Tag: UFC Fight Night 233

UFC Fight Night 233 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 233 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 233 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 233 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

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

UFC Fight Night 233 video: HyunSung Park swarms Shannon Ross for ‘lucky’ TKO win

HyunSung Park called his win over Shannon Ross “lucky” following an impressive TKO combination at UFC Fight Night 233.

[autotag]HyunSung Park[/autotag] showed all elements of his game in a dominant performance against [autotag]Shannon Ross[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 233.

After dominating Ross (12-9 MMA, 0-3 UFC) on the ground in the opening round, Park (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) showed off a tenacious striking attack in the following frame. He landed a slick combination of a front kick, punch and knee to drop his opponent for the TKO at the 2:59 mark of Round 2 at the UFC Apex.

Check out the replay of the final sequence below (via X):

After winning the “Road to the UFC” tournament, the 28-year-old Park seems to be a promising addition to the 125-pound division. He called the finishing flurry against Ross “lucky” and said it “was just instinct,” and the South Korean expressed he felt fortunate to get his hand raised.

“It’s not an excuse, but my conditioning was off,” Park told Paul Felder through an interpreter during his post-fight interview. “I took it slow. Even in the second round when I was finishing it off, I had to take it slow and take my time.”

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Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 233 results include:

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

UFC Fight Night 233 video: Referee fends off discombobulated Melquizael Costa after Steve Garcia’s bloody TKO

Protect yourself at all times – even if you’re the referee, as Chris Tognoni was forced to do at UFC Fight Night 233.

Protect yourself at all times – even if you’re the referee.

Such was the situation Saturday at UFC Fight Night 233 after [autotag]Steve Garcia[/autotag] brutally finished [autotag]Melquizael Costa[/autotag] with a bombardment of strikes in their featherweight bout at the UFC Apex.

In the opening moments of the second round, Garcia (21-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Costa (14-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) engaged in a scramble, at which point Garcia dropped Costa with a knee and right hand. From there, Garcia moved all in for the finish with an array of punches, hammerfists and elbows, which bloodied up Costa.

When Costa could no longer defend himself, referee Chris Tognoni stopped the fight. And that’s when we saw just how discombobulated Costa was from the fight-ending sequence as he tried to take down the ref with a single-leg. To Tognoni’s credit, he hit the switch on Costa to fend him off until the Brazilian fighter came to.

You can watch the finish and immediate aftermath in the video below (via X):

With the finish, Garcia, a Jackson-Wink MMA product, now has won three fights in a row, including two this year. Costa has alternated one win and two losses in his three UFC appearances.

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Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 233 results include:

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

UFC Fight Night 233 video: Tatsuro Taira scores first octagon TKO, calls out Muhammad Mokaev

23-year-old Tatsuro Taira showed he’s also dangerous on the feet with his first octagon knockout at UFC Fight Night 233.

[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] once again showed why he’s arguably the most intriguing flyweight prospect in MMA by extending his unbeaten record at UFC Fight Night 233.

Japan’s Taira (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) displayed his superior ground game once again Saturday when he overwhelmed [autotag]Carlos Hernandez[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) on the mat before going to the hands to finish the job by second-round TKO at the UFC Apex.

Hernandez survived a swarm from Taira’s grappling in Round 1, which opened up a huge right hand on the feet followed by ground-and-pound to finish the job at the 0:55 mark of Round 2.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via X):

After recording his fifth straight win to begin his UFC tenure, including four in a row at flyweight, Taira called for a step up at 125 pounds against Muhammad Mokaev, who is currently scheduled to face Alex Perez at UFC Saudi Arabia on March 2.

“I was trying to show some jiu-jitsu skills, but whatever, I’m happy (with the TKO,” Taira told Paul Felder through an interpreter during his post-fight interview. “Where’s Mokaev?”

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 233 results include:

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

Daniel Cormier: Anthony Smith ‘let pride get in the way,’ should have taken DQ win vs. Jon Jones

Daniel Cormier thinks Anthony Smith should have just claimed the disqualification win in his title fight vs. Jon Jones. 

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] should have just claimed the disqualification win in his title fight vs. [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].

Smith (37-18 MMA, 12-8 UFC) was illegally kneed by then-light heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) in their title fight at UFC 235 in March 2019. Smith elected to continue fighting, and lost the fight by unanimous decision despite Jones being deducted two points.

Cormier argues that Smith would have financially positioned himself in a great spot if he took the win over Jones, which would have set up an inevitable immediate rematch. He pointed to Aljamain Sterling as an example, when he was rendered unable to continue after absorbing an illegal knee in his title fight vs. Petr Yan. Sterling won the rematch and went on to defend the bantamweight title a UFC record three times.

“That’s when Anthony was like, ‘You know what, man, if I just sit here, and I don’t do this no more, there’s a possibility for me to get all this money and come back as the champ’ – and then his pride got in the way,” Cormier said on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.

“And he got up there and he finished the fight. He was down three rounds to one at that time, and he fought, and I thought it was a mistake because he took an illegal knee. It is what it is. Jones got deducted a point, and still won the fight comfortably. That’s how much he was ahead. He got a two-point deduction, and still won.”

Smith has since gone 5-4. He returns to action in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 co-main event against Khalil Rountree (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

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

UFC Fight Night 233: Quick Picks and Prognostications

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the main card for UFC Fight Night 233, taking place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main card for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Last event’s results: 2-4

Overall picks for UFC main cards in 2023: 119-83-6

Welcome to MMA Junkie’s Quick Picks and Prognostications, where I’ll be giving brief, fight-day breakdowns for UFC main cards.

With that in mind, I hope these write-ups don’t come off as curt or dismissive, as my goal here is to offer quick picks and analysis in a digestible format. All odds listed are provided by FanDuel.

If you’d like more detailed analysis from me, then feel free to check out my weekly show, The Protect Ya’ Neck Podcast.

So, without further ado…

UFC Fight Night 233’s Junyong Park’s main goal is to stay calm vs. ‘strong ground fighter’ Andre Muniz

Junyong Park has a game plan for Andre Muniz that he plans to stick to at UFC Fight Night 233.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Junyong Park[/autotag] spoke to the media ahead of UFC Fight Night 233 at Wednesday’s media day with reporters.

Park (17-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) answered questions from MMA Junkie and other media members ahead of his middleweight bout with [autotag]Andre Muniz[/autotag] (23-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC) about not panicking on the ground, being wary of Muniz’s longer reach in the southpaw stance, and more.

UFC Fight Night 233 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Watch the video of Park’s complete pre-fight media availability above.

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

UFC Fight Night 233’s Jamie Mullarkey aims to get it ‘done in one’ vs. Nasrat Haqparast

Jamie Mullarkey is hungry for a finish at UFC Fight Night 233.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag] is hungry for a finish at UFC Fight Night 233.

Mullarkey (17-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) faces [autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) on Saturday’s main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Haqparast has just one knockout in the UFC but has outstruck numerous opponents. Mullarkey is aware of his skills but isn’t too threatened.

“He’s a solid, solid opponent,” Mullarkey told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “Fights with a high tempo, good skill. I don’t see as much of a danger factor with him, but everyone’s dangerous so, I got to be aware of that. But, very skillful fighter.”

After back-to-back knockouts over Khama Worthy and Devonte Smith, Mullarkey’s last three wins have come by decision. He hopes to break that streak by taking out Haqparast.

“I want to finish him,” Mullarkey said. “I want to get this done in one if possible.”

Haqparast said Mullarkey has been “gun shy” as of late, but the 29-year-old plans on ramping up the aggression in this fight.

“I think being aggressive is going to be the key here,” Mullarkey said. “Establishing the center of the cage and fighting my fight. I want a finish. I won’t be happy unless I get a finish this Saturday, so I see myself getting my hand raised, but it’s going to be a fun fight. I think it’s going to be a fan-friendly one.”

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