Tag: UFC on ESPN 44

MMA Junkie’s 2023 Robbery of the Year: Joselyne Edwards def. Lucie Pudilova

Commentators were left in disbelief when judges awarded Joselyne Edwards the win over Lucila Pudilova.

Commentators were left in disbelief when judges awarded [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag] the win over [autotag]Lucila Pudilova[/autotag].

Edwards defeated Pudilova by split decision in their catchweight bout at UFC on ESPN 44 in April – a decision which was debated by many. All 15 media members who logged in their scores on MMA Decisions scored the fight in favor of Pudilova, with two even having it 30-27.

Pudilova scored a takedown just over a minute into Round 1, but wasn’t able to mount too much offense in top position. With less than a minute remaining in the round, Edwards popped back up and made Pudilova pay with a barrage of punches on the break. Considering that Edwards spent the majority of the round on her back, Pudilova should have been awarded the opening frame. Surprisingly, all three judges gave Edwards Round 1.

Edwards kicked off Round 2 with a clear advantage on the feet. But a minute and a half into the round, Pudilova took her down and dominated her on the ground. Pudilova ended the round in full mount raining down punches, in what was a clear round for her. All three judges agreed.

Heading into Round 3, commentators on duty Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier were confident that Pudilova was up two rounds. They suggested that Edwards needs a finish in order to win. Edwards did a good job of keeping the final round on the feet and even outstruck Pudilova, which gave her Round 3 on two of the judges’ scorecards.

Judge Ross Swanberg scored it 29-28 Edwards, judge Henry Guery scored it 29-28 Pudilova, and judge David Huyette scored it 29-28 Edwards. According to MMA Decisions, this was the first time judges Swanberg and Huyette submit a UFC scorecard, both who scored the fight for Edwards.

Considering that Pudilova had two takedowns and over seven minutes of control time, it’s hard to score the fight for Edwards. Edwards had her moments on the feet, but nothing significant enough to win her rounds where she was held down for a good portion.

According to UFC Stats, Pudilova was outstruck overall 90-74, which shouldn’t be a large enough margin to sway the judges against her. That’s why Edwards vs. Pudilova is MMA Junkie’s 2023 Robbery of the Year.

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MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for April: Featherweight contenders battle in Kansas City

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from April 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from April 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for April.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees

MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for April: Liz Carmouche saves title reign

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from April 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from April 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for April.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

Nominees

MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for April: Israel Adesanya exacts revenge on Alex Pereira

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from April 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from April 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for April.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

Henry Cejudo discusses how to fight Max Holloway: You can’t go ‘fire for fire’

Henry Cejudo discusses how to find success against Max Holloway, who in the past decade has lost to only Alexander Volkanovski.

Outside of Alexander Volkanovski, no one has had an answer for [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] in the past decade.

Holloway (24-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC), the former champion at 145 pounds, continued to take out top featherweight contenders when he defeated Arnold Allen in this past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 44 headliner. “Blessed” handed Allen his first octagon loss when he out-struck him over the course of five rounds.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag], who’s eyeing the featherweight title himself, broke down former champ Holloway’s game and where fighters can find success against him.

“(You) can’t go fire for fire with Holloway,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “You either have to hit him hard, anticipate him and hit him hard, or catch your distance and just play the kicking game.”

He continued, “You’d have to kick him. You have to take his foundation out, set traps, smoke. You can’t kick just to kick. You’ve got to inch your way in as you do that.”

Despite being dropped in the closing seconds of the fight, Allen won Round 5 on all three of the judges’ scorecards. But it was too little too late for the Brit, who saw his 10-fight winning streak snapped.

“Arnold Allen wanted it, but Holloway’s just too much for these cats,” Cejudo said. “The third fighter to go seven hours of fight time in UFC history. I mean, congratulations to Holloway. The only thing I’ve got to say is that he’s second to Volkanovski at 145 pounds. Volkanovski put it on him the last time they fought. … Holloway an easy win.”

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But before Cejudo can chase featherweight gold, he will look to reclaim his bantamweight title when he challenges champ Aljamain Sterling in the UFC 288 main event on May 6 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.

Video: After UFC on ESPN 44 win, how does Max Holloway move forward in a way that makes sense?

Max Holloway is in a very particular spot as the top UFC featherweight contender given he’s down 0-3 to the champ.

Former featherweight champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] held serve as the division’s top contender by winning a unanimous decision against Arnold Allen this past Saturday in the UFC on ESPN 44 headliner.

The result continued to prove that, at 145 pounds, it’s champion Alexander Volkanovski, Holloway and then everyone else is behind them. But as we know, Holloway is 0-3 against Volkanovski, which leaves Holloway in a very particular situation since a fourth title fight seems highly unlikely.

If you’re Holloway, manager Tim Simpson, and UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby, how do you manage his career in a way that makes sense?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, “Gorgeous” George Garcia and Dan Tom answered that question with host Mike Bohn. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

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“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.

Joselyne Edwards wasn’t surprised by judges’ decision in UFC on ESPN 44 win

The UFC on ESPN 44 cageside commentary team couldn’t believe Joselyne Edwards won, but the outcome didn’t surprise her.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag] defeated Lucie Pudilova by split decision to kick off the prelims this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 44 from T-Mobile Center.

Afterward, Edwards (13-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) addressed the media and discussed her performance, the controversial nature of her victory, which stunned the cageside commentators, her weight miss, and more.

You can watch her full post-fight interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.

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UFC on ESPN 44 reactions: Winning and losing fighters on social media

UFC on ESPN 44 winners and losers react on social media outlets such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums, and – perhaps most importantly – social-media platforms.

Fighters interact with fans, each other and many more through the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, which helps outsiders get a deeper look into the minds of the athletes.

Following Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 44 in Kansas City, Mo., several of the winning and losing fighters, along with their coaches, training partners or family members, took to social media to react to the event or share a message with supporters.

Check out some of those reactions.

The defeated

Gillian Robertson wants Tabatha Ricci after slick armbar win at UFC on ESPN 44

After her second win in a row, Gillian Robertson turned her attention to another UFC fighter on a roll.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [autotag]Gillian Robertson[/autotag] defeated Piera Rodriguez by second-round armbar submission for her second win in a row this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 44 from T-Mobile Center.

Afterward, Robertson (12-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC) addressed the media and discussed her performance, called out Tabatha Ricci, and more.

You can watch her full post-fight interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.

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Ion Cutelaba declares ‘The Hulk is back, and he is the best’ after UFC on ESPN 44 win

Snapping a three-fight losing skid had Ion Cutelaba feeling like a changed man after UFC on ESPN 44.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] vows he’s a changed fighter after snapping his losing skid at UFC on ESPN 44.

Cutelaba (18-8-1 MMA, 5-7-1 UFC) needed just more than 2 minutes to spoil Tanner Boser’s (20-10-1 MMA, 4-5 UFC) light heavyweight debut when he knocked him out in Round 1 this past Saturday at T-Mobile Center.

Cutelaba revealed that he underwent numerous changes to return to the win column and expects them to show in his upcoming fights.

“Honestly I’ve done so much to win this fight,” Cutelaba told reporters, including MMA Junkie, through an interpreter. “I’ve done so much work, so much preparation. I’ve changed a lot. I’ve made a lot of changes, a lot of differences. I think you will see so much more from me. You probably even saw the changes right now in the fight itself, but there’s so much more to come from me because of these changes.”

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Cutelaba was perhaps fighting for his job having lost three straight before rebounding against Boser, but “The Hulk” says he felt no added pressure.

“I think you saw what kind of energy I brought into this fight week and into this fight,” Cutelaba said. “I didn’t have any kind of pressure on me because I knew and I was sure of the preparation that I did. So ‘The Hulk’ is back, and he is the best.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.