(Courtesy of UFC)

UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier breaks down the UFC on ESPN+ 11 main event between Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith. The UFC Stockholm headliner will determine which fighter remains in the hunt for another shot at UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and who goes to the back of the line.

TRENDING Combatant in Chief: The Story of Donald Trump’s History in Combat Sports (video)

Tune in Saturday, June 1 to MMAWeekly.com for UFC on ESPN+ 11: Gustafsson vs. Smith full live results from Stockholm, Sweden.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/daniel-cormier-breaks-down-alexander-gustafsson-vs-anthony-smith-ufc-stockholm-headliner

(Courtesy of UFC)

When Donald Trump opened his Atlantic City casino to the struggling UFC, it was the start of an unlikely friendship between the current POTUS and UFC president Dana White.

Despite Trump’s polarizing nature – or perhaps because of it – White has long maintained a friendship with the current President of the United States. He event went so far as to speak on Trump’s behalf at the Republican National Convention when he was trying to win the republican nomination to run for president. 

“In 2001, my partners and I bought the UFC and it was basically considered a blood sport,” said White at the convention. “State athletic commissions didn’t support us, arenas around the world refused to host our events. Nobody took us seriously. Nobody, except Donald Trump.

“Donald championed the UFC before it was popular, before it grew into a successful business, and I will always be grateful to him for standing with us in those early days. So tonight, I stand with Donald Trump.”

TRENDING Country Boy Can Survive: The Story of Matt Hughes’ Fight for Survival (video)

It’s a friendship that has continued as Trump took residence in the White House, and it is one that was the subject of one of the short documentaries featured in the UFC 25 Years in Short series.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/combatant-in-chief-the-story-of-donald-trumps-history-in-combat-sports-video

The UFC Fight Night card in Stockholm, Sweden may have lost one marquee fight on Thursday but Friday’s weigh-ins went off without a hitch as all of the athletes hit the mark.

The original co-main event for the card was scrapped after Ilir Latifi suffered a back injury that forced him out of his fight against Volkan Oezdemir.

Thankfully the main event remained intact as both Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith made weight without any incident to make their fight official.

Gustafsson came in on championship weight at 205 pounds while Smith followed a little later at 206 pounds as they prepare to do battle in an effort to get back into title contention in the light heavyweight division.

 The new co-main event will see Jimi Manuwa look to stop a three fight skid as he takes on rising star Aleksander Rakic in another light heavyweight bout on the card.

Both Manuwa and Rakic came in at 205 pounds ahead of their matchup that now takes the co-headlining spot in Sweden.

Here are the full results for the weigh-ins from UFC Fight Night in Stockholm, Sweden.

MAIN CARD (1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on ESPN+)

Main Event: Alexander Gustafsson (205) vs Anthony Smith (206)

Co-Main Event: Jimi Manuwa (205) vs Aleksandar Rakic (205)

Makwan Amirkhani (145) vs Chris Fishgold (145)

Damir Hadzovic (155) vs Christos Giagos (155)

Daniel Teymur (145) vs Sung Bin Jo (145)

PRELIMS (10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT on ESPN2)

Rostem Akman (170) vs Sergey Khandozhko (170)

Tonya Evinger (135) vs Lina Lansberg (135)

Stevie Ray (155) vs Leonardo Santos (155)

Nick Hein (155) vs Frank Camacho (155)

Bea Malecki (136) vs Duda Santana (135)

Darko Stosic (205) vs Devin Clark (205)

Joel Alvarez (155) vs Danilo Bulluardo (155)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/alexander-gustafsson-vs-anthony-smith-official-as-all-fighters-make-weight-in-sweden

(Courtesy of MMAFightingonSBN)

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Sweden this week for UFC on ESPN+ 11: Gustafsson vs. Smith in Stockholm. Saturday’s fight card starts at 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT because of the time difference.

A light heavyweight showdown between former title challengers Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith promises fireworks, as both men try to climb back into contention. Gustafsson and Smith are both coming off of losses to current champion Jon Jones and need the victory to keep their names entrenched at the top of the division. Gustafsson in particular is going to have a difficult time getting another shot at the belt as long as Jones has it, having now lost to him twice.

Gustafsson and Smith had a stern staredown at Thursday’s UFC Stockhom media day festivities, but they separated rather amicably. The same could not be said for featherweights Makwan Amirkhani and Chris Fishgold, who have been taking verbal shots at each other all week.

When it came time to face-off in front of the camera, Amirkhani and Fishgold exchanged a few words before Amirkhani shoved Fishgold and the two had to be physically separated by security.

TRENDING Anthony Smith needs to ‘destroy something’ after failing to perform against Jon Jones

Tune in Saturday, June 1 to MMAWeekly.com for full UFC on ESPN+ 11: Gustafsson vs. Smith live results from Stockholm, Sweden. Alexander Gustafsson heads the card on his home turf, squaring off with Anthony Smith, as they each look to remain relevant in the UFC light heavyweight championship picture. The co-main event features another 205-pound contenders showdown with Swedish fighter Ilir Latifi facing Swiss fighter Volkan Oezdemir.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/tempers-flare-ufc-stockholm-media-day-face-offs-video

The UFC 240 fight card is coming together, as UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Wednesday that he is close to finalizing a co-main event bout between Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Felicia Spencer.

“I’m excited about this Edmonton card. Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar is a great main event, and now we have Cris Cyborg vs. Felicia Spencer in the co-main event,” White told ESPN. “Felicia is undefeated at 7-0, a former Invicta world champion, coming off a very impressive first-round finish over a top 3-ranked Megan Anderson. I can’t wait for this fight.”

UFC 240: Holloway vs. Edgar is slated for July 27 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The featherweight title bout between Holloway, the current 145-pound champion, and Edgar was confirmed a couple of weeks ago, but the stars aligned for Cyborg vs. Spencer only recently after Spencer won her most recent bout at UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee in Rochester, N.Y.

Cyborg (20-2, 1NC) is coming off of the first defeat of her UFC career and only her second defeat ever in professional mixed martial arts. Cyborg won the UFC women’s featherweight title by defeating Tonya Evinger at UFC 214 in July of 2017 and then defended it twice. She defeated Holly Holm and Yana Kunitskaya. 

She lost to belt to UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 232 in the final event of 2018. The victory made Nunes the first woman to hold titles in two different UFC weight classes. She also became only the third fighter in UFC history to maintain championships in two different weight classes simultaneously.

Spencer (7-0) made her Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ 10, where she upset highly regarded fellow former Invicta FC featherweight champion Megan Anderson. Having previously spent her entire career under the Invicta FC banner, Spencer made an immediate name for herself under the UFC banner with her first-round submission of Anderson.

TRENDING Yoel Romero awarded more than $27 million in damages in lawsuit filed against supplement company

After defeating Anderson, Spencer said it would be an honor to face Cyborg, who responded on Twitter by saying, “July 27th Edmonton Canada. I have had one UFC fight in 15 months. Challenge accepted.”

Now it appears the UFC has put the bout together and Cyborg vs. Spencer will serve as the UFC 240 co-main event to Holloway and Edgar’s headlining clash. The bout with Spencer is the final fight on Cyborg’s current UFC contract.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/cris-cyborg-vs-felicia-spencer-nearly-final-for-ufc-240-per-dana-white