Tag: UFC on ESPN 26

Rodolfo Vieira plans to bounce back from massive upset loss at UFC on ESPN 26

Rodolfo Vieira intends to move past his devastating first MMA loss with a big win at UFC on ESPN 26.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag] intends to move past his devastating first MMA loss on Saturday with a big win at UFC on ESPN 26.

Vieira (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was on the receiving end of one of the biggest upsets of the year thus far in February when he was submitted by Anthony Hernandez. It was a shocking outcome because of Vieira’s grappling credentials, but he said he’s made the fixes.

“I was not expecting to be submitted like that, but I was so exhausted,” Vieira told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 26 media day. “So tired that anybody could have submitted me in that situation.”

Vieira will attempt to bounce back at UFC on ESPN 26 when he meets Dustin Stoltzfus (13-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a middleweight bout. The event takes place at the UFC Apex and airs on ESPN.

The Brazilian thinks he can rebound in a big way against Stoltzfus, and said that’s his plan.

Watch the video above to hear Vieira’s complete UFC on ESPN 26 media day interview, where he discusses the loss to Hernandez, his fear when fighting, and more.

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Abubakar Nurmagomedov injured; Daniel Rodriguez needs new UFC on ESPN 26 opponent

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin has withdrawn from what was scheduled to be his third UFC appearance.

Scheduled to fight in nine days, [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] is now opponent-less.

[autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] has withdrawn from their July 17 fight, which was previously expected to take place at UFC on ESPN 26 in Las Vegas. The promotion is currently seeking a replacement.

Rodriguez (14-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) was first to announce the change in an Instagram story posted Wednesday. MMA Junkie later confirmed the news with a person close to the situation who asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Nurmagomedov (13-2-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has shown glimpses of brilliance in his UFC tenure to date but has struggled to stay active. Since his UFC signing in 2018, Nurmagomedov has only competed twice. However, this is the first fight he’s withdrawn from in his promotional tenure.

The updated lineup for UFC on ESPN 26 now includes:

  • Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises
  • Marion Reneau vs. Miesha Tate
  • Mateusz Gamrot vs. Jeremy Stephens
  • Dustin Stoltzfus vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Daniel Rodriguez vs. TBA
  • Gabriel Benitez vs. Billy Quarantillo
  • Phil Hawes vs. TBA
  • Amanda Lemos vs. Montserrat Ruiz
  • Manel Kape vs. Ode Osbourne
  • Sergey Morozov vs. Khalid Taha
  • Don Madge vs. TBA
  • Anderson dos Santos vs. Miles Johns
  • Francisco Figueredo vs. Malcolm Gordon
  • Alan Baudot vs. Rodrigo Nascimento

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Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises elevated to UFC on ESPN 26 main event on July 17

Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moises are being put in the spotlight for the first time in their UFC careers.

[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] and [autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag] are being put in the spotlight for the first time in their UFC careers.

Makhachev (19-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) and Moises (15-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC), already booked to meet at UFC on ESPN 26 on July 17, now will serve as the night’s five-round main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie’s John Morgan of the switch, which comes after Max Holloway was forced to withdraw from the original headliner against Yair Rodriguez.

Makhachev, No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings, is riding a seven-fight winning streak at 155 pounds and is coming off a submission victory over Drew Dober at UFC 259 in March.

Rather than facing the top-ranked name he was asking for, though, Makhachev will clash with unranked Moises, who has put together consecutive wins over Alexander Hernandez, Bobby Green and Michael Johnson.

The updated lineup for UFC on ESPN 26 now includes:

  • Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises
  • Marion Reneau vs. Miesha Tate
  • Amir Albazi vs. Ode Osbourne
  • Sergey Morozov vs. Khalid Taha
  • Guram Kutateladze vs. Don Madge
  • Gabriel Benitez vs. Billy Quarantillo
  • Francisco Figueredo vs. Malcolm Gordon
  • Anderson dos Santos vs. Miles Johns
  • Alan Baudot vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
  • Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn
  • Mateusz Gamrot vs. Jeremy Stephens
  • Alan Baudot vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
  • Amanda Lemos vs. Montserrat Ruiz
  • Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Rodriguez

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Giga Chikadze says he agreed to replace Max Holloway, tells ‘p*ssy’ Yair Rodriguez to accept

Giga Chikadze claims he’s been offered a main event spot against Yair Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 26 following Max Holloway’s withdrawal.

[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] claims he’s been offered a main event spot against [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 26 following Max Holloway’s withdrawal.

Chikadze (13-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) said he accepted immediately, and he’s ready to fight in four weeks’ time at the July 17 event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. His concern, however, is that Rodriguez (12-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) won’t oblige.

It was originally reported that the UFC intended to reschedule Rodriguez vs. Holloway for a later date, but with Chikadze saying he’s been offered the fight, that’s apparently not the case. Nothing is set in stone, though, and Chikadze said he’s currently waiting for an official answer on what’s to come.

Chikadze knows he’s ready to fight, though, and he put out a statement on social media to make the behind-the-scenes discussions public and put some pressure on Rodriguez to fight (via Instagram):

“Max Holloway pulled out from the fight with Yair Rodriguez due to injury. UFC called me to replace him, and of course I agreed. Now we’re waiting for Yair. This buy didn’t fight for 20 or 21 months. Guess what I was doing in this time? I was fighting, fighting and fighting. I’ve fought six times, I beat all my opponents. This guy started to play games. It’s been a few days. I haven’t heard back. Hopefully he’s going to show up July 17, but I heard he’s a little bit of a p*ssy. He didn’t show up four times with Zabit (Magomedsharipov), and I heard he did everything to pull out from this fight. I don’t think the guy is scared to be in UFC, but hopefully now he’s going to be meet me in front face-to-face and we’re going to talk. I can’t wait.”

Rodriguez’s team at First Round Management did not immediately respond to MMA Junkie’s request for comment, and whether Rodriguez intends to compete against Chikadze – or anyone else – at UFC on ESPN 26.

The exact nature of Holloway’s injury is unknown. Whether he’s out for six weeks or six months would seemingly play a factor in Rodriguez’s decision-making, but if the promotion offered him another fight, it’s possible it wants to move on from a Holloway pairing.

Rodriguez hasn’t competed since a unanimous decision win over Jeremy Stephens in October 2019. Chikadze has been one of the most active 145-pound fighters in the UFC over the past two years and is coming off a 63-second TKO of Cub Swanson at UFC on ESPN 23 in May.

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Max Holloway out at UFC on ESPN 26, Yair Rodriguez fight postponed

The highly anticipated showdown between former featherweight champion Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez is on hold.

The highly anticipated showdown between former featherweight champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] and [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] is on hold.

An injury has pushed Holloway (22-6 MMA, 18-6 UFC) out of the UFC on ESPN 26 main event next month and the fight with Rodriguez (13-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) will be moved to a later date. News of Holloway’s injury first was reported by UFC broadcast partner ESPN through ESPN Deportes.

Holloway vs. Rodriguez was set to headline UFC on ESPN 26 on July 17. While a location and venue haven’t been announced, the card most likely will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event is set to feature the return from retirement of former UFC women’s bantamweight champ Miesha Tate against Marion Reneau. It is not yet known if that bout will become the main event.

Holloway lost the featherweight title in December 2019 to current champ Alexander Volkanovski. He lost a split decision to him in a July 2020 rematch, giving him losses in three of four fights. But he bounced back in January with a dominant decision win over Calvin Kattar at UFC on ABC 1 to put himself back in the title conversation.

Rodriguez hasn’t fought since an October 2019 win over Jeremy Stephens. He was scheduled to return in August 2020 against Zabit Magomedsharipov, but an ankle injury took him out of the fight. On his recovery, he was booked for the Holloway fight. But now his long-awaited return is on hold again.

With the change, the UFC on ESPN 26 lineup now includes:

  • Marion Reneau vs. Miesha Tate
  • Amir Albazi vs. Ode Osbourne
  • Sergey Morozov vs. Khalid Taha
  • Guram Kutateladze vs. Don Madge
  • Gabriel Benitez vs. Billy Quarantillo
  • Francisco Figueredo vs. Malcolm Gordon
  • Anderson dos Santos vs. Miles Johns
  • Alan Baudot vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
  • Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn
  • Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises
  • Mateusz Gamrot vs. Jeremy Stephens
  • Alan Baudot vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
  • Amanda Lemos vs. Montserrat Ruiz
  • Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Rodriguez

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UFC on ESPN+ 26: Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker odds, picks and best bets

Analyzing Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker odds, picks and betting lines for UFC on ESPN+ 26

Paul Felder and Dan Hooker square off in a light heavyweight bout on the main card at UFC on ESPN+ 26 – also called UFC Fight Night 168 – at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand Saturday. The card kicks off at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Felder (17-4-0) will travel into hostile territory to take on the kiwi Hooker. The 34-year-old American, nicknamed ‘The Irish Dragon’, enters this bout with victories in five of the past six fights. That includes a split-decision win over Edson Barboza at UFC 242 on the Khabib-Poirier card. Felder lost just once in six fights since Sept. 24, 2016.

Hooker (20-8-0) will have the New Zealand crowd behind him, while also holding the reach and a slight height advantage. In addition, he has a 4.73 Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute advantage to 3.55 for Felder. He is slightly more accurate in landing those strikes at 44.15-43.02 percent. Toss in the fact that Hooker has a slight advantage in takedown accuracy, takedown average and submission average, and there is a lot to like about the Kiwi.

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Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker betting odds

Per BetMGM, Hooker (-167) is being backed by the people, and for good reason. He holds the advantages in all of the key statistics, and he’ll be fighting at home in front of a pro-Hooker crowd.

Take HOOKER (-167) to win on the 2-way line, and go with NO (-154) on the ‘Will the fight go the full five rounds?’ prop. I’ll be looking to pair Hooker with ZHANG WEILI (-176) on the UFC 248 card. If you have patience, and can wait to cash your ticket until March 7, Weili is going to blast Joanna Jedrzejczyk and is nice a toss-in for the parlay. We’ll preview that fight in early March.

New to sports betting? A $10 2-fighter parlay on Hooker (-162) and Weili (-176) would turn a profit of $15.07.

To watch the full card, sign up for ESPN+ now.

If you want some action on this MMA bout, place your wagers at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and analysis, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

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