Tag: UFC on ESPN+ 32

Beneil Dariush initially wanted a top 15 opponent, but Scott Holtzman is ‘an absolute stud’

Beneil Dariush explains why he’s facing Scott Holtzman at UFC on ESPN+ 32 and not a ranked opponent.

[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] is enjoying his best run in years, but can’t seem to net a ranked opponent.

Dariush (18-4-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC) faces [autotag]Scott Holtzman[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN+ 32, which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

It took a while for the fight to get finalized since Dariush was in the midst of negotiating a new contract. He’s won four in a row and is coming off three straight “Performance of the Night” bonuses, which Dariush believes should warrant a bump in pay.

But Dariush explained that while he has a great relationship with UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby, there just weren’t any ranked opponents available for him to fight.

“I was trying to get a top 10 fight, top 15 fight,” Dariush told MMA Junkie Radio. “And I messaged (Shelby) and I was like, ‘What’s going on man?’ And then he calls me and he’s like, ‘Well this is my problem …’ Sean starts talking and we just start going through the list of the top 15 and top 10, as well.

“I was like, ‘What about this guy?’ ‘Well, this is going on with him.’ ‘What about this guy?’ ‘He’s fighting this guy.’ ‘What about him?’ And he just kind of went through everybody. And I’m like, all right, there isn’t really anybody right now. And so I was like, ‘All right, I’ll take somebody outside of the top 15,’ and that’s how this Scott Holtzman fight came up.”

Holtzman (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) may not be ranked, but that doesn’t mean Dariush is taking him lightly. He acknowledged the run Holtzman’s been on, in which he’s won five of his past six.

“He’s an absolute stud, and you see him grow. I’ve been studying him, obviously, because of the fight. But he’s an absolute stud and you see his growth,” Dariush said. “I’m watching his fights, and I see his growth and his last fight with (Jim) Miller, who’s only gotten tougher. Be was able to control and he took over the fight in the last two rounds and kind of dominated him. So he’s an absolute stud. If I’m off even by a second in this fight, I’ll lose.”

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UFC on ESPN+ 32’s Youssef Zalal unfazed by continuous short-notice camps, wants to stay active

It’s another fight and another short-notice call for Youssef Zalal who takes on Peter Barrett at UFC on ESPN+ 32.

It’s another fight and another short-notice call for [autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag].

Since joining the UFC roster in February, Zalal (9-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has yet to have a full training camp. For every one of his fights, he’s had little time to prepare, but Zalal is happy to continue gaining his experience in the octagon.

Once again, he got the call on short notice and with Steve Garcia forced out, Zalal stepped in on two weeks’ notice to face Peter Barrett at UFC on ESPN+ 32, which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“It really doesn’t matter to me,” Zalal told MMA Junkie. “You know what they say: The younger guys, you want to get in as much as possible. That’s how I feel. I’m so happy that I learned like 30 minutes of me actual fighting in the UFC cage, and that’s going to help me so much just in this fight and in my whole career, to be honest. So for me, I want to stay as active (as possible). I’m only 23 – I want to get as much better as possible.”

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Zalal contemplated a move down to bantamweight, but after a couple of tests at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, he realized that it isn’t feasible, and that the massive cut down would also prevent him from making quick turnarounds.

“I went to the P.I. to do a couple of tests, and then they were like, ‘OK, your body with no fat in it is 134 pounds,'” Zalal said. “So I was like, damn – I have to be 0 percent body fat to make ’35. It makes no sense for me to suffer throughout the camp, and I really don’t want to fight twice a year. I want to fight more than just twice a year.”

He takes on the all-action Barrett, whom Zalal sees as a perfect stylistic matchup for him to shine.

“He’s like a brawler – he wants to bring the fight to you and it makes it exciting,” Zalal said. “That’s why he’s one of the exciting fighters. Even in (Dana White’s) Contender Series, he fought a weight class higher and he just goes out there. He doesn’t care. He’s just: Bomb, bomb, just slugging stuff around. So I feel like he’s going to be the same guy. He’s coming in and trying to brawl with me, this and that. But that’s when I shine with those guys. I do a lot better against those guys than guys who are really just technical and stuff like that.”

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Meet UFC on ESPN+32’s Ali Alqaisi, Jordan’s first UFC fighter

Jordan is on the UFC map courtesy of Ali Alqaisi, who makes his debut against Irwin Rivera at UFC on ESPN+ 32.

Jordan is on the UFC map.

A longtime hotbed of MMA in the Middle East, Jordan has produced plenty of talent and the country finally is on the big stage courtesy of bantamweight [autotag]Ali Alqaisi[/autotag].

Alqaisi (8-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) opens up Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 32 event when he takes on Irwin Rivera at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He hopes with his signing, many fellow Jordanians follow suit.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Alqaisi told MMA Junkie. “It makes me insanely proud to be the first of hopefully many Jordanians to make it. MMA in Jordan has been booming since 2011, so it’s about time we got to show our chance in the big leagues. Its funny – the UFC doesn’t yet have a Jordanian fight kit from Reebok. But hopefully by my second fight they will. That’s how big this is for MMA in Jordan.

“We are a tiny country, but have a huge fighting spirit. I cannot wait to display this. I heard (former owner) Lorenzo Fertitta’s wife is originally Jordanian so I hope he and his wife tune in to watch and support, as well.”

Alqaisi, a 2015 and 2016 world kung-fu and sanda champion, had a late start to his career. He dropped his first two pro fights, but since then has won seven of eight overall and five in a row.

“I’ve fought all over the world in kung fu and sanda,” Alqaisi said. “I decided to transition to MMA at 21 and maybe jumped into the deep end too quickly, fighting tougher opponents that I shouldn’t have at that time. But I grew from there and managed to put together a five-fight winning streak in two organizations, fighting in five countries.

“It’s been a lot of work and sacrifice to make it here, but that’s only the first objective. Now I have to prove that I am here to stay. I actually quit my accounting job after university to pursue martial arts. My parents supported me throughout it all, despite how crazy it seemed at the time.”

Alqaisi has spent the majority of his training camps at the Mat05 gym in Amman, training under the guidance of fifth-degree black belt and ADCC champion Samy Aljamal.

He recently relocated to the U.S. with his wife for the birth of his daughter, spending some time training at Fortis MMA in Texas. But once the spread of COVID-19 increased in Texas, Alqaisi decided that a move to Las Vegas to train at 10th Planet Jiu-jitsu and Xtreme Couture was best for his career.

It was a move that paid dividends.

“My daughter was born in March in the U.S., so I came to the U.S. for that,” Alqaisi said. “Of course, that coincided with the outbreak of COVID-19 and the closure of the airports around the world. Jordan airport was also closed off at that time. So we decided to settle in Texas and train there.

“Once the COVID-19 outbreak picked up pace again in Texas, we decided that our chances to get a call-up would be better if we were in Vegas, the fight capital of the world and the HQ of the UFC. My wife, daughter and I have been renting an apartment for six weeks now and we will be here till the end of August. It wasn’t easy moving such a young family, but the move paid off.”

Alqaisi joins Mounir Lazzez as the second Arab fighter to get signed to the UFC this year and with the promotion expected to make another trip to Abu Dhabi in October, Alqaisi thinks we’ll see a few more fighters getting signed.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Alqaisi said. “It’s almost crazy that it’s taken this long. The UFC has recruited fighters who fought in the region on regional shows, but never someone from the region. I think you will see an influx of fighters from the region very soon.”

He takes on former Titan FC bantamweight champion Rivera (9-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC), whom he expects to bring it on the night.

“He’s a great fighter, an exciting fight,” Alqaisi said. “I think we have the chance to put on ‘Fight of the Night.’ Watch and see. I think I always manage to put on exciting fights.”

Kevin Holland vs. recent LFA winner Joaquin Buckley a late addition to UFC on ESPN+ 32

This week’s UFC on ESPN+ 32 event has a late addition fight for the card featuring a recent LFA winner.

This week’s UFC on ESPN+ 32 event has a late addition fight for the card.

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who picked up a second-round TKO win over Jackie Gosh at LFA 87 this past Friday, did enough in that fight to earn a short-notice call from the UFC. A matchup with [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) at middleweight is set for the event, multiple people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Junkie. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the UFC has not yet made the booking official.

UFC on ESPN+ 32 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.

Holland was scheduled to take on Trevin Giles this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 31. But when Giles fained ahead of the fight, he had to be removed from the card, leaving Holland without an opponent. The UFC wanted to get him matched up again quickly and wasted little time.

The 27-year-old Holland got back in the win column in May with a 39-second TKO of Anthony Hernandez. It put him back on the plus side after a submission loss to Brendan Allen this past October snapped a three-fight winning streak.

Buckley took out Gosh with a brutal stoppage in South Dakota in a bout that streamed on UFC Fight Pass. It was his second straight LFA win after coming to the promotion after a five-fight run in Bellator that saw him go 3-2. One of those two losses came by TKO to Gosh in November 2016, so the win over him was a matter of revenge nearly four years later.

With the addition, the UFC on ESPN+ 32 card now includes:

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

  • Derrick Lewis vs. Aleksei Oleinik
  • Omari Akhmedov vs. Chris Weidman
  • Maki Pitolo vs. Darren Stewart
  • Yana Kunitskaya vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Beneil Dariush vs. Scott Holtzman

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

  • Tim Means vs. Laureano Staropoli
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. Alex Munoz
  • Andrew Sanchez vs. Wellington Turman
  • Justin Jaynes vs. Gavin Tucker
  • Peter Barrett vs. Youssef Zalal
  • Ali Alqaisi vs. Irwin Riverac
  • Joaquin Buckley vs. Kevin Holland

Bryce Mitchell doubts UFC Oklahoma City fight happens, but he’ll stay ready for it

Bryce Mitchell expects his fight with Charles Rosa to fall through because of the coronavirus outbreak, but he’s still training hard just in case.

[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] doesn’t like his chances of competing on May 2.

Mitchell (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is scheduled to face Charles Rosa at UFC on ESPN+ 32 in Oklahoma City, but because of the coronavirus outbreak, he doesn’t think it’s likely the fight happens as planned.

“You know, if there were bets to be placed on it, I’d probably bet it wasn’t going to happen,” Mitchell told MMA Junkie. “If I had to be honest with you, it’s probably not going to happen and if it does, they might not do my fight, like the prelim fight. They might just do the main event or something.

“I doubt (it), but I’m going to train like I’m scared that another man is going to try and kill me, and when I’m in that mindset – somebody’s trying to kill me – and I gotta be in good shape, I’m going to be in good shape, and I’m going to train just like I’m fighting somebody on that date.”

Mitchell’s fight with Rosa started coming together on social media, when Rosa respectively called him out. Mitchell was happy to oblige.

“My manager runs my Twitter, and he was telling me this dude was calling me out and he said, ‘I’m going to agree to fight him for you,'” Mitchell said. “I said, ‘Yeah, that’s fine, especially if he’s calling me out. That would be great.’ And so we agreed to it on Twitter.

“I said, ‘All right, I’ll fight him, and I’ll try and shut him up.'”

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Rosa returned from a more than two-year layoff last October, scoring a first-round submission over Manny Bermudez. Prior to his return, Rosa competed in April 2017 before Mitchell even joined “The Ultimate Fighter.”

So Mitchell admits that he wasn’t too familiar with Rosa.

“I think I’ve heard the name before, but I’ve never done any film study,” Mitchell said. “Never even seen him fight before. I’ve done some film study and seen who he is since then.

“There’s a very good chance it could go to the ground, and I see me winning.”

Mitchell was a breakout star in 2019, capping things off with a “Submission of the Year” over Matt Sayles at UFC on ESPN 7, scoring only the second twister in UFC history. He’s taken relatively long breaks in between fights, but there’s a reason for that.

Mitchell wants to make sure he’s a much more refined version of himself the next time out, a formula that has worked for the undefeated Arkansas native.

“It takes time to improve,” Mitchell said. “If you could instantly improve then anybody can just instantly jump up off their couch and get good at MMA, but it takes time. And so, I want time between fights to progress and another reason is, I have to put on a lot of weight. I have to put on a lot of muscle because that weight cut takes the muscle and the weight off of me, so I don’t want to turnaround and fight in two months.”

That being said, if Mitchell’s fight on May 2 does end up getting postponed, it won’t be too much of an issue for him personally.

“With this coronavirus, it’s going to be a long time before I fight, but I train all the time,” Mitchell said. “It’s not like I’m just taking off and not training. I’m training all the time, and I think the longer that goes by, I think the more prepared I am, and I’ll be prepared May 2. But if the fight gets postponed, I’ll be even more prepared.”

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Tickets on sale today for ‘UFC on ESPN+ 32: Hermansson vs. Weidman’ in Oklahoma City

In May, the UFC returns to Oklahoma for the first time since 2017, and tickets go on sale for the card this week.

In May, the UFC returns to Oklahoma for the first time since 2017, and tickets go on sale for the card this week.

“UFC on ESPN+ 32: Hermansson vs. Weidman” takes place May 2 at Chesapeake Energy Center in Oklahoma City. A key middleweight matchup headlines the card, with Swedish standout [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag] facing former UFC champ [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag].

Hermansson (20-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is currently ranked No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, while Weidman (14-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) checks in at No. 12.

The full broadcast lineup has yet to be revealed, but the night’s main card streams live on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN.

Tickets for UFC on ESPN+ 32 are on sale to the general public Friday at 11 a.m. ET through Ticketmaster.com.

UFC Fight Club members can purchase tickets today via UFCFightClub.com beginning at 11 a.m. ET. UFC e-newsletter subscribers can purchase tickets Thursday at 11 a.m. ET.

Purchases during the general sales period can include up to eight tickets. Ticket prices have not been announced.

The latest UFC on on ESPN+ 32 lineup includes:

  • Jack Hermansson vs. Chris Weidman
  • Claudia Gadelha vs. Marina Rodriguez
  • Ryan Hall vs. Ricardo Lamas
  • Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa
  • Andrei Arlovski vs. Philipe Lins
  • Ed Herman vs. Da Un Jung
  • Devin Clark vs. Alonzo Menifield
  • Sarah Alpar vs. Vanessa Melo
  • Drew Dober vs. Diego Ferreira

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Diego Ferreira, Drew Dober agree to fight at UFC Oklahoma City

A bout between two surging lightweights is going down in OKC.

A bout between two surging lightweights is in the works for the UFC’s return to Oklahoma.

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag](16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is expected to face [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag] (21-9 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at the May event. Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking Monday but asked to remain anonymous since the UFC has yet to make an announcement. Contracts have not been issued, but verbal agreements are in place.

UFC Oklahoma City takes place May 2 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The event does not have an official numerical designation, though it is expected to air on ESPN or stream on ESPN+.

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Ferreira is coming off the biggest win of his career, when he became the first man to officially submit former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in January at UFC 246. He has won his last six in a row.

Dober has won five of his last six, picking up two straight first-round finishes over Marco Polo Reyes and, most recently, a “Performance of the Night” over Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 246.

With the addition, the UFC Oklahoma City lineup now includes:

  • Jack Hermansson vs. Chris Weidman
  • Claudia Gadelha vs. Marina Rodriguez
  • Sarah Alpar vs. Vanessa Melo
  • Andrei Arlovski vs. Philipe Lins
  • Ed Herman vs. Da Un Jung
  • Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa
  • Ryan Hall vs. Ricardo Lamas
  • Devin Clark vs. Alonzo Menifield
  • Drew Dober vs. Diego Ferreira

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Andrei Arlovski grateful he’s still in the UFC: I didn’t take Jairzinho Rozenstruik seriously, and I paid for it

Andrei Arlovski says he was complacent before his most recent UFC fight, and it cost him with a quick loss.

NORFOLK, Va. – [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag] admits he made a critical mistake in his most recent outing.

Arlovski (28-19 MMA, 17-10 UFC) faced undefeated prospect [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] at UFC 244 and was stopped in less than a minute.

It was a loss that could have cost him his UFC career and his fourth setback in five fights.

“Rozenstruik right now is training at American Top Team and he’s sparring behind the curtains, but my buddy who spars with him whooped his ass – and he makes me feel like (expletive) because I didn’t take that fight serious and I paid for it,” Arlovski said this past Saturday while a guest fighter at UFC on ESPN+ 27 in Norfolk, Va. “It was 29 seconds. I have no clue how he beat (Alistair) Overeem in the fifth round. So I guess he’s going to fight (Francis) Ngannou right now, and I don’t know what’s going to happen.

“It’s another lesson for me: I have to take my opponent seriously.”

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Arlovski next faces PFL heavyweight champion Philipe Lins at UFC on ESPN+ 32 in Oklahoma City. With the upcoming matchup, he’s taking a more committed approach.

“I didn’t follow my game plan (against Rozenstruik), first of all, and secondly, I wasn’t that disciplined during the fight week,” Arlovski said. “I went to the restaurant and I had a nice dinner and I told all my coaches, ‘Listen, five more minutes and we’re going back to the restaurant.’ (Expletive) happens, you know, and thank God I still fight and I’m still in the UFC. I’m already three months with not even a glass of wine or beer, and I chose again what’s more important for me – and I just have to remind myself why I’m doing this.”

He’ll be taking on a fellow ATT-trained fighter in Lins, and it’s a matchup his coaches weren’t too fond of.

“It’s up to the UFC – I just never pick my opponents, and I just want to fight in general,” Arlovski said. “Some people (were) definitely not happy from ATT that I’m fighting Philipe, but this is nothing personal. It’s business.”

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