Jose Aldo believes his weight cut to 135 pounds has been a smoother experience than it was for featherweight. Aldo has surprised many with his ability to transition to the bantamweight division. The former 145-pound ruler often struggled to make the fe…
Jose Aldo believes his weight cut to 135 pounds has been a smoother experience than it was for featherweight. Aldo has surprised many with his ability to transition to the bantamweight division. The former 145-pound ruler often struggled to make the featherweight limit. While he was able to make weight each time out, Aldo’s coach, […]
Rose Namajunas didn’t enjoy being a champion — however, she did enjoy having the belt. Namajunas returns to action for the first time since May last year when she takes on Jessica Andrade in a rematch at UFC 251 on July 11. On that previous occasion, Namajunas suffered a second-round knockout defeat to Andrade to […]
Rose Namajunas didn’t enjoy being a champion — however, she did enjoy having the belt.
Namajunas returns to action for the first time since May last year when she takes on Jessica Andrade in a rematch at UFC 251 on July 11. On that previous occasion, Namajunas suffered a second-round knockout defeat to Andrade to lose her women’s strawweight title.
It turned out to be somewhat of a relief in the end as despite becoming a champion at 25 by knocking out Joanna Jedrzejczyk, being the strawweight queen wasn’t what Namajunas envisioned.
“I don’t know why, but ever since I turned 26, I think I just dealt with … becoming an adult was kind of difficult,” Namajunas told ESPN. “Losing my title and all of that sad s—, all of that ungratefulness and bitterness, I just went through a lot of different stages, and I just kind grew to understand some things.
“Everything is temporary, so you just kind of have to live in the moment and enjoy yourself as much as possible.
“… I don’t miss the way that I felt as a champion. But I do miss having that belt, though. When you get up and it’s your turn to dance but you ain’t ready, you ain’t got your moves right, everybody is looking at you — that’s kind of what it felt like. You feel like everyone is staring at you. That’s kind of like how it felt.”
Namajunas has gone through a lot in recent months, including losing family to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
That said, it was a wake-up call for “Thug” who has regained the passion for the sport that she loves.
“I love this sport,” she said. “There’s always things to gripe and complain about, but this is what I love to do, man. I’m a martial artist. I’m just pretty much hitting my prime right now, and it seems like everything, all of a sudden, is coming together.
“It seemed like everything was falling apart. Sometimes, things have to crumble down before you have to put them back together again.”
Zhang vs. Namajunas?
A win over Andrade would not only earn Namajunas revenge over the Brazilian, but also possibly set her up for a title fight with current champion Weili Zhang.
It’s a bout Zhang has spoken of recently as well and Namajunas would love to fight the Chinese superstar.
“I’d love to fight her one day,” Namajunas added. “She’s a true martial artist and like, she’s the sh*t.”
How do you think Namajunas will perform in her return? And would you like to see her face Zhang in the future?
Fight Island Events Edging Nearer UFC president Dana White certainly can’t wait for Fight Island. We are just under two weeks away for the Fight Island — or Yas Island — events to kick off in Abu Dhabi starting with the stacked UFC 251 pay-per-view. And on Tuesday, White shared a video giving fans a […]
Fight Island Events Edging Nearer
UFC president Dana White certainly can’t wait for Fight Island.
We are just under two weeks away for the Fight Island — or Yas Island — events to kick off in Abu Dhabi starting with the stacked UFC 251 pay-per-view.
And on Tuesday, White shared a video giving fans a look at the testing and infrastructure on the island.
“This is the first look at the testing and infrastructure being built on Fight Island (Yas Island, Abu Dhabi). This experience is going to so BADASS for my fighters and my staff!!! #InAbuDhabi @VisitAbuDhabi”
As per the video, 2004 tests were completed seemingly during a testing phase from June 15 to June 24. There will also be 17 medical personnel in three medical facilities.
When it comes to the actual venue, the numbers include 400,000 man hours, 350 tons of metal and 650,000 square feet.
Rose Namajunas thinks the stars are aligning for a strong showing against Jessica Andrade in their rematch. On July 11, Namajunas and Andrade will do battle in a rematch. The two competed back in May 2019. At the time, Namajunas was the UFC strawweight…
Rose Namajunas thinks the stars are aligning for a strong showing against Jessica Andrade in their rematch. On July 11, Namajunas and Andrade will do battle in a rematch. The two competed back in May 2019. At the time, Namajunas was the UFC strawweight champion. “Thug” Rose had a strong opening round and was getting […]
Usman Changes Camps Ahead Of Title Defense UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is getting work in with interim lightweight title-holder Justin Gaethje. Usman will defend his welterweight title against Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC 251 which takes place July 11 on Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island. Given that they were teammates at Sanford […]
Usman Changes Camps Ahead Of Title Defense
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is getting work in with interim lightweight title-holder Justin Gaethje.
Usman will defend his welterweight title against Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC 251 which takes place July 11 on Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island.
Given that they were teammates at Sanford MMA in Florida, Usman made the decision to move camps to Denver where he is now training under head coach Trevor Wittman.
Wittman notably trains Justin Gaethje and Rose Namajunas and it wasn’t a surprise to see him oversee Usman sparring with the former ahead of the title defense.
Gaethje posted a small snippet of it recently which you can watch below:
“Iron sharpens iron. How much would you pay to watch this for a few rounds? @usman84kg is looking like a straight killer. Glad to have him in the room. Just two dudes having fun ”
It’s a move that seems to be permanent as well with Usman wanting to change things up at this stage of his career.
“I think eventually I would have changed things up anyway,” Usman said. “We had a lot of welterweights at that gym. At some point, when you’re training with these guys on a daily basis and you’re the champion of the world, these guys know you in and out and if they get the better of you one day, they’re licking their chops thinking it’s their time. A little separation from that is good. It keeps that element of surprise, because these guys feel like they know you.
“One thing I firmly believe is that it’s my work. You can be with a great coach, but if you’re not putting the effort in, that coach isn’t going to help you win. That coach isn’t going to get in and fight for you. I know I put the work in.”
Wittman received heaps of praise for Gaethje’s performance against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 last month. It should be interesting to see what changes he can bring to Usman’s game.
What do you think of the footage and Usman training with the likes of Wittman and Gaethje?
Fight Island Events Approaching The UFC heads to Abu Dhabi next to kick off its Fight Island events. Fight Island has been talked about ever since UFC president Dana White revealed he was securing an island back in April to stage fights amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been a couple of months since, but […]
Fight Island Events Approaching
The UFC heads to Abu Dhabi next to kick off its Fight Island events.
Fight Island has been talked about ever since UFC president Dana White revealed he was securing an island back in April to stage fights amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s been a couple of months since, but we are now edging closer with just under two weeks to go for the first event. And BT Sport have released a promo to hype up the upcoming events even further.
Unfortunately, that is only for training purposes as given the hot temperature in Abu Dhabi — especially during the summertime — there is no choice but to host the events in an indoor arena.
Regardless, we are in store for some great fights starting with UFC 251 on July 11 which will play host to three championship bouts.
You can see the full Fight Island cards below:
UFC 251 – JULY 11
Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns – welterweight title fight
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway – featherweight title fight
Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo – bantamweight title fight
Jessica Andrade vs. Rose Namajunas
Amanda Ribas vs. Paige VanZant
Volkan Oezdemir vs. Jiri Prochazka
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Muslim Salikhov
Makwan Amirkhani vs. Danny Henry
Leonardo Santos vs. Roman Bogatov
Marcin Tybura vs. Alexander Romanov
Raulian Paiva vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
Karol Rosa vs. Vanessa Melo
Martin Day vs. Davey Grant
UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Ige – JULY 15
Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige
Frankie Edgar vs. Pedro Munoz
Carla Esparza vs. Marina Rodriguez
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Mounir Lazzez
Jared Gordon vs. Chris Fishgold
Modestas Bukauskas vs. Vinicius Moreira
Molly McCann vs. Talia Santos
Ricardo Ramos vs. Lerone Murphy
John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic
Tim Elliott vs. Ryan Benoit
Diana Belbita vs. Liana Jojua
UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez II – JULY 18
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez – flyweight title fight