LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — High-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu is back!
UFC Fight Pass Invitational 7 goes down tonight (Weds., May 15, 2024) from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, “Gordon Ryan Hunter,” Nicky Rod, ret…
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — High-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu is back!
UFC Fight Pass Invitational 7 will stream LIVE on UFC Fight Pass, beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
UFC Fight Pass Invitational 7 Quick Results:
Nick Rodriguez vs Mason Fowler Renato Moicano vs Cristian Guzman Kanyan Duarte vs Luke Griffith Giancarlo Bodoni vs Gabriel Arges Reanto Canuto vs Aaron Wilson Jay Rodriguez vs Johnatas Gracie Raquel Canuto vs Aislin O’Connell Piter Frank vs Rafael Domingos Oliver Taza defeats Pedro Rocha via points Helena Crevar defeats Aurelie Le Vern via unanimous judges’ decision
UFC Fight Pass Invitational 7 Highlights:
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Nick Rodriguez vs. Mason Fowler (Absolute)
Final result:
Renato Moicano vs. Cristian Guzman(170 lbs.)
Final result:
Kanyan Duarte vs Luke Griffith (Absolute)
Final result:
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The build up to Themba Gorimbo’s fourth Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight has been rough.
Zimbabwe’s Gorimbo, 33, has been one of the most inspiring stories in mixe…
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The build up to Themba Gorimbo’s fourth Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight has been rough.
Zimbabwe’s Gorimbo, 33, has been one of the most inspiring stories in mixed martial arts (MMA) since his promotional debut in early 2023. Unfortunately for Gorimbo, his first Octagon appearance didn’t go his way when he suffered a second round guillotine choke defeat to AJ Fletcher. At UFC Vegas 92, he’ll look to extend his winning streak to three straight by taking out Ramiz Brahimaj this weekend (Sat., May 18, 2024).
Gorimbo (12-4) already had a lot of motivation ahead of his upcoming bout. It was only bolstered when he received some bad news earlier today (Wed., May 15, 2024).
Themba Gorimbo’s coach from South Africa, who has been with Gorimbo for 8 weeks, lost his mother today pic.twitter.com/BCyxNSE89H
“I’m going to win in spectacular fashion for my coach whose mother just died like two hours ago,” Gorimbo said at UFC Vegas 92 media day as he was overcome with emotion. “He’s been here with me for eight weeks. He tells me his mother is sick with cancer. If he told me it was that bad, I would just say to him, ‘Okay, after the fight, we go back to South Africa together.’ I didn’t have a plan to go there but I was gonna go with him to see his mother.
“I’m going to win for him,” he continued. “It is what it is. It’s not [weight] on my shoulders. I’ve been wanting to do that anyway because he sacrificed the past eight weeks of his life. Obviously, I pay him to be here, helping me get better with my wrestling and stuff, but I cannot bring his mother back.”
As Zimbabwe’s lone UFC fighter, Gorimbo has made it a goal to use his career as a positive platform for people aspiring to achieve their dreams while helping his home country. His recent charitable goal was to give back to his community by building a library.
Unfortunately, that plan hit a speed bump when he was taken advantage of during the process.
I spoke with @TheAnswerMMA today, who shared the unfortunate news that he was scammed out of money that he had planned on putting towards building a library in his native Zimbabwe.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) May 15, 2024
“Someone scammed me, man,” Gorimbo told Aaron Bronsteter. “So, I didn’t end up doing that. I lost $5,000 from the person that said they were going to buy the shorts. They sent me a proof of payment that was fake, a guy from England. They wanted me to send the kit to them.
“They sent money to someone in Zimbabwe, hypothetically, they just said they sent the money,” he continued. “That guy gave me the money then we already bought the bricks and some stuff to start the building of the library. Then a few days later, the guy told me the money has not cleared in the bank account and that it was a scam. So, the guy wanted me to send the stuff to him — I don’t know. I ended up losing money. I’m going to do it after this fight with my own money. It is what it is. It’s life. You learn sometimes expensive lessons.”
When asked where fans could support his cause, Gorimbo responded by saying he didn’t want to be a burden to people and would handle it all himself.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 92 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+“Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+)at 10 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 92: “Barboza vs. Murphy” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Edson Barboza knows exactly the fight to make for his first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title fight.
The career of one of Brazil’s all-time finest strikers has bee…
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Edson Barboza knows exactly the fight to make for his first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title fight.
The career of one of Brazil’s all-time finest strikers has been loaded with highlights galore. After he expects to score another against the undefeated 13-0-1 Lerone Murphy at UFC Vegas 92 this weekend (Sat., May 18, 2024), Barboza (24-11) wants a title shot at Baddest Motherf—ker (BMF) gold.
Former UFC Featherweight champion, Max Holloway, captured the BMF title in a perfectly violent fashion against top-ranked Lightweight contender,Justin Gaethje (watch highlights), at UFC 300 this past month (April 13, 2024). Holloway has since noted his desire for another crack at Featherweight gold next, going back-and-forth with the champion, Ilia Topuria. However,Barboza believes none are more deserving than he is for the next shot at the BMF label.
“If one guy deserves to fight for the BMF title, it’s me,” Barboza said at UFC Vegas 92 media day (h/t MMA Junkie). “Who has better highlight knockouts than me? Bro, imagine. I love Max Holloway, he’s one of my favorite fighters ever. I love to watch him fight, and he’s a very nice guy, very family guy, but imagine a fight against him for the BMF belt.
“It’s going to be very, very good for me and him and the company,” he continued. “Like I said, I have 30 fights in the UFC. I think I deserve that. Of course, my focus is 100 percent on the next one, but I think it’s going to be good.”
A longtime Lightweight contender, the closest Barboza has gotten to a UFC title shot came in 2017 when he rode a three-fight winning streak with wins over Beneil Dariush, Gilbert Melendez, and Anthony Pettis. At 38, “Junior” still has hopes of one last run at 145 pounds after potentially getting back on a three-fight winning streak with a win over Murphy.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 92 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+“Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+)at 10 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 92: “Barboza vs. Murphy” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
“Not doing it again. I’m out,” Brown wrote on X. “That’s the announcement. My life will now be dedicated to serving others. Growing others in the martial arts and building businesses that can help the community and the world.”
While Matt Brown was content with a no-frills announcement, the UFC still chose to pay tribute to ‘The Immortal’ courtesy of a highlight-reel that aired during Saturday’s event in St. Louis. As it turns out, Brown was on a date at the time and just happened the video package moments after arriving at his restaurant of choice.
Matt Brown confirms receipt of his ‘bonus’ on the MMA Hour
In addition to his posts on social media, Brown offered some extra insight during an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.
Matt Brown says he got the "Performance of the Night bonus" after his career montage played while he was on a date.
“It actually wasn’t a first date. It was a second date, but we went to this restaurant and I had no idea that this restaurant would be playing the UFC. I didn’t even know there was a UFC going on. We sat down and it wasn’t even two minutes later they started playing the montage and she knew nothing about the UFC. When I first told her I was a UFC fighter, she was like, ‘Do you mean a boxer or WWE?’
“And then they started playing the montage and I struggled between having that heartwarming feeling and wanting to shed a little tear and then turning around, looking at her, and just flexing. She was actually pretty cool about it. She was a mature enough lady that she was nice about it and had respect for it, but she wasn’t crawling under the table right then like some girls would.”
Paulo Costa has Sean Strickland starting to worry about their anticipated clash at UFC 302 next month (Sat., June 1, 2024).
The expected match up is Strickland’s first since he lost U…
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Paulo Costa has Sean Strickland starting to worry about their anticipated clash at UFC 302 next month (Sat., June 1, 2024).
The expected match up is Strickland’s first since he lost UFC Middleweight gold to Dricus Du Plessis via a split decision at UFC 297 in January 2024 (watch highlights). Costa fought just one month after Strickland in his most recent bout, and unfortunately for him, lost a unanimous decision against Robert Whittaker in their UFC 298 co-main event.
Costa, 33, has been an occasionally problematic fighter outside of the Octagon in the past so many years. Specifically when it comes to fights moving around or not happening. With Whittaker, for example, that matchup was supposed to happen sooner than it did, but contract issues led to its delay. Ultimately, Strickland fears some more antics are afoot ahead of their bout.
“Well goddamn, Costa,” Strickland said in an X video. “I’ve heard that you’ve yet to sign that contract, and I’ll tell you what, man, I didn’t f—king believe it. I did not think you’d be acting like a coward. I thought you would man up, sack up, and instead, you’re acting like you got f—king ovaries.
“So, I went on the Googler, I did the right things. Gave you the benefit of the doubt,” he continued. “I noticed something, man. After you fought ‘Izzy,’ you went downhill. You went off that f—king deep end, my man. I don’t know what happened in that little f—king pea brain you have. Do we need to get someone for you to talk to? Do we need to sit you down, have you talk about your f—king feelings? I think therapy’s for weak men, but let me tell you something, dude. You’re being a weak f—king man. If you can’t sack up and make this s—t happen, we’ll get someone for you to talk to. Don’t disappoint me, don’t disappoint the fans, let me make you f—king bleed.”
Costa’s clash with Whittaker was his first since a unanimous decision win over former Middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold, at UFC 278 in August 2022 (watch highlights).
Photo by Matt Davies/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Patchy Mix is set to defend his Bellator MMA Bantamweight title this Friday (May 17, 2024) in the main event of Bellator, Paris. The talented 135-pounder won…
Photo by Matt Davies/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Patchy Mix is set to defend his Bellator MMA Bantamweight title this Friday (May 17, 2024) in the main event of Bellator, Paris. The talented 135-pounder won the interim strap in April 2023 by defeating Raufeon Stots, then unified the titles by defeating then-champion, Sergio Pettis, at Bellator 301 seven months later (relive it here), upping his record to 19-1 and solidifying himself as one of the best in the division.
Still, he doesn’t feel as if he is getting the respect that he properly deserves…at least not when compared to current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 135-pound title holder, Sean O’Malley.
“I have most finishes in bantamweight history, I have the most submissions in bantamweight history, and I could go down as the best bantamweight champion in Bellator history. But for some reason, I can’t get the respect that O’Malley has,” Mix told MMA Junkie Radio.
It’s that lack of respect that Mix says drives him to be better, even if statistically speaking he is better than “Suga.”
“Even though he’s 18-1 and less than me in record and finishes, it seems I can’t really get the respect. So I think that’s what drives me every single day is just to wake up and prove that I’m as dominant as I believe I am.”
“I’ve never been finished. My loss is razor close,” Mix said. “I’m one round removed from being undefeated. The one guy that beat me, he just kind of survived me. I’ve never had anyone finish me. I’ve never really had anyone come close.”
Both men became undisputed Bantamweight champions for the respective promotions around the same time in 2023, though O’Malley already has one title defense under his belt after defeating Marlon Vera at UFC 299, and his next defense could come against Mrab Dvalishvili.
Sadly, the age-old question as to who is the best in a one-on-one matchup inside the cage will never be answered unless one man bolts on company for the other. For now, all we can do is specualte as to what would happen if these two talented men actually threw down.
To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.
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Matt Brown scored himself another performance bonus — just not the kind you’re thinking of. After 43 fights and…
