Tag: UFC Fight Night 209

William Gomis was ‘ready to die’ rather than tap out vs. Jarno Errens at UFC Fight Night 209

William Gomis wasn’t about quit in front of his hometown fans at UFC Paris.

PARIS – [autotag]William Gomis[/autotag] wasn’t about quit in front of his hometown fans at UFC Fight Night 209.

Gomis (11-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) defeated Jarno Errens by majority decision this past Saturday at Accor Arena, where he was caught in a deep triangle-choke with just a minute left in the fight. But the MMA Factory Paris fighter managed to muster the energy to pop his head out and survive Errens’ last-ditch effort.

“In my mind, I can’t say stop,” Gomis told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “I’m ready to die. I’m in Paris. My public is here. I’m ready to die. I just need to wait one minute and win this fight.”

Gomis predicted an easy knockout in his pre-fight interview, but during the contest he saw wrestling as a path to victory.

“I felt good. My opponent is a good striker. It’s very hard to be better than him in striking, and I see that I can be a better wrestler,” Gomis said.

He continued, “I feel the pressure, because I see a lot of media, a lot of people sent me messages. Yeah, pressure, but I’m someone who’s very cool. For me, it’s easy to calm down.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Henry Cejudo: ‘Real deal’ Ciryl Gane is bigger threat to Jon Jones than Francis Ngannou

Henry Cejudo was impressed with Ciryl Gane’s finish of Tai Tuivasa at UFC Fight Night 209 in Paris.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] was impressed with [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]’s finish of Tai Tuivasa at UFC Fight Night 209.

Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) was knocked down by Tuivasa, but managed to weather the storm and scored a knockout win over the power puncher this past Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris.

The former interim heavyweight champion kept digging into Tuivasa’s body before moving up top to rain down the finishing blows. Cejudo lauded Gane for his footwork and fight IQ and thinks he’d give [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] more trouble than heavyweight champ [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag], who defeated Gane in his most recent outing by unanimous decision.

“His angles were on point. His distance was on point. His investment in the body to break somebody down to eventually get the knockout was on point,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “This dude is a threat for everybody. I immediately texted Jon Jones: ‘Hey man, watch out for this dude.’ You have to really plan for this dude.

“I almost feel after looking at that last fight like he is a bigger threat than Francis Ngannou for a guy like Jon Jones.”

In Arizona, Cejudo has helped former light heavyweight king Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) gear up for his eventual heavyweight debut. Despite his high praise for Gane, Cejudo still sees Jones as the No. 1 puzzle to solve.

“Ciryl Gane is the real deal,” Cejudo said. “Somebody that can chop (Tuivasa) down like that and eventually finish him, that’s the type of stuff that I like to see – investment in the body, investment in legs, to eventually finish his opponent. Beautiful work.

“The heavyweight division has never been hotter before, especially now that Jon Jones is in there. So it’s an exciting time. But I still believe that Jon Jones is the king of kings, and for that reason, all you heavyweights, you’ve got to study Jon Jones.”

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Spinning Back Clique: Nate Diaz’s decision, UFC Paris, Paul vs. Silva, and more

MMA Junkie’s weekly “Spinning Back Clique” discusses Nate Diaz’s impending decision after UFC 279, UFC Paris fallout, 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 Brian “Goze” Garcia, Dan Tom and Danny Segura discuss five topics with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

  • [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] headlines UFC 279 on Saturday against Khamzat Chimaev. He’s a massive underdog, and it’s the last fight on his contract after 15 years with the UFC. Is this the last time we’ll see him in the octagon? Or can we expect the unexpected and after all his public gripes about the UFC, will he re-sign with the promotion?
  • At UFC Fight Night 209 this past Saturday, [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] took out Tai Tuivasa with a third-round knockout. It was a huge win for the Frenchman in front of his home fans in Paris, and now he can make a claim to be back in the heavyweight title picture. So how should we sort out that division in the UFC now that he’s back on track and we’re still waiting for Jon Jones’ debut in the weight class and the returns of Stiple Miocic and champ Francis Ngannou?
  • Former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag] was critical of Gane’s win over Tuivasa and said a hammerfist Gane landed to the back of Tuivasa’s head during the fight-ending ground-and-pound made him a “dirty fighter.” JDS has some experience here. His loss to Gane ended in a similar fashion, but in that case, too, the referee didn’t deem anything illegal. What do we think? Is Dos Santos going too far calling Gane dirty, or is he on the right path?
  • It looks like [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag]’s next boxing match is going to be against former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag], one of MMA’s all-time greatest fighters. Silva has been grated a boxing license in Arizona, which paves the way for the fight to happen. An announcement could come very soon. MMA fans have a love-hate relationship with Paul. But will he start to turn the page with them by boxing someone as well-regarded as Silva? And what do we think about the matchup?
  • Nate Diaz got his start in the WEC. And like PRIDE and Strikeforce, the WEC eventually was folded into the UFC. Most of the fighters from those three promotions have retired or are fighting outside the UFC. But looking back, which promotion did the UFC get the most bang for its buck from: PRIDE, WEC or Strikeforce?

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

Cristian Quinonez reveals he broke his hand in UFC Fight Night 209 win

Cristian Quinonez’ win at UFC Fight Night 209 was quick, but he didn’t come out unscathed. 

PARIS – [autotag]Cristian Quinonez[/autotag]’ win at UFC Fight Night 209 was quick, but he didn’t come out unscathed.

Quinonez (17-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) scored a first-round TKO win over Khalid Taha this past Saturday at Accor Arena. It was a near-flawless performance from the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate, whose main takeaway from the fight was simple.

“An obvious one is to close my fist better, because I broke it,” Quinonez told reporters through an interpreter. “After that I need to see the fight and of course I will learn and make adjustments.”

He continued, “I feel very complete, because it was my goal. I knew when I first stepped in the cage, I’m going to start being a problem in the division.”

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Quinonez took the fight on less than two weeks’ notice after Tala’s original opponent, Taylor Lapilus, had to withdraw. The Mexican fighter was last to weigh-in but is still open to taking short-notice fights in the future.

“Me personally, I can fight short notice or on three months’ notice,” Quinonez said. “But that decision I make with my team and to make a smart one, but I can fight both.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Fares Ziam happy with UFC Paris win, ‘but I need more to finish the fight’

Fares Ziam is happy with his performance at UFC Fight Night 209 but disappointed he didn’t get the finish.

PARIS – [autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag] is happy with his performance at UFC Fight Night 209 but disappointed he didn’t get the finish.

The French-Algerian fighter almost got the stoppage when he rocked Michal Figlak with a spinning back elbow in Round 2 this past Saturday at Accor Arena, but Figlak survived. Nonetheless, it was a well rounded effort from Ziam (13-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC), who showed off his striking and grappling in a unanimous decision win in front of his home fans.

“It’s like a dream,” Ziam told reporters, including MMA Junkie at the post-fight news conference. “Because for me, fight in France, first time with UFC, first time in MMA for me in France, super happy.”

He continued, “He’s a tough guy, he’s a tough opponent. I wish to finish him in the second round with the spinning elbow, but he’s tough. And after the second round, no energy. I fight only with my heart.”

“I feel good, because I won tonight, but I need more to finish the fight.”

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Ziam was successful in his first fight of a new four-fight UFC deal. He’s ready for a quick turnaround for UFC 280 on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi, and is even ready to jump in as a short-notice replacement if any fight falls through.

“Next I want Abu Dhabi, but the card was full,” Ziam said. “In Abu Dhabi, I have two fights: one loss and one win, but let’s go Abu Dhabi. I have no injury, I’m fresh.”

He continued, “Let’s go, 100 percent. I’m a fighter, I need fight, I need money, let’s go.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Roman Kopylov credits corner for must-win knockout at UFC Fight Night 209

“I took those corrections and with their corrections and their guidance, I was able to find the victory.”

PARIS – With his back against the wall, [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag] delivered at UFC Fight Night 209.

Kopylov (9-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) notched his first octagon win when he knocked out Alessio Di Chirico this past Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris. It was a must-win situation for the Russian, who after an undefeated start to his professional MMA career, found himself 0-2 in the UFC heading into his fight against Di Chirico.

“I’m very happy to win,” Kopylov told reporters through an interpreter. “The first two fights were not lucky in my favor, so I’m very happy to get to the winning column, and hopefully we’ll bring great fights and continue to win.”

He continued, “Yes, of course it was very important. Like I said, the last two were losses, so it was very important for me to win this one. I did everything to get the win, and I knew that no matter what, I had to walk away in the winning column.”

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Kopylov got off to a good start, but Di Chirico was able to make adjustments in Round 2. But after taking some advice from his corner, Kopylov was able to turn things back around and get the emphatic finish just over a minute into the final round.

“The first round was going in my favor, and I thought I was doing a good job,” Kopylov said. “The second round kind of went sideways a little bit. I’m not sure what was happening, but it didn’t go my way. And, of course, my corner saw what was happening, they gave me some corrections, I took those corrections, and with their corrections and their guidance, I was able to find the victory.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Marvin Vettori after UFC Paris loss to Robert Whittaker: ‘I promise everyone I’ll be back better than ever’

Marvin Vettori was defeated but not deterred at UFC Paris.

[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] was defeated but not deterred.

Vettori came up short this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 209, where he lost a unanimous decision to former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at Accor Arena in Paris.

Afterward, Vettori (18-6-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) grabbed the mic from Michael Bisping inside the octagon to deliver a message in Italian before Whittaker’s post-fight interview. Vettori wasn’t available to speak at the post-fight news conference.

On Monday, Vettori, 28, posted about the fight on Instagram and remained optimistic about his future.

“Starting from Mezzocorona and getting to the MMA world summit didn’t happen overnight,” Vettori wrote. “Against all odds and working steadily through these years, many have become passionate and inspired by my journey, where my determination has always prevailed. For this, I thank you from first to last. What you’ve seen so far is not the top of the mountain. We will climb back to conquer higher peaks. It’s a promise.

“This game ain’t for the faint of heart. We got big shoulders, and we don’t quit. There is just one way, and that is forward. I promise everyone I’ll be back better than ever. Hat’s off to Whittaker, good execution and good adjustments. Nothing’s changed, we are gonna be champion one day. I promise you that.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CiIl0U3r3nH/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

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After five consecutive wins from 2019 to 2021, Vettori earned a title shot against current 185-pound champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 263 and lost by convincing unanimous decision. Vettori rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Paulo Costa last October before the loss to Whittaker.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Israel Adesanya reacts to Robert Whittaker beating ‘jittery and spazzed out’ Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris

Israel Adesanya wasn’t too surprised with Robert Whittaker’s win over Marvin Vettori at UFC Fight Night 209.

UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] wasn’t too surprised with [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]’s win over [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag].

Whittaker (24-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) put on a fantastic performance against former title challenger Vettori (18-5-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) in this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 209 co-main event at Accor Arena in Paris.

Adesanya, who holds two wins each over Whittaker and Vettori, predicted that Whittaker would win. Although he credited Whittaker for “flowing” throughout the fight, Adesanya didn’t echo the same sentiment as the majority of fighters who were in awe of “The Reaper.”

“Rob went in there and then did his f*cking two fake kick him in the head, clipped him and then he banked on that, and then he kept on hitting him with it,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “And Vettori showed a lot of shoulder and f*cking jittery and spazzed out, so yeah, that’s what the fight was.”

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On the contrary, Adesanya thoroughly enjoyed the night’s headliner between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa, and praised Tuivasa for his toughness before he was ultimately finished in Round 3.

“Main event was dope,” Adesanya said. “Tai had his moment. He dinked him, almost sank him. Even Ciryl reckons he got knocked out, but he came back and did what he did, what he does.”

He continued, “Surprisingly, he was invested in that body early on. Yeah, Tai held on. Tai was like, just one more kamikaze, just like, ‘OK, I’m gonna take this shot, this pain right now, and I’m gonna flush him.'”

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Francis Ngannou’s coach grades Ciryl Gane’s rebound from title loss: ‘He showed some improvements’

Eric Nicksick analyzes what he saw from Ciryl Gane’s knockout win over Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris.

Eric Nicksick, head coach of Francis Ngannou at Xtreme Couture, liked what he saw from the UFC heavyweight champion’s last opponent.

[autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] returned to action Saturday against Tai Tuivasa in the main event of UFC Fight Night 209, the first UFC card on French soil. The bout marked Gane’s first fight back since losing to Ngannou back in January at UFC 270.

Gane successfully knocked out Tuivasa and once again set aim at the champion as Nicksick watched the fight carefully.

“I thought he looked great other than the one little hiccup, but fighting in the heavyweight division against the guy who’s ranked No. 3, you’re maybe going to see a little adversity here and there,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie on Sunday. For him, as a coach, you’d like to see some adversity and see how he fights his way through it and bounces back. And he did just that.

“Myself and Din Thomas did a little breakdown on what we thought the approach might be from Gane and Tai, and we were pretty spot on with that. I think Gane used his kick game almost as jabs and feelers and staying long, as well as occupy the left hand from Tai with the right high kick. He did a really good job, and he was able to catch Tai rushing in with some of those counters using his movement, which I think he’s great at. I think he showed some improvements and looked great in the fight. To me, it was a good main event.”

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The heavyweight title picture has never been murkier. Ngannou is out recovering from a knee surgery and also has pending contract negotiations with the UFC, as he fought out his deal in January and is months away from potentially becoming a free agent. There’s also a list of contenders in Gane, Stipe Miocic, and Curtis Blayes. Can’t also forget about Jon Jones’ highly anticipated heavyweight move, which is expected to materialize in the near future.

Nicksick is not ready to say Gane is the No. 1 contender following his knockout win over Tuivasa. He thinks the Frenchman maintained his status among the top contenders of the division.

“I think there’s a lot of really good guys in the division right now,” Nicksick said. “I think the unfortunate outcome in the Aspinall-Blaydes fight, because I wanted to see both of those guys perform. Curtis is right there again, and I guess the kind of wild card is Jon Jones if he ever shows up. And then you got, in my opinion, the greatest to ever do it in Stipe Miocic waiting there too.

“I think the heavyweight division is actually pretty thick right now. There’s a lot of good talent, a lot of good guys coming up the ranks, and Ciryl Gane is definitely one of those.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Benoit Saint-Denis says toe ‘split in two almost’ during TKO win at UFC Fight Night 209

Benoit Saint-Denis had to ignore any pain he was feeling from a gruesome injury during his fight at UFC Paris.

PARIS – [autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag] suffered a gruesome toe injury at UFC Fight Night 209.

Saint-Denis (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) continued his perfect finishing rate when he scored a bonus-winning TKO win over Gabriel Miranda this past Saturday at Accor Arena, where his big toe was left surrounded by a puddle of blood. Saint-Denis later explained that it was a pre-existing injury, which happened before his first octagon win against Niklas Stolze in June.

“I could not lift my toe any more, but I wanted to fight,” Saint-Denis told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “I had a hard preparation, so it was one month before the fight with the German guy (Stolze) in Vegas. We did no surgery. It was OK. I just had a lot of times where my toe was going into the ground. It injured me a little bit, so I had to train with shoes.

“Just after the fight with Niklas, I got surgery, but six weeks without any sports, so I had only three weeks to prepare for this fight. It was the best and hardest camp I ever had, because obviously three weeks, the first two weeks you feel like sh*t, because you haven’t trained for a long time. The last week, I was starting to feel great again, but the toe was still a bit open.”

Saint-Denis said during his fight with Miranda that his toe re-opened, but that wasn’t going to stop him from putting on a show in front of his French fans.

“After a couple of kicks, it split in two almost,” Saint-Denis added. “It’s just the fight game. You never have a perfect preparation. There are always small injuries. It’s a part of life for any athlete, so now I will take time to heal it up.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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