Tag: UFC 281

Dustin Poirier Shares Post-Fight Words From ‘Dweeb’ Michael Chandler

Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler didn’t fully bury the hatchet following their UFC 281 ‘Fight of the Night’. Poirier submitted Chandler in the third round of their UFC 281 lightweight battle. After getting in early trouble on the f…

Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler didn’t fully bury the hatchet following their UFC 281 ‘Fight of the Night’. Poirier submitted Chandler in the third round of their UFC 281 lightweight battle. After getting in early trouble on the feet, Poirier picked up the pace as the fight went on and eventually secured a rear-naked choke….

Continue Reading Dustin Poirier Shares Post-Fight Words From ‘Dweeb’ Michael Chandler at MMA News.

Dan Hooker Prefers Early Stoppages Than Late For Teammates

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker has given his assessment of the stoppage in the UFC 281 main event between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. At this past weekend’s pay-per-view event, fans witnessed a dramatic title change inside the prestig…

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker has given his assessment of the stoppage in the UFC 281 main event between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. At this past weekend’s pay-per-view event, fans witnessed a dramatic title change inside the prestigious surroundings of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The victim of the championship switch was Adesanya,…

Continue Reading Dan Hooker Prefers Early Stoppages Than Late For Teammates at MMA News.

Dustin Poirier uninterested in potential title eliminator with Beneil Dariush: ‘That’s not super exciting’

Dustin PoirierFormer interim UFC lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has claimed a potential title eliminator at 155lbs against the surging, Beneil Dariush, does not jump off the page at him, after he returned to the winner’s enclosure over the weekend.  Featuring in a main card clash at UFC 281 last Saturday at Madison Square Garden, Poirier managed […]

Dustin Poirier

Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has claimed a potential title eliminator at 155lbs against the surging, Beneil Dariush, does not jump off the page at him, after he returned to the winner’s enclosure over the weekend. 

Featuring in a main card clash at UFC 281 last Saturday at Madison Square Garden, Poirier managed to defeat one-time vacant title chaser, Michael Chandler, submitting the Missouri veteran with a third round rear-naked choke as part of a back-and-forth battle.

As for Dariush, the Iranian-born contender featured at UFC 280 back in October in Abu Dhabi, UAE – landing an impressive unanimous decision win over Poirier’s American Top Team training partner, Mateusz Gamrot. The outing came as Dariush’s first since he suffered a fractured fibula ahead of a planned February fight with champion, Islam Makahchev. 

Dustin Poirier distances himself from an Octagon walk against Beneil Dariush

Weighing up a potential fight against Dariush off the back of his win over Chandler, Poirier, who had been linked with a February return at UFC 284 in Australia against the Kings MMA mainstay, insisted he was less than interested in the bout.

“Not really, honestly,” Dustin Poirier said of his interest in a fight with Beneil Dariush during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. “No disrespect to Beneil – great fighter, and he did it the right way, he’s a very respectful guy, a hard worker, goes in there and handles business. And I respect that, dude, and I’ll always watch when he fights.”

“When we just talked about the other guys that I’ve fought recently, that one’s not super exciting when I think about it,” Dustin Poirier explained. 

Embarking on a 2-1 Octagon tenure last year, Poirier scored back-to-back rematch and subsequent rubber match wins over former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor, before dropping a submission loss to former lightweight kingpin, Charles Oliveira last December. 

Renato Moicano calls for Conor McGregor fight following UFC 281 win: ‘Moicano wants the money’

Renato MoicanoOff the back of an impressive submission win over Brad Riddell at UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden last weekend, Brazilian lightweight contender, Renato Moicano has floated a potential money fight against former duel-weight champion, Conor McGregor next. Featuring on the preliminary card of the MSG event in New York, Moicano managed to land a […]

Renato Moicano

Off the back of an impressive submission win over Brad Riddell at UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden last weekend, Brazilian lightweight contender, Renato Moicano has floated a potential money fight against former duel-weight champion, Conor McGregor next.

Featuring on the preliminary card of the MSG event in New York, Moicano managed to land a first round submission win over Australian contender, Riddell. And off the back of the victory, earned the #13 rank in the official lightweight division – ahead of McGregor who fell to #14. 

Renato Moicano insists Conor McGregor is “done” at the highest level

Commenting on the fact he gazumped McGregor in the lightweight rankings, Moicano insisted he would love to land a lucrative payday against the Dubliner, despite the thought that he was “done” at the highest level of the sport.

“F*ck (Conor) McGregor, bro,” Renato Moicano told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “He’s done, bro. Now it’s my time. McGregor, he did a lot for this sport. But right now, he’s done. But if he wants to get the smoke, he’s gonna be in trouble because I’m gonna beat him. I’m gonna beat his ass, bro, you can be sure of that.”

“Of course, I want to fight him, but I don’t think he’s gonna accept to fight me,” Renato Moicano continued. I think he’s going to 170 or something like that, he’s looking big right now. They (the UFC) give me a [dream] fight, it’s gonna be McGregor, or Islam Makachaev, because I wanna be champion and I wanna be a billionaire, I wanna be a millionaire, I wanna make money. McGregor has the money – Moicano wants the money, McGregor has the money, so why not do that fight.”

3-1 in his last four Octagon walks, Moicano had landed back-to-back submission wins over both Jai Herbert, and Alexander Hernandez, before suffering a unanimous decision loss to former lightweight champion and compatriot, Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 272 over the course of five rounds. 

As for McGregor, the former undisputed lightweight and featherweight best has been sidelined since fracturing his left tibia and fibula in a UFC 264 doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier back in July of last year.

Alex Pereira receives BJJ brown belt following UFC 281 win, fans react

Alex PereiraJust a few days into his UFC middleweight title reign, Alex Pereira has already earned himself another belt. As reported by MMA journalist Ariel Helwani on Twitter, Pereira received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt from coach Plinio Cruz just three days removed from his shocking fifth-round finish of former middleweight king Israel Adesanya at UFC […]

Alex Pereira

Just a few days into his UFC middleweight title reign, Alex Pereira has already earned himself another belt.

As reported by MMA journalist Ariel Helwani on Twitter, Pereira received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt from coach Plinio Cruz just three days removed from his shocking fifth-round finish of former middleweight king Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 on Saturday night.

“New UFC middleweight champ Alex Pereira was awarded his BJJ brown belt by his coach Plinio Cruz last night.”

The news was immediately met with skepticism by fans who quickly referenced Islam Makhachev’s comments to Daniel Cormier regarding the way BJJ black belts are seemingly handed out like candy on Halloween to some of MMA’s top stars.

We have to cancel many black belts [because] they make Jiu-Jitsu look bad,” said Makhachev. “Because a lot of guys have black belt but I don’t know [if they have the skills].

Love him or hate him, Alex Pereira is a bonafide belt collector. Under the GLORY Kickboxing banner, where he defeated Adesanya twice prior to their UFC 281 clash, Pereira was a two-division champion. Today, he is a UFC champion having defeated one of the most celebrated titleholders in the promotion’s history over the weekend.

The Brazilian kickboxer even commemorated his historic title win on Saturday night by getting a UFC championship belt tattooed on his arm. Pereira shared a video clip of the work being done on Instagram.

Fans React to Alex Pereira’s BJJ Brown Belt on Twitter

Following the news that Alex Pereira had received his BJJ brown belt, fans immediately reacted to the news in a mostly negative way.

Robert Whittaker previews future Alex Pereira fight: ‘Did you see the size of the fella?’

Robert WhittakerWhilst former undisputed UFC middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker believes he matches up well with newly minted division champion, Alex Pereira following his ascension to the throne at UFC 281 last weekend, the sheer stature and physique of the Brazilian left the ex-champion in awe. Whittaker, the #2 ranked middleweight contender, held the undisputed middleweight title […]

Robert Whittaker

Whilst former undisputed UFC middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker believes he matches up well with newly minted division champion, Alex Pereira following his ascension to the throne at UFC 281 last weekend, the sheer stature and physique of the Brazilian left the ex-champion in awe.

Whittaker, the #2 ranked middleweight contender, held the undisputed middleweight title back in 2017 after he was promoted in Georges St-Pierre – defeating Yoel Romero in a Fight of the Year rematch during his time as division outlier. 

Co-headlining UFC Fight Night Paris earlier this year against one-time title challenger, Marvin Vettori in France, Whittaker rebounded from a second career loss to Adesanya earlier this year – turning in a dominant striking performance to defeat the Italian over the course of three rounds.

Set to return to the Octagon on February 11. next at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia – Whittaker will draw Brazilian phenom, Paulo Costa, in what could spell a title-eliminator at 185lbs for both division contenders.

Robert Whittaker previews a future fight with UFC champion, Alex Pereira

Sharing his reaction to Adesanya’s stunning fifth round knockout loss to Sao Paulo finisher, Pereira during a live stream with UFC alum, Jens Pulver, Whittaker commented on a potential fight with the new champion this week, noting the Brazilian’s stunning stature at middleweight.

“Like I said before, I’m not planning past (Paulo) Costa, but I can say that I think (Alex) Pereira is a better matchup for me than Israel (Adesanya),” Robert Whittaker told assembled media at a UFC 284 press conference. “Just ‘cause of the way he stands, and he likes to push forward – the way he likes to fight, I feel, it gives me a better edge.”

“But in saying that, did you see the size of the fella?” Robert Whittaker continued. “Like, why is nobody mentioning that? Dude’s – dude is just giant. He’s an absolute giant. … You see Pereira up against him (Adesanya), and just his facial features are bigger, his feet and hands, and forearms are massive. I’m just thinking – who let this guy in? But still, I think I can take him.” 

While Whittaker appears confident of securing a title win against Pereira, the newly minted titleholder is widely expected to provide Adesanya an immediate undisputed title rematch in their next Octagon appearances, respectively.