Tag: UFC on ESPN 43

Nate Landwehr to Austin Lingo: ‘We’re going to see who’s the real dog’ at UFC on ESPN 43

Nate Landwehr, who has bonuses in his back-to-back wins, wants to test Austin Lingo’s heart at UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO – [autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag] wants to test [autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag]’s heart at UFC on ESPN 43.

Landwehr (16-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) faces Lingo (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in Saturday’s featured bout at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

“This is my 21st pro fight. I’ve seen a lot, done a lot,” Landwehr told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “He’s orthodox. He’s a banger, I’m a banger. He’s tough, I’m tough. We’re going to see who’s the real dog.

“This will be a good fight. Lingo’s a tough dude. He’s got good boxing. He’s got a good left hook. We’re going to see who’s who and what’s what real quick.”

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Landwehr is coming off back-to-back bonus-winning victories, including when he outlasted David Onama in a back-and-forth Fight of the Night winner this past August. While he’s happy to put on another show, “The Train” knows he needs to start putting people away if he wants to hit the featherweight rankings.

“I’m going to try and pitch a shutout,” Landwehr said. “I’m going to try and go out there and just dominate him, get a finish. I want to finish this guy. I should have finished Onama. (I) just was having too much fun, but I should have got the finish. I need a finish. I need to rack up finishes in the UFC.

“We’ll see how the division plays out in the future. There’s a bunch of big fights happening in the top 15. I’m pretty mad, I was supposed to leave Saturday top 15, and that’s driving me. I’m going to get this finish, going to carry on, and we’re going to make a run.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

UFC on ESPN 43 news: Tamires Vidal out, Hailey Cowan’s debut delayed again

A medical issue has forced Tamires Vidal out of her scheduled UFC on ESPN 43 matchup against Hailey Cowan in San Antonio.

A late addition to UFC on ESPN 43 will no longer take place.

The promotion officially announced Thursday evening that [autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag] is out of her scheduled bout against [autotag]Hailey Cowan[/autotag] due to an undisclosed medical issue. The event taking place at AT&T Center in San Antonio will proceed with 12 bouts, as there will be no replacement for Cowan (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

Earlier this month, MMA Junkie first reported the booking, which was the final matchup to complete the card. The event airs on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+, beginning at 4 p.m. ET.

Vidal (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made her UFC debut in November, where she finished Ramona Pascual with a flying knee in the first round at UFC Fight Night 214.

Cowan, who was signed to the UFC from Dana White’s Contender Series, attempted to make her debut in February, but it fell through due to medical issues of her own. An ovarian cyst rupture forced the 31-year-old fighter to withdraw from the bout, leading to the booking against Vidal. Now, her debut will have to wait even longer.

The updated UFC on ESPN 43 lineup is as follows:

  • Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen
  • Holly Holm vs. Yana Santos
  • Nate Landwehr vs. Austin Lingo
  • Maycee Barber vs. Andrea Lee
  • Manel Kape vs. Alex Perez
  • Albert Duraev vs. Chidi Njokuani
  • Tucker Lutz vs. Daniel Pineda
  • Lucas Alexander vs. Steven Peterson
  • Trevin Giles vs. Preston Parsons
  • Daniel Da Silva vs. CJ Vergara
  • Trey Ogden vs. Manuel Torres
  • Victor Altamirano vs. Vinicius Salvador

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

Marlon Vera: Henry Cejudo returning because he’s broke, and ‘little guy’ needs attention

Marlon Vera thinks Henry Cejudo’s main motivation to return is money and a need for attention after being out of the UFC spotlight.

SAN ANTONIO – [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]’s main motivation to return is money.

Cejudo retired after he retainedd his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz in May 2020. Three years later, Cejudo will look to reclaim the belt he never lost when he challenges bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in the UFC 288 headliner May 6.

But because Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) already captured belts in two weight divisions, and successfully defended both, Vera (20-7-1 MMA, 14-6 UFC) says there’s only one reason he’s coming back.

“He’s broke,” Vera told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day for UFC on ESPN 43. “What’s the point to come back when you retire on top? You come back because either you need attention and you miss that thing, or you need money. He is a little guy. They need attention.”

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Vera will look to enter the title conversation himself when he meets Cory Sandhagen (15-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 43 headliner at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

If Vera gets past Sandhagen, he’ll have five wins in a row. The UFC recently said Sean O’Malley, whom Vera already beat in 2020, is the No. 1 contender, but “Chito” isn’t worried about what’s next. He said he’ll keep taking out top-ranked contenders until he can’t be denied.

“I’m winning the way they want wins and the fans are cheering for me,” Vera said. “There is a reason this is in front of an arena. There’s a reason I’m fighting three main events in a row. I’ll just keep making money, and eventually the belt will come to me.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

Manel Kape expects ‘easy win’ over Alex Perez to put him directly in line for the belt

Manel Kape has his eyes on a bantamweight title and plans on running through Alex Perez at UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio to get there.

SAN ANTONIO – [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] has his eyes on UFC gold and plans on running through [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag] to get there.

Kape (18-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) meets former title challenger Perez (24-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 43 main card at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

With Kape’s momentum and Perez’s inactivity, the confident 29-year-old doesn’t see how he loses the fight.

“With this win, it’s going to be definitely the fight that’s going to put me in line for the belt because this guy is a former contender for the belt,” Kape told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I just believe an easy win on Saturday night is going to put me direct to the belt.

“The way he fights, the way I fight, the match, the combinations and everything, I can definitely tell it’s going to be an easy night. … He’s a fighter that’s been a long time not fighting, not active. I saw him a couple of times at the UFC (Performance Institute). His shape is a mess.”

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After he dropped his first two UFC bouts, Kape now is on a three-fight winning streak with two knockouts. The former Rizin bantamweight champion looks to add another belt to his resume by the end of the year.

“2023, I want to be in this straights wins – get the belt this year,” Kape said. “I believe this is going to be my year. I just fought (recently). I’ve been in shape, excited. My goal is just to get this belt. This is my priority right now: Get this belt,. I’ve been dreaming about this all the time.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

Chidi Njokuani glad he didn’t get to the UFC earlier: ‘I would’ve f*cked it all up’

Had he gotten to the UFC sooner, Chidi Njokuani thinks the spotlight would’ve had a negative impact on a younger version of himself.

SAN ANTONIO – [autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag] thinks he joined the UFC roster at the perfect time.

Although it took Njokuani (22-8 MMA, 2-1 UFC) 28 professional fights, the 34-year-old doubts he would have been able to handle the brighter lights and bigger paychecks as a young fighter.

In three UFC bouts, the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate has earned two knockout wins and three bonuses overall.

“I think I got here when I needed to,” Njokuani told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday for UFC on ESPN 43. “I think if I would have came when I was young and 20-something, I would have just messed it all up. You couldn’t give me that amount of money back then. I would have just messed everything up. … I would have f*cked it all up. You would have found me in a ditch somewhere.”

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Njokuani will look to rebound from his first octagon loss to Gregory Rodrigues in a Fight of the Night clash this past September when he meets Albert Duraev (15-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 43 main card opener at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

With 14 knockout wins to his name, Njokuani expects Duraev to grapple him.

“I think anybody that fights me is going to try to be more grapple-heavy, regardless of what they did in their last fight,” Njokuani said. “So I expect him to come out and really try to like push the pace on the ground.

“I just want to be the best. I want to come out here and I want to beat everybody that they put in front of me. I want to do it in dominant fashion. I want to put on exciting fights. I want to just go down in the history books.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

UFC on ESPN 43’s Albert Duraev plans to show he’s not just a wrestler: ‘I can beat everyone in my division’

Albert Duraev aims to prove that he’s more than just a wrestler against noted striker Chidi Njokuani at UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO – [autotag]Albert Duraev[/autotag] aims to prove he’s more than just a wrestler at UFC on ESPN 43.

Duraev (15-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) faces Chidi Njokuani (22-8 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on Saturday’s main card opener at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

Duraev will be facing another knockout artist in Njokuani, but vows to show off a well-rounded game in the fight.

