Tag: UFC Fight Night 233

UFC Fight Night 233 winner Kevin Jousset suggests clash with Daniel Rodriguez next: ‘I like his style’

After UFC Fight Night 233, Kevin Jousset called out Daniel Rodriguez, who was recently cleared of a USADA suspension.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Kevin Jousset[/autotag] is eager to climb the welterweight ranks after winning his sophomore octagon appearance at UFC Fight Night 233.

Jousset (10-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) earned a convincing unanimous decision victory over Song Kenan on Saturday at the UFC Apex, and now he’s looking for a step up in competition, and thinks [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] would be a good fit after his recent clearance from a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension.

“I saw ‘D-Rod’ got cleared from USADA,” Jousset told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC Fight Night 233. “I like his style. I feel he’s a very good fighter. He seems to be a good guy, as well. I don’t know the guy personally, but I would love to test my skills against this guy potentially. I know he’s much higher than me in the rankings, but who knows. If the UFC is interested in this fight, let’s do it.”

Jousset, 30, said he knows if he’s going to beat someone the caliber of Rodriguez (17-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC), he needs to shore up the holes in his game. He thinks he made some mistakes against Kenan, but is confident they can be rectified.

“I thought I would be able to capitalize a bit more,” Jousset said. “I was not very happy with some technical stuff that I did, but it is what it is. A win is a win, and that’s the main thing.”

Jousset said his ideal timeframe to get back in the octagon is the first quarter of 2024. He wants to take the rare opportunity to spend the Christmas holiday with his family, and once that’s done, he intends to get right back to the grind.

“I’ll see with my coaches what they think, but I want to fight again soon,” Jousset said. “I’m going home for Christmas, so I’m looking forward to that because I haven’t spent Christmas at home in many years. I look forward to seeing my family and my friends. Take a couple weeks off, then we’ll see. Hopefully, fight again in March.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Luana Santos apologizes for UFC Fight Night 233 weight miss, respectfully challenges Miesha Tate

Following her UFC Fight Night 233 win, Luana Santos explained her weight miss up a division and challenged Miesha Tate to a March showdown.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Luana Santos[/autotag] has no excuses for her recent blunder on the scales.

Ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 at the UFC Apex, Santos (7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) moved up a division to bantamweight, yet still came in heavy. She weighed in at 139 pounds, three pounds over the bantamweight limit. The next day, she defeated Stephanie Egger (8-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) by unanimous decision.

Santos explained the weight miss after the event and issued an apology to the promotion for her failure on the scale.

“As far as the weight is concerned, I think I feel like I’m already a heavy girl for flyweight,” Santos told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “When they actually came up to me and my manager Lukas (Lutkus) came and talked about this fight and said, ‘It’s going to be three weeks,’ it’s like ‘I can’t make it at bantamweight. I cannot make it at flyweight.’ Because I do feel like I have a big structure, I need more time to prepare for a fight at flyweight. Then, the process started. There have been changes.

“I’m not making excuses at all. I apologize to the UFC for this. There were some things throughout the process when we started doing weight (cut). Some of the exams came back and they had a little bit different results. We’re going to look into this toward the end of the years. We’re going to start the year and I’m going to go to Brazil and spend time with my family, kind of take a look at it. In no shape or form is that an excuse. It’s kind of a miscalculation. What I can say is sorry. I did everything I could and that will not happen.”

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Looking into the future, Santos loves the idea of a matchup vs. a legend of mixed martial arts. At the previous Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 52, Miesha Tate turned back the clock and dominated Julia Avila en route to a one-sided unanimous decision.

If the promotion is in and Tate is in, Santos said she’ll be ready as soon as March.

“I had two dogs back in 2018. One of them was Ronda. The other one was Miesha,” Santos said. “They were the ones that were on the top of their game at that time. Unfortunately, Miesha is no longer with us. They were the ones I admired back in the day. This is not a callout by any means. I’m not saying anything. Miesha, I saw her fight last week and I understand if, hey, the UFC wants to do some matchmaking here, put us together to fight.

“Miesha, especially because she had a little thing going against Ronda (Rousey), a judo girl, myself being a judo girl as well. So why not? Put that through some matchmaking. Hey UFC, if you want to put us together, I’ll be ready in March. All the respect for you. All the love, but hey, you want to go out and do some punching and go at it?

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Andre Muniz relieved to snap skid at UFC Fight Night 233, vows to reach top of middleweight division

UFC middleweight Andre Muniz snapped a first-time two-fight skid, crediting a shift in training and mindset.

LAS VEGAS – It wasn’t how [autotag]Andre Muniz[/autotag] envisioned a return to the win column, but he’ll take it.

After 15 minutes of close action against Junyong Park at UFC Fight Night 233, Muniz (24-6 MMA, 6-2 UFC) had to sweat out the reading of the judges’ split decision. After hearing two 29-28 scores in his favor, Muniz was relieved that his two-fight skid was snapped, but it wasn’t the performance he hoped for against Park (17-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC).

“Whenever you actually picture yourself having your hand raised, it’s obviously different,” Muniz told reporters through an interpreter at the post-fight news conference. “I picture myself having my hand raised after a great finish, but that’s what happened. You come out with a win, and let’s go back and work hard because 2024 is a year with a lot of promise.”

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Muniz is ready to put his 2023 campaign in the rearview. For the first time in his career, he lost back-to-back fights. As a result, Muniz said changes were made in his training camp to add more sparring to aid with his conditioning. A mental shift was also necessary, as he went back to the mindset of his days ahead of his Dana White Contender Series appearance in 2019.

“I came back to my Contender days here when you’re actually fighting for a contract, so that’s the approach that I had,” Muniz said. “The UFC knows my potential and I expect to actually come back, work hard, go at it, and in no time I’ll be back at the top of this division again.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Mick Maynard’s Shoes: What’s next for Khalil Rountree after UFC Fight Night 233 win?

Khalil Rountree missed with the callout of Alex Pereira after his TKO of Anthony Smith at UFC Fight Night 233, but he still has something big in store.

[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] was the shining star on UFC’s penultimate event of 2023 on Saturday when he registered the biggest win of his career to date at UFC Fight Night 233.

Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) extended his winning streak to five fights in the light heavyweight division when he dropped and stopped former title challenger Anthony Smith (37-19 MMA, 12-9 UFC) for a third-round TKO finish at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

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After the fight, Rountree called his shot in a big way by making a case to leap the rankings for a title shot against reigning 205-pound champ Alex Pereira. It’s unlikely that will come to fruition, but Rountree is most certainly on the way up, and has something big in store next.

What should that be, however? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on Rountree’s next move after UFC Fight Night 233.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Song Yadong after UFC Fight Night 233 win?

Song Yadong has won four of five fights after UFC Fight Night 233 and, whether it’s Petr Yan or not, is in store for something big next.

The UFC’s final non-PPV main event of the year went the way of [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 233, and it wasn’t particularly close.

Song (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) had his way with Chris Gutierrez (20-6-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) for the majority of five rounds in their bantamweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, earning him a unanimous decision victory and his fourth triumphant performance in his past five octagon efforts.

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Although it wasn’t the most entertaining contest or spectacular finish of his career, Song gets valuable experience and continued to hold serve in a loaded 135-pound weight class.

The Chinese fighter firmly called out former champion Petr Yan after his win, but also said any top-five fighter in the division would satisfy him.

So what should be next for Song? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future after UFC Fight Night 233.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

4 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 233: The fallout of Khalil Rountree punishing Anthony Smith

Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 233, including the fallout of Khalil Rountree battering Anthony Smith.

What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 233 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …

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UFC Fight Night 233 post-event facts: Khalil Rountree inches closer to Chuck Liddell’s KO record

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 233, which saw Khalil Rountree move closer to Chuck Liddell’s longstanding knockout record.

There’s just one event left on the UFC’s 2023 schedule after UFC Fight Night 233 came to a conclusion on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

An underwhelming lineup fell in the shadow of UFC 296 this weekend, and the main event wasn’t particularly memorable as [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) proved to be too much for [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] (20-6-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) in their bantamweight matchup en route to a unanimous decision win.

For more on the numbers to come out of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts about UFC Fight Night 233.

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With new contract, UFC Fight Night 233 winner Tim Elliott aims to be ‘company man’ moving forward

All Tim Elliott cares about at this stage of his career is that he keeps fighting, specifically for the UFC whenever the promotion needs him.

LAS VEGAS – All [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag] cares about at this stage of his career is that he keeps fighting, specifically for the UFC. As long as that happens, he’s a happy man.

Seven weeks removed from his last fight, a loss to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 294, Elliott (20-13-1 MMA, 9-11 UFC) was back in the octagon Saturday night at the UFC Apex. Elliott was up against Su Mudaerji on five days’ notice, and he handled his business with a first-round arm-triangle submission win in their bantamweight bout that also earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.

Not bad for a guy who hadn’t spent much time in the gym since late October.

“That’s not a submission I do a lot, and I was a little bit worried about burning my arms out since I only practiced twice since my last fight,” Elliott told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during a post-fight news conference. “But my coaches were saying it was there and to sell out for it, so I listened. I’m a soldier. I’m just lucky enough to have good generals tell me what to do. I put guys in my corner that I trust with my life, and I’ll do anything they tell me to do.”

Elliott said the win “was everything” to him given the circumstances. When he accepted the fight with Mudaerji, a new four-fight contract was also offered, which came as a relief to the former UFC flyweight title challenger.

“After my last loss, I didn’t know where I was gonna be,” Elliott said. “I had one fight left on my contract. It’s a really scary thing in the UFC to go and fight with one fight left on your contract. Another loss means I’m done. Even if I won the last fight on my contract, there’s a good chance that maybe they wouldn’t re-sign me (since I’m) finally making decent money. But taking this fight on short notice, they automatically gave me a new contract. I just started that new contract today with a win. Now I have the job security of three more fights. That’s all I really want. I want to make sure that I can fight again tomorrow, that I can fight again the next day. My biggest fear right now is not having this in my life.”

Now 36, Elliott, who has a 5-5 record since 2019, doesn’t speak so passionately about earning another title shot. He really is interested in simply fighting for the UFC whenever and wherever the promotion needs him, he said.

“I would love to be that guy they can call on short notice,” Elliott said. “… I want to be that guy. I’m a company man. I’m ready to work. I’m finally making money. I’ve fought in this game forever. Since 2012 I’ve been in the UFC. I’m finally making enough to support my family the way they deserve. We went through years where we scraped so I can do this. Now I want them to flourish.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 winner Khalil Rountree focuses on Alex Pereira as top-10 ranking looms

Never has Khalil Rountree been interested in callouts – until now that he has a signature win after UFC Fight Night 233.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] can’t think of a more exciting light heavyweight matchup than him vs. [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag], especially after victory Saturday at UFC Fight Night 233.

In the co-main event at the UFC Apex, Rountree (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) dispatched former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith (37-19 MMA, 12-9 UFC) with a big third-round knockout.

“High, high levels of joy, which is really cool,” Rountree told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “I don’t remember the last time I felt that level of pure joy. It was nice. It was nice. It was overwhelming.”

Rountree, 33, has grown before the eyes of international MMA viewers since his time on “The Ultimate Fighter 23” in 2016. Over the span of the past seven-plus years, Rountree hasn’t been interested in callouts. But with a marquee win on his resume that will likely result in a top-10 ranking, Rountree is focused on the man with the gold title belt: Pereira.

It’s what the fans want by Rountree’s assessment.

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“I don’t think you guys have any record of me calling anybody out,” Rountree said. “But in my mind, knowing that if I beat Anthony Smith, that would get me into the top 10. I know that the way that the rankings work and I’m just 12. I know I have to be in the top 10 to even be worthy of fighting for a title. Say I get No. 10 and not No. 8 where Anthony was. From No. 9, in my opinion and I think in the fans’ opinion, the most exciting fight would be me vs. Pereira. That’s just what I’ve seen with comments, things like that. After the fight, I was flooded with people tagging me and things.

“I’m like, I think it makes sense for two dynamic strikers, powerful strikers. I don’t plan to shoot any takedowns. I don’t think I’ve shot a takedown ever in my career. I don’t think that he’s necessarily going to shoot for any takedowns because the guy is a warrior. So then you have two explosive, dynamic (fighters). Now, me being in the top 10, in my mind, it just makes sense. I’m putting in the work every day and I’m prepared for anything. I’m not saying, ‘This is what I want. Give it to me now.’ But, I think that it would make sense, and that’s kind of where I stand.”

Pereira (9-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) does not have a fight currently on the books, although he’s expected to face Jamahal Hill for his first title defense. He won the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 295 in November – his second victory in the weight class since he moved up from middleweight.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Song Yadong fires back at Petr Yan after UFC Fight Night 233: ‘His last fight was boring, too’

Song Yadong says Petr Yan looked “like sh*t” in his most recent bout and wants to test his boxing vs. the former UFC champ next.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] doubled down on his callout of former bantamweight champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] after a convincing win over Chris Gutierrez in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 main event.

Song (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) was dominant throughout five rounds of his headliner at the UFC Apex, earning a unanimous decision over Gutierrez (20-6-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) in a somewhat lackluster affair. The Chinese fighter claims he was hunting for the finish, but he simply couldn’t be as effective with his offense as some other performances.

“I was ready for his leg kicks,” Song told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC Fight Night 233. “In the fight, I want to knock everyone out, but this guy comes very good. I couldn’t find the distance. He always use his faints, his kicks. But my coach, Urijah (Faber), told me to go more MMA style, and I went to the legs and took him down. In the fourth round, I knew he was very tired, and I wanted to finish him. But he kept holding me on the ground.”

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With wins in four of his past five fights, Song is looking for a step up in competition. He was originally linked to a matchup with Petr Yan on the card, but it failed to materialize.

Song said prior to UFC Fight Night 233 that he would call out Yan with a win, and he did just that in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder. Yan responded with a yawning emoji on social media, which could be seen as disinterest in the matchup.

That doesn’t fly with Song, however, and he’s convinced it’s the pairing to make.

“I already fought two guys lower than me, so I want to fight Petr Yan,” Song said. “He post the emoji. It means the fight was boring. but his last fight was boring, too – like sh*t. Let’s fight at UFC 299. I heard that he wants to fight in March. We can fight in March. We both don’t go back. Let’s go face-to-face. Let’s see who’s boxing is good. Let’s see who is the best boxer in this division.”

Despite his strong desire to fight Yan next, Song isn’t entrenching himself in getting that fight, he said. He just wants to take meaningful strides toward the 135-pound belt and is eager to get a name that fulfills that objective.

“Anyone in the top five,” Song said. “I want top-five fighters. I don’t want to fight outside of top 10.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.