Tag: UFC Vegas 44

UFC Vegas 44 Bonuses: Rafael Fiziev Gets Bonus For Wheel Kick KO Win

The UFC Vegas 44 bonuses have been released.

The event took place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility. Headlining the card was a clash between Rob Font and Jose Aldo. This fight saw Font seem to be a few steps quicker than Aldo, who was t…

The UFC Vegas 44 bonuses have been released.

The event took place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility. Headlining the card was a clash between Rob Font and Jose Aldo. This fight saw Font seem to be a few steps quicker than Aldo, who was taken down by Font briefly in the first round. Font was also moving forward. Aldo landed a big strike that dropped Font to end the round. Aldo rocked him in the second round with an uppercut. Font was landing his jab at will. In the third round, Aldo defended a takedown and got on top. Aldo started to attack the legs. Aldo dropped him with a knee strike and got on top to start the fourth round. Font had some nasty swelling to his left eye. Aldo looked tired to start the fifth round and they clinched up against the fence. Aldo dropped him in the middle of the round before taking Font’s back. Aldo got the decision win. 

The co-main event saw more action between Brad Riddell and Rafael Fiziev.

This fight saw Riddell being hesitant in the first round to throw strikes although he was more willing to do leg kicks. In the second round, they both let their hands go, which resulted in Riddell being busted open on his left temple and a cut under his right eye. The finish came in the third round when Fiziev landed a wheel kick. 

Peep the full list of performance bonus winners below.

‘Fight of the Night’: Cheyanne Vlismas vs. Mallory Martin

‘Performance of the Night’: Chris Curtis

‘Performance of the Night’: Clay Guida

‘Performance of the Night’: Jamahal Hill

‘Performance of the Night’: Rafael Fiziev

UFC Vegas 44 Results: Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo, Brad Riddell vs. Rafael Fiziev

Were the right choices made for the UFC Vegas 44 bonuses?

Continue Reading UFC Vegas 44 Bonuses: Rafael Fiziev Gets Bonus For Wheel Kick KO Win at MMA News.

Rafael Fiziev Feels Conflicted After Brad Riddell Knockout

Rafael FizievUFC lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev felt mixed emotions after finishing his former teammate Brad Riddell at UFC Vegas 44. Fiziev and Riddell competed in the UFC Vegas 44 co-main event after years of training together at Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand. Despite their long friendship, they decided to fight each other and put on […]

Rafael Fiziev

UFC lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev felt mixed emotions after finishing his former teammate Brad Riddell at UFC Vegas 44.

Fiziev and Riddell competed in the UFC Vegas 44 co-main event after years of training together at Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand. Despite their long friendship, they decided to fight each other and put on a great fight for the fans.

Despite Fiziev saying earlier in the week that he didn’t anticipate any issues fighting his friend, he had a different perspective during his UFC Vegas 44 post-fight press conference.

“It feels amazing, what can I say,” Fiziev said. “I don’t know if I’m sad or I’m happy. It’s not so great when you beat your friend like that. It was a tough fight and it was tough to see him go down like that. He’s a great guy.”

Rafael Fiziev Could Be A Dark Horse In The Lightweight Division

Many fighters are seen as gladiators only, but the fact of the matter is that these athletes are human beings with raw emotions in competition. Friends in MMA rarely agree to fight one another, due to the extra stress and uncomfortable setting that is involved with the event.

Fiziev is no exception to this. As he continues his rise through the lightweight division, his fight with Riddell will more than likely be something he remembers for a long time, for the right reasons and wrong reasons.

Fiziev’s win over Riddell was his fifth straight in the UFC and was arguably the most impressive performance of his tenure after his performance over Bobby Green earlier this year.

Fiziev could be on the fast track to a path to the lightweight title picture if he continues to string together wins. He’ll more than likely get another big name for his next octagon appearance.

What were your thoughts on Rafael Fiziev’s performance?

Max Holloway Praises Jose Aldo After UFC Vegas 44 Victory

Max HollowayFormer UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway gave props to Jose Aldo after his dominant win over Rob Font at UFC Vegas 44. Holloway and Aldo went to battle on two different occasions while the two of them were at the top of the UFC’s featherweight division. After winning the interim title over Anthony Pettis, Holloway […]

Max Holloway

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway gave props to Jose Aldo after his dominant win over Rob Font at UFC Vegas 44.

Holloway and Aldo went to battle on two different occasions while the two of them were at the top of the UFC’s featherweight division. After winning the interim title over Anthony Pettis, Holloway knocked out Aldo at UFC 212 before defeating him once again in an immediate rematch.

Holloway had this to say after Aldo’s impressive victory at UFC Vegas 44.

“The King of Rio!”, Holloway tweeted. “A legend in every way. Congrats champ.”

Max Holloway, Jose Aldo Are Both On The Verge Of Title Shots

Holloway and Aldo are both close to returning to the top of their respective divisions in the UFC. Holloway is widely expected to face Volkanovski for a trilogy, while Aldo could get the next bantamweight title shot against the Aljamain Sterling/Petr Yan winner.

Aldo lost his first shot at bantamweight gold to Yan at UFC 251, after losing a controversial split decision to Marlon Moraes. He could also possibly face TJ Dillashaw in a No. 1 contender bout.

Holloway got back in the win column against top contenders Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez in his past two fights. He lost his featherweight title to Volkanovski on back-to-back occasions, but both fights were controversial and many felt he came away with the victory.

Holloway and Aldo are still two of the biggest stars in the sport today and have plenty of mutual respect for one another after their wars inside of the octagon. While we’ll more than likely never see the two of them fight each other again, it’s great to see two legends of the sport praise one another for their accomplishments.

What were your thoughts on Jose Aldo’s performance at UFC Vegas 44?

Jose Aldo Powers Through For Decision Win Over Rob Font – UFC Vegas 44 Highlights

Jose AldoFormer UFC featherweight continues to prove himself a problem at bantamweight — lodging his third straight unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) win, this time halting the streak of Massachusetts striker, Rob Font to close out UFC Vegas 44. Some real limited output from Aldo in the opening round, however, he’s likely stolen the frame from […]

Jose Aldo

Former UFC featherweight continues to prove himself a problem at bantamweight — lodging his third straight unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) win, this time halting the streak of Massachusetts striker, Rob Font to close out UFC Vegas 44.

Some real limited output from Aldo in the opening round, however, he’s likely stolen the frame from the more active Font with a knockdown with just 10-seconds or so remaining in the frame.

Landing a crisp jab-straight combination, Aldo then followed up with a right uppercut, with the Brazilian unable to land anything else significant to force a stoppage.

Another impressive round for Manaus favorite, Aldo who appears to have a significant power advantage over Font, who visibly retreats whenever the former champion lands that jab-straight combination. Font happy to stay in the fire and take one in order to land his own, however. Andre Pederneiras calling for more kicks from Aldo ahead of the third.

Third round in the books and Font appears to have caused some significant swelling on the right eye of Aldo courtesy of a ground strike, and may have taken the third round. The Brazilian landed a couple notable leg kicks toward the close from the frame — one of which knocked Font from his feet.

An early fourth round knockdown for Aldo who has now himself closed the left eye of Font via his striking acumen. The knockdown is likely enough to see Aldo take the penultimate round, however, Font is still active from his back with some well-placed elbows. Clear urgency in the New England Cartel for Font to chase a fifth round finish.

Jose Aldo continues to make waves at bantamweight with his third straight decision triumph

Despite a cagey and laboured opening minute or two to the final round, Aldo once more stunned and dropped Font with his boxing, riding out the remainder of the frame from the back and then mount — scoring his third consecutive unanimous decision.

Below, catch the highlights from Jose Aldo’s third consecutive unanimous decision success.

Fighters React To Jose Aldo’s Decision Win Over Rob Font At UFC Vegas 44

Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo lived up to expectations. 

The two fighters met in a bout on Saturday night (December 4) at the UFC Vegas 44 event from Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility.

Font did get a takedown, but it was brief, in the fir…

Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo lived up to expectations. 

The two fighters met in a bout on Saturday night (December 4) at the UFC Vegas 44 event from Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility.

Font did get a takedown, but it was brief, in the first round. Font kept moving forward while Aldo was looking to counter strike. Aldo landed a big strike that dropped Font to end the round. In the second round, Aldo landed a big time uppercut, but Font came back with combos and the jab. In the third round, Aldo defended a takedown and got on top.

Aldo was landing some serious leg kicks. The start of the fourth round, Aldo dropped him with a knee strike and got on top. In the fifth round, they did some clinch work. Aldo dropped him in the middle of the round before taking Font’s back. Aldo got the decision win. 

Peep the highlights of the fight courtesy of the UFC’s official Twitter account:

Let’s see how the fighters reacted to the outcome of this fight: 

Font had won his last 5 out of 6 bouts and was on a four-fight winning streak heading into this fight. He ripped off wins over the likes of Sergio Pettis in December 2018 by decision, Ricky Simón via decision in December 2019 and a KO win over Marlon Moraes in December 2020. He most recently beat Cody Garbrandt by decision in May 2021. 

Aldo entered this fight with a 4-5 record in his previous nine bouts with two of those losses coming to Max Holloway. He suffered a decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski at the UFC 237 pay-per-view event from the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil. He dropped a split decision loss to Marlon Moraes at UFC 245. He got TKO’d by Petr Yan for the vacant bantamweight title at the UFC 251 pay-per-view event from Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island aka Fight Island. Aldo then beat Marlon Vera at UFC Vegas 17 in December 2020. In his previous fight, he beat Pedro Munoz by decision at UFC 265. 

UFC Vegas 44 Results: Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo, Brad Riddell vs. Rafael Fiziev

MMA News is providing ongoing coverage of UFC Vegas 44. We’ve got you covered with live results, video highlights, and post-fight tidbits.

Continue Reading Fighters React To Jose Aldo’s Decision Win Over Rob Font At UFC Vegas 44 at MMA News.

Rafael Fiziev Stops Brad Riddell With Wheel Kick Knockout – UFC Vegas 44 Highlights

Rafael FizievTop-15 UFC lightweight contender, Rafael Fiziev is sure to leapfrog former training partner, Brad Riddell upon the release of the updated reankings next week — following a massive third round wheel kick in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 44. Expected to provide fireworks from the onset and throughout, former Tiger Muay Thai sparring partners, […]

Rafael Fiziev

Top-15 UFC lightweight contender, Rafael Fiziev is sure to leapfrog former training partner, Brad Riddell upon the release of the updated reankings next week — following a massive third round wheel kick in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 44.

Expected to provide fireworks from the onset and throughout, former Tiger Muay Thai sparring partners, Riddell and Fiziev obliged each other immediately — with the two exchanging sharp strikes inside the pocket during each exchange.

Slipping Riddell with a beautifully timed elbow in the middle of the second round, Fiziev began to really find his range with countering and winging hooks in the pocket as Riddell managed to find himself on top following two well-timed takedown attempts.

Rafael Fiziev stops former sparring partner Brad Riddell with a highlight-reel wheel kick

Removing the judges from the equation in a relatively close fight, Fiziev launched a picture-perfect wheel kick as Riddell circled beside the Octagon fence, clipping him flush resulting his in his fifth consecutive victory.

Below, catch the highlights from Rafael Fiziev’s wheel kick knockout win over Brad Riddell.