Tag: UFC Fight Night 223

UFC Fight Night 223: Make your predictions for Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon (Updated)

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 223 event in Las Vegas.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 223 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 223 main card staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC Fight Night 223 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

Make your picks for the fights below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.

Video: UFC Fight Night 223 media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 223 on Saturday, main card fighters are scheduled to speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – The UFC schedule for April closes out Saturday with UFC Fight Night 223, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a main card that streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2.

A bantamweight main event serves as the final act on the card. Song Yadong (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) will take on Ricky Simon (20-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in a matchup of fighters looking to take the next step forward in arguably the sport’s most stacked division.

Before fight night arrives, though, eight athletes from the main card are spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each session.

UFC free fight: Song Yadong showcases nasty power in TKO win over Julio Arce

Watch Song Yadong showcase his nasty power in a TKO win over Julio Arce.

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]’s highlights in the UFC are high up the rankings of most entertaining.

The rising UFC bantamweight contender has put the lights out in vicious fashion on various of his UFC opponents, including veteran Julio Arce. Back at UFC Fight Night 197, Yadong (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) showcased his brutal power, putting away Arce in a second round TKO.

You can watch Yadong’s finish of Arce in the video above.

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Yadong returns this Saturday against Ricky Simon (20-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC). The bantamweight bout headlines UFC Fight Night 223, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.

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UFC free fight: Ricky Simon sleeps Merab Dvalishvili right at the buzzer

Watch Ricky Simon become the only man to ever finish Merab Dvalishvili.

[autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]’s 2018 win over Merab Dvalishvili is aging like fine wine.

Dvalishvili, who’s regarded by many as the No. 1 contender at 135 pounds, is on an impressive nine-fight winning streak, which started after the technical submission loss to Simon (20-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) back in April 2018. Simon is the last person to defeat Dvalishvili and is currently the only person to ever finish him, too.

The submission victory stands as one of Simon’s best career wins. You can relive it in the video above.

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Simon returns to the cage this Saturday against fellow contender Song Yadong (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC). The key bantamweight bout headlines UFC Fight Night 223, which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The main card streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.

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Spinning Back Clique: Nate Diaz street fight, Sergei Pavlovich’s record, Patchy Mix’s grand prix win, more

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” live stream covering the biggest topics in MMA, including some big UFC announcements.

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 Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura and “Gorgeous” George Garcia will join host Mike Bohn live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

  • [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] is on a tear, and setting UFC records. In the main event of UFC Fight Night 222, the hard-hitting Russian made quick work of Curtis Blaydes, recording his sixth-straight first-round knockout. Pavlovich wants to wait for the winner of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, as he feels he has done enough work to warrant a title shot. Is he right? How do we like his chances against Jones or Miocic?
  • At Bellator 295 in Honolulu, [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] created the highlight of the weekend in a Knockout of the Year candidate victory over Raufeon Stots to win the bantamweight grand prix. He’s now $1 million richer and is interim champ, setting up a unifier with the winner of [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag], who fight on June 16 at Bellator 297. Is Mix the best bantamweight in the world? If not, where does he stack up?
  • The UFC dropped a tidal wave of fight announcements on us over the past week, including [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] at UFC 288 next week in Newark, N.J. The promotion pulled off booking this fight on 16 days’ notice for a PPV that needed it, and it’ll be 5 rounds, with both men claiming the UFC has promised them the next title shot after [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]. Are you surprised Burns accepted it given he just fought and/or surprised Muhammad took it because he just finished Ramadan?
  • Among the numerous fight announcements for UFC 290, which takes place July 8 in Las Vegas and marks the 11th annual International Fight Week, was a “middleweight title eliminator” between [autotag]Robert Whittaker [/autotag]and [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]. It’s increasingly rare that UFC outright labels fights as No. 1 contender bouts, but Dana White said in his announcement that the winner of this will face [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] later this year, likely in Sydney, Australia. Was this the right booking for the division?
  • [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] found himself in the headlines on Friday night, and it wasn’t for the best of reasons. First, he attended a Misfits Boxing event in New Orleans where his teammate Chris Avila was competing, and was caught on camera ringside throwing a water bottle at reality star Chase DeMoor that started a scuffle.
    A few hours later, footage surfaced of Diaz on the streets of New Orleans in what appeared to be a multi-person altercation. Diaz choked one man out cold, with his head slamming against the concrete. There are still many unknowns about what happened, but we do know what we saw on video, and that’s Diaz – a superstar professional fighter – choking out a non-pro in a very dangerous situation. Will Diaz face serious repercussions for his actions?

