Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The UFC 284 champion-vs-champion fight between Islam Makhachev and Alex Volkanovski was a no-brainer as MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from February 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for February.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
It’s rare for a UFC title fight to end by triangle choke, which is why Yair Rodriguez wins MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for March.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from February 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for February.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Dana White was very impressed by Erin Blanchfield’s bonus-winning submission of former champ Jessica Andrade at UFC Fight Night 219.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] was very impressed by [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag]’s performance at UFC Fight Night 219.
Blanchfield (11-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) emerged as a top flyweight contender when she submitted former champion Jessica Andrade in the second round earlier this month and earned a Performance of the Night bonus.
White was especially impressed by Blanchfield’s willingness to engage on the feet with power puncher Andrade before she capitalized on the ground and submitted her.
“I was blown way. She looked incredible,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC Fight Night 220 post-fight news conference. “She came out and did exactly what she needed to do. She went right at her. She wasn’t afraid of her. She wasn’t afraid of her power. She stood in the pocket, mixed it up with her and went right after her. You couldn’t ask for a bigger stud than Andrade to come out and do what she did, and you couldn’t ask for a better badass performance by Erin.”
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Unbeaten in the UFC, Blanchfield has submitted three opponents in a row. Her finish of Andrade gave her a big boost up the UFC’s women’s flyweight rankings and the 23-year-old is confident she has the style to dethrone reigning champion Valentina Shevchenko.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 220.
Our “Spinning Back Clique” discusses the rapid rise of Erin Blanchfield in the women’s flyweight division and if it’s time for a title shot.
[autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] has propelled herself to the top of the UFC women’s flyweight division.
After stopping former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade in the main event of UFC Fight Night 219, Blanchfield’s name lands among the top of the division.
In the latest USA TODAY SPORTS/MMA Junkie women’s flyweight rankings, Blanchfield took a huge leap after the victory, jumping 11 spots, landing at the No. 3 behind UFC champ Valentina Shevchenko and Bellator champ Liz Carmouche.
Blanchfield has stopped three straight opponents in her current hot streak of eight straight wins. Her path of destruction raises some important questions about her place in the division.
Is it time to give Blanchfield a shot at the title, or does she need one more win? What would a title fight against Shevchenko look like? She’s certainly confident in her abilities against the long-reigning champion.
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Nolan King and Brian “Goze” Garcia discuss Blanchfield’s surge along with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.
Check out their discussion in the video above, and be sure to check out this week’s full episode below.
Ryan Spann reveals he was originally to be in the mix for the light heavyweight title, but the UFC went with a different plan.
LAS VEGAS – UFC light heavyweight contender [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] is days away from his second main event, but revealed the promotion initially had bigger plans for him.
Spann (21-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC), who enters Saturday’s marquee bout at UFC Fight Night 219 against Nikita Krylov, said the UFC called him with a plan to fight for the light heavyweight title after his win in November.
“This fight almost didn’t happen, but I still feel good about it,” Spann told reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “… We was on call for the situation with the belt.”
The light heavyweight title picture drastically changed ahead of UFC 282 when then-champion Jiri Prochazka’s severe injury caused him to withdraw from the fight and vacate the title to keep the division moving. Spann said he was contacted to make a quick turnaround at the December pay-per-view, putting his name in the mix with Magomed Ankalaev and former champions Glover Teixeira and Jan Blachowicz.
“I was going to fight, I want to say, Jan at first,” Spann told reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “Then from there I was going to fight for the No. 1 guaranteed, and then fight the winner for, at the time, was an interim belt. So, Magomed and Glover were going to fight for the interim, and then I was going to fight for No. 1, because they already knew that homie was going to be out for a while.”
The promotion ended up going with Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev in the UFC 282 main event. The bout resulted in a draw, which led to Jamahal Hill capturing the vacant belt by defeating Teixeira just over a month later at UFC 283.
Spann wasn’t exactly happy he didn’t get to go down the path that was initially laid out, because he was on the sidelines watching as the division hit a reset button of sorts. It also meant he had more work to do to fight for a title shot.
“I don’t do this to show off,” Spann said. “I don’t do this to fight for no reason. I want what I want, so I can get out when I can get out. I want to get in and out, and the longer it takes me to get there, the longer I got to stay.”
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Spann will find himself sharing the octagon with Krylov (29-9 MMA, 10-7 UFC) on Saturday, and isn’t particularly worried about what his opponent brings to the table, as long as he is focused when the cage door closes.
“I don’t know his style,” Spann said. “I don’t know what he’s going to do, I don’t care what he’s going to try to do. I just know that if I have fun, and be calm, I’ll see everything.”
