Tag: UFC News

Aleksandar Rakic: ‘I Am The New Face Of The Light Heavyweight Division’

Aleksander RakicAleksander Rakic is confident he is the new face of the UFC’s light-heavyweight division after beating a second consecutive title challenger this past weekend. The 29-year-old convincingly beat Thiago Santos over three rounds at UFC 259. In the summer of 2020, Rakic had a similarly dominant win when he squared off against Anthony Smith. During […]

Aleksander Rakic

Aleksander Rakic is confident he is the new face of the UFC’s light-heavyweight division after beating a second consecutive title challenger this past weekend.

The 29-year-old convincingly beat Thiago Santos over three rounds at UFC 259.

In the summer of 2020, Rakic had a similarly dominant win when he squared off against Anthony Smith.

During the UFC 259 post-fight press conference, Rakic reflected on his victory against Santos, he said.

“I’m happy. I was dominant. I won all three rounds. I kept the pace. I pushed forward. I led the fight. I went the distance. I controlled the center. I controlled the clinching, and I hit him with some hard kicks, one high kick, couple of punches, so a dominant performance, and I’m happy about my performance.”

The entire fight took place on the feet. Post-fight, Rakic revealed that was always his plan.

“We know Thiago is a striker, so we said OK, let’s strike with this guy, and let’s dominate him,” Rakic said. “Basically, I like to dominate guys where they are the strongest.”

The Austrian insisted that his skills continue to improve on a daily basis.

“I’m the type of guy improving every day,” Rakic said. “I’m training all my skills every day, and I’m improving like I cannot explain. You need to follow me for like a month and see. I have the best coaches in my corner.”

Rakic even gave the reporters in attendance an insight into his post-fight conversation with UFC president Dana White.

“I told him that I am the new face of the light heavyweight division,” Rakic said. “I am young, I am hungry, I fight well. I have a good record, and I am representing the sport the best way. I’m a good guy. Let’s see what the UFC decides.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)

Do you think Aleksandar Rakic will become the UFC light-heavyweight champion?

Video – Dan Hooker Reunited With Family Amid Lengthy UFC 257 Quarantine

Dan HookerUFC lightweight contender, Dan Hooker has finally returned to his home and family in his native New Zealand following an almost six-week period spent in quarantine following his appearance at UFC 257 on ‘Fight Island’ in Abu Dhabi, UAE back in January. Spending four-weeks in Abu Dhabi following his co-main feature appearance at the pay-per-view […]

Dan Hooker

UFC lightweight contender, Dan Hooker has finally returned to his home and family in his native New Zealand following an almost six-week period spent in quarantine following his appearance at UFC 257 on ‘Fight Island’ in Abu Dhabi, UAE back in January.

Spending four-weeks in Abu Dhabi following his co-main feature appearance at the pay-per-view event, Hooker recently completed a follow up two-week quarantine period on his return to New Zealand, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Posting a heartwarming video,https://www.instagram.com/p/CMITyGCBx_Q/ captioned “freedom” on his official Instagram over the weekend, Hooker finally left quarantine, with his partner and young daughter awaiting him on exit from the quarantine hotel.

Making his return to New Zealand, the City Kickboxing striker dropped his second consecutive defeat at the ‘Fight Island’ event — suffering a stunning first round knockout blemish to former three-time Bellator lightweight champion, promotional debutante, Michael Chandler. The defeat followed a Fight of the Year contender against former interim champion, and event headliner, Dustin Poirier at UFC Vegas 3 last June, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss.

Sitting at #8 in the official rankings, speculation was rife regarding the fighting future of Hooker following his knockout loss to Chandler, as he immediately removed his gloves, leaving them inside the Octagon after the defeat.

Clearing up his stance on fighting during an interview with Submission Radio in the weeks after his January outing, Hooker chalked his decision to leave his gloves in the Octagon down to his frustration and disappointment in his performance, describing the fight as a “bad dream“.

“You’re always frustrated after a loss,” Hooker said. “Yeah, like, a balance of everything. Like, of sheer frustration, you’re disappointed. And then you get back to the hotel. In that moment, I was like, ‘I’m done. I’m finished with this sh*tty sport. I’m done.’ And then you get back to the hotel and you sit down and think about it, and you realize you’re not good at anything else either (laughs). I was kind of thinking, sh*t, I’ve kind of painted myself into a bit of a corner here (laughs).” 

Whilst firm on his decision to continue despite his recent duo of setbacks and frustration, the Auckland native has yet to be booked for his next UFC outing.

The dynamic striker is a sixteen-fight Octagon veteran, notching notable victories over the likes of Ross Pearson, Marc Diakiese, Jim Miller, James Vick, Al Iaquinta, Paul Felder, as well as most recent welterweight title challenger, Gilbert Burns. 

VIDEO | Footage Of The Petr Yan Corner Before Illegal Knee

Petr YanPetr Yan lost his 135lb belt this weekend due to a disqualification. ‘No Mercy’ lived up to his nickname as he landed an illegal knee on Sterling, despite the ‘Funkmaster’ clearly having both knees on the canvas. This led to Sterling no longer being able to continue, which meant that for the first time in […]

Petr Yan

Petr Yan lost his 135lb belt this weekend due to a disqualification. ‘No Mercy’ lived up to his nickname as he landed an illegal knee on Sterling, despite the ‘Funkmaster’ clearly having both knees on the canvas. This led to Sterling no longer being able to continue, which meant that for the first time in UFC history, a champion would lose his belt via disqualification.

Daniel Cormier later revealed to viewers that Yan only threw the knee after receiving confirmation from his corner. ESPN MMA later revealed the corner footage, in which the cornermen seemed to be giving Yan a variety of confusing commands.

