Tag: UFC on ESPN 14

Alexander Gustafsson on sparring Fabricio Werdum years prior to UFC on ESPN 14: ‘I beat him bad’

“I beat him in that sparring session. I beat him bad … then he didn’t want to spar me no more.”

ABU DHABI – It appears there’s a bit of history between [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag] and [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag].

Gustafsson (18-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC), the former three-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger, will move up to heavyweight to face former champion Werdum (23-9-1 MMA, 11-6 UFC) on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 14, which takes place at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and airs on ESPN.

Though Gustafsson is entering a new weight class, he’s already quite familiar with Werdum, he said. When asked about a sparring session in 2012 where Werdum claims he got the better Gustafsson, “The Mauler” set the record straight and revealed he actually got the better of the Brazilian, and even “broke his nose.”

“We had a good sparring,” Gustafsson told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Tuesday at UFC on ESPN 14 media day. “I went all in, him and me and it was a good sparring. I don’t remember who I was fighting back then, but I was in camp, he was in camp for a fight, but make history short, I beat him in that sparring session. I beat him bad…then he didn’t want to spar me no more.”

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Gustafsson said he’s certainly not expecting that version of Werdum on fight night. He suspects Werdum, who also hasn’t been too active as of late, to be in good form.

“That was a different world, a different time,” Gustafsson said. “I see Werdum in his best shape right now. I actually saw him out there and said hello to him, but he looks fit, he looks ready to go so I’m really excited for this one.”

Gustafsson’s fight at UFC on ESPN 14 marks his first since June 2019. The Swede walked away from the sport after suffering a fourth-round submission loss to Anthony Smith at UFC on ESPN+ 11 in his hometown of Stockholm.

He admits that he reacted emotionally when announcing his retirement and the heartbreaking loss to Smith prompted that decision. At heavyweight, he has new life and now that he no longer has to drain himself to make the 205-pound limit. Because of that, Gustafsson said he expects to have numerous advantages in his new weight class.

“My speed (will be key),” Gustafsson said. “I basically took everything from the light heavyweight division to heavyweight now, and I feel so much stronger. I perform better now than I did as a light heavyweight in my training camps so I feel strong, I feel fast, I’m ready.

“I want to be active. I’m here to stay, I’m not going anywhere so let’s see what happens.”

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Robert Whittaker: Darren Till’s left hand ‘all he’s got’ at UFC on ESPN 14

“I have so many dangerous shots, I’m so creative, I have so many angles I can exploit. He’s got his left hand. That’s all he’s got.”

ABU DHABI – [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] thinks he has a lot more ways to win than [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 14.

Former UFC middleweight champion Whittaker (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) meets Till (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC) in Saturday’s main event at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. A win could propel either man to the No. 1 contender spot.

It’s a matchup between two of the division’s best strikers, and although Whittaker is wary of Till’s power left hand, he thinks he brings a lot more tools to the table.

“His biggest threat is his left hand and he knows that as well,” Whittaker told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Tuesday’s UFC on ESPN 14 media day. “That’s where I think I match up so much better against him than he does with me because my biggest threat is too many of them. I have so many dangerous shots, I’m so creative. I have so many angles I can exploit. He’s got his left hand. That’s all he’s got. Everything else I got covered.

“He runs that down the pipe and he’s so well at using it. I’m not taking anything away from him, he’s used it on a dozen guys and he’s knocked him out so I’ve got to be aware of that, I’ve got to give it respect, but I got so many angles he has to be aware of.”

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After losing his title to Israel Adesanya in October at UFC 243, Whittaker said he came to a realization that he was burnt out, which prompted him to take some time off.

He was scheduled to face Jared Cannonier at UFC 248 in March, but withdrew and the fight was scrapped from the card. A few months later and Whittaker got that itch to compete again.

He said the time away helped reignite his passion for the sport, and he’s motivated as ever going into his comeback fight from losing the belt.

“I’m just happy,” Whittaker said. “I’m alive again. The fire for the sport has been there. I’m enjoying all angles of it. I’m enjoying media week. I’m enjoying the weight cut. I’m enjoying my time in isolation. That’s a massive change and just feeling that way means I’m gonna go in that octagon, happy as Larry, and I’m just gonna get to work. I’m just gonna have fun.”

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UFC on ESPN 14 free fight: Robert Whittaker makes statement with stoppage win over ‘Jacare’

Ahead of his main event Saturday, watch Robert Whittaker’s finish over ‘Jacare’ Souza at UFC on Fox 24.

When [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] was matched up against his toughest test to date, he shined.

Riding a six-fight winning streak, Whittaker (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) faced [autotag]Ronaldo Souza[/autotag] at UFC on FOX 24 in April 2017, where he proved that he was a legitimate contender at 185 pounds.

Souza pressed Whittaker early, while Whittaker stayed light on his feet, moving side-to-side to regain center of the octagon. Souza then stacked Whittaker against the cage, dragging him down to the mat briefly, but Whittaker defended well and broke free. Whittaker continued to pepper Souza with the jab, lunging forward with combinations.

In Round 2, Whittaker dropped Souza with a big right hand but didn’t spend too much time in Souza’s guard, letting him back up. Whittaker continued to stalk Souza, eventually landing a head kick, which stunned “Jacare.” Whittaker was all over him, splitting Souza open with big elbows of the ground-and-pound variety until the referee stopped the fight.

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Whittaker went on to beat Yoel Romero twice en route to capturing the UFC middleweight title. However, in his last outing at UFC 243, he lost his title when he was stopped by Israel Adesanya in the second round of their clash.

Whittaker returns Saturday when he meets [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 14 headliner at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

Before he faces Till, relive Whittaker’s finish over Souza in the video above.

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UFC on ESPN 14: Make your predictions for Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 14 event in Abu Dhabi.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 14 event in Abu Dhabi.

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 14 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC on ESPN 14 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

Make your picks for all six main card fights inside:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8

Darren Till: ‘Sensitive’ Mike Perry is never going to fight me, ‘I’d lift him straight off his feet’

“Come on mate, we both know that’s not gonna happen. I’m six-foot-two, I’d lift him straight off his feet.”

[autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] won’t back down from [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag]’s threats, but he doubts they will ever meet in the octagon.

What started as banter, including a sparring session in August 2018, has turned into a budding rivalry, and words have gotten ugly between the two fighters.

At one point, Till (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC) and Perry (14-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) were angling for a fight at welterweight, but their careers have taken different directions, with Perry alternating wins and losses and Till moving up to middleweight.

But since then, Till has been jabbing at Perry on social media, lobbing insults at his new girlfriend, which didn’t sit well with Perry. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Perry didn’t mince his words towards Till, claiming that he wanted to “jump kick his mom in the face.”

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Since the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced people indoors, Till has been having a laugh with seemingly everyone on social media, including UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

For him, it was all fun and games and nothing personal, but clearly Perry was not on the same page.

“It was time, nothing to do, one training session a day,” Till told BT Sport. “We were all bored out of our minds. I thought, ‘How can I make this a better experience for everyone who follows me?’ so everyone knows I was having jokes with the champ and that, then having jokes with Mike Perry, took it the wrong way. That’s all I did, and I’ve got a good sense of humor and I know how to write things and word things.”

A fight with Perry is certainly not on Till’s radar, who will look to cement himself as the No. 1 contender at 185 pounds with a win over former UFC champ Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC on ESPN 14 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

So Till thinks Perry is just overreacting and should worry about his own career since he doubts they’ll ever cross paths.

And he warns him that if Perry ever did try and confront him, things wouldn’t go well.

“I think it’s just because he’s got a new girl and stuff that probably little bit offended his sensitivity, but that’s the fight game, mate,” Till said. “You have to be able to take it all on the chin, and he obviously can’t, so he’s talking like next time he sees me, he’s gonna poke me in the eye or something. Come on mate, we both know that’s not gonna happen. I’m 6-foot-2. I’d lift him straight off his feet, but I don’t take offense to it.

“Let him take offense to it. I hope he does well. I hope he gets the fights he wants. He’s never going to fight me. I’m fighting contenders, former champs. He needs to worry about his path first, before he starts worrying about me because he ain’t getting that fight.”

Earlier in the month, a video surfaced showing Perry punching a man outside a restaurant in Lubbock, Texas. A police report was filed, but no arrests were made. According to a statement provided by the UFC, Perry will seek treatment for alcohol dependency before any return to the cage.

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