Tag: UFC on ESPN 50

UFC on ESPN 50 weigh-in results: Short notice leads to one heavy fighter in Nashville

Check out the results from the official UFC on ESPN 50 fighter weigh-ins from Nashville, Tenn.

The official weigh-ins for UFC on ESPN 50 are in the books, and one fighter missed his mark in “Music City.”

In the main event, Cory Sandhagen (16-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) takes on Rob Font (20-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) in a crucial bantamweight bout. Sandhagen and Font were the first two fighters to the scale in the two-hour window and hit their marks without issue. In this case, the number had to be 140 pounds or less and not 136 or less for a bantamweight non-title fight because Font took the bout on short notice. Font was 139; Sandhagen was 139.5 to make the headliner official.

Just one fighter missed weight, and it’d be hard to not feel a little empathy. Dennis Buzukja (11-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) took his fight with Sean Woodson (9-1-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC) on just a few days notice and got all the way down to 146.5 on the scale with a few minutes left in the session. But even though Buzukja could have gotten an extra hour to shed the final half-pound, the Tennessee commission reportedly shut him down from cutting further. One of Buzukja’s teammates, UFC fighter Matt Frevola, said on Twitter it was the hardest weight cut he’d ever seen.

The weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel. The nearby Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., hosts Saturday’s event, which airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 50 weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Cory Sandhagen (139.5) vs. Rob Font (139) – 140-pound contract weight
  • Jessica Andrade (115.5) vs. Tatiana Suarez (115.5)
  • Dustin Jacoby (205) vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu (205)
  • Diego Lopes (145.5) vs. Gavin Tucker (145)
  • Tanner Boser (204.5) vs. Aleksa Camur (204)
  • Ignacio Bahamondes (156) vs. Ludovit Klein (156)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Raoni Barcelos (135.5) vs. Kyler Phillips (135)
  • Carlston Harris (170) vs. Jeremiah Wells (170.5)
  • Damon Jackson (145.5) vs. Billy Quarantillo (145)
  • Cody Durden (125.5) vs. Jake Hadley (126)
  • Dennis Buzukja (146.5)* vs. Sean Woodson (146)
  • Asu Almabaev (125.5) vs. Ode Osbourne (125.5)

*Buzukja missed the featherweight limit and will forfeit 20 percent of his purse to Woodson.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 50.

Cory Sandhagen can’t connect with Sean O’Malley’s ‘weak’ thinking: ‘You should want to fight the best guy’

Cory Sandhagen does not resonate with Sean O’Malley’s mentality.

[autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] does not resonate with [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]’s mentality.

O’Malley criticized Sandhagen for accepting to fight rising unbeaten contender Umar Nurmagomedov, who wound up withdrawing due to injury. He called him a gangster for it, but said it’s not smart business wise.

Sandhagen now faces Rob Font in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 50 main event at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+. Sandhagen (16-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) responded to O’Malley’s (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) criticism, and doesn’t agree with his business way of thinking.

“There are things about Sean O’Malley that I think are just super lame,” Sandhagen told CBS Sports. “(He’s) talking about things like, ‘You fight the worst guy for the most amount of money’ – everything being business decisions. I can’t connect with that type of thinking at all. To me, those are ways of thinking that are just weak and they’re ways of thinking that are going to trend into ruining the sport a little bit, in my opinion.”

O’Malley is one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster. He needed just one ranked win over Petr Yan to earn a shot at bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in the UFC 292 headliner on Aug. 19.

Sandhagen is on a mission for gold himself, and is willing to take out whoever the UFC puts in front of him to prove he’s the best.

“You should want to fight the best guy,” Sandhagen continued. “If you’re here to be the actual world champion, that’s what we’re doing. I don’t see this as a business, really. I don’t see it as making a ton of money. I make good money now. I’m good. I’m not wealthy by any means. I don’t have money that’s going to last me until I die.

“But the greediness and the business decision things that happen in a lot of these ways of thinking, to me, are lame. I don’t think that passing on the message that you should fight the worst guy for the most amount of money – that is just such a weak way of thinking.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 50.

Ignacio Bahamondes confident he’ll break into the UFC rankings by 2024: ‘I’ll sign on that right now’

Ignacio Bahamondes is ready to contend with the best in the UFC’s lightweight division.

[autotag]Ignacio Bahamondes[/autotag] is confident he’ll get a number next to his name before the year ends.

Putting together quite the streak and with a chance to extend it this Saturday, Bahamondes (14-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is determined to work his way into the UFC’s official lightweight rankings in 2023. This campaign to get ranked continues with his fight against veteran Ludovit Klein at UFC on ESPN 50 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

“I think the people want it, the Latin American people want it, I want it, my team wants it,” Bahamondes told MMA Junkie in Spanish when asked about his desire to enter the rankings. “We want to be in the top 15. We want to compete against the top 15, and if this victory is not enough, that doesn’t matter. I’ll return in December and do another one.

“Next year I’m going to be there. You will see Ignacio “La Jaula” Bahamondes in the top 15. That’s for sure, I’ll sign on that right now.”

On a three-fight winning streak, Bahamondes, 25, is one of the most promising fighters coming up at 155 pounds.

Although he’s young, Bahamondes feels ready to make a statement against Klein (19-4-1 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC) and then fare against the ranked fighters in the division.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Bahamondes said. “With the team I have and the people around me supporting and working with me, I’m so confident that I could fight against anyone tomorrow. I trust my team completely. I trust the work that I do every day. I wake up every morning and I train. I might be tired, but I still get up and train. I feel like right now we might not be ready to fight for the title, but we will be. We’re not rushing. We’re taking things step by step. We’ll be ready for whatever the UFC throws our way. There’s no rush.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 50.

Video: Watch Friday’s UFC on ESPN 50 ceremonial weigh-ins live on MMA Junkie at 6 p.m. ET

Check out a live video stream of the UFC on ESPN 50 ceremonial weigh-ins in Nashville, Tenn.

UFC on ESPN 50 ceremonial fighter weigh-ins take place Friday, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMA Junkie at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT).

The weigh-ins take place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event, which airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

In addition to the video stream above, you can check out the early and official UFC on ESPN 50 weigh-in results from earlier in the day.

Jessica Andrade putting flyweight on hold to commit to strawweight: ‘It’s the division where I became champion’

Former UFC champion Jessica Andrade says she’s committing to the strawweight division.

[autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] has been going back and forth between flyweight and strawweight in the past few years, but that’s come to an end.

Andrade has decided to put her flyweight career on hold to focus on getting back the belt she once held at 115 pounds. This campaign to focus on one division starts Saturday in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 50, which takes place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

Andrade (24-11 MMA, 15-9 UFC) takes on undefeated contender Tatiana Suarez (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in hopes to bounce back from a two-fight skid.

“Now I want to stay in this division,” Andrade told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “It’s the division where I became champion. I think that staying in this division is a good thing. I’m stronger, I’m better. I’m also good in the division above, but I want to just focus on one division because when I’m in two divisions, I’m not well ranked in either. I’m always fourth, fifth, eight, but if I only focus on one, I think I will move to No. 1 once again.

“After I win the title (at strawweight), then I’d want to move to flyweight and fight for a belt there to try to be a two-division UFC champion.”

Andrade fought five times at 125 pounds and went 3-2. Her defeats came against then-champion Valentina Shevchenko in a championship bout and a short-notice fight against then-rising contender Erin Blanchfield.

The Brazilian felt comfortable fighting at flyweight, but she does admit she was giving up advantages that she otherwise wouldn’t have at strawweight.

“When I fight at strawweight, I’m fighting girls that are my same height and size,” Andrade said. “Sometimes you’ll have someone like Tatiana who’s bigger, but it’s very manageable since I fought at 135. I’m used to all this. It’ll be good. This is my weight class.”

As far as the bout against Suarez, Andrade sees it as a good opportunity to get back in the title mix. She knows there’s a risk in taking a skilled contender on short notice, but she also knows there’s a big reward if victorious.

“When they told me about this fight, it was about a month ago,” Andrade said. “Virna (Jandiroba) has a booked fight against Tatiana, but she suffered an injury and had to get surgery. The UFC called me and said, ‘Jessica, you want to fight again?’ and I spoke to my coach and management, and we said, ‘Yeah, let’s go.’ It’s a good fight.

“I’m coming off two losses, so I think a win over Tatiana is a strong statement to get back in the mix, and who know, maybe this coming year I’m fighting for the belt. Fighting Tatiana is a very good opportunity.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 50.

UFC Nashville’s Diego Lopes opens up about regional MMA’s stresses, challenges

It’s tough to fight outside the UFC, and newcomer Diego Lopes explains why.

Many think the UFC is the toughest battleground in MMA, but that’s only partly true.

Although the toughest competition usually can be found in the octagon, there are many challenges and difficulties that come from fighting outside it. For [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag], who recently joined the UFC roster after a decade of fighting on the regional scene, those experiences remain very vivid.

Lopes made his UFC debut in May on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 288. He got the call to fight unbeaten ranked opponent Movsar Evloev on just three days’ notice. The Brazilian lost the fight by decision, but won a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, Dana White’s recognition, and the respect of many fans in the process.

The-28-year-old returns Saturday on the main card of UFC on ESPN 50 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Lopes (21-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) takes on Gavin Tucker (13-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in a featherweight matchup.

Ahead of his return, MMA Junkie caught up with Lopes to reflect on his 10-year run fighting on the regional scene and the stresses and difficulties that come with it.

Tatiana Suarez out to finish Jessica Andrade at UFC Nashville, make case for title shot

Tatiana Suarez says she plans to finish Jessica Andrade and make her case to get the next title shot at strawweight at UFC on ESPN 50.

[autotag]Tatiana Suarez[/autotag] thinks a title shot is in reach if it all goes well Saturday.

The undefeated UFC contender returns to the octagon in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 50, which goes down at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Suarez (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) takes on former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (24-11 MMA, 15-9 UFC) in a key bout in the division.

And if it goes as planned, and she’s able to notch a stoppage win over Andrade, Suarez is confident she could get the next title shot at 115 pounds.

“I think that I can get that finish,” Suarez told MMA Junkie. “I’m trying to get that finish. I think I can get that finish. I think I make an excellent case (to get the title shot) because I’d beat two former world champions.

“I beat former world champion Carla Esparza. I beat Alexa Grasso, who’s now the current world champion at a weight class above me, and here would be another world champion. So when I do get this victory, it will definitely help plead for that title contention slot.”

As far as the fight itself, Andrade is known to be one of the most aggressive fighters on the UFC’s roster. However, she is on a two-fight skid and hungry to get a win, so maybe there’s something new in store.

Either way, Suarez is just focusing on what she can control.

“I’m not exactly sure,” Suarez said when asked what she expected from Andrade. “I’m not putting too much stock into her mentality. I just need to put stock into what I’m going to do, executing my game plan, staying calm – staying calm, but also being me, relentless, mixing it up really well and just focusing on myself. I think that’s the way to go.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 50.

Rob Font planning Cory Sandhagen’s first KO loss at UFC Nashville, then title shot

Ahead of UFC on ESPN 50, go inside the Nashville main event with Rob Font, who takes on Cory Sandhagen in a high-stakes bantamweight bout.

Ahead of UFC on ESPN 50, go inside the Nashville main event with [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag], who takes on Cory Sandhagen in a high-stakes bantamweight bout.

Font (20-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) fights Sandhagen (16-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in a 140-pound contract weight in the main event at UFC on ESPN 50 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

Font talked to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn about the matchup, stepping in on short notice and the state of the bantamweight division. Check out Font in the video above and all his talking points below.

Cory Sandhagen expects title shot with UFC Nashville win – but whom does he expect to fight?

Ahead of UFC on ESPN 50, go inside the Nashville main event with Cory Sandhagen, who takes on Rob Font in a high-stakes bantamweight bout.

Ahead of his next fight, go inside Saturday’s main event with headliner [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag].

Sandhagen (16-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) fights Rob Font (20-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) in a 140-pound contract weight in the main event at UFC on ESPN 50 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

Sandhagen talked to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn about the matchup, opponent change and state of the bantamweight division. Check out Sandhagen in the video above and all his talking points below.

Jessica Andrade: Win over Tatiana Suarez at UFC on ESPN 50 puts me back in title contention

Jessica Andrade is confident a win over Tatiana Suarez puts her back in the title mix.

[autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] sees a big potential reward from her next fight.

The former UFC strawweight champion returns to the cage Saturday in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 50 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. She takes on unbeaten contender Tatiana Suarez.

Suarez (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is a tough fight for anyone in the division, but also one that could bring a big reward. Coming off two consecutive losses, Andrade (24-11 MMA, 15-9 UFC) thinks a win could put her back in title contention.

“Inside the UFC, I already broke a lot of records and beat some fighters that had never been knocked out before, so I think it would just be one more fight,” Andrade told MMA Junkie through a translator. “I have a lot of experience. A win over Tatiana would be a good thing for my career because this fight could put me close to a title shot soon. I think I would have to do another fight after I win against Tatiana, (but) this puts me a victory away.”

As far as what exactly could that fight be, Andrade isn’t really sure, given the state of the strawweight division. She thinks she’ll have a better idea after the upcoming strawweight title fight between champion Zhang Weili and challenger Amanda Lemos at UFC 292 on Aug. 19.

“It’s a hard question to answer because our division is a little messy,” Andrade said. “If Amanda wins against Weili, Weili will get a rematch. If Weili wins against Amanda, she’ll fight against Yan Xionanan in China, probably. So I don’t know who I will face next, but I’m here to fight, and the UFC will decide, and I will be ready with whatever they put in front.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 50.