Twitter account UFC Roster Watch was first to note that Jojua (8-5) had been removed from the promotion’s line-up. The move comes on the heels of her loss to Cortney Casey at UFC Vegas 42 — which also saw her miss weight for the fight.

Jojua entered the UFC in 2019 after she captured the women’s bantamweight title in Fight Nights Global. She made her debut at UFC 242 against Sarah Moras, losing via TKO to the Canadian fighter.

That loss resulted in a move to flyweight, and led to Jojua’s lone win inside the octagon, against Diana Belbita at UFC Fight Island 1. Jojua won the bout via arm-bar.

While fellow Georgian fighters like Merab Dvalishvili, Giga Chikadze, and Roman Dolidze have found continued success, however, Jojua struggled following the Belbita win. In October of last year, her UFC 254 fight against Miranda Maverick ended due to a doctor’s stoppage, with Jojua unable to continue.

Missing weight for the fight with Casey probably didn’t help her case, and with a 1-3 record across four fights, she’s now gone from the roster. According to “Cast Iron” Casey, Jojua was “Thanksgiving dinner big” in their fight, and had turned down a catchweight earlier in the week, only to miss weight regardless.

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Or well, it would have been flyweight action had Jojua not missed weight for the bout, necessitating at 128.5lb catchweight.

Jojua entered the bout looking to shake off a loss to Miranda Maverick just over a year ago. Only one woman was going to get back in the win column — and it turned out to be Casey, by a wide margin.

Both fighters took the center of the octagon after a touch of gloves. Both women fired off jabs to find the distance, but neither of them landed. Casey landed a low kick and then, 30 seconds later, a front kick. Casey started to let her hands fly and landed several 1-2s. Jojua fired back, but nothing landed. Another right hand from Casey landed. With just over 90 seconds remaining in the round, Casey threw another front kick. Jojua tried for a takedown but nothing came of it. Casey landed another combo that seemed to hurt Jojua and Casey rushed her, almost eating a front kick from Jojua. Roughly 30 seconds left, and Jojua landed a takedown and ended the round on top.

Round two started with Casey throwing another front kick. A minute into the round and both fighters exchanged punches, but Casey’s landed more flush. The last three minutes of round two was basically both fighters exchanging punches- nothing significant landed, but Jojua’s nose was bloodied, her shirt stained red. Casey tripped, and then Jojua jumped on top of her at the end of the round but ate an upkick. Jojua started dropping ground and pound to end the round.

Knocked down and met with up kicks 😳

[ #UFCVegas42 | Prelims are LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/t1xBlcUthG

— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2021

Round three started with Jojua knowing she had to finish the fight. Two minutes in and Jojua tried for a takedown, but Casey defended it. Casey landed a heavy right hand with two minutes left. Jojua’s face was an absolute mess by this point. Casey threw a 1-2 followed by a head kick. Both fighters clinched, but no action came of it. Jojua tried for another last-minute takedown and landed it, but it was too little too late.

With a one-sided decision win, Cortney Casey snapped her two-fight skid, potentially saving her job in the process. Following the bout, she revealed a possible broken hand, suffered in the opening round of the fight.

Official Result: Cortney Casey def. Liana Jojua by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-37)

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On Thursday, UFC officials announced the full line-up for the Fight Night event, scheduled for August 21 at the Apex in Las Vegas. Noticeably absent was Jojua vs. Casey. MMA Junkie later reported that Jojua had been forced out of the fight due to visa issues.

Jojua (8-4), a 26-year old out of Georgia, is 1-2 inside the octagon thus far. Losses to Sarah Moras and Miranda Maverick sandwich her lone UFC win against Diana Belbita, which came last July in a flyweight contest on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

Casey (9-9) is a longtime member of the promotion’s strawweight, and now flyweight, roster. She opened up her career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship by appearing in back-to-back Fight of the Nights. Casey holds notable wins over Angela Hill, Jessica Aguilar, and Randa Markos, but has dropped her last two contests.

UFC Vegas 34 is headlined by a middleweight clash between Kelvin Gastelum and Jared Cannonier. Jojua has not been replaced in the August 21 bout, meaning Cortney Casey is off the event as well. Per a report by MMA Fighting, the promotion hopes to rebook for the fight at a later date, dependent on Jojua’s visa status.

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MMA Junkie was first to report the news that Cortney Casey will fight Liana Jojua on August 21 at UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum. Both fighters would confirm the booking on social media.

Casey (9-9) will most likely be fighting for her job in August. In her last fight, she lost a very close split decision to JJ Aldrich earlier this year at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad. “Cast Iron” went 1-1 in 2020, submitting Mara Romero Borella in May and then getting submitted by Gillian Robertson one month later.

Jojua (8-4) will be making her USA debut when she fights Casey in August, as she has only fought in Abu Dhabi in her three UFC fights. The Georgian fighter is 1-2 in the UFC, with her only win against Diana Belbita last year on ‘Fight Island.’ In her most recent fight, she was stopped by Miranda Maverick via doctor stoppage, again on ‘Fight Island’ at UFC 254.

UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum will take place at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, and broadcast on ESPN.

So far, the August 21 fight card looks like this:

• Kelvin Gastelum vs. Jared Cannonier
• Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval
• Clay Guida vs. Mark O. Madsen
• Luis Saldana vs. Austin Lingo
• Fabio Cherant vs. William Knight
• Austin Hubbard vs. Vic Pichel
• Chase Sherman vs. Parker Porter
• Brian Kelleher vs. Domingo Pilarte
• Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Sasha Palatnikov
• Bea Malecki vs. Josiane Nunes
• Mana Martinez vs. Jesse Strader
• Roosevelt Roberts vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
• Cortney Casey vs. Liana Jojua

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The first fighter to receive the top suspension was Liana Jojua, who suffered a nasty cut in the bridge of her nose courtesy of a standing elbow from Miranda Maverick. The elbow caused doctor’s to call a stop to the fight at the end of the very first round despite protests from Jojua herself. The medical suspension that followed seems to agree with the cage-side doctor as she won’t be continuing for some time, that is of course unless she is cleared by the appropriate specialist ahead of schedule.

Two other fighters hitting that 180 day maximum are Jared Cannonier and Nathaniel Wood. Both men went the distance in their respective bouts in losing efforts. Over the course of those fights, both suffered fractures to their extremities and will need to be cleared by x-rays in order to return to action.

Complete list of medical suspensions:

Khabib Nurmagomedov – 7 Days
Justin Gaethje – 7 Days
Robert Whittaker – 7 Days
Jared Cannonier – 180 Days or until cleared by left wrist x-ray
Alexander Volkov – 7 Days
Walt Harris – 30 Days
Phil Hawes – 7 Days
Jacob Malkoun – 60 Days
Lauren Murphy – 7 Days
Liliya Shakirova – 7 Days
Magomed Ankalaev – 7 Days
Ion Cutelaba – 45 Days
Tai Tuivasa – 7 Days
Stefan Struve – 45 Days
Casey Kenney – 30 Days
Nathaniel Wood – 180 Days or until cleared by left hand x-ray
Shavkat Rakhmonov – 7 Days
Alex Oliveira – 7 Days
Da Un Jung – 7 Days
Sam Alvey – 30 Days
Miranda Maverick – 7 Days
Liana Jojua – 180 Days to Jojua or or until cleared by ear, nose, and throat doctor
Joel Alvarez – 7 Days
Alexander Yakovlev – 7 Days

All suspensions originally reported by Kirik Jenness.

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Maverick, a full-time PhD student and Teaching Assistant, had a lot to juggle alongside her fighting career. In fact, she’d been studying and teaching classes remotely all the way up to her debut on Fight Island on Saturday.

When the fight began, Jojua had her striking on point early. The Georgian’s punches were crisp, and her right hand was finding the mark. Maverick landed a counter left, and mixed in a leg kick or two as the round got going. Before long, Maverick hand opened up a cut on Jojua. The epitome of brains and brawn, Maverick had the clear edge in power. The key was going to be to mix up her attacks, something she was able to do more and more past the midway point of the round. In the final minute, a nasty elbow from Maverick cracked Jojua right on the nose, busting her open.

The pair then headed to the second, or so it seemed. Between rounds, the cut on the nose from the elbow would not stop bleeding. Against Jojua’s pleas, the ref waved off the fight. Miranda Maverick had the TKO win in her promotional debut.

Official Result: Miranda Maverick def. Liana Jojua by TKO (doctor’s stoppage), Round 1, 5:00

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The Georgian fighter is a former Fight Nights Global champion. But she faltered in her UFC debut last year, ending up finished by Canadian Sarah Moras. The loss snapped a five-fight win streak.

In Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, Jojua corrected course. She snatched an arm, en route to a submission win. Opponent Diana Belbita managed to fend off the arm-bar for a while, but ultimately Jojua’s ground skills were just too much. That came as no surprise to her. In fact, the only surprise was that “the fight ended very quick.”

Like many other fighters, Jojua struggled to put together a camp during the coronavirus pandemic, something she cited when asked about when she’d like to return.

“This fight I didn’t have the proper training camp, didn’t have enough time,” she said. “So I want a full proper training camp for my next fight, and preferably in the United States.”

Watch the full UFC on ESPN 13 post-fight press scrum with Liana Jojua above.

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Women’s flyweight action was second on the UFC Fight Island 1 preliminary card and saw Georgia’s Liana Jojua facing Romanian Diana Belbita, with both fighters looking to bounce back from losses in their Octagon debuts.

Jojua had fallen to Sarah Moras at UFC 242 last September, while Belbita had lost to Molly McCann, who will also be fighting tonight, last October. Both headed into the bout looking to earn their first victory in the Octagon, and gain momentum in a wide-open flyweight division.

Belbita opened up with a nice combination before getting the fight into the clinch in the opening seconds. Jojua did a good job of trying to reverse position on the cage, but Belbita still got the takedown, ended up in full guard and Jojua quickly went for the armbar. Jojua had it in deep and Belbita did a good job of scrambling but Jojua wasn’t letting it go at all. Belbita scrambled again and Jojua got the submission in even deeper and got the tap! What a great submission win by Liana Jojua.

HOW BOUT JOJUA!? 🇬🇪 @LianaJojua records her 5️⃣th career armbar vs Belbita.

📺 Action continues on @ESPN. #InAbuDhabi @VisitAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/LdHpe8wzeD

— UFC (@ufc) July 15, 2020

While Jojua was not able to speak fluent English as a fighter from Georgia (the country), she expressed that the armbar is a submission she is confident in. One look at her record would reveal that, as five of her eight career victories have come by armbar.

Liana Jojua def. Diana Belbita via Submission (Armbar) in Round 1 (2:23)

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Weight-cutting is the ultimate test of discipline and willpower. Many fighters in the sport consider it very unprofessional to miss weight. In this series, we will shine a light on fighters who cut a massive amount of weight, who have missed weight multiple times in the past, who have made weight-class changes, along with how the weight-cut and weigh-in could affect possible upcoming match-ups. Basically, every aspect of weight-cutting and how it affects the fight game.

Ryan “Baby Face” Benoit (10-6 MMA, 3-4 UFC)

Flyweight (125lbs): 3-3 (UFC), Missed weight one time

Bantamweight (135lbs): 0-1 (UFC)

Benoit missed weight for his fight against Ashkan Mokhatarian in 2017. Benoit might have been able to finish his opponent in the third round with a spectacular head kick, but weighing in at 129lbs really put a damper on things. And missing weight probably kept him out of the fight performance bonus conversation for that night. Ryan is 5’5, has a 68.5″ reach and is now 30 years old.

After that fight, fans didn’t see Benoit in the octagon for over two years, before he returned last December, but this time at 135lbs. Unfortunately for Ryan, he lost a split decision to Heili Alateng in his debut at bantamweight. But Benoit will look to will look to get back in the win column at flyweight, and now in the co-main event slot, on July 15th.

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]]> https://cagesidepress.com/2020/07/14/the-weight-cutting-chronicles-ufc-fight-island-1/feed/ 0 https://cagesidepress.com/2019/09/07/ufc-242-results-jojua-vs-moras/ https://cagesidepress.com/2019/09/07/ufc-242-results-jojua-vs-moras/#respond Sat, 07 Sep 2019 16:59:29 +0000 https://cagesidepress.com/?p=52532 Despite her underdog status, Sarah Moras put on a dominant performance at UFC 242, stopping Liana Jojua with elbows in the third round. In women’s bantamweight action at UFC 242, Sarah Moras took on UFC newcomer Liana Jojua. The bout was technically at a catchweight of 138lbs, as Moras had come in heavy at weigh-ins, […]

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]]> Despite her underdog status, Sarah Moras put on a dominant performance at UFC 242, stopping Liana Jojua with elbows in the third round.

In women’s bantamweight action at UFC 242, Sarah Moras took on UFC newcomer Liana Jojua. The bout was technically at a catchweight of 138lbs, as Moras had come in heavy at weigh-ins, forfeiting 20% of her purse as a result. That was not a good look for Ultimate Fighter veteran Moras, who had lost three straight coming into the bout, and was desperately in need of a win.

Round 1:

Moras opened things up with a kick as both ladies felt each other out. Soon after that came the first exchange of strikes, then another. The pair would eventually work their way to the fence, with Moras using her dirty boxing and pressing Jojua up against the cage. Moras added knees, and looked for a way to take her opponent to the ground. While Jojua did a good job remaining on her feet, Moras stayed in full control. However a lack of action forced the ref to restart them in center, which led to a flurry with Jojua landing, an inadvertent clash of heads, and then Moras again tying Jojua up against the fence to end the round.

Cageside Press scored the round 10-9 for Sarah Moras

Round 2:

The second frame opened with Moras immediately trying to tie her opponent up again. Jojua fought her off, however, and they faced off at center. Jojua fired an overhand right that fell short. Moras pressed forward with a combo, clinched, and fired a knee, backing Jojua into the fence. She added a foot stomp, and tried to hook a leg with her own, looking for a trip. However when they did go to the ground, it was Jojua initiating the takedown and landing on top. Moras fired off elbows from the bottom, then utilized a high closed guard. Moras latched on to an arm, and was giving Jojua fits on the ground.

Jojua finally pulled free, reset, and landed a couple of heavy bombs, but Moras was able to push her opponent off with a leg and transition to top. Moras then went to work from guard. Jojua tried her own elbows from bottom, but one from Moras was far more effective. Jojua tried to lock up Moras, but more elbows and punches followed from the top.

Cageside Press scored the round 10-9 for Sarah Moras

Round 3:

Jojua landed an early takedown in the third, putting Moras on her back and working from guard. Moras again used a high guard, looking for an arm-bar or triangle, but this time, Jojua was wise to it. However, as a result, Jojua had no room to work, and eventually she backed off, allowing Moras back up. Moras then stuffed another takedown attempt, took the back, dropped a few bombs, then transitioned to mount. That allowed her to do some real damage, and forced Jojua to give up her back. She would roll back over, to avoid a choke, but wound up eating elbow after elbow, forcing the ref to call it off.

Official Result: Sarah Moras def. Liana Jojua by TKO, Round 3, 2:26

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