Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has been forced out of his UFC on ESPN 3 rematch with fellow former champ Robbie Lawler. The two were set to headline the June 29 event in Minneapolis.

Woodley suffered a hand injury that forced him to withdraw from the bout. MMAWeekly.com’s Damon Martin confirmed the injury with sources close to the fight following an initial report by ESPN.

The UFC is reportedly attempting to find a replacement to keep Lawler on the UFC Minneapolis fight card. 

Woodley (19-4-1) held the UFC welterweight championship for more than two years, defending it four times. 

He was sidelined for the last part of 2018 and early 2019 following surgery to repair the dislocation of his thumb on his right hand. It is not clear if that injury had any relation to his current hand injury.

Woodley, 37, returned to the Octagon at UFC 235 on March 2, but lost the welterweight belt to Kamaru Usman via unanimous decision in the night’s co-main event.

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The fight with Lawler was to be a rematch stemming from their first match-up at UFC 201 in July of 2016. Woodley knocked Lawler out in the first round to become the UFC welterweight champion.

Following Woodley’s withdrawal from UFC on ESPN 3, several other fighters immediately posted on social media calling for the fight. Top fighters such as Darren Till, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Elizeu Capoeira all called for the fight with Lawler.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/injury-knocks-tyron-woodley-out-of-robbie-lawler-rematch-at-ufc-minneapolis

ONE: Enter the Dragon produced some of the craziest upsets in the promotion’s history. Numerous fighters defied the odds to win matches everyone expected them to lose, including Christian Lee, who stopped Shinya Aoki on Friday to win the ONE Championship lightweight title.

Lee was making his lightweight debut against the most dominant fighter in the division and the first round was all Aoki. He secured a body lock, got the fight down and then transitioned from half guard to mount before the 20-year-old popped back up.

It proved to be no more than a temporary respite for Lee, who was taken down again almost instantaneously, and this time Aoki went to work with elbows from mount. The challenger looked to bridge out, but found himself fending off an armbar attempt at the end of an extremely lop-sided round.

At the start of the second stanza, Aoki was able to grab another body lock, but this time Lee brushed off his submission attempt. It proved to be the turning point of the fight, as Aoki elected to strike with the younger man, who connected with a right hand followed by a left hook.

Both blows found their mark and sent Aoki stumbling toward the corner. Lee immediately swarmed all over him, but referee Olivier Coste could see that the champion was not going to recover and stepped in to save him from further punishment.

The finish came at the 0:51 mark and means Lee, not Aoki, will face the winner of the ongoing Lightweight Grand Prix. His record improves to 12-3, while the two-time champion drops to 43-9-0-1.

Christian Lee STOPS Shinya Aoki in the second round to win the ONE Lightweight World Title! ? @ChristianLeeMMA #WeAreONE #EnterTheDragon #Singapore #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/4owXYgaSGh

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 17, 2019

On a night of massive upsets, the headline news was arguably Sage Northcutt (11-3) getting knocked out 29 seconds into his ONE Championship debut. The American was under the impression he could stand and strike with Muay Thai veteran Cosmo Alexandre (8-1).

The Brazilian soon set him straight on that point. The contest had barely got going when a right hand from Alexandre connected clean with the chin of the former UFC poster boy, who face planted into the ONE Championship canvas.

JUST. LIKE. THAT! Cosmo Alexandre knocks out Sage Northcutt 29 seconds into the first round ? @CosmoAlexandre #WeAreONE #EnterTheDragon #Singapore #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/Nh32Z1LNjU

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 17, 2019

The first semifinal of the ONE Lightweight Grand Prix was one bout which failed to produce an upset. Local boy Amir Khan (11-6) was stopped by Saygid Arslanaliev (8-1) early in the opening round as the Dagestani booked his spot in the final which will take place in Tokyo this October. 

“Dagi” Arslanaliev PUNCHES his ticket to the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix finals by knocking out Amir Khan in Round 1! #WeAreONE #EnterTheDragon #Singapore #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/To2Ec2KeOz

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 17, 2019

TRENDING Injury knocks Tyron Woodley out of Robbie Lawler rematch at UFC Minneapolis

ONE: Enter the Dragon (Singapore, May 17, 2019)

• Christian Lee def. Shinya Aoki via TKO (Punches) at 0:51 of R2 (Wins Lightweight Title)
• Regian Eersel def. Nieky Holzken ‏via Decision (Unanimous) (Wins Lightweight Kickboxing Title)
• Petchmorrakot Petchyindee def. Giorgio Petrosyan via Decision (Split) (Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix Quarter Final)
• Samy Sana def. Yodsaenklai Fairtex via Decision (Unanimous) (Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix Quarter Final)
• Cosmo Alexandre def. Sage Northcutt via KO (Punch) at 0:29 of R1
• Saygid Arslanaliev def. Amir Khan  (Lightweight Grand Prix Semi Final)
• Geje Eustaquio def. Kim Kyu Sung via Decision (Unanimous)
• Miao Li Tao def. Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke via KO (Punch) at 4:00 of R1 
• Jo Nattawut def. Sasha Moisa via TKO (Punches) at 1:25 of R3  (Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix Quarter Final)
• Yoshitaka Naito def. Alex Silva via Decision (Unanimous)
• Garry Tonon def. Yoshiki Nakahara via Submission (Heel Hook) at 0:54 of R1
• Dzhabar Askerov def. Enriko Kehl (Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix Quarter Final)
• Mei Yamaguchi def. Laura Balin via Submission (Armbar) at 3:45 of R1
• Iuri Lapicus def. Shannon Wiratchai via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:20 of R3 
• Daniel Dawson def. Brown Pinas via Decision (Split) at 3:00 of R3 (Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix Alternate Bout)
• Rahul Raju def. Richard Corminal via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:43 of R1

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/christian-lee-takes-out-shinya-aoki-sage-northcutt-kod-on-night-of-crazy-upsets-at-one-enter-the-dragon

(Courtesy of UFC)

Though Rafael Dos Anjos and Kevin Lee have been fairly respectful to each other in the lead-up to their UFC on ESPN+ 10 headlining bout in Rochester, New York, tensions were running a bit high at Friday’s weigh-in.

The two immediately got in each other’s faces as they met for a staredown in front of photographers, though order was quickly restored by UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby. 

TRENDING Rafael dos Anjos explains why he’s not fighting Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC Rochester

Tune in to MMAWeekly.com on Saturday, May 18, for full UFC on ESPN+ 10: Dos Anjos vs. Lee live results, as Rafael Dos Anjos and Kevin Lee headline the card in Rochester, New York.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/rafael-dos-anjos-and-kevin-lee-get-a-little-antsy-during-ufc-rochester-face-offs-video

Alexander Volkanovski’s health is improving, but he remains hospitalized in Santiago, Chile, after being sidelined during his flight home from UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.

Volkanovski scored the biggest victory of his career at UFC 237, but had his call for a title shot derailed while traveling home to Australia after being hospitalized in Chile because of a blood infection.

Volkanovski defeated featherweight great Jose Aldo in Rio. Though he emerged unscathed from his time in the Octagon, Volkanovski complained of “sore feet, redness of his left foot and feeling sick as he was leaving his hotel in Rio de Janeiro on Monday,” according to an ESPN report citing his manager, Rhys Dal Cin.

Volkanovski developed a fever and the swelling of his foot had increased by the time they stopped for a layover in Santiago. At that point, they went to see a doctor at the airport, who advised them to take Volkanovski to the hospital, where he was admitted and is being treated with antibiotics and awaits blood test results.

In his latest update on Wednesday, Cin sounded optimistic with Volkanovski’s progress, though he remained hospitalized.

“Alexander’s condition is stable, he is responding well to the treatment,” said Cin.

“As a precaution, he will remain under supervision at the hospital and will be re-assessed in 48 hours to ensure the infection is completely under control before given any clearance to travel home.”

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Volkanovski called for a shot at UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway following the victory over Aldo, but that was derailed after he had to be admitted to the hospital in Santiago.

Holloway instead will put his belt on the line opposite Frankie Edgar in the UFC 240 main event on July 27 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, while Volkanovski recovers.

@alexvolkanovski condition is stable, he is responding well to the treatment.

As a precaution, he will remain under supervision at the hospital and will be re-assessed in 48hrs to ensure the infection is completely under control before given any clearance to travel home. pic.twitter.com/CZTJqkpQJ2

— Rhys Dal Cin (@rhysdalcin) May 16, 2019

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/alexander-volkanovski-improving-but-remains-in-hospital-in-chile

Former champion Rafael dos Anjos has never backed down from a fight so he didn’t blink when the UFC came calling with former lightweight title contender Kevin Lee as his next opponent in the main event of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night card from Rochester, New York.

That said, dos Anjos revealed in the lead up to this weekend’s card that he tried to land several different fights before the UFC finally came back to him with Lee as his opposition.

According to dos Anjos, the UFC first mentioned a possible fight against Nick Diaz and then he asked for a fight against Jorge Masvidal, but he was already getting booked against a different opponent.

He then tried to pursue a showdown with top 10 ranked welterweight Santiago Ponzinibbio, who is coming off seven straight wins in the division.

As much as he wanted that fight, dos Anjos claims that the UFC didn’t want to give Ponzinibbio a higher ranked opponent after he turned down a chance to face Darren Till in England.

“I asked Sean Shelby for [Santiago Ponzinibbio], I wanted that fight,” dos Anjos said ahead of his upcoming fight in New York. “Here’s the thing because he refused a fight with Darren Till in London and Darren Till was ranked No. 3 at the time and I was ranked No. 5 at the time. They gave Ponzinibbio a higher ranked guy and he refused and now he wants to fight the top five guys but he told the UFC he would fight anybody.

“Now he’s desperate. He wants to fight me so bad and I want to fight him, too, but the UFC doesn’t want to make that happen because refused the fight with Till. In retaliation, the UFC doesn’t want to give him anybody ranked higher than him. That’s the truth. I asked for that fight as well but it didn’t happen.”

Dos Anjos is currently ranked No. 3 at welterweight according to the UFC while Ponzinibbio sits back at the No. 9 position with his last coming in November 2018.

If he’s able to get past Lee on Saturday night, Dos Anjos hopes to move forward with his career rather than backwards by getting opponents that would make the most sense for him.

“Of course, I want to get back in the mix. We have a handful of options of fights that make sense,” dos Anjos explained.  

“Anthony Pettis wants a match with me. He knocked out Stephen Thompson and called me out. That would be a fight. Even something happens between [Jorge] Masvidal and [Ben] Askren, maybe I can jump in or get the winner. I will be ready for any opportunity.”

Ultimately, dos Anjos wants to get back into the hunt for the title but he understands that’s going to take some time after falling to both current champion Kamaru Usman and former interim champion Colby Covington in consecutive fights.

Still, the veteran Brazilian knows that he can get back into that race given enough time and the kind of opponents that will push him back into title contention.

“Of course I want to be a champion one day,” dos Anjos said. “I want to have a crack at the title. I know I have the skills to get there. It’s all a matter of opportunity. When the opportunity comes up, I will take it.”

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/rafael-dos-anjos-explains-why-hes-not-fighting-santiago-ponzinibbio-at-ufc-rochester