“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.

UFC Fight Night 223: How to watch Simon vs. Yadong, start time, fight card, odds

Here’s what you need to know to watch UFC Fight Night 223 with Ricky Simon vs. Song Yadong in the headliner.

The UFC is back in Las Vegas for another home event with UFC Fight Night 223 at the UFC Apex, and a key bantamweight matchup is atop the card.

Here’s how to watch UFC Fight Night 223, headlined by [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag].

Ricky Simon vs. Song Yadong moved from UFC Fight Night 222, now headlines UFC Fight Night 223

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:

  • Ricky Simon vs. Song Yadong
  • Caio Borralho vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
  • Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Marcos Rogerio
  • Cody Brundage vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Ange Loosa vs. Josh Quinlan
  • Emily Ducote vs. Polyana Viana
  • Natan Levy vs. Pete Rodriguez
  • Brian Kelleher vs. Journey Newson
  • Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
  • Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
  • Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
  • Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
  • Irina Alekseeva vs. Stephanie Egger

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.

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Renato Moicano injured, out of UFC Fight Night 223 main event vs. Arman Tsarukyan

The UFC needs a new headliner for April 29 after Renato Moicano withdrew from his lightweight bout with Arman Tsarukyan due to injury.

The UFC needs a new headliner for April 29 after [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] withdrew from his lightweight bout with [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] due to injury.

Moicano (17-5-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) is out of the UFC Fight Night 223 main event against Tsarukyan (19-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), which was scheduled to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

MMA Junkie verified the news with two people close to the situation, who requested anonymity because the promotion hasn’t made an official announcement.

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It’s unknown at this time if Tsarukyan will remain on the card against a new opponent or if the organization plans to insert a new headliner altogether.

Following the publication of this story, Tsarukyan’s manager Daniel Rubenstein, of Ruby Sports & Entertainment, expressed doubt a replacement could be found in time.

If he remains on the card, Tsarukyan, 26, will look to continue his momentum from a unanimous decision win over Damir Ismagulov at UFC Fight Night 216 in December. The upcoming would contest would also mark his second promotional main event. The first was a unanimous decision defeat to Mateusz Gamrot at UFC on ESPN 38 in June.

The latest UFC Fight Night 223 lineup now includes:

  • Arman Tsarukyan vs. opponent TBA
  • Caio Borralho vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
  • Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Marcos Rogerio
  • Cody Brundage vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Ange Loosa vs. Josh Quinlan
  • Emily Ducote vs. Polyana Viana
  • Natan Levy vs. Pete Rodriguez
  • Brian Kelleher vs. Journey Newson
  • Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
  • Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
  • Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
  • Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
  • Irina Alekseeva vs. Stephanie Egger

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.

‘Russian Ronda’ Irina Alekseeva booked for UFC debut

Irina Alekseeva, the UFC fighter some call the “Russian Ronda,” will make her promotional debut April 29 in Las Vegas.

The fighter some call “Russian Ronda” has a date and opponent for her UFC debut.

Russia’s [autotag]Irina Alekseeva[/autotag] will make her first walk to the promotion’s cage at UFC Fight Night 223 when she takes on [autotag]Stephanie Egger[/autotag] in a bantamweight bout, the promotion recently announced. The event takes place April 29 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.

Alekseeva (4-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), 32, is a three-time silver medalist at the Russian Judo Championships and a Russian and European gold medalist at Sambo Worlds. Additionally, she is a multiple-time “hand-to-hand combat champion.” Her judo expertise has welcomed comparisons to former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

Alekseeva joined the UFC roster this past August after she was released from Bellator, which signed her to a multifight contract in December 2020. Alekseeva fought once for Bellator and won a unanimous decision against Stephanie Page in October 2021. It’s unclear why she and Bellator parted ways after only one appearance.

Egger (8-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC), 34, has won three of her past four bouts. She most recently competed in September when she submitted Ailin Perez with a rear-naked choke.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 223 lineup includes:

  • Arman Tsarukyan vs. Renato Moicano
  • Caio Borralho vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
  • Cody Brundage vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Emily Ducote vs. Polyana Viana
  • Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
  • Ange Loosa vs. Josh Quinlan
  • Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
  • Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
  • Natan Levy vs. Pete Rodriguez
  • Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
  • Irina Alekseeva vs. Stephanie Egger
  • Brian Kelleher vs. Journey Newson
  • Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.