Tag: UFC on ESPN 36

Aleksandar Rakic to undergo surgery for torn ACL after loss to Jan Blachowicz

Aleksandar Rakic suffered the third torn ACL of his career in his loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC on ESPN 36.

[autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] received the news he was dreading on Monday when it was confirmed he suffered a torn ACL in his UFC on ESPN 36 main event with Jan Blachowicz.

Rakic’s knee buckled in the third round of this past Saturday’s headliner when he took an awkward back step and gave out underneath him. Rakic (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was immediately ruled unable to continue, and Blachowicz (29-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC) was awarded the win in the critical light heavyweight bout.

The painful reaction on Rakic’s face made it clear there was likely significant damage, and MMA Junkie verified with a person close to the situation, who requested anonymity, that Rakic was confirmed to have torn the ACL in his right knee following an MRI.

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Ariel Helwani was first to report news of Rakic’s diagnosis on Monday, adding that Rakic has torn the ACL in his left on two previous instances, with this being the first in his right knee.

As a result of the injury, Rakic will be required to undergo surgery. A date for the procedure has not been scheduled.

Rakic, who entered UFC on ESPN 36 as the No. 9-ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie light heavyweight rankings, does not have a timeline to return, which will be covered under the UFC’s insurance policy because he suffered the injury mid-fight. Historically, ACL tear have kept athletes sidelines from nine month to more than 12 months.

Prior to the injury, Rakic and former UFC champ Blachowicz were tied 19-19 on the scorecard, having split the first two rounds.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3260: UFC on ESPN 36 and Bellator 281 recaps, thoughts on Lyoto Machida, more

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 3,260, the guys look back at UFC on ESPN 36 and Bellator 281 from this past weekend, including the scoring of Logan Storley’s win over Michael Pahe, taking a hard look at Lyoto Machida, Amanda Ribas’ loss, and more. Plus, what do we think of Tony Ferguson’s first interview wince UFC 274 with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn? 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.

Unbeaten prospect Tatsuro Taira hopes next fight in front of crowd after UFC on ESPN 36 win

Tatsuro Taira wants a bigger stage after UFC on ESPN 36.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] wants a bigger stage after UFC on ESPN 36.

Taira (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) scored a lopsided win over Carlos Candelario Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, where his grappling and striking skills were on full display en route to a unanimous decision.

The 22-year-old unbeaten Japanese prospect enjoyed his experience at the UFC Apex, but he wants to perform in front of fans for his next fight.

“Singapore is too soon, so maybe not,” Taira told reporters at the UFC on ESPN 36 post-fight press conference on fighting at UFC 275. “But I’d like to have an audience next time, and the Apex was really good, it was really fun. Just like very entry, going to elementary school.”

He continued, “I hope I can have maybe one, at least, or two fights in 2022 this year.”

Although Taira went the distance for just the third time in 11 professional wins, he had Candelario in some bad positions and finished the fight off in dominant position on the ground.

“I had a couple of chances to finish it, but basically the opponent was tough, and he just slipped away,” Taira said. “So I just realized that this is my current level, so I will train more, and I will be stronger, and I’m gonna come back again.”

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6 biggest takeaways from UFC on ESPN 36: Blachowicz’s title hopes, Rakic’s injury, Kelley’s cornering

Tony Kelley’s controversial cornering, Aleksandar Rakic’s injury and Jan Blachowicz’s win highlight our UFC on ESPN 36 takeaways.

What mattered most at UFC on ESPN 36 in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings…

Aleksandar Rakic reveals UFC on ESPN 36 knee injury originally occurred ‘3 weeks ago in camp’

Aleksandar Rakic says a knee injury suffered during training camp resurfaced during UFC on ESPN 36 main event against Jan Blachowicz.

The main event of UFC on ESPN 36 was shaping up to be a memorable battle, until its abrupt and unfortunate ending due to injury.

[autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] and former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz were in a very competitive back-and-forth fight with a potential shot at the division’s title on the line. However, in the third round, Rakic’s knee buckled out of nowhere in the third round, causing an immediate stop to the fight, rewarding Blachowicz (29-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC) with the TKO victory.

According to Rakic (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), the injury is one that occurred a few weeks prior to the fight during training camp, but he still competed. He also believes he won the first two rounds of the fight before the injury resurfaced, and says he would have continued to pull away in the later rounds.

“A great battle took place in the octagon tonight but unfortunately, it ended not the way Jan and I or the fans wanted,” Rakic wrote on Instagram. “The same damn injury from 3 weeks ago in camp showed up again tonight.

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“I felt I won both rounds, round one being close but round two was just mine then I opened up really good even in the third before my knee buckled. Knowing the fact that my cardio was off the chart (with a heartbeat at 36 in sleep) I would start to picking him apart from third round on but it is what it is. Congratulation to Jan and I wish him the best. I will take care of this injury and come back like you never seen me before.
This is a unfinished fight between Jan and I and I really hope @ufc gives me a REMATCH.”

Rakic entered Saturday’s contest on a two-fight win streak with back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos. Once healthy, he would like the chance to rematch with Blachowicz, who has his eyes set on reclaiming the title he previously held.

Blachowicz, who did not come away from Saturday’s contest unscathed, hopes to face the winner of the upcoming title fight on June 11. The division’s champion, Glover Teixeira, is set to defend the light heavyweight title against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275.

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UFC’s Tony Kelley says comments while cornering Andrea Lee weren’t racist, blames ‘cancel culture’ for backlash

Tony Kelley responds to backlash from controversial comments made while cornering Andrea Lee at UFC on ESPN 36.

[autotag]Tony Kelley[/autotag] has addressed his controversial comments made during the UFC on ESPN 36 broadcast.

The UFC bantamweight, who was at the event working as a cornerman for Andrea Lee, was under fire on Saturday night for what he told Lee in between rounds during her women’s flyweight bout against Brazil’s Viviane Araujo.

“That’s what they’re going to do – they’re dirty f*cking Brazilians,” Kelley told Lee. “They’re going to f*cking cheat like that.”

Soon after, reactions from fighters, fans, and media came pouring in regards to Kelley’s comments. The 35-year-old addressed the situation on early Sunday morning, claiming his comments weren’t racist and he doesn’t care if people perceive them that way.

“Cancel Culture is real,” Kelley wrote on Twitter. “What I said was real and in the heat of battle, and in no way had any type of racist connotations meant…but if that’s the way you take it, idgaf (I don’t give a f*ck). So many people quick to say racist..that shits getting so old. My reference was to a dirty eye poke.”

Lee went on to lose a unanimous decision to Araujo on Saturday night, snapping a two-fight win streak. Lee has not publicly commented on the fight or Kelley’s comments at the time of writing.

Kelley is currently scheduled to fight Adrian Yanez on June 18 at UFC on ESPN 37 in Austin, Texas. He last fought at UFC 269 in December where he stopped Randy Costa.

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UFC on ESPN 36 bonuses: Ryan Spann got out of his own way to the tune of $50,000 extra

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including a killer submission in the co-main event.

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including a big submission in the co-main event.

After UFC on ESPN 36, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.

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Twitter reacts to Jan Blachowicz’s injury TKO win over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC on ESPN 36

See the top Twitter reactions to Jan Blachowicz’s win over Aleksandar Rakic in the UFC on ESPN 36 main event.

[autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] rebounded from losing the light heavyweight title against [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] in the UFC on ESPN 36 main event, but it came in anticlimactic fashion.

Blachowicz (29-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC) was awarded a third-round TKO win after Rakic (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) suffered a knee injury that forced the bout to be stopped. Nevertheless, the victory at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas gave him prominent positioning for a title shot at 205 pounds.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Blachowicz’s win over Rakic at UFC on ESPN 36.

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UFC on ESPN 36 results: Jan Blachowicz gets TKO win over Aleksandar Rakic when Rakic’s knee buckles

Former light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz is back on track and hoping to be next in line – though it wasn’t how he wanted it to happen.

Former light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] is back on track and hoping to be next in line – though it wasn’t how he likely wanted it to happen.

Blachowicz (29-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC) got a TKO win over [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 36 main event Saturday. But it came only after Rakic backed up in the third round and his right knee buckled. After he fell to the canvas with the injury, the fight was waved off and Blachowicz had the TKO win at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

After the win, Blachowicz said he wanted another title shot against champion Glover Teixeira, who is scheduled to defend the belt against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275 next month.

Blachowicz worked kicked to the leg early, but a Rakic right hand cut him under his left eye. The cut seemed to bother Blachowicz for most of the round. Rakic’s leg kicks were a regular weapon, as was his tendency to wait for Blachowicz to go first before countering. Blachowicz’s best weapon seemed to be lefts to the body with rights over the top as a combination, but Rakic continued to push forward and throw hard. Rakic slowed down in the final minute of the round in what was a close frame.

Thirty seconds into the second, Rakic finds a way to dump Blachowicz to the canvas. Blachowicz tries for a triangle choke, but Rakic works out of it and goes to work on top in Blachowicz’s guard. Rakic threw short punches and elbows when he could, and they started to add up. Although there wasn’t much action, Rakic controlled Blachowicz with relative ease on the canvas. Blachowicz got back to his feet with a few seconds left for the first time since early in the round, but without enough time to make a difference.

Blachowicz needed a turnaround in the third after being controlled in the second. He threw a leg kick early that backed Rakic up. And after a couple left jabs, Rakic backed up again and without warning, his right knee buckled. Rakic grabs the leg immediately and fell to the canvas. Blachowicz started to move in, but he saw Rakic obviously was hurt, and referee Mark Smith moved in to shut things down. The end came at the 1:11 mark of the third round.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 36 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 36 video: Ryan Spann chokes out Ion Cutelaba, issues warning to 205-pounders

Ryan Spann reminded the world that he’s primarily a submission threat when he tapped out Ion Cutelaba in the first round at UFC on ESPN 36.

[autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] reminded the world that he’s primarily a submission threat when he tapped out [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] in the first round at UFC on ESPN 36.

After some intense early exchanges, Spann (20-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) latched a deep standing front choke on Cutelaba (16-7-1 MMA, 5-6-1 UFC) that he turned into a guillotine to finish the fight at the 2:22 mark of Round 1.

The was the UFC on ESPN 36 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Spann opened quickly with a jab, overhand right combination that got some respect. Cutelaba used a lot of movement, but showed some hesitance pulling the trigger. Spann landed a pair of hard punches and they collided near the fence, which led to them spilling to the canvas and Cutelaba getting mount. Spann stood back up, but Cutelaba secured another takedown.

Spann stood back up then locked in a front choke during a scramble on the feet. He pulled Cutelaba to the canvas and forced an urgent tap out for a beautiful stoppage win.

It was an important performance for Spann, who suffered a first-round submission loss to Anthony Smith in his first UFC headliner in September. He’s now alternated wins and losses over his past five fights, and hopes this showing was the beginning of his best form.

“I had to get out of my way to make sure I did what I had to do,” Spann said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I didn’t get out of my way last time. I made sure I did this time. I’m going to get my coach that belt. I’m telling you, I’m coming.”

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