Cris Cyborg Finishes Yana Kunitskaya In First Round

Cris Cyborg made short work of an aggressive Yana Kunitskaya. Featherweight bruisers took the stage in the main event of UFC 222. Cyborg put her women’s featherweight title on the line against Kunitskaya. The championship tilt served as UFC 222’s main event. Cyborg immediately moved forward and landed a right hand. Kunitskaya got the takedown […]

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Cris Cyborg made short work of an aggressive Yana Kunitskaya.

Featherweight bruisers took the stage in the main event of UFC 222. Cyborg put her women’s featherweight title on the line against Kunitskaya. The championship tilt served as UFC 222’s main event.

Cyborg immediately moved forward and landed a right hand. Kunitskaya got the takedown and tried to take the back. Cyborg stood up and tied up her opponent. They traded knees to the body with Kunitskaya in the dominant position.

Cyborg landed a knee to the body and powered her way out. A left hand dropped Kunitskaya. Cyborg grabbed a leg and knocked her opponent down again with a right hand. Some ground-and-pound and the fight was over.

Final Result: Cris Cyborg def. Yana Kunitskaya via TKO (strikes) – R1, 3:25

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Cris Cyborg Overwhelms Yana Kunitskaya For First Round Knockout

Round 1: Kunitskaya opens up with a front kick and Cyborg responds with a heavy overhand that rocks her. Kunitskaya takes down Cyborg adn takes the back, but Cyborg stands and gets her off. Kunitskaya presses Cyborg against the cage and eats some knees…

Round 1: Kunitskaya opens up with a front kick and Cyborg responds with a heavy overhand that rocks her. Kunitskaya takes down Cyborg adn takes the back, but Cyborg stands and gets her off. Kunitskaya presses Cyborg against the cage and eats some knees from Cyborg. More knees from Cyborg, who’s still against the cage, who then […]

UFC 222 Is An Event For The Future Of MMA

In a few hours, tonight’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 will begin from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s not the most star-studded card by any means, and it even lost its main event when featherweight champ Max Holloway was forced out of his anticipated showdown with Frankie Edgar, a bout that was […]

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In a few hours, tonight’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 will begin from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It’s not the most star-studded card by any means, and it even lost its main event when featherweight champ Max Holloway was forced out of his anticipated showdown with Frankie Edgar, a bout that was replaced by an impromptu women’s featherweight match-up between champ Cris Cyborg and Yana Yunitskaya.

‘The Answer’ stayed on the card as well, taking a huge risk in facing surging contender Brian Ortega in a co-main event where his reward will be the positioning he already had. It’s a great fight, the legend vs. upstart cliché at the highest level and an under-the-radar candidate for the most compelling match-up of 2018 thus far. Unfortunately, however, that almost certainly won’t add up to a high number of pay-per-view buys alone in the currently fickle, MMA-swamped climate.

But UFC 222 isn’t only about time-honored and battle-tested vets like Cyborg and Edgar – far from it, in fact.

The event from top to bottom is a showcase of hyped-up young talent that could represent the future of the UFC in the form of potential stars in Ortega, bantamweight Sean O’Malley, and women’s strawweight Mackenzie Dern.

And the UFC needs new stars.

Following a banner 2016 where Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey propelled the promotion to an unheard-of string of million-plus pay-per-view buys, the company was sold to Endeavor (formerly WME-IMG) and has since sunk to a concerning valley of low numbers on both pay and cable television.

I won’t delve into the details, some in Endeavor’s control and some out of, of why that has happened – much of the MMA world, including myself, has been guilty of harping too much on the supposed demise of the UFC and MMA as a whole to the point we may not appreciate the crop of insanely amazing, hard-working, and talented fighters we have competing right before our very eyes.

UFC 222 is a showcase of just that, one the likes of which fans rarely get treated to because it’s so difficult to have go off without a hitch.

Photo: Kyle Terada for USA TODAY Sports

Ortega has won five straight bouts after a no contest due to a failed drug test in his first Octagon appearance; the Gracie jiu-jitsu product steadily dispatched an improving caliber of talent by way of submission and T/KO in a manner we rarely find.

True, he’s hittable as we’ve seen in a few of his recent bouts, namely his scintillating submission over top-ranked veteran Cub Swanson in his last fight. He can also snatch a fight-ending hold on the best literally out of thin air, as we saw in his scintillating submission over Swanson. Ortega is fully deserving of his Top 3 ranking.

He’s also a man with a focus on philanthropy after having risen above a potential life of gangs, so the California-based Ortega is a refreshing, unique personality who could become a champion unlike we’ve ever seen.

Stephen R. Sylvanie for USA TODAY Sports

O’Malley, a lithe bantamweight who first made his debut with a first-round knockout on ‘Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series,’ is a much different kind of prospect.

The brash young knockout artist then won his official debut by unanimous decision over Terrion Ware at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 26 Finale in December.

He’ll now face Andre Soukhamthath in his second UFC match-up, and he has future star written all over him. He’s confident, even cocky, and his accurate striking style makes ‘Suga’ just the kind of fighter fans will pay to see compete.

Dern needs nary an introduction.

The daughter of Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Wellington “Megaton” Dias, Dern is one of few grapplers to defeat Gabi Garcia in the gi, and has transitioned well into MMA so far with an undefeated 5-0 record. She’ll now fight in the big leagues when she meets Ashley Yoder in the featured preliminary bout at UFC 222.

She’s long been billed as “the next Ronda Rousey” for somewhat obvious reasons, yet Dern has repeatedly stressed she wants to separate herself and make her own impact.

That could start tonight, and the entirety of MMA will be watching to see if the Dern hype train will truly kick into high gear in 2018.

All of it adds up to UFC 222 being a rare, exciting card where the potential future stars of MMA are competing, even if it doesn’t break the bank in terms of PPV buys. These three competitors have so much talent and charisma that it could be said Ortega, O’Malley, and Dern will still become future stars in the UFC no matter if they win or lose at UFC 222.

After such a down period, the sport needs them and fighters just like them, and that’s why this card is so special.

Take a break from the oft-discussed downfall of MMA, look at the card, sit back, and enjoy a night that could possibly be referenced as the starting point of something special.

I’ll take my own advice.

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Betting Odds For UFC 222: Top Fighter Favored Big

UFC 222 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, March 3, 2018) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass 6:30 […]

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UFC 222 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, March 3, 2018) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass 6:30 p.m. ET.

Cris Cyborg vs. Yana Kunitskaya in a female featherweight title bout will serve as the headliner while Frankie Edgar vs. Brian Ortega in a featherweight bout will serve as the co-main event. Rounding out this fight bout card is Sean O’Malley vs. Andre Soukhamthath in a bantamweight bout. Stefan Struve vs. Andrei Arlovski in a heavyweight bout, and Cat Zingano vs. Ketlen Vieira in a female bantamweight bout.

According to oddsmakers, Cyborg is a -1700 favorite over Kunitskaya, who is a +1100 underdog. Other odds for the main card include Ortega being a +150 underdog against Edgar, who is a -170 favorite. Here are the full betting odds:

MAIN CARD (PPV/10 p.m. ET)

Cristiane Justino (-1700) vs. Yana Kunitskaya (+1100)

Frankie Edgar (-170) vs. Brian Ortega (+150)

Andre Soukhamthath (-140) vs. Sean O’Malley (+120)

Stefan Struve (-185) vs. Andrei Arlovski (+160)

Ketlen Vieira (-145) vs. Cat Zingano (+125)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1/8 p.m. ET)

Mackenzie Dern (-380) vs. Ashley Yoder (+315)

Beneil Dariush (-380) vs. Alexander Hernandez (+315)

John Dodson (-175) vs. Pedro Munhoz (+155)

Hector Lombard (-145) vs. C.B. Dollaway (+125)

Zak Ottow (-280) vs. Mike Pyle (+240)

Cody Stamann (-165) vs. Bryan Caraway (+145)

Jordan Johnson (-310) vs. Adam Milstead (+255)

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UFC 222 Ceremonial Weigh-In Video

The stage is nearly set for tomorrow’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fighters participating in the pay-per-view event weighed in an today’s official early weigh-ins, and each fighter made weight without instance for this card. The event features a late-notice women’s featherweight title fight between Cris Cyborg […]

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The stage is nearly set for tomorrow’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fighters participating in the pay-per-view event weighed in an today’s official early weigh-ins, and each fighter made weight without instance for this card.

The event features a late-notice women’s featherweight title fight between Cris Cyborg and Invicta FC bantamweight champion Yana Kunitskaya, and the event also has the potential to be a huge leaping point for future stars like Brian Ortega, who will meet stalwart contender Frankie Edgar in the co-main event, Mackenzie Dern, who will face Ashley Yoder in her UFC debut, and exciting bantamweight Sean O’Malley.

All that’s left before they square off in Sin City tomorrow night is to step on the scales and face off, so watch the UFC 222 ceremonial weigh-in video streaming live at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST right here:

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UFC 222 Staff Predictions: Win A Copy of UFC 3 For Xbox One

Fight fans it’s fight week, as UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya goes down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday. As always, that means it’s time for three of MMANews’ finest to bring you their expert analysis and pr…

Fight fans it’s fight week, as UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya goes down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday. As always, that means it’s time for three of MMANews’ finest to bring you their expert analysis and predictions for the main card of this Saturday’s big event. CONTEST: We are giving […]