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Philipe Lins took out Ovince Saint Preux so quickly at UFC Fight Night 219 that he felt like a bear coming out of hibernation to eat.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag] beat Ovince Saint Preux with a first-round knockout Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 219 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Lins, who now has back-to-back wins for the first time in the UFC and first time, period, since 2018.
Marcin Prachnio’s win over William Knight at UFC Fight Night 219 was odd almost from the get-go.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag] beat William Knight with a unanimous decision Saturday on the main card at UFC Fight Night 219 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Prachnio, who won for the third time in four fights after he started his UFC tenure with three straight first-round stoppage losses.
While she doesn’t know if a UFC title shot is next, Erin Blanchfield hopes it’s against Valentina Shevchenko when the time comes.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] officially has her short-term sights set on gold.
Following a submission win over former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade at UFC Fight Night 219, Blanchfield (11-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) called for a shot at the winner of flyweight champ [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag], a bout scheduled for March 4 at UFC 285.
The callout was perhaps out of character for Blanchfield, but she told reporters at her post-fight news conference the request did not diverge from her usual persona.
“I always try to think of what I want to say after a win,” Blanchfield told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “It can be very emotional and you can be a little cloudy. I knew beating someone like her, especially if I finished her, that I could deserve that title (shot) next. … I’m (also) definitely OK with fighting again. I think the title fight is in two weeks, so I think it can line up perfectly. But if they want me to fight again, I’ll gain more experience.”
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Shevchenko is set to defend her title two weeks after Blanchfield’s win. Whether a title shot is in the immediate or the more distant future, Blanchfield hopes it’s against Shevchenko.
“I would definitely prefer Shevchenko. I think she beats Grasso,” Blanchfield said. “I think Grasso is a very tough fighter, but I want to be the one to take that title from (Shevchenko).”
With the victory, Blanchfield, 23, now has won all five of her UFC bouts, including three by submission. She has not lost in her professional MMA career outside of a controversial split decision defeat to Tracy Cortez.
Shevchenko, 34, is the second women’s flyweight champion in UFC history and has reigned since 2018. She rides a nine-fight winning streak, including victories over Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jessica Andrade, Lauren Murphy and, most recently, Taila Santos.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.
Erin Blanchfield took a big step up in competition, but only needed two rounds to submit a former champion.
When the lights shined the brightest of her entire career, so did [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag].
In the UFC Fight Night 219 main event Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Blanchfield (11-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) took a step up in competition and submitted former strawweight champion [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (24-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) with a rear-naked choke at the 1:37 mark of Round 2.
The bout was Blanchfield’s first main event and first time fighting the upper-echelon of the women’s flyweight division. Despite the stage, Blanchfield seemed unfazed by the attention.
In the opening minutes, she dispelled the notion by some analysts the bout strictly was a striker vs. grappler matchup. Blanchfield utilized her jab and tagged Andrade with her boxing. By the end of the round, Andrade returned some hard punches of her own, but her feeling out process took a little longer.
Blanchfield was busted by an Andrade combination in Round 2. Shortly thereafter, Blanchfield dragged the fight to the ground and immediately hopped to side control. Andrade rolled to her stomach and exposed her back, which Blanchfield gladly took. Blanchfield snatched her opponent’s neck and got the tap after she flattened the hips.
BLANCHFIELD GETS THE SUBMISSION OVER ANDRADE 😮 #UFCVEGAS69 pic.twitter.com/GkHJosJuqX
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 19, 2023
23-year-old Erin Blanchfield has her eyes set on women's flyweight gold 👀#UFCVegas69 pic.twitter.com/Niwm1e9AGu
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 19, 2023
Blanchfield, 23, largely has remained indifferent throughout her career when it comes to opponents and matchups. However, in her biggest in-cage interview to date, Blanchfield called for a title shot against the winner of champion Valentina Shevchenko vs. Alexa Grasso, a bout scheduled for March 4 at UFC 285 in Las Vegas.
