CombatSports.org

UFC Vegas 89 returned to UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, this past weekend (Sat., March 23, 2024), leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was A.J. Dobson, who was knocked out by Edmen Shahbazyan in the first round (see it again here). And Cameron Saaiman, who suffered a technical knockout loss at the hands of Payton Talbott (video here). But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?

Amanda Ribas.

Since 2020, the Brazilian Flyweight has been alternating wins and losses, racking up a record of 4-3 prior to her headlining bout against Namajunas. She was coming off an incredible highlight-reel knockouc win over Luana Pinheiro (watch it), but staying true to her pattern, things didn’t go well for her against “Thug.”

After 25 minutes of action, Ribas came up short on the judges scorecards, losing a unanimous decision to bring her to 4-4 in her past eight fights. It’s not that Ribas fought horribly because, well, she didn’t. She actually put up a good fight and had some shining moments. But, when facing a former champion, you have to be on your “A” game.

Ribas did show a lot of promise by starting off her UFC career with four straight, including derailing Mackenzie Dern’s hype train and sending Paige VanZant packing from the UFC ranks. Unfortunately for her, she just can’t seem to win the big one when it matters to get her over the hump.

And here’s the thing: winning one, then losing, then winning again simply won’t get her anywhere. Furthermore, this bouncing around from weight class to weight class isn’t going to cut it, either. She’s fluctuated from Strawweight to Flyweight four times since 2020, adding to her inconsistent patterns.

At the end of the day, Ribas — who oddly enough is ranked at No. 8 in both divisions — is going to have to pick a division and stick with it for a while to get a groove going. If she doesn’t she can expect the same results moving forward.

If she does decide to stay at Flyweight, she will probably look to fight someone like Casey O’Neill next. Like Ribas, O’Neill kicked off her UFC career with four straight wins, but then hit a roadblock and has now dropped her last two fights to Jennifer Maia and Ariane Lipski.

O’Neill is ranked No. 13 at the moment, and Ribas can expect to drop out of the Top 10. Both ladies will be fighting with extra pressure to secure a win, so it could bring out the best of them should this bout come to fruition.

For complete UFC Vegas 89 results, coverage and highlights, click HERE.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Monday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time.

1 p.m. ET: Intro

1:15 p.m.: UFC Vegas 89 winner Payton Talbot breaks down his win over Cameron Saaiman.

1:40 p.m.: UFC Atlantic City headliner Erin Blanchfield talks about her fight with Manon Fiorot.

2 p.m.: Renato Moicano previews his UFC 300 fight with Jalin Turner and more.

2:30 p.m.: We recap more from a busy combat sports weekend.

3 p.m.: Sodiq Yusuff talks about his UFC 300 fight against Diego Lopes.

3:30 p.m.: Former UFC champ Rose Namajunas discusses her UFC Vegas 89 win over Amanda Ribas and what’s next.

4 p.m.: Chris Weidman returns to talk about his UFC Atlantic City fight against Bruno Silva.

4:30 p.m.: The parlay pals and GC look back at their most recent picks.

For the latest episodes of The MMA Hour, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

While attending the New York City premiere of his feature film debut, Conor McGregor revealed that Meryl Streep’s 2017 dig on mixed martial arts motivated him to prove that he could shine both in the cage and on the silver screen.

McGregor chews the scenery in Doug Liman’s remake of the 1989 action classic Road House, originally starring the late Patrick Swayze. This time around, Jake Gyllenhaal steps into the lead role of Dalton, a former UFC fighter who takes a job at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys and finds himself unintentionally waging war with a corrupt businessman who’s been terrorizing the small fictitious town of Glass Key for years.

Throughout the filming, which had its fair share of troubles, McGregor admits to carrying a chip on his shoulder following the three-time Academy Award winner’s mean-spirited comment about MMA during her Cecil B. DeMille award acceptance speech at the Golden Globes seven years ago.

“Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners,” Streep said in 2017. “And if we kick them all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.” 

Meryl Streep’s comment motivated conor mcGregor to prove himself in his acting debut

Streep’s comment received a roaring round of applause from those in attendance, but her statement understandably infuriated professional fighters.

“Fighting is the most beautiful form of art, and you know, it’s a great thing to come into this game, which is also art,” McGregor told The Hollywood Reporter when asked about Streep’s comment. “I was really taken aback because fighting is an art. It’s brutal also, so I can understand. It’s not for somebody to make a mistake; it’s real artistry for those who do what we do, so I came in with maybe a little chip on my shoulder and wanting to represent my sport and my art, give my best in this arena.”

In Road House, Conor McGregor plays Knox, an over-the-top villain called in by the film’s big bad to take out Gyllenhaal’s Dalton. From the moment he makes his onscreen debut — walking bare-assed down a public street in search of a snazzy jacket to wear — you can’t help, but appreciate the ridiculousness of it all. Especially as an MMA fan knowing that the former two-division champion is essentially playing himself with the volume turned slightly up.

Sharing some behind-the-scenes details, McGregor credited Gyllenhaal with giving him some acting tips throughout the shoot and revealed that he tried out multiple variations of his sandwich-loving skull-cracker before Liman and Co. landed on the one you see in the film.

“Jake taught me many things about acting,” McGregor said. “He was just so helpful, so patient. Liman, who I was taking my direction from, guided me on how he wanted the character. I made sure I gave a few different variations. I feel like I gave a few different versions of Knox. I, of course, was going to be unsure with which one they went with in the end, but when I saw the [final] movie and saw the choices, I understood what they wanted with the character. They are very happy with how Knox came out.”

You can check out LowKick MMA’s review of Road House right here.

LowKickMMA.com

UFC

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

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

A women’s flyweight bout between former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and eight-ranked Amanda Ribas headlined Saturday’s UFC Vegas 89 fight card.  

Ribas entered the octagon coming off a highlight-reel finish over Luana Pinheiro in her last fight. Namajunas made her 125-pound debut in her last outing against Manon Fiorot and lost via unanimous decision.  Ribas was looking to secure the biggest win of her career while Namajunas hoped to pick up her first win in a new weight class.

Namajunas made her way to the cage saying, “I’m the best” over and over.  Ribas clapped to the beat of her walkout song all the way to octagon-side.  

Namajunas landed her jab early and used her footwork to stay just out of the way of Ribas’ counters.  Ribas switched stances and the two exchanged leg kicks.  Ribas connected with a combination and took Namajunas down.  Namajunas quickly got back to her feet and the two battled inside the clinch position at the midway mark in the round.  

In the chinch, Namajunas delivered knees to the body before separating.  Ribas landed a counter right hand but Namajunas responded with a left.  Ribas worked to get the fight to the ground but Namajunas rolled through and gained top position.  Ribas controlled Namajunas’ posture and avoided taking heavy damage.  MMAWeekly scored the first round 10-9 for Namajunas.  

Ribas missed with a head kick to start the second round.  Namajunas connected with a right hand.  Ribas responded with a leg kick.  A left hand found the mark for Namajunas.  Ribas delivered a back kick to the body.  Namajunas secured a takedown but Ribas immediately scrambled to her feet.  With two minutes remaining, Ribas rolled for a knee bar.  Namajunas got her leg free and Ribas tried to toss Namajunas to the canvas but Namajunas again gained top position.  

Namajunas delivered short right hands to the body of Ribas.  Ribas did a good job controlling Namajunas’ posture.  MMAWeekly scored the second round 10-9 for Namajunas.  

Ribas’ corner told her to “knock her out” before the third round.  Namajunas landed a counter right hand.  Ribas went high with a kick that was blocked.  Namajunas delivered a hard kick to the body.  She stepped into the pocket with a combination.  Ribas responded with a leg kick.  They briefly clinched and exchanged knees to the body.  

Namajunas went to the body.  Ribas landed a right hand.  Namajunas pressed forward with punches but Ribas changed levels and took Namajunas down.  Namajunas quickly reversed the situation.  Ribas scrambled and two ended up back standing.  Ribas took Namajunas down with just under a minute remaining in the round.  She connected with elbows an punches forcing Namajunas to give up her back.  MMAWeekly scored the third round 10-9 for Ribas.

The two took the center of the cage and looked for an opening.  Ribas connected with a right hand.  Namajunas moved into the pocket and was met with a right hand.  Namajunas snapped Ribas’ head back with a jab.  Namajunas took Ribas down in the center of the octagon.  

Namajunas delivered right hands to the body in Ribas’ half guard.  Ribas worked her way back to full guard and kept Namajunas from posturing up.  Namajunas continued to deliver short punches to the body.  MMAWeekly scored the fourth round 10-9 for Namajunas.  

Ribas’ corner told her to look for the knockout.  Namajunas told herself ‘I’m the best’ before heading out for the final frame.  

Ribas connected with a kick to the body to start the fifth round.  She landed another one.  Namajunas reacted with a combination.  Namajunas landed a counter right hand.  Ribas came up short with a spinning back fist.  Namajunas stepped in with a stiff jab.  Namajunas kept making Ribas miss.  Ribas pressured Namajunas.  She unloaded several kicks that missed.  One partially landed but Namajunas was unaffected.  As the clocked ticked away, the two stayed at distance but neither landed anything significant.  MMMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Namajunas.  

The judges scored the fight for Namajunas by unanimous decision. The scorecards read 49–46, 49–46, and 48–47.

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

UFC

submitted by /u/danielromero6 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

All Class
| BJPenn.com