Frankie Perez def. Sam Stout by TKO via punches at of Round 1
Felipe Arantes def. Yves Jabouin by submission via armbar at 4:21 of Round 1
Nikita Krylov def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima by submission via rear-naked choke at 2:29 of Round 1
Chris Kelades def. Chris Beal by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Shane Campbell def. Elias Silverio by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Misha Cirkunov def. Daniel Jolly by TKO at 4:45 of Round 1
Next up? UFC 191.
This is a sneaky-good card featuring a wealth of talent in both the smallest and the biggest UFC weight classes. Topped by the flyweight title rematch between Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson, and backed up with major fights at both heavyweight and light heavyweight, it’s a card that will likely bring both technical brilliance and good ol’ fashioned face-punching.
So what should you look out for heading into next week?
(Derailing the hype train of a youngster once and for all, on the other hand…via Getty)
Frank Mir and Andrei Arlovski have a lot in common. They’re both over six feet tall, they were both born in 1979, and they both recently used Antonio “Bifgoot” Silva as a stepping stone for their careers. (Ed note: Click here to celebrate that sweet burn with me.)
Less than a year ago, it looked like Mir all but destined to wind up alongside his former rival in the “forced retirement” line, and now, he’s looking at a potential title shot if he is victorious over Arlovski, whom himself just defeated a heavily-favored top 5 opponent in his last contest. The two veteran heavyweights will do battle at UFC 191: Johnson vs. Dodson 2 in just a couple weeks in a fight that has damn near everyone foaming at the mouth in anticipation. Everyone except Frank Mir, that is.
(Derailing the hype train of a youngster once and for all, on the other hand…via Getty)
Frank Mir and Andrei Arlovski have a lot in common. They’re both over six feet tall, they were both born in 1979, and they both recently used Antonio “Bifgoot” Silva as a stepping stone for their careers. (Ed note: Click here to celebrate that sweet burn with me.)
Less than a year ago, it looked like Mir all but destined to wind up alongside his former rival in the “forced retirement” line, and now, he’s looking at a potential title shot if he is victorious over Arlovski, whom himself just defeated a heavily-favored top 5 opponent in his last contest. The two veteran heavyweights will do battle at UFC 191: Johnson vs. Dodson 2 in just a couple weeks in a fight that has damn near everyone foaming at the mouth in anticipation. Everyone except Frank Mir, that is.
In one sense, I’m not happy about it on a social level. I think we both have a lot to offer the sport and I don’t want to see either one of us derailed right now. I would have been much happier with this situation if we could have skipped each other at this point. I could have fought someone else in the top three and he could have fought Werdum for the title and then we could have faced each other in a title fight instead if he would have won.
I have a lot of respect for Andrei. He’s a guy that if my kids were to tell me right now they were fans of Andrei, I would completely cultivate that. Here’s a guy who was at the top. He went from the pinnacle of our sport to getting cut, signing with other organizations, losing more and he’s getting put out cold. Everyone is saying he’s done, his chin is gone, he needs to retire and this guy doesn’t listen to anybody. He just said, ‘Nope, I’m going to keep moving forward and figure out a way.’ He’s better now.
While it’s obviously not the ideal thing you’d like to hear from a guy heading into one of the biggest fights of his life, can you really fault Mir here? Like most of us diehard Arlovski fans who totally predicted his comeback from the day he first left the UFC with complete, unwavering assuredness (raises hand), Mir’s pulling for the old guy. The guy who’s been knocked down, beat down, black and blue. The guy who took a bad situation and made it right. The guy who, if he fell back down, you’d help him back up again. (Ed note: The soundtrack for that inspiring bit of prose can be found here).
In any case, I hope for Mir’s sake that his lack of motivation to fight Arlovski doesn’t affect his performance in the cage come September 5th. “The Pit Bull” is already being listed as a 3-to-1 favorite and everyone who knows anything about this sport knows that Nostalgic Frank Mir can be found just between High Altitude Velasquez and Unmotivated Penn on the list of P4P Worst Fighters Ever.
Those scratching their heads at the odd pairing of Anthony Johnson and Jan Blachowicz at UFC 191 can stop worrying because the UFC has apparently had a change of heart.
According to a report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Blachowicz has been pulled f…
Those scratching their heads at the odd pairing of Anthony Johnson and Jan Blachowicz at UFC 191 can stop worrying because the UFC has apparently had a change of heart.
According to a report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Blachowicz has been pulled from the fight, and Johnson will now face top-10 light heavyweight fighter JimiManuwa on the September 5 Las Vegas fight card.
There hasn’t been any official word from the UFC of why the bout was changed, but Okamoto is reporting that Blachowicz is expected to remain in the UFC 191 lineup.
Johnson had his nine-fight win streak snapped in May by Daniel Cormier in a bout for the vacant light heavyweight title.
He had Cormier in trouble early in the first round when he dropped the former Olympian with a massive overhand right, but Cormier’s tenacious wrestling and suffocating top control kept him in the fight.
Johnson was taken apart piece by piece in a grinding effort, before succumbing to a rear naked choke in the third round. Since the loss, Johnson has made serious adjustments to his training camp.
When speaking with MMAFighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti, he said he is now working with Neil Melanson, a longtime grappling coach who has worked with Randy Couture, Dominick Cruz and Michael Chandler.
Manuwa will enter this fight coming off a unanimous decision win over Blachowicz in April. The 35-year-old UK star has shown plenty of promise during his three-year UFC tenure. His only loss came to current No. 1 contender Alexander Gustafsson.
UFC 191 features the flyweight championship rematch between Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson. A heavyweight tilt between former champions Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir is also expected to be on the card.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
It looks like Andrei Arlovski will have to wait for his rematch with Fabricio Werdum and his shot at reclaiming the UFC heavyweight belt. Instead, it appears the former UFC champion will meet Frank Mir at UFC 191.
The matchup was reported by Ariel Helw…
It looks like Andrei Arlovski will have to wait for his rematch with Fabricio Werdum and his shot at reclaiming the UFC heavyweight belt. Instead, it appears the former UFC champion will meet Frank Mir at UFC 191.
The matchup was reported by Ariel Helwani on Fox Sports 1’s UFC Tonight and is pending final confirmation:
With a 3-0 record since returning to the UFC roster and having risen to No. 4 in the heavyweight rankings, Arlovski was likely being considered for a title shot. However, with news that he will be competing against Mir, it appears StipeMiocic may have won the race for a meeting with Werdum.
Although it’s not shocking Arlovski would be passed over for Miocic, it is somewhat surprising that he’d be paired with Mir. Coming off a win over No. 5 contender Travis Browne, Arlovski figured to at least get a Top Five opponent, but he’ll instead butt heads with the No. 10 contender in his division.
Not that long ago, Mir was sitting on four straight losses, and many were calling for him to retire from MMA. After taking some time away, though, Mir has returned looking as good as ever, recording back-to-back knockout wins over Antonio Silva and Todd Duffee in the past five months.
Should Mir continue his resurgence against Arlovski, he’d slide right back into the title-shot conversation at 36 years old.
Headlined by a rematch between 125-pound champion Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson, UFC 191 is set to take place September 5 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. As the card currently stands, a bout between Arlovski and Mir would probably fit in as the co-main event.
It looks like Andrei Arlovski will have to wait for his rematch with Fabricio Werdum and his shot at reclaiming the UFC heavyweight belt. Instead, it appears the former UFC champion will meet Frank Mir at UFC 191.
The matchup was reported by Ariel Helw…
It looks like Andrei Arlovski will have to wait for his rematch with Fabricio Werdum and his shot at reclaiming the UFC heavyweight belt. Instead, it appears the former UFC champion will meet Frank Mir at UFC 191.
The matchup was reported by Ariel Helwani on Fox Sports 1’s UFC Tonight and is pending final confirmation:
With a 3-0 record since returning to the UFC roster and having risen to No. 4 in the heavyweight rankings, Arlovski was likely being considered for a title shot. However, with news that he will be competing against Mir, it appears StipeMiocic may have won the race for a meeting with Werdum.
Although it’s not shocking Arlovski would be passed over for Miocic, it is somewhat surprising that he’d be paired with Mir. Coming off a win over No. 5 contender Travis Browne, Arlovski figured to at least get a Top Five opponent, but he’ll instead butt heads with the No. 10 contender in his division.
Not that long ago, Mir was sitting on four straight losses, and many were calling for him to retire from MMA. After taking some time away, though, Mir has returned looking as good as ever, recording back-to-back knockout wins over Antonio Silva and Todd Duffee in the past five months.
Should Mir continue his resurgence against Arlovski, he’d slide right back into the title-shot conversation at 36 years old.
Headlined by a rematch between 125-pound champion Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson, UFC 191 is set to take place September 5 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. As the card currently stands, a bout between Arlovski and Mir would probably fit in as the co-main event.
Not too long ago, Dana White took American Top Team to task for their “stone age” ways of doing things, which he blamed for then-heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez‘s series of ongoing injuries suffered during training. And despite the fact that AKA actually ranked rather low on the list of injury rates among major fight camps, there was no denying that their historically brutal sparring sessions were playing a major role in their fighters frequent injuries.
Enter newly-crowned light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, or should I say, exit Daniel Cormier. From his title fight against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 191. Because he’s injured. Daniel Cormier trains at AKA.
Not too long ago, Dana White took American Top Team to task for their “stone age” ways of doing things, which he blamed for then-heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez‘s series of ongoing injuries suffered during training. And despite the fact that AKA actually ranked rather low on the list of injury rates among major fight camps, there was no denying that their historically brutal sparring sessions were playing a major role in their fighters frequent injuries.
Enter newly-crowned light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, or should I say, exit Daniel Cormier. From his title fight against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 191. Because he’s injured. Daniel Cormier trains at AKA.
That was a long walk, but I regret nothing.
Details after the jump
Yes, according to MMAJunkie, Cormier will not face against Lusty Gusty in September as originally planned due to an apparent knee injury suffered in training. As a result of this “slight delay,” Cormier is being tentatively-scheduled to return in October, although UFC officials have yet to confirm or even speculate as to where or when exactly the fight will transpire.
Injured before he can even make his first title defense. Daniel, you’ll fit in just fine around here. Juuuuuust fine.
Those scratching their heads at the odd pairing of Anthony Johnson and Jan 