after the first couple rounds I may have been a little harsh but I know aspen and at that time technical conversation was not in the cards being down 3 rounds. Nonetheless I own it and I am sorry @aspenladd from the bottom of my heart [sic] I will continue to be better each time.”

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Ladd has yet to speak extensively on the situation, but she did release a statement of her own after the loss and promised to get back as a better version of herself.

“Not my night,” Ladd wrote on Instagram. “Congrats to my opponent. We will be back better. In the mean time I finally got to get back in there after nearly 2 years. Now it’s time to take a step back, take a breath, and get back to fighting and feeling like myself again. On to the next.

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UFC Fight Night 195 post-event facts: ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone’s all-time wins record under threat

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 195, which saw Norma Dumont decision Aspen Ladd in Las Vegas.

UFC Fight Night 195 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The main event of the 10-fight card saw [autotag]Norma Dumont[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) outwork [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) to a unanimous decision in the women’s featherweight matchup.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card – where two of the UFC’s all-time winners added to their totals – check below for 45 post-event facts to come out of UFC Fight Night 195.

Jim West criticized for coaching tactics in Aspen Ladd’s loss: ‘This is ABUSE, what a douche’

There was a lot of talk about Aspen Ladd’s first fight in nearly two years given the circumstances it was under.

There was a lot of talk about [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag]’s first fight in nearly two years given the circumstances it was under.

Ladd was set to return two weeks ago at bantamweight against Macy Chiasson, but a weight cut that went awry forced her out of the fight. Subsequently, the MMA world started the speculation about whether Ladd should be at 135 pounds since it wasn’t her first brush with a struggle to make weight.

But the UFC stuck with Ladd and gave her a chance to fill in for former bantamweight champion Holly Holm in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 195 main event against [autotag]Norma Dumont[/autotag] – at featherweight. Ladd was the first fighter to step on the scale Friday morning, made weight, and it looked like maybe she was set for a fresh start.

But Ladd (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) never got going against Dumont (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and lost a fairly lopsided unanimous decision. Dumont had a pair of 49-46 scores and a 48-47, but the fight didn’t appear to be as close as a 48-47 tally might imply.

After the third round, Ladd’s head coach, Jim West, went after his fighter verbally in a big way. He asked her what she was doing in the fight and made it abundantly clear she was going to lose a decision if she didn’t finish Dumont.

“You’re down 3 to 0. Please tell me what you’re doing,” West said to Ladd. “You have to throw more than one punch.”

Judging by reaction on social media, his tone seemed too harsh to many observers, even though it wasn’t the first time he had taken that tack with Ladd. In fact, the last time Ladd fought before Saturday, against Yana Kunitskaya at UFC on ESPN 7 in December 2019, West was stern with Ladd and in her face after the second round.

In that fight, Ladd responded with a third-round blitz that led to a TKO just 33 seconds into the frame.

But Saturday, West’s critique of Ladd’s performance through three rounds, and again after the fourth round, seemed more desperate and decidedly more harsh.

Miesha Tate, who publicly criticized Ladd for her weight issues two weeks ago, seemed to stick up for her Saturday and called West a “douche.”

“This is ABUSE, what a douche,” Tate posted on Twitter. “… He will take credit for her win but never for her loss. Trust me she can only take so much of this abuse before it breaks her spirit.”

UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad speculated that West was “coaching for the camera.”

Regardless of viewers’ thoughts about West’s coaching style with Ladd, it appears he’s now 1-1 with it trying to get his fighter motivated for a late Hail Mary push for a win. It worked against Kunitskaya, but didn’t against Dumont – and left a bad taste in some people’s mouths.

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Norma Dumont pitches interim title fight with Holly Holm after UFC Fight Night 195

Norma Dumont thinks an interim title fight with Holly Holm is best for women’s featherweight after UFC Fight Night 195.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Norma Dumont[/autotag] is proud of her win over Aspen Ladd in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 195 main event.

Despite a relatively lackluster unanimous decision victory over Ladd (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in the women’s featherweight headliner at the UFC Apex, Dumont (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) thinks she was able to show the world more of her skillset in the 25-minute affair.

Moreover, Dumont is just happy she was able to compete after nearly losing her opportunity when [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] pulled out on short notice.

“I knew (Ladd) was going to give me a fun fight,” Dumont told MMA Junkie and other media through an interpreter post-fight at UFC Fight Night 195. “She saved me because we were on the verge of not having one. She is a tough fighter, she is a fun fighter and I’m very glad we were able to get this accomplished.”

There was much criticism of the fight from spectators. The five-round contest didn’t offer much in the way of action or memorable moments, but Dumont didn’t have any negative words to say about her opponent. She thinks the result was more of her shutting down her opponent than Ladd not doing anything.

“Aspen did exactly what she does in her other fights,” Dumont said, “except this time she actually faced a fighter that can hit her, can stop her from doing it. … She’s not a fool. She knew if she came towards me I was going to knock her out.”

Given the thin nature of the women’s featherweight division, many fans and pundits viewed Dumont vs. Ladd as the de facto No. 1 contender fight in the division. With dual-champ Amanda Nunes currently booked to defend her women’s bantamweight belt against Julianna Pena at UFC 269 on Dec. 11, there are questions about who she will face when she moves back to 145 pounds.

Dumont wouldn’t explicitly say she should be next to challenge for the gold, but made it clear she’s open to all options.

“It’s a division where we don’t know who we’re fighting,” Dumont said. “I’m going to leave it to the hands of UFC. I’ve never backed down from a fight. I’m going to continue to prepare at the gym and I hope it is a big name and I hope it is a main event, as well, because I thought this was pretty cool.

One of those options, Dumont said, could be an interim title fight with Holm (14-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) should Nunes opt not to come back in a reasonable time frame.

“I don’t want the division to get stagnant. I want us to have fights, so I’m totally willing to have that fight. I understand Amanda is going to do a title defense and then later on a possible fight with Valentina (Shevchenko), so we’d only be able to meet mid-year next year. I definitely don’t want to be not fighting that long. I think a fight, even for interim belt with Holly, could bring some attention to the division and have other athletes come into the division with the winner of this fight to go on and face Amanda.”

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UFC Fight Night 195 bonuses: Jim Miller leads four $50,000 winners

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, all four for individual performances.

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, all four for individual performances.

After UFC Fight Night 195, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.

UFC Fight Night 195 results: Norma Dumont cruises to relatively easy win over Aspen Ladd

Fighting for the first time in nearly two years, and after a failed shot at a return two weeks ago, Aspen Ladd never seemed to get started.

Fighting, finally, for the first time in nearly two years – and after a failed shot at a return two weeks ago – [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] never seemed to get started.

Consequently, [autotag]Norma Dumont[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) didn’t have to do a ton of work to cruise to a unanimous decision over Ladd (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) with a pair of 49-46 scores and a 48-47. Ladd moved up to 145 pounds two weeks after a weight cut gone wrong at bantamweight forced her removal from a fight against Macy Chiasson.

The women’s featherweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 195 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.

“I know she took the fight on short notice. But she’s a 145er. She’s got all the strength, and I want her to keep fighting in this (division),” Dumont said through a translator in her post-fight interview. “That’s what we trained for – (to not get taken down). We know her strength is ground-and-pound.”

Dumont pumped her jab early while Ladd circled on the outside and did little in the first two minutes looking for openings. Just past the midway mark, they traded right hands, but it wasn’t much in the way of a true exchange. With 20 seconds left, Ladd landed her second punch of the round and it got Dumont’s attention enough that she gestured her to do it again. But it was a mostly uneventful opening round built on the jab for Dumont.

Ninety seconds into the second round, the story was the same – jabs from Dumont and little action from Ladd. She finally threw a kick, and two minutes into the frame Ladd shot for a takedown. She pressed Dumont to the cage and worked to drag her down, but Dumont circled out and got back to the middle.

Ladd continued to have little answer for Dumont’s jab in the third. Dumont didn’t have to do much – her jab didn’t have to land at a high percentage because Ladd wasn’t offering up many responses. Just ahead of the midway mark, Ladd again tried to take Dumont down and pressed her to the fence. But Dumont again defended and with two minutes left got back to the middle. Ladd tried a combination late in the round, but it really was the first time.

In between the third and fourth rounds, Ladd’s coach, Jim West, was blunt with her in the corner and asked her what she was doing and told her she was down three rounds. He told her to not be careless, but that she needed a finish without question to win the fight.

In the fourth, Ladd came forward quickly and threw a punch, then pressed Dumont to the fence again. For more than a minute, she tried to get Dumont to the canvas, but couldn’t. Ninety seconds into the round, the fight went back to the middle. Dumont landed a punch near the middle of the frame, but started to back up from Ladd’s forward movement. Ladd threw a head kick with around two minutes left, but not long after that Dumont landed a takedown and went to work on Ladd from guard. Ladd was able to reverse the position and swung away for the rest of the round.

In the final round, Ladd blitzed forward and tied Dumont up. But Dumont turned her around and stayed on her feet. They traded position on the fence and Ladd stayed after a takedown hoping to get the fight to the mat – where she’s been known to put fights away. Ladd landed an elbow with around three minutes left, but it was one and done.

West continued to get on Ladd in between rounds and asked her what she was waiting for. In the fifth, Ladd did her best work of the fight, nearly all of it in clinch positions. But she never had Dumont in any kind of real trouble and all Dumont had to do was stay on the feet, play defense, and cruise to the win.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 195 results include:

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Twitter reacts to Norma Dumont’s win over Aspen Ladd in ho-hum UFC Fight Night 195 headliner

See the top Twitter reactions to Norma Dumont’s win over Aspen Ladd in the UFC Fight Night 195 main event.

[autotag]Norma Dumont[/autotag] put her name on the map Saturday when she beat [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] in the UFC Fight Night 195 main event.

Despite a short-notice opponent change after Holly Holm withdrew due to injury, Dumont (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) wasn’t to be denied her first headlining victory. She earned a unanimous decision victory over Ladd (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in the women’s featherweight matchup, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Dumont’s victory over Ladd at UFC Fight Night 195.

UFC Fight Night 195 results: Andrei Arlovski edges Carlos Felipe, extends heavyweight wins record

Andrei Arlovski added to his record for most wins in heavyweight history with a decision in the UFC Fight Night 196 co-main event.

[autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag] continued to be a timeless part of the heavyweight division when he beat another far younger opponent Saturday at UFC Fight Night 195.

Arlovski (32-20 MMA, 21-14 UFC) extended his record for most wins in divisional history and climbed into sole possession of fourth most wins overall in UFC history with a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Carlos Felipe[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) by unanimous 29-28 scores.

The heavyweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 195 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.

The first round was a relatively tactical battle. Arlovski stayed on the outside of the striking range and mixed up kicks and punches, while Felipe’s output largely revolved around the boxing. Both men has their moments, but nothing of fight-altering significance landed.

It was more of the same in the second round. Arlovski gained some confidence in his ability to take shots and land further inside the pocket. Felipe’s output dropped off from the first round until the final 45 seconds of Round 2, where he started getting through Arlovski’s guard and landing some shots that proved more effective.

With the need to pick things up going into Round 3, Felipe did just that. He got somewhat lucky when Arlovski slipped off a kick and managed to land some good strikes as Arlovski got up and back to his feet, but it was everything he has remaining in the tank. Arlovski pushed back down the stretch with volume punches, but there was no finish before the final bell.

An almost entirely standup affair was left to the perspective of the judges, and all three saw it in Arlovski’s favor.

“I’m like Nike: Just do it,” Arlovski said of his ability to keep winning during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 195 results include:

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