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White Puts Tuivasa Into HW Picture Alongside Ngannou, Miocic, & Jones

UFC President Dana White has assessed where heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa sits in the division following his knockout victory over Derrick Lewis. At UFC 271 this past weekend, two of the UFC’s hardest hitters and most prolific KO artists collided. On one side was “The Black Beast” Lewis, the promotion’s KO record holder, who was…

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UFC President Dana White has assessed where heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa sits in the division following his knockout victory over Derrick Lewis.

At UFC 271 this past weekend, two of the UFC’s hardest hitters and most prolific KO artists collided. On one side was “The Black Beast” Lewis, the promotion’s KO record holder, who was coming off a main event finish against Chris Daukaus in December. Opposite him was the rising “Bam Bam” Tuivasa, who was coming off four consecutive stoppage wins.

Inside Houston’s Toyota Center, it was the younger and more durable Tuivasa who had his hand raised. After surviving an onslaught against the cage and firing back with his own bombs, the Australian hurt Lewis in the second round before knocking him out with a brutal elbow.

White Expects Tuivasa To Be “Mixing It Up” With The Best

Entering 2020, Tuivasa was on a three-fight losing skid following consecutive defeats to Junior dos Santos, Blagoy Ivanov, and Sergey Spivak, and his place in the promotion looked insecure.

Having rebounded with victories over Stefan Struve and Harry Hunsucker, re-entered the rankings with memorable 2021 KO’s of Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai, and now joined the elite conversation with a thunderous stoppage against two-time heavyweight title challenger Lewis, the sky appears to be the limit for “Bam Bam.”

That’s a sentiment that was shared by Dana White at the UFC 271 press conference. When asked where the Aussie’s latest win puts him in the division, the UFC President said he expects Tuivasa to experience a heavy rise up the heavyweight ladder come the next rankings update.

“Well, you guys are gonna rank him. But yeah, I mean, he should be top three, top five,” said White. “So wherever he shakes out in the rankings, yeah, he’ll be mixing it up with those guys.”

Indeed, yesterday it was confirmed that Tuivasa is ranked #3 in the heavyweight division. When assessing how the title picture now shapes up, White placed Tuivasa alongside reigning champion Francis Ngannou, consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic, and former two-time light heavyweight king Jon Jones.

“We’ll see here pretty soon how this all plays out: Jones, Stipe, Francis, and Tai now, too.”

Not bad company is it?

From his pop classic walkouts to his post-fight shoeys to his brutal KO power, Tuivasa has captured the attention of just about every MMA fan and has grown to be perhaps the only universally loved fighter in the UFC.

But if his latest win shows the rest of the division anything, it’s that he’s not just an entertainer who likes a beer, he’s a bona fide title contender on the hunt for gold.

Who would you like to see Tai Tuivasa share the Octagon with next?

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Coach Debunks Rogan’s Theory Of Adesanya Breaking Hand At UFC 271

Israel Adesanya’s head coach Eugene Bareman has shut down Joe Rogan’s in-fight assessment that the UFC champion broke his hand at UFC 271. Adesanya earned a unanimous decision win over former champion Robert Whittaker in the UFC 271 main event. He utilized an efficient striking attack to out-pace Whittaker, especially in the later rounds. Eyebrows…

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Israel Adesanya’s head coach Eugene Bareman has shut down Joe Rogan’s in-fight assessment that the UFC champion broke his hand at UFC 271.

Adesanya earned a unanimous decision win over former champion Robert Whittaker in the UFC 271 main event. He utilized an efficient striking attack to out-pace Whittaker, especially in the later rounds.

Eyebrows were raised when Rogan texted play-by-play commentator Jon Anik in the middle of the broadcast that he thought Adesanya had broken his right hand. Adesanya appeared to curl his right hand and not be as active with it as the fight went on.

During a recent interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Bareman clarified Adesanya’s reasoning for the inactivity with his right hand.

“No, that’s more to do with something that happened in Rounds 2 through 4, trying to get that right-hand side going,” Bareman said. “But for whatever reason, Robert was making Israel a little anxious to throw not just the right hand but the right side in terms of the leg going a little bit. [Israel] said not just the right side in terms of the upper body moving, but there was a block there that [Israel] tried to mitigate [his] way through each round. But for whatever reason, [he] wasn’t able to successfully get that right hand going the way we wanted to. So it wasn’t about a broken hand or anything, it was [mental].”

Rogan was absent from the commentary team due to an unknown conflict. It was originally reported by some outlets that it was due to a scheduling issue, but UFC President Dana White has since shut that theory down.

Adesanya has now successfully defended his title four times since knocking out Whittaker at UFC 243. He also challenged for the light heavyweight title against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 but fell short in a decision.

Bareman has clarified Adesanya’s health status with his hand and it sounds like the middleweight champion is still anticipating a return for some time this summer.

Who do you want to see Israel Adesanya fight next in 2022?

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Israel Adesanya Meets WWE Legend Booker T Following UFC 271 Title Defense

Following his second career win over former titleholder, Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 last weekend, Israel Adesanya appeared perplexed at the idea of WWE veteran and legend, Booker T’s presence at his post-fight press conference. Headlining UFC 271 at the Toyota Center, Adesanya successfully lodged his fourth consecutive successful defense of his middleweight crown, scoring […]

Headlining UFC 271 at the Toyota Center, Adesanya successfully lodged his fourth consecutive successful defense of his middleweight crown, scoring a close unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) victory over the former undisputed champion, Whittaker.

Dropping Whittaker with a well-placed and timed counter straight left midway through the opening frame, Adesanya built up a lead in the first, second, and third round according to two judges, who scored the fourth and fifth round in favor of Whittaker – who managed to briefly take Adesanya down on four separate occasions.

Israel Adesanya added Whittaker to a run of title defenses against Marvin Vettori, Paulo Costa, and Yoel Romero

Following this unanimous judging win, Adesanya, who fielded a couple of questions from media assembled at his UFC 271 post-fight press conference, before learning of the presence of the aforenoted Booker T – quickly losing his train of thought.

“Yeah – is that Booker T?” Israel Adesanya said. “Five-time, five-time, five-time, five-time, five-time UFC f*cking champion! I was like, ‘Is that Booker T, what the f*ck?’. Holy sh*t. Sorry, just being a fan. What the f*ck – ah sh*t, my man. Respect to you, bro.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)

Booker T, real name Booker T. Huffman Jr. – is best known for his time with professional wrestling organizations, WCW where he was a five-time world champion, as well as a prolonged stint with the Vince McMahon-led WWE – where he competed and then later turned his hand at commentary.

Scoring another defense of his middleweight title, Adesanya appeared to welcome a June return, potentially against Jared Cannonier, who featured on the main card of UFC 271 – rallying from an opening round knockdown and rear-naked choke attempt, to ground out common-foe, Derek Brunson with piercing elbows.

O’Neill: Focus On Modafferi’s Retirement Pre-UFC 271 Was “Disrespectful”

UFC women’s flyweight Casey O’Neill believes the pre-fight focus on opponent Roxanne Modafferi’s retirement ahead of UFC 271 was “disrespectful.” In the one and only women’s fight on this past weekend’s pay-per-view card, two 125lbers at opposite ends of the MMA scale collided. While O’Neill was looking to extend her unbeaten record to 9-0 and…

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UFC women’s flyweight Casey O’Neill believes the pre-fight focus on opponent Roxanne Modafferi’s retirement ahead of UFC 271 was “disrespectful.”

In the one and only women’s fight on this past weekend’s pay-per-view card, two 125lbers at opposite ends of the MMA scale collided. While O’Neill was looking to extend her unbeaten record to 9-0 and climb further towards title contention, Modafferi was hoping to close out her 46-fight career with a triumph.

After 15 minutes of action on the prelims, it was O’Neill who had her hand raised via split decision. While “The Happy Warrior” gave it her all and made a good account of herself, there was little debate about who earned the nod, despite one dissenting judge.

What followed was a heart-warming final Octagon interview and farewell to active competition for a woman widely regarded as a pioneer for female MMA.

While O’Neill gave credit to Modafferi following the fight and showed respect for the veteran campaigner, she also revealed her frustration at the amount of attention directed towards Modafferi’s retirement ahead of their clash inside Houston’s Toyota Center.

While speaking to the media at the UFC 271 post-fight press conference, “King Casey” admitted her annoyance at the fact her own goals and pre-fight preparations were being overlooked.

Given that her opponent’s retirement wasn’t official until after their fight, the Scottish-Australian contender suggested the questions and discussion about it were “premature” during fight week.

“I was (annoyed). I felt like nobody was giving me any respect or asking me anything about myself,” admitted O’Neill. “It was all about the retirement. To be honest, the retirement wasn’t happening until after the fight, so I felt like it was a little bit premature to just be talking about that. I wanted to talk about myself, and what I’d been doing, and my game plan, and everything. I just felt like I was being brushed over and it was a little bit disrespectful.”

O’Neill: I Deserved More Respect From The Crowd At UFC 271

During her post-fight interview, O’Neill was showered with boos from the Houston crowd, who showed an immense amount of love for Modafferi. The 24-year-old employed the tactic of telling them not to boo her. Who’d have thought that wouldn’t work?

After being asked about the crowd reaction at the post-fight presser, O’Neill pinpointed the boos as another element of disrespect she felt at the PPV. While she expected a negative reaction given the scenario and her nationality, “King Casey” believes she deserved more respect from the fans.

“Listen, Roxanne is liked by everybody, so of course, I’m gonna get booed,” said O’Neill. “I’m also not American and I’m fighting in America. To be (honest), I feel like I deserved a little more respect than that.”

Having said she’s happy to be the “bad guy” if that’s what fans want, O’Neill’s latest remarks certainly continued that narrative…

What do you make of Casey O’Neill’s comments? Is she right to feel disrespected at the pre-UFC 271 focus?

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VIDEO | Fans Loudly Chant ‘Free Joe Rogan’ During UFC 271 In Houston, Texas

Footage has emerged of spectators loudly chanting “free Joe Rogan” during the UFC 271 card last weekend at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas – amid the recent controversy surrounding the longtime promotional color commentator. Rogan, who has received criticizm during the last number of weeks, recently came under fire after a viral video surfaced […]

Rogan, who has received criticizm during the last number of weeks, recently came under fire after a viral video surfaced on social media detailing no less than 23 instances of Rogan using the n-word.

In January, Rogan and his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience was accused of promoting and spreading “dangerous misinformation” on his platform with Spotify, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as vaccinations and methods of dealing with symptoms of the viral infection.

Spotify CEO, Daniel Ek claimed that he didn’t believe it was right to attempt to silence Joe Rogan amid his recent controversy

Amid his most recent controversy, Rogan, who was initially booked to feature in the commentary booth of UFC 271 on Saturday last alongside play-by-play lead, Jon Anik, and former two-weight champion, Daniel Cormier, was pulled from the broadcast late on Friday night.

The promotion released a statement detailing how Rogan had a scheduling conflict that would prevent him from taking commentary duties at the pay-per-view event, with former undisputed UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping replacing him in the booth – making his flagship event bow.

However, following the culmination of the event, UFC president, Dana White confirmed that the statement regarding a scheduling conflict for Rogan was “bullsh*t” – claiming that the latter simply did not want to work the event, as well as maintaining he was unaware when Rogan would return to the broadcast.

During the event, multiple Twitter accounts detailed how spectators at the sold-out Toyota Center had continually chanted “free Joe Rogan” during the card, amid the recent controversy surrounding the longtime podcast host, standup comedian, and commentator.

The crowd started chanting ‘Free Joe Rogan’ pic.twitter.com/KyR99DJ8Qy

— MMAFPress (@MMAFPress) February 13, 2022

Prior to the event, UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya also attempted to defend Rogan during a pre-fight press conference for UFC 271.

“First off, let me take this one, hold up,” Israel Adesanya said. “I’m black, I can take this one. Look… there’s a lot of c*nts in this game. There’s a lot of snakes in this game. I’ve been in this fight game since 2008. And Joe Rogan is one of the nicest, coolest, humble motherf*ckers I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Understand that. You know it’s – f*ck the noise, man. You know what they’re trying to do. You can’t control the man (Joe Rogan) and he’s got the biggest platform in the world right now.”

Bobby Green Reveals What In-Fight Comment Enraged Him At UFC 271

One sly in-fight comment from Nasrat Haqparast caused the rage in Bobby Green’s eyes that helped lead to his impressive win at UFC 271. Green and Haqparast battled in a three-round war at UFC 271. It was a standup showcase from start to finish as Green displayed impressive boxing and movement throughout the fight. Green…

Continue Reading Bobby Green Reveals What In-Fight Comment Enraged Him At UFC 271 at MMA News.

One sly in-fight comment from Nasrat Haqparast caused the rage in Bobby Green’s eyes that helped lead to his impressive win at UFC 271.

Green and Haqparast battled in a three-round war at UFC 271. It was a standup showcase from start to finish as Green displayed impressive boxing and movement throughout the fight.

Green and Haqparast got off to a slow start in the fight, but that changed over rounds 2 and 3. Haqparast got into Green’s face in between rounds, and that fired up Green going forward.

During his UFC 271 post-fight press conference, Green talked about what Haqparast said to him that made him visibly furious midway through the fight.

“Man, I don’t wanna do a lot of talking but he was getting under my skin,” Green said. “He was like coming with this energy and then he said he saw fear in my eyes, and that pissed me off. And I’m like, ‘Oh yeah? what’s up?’. That brings the hood out of me. I wasn’t going to say s**t but then he said s**t that hit me deep in the heart. There’s no f**king fear in me, homie, and my coach was trying to calm me down. I was hot and I just took it personally.”

Green made the Toyota Center in Houston erupt during and after the fight. He has no personal connections to the area, but the crowd was clearly in his favor before and after putting on a stellar performance against Haqparast.

Green came into UFC 271 off of a first-round knockout against Al Iaquinta at UFC 268. Before that, he lost back-to-back fights against Thiago Moisés and Rafael Fiziev.

In terms of what he wants next in his UFC career, Green doesn’t have a specific name in mind. But it seems likely that he’s in line for a big opportunity following an impressive win at UFC 271 after previously hinting at retirement.

Who do you want to see Bobby Green fight next?

Continue Reading Bobby Green Reveals What In-Fight Comment Enraged Him At UFC 271 at MMA News.