One cornerman can be heard shouting “just punch”, which would be completely legal. However, Cormier stated that Khabib Nurmagomedov could hear one cornerman shouting in Russian “Yes kick.”

Nurmagomedov himself was cornering a fighter that night, as his teammate, Islam Makhachev took on Drew Dober. Whilst Khabib was at the Apex, Dana White has revealed that talks about a potential return for ‘The Eagle’ once again entered their conversation.

Petr Yan has since apologised for the illegal strike and wished Sterling a quick recovery. A rematch between the two is likely to be booked in the near future.

What do you think of Petr Yan’s corner advice? Let us know in the comments.

John McCarthy Thinks Sterling Milked Illegal Knee: ‘It’s Called Business’

John McCarthyIn one of the most controversial championship fights in recent memory, Petr Yan was disqualified from his title defence against Aljamain Sterling after throwing an illegal knee. The subsequent fallout has seen the MMA community split in a multitude of different ways. One take is that Sterling overacted the subsequent knee to the head in […]

John McCarthy

In one of the most controversial championship fights in recent memory, Petr Yan was disqualified from his title defence against Aljamain Sterling after throwing an illegal knee. The subsequent fallout has seen the MMA community split in a multitude of different ways.

One take is that Sterling overacted the subsequent knee to the head in order to have the fight called off. On the Weighing In podcast, ‘Big’ John McCarthy and Josh Thompson seemed to follow this school of thought.

On a recent video released on the Fight CAT Youtube channel, the two MMA personalities broke down the events that took place. McCarthy actually placed some of the blame on referee Mark Smith for discussing the potential implications of Yan landing the illegal knee with the doctor, within earshot of Sterling. McCarthy had the following to say:

“I’m gonna get eaten up by some people, especially Ray Longo. But I’ve seen Aljo take some big shots, he’s a tough dude. When you look at that knee, and you look at that initial response. And then look at what occurred. I’m not sure that it was affecting him as much as it was coming out.”

“But once he hears I’m gonna get a win here, that’s money. I’m not saying he made a bad decision. It’s called business, and you’ve got to make a business decision. If that’s what occurred I don’t blame him.”

It is notable that last time Aljamain Sterling took a knee clean to the head, he was knocked out by Marlon Moraes. Regardless of how hurt he was, Yan’s actions were unarguably illegal and he was rightly disqualified. An immediate rematch appears to be the most likely next step for both fighters. However Sterling has professed that he would also be interested in a matchup with the former champ, Henry Cejudo.

What are your thoughts on John McCarthy’s Comments? Who do you see winning the subsequent rematch? Let us know in the comments.

Aljamain Sterling Eyes Henry Cejudo Bout: ‘We Can Do This Fight Next’

Aljamain SterlingThe new UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling is hoping to forgo a rematch with Petr Yan and instead fight former two-weight king Henry Cejduo next. Sterling won the 135lb belt in unfortunate circumstances at UFC 259. ‘The Funkmaster’ was clearly losing to Yan through four rounds before the Russian landed an illegal strike. Sterling hit […]

Aljamain Sterling

The new UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling is hoping to forgo a rematch with Petr Yan and instead fight former two-weight king Henry Cejduo next.

Sterling won the 135lb belt in unfortunate circumstances at UFC 259.

‘The Funkmaster’ was clearly losing to Yan through four rounds before the Russian landed an illegal strike.

Sterling hit the ground and Yan threw a knee which connected clean.

The American was unable to get back up, ultimately Yan was disqualified, and Sterling was crowned the new champion.

Sterling initially refused to accept the belt but was later seen posing with it for pictures.

Yan then began to attack his opponent on social media.

Meanwhile, Sterling ran into former dual-weight champ, Cejudo and is now hoping to fight him next rather than take a highly anticipated rematch with Yan.

“All that talking stops when face to face! We can do this fight next instead” Sterling wrote to UFC president Dana White on social media.

Cejudo retired from the sport last year after successfully defending his bantamweight title against 135lb legend Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.

‘Triple C’ has stayed in the limelight by calling for a fight with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and seems destined to make a comeback in 2021. Could it be against Aljamain Sterling?

Do you want to see Aljamain Sterling fight Henry Cejudo next?

Dana White Reveals He Talked To Khabib Nurmagomedov About Returning Again At UFC 259

Nurmagomedov WhiteUFC president Dana White is still not giving up on a Khabib Nurmagomedov comeback. White recently claimed he still believed there was a chance Nurmagomedov would come out of retirement and compete again as he planned to have dinner with him again. “Let some of these [lightweight] fights play out to see who would fight […]

Nurmagomedov White

UFC president Dana White is still not giving up on a Khabib Nurmagomedov comeback.

White recently claimed he still believed there was a chance Nurmagomedov would come out of retirement and compete again as he planned to have dinner with him again.

“Let some of these [lightweight] fights play out to see who would fight next for the title,” White said. “I think if Khabib is interested, he’ll take the fight.”

“There’s still a chance.”

With Nurmagomedov cornering Islam Makhachev at UFC 259 last night, the pair had a chance to sit together and watch the rest of the fights.

And according to White, they talked again of the possibility of Nurmagomedov returning only for the latter to laugh it off.

“We did [talk]. I said, ‘Hey, how about September?’” White said at the UFC 259 post-fight press conference (via RT). “He laughed like you [reporters] did. He just laughed. That’s all he did. We’re going to go to dinner.”

Of course, the pair met privately before UFC 257 in January to discuss the same with White claiming Nurmagomedov was looking to be impressed by a lightweight to consider returning.

However, Nurmagomedov contradicted his claims later by stating that he wouldn’t disobey his mother’s wishes by competing again.

Clearly, that isn’t stopping White from pursuing his goal.

Do you think Nurmagomedov will return to action?