Carla Esparza’s UFC 274 co-main-event fight against Rose Namajunas was lackluster, and drew criticism from practically everyone, starting from fans to the commentary team. However, despite the rather slow affair, the division is now more exciting than ever before. For the first time since the weight class’s inception, back in 2014, it looks like there’s a weak contender holding the title.

Esparza, despite her great resume, has more than a few glaring losses on her record. Over the last five years, she has dropped fights to now released Randa Markos, retired former title challenger Claudia Gadelha, and inactive contender Tatiana Suarez. Even her impressive five-fight winning streak, which got her the title shot, featured close calls like her split decision over Marina Rodriguez. A record like this in a division which is home to some of the best female pound-for-pound fighters like Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Weili Zhang and Jessica Andrade, undermines Esparza’s claim to being the champion.

However, there is some silver lining to having a champion who doesn’t have an ironclad record. Contenders like Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Jessica Andrade who, despite their solid record, had become irrelevant are now back in the title picture. Plus, given the depth of the division, many decorated prospects like former Invicta FC champion Virna Jandiroba, Amanda Ribas, and BJJ world champion Mackenzie Dern had been lost in the dynamism of the division.

Esparza’s rise underscores that it’s possible for these fighters to slowly rise up to claim the belt, something that just hasn’t happened in the division so far. Almost every champion in the women’s strawweight division was a highly touted prospect well before they fought in the weight class. Joanna Jędrzejczyk was undefeated and had a long Muay Thai career, Rose Namajunas had become somewhat of a brand because of her wins on the Ultimate Fighter, Jessica Andrade was under the radar because of her victories at bantamweight and Weili Zhang had the backing of a huge Chinese market.

Amongst the several champions the division has seen, Esparza stands as the only one who had to grind her way to the top one fight after another. It isn’t as if she was the first to get a title shot by stringing up wins. Several like Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Jessica Penne and Valarie Létourneau had done so in past but they had failed to capture the gold. The last fighter who didn’t have a perfect record but had secured the belt by stringing up a series of wins was Jessica Andrade back in 2019 and even her streak entering the title fight was three. With Esparza on top, it’s bound to be motivating for many contenders to try and regain lost ground.

The most important reason, however, is the potential of a great story that Esparza can be. Here is a former champion who’s won the title in a fight most didn’t like, a fight that was barely watchable, and now has to prove herself as the best fighter despite having the belt. She has an opportunity to have a reign where she’ll be the underdog against almost every challenger in front of her.

If Esparza manages to overcome even one or two of the challengers in front of her before dropping the belt it’ll, push her into the conversation of being an all-time great. Someone who rose from the brink of absolute irrelevance (having gone 2-3 in her last five before rebounding) to recapture lost glory. Conversely, if she fails she’ll end up going down as someone who was just at the right place at right time, making both her reigns as specks meant to be ignored.

Carla Esparza has made an amazing comeback but her story is still very much being written.

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In the past few years, the UFC’s heavyweight division has seen a generational change.

Since Stipe Miocic first won the heavyweight title in 2016, the old guard of top contenders in the division have been replaced with fresher faces. Gone, or at least out of contention, are Junior dos Santos, Mark Hunt, Fabricio Werdum, Daniel Cormier, Alistair Overeem, Andrei Arlovski, Travis Browne, Cain Velasquez, and a smattering of others. Those familiar names have been replaced slowly but surely with newer, younger fighters (a trio of those, Sergey Spivak, Tom Aspinall, and Chris Daukaus, won big on Saturday). While this is a natural process in combat sports, it’s been especially noticeable in the heavyweight division of late.

The main event last night at the UFC Apex saw one of the freshest clashes of this younger generation when Derrick Lewis took on Curtis Blaydes. In a very real way, the fight captured this generational shift, as this was the second consecutive heavyweight main event in which a fight that could be viewed as a title-eliminator didn’t feature a former champion. Two weeks prior, it was Alexander Volkov getting his hand raised. Saturday it was Lewis. And of course, less than a year ago, there was Francis Ngannou vs. Jair Rozenstruik. A fight which landed Ngannou his second shot at Miocic.

The establishment of this trend wasn’t the only talking point to come out of UFC Vegas 19. The main event saw a stunning performance by underdog Derrick Lewis, who secured a second round knockout win over highly touted prospect Curtis Blaydes. There’s no question the fight was an important one. Lewis and Blaydes were on three and four-fight winning streaks, respectively. However, while Blaydes was coming off wins over Justin Wills and Alexander Volkov, Lewis’ last few victories had lacked anything close to a highly ranked opponent. That changed Saturday — but the fact remains that Curtis Blaydes is the only top-ranked fighter on Lewis’ current win streak.

Perhaps that’s why Lewis himself appears so dismissive of his own chances at securing a title fight.

Next up for the promotion is UFC Vegas 20, featuring the third of three heavyweight main events this month. Next week’s headliner will see American Top Team product Jairzinho Rozenstruik take on the undefeated Ciryl Gane. The two are coming off wins over the man Lewis last lost to, Junior dos Santos. The fight offers the perfect opportunity for either to make a statement of their own.

Dos Santos may not be the dangerous top contender that he once was, but his name continues to carry considerable value. Sure, Rozenstruick lost a lot of stock when he suffered a first-round knockout defeat against Ngannou back in May. But Gane has a lot going for him heading into the fight. He’s been on a roll since entering the company back in 2018, having already secured four wins. If either fighter manages to impress the audience with their performance next Saturday, then it wouldn’t be surprising to see them clash against Lewis.

After all, there are more factors at play when it comes to heavyweight title shots in the UFC. The most impressive win or highest ranking, frankly, is only part of the equation.

Overall, the heavyweight division is undergoing a transformation not seen in years. So it shouldn’t come as a shock to see fighters having to put up considerable winning streaks, and still be a win or two away from being considered for the title— as understandably “eye-rolling” as it may be for many in the division. As Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou get ready for their rematch, it should give enough time for Lewis, known for not taking big breaks, to lock horns against someone new, and thus a lot depends on what happens next week. And even then, there’s the specter of Jon Jones, whose arrival in the division may halt the title race in its tracks.

In years gone by, Lewis’ victory Saturday might have leap-frogged him into a title shot. Frankly, that was the case the first time around for “The Black Beast,” when a knockout of Alexander Volkov in the dying seconds of their UFC 229 fight, and a hot post-fight interview, secured him a shot against Daniel Cormier. But in 2021, the heavyweight division looks vastly different, which a steeper climb to the title. Just ask Curtis Blaydes.

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How are superhuman gyms dealing with the entire lockdown? Given the current state do you think the overall structure of gyms will see massive changes?

Well, Yes indeed. These times are challenging and every industry, including ours, is going through a massive structural change. Superhuman Gym is one of the few lucky gym brands that has survived while retaining our entire staff and paying their salaries. It hasn’t been easy, but we have done it. Our foundation from the very beginning has been to focus on a solid business and not overspend and flaunt on unnecessary marketing and associations.

It’s upsetting to see gyms chains shut overnight leaving a huge vacuum in employment. I also understand that single gym owners are finding it very difficult to cope. At this point in time, survival is the key. I truly feel the ecosystem needs to focus on survival and not profits. The landlord and the tenant need to be on the same page on the rentals as that is one of the biggest recurring expenses for any brick and mortar business.

Superhuman has been actively helping gyms stay afloat. How did this initiative come about? How are you managing to help at these times?

We have always advocated teamwork and team spirit. On a Zoom meeting with my core team, I bounced the idea of helping other gyms and my team found it crazy, amusing, and productive. We brainstormed on this deeply and felt our aim is to reach out to gym owners in distress, trainers/coaches, etc. Hear their issues and try to find solutions to the problem. Nobody is currently doing that, we are willing to employ staff that has been laid off or collaborate with gyms that are feeling the pinch. We have so far received almost 500 help requests. Each of those needs Superhuman in some way. We are analyzing each request and brainstorming on a solution case by case.  I do understand we cannot help everybody, but if we manage to even help a few, we consider it a successful campaign.

What kind of support from the government would the fitness and gym industry need after this pandemic?

In these challenging times, each industry needs to unite and find a solution that suits them best. I have a feeling the government is ready to listen and genuinely has concerns for the economy. There are some decisions that can be judged like opening some industries vs others, but at the end of the day, a government is run by humans and even they are learning about this pandemic. We cannot always hold the government accountable when we ourselves behave irresponsibly.

While it’s a proven fact that healthy, able bodies can fight the virus better, and keeping healthy is the solution, the government is weighing the pros and cons of keeping the industry open. Yes, I have heard that religious places have been allowed to open. That is a classic debate between balancing sentiments and practicality. The government would have to listen to the leading industry experts and take a call on how to help.

MMA in India was gaining popularity. With the pandemic now hitting the sports world hard, where do you think the sport goes from here in India? How long will it take to get back where the sport was?

I truly believe sports enthusiasts are craving some good content. I’m happy to be a part of the biggest MMA promotion in the world and their Indian broadcasters. Sony Sports Network has been extremely proactive in generating content and the team is always working towards grooming the sport. UFC on the other hand are go-getters putting up shows, going to islands, setting up infrastructure, and taking on the world. The combination couldn’t be better for India. For the other sports, it’s more like a 3-month detox. I however believe the graph for sports will only move upwards from here on.

What are the long term changes do you see in the sport? What are your thoughts on the UFC still running live events?

UFC has shown why they are the industry leaders. While all sports organizations completely shut off, UFC altered their business model, accepted certain losses, and put up shows. They changed the way broadcast deals are done and I’m sure other sporting organizations would follow. The aim is to always look for solutions while adapting and constantly evolving.  UFC running live events is always positive. They take the utmost care of the staff, the crew, the fighters, etc, and have made sure the environment is safe for everybody in the office and arena. Doing all this while not cutting fighters pay, or cutting staff or staff pay is a commendable thing.

You currently have a show on SONY sports. How did that take place? What was the idea behind the show?

I have been involved with the UFC for some time now. The aim was to always do something in India. The three-way conversation between myself, UFC, and Sony was constantly running, from Hindi commentary to the Ultimate Guide to UFC to Sony Pit Stop. As mentioned earlier, the team at Sony is proactive, and developing MMA is on their radar.
I’m lucky that Sony involves me in the brainstorming sessions to develop the UFC and MMA in India. Currently, we have the Ultimate Guide to UFC running on Sony Sports India Facebook page which is a show we host after every UFC Fight Night.

Sony Pit Stop is a show that welcomes an MMA personality as a guest along with the three of us. That too airs on Facebook and has a podcast feel to it. We’ve had Bruce Buffer, Herb Dean, Bryan Caraway, Jeff Novitzky, etc as guests and a lot more lined up.
Once the lockdown ends, we will continue with the studio shows on the PPV’s.
The fans can expect a lot more great UFC and MMA content coming their way on Sony Sports.

The post Somesh Kamra discusses future of MMA in India, gyms during COVID-19 and More appeared first on Cageside Press.

Back in 2016 when Amanda Nunes defeated Miesha Tate to win the bantamweight title, she had a bunch of contenders at her heel. The division was seeing its fourth champion in less than 10 months and one of the biggest stars of the sport, Ronda Rousey, was still at large in the division. The 135lb weight class might not have been stacked but it clearly didn’t lack contenders. Four years later the division looks deserted with no credible challengers in line.

Right after defeating Rousey, Nunes was expected to face the Valentina Shevchenko, who was coming off a huge win over Juliana Pena. The fight saw Nunes win a very close and disputed decision. Now, this win came around the time when the featherweight division was created, which took away fighters like Germaine De Randamie and Holly Holm to a weight class above. Albeit temporarily.

Which left only one fighter, Raquel Pennington, who was injured, as a true contender. Which resulted in inactivity for the champion. The division had a strong future contender in Ketlen Viera but she wasn’t there just yet. In the meantime, Cris Cyborg started a campaign to face Nunes. One thing led to another and by the end of 2018, Amanda Nunes was a two-weight champion.

It was around this time when people began to notice that Amanda Nunes lacked credible challengers. The key fighters in the division had already lost to her. The ones who hadn’t lacked a credible streak to fight for the belt. Two fighters, namely Germaine De Randamie and Ketlen Viera, wound up with credible records but both were out of action due to injury. The vacuum, in turn, was occupied by Holly Holm, who got her third title shot in three years. Name value trumped wins and losses.

Within four years, the bantamweight division had been hollowed out, the end result an empty shell. Since the establishment of the flyweight division, fighters from bantamweight moved down. Among the prominent names are Jessica Eye, Alexis Davis, Lauren Murphy, Katlyn Chookigian and division champion Valentina Shevchenko. The featherweight division, which sounded like a good idea when launched, is practically dead. The 145lb weight class is less a division than a talking point, a way to push a star or two and an extra title to top cards. As long as Nunes is around and holds the belt there, the division will stay intact — double champs are marketable, after all — but there has been very little investment made at featherweight.

A season of The Ultimate Fighter featuring women’s featherweights that produced exactly zero of them notwithstanding.

With Bellator and ONE Championship both having their own respectable women’s divisions with a dedicated set of fighters, it’s very clear that there aren’t enough athletes to fill the UFC’s ranks at the moment. The end result is a situation like UFC 250, where a talented young fighter like Felicia Spencer is rushed to a title shot against Nunes due to a lack of options.

What to do about it, however, is a bigger puzzle.

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At UFC 249, Carla Esparza walked out with a split decision win over fan-favorite Michelle Waterson. The win was her third since going on a losing streak back in 2018. It also marked the first time she has strung together a winning streak of greater than two since losing her strawweight title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk back in 2015. Now might be a very good time to see where exactly ‘Cookie Monster’ belongs in the division.

An active pro fighter since 2010, Esparza has had an interesting run in the UFC. She was the Invicta FC strawweight champion before entering the Ultimate Fighter tournament. She defeated future champion, Rose Namajunas, to win the title but did not hold it for long. In fact, it was her first title defense that put a dent in her reputation. The way Jedrzejczyk dominated her in the fight made all her past credentials look invalid.

It didn’t help that in 2016 she turned down a fight against then-top contender Claudia Gadelha. She did make it clear that she just wanted a tune-up fight but commentators and fans alike pointed it out that she had already bounced back from her loss with a win over Juliana Lima. Nonetheless, she got a fight against TUF rival Randa Markos. That is when things actually started going south.

Esparza not only lost the fight, but Markos also took the post-fight interview opportunity to call out her behavior on TUF.

She said, “The stuff I went through, it was clear bullying. I have a niece at home, and she’s being bullied right now in school and it really breaks my heart. I know what it feels like. I’ve been bullied in school and then I’m an adult now, and I was on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and I was being bullied as an adult. It really needs to stop.”

The fight dragged Esparza’s reputation in the pits. She did manage to bounce back with a pair of wins in 2017 but that glory barely lasted as she suffered yet another setback in 2018. First, at UFC 225, she lost a very close fight to long-time rival Claudia Gadelha. This was followed by a one-sided loss to rising contender Tatiana Suarez. Resulting in the first-ever losing streak in ‘the Cookie Monster’s career.

The former strawweight champion was then scheduled to fight promotional newcomer, Virna Jandiroba. The booking was significant because it showed that Esparza was now being treated as a stepping stone for younger contenders, a place that’s really difficult to emerge from. She did manage to win, but her next fight was against a similar prospect in Alexa Grasso. She did win that fight but the decision wasn’t unanimous.

Therefore, despite entering her fight against Waterson on an on-paper impressive win streak, not many expected her to win. This brings us to the point of where she belongs in the division. The fact that she’s lost to both Claudia and Suarez makes it very clear that, as of now, she’s not in the line for title contention. However, she’s managed to secure three very impressive wins that have greatly upgraded her resume. Which, at the very least, makes her eligible for fights against serious contenders. A position that places her as the dark horse of the division.

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What fans MMA across the world felt was best put by Damon Martin, then of FOX Sports. “While crazy trash talk often rules the headlines, Cruz’s victory should be seen as one of the most uplifting stories to ever take place in sports, not just mixed martial arts. There are likely dozens upon dozens of professional athletes who would have gone through half of what Cruz suffered and called it a career and said enough is enough.”

So with the UFC announcing a comeback fight for Cruz against Henry Cejudo, it is hard not to wonder if he’ll be able to script another glorious comeback. Since losing the title to Cody Garbrandt in December 2016, Cruz hasn’t fought even once. He was scheduled to compete against Jimmie Rivera in December 2017 but had to pull out due to a broken arm. This was followed by a fight booked at UFC 233 against John Lineker, but he injured his shoulder and could not compete.

All the while, Henry Cejudo has been on a warpath. He’s been undefeated for over three years now and was until very recently a two-weight champion. In his 5-fight winning streak, he has managed to secure wins over Demetrious Johnson, T.J Dillashaw, and Marlon Moraes. Which makes this fight even more interesting. When Cruz was finally set for his return, Dillashaw too had been on a similar streak. Just like Cejudo, he had defeated a dominant champion in Renan Barao.  However, the fundamental difference here was that Cruz had been undefeated in his UFC run back then. This time around things won’t be that way.

This bantamweight title fight is one that most fans will be paying very close attention to. With one question in mind: Can Cruz get it done? Or essentially, will history repeat itself?

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The women’s strawweight division is one of the most exciting and active divisions in MMA and the UFC today. Since Joanna Jędrzejczyk lost the title back in 2017, the weight class has already seen three champions. The volatile nature of the division has resulted in the strawweights having far too many contenders for a champion to fend off. However, for the time being, it looks like Weili Zhang simply doesn’t have a challenger.

If you take a close look at the top fighters of the division you’ll notice they are comprised of easily the best women in the UFC. Among the top five fighters at 115lbs, there are three former champions and an undefeated fan-favorite. The rest of the division consists of title challengers, rising prospects, and former pound-for-pound stalwarts. Yet, not one person seems to be ready for a title shot.

The most obvious choice for the title fight is the undefeated Tatiana Suarez. A neck injury, which she suffered in her fight against Nina Ansaroff in June 2019, has unfortunately rendered her out of the competition. In a recent interview, she made it clear that she’s not returning anytime soon. “I tried to go live for jiu-jitsu and it didn’t go well,” she explained. “I was going with a girl that weighed like 100 pounds, and I was like, ‘Oh, my neck hurts.’ I usually roll with men that are heavy and I feel fine. (It’s) not a good sign. … What I’ve got to do for now is just drill until I’m a little bit better, and then I can get back to going live again.”

A new contender could have emerged from the Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade fight at UFC 249, but Rose had to pull out of the fight. That means Rose is out of the picture for the time being and Andrade needs at least one more win before she can gain credibility to fight for the title. Joanna just lost to Zhang and Nina Ansroff is out of the picture because of pregnancy. This opens the door for other lower-ranked contenders.

With the possible exception of Xiaonan Yan, not one fighter is on a credible win streak in the top ten. Michelle Waterson, who is scheduled to face Carla Esparza, is coming off a loss to Jedrzejczyk. Esparza, despite being on a two-fight winning streak, has very recent losses to both Gadelha and Suarez so pushing her ahead of rest doesn’t make sense. Claudia Gadelha bounced back from a loss to Nina Ansroff by securing an unimpressive win over Randa Markos. Cynthia Calvillo and Mariana Rodriguez fought to a draw back in December.

This brings us to Yan. She has amassed a record of 5-0 in the UFC but not one of those wins is against a top-ranked fighter. The names on her record are impressive but most of them weren’t at their best when she defeated them. For example, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, a former title challenger, was on a three-fight losing streak when she faced Xiaonan Yan. Thus failing to add the necessary gravitas to Yan’s resume.

The on-going coronavirus crisis has given the sport something of a pause, perhaps allowing injured fighters like Suarez to heal up. However it provides no help to the mess the strawweight division is in beyond that. The champion now has two very clear options, either wait out for the division to find its due course or face an unlikely challenger.

The post UFC Strawweights: A Division for Unlikely Contenders appeared first on Cageside Press.

On March 22, UFC Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, while discussing the possibility of a rematch against Max Holloway, said, “I want that fight, because there’s no clear No. 1 contenders, and I just think that he’s a great champion. For me, the biggest fight in my career right now to solidify myself as the best featherweight of all-time, and one of the greatest of all-time. I go and take out Max twice in [his] prime, people are gonna give me that respect I deserve.” Now, the term greatest of all time has been thrown around so many times in most MMA discussion that it has lost a lot of value. At this point, it’s become almost an adjective that fans, commentators and fighters themselves use to describe a new champion. Not a true “great.”

However, when Joe Rogan back in 2017 called Max Holloway one of the best 145ers of all time there was a significant section of MMA fandom willing to ride with him.  This wasn’t your regular hype train that most boarded. Holloway over years had built a profile that many thought would fit in with the image of the greats. Now that we have moved past the knee jerk reactions and are looking at the possibility of a rematch, it’s a good time to revisit what the Blessed Era was, what made it special, why it had an immediate connection with most fans and the overall legacy it left behind.

The beginning

Entering his fight against Will Chope in 2014, Max Holloway was on a career-low of a two-fight losing streak. Having made an unsuccessful debut in 2012 as a short-notice replacement to Ricardo Lamas against then rising contender Dustin Poirier, Holloway had failed to impress. He was standing with a record of 3-3 and his biggest claim to fame was going the distance against Conor McGregor, who later revealed he had suffered a torn ACL during the fight.

It was a must-win situation for Holloway, who had been written off as a journeyman by most commentators.  Years later, Holloway would even express his annoyance over that attitude, saying “I thought, how the hell am I a journeyman when I’m 22 years old? I was just getting started.” But the reality was that people had written Holloway off, he wasn’t expected to make it anywhere as he simply hadn’t displayed what people wanted to see.

At the event, Holloway delivered an amazing performance. He dominated Chope before knocking him out in round two. This win would turn out to be the launch point for the longest win streak in UFC featherweight history. In the same year Holloway managed to secure three more wins, securing a total of two post-fight bonuses in the process.

However, it wasn’t until 2015 that the most MMA commentators started taking Holloway seriously. The year saw him open up with a win against Cole Miller before being thrown against division stalwart Cub Swanson. The fight was an important turning point for Holloway. He was on a five-fight winning streak and had already exceeded everyone’s expectations; by defeating Swanson he sent a very loud message. As it was noted by Dave Mandel of Sherdog, “No fighter did more to raise his profile at UFC on Fox 15 than Holloway, who beat on Cub Swanson for two rounds before submitting him with a guillotine choke in the third. The 23-year-old Hawaiian has surfaced as one of MMA’s most promising young stars and now finds himself on the fringes of title contention at 145 pounds.”

He secured two more victories over name-value fighters Charles Oliveira and Jeremy Stephens, adding a lot more to his stock. In a matter of two years, Max Holloway had gone from a written off journeyman to a contender on an eight-fight winning streak on the cusp of a title shot. It just wasn’t the number of people he had beaten in this short span, it was also about the names he had defeated and the fashion he had done it in. Out of the eight, six were finish wins which included a Performance of the Night bonus submission win over Cub Swanson. As noted by a Bloody Elbow writer in the preview of UFC 194, “Max Holloway keeps getting better. What else is there to say? Holloway hasn’t revolutionized his game, but he’s limited his weaknesses while expanding on his strengths.”

Chasing the title

At UFC 199 Holloway was scheduled to face Ricardo Lamas. In normal circumstances, an eight-fight winning streak in any weight class would warrant a title-shot, but the featherweight division was caught up in the McGregor-Aldo feud, and was about to see an interim title clash between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar. Lamas was an experienced fighter and a former title challenger. A win over him would mean that none could question Holloway’s credentials.

Holloway managed to secure a unanimous decision win in an action-packed fight. In his post-fight interview Holloway called his shot: “I said in the Octagon I want to fight in Hawaii. I want the title shot too, so why not do them both at the same time?” At that point, a title shot appeared undeniable, but the division was clogged up and it wasn’t something Holloway pretended to be oblivious of. In his post-fight media interactions he made it clear he was willing to extend his win streak to ten. “The interim belt is at 200, and now we’ve got Conor fighting at 170. We’ll see what happens. If I’ve got to go for ten (wins in a row), I’ll go for ten.”

It was this attitude of Holloway which fans fell in love with. He was an underdog who’d made it big and undeniably was someone who should have fought for the title but despite that, he was willing to maintain grace. He wasn’t holding out hope for a title shot and at the same time he refrained from complaining. This was despite the fact that the featherweight division in 2016 was a mess. The champion McGregor had entered a feud with Nate Diaz and was at the same time giving hints that he might not be coming back to 145lbs. Out of the three people ranked above Holloway, two were set to fight for the interim-title, meaning that path too had been blocked.

Holloway’s title hopes were dealt another blow a few months later when then interim-champion Jose Aldo said he was more interested in fighting former lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis. “But if it doesn’t happen, I’d rather fight Pettis. I think nowadays, I learned a few things with them. There’s more than just the ranking like, ‘there’s a ranking order for title shots.’ No. I have to tend to the business side too. I think a fight against Pettis will sell a lot more than one against Holloway.” Aldo made the comments against the backdrop of rumors about McGregor not returning to the featherweight division. This seemed to be the breaking point for Holloway, who tweeted to Aldo, saying “Dont make me lose respect 4u @Josealdojunior Im the $$ fight! But if I was u I wouldnt want 2fight me either”

Holloway then accepted a fight against Pettis at UFC 206. The fight was given the co-main event slot. The entire event turned out to be a major mess as the main event was cancelled because of an injury, and Holloway’s fight was turned into a fight for the interim belt. Even Holloway, who usually displayed composure while addressing media, didn’t hold back, saying “I was supposed to fight him (Aldo) at UFC 205 and 206. I don’t know what the hell that guy is doing. I can understand his frustration a little, but at the end of the day, the UFC moved on. The guy is complaining and crying, and it wasn’t going to change the company’s mind. Sometimes you’ve got to go get your money, pick up and move on. I was sitting there trying to get big fights, and this guy is crying over spilled milk. Prove you’re the best in the world and fight me. But I’m not worried about that sh*t now. I’m worried about Anthony Pettis on December 10.”

The entire week was an emotional roller-coaster for MMA fans. Starting from the cancellation of the main event to McGregor being stripped to Holloway voicing his exasperation, everything simply was hinting to an explosive finish and that is exactly what fans got. Holloway showed his aggression from the very start in the main event. He dominated the fight from the start before unleashing a barrage of punches which forced the referee to halt the fight.

Establishing the Blessed Era

The year 2017 turned out to be the most defining year of Holloway’s time in the UFC. He entered the year on a wave most never imagined he’d ever ride. He was on a 10-fight winning streak and was the interim champion. It was soon announced that he was going to face Jose Aldo. The build-up to the fight saw a Holloway promising the rise of a new era.

He gave Aldo ever bit of respect deserved but at the same time maintained an unapologetic stance about how it was time for the “blessed era”. In media interactions, right before the fight, he said, “At the end of the day, I respect him. Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, you know you’ve got to respect him.’ Look, idiots, if I didn’t respect him, I would have not been here. At the end of the day, you’ve got to respect. But when I go in there, he’s trying to take my head off. …We’re getting into a fight. We’re fighting, guys. What are you talking about? What am I supposed to be? All goody two-shoes and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, he’s amazing.’ No. He’s great. His run, his era, was great. But it’s time for the ‘Blessed’ era now. Out with the old, in with the new.”

The fight was by now an easy one to pick. One the many previews summed it up very well. “His (Aldo’s) defeat by McGregor, whilst indisputably final, has somewhat overshadowed a career which is up there with the greats of the sport. You feel Aldo would kill for another shot at his nemesis but would be foolish to overlook Holloway. This one should be one of the fights of the year without question.”

The fight was a memorable clash. Aldo maintained a very clear lead through rounds one and two but the pressure by a fired-up Holloway was simply way too much for the legendary champion, who succumbed to a barrage of punches in late round three. The win was monumental. It wasn’t as if Aldo hadn’t been defeated in past. However the fact that a fighter survived his signature striking game and proceeded to come from losing the first two rounds to secure a finish win was what made Holloway’s performance amazing.

The kind of effect Holloway’s win had on fans was best described by Dave Doyle. “Some nights just feel like a changing of the guard. Not just any old championship switch, mind you. We’ve had eight of those in the UFC alone in the past 13 months, and that’s not even bothering to count the interim belts which have been handed out like Halloween candies. No, sometimes you know when you’ve seen a generational passing of the torch, the equivalent of the scene in the nature show where the young buck wins the territorial battle with the alpha male and assumes control of the herd.” It was a new beginning for the featherweight division. Holloway had conquered almost every stalwart of the division, had created an independent identity and brought stability in what looked like a very volatile division.

However, to consider that Aldo was done and dusted would be a stupid thing to say. He had dominated the featherweight division since the early 2000s and was easily one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. He was very much a threat for anyone in the division. Holloway for his first defense was scheduled to fight former lightweight champion and division mainstay Frankie Edgar at UFC 218. However, almost a month before the fight Edgar pulled out due to an injury and was replaced by Jose Aldo.

The pair’s second fight was expected to be as exciting as the first one. Though Holloway was entering as a favorite this time around nobody was thinking it was going to be a cakewalk.

The fight turned out to be a blowout. In their first fight, Aldo had managed to secure the first two rounds before tiring. This time around Holloway was ruthless and dominating. Bleacher Report even cited this win as the greatest moment in the 13-fight winning streak of Holloway, writing, “Just like their first meeting, Holloway assumed top position late in the round against a tired Aldo. This time he was also battered from over 10 minutes of Holloway connecting with strikes. After some shots connected flush on the canvas, referee Herb Dean saved Aldo from the new king. To beat Aldo once is incredible, but to do so a second time in a more dominant performance is jaw-dropping. That’s exactly what Holloway did at UFC 218 in Detroit, and he cemented his claim as the best featherweight in the world.”

The post UFC: The Reign of Max Holloway appeared first on Cageside Press.

The women’s bantamweight division is seeing a severe shortage of contenders at the moment. With the current champion Amanda Nunes dominating almost everyone she faces it looks as if the division is suffering a drought. This weekend when Ketlen Vieira locks horns against Irene Aldana at UFC 245, she has a chance to become the next in line to challenge Nunes.

Given her record, it’s surprising that Vieira hasn’t fought for the title yet. She’s undefeated and is 4-0 in the UFC, which includes wins over Cat Zingano and Sara McMann — two former title challengers themselves. Vieira was scheduled to face Tonya Evinger in September 2018, but a serious injury sidelined her, thus crushing all the momentum she had built.

This weekend Vieira has a chance to regain all her lost hype, and realistically her place in the division. However, standing in her path will be a fellow sidelined prospect Irene Aldana.  Aldana was on an impressive streak before locking horns against Raquel Pennington in her last fight. The bout was competitive but saw Pennington walking out with the win. By losing that fight Aldana lost the wave she was riding and also lost any chance of fighting for the title in near future.

However, if she manages to deliver a strong performance against Vieira and emerge victorious she can accelerate her way back to the top.

Aldana knows this, as in an interview with BJPenn.com she said “She is No. 2 so it is a great challenge for me. This fight clarifies a lot in the division. The winner could fight the winner of Amanda-Germaine. So it opens a door to the belt sooner than I thought it would be. Winning this fight makes me climb to the top of the division. I have nothing to lose because I am ranked number 10. I took this fight as a replacement as she was supposed to fight Julianna Pena, but something happened to it. It is going to define a lot of things. The fact that the title fight is the same night, is good. I haven’t been told that by the UFC, but I think it is obvious. This is a number one contender fight.”

With someone this motivated across from her and a return after a healthy time off, it should be interesting to see how things turn out for Vieira. In a division this thin, really anyone is a performance away from the title picture.

UFC 245 takes place Saturday, December 14th. The card airs exclusively on ESPN+ PPV in the U.S. after televised and online prelims, and on BT Sport in the UK. In India, the card airs live on December 15th on SONY Ten 2 and SONY Ten 2 HD.

The post UFC 245: Ketlen Vieira Facing Ring Rust and a Motivated Contender appeared first on Cageside Press.

Earlier this year, Weili Zhang became the first ever Chinese champion in UFC history. With this win, she has brought a lot of attention to the potential of Asia in the MMA realm. Alongside Zhang, one of the flag bearers of Asian talent is the 21-year-old Song Yadong. “The Kungfu Monkey” currently stands with a record of 14-3 (2) and is 4-0 in the UFC.

Yadong started his MMA career back in 2013 at the age of 16. He proceeded to amass a record of 10-3 before making his UFC debut against India’s Bharat Kandare in 2017. Since then he’s been on a roll. He’s joined forces with Team Alpha male where he’s honing his skills even further.

At UFC Washington Yadong has the chance to improve his UFC record to 5-0. Given the current state of bantamweight division, that would be huge. Standing is his path will be Cody Stamann.

Stamann too has had an impressive run in the UFC, one that includes a win over former contender Bryan Carway. After bouncing back from a loss to Aljamain Sterling in his last fight, “Spartan” hopes to get back in the list of prospects to watch out for, and a win over Yadong would for sure earn him that.

Yadong meanwhile has also expressed his desire to hold the title. After securing a win over Perez at UFC 239 he said, “I will be working towards the belt, I don’t know when it will happen but I’ll be working hard, waiting for the chance to happen.”

If he wants to get to the belt quickly, he needs not only to win, but to make a statement. While a soft-spoken fighter (see our media day interaction with Song Yadong here), he’s certainly capable of that in the cage.

And should it happen? Perhaps the idea of Song Yadong becoming the youngest UFC champion, surpassing Jon Jones, isn’t so far-fetched.

Song Yadong returns to action this Saturday, December 7 at UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, D.C. at the Capital One Arena.

The post UFC Washington’s Song Yadong: The Next Asian Force to Look Out For appeared first on Cageside Press.