Category: MMA News

Conor McGregor Has Successful Return, Stopping Donald Cerrone In Under A Minute

In quick fashion, Conor McGregor defeated Donald Cerrone via strikes in the first minute of the UFC 246 main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

McGregor was aggressive from start to finish, winning in under a minute. He charged at Cerrone at the start, landing a knee to the head after missing a punch. McGregor threw strikes in the clinch, including elbows.

What put Cerrone down was a head kick, and following strikes by McGregor made referee Herb Dean step in and end the fight.

“I like this weight division it’s really good … I don’t believe I’m there yet though, I still have to do to get back to where I was.”

The win was McGregor’s return to welterweight, last fighting at the class when he fought Nate Diaz twice in 2016. McGregor is a former champion in the lightweight and featherweight class.

Many high ranked welterweight names like Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal were present at the event.

In the co-main event of UFC 246, Holly Holm glided to a safe scorecard victory win over Raquel Pennington.

 

UFC 246 Ceremonial Weigh-Ins

In preparation for tomorrow’s UFC 246 pay-per-view event, all 24 athletes competing at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA weighed in for their specific weight class.

In a way to promote the event and showcase the matchups which will go down tomorrow, UFC presents a livestream of fighters doing their ceremonial weigh-ins, including face-offs of every matchup.

Watch live as the UFC 246 ceremonial weigh-ins take place at 6PM EST, or in replay anytime afterwards with the link below.

Alexa Grasso vs. Claudia Gadelha Taken Off UFC 246 Card

UFC 246 has seen a change to it’s main card, as Alexa Grasso and Claudia Gadelha have been taken off of it.

The fight cancellation was done by the Nevada State Atheltic Commission on Friday, as Alexa Grasso came in over the 116-pound strawweight limit, weighing 121.5 pounds.

Nevada rules for the strawweight division are that the fighters have to be within three pounds of each other to compete.

The matchup was meant to be on the pay-per-view portion of the UFC 246 card, which is set to be headlined by Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone in a welterweight bout.

Renato Moicano To Move Up To Lightweight For Bout Against Damir Hadzovic on UFC on ESPN+ 28 Card

Longtime featherweight fighter Renato Moicano will make the move up to lightweight in March, facing Damir Hadzovic on the UFC on ESPN+ 28 card in Brazil.

First reported by Combate and MMAJunkie, news broke Thursday that Moicano had found his first opponent in the weight class.

Moicano lost his last two fights, getting finished by Jose Aldo and more recently “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung in a main event bout.

Hadzovic dropped to Christos Giagos in his last fight via unanimous decision. In total, he has a 3-3 record in his UFC run.

Kevin Lee and Charles Oliveira main event the card, which has lots of Brazil influence on it. UFC on ESPN+ 28 will go down on March 14th, in Brasilia, Brazil.

Here’s the full card so far:

Bout 1: Kevin Lee (18-5) vs. Charles Oliveira (28-8) (Lightweight)

Bout 2: Paige VanZant (8-4) vs. Amanda Ribas (8-1) (Strawweight)

Bout 3: Johnny Walker (17-4) vs. Nikita Krylov (26-7) (Light Heavyweight)

Bout 4: Elizeu Zaleski (21-6) vs. Alexey Kunchenko (20-1) (Welterweight)

Bout 5: Jussier Formiga (23-6) vs. Brandon Moreno (16-5-1) (Flyweight)

Bout 6: Demian Maia (28-9) vs. Gilbert Burns (17-3) (Welterweight)

Bout 7: Francisco Trinaldo (24-7) vs. John Makdessi (17-6) (Lightweight)

Bout 8: Mayra Bueno Silva (6-0) vs. Maryna Moroz (9-3) (Flyweight)

Bout 9: Veronica Macedo (6-3-1) vs. Bea Malecki (1-0) (Bantamweight)

Bout 10: Rani Yahya (26-10) vs. Enrique Barzola (16-5-1) (Bantamweight)

Bout 11: Bruno Silva (11-4-1) vs. Su Mudaerji (12-4) (Bantamweight)

Bout 12: Renato Moicano (13-3-1) vs. Damir Hadzovic (13-5) (Lightweight)

Bruno Silva To Face Su Mudaerji on UFC on ESPN+ 28 Card

UFC’s March card in Brazil saw an addition on Thursday, as Bruno Silva and Su Mudaerji was booked, per a report by Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.

Brazil’s Silva is still seeking his first win in the UFC, failing to do so in his debut against Khalid Taha in October.

Mudaerji got his first win in the UFC in his last outing, going to decision against Andre Soukhamthath in August. Before then, he lost his UFC debut to Louis Smolka, getting caught in an armbar in the second round.

Bout 1: Kevin Lee (18-5) vs. Charles Oliveira (28-8) (Lightweight)

Bout 2: Paige VanZant (8-4) vs. Amanda Ribas (8-1) (Strawweight)

Bout 3: Johnny Walker (17-4) vs. Nikita Krylov (26-7) (Light Heavyweight)

Bout 4: Elizeu Zaleski (21-6) vs. Alexey Kunchenko (20-1) (Welterweight)

Bout 5: Jussier Formiga (23-6) vs. Brandon Moreno (16-5-1) (Flyweight)

Bout 6: Demian Maia (28-9) vs. Gilbert Burns (17-3) (Welterweight)

Bout 7: Francisco Trinaldo (24-7) vs. John Makdessi (17-6) (Lightweight)

Bout 8: Mayra Bueno Silva (6-0) vs. Maryna Moroz (9-3) (Flyweight)

Bout 9: Veronica Macedo (6-3-1) vs. Bea Malecki (1-0) (Bantamweight)

Bout 10: Rani Yahya (26-10) vs. Enrique Barzola (16-5-1) (Bantamweight)

Bout 11: Bruno Silva (11-4-1) vs. Su Mudaerji (12-4) (Bantamweight)

Grant Dawson To Have USADA Hearing On January 22nd

After being taken off of this weekend’s UFC 246 card against Chas Skelly, it has come out that Grant Dawson will attend a hearing later this month over a USADA out-of-competition testing that he was flagged for.

Set for January 22nd, the Nevada State Athletic Commission will hold a hearing over the drug test violation.

Also set for a hearing on that same day is Glaico Franca, Daniel Pineda, Sean O’Malley and Jessica Eye.

Dawson has dealt with USADA issues in the past, being flagged down by the drug testing program in the fall of 2017. After fighting the case, it was dropped in late 2018.

Dawson has been 2-0 in the UFC, earning his contract back in 2017 through the inaugural season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Nik Lentz vs. Arnold Allen Matched Up For UFC on ESPN+ 24

After both losing their original opponents on the UFC Raleigh show, Arnold Allen and Nik Lentz will be booked against each other.

Allen was originally meant to face Josh Emmett, and the original opponent of Lentz was scheduled to be Nad Narimani. Both opponents pulled out from their fights due to injury.

Lentz, who celebrated 10 years in the UFC recently, will look to bounce back after a loss to Charles Oliveira.

Allen has still yet to lose in the UFC, with a six-fight winning streak ongoing. He fought twice in 2019, going to decision against Jordan Rinaldi and Gilbert Melendez.

Currently scheduled to main event the January 25th card is heavyweights Curtis Blaydes and Junior dos Santos.

Here’s the full card of UFC on ESPN+ 24, which will take place at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA:

Bout 1: Curtis Blaydes (12-2) vs. Junior dos Santos (21-6) (Heavyweight)

Bout 2: Rafael dos Anjos (29-12) vs. Michael Chiesa (15-4) (Welterweight)

Bout 3: Jordan Espinosa (14-6) vs. Alex Perez (22-5) (Flyweight)

Bout 4: Hannah Cifers (10-3) vs. Angela Hill (10-7) (Strawweight)

Bout 5: Jamahal Hill (6-0) vs. Darko Stosic (13-3) (Light Heavyweight)

Bout 6: Justine Kish (6-2) vs. Lucie Pudilova (8-5) (Flyweight)

Bout 7: Bevon Lewis (6-2) vs. Dequan Townsend (21-9) (Middleweight)

Bout 8: Montel Jackson (8-1) vs. Felipe Colares (9-1) (Bantamweight)

Bout 9: Sara McMann (11-5) vs. Lina Lansberg (10-4) (Bantamweight)

Bout 10: Brett Johns (15-2) vs. Tony Gravely (19-5) (Bantamweight)

Bout 11: Nate Landwehr (13-2) vs. Herbert Burns (9-2)

Bout 12: Arnold Allen (15-1) vs. Nik Lentz (30-10-2) (Featherweight)

UFC 246 Pre-Fight Press Conference

Before this weekend’s UFC 246 pay-per-view, fighters are given a final chance to speak their piece to the press and the general public with the pre-fight press conference.

Headlining the card is “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone and Conor McGregor fighting at welterweight. McGregor has known in the past to be outspoken at these press conferences, being a soundbite machine sometimes.

Watch the press conference as it is streamed live on Youtube, starting at 8PM EST, or watch in replay afterwards via the link below.

RIZIN Light Heavyweight Champion Jiri Prochazka Signs Contract With The UFC

RIZIN Fighting Federation Light Heavyweight Champion Jiri Prochazka has signed an exclusive UFC contract, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

Prochazka is currently riding a 10-fight winning streak, with nine of those coming from the top Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN.

The Czech Republic fighter won the promotion’s Light Heavyweight Championship in April of 2019, stopping Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in the third round.

He made his first defence of the belt on New Year’s Eve, defeating former-UFC veteran C.B. Dollaway within a round.

Robert Whittaker Pulled From UFC 248 Bout Against Jared Cannonier

Robert Whittaker has been taken off his co-main event fight at UFC 248 in March against Jared Cannonier, citing “undisclosed personal reasons.”

Reported on Wednesday evening by Ariel Helwani of ESPN, it was also mentioned that the UFC are looking for a replacement opponent for Cannonier.

This is the third time in recent years that Whittaker has been taken off of fights. In 2018, Whittaker was pulled from a fight against Luke Rockhold due to an undisclosed injury.

Last year, Whittaker suffered a hernia, sidelining him against Kelvin Gastelum only a few days before the fight.

The UFC 248 was set to be Whittaker’s first since losing his UFC Middleweight Championship to Israel Adesanya in October.

The fight was a clear move-up in competition for Cannonier, who’s current three-fight winning streak has made him emerge as a title contender.

Still in place for the UFC 248 card is the main event, which will see Weili Zhang make the first defence of her UFC Strawweight Championship against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Here’s the full card for UFC 248 as of right now:

Bout 1: Weili Zhang (20-1) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-3) (UFC Strawweight Championship)

Bout 2: Jeremy Stephens (28-17) vs. Calvin Kattar (20-4) (Featherweight)

Bout 3: Beneil Dariush (17-4-1) vs. Drakkar Klose (11-1-1) (Lightweight)

Bout 4: Neil Magny (21-7) vs. Jingliang Li (17-5) (Welterweight)

Bout 5: Emily Whitmire (4-3) vs. Polyana Viana (10-4) (Strawweight)

Bout 6: Guido Cannetti (8-4) vs. Danaa Batgerel (6-2) (Bantamweight)

Bout 7: Jose Alberto Quinones (8-3) vs. Sean O’Malley (10-0) (Bantamweight)

Bout 8: Alex Oliveira (20-8-1) vs. Max Griffin (15-7) (Welterweight)

Bout 9: Rodolfo Vieira (6-0) vs. Saparbeg Safarov (9-2) (Middleweight)

Bout 10: Mark Madsen (9-0) vs. Austin Hubbard (11-3) (Lightweight)