Tag: UFC on ESPN 14

UFC in 2020: A ridiculously robust look at the stats, streaks, skids, and records

Check out a full recap of 2020’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2020’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

Darren Till vows to become UFC champion: ‘I won’t be able to retire if I don’t become one of the best’

“I just want to be the best. I can’t do anything else. I will not be able to retire if I don’t become one of the best.”

[autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] hasn’t given up on his goal of becoming UFC champion.

Till (18-3-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) was recently on the cusp of earning another shot at gold, this time at 185 pounds, but fell short in his pursuit.

The former UFC welterweight title challenger was edged out by Robert Whittaker in the UFC on ESPN 14 headliner in July, where he suffered a torn MCL in the second round.

But despite losing three of his past four, Till is confident that he still has what it takes to reach the top, and it’s only a matter of time.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of how long it takes,” Till told ESPN. “I don’t know, I have no goal. I think when the time’s ready – I know what I was put on this earth for, no one can convince me otherwise. I was put on this earth to be a champion in the UFC and be a future GOAT, so when it happens, it’s going to happen. Until then, I’m just going to enjoy my last few days here (Dubai), and then I’m going to look forward to my next fight.”

He continued, “I just want to fight, I just want to be the best. I can’t do anything else. I will not be able to retire if I don’t become one of the best. … I have to do it, I’ve got to do it, and I’m so determined and convinced. I’m going to train harder, and I’m going to be more vicious and violent as ever.”

Till said he won’t require surgery on his right knee, and while he suffered the injury early in the fight, he said he’s not one to use it as an excuse. It was a close fight, and Till thinks the performance he put up against the former UFC middleweight champion was a good indicator of where he stands in the division.

“When people give excuses and stuff over little things in life and the weight cuts or whatever, it just doesn’t cohere with me,” Till said. “You either win a fight or you lose a fight. There ain’t no ifs, buts, whats. Yeah, if my knee was a little bit better, maybe things would have been a bit different, but it was a 3-2 fight for him or 3-2 fight for me, so I haven’t left that fight thinking anything.

“He was the former champ. A few more fights, and I am going to be the champion. I want that. I see all these – when you’re doing your chats with (Daniel Cormier) and he’s calling Khabib (Nurmagomedov) the GOAT, I love seeing that because it makes me thrive to one day have my name mentioned like that. People could watch this now and be like, ‘Yeah, whatever Till,’ and people will be like, ‘Yeah, Till’s definitely going to be a GOAT,’ but it’s just what I set out to do. Step by step, I’m proving it, and I’m a high-level fighter. I’m a high-level striker in MMA.”

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MMA Junkie’s ‘Fight of the Month’ for July: A rematch between former champs delivers

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from July 2020.

With another action-packed month in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from July 2020: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Fight of the Month” award for July.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

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The Nominees

Rose Namajunas def. Jessica Andrade at UFC 251

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) got the revenge she was looking for when she defeated fellow former UFC champion [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) in their anticipated rematch.

After Andrade took the strawweight title with a stunning slam knockout in May 2019, Namajunas emerged victorious in the rematch with a split decision win. She used superior footwork and striking to win the early portion of the fight, then resisted a late push from her Brazilian foe to secure the win.

Petr Yan def. Jose Aldo via punches at UFC 251

[autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) had moments when it looked like he might become a two-division UFC champion. But in the end, [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) may have brought about a changing of the guard in the lighter weight classes.

Yan became the UFC’s new bantamweight champion with a fifth-round TKO of former featherweight champ Aldo. Yan used pinpoint striking and a dangerous overall assault to overcome the moments where Aldo looked like he could successfully turn back the clock and began a new arena in the 135-pound division.

Mounir Lazzez def. Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC on ESPN 13

[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) proved that after two years away he’s still one of the most exciting welterweights on the UFC roster. Newcomer [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) just managed to shine a little brighter, though.

Lazzez made his UFC debut as a relative unknown, but did not leave that way after beating Alhassan by unanimous decision. The pair threw down for 15 minutes, with Lazzez standing up to the trademark power of Alhassan and taking over to claim his first octagon win in the “Fight of the Night.”

