Tag: UFC London

Paul Craig drops down to middleweight, meets Andre Muniz at UFC London

Paul Craig has decided to give middleweight a try and will make his divisional debut at UFC London.

[autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] has decided to give middleweight a try.

After undergoing a successful test cut to 185 pounds, former light heavyweight contender Craig (16-6-1 MMA, 8-6-1 UFC) will move down a division to face [autotag]Andre Muniz[/autotag] (23-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on July 22 at The O2 in London, promotion officials announced Thursday morning. The matchup was first reported by Super Lutas.

Craig’s decision comes after dropping back-to-back fights to Volkan Oezdemir and Johnny Walker. Prior to that, the 35-year-old Scottish fighter was unbeaten in six fights, including a finish of current light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill.

“We had this idea of going to middleweight, not because light heavyweight is done, but just the way light heavyweight is sitting at the moment, there’s not a lot of fights above me who I’m going to get to fight,” Craig said in a recent episode of his “Leather’d Podcast.”

Muniz saw his nine-fight winning streak snapped by Brendan Allen in his past outing, which headlined UFC Fight Night 220 in February. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace’s run included wins over Ronaldo Souza and Uriah Hall.

With the addition, here is the updated UFC London card on July 22:

  • Tom Aspinall vs. Marcin Tybura
  • Molly McCann vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Yanal Ashmouz vs. Chris Duncan
  • Jai Herbert vs. Fares Ziam
  • Davey Grant vs. Daniel Marcos
  • Mick Parkin vs. Jamal Pogues
  • Joel Alvarez vs. Marc Diakiese
  • Pannie Kianzad vs. Ketlen Vieira
  • Jonny Parsons vs. Danny Roberts
  • Josh Culibao vs. Lerone Murphy
  • Andre Fili vs. Nathaniel Wood
  • Paul Craig vs. Andre Muniz

Andre Fili vs. Nathaniel Wood joins UFC London lineup

A featherweight scrap between Andre Fili and Nathaniel Wood has been added to UFC London.

A featherweight scrap has been added to UFC London as [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag] will take on [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] on July 22 at The O2 in London.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by Al Zullino.

Fili (22-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC), 32, has mixed results in his past six octagon showings. The Team Alpha Male fighter is coming off a split decision win over Bill Algeo last September at UFC Fight Night 210.

England’s Wood (13-6-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC) is 2-0 since moving up to 145 pounds. Wood defeated Charles Rosa and Charles Jourdain by unanimous decision in the span of less than two months in 2022. He was booked to face Lerone Murphy in March at UFC 286 but withdrew after suffering a nasty gash on his knee in training.

With the addition, here is the updated UFC London card on July 22:

  • Tom Aspinall vs. Marcin Tybura
  • Molly McCann vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Yanal Ashmouz vs. Chris Duncan
  • Jai Herbert vs. Fares Ziam
  • Davey Grant vs. Daniel Marcos
  • Mick Parkin vs. Jamal Pogues
  • Joel Alvarez vs. Marc Diakiese
  • Pannie Kianzad vs. Ketlen Vieira
  • Jonny Parsons vs. Danny Roberts
  • Josh Culibao vs. Lerone Murphy
  • Andre Fili vs. Nathaniel Wood

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UFC returns to London for Fight Night event on July 22

For the second straight year, the UFC is giving London more than one event.

For the second straight year, the UFC is giving London more than one event.

During a series of announcements made by UFC president Dana White on Thursday, the promotion confirmed that a UFC Fight Night event will take place at The O2 on July 22. No fights were announced for the card.

UFC Fight Night on July 22 marks the promotion’s second show of the year. UFC 286 took place in March at The O2, and was headlined by the welterweight trilogy bout between champion Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman. Edwards retained his title by majority decision.

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The UFC had plans of having another pay-per-view event in London with welterweight champion Edwards headlining, but Edwards said he’s targeting a return at UFC 294 October in Abu Dhabi.

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Tom Aspinall, who headlined both UFC Fight Night 204 and UFC Fight Night 208 in 2022, wants to return on the July 22 event and expressed interest in facing Marcin Tybura. Aspinall tore his ACL in a first-round TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes in the UFC Fight Night 208 headliner last July.

Miranda Maverick wants Molly McCann after UFC 278: ‘I’m ready to derail that fake hype train’

Miranda Maverick wants to put a stop to Molly McCann’s momentum.

[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag] wants to put a stop to [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag]’s momentum.

McCann (13-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) followed up her spinning elbow knockout of Luana Carolina in March by starching Hannah Goldy in the first round this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 208, sending The O2 in London into a frenzy once again.

But Maverick (10-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) thinks McCann has yet to fight legitimate competition in the UFC.

“Let’s go – let’s fight it out,” Maverick told MMA Junkie Radio. “If she wants to fight now, she didn’t want to fight me before, she took on an opponent in Hannah Goldy who – I like Hannah just fine, but she’s a strawweight naturally, and she’s not even on a winning streak or anything. She’s had like three out of her last four fights were losses, and it was just another person to be thrown to Molly so that she could win in front of her home crowd. I’m ready to derail that fake hype train.”

But first, Maverick has to get past Shanna Young at UFC 278 on Aug. 20. McCann already has her sights set on Antonina Shevchenko, but Maverick explained why her against McCann is the fight to make.

“I’ve had people on both sides that are like, ‘She should get a ranked opponent,’ and I’m like, ‘She’s fought no one to where she deserves a ranked opponent,’ first of all,” Maverick said. “Two, the whole thing of, ‘You should get a ranked opponent – you don’t need to be going back down the rankings.’

“And I’m like, I plan on being in this sport for years to come. I don’t need to race my way to the top and then slowly fall back like all these fighters do. I’m ready to take my time and make money by the time I get it to the top.”

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Arnold Allen wants top five opponent next: ‘If anyone deserves to fight upwards, it’s probably me’

Arnold Allen thinks he’s earned a top-ranked UFC featherweight opponent.

LONDON – [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] thinks he’s earned a top-ranked opponent.

Allen (18-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC), 28, is unbeaten in the UFC. He’s coming off a marquee first-round TKO of Dan Hooker at UFC Fight Night 204 in March and wants to start making a run toward the featherweight title.

He expressed interest in facing Calvin Kattar, whose team recently told MMA Junkie that’s a fight they also asked for. But if not Kattar, Allen just wants to move up the rankings.

“Anyone in that top five,” Allen said backstage at UFC Fight Night 208 in London this past Saturday. “I’m 9-0 in the UFC. I don’t even know my record total, but it’s pretty good I think. I feel like I deserve or if anyone deserves to fight upwards, it’s probably me. I’m 9-0 in the UFC. I just finished Dan Hooker. Give me somebody in that top five – any of them.

“I feel like a win over one of those people up there, it does put me in the talks for maybe a shot at the interim title. I don’t know – something like that.”

Allen currently is dealing with a hand injury and is targeting an end-of-year return. Whomever the rising Brit faces next, he hopes it’s a five-round contest so he can get accustomed to fighting championship rounds.

“The one thing I really want is to try and get a five-rounder,” Allen said. “My aspirations are title fights, and it would be pretty sh*t to go into a title fight never fighting a five-rounder. But if there’s a three-rounder going and that’s all there is for the end of the year, then that is what it is.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.

Daniel Cormier urges Alexander Gustafsson to retire after UFC London: ‘The chin is gone’

Daniel Cormier thinks Alexander Gustafsson should hang up his gloves after losing at UFC Fight Night 208.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag] should hang up his gloves after losing at UFC Fight Night 208.

Gustafsson (18-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) suffered his fourth straight loss when he was knocked out by Nikita Krylov in the first round. The light heavyweight bout was part of the main card at The O2 in London.

Krylov was able to hurt Gustafsson early, but it was a short left hook followed by some ground and pound that turned the lights off for “The Mauler.” Cormier, a former foe, thinks Gustafsson no longer can take shots like he used to.

“Gustafson is done. He needs to walk away, these shots are hard but he used to eat those. The chin is gone, walk away my friend. We all have expiration date. One of the best to not have had a title.”

Gustafsson took Cormier to the brink in their light heavyweight title bout at UFC 192 in 2015. He also gave former light heavyweight king Jon Jones arguably the toughest test of his career in a historic battle at UFC 165. Gustafsson’s last octagon victories came more than five years ago over now ex-champs Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.

UFC Fight Night 208 video: Paddy Pimblett clowns Jordan Leavitt, rejects handshake at final faceoff

Ahead of UFC Fight Night 208, lightweights Paddy Pimblett and Jordan Leavitt squared off for the final time ahead of their fight.

LONDON – [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag]’s final face off on Friday ahead of their pivotal clash Saturday was an intense one.

Pimblett and Leavitt square off in a featured lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 208, which takes place at The O2 in London. The card streams on ESPN+.

Pimblett will look to make it 3-0 in the octagon. The Liverpool native has finished Luigi Vendramini and Kazula Vargas in the first round. Meanwhile, Leavitt is coming off back-to-back wins over Matt Sayles and Trey Ogden.

The ceremonial faceoffs took place Friday, hours after fighters officially made weight. Check out Pimblett and Leavitt faceoff in the video above, where Pimblett had his troll game on for Leavitt.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.

UFC Fight Night 208 video: Curtis Blaydes, Tom Aspinall face off one final time

Ahead of UFC Fight Night 208, heavyweights Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall squared off for the final time ahead of their fight.

LONDON – [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] and [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] faced off one final time Friday ahead of their pivotal clash Saturday.

Blaydes (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and Aspinall (12-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) square off in a five-round heavyweight main event at UFC Fight Night 208, which takes place at The O2 in London. The card streams on ESPN+.

Both fighters look to enter title contention with a win. Blaydes showed off his hands with a second-round TKO of Chris Daukaus in March. A week prior, Aspinall made quick work of Alexander Volkov with a first-round submission in London.

The ceremonial faceoffs took place Friday, hours after fighters officially made weight. Check out Blaydes and Aspinall’s faceoff in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.

UFC London’s Charles Johnson: People say Muhammad Mokaev fights like a veteran, but he ‘fights with his ego’

“He’s young and he fights that way sometimes. People say he fights like a veteran, but he fights with his ego.”

LONDON – [autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] will be shooting for takedowns early in their fight.

Johnson (11-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) faces Mokaev (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 208 event, which takes place at The O2 in London. The card streams on ESPN+.

Mokaev is known for his elite grappling, but Johnson sees an overzealous approach from him and plans on making him pay on the feet.

“He’s young and he fights that way sometimes,” Johnson told MMA Junkie. “People say he fights like a veteran, but he fights with his ego. He comes forward, he’s a pressure fighter and I think there are some things in the fight we can take advantage of. I do expect him to come forward, but I do expect him to try and stand with me and it just takes one shot.

“So I feel like if anything doesn’t start going his way, he’ll start being very grapple-heavy. People go to where they’re comfortable. When they get in trouble, they go to what’s comfortable, so I expect that to happen pretty soon in this fight.”

Mokaev is one of the highest-touted prospects in the sport. An amateur champion, Mokaev burst onto the UFC scene in March when he took out Cody Durden in less than a minute. Johnson is aware of Mokaev and even recalls training with him a few years ago in Thailand.

“I’m familiar with him,” Johnson said. “It’s MMA, he’s a good wrestler, he’s a good martial artist and he’s got a lot of amateur experience, so I’m familiar with his story and we spent a very little bit of time which each other on the mats at Tiger Muay Thai. So I’ve seen him before.

“He was a good wrestler, good grappler, very control-oriented, and we did a little bit of standup and it wasn’t too much for anybody to hang their hat on. I got the better of him, but it’s been two years, so we’ll see.

“I think he does great for his age. I think he’s doing great, but he’s doing what he should do when you’ve been groomed for this. He’s been groomed to be what he is now. So I think he’s doing exactly what he should do, and that takes putting in a lot of work and effort. So I respect him, but I’m not surprised by what he’s doing. What he’s doing is what he should be doing.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.