Tag: UFC on ESPN 47

UFC flyweight Felipe Bunes suspended for failed drug test prior to scheduled debut

LFA flyweight champion Felipe Bunes hasn’t made his UFC debut yet, but he’s already been suspended by Nevada.

A UFC flyweight hasn’t yet made his promotional debut, but he already has been handed disciplinary action for a failed drug test.

Former LFA flyweight champion [autotag]Felipe Bunes[/autotag] was suspended six months and issued a $326 fine (for prosecution fees) at a Nevada Athletic Commission monthly meeting Tuesday after he tested positive for GW1516, a prohibited metabolic modulator. He will be eligible to return Dec 7.

Bunes (13-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) signed with the UFC in June for a short-notice replacement opportunity vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov at UFC on ESPN 47. The bout was scrapped days later when Bunes submitted a urinalysis and tested positive.

Days after the positive test, Bunes went public with the information and voiced his willingness to navigate the situation with the commission.

Bunes, 33, won three of the four fights previous to his UFC signing. From 2018-2021, Bunes was a staple of Russian promotion ACA (formerly known as ACB). He trains alongside the Pitbull Brothers in Brazil but has also spent time at Fight Ready in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Video: Who had the breakout performance of UFC on ESPN 48 in Las Vegas?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” discusses which fighter left a lasting impression with their performance at UFC on ESPN 48.

Half of the fights at UFC on ESPN 48 ended early, including the main event.

A number of rising prospects put a stamp on their performances by recording finishes at the UFC Apex, including [autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag], [autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag], [autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag], [autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag], and [autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag].

A more established name in the middleweight division, [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag], capped off the evening with a finish of Abus Magomedov in the feature bout of the event.

But which performance stood out the most?

Was it Fakhretdinov who spoiled the UFC return of former lightweight interim title challenger Kevin Lee? Was it Brener who shocked many with a stoppage of massive favorite Guram Kutateladze? What about a non-stoppage performance from Michael Morales who picked up a big win over veteran Max Griffin by unanimous decision?

MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Danny Segura joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia to discuss which fighter made an impact at the event.

Check out the video above, and the latest complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 48.

Javier Mendez: Kevin Lee’s focus wasn’t in the right place ahead of UFC return

Kevin Lee’s return to the UFC was a disappointment, and Javier Mendez attributes that, at least in part, to his lack of focus.

Javier Mendez believes [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag]’s mind wasn’t in the right place heading into UFC on ESPN 48.

Lee’s (19-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) return to the UFC was spoiled by Rinat Fakhretdinov (22-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who submitted him this past Saturday at the UFC Apex.

In the lead-up to his return, Lee mentioned the holes he used to see in the game of Mendez’s student, former unbeaten lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and also spoke about his disappointment fighting at the UFC Apex. The American Kickboxing Academy head coach said Lee should have focused more on his opponent.

“For me, some of the warning signs for me where Kevin was talking about, ‘I’m beyond these little shows at the Apex,’ his attitude – your focus should have been winning and your opponent,” Mendez said on his podcast.

“Other comments were, ‘Khabib, I saw holes in his game.’ You should be focused more on your fight and forget anybody else, forget anybody in particular, just focus on yours because everybody was dying to see what you were going to do, especially at welterweight.”

Less than a minute into the fight, Lee was dropped and submitted by a guillotine choke that rendered him unconscious. Lee’s return came after almost two years away from the octagon as the UFC released him in November 2021.

“In my opinion, he got caught,” Mendez said. “Was it because he wasn’t focused enough on his opponent or he overlooked his opponent? I don’t know. I have no idea. I just know that what he was doing, he shouldn’t have been doing. It should have never came up about not fighting at the Apex. He should have been solely focused on his job at hand to beat a really, really tough opponent.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 48.

Video: Has Sean Strickland earned a middleweight title shot with his win at UFC on ESPN 48?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” discusses where Sean Strickland fits in the UFC middleweight title picture.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] thinks it’s time for a shot at UFC gold.

In the UFC on ESPN 48 main event, Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) quickly shifted the momentum against Abus Magomedov in the second round. Magomedov (25-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) made it interesting in the first, but after working through a nasty eye poke, Strickland kept to his game, let his opponent wear himself out, and turned up the pressure when the time was right to get a TKO finish.

During his post-fight interview, Strickland said he wants a midweight title shot after his third-straight main event appearance. He’s a winner of two straight, and eight of his last 10, plus it appears the promotion is comfortable giving him a spotlight.

But is Strickland now in position for a shot at the middleweight title? If not, what more does he need to do? MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Danny Segura joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia to discuss Strickland’s place in the division.

Check out the video above, and the latest complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.

Michael Bisping open to Sean Strickland UFC title shot vs. Israel Adesanya, says trash talk ‘would be phenomenal’

Michael Bisping has made a case for Sean Strickland to get the next shot at UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya.

UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] has made a case for [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] to get the next shot at middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag].

Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) stopped Abus Magomedov (25-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) by second-round TKO this past Saturday in the UFC on ESPN 47 headliner. Strickland called for a title shot against Adesanya, who awaits his next challenger for the UFC 293 card in September in Sydney.

A pivotal middleweight clash between former champion Robert Whittaker and rising contender Dricus Du Plessis takes place Saturday at UFC 290. If Whittaker beats Du Plessis, Bisping doesn’t mind seeing Strickland get the next title shot.

“Sean Strickland got the job done, and I’m telling you, what a performance,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “The man’s a character, he’s great on the microphone, he loves America, and people love him for that, as well. Of course he’s a big patriot and rightly so. Sensational performance. He wants to fight. He calls him the Chinese champion. I don’t know why he does that, (but) he wants to fight Israel Adesanya.

“He feels that Israel Adesanya has fought everyone. Of course, he’s fought Robert Whittaker twice, and the winner of Dricus (Du Plessis) vs. Robert is going to get the next title fight. He said there’s no way that Dricus wins, and he also said people don’t want to see Whittaker fight him again. I’ll be honest, after that one last night (win over Magomedov), I wouldn’t mind seeing it. And, of course, the trash talk in the lead-up to the fight would be phenomenal.”

Strickland and Adesanya went at it during the UFC 276 press conference, and Strickland has been poking fun at “The Lasy Stylebender” ever since. Strickland now has won two straight over Nassourdine Imavov and Magomedov.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.

Video: Is Grant Dawson the next big thing at lightweight?

At UFC on ESPN 47, Grant Dawson turned heads with the consensus biggest win of his professional career.

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] is officially a top-10-ranked fighter, per the official UFC rankings, after a breakthrough performance Saturday in Las Vegas.

In the UFC on ESPN 47 co-main event, Dawson (20-1-1 MMA, 8-0-1 UFC) dominated technical specialist [autotag]Damir Ismagulov[/autotag] (24-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) victory.

While it wasn’t close to Fight of the Night honors, the lopsided successfulness of the outing turned many heads in the MMA community.

But just how big of a feather is the victory in Dawson’s cap? Where’s he headed and what’s his ceiling? MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Danny Segura joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia to discuss Dawson’s big win.

Check out the video above, and the latest complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.

UFC on ESPN 47 reactions: Winning and losing fighters on social media

UFC on ESPN 47 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 47 in Las Vegas, 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

New black belt Alexandr Romanov says ‘King Kong is back’ after UFC on ESPN 47 win

Alexandr Romanov got his jiu-jitsu black belt after a win over Blagoy Ivanov at UFC on ESPN 47, then declared “King Kong is back.”

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag] beat Blagoy Ivanov with a unanimous decision Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 47 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Romanov, who got his jiu-jitsu black belt in the cage after his win.

Karol Rosa glad to toggle back and forth between 135, 145 – if women’s featherweight stays around in the UFC

Karol Rosa got back in the win column against Yana Santos at UFC on ESPN 47 at featherweight and said she’d like to fight in two divisions.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag] beat Yana Santos with a split decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 47 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Rosa, who got back in the win column after an April loss to Norma Dumont.

Joanderson Brito says callout of Dan Ige is nothing personal, just business

Joanderson Brito beat Westin Wilson with a vicious first-round knockout Saturday at UFC on ESPN 47. Then he called out Dan Ige.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag] beat Westin Wilson with a first-round knockout Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 47 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Brito, who won for the third straight time since a loss in his UFC debut.