Tag: UFC 291

Conor McGregor ‘Guarantees’ finish of Justin Gaethje after BMF title win at UFC 291: ‘I KO him with one shot’

Conor McGregor guarantees KO win over Justin Gaethje following BMF title win at UFC 291Appearing to blow-off a targeted return to the Octagon against Michael Chandler, former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor has switched his attention to newly-minted symbolic BMF titleholder, Justin Gaethje following his victory at UFC 291 – vowing to knock out the Arizona native if they meet. Headlining UFC 291 last night in Salt Lake City, Utah, […]

Conor McGregor guarantees KO win over Justin Gaethje following BMF title win at UFC 291

Appearing to blow-off a targeted return to the Octagon against Michael Chandler, former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor has switched his attention to newly-minted symbolic BMF titleholder, Justin Gaethje following his victory at UFC 291 – vowing to knock out the Arizona native if they meet.

Headlining UFC 291 last night in Salt Lake City, Utah, former interim lightweight champion, Gaethje, avenged a 2018 TKO to fellow former interim gold holder and common-foe, Dustin Poirier – stopping the Lafayette native with an earth-shattering second round high-kick knockout.

Turning in his second consecutive victory following an unsuccessful title siege against former titleholder, Charles Oliveira, Gaethje returned earlier this year in a majority decision win over the then-surging Rafael Fiziev, before striking BMF championship spoils overnight at the Delta Center with a high-kick KO triumph against Poirier.

And immediately earned the attention of former undisputed lightweight and featherweight champion, McGregor, the Dubliner welcomed a BMF title fight with Gaethje, appearing to write off an expected welterweight return against Chandler.

Conor McGregor predicts quickfire KO win over Justin Gaethje

Furthermore, the 35-year-old striker has now called his shot ahead of a potential fight with Gaethje – claiming he would stop the former interim kingpin with a one-punch knockout.

“I KO him (Justin Gaethje) [with] one shot,” Conor McGregor tweeted. “Guarantee it.” 

Scoffing at McGregor’s call out in the immediate aftermath of his win over common-rival, Poirier, Gaethje accused the Dubliner of steroid use during his two-year layoff from the Octagon – shutting down a bout with anyone who has utilized performance-enhancing drugs to boot.

“I’m not going to fight someone on steroids,” Justin Gaethje said of a fight with Conor McGregor during his post-fight press conference at UFC 291. “I’ve never taken steroids in my life, never will – well,  maybe when I retire, I might, but I’ve never taken steroids, and I don’t want to fight someone that’s cheating. And I probably shouldn’t even say that I want the fight, but it’s the truth.” 

Would you like to see Justin Gaethje fight Conor McGregor next?

Priscila Cachoeira attempted to expose Miranda Maverick’s breasts in UFC 291 clash

Miranda MaverickMiranda Maverick walked out of the Delta Center in Salt Lake City with an impressive victory, but it didn’t come without a heaping dose of frustration as her opponent, Priscila Cachoeira, seemingly attempted every dirty tactic in the book to avoid taking a loss. On Saturday night, Miranda Maverick scored a third-round submission by way […]

Miranda Maverick

Miranda Maverick walked out of the Delta Center in Salt Lake City with an impressive victory, but it didn’t come without a heaping dose of frustration as her opponent, Priscila Cachoeira, seemingly attempted every dirty tactic in the book to avoid taking a loss.

On Saturday night, Miranda Maverick scored a third-round submission by way of armbar against the Brazilian standout, but along the way, Cachoeira was guilty of multiple fouls, including some fairly egregious fence grabs. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the worst. In the third round, Maverick dragged Cachoeira to the mat and immediately moved into side control. As she begins to reign down elbows on her opponent, Cachoeira can be seen pulling the top of Maverick in an attempt to expose her breasts and stop the onslaught of strikes.

Following the event, Miranda Maverick suggested that the clearly intentional attempt to manufacture a wardrobe malfunction should have resulted in a point deduction. Maverick also accused Cachoeira of intentionally keeping her fingers straight throughout most of the contest.

“At some point, you gotta say it’s a point [deduction],” Maverick said during her appearance at the post-event press conference. “She stuck her fingers up straight the entire fight pretty much and there was no chance she was just trying to push me off. There was no flat hands. I had warned the ref beforehand and to be honest, he did about as good of a job as I’ve seen any ref do. I said ‘Listen, I don’t want poked in the eyes in this fight.’ That was my main priority and he was like, ‘Alright, we’ll watch out for it.’

“You know, I hope the whole world didn’t see me, but they probably did,” Maverick said while gesturing to her chest. “I guess that’s part of the risk of fighting, but it’s very frustrating and it made me go in there that much angrier every round.”

Cachoeira Tries Cheap Tap Out Trick to Get Out of Miranda Maverick’s Submission Attempt

Priscila Cachoeira wasn’t quite done pulling out tricks from up her sleeve. Just past the two-minute mark of the third round, Miranda Maverick was able to snatch Cachoeira’s arm and lock in an armbar. Cachoeira attempted what is commonly referred to as a ‘Brazilian tap.’ That is where a fighter taps once in the hope that their opponent will loosen the hold. Fortunately, Maverick didn’t fall for it and continued to put on the pressure until Cachoeira had no choice, but to legitimately tap out.

Sadly, this is not the first time that Priscila Cachoeira has been observed blatantly attempting to skirt the rules while on the losing side of things. At UFC 269, Cachoeira was forced to tap out to a rear-naked choke during her bout with Gillian Robertson. But before submitting, Cachoeira attempted to jam her thumb into Robertson’s eye socket in hopes of breaking the hold.

Whether or not Cachoeira deserves to be dubbed the dirtiest fighter in the game is subjective, but there are an ample amount of examples to at least earn her a nomination. But as former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz once said “If you ain’t cheatin’, you’re not trying.”

Miranda Maverick moved to 5-3 under the UFC banner on Saturday night, winning three of her last four bouts inside the Octagon. She improved to 12-5 overall in her MMA career.

Alex Pereira willing to cut back down to 185lbs for Israel Adesanya trilogy after UFC 291 win: ‘Nothing’s more fair’

Alex Pereira calls for light heavyweight title fight after UFC 291 debut winAlex Pereira claims he is willing to cut back down to middleweight to finally settle the score with long time rival, Israel Adesanya. Just three month following his brutal knockout loss, Pereira made his successful return to the Octagon, this stime up at light-heavyweight. ‘Poatan’ would overcome early grappling problems against Jan Blachowicz, earing a […]

Alex Pereira calls for light heavyweight title fight after UFC 291 debut win

Alex Pereira claims he is willing to cut back down to middleweight to finally settle the score with long time rival, Israel Adesanya.

Just three month following his brutal knockout loss, Pereira made his successful return to the Octagon, this stime up at light-heavyweight. ‘Poatan’ would overcome early grappling problems against Jan Blachowicz, earing a hard-fought three round decision.

The win has now set him up to fight for the vacant light-heavyweight title later this year, but the Adesanya MMA trilogy is still on his mind.

Alex Pereira Vs. Israel Adesanya trilogy

It was clear that a move up in weight was needed for the Brazilian, it is honestly still surprising how he made middleweight in the first place. Even compared to Blachowicz, a fully fledged light-heavyweight, he was still a couple of inches taller and looked all of the 205lb limit.

During post-fight media duties, Pereira acknowledged that the move was due.

“Before my last fight happened when I made weight, I told the guys that I was going to be taking a break from (middleweight). It was getting hard a little bit, too many (weight cuts) in a short span of time,” said Pereira. (H/T BloodyElbow)

While Pereira is set to challenge, and is focused on becoming the 205lb champion, the Brazilian still has the middleweight crown at the back of his mind. The 36-year-old said that he is willing to make the cut in order to face Adesanya for a third time in MMA – claiming that it is the ‘fair’ thing to do.

“Right now, I’m focused on this division. I want to be champion of this division, then I have some business to solve,” Pereira said.

“I went up to light heavyweight, do one more fight, take some time from all those cuts, and then (go back to middleweight). (Adesanya and I) are 1-1 at middleweight. Nothing’s more fair than to make the trilogy at middleweight.”

Alex Pereira post-fight press conference

Would you like to see Alex Pereira Vs. Israel Adesanya at middleweight or light-heavyweight?

Jan Blachowicz claims robbery after loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 291: ‘Bunch of thieves, they robbed me’

Jan Blachowicz claims he was robbed by judges in decision loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 291Former UFC light-heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz reacts to his loss to Alex Pereira last night at UFC 291. In a fight to determine who will face Jiri Prochazka for the now vacant light-heavyweight title, Pereira and Blachowicz would do battle over a competitive three rounds. The pair both entered the contest hungry to regain UFC […]

Jan Blachowicz claims he was robbed by judges in decision loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 291

Former UFC light-heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz reacts to his loss to Alex Pereira last night at UFC 291.

In a fight to determine who will face Jiri Prochazka for the now vacant light-heavyweight title, Pereira and Blachowicz would do battle over a competitive three rounds. The pair both entered the contest hungry to regain UFC gold, knowing it was just within arm’s length.

Pereira entered the contest just three months after dropping this middleweight title to Israel Adesanya via a dramatic KO. The Brazilian elected to move up in weight to 205lb and was immediately matched with the No.3 ranked Pole.

Blachowicz came in looking to bonce back from a disappoint last outing against Magomed Ankalaev last December. The fight, which was for the vacant light-heavyweight title would end in a draw after a lacklustre affair.

Jan Blachowicz Vs. Alex Pereira decision

After showing a variability, Blachowicz was expected to test Pereira’s grappling and the 40-year-old wasted no time in doing so. Quickly looking for the single leg, Blachowicz fought through Pereira’s guillotine attempt to land a takedown. From there, Blachowicz would threaten submissions and control ‘Poatan’ for the remainder of the first round.

However, Pereira would bounce back by fending off Blachowicz’s attempts to grapple while showing off his elite striking. Pereira enjoyed the striking success in the second and third, although Blachowicz was certainly not outclassed in this department, did sustain serious damage his leg.

Blachowicz did end up on top in the final round but did not land any particularly damaging shots. At the end of the contest, the score cards read 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 in favour of Pereira via split decision.

Online opinion seems to be split, with a considerable amount of people awarding it to Blachowicz. Posting to his Instagram, he would react to the score cards – claiming robbery.

“Bunch of thieves, they robbed me. Anyway, thank you all for your support. I’ll be back,” said Jan Blachowicz.

Who do you think won, Jan Blachowicz or Alex Pereira?

Dustin Poirier optimistic after stunning KO loss at UFC 291: ‘We’re not at a funeral here, I’ve already won’

Dustin Poirier optimistic after UFC 291 KO loss we're not at my funeral hereSuffering a spectacular second round high-kick knockout loss to fellow former interim lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje last night, Dustin Poirier admits that while he is upset to miss out on a symbolic BMF championship, “he’s already won” during his fighting career – remaining optimistic of a comeback in the future. Poirier, a former interim lightweight […]

Dustin Poirier optimistic after UFC 291 KO loss we're not at my funeral here

Suffering a spectacular second round high-kick knockout loss to fellow former interim lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje last night, Dustin Poirier admits that while he is upset to miss out on a symbolic BMF championship, “he’s already won” during his fighting career – remaining optimistic of a comeback in the future.

Poirier, a former interim lightweight champion and current number two ranked lightweight contender, suffered a thunderous second round KO loss to Arizona native, Gaethje in last night’s UFC 291 headliner in Salt Lake City.

The loss returned Poirier back to the losing column, with Gaethje avenging a prior TKO loss to the former during their initial pairing at UFC Fight Night Glendale back in 2018 of last year. 

However, dropping the pair’s rematch last night in ‘The Beehive State’, Poirier was dropped to the Octagon canvas inside the opening minute of the second round, with Gaethje launching with a brutal right high-kick KO – slumping Poirier for a stunning stoppage loss. 

Dustin Poirier optimistic despite UFC 291 knockout loss

And despite seeing former American Top Team training partner and inaugural titleholder, Jorge Masvidal strap the BMF title on his rival, Gaethje, Poirier claimed fans and pundits in attendance did not intend his funeral, as he remains optimistic about a successful comeback.

“It’s the theatre of the unknown out there,” Dustin Poirier told assembled media after UFC 291. “It’s heartbreaking, but I keep coming back – like Pookie, it keeps calling me, I can’t stop. So, we’ll see what happens, man. I might need another hit, I don’t know. I’m just taking it one day at a time, one minute at a time, I don’t know. But I’m happy. My life is good, my family is good. My daughter is excited for me to get him – we’re not at a funeral here. I’ve won – I’ve won life, I’ve already won – where I’m from, man, I’ve already run.”

“… I really wanted the belt, it sucks,” Dustin Poirier explained. “That’s a legacy fight for my career. But it is what it is. This is fighting, there is no sympathy. I signed up for it, I knew what I was getting myself into. And that’s why we love it, ‘cause anything can happen. And it did – this is fighting.” 

Who would you like to see Dustin Poirier fight in his return after UFC 291?

Report – Stephen Thompson denied show money despite successfully making weight for UFC 291 return

Stephen Thompson denied show money for weight cut ahead of UFC 291 fightAccording to reports ahead of UFC 291 last night, former two-time welterweight title challenger, Stephen Thompson was denied his show money despite successfully making the division limit during Friday’s weigh-in, ahead of an eventual failed fight against Brazilian striker, Michel Pereira. Thompson, the current number seven ranked welterweight contender, was initially scheduled to take on […]

Stephen Thompson denied show money for weight cut ahead of UFC 291 fight

According to reports ahead of UFC 291 last night, former two-time welterweight title challenger, Stephen Thompson was denied his show money despite successfully making the division limit during Friday’s weigh-in, ahead of an eventual failed fight against Brazilian striker, Michel Pereira.

Thompson, the current number seven ranked welterweight contender, was initially scheduled to take on Pereira on the later preliminary card of UFC 291 in Salt Lake City, Utah last night, however, with the cancellation of a bout between Paulo Costa, and Ikram Aliskerov earlier this month, their pairing was promoted to a main card billing.

And during Friday’s officialy weigh-ins, Pereira stunningly missed the non-title welterweight limit by three pounds, coming in at 174lbs for his scheduled fight with Stephen Thompson. 

Stephen Thompson was reportedly denied any show money for his weight-cutting efforts at UFC 291

According to reports from MMA Junkie reporter, Mike Bohn, Simpsonville striker, Thompson, who successfully made the welterweight limit at 170.5lbs for his clash with Pereira, however, was denied any of his show money by the promotion despite successfully making weight for the scheduled bout.

“Stephen Thompson didn’t receive his show money despite making weight for his cancelled #UFC291 bout vs. Michel Pereira, per source,” Bohn tweeted. 

Sidelined from the Octagon since he headlined UFC Fight Night Orlando back in December of last year, Thompson managed to turn in an eventual fourth round corner stoppage TKO win over last night’s main card opener, Kevin Holland — with the duo earning a Fight of the Night bonus to boot.

Atop last night’s UFC 291 card at the Delta Center, former interim lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje clinched the symbolic BMF championship with a stunning second round high-kick KO win over fellow former interim gold holder, Dustin Poirier.

In the night’s co-headliner, former middleweight champion, Alex Pereira made a successful light heavyweight limit bow, defeating former division championship winner, Jan Blachowicz with a close, split decision win.