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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Cris Cyborg will enter the PFL cage for the first time Saturday riding a 11-fight winning streak — MMA and boxing combined —, stopping six of her opponents with strikes, but none had the knockout power of her upcoming foe Larissa Pacheco.

Pacheco is a two-division PFL champion with 11 of her 23 MMA wins coming by way of knockout — including two sub-minute finishes during the 2023 season —, while Cyborg went 2-0 this year in boxing against overmatched opponents. Cyborg is a jiu-jitsu black belt under the legend Rubens Charles “Cobrinha,” and has placed third in the ADCC before, but Pacheco doesn’t expect the Bellator champion to avoid a stand-up war in Saudi Arabia.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t even know what her plans are,” Pacheco said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “My camp and training were focused on a broad plan, like I always do. I never focus on what my opponent is good at, on what she might do. I always focus on what I can get better at in case she tries to come up with something new — I mean my opponents in general, whoever I’m about to face. They might try to surprise me, so I better be prepared in all areas. What holes do I have to fix?

“I don’t know what she’s going to try and do, but one I can can guarantee you is that I’m ready for everything. I think it would surprise me [if she goes for takedowns] because of her history. She’s known for her striking and this style of moving forward and trading strikes and whatnot, so I believe she will trust that. Taking me down would be changing her style completely. It would be trying to show something that… I don’t know, but yeah, it would surprise me.”

Pacheco said she has met Cyborg at the UFC Performance Institute recently, while accompanying a friend who was about to fight in the octagon in Las Vegas, and said the veteran fighter was upset at her for something she had said during an interview after the fight was finally booked by the PFL.

“I think I said something in an interview and she was offended by it, but then I explained her what I said and what I had in mind,” Pacheco said. “Not that I was scared of her or anything like that, but out of respect. My word is my word, you know? If I had something to say I would go ahead and say it, but I won’t create trash talk out of nowhere just to sell a fight.”

“I’m always respectful towards my opponents and never take anything outside the cage,” she continued. “I know this hate is something that fans like, but I separate things. This is work, and that’s my personal life. I’m not the type of person to talk trash just to promote a fight. I know it doesn’t help my career because fans love this, but I can’t be someone I’m not.”

With no apparent animosity between the two knockout artists, Pacheco promises fireworks when the bell rings in Riyadh.

“I guarantee you that people won’t regret watching this fight,” Pacheco said. “Just match my style with hers and see what we do when we’re in the cage and there’s nothing else left to be said.”

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Second Chance
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Anthony Hernandez and Michel Pereira both made weight for their middleweight main event atop the UFC Vegas 99 fight card on Sat. night (Oct. 19, 2024), going down at the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Get complete UFC Vegas 99 weigh ins results and video here.

“I’m a sick f***, I guess,” Hernandez told UFC.com. “Something about just breaking someone’s soul and seeing them just like, ‘F*** it.’ It f***ing gets me going. I don’t know what it is, but I just like breaking people. It’s fun to see for me.”

“I talk a lot of s*** when I fight (laughs),” Hernandez continued. “I don’t talk s*** on social media and all that, but when we’re fighting, we’re actually trying to hurt each other; that’s war tactics. Get in their head, f*** with them, break them, no matter what. You can tell in someone’s eyes.

“I’m in shape for a f*** ton of rounds, so when I see people start to get tired, I’m like, ‘Oh, b****, I’m just getting started.’ That’s another gear,” Hernandez said. “Now we’re hitting third, fourth, fifth gear. Not cruising no more. I love it.”

We’ll see if Pereira loves it on Sat. night.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 99 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matchups which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 99 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Hernandez vs. Pereira” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

A.J. McKee has some business to handle on Saturday but if all goes well it looks like he’ll finally get the fight he’s been chasing for over a year.

At the upcoming PFL: Battle of the Giants event, McKee faces fast-rising prospect Paul Hughes in the first bout on the pay-per-view main card but it seemed like a showdown against Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov was inevitable. An injury knocked McKee out of the Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix, which prevented him from chasing the fight back then, but a recent encounter with Usman’s cousin and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov gave him the news he’s been waiting to hear.

“That’s the fight everyone wants is Usman and McKee,” McKee told MMA Fighting. “I think that’s what’s on the roster next. That’s what everybody wants and I don’t think there’s any other fights to make.

“I was down at [Usman’s] fight in San Diego and Khabib [Nurmagomedov] walks by and says ‘see you in Dubai.’ I’m like I’ll see you in Dubai so it looks like they’re pushing for it and I’m pushing for it. So it looks like we’re going to make it happen. There’s really no other fight to make happen.”

Since moving to lightweight, McKee has gone undefeated with a perfect 4-0 record including a lightning quick finish over PFL favorite Clay Collard back in February.

This time around he’s facing an up and comer in Hughes, who just signed with PFL as a free agent earlier this year and only has one fight under his belt with the promotion. Going from a win over a journeyman like Bobby King to a fight against arguably the No. 1 contender in the lightweight division might seem like an almost unrealistic step up in competition.

McKee can’t get inside Hughes’ head to know what he’s thinking but he plans on showing him there are levels to this game when they meet on Saturday.

“He really hasn’t dealt with any pressure,” McKee said. “He’s just been kind of walking through guys. How’s he going to react when things get a little nitty gritty and sticky? I’m not one to back down. So I’m going to be in his face the entire time. That’s what we’re going to have to see. How does Paul Hughes react when things aren’t going his way? What is he going to be capable of in those moments?

“I remember wanting to be neck and neck with the best. But it’s like Fast and the Furious — too soon Junior. That’s the quote I’m looking to drop in this one.”

Truth be told, McKee didn’t even really knows Hughes before he got offered the fight because he leaves scouting up to his father and trainer, Antonio McKee.

Maybe Hughes really is the next big thing but McKee promises he’s not going to be the stepping stone on his ascension to stardom.

“I don’t really pay attention [to my opponents],” McKee said. “My dad’s the one who watches video and footage and puts together the game plan. For me, a name is a name. The hit list is the hit list and I’m just going to continue to go in there and take out people one at a time. Paul Hughes, he’s a tough cat. I can’t take anything away from him. He’s been in there, he’s been fighting and I’m just going to go in there and show him I’m a different breed.

“I’ve been in his position so I know that young, hungry feeling. I remember the first time I fought a vet. My first vet was Pat Curran. So I remember that hungry feeling. I remember wanting that moment. I’m older but I ain’t that old. I’m still holding my ground. I’m going to do what I do best and that’s come out victorious by any means.

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UFC Fight Night: Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira takes place on Saturday, and MMA News is here to bring you the official weigh-in results!

Before heading back to the Middle East to stage its latest pay-per-view in Abu Dhabi next weekend, the mixed martial arts leader has one final piece of Fight Night business to attend to at the Apex.

Topping the lineup on Oct. 19 will be a clash of ranked middleweight fan favorites as Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez collides with the always entertaining and eccentric Michel Pereira.

Elsewhere, the likes of longtime bantamweight contender Rob Font, former LFA champion Charles Johnson, two-time TUF winner Brad Katona, and top-10 flyweight Matheus Nicolau will all be in action.

UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Pereira Weigh-In Results

UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Pereira takes place on Saturday, October 19, at the Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card begins at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, with the preliminary card starting at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.

See above for a live stream of the weigh-ins via MMA Junkie, and check out the full results below!

Main Card:

• Middleweight Main Event: Anthony Hernandez (185.5lbs) vs. Michel Pereira (185.5lbs)
• Bantamweight Co-Main Event: Rob Font (135.5lbs) vs. Kyler Phillips (135.5lbs)
• Flyweight: Charles Johnson (126lbs) vs. Sumudaerji (126lbs)
• Bantamweight: Jake Hadley (135.5lbs) vs. Cameron Smotherman (135.5lbs)
• Featherweight: Darren Elkins (144.5lbs) vs. Daniel Pineda (145.5lbs)

Preliminary Card:

• Flyweight: Matheus Nicolau (125.5lbs) vs. Asu Almabayev (125.5lbs)
• Bantamweight: Brad Katona (135.5lbs) vs. Jean Matsumoto (135.5lbs)
• Women’s Bantamweight: Joselyne Edwards (139.5lbs)* vs. Tamires Vidal (135.5lbs)
• Women’s Strawweight: Jessica Penne (115.5lbs) vs. Elise Reed (115lbs)
• Women’s Strawweight: Melissa Martinez (115.5lbs) vs. Alice Ardelean (115lbs)
• Heavyweight: Austen Lane (251lbs) vs. Robelis Despaigne (264lbs)

*Joselyne Edwards missed the bantamweight limit by 3.5 pounds, fight status TBC

Continue Reading UFC Fight Night: Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira Weigh-In Results at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Joselyne Edwards had another rough day at the scale.

For the third time in her UFC career, Edwards came in over the bantamweight limit, registering at 139 pounds for her fight with Tamires Vidal (135.5) on Saturday at UFC Vegas 99. That’s a miss of three pounds for Edwards (including the one-pound allowance for a non-title fight), who weighed in again after hitting 139.5 pounds on her first attempt.

Watch footage of Edwards’ attempts below from Friday’s official weigh-ins, courtesy of Amy Kaplan.

It is not yet known if the bout will proceed as a catchweight and, if so, how much of Edwards’ purse will be forfeited as penalty.

Edwards previously missed weight for bouts against Lucie Pudilova and Ji Yeon Kim, though never by more than 1.5 pounds. In both of those instances, Edwards went on to win a split decision. She enters Saturday’s preliminary bout coming off of consecutive losses to Ailin Perez and Nora Cornolle.

The main event weigh-ins brought better news as middleweight contenders Anthony Hernandez and Michel Pereira both successfully made weight at 185.5 pounds, making use of the one-pound allowance for a non-title fight.

Check out UFC Vegas 99 official weigh-in results below.

Main Card (ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)

Anthony Hernandez (185.5) vs. Michel Pereira (185.5)

Rob Font (135.5) vs. Kyler Phillips (135.5)

Charles Johnson (126) vs. Sumudaerji (126)

Jake Hadley (135.5) vs. Cameron Smotherman (135.5)

Darren Elkins (144.5) vs. Daniel Pineda (145.5)

Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET)

Matheus Nicolau (125.5) vs. Asu Almabayev (125.5)

Brad Katona (135.5) vs. Jean Matsumoto (135.5)

Joselyne Edwards (139)* vs. Tamires Vidal (135.5)

Jessica Penne (115.5) vs. Elise Reed (115)

Melissa Martinez (115.5) vs. Alice Ardelean (115)

Austen Lane (251) vs. Robelis Despaigne (264)

*missed weight on second attempt. Weighed in over the limit at 139.5 pounds on first attempt

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