UFC Fight Night 65 takes place this weekend in Australia with a big heavyweight main event.
The event, which will be broadcast exclusively on UFC Fight Pass, features 12 bouts across eight divisions. The main event is a top-five heavyweight affair, as …
UFC Fight Night 65 takes place this weekend in Australia with a big heavyweight main event.
The event, which will be broadcast exclusively on UFC Fight Pass, features 12 bouts across eight divisions. The main event is a top-five heavyweight affair, as No. 4-ranked contender StipeMiocic squares off against No. 5-ranked Mark Hunt.
The co-main event will be in the middleweight division. No. 14-ranked Brad Tavares takes on Robert Whittaker.
UFC Fight Night 65 comes with a strong slate of exciting fights. The fighters will look to grab wins and move into bigger fights in their respective divisions. This weekend’s fisticuffs will keep you on the edge of your seat.
This is your complete guide to all the action in Australia.
Jon Jones’ most recent transgression was the talk of the town, and it landed him in serious hot water with the UFC brass. The leader in mixed martial arts indefinitely suspended the now-former light heavyweight champion, and as such pulled him fr…
Jon Jones’ most recent transgression was the talk of the town, and it landed him in serious hot water with the UFC brass. The leader in mixed martial arts indefinitely suspended the now-former light heavyweight champion, and as such pulled him from the official rankings.
With Jones out—is Jose Aldo the pound-for-pound best fighter on planet Earth? I will make the case that voters should reevaluate their stance and move another above him for their next go around.
But first, off the top let’s just admit that the pound-for-pound rankings mean nothing. They are simply a talking point and highlight some of the best fighters in the world today. Where divisional rankings have some basis on performance, the pound-for-pound rankings are highly subjective.
When looking at the new rankings only four names leap off the page that should be in contention for this polarizing honor: Aldo, Demetrious Johnson, Chris Weidman and Ronda Rousey.
All four are phenomenal champions. And dominant. The question becomes how to differentiate between them.
Is pound-for-pound simply who is the most dominant? If so, then this is Rousey’s honor. Women’s bantamweight is not as deep as the featherweight or lightweight divisions, but ousting back-to-back top-five-ranked contenders in a combined 30 seconds is astounding. No matter how you slice it.
Or is pound-for-pound a distinction that belongs to someone who has run through a list of credible challengers? That would put Aldo just barely ahead of Weidman. Both of them have faced top-tier competition time and again while winning impressively.
However, if you want the best fighter in the world regardless of physical attributes & based on skill alone you have to side with Johnson.
The flyweight division is shallow. No one disputes this. Regardless, the competition Johnson has faced has been solid. Ian McCall, Joseph Benavidez and John Dodson are all great talents. They have better skill sets than many others who have challenged for gold in other divisions. And he has outclassed them all since becoming champion. The improvements he has made have been outstanding.
Johnson’s technique is peerless.
His last-second stoppage of KyojiHoriguchi at UFC 186 was very impressive. He did not need to seek out a finish. He dominated the fight. Yet, it wasn’t good enough. Mighty Mouse stopped another challenger. He set himself apart.
Aldo is a fantastic striker, a very good grappler and even has solid wrestling. Rousey is a world-class judoka with ever-developing striking that is underrated at best. Weidman also chimes in with a stellar grappling attack in both wrestling and jiu-jitsu, and the middleweight champion has shown off his striking against the best to ever do it in MMA—Anderson Silva.
But none of them blend together all their pieces like Johnson. It is not even really close. The way Johnson is able to switch things up on the fly is remarkable, and it is what sets him apart from the field.
Pound-for-pound is subjective, but Johnson should earn his slot as the No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. He has fought more often than any other champion against very good fighters, he has dominated those fights and he blends his elite skills better than anyone else in this sport.
UFC Fight Night 65 comes your way this Saturday, and the event features a top-five heavyweight main event.
No. 4-ranked heavyweight contender Stipe Miocic battles No. 5-ranked Mark Hunt in a bout scheduled for five rounds. The event sees the UFC return…
UFC Fight Night 65 comes your way this Saturday, and the event features a top-five heavyweight main event.
No. 4-ranked heavyweight contender Stipe Miocic battles No. 5-ranked Mark Hunt in a bout scheduled for five rounds. The event sees the UFC return to Australia for the first time since November.
With the heavyweight title unification bout between interim champion Fabricio Werdum and champion Cain Velasquez scheduled for UFC 188 this heavyweight tilt very well could propel the winner into a title match later this year. The heavyweight division is thin, and these are two of the most marketable challengers available.
Miocic and Hunt are both coming off losses. Miocic lost a hard-fought decision to former champion Junior dos Santos, and Hunt came up short against Werdum in the interim title tilt.
Who has the advantages this weekend? That’s what we are here to find out.
This is your complete breakdown of this exciting heavyweight matchup.
Michelle Waterson has her first fight booked under the UFC banner as she will meet Angela Magana at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale.
The UFC made the announcement just 24 hours after announcing that Waterson had signed to the 115-pound division.
Waterso…
Michelle Waterson has her first fight booked under the UFC banner as she will meet Angela Magana at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale.
The UFC made the announcement just 24 hours after announcing that Waterson had signed to the 115-pound division.
Waterson holds a 12-4 professional record, and is coming off a loss to HericaTiburcia at Invicta FC 10. The former Invicta FC atomweight champion has previously fought at 115 pounds, but holds no notable wins at the weight.
Magana enters the fight with an 11-7 professional record. The former The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 cast member is 0-1 in the UFC, and has lost three straight fights overall. Magana is a longtime veteran who has fought a Who’s Who of women’s MMA. She holds wins over Jessica Aguilar and Barb Honchak, but has lost to Aguilar (twice), Jessica Eye, Stephanie Eggink and Jessica Penne during her lengthy career.
Waterson‘s debut will be highly anticipated, but with three straight losses Magana will be in a must-win situation. In her UFC debut, Waterson gets a matchup against one of the more moderately sized athletes in the division. She will not be at a stark size disadvantage in this bout.
“The Karate Hottie” is a stellar striker, but has finished most of her MMA bouts (seven) via submission. Magana is not far behind with six submission finishes to her credit.
There is no word yet on where the UFC will place this fight on the card.
This marks the first official bout for the July 12th event. MMAFighting.com has reported that the UFC is working on adding a Benson Henderson vs. Michael Johnson fight as the main event, and BloodyElbow.com has reported a Josh Samman vs. CaioMagalhaes matchup is also eyed for the fight card.
The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale will take place on July 12th in Florida. Keep checking B/R for more UFC fight updates.
Michelle Waterson will be joining the ranks of the UFC in short order.
The news came just after midnight Eastern Tuesday. Ariel Helwani confirmed the news on UFC Tonight. The former Invicta FC atomweight champion will debut this coming summer, but no …
Michelle Waterson will be joining the ranks of the UFC in short order.
The news came just after midnight Eastern Tuesday. Ariel Helwani confirmed the news on UFC Tonight. The former Invicta FC atomweight champion will debut this coming summer, but no opponent or specific date has been announced.
“The Karate Hottie” holds a professional MMA record of 12-4.
Waterson stunned the mixed martial arts world with a stunning upset over Jessica Penne for the Invicta FC atomweight championship.
It was a 2013 Fight of the Year contender. Waterson entered being known primarily as a striker, and was more than a 3:1 underdog on several books. She beat Penne at her own game by securing an armbar in the fourth round.
Waterson would defend the title against YasukoTamada in September of 2014. It was a dominant performance that resulted in a third-round TKO stoppage.
The former champion lost her belt this past December to HericaTiburcio in much the same fashion she won it: via a submission upset. Tiburcio, making her 105-pound debut, out-muscled Waterson. Tiburcio controlled the grappling. In the third round she got a deep guillotine and Waterson was forced to tap.
Waterson joins the growing ranks of 115-pounds in the UFC. It will be no easy task to prove she belongs after her most recent defeat, but she is one of the most marketable fighters in the division. She speaks eloquently and has an exciting fight style that endears her to audiences.
It will be an uphill battle as an undersized member of the division with no historic success in the weight class.
Regardless, there is no shortage of compelling matchups for Waterson to take. The longtime MMA veteran’s debut will be highly anticipated when the UFC officially sets the date.
UFC 186 suffered a lot of criticism in the lead-up to the event, but once Saturday came, the fighters who were left on the card delivered.
Two high-ranked women’s bouts helped bolster the undercard. No. 6-ranked strawweight Randa Markos defeated No. 10…
UFC 186 suffered a lot of criticism in the lead-up to the event, but once Saturday came, the fighters who were left on the card delivered.
Two high-ranked women’s bouts helped bolster the undercard. No. 6-ranked strawweight Randa Markos defeated No. 10-ranked Aisling Daly in the opening fight of the night, and No. 3-ranked bantamweight Alexis Davis finished No. 5-ranked Sarah Kaufman a little later in the evening.
On the main card, we were treated to the comeuppance of a top-tier prospect, the return of a legend and the championship statement of Mighty Mouse.
Demetrious Johnson completed the latest finish in UFC history at four minutes, 59 seconds of the fifth round when he got the armbar on Kyoji Horiguchi. Just another title defense for the flyweight kingpin.
UFC 186 delivered on all fronts. It was a fun card, but there were winners and losers. Real winners and losers.
Here is your look at UFC 186’s real winners and losers coming out of Montreal.