Rafael Fiziev def. Marc Diakiese at UFC on ESPN+ 30

[autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) showed how different striking levels can be when he outworked a well respected standup artist in [autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) over 15 minutes of lightweight action.

Fiziev was one step ahead of Diakiese in his unanimous decision win, using techniques that were just a touch more effective than what his opponent brought to the table. In the end, both men took home an extra $50,000 for “Fight of the Night.”

Mauricio Rua def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on ESPN 14

[autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag] (27-11-1 MMA, 11-9-1 UFC) left no doubt he’s superior to [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] (23-10 MMA, 6-7 UFC) when he made it 3-0 over his longtime rival in their trilogy fight.

After “Shogun” picked up wins in the first two meetings in 2005 and 2015, Rua made it a clean series sweep over Nogueira with a split decision victory. They slugged it out in classic fashion, and although it seemed Nogueira might slide out with a win, the judges once again saw it for Rua.

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The Winner: Namajunas vs. Andrade

The rematch between Namajunas and Andrade was well worth the wait – for both Namajunas and the viewers who got to witness a tremendous scrap.

In their first meeting, at UFC 237, Andrade took the strawweight belt from Namajunas via a memorable, second-round knockout slam.

Fourteen months later, the duo met again. Namajunas put together two stellar rounds, then showed great heart in withstanding a furious third-round onslaught.

Namajunas, competing for the first time since losing the title, eked out a split decision victor with the better end of two of three 29-28 scorecards.

Andrade make clear from the jump she planned on pushing a strong pace, using fast movement to dart in and out. Namajunas, however, didn’t need much time to figure out her range, and she began using a pinpoint jab, crisp straight hands, and solid counters on the occasion Andrade manage to break through.

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This continued for the better part of two rounds, but Andrade might have the heaviest hands at 115 pounds, and she threw them, like with a wicked body shot in the second, she landed.

And then Andrade turned it on in the third. Andrade threw everything but the kitchen sink at her foe, leaving Namajunas with her nose cut open and her left eye nearly swollen shut. Things looked bad when Andrade landed a strong throw to take her opponent to the mat.

But Namajunas got back to her feet, gritted her way through the onslaught, and got to the final horn to seal the win.

“She went into desperation and started really unloading and she caught me a couple times, obviously,” Namajunas said. “But I just stayed strong.”

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Dana White: Incidents like Dan Hardy vs. Herb Dean ‘can never happen’ in UFC again

“I want to make this very clear: If you work for me and you approach a judge or a referee or any type of official, I will fire you,”

LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White has come to the defense of referees and judges in the aftermath of the highly publicized spat between [autotag]Dan Hardy[/autotag] and Herb Dean.

After UFC commentator Hardy and veteran referee Dean had a verbal confrontation in the aftermath of what many believed to be a late stoppage in Francisco Trinaldo’s TKO of Jai Herbert at UFC on ESPN 14, White has drawn a line in the sand.

“I want to make this very clear: If you work for me, and you approach a judge or a referee or any type of official, I will fire you,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Friday. “You will lose your job. You will never work for me again if you do that. Nobody has the right to – listen, you want to criticize judges, you want to criticize referees, you didn’t agree with a decision or things like that – we love Dan. Dan got emotional. The problem is now with this setup it’s a lot easier to do. It’s a lot easier to interact with everybody, from the fighters to the refs to the media and everybody.

“If you work for me in any capacit,  and you approach a referee or judge or official, I will fire you that night on the spot. That can never happen here ever again.”

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White indicated he won’t take action against Hardy after the incident. However, it appears there’s going to be a zero tolerance policy moving forward. White said he was aware of Friday’s situation at the UEA Warriors 12 event in Abu Dhabi, where referee Marc Goddard was shoved and grabbed by a fighter who’d just choked his opponent but wouldn’t immediately release, leading to a disqualification.

It’s clear White doesn’t want that type of conduct to happen in the UFC, nor anything like what happened between Hardy and Dean. He said his message goes directly to Hardy, but it applies to everyone.

“I’m speaking to him right now,” White said. “I’m speaking to everybody. Don’t ever do it ever again. And if you’re a fighter, and you put your hands on or threaten any official, you will never, ever fight here again. Period.”

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MMA Junkie’s ‘Submission of the Month’ for July: The nastiest kneebar ever?

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from July 2020.

With another action-packed month in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from July 2020: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Month” award for July.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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The Nominees

Makwan Amirkhani def. Danny Henry at UFC 251

[autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has scored another submission victory in the UFC featherweight division against Danny Henry (12-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) — and he earned some points for good sportsmanship, too.

Amirkhani submitted Henry with his signature move, the anaconda choke. Amirkhani wasted little time finishing his opponent. Then he wasted even less time bringing him back to consciousness, as Amirkhani immediately helped officials raise Henry’s legs to bring back the blood flow back toward his head.

Ariane Lipski def. Luana Carolina at UFC on ESPN+ 30

[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) promised to bring back the “Queen of Violence” against Luana Carolina (6-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), and that’s exactly what happened when she finished the women’s flyweight fight in the first round.

Lipski secured one of the nastiest kneebar finishes in UFC history against Carolina, doing so from a rather precarious position. They got tangle up on the mat and Lipski grabbed the leg of her opponent and pulled it in an awkward direction, forcing a screaming tap-out from Carolina.

Jack Hermansson def. Kelvin Gastelum at UFC on ESPN+ 30

[autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) pulled off one of the biggest wins of his career when he submitted Kelvin Gastelum (16-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) in a high-stakes middleweight bout.

Hermansson need just 78 seconds to lock in a tight heel hook on Gastelum and finish the fight. A clinch exchange early in the fight saw Gastelum end up on top. Hermansson’s didn’t just a small opening to make his move, though, and latched onto the submission that Gastelum couldn’t escape from without giving up.

Deiveson Figueiredo def. Joseph Benavidez at UFC on ESPN+ 30

[autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) left no doubt he’s the top flyweight currently competing in the UFC when he obliterated Joseph Benavidez (28-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) in the first round, this time officially claiming the UFC title.

Figueiredo missed weight for the first meeting and did not get a belt despite getting a knockout. He dropped Benavidez with strikes multiple times in the rematch, but was fishing for the submission. Figueiredo finally locked on a rear-naked choke that could not be escaped, and Benavidez was submitted for the first time in his career.

Fabricio Werdum def. Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on ESPN 14

43-year-old [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag] (24-9-1 MMA, 12-6 UFC) showed he can still get the job done at a high level on the mat, as he spoiled the heavyweight debut of Alexander Gustafsson (18-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC).

The former UFC champ only needed one opening to take the fight to the mat, and when he did, it was game over. Werdum got into position for an armbar on Gustafsson, who fought mightily for roughly one minute. He could only resist Werdum’s jiu-jitsu prowess for so long, though, and eventfully the tap came.

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The Winner: Ariane Lipski

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Human knees are not meant to bend in the direction Carolina found her left knee going into against Lipski.

Lipski, an impressive competitor out of Brazil, saw an opening in a grappling exchange, straightened the leg out, and leaned all the way back, causing Carolina to tap at the 1:38 mark of the opening round in their UFC on ESPN+ 30 main card bout at Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

That marked both the seventh first-round finish in Lipski’s career, and the second-fastest submission victory in UFC women’s flyweight history.

“She was trying to take my neck,” Lipski said in her post-fight interview. “I have trained this sub before then I pushed her leg and I was pretty sure it was working.”

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Tom Aspinall amused by ‘young Frank Mir’ comparisons, but won’t rush his career after 45-second win

British heavyweight Tom Aspinall reacts after his eye-catching 45-second TKO victory on his octagon debut at UFC on ESPN 14.

ABU DHABI – [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] beat Jake Collier via first-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card of UFC on ESPN 14 on Yas Island.

Take a look inside the fight with Aspinall, who registered an eye-catching performance on his octagon debut in only his 10th career fight.

Result: Tom Aspinall def. Jake Collier via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:45
Records: Tom Aspinall (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Jake Collier (11-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC)
Key stat: Aspinall’s 45-second win saw him claim the fourth-fastest finish for a debuting heavyweight in modern-era UFC history.

Aspinall on feeling at home in the octagon on the fight’s key moment

“It feels amazing, but this is something I’ve seen in my mind for a long time. I was looking across the octagon and I felt completely normal. I’m not too up, to be honest with you, because I feel like I’ve seen it all before, and I feel great.”

