CombatSports.org

Shoving Match
| BJPenn.com

‘Gordo’ scored plenty of points against Simoes in a crushing performance that makes us wonder who will dethrone ‘King Ryan?’

Gordon Ryan won his second ADCC Superfight of the weekend on Sunday, dominating Yuri Simoes en route to a 21-0 victory on points.

This was a much better performance from Ryan, who went to overtime against Felipe Pena in Saturday’s Superfight, eeking out a 2-0 win off a close scramble (see video highlights here). Against Simoes, Gordo racked up points by improving position, going from mount back to half-guard repeatedly.

There was a fair amount of action on this one, with Ryan attacking Simoes’ arm repeatedly during the bout. Simoes finished the fight trying to force a tap from an ankle lock, but it’s unclear if he’d have been able to get it even if the clock didn’t run out.

The win makes Gordon Ryan a seven time ADCC champion and it’s hard to imagine who could emerge to beat him in the future. Even Kaynan Duarte, who won this year’s Absolute and -99kg division, has already fallen to Ryan in past matches. Would the Ryan that showed up this weekend be able to beat the Kaynan who hit seven submissions in eight wins? We may have to wait until ADCC 2026 to find out.

There is also Nicky Rod, who challenged Ryan to a $ 1 million grappling match. Check out what the CJI tournament winner told MMA Mania about a potential match with Gordo here.

For now it really seems like the biggest opponent for Ryan is his own body, which continues to force him out of competition for lengthy stretches. Check out the highlights from Ryan’s victory over Simoes below:

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dricus du Plessis is willing to defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland in a rematch of their January title fight, but believes another former foe is more deserving.

Du Plessis stopped Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of Saturday’s UFC 305 main event in Perth. UFC CEO Dana White said prior to the bout that Strickland would be next for the winner. At the post-fight press conference, du Plessis was asked about the man he already defeated for the title and if he thinks trash talk with Strickland will get personal once again.

“I don’t know,” du Plessis said. “Does he want to cry again?”

Fortunately for du Plessis, middleweight is loaded with stars and talent currently. In an upcoming massive fight at UFC 308 in October, Robert Whittaker faces Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round rebooked co-main event. It will be Whittaker’s third fight of 2024 after beating Paulo Costa at UFC 298 via unanimous decision in February, and then stopping Ikram Aliskerov in the first round at UFC Saudi Arabia in June.

Du Plessis gave his thoughts on which fighter in the 185-pound division deserves the next crack at his 185-pound title the most, and he sided with the man he stopped at UFC 290 in July 2023 to earn his championship opportunity.

“Robert Whittaker,” du Plessis said. “Robert Whittaker deserves the shot. I think he’s being done over. Whittaker beat Costa.

“Sean Strickland’s only saving grace is the fact he went to decision with me. That’s it. Robert Whittaker beat Costa in a more spectacular fashion, I believe, than Strickland did. Then Whittaker steps up to fight Khamzat, [Chimaev] pulls out, Whittaker fights a nobody in the sense of [Aliskerov] is not in the rankings, he can only lose, and it’s a great fighter. Ikram is an amazing fighter, he’s really good. Whittaker makes it look like he’s fighting an amateur.

“And what does he get for it? Nothing. Then says, ‘OK, I’ll fight Khamzat again.’ So if he beats Khamzat, do you not give him the title shot? He’s getting the short end of the stick, unfortunately. That’s not on me. I’ll fight whoever. Strickland’s the fight everyone wants to see, but Whittaker is the one being done over, in my opinion. He’s more deserving, but life’s not fair.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya had the opportunity to become a three-time titleholder when he took on champion Dricus du Plessis in the UFC 305 main event.  It wasn’t to be for “The Last Stylebender.”

It was a hard-fought, back and forth battle with du Plessis coming on strong in the fourth round to finish Adesanya via submission.  After hurting Adesanya with a punch, du Plessis quickly took the former champion’s back and locked on a rear-naked choke.  Adesanya was forced to tap out.  

Following the loss, Adesanya spoke with commentator Daniel Cormier inside the octagon and vowed to return.  “I’m not f***ing leaving,” he said.    

UFC 305 Octagon Interview: Israel Adesanya  

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

UFC

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

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Magomed Ankalaev is getting sick of Alex Pereira.

Long considered one of the top light heavyweights in the world, Ankalaev made it clear that he did not appreciate Pereira teasing the idea of dropping back down to 185 pounds to challenge UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis after UFC 305. Early Sunday morning, Ankalaev erupted on the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion on social media, dubbing Pereira the “biggest chicken in the UFC” and promising to knock out the Brazilian in two rounds or less whenever the two finally do meet in the octagon.

@AlexPereiraUFC biggest chicken in the Ufc he call out guys middleweight he 40 pound more than them I am the only guy he doesn’t even mention my name I promise I’m gonna handle my business in October and I’m gonna knock you out under 2 round

Ankalaev is currently tied with former champ Jiri Prochazka for the No. 2 spot on MMA Fighting’s global light heavyweight rankings. The 32-year-old Dagestan native is unbeaten over his past 12 UFC bouts and many within the sport assumed he would be awarded the next title shot against Pereira. However, that did not turn out to be the case.

Ankalaev is instead set to face Aleksandar Rakic on October 26 at UFC 308, just three weeks after Pereira makes the third defense of his title against MMA Fighting’s No. 9 ranked light heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr. on October 5 in the main event of UFC 307.

It remains to be seen whether Pereira is serious about his pledge to come down to 185 pounds “one more time,” but if he is, the middleweight champ thinks it’ll be a bad idea.

“I honestly don’t think Alex Pereira should drop down to 185,” du Plessis said at UFC 305’s post-fight press conference. “If he wants to, great, perfect. But then we’re going to hear the excuses. I saw [Israel Adesanya] stiff that man in the first round. I felt Izzy’s punching power tonight. Izzy has great timing, he’s fast, he’s long and he has great combinations, but I felt the power.

“If Izzy stiffens you like that, you do not want to be in there with me, especially not when you’ve got to come in there with the excuses, ‘Oh, I cut too much weight.’ That’s going to happen. Everybody’s going to say it.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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

Kai Kara-France wants his title shot.

A one-time UFC interim title challenger, Kara-France reestablished his standing in the flyweight division in thunderous fashion on Saturday, knocking out Steve Erceg with first-round barrage in UFC 305’s co-main event. The win marked Kara-France’s return from a 14-month layoff and sent a message to the rest of the 125-pound division after Erceg mounted a mighty challenge to Alexandre Pantoja’s UFC flyweight belt just three months ago.

“If you break down this fight, I just beat the guy that everyone thought should’ve been the champion. I just beat him in the first round,” Kara-France said Saturday night. “It’s taking time away from the sport, coming back and making a statement with my actions. I’ve heard the UFC want to bring in this guy from Japan called Kai [Asakura], but I’m the real Kai.

“This is my home. You can’t just come in and think you can bang with the big dogs because you think you’re good. It just doesn’t work like that. You’ve got to earn it, and I’ve been in this company for a while now, I’ve fought everyone in this flyweight division, and I’ve [said] it time and time again, I’m going to let my actions be my loudest voice and I’m making noise now. So Alexandre Pantoja, I know he doesn’t have a fight booked — I might’ve just leap-frogged my way back into a title shot, so that’s how I see it happening.”

The other Kai referenced by Kara-France is Kai Asakura, a former RIZIN bantamweight champion who inked a deal with UFC in June. Since his signing, Asakura has been rumored to be the next challenger to Pantoja’s flyweight title, but Kara-France has other ideas.

Though the 31-year-old New Zealander entered UFC 305 on a two-fight losing streak to Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi, the Albazi loss was a highly controversial decision and the Moreno loss came in Kara-France’s shot at the interim belt. Prior to that, Kara-France racked up an impressive three-fight UFC win streak over Rogerio Bontorin, Cody Garbrandt, and Askar Askarov.

Kara-France is currently the highest ranked UFC flyweight contender to have not already lost to Pantoja in a professional bout — Pantoja did beat Kara-France in a two-round exhibition on The Ultimate Fighter 24 in 2016 — so Kara-France feels he is well within his rights to tell the UFC newcomer Asakura to wait his turn in lines.

“If they want me to fight for the title, I would happily wait until December,” Kara-France said.

“Me and Pantoja have a history. We’ve shared the octagon, season 24 on The Ultimate Fighter. It was only a two-round fight, so we couldn’t really showcase all our skills cutting weight week in, week out on that show. But I know him, he’s done really well in the UFC, and being the champion now, nothing but props. And he’s a dog and I love his fight style, but I feel like I can be the one to take him out. He hasn’t fought me in the UFC properly yet, so if he wants, let’s do it. If the UFC want to make it, let’s do it in December.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts