CombatSports.org

UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and top ranked contender Manon Fiorot are total professionals in the cage but things got a little chippy between them on social media.

It’s been two months since Shevchenko reclaimed her title with a lopsided win over Alexa Grasso to settle a trilogy of fights between them but Fiorot is anxious to get her own shot at the belt lined up. Fiorot is expected to face Shevchenko next after she dispatched Erin Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas in consecutive fights while improving her UFC record to 7-0 overall.

“Valentina Shevchenko, stop making people wait!” Fiorot said on Twitter. “Let’s do it soon enough so I can send you to retirement and move on.”

It didn’t take long for Shevchenko to see the comment and fire back at the French flyweight.

“You lose, you retire. Deal?” Shevchenko wrote in response. “Ill-mannered first grader.”

The war of words continued with Fiorot sort of accepting those terms but she seemed more interested in actually getting a date and location for the fight against Shevchenko scheduled.

“Deal,” Fiorot said. “I’ll take you seriously when you’ve signed the contract. Damn teacher’s pet.”

Considering some of the volatile trash talk that often erupts between fighters, “ill-mannered first grader” and “damn teacher’s pet” is down right civil.

Still, it’s clear that Fiorot is doing everything possible to get Shevchenko’s attention as she attempts to secure her shot at UFC gold for the first time in her career.

There’s no word if the UFC has actually attempted to book this fight just yet or if Fiorot is looking to get the ball rolling in that department so she can start making plans for early 2024.

As of now based on her Instagram account, Shevchenko is still very much enjoying her vacation after reclaiming the flyweight title in September so it’s tough to tell when that fight might get scheduled.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Challenge
| BJPenn.com

Klaudia Sygula had a rough time during her UFC debut, losing to Melissa Mullins via second round TKO.

The UFC has a great show on Fight Pass called ‘The Thrill & The Agony’ which follows fighters backstage moments after winning and losing. It’s been going on for a decade and shows you just what a rollercoaster of emotions cage fighting can be.

Those are reserved for UFC pay-per-views, which means you’ll never get to see a lot of what went on behind the scenes of UFC Vegas 100. But debuting UFC fighter Klaudia Sygula shared her own heart-rending clip after losing to Melissa Mullins via TKO in the second round of their prelim fight (watch the finish here).

“Debuting is not my strong side,” she said through tears and ragged breathing. “I’m sorry for all the people who supported me and whom I disappointed … That’s how sports are.”

“I know this will be a success, I just need time. Once again I am very sorry to everyone. My heart aches, but I’ve experienced difficult moments in my career so I know I’m stronger.”

Sygula came into the UFC with a 6-1 pro record and three impressive finishes in a row — enough to have the UFC call her when Mullins’ original opponent Montserrat Rendon withdrew. But the Polish fighter seemed underpowered against Britain’s Mullins, who missed the bantamweight limit by a pound and certainly looked like the bigger stronger fighter through the round and a half affair.

Losing a percentage of her purse for missing weight didn’t seem to bother Mullins, who busted out some breakdance moves to celebrate her win.

While Sygula has fought up to 150 pounds in the regionals, she might want to consider moving down to flyweight if she doesn’t want to get hammered into the canvas in future bouts.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Max Holloway has done it all at 145 pounds and he’s no less ambitious when it comes to his expectations in the lightweight division.

“Blessed” recently made it official that he plans to move up in weight and join the UFC’s 155-pound roster following a 12-year run that saw him compete primarily as a featherweight and reign as that division’s champion from 2017 to 2019. Holloway had a chance to regain the featherweight title this past October at UFC 308, but lost to Ilia Topuria, who handed Holloway his first-ever knockout loss.

Moving from one deep division to another, Holloway hopes to follow in the footsteps of light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who claimed the UFC middleweight title from rival Israel Adesanya in just his fourth fight for the promotion. He dropped the belt back to Adesanya in an immediate rematch, but two fights later he won a vacant light heavyweight title by defeating Jiri Prochazka.

Holloway called Pereira an inspiration during a recent Kick stream (h/t Championship Rounds):

“155, cannot wait,” Holloway said. “All I know is, we saw Alex Pereira get finished [by Adesanya], right? Next fight he fought for a No. 1 contender spot. Fought for the title and he’s on a title run right now, a spectacular title run. Let’s mimic it. Let’s do it.”

Since winning the light heavyweight title, Pereira has successfully defended it three times in 2024, making him one of the UFC’s most valuable players. A former kickboxing champion, the 37-year-old Pereira still has plenty of big fights ahead with No. 1 contender Magomed Ankalaev breathing down his neck and all-time great Jon Jones stating his preference would be to fight Pereira should he continue competing after his bout with Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.

Suffice to say, if the lightweight chapter of Holloway’s career is anything close to how Pereira reinvented himself, he’ll be more than pleased.

“I get inspiration in that,” Holloway said. “He’s a beast.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

UFC

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

Carlos Prates has harsh words for fans who believe Neil Magny didn’t give it his all.

On Saturday night, Prates faced Magny in the main event of UFC Vegas 100, knocking out the longtime UFC veteran at the end of the first round. It was the fourth finish of Prates’s 2024 campaign, and earned him his fourth performance bonus of the year, but the finish was not without some detractors.

Though Prates dropped Magny early in the round, the finishing blow that face-planted “The Haitian Sensation” was a curious little left hook that seemed to clip Magny’s temple instead of land flush like many fans have come to expect with such knockouts. As a result, some fans took to social media to question Magny’s willingness to fight, even suggesting Magny took a dive. But Prates has no time for that nonsense.

“I think they should come here and let me give a punch on his head,” Prates said in his post-fight scrum. “Then after they can talk.

“You know when I fought Li Jingliang? It was the same the first knockdown. I hit his head and then he goes down. I think Neil Magny was the same. I train a lot of boxing, many times. Maybe four times per week. Bro, my hand, when I punch you, no matter how or where, you’re going to get hurt.

“On the head is different on the face. On the face you get a little bit dizzy. But on the head you cut your legs and don’t feel nothing and then you come back. So I think people talking shit, they should come here and let me hit his head and then they’ll talk after.”

Magny currently holds a number of UFC divisional records including most fights, wins, strikes, and decisions in UFC welterweight history. His 34 fights in the promotion make him tied with Jeremy Stephens at sixth-most fights all-time in the UFC. So given his long history with the UFC and numerous accolades, it’s fair for Prates to give little credence to the idea that Magny simply wanted out.

What Prates does give credence to is where he goes from here. Magny is currently ranked No. 15 in the UFC welterweight rankings, meaning Prates is likely to take his spot when those update this coming week. Soon to be a ranked fighter in just his first year with the promotion, Prates now hopes he can keep this rapid upward momentum with a fight against No. 4-ranked contender Jack Della Maddalena when the UFC heads to Maddalena’s home country of Australia in February for UFC 312.

“To be honest, I think the best option would be against Jack Della Maddalena, but you have the rank,” Prates said. “I think he’s No. 4 and probably next Tuesday I will be 15. So I don’t know if he’s going to accept the fight. Also, if the UFC is going to do that fight, if they think it’s interesting or something like that. But if it’s so far and the UFC and Jack Della Maddalena don’t agree with that fight, I would be happy fighting against Geoff Neal probably would be cool.”

And if neither of those work out, that’s fine too. For Prates, even making this far is already a dream, and one that is quickly changing his life.

“It’s a dream,” Prates said about his incredible 2024 run. “A few years ago — not a few years ago, I think two years ago, one year and a half I was fighting for maybe $ 200. Now I’m doing a lot of money. It’s a dream. I worked hard for this for many years and I’m really happy.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

When Stipe Miocic suffered a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 back in 2021, he thought a trilogy fight was inevitable.

Considering Miocic manhandled Ngannou in their first encounter three years earlier, it wasn’t a shocking request that he would get the rubber match to settle the trilogy. Unfortunately for Miocic, Ngannou ended up facing Ciryl Gane instead nine months later, aggravated a knee injury in the process and then sat out to recover from surgery before entering free agency.

In the end, Ngannou surrendered the UFC heavyweight title and opted to sign with the PFL while also crossing over to boxing for a pair of fights against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

“I was trying. I was trying to get the rematch,” Miocic said about pursuing the Ngannou trilogy when speaking to MMA Fighting. “Then he left and it didn’t happen unfortunately.

“Listen, I’m a fighter. I don’t work for the UFC internally and [figuring] out matchmaking. It’s what they wanted to do and it’s what they did.”

As much as Miocic wanted that third fight against Ngannou, he can’t fault the former UFC heavyweight champion for opting to take a deal that would allow him to live out his dream in the boxing ring and get paid a whole lot of money to do it.

“Yeah of course [I was bummed] because I wanted the rubber match,” Miocic said. “But also at the same point, he’s doing better for himself and his family. I’m not mad at him. He’s doing great.”

In his two fights crossing over to boxing, Ngannou took Fury to a razor-close decision loss after scoring a shocking knockdown on the former heavyweight champion. Things didn’t go as well against Joshua after Ngannou suffered a pair of knockdowns before being finished with a vicious punch in the second round.

Miocic, a Golden Gloves boxer in his youth, admits he didn’t watch both of Ngannou’s fights, but he was still proud to see his former rival getting the chance to compete against two of the best heavyweights in the sport.

“I saw clips of it,” Miocic said about the boxing matches. “The first one he did well with Fury and unfortunately the second one didn’t go well with Joshua. But it happens. It’s fighting, anything can happen.

“Some people said he won [against Fury]. I didn’t see the whole fight but a lot of people said he won the fight. He put him down. He did a lot of things. Listen, he convinced that many people that he could [beat him]. Shows that we can hang.”

Ngannou returned to MMA this past October when he made short work of Renan Ferreira in his PFL debut. As of now, he’s undecided on what comes next.

With opportunities available in both boxing and MMA, Ngannou can essentially pick or choose whatever he wants to do, but it seems highly unlikely that a return to the UFC ever happens. Ngannou remains at odds with UFC CEO Dana White and appears happy controlling his own destiny.

That means there’s little to no chance that Miocic ever gets to settle the score. As much as he once wanted the trilogy, he’s resolved in knowing that his rivalry with Ngannou ends at one win apiece.

“Listen, I’m OK with letting go,” Miocic said. “I get it. As much as I would love to fight him, I wish him nothing but the best and it is what it is. We’re 1-1. That’s the way it will be. He got the last one unfortunately.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts