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.

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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

(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.

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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

(Courtesy of UFC)

Matt Hughes won his first UFC welterweight championship in one of the most controversial title fight finishes in UFC history. Hughes took the belt from Carlos Newton in a bout filled with slams and takedowns, but it was a finish shrouded in the cloud of controversy that signaled UFC gold changing hands.

Hughes took Newton to the canvas several times in the UFC 34 co-main event bout on Nov. 2, 2001, in Las Vegas. As the second round got underway, Hughes again put Newton on his back, but this time, Newton threw his legs up around Hughes’ neck, attempting a triangle choke.

Not one to give in, Hughes used his tremendous strength to lift Newton up off the canvas and carried him over to the Octagon fencing. Hughes stood there for a few moments, Newton with his back to the fence and Hughes holding him up in the air. 

A short time later, the two went crashing to the canvas. It was immediately clear that Newton was out cold, unconscious on the Octagon floor. Looking at the replay, however, Hughes also appeared bleary eyed and unaware.

When the dust settled, it was ruled that Hughes had won the bout via knockout, as it took some time for Newton to wake up from the slam. Did Hughes pass out from the triangle choke, thus dropping Newton to the canvas because he was already out? Or did Hughes get dazed as he slammed Newton down to claim the UFC welterweight title? 

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Regardless of how the situation unfolded, Hughes was the fighter to walk out of the Octagon with gold around his waist, avenging coach and teammate Pat Miletich’s loss to Newton at UFC 31. Much of the controversy was erased when Hughes finished Newton in a flurry of ground and pound in their rematch at UFC 38 on July 13, 2002, in London.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/matt-hughes-vs-carlos-newton-ufc-34-full-fight-video

(Courtesy of UFC)

The UFC celebrated its 25-year anniversary with a series of poignant short documentaries, collectively titled 25 Years in Short. Perhaps none of the movies were more cutting and moving than the story of UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes and his struggle to survive a horrific accident.

Hughes was involved in a tragic accident in June of 2017 when the pickup he was driving was hit by a train. Though he teetered on the edge of death, Hughes somehow won the biggest fight of his life, and has slowly been working on his recovery.

“Country Boy Can Survive: The Story of Matt Hughes’ Fight for Survival” is the raw, emotional recounting of the struggle of Hughes and his family from the time that Hughes was still fighting until the accident and then his recovery. 

Hughes has appeared at a few UFC events and functions since the accident and the filming of the documentary. He still struggles to move and talk as he did prior to the accident, but it has still been a miraculous comeback from the brink of death, merely to survive. It very much mirrored many of the more memorable fights in his career, particularly his momentum shifts against Carlos Newton and Frank Trigg. 

The documentary is a good reflection of Hughes’ deep-seeded ability to never quit. He constantly had to fight throughout his career, as he did after the accident. It took his ability to never quit to help him survive the true life-and-death struggle of the accident.

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Unfortunately, Hughes’ story doesn’t yet have the fairy-tail ending that was hoped for in the documentary. Less than two years after the accident, Hughes’ relationship with his wife devolved and he eventually filed for divorce in February of 2019.

Hughes finished his career with an overall MMA record of 45-9 and still has many UFC records to his credit. He has twice been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, once into the Pioneer Wing and a second time for his epic second fight with Frank Trigg at UFC 52.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/country-boy-can-survive-the-story-of-matt-hughes-fight-for-survival-video

Though details on UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber’s return to the Octagon are still scarce, Faber did confirm over the weekend that he is returning and has added the name of his comeback opponent. Faber told UFC veteran and commentator Dan Hardy that he would be facing Ricky Simon in his comeback fight.

Faber posted on social media mid-March, teasing that he was interested in a UFC return bout to help keep him feeling young. The post sounded somewhat serious, but it was unclear if he truly intended to return to fighting following a two-and-a-half-year retirement that included induction into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Turns out, Faber was serious and has already inked a deal for his UFC return bout. “I just accepted a fight yesterday, I don’t know if that’s supposed to be put out yet,” Faber told Hardy over the weekend, while in England for a grappling bout with Nicky Ryan, which he lost.

Faber hasn’t confirmed the date or location – although it is highly likely that he’ll return at UFC on ESPN+ 13 on July 13 in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif. – and was initially hesitant to unveil his opponent in an initial video interview with Hardy. In a subsequent video posted by Hardy, Faber revealed that he would be facing Simon and detailed his initial thoughts for a return opponent and how that led to Simon.

“I was gonna fight Kron (Gracie) and Kron said no, as the main event at 145. Then I was pitching Cub (Swanson). (Matchmaker Sean Shelby) said no because (Swanson) is on a four-fight losing streak and didn’t do anything for the division,” Faber recounted.

“Then they said Ricky Simon wants it. So I said alright. There’s so many guys out in the division. I took some time off, started a family, which is one of the reasons why I stopped. I felt like I needed to slow down in order to progress.”

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Though Simon isn’t one of the men battling for a title shot just yet, he has been impressive in his three UFC starts in the bantamweight division. He holds victories over the likes of Merab Dvalishvili, Montel Jackson, and Rani Yahya. A win over the likes of Faber would certainly make his case for inclusion in the UFC bantamweight rankings. 

With Faber having been out of mixed martial arts competition for two and a half years, Simon should prove to be a good barometer for him to determine where his skill level is at and whether or not he wants to commit to making another run at a UFC championship.

Urijah Faber reveals UFC comeback opponent to Dan Hardy

(Courtesy of Full Reptile)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/urijah-faber-unveils-ufc-comeback-opponent