Joanna Jedrzejczyk speaks with fans and media at the UFC 223 pre-fight press conference in Brooklyn, New York. | Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Joanna Jedrzejczyk predicts an easy stoppage victory for Weili Zhang over Carla Esparza.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk thinks Weili Zhang will crush Carla Esparza to regain the UFC strawweight title, predicting an easy first-round KO victory for ‘Magnum’.
Jedrzejczyk suffered a highlight-reel spinning backfist KO loss to Zhang at UFC 275 and admitted she was surprised with how strong Zhang was in the clinch.
Zhang’s strength, Jedrzejczyk says, will be the difference-maker against Esparza. The former UFC strawweight champion thinks Esparza will panic when she can’t take Zhang down and get knocked out early.
“First round for Weili Zhang,” Jedrzejczyk, who retired following her loss to Zhang, told reporters at the UFC 275 post-fight press conference (h/t MMA Junkie). “She’s so strong. Yeah, first round. She really surprised me with her strength because we know she’s a striker, but she was very strong on the ground. (She did) very beautiful work. So it’s going to be a very interesting fight, but I truly believe Weili is going to be becoming the champ, and I feel like Rose is next in line again. It’s the beauty of this sport.”
Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas to capture the strawweight title at UFC 274 and is expected to defend her belt against Zhang at a later date.
‘Cookie Monster’ has made it clear, however, that she will be the one calling the shots and setting a date for her next fight, not Zhang. She told the New York Post earlier this week: “I definitely don’t feel like I’m in a position where I should rush just because Weili wants a certain date. I’m not trying to go on her timeline. I’m the champion, and I feel she needs to go on my timeline.”
Retired UFC featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov. | Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
It’s been well over two years since Magomedsharipov’s last fight.
Zabit Magomedsharipov has called a halt to his MMA career at just 31 years old.
MMA Fighting reports that the featherweight contender has informed the UFC of his retirement, well over two years removed from his most recent bout. Magomedsharipov had recently revealed on social media that he wanted to become a doctor.
Zabit made his UFC debut five years ago as the ACB featherweight champion, and hopes were high that he’d be a future contender. His first two bouts against Mike Santiago and Sheymon Moraes ended in submission finishes, as well as Performance of the Night bonuses. The highlight of his career was a rare Suloev stretch submission of Brandon Davis at UFC 228 in 2018.
In 2019, Magomedsharipov dispatched Jeremy Stephens and then took a three-round decision win over Calvin Kattar at UFC Moscow in November 2019. That proved to be the final fight of his career, as a planned showdown with Yair Rodriguez was cancelled in 2020 due to injury to Rodriguez. Career-threatening health issues specific to his immune system kept Zabit on the sideline and eventually off the UFC rankings due to inactivity.
Magomedsharipov leaves the sport with a record of 18-1, including matching 6-0 marks in the UFC and in ACB. With his health issues greatly impacting his otherwise stellar career and rise up the featherweight ranks, he’ll undoubtedly and unfortunately be one of MMA’s great “what-if?” stories. All the best to him in his next venture post-MMA.
Merab Dvalishvili is about to get the biggest test of his career to date.
UFC 278 just got a lot deeper with the likely addition of a pivotal bantamweight matchup. Ariel Helwani is reporting that the promotion wants to match up former featherweight champ Jose Aldo and rising star Merab Dvalishvili to the August 20th event.
Aldo (31-7, 13-6 UFC) has picked up three straight victories since falling short in a 135-pound title fight in mid-2020. The latest win was a strong decision nod over Rob Font in December. Aldo is current the number three contender at bantamweight in the official UFC rankings.
Dvalishvili (14-4, 7-2 UFC) extended his win streak to seven with a September TKO win over Marlon Moraes. It was his first finish in the UFC after picking up decision victories in the prior six contests. Dvalishvili is currently ranked number six at bantamweight.
UFC 278 goes down in the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, and will be headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Kamaru Usman and top contender Leon Edwards.
Jiri Prochazka prepares for his UFC 275 title fight with Glover Teixeira. | Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images
Jiri Prochazka speaks in more detail about his brief cageside run-in with Jan Blachowicz at UFC 275.
UFC 275 was a big night for Jiri Prochazka. With 28 seconds left in the fight, the Czech fighter managed to eke out a submission win over Glover Teixeira to become the new undisputed champion at 205 pounds.
As it is customary for new champions, they instantly become walking targets as soon as they win the belt. But for Prochazka, one potential challenger made his intentions known even before he could soak it all in.
During his post-fight scrum, Prochazka detailed the brief cage-side run-in he had with former champion Jan Blachowicz as he was making his way backstage. That brief moment was caught on video.
“He was a little bit friendly and a little bit aggressive. After I said, ‘Hey, OK, let’s go. You are the next,’ he started to be aggressive because he saw the cameras and all these things. He tried to flex a little bit,” Prochazka told reporters.
“I told him, ‘I love you.’ Because he was so aggressive, yeah? First, he was smiling to me, everything. And it was good. And after the fight, he was aggressive, ‘I wanna fight!’ So I said, ‘I love you, Jan. Let’s talk in the cage.’”
Prochazka, for his part, says he’s ready to take on the challenge as soon as he’s fully healed.
“He was so brave and he told me something about our fight. So I shared the energy with him. We will see. I will be ready, but just give me a little time to repair my face and to realize the mistakes from this fight.”
Blachowicz, who lost the title to Teixeira at UFC 267 last October, got himself back on the win column via third-round TKO against Aleksander Rakić in mid-May.
Valentina Shevchenko and Taila Santos at UFC 275. | Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images
The UFC color commentator believes a rematch between Shevchenko and Santos should happen given how close the fight at UFC 275 was.
Michael Bisping thought Valentina Shevchenko was in jeopardy of losing her title to Taila Santos at UFC 275 this past Saturday.
For the first time since winning the UFC flyweight championship over three years ago, Shevchenko was truly tested by a challenger. ‘Bullet’ found herself in several bad positions after being taken down and controlled on the ground by Santos, who accomplished the rare feat of winning rounds against the usually impenetrable champion. However, the tide turned in the final rounds as Shevchenko started getting the better of Santos.
As the judges’ scorecards were read, it became clear just how close the fight was, but Shevchenko got the nod by split decision for her seventh consecutive defense. Despite defeating another contender, the aura of dominance surrounding Shevchenko took a hit, and it is something many fighters and pundits, including Bisping, couldn’t help but notice.
“We saw her look human,” said Bisping on his YouTube channel. “Now, of course, as we know, Amanda Nunes has beaten Valentina Shevchenko on two occasions, but tonight she almost lost at 125. Amanda Nunes is bigger, she’s stronger, she’s the 145-pound champion and the [former] bantamweight champion.
“Tonight, Valentina Shevchenko went out there in the flyweight division where she rules,” continued Bisping. “She’s the No. 1. She’s the best, simple as that. There’s been worthy challengers, but nobody’s came close to beating her. Shevchenko has almost become her own kryptonite because she just dismantles everybody with ease, but not tonight. Tonight, she had to fight through real adversity.”
Bisping also addressed the controversy around how the fight was scored, igniting yet another debate on the scoring criteria. The ‘Count’ had it tied up at 2-2 and saw the third round as being the deciding one, but it was difficult to score given how well each fighter did in their respective departments.
“I really wasn’t sure which way it was going to go,” said Bisping. “For me, it all came down to Round 3. Round 1 and 2, clearly for Taila Santos. Round 4 and 5, I think it’s fair to say that Shevchenko stole them. Round 3 is the one for me that is open for debate. Started off strong for Shevchenko, but then Santos took her down. She got on top, she threatened the choke, she did a little bit of damage with ground-and-pound, things like that. So how do you score it?”
After her win against Santos, Shevchenko was met with a bevy of options for her next defense. The Tiger Muay Thai product mentioned a potential fight against the winner of Lauren Murphy and Miesha Tate at UFC 276. There was also a prospective move from flyweight to bantamweight to challenge either Julianna Peña or Amanda Nunes pending their championship rematch at UFC 277.
But if it was left up to Bisping, an immediate rematch between Shevchenko and Santos would be scheduled.
“What do they do now? Do they do an immediate rematch? I think they do, in my humble opinion. That’s what I would do,” said Bisping. “If I was the matchmaker, I’d say let’s run it back and it’d be really interesting. Who’s gonna change? Who’s gonna alter their game? Who’s gonna adjust, right? Shevchenko could work on her takedown defense, she could work on her grappling. Santos could work on the striking. Either way, it was an incredible fight, back-and-forth. Well done to both ladies.”
An immediate rematch may not be far-fetched, but it could be a while before Shevchenko or Santos fights again. The champion suffered a foot injury in the lead-up to the fight, while the challenger sustained a broken orbital due to an accidental clash of heads. The Brazilian will require surgery, and there is no timeline for her recovery yet.
Manel Kape defeated Zhalgas Zhumagulov in December 2021. | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Flyweight Manel Kape was expected to take on Rogerio Bontorin at UFC 275.
UFC flyweight Manel Kape had a frustrating cancellation just one day before his next bout. Originally paired up against Rogerio Bontorin at UFC 275, the former Rizin bantamweight champion saw his match fall through when the Brazilian was forced to withdraw due to health issues caused by weight cut.
Frustrated, Kape shared some of his thoughts on the ordeal in a conversation with Combate. Although Manel was even willing to accept the match at catchweight, he had to accept the fact that he was not going to fight on that weekend. The feeling affected ‘Starboy’ deeply, since he felt prepared to put on another impressive performance in Asia.
“It’s really sad for me,” Kape said. “I was very prepared. In the best moment of my career, both physically and mentally. On weigh-in day I was just one pound over the limit. It was a fantastic weight cut. When they told me the news about Rogerio, I was very shaken. I even asked about his weight, because I was willing to fight him at any weight. Bantamweight, featherweight, it didn’t matter to me, I was going to take the fight. Of couse I would take 30% of his purse, but I was going to to fight at any weight.
“When I learned that he had been taken to the hospital, I knew there was nothing I could do. I asked if there were any other fighters available, who didn’t have to cut weight to fight me. I wanted to fight under any circumstance. I was feeling unbeatable. It would’ve been historic to fight in Asia, in front of my biggest fans. It’s sad.”
Currently on a two-fight winning streak, Kape (17-6) scored knockout wins over Zhalgas Zhumagulov and Ode Osbourne in his most recent outings, respectively in December and August 2021. Before that, the 28-year-old had a rough start to his UFC career, dropping decisions to both Matheus Nicolau and Alexandre Pantoja, in March and February of the same year.
Mike Tyson is spotted in attendance at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the junior welterweight bout between Montana Love and Gabriel Gollaz. | Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Bob Sapp cuts a video promo calling out Mike Tyson.
Mike Tyson vs. Bob Sapp, anyone?
Tyson was expected to lock horns with Sapp in the boxing ring back in 2003, but the fight never came to fruition.
Fast forward to 2022, however, and there appears to be renewed interest in the matchup.
Heavyweight great Tyson revealed earlier this year that he was supposed to fight Sapp in 2020 but instead ended up facing Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match.
Sapp pointed this out in a recent video promo where he called out Tyson and promised to rip ‘Iron Mike’s’ heart out in a fight under Queensberry rules.
Sapp, currently training in Thailand, is super-jacked in the video and wants to throw down with Tyson ASAP.
Here’s what the 350-pound behemoth had to say (h/t BJPenn.com): “Mike, now we all know what happened when you and I talked about the fight. I sent you a photo along with this sentence: ‘Mike if you fight me I will rip your heart out and tear it to shreds.’ And it still applies.”
“As for you, Mike. I’ve got a challenge for you,” Sapp continued. “Since you stopped running, listen to me for a second. You and me and two of my best fighters vs two of your best fighters. Stand up, Marquess of Queensbury Rules. Because you’re too scared to fight one on one. I’ll take all of you on, punk boxers. I like little Michael. I like little Michael. That’s my challenge you know my age. Fight me. Or my crew.”
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Sapp, who has fought in boxing, kickboxing, and MMA, was last seen in action in 2018 when he defeated retired Sumo Ōsunaarashi Kintarō in a mixed martial arts bout under the Rizin banner. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Tyson hasn’t fought since his 2020 exhibition with Jones, which was scored a draw. The former undisputed heavyweight champion turns 56 later this month but is still in tremendous shape and would only need a few weeks of training to prepare for Sapp.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk gets attended to after her KO loss to Zhang Weili at UFC 274. | Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images
UFC Hall-of-Famer Michael Bisping speaks candidly about how he felt during Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s retirement announcement at UFC 275.
On Saturday night at UFC 275, Joanna Jedrzejczyk suffered a brutal faceplant KO loss to Zhang Weili in their rematch. After the bout, the former long-time strawweight champion took her gloves off, left them on the canvas, and announced her retirement from professional competition.
The 35-year-old Polish fighter received nothing but well-wishes for what she had accomplished. But for someone who saw it up close like Hall-of-Famer Michael Bisping, it was quite an emotional turn of events.
Bisping, who was on commentary duties that night, gave his post-UFC 274 reactions in a recent YouTube video he uploaded.
“I was getting very emotional. It was incredible,” he said. “What Joanna has done for the sport, what she has given to this sport, she came here, she’s been in so many entertaining fights. She’s given her heart, her soul. She’s talked a lot of shit along the way. She’s made a lot of money. She’s knocked a lot of people out. She’s delivered on the violence. She’s been a star.
“She has been a star for the UFC, and she has inspired so many female martial artists around the planet. Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s been there, done it.”
Retirement thoughts were apparently already lingering in Jedrzejczyk’s mind before she stepped inside the Octagon that night in a pre-fight conversation with “The Count.”
“I asked her beforehand before the fight happened. I said, ‘Joanna, no disrespect. But if you lose this fight, what happens? Are you gonna retire?’ And she paused, and it went quiet. She thought about it for a long time, and he said, ‘Maybe,’” Bisping recalled.
“And when someone says that, it probably means that they will. And she did. She decided to hang it up, she took her gloves off, she put them down on the canvas. And I was emotional, I was almost in tears.
“‘Cause to see a fighter, what they give of themselves, give a piece of their soul, a piece of their being, and to leave it in the Octagon… she’s provided so much entertainment over the years. She’s gonna be in the Hall-of-Fame, that’s without question.”
Jedrzejczyk says she plans to still be involved with the sport as a fighter manager. She ended her MMA career with a record of 16-5, along with five successful title defenses as the undisputed 115-pound champion.
Floyd Mayweather is set to make a return — and more money — in Japan.
Floyd Mayweather may have been officially retired for about five years now, but the boxing legend has still been actively making money by competing in exhibitions. His next match is set, and it will be a return to Japan in another partnership with RIZIN.
As officially announced Tuesday in Japan, the 45-year-old Mayweather will face 29-year-old MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura in an exhibition boxing match this September. According to RIZIN head Nobuyuki Sakakibara, more specific details will be revealed on a later date, but they did release a trailer and had both men appear in a press conference.
Sep 2022 in JAPAN #RIZIN #朝倉未来 #FloydMayweather pic.twitter.com/Buwqmx3XCK
— RIZIN FF OFFICIAL (@rizin_PR) June 14, 2022
It’s worth noting how the “Japan’s most famous MMA fighter” label on the trailer is complete hyperbole, as he’s not even the most famous fighter in his family, let alone the entire sport. Mikuru is a talented MMA fighter with a 16-3 record, but it’s his brother Kai Asakura that’s a more known commodity being a former RIZIN champion.
“My legacy is already engraved in stone, like I said before, but it’s still great to go around the world and entertain people from all walks of life,” Mayweather said on the press conference. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to come out and give his best like any and every guy but I’ve seen every style.”
Like everyone Mayweather is facing in these exhibitions nowadays, Mikuru is likely to be outgunned and overmatched, but at least they’ll be closer in size since he cuts to 145 lbs. Mayweather’s first exhibition with RIZIN in 2018 was against kickboxing superstar Tenshin Nasukawa, who was several divisions smaller.
Mayweather demands a very high price tag for these exhibitions, so it’s unclear how RIZIN will ever make back the money from those two bouts. This news also comes shortly after the Tenshin vs Takeru kickboxing megafight lost its major TV deal, likely due to Sakakibara being in another scandal involving alleged Yakuza ties.
Mayweather is fresh off an exhibition with Don Moore last May in Abu Dhabi, and previously faced Logan Paul in 2021.
Take a look at the current card for UFC 277 on July 30th.
The UFC will be taking the Octagon to Dallas on July 30th for UFC 277, and it will feature a huge rematch on top. Fresh off coaching The Ultimate Fighter, Julianna Pena will be setting out to prove that she didn’t get lucky the first time when she defends her UFC women’s bantamweight title against former champ Amanda Nunes.
The co-main event will be a for an interim flyweight title, with former champ Brandon Moreno facing off with the streaking Kai Kara-France.
Here’s a look at the current card for the event. A bout order has not be set as of yet.
Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes [Women’s bantamweight title]
Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France [Vacant flyweight title]
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