Tag: UFC Fight Night 208

UFC free fight: Nikita Krylov scores quick knockout of Alexander Gustafsson

Ahead of his first UFC headliner vs. Ryan Spann, relive Nikita Krylov’s finish of Alexander Gustafsson in London.

[autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag] needed just over a minute to spoil Alexander Gustafsson’s return.

Krylov faced multiple-time title challenger Gustafsson at UFC Fight Night 208 last July at The O2 in London.

The Russian fighter went right at Gustafsson, dropping him with a big overhand right just 10 seconds in. Krylov fully capitalized by swarming Gustafsson with big knees and a flurry of punches.

Gustafsson tried to recover by holding on to the clinch, but Krylov broke free and eventually found a home for a short left uppercut that dropped Gustafsson. A barrage of punches on the ground put an end to the fight at the 1:07 mark of Round 1.

Since then, Krylov (29-9 MMA, 10-7 UFC) scored another win when he defeated Volkan Oezdemir by unanimous decision at UFC 280. He returns to action Saturday when he takes on rising contender [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 220 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Before he faces Spann, relive Krylov’s finish of Gustafsson in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 220.

Promise fulfilled: Rap star Drake gifts Paddy Pimblett Rolex after UFC London win

Drake won big betting on Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann at UFC Fight Night 208 and he promised to reward them.

Drake won big betting on [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] and [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 208 and he promised to reward them.

Drake reportedly earned a $3.7 million payout for placing bets on Pimblett and McCann to win their bouts in London. Pimblett submitted Jordan Leavitt in Round 2 and McCann knocked Hannah Goldy out starting with a spinning back elbow that was the beginning of the end.

The rap star promised to gift them each a Rolex watch, and Pimblett confirmed Drake did indeed follow through.

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The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Tom Aspinall reveals torn MCL and meniscus in UFC London loss to Curtis Blaydes, set for surgery

A little more than a week after injuring his knee at UFC Fight Night 208, Tom Aspinall has the diagnosis and will undergo surgery Wednesday.

A little more than a week after injuring his knee at UFC Fight Night 208, [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] has the diagnosis.

Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC), who blew out his right knee just 15 seconds into his headliner against Curtis Blaydes in London, said he tore his MCL and meniscus, as well as suffered damage to his ACL.

The rising heavyweight Brit posted on social media to reveal the news and said he will undergo surgery Wednesday.

“Today is surgery day. I’m in London right now and I’m absolutely starving because I can’t eat before surgery,” Aspinall said. “I have suffered a torn MCL, a torn meniscus and some ACL damage, so going to get that fixed today.”

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Aspinall saw his unbeaten UFC run come to an end in unfortunate fashion against Blaydes in his second straight headliner. Prior to that, the 29-year-old Team Kaobon fighter scored a first-round submission of Alexander Volkov at UFC Fight Night 204 in London in March.

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Miranda Maverick wants Molly McCann after UFC 278: ‘I’m ready to derail that fake hype train’

Miranda Maverick wants to put a stop to Molly McCann’s momentum.

[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag] wants to put a stop to [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag]’s momentum.

McCann (13-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) followed up her spinning elbow knockout of Luana Carolina in March by starching Hannah Goldy in the first round this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 208, sending The O2 in London into a frenzy once again.

But Maverick (10-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) thinks McCann has yet to fight legitimate competition in the UFC.

“Let’s go – let’s fight it out,” Maverick told MMA Junkie Radio. “If she wants to fight now, she didn’t want to fight me before, she took on an opponent in Hannah Goldy who – I like Hannah just fine, but she’s a strawweight naturally, and she’s not even on a winning streak or anything. She’s had like three out of her last four fights were losses, and it was just another person to be thrown to Molly so that she could win in front of her home crowd. I’m ready to derail that fake hype train.”

But first, Maverick has to get past Shanna Young at UFC 278 on Aug. 20. McCann already has her sights set on Antonina Shevchenko, but Maverick explained why her against McCann is the fight to make.

“I’ve had people on both sides that are like, ‘She should get a ranked opponent,’ and I’m like, ‘She’s fought no one to where she deserves a ranked opponent,’ first of all,” Maverick said. “Two, the whole thing of, ‘You should get a ranked opponent – you don’t need to be going back down the rankings.’

“And I’m like, I plan on being in this sport for years to come. I don’t need to race my way to the top and then slowly fall back like all these fighters do. I’m ready to take my time and make money by the time I get it to the top.”

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Arnold Allen wants top five opponent next: ‘If anyone deserves to fight upwards, it’s probably me’

Arnold Allen thinks he’s earned a top-ranked UFC featherweight opponent.

LONDON – [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] thinks he’s earned a top-ranked opponent.

Allen (18-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC), 28, is unbeaten in the UFC. He’s coming off a marquee first-round TKO of Dan Hooker at UFC Fight Night 204 in March and wants to start making a run toward the featherweight title.

He expressed interest in facing Calvin Kattar, whose team recently told MMA Junkie that’s a fight they also asked for. But if not Kattar, Allen just wants to move up the rankings.

“Anyone in that top five,” Allen said backstage at UFC Fight Night 208 in London this past Saturday. “I’m 9-0 in the UFC. I don’t even know my record total, but it’s pretty good I think. I feel like I deserve or if anyone deserves to fight upwards, it’s probably me. I’m 9-0 in the UFC. I just finished Dan Hooker. Give me somebody in that top five – any of them.

“I feel like a win over one of those people up there, it does put me in the talks for maybe a shot at the interim title. I don’t know – something like that.”

Allen currently is dealing with a hand injury and is targeting an end-of-year return. Whomever the rising Brit faces next, he hopes it’s a five-round contest so he can get accustomed to fighting championship rounds.

“The one thing I really want is to try and get a five-rounder,” Allen said. “My aspirations are title fights, and it would be pretty sh*t to go into a title fight never fighting a five-rounder. But if there’s a three-rounder going and that’s all there is for the end of the year, then that is what it is.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.

Spinning Back Clique: Paddy Pimblett’s rise, Chimaev vs. Diaz, stacked UFC 280, more

“Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show, discusses Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz at UFC 279, a loaded UFC 280 card, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

Our panel of Nolan King, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Mike Bohn discuss five topics with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

  • [autotag]Paddy Pimblett [/autotag]stole the show this past weekend at UFC Fight Night 208 in London. Afterwards, he stated that he’s now too big for The O2 and will be a PPV fighter. Is that the right call?
  • [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] is teasing a potential fight vs. [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag]. Should the UFC book this high-profile lightweight or is Chandler vs. Conor McGregor the right play?
  • [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag] is set for UFC 279 on Sept. 10. Was this the right fight to make for Diaz’s final bout on his current UFC contract?
  • UFC 280 is shaping up to be the deepest event of the year with two title fights and a number of high-profile contender bouts. Which fight is catching everyone’s eye the most?
  • How much pressure is on [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] going into Saturday’s UFC 277 rematch with women’s bantamweight champion [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag]?

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.

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UFC Fight Night 208 reactions: Winning and losing fighters on social media

UFC Fight Night 208 winners and losers react 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 Fight Night 208 in London, 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.

Check out some of those reactions.

The defeated

Jai Herbert did anything he had to do to beat Kyle Nelson at UFC London

Jai Herbert isn’t really concerned with what anyone thought of his UFC Fight Night 208 performance – particularly Kyle Nelson.

LONDON – [autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag] isn’t really concerned with what anyone thought of his UFC Fight Night 208 performance – particularly Kyle Nelson.

Herbert (12-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) took a unanimous decision from Nelson (13-5 MMA, 1-4 UFC) on the preliminary card at The O2 in London on Saturday. Herbert took the fight with a trio of 29-28 scores.

Considering he needed to get back in the win column after a knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at the same venue in March, the Brit said he was happy for 15 minutes of work to show himself a thing or two.

“I’m glad I got the three rounds. I literally wanted the three rounds,” Herbert said at his post-fight news conference. “Obviously, I want a quick finish. But I was saying to myself, ‘Pray for three rounds. You need to go in there and get three rounds.’ I needed to have that discipline for three rounds and prove to myself I can do three rounds and stay disciplined throughout the whole fight.

“I’m so happy the fight went the way it did. That is 100 times better, for me, than getting a first-round, 10-second knockout. That is what I needed to progress my career.”

Herbert said after the bout, Nelson threw some punches after the final bell – which he chalked up to frustration with how the action went and that it didn’t play out in what was a typical fan-friendly fight.

“He was frustrated, obviously, because he knew I won the round, and he probably assumed I was going to come here to swing it out with him,” Herbert said. “… I came here to be professional and get the victory. I didn’t come here for a bonus. I came here to get the ‘W,’ and that’s what I had to do.”

Check out Herbert’s full post-fight interview in the video above.

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Tom Aspinall reacciona por su derrota por lesión en la UFC Fight Night 208: ‘Hay accidentes raros ’

Tom Aspinall está tomando el resultado devastador en el evento principal de la UFC Fight Night 208 con calma. La pelea estelar de peso pesado en el O2 en Londres se fue detenida de forma abrupta a los 15 segundos cuando Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) …

Tom Aspinall está tomando el resultado devastador en el evento principal de la UFC Fight Night 208 con calma.

La pelea estelar de peso pesado en el O2 en Londres se fue detenida de forma abrupta a los 15 segundos cuando Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) sufrió una lesión en la rodilla que lo tiró en agonía en la lona. Su oponente Chris Blaydes (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) fue otorgado el triunfo por TKO, y se veía como una situación horrible para el británico.

Aspinall no ha revelado la magnitud de sus lesiones pero lo consideró un “accidente raro”. Se ve de buen ánimo e incluso compartió una cerveza con Blaydes en el hotel de los luchadore después del evento (vía Instagram:

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Una cerveza lo hace todo mejor. Que tipo, el enorme Curtis y su equipo vinieron a saludar. Desafortunadamente hay accidentes raros, hoy no fue mi noche. Los quiero a todos xx

Aspinall posteó en su Twitter el domingo para agradecer a la UFC, Blaydes, sus fans, familia y demás después de la lesión y dijo que por ahora se enfocará a sanar y regresar más fuerte.

Traducción.- Gracias Twitter @ufc

Sigue siendo un misterio lo que le depara el futuro a Aspinall después de su primera derrota tras unirse a la promoción hace seis peleas.

 

Traducido por META

5 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 208: Should Alexander Gustafsson retire?

Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 208, which took place Saturday in London.

What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 208 at the The 02 in London? Here are a few post-fight musings …