Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway brought some intense energy to their faceoff at the UFC 308 pre-fight press conference.
ABU DHABI – [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] and [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] brought some intense energy to their faceoff at the UFC 308 pre-fight press conference.
After exchanging words in front of fans and media at Etihad Arena, which also hosts Saturday’s event (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN+), reigning featherweight champion Topuria and BMF titleholder Holloway got a chance to square up.
The tension between Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) has grown as fight night approaches. During their first faceoff, Holloway simply stared while Topuria appeared to be the one doing all the talking.
Check out the video above to see Topuria and Holloway have their first official UFC 308 fight week faceoff.
It didn’t take long for the UFC’s matchmaking team and brass to make a decision on Jake Hadley after his third loss in four fights.
It didn’t take long for the UFC’s matchmaking team and brass to make a decision on [autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag] after his third loss in four fights.
Hadley will have to work his way back to the UFC after an upset loss on the main card at UFC Fight Night 245 this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Hadley announced the news on social media Wednesday, but made a point to say his contract was up, and he “wasn’t cut.”
Hadley (11-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) was the biggest favorite on the card at more than 6-1 against Smotherman (12-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who took the fight on just a few days’ notice after Brady Hiestand pulled out. But Smotherman outworked him over 15 minutes for a unanimous decision.
“I wasn’t cut my contract came to an end,” Hadley posted on social media. “took 2 big risks my last 2 fights being a company man and it bit me on the arse. Took block head on a weeks notice but missed the weight which was obviously held against me then took cam on 3 days notice after originally training for a wrestling based opponent I understand cam didn’t do a camp but everyone’s ready always for 3x5s cmon I proven that vs block head took the fight on baby’s due date because fight was offered and didn’t wanna say no to the ufc and be a company man but ohh well if I choose to work my way back to the UFC I know I can do that again no problem.”
Hadley won the Cage Warriors flyweight title in late 2020. Ten months later, he took a fight on Dana White’s Contender Series and earned his way into the UFC – even though he missed weight.
After a loss in his promotional debut, he won back-to-back fights against Carlos Candelario and Malcolm Gordon, the latter of which was a 61-second knockout worth an extra $50,000.
But then came consecutive losses to Cody Durden and Charles Johnson at flyweight, and he missed weight when he moved up to bantamweight for a fight with Caolan Loughran earlier this year, which he referenced in his post.
The Smotherman loss was the nail in the coffin of the 28-year-old Brit’s UFC tenure for now.
In PFL’s main event, former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag], who never lost his title, returned to MMA and took out [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] in short order with a brutal knockout.
As a result Ngannou shifts into the No. 1 heavyweight slot. He was previously at No. 2. He also moves into No. 3 in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Also, [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] took once step closer to middleweight title contention as he dominated [autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag] before a late-fight TKO finish.
Hernandez enters the rankings at No. 13.
Across the two cards, [autotag]Paul Hughes[/autotag], Raufeon Stots, Asu Almabayev, and Charles Johnson also picked up impactful victories. Each resulted in a bump-up in the rankings.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
Joselyne Edwards has missed weight in her past three wins. Saturday, it cost her a $50,000 bonus.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag] beat Tamires Vidal with a third-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 245 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Edwards, who has won four of her past six fights – but has missed weight in her past three wins. Saturday, it cost her a $50,000 bonus.
“I feel good. I did exactly what I worked on in the training camp, all the techniques. I was confident in my work, but I was not underestimating my opponent. I tried to put it all together. The game plan was to attack the body and keep it in close range, use the jab as much as I could, and take her down and look for the submission. I tried to do that in the first round, but I couldn’t get it, so I didn’t go crazy for it. But in the third round, when I saw the opportunity, I locked it down.”
Edwards on her weight miss
Joselyne Edwards
“As a woman, I have biological circumstances, and this time around … I couldn’t control it. I went to do my weight cut to the (UFC Performance Institute) at 4 a.m. My body basically stopped sweating. I was not sweating at all until 9:30. Someone from the PI advised me to get out of the sauna because my body was going to shut down and the fight was going to end up being canceled. I’ve got to check on my body and I’m going to check what’s going on with those biological circumstances that I have.”
Edwards on what she wants next
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 19: (L-R) Joselyne Edwards of Panama kicks Tamires Vidal of Brazil in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 19, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
“I wanted to fight in December, but I’ll check my body. I’m going to go to Panama. I’m going to visit my family. I want to keep my weight lower. … I want to come back as soon as I can.”
To hear more from Edwards, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
Did Anthony Hernandez have a breakthrough performance at UFC Fight Night 245? We discuss on “Spinning Back Clique.”
The middleweight division has a new rising contender in [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]
“Fluffy” extended his winning streak to six in a row this past Saturday, dominating and stopping flashy striker [autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag] in the main event of UFC Fight Night 245. With two back-to-back Performance of the Night bonuses, Hernandez is quickly becoming a name to watch in the division.
But how good is Hernandez? Who should he face next? Can he now be considered a real threat to the title?
MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Dan Tom, Mike Bohn, Danny Segura, and host “Gorgeous” George react to Hernandez’s big win over Pereira, along with other important results from UFC Fight Night 245.
Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.
Asu Almabayev won for the 17th straight time, even though Matheus Nicolau had an answer for his takedowns.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Asu Almabayev[/autotag] beat Matheus Nicolau with a unanimous decision Saturday to close out the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 245 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Almabayev, who won for the 17th straight time.
Asu Almabayev def. Matheus Nicolau
Asu Almabayev
Result:Asu Almabayev def. Matheus Nicolau via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Updated records: Almabayev (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC), Nicolau (19-6-1 MMA, 7-4 UFC) Key stats: Almabayev has had more than 26 minutes of total control time over the 45 minutes of his past three decision wins. But after landing 15 combined takedowns his past two fights, he had just one against Nicolau.
“I’m happy. It’s not easy to win the fight. Every opponent’s doing hard work and coming here to fight and to win, so I’m very happy that I won. (The game plan) was just to win. I wanted to wrestle, but (Nicolau) is tough – he’s No. 7 in the rankings. During the fight, I changed the game plan a little.”
Almabayev on Nicoalu’s takedown defense
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 19: (L-R) Matheus Nicolau of Brazil punches Asu Almabayev of Kazakstan in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 19, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
“I was not surprised (at his takedown defense) because every fighter knows that I’ll try to take them down. After the first and second, I saw that (he was good at stopping me). What can I do? So I tried to improve the positions all the time.”
Almabayev on what he wants next
May 4, 2024; Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BRAZIL; Alexandre Pantoja (red gloves) fights against Steve Erceg (blue gloves) during UFC 301 at Rio Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
“I will come back home and we’ll watch the fight again. We need to learn all the time. Give me one chance for the belt (against champion Alexandre Pantoja).”
To hear more from Almabayev, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
Melissa Martinez returned after more than two years away to pick up her first UFC win.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Melissa Martinez[/autotag] beat Alice Ardelean with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 245 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Martinez, who returned after more than two years away to pick up her first UFC win.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 19: (L-R) Melissa Martinez of Mexico punches Alice Ardelean of Romania in a strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 19, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
“I was happy to actually to put it into practice, everything that I can do. I wasn’t able to do it in my first (UFC) fight because the nerves got in the way. … I knew she was a tough fighter. I think when you get to this level, every fighter is tough. This is an organization that whoever, her or anyone else, is going to be a tough fighter. I knew it was going to be a tough challenge and I think when you’re up here, you have to be ready to face everyone.”
Martinez on a phantom low blow
Melissa Martinez def. Alice Ardelean, UFC Fight Night 245 phantom low blow
“I felt that the shot was legal, and (the ref missed it), … but I didn’t let that distract me from the fight because the focus is actually to come out with the win. I would love for that to be a different result (and it was a TKO), but I think the referees are doing their job and I think that it was the correct procedure because they were not sure whether it was legal. The only thing was not to let myself get distracted and continue to fight.”
Martinez on what she wants next
Melissa Martinez def. Alice Ardelean, UFC Fight Night 245 (via UFC)
“I’m going to rest a little bit, but I’m going to go back into the gym – not with the same intensity as usual, but I’m going to be right there and continue to support all my my other teammates because they have their fights coming.”
To hear more from Martinez, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
Elise Reed married her wife while wrapping training camp a week before she stepped in the cage to beat Jessica Penne at UFC Fight Night 245.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag] beat Jessica Penne with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 245 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Reed, who got back in the win column – and has alternated wins and losses for nine fights.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 19: (L-R) Elise Reed punches Jessica Penne in a strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 19, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
“I am feeling f*cking great – great, splendid, any word that’s positive, you could say it and that’s how I feel. (The game plan was) kick her in the leg, stay standing, hit her hard, don’t let her take me down – and it went exactly like that for 15 minutes. It was great.”
Reed on getting married the week before the fight
Elise Reed, wife Dana Leary, UFC Fight Night 245
“That it was the craziest thing I’ve ever done, and there was so much contrast with finding a wedding dress, doing a dress fitting and then getting my lip split during camp and going to urgent care for stitches, to then trying on shoes to then talking about flowers and color themes and everything else – and then talking about fighting Jessica Penne. I mean, it was the largest contrast I think I’ve ever had in my entire life. … I looked f*cking fire from the wedding and I pretty much had to turn it off the moment we get on the plane. The wedding was Saturday. We unpacked from the hotel Sunday, recovered, packed on Monday, and then we were out in Vegas Tuesday – so not much of a honeymoon. But it was great. It was flawless, but I would never do it again. I’m getting married once and calling it a day.”
