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Zellhuber wants Noche UFC spot vs. Pimblett, anticipates Round 1 KO win

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After his win last Saturday in Mexico City, Daniel Zellhuber is now eyeing his next opponent: Paddy Pimblett. For the fighter, the Briton is the “perfect matchup,” promising a Round 1 knockout win when they face at the UFC 306 Noche pay-per-view event in the Sphere.

Zellhuber faced Francisco Prado in the main card of UFC Mexico City last weekend. It was a long night for the fighter, but he ultimately exited the cage with a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-26) over the opponent. With this win, “Golden Boy” made the MMA world aware of his next plan: to fight Pimblett in the Sphere.

After the event, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that the promotion will hold its UFC 306 event in Las Vegas on September 14. The executive promised that the card would be a “huge love letter to all of combat and combat sports throughout the history of Mexico.” As such, having Mexican blood, the fighter shared his intent to join the lineup against “The Baddy.”

“I definitely want to fight in the sphere on Sept. 17 – I even said that to Dana White in the octagon,” Zellhuber said during last Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I asked for Paddy ‘The Baddy’ for September 17.”

Pimblett is one of UFC’s promising fighters and has been gaining some attention in the past months, especially after his win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 296. Yet, Zellhuber is confident he can knock out the fighter in the first round of a match if he is given the chance.

“I’m tired of watching him beat old Mexicans, so it’s time for him to step in and fight the new generation of Mexicans, and I’m here,” said Zellhuber. “I’m young. I just need time to heal some injuries I had before this fight. And I feel I’m going to be ready (on) September 17. Paddy needs to drop 500 pounds, so he’s going to be ready for September 17. If he’s down, I’m down.”

Rodriguez gives update after UFC Mexico City loss: ‘I was able to leave without any serious injuries’

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Yair Rodriguez lost to Brian Ortega at the recent UFC Fight Night event in Mexico City. Nonetheless, the fighter ensured fans that he received no major injuries from the bout.

Last Saturday, Rodriguez and Ortega served as the co-main event of the UFC Mexico City. The rematch initially appeared to be favoring Rodriguez’s side, especially after Ortega accidentally twisted his ankle before the fight started. However, the unexpected happened, and “T-City” ended up dominating the match. The opponent forced Rodriguez to tap through an arm-triangle choke, ending the fight at the 0:58 mark of Round 3.

This allowed Ortega to avenge his July 2022 loss to Rodriguez. While this might sound like a disappointment for “El Pantera,” he knows that there are lots of other points to be grateful for. That includes the fact that he didn’t receive serious injuries in the match despite Ortega making a complex position to submit him.

“Things didn’t go our favor yesterday,” Rodriguez wrote on Instagram in Spanish. “I can only thank God that I was able to leave without any serious injuries or wounds.”

In the end, the fighter expressed a positive outlook on his MMA career, sharing his intent to bounce back when he enters the octagon again.

“I’m still strong and moving forward,” the fighter added. “I can’t say much right now, the only thing that’s left is to accept what’s going to come and keep fighting for a better future. Thank you, Mexico. I love you all.”

Ortega explains UFC Mexico City ankle injury: ‘I’d be lying if I said panic didn’t set in for a bit’

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Santi
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Brian Ortega made a huge mistake before entering the cage of UFC Mexico City last Saturday night. Just with a single wrong jump while being introduced, the fighter rolled his ankle, giving him an instant injury even before facing Yair Rodriguez in the cage.

Ortega headlined the event against Rodriguez last weekend. However, before the bout even started, “T-City” already experienced an issue. The injury was immediately spotted by many. The fighter himself didn’t deny the mistake, which he claimed started with one wrong move.

“Talk about things stacked against me,” Ortega said during the event’s post-fight press conference. “Bruce [Buffer] was introducing me, and then I jumped up, and when I landed, I rolled my ankle. I was like, ‘Oh shoot.’ I looked at my coach, and I was like, ‘This is bad.’ He’s like, ‘Don’t you effing worry about this.’ He was just telling me get in the zone; it doesn’t matter…

“It was hurting, and obviously, when you’re paying attention to it, it’s hard to really focus on the fight. I’m like, ‘Dude, this is what happened right now. What an idiot. You roll your ankle right now in front of 22,000 people, and you have a war with this tough guy in Mexico, and everyone’s going for him.’ Like, come on, bro. I had to fight some demons in there.”

In hopes of resolving the problem before the fight, Ortega tried to move his ankle but admitted that the pain continued even inside the cage. Initially, the fighter’s struggle in the match was noticeable, but surprisingly, he was able to mount Rodriguez in the second round and end the fight in the third through an arm-triangle choke to push the submission. For him, this was all possible through his focus.

“When they were introducing him, I was trying to flex my ankle, like, ‘Come on, work, don’t you dare fail me right now,” Ortega added. “We’ve got five rounds; it’s not even a regular co-main event!’ I’d be lying if I said panic didn’t set in for a bit. Then, obviously, I started just off. Right off the bat, I started, I got clipped, and then I paid the price for not being in the zone and focused on what I was supposed to do. I survived it.”

Cyborg lambasts PFL execs: ‘No plans on making my return to MMA against Pacheco’

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Cris Cyborg does not like that the PFL executives are now pushing her to Larissa Pacheco without even reaching out to her after Kayla Harrison departed for UFC.

Cyborg and Harrison have been eying each other even before the PFL acquired Bellator. However, after Pacheco earned the title for the 2023 PFL Women’s Featherweight Championship, the promotion decided to prioritize the fighter over Harrison. Despite that, Cyborg and Harrison continued to call out each other, with the former saying her plan was to fight Harrison before her retirement.

Then, the unexpected happened: Harrison made the jump to sign under UFC. The female fighter will now make her debut in the company at UFC 300 as a bantamweight fighter. Needless to say, the news shocked many, with some questioning Harrison’s callouts if she would just leave the company after all.

Now, with Harrison no longer in the way, one would expect that PFL would make the booking of Cyborg vs. Pacheco immediately. However, there is still no news about the matter, while some believe that the promotion is advertently stalling it to make Cyborg slower before facing Pacheco. Even more, as Cyborg shared, the company has not reached out to her since Harrison left.

In her recent post, the fighter criticized the PFL executives Peter Murray and Donn Davis for commenting on the matter in public without even talking to her first.

In the past, Cyborg shared that she was “unwilling to have a long layoff from MMA competition and then be ‘offered’ Pacheco.” Now, the fighter said that coming back to MMA just to face the PFL talent is no longer her plan.

Jones believes winning over Ngannou, Aspinall in match

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Jon Jones is confident that he can win not only over Stipe Miocic but also against Tom Aspinall and long-time rival Francis Ngannou.

Jones’ comeback timeline remains unknown after undergoing two surgeries for pectoral and elbow. Nonetheless, UFC is determined to push his fight against Miocic despite Aspinall, the promotion’s current interim heavyweight champ, expressing interest in challenging either Miocic or Aspinall in the meantime. In his recent statements, “Bones” also turned down the Briton’s challenges, underscoring that his focus is on the fellow veteran.

Despite that, Jones is not closing the possibility of meeting Aspinall in the future. For the UFC star, the same goes for Ngannou. MMA fans have been hoping for a fight between the two since both were still under UFC. However, after Ngannou left the promotion and signed under PFL, the talks about it started to die. In the past, UFC CEO Dana White even criticized the idea of having a collaboration between his company and the PFL to push the Jones vs. Ngannou bout.

When asked about the matter during his appearance at the PFL vs. Bellator Champs event, the fighter didn’t dismiss the idea of fighting Ngannou. For the fighter, defeating all the fighters being linked to his name is not impossible. Yet, as he stressed, the power of whether these fights will be pushed still lies in the hands of promotions, and his job is just to fight whoever is placed in front of him.

“I feel like there’s a lot of fights that the world wants right now,” said Jones. “The Tom Aspinall fight, that’s still really massive. Francis Ngannou and I would be really massive. And Stipe Miocic, to the hardcore fans, is still a respectable opponent. I don’t know how the cards are going to fall. My prediction is that I will beat Stipe Miocic. My prediction is that I will beat Tom Aspinall and Francis Ngannou.

“The way that it unfolds is really not my business. My job is to just do what I’ve always done since day one.”

When asked about the long-debated question of who really is the MMA GOAT between him and Ngannou, the fighter opted to give the MMA world the chance to decide. For him, this will be reflected by each fighter’s record and performance inside the cage.

“I don’t feel like I’m in a place where I need to toot my own horn,” Jones said. “I feel that my body of work speaks for itself. I think my reception from the MMA enthusiasts speaks for itself. I’ll just leave it at that.”

Turcios calls fight’s rematch announcement ‘fake news,’ lambasts ‘very unprofessional’ Rosas Jr.

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Santi
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Ricky Turcios is not happy about how his fight against Raul Rosas Jr. was canceled at the last minute of the UFC Mexico City event last Saturday. In line with this, the fighter criticized the opponent and expressed doubt over the fast rebooking of their fight.

This Saturday, UFC Fight Night 237 lost one of its bouts in the card in the last minute after Rosas Jr. decided to withdraw due to illness reasons. This ultimately left Turcios without an opponent and a match to take that night. Needless to say, he’s unimpressed with the move, calling “El Nino Problema” an unprofessional fighter.

“Last night, Rosas Jr. said no fight literally 5 minutes before the walkout to the fight in the octagon,” Turcios wrote on his now-deleted Instagram Story. “Rosas Jr said no to facing me in front of hid 20,000 Mexican fans in Mexico City. Rosas Jr. disrespected the Bushido code, very unprofessional.”

The fighter is also not convinced that their match is easily rebooked a week later. To recall, UFC CEO Dana White announced during the weekend that the fight would instead be joining this week’s UFC Fight Night 238 in Las Vegas. Turcios called it fake news, noting that “no fight contract has been signed yet for a new date.” Yet, it is important to add that it is common for the promotion to announce fights (e.g., the recent case of Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis fight) without even giving the fighters a contract first.

Royval wants quick turnaround to challenge Pantoja again at UFC 301

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Santi
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Brandon Royval won’t stop until he gets the gold from flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja — even if it means making a quick turnaround for a fight in May.

Royval made a bounce back after defeating Brandon Moreno in the main event bout of UFC Fight Night 237 this Saturday night. The fighter stepped in as a replacement for Amir Albazi but still managed to outperform the opponent, who was originally expected to challenge Royval next. Yet, with this win, “Raw Dawg” did not just return to the winning column but also joined the title conversation again.

UFC CEO Dana White still hasn’t named the next challenger of Pantoja, who seems to be interested in joining the UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro on May 4. Nonetheless, Royval is already claiming the shot after his win.

“I’m going to keep spoiling parties,” Royval said during the post-fight news conference of UFC Fight Night 237. “At UFC 301, I’m going to fight Pantoja, and I’m going to take his belt in his hometown. We’ll keep spoiling parties. After I win that belt, I’ll defend my belt in Denver, Colorado.”

This will mean a quick turnaround for the contender, and the move might also be questioned by some who would want to see Pantoja with a new challenger. Yet, Royval believes he has already proved this weekend that he has improved and could continue improving in the next two months.

“I’ve made adjustments in six weeks or five weeks, whatever it was,” Royval shared. “It was five weeks because I hurt my hand, and I couldn’t get back into training. I had a five-week training camp for that. In five weeks, I made a bunch of adjustments. I didn’t get held down. Brandon Moreno tried to slow me down, hold me down, slow the pace, keep me down. They ain’t going to hold me down no more, bro.”

Jones roots for Ngannou but bets on Joshua

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Santi
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If Jon Jones is to be asked, Anthony Joshua has the biggest chance of winning the boxing match against Francis Ngannou. Nonetheless, the UFC heavyweight king wants to stress that his heart goes to the fellow MMA fighter.

Ngannou will be having his second boxing match after impressing the boxing industry when he faced Tyson Fury last October. Despite losing via a split decision, “The Predator” undeniably gave the boxing star a hard time in the ring. With this, Ngannou was welcomed warmly by the fans of the sport, resulting in the interest of some boxers.

Now that he is booked for his next fight against another professional boxer, Ngannou’s boxing skills will be tested again. Jones is hoping for his fellow fighter’s victory in the bout but noted that in terms of technical skills, the opponent has a better chance of prevailing.

“I’m rooting for Francis to win only because of his story, how far he’s coming in life, him being a fellow mixed martial artist,” Jones said. “How could you not root for Francis? Francis is a wonderful, stand-up person. I’m rooting for Francis.

“Anthony Joshua, he’s been doing this since he’s a young boy, and I’m the type of guy that just gives respect where it’s due. If I had to personally put my money on it, not that I gamble, I would put it on Anthony Joshua, but I am rooting for Francis Ngannou. Sorry, Francis.”

Despite such doubts, the PFL heavyweight fighter is certain that he will claim victory this time. Although viewed as a less skilled fighter, Ngannou believes he’ll be “the underdog to win the fight” against Joshua.

“We don’t know the strength of Anthony Joshua but even though I don’t believe he has that strength, but we’re going to find out,” Ngannou said earlier this month. “We’re going to find out, and I think the reverse is going to happen. I’m going to be the one taking his soul.”

White dismisses views brawls give promotion ‘a bad look’ after UFC Mexico City crowd chaos

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Santi
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UFC CEO Dana White doesn’t think that audiences being involved in melees during one of its events translates to “a bad look” for the company.

The bouts and results at UFC Fight Night 237 weren’t the only highlight of UFC’s Saturday night. In the event, event attendees were involved in a brawl, resulting in huge chaos in the venue. Needless to say, White noticed the scene and shared a hint of disappointment about the security team’s response to the situation. 

“I mean, that never happens,” White said. “Literally never happens. It happened here in Mexico City. The crazy thing about that fight, when that fight broke out, it felt like it kept going forever. So I ran over there and I was watching it; nobody stopped it. I was waiting for security to come in, and they just let them go until it was over.”

Despite all that and the ideas that its events are cultivating negative culture among fans, White is unbothered. For him, these instances do not define nor affect the image of the company. In the end, the executive expressed his faith in the audience. For him, after “everybody else saw that s***” that resulted in some getting knocked out, the audiences come to their senses.

“That was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen,” continued White. “I don’t think it’s a bad look for the UFC. It happened, and that was the end of that.”

White confirms UFC 306 will be at Las Vegas Sphere on September 14

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Santi
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UFC CEO Dana White finally confirmed this weekend that the promotion will indeed hold one of its events at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

During UFC Fight Night 237 this Saturday in Mexico City, the executive shared the news, noting that the anticipated UFC 306 Noche pay-per-view event will be on September 14 in the said venue. However, no bouts were teased in the announcement. Nonetheless, as suggested by White earlier, the card will be loaded with the biggest Mexican talents it has in its roster.

“We’re going in there during Mexican Independence Day, and I’m going to put on the greatest live event anybody’s ever seen, and it’s going to be this huge love letter to all of combat and combat sports throughout the history of Mexico,” White discussed UFC 306 during his interview on The Pat McAfee Show more than a week ago. “Some of the baddest dudes that have ever walked the face of this Earth have been Mexican. On Mexican Independence Day, I’m going to deliver the craziest show anybody’s ever seen…

“What we’re going to pull off there will never be done again. Nobody’s going to be willing to spend the money that I’m going to spend. I’m not playing around with this. I’m going in guns blazing, and I’m going to blow everybody’s mind with this event.”

Aside from this, other details confirmed involving the promotion’s future event are the venue and date of UFC 303. According to White, the event will also be in Las Vegas, albeit it will be on June 29 at T-Mobile Arena.

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