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We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 57 event in Louisville.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 57 event in Louisville, Ky.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those reader consensus picks will be part of the main card staff predictions we release Friday ahead of UFC on ESPN 57 (ESPN, ESPN+), which takes place at KFC Yum! Center.
Make your picks below.
Here’s what you need to know to watch UFC on ESPN 57 on ESPN and ESPN+.
The UFC heads to Louisville, Ky., this week for the first time since 2011, and middleweight sluggers are in the main event.
Here’s how to watch UFC on ESPN 57 with 185-pounders in the headlining spot, plus light heavyweight and bantamweight bangers on the main card.
Ricky Turcios says he’s no longer upset at Raul Rosas Jr. for his withdrawal in February.
It appeared [autotag]Ricky Turcios[/autotag] vs. Raul Rosas Jr. had the potential to turn into a bit of a grudge match a few months ago, but it doesn’t look like that’s the case anymore.
Turcios (12-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Rosas Jr. (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) were originally scheduled to fight in February at a UFC Fight Night event in Mexico. However, minutes before the fight, with the event already started, Rosas Jr. pulled out from the fight, citing illness. Turcios wasn’t happy with the cancelation of his bout and was critical of Rosas.
Now, fighting at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 57, Turcios no longer has any issues with Rosas Jr.
“The past is the past, you know what I’m saying?” Turcios said at UFC on ESPN 57 media day on Wednesday. “I put the past behind me in February in Mexico. I hit the reset button, and now we have a new challenge on the horizon.
“On that day, I don’t want to put too much energy into it anymore because it’s in the past. I was upset in Mexico, but I looked in the mirror and for me, I was like, ‘Let me calm myself. Let me calm myself. Let me meditate and focus on what I can do.’ I had to reset and chill and do what I do.”
Turcios is eager to finally back in the cage, given that he was supposed almost four months ago. He hopes for a finish, but willing to go to war all three rounds if necessary.
“As I enter into the octagon this Saturday, it’s just another opponent standing in the way of my goals,” Turcios said. “As I enter into the octagon, I have one objective and one objective only and that’s to win any means necessary, by knockout, submission, or frick it, if he’s super tough, we’ll go to war all the way to a decision.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 57.
Raul Rosas Jr. didn’t appreciate Ricky Turcios’ comments about his withdrawal from their original booking back in February.
Friends on not, [autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag] intended to put Ricky Turcios away in their original booking back in February. Now fighting on Saturday, Rosas has a little more motivation to get that done.
Rosas Jr. (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Turcios (12-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) clash on the main card of UFC on ESPN 57, which takes place at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. This is the third date they have been scheduled to meet, as they were initially scheduled to fight on Feb. 24 and then a week later at another UFC Fight Night event after the original date fell through.
Rosas Jr. withdrew from their first date minutes before the fight as he fell ill. Then, in the following booking, Rosas Jr. had a scheduling conflict that didn’t allow him to compete. Turcios wasn’t happy with Rosas Jr. not fighting in February and initially criticized him, saying Rosas Jr. was “unprofessional” and “disrespected the Bushido code.”
Turcios may have changed his tune since, but his original comments haven’t sat well with “El Niño Problema.”
“It does change it a little because now I’m going to go out, and we’ll see if he comes out clean this time,” Rosas Jr. told MMA Junkie. “He had posted he had come out clean in the last fight, so we’ll see if he can say the same things he was saying after the last fight that we didn’t fight. But yeah, he’s a little weird, for sure. He comes and tells me it’s all respect, but then goes out there and says those type of things online, so we’ll see if he can back it up.
“If I really disrespected his code, we’ll see if he does something about it on Saturday night.”
Although it’s been just a few months, the 19-year-old Rosas Jr. believes he’s evolved tremendously since that first booking. He plans on showing that advancement by stopping Turcios.
“I think he’s going to have a hard time either way the fight goes,” Rosas Jr. said. “He’s a durable fighter. He has a lot of heart, and he’s going to keep coming after I put a beating on him. He’s going to keep coming, so I’m ready for that. I’m ready for a war, but I’m going to put him out whether it’s Round 1, 2 or 3. I’m pretty sure I’m going to put him out.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 57.
Daniel Marcos thinks a UFC ranking could come with a win in Louisville.
There’s no denying the UFC’s bantamweight division is stacked. Outside the promotion’s official top-15 rankings, there are several young contenders on the rise, and many find Peru’s [autotag]Daniel Marcos[/autotag] to be part of that pack.
Marcos (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), unbeaten in his MMA career, returns to the octagon Saturday against [autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag] (21-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 57. He plans to make a big statement and continue his undefeated run in the sport.
“I believe in my work, and I’m going to do something that many people don’t expect or don’t think I can do.” Marcos told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “… This is a great opportunity for me. I’m going to go out and finish him, and this time he won’t have a chance to have his moments or have the judges award him a win.
“I’m going out to finish. I’m fueled and I’m very hungry. My blood is boiling and when he’s in front of me. He’s going to feel my power. Any opponent that faces me is going to feel my power.”
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Marcos expects this fight to play out on the feet, but is ready for anything.
“Keeping in mind he’s a southpaw and the angles he uses, I think a lot of this fight is going to be standing,” Marcos said. “I think fans are going to enjoy this fight and wherever this fight goes, I’ll be ready. If he wants to wrestle and grapple, I’m ready. If he decides to take me down, he better be ready because I’m going to squash him.”
Marcos thinks he should be 3-0 in the UFC, as he was beating Aoriqileng in his last outing before a groin strike from him ended the bout in a no contest. He hopes a win Saturday could get him a spot in the rankings.
“This is a very tough division, but I’m 100 percent sure that in the next few months my name is going to be up there,” Marcos said. “It’s going to happen very soon. I’ve visualized it, and it’s only a matter of time.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 57.
Nassourdine Imavov believes Jared Cannonier will have a tough time finding his targets in the main event of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 57.
[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] is confident he will be a tougher puzzle for Jared Cannonier to solve than the former title challenger’s previous opponent.
Cannonier (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) landed 241 strikes in his fight with Marvin Vettori last year. He believes Imavov (13-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) won’t be able to withstand that amount of damage when they meet in the UFC on ESPN 57 main event at KFC Yum! Center in Lousiville, Ky.
However, Imavov doesn’t think that his opponent will have the opportunity to test that theory, as he sees the fight unfolding much differently.
“Regarding the question if I’m going to be able to take punches, I’m going to be able to take punches if I need to, but the real question is: Is he going to be able to hit me?” Imavov told MMA Junkie. “I’m not Marvin Vettori. I’m a completely different style. Marvin is slow, like a punching bag, not moving fast. He’s not even young. His style of fighting is very different to mine.”
Imavov is coming off a majority decision win over Roman Dolidze in February. He’s looking to build momentum and make a run at the UFC middleweight belt.
“It moves me very close to the belt and the best in the world, so I’m highly motivated by this fight,” Imavov said.
His plan is to beat Cannonier on Saturday and then get another big fight in the UFC’s expected return to Paris, France in September.
“Of course, I’m planing to stay active,” Imavov said. “Waiting is not necessarily a good option. Sometimes you wait and nothing happens. I want to stay active and keep fighting, especially I would like to be on the UFC Paris fight card.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 57.
“Queue the clown music. Bring in the crowds with their peanuts and their popcorn,” says Jared Cannonier.
The upper echelon of the UFC’s middleweight division is a bit hectic right now, and [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] feels that, being smack-dab in the middle of it.
Ahead of his UFC on ESPN 57 main event bout on Saturday, Cannonier (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) admits the matchup vs. Nassourdine Imavov (13-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) didn’t enthuse him when offered. However, with all of the other contenders matched up, it’s just what the state of the division had available.
What’s at stake, though, beyond a bounce-back fight from injury? Cannonier isn’t sure. With Sean Strickland coming off a win, Dricus Du Plessis likely to face Israel Adesanya yet, and a matchup between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev impending, Cannonier doesn’t know what the future holds beyond the event Saturday at KFC Yum! Center in Lousiville, Ky.
“It’s a circus out there,” Cannonier told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “… Adesanya vs. Dricus. Sean Strickland has a good point when it comes to making that matchup. I think Sean deserves that rematch more than Whittaker deserves the matchup. But we all know why they’re doing it. Like I said, it’s a circus out there. Queue the clown music. Bring in the crowds with their peanuts and their popcorn, so they can have a good time. But I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m not really spending too much time or energy thinking about what can happen. All I know is I’m going to be here, in shape, ready to whoop some ass. Whatever happens, wherever the chips may fall, I’ll be there to pick up the winnings.”
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Days prior to his injury, Cannonier was booked against Roman Dolize, who was rising up the middleweight ranks. Then toward the end of his knee surgery recovery, he was offered Paulo Costa, but wasn’t physically ready to accept. The timeline of his return made Imavov the best viable option.
“When the time came (for me to book a fight), I was hoping maybe for a rematch with Strickland, maybe a rematch with Whittaker, a title fight, something better than a No. 8-ranked guy,” Cannonier said. “But these crumbs was all they had left for me. Instead of sitting on the shelf, I’m not inclined to waiting and stuff like that.
“So I took this fight, and I’m going to go in there and have another great performance, potentially a record-breaking performance, potentially another Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night performance, and keep marching forward toward that title because that’s the whole goal. I’m going to keep whooping these guys until there’s nobody else to whoop, and they have no choice to put that champ in front of me.”
Regardless of opponent, Cannonier is chomping at the bit for a fight. He tore his right MCL in October and subsequently had surgery. The recovery went smoothly, according to Cannonier, who has not competed since June 2023.
“I’m ready to go and get my hands on this man,” Cannonier said. “It would be almost a year by the time I get back in the octagon. I’m ready to get back in there and get back to work, put the work in and get back to what I started in my last fight: more pressure, more intensity, more output. We’ll see if he can last 241 strikes. I’m going in there and putting it on him. I’m going to do it even better than last time.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 57.
Jared Cannonier returns at UFC on ESPN 57. Refresh yourself on where he left off.
[autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] is still a threat in the UFC middleweight division, and he proved that in his most recent outing.
In June 2023, Cannonier went toe-to-toe with middleweight bruiser Marvin Vettori. It was a wild scrap that won the Fight of the Night award, and ended with Cannonier’s hand raised. The victory put Cannonier on a two-fight winning streak since he lost to Israel Adesanya in a title fight.
You can watch Cannonier’s gutsy win in the video above.
Cannonier (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) returns to the cage Saturday in the main event of UFC on ESPN 57, which takes place at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. He takes on Nassourdine Imavov (13-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in a middleweight bout.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 57.
