Tag: UFC Las Vegas

Ex-UFC champion Kamaru Usman dismisses fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov next: ‘What’s the point?’

Kamaru Usman dismisses fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov in UFC what's the pointAmid links to a potential future clash with the undefeated, Khamzat Chimaev, former undisputed UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman has distanced himself from a bout with the unbeaten, Shavkat Rakhmonov – unless championship spoils are on the line. Usman, the current number one ranked welterweight contender and former pound-for-pound number one fighter under the UFC […]

Kamaru Usman dismisses fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov in UFC what's the point

Amid links to a potential future clash with the undefeated, Khamzat Chimaev, former undisputed UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman has distanced himself from a bout with the unbeaten, Shavkat Rakhmonov – unless championship spoils are on the line.

Usman, the current number one ranked welterweight contender and former pound-for-pound number one fighter under the UFC banner, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 286 back in March, suffering a trilogy title rubber-match loss to Leon Edwards.

As for Rakhmonov, the Uzbekistan-born contender has so-far enjoyed a stunning 17-0 professional record, most recently keeping his one hundred percent finishing rate intact with a third round rear-naked choke win over Geoff Neal.

Slated to return at UFC Fight Night Las Vegas in September, Rakhmonov has since booked a high-profile co-main event slot with former interim middleweight title challenger, Kelvin Gastelum, in his second outing of the year.

Kamaru Usman discusses potential clash with the unbeaten, Shavkat Rakhmonov

Touted as a shoo-in for a future title siege under the banner of the promotion, if not a future championship hold, Rakhmonov has been dismissed as an opponent by Auchi native, Usman – unless a title is on the line.

“Yeah, it’s a fight I would take for the title,” Kamaru Usman told James Lynch during a UFC 290 Q&A event regarding a fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov. “I mean, that’s the thing is – at the end of the day, every man wants to be the champion, When you get to the top of this sport, you wanna be a champion.”

“So, who am I to deny him when I’m the champion?” Kamaru Usman explained. “Deny him of his shot at the championship? I’m not. But if it’s not for the championship and we happen to train with the exact same coach, like… why? What’s the point?” 

Eyeing a return to the Octagon before the close of the year, Usman accused the aforenoted, Chimaev of “flirting” with him across social media – without holding actual interest in a future fight against him. 

Merab Dvalishvili claims he should have killed himself if he lost to Petr Yan at UFC Las Vegas: ‘I had extra pressure’

Merab Dvalishvili Killed Myself Lost Petr Yan UFCSurging UFC bantamweight contender, Merab Dvalishvili has claimed that he should have killed himself if he suffered defeat to former undisputed champion, Petr Yan in their UFC Las Vegas main event last weekend – questioning the Dudinka native’s character. Headlining his premier event under the UFC banner, Dvalishvili, who entered the main event tilt as […]

Merab Dvalishvili Killed Myself Lost Petr Yan UFC

Surging UFC bantamweight contender, Merab Dvalishvili has claimed that he should have killed himself if he suffered defeat to former undisputed champion, Petr Yan in their UFC Las Vegas main event last weekend – questioning the Dudinka native’s character.

Headlining his premier event under the UFC banner, Dvalishvili, who entered the main event tilt as the #3 ranked bantamweight contender, managed to land a comprehensive and straightforward unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) victory over former champion, Yan.

Shooting for an eye-watering 47 separate takedowns over the course of their five round affair, Georgia native, Dvalishvili set an unbearable pace on Russian striker, Yan, mitigating the latter’s offensive output throughout their main event matchup.

Merab Dvalishvili claims he would have contemplated suicide if he lost to Petr Yan

However, candidly, the Tbilisi native claimed that he would have explored the idea of suicide if he lost to Yan – expressing his dislike for the latter’s character.

“I had extra pressure to represent my country – my people, my team,” Merab Dvalishvili informed assembled media following UFC Las Vegas. “We were working so hard, and I want to just represent ‘good’. I said, I don’t care if any other fighter [defeats me], but [if I] lost against him (Petr Yan), I should kill myself or something.”

“He’s a great fighter, like I said before, he’s a little bit cocky,” Merab Dvalishvili explained. “And yeah, I love fighters because they are humble. They are all good people. And I don’t think this guy is a very good guy.” 

Immediately following his judging win over Yan, Dvalishvili, a training partner of current bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, explained how he would reject the opportunity to fight the Uniondale native in a title fight – leading to a stark warning from promotional head-honcho, Dana White.

“That’s a personal decision he (Merab Dvalishvili) needs to make,” Dana White said. “If that’s what he wants to do, I can tell you how that story ends. It’s not a good ending to that story. But, he’s a big boy, he can figure that out on his own.”

“You can still be friends and want what your friend has,” Dana White explained. “It would be a really bad idea for Merab to go down that path [avoiding Aljamain Sterling].” 

Israel Adesanya falls asleep during reaction to Merab Dvalishvili’s UFC Las Vegas victory

Israel AdesanyaIsrael Adesanya was reacting to UFC Las Vegas’ Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan fight when he fell asleep due to boredom. ‘The Machine’ once again proved he possesses unreal cardio when he faced Petr Yan last Saturday. The two men threw down after an intense staredown on Friday, and Dvalishvili literally set a record against […]

Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya was reacting to UFC Las Vegas’ Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan fight when he fell asleep due to boredom.

‘The Machine’ once again proved he possesses unreal cardio when he faced Petr Yan last Saturday. The two men threw down after an intense staredown on Friday, and Dvalishvili literally set a record against his opponent while cruising to victory.

Now 16-4 with the win over Yan, ‘The Machine’ is 5-0 in his last five fights. Known for setting an almost un-matchable pace, Dvalishvili has now completely separated himself from the rest of the competition in the bantamweight division. All that’s left is to battle the champion, however, the current bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling just so happens to be a close friend and training partner of Dvalishvili.

The two fighters have already gone on record to state they have no intentions of fighting eachother. So, Merab Dvalishvili is trapped in a revolving cycle of slaying all contenders while waiting for his close friend to either lose or vacate the title.

While watching ‘The Machine’ face Yan, former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya apparently fell asleep. Obviously, he wasn’t too impressed by Dvalishvili’s latest performance.

Israel Adesanya reacts live to Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan fight at UFC Las Vegas

Even though some fans and fighters might not have been too impressed: Merab Dvalishvili did set a new record in takedown attempts against Yan. Shooting for an incredible 49 takedowns, ‘The Machine’ definitely earned the nickname at UFC Las Vegas.

While some complain the offense was a boring wrestling heavy mix, Dvalishvili did also outstrike Yan 202-87. The two fighters attempted a total of 155 and 401 strikes respectively, while ‘The Machine’ striked at a clip of almost 50% landing 202 strikes out of 401.

What was your opinion on the Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan fight — did you snooze like Israel Adesanya?

Henry Cejudo calls for Merab Dvalishvili title fight at UFC 288, expects Aljamain Sterling to withdraw

Henry Cejudo Merab Dvalishvili back up UFC 288Former two-weight UFC champion, Henry Cejudo has pleaded with promotional president, Dana White to install surging contender, Merab Dvalishvili into his planned May 8. title fight return at UFC 288 – claiming current undisputed champion, Aljamain Sterling will likely withdraw from their fight. Cejudo, a former undisputed flyweight and bantamweight champion under the promotion’s banner, […]

Henry Cejudo Merab Dvalishvili back up UFC 288

Former two-weight UFC champion, Henry Cejudo has pleaded with promotional president, Dana White to install surging contender, Merab Dvalishvili into his planned May 8. title fight return at UFC 288 – claiming current undisputed champion, Aljamain Sterling will likely withdraw from their fight.

Cejudo, a former undisputed flyweight and bantamweight champion under the promotion’s banner, is scheduled to snap his three-year retirement on May 8. at UFC 288 in Newark, New Jersey – booking an undisputed title fight against the above-mentioned Uniondale native, Sterling. 

The Los Angeles-born wrestler co-headlined most recently in a bantamweight title defense against former gold holder, Dominick Cruz – retiring after scoring a buzzer-beating second round TKO victory. 

As for Sterling, the Serra-Longo MMA staple managed to lodge his second successful defense of the bantamweight title at UFC 280 back in October on ‘Fight Island’ – dispatching common-foe, T.J. Dillashaw with a one-sided series of second round ground strikes.

Henry Cejudo calls for Merab Dvalishvili to feature at UFC 288

Slated to headline in New Jersey in two month’s time, Cejudo reveals he has his doubts regarding Sterling’s ability to meet the UFC 288 date – calling for a fight with the above-mentioned, Dvalishvili off the back of his dominant win over Petr Yan last night.

“Dear @danawhite I want @merab.dvalishvili as a back up,” Henry Cejudo posted on his official Instagram account. “Let me show you what I can do. #andnew. I’m over here watching the number two and number three contenders and I’ve got a feeling that Aljamain (Sterling) is more likely to back out of this fight. So, that being said, why don’t you give me Merab?”

 
Catching wind of Cejudo’s calls, the current #1 ranked bantamweight contender, Sean O’Malley offered to serve as an official backup fighter at UFC 288, however, the former urged him to take a back seat for the time being.

“I’ll be ready, bud,” Sean O’Malley replied to Henry Cejudo. 

“Trust me, you won’t be ready!” Henry Cejudo wrote. “Take your time get your nails done and your hair did. And watch me work.”

Nikita Krylov submits Ryan Spann with first-round triangle choke – UFC Las Vegas Highlights

Nikita KrylovUFC Las Vegas featured a battle between two top-10 light heavyweight contenders and No. 6 ranked Nikita Krylov met No. 8 ranked Ryan Spann. The pair were previously scheduled to scrap two weeks ago, but a fight-day illness forced Krylov to withdraw. Stepping into the Octagon in a 215-pound catchweight contest, patient fans were treated […]

Nikita Krylov

UFC Las Vegas featured a battle between two top-10 light heavyweight contenders and No. 6 ranked Nikita Krylov met No. 8 ranked Ryan Spann. The pair were previously scheduled to scrap two weeks ago, but a fight-day illness forced Krylov to withdraw. Stepping into the Octagon in a 215-pound catchweight contest, patient fans were treated to a fast-paced grappling matchup.

Immediately coming out looking to make a statement, Spann landed a big right hand that stumbled Krylov. Moving in, Spann attempted to capitalize and things went to the ground, but Krylov was able to stay one step ahead of ‘Superman’ during the ground exchanges. Both fighters traded submission attempts in an edge-of-your-seat thriller, but when it was all said and done, Krylov managed to score the victory via a triangle choke.

Official Result: Nikita Krylov def. Ryan Spann via submission (triangle choke) at 3:38 of Round 1

Check Out Highlights From Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann at UFC Las Vegas Below:

Merab Dvalishvili outpaces Petr Yan for 25 minutes to earn unanimous decision – UFC Las Vegas Highlights

Petr YanOn Saturday night, No. 2 ranked bantamweight Petr Yan looked to get back into the win column after dropping back-to-back split decisions against Sean O’Malley and reigning 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling. Standing in his way is No. 4 ranked competitor Merab Dvalishvili. Riding an eight-fight win streak, ‘The Machine’ was intent on getting the biggest […]

Petr Yan

On Saturday night, No. 2 ranked bantamweight Petr Yan looked to get back into the win column after dropping back-to-back split decisions against Sean O’Malley and reigning 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling. Standing in his way is No. 4 ranked competitor Merab Dvalishvili. Riding an eight-fight win streak, ‘The Machine’ was intent on getting the biggest win of his MMA career and solidifying his opportunity to challenge for the bantamweight title.

Both fighters came out for the opening round intent on setting a frantic pace. Dvalishvili repeatedly shot for takedowns, but Yan did a great job of staying on his feet. Less than a minute to go, Yan rushed in for his own takedown attempt, but Dvalishvili quickly reversed the position and made ‘No Mercy’ pay for it with a series of strikes as the opening round came to a close.

After dominating through the first round, Dvalishvili picked up right where he left off in the second, beating Yan to the punch and battering the former two-time UFC champion’s leg. That dominance continued through the third as Dvalishvili’s pace never once waned as he brilliantly mixed his striking and takedown attempts. Merab Dvalishvili continued to dominate throughout the championship rounds, continuing his impressive pace as Yan found it difficult to muster any real offense.

Living up to his nickname, ‘The Machine’ set a new record, shooting for an incredible 49 takedown attempts during the 25-minute affair.

Official Result: Merab Dvalishvili def. Petr Yan via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

Check Out Highlights From Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili at UFC Vegas 71 Below: