MMA News

Tag: Michael Aswell Jr.

  • “Crispy Hands” – Luke Riley Strikes His Way To UFC London Win

    “Crispy Hands” – Luke Riley Strikes His Way To UFC London Win

    Luke Riley’s boxing was on full display, as the young prospect scored another victory in the UFC by defeating Michael Aswell Jr. in the UFC London co-main event.

    Aswell looked to bring pressure and take control right away. He landed a hard shot early on Riley and looked to press him by the fence to control the action there. Riley battled back, however, matching pressure and gaining momentum during the first round.

    Riley continued to bring pressure in the second round to his benefit, not letting off on the gas and forcing Aswell to fight on the back foot. Aswell landed a few good shots in the third and looked to tie up Riley with his grappling, but it was for naught.

    Luke Riley Bests Michael Aswell Jr. In UFC London Co-Main

    Riley, a Cage Warriors veteran, made his UFC debut in November at UFC Qatar, finishing Bogdan Grad.

    Aswell is now 1-2 in the UFC, entering tonight’s fight off a win over Lucas Almeida at UFC Rio last October.

  • UFC Rio Fighter Seems To Leak Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van Flyweight Title Fight Confirmation For UFC 323

    UFC Rio Fighter Seems To Leak Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van Flyweight Title Fight Confirmation For UFC 323

    A fight that has long been rumored for UFC 323 appears to now have been confirmed, leaked by, of all people, a fighter who competed on the UFC Rio card.

    During his post-fight interview, Michael Aswell Jr. advocated to compete next on UFC 323, which was recently confirmed for December 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Aswell cited a desire to compete on the same card as his teammate, Joshua Van. And that was when Aswell said Van would be challenging Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight championship on the card.

    Van has been pegged as the next title challenger after his short-notice victory over former title challenger Brandon Royval at UFC 317 in June, and the fight had been rumored to take place in December.

    Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van For Flyweight Title Now Confirmed For UFC 323?

    Van is 15-2 in MMA, including a 8-1 record. Since his knockout loss to Charles Johnson, Van has won five straight, which includes a finish of Bruno Silva at UFC 316, just four weeks before his win over Royval.

    This fight would mark Pantoja’s fifth flyweight title defense attempt. Pantoja, who has won eight straight, defeated Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 for the title. Since then, he’s defended the belt against Royval at UFC 296, Steve Erceg at UFC 301, Kai Asakura at UFC 310, and Kai Kara-France at UFC 317.

    Aswell, meanwhile, made quick work of Lucas Almeida in the featured prelim of UFC Rio.

    UFC 323 will mark the last pay-per-view event of the UFC’s ESPN era, with the final Fight Night card happening the next week.

  • VIDEO: Michael Aswell Jr. Lays Beatdown In On Lucas Almeida At UFC Rio

    VIDEO: Michael Aswell Jr. Lays Beatdown In On Lucas Almeida At UFC Rio

    Michael Aswell Jr. made things look to easy in the featured preliminary bout of UFC Rio, as the Texas native quickly took out Lucas Almeida.

    Aswell cracked Almeida seconds into the fight with a right hand before laying in some flurries to try and get the quick finish. Almeida tried to fight back, but Aswell continued to lay in with his striking.

    Another right hand slumped Almeida against the fence, where Aswell laid in some more punches before the fight was finally stopped.

    Michael Aswell Jr. Finishes Lucas Almeida In Under A Minute At UFC Rio

    This was Aswell’s first UFC victory after dropping his promotional debut to Bolaji Oki at UFC Vegas 107 in May.

    Almeida has now lost four of five and is just 2-4 in the UFC.