Author: mmafighting
Dana White had lost his patience with Jon Jones and was venting to Lorenzo Fertitta. It was May 24, 2014, and the UFC wanted to book a rematch between Jones and Alexander Gustafsson, who seven months earlier had pushed the then-light heavyweight champ to his very limit at UFC 165. The holdup, according to White, was that Jones wanted to fight Daniel Cormier next instead of Gustafsson, and negotiations on a contract extension had snagged on that detail. Jones wouldn’t sign. “What’s up with Jones? Did he straighten up or is he still being a scumbag?” White texted then-UFC Chairman…
Magomed Ankalaev wanted to make a case to get a title shot against Alex Pereira heading into his UFC Vegas 84 main event bout with Johnny Walker, and with a brutal second-round knockout victory, Ankalaev certainly accomplished that. But will it be enough to get Ankalaev to a second opportunity at UFC gold, or will he have more work to do? Following the UFC’s first event of 2024, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Alexander K. Lee, and Eric Jackman react to Ankalaev’s stoppage win, and talk his chances in getting the next shot at Pereira and the light heavyweight title. Additionally,…
Watch Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith full fight video highlights from the Beterbiev vs. Smith event, courtesy of Top Rank and other outlets. Beterbiev vs. Smith took place January 13 at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec. Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 29 KOs) defends his WBC, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight titles against Callum Smith (29-2, 21 KOs) in a high-stakes bout, which aired live on ESPN and ESPN+. Catch the video highlights below. For more on Beterbiev vs. Smith, check out the live blog by MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee. Round 1: Beterbiev comes right out with a jab…
Jim Miller continues to move up the UFC record books. The living legend was one of four post-fight bonus winners at UFC Vegas 84. Miller cashed an extra $50,000 in Performance of the Night honors for his third-round submission victory over Gabriel Benitez in Saturday’s co-main event, moving Miller above Anderson Silva on the all-time list and into a tie with Joe Lauzon for the fourth-most bonuses in UFC history. The night’s other three bonuses winners were Magomed Ankalaev, Brunno Ferreira, and Marcus McGhee, all of which cashed $50,000 in Performance of the Night honors. Ankalaev demolished Johnny Walker with…
Magomed Ankalev settled some unfinished business with Johnny Walker after delivering a vicious second-round knockout to cap off UFC Vegas 84 on Saturday. After their first encounter ended a disappointing no contest this past October, Ankalaev waited three months get another shot at Walker and he certainly made the most of it. He put Walker on his backfoot throughout the second round before connecting with a devastating right hook that landed flush on the jaw. As soon as Walker hit the canvas, Ankalaev followed up with a brutal uppercut that smashed the Brazilian’s nose and forced referee Marc Goddard to…
Jim Miller continues to pick up victories inside the octagon, and on Saturday, he earned is 26th UFC win with a third-round submission against Gabriel Benitez. Miller forced Benitez to tap out with a face crank submission with less than two minutes left in the lightweight co-main event of UFC Vegas 84. With the win, “A-10” has won two straight, and five of six as he continues on the road to competing at UFC 300 in April. Following the victory, Miller had a few names in mind, such as Paul Felder — who served as a color commentator for the…
Brunno Ferreira collected another knockout to add to his resume with a devastating first-round finish over Phil Hawes at UFC Vegas 84. It was the beginning of the end after Ferreira uncorked a perfectly timed flying knee that clipped Hawes and put him on wobbly legs. Ferreira seized on the opening by pressing forward and he connected with a left hand that bounced off Hawes’ temple to send him crashing to the ground. Ferreira then unleashed a single hammer fist that knocked Hawes unconscious as the referee rushed in to stop the contest with the end coming at 4:55 in…
Nikolas Motta didn’t care about the odds in his fight against highly touted prospect Tom Nolan. He delivered a stunning 63-second knockout to pull off the upset at UFC Vegas 84. Coming off a disappointing no contest in his previous outing, Motta had something to prove on Saturday night. He backed that up by trading strike for strike with the 6-foot-3 Nolan, who set foot in the octagon with an undefeated record and four finishes in a row, including his appearance on the promotion’s Contender Series. None of that mattered mattered much to Motta, as he countered Nolan at every…
Jean Silva entered UFC Vegas 84 as the biggest favorite on the card against Westin Wilson and delivered one of the more uncomfortable beatdowns in recent memory. Silva closed as a -900 favorite for his octagon debut and the Contender Series contract winner hurt Wilson multiple times before referee Marc Goddard mercifully stopped the bout following a pair of vicious uppercuts at the 4:13 mark of the opening round. Check out video of the finish below. As eye-opening as the performance during the fight was, Silva had the MMA community reacting with his walk to the octagon — slowly and…
UFC newcomer Felipe Bunes wants a quick road to the top of the flyweight division. “Felipinho” makes his octagon debut Saturday at the UFC APEX in a matchup against former Fury FC titleholder Joshua Van at UFC Vegas 84, and he feels more than ready for bigger challenges after six months of training with UFC stars Deiveson Figueiredo and Zhang Weili — plus Henry Cejudo and coach Eric Albarracin — in Arizona. “Deiveson is tough,” Bunes said on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. “He’s extremely strong and his punch is unreal for this division. I can speak from experience, I’ve…