Tag: UFC on ESPN+ 28

Sam Alvey reveals fight against Roman Kopylov is off at UFC on ESPN 28

Sam Alvey will not be competing at UFC on ESPN 28, but his return to action is only delayed a month.

One of the friendliest personalities in MMA will not be competing at UFC on ESPN 28 on Saturday.

[autotag]Sam Alvey[/autotag] was set to face [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag] on the main card in a middleweight bout but the fight has fallen apart because Kopylov (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) could not make it into the U.S. due to “various reasons” according to Alvey.

Alvey (33-15-1 MMA, 10-10-1 UFC) revealed the update via TikTok on Monday evening, laying out the story of how he received the news that his fight is now off and what the UFC plans to do about it.

https://www.tiktok.com/@smilensam/video/6989355572088950021?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

Relaying the message using the TikTok “put a finger down” storytelling trend, Alvey said his opponent couldn’t make it in the country just as he was about to head to the airport to fly to Las Vegas. He was told a search for a replacement opponent was underway, so he continued his journey towards the airport.

According to Alvey, as he arrived at the airport he received a text message that no opponent could be found, but another fight a month later could be made with a different opponent.

Although he did not reveal the name of the new opponent during the video, he said he accepted the offer and also received compensation from the promotion for his troubles.

Alvey has been willing to help out the promotion in any way he can, but likely needs to get his hand raised in his next outing considering he is winless in his last six fights. His last victory came via split decision in a light heavyweight bout against Gian Villante in June 2018.

UFC on ESPN 28 was originally scheduled for 15 bouts and is now down to 13 following the loss of Alvey vs. Kopylov and removal of the co-main event between Chris Daukaus vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov.

The UFC on ESPN 28 card lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland
  • Mounir Lazzez vs. Niklas Stolze
  • Cheyanne Buys vs. Gloria de Paula
  • Kyung Ho Kang vs. Rani Yahya
  • Zarrukh Adashev vs. Ryan Benoit
  • Bryan Barberena vs. Jason Witt

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Nicco Montano vs. Wu Yanan
  • Collin Anglin vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
  • Rafa Garcia vs. Chris Gruetzemacher
  • Danny Chavez vs. Kai Kamaka
  • Jinh Yu Frey vs. Ashley Yoder
  • Trevin Jones vs. Ronnie Lawrence
  • Orion Cosce vs. Phil Rowe

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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.

Ben Rothwell: Ovince Saint Preux’s signature choke ‘a welcomed challenge’ at UFC on ESPN+ 29

Ben Rothwell doesn’t think Ovince Saint Preux is going to be able to finish him with his trademark submission at UFC on ESPN+ 29.

[autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] doesn’t think [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] is going to be able to finish him with his trademark submission at UFC on ESPN+ 29, but he welcomes him to try.

Saint Preux (24-13 MMA, 12-8 UFC) has carved out a bit of a legacy for himself in the octagon by locking in the Von Flue (or Von Preux) choke on four different opponents for wins. Pulling it off against Rothwell (37-12 MMA, 7-6 UFC), who arguably has superior grappling to the previous victims, would be a tall task, though.

If Saint Preux wants to go for it, though, Rothwell encourages him to try.

“It’s effective,” Rothwell said during Monday’s UFC on ESPN+ 29 virtual media day. “If he locks it up, it’s like a lot of submissions. If they’re locked up you’re going to be in trouble. I like to believe there’s a way out of everything. It will be a welcomed challenge. He’s got to do a lot of work to get to there.”

UFC on ESPN+ 29 takes place Wednesday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The entire card streams on ESPN+.

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The matchup between Rothwell and Saint Preux was a bit of a surprise. Rothwell was originally supposed to fight Gian Villante on the April 18 version of the UFC 249 card, but then the coronavirus pandemic hit and the scheduled got shuffled.

Villante was unavailable to fight on the new date and that’s when Saint Preux came into the fold. “OSP” has never fought at heavyweight in more than 20 fights under the UFC banner, so he wasn’t exactly someone on the radar.

Rothwell hypothesized that Saint Preux is moving up because he thinks it will be an easier time fighting bigger and “slower” opponent, but he intends to prove that wrong on fight night.

