Tag: UFC on ESPN 59

Drew Dober restricting thoughts of breaking Dustin Poirier’s KO record at UFC on ESPN 59

Drew Dober admits a pursuit of the lightweight KO record has been disservice in the past, and he won’t repeat mistakes at UFC on ESPN 59.

[autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag] admits a pursuit of the UFC lightweight knockout record has been a disservice to him in the past, so he’s taking some key lessons into Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 59 matchup with Jean Silva.

Dober (27-13 MMA, 13-9 UFC) enters his showdown with Silva (13-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in a tie with Dustin Poirier for most knockout wins in divisional history at nine. He’s had sole possession of the record before, but him and “The Diamond” have juggled it back-and-forth over the years.

Given Silva is a hard-hitting striker himself, there should be chances for Dober to finish the fight on the feet. His motivation to do that is self-serving in the purpose of victory, however, and not to take back the record for himself, because he’s gone down that road before with negative consequences.

“The thing is I received that record not even thinking about,” Dober told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “I think the moment I started thinking about it, my performances kind of dipped. So no, I’ve stopped thinking about it. Knockout record is great – we’re also tied for the guillotine record (at zero).”

More than any record, Dober is simply grateful for the chance to compete at UFC on ESPN 59, which takes place at Ball Arena in Denver (ESPN, ESPN+). As a Colorado resident, Dober said he needed to be on this card regardless of the circumstances.

Dober, 35, proved that after he went through multiple opponent changes and wanted to stay on the lineup, even if it meant accepting a name like Silva, who is moving up from featherweight and making a quick turnaround from his knockout of Charles Jourdain at UFC 303 on June 29.

“I wanted to fight on July 13 in Denver, Colorado, against anybody,” Dober said. “I honestly didn’t care. The difficult part is I feel I’m all risk and no reward right now. I have the knockout record, and I’m not a ranked opponent right now. I can understand the hesitation (from other fighters), but Jean Silva, he’s a gangster and he accepted it.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Rose Namajunas starting to have thoughts of a second title ahead of UFC Denver

Rose Namajunas is hopeful a win Saturday will put her in position to go after something she once barely dared to dream about.

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] is hopeful a win Saturday will put her in position to go after something she once barely dared to dream about.

Namajunas (13-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) takes on late replacement Tracy Cortez (11-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 59 main event in front of her home fans in Denver. Cortez stepped up for Maycee Barber, who had to pull out in late June.

The fight will be Namajunas’ third at flyweight in the UFC, and the former women’s strawweight champ already can see the potential to go after a belt at 125 pounds, too – which would put her in rarefied air if she was to become a two-division titleholder.

“When I first started my career in the UFC, that was my vision that I had in mind. It wasn’t super solid, but I definitely wanted to become champion,” Namajunas told MMA Junkie Radio. “And then, somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought to become champion in two divisions, as well.

“But that was so far in the distance, I wasn’t sure if I could make that happen. But now I know that I can.”

Namajunas lost the strawweight belt to Carla Esparza in her second reign as champion. She moved up to flyweight, but lost to Manon Fiorot. She got back on track against Amanda Ribas in March, though, and a win over Cortez, who has yet to lose in the UFC and is unbeaten since a loss in her pro debut, might be enough for her to jump the line – especially given her accolades one division down.

Cortez won’t be an easy task, though Namajunas is more than a 2-1 betting favorite. She said she had to switch some things up after spending so much time prepping for Barber, but not to the point she seems concerned.

“It’s not like night and day difference,” Namajunas said. “My approach is the same as far as what I’m going to do, and it pretty much is the same every time. As far as defense goes, I just have to watch out for a little bit of different things. I think that Tracy has better back control when she gets on the ground. She’s great on the top. … With Tracy, there are less dynamics and she’s kind of coming at you a little more. But she’s got great fundamentals, and I’m looking to make sure my fundamentals are better than hers and also have that extra flair, as well. I could beat her everywhere, so that’s my goal.”

Namajunas is No. 6 in the UFC’s official women’s flyweight rankings. Barber is No. 4, so a win over her would’ve gone a long way in helping her distinguish herself from former champ Valentina Shevchenko, Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield.

Cortez is ranked No. 11, but Namajunas doesn’t think she’s in a lose-lose situation taking a risk against a lower-ranked opponent.

“I’d say I’m right in that title contention talks (with a win),” Namajunas said. “God willing, I’m healthy, I’m in shape and I’m ready to go with a win and whatever opportunities they want to give me. I could see myself fighting for the belt really soon. It’s just a matter of doing my job and fighting to the best of my abilities. Anything’s possible.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

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Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal recap, featherweight title picture, UFC Denver

On “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel discusses Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal, the UFC featherweight title picture and much more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Matthew Wells and Nolan King  joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • Two of the biggest stars in MMA threw down in the ring Saturday when [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] defeated [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] in a competitive boxing match that ended in majority decision. Did Diaz really do enough to beat Masvidal? What should be next for each ? We discuss the boxing match, which was the biggest fight of the weekend, along with other results from the card.
  • The UFC’s featherweight division seems to be in a stalemate. [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag], who became champion in February, has yet to get booked for his first title defense. This past week, both Topuria and former champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] got into a social media back-and-forth and blamed each other for the delay in their expected title fight. What’s going on? Is the UFC mishandling the title picture at 145 pounds? We make sense of the latest at featherweight.
  • Several fun and important matchups were recently booked, but which one stands out the most and why? The panel highlights some of the bookings from this past week.
  • Saturday, the UFC returns to Denver. In the main event, former women’s strawweight champion [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] takes on rising flyweight contender [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag]. What does this bout mean for the women’s 125-pound division? Could it determine the next title challenger? We break down the main event of UFC on ESPN 59.

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Julian Erosa questions Christian Rodriguez’s run ahead of UFC Denver: ‘There’s an asterisk by those fights’

Julian Erosa is not sold by Christian Rodriguez’s four-fight winning streak ahead of UFC Denver.

[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag] is not quite sold his upcoming opponent’s current run, despite the results being there.

Erosa (29-11 MMA, 7-7 UFC) takes on [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag] in a featherweight bout at a UFC on ESPN 59, which takes place July 13 in Denver (ESPN, ESPN+). Rodriguez (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is on a four-fight winning streak entering the event, but Erosa thinks some of those wins should at least put into question.

Erosa, 34, saw Rodriguez, 26, lose against Isaac Dulgarian back in March, and thinks he was wrongfully awarded the win by the judges.

“His last fight against Dulgarian, I don’t know how he won that fight,” Erosa told MMA Junkie Radio. “I think Dulgarian might’ve 10-8 rounded him in the first round. In the second round, for sure Dulgarian won – doing homework on his fights – but at the very least, it should’ve been a draw because the third was all ‘C-Rod.’

“So that was a bit iffy of a decision. I don’t know how he won that decision, but there goes the saying that you never want to leave it up to the judges – especially some of these guys. I think it’s Dave Tirelli. Man, that guy just makes such bad decisions.”

That split decision win against Dulgarian is not the only thing Erosa puts into question. He also thinks Rodriguez had an unfair advantage in two of his recent fights, where he missed weight and went on to defeat his opponent.

“Two of his big wins in the UFC for bantamweight he missed weight, so there’s an asterisk by those fights,” Erosa said. “Even the Contender (Series) fight, he missed weight and that’s why they didn’t sign him. So even though he’s got a decent win and decent streak in the UFC, two of those bantamweight fights he missed weight and at bantamweight, when you’re missing by four or five pounds – which is what he did – that’s a huge advantage.

“Four or five pounds the day of weigh-ins can equal up to 10 pounds the next day, which is a different weight class. I think in transitioning to featherweight, I don’t know if he did it on his own accord or if the UFC was like, ‘Hey, man. This is too many times. You’re going to have to move to featherweight.’ It will be interesting to see how it plays out in that sense. I’m not trying to discredit what he’s done so far, but if you’re a fighter, you know at least two pounds missed the day of weigh-ins can equate to three or four times the day of the fight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver adds Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Montel Jackson as late addition

After multiple cancellations, the UFC is building its Denver event back up.

The UFC is building back up its upcoming Denver event after a slew of withdrawals.

The most recent addition to UFC on ESPN 59 is a bantamweight bout as [autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag] has been booked. The event takes place July 13 at Ball Arena.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Blackshear (14-6-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) aims to bounce back from a UFC 292 unanimous decision loss to Mario Bautista in August. The loss snapped a two-fight winning steak. Since then, Blackshear has moved his training to Thailand and Tiger Muay Thai.

Jackson (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) rides a four-fight winning streak into the matchup but has struggled to get into the cage as of late. His three most recent bookings have fallen through including two opponent withdrawals for UFC on ABC 6 on June 22.

With the addition, the UFC on ESPN 59 fight card includes:

  • Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez
  • Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov
  • Charles Johnson vs. Joshua Van
  • Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa
  • Mariya Agapova vs. Luana Santos
  • Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Fatima Kline
  • Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez
  • Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski
  • Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
  • Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Montel Jackson
  • Nazim Sadykhov vs. TBA

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC signs Fatima Kline for short-notice debut vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius in Denver

The main training partner of Erin Blanchfield, Fatima Kline was expected to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series.

[autotag]Fatima Kline[/autotag] won’t have to go through Dana White’s Contender Series after all.

Days after news surfaced that Kline (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) would partake in DWCS on Sept. 24, she’s aborted that mission to jump right into the big show. On less than two weeks notice, Kline will elevate a weight class to 125 pounds to fight [autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 59, which takes place July 13 at Ball Arena in Denver.

Jasudavicius (10-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) was initially expected to fight Viviane Araujo, who has withdrawn for unknown reasons.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup including Kline’s manager Oren Hodak, of KO Reps, recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup. The promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Kline, 23, enters the UFC as a dual titleholder for top regional promotion CFFC. Prior to earning the CFFC strawweight and flyweight straps, Kline competed four times under the Invicta FC banner. She is a main training partner of UFC women’s flyweight contender Erin Blanchfield.

Jasudavicius, 35, has won three of her most recent four outings. She most recently competed in January when she finished Priscila Cachoeira by third-round submission.

 

With the change, the UFC on ESPN 59 lineup includes:

  • Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez
  • Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov
  • Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva
  • Charles Johnson vs. Joshua Van
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa
  • Mariya Agapova vs. Luana Santos
  • Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Fatima Kline
  • Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez
  • Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski
  • Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
  • Nazim Sadykhov vs. TBA

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva added to UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver

Drew Dober now has an opponent for UFC on ESPN 59 as Jean Silva has stepped up for a quick turnaround.

[autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag] finally has an opponent for UFC on ESPN 59.

Stepping up just days removed from his last fight, [autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag] will fill the “opponent TBA” void for Dober (27-13 MMA, 13-9 UFC) in a lightweight matchup on July 13 at Ball Arena in Denver. The promotion officially announced the matchup on Wednesday.

Dober was originally set to face Mike Davis at the event, but was left without an opponent when “Beast Boy” became injured. Dober wanted to keep the date and has now secured a new foe who just competed at International Fight Week.

Silva (13-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is coming off a knockout win against Charles Jourdain at UFC 303, and will make a quick 14-day turnaround to compete again. While the performance was impressive, it was blemished by a 1.5-pound weight miss over the featherweight limit. For the fight against Dober, he will have an extra 10 pounds to work with in his fast return to the cage.

Dober will look to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Renato Moicano in February which halted the momentum of a TKO victory over Ricky Glenn in October.

With the addition, the UFC on ESPN 59 lineup includes:

  • Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez
  • Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov
  • Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa
  • Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage
  • Mariya Agapova vs. Luana Santos
  • Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski
  • MarQuel Mederos vs. Nazim Sadykhov
  • Charles Johnson vs. Joshua Van

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Maycee Barber details UFC on ESPN 59 withdrawal, can’t properly train without ‘risk for lifelong damage’

Maycee Barber put her health first when deciding to pull the plug on her planned UFC on ESPN 59 main event vs. Rose Namajunas.

[autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag] put her health first when deciding to pull the plug on her planned UFC on ESPN 59 main event vs. Rose Namajunas.

Part of the reason Barber (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) moved up to the women’s flyweight division, where she has won six in a row, from strawweight, is because the weight cutting was doing damage to her body. She has been open about that in the past, but it appears there is still some lingering issues.

Barber was scheduled to fight Namajunas in her first octagon headliner on July 13 at Ball Arena in Denver, but less than three weeks from the card had to pull out and was replaced by Tracy Cortez.

It was a difficult decision, Barber said, but also the right one. According to the 26-year-old, her training camp was nothing short of a disaster, and all the health problems made it impossible to prepare effectively for a former UFC champion such as Namajunas.

Check out Barber’s detailed statement below (via Instagram):

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8yI7R0RMtd/?igsh=ZXUyc3RqdjJ1M2w0

This is the last post I wanted to be making heading into July. Wish I was putting up a post about being 2 weeks out from my first main event. God must have other plans in store for the future 🤍 Unfortunately,As a lot of you may know, I was hospitalized for many days following my last fight. I spent 9 days in the hospital less than 2 months ago. Doctors at the time couldn’t find exactly what was going on, and I ended up also I developing pneumonia during that time.

I was put on numerous rounds of oral and IV antibiotics, which absolutely wrecked my system. When I accepted this fight I was told that I would be okay by the time July came around and so after a few weeks eased back to training and into a camp, as I got deeper into camp I just couldn’t find any intensity needed to get ready for a 5-round fight let alone the first 5 minutes of a practice. I wanted so badly to be able to go out there and perform in front of my home, family and friends. Especially against such a high level opponent in Rose.

Although I tried to keep pushing through, my team recognized that I’m not just not physically even close to where I need to be to safely enter a fight let alone into a single training session without putting myself at risk for lifelong damage. I needed to find answers as to why my body is seemingly turning against me. I sought out a team of medical professionals who, alongside the UFC, have run extensive tests on my blood and urine and sinus microbiome and my gut and my hormones and there are many things physically not working properly in my body; and they are being exacerbated by an Epstein-barr virus infection that we found. This is causing body aches, headaches, as well as extreme fatigue and an inability to recover between training sessions. I keep trying to push through the fatigue, but every time I would I do so, I would get symptoms that were consistent with these lab findings.

The more we are digging into my physiology and immune system, the more apparent it becomes that not only did the numerous rounds of antibiotics I was given after my hospitalization wreck my immune system, but the constant training compounded to get me into a position of essentially feeling always sick and always completely wiped out. After I was informed of the severe risks of my spleen rupturing among other life altering risks I was devastated.

We made the decision with my team of coaches, Drs and the UFC that my physical health must be attended to now so that I can make a run in the future. 🤍✨

Barber did not reveal a timeline for when she could return to competition as she sorts through recovery and finding a path forward. What she does know, however, is that proceeding with the fight against Namajunas, no matter how significant the opportunity, would’ve been detrimental to her in multiple ways.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Shara Magomedov calls out Kevin Holland for UFC on ESPN 59: ‘I take your head home’

Shara Magomedov wants a piece of Kevin Holland, but there could be a holdup.

[autotag]Shara Magomedov[/autotag] wants a piece of [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag], but is Holland available?

Magomedov (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), fresh off a knockout win over Antonio Trocoli this past Saturday at UFC on ABC 6, is currently in the United States and looking for a fight at UFC on ESPN 59 on July 13 in Denver.

So he called out “Big Mouth.”

“I challenge you to a fight, you told me come to America and that we will fight. My Pirate ship has sailed to the shores of America, now it’s time to board your ship, let’s fight for glory.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8qoCbgtzO0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading

Magomedov traveled to Los Angeles after landing a villain role in an upcoming movie. Holland (26-11 MMA, 13-8 UFC) hinted at accepting the fight by responding, “If the boss likes it, I love it and by the looks of it he liked it,” followed by an Instagram story with the caption, “About time, see you in mountains.”

However, Holland also posted an image of him and former title challenger Jared Cannonier, alluding to a potential fight against him on July 13.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8qdaADMCda/

Holland returned to middleweight earlier this month at UFC 302 where he scored a first-round, Performance of the Night submission of Michal Oleksiejczuk. He snapped a two-fight losing skid.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Rose Namajunas ‘very happy’ Joanna Jedrzejczyk joined 2024 UFC Hall of Fame: ‘I looked up to her’

Rose Namajunas is pleased to see her former rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk get recognized.

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] is pleased to see her former rival get recognized.

[autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag](16-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) was announced for the 2024 UFC Hall of Fame class. The former UFC strawweight champion, who defended her title a division record five times, will join the modern era wing.

Namajunas (12-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) was the one to dethrone Jedrzejczyk, scoring a surprise first-round TKO victory in their title fight at UFC 217. She won their immediate rematch by unanimous decision to retain her belt at UFC 223.

Despite their heated rivalry, Namajunas showed nothing but respect towards Jedrzejczyk when asked by MMA Junkie about her UFC Hall of Fame recognition.

“I better get in there with her,” Namajunas laughed. “That’s super cool, I’m very happy for her. Obviously, I looked up to her. As much as we had our rivalry and things like that, I wish all the best to her. I hope that she’s happy, that she’s happy with her career because it was pretty awesome, and I’ll be happy to see it.”

After beating Jedrzejczyk a second time, Namajunas lost her title to Jessica Andrade. She was later able to recapture if after scoring back-to-back wins over current strawweight champion Zhang Weili. But after seeing her second reign come to an end at the hands of Carla Esparza, Namajunas sought new life at flyweight.

“Thug Rose” split her first two appearances at 125 pounds – a loss to Manon Fiorot, followed by a win over Amanda Ribas. She takes on streaking contender take on Maycee Barber (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 59 main event July 13 at Ball Arena in Denver (ESPN, ESPN+).

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.