Tag: UFC on ESPN 23

Video: Jiri Prochazka all the rage after UFC on ESPN 23 knockout. Title shot automatic?

The UFC light heavyweight division was put on notice this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 23: Jiri Prochazka is the real deal.

The UFC light heavyweight division was put on notice this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 23: [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] is the real deal.

Prochazka, a former Rizin FF champion making just his second UFC appearance, scored a “Knockout of the Year” contender by obliterating ex-title challenger Dominick Reyes with a spinning elbow in the second round of their main event. It was, without a doubt, a statement-making performance from the 28-year-old Prochazka (28-3-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) who has a strong case for a title shot.

Unfortunately for him, champion Jan Blachowicz is booked to defend his title Sept. 4 against Glover Teixeira. If he waited for his shot, it likely wouldn’t be until the end of the year that we’d see Prochazka compete again.

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So, should he wait, or should he stay active and take another fight – but against whom? The “Spinning Back Clique” panel of “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Nolan King broke it down with host John Morgan.

You can watch their discussion in the video above, or check out this week’s full episode below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UKre8JhVY0

 

UFC on ESPN 23 medical suspensions: Dominick Reyes among four facing six months

See the full medical suspensions for the fighters who competed at UFC on ESPN 23.

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[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] suffered quite a bit of damage in his knockout loss to [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag].

Reyes, who was on the receiving end of a spinning back elbow knockout by Prochazka in the second round of the UFC on ESPN 23 main event, will need his bilateral nasal bone fractures, right displaced orbital medial wall fracture, and left displaced orbital zygomatic arch fracture cleared by a doctor or he could be out for six months.

On Tuesday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of the UFC on ESPN 23 medical suspensions handed out by the Nevada Athletic Commission from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commission’s official recordkeeper.

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag], who battled Dustin Jacoby to a split draw, needs a nasal X-ray and doctor clearance, or he, too, could be out for six months. [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag], who defeated Randa Markos via disqualification when she was struck with an upkick, is also looking at six months but not for the illegal blow. Pinheiro must have her left fourth finger avulsion of middle phalanx cleared by a doctor before she can resume to action. The fourth fighter facing potential a 180-day term is [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag], who must have an X-ray on his left hand.

The full list of UFC on ESPN 23 medical suspensions includes:

Dominick Reyes issues statement on KO loss to Jiri Prochazka: ‘What an elbow’

Dominick Reyes issues his first post-fight comments since his knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC on ESPN 23.

[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] has issues his first post-fight comments since his knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka in the UFC on ESPN 23 main event.

Reyes (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) saw his losing skid his three fights this past Saturday when he was on the receiving end of just the third spinning back elbow knockout in UFC history against Prochazka (28-3-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in their light heavyweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

It was a scary scene when Reyes went down, as he face-planted to the canvas in awkward fashion, landing on his head first. After a few minutes, he was able to return to his feet an leave the octagon under his own power, but questions about his future followed after a violent finish and third consecutive defeat.

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Reyes appears to be in positive spirts, though, because he finally commented on the outcome against Prochazka on Monday, and offered an optimistic viewpoint of his career situation (via Instagram):

https://www.instagram.com/p/COb2G3MpTxN

“Finally home and surrounded by those I love, I’d like to say, I went out there and fought with all my heart! I put it all out there or I’m glad it was entertaining for most of you. I’m happy and upset as you can imagine I didn’t get the desired outcome. But I went out and fought and for that I can say I’m proud. I love this game and at times it does not love me back but that’s what we have all signed up for. I want to say I’m doing good healing up I’ll be OK. And congrats to @JiriProchazka hell of a fight and what an elbow. It’s the ones you don’t see coming that get you. God bless you all and I’ll see you guys at the next one.

After starting his career with 12 consecutive wins, Reyes hasn’t seen his hand raised since October 2019. He went into a title fight with Jon Jones undefeated, and arguably should’ve got his hand raised over the long-reigning champ. The judges didn’t see it in his favor, though, and he’s since been stopped by Jan Blachowicz in a vacant title fight and Prochazka in a main event.

Now it remains to be seen what happens next with “The Dominator.”

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Manager to appeal Kai Kamaka’s controversial loss to TJ Brown at UFC on ESPN 23

Kai Kamaka’s manager will file an appeal following his client’s controversial loss at UFC on ESPN 23.

[autotag]Kai Kamaka[/autotag]’s manager will file an appeal following his client’s controversial loss at UFC on ESPN 23.

Kamaka (8-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) dropped a split decision to TJ Brown (15-8 MMA, 1-2 UFC) this past Saturday. Judge Adalaide Byrd awarded him all three rounds, but judges Sal D’Amato and Mike Bell scored it 2-1 in favor of Brown, giving him the first and third rounds.

All 12 media members scoring the night’s contests as tracked by MMADecisions.com awarded the fight to Kamaka, but the official result read otherwise. According to MMA Fighting, Kamaka’s manager, Brian Butler, will file an appeal with the Nevada Athletic Commission on Monday with hopes of getting the result overturned.

“Tomorrow we will be filing an appeal for the blatantly horrible decision against Kai Kamaka,” Butler told MMA Fighting. “I don’t believe I have seen one media outlet that gave that fight to TJ, and from what I understand, even TJ and his team say they didn’t win. There is little to no recourse on these judges not being able to do their jobs properly, and for a fighter like Kai who moved his entire household from Hawaii to pursue this career, it’s simply not right.

“I’m not suggesting that the fight wasn’t competitive, but that doesn’t mean it was hard to see that Kai won every round of that fight. Our hope is that if they won’t overturn the decision, the commission will at least review the fight with us and explain to us where Kai lost.”

It’s historically rare for a decision to get overturned, and Kamaka’s team is aware of that. His head coach Eric Nicksick explained he just wants the judges to give an explanation for their decision.

“The chances this gets overturned is slim to none. So why bother you ask? Well, if this means that these judges have to go before a review board and justify what they saw and why they made this decision, and it’s an inconvenience to their day, then good.”

Kamaka, who’s now dropped two straight, also gave his thoughts on his controversial loss to Brown.

“Last night 2 judges didn’t see it my way. It was a very competitive fight with both winning and losing moments. With that being said, I do feel that I won based on the criteria of our sport. Thank you to TJ Brown for a great scrap!!!”

While the judging of the contest has been hotly debated, according to UFC Stats (which judges do not have access to when assessing the bout), Brown did land 82 significant strikes over the course of the three-round contest, compared to 61 for Kamaka. Brown was also credited with two takedowns in the bout, while Kamaka was awarded just one.

In the rounds that were given to Brown, he was also credited with a striking advantage, including 34 strikes in Round 1 to Kamaka’s 22, as well as a 24-to-13 edge in Round 3.

UFC on ESPN 23 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card aired on ESPN2.

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Merab Dvalishvili happy to prove Cody Stamann wrong: ‘I guess it was a mistake for him’

Victorious at UFC on ESPN 23, UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili is glad to have proved to Cody Stamann he’s no easy fight.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] proved to Cody Stamann he’s no easy fight.

The UFC bantamweight contender bested Stamann (19-4-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) in a unanimous decision on the opening bout of the main card at Saturdays’ UFC on ESPN 23 event in Las Vegas. Dvalishvili (13-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) outpointed Stamann with a 30-27 and two 29-28 scores on the three judges’ scorecards.

In a pre-fight interview during the UFC on ESPN 23 media day, Stamann told reporters his teammates encouraged him to take the fight with Dvalishvili because they thought it would be a good matchup for him after having trained with Dvalishvili at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.

“He said after the second fight got canceled he didn’t want to fight with me, but his teammates told him I’m not that strong, I haven’t beaten anybody good, and I should be easy fight for him and that he should fight me,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie at the UFC on ESPN 23 post-fight press conference. “I guess it was a mistake for him.”

Dvalishvili has been training in Las Vegas along with his Serra-Longo teammate and UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling due to New York’s COVID-19 restrictions on gyms.

He feels like he was misjudged from the his work in Las Vegas, having trained with teammates of Stamann.

“I’m training with Serra-Longo team always. We always train to make each other better and we don’t hurt each other this is training,” Dvalishvili explained. “Maybe I guess I was training light with those guys and maybe someone was thinking I was easy, but I guess I’m not easy. But I want to be respectful to Cody Stamann. He’s a great fighter and he is a good team and I respect his coaches and everybody.”

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As far as what’s next, Dvalishvili, who’s now on a six-fight winning streak, wants a step up in competition. He has many names in mind, but he’d like to face a former UFC champion.

“There is four other former champions in our weight class,” Dvalishvili said. “T.J. Dillashaw, Jose Aldo, Cody Garbrandt and Dominick Cruz and Frankie Edgar. But I don’t want to fight Frankie Edgar. I have a lot of respect for him and he’s a legend. He deserves a title fight or something big. He’s a legend. Other guys, why do they have to wait so long? They have to fight me and move forward.”

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Giga Chikadze wants Max Holloway or Calvin Kattar after UFC on ESPN 23 knockout

UFC featherweight Giga Chikadze hopes to get Max Holloway or Calvin Kattar after TKO win over Cub Swanson at UFC on ESPN 23.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]is aiming high in the rankings.

The rising UFC featherweight contender wants to take on a high-caliber opponent following his most recent win inside the octagon. Chikadze (13-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) put away veteran Cub Swanson a little more than a minute into their co-main event at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 23 event in Las Vegas.

Chikadze stopped Swanson (27-12 MMA, 12-8 UFC) with strikes after a body kick that folded Swanson and sent him down to the canvas. After the performance, the Georgian fighter didn’t hesitate to call out former UFC champion Max Holloway and top contender Calvin Kattar.

“I was in Georgia when Max fought Calvin. I was doing commentary for the fight, and I enjoyed this fight, and every time he was doing something nice I was like, ‘I want to fight him. I want to fight him,'” Chikadze told MMA Junkie at the UFC on ESPN 23 post-fight news conference. “I feel like after this type of performance, I might get it – if not, then I might get (Kattar).”

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Chikadze is now on an eight-fight winning streak with six of those victories being under the UFC lights. He’s currently ranked in the top 15 of the UFC’s 145-pound division.

The former GLORY kickboxer made big headlines with his callouts of Holloway and Kattar, but it wasn’t the only talking point from his bout. His finish over Swanson was one for the highlight reel.

“I’ve been in this moment many times with my kick,” Chikadze said. “My liver kick – my ‘Giga kick’ – this type of kick that you hurt somebody but they’re still not unconscious, they still feel everything and they can see it. It kind of blocks your body to do everything. I’ve been doing this in karate and kickboxing and I’ve had this type of experience every time. When I felt that, I realized I had already won the fight. I saw what the referee was doing and because he did’t stop me I continued just to make him think that it’s over.”

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Mick Maynard’s Shoes: What’s next for Jiri Prochazka after UFC on ESPN 23 win?

See whom Jiri Prochazka should fight next after his victory over Dominick Reyes in the UFC on ESPN 23 headliner.

(ALSO SEE: Mick Maynard’s Shoes: What’s next for Dominick Reyes after UFC on ESPN 23 loss?)

[autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]’s first UFC main event appearance delivered in spades, and his spectacular knockout of Dominick Reyes likely earned him a light heavyweight title shot.

In just his second octagon appearance, Prochazka (28-3-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was positioned to headline Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 23 card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas against two-time title challenger Reyes (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC). He couldn’t have asked for a better result.

Prochazka knocked out Reyes with just the third spinning back elbow in UFC history, finishing the job late in the second round of a wild “Fight of the Night’ slugfest. He’s now 22-1-1 in his past 24 fights, and has quickly made a mark under the UFC banner.

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UFC president Dana White said prior to UFC on ESPN 23 that the winner of the main event would be next to challenge the winner of the September title fight between Jan Blachowicz (28-8 MMA, 11-5 UFC) and Glover Teixeira (32-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC). But is that where Prochazka is headed?

Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on Prochazka’s future after UFC on ESPN 23.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0ttb9rt9Ow

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Mick Maynard’s Shoes: What’s next for Dominick Reyes after UFC on ESPN 23 loss?

See whom Dominick Reyes should fight next after his loss to Jiri Prochazka in the UFC on ESPN 23 headliner.

(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Jiri Prochazka after UFC on ESPN 23 win?)

[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag]’ slump hit a new low point Saturday when he was on the receiving end of a “Knockout of the Year” candidate in the UFC on ESPN 23 main event.

Reyes (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) losing skid hit three consecutive fights when he succumbed to a crushing spinning back elbow knockout from Jiri Prochazka (28-3-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the second round of their light heavyweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He started his career with 12 consecutive wins, but now Reyes hasn’t tasted victory in more than two years.

Granted, there’s nothing to be ashamed of in dropping fights to Prochazka, Jan Blachowicz and Jon Jones – the latter of whom many believe he beat – but on paper alone, it doesn’t look great. The damage he sustained against Prochazka could be the type of finish that forever hinders a fighter, but it remains to be seen how it impacts Reyes.

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A medical suspension and time off is most definitely on the horizon for Reyes, but what’s to come in his career after that? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future after UFC on ESPN 23.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0ttb9rt9Ow

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UFC on ESPN 23 post-event facts: Jiri Prochazka’s KO of Dominick Reyes was historic

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 23, which saw Jiri Prochazka brutally knock out Dominick Reyes in Las Vegas.

The UFC’s busy May schedule kicked off on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 23 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card aired on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.

The main event of the night featured a knockout for the ages. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] (28-3-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) landed just the third spinning back elbow knockout in UFC history when he flattened [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the second round of their light heavyweight contender matchup, seemingly securing a title shot for himself.

For more on the numbers to come out of the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 40 post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 23.