Tag: UFC on ESPN+ 38

Video: Said Nurmagomedov opens UFC on ESPN+ 38 with blistering knockout

Said Nurmagomedov got UFC on ESPN+ 38 event off to a hot start with a vicious knockout of Mark Striegl.

[autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag] got Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 38 event off to a hot start with a vicious knockout of Mark Striegl.

Nurmagomedov (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) needed just 51 seconds to score an absolutely crushing knockout of Striegl (18-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in their bantamweight bout, which took place at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

Striegl made the mistake of getting overly aggressive early, and Nurmagomedov responded with a left hook that led to the fight hitting the mat, where he landed vicious ground-and-pound to shut the lights off.

Watch the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):

With the win, Nurmagomedov rebounded from a loss to Raoni Barcelos at UFC on ESPN+ 23 in December 2019. Striegl had a five-fight unbeaten streak snapped in his octagon debut.

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UFC on ESPN+ 38 discussion thread

UFC on ESPN+ 38 takes place Saturday in Abu Dhabi, and you can discuss the event here.

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ABU DHABI – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 38 event at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, which kicks off at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT). You can discuss the event here.

Be sure to follow along with the latest card updates in our UFC on ESPN+ 38 live results post, and then discuss the event in the comments section below.

Round-by-round updates and official results begin at approximately 4 p.m. ET for the preliminary card and 7 p.m. ET for the main card.

Brian Ortega: Children’s charity, not weight-cut issues, was reason for shaving his head

Brian Ortega explains why he shaved his head prior to his UFC on ESPN+ 38 headliner vs. Chan Sung Jung.

ABU DHABI — When [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] showed up to the UFC on ESPN+ 38 weigh-ins without his patented luscious locks, the MMA world went into a frenzy.

Speculation arose Ortega was potentially having issues with his cut down to featherweight for his headliner against Chan Sung Jung on Saturday, but Ortega was the first one to the scale and successfully made 146 pounds.

It was later revealed by ESPN that Ortega (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) shaved his head for a good cause, where he plans on donating his hair to the Locks of Love charity for children undergoing chemotherapy.

Speaking to UFC Arabia, Ortega claimed that his weight cut went smoothly and the plan was always to cut his hair, just not all of it initially. Ortega launched his own foundation, The Brian Ortega Foundation, a few years ago and has always had an interest in working with kids.

“We have a camera and we documented the whole weight cut, showing how smooth it was going and everything, so people on the internet just like to say negative things right off the bat,” Ortega said. “I was already gonna cut my hair after this fight. I was gonna have it a little bit slicked back not shaved, but when I was cutting weight, I was talking to them, I was like listen, there’s people out there who are suffering daily versus just one day right now.

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“For me, weight cut, we suffer one or two days then we’re good and we’re back to normal. There’s people out there who have to lose their hair not by choice and to go through a lot of things and to me kids, obviously I love kids so I’m donating my hair to the kids who need it.”

UFC on ESPN+ 38 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card streams on ESPN+.

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UFC on ESPN+ 38 predictions: Is it Brian Ortega or ‘Korean Zombie’ on Fight Island?

Check out our staff members’ predictions for the UFC on ESPN+ 38 main card in Abu Dhabi.

Ortega
vs.
Jung		 Andrade
vs.
Chookagian		 Bukauskas
vs.
Crute		 Almeida
vs.
Martinez
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2020: 121-77		 jung2020
Jung
(69%)		 andrade2020
Andrade
(64%)		 crute2020
Crute
(78%)		 almeida2020
Almeida
(80%)
Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2020: 131-67		 jung2020
Jung		 andrade2020
Andrade		 crute2020
Crute		 martinez2020
Martinez
Nolan King
@mma_kings
2020: 131-67		 jung2020
Jung		 andrade2020
Andrade		 bukauskas2020
Bukauskas		 almeida2020
Almeida
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2020: 130-68		 ortega2020
Ortega		 andrade2020
Andrade		 bukauskas2020
Bukauskas		 almeida2020
Almeida
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
2020: 129-69		 jung2020
Jung		 andrade2020
Andrade		 crute2020
Crute		 almeida2020
Almeida
Dave Doyle
@davedoylemma
2020: 128-70		 ortega2020
Ortega		 andrade2020
Andrade		 bukauskas2020
Bukauskas		 almeida2020
Almeida
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2020: 127-71
trophy copy 2014 Champion		 jung2020
Jung		 chookagian2020
Chookagian		 crute2020
Crute		 almeida2020
Almeida
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2020: 127-71
trophy copy 2017 Champion		 jung2020
Jung		 andrade2020
Andrade		 crute2020
Crute		 martinez2020
Martinez
Simon Head
@simonhead
2020: 126-72
trophy copy 2019 Champion*		 jung2020
Jung		 andrade2020
Andrade		 bukauskas2020
Bukauskas		 almeida2020
Almeida
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2020: 125-73		 jung2020
Jung		 andrade2020
Andrade		 crute2020
Crute		 almeida2020
Almeida
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2020: 122-76		 ortega2020
Ortega		 andrade2020
Andrade		 bukauskas2020
Bukauskas		 almeida2020
Almeida
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2020: 122-76
trophy copy 2018 Champion		 ortega2020
Ortega		 chookagian2020
Chookagian		 crute2020
Crute		 almeida2020
Almeida
John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2020: 119-79		 ortega2020
Ortega		 andrade2020
Andrade		 crute2020
Crute		 martinez2020
Martinez
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2020: 118-80		 jung2020
Jung		 andrade2020
Andrade		 crute2020
Crute		 almeida2020
Almeida
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2020: 80-118		 ortega2020
Ortega		 chookagian2020
Chookagian		 bukauskas2020
Bukauskas		 martinez2020
Martinez

(Note: The main card fight between James Krause and Claudio Silva was added too late for our picks deadline.)

The UFC stays at its “Fight Island” home away from home this week with a long-awaited featherweight matchup at the top of the card.

UFC on ESPN+ 38 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) takes on “The Korean Zombie,” [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC), in a matchup between former featherweight title challengers. Jungn is a 2-1 favorite in the fight, but it’s a close fight in the picks from our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts. They’re taking Jung, but just at an 8-6 clip.

In the co-feature, former strawweight champion [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) takes on recent women’s flyweight title challenger [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in a bout at 125 pounds. Andrade is the mild favorite, and she’s got a big 11-3 picks lead.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout. Crute is the biggest favorite on the main card, but he’s only got an 8-6 picks lead.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Thomas Almeida[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) fights [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at bantamweight. Almeida is returning from a lengthy layoff and is a slight favorite at the sports books. He’s also got a 10-4 lead from our pickers.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Jung (69 percent), Andrade (64 percent), Crute (78 percent) and Almeida (80 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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UFC on ESPN+ 38 faceoff video highlights, photo gallery

After the UFC on ESPN+ 38 weigh-ins took place Friday, so too did fighter faceoffs, and MMA Junkie was on the scene.

ABU DHABI – After the UFC on ESPN+ 38 weigh-ins took place Friday, so too did fighter faceoffs, and MMA Junkie was on the scene.

In the main event, a pair of former featherweight title challengers meet when Brian Ortega (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) takes on “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC).

You can watch the faceoffs for that fight, as well as 10 more, in the video above. And don’t miss our exclusive photo gallery below, as well.

UFC on ESPN+ 38 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card streams on ESPN+.

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UFC on ESPN+ 38: Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung make weight on Fight Island

UFC on ESPN+ 38: Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung make weight on Fight Island

UFC on ESPN+ 38: Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung make weight on Fight Island

UFC on ESPN+ 38 video: Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung make weight on ‘Fight Island’

The main event for UFC on ESPN+ 38 is official on “Fight Island.” Check out Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung’s trips to the scale.

ABU DHABI – The main event for UFC on ESPN+ 38 is official on “Fight Island.”

In the main event, a pair of former featherweight title challengers meet when [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) takes on “The Korean Zombie,” [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC). Ortega was the first fighter to the scale during Friday’s two-hour window. He weighed in at 146 pounds. Jung stepped on the scale not long after and was 146, as well.

Check out their trips to the scale in the video above.

UFC on ESPN+ 38 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card streams on ESPN+.