Tag: UFC News

Ryan Spann Wants Winner Of Anthony Smith vs. Jimmy Crute Next

SpannRyan Spann is looking to embark on another winning streak. Spann returned to the win column with an impressive first-round TKO victory over Misha Cirkunov in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 21 last night. It was a form of revenge in a way as Cirkunov was in the corner of Johnny Walker who inflicted […]

Spann

Ryan Spann is looking to embark on another winning streak.

Spann returned to the win column with an impressive first-round TKO victory over Misha Cirkunov in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 21 last night.

It was a form of revenge in a way as Cirkunov was in the corner of Johnny Walker who inflicted defeat on Spann when they met in September last year.

“This was a little sweet moment, because (Cirkunov) cornered Johnny (for) my fight with Johnny, so I like to think I got a little one back,” Spann said at the post-fight press conference (via MMA Junkie). “But it is what it is. We’re taking down whatever’s in front of us.”

With five wins in his last six and a likely move up the rankings, Spann is looking to climb the ranks even further.

His ideal next opponent? The winner of the upcoming clash between former title challenger Anthony Smith and prospect Jimmy Crute.

“Honestly, I don’t necessarily know the landscape of the division,” Spann added. “I heard about a fight that’s ahead of me. … Anthony Smith and Jimmy Crute. We’ll probably take a look at the winner of that.”

The winner of that fight will likely enter or be on the fringes of the top five so it’s easy to see why Spann has called his shot.

Do you want to see that fight next?

WWE’s Big E Viewing Aljamain Sterling As Babyface In Petr Yan Controversy

SterlingAljamain Sterling is the babyface in the Petr Yan controversy. That’s according to WWE superstar Big E who was commenting on the aftermath of the UFC 259 bantamweight title fight between Sterling and Yan. Yan was well on his way to defending his title until he illegally kneed Sterling in the fourth round. Sterling was […]

Sterling

Aljamain Sterling is the babyface in the Petr Yan controversy.

That’s according to WWE superstar Big E who was commenting on the aftermath of the UFC 259 bantamweight title fight between Sterling and Yan.

Yan was well on his way to defending his title until he illegally kneed Sterling in the fourth round. Sterling was criticized for overacting soon after with the referee stopping the contest and disqualifying Yan.

As a result, Sterling became the new bantamweight king. But more than his alleged acting, it was what happened after that left a sour taste in the minds of many as he was seen celebrating and posing with the belt just hours after stating he didn’t want to win it that way.

Many believe he’s the heel (bad guy in pro wrestling terms) in this situation with some even stating that he should fully embrace it by not giving Yan a rematch.

As far as Big E is concerned, however, Sterling is still the face (good guy).

“Here’s the problem, when you’re determining heel and babyface roles, you have to know who your opponent is,” Big E told MMA Fighting. “His opponent is a frightening Russian man named Petr Yan. So if Aljo was to turn heel, he needs to do it against a guy who can be a babyface. I like Yan, I’m thoroughly entertained by him, I don’t find him to be the guy we can get behind as a babyface. So I would say no, I think Aljo is our babyface.

“He’s a charismatic guy. He comes out with the gold, dookie chain, he’s got the sweet, sort of like, high top ‘fro. That’s our babyface. I’d be okay with the heel turn if maybe, like, [Cory] Sandhagen I think is a babyface we can all get behind, maybe we do a bit of a turn there. I think if our next opponent is gonna be Yan, if I’m the booker here, I say we fight it, let’s keep our babyface Sterling here and let’s let Yan be the scary Russian man who knocks people’s heads off.”

Given how the combat sports world has reacted so far, though, it’s clear that Yan has become the babyface in the situation.

What do you think?

Dan Ige Knows He Has The Power To Knock Anyone Out Following Win Over Gavin Tucker

IgeDan Ige wasn’t surprised one bit with his knockout win over Gavin Tucker. Ige took on Tucker in a featherweight bout on the main card of UFC Vegas 21 last night. Although he was a slight favorite going into the bout, many observers felt Tucker — who was 13-1 going into the contest — had […]

Ige

Dan Ige wasn’t surprised one bit with his knockout win over Gavin Tucker.

Ige took on Tucker in a featherweight bout on the main card of UFC Vegas 21 last night. Although he was a slight favorite going into the bout, many observers felt Tucker — who was 13-1 going into the contest — had more than enough skill to come out with the victory.

It took just 22 seconds for that to go down the drain as Ige caught the Canadian with a sniper right hand to get the first-round knockout victory.

As a result, the featherweight contender returned to the win column and also made it seven wins in his last eight outings. And while it was his first clean knockout win in the UFC, Ige knew he always had the power to end fights that way.

“I definitely knew that I possess the power,” Ige said at the post-fight news conference (via MMA Junkie). “I possess the power to knock anyone out. It’s just timing, accuracy, and landing the shot.

“But definitely, and I said it in the press conference before, you know, ‘Fight of the Night’ for me that’s disrespectful. I want a ‘Performance of the Night.’ I don’t want to have a close fight with someone. I don’t want to take unnecessary punishment or damage. I want to go out there, finish fights and get clean kills, and that’s what I did tonight.”

As for who he wants next? The Hawaiian called out The Korean Zombie in his post-fight interview. But in reality, he’s ready to face anyone.

“I mentioned the ‘Korean Zombie,’ but honestly, I’ll fight anyone,” Ige added. “Dana said it, ‘This guy will fight anyone,’ and he wasn’t lying. I risked my ranking tonight against an up-and-coming killer. Yeah, I’m here to fight anyone.”

Who do you think Ige should fight next?

Billy Quarantillo: Guests Made Aljamain Sterling Celebrate In Post-Fight Party

SterlingContrary to popular opinion, Aljamain Sterling didn’t want to celebrate his disqualification win over Petr Yan. Sterling became the new bantamweight champion at UFC 259 last weekend after receiving an illegal knee from Yan in the fourth round of their title fight. The contest was eventually waved off with Yan getting disqualified while Sterling received […]

Sterling

Contrary to popular opinion, Aljamain Sterling didn’t want to celebrate his disqualification win over Petr Yan.

Sterling became the new bantamweight champion at UFC 259 last weekend after receiving an illegal knee from Yan in the fourth round of their title fight.

The contest was eventually waved off with Yan getting disqualified while Sterling received plenty of criticism for allegedly overacting following the knee.

More than anything, “Funk Master” was criticized for claiming he didn’t want to win the belt that way only for him to celebrate and pose with it later on in the night.

With regard to that, UFC featherweight Billy Quarantillo — who was one of the guests in Sterling’s post-fight party — claims the new champion didn’t want to celebrate at all.

instead, he was made to by his guests who felt he deserved it.

“All those memes and everything with him and the champagne and stuff, they made him do that,” Quarantillo told the Elite Sports Network podcast (via BJ Penn). “Like, (Sterling) didn’t want to do that. They’re like, ‘Yo, here’s the belt, take it, put it on, you fought for this forever.’ This wasn’t just this last fight, this was every UFC fight he’s had, every UFC win, going to every venue. It’s a lifetime that he’s celebrating.

“And of course, I know how UFC Twitter is with the memes and all that. But that was a thing they made him do. He wasn’t drinking, he had like one thing of champagne. He basically said let’s watch the fight again. Watched the fight and broke it down. As a fighter, that showed me where he’s at because he just wanted to break the fight down right away and get to work. I think in the rematch he’s going to be a totally different fighter.”

Whether his next fight is with Yan or somebody else remains to be seen.

What do you think of Sterling celebrating after the DQ win?

Eryk Anders Apologizes To Darren Stewart for Illegal Knee at UFC Vegas 21

Eryk AndersAfter landing an illegal knee during their UFC Vegas 21 bout on Saturday, UFC middleweight Eryk Anders took to social media to apologize to opponent Darren Stewart for the error. Referee Herb Dean ruled the fight a No Decision after Anders landed an illegal knee following a knockdown of Stewart late in the first round. […]

Eryk Anders

After landing an illegal knee during their UFC Vegas 21 bout on Saturday, UFC middleweight Eryk Anders took to social media to apologize to opponent Darren Stewart for the error.

Referee Herb Dean ruled the fight a No Decision after Anders landed an illegal knee following a knockdown of Stewart late in the first round. It was an unfortunate end to a quick turnaround for Anders after struggling to counter Stewart earlier in the fight.

“I’m tremendously disappointed,” Anders said in his post-fight press conference. “I sacrificed a lot for this camp, it was the best weight cut I’ve ever had and was a complete lapse of judgment in the heat of the moment.”

After landing the illegal knee, there was a break in the action to evaluate Stewart’s condition. Although Stewart wanted to keep the fight going, the responding doctor overruled and the bout was called off.

UFC Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner said afterward that the No Decision in the Anders-Stewart fight was due to the fight not lasting two full rounds, along with the knee being determined as accidental.

Both fighters came into the bout with something to prove in the UFC’s Middleweight division. Anders made his return to the octagon after a 10-month hiatus following his loss to Krzysztof Jotko, while Stewart looked to rebound after a close split-decision loss to rising star Kevin Holland.

The conversation over illegal knees in Mixed Martial Arts has skyrocketed after the abrupt ending to Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 last Saturday.

It is unclear at the moment what is next for both middleweights following the anticlimactic ending to their bout. The UFC brass could schedule an immediate rematch between Anders and Stewart, or continue to move the talent-rich Middleweight division forward.

Do you feel the correct decision was made to rule the fight a No Decision? What do you think is next for Eryk Anders and Darren Stewart?

Belal Muhammad Fires Back After Leon Edwards Calls For Next Title Shot

Muhammad EdwardsBelal Muhammad ripped into Leon Edwards for wanting a title shot. Edwards was looking to make it nine wins in a row to finally earn his shot at the welterweight title with a victory over Muhammad in the UFC Vegas 21 headliner last night. However, it didn’t end up panning that way as Edwards unintentionally […]

Muhammad Edwards

Belal Muhammad ripped into Leon Edwards for wanting a title shot.

Edwards was looking to make it nine wins in a row to finally earn his shot at the welterweight title with a victory over Muhammad in the UFC Vegas 21 headliner last night.

However, it didn’t end up panning that way as Edwards unintentionally poked Muhammad in the eye in the early stages of the second round.

Muhammad was clearly in pain and agony with referee Herb Dean later calling the fight off as it was ruled a no contest.

While Edwards was heartbroken at how the fight went — especially as he looked good in the first round — he was adamant in wanting a title shot next and had no plans on running things back with Muhammad.

Muhammad — who fortunately had no permanent damage to his eye — was taken aback by those comments as he feels there is no other choice than to have an immediate rematch.

“Never saw someone act so tough after poking someone in the eye the fight was just getting goin and if your satisfied to end it on that note your soft you ain’t getting a title fight off that I took the fight on 3 week notice and came to fight run it back @ufc“

With Kamaru Usman expected to defend his title against Jorge Masvidal next and Colby Covington seemingly having no interest in fighting Edwards, it’s possible a rematch with Muhammad could be on the cards.

We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next week.

Do you think there should be an immediate rematch?