Tag: UFC on ESPN 12

Maurice Greene on moving to Jackson-Wink

Heavyweight Maurice Greene discusses changing camps to Jackson-Wink MMA for his matchup with Gian Villante at UFC on ESPN 12 in Las Vegas.

Heavyweight Maurice Greene discusses changing camps to Jackson-Wink MMA for his matchup with Gian Villante at UFC on ESPN 12 in Las Vegas.

Philipe Lins sees ground game as path to victory over Tanner Boser at UFC on ESPN 12

After losing out on the scorecards in his last outing, Philipe Lins plans to show off his ground game and claim victory at UFC on ESPN 12.

After keeping things standing on his UFC debut, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag] is hoping to show off his ground game when he makes his second appearance in the octagon.

Lins (14-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) faces [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag] this Saturday at UFC on ESPN 12, where he will look to notch his first promotional win.

Lins, a Bellator and PFL veteran, realized his ultimate goal in 2018 when he won the one-million-dollar prize by stopping four straight opponents en route to the PFL heavyweight championship.

Though his UFC debut didn’t go his way, Lins is confident heading into his matchup with Boser, and thinks his ground game will ultimately make the difference.

“I’ve seen his fights,” Lins told MMA Junkie. “I’ve been watching videos every day, to find the best strategy. He’s dangerous. He’s a heavyweight who moves well. I do see some shortcomings in regard to his ground game. It’s a path I could explore during the fight. Since I enjoy striking, I’ll probably start with that. But I wouldn’t pass up a chance to take him down and get a submission. I’ll be ready.”

It’ll be a quick turnaround for Lins, who made his UFC debut last month in a unanimous decision loss to fellow American Top Team fighter, Andrei Arlovski.

Lins thought he won that fight and is happy for the opportunity to be able to bounce back quickly when he competes just over a month later.

“It was a very short period between my last bout, against Andrei Arlovski, and this one,” Lins said. “I’m honored that I was given the opportunity to fight in the UFC again so soon. I’m very happy. I believe that, since the UFC was looking for an opponent for Tanner, and since I didn’t get hurt in my last fight, I was chosen. I think they also expect us to have an excellent fight. He’s a striker. I too enjoy striking. I think those factors were taken into account for me to be brought back in such a short time.

“I’ve watched my fight against Arlovski several times. I think it was a mistake on the part of the judges. I believe I won the first two rounds. Of course, it was a close fight. What I could have done differently is to be more aggressive. I should have pressured him more, and cut him off. He kept walking backward. I just let it happen. I should have cut him off. Some takedowns, perhaps, would have changed the end result. I still say I won. But that’s what the judges are there to see. When we see one thing, they might be focused on something else. It happens. We’re off to the next one.”

UFC on ESPN 12 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+. 

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Dan Hooker explains why Justin Gaethje is picking against him at UFC on ESPN 12

Dan Hooker says he understands why Justin Gaethje is picking Dustin Poirier to beat him at UFC on ESPN 12.

[autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] sees right through [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag]’s poke at him on social media.

Hooker (20-8 MMA, 10-4 UFC) faces [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] in the main event of UFC on ESPN 12 this Saturday in a pivotal clash that interim lightweight champ Gaethje appears to be following with interest.

Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) predicted that Poirier will “merk” Hooker, making it clear who he’s backing to win Saturday night.

Hooker thinks Gaethje is picking Poirier to win for a simple reason. Poirier is the last man to beat Gaethje, having stopped him in the fourth round of their 2018 battle, so it’s in his best interest if “The Diamond” wins.

“I think he just wants Dustin to succeed,” Hooker explained to MMA Junkie. “Dustin knocked him out, so if someone knocks you out, you obviously want to see him do well and he would love for him to knock me out so makes him look a little bit better. If Dustin flatlined him and I flatline Dustin, it kinda makes Gaethje look a bit beatable to me. So yeah, I can definitely see why he’s throwing his hat towards Dustin.”

Hooker is coming off a five-round war with Paul Felder in February which may have been the exact kind of preparation he needed for the battle-tested Poirier, who’s also been in his fair share of grueling fights.

Nonetheless, Hooker is confident that he’ll put him away.

“Yeah, I gained the necessary experience from that fight, going the full five rounds,” Hooker said. “The fight playing out the way it played out, like a back-and-forth contest, yeah I definitely gained a lot of experience from going the full five rounds.

“It’ll be hard, Dustin is a pretty durable guy. We’ll see if he can take the shots. He is pretty confident he can take the shots, everyone thinks he can take the shots and he’s gonna beat me up so we’ll see. I’m pretty confident I can put him away. The way I’m approaching it and the way I’m looking at it, from what I’ve seen, I’m pretty confident that I can finish him.”

UFC on ESPN 12: Make your predictions for Dustin Poirier vs. Dan Hooker

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 12 event in Las Vegas.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 12 event in Las Vegas.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC on ESPN 12 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC on ESPN 12 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

Make your picks for the main card fights inside:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6

MMA Junkie Radio #3063: UFC on ESPN 11 recap – Curtis Blaydes, Max Rohskopf, more

Check out the latest edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”

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Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!

On Episode No. 3,063 of the podcast, the lads recap UFC on ESPN 11 – including interesting stories from Max Rohskopf and Curtis Blaydes – and look ahead to UFC on ESPN 12.

THE RUNDOWN

  • We recap UFC on ESPN 11 from this past Saturday
  • The situation with Max Rohskopf – which side do we fall on?
  • There was criticism toward Curtis Blaydes for his main event win. Is it warranted, and where’s he at in the division now?
  • Should the UFC hand out a big bonus for “Fight of the Year”?
  • UFC on ESPN 12 is coming up Saturday, and we look ahead to the show.

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

Dustin Poirier doesn’t like people discounting Dan Hooker at UFC on ESPN 12

Dustin Poirier doesn’t believe Dan Hooker is getting his proper due ahead of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 12 main event.

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] doesn’t believe [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] is getting his proper due ahead of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 12 main event.

Poirier (25-6 MMA, 17-5 UFC) is currently the betting favorite to beat Hooker (20-8 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in the lightweight headliner, which takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN/ESPN+. He said he’s seen a lot of discussion that he’s going to win in decisive fashion, and although that’s fully his intention, he isn’t fond of the narrative.

“I don’t like that, honestly,” Poirier told MMA Junkie. “This guy is dangerous. This guy is a top opponent a top-five ranked fighter in the UFC for a reason. I don’t look past anybody. This guy is the only thing I’m focused on right now. 25 minutes with Hooker and we’ll see what happens. I don’t like the fact that fans and stuff are just passing him over because this is a dangerous guy I’ve been preparing very seriously for.”

The roles were reversed going into Poirier’s previous fight, which was a lightweight title unification bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in September. Poirier was the sizable underdog going into that fight (which he lost by submission), so he’s experienced both sides of the coin. Of the two, he said he finds this less preferable.

Poirier, No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA lightweight rankings, said he fully understands the situation he’s in going into on fight night. No. 7-ranked Hooker is looking to catapult himself to the top of the division at his expense, and it’s Poirier’s job to prevent that from happening.

The overall goal for Poirier is to climb back to the position he was in going into the Nurmagomedov fight. He’s had more than nine months to figure out how to do that, which included recovery stint following a long overdue hip surgery that happened in October.

Poirier said the break ultimately proved beneficial, though, because he’d had to overcome some ordeals he hadn’t encountered previously in his career.

“I’ve always just submerged myself in work when I’ve lost before and just drowned everything out with hard work,” Poirier said. “This particular loss was the biggest loss of my career and also I had to get sidelined. I couldn’t just jump back in the gym and drown everything out. I had to think and sit on the couch and just watch everybody else fight. So it was more of just a mental training. I feel mentally stronger.”

For Poirier, Saturday’s fight is an all-business affair. He’s not thinking about the potential stakes of the contest, nor is he paying much mind to Hooker’s talk. Others may not be, but “The Diamond” said he’s giving this contest the respect it deserves and intends to be at his best when he steps in the octagon.

“I’m immune to (trash talk) these days,” Poirier said. “I see some stuff on Twitter whenever MMA media pushes it out as a headline or something, but other than that I don’t look into it or read too much into it. But he’s doing what he’s supposed to do. He better be saying all that stuff. He needs to believe all that stuff too, because next weekend, we gonna find out.”

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