Aspinall on having to wait for his UFC debut

“I think it worked out quite well for me, to be quite honest. I had some injuries, I had some personal stuff going on. It sounds something small, but when I got to the UFC, I’d never had a diet in my life before, and I got put on a diet that wasn’t right for me and I didn’t feel great. … I just felt really flat when I was training. This time I sorted out properly with a real nutritionist and a proper chef and stuff, and I feel amazing.”

Aspinall on not rushing to the top

“Not very fast, to be honest. I’ve just turned 27. I want to to be doing this until I’m 35 at least, 37. I dunno, at least another 10 years-ish. I ain’t got much experience, so I want to fight guys around my level, I don’t want to step up too quick, I on’t want to be rushed and I just want to gain my experience slowly and get to the top when I’m ready.”

Aspinall on social media suggesting he looked like a young Frank Mir

“I mean, he’s a good-looking guy, but he’s at least 10 years older than me, so I’m not that happy with that! But he’s a good-looking guy, so I’ll take it!”

To hear more from Aspinall, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

UFC on ESPN 14’s Movsar Evloev talks win over Mike Grundy, future plans

Some nifty work on the mat propelled undefeated Movsar Evloev to his latest UFC victory.

ABU DHABI — [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] came into his UFC on ESPN 14 fight with a reputation for outstanding grappling, and he certainly lived up to his billing Saturday.

The Russian featherweight remained unbeaten after demonstrating his proficiency on the mat over and over — as well as showing good standup work — in his unanimous decision victory over Mike Grundy.

“He did exactly what I expected from him,” Evloev said after the fight. “I am young, still undefeated and I got a win over a very tough opponent. I am hoping it will send UFC a message, that I am ready for top opponents. I would like to fight Arnold Allen because I think I could beat him and take his place. I am one step closer to the UFC gold and it’s just a matter of time when I will get it.”

To hear Evloev’s full postfight interview with reporters, including MMA Junkie, watch the video above.

UFC on ESPN 14 took place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card aired on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

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Jesse Ronson describes going ‘to hell and back’ for his first UFC win after six years away

Check out what Jesse Ronson had to say after his submission win at UFC on ESPN 14.

ABU DHABI – [autotag]Jesse Ronson[/autotag] beat Nicolas Dalby with a first-round read-naked choke finish Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 14 in Abu Dhabi.

Take a look inside the fight with Ronson, who returned to the UFC for the first time in six years.

Result: Jesse Ronson def. Nicolas Dalby via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:48
Updated records: Ronson (22-10 MMA, 1-3 UFC), Dalby (18-4-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC)
Key stat: It was Ronson’s first UFC win in four tries after an 0-3 run from 2013-2014.

On his performance

“I figured out all his little shoulder jukes and everything else, and I could time him. Did I think I was gonna get the submission? No. Nobody’s ever finished this guy, and he’s fought some really good guys. Does that mean I’m better than those guys? Absolutely not. MMA math doesn’t make sense. I was hoping for the TKO, but he’s got a hard head, and he just presented his neck when he turned. And I’m not letting go. I’m gonna steal your soul. I just squeezed the crap out of him.”

On what it means to finally get his first UFC win

“It’s unbelievable. I’ve been waiting for this my whole life to get that UFC win ever since I turned pro. It eluded me in 2013 and 2014, but it’s better than a birthday and better than Christmas. … A lot of people would’ve quit, and they would’ve stopped. A lot of people have quit. They make it to the UFC, doesn’t work out, and they just quit. That’s not me. I’ll never stop. I was born to fight. I was born to punch people in the face. I knew there was a lot of growing that needed to be done, especially as a fighter and as a man and as a human being, and I’ve done all that. It sucks that it’s taken this long. I’m 34 now. I’ll go back to this this line: Now that I’m here, and I’ve got this win, I’m here for a good time. Hopefully it lasts a long, and I’m gonna make the most of my time.”

On almost quitting during his long road back

“After I got released from the UFC, they told me get a couple of wins, and we’ll take you back. I got a couple of wins, and they didn’t take me back. And I dropped three in a row. At that point, I took a big, deep breath and I was like, ‘Is this it?’ It took a lot of people close to me telling me, ‘Jesse, you shouldn’t give up.’ At that time, TKO came back, and I always wanted to be a champion there. … So I went there, got on a hot streak, won two titles. It gave me my confidence back. It gave me that ability to grow up and flourish and become the man that I am today to get that ‘W’ I got today. It’s been to hell and back, and here I am.”

