MMA News
Israel Adesanya throws shade at Yoel Romero, praises Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Adam D Martin - March 8, 2020
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya threw shade at Yoel Romero after their UFC 248 main event, while praising Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Adesanya and Romero met in a highly-anticipated main event for the middleweight belt, but the fight turned out to be anything but. Very few strikes were thrown during the 25-minute affair, but ultimately the judges did find the champion to be the more effective fighter and awarded him a unanimous decision victory to retain his title.
Photo | Joanna Jedrzejczyk before and after UFC 248 war with Weili Zhang
Adam D Martin - March 8, 2020
Before-and-after pics tell the story of the damage Joanna Jedrzejczyk took from UFC women’s strawweight Weili Zhang during their instant classic at UFC 248. Jedrzejczyk and Zhang threw everything including the kitchen sink at each other for 25 minutes as they put on one of the best fights in MMA history against each other, with Zhang eventually emerging as the winner by split decision to retain the belt. It was an extremely close fight, but the difference to the judges was likely the visual damage inflicted on Jedrzejczyk, including a massive hematoma on her forehead.
Israel Adesanya reacts to UFC 248 victory against Yoel Romero
Natasha Hooper - March 8, 2020
Tonight Israel Adesanya headlined UFC 248 in a blockbuster showdown against Yoel Romero. “The Last Stylebender” set out to defend his title for the first time since claiming it from Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. He achieved a statement victory by knocking-out the former champion in the second round. Tonight he intended on defeating “The Soldier of God” in a similar fashion. In a prior interview, the New Zealand fighter revealed his plans to counteract anything his Olympic wrestling opponent had to offer:
Dana White reacts to Israel Adesanya's UFC 248 victory against Yoel Romero
Natasha Hooper - March 8, 2020
Dana White has reacted to tonight’s UFC 248 main event title fight between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero. In the highly anticipated headliner, “The Last Stylebender” defended his belt for the first time against the division’s “boogeyman”, Yoel Romero. “The Soldier of God” was riding a two-fight losing streak prior, and suffered a similar fate in his Adesanya showdown.
Joanna Jędrzejczyk reacts following loss to Weili Zhang at UFC 248
Natasha Hooper - March 7, 2020
Tonight at UFC 248, Joanna Jędrzejczyk aimed to reclaim the promotions strawweight championship against reigning title holder Weili Zhang. The Polish star first tasted UFC championship victory in 2015 when she decimated the divisions inaugural champion Carla Esparza. She won the one-sided bout via TKO in the second round to claim the 115-pound crown. She defended her belt five consecutive times, defeating the likes of Jessica Penne, Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. However, her time was up in her sixth title defense, as opponent Rose Namajunas dismantled her with a first round TKO victory at UFC 217. This was the first time Joanna Jędrzejczyk had lost since joining the UFC, but not her last. She lost again to Namajunas by unanimous decision a few months later in their rematch. She also suffered a setback to current flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko by unanimous decision at UFC 231 in 2018. However, in her most recent effort, Joanna reeled off an impressive victory over Michelle Waterson.
Pros react to Israel Adesanya defeating Yoel Romero at UFC 248
Chris Taylor - March 7, 2020
Tonight’s UFC 248 event was headlined by a middleweight title fight featuring Yoel Romero taking on reigning division kingpin Israel Adesanya. Romero (13-4 MMA) entered tonight’s UFC 248 event headliner on a two-fight losing streak, this after suffering close decision losses to Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa respectively. Despite his recent setbacks, ‘The Soldier of God’ was still considered to be the scariest ‘out’ in the middleweight division and that is exactly why Adesanya wanted to fight him.
UFC 248 Results: Israel Adesanya defeats Yoel Romero (Highlights)
Chris Taylor - March 7, 2020
Tonight’s UFC 248 event is headlined by a middleweight title fight featuring Yoel Romero taking on reigning division kingpin Israel Adesanya. Romero (13-4 MMA) will enter tonight’s UFC 248 event headliner on a two-fight losing streak, this after suffering close decision losses to Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa respectively. Despite the recent setbacks, ‘The Soldier of God’ is still considered to be the scariest out in the middleweight division and that is exactly why Adesanya wants to fight him.
Pros react to Weili Zhang defeating Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248
Chris Taylor - March 7, 2020
Weili Zhang squared off with Joanna Jedrzejczyk the co-headliner of tonight’s UFC 248 event in hopes of earning her first successful strawweight title defense. Zhang (20-1 MMA) had captured the promotions 115lbs title this past summer, when she needed less than a minute to dispose of former title holder Jessica Andrade.
VIDEO | "Cowboys" Donald Cerrone and Alex Oliveira share a moment at UFC 248
Chris Taylor - March 7, 2020
Fan favorites Donald Cerrone and Alex Oliveira shared a cool moment following the Brazilian Cowboy’s split decision win over Max Griffin at UFC 248. As seen in the video below supplied by UFC.com, Alex crossed paths with Donald on his way out of the Octagon. Cerrone was in attendance as a fan and actually having a beer. The two exchanged feathers for their hats and shared a hug. Check it out:
UFC 248 Results: Sean O’Malley TKO's Jose Quinonez (Video)
Chris Taylor - March 7, 2020
Fan favorite Sean O’Malley returns to the Octagon this evening at UFC 248 for a bantamweight contest with Jose Quinonez. The undefeated bantamweight prospect, O’Malley (10-0 MMA), has not competed since UFC 222 in March of 2018, where he scored a decision victory over Andre Soukhamthath.
Khabib Nurmagomedov names his stipulation for a rematch with Conor McGregor
Chris Taylor - March 7, 2020
Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has revealed his lone stipulation for a rematch with bitter rival Conor McGregor. Earlier today, Nurmagomedov took part in the Dominance MMA media event in Las Vegas.
Kamaru Usman names 7 UFC welterweights he says are better than Jorge Masvidal
Chris Taylor - March 7, 2020
The ongoing beef between UFC welterweight standouts Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal continued today during the Dominance MMA Management event. The UFC’s reigning welterweight champion, Usman (16-1), has been trading barbs with the promotions BMF title holder for months now.
Colby Covington responds to Joanna Jedrzejczyk's apology request ahead of UFC 248
Chris Taylor - March 7, 2020
Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington has responded to Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s apology request just hours before her fight at UFC 248. The former strawweight queen, Jedrzejczyk, is set to challenge reigning 115lbs division champion Weili Zhang in the evenings co-main event.
Lightweight standout Edson Barboza requests his release from the UFC
Chris Taylor - March 7, 2020
Lightweight standout Edson Barboza (20-8 MMA) has sent Dana White an official request to be released from his current UFC contract. The feared Brazilian striker has gone just 1-4 over his past five Octagon appearances and believes he doesn’t have much more time to wait.
Photo | Paulo Costa sends Israel Adesanya one final message ahead of UFC 248
Chris Taylor - March 7, 2020
Paulo Costa will have a cageside seat for tonight’s highly anticipated UFC 248 middleweight title fight between Yoel Romero and Israel Adesanya. ‘The Eraser’ was actually expected to be the first man to challenge ‘Stylebender’ for his newly acquired middleweight championship, but those plans fell through after Costa sustained an injury.
UFC 248 loses a fight on just hours notice
Chris Taylor - March 7, 2020
The Octagon returns to Las Vegas this evening for UFC 248, a pay-per-view event headlined by Yoel Romero challenging Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title. The fight card was originally slated to feature a total of twelve contests. However, news recently broke that one of those slated bouts has been cancelled after a fighter was taken to ER.
Khabib Nurmagomedov says he needs a win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 to complete his lightweight legacy
Natasha Hooper - March 7, 2020
Khabib Nurmagomedov believes he needs to beat Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 to cement his lightweight legacy. The undisputed lightweight champion, Nurmagomedov will put his undefeated record on the line in the main event of UFC 249. The blockbuster event takes place on April 18th 2020 at the Barclays Center in New York. This will be the third time “The Eagle” has defended the 155-pound title and he is expecting it to be, third time lucky. In a recent interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Nurmagomedov explained why he needs the win over “El Cucuy”:
Video | Tony Ferguson blasts reporter over Mental Health question at UFC 249 presser
Natasha Hooper - March 7, 2020
Tony Ferguson shut down a press-day question in typical Tony-Ferguson style by responding to the journalist with “f*ck you.” “El Cucuy” attended a press conference yesterday for his upcoming blockbuster bout against the undefeated lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov. The lightweight prospects will collide in the main event of UFC 249 on April 18th, 2020 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Ferguson will be fighting for the 155-pound title and is widely regarded as the toughest challenge of his opponent’s professional career.