“My opponent is tall, which makes him a little inconvenient for me, but I’ve been working and I’ve been preparing for that,” Duraev told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “Honestly, he cannot do anything with me. I’m the dangerous one.

“You only see me as a wrestler. But trust me: I can hit, I can work standing up, and I can beat everyone in my division. My opponent is not an excuse, but if I get a chance to use my wrestling, of course I will do that.”

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Duraev will look to rebound from a doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley, which snapped a 10-fight winning streak.

“During my last fight, a lot of mistakes were done, and that was not a surprise to me that I lost that fight,” Duraev said. “But getting ready for this fight, I worked a lot on my defense. I worked a lot in general.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

CJ Vergara details his crazy MMA journey, from backyard brawls to UFC on ESPN 43

Once CJ Vergara’s fighting career is over, he might have a future as a promoter. Saturday, he has a UFC on ESPN 43 home bout in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO – Once [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]’s fighting career is over, he probably has a future as a promoter.

When Vergara was a teenager growing up in Texas near San Antonio, he found himself the de facto boss of a backyard fight club. Not only did he fight, but he said he also stirred things up behind the scenes to help with matchmaking.

But just being in that position to begin with, Vergara said, came from some of the typical trappings of American high school life.

“I was 15 years old when that happened. I was a freshman in high school and I was new to the area,” Vergara said at Wednesday’s media day for UFC on ESPN 43. “I was getting bullied, picked on, so I started a rumor that I was a trained fighter. Meanwhile, I was doing all of my back research: I was watching Matt Hughes takedown videos, Chuck Liddell takedown defense videos, Tito Ortiz ground-and-pound stuff, and putting all the pieces together that I could. Then I’d go practice it on the tough guys from the football team, whoever it was. I just kept getting better and better. Meanwhile, I had the passion that I had, but couldn’t convince my parents to put me in a gym yet. So that’s where (my fighting career) started from.”

Vergara (10-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) on Saturday gets a home fight when he takes on Daniel Da Silva (11-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) in a flyweight bout on the UFC on ESPN 43 prelims at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

Vergara said there’s no pressure fighting at home – even if it’s in front of some of the same people he put hands on during backyard fights back in the day.

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“It was about 10 miles down the road that we were fighting in backyards every single weekend,” Vergara said. “At the time, I was telling everybody that I was going to be in the UFC some day. Here I am in that full-circle moment, living out that manifestation and dream that I set out to do in front of my hometown crowd. I have a massive following in San Antonio, so when I go out and perform this Saturday, it is going to put this city on the map having a fighter from the city coming up the way that I am.

“… That is what brought me to this position I’m in right now is because the specific pressure that comes with being a fighter. Things go really good or things go as bad as they possibly can. So for me to step into the octagon here in San Antonio and put everything that I’ve ever done and said on the line in front of everybody that I know, and everybody that knows me, is exactly what keeps me up every day and honestly keeps me up at night sometimes. So yes, the pressure is there. And the pressure is what keeps me improving.”

Check out Vergara’s full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

UFC on ESPN 43 breakdown: Marlon Vera is no easy out, but can Cory Sandhagen frustrate him?

MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom takes a closer look at the UFC on ESPN 43 headliner between bantamweights Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen.

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for UFC on ESPN 43.

UFC on ESPN 43 takes place Saturday at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

MMA Junkie Radio #3346: Guest Jorge Masvidal, Bryce Mitchell conspiracy theories, UFC preview, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”


Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,346, the boys bring on guest [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag], who returns at UFC 287 next month in Miami against Gilbert Burns. Plus, they preview UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio and discuss the latest news from the UFC, Bellator, BKFC and more. 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.

UFC on ESPN 43 commentary team, broadcast plans: Michael Bisping makes quick turn from London PPV

Michael Bisping is back in the commentary booth for UFC on ESPN 43 after receiving criticism for his call at UFC 286 in London.

The UFC schedule continues this week with UFC on ESPN 43 on Saturday at AT&T Center in San Antonio.

As always, some marquee on-air talent will be there to help guide viewers through the experience.

Details of who will work as commentators and analysts for each event have been acquired by MMA Junkie through a person with knowledge of the situation, and you can see the scheduled broadcast team below.