Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from October 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from October 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for October.
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 knockouts from October 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from October 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for October.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
The best facts and figures about UFC Fight Night 231, where Derrick Lewis looks to build on his knockout record with another main event.
The UFC returns to Sao Paulo for the first time in nearly four years on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 231, which takes place at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera and streams on ESPN+.
Heavyweight contenders will clash in the main event. Surging contender [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) meets two-time title challenger [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) in a five-round bout.
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 about UFC Fight Night 231.
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Edson Barboza is focused on the UFC featherweight title, but also up for a return to lightweight for a rubber match against Paul Felder.
[autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag] is focused on getting the UFC featherweight title, but he’s open to a detour for a particular fight at 155 pounds.
The veteran featherweight contender notched a big win this past Saturday, defeating Sodiq Yusuff in a wild Fight or the Night contest in the main event of UFC Fight Night 230 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
This win is part of Barboza’s latest campaign to get his long-desired title shot, and that’s why he’s hoping to get another ranked opponent to further his case.
“Somebody in front of me in the rankings because I want to be a champ, and I want to climb up and get my chance for the title shot in the future,” Barboza told MMA Junkie. “All these things you said, it’s going to be a great fight. All those guys. The UFC always puts me against the best guys in the world, and I’m ready for that, let’s keep climbing up.”
Although Barboza (23-11 MMA, 17-11 UFC) has his eyes on the featherweight title, the Brazilian is open to returning to 155 pounds for a trilogy fight against Paul Felder.
Felder retired in 2021 and has been teasing a comeback to MMA. The two are tied up 1-1, as they’ve traded decision wins once in 2015 and the other in 2019.
“Maybe, if he makes 145, why not? Maybe I go up to 155, I don’t know,” Barboza said. “I’m a fighter. If you watch my last two fights against him. It’s two really good fights. He’s a good fighter, and that’s the type of fights that I love. He’s a great fighter, a great guy. If I fought him, it’s going to be a war again, so you never know.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.
Rising UFC contender Jonathan Martinez explains why he called out Merab Dvalishvili.
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] did what few fighters have done.
This past Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 230, the rising UFC bantamweight contender got a rate TKO finish using leg kicks, and then called out the man few dare to mention – [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag].
It was a bold move from Martinez (19-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) as Dvalishvili is considered by many to be the toughest fight in the division, and that’s including champion Sean O’Malley.
However, Martinez doesn’t see the big deal in Dvalishvili and actually thinks it’s a favorable matchup.
“I’ve always looked at him because no one in the division wants to fight him,” Martinez said in Spanish when asked about his callout. “Many fight, win, and no one mentions his name. I can see myself beating him. People might say, ‘Oh, he’s a great wrestler. He’ll press you against the cage and this and that,’ but the thing is that I like when people try to wrestle me, that’s the way I like to fight the most.
“I believe I can beat him. He’s a regular wrestler. He just does a one, two and then goes for the legs.”
Martinez defeated prospect Adrian Yanez at UFC Fight Night 230. The victory put him on a six-fight win streak that includes other notable names such as Said Nurmagomedov and Cub Swanson.
Martinez doubts the UFC will give him Dvalishvili, but he’s not stressing about it. He’d like to fight someone in the top 10 or get a spot on the UFC’s potential return to Mexico next year.
“From 10 and above, really,” Martinez said. “I’d like to get Pedro (Munhoz) because he beat my friend Chris (Gutierrez). I’ve also been calling out Dom (Cruz) for my last three fights, but I doubt they’ll ever give him to me. So whatever the UFC wants. I would also like to fight in Mexico.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.
Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
The main event of UFC Fight Night 230 was an incredible back-and-forth Fight of the Night battle.
[autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag] overcame an early scare to defeat Sodiq Yusuff by unanimous decision. Thanks to his veteran savvy combined with powerful, dynamic striking, Barboza found a way to fight to victory after being nearly finished in the first round.
While Barboza remains outside of the top 15 at featherweight, this win has him knocking on the door among the honorable mentions.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.
Melissa Dixon stayed unbeaten with a win in her UFC debut, but said opponent Irina Alekseeva took some liberties at UFC Fight Night 230.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Melissa Dixon[/autotag] beat Irina Alekseeva with a unanimous deccision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 230 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Dixon, who stayed unbeaten with a win in her UFC debut.
Tainara Lisboa isn’t used to dealing with judges, but she’ll take her win over Ravena Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 230 no matter what.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tainara Lisboa[/autotag] beat Ravena Oliveira with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 230 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Lisboa, who won for the fifth straight time.
Darren Elkins submitted TJ Brown Saturday at UFC Fight Night 230. He now has finishes in five of his past seven wins.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Darren Elkins[/autotag] beat TJ Brown with a third-round submission Saturday to close out the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 230 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Elkins, who has finishes in five of his past seven wins.
Emily Ducote snapped a two-fight skid with a crucial win over Ashley Yoder to open up the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 230.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag] beat Ashley Yoder with a unanimous decision Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 230 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Ducote, who snapped a two-fight skid.
