Tag: Top Stories

Daniel Cormier: Jon Jones & Stipe Miocic Haven’t Agreed To Tom Aspinall Back-Up Role

Following the official announcement for Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309, Tom Aspinall was confirmed to be the back-up. Many have been campaiging for the interim champion to get the next shot at Jones’s heavyweight title, rather than the rescheduled clash with Miocic. Dana White said himself in a […]

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier: Jon Jones & Stipe Miocic Haven’t Agreed To Tom Aspinall Back-Up Role at MMA News.

Following the official announcement for Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309, Tom Aspinall was confirmed to be the back-up.

Many have been campaiging for the interim champion to get the next shot at Jones’s heavyweight title, rather than the rescheduled clash with Miocic.

Dana White said himself in a recent press conference that Aspinall is next for whatever happens in this division and will therefore, be in New York ready to make weight if required.

However, this then opens up the question of whether Jones or Miocic would even contemplate fighting Aspinall on short notice, if either man does pull out before November 16.

Daniel Cormier Calls Chael Sonnen ‘Gullible’ For Thinking That Jones & Miocic Agreed To Fight Aspinall

In a recent episode of ESPN MMA’s Good Guy / Bad Guy, Chael Sonnen asked Daniel Cormier whether he could confirm that Aspinall being the back-up means that Jones and Miocic had to sign off on it.

Cormier’s response was to laugh at Sonnen for even suggesting that this would be a possibility, labelling him as “gullible”.

“No, it does not mean that. What it means is now we have another opportunity for disappointment. See that’s the difference between living, hey, that’s the difference between growing up in a mansion and growing up in the ghetto. In the ghetto, you learn to expect disappointment. You learn to be let down, that is just the way it is. So guess what Chael, now you have an opportunity to be let down so step into my shoes once. If one of those dudes get hurt, neither one of them is fighting Tom Aspinall. You’re out of your mind, no way.”

To illustrate his point, Cormier pointed to UFC 295 last year where Jones did pull out of the fight but there was a back-up fighter on hand.

Despite Sergei Pavlovich being ready to take his place, Miocic chose to wait for “Bones”, instead which led to the creation of the interim title which was won by Aspinall.

Cormier finished his statement by making a bold prediction of what will actually happen if either man withdraws.

“When Jon Jones got hurt the first time, Sergei Pavlovich was the back-up fighter, who fought? Who fought? If somebody gets hurt, get ready for Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane, mark my words.”

Read also: Former Champ Skeptical Of Michael Chandler Beating ‘Meaningful Favorite’ Charles Oliveira At UFC 309

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier: Jon Jones & Stipe Miocic Haven’t Agreed To Tom Aspinall Back-Up Role at MMA News.

2024 PFL MENA 3: Playoffs Results & Highlights

The inaugural PFL MENA season continued on Friday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action! Having broken onto the scene with its regular season and playoff format in North America, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has begun its pursuit of further prominence around the globe. In 2023, that took sizable step forward with […]

Continue Reading 2024 PFL MENA 3: Playoffs Results & Highlights at MMA News.

The inaugural PFL MENA season continued on Friday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action!

Having broken onto the scene with its regular season and playoff format in North America, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has begun its pursuit of further prominence around the globe.

In 2023, that took sizable step forward with the maiden PFL Europe season. And this year, the promotion continues to grow with its latest regional expansion, PFL MENA (Middle East and North Africa).

Like the inaugural and sophomore cards in May and July of this year, the playoffs event took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The PFL MENA Studio in Boulevard City played host as a number of athletes booked their spots at the championship finals later this year.

The main event came at 145 pounds, where Saudi Arabia’s own Abdullah Al-Qahtani had hope to advance from his semifinal against Jordan’s Abdelrahman Alhyasat. After recording two wins at PFL global events in 2023 and opening his 2024 with another knockout triumph on the PFL vs. Bellator card, “The Reaper” was now nearing regional dominance.

However, hopes of that came to a crashing halt courtesy of Alhyasat’s efforts on fight night. He outpointed the home favorite on all three scorecards to take home the upset win.

While the event was broadcast on DAZN for select countries, it was unfortunately not available to audiences in the United States. However, MMA News has you covered below with the full results and all the highlights below.

2024 PFL MENA Playoffs Results & Highlights

  • Featherweight Semifinal: Abdelrahman Alhyasat def. Abdullah Al-Qahtani via unanimous decision
  • Welterweight Semifinal: Omar El Dafrawy def. Jarrah Al-Selawe via TKO: R1, 3:11
  • Welterweight Semifinal: Mohammad Alaqraa def. Amir Fazli via unanimous decision
  • Lightweight Semifinal: Mohsen Mohammadseifi def. Souhil Tairi via unanimous decision
  • Bantamweight Semifinal: Ali Taleb def. Jalal Al Daaja via KO (punch): R1, 2:18
  • Featherweight Semifinal: Islam Reda def. Marouane Bellagouit via unanimous decision
  • Bantamweight Semifinal: Rachid El Hazoume def. Elias Boudegzdame via unanimous decision
  • Lightweight Semifinal: Georges Eid def. Omar Reguigui via TKO (punches): R1, 1:39
  • Amateur Flyweight Showcase: Malik Basahel def. Saher Qasmieh via unanimous decision
  • Featherweight Showcase: Adam Meskini def. Yazeed Hasanain via split decision

Adam Meskini Def. Yazeed Hasanain

Malik Basahel Def. Saher Qasmieh

Georges Eid Def. Omar Reguigui

Rachid El Hazoume Def. Elias Boudegzdame

Islam Reda Def. Marouane Bellagouit

Ali Taleb Def. Jalal Al Daaja

Mohsen Mohammadseifi Def. Souhil Tairi

Mohammad Alaqraa Def. Amir Fazli

Omar El Dafrawy Def. Jarrah Al-Selawe

Abdelrahman Alhyasat Def. Abdullah Al-Qahtani

Continue Reading 2024 PFL MENA 3: Playoffs Results & Highlights at MMA News.

UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away. And in the aftermath of UFC 306 (Noche UFC), MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings. Men’s Pound-For-Pound: Merab Dvalishvili closed out Saturday’s event with his long-awaited championship […]

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis at MMA News.

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away.

And in the aftermath of UFC 306 (Noche UFC), MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound: Merab Dvalishvili closed out Saturday’s event with his long-awaited championship crowning. As a result, the bantamweight kingpin has debuted on the P4P list at #7, one position above interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall. Further up, welterweight champ Belal Muhammad (#5) has jumped his middleweight counterpart Dricus Du Plessis (#6).

The defeated O’Malley, meanwhile, has slid seven positions to #13. Dvalishvili’s friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling is out of the top 15 entirely following the Georgian’s arrival.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound: Valentina Shevchenko is once again the flyweight queen, and she’s also back on the P4P mountaintop. “Bullet” has climbed two places back to top spot, while previous #1 Alexa Grasso has fallen to #3 following her lopsided loss to Shevchenko in their trilogy.

Women’s Strawweight: No changes.

Women’s Flyweight: The sole change at 125 pounds has seen Grasso slip back to top contender status, swapping positions with now-champ Shevchenko.

Women’s Bantamweight: Norma Dumont secured the biggest win of her career in the Noche UFC featured prelim, outpointing a badly damaged Irene Aldana. The result has seen the Brazilian ascend by three positions to #5 at 135 pounds. The defeated Mexican, on the other hand, is down just one spot to #6.

Flyweight: In the male 125-pound weight class, Asu Almabayev has moved up one place to share #14 with the recently retired Matt Schnell.

Bantamweight: Like in the women’s flyweight division, the only change in the men’s 135-pound division came with the switch on the throne. With Dvalishvili now occupying it, O’Malley is the #1-ranked bantamweight.

Featherweight: The biggest climber this week is the charging Diego Lopes, who got the better of former two-time title challenger and longtime top-five contender Brian Ortega on Saturday night. The Mexico-residing Brazilian has risen by a mammoth 10 positions to #3. “T-City,” meanwhile, has been relegated to #5.

With Movsar Evloev staying put at #6, the changes have led to a two-place fall to #7 for Arnold Allen.

Lightweight: No changes.

Welterweight: No changes.

Middleweight: No changes.

Light Heavyweight: No changes.

Heavyweight: No changes.

You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis at MMA News.

UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away. And in the aftermath of UFC 306 (Noche UFC), MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings. Men’s Pound-For-Pound: Merab Dvalishvili closed out Saturday’s event with his long-awaited championship […]

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis at MMA News.

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away.

And in the aftermath of UFC 306 (Noche UFC), MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound: Merab Dvalishvili closed out Saturday’s event with his long-awaited championship crowning. As a result, the bantamweight kingpin has debuted on the P4P list at #7, one position above interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall. Further up, welterweight champ Belal Muhammad (#5) has jumped his middleweight counterpart Dricus Du Plessis (#6).

The defeated O’Malley, meanwhile, has slid seven positions to #13. Dvalishvili’s friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling is out of the top 15 entirely following the Georgian’s arrival.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound: Valentina Shevchenko is once again the flyweight queen, and she’s also back on the P4P mountaintop. “Bullet” has climbed two places back to top spot, while previous #1 Alexa Grasso has fallen to #3 following her lopsided loss to Shevchenko in their trilogy.

Women’s Strawweight: No changes.

Women’s Flyweight: The sole change at 125 pounds has seen Grasso slip back to top contender status, swapping positions with now-champ Shevchenko.

Women’s Bantamweight: Norma Dumont secured the biggest win of her career in the Noche UFC featured prelim, outpointing a badly damaged Irene Aldana. The result has seen the Brazilian ascend by three positions to #5 at 135 pounds. The defeated Mexican, on the other hand, is down just one spot to #6.

Flyweight: In the male 125-pound weight class, Asu Almabayev has moved up one place to share #14 with the recently retired Matt Schnell.

Bantamweight: Like in the women’s flyweight division, the only change in the men’s 135-pound division came with the switch on the throne. With Dvalishvili now occupying it, O’Malley is the #1-ranked bantamweight.

Featherweight: The biggest climber this week is the charging Diego Lopes, who got the better of former two-time title challenger and longtime top-five contender Brian Ortega on Saturday night. The Mexico-residing Brazilian has risen by a mammoth 10 positions to #3. “T-City,” meanwhile, has been relegated to #5.

With Movsar Evloev staying put at #6, the changes have led to a two-place fall to #7 for Arnold Allen.

Lightweight: No changes.

Welterweight: No changes.

Middleweight: No changes.

Light Heavyweight: No changes.

Heavyweight: No changes.

You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis at MMA News.

‘That Was A Fluke Too’ – Former UFC Champ Questions O’Malley’s Win Over Sterling After UFC 306

Merab Dvalishvili proved in the main event of UFC 306 that he had the counter to Sean O’Malley’s style. The new bantamweight champion was able to close the distance on “Suga” and implement his grappling and despite several close scorecards, the challenger was seemingly in control of the fight for the vast majority of the […]

Continue Reading ‘That Was A Fluke Too’ – Former UFC Champ Questions O’Malley’s Win Over Sterling After UFC 306 at MMA News.

Merab Dvalishvili proved in the main event of UFC 306 that he had the counter to Sean O’Malley’s style.

The new bantamweight champion was able to close the distance on “Suga” and implement his grappling and despite several close scorecards, the challenger was seemingly in control of the fight for the vast majority of the duration.

O’Malley did have some success with his striking, especially in the final moments of the fight but he wasn’t able to catch Dvalishvili in the same way that he was able to his teammate, Aljamain Sterling.

The “Funkmaster” has openly admitted that he made some crucial mistakes in that fight back at UFC 292 that as we saw this past weekend, could have been very different if Sterling had more effectively closed the gap on his opponent.

Henry Cejudo Reviews Sean O’Malley’s Performance At UFC 306

On a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo weighed in with his thoughts on the fight.

“Triple C” took this opportunity to gloat about how he correctly predicted how the main event would play out based on what he has seen from both men.

Having faced both Sterling and Dvalishvili in the past, Cejudo felt that the challenger would be too much for O’Malley over five rounds.

He also believes that O’Malley’s title back at UFC 292 was a “fluke” after he was able to stop Sterling without really having his grappling game put to the test.

Cejudo made reference to how he was able to put up a better fight against Dvalishvili at UFC 298, where he lost via unanimous decision.

“What can I say? I predicted these things. Sean is not accustomed to going five rounds and he is no accustomed to people on his legs and I just felt like, I still go back and say hey, that fight with Aljamain Sterling, that was a fluke too. Aljamain was still in that fight and people thought I was just hating. It’s like no, I’ve been in there with Merab, I did a whole lot better than Sean did when I fought Merab. I mean I took down Merab, like Merab is lucky that I had that groin injury.”

Read also: Sean O’Malley’s Coach Reveals What He Said To Enrage Merab Dvalishvili At Noche UFC 306

Continue Reading ‘That Was A Fluke Too’ – Former UFC Champ Questions O’Malley’s Win Over Sterling After UFC 306 at MMA News.

Sean O’Malley Makes Statement Following Title Loss To Merab Dvalishvili At Noche UFC 306

It would not be far off to say that the performance of Sean O’Malley at Noche UFC (UFC 306) was perhaps the worst he’s ever had in the Octagon — and it ultimately cost him the UFC bantamweight championship. O’Malley appeared to struggle with the pressure and takedowns brought on by Merab Dvalishvili as the […]

Continue Reading Sean O’Malley Makes Statement Following Title Loss To Merab Dvalishvili At Noche UFC 306 at MMA News.

It would not be far off to say that the performance of Sean O’Malley at Noche UFC (UFC 306) was perhaps the worst he’s ever had in the Octagon — and it ultimately cost him the UFC bantamweight championship.

O’Malley appeared to struggle with the pressure and takedowns brought on by Merab Dvalishvili as the two faced off in the main event at the Sphere. Though “Suga” gave the Georgian some trouble in the fight’s final round, Dvalishvili ended up scoring a unanimous decision to win the title.

Not long after the loss, O’Malley made a brief statement on social media, noting the disappointment left in his performance and the result.

“Over promised under delivered. Sorry. Love you guys,” O’Malley wrote.

Sean O’Malley Admits Bad Night, Dana White Says He Looked ‘Flat’

Though there were bizarre circumstances at the start of the fight, the opening rounds saw Dvalishvili make a statement with several takedowns and a couple of guillotine attempts that troubled O’Malley. The defending champ landed the fight’s strongest strikes toward the end of the third round, but that was after another four minutes of grappling masterclass from the Georgian.

Several front kicks to the midsection left Dvalishvili hurt and in danger in the fifth round, but O’Malley did not turn up the intensity, and it was too little, too late.

Even UFC CEO Dana White noted the poor performance from O’Malley, saying he looked “flat.”

“He didn’t look sharp. He didn’t look crisp,” White said at the UFC 306 post-fight press conference.

Dvalishvili has now won 11 straight fights after dropping his first two Octagon outings. He also gained an ounce of revenge for his teammate and good friend Aljamain Sterling, who O’Malley knocked out at UFC 292 to capture the bantamweight gold.

O’Malley retained the title once, defeating Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC 299 in March.

Continue Reading Sean O’Malley Makes Statement Following Title Loss To Merab Dvalishvili At Noche UFC 306 at MMA News.