The 27-year-old Alvarez was arrested for felony aggravated assault, reckless driving, and driving under the influence, among other charges. The incident occurred in the parking lot of the Blue Lagoon Plaza in Tumon.
According to witnesses, a man was found bleeding and unconscious after being hit by a car driven by Alvarez in the early Sunday morning hours. Off-duty EMTs and medics responded to the scene and helped transport the man to the hospital.
It’s unclear what led up to the assault and how Alvarez knew the victim. He is being held in the Department of Corrections in Tumon and will appear in a local court on Monday.
Alvarez was arrested in 2020 on domestic violence charges, according to local prison records. He last competed in MMA in 2019 at ONE – Reign of Valor, losing via second-round TKO to bantamweight Rui Chen. Alvarez has a 6-3 professional MMA record and hasn’t fought since his loss to Chen.
The investigation into Alvarez’s alleged incident is still ongoing.
UFC President Dana White continues to make investments outside of the promotion, teaming up with one of the fastest-paced sports leagues.
NASCAR and White revealed their partnership recently, with White teaming up with Trackhouse Racing to campaign two NASCAR Cup Series cars in 2022. One of his cars debuted this weekend at the Cup Series practice in Los Angeles.
The cars will include the Howler Head Whiskey logo, which White has advertised often over the past year.
āI love the vision that Justin Marks has for Trackhouse,ā White said. āIām excited to be a part of it, and my two favorite things are fast cars and Howler Head. Iām so excited that weāll be making our first NASCAR appearance this weekend. This is an absolute badass car, and I canāt wait to see it compete on the track at the Coliseum on Sunday.ā
This isn’t the first time that White has dipped into the world of racing. He was the honorary grand marshall last year when the Cup Series made its trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
White is looking ahead to another successful year with the UFC, with just weeks removed from an exciting card at UFC 270. He’ll make the quick turnaround from his NASCAR partnership announcement next weekend in hosting UFC 271, featuring a middleweight title rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.
Al Iaquinta has doubts about Jake Paul’s intentions regarding fighter pay.
The topic of fighter pay has become a hot-button issue lately among fighters and media. Jake Paul is one man who is leading the way to help improve the pay structure with MMA. He has been vocal about wanting the UFC to pay their fighters more money and has targeted UFC President Dana White in this battle. However, some people are having doubts about Paul’s true intentions in this fight, including Al Iaquinta.
Image Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Paul has blown up in the boxing world over the last few years. He has made his way by fighting former UFC fighters such as Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. In these bouts, the former UFC fighters are reported to have made much more than they did in their time with the MMA organization.
This led Paul on his crusade against the UFC and White. He even released a “diss track” criticizing White and his low payment of fighters. Iaquinta feels that Paul’s whole charade is for self-promotion rather than helping the fighters in need.
“I don’t know how sincere it is or not, but I don’t think it can be that sincere because it hasn’t really affected him,” Iaquinta said to MMA Fighting. “If it had affected him then it would be super sincere, see I think it works for him as he’s getting promotion out of it. That video got a lot of views. I think heās young, smart, wealthy, and heās not bound to anything. Heās gonna be successful.”
Iaquinta was on a similar mission as Paul. He was one of the first UFC fighters to begin complaining about the payments in the UFC. Iaquinta was a perennial top ten fighter throughout most of his career. His shining moment was perhaps his UFC 223 title shot against Khabib Nurmagomedov. He later sat out two years due to contract negotiations problems and wanting more money.
Former UFC featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes is getting paid big money for his bare-knuckle boxing debut.
Mendes is slated to return to combat sports after a lengthy hiatus. He’ll fight Joshuah Alvarez at BKFC’s upcoming Knucklemania II event on Feb. 19.
Mendes hasn’t fought since his UFC finale against Alexander Volkanovski in 2018. After falling to Conor McGregor for the interim featherweight title at UFC 189, he would go on to lose two of his next three against Volkanovski and Frankie Edgar.
Mendes excited his fans when he announced his return to fighting during a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. During an interview with MMA Junkie, he admitted that BKFC is giving him a big paycheck for his return, and he’s slated to make more than UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou did at UFC 270.
āIāll put it this way: I just saw what the UFC heavyweight champion of the world just got paid, and itās gonna be more than that,” Mendes said. “Itās pretty crazy. I feel blessed for sure.ā
Mendes, one of the biggest standouts from the famous Team Alpha Male gym under Urijah Faber, had a very memorable run in the UFC’s featherweight division. He earned wins over the likes of Ricardo Lamas, Myles Jury, and Clay Guida during his time in the Octagon.
Ngannou has been outspoken about how he feels he’s been treated by the UFC brass over the past few years. Ngannou wants flexibility with the UFC to pursue potential boxing fights with the likes of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and others, along with better pay.
If Mendes’ claims about his upcoming paycheck are true, it certainly puts gas on the fire concerning Ngannou’s stance regarding fighter treatment in the UFC.
UFC commentator Jon Anik has serious doubts regarding Jake Paul’s aspirations of fighting in the UFC.
Paul is coming off of an eventful 2021 in which he continued his undefeated boxing career. He earned back-to-back wins over former UFC champion Tyron Woodley after knocking out former welterweight Ben Askren in a matter of seconds.
Paul has recently alluded to transitioning to MMA at some point in time and more specifically fighting in the UFC. He’s challenged UFC President Dana White to sign him to a one-fight deal if White agrees to make changes to fighter pay and other components of the promotion.
But Anik isn’t so sure that Paul is serious in his alleged desire to fight on MMA’s biggest platform. During a recent interview with DAZN, Anik compared Paul’s aim to fight in the UFC to that of professional wrestler and former UFC fighter CM Punk.
“I just don’t think that he wants to scratch that competitive itch,” Anik said of Paul. “I think he is legitimately passionate about boxing. CM Punk, for lack of a better example, he needed to scratch that itch. It didn’t go the way he wanted it to. It didn’t go the way he thought it would. But he needed that for his own peace of mind. I think Jake Paul needed that in boxing.
Jake Paul, Image Credit: RYAN HATTAWAY
“But Jake Paul’s not going to have a better retirement or enjoy any part of his life by scratching that MMA itch. I don’t think that he wants to devote his training life the way heād need to become a mixed martial arts athlete. I don’t think we see Jake Paul in the UFC. But if we do, hopefully, the matchmaking is done in an appropriate way.”
Punk, otherwise known as Phil Brooks, fought for the UFC in 2016 and 2018. White and the UFC brass gave him an opportunity to compete in the promotion despite little MMA experience, losing to Mickey Gall at UFC 203 and a no-contest against Mike Jackson at UFC 225.
Punk has returned to professional wrestling via AEW and remains a commentator for Cage Fury Fighting Championships. As for Paul, he remains at odds with White and the UFC as he works his way back to a boxing return later this year.
Do you think Jake Paul will ever fight in the UFC?
UFC middleweight Jack Hermansson has spoken out on social media for the first time since his decision loss to Sean Strickland at UFC Vegas 47.
Hermansson got out-paced and out-struck from start to finish against Strickland. He had issues getting the fight to the ground and dealing with Strickland’s clean boxing techniques.
Hermansson has traded wins and losses over his last five fights and entered UFC Vegas 47 off of an impressive win over Edmen Shahbazyan. However, he was unable to replicate his earlier success and suffered a setback in his pursuit of a middleweight title shot.
The day after the event, Hermansson addressed his fans and Strickland in an Instagram post.
“I’m sorry fans, about tonight,” Hermansson said. “I had a bad performance, and I lost the fight. It wasn’t pretty, or technically sound. I could get the bastard to the ground. Sorry Sean this one went to a decision. Best of luck to murder your next competition.”
Hermansson is one of the few top middleweight contenders who hasn’t fought middleweight champion Israel Adesanya yet. He had an outside chance of potentially receiving the next title shot if he was able to get past Strickland.
At 33 years old, Hermansson still has plenty of time to potentially get on a winning streak and earn an elusive title shot. But he’ll need to bounce back in a big way against his next opponent.
What do you think should be next for Jack Hermansson?
UFC veteran Sam Alvey isn’t done fighting despite a disappointing loss to short-notice replacement Brendan Allen at UFC Vegas 47.
Alvey’s loss to Allen came via submission in Round 2. He had some moments early in the fight on the feet, but Allen was able to put a torrid pace on him and eventually secure the rear-naked choke for the win.
Following his loss to Allen, many speculated that Alvey’s retirement announcement could be inevitable. But during a recent video on his TikTok page, Alvey sounded optimistic regarding his fighting future.
Sam Alvey says heās not done fighting but he needs to change something. Plans on taking a hiatus, via his IG.#UFCVegas47pic.twitter.com/BNFZJz6LT1
āHey guys, Iām fresh off my UFC fight and as Iām sure a lot of you saw, I did not ā I didnāt get it done,” Alvey said. “Iāve lost a step. Something needs to change and Iām gonna make the correction.
āIām not done fighting but I love this sport and you know what? God has blessed me. God, I raise Godās name on a high. I would not have the career Iāve had without him and I really have had a good career. Iāve had a long career.
āIāve had ā shoot, that was my 23rd fight in the UFC. Iāve had a career that people dream of. Iām not done fighting but I know I need to take a little bit of a hiatus.
āMy YouTube channel, Iām gonna really push that. I wanna help coach, I wanna help coach you guys. If you have questions, if you wanna learn from me, if you wanna teach me, follow me on there, follow me here. Iām gonna keep pushing. I wanna help others win, Iām winning again too.
āIām not done. I love you guys.ā (h/t BJPenn)
Alvey has a history of staying positive and outspoken following his losses. However, it’s clear that he feels especially defeated by this latest setback at UFC Vegas 47.
Alvey made his debut with the UFC back in 2014, losing to Tom Watson before winning three-straight. He would go on to compete against the top middleweights in the promotion, earning wins over the likes of former UFC champion Rashad Evans and former Strikeforce champion Nate Marquardt.
It’s unclear what Alvey’s UFC future holds, but he seems optimistic regarding a return to the cage to get his first win in nearly four years.
Claressa Shields put the rest of the boxing world on notice that she’s here to stay in the ring after a dominant win over Ema Kozin.
Shields overwhelmed Kozin from start to finish in her boxing return in the UK, earning a 100-90 unanimous decision victory to move to a 12-0 professional boxing record. The win retained her WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring female middleweight titles.
Just minutes after the fight, Shields walked ringside to confront her rival, Savannah Marshall. She and Marshall competed once before on the amateur scene, with Marshall earning the win.
