Tag: UFC Vegas 56

Jeff Molina Clarifies Reaction To 30-27 Scorecard At UFC Vegas 56

UFC flyweight prospect Jeff Molina has clarified his reaction to hearing the 30-27 scorecard after his fight with Zhalgas Zhumagulov this past weekend. In one of the more notable bouts on the UFC Vegas 56 card, entertaining Dana White’s Contender Series alum Molina looked to maintain his undefeated promotional record against 21-fight MMA veteran Zhumagulov….

Continue Reading Jeff Molina Clarifies Reaction To 30-27 Scorecard At UFC Vegas 56 at MMA News.

UFC flyweight prospect Jeff Molina has clarified his reaction to hearing the 30-27 scorecard after his fight with Zhalgas Zhumagulov this past weekend.

In one of the more notable bouts on the UFC Vegas 56 card, entertaining Dana White’s Contender Series alum Molina looked to maintain his undefeated promotional record against 21-fight MMA veteran Zhumagulov.

The pair of flyweights fought to the scorecards after a closely contested 15 minutes of action. While the community was largely split on the victor, most agreed that the scorecards should have read 28-27 either way.

While the first two followed that consensus, the third and deciding verdict saw Joe Martinez read out 30-27. Upon hearing it, Molina wheeled away in frustration, seemingly believing that the one-sided scorecard meant he’d suffered his first defeat in the Octagon.

When his name was announced as the split-decision victor, Molina appeared surprised as he returned to the center to have his hand raised and celebrate with James Krause.

While many have used Molina’s reaction as evidence that Zhumagulov was the rightful winner, “El Jefe” has now sought to explain his reaction.

Molina: The Reaction Was The Pessimist In Me

During an interview with MMA News’ own James Lynch days after extending his UFC slate to 3-0, Molina clarified that he firmly believes he did enough to emerge victorious.

Highlighting the recent judging controversy and the apparent lack of understanding for the scoring criteria across the MMA community, the 24-year-old reminded those who disagreed with the verdict of the importance of damage when judging fights.

“We got it done, man. Winners win, and I found a way to win. I thought I won that fight. I’ve watched it at least 10, 15 times, at least bro… I feel like I won that fight,” said Molina. “I gave myself rounds one and three, round three being the clearest. Round two, I gave him just because he landed a check hook right on the button.

“The biggest criteria in the sport is damage. I know there’s been some controversy in the last couple weeks with what the judging criteria is, which is crazy to think because the sport’s been around for 28 years or something crazy,” added Molina. “Not many people know how it’s judged, fighters included… But the biggest criteria is damage and I felt like I landed the most damaging shots… You don’t get awarded for control time, just holding someone against the fence.”

With that said, Molina told MMA News that his reaction as more out of pessimism and a worry that the wrong decision had been made. He also revealed the words of encouragement referee Herb Dean gave him after the result was announced.

“I shouldn’t be having these close fights, in general. it was just the pessimist in me that thought the judge gave it to him,” said Molina. “It wasn’t me thinking I didn’t win that fight, it was just me being a pessimist. Even Herb (Dean) came up to me right afterwards and was like, ‘Hey man, you gotta believe in the judges a little bit more.’”

Catch our full interview with UFC flyweight Jeff Molina below:

How did you score Jeff Molina vs. Zhalmas Zhumagulov at UFC Vegas 56?

Continue Reading Jeff Molina Clarifies Reaction To 30-27 Scorecard At UFC Vegas 56 at MMA News.

Karolina Kowalkiewicz Reveals She Would Have Retired From MMA With UFC Vegas 56 Loss

Karolina KowalkiewiczOne-time UFC strawweight title challenger and former KSW flyweight champion, Karolina Kowalkiewicz has revealed that should she have suffered defeat against two-time opponent, Felice Herrig at UFC Vegas 56 last weekend, she would have called time on her professional mixed martial arts career.  Kowalkiewicz, a native of Lodz, Poland – managed to snap her five […]

Karolina Kowalkiewicz

One-time UFC strawweight title challenger and former KSW flyweight champion, Karolina Kowalkiewicz has revealed that should she have suffered defeat against two-time opponent, Felice Herrig at UFC Vegas 56 last weekend, she would have called time on her professional mixed martial arts career. 

Kowalkiewicz, a native of Lodz, Poland – managed to snap her five fight losing run at UFC Vegas 56 against Herrig – submitting her two-time opponent with an impressive second round rear-naked choke to add to a previous split decision win over Illinois native.

Following the defeat, Herrig herself called time on her professional mixed martial arts career, however, Kowalkiewicz has revealed that she planned to retire from the sport if Herrig handed her a sixth straight defeat.

“Yes,” Karolina Kowalkiewicz told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour when asked if she would have retired if Herrig defeated her at UFC Vegas 56. “I didn’t say this to nobody.”

Prior to her win against Herrig, Kowalkiewicz, who had suffered a period of four years without a professional victory inside the Octagon – explained how her submission defeat to fellow former title challenger, Jessica Penne forced her to call her career into question.

“Yes, I had a really bad moment in that time and I thought maybe it was time to finish with MMA,” Karolina Kowalkiewicz said. “But after a few months, after a few weeks when I fought and everything, no, I cannot finish with MMA because I love it. Not yet, not yet. Two (more) years for sure, I want to fight.”

“I didn’t train (for) a few months,” Kowalkiewicz said. “I had a break. I didn’t watch MMA. Just relax, work in Poland, and it was really good for me.” 

Karolina Kowalkiewicz holds a win over former two-time titleholder, Rose Namajunas

Challenging for undisputed strawweight gold at UFC 205 in November 2016 against compatriot, Joanna Jedrzejczyk – Kowalkiewicz has since begun training at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida – alongside the Olsztyn striker. 

Entering the UFC boasting an undefeated 7-0 professional record, Kowalkiewicz landed victories over Randa Markos, Heather Jo Clark, and former two-time champion, Rose Namajuans before her Madison Square Garden title tangle against Jedrzejczyk.

Damon Jackson Rips Swanson For Trash Talking Corner: “We Can Run It”

UFC featherweight Damon Jackson was taken aback by Cub Swanson’s trash talk while he was coaching Dan Argueta at UFC Vegas 56. Jackson earned a unanimous decision win over Argueta on the UFC Vegas 56 prelims. He used solid grappling and late-round toughness on the feet to secure the win on the scorecards. But Jackson’s…

Continue Reading Damon Jackson Rips Swanson For Trash Talking Corner: “We Can Run It” at MMA News.

UFC featherweight Damon Jackson was taken aback by Cub Swanson’s trash talk while he was coaching Dan Argueta at UFC Vegas 56.

Jackson earned a unanimous decision win over Argueta on the UFC Vegas 56 prelims. He used solid grappling and late-round toughness on the feet to secure the win on the scorecards.

But Jackson’s win over Argueta wasn’t without drama. Swanson could be heard on the UFC broadcast trash-talking Jackson and his team throughout the fight instead of encouraging Argueta to improve positions.

During an exclusive interview with MMA News, Jackson gave insight into what was said between Swanson and his corner in the middle of his battle with Argueta.

“It was more confusing,” Jackson admitted. “So you got this kid talking to my coach, saying stuff to my coach…. and then you have Cub over there talking to me. I’m like, why don’t you just coach your fighter? Why don’t you just shut up coach your prodigy or whoever this kid is to you? I don’t know what he is to Cub. I know he’s been training with Cub for a while, and that’s why I knew he was going to be prepared for the fight.

“But I was like instead of talking to me and talking to my coach, why don’t you actually be a coach and talk to your player or whatever. You’re sitting over there running your mouth to me because you don’t want to say, you don’t know what to do. Because if I put him on his back, he would do the same thing, he wouldn’t know what to do. He’s running his mouth and I told him after the fight: ‘hey man, we’re in the same weight class. If you wanna run it up, let’s go.’… If Cub wants to go, I’m down. Let’s go.

“If he wants to talk smack and do all this Cali BS with his tattoos and all his gangster stuff, if he wants to do that stuff… let’s go, we can run it,” Jackson continued. “I’m not gonna talk smack to anyone and I’m ready to fight. I wanna stay consistent and break into that Top 15.”

Jackson is now on a three-fight winning streak since a loss to Ilia Topuria in Dec. 2020. He’s earned wins over the likes of Mirsad Bektic, Charles Rosa, and Kamuela Kirk during his UFC tenure.

Swanson last fought against Darren Elkins last December via first-round knockout. Before that, he had lost to top featherweight contenders such as Renato Moicano and Giga Chikadze.

Jackson wants to return for the UFC 277 card in his native Dallas, TX in July, and a matchup with Swanson could be in the works.

Do you want to see Damon Jackson fight Cub Swanson next?

Continue Reading Damon Jackson Rips Swanson For Trash Talking Corner: “We Can Run It” at MMA News.

The MMA News Top 10 Finishes Of The Week (5/30 – 6/4)

Welcome to the first edition of MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes of the Week! Every week there’s highlight-reel finishes all across the MMA world, and we’ve found some of the absolute best ones to showcase. The return of the UFC after a two-week break provided a number of impressive finishes, several of which made this…

Continue Reading The MMA News Top 10 Finishes Of The Week (5/30 – 6/4) at MMA News.

Welcome to the first edition of MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes of the Week! Every week there’s highlight-reel finishes all across the MMA world, and we’ve found some of the absolute best ones to showcase.

The return of the UFC after a two-week break provided a number of impressive finishes, several of which made this week’s Top 10. The list also includes an explosive debut from a top prospect, come-from-behind victories, and some one-shot knockouts.

#10: Guelor Sondi Doesn’t Need A Follow Up

This week’s list opens with a lightweight bout between Guelor Sondi and Elvis Ngwalangwala from EFC 94 in South Africa.

Blitzing forward, Sondi landed a right hand right behind the ear of Ngwalangwala that sent the South African falling to the canvas as a follow-up kick flew just over his face.

#9: Erin Blanchfield Locks Up Standing Guillotine

The very first bout from last week’s UFC Vegas 56 provided the first of several impressive finishes on the card.

Erin Blanchfield picked up the biggest victory of her young career and maintained her perfect UFC record when she forced veteran JJ Aldrich to tap with a standing guillotine choke.

#8 Fabricio de Andrade Lands Brutal Liver Kick

The UFC will be in Singapore this week for UFC 275, but the southeast Asian country is also the home of ONE Championship.

Fabricio de Andrade needed just over a minute to finish Kwon Won Il in the co-main event of ONE Championship 158, landing a body kick that folded the South Korean and had the ref already running in as de Andrade tried to follow up.

#7: Ode Osbourne Brings The Violence

Ode Osbourne put the UFC’s flyweight division on notice with his performance against Zarrukh Adashev last week.

“The Jamaican Sensation” landed a counter right hand that sat Adashev down before he followed-up with punches to get the stoppage just over a minute into the fight.

#6: Marif Mazhidov Grabs Surprise Submission

At MMA Series 52 in Russia, featherweight Marif Mazhidov showed that you can find a way to win from any position in MMA.

Making his pro debut, Mazhidov was in serious danger of being choked out before he locked up one of Demin’s legs and forced him to tap from a seemingly dominant position.

#5: Bo Nickal Proves The Hype Is Real

Few prospects have entered MMA with expectations as high as Bo Nickal, but the 26-year-old made good on the hype at iKON FC 3 without even needing to use his vaunted wrestling skills.

The 3x National Champion in freestyle wrestling rocked John Noland before landing an uppercut and hooks that sent Noland to the canvas and Nickal walking off to celebrate.

#4: Tony Gravely Shows Off His Power

Tony Gravely had shown flashes of power in his previous UFC bouts, but nothing like what he did against Johnny Munoz Jr. last week.

With his back to the fence, Munoz came forward and walked straight into a short right hand from Gravely that sent him to the canvas amidst a barrage of follow-up punches.

#3: Menifield Rains Elbows From Crucifix

Alonzo Menifield and Askar Mozharov opened the main card of UFC Vegas 56 in a light heavyweight matchup that few expected to go the distance.

Menifield’s plan to take things to the ground was on display early, and “Atomic” eventually set up a mounted crucifix that Mozharov had no hope of escaping from.

#2: Trey Waters Lands Hail Mary Knee

The main card of LFA 133 included a matchup between two undefeated welterweights, and late in the fight it looked like Trey Waters would be leaving with his first career loss.

The ref separated Waters and Benjamin Bennett with about 30 seconds left, allowing Waters to throw up a knee that floored Bennett and avoided a probable decision loss for “The Truth”.

#1: Moses Diaz Only Needs 6 Seconds

MMA is all about limiting the damage your opponent can do, and sometimes the best way to do that is just not give them a chance to fight back.

On the main card of last week’s Combate Global event, Moses Diaz landed a right hand that floored Carlos Cordoba Fonseca and forced the ref to intervene just 6 seconds into the fight.

What do you think of this week’s list? Are there any finishes you think should have made the cut that didn’t?

Continue Reading The MMA News Top 10 Finishes Of The Week (5/30 – 6/4) at MMA News.

Jeff Molina Reacts to Hate Over Wearing UFC’s Gay Pride Shorts – ‘People Were Saying Crazy Sh*t’

Jeff Molina Gay Pride ShortsJeff Molina is so far seeming to be the next potential superstar to come off of Dana White’s Contender Series. Riding a ten-fight win streak, including three straight in the UFC. ‘El Jefe’ kept to his winning ways at UFC Vegas 56 and garnered the victory while wearing the UFC’s gay pride shorts. Disgusted by […]

Jeff Molina Gay Pride Shorts

Jeff Molina is so far seeming to be the next potential superstar to come off of Dana White’s Contender Series. Riding a ten-fight win streak, including three straight in the UFC. ‘El Jefe’ kept to his winning ways at UFC Vegas 56 and garnered the victory while wearing the UFC’s gay pride shorts.

Disgusted by the barbaric hate and ridicule he received for wearing the shorts, Jeff Molina opened up about the situation when questioned about it after the fights.

“You’re gonna get me riled up,” Molina began. “Dude, it’s fu*king ridiculous… Who the fu*k cares bro? Honestly, it’s not even about being an ally, I’m not saying I’m not, but it’s like, just be a decent person. Just be a decent human being…”

Jeff Molina Slams Critics, Explains Why He Chose the UFC’s Gay Pride Shorts to Wear

“Judging someone and trying to justify it with religion and saying all sorts of like spiteful, hateful sh*t is crazy to me, it’s mind-boggling. Who cares who someone wants to be with, or their sexual preference… And the irony of trying to justify it by religion, something that’s supposed to be so accepting… I was honestly shocked,” Jeff Molina continued.

“I picked the colors because I thought it looked cool, and then also because I thought it was a good cause… I’ll support anything of a community that’s been oppressed, and ostracized, for some time now. For something, they can’t help. It wasn’t that long ago there was like school segregation… That wasn’t (even) a whole person ago, this is recent sh*t.”

“I just thought in 2022, people would be more open-minded… Guess I was wrong…People were saying some crazy sh*t…Trying to justify it like: ‘God is going to send you to hell’… Like dude, mind your own business. It doesn’t concern you,” Molina concluded.

Watch the full reaction by Jeff Molina below:

Does the Jeff Molina Gay Pride Shorts Debacle Hint at an Underlying Prejudice in MMA?

So, ‘El Jefe’ wore gay pride shorts at UFC Vegas 56, but what’s the big deal? That is the entire point of Jeff Molina’s statement. Why is it a big deal?

Well, some people would say sports aren’t very welcoming to the LGBTQ community. And, it wouldn’t be quite a stretch to say that MMA is probably the least welcoming. Why? Well, the answer to that could be a number of things. Prejudice is likely to be number one. But also, a big contributing factor is the sport itself. Which is fighting, also known as combat sports.

For example, one thing that has angered many is the thought of transgender athletes performing against non-transgender athletes. The biggest MMA example of this is when Alana McLaughlin (a natural-born male who transitioned to the opposite sex) fought a female non-transgender opponent and dominated her, despite a huge difference in MMA experience which McLaughlin had a lot less of.

This caused general outrage, as despite McLaughlin being transgender: many MMA fans chose to look at it as a fight between a man vs a woman. Which was deemed unacceptable by the masses.

So, while there are no excuses for hatred towards any race, religion, or person, it could be safe to say there’s a particular sore spot between MMA, transgender fighters, and maybe even the LGBTQ community as a whole.

Here at LowKick MMA, we do not discriminate against any race, religion, or sexual orientation, and we plead you also do not discriminate.

What are your thoughts on the hatred Jeff Molina received for wearing the UFC gay pride shorts, and do you think there’s an underlying prejudice in MMA towards the LGBTQ community?

Ilia Topuria Takes Aim At Movsar Evloev For ‘Shameful’ UFC Vegas 56 Win

UFC up-and-comer Ilia Topuria wasn’t impressed by Movsar Evloev’s performance at UFC Vegas 56. Evloev dismantled Dan Ige via a unanimous decision in the UFC Vegas 56 co-main event. He used his grappling combined with his opportunistic striking to control the fight from start to finish. Evloev and Topuria have gone at it on social…

Continue Reading Ilia Topuria Takes Aim At Movsar Evloev For ‘Shameful’ UFC Vegas 56 Win at MMA News.

UFC up-and-comer Ilia Topuria wasn’t impressed by Movsar Evloev’s performance at UFC Vegas 56.

Evloev dismantled Dan Ige via a unanimous decision in the UFC Vegas 56 co-main event. He used his grappling combined with his opportunistic striking to control the fight from start to finish.

Evloev and Topuria have gone at it on social media for months, stemming from when their pre-scheduled fight at UFC 270 was canceled due to an Evloev withdrawal. Ever since then, Topuria has been on the hunt and aimed at Evloev for allegedly ducking him.

Most UFC fans expected Evloev to call out Topuria in his post-fight interview, but he instead called for a fight with Arnold Allen. This prompted a heated reply on social media from Topuria.

“[Movsar Evloev] You fight shamefully!” Topuria tweeted following the fight. “Another decision without any attempt to finish it. On top of that you don’t know how to speak. You don’t have the balls to call me out! Now everyone can really see how you run away! Shamefully.”

Topuria reportedly has a fight lined up with Edson Barboza for a to-be-determined date. The promotion hasn’t confirmed the booking, but it is allegedly in the works.

Just last month, the two featherweights went at it on social media and laid the groundwork for a potential fight after their earlier failed booking. Evloev said that Topuria would need to crack the top 10 to deserve a fight with him.

Both fighters seem to have different targets for their next fights, but a featherweight grudge match between Evloev and Topuria could be on the horizon.

Did you want Movsar Evloev to call out Ilia Topuria following UFC Vegas 56?

Continue Reading Ilia Topuria Takes Aim At Movsar Evloev For ‘Shameful’ UFC Vegas 56 Win at MMA News.