Tag: UFC on ESPN+ 33

UFC on ESPN+ 33 poster revealed: Frankie Edgar’s bantamweight debut vs. Pedro Munhoz headlines event

The UFC has released the official fight poster for its Aug. 22 event, with a bantamweight matchup headlining the card in Las Vegas.

[autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] is finally set to make his 135-pound debut.

Edgar, the former UFC lightweight champion, will drop down to bantamweight for the first time in his career when he takes on [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] in the UFC on ESPN+ 33 main event, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The pair were initially scheduled to fight on July 15 at UFC on ESPN 13, but the fight was scratched after Munhoz tested positive for COVID-19.

After 19 pro fights at lightweight, Edgar (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) dropped down to featherweight in 2013. He picked up notable wins over the likes of Chad Mendes, Cub Swanson (twice) and Yair Rodriguez, but fell short in claiming the featherweight title on three attempts. After back-to-back losses to Max Holloway and Chan Sung Jung, Edgar decided to make the move down.

Munhoz (18-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Aljamain Sterling in June 2019. Prior to that, he won three straight, including a knockout over former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt.

Also included in the poster is the co-main event, which features an intriguing stylistic clash between middleweights [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] (15-9 MMA, 8-7 UFC).

Check out the official poster for the UFC’s Aug. 22 event below:

The latest lineup for UFC’s Aug. 22 card includes:

  • Pedro Munhoz vs. Frankie Edgar
  • Uriah Hall vs. Yoel Romero
  • Shamil Gamzatov vs. Ovince Saint Preux
  • Mariya Agapova vs. Shana Dobson
  • Mizuki Inoue vs. Amanda Lemos
  • Angela Hill vs. Michelle Waterson
  • Daniel Rodriguez vs. Takashi Sato
  • Marcin Prachnio vs. Mike Rodriguez
  • Jared Gooden vs. Dwight Grant

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Andre Fili admits UFC 246 loss still hurts: I know I had a better fight in me

It’s been more than two months since Andre Fili dropped a decision to Sodiq Yusuff, but the frustration still seems fresh.

It’s been more than two months since [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag] dropped a unanimous decision to fast-rising prospect Sodiq Yusuff, but the frustration seems as fresh as the moment the judges’ scores were read.

“That one hurt bad, dude,” Fili told MMA Junkie. “I can’t lie. I can’t pretend like, ‘Oh yeah, you earn more from your losses.’ Man, (expletive) all that, dude. That hurt bad.”

Riding the high of a “Performance of the Night” win in his hometown six months earlier, Fili entered the UFC 246 clash with Yusuff brimming with confidence. A back-and-forth clash top open steered toward Yusuff’s favor in the second. Fili dug deep in the third, but it wasn’t enough, and Yusuff was awarded a decision win.

Fili said he did take lessons from the performance, but it doesn’t make the result sit any more comfortably in his mind.

“I thought I won the fight, but I also know I had a better fight in me, and had I of just fought to my potential, it wouldn’t have been – had the whole fight looked like the third round, there wouldn’t have been any doubt,” Fili said. “There wouldn’t have been any judges (expletive) it up or anything like that. Had I of finished the fight, there wouldn’t have been any bull(expletive), and that’s on me. That’s not anyone else.

“That’s the thing about fighting – the finality of it. I really believe I won that fight, but now forever, the record book will always just say I lost that fight. It won’t say, ‘Oh, I probably actually won rounds 1 and 3.’ Like, ‘Oh, a lot of people told me it was a robbery.’ None of that (expletive) matters. It’s just the record says that I lost. Dealing with that finality as a fighter is hard. You put your heart and soul into this (expletive), and then you’ve got to just face the fact that you put everything that you have into this thing, and it doesn’t work out. It hurts bad.”

A longtime member of California’s famed Team Alpha Male, Fili (20-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) has shown flashes of his capabilities during a seven-year UFC run. But “Touchy” says he’s not interested in just competing in the sport’s biggest promotion. He has championship aspirations, and he knows every loss along the way sets back the timeline he wants to accomplish.

While some fighters can simply accept setbacks and move forward, Fili said that’s not the way he is wired.

“Unless you’ve chased something and put your entire soul into it and come up short, it’s hard to understand that losing a fight hurts like that,” Fili said. “But I’m excited to fight again. I love this (expletive). I’ll do this (expletive) until I can’t. I just want to make good on my potential. I want to, all the people who invested in me and stood by me who see the potential I have and see that I’m a world champion-caliber fighter and I have the potential, I want to make that investment worthwhile. For myself, I just want to get back in there and get a win.”

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The ongoing coronavirus pandemic means the UFC’s schedule is anything but a certainty moving forward. But Fili said he’s staying prepared for anything and would really like the opportunity to compete on the May 16 card currently scheduled to take place in his home state.

“I’m trying to get on that May 16 card in San Diego if that still happens, which I really hope to God it happens because it’s nice and close to home,” Fili said. “San Diego is a dope city. California fans are the (expletive) best. And I don’t really give a (expletive) about an opponent. I want to fight the best guys in the world.”

And beat them, of course.

Fili knows MMA fans can be fickle, with “What have you done for me lately?” a very clear concern. But a few months shy of his 30th birthday, Fili says he’s not concerned with the opinion of others. He knows what matters most.

“I genuinely just want to fight the best guys in the world, and I want to beat ’em,” Fili said. “I want to get my hand raised. I want to show everybody and show myself that I’m the best ’45er in the world. Like, I really believe that, and I know people will hear this and roll their eyes, and I know people will comment and talk (expletive) and tag me losing this – like, I know for a fact people are going to roll their eyes and talk (expletive) when I say I’m the best ’45er in the world, but I really believe that I am. I think I’ve shown flashes of it, and I just want to get back in there and really manifest and capitalize on this potential.

“I’ve been training with the best guys in the world. I’ve beaten some of the best guys in the world already. I just want to keep going.”

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Aljamain Sterling denies Cory Sandhagen matchup: ‘As far as I know there is no fight announcement’

Contrary to reports, UFC bantamweight Aljamain Sterling says he doesn’t have fight booked – and he’s not interested in taking one right now.

According to UFC bantamweight contender [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag], he does not have an upcoming fight on the books.

Despite multiple reports Monday about a booking with Cory Sandhagen being in the works for UFC on ESPN+ 33 in San Diego, Sterling (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) denied the matchup Tuesday.

“We’ve spoken about a few different opponents,” Sterling wrote on Twitter. “As far as I know there is no fight announcement. Especially with all this chaos happening”

Additionally, in a second tweet, Sterling pointed out he no longer has access to his gym and indicated he won’t be taking a fight unless that changes.

“I don’t even have access to my gym anymore,” Sterling wrote. “It’s been a complete ban for everyone and you guys think I’m taking a fight? Yea, ok”

Multiple people with knowledge of the situation backed Sterling’s take and told MMA Junkie the fight with Sandhagen hit a standstill earlier this month. Both location and opponent are still up in the air.

In a third tweet, Sterling said he’s “ok with waiting” until things return back to normal before taking a fight.

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One of the top 135-pound fighters in the world, Sterling hasn’t competed since July 2019. He’s riding a four-fight winning streak and has been victorious in six of his last seven bouts. His only loss came against Marlon Moraes at UFC Fight Night 123 in December 2017.

Check out Sterling’s tweets below:

Jared Gordon on police shutdown of Sanford MMA gym over coronavirus restrictions: ‘It sucks’ 

Jared Gordon and his team were forced to take training elsewhere due to coronavirus restrictions.

[autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]’s training, like many others in the MMA world, has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The 31-year-old UFC fighter and his team were ordered by police on Friday to leave their Sanford MMA gym (formerly known as Hard Knocks 365) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., due to the city’s measures to close non-essential business in hopes of containing and reducing the spread of the virus in the area.

“I walked into the gym, I went  to the locker room, I changed, I was about to get my hands wrapped, and the cops walked in and they were like, ‘Hey, you guys have to leave,'” Gordon told MMA Junkie. “Because we were in Fort Lauderdale, and it’s in a lockdown part of the non-essential establishments, so like gyms, clubs, bars, are not allowed to be open. So they kicked us out.”

Gordon (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC), who lives in nearby Boynton Beach, is scheduled to fight at UFC on ESPN+ 23, which is currently set for May 16 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Calif. He takes on Matt Sayles in a return to the featherweight division after having competed at lightweight for the last three years.

Gordon and his team didn’t suspend training because of police ordering them to leave. Instead, they did what they could and took things elsewhere.

“So that was that,” Gordon said. “We went to the park and got some work in. It wasn’t anything serious, they just told us to leave.”

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Gordon said the team will take training to their second location up north in Deerfield Beach.

“The other location is north, only like Miami and Fort Lauderdale are in lockdown, so they’re going city by city.” Gordon explained. “Right now, we’re all right as far as our other location, but I’m sure it will spread more to other cities.

“The other gym is still open, so we’re going to be there for now.”

Gordon hasn’t spoken to his coaches about a potential contingency plan if the the team’s second gym were to shut down due to coronavirus restrictions.

“It sucks, it’s all is up in the air,” Gordon said. “I’m just going with the flow, that’s all I can do right now.”

For now, Gordon will continue training for his bout but admits he’s concerned about it potentially not happening, as California is currently under statewide “stay at home” orders, and there’s no clear idea when recommended social distancing might come to an end.

“I’m definitely concerned,” Gordon said. “My opponent is from California. and they’re in a state-wide lockdown, so how does he train? That’s unfair for him; I guess it’s good for me. But how does the UFC expect guys that are on lockdown to train, and we don’t even know when the lockdown gets lifted? And who knows if it’ll spread to Florida more and they shut us down? So I’m just going with the flow.”

“Trying to get my weight down, train hard still, and definitely concerned, but I think it will get postponed. I’m still getting ready, staying active, and doing what I can with what I have. Definitely concerned, but just going with the flow, not trying to get worked up about it, not going to freak out because if it gets postponed because there’s a pretty good possibility that it could. I’m just giving it to God; he’s in control, and I truly believe that. I’m just letting it be.”

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