With a win in what will be his second main event, Spann hopes to be in a position to fight for the title that is currently held by fellow Dana White’s Contender Series veteran Hill. Once he gets that opportunity and if he captures the title, Spann and his Fortis MMA teammate Kennedy Nzechukwu have already thought about how things will unfold from that point.
“My plan is to get the belt, then I’ll leave it for Kennedy,” Spann said. “When Kennedy’s ready, I’ll either go up, or I’ll be done.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 220.
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Erin Blanchfield made a huge move in this week’s rankings update after her big win over Jessica Andrade.
The women’s flyweight division has a new contender in the mix, and her name is [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag].
In the main event of UFC Fight Night 219, Blanchfield (11-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) submitted former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade in the second round. It was a spectacular performance, and the biggest win of her career thus far. Now, Blanchfield finds herself knocking on the door of a title shot after her fifth win under the UFC banner.
Entering the week at No. 14 in the USA TODAY SPORTS/MMA Junkie women’s flyweight rankings, Blanchfield propelled herself all the way up to the No. 3 spot, replacing Andrade.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.
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It appears Jessica Andrade’s days competing as a UFC flyweight are over.
It seems [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag]’s flyweight days are over.
The Brazilian is looking to return and stay in the weight class where she once was UFC champion. Andrade (24-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) wants to drop back to 115 pounds following her submission loss to Erin Blanchfield in a women’s flyweight main event this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 219 in Las Vegas.
Andrade, who’s been competing between 115 and 125 pounds in recent years, is ready to commit to a division.
“I’ve always said that one of the things that I always wanted to do is go back to strawweight,” Andrade told ESPN through an interpreter following her loss. “That’s what I want. I want to put some roots there. I did ask for a title shot. I understand, if the organization wants to give me a title shot, I’ll take it. I’m ready all the time. I’ve always said it. I’m always ready for the promotion just as they’re ready for me, so I’ll take it. But obviously strawweight will be the move.”
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The loss to Blanchfield snapped a three-fight winning streak for Andrade. Many saw the outcome as a surprise as she entered the event as the favorite. Despite not being the expected result, Andrade wasn’t caught by surprise by Blanchfield’s approach.
“I expected a lot of striking,” Andrade said. “I do understand that she’s a good striker, but I figured that we would be striking a little and maybe if she felt my hand once, that she would try to bring me down to the ground, and that’s what ended up happening towards the end of the fight.
“But I was prepared for it. I understand. She even said it: ‘I’m not afraid of her,’ just like me. I’m not afraid of her, either. At the end of the day, it wasn’t the result that I expected, but we’re going to go back to the drawing board and start things from the start.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.
After his first promotional win at UFC Fight Night 219, Clayton Carpenter reciprocated a recent callout from a top Australian flyweight.
LAS VEGAS – Minutes after his first UFC win, [autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag] set his sights on another.
A rising flyweight fighter out of the MMA Lab in Glendale, Ariz., Carpenter (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) defeated Juancamilo Ronderos (4-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in short order Saturday at UFC Fight Night 219, which took place at the UFC Apex.
Minutes later, a sunglasses-wearing Carpenter had his callout ready when he took the stage for his post-fight news conference and revealed he’d like to fight one of the newest members of the UFC roster.
“I think I want to call out [autotag]Stephen Erceg[/autotag],” Carpenter told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “He kind of got screwed … with getting his visa for the Dana White’s Contender Series fight (against me). After his last fight, he was calling me out, all cute. He’s just like, ‘I want Clayton.’ It was hilarious. I loved it. I’m down to roll him up and smoke him.”
Erceg and Carpenter were lined up to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022. The bout never materialized when Erceg encountered visa issues. Earlier this month, Erceg was offered a UFC contract after chief business officer Hunter Campbell and matchmaker Mick Maynard attended Eternal MMA 73, which he headlined.
The #UFC signed top flyweight prospect Stephen Erceg (9-1) after his win Friday in Perth, per Eternal MMA, a top Australian regional promotion that held the event.
Hunter Campbell and Mick Maynard were onsite and liked what they saw. pic.twitter.com/PNO5Ujhm8f
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) February 16, 2023
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.
A.J. Fletcher’s first win in the promotion at UFC Fight Night 219 couldn’t have come at a better time.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]A.J. Fletcher[/autotag] beat Themba Takura Gorimbo with a second-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 219 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Fletcher, who picked up his first UFC win after a pair of decision losses in 2022.
Jamall Emmers thinks he won’t be an unknown anymore after his UFC Fight Night 219 upset of 2-1 favorite Khusein Askhabov in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jamall Emmers[/autotag] beat Khusein Askhabov with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 219 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Emmers, who pulled off an upset and handed 2-1 favorite Askhabov his first loss.
