Tag: UFC 274

Zhang Weili Criticizes Rose Namajunas’ UFC 274 Display: ‘She Just Wanted To Take Care Of The Belt’

Zhang WeiliFormer undisputed UFC strawweight champion, Zhang Weili has criticized the performance of two-time opponent, Rose Namajunas during her UFC 274 title loss against Carla Esparza last month in Pheonix, Arizona – claiming the former only intended to “take care” of her title rather than putting in a performance which would retain it. Weili, a two-time […]

Zhang Weili

Former undisputed UFC strawweight champion, Zhang Weili has criticized the performance of two-time opponent, Rose Namajunas during her UFC 274 title loss against Carla Esparza last month in Pheonix, Arizona – claiming the former only intended to “take care” of her title rather than putting in a performance which would retain it.

Weili, a two-time opponent of Namajunas, suffered her lone UFC losses against the ONX Labs trainee, the first of which came in a shocking first round title loss against Namajunas – courtesy of a brutal high-kick knockout in April of last year.

Returning in an immediate undisputed championship rematch at UFC 268 in November, Weili suffered a more comprehensive unanimous decision loss to the two-time titleholder.

Set to return this weekend in an attempt to snap a two-fight skid, Hebei native, Weili welcomes former champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk back to the Octagon for the first time since their momentous UFC 248 battle – as the pair engage in a clear-cut title-eliminator at 115lbs.

Sharing her thoughts on Namajunas’ criticized performance at UFC 274 in the ‘Copper State’, Weili claimed that the now-former champion only intended on taking care of her undisputed title – to her detriment.

“I feel like, definitely Rose (Namajunas) was feeling a lot of pressure when she stepped into the Octagon, Zhang Weili said through an interpreter during her media availability ahead of UFC 275 in Singapore. “Definitely, she wanted to take care of her belt and didn’t want to fight hard, wanted to fight more strategically and easily against Carla (Esparza).

“But, as a champion, as an MMA fighter, you should not think about that,” Zhang Weili said. “Tou should always, in the fight, (give) your everything into the Octagon, and fight your heart out. I don’t think Rose should fight with an attitude like (that).” 

Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk were both heralded for their UFC 248 performance

Weili’s most recent professional victory came in the form of her first and ultimately sole successful title defense against the aforenoted, Jedrzejczyk back in March 2020, defeating her upcoming opponent with a close, split decision victory in the consensus 2020 Fight of the Year.

Zhang Feels Namajunas Did Not Fight Like A True Champion At UFC 274

UFC women’s strawweight contender Zhang Weili has given her take on fellow former champion Rose Namajunas’ performance at UFC 274 last month. This weekend at UFC 275, Zhang will enter the Octagon for the first time since back-to-back losses to Namajunas in 2021. While the first, a head-kick knockout, saw the title ripped from her…

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UFC women’s strawweight contender Zhang Weili has given her take on fellow former champion Rose Namajunas’ performance at UFC 274 last month.

This weekend at UFC 275, Zhang will enter the Octagon for the first time since back-to-back losses to Namajunas in 2021. While the first, a head-kick knockout, saw the title ripped from her grasp, the rematch saw “Magnum” fall on the wrong side of a narrow split-decision verdict.

But as she prepares for an attempt to rebound in another rematch on Saturday, this time against Joanna J?drzejczyk, Zhang is in a position to secure another chance at regaining her place on the throne after just one win.

That opportunity has been granted to her after Namajunas was unseated by Carla Esparza at UFC 274 in what many have branded the worst title fight in modern UFC history.

Across five rounds, neither woman engaged on the feet. While the way that the bout played out was confusing, the encouragement from Namajunas’ corner to continue with the same tactics was perhaps most baffling.

Now, as she looks to capitalize on the opening granted to her by “Thug Rose,” Zhang has discussed what went wrong for her former opponent in Arizona. According to the Chinese star, Namajunas had the completely wrong attitude when the cage door closed.

“I feel like, definitely Rose was feeling a lot of pressure when she stepped into the Octagon,” said Zhang during her appearance at UFC 275 media day. “Definitely she wanted to take care of her belt and didn’t want to fight hard, wanted to fight more strategically and easily against Carla.

“But, as a champion, as an MMA fighter, you should not think about that. You should always, in the fight, (put) your everything into the Octagon, and fight your heart out. I don’t think Rose should fight with an attitude like (she did),” concluded Zhang.

While the Chinese contender has shared the cage with the likes of Namajunas, Tecia Torres, and Jéssica Andrade during her time in the UFC, she is yet to go toe-to-toe with newly-crowned strawweight queen Esparza. Should she leave Singapore with a second victory over J?drzejczyk this weekend, it stands to reason that will change.

From there, “Magnum” will target a second reign with the gold, which would likely lead to a third date with Namajunas down the line should the American rebound from her disappointing defeat at UFC 274.

Do you agree with Zhang Weili? Did Rose Namajunas fight with the wrong attitude at UFC 275?

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Poirier: It Looked Like Oliveira Could Have Lost The Last Half-A-Pound

Former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier was surprised by Charles Oliveira missing weight ahead of UFC 274. Poirier lost to Oliveira at UFC 269 last December. Just a few months later, Oliveira was slated to face Justin Gaethje in the UFC 274 main event but was stripped of his belt just hours before the…

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Former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier was surprised by Charles Oliveira missing weight ahead of UFC 274.

Poirier lost to Oliveira at UFC 269 last December. Just a few months later, Oliveira was slated to face Justin Gaethje in the UFC 274 main event but was stripped of his belt just hours before the fight due to missing championship weight.

Oliveira went on to earn the win over Gaethje via first-round submission, but the lightweight title is now vacant. Oliveira is expected to fight for the now-vacant title against a top contender like Islam Makhachev.

During a recent interview on THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas, Poirier reacted to Oliveira’s weight-cutting debacle ahead of UFC 274.

“I was shocked on the second (miss),” Poirier said of Oliveira’s weight cut. “I was kinda surprised when he came in a little over, but maybe they misjudged some things or the scale was different back in the locker room, whatever, I don’t know. But I thought in that hour time, he would come back and be on weight, especially in a championship fight. I was surprised.”

Poirier was then asked whether or not Oliveira was physically able to make the full cut to 155lbs.

“I’ve never completely stopped losing weight, but I’ve been in a position where I was in a sauna for a very long time and my body was just burned out… (But) I’ve always pushed the extra bit and made weight… they weren’t carrying him (Oliveira) out, he wasn’t stumbling around,” Poirier said. “He’s always really lean, and he’s long and tall, but he’s a big guy. He didn’t look like he needed to be helped. He still had life in his body. He could’ve, it looked like, tried to lose more weight. (I was shocked), it was a championship fight!”

Poirier has recently alluded to a desire for a rematch with Oliveira next, although it’s unclear if he’ll wait it out for another fight with him. Poirier has also teased a potential move to welterweight to face Colby Covington or Nate Diaz.

Oliveira has had his fair share of weight-cutting issues over his UFC career, dating back to his time in the featherweight division. He’ll look to right the ship leading up to his next fight.

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Shevchenko: My Corner Wouldn’t Let Me Lose Like Namajunas Did

UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko doesn’t believe that her corner would ever let her lose her title in the same way that Rose Namajunas did at UFC 274. Having secured one of 2021’s most memorable championship wins courtesy of a first-round head kick knockout of Zhang Weili and followed that up with an entertaining…

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UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko doesn’t believe that her corner would ever let her lose her title in the same way that Rose Namajunas did at UFC 274.

Having secured one of 2021’s most memorable championship wins courtesy of a first-round head kick knockout of Zhang Weili and followed that up with an entertaining five-round defense later in the year, Namajunas was widely expected to extend her reign beyond this month when she shared the Octagon with Carla Esparza.

Instead of the talented striking that fans have come to know of “Thug Rose,” they were greeted with arguably the worst championship contest in UFC history, which was as low on action as it was intrigue. In the end, despite Namajunas’ confident post-fight demeanor, Esparza was crowned the new strawweight queen via split decision.

During a recent episode of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Shevchenko, who has dominantly held the flyweight gold since 2018, assessed what went wrong for the former two-time titleholder in Jacksonville earlier this month.

While “Bullet” believes that Namajunas is better than Esparza in every aspect of the game, Shevchenko said that the 29-year-old was simply too hesitant to use her skills, which she feels perhaps came as a result of a demotivated mindset on fight day.

“It’s hard to say exactly what went wrong in that fight. I feel that Rose, she kind of has everything better compared to Carla, and she just didn’t use much,” said Shevchenko. “And she could wrestle her easily… She just didn’t use her skills. I don’t know, it sometimes happens with fighters, they kind of, one day before feel so good, and the day of the fight they’re kind of like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t wanna fight.’

“You know what can help? I think, if Carla was more aggressive and explosive, and Rose received a great punch, she would have woke up and would start to fight… Rose didn’t activate… She was not herself,” added Shevchenko.

While Namajunas received heavy criticism for her performance, a heavy dose of denunciation was also directed at the former champ’s corner, most notably her partner Pat Barry.

Shevchenko: Fighters Often Need A Push To Wake Up

Despite doing little to score in the eyes of the judges, and clearly not convincingly defending the title by any stretch, Barry consistently told Namajunas that she was doing all the right things, even telling her that she was up four rounds heading into the final frame.

According to Shevchenko, her corner would never have let her get away with such a complacent display and would have yelled her awake in-between rounds. With that in mind, the Kyrgyzstani suggested that corners often try to be too polite, even when their fighters need a push.

“It can happen with everyone, but every time I rely on my corner. If sometimes it happens, they would not just say, ‘Okay Valentina, okay, just do that,’ no. Pavel (Fedotov), Antonina (Shevchenko), they will yell at me and say what they think about me, what I am doing. Sometimes it’s necessary,” suggested Shevchenko.

“I feel all these microphones corners have, they put extra pressure on them to say everything too polite. Sometimes fighters don’t need polite, they need an extra push to wake up, to have adrenaline,” continued Shevchenko. “You start to think, ‘If I continue to fight like that, I will lose my belt, I will lose the fight.’ Do I agree with that and continue to do nothing just to be comfortable? No, and this is what pushes me every time.”

While Barry’s relaxed and encouraging corner tone has been questioned, the opposite strategy often gets slammed. Most notably, Aspen Ladd’s coach Jim West was widely criticized for his authoritative approach during her defeat at UFC Vegas 40 late last year.

Do you agree with Valentina Shevchenko? Did Rose Namajunas’ corner need to do more to improve her performance at UFC 274?

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Burns: Oliveira Is On A Different Level Than Everyone, Including Khabib

Gilbert Burns thinks UFC lightweight Charles Oliveira is doing something that we haven’t seen before in the UFC Octagon. Oliveira earned another win over Justin Gaethje in the UFC 274 headliner. Despite missing championship weight and being stripped of his title, he appeared undistracted and put on another impressive performance against another top lightweight contender….

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Gilbert Burns thinks UFC lightweight Charles Oliveira is doing something that we haven’t seen before in the UFC Octagon.

Oliveira earned another win over Justin Gaethje in the UFC 274 headliner. Despite missing championship weight and being stripped of his title, he appeared undistracted and put on another impressive performance against another top lightweight contender.

While Oliveira isn’t the lightweight titleholder as of now, most fans and media recognize him as the lightweight champion. He earned the then-vacant title over Michael Chandler before defending it against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269.

Oliveira’s 11-fight winning streak has created comparisons between himself and former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. After defeating Gaethje at UFC 254, the undefeated champion Nurmagomedov opted to walk away from the sport in the middle of his prime.

Conor McGregor reacts to Khabib Nurmagomedov retiring and makes announcement on own career | The Independent

Oliveira isn’t planning on leaving MMA anytime soon, but speculation about what would happen in a hypothetical matchup between himself and Nurmagomedov has run rampant.

During a recent interview with MMA journalist Helen Yee, Burns explained how while he’s biased being Brazilian, he feels Oliveira presents a ton of issues for all lightweights including the retired Nurmagomedov.

