Author: Dana Becker

Carla Esparza Returns At UFC 197 Vs. Julianna Lima

Former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza will compete for the first time since losing the title next month, replacing Jessica Aguilar vs. Julianna Lima at UFC 197.

ESPN first reported the change, which they confirmed with UFC officials. The bou…

carla-esparza

Former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza will compete for the first time since losing the title next month, replacing Jessica Aguilar vs. Julianna Lima at UFC 197.

ESPN first reported the change, which they confirmed with UFC officials. The bout will be part of the April 23 event from Las Vegas.

Esparza (10-3) was the first-ever 115-pound champion, winning the title with a tournament victory over Rose Namajunas. However, in her first defense, she was knocked out at the hands of Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The former Invicta FC champion spent the rest of 2015 on the sidelines following shoulder surgery.

Lima (8-2) has won two of three inside the Octagon, besting Nina Asnaroff and Ericka Almeida. Her lone loss came via decision to Jedrzejczyk.

UFC Fight Night 89 Officially Adds “Cowboy” Vs. “Predator”

A matchup of two fighters with fitting nicknames has been made official for UFC Fight Night 89, as Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone takes on Patrick “The Predator” Cote.

The event goes down June 18 from Ottaway, marking the debut of the Octagon in the Canadi…

patrick cote

A matchup of two fighters with fitting nicknames has been made official for UFC Fight Night 89, as Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone takes on Patrick “The Predator” Cote.

The event goes down June 18 from Ottaway, marking the debut of the Octagon in the Canadian province. Rory MacDonald and Stephen Thompson are the scheduled headline fight.

Cerrone (29-7) moved up to welterweight earlier this year, besting Alex Oliveira. The former lightweight title contender owns 21 stoppage victories to his name and 11 “Fight Night” bonus awards.

Cote (23-9) has strung together three consecutive wins and is 5-1 overall at 170 pounds. He previously faced off with then-middleweight champion Anderson Silva for the title back in 2008.

Other planned bouts for the card include Steve Bosse-Sean O’Connell, Elias Theodorou-Sam Alvey, Jason Saggo-Leandro Silva, Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Thibault Gouti and Tamdan McCrory-Krzysztof Jotko.

Cris Cyborg Will Still Be Invicta FC Champion While Competing At UFC 198

Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp isn’t closing the door on Cris “Cyborg” Justino competing again for her all-female promotion.

While it was announced on Monday that Justino (15-1) will make her Octagon debut at UFC 198 vs. Leslie Smith, Knapp told…

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Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp isn’t closing the door on Cris “Cyborg” Justino competing again for her all-female promotion.

While it was announced on Monday that Justino (15-1) will make her Octagon debut at UFC 198 vs. Leslie Smith, Knapp told MMAFighting.com that she is not considering vacating her featherweight title at the moment.

Justino won the title in 2013 with a fourth round TKO vs. Marloes Coenen and has successfully defended it three times since. All three bout have ended inside of the first round.

“Anything is always up to (the UFC and Justino), so it could be whatever,” Knapp said. “I think this is probably a situation, too, where they’re trying it out. Who knows? I am not quite sure what the long-term plan is or if anybody does at this point.

“Cris has expressed interest in coming back and defending her belt. At this point, it is not vacated.”

Justino and Smith will be competing at 140 pounds in May. Zuffa, which owns and operates the UFC, added Invicta FC to Fight Pass last year.

Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis Get In Five-Round Workout

Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis have not always seen eye-to-eye.

Recently, though, the two WEC veterans realized that they can help one another.

On Tuesday, “Cowboy” and “Showtime” put on a five-round show for those lucky to be in attendance.
…

donald-cerrone

Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis have not always seen eye-to-eye.

Recently, though, the two WEC veterans realized that they can help one another.

On Tuesday, “Cowboy” and “Showtime” put on a five-round show for those lucky to be in attendance.

Cerrone suffered a 2013 first round TKO loss to Pettis at UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Dodson. The two never crossed paths when they were competing for the WEC.

Did EA Sports Mistake Ben Rothwell For Matt Mitrione?

Recently, Ben Rothwell decided to call-out someone not currently in the UFC.

EA Sports.

Rothwell, who is set for the biggest fight of his Octagon career next month vs. Junior dos Santos, was mistakenly identified as a former football player in “U…

ben-rothwell-2

Recently, Ben Rothwell decided to call-out someone not currently in the UFC.

EA Sports.

Rothwell, who is set for the biggest fight of his Octagon career next month vs. Junior dos Santos, was mistakenly identified as a former football player in “UFC 2,” which was released through EA Sports.

The UFC heavyweight division has featured numerous ex-football players over the years, including recent competitors like Brendan Schaub and Matt Mitrione.

But Rothwell is not one of them.

Leslie Smith On Fighting Cris Cyborg: “Biggest Non-Title UFC Fight For Women Ever”

Leslie Smith isn’t just planning on showing up at UFC 198 and cashing a check when she meets Cris “Cyborg” Justino.

Smith, a veteran of the sport and coming off a win over Rin Nakai, sees the chance to face Justino in her Octagon debut as the “bigge…

leslie-smith-ear-current

Leslie Smith isn’t just planning on showing up at UFC 198 and cashing a check when she meets Cris “Cyborg” Justino.

Smith, a veteran of the sport and coming off a win over Rin Nakai, sees the chance to face Justino in her Octagon debut as the “biggest opportunity of my career.”