Tag: UFC on ESPN 53

UFC free fight: Amanda Ribas lands perfect spinning wheel kick KO on Luana Pinheiro

Watch UFC contender Amanda Ribas stop Luana Pinheiro with a perfectly placed spinning wheel kick to the head.

[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]’s most recent victory was something to admire.

The veteran fighter picked up arguably her biggest career knockout win in her most recent outing in November when she turned the lights out on fellow Brazilian Luana Pinheiro. Ribas, who had a rough start in the fight, came back to land and drop Pinheiro with a spinning wheel kick, and then finish her with punches. It was a quality knockout that earned Ribas a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

You can watch Ribas’ knockout win over Pinheiro in the video above.

Ribas (12-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) returns to the cage Saturday in the main event of UFC on ESPN 53 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. She takes on former UFC champion Rose Namajunas (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) in a five-round, women’s flyweight bout.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.

UFC on ESPN 53 do-it-yourselfer Karl Williams paid extra price for building a fence

Karl Williams would’ve been back to work sooner than Saturday, if not for taking home improvements into his own hands.

LAS VEGAS – It sounds as if [autotag]Karl Williams[/autotag] would’ve been back to work sooner than Saturday, if not for taking home improvements into his own hands.

Williams (9-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) meets Justin Tafa (7-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 53 heavyweight co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Tafa stepped in for his brother, Junior, who had to pull out of the original booking against Williams with an injury.

Williams himself had to stay on the shelf after a recent surgery setback brought about by his desire for do-it-yourself supremacy.

“I had surgery and then recovery, and I was trying to fight in December,” Williams said at Wednesday’s media day. “… I did a lot of stuff I wasn’t supposed to do after the surgery. I went and built a fence, re-did my bathroom, re-did my closet – which ended up making me have to take longer time off because I ended up re-messing up my surgery because of that.”

Williams said the time on the sidelines started to make him appreciate what he does for a living, almost in classic “don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” mode.

“I don’t hate my job, but you want a vacation and you get on the vacation, it lasts too long and you’re like, ‘OK, I’m ready to go back home,'” he said.

Now that he’s back to the cage for the first time since May 2023, it might be best to not count on Williams to get back into home improvement mode after Saturday.

But then again, he has that fence thing down.

“I did a very good fence. If anybody needs a fence built, I’ve got you,” Williams said.

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

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.

Think fortune and glory won’t make Payton Talbott change a bit? Think again

Ahead of UFC on ESPN 53, Payton Talbott says if he gets to superstar status, expect the fame to change him … at least a little.

LAS VEGAS – Is fortune and glory going to change [autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag]?

The diplomatic answer for the 25-year-old bantamweight, of course, is to say he’ll stay the same. After all, that’s how it’s been so far.

“Not too much (has changed since I got into the UFC),” Talbott said at Wednesday’s media day for UFC on ESPN 53 (ESPN/ESPN+). “I feel like I prioritize my career more. I’ve definitely put a lot more time into that, as well as expression of what I want to put out on the internet and everything. But everything else has pretty much been the same.

“It was after my first (UFC) win is when there’s just been more people that notice me.”

Talbott (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on Saturday meets Cameron Saaiman (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) on the UFC on ESPN 53 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He’ll be looking to stay unbeaten against what arguably will be his toughest opponent yet, at least on paper.

For Talbott, a win like that will keep him on a path toward prospect status, and then he can start thinking about what will happen if he becomes a star.

Honesty is a great thing.

“I mean, the money is going to change me. Like – I’ll just tell you right now,” Talbott said. “But I’ll still be myself and I’ll have my core values and try to compete as much as possible. I’m not worried about it. I don’t think I’m going to change into a terrible person.”

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

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.

UFC on ESPN 53 full card faceoff highlights, photo gallery from Las Vegas

Official weigh-ins for UFC on ESPN 53 are complete following Friday’s session. Check out our photo gallery and faceoff highlights.

LAS VEGAS – The UFC on ESPN 53 (ESPN/ESPN+) fight card now is official following Friday’s weigh-in session.

Saturday’s event, which takes place at the UFC Apex, is headlined by a women’s flyweight fight between Amanda Ribas (12-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC).

Check out the faceoff highlights in the video above and a photo gallery below.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.

UFC on ESPN 53 video: Amanda Ribas, Rose Namajunas have serious final faceoff

Amanda Ribas and Rose Namajunas engaged in their first and only staredown ahead of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 53 main event.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] and [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] had respectful but confident demeanours when they crossed paths for the final time ahead of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 53 main event.

Ribas (12-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will take on former two-time strawweight champion Namajunas (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) in a women’s flyweight headliner at the UFC Apex (ESPN, ESPN+), and after both athletes made weight on Friday morning, they came together for a staredown in front of the cameras.

Neither women had had anything bad to say about the others in the build-up to the five-round matchup, and that attitude carried over into being all business at the faceoff.

Check out the video above to see the Ribas vs. Namajunas final faceoff before UFC on ESPN 53.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.

UFC on ESPN 53 weigh-in results: All 26 athletes hit marks, including headliners

Check out the UFC on ESPN 53 weigh-in results from Las Vegas, featuring Amanda Ribas vs. Rose Namajunas.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official UFC on ESPN 53 (ESPN, ESPN+) fighter weigh-ins at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Among those weighing in were [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC), who meet in the women’s flyweight main event. Neither woman had any issues hitting their contracted marks.

It was a smooth session overall, with all 26 scheduled athletes making weight inside the two-hour window.

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The full UFC Fight Night 239 weigh-in results include:

MAIN CARD (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Amanda Ribas (125.5) vs. Rose Namajunas (125.5)
  • Justin Tafa (264.5) vs. Karl Williams (246.5)
  • AJ Dobson (185.5) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (186)
  • Cameron Saaiman (135) vs. Payton Talbott (135.5)
  • Billy Quarantillo (145.5) vs. Youssef Zalal (146)
  • Fernando Padilla (145) vs. Luis Pajuelo (145)

PRELIMINARY CARD (7 p.m. ET)

  • Kurt Holobaugh (155.5) vs. Trey Ogden (155.5)
  • Julian Erosa (146) vs. Ricardo Ramos (145.5)
  • Cody Gibson (135.5) vs. Miles Johns (136)
  • Jarno Errens (144.5) vs. Steven Nguyen (145)
  • Montserrat Rendon (135) vs. Darya Zheleznyakova (135.5)
  • Andre Lima (126) vs. Igor Severino (125)
  • Mick Parkin (262.5) vs. Mohammed Usman (237)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.

Photos: UFC on ESPN 53 weigh-ins and faceoffs

Check out these photos of the UFC on ESPN 53 official weigh-ins and faceoffs at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Check out these photos of the UFC on ESPN 53 official weigh-ins and faceoffs at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ken Hathaway, MMA Junkie)

UFC on ESPN 53 predictions: Amanda Ribas or Rose Namajunas in Las Vegas?

Check out our staff members’ picks and analysis for UFC on ESPN 53 in Las Vegas.

The UFC is back on its home turf this week with women’s flyweights leading the way.

UFC on ESPN 53 (ESPN/ESPN+) takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

Get pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below.

UFC on ESPN 53 video: Amanda Ribas, Rose Namajunas make weight in Las Vegas

The main event for the UFC’s latest home show is official after the headliners made weight Friday in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – The main event for the UFC’s latest home show is official after the headliners made weight Friday.

Ahead of UFC on ESPN 53 (ESPN/ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex, [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and former strawweight champion [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) stepped on the scale for their flyweight bout at the official weigh-ins, both registering at 125.5 pounds.

Check out the video from their trips to the scale above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.

UFC free fight: Rose Namajunas avenges KO loss to Jessica Andrade in Fight of the Night

Watch UFC star Rose Namajunas avenge her slam KO loss to Jessica Andrade during a fun Fight of the Night performance in 2020.

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] stepped up big in her rematch with Jessica Andrade.

In July 2020 at UFC 251, Namajunas avenged arguably her biggest career defeat but when she put on a technical performance in a fun Fight of the Night bout against Andrade. Namajunas was viciously knocked out by the Brazilian to lose her UFC women’s strawweight title the year prior, but out-struck Andrade over the course of 15 minutes and survived some tough moments to win a split decision.

You can watch Namajunas’ win over Andrade in their rematch in the video above.

Namajunas (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) returns to the cage Saturday in the main event of UFC on ESPN 53 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. She takes on Amanda Ribas (12-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in a five-round, women’s flyweight bout.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.