Author: mmafighting
Roman Laurito made his name in Brazil in the early 2000s as the bassist and backing vocalist for rock band Tihuana, but his love for martial arts gave him a new career after decades on the road. At age 3, Laurito moved to Brazil from Argentina with his parents and older brother. His father was a fan of Brazilian poet Vinicius de Moraes and Bossa Nova, and Laurito constantly traveled between Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires for many years before and he and his friends started Tihuana in 1998. That was his life until he decided to change everything.…
Kaue Fernandes may be a little distracted when his UFC debut goes down Saturday in Brazil. Fernandes is a hardcore supporter of Fluminense, the Brazilian soccer club that will playing in the final minutes of the Copa Libertadores championship against Boca Juniors in Rio de Janeiro at the exact moment he makes his walkout for UFC Sao Paulo against Marc Diakiese. Fernandes, who was at Maracana stadium when Fluminense lost the Libertadores final to LDU in 2008, admitted he had to “work my mind” around the fact he won’t even watch the soccer match to avoid the “euphoria” for the…
Jailton Almeida received a surprise visit at Galpao da Luta in Salvador, Bahia, one month before his UFC Sao Paulo main event bout with Derrick Lewis. Wagner Moura, a fellow Salvador native and one of Brazil’s most popular actors, wanted to train. The star of Narcos and Elite Squad, Moura is a purple belt in jiu-jitsu and reached out to Almeida’s physical therapist about training with “Malhadinho” during a recent visit to Salvador. The connection was then made, and Moura and Almeida hit the mats on Oct. 5. “He texted me saying his friend Wagner was a fan of mine…
Francis Ngannou isn’t hurting for money after his Tyson Fury payday. Ngannou staked his career on the gamble of all gambles earlier this year when he departed the UFC as its heavyweight champion in order to seek other opportunities. The risky move ultimately paid off — Ngannou not only landed a big-money boxing bout against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, but also nearly defeated boxing’s lineal heavyweight king in a shocking performance this past Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou is now one of the hottest names in all of combat sports, with a plethora of options at his disposal…
Jailton Almeida faces his toughest test yet, though it wasn’t the one he expected. In the main event of UFC Sao Paulo, Almeida was originally scheduled to fight wrestling specialist Curtis Blaydes. However, with Blaydes out due to an ankle injury, two-time heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis has stepped up to the plate on barely a month’s notice. A win over Lewis will still boost Almeida’s profile, but it’s hard not to be disappointed in this new matchup, as Blaydes was the perfect gauge to see if Almeida’s highly vaunted grappling game is truly effective against any opponent. As it…
The inaugural UFC women’s division is ready to crown a new champion. Mayra Bueno Silva and Raquel Pennington have agreed to meet on January 20 to battle for the vacant UFC women’s bantamweight title at UFC 297. MMA Fighting confirmed the matchup Friday following an initial report by Ag. Fight. Bueno Silva (10-2-1, 1 NC) saw the biggest win of her MMA career erased in her most recent fight after a failed drug test for ritalinic acid resulted in the Nevada Athletic Commission overturning her second-round submission over Holly Holm into a no-contest. Ritalinic acid is a major urinary metabolite…
MMA Fighting has UFC Sao Paulo results for the Almeida vs. Lewis fight card, a live blog of the main event, and more from the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Saturday. In the main event, Brazilian up-and-comer Jailton Almeida and two-time UFC title challenger Derrick Lewis collide in a heavyweight bout. Almeida is a perfect 5-0 under the UFC umbrella, while Lewis bounced back from a three-fight losing streak in his most recent outing with a 33-second knockout. Gabriel Bonfim and Nicolas Dalby clash in a welterweight contest in the co-main event. Check out UFC Sao Paulo…
Mark Zuckerberg’s MMA aspirations will have to be put on hold. The Meta founder and CEO revealed Friday in an Instagram post that he suffered a torn ACL while sparring in preparation “for a competitive MMA fight early next year.” Zuckerberg’s complete post can be seen below. Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it. Grateful for the doctors and team taking care of me. I was training for a competitive MMA fight early next year, but now that’s delayed a bit. Still looking forward to doing it after I recover. Thanks to everyone for…
Jailton Almeida has been unstoppable since making his debut in the UFC, and as the surging heavyweight contender looks to take another step forward towards a title shot, a powerful veteran in Derrick Lewis aims to play spoiler in the main event of UFC Sao Paulo. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, José Youngs, and Alexander K. Lee preview Saturday’s headliner between Almeida and Lewis, what Almeida could gain from a victory, if a Lewis win could shake up the entire division, and more. Additionally, they discuss other interesting matchups on the card, the Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel, and Victor Hugo…
Vinc Pichel decided to show Ismael Bonfim the consequences of his actions. Pichel was slated to face Bonfim in a lightweight bout on Saturday’s main card at UFC Sao Paulo, however that fight was ultimately cancelled after Bonfim badly missed weight at Friday’s official weigh-ins. Bonfim tipped the scales at 159.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the lightweight limit for a non-title fight. Pichel, 40, posted a statement to his social media following the weight miss blasting his opponent for “unprofessionalism” and stating that he ultimately declined to fight an overweight Bonfim in an effort to feed the…