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Check out the history of weigh-in misses in the UFC in 2023 and fights canceled due to weight management issues.
The old adage is that the fight before the fight in MMA is the one with the scale.
Weight-cutting struggles and eventual weight misses are a regular part of the sport. Throughout 2023, we updated this story each time there was an infraction on the UFC scale – or fights that were scrapped because of issues with a fighter’s weight.
Here’s the final list. Fighters listed are in chronological order of their scheduled bouts.
(List updated after UFC 296 weigh-ins in Las Vegas, Dec. 15, 2023.)
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from March 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from March 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for March.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from March 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from March 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for March.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
The UFC bantamweight division could soon be dramatic situation if Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili refuse to fight each other.
The UFC bantamweight division is heading toward some potentially dramatic waters in the aftermath of [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]’s dominant win over former champion Petr Yan in the UFC Fight Night 221 main event.
Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC), who is primary training partner of current 135-pound champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag], extended his winning streak to nine fights on Saturday when he earned a unanimous decision win over Yan in their headlining bout at The Theater at Virgins Hotels in Las Vegas.
With Dvalishvili coming off back-to-back wins over former UFC champs in Yan and Jose Aldo, the realities of his relationship with Sterling are starting to settle in. UFC president Dana White sent a warning to “The Machine” that his path forward is about to get very complication if he and Sterling (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) stick true to their promise to never fight each other.
When proposed with questions about a potential matchup, Dvalishvili has said he has no problem taking out fellow contenders while Sterling reigns, with a back up plan to drop down to flyweight. Sterling, for his part, has said a move up to featherweight is likely in his future if he can clear the queue of current contenders, which includes a UFC 288 title defense against Henry Cejudo on May 8, then a presumed matchup with Sean O’Malley after.
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A number of circumstances could shake up the whole saga, but what should the UFC do with Dvalishvili given his position?
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Danny Segura broke it down with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. Check out their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s full episode below.
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel.
Ariane Lipski’s upset of JJ Aldrich at UFC Fight Night 221 was on account of her improved wrestling, she said.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag] beat JJ Aldrich with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 221 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Lipski, who pulled off an upset over a favorite of more than 4-1.
Vitor Petrino brushed off Anton Turkalj’s antics leading up to UFC Fight Night 221.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag] brushed off [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]’s antics leading up to UFC Fight Night 221.
Turkalj (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) called Petrino easy money and faked him out in their weigh-ins faceoff. However, Turkalj wasn’t able to back up his actions, losing a Fight of the Night battle to Petrino (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) this past Saturday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.
But the undefeated Brazilian finisher, whose main goal is to put on a show, says he was unaffected by the build-up during the fight.
“Talk is cheap,” Petrino said through an interpreter at the post-fight news conference. “Even a parrot can talk, so whatever he says outside the cage, the moment the door closes, he’s going to have to back everything, and I’m happy with how it went. He did what he had to do. It didn’t really make a difference.”
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He continued, “It was just a very childish game, but once the door closes, there’s no way around it. He’s going to have to back whatever he’s putting outside. He’s going to have to back it in the cage, and we saw how that went.”
Watch the full post-fight interview with Petrino above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.
Victor Henry knew Tony Gravely was tough, but he was left thinking he was next-level tough when he wouldn’t go away at UFC Fight Night 221.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag] beat Tony Gravely with a split decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 221 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Henry, who got back in the win column after a loss to Raphael Assuncao this past fall.
UFC Fight Night 221 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 221 in Las Vegas, 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.
Petr Yan finds himself at something of a crossroads after losing four of five fights since dropping the UFC bantamweight title.
Former UFC champ [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] finds himself at something of a crossroads after losing four of five fights since dropping the bantamweight title.
Yan (16-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) rough stretch continued on Saturday when he suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 221m headliner at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.
It was just over two years ago that Yan had the undisputed 135-pound belt in his possession and looked like he might have a long reign in store. Fast forward to current day, and “No Mercy” is in the midst of a 1-4 skid, albeit with a number of controversial results in that stretch.
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No matter the circumstances, though, Yan’s position is not a desirable one, and his next fight is going to be a critical step in the overall picture of his career. How should he proceed?
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Farah Hannoun and Danny Segura broke it down with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. Check out their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s full episode below.
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel.
Davey Grant pulled off an all-time Hail Mary and put Raphael Assuncao to sleep late in a fight he was losing.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag] beat Raphael Assuncao with a third-round technnical submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 221 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Grant, who rallied for a comeback win and sent Assuncao into retirement on a loss.
