Tag: ufc 259

Thiago Santos Issues Statement Following Third Consecutive Defeat

SantosThiago Santos had no excuses for his latest setback. Santos suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 259 last night. Many were expecting the contest to be a barnburner and an explosive way to open up the stacked main card. Instead, it was a drab three-rounder with very little action from both […]

Santos

Thiago Santos had no excuses for his latest setback.

Santos suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 259 last night. Many were expecting the contest to be a barnburner and an explosive way to open up the stacked main card.

Instead, it was a drab three-rounder with very little action from both sides with Rakic doing just about enough to get the verdict of the three judges.

Santos — who was visibly disappointed at the result — is now on an unwanted three-fight losing streak and he could only blame himself for letting it go to the judges.

“No excuses, I left it up to the judges, it was my fault.”

Santos moved up to light heavyweight in 2018 and went on a three-fight winning streak to earn a shot at then champion Jon Jones in 2019. Despite being compromised for majority of the fight due to multiple injuries, Santos put up a good showing with many believing he did enough to win only for him to lose a close split decision.

He would then undergo double surgery and return against Glover Teixeira last year. Despite knocking his fellow Brazilian down twice, Santos would eventually get taken down and get submitted by the veteran.

And this latest setback doesn’t bode well for Santos and his hopes of becoming a champion — especially as he just turned 37. Hopefully, he will return stronger as he is still one of the most exciting fighters on the roster.

What did you make of the performance of Santos?

Video: Jan Blachowicz, Israel Adesanya Have Hilarious Miscommunication During Post-Fight

Adesanya BlachowiczJan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya enjoyed a wholesome moment following their title fight last night. Blachowicz successfully defended his light heavyweight crown after outpointing Adesanya over five rounds in the UFC 259 headliner. It was a big blow for Adesanya as he was looking to become just the fifth two-weight simultaneous champion while he also […]

Adesanya Blachowicz

Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya enjoyed a wholesome moment following their title fight last night.

Blachowicz successfully defended his light heavyweight crown after outpointing Adesanya over five rounds in the UFC 259 headliner.

It was a big blow for Adesanya as he was looking to become just the fifth two-weight simultaneous champion while he also suffered his first professional defeat in the process.

However, he took the loss with grace and stated after the fight that if he was going to lose to anyone, he’d prefer for it to be against a classy champion like Blachowicz.

“Losses are part of life, and losses are something I deal with occasionally,” Adesanya said at the UFC 259 post-fight press conference (via Middle Easy). “Just, this is my first one in MMA. Yeah, but as they say, it is what it is.

“If I was going to lose to anyone, you know, what better guy to lose to than a guy like Jan — a classy champion, a cool dude, a very nice guy, a guy who has a great story himself. On his way to getting cut from the company, comes back and then dominates, becomes light heavyweight champion and then hands this guy, a future legend, his first loss. If I’m going to lose to anyone, I’m glad I lost to him.”

There is clearly respect between the pair and that was further showcased when they had a hilarious miscommunication just before the official scorecards were read.

Adesanya told Blachowicz he made him look like a butter guard while the latter heard bodyguard which led to the exchange below:

What did you make of Blachowicz’s performance against Adesanya a day after UFC 259?

Jon Jones Has A Mouthful To Say Following Adesanya’s UFC 259 Loss

Jon Jones went full troll on Israel Adesanya following Adesanya’s loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.  It’s no secret that Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya have absolutely no love lost for one another. Their back-and-forths on social media have ranged…

Jon Jones went full troll on Israel Adesanya following Adesanya’s loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.  It’s no secret that Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya have absolutely no love lost for one another. Their back-and-forths on social media have ranged from the juvenile, authentically hilarious, all the way to deeply personal. With so much […]

Petr Yan Changes Tune After Aljamain Sterling Poses With Bantamweight Title, Sterling Responds

Yan SterlingIt took a day for Petr Yan to change his tune on Aljamain Sterling. Sterling became the new bantamweight champion at UFC 259 last night after Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee during the fourth round of their title fight. It was an unfortunate end to a great fight, especially as Yan looked well […]

Yan Sterling

It took a day for Petr Yan to change his tune on Aljamain Sterling.

Sterling became the new bantamweight champion at UFC 259 last night after Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee during the fourth round of their title fight.

It was an unfortunate end to a great fight, especially as Yan looked well on his way to winning the contest. The Russian would apologize for his actions on social media soon after and wished Sterling a quick recovery.

However, despite Sterling claiming that wasn’t the way he wanted to win the title and leaving the belt in the Octagon, he was later seen posing with it in a photo posted by teammate Merab Dvalishvili.

Yan certainly didn’t appreciate that as he responded soon after.

“Glad to see champ is fine now…”

On Instagram, he would also call Sterling a clown to which Dvalishvili responded.

Sterling would also respond to the former champion.

“@PetrYanUFC please allow me to cleanly knee you in the temple, while you aren’t looking! See how much of a “clown” I would be then. I can admit RD 4 you were starting to land more shots, but the fight was statistically close, despite me fatiguing early. The clown here is you.”

Ironically, Sterling still claimed he didn’t feel like a champion despite posing with the belt.

“Thanks, but I don’t feel like a champ yet until we do it again,” he responded to a fan.

The quickest solution? Run things back.

What do you make of Sterling posing with the belt?

Israel Adesanya Reflects On Future After UFC 259 Loss To Blachowicz

Israel Adesanya has no regrets about moving up in weight and his loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. Over the weekend, Israel Adesanya attempted to become the fifth athlete in the UFC to capture two titles simultaneously. While his efforts were in vain,…

Israel Adesanya has no regrets about moving up in weight and his loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. Over the weekend, Israel Adesanya attempted to become the fifth athlete in the UFC to capture two titles simultaneously. While his efforts were in vain, the middleweight champion gave an excellent account of himself against the […]

Petr Yan Opens Up About DQ Loss To Sterling At UFC 259

Inside the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, the bantamweight championship changed hands after a controversial intentional foul resulting in Petr Yan losing his title to Aljamain Sterling. The Russian champion and Sterling went back and forth in a thrill…

Inside the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, the bantamweight championship changed hands after a controversial intentional foul resulting in Petr Yan losing his title to Aljamain Sterling. The Russian champion and Sterling went back and forth in a thrilling war. After a devastating illegal knee to Sterling while he was clearly grounded, referee Mark […]