Author: Dan Hiergesell

We are just 24 hours away from one of the best fight cards of the year as UFC 268 goes down tomorrow night (Sat., Nov. 6, 2021) live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.

As a prelude to the massive PPV card, which features a main event title rematch between UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and rival Colby Covington, the promotion continues to roll out UFC 268 “Embedded,” with the latest and greatest episode dropping earlier today.

This time around the behind-the-scenes action follows lightweight contender Michael Chandler during his weight cut, UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas for her final fight preparations, and every intense moment from UFC 268’s pre-fight presser (full replay HERE).

From the official YouTube description:

Michael Chandler starts to sweat. Frankie Edgar preps for a home game. Champion Rose Namajunas trains her mind and hits mitts. Words fly between champ Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington at the presser, but Justin Gaethje and Zhang Weili are all smiles.

To see episodes one, two, three, and four click here, here, here, and here.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 268 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPNEWS/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 268: “Usman vs. Covington 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

Fight fans witnessed many storylines play out this weekend at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi. The stacked card was built to be one of the best combat events of 2021 and it certainly did not disappoint. From high-stakes title fights to improbable returns to the cage, UFC 267 offered a little bit of everything. Not to mention it was free to current ESPN+ subscribers.

Luckily, we’ve compiled the best performances from the night. Check them out below and let us know your thoughts.

Age Is Just a Number

Glover Teixeira had already defied the odds by winning five-straight fights into his 40s and securing his second UFC light heavyweight title shot. Most had Teixeira pegged as a gatekeeper just a few years ago and now we’re calling him champion on Halloween morning in 2021. It’s incredible to say the least.

What makes Teixeira’s journey even more memorable is the fact that he actually won the belt. He didn’t just show up and fight a good fight and have the crowd cheer for him as he exited the Octagon a veteran without a title. The 42-year-old fighter pulled himself up by the bootstraps and absolutely dominated Jan Blachowicz to claim the 205-pound throne. It was Teixeira’s sixth-straight win and his fifth finish during that streak.

While the UFC’s light heavyweight division seems to have this weird sense of being unfinished following the departure of Jon Jones we can’t keep feeling like that. The division was open the second Jones relinquished his title in 2020 and now Teixeira sits atop it. It is proof that age is just a number and opportunity has no time limit. Teixeira’s second UFC title shot knocked on his door seven years after his first and he answered it with a full welcome party.

A Torch Has Been Passed

If we can’t have Khabib Nurmagomedov then Islam Makhachev will surely do.

Following the retirement of Khabib in 2020 fight fans weren’t sure how the UFC’s lightweight division would turn out. With Nurmagomedov no longer in the driver’s seat veterans like Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, or even Tony Ferguson, lined up to stake their claim to the lightweight crown.

While Oliveira eventually claimed the title and Poirier smashed McGregor twice to exponentially raise his UFC stock, there may now be another possible successor to the 155-pound throne. It comes in the form of Makhachev.

The streaking Russian fighter sliced through Dan Hooker at UFC 267 to claim his ninth-straight win. It is Makhachev’s third victory and third submission finish of 2021, making him one of the most productive fighters of the calendar year. And while he is not on the same exact level as Khabib when it comes to pressure and grappling Makhachev is pretty darn close. He looks primed to fight his way to a title shot in 2022 and try to capture the same glory that Nurmagomedov did in 2018.

Smeshing Has No Limits

Fight fans didn’t exactly know what to expect from Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 267. The undefeated sensation looked tremendous in his three UFC fights in 2020, but he hadn’t competed in over a year and was coming off a serious bout with COVID-19. Some felt that Chimaev may look like a completely different fighter. One who wasn’t going to dominate the competition like he was when he first burst onto the scene.

Fortunately for “Borz” fans everywhere, Chimaev proved at UFC 267 that smeshing has no limits. Despite his long layoff and compromised state of health, the Chechen fighter was able to rebound and look even better in his welterweight matchup with No. 11-ranked contender Li Jingliang. Chimaev was able to pick the Chinese fighter up and talk to Dana White cageside while he held him in the air. He was able to take Jingliang down and batter him before securing a dominant submission in the first round.

While Chimaev is going to quickly ascend the 170-pound ladder and find himself against better quality opponents there’s no reason to believe he can’t continue to smash his adversaries. The sample size is now big enough to fully understand the potential of Chimaev as he digs his heels in and focuses on one weight class.

Additional Thoughts

• Lerone Murphy is someone we should be talking about: There seems to be a new wave of English fighters hitting the UFC and it’s awesome to watch. Outside of Leon Edwards and his obvious stranglehold on the welterweight division, guys like Tom Aspinall and Paddy Pimblett have already begun their promotional ascension. Murphy, who knocked out Makwan Amirkhani with a knee at UFC 267, seems to be next in line. The 30-year-old fighter already has a few UFC wins under his belt, but this weekend was a coming out party and the undefeated contender is now going to be fast tracked to the featherweight top 15.

• Amanda Ribas is exactly the fighter we thought she was: There were some questions involving Ribas heading into her clash with Virna Jandiroba at UFC 267. Ribas was coming off a blistering knockout loss to Marina Rodriguez her last time out and needed to prove that she’s still the top contender that everyone thinks she is. Well, the talented Brazilian fighter passed her test with flying colors by breaking down Jandiroba over the course of three rounds. Jandiroba isn’t some unstoppable force, but she had only lost to Carla Esparza and Mackenzie Dern before running into Ribas in Abu Dhabu. I think it’s safe to say Ribas has righted the ship and is now ready to pursue the title shot that we all believe she’ll get to.

For complete UFC 267 results and coverage click here.

Here’s what you may have missed last night!

There’s no downgrading Glover Teixeira’s incredible performance to claim UFC gold or Petr Yan’s masterclass in striking, but the biggest takeaway from UFC 267 on Saturday was the sheer dominance of Khamzat Chimaev.

After seeing the undefeated Chechen sensation win three fights in the span of just two months in 2020 we all had an idea of what Chimaev was capable of doing. However, his level of competition for those three fights wasn’t incredibly difficult. That’s why Chimaev’s welterweight meeting with No. 11-ranked Li Jingliang at UFC 267 was so important.

Jingliang, who is one of the best Chinese fighters to ever compete inside of the Octagon, has proven to be one of the very best finishers in the welterweight division today. “Leech” had turned in a 9-3 record with seven knockout finishes since 2015 before his clash with Chimaev. This is also the same Jingliang who melted welterweight contender Santiago Ponzinibbio with one punch this past January (see it HERE).

As if the rise in competition wasn’t going to be enough to test Chimaev the 27-year-old fighter was making his first Octagon appearance in over a year. That’s because “Borz” has been dealing with one of the worst COVID-19 cases recorded in MMA since the pandemic started. His symptoms were so bad that at one point he contemplated walking away from the sport.

Being unable to train for months and feeling like he “was going to die,” Chimaev’s MMA future was in doubt. While he was likely always going to fight again under the UFC banner nobody knew for sure how his battle with COVID-19 was going to effect him inside of the cage. After all, Chimaev is a high-pace fighter who overwhelms opponents with pressure and offense.

Luckily, Chimaev showed zero signs of having COVID-19 when he stepped inside of the cage with Jingliang at UFC 267. Instead, “Borz” seemed to have hit an entirely new level of dominance during his absence from the sport. It was quite impressive and the reason why we’re now talking about this aura of invincibility that surrounds Chimaev.

The MMA community sometimes gets ahead of itself when assessing new talent. We all want to witness the “next big thing” so we often build a fighter up beyond his actual abilities. It’s normal, but we need to check ourselves when someone like Chimaev breaks onto the scene and looks like an unstoppable force.

Fortunately for those who marvel in the excellence of a growing superstar, Chimaev is a special kind of fighter. We can applaud his performance at UFC 267 coming off of COVID-19 all we want, but it’s Chimaev’s overall work that is simply undeniable. Through his four fights under the UFC banner the undefeated fighter has captured four devastating finishes and has out-landed his opponents 112-1 in significant strikes. Those aren’t numbers to breeze over. Something like that has never been done before and will likely never be done again. It’s almost an impossible feat, especially in a sport where anything can go wrong at any second.

Has Chimaev done this to Top 10 talent? No. Will he get his chance? Yes. And that is why he’s one of the most exciting fighters in the sport today. Chimaev’s combination of athleticism, power, speed, striking, wrestling, and cardio might be the best we’ve seen in a very long time. And to think that he’s doing all of this just 10 fights into his professional MMA career is absolutely astonishing.

For complete UFC 267 results and coverage click here.

Khamzat Chimaev is looking to take the UFC by storm after smashing Li Jingliang earlier today (Sat., Oct. 30, 2021) at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi. Those plans may include potential matchups with welterweight stars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, which is something “Borz.” would gladly welcome.

Chimaev, who returned to action after a one-year layoff due to COVID-19, looked incredible in his main card matchup against “Leech.” It was supposed to be the first “big test” of Chimaev’s UFC career but the 27-year-old phenom walked through Jingliang like he was a mere amateur. It was a sight to behold, especially since it was the first time “Borz” was competing in front of a live UFC crowd.

After his victory over Jingliang, Chimaev caught up with reporters backstage for a brief post-fight interview (shown below via MMA Fighting). That’s when Chimaev turned his attention to Diaz and Masvidal while discussing his UFC future.

“Hey, Diaz. Let’s go brother,” said Chimaev when asked if he could be an option for Nate’s final fight on his UFC contract. “Gonna get some smoke bro. Let’s see who is the real gangster.”

“Masvidal in his last fight he has some belt,” added Chimaev eluding to the “BMF” title. “I’m going to take everything from this UFC, brother. Now I am UFC, brother.”

Chimaev, who is now 4-0 under the UFC banner and fresh off a win over the No. 11-ranked welterweight contender, is surely going to land a massive fight his next time out. The Chechen fighter looks to be the real deal and if he’s able to score a matchup with Diaz or “Gamebred” his stock would absolutely explode.

For complete UFC 267 results and coverage click here.

Jon Jones and Corey Anderson held nothing back in their assessment of Jan Blachowicz’s submission loss to Glover Teixeira earlier today (Sat., Oct. 30, 2021) at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi.

Blachowicz, who was defending his UFC light heavyweight title for the second time, didn’t have much to offer once Teixeira took him to the ground. Teixeira, who came into this fight a 42-year-old betting underdog, swarmed Blachowicz with his grappling and eventually secured a rear-naked choke finish in Round 2 to claim UFC gold.

While most marveled in the comeback story of Teixeira and how he managed to steamroll the current UFC light heavyweight champion, Jones and Anderson decided to jump on Twitter to take shots at Blachowicz. Jones doesn’t have much history with Blachowicz even though he ended up winning the belt “Bones” vacated in 2020, but that didn’t stop Jones from laying into the Polish fighter.

See what happens when you’re talking shit, not focusing on the opponent right in front of you. Another one bites the dust

Jones did pay quick tribute to Teixeira, who he defeated via unanimous decision at UFC 172 back in 2014.

“Yo Glover you are a real G my friend, so happy for you. Let’s go Brazil!”

Anderson, who is currently competing under the Bellator MMA banner, quickly jumped on the bandwagon to bash Blachowicz. Of course, the two fighters share a little more history than Jones does. Blachowicz and Anderson have fought twice before and even mixed it up in the media earlier this month.

“As I said… Jan was worried about me after I handled my business and forgot he had his own business!!”

“Glover handled my light weight!! Anybody can get caught with a big shot…. but there’s no luck in 3 rounds of ground and pound or a 2nd round submission!”

Blachowicz, 38, remains one of the very best 205-pound fighters in the world today. Despite the post-fight comments by Jones and Anderson the Polish fighter should be able to work his way back into another UFC title fight. After all, Blachowicz is 8-2 in his last 10 trips to the Octagon.

For complete UFC 267 results and coverage click here.

The appearance of the infamous Hasbulla was one of the major storylines heading into UFC 267 earlier today (Sat., Oct. 30, 2021) live on ESPN+ from inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Hasbulla, who has become a bit of a legend around the MMA community, reached out to UFC president Dana White earlier in the week to let him know he’s coming to the fights. As promised, Hasbulla flew into Abu Dhabi yesterday and quickly started to gain the attention of everyone around.

White decided to sit Hasbulla front and center so he can watch the stacked UFC 267 card cageside. Everyone from the fighters competing to MMA personalities watching in attendance loved seeing Hasbulla posted up for the action. Even former UFC champion Daniel Cormier stepped away from his commentating duties to take a quick video with the Russian.

While everything seemed to be going right with Hasbulla things quickly took a turn for the worse when his archrival, Abdu, showed up to the arena. Abdu was sharply dressed and made his way around backstage before walking out to his seat. When he locked eyes with Hasbulla that is when all hell broke loose. Check it out below:

For complete UFC 267 results and coverage click here.