Tag: UFC 309

CSAC Director Supports Overturning Jon Jones’ Controversial Loss

Jon Jones might finally see the sole blemish on his otherwise flawless record erased, with California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster voicing his backing for this change. “Bones” one loss in his 29-fight MMA career came against Matt Hamill at The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale in December 2009. Despite overwhelming Hamill throughout […]

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Jon Jones might finally see the sole blemish on his otherwise flawless record erased, with California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster voicing his backing for this change.

“Bones” one loss in his 29-fight MMA career came against Matt Hamill at The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale in December 2009. Despite overwhelming Hamill throughout the first round, Jones was disqualified for delivering a then-illegal 12-6 elbow.

Jones, with longstanding support from UFC CEO Dana White, has made numerous attempts over the years to overturn his disputed loss, though each effort has fallen short. Recently, however, the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports lifted the ban on 12-6 elbow strikes, with the revised rules taking effect last weekend at UFC Fight Night in Edmonton.

A faint ray of hope appears to be emerging for the UFC heavyweight champion as Foster, one of the key advocates behind the legalization of the once-banned strike, has now stepped forward to support Jones in his quest to have the loss overturned.

During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the Athletic Commission director expressed his dissatisfaction with how the ruling was handled at the time, suggesting that the outcome could have been changed to a no contest rather than a DQ.

“The rule is what it was then; it’s different now. It would be hard to go back…I’d be actually supportive of getting rid of [his loss], but it’s not my decision. … I didn’t like the way it was enforced back then, but that was 14 years ago,” Foster said. “I think there were — look, we’re talking about 14 years later. At the time, I thought there were other ways you could handle that situation rather than flat giving the guy a loss.”

Although Foster is a staunch supporter of “Bones” having his loss overturned, the final decision rests with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. However, they have consistently declined to make any changes since 2009.

After a hiatus of over a year, Jones is preparing for his return to the Octagon, where he will defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic in the headliner of UFC 309. The eagerly anticipated clash is scheduled to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 16.

Continue Reading CSAC Director Supports Overturning Jon Jones’ Controversial Loss at MMA News.

Chael Sonnen Highlights UFC 309 Prelim Fighter: ‘A Bit Of A Triple Threat’

At UFC 309 on November 16, one fighter will make a childhood dream come true when he makes the walk at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. 2024 has been a year of bucket list moments for Oban Elliott who has earned back-to-back wins inside the Octagon. The Welsh fighter secured his UFC […]

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At UFC 309 on November 16, one fighter will make a childhood dream come true when he makes the walk at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. 2024 has been a year of bucket list moments for Oban Elliott who has earned back-to-back wins inside the Octagon.

The Welsh fighter secured his UFC contract on the Contender Series and will now look to make it three wins in a row at welterweight when he faces off with Bassil Hafez on the prelims. Elliott is a big pro wrestling fans and therefore, it’s no surprise that his MMA idol growing up was none other than “The Bad Guy”, Chael Sonnen.

They’ve been in communication for many years but at Elliott’s debut at UFC 298 in February, they finally got to meet in person. Though this was clearly a full-circle moment for “The Welsh Gangster”, it was also a great interaction for Sonnen, as he spoke about in a recent video on his YouTube channel.

Sonnen gave some insight into Elliott’s life and career so far and how he feels privileged that the rising talent would take him along for each step of the journey.

“It’s a bit of a triple threat from Oban. He’s got the skills, came with the DNA and the grit. Little boy that had a dream and never lost sight of it, right. All discipline is is remembering what your goal is. That’s all it is but it’s a very hard thing to do and he embraced social media, he was a smart guy… when he did the whole thing, he stayed nice. He’s a real triple threat.”

Elliott’s personality and mentality is what Sonnen wanted to draw the most attention to. He went on to compare him to Anthony Smith who Sonnen believes is another fighter that doesn’t just know how to fight and play the game, he’s a strong individual outside the cage too.

“He never got somewhere and forgot how he got there and that’s a special kind of person. The fighter, yeah man, this guy can squabble. He’s about to fight at Madison Square Garden. He went from a railroad with a guy with a dream thanking Lord in heaven above that he got airtime on Ariel Helwani’s show, he’s going to be fighting at Madison Square Garden so it’s quite a story and there’s a lot more to it. I’m just getting started but moving forward, learn the name.”

Continue Reading Chael Sonnen Highlights UFC 309 Prelim Fighter: ‘A Bit Of A Triple Threat’ at MMA News.

Chael Sonnen Highlights UFC 309 Prelim Fighter: ‘A Bit Of A Triple Threat’

At UFC 309 on November 16, one fighter will make a childhood dream come true when he makes the walk at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. 2024 has been a year of bucket list moments for Oban Elliott who has earned back-to-back wins inside the Octagon. The Welsh fighter secured his UFC […]

Continue Reading Chael Sonnen Highlights UFC 309 Prelim Fighter: ‘A Bit Of A Triple Threat’ at MMA News.

At UFC 309 on November 16, one fighter will make a childhood dream come true when he makes the walk at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. 2024 has been a year of bucket list moments for Oban Elliott who has earned back-to-back wins inside the Octagon.

The Welsh fighter secured his UFC contract on the Contender Series and will now look to make it three wins in a row at welterweight when he faces off with Bassil Hafez on the prelims. Elliott is a big pro wrestling fans and therefore, it’s no surprise that his MMA idol growing up was none other than “The Bad Guy”, Chael Sonnen.

They’ve been in communication for many years but at Elliott’s debut at UFC 298 in February, they finally got to meet in person. Though this was clearly a full-circle moment for “The Welsh Gangster”, it was also a great interaction for Sonnen, as he spoke about in a recent video on his YouTube channel.

Sonnen gave some insight into Elliott’s life and career so far and how he feels privileged that the rising talent would take him along for each step of the journey.

“It’s a bit of a triple threat from Oban. He’s got the skills, came with the DNA and the grit. Little boy that had a dream and never lost sight of it, right. All discipline is is remembering what your goal is. That’s all it is but it’s a very hard thing to do and he embraced social media, he was a smart guy… when he did the whole thing, he stayed nice. He’s a real triple threat.”

Elliott’s personality and mentality is what Sonnen wanted to draw the most attention to. He went on to compare him to Anthony Smith who Sonnen believes is another fighter that doesn’t just know how to fight and play the game, he’s a strong individual outside the cage too.

“He never got somewhere and forgot how he got there and that’s a special kind of person. The fighter, yeah man, this guy can squabble. He’s about to fight at Madison Square Garden. He went from a railroad with a guy with a dream thanking Lord in heaven above that he got airtime on Ariel Helwani’s show, he’s going to be fighting at Madison Square Garden so it’s quite a story and there’s a lot more to it. I’m just getting started but moving forward, learn the name.”

Continue Reading Chael Sonnen Highlights UFC 309 Prelim Fighter: ‘A Bit Of A Triple Threat’ at MMA News.

UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic Lineup Takes Another Hit With Undefeated Contender Out

The upcoming UFC 309 pay-per-view at Madison Square Garden is a ranked matchup down following another fight cancellation. Among one of few fights originally set to play out toward the top of a division on Nov. 16, #6-ranked light heavyweight Nikita Krylov was booked to defend his spot opposite undefeated, rising contender Azamat Murzakanov. The […]

Continue Reading UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic Lineup Takes Another Hit With Undefeated Contender Out at MMA News.

The upcoming UFC 309 pay-per-view at Madison Square Garden is a ranked matchup down following another fight cancellation.

Among one of few fights originally set to play out toward the top of a division on Nov. 16, #6-ranked light heavyweight Nikita Krylov was booked to defend his spot opposite undefeated, rising contender Azamat Murzakanov.

The pair marked perhaps the most high-stakes clash tasked with setting the stage for the likes of Jon Jones, Charles Oliveira, and Bo Nickal on the UFC 309 preliminary card.

That is no more, however, after it was revealed by MMA Junkie’s Nolan King that Murzakanov has withdrawn from the New York City-held PPV just over one week out.

The news marks the latest blow to the UFC 309 lineup, coming just hours after Lucas Almeida was confirmed out of his clash with David Onama.

This marks the latest setback in Murzakanov’s planned surge into the top 10. After getting the better of Dustin Jacoby last year, the Russian subsequently had fights with Volkan Oezdemir and Khalil Rountree fall through. While he had hoped to start a period of activity following a knockout win over Alonzo Menifield this past August in Abu Dhabi, he now looks set to turn his focus toward a 2025 return after another enforced layoff.

Krylov, meanwhile, has lost his chance to make a long-awaited return to the Octagon. The longtime contender has been absent for 20 months, having not made the walk since submitting Ryan Spann in March 2023. That left him riding high on a three-fight winning run, but he’s now under threat of sitting out the entirety of this calendar year unless an unlikely short-notice matchup gets put together.

With this cancellation, the current fights expected to take place at UFC 309 on Dec. 7 are as follows:

Main Card:

  • Light Heavyweight Championship Main Event: Jon Jones (C) vs. Stipe Miocic
  • Lightweight Co-Main Event: Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler
  • Women’s Flyweight: Viviane Araújo vs. Karine Silva
  • Middleweight: Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig
  • Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy vs. James Llontop

Preliminary Card:

  • Middleweight: Eryk Anders vs. Chris Weidman
  • Bantamweight: Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
  • Lightweight: Jim Miller vs. Damon Jackson

Early Preliminary Card: 

  • Heavyweight: Marcin Tybura vs. Jhonata Diniz
  • Welterweight: Mickey Gall vs. Ramiz Brahimaj
  • Welterweight: Bassil Hafez vs. Oban Elliott
  • Women’s Flyweight: Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura

Continue Reading UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic Lineup Takes Another Hit With Undefeated Contender Out at MMA News.

UFC 309 Analysis: Chael Sonnen Outlines Stipe Miocic’s Edge Over Jon Jones in Heavyweight Showdown

UFC 309 Analysis: Chael Sonnen Outlines Stipe Miocic’s Edge Over Jon Jones in Heavyweight ShowdownChael Sonnen believes there’s a chance that Stipe Miocic could shock fight fans and sportsbooks simultaneously in his long-awaited…

UFC 309 Analysis: Chael Sonnen Outlines Stipe Miocic’s Edge Over Jon Jones in Heavyweight Showdown

Chael Sonnen believes there’s a chance that Stipe Miocic could shock fight fans and sportsbooks simultaneously in his long-awaited return to the Octagon.

Nearly four years removed from his second-round knockout loss against Francis Ngannou, the former two-time titleholder will step back into the main event spotlight for a showdown with reigning and defending undisputed heavyweight champion, Jon Jones.

The two combat sports icons will headline UFC 309 on Saturday, November 16 when the promotion makes its annual pit stop at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

Stipe Miocic

Chael Sonnen Thinks Stipe Miocic can stop ‘Bones’ from taking him down

As it stands, ‘Bones’ is a massive 6-to-1 favorite to come out on top in his first defense of the heavyweight crown. However, not everyone thinks it’ll be a walk in the park for Jones.

That includes ‘The American Gangster‘ who offered his unique take on this month’s most anticipated title fight.

Stipe Miocic

“Well, Stipe’s old, but not much older than Jon,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I won’t argue with you if you tell me that Stipe is old by fighter standards, but I would argue if you told me Jon was young.

“Do you believe that Jon can just take Stipe down whenever he wants? If you do believe that, remember, that’s something Daniel Cormier couldn’t do. In one of their fights, there were two takedowns, and Stipe got them both. I’m just reminding you: Do you believe that Jon can just take Stipe down?”

Miocic is 14-4 inside the Octagon with nine of those victories coming by KO. Miocic won two out of three in his critically acclaimed trilogy with Daniel Cormier and went 1-1 against Ngannou before walking away from the sport in 2021 to resume life as a firefighter in Cleveland, Ohio.

Stipe Miocic

UFC 309 Card Shaken As Exciting Bout Pulled Last Minute

UFC 309 has reportedly encountered an unforeseen disruption, with a scheduled matchup being scrapped just 10 days before the event. According to a recent report by MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Lucas Almeida has been pulled from his scheduled featherweight clash with David Onama due to unspecified reasons. With only a week’s notice, the UFC is […]

Continue Reading UFC 309 Card Shaken As Exciting Bout Pulled Last Minute at MMA News.

UFC 309 has reportedly encountered an unforeseen disruption, with a scheduled matchup being scrapped just 10 days before the event.

According to a recent report by MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Lucas Almeida has been pulled from his scheduled featherweight clash with David Onama due to unspecified reasons. With only a week’s notice, the UFC is now scrambling to find a replacement to take on the “Silent Assassin.”

Onama is coming off consecutive victories over Gabriel Santos and, most recently, Jonathan Pearce this past April — though he did miss weight for that bout. The 30-year-old Ugandan fighter currently boasts a solid Octagon record of 4-2.

Meanwhile, Almeida is fresh off a dominant unanimous decision victory over Timmy Cuamba in July, a much-needed rebound after suffering back-to-back losses to Andre Fili and Pat Sabatini last year.

The 33-year-old Brazilian signed a new contract with the UFC in August, but unfortunately, he will have to wait a bit longer before making his return. Currently, he holds a UFC record of two wins and as many losses.

UFC 309 is set to take place on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with reigning heavyweight champion Jon Jones defending his title against Stipe Miocic in a highly anticipated main event.

Continue Reading UFC 309 Card Shaken As Exciting Bout Pulled Last Minute at MMA News.