The biggest fight card of the year is upon us, and the 11-fight slate is nearly official. All that is left is for the fighters to hit the scales Friday evening.
Conor McGregor was supposed to meet Jose Aldo, but an injury forced the featherweight champ…
The biggest fight card of the year is upon us, and the 11-fight slate is nearly official. All that is left is for the fighters to hit the scales Friday evening.
ConorMcGregor was supposed to meet Jose Aldo, but an injury forced the featherweight champion off the card. Enter Chad Mendes for an interim title tilt. The featherweight battle will headline the event with UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler playing second fiddle against Rory MacDonald.
Bleacher Report will have full coverage of the electric weigh-ins when they get underway.
The weigh-ins begin at 7 p.m. ET.
UFC 189 Fight Card
Interim UFC Featherweight Championship: Chad Mendes vs. ConorMcGregor
UFC Welterweight Championship: Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald
The latest edition of The Ultimate Fighter came to a close this past week, and that means a finale is coming your way this weekend. The 21st edition of the television series pitted American Top Team against the Blackzilians under a new format.
American…
The latest edition of The Ultimate Fighter came to a close this past week, and that means a finale is coming your way this weekend. The 21st edition of the television series pitted American Top Team against the Blackzilians under a new format.
American Top Team came from behind to win the season, but there is another $300,000 up for grabs in a final selected bout. KamaruUsman of the Blackzilians squares off against ATT’s HayderHassan in the co-main event.
Headlining the event will be welterweights Jake Ellenberger and Stephen Thompson. The talented fighters seek a victory to move into the upper echelon of the division.
The main card is six fights deep, and we will take a peek at where you are best served to lay your money. Let’s waste little time in getting to the action coming your way Sunday on Fox Sports 1.
Invicta FC returns to UFC Fight Pass with a seven-fight card featuring three title tilts.
The headlining title bout takes place in the featherweight division between champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Faith Van Duin. The co-main event will see the crow…
Invicta FC returns to UFC Fight Pass with a seven-fight card featuring three title tilts.
The headlining title bout takes place in the featherweight division between champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Faith Van Duin. The co-main event will see the crowning of a bantamweight champion when Irene Aldana takes on Tonya Evinger.
The final title fight is in the atomweight division between HericaTiburcio and AyakaHamasaki. This will be Tiburcio‘s first defense of the 105-pound strap since dethroning Michelle Waterson via submission.
Bleacher Report will be here all event long to provide updates and analysis of Invicta FC 13. The event is scheduled to start at 11 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass.
Invicta FC 13 Fight Card
Invicta FC Featherweight Championship: Cristiane Justino vs. Faith Van Duin
Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship: Tonya Evinger vs. Irene Aldana
Invicta FC Atomweight Championship: HericaTiburcio vs. AyakaHamasaki
UFC 189 is finally here. The jam-packed fight card takes place in Las Vegas, and Conor McGregor is your headliner opposite Chad Mendes.
We will find out just how big of a draw McGregor truly is in his first headlining appearance. Unfortunately, it…
UFC 189 is finally here. The jam-packed fight card takes place in Las Vegas, and ConorMcGregor is your headliner opposite Chad Mendes.
We will find out just how big of a draw McGregor truly is in his first headlining appearance. Unfortunately, it will not come against Jose Aldo. Thankfully, it’s still an elite-level matchup.
The co-main event is not to be forgotten. Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler meets No. 2-ranked ranked contender Rory MacDonald. The two have met before in the Octagon, and it was Lawler who nabbed a split decision victory.
The pay-per-view main card is worth every penny the UFC is charging. It’s a stacked event with two titles on the line. But where should you play your funds in regards to the betting odds? That is what we will take a look at here. There are several interesting underdogs to look at.
This is the event many of us have been waiting for, and UFC 189 will be sure to deliver. Let’s hope it delivers in the wallet as well.
Cris “Cyborg” Justino officially made weight on Wednesday evening for her title defense against Faith van Duin.
Cyborg is the Invicta FC featherweight champion, but that is not what people are interested in. They are also not interested in …
Cris “Cyborg” Justino officially made weight on Wednesday evening for her title defense against Faith van Duin.
Cyborg is the Invicta FC featherweight champion, but that is not what people are interested in. They are also not interested in this fight against the overmatched Van Duin. The MMA fanbase is only concerned with if Cyborg can make 135 pounds so they can get the fight with Ronda Rousey.
At Invicta FC 11, Cyborg looked massive. The thought of her dropping to 135 pounds seemed impossible. However, Cyborg is confident she can do just that.
In an appearance on UFC Tonight (h/t MMA Mania) earlier this year, Cyborg stated that making 135 pounds would be no problem. Still, the Invicta FC champion would prefer a catchweight of 140 pounds. That will not happen, as both UFC President Dana White and Rousey have gone on record saying that Justino has to make the bantamweight limit.
On Wednesday evening, she was full of energy, weighing in at 144.6 pounds for her title defense. She looked lean but not drawn out. From appearances only, she still has a lot of work to do before having a realistic shot at 135 pounds.
Cyborg is a physical specimen. It is one of the draws to her fights. She looks the part of the ultimate fighting machine and backs it up in her fights with all-out aggression. She overwhelms her opponents with a ferocity that is not often seen in all of MMA.
She is so physically superior to her opposition that it leaves people wanting only one fight. There is no one for her at 145 pounds.
Rousey‘s dominance at 135 makes her the logical choice. They are the only two fighters seen as being able to beat each other in the public eye. They have destroyed their competition.
Until Cyborg officially signs on for a fight at bantamweight, it is all a guessing game. We can only speculate on how hard the cut will be and how much it would diminish her abilities in the cage. We have no idea if she can realistically make the weight in a safe manner.
There is no question Cyborg-Rousey is a marketable fight, but no one knows exactly how big it can be. Cyborg has no history of drawing viewers to watch her performances. She has been fighting exclusively on web streams since 2013, and it has not turned those shows into meteoric successes. She is not a superstar.
Nevertheless, Cyborg says she can make the weight. That should be good enough for the UFC to officially call her up for a tune-up fight that will introduce her to the UFC’s wider audience.
If she makes the weight, it will set the stage for a huge bantamweight title showdown with Rousey.
Michelle Waterson, former Invicta FC atomweight champion, joined the UFC earlier this year and will make her in-cage debut on July 12th against Angela Magana.
It was a significant signing for the growing 115-pound division as Waterson brings in a …
Michelle Waterson, former Invicta FC atomweight champion, joined the UFC earlier this year and will make her in-cage debut on July 12th against Angela Magana.
It was a significant signing for the growing 115-pound division as Waterson brings in a solid fanbase with her, and a track record of exciting fights. The 12-4 veteran known as “The Karate Hottie” fights out of Jackson-Winkeljohn in Albuquerque.
The strawweight bout will be featured on the main card, and it will draw a lot of interest. Waterson‘s move back to 115-pounds will be closely watched and could have major implications. These are three things you should keep an eye on during her UFC debut.
How does she handle the size difference?
This is a perfect opening bout for Waterson. Angela Magana is not a top tier strawweight, and Waterson should have the edge in both technique and speed. However, it will be interesting to see how she handles the strength differential.
In her last bout, a title loss to HericaTiburcio, Waterson was clearly the weaker fighter. It played a big difference in how that fight played out, and it was Tiburcio‘s first time dropping to 105-pounds after success at strawweight. Waterson will be at a similar disadvantage against many of the current UFC strawweights. It is a fight that should not be glossed over when evaluating Waterson‘s chances of competing at a high level in the UFC. Tiburcio did significant damage to Waterson.
Magana could use her strength to her advantage. She has been in the cage against very strong fighters such as Barb Honchak and Jessica Eye at a higher weight class, and done well enough to earn a victory over Honchak (current Invicta FC flyweight champion). If the strength advantage is clear, Magana could simply control Waterson en route to a decision win.
How much faster will she be?
This is a big factor for Waterson‘s success at 115-pounds. She will be the smaller fighter in most, if not all, of her fights. The speed she possesses will be her biggest asset.
Magana is the slower fighter. And she has not looked good in the cage as of late. This should be a great matchup for Waterson to showcase her lightning quick strikes.
Waterson has a lot of flash, but also a lot of substance to her strikes. Ask YasukoTamada. Waterson brutalized her in the first defense of the Invicta FC atomweight belt last September. It was a flurry of punches that made Yamada almost unrecognizable by the end of the fight. Tamada had no answer for the speed of Waterson.
Waterson will need to rely on the speed in this division. She cannot be cornered, and controlled, by a much lesser fighter like Magana and still be considered a legitimate threat in this division.
The crowd reaction (and subsequent UFC ranking)
This is a favorable matchup for a marketable fighter. The UFC knows what it is doing, and Invicta FC did too. Invicta FC attempted to make Waterson the face of their promotion, but Tiburcio‘s victory put an end to that.
The crowd reaction will tell the UFC how valuable Waterson is. If she gets a loud ovation they know they have a fighter that can make a dollar or two, and that will not doubt influence their decision on who she fights.
The favorable matchup also means she should look good in a victory. A win should put her in the top-15 of the UFC’s rankings, but how far will she go? The combination of the UFC seeing dollar signs, and the ranking beside her name will ultimately determine if the UFC puts her in a contender type role in the division.
We could see Waterson put against the upper echelon of this division quickly. Perhaps too quickly.
This is a fight Waterson should win, but doing so impressively could see her land against top tier strawweight that will have a field day with her. It was a curious decision to make the jump up in weight after being overpowered by Tiburcio this past December, but Waterson is a competent and fun fighter to watch.
The fight at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale will tell us a lot about her prospects in the strawweight division.
Cris “Cyborg” Justino officially made weight on Wednesday evening for her title defense against Faith van