Rockhold moves up to fight Blachowicz
(https:)Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will move up to light heavyweight to fight Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 on July 6 in Las Vegas, multiple sources tell ESPN.
Rockhold, also the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, most recently fought for the interim UFC middleweight title against Yoel Romero in February 2018, losing by third-round KO. He has stated publicly in recent months that he was open to a move up to light heavyweight due to a strenuous weight cut.
Fan that Conor McGregor allegedly stole phone from tells his side of what happened
(https:)On Monday, Conor McGregor was arrested in Miami, Fla. on charges of strong-armed robbery and criminal mischief. Per the arrest affidavit, McGregor and the alleged victim, Ahmed Abdirzak of England, were both exiting the Fountainebleu Hotel (home of the world-famous nightclub, Liv) at around 5:20 a.m. Monday when Abdirzak attempted to take a photo of McGregor with his phone. McGregor allegedly slapped the phone out of Abdirzak’s hand to the floor, then stomped on it several times, before picking the phone up and walking off with it, and according to Abdirzak, that’s exactly what happened.
UFC news, rumors: Yoel Romero vs. Jacare Souza 2 set for UFC Fight Night main event in Florida
(https:)UFC will make its return to Florida for a UFC Fight Night event on April 27, and while the main event isn't the one many had anticipated over the past few weeks, it's still a middleweight matchup that will draw in a lot of attention. UFC president Dana White confirmed to ESPN on Thursday that Yoel Romero will return to the Octagon in the main event to face off with Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. This will serve as the rematch to their bout in 2015 which saw Romero emerge with a controversial split-decision victory.
Tatiana Suarez vs Nina Ansaroff, Joanne Calderwood vs Katlyn Chookagian Booked For UFC 238
(https:)A strawweight tilt with championship implications is set for UFC 238, as Tatiana Suarez will square off against Nina Ansaroff in Chicago on June 8. The contest had originally been rumored for UFC 237 in Brazil.
The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the matchup to the Chicago Tribune, along with a women’s flyweight clash pitting Joanne Calderwood against Katlyn Chookagian. UFC 238 takes place at the United Center and airs on pay-per-view. The card will reportedly feature a flyweight championship bout between Valentina Shevchenko and Jessica Eye.
Suarez has kicked off her professional tenure with seven consecutive triumphs, including four under the UFC banner. Most recently, the 28-year-old Millennia MMA representative scored a dominant third-round TKO victory against Carla Esparza at UFC 228.
UFC Wichita post-fight bonuses: Niko Price rallies to win POTN cash
(https:)Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos.
The Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas was home to a passable night of fights. The card saw three (T)KOs, three submission, and seven decisions, including one split-decision.
Performances of the Night: Niko Price, Beneil Dariush
Fight of the Night: Junior dos Santos and Derrick Lewis
Eight fights official for UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro
(https:)The UFC is heading to Rio de Janeiro, and the promotion made many match-ups official Friday.
With Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade for the strawweight championship at the Jeunesse Arena on May 11, the pay-per-view event will also feature the return of former featherweight king Jose Aldo against surging contender Alexander Volkanovski.
Jeff Hughes hoping to go from delivering roof shingles to delivering UFC beatdowns
(https:)MMA training is hard enough on its own. For Jeff Hughes, there was a time when he had to deal with something just as grueling in addition to that.
Hughes, now a UFC heavyweight, had a day job doing roof shingle deliveries in his hometown of Canton, Ohio, up until last summer. The worst part of that gig? Working in the hot, sticky Midwestern summer bare-chested for 13 hours and then having to head over to practice.
Ronda Rousey says wrestling is ‘scripted’: ‘None of those bitches can f*cking touch me’
(https:)Anyone who has seen Furious 7 will tell you that Ronda Rousey is not the world’s greatest thespian. But either she’s getting better at acting, or she’s getting tired of her career in professional wrestling.
Recently, the WWE has been building toward a triple threat match for the Raw women’s title between Rousey, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, likely as the main event of WrestleMania on April 7 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The match would be the first-ever women’s main event at a WrestleMania should this happen, but yesterday, Rousey broke the cardinal rule of professional wrestling, releasing a video on her personal Vlog where she angrily said that wrestling is scripted and she wasn’t playing by those rules anymore because at the end of the day, she could legitimately beat up every woman in the company.
Anthony Johnson willing to come out of retirement to fight Jon Jones
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Speaking recently with the Into the Weeds podcast, Johnson backtracked his previous statements about staying retired, revealing that he would still come out of retirement to face Jon Jones, provided Jones moved up to heavyweight.
“The only way I’d come out of retirement is if Jon Jones goes to heavyweight, and then that’s when I’ll come out of retirement and fight Jon,” Johnson said. “I mean, that’s the only guy I want to fight, because after him, I can officially say I did my job, my mission is complete. Although I didn’t win a title, I fought the best of the best. I can go to sleep at night.”
UFC 235 salaries revealed
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UFC 235 went down last night from Las Vegas, Nevada. The card was absolutely stacked where two titles were on the line as Jon Jones looked to defend his belt against Anthony Smith and Tyron Woodley looked to defend his strap against Kamaru Usman. As well, Ben Askren made his long-awaited UFC debut when he took on Robbie Lawler.
Ultimately, Jones ended up beating Smith by unanimous decision in what was a dominating performance for Jones. Usman meanwhile kept his promise of hearing ‘And New’ as he simply mauled Woodley. He out-wrestled him and outpaced him all night long which was the difference. There could have been multiple 10-8 rounds and Usman is the new welterweight champion. Askren meanwhile had a controversial submission win over Lawler after nearly getting knocked out.
UFC 234 estimated at 175,000 buys
(https:)UFC 234 may have had a lot of people talking about it and watching the prelims on Feb. 9, but the late loss of the main event didn’t help pay-per-view numbers.
Early estimates have the show, headlined by Israel Adesayna’s three-round decision win over Anderson Silva, doing 175,000 buys. The card, held at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, was thin when it came to star power to begin with, and then took a hit when middleweight champion Robert Whittaker suffered a hernia and collapsed bowel right before fight time. This led to the last-day cancellation of the Whittaker title defense against Kelvin Gastelum.
UFC 235 bonuses: Johnny Walker, Diego Sanchez awarded for dramatic finishes
(https:)Make it three Performance of the Night bonuses in three fights for Johnny Walker.
The 26-year-old Brazilian continued his tear through the light heavyweight division Saturday at UFC 235 in Las Vegas, needing just 36 seconds to land a sensational jumping knee and finish Misha Cirkunov. Walker was given one of the evening’s $50,000 post-fight bonuses for his work, which should go along way towards making him feel better after injuring himself while celebrating.
Dana White says Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington is next
(https:)Colby Covington made his presence felt all throughout UFC 235 fight week — and Saturday night was no exception.
The brash 31-year-old had a cageside seat for UFC 235’s welterweight title fight between Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman, in which Usman dominated Woodley en route to capturing the belt with a one-sided unanimous decision. With his bright red MAGA hat and interim strap in tow, Covington made himself an ever-present figure during the contest. And as the clock wound down on Usman’s victory, several members of the media noticed UFC president Dana White walk over to Covington and have a discussion with the controversial welterweight.
So what did White say?
UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes served restraining orders from wife, brother
(https:)UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, according to a report citing court documents, has been served multiple restraining orders from his wife and twin brother for alleged abuse and threats.
TMZ.com, citing court documents it had obtained, today reported Hughes’ wife Audra this past December filed for a restraining order against the retired fighter after he allegedly hit her in front of two of their children and her step-father. According to the report, documents show Hughes allegedly hit her after she accused him of texting other women.
Why Ben Askren absolutely cannot afford to lose his UFC debut
(https:)You look at the matchup between Ben Askren and Robbie Lawler at UFC 235 and right away it jumps out as the kind of fight that everybody knows what each guy’s thing is, and it’s just a question of finding out which one of them will get to do it.
For Askren, that thing includes takedowns, top control, the kind of striking any bullying big brother would respect, maybe even a submission if the situation cries out for one.
UFC Fight Night Prague Results: Bonus Winners, Highlights, Twitter Reaction And Analysis
(https:)Thiago Santos might have punched his way to a title shot in the UFC’s light heavyweight division on Saturday night in Prague at UFC on ESPN+ 3. After a measured performance through the first two rounds against Jan Blachowicz, Santos connected on a right-left hook combination that caught his charging opponent on the chin.
POTN - Thiago Santos
POTN - Stefan Struve
POTN - Michal Oleksiejczuk
POTN - Dwight Grant
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