The fight was a rematch of the pair’s 2019 confrontation on the regional circuit, which Souza had won care of a body kick.

Carnelossi got aggressive early, moving forward and looking to close distance, striking her way in. Souza answered with kicks; Carnelossi flashed one of her own on her next attack. Souza connected solidly with a right hand, her best strike of the round to that point. Still, Carnelossi was showing little respect, continuing to attack- and she paid for it. In shades of the pair’s first meeting, Souza rocked and dropped Carnelossi with a punch, then caught her with a kick on the way up! Carnelossi fell over onto her back, and ate one final left hand, completely undefended, before the ref waved it off.

No revenge to be had for Ariane Carnelossi, who once again ends up finished care of a kick, only this time to the head. For Ketlen Souza, she’s now won two straight, and will at the very least secure a finish bonus of $25,000, if not a 100K performance bonus.

Official Result: Ketlen Souza def. Ariane Carnelossi by KO (head kick and punches), Round 1, 1:34

The post UFC Vegas 118: Ketlen Souza Stops Ariane Carnelossi Again appeared first on Cageside Press.

Carnelossi was fighting for the first time in over a year, Alencar returning off an April victory over Vanessa Demopoulos. Both were looking for their second straight win.

It was Carnelossi pressing forward early, Alencar answering with a kick, then charging forward herself and cleaning up. Carnelossi had underhooks and eventually peeled free, leading to an exchange or two as the pair battled back and forth across the cage. Another clinch saw Carnelossi put Alencar’s back to the fence, landing the occasional right hand. The fight stalled there, outside of some knees, for a while, with the ref swatting at Alencar’s hand when she tried to grab the fence.

Alencar would finally switch to a high-crotch, single leg takedown, swinging around and throwing Canrelossi to the mat. She bounced right back up however, with another clinch arriving shortly after. This time, when they went down, there was a bit of a scramble, and Alencar got on top. The pair exchanged punches, Carnelossi off her back, before the horn finally came.

Round two saw more back-and-forth on the feet, but women putting combinations together. Carnelossi was showing some read around the face, evidence of the opening round, but she soon had Alencar backpedaling. Alencar ripped a kick to the outside leg; Carnelossi landed one of her own at the end of a combination. Carnelossi would chop that outside leg again, right alongside the knee, landing with an audible crack. Alencar, meanwhile, appeared to be slowing, lazily throwing out a jab. Yet despite that, she connected a moment later with a a hard right hand, followed by a knee. Carnelossi hit the mat shortly after but recovered, the pair soon back up in a clinch.

They’d go back down at the end of the round, with just enough time for some drama to unfold. Alencar got the back, hooks in, and went after a rear-naked choke. She had it in deep, Carnelossi rolling from one side to the other, desperate to escape; she was saved by the bell, just barely.

More kicks and exchanges on the feet arrived in the third, where Carnelossi almost certainly needed a finish to come out triumphant. Easier said than done, given she’d been closest to being stopped in the bout. Alencar at times motioned for a takedown, but Carnelossi defended, and went on the offensive, backing Alencar up as she had in the second. A tiring Alencar found a reprieve when she caught a kick, dumping Carnelossi on her back. Despite Alencar working from her feet, Carnelossi stayed on her back, failing to scramble. That ate time off the clock in a fight that was quickly slipping away from Ariane Carnelossi. The pair wound up in north-south position for a moment, then with Alencar getting side control.

As she had in the second, Alencar would get the back, get a body lock in place, and lock up a rear-naked choke once again late in the third. This time, there was still over half a minute on the clock, giving her enough time to force the tap! A solid outing from Talita Alencar, who despite some cardio issues comes out victorious.

Official Result: Talita Alencar def. Ariane Carnelossi by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 4:36

The post UFC Vegas 110: Talita Alencar Overcomes Cardio Issues, Subs Ariane Carnelossi appeared first on Cageside Press.

Carnelossi was 2-2 inside the UFC octagon and coming off a loss against Loopy Godinez; Rodriguez was 2-1 overall and looking to bounce back from a loss to Gillian Robertson.

It was Carnelossi who pushed forward early on Saturday in the third preliminary card bout of the evening. She put the pressure on in the opening frame, forcing Rodriguez to fight off her back foot and counter. While the exchanges were short, Carnelossi was throwing hard when she did open fire; in the final 90 seconds, Rodriguez used lateral movement to set up a well-timed takedown.

Round two found Rodriguez find some success pinning Ariane Carnelossi against the fence, working in some elbows from a standing position. Carnelossi was on the defensive, locking her hands together trapping one of Rodriguez’s arms while she worked on a takedown. Carnelossi then switched to overhooks, but that didn’t allow her to reverse the position, and instead Rodriguez backed off and let loose with a combo. Moments later, back in the open Rodriguez dropped Carnelossi, but while battling on top Rodriguez connected with a head butt. Moments later, and after a warning from the ref, Rodriguez did it again.

That led to a break in the action, with the doctor brought in to examine Carnelossi, who remained on her back during a time out. While she would sit and briefly stand up, she was unable to continue, resulting in the bout being declared a DQ. Ariane Carnelossi had already left the cage, headed to the back for medical attention, when the result was read.

The headbutt (or headbutts, more accurately) having been declared intentional is not entirely unheard of. Petr Yan’s illegal knee on Aljamain Sterling saw the UFC bantamweight championship change hands in March of 2021, in perhaps the most shocking outcome of an intentional foul.

Official Result: Ariane Carnelossi def. Piera Rodriguez by DQ (illegal headbutts), Round 2, 3:16

The post Piera Rodriguez Double Headbutt Leads to Ariane Carnelossi DQ Win at UFC Vegas 92 appeared first on Cageside Press.

To kick off her 2022, the strawweight was matched up with Ariane Carnelossi at UFC 274. The Brazilian had won both of her own fights in 2021, after losing her promotional debut against Angela Hill in 2019 and missing all of 2020.

In the opening round, Godinez got the fight to the ground early, leading to some heavy grappling exchanges. Loopy worked on a choke, but Carnelossi powered her way back up. Godinez got her back down, and had the edge in the grappling department.

In the second round, Godinez proved to have the edge on the feet as well. She rocked Carnelossi early, then landed a blast double, taking Carnelossi down and immediately dropping smashing elbows. Carnelossi was hurt, bloodied, but managed to survive. Getting to a knee, she ate knees to the body from Loopy. Carnelossi gave up her back, and Godinez got hooks in. Eventually, Carnelossi would get her back to the mat; Godinez would work on an Americana. Carnelossi would escape to her feet at the end of the round, but the moral victory in that was minimal.

Round three opened with a blast double from Loopy Godinez, who moved straight to side control. That was not where Carnelossi wanted to be, as it didn’t seem likely that she’d be able to finish the fight off her back in the third round, with the two slick with sweat. Godinez at worst had to defend a leg lock attempt, but her wrestling was too much for Carnelossi. The Brazilian did make it back up, but Godinez slammed her down, and whatever wind was left in Carnelossi’s sails was gone from that point on.

In terms of her performance, “Loopy” Godinez had the best showing of her career in Phoenix. After the fight, she called for a quick turnaround — and is definitely deserving of it after that showing.

Official Result: Lupita Godinez def. Ariane Carnelossi by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

The post UFC 274 Results: Career-Best Performance Sees “Loopy” Godinez Dominate Ariane Carnelossi appeared first on Cageside Press.

Speaking with ESPN’s Megan Olivi, Oliveira explained the confusing circumstances that now find him without a UFC title.

“The champion has a name his name is Charles Oliveira. I made weight on the UFC scale on Thursday night. Went up to my room, did not consume anything, no water, no new food or anything. I swear to God, in the name of my daughter, the most sacred thing in my life,” Oliveira told Olivi through a translator.

“I went to bed, woke up the following day (Friday), to the UFC scale….it’s a pound over. I’m looking at it, a kilogram over actually. I’m one over and I don’t understand what happened. We work, we’re professionals, I did not do anything wrong. To me it just didn’t make sense.”

Oliveira was not the only one to have issues with the scale as he pointed out.

“Other fighters started talking about it as well. Talking about exactly those 200 grams, 300 grams, and it was exactly the difference in the scale. This is what we’re going back to. The champion has a name, his name is Charles Oliveira.”

Oliveria is correct in stating that other fighters began to complain about the same issue.

Congrats to the “genius” that messed with the fighter’s scale leaving it with a 0.5lb difference. We only found out when we were informed as we were coming down to check our official Weight. Luckly I was under so that didnt hurt me.

— Ariane “Sorriso” Carnelossi (@ArianeSorrisoo) May 6, 2022

  UFC strawweight Ariane Carnelossi tweeted about the issue as well.

“Congrats to the “genius” that messed with the fighter’s scale leaving it with a 0.5lb difference. We only found out when we were informed as we were coming down to check our official Weight. Luckily I was under so that didnt hurt me.”

Rumors before weigh-ins began about an issue turned into officials having to inform fighters of the weight difference. It is unclear as to when Oliveira and his team were informed of the issue or if they were ever even told about it.

Once it became official that Oliveria had missed weight after his second attempt the MMA world began to feel the consequences of it.

At UFC 274 on Saturday night Oliveira will not be eligible to retain the UFC lightweight title. Should he win he will not retain the belt, and instead will likely be matched up with the next contender for a title fight in the future. Should his opponent Justin Gaethje win the fight then he will be the undisputed UFC lightweight champion.

At ceremonial weigh-ins Oliveira remained defiant as he yelled and gestured at the crowd that booed him as he walked onto the stage and Joe Rogan announced the weight miss. When he spoke to Rogan as is customary to end the weigh-ins he stood tall and a bit defiant.

“These things happen. You can’t explain God. The champion has a name and it’s Charles Oliveira,” he told Rogan through a translator.

“I’m going to shock the world tomorrow.”

The post UFC 274: After A Wild Weigh-In Day, Charles Oliveira States His Case appeared first on Cageside Press.

A USADA suspension had delayed that. But on Saturday, she finally arrived, with Ariane Carnelossi welcoming her to the promotion.

There was ample forward pressure from Carnelossi right away to start the fight. She was chucking overhands over the top finding the mark. Nunes was landing off her backfoot tagging Carnelossi. Carnelossi pressed forward with a barrage of output and closed it off with a takedown. A pretty blatant fence grab was ignored by the ref, and it wasn’t long until Nunes got back to her feet. Carnelossi was all over Nunes pressing her against the cage. Nunes eventually separated from Carnelossi. Nunes ended the round in space landing kicks and punches throwing good output.

Carnelossi came marching forward right away in round two. She walked into a good combination from Nunes. She was taking damage rushing in, but kept pushing Nunes against the cage. Carnelossi worked Nunes to the mat but Nunes got right back up. Two minutes left, and Nunes got away from Carnelossi along the cage. Each time Nunes had space she was landing combinations and kicks. The resilience of Carnelossi was on display as she closed the distance and completed another takedown. Nunes was able to get to her feet right before the bell.

Way more output from Nunes in round three. She was landing frequently and making Carnelossi pay coming in. Nunes kept letting Carnelossi walk her down however, and eventually she was taken down again. That time Carnelossi transitioned to the back and forced Nunes to tap from the rear-naked choke.

2nd straight stoppage win for @AnySorriso 🇧🇷

[ #UFCVegas40 | Prelims LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/w0nkwpTqNB

— UFC (@ufc) October 16, 2021

Carnelossi fought a smart game plan, with the takedowns key. Spoiling the debut of Istela Nunes in the end.

Official Result: Ariane Carnelossi def. Istela Nunes by Submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 2:57

The post UFC Vegas 40 Results: Ariane Carnelossi Spoils Istela Nunes’ Octagon Debut appeared first on Cageside Press.

The strawweight picked up her first win inside the octagon in the process, in a wild fight with Chinese newcomer Na Liang.

“She surprised me a little bit in the first round. We watched all of her fights before. We knew that she would always put pressure right away to try to get the takedown. But never have we seen her throw some punches right away, so that caught me off-guard a little bit,” Carnelossi (13-2) admitted following the fight, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. “But I think we did a very good job there in the first round. I thought that if we had a few more seconds, we could have got the finish.”

Coming back out for the second round, however, Carnelossi said “I knew that she was done.”

The fans were hot right out of the gate, roaring through the opening minute of Carnelossi vs. Na. But Carnelossi, due to timing, is one of the few fighters to have really seen no difference.

“To be real honest with you, I didn’t get to fight without an audience. My last fight was about a year and a half ago,” she explained. “So I didn’t get to experience the pandemic events much. But for sure, having the people there giving you energy, it gives you an extra bump to go after it.”

After so much time away, “I’ve really got to make up for it. I know that I have the record right now, this is my ninth knockout, I know that I have done enough to justify fighting someone that is ranked.” Anyone on the lower end of the rankings would be fair, said Carnelossi, who is looking to stay active to make up for lost time.

For Carnelossi, being unable to bounce back from the first loss of her career last time out was tough — but had a silver lining.

“It was a rough first fight, especially the way it ended [due to a cut, against Angela Hill]. That already hurt a little bit Then I got booked soon after, but I got injured.” That led to a string of injuries. “The good thing is that I was able to train a lot, and improve on a lot of things that I knew that I had to work on. So I made the most out of the time. That’s the thing, I’ve got to look forward, and make up for the lost time.”

Watch the full UFC 261 post-fight press scrum with Ariane Carnelossi above.

The post Ariane Carnelossi Looking to Make Up for Lost Time After UFC 261 Win appeared first on Cageside Press.

Liang, 24 years old but with 14 pro fights already, had something not many strawweights do: a 100% win finishing rate across her 12 wins. However, in Cranelossi, she had a gritty fighter looking for her first UFC win, after a cut in her debut fight with Angela Hill ended her night early.

Fans made their presence felt immediately on Saturday. Liang Na opened with a right hand that floored Carnelossi, and the crowd absolutely erupted to welcome the first live action they had seen in a year. Na then went to the ground with Carnelossi, getting on top of the Brazilian. She worked from half-guard, looking to pull her leg free from Carnelossi’s scissored legs. She did, but Carnelossi was able to scramble out. Na then shot in on her up against the cage, with Carnelossi dropping a few punches, which brought another cheer from the very vocal crowd.

Na, however, would land the takedown. She’d wind up attempting an arm-bar, but that allowed Carenlossi to get on top. An excellent grappling battle ensued, with Carnelossi eventually taking the back. But Na managed to escape, get back up, and land some heavy punches before getting caught in a mounted triangle. The round would end with Carnelossi dropping punches; Na sat in place after the bell, either winded, or unsure if the fight have been waved off.

Between rounds, cornerman and fellow UFC fighter Song Yadong practically dragged Liang Na back to her stool. That likely saved the fight from being ended then and there.

Hammering it on 🔨

🇧🇷 @AnySorriso gets the TKO in the first bout of the night!

[ We're LIVE on ESPN2, #ESPNPlus & @UFCFightPass ] pic.twitter.com/6Ht8EQAFfn

— UFC (@ufc) April 24, 2021

In the second, Na went at Carnelossi, getting the fight down. But Carnelossi took the back, trying for a choke. Na survived, but Carnelossi got on top, dropping hammer fists from guard. An exhausted Na failed to defend herself, and the ref waved it off — but for as long as it lasted, it was a wildly entertaining fight.

Official Result: Ariane Carnelossi def. Na Liang by TKO, Round 2, 1:28

The post UFC 261 Results: Ariane Carnelossi Stops Na Liang in Wild First Fight Back with Fans appeared first on Cageside Press.

UFC 261 will feature not one but three big title fights. Headlining the card is a rematch between welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. Also, strawweight champion Weili Zhang will be defending her title against former champ Rose Namajunas. One of the most dominant champs in UFC history, Valentina Shevchenko will defend her flyweight champion against former strawweight champ Jéssica Andrade. With a stacked main card the preliminary portion features three Chinese prospects making their debut. One of those is Na Liang who is taking on Brazil’s Ariane Carnelossi (12-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC).

Na Liang
Standing at 5’9″
Fighting at 115 lbs (strawweight)
24-years-old
Fighting out of Heilongjiang, China
Training out of Longyun MMA Gym
A pro record of 15-4
6 KO/TKOs, 9 Submissions

How will Liang fare in the UFC:

Liang is a young fighter with a lot of experience. She’s fought a lot of low-level competition but has fought Mariya Agapova, Juliana Velasquez, Liliya Shakirova, Liana Jojua, Qihui Yan, and Julia Berezikova. Something you don’t see too much is a 100% finish rate and Liang has that across 15-fights.

Liang right away will instantly shoot on the legs to get the fight grounded with any means necessary. She will shoot from too far out at times and will over-commit on just diving for the legs/ankles. Once she gets in range Liang has shown she is a good wrestler. She’s got a good double leg and is good at getting the fight down in open space. Her grappling and overall ground game is what she excels in. Liang is aggressive while on top. She’s always transitioning and she usually gets into the mount quickly and easily. Staying busy with her movement and her ground and pound has found her able to get into dominant positions very easily.

A lot of the times, the level of competition Na Liang is fighting is just too low, especially off their back. She’s still really good at taking the back, attacking the RNC, the armbar, and is dangerous off her back. She’s just always working when the fight is grounded. On the feet, well that’s another matter. In the stand-up realm, Liang throws a lot of volume and throws nice straight punches but everything is to close the distance. She just comes straight forward and just walks into damage. Her offense looks okay at best and her defense looks pretty bad.

The game plan against Na Liang, really, is that all you have to do is defend the takedown. Her own game plan is never different and to get the fight where she wants it isn’t always pretty. Her aggression, fast stat, and her strong grappling will give some girls problems. With that said her style may not take her very far in the UFC.

• Striking: C
• Kickboxing: C-
• Clinch: B-
• Wrestling: B-
• Grappling: B+
• Striking Defense: C
• Takedown Defense: C+
• Cardio: C+
• Biggest Strength: Grappling
• Biggest Weakness: Stand-up

How she matches up with Carnelossi:

Carnelossi is a bull, always coming forward looking to land big shots. The Brazilian has power but it’s her constant pressure and will that break her opponents. Carnelossi isn’t that technical but she hits hard and Liang is going to be trying her best to get this fight to the mat. Prior to coming to the UFC Carnelossi didn’t fight the best competition but her takedown defense and cardio have looked solid. Liang is the much bigger fighter but I don’t think that helps her being able to shoot on the legs and take Carnelossi down. This is a favorable fight for Carnelossi and I’m taking her to win this.

The post Welcome to the UFC: Na Liang appeared first on Cageside Press.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Mackenzie Dern will enter the cage for the first time in 2020 on April 25 when she takes on fellow Brazilian Ariane Carnelossi at UFC Lincoln.  The news was previously reported by Brazilian outlet Combate and confirmed by several more outlets.

Dern, 7-1, most recently fought in October against Amanda Ribas where she suffered the first loss of her MMA career.  Dern had previously been undefeated throughout fights in LFA, Invicta, and two UFC appearances.  Dern had not fought in more than a year after becoming pregnant and giving birth to her daughter in 2019.

Carnelossi, 12-2, put together an impressive twelve fight win-streak in Brazil before making her UFC debut last September when she took on Angela Hill on  a little over a month’s notice.  “Sorriso” ended up losing the bout to Hill via doctor stoppage due to a cut in the third round.

It was recently announced that the card would be headlined by a light-heavyweight tilt between former title challengers Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira.  Also featured on the card will be a fight between flyweights Antonina Shevchenko and Cynthia Calvillo.  The fight will take place at the Pinnacle Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The post Mackenzie Dern to Fight Ariane Carnelossi at UFC Lincoln appeared first on Cageside Press.