Tag: Kamaru Usman

UFC Chile Main & Co-Main Events Scrapped

The UFC will have to find new bouts to serve as the main and co-main events of the upcoming UFC Chile event. It was revealed in a report by Combate that the two headliners have been scrapped. Let’s break it down. Santiago Ponzinibbio has been forced to withdraw from his headlining bout against Kamaru Usman […]

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The UFC will have to find new bouts to serve as the main and co-main events of the upcoming UFC Chile event.

It was revealed in a report by Combate that the two headliners have been scrapped. Let’s break it down.

Santiago Ponzinibbio has been forced to withdraw from his headlining bout against Kamaru Usman due to a hand injury. Usman has won all seven of his bouts in the UFC while Ponzinibbio is 8-2 inside the Octagon and has picked up six straight wins.

“They’re working (on finding a replacement),” Usman told Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting. “But I won’t fight if it’s not a ranked opponent.”

Former title contender Volkan Oezdemir was slated to fight former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua in the co-main event of this show.

However, that fight won’t happen as Oezdemir’s ongoing legal situation in Florida will not allow him to leave the country and this fight will have to be scheduled for a later date.

Oezdemir had to surrender his passport as part of a third-degree felony battery charge due to an alleged incident in Florida.

Rua has been on the sidelines for over a year now. He was last seen in the Octagon when he picked up TKO of Gian Villante at UFC Fight Night 106 in March 2017. This win marked his third straight victory, which is the longest winning of his UFC career.

If you recall, he was supposed to rematch Ovince Saint Preux at UFC Fight Night 117 in September. However, that wasn’t meant to be as he was forced to withdraw from the contest due to a knee injury.

On the flip side, Oezdemir is looking to get back in the win column and on track to another title shot as he suffered a second-round TKO loss against Daniel Cormier at UFC 220 in January.

UFC Chile is set to take place on Saturday, May 19, 2018, at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile.

The main card will air on FOX Sports 1 at while the preliminary card will be split broadcasted on FOX Sports 1 at and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass. Here is how the current card looks:

Kamaru Usman vs. TBD
Andrea Lee vs. Veronica Macedo
Chad Laprise vs. Vicente Luque
Alexa Grasso vs. Tatiana Suarez
Guido Cannetti vs. Diego Rivas
Poliana Botelho vs. Syuri Kondo
Humberto Bandenay vs. Gabriel Benitez
Zak Cummings vs. Michel Prazeres
Henry Briones vs. Frankie Saenz
Jared Cannonier vs. Dominick Reyes
Claudio Puelles vs. Felipe Silva
Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno
Enrique Barzola vs. Brandon Davis

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Kamaru Usman Confronts Colby Covington at UFC Press Conference

Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington have traded words on social media for some time now, but at the UFC 25th Anniversary Press Conference they finally had the chance to come face to face. This was captured by Anatomy of a Fighter and things got heated ver…

Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington have traded words on social media for some time now, but at the UFC 25th Anniversary Press Conference they finally had the chance to come face to face. This was captured by Anatomy of a Fighter and things got heated very quickly. Both fighters attended the press conference to promote their […]

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Tyron Woodley Says ‘Gatekeeper’ Stephen Thompson Will Do His ‘Light Work’

No one knows Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson as well as UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. The two have collectively gone ten rounds together with the pair drawing at UFC 205 and Woodley winning the rematch at UFC 209. That being said, Woodley’s assessment of “Wonderboy’s” upcoming fight with Darren Till in the feature bout of May […]

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No one knows Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson as well as UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. The two have collectively gone ten rounds together with the pair drawing at UFC 205 and Woodley winning the rematch at UFC 209.

That being said, Woodley’s assessment of “Wonderboy’s” upcoming fight with Darren Till in the feature bout of May 27’s UFC Liverpool is more informed than anyone else, with the welterweight champ claiming his former foe will defeat Till and keep the rising Liverpudlian star from title contention on a recent Instagram Live appearance via MMA Junkie:

“‘Wonderboy’ the gatekeeper. He’ll do all my light work for me. All the dudes that think they want a shot at the strap, they’ve got to go through him, and ain’t nobody do it yet. I think Thompson (will win) man, to be honest. I know I’ve talked a lot of trash about Thompson, more in light joking. But Thompson is a very difficult puzzle to figure out. And it took me a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of training partners to figure him out.

“I just don’t think Till has what it takes to take him out. With that said, I’ve got to go with ‘Wonderboy,’ even though he’s never said I was going to win a fight. But I’m just going to be a real guy and be honest: I think he’s going to win.”

Till has been a hyped up prospect ever since he finished Donald Cerrone last year. The fight with “Wonderboy” will likely determine the next contender for Woodley’s belt, especially if Till is victorious.

Meanwhile, Woodley hasn’t fought since defending his belt against Demian Maia in July 2017. Thompson rebounded from his loss to Woodley with a win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 217.

Woodley also gave his thoughts on the rest of the top of the welterweight division, who all have a fight coming up in the near future:

“I think Usman’s probably going to do his thing against Ponzinibbio. Ponzinibbio is tough, though – crazy striker, really big for the weight class, a lot of punches thrown with cruel intent. It’s hard to say (who will win) in that fight.”

“RDA or Queefington? That’s a tough fight to say. RDA, I don’t know why he’s even taking the fight. He could have fought me next. A roll of the dice. I told him I could fight in July, so if he want to fight this fight in between in May and risk getting passed up on his title shot, then that’s his bad.”

Do you agree with Woodley’s assessment of the welterweight division? Will Thompson defeat Till like the champion predicts?

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The UFC Welterweight Division Is Finally Back To Normal

Fans, media and fighters alike have been wondering for what seems like an eternity when the UFC welterweight division’s top fighters would be booked for fights, but there was no news for a long time. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, three massive …

Fans, media and fighters alike have been wondering for what seems like an eternity when the UFC welterweight division’s top fighters would be booked for fights, but there was no news for a long time. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, three massive fights at 170lbs were revealed over the weekend, and finally welterweight is back […]

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Kamaru Usman vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio Set For UFC Chile Main Event

The UFC will make its first visit to Chile on May 19, 2018 to host UFC Fight Night 129 and the event now has its headliner. Yesterday (March 24, 2018), the UFC officially announced that a welterweight clash between top-10 contenders Kamaru Usman and Santiago Ponzinibbio has been booked as the card’s main event. Usman, […]

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The UFC will make its first visit to Chile on May 19, 2018 to host UFC Fight Night 129 and the event now has its headliner.

Yesterday (March 24, 2018), the UFC officially announced that a welterweight clash between top-10 contenders Kamaru Usman and Santiago Ponzinibbio has been booked as the card’s main event.

Usman, currently ranked No. 7 in the 170-pound rankings, has been on a tear as of late, as he’s won 11-straight fights including seven-straight in the UFC. Most recently, he scored a dominant decision victory over Emil Meek this past January.

Ponzinibbio, meanwhile, is currently ranked No. 10 and has won six-straight fights. He’s coming off of back-to-back victories over Gunnar Nelson and Mike Pyle in his last two outings.

Check out the current UFC Fight Night 129 lineup below:

Kamaru Usman vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio

Volkan Oezdemir vs. Mauricio Rua

Chad Laprise vs. Vicente Luque

Guido Cannetti vs. Diego Rivas

Alexa Grasso vs. Tatiana Suarez

Andrea Lee vs. Veronica Macedo

Poliana Botelho vs. Syuri Kondo

Henry Briones vs. Frankie Saenz

Jared Cannonier vs. Dominick Reyes

Claudio Puelles vs. Felipe Silva

Zak Cummings vs. Michel Prazeres

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Santiago Ponzinibbio Meets Kamaru Usman, Not Neil Magny at UFC Chile

It appears Santiago Ponzinibbio won’t be fighting Neil Magny after all. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be holding an event in Chile on May 19. Already penciled in for the card is a light heavyweight clash between Mauricio “Sh…

It appears Santiago Ponzinibbio won’t be fighting Neil Magny after all. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be holding an event in Chile on May 19. Already penciled in for the card is a light heavyweight clash between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Volkan Oezdemir. Ponzinibbio is expected for the event, but his opponent isn’t 100-percent […]

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