Tag: UFC 261

Valentina Shevchenko Only Moving Up For Amanda Nunes Trilogy

Shevchenko NunesValentina Shevchenko is happy where she is as far as divisions go. Shevchenko is the reigning women’s flyweight champion and will look to add another title defense to her record when she takes on Jessica Andrade at UFC 261 this upcoming weekend. Many regard Andrade to be her toughest test at 125 pounds, but even […]

Shevchenko Nunes

Valentina Shevchenko is happy where she is as far as divisions go.

Shevchenko is the reigning women’s flyweight champion and will look to add another title defense to her record when she takes on Jessica Andrade at UFC 261 this upcoming weekend.

Many regard Andrade to be her toughest test at 125 pounds, but even considering that, Shevchenko remains a big favorite. And if she continues to keep winning, there will be calls for her to move up and return to the bantamweight division.

However, “Bullet’ has no plans on doing that. That is, unless it’s for a trilogy with two-weight champion Amanda Nunes.

“There is only one reason why I would move up, it’s a fight against Amanda,” Shevchenko said in a recent interview (via MiddleEasy). “This is the only (reason) I see me going up.

“Right now I’m very focused on flyweight, because going up a weight class it means you have to gain more weight. It’s hard to go up and down again, up and down. So I prefer to do everything (at flyweight) and then think about going somewhere higher.”

Shevchenko, of course, has been receptive to the idea of a trilogy with Nunes for many years now.

Their first meeting was in 2015 and saw Nunes come out on top via unanimous decision. Their second meeting took place in 2017 for the 135-pound title and saw Nunes win a highly-contested split decision.

If both competitors keep winning, it’ll only be a matter of time until we see a third clash.

Kamaru Usman Responds To Jorge Masvidal Calling Him A “Coward”

Kamaru Usman has caught wind of Jorge Masvidal’s recent comments painting him as a “coward,” and the welterweight champion is still trying to make sense of it. It’s fight week, ladies and gentlemen, and we will all bear witness to not one, not two, but…

Kamaru Usman has caught wind of Jorge Masvidal’s recent comments painting him as a “coward,” and the welterweight champion is still trying to make sense of it. It’s fight week, ladies and gentlemen, and we will all bear witness to not one, not two, but three title fights at UFC 261 this Saturday. Typically, Valentina […]

Weili Zhang Team Not Paying Attention To Non-Truths From Rose Namajunas

ZhangWeili Zhang is not bothered about the recent comments of Rose Namajunas. Namajunas created a stir recently when she detailed her motivation for her upcoming women’s strawweight title fight with Zhang at UFC 261 on April 24. “I was just kind of reminding myself of my background and everywhere that I come from and my […]

Zhang

Weili Zhang is not bothered about the recent comments of Rose Namajunas.

Namajunas created a stir recently when she detailed her motivation for her upcoming women’s strawweight title fight with Zhang at UFC 261 on April 24.

“I was just kind of reminding myself of my background and everywhere that I come from and my family and everything like that, and I kind of wanted to educate my training partner [on] the Lithuanian struggle and just the history of it all, so we watched ‘The Other Dream Team’ just to kind of get an overall sentiment of what we fight for. Just after watching that, it was just a huge reminder of like, yeah, it’s better dead than red, you know? I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Weili is red. That’s what she represents. It’s nothing personal against her, but that’s a huge motivating factor of why I fight, and I fight for freedom.

“I’ve got the Christ consciousness, I’ve got Lithuanian blood, and I’ve got the American dream. And all of those things I’m taking with me into the fight.”

The implication, of course, being that Zhang was a supporter of communism since she hails from China even though she hasn’t publicly shown her support.

Namajunas would since double down on her comments stating that she doesn’t regret making them. So what does Zhang make of what she’s had to say?

Not very much according to strength and conditioning coach Ruben Payan Jr.

“Let me tell you the truth, and we’ll make a statement next week cuz the media will be asking,” he said in a recent interview. “To be honest with you we haven’t been paying attention. It’s been like watching it but not feeling it. This is the soap opera that’s happening but we aren’t really engaging in it because we’re just so focused on the fight. It hasn’t even been a topic for the team. I wish there was something more that I could say, but it’s like … non-emotional. There’s really nothing to say if you’re not really emotionally attached to it.

“You’re just kind of watching things happen and you’re watching people talk about it,” he continued. “And you see people get upset about it. And you see the comments but you’re not involved in it. That’s kind of how it feels. Even though some of the comments are directed towards her, there’s so many non-truths to it that it’s like we’re not even going to pay attention to it. That’s kind of how we feel.”

It will be interesting to see what Zhang says when she’s asked about it directly during fight week.

Jorge Masvidal: Fighters Deserve Bigger Margins On Pay-Per-View Shares

UFC star and former title challenger Jorge Masvidal believes that fighters deserve a bigger margin on the pay-per-view shares sold at each event. Despite coming up short in his venture against champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 251, Jorge Masvidal certainly …

UFC star and former title challenger Jorge Masvidal believes that fighters deserve a bigger margin on the pay-per-view shares sold at each event. Despite coming up short in his venture against champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 251, Jorge Masvidal certainly generated a large amount of revenue for the event. When all was said and done, […]

‘Better Dead Than Red’: Rose Namajunas Using Political Motivation For Weili Zhang Fight

Namajunas ZhangThings have taken a political turn in the Weili Zhang vs. Rose Namajunas fight. The pair will collide for the women’s strawweight title as one of three championship fights taking place at the upcoming UFC 261 pay-per-view event on April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida. And while most would have expected a cordial buildup given the […]

Namajunas Zhang

Things have taken a political turn in the Weili Zhang vs. Rose Namajunas fight.

The pair will collide for the women’s strawweight title as one of three championship fights taking place at the upcoming UFC 261 pay-per-view event on April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida.

And while most would have expected a cordial buildup given the personalities and respect between the two fighters, Namajunas has injected some politics into the equation as she is using Zhang’s home country of China — being a communist country — as a source of motivation for their upcoming fight.

“You know, the animosity and things like that, those can be very motivating factors in short moments,” Namajunas said (via @FullContactMTWF). “But in all actuality, going into the fight, maybe there was certain rivalries and things like that, but I always kept myself in control. I never really hated the person and I don’t hate Weili or anything like that. There’s nothing, but I do feel as though I have a lot to fight for in this fight and what she represents.

“I was just kind of reminding myself of my background and everywhere that I come from and my family and everything like that, and I kind of wanted to educate my training partner [on] the Lithuanian struggle and just the history of it all, so we watched ‘The Other Dream Team’ just to kind of get an overall sentiment of what we fight for. Just after watching that, it was just a huge reminder of like, yeah, it’s better dead than red, you know? I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Weili is red. That’s what she represents. It’s nothing personal against her, but that’s a huge motivating factor of why I fight, and I fight for freedom.

“I’ve got the Christ consciousness, I’ve got Lithuanian blood, and I’ve got the American dream. And all of those things I’m taking with me into the fight.”

Namajunas, of course, is Lithuanian-American with her parents being Lithuanian immigrants who left the communist rule of the Soviet Union. That makes her comments understandable but still unnecessary at the same time, especially as Zhang has never publicly advocated for communism.

It will definitely be interesting to hear how Zhang responds to these comments even if they weren’t made with any ill intentions from Namajunas.

What do you make of these comments?

Jorge Masvidal Vows To Have Trilogy Fight With Usman After UFC 261

Jorge Masvidal is already looking forward to the trilogy fight with Kamaru Usman after he beats him at UFC 261. Jorge Masvidal is in training for his second title fight in the last 12 months. The first time was against Kamaru Usman on just three week&#…

Jorge Masvidal is already looking forward to the trilogy fight with Kamaru Usman after he beats him at UFC 261. Jorge Masvidal is in training for his second title fight in the last 12 months. The first time was against Kamaru Usman on just three week’s notice. Now that Masvidal has a second chance to […]