Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from August 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from August 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for August.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from August 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from August 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for August.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Rob Font didn’t expect his wrestling to be a gaping hole against Cory Sandhagen.
BOSTON – [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag] didn’t expect his wrestling to be a gaping hole against [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag].
Font (20-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) was taken down seven times and controlled throughout the five rounds in a unanimous decision loss to Sandhagen in the UFC on ESPN 50 headliner. Font was originally scheduled to face Song Yadong in Saturday’s UFC 292 event, but ended up stepping in on short notice vs. Sandhagen to save the Nashville event.
Sandhagen (17-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) was successful in all his takedown attempts, and Font admits that his game plan threw him off.
“It was like I almost forgot how to wrestle,” Font told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during a media scrum. “It was annoying. I was expecting to strike a little bit more. Obviously, it didn’t go that way. Hat’s off to him. He played it smart. It’s just one of those things: I’ve just got to get to the room, get back to wrestling, because I felt better in fights before.
“This one, triggers just weren’t there. It just wasn’t coming off, and you add in five rounds. It’s crazy how five rounds feels like, and it goes by so quick when you’re losing. It’s just annoying, one of those things where I had a huge opportunity. I would have been here on a ‘W,’ looking to get that title shot, but it didn’t work out. (I’m) obviously grateful for the opportunity, just kind of felt like I fumbled it.”
Font would love a quick turnaround to take the bitter taste of defeat out of his mouth, but will get back to the drawing board first – preferably on the same date as Calvin Kattar’s return.
“Ideally, I would like to jump on a card with Calvin – kind of peak at the same time, get that feel again,” Font said. “My emotional side says let me get back in there as soon as possible, but I know I need to tighten up a couple of things. I need to really lock it in and really just get my triggers back.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 50.
Diego Lopes is hoping to cross paths with Movsar Evloev again.
[autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag] wants a rematch against the man who gave him his first UFC defeat – but just not yet.
Lopes had one of the wildest UFC debuts in recent years. He made his first promotional appearance with almost no time to prepare, taking a fight against undefeated featherweight contender Movsar Evloev at UFC 288 in May with just three days notice. Although Lopes lost a decision that night, he went the distance with one of the world’s best, came close to submitting him a few times, and entertained an entire arena, winning a $50,000 bonus for Fight of the Night.
Lopes (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) followed up the loss to Evloev with a quick submission win over veteran Gavin Tucker earlier this month at UFC on ESPN 50. Now with a win in his pocket and his career back on track, Lopes is hoping he crosses paths with Evloev in the future.
“Of course that’s the objective – to get that rematch,” Lopes told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I’m not saying for my next fight or the one after that. I hope that it’s way down the line once I’m in the top 10, top five or who knows – maybe even for the title since many see Evloev as a strong candidate for the title, and I want to get there. I want to improve and show my evolution in my game (against him).”
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Lopes won’t go as far as saying he would’ve beat Evloev with a full camp to prepare, but he does think his performance would’ve been much better.
“I think things could’ve been different because I would’ve had specific submissions for him,” Lopes said. “I would’ve studied his fights, I would’ve trained better, and worked on certain adjustments, and that happened with Gavin Tucker. He defended well at first, but I made adjustments little by little until I got the submission.
“Against Evloev, if I would’ve had more time – and I don’t mean a whole training camp, but two or three weeks more – I think I could’ve done something much better. It was an incredible fight. I know people were very excited, and that’s how I made myself known. I can’t tell you I would’ve beat him with a complete training camp, that’s to be known in the future if I run into him again. That’s my objective, and we can get our answer then.”
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Tatiana Suarez improved to 10-0 after submitting former champ Jessica Andrade, and now she’s closer than ever to a title shot.
[autotag]Tatiana Suarez[/autotag] picked up her second consecutive win after returning from a multi-year hiatus this past weekend when she ruthlessly submitted Jessica Andrade in the UFC on ESPN 50 co-headliner.
Suarez (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has been a dominant force throughout her entire undefeated career, and now has the names of two former champions on her resume with Andrade (24-12 MMA, 15-10 UFC) and Carla Esparza. The only thing that has held her back is her own health, but with those issues seemingly sorted, she can go her run to the top.
With strawweight champion Zhang Weili (23-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) set to put her belt on the line against Amanda Lemos (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston, the timing could be perfect for Suarez to challenge the winner.
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Is she the most worthy contender at 115 pounds, though? Or is there more work to do?
MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun, Nolan King and host George Garcia discussed Suarez’s title chances and more on the latest edition of the show.
Watch the segment above, and Monday’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.
UFC strawweight Tatiana Suarez returned to strawweight, and takes a high spot in this week’s rankings update.
UFC strawweight [autotag]Tatiana Suarez[/autotag] returned to her home at strawweight, and claimed a place near the top of this week’s rankings update.
AT UFC on ESPN 50, Suarez finished former champion Jessica Andrade by submission to make a triumphant return to her weight class. Suarez had a lengthy layoff due to injuries and setbacks, but appears to be past her troubles and in prime position to challenge for the title after her return at flyweight, followed by beating a former champion at 115 pounds.
For her performance, Suarez returns to the rankings in a big way, taking the No. 2 spot behind the current champion Zhang Weili.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.
UFC on ESPN 50 this past weekend fell right in the middle of a busy combat sports weekend, and a handful of performances stood out.
UFC on ESPN 50 this past weekend fell right in the middle of a busy combat sports weekend, and although there wasn’t a ton of thrilling bouts on the card, a handful of performances stood out.
Outside of headliner Cory Sandhagen and co-headliner Tatiana Suarez winning their respective bouts, a number of other fighters on the card did their best to steal a sliver of the attention at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
Who did the best job of captivating the audience and drawing intrigue into their career going forward?
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MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun, Nolan King and host George Garcia debated on the latest edition of the show.
Watch the segment above, and Monday’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.
Cory Sandhagen has received all sorts of backlash for his dominant performance over Rob Font, but is it justified given his injury?
[autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] has received all sorts of backlash for his dominant performance over Rob Font in the UFC on ESPN 50, despite the fact he suffered a torn tricep in the opening round.
Sandhagen (17-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) was showered with boos inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, when he used his superior grappling game to overwhelm Font on the mat en route to a unanimous decision win in the 140-pound catchweight fight.
UFC president Dana White reportedly walked away from cageside in the middle of the contest, and fellow fighters have trashed Sandhagen for the dull performance.
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Does Sandhagen deserve heat for how the fight unfolded, or should he get a mulligan given the severity of his injury, which will require surgery later this week.
MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun, Nolan King and host George Garcia discussed that and more on the latest edition of the show.
Watch the segment above, and Monday’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.
UFC on ESPN 50 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, X, Facebook and Instagram, which helps outsiders get a deeper look into the minds of the athletes.
Following Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 50 in Nashville, Tenn., 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.
Henry Cejudo thinks Cory Sandhagen will get passed up for a title shot after UFC on ESPN 50.
[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] will get passed up for a title shot after UFC on ESPN 50.
Sandhagen (17-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) used a heavy grapple approach to score a lopsided decision win over Rob Font (20-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) in this past Saturday’s main event at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
Sandhagen received criticism for his performance from the likes of UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, and Cejudo wasn’t impressed either. Sandhagen called for a title shot, but “Triple C” sees the UFC opting to go with him and Merab Dvalishvili instead – even though he’s coming off a close decision loss to Sterling at UFC 288.
“The way the bantamweight division is connected, it’s about performance, man,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “We’re all looking to get back to the title. … If Sandhagen wants a title shot, this is not the way to go about it. It’s going to be me and Merab, dude. That’s the only thing that makes logical sense.”
Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) ripped Sandhagen for his approach, and thinks he respected Font way too much.
“Sandhagen’s fighting too conservative,” Cejudo said. “I think he just wants to win just to win. Come on, dude. You’ve got to get the principles of this game. It’s me and Merab, 100 percent. We’re either fighting for the title or we’re fighting to fight for the title.
“That’s it. Thank you. … We’re all hunting to get to that next bantamweight title shot: me, Merab. If you don’t know how to play this game, bro, you just got passed up because that’s terrible. It would be crazy if the UFC were to skip me and Merab over this.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 50.
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