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John McCarthy Blames Corner For ‘Fantastic’ Rose Namajunas’ Title Loss At UFC 274

Former mixed martial arts referee turned Bellator color commentator and podcast host, ‘Big’ John McCarthy has placed the blame on Rose Namajunas’ corner for her strawweight title loss to Carla Esparza at UFC 274 last weekend. Rose Namajunas, who attempted to avenge a December 2014 submission loss to inaugural strawweight champion, Esparza in the co-main […]

Rose Namajunas, who attempted to avenge a December 2014 submission loss to inaugural strawweight champion, Esparza in the co-main event of UFC 274, suffered a split decision loss to the Torrance native in the pair’s rematch, which has been labeled as one of the most forgettable title fights in Octagon history due to lack of activity.

Rose Namajunas became the first two-time strawweight champion in UFC history back in April of last year

Throughout the fight, however, Namajunas’ corner, Trevor Wittman, as well as partner and lead, Pat Barry – advised Namajunas that she was comfortably winning the fight against Esparza, with Barry notably claiming that the amount of boos and jeers Namajunas was receiving from the crowd at the Footprint Center backed up their successful gameplan.

Following the title loss, Namajunas claimed that she believed she had actually won the fight, due to her defensive approach, which limited the offensive ability of Esparza. However, the aforenoted, McCarthy believes Namajunas’ corner is to blame for their student’s championship dethroning.

“Cornermen need to stop telling their fighters they’re winning the round when they don’t know,” John McCarthy said on his podcast, Weighing In. “If it’s a close round, you gotta say, ‘Hey, no idea whose round that is.’ Or, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have to say we lost that because we don’t know where the judges are gonna go.’”

“You can’t sit there and fall in love with what your fighter is doing based upon, ‘Damn, they looked good…’” John McCarthy said. “Rose Namajunas looked fantastic in movement, her footwork, was beautiful. She was in control of the cage, as far as… she was comfortable and Carla (Esparza) doesn’t have that smooth, fluid style that Rose does, so she looks better.

McCarthy went as far as insisting that Namajunas was still the better fighter when compared with Esparza despite her performance, and her pair of losses against the current gold holder.

“She’s (Rose Namajunas) the better fighter,” John McCarthy said. “But her cornermen were not… Pat Barry and Trevor (Wittman), who I love, they were falling in love with, ‘Ok, now you have to show everyone, take your time, just be careful.’ And finally, it was, like, ‘Alright, show them you’re the best martial artist out there.” (Transcribed by Bloody Elbow)

As far as next title challengers for newly minted champion, Esparza, UFC president hinted that the victor of the upcoming UFC 275 rematch between former titleholders, Zhang Weili, and Joanna Jedrzejczyk would likely meet the Californian for gold next.

Rose Namajunas Reveals What Coach Told Her Before Fifth At UFC 274

Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas’ corner was confident about her place in the fight heading into the final five minutes at UFC 274. Namajunas lost her strawweight title in one of the strangest UFC title fights in recent memory against Carla Esparza. The two strawweight pioneers failed to dish out a lot of output…

Continue Reading Rose Namajunas Reveals What Coach Told Her Before Fifth At UFC 274 at MMA News.

Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas’ corner was confident about her place in the fight heading into the final five minutes at UFC 274.

Namajunas lost her strawweight title in one of the strangest UFC title fights in recent memory against Carla Esparza. The two strawweight pioneers failed to dish out a lot of output on the feet and ground throughout five rounds.

It was a difficult fight to score for the judges, who are often victims of harsh criticism from fans and pundits. However, Namajunas and Esparza made it nearly impossible to score the fight round-by-round decisively.

In her UFC 274 post-fight press conference, Namajunas gave insight into what her corner was telling her before the last championship round.

“The only thing [Trevor Wittman] was telling me was, ‘OK, now, we can start having some more fun and letting loose,” Namajunas said. “You’re four rounds up, and you can go out there and have some fun.”

Namajunas lost a split decision to Esparza to fall to 0-2 against her in her professional career. She lost to Esparza for the then-vacant strawweight title on The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale.

It was a tough night at the office for Namajunas and Wittman. One fight after Namajunas’ loss, her teammate Justin Gaethje suffered a first-round submission defeat to Charles Oliveira in the main event with Wittman in his corner.

Namajunas has since apologized to her fans for her performance and seems motivated to work her way back to the strawweight title picture later this year.

What was your reaction to the unusual Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza rematch at UFC 274?

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Cormier: Namajunas “Played Chance” With Her Championship

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier believes that Rose Namajunas paid the price for “playing chance” with the strawweight title at UFC 274. This past weekend’s pay-per-view brought us a host of memorable moments, from another finish for UFC submission king Charles Oliveira to Michael Chandler’s sure-fire Knockout of the Year contender against Tony Ferguson….

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Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier believes that Rose Namajunas paid the price for “playing chance” with the strawweight title at UFC 274.

This past weekend’s pay-per-view brought us a host of memorable moments, from another finish for UFC submission king Charles Oliveira to Michael Chandler’s sure-fire Knockout of the Year contender against Tony Ferguson.

But one prominent matchup made headlines and caused discussion for all the wrong reasons.

In the co-main event, Namajunas looked to make the sophomore title defense of her second reign against former opponent Carla Esparza. While it perhaps never had slobberknocker written all over it, it’s safe to say that nobody expected the 25-minute contest that the pair put on.

After what was perhaps the worst title fight in UFC history, “Cookie Monster” joined Namajunas in the two-time champ club after falling on the right side of a split decision verdict.

One man who is often blessed with a front seat is color commentator Daniel Cormier. This time, his Octagon-side spot at the commentary desk was more of a curse…

During his appearance at the UFC 274 post-fight press conference, which came after his induction into the Hall of Fame was announced, Cormier discussed the lackluster matchup.

Ultimately, the former heavyweight and light heavyweight titleholder, who knows a thing or two about defending gold, believes that Namajunas essentially put her belt up for auction and didn’t bid for it.

“Rose and Carla are gonna be pissed off at us (the commentary team). Because we just had to, kinda, call it like it is. No one is above criticism, and that fight was to be criticized,” said Cormier. “Here’s the problem, right, if you’re Rose Namajunas, you go home and you are really disappointed because you kinda played chance with your championship.

“Those first three rounds, I don’t know how anybody judged it. I don’t know how any judge— listen, Jon Anik, who is literally one of the smartest people I know, goes, ‘The very last scoring criteria is Octagon control, which no one ever gets to.’ Tonight, that’s the only way that they could’ve judged those first three rounds and given them to Carla,” concluded Cormier.

Cormier Explains What “Froze Rose”

While both the champion and challenger mostly brushed aside talk of their previous fight in 2014, which saw Esparza submit Namajunas, Cormier believes that the result played a major role in the 29-year-old’s questionable approach to the rematch.

“It’s just a game of chance, and I just didn’t quite understand how either corner could feel confident in their advice to their athletes. It was a rough one to watch,” admitted Cormier. “And you know, I think that first fight, the takedowns, really froze Rose, because on so many occasions she’s given us tremendous performances.”

It’s safe to say that neither woman emerged from the Footprint Center with any extra fans. Nevertheless, Esparza has completed her long journey back to the strawweight throne. Despite the criticism the fight is receiving, she’ll no doubt be content knowing that the gold is in her possession.

Namajunas, meanwhile, will be returning to the drawing board in the coming weeks and months. And given her post-fight comments about defense, perhaps a read of the scoring criteria will be top of Trevor Wittman’s to-do list for his pupil.

Is Daniel Cormier right with his assessment of Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza 2?

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Ariel Helwani Claims That “Charles Oliveira Was Screwed” At UFC 274

MMA journalist Ariel Helwani believes that the decision to strip Charles Oliveira of the lightweight title following his weight miss was “lunacy” from the UFC. This week, Oliveira is coming off another memorable victory. Having overcome adversity to defeat Michael Chandler last May and Dustin Poirier in December, “Do Bronx” was presented with Justin Gaethje…

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MMA journalist Ariel Helwani believes that the decision to strip Charles Oliveira of the lightweight title following his weight miss was “lunacy” from the UFC.

This week, Oliveira is coming off another memorable victory. Having overcome adversity to defeat Michael Chandler last May and Dustin Poirier in December, “Do Bronx” was presented with Justin Gaethje as his next challenge in the UFC 274 main event.

Once again recovering from early knockdowns, something that is becoming a habit for the Brazilian, Oliveira locked in a rear-naked choke for the victory. Unfortunately, he still left Phoenix lighter than he arrived.

That’s because even with the win, a 0.5-pound weight miss meant that the belt was vacated upon the start of Saturday’s headliner. With Oliveira’s 11th consecutive triumph, the title remains without an owner for the time being.

However, that’s not how Helwani sees things. According to the Canadian, it’s very clear who the UFC lightweight king is.

During a recent edition of The MMA Hour, Helwani reacted to this past weekend’s action. In a scathing rant, the 39-year-old claimed that Oliveira was “screwed” by the UFC following his weight miss.

“I feel very confident in saying that Charles Oliveira was screwed. Charles Oliveira is being screwed right now,” insisted Helwani. “Charles Oliveira is the lightweight champion of the UFC, there is no question in my mind. I think it is absolute lunacy. I think it is crazy. I think it is one of the craziest things we’ve ever seen, that this guy shows up a half-a-pound over on a beam scale, not a digital scale, a beam scale, and there’s no human error involved and just on the spot they’re gonna say, ‘Yeah, you’re stripped.’ For half-a-pound?”

Helwani went on to cite other instances of champions seemingly not being on weight, but being granted the benefit of the doubt, as evidence for his take.

The Canadian recalled Khabib Nurmagomedov’s controversial weigh-in ahead of his 2020 defense against Gaethje, Daniel Cormier’s memorable use of the towel prior to UFC 210, and some beneficial rounding down for his compatriot Georges St-Pierre.

“Are you telling me in the history of the UFC this has never happened before? Of course it’s happened before,” said Helwani. “If that fight this past weekend was happening in Las Vegas, Charles Oliveira would still be the lightweight champion. He never would’ve had to weigh in a second time, let alone a third time, let alone need the hour allowance.

“I’ve seen enough weigh-ins in Las Vegas. It’s boom, boom, (done). We all saw the clip, I re-posted it, not because I have an ax to grind with Khabib, but because it was very noticeable,” Helwani continued. “Khabib, Gaethje, that thing wasn’t even settled; ‘Boom, boom, please go to the back and re-hydrate.’ We’ve seen this time and again… In Buffalo, (Daniel Cormier) didn’t make the weight. He held onto the towel. GSP, Montreal, my other boy, he was over 170 and they rounded down.”

Helwani: Stripping Oliveira Was “Criminal”

With those points in mind, Helwani suggests that the different attitude towards Oliveira’s narrow indiscretion on the scale was “criminal.”

The journalist also noted that his view was without even considering talk of a decalibrated scale behind the scenes, which the likes of Ariane Carnelossi notably complained about in the aftermath of last Friday’s weigh-ins.

“Time and again, people in championship fights have been over… All of a sudden, Charles gets the bad luck, the misfortune of running into a stickler, who’s gonna be like, ‘Nope, we’re gonna get this on the dot.’ And I’m not even talking about the conspiracy that the weight thingy, the calibration on the scale, I’m not even talking about that. But for a half-a-pound… the fact that he was stripped of the belt, to me, it’s absolutely criminal,” concluded Helwani.

Like Helwani, it seems the prevailing view is that Oliveira remains the kingpin at 155 pounds. Nevertheless, “Do Bronx” will have to prove that when he returns to action to fight for the now-vacant lightweight strap later this year.

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A post shared by Charles Oliveira (@charlesdobronxs)

Do you agree with Ariel Helwani’s view on the UFC’s decision to strip Charles Oliveira of the lightweight title?

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Chandler: UFC 274 Front Kick Was Only Meant To Find Range

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler has revealed that his viral knockout of Tony Ferguson wasn’t actually thrown with fight-finishing intent. This past weekend’s UFC 274 main card had elements of action on both ends of the spectrum. While Maurício Rua and Ovince Saint Preux drew boos for a slow-paced rematch and Rose Namajunas and Carla…

Continue Reading Chandler: UFC 274 Front Kick Was Only Meant To Find Range at MMA News.

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler has revealed that his viral knockout of Tony Ferguson wasn’t actually thrown with fight-finishing intent.

This past weekend’s UFC 274 main card had elements of action on both ends of the spectrum. While Maurício Rua and Ovince Saint Preux drew boos for a slow-paced rematch and Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza put on perhaps the worst title fight in UFC history, sandwiched between them was a KO worthy of just about every accolade possible.

The lightweight collision between Chandler and Ferguson promised two things: unforgettable action and a damaging loss for one veteran. In the second round, the first element came courtesy of a Chandler front kick, leaving the other certainty on the side of “El Cucuy,” who left the arena with a fourth loss added to his skid.

For Chandler, a second victory inside the Octagon has brought him back into contention and lined him up for another big fight next time out. But judging by his latest comments, perhaps that’s more by luck than judgment…

Chandler: “It’s Not Something I Train”

During a recent post-fight appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Chandler discussed the memorable KO and how it came to fruition.

Despite landing what appeared to be the perfect front kick, the former Bellator champion revealed that he rarely trains or throws any kicks, let alone the one that delivered the knockout blow in Phoenix.

“It’s actually hilarious because it’s not something I train a lot. To be quite honest with you, I’m more of a punch-heavy striker,” admitted Chandler. “I don’t throw a lot of kicks. Truthfully, because I hurt my foot more often than not. I hurt myself more than I hurt my opponents, so I don’t throw a ton of kicks.”

Nevertheless, Chandler and his team had identified a gap in Ferguson’s defense that could be exploited by head kicks and uppercuts. But despite acknowledging that, Chandler actually said he only threw the kick to establish range.

That’s got to be the most effective range-finder we’ve ever seen…

“We saw his hands were on both sides of his head. He was kinda leaving a lane up the middle,” said Chandler. “So, I was gonna throw high-lows and uppercuts. But the kick up the middle looked like it was gonna land so — I honestly threw it out there for a range-finder, but turns out I threw it with some ill intent and it landed on the chin and he crumbled, and the rest is history.”

If there’s one thing Chandler’s four-fight run in the UFC has shown us so far, it’s that unpredictability is the name of the game for “Iron” Mike. Although on this occasion, he seemingly even surprised himself.

Michael Chandler & Tony Ferguson — PHOENIX, ARIZONA – MAY 07: (L-R) Michael Chandler knocks out Tony Ferguson in a lightweight fight during the UFC 274 event at Footprint Center on May 07, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Where would you rank Michael Chandler’s UFC 274 knockout among the best in history?

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Charles Oliveira Claims He Would KO Conor McGregor, Submit Nate Diaz In Same Night

Off the back of his stunning rallying win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 over the course of last weekend, former undisputed lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira has claimed that he would like the opportunity to fight both former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor, and Nate Diaz in the same night – insisting that he would finish […]

Charles Oliveira, who headlined UFC 274 in Phoenix, Arizona – stopped former interim lightweight titleholder, Justin Gaethje with a first round rear-naked choke, rallying from an earlier round knockdown.

Charles Oliveira called out Conor McGregor following his UFC 274 win

The bout was initially scheduled to mark Oliveira’s second attempted defense of the lightweight throne, however, at Friday’s weigh-ins, the Sao Paulo native tipped the lightweight championship scales by half a pound for the main event bout, resulting in his stripped as the undisputed lightweight champion.

Slated to compete for the now-vacant lightweight championship in his Octagon return, Oliveira has been linked with a slew of potential opponents in a title outing, including the likes of Islam Makhachev, the aforenoted duo of McGregor, and Diaz – as well as fellow UFC 274 big-winner, Michael Chandler.

Following Oliveira’s victory against Gaethje, Diaz, a one-time lightweight title chaser claimed that he would “easily” land a submission victory over Oliveira – who himself is the most prolific submission artist in the history of the organization.

“Just for the record, I like to break records and I want to break another one…” Charles Oliveira tweeted. “Fighting twice in same night. I can knock Conor (McGregor) out, and make Dias (sic) (Nate Diaz) tap. What do you think @danawhite?”

Just for the record, I like to break records and I want to break another one… Fighting twice in same night. I can knock Conor out, and make Dias tap.

What do you think @danawhite?

— Charles 'DoBronxs' Oliveira (@CharlesDoBronxs) May 10, 2022

Saturday’s victory for Oliveira came as his stunning eleventh consecutively in the division – the current record at lightweight, adding to prior wins over the likes of former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson, the above mentioned, Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and Gaethje.