Rafael dos Anjos versus Leon Edwards is set as the headliner for UFC on ESPN 4 on July 20 in San Antonio, Texas.

After a lot of searching, false starts, and misfires, UFC officials finally nailed down a headliner for its July event on ESPN’s flagship network. 

A bout between current UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and Liz Carmouche had been considered for the UFC San Antonio main event, as well as the idea of moving the UFC 239 light heavyweight bout between Luke Rockhold and Jan Blachowicz, but neither materialized. 

The Shevchenko vs. Carmouche bout never came together and Rockhold was already booked to shoot a Polo Ralph Lauren commercial on July 20, so officials shifted gears to dos Anjos vs. Edwards. UFC president Dana White revealed to Yahoo! Sports on Thursday that the dos Anjos vs. Edwards bout was set to headline the San Antonio fight card. 

Having defeated Kevin Lee in his most recent bout, former lightweight champion dos Anjos (29-11) is looking to build some momentum and get back in the hunt for the UFC welterweight championship.

Following wins over former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine, Neil Magny, and former UFC champion Robbie Lawler, dos Anjos had been rocketing toward the title, but misfired in his shot at the interim UFC welterweight championship. After losing a five-round unanimous decision to Colby Covington for the interim belt, he then lost a decision to now-champion Kamaru Usman.

The victory over Lee was a huge step toward redemption for dos Anjos, but he’ll need to fend off the red-hot Edwards in order to keep his hopes of getting a crack at Usman alive.

Edwards’ (17-3) most recent loss was also to Usman, although that took place nearly four years ago. He has since been rocketing toward the belt on the heels of a seven-fight winning streak. 

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Edwards’ last two fight in particular have put him in prime position to earn a shot at the belt. His last two victories came at the expense of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, who has returned to the lightweight division, and Gunnar Nelson, considered one of the toughest technical fighters in the division. Defeating a former champion in dos Anjos would certainly make for a strong case to earn a title shot.

UFC on ESPN 4, aside from the dos Anjos vs. Edwards headliner, is also expected to feature several pivotal heavyweight bouts, including Aleksei Oleinik vs. Walt Harris, Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell, and Greg Hardy vs. Juan Adams.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/rafael-dos-anjos-vs-leon-edwards-set-as-ufc-san-antonio-headliner

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/bellator-222-weigh-in-results-and-video-rory-macdonald-set-for-next-title-defense

For his first fight of 2019, featherweight Juan Archuleta found himself with more difficult opposition than that for which he had planned when face Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 214 this past January. But he was able to overcome that and pick up a unanimous-decision win.

Looking back on the fight, Archuleta feels an early injury altered his game plan and limited what he could do in ways, but still he was able to find a way to come out with a victory.

“I kind of blew out my knee a little bit in the first round and having to switch my game plan from staying on him and being explosive to switching it up and coming up with different strategies to win the fight,” Archuleta told MMAWeekly.com. “I thought I did what I needed to do to win the fight.

“I wish I would have gotten the finish, but Ricky was a lot tougher than we had scouted him for. Props to him for bringing it that night. It was a fun and exciting fight.”

Currently, Archuleta finds himself on a 17-fight winning streak. He feels like the team he’s assembled around him is very much responsible for continuing his evolution as a fighter and keeping him on the winning path.

“When I look at myself today and comparing it to my first fight (I‘ve grown) leaps and bounds,” said Archuleta. “The team that I’ve created and the training partners I have had have had a huge impact on my style of fighting.

“I take little bits and pieces of everyone I train with and the coaches that I work with. Being able to implement it and go into my fights what I’m practicing, I’m leaps and bounds from where I’ve been even from 2018 to now.”

On Friday in New York City, Archuleta (22-1) looks to keep his winning streak going when he faces former bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas (21-6) in a 145-pound main card bout at Bellator 222.

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“I’ve never really faced anyone like Eduardo,” Archuleta said. “He brings a lot to the table; just the type of fighter he is, his athleticism, his Jiu-Jitsu, his unpredictable striking ability. It brings a different dynamic into this fight. Everything about him is world class.

“I’ve got to keep the pressure on him. I know he’s fought pressure fighters before and has lost and won against them. I don’t bring anything new to the table from his standpoint, but I am bringing something new from me in that it’s going to bring out the best of me, and I’m excited to go out and showcase it.”

For Archuleta, finding his future in either the bantamweight or featherweight division will depend on what direction Bellator takes him. With a proposed 145-pound grand prix on the horizon, Archuleta could find himself lined up with the top of the weight class in the very near future.

“For me, I’m going to take it fight by fight,” said Archuleta. “From the promotion’s standpoint, they’ve got to play (upcoming match-ups like Darrion Caldwell versus Kyoji Horiguchi) out to see what’s going to happen.

“Do they give me an invitation to the tournament? Do they give me the match-up with Caldwell? Do they take me out to RIZIN for the Bellator versus RIZIN battle at the end of the year? There’s a lot of fun stuff coming up, and I’m willing to do whatever that’s going to add to my credibility as a martial artist.”

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/juan-archuleta-looking-to-showcase-his-best-against-eduardo-dantas-at-bellator-222

The UFC 229 headliner between lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov and former dual-division titleholder Conor McGregor has gone down in the annals of history for several reasons.

There were the 2.4 million pay-per-view buys. The most in UFC and mixed martial arts history. 20,034 fans in attendance at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, producing a live gate of $17.2 million. Both were records in Nevada for mixed martial arts and second on both counts in the entire Untied States. Only UFC 205, which also featured McGregor, at Madison Square Garden did a higher attendance and gate. 

That’s several million reasons why there should be a rematch. Plus, McGregor, who seems to will things into existence, wants it.

Nurmagomedov, however, is the man with the gold belt, and he’s not all that interested in giving McGregor a rematch any time soon. His reasoning is simple: McGregor hasn’t earned it. 

In this day and age, when money wields more gusto than most sporting arguments, Nurmagomedov isn’t planning to step immediately back in the Octagon with the brash Irishman just because the dollar signs would flash at a fever pitch… which they would. 

Right now, Nurmagomedov is focused on legacy, which was made a little bit easier to do by the fact that his manager just negotiated a new contract that he says makes Nurmagomedov the highest paid fighter on the roster. 

For Nurmagomedov, McGregor’s resume doesn’t hold championship water.

“Last three years, (McGregor) have only one victory in amateur boxing. How he deserve rematch? Like, he tap. He beg me, ‘please don’t kill me.’ And now, he talk about rematch with Tony Ferguson on the line?” said Nurmagomedov at Wednesday’s UFC 242 press conference in London.

“People who have win streak on the line, but [shakes head] not the guy who don’t win nothing like the last three years. I have a lot of work without him. And right now I’m focused on September 7.”

September 7 is the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi, where Nurmagomedov is the featured artist. The last time the UFC was in Abu Dhabi was for a Fight Night in 2014 and then UFC 112 four years prior to that.

The promotion’s re-emergence in the United Arab Emirates country is part of a five-year deal, where the UFC will hold a championship event at least once per year. With Islam being the state religion in United Arab Emirates and Nurmagomedov being the UFC’s first Muslim champion, Abu Dhabi desperately wanted him to feature on the UFC 242 fight card.

The UFC did everything in its power to make it happen. Now Nurmagomedov will attempt to unify his belt with that of interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier, who held down the fort while Nurmagomedov served out a nine-month suspension.

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That is another reason for a McGregor rematch. Nurmagomedov and McGregor’s camps have been going at each other for years, and it all boiled over at UFC 229. After Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor via fourth-round submission, he climbed over the Octagon fence to brawl with McGregor cornerman Dillon Danis. That was where the nine-month suspension stemmed from. McGregor served a six-month suspension for his actions during the UFC 229 post-fight brawl.

That is still not enough for Nurmagomedov. There is bad blood remaining from their outside-the-cage rivalry, but for now, Nurmagomedov is not focused on the fight that satisfies his anger, he is focused on the fights that secure his legacy.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/khabib-shuts-down-conor-mcgregor-rematch-not-the-guy-who-dont-win-nothing-last-3-years

(Courtesy of UFC)

Chuck Liddell connected, with knockout punches and with fans around the world, like no UFC fighter before him, and became the UFC’s first true crossover superstar.

Take a look back at “the Iceman,” who finished his career as an instant UFC Hall of Famer and the record for most knockouts in UFC light heavyweight history. Liddell’s rivalries included Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture, and he was the fight chosen by UFC president Dana White to represent the company in Pride FC’s grand prix.

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UFC 25 Years in Short is a 25-part documentary series celebrating the UFC silver anniversary. This compilation of short films presents 25 captivating UFC stories, one for each year of existence, and every piece stands alone as an independent feature. Viewed as a whole, these films form a larger, mosaic narrative of the UFC’s amazing evolution, fascinating characters and lasting influence.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/take-a-look-back-at-chuck-liddells-legendary-career-the-ufcs-first-superstar