UFC 236 Bombs On ESPN+

I think most mixed martial arts (MMA) fans expected the UFC 236 pay-per-view (PPV) event to skew low, now that Dana White and Co. have transferred the entire business to ESPN+, but coming in at less than 100,000 buys is a complete disaster…

I think most mixed martial arts (MMA) fans expected the UFC 236 pay-per-view (PPV) event to skew low, now that Dana White and Co. have transferred the entire business to ESPN+, but coming in at less than 100,000 buys is a complete disaster.

Which is unfortunate when you consider how great some of the fights turned out to be, including the championship showdowns pitting Dustin Poirier against Max Holloway and Israel Adesanya opposite Kelvin Gastelum, just to name a few.

That number is brought to you by Dave Meltzer in his latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, courtesy of Bloody Elbow, which puts it in the same company as the sub-100k UFC 224 and just under UFC 225, which also failed to generate much interest from paying customers.

UFC 236 had a couple of things working against it. First and foremost, it was streamed exclusively on ESPN+, limiting the number of buys to current subscribers who wanted to purchase the show. Secondly, in-app ordering was not yet available, forcing fans to their desktop computers to order the event.

It was complicated, as predicted.

The latter has since been rectified, but it’s hard to predict how much improvement the promotion can expect for UFC 237 this weekend in Rio, headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight pitting Rose Namajunas against Jessica Andrade.

I guess we’ll find out in a couple of weeks.

Cody Stamann vs. Rob Font slated for UFC Greenville

Cody Stamann and Rob Font will both look to begin a win streak at the June 22 event. A pair of ranked bantamweights looking to crack into the top 10 will go head to head at UFC Greenville.
Cody Stamann vs. Rob Font has been added to the Ju…

Cody Stamann and Rob Font will both look to begin a win streak at the June 22 event.

A pair of ranked bantamweights looking to crack into the top 10 will go head to head at UFC Greenville.

Cody Stamann vs. Rob Font has been added to the June 22 card in Greenville, South Carolina, sources confirmed with Bloody Elbow Tuesday night. BJPenn.com first reported the news.

Stamann is coming off a decision win over Alejandro Perez in March at UFC 235. “Spartan” bounced back in that fight from his first UFC loss, which came against Aljamain Sterling last year. Stamann is 4-1 in the Octagon.

Font has alternated wins and losses in his last four outings. Most recently, the 31-year-old defeated Sergio Pettis last December at UFC on FOX 31, the promotion’s final show on big FOX. Font’s last two losses came to top contenders Raphael Assuncao and Pedro Munhoz. He also holds a notable TKO win over Thomas Almeida.

UFC Greenville will be headlined by a featherweight bout between Renato Moicano and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. The entire card will stream live on ESPN+.

Tenshin Nasukawa Set For Title Fight At RIZIN 16

Tenshin Nasukawa set for a big fight in his professional career. The kickboxing phenom has been booked for a title fight against ISKA featherweight champion Ahmed Ferradji. This contest is slated to take place at the upcoming RIZIN Fighting Federation event in Kobe, Japan, on June 2. The young Japanese sensation recently shared the boxing […]

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Tenshin Nasukawa set for a big fight in his professional career.

The kickboxing phenom has been booked for a title fight against ISKA featherweight champion Ahmed Ferradji. This contest is slated to take place at the upcoming RIZIN Fighting Federation event in Kobe, Japan, on June 2.

The young Japanese sensation recently shared the boxing ring with one of the greatest boxers of all-time in Floyd Mayweather. He lost by first-round TKO in December but rebounded with a spectacular knockout win in his return to kickboxing in March.

In his latest fight, he took on Fritz Biagtan in a kickboxing bout at Rizin 15 on April 21 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. Nasukawa won the fight by third-round TKO in the co-main event.

“I would like to define my fight style for this fight so please look for the differences in the fight,” Nasukawa stated in a release. “I will dominate the fight and will deliver the most entertaining fight on the entire card.”

“I am honored to defend my belt in Japan against Tenshin Nasukawa,” Ferradji stated. “I can’t wait to perform in such a great stage as RIZIN.”

The promotion has also announced that Nasukawa’s teammate Daiju Shiratori versus Hiroto Yamaguchi will take place in a kickboxing bout on this show. In the main event, Rizin super atomweight champion Ayaka Hamasaki defends her title against Invicta FC atomweight champion Jinh Yu Frey.

The post Tenshin Nasukawa Set For Title Fight At RIZIN 16 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC 237’s Anderson Silva Still Pushing For Conor McGregor Bout

Anderson Silva hasn’t let go of his desire to fight Conor McGregor. Silva ruled the roost at 185 pounds for years. McGregor is a former two-division champion as a featherweight and lightweight. Despite the clear size discrepancy, Silva and McGreg…

Anderson Silva hasn’t let go of his desire to fight Conor McGregor. Silva ruled the roost at 185 pounds for years. McGregor is a former two-division champion as a featherweight and lightweight. Despite the clear size discrepancy, Silva and McGregor have shown interest in a match-up. It’s a fight that Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president […]

The post UFC 237’s Anderson Silva Still Pushing For Conor McGregor Bout appeared first on MMA News.

White interested in seeing Jordan Burroughs in the UFC

Could we see Jordan Burroughs in the UFC later this year? Following his dominant win over Ben Askren at at Beat the Street’s “Grapple at the Garden,” UFC president Dana White has expressed his interest at seeing Jordan Burroughs compete in…

Could we see Jordan Burroughs in the UFC later this year?

Following his dominant win over Ben Askren at at Beat the Street’s “Grapple at the Garden,” UFC president Dana White has expressed his interest at seeing Jordan Burroughs compete in the UFC.

Burroughs defeated Askren by 11-0, winning by technical fall in the second period. Askren, who is undefeated in MMA and made his UFC debut against Robbie Lawler back in March, was an accomplished freestyle wrestler himself before transitioning over to MMA after competing at the 2008 Olympic games.

Talking on The Jim Rome Show earlier this week, White spoke about his interest in Burroughs and the history behind his and Askren’s relationship.

“Yeah, listen, I’m always interested in, you know, these guys that are considered the best athletes in whatever it is they do wanting to come to the UFC,” White said. “Yeah, obviously I’d be very interested. (Transcription via BJPenn.com)

“Askren is a very interesting guy. He and I have a long history of smack talk between us, and then he retired and was interested in coming into the UFC, and I think timing is everything, and the timing was right for him to come, and he’s been fun since he’s been here.“

Olympic champion Burroughs did recently state he wants “one MMA fight,” so maybe White’s interest might just actually materialize. Askren will compete against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239.