Tag: UFC on ESPN+ 7

Alistair Overeem wants Jairzinho Rozenstruik rematch: ‘I fight him again, I’m gonna finish him’

After blasting his way back into the win column, Alistair Overeem wants the opportunity to avenge his most recent loss.

After smashing his way back into the win column, [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] wants the opportunity to avenge his most recent loss.

Overeem (46-18 MMA, 11-7 UFC) suffered a “Hail Mary” knockout loss to [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 7 last December in a fight that he appeared to be winning before he was dramatically dropped with seconds remaining in the bout.

However, Overeem rebounded with a second-round finish of Walt Harris at UFC on ESPN 8 on May 16 and would now like another crack at “Bigi Boy”.

Overeem thinks the stoppage came too early and vows to leave no doubt in a potential rematch.

“I’m not dissatisfied about the Rozenstruik performance. … We schooled the guy,” Overeem told Sirius XM’s Fight Nation. “We were up all five rounds, it was just like one, or actually it was two punches that he connected. In my opinion a wrong stoppage, the ref should have never jumped in and when he jumped in it was zero seconds left. I actually had thought that it was the end of the fight because I remember the click, click, last 10 seconds and then I got dropped, straight back to my feet and it was over.

“I thought I actually won that fight and then it was like hey (expletive), they stopped it, TKO? And then you have Rozenstruik talking about it. He KO’d me, he KO’d me. That guy got lucky and I would love to run it back with him because (if) I fight him again, I’m gonna finish him. One hundred percent.”

Rozenstruik (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) suffered his first career blemish at UFC 249 when he was knocked out in 20 seconds by Francis Ngannou in Jacksonville. His win over Overeem was MMA Junkie’s comeback of the year.

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Can’t see him at UFC Portland? Watch Alistair Overeem take out Aleksei Oleinik, instead

You won’t be watching Alistair Overeem headline UFC Portland in a couple weeks, so relive his TKO of Aleksei Oleinik, instead.

[autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] should’ve been winding down his training camp right about now for a headliner against Walt Harris.

Instead, he, like the rest of us, now lives in a coronavirus world. And that means Overeem (45-17 MMA, 10-6 UFC) has his fight against Harris (13-7 MMA, 6-6 UFC) at UFC on ESPN+ 30 on hold. The event was supposed to go down April 11 in Portland, Ore. But it’s among the events the UFC had to postpone in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic.

While we don’t yet know when Overeem will get the Harris fight rebooked, at least we can take a look back at his most recent win.

In St. Petersburg, Russia, in April 2019, Overeem took out Aleksei Oleinik with 15 seconds left in the first round for his second straight TKO win after a pair of knockout losses to Francis Ngannou and Curtis Blaydes.

We may not have new live fights to count on yet, but we can take a look back at some great finishes like Overeem’s in the video above.

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MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Submission of the Year’: Bryce Mitchell’s twister

Here are the top four honorable mentions and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Year” award for 2019.

With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best submissions from January to December. Here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Year” award for 2019.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Submission of the Year.”

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Honorable mentions

Aviv Gozali def. Eduard Muravitskiy at Bellator 225

It only took [autotag]Aviv Gozali[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) 11 seconds to imanari roll his way into the fastest stoppage victory in Bellator history against Eduard Muravitskiy (9-9 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).

The 18-year-old Israeli fighter started out the bout with one move on his mind – a heel hook. As the opening bell sounded, Gozali rolled towards opponent Muravitskiy and snatched a leg. A few adjustments, and Gozali forced the tap by heel hook for a third consecutive win to open his career.

4. Ovince Saint Preux def. Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC on ESPN+ 18

[autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] (24-13 MMA, 12-8 UFC) added to his legend with another one of his signature submission wins, this time at the expense of Michal Oleksiejczuk (14-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in their light heavyweight matchup.

A rough first round looked like it was going to lead to a bad night for Saint Preux. When the second round arrived, though, Oleksiejczuk was the more fatigued fighter, and when Saint Preux got on top, he wasted little time securing the Von Preux choke to tie the all-time submission record at 205 pounds.

3. Patrick Mix def. Isaiah Chapman at Bellator 232

[autotag]Patrick Mix[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) achieved a first in Bellator history when in his bantamweight fight he managed to force Isaiah Chapman (9-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) to tap out with a rarely seen submission.

After just a few minutes of action, Mix found himself on Chapman’s back during a grappling exchange. He went after the leg and got in position to secure the Suloev stretch, which he fully locked in to become the first in Bellator to win with the technique.

2. Brent Primus def. Tim Wilde at Bellator Europe 2

After losing his Bellator lightweight title in lopsided fashion to close out 2018, [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) got back in the win column in resounding fashion with a finish of Tim Wilde (13-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), who never saw it coming.

It was a matter of moments before Primus started working of for the finish. After finding himself on his back, Primus maneuvered his legs into position for a gogoplata. Such attempts rarely bare fruit, but Primus was able to get his shin under Wilde’s neck and force the tap just 80 seconds into the match.

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Winner: Bryce Mitchell def. Matt Sayles at UFC on ESPN 7

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[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] pulled off an all-time submission in just his third UFC appearance.

Facing off against Matt Sayles (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a featherweight bout, Mitchell (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) pulled off a rare twister submission at the 4:20 mark of the first round.

As the fight wore on, Mitchell and Sayles became tangled on the ground. With his opponent’s leg locked, Mitchell swung his head under the arm of Sayles.

From there, Mitchell wrapped his arms around Sayles’ neck. One grip adjustment was all it took. Clearly in pain due to the torque on his torso, Sayles was forced to tap.

The submission was only the second of its kind successfully executed in UFC history. The first came at UFC Fight Night 24 in March 2011. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung pulled off a second-round twister submission in a rematch against fellow WEC alum Leonard Garcia.

“It’s something I do in practice a lot,” Mitchell said. “I’ve seen Eddie Bravo doing it on YouTube and I practiced it, practiced it, and practiced it. I remember every step that he told me. I even know the Peruvian twister – it’s the tighter version. I really paid a lot of attention to that video. Shout out to Eddie Bravo. Yeah, that’s where I got it from.

“If your opponent doesn’t know how to defend it, if they don’t know how to defend, then it’s going to be a one- or two-step process because they will just give you the arm. But if they defend, then it’s like a six-step process, so it takes time. I think that’s why it’s so uncommon because people don’t know all the steps and how to do it.”

Also see:

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MMA Junkie’s ‘Fight of the Month’ for December: A slugfest between wrestlers

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from December 2019.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from December 2019: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Fight of the Month” award for December.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

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Rob Font def. Ricky Simon at UFC on ESPN 7

[autotag]Rob Font[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) had to battle through early adversity to get his 17th professional win, topping a game [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC).

Font came back from getting dropped in the first round to outpoint Simon in a unanimous decision. The judges’ scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27, giving Font back-to-back wins for the first time in more than two years.

Kamaru Usman def. Colby Covington at UFC 245

The highly anticipated welterweight title fight between [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) and [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) surpassed all pre-fight expectations, but in the end it was the champion who came away with his title reign intact.

Usman and Covington went toe-to-toe for nearly five rounds, exchanging strikes on the feet and not once putting a wholehearted effort into a takedown attempt. Usman proved more dangerous on the feet in the matchup of wrestlers, breaking Covington’s jaw before dropping and stopping him in the fifth for the fight-ending TKO.

Charles Jourdain def. Dooho Choi at UFC on ESPN+ 23

After falling short in his UFC debut earlier this year, [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) showed what he was all about in his sophomore octagon appearance when he won a featherweight thriller against [autotag]Dooho Choi[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC).

Jourdain gave “The Korean Superboy” a rude welcome back to action from a long layoff when he fearlessly found a home for his strikes for nearly two full rounds. Eventually Choi couldn’t hold up, because Jourdain connected with a shot that set up a TKO to end the “Fight of the Night” affair.

A.J. McKee def. Derek Campos at Bellator 236

[autotag]Derek Campos[/autotag] (20-10 MMA, 9-8 BMMA) showed off his trademark toughness, but it wasn’t enough to stop [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 16-0 BMMA) from picking up another impressive win to extend his record winning streak in Bellator.

McKee fought Campos from every area over the course of the bout, then suddenly in the third, from his back, he pulled off a slick armbar that forced Campos to tap out and made him the first man to advance to the semifinals of the Bellator featherweight grand prix.

Tofiq Musaev def. Patricky Freire at Rizin FF 20

[autotag]Tofiq Musaev[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 5-0 Rizin) made light of his underdog status as he surged into the Rizin lightweight grand prix final and claimed a unanimous decision victory over pre-tournament favorite [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (23-9 MMA, 2-1 Rizin).

The two semifinal matchups in the lightweight grand prix tournament produced brutal, quick-fire finishes as Azerbaijan’s Musaev and Brazilian Bellator star Freire registered impressive stoppage wins. They went all three rounds in the final, though, each trying to overcome severe hand injuries. Musaev had the bigger moments, though, and was given the nod by the judges.

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The Winner: Usman vs. Covington

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After a heated buildup and a compelling fight, Usman came out “and still” the UFC welterweight champion.

With the clock winding down in the UFC 245 main event, Usman finished former interim champ Covington at 4:10 of Round 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

As Covington walked out to Kurt Angle’s WWE theme song, he was met with boos and middle fingers from the crowd, although the controversial competitor also had a noticeable share of supporters. A calm, cool and collected Usman made the walk second, draped in the Nigerian flag.

When it came time to fight, the two combatants, who did not touch gloves at the outset, delivered. Known for their wrestling abilities, not one takedown attempt was tried. Covington set a frenetic pace in the first, while Usman was more calculated with his strikes.

After three rounds of back-and-forth face-punching, Covington informed his corner he thought he broke his jaw. Upon replay, a hard straight right was the culprit.

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Fighting through the pain in the fourth round, Covington showed tremendous heart. He stunned Usman on multiple occasions and dug deep to return to his first-round pacing.

With the fight being relatively close, there was no consensus leader entering the fifth. It could have been anyone’s fight. Midway through the round, Usman showed championship mettle and began to land some of his hardest punches of the fight.

In a wild fifth-round sequence, Usman battered Covington, dropping him to the canvas. Covington survived, but only for so long. He was promptly met with more hard shots from the champion. As a bloody, battered, and swollen Covington clutched onto a single leg, Usman’s hammer fists finished the fight.

Upon the stoppage from referee Marc Goddard, the bloodied and battered Covington protested, but to no avail.

After the fight, Covington left the cage and ran to the back. He did not give a post-fight interview.

Conversely, Usman took the high road. The champion celebrated his win, but also turned attention to a tragedy his family had recently endured. Usman’s brother Mohammed, a pro MMA heavyweight, lost his son in a drowning accident earlier this year.

The victory means Usman has now won 15 straight outings. As for Covington, the loss was only the second of his career.

[opinary poll=”what-was-your-fight-of-the-month-for-dec-ZP15″ customer=”mmajunkie”]

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MMA Junkie’s ‘Submission of the Month’ for December: A stunning twister

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from December 2019.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from December 2019. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Month” award for December.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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The Nominees

Virna Jandiroba def. Mallory Martin at UFC on ESPN 7

After stumbling in her octagon debut, [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) showed what she’s all about when she rolled over Mallory Martin (6-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in their strawweight bout for her 12th career submission victory.

Jandiroba managed to assert her game over Martin in the first round. Then, in the second, she earned an advantageous position to lock in a rear-naked choke. Martin had no answer, and the result was a submission victory for the former Invicta FC champion.

Bryce Mitchell def. Matt Sayles at UFC on ESPN 7

[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) pulled off the rarest of submissions in his featherweight bout against Matt Sayles (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) to remain undefeated in his young career.

Mitchell became just the second fighter in octagon history to finish a fight by twister submission. After getting Sayles on the mat, he began to set up the multi-step process for the difficult technique. Sayles couldn’t defend it, though, and “Thug Nasty” got his place in the record books.

Billy Quarantillo def. Jacob Kilburn at UFC on ESPN 7

[autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) used the platform of his octagon debut to showcase the full extend of his ability by utterly dominating Jacob Kilburn (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) before earning a merciless finish.

Quarantillo did everything he wanted to and more in inflicting a one-sided beating of Kilburn in the lightweight matchup. He finished the with a triangle choke in the second round, but not before landing 139 total strikes and threatening with five total submission attempts.

Tim Means def. Thiago Alves at UFC on ESPN 7

[autotag]Tim Means[/autotag] (29-11-1 MMA, 11-8 UFC) and Thiago Alves (23-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) have built up reputations as violent, high-action fighters in the welterweight division. And once again, he delivered.

The two fighters did not disappoint in a short, but action-packed spectacle. They traded heavy shots on the feet before Alves got hurt and Means was able to take advantage and lock in a tight guillotine choke that forced the former UFC title challenger to tap out.

A.J. McKee def. Derek Campos at Bellator 236

Derek Campos (20-10 MMA, 9-8 BMMA) showed off his trademark toughness, but it wasn’t enough to stop [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 16-0 BMMA) from picking up another impressive win to extend his record winning streak in Bellator.

McKee fought Campos from every area over the course of the bout, then suddenly in the third, from his back, he pulled off a slick armbar that forced Campos to tap out and made him the first man to advance to the semifinals of the Bellator featherweight grand prix.

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The Winner: Bryce Mitchell

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Mitchell pulled off an all-time submission in just his third UFC appearance.

Facing off against Sayles, pulled off a rare twister submission at the 4:20 mark of the first round.

As the fight wore on, Mitchell and Sayles became tangled on the ground. With his opponent’s leg locked, Mitchell swung his head under the arm of Sayles.

From there, Mitchell wrapped his arms around Sayles’ neck. One grip adjustment was all it took. Clearly in pain due to the torque on his torso, Sayles was forced to tap.

The submission was only the second of its kind successfully executed in UFC history. The first came at UFC Fight Night 24 in March 2011. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung pulled off a second-round twister submission in a rematch against fellow WEC alum Leonard Garcia.

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MMA Junkie’s ‘Knockout of the Month’ for December: An unbeaten streak ends in one punch

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from December 2019.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from December 2019: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Month” award for December.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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The Nominees

Makhmud Muradov def. Trevor Smith at UFC on ESPN 7

In his second UFC appearance, [autotag]Makhmud Muradov[/autotag] (24-6 MMA, 2-0 UFC) sent Trevor Smith’s (15-10 MMA, 5-7 UFC) mouthpiece into orbit during their middleweight bout.

Muradov landed a massive overhand right hand during the late stages of the second round, which knocked Smith out upon impact. The fight-ending blow was the final of a three-punch combination. As Muradov’s hand landed, Smith’s mouthpiece rocketed out of position. Smith’s unconscious body crashed to the canvas, his arm awkwardly twisting behind him.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Alistair Overeem at UFC on ESPN 7

It took [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) nearly 25 minutes, but he got the job done against Alistair Overeem (45-18 MMA, 10-7 UFC) in his first UFC headline fight.

At the 4:56 mark of the fifth and final round, Rozenstruik lunged into a punch that dropped Overeem, tearing the former Strikeforce champ’s lip open and leading to the TKO victory to cap an incredible UFC debut year in which Rozenstruik went 4-0 with four finishes.

Irene Aldana def. Ketlen Vieira at UFC 245

[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag] (12-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) continued to show evolution in her game when she delivered her first career knockout in the most important of moments against Ketlen Vieira (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC).

After showing confidence on the feet in the opening minutes of the women’s bantamweight matchup, Aldana leveled Vieira with a clean left hook (https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2019/12/ufc-245-watch-irene-aldana-knock-out-ketlen-vieira-wicked-left) that immediately sent the Brazilian to the canvas. No more follow up shots were needed, and Aldana walked away with new consideration about her place as a contender at 135 pounds.

Petr Yan def. Urijah Faber at UFC 245

Unlike his July return, the second stop on the Urijah Faber (35-11 MMA, 11-7 UFC) comeback tour against [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) wasn’t a success.

In the clash of bantamweight contender, Faber was dropped and bloodied for he was head kicked and stopped by the relentless striker Yan, who remained undefeated inside the octagon.

Chan Sung Jung def. Frankie Edgar at UFC on ESPN+ 23

[autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) may have cemented himself as the No. 1 contender in the UFC featherweight division by becoming just the second fighter to stop octagon legend Frankie Edgar (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) with strikes.

In front of a home crowd in Busan, South Korea, “The Korean Zombie” battered former UFC lightweight champion Edgar with a ferocious and tactical onslaught of strikes, finally getting the stopped just over three minutes in the opening round.

Michael Page. def. Shinsho Anzai at Bellator 237

[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 13-1 BMMA) added another spectacular highlight to his reel when he dished out one of the most one-sided beatdowns in recent memory against Shinsho Anzai (11-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).

It was a near-flawless performance from “MVP,” because Page did everything he wanted in battering Anzai with a relentless onslaught of strikes before connecting with a fight-ending right hand for the second-round knockout and his 10th stoppage in Bellator competition.

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The Winner: Irene Aldana

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In the most biggest performance of her career, Aldana had one impressive showing.

The women’s bantamweight contender picked up the biggest win of her young career against the previously unbeaten Vieira, halting the fight with the type of finish that’s rarely seen in female competition.

As the clock wound down in the first round, Aldana loaded up on a huge left hook that dropped and stopped Vieira, who came into the fight pegged as the next contender to dual UFC champ Amanda Nunes had she won.

Aldana had different plans, though, because she handed Vieira her first pro loss while subsequently scoring her first career knockout in the most spectacular of fashions.

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Bryce Mitchell, Tim Means sign new contracts following submission finishes at UFC on ESPN 7

Following their first-round finishes at UFC on ESPN 7, Bryce Mitchell and Tim Means have signed new deals with the UFC.

[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] and [autotag]Tim Means[/autotag] had a lot to celebrate after their fights this past Saturday.

Mitchell and Means fought at UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, D.C., and both picked up first-round finishes.

The undefeated Mitchell stopped Matt Sayles with just the second twister submission in UFC history. It earned him a “Performance of the Night” bonus, and following the win, Mitchell shared the news that he has signed a new four-fight deal with the promotion.

Heading into UFC on ESPN 7, Means had lost three of his past four. But he picked up a first-round finish of former UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves with a guillotine choke submission. It was his 24th career finish. Twenty fights into his UFC career, Means still is trucking. He, too, shared news that he has signed a new deal with the UFC.

UFC on ESPN 7 took place Saturday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Video: Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s raucous homecoming in Suriname after UFC DC win

Watch Jairzinho Rozenstruik get mobbed by adoring fans upon returning home to Suriname after his win over Alistair Overeem.

Saturday night, [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag]’s out-of-nowhere finish of Alistair Overeem was met with a loud ovation from those in attendance at UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, D.C.

Down on all three judges’ scorecards and with the clock winding down, Rozenstruik (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) finished Overeem (45-18 MMA, 11-7 UFC) with an overhand right. The stoppage came at 4:56 of Round 5.

However, the praise Rozenstruik received in Capital One Arena that night paled in comparison to the celebration which broke out when he returned home to Suriname.

As shown in the two videos below, Rozenstruik was greeted by hundreds of fans and supporters. There was dancing, drinking, and chants of “Bigi Boy,” as the heavyweight contender was surrounded by delirious countrymen.

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The first of the videos below also shows the exact moment Rozenstruik finished Overeem (around the 1:20 mark). A large crowd had gathered outside to watch the fight. Upon the fight’s finish, the watch party absolutely explodes with delight.

UFC on ESPN 7 took place Saturday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Spinning Back Clique: UFC 245 preview, UFC DC reaction

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” unpack the latest MMA news and notes in Episode 6 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” react to what transpired at UFC on ESPN 7 and preview what’s to come this Saturday at UFC 245.

Show rundown:

  • [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] at UFC DC. He was getting mostly dominated and on his way to a guaranteed decision loss before a huge right hand knocked out Overeem (and shattered his lip) with four seconds remaining in the fifth round. Rozenstruik remains undefeated at 10-0 overall and 4-0 in the UFC. But after that performance, are we buying or selling him as a legit contender at heavyweight?
  • [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] delivered a pair of painful groin’ kicks to [autotag]Stefan Struve[/autotag] at UFC DC, then went on to score a TKO victory – but not before referee Dan Miragliotta advised Struve to continue fighting. Since when should a referee be offering fighters advice during a fight?
  • [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] made history as the first woman to step inside the octagon back in 2013. More recently, she competed for a UFC title again earlier this year but lost to flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. Carmouche, 4-2 in her last six fights, was released last Friday by the UFC – get this – while she was in Washington D.C. doing a promotional tour with troops for the promotion. What do we make of her unceremonious exit, and what’s next for her?
  • It’s UFC 245 fight week, which means we’re on the verge of finally seeing [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] clash with [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag], who’s been promoting the heck out of this showdown, but has he gone too far?
  • Speaking of UFC 245, there are two other big title fights on the card: [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] and [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] 2. Which challenger is more likely to win? And which “old dog” on the main card is more likely to turn back the clock: [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] or [autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag]?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 6 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

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Stefan Struve defends referee Dan Miragliotta’s controversial handling of his fight with Ben Rothwell

Stefan Struve believes that those who have criticized Dan Miragliotta’s handling of his fight “need to get off his back.”

Controversial. That’s the word which best sums up [autotag]Stefan Struve[/autotag]’s return to MMA competition.

The Dutch heavyweight returned to action Saturday at UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, D.C., where he faced fellow veteran Ben Rothwell. Struve (29-12 MMA, 13-10 UFC) lost the bout via technical knockout in the third round, but suffered two illegal shots to the groin in the process – one in Round 1 and the other towards the end of the second. The second groin shot ended up in a point deduction for Rothwell.

“Yeah, it hurt,” Struve told MMA Junkie. “It took my breathing away and I had to relax my abdomen and stuff. It took a while, man. It definitely hurt. Things were sensitive after that. And after the second one, my abdomen really hurt like it was going back into my kidneys, and yeah, it was no fun.”

But the low blows, in and of themselves, weren’t the most controversial part of the fight. After the second illegal hit in round two, the real controversy started.

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Referee Dan Miragliotta halted the action after Struve went down in pain for a second time and followed up by telling Struve he was likely up on the scorecards. Miragliotta also told Struve that if he chose not to continue fighting, the bout would be declared a no-contest.

Many took issue with Miragliotta’s comments, stating a referee is not in the cage to advise fighters, much less to tell a fighter how they’re doing on the scorecards, as it could’ve potentially changed the outcome in Struve’s fight and decision to carry on.

Struve couldn’t disagree more with that perspective.

“I think he was just trying to help me by giving me the information that he had on what was going to happen if I stopped,” Struve explained. “I don’t think it would’ve changed anything for what I did. He’s a good dude, man. Dan is a really good dude; I like him a lot. He’s reffed a lot of my fights, he’s a good guy and I really think he only tried to help.

“Like there is no win for him if I continue or stop the fight, there’s nothing that benefits him. He’s just trying to do his job. He knows me for a long, long time, for over 10 years. So people need to get off his back and let him be. Refereeing in MMA is so hard, you need to make split-second decisions. And these kinds of things, like how many times do these things happen? Like how do you deal under pressure with a fighter who was just fouled two times? It’s so tough.”

Struve believes the fans’ feelings towards Miragliotta’s call might have been different if he pulled through the pain of the groin shots and won the fight.

“They would’ve praised him, but that’s life, that’s what people like to do – they like to talk (expletive),” Struve said. “It doesn’t matter what you do, you can never do right to everybody. So no, man, I thank him, no animosity. We always have a good laugh when we see each other and it is what it is, you can’t change anything about it.

“I think everyone involved tried to continue the fight with the best intent. It’s just really unfortunate for me the way it played out.”

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Struve said he did feel better after the five minutes of recovery time he was given, but was not 100 percent, both physically and mentally. The main reason he continued fighting was because of what was on the line.

“I did feel better after I got my breathing going, but like, I knew it was going to be a no contest if I stopped and no contest means no win bonus,” Struve said. “So it’s a lot of money I’m leaving out. I fight for that win bonus. A no contest doesn’t pay the bills, you know. When I’m in that cage, it’s not like I get a chance next week to get a win bonus, so yeah, got that body feeling good after some rest, but mentally it (expletive) with me too –  especially after the second time like, ‘Dude, really? You just kicked me in the nuts again after that first shot.'”

“The first shot you can really hear on the T. and the second one it was already sensitive around there so it messes with me mentally. I don’t hold any hate or animosity towards Ben. I don’t think he threw them on purpose. I don’t think he landed them where he wanted them to land, but at the same time, it changes the fight even if there is no intent.

“You’re responsible for everything you throw, so even if there is no intent, the ruled needs to protect the other fighter and that’s where I got screwed in my opinion, especially when you’re cruising on your way to victory. If I were to have a round like the first and the second, that would’ve been a perfect, smooth victory for me. But now, because something out of my control, it gets taken away from me and that’s a really bitter pill to swallow.”

Despite the controversial nature of his fight, Struve has no interest in a rematch with Rothwell. And although the outcome didn’t favor him in the end, he does take some positives with him from his comeback to MMA competition.

“I’m happy with what I showed,” Struve said. “When you watch the fight and you cut out all the negative things that happened, I looked really good and I won that fight. But at the same time you don’t, and those thing are out of my control. I looked really good out there, I did everything I trained and everything I wanted to do and show. Pretty much everything I threw: low kicks, front kicks, head kicks, side kicks, my jab was pumping, I hit him with good upper cuts, and even a perfect counter hook when he stepped in and I stepped out to the left. Everything was flowing, everything was so good.

“Also, before the finish he had a good block that hurt my leg, so props to him for that one. But man it’s so tough because I look really good. But yeah, at the same time there’s this feeling that it wasn’t good enough even though it was.”

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