UFC on ESPN+ 11: Gustafsson vs. Smith
Date: June 1, 2019
Venue: Ericsson Globe
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Fight Card
Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-fight-night-on-espn-11-gustafsson-vs-smith
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Paige Van Zant in the latest Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, Jordan Burroughs whoops Ben Askren, Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson in trouble with the law, UFC 237 this weekend and more to be discussed on The Low Down. Call in and discuss.
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TRENDING Sports Illustrated unveils Paige VanZant Swimsuit Issue photo gallery
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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/low-down-podcast-paige-van-zant-rocks-the-bikini-jordan-burroughs-mops-askren-ufc-veteran-arrested
After closing out his 2018 campaign with an unblemished record, bantamweight up and comer Hunter Azure was looking to keep his winning streak going when he faced Jaime Hernandez at LFA 59 in February.
In a bout that lasted just over two minutes, Azure was able to use an aggressiveness he had not shown in his previous fight versus A.J. Robb three months earlier to pick up a TKO win over Hernandez.
“I feel like I did pretty good,” Azure told MMAWeekly.com. “I had to go out there and be composed and stay relaxed. Just make sure my cardio and stuff was still there. It was a good win for me.
“It felt good to get back to finishing ways. I was a little too hesitant and stuff against A.J., and I held back a lot. I was trying to get back in there and let things fly a little more. I felt a little wild, but it felt good to let those things fly and get a finish.”
Training at the MMA Lab in Arizona, Azure feels like a far superior fighter to the one he was when he turned pro in August, 2017.
“It’s a big difference from two years ago,” said Azure. “Especially the Lab has changed me as a fighter and a person.
“I don’t feel like I was exactly ready for my first pro fight. Mentally, physically, and at a different weight class now, I just feel like a whole new, well-rounded, fighter.”
On Friday in West Valley City, Utah, Azure (5-0) will seek to remain undefeated when he faces Lynn Schulz (6-4) in a main card 135-pound bout at LFA 66.
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“The guy has a little experience with 10 fights and hasn’t been finished before,” Azure said of Schulz. “I have to take it like I do each fight: I’ve got to go in there and fight my fight, drag him into my pace, and stay in control.
“I’m definitely going to go out there and get another finish and get those rolling. I think it will look good with him not having been finished before.”
Though Azure is the type of fighter to take things as they come, he does acknowledge that he’s like an opportunity to move up to the next level of his career before 2019 is over.
“I take it fight by fight,” said Azure. “I let my coaches and manager decide what the next step is going to be for me. I like a hard road. It helps motivate me; helps get me in the gym pushing myself every day. I don’t want it easy, that’s for sure.
“I want to get into the UFC, so whatever fights I have to take and whatever I have to do to get in there I’m willing to do it.”
Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/hunter-azure-definitely-going-to-finish-lynn-schulz-at-lfa-66
Jared Cannonier has never looked past any opponent and he’s certainly not going to start now as he prepares to face arguably the greatest UFC champion in history.
This weekend, Cannonier takes on Anderson Silva on the main card at UFC 237 from Brazil in a crucial fight for each of their careers.
For Silva, this is another opportunity to compete at home in front of a home audience while still proving that he belongs amongst the elite fighters at 185 pounds following his recent loss to Israel Adesanya.
Meanwhile, Cannonier is making his second appearance at 185 pounds after earning a devastating knockout in his debut against David Branch last November. As big as that win was for him as an introduction to the middleweight division, Cannonier knows beating a legend like Silva on his home turf would be a game changer for his career.
“That would be a golden feather in my cap,” Cannonier said when speaking to MMAWeekly. “Not only will it just be good for my resume, it will be good for my career. It will open up so many doors. Open up double doors for me.
“It will put me in a position where I want to be in. Where I can make a boat load of money.”
According to the odds makers, Cannonier is a slight favorite going into the fight with a lot of naysayers believing that Silva is too far past his prime to beat the best fighters at 185 pounds any longer.
At 44 years old with a 1-5 record with one no contest over his past seven fights, Silva’s resume reflects that he’s obviously not the same guy who ran roughshod over the UFC middleweight division for several years.
That said, Cannonier refuses to look at Silva as a horse just waiting to be put out to pasture because that attitude could easily end with him staring up at the lights and the Brazilian crowd coming unglued at UFC 237.
“I expect the best Anderson Silva that anybody has ever seen,” Cannonier said. “A lot of people say he’s older, he’s had the injuries and all that stuff but we can’t get around the fact that he has been training and fighting at the highest level this whole time. When you’re in that position you can’t stay the same. He’s still here. He’s still very relevant.
“He’s not top five but rankings don’t matter. Rankings are how somebody else feels about you. How he feels about himself and how I feel about him, he’s really dangerous. He’s even more dangerous than before.”
At some point age catches up to everybody and Silva is definitely no different but Cannonier doesn’t believe that has been the biggest factor in the former champion’s recent struggles.
Instead, Cannonier points to the sport finally catching up to Silva after he was ahead of the game in so many ways, which allowed him to dazzle crowds for nearly a decade as he put on a long string of jaw dropping performances.
“Here’s a perspective nobody really sees — when Anderson was at the top of his game, he was doing things that people had never really seen before,” Cannonier explains. “Nobody seen him clinch the way he clinched Rich Franklin and threw knees like that. Ain’t nobody seen anybody front kick Vitor [Belfort] the way he did before him.
“So what’s happened over this time, he hasn’t gotten worse, everybody around him has gotten better. This is a new generation of mixed martial artists coming.”
Silva may not be the same fighter he was while he was defending his middleweight title on 10 different occasions but that doesn’t mean he still can’t be lethal inside the Octagon.
That’s why Cannonier is preparing to face the best possible version of Silva and that’s who he wants to beat come Saturday night.
“He’s not worse off. He’s older and yes the body does begin to deteriorate over time and he probably can’t move the same because of his leg. As far as the fighter, as far as his mind, his heart and his will, it’s better than what it’s been,” Cannonier said.
“I’m expecting the best Anderson Silva. I’m expecting the best Anderson Silva anybody has ever seen.”
Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/jared-cannonier-i-expect-the-best-anderson-silva-that-anybody-has-ever-seen
Though 2018 was a very strong year for light-heavyweight Ty Flores with three wins in three fights, he feels the turning point of his recent success actually occurred the year before.
Following an injury that kept him out of action for eight months, Flores returned to fighting in May of 2018 eager to get back to work, and reeled off his three wins over the second half of the year.
“2018 was great, but to talk about 2018 I have to go back to 2017,” Flores told MMAWeekly.com. “In my previous fight (against Jordan Dowdy in September of 2017) my kneecap went to the side of my knee in the fight, so got surgery in November and then I wanted to get back in there as soon as possible.
“I fought (Jerrod Thomas) in May (of 2018), and the doctors though I was crazy for wanting to do that. Then the LFA wanted me to fight (Marco Hutch) a few weeks later. I fought again a few months later and got another win (over James Bochnovic). It was a really great 2018.”
While his return to fighting was successful, it become clear to Flores in his comeback, that middleweight was not the division for him anymore and that it was time to move up in weight.
“I’ve got to move to 205 pounds because making the cut to 185 pounds is just terrible,” said Flores. “I won my last fight (at 185 pounds) but I think it was real sloppy. I knew I was in shape, but in the first 30 seconds I was super gassed. I was walking around at 225 pounds and then cutting down to 185 pounds, and I can’t do that anymore.
“It could not be better. It’s one of those things where I feel great a couple weeks out because I’m not worried about checking my weight. I’m able to eat and enjoy training. I’m able to focus on training and not on my weight.”
At Shamrock FC 318 on Friday in St. Louis, Missouri, Flores (6-2) will look for a fifth win in a row when he faces late replacement Erick Murray (5-2) in a main card 205-pound bout.
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“It’s a little bit of an opponent change, but with that I feel if it goes to the ground for sure I feel like I get the win,” Flores said. “I don’t feel like (Murray) has anything on the ground for me. Even with the striking; I’ve been working night and day on improving my striking. On the feet I feel I have power and size.
“I feel comfortable wherever the fight goes. Also training at altitude, the longer the fight goes, the more it goes in my favor.”
Now that he’s found a weight class better suited for him, Flores is eager to have a busy year in 2018 and establish himself in a new division.
“The issue with me had been weight,” said Flores. “If I didn’t have at least one month to get down to 185 pounds I couldn’t get down there, so it was really tough for me. I can make 205 pounds much easier, so my ability to make short notice fights (is much improved). I’m ready to go.
“I’m not looking back Eric at all, but I want to get back in there as soon as possible. I want to have a very busy year.”
Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ty-flores-ready-to-go-at-light-heavyweight-heading-into-shamrock-fc-318
