Tag: UFC 226

Report: Francis Nagnnou vs. Derrick Lewis Set For UFC 226

The UFC heavyweight title will be on the line in the main event of the upcoming UFC 226 pay-per-view (PPV) event, as champion Stipe Miocic is set to take on 205-pound titleholder Daniel Cormier in a super fight for Miocic’s title. That may not be the only intriguing heavyweight fight on the card though. According […]

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The UFC heavyweight title will be on the line in the main event of the upcoming UFC 226 pay-per-view (PPV) event, as champion Stipe Miocic is set to take on 205-pound titleholder Daniel Cormier in a super fight for Miocic’s title.

That may not be the only intriguing heavyweight fight on the card though.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC is expected to finalize a bout between Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis for the card in the coming days.

Ngannou, one of the hardest hitters in the division, is coming off of a rather one-sided decision loss to Miocic in the main event of UFC 220 earlier this year in Boston. Prior to that, however, he had gone on a tear, winning 10-straight fights including six-straight in the UFC.

Lewis, meanwhile, has also established himself as one of the division’s best knockout artists, as he’s won seven of his last eight fights. Six of those seven victories have come by way of T/KO and he’s coming off of a victory over Marcin Tybura in Austin, Texas this past February.

Aside from the intriguing clash of styles that this fight will present, Ngannou and Lewis have been going back-and-forth throughout the media in recent memory, making the fight a no-brainer.

UFC 226 is set to take place on July 7, 2018 during International Fight Week at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Francis Ngannou vs. Derrick Lewis Set For UFC 226

Two heavyweights with bad intentions will meet at UFC 226 and we’re not talking about the main event. Feared striker Francis Ngannou will meet Derrick Lewis at UFC 226. Ariel Helwani first broke the news. Sources have since confirmed the report. …

Two heavyweights with bad intentions will meet at UFC 226 and we’re not talking about the main event. Feared striker Francis Ngannou will meet Derrick Lewis at UFC 226. Ariel Helwani first broke the news. Sources have since confirmed the report. Ngannou and Lewis will indeed scrap in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 7. Ngannou […]

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Max Holloway Unveils Target Date For Brian Ortega Fight

UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway did his best to save the day after Tony Ferguson pulled out of his lightweight title fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov at April 7’s UFC 223, but weight cutting issues prevented him from doing so. After medical officials deemed him unfit to compete, Holloway is moving on and looking forward to […]

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UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway did his best to save the day after Tony Ferguson pulled out of his lightweight title fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov at April 7’s UFC 223, but weight cutting issues prevented him from doing so.

After medical officials deemed him unfit to compete, Holloway is moving on and looking forward to his next fight, which he’s hoping will take place at the blockbuster UFC 226 event this summer.

Holloway last defended his belt against Jose Aldo for a second time at UFC 218 late last year, and since his removal from UFC 223 wasn’t injury-related unlike his UFC 22 withdrawal a month prior, ‘Blessed’ is ready to go.

The obvious candidate for Holloway’s next title defense is Brian Ortega, who replaced Holloway and knocked out the always-durable Frankie Edgar at UFC 222.

Holloway (19-3) is gunning for a spot on UFC 226 on July 7, which will feature a super fight between light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.

Holloway would have had the chance to win the lightweight title if his weight cutting hadn’t prevented him from taking on Nurmagomedov, who ultimately took on Al Iaquinta and defeated him to win the interim UFC lightweight strap.

How does Holloway vs. Ortega at UFC 226 sound to you?

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Alexander Gustafsson Offers Backhanded Compliment To ‘Fat Guy’ Daniel Cormier

Former two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson thought he had a third title shot locked up when he knocked out Glover Teixeira in the fifth round of their rousing slugfest in Sweden last May. However, the rise of formerly surging contender Volkan Oezdemir coupled with shoulder surgery for ‘The Mauler’ lead to him […]

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Former two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson thought he had a third title shot locked up when he knocked out Glover Teixeira in the fifth round of their rousing slugfest in Sweden last May.

However, the rise of formerly surging contender Volkan Oezdemir coupled with shoulder surgery for ‘The Mauler’ lead to him being passed over, and when current UFC 205-pound champion Daniel Cormier smothered Oezdemir in the co-main event of UFC 220 this January, yet another roadblock presented itself for the Swedish slugger.

Also on that card, heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic put in a similarly dominant performance over hyped knockout striker Francis Ngannou, paving the way for a high-profile champion vs. champion super fight this July that has once again left Gustafsson out in the cold.

He’s tried to stay relevant on social media, but it’s brought mixed results, as his recent callout of Cormier’s teammate Luke Rockhold, who was recently knocked out by Yoel Romero and teased a move up to 205 pounds, was a little cringe-worthy considering ‘The Soldier of God’ had only put Rockhold’s lights out a few days prior.

So Gustafsson has relegated himself to discussing the Miocic vs. Cormier fight in interviews in hopes of facing the winner, something he did during a recent appearance on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast (via MMA Mania). In the interview, Gustafsson started with some praise of former heavyweight Cormier, focusing on his win over Josh Barnett in the Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix:

“He did good, he didn’t lose as a heavyweight. He is good. He lifted (Josh Barnett) up like nothing.

“This fight against Stipe, if it was against another heavyweight I would probably say Stipe is going to win. But ‘DC’ is a really good heavyweight, so we will see what happens. He is world class, doesn’t take a step back and he is in your face.”

Gustafsson had some praise for Miocic as well, but also focused on Cormier’s toughness before the compliments ended and he added that “DC” had great conditioning for a “fat guy”:

“He’s a badass, but ‘DC’ is such a competitive guy. He goes for it, in tough situations he eats it and comes right back and does what he does, always. And for being a fat guy, that guy is doing five rounds like nothing. So his conditioning is on top.”

That’s about as brazen as the usually respectful “Mauler” gets with his trash talk, yet he’s stepped that part of his game up recently after feeling slighted at being passed over the title shot a second time.

Gustafsson fought Cormier in a narrow split decision at UFC 192 that was one of the best fights of 2015, and he infamously took legendary former 205-pound champion Jon Jones to the limit in their classic match-up back at UFC 165. Since then, however, a series of injuries have derailed Gustafsson’s chances at getting another title shot, even though he’s clearly on the cusp of being champion and could have been twice if only one judge’s card had gone his way in two instances.

He’s going to have to wait a bit longer, and with Cormier planning to retire in less than a year’s time, that shot may never come – at least not against his second greatest rival.

On the other hand, he may have a shot at the belt in Cormier’s final fight, and what a fitting end to one of the sport’s greatest careers that would be.

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UFC Rankings Update: Conor McGregor Finally Falls On P4P List

Conor McGregor’s outrageous antics – and his overall lack of any in-cage activity – have finally begun to affect his ranking on the official pound-for-pound list. In the newest rankings released this week, McGregor fell one spot to No. 4 as heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic overtook him at No. 3. McGregor, of course, was last […]

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Conor McGregor’s outrageous antics – and his overall lack of any in-cage activity – have finally begun to affect his ranking on the official pound-for-pound list.

In the newest rankings released this week, McGregor fell one spot to No. 4 as heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic overtook him at No. 3. McGregor, of course, was last seen throwing a metal dolly through a bus window before UFC 223, resulting in his arrest and pending court date on a felony and multiple misdemeanors. “The Notorious” was also stripped of his lightweight title after the event, marking the second title of which he’s been relieved of without a single defense.

Miocic, meanwhile, has been a picture of consistency in an otherwise inconsistent heavyweight division, defending his title three times since winning it with a first-round knockout of Fabricio Werdum at 2016’s UFC 198. The Cleveland-based firefighter will face light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the main event of July 7’s UFC 226 after the two coach The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 27, which debuted last night.

The other significant rankings movement took place in the currently booming lightweight division, with rising contender Dustin Poirier moving up one spot to No. 4 after his exciting fourth-round TKO finish over Justin Gaethje, who dropped down to No. 7 for his second straight UFC loss.

That shakeup forced previous No. 4 Edson Barboza down to No. 5 and allowed Kevin Lee, Barboza’s upcoming opponent in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., April 21, 2018) UFC Fight Night 128 from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to rise up to No. 6, creating a No. 5 vs. No. 6 match-up at 155 pounds for the second straight week.

You can check out the full updated rankings from the UFC’s official website here:

POUND-FOR-POUND
1 Demetrious Johnson
2 Georges St-Pierre
3 Stipe Miocic +1
4 Conor McGregor -1
5 Daniel Cormier
6 Max Holloway
7 TJ Dillashaw
8 Tyron Woodley +1
8 Khabib Nurmagomedov
10 Cris Cyborg
11 Tony Ferguson
12 Amanda Nunes
13 Robert Whittaker
14 Cody Garbrandt
15 Rose Namajunas

FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Demetrious Johnson
1 Joseph Benavidez
2 Henry Cejudo
3 Ray Borg
4 Jussier Formiga
5 Sergio Pettis
6 John Moraga +4
7 Brandon Moreno
8 Wilson Reis -2
9 Ben Nguyen -1
10 Dustin Ortiz -1
11 Matheus Nicolau +1
12 Alexandre Pantoja -1
13 Tim Elliott
14 Deiveson Figueiredo
15 Magomed Bibulatov

BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: TJ Dillashaw
1 Cody Garbrandt
2 Dominick Cruz
3 Raphael Assuncao
4 Jimmie Rivera
5 Marlon Moraes
6 John Lineker
7 John Dodson
8 Aljamain Sterling
9 Bryan Caraway -1
10 Pedro Munhoz
10 Cody Stamann +1
12 Rob Font
13 Thomas Almeida
14 Brett Johns
15 Eddie Wineland

FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Max Holloway
1 Brian Ortega
2 Jose Aldo
3 Frankie Edgar
4 Cub Swanson
5 Jeremy Stephens
6 Josh Emmett
7 Ricardo Lamas
8 Chan Sung Jung
9 Renato Moicano
10 Darren Elkins
11 Yair Rodriguez
12 Mirsad Bektic
13 Dooho Choi
14 Zabit Magomedsharipov
15 Myles Jury

LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Khabib Nurmagomedov
1 Conor McGregor
2 Tony Ferguson
3 Eddie Alvarez
4 Dustin Poirier +1
5 Edson Barboza -1
6 Kevin Lee +1
7 Justin Gaethje -1
8 Nate Diaz
9 Michael Chiesa
10 Al Iaquinta
11 James Vick
12 Anthony Pettis
13 Alexander Hernandez
14 Paul Felder
15 Olivier Aubin-Mercier

WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Tyron Woodley
1 Stephen Thompson
2 Rafael Dos Anjos
3 Colby Covington
4 Robbie Lawler
5 Demian Maia
6 Jorge Masvidal
7 Kamaru Usman
7 Darren Till
9 Neil Magny
10 Santiago Ponzinibbio
11 Donald Cerrone
12 Gunnar Nelson +1
13 Alex Oliveira *NR
14 Leon Edwards
15 Dong Hyun Kim

MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Robert Whittaker
1 Yoel Romero
2 Jacare Souza
3 Luke Rockhold
4 Chris Weidman
5 Kelvin Gastelum
6 Michael Bisping
7 Derek Brunson
8 David Branch
9 Vitor Belfort
10 Uriah Hall
10 Brad Tavares +5
12 Thiago Santos -1
13 Lyoto Machida -1
14 Paulo Costa
15 Antonio Carlos Junior *NR

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Alexander Gustafsson
2 Volkan Oezdemir
3 Glover Teixeira
4 Ilir Latifi
5 Jan Blachowicz
6 Jimi Manuwa
7 Mauricio Rua
8 Ovince Saint Preux
9 Misha Cirkunov
10 Corey Anderson
11 Patrick Cummins
12 Tyson Pedro
13 Gadzhimurad Antigulov
14 Gian Villante
15 Jordan Johnson

HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Stipe Miocic
1 Francis Ngannou
2 Alistair Overeem
3 Alexander Volkov
4 Curtis Blaydes
5 Fabricio Werdum
6 Mark Hunt
6 Derrick Lewis
8 Marcin Tybura
9 Andrei Arlovski
10 Aleksei Oleinik
11 Stefan Struve
12 Tai Tuivasa
13 Shamil Abdurakhimov
14 Junior Albini
15 Justin Ledet

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Rose Namajunas
1 Joanna Jedrzejczyk
2 Jessica Andrade
3 Claudia Gadelha
4 Karolina Kowalkiewicz
5 Tecia Torres
6 Carla Esparza
7 Michelle Waterson
8 Felice Herrig
9 Alexa Grasso
10 Cortney Casey
11 Randa Markos
12 Tatiana Suarez
13 Joanne Calderwood
14 Nina Ansaroff
15 Angela Hill

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Nicco Montano
1 Valentina Shevchenko
2 Sijara Eubanks
3 Lauren Murphy
4 Alexis Davis
5 Roxanne Modafferi
6 Barb Honchak
7 Liz Carmouche
8 Katlyn Chookagian
9 Jessica-Rose Clark
10 Jessica Eye
11 Ashlee Evans-Smith
12 Mara Romero Borella
13 Paige VanZant
14 Montana De La Rosa
15 Rachael Ostovich

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Amanda Nunes
1 Holly Holm
2 Raquel Pennington
3 Julianna Pena
4 Ketlen Vieira
5 Germaine de Randamie
6 Cat Zingano
7 Marion Reneau
8 Sara McMann
9 Leslie Smith
10 Aspen Ladd
11 Bethe Correia
12 Irene Aldana
13 Lucie Pudilova
14 Sarah Moras
15 Lina Lansberg

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Mike Perry Set For UFC Return This Summer

UFC welterweight slugger “Platinum” Mike Perry will return to action this summer in a fan-friendly matchup against fellow brawler Yancy Medeiros at UFC 226. The UFC announced the bout on Tuesday, adding another stellar fight to an already fantastic card, which will be headlined by a champion vs. champion super fight between Daniel Cormier and […]

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UFC welterweight slugger “Platinum” Mike Perry will return to action this summer in a fan-friendly matchup against fellow brawler Yancy Medeiros at UFC 226.

The UFC announced the bout on Tuesday, adding another stellar fight to an already fantastic card, which will be headlined by a champion vs. champion super fight between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic:

Perry has been an exciting mainstay in the welterweight division since debuting with the promotion in 2016. Since then, “Platinum” has bounced back and forth between stunning and brutal knockout victories and deflating decision losses. Perry most recently took a step up in competition against Santiago Ponzinibbio, who defeated him after the fight went to the judges’ scorecards.

Meanwhile, Medeiros has followed a similar trajectory, having TKO’d Alex Oliveira and Erick Silva before losing by TKO to Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

UFC 226 takes place July 7 in Las Vegas.

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