Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out which epic battle earned MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Year award for 2022.
With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best fights from January to December 2022.
As voted on by our entire staff, here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Year.
Islam Makhachev finishing the most decorated grappler in UFC history secured him lightweight gold and MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Year for 2022.
With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best submissions from January to December 2022.
As voted on by our entire staff, here are the top 10 and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Year.
Immediately upon the stoppage of his UFC on ABC 3 bout, Brian Ortega knew he might need another surgery. It turns out he was right.
[autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] knew it was a possibility minutes after he hurt his shoulder in the cage at UFC on ABC 3.
In his in-cage interview after a July 16 loss due to injury against Yair Rodriguez, a disappointed Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) said he might need surgery again – and it turns out he was correct. In an Instagram post on Saturday, Ortega affirmed his previous suspicion publicly for the first time when he revealed he underwent an operation in early August.
“Bout a month in a half ago I had my shoulder operated on,” Ortega wrote. “I usually sit around and let these operations (cause I’ve had a few) take me into dark places. Not this time, I will remain working with the things I can do and keep working hard and staying at it. Thank you for those who ride with me.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CinvjTcPJ7b/
Ortega, 31, twice before underwent shoulder surgery. He previously described the mental toll such operations and periods of inactivity had on him – and the strength it took to pick himself back up.
There is no publicly-known timeline for his return. Whenever the time comes for him to return, Ortega will look to snap a two-fight skid that also includes a title challenge loss to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
[listicle id=2565800]
Miesha Tate refuses to “give up” on her UFC career after another difficult loss.
[autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag] is still enjoying her fighting journey after a loss to Lauren Murphy at UFC on ABC 3, and she has no intention of bringing things to a halt now.
There were questions about Tate’s future after she suffered a unanimous decision loss to Murphy in her flyweight debut earlier this month. The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion has lost two of three fights since ending a nearly five-year retirement in 2021, and critics argued the latest defeat was proof of her ceiling.
Tate (19-9 MMA, 6-6 UFC) has been vocal about her desire to hold UFC gold once more, and she’s remains optimistic there are better days ahead. However, Tate also acknowledges there’s something missing.
“I’m at a very great point in my life,” Tate said on her Sirius XM radio show. “Not like Chapter One. Chapter One was kind of toxic and a lot of turmoil and (fighting) was like my outlet and my identity. It’s none of those things for me anymore, so as I continue to evolve – and life is great. It’s very kush and I have everything that I need. I don’t need to fight. I just want to. I want to do better than I did this time, so I’m not going to give up. But this is a whole new challenge. I just need to get my mindset a little bit more gritty, a little bit more right, a little bit more – ‘I’ve got to have it.’ Not just there to have fun. Like, ‘I’ve got to have it.’ I just don’t feel like I hit the nail on the head with that this time.”
[lawrence-related id=2564321,2563238,2563225]
Tate, 35, thinks she has the solutions to a potential lack of grit inside the octagon. She intends to visit a sports psychologist and try to get the mental side of her game right, which in turn should lead to better results on fight night.
“As soon as I get a good sports physiologist and start to unravel or figure out how to channel, I think I’ll have more idea,” Tate said. “I don’t know how long it takes. It might be a really simple fix. The performance ,my physical ability, the shape that I’m in, the way I train, the skillset that I have, is all there. I just have to put it in the right place at the right time.”
The timeline for Tate’s return is not the only unknown about her future. She admits the first cut down to the 125-pound division was a challenge, and the fact the fight was delayed two weeks due to Murphy contracting COVID-19 only made it more difficult.
Because of that, Tate said she’s deliberating whether another drop down in weight will net better results.
“I definitely need to take some time to figure it out,” Tate said. “It was a really long camp, it got draw out two times. I don’t know if I’m going to stay at 125 or just go back to 135 where I can enjoy. The diet, for that long, made me want to blow my brains out. It was terrible. I think I might stay at 135. I don’t know. We’ll see. I need a little time to regroup and see where I go from it.”
[vertical-gallery id=2562908]
[listicle id=2562380]
Miesha Tate took a tough loss in her women’s flyweight debut at UFC on ABC 3, leaving questions around her future.
Miesha Tate took a tough loss in her women’s flyweight debut at UFC on ABC 3, leaving questions around her future.
The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Tate (19-9 MMA, 6-6 UFC) has lost two of three fights since returning from retirement after a unanimous decision defeat to Lauren Murphy (16-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) on Long Island, N.Y.
Although Tate has shown to be in nothing but positive spirits in the aftermath of her setback, it’s hard not to question what the result means in the grander scheme of her career – particularly in terms of her goal of holding a title again one day.
Are those dreams dead? Or is there still a miraculous path for Tate to get back to the top?
That was a topic of discussion in the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” where host George Garcia was joined by Nolan King, Mike Bohn and Brian Garcia.
Check out the debate about Tate in the video above, and check out the full episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below:
[vertical-gallery id=2562908]
After upsetting Jack Shore to hand him his first loss, Ricky Simon said he’s ready for a step up in competition.
ELMONT, N.Y. – After upsetting Jack Shore to hand him his first loss, [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] said having that distinction really doesn’t mean that much to him.
Simon (20-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) forced Shore (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) to tap to a second-round arm-triangle choke in a key bantamweight bout at UFC on ABC 3 in Elmont, N.Y., on Saturday. Shore, a former Cage Warriors champion who had started his UFC tenure at 5-0, was close to a 2-1 betting favorite in the fight. But Simon arguably was his toughest opponent yet.
What’s more important to him than being the first one to beat Shore was making sure his own winning streak continued, Simon said. He ran it to five straight against highly regarded names like Raphael Assuncao, Brian Kelleher, Ray Borg, and now Shore.
“I could give two sh*ts about giving him his first loss,” Simon told MMA Junkie at his post-fight news conference in Elmont, N.Y. “I know I’m going to win. I don’t care if it’s his third loss, fourth loss, fifth loss. I just knew I was going to be the winner of this one. We were able to break him down, and I felt like I was better everywhere.”
Now Simon is interested in a fight against Sean O’Malley (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC), who two weeks ago had a fight against Pedro Munhoz stopped in the first round when Munhoz couldn’t continue due to an accidental eye poke.
But he also doesn’t seem to be overly confident O’Malley would sign up for a fight with him.
“I really don’t care if he does or not,” Simon said. “I want to fight someone in the top 10. I think that’s what I deserve at this point. That was my 10th UFC fight, eighth UFC win, and I’m definitely ready for that bump up in competition. I need a bigger name – someone ranked higher next time.
“I’ve mostly been consistent with the wins, but it’s being consistent with the finishes. That’s what the UFC wants, thats what the fans what, and that’s what I’m producing now. I think I deserve that bump.”
Simon has finishes in three of his past four fights. His submission of Shore was worth an extra $50,000 as one of six Performance of the Night post-fight bonus awards.
Check out Simon’s full post-fight interview in the video above.
[vertical-gallery id=2562800]
[listicle id=2563178]
Michelle Waterson is “super bummed” after being finished by Amanda Lemos in the UFC on ABC 3 co-main event.
[autotag]Michelle Waterson[/autotag] will attempt to pick up the pieces and turn things around after a tough defeat to Amanda Lemos at UFC on ABC 3.
Waterson (18-10 MMA, 6-6 UFC) returned from a 14-month layoff on Saturday’s card at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., but did not get the result she wanted after she got caught by a guillotine choke from Lemos (12-2-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in the second round of their strawweight co-headliner.
After nearly being forced into retirement by an injury during her hiatus from competition, Waterson said pre-fight she was simply grateful to compete. Being on borrowed time doesn’t make the latest result any easier, and Waterson expressed her disappointment in the aftermath of her bout with Lemos.
“I’m super bummed – gutted, actually, about the loss,” Waterson said in a statement on her Instagram page. “I had an amazing camp, such amazing people around me including my teammates, coaches, my friends, my family, my loved ones helping me prepare for this camp. Best shape I’ve ever been in my life. Mentally, I was prepared. I felt good in the fight. I felt strong, and it was that split-second opportunity that Amanda was able to capitalize on, and hat’s off to her for seeing that and taking it.
“I’m bummed, but this isn’t the end of my story. I’m not injured, I’m healthy, I have my family. So I’m just going to enjoy the ride and keep training. I’ll stay ready and hopefully be able to be back in there as soon as possible.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgIWr0HgADA
With the defeat, Waterson fell to a grim 1-4 in her past five fights dating back to October 2019. Her losses came to top-tier competition in Lemos, Marina Rodriguez, Carla Esparza and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, but it appears she takes no solace in losing to only the best.
“The Karate Hottie” will turn 37 in January, and it remains to be seen what adjustments she’ll make to ensure victory in her next trip to the octagon, whenever that may be.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 3.
[vertical-gallery id=2563129]
[listicle id=550405]
[vertical-gallery id=393920]
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,278, the fellas look back at Saturday’s UFC on ABC 3 card and the fallout from the results, including: What’s next for Yair Rodriguez? Are Michelle Waterson and Miesha Tate on the verge of retirement? What happens at lightweight with Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev official? And much hmore. Tune in!
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
[vertical-gallery id=2562908]
[vertical-gallery id=2563129]
See whom Yair Rodriguez should fight next after his victory over Brian Ortega in the UFC on ABC 3 headliner.
(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Brian Ortega after UFC on ABC 3 loss?)
[autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] got his hand raised in the UFC on ABC 3 main event, but it didn’t come the way he’d hoped or expected against Brian Ortega.
Rodriguez (14-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) was awarded the first-round TKO of Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in Saturday’s featherweight headliner at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., but the stoppage came only after his opponent suffered a dislocated shoulder that prevented him from continuing.
Despite the anticlimactic outcome, it appears Rodriguez will receive a push forward in the 145-pound landscape, with an undisputed title fight, interim title fight or other marquee matchup potentially on the horizon for the Mexican standout.
But what exactly should be next for Rodriguez? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future after UFC on ABC 3.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 3.
[listicle id=2562377]
[vertical-gallery id=2563153]
See whom Brian Ortega should fight next after his loss to Yair Rodriguez in the UFC on ABC 3 headliner.
(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Yair Rodriguez after UFC on ABC 3 win?)
[autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] is on the first losing skid of his career after UFC on ABC 3, but there could be a silver lining.
Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) suffered a first-round TKO loss to Yair Rodriguez (14-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in Saturday’s featherweight headliner at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., but the stoppage only came after he dislocated his shoulder during a grappling exchange.
No matter how it came, it’s still a loss on Ortega’s record, and with little knowledge yet to the significance of his injury, it’s difficult to gauge where “T-City” fits into the 145-pound landscape.
What’s next for Ortega? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future after UFC on ABC 3.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 3.
[vertical-gallery id=2563153]