“It’s different, you know?” Burns said of the Oliveira/Nurmagomedov comparisons. “Khabib was the guy that did the hardest thing: undefeated and left All the respect, but he left. Like I said, Oliveira’s been there since he was super young — put himself in the fire, fighting everybody, like I think he’s 11-0 coming on this streak that he’s coming right now, all finishes. How crazy is that? And finishing guys — Justin Gaethje in the first round, Dustin Poirier second round. If you don’t knock (him) out, he submits you.

“So I’m a fan of both, but right now, Oliveira is unbeatable. I don’t know. If they make that fight, for sure Khabib is different, but I don’t know, bro. Oliveira is on a different level right now.”

Oliveira could be on the verge of fighting Nurmagomedov’s protégé, Islam Makhachev, for the now-vacant lightweight title. Makhachev has called out Oliveira for a fight for years, as he recently revealed on social media.

Nurmagomedov has reiterated his desire to stay retired and focus on coaching other Dagestani MMA prospects like Makhachev, as well as leading the charge behind his Eagle FC promotion. While a matchup between Nurmagomedov and Oliveira seems highly unlikely, the conversation regarding the UFC lightweight GOAT could begin to ramp up in the coming years.

Do you agree with Gilbert Burns’ thoughts on Charles Oliveira?

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Tony Ferguson Admits He Would Have Retired If He Lost Opening Round At UFC 274

Tony FergusonFormer interim UFC lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson has confirmed that would he have dropped the opening round of his UFC 274 clash with Michael Chandler earlier this month, he would have called time on his professional mixed martial arts career. Ferguson, a former interim titleholder at 155lbs, suffered his fourth consecutive loss earlier this month […]

Tony Ferguson

Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson has confirmed that would he have dropped the opening round of his UFC 274 clash with Michael Chandler earlier this month, he would have called time on his professional mixed martial arts career.

Ferguson, a former interim titleholder at 155lbs, suffered his fourth consecutive loss earlier this month at UFC 274, dropping a brutal second round front kick knockout loss against fellow lightweight contender, Chandler, resulting in the first KO defeat of his lengthy professional run.

The Oxnard native had started the opening frame brightly, however, managing to momentarily drop Chandler with a left hand in the opening minute of the first round, as well as landing a series of notable follow up shots on the feet.

Giving up a double leg takedown at the fence midway through the first round, Ferguson would manage to contain Chandler in full guard for the remainder of the frame, however, slicing with elbows and strikes from the bottom to boot.

Landing his first round victory, Ferguson would, however, suffer a brutal second round front kick knockout loss to Chandler – who had snapped a run of two straight losses to common foes, Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira with his stoppage win.

Tony Ferguson confirms he would likely have called time on his career if he dropped the first round

Speaking on his first round performance against Chandler, Ferguson told Submission Radio during a recent interview that if he were to drop the first frame, he would likely have hung up his gloves.

“I talked to my Dad, I talked to my coaches, and I said if I knew that I didn’t have the gumption or the will to want to go anymore, if I didn’t do good in that first round, I would have called it quits,” Tony Ferguson said. “I would have said, ‘F*ck this, I’m out, I’m retiring, I’m going to go find something different, I’ll coach everybody to be at this high level and that’s it.” 

“… So, here I am, I have a TKO on my record, I have a submission record, you know what I mean,” Tony Ferguson continued. “I’ve been put out, knocked out, I’ve lost by TKO, I’ve lost by decision. It’s a pain in the ass to be able to look at these losses, but like I said, if I didn;t have the will and the want to be able to do that and then know that when Dana (White) said I looked phenomenal in that first round, I looked really good, I would have just called it quits.” 

Ferguson congratulated Chandler following his victory at UFC 274, and maintained that despite the crushing knockout loss, he was still hungry to compete – something he echoed during his recent interview.

“Right now, I’m f*cking hungry, man,” Tony Ferguson said. “I found myself back in the gym hitting the bag really light, not going too hard. This morning I didn’t wake up with a headache. I felt f*cking phenomenal this morning, I felt really good. I’ve been eating really well, I haven’t been treating my body like sh*t or my mental game like sh*t.”

“I’ve really been focusing on what I can control, and you know, shoutout to the world,” Tony Ferguson explained. “The only things that we can control is our heart rate and our breathing. The rest is up to the big guys upstairs.”