Tag: UFC 312

Israel Adesanya & Kelvin Gastelum’s 2019 Barnburner Announced For UFC Hall Of Fame

Israel Adesanya’s recently gone on a rough patch in his MMA venture, including his knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov last week. But in a moment of lightness, he will be honored for putting on one of the greatest bouts in Octagon history as part of this year’s UFC Hall of Fame class. Adesanya’s interim middleweight […]

Israel Adesanya’s recently gone on a rough patch in his MMA venture, including his knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov last week. But in a moment of lightness, he will be honored for putting on one of the greatest bouts in Octagon history as part of this year’s UFC Hall of Fame class.

Adesanya’s interim middleweight title fight with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 will be inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame this summer during International Fight Week, the promotion announced during the UFC 312 pay-per-view.

The two put on an absolute war at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA, on that April 2019 night, with UFC CEO Dana White claiming in the immediate aftermath that it was one of the greatest fights he’s ever seen in his life.

Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum Announced For UFC Hall of Fame Class Of 2025

The fight was a back-and-forth affair, with plenty of moments from both men. Gastelum took many people by surprise when he rocked Adesanya with a head kick late in the fight. Adesanya, however, locked in and did plenty of damage during the final round, nearly prompting referee Marc Goddard to step in.

Adesanya ultimately won the interim title on a unanimous decision before going on to defeat Robert Whittaker later that year at UFC 243 to become undisputed UFC middleweight champion.

The fight joins The Ultimate Fighter Executive Producer Craig Piligian as the inductees announced thus far for the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2025. More inductees are expected to be announced at the next couple of UFC pay-per-view events.

Best Buds Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya Spotted Sitting Cageside at UFC 312

Best Buds Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya Spotted Sitting Cageside at UFC 312Bitter rivals turned best friends Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya were spotted smiling and sitting cageside during Saturday’s UFC…

Best Buds Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya Spotted Sitting Cageside at UFC 312

Bitter rivals turned best friends Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya were spotted smiling and sitting cageside during Saturday’s UFC 312 pay-per-view event in Sydney.

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After fighting four times across two different promotions, Pereira vs. Adesanya is considered by many to be one of the most fierce rivalries in combat sports history. But that’s all in the past as the former two-time middleweight titleholder and the reigning light heavyweight champion were spotted sitting together while taking in all the action at Qudos Bank Arena in The Land Down Under.

After going 2-0 against ‘The Last Stylebender’ under the GLORY Kickboxing banner, Pereira followed Adesanya to the world of mixed martial arts where they would pick up right where they left off at UFC 281. On that night, ‘Poatan’ shocked the world when he scored a fifth-round TKO, going three-up on the Adesanya and taking his 185-pound crown in the process.

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Adesanya ultimately got his revenge five months later, catching the Brazilian boogeyman with an overhand right that rendered Pereira unconscious in the opening round of their UFC 287 rematch.

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Alex Pereira and Izzy happy to put their rivalry aside … For now

Though there was still plenty of room for a trilogy fight between the two inside the Octagon, both fighters opted to move on from their rivalry. Adesanya stuck around in the middleweight division where he has since lost three in a row while Pereira has been stacking body at 205, earning KOs against Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree during his 2024 campaign.

Perhaps we could still see Adesanya and ‘Poatan’ complete their threequel on MMA’s biggest stage someday, but for now, it looks like the former foes are happy to put their past behind them.

Watch Israel Adesanya Recite Alex Pereira’s Catchphrase While Sat Next To ‘Poatan’ At UFC 312

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have waged war plenty of times with one another between their time in kickboxing and MMA. But at UFC 312 in Australia, the longtime rivals appeared to be at peace, as the pair were sitting next to each other audience. After images emerged of the two stars seated together, a […]

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have waged war plenty of times with one another between their time in kickboxing and MMA. But at UFC 312 in Australia, the longtime rivals appeared to be at peace, as the pair were sitting next to each other audience.

After images emerged of the two stars seated together, a video showed Pereira flipping the camera to Adesanya, with the fellow former UFC middleweight champion calmly exclaiming, “Chama” — the catchphrase of the current UFC light heavyweight king.

Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira Seated Next To One Another During UFC 312

Adesanya and Pereira fought twice in kickboxing. Pereira won both fights, once via decision and the other via knockout.

Pereira, who went on to win championships in GLORY Kickboxing, transitioned over to MMA full time and fought Adesanya twice there. Their first meeting came at UFC 281 in November 2022, with Pereira scoring a comeback fifth-round finish to win the UFC middleweight championship.

Adesanya finally scored a win and regained the title when he went on to knock out Pereira at UFC 287 five months later.

Their careers have gone in opposite directions since. Pereira has become the champion at 205 pounds, defeating the likes of Ji?í Procházka, Jamahal Hill, and Khalil Rountree. “The Last Stylebender,” meanwhile, dropped the middleweight title in upset fashion to Sean Strickland, failed to regain the belt against Dricus Du Plessis, and was knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov last week at UFC Saudi Arabia.

Wang Cong Delivers Dominant Performance Against Bruna Brasil – UFC 312 Highlights

Wang Cong Delivers Dominant Performance Against Bruna Brasil - UFC 312 HighlightsWang Cong climbed back into the win column with an impressive performance against Brazilian scrapper Bruna Brasil at UFC…

Wang Cong Delivers Dominant Performance Against Bruna Brasil - UFC 312 Highlights

Wang Cong climbed back into the win column with an impressive performance against Brazilian scrapper Bruna Brasil at UFC 312 on Saturday night.

The story of the opening round was the punishing kicks of Bruna Brasil that left Wang’s lead leg battered and bruised at the end of the first five minutes. Despite that, it was pretty much all Wang in the second round who practically chased down the Brazilian and laid it on her with an assortment of shots to the head and body.

Going into the third round, Wang has grown to a massive -2800 favorite according to the live odds.

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Wang continued to dominate things in the third round, controlling the Octagon and stifling Brasil’s offense every step of the way. With the clock winding down, Brasil threw a hail mary spinning back fist, but that only allowed Wang to secure a late-round takedown and right out the remainder of the fight on the canvas.

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Official Result: Wang Cong def. Bruna Brasil via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Check out highlights from Wang Cong vs. Bruna Brasil at UFC 312:

‘Never Close To His Brother’s Level’ – Fans Split As Ilia Topuria’s Sibling Wins Debut At UFC 312

Though the jury may still be out on him, Aleksandre Topuria, the brother of UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria, undoubtedly scored a victory in his Octagon debut, defeating Colby Thicknesse during the preliminary card of UFC 312 in Australia. The Spaniard and his Australian foe traded plenty of strikes to start things off, with the […]

Though the jury may still be out on him, Aleksandre Topuria, the brother of UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria, undoubtedly scored a victory in his Octagon debut, defeating Colby Thicknesse during the preliminary card of UFC 312 in Australia.

The Spaniard and his Australian foe traded plenty of strikes to start things off, with the former also shaking off a pair of takedown attempts in the fight’s opening minute.

Late in the first, Topuria rocked Thicknesse with a right hand, with the latter going down to the mat. In spite of “El Conquistador” taking his back, Thicknesse was able to get back to his feet and got away from his grasp. Topuria, however, managed to land one nasty-looking suplex in the round’s closing seconds.

Thicknesse picked up the pacing and volume of his striking in the second round. The Spanish newcomer, however, maintained his stalking, pressure-based approach en route to another strong performance.

By the middle of the third round, Topuria had stuffed eight of Thicknesse’s takedown attempts before “El Conquistador” took the fight to the ground himself. Ilia’s brother rode out about half of the final round in top position, controlling the position and stopping any desperation submission attempts from Thicknesse.

Aleksandre Topuria, Ilia’s Brother, Wins UFC Debut At UFC 312

The Spanish debutant went 2-1 in fights during 2015 before taking years off, helping Ilia out with his MMA journey. He competed three times between December 2021 and May 2023, winning all three fights, before making his UFC debut tonight.

Thicknesse, meanwhile,was 7-0 prior to tonight, most recently defeating Marven Malunes at a HEX Fight Series event in November.

Australian Debutant Sends Crowd Wild At UFC 312 With Knockout From First Punch Of The Night

Things got off to a fast start at UFC 312 — first punch of the night, fast. Lightweight prospect Quillan Salkilld needed just one strike and 19 seconds to make a statement in his debut at Saturday’s pay-per-view Down Under in Sydney, Australia. The Perth native, who earned a contract by way of Dana White’s […]

Things got off to a fast start at UFC 312 — first punch of the night, fast.

Lightweight prospect Quillan Salkilld needed just one strike and 19 seconds to make a statement in his debut at Saturday’s pay-per-view Down Under in Sydney, Australia.

The Perth native, who earned a contract by way of Dana White’s Contender Series, opened his Octagon account in style, flooring Anshul Jubli with a clean right hand on home soil.

Despite the Indian fighter immediately looking to grapple his way out of the situation, the referee had seen enough.

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25-year-old Salkilld is now 8-1 as a professional, with six of his wins coming via finishes. Jubli, meanwhile, has lost back-to-back fights since winning the Road to UFC tournament.

Tonight’s UFC 312 PPV will be headlined by two title fights, with Dricus Du Plessis defending his middleweight belt in a rematch against Sean Strickland and strawweight queen Zhang Weili facing a challenge from undefeated contender Tatiana Suarez.