Alex Oliveira: I hope my UFC on ESPN 14 win vs. Peter Sobotta shows that ‘Cowboy’ is back

“I had a few hiccups like any other fighter will have, but I hope this shows that I’m back.”

ABU DHABI – With his back against the wall, [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] has turned things around in 2020.

Oliveira (22-8-1 MMA, 11-6 UFC) defeated Peter Sobotta via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 14 on Saturday, marking his second straight win.

At one point Oliveira had won six of eight fights, enduring a rough stretch from late 2018 through 2019 when he suffered three straight losses to Gunnar Nelson, Mike Perry, and Nicolas Dalby.

However, Oliveira was able to snap that losing streak with a split decision win over Max Griffin at UFC 248 in March, followed by a win over Sobotta, which he hopes propels him one step closer to cracking the top 15 welterweight rankings.

“I hope this shows that ‘Cowboy’ is back (and) that I’m strong,” Oliveira told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during the post-fight news conference. “I had a few hiccups like any other fighter will have, but I hope this shows that I’m back and puts me back in the top 15 maybe this fight or the next fight.”

Oliveira is looking to keep this momentum going, but with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, that might be a little difficult. However, should the UFC return to Abu Dhabi later in the year, he wants in.

“I gotta talk to my manager and my coaches,” Oliveira said. “I’m in one piece, I’m ready to fight again, but obviously the pandemic shut the world down. Maybe we come back to “Fight Island.”

Oliveira continued, “I hope to be back still this year, I hope our boss puts us back in there. The pandemic has kinda stopped the world, Brazilians can’t enter the U.S. so we will see.”

UFC on ESPN 14 took place Saturday at Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The main card and prelims simulcasted on ESPN and ESPN+.

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Spinning Back Clique: Herb Dean. Dan Hardy. Who’s right about stoppage controversy?

Check out this week’s edition of “Spinning Back Clique,” which unpacks what went down at UFC on ESPN 14 and Bellator 242.

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week, Simon Head hosts and is joined by MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and “Goze,” as well as MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn.

SHOW TOPICS

  • It all got a little heated cageside at UFC on ESPN 14 as [autotag]Dan Hardy[/autotag] and Herb Dean exchanged views after Francisco Trinaldo’s third-round TKO finish of Jai Herbert. Hardy clearly was livid at what he thought was an egregious late stoppage, but Dean has since come out and defended his handling of the fight, saying there was no late stoppage. It’s sparked a lot of debate, so whose side are you on in this situation? Team Dean or Team Hardy?
  • Former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] bounced back from his title defeat to Israel Adesanya as he returned from a nine-month layoff to outpoint Darren Till in Saturday night’s main event. Whittaker said afterward that he’s “championship-level,” but what did you make of his display, and do you think “Bobby Knuckles” will go on to eventually recapture the 185-pound strap?
  • Swedish grappling sensation [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag] was the talk of “Fight Island” this past week after registering two stoppage wins in 10 days. Now the super confident Chimaev wants to mix it up with some of the division’s best and has vowed to “smash them all.” He even called out Demian Maia and challenged the Brazilian to see whose grappling is best. Are you aboard the Chimaev hype train, or does everyone need to slow down?
  • Saturday night’s event saw a ton of callouts, but one of the most interesting came from [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]. The former UFC champion has beaten a who’s who of heavyweight greats, including [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag]. After his victory over Alexander Gustafsson, “Vai Cavalo” said he wanted to face “The Last Emperor” one more time. Does this mean the free agent is a lock to join Bellator, or do you think there’s a better landing spot for him elsewhere? And is the Fedor rematch one that you’d be excited to see 10 years later?
  • Speaking of Bellator, the promotion was back in action this weekend with Bellator 242 marking its long-awaited emergence from the COVID-19 lockdown. It was only a seven-fight card, but there were some important victories on the night. Whose performance excited you the most on Friday night at Mohegan Sun, and what did you make of Bellator’s first show back?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 39 of “Spinning Back Clique” above.