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UFC Vegas 89 went down last night (Sat., March 23, 2024) inside UFC Apex featuring a women’s Flyweight fight that saw Rose Namajunas defeat Amanda Ribas via unanimous decision (see it again here). In the co-main event, Karl William defeated Junior Tafa, also via unanimous decision, after 15 minutes of Heavyweight action.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Biggest Winner: Rose Namajunas

Look, it wasn’t the most exciting fight, but Namajunas gets the nod her for the simple fact that she picked up a much-needed win, getting her back into the winner’s circle for the first time in nearly two and a half years. The victory snapped her two-fight losing streak and saved her from digging a deeper hole for herself because a third straight defeat would have been detrimental to her career. Instead, “Thug Rose” takes out the No. 8 ranked fighter at 125 pounds, which increases her chances of cracking the Top 15 in a division she’s only competed in two times. She still has a way to go before she starts getting into the championship conversation, but she has to be breathing sigh of relief after picking up her first win as a Flyweight.

Runner Up: Edmen Shahbazyan

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

“The Golden Boy” hasn’t quite lived up to all the hype he had when he made his UFC debut in 2018, starting off his career with the promotion with four straight wins before going 1-4 in the five fights the followed coming into his fight against A.J. Dobson. And things weren’t looking all the great for him early in the fight after getting rocked by his foe. But a bit later in the opening frame, Shahbazyan turned it all around and managed to drop Dobson and eventually score a come-from-behind finish. It’s a win that likely saved his UFC career (for now), and will give him a ton of confidence going into his next fight.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Biggest Loser: Igor Severino

This one is no surprise. 20-year old Igor Severino came into his first fight with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with eight straight stoppage wins, an undefeated record (8-0) and all the potential in the world to make a nice career for himself on the biggest stage of them all. Unfortunately, he left without a job. For whatever reason, Severino decided to bite his opponent, Andre Lima, midway through the fight, leading to a bizarre disqualification. To make matters worse, Dana White immediately cut the Brazilian prospect, ending his UFC career before it even had a chance to take off. Now, not only will he never get the chance to fight inside the Octagon again, his reputation has been tarnished as a dirty fighter, which might make it difficult for him to land with another promotion anytime soon.

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

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Conor McGregor may have been bitten by the acting bug.

The former two-division UFC champion recently made his big-screen debut opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in the Hollywood remake of Road House, which released exclusively to Amazon Prime Video streaming on March 21. In the film, McGregor plays an over-exaggerated version of himself as the sneering antagonist Knox. McGregor’s performance has received generally positive reviews and “The Notorious” very much enjoyed the process.

“It was meant to be only five weeks, but when I got there and they were looking what they were seeing, the character started growing legs and arms, and then it just grew and the part grew,” McGregor said this past week on The MMA Hour. “They liked what they got, or what they were getting, and I was just doing what I was told. People think I just was playing myself — they were guiding me and I was giving them what they were asking for. For me, I felt like I gave them loads of versions.

“I was giving them multiple options, and I feel some of them they could probably pick better ones. You get me? I gave them loads of takes and I was probably hoping that maybe they could’ve veered the character a different way, but they wanted the character the way they wanted. They’re very, very happy with what they got. I gave them what they asked and I added my little splash. I am who I am — I’m show business, yeah?”

McGregor, 35, told MMA Fighting that his long-discussed but oft-delayed comeback fight against Michael Chandler is finally set to happen in the summer, but declined to reveal whether his previously declared date of June 29 remains the official target for the bout, stating that he’ll instead allow UFC to make the announcement. McGregor noted that details such as rounds and weight class also have yet to be determined, however he holds out hope that his return serves as the first of what could a two-fight year for him in 2024.

McGregor currently has two bouts remaining on his UFC deal, and hinted at the idea that his interest in pursuing further acting opportunities could create a unique — and challenging — dilemma for the UFC once the time arrives to negotiate a new contract.

“We have to talk,” McGregor said. “That’s what I’m saying — I don’t know and I don’t know whether they know what to come at me with. What can you come at me with? Hollywood now is lined up. I actually can play loads of roles. Think of the amount of movies I could do?

“There’s Arnold Schwarzenegger and then there’s Sylvester Stallone and then all these guys, and they have all these great movies made around them. Think about the movies that you can make around me. You know what I mean? That could be written around me. And don’t think [UFC executives] don’t know that. Don’t think they don’t know that this is all going on as well. So I don’t know what they’re going to come out me with. Like I said, Lorenzo [Fertitta] probably would’ve came after me already.”

“I really actually feel I could play any role,” McGregor later added. “And I almost, when I watch the movie and what way they chose to portray me as the character, and certain ways and takes they used, I knew where they were going — it almost made me [think], because I would’ve probably preferred other ones. You get me? And it probably made me a bit more eager to do another one. I actually felt like, you know what? I’d love to do another one now because we can do better, and I can also do something way different.

“So I was kind of getting excited about that and it’s nice to feel a bit of excitement. And then, a couple of days later, boom, top-10 highest paid actors of 2023 — [Adam] Sandler, Margot Robbie and all them. And I was like, [I better] start cracking away at that one as well. Ari Emanuel was on the phone to me, you know I have a great relationship with Ari, and these guys have big things planned. And I’m excited and we’re all excited, and let’s rock on.”

Despite his excitement revolving around the Road House release and his star turn on the silver screen, McGregor assured that MMA will always remain his primary passion.

The fight game lives within him, he said, and that will never change.

“It’s my life, it’s what I love to do. Look at it. I’m doing this forever,” McGregor said. “I’m going to do this forever. I’ll be recalibrating my competition.

“I actually related with when Mike Tyson fought Roy Jones Jr. — he was retired for so, so long, and he was asked in an interview around the Roy Jones Jr. fight, ‘What do you think Cus D’amato would say to you, Mike, now that you’re coming back after all these years?’ And you know what he said? He said, ‘Cus D’amato would say, what took you so long?’ And that made me f****** — I got goose pimples all over my body.”

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‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas got her first win at flyweight on Saturday night, besting top-ten-ranked contender Amanda Ribas in an entertaining back-and-forth scrap at UFC Vegas 89.

After coming up short against Manon Fiorot in her 125-pound debut, Namajunas looked as sharp as ever throughout her 25-minute affair with the Brazilian beauty. Ribas undeniably held her own in her first-ever UFC main event, but her continued reliance on spinning attacks made her offense predictable enough for Namajunas to sit on the outside and use her speed to get in and get out quickly.

The biggest difference-maker on the night was Namajunas’ control time which eclipsed more than six minutes through the five-round bout.

Official Result: Rose Namajunas def. Amanda Ribas via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)

With the win, Namajunas should find herself ranked in the flyweight division’s top 10 come Monday morning. Overall, she improved to 9-5 inside the Octagon, 11-6 overall. As for what comes next, the former two-time strawweight champion will have an eye on next week’s clash between Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot in Atlantic City.

Check Out Highlights From Rose Namajunas vs. Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 89:

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Rose Namajunas is a winner at 125 pounds.

The two-time strawweight champion can finally state that as fact after earning a close unanimous decision win against Amanda Ribas in the main event of UFC Vegas 89 on Saturday. Namajunas and Ribas showed off every aspect of their games in their duel, but it was Namajunas’ wrestling that appeared to give her the edge.

Not only did Namajunas win at 125 pounds for the first time, she also had her hand raised inside the octagon for the first time since November 2021. The win keeps “Thug Rose” in the conversation for a future shot at the flyweight title and a chance to become a two-division champion.

Fighters tuning in to Saturday’s headliner were impressed by both fighters, though Namajunas in particular was praised for her resilience.

Check out what fighters on social media had to say about some of UFC Vegas 89’s most memorable moments.

Rose Namajunas earns hard-fought win over Amanda Ribas

Edmen Shahbazyan scores incredible comeback knockout

Undefeated prospect Payton Talbott wows in second UFC fight

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Saturday’s UFC Vegas 89 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.  Following the event, the fight promotion announced the fighters that earned a performance-based bonus.  

Four fighters took home an extra $ 50,000 for their wins on Saturday: Jarno Errens, Steven Nguyen, Payton Talbott, and Fernando Padilla were awarded the bonuses.  

Fight Of The Night: Jarno Errens vs Steven Nguyen

Jarno Errens earned his first UFC victory in his third try, besting debutant Steven Nguyen in a hard-fought, impressive 3-round war.

Errens found his rhythm quickly, splitting Nguyen’s lip and staying ahead of the pace on the feet. The Dutchman found plenty of success getting to Nguyen’s legs, limiting the Fortis MMA product’s movement significantly. In the second round, Errens found a home for a big shot to score a knockdown and stayed on the front foot in the third despite a game effort from Nguyen toward the latter stages of the fight.

Performance Of The Night: Payton Talbott

Reno’s Payton Talbott scored the most impressive win of his career, scoring a 2nd-round knockout win over South African bantamweight prospect Cameron Saaiman.

Talbott beat Saaiman up plenty early, including a big knee in the first round that put him on the front foot. From there, Talbott was in rhythm. He walked forward, picked his shots, varied his targets and moved with little concern for what Saaiman threw back toward him. In the second round, Talbott cracked Saaiman with a clean left hook and pounched on him to complete the finish.

Performance Of The Night: Fernando Padilla

Fernando Padilla walked into the UFC APEX with a point to prove and made it emphatically to the tune of a 1st-round submission win over Luis Pajuelo. Padilla got an early knockdown with a slick left hand, which led to him taking control of his opponent on the ground. As the Peruvian worked back to his feet, Padilla locked in a standing D’arce choke to get the submission win .

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