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Chookagian is replacing Andrade, who replaced Chookagian.

Manon Fiorot has a new opponent for her UFC Paris fight… or does she?

The women’s flyweight standout was supposed to face Jessica Andrade on September 3rd in the French capital, but Andrade withdrew due to what MMA Fighting learned was “medical issues.” Subbing in for Andrade is none other than one-time title challenger Katlyn Chookagian, who was Fiorot’s original opponent before she withdrew due to undisclosed reasons.

Chookagian (18-4) is the No. 1 ranked contender in the division and currently boasts a four-fight winning streak, including a Fight of the Night win over Amanda Ribas, as well as decisions over Cynthia Calvillo, Jennifer Maia, and Viviane Araujo. Her last loss came via first-round TKO to Jessica Andrade in late 2020.

Fiorot (9-1) has quickly risen up the ranks as one of the bright young stars of the women’s flyweight division. She’s won nine in a row since her pro debut loss to Leah McCourt, including four victories in the UFC. After consecutive stoppages of Victoria Leonardo and Tabatha Ricci, Fiorot established her contender status with decision wins over Mayra Bueno Silva and former title challenger Jennifer Maia. The latest rankings have Fiorot at No. 6, so a win could put her on the cusp of a title shot.

UFC Paris, the promotion’s first ever show in France, is set to be headlined by a heavyweight bout between former interim champion Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa.

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According to manager Ali Abdelaziz, Frankie Edgar wants his last fight at Madison Square Garden against “whoever the promotion puts in front of him.”

Former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar suffered what could be the most brutal loss of his career at UFC 268 last November. It was a front kick knockout at the hands of Marlon Vera, which if you’re a fan of “The Answer,” probably left a sting that lasted for a good few days.

But even after that devastating defeat, Edgar still refused to entertain retirement.

“I know I got a lot left to give to this sport in many ways,” he said days after UFC 268. “My spirit doesn’t want to be done. That’s for sure. I feel I can still do this at a high level. I was doing it at a high level two nights ago. And I got caught with a good shot.”

The tides seemed to have turned the other direction recently. TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter recently posted this tweet, highlighting a conversation he supposedly had with Edgar’s manager Ali Abdelaziz.

Edgar, who turns 41 this October, is currently on a two-fight skid, both of which ended via highlight reel KOs. He holds a record of 24-10-1.

UFC 281 is set to take place on November 12.

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Get a unique rundown on all the awards that should have been handed out at UFC Long Island with Dayne Fox’s Unofficial Awards.

On the whole UFC Long Island was a fantastic card. Eight Performance Bonuses were handed out, indicative of how awesome the action in the Octagon was. However, it ended on a sour note due to Brian Ortega suffered a separated shoulder right as it appeared he was making his move to submit Yair Rodriguez, awarding Rodriguez an anticlimactic win. The victory could launch Rodriguez into a title fight with Alexander Volkanovski, but this outcome waters down the hype that would surround that fight if it were to be booked. However, there will be plenty of articles discussing that. I’m here to touch on the other fights and happenings on the card, dishing out my Unofficial Awards.

For a different perspective on how the event played out, click here. For an audio recap, click here.

Biggest Jump in Stock: Hands down, this spot belongs to Matt Schnell. He had boosted his stock in his loss to Brandon Royval earlier this year, pushing the action minded flyweight in a way that he hadn’t been previously. This time around, Schnell followed up a rock solid performance in the first round against Su Mudaerji by coming back from the edge of defeat to put Mudaerji to sleep in a triangle choke. Schnell has been considered to be chinny for quite a while, making his comeback all that more incredible. Mudaerji landed both some heavy elbows and punches that had Schnell doing the stanky leg. Somehow, Schnell ate several of those shots, hurting Mudaerji a couple of times on the feet before getting the fight to the mat for the finish. Possessing two of the most exciting rounds of the year in his back pocket in separate contests, Schnell has risen his status into an action fighter after many had labeled him as nothing more than a solid gatekeeper.

Biggest Fall in Stock: This is a hard spot to figure. Nobody completely fell off a cliff, but Muslim Salikhov did look far older than he had in his previous appearance. I suppose that shouldn’t be a huge surprise given Salikhov is 38 and last fought over a year ago. But what was really shocking was how Salikhov appeared to age in between rounds. He arguably won the first round, but came out in the second struggling to pull the trigger. When he did throw, Jingliang Li was able to see what was coming without issue. Fighting is a tricky enough sport that it might be a bit unfair to label him as shot after one disappointing performance, but Salikhov’s age has been something we’ve all been keeping our eye on for a while. It looks like it finally caught up to him.

Best Newcomer: There was only one newcomer on the card, but it was nonetheless and impressive performance from Emily Ducote. Even if the division is on the shallow side – despite what the announcers were saying, strawweight isn’t that deep – coming in and getting a win over a ranked opponent is always an impressive feat. Ducote displayed patience and discipline, realizing her strategy to take out the legs of Jessica Penne was working and never deviating. It’s plausible Ducote could face an opponent in the top ten next.

Start Typing a Resume: There was no denying the talent of Dalcha Lungiambula. An explosive athlete with one-punch power, he could be a real difference maker… if it wasn’t for his squat frame. Too short for both light heavyweight and middleweight, there’s no way he would have ever been able to make it to welterweight. Thus, the former multi-division champion out of South Africa faced an uphill battle from the get-go. Following this loss, he now sits at 2-4 in the UFC, including three in a row. Unless the UFC ends up putting on an event in Africa sometime soon, I think this is the end of the road.

Uncle Dana doesn’t take well to guys who appear to quit. There’s a lot to unpack with what happened to Herbert Burns, but after he burned up his gas tank, he didn’t want to be there. That isn’t to say his knee wasn’t injured. That isn’t to say he didn’t come close to winning when he had Bill Algeo trapped in the triangle choke for what seemed to be an eternity. But as soon as things started going against him, Burns quit, going through the motions so he could say the referee forced the end of the fight. I’ve said many times that being a fighter takes a special breed. Burns doesn’t appear to have the mentality it takes to reach the highest level. That’s not me saying Burns isn’t talented or that he is a bad person. That’s me saying I think he’d be happier doing something else. Given his BJJ talents, there’s no shame in him focusing strictly on BJJ or being a trainer. It gets him out of the spotlight and away from the heat that’s coming his way from the MMA Twitterverse.

At 37 with three consecutive losses – and four in his last five appearances – I’d say it’s safe to say we’ve seen the last of Dwight Grant in the UFC. He provided some nice highlights such as his brawl with Daniel Rodriguez and his KO of Carlo Pedersoli, but the rest of Grant’s stint was populated with mostly boring contests that saw him reluctant to let his hands fly. Thus, Grant’s UFC legacy will likely be that of an underachiever.

Saved Their Job(s): It was a bit of a shock to the system to see Punahele Soriano go from being one of the better prospects at middleweight to being on the verge of receiving a pink slip. Regardless, Soriano used some takedown attempts and feints to open up his striking, eventually finding a powerful left hand off a counter to floor Lungiambula. With a likeable personality and fan-friendly fighting style, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the UFC get behind him again.

There isn’t anything in particular that Dustin Stoltzfus does exceptionally well, but it would have been hard to comprehend someone with his well-roundedness and impressive fight IQ washing out of the UFC without a win after four appearances. Instead, after a close first round, Stoltzfus utilized his wrestling to ground a fading Grant and secured the win on the judges’ scorecards. Look for him to settle in as a lower level gatekeeper.

Biggest WOW Moment: There were several finishes that were certainly worthy of consideration, but all you have to do is listen to Daniel Cormier’s voice go to indecipherable as it got so high due to his excitement trying to call the comeback of Schnell. It started with Schnell simply refusing to be put away. Then it goes to him fighting back. Then Schnell started landing meaningful shots that hurt Mudaerji. Then he got the takedown and began landing brutal GnP. It felt inevitable that the referee would soon stop the fight, but Mudaerji added to the climax by reversing Schnell putting himself on the top position… leading to Schnell to sink in the triangle choke from off his back. It was a brilliant performance, one that will be remembered for a long time.

Grittiest Performance: I could very easily put Schnell here, but he’s getting other accolades in this article. There are several submissions that come to mind when I can’t help but wonder how someone escaped a submission. The most recent example was Alexander Volkanovski escaping out of Ortega’s guillotine. One old-school fans will recall is Rich Crunkilton escaping a Hermes Franca armbar by hiding his dislocated arm from the referee. What we’re looking at from UFC Long Island is Bill Algeo hanging in there with Burns’ triangle in there tight. Hell, Burns even appeared to have the armbar locked in there for a bit too. When 99.99% of the world would have tapped, Algeo hung in there and managed to escape and get the win. No one will ever question the heart or toughness of Algeo ever again after that performance.

Most Controversial Decision: Kudos to Shane Burgos for at least admitting it wasn’t his best performance as there was a wide swathe of fans who were upset when they heard the decision read in his favor over Charles Jourdain. To be fair to the judges, it was a tough fight to score. The first round could have gone in either direction. The second round clearly went in favor of Burgos, but the question is whether it was a 10-8 round given Burgos maintained control of Jourdain’s back for the entirety of the round and threatened with submissions the entire time. Some of those seemed to come close too. However, the third round was clearly in favor of Jourdain, the Canadian unloading on Burgos who didn’t have the endurance in his legs to move off the cage. Like the second, it was a question of whether Jourdain deserved a 10-8 round. Personally, I scored it a draw, giving Burgos the first two rounds 10-9 and Jourdain a 10-8 in the final round. Regardless, it was a difficult fight to score.

Most Understated Performance: There were a lot of notable performances, but two stood out to me that didn’t seem to get a lot of traction. That would be Amanda Lemos subbing Michelle Waterson-Gomez and Ricky Simon tapping Jack Shore. What separates them in my view is Lemos was supposed to win. Simon wasn’t. It looks like Simon has grown up a lot since his losses to Urijah Faber and Rob Font. He knew what he wanted to do to Shore: pressure him nonstop, secure takedowns, and wear out the Welshman. He did it to perfection. Shore may have landed the better strikes in the first round, but that was when they did land. He was so concerned about fending off Simon in the second that it felt academic even before the end came. Simon even had the best callout of the night, challenging Sean O’Malley in his post-fight interview. Unless O’Malley is desperate to rebook a fight with Pedro Munhoz, I don’t see another fight that makes more sense. Stylistically, I’d favor Simon in that one.

Most Honest Fighter: There could have been a lot of controversy around Lemos victory, but she’s fortunate Waterson-Gomez is an honest person. Lemos had Waterson-Gomez in a tight guillotine. The referee was in position, but couldn’t see one of Waterson-Gomez’s arms. That was the arm that tapped. Lemos stopped the action to the confusion of the television audience – they weren’t privy to the tapping arm either – and began celebrating. The referee was confused too, asking Waterson-Gomez if she had tapped. Waterson-Gomez confirmed, snuffing a potential controversy with her honesty.

Best Bounce Back Performance: This spot is TOUGH. I picked against both Lauren Murphy and Li as I was so damned concerned about their mental state after both suffered embarrassing one-sided losses. Murphy came out and put on 15 solid minutes against an always tough Miesha Tate while Li overcame a ho-hum first round to violently finish Salikhov. Given her age and having a tougher opponent, I’ll side with Murphy, but that shouldn’t take anything away from Li. Both deserve massive kudos for having the mental fortitude to bounce back the way they did.

Weirdest Statistic: I suppose it’s less a statistic and more a fact, but on a night when the brass handed out eight bonuses – doubling their usual of four – bonus whores Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez didn’t secure any of them. Entering the event, Rodriguez had eight bonuses in eleven appearances and Ortega had seven in ten appearances. Given the unusual ending to their contest, it makes sense, but I would have felt confident putting money on at least one of them earning an extra $ 50K if I knew the UFC was giving out eight bonuses.

Bonus Numbers: Perhaps not really an award, but it is worth noting Dustin Jacoby picked up his first Performance bonus after nine UFC appearances. That’s a hell of a dry spell. Besides, he’d rather get that awarded to him rather than a made up award in my head that Bloody Elbow is gracious enough to post on their website. From this card, the new holder for most appearances without a Performance Bonus becomes a tie between Lungiambula and Jacoby’s opponent, Da Un Jung, with six apiece. However, the person who entered the event with the longest streak without a bonus was Murphy, who extended her run to ten appearances without a bonus. Murphy’s lone bonus in her UFC run came against Kelly Faszholz in February 2016. Now there’s a name most of you have either forgotten or never heard of in the first place….

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The UFC featherweight is still trying to come to terms with what happened at UFC Long Island on Saturday. 

Brian Ortega is processing his loss to Yair Rodríguez at UFC Long Island this past Saturday.

The much-anticipated fight between Ortega and Rodríguez ended after ’T-City’ dislocated his shoulder in the first round, awarding ‘El Pantera’ the TKO win. Though the dislocation happened as Ortega escaped an armbar, he denied that was the cause of his injury.

Ortega spoke to Megan Olivi during the post-fight show and tried to explain what happened.

“The grip was tight on my arm and it dislocated, and that was it,” said Ortega. “Like, no armlock, no nothing, but it just dislocated. Freak accident, and it just sucks. It’s the first time it’s ever happened in my entire career. That’s the first time it’s even happened and now I’m kind of like taken aback by it. I can’t believe this is what’s going on right now.”

The No. 2 ranked contender also assessed his performance. The way Ortega saw it, he was winning.

“Everything was going my way,” said Ortega. “Literally, I was winning every minute of the fight. I was sticking to the game plan because I do get emotional. For one second we started hitting, we started throwing and I was like, ‘Alright, let’s start throwing,’ and I go, ‘No, let’s just stick to the game plan.’ And the world saw I was about to show what I do best, which is grapple and take control. And the second we hit the ground, it just — my freaking arm just f—king came out. And I’ve got no words, man. I don’t know.”

Ortega expressed interest in a rematch against Rodríguez, who was more than happy to fight again. However, the 31-year-old could be sidelined for a while should he require surgery on his shoulder.

“I would love to do it again,” said Ortega. “I feel like we left the world with blue balls, you know? We didn’t get to finish what I wanted to do, you know? Had he got up, how we scrambled, how we banged it out — I was ready in my mind to have a dogfight. I was ready to go in there and just impose my will, and I can’t do it with just one arm.

“If he said he’s willing to run it back, I definitely want to get it back,” continued Ortega. “I’m going to go MRI this as soon as I can, do what I have to do. I pray to God that I don’t have to get surgery. I already had two shoulder surgeries as it, so I’m praying that I don’t have to go under that knife again because it sucks when you have to get surgery. The second I’m physically healthy to do it, I want to get back in. I’m not trying to take anything off. I’m upset, but trying to smile just to not — I put in way too much work. I sacrificed everything just for something stupid like this to happen.”

With Ortega potentially out, UFC president Dana White ‘liked’ an interim championship fight between Rodríguez and Josh Emmett in the meantime.

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The UFC president assures Diaz is not being held hostage and continues to offer him fights. 

Nate Diaz vs. the UFC continues.

The Stockton native spoke to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour this past Tuesday and vented his frustration with the promotion over the final fight of his current contract. Diaz felt the UFC was holding him ‘hostage’ since he said he’s yet to receive an offer that does not include an extension, which he has no interest in because of his desire to test free agency.

“I was trying to get this s—t on the road, but they don’t want me out of contract and they’re keeping me in there and they’re holding me hostage,” said Diaz. “And I want out. That’s my main objective here.”

UFC president Dana White has responded to those comments from Diaz and explained why it is impossible to hold him ‘hostage’ in this situation.

“When isn’t Nate Diaz saying something crazy?,” said White during the post-fight press conference for UFC Long Island. “I’ve said this a million times and I’ll say it again — we can’t hold guys hostage. It’s not possible. I owe you three fights a year. If I don’t fight you three times a year, I have to pay you. How could I hold him hostage?”

Some of the names attached to Diaz were Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Khamzhat Chimaev, but none of those has come to fruition. Vicente Luque and Tony Ferguson were also requested by Diaz, who said ‘it was never good on their side’ when it was time to sign.

White assured Diaz that he would continue to offer him fights, and it is up to him to accept one.

“What do you think my plans are? We’re going to get him a fight,” said White. “We’ll see what happens. I have to get him three fights a year. I offer fights, he either accepts them or turns them down. And obviously, I’m not paying him so I’ve offered him fights.”

Diaz wasted no time repudiating White, writing on social media that he has not received any offer from the UFC.

“Dana said Francis Ngannou was injured and couldn’t fight right now,” wrote Diaz. “[I don’t know] why he was so confused in [the] interview. And in the last nine months I been offered zero fights and I asked for five legitimate opponents.

“Thanks for the kind words. Can I go now?”

Diaz has not fought since losing a unanimous decision to Leon Edwards at UFC 263 over a year ago.

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Chris Weidman is hoping to make a comeback by the end of the year.

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is hoping to make a comeback by the end of 2022 after being sidelined for over a year following a gruesome leg break suffered at the hands of Uriah Hall at UFC 261.

‘All-American’ revealed that sports broadcaster ESPN will be releasing a documentary that chronicles his road to recovery after suffering ‘the worst injury of all time’ (he’s not kidding) in 2021.

“It’s been very hard,” Weidman said of his recovery during a recent interview with Mike Heck of MMA Fighting (h/t Low Kick MMA). “Lots of ups and downs, a lot of issues and it just sucks I can’t put too much out there because I’m doing a documentary with ESPN, they’re doing an E60.

“So, they have the rights to everything, I can’t put out like me training or if I had really low spots where I had to get additional surgeries. I can’t put anything out there because they have the rights to it but it’s going to help them be able to tell the story in a great way.”

“They’re going to market it as the worst injury of all time and coming back from that because once you guys all find out what I’ve had to go through over these last 15 months, it’s been a lot. I’m excited for them to be able to tell that story finally, and I’m excited to come back and shock the world.”

“I’m hoping this year, yeah,” Weidman said when asked if he expects to return to competition by the end of the year.

The Serra-Longo product also revealed that he will be cornering one-time UFC title challenger Anthony Smith for ‘Lionheart’s’ upcoming fight against No. 4-ranked light heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277.

“July 30th, I’m actually cornering Anthony Smith. I don’t think I told anybody that yet. He’s been coming down to South Carolina to train with me and help him get ready. He’s got that title eliminator fight with Ankalaev so I’m excited to try to get him ready for that.”

Weidman, formerly a top ten middleweight, has been removed from the UFC rankings due to inactivity. His last win came in 2020 when he defeated Omari Akhmedov via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 174.

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Watch video from Ryan Garcia’s latest boxing match.

The much hyped 23-year-old boxer in Ryan Garcia returned to the ring Saturday night and put on a dominant performance against a veteran and former world champion in Javier Fortuna.

After a measured start, Garcia turned it up in the fourth round and dropped Fortuna with a vicious body shot. He scored two more knockdowns in the next two rounds, with Garcia landing that trademark left hand he’s been known for.

After the third knockdown, Fortuna spit out his mouthpiece and signaled that he had enough. Garcia made it look easy, winning his second fight in three months to extend his unbeaten record to 23-0.

“I will fight Tank next,” Garcia said after the fight, as he called out Gervonta Davis. “That’s going to give me the respect I deserve.”

Official result: Ryan Garcia def. Javier Fortuna by TKO, 0:27 Round 6.

Watch videos from the fight below:

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Golden Boy Boxing’s biggest attraction returns to the spotlight on Saturday, July 16th at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Lightweight contender Ryan Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) makes his second appearance of 2022, this time in a special 140 lbs fight against Dominican veteran Javier Fortuna (37-3-1-2 NCs, 26 KOs).

Even thought Fortuna has established himself as a tricky opponent and a fringe (if not outright) top-10 lightweight, DraftKings Sportsbook still has Garcia as a massive favorite in a fight that was moved up a weight class at the request of Fortuna’s team.

There’s a free live stream of the prelims starting at 5 PM ET/2 PM PT at the top of the page, followed by DAZN’s broadcast of the four-fight main card at 8 PM ET/5PM PT. The main event should start at around 11 PM ET/8 PM PT but that depends on how long the undercard fights roll along. If you don’t have DAZN, PPV.com has this event for $ 34.99 and you get a free month of DAZN with your purchase.

Join as at Bloody Elbow for live results updates.

Main Card (8 PM ET, DAZN)

Ryan Garcia vs. Javier Fortuna

Alexis Rocha vs. Luis Veron

Lamont Roach Jr. vs. Angel Rodriguez

David Jimenez def. Ricardo Sandoval by majority decision (113-113, 114-112, 114-112)

Preliminary Card (5 PM ET, Online)

Oscar Collazo def. Victorio Saludar by unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 118-110)

Diego De La Hoya def. Enrique Bernache by TKO at 2:51 of Round 4

Miguel Gaona def. Abdiel Padilla by KO at 1:20 of Round 1

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Matt Schnell submitted Su Mudaerji at UFC Long Island. On Twitter, pro fighters reacted to the comeback win.

In a thrilling flyweight bout, Matt Schnell was on the verge of getting knocked out by Sumudaerji, but managed to survive the onslaught and score a finish of his own. After surviving heavy shots from his opponents, ‘Danger’ was able to secure a triangle choke and a finished at UFC Long Island. On Twitter, pro fighters reacted to the finish.

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UFC on ABC 3: Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez happens tonight (Saturday July 16, 2022) at the UBS Arena in Long Island, New York. The event (aka UFC Long Island) is set to begin at 11 AM ET on ESPN/ESPN+. The main card starts at 2 PM ET on ABC/ESPN+.

Full Card:

Main card (2PM ET on ABC/ESPN+)

Featherweight: Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez

Strawweight: Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Lemos

Welterweight: Li Jingliang vs. Muslim Salikhov

Flyweight: Matt Schnell vs. Sumudaerji

Featherweight: Shane Burgos vs. Charles Jourdain

Flyweight: Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate

Prelim card (11 AM on ESPN/ESPN+)

Punahele Soriano vs. Dalcha Lungiambula

Bantamweight: Ricky Simon vs. Jack Shore

Featherweight: Bill Algeo vs. Herbert Burns

Light heavyweight: Dustin Jacoby vs. Da Un Jung

Middleweight: Dwight Grant vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

Strawweight: Jessica Penne vs. Emily Ducote

For pre-fight analysis and predictions check out the following posts:

During the event, go here for streaming results, play-by-play commentary and breaking news:

To watch this event live, visit ESPN+ HERE.

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