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Here’s what you may have missed!

Seeing as UFC Vegas 93 wasn’t very fun and went on until 1 A.M. EST, I don’t want to drag this recap article out any further than is necessary. Let’s aim for concision: the good, the bad, and the ugly of yet another evening in the Apex.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

THE GOOD

It’s easy to be concise in this section.

• Tatsuro Taira was quite good! The Japanese prospect-turned-contender showed off sharp kickboxing and good counters against former title contender Alex Perez, then he forced a finish within seconds of taking the fight to the mat in round two. That was the only fight between ranked contenders on the whole of the card, and it appropriately stood out!
• Garrett Armfield vs. Brady Hiestand was a very good Bantamweight fight between talented up-and-comers. Both men dug deep, fought hard, and nearly secured finishes at various points.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

THE BAD

• The CO-MAIN EVENT of Miles Johns vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade was just a bad fight in a usually good division. A bunch of fight fans switched over from a Tank Davis boxing masterclass (watch here) to a pair of 135-pounders throw one punch at a time for 15 full minutes then flex on each other. Miserable.
• The whole undercard was wildly unimpressive. The average MMA fan would be better off tuning into an event from a feeder promotion like LFA, which routinely features better talent.
• Zero actual knockouts in eleven fights.
• Just eight of the 22 fighters featured have Wikipedia pages

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

THE UGLY

• Why did this card go on until so late in the night?
• Why was a 6’ tall fighter competing at 125 lbs?
• Why did Perez’s knee have to bend that way?
• Why did Michael Bisping forget Asu Almabayev’s name mid-interview?
• Why are we still in the f—king Apex?

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

IN SUMMARY

UFC Vegas 93 was the 100th event to be held inside the UFC Apex (it hosted a handful of numbered pay-per-view (PPV) shows at the height of the pandemic). Along with all those events came a lowered set of expectations about what a UFC fight should look like, how much fun a UFC event should be, and the skill level of the average UFC fighter.

UFC Vegas 93 was not fun. It was not worth the time of any but the most desperate of fans. It was a fight card that could have been summed up in a short email or an Instagram reel. The promotion can and should do better, but that won’t happen consistently until the Apex is a thing of the past.

For complete UFC Vegas 93: “Perez vs. Taira” results and play-by-play, click HERE!

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Chael Sonnen is already writing more checks with his mouth.

Not moments after the conclusion of an odd five-round boxing match in Brazil against longtime rival Anderson Silva, Sonnen was up to his old tricks on the microphone. There was no official winner due to the bout being booked as an exhibition, but Silva appeared to get the better of Sonnen over five rounds. MMA Fighting scored the fight 50-45 in Silva’s favor.

That wasn’t how Sonnen saw it.

“I thought I won the first three rounds,” Sonnen said in a post-fight media scrum. “You have to understand, he let me win the first one. He always lets me win the first round. That’s one of his strategies, he feels you out. He lets everybody win the first round, and I did the same thing in Rounds 2 and 3 that I did in the first round.

“But I slipped somewhere in the fourth round, and then they brought the doctor in at some point because I had a bloody nose or something. It’s like, come on, you’re making this look way worse than it is. It was three rounds to two, I thought I won that fight.”

Sonnen has often boasted that he is not only undefeated (in actuality, he owns a 31-17-1 in MMA), but that he also got the better of Silva in their previous UFC fights. At UFC 117, Sonnen dominated Silva with his grappling for more than 20 minutes before Silva caught him with a triangle armbar submission in the fifth round. In their rematch at UFC 148, Silva defeated Sonnen by second-round TKO.

With his liberal interpretation of how fights are scored, Sonnen explained how he still has the advantage over “The Spider.”

“You have to understand, the last two fights, whether I like it or not, were stoppage losses, so a draw is a big step in the right direction,” Sonnen said. “On the other hand, of the six completed rounds I’ve had with Anderson Silva, I won all six. He has never won a round against me, that’s a reality.

“Tonight, he won rounds, so big deal for me to get a draw, big deal for him to win a round.”

While Silva is yet to reveal his plans following his third fight with Sonnen, there is no uncertainty on Sonnen’s side as to what’s next. He wants a piece of fellow former UFC star Jorge Masvidal.

“This whole thing was just part of the process,” Sonnen said. “I’m boxing Jorge Masvidal. I got called out for that fight, I have agreed to that fight, this was all part of the training process, and I learned some stuff tonight. Anderson, when he gets going, he tricked me a number of times, and I do not like to get tricked in there. I like to see that stuff coming. But, I mean, he would move one way and hit you with the other, he’d show you the right hand and then hit you with the left. He was very tricky and he was very fast.

“I only say that because the guy is the better part of 50. If he is tricking me to the point that he can get some of those hands on me, I’m going to have to respect Jorge Masvidal a little bit more than I wanted to.”

Currently, Masvidal is booked to fight Nate Diaz in a boxing match on July 6. Masvidal has regularly traded public barbs with Sonnen, to which Sonnen hasn’t shied away from responding.

When Masvidal’s business with Diaz is resolved, Sonnen expects the former “BMF” champion to follow up on all the talk and meet him in the ring.

“Masvidal’s a little bit overrated, in all fairness, within his own mind,” Sonnen said. “I can’t remember the last time that he won a fight. He gave me a threat, he said, ‘I won’t even use my right hand. I’ll put that in the contract.’ I’m like, ‘OK, stupid, put that in the contract. I didn’t ask for that, but go ahead and put that in there.’ Then he talks about, ‘I’m going to pay you $ 10 million.’ Well, I didn’t ask for $ 10 million, but again, stupid, put that in the contract. Just keep talking.

“It just keeps getting worse for Jorge Masvidal. There’s some people you play with, there’s some people you don’t; put me in the category of ‘don’t.’ Do not challenge me unless you want to fight me.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Confirming he has suffered an undisclosed injury just weeks before his UFC 303 return, Conor McGregor has received some well wishes from former lightweight title challenger, Michael Chandler – who still vows to chase a fight with the Dublin veteran.

McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight gold holder, has been sidelined for three years after fracturing a left tibia and fibula against common-foe, Dustin Poirier.

And forced offically from his return at UFC 303 later this month during International Fight Week, McGregor confirmed he had suffered an injury – which is still yet to be disclosed, however, confirmed his optimism of finally making good on a return to the Octagon.

“Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout,” Conor McGregor posted on his official Instagram account. “I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time than was available to me. The decision to postpone the fight was not made lightly, but one made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC, and my team.”

“My fans and opponent deserve me at my best for this fight and we weill get there!” Conor McGregor continued. “Thank you for the messages of support, I am in good spirits and confident I’ll be back!”

Michael Chandler wishes Conor McGregor well through injury

And replying to McGregor’s statement confirming an injury ruled him from UFC 303, Missouri veteran, Chandler wished the ex-champion well, before noting his interest in facing him in the future still.

“No hard feelings,” Michael Chandler posted on his official X account. “Heal up. My heart is full. See you soon.” 

Himself out of action for the last two weeks, former Bellator MMA lightweight champion, Chandler suffered a third round rear-naked choke submission loss to Poirier at Madison Square Garden.

Do you expect to see Conor McGregor fight Michael Chandler this year?

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Gervonta Davis is a scary man.

Davis successfully defended his WBA lightweight title in spectacular fashion on Saturday, knocking out Frank Martin with a brutal eighth-round sequence at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Coming off the longest layoff of his career, Davis was rusty early but eventually found his rhythm and scored a monster knockout, trapping Martin into the corner and blasting him with a left uppercut followed by a left hook.

Check out how the combat sports world reacted to Davis vs. Martin below.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and former title challenger Chael Sonnen fought in an exhibition boxing match in Brazil on Saturday.  It was a trilogy match for the former UFC rivals.  

Sonnen and Silva first fought at UFC 117 in August 2010.  Sonnen was a heavy underdog heading into the fight but thoroughly dominated Silva for the first four rounds.  Just after the midway mark of the final frame, after being taken down again, Silva locked on a triangle choke and pull victory from the jaws of defeat.  

In the rematch at UFC 148 in July 2012, Silva finished Sonnen in the second round.  The trilogy match took place inside a boxing ring Sao Paulo.  It was billed as Silva’s final fight in his native country.  

The bout was an exhibition match and both fighters approached the opening round as a light sparring session.  Sonnen pressured Silva and the two exchanged but appeared to be holding back on their punches.  Silva worked behind his jab while Sonnen pressed forward.  They were touching each other with punches but there was no power on them.

The second round saw the same holding back by both men.  It became clear that the exhibition match was for show than it was for competition. 

Silva picked up the pace in the third round popping his jab repeatedly in Sonnen’s face.  He went to the body and head and showed that he’s still got some footwork and hand speed on the cusp of 50.  In the closing moments of the round, Sonnen backed Silva into the corner and delivered punches to the body.  The round ended with Silva connecting with a combination.    

Sonnen pursued Silva in the early going of the fourth frame.  Silva kept him on the outside with his jab.  Neither fighter looked to hurt the other.  

The volume of punches and the output of both fighters picked up in the final round.  But there wasn’t a power shot thrown in the entire “fight,” although Sonnen did have blood trickling from his nose.  Because it was an exhibition match, a winner was not declared.  The fight ended in a draw.    

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts