Tag: UFC 304

Former UFC Champion Explains How Tom Aspinall’s Short Fight Time Could Be His ‘Worst Enemy’ Against Jon Jones

Tom Aspinall came into UFC 304 this past weekend already holding the UFC record for the fastest average fight time for an athlete that has stepped foot in the Octagon several times. This streak doesn’t appear to be going anywhere despite his want and expectation for the rematch with Curtis Blaydes to go past the […]

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Tom Aspinall came into UFC 304 this past weekend already holding the UFC record for the fastest average fight time for an athlete that has stepped foot in the Octagon several times.

This streak doesn’t appear to be going anywhere despite his want and expectation for the rematch with Curtis Blaydes to go past the opening rounds.

All it took was one clean shot from the interim heavyweight champion to send Blaydes off balance, where a barrage of follow-up strikes closed the show in just one minute.

In nine total appearances since signing with the UFC, Aspinall is still yet to clock in a full 15-minute bout duration – even with all of his fights combined.

He got this one done even quicker than his average fight time of less than two minutes but a former champion questioned whether this will come back to bite him at a later stage.

Henry Cejudo Says Tom Aspinall’s Lack Of Cage Time Could Hurt Him Against Jon Jones

Even before this fight, despite Blaydes being a very tough opponent for Aspinall, the fight that many want to see the Brit in is the title unification clash with Jon Jones.

This is even more so the case after he avenged his one defeat in the UFC, which was caused by an injury, and made it look relatively simple.

During the UFC 304 recap episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Henry Cejudo made the case for why this incredibly small amount of fight time could be a disadvantage for Aspinall if he were to fight Jones.

We’re still yet to see so many elements of his game which an experienced foe like Jones is surely going to want to try and test, if they do ever meet.

“Last four fights bro! 3 minutes and 37 seconds, Jesus Christ. But, that can also be his worst enemy too because you know a guy like Jones, a guy like Jones is smart bro. A guy like Jones, we cannot doubt the dude. The dude could wrestle and the dude will probably make this dude fight that beast side. But I will say this man, Tom Aspinall’s agility and the fact he’s a counter puncher, like he really did counter that jab very well with that overhand bro. like his IQ on his feet is good but we also have to see him in those other areas.”

Read also: Kamaru Usman Reacts To Belal Muhammad Dominating Leon Edwards At UFC 304: ‘Leon Doesn’t Necessarily Know How To Fight There…’

Continue Reading Former UFC Champion Explains How Tom Aspinall’s Short Fight Time Could Be His ‘Worst Enemy’ Against Jon Jones at MMA News.

Kamaru Usman Reacts To Belal Muhammad Dominating Leon Edwards At UFC 304: ‘Leon Doesn’t Necessarily Know How To Fight There…’

The UK fans inside the Co-op Live in the early hours of Sunday morning left following a disappointing result for the home fighter. England’s Leon Edwards failed to make the third defense of his welterweight title after losing a unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad. Many expected that given Edwards’ recent run of results against top […]

Continue Reading Kamaru Usman Reacts To Belal Muhammad Dominating Leon Edwards At UFC 304: ‘Leon Doesn’t Necessarily Know How To Fight There…’ at MMA News.

The UK fans inside the Co-op Live in the early hours of Sunday morning left following a disappointing result for the home fighter.

England’s Leon Edwards failed to make the third defense of his welterweight title after losing a unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad.

Many expected that given Edwards’ recent run of results against top tier opposition, he would be able to deal with the heavy grappling game of his challenger and out strike him on the feet.

This wasn’t to be the case as Muhammad regularly secured takedowns and even had success with his boxing when pressuring “Rocky” against the cage.

The constant output from the challenger kept Edwards on the back foot where he was able to make a clever adjustment that a former opponent of the defending champion’s picked up on.

Kamaru Usman Breaks Down The Adjustment Belal Muhammad Made And Where Leon Edwards Went Wrong

Former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman knows Edwards better than most due to sharing the Octagon with him on three separate occasions.

As an elite wrestler, Usman constantly tested the defense of “Rocky” which fans saw improve with each fight that he spent in there with “The Nigerian Nightmare”.

He spoke on a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast where he broke down where Edwards’ style worked against him in this fight.

“Now, I fought Leon three times. I would say for a majority of all those fights, Leon put his back up against the cage. Well, he didn’t put his back there, I put him there up against the cage. You pressure him, you pressure him, you pressure him, you take away his space and Leon just doesn’t necessarily know how to fight there when you take away his space. He wants to create the space so he backs up and when he backs up, next thing you know, he puts himself up against the cage.”

Crucially, Usman broke down what Muhammad did differently to his three fights against Edwards, which meant he was able to regularly take down and control the Brit.

“Now, when you fight a guy like myself and a guy like Belal Muhammad that can change levels on you, hey, this is what you’re going to get. We’re going to change levels, we’re going to wrap our arms around your legs and we’re going to take you down every time and that’s what I did in almost every one of my fights but Leon over the time got smart enough to know, ‘Hey, I can use the cage to my advantage to stand up or to keep myself upright and make it harder for people to keep me down,’ and that’s what he was doing.

“But, it’s almost like he counters what I do which is put him up against the fence and take him down by using the fence to stand back up and stay upright but then here comes the counter, the counter-counter shall I say, in Belal Muhammad in understanding that, ‘Hey, he uses the fence very well to stand back up so when he does stand back up, you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to change levels back again and I’m going to dump him either on his head or I’m going to dump him on his back again,’ and this was textbook.”

Read also: Israel Adesanya Reacts To Belal Muhammad’s Title Win Over Leon Edwards At UFC 304: ‘I’m A Fan Now!’

Continue Reading Kamaru Usman Reacts To Belal Muhammad Dominating Leon Edwards At UFC 304: ‘Leon Doesn’t Necessarily Know How To Fight There…’ at MMA News.

King Green Breaks Silence After Being Put To Sleep By Paddy Pimblett At UFC 304: ‘Let The Ridicule Begin…’

It wasn’t to be King Green’s night at UFC 304 as he made the trip over to Manchester to take on a home crowd favorite. Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett provided a much-needed boost to the fans inside the Co-op Live in the early hours of Sunday morning. The energy from his walk out carried into the […]

Continue Reading King Green Breaks Silence After Being Put To Sleep By Paddy Pimblett At UFC 304: ‘Let The Ridicule Begin…’ at MMA News.

It wasn’t to be King Green’s night at UFC 304 as he made the trip over to Manchester to take on a home crowd favorite.

Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett provided a much-needed boost to the fans inside the Co-op Live in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The energy from his walk out carried into the fight itself, where after Green shot for a takedown and “The Baddy” was able to showcase his submission skills off his back.

Locking up a slick triangle, Pimblett was able to choke his opponent unconscious whilst extending his arm at the same time, to secure a huge first-round finish against his first ranked opponent.

King Green Reflects On First Round Loss At UFC 304: ‘Kill Or Be Killed’

Green spoke for the first time since the fight via a video that he posted on his Instagram stories, where he prepared himself for fan backlash.

The 50-fight veteran made no excuses for the defeat and said that he expects to receive negative messages and comments from the fans after being submitted.

Green is no stranger to being on both sides of highlight reel finishes so this isn’t a new experience for him and as he said himself, it’s kill or be killed at his level.

“What a day. Thank you guys for checking in on me, I’m okay I guess. You know, s*** happens. Felt like I slipped into some s*** and it just all went the perfect way, I had a bad night. No excuses, s*** happens. I live by a code, kill or be killed. Today I got killed. Let the ridicule begin, you know, I know what comes with this. You guys can talk your s***, I know what comes with this. Let’s go.”

Watch Green’s Instagram story via MMA Crazy on YouTube below:

Read also: Molly McCann Speaks On ‘Sh*t Night At The Office’ At UFC 304: ‘Wasn’t Able To Recover After That Knee…’ 

Continue Reading King Green Breaks Silence After Being Put To Sleep By Paddy Pimblett At UFC 304: ‘Let The Ridicule Begin…’ at MMA News.

MMA News Today: Belal Muhammad Fans Shut Down Busy Road In Manchester After UFC 304, LHW Says Muhammad Mokaev Being Released Had Nothing To Do With His Fighting Style, & More

Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For July 29, 2024, we’re taking a look at: Belal Muhammad Throws Post-Fight Celebrations In Manchester Belal Muhammad may not have had nearly as much in-arena support in Manchester as Leon Edwards but his fans rallied around […]

Continue Reading MMA News Today: Belal Muhammad Fans Shut Down Busy Road In Manchester After UFC 304, LHW Says Muhammad Mokaev Being Released Had Nothing To Do With His Fighting Style, & More at MMA News.

Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For July 29, 2024, we’re taking a look at:

  • Muhammad gets his moment in Manchester
  • Mokaev’s conduct called into question
  • Blaydes admits he got carried away with his striking

Belal Muhammad Throws Post-Fight Celebrations In Manchester

Belal Muhammad may not have had nearly as much in-arena support in Manchester as Leon Edwards but his fans rallied around him in victory afterwards.

In the main event of UFC 304, Muhammad capitalized on his long-awaited title shot to become the welterweight champion via unanimous decision.

Before he made the trip back home, the newly crowned champion celebrated on the streets of Manchester, as he drove down the street with the title in hand.

Fans showed up to support him and blocked the busy Wilmslow Road in Rusholme on Sunday night, with Palestinian flags being waved in the crowd that gathered.

The videos posted on social media show a long backlog of cars waiting for the crowd to disperse in order to get through.

Zac Pauga Says There Is More To Muhammad Mokaev Not Being Re-Signed Than His Fighting Style

One of the most surprising stories to come out of UFC 304 was Muhammad Mokaev’s future in the UFC.

Despite beating another top flyweight contender in Manel Kape and improving his record to 13-0 at just 23 years old, Dana White announced that the promotion will not be renewing his contract now that it has concluded.

Mokaev had made comments after his fight about being told by a member of UFC staff that they didn’t want to see him realy on his heavy grappling style, if he was going to get a new deal.

White later clarified in his post-fight press conference that the decision was made due to the issues he causes outside of the Octagon, like starting brawls, rather than what he does inside it.

UFC light heavyweight contender Zac Pauga seconded this on social media, suggesting that there is more to Mokaev’s issues behind the scenes than White revealed.

“Like I said in getting tired of being the ‘inside guy’. Just know that mokaev being released had nothing to do with his fighting style, the fact that he has all these accolades and they are willing to let him walk should tell you something”

Curtis Blaydes Says He Got ‘Greedy’ At UFC 304 In Post-Fight Statement

Curtis Blaydes posted his first statement after coming up short in his first UFC title fight this past weekend in Manchester.

Blaydes looked to claim the interim heavyweight title from Tom Aspinall in a rematch that lasted just one minute, after Aspinall dropped his opponent and poured on the pressure to get the stoppage.

In a message on his Instagram story, “Razor” thanked his supporters and said that he got overzealous with his striking early on.

Blaydes was able to have success in the striking range early on but trading with the Brit didn’t appear to be the approach that he and his team had planned for.

“Sorry guys, I got greedy when I touched him early and threw out the amazing gameplan that my coaches Vinnie Lopez (and) Cody Donovan came up with that would’ve worked I’m sure of it. No excuses Tom was on point tonight I know this isn’t the end of my journey but damnit, I know I’m better than tonight’s performance. I appreciate all the support truly it’s been an eye opening experience to have so many ppl rocking with me,” Blaydes wrote.

Curtis Blaydes
Image: @razorblaydes265/Instagram

Read more on the story here.

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Continue Reading MMA News Today: Belal Muhammad Fans Shut Down Busy Road In Manchester After UFC 304, LHW Says Muhammad Mokaev Being Released Had Nothing To Do With His Fighting Style, & More at MMA News.

‘The PFL Will Get A Great, Undefeated Guy’ – Dana White Reveals Muhammad Mokaev Will Be Let Go By UFC

Muhammad Mokaev will not be coming back to the UFC, according to promotional CEO Dana White at the UFC 304 post-fight press conference. Mokaev scored a win over Manel Kape during the UFC 304 prelims. In spite of being promoted as a potential flyweight title eliminator, the fight proved to be disappointing and widely panned. […]

Continue Reading ‘The PFL Will Get A Great, Undefeated Guy’ – Dana White Reveals Muhammad Mokaev Will Be Let Go By UFC at MMA News.

Muhammad Mokaev will not be coming back to the UFC, according to promotional CEO Dana White at the UFC 304 post-fight press conference.

Mokaev scored a win over Manel Kape during the UFC 304 prelims. In spite of being promoted as a potential flyweight title eliminator, the fight proved to be disappointing and widely panned. The bout marked the final one on Mokaev’s current deal.

According to White, matchmakers are not a fan of Mokaev’s conduct, and the Dagestani-Englishman has caused unnamed issues in the past few months.

“I think the PFL will get a great, undefeated guy,” White said. “Good luck to him.”

Dana White, UFC Appears To Formally Part Ways With Muhammad Mokaev

The unbeaten Mokaev, a noteworthy flyweight contender, was a big talking point heading into this card. Mokaev and Kape had bad blood between them, resulting in a number of confrontations in the week leading up to the fight.

The bout was also notable for the number of times it moved in the card order, going from the main card, to the televised prelims, to the early prelims, then finally settling in as the opening bout of the televised prelims.

Despite the supposed bad blood, the fight proved to be lackluster. The first round saw little actual action from both men. Early in the second, Mokaev grabbed Kape’s shorts in a grappling exchange and appeared to show disrespect to referee Mike Beltran, causing Beltran to loudly admonish him during the pause in the action.

Mokaev ultimately won the fight by unanimous decision.

Earlier in the week, Mokaev acknowledged this being the last fight on his deal and desired a guaranteed title shot in a new deal, following a win.

Mokaev has not commented on the matter as of press time, but he did tweet this out after the event.

Continue Reading ‘The PFL Will Get A Great, Undefeated Guy’ – Dana White Reveals Muhammad Mokaev Will Be Let Go By UFC at MMA News.

‘McCann Has Heart…But Is Becoming The Chisora Of MMA’ – MMA Fans React After Molly McCann Gets Outclassed By Bruna Brasil At UFC 304

Molly McCann suffered the first defeat of any of the home fighters at UFC 304 as she lost a one-sided decision to Bruna Brasil. McCann’s signature toughness was on full display once again as she battled through a tough opening round to make it the distance. Brasil had a lot of success with her striking […]

Continue Reading ‘McCann Has Heart…But Is Becoming The Chisora Of MMA’ – MMA Fans React After Molly McCann Gets Outclassed By Bruna Brasil At UFC 304 at MMA News.

Molly McCann suffered the first defeat of any of the home fighters at UFC 304 as she lost a one-sided decision to Bruna Brasil.

McCann’s signature toughness was on full display once again as she battled through a tough opening round to make it the distance.

Brasil had a lot of success with her striking after hurting her opponent with a body kick in the opening round, that appeared to be the beginning of the end.

Despite McCann’s best efforts to turn the tide late on, it wasn’t enough to get the nod on the scorecards in this prelim bout.

MMA Fans React As Molly McCann Suffers A Defeat On Home Soil

MMA fans reacted on social media as McCann battled against a strong showing from Brasil through all three rounds.

The crowd was on her side but it wasn’t the Liverpool fighter’s night on this occasion.

Read also: UFC 304: Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad 2 Live Results & Highlights

Continue Reading ‘McCann Has Heart…But Is Becoming The Chisora Of MMA’ – MMA Fans React After Molly McCann Gets Outclassed By Bruna Brasil At UFC 304 at MMA News.