Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,437, the fellas preview the big upcoming pay-per-view in Anaheim, Calif., UFC 298. They also dive in to the comments Ian Machado Garry made when he addressed the haters and critics at media day, and more! Tune in!
Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 297 in Toronto.
The UFC’s Apex events typically do not involve a lot of ranked fighters these days, but there were a few movements after last week’s event.
UFC Fight Night 236 was headlined by a middleweight bout between Jack Hermansson and Joe Pyfer. Entering the event, Hermansson held the No. 15 spot, and remains in place after picking up a win over the unranked Pyfer.
On the undercard, [autotag]Gregory Rodrigues[/autotag] turned in an impressive performance, stopping Brad Tavares in the third round. “Robocop” takes an honorable mention slot in this week’s update.
At strawweight, [autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] defeated Bruna Brasil, rising up from the honorable mentions to claim the No. 15 spot.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
Marcin Prachnio has won four of six fights after a rough 0-3 start to his UFC career.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag] beat Devin Clark with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 236 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Prachnio, who has won four of six fights after he started his UFC tenure 0-3 with three first-round knockout losses.
Andre Fili reacts to his knockout loss to Dan Ige this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 236.
Despite suffering a pretty bad knockout, [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag] is keeping a positive attitude after his latest career setback.
The UFC featherweight took to Instagram on Tuesday to react to his defeat to Dan Ige this past Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 236 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Although the outcome of the fight was far from an ideal situation for Fili (23-11 MMA, 12-10 UFC), he was in good spirits.
“Live by the sword, die by the sword,” Fili wrote. “Tough night at the office on Saturday. Got to take the wins and the losses as a man. I’ll learn from my mistakes, shake it off, make a few dumb jokes, and I will come back better- the way I always do. The amount of love I got from everyone is genuinely overwhelming – idk what I did to deserve so much but I’m immensely grateful for it and I will spend my energy trying to reciprocate and perpetuate it back out into the world.
“Congrats to (Dan Ige) he’s truly one of the good guys in this sport, all the best to his family and new baby girl. Thanks for the extra shot at the end, ya d*ckhead, I hope your hand hurts haha. Onward & upward.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3TGOVhvAcw/
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Bogdan Guskov made a big callout after his first UFC victory over Zac Pauga at UFC Fight Night 236.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Bogdan Guskov[/autotag] beat Zac Pauga with a first-round knockout Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 236 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Guskov, who made a big callout after his first UFC victory.
Bolaji Oki thinks he clearly won his UFC debut.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Bolaji Oki[/autotag] thinks he clearly won his UFC debut.
Oki (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) defeated Tim Cuamba (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) by split decision this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 236 from the UFC Apex.
Oki, who extended his winning streak to nine, was stunned to hear the judges call the outcome a split decision.
“For me, it was obvious that I won the fight,” Oki told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC Fight Night 236. “He didn’t do anything except for the takedown in the second round, with the elbows maybe. So maybe he had the second round, but for me I had the first and the third for sure. So how is it a split decision? It has to be a unanimous decision.”
Oki punched his ticket to the UFC with a first-round TKO on Dana White’s Contender Series this past August. The 28-year-old was disappointed not to get the finish, but promises to deliver moving forward.
“I’m happy, but I know I could do better,” Oki said. “That’s not the best version of myself, but I am happy. It’s my first UFC win, but for sure I can do better. You’ve not seen the best ‘Zulu’ in there, but for sure you’re going to see with time.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 236.
Loma Lookboonmee makes a case for an atomweight division after UFC Fight Night 236.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] makes a case for an atomweight division after UFC Fight Night 236.
Lookboonmee (9-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) defeated Bruna Brasil (9-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) by unanimous decision this past Saturday at the UFC Apex.
The only thing that surprised Lookboonmee in the fight is how undersized she felt against Brasil, who had a 5-inch height advantage, and a 4-inch reach advantage. Ideally, Lookboonmee would like to see a 105-pound division added to the UFC.
“The big surprise for me was just how big she was,” Lookboonmee told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter post-fight at UFC Fight Night 236. “She was so much taller than me. I really hope they open 105 (pounds).”
Extending her winning streak to three, Lookboonmee is now eyeing the UFC’s strawweight rankings. The lone Thai fighter on the UFC roster thinks plenty of fighters would benefit from the addition of an atomweight division, not just her.
“I think that if the UFC opens 105, No. 1, I’ll be the first fighter in there,” Lookboonmee said. “No. 2, I think it would open up a lot of opportunities for Asian women – not just from Thailand, but from all over Asia. So I really hope they do it. People message me from time to time asking me if they’re going to do it, but obviously I don’t know.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 236.
Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,436, the fellas welcome Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader to the program for an interview ahead of his Feb. 24 headliner vs. Renan Ferreira at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions. The guys also unpack what transpired at UFC Fight Night 236, as well as Jon Jones’ UFC 300 revelation.
Michael Johnson said he’ll beat whoever he has to beat to climb his way toward UFC lightweight title contention.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag] beat Darrius Flowers with a unanimous decision Saturday on the main card at UFC Fight Night 236 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Johnson, who has alternated wins and losses his past six fights dating back three years.
Hyder Amil stayed unbeaten with a submission win in his UFC debut against Fernie Garcia at UFC Fight Night 236.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Hyder Amil[/autotag] beat Fernie Garcia with a second-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 236 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Amil, who stayed unbeaten with a submission win in his UFC debut.
