Tag: UFC Fight Night 224

UFC Fight Night 224’s Emily Ducote went to train with Angela Hill after losing their fight

Emily Ducote trained with her most recent opponent, Angela Hill, in advance of UFC Fight Night 224.

LAS VEGAS – If you can’t beat them, join them. That was [autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag]’s philosophy after losing to Angela Hill in December.

Ducote (12-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had a four-fight winning streak snapped and suffered her first UFC loss at UFC on ESPN 42 when she dropped a unanimous decision to longtime veteran Hill.

Instead of sulking on the result, Ducote traveled from Oklahoma to San Diego and put in work with Hill at Alliance MMA, and she hopes that pays dividends when she steps back in the octagon Saturday to face Loopy Godinez (9-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in a 120-pound catchweight bout at UFC Fight Night 224.

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“I actually had a chance to go out and train with Angela Hill and Jessica Penne this camp,” Ducote told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 224 media day. “So before I even knew (about the opponent change from Polyana Viana to Godinez), so it’s cool.”

Coincidentally, Ducote and Hill will now share a fight card. After UFC Fight Night 224 lost its originally main event of Arman Tsarukyan vs. Renato Moicano, the promotion elevated a bout between Hill and fellow strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern to headlining status.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

Edmen Shahbazyan on how doubters don’t phase him: ‘I’m not just here to be the same fighter’

Despite the pressure felt at age 20 in the UFC, Edmen Shahbazyan didn’t crash and burn when the losses came. He grew from them.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag] felt the eyeballs as a 20-year-old entering the UFC. He streaked, was spotlighted, lost, and learned.

A three-fight losing skid from 2020-2021 wasn’t his highest point, but Shahbazyan (12-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) has remained present and improved because of the experiences.

At a UFC Fight Night 224 pre-fight news conference Wednesday, a cool, calm, and collected Shahbazyan smiled through each answer – a grinning anticipation of a fistfight Saturday vs. Anthony Hernandez (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) at the UFC Apex.

“At the end of the day, when I step in there, I try to clear my mind from the past and focus on the present,” Shahbazyan told reporters including MMA Junkie. “That’s what I did out there and that’s what I plan to do this Saturday as well. … I just want to go fight by fight one fight at a time, and be the best that I can be. I’m trying to go out there and perform and put on a good fight and show my improvements. I don’t really care about the whole, ‘Oh, it’s Edmen. He’s back. He’s back.’ I’m doing my thing, what I’m capable of and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Shahbazyan entered the UFC as a prodigy off Dana White’s Contender Series due to his age, skill-level, fighting style, and connection to former UFC champion Ronda Rousey.

After four straight wins to kick off his promotional tenure, Shahbazyan went 0-3 against top contenders. The defeats came with vocal doubters, but Shahbazyan is unfazed. In December, he got back on track with a knockout win vs. Dalcha Lungiambula.

“I’m in the UFC to be the best,” Shahbazyan said. “I’m not going to be the same fighter as I was for those losses. I’m obviously going to improve. I’m 25 right now and I’ve been in the UFC since I was 20. I’m going to improve. I’m not just here to be the same fighter as I was and not have this, not have that. I’m going to improve on the skills and be a better fighter every time.

“… I think it’s all going to be a part of my story. If it wasn’t for those losses, I wouldn’t be here in Vegas with a new team, great teammates, great coaches. Everything happens for a reason.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

Loopy Godinez put joining Alexa Grasso’s team on pause for short-notice UFC Fight Night 224 bout

Loopy Godinez had a solid plan in place for her career going forward. Then the phone rang to step in at UFC Fight Night 224.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] had a solid plan in place for her career going forward. Then the phone rang.

Godinez (9-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) intended to relocate her next training camp to Mexico to join UFC strawweight champion Alexa Grasso at Lobo Gym in Guadalajara after a recent split decision win over Cynthia Calvillo at UFC 287 in April, but then the situation changed.

She was presented with the opportunity to fight Emily Ducote (12-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in the featured bout of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 224 event, which takes place at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+, and couldn’t turn it down.

“I wasn’t planning on fighting too soon because my next camp I wanted to do it in Mexico with Team Grasso,” Godinez told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 224 media day. “So I was like, ‘OK, Lupita, let’s do a full camp with a new team and a new coach and everything and go from there.’ But this opportunity comes, and I love fighting and I was training already so hard. I just had a three-month camp and had a week off and was right back to training super hard.”

Godinez is no stranger to quick turnarounds. She holds the modern-era record for shortest time between three UFC appearances at 42 days, fighting on Oct. 9, Oct. 16 and Nov. 20 of 2021.

The active schedule is welcomed for Godinez, and she thinks there’s a good chance of getting her hand raised for the fourth time in her past five tries in the clash with Ducote.

“I’m ready for anything. Of course I’m looking for a finish and a better performance on my part,” Godinez said. “I’m just here and going to get in there and do my job and finish her.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

Michael Johnson motivated and ‘thirsty for a world title’ ahead of UFC Fight Night 224

UFC Fight Night 224’s Michael Johnson is motivated by “seeing guys that I know I’m better than getting paid.”

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag] claims he’s more driven than ever as he prepared for his 28th octagon appearance on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 224.

Johnson (21-18 MMA, 13-14 UFC) has been part of the UFC roster since December 2010. Throughout that time he’s beaten marquee names such as Dustin Poirier, Edson Barboza and Tony Ferguson, but he’s also lost to number of opponents who would be, in theory, defined as inferior.

Ahead of Saturday’s lightweight matchup with Diego Ferreira (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), which takes place at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+, Johnson said he’s in a very good place.

“We can get back to fighting and get to getting this money and hey, 36, about to be 37 – I’m probably the healthiest I’ve been,” Johnson told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 224 media day. “The surgeries are cleared up. Fresh-minded, clear-minded and no stress and I’m having fun in life now.”

Johnson’s ride through MMA has been quite the rollercoaster. However, he’s not ready to get off the ride. He’s still determined to chase greatness, and wants the glory as well as financial rewards that come along with being at the pinnacle of the sport.

“A lot of things that keep me motivated is seeing guys that I know I’m better than getting paid, getting big money, getting big fights,” Johnson said. “Guys that I’ve beaten getting these big fights, getting all the popularity and all that sh*t I don’t care about. I just want to be financially stable from this UFC. I’m not leaving until I get what I came here for.

“Whether that takes me another five years. Six, seven years. I’m going to stay until I’m done and the job’s finished. … I still want a world title. I’m thirsty for that world title. I’m thirsty for all that money in the bank. We’ll see how the next few years go, and then we’ll adjust.”

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Johnson said he understands the challenge he’s facing at UFC Fight Night 224. Ferreira enters the matchup on a three-fight losing skid, and is going to be focused on turning the tide. Johnson has been in that position, too, and he said getting his hand raised would be a tall task.

“I understand exactly what’s going on with Diego, being up and down. It’s the sport. It is what it is. But he’s a true veteran. He’s beaten some of the best guys. He’s beaten champions before. He’s tough. He’s a guy that always comes to fight. That’s what I’m excited for.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

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Angela Hill goes off on ‘bullsh*t’ UFC rankings: They ‘have always disrespected me’

Angela Hill goes off on ‘bullsh*t’ UFC rankings ahead of her return against Mackenzie Dern at UFC Fight Night 224.

LAS VEGAS – Despite fighting someone in the top 10, [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] won’t bank on entering the UFC official rankings if victorious in her return.

The UFC strawweight veteran and former Invicta FC champion has lost faith in the UFC’s official system to rank the top 15 fighters in each respective weight class. Hill (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC), who fights Mackenzie Dern in Saturday’s main event of UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex, is keeping her expectations low when it comes to potentially getting ranked in the promotion.

“The rankings are bullsh*t,” Hill told reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “The rankings have always disrespected me. Every time one of you guys say, ‘Oh, you’re going to be in the rankings. Oh, you’re going to be in the top 10. Oh, you’re going to be in the top 15 after this fight.’ It doesn’t happen.

“If anything, if I fight someone who has a number by their name, they don’t have a number by their name after I beat them. So I’m not expecting much from the rankings.”

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Hill enters Saturday’s UFC event on a two-fight winning streak, having beaten Lupita Godinez and Emily Ducote in unanimous decisions in 2022. She now faces easily the most decorated female grappler on the UFC roster with Dern (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and she’s very much looking foward to the challenge.

“There’s a lot I can do with the way she comes forward, with the way she doesn’t care about her chin being thrown in the air,” Hill explained. “There’s a lot of areas I feel I can capitalize on, and I don’t feel she has as many opportunities to capitalize on my mistakes.

I’ve just been working really hard at fixing them, and I don’t feel like she’s been fixing hers. She’s just been trying to do more jiu-jitsu. So if anything, fight IQ wise and my experience in there and being put up against tough grapplers my entire career has prepared me for this.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

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UFC headliner Mackenzie Dern details career epiphany through divorce, other obstacles

UFC Fight Night 224 headliner Mackenzie Dern explains the clarity she found during a divorce, management change, and gym absence.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]’s training camp for UFC Fight Night 224 was filled with hurdles and struggles.

As the universe seemed to be dragging her down, Dern (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) said she ultimately came to realizations that reshaped her mindset for the better ahead of her main event bout Saturday vs. Angela Hill (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) at the UFC Apex.

“I feel like so many things are trying to bring me down, like changing managers, the divorce, the gym,” Dern told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a news conference Wednesday. “There’s so much stuff going on that I don’t want something to take me off my course. To stay on course, I need to have a plan.”

Through a divorce, a management change, and a month-long absence of her coach Jason Parillo, Dern focused on the mental side of her life, which trickled into her fight career. She enters UFC Fight Night 224 with what she thinks is a more educated and measured approach.

“It was basically, like, this camp was tactical and having this vision of fighting that I never had before.” Dern said. “I feel kind of like, man, I’m 10 fights into the UFC and I just found that out now to understand that. I just need to win the round. If you do that each round you win the fight.”

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Dern, 30, has been considered by many a future UFC title contender since she burst on the MMA scene as an accomplished jiu-jitsu ace in 2016. She’s lost three times a pro MMA fighter. Dern tacks up at minimum her two most recent losses to a feeling of discouragement that came when she struggled to submit her opponents.

“Marina (Rodriguez) and Yan Xiaonan, I think they were both really experienced fighters with good movement,” Dern said. “For me, now going into this fight and with my loss, I have a vision that’s better. I don’t need to submit every single round – this pressure and this excitement like, ‘I need to submit.’ If I didn’t finish in the first round, then I didn’t finish in the second round, you could see the emotion and the frustration getting in. I’m like, ‘OK, these girls know how to win by points.’

“They know how to use the rulebook, which is part of the game. … I was so confident and I wanted to submit them that it was a little bit too exciting instead of more patience and calm and precision.”

Against Hill, Dern hopes to break her bad luck at the UFC Apex and take one more step toward her ultimate goal of UFC champion. She is 1-2 in her most recent three, but Dern will find herself at 2-1 in her most recent three should she win.

“The path to the belt, I’m trying to make it as clear as possible,” Dern said.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

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Video: UFC Fight Night 224 media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 224 arrives, 12 athletes from the main card are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day.

LAS VEGAS – The UFC schedule for May closes out Saturday with UFC Fight Night 224, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a full card that streams on ESPN+.

A strawweight main event serves as the final act on the card. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] will take on [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] in a matchup of fighters looking to take the next step forward in the division.

Before fight night arrives, though, 11 athletes spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie was in attendance.

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

Joaquin Buckley explains welterweight move at UFC Fight Night 224: ‘I got tired of getting knocked out’

Joaquin Buckley is now “being smart” with his career and is ready to show his full potential as a welterweight at UFC Fight Night 224.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] is looking for a fresh start at welterweight when he steps in the octagon at UFC Fight Night 224.

After spending his entire octagon tenure at middleweight, Buckley (15-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) became fed up with the mixed results and wants to prove he can be better. He is confident 170 pounds is where he’ll shine and is ready for his divisional debut Saturday when he meets Andre Fialho (16-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in a main card bout at the UFC Apex.

“I should’ve been here the whole time, but it is what it is,” Buckley told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 224 media day. “I came here for that check. That’s the only reason why I was at middleweight. They gave me an opportunity at 185 when they seen me fighting at 185 for LFA. So that’s why I stayed there. And me getting those knockouts at 185, I felt good there because a lot of people don’t realize I didn’t cut any weight to get to middleweight. I walked around at 185, 183. I was just able to walk into that cage and be me. Now I have to actually be disciplined at what I eat, my nutrition.”

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Buckley, 29, thinks he’s got the necessary UFC experience under his belt to make a big push into contender status. He never felt he could live up to his “full potential” at middleweight, but now things are different.

“I got tired of getting knocked out,” Buckley said. “I ain’t going to lie. Being at 185, you’ve got a lot of heavy hitters out there. But one thing about me mentally is I’m not scared to fight anybody. But sometimes that’s the problem. It’s not about being scared. It’s about being smart. Right now I feel like me being at 170, even though I took losses at 185, they prepared me for this moment at welterweight.”

With less than 48 hours until UFC Fight Night 224 weigh-ins, Buckley said he’s physically right where he should be. It’s not a drastic weight cut, he said, and he expects to get through it with relative ease then rehydrate to achieve maximum performance against Fialho.

“We right where we belong,” Buckley said. “I woke up at 178 today. So the weight feels good. My energy is high. I don’t know if y’all see it, but I feel good and look good. I don’t look all sucked out and depleted like a lot of these fighters. So we 100 (percent).”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 pre-event facts: Will third time be the charm for Mackenzie Dern?

Check out the numbers behind UFC Fight Night 223, where Mackenzie Dern will make her third attempt at a UFC main event victory.

After two weeks on the road, the UFC returns to its home base on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card streams on ESPN+.

The makeshift main event for the card will feature a pair of strawweight contender hopefuls. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will meet [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) in a five-round matchup.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 223.

UFC Fight Night 224 commentary team, broadcast plans set: Michael Bisping returns to booth

The broadcast team is set for UFC Fight Night 224, the UFC’s final event of May.

The UFC schedule continues this week with UFC Fight Night 224 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.

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