CombatSports.org

Alexa Grasso has edged out Valentina Shevchenko in their coaching battle.

Team Grasso featherweight Mairon Santos (13-1) earned the last spot in the The Ultimate Fighter 32 finals with a unanimous decision win over teammate Guillermo Torres (7-1) on the long-running television program’s season finale. That means three Team Grasso fighters will compete at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 96 event, with a UFC contract on the line.

Torres, who fell short in his quarterfinal bout, was given a second chance after being called upon to replace Team Bullet’s Zygimantas Ramaska. Prior to this episode, doubts swirled around whether Ramaska would be medically cleared after suffering an injury in his first fight, and it was eventually ruled that he could not compete.

To add further controversy to the bout, Santos actually came in half a pound over the featherweight limit, but was still allowed to fight as scheduled.

The semifinal bout was closely contested, with neither fighter able to establish much offense through the first two rounds. Santos maintained a slight striking edge throughout, winning the kicking battle from distance and occasionally landing a hard shot. Torres’ wrestling made him a constant threat, though, and he was always looking for an opening to take Santos down even with the Brazilian cutting off the cage.

In the end, Santos’ striking acumen and aggression were enough to carry him to a victory and a spot in the TUF 32 featherweight tournament finals.

Santos fights teammate Kaan Ofli (11-2-1) on Saturday, while Grasso’s Robert Valentin (10-3) fights Shevchenko’s Ryan Loder (6-1) to determine the season’s middleweight champion.

See the finals matchups below:

TUF 32 Featherweight Final

Kaan Ofli (Australia) vs. Mairon Santos (Brazil)

TUF 32 Middleweight Final

Ryan Loder (USA) vs. Robert Valentin (Switzerland)

Overall, Grasso proved to be the better coach by a small margin as her fighters won five of the eight opening-round matchups, and then three of the semifinal bouts (one of which pitted two Team Grasso fighters against one another).

With the conclusion of TUF 32, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are set to face off in a flyweight championship trilogy bout at UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas.

The finalists of the TUF 32 middleweight and featherweight tournaments compete for a six-figure UFC contract at the show’s live finale, which takes place as part of the main card of UFC Vegas 96.

Here are the TUF 32 rosters divided by team:

Team Grasso

Featherweights

1. Guillermo Torres (Mexico) (7-1)
2. Kaan Ofli (Australia) (10-2-1)
3. Bekhzod Usmonov (Tajikistan) (11-4)
4. Mairon Santos (Brazil) (13-1)

Featherweights

1. Robert Valentin (Switzerland) (10-3)
2. Paddy McCorry (Ireland) (4-1)
3. Omran Chaaban (Finland) (6-1)
4. Tom Theocharis (Canada) (9-5)

Team Shevchenko

Featherweights

1. Roedie Roets (South Africa) (7-1)
2. Zygimantas Ramaska (Lithuania) (9-2)
3. Nathan Fletcher (England) (8-1)
4. Edwin Cooper Jr. (USA) (6-1)

Middleweights

1. Shamidkhan Magomedov (Russia) (7-1)
2. Mark Hulme (South Africa) (12-3)
3. Ryan Loder (USA) (6-1)
4. Giannis Bachar (Greece) (9-2)

See the semifinal results below:

Middleweight

Ryan Loder def. Omran Chaaban via decision

Paddy McCorry def. Robert Valentin via submission (leg trap Americana) (R1)

Featherweight

Kaan Ofli def. Roedie Roets via submission (guillotine choke) (R1)

Mairon Santos def. Guillermo Torres via decision

See quarterfinal results below:

Roedie Roets def. Guillermo Torres via decision

Robert Valentin def. Giannis Bachar via KO (strikes) (R1)

Kaan Ofli def. Nathan Fletcher via decision

Omran Chaaban def. Shamidkhan Magomedov via technical submission (anaconda choke) (R2)

Zygimantas Ramaska def. Bekhzod Usmonov via decision

Ryan Loder def. Tom Theocharis via submission (arm-triangle choke)

Mairon Santos def. Edwin Cooper Jr. via split decision

Paddy McCorry def. Mark Hulme via submission (guillotine choke) (R1)

MMA Fighting – All Posts

submitted by /u/rmma
[link] [comments]
MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dana White claims that the reason Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones never fought was Ngannou.

On Tuesday, Jones teased retirement after he defends his UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic later this year, repeatedly dismissing interim champion Tom Aspinall. This has become a common refrain for Jones, who appears dead set on the Miocic fight despite some public backlash and on Tuesday evening, following the latest episode of Contender Series, White jumped in to defend Jones.

“I have zero animosity towards Francis,” White said. “Francis was out of my world a long time ago. [Sean Shelby] and Mick [Maynard] are another story. It’s a long story. [Shelby] did everything he could in his power to make Jon Jones vs. Francis. The fight did not happen and let me tell you what, it wasn’t because of Jon Jones.

“So Jon is a very unique individual to deal with. Jon Jones will fight everybody. Jon Jones was absolutely — he wanted Francis! You saw what happened with Ciryl Gane. He will tell you like he told us that he would do the same thing to Francis Ngannou. He wanted that fight so bad.

“And for anybody who thinks — I know the whole internet, ‘Oh Jon Jones!’ that I’m up Jon Jones’s ass, these are f*cking facts. Facts. And since everybody has been such douchebags about this, I’m coming out with a nice little punch in the face for all you f*ckers that think Jon Jones isn’t the greatest of all-time.

“Dislike him, whatever your beef is with Jon Jones, knock yourself out. There’s no way in hell that Jon Jones doesn’t want to fight Aspinall. That I guarantee you.”

Ngannou’s split from the UFC was fairly acrimonious as the former heavyweight champion completed his contract then opted not to re-sign with the promotion, citing irreconcilable differences and a lack of respect from the promotion. The perceived animosity from the UFC only increased when, ahead of UFC 305, the promotion released a video of Israel Adesanya talking about the “Three Kings” of Africa but conspicuously removed mention of Ngannou. But White insists that neither he nor any of the top brass had anything to do with that, at least not to his knowledge.

“I don’t know about this,” White said. “And it was something that we produced? Are you sure that we produced this? Like Embedded or something?

“… We’ll find out what happened… Because if that’s true, and that was done and that was something that we produced, then somebody in the company made that decision. That definitely — listen, you know me, if I said we did it, I’d say, ‘Yeah, f*ck him and this is why we did it.’ I know nothing about it, nobody ever asked me about it, and this is the first we’re hearing about it or I would tell you.”

What White will tell you is that Jones is going to fight Aspinall after he concludes his business with Miocic later this year. Despite Jones’s recent comments, White still believes that’s going to happen, even dismissing Jones suggesting that he may be looking for “a deal I can’t refuse.”

“Jon Jones is doing Jon Jones right now,” White said. “That’s what he does. There is nobody that we’ve ever dealt with, when I tell you is not afraid to fight anybody. It’s Jon Jones… I believe Jon Jones-Aspinall happens if he beats Stipe…”

“We’ll do everything we can to make that fight happen… What fights don’t we make? Other than the Francis thing, what fights don’t we make? You can’t make people fight and we couldn’t make Francis fight. But every other fight we’ve made. We’ve dealt with guys like Brock Lesnar. Think of the biggest stars that have ever been in the sport. We’ve always made the fights.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Not good
| BJPenn.com

It’s that time of year again!

Contender Series is back with 10 straight weeks of mixed martial arts (MMA) action. This week’s show starts at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ for the first two weeks (because of The Ultimate Fighter 32 final episodes), and then things switch back to the usual 8 p.m. ET time slot moving forward. Week No. 2 of Contender Series also has three returning fighters from past seasons.

In the main event, Middleweights collide as Sweden’s Andreas Gustafsson (10-2) fights Canada’s Pat Pytlik (9-1). The co-main event sees Rizvan Kuniev (12-2-1) return for a second shot at a UFC contract against Brazilian Heavyweight, Hugo Cunha (8-1). The “Featured” bout has former UFC fighter, Michael Imperato (12-6), seeking redemption (he was cut in 2014 for using homophobic and racist slurs) against a returning Cortavious Romious (8-2). Torrez Finney (8-0) looks to nab a contract after missing out last year against Australia’s Cam Rowston (8-2). Finally, 25-year-old Australian prospect, Cody Haddon (6-1), takes on Billy Brand (5-1) to kick off the show.

‘Contender Series’ Quick Results:

Andreas Gustafsson defeats Pat Pytlik via KO (knees) Round 2, 3:20
Rizvan Kuniev defeats Hugo Cunha via TKO (punches) Round 1, 4:49
Cortavious Romious defeats Michael Imperato via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Torrez Finney defeats Cam Rowston via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Cody Haddon defeats Billy Brand via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1, 3:09

‘Contender Series’ Highlights & Results:

185 lbs: Andreas Gustafsson defeats Pat Pytlik via KO

265 lbs: Rizvan Kuniev defeats Hugo Cunha via TKO

135 lbs: Cortavious Romious defeats Michael Imperato via unanimous decision

185 lbs: Torrez Finney defeats Cam Rowston via unanimous decision

135 lbs: Cody Haddon defeats Billy Brand via submission

For more Contender Series news and notes, be sure to hit up our comprehensive archive right here.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/TheJiltedGenerationX [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

After a night of finishes and hard fights, four more fighters joined the UFC roster.

On Tuesday night, the second episode of Contender Series took place in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX and after five fights and three finishes, UFC CEO Dana White awarded contracts to Andreas Gustafsson, Rizvan Kuniev, Cortavious Romious, and Cody Haddon.

Gustafsson brutalizes Pytlik

Andreas Gustafsson said he was going to come and channel the Viking spirit and he did just that, finishing Pat Pytlik with brutal knees and punches in the second round.

Gustafsson set a strong pace right from the start, pressuring forward relentlessly and working Pytlik over in the clinch and with takedowns. Pytlik proved game for a while but in the second round, Gustafsson grabbed a clinch and landed some monster knees to Pytlik’s head, sending him crashing to the canvas and earning Gustafsson a contract with the UFC.

Kuniev stops Cunha at the buzzer

After failing to get signed despite a win in his first Contender Series attempt, Rizvan Kuniev made the most of his second chance, stopping Hugo Cunha in the first round and earning a UFC contract in the process.

Perhaps best known for beating Renan Ferreira in PFL before that was result was overturned due to a failed drug test, Kuniev has been out of action for a year serving his suspension. He clearly used that time to improve though as he turned up the pressure on Cunha at the end of the first round, landing a knee to the body and an elbow that crumpled the Brazilian, pounding away with shots to score the stoppage one second before the round ended.

Romious outworks Imperato

Cortavious Romious fell short in his first foray to Contender Series, getting knocked out in 29 seconds by Ramon Tavares in season 7, but he made the most of his second chance, picking up a dominant decision win over Michael Imperato in their bantamweight contest and a UFC contract.

Romious controlled most of the action with his aggressive boxing on the feet and sneaky grappling on the floor. Imperato could never get going as Romious was simply too much for him in all phases. Afterward, Dana White had some tough words for Romious’s choices, but nonetheless awarded him a contract, calling him “one of the most gifted athletes I’ve ever seen.”

Finney grinds down Rowston

On season 7 of Contender Series, Torrez Finney scored a submission victory that wasn’t good enough to earn him a contract. This time he had to settle for a decision over Cam Rowston, but still no contract.

Displaying his trademark power and wrestling, Finney overwhelmed Rowston with grappling, repeatedly delivering big slams and power punches. Rowston hung tough though and proved tricky enough on the floor that Finney was unable to do more than grind his way to a clear decision win. Afterward, he did his best to sell Dana White on a contract with some solid mic work but White was unimpressed, telling Finney he would get dominated in the UFC. White then told Finney to go out and get some more experience and come back.

Haddon submits Brand

A teammate (and former opponent) of Steve Erceg, Cody Haddon came in with some hype as a 25-year-old prospect and the Australian fighter delivered, submitting Billy Brand in the first round to secure a UFC contract.

Haddon showcased crisp boxing skills early, routinely landing combinations before ultimately dropped Brand with a left hook. The BJJ black belt then followed him to the ground, took the back, and after some work, locked in the fight ending choke. At the end of the night, Dana White didn’t even delay in awarding Haddon his contract, praising the Aussie for his skills and future.

Check out the DWCS results below.

Andreas Gustafsson def. Pat Pytlik via TKO (knees) — Round 2, 3:20

Rizvan Kuniev def. Hugo Cunha via TKO (punches) — Round 1, 4:59

Cortavious Romious def. Michael Imperato via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Torrez Finney def. Cameron Rowston via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Cody Haddon def. Billy Brand via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 1, 3:09

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Jamahal Hill snapped back at Magomed Ankalaev.

‘Sweet Dreams’ was non-too-pleased to learn that No. 8 ranked contender Khalil Rountree would be the next man to fight Alex Pereira, challenging the light heavyweight champion at UFC 307 this October.

Hill’s biggest gripe being that Rountree was forced to pull out of a previously scheduled scrap in June after being suspended by the NSAC for the use of a banned substance. Now suddenly he’s rewarded with a title opportunity when he feels there are far more deserving candidates.

Candidates like Magomed Ankalaev who is sitting on a 10-fight win streak and currently occupies the No. 2 spot in the light heavyweight rankings.

Still, you don’t see him crying.

Responding to Hill’s frustration, Ankalaev thinks the former champ should pipe down and do the work put in front of him if he ever hopes to earn another shot at the 205-pound title.

“Why is Jamahal Hill crying? Pereira just made you sleep, get back in the like and work your way up or be ready for Abu Dhabi because Rakic may pull out,” Ankalaev wrote.

Jamahal Hill claps back at ‘Clout Chaser’ magomed ankalaev

Responding to Ankalaev’s comment on X, ‘Sweet Dreams’ delivered a lengthy rebuttal that took aim at the Russian’s failed title opportunity against Jan Blachowicz two years ago and the ensuing comments he made which could be keeping him out of the title picture now.

“I made a reaction video about the Khalil Rountree and Alex Pereira fight announcement and there was one guy in particular who yeah, I will agree he’s been given the run-around by the business right and I’m assuming now, he’s learned his lesson now to watch his mouth ‘cuz as you know, we talking about Mrs, I ain’t even going to, little ‘Frudamed Gankalaev’, ankle grabber, whatever you want to call him,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “This dude just can’t stop trying to like clout chase in whatever way he can. Bro like, you fought to a draw, you had your chance, you had your chance of winning the title.

“Now, I am one of the people that agree that he should have been next in the title shot above Khalil Rountree, and I spoke on this. But, for you to say like, say I’m crying because I spoke on an obvious fact of the game that affects everybody in our weight class and things like that, I see what you tried to do bro. You see that the whole fan base, they’re kinda against me, they kind of want to throw sh*t on me and sh*t like that.

“You think that you can get some cool points by jumping on that bandwagon and trying to call me out. Stop it bro, stop it bro. I would expect a low IQ move like that from you, you know what I mean. You don’t want to say anything about the fight being announced because you’ve now learned your lesson from the time whenever you lost, talking about you don’t want to fight for the UFC and now they have now smacked your hand and now you know to watch your mouth and stay in check” (h/t MMA News).

Three weeks after Pereira and Rountree scrap in Salt Lake City, the promotion will make its annual pit stop in Abu Dhabi for UFC 308, featuring a light heavyweight clash between top-five contenders Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakic.

Hill thinks Ankalaev’s energy would be better served by focusing on the task at hand rather than picking a fight with him and trying to score some “cool points” with the fans. But if for some reason Rakic can’t make it to fight night, ‘Sweet Dreams’ is more than happy to step in and take care of some “light work.”

“They don’t even like you enough to let you fight [for the title] over the #8 dude! So chill out bro, chill out tryna get cool points bro, focus on other sh*t. You got a fight coming up against Rakić, shout out to Rakić cuz’ he’s very well capable of putting your a** out. But, best believe if my phone ring and they need somebody to come step in and handle you, bro you’re light work for me. You’re light work for me and I can’t wait to show that.”

LowKickMMA.com

Tom Aspinall defended the interim UFC heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. Since then, demands for a fight between him and the undisputed kingpin Jon Jones have increased significantly.

Regardless, it looks like Jones will return to the Octagon against Stipe Miocic before the end of 2024. On top of that, the former UFC light heavyweight champion has repeatedly hinted at hanging up his gloves after the fight.

Aspinall has always respected Jones and Miocic for their illustrious careers. However, he recently revealed why the latter is a better role model for him…

Tom Aspinall Isn’t A Fan Of Jon Jones And Anderson Silva Being Involved In PED Usage

Aspinall talked about Jones and Miocic on the official Michael Bisping YouTube channel recently. He praised both the veterans for their contributions to MMA but clarified that he relates more to the former UFC heavyweight champion.

“Well, I look to Stipe more because the… Don’t make me say it Anthony. Don’t make me say it!”

For starters, the interim UFC heavyweight champion believes that failing drug tests directly affects the legacies of greats like Jones and Anderson Silva. Despite holding some of the most celebrated UFC records, both fighters have been heavily criticized in MMA circles for PED usage.

“If there’s anything about drug tests going on, that’s a bit of an asterisk next to your name. Do you know what I mean? If there’s a drug test going. Same as, you know, when people talk about Anderson Silva being the best of all time. You know, he definitely was, but there was definitely some other stuff going on there.”

Miocic, on the other hand, has a record six title wins in the UFC heavyweight division. He’s never been accused of using PEDs, which is one of the main reasons why Aspinall picked him as a more suitable role model over Jones.

“I mean, I don’t know either guy personally but Stipe seems more my type of human being.”

Aspinall made sure not to delve into Jones’ personal life, though. He aims to fight “Bones” only to unify the UFC heavyweight title and has no interest in taking a jab at the veteran’s notorious past.

READ MORE: Sean Strickland Shares Unpopular Opinion On Former UFC Middleweight Champ: ‘I Just Don’t Think Izzy’s That Good!’

Continue Reading Tom Aspinall Sneakily Reveals Why He Looks Up To Stipe Miocic More Than Jon Jones: ‘Don’t Make Me Say It!’ at MMA News.

MMA News

submitted by /u/TheJiltedGenerationX [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts