Tag: UFC Fight Night 241

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, May 21: Patchy Mix, Lerone Murphy move up

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC Fight Night 241 and Bellator Champions Series: Paris.

Following Bellator Champions Series: Paris and UFC Fight Night 241, the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings required updating.

In the feature bout of the UFC event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, rising featherweight contender [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] defeated the always-exciting Edson Barboza in a dominant display to remain undefeated in his pro career.

At Accor Arena in Paris, France, [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] recorded a successful defense of his Bellator title by edging out a split decision nod in the main event over Magomed Magomedov.

Both fighters moved up in the rankings in their respective divisions following their impressive performances.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

Video: Is Lerone Murphy a legit contender after Edson Barboza win at UFC Fight Night 241?

Is Lerone Murphy now a threat to the UFC featherweight title? We discuss on the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique.”

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel reacts to [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag]’s biggest career win at UFC Fight Night 241.

This past Saturday, the Englishman dominated veteran Edson Barboza in the headliner of the UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas. Murphy is now undefeated in his MMA career and angling to get a top-10 opponent next. So is Murphy a legit threat to the title? Who should he fight next?

MMA Junkie’s Goze Garcia, Farah Hannoun, Danny Segura, and host Gorgeous George discuss the fallout from the UFC Fight Night 241 main event.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and also don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.

https://youtube.com/live/8yKez0zdal4

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Abus Magomedov promises more exciting fights after UFC Fight Night 241 dominant decision

Abus Magomedov beat Warlley Alves and snapped a two-fight skid for his first win by decision in nearly six years.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag] beat Warlley Alves with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 241 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Magomedov, who snapped a two-fight skid for his first win by decision in nearly six years.

Oumar Sy happy with debut win, but itching to show UFC light heavyweights even more

Oumar Sy said he’s happy with his debut win over short-notice replacement Tuco Tokkos – but not happy enough.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Oumar Sy[/autotag] beat Tuco Tokkos with a first-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 241 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Sy, who was a heavy favorite in his UFC debut against a fill-in opponent who took the bout on a week’s notice.

MMA Junkie Radio #3464: Guests Miranda Maverick and Bassil Hafez, Usyk-Fury, Bellator and UFC wrap-ups

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 3,464, the boys brought in guests [autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag] and [autotag]Bassil Hafez[/autotag] from the UFC, Plus, they looked back at Bellator Champions Series: Paris, UFC Fight Night 241 and the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk heavyweight boxing title unification fight, discuss the latest news and much more. Tune in!

Heili Alateng wants quick turnaround at UFC 303 after win over Kleydson Rodrigues

Heili Alateng got his first win 20 months at UFC Fight Night 241. Now he wants to be back in June at International Fight Week.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Heili Alateng[/autotag] beat Kleydson Rodrigues with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 241 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Alateng, who got his first win 20 months.

Tom Nolan: First UFC win was ‘make or break’ moment, relieved to overcome mental adversity

Australia’s Tom Nolan placed a lot of pressure on himself to get his first UFC victory. Luckily, he found relief in a first round TKO.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag] placed a lot of pressure on himself heading into his second UFC bout, but breathed a sigh of relief after picking up his first win in the promotion.

Nolan (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) faced Victor Martinez in the feature prelim bout of UFC Fight Night 241 at the UFC Apex. The Australian caught Martinez (13-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with a clean knee to the midsection, leading to the TKO stoppage at 3:50 in the first round of an entertaining lightweight fight while it lasted.

The result marked Nolan’s first UFC win, which came after a disappointing stoppage loss in his January debut. The Dana White’s Contender Series veteran felt his back was against the wall, and felt the pressure of needing to get his hand raised.

“I battled through some adversity,” Nolan explained at a post-fight news conference. “I battled through my own adversity mentally going in. It’s stressful losing your debut, you know? You have to win your second fight. You might get cut or you might get fed a bad fight on short timing. I had all those thoughts going in.

“This is all I do. This is my only way of making money. So for me, it was really make or break for this fight, and that’s a lot of pressure. I think I handled it quite well.”

Nolan, 24, has a natural advantage over most peers in his division, standing at 6-foot-3. The height advantage played into his gameplan against Martinez, but it was ultimately be a knee in close proximity that led to the end of the fight.

“I thought it was going to go longer, to be honest,” Nolan said. “I actually expected a decision or a late, late finish. But I’m happy it’s over early. I don’t get paid for overtime.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 241.

Adrian Yanez relieved to snap losing streak with quick KO at UFC Fight Night 241: ‘Last year sucked’

Adrian Yanez reflects on his difficult 2023 having sapped his two-fight losing streak at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 241.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] has ended the worst stretch in his fighting career, and he couldn’t be happier.

The UFC bantamweight went winless in 2023, getting stopped by Jonathan Martinez and Rob Font in two consecutive bouts. Yanez (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) entered Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 241 determined to get back in the win column, and he did impressively. Yanez stopped Vinicius Salvador (14-7 MMA, 0-3 UFC) with a brutal right hand in the first round of their contest.

“It feels really, really good,” Yanez said at a post-fight news conference, reflecting on his big win. “Last year sucked. I can’t sugar coat it, it sucked for me. It really took a lot out of me, especially with having surgery at the end of the year and having to sit out a bit, and having to sit out with my own thoughts. Sitting on the machine and moving the leg for me, that really sucked, but it kind of made me realize that no one else is going to want it as bad as I do.

“I had to pick myself up by the bootstraps and get myself going. At the end of the day, it’s on me. I put myself in that position. It was my fault. My 2023 year was caused by me, and I have to pull myself out of that. No one else to blame but me and at the end of the day, 2024 right here, we’re five months into it, and I’m finally here. I’m really f*cking excited to get the victory, so yeah, I’m happy.”

Yanez doesn’t want to stop at Saturday’s win. He wants to keep rising in the ranks, and he’s hoping he gets an opportunity to do that at the UFC 306 pay-per-view expected to be held at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

“I had a couple of guys call me out,” Yanez said. “I know John Castañeda has a really tough fight in front of him, Daniel Marcos. Daniel Santos, though, on the other hand, doesn’t have a fight book, so in The Sphere, I wouldn’t mind that at all. That would be fun. Also, Victor Henry looked really good in his last fight, I think that would be one for the fans. I think the fans would actually love that.

“But all of this to me, it doesn’t matter, it’s all respect except for the two that called me out, so all love. I’m going to go out here and fighter everyone hard, so it is what it is.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 241.

Ariane Carnelossi reveals injuries, reacts to headbutt: ‘What often differentiates humans from animals are the rules’

Rules are rules, says Ariane Carnelossi after a trip to the hospital resulted in multiple injury diagnoses.

[autotag]Ariane Carnelossi[/autotag] says she suffered multiple facial injuries as a result of her UFC Fight Night 241 bout vs. Piera Rodriguez.

The bout ended in a disqualification due to multiple illegal headbutts from Rodriguez (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Carnelossi (14-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) was declared the winner. The strawweight fight took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and sparked reactions from around the MMA world.

Some viewers voiced thoughts online that Carnelossi had milked the doctor stoppage that came after the pair of illegal blows – an accusation Rodriguez also echoed Saturday.

Rodriguez said Carnelossi lied and called her a “coward.”

However, Carnelossi revealed Saturday she was diagnosed with a fractured nose and zygomatic (cheek) bone injury. She also took a slight dig at the detractors’ thought processes.

“Hey guys, we just got back from the hospital and we’re already at the hotel,” Carnelossi wrote on an Instagram story. “After some tests, a fracture in the nose and an injury to the zygomatic bone and the formation of a blood clot in the sinus region were found. Thank you to EVERYONE who sent me positive messages. Regarding our sport, what people need to understand is that what often differentiates humans from animals are the RULES.”

It’s unclear if Carnelossi suffered these injuries during the headbutt sequence or if from previous blows. She had absorbed multiple strikes including a hard front kick prior to the final sequence.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 241.

Melissa Gatto explains how tape study played into boob punch TKO at UFC Fight Night 241

Apparently, it’s not the first time Tamires Vidal hasn’t taken a breast shot well…

LAS VEGAS – Sometimes it pays off to watch tape on your opponents.

When [autotag]Melissa Gatto[/autotag] struck [autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag] in the left breast, the reaction may have seemed delayed and unusual to the outside observer. But Gatto (9-2-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) was well studied. She’d seen Vidal (7-3 MMA 1-2 UFC) do the exact same thing before, pounced for the finish, and won by TKO.

“No, of course (I wasn’t surprised) because I watched the last fights of her,” Gatto told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “Always she felt that. She always tried to stop the fight but the (referee) said to me, ‘Don’t stop. You go.’ I go and I finish. I got my victory.”

In fact, Vidal had done the same thing in the UFC the fight prior against Montserrat Rendon. Unlike Saturday’s fight at the UFC Apex, the referee in that fight, Kerry Hatley, intervened when the blow occurred.

However, Chris Tognoni’s decision to let the action continue during Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 241 was the right call, according to pioneering regulator and former referee “Big” John McCarthy.

“I love Kerry Hatley, but the fact that Vidal calls for and receives a timeout for a punch to the chest is incorrect,” McCarthy wrote on X. “Chris Tognoni handled the call perfectly when Vidal once again turned away asking for a timeout. It was a legal blow, you’re hurt and now can’t fight…… you lose by TKO.”

With the win, Gatto snapped a two-fight skid. Back moving in the right direction, Gatto plans to return to flyweight. The fight Saturday was a bantamweight bout, and one Gatto took on short notice.

“I want to fight in August in the flyweight division,” Gatto said. “But if the UFC wants me in the bantamweight division, I’m here. I’m here to fight. I was born to fight.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 241.