“I’m going to win the title and become UFC champion,” Blanchfield said.
With the victory, Blanchfield now has won all five of her UFC bouts, including three by submission. Andrade, who took the fight on 15 days’ notice, had a three-fight winning streak snapped.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 219 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.
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Check out these photos of the UFC Fight Night 219 official weigh-ins and faceoffs at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check out these photos of the UFC Fight Night 219 official weigh-ins and faceoffs at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ken Hathaway, MMA Junkie)
Check out photos and video highlights from Friday’s UFC Fight Night 219 weigh-ins and faceoffs.
LAS VEGAS – All the pre-fight activities are in the books for UFC Fight Night 219 following Friday’s official weigh-ins and faceoffs.
A short-notice women’s flyweight matchup between former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (24-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) and rising contender Erin Blanchfield (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is the main event. Andrade stepped up on a week’s notice after Taila Santos had visa issues.
At the conclusion of the official weigh-ins, the fighters came face to face for final staredowns. Check out the highlights in the video above and a photo gallery from the weigh-ins and faceoffs through the link below.
UFC Fight Night 219 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex. The card streams on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.
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Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 219 main card in Las Vegas, featuring Jessica Andrade vs. Erin Blanchfield.
| Andrade vs. Blanchfield |
Pauga vs. Wright |
Parisian vs. Pogues |
Knight vs. Prachnio |
Hernandez vs. Miller |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 13-8 |
 Blanchfield (55%) |
 Pauga (65%) |
 Parisian (64%) |
 Knight (64%) |
 Miller (64%) |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 16-5 |
 Andrade |
Pauga |
Parisian |
Knight |
Miller |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 15-6 |
Andrade |
Pauga |
 Pogues |
Knight |
Miller |
| Matt Erickson 15-6 |
Andrade |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
 Hernandez |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 14-7  2017 Champion |
Andrade |
Pauga |
Parisian |
Knight |
Miller |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 13-8 |
Blanchfield |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
Miller |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 12-9 2018, 2022 Champion |
Blanchfield |
Pauga |
Parisian |
 Prachnio |
Hernandez |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 12-9 |
Andrade |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
Miller |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 11-10/em> |
Blanchfield |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
Hernandez |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 11-10 |
Blanchfield |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
Miller |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 10-11 |
Andrade |
Pauga |
Parisian |
Prachnio |
Miller |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 10-11 2014 Champion |
Andrade |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
Miller |
The is back on its home turf this week, and a short-notice women’s flyweight bout tops the card.
UFC Fight Night 219 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, former women’s strawweight champion [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (24-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) takes on [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at flyweight. Andrade took the fight on just a week’s notice when Taila Santos couldn’t travel with visa issues.
Andrade is slight favorite at -135 at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Blanchfield, who is fighting in her first UFC main event, is +115. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are siding with Andrade at a 7-4 clip.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Zac Pauga[/autotag] (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC) at light heavyweight. Pauga is the biggest favorite on the main card at -280, and he’s our lone unanimous pick.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Jamal Pogues[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at heavyweight. Pogues is a -250 favorite, but he has just a 7-4 lead in the picks from our staff members.
The closest fight on the entire card at the betting window is at light heavyweight between [autotag]William Knight[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) and [autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 2-4 UFC). Knight is a -125 favorite, but he’s got a huge 9-2 lead in the picks.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Alex Hernandez[/autotag] (13-6 MMA, 5-5 UFC) takes on UFC record holder [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag] (35-16 MMA, 24-15 UFC) at lightweight. Hernandez is more than a 2-1 favorite, but it’s Miller who has a big 8-3 lead from our staff members.
In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Blanchfield (55 percent), Pauga (65 percent), Parisian (64 percent), Knight (64 percent) and Miller (64 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.
Check out the results from the official UFC Fight Night 219 fighter weigh-ins, featuring Jessica Andrade vs. Erin Blanchfield.
LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday’s UFC Fight Night 219 weigh-ins, where all 22 fighters on the card hit their marks.