“Every time, I always say I’m going to take time off, and then the only time I took time off was because I had surgery and I had to take time off. I love this. This is the greatest thing that I’ve ever been able to do, and I love the UFC, so if they tell me, ‘Hey, fight again in a week,’ I’ll say (to my wife), ‘Hey, Dana, looks like we’re pushing off this honeymoon a little bit longer.’ But it’ll be a few months, probably, whenever they come back and they say we’ve got a date. We’ll talk with our coaches, but I’m feeling fantastic from this fight. I’ll be able to turn around and get right to training camp as soon as they want me to jump back.”
To hear more from Reed, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
Jean Matsumoto stayed unbeaten with a win over a two-time “Ultimate Fighter” winner Brad Katona.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jean Matsumoto[/autotag] beat Brad Katona with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 245 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Matsumoto, who stayed unbeaten with a win over a two-time “Ultimate Fighter” winner.
Jean Matsumoto def. Brad Katona
Jean Matsumoto
Result:Jean Matsumoto def. Brad Katona via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Updated records: Matsumoto (16-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), Katona (16-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) Key stats: Katona landed more total strikes, landed at a higher percentage, had more total control time, had three takedowns – but lost on all three judges’ scorecards.
Matsumoto on the fight’s key moment
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 19: (L-R) Jean Matsumoto of Brazil kicks Brad Katona of Canada in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 19, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
“Regardless of the result, I’m going to go for it and I’m going to be always looking to finish. … That’s the style of fighting I give. I’m going to give my all. I’m going to leave everything out there. If my opponent is prepared, that’s the fight they’re going to get. If my opponent is not prepared, it’s going to end soon.”
Matsumoto on hopes to get his father to one of his U.S. fights
Jean Matsumoto def. Brad Katona, UFC Fight Night 245 (via UFC)
“My dad is actually one of my coaches. He tried to get his visa for the fourth time, even with the letter from the UFC, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to make it. For me to be in the UFC is already one of his dreams come true. But for him to be here would be another dream coming true. It would be great. The first thing I do is actually call my dad and my mom. They’re so happy to see me win. He hasn’t done any (post-fight) coaching yet. I haven’t heard any bad things that I did today. But I’m sure he’s going to say something.”
Matsumoto on what he wants next
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – JUNE 08: Raul Rosas Jr. reacts after his victory against Ricky Turcios in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at KFC YUM! Center on June 08, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“I don’t choose opponents. I prepare myself all the time to actually face whoever it is that they put in front of me. Listen, I’ve asked for Raul Rosas Jr. a couple of times. They didn’t give it to me. But whoever they give me, it doesn’t matter: I’ll be prepared to take on the world.”
To hear more from Matsumoto, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
On “Spinning Back Clique,” our panel discusses Francis Ngannou’s successful MMA, the upcoming UFC 308 event, and much more.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:
[autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] reminded the MMA world why he’s one of the most terrifying fighters to ever set foot in the cage. This past Saturday, the former UFC heavyweight champion viciously stopped [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] in the main event of PFL: Battle of the Giants in Saudi Arabia. It was a big win that shook up the heavyweight landscape. Now that he’s back in MMA, can we say Ngannou remains the “Baddest Man on the Planet”? What should be next for Ngannou? We discuss.
Ngannou’s TKO win wasn’t the only thing that made headlines at PFL: Battle of the Giants. Women’s MMA legend [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] picked up a decision win over former PFL champion [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag], [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] defended his Bellator belt in a rematch against [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag], and [autotag]Paul Hughes[/autotag] pulled off an upset by defeating [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag], among other things. We react to some of the key results on PFL’s pay-per-view event.
Over in the UFC side of things, [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] dominated [autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag] in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 245. It was a big win that put Hernandez on a six-fight winning streak, with five of those coming by stoppage. Is Hernandez a serious threat to the middleweight title? Where does Pereira go from here? We dissect the main event of UFC Fight Night 245.
Finally, it’s UFC 308 fight week. That’s right, in just a few days time, [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] will defend his UFC featherweight title against [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] Preview in an extremely highly-anticipated matchup. There’s a lot on the line here. Could Topuria steal Fighter of the Year with a win over Holloway? Could a win cement Holloway as the greatest to ever do it at featherweight? We break down this championship fight along with other bog bouts in the card, including [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag].
