CombatSports.org

submitted by /u/here_to_vibe1 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Kelvin Gastelum spent most of his post-fight interview at UFC Saudi Arabia issuing an apology to executives Dana White and Hunter Campbell after he once again struggled to make weight.

Just a day before he was supposed to step on the scale, Gastelum’s team informed opponent Daniel Rodriguez that there was no way he was going to make the contracted welterweight limit. So what started as a welterweight fight ended up being renegotiated into a middleweight fight on short notice.

Gastelum went on to win a unanimous decision, but it appears that saying sorry wasn’t enough to sway the UFC CEO into forgiving him for this latest incident involving weight cutting in his career.

“I’m not thrilled with Kelvin Gastelum right now,” White said at the UFC Saudi Arabia post-fight press conference. “This guy’s missed weight like three times in his career.”

Technically, Gastelum has now failed to make weight four different times since joining the UFC roster and it’s always surrounded his attempts to compete at 170 pounds.

His first weight miss came back in 2014 and that was followed by Gastelum coming in 10 pounds over the welterweight limit for a fight against Tyron Woodley in 2015. He then had his bout scrapped with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in 2016 after he was unable to make the 171-pound limit for a non-title fight at UFC 205.

Gastelum spent the next few years at middleweight before deciding to return to welterweight. He successfully made weight prior to a loss to Sean Brady this past December, but his struggles came back to haunt him again in Saudi Arabia.

White seemed particularly upset that Gastelum failed to make weight while athletes like Ikram Aliskerov and Antonio Trocoli accepted short notice fights, flew all the way to Saudi Arabia, and still hit the mark without any incident.

“You got kids taking fights on a week’s notice, jumping on cards, coming over here and making weight and Kelvin doesn’t make weight,” White said. “It’s extremely disappointing.”

When Gastelum faced these issues earlier in his UFC career, White demanded he move up to 185 pounds and declared at the time that the fighter wouldn’t be allowed to compete at welterweight again.

White loosened his stance when Gastelum decided to go back to welterweight for his two most recent fights, but it’s tough to imagine he’s going to get another try after the debacle that unfolded in Saudi Arabia.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Following the conclusion of their first event in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, UFC officials announced the recipients of the coveted performance-based bonuses.  Four fighters were awarded an extra $ 50,000 for their octagon performance: Robert Whittaker Volkan Oezdemir, Shara Magomedov, and Felipe Lima.   

Performance Of The Night: Robert Whittaker

Making good on his promise to fight anyone, anywhere, Robert Whittaker didn’t back down when faced with dangerous newcomer Ikram Aliskerov as a short-notice replacement for Khamzat Chimaev. He didn’t even need a full two minutes to find the chin of his opponent with a swift uppercut that rocked the man riding a 7-fight win streak into the main event. Whittaker noted he’d be interested in being the backup fighter for the middleweight championship fight in Perth this August, and after peformances like this, who in their right mind would say no?

Performance Of The Night: Volkan Oezdemir

It was hard to be more succinct than Jon Anik when he yelled “Volkan Oezdemir stretchers Johnny Walker!” halfway through the first round of the first fight of the main card. Everyone knew the explosive potential of the bout going into it, but the result and the way it played out still managed to be completely surprising. “No Time is back” declared Oezdemir. Indeed.

Performance Of The Night: Shara Magomedov

Despite being a short-notice replacement, Antonio Trocoli’s size and strength kept him in the heat of the action for most of the scheduled fifteen minutes, but the undefeated Shara “Bullet” Magomedov appears to be every bit of the unstoppable freight train he has been touted as, halting his opponent by vicious knockout late in the final frame.

Performance Of The Night: Felipe Lima

The first finish of the UFC Saudi Arabia prelims was fittingly the first win the UFC career of the young Brazilian Felipe Lima who made his short-notice UFC debut against an incredible game Muhammad Naimov who led on the scorecards before Lima saw his opening for the rear naked choke. “It was a rollercoaster,” said Lima, who only got the phone call on Monday to join the promotion. “But I’m very happy.”

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

Message
| BJPenn.com

Conor McGregor’s immediate future remains uncertain.

In the last week, McGregor was forced to withdraw from his planned UFC 303 main event match up versus Michael Chandler. He’s been building towards that comeback fight for the better part of three years, but a broken pinky toe disrupted his plans. McGregor wasn’t willing to fight at anything less than 100%, so he opted to delay his highly-anticipated return.

While attending Bellator Dublin in support of his teammate Sinead Kavanagh, McGregor was interviewed by Dan Hardy.

“I had a little lapse of concentration, and I had to reschedule the bout,” McGregor told Hardy (via SportsNet). “I’m a little upset about that, but it’s keeping me dialed in, it’s keeping me focused … that’s not bad for me. I’m onwards towards the new date and take my lesson’s learned. It was a lapse in concentration. If I was any one of these other little bums that can’t move, that have no footwork and don’t rely on their skills, then I would be okay.

“And I’ve done it before. I’ve made the walk a multitude of times under those circumstances and given these bums an advantage over me that they don’t even deserve. So now I’m dialing it in. I’m getting this training camp correct, I’m walking in there 100% Conor McGregor, injury free, perfection is back on the menu.”

Later backstage at the event, McGregor was interviewed by Andy Stevenson of SevereMMA. In that interview, McGregor revealed that he was still unable to put on a shoe three weeks after the injury, but he also intends to fight Michael Chandler in either August or September.

All told, that’s not the worst delay. If McGregor’s toe heals up well and he’s able to compete by the end of summer, all of Michael Chandler’s patience will have actually paid off. Of course, this does still mean that McGregor has to undergo another entire fight camp at nearly 36 years of age …

Hopefully, there are no further delays.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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

Robert Whittaker reminded fans that he’s still one of the best middleweights in the world as he quickly dispatched the dangerous Ikram Aliskerov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia. Was the win good enough to get him the winner of the UFC 305 main event between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title, or does Whittaker now have a future matchup against Sean Strickland?

Following Saturday’s Fight Night event in Riydah, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Jed Meshew, and Eric Jackman react to Whittaker’s first-round finish of Aliskerov, discuss the future of Aliskerov moving forward, and where Whittaker goes next. Additionally, they discuss Alexander Volkov’s co-main event win over Sergei Pavlovich, Kelvin Gastelum ending a horrible week with a win over Daniel Rodriguez, Paige VanZant competing in Power Slap next Friday, and more.

Catch the UFC Saudi Arabia post-fight show above. An audio-only version of the show can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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

Robert Whittaker added another bonus to his impressive collection.

The former middleweight champion stormed into the octagon Saturday at UFC Saudi Arabia and needed less than two minutes to dismiss short-notice opponent Ikram Aliskerov with a ferocious series of knockout punches. For his latest highlight, Whittaker was awarded with a $ 50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

It is the ninth post-fight bonus of Whittaker’s 22-fight UFC career, and he now owns the second-most bonuses in the middlweight division behind only the legendary Anderson Silva (12).

No Fight of the Night was awarded on Saturday, meaning three more Performance of the Night bonuses were handed out. Those $ 50,000 checks went to Shara Magomedov, Volkan Oezdemir, and Felipe Lima.

Magomedov shook off a slow start to outlast short-notice opponent Antonio Trocoli and deliver a powerful knockout in the third round. It was the second UFC win for “Shara Bullet,” who is now 13-0 as a pro.

As impressive as Whittaker and Magomedov’s finishes were, the most devastating knockout might have belonged to Oezdemir. The one-time light heavyweight title challenger punched Johnny Walker into oblivion, leaving him limp on the floor in Round 1.

The lone submission of the night belonged to newcomer Felipe Lima. The former Oktagon MMA bantamweight champion not only came in on short notice to fight Muhammad Naimov, he was also moving up in weight. Those challenges didn’t hold Lima back though and after surviving two rounds against Naimov, he battled back in the third to secure a rear-naked choke submission.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

 A middleweight clash between former champion Robert Whittaker and rising prospect Ikram Aliskerov headlined the UFC’s first event in Saudi Arabia.

Whittaker was originally slated to face 11th-ranked Khamzat Chimaev in the headlining bout but Chimaev was forced to withdrawal due to illness. Whittaker entered the fight coming off a decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in February. Aliskerov was riding a seven-fight winning streak with his only career loss coming to Chimaev. 

The two touched gloves and Aliskerov came up short on a front kick.  Whittaker pressed forward with a jab.  Whittaker landed a leg kick but Aliskerov countered with a right hand.  Whittaker connected with his jab and Aliskerov reacted with a leg kick.  Whittaker connected with a right hand that wobbled Aliskerov.  He barely missed with a head kick.  A uppercut dropped the Dagestan fighter.  A few left hands ended the fight forcing referee Marc Goddard to stop the fight.  The official time of the finish was 1:49 of the first round.  

“I told you.  I told everybody.  I’m the boogeyman.  I’m the best in the world and I’m the most dangerous matchup for anyone in the division,” Whittaker said in his post-fight interview.  “I’m the most dangerous middleweight in the world.  I’ll take a fight anywhere, anytime, and I proved it tonight.  I’ll prove it again.  I’ll fight anyone.”      

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