In the main event, former women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (24-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) will step up on just a week’s notice to fight Erin Blanchfield (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at flyweight. Andrade took the fight when Blanchfield’s original opponent, Taila Santos, pulled out with visa issues.
Blanchfield was the first fighter to the scale in the two-hour weigh-in window and was 125.5 pounds. Andrade was right behind her and was 124 to make the fight official.
The weigh-ins took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The same venue hosts Saturday’s card, which streams on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 219 weigh-in results included:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.
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A short-notice women’s flyweight headliner is set after Jessica Andrade and Erin Blanchfield made weight Friday in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – A short-notice women’s flyweight headliner is set after both fighters made weight Friday.
Ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 219, which takes place at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+, Jessica Andrade and Erin Blanchfield stepped on the scale at the official weigh-ins.
Andrade (24-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) stepped up on a week’s notice to take on rising contender Blanchfield (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the main event after Taila Santos had visa issues.
Blanchfield was the first fighter to the scale in the two-hour official weigh-ins window and was 125.5 pounds. Former women’s strawweight champ Andrade was right behind her and was 124.
Check out the video from their trips to the scale above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.
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Jamal Pogues was stoked to get a UFC shot and make his debut in 2022, but the big picture got in the way ahead of UFC Fight Night 219.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jamal Pogues[/autotag] was stoked to get a UFC shot and make his debut in 2022, but the big picture got in the way.
Pogues’ mom, he said, is battling Stage 3 cancer. When his dad had a health issue, as well, he made the choice to help care for them, as well as his own family immediate family.
That meant the 27-year-old heavyweight couldn’t fight Tafon Nchukwi this past December.
“I had to really be a family person and family man, and I wasn’t mentally ready to fight,” Pogues said at Wednesday’s media day for UFC Fight Night 219 in Las Vegas. “I was trying to go through the camp, but then most of my time was back home just trying to make sure – take care of family, being a family guy. Respectfully, I didn’t want to come out here and not give my best, and I don’t want to put on a half-ass performance. I don’t want to come out here and make every excuse in the book like most people do. So I was like, let’s take the time, and let’s do it right. And I feel like that’s what I did.”
Pogues said the idea that he’ll be fighting in the UFC come Saturday is one that has him “numb” from what is most fighters’ dreams. But he said he’s trying to harness some energy that will have people thinking he’s wise beyond his years.
If nothing else, hopefully they won’t think he’s just a nobody.
“I’m not trying to get too excited, and I’m trying to act like I’ve been here before, and it’s crazy because half the time I’m a fan, and the other part of me is like, ‘Man, you still have a job, too,'” Pogues said “I’m just walking in this week as, like, ‘OK, stay calm. Look cool. Look focused. Act like – just look cool, man. Don’t do nothing weird.’ So it’s kind of a crazy week, man.”
Pogues (9-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is around a -250 favorite against Josh Parisian (15-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC), so expectations are high. He said trips to the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas have him with a better idea of managing his diet – and now any thoughts of moving back to light heavyweight pretty much are gone.
But a win over Parisian might be big enough to have Pogues asking after some bigger names in a hurry.
“If it’s not top 15, it doesn’t matter,” Pogues said. “We always see one-trick ponies. We see motherf*ckers get one win and then that’s it. And it’s not that I’m dissing (Parisian) or anything. But it’s like if it’s not top 15, in my head, it doesn’t matter. So once I get this win, it’s back into the gym again, it’s back to the lab, it’s back to grinding. It’s not, ‘Oh, I get one win – let’s go out and have some fun and let’s enjoy this moment.’ I came here with a goal. I’ve been training for a very long time. If it’s not top 15, it’s nothing to be celebrating for.
“It’s time to get to work. So we’re going to take this win, we’ll take a fight at a time, we’re going to do it right, prepare correctly, and then we’ll take one fight at a time. I guarantee in the next two years, I guarantee I’ll be in the top 15, and then that’s when the real work starts.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.
