Tag: UFC 271

Derrick Lewis ‘Appreciates’ Tai Tuivasa For Beating Greg Hardy, Believes Shoeys Are ‘Nasty’

Derrick LewisFan-favorite UFC heavyweight knockout king, Derrick Lewis has praised upcoming UFC 271 opponent, Tai Tuivasa for knocking out Greg Hardy at UFC 264, but admitted he was less than a fan of the Sydney native’s customary post-fight shoey, labelling the practise as “nasty”. Lewis, the most prolific knockout artist in the history of both the […]

Derrick Lewis

Fan-favorite UFC heavyweight knockout king, Derrick Lewis has praised upcoming UFC 271 opponent, Tai Tuivasa for knocking out Greg Hardy at UFC 264, but admitted he was less than a fan of the Sydney native’s customary post-fight shoey, labelling the practise as “nasty”.

Lewis, the most prolific knockout artist in the history of both the heavyweight division and the entire UFC, is set to co-headline UFC 271 on February 12. in a Houston, Texas homecoming – tackling Australian heavy hitter, Tuivasa in a bout which may have very well have championship implications for the victor. 

Derrick Lewis will feature at the Toyota Center for the first time since his UFC 265 headliner in August

The #3 ranked contender holds the most knockout wins in the history of the organization with 13 separate knockout stoppages, most recently stopping Chris Daukaus in a one-sided first round finish at UFC Vegas 45 in December. 

Lewis admitted that he would be willing to fight for the heavyweight title once again in the future despite twice dropping defeats in undisputed and interim title fights, however, insisted that the bouts should take place over three sanctioned rounds.

Suggesting a pairing against former two-time titleholder, Stipe Miocic, Lewis was instead paired with the #11 ranked, Tuivasa, who has lodged four consecutive knockout triumphs. 

Sharing his thoughts on Tuivasa during a recent interview with Fox Sports, Lewis admitted that he was a fan of the Australian – particularly for his knockout win over the aforenoted, Hardy, however, claimed that the former’s tendency to drink beer from a shoe following a win, was “nasty”.

“Yeah, he’s (Tai Tuivasa) good, man,” Derrick Lewis said. “I like him, I like Tai. And I really appreciate him knocking out Greg Hardy like he did in his last fight (UFC 264). Greg was talking a lot of trash that week. So I appreciate it.”

“I just thought like, the shoe – the beer drinking out of the shoe and all that, what y’all do out there, I don’t like all that, it’s nasty,” Derrick Lewis continued. “My feet smell cheesy, you know, I just can’t imagine – just another man sweating, I don’t know.”

Sharing similar fandom as Lewis, Tuivasa admitted that he was a fan of the New Orleans-born knockout artist, claiming their style of fighting is something that fans welcome.

“I’m a big fan of Derrick (Lewis) as well,” Tai Tuivasa said. “I think we’re kinda the same, you know what I mean – we go in there to bang on and we’re usuauly the crowd favorites. So, shout out to Derrick.” 

Derek Brunson Shares His Theory For Why Cannonier Fight Was Pushed Back

Derek Brunson is ready to step into the title fight at UFC 271. Derek Brunson has his next matchup all set to go, as he will be taking on Jared Cannonier at UFC 271 next weekend. That matchup could potentially decide the next title contender. However, Brunson may not need to wait that long. Brunson […]

Continue Reading Derek Brunson Shares His Theory For Why Cannonier Fight Was Pushed Back at MMA News.

Derek Brunson is ready to step into the title fight at UFC 271.

Derek Brunson has his next matchup all set to go, as he will be taking on Jared Cannonier at UFC 271 next weekend. That matchup could potentially decide the next title contender. However, Brunson may not need to wait that long.

Brunson revealed to MMA Junkie that he will be serving as the unofficial backup to the title fight between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker who are headlining that card.

The bout between Brunson and Cannonier was originally slated for UFC 270 that took place in January. The fight was switched to Feb 12. card at the last minute, and Brunson has now explained why he believes that is.

“The UFC, I think they just wanted backups for the title fight in case someone went down, got injured, they have two guys, ’85-ers, #3- and #4-ranked guys that can jump in for a title shot,” Brunson said.

Brunson is coming into this fight at UFC 271 having won his last five in the middleweight division. He is ranked fourth behind Cannonier, Marvin Vettori, and Whittaker. Even though he is ranked behind Cannonier, he could very well be the one to fill in since Cannonier recently lost to Whittaker. This is all subject to something going wrong with either Adesanya or Whittaker on that day. Either way, Brunson will be ready if his name is called.

“For sure, I have been waiting for an opportunity, five in a row, I’ve been waiting for that title shot. So if the opportunity comes up, for sure,” he explained.

Being able to jump right into a title fight situation would be ideal for Brunson. It would save him the trouble of having to beat Cannonier, which is a steep task. Cannonier is 3-1 in his last four, and since making his debut at middleweight, he has only lost to the former champ Whittaker. Cannonier holds wins over names like Anderson Silva and Kelvin Gastelum.

How do you think Brunson would fare against either Adesanya or Whittaker in a fill-in situation?

Continue Reading Derek Brunson Shares His Theory For Why Cannonier Fight Was Pushed Back at MMA News.

Israel Adesanya Says Robert Whittaker Rematch Presents ‘Another Easy Bag’

Israel AdesanyaReigning UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has claimed that he will secure “another easy bag” on February 12. at UFC 271 – ahead of his championship rematch with former titleholder, Robert Whittaker. Attempting to secure the fourth successful defense of his middleweight title and his second career win against Whittaker, Adesanya first defeated the Auckland-born […]

Israel Adesanya

Reigning UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has claimed that he will secure “another easy bag” on February 12. at UFC 271 – ahead of his championship rematch with former titleholder, Robert Whittaker.

Attempting to secure the fourth successful defense of his middleweight title and his second career win against Whittaker, Adesanya first defeated the Auckland-born former champion with a second round title unification knockout at UFC 243 in October 2019. 

The Nigerian-New Zealander has since managed to land a trio of successful title defenses against Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, and in his most recent win, handed Marvin Vettori a second career loss in the pair’s June rematch at UFC 263.

Israel Adesanya has suffered just one professional loss: a unanimous decision defeat to Jan Blachowicz last March

Commenting on his training camp ahead of the bout with Whittaker, Adesanya has claimed that his successful period of preparation ahead of the rematch has laid the foundations for him to land “another easy bag” in his UFC tenure.

“I don’t know about another death note the second time around,” Israel Adesanya told Stake. “Those things come to me whenever they come to me. But let me tell you, I never get complacent, this makes me fired up. It’s another easy bag, so I cannot afford to fumble this bag. For me, I’ve done the work. This is one of the best camps I have had, and I still have hard training to go. Just being present and having fun is important. I look forward to the work in this one, I look forward to coming at him.”

“There has been no cutting corners this time,” Israel Adesanya said. “It’s made me even more motivated to do it again and do it more decisively if that’s even possible. That is my motivation for this fight, to get up and beat him again in an even more devastating fashion.” 

Providing his prediction for the showdown in Houston, Texas – Adesanya predicted that he will “f*ck” Whittaker up for the second time.

“My prediction is that I am going to f*ck (Robert) Whittaker up, again,” Israel Adesanya said. “He can’t stand with me, so I know he will be forced to grapple. Last time he said, ‘Kevin Gastelum has been given the blueprint on how to beat Adesanya’ and now he’s saying, ‘Jan (Blachowicz) has given the blueprint’. … he needs to write his own blueprint. If he wants to copy someone else’s work, then, by all means, try, because it went so well last time for him when we fought.” 

In the time since his knockout loss against Adesanya, Whittaker has embarked on a three-fight winning run against Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and common-foe, Kelvin Gastelum – handing the trio unanimous decision losses.

Strickland: Steroid-User Adesanya Will Starch Whittaker At UFC 271

UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland has given his prediction for the upcoming UFC 271 main event between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. In 2019, Adesanya reached the 185-pound mountaintop by knocking out Whittaker at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia. Since then, “The Last Stylebender” has remained undefeated in the division and beaten away the challenges […]

Continue Reading Strickland: Steroid-User Adesanya Will Starch Whittaker At UFC 271 at MMA News.

UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland has given his prediction for the upcoming UFC 271 main event between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.

In 2019, Adesanya reached the 185-pound mountaintop by knocking out Whittaker at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia. Since then, “The Last Stylebender” has remained undefeated in the division and beaten away the challenges of Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, and Marvin Vettori.

Adesanya’s ongoing dominance has taken him full circle to “The Reaper.” Since losing his title, Whittaker has been in the form of life. Across 18 rounds of action, he put his fluent striking on full display in headlining wins Against Darren Till and Kelvin Gastelum, and a pay-per-view co-main event victory over Jared Cannonier.

The stage is now set for a blockbuster rematch, which will go down inside Houston’s Toyota Center on February 12.

Strickland: We All Know Adesanya Does Steroids

Despite the convincing ending to their first fight, many are expecting a rejuvenated Whittaker to provide a much stiffer test for Adesanya this time around. One man who disagrees with that sentiment is top-10 middleweight Strickland, who expects the champion to “starch” the New Zealand-born Australian.

But while the charismatic and controversial contender’s prediction is partly due to Adesanya’s undeniable talent inside the Octagon, “Tarzan” also believes the Nigerian-New Zealander gets a helping hand from steroids, an accusation he’s made in the past.

“I mean, Israel’s just a crafty motherfucker,” Strickland told combat sports journalist Helen Yee. “Like, don’t get me wrong, we all know he does steroids, and that probably helps his performance. We all seen him fight with the titty that hung down. I mean, have you ever seen a man fight int he UFC with gyno from weed? I mean, look at Nate Diaz; if that as the case, Nate Diaz would have tits down too is knees. Get out of here with this.

“So, anyways, back to him and Whittaker. Izzy is a great striker; he comes from a steroid background of kickboxing,” added Strickland. “I think he’s gonna starch Whittaker, cause he is a great fighter.”

Discussion surrounding potential steroid usage is nothing new for Adesanya. At UFC 253, the event at which he dismantled then-unbeaten Brazilian Costa, “The Last Stylebender” sported a visibly swollen pectoral muscle.

The medical term for swelling in male breast tissue is Gynecomastia. The condition can be can be caused by a wide variety of factors, including drugs and alcohol, some medications, and even herbal products. One of the more well-known triggers is the use of anabolic steroids, an accusation many directed at Adesanya following the September 2020 pay-per-view.

Months after the event, Adesanya revealed he’d undergone medical tests to determine the cause. With no visible answer, the reigning middleweight king said UFC doctors told him unhealthy living and, in particular, smoking marijuana were likely the reasons for the swelling.

That answer is clearly not a convincing one for Sean Strickland…

Morning Report: Israel Adesanya gives update on his swollen pectoral muscle, theorizes marijuana was the cause - MMA Fighting
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

Despite having the first defeat of his professional MMA career added to his record last March thanks to a failed venture to light heavyweight, Adesanya has continued to look unthreatened at 185 pounds.

But with a revitalized and focused Whittaker steaming towards him, “The Last Stylebender” could be set for his biggest challenge to date next weekend.

Who do you think will have their hand raised at UFC 271, Israel Adesanya or Robert Whittaker?

Continue Reading Strickland: Steroid-User Adesanya Will Starch Whittaker At UFC 271 at MMA News.

Francis Ngannou Predicts Africa Return With Usman, Adesanya, With Or Without The UFC

Francis NgannouReigning UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has claimed that he, as well as current welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, and defending middleweight best, Israel Adesanya will all compete in a return to Africa, even if the UFC elect against hosting their premier event on the continent.  Ngannou, who headlines UFC 270 this weekend, attempts to successfully […]

Francis Ngannou

Reigning UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has claimed that he, as well as current welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, and defending middleweight best, Israel Adesanya will all compete in a return to Africa, even if the UFC elect against hosting their premier event on the continent. 

Ngannou, who headlines UFC 270 this weekend, attempts to successfully unify the heavyweight titles against MMA Factory standout, the undefeated interim gold holder, Ciryl Gane.

Francis Ngannou rides a five-fight knockout run into this weekend’s title clash with Ciryl Gane

The outing will come as Ngannou’s first since seizing the undisputed heavyweight title back in March with a thunderous second round knockout win over Stipe Miocic. And even more noteworthy, Saturday’s outing is the final on Ngannou’s current contract with the UFC, as his immediate fighting future with the organization remains firmly up in the air. 

Whilst events which transpire on Saturday at UFC 270 will go a long way in factoring into the immediate future of Ngannou with the UFC, the Batie native touched on his future hopes to fight in his native Cameroon, and admitted that it’s paramount for himself, the aforenoted, Usman, and Adesanya to compete on the continent of Africa, even if the UFC elects against hosting an event there.

“It is a big dream to fight in Cameroon, but I also know it will be very hard to make a reality at this point,” Francis Ngannou told Stake during a recent interview ahead of UFC 270. “However, I believe eventually we will figure out a way to make it happen to fight for our people. It’s very important to each of us – myself, Israel (Adesanya) and (Kamaru) Usman. Ideally with the UFC, but even without the UFC, that is going to happen one day.” (Transcribed by MMA News)

While Francis Ngannou features this weekend in Anaheim, California – Adesanya is slated to return next month at UFC 271 in a middleweight championship rematch against former titleholder, Robert Whittaker.

For Auchi-born welterweight kingpin, Usman is expected to return sometime this summer in a potential welterweight title rematch against former-foe, the #3 ranked contender, Leon Edwards.

Jared Cannonier: Blonde Brunson Gimmick Is Irrelevant To Me

UFC middleweight contender Jared Cannonier says upcoming opponent Derek Brunson’s blonde “gimmick” will be irrelevant on fight night next month.

Since back-to-back losses to Ronaldo Souza and Israel Adesanya appeared to suggest he’d slipped to the …

Derek Brunson, Jared Cannonier

UFC middleweight contender Jared Cannonier says upcoming opponent Derek Brunson’s blonde “gimmick” will be irrelevant on fight night next month.

Since back-to-back losses to Ronaldo Souza and Israel Adesanya appeared to suggest he’d slipped to the role of veteran gatekeeper at 185 pounds, Brunson has been in the form of his life. What did his change in fortunes coincide with? A new blonde hairstyle.

“Blonde Brunson” debuted against Edmen Shahbazyan in the UFC Vegas 5 main event in 2020. At that point, the 38-year-old was already on a two-fight win streak, having had his hand raised against both Elias Theodorou and Ian Heinisch. But while Brunson’s career had previously been a tale of beating those below but often falling short against the elite, “Blonde Brunson” was a different beast.

After brutally handing hot-prospect Shahbazyan his first loss, Brunson went on to halt the charge of five-time 2020 victor Kevin Holland last March, before submitting former welterweight title challenger Darren Till in his third-straight main event.

Brunson is now set for the chance to stake his claim for a title shot and a rematch with “The Last Stylebender.” If he’s to do so, he’ll have to get through Jared Cannonier, who boasts championship aspirations of his own. The pair are set to collide on the UFC 271 main card on February 12.

Cannonier: Brunson’s Blonde Hair Won’t Stop An Ass-Whooping

While the “Blonde Brunson” gimmick is unbeaten in the Octagon to date and has firmly broken free of the gatekeeper shackles non-blonde Brunson was in three years ago, Cannonier has reminded his upcoming opponent that whatever color hair he has, it won’t change the result.

During a recent interview with LowKick MMA, “The Killa Gorilla” credited Brunson for being able to keep himself relevant with another iteration of himself. However, the former heavyweight and light heavyweight fighter noted it has no relevancy to their fight, which he believes will see the 38-year-old get his “ass whooped.”

“I mean, it’s a gimmick. Good for him. He’s found another gimmick that keeps him relevant for a little while longer,” said Cannonier. “But that shit is irrelevant to me. Those are all antics and that has absolutely fuck all to do with me whooping your ass. So that’s it.”

After a damaging loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC 254 in October 2020, both physically and his surge towards the title, Cannonier rebounded in style when he returned to action in 2021. In a main event contest against perennial contender Kelvin Gastelum, “The Killa Gorilla” returned to to the win column with a comfortable victory on the scorecards.

Sitting at #3 in the division with a 4-1 middleweight record, which includes wins against Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson, Cannonier will be looking to book a date with Adesanya when he faces Brunson at next month’s pay-per-view.

If Cannonier has his way, he’ll be turning “Blonde Brunson” into “Blood Brunson” come February 12.

Do you expect Jared Cannonier to get the better of “Blonde Brunson” at UFC 271?

Continue Reading Jared Cannonier: Blonde Brunson Gimmick Is Irrelevant To Me at MMA News.