The two went back-and-forth on the microphone and tempers flared fast and in a hurry at the Motorpoint Arena.
It had been nearly a full calendar year since Shields last competed in the ring. She defeated Marie-Eve Dicaire via unanimous decision last March to retain her titles.
In between boxing fights, Shields had been training in MMA and made her professional debut in the PFL in 2021. She competed twice, earning a debut TKO win over Brittney Elkin before falling short against Abigail Montes in an undercard fight at the 2021 PFL Championships.
Shields has called out some of the biggest names in MMA, including Kayla Harrison and Cris “Cyborg” Justino. It’s unclear whether or not Shields will compete in the PFL lightweight tournament season or if she’ll fight in non-tournament bouts.
Marshall is slated to face Femke Hermans next on March 12. With a win, Shields would more than likely be her next opponent, especially after the recent verbal exchange.
Shields defeated Hermans via unanimous decision in 2018.
Do you want to see the rematch between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall next?
The following story was published on this day three years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 6, 2019, 9:11 PM]
Headline: Jon Jones Dispels Israel Adesanya Comparisons
Israel Adesanya has been receiving a lot of comparisons to his upcoming opponent, Anderson Silva, as of late. However, there’s also another name he has been compared to quite often recently. That name being UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Speaking to the UFC recently, Jones addressed the recent comparisons to “Stylebender”. Other than their frame and the color of their skin, Jones doesn’t really believe there are too many similarities (via MMA Mania):
āWe have similar body types and weāre both black,ā Jones said. āAnd thatās about it. I donāt think we fight alike, I donāt think we fight similar. I do a lot of wrestling, heavy ground-and-pound, a lot of submissions – I strike in both stances, I feel like our games are very different.
“But I do respect him, a lot. I think he is going to be a force to be reckoned with. He is great for the sport, great talker and he finishes fights. He is a very exciting young man.ā
Adesanya will take on Silva in the co-main event of this weekend’s (Sat. February 9, 2019) UFC 234 pay-per-view (PPV) from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. As for Jones, he will be defending his championship in the main event of UFC 235. That PPV goes down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 2, 2019.
What do you think about Jones’ reaction to comparisons to Adesanya?
Jake Paul won’t be making the transition from boxing to MMA anytime soon after clearing the air in a recent interview.
Paul is coming off of an eventful 2021 in which he proved to be one of boxing’s biggest names. He won back-to-back fights over former UFC champion Tyron Woodley while also earning a quick knockout over former UFC fighter Ben Askren.
āI wonāt be doing MMA anytime soon,” Paul said. “But eventually, I think I could see myself doing a fight because I have a wrestling background. So if just learn how to do some kicks, Jiu-Jitsu, rear-naked chokes, then I could be doing some damage in there.” (h/t EssentiallySports)
Paul has recently called out some of the UFC’s biggest stars for fights in the boxing ring. This includes Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, and Conor McGregor.
Paul has also been in an ongoing feud with UFC President Dana White for months regarding how UFC fighters are treated and, more specifically, the issue of fighter pay. He has been vocal in his desire to enact change in how the roster is compensated for their efforts in and out of the Octagon.
The Paul-White feud took a drastic turn when the two sides accused the other of using drugs. White accused Paul of using steroids while Paul alleged that White has a problem with cocaine use.
The following article was published on this day two years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 6, 2020, 9:50 PM]
Headline: Dana White Weighs In On Disagreement Between Joe Rogan & Stephen A. Smith
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
UFC President Dana White has given his two cents on the disagreement between Joe Rogan and Stephen A. Smith.
Stephen A. got plenty of flak for his comments on Donald Cerrone’s performance against Conor McGregor at UFC 246. “Cowboy” was defeated in 40 seconds. During the post-UFC 246 edition of SportsCenter, Stephen A. said he felt Cerrone “gave up” and that his performance was “atrocious.”
MMAJunkie.com caught up with UFC boss Dana White, who gave his viewpoint on the situation. White said disagreements are simply bound to happen between two opinionated personalities.
āIām not into it. Rogan is not into it. You donāt see that in the UFC. There will be times where Iām pissed off at a guy, and Iāll voice my opinion on what he did or whatever ā or if a fight is really bad or somebody did something. What we donāt do is, when a fight is over and a guy loses, we donāt go in and rip them apart. Itās just not our style. Weāre fans. We donāt do it. I think Rogan was reacting to that. Thatās our philosophy here. For Stephen A. Smith, thatās his thing. Thatās what he does. Itās going to happen. Youāre always going to have people who have difference in opinions, especially when you have two very opinionated guys like Stephen A. Smith and Joe Rogan.ā
Stephen A. has been discussing UFC bouts more since the promotion’s deal with ESPN. While Smith has covered MMA in the past, he doesn’t do so nearly as much as other sports such as basketball or football.
While many within the MMA community have been at odds with Stephen A., some have looked at the other side. There’s no doubting that Stephen A. is ESPN’s most popular personality and his reach to the casual sports fan is significant. If he talks about lesser-known MMA fighters, it could boost their stock. Of course, insinuating that a fighter quit can also have the opposite effect.
Even though he got his hand raised at UFC 47 last night, Sean Strickland did not live up to his own standards of bloodshed and violence, and he’s putting a portion of the blame on some fancypants folks in suits.
Sure, Sean Strickland was able to pick up his sixth consecutive victory, which at this level is always something to be proud of. However, Strickland didn’t feel much like celebrating after defeating Jack Hermansson in the UFC Vegas 47 main event.
Although Strickland did not shy away from taking the lion’s share of the blame for what he considered to be an underwhelming victory, he also thinks the pressure from outside sources played a role in his performance. Specifically, he cited anonymous folks in suits who got in his head.
āI mean, none of you guys wear suits, so I canāt say this to you guys. You guys all look like common folk,” Strickland said when addressing reporters in the post-fight press conference. “But I get a lot of fancy fuckers who wear suits, and they come up to me and they start talking about title fights and things of that nature. You hear that all the time and you start thinking, āDo I really want to risk getting knocked out when I could go for a title fight?’ So I let the fancy folk in the suits throw me off a little bit, but it wonāt happen again.ā
Strickland’s description of events sounds like something straight out of a Men in Black movie, with one of the suits flashing the neuralyzer in Strickland’s face, prompting him to forget his gory ways.
In any event, a W is a W, and it can’t be denied that “Tarzan” is now one step closer to a title shot and an opportunity at a bloody redemption in front of an even wider audience.
Do you believe Sean Strickland should be next in line for a welterweight title shot?
As Joe Rogan is embroiled in the most controversy and backlash as he has ever been under his decades under the spotlight, here is an opportunity to reflect on a warm story of how he became the voice of the UFC.
In a recent Joe Rogan Experience podcast episode with UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna PeƱa as a guest, Rogan shared how he began doing UFC commentary for free:
āIn 2001, I met Dana, and I became friends with him, and then heās the one that talked me into doing commentary. The first time I ever did commentary was UFC 37 and a half. That was the Vitor Belfort versus Chuck Liddell fight, and that was on Best Damn Sports Show Period. So it was a big deal that they were on Best Damn Sports Show Period and I was on Fear Factor. So he was like, āWould you do me a favor and do commentary?ā So I did the first 15 shows I did for them for free. I didnāt even have a contract. I was just doing it for fun. I said, āListen, I donāt even need any money.ā I said, āJust give my friends tickets so my friends could watch the fights, and Iāll do commentary. Itās no big deal.ā
In the below article published on this day three years ago, we published an article of Rogan telling the same story. Below, you’ll find more detail provided for your reading pleasure, as the following article is shared in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 6, 2019, 8:05 PM]
Headline: Joe Rogan Reveals How He Became The Voice Of UFC
Author: Jon Fuentes
Joe Rogan has become synonymous with mixed martial arts (MMA) and the UFC. Rogan is undoubtedly the greatest MMA commentator of all time and is beloved by nearly all MMA fans across the world. Fans have become so used to Rogan being around, but many might not know how he ended up cage-side for some of the best MMA events of all time.
During a recent episode of his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience”, with Sebastian Maniscalco, Rogan told the story about how he found himself as the main commentator of the UFC. Here’s how he detailed his journey:
“Well, I started in 1997. I was the post-fight interviewer. It just was a position that was available. The UFC was very small back then, very few people knew what it was. It was off of cable. You couldn’t get it on cable, you could only get it on satellite. And, they needed someone to do post-fight interviews.
“I was in the martial arts world, I used to teach martial arts for a living. Before I became a comedian I used to fight. I fought in a lot of Tae Kwan Doe tournaments, had some kickboxing fights, I’d always been a martial artist. Since I was a kid. I was just interested in watching the UFC. And then I started training jiu-jitsu, and when I was training in jiu-jitsu, I was just a white belt, I was just starting out, that’s when I got hired by the UFC to be a post-fight interviewer. But I only did that for two years.
“And then I quit, it was just too much. It was actually, just – I was actually losing money. I would make more money doing a weekend at a comedy club than I would doing the UFC. And it just got to a point where it was just too much of a pain in the ass. So I still remained a fan, but I backed away. And then the UFC was purchased by this company named Zuffa in 2001.
“When that happened, they started putting on shows in Vegas, and I would go there with my friends. They got me free tickets, they reached out. They would try and get celebrities to go sit there so that – cause they were very small at the time, they were hemorrhaging money, they were trying to build it up.
“And in talking to Dana White, one day I was talking to him about fights going on in Japan. “Do you know this guy?” – and I was bringing up all these names – “Do you want to do commentary?” “I don’t want to do commentary, man. I’m here to get drunk and watch people kick the shit out of each other. I’m not here to work.” And he talked me into it for one show. UFC 137.5.
“It was a show that was on one of those FOX Sports networks, one of the smaller networks. I did that, and the rest was history. I did like 12 of them for free. The UFC didn’t have any money. They were hemorrhaging money. There were rich people that owned it, but it was not a profitable venture. And I said, “Look, just get me there, get me and my friends tickets, and I’ll do it.” And that’s how I operated for over a year, and then I just became “The Commentator.” It’s just weird.”
What do you think about Rogan’s journey to becoming the voice of the UFC?
Paulie Malignaggi is all for being Jake Paul’s next opponent.
Jake Paul is currently 5-0 in his professional boxing career. He has been taking it nice and easy thus far with his opponent selection, only fighting a fellow YouTuber, a retired NBA player, and a pair of MMA fighters with zero pro boxing experience.
Now, a new name has entered the Jake Paul sweepstakes, and it is someone who the MMA community is very familiar with: former WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi.
Paulie Malignaggi
Of course, while Paul usually jousts with MMA fighters in trash talk on social media, Malignaggi’s internet headbutting is known more for being with MMA fans.
This began after Malignaggi went back and forth with fans over leaked sparring footage between him and McGregor in 2017, with Malignaggi disputing whether or not he was dropped and continuing to brand McGregor fans as “groupies.”
Malignaggi once even took a moment to thank MMA fans for their “stupidity” in thinking that his bare-knuckle boxing match with Artem Lobov would be competitive so that he could profit off of the lopsided contest. Lobov would go on to win that fight via decision.
Since the loss to Lobov, Malignaggi has not competed in any other professional combat sports competition. But as he thought aloud about what attributes and characteristics would be required of Paul’s next opponent, he ultimately landed on himself as the most logical conclusion.
“If he’s gonna fight a real boxer, I think it’s gonna be an older guy, obviously, as they all have been a little older,” Malignaggi began on his YouTube channel. “Despite the non-boxers he fought, they’ve all been a little bit older. But he needs to fight a guy with some notoriety. It can’t just be an older guy who nobody’s ever heard of, right? So he’s always fought smaller guys, so the boxer would definitely have to be smaller if the other guys that he’s fought have been smaller, right?
“So a little bit older, a little bit smaller…you don’t want him to be too big of a puncher. Because let’s face it. Paul is the star here. You wanna make sure you groom the star the right way in fights where he’s at risk but he’s gonna be able to win the fight.
Getty Images
“So we’ve got a little bit older, a little bit smaller, gonna hit him so maybe not the biggest puncher, uhh…Paulie Malignaggi,” Malignaggi concluded with a dramatic pause while briefly staring into the camera.
Malignaggi is 41 years old. His most recent professional boxing match was in a 2017 KO loss to Sam Eggington. On the other side, Jake Paul is only 25, and he was on the giving end of a KO in his most recent bout, which took place last December against Tyron Woodley.
Last year, Malignaggi was critical of Ben Askren for his showing against Paul, stating that Askren fought with a lack of self-worth. Should he be selected as Paul’s next opponent, perhaps “The Magic Man” can show Askren and Paul’s other three victims how it’s done.
Would you be interested in watching a boxing match between Jake Paul & Paulie Malignaggi?
The event took place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility. Headlining the card was a middleweight clash between Jack Hermansson and Sean Strickland. This fight didnāt have the ingredients of a great fight if not even a good fight.
It was lacking pace with Jack not being able to get takedowns as he would like and couldnāt find his range. Sean was finding a home for his jabs throughout it and looked fresh throughout the entire fight without taking damage. Sean was doing a good job of keeping up on the scorecards, but for a guy who is trying to make a title run, he didnāt do anything to be memorable. Strickland got the win by decision.
The co-main event saw more action between Punahele Soriano and Nick Maximov. It went the distance as the first round saw Soriano caught him with a big knee strike to the jaw, but Nick went for a takedown and failed to get it. He did jump on Sorianoās back to go for a choke, but didnāt get it.
In the second round, Nick continued to work for takedowns and got them, but he couldnāt keep him there. Moving along to the third round, Nick got a takedown and kept him there for the remainder of the fight to get the decision win.
Peep the full list of performance bonus winners below.
Fight of the Night: Julian Erosa vs. Steven Peterson
Performance of the night: Shavkat Rakhmanov and Chidi Njokuani
Were the right choices made for the UFC Vegas 47 bonuses?
Jack Hermansson vs. Sean Strickland was a solid main event.
The two fighters met in a bout on Saturday night (February 5, 2022) at the UFC Vegas 47 event from Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility.
The fight opened with Jack going for a takedown, but it was shut down and they clinched. For the rest of the first round, Jack was looking to counter strike while Strickland was landing his jabs and finding a home for him. Sean dropped him as the second round ended.Ā
The third round saw Jack start to come alive as he was starting to land more shots. Hermansson started off the round with a takedown attempt, but couldnāt get him down. He had issues with his range and couldnāt get it down so he was missing on a lot of shots. Sean was bleeding from his nose at the end of the fourth round. The last round saw them continue to strike aside from Jack going for a takedown attempt, but not getting it. Strickland got the win by decision.
Peep the highlights of the fight courtesy of the UFCās official Twitter account:
Strickland has made Hermanson look like an amateur, thatās how much heās strategically picked him a part. He should move in and knock him out tho #UFCVegas47
Strickland had a sneaky way of fighting using not much energy and making you go at his pace. He also sees everything with great vision and reactions defensively
We get so caught up in the highlights of the trash talking and savagery that we forget that Strickland starts so calculated before he goes zero to psycho. #UFCVegas47
Calculated shell shown by the savage that is Strickland. Mainly a negotiative jab to keep in Jackās face to set the foundation before the onslaught. #UFCVegas47
Hermansson was coming off a decision loss to Marvin Vettori at UFC Vegas 16. Before that, he had scored a submission win over Kelvin Gastelum at the UFC on ESPN+ 30 event from Abu Dhabiās Yas Island aka Fight Island. He had suffered a TKO loss to Jared Cannonier at the UFC Copenhagen event from the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark. He scored a decision win over Ronaldo āJacareā Souza at UFC Fort Lauderdale This is where he stepped in on short notice to defeat the Brazilian.
Strickland entered this fight on a five-bout winning streak with wins over Nordine Taleb, Jack Marshman, Brendan Allen, Krzysztof Jotko, and most recently Uriah Hall by decision at UFC Vegas 33.
Punahele Soriano vs. Nick Maximov was a solid co-headliner.
The two fighters met in a bout on Saturday night (February 5, 2022) at the UFC Vegas 47 event from Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility.
The first round saw them land some big shots before Soriano caught him with a big knee strike to the jaw. Maximov failed on a takedown attempt so they scrambled back up until Maximov jumped on his back and went for a rear-naked choke, but quickly gave up on it.
In the second frame, it was the same story on repeat as Maximov would get him down, but Soriano would scramble back to his feet and so on and so on. However, towards the end of the round, Maximov did a better job of keeping him there.
The third round saw Maximov score a takedown and kept him there for the rest of it. Maximov got the decision win.
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn thinks former UFC champion Conor McGregor surpassed the UFC’s overall star power and popularity on his own.
McGregor is set to make his Octagon return later this year after recovering from a brutal leg break at UFC 264. Despite losing three of his last four fights in the UFC, he remains arguably the biggest box office star in combat sports.
But Hearn believes that McGregor’s rise to stardom hasn’t been completely positive for UFC President Dana White and the rest of the brass. During a recent interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Hearn explained why he thinks McGregor’s fame might’ve done the UFC more harm than good.
āFor the UFC, where they’ve been very smart is by ā it’s such an honor to get a UFC deal,” Hearn said. āYou see these kids coming out of Bellator, or Cage Warriors, or wherever it is; but the thought of getting a UFC contract is everything. But I feel in the UFC, they don’t want you to get too big. And when you do ā and I used to almost laugh at Conor because I could just imagine just the disruption that he was causing in that organization, because that’s not really the name of the game. We don’t want a star that is bigger than the UFC. Conor McGregor became bigger than the UFC. Really. And that’s a nightmare for those guys.ā (h/t DAZN)
Things appeared to become tense between the UFC and McGregor at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. After previously promising an active year in 2020, he fought just once and allegedly became frustrated with the lack of movement in the lightweight title picture.
Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva found something in common after Weidman’s horrific leg break at UFC 261 last year. Silva suffered the same fate in his rematch against Weidman years prior. One thing that they don’t have in common is failed drug tests, as Weidman made clear in this article published four years ago.
The following article was published on this day four years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Four Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 5, 2018, 1:59 PM]
Headline: Weidman on Silvaās Second Failed Drug Test: It Tarnishes His Legacy
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
Chris Weidman believes Anderson Silva’s legacy has taken a massive hit after two failed drug tests.
Silva’s career may be coming to an end as he’s facing a four-year suspension. “The Spider’s” team has said their fighter will never compete again if he’s hit with a two-year suspension.
Weidman, who has defeated Silva twice, told MMAFighting.com that “The Spider’s” legacy has taken a hit:
āYeah, it definitely tarnishes his legacy. You fail a drug test, your whole career is in question, in my opinion. And he failed them now twice. So definitely it tarnishes his legacy. I donāt know what else to say about that. Itās just another one bites the dust. Itās one after another. Literally, almost every guy I ever fought at this point has failed a drug test.ā
He went on to say he isn’t surprised at the increase in drug violations.
āIām not really that surprised. After the first one and now this one. Heās older now. I donāt know. Iām not super surprised. In Brazil, I know the steroids are very easy to get. A lot of guys were probably on them a long time. Iām not super surprised. The reality is that it definitely tarnishes his legacy.”
UFC middleweight contender Robert Whittaker has detailed how the media tone leading up to UFC 243 played a part in his defeat to Israel Adesanya.
Whittaker and Adesanya are currently gearing up for their long-awaited rematch. The pair first collided inside Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium in 2019. At the time, “The Reaper” sat on the middleweight throne and was riding a nine-fight, five-year win streak that included victories over Yoel Romero, Ronaldo Souza, Derek Brunson, and Uriah Hall.
Following his devastating loss to Adesanya, Whittaker admitted he’d been suffering mentally and from burn-out and would be taking an extended layoff from the sport of MMA.
Now, as a revitalized and motivated fighter, the New Zealand-born Australian has looked back on his only setback in his last 13 Octagon outings and assessed what created the overwhelming emotion that proved to be his downfall.
During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, Whittaker discussed the effect the media narratives and tone had on his mindset and performance. According to “The Reaper,” the enhanced Australia vs. New Zealand rivalry and a number of other scenarios meant his ego “got away” on him.
“The thing is, I think it was just an accumulative effect. It was an effect that was just making everything much harder than it should have been, or making things affect me a lot more than they would have, because of the ego,” said Whittaker. “I think, we all have egos, and I think in places and in quantities, I think ego is a good thing, especially for fighters. We’re fighting with people; people are trying to take away what’s ours.
“But I think it got away a little bit on me, just because of the media, and because of, I guess, the scenario, and the situations, and atmosphere; the tone the media was selling to the fans of this rivalry between Australia and New Zealand, the tone about the arena and of fighting at home, and of this, and of that. It just got a bit much, that’s all,” concluded Whittaker.
Having delivered three impressive performances since returning to the Octagon in 2020, including main event wins against Darren Till and Kelvin Gastelum, Whittaker has certainly been back to his best and has also been sporting a visibly relaxed mindset and attitude ahead of his chance for redemption.
It remains to be seen if that’ll be enough for him to add the first blemish to Adesanya’s middleweight record when they meet in the Toyota Center on February 12.
Do you think a revitalized and motivated Robert Whittaker can dethrone Israel Adesanya at UFC 271?
Earlier this week, Paige VanZant caused quite the ruckus over at AEW Dynamite. But on this very same week last year, she was involved in an unscripted scuffle that was very real. VanZant ultimately would lose to Hart in the bout, but at least she got the upper hand, literally and figuratively, in their first physical exchange.
The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
Paige VanZant is set to make her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut on Friday against Britain Hart and the weigh-ins got heated.
After VanZant and Hart weighed in, they got into each others face and VanZant grabbed Hart’s throat. It resulted in a heated shoving match and Hart cussing out the former UFC fighter and saying she is in a different sport now.
Paige VanZant signed with BKFC in August following her submission loss to Amanda Ribas in her final UFC fight. She signed a multi-fight deal with the sans gloves promotion and many are eager to see how she does in the promotion.
Britain Hart, meanwhile, has had three fights in BKFC and is 1-2, including a split decision loss to Bec Rawlings for the belt.
The card also features the 135-pound championship as Johnny Bedford looks to defend his belt against Dat Nguyen. Chris Leben also returns against Quentin Henry.
The BKFC Knuckle Mania weigh-ins are below:
Paige VanZant (126) vs. Britain Hart (124.4) Johnny Bedford (133.7) vs. Dat Nguyen (134) Chris Leben (204.6) vs. Quentin Henry (205.2) Lorenzo Hunt (206.8) vs. Rob Morrow (204.4) Martin Brown (155.4) vs. Zach Zane (155.5) John Chalbeck (144.7) vs. Greg Bono (144.5) Charisa Sigala (122.7) vs. Taylor Starling (125.6) VanZant Dillon Cleckler (248) vs. Chris Jensen (262.7) David Morgan (135.9) vs. Travis Thompson (135.4) Haim Gozali (204) vs. John McAllister (201.8) Jarod Grant (134.6) vs. Brandon Lambert (137) Drew Lipton (183.6) vs. Jeff Bailey (186.9)
UFC middleweight Sean Strickland is excited for the Conor McGregor-esque freedom he’ll have if he becomes a champion in the promotion.
While McGregor has undoubtedly grown into the biggest star the sport of MMA has ever seen, largely thanks to the Octagon success that saw him become the UFC’s first simultaneous two-division champion, much of his behavior outside the cage has left a lot to be desired.
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) April 6, 2019
But despite his multiple run-ins with the law and criticized actions, McGregor’s place at the top of the UFC has remained secure and his status as one of the biggest superstars in sport untouched.
That’s a level of freedom that intrigues one controversial fighter…
Strickland: “When I’m Champion, I Can Go Full Conor McGregor”
One man who’s certainly joined McGregor in the upper-echelons of controversy is #7-ranked middleweight Strickland. While his carefree attitude has entertained some, his questionable remarks, including about homosexuality, have caused anger across some parts of the MMA community.
While some would suggest becoming a champion would require a level of company representation, Strickland looks at McGregor’s past and licks his lips.
“It’s even better, because when I’m champion I can go full Conor McGregor,” Strickland told reporters. “I can go and fucking hit an old guy in a bar, fucking throw a fucking (dolly), try and fucking assault Khabib’s manager Ali (Abdelaziz), it’s fucking even better dude.”
In this article published on this day six years ago, Chuck Liddell offered to help Ronda Rousey improve her striking skills after “Rowdy” suffered her first career loss at the hands of decorated striker Holly Holm at UFC 196.
The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Six Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 5, 2016, 1:19 PM]
Title: Chuck Liddell Calls Holly Holm A “Real Striker,” Says Rousey Needs Help & Offers To Train Her
TMZ.com recently caught up with UFC Hall Of Famer Chuck Liddell, who claims he would happily help Ronda Rousey train her striking, which he admitted she needs if she wants to beat UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion and former multiple-time women’s boxing champion Holly Holm in a rematch.
“The Iceman” is one of the clearest-cut examples in the short history of MMA of an elite striker who only used his wrestling and grappling ability to avoid going to the ground or help him get back to his feet if he was taken down. For proof, look no further than the all-time record for knockouts in UFC history, which is still held by Liddell at 13 KOs in 23 appearances inside the Octagon.
For the record, former women’s boxing champion Laila Ali agrees with Liddell as well.
Liddell was asked about Rousey’s trainer Edmond Tarverdyan, who as a former professional boxing trainer is the man responsible for Rousey’s level of striking ability, and admitted that she isn’t on former women’s boxing champion Holly Holm’s level when it comes to striking.
“Is it the guy who told her she could out-strike Holly Holm? Is that the same guy?” said Liddell in sarcastic fashion when asked about Tarverdyan by the TMZ reporter.
After the comedic portion of his response, Liddell followed up with a politically correct statement regarding the improvement Tarverdyan has helped Rousey obtain in the striking department since the former Olympic gold medalist in Judo made the transition to mixed-martial-arts.
“Ronda’s striking has greatly improved. He’s done a great job with her striking,” said Liddell after giving his opinion that Holm is still on another level in the striking department compared to Rousey. Liddell pointed out the fact that there’s a significant gap in talent between a “real pro striker,” which he called Holm, and Rousey, who is a decorated Judo player that has been adding striking to her game the past few years.
Whether or not Rousey seeks out Liddell’s assistance in helping her further develop her stand-up game remains to be seen, however, she may have a chance to prove he and the critics wrong as it was announced by UFC President Dana White this week that November is when Rousey is likely to fight for the title, as she is expected to challenge the winner of the UFC 196 co-main event between Holly Holm and Miesha Tate for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship.
Unfortunately for Rousey, she will have to do it without help from Edmond Tarverdyan on fight night.
Claressa Shields wants to face the best female fighters in combat sports in both MMA and boxing.
Shields is set to make her boxing return against Ema Kozin to defend her various titles. She has remained adamant in her desire to remain active in both boxing and MMA simultaneously going forward.
Shields has accumulated a 1-1 record in MMA, earning an impressive win over Brittney Elkin followed by a split-decision defeat to Abigail Montes in the PFL. She trains down at Jackson-Wink MMA in New Mexico alongside top MMA talents such as Holly Holm and formerly Jon Jones.
Despite her relative inexperience in MMA, she has massive goals with this combat sports venture. During a recent interview with Sirius XM, Shields called out some of the best female MMA fighters for matchups in the future.
"I would want to try my luck with all those great women [Harrison, Nunes, Cyborg] because they're the best and I'm the best."@ClaressaShields joined @AngieOverkill and @RyanMcKinnell to discuss some dream MMA matchups ahead of her upcoming boxing match with Ema Kozin this week pic.twitter.com/tkN2U2gjv7
āI would love to get inside the cage, or the ring, with Amanda Nunes, Kayla Harrison, Cris Cyborg, all the girls who are at the top of MMA,” Shields said. “I would love to try my luck with them in MMA, and of course, in boxing. In MMA, weāve never had a fight where it was two Olympic gold medalists to fight each other, so that would be me and Kayla Harrison.
Kayla Harrison, Claressa Shields
“Amanda Nunes is just a force to be reckoned with. Sheās got a big punch, she can wrestle, she can do jiu-jitsu, sheās the best. Me being who I am, itās like, I wanna train hard enough and for the right amount of time to where if I ever had to get inside the cage with her. I want the world to know Iām about to give this woman hell, even though sheās the best!ā (h/t SportsKeeda)
It’s unclear if Shields will compete in the PFL’s lightweight tournament for the 2022 season or compete in non-tournament fights as she did last year. PFL chief executive Peter Murray assured fans that Shields is committed to her MMA development alongside her boxing competitions.
There’s no question that Shields poses some of the best striking in the PFL and arguably in women’s MMA today. However, her grappling is still a work in progress as she hopes to up her level of competition in years to come.
How do you think Claressa Shields would match up against some of the best MMA fighters?
One month before Francis Ngannou’s heavyweight championship win at UFC 260, Stipe Miocic was confident that the rematch would yield the same results as their bout two years prior at UFC 220. The following article published on this day last year captures that confidence.
The following article was published on this day last year. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 5, 2021, 11:16 AM]
Title: Miocic: Itās Unfortunate For Ngannou That He Has To Fight Me Again
UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic believes that the ānewā version of Francis Ngannou will get the same old outcome on March 27 when the two top heavyweights meet again.
Becoming a UFC champion is a life-changer. Itās impressive enough to make it to the biggest MMA promotion in the world from humble beginnings, but to then capture a title enhances not only the money and fame but the legacy. Francis Ngannou seems to be in this position once again after coming up short in his first bid for the world title in 2018.
The bad news for Ngannou is that this story will not have a different ending than it did on January 20, 2018, says world champion Stipe Miocic.
āFrancis is a super tough guy,ā Miocic said, speaking on the āOral Sessionsā podcast. āHeās been knocking everyone out again and heās on a tear, and unfortunately heās going to have to fight me again. Thatās the bad part. Heās definitely gotten better, but so have I.
Stipe Miocic & Francis Ngannou Battle At UFC 220
āI know Iām getting old, but Iāve gotten wiser and Iāve got a few new tricks up my sleeve. (They say) you canāt teach an old dog new tricks, which is a lie. Iāve learned a lot since the last couple years ago. Itās the same outcome. Iām going to walk out with the belt around my waist: and still.ā
Miocic Identifies The Difference-Maker In Upcoming Rematch
Francis Ngannou continues to add more knockouts to his total that is on pace to break records. He surely already has the fastest knockouts-per-minute ratio in the history of the promotion, a stat that was solidified after KOing Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik in under three minutes of total fight time.
Some may argue that Ngannou has not really changed. He is doing the same thing heās always done: throw dumbells at his opponentsā faces, rendering them unconscious upon impact. But Ngannou does seem to be faster than he was before. Even still, the champion believes that Ngannou isnāt the only one who has gotten faster and that there is still a significant differential between the two.
āTiming and speed,ā Miocic said. āReally just speed. Itās all about speed. Speed kills, and thatās something weāve really worked on the last couple camps fighting āDC.āā
UFC 260: Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 takes place March 27, 2021 live on pay per view.
Do you think the rematch between Miocic and Ngannou will have the same outcome as their first encounter?
