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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Virna Jandiroba is confident she deserves a title shot — and that she can give the champion a run for her money.

The Brazilian veteran’s grappling skills were on full display Saturday in the UFC Vegas 94 main event as she tied Amanda Lemos into knots for the better part of 10 minutes before finding a submission with an armbar just 12 seconds before the end of Round 2. Afterward, Jandiroba made it clear that she intends to challenge strawweight queen Zhang Weili for her belt, and if she gets the chance, she’ll present Zhang with a challenge unlike any the champ has seen before.

“The thing is, I’m not a very orthodox fighter,” Jandiroba said at the evening’s post-fight presser via a Portuguese translator. “With time, I’m learning that I fight weird. My style’s a little different. The way that I grapple is a little strange. I know my wrestling is very effective, my jiu-jitsu is very good, but it’s not like you can say, ‘Oh, she’s like a proper wrestler,’ but I make it work.

“And within the weirdness of everything that I do, I think that I create problems for most people, and that’s how I can beat her. With the weirdness, that’s how I get my arm raised.”

In 28 pro bouts, Zhang has only lost three times and never been submitted.

If there’s anyone who has the skills to be the first to make Zhang tap, it’s Jandiroba, who’s now the proud owner of 14 career submission wins.

The former Invicta FC strawweight champion has long been recognized as one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu experts in all of MMA, but it wasn’t until recently that Jandiroba managed to string together the kinds of results becoming of a UFC contender.

Asked how her unique grappling style might affect her opponents’ approach, Jandiroba acknowledged that it can potentially be to her benefit.

“I think that there’s a little bit of that, and just I guess that not being as orthodox as most people are just makes it a little harder to understand what I do and how I get to the positions that I do, and how I can get the submissions,” Jandiroba said. “So I’m probably a little underestimated by people, and that’s good. That gives me better chances against them, I guess, and gives me opportunities that maybe if they were overestimating me they might not let me have it.”

Jandiroba has now rattled off four consecutive victories against top-20 competition, including top-five contender Lemos, as well as Loopy Godinez, Marina Rodriguez, and Angela Hill. Come Tuesday when the UFC updates its official rankings, there will be few names left ahead of Jandiroba on the strawweight list.

Though it’s unclear when Zhang plans to defend her title next, Jandiroba sees no reason why she shouldn’t be the first contender to get the call.

“I believe that a title fight should be next,” Jandiroba said. “We don’t know how the division’s going to work out now, but four wins against some of the greatest fighters in the division, and especially with a submission over a title contender, I believe that should be enough to get me a title shot next.”

Watch Jandiroba’s post-fight media scrum below, courtesy of FanSided MMA.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Manel Kape doesn’t back down from a challenge, but it’s difficult for him to settle any scores when the guy he supposedly beat up wasn’t even there.

In early July, Jean Silva claimed he witnessed Kape attack upcoming UFC 304 opponent Muhammad Mokaev outside the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. The incident allegedly centered around some harsh words the flyweights shared on social media, and Silva detailed what he called his own firsthand account of watching the altercation unfold.

“He elbowed Mokaev in the head on the street, bro,” Silva claimed. “He caught Mokaev at the entrance here to the [UFC] P.I. He headbutted him and elbowed him in the street. He opened Mokaev’s head a week before his fight. He’s a psychopath.”

The only problem with that story, Kape said, is that it never happened.

“Nothing happened,” Kape told MMA Fighting. “It was just Jean. I have a Brazilian friend, he made this story [up] just to spice up the fight. He knows I’m going to fight Mokaev and we tweeted before in the past badly with each other, this was public. We never hid this from anyone. This was public.”

While altercations between fighters have popped off at the UFC P.I. in the past, the facility is typically filled with athletes at any given time at day or night, so it seemed a little strange that no one else caught this alleged brawl between Kape and Mokaev.

As further proof that no physical altercation ever took place, Kape was quick to point out that he trains in Las Vegas but Mokaev rarely travels to the U.S. unless he’s arriving for fight week.

Proximity wise, that would make a street fight between the flyweights rather difficult to facilitate.

“Mokaev is in Dagestan or England, and I’m in Vegas,” Kape said. “We did not have any fight. People like to buy this fan story. This is the story. By the way, Jean is a good promoter. He’s a good seller at the end of the day. This makes the fight more exciting.

“But no, nothing happened. Me and Mokaev are good, we are brothers, nothing like this happened.”

Of course, Kape doesn’t mind standing up for himself even when he’s the smaller fighter in a situation. He famously got into a very heated war of words with former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya ahead of UFC 293, and later said he rebuffed an attempted apology from “The Last Stylebender.”

That being said, Kape’s previous war of words with Mokaev was nothing more than social media bluster as the 23-year-old undefeated prospect started calling out higher ranked flyweights in an attempt to book a fight. None of that meant Kape was looking for blood whenever he ran into Mokaev again.

“Mokaev is a young kid and he wants to rise fast,” Kape said. “He wants to be a champion like Jon Jones so early, and he didn’t get the opportunity. So of course he made this game at the beginning to catch the big sharks. He was a small fish in the water, so he wanted to get to the big sharks. So I understood his game.

“But we never had anything personally. Not physical interaction. Jean wanted to make this fight a thing. Mokaev, at the end of the day, is my Muslim brother. All good. But I’m still the best. I’m still the best in this game. I’m still young too. I’m 30 years old. People don’t sleep on this. I’m just getting much better.”

When it comes to the actual fight on July 27, Kape is excited to finally get in there with Mokaev and mix it up after so much debate through social media and interviews.

Kape appreciates the talent Mokaev has displayed since first arriving in UFC, although he’s seen some shortcomings from Mokaev’s opponents that cost them the chance to end his unbeaten run.

“Definitely, he’s been winning,” Kape said. “When the Brazilian guy [Jafel Filho] snapped his leg, it was definitely more his ego talking. He definitely did not want to give up but it was his ego. Of course, he has an impressive record and he doesn’t want to lose. It’s good too, but he’s put in a position where he’s not going to able to continue to do this all the time. I saw a lot of small mistakes that the fighters who are fighting him did, and of course, the mistakes of his and he takes the opportunity of these mistakes.

“Just because I say to you and I say to everybody, there is a [difference] at the championship [level]. Of course, all these fighters are good, they’re in the UFC, congrats, but this is different. These [are] mistakes [fighters] with championship material do not make. I don’t make mistakes. I don’t make these kinds of mistakes. I saw very well what mistakes these guys are doing with Mokaev and they didn’t catch him and were about to catch him. Many times they rush a lot, and championship fighters don’t rush. We hunt. We are calm.”

In particular, Kape looked at Mokaev’s most recent win. While Kape didn’t have many kind things to say about Tim Elliott, even he saw moments when the veteran flyweight could have pulled off the upset and beaten Mokaev.

“Tim Elliott is just a bum,” Kape said. “He’s just a bum. He’s an old fighter. He fights like a stupid guy. He was winning the fight against Mokaev, don’t get me wrong, Tim Elliott was doing great. He’s just very sloppy and very dumb. This is my opinion. This is the story of the fight.”

The stakes of the matchup couldn’t get much bigger, because all signs are pointing to the winner getting the next shot at reigning UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.

Kape fully expects that scenario to play out after talking to UFC and knowing an opportunity to become champion has been dangling over his head for the past few months.

“Yes, we’ve been in conversation a lot [with the UFC],” Kape revealed. “Even when I was supposed to fight Matheus Nicolau in April, I should have fought Pantoja if I [beat] Matheus Nicolau. The fight [Steve] Erceg got [at UFC 301] was my opportunity. This is the second time, the opportunity for the belt, so I just have to step in the cage and win.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Jake Paul and Mike Perry squared off on Saturday inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida in a boxing match that headlined the DAZN Pay-Per-View fight card. 

Paul was scheduled to faced Mike Tyson on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas but a medical issued forced Tyson to push the bout back until Nov. 15.  Paul, wanting to stay active and gain experience, considered Perry a ‘warm-up fight’ ahead of the Tyson showdown.   

Paul was coming off a first-round knockout win over Ryan Bourland in March improving is record to 9-1 as a professional boxer. Perry rejuvenated his career after leaving the UFC in 2021. He was signed by Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and is undefeated in the fight promotion with wins over former UFC champions Anderson Silva, Eddie Alvarez and Luke Rockhold. Perry last fought in April, stopping Thiago Alves in the first round.

Paul entered the match as a heavy betting favorite and predicted that he’d stop Perry in the first round.  Perry planned to take Paul into the later rounds before finishing the fight by knockout.    

Perry pressed forward as Paul moved on the outside.  Paul landed first with a hook to the body.  Paul landed a right hand that knocked Perry down.  Perry immediately bounced back to his feet.  Paul connected with a left hook.  The separated after briefly clinching.  

Paul’s jab kept Perry on the outside.  Perry closed the distance with Paul in the corner and delivered a combination.  Paul connected with a right hand that wobbled Perry.  Perry continued to press forward.  He landed an overhand right.   Paul answered to the body.  MMAWeekly score the first round 10-8 for Paul.

Paul came out in the second and landed his jab.  Perry walked forward flat footed.  Paul connected with a clean right hand that send Perry crashing to the canvas.  Paul went on the offensive when the fight was restarted.  Perry continued to press forward.  Perry’s hands were low and didn’t display a lot of head movement.  Perry connected with a hook.  They clinched and Perry pushed Paul to the canvas.  Perry connected with a left hand.  The crowd rose to the feet.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-8 for Paul.  

Paul was breathing heavily going into the third frame.  Perry pressed forward.  Paul connected with a right hand.  Perry answered with a left hook.  Perry landed a left hand.  Paul’s hands began to drop.  Perry connected with a counter left hand.  Paul responded with his jab and a body shot.  Perry caused a cut on Paul’s forehead.  Perry was cut above his left eye last round.  

Paul landed an uppercut as Perry closed the distance.  Perry continued to try and walk Paul down.  Perry connected with a left hook at the end of the round.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Paul but there seemed to be a momentum change.  

Perry landed a short left hand.  Paul answered with a straight right hand.  Paul went to the body with a right hand.  A left hand staggered Perry.  A stiff jab snapped Perry’s head back.  Perry looked off balance but continued to move forward.  Paul connected with a combination.  Paul connected with back-to-back jabs followed by a right hand at the bell.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Paul.  The referee was paying close attention to Perry at the end of the round.  

Paul went back to landing his jab to start the fifth.  Paul’s jab caused Perry problems.  Perry’s face revealed the damage he’s sustained.  Perry’s output dwindled.  Paul landed a right hand.  Paul doubled up with his jab.  MMAWeekly scored the frame 10-9 for Paul.  

Perry inched forward but was met with a body show from Paul.  Perry landed a left hand.  Paul landed a left hook that staggered Perry.  A fight hand sent Perry crashing to the canvas.  He got to his feet but staggered and the referee stopped the fight.  The official time of the finish was 1:12 of the sixth round.    

Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry Full Results

Main Card

• Jake Paul def. Mike Perry via TKO at 1:12, Round 6
• Amanda Serrano def. Stevie Morgan via TKO at 0:38, Round 2
• Lucas Bahdi def. H20 Sylve via knockout at 2:27, Round 6
• Corey Marksman def. Tony Aguilar via majority decision (76-76, 77-75, 78-74)
• Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. def. Uriah Hall via unanimous decision (59-55, 59-55, 58-56)

Preliminary Card

• Shadasia Green def. Natasha Spence via unanimous decision (78-73, 77-74, 77-74)
• Alexis Chaparro def. Kevin Hill via knockout at 2:01, Round 2
• Angel Barrientes def. Edwin Rodriguez via majority decision (57-57, 60-54, 60-54)
• Ariel Perez def. Dane Guerrero via TKO – Round 3

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

Explanation
| BJPenn.com

UFC

White is such a fan of Trump he was willing to give up a day of his vacation on a $ 3 million yacht rental to travel to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Dana White has been on vacation in Italy for the past week, but that didn’t stop him from taking a quick break from his break to stump for Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention.

White has stood by Trump over the past few difficult years as court cases continue to pile up for the former US president. No matter what salacious headlines were in the news, Trump was always welcome at UFC events, where he’d get VIP treatment.

That led to White getting his own VIP placement on the RNC speaker list: he introduced Trump on the final night of the conference. During the speech, he shouted out his family for letting him disappear from their vacation. Considering the accommodations he left them with, we’re sure they’ll understand.

White’s Instagram featured a story showing him back in Italy and getting helicoptered to a 377-foot superyacht on the Mediterranean Sea. Not White’s yacht, though. The frugal UFC CEO merely rented the massive vessel for a cool $ 3 million.

That’s the kind of money you can make and spend when you build a business like UFC up from a money pit to a point where you can sell it for $ 4 billion. White made out pretty good on that sale even though he owned just 10% of UFC at the time. Imagine how much money he’ll make when he eventually sells Power Slap, which he says is already worth $ 450 million.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts