Tag: UFC on ESPN 56

Waldo Cortes-Acosta calls out Jairzinho Rozenstruik: ‘He can challenge me to become a better striker’

Now on a three-fight wining streak, Waldo Cortes-Acosta wants to test himself against a ranked opponent.

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag] feels it’s time he takes a step up in competition to take on one of the world’s best in his division.

The rising heavyweight wants to get a ranked opponent following his dominant win over Olympic medalist Robelis Despaigne this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 56, and he already has a name in mind. Cortes-Acosta (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) wants to get matched up against kickboxing standout [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag], who’s currently in the top-15 rankings of the UFC’s heavyweight division.

“If they could give me Jairzinho, that would be perfect,” Cortes-Acosta told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “With what he showed in his last fight, I think he can challenge me to become a better striker, and just all around a better fighter.”

“Salsa Boy” is now 5-1 since joining the UFC in 2022 and is currently on a three-fight winning streak, which includes a win over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.

Cortes-Acosta didn’t take any major damage at UFC on ESPN 56, and would like to return as soon as possible to the octagon.

“I’m good health-wise. I just had a scrape on my leg because of the grappling on the mat,” Cortes-Acosta said when asked about a return date. “I got 12 days of recovery (suspension), and I want to be back as soon as possible. I’m ready. I’m going to take off like three or four days and then start running and working out again and all that, so I can be ready for whenever they need me. Maybe they can get me fighting again in three or four weeks.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 56.

Daniel Cormier unloads on Joaquin Buckley after response to Conor McGregor callout criticism: ‘Shut up, p*ssy’

Daniel Cormier wasn’t going to sit idle while Joaquin Buckley took shots at his family, his colleagues and himself.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] wasn’t going to sit idle while [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] took shots at his family, his colleagues and himself.

After Buckley (19-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) scored an impressive unanimous decision win over Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC on ESPN 56 this past weekend in St. Louis, the surging welterweight contender took the microphone in his post-fight interview and issued a lengthy callout to Conor McGregor.

The callout fell flat for the most part. UFC CEO Dana White shut it down, and Buckley admitted afterward it wasn’t all that realistic. Then analysts, such as Cormier, Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping offered critique toward Buckley in arguing he wasted an opportunity after a big win by naming McGregor.

Buckley, 30, didn’t take kindly to being the culprit behind making what Cormier called the “worst call out in UFC history,” and he took aim at the analyst trio Monday on social media (via X):

Let this be known @dc_mma @bisping @ChaelSonnen Ya mommas raised some hoes!!!!! Yall really trying to twist up my words knowing damn well what I said in that cage but it’s ok we can all have some fun 💯🙅🏿‍♂️

Cormier didn’t appreciate Buckley’s comment, especially the reference to mothers. Cormier’s mother, Audrey, passed away in February 2022, and it didn’t take long for the UFC Hall of Famer to offer a retort in which he doubled down on his previous statement (via X):

Shut up P*ssy! Maybe listen. You had a dumb ass call out. You’re getting talked about by 3 of the biggest voices in the game. Maybe listen. It was the worst call out in history. Don’t let winning at few fights at 170lbs get you too excited bruh. Don’t mention Audrey!

The fiery reply from former two-division champ Cormier prompted another reply from Buckley, who clarified he wasn’t speaking ill of Cormier’s mother but rather Cormier himself (via X):

Yeah you funny pretending like you don’t know what I am talking about still

I don’t care if yall say its the worst call out 🤣 the point is you saying I was calling woman/grandmas hoes Nah

Yall the hoes 🙅🏿‍♂️😂

Buckley improved to 4-0 since dropping to 170 pounds with the win at UFC on ESPN 56. He changed his desired next fight matchup from McGregor to Gilbert Burns in the aftermath of the win, and Burns has said he would happily accept the bout if offered.

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, May 14: Joaquin Buckley making waves at welterweight

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC on ESPN 56 in St. Louis.

Following UFC on ESPN 56, the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings required updating.

In the feature bout of the event at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] knocked out Rodrigo Nascimento, extending his UFC knockout record.

A few other notables made their presence felt in a big way with strong showings. In the co-feature, [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] continued an impressive run since dropping down to welterweight by shutting out Nursulton Ruziboev. Also, [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] scored a lightning-fast finish of Alonzo Menifield.

Both fighters moved up in the rankings in their respective divisions following their impressive performances.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Esteban Ribovics surprised he didn’t get $50K bonus for Terrance McKinney KO: ‘What more do I need to do?’

Esteban Ribovics thought his KO of Terrance McKinney would get him a $50,000 bonus at UFC on ESPN 56.

[autotag]Esteban Ribovics[/autotag] arguably had the best finish at UFC on ESPN 56. Yet, he wasn’t one of the winners of a Performance of the Night bonus.

This past Saturday in St. Louis, Ribovics (13-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) picked up the biggest win of his professional MMA career by scoring one of the best knockouts of 2024. The Argentine head-kicked Terrance McKinney (15-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC) unconscious just 37 seconds into their lightweight bout. It was a brutal, but beautiful finish.

Unfortunately, Ribovics wasn’t among the winners of the $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Ribovics told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “What more do I need to do? I’m not going to say it was a boring event up until that point because there were good fights, but there wasn’t the excitement of a knockout like that until my fight. Obviously, I was a little disappointed, but other good things will come from this knockout. I’m sure I’ll get more opportunities to prove I deserve a bonus.”

After his KO win, Ribovics called out UFC star Paddy Pimblett. He knows it’s a stretch, but he’s hoping to get rewarded with the Englishman. Ribovics would have no problem fighting with him as a U.K. visitor and take that fight under any circumstances.

“I don’t think I will get it, but maybe they think he can beat me and they match us up,” Ribovics said. “But if they do, he will find something completely different. That’s the only way I see this happening. But I’d like to fight with Paddy. I like his style, and I like the eyes that he draws. That would be a fight I’d have the crowd against me. I like that fight, and I like his style. It would be a big jump for me in all aspects.”

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‘This is MMA’: UFC’s Waldo Cortes-Acosta responds to ‘unfair’ criticism of Robelis Despaigne win

Waldo Cortes-Acosta calls unfair the criticism around his performance in his win over Robelis Despaigne.

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag] took on a very dangerous striker in the heavyweight division and gave him his first professional loss while having a dominant showing. Yet, despite getting the job done, some are throwing criticism his way.

This past Saturday on the main card of UFC on ESPN 56, Cortes-Acosta (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) defeated Olympic medalist in taekwondo [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag] in a clear unanimous decision that read 30-27 on two judges scorecards and 30-26 on another. Cortes-Acosta mixed his wrestling with striking defense to defeat the decorated striker Despaigne (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who’s 6-foot-7 and has the longest wingspan in the promotion.

Many, including UFC CEO Dana White, wanted to see a heavyweight striking slugfest, which Cortes-Acosta finds to be an unfair expectation.

“They’re unfair because this is MMA,” Cortes-Acosta said around the public criticism of his performance, speaking with MMA Junkie in Spanish. “This is a combination of martial arts where you do striking and kicking, but you also go to the ground. There’s a lot to this.

“So criticizing me in that manner, it takes away what MMA is really about. There’s boxing, Lomachenko was fighting this weekend. If you want just boxing, go watch him. We’re mixing everything up, and that means the ground game as well.”

If you follow Cortes-Acosta on social media, you know he’s not one to shy away from fan criticism – quite the opposite. Cortes-Acosta has been going back and forth with some of his critics, and he’s been enjoying it.

“That’s social media, and you have to engage,” Cortes-Acosta said. “Speaking of clashing with fans, I finished my fight early on Saturday, and I was off my phone for about four hours, and when I checked, I had to reply to about 4,000 messages from different people, and I replied to every single one of them.

“I didn’t sleep that night. I just hopped directly on the plane, and I’m still replying to messages.”

The Dominican heavyweight is now 5-1 since joining the UFC in 2022. He’s happy with the way his career is going not only because he’s been rising up the rankings, but also showing evolution to his game, which is something his fans have appreciated.

“There’s always going to be critics and people saying the worst things about you and all that, but a lot of people that criticized me or didn’t know about me are now cheering for me because I showed things that I had never done before in the octagon,” Cortes-Acosta said. “They see me with different eyes. I’m not just a boxer and a striker, but I can wrestle, too.”

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Video: UFC on ESPN 56 recap: Derrick Lewis’ insane celebration, Joaquin Buckley 4-0 at welterweight, more

A lot went down at UFC on ESPN 56. On “Spinning Back Clique,” we discussed Saturday’s results including Derrick Lewis and Joaquin Buckley’s big wins.

On this week’s episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel reacted to the results of UFC on ESPN 56.

This past Saturday, both [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] and [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] picked up big wins in the main and co-main event of the St. Louis event. Lewis stopped Brazil’s Rodrigo Nascimento, while Buckley dominated Nursulton Ruziboev to continue his unbeaten run since dropping back down to welterweight. Although Lewis and Buckley had the biggest wins, there were several other notable results on the card.

So, what should we make of the UFC on ESPN 56 results? What should be next for some of the winners and losers?

MMA Junkie’s Matthew Wells, Dan Tom, Mike Bohn, and host Danny Segura recap the action in St. Louis.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and also don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube or in podcast form.

https://youtube.com/live/kCQzad3LuR0

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Dana White says UFC card at Sphere will be one and done: ‘Nobody will ever be able to pull this off again’

UFC CEO Dana White explains why the upcoming Sphere event will be a one and done event and teases more about the promotion’s plans.

The UFC continues to plan its much anticipated (and much hyped) debut at Sphere as if it won’t happen again. That’s because according to Dana White, it won’t.

UFC 306 is set to take place Sept. 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas and will be the promotion’s second-annual Noche UFC event to honor Mexican Independence Day. But beyond that, the prospect of a second event there is unlikely – because there will be no matching the first.

“I’m telling you guys right now, we literally just went through the storyboards two days ago on this thing,” White told reporters at a UFC on ESPN 56 post-event news conference Saturday in St. Louis. “This is going to be the sickest live event in combat sports that anybody has ever seen.”

“It will never be done again. This will be a one and done, just because I wanted to do it. Everybody, when I said I wanted to do this, said, ‘How? How are you going to do a fight in there? It’s too hard. It’s too this. It’s too that.’ That’s the kind of stuff I love. We’ve already spent a sh*tload of money on this thing. Nobody will ever be able to pull this off again because nobody would spend the money to do it. Nobody is going to spend the money to do what I’m doing over there right now.”

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Since his declaration the UFC would head there, White promised the event will be “the greatest live combat sports show anybody has ever seen” and also acknowledged the preparation is a “massive challenge.”

Sphere has hosted live shows including U2 and Phish, but has yet to host a combat sports event. As of now, the UFC will be the first.

“This is going to be a f*cking masterpiece, man,” White said. “I’m telling you right now and this is a fact, this will never be done again. You know what’s going to happen when I do this event at the Sphere? Every other event that’s going to go in there is going to go, ‘Motherf*cker. What do we do now? How do we even come close to competing with this?’ We are going to f*cking blow the doors off anything that ever goes into that arena again. I f*cking guarantee it.”

Sphere opened in September 2023 after five years of construction that cost $2.3 billion. It has a capacity of 18,600, or around 20,000 if floor seats are counted. The interior contains the world’s largest LED screen at 160,000 square feet.

Michael Bisping: Joaquin Buckley is a star, but went too far with Conor McGregor callout

Michael Bisping liked everything from Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 56 – except his post-fight callout.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] liked everything from [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 56 – except his post-fight callout.

Buckley (19-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) impressed in his unanimous decision win over Nursulton Ruziboev (34-9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in Saturday’s welterweight co-main event from his home city of St. Louis.

“New Mansa” campaigned for a spot on the card, and made the most out of the opportunity – from engaging with the Uzbekistani fans, to putting on arguably his most well-rounded performance to date.

“Take a bow – this man is a star,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “He has got so much charisma. I’m telling you, Buckley owned fight week.”

Bisping admits he thought Buckley appeared overconfident against a dangerous opponent in Ruziboev, but was very impressed with how good he looked.

“Buckley was talking like (Ruziboev) was no threat, and I was concerned for him,” Bisping said. “I was like, ‘I think you’re taking this too lightly.’ I never said that to him, but that’s what I thought. I thought, ‘I don’t think you’re recognizing the threat, and there’s a potential for a great downfall.’ … He showed no signs of being under pressure. He showed no signs of being outskilled.

“In fact, he was the better fighter from start to finish – hitting double-leg takedowns, taking him down, wobbling him on the feet, almost finishing him in Round 3. Just a fantastic performance, a fantastic fight week – his star shot through the roof, and then he went too far.”

Buckley used his mic time with Bisping to call out [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], who headlines UFC 303 against Michael Chandler. It’s safe to say Bisping thinks Buckley failed to capitalize on his big moment.

“Not the best callout,” Bisping said. “Listen, I like Joaquin Buckley. I’m not talking sh*t. But that fight with Conor McGregor is never going to happen, so you could say that potentially he wasted a callout. And then on top of that, then he went too far. He’s trying to be insulting and give McGregor a reason to want to fight him. He was calling his mom and grandma a ho, basically. I like a bit of sh*t talk, and then when he went that far, I’m like, ‘Oh sh*t, this is bad.’

“I think it was just in the moment with the adrenaline, with the big win, with his home crowd. He probably thought it was being funny, but I don’t think anyone particularly enjoyed that one. (He got) a great win over a tough opponent. The man’s got massive amounts of charisma, ridiculous knockout power, very athletic and he’s got a bright future. He should have called out somebody realistic, though.”

Buckley later acknowledged that the callout was unrealistic, and turned his attention to former title challenger Gilbert Burns.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 56.

UFC on ESPN 56 medical suspensions: Nine fighters headed to shelf after St. Louis return

Check out a full list of UFC on ESPN 56 medical suspensions after the promotion’s return to St. Louis.

UFC on ESPN 56 took place Saturday at Enterprise Center in St. Louis and featured 12 fights.

Of the 24 competitors who fought on the card, nine have been suspended at least 30 days by the Missouri Office of Athletics due to injuries or potential injuries sustained in their bouts. Of those nine, two fighters who suffered knockouts will need additional clearance to go with their 90-day sit-downs.

On Monday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of the medical suspensions from the commission. Check out a full list of UFC on ESPN 56 medical suspensions below. It’s important to note fighters often can return prior to the conclusion of their designated terms should they be cleared by a physician (unless noted otherwise).

Dana White: Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s win over Robelis Despaigne ‘sh*ttiest fight of the night’ at UFC St. Louis

Dana White did not hold back when assessing Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s win at UFC Fight Night 241.

[autotag]Dana White[/autotag] did not hold back when assessing [autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]’s win at UFC Fight Night 241.

Cortes-Acosta (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) scored a big upset win over highly touted heavyweight [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in this past Saturday’s main card opener at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

The UFC CEO was not a fan of Cortes-Acosta’s performance in front of the electric St. Louis crowd.

“When you have this type of atmosphere and fans like here in St. Louis, it takes everybody to the next level – except that fight,” White said during the UFC on ESPN 56 post-fight press conference.

Cortes-Acosta, who’s on a three-fight winning streak, used a grapple-heavy approach to stay out of trouble against the dangerous Despaigne. He landed three takedowns and logged in almost two rounds of control time en route to a lopsided unanimous decision.

“He won, but if you had to pick all the fights on the card, and you open the show heading into the (main card), we’re live on ESPN, you’re opening the show, it’s your time to shine and show everybody who you are and that’s your performance? I don’t know,” White said. “If you go through the card and I was going to give out a bonus for sh*ttiest fight of the night, who would you guys give it to? Yeah, everybody’s in agreement.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 56.