Author: mmafighting
The stars are aligning at UFC Mexico City for not one, but two possible title eliminators. When Brandon Moreno and Yair Rodriguez step into the octagon opposite Brandon Royval and Brian Ortega on Saturday, they’ll face familiar foes over whom they hold past victories, both with slight caveats. Moreno defeated Royval at UFC 255 to put himself on the path to eventually winning the flyweight title, while Rodriguez beat Ortega at UFC Long Island before going on to win an interim featherweight title in his next fight. In both instances, a shoulder injury to the losing fighter contributed to their…
MMA Fighting has UFC Mexico City results for the Moreno vs. Royval 2 fight card, live blogs of the top two fights, and more from Mexico City Arena in Mexico City. In the main event, former UFC champion Brandon Moreno squares off against Brandon Royval in a rematch. Moreno knocked out Royval in the first round at UFC 255 on Nov. 21, 2020. Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega clash in a featherweight rematch in the co-main event. Rodriguez defeated Ortega via first-round TKO due to Ortega’s shoulder injury at UFC on ABC 3 on July 16, 2022. Flyweights Star in…
MMA Fighting has PFL vs. Bellator results for the Ferreira vs. Bader fight card, live blogs of the top two fights, and more from Freedom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. In the main event, PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira will clash with Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader for the fight to be the first opponent to face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in the PFL. PFL light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay will try to hand Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen his first career loss in the co-main event. Check out PFL vs. Bellator results below. Setting the…
Vinicius Oliveira is heading to Las Vegas despite the fact he no longer has an opponent for UFC Vegas 87 on March 2. Oliveira told MMA Fighting on Friday, minutes away from boarding a flight to Las Vegas, that the promotion informed his team that Yanis Ghemmouri is out of the card due to injury. MMA Fighting could not confirm the information with Ghemmouri. UFC Vegas 87 will take place at the UFC APEX and feature Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev in the main event. Oliveira, however, accused Ghemmouri decided to pull out of the card in fear of missing…
A.J. McKee didn’t exactly have the year he wanted in 2023, so he’s ready for a fresh start to kick off 2024. Originally slated to be one of the eight participants in the Bellator lightweight grand prix, McKee had to drop out due to an injury before the tournament even began. He eventually returned to action this past November, earning a hard-fought decision over Sidney Outlaw despite spending the majority of the bout on his back. Now set to face Clay Collard at the PFL vs. Bellator card on Saturday, McKee anxiously awaits the chance to jump back into title…
During the recent PFL vs. Bellator press conference to showcase the special champion versus champion matchups, Johnny Eblen corrected a reporter when he was quoted as saying that he was the best middleweight in the world. Eblen paused and then emphatically stated that he’s never actually made that declaration. In a sport filled with fighters more than willing to tell anyone who will listen that they are the best in world, Eblen explained why he’s not willing to make that statement despite reigning as the current Bellator middleweight champion. “Because there’s days where I feel like I am [the best]…
Yair Rodriguez knows exactly where he screwed up against Alexander Volkanovski. Last July, Rodriguez faced Volkanovski in a featherweight title unification bout at UFC 290, falling to the long-reigning champion via third-round TKO. It was an unfortunate result for “El Pantera,” but one that he believes taught him a valuable lesson moving forward in his career. “Listen to my corner a little more,” Rodriguez said on The MMA Hour when asked what he did wrong against Volkanovski. “I wasn’t really listening to my corner. I did everything OK before the fight. During the fight, I started making some adjustments and…
UFC 298 is in the books, but the MMA world keeps right on rocking as this weekend there are two major events taking place between UFC Mexico City and the long-awaited PFL vs. Bellator card. That’s 25 fights, countless big names, and massive stakes all around, so let’s neither dilly nor dally, and jump right into things. As always, all odds are courtesy of our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook. Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Straight Bets Yair Rodriguez -155 Heading into UFC Mexico City, much has been made of Rodriguez and his beef with new featherweight champion…
Henry Cejudo has made his decision. The Olympic champion and former two-division UFC titleholder announced Friday on his YouTube channel that he will not retire from MMA following his UFC 298 loss to Merab Dvalishvili, reversing course on pre-fight promises that the bout was all-or-nothing for him. “I just cannot let it roll like this. I just cannot,” Cejudo said. “As much as it hurts. Again, guys, I take the L. But I cannot take the L knowing the way that I pretty much went out. I don’t mind the losing aspect of it. Maybe just the way that I…
It’s an MMA double-header this Saturday as PFL vs. Bellator kicks off its new era in Saudi Arabia and the UFC returns to Mexico City for the first time since 2019 with a very fun card headlined by two action-packed rematches at the top. So who will the MMA weekend? Join MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti, Eric Jackman, and José Youngs as we preview UFC Mexico City and PFL vs. Bellator, dissect the storylines heading into Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval 2 and Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega 2, and discuss whether a shot at UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria could…