Murphy had not competed since 2023, when she came up short against Jessica Andrade. Injury and illness including a staph infection kept her out since, and now 41, Murphy was prepared to hang up the gloves.

All of a minute in, and Murphy had landed the first takedown of the fight, timing her level change perfectly. Moura, 10 years her junior, popped right back up however, then converted a takedown of her own. In Moura’s case, she was able to earn some control time, and was active on top, looking to improve her position. Murpy would make it back to her feet, about two minutes left on the clock. Moura looked the sharper fighter there, connecting with a right hand, low kick, and push kick.

Round two saw Moura land an early calf kick that almost took Murphy off her feet; despite Murphy faltering, the kick was more well-placed than powerful. Murphy continued to walk forward, but had to block a head kick and contend with some crisp striking from the Brazilian. Murphy would hold her own on the feet, but her corner was calling for takedowns; instead, Moura landed one with about 90 seconds left in the frame. Murphy was back up quick, but Moura stayed on her, driving her into the fence.

The third and final round, the final five rounds (or less) of Lauren Murphy’s career, found her looking to press forward again. Eduarda Moura, however, had the edge in speed, and power. Murphy’s advantage was arguably in the wrestling, and she tied things up early, getting a takedown under 90 seconds in. And from there, Murphy locked up a very tight guillotine! Moura rolled out, appearing to use her opponent’s shirt to do so. Murphy held on however, and went after the choke a second time! Again Moura freed herself, but not before eating a knee. Murphy began walking Moura down, doubling up on her jab.

Another takedown attempt by Murphy saw Moura pull free. The former title challenger  continued to press right through the final minute. She could not, however, find a finish, coming closest with the guillotine earlier in the round. Murphy finished the fight landing one last punch square on Moura’s chin, but it was Moura dancing and celebrating after 15 minutes. No storybook ending for the returning Murphy, but a great effort nonetheless.

Official Result: Eduarda Moura def. Lauren Murphy by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC Nashville: Eduarda Moura Survives Third-Round Surge, Decisions Retiring Lauren Murphy appeared first on Cageside Press.

Following UFC 283, the issue at hand isn’t a gripe on the hierarchy.

Even just focusing on recent years, there have been occasions where the main talking point of a fight has been “why didn’t the corner/team throw in the towel or pull their fighter out?” Unfortunately in MMA, unlike its combat sports counterpart of boxing, there is a notion that throwing in the towel is almost forbidden. To the extent that you very rarely see a coach pull their fighter out of a fight or throw in the towel, no matter how they’re performing.

In the year just passed in the UFC, there were multiple occasions where during a fight, viewing became distinctly uncomfortable. Back to as recently as December, Darren Elkins took on Jonathan Pearce in a featherweight bout. Despite the scorecards reading ’30-27, 30-27, 30-26′ Elkins took an utter beating. More often than not these days, Elkins’ nickname, ‘The Damage,’ is used in jest but there have been several situations in his last few losses where he has looked ‘punch drunk’ and should’ve been pulled out of his fights. Even prior to that, his fight with Nate Landwehr made for tough viewing as the 38-year-old was plastered in his own blood.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Clu0hjKNPJi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Fast forward to this past weekend, where we had two separate fighters who could’ve really benefited from being pulled out of their fights after taking an obscene amount of punishment.

For one, Lauren Murphy took on Jessica Andrade in a flyweight bout at UFC 283 and to not mince words, was utterly dominated.

Murphy absorbed an astounding 231 significant strikes, with 69% of them being targeted at her head. The uncomfortable part of this fight that doesn’t entirely sit well with may is that her cornermen could see that after two rounds, she’d taken an alarming amount of punishment, and wasn’t offering enough offense herself to be able to change the outcome of the fight. Going into the final round, Murphy was clearly down two rounds. While you can appreciate that her corner didn’t know how those first two were scored in terms of 10-8’s, it was abundantly clear she was going to lose the fight.

On two of the judges scorecards, Murphy was down 20-17 and on the opposing scorecard still had Murphy down 20-18. With that in mind and seeing the punishment she was taking, she categorically shouldn’t have been allowed out for the final five minutes. The former title challenger released a statement after it was all said and done, commending her corner for not pulling her out of the fight. But the fact that she’s even commenting on that, suggests that there were warranted grounds for pulling her from the beating. The sad thing about what proceeded in that fight, were the attempts of reassurance saying ‘she’s too tough for her own good.’

Lauren’s corner could have saved her from an additional five minutes of domination, but instead opted for advising her on her “body language.”

"My injuries will heal over time"

Ya know what bothers me about this? CTE isn't particular. It doesn't care if the brain being slammed against the inside of its skull is male or female. Just that there's gray matter to damage and erode. https://t.co/6gblSUYNQd

— Stephie Haynes (@CrooklynMMA) January 23, 2023

During the same event, Glover Teixeira took on Jamahal Hill in a fight for the vacant light heavyweight title. Although it wasn’t quite as bad a beating as Lauren Murphy’s, Glover absorbed a considerable amount of damage too. The thing that makes this one different, is that the 43-year-old was wearing an extremely deep cut above his eye. One thing to highlight in this fight is that the referee in charge, Marc Goddard, is receiving a fair bit of criticism for not stopping the fight.

However, although it may have looked like Goddard could step in and save Glover from the punishment, every time he implored Glover fight back, Glover did exactly that. The same case could be said for Lauren Murphy, at no point was she wobbled or defenceless which made it difficult for Osiris Maia (the referee in charge) to step in and stop the fight.

But that’s where you’d hope a fighter’s corner would take their own stance and put their fighter’s health into consideration. So why don’t they? In fairness to the corner of Glover Teixeira, in the interval between rounds four and five, they actually considered pulling him out (this was caught on camera), but Glover made it clear he wanted to continue as he still posed a danger to Hill.

The be-all and end-all to all of this is in some occasions, a fighter’s decision to carry on and fight should be taken away from them by those closest to them. They put their bodies and livelihood’s on the line for fans’ entertainment, but that’s not what’s important in the long term. It is because of the respect we have for them that we simply want to preserve their health as much as possible.

This is far from just fans or media griping. Following UFC 283, Teixeira’s coach, John Hackleman, announced he would retire from cornering, adding that while he was glad the fight wasn’t stopped, lest the narrative become about him, “I would have thrown it in after the third. I would have been completely happy with the fight stopping there. I saw no reason for it to go on after that.”

The post The Harrowing Side To MMA: Why Do Coaches Refrain From Throwing In The Towel? appeared first on Cageside Press.

Two title fights topped the promotion’s return to Brazil over the weekend, and both saw undisputed titles changing hands (becoming unified in one case). In the main event, Jamahal Hill sent Glover Teixeira into retirement, while in the co-feature, Brandon Moreno, holding interim gold to start the night, unified the titles and is now the undisputed UFC flyweight champion, having defeated Deiveson Figueiredo in the fourth fight of their series.

Also, while it doesn’t play into this article, the legendary Shogun Rua retired. Do yourself a favor: go back and watch the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix. Shogun is nothing short of a legend, and a future Hall of Famer.

Now, on to what comes next (maybe) for the losing side of the UFC 283 main card.

Glover Teixeira

Shogun wasn’t the only Brazilian legend to retire on Saturday night. After coming up short in the main event, looking to reclaim light heavyweight gold, Glover Teixeira called it a career.

It’s odd speaking of Teixeira in these terms because he never really dropped out of the title picture. Even at 43, Glover was still in the mix right up until the end. He took considerable damage against Jamahal Hill, but refused to go away — an apt description of Teixeira’s career, really. He refused to be denied, and captured the UFC light heavyweight championship at 42, after falling short to Jon Jones back in 2014.

What’s next for Teixeira will be coaching the likes of UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira. Now calling Connecticut home, you can expect to see more talent coming out of Teixeira’s gym. He’s one of the good guys in the sport, and is another fighter who deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame when all is said and done.

Deiveson Figueiredo

Here’s where things get really interesting: after losing to Brandon Moreno at UFC 283, Deiveson Figueiredo signalled a move to bantamweight.

Figueiredo is now 1-2-1 against Moreno, and while their fourth fight ended early due to a cut, the “God of War” was losing the fight after three rounds. What could have happened in the final ten minutes? We’ll never know. That’s almost enough to want to see a fifth fight, but the UFC isn’t likely to ever do that.

So it’s off to see the wizard at 135 for Figgy, who helped draw new fans to a weight class in 125lbs that was on life support for a couple of years. Who should he draw at 135? As a former champ, probably a high-profile opponent. Cody Garbrandt would be interesting, and is fighting in March against Julio Arce. Cory Sandhagen and Raphael Assuncao are also booked opposite one another for March. With Figueiredo likely needing some time for that cut to heal before he can train full force, the winner of either of those match-ups would be suitable. Sandhagen vs. Assuncao feels more likely, so we’ll go with that.

Figueiredo’s next fight: Sandhagen vs. Assuncao winner

Neil Magny

It was a rough night at the office for welterweight wins leader Neil Magny at UFC 283. Magny, who told us that he wanted the Burns match-up to test his grappling, fell short in that department, ending up submitted.

Magny has been a guy who likes to stay busy, a guy that is always a tough out, and this was one of his more decisive losses. He’ll likely get an opponent lower down the totem pole next, and that’s fine. Fighting on the same night as Magny was Warlley Alves, who also came up short. He’s an Ultimate Fighter Brazil winner, and another mainstay of the division. They’ve never fought, and the timing works.

Magny’s next fight: Warlley Alves

Lauren Murphy

The immediate answer to what comes next for “Lucky” Lauren Murphy is “time off.” Murphy frankly wasn’t so lucky at UFC 283, absorbing a one-sided beatdown from Jessica Andrade that became hard to watch by the end. There’s no questioning her toughness, and she later thanked her corner for not throwing in the towel, but it was clear they should have done just that. That fight dragging on to the final bell did no one any favors, least of all Murphy, who clearly lacked an answer to Andrade’s power.

The importance of brain health cannot be understated when it comes to combat sports. But that’s an argument for another day. When it comes to who Murphy gets next, the loser of Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O’Neill could work. That fight doesn’t arrive til March, giving Murphy some extra time to heal up.

Murphy’s next fight: Maia vs. O’Neill loser

Paul Craig

Scotland’s Paul Craig couldn’t get Johnny Walker down in their UFC 283 PPV opener on Saturday, and he paid for it.

Craig has now lost two in a row, albeit against strong competition in Walker and Volkan Oezdemir. He’s not exactly in dire straits, but avoiding an 0-3 slump is key. Someone who also needs a win, and is in dire straits, is Dominick Reyes. Reyes has lost four straight, dating back to his title bid against Jon Jones. Both of these fighters are still ranked, but at risk of losing the number next to their name.

Booking this makes a lot of sense and helps get one fighter back in the mix.

Craig’s next fight: Dominick Reyes

The post What’s Next: UFC 283 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Andrade was the heavy favorite in the flyweight fight in Rio, and early on, things played out pretty much as expected.

By the end, the beatdown was hard to watch.

The Brazilian started strong on Saturday, forcing Murphy to the outside. “Lucky” circled, but Andrade found success with her kicks, both a low kick, and front switch kick. A left hand clipped Murphy on the way in, connecting flush with her chin. While she was able to hold it together, Andrade continued chopping away at her lead leg.

Murphy, meanwhile, showed a questionable level change, and was nowhere near landing a takedown.

Past the midway mark of the round, another connection by Andrade saw her close th distance swinging. This time, a desperation takedown paid off for Murphy, but Andade was immediately back up. Back on the feet, another Andrade leg kick hit home. Andade was landing almost at will now, with Murphy in a constant state of retreat. In the final minute, Andade’s right hand connected. Then another combo. A leg kick. Murphy wouldn’t go down, but she was badly outgunned. A late takedown attempt, again, saw Murphy get Andrade to her knees, only to fail to keep the Brazilian there.

Round two saw a battered Murphy remain under fire. When Andrade pressed forward, Murphy’s night went south rather quickly. At best, the American was showing her grit, but her offensive output, little that there was, didn’t seem to have any effect, and her takedowns simply weren’t there for her. Andrade, meanwhile, fired an uppercut, then pressed the action with a combo just as the midway point of the round arrived. A few moments later, another right hand connected, snapping Murphy’s head to the side. Murphy would try a level change, only for Andrade to defend with a guillotine. When they did hit the mat, it was Andrade in control, sprawling and threatening to take the back.

Back on the feet, Andrade continued to pull away. A finally flurry at the end of the round got the fans on their feet, but there was still a round to go.

If Lauren Murphy had any hope of winning the fight, a finish would be necessary. In a fight so one-sided, that felt unlikely. Yet Murphy continued to press forward at points, firing her hands and looking for an opening even while taking considerable damage. Another takedown attempt saw Murphy again unable to keep Andrade down; Andrade turned up the heat moments later, with the ref taking a good long look at Murphy, perhaps considering putting a stop to the fight. Instead, he allowed the affair to carry on. Murphy made it to the final bell out of sheer grit, but Andrade was the clear winner.

Official Result: Jessica Andrade def. Lauren Murphy by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)

The post UFC 283: Jessica Andrade Batters Lauren Murphy for Full Three Rounds appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’m really happy to be fighting here. My last fight was against Rose (Namajunas) that ended the way that it ended, but it’s really good being here around the people that I love and feeling their energy,” Andrade told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.

This time she faces Murphy (16-5) who is coming off a decision victory over MMA legend Miesha Tate in July 2022.

“She’s a really tough athlete. She’s very resistant with the blows. She’s got good grappling, good Jiu Jitsu, but you know I got Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and she’s going to be here and we’re going to use it,” she said.

Andrade (23-9) is riding a two-fight win streak with finished over Cynthia Calvillo and Amanda Lemos respectively that may put her over the hump for a title shot at 125-pounds should she defeat Murphy at UFC 283.

“For sure. I want to go back to my division, of course there’s Valentina (Shevchenko), but I really want another chance to fight Weili Zhang. I think with a victory on Saturday that can happen,” Andrade said.

Murphy has said she brought in sparring partners that she said can mimic Andrade’s style.

“I don’t think they can mimic. You know there’s some people that might try, but there’s only one Jessica Andrade and that’s me,” she said.

“The reality is going to be in the octagon. A lot of people say that I’m strong, but they don’t really notice and they don’t really know that until they get in there with me.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Jessica Andrade above. Andrade faces Lauren Murphy at UFC 283 on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro.

The post UFC 283: Jessica Andrade Happy To Fight At Home, Wants Weili Zhang Rematch appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’m pumped to fight in front of the Brazilian fans because they’re so notorious for like the energy that they bring to all the events. I love to come in and be the villain and be the underdog, and like spoil people’s plans and spoil their party,” Murphy told reporters on Wednesday.

“I’m expecting them to really support Jessica and that’s what the fans are supposed to do. I think it’s pretty badass actually when like you have a whole arena full of people and the energy is just so intense like that.”

In Andrade she will face a powerful striker that’s very aggressive from start to finish. Murphy isn’t worried about what he opponent is planning to do in the octagon on Saturday night.

“I haven’t really thought much about what Jessica’s going to do. To me it doesn’t matter what she’s going to do. She can play whatever game she wants. She’s going to end up fighting my fight so that’s it. I just think about what I’m going to do to be honest with you,” Murphy said.

Historically a win over Andrade has propelled fighters into the title shot discussion and it’s something Murphy wants to do in order to get another shot at flyweight champion Valentine Shevchenko.

“That’s why I asked for this fight. It’s definitely a tougher fight than my last one. It’s like a bigger mountain to climb, bigger bite to chew. It just presented a whole different style than what Miesha (Tate) presented,” she said.

“Yeah just a different kind of challenge and it’s a hard one. That’s what I want so when I do get back to the title I’ll feel confident and I’ll have that experience. For me it’s all about taking those challenges and seeing how far I can go. She just happened to be like the perfect person, and the perfect place at the perfect time.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Lauren Murphy above. Murphy takes on Jessica Andrade at UFC 283 on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro.

The post UFC 283: Lauren Murphy Ready To Play Spoiler In Brazil appeared first on Cageside Press.

Andrade (23-9) will face former UFC women’s flyweight title challenger Lauren Murphy (16-5) at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this January. News of the match-up was first reported by MMA Fighting.

Murphy subsequently confirmed the booking on her Instagram Story.

After coming up short against champ Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 266 last year, Murphy returned to the win column this past July, earning a unanimous decision against former UFC women’s bantamweight champ Miesha Tate. The 39-year old is 6-1 across her last seven fights, and while securing a second title shot may be difficult, champ Shevchenko has all but cleaned out the division.

Andrade has won back-to-back contests, and returned to 115lbs in her last outing, where she defeated Amanda Lemos. That April bout kicked off what many expected to be a fresh run at strawweight, but with many of the division’s top names already occupied, it’s back to flyweight for “Bate Estaca.”

Prior to submitting Lemos, Andrade earned a TKO finish of Cynthia Calvillo at 125lbs.

UFC 283 takes place at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio, Brazil on January 21, 2023. The following match-ups have been reported for the event:

Deiveson Figueiredo (c) vs. Brandon Moreno (ic) – for the UFC flyweight championship / title unification bout
Mounir Lazzez vs. Gabriel Bonfim
Josiane Nunes vs. Zarah Fairn Dos Santos
Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brad Tavares
Maurício Rua vs. Ihor Potieria
Paul Craig vs. Johnny Walker
Jéssica Andrade vs. Lauren Murphy

The post Jessica Andrade Meets Lauren Murphy at UFC 283 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Yair Rodriguez

Brian Ortega will likely need surgery on his injured shoulder. The featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, is thinking about moving up and challenging for the lightweight title in his next fight and he is also getting surgery on his hand. Meaning the UFC will probably put together a interim title fight by the end of the year between Rodriguez and fellow title contender Josh Emmett.

Emmett is currently ranked third in the featherweight division. Ranked only behind Max Holloway, Brian Ortega, and Yair Rodriguez. Ortega and Volkanovski are both having surgery and Holloway just lost three straight times to Volkanovski. The booking makes sense if Volkanovski is going to sit for a bit.

Rodriguez’s next fight: Josh Emmett

Amanda Lemos

Amanda Lemos improved her UFC record to 6-2 in Long Island with her submission win over Waterson-Gomez. When the new rankings come out, she will probably be in the top 10. Yan Xiaonan is currently on a two-fight losing streak and ranked fifth in the division.

Xiaonan’s next fight will likely being down in the rankings and Lemos makes for the perfect opponent. Both women have youth on their side and both women have a unique and exciting style of fighting.

Lemos’ next fight: Yan Xiaonan

Li Jingliang

Li Jingliang used some powerful punches and elbows to finish Muslim Salikhov at UFC Long Island. That win makes him 2-2 in the last two years with three of those four fights ending before the final bell.

Michel Pereira is a dynamic striker that is ranked one spot behind Jingliang in the welterweight division. His dynamic striking would be a perfect match-up for the power strikes of Jingliang. The welterweight division is so stacked right now and there are a ton of options for everyone in the top 15. This fight makes sense: it’s downright exciting, and it will be good notch on the winner’s belt when it’s all said and done.

Jingliang’s next fight: Michel Pereira

Matt Schnell

Matt Schnell put himself in the running for Comeback of the Year, and both and Su Mudaerji should be in contention for Round of the Year following a thrilling flyweight scrap at UFC Long Island.

It needs to be said over and over: at one point, the UFC was going to cut this division. Credit to Mick Maynard for turning things around at 125 pounds. Now we get to put on his shoes and book a fight for Schnell. Who, we should add, has had two straight Fight of the Nights in 2022.

Presumably, he fights once more this year. The Alex Perez fight was doomed, and he’s now paired up with Alexandre Pantoja anyway. Moving up the division, Askar Askarov might be coming off a loss, but he’s ranked #3 at flyweight. Let’s see if Schnell can swim with the biggest, most dangerous sharks in the flyweight waters.

Schnell’s next fight: Askar Askarov

Shane Burgos

Shane Burgos won a decision over Charles Jourdain in one of the best fights on the card. Burgos is never in boring fights and puts on a show every time he enters the octagon. In his next fight he should be looking to move up significantly in the rankings.

Dan Ige is ranked three spots ahead of Burgos in the division. He is also on a two-fight losing streak. Ige is known to have a brawler style of fighting and always puts on a show for the fans. This fight would be fireworks from start to finish. If Burgos wins, he pushes himself inside the top ten and Ige likely falls towards the back of the top 15. If Ige wins, he snaps a losing streak and proves himself against a warrior like Burgos.

Burgos’ next fight: Dan Ige

Lauren Murphy

The fact that former women’s bantamweight champ Miesha Tate looked to have lost a step in her flyweight debut shouldn’t take away from the performance Lauren Murphy put on at UFC Long Island. In case there were any doubts, that is why “Lucky” got her title shot.

Having won her first fight back from that failed title bid against Valentina Shevchenko, what’s next for the 40-year old? Time is not on her side, with all due respect. The winner of Manon Fiorot vs. Katlyn Chookagian in September is a likely pick for the next title challenger, at least if it’s Fiorot, who would represent new blood. Chookagian, ranked #1, and Murphy, ranked #3, are in similar spots, with no one really clamouring to see them in a rematch with the champ.

The solution? Pair them up. Murphy and Chookagian first fought back in 2016. There’s been enough time and they’re ranked highly enough that a rematch at least takes one out of contention, and maybe gives an argument for one or the other to get a second shot at gold.

Murphy’s next fight: Katlyn Chookagian, win or lose after her fight with Manon Fiorot

The post What’s Next: UFC Long Island Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Tate kicked off the event’s main card on ABC, against former flyweight title challenger Lauren Murphy.

Given women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko’s decimation of the division, a strong performance could land “Cupcake” on the short list for the next title shot.

Murphy found success early against the former champ, keeping Tate on the outside and stuffing the first takedown attempt from the former champ. She landed several strikes uptop, with Tate showing some swelling under the right eye less than halfway through the round. Murphy then changed levels for a takedown of her own, but couldn’t complete it. Instead, Tate reversed, put Murphy on the fence, fired some knees, and worked for a throw takedown of her own. As Tate had done moments earlier, Murphy was quickly back to her feet.

From there, the pair engaged in a gruelling positional battle along the fence, with Tate trying to thread a leg around Murphy’s for a trip, to no avail.

In round two, Tate got her jab going, and followed it with a right hand. Murphy landed a right hand of her own, bloodying Tate’s nose. Within the first 90 seconds, Murphy changed levels and landed a takedown on Tate. Tate worked her way up, but ate several punches from Murphy in the process. The ex-champ would make it up, reverse, and reset at center, but approaching the midway point of the fight was clearly down. Tate put the pressure on, landing two to three strikes in a combo. After a clinch, Murphy landed a slicing elbow; she’d return fire a moment later.

Murphy, however, was landing seemingly every time Tate closed the distance. She’d land another takedown, albeit briefly, though Tate showed some impress balance getting up and hopping on one foot while Murphy latched on to the other leg — ultimately being unable to dump Tate.

Tate then drove Murphy into the fence; when they reversed, Tate landed a nasty elbow in the clinch. Tate finished the round hunting for a takedown.

In the third, Tate connected with a low kick. Tate would change levels for a well-timed takedown a moment later, but it was Murphy who landed on top. They scrambled back to their feet, and engaged once again, with Tate looking for an opening to get things down. In a clinch, Murphy landed a knee, she’d then tag the injured eye of Tate. Tate fired a front kick back at center, threw a jab, and followed up with a right hand. With ninety seconds left, they’d start trading, Tate getting the better of the exchange — which caused Murphy to shoot for a takedown, and Tate to defend by attacking the neck, staying upright.

They’d trade to the buzzer, but there was no question who the winner was, despite both ladies raising their hands in victory. If you weren’t sure, the result was written all over Tate’s face.

Official Result: Lauren Murphy def. Miesha Tate by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

The post UFC Long Island: Lauren Murphy Spoils Miesha Tate’s Flyweight Debut, Wins Decision appeared first on Cageside Press.

The third showcase for the promotion on the Disney-owned broadcast network is headlined by a featherweight showdown between Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez. For Mexico’s Rodriguez, the match-up appears to have title implications, as he’s said during the build-up that the promotion has offered a title shot with a win.

Of course, Brian Ortega, a two-time title challenger at 145 pounds, will no doubt have something to say about that.

Joining Ortega vs. Rodriguez on the ABC card are strawweights Michelle Waterson and Amanda Lemos. Waterson, one of the most popular fighters in the division and a former Invicta FC atomweight champ, is looking to rebuild after a rough patch that has seen her post a 1-3 record through her last four fights.

Looking to make a bigger name for herself off the veteran is Lemos, who had a five-fight win streak snapped by ex-champ Jessica Andrade in her last outing.

A former champion is also in the mix on Saturday, as Miesha Tate will finally make her flyweight debut against Lauren Murphy.

Weigh-ins for UFC Long Island go down Friday — full results can be found below. The event takes place on Saturday, July 16, 2022 at the UBS Arena in Elmont, NY.

UFC Long Island: Ortega vs. Rodriguez Weigh-In Results

Main card

Featherweight: Brian Ortega (145) vs. Yair Rodríguez (145.4)
Women’s Strawweight: Michelle Waterson (115) vs. Amanda Lemos (116)
Welterweight: Li Jingliang (170.6) vs. Muslim Salikhov (170.8)
Flyweight: Matt Schnell (126) vs. Su Mudaerji (125.8)
Featherweight: Shane Burgos (145.8) vs. Charles Jourdain (145.6)
Women’s Flyweight: Lauren Murphy (125.2) vs. Miesha Tate (125.6)

Preliminary card

Middleweight: Dalcha Lungiambula (185.6) vs. Punahele Soriano (185.6)
Bantamweight: Ricky Simón (135.6) vs. Jack Shore (136)
Featherweight: Bill Algeo (146) vs. Herbert Burns (145.4)
Light Heavyweight: Dustin Jacoby (205) vs. Da Un Jung (205.6)
Middleweight: Dwight Grant (185.4) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (185.6)
Women’s Strawweight: Jessica Penne (115.8) vs. Emily Ducote (115.6)

The post UFC Long Island: Ortega vs. Rodriguez Weigh-In Results appeared first on Cageside Press.