Tag: UFC Vegas 40

[UPDATE] Paulo Costa vs. Marvin Vettori Moved Up Again, Now 205 Pounds

[UPDATE #2] Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole has updated the initial report after having talks with UFC executives. He revealed Thursday night that the UFC Vegas 41 main event between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori will not take place as a 195 catchweight after all but will instead be contested at 205 pounds (light heavyweight). [UPDATE […]

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[UPDATE #2]

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole has updated the initial report after having talks with UFC executives. He revealed Thursday night that the UFC Vegas 41 main event between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori will not take place as a 195 catchweight after all but will instead be contested at 205 pounds (light heavyweight).

[UPDATE #1]

As originally reported by Yahoo Sports, the UFC Vegas 41 main event between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori will now take place at the catchweight of 195 pounds, and Costa will forfeit 20% of his purse.

Yesterday, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto moderated a face-to-face interview between the two headliners, which included Vettori interrogating Costa about his weight issues. You can catch the full video below, which includes the verbal agreement to fight at 195 that preceded today’s report.

[ORIGINAL STORY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 20, 2021, 8:00 PM]

The UFC Vegas 41 headliner between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori is in jeopardy, courtesy of a bloated Borrachinha.

Both Costa and Vettori were looking to score some redemption in this main event clash, with both men coming off of title fight setbacks, but the Brazilian, in particular, was in a complicated situation. He was looking to wash out the bad taste of not only the loss but also the fact that he chose to drink an entire bottle of wine the night before the title fight due to insomnia.

Unfortunately, this fight with Vettori is not going to be the clean return that Costa was hoping for, if the bout still happens. Speaking at the UFC Vegas 40 media day, Borrachina revealed that he was currently 211lb, roughly 48 hours before weigh-ins, and would not be able to make the 186lb limit.

“My weight right now is 96kilos (211 pounds). What happened yesterday, [my manager] Wallid [Ismail] talked with some people with him, Ali [Abdelaziz], his manager I think, and it’s not on the schedule to make 185 [pounds] anymore. It’s another weight. I’m not exactly [sure] which weight yet,” Costa said (h/t MMAFighting).

“I think this fight will happen,” Costa said. “It just will not happen if he don’t want to fight me. Maybe we can do a catchweight 195 [pounds] maybe but I think make this fight [205 pounds] could be more exciting to the fans.”

There has not been official word from the UFC or Marvin Vettori about this issue, at the time of writing. That said, a report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto shows that Vettori’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, says that his client still wants to take the fight with Paulo Costa no matter the weight, although there have apparently been some inconsistencies regarding what Costa wants the weight to be for the fight.

“We’ve never been a team to kill main events. I haven’t talked to Paulo’s team. But Marvin will fight him at heavyweight. He’ll fight Francis Ngannou on Saturday if that’s who shows up,” Abdelaziz told Okamoto.

“But first it was 195 pounds. Then it goes to 198. I don’t know what he’s going through and I’m not going to judge him. We’re gonna fight. Marvin wants him to show up.”

Stay tuned to MMA News for updates on this as more information becomes available. In the meantime, it looks as if both Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori are interested in still having the fight, provided the UFC agrees.

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Norma Dumont On The UFC PI: “They Fixed Me, I Was Defeated”

UFC featherweight contender Norma Dumont is crediting the UFC Performance Institute’s staff for her recent success in the Octagon. Dumont earned another dominant win over Aspen Ladd at UFC Vegas 40 in her first career main event. She showcased her elite kickboxing to earn the unanimous decision victory and move up in the featherweight title […]

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UFC featherweight contender Norma Dumont is crediting the UFC Performance Institute’s staff for her recent success in the Octagon.

Dumont earned another dominant win over Aspen Ladd at UFC Vegas 40 in her first career main event. She showcased her elite kickboxing to earn the unanimous decision victory and move up in the featherweight title picture.

However, it wasn’t always easy for Dumont in her professional career, as she’s had a history of brutal weight cuts during her time at bantamweight. She was nearly let go from the promotion after missing weight ahead of UFC Vegas 15.

Following her win at UFC Vegas 40, Dumont teared up when thinking about how the UFC PI helped change her weight cutting process and overall nutrition.

Norma Dumont Defeated Aspen Ladd By Unanimous Decision

“I made weight so much better this time,” Dumont said. “I came into the [UFC P.I.] defeated and broken, so I want to thank all of them for all the work they did. Those people put me back together because I was almost fired for missing weight [at UFC Vegas 15]. They fixed me.”

Dumont went on to elaborate on her intentions to make the UFC women’s featherweight division great, despite there being a limited amount of contenders at the moment. Nunes most recently defended her featherweight belt against Megan Anderson at UFC 259.

With her win over Ladd, Dumont is right in the thick of things in the featherweight title picture. She has the Muay Thai background to potentially give Nunes some issues on the feet.

Despite missing weight by almost five pounds ahead of her fight with Ashlee Evans-Smith at UFC Vegas 15, the fight continued and Dumont won by a unanimous decision. Still, Dumont needed to earn the respect and trust of the UFC brass following the bad miss on the scales.

Dumont has one of the true ‘feel good’ stories of 2021, and her escape from a dark moment in her life has proven to be one of the main reasons for her success.

Do you think Norma Dumont should get the next featherweight title shot against Amanda Nunes?

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Aspen Ladd Speaks Out After UFC Vegas 40 Loss To Norma Dumont

UFC bantamweight and featherweight contender Aspen Ladd has spoken out for the first time since her loss to Norma Dumont in the UFC Vegas 40 main event. After taking a featherweight bout on short notice against Dumont, Ladd fell by a unanimous decision in what many felt was a disappointing return to the Octagon. Ladd […]

Continue Reading Aspen Ladd Speaks Out After UFC Vegas 40 Loss To Norma Dumont at MMA News.

UFC bantamweight and featherweight contender Aspen Ladd has spoken out for the first time since her loss to Norma Dumont in the UFC Vegas 40 main event.

After taking a featherweight bout on short notice against Dumont, Ladd fell by a unanimous decision in what many felt was a disappointing return to the Octagon. Ladd had been away from the sport for nearly two years entering UFC Vegas 40 due to a series of injury-related issues.

Just hours after her disappointing loss, Ladd took to Instagram to reflect on her fight and look forward to what’s next in her professional career.

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“Not my night,” Ladd said. “Congrats to my opponent. We will be back better. In the meantime, I finally got to get back in there after nearly two years. Now, it’s time to take a step back, take a breath, and get back to fighting and feeling like myself again. On to the next.”

Aspen Ladd Returned After Nearly Two-Year Layoff

Ladd filled in on the main event slot just weeks after her UFC Vegas 38 bout against Macy Chiasson was canceled following a brutal weight cut. She has had a history of struggles on the scales but made 145 pounds with relative ease for the fight against Dumont.

Many felt that Ladd was often hesitant against Dumont during her fight at UFC Vegas 40, including her coach Jim West. In between rounds, West was heard on the broadcast imploring Ladd to throw combinations and to be more aggressive, but Ladd ultimately fell short.

Ladd has lost two of her last three fights following an eight-fight winning streak during bouts in Invicta FC and the UFC. At 26 years old, many feel she still has the potential to be a star in the UFC despite her recent struggles.

What are your thoughts on Aspen Ladd’s performance against Norma Dumont at UFC Vegas 40?

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Coker After Bellator 268: “I Didn’t Even Know UFC Had A Card Tonight”

Scott Coker likes to stay in his own lane, and not focus on his competition. This weekend saw the UFC go head to head with Bellator, with Aspen Ladd vs Norma Dumont headlining the former’s card at the Apex Center, and Phoenix, Arizona playing host to Vadim Nemkov vs Julius Anglickas. However Coker apparently had […]

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Scott Coker likes to stay in his own lane, and not focus on his competition.

This weekend saw the UFC go head to head with Bellator, with Aspen Ladd vs Norma Dumont headlining the former’s card at the Apex Center, and Phoenix, Arizona playing host to Vadim Nemkov vs Julius Anglickas. However Coker apparently had no idea that he was stepping on Dana White’s toes.

While speaking to media after Bellator 268, Coker was asked about the fact that Bellator and the UFC had fights going at the same time. Here he explained that he had no idea UFC Vegas 40 was happening that night, because he was focused on running his own promotion.

“You know, honestly I didn’t even know they had a card tonight. That’s the truth. I focus on my business, I focus on what we’re doing. I think we’re doing some great things… I think we’re back doing what we do best, we’re back on the road, and putting on great fights, and I think that’s what we did tonight,” Coker said.

Scott Coker seems to be proving at every step of the way that he is focused on what his crew is doing, instead of what his competitors are up to. That is why it seems to be a reasonable suggestion that he had no idea that the UFC had a card on the same day as his, especially considering the quality of the Fight Night in question and it’s much earlier start time.

The initial reaction to Coker saying that would be to doubt him, as the UFC can be hard to miss when they are making a show of things, promotionally. That said, whether he knew that he was putting on a show as the same time as his rival promotion or not, the time difference alone would mean that they do not have an effect on each other.

Check out the full post-fight interview below:

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Aspen Ladd Coach Apologizes For Being Harsh During UFC Vegas 40 Corner Talk

LaddAspen Ladd’s coach and boyfriend Jim West has apologized for his cornering last night. Ladd suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Norma Dumont in their short-notice women’s featherweight headliner at UFC Vegas 40 on Saturday night. However, it was a borefest with little to no action. So much so that the biggest talking point was […]

Ladd

Aspen Ladd’s coach and boyfriend Jim West has apologized for his cornering last night.

Ladd suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Norma Dumont in their short-notice women’s featherweight headliner at UFC Vegas 40 on Saturday night.

However, it was a borefest with little to no action. So much so that the biggest talking point was during the corner talk when West questioned what Ladd was doing by not fighting.

While Ladd did step it up a bit in the fourth round, it wasn’t enough and when she went back to her corner again, it almost appeared as if she was about to cry when West laid it on her.

In the end, Ladd couldn’t turn it around as she was comfortably outpointed while West received plenty of criticism online for being too harsh on his fighter.

He has since apologized.

“Tonight was not our night,” West wrote in a statement on Instagram. “It’s been our night many many times at the highest level but not tonight. I blame myself. Though it may not be my fault. it’s not up for debate. I take all the blame.

“Yes after the first couple rounds I may have been a little harsh but I know aspen and at that time technical conversation was not in the cards being down 3 rounds. Nonetheless I own it and I am sorry @aspenladd from the bottom of my heart [sic] I will continue to be better each time.”

Ladd didn’t comment on the cornering but released her own statement.

“Not my night,” Ladd wrote on Instagram. “Congrats to my opponent. We will be back better. In the mean time I finally got to get back in there after nearly 2 years. Now it’s time to take a step back, take a breath, and get back to fighting and feeling like myself again. On to the next.”

Jim West Apologizes For Harsh Coaching Of Aspen Ladd At UFC Vegas 40

Jim West has come forward to apologize for his “harsh” coaching of Aspen Ladd in the main event of UFC Vegas 40. At UFC Vegas 40, Aspen Ladd made her featherweight debut against Norma Dumont in the night’s headliner. Things did not go Ladd’s way, and this did not escape the attention of her head […]

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Jim West has come forward to apologize for his “harsh” coaching of Aspen Ladd in the main event of UFC Vegas 40.

At UFC Vegas 40, Aspen Ladd made her featherweight debut against Norma Dumont in the night’s headliner. Things did not go Ladd’s way, and this did not escape the attention of her head coach, Jim West, as the fight was unfolding. Between rounds, West was giving Ladd an earful, with his sharp words bleeding into the broadcast.

Many fans and even some within the industry criticized West for his coaching, with former UFC bantamweight champion Meisha Tate even classifying it as “abuse.” Below, you can find one particular exchange that began to circulate on social media after the fight.

West urgently asked Ladd what she was doing and insisted that she had to throw more than one punch at a time. After the bout concluded and Dumont was announced the victor, West took to Instagram, feeling that an apology was in order.

“Tonight was not our night. It’s been our night many many times at the highest level but not tonight. I blame myself. Though it may not be my fault. it’s not up for debate. I take all the blame. Yes after the first couple rounds I may have been a little harsh but i know aspen and at that time technical conversation was not in the cards being down 3 rounds. Nonetheless i own it and i am sorry @aspenladd from the bottom of my heart I will continue to be better each time.“

It’s uncertain what the future holds for Ladd following this rocky start at 145, but at only 26 years of age, she has all the time in the world to get acclimated to her new division. Saturday’s loss to Dumont made for the second defeat of her career. Ladd’s professional record now sits at 9-2.

Do you think Jim West was a little over the top with his coaching of Aspen Ladd last night?

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