Tag: UFC Abu Dhabi

Tony Ferguson unsure on UFC retirement: ‘I don’t know anything else I can do’

Tony Ferguson unsure on UFC retirement: 'I don't know anything else I can do'Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson may have half-retired from mixed martial arts competition earlier this week, however,…

Tony Ferguson unsure on UFC retirement: 'I don't know anything else I can do'

Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson may have half-retired from mixed martial arts competition earlier this week, however, the Oxnard native is still weighing up his immediate future – questioning what he would do if he never competed again.

Ferguson, a former interim lightweight titleholder, suffered a record-setting eighth consecutive loss at UFC Abu Dhabi over the course of last weekend in the United Arab Emirates, dropping a first round rear-naked choke submission loss to Michael Chiesa in the pair’s rescheduled welterweight matchup.

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And laying a single glove on the Octagon canvas off the back of his loss, Ferguson would then retract talk of a potential retirement – claiming if UFC CEO, Dana White actually kept him on the sidelines, he would seek competition in another promotion.

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Tony Ferguson unsure on potential retirement

Furthermore, the veteran perennial lightweight challenger claimed he would be stuck in the mud following a potential retirement from combat sports, questioning what else he could turn his hand to.

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“I’m very honored to represent the UFC to the top of my abilities,” Tony Ferguson told Full Send MMA after UFC Abu Dhabi. “I say I’m not ready, I’m not done yet, man, but I don’t know what to say. Should have went out there, should have got the W, obviously. I’m an athlete, I don’t know anything else to do besides go out there and f*cking play.”

Without a win since 2019, former interim lightweight champion, capped off a record-setting winning run of 12 straight fights with a second round doctor’s stoppage TKO win over Hall of Fame inductee, Donald Cerrone.

In 2017, Ferguson scooped the interim lightweight crown with a triangle choke submission win over arch-rival, Kevin Lee in the pair’s heated grudge fight headliner.

Do you think Tony Ferguson should end his career in the UFC?

Chael Sonnen Sees Big UFC Future For Shara Magomedov Despite Grappling Concerns: ‘Adesanya’s A Complete Fighter…He Wasn’t On Day One!’

Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen isn’t worried about some of the holes in middleweight prospect Shara Magomedov’s game just yet. Magomedov has enjoyed a strong summer inside the cage, building on his successful UFC debut last October with a further two victories in the Middle East, both of which netted him an additional $50,000. […]

Continue Reading Chael Sonnen Sees Big UFC Future For Shara Magomedov Despite Grappling Concerns: ‘Adesanya’s A Complete Fighter…He Wasn’t On Day One!’ at MMA News.

Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen isn’t worried about some of the holes in middleweight prospect Shara Magomedov’s game just yet.

Magomedov has enjoyed a strong summer inside the cage, building on his successful UFC debut last October with a further two victories in the Middle East, both of which netted him an additional $50,000.

After stopping replacement opponent Antonio Trócoli in Saudi Arabia this past June, the undefeated “Bullet” returned for a short-notice co-headliner against Micha? Oleksiejczuk at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi.

The 30-year-old Dagestani’s usual array of striking weapons were on display across three rounds, as he outpointed his Polish opponent on all three scorecards in the event’s Fight of the Night.

But while Magomedov extended his undefeated record to 14-0, the up-and-comer isn’t short on doubters, many of whom have suggested he will fall to defeat when faced with one of the division’s talented grapplers.

Although that might be the case currently, Sonnen isn’t counting out Magomedov when it comes to rounding out his skillset in the coming months and years.

Sonnen: Magomedov Belongs ‘In Big Fights’ & ‘On Posters’

During the latest episode of his Good Guy / Bad Guy show alongside Daniel Cormier on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel, Sonnen gave his assessment of Magomedov’s latest performance on MMA’s biggest stage.

“The American Gangster” had plenty of praise for Magomedov’s aura and watchability but admitted he doesn’t see a prospect with the kind of skillset boasted by some others.

That, however, is something he is confident can be rectified moving forward, pointing to the evolution of previously one-dimensional athletes such as Israel Adesanya as evidence that a well-rounded arsenal could be to come for Magomedov.

“When he comes on TV, there’s something happening. … He captivates me,” Sonnen said. “This guy is already a co-main event. That is an incredible career. He’s amassing a great record — because I’m not seeing all the skills there. In all fairness, I don’t watch him and go, ‘Wow, where has this guy been?’ I think that Bo Nickal would be the counterpart to that, where you watch him and go, ‘Wow, this guy sure looks well rounded. He sure appears to have a little bit of everything for being a new guy on the scene.’ I’m not seeing it with (Magomedov).