It’s an important fight for Rothwell, who in December snapped a three-fight losing skid over nearly three years when he beat Stefan Struve at UFC on ESPN 7. It was a crucial win for Rothwell, and he said one that served a building block to his main career focus going into UFC on ESPN+ 29.

“Goals are just to get in the best shape I can and be the best martial artist I can. That’s the goal every fight, every step. Take each fight one step at a time and try not to look too far ahead because that doesn’t seem to work out well. It’s about focusing on the here and now. With my body there’s a lot of room for improvement and that’s what I’m working on right now.”

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After rough octagon start, Veronica Macedo wants to address health issues before making the walk again

Veronica Macedo wants to take care of her health issues before making the walk to the cage again.

[autotag]Veronica Macedo[/autotag]’s UFC career has not played out as planned. She continues to struggle with ongoing medical issues.

Macedo (6-4-1 MMA, 1-4 UFC) bounced around from 125 to 135 pounds throughout her five octagon bouts, and chalked up her recent woes to health issues that she hasn’t been addressing.

“The things I’ve had with the weight classes has been more things of medical issues and things that haven’t been resolved, to be honest, at all,” Macedo told MMA Junkie. “And I just think that I need to stop avoiding and stop overlooking and stop pushing them and take it serious and resolve them.

“What I keep doing is, I keep thinking that I can take care of it and I can fix it, and I can’t, and I keep accepting fights when I shouldn’t. So that’s just the first thing that I want to do. I want to – whether the UFC keeps me on the roster or not, whatever my next fight will be – I want to actually be prepared for it, just medically.”

Macedo is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Bea Malecki at UFC on ESPN+ 28 in March. She appeared to be tired throughout the fight.

“It is what it is,” Macedo said of the loss. “There’s not much you can really say. A lot of it was down to lack of cardio – bad performance due to lack of cardio. A lot of things I could have done better, but (I had) no energy, and that played a huge role. I think that’s the biggest part of it. You can have all these ideas and all these things that you think of doing and all this technical stuff, but if your energy is not there, you’re not going to be able to do it.”

MMA Junkie’s ‘Fight of the Month’ for March: A title fight for the ages

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

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

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

* * * *

The Nominees

Alex Oliveira def. Max Griffin at UFC 248

[autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] (21-8-1 MMA, 10-6 UFC) went to great lengths to leave his welterweight fight with [autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 3-6 UFC) as a winner.

The Brazilian fighter had a back-and-forth war with Griffin in a bout where both men were bloodied. Oliveira defeated Griffin by split decision with a pair of 29-28s from two judges’ scorecards.

Beneil Dariush def. Drakkar Klose at UFC 248

[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC) produced arguably the greatest highlight of his career when he scored a spectacular knockout of [autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag] (11-1-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the second round of their lightweight bout.

After a solid first round, the fight got crazy in the second when Dariush and Klose slugged it out and stunned each other. Dariush was able to push through it better, though, and finally landed a devastated overhand left that sent Klose bouncing off the fence and crashing into the canvas.

Zhang Weili def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248

[autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) put on arguably the greatest title fight in women’s MMA history when they went tooth and nail for five rounds to determine who would be the UFC strawweight champion.

Weili ultimately emerged victorious by split decision to retain her belt, but not without going through 25 minutes of hell. The Chinese titleholder and Jedrzejczyk combined for the third most significant strikes in a UFC title fight. It came down to the wire, but there could only be one winner and it was Weili.

Maryna Moroz def. Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC on ESPN+ 28

[autotag]Maryna Moroz[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) and [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) produced the “Fight of the Night” in Brasilia with a three-round banger in the women’s flyweight division.

Moroz was seemingly one step ahead of Bueno Silva over the course of the bout to take a unanimous decision victory. The win kept Moroz unbeaten since moving up to 125 pounds, and netted her some extra money in the process.

Charles Oliveira def. Kevin Lee at UFC on ESPN+ 28

[autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] (29-8 MMA, 17-8 UFC) picked up his first UFC main event when he defeated [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] (18-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) to extend his winning streak to seven.

Oliveira extended his streak with a third-round submission win over Lee courtesy of a guillotine choke. The Brazilian waited for his moment to attack with the choke, and when he got it tied the UFC’s all-time stoppage record.

