Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
John Gooden will be joined by a pair of former UFC champs on the UFC Fight Night 222 commentary team on Saturday.
The UFC schedule continues this week with UFC Fight Night 222 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
As always, some marquee on-air talent will be there to help guide viewers through the experience.
Details of who will work as commentators and analysts for each event have been acquired by MMA Junkie through a person with knowledge of the situation, and you can see the scheduled broadcast team below.
Ricky Simon and Song Yadong will have an extra two rounds to work as their bout is shifted to headline UFC Fight Night 223 on April 29.
A key UFC bantamweight bout has received a new date, and elevation to top billing.
[autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) was set as the co-headliner of UFC Fight Night 222 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas this Saturday, which airs on ESPN+.
The promotion announced Monday the bout has been moved and will now serve as the headliner of UFC Fight Night 223 at the same venue on April 29. With the bigger spotlight comes the addition of two rounds, making the bout a typical five-round headliner on ESPN+.
The original headliner for UFC Fight Night 223 was a lightweight bout between Renato Moicano and Arman Tsaruykan. However, after Moicano was forced out of the fight due to injury, and no replacement opponent was implemented to face Tsaruykan, the promotion needed a new main event.
Yadong, 25, will now compete in his second consecutive marquee bout, while Simon, 30, gets his first headlining opportunity.
The updated UFC Fight Night 223 lineup includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.
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We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 222 event in Las Vegas.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 222 event in Las Vegas.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC Fight Night 222 main card staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC Fight Night 222 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
Make your picks for the fights below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 222.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” live stream covering the biggest topics in MMA, including reaction to Max Holloway’s win, Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz and much more.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week’s panel of Dan Tom, Brian “Goze” Garcia, and “Gorgeous” George Garcia will join host Mike Bohn live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.
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Here’s what you need to know to watch UFC Fight Night 222 with Sergei Pavlovich vs. Curtis Blaydes in the headliner.
The UFC is back in Las Vegas for a home event with UFC Fight Night 222 at the UFC Apex, and a pivotal heavyweight matchup is atop the card.
Here’s how to watch UFC Fight Night 222, headlined by [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag].
Curtis Blaydes doesn’t see Ciryl Gane filling the holes in his grappling game after his UFC heavyweight title submission loss to Jon Jones.
[autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] doesn’t see [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] filling the holes in his grappling game.
Gane (11-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) was quickly taken down and submitted by Jon Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) in their vacant heavyweight title fight earlier this month at UFC 285.
Wrestling also cost Gane in his title fight against Francis Ngannou at UFC 270, in which he was taken down four times. “Bon Gamin” is already back to work and intent on improving his grappling, but the UFC’s leader in most takedowns landed doesn’t see Gane ever reaching a high enough level.
“I think he’s like a lot of guys: He got away without having to wrestle, just like Francis when he fought Stipe (Miocic)” Blaydes said in an interview with LowKick MMA. “He got away with not having to learn how to wrestle. It’s not just him.
“There’s a lot of guys with holes in their games because they only focus on one aspect of MMA. It’s not like we didn’t already know that it was a hole. I know a lot of people are expecting him just to plug it. It takes years to learn how to grapple. He’s not going to get it. He’s not going to get it. I don’t expect him to get it.”
Considering the stylistic matchup, Blaydes (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) says the Jones vs. Gane fight played out the way he expected it to – just quicker.
“I don’t think anyone expected it to end that fast,” Blaydes said. “But I’m not shocked at how he was able to take him down and hold him down and get on his neck.
“When you have a hole that big in your grappling and then you are going against Jones who, that’s like a strength of his – I thought it was going to be elbows. I didn’t think it would be a submission. So I guess that was a little surprising, but I’m not surprised he got the finish. I was expecting the finish.”
Blaydes will look to emerge as a title contender when he faces the streaking Sergei Pavlovich in the UFC Fight Night 222 headliner April 22.
Younger siblings of UFC vets are set to clash at UFC Fight Night 222 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Younger siblings of UFC veterans will meet in a heavyweight clash in April.
At UFC Fight Night 222, heavyweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter Season 30” [autotag]Mohammed Usman[/autotag] will meet the debuting [autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag] on April 22, according to an announcement by the promotion.
The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and is headlined by a heavyweight matchup between [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag].
Mohammed (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), the younger brother of former welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag], took care of business in his first fight with the promotion at UFC on ESPN 40. A violent left hook put Zac Pauga down in the second round, crowning Mohammed the winner of “TUF 30.”
Junior (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), the younger sibling of UFC heavyweight [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag], will fight for the promotion for the first time. Junior has been on an undefeated streak since 2020 across MMA, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and boxing bouts, racking up a total of eight straight victories.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 222 lineup includes:
Billy Quarantillo dreamed of fighting guys like Edson Barboza.
[autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag] is more than happy with the name he drew for his next fight.
The featherweight takes on standout Edson Barboza on April 15 at UFC Fight Night 222. It’s a bout that Quarantillo (17-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has wanted for a long time given Barboza’s history and standing in the UFC.
The 34-year-old is confident that defeating Barboza will open the doors for big opportunities for his fighting career, and that’s why he’s determined to make a statement when they collide in the cage.
“These are the type of fights I dreamed of when I got into this sport,” Quarantillo told MMA Junkie Radio. “I was a fan of the top guys, the best strikers in the world, the best fighters in the world, guys who can push that pace and win big fights.
“After this fight, you look at my resume, especially if I can go get a highlight-reel finish. Man, these finishes are starting to add up. I’m 4-0 in fights in the UFC that have ended, so that’s basically the universe telling me that that’s what I need to do this fight to get to that next level and make it 5-0. This is my run right now.”
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Quarantillo most recently fought in December when he picked up a TKO win over Alexander Hernandez, which won a bonus for Performance of the Night. He’s 2-2 in his past four fights, but thinks everything is clicking and he’s coming into his best form.
“I just turned 34 a couple of days before my last fight, so this is my prime,” Quarantillo said. “Right now, I’m fighting a guy in the top 15, and get a big win and get ready to call someone out that’s a few spots above that. Do that again, and end the year, (I’m) fighting in those huge fights, top-five situations.”
As far as the approach against Barboza, Quarantillo has no problem giving away his game plan, unlike many fighters. Quarantillo thinks it’s obvious what he needs to do to get his hand raised against the Brazilian striker.
“I think I can talk about it pretty openly about what my game plan is,” Quarantillo said. “A lot of fighters are like, ‘Ah, I don’t want to tell you too much,’ but I think people that watch me know what I’m trying to do. They know that I’m trying to drag the fight out, wear you out, beat you wherever the fight goes – standing, wrestling, on the ground.
“Obviously, going against a guy like Edson Barboza, it wouldn’t be smart just to stand and bang with him and see who gets knocked out first. So I’m definitely trying to mix in everything that I can to make it an ugly fight, a fight I’m able to grind him down, and look to get that finish – whether it’s in the second round or third round or even the first round.
“That’s what I’m bringing to the fight, and everyone knows that. I can talk about it. The bell rings, and I’m going to be in his face, pushing the fight on him.”
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