UFC 286 Embedded, Episode 2: ‘I can’t wait to serve some humble pie’ On the second episode of UFC 286 Embedded, champion Leon Edwards enjoys the home turf advantage. Marvin Vettori arrives early to adapt. Rafael Fiziev expects to entertain. Kamaru Usman and Justin Gaethje study tape before they train. UFC 286 takes place at
Mar 10, 2023 Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou says he has “made amends” with his split from the promotion earlier this year and is focused on booking his professional boxing debut in 2023. Ngannou, 36, was essentially stripped of the UFC heavyweight title in January, when the company said it had failed to come
Kamaru Usman will look to avenge his stunning loss to Leon Edwards this Saturday at UFC 286. With an already Hall of Fame worthy career on his resume, what would be next for Usman should he regain the welterweight title? Or, where would he go if he loses for the second straight fight? On an
Fresh from a stunning knockout of Usman last August that evened their series at 1-1, Birmingham’s Edwards will now make his first title defense against Usman, who has won 19 of his last 20 bouts. Plus, two of the lightweight division’s most explosive contenders collide, as Justin Gaethje meets Rafael Fiziev in the UFC 286
UFC President Dana White doesn’t like the idea of Merab Dvalishvili skipping a UFC Bantamweight Championship opportunity for his close friend Aljamain Sterling. Dvalishvili is coming off a one-sided five-round affair against Petr Yan this past Saturday. As UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier mentioned, in any other fight, a performance such as the one Dvalishvili
Easy come, easy go. Sean O’Malley managed to grab the top spot in the official bantamweight rankings by narrowly defeating Petr Yan at UFC 280 last Oct. in Abu Dhabi, but today surrendered that spot to Merab Dvalishvili after “The Machine” beat “No Mercy” — more convincingly — in the UFC Las Vegas headliner last
UFC 286 Embedded, Episode 1: Leon Edwards trains with confidence On the first episode of UFC 286 Embedded, champ Leon Edwards trains with a new confidence. Rafael Fiziev sightsees in the cold. Teammates Kamaru Usman and Justin Gaethje debate fashion before heading back to work in the gym. UFC 286 is on Saturday, March 18.
1:50 PM ET Leon Edwards started his MMA career by fighting his first nine bouts in his adopted home country of England. And in the time since Edwards, who was born in Jamaica and moved with his family to Birmingham when he was 9, joined the UFC in 2014, he has competed four more times
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In the course of his current winning streak, Dvalishvili has secured 46 takedowns, an average of 5.75 takedowns per contest, which is astounding on its face, but even more impressive given that he posted zero in 16 attempts against now-retired Brazilian legend Jose Aldo last time out. “Training was the same as usual,” Yan said
Merab Dvalishvili couldn’t picture a scenario where he wouldn’t get his hand raised in a fight with Petr Yan. Dvalishvili and Yan clashed inside The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 11 for a “UFC Fight Night” event. It was clear that Dvalishvili’s grappling and pressure left Yan confused on the
After producing one of the most dramatic highlights in recent mixed martial arts (MMA) memory last year, Welterweight champion, Leon Edwards, and former titlist, Kamaru Usman, will settle the score inside The O2 in London, England, this Saturday (March 18, 2023 atop UFC 286’s pay-per-view (PPV) show. The ESPN+-streamed event will also see Justin Gaethje
Henry Cejudo shades Merab Dvalishvili after Yan victory: ‘Easy money’ Henry Cejudo is gearing up to face Aljamain Sterling in May, but it looks like he’s already planning for his potential first title defense if he gets through Sterling. On Saturday night Merab Dvalishvili (who also happens to be best friends with Sterling) defeated the
9:25 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim The UFC first visited London in 2002 for an event dubbed “The Brawl at the Hall.” The hall was hallowed old Royal Albert Hall, which prior to Matt Hughes defending his welterweight title against Carlos Newton that night had been best known for appearances by tenacious fighter Sir Winston Churchill
Merab Dvalishvili dominated Petr Yan over five rounds to pick up the biggest victory of his career and make a compelling case for a bantamweight title shot — a belt currently held by his close friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling. With everything in play in the loaded 135-pound division, where does Dvalishvili go from
Nurmagomedov had the speed advantage early and landed the bigger shots in the first, but Martinez displayed otherworldly toughness and tenacity, staying stuck to his Russian foe throughout, keeping the fight close and competitive. When one would have a good moment, the other would respond in kind, with neither gaining a clean, definitive advantage at
Raphael Assuncao closed out his pro MMA career on a technical submission loss, but it wasn’t without controversy. Assuncao shared the Octagon with Davey Grant on the UFC Las Vegas card on March 11. Assuncao appeared to be closing in on a decision victory when the drama ensued. In the final frame, referee Keith Peterson
The past few years of Petr Yan’s career have been quite the rollercoaster. Indeed, the powerful Russian fighter beat Jose Aldo for the vacant Bantamweight belt back in July 2020, only to lose it via disqualification to Aljamain Sterling in his first title defense. Yan would then win the interim Bantamweight title in Oct. 2021,