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@motownphenom vs @charlesdobronxs Лайк от вас-лучшая поддержка ✊😌 ☑️ Подписывайтесь и делитесь страницей с друзьями – 🔥 @tmk.ufc ➖ ➖ ➖ ➖ ➖ ➖ ➖ ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ #dustinpoirier #poirier #khabibtime #tonyferguson #хабибтайм #тонифергюсон #хабибсила #любовь💖 #забитмагомедшарипов #зубы #зубайратухугов #зубайра #дастинпорье #отецидочь #ufcstpetersburg #ufs242 #ufscar #ufskaraborg #anzorazhiev #zubayra_tukhugov_warrior #zubairatukhugov #ufcsacramento #ufc224 #ufcbrooklyn ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖

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The Winner: Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

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Weili and Jedrzejczyk put themselves through the ringer for the entertainment of the fight world. In the end, the champion prevailed.

Weili and Jedrzejczyk stood toe to toe for five rounds, exchanging strikes and not backing down in a bout that will go down as an all-time classic, resulting in Weili winning by split decision to retain her strawweight title.

By the end of it, Jedrzejczyk was nearly unrecognizable with a bad hematoma causing her entire forehead to swell.

Jedrzejczyk opened the fight by, as promised, using a lot of movement to avoid Weili’s aggression and power. She worked well behind the jab, while Weili attacked with low kicks. The strikes came fast and furious from each side as Weili worked the body, and Jedrzejczyk teed off with combinations. Weili landed her best punch with roughly 90 seconds remaining, but Jedrzejczyk seemed to take it well and continued to fire back.

The action picked up where it left off to begin the second round. The output of both fighters was absurdly high, but Jedrzejczyk seemed to be more composed and accurate in her approach against Weili’s power shots. Weili went for the first takedown of the fight, but Jedrzejczyk shrugged it off, answered with some knees in the clinch, then evaded. Weili landed a huge punch that staggered her opponent, but Jedrzejczyk managed to shake off the cobwebs and do some work to make up the deficit of Weili’s big moment.

The leg kicks from Jedrzejczyk seemingly took a toll on Weili going into the third round. The movement and output slowed, which allowed Jedrzejczyk to pick up the pace and find her range on a less mobile target. Jedrzejczyk landed some very good strikes, both as the aggressor and the counter-striker, and Weili knew she needed something to change. Weili attempted to grapple in the final two minutes, but Jedrzejczyk’s takedown defense couldn’t be penetrated and she ended the round in striking range, but Jedrzejczyk developed a gruesome hematoma on her forehead.

With the momentum seemingly on Jedrzejczyk’s side going into the championship rounds, Weili did not appear deterred. She continued to be aggressive, but Jedrzejczyk showed to be more technical both offensively and defensively. Weili certainly found her openings, landing clean punches. Jedrzejczyk’s chin continued to hold up, though, and the pace of the fight was perfectly suiting her style. She found a strong groove going into the final round, despite having a disturbing amount of bruising on her face.

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With the title hanging in the balance, both fighters came out determined to put an exclamation mark in the fifth round. Jedrzejczyk stayed true to her game plan despite awful damage to her face, stepping in the pocket and engaging Weili in a firefight. Weili’s straight punches did her well, but Jedrzejczyk appeared to be more than comfortable with the power and landed some shots that had Weili briefly on some shaky legs. Weili wouldn’t go way, though, and answered back. They kept at it down the home stretch, both landing clean to cap off an incredible 25-minute championship fight.

“We are all martial artists here,” Weili said through an interpreter in her post-fight interview. “We want to set an example for the kids. Thank you everyone.”

[opinary poll=”fight-of-the-month-for-march-2020_mmajun-QRAQuK” customer=”mmajunkie”]

MMA Junkie’s ‘Submission of the Month’ for March: A tapout for the record books

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

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

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

* * * *

The Nominees

Damon Jackson def. Mauro Chaulet at LFA 83

[autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag] (17-3-1) rebounded from a winless 2019 when he quickly dispatched of an overmatched Mauro Chaulet (13-7) in their featherweight headliner.

Chaulet got in an advantageous position over Chaulet on the ground and managed to lock in a rear-naked choke a little more than two minutes in. Chaulet couldn’t escape, and Jackson secured his 13th career submission finish.

Gerald Meerschaert def. Deron Winn at UFC 248

[autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag] (31-12 MMA, 6-4 UFC) got his first win of 2020 when he submitted American Kickboxing Academy’s Deron Winn (6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a fun fight that went down in the middleweight division.

Meerschaert took some big shots early in the fight but eventually found his range, rocked his opponent and finished with a rear-asked choke in the third round. The win saw “GM3” improve to 2-1 in his past three UFC outings.

Rodolfo Vieira def. Saparbek Safarov at UFC 248

Rodolfo Vieira (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) likely was on his way to a doctor’s stoppage loss against Saparbeg Safarov (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC). Fortunately for him, he finished the fight before the doctor could intervene.

With his eye mangled and swollen shut, Vieira took care of business inside the first round against Safarov in their middleweight bout, securing an arm-triangle choke for the submission.

Renato Moicano def. Damir Hadzovic at UFC on ESPN+ 28

[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] (14-3-1 MMA, 6-3 UFC) shined in his lightweight debut when he steamrolled Damir Hadzovic (13-6 MMA, 3-4 UFC) in the first round to put a fresh coat of paint on his career.

The former featherweight contender needed just 44 seconds to dispatch of Hadzovic with a rear-naked choke. He quickly got the fight to the ground, took the back and then finished the job to conclude a short night at the office.

Charles Oliveira def. Kevin Lee at UFC on ESPN+ 28

[autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] (29-8 MMA, 17-8 UFC) picked up his first UFC main event win when he defeated Kevin Lee (18-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) to extend his winning streak to seven.

Oliveira extended his streak with a third-round submission win over Lee courtesy of a guillotine choke. The Brazilian waited for his moment to attack with the choke, and when he got it tied the UFC’s all-time stoppage record.

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@motownphenom vs @charlesdobronxs Лайк от вас-лучшая поддержка ✊😌 ☑️ Подписывайтесь и делитесь страницей с друзьями – 🔥 @tmk.ufc ➖ ➖ ➖ ➖ ➖ ➖ ➖ ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ #dustinpoirier #poirier #khabibtime #tonyferguson #хабибтайм #тонифергюсон #хабибсила #любовь💖 #забитмагомедшарипов #зубы #зубайратухугов #зубайра #дастинпорье #отецидочь #ufcstpetersburg #ufs242 #ufscar #ufskaraborg #anzorazhiev #zubayra_tukhugov_warrior #zubairatukhugov #ufcsacramento #ufc224 #ufcbrooklyn ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖

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* * * *

The Winner: Charles Oliveira

Oliveira’s day finally has come, even if it came on a strange day.

“Do Bronx” has long been a talented competitor, but never quite put it all together over a sustained period of time.

Those days are over, though. Unfazed by the strange setting of an empty Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Oliveira put on a masterful show in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 28.

Oliveira finished former interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee with a guillotine choke 28 seconds into the third round. The bout was contested at a catchweight of 158.5 pounds after Lee missed weight the previous day.

With that, Oliveira won his seventh straight bout. They’ve all come by way of finish. He added to his UFC submission record at 14 and tied Donald Cerrone’s company mark for finishes at 16.

It didn’t take long to figure how the fight was going to flow. Lee’s base is wrestling, and he scored an early takedown, but Oliveira immediately went for heel hooks and leg locks. Lee’s wrestling is crafty enough that he managed to scramble bad spots, but as often as not, he’d wander into another submission attempt.

The second proved to be bad news for Lee, too, as Oliveira showed off his much-improved stand-up game, stalking Lee down and landing uppercuts. Lee went for a takedown, but that once again simply got him tangled in a spider web of submission attempts.

Lee did manage his best offense of the fight at the end of Round 2, when he got top control and landed solid right hands and elbows. But in the third, he once again had to land a defensive takedown, and from there, it was a mere matter of second before Oliveira finished him with the choke.

Lee, who may have gone out with the choke, protested that he didn’t tap, but the replay made it clear he did on several occasions.

[opinary poll=”submission-of-the-month-for-march_mmajun-JPhSBM” customer=”mmajunkie”]

MMA Junkie’s ‘Knockout of the Month’ for March: A wild brawl ends with one punch

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

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

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

* * * *

The Nominees

Danaa Batgerel def. Guido Cannetti at UFC 248

[autotag]Danaa Batgerel[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) got his first UFC victory in impressive fashion when he became the first to knock out Guido Cannetti (8-5 MMA, 2-4 UFC) in their bantamweight matchup.

The fighter from Mongolia landed an absolute bomb of a left hand on Cannetti about three minutes into the opening round of the bout. Cannetti was unable to recover from Batgerel’s power and the fight was called off.

Sean O’Malley def. Jose Quinonez at UFC 248

“The Suga Show” had a triumphant reboot when bantamweight prospect [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) made quick work of Jose Quinonez (8-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in his first fight in two years.

O’Malley, who had been out of action since March 2018 due to injuries and a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency situation that ultimately resulted in his innocence, put on a striking clinic against a helpless Quinonez to finish the fight in just 122 seconds.

Beneil Dariush def. Drakkar Klose at UFC 248

[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC) produced arguably the greatest highlight of his career when he scored a spectacular knockout of Drakkar Klose (11-1-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the second round of their lightweight bout.

After a solid first round, the fight got crazy in the second when Dariush and Klose slugged it out and stunned each other. Dariush was able to push through it better, though, and finally landed a devastated overhand left that sent Klose bouncing off the fence and crashing into the canvas.

Gilbert Burns def. Demian Maia at UFC on ESPN+ 28

[autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) continued a successful campaign in the welterweight division when he beat former title challenger Demian Maia (28-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC).

After getting taken down by Maia and surviving his famous back take, Burns managed to get the fight back to the feet where he connected with a sharp left hook, sending Maia straight to the canvas. Burns hesitated, thinking the shot ended the fight, but the referee didn’t jump in. Burns then followed up with rapid ground-and-pound, forcing the referee to wave it off.

Coner Hignett def. Darren O’Gorman at Cage Warriors 113

[autotag]Coner Hignett[/autotag] (8-5) lived up to his nickname of “The Hand Grenade” when he blew up for a brilliant win over Darren O’Gorman (6-5).

Hignett pulled off one of the best comebacks and knockouts of the year thus far when he stopped O’Gorman in the third round of their flyweight matchup. A series of precise and powerful right hands were the culprit behind Hignett’s comeback.

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The Winner: Beneil Dariush

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Dariush didn’t need jiu-jitsu to win at UFC 248.

The UFC veteran scored one of the best finishes of his career against Klose, but it didn’t come by way of his nifty ground game. Dariush knocked out Klose in the second round of their lightweight contest after a wild exchange that had the crowd on its feet.

The final seconds were completely opposite to what went down in the first round. For the majority of the opening round, Dariush controlled Klose as he had taken his back and worked for a standing rear-naked choke.

In the second round, Klose attempted to make up for lost ground and came out swinging hard at Dariush. Klose connected, wobbled Dariush and began to pressure him looking for the finish. But instead of going into defense mode, the Iranian fighter stayed in the pocket and managed to switch the momentum with a hard hook, hurting Klose.

Once rocked, Dariush followed up with a brutal left hook that sent Klose straight to the canvas. It was Dariush’s first KO win since stopping James Vick in 2016.

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[opinary poll=”knockout-of-the-month-for-march-2020_mma-NAg80v” customer=”mmajunkie”]

Triple Take: Which fighter loses out most from UFC postponing three cards?

Out of all the athletes who lost a UFC fight date due to the coronavirus outbreak, which one got the worst end of the situation?

The UFC postponed three events during March and April due to the coronavirus pandemic. UFC on ESPN+ 29 (London) on March 21, UFC on ESPN 8 (Columbus) on March 28 and UFC on ESPN+ 30 (Portland) on April 11 were all pushed back due to safety concerns over the ongoing crisis, causing more than 30 matchups to fall apart.

Out of all the athletes who lost out on the chance to compete, though, which one got the worst end of the situation? MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, John Morgan and Nolan King give their opinion on the latest edition of Triple Take.

Mike Bohn: Leon Edwards loses

Even if the UFC opts to rebook the [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] vs. former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley fight that was originally planned as the UFC London main event, it seems unlikely the circumstances would be replicated. It was the perfect scenario for “Rocky,” who needed an eight-fight winning streak just to get to this opportunity. But now it’s hard to push away the feeling that disappointment is headed his way.

Edwards only got the matchup with Woodley after a lot of headache. Woodley did not want the fight from the outset, and said as much publicly. He wanted a bigger name and a bigger fight, but with the way the matchups unfolded at the top of the welterweight division, Edwards was the only logical option for “The Chosen One” after being out since March 2019, when he lost UFC gold to Kamaru Usman.

It was only a matter of hours from the time the fight was called off for Colby Covington to slide into the picture. He offered to step in as a replacement against Woodley, but it never came close to reality because the UFC ultimately had to scratch the event altogether. Since then, though, Woodley has been beating the drum to fight Covington next, and has all but pushed Edwards’ name to the wayside.

The UFC will ultimately decide who it decides to offer Woodley next, but even if it’s Edwards again, the moment in time can’t be recaptured.

Edwards was not only about to get the biggest fight of his life, but he was going to get it on home soil. Headlining a combat sports card at the famous O2 Arena in London is a dream scenario for any Brit fighter, and Edwards was about to get that. Considering the UFC only goes to London once a year, the odds of Edwards landing that same venue are slim to none.

The timing of the fight was also in Edwards’ favor. With welterweight champ Usman likely to make his next defense in the summer, a victory for Edwards would have put him in position to either serve as a title-fight back-up, or challenge the winner. But now Edwards is the odd man out, and it’s entirely possible he loses a deserved opportunity because this single fight fell apart.

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Next page: John Morgan: Shahbazyan’s breakout moment missed

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Randa Markos on fighting at UFC Brasilia during global coronavirus pandemic

Randa Markos talks about her experience fighting at UFC on ESPN+ 28 in Brasilia, Brazil, during the coronavirus outbreak.

[autotag]Randa Markos[/autotag] had quite a fight week experience.

With the majority of sports and other MMA organizations canceling their events, the UFC received heavy criticism for going ahead with the UFC on ESPN+ 28 card in Brasilia, Brazil, this past Saturday during the global coronavirus pandemic.

The fighters on the card, with many flying in from other continents, went through an emotional whirlwind with the danger and uncertainty surrounding the event.

Markos, who flew in from Canada, faced Amanda Ribas at the behind-closed-doors event that was limited to cornermen, judges referees and a few UFC staff members.

It certainly wasn’t a typical week for Markos, who said the lead-up to the fight was turbulent.

“I didn’t have any fear until there was threats of canceling the event,” Markos told MMA Junkie. “I realized that things were getting very serious – lots of precautions.

“We’re set forward like no one was allowed to attend the event – only 100 people were allowed in the venue at a time. We had to warm up at the hotel until it was go time. Then we were transported to the venue and able to get ready an hour before – right when the fight before you was over. We were rushed in to fight, then rushed back to the hotel after the fight was over.”

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So far, no coronavirus-related health issues stemming from the event have been reported. But when Markos made her trip back home, she said she didn’t feel well and was surprised nobody would test her.

“Just made it home. Stopped by the coronavirus testing center and they wouldn’t test me. Long flights with a lot of people, not feeling great and I’m not a risk? Okay I guess I’ll be home for two weeks.”

So Markos took matters into her own hands by self-isolating. She said she hasn’t been hit with any other symptoms.

“My condition has not gotten worse,” Markos said. “I don’t believe I have the virus, but I have isolated myself as I was told. But I can’t even get an antibiotic. I’m just trying to stay hydrated and monitor myself.”

The UFC eventually was forced to postpone its next three events: UFC on ESPN+ 29 in London; UFC on ESPN 8 in Columbus, Ohio; and UFC on ESPN+ 30 in Portland, Ore.

Having gone through the experience of competing this past weekend, Markos commended the UFC for finally giving in.

“I think our health is more important right now and the UFC is right to postpone events until things get better,” Markos said.

Although things didn’t go her way against Ribas with a unanimous decision loss, Markos has no regrets.

“Ribas is a tough opponent. I’m not happy with how I did, but besides that I’m happy to be a part of this event,” Markos said. “I don’t think anyone was expecting things to get this bad, but it is what it is and we just need to be smart about it. Being in front of an empty crowd felt like ‘Ultimate Fighter’ days. It was awkward, but nothing I haven’t experienced before.”

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