Tag: UFC

Daniel Cormier: McGregor Had ‘Great Power’ At 145, But Not The ‘Skills’ Of Topuria

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier is full of praise for featherweight kingpin Ilia Topuria following this weekend’s pay-per-view event. Topuria cemented his grip on the crown at 145 pounds on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, where he headlined UFC 308 opposite fan-favorite legend Max Holloway eight months on from his knockout of Alexander Volkanovski. Despite […]

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier: McGregor Had ‘Great Power’ At 145, But Not The ‘Skills’ Of Topuria at MMA News.

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier is full of praise for featherweight kingpin Ilia Topuria following this weekend’s pay-per-view event.

Topuria cemented his grip on the crown at 145 pounds on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, where he headlined UFC 308 opposite fan-favorite legend Max Holloway eight months on from his knockout of Alexander Volkanovski.

Despite being faced with a previously indestructible chin, “El Matador” vowed to put Holloway down for the first time. And against the predictions of many, the 27-year-old did just that after connecting with a vicious left hook in round three.

With the result, Topuria has added a successful defense to his reign, remained undefeated in MMA, and staked a strong claim for 2024’s Fighter of the Year accolade.

Among those running out of superlatives for the Spaniard is Cormier, who analyzed where the champ sits among the all-time featherweight greats during a video uploaded to his YouTube channel.

Plenty of comparisons have been made between Topuria and Conor McGregor in recent times, and the Irishman has even dismissed the reigning titleholder’s talents compared to his featherweight iteration.

“DC,” however, sees parts of “El Matador’s” game that go above and beyond McGregor’s.

“I don’t know if we have ever seen a guy at 145 that punches like this dude. He hits like no one I’ve ever seen before,” Cormier said. “Conor McGregor had great power at 145, but Conor McGregor I don’t think had the skills that Ilia Topuria has in terms of his pure boxing, without going and fighting a pure boxing match.

“I was talking to some of the people in the back and they told me, ‘He’s like GGG (Gennadiy Golovkin),’ and I agree. Remember GGG just used to starch dudes early in his career? Topuria’s like that. Topuria is that guy,” Cormier continued. “He has that power to knock you out and just do it in absolutely devastating fashion. You try to find the words to describe him, but it’s proving very, very difficult. I never thought that anybody would be able to knock out Max Holloway.”

While getting McGregor back to the cage to fight Michael Chandler proved too much of a challenge in recent years, talk of him doing battle with Topuria has suddenly gained strength in the aftermath of UFC 308.

Volkanovski will evidently have something to say about that, however, having been confirmed as next in line for Topuria by UFC CEO Dana White following the Abu Dhabi-held PPV.

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier: McGregor Had ‘Great Power’ At 145, But Not The ‘Skills’ Of Topuria at MMA News.

UFC Madrid? Ilia Topuria Dreams Big with a Blockbuster Fight at Bernabeu Stadium

UFC Madrid Ilia Topuria Bernabeu Stadium SpainIlia Topuria recently made headlines with a stunning victory at UFC 308, where he defended his featherweight title against…

UFC Madrid Ilia Topuria Bernabeu Stadium Spain

Ilia Topuria recently made headlines with a stunning victory at UFC 308, where he defended his featherweight title against Max Holloway. Following this victory, Topuria expressed his dream of hosting a UFC event at Real Madrid’s iconic Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. He has even reached out to UFC President Dana White to discuss making this dream a reality.

UFC Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Spain

Ilia Topuria’s connection to the Bernabéu is personal; he is a lifelong fan of Real Madrid and had the opportunity to experience the stadium atmosphere earlier this year when he attended a match after winning the title from Alexander Volkanovski. The recent renovations to the stadium, including a new roof, have made it even more suitable for large events. An AI-generated visualization by Casasdeapuestas.bet has depicted what such a UFC event might look like if it were held there in 2025.

UFC Madrid Ilia Topuria Bernabeu Stadium Spain
UFC Madrid Ilia Topuria Bernabeu Stadium Spain
UFC Madrid Ilia Topuria Bernabeu Stadium Spain

Ilia Topuria

The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, with a capacity of nearly 78,300. This would be a significant milestone for Ilia Topuria, who wants to bring glory back to the stadium through his fights. His recent knockout of Holloway has sparked excitement about the possibility of a UFC event in Spain, something that Dana White seems eager to pursue. He acknowledged that Ilia Topuria’s performance has increased interest in bringing the UFC to Spain and indicated that they are working on logistics for such an event.

Dana White explained:

“I want to go to Spain as bad as Spain wants us to come, so we’re working on it. We’ll get it done there. There’s never been a time where we said we’re going to do something and we don’t do it. We figure it out, and we’ll get it done. It’s important for me to go to Spain in ’25, so we’ll figure it out. This business is star driven, so when we have a South African (champion like Dricus Du Plessis), we want to get to Africa.

“When we have somebody from Spain, we want to get into Spain. Georgia, yes – the answer is yes. We haven’t looked into that yet or what it would take to pull off an event near there.

“We’re still trying to figure out Spain with the arena situation. But when you look at the performance that Topuria had tonight, we need to get to Spain and figure it out. If we have to (go to a stadium), we will. I’d prefer not to. All the arenas were booked up. We’re trying to figure it out. But if I have to go to a stadium (for Topuria in Spain), we will” [Ht MMA Junkie]

Chuck Liddell Talks Dream Showdown Beating Jon Jones: ‘He couldn’t take me down’

Chuck Liddell vs Jon JonesFormer UFC light heavyweight champion ‘The Iceman’ Chuck Liddell would have loved to have a matchup against the all-time…

Chuck Liddell vs Jon Jones

Former UFC light heavyweight champion ‘The Iceman’ Chuck Liddell would have loved to have a matchup against the all-time great ‘Bones’ Jon Jones in the octagon.

Chuck Liddell vs. Jon Jones

The US-born Chuck Liddell was a striker in the UFC who was feared for his impressive punching power. Throughout his MMA career, he was able to capture the light heavyweight world championship and defend it in four bouts. He is a UFC Hall of Fame athlete due to his influence in coaching The Ultimate Fighter season 1 putting MMA into the mainstream. Additionally, he had blockbuster matchups against Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, and Quinton ‘Rampage‘ Jackson.

All-time great Jon ‘Bones’ Jones was able to capture the light heavyweight crown in 2011 and rack up a highly impressive 11 defenses of this title. Along the way, he defeated notable athletes such as Rashad Evans, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, Daniel Cormier, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Lyoto Machida, and Glover Teixeira, among others.

Jon Jones

‘The Iceman‘ said that one of his biggest career regrets is not getting the matchup booked against Jon Jones. There was some overlap with Jones making his UFC debut in 2008 and Liddell fought in the UFC until 2010. However, ‘The Iceman’ was aging out by this point having earned a 0-3 in the UFC post 2008.

Chuck Liddell

Regardless, Chuck Liddell still wanted the showdown and believed he would have given ‘Bones’ some problems. Speaking on the JAXXON PODCAST, Liddell explained:

“That’s why I always said I would’ve been a bad matchup for [Jones] cause I’m probably one of the few guys where he would have a hard time dictating where I fought him. You know, I would’ve fought him. He would’ve had to fight me standing up, he couldn’t outwrestle me. He couldn’t take me down…He wouldn’t have been able to take me down. He would’ve had to strike with me.”

Mauricio Ruffy Gets New Opponent For UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic Prelim

Highly touted lightweight prospect Mauricio Ruffy has a new foe to prepare for weeks out from the UFC 309 pay-per-view in New York City. After earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last year, Ruffy announced himself as one of the most promising up-and-comers at 155 pounds when he debuted in style this past […]

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Highly touted lightweight prospect Mauricio Ruffy has a new foe to prepare for weeks out from the UFC 309 pay-per-view in New York City.

After earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last year, Ruffy announced himself as one of the most promising up-and-comers at 155 pounds when he debuted in style this past May.

At UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, “One Shot” unloaded his arsenal on Jamie Mullarkey before utilizing a flying knee to set up a first-round knockout. The result left the Fighting Nerds standout riding a streak of five consecutive finishes with strikes.

Ruffy will look to keep his ball rolling at next month’s UFC 309 event, but not at the expense of the man he was originally lined up to face.

The Brazilian was added to the card in a matchup against Charlie Campbell, who has won both of his UFC fights to date. The American, however, was forced to withdraw, marking the latest issue in booking Ruffy’s return. He’d previously had plans for outings at UFC 303 and UFC 307 fall through.

Thankfully, the promotion has been able to secure a replacement opponent for the 28-year-old.

Mauricio Ruffy
UFC 309’s Mauricio Ruffy (Image: Alexandre Loureiro/UFC/Zuffa LLC)

Following the collapse of the Campbell matchup, Ruffy is now set to share the cage with James Llontop at UFC 309. The short-notice lightweight bout was first reported by Te La Canté MMA and later confirmed by Eurosport Nederland’s Marcel Dorff.

Peru’s Llontop has lost both of his UFC fights since a victory on DWCS in 2023, most recently falling on the wrong side of a split decision verdict opposite Viacheslav Borshchev in August.

With this addition, the current fights expected to take place at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 are as follows:

Main Card:

  • Light Heavyweight Championship Main Event: Jon Jones (C) vs. Stipe Miocic
  • Lightweight Co-Main Event: Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler
  • Women’s Flyweight: Viviane Araújo vs. Karine Silva
  • Middleweight: Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig
  • Middleweight: Eryk Anders vs. Chris Weidman

Preliminary Card:

  • Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy vs. James llontop
  • Light Heavyweight: Nikita Krylov vs. Azamat Murzakanov
  • Bantamweight: Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
  • Lightweight: Jim Miller vs. Damon Jackson

Early Preliminary Card: 

  • Welterweight: Mickey Gall vs. Ramiz Brahimaj
  • Welterweight: Bassil Hafez vs. Oban Elliott
  • Women’s Flyweight: Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura

Continue Reading Mauricio Ruffy Gets New Opponent For UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic Prelim at MMA News.

Aleksandar Raki? On UFC 308 Loss To Ankalaev: ‘The Decision Could Go Either Way’

UFC light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Raki? evidently believes he was unlucky not to leave the United Arab Emirates with a win added to his record this past weekend. Raki? slumped to 0-2 in 2024 at Saturday’s UFC 308 pay-per-view. He met the division’s top-ranked contender, Magomed Ankalaev, on the main card inside Abu Dhabi’s Etihad […]

Continue Reading Aleksandar Raki? On UFC 308 Loss To Ankalaev: ‘The Decision Could Go Either Way’ at MMA News.

UFC light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Raki? evidently believes he was unlucky not to leave the United Arab Emirates with a win added to his record this past weekend.

Raki? slumped to 0-2 in 2024 at Saturday’s UFC 308 pay-per-view. He met the division’s top-ranked contender, Magomed Ankalaev, on the main card inside Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena.

The bout went the distance, with the Dagestani securing three 29-28 scorecards to extend his unbeaten run to 13 straight fights and once again stake his claim for a long-desired shot at Alex Pereira.

In terms of the result, most appeared to share the same view as the judges. On MMA Decisions, all 14 media members who submitted scorecards had Ankalaev winning, with half giving him all three rounds. Just over 85 percent of fan scorecards, meanwhile, also went the way of the Russian.

The defeated Raki?, however, seemingly saw it as a fifty-fifty fight…

“I‘m proud of the support my country my dear people !! Last night I had a competitive fight against the No.1 ranked guy in the world I am proud of my achievement; the decision could go either way,” Raki? wrote on Instagram. “Thanks to my family, friends & team !!!
I‘ll rest couple days and get back to work ? | #UFC308 ??”

The contest marked Raki?’s second since recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in an Apex main event opposite Jan B?achowicz back in May 2022. He made his return this past April at UFC 300, where his strong start against Ji?í Procházka was rendered null when he faded and was finished in round two.

Having fallen short against two names above him in the pecking order this year to send him on a three-fight losing skid, “Rocket” will likely be tasked with defending his #5 spot on the ladder next time out.

Continue Reading Aleksandar Raki? On UFC 308 Loss To Ankalaev: ‘The Decision Could Go Either Way’ at MMA News.