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Joel Alvarez slaps D’Arce choke win on Marc Diakiese following clash of heads – UFC London Highlights

Spanish lightweight grappler, Joel Alvarez returns to the winner’s enclosure for the first time since his one-sided loss to Arman Tsarukyan back in February of last year, locking up his staggering seventeenth submission victory across his career, with a second round D’Arce choke submission win over British veteran, Marc Diakiese on the preliminary card of […]

Alvarez, who had suffered a second round TKO loss to the above-mentioned Armenian contender, Tsarukyan in a bloody defeat in February of last year, saw a staggering run of four straight wins over the likes of Thiago Moises, and Joseph Duffy come to an end.

Returning tonight in the English capital, Alvarez, a native of Gijon, managed to capitalize late in the second round of his clash with Cage Warriors alum, Diakiese – wrapping up an impressive D’Arce choke submission win over the Kinshaha-born lightweight after an accident clash of heads.

Below, catch the highlights from Joel Alvarez’s win at UFC London

Leon Edwards backed to defeat Islam Makhachev in future UFC title clash: ‘It’s a really tough fight for him’

Linked in recent weeks with a future welterweight title fight against lightweight kingpin, Islam Makhachev, Leon Edwards has been backed to pose a massive threat to the Russian by former division contender, Ben Askren. Edwards, the current undisputed welterweight champion, has been sidelined from the Octagon since he headlined UFC 286 back in March in […]

Edwards, the current undisputed welterweight champion, has been sidelined from the Octagon since he headlined UFC 286 back in March in London, turning in his second career win over former pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman in the pair’s title trilogy rubber match.

The Birmingham native had been called out by Makhachev for a welterweight title fight at UFC 294 in October in Abu Dhabi, UAE, however, the latter has since booked a lightweight title defense against Charles Oliveira in a championship re-run on the Middle East card.

Leon Edwards, who has yet to book his own Octagon return, has been linked with a comeback in the co-main event of UFC 295 in November, in a title fight against former interim champion, Colby Covington at Madison Square Garden.

Ben Askren picks Leon Edwards to topple Islam Makhachev

However, according to former ONE Championship and Bellator MMA gold holder, Askren, Edwards’ ability would pose a massive problem for Makhachev – with the former going as far as claiming the welterweight titleholder would likely defeat the Russian in they fought.

“Man, Leon Edwards, he’s gotten so much better,” Ben Askren said on an episode of Funky & The Champ. “I’ve been really impressed by him. I think it’s a really tough fight for (Islam) Makhachev. It really is. He (Edwards) can stuff takedowns, he can battle, strike really clean. Yes, it’s a good fight, I’m in.”

“I’d probably pick Leon, honestly,” Askren explained. “After the last (Kamaru) Usman fight, I mean, you could just see even from two Usman fights ago, he did such a better job of like, battling in the wrestling position and dictating it to be more of a striking fight. If you could do that against Usman… He’s just bigger and stronger (than Makhachev). If Usman couldn’t push him aroun, I have a hard time thinking Makhachev is going to.” (Transcribed by MMA News)

Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje expected to retire with BMF title loss at UFC 291: ‘Both are very accomplished’

A training partner of former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier, has claimed that the loser of the upcoming BMF title bout between the Lafayette native and fan-favorite veteran, Justin Gaethje, will likelty hang up their gloves at UFC 291 later this month. Headlining the promotion’s return to Salt Lake City, Utah, Dustin Poirier looks to […]

Headlining the promotion’s return to Salt Lake City, Utah, Dustin Poirier looks to land his second career win over fellow former interim champion, Gaethje, with the two initially sharing the Octagon back in 2018.

Dustin Poirier first defeated Justin Gaethje back in 2018 on enemy territory

Turning in a fourth round standing TKO win over Gaethje, Poirier would then landed interim lightweight gold in a rematch unanimous decision win over former featherweight champion.

And in both men’s pursuit of an undisputed lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev, or a title rematch with Charles Oliveira following their upcoming UFC 294 rematch, Poirier or Gaethje could likely retire from mixed martial arts with a loss in Utah, according to American Top Team trainee, Renato Moicano.

“My hot take on this fight, both [Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje] athletes are very accomplished, they don’t have many more fights on their belts anymore,” Renato Moicano said on his YouTube channel. “I think the loser of this fight will retire.”

Both riding wins in their flagship headliner at the end of this month, Poirier rebounded to the winner’s enclosure at UFC 281 back in November, submitting common-foe, Michael Chandler with a third round rear-naked choke at Madison Square Garden.

Himself featuring already this year, Arizona veteran, Gaethje took home a close, majority decision win over Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286 back in March in London, England. (Transcribed by MMA News)

Poirier and Gaethje’s headlining clash will top the card which also features a potential title-eliminator clash between former Octagon champions, Jan Blachowicz, and Alex Pereira at the light heavyweight limit.

Ex-Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk firmly ends comeback plans: ‘I’m not chasing this anymore’

Former undisputed strawweight champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has confirmed her plans for a permanent retirement from mixed martial arts competition despite recently claiming she was considering a comeback earlier this year, insisting she is now “calm” in ending her tenure in combat sports. Jedrzejczyk, a former undisputed UFC strawweight champion, most recently competed on the main […]

Jedrzejczyk, a former undisputed UFC strawweight champion, most recently competed on the main card of UFC 275 back in June of last year, suffering a second round spinning-back fist KO loss to fellow former champion, Zhang Weili in the pair’s championship-eliminator rematch in Singapore.

The Pole confirmed her plans for an immediate retirement from mixed martial arts competition following the defeat to two-time opponent, Weili, ending her storied stint in the sport.

However, the fan-favorite revealed recently how she had been contemplating a return to combat sports earlier this year, had suffered an injury whilst training at her native American Top Team, putting an end to those plans.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk confirms permanent retirement from MMA

And commenting on a failed comeback to the UFC this year, Joanna Jedrzejczyk admitted that while it was a difficult decision to make, she is firmly closing the door on a return to mixed martial arts.

“I was back to American Top Team at the beginning of this year, at the end of January (and) I wanted to see if I was able to be back and train really hard, and I was,” Joanna Jedrzejczyk told MMA Junkie during a recent interview. “I was training really hard for two, three times a day for 13 weeks. Everyone was asking if I was coming back and coming out of retirement. Honestly, I wanted to be back. I wanted to give myself one more chance. But then my (shoulder injury) happened again, it came back with double the power it used to hurt before.”

“I got really sad,” Joanna Jedrzejczyk continued. “Very emotional. But I got calmness in my heart and soul. It’s what I was looking for, for eight months after I retired. I feel like I’m in the spot where I’m not chasing this anymore. That’s a good thing. Sad, difficult, but I feel calm. This is what I was missing the first few months after I retired.”

The second-ever strawweight champion in the history of the promotion, Jedrzejczyk won undisputed gold with a second round TKO win over Carla Esparza back in 2015, before turning in successful title defenses over Valerie Letourneau, Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and Jessica Andrade – an outstanding divisional record still.

Colby Covington claims Dustin Poirier rejected UFC grudge fight: ‘He’s all talk, he’s no walk’

Former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington has claimed his interim lightweight titleholder counterpart, Dustin Poirier, rejected the possibility of settling their rivalry as former American Top Team training partners, labelling the Louisana native a “p*ssy”. Covington, the current number two ranked welterweight contender, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 272 back in March of […]

Covington, the current number two ranked welterweight contender, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 272 back in March of last year, defeating former title challenger and prior ATT teammate, Jorge Masvidal in the pair’s long-awaited grudge match.

As for Poirier, the Lafayette native turned in an impressive win over the veteran, Michael Chandler back in November of last year at UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden, wrapping up a rear-naked choke win.

The current number two ranked lightweight is scheduled to make his return at UFC 291 at the end of this month in Salt Lake City, taking on fellow former interim gold holder, Justin Gaethje in the pair’s potential title-eliminator rematch.

Colby Covington claims UFC approached him with a fight against Dustin Poirier

Welcoming the possibility of a grudge match with former training partner, Poirier in the future, Colby Covington, who is expected to make his Octagon comeback before the close of the year, claimed the former rejected the chance to fight him.

“From my side, I’ve been ready since day one,” Colby Covington told Submission Radio during a recent interview. “Since the Jorge (Masvidal) fight, I’ve accepted every fight that’s been offered my way. First it was Dustin (Poirier). They (the UFC) wanted to make that fight. They saw the potential and a big fight there and Dustin’s a p*ssy. He’s scared. He ran way from the challenge, now we know that he’s all talk, he’s no walk.”

Expected to challenge for undisputed welterweight gold in his return to the Octagon, Covington has been pegged to fight current champion, Leon Edwards in his comeback fight – with links to a showdown at UFC 295 in a co-headlining bout at Madison Square Garden in November of this annum.

Sean Strickland calls for pay bump to take UFC 293 clash with Israel Adesanya: F*cking pay me, and I’ll fight

Despite reports that a title fight between middleweight strikers, Israel Adesanya, and Sean Strickland is likely for UFC 293 in September, the latter has urged the organization to grant him a pay bump before he considers the impromptu showdown. Adesanya, the current and two-time undisputed middleweight champion, is expected to make his return to the […]

Adesanya, the current and two-time undisputed middleweight champion, is expected to make his return to the Octagon at UFC 293 in September, however, has claimed that a potential fight with the number one ranked contender, Dricus du Plessis is unlikely to feature at the Australia bout, as he deals with a lingering injury.

As a result, Adesanya called for a bout with Californian contender, Strickland – offering to “do the man dance” with the outspoken challenger, with further reports confirming how a championship bout between the two is likely, if du Plessis is ruled from a tilt ‘Down Under’.

Sean Strickland urges UFC to pay him in order to fight Israel Adesanya in September

However, according to Strickland, the surging challenger has called for a significant pay increase in order to land an out-of-the-blue pairing with Adesanya in two months’ time.

“We’re in talks,” Sean Strickland told Helen Yee of a bout with Israel Adesanya during a recent interview. “Like I said, it just comes down to just f*cking pay me. Let me ask you guys, do we really want to watch Dricus (du Plessis) and Izzy (Israel Adesanya) fight? No. We don’t want to watch Dricus fight and Izzy fight. You want to watch me fight. Am I going to win? I don’t know, but I’m going to go in there and punch that motherf*cking Chinese right in the face.”

“But, I’m a f*cking man, and I’m not a f*cking p*ssy,” Sean Strickland continued. “If you pay, I have a price. You pay me money, and I’ll f*cking fight him right here. So, you know, unlike Dricus, who’s a smarter man, the true African that he is, I am not. You f*cking pay me, and I’ll fight right here.”

In the midst of a two-fight winning run since his close decision loss to Jared Cannonier back in December, Strickland recently landed a unanimous decision win over Nasourdine Imavov, before finishing Abusupiyan Magomedov earlier this month.