Author: mmafighting
Curtis Blaydes may be looking at a title shot in his next fight after he scored a brutal second round knockout over Jailton Almeida in the featured prelim at UFC 299. Following a tough start where he got taken down multiple times in the first round, Blaydes bounced back by stuffing Almeida’s grappling attempt at the start of the second round and he just blasted away with hammer fists until the Brazilian wilted under the pressure. The repeated blows forced Almeida to let go of the takedown as he rolled over and covered his head with Blaydes continuing to punch…
Michel Pereira busted a move three times at UFC 299: during his walkout, his fight and after a spectacular win. Pereira got the crowd going with a dance routine before quickly taking out Michal Oleksiejczuk on Saturday’s preliminary card at Caseya Center. A series of body shots badly hurt Oleksiejczuk, allowing Pereira to snatch a rear-naked choke that slept his foe just 67 seconds into their fight. Check out Pereira’s snazzy walkout and finish below. After sleeping Oleksiejczuk, Pereira break-danced in the octagon to celebrate. Pereira also worked the crowd at the weigh-ins for UFC 299, rattling off a series…
Robelis Despaigne lived up to the hype in his octagon debut as the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist in taekwondo needed just 18 seconds to dust off Josh Parisian at UFC 299. The 35-year-old heavyweight, whose three previous fights before competing in the UFC lasted a combined 19 seconds, didn’t disappoint with his latest performance in front of a raucous Miami crowd. As soon as the fight started, Despaigne came out guns blazing, launching a head kick at Parisian and immediately engaging in a fire fight. Parisian’s mistake was taking the bait after Despaigne fell to the ground momentarily after missing…
Pedro Munhoz has faced some of the all-time best in the bantamweight division, from champions to contenders. Now he has a new name in mind for a future opponent. Munhoz meets unranked prospect Kyler Phillips this Saturday on the undercard of UFC 299 in Miami, and told MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast that he wouldn’t like to end his career without competing against former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo. “We’re the same age, he’s a legend of the sport, really good at what he does,” Munhoz said. “He’s not in the prime of his career — not a knock whatsoever,…
Curtis Blaydes absolutely wanted to face Jailton Almeida this past November but after struggling to heal an injury in the midst of a long training camp, he finally had to concede that fighting just wasn’t in his best interest. It was a harsh lesson learned because Blaydes eventually realized that he would have gone into that matchup completely compromised beyond the typical bumps and bruises that fighters carry into every contest. Despite months of training, Blaydes had to call off the fight with Derrick Lewis taking his place in the main event slot against Almeida instead. “Obviously you don’t want…
The Sean O’Malley vs. Chito Vera full fight video shows how the UFC bantamweight champion suffered the only loss of his career – even though O’Malley might disagree. Vera’s leg kicks proved to be too much at UFC 252 as his early destruction took too much of a toll, leading to a first-round knockout of O’Malley at the 4:37 mark at the Aug. 16, 2020 event. Since the loss, O’Malley has reeled off five wins in his past six fights (with one no-contest), including a knockout of former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling in the second round of the UFC 292…
Sean O’Malley doesn’t plan on leaving the bantamweight division anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean he’s ruling out a trip to featherweight to challenge for Ilia Topuria’s gold. O’Malley puts his UFC bantamweight title on the line against Marlon Vera this Saturday in the main event of UFC 299 in Miami, and his longtime jiu-jitsu coach Augusto Mendes told MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast that “Sugar” is dead serious about gaining an extra 10 pounds to face Topuria. The Spanish star recently knocked out 145-pound king Alexander Volkanovski to win the UFC featherweight title. “I think he has the body…
Dustin Poirier remains one of the top lightweights in the world despite a recent loss to Justin Gaethje, and he never seems far away from putting himself back into title contention. That’s why his upcoming fight at UFC 299 was met with some confusion after Poirier was matched up with Benoit Saint Denis, who’s widely regarded as a serious prospect at 155 pounds but also someone who remains largely unproven without any significant wins over any top-10 ranked opponents. Rather than climb up that ladder, Saint Denis gets the chance to jump right to the front of the line when…
MMA Fighting has a live stream watch party for Saturday’s UFC 299 event, which takes place at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla. In the main event, Sean O’Malley defends his bantamweight title for the first time against the only to man to ever defeat him inside the octagon in Marlon Vera. Join MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Conner Burks, and other special guests to watch along with UFC 299 as the main card happens. In the co-main event, former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier takes on surging contender Benoit Saint Denis in a scheduled five-round contest. UFC 299 will also…
UFC 299 is absolutely stacked, and that includes the heated rematch for the UFC bantamweight title between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera. Who will get their hand raised in the second chapter of their rivalry, and what will it mean for the rest of the bantamweight division? Ahead of Saturday’s monster lineup in Miami, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Jed Meshew and Eric Jackman preview the pay-per-view event, the O’Malley vs. Vera 2 title fight, and they discuss if Merab Dvalishvili will fight the winner. Additionally, the panel talks about the five round co-main event between Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint…