Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,252, the fellas break down the good, bad and ugly from Bellator 277 and UFC on ESPN 34. Tune in!
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
The U.S. government recently put a $5 million bounty on Daniel Kinahan’s head, so why was a UFC fighter praising him after a win?
LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 34 winner [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] had just been interviewed by Daniel Cormier inside the octagon, and while Cormier was ready to end it, Lazzez still had more to say.
He even went out of his way to grab the mic so he could say it.
“I would love to thank my coaches and my brother, Daniel Kinahan,” Lazzez said. “Without him, I would never be the man that I am today and to my career to this point. Thanks a lot.”
It was a curious choice of words in a UFC cage and with a nationally televised ESPN audience watching.
Kinahan, 44, is a suspected Irish mobster from Dublin wanted by the U.S. government. On Monday, the Treasury Department announced that it has imposed sanctions on Kinahan and other key members of the Kinahan Organized Crime Group, which is alleged to partake in narcotics trafficking, money laundering, firearms trafficking, and murder.
The Treasury Department also is offering a reward up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Kinahan, who’s become a major figure as a boxing promoter through MTK Global, with a roster that includes Tyson Fury, Terence Crawford, Josh Taylor, and more – although MTK Global issued a statement that Kinahan will have “no future involvement” with the company in the wake of the U.S. sanctions.
Following Lazzez’s win, reporter Alan Dawson opened his scrum by asking for an explanation of him praising Kinahan in the octagon.
“That man is a friend and adviser,” said Lazzez, who is represented by MTK Global. “He’s the one who picked me up every time that life kick me down. He’s a real man of his word. He’s the one who teach me what does it mean, family, a real friend. It’s someone I cannot thank him enough for what I am today and who I am today. He teach me the real manner. He teach me how to be responsible in my family and my friend. That’s why I said that, all the credit and shoutout to him.”
When asked if he was aware of the sanctions placed on him five days earlier, Lazzez said, “No, I don’t know that.”
As earnest as Lazzez was to thank Kinahan inside the cage, it became evident he didn’t want to discuss things further as the line of questioning continued.
“I think I’m here to entertain people, and I give the credit to whoever deserve credit,” Lazzez said. “I’m not involved in this kind of stuff. I don’t know about, and I will investigate how it is and how it goes. …
“I don’t follow really this kind of news. I focus on the sport, I focus on my family, I focus in entertain people, and that’s most important.”
Lazzez’s controversial remarks came after he scored a unanimous decision win over Ange Loosa to move his overall record to 11-2 and UFC mark to 2-1.
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Find out which four fighters earned an extra $50,000 from the UFC following Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.
The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including a hard-fought battle between two women.
After UFC on ESPN 34, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.
Check out what each UFC on ESPN 34 winner had to say after their performance at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 34 took place Saturday with 14 bouts on the slate, and we’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex.
In the main event, welterweight contenders [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] and [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] squared off in a rematch of a 2016 fight Luque won by first-round knockout. Muhammad got his revenge Saturday by scoring a sound unanimous decision win.
You can hear from Muhammad and every UFC on ESPN 34 winner by checking out their post-fight scrums below.
Check out some of the top reactions to Belal Muhammad’s performance at UFC on ESPN 34.
[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] continued his winning ways Saturday night at UFC on ESPN 34, defeating [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] by unanimous decision in the main event between welterweight contenders at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The victory marked Muhammad’s eighth consecutive fight without a loss as he’s accumulated seven victories and one no contest, squarely inserting himself into the 170-pound title picture – although he called out Colby Covington after his performance.
Check below for some of the top Twitter reactions to Muhammad’s impressive win over Luque.
Belal Muhammad continued his unbeaten streak with a solid performance in the UFC on ESPN 34 main event.
[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] continues his rise up the UFC welterweight rankings.
Muhammad notched a big win Saturday night, out-pointing Brazil’s [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] in the main event of UFC on ESPN 34 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Muhammad (21-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) topped Luque (21-8-1 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in a unanimous decision that read 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 on the judges’ scorecards. It was a fight in which Muhammad survived a few rough patches but in the end best managed the bout.
The first two rounds were very even as Luque did most of the chasing, while Muhammad stayed on the outside looking to keep away from Luque’s power.
Both fighters had their moments on the feet, but the biggest difference was that Muhammad secured a takedown in both rounds. Both takedowns came with almost two minutes of control time each and enough ground-and-pound to avoid a stand-up. On both occasions, Luque was able to get back to his feet and resume the striking battle.
In the third, Luque’s striking shined. He connected several times on Muhammad and was clearly having an edge. In two different instances, Luque wobbled Muhammad and put him in survival mode. It was a clear round for the Brazilian.
The fourth round was competitive, but Muhammad was able to score a takedown early and control a good portion of the fight. Once the fight got back to the feet, Luque did a great job at pressuring forward and implementing his striking, but Muhammad also had shots of his own that connected well.
In the final round, Muhammad likely was at his best. He took down Luque and controlled him against the cage for a good portion of the fight. He was also able to neutralize Luque’s striking while having success with several combinations of his own.
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In his post-fight interview, Muhammad didn’t waste time campaigning for a title shot. Instead, he set his sights on fellow title contender Colby Covington.
“Let me get the big-mouth Karen, Colby Covington, who’s out here calling out 55ers,” Muhammad said. “Come and fight a real 70-pounder, you coward. I’m a real 70-pounder. I’m winning fights. I’m not Masvidal off of two losses, I’m not Woodley off of five losses, I’m ‘Bully B’ off of seven wins. Come and fight a real challenge, coward.”
Muhammad now finds himself unbeaten in his past eight bouts. He has seven wins and one no contest, which came against top contender Leon Edwards in 2021. Muhammad’s streak contains several notable names such as Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson and now Luque.
Meanwhile, Luque saw a four-fight losing streak come to an end. This was his first defeat since coming up short in a decision against Stephen Thompson back in late 2019.
Complete UFC on ESPN 34 results:
Watch Andre Fialho put away Miguel Baeza in brutal fashion at UFC on ESPN 34.
[autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]’s first UFC win came in impressive fashion.
The UFC welterweight picked up his first victory by putting away a tough [autotag]Miguel Baeza[/autotag] on the main card of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 34. Fialho (15-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) won by TKO, stopping Baeza (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) at the 4:39 mark of Round 1.
It was a bout in which Baeza shined early, connecting with good combinations that had Fialho backing up. In an exchange while clinching, Fialho hurt Baeza with a couple of uppercuts and then followed up with a series of shots that dropped Baeza.
You can watch Fialho’s win in the video below (via Twitter):
Fialho finishes Baeza with authority 👊⚡️ ️#UFCVegas51 pic.twitter.com/6SynvSvxL2
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 17, 2022
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Fialho was coming off a decision loss to Michel Pereira in January, which marked the start of his UFC career. Prior to that, Fialho was on a four-fight winning streak.
On the other hand, Baeza, who was once regarded as one of the best prospects at welterweight, is now on a three-fight losing streak. Two of the three defeats came by TKO. His last win came against Takashi Sato in late 2020, which earned him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 34 results include:
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Watch Devin Clark take out William Knight at UFC on ESPN 34 in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] had plenty to handle, but in the end he delivered.
A traditional light heavyweight, Clark put away a much larger [autotag]William Knight[/autotag], who bulked up for his official heavyweight debut. It was an impressive finish to close out the preliminary card of UFC on ESPN 34 as Clark (13-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) scored a knockout over Knight (11-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) at the 3:21 mark of Round 3.
Knight entered the bout with almost a 30-pound advantage. Clark was out-muscled early but rallied back to turn the tide and get a late stoppage win.
Below is Clark’s finish, which started with a nasty elbow-punch combo (via Twitter):
Boom, BOOM. 💥 … "Oh my goodness!"#UFCVegas51 pic.twitter.com/qlkC1XBLa7
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 17, 2022
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With the victory, Clark was able to bounce back from a two-fight losing streak. He’s now 3-2 in his past five UFC fights. The contest with Knight was his first fight at heavyweight.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 34 results include:
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UFC on ESPN 34 takes place Saturday in Las Vegas, and you can discuss the event here.
LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 34 event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, which kicks off at 5:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. PT). You can discuss the event here.
Be sure to follow along with the latest card updates in our UFC on ESPN 34 live results post, and then discuss the event in the comments section below.
Round-by-round updates and official results begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. ET for the preliminary card and 8:30 p.m. ET for the main card.
Drakkar Klose finally got back in the octagon at UFC on ESPN 34 after his infamous shove from Jeremy Stephens, and he dominated.
[autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag] has been waiting a long time since his infamous shove from Jeremy Stephens to get back in the octagon. He finally did on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 34 and responded with a lopsided victory.
Klose (12-2-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC) put a beatdown on Brandon Jenkins (14-8 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in their lightweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, landing shot after shot after shot until he eventually slumped his opponent and forced referee Herb Dean to step in and halt the action for the second-round TKO.
Check out a replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
Jenkins wasn't ready for a Klose encounter 👊#UFCVegas51 pic.twitter.com/xaARywrYNy
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 16, 2022
After the fight, a highly energized Klose knew exactly what he wanted next. He called out Mark Madsen (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who is fresh off a dominant win over Vinc Pichel at UFC 273 this month.
“It’s been two years since the last time I stepped in the cage – the whole push and all that stuff,” Klose said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “But enough about that. I want Mark Madsen. Where you at, boy?”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 34 results include:
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