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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Pedro Munhoz has shared the octagon with former and future champions, Hall of Famers and rising prospects, and he isn’t bothered by a potential role as the bantamweight’s gatekeeper just weeks away from his 38th birthday.

“The Young Punisher” will make his 22nd walk to the UFC cage this weekend to face Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Edmonton, looking to snap the Canadian’s four-fight winning streak in enemy territory, and said that being put in a position as the one to separate unranked from the elite “does not bother me because this is my work and I love doing this.”

“I know my last five fights had the no-contest with Sean O’Malley, one win and three losses, but this is the UFC,” Munhoz said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “The UFC isn’t an organization where an athlete… I won’t say [protect], but some athletes and even their managers try to promote and find the right fights, and that’s something that’s never happened with me. I always went there inside the shark tank. The UFC likes the way I perform. I still feel the fire to continue competing, and this is something I think about every single day as I felt for my first fight.”

Munhoz entered the UFC in 2014, facing top-ranked Raphael Assuncao in his debut, and has beaten the likes of Cody Garbrandt, Rob Font, Bryan Caraway and Jimmie Rivera throughout his career, and six of his nine UFC losses came against men that have held or competed for UFC titles across three divisions. Munhoz signed a new UFC deal after losing to Marlon Vera, and looks to rebound from a recent decision defeat to Kyler Phillips.

“The goal is always to finish the fight, especially the way I fight, but knowing how experienced I am, I’m always ready for a three-round war,” Munhoz said. “I fought Chris Gutierrez when he was on an eight-fight [unbeaten] streak, a knockout over Frankie Edgar, and I beat him. The fact that my opponent is on a roll doesn’t bother me because I have the experience. I know I’m on the final run of my career but I was never one to pick and choose fights.”

Munhoz admitted, however, he would much rather face big-name opponents than athletes like Zahabi, who would present higher risk with low reward.

“I wanted to rematch with Dominick [Cruz],” Munhoz said. “I almost knocked him out twice in the first round — he said himself he had no recollection of the fight for days —, so I think we could do that rematch. Or even Henry Cejudo, a fellow veteran of the UFC, but the UFC offered me this fight [against Zahabi]. I was training every day in the gym and I love showing I can compete at the highest level against up-and-comers or legends, so I have no problem fighting anyone. I’m game.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Erin Blanchfield never wants to lose but she did manage to find some perspective after her first setback in the UFC when she fell to Manon Fiorot by decision back in March.

While a win would have almost certainly cemented her as the No. 1 contender in the division, the 25-year-old flyweight prefers that she got her bad night at the office out of the way before she became a champion. Nothing is ideal about losing but Blanchfield learned a lot from that experience and now believes she’s a better fighter because of it.

“It’s something I actually talked to my dad about,” Blanchfield explained when speaking to MMA Fighting. “I was thinking about that after that fight. It sucks to lose but you can always get better and there’s perspective on it. Like I’m so happy I was able to lose then and not lose my title to her. Let’s say I fought for a title and won it and then had lost my title to her or somebody else, that would have sucked more.

“Taking that lesson now while I’m still on the journey to get to the title, I think it’s going to be a lot better than losing a title in that way. I’d rather learn the lessons now so I can be prepared when I’m a champ.”

As far as what went wrong in the Fiorot fight, Blanchfield points to a couple of key issues that led to her struggles during the five-round battle.

In particular, Blanchfield was impressed with how effectively Fiorot used her size and reach advantage, which then led to problems with her grappling after going 0-for-3 on takedowns.

“I think my distance definitely wasn’t gauged great,” Blanchfield said. “I feel like she did a really good job sticking to her plan. She was very disciplined with it and I feel like maybe I didn’t have all the answers at that time. Those are things I’ve really tried to focus on and fix leading up to this fight. I feel like it was a really good experience for me and you’re never going to have the best nights every single time. I feel like it was a bad night, some bad timing, some bad distances. I think those are the things that kind of led to the loss.

“I knew she was a good fighter. I knew she used her length well. She knows how to fight for her body type and her style. She just utilized it well.”

Coming off that loss, Blanchfield moves right back into another huge matchup when she faces Rose Namajunas in a five-round co-main event at the UFC Edmonton card on Saturday. Meanwhile, Fiorot is expected to get a title shot against new champion Valentina Shevchenko sometime in 2025.

Blanchfield expects that Fiorot could potentially give Shevchenko the same kinds of problems she faced against a taller, longer fighter at 125 pounds. Of course, Shevchenko is the champion for a reason but Blanchfield doesn’t count Fiorot out from getting the job done and taking the title.

“I think Manon will do very well,” Blanchfield said. “I think she’s going to be a lot bigger fighter than Valentina. I don’t think Valentina cuts a lot to make [125] and Manon’s a big girl. I think she can definitely use that to her advantage, her height and her length.

“I do think Valentina is the more dynamic fighter. She has more tools than Manon. So I think it’s almost who can utilize what better. Can Manon use her size and her reach and her length to her advantage over Valentina’s more dynamic style.”

Since first arriving in the UFC, Blanchfield always dreamed about facing Shevchenko as one of the fighters she most admired coming up as a prospect in the sport. With hopes of getting back into title contention with a win over Namajunas on Saturday, the New Jersey native knows that fight could definitely still happen.

On the flipside if Fiorot gets the job done against Shevchenko and becomes champion, Blanchfield has just as much motivation to earn her way back to a rematch, perhaps this time with gold on the line.

“I’ve always wanted to fight Valentina,” Blanchfield said. “I’ve been watching her forever. She still has that aura being a great champ even with the whole Alexa [Grasso] trilogy. So I’d love to fight her and then obviously I’d love to fight Manon to get that win back.”

Before any of that can happen, Blanchfield has to get through Namajunas but she couldn’t have envisioned a better scenario to get back to where she wants than landing this particular matchup.

Namajunas is a former UFC champion currently riding a two-fight win streak at flyweight and Blanchfield recognizes that a win should put her right back in title contention again.

“It sucked losing my last fight and that always kind of hurts,” Blanchfield said. “So you always want to get back out there and get that win under your belt. Kind of get yourself feeling the way you’re used to. I’m really grateful I’m still in position to have these very high level fights and high profile fights like another five round fight against Rose.

“I set myself up in that position because of the performances I’ve had in the past. So I really want to continue that and really show out in this one.”

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Do you agree?
| BJPenn.com

Ian Machado Garry never imagined fighting Joaquin Buckley, but the two are now booked to main event UFC Tampa this coming December. “The Future” claims the matchup came together after every other top-ranked welterweight declined to fight him or was already booked.

Back in 2023, Garry and Buckley crossed paths at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas and “New Mansa” tried lobbying for a fight with the undefeated Irish contender. Garry, who was doing his best to crack the division’s top 10 rankings at that time, had no interest in sharing the Octagon with Buckley. Garry didn’t want to fight anyone below him in the division and claimed to only be looking up.

Buckley, who had returned to welterweight right around the same time the two fighters discussed a potential matchup, was simply trying to shoot his shot. It was hard to blame him since Garry was (and still is) one of the most talked about young fighters in the sport and someone fight fans want to see either win very badly or lose very badly. However, “New Mansa” was denied his chance to give Garry his first pro loss and had to work his way up to the opportunity.

Now that Buckley is 5-0 as a UFC welterweight and coming off a spectacular knockout win over UFC mainstay Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Garry has officially changed his mind. Buckley’s ability to get Garry to agree to a fight was also made possible by other top contenders like Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington turning down a matchup with “Future,” per Garry.

On Saturday, Garry took to social media to discuss his newly booked main event with Buckley and explain why he denied him to his face just one year ago. Check it out below:

“Back in 2023 after my fight with DRod, me and @newmansa94 had this conversation… Since then he’s climbed up the rankings with some good knockouts. Still not done enough to be above me, but as Colby has said no, and Usman said no and everyone else above me is matched or injured I’ll give Buckley this opportunity – I don’t wait. I don’t play games. I fight.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Brandon Moreno and Rose Namajunas both know what it’s like to be UFC champion. They’ve done it twice. Is a third run to gold too tall of a climb?

That’s the question both fighters face Saturday as they enter pivotal matchups. Moreno meets Amir Albazi in the UFC Edmonton flyweight main event, with the hopes of holding onto his spot in the division he has reigned over on two occasions. “The Assassin Baby” doesn’t appear to have lost a step despite a pair of red marks on his ledger, as he went five rounds with Brandon Royval and Alexandre Pantoja only to fall just short on the scorecards.

Having lost to Pantoja three times now, Moreno’s best path back to a title shot is to defeat Albazi and hope that Pantoja drops the belt to Kai Asakura at UFC 310. The task at hand is anything but easy.

Albazi is yet to lose in five UFC appearances, though his most recent fight against Kai Kara-France generated some scoring controversy. That was over 500 days ago as Albazi has been sidelined with a litany of health issues. He now has a chance to knock off a former champion and all but sign his name on the dotted line to face the UFC 310 winner.

The co-main event tells a similar story. At 115 pounds, Namajunas emerged as a star, winning the UFC title twice and delivering some of the most incredible finishes in the division’s history. After a disappointing rematch with Carla Esparza, Namajunas decided to move up in weight, and following a loss to Manon Fiorot, she picked up back-to-back wins to put together her first win streak since 2021.

As much as Namajunas has to prove, Blanchfield is just as motivated, if not more. The 25-year-old blue-chipper dominated her first six UFC opponents before also being foiled by Fiorot. That put a damper on the future champion talks that swirled around her, though she has plenty of time to rebuild that buzz and that mission starts Saturday against a future UFC Hall of Famer.

In other main card action, Canadian representatives Caio Machado, Jasmine Jasudavicius, Marc-Andre Barriault, and Mike Malott look to turn around the country’s recent MMA fortunes.

(Note: A previously scheduled main card bout between Derrick Lewis and Jhonata Diniz has been cancelled due to Lewis being forced to withdraw due to a medical issue. A flyweight bout between Jasudavicius and Ariane da Silva has been elevated to the main card.)

What: UFC Edmonton

Where: Rogers Place in Edmonton, Canada

When: Saturday, Nov. 2. The seven-fight preliminary card begins at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by a six-fight main card at 8 p.m. ET also on ESPN+.

(Numbers in parentheses indicate standing in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings and Pound-for-Pound Rankings)

Brandon Moreno (4) vs. Amir Albazi (6)

I scored Brandon Moreno’s past two fights in his favor, so it should come as no surprise that I’m picking him to get off the schneid here. No disrespect to Amir Albazi, who is exactly the kind of strong, well-rounded fighter that will be a factor at 125 for years to come, but Moreno is still on that champion level in my eyes.

This is a tale of two layoffs as well, with Moreno taking slightly longer than usual to return to action and Albazi fighting for the first time in 17 months. While Moreno should be refreshed by taking a mental step back, Albazi has been going through it in his time off having to deal with neck and heart issues. Yikes!

Albazi getting a win would be inspirational, but that’s a lot of ill to overcome on top of figuring out how to get past the refreshed two-time UFC champion standing across from him. If he puts the pressure on Moreno early, that could be key to pulling off this upset and stepping right to the front of the title picture.

Is it terrible to predict another split decision is in the cards for Moreno and Albazi? That’s how tight the race is at the top of this division and how skilled both of these fighters are. If Edmonton does become Splitty City for the main event, then the dice have to roll Moreno’s way sometime. He takes this on points.

Pick: Moreno

Erin Blanchfield (4, P4P-8) vs. Rose Namajunas (9, P4P-10)

One reason I was confident in Rose Namajunas beating Tracy Cortez was the enormous skill and experience gap between them, plus the fact that Cortez didn’t have a considerable size and strength advantage over Namajunas. When Erin Blanchfield steps into the cage with “Thug Rose,” fans will be surprised just how physically imposing Blanchfield is in comparison.

Namajunas’ best bet to win this is the same strategy she’s used to win both her fights at 125 pounds: Stick and move. The former strawweight champion even had moments against Manon Fiorot employing this strategy and when you consider this is a five-round fight, it’s easy to imagine Namajunas outlasting Blanchfield and taking over in the final 10 minutes.

It’s also not difficult to imagine Blanchfield getting her hands on Namajunas early and just hossing her around the octagon. Even against sometimes strawweight Amanda Ribas, Namajunas had trouble stopping takedowns. What’s she going to do to prevent Blanchfield from taking her for a ride?

Namajunas has been in there with the best, so I get that counting her out is foolish, but Blanchfield has all the tools to be an elite fighter someday (if she isn’t already). I think she corrects course with a finish of Namajunas, wearing her down before putting an exclamation point on her performance in the second or third round.

Pick: Blanchfield

Caio Machado vs. Brendson Ribeiro

Now is as good a time as any to point out that there are nine Canadians competing on this card, including Vancouver-based Brazilian Caio Machado. When it comes time for Machado to make the walk, there’s a legitimate chance his countrymen could have batted .500 to that point, so it will fall in him to make it a winning night.

As the highest billed Canadian on the card, Machado should soak in those vibes and enjoy a much-needed move to 205 pounds. Machado’s first two UFC fights were against heavyweights flirting with the upper poundage limit of the division, so it made sense to change weight classes.

Strategically speaking, I’d like to see Machado utilize his grappling, which was a weakness of Brendson Ribeiro’s in his most recent fight. You can tell Machado loves to show off his striking, but Riberio has plenty of spark in those gloves and if Machado wants to avoid a hometown letdown, he should consider mixing the martial arts.

This could be a mucky fight from start to finish, so let’s hope it doesn’t drag on too long. Machado, feel free to club and then sub to end this one early.

Pick: Machado

Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

With respect to my fellow Canadian, I’ve seen Marc-Andre Barriault slip on one too many banana peels to pick him with any confidence.

Barriault is a good fighter, we can say that in fairness, but somehow his combination of physical gifts and sharp coaching hasn’t led to consistent results. He has a favorable matchup here in Stoltzfus, a solid grappler who rarely goes to the cards, for better or worse.

This should be a showcase for Barriault, right? I just see too many ways for him to catch a weird loss though. Stoltzfus’ grappling proves to be too much. Stoltzfus wins a tight decision after a sloppy striking battle. Barriault slips on a Rogers ad on the mat and bumps his head. I don’t know. It’s a Barriault fight.

Stoltzfus by submission.

Pick: Stoltzfus.

Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles

Now this is a squash match booking I can get behind.

Mike Malott shouldn’t be judged too harshly for his loss to Neil Magny, though it exposed glaring holes in his ability to finish a fight strong. He was handling Magny for almost three rounds before a total collapse led to Magny finishing him with just 15 seconds remaining in the contest. There’s no shame in losing to Magny, a fighter with far more high-level experience than Malott, but it did present a hypothetical ceiling for the Canadian welterweight.

Don’t overthink this one, though. Malott never goes the distance and all six of Giles’ UFC losses are by knockout or submission. He’s a hard-working fighter with some legit wins on his résumé (remember when he beat Roman Dolidze?), but his defensive shortcomings will rear their head at the worst time on Saturday.

It’s a 50-50 proposition how Malott ends this, so I’ll go with him utilizing his striking to score an impressive finish.

Pick: Malott

Preliminaries

Pedro Munhoz def. Aiemann Zahabi

Ariane da Silva def. Jasmine Jasudavicius

Victor Henry def. Charles Jourdain

Jack Shore def. Youssef Zalal

Alexandr Romanov def. Rodrigo Nascimento

Serhiy Sidey def. Garrett Armfield

Cody Gibson def. Chad Anheliger

Jamey-Lyn Horth def. Ivana Petrovic

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UFC heavyweight fan favorite Derrick Lewis will no longer be making the walk inside Rogers Place later today.

Lewis has been in Edmonton, Canada this week preparing for his latest opportunity to extend his lead on the promotion’s knockout throne. That was set to come on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night, which will be headlined by former two-time flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and his showdown with Amir Albazi.

There didn’t appear to be any hitches on Friday morning, with “The Black Beast” successfully hitting the scale and making weight. But alarm bells rang when he didn’t show at the ceremonial weigh-ins.

While an update at the time noted that Lewis’ fight with Jhonata Diniz remained on, it was subsequently confirmed to have been scrapped owing to a non-weight cutting medical issue on the side of the former title challenger.

Lewis was hoping to make it back-to-back wins in 2024 following a five-round setback opposite Jailton Almeida in November 2023. He most recently got the better of Rodrigo Nascimento in the UFC Fight Night St. Louis main event this past May.

Diniz, meanwhile, planned to make the most of his career’s biggest opportunity to date. The undefeated Brazilian has knocked out Austen Lane and outpointed Karl Williams since earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2023.

With their fight off today’s lineup, home favorite Jasmine Jasudavicius has had her clash with Ariane da Silva (née Lipski) bumped up to the main card.

• Read More: UFC Fight Night: Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi Results & Highlights (5 PM ET) 

Continue Reading Derrick Lewis Off UFC Fight Night Edmonton Card After Medical Issue at MMA News.

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