Tag: UFC

Jon Jones Open to Dropping UFC Heavyweight Title, Pitches Alex Pereira ‘BMF’ Fight

Ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 309 on Saturday, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones revealed that he’d be willing to relinquish…

Ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 309 on Saturday, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones revealed that he’d be willing to relinquish…

Kai Asakura’s Last Opponent Analyzes How He Will Fair At Flyweight    

In the build up to UFC 310 on December 7, a lot of fights fans are going to get introduced to Kai Asakura for the very first time. The Japanese star is set to challenge Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title on his debut with the promotion after signing to the UFC from RIZIN. Alongside […]

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In the build up to UFC 310 on December 7, a lot of fights fans are going to get introduced to Kai Asakura for the very first time. The Japanese star is set to challenge Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title on his debut with the promotion after signing to the UFC from RIZIN.

Alongside fighting in Las Vegas for the first time, this massive opportunity for Asakura also comes with a change in weight class. During his career in RIZIN, the 31-year old competed mostly at bantamweight against the likes of Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi.

In his last outing in Japan before making the switch to his new home, Asakura defeated former Bellator champion Juan Archuleta to win the bantamweight title. He secured the second round finish on New Year’s Eve to cap off his run in style.

Speaking in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Archuleta gave his thoughts on Asakura signing to the UFC and how he believes he will compete at the top of the flyweight division. Having remained in contact with his former opponent since their fight in December, he was able to share some first-hand impressions of what the UFC’s new arrival will look like at 125-pounds.

“I think he’s very explosive. It seems like he’s really getting his body in tune. Last time I seen him when I was in Japan, he was a lot smaller than when we fought and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re doing well’. I reached out to him last night actually because he was posting some Instagram pictures. I was like, ‘Hey, how you feeling?’ He’s like, ‘Oh I’m so ready, I’m so excited,’ and this is a new venture for him, this is something that he wanted and wanted to do going forward and I’m super excited.

“I mean, and it’s a title fight right off the bat like not many guys get a title right in the UFC right off the bat and so it’s like go get it man. You have the tools and the athleticism to go get it done and I think he’s well prepared now. I think he got down to a weight class, Japanese guys aren’t very dense in their muscles but they’re very explosive.”   

Continue Reading Kai Asakura’s Last Opponent Analyzes How He Will Fair At Flyweight     at MMA News.

Jon Jones’ Coach Predicts Stipe Miocic’s Approach For UFC 309

Jon Jones returns in the main event of UFC 309 this Saturday night for what is just his second outing as a heavyweight. During his incredible light heavyweight title run, “Bones” was always one of the hardest fighters to predict or prepare for because he’s so good everywhere. Opponents could watch as much tape as […]

Continue Reading Jon Jones’ Coach Predicts Stipe Miocic’s Approach For UFC 309 at MMA News.

Jon Jones returns in the main event of UFC 309 this Saturday night for what is just his second outing as a heavyweight. During his incredible light heavyweight title run, “Bones” was always one of the hardest fighters to predict or prepare for because he’s so good everywhere.

Opponents could watch as much tape as humanly possible but ultimately, there’s no way to experience what it’s like to share the Octagon with the consensus greatest of all time other than physically being in there with him. This is even more true since he moved to heavyweight because of the lack of footage that is out there of him.

His heavyweight debut at UFC 285 against Ciryl Gane ended in just over two minutes so we still don’t really know how good Jones is at heavyweight. This creates a problem for Stipe Miocic and his team when it comes to strategizing for November 16.

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Jones’ long-time striking coach Brandon Gibson spoke about what he would do if he found himself in their opposition’s shoes and had to plan for a fight against the heavyweight champion. Suffice to say that Gibson is glad that he’s on this side of the Octagon rather than the other.

“That team at Strong Style, obviously they’ve built a lot of great fighters and built Stipe into an incredible champ so I’m not gonna presume what I believe their game plan would be. I think through Jon’s 16 championship fights and 27 fights total that you could definitely plot little elements here and there of when Jon has been hit or hit clean. I think it’s very hard to replicate and to duplicate.

“You know if I were them, I would just be training Stipe to be the best Stipe out there. We’re anticipating him to come out aggressive like he has shown in the past and on the other hand, if I were to coach against Jon Jones, I think that’s the hardest puzzle as a coach in this entire sport to solve. Nobody has solved it yet and I think they’re the ones with their hands full.”     

Continue Reading Jon Jones’ Coach Predicts Stipe Miocic’s Approach For UFC 309 at MMA News.

Bo Nickal Expected To Be Bigger Favorite Than -1000 Over Paul Craig: ‘The People Know Who’s Going To Win’

UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal is no longer shocked to see his pre-fight betting lines reaching four figures on the minus side. Nickal will return for his second assignment of this year at Saturday’s UFC 309 pay-per-view. The Jon Jones-headlined event goes down from inside the prestigious surroundings of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. […]

Continue Reading Bo Nickal Expected To Be Bigger Favorite Than -1000 Over Paul Craig: ‘The People Know Who’s Going To Win’ at MMA News.

UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal is no longer shocked to see his pre-fight betting lines reaching four figures on the minus side.

Nickal will return for his second assignment of this year at Saturday’s UFC 309 pay-per-view. The Jon Jones-headlined event goes down from inside the prestigious surroundings of New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Having started life on MMA’s biggest stage with three wins to extend his perfect professional record to 6-0, the three-time NCAA Division I national champion and three-time Big Ten Conference champion out of Pennsylvania State University is set for a step up in competition.

On this weekend’s main card, the 28-year-old Colorado native will share the cage with a man formerly ranked at both middleweight and light heavyweight in Craig. Despite his credentials and notable wins, not many are giving “Bearjew” a chance of victory.

That includes the oddsmakers, most of whom set Nickal’s opening line close to or above -1000. Currently, the American has climbed to -1200 on DraftKings.

During an appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Nickal was asked whether he’s shocked to be so heavily favored over a name who boasts wins over the likes of Magomed Ankalaev and Jamahal Hill.

“No, the odds don’t really surprise me. I actually figured they would be even crazier,” Nickal said. “It’s almost like a mania. Every time I come to fight, I think the people know who is going to win. So it’s all good.”

Nickal will hope to prove that he’s not being overestimated and Craig underestimated come fight night in “The Big Apple” this weekend by dispatching the Scottish veteran in emphatic fashion.

Should he accomplish that feat, the credentialed wrestler would move closer to earning a number next to his name at 185 pounds and being placed in matchups against the elite of the division.

Continue Reading Bo Nickal Expected To Be Bigger Favorite Than -1000 Over Paul Craig: ‘The People Know Who’s Going To Win’ at MMA News.

UFC Announces Return To London For A Fight Night On March 22

The Octagon is returning to London, England in 2025 for a Fight Night event that will take place at the O2 Arena on March 22. Crucially, as was stated in the announcement via UFC Europe, the event will take place at prime time in the UK unlike UFC 304 that was held earlier this year. […]

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The Octagon is returning to London, England in 2025 for a Fight Night event that will take place at the O2 Arena on March 22. Crucially, as was stated in the announcement via UFC Europe, the event will take place at prime time in the UK unlike UFC 304 that was held earlier this year.

In July, the promotion hosted an event as the new Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester and due to it being a PPV card, the fights took place throughout Saturday night and well into the early hours of Sunday morning in order to cater for the US audience.

The fact that this card will be a Fight Night event rather than a PPV card means that the English fans will have to wait a bit longer before the interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall returns on home soil after successfully defending his belt in a rematch with Curtis Blaydes earlier this year.

London’s last UFC event was also headlined by Aspinall in his return from injury where he faced Marcin Tybura and finished him in the first round. The event in July of 2023 also featured the likes of Molly McCann, Nathaniel Wood, Paul Craig and Lerone Murphy.

When looking at potential main events for this card, several Brits are all in position for big fights in the near future.

Both Arnold Allen and Murphy have their eyes on the featherweight top 10 as well as welterweights like Michael “Venom” Page or a returning Leon Edwards being potential candidates. Paddy Pimblett would undoubtedly sell the Arena out all by himself but it seems likely that his next outing will be on PPV once again.

The UFC isn’t going to be hard pressed to fill this card with home crowd favorites as is often the case when the Octagon makes the trip across the pond.

Continue Reading UFC Announces Return To London For A Fight Night On March 22 at MMA News.

Jon Jones ‘Healed Enough’ For UFC 309 Return But ‘Not As Strong’ As Pre-Injury 

UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has provided an update on his physical condition ahead of this weekend’s pay-per-view. Jones will return to the main event spotlight on Saturday night to headline UFC 309, set to play out inside the prestigious Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Rochester native was previously slated to do […]

Continue Reading Jon Jones ‘Healed Enough’ For UFC 309 Return But ‘Not As Strong’ As Pre-Injury  at MMA News.

UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has provided an update on his physical condition ahead of this weekend’s pay-per-view.

Jones will return to the main event spotlight on Saturday night to headline UFC 309, set to play out inside the prestigious Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The Rochester native was previously slated to do so for the promotion’s 2023 visit to the iconic venue, but a torn pectoral tendon forced a postponement of his title defense against the returning Stipe Miocic.

12 months on — and despite many taking issue with “Bones” facing Miocic over interim champ Tom Aspinall — the pair will give their matchup a second go in “The Big Apple.”

Jones is unsurprisingly confident of his chances against Miocic, who hasn’t competed in three and a half years. But he seemingly wouldn’t describe himself as being at 100 percent himself when he enters the Octagon again.

During a recent interview with New York Post Sports, Jones looked back on his recovery and assessed how his training has compared to the lead-up to his canceled clash with Miocic last year.

“Bones” admitted that his strength is somewhat down from this time 12 months ago and suggested that other competitors might not be returning from a pectoral tear at this stage.

“I took my recovery pretty seriously. Right now, I feel like I’m in the shape of my life,” Jones said. “This is about as soon as I should be back in the cage. The injury was anywhere from eight months to a year. … Some athletes would still be using this time to recover but I know this sport only waits for so long.

“I do feel healed enough to be in there. I’m not as strong as I used to be but I’m smarter than ever, I have a lot of experience, and I’m plenty strong,” Jones continued. “Before my pec tear, I was benching like, 315 (pounds) I could do for five reps and I had about a 500-pound squat for a few reps. I was pretty strong. Now, I feel incredibly strong still but not like, superhuman strength the way I used to feel.”

While apparently not in the kind of condition he was set to enter UFC 295 in last year, Jones is evidently confident that he’s ready to make his return 20 months on from his crowning as heavyweight kingpin.

Continue Reading Jon Jones ‘Healed Enough’ For UFC 309 Return But ‘Not As Strong’ As Pre-Injury  at MMA News.