UFC Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas will reportedly defend her title against Carla Esparza next in a rematch years in the making at UFC 274. News of the booking was first reported by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. Namajunas is coming off of back-to-back wins over Zhang Weili in 2021, including most recently in an immediate…
Namajunas is coming off of back-to-back wins over Zhang Weili in 2021, including most recently in an immediate title rematch at UFC 268. She reclaimed UFC gold by knocking Weili out with a head kick at UFC 261.
Namajunas has won three straight fights since losing her strawweight title to Jéssica Andrade at UFC 237, before getting revenge against Andrade in a non-title bout at UFC 251.
Carla Esparza, Image Credit: Getty Images
Esparza makes her return to the strawweight title fight following five-straight wins. She most recently earned a dominant second-round submission of Yan Xiaonan last May after winning a close split decision over Marina Rodriguez.
Esparza won the then-vacant strawweight championship following a win over Namajunas on The Ultimate Fighter 20. She went on to lose to Joanna J?drzejczyk in her first title defense at UFC 185.
Namajunas hasn’t had many stumbles since the loss to Esparza. She has earned dominant wins over J?drzejczyk, Paige VanZant, and Michelle Waterson, to name a few.
UFC 274 will be headlined by a lightweight title bout between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. It’s expected that Namajunas vs. Esparza 2 will serve as the co-main event.
UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski believes the recently incarcerated Cain Velasquez is “paying a crazy price” following his arrest. While fights continue each weekend, trash talk flies, and signings and extensions hit the headlines, one story has gripped the entire MMA and combat sport community in recent weeks. Velasquez, a former two-time UFC heavyweight titleholder…
UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski believes the recently incarcerated Cain Velasquez is “paying a crazy price” following his arrest.
While fights continue each weekend, trash talk flies, and signings and extensions hit the headlines, one story has gripped the entire MMA and combat sport community in recent weeks.
Velasquez, a former two-time UFC heavyweight titleholder and widely-respected mixed martial artist, was arrested on February 28 for attempted, premeditated murder. The arrest and charge came after Velasquez allegedly pursued and intended on shooting a man named Henry Goularte, who’s accused of molesting one of Velasquez’s young relatives.
After reportedly shooting and injuring the man’s stepfather, Velasquez was arrested, charged, and later denied bail by Judge Shelyna Brown, much to the fury of his attorney and supporters.
In recent days and weeks, a host of fighters, pundits and personalities have flocked to support the former UFC star. Per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, the likes of Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier, Scott Coker, Kamaru Usman, and Brandon Moreno have all penned letters of support for Velasquez to the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Including UFC President Dana White and Khabib Nurmagomedov, there were 37 letters written to the judge on behalf of Cain Velasquez to allow him bail. Unfortunately, bail was denied.
Meanwhile, alleged child molester Harry Goulaerte was released with zero dollar bail. pic.twitter.com/4gORWnDIXv
Now, the UFC’s 145-pound kingpin has given his thoughts on the tragic incident. Like many, Volkanovski has highlighted what he perceives to be an injustice.
Volkanovski: Velasquez Case Shows The Law Can Be Pretty Messed Up
During an exclusive interview with MMA News, Volkanovski, who holds gold in the promotion Velasquez twice ruled in, suggested the Californian is paying a “crazy” price for his actions, something that he believes shows a clear double standard in how these cases are handled.
“Yeah, it is unfortunate. You see some people doing shit like that and they almost get (just) a slap on the wrist,” Volkanovski said during his conversation with James Lynch. “And then you see someone like that, who in the heat of the moment, you can see the emotions that would’ve been involved in something like that.
“Then he’s gonna be paying a crazy price, when these other guys get a slap on the wrist, which is just complete bullshit. Obviously, someone’s not gonna be thinking completely straight when some shit like that happens.”
According to Volkanovski, a father himself, White’s take was exactly right.
“This hits close to home. Anyone with a kid is gonna know. I think Dana hit the nail on the head,” Volkanovski further told MMA News. “He did exactly what everyone says that they would do if they were in that situation. That’s true. It’s ridiculous. Obviously, laws are laws, but, I mean, some things need to come into play.
“You can’t treat this as just a crazy act of madness. Let’s be real. He would’ve been emotionally unstable in that situation. That has to come into play, especially when your kid is involved… I’m hoping he doesn’t get in too much trouble for it. I don’t know. The law can be pretty messed up sometimes,” concluded Volkanovski.
In among his first comments addressing Jake Paul since vowing to never speak of him again, UFC President Dana White has explained why a fight between Conor McGregor and the YouTuber is “probably not” going to happen. So far in his 5-0 boxing career, Paul has knocked out two former UFC welterweights, one of which…
In among his first comments addressing Jake Paul since vowing to never speak of him again, UFC President Dana White has explained why a fight between Conor McGregor and the YouTuber is “probably not” going to happen.
So far in his 5-0 boxing career, Paul has knocked out two former UFC welterweights, one of which held gold on MMA’s biggest stage between 2016 and 2019. But while his MMA foes have, to date, been retired or released following a losing skid, “The Problem Child” has often set his sights on bigger fish.
As opponents have changed, rivalries developed, and his influence in combat sports has grown, one thing has remained a constant in Paul’s career: callouts to “The Notorious” McGregor.
Paul’s interest and mentions of a potential clash are seemingly increasing with every step closer to a return the Irishman makes. The former two-division champion has been out of action since breaking his leg last July.
When asked if he could see a McGregor vs. Paul event in the future, White suggested that while he won’t shut the door on anything, it’s unlikely.
“Probably not (happening), no. I’m never completely closed off to anything. I used to say that about things, but I don’t say that anymore. Cause you never know, you never know what could happen,” said White.
The crossover market has grown exponentially in recent years, with Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, and Frank Mir all representing former UFC stars who have dipped their toes into the boxing ring.
Despite helping start the trend with the 2017 ‘Money Fight’ between McGregor and Floyd Mayweather, as well as bringing some notable professional wrestling stars to the Octagon, White says UFC bookings involving internet stars like the Pauls goes against his promotion’s main goal: pitting the best against the best.
“Everything we do kills the bottom. I mean, we have the most successful combat sports business of all time. What we do here is completely different than what him (Logan Paul) and his brother are doing,” claimed White. “I’m looking for the absolute best in the world. These guys who have trained their whole lives, they fight at these smaller shows, and then they make it to the UFC, and we put the best against the best.
CM Punk, Brock Lesnar
“It’s just not what you do. There’s a market for what you guys do and there’s money to be made in it. I’m not saying that I don’t do those types of thing,” White continued. “I brought Brock (Lesnar) in. But Brock won the heavyweight championship. I brought CM Punk in, that one didn’t work out as well as Brock [LAUGHS]. It’s not like I don’t try to do these—the Floyd/Conor fight, you know? The fans wanted to see it; everybody wanted to see it. That’s why it took on a life of its own. Floyd and I got together and figured it out, it made sense, and we did it.”
Even if that level of interest was there for a McGregor vs. Paul bout, White explained why the pair’s size difference would make it an unrealistic matchup.
“Well, he shouldn’t even be fighting Conor McGregor. These guys (Pauls) are fucking huge, he’s (Jake) fucking huge. What’s your brother, 6’1″? 210 (pounds)? Conor McGregor’s 155 pounds… There’s weight classes for a reason.”
Paul Responds To White’s Comments On McGregor Fight
White also went on to suggest that even fighting at welterweight is a stretch for McGregor, something Paul later disputed on Twitter. He called for a fight with the Dublin native at 175 pounds.
Dana White is begging for Diaz and Conor to fight for a third time…they have fought at 170 pounds in both their fights
Interestingly, during his conversation with White, Logan suggested his brother couldn’t make 170 pounds to meet McGregor for a welterweight bout. With that in mind, 175 would perhaps be a stretch for “The Problem Child,” who weighed in for his rematch with Woodley at 191.6 pounds.
How do you think a fight between Conor McGregor and Jake Paul would play out?
Canelo Álvarez’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is open to potentially negotiating a crossover match with UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Usman teased the idea of a potential fight against Canelo in the leadup to his fight against Colby Covington at UFC 268. After defeating Covington for a second time, the interest in a matchup with Álvarez…
Canelo Álvarez’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is open to potentially negotiating a crossover match with UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
Usman teased the idea of a potential fight against Canelo in the leadup to his fight against Colby Covington at UFC 268. After defeating Covington for a second time, the interest in a matchup with Álvarez has remained afloat.
Álvarez is getting ready for his fight against Dmitry Bivol for the WBA super light heavyweight title on May 7 in Las Vegas. At the same time, he also hasn’t dismissed the idea of a big-money fight with Usman happening in the future.
During a recent appearance on The DAZN Boxing Show, Hearn addressed the potential of a Usman vs. Canelo fight coming to fruition.
“He’s under contract with UFC, but if Dana White wants to do it, we’d love to discuss it,” Hearn said. (h/t Mirror)
Usman’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, has already communicated his interest in a matchup with Álvarez. He went as far as predicting that Usman would defeat the boxing superstar inside of three rounds.
While Usman and Canelo’s respective management teams seem on board with the prospect of a fight, UFC President Dana White and his promotion could be a major hurdle. White has shut down the idea of a Usman vs. Canelo fight, although he has been known to change his mind on various topics.
Usman and Canelo are both considered at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings in their respective disciplines. Usman is likely to face Leon Edwards in the UFC later this year but may focus on a potential fight with Canelo with a win.
Do you think we’ll see Kamaru Usman vs. Canelo Álvarez at some point?
