Tag: Rani Yahya

Yahya Steps in for Aldo to Face Mendes at UFC 133 August 6 in Philadelphia

(“Get a load of this guy. He calls himself ‘Money.'”)

The UFC moved swiftly to find a replacement opponent for number one UFC featherweight contender Chad Mendes when 145-pound champ Jose Aldo bowed out of a planned late summer match-up with the 26-year-old Hanford, California native earlier in the week. According to MMAJunkie, the promotion has inked Rani Yahya to face Mendes at UFC 133 August 6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

(“Get a load of this guy. He calls himself ‘Money.’”)

The UFC moved swiftly to find a replacement opponent for number one UFC featherweight contender Chad Mendes when 145-pound champ Jose Aldo bowed out of a planned late summer match-up with the 26-year-old Hanford, California native earlier in the week. According to MMAJunkie, the promotion has inked Rani Yahya to face Mendes at UFC 133 August 6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

According to Aldo, contrary to a Heavy.com report, he did not injure himself since his fight with Mark Hominick in April, but he is dealing with lingering nagging injuries that are going to take some time and rest to heal. As such, he was instructed by his doctor to take the time to heal up and take care of his afflictions before stepping back into the Octagon in the Fall.

News of the Mendes-Yahya pairing was first reported by MMAJunkie.com.

The fight could prove a huge opportunity for Yahya, an accomplished grappler who holds wins over Hominick and former WEC featherweight champions Mike Brown and Eddie Wineland. With guys like Josh Grispi and Dustin Poirier already booked for fights, Yahya was the next man down on the list who wasn’t already spoken for.

Mark Hominick was another fighter who was being considered, but considering he is still under a medical suspension in Canada from his UFC 129 war with Aldo and the fact that he and his wife had their first baby two weeks ago, he’s likely taking a much deserved vacation.

Chad Mendes to Face Rani Yahya Instead of Jose Aldo at UFC 133

Filed under: UFC, NewsPreferring to stay active over waiting for a title shot, Chad Mendes will take on Rani Yahya at UFC 133 on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia.

UFC president Dana White said Tuesday via the company’s website that the fight was made due to the…

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Preferring to stay active over waiting for a title shot, Chad Mendes will take on Rani Yahya at UFC 133 on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia.

UFC president Dana White said Tuesday via the company’s website that the fight was made due to the uncertainty of featherweight champion Jose Aldo’s return date.

The UFC was targeting Aldo to defend his belt against Mendes at UFC 133, but Aldo said late Monday he needed more time to heal from his last fight and not rush into another fight without adequate preparation time. His medical suspension off his UFC 129 win was also a factor cutting into his training time.

Aldo on Twitter said he wasn’t injured and will be ready to fight in September or October.

The 26-year-old Mendes (10-0) fights out of Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male and won four WEC fights before transferring over to the UFC. In February, Mendes made his UFC debut by beating Michihiro Omigawa by unanimous decision.

Yahya (16-6) is known mostly for his grappling prowess, medaling in his division at ADCC 2005 and 2007. While with the WEC, he’s been hit-or-miss, compiling a 4-3 record and falling short in his one bantamweight championship fight. Yahya moved back up to featherweight for his UFC debut in January and picked up the decision win over former WEC champ Mike Brown.

UFC 133, marking the return of the UFC to Philadelphia after a two-year break, will be headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis in a light heavyweight showdown with title shot implications.

 

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Jason ‘Shotgun’ Young to Step Up Against Dustin Poirier at UFC 131 in June

(The Shotgun in action. Props: 000BHVids000)

The UFC announced yesterday that featherweight veteran Rani Yahya — who most recently scored an upset decision over Mike Brown at Fight for the Troops 2 — has suffered an injury, and will not be able to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 131 (June 11th, Vancouver). Filling in for him will be Octagon first-timer Jason “Shotgun” Young (8-3), a former Cage Rage lightweight champion based in London, England. Last month, Young competed at Ontario’s first sanctioned MMA event, where he scored a unanimous decision over Jorge Britto. (You can see Jason talk about that match here, if you want to get a sense of the dude’s vibe.)

Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier is riding back-to-back wins over Zach Micklewright and Josh Grispi. He’s poised to become one of 2011 breakout fighters — especially since the documentary about his life, Fightville, was just picked up by Showtime Networks.


(The Shotgun in action. Props: 000BHVids000)

The UFC announced yesterday that featherweight veteran Rani Yahya — who most recently scored an upset decision over Mike Brown at Fight for the Troops 2 — has suffered an injury, and will not be able to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 131 (June 11th, Vancouver). Filling in for him will be Octagon first-timer Jason “Shotgun” Young (8-3), a former Cage Rage lightweight champion based in London, England. Last month, Young competed at Ontario’s first sanctioned MMA event, where he scored a unanimous decision over Jorge Britto. (You can see Jason talk about that match here, if you want to get a sense of the dude’s vibe.)

Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier is riding back-to-back wins over Zach Micklewright and Josh Grispi. He’s poised to become one of 2011 breakout fighters — especially since the documentary about his life, Fightville, was just picked up by Showtime Networks.

Mike Brown on Recent UFC Losses: ‘My Heart Is Broken’

Filed under: UFCBack when Mike Brown was the WEC featherweight champion, he heard the same question all the time. People who barely followed the sport, people who didn’t know any better, they’d ask him, ‘Does this mean you get to go to the UFC now?’

O…

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Back when Mike Brown was the WEC featherweight champion, he heard the same question all the time. People who barely followed the sport, people who didn’t know any better, they’d ask him, ‘Does this mean you get to go to the UFC now?’

Only now that the UFC has absorbed the lighter weight fighters from the WEC roster, Brown’s stay in the UFC isn’t going at all like he planned. It started with a split decision loss to Diego Nunes at UFC 125. Three weeks later, he was back in action again for a unanimous decision loss to Rani Yahya.

In less than a month’s time the former champ was 0-2 as a featherweight in the UFC, and his career outlook was suddenly quite grim.

UFC Fight for the Troops: Rani Yahya Beats Mike Brown

Filed under: UFCFormer featherweight champion Mike Brown has lost his second UFC fight in just three weeks.

Brown, who was hoping to bounce back from a split decision loss to Diego Nunes at UFC 125, instead dropped a unanimous decision to Rani Yahya a…

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Former featherweight champion Mike Brown has lost his second UFC fight in just three weeks.

Brown, who was hoping to bounce back from a split decision loss to Diego Nunes at UFC 125, instead dropped a unanimous decision to Rani Yahya at the UFC Fight for the Troops 2. Brown is now on a two-fight losing streak and has dropped four of his last six, and it’s fair to wonder how much the former champ has left.

Yahya snapped a two-fight losing streak of his own and looked good in the process. He’ll be a fighter to keep an eye on in the UFC’s new featherweight division.

“It was a very tough fight,” Yahya said afterward. “Mike is a winner, he’s a warrior. He’s a 35-year-old warrior that took a fight on two-week’s notice and fought at the last UFC, so he should get credit for that.”

MMA Top 10 Bantamweights: Dominick Cruz Tightens His Hold

Filed under: WEC, Rankings, BantamweightsIf there was any doubt that Dominick Cruz was the best bantamweight in mixed martial arts, he erased that doubt Wednesday night by defeating the tough but ultimately overmatched Joseph Benavidez in a split decis…

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If there was any doubt that Dominick Cruz was the best bantamweight in mixed martial arts, he erased that doubt Wednesday night by defeating the tough but ultimately overmatched Joseph Benavidez in a split decision that gave Cruz his second victory over the No. 2 fighter in the division.

Benavidez is a great fighter (he’s 12-0 when fighting anyone other than Cruz), but it’s his friend and training partner Urijah Faber who has handed Cruz his only career loss, and is likely to fight Cruz again some time early next year, this time for the bantamweight title.

Once Faber makes the move down to bantamweight, I think he’ll be a Top 10 fighter in the class — and he might just beat Cruz again and move to the top. For now, he’s absent from the Cruz-dominated bantamweight rankings, which are below.