Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz entered as the top two contenders in the strawweight division, and their three combined losses all came at the hands of its champion—Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
3:03 would all it take for Gadelha to put a second …
Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz entered as the top two contenders in the strawweight division, and their three combined losses all came at the hands of its champion—Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
3:03 would all it take for Gadelha to put a second loss on Kowalkiewicz’s career.
Kowalkiewicz and Gadelha had early exchanges, and Kowalkiewicz’s length allowed her to score more early. Gadelha had to get Kowalkiewicz’s respect, and she did that with elbows from the clinch. Gadelha was able to get the double-underhooks and put Kowalkiewicz on her back.
Gadelha got to the back and sunk in a rear-naked choke for the easy win.
Kowalkiewicz was in tears after tapping, and Gadelha came over to console her opponent. The two embraced as they enter new paths in the strawweight division.
Gadelha had changed camps and moved to the United States to continually improve as she marches back toward a title shot. Saturday’s performance in her home of Rio de Janeiro showed those improvements. Gadelha walked through a true top contender as if she were an unranked foe.
The win for Gadelha should almost assure that Rose Namajunas is next in line for a title shot. Gadelha, having suffered two losses to Jedrzejczyk, will still need another fight or two before she gets her call. In the post-fight interview, Gadelha made no callout, saying only that she plans on moving full-time to Albuquerque, buying a new car and a fancy dog. Fair enough.
Kowalkiewicz will have to go back into the pack as she falls off the pace for her title chance. Meeting Viviane Pereira, who won on the UFC 212 undercard, would be an appropriate fight.
Gadelha will no doubt fight another contender. Of those top contenders, only Tecia Torres is coming off a win. That makes her the logical choice.
Gadelha’s move to Albuquerque paid off in a massive way with one of her most impressive performances to date. No matter who the UFC chooses for both women in their next outings, we can expect both to be perennial contenders for the foreseeable future.
Demian Maia entered UFC 211 with everything on the line. A loss would have crippled his chances at ever getting another UFC title shot, and he was facing a top-tier challenge against Jorge Masvidal at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The scorecards …
Demian Maia entered UFC 211 with everything on the line. A loss would have crippled his chances at ever getting another UFC title shot, and he was facing a top-tier challenge against Jorge Masvidal at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The scorecards may have been split, but the fight clearly belonged to the Brazilian.
Maia’s grappling stifled Masvidal throughout the three rounds and only gave the American Top Team product brief moments to score with his offense, which he did to make it close. Still, the result was the right one with Maia getting his hand raised.
Maia shot in around the 30-second mark. Masvidal fought off the takedown attempt well, but Maia stayed attached to him. Maia took his back, but Masvidal stood with him against the fence. Patience became the name of the game.
Maia peppered Masvidal with punches trying to get space to slip his arm under the chin. Masvidal remained calm enough to defend as the first round ticked under two minutes. Masvidal’s patience paid off with under 30 seconds as he shook Maia to the canvas and landed several big punches. It made the round close as he landed the big offense compared to Maia’s control.
Masvidal was ready to defend slower takedown attempts in the second round as Maia spent a lot of energy in the first frame. Still, Maia tried all the tricks to stay attached to Masvidal. Maia finally assumed top position with Masvidal on his back with two minutes remaining in the second. He would have to begin working from half-guard. Masvidal’s defense got him through another strong two minutes of control from the grappling ace.
Half of the third and final round was spent feeling each other out. Maia looked for an opening knowing he didn’t have the energy to chase Masvidal, and Masvidal was weary of an oncoming takedown attempt. However, at around that halfway marker, Maia was able to get Masvidal to the ground. He worked on a rear-naked choke, but he did not have it under the chin or have Masvidal’s back completely. He would work to that position shortly after giving up the choke.
Masvidal defended until the horn. Survival was his only option, but it was still much more than most of Maia’s opponents have been able to do on the mat. Maia controlled the fight and grappled his way to yet another victory.
The loss was damaging to Masvidal, but only minimally so. Masvidal showed he can survive with Maia on the ground and had moments on the feet to challenge him. Masvidal will move down the ladder again, but his showing proves he’s one of the elite at 170 pounds.
Maia’s next step is clear. A title shot.
Tyron Woodley is seeking a challenge, and all signs point to Maia as being that next man up. That includes a post-fight moment with UFC President Dana White who shouted, “You got it!” from cageside to Maia. The ink still needs to be put to paper, but Maia’s chance at glory is coming up.
Maia vs. Masvidal lived up to the hype. It was a high-level battle of elites. The superior fighter got by with his world-class skills and appears destined for a date with the champion.
On May 4, the UFC sent out a press release informing the world that a new season of The Ultimate Fighter would crown the inaugural women’s flyweight champion. Hours later, UFC President Dana White told Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole that it was sent in error…
On May 4, the UFC sent out a press release informing the world that a new season of The Ultimate Fighter would crown the inaugural women’s flyweight champion. Hours later, UFC President Dana White told Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole that it was sent in error.
Less than a week later, it has been officially confirmed. White confirmed the news to espnW’s Katie Barnes.
The division has existed outside of the UFC’s zeitgeist. As such, fans may not know much about the current landscape or what to expect now that the flyweights are coming to the biggest promotion in the sport.
Thus, Bleacher Report’s Nathan McCarter and Steven Rondina will take you through the news, the division’s top talent and what TUF will bring to you in the upcoming season.
Overview
Nathan: The flyweight division has been a glaring omission by the UFC for some time, and the announcement of the upcoming season to introduce the division is long overdue. Steven, what were your initial thoughts of the announcement?
Steven: My initial reaction was basically a “why?”
Not because it’s a bad idea, there is most certainly enough talent out there to support a 125-pound division…but why 125 pounds instead of 105? Why now, when the new 145-pound division is in complete disarray? Why was White, as recently as two weeks ago, saying that this absolutely wasn’t happening?
The whole situation just strikes me as odd, and I mean…they couldn’t be this shaken by Bellator’s recent women’s MMA, right? Right!?
Nathan: I’ve always felt as if they have had this plan but didn’t feel pressured to execute it while forcing ex-flyweights up to bantamweight to make that division appear deeper than it actually was. I don’t think they were shaken by Bellator’s new division, but I do think it forced their hand to expedite it to ensure landing top talent.
I do agree with you that atomweight would have been the more appropriate call, but it would be dependent on getting Michelle Waterson and Jessica Penne to commit to dropping back down to the weight where they were world champions. A division marked with Waterson and Penne, along with AyakaHamasaki, SeoHee Ham, HericaTiburcio and beyond, would have been extremely exciting.
Overall, unlike featherweight, this is a good move for the UFC. It’s not built for one. Flyweight is a division with legitimate talent, and the UFC giving them a platform will only help deepen the talent pool in the long run.
Current Top and Favorite Fighters, Prospects
Nathan: If anyone is going to talk about flyweights in 2017, then they have to reference Invicta FC. It’s the premier women’s organization and has the most active flyweight division. Jennifer Maia is the current champion with Vanessa Porto and Roxanne Modafferi not too far behind.
Former Invicta FC champion Barb Honchak will get name dropped a bit as she never lost her belt, but she hasn’t fought since 2014. She shouldn’t be glossed over, but it’s difficult to ascertain when, or if, she’ll return to action.
Other key names would be Andrea Lee and Mackenzie Dern. Lee has won the Legacy FC and Legacy Fighting Alliance flyweight belts while remaining a fan favorite. Dern, on the other hand, is one of the most promising prospects in all of women’s MMA. Both would be big gets for the UFC as they launch this new division.
Earlier this year, I chronicled the best fighters who are 25-and-under. At 125, two names stood out: ArianeLipski and AgnieszkaNiedzwiedz. Niedzwiedz is already a top contender in Invicta, and Lipski is coming off a win over former top-five flyweight Sheila Gaff by first-round TKO at KSW 36. They are ideal signings to a new flyweight division.
Who else do you see at the top of the division?
Steven: Well, when it comes to the actual season, we’re not sure the entire cast will be new additions, correct? You certainly hit all the biggest names over in Invicta FC, but the UFC already has plenty of 125-pound female talent on the roster that happens to be fighting at 135 pounds.
Most of those fighters are, at best, fringe top-10 names, but most have been hindered by their size. Leslie Smith immediately comes to mind as somebody that could make waves in a 125-pound return, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that she’s coming off a big win over Irene Aldana.
Jessica Eye was a flyweight before joining the UFC and could certainly use a hard reboot of her career coming off four straight losses. Oh, and Valentina Shevchenko? If she can still make it down to 125 pounds, she is pretty handily the best female flyweight in the world.
And naturally, if there is a women’s flyweight division, we’ll see some 115-pounders move up, seeking fresh matchups and better opportunities. Claudia Gadelha would greatly benefit from a move up (and a move away from Joanna Jedrzejczyk). And depending on how the next few months shake out, it wouldn’t be too shocking if fighters like Karolina Kowalkiewicz or Jessica Andrade followed suit.
That isn’t to say that all, or any, of them would end up on the show. There are plenty of hurdles there in terms of pay, management and weight cutting that could keep them off.
All this is to say, don’t be surprised if there are some familiar faces on the show, and beyond.
Ideal TUF 26 Roster
Using precedent of The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned, each woman will enter with a ranking. We have selected a range of fighters from the best in the division to veterans of the weight class.
Way Too Early Predictions
Steven: When it comes to this season of TUF, should it come to pass, I’m largely looking at it the same way I did TUF 20. That is, I think the reigning Invicta champion, in this case Maia, should be looked at as the clear favorite to win the whole thing.
With the exception of her split-decision win over Modafferi (which probably shouldn’t have been that close on the cards), Maia has had little trouble filling Invicta‘s post-Honchak void.
While she isn’t a slam dunk in the way Carla Esparza was withTUF 20, I don’t think there is anyone else to look at as the early pick to become the first women’s flyweight champ.
That said, from a long-term perspective, I could also see her just keeping the belt warm for somebody else that is already signed to the UFC.
Nathan: Making predictions without a cast is indeed difficult, but that’s why we’re here. Right? To make bold predictions.
It’s always important to remember that TUF is two five-minute rounds. This favors strong grapplers. If Honchak returns to action and is signed, then I would make her the clear front-runner to make it to the finals. Her grappling-heavy offense is what made her the champion and kept her champion. It’s a great style for TUF, but not great for fans looking for excitement.
Beyond TUF, I’m with you Steven. Whoever wins is likely keeping the belt warm for someone else. While Eye has been lackluster at bantamweight, no one should forget she is the former No. 1-ranked fighter at 125 pounds. And all of the aforementioned veterans you mentioned that may drop or move up in weight to compete in this division.
Long-term, it’s difficult not to see Jedrzejczyk running this division and leaving strawweight behind. She didn’t make her strawweight debut until the UFC came calling. Her final pre-UFC fight was against a top flyweight in Rosi Sexton. She knocked her out. Jedrzejczyk is perhaps even stronger at 125 than at 115. But she likely won’t abandon 115 until at least 2018.
TUF: Flyweights will be a great way to establish the division with a decent champion, but much like strawweight, the talent who does not compete on the program will control the division’s future.
Steven: I’m not so sure Jedrzejczyk will leave 115 unless she’s forced out. The contracts champions have are so much more lucrative than those of the rank-and-file, and we saw back in the day with Jose Aldo that the UFC will take those perks away the first chance they get and won’t offer any kind of protection for anybody looking to take that kind of gamble.
But indeed, I expect the aftermath to be similar to TUF 20. The early stars of the division will come up through the show, but the best of the best? They don’t fight for free.
Nathan: I would be more inclined to agree with you, but Jedrzejczyk has been a flyweight first and foremost. She simply hasn’t had that opportunity in the UFC. Now she does, and if she continues to win, she’ll get an automatic title shot.
She has been vocal about moving up almost since she came into the UFC. At the TUF 23 Finale post-fight press conference she said, “We’ll go up when this flyweight division will show up” (h/t MMAFighting’s Chuck Mindenhall). And, per Steven Marrocco of MMAJunkie.com, she reiterated the sentiment at the UFC 211 conference call last week.
Even if by chance she comes to terms with the UFC to continue defending the strawweight strap, there will be plenty of upper-echelon talent to tackle this new division in her absence. This isn’t featherweight. And every fan can be thankful for that.
UFC Fight Night 108 in Nashville provided quite a bit of action and quite a few interesting results.
Artem Lobov proved many doubters wrong by hanging with one of the featherweight elite for 25 minutes. It was a losing effort, but Lobov’s stock undoubt…
UFC Fight Night 108 in Nashville provided quite a bit of action and quite a few interesting results.
Artem Lobov proved many doubters wrong by hanging with one of the featherweight elite for 25 minutes. It was a losing effort, but Lobov’s stock undoubtedly rose after the performance.
What’s next for Conor McGregor’s training partner? What about Cub Swanson, who failed to put away an unranked fighter in a main event spot?
Al Iaquinta knocked Diego Sanchez out in the first round of their co-main event contest. Iaquinta’s return from a two-year absence thrust him right back into the hunt at 155 pounds. Sanchez now has to come to grips with his inability to compete with the top lightweights in the world.
Twenty-six fighters in total hit the cage Saturday, but what’s next?
Here’s your look at the matches the UFC should book for the winners and losers after UFC Fight Night 108.
Cub Swanson was supposed to run through Artem Lobov at UFC Fight Night 108 in Nashville. That didn’t quite happen.
The Russian came to scrap and gave Swanson 25 minutes of opposition.
Lobov took several hard shots but kept upright. Swanson could not pu…
Cub Swanson was supposed to run through Artem Lobov at UFC Fight Night 108 in Nashville. That didn’t quite happen.
The Russian came to scrap and gave Swanson 25 minutes of opposition.
Lobov took several hard shots but kept upright. Swanson could not put him away, and as such, he failed to have a highlight-reel finish to set him apart from the other contenders in the featherweight division.
Did the decision victory take away from Swanson’s chances at a title fight? What does Lobov’s performance mean for him going forward?
Elsewhere on the card, Al Iaquinta returned from a two-year absence to put Diego Sanchez to sleep in a violent manner. Iaquinta finished the fight in just 98 seconds. The vocal lightweight has reasserted himself in the lightweight division.
Those are just two of the results, but that’s all they are. Here are the real winners and losers coming out of Nashville.
The UFC has already supplied great action in 2017, and the leader of mixed martial arts shows no signs of slowing down.
UFC 211 is a stacked card with two title fights with many other compelling fights booked beyond that. The UFC is looking at marquee …
The UFC has already supplied great action in 2017, and the leader of mixed martial arts shows no signs of slowing down.
UFC 211 is a stacked card with two title fights with many other compelling fights booked beyond that. The UFC is looking at marquee summer events, but there are still many slots available. And that just covers the first half of the year.
What comes after that May 13 event? What are the best fights available?
Sometimes the best fights are all about the storyline and not the in-cage action. Sometimes it’s all about the high-level technique put on display. There are plenty of both to go around in this crazy sport. Big names, big games.
Let’s take a look at 10 of the best fights the UFC can book in the remainder of 2017.
Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz entered as the top two contenders in the strawweight division, and their three combined losses all came at the hands of its champion—Joanna Jedrzejczyk.