“When I look at ‘Bullet,’ he belongs in big fights. There’s something special. He belongs on posters. I’m interested. I want to see this guy, I want to hear from this guy, and I want to learn from this guy,” Sonnen continued. “As far as the skills, I think he’s learning on the job, and he’s not the first guy that’s had to. Israel Adesanya’s about a complete fighter as you’re gonna find; he wasn’t on day one. … So if ‘Bullet’ is open to learning, if he can absorb and if he can take the criticism that we’re giving him right now, he’s gonna have a fun future.”

In addition to some doubting his overall skillset, Magomedov also came under criticism for his post-fight callout in Abu Dhabi this weekend. The undefeated Russian had the name of Nick Diaz on his lips, who hasn’t recorded a win since 2011 and was most recently defeated by Robbie Lawler in 2021.

Regardless, “Bullet” has done what is required of him inside the Octagon to date, and he’ll hope to continue that trend against whomever the promotion places opposite him next time out.

Continue Reading Chael Sonnen Sees Big UFC Future For Shara Magomedov Despite Grappling Concerns: ‘Adesanya’s A Complete Fighter…He Wasn’t On Day One!’ at MMA News.

Chael Sonnen Doesn’t Hold Back With ‘Tough Love’ For Tony Ferguson: ‘This Needs To Stop!’

Chael Sonnen is evidently among those who think the decision surrounding Tony Ferguson’s UFC career should be taken out of his hands. Ferguson’s woes inside the Octagon continued at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, where he fell to a record eight-fight losing skid at the hands of fellow veteran Michael Chiesa. […]

Continue Reading Chael Sonnen Doesn’t Hold Back With ‘Tough Love’ For Tony Ferguson: ‘This Needs To Stop!’ at MMA News.

Chael Sonnen is evidently among those who think the decision surrounding Tony Ferguson’s UFC career should be taken out of his hands.

Ferguson’s woes inside the Octagon continued at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, where he fell to a record eight-fight losing skid at the hands of fellow veteran Michael Chiesa.

While he made it to the scorecards against Paddy Pimblett last December, “El Cucuy’s” latest outing saw him finished before the first horn. Following a takedown, the ex-interim lightweight champion was submitted by way of a rear-naked choke.

After Chiesa surrendered his microphone time in the aftermath, it appeared a retirement announcement long branded overdue by many would finally arrive. But the best that those hopeful of the end got was a half-retirement, and even that appeared to be walked back moments later.

The continued rejection of clear retirement talk has left plenty of fans, fighters, and analysts concerned, and Sonnen had a problem with more than one aspect of Ferguson’s display in the Middle East…

Sonnen Critical Of Ferguson”s Performance, ‘Double Cross’ On The Mic

During the latest episode of his Good Guy / Bad Guy show alongside Daniel Cormier on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel, Sonnen gave his assessment of Ferguson’s latest setback inside the Octagon and refusal to confirm his retirement inside the cage.

“The American Gangster” expressed surprise at the 40-year-old’s inability to carry out basic grappling defense on the ground. And beyond just the fight, Sonnen accused Ferguson of double-crossing Chiesa by removing his gloves as if he was set to retire and not giving a “shine” to his opponent.

“At some point,. we’re gonna have to have some real tough love for Tony here. He just set a record, a record for the most (straight) losses in UFC history,” Sonnen said. “I don’t have a problem with a guy slowing down…I got a big problem with him getting taken down, getting his back taken — which is what you learn the very first day of jiu-jitsu — and not hand-fighting. … The fact that Tony’s in there almost like he’s working with him, like he’s making a technique video or something for the rear-naked choke, that’s a problem for me.

“Taking one glove of was kind of cool, until I heard why he’s doing it; because he wants another fight and isn’t sure the UFC’s gonna give it to him. Well, let me help you out there, I’m real sure the UFC’s not gonna give it to you,” Sonnen continued. “I’m a little bit surprised with the disconnect of mental awareness for what was going on, or even being handed a microphone that you don’t deserve and only got because you’re gonna retire, then you pull the retirement back and don’t shine up Chiesa, who gave you the microphone in the first place. It was a real bit of a double cross, frankly.”

Sonnen continued, insisting that witnessing Ferguson’s career continue is “not fun anymore” and “needs to stop.”

“I am completely confident in telling you there’s not going to be a return,” Sonnen stated. “Grappling is what Tony does so well…he’s just a fantastic guy on the ground. … I have a problem with the fact he didn’t hand-fight. … It seemed like there was some very basic awareness of very basic steps that weren’t being done, in conjunction with an interview that I could give a pass to had a guy just got knocked out. It wasn’t like that. This needs to stop! It’s not fun anymore.”

Since once again vowing to improve and insisting that he remains a threat during a post-fight press conference that gave little indication that a retirement could be on the way, Ferguson is yet to further address his future.

Continue Reading Chael Sonnen Doesn’t Hold Back With ‘Tough Love’ For Tony Ferguson: ‘This Needs To Stop!’ at MMA News.

UFC Rankings Report: Belal Muhammad Jumps Sean O’Malley On Pound-For-Pound List

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away. And in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings. Men’s Pound-For-Pound: A week after entering the P4P […]

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Belal Muhammad Jumps Sean O’Malley On Pound-For-Pound List at MMA News.

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away.

And in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound: A week after entering the P4P rankings at #6, Belal Muhammad has had another boost. The welterweight champion has now moved above his bantamweight counterpart, Sean O’Malley (#6), to occupy the #5 position.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound: Bantamweight queen Raquel Pennington is expected to defend her title for the first time opposite ex-champ Julianna Peña this fall. And the pair now sit on the same step of the pound-for-pound rankings, with “Rocky” joining “The Venezuelan Vixen” to share #5.

Women’s Strawweight: Mackenzie Dern bounced back from a two-fight skid on Saturday, but she’s still fallen further at 115 pounds. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace has dropped one place to #8, with her compatriot Amanda Ribas moving up to #7.

Women’s Flyweight: While on the rise at strawweight, Ribas has taken a hit at 125 pounds, slipping one spot to #10 below Viviane Araújo (#9).

Women’s Bantamweight: At 135 pounds, Miesha Tate and Norma Dumont have both been boosted to #8, leaving a three-way tie for the position with Karol Rosa.

Flyweight: No changes.

Bantamweight: Umar Nurmagomedov secured the biggest win of his young career to date in Abu Dhabi, outpointing the highly ranked Cory Sandhagen across five rounds. As a result, the Dagestani has climbed a mammoth eight places to #2. “The Sandman,” meanwhile has remained in the top five after a one-spot drop to #4.

Also on the rise at 135 pounds is Deiveson Figueiredo (#5), who secured a top-five position with his comfortable victory over former title challenger Marlon Vera this past weekend.

Featherweight: At 145 pounds, Movsar Evloev is down one step to #6, no longer sharing the #5 place with Arnold Allen. Further down, Bryce Mitchell has moved up to share #12 with Diego Lopes.

Lightweight: Despite having his return announced for 170 pounds at UFC 308 later this year, former champ Rafael dos Anjos has received a boost at 155 pounds. He’s climbed to #13, swapping positions with Jalin Turner (#14).

Welterweight: No changes.

Middleweight: No changes.

Light Heavyweight: He’s had to wait a while but Roman Dolidze is finally ranked in two weight classes following his triumph over Anthony Smith at UFC 303. The Georgian has arrived at 205 pounds in the #15 position, three spots below “Lionheart.”

Elsewhere in the division, Azamat Murzakanov is knocking on the door of the top 10 after climbing three spots to #11 courtesy of his knockout win over Alonzo Menifield on August 3.

Heavyweight: No changes.

You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Belal Muhammad Jumps Sean O’Malley On Pound-For-Pound List at MMA News.

VIDEO: UFC Champ Sean O’Malley Reacts To ‘Close Fight’ Between Umar Nurmagomedov & Cory Sandhagen

UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley paid close attention as a key matchup in his division went down in Abu Dhabi this past weekend. In what was widely branded a title eliminator, top-five contender Cory Sandhagen and undefeated up-and-comer Umar Nurmagomedov collided in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event. While “The Sandman” was looking to record […]

Continue Reading VIDEO: UFC Champ Sean O’Malley Reacts To ‘Close Fight’ Between Umar Nurmagomedov & Cory Sandhagen at MMA News.

UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley paid close attention as a key matchup in his division went down in Abu Dhabi this past weekend.

In what was widely branded a title eliminator, top-five contender Cory Sandhagen and undefeated up-and-comer Umar Nurmagomedov collided in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event.

While “The Sandman” was looking to record his fourth straight headline win en route to a second shot at gold, his Dagestani counterpart was hoping to secure his first championship opportunity with his record’s 0 in tact.

It was ultimately the latter who succeeded, securing three convincing scorecards in his favor after five competitive rounds of action in the Middle East.

O’Malley Praises Nurmagomedov For Beating ‘One Of The Pound-For-Pound Best’ In Sandhagen

In a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, O’Malley reacted live to the five-round headliner between Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov.

“Cory’s a f*cking serial killer. … Here we go,” O’Malley said. “Great job by Cory defensively. … I forget Umar is a striker. … Another close round. I’m almost giving these to Umar just ’cause of the takedowns. It’s hard when they’re both so f*cking high level for someone to take control of the fight. … Every time Cory comes forward, Umar’s countering hard.”

While summarizing the “close” fight, O’Malley praised both men for their efforts and branded their contest “as high level” as possible.

“Alright, boys, Umar got the job done. Pretty close fight, in my opinion,” O’Malley said. “Cory is, in my opinion, one of the pound-for-pound best guys in the world. For Umar to be ranked #10, a lot of guys didn’t want to fight him…no one in the UFC wanted to fight this guy.

“Incredible performance, by both guys really,” O’Malley continued. “Cory did a really good job shutting down Umar’s offensive takedowns and wrestling. Striking was pretty close; Umar looked like he landed harder shots. Overall, that’s as high level of a fight as it gets.”

Following the decision going in favor of Nurmagomedov, O’Malley reacted as the Dagestani called to fight the winner of his upcoming Sphere showdown with Merab Dvalishvili.

“Me versus Umar next? … Undefeated Umar, 18-0, versus undefeated ‘Sugar Show,’ 19-0. Beat a Dagestani, I wouldn’t mind that. That would be a real good way to get at Conor (McGregor). Imagine how jealous he would be. I might go whoop Umar just for that reason alone.”

Nurmagomedov wasn’t the only victorious fighter with O’Malley’s name on his lips post-fight in Abu Dhabi. Former two-time flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo also called for a shot at “Sugar” following his win over Marlon Vera.

The champ had an expected reaction to that callout…

Continue Reading VIDEO: UFC Champ Sean O’Malley Reacts To ‘Close Fight’ Between Umar Nurmagomedov & Cory Sandhagen at MMA News.

Tony Ferguson Still Confident In Striking Ability After 8th UFC Loss In A Row: ‘Not A Lot Of People Want To Stand & Bang With Me’

When it comes to his skillset, former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson hasn’t let his losing skid affect his confidence. Ferguson achieved an unwanted record in his return to action at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night, falling to the longest run of defeats in the promotion’s history. After closing out his 2023 with […]

Continue Reading Tony Ferguson Still Confident In Striking Ability After 8th UFC Loss In A Row: ‘Not A Lot Of People Want To Stand & Bang With Me’ at MMA News.

When it comes to his skillset, former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson hasn’t let his losing skid affect his confidence.

Ferguson achieved an unwanted record in his return to action at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night, falling to the longest run of defeats in the promotion’s history. After closing out his 2023 with a decision loss to Paddy Pimblett, his latest setback came against Michael Chiesa up at welterweight.

The bout didn’t reach the first horn, with “El Cucuy” being taken down and submitted by way of rear-naked choke in just under four minutes by Chiesa, who entered the contest on a losing skid of his own.

In the immediate aftermath, it appeared a retirement announcement branded long overdue by many in the community was on the way. But while Ferguson did lay down one glove, it didn’t take long for him to seemingly commit to the continuation of his career.

That’s seemingly down to a belief that he can still compete inside the Octagon, in spite of what his record since 2020 would suggest. And among other things, “El Cucuy” hasn’t lost confidence in his standup game…

Ferguson: Chiesa Didn’t Want Any Of My Striking

During his post-fight press conference on Saturday, Ferguson reflected on his outing in the Middle East and record eighth consecutive defeat inside the Octagon.

While he admitted to feeling “slow and sluggish” in the grappling realm, where his demise ultimately came against Chiesa, Ferguson insisted he remains a major threat on the feet, having returned to sparring and pad work in training.

“There’s a lot of things I need to work on,” Ferguson said. “We did a lot of sparring. You could see that out there; I felt pretty good on my feet. … I felt normal in there for a second. … There’s a lot of things that I can and can’t do. … This whole entire camp, I had just got back into sparring. … We just started throwing pads again.

“When I went out there and I hit Chiesa, he didn’t want to stand and bang. Not a lot of people want to stand and bang with me,” Ferguson added.

It would appear likely that Ferguson plans on further proving that in another fight down the line. While he noted discussions will take place with his family, “El Cucuy” was quick to walk back his initial half-retirement inside the Octagon.

Continue Reading Tony Ferguson Still Confident In Striking Ability After 8th UFC Loss In A Row: ‘Not A Lot Of People Want To Stand & Bang With Me’ at MMA News.