MMANews.com Weekly Interview Round-Up (9/3/22)

Following a bye-week for the UFC, our very own Curtis Calhoun and James Lynch have you covered for the upcoming weeks! Here’s your MMANews.com Weekly Interview Round-Up! Julian Erosa Talks Move To Vegas, Sparring, And UFC 279. Kicking off our MMA…

Following a bye-week for the UFC, our very own Curtis Calhoun and James Lynch have you covered for the upcoming weeks! Here’s your MMANews.com Weekly Interview Round-Up! Julian Erosa Talks Move To Vegas, Sparring, And UFC 279. Kicking off our MMANews.com Weekly Interview Round-up is Julian Erosa! Erosa returns to a PPV card for the…

Continue Reading MMANews.com Weekly Interview Round-Up (9/3/22) at MMA News.

Stevie Ray On PFL: “$950k To Win, $50k To Lose Is Heartbreaking”

Stevie Ray feels that the PFL has done wonders for him in his career but feels that a big change should be made to the PFL Championships. Ray will face Olivier Aubin-Mercier in the 2022 PFL Championships for the lightweight title on Nov. 25. He earned …

Stevie Ray feels that the PFL has done wonders for him in his career but feels that a big change should be made to the PFL Championships. Ray will face Olivier Aubin-Mercier in the 2022 PFL Championships for the lightweight title on Nov. 25. He earned a spot in the finals following back-to-back wins over…

Continue Reading Stevie Ray On PFL: “$950k To Win, $50k To Lose Is Heartbreaking” at MMA News.

Photo: Anthony Pettis broke both his hands in second defeat to Stevie Ray at PFL Playoffs

Anthony Pettis, Stevie RayAnthony Pettis lost out for a second time to Stevie Ray at the 2022 PFL Playoffs. This past Friday, Pettis returned to the octagon for an immediate rematch with Ray just six weeks separated from their first outing this year in June. The former UFC lightweight champion failed to avenge his loss as he lost […]

Anthony Pettis, Stevie Ray

Anthony Pettis lost out for a second time to Stevie Ray at the 2022 PFL Playoffs.

This past Friday, Pettis returned to the octagon for an immediate rematch with Ray just six weeks separated from their first outing this year in June. The former UFC lightweight champion failed to avenge his loss as he lost out by unanimous decision at PFL Playoffs 1 from inside Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Anthony Pettis broke both his hands in the second defeat to Stevie Ray at PFL Playoffs

In their first clash, Ray managed to submit Pettis in round two via a modified body triangle. It was evident from the get-go in their rematch that Ray was looking to replicate his highlight-reel finish. Ray kept closing the distance and attempting takedowns. However, his motive to get a takedown was not targeted for ground and pound, but instead to take Pettis’ back.

Ray did well to lure Pettis into the trap but “Showtime” was determined to not succumb to the same move again. The 32-year-old Scot not only broke Pettis’ hopes of getting closer to the $1 million prize, but he also shattered his hands.

Pettis took to Twitter to share the update, writing: “2 broken hands SMH.”

Following his departure from the UFC in Dec. 2020, Pettis has gone 1-4 in his last five outings since joining the PFL. His sole win came over Myles Price, whom he finished in the opening round in May.

Although Pettis is past his prime, he continues to be a fan favorite and received a standing ovation from the arena during his walk-in. He showed signs of flair with some fast head kicks but failed to do significant damage. Considering how big of a name he still is in the sport, it’s likely he is still fighting in the promotion for the paycheck instead of the tournament prize.

2022 PFL Playoffs 1 Results: Stevie Ray Def. Anthony Pettis

The 2022 PFL Playoffs began with the lightweights and light heavyweights taking center stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The card was headlined by a lightweight rematch between Anthony Pettis and Stevie Ray. In their first matchup during…

The 2022 PFL Playoffs began with the lightweights and light heavyweights taking center stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The card was headlined by a lightweight rematch between Anthony Pettis and Stevie Ray. In their first matchup during the regular season, Ray rallied to pull off the upset and submit Pettis with…

Continue Reading 2022 PFL Playoffs 1 Results: Stevie Ray Def. Anthony Pettis at MMA News.

Anthony Pettis Not Looking To Jab UFC With A Potential PFL Title

Former UFC and Strikeforce lightweight champion Anthony Pettis doesn’t have any ill-will towards the UFC ahead of his potential run to a PFL title. Pettis is set to face Stevie Ray in a highly anticipated PFL Playoff rematch this Saturday in New …

Former UFC and Strikeforce lightweight champion Anthony Pettis doesn’t have any ill-will towards the UFC ahead of his potential run to a PFL title. Pettis is set to face Stevie Ray in a highly anticipated PFL Playoff rematch this Saturday in New York. In their last fight during the regular season, Ray rallied after a…

Continue Reading Anthony Pettis Not Looking To Jab UFC With A Potential PFL Title at MMA News.

MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes Of The Week (6/19 – 6/25)

Welcome to this week’s edition of MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes of the week! Every week there’s highlight-reel finishes all across the MMA world, and we’ve found some of the absolute best ones to showcase. Two weeks ago, we had a couple of spinning back fists, last week was all about head kicks, and now…

Continue Reading MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes Of The Week (6/19 – 6/25) at MMA News.

Welcome to this week’s edition of MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes of the week! Every week there’s highlight-reel finishes all across the MMA world, and we’ve found some of the absolute best ones to showcase.

Two weeks ago, we had a couple of spinning back fists, last week was all about head kicks, and now this week there’s a pair of stoppages via flying knee. There were also multiple knockouts during the week from huge overhand punches, but there was only so much room left on the list in between some unorthodox submissions and a few brutal kicks.

PFL and Bellator kick things off, but two finishes from Cage Warriors and impressive showings from a number of regional MMA promotions account for the rest of this week’s Top 10.

#10: Stevie Ray’s Brutal Body Lock

Submitting Anthony Pettis is a feat in and of itself, but the way Stevie Ray forced a tap from the former UFC champion was unconventional to say the least.

“Braveheart” picked up his first PFL victory and earned a spot in the promotion’s playoffs when he tightened a body lock on “Showtime” and cranked his torso for the victory.

#9: Magomed Magomedov Jumps Into The Semifinals

UFC veteran Enrique Barzola started his Bellator career with two victories, and “El Fuerte” seemed in control of a bantamweight tournament bout with Magomed Magomedov up until the fourth round.

Barzola had largely been able to match the Russian’s grappling until Magomedov jumped for a guillotine that forced the Peruvian to tap for the first time in his career.

#8: Rhys McKee Claims Cage Warriors Gold

Rhys McKee’s UFC run ended after 2 fights, but the 26-year-old returned to Cage Warriors and quickly found himself fighting for a title in the main event of Cage Warriors 140.

“Skeletor” starched Justin Burlinson with a left hand early in the third round before jumping over the cage to celebrate as the new Cage Warriors welterweight champion.

#7: Luan Santana’s Shutdown Switch-Kick

A welterweight matchup between Luan Santana and Indio Quintella seemed bound for the scorecards with only a few seconds remaining at Iron Man MMA 24 in Brazil.

Santana landed a brutal body kick just after the 10-second warning that folded Quintella and left him curled up on the mat even after the ref stepped in.

#6: Michael Tchamou’s Thunderous Right Hand

Michael Tchamou only needed 30 seconds to close things out in his middleweight bout with Glenn Irvine at Cage Warriors 140.

“Jaguar” was swinging big from the opening bell before he finally landed a right hand that put Irvine on his back and sent his mouthpiece flying.

#5: Jojo Rajkumari Swings For The Fences

Heavier weight classes are known for hitting the hardest, but Indian strawweight Jojo Rajkumari showed that isn’t always the case at Matrix Fight Night 9.

“Cobra Queen” darted forward with a wide left hand that put Mary Jane Buna stiff on the canvas just over 30 seconds into their fight.

#4: Vitaliy Ten Stays Patient

Officially listed as a rear-naked choke, Vitaliy Ten’s record doesn’t do justice to the submission win he scored late in his flyweight fight for Octagon League in Kazakhstan.

Ten used his legs to lock up Tursynbek Boranbaev’s arm and held it through over a minute of scrambling before snatching a choke to secure the finish.

#3: Alexandre Castro Takes Flight In Brazil

Brazilian featherweights Alexandre Castro and Elifrank Cariolano had a frenetic few seconds of action at Jungle Fight 108 before Castro put an end to things in brutal fashion.

Cariolano pressed forward before eating a counter shot that staggered him, which allowed Castro to land a flying knee that put Cariolano down and a follow-up punch that appeared to wake him back up.

#2: Diego Robledo Steps Up In Argentina

Castro may have gotten things done quickly with his flying knee, but Diego Robledo made sure Cristian Dominguez stayed down at CAM 11.

With just seconds left in the first round, Robledo leapt forward and landed a knee that put Dominguez in a heap against the cage.

#1: Aerdake Apaer’s Perfect Timing

It takes a lot to beat out two flying knee knockouts for the week’s top finish, but Aerdake Apaer managed to lock up the top spot with his performance at JCK MMA.

The welterweight landed a perfectly-timed spinning back kick less than 30 seconds into his fight with Yan Guoxu that floored his Chinese countryman.

What do you think of this week’s list? Are there any finishes you think should have made the cut that didn’t? What about ones you think should have been ranked higher or lower?

Continue Reading MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes Of The Week (6/19 – 6/25) at MMA News.