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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Nine fighters received potentially lengthy medical suspensions in the aftermath of UFC 298, including middleweight co-headliners Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa, according to information released Monday by the California State Athletic Commission to MMA Fighting.

Whittaker defeated Costa via unanimous decision in a back-and-forth battle in Saturday’s co-main event. Whittaker (hand) and Costa (right foot, left leg) both sustained potential injuries in the bout and are now suspended 180 days or until cleared by a physician.

In addition to the two co-headliners, seven other fighters received similar 180-day medical suspensions for potential injuries sustained during the event: Henry Cejudo (left forearm), Mackenzie Dern (left leg), Marcos Rogerio de Lima (right foot), Carlos Vera (shoulder), Zhang Mingyang (right hand), Danny Barlow (left forearm), and Josh Quinlan (CT scan). All seven fighters are eligible to return to action earlier if cleared by a physician.

UFC 298 took place Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Ilia Topuria captured the UFC featherweight title with a spectacular second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski in the night’s main event, which aired live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

A complete list of UFC 298’s medical suspensions can be seen below.

• Robert Whittaker: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to hand; suspended 60 days no contest, 60 days no contact unless cleared by physician for laceration (right eye, foot); 45-day mandatory suspension, 30-day no contact for hard bout (no exception)
• Paulo Costa: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to right foot, left leg; suspended 60 days no contest, 60 days no contact unless cleared by physician for laceration; 45-day mandatory suspension, 30-day no contact for hard bout (no exception)
• Henry Cejudo: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to left forearm
• Mackenzie Dern: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to left leg, CT scan; 45-day mandatory suspension, 30-day no contact for hard bout (no exception)
• Marcos Rogerio de Lima: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to right foot
• Carlos Vera: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to shoulder
• Zhang Mingyang: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to right hand
• Danny Barlow: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to left forearm; 45-day mandatory suspension, 30-day no contact for hard bout (no exception)
• Josh Quinlan: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician (CT scan); 45-day mandatory suspension, 30-day no contact for TKO (no exception)
• Alexander Volkanovski: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to KO
• Amanda Lemos: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to hard bout
• Junior Tafa: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to TKO
• Brendson Ribeiro: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to KO
• Oban Elliott: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to hard bout
• Val Woodburn: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to hard bout
• Ilia Topuria: 7-day mandatory rest
• Ian Machado Garry: 7-day mandatory rest
• Geoff Neal: 7-day mandatory rest
• Merab Dvalishvili: 7-day mandatory rest
• Anthony Hernandez: 7-day mandatory rest
• Roman Kopylov: 7-day mandatory rest
• Rinya Nakamura: 7-day mandatory rest
• Miranda Maverick: 7-day mandatory rest
• Andrea Lee: 7-day mandatory rest

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Dana White believes combat sports icon Wanderlei Silva has earned his spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.

During the UFC 298 broadcast on Saturday night, ‘The Axe Murderer’ was announced as the next inductee into the 2024 Hall of Fame class. Speaking with the media during his appearance at a post-fight press event, White was adamant that Silva’s contributions to the sport, particularly in its infancy, more than warrant his HoF induction.

“He deserves to be. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,” White said of Silva. “Back when me and the Fertitas got into this sport and we were huge Wanderlei Silva fans and you know everybody that was a hardcore fan back then was a big fan of Pride and you know a lot of big stars came out of there and Wanderlei has done a lot for the sport in the early days and he deserves to be in there.”

Interestingly, Silva’s Hall of Fame announcement comes a decade after the UFC CEO once declared that the former PRIDE middleweight champion would never find his name listed in the hallowed halls.

In September 2014, the Nevada State Athletic Commission handed Silva a lifelong ban and a $ 70,000 fine for allegedly running away from a random drug test earlier in the year.  An incensed White said in a later interview that Silva’s career was forever tarnished and as a result, he would never be inducted.

“Nobody has ever run from a drug test before. I didn’t see a lifetime ban coming. Nobody will let him fight. He’s in a very serious situation,” White said about Silva when speaking to Fox Sports. “There’s going to be no Hall of Fame. The guy’s been Pete Rose’d. There’s going to be no Hall of Fame offers.”

Asked about his past comments, White admitted that he had simply forgotten about his beef with Silva.

“I’ve been in so many beefs with so many people that I didn’t even remember that till you just told me,” White added. “It’s a good thing I forgot it’s a good thing you forgot exactly.”

Silva, who was in attendance at UFC 298, was nothing short of grateful for the honor bestowed upon him by his former employer.

“It’s a dream come true to be part of the sport,” Silva said. “And to have this great support from this beautiful organization. Thanks so much, Dana White, for all what you’re doing for us. I’m so glad to be a part of the best event in the world” (h/t MiddleEasy).

Wanderlei Silva’s legendary career began in Japan where he held the PRIDE middleweight championship for an unprecedented six years. During his run, he competed against a series of bonafide legends, including Mirko Cro Cop, Kazushi Sakuraba, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Mark Hunt, Ricardo Arona, and Dan Henderson.

After his title run in PRIDE came to a close, ‘The Axe Murderer’ signed with the UFC and immediately delivered a Fight of the Year with Chuck Liddell at UFC 79. He would go on to compete against a who’s who of Octagon icons such as Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping, Cung Le, Chris Leben, and Brian Stann.

His last fight came under the Bellator banner in 2018. He closed out his career by going 35-14 with 27 wins by knockout.

LowKickMMA.com

Mackenzie Dern stepped in a to face former title challenger Amanda Lemos at UFC 298 after Tatiana Suarez withdrew due to injury.  It didn’t go well for Dern.

Lemos defeated Dern via unanimous decision, but the fight received ‘Fight of the Night’ honors.  For the first time in her career, Dern has suffered back-to-back losses.  

On Sunday, Dern released a statement on social media and vowed to ‘correct mistakes’ and continue working hard.  

“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world,” she wrote.  “The results weren’t what I was hoping for! Thank you everyone for all the support! I love doing what I do! Now, it’s time to correct the mistakes and keep up the hard work! Congrats to @amandalemos_ufc for an amazing fight! FOTN for us!”

View the original article to see embedded media.

Their women’s strawweight bout headlined the UFC 298 preliminary fight card at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.  Having lost to former champion Jessica Andrade and Lemos in her last two fights, Dern finds herself in a vulnerable position.  

With the win, Lemos rebounded from a championship loss to titleholder Zhang Weili and solidified her ranking in the Top 3 in the division.  

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Monday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time.

1 p.m. ET: Recapping the events of the weekend with UFC 298 and more.

2 p.m.: UFC 298 winner Ian Machado Garry breaks down his win over Geoff Neal and what’s next.

2:30 p.m.: UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili talks his win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 and his upcoming title shot.

3 p.m.: UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley reacts to UFC 298 and previews his title defense against MChito Vera at UFC 299.

3:30 p.m.: UFC 298 winner Oban Elliott returns to the show to talk about his octagon debut and what’s next.

4 p.m.: Parlay boys pick best bets for UFC Mexico City, PFL vs. Bellator and more.

For the latest episodes of The MMA Hour, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Welcome to the latest update to the MMA Fighting pound-for-pound rankings, where every month our esteemed panel sort through the noise to answer one question: Who are the best overall male and female MMA fighters in the world?

With the dramatic conclusion of UFC 298, how was the top of the men’s rankings shaken up? Let’s take a look.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Alexander Volkanovski is the latest Pound-for-Pound great to fall.

Along with Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya, and Aljamain Sterling, “The Great” had been a mainstay atop MMA Fighting’s Pound-for-Pound list. After suffering a crushing second-round knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 this past Saturday, he now joins his fellow former champions who have fallen outside of the top five — and are at risk of losing their ranking completely.

It may seem like a harsh reversal of fortunes to have Topuria rise so high and Volkanovski drop so low so quickly, but what else can be done when the seizing of the crown is done with such authority? Like Sean O’Malley and Alex Pereira before him, Topuria has earned a lofty spot in the rankings, even if his résumé doesn’t stack up to that of the champion he defeated. Yet.

As it stands, our top five is mixture of old and new faces, with Topuria and Pereira claiming spots alongside veterans Makhachev, Edwards, and Jones. As dominant as the latter three names have been, it’s not inconceivable that they concede their spots to a white hot challenger in the near future (Arman Tsarukyan, Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Tom Aspinall, anyone?), so no one should be surprised if 2024 proves to once again be a year of mass upheaval in the pound-for-pound ranks.

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Ilia Topuria def. No. 2 Alexander Volkanovski

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 11 Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon “Chito” Vera (UFC 299, March 9)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Merab Dvalishvili (6), Johnny Eblen (3), Jiri Prochazka (3), Patricio Pitbull (2), Shavkat Rakhmonov (2), Brandon Moreno (2), Jan Blachowicz (1), Jamahal Hill (1), A.J. McKee (1), Belal Muhammad (1), Usman Nurmagomedov (1), Dustin Poirier (1), Robert Whittaker (1), Vadim Nemkov (1)

Lastly, a refresher on some ground rules:

• The eight-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Shaun Al-Shatti, Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Steven Marrocco, Damon Martin and Jed Meshew.
• Updates to the rankings will be completed following every UFC pay-per-view. Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout.
• Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice (let’s put it this way: we’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did).

As a reminder, the notion of pound-for-pound supremacy is always going to inherently be subjective. When you’re debating whether someone like Justin Gaethje should be ranked above someone like Max Holloway, there is no true right answer. In other words: It’s not serious business, folks.

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Former two-division middleweight champion Israel Adesanya watched the UFC 298 pay-per-view and reacted to his teammate, Alexander Volkanovski, getting knocked out by Ilia Topuria in the fight card’s main event.  

In the second round, Topuria connected with a vicious right hand that sent Volkanovski on a trip to the shadow realm.  And for the first time since 2019, the fight promotion has a new featherweight champion.  

See how Adesanya reacted in real time to the sudden end of Volkanovski’s 145-pound title reign.  

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos