Amanda Nunes Defeats Julianna Peña to Reclaim UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a case of sweet revenge for Amanda Nunes…

The 34-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist defeated Julianna Peña via a dominant unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-43) in the main event of UFC 277 on Saturday night at American Airlines Center.

Nunes had vowed to make changes in her game and get her belt back after shockingly losing it seven months ago to Peña.

With the victory, Nunes, the greatest women’s fighter in MMA history, reclaimed the UFC women’s bantamweight title she lost to Peña at UFC 269 in December.

“The lioness, if they don’t get the prey the first time, I set the trap and I know I’d get it the second time,” Nunes said in her postfight interview.

Nunes said this fight was all about “strategy” and that the key was her going southpaw. Then, when Peña got comfortable on the feet, Nunes said she started to go for the takedowns.

“The main thing was my southpaw,” Nunes said. “I know I was gonna catch her with that tonight. I knew she was not gonna be able to adjust to that. She’s not a striker. … She was so confused. I’m not very good yet with my southpaw. I told my coach, ‘I’m gonna see how I feel.’ I tried tonight, and I felt good.”

Nunes dropped Peña with a check right hook out of the southpaw stance several times in the early rounds. As the fight wore on, Nunes began using her wrestling to take Peña down over and over, then cut her up from top position with slicing elbows.

Peña had several bad cuts on her face after the fourth round. Nunes nearly had a rear-naked choke finish in the fifth, but Peña was incredibly tough and fought it off.

Nunes had moments where she might have been able to finish the fight but perhaps didn’t want to make the mistake she did in the first fight, where she got tired after trying to finish Peña in the first round.

“Julianna is tough as nails,” UFC president Dana White said. “Her will to win is second to none. She wanted to win. As dominant as Amanda was, and she was dominant tonight — I don’t think it was close in any way, shape or form; I thought it was a complete shutout — she still looked a little gun shy to me.

“She had Julianna hurt many times, had her on crazy legs many times and never really went in for the kill.”

After the first fight, Nunes left her longtime gym, American Top Team, and moved into a private facility she has dubbed Lioness Studio. She trained under coach Roger Krahl, who was in her corner for some of her biggest fights, like the knockout of Ronda Rousey.

“The best thing I did was make my gym,” Nunes said. “In my gym, I feel like I’m safe. I feel like I can grow and evolve.”

In the second round, Nunes knocked Peña down three times, setting the record for most knockdowns in a round ever among women in the UFC, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Overall, Nunes outlanded Peña 85-60 in significant strikes and took Peña down six times in eight attempts.

Nunes’ 15 UFC wins is the most among women in UFC history. This was her 10th title fight win, the most among women in UFC history and fifth best overall. Nunes is the first woman in the UFC to regain the bantamweight title after losing it.

Saturday’s fight was the 13th immediate rematch ever in the UFC after one fighter took the belt from another. Saturday marked just the third time in those instances that a fighter reclaimed the title. Randy Couture did it against Vitor Belfort in 2004 and Deiveson Figueiredo did it this past January over Brandon Moreno.

Judges Douglas Crosby and Sal D’Amato each scored the second round 10-8 for Nunes, while Crosby also scored the fifth 10-8 for Nunes. The other judge, Jacob Montalvo, did not score a 10-8 in any round.

Coming in, ESPN had Nunes ranked No. 2 and Peña ranked No. 4 on its pound-for-pound women’s MMA list. At bantamweight, Peña was No. 1 and Nunes was No. 2.

Nunes (22-5) was on a 12-fight winning streak before losing to Peña, with wins during that stretch over the likes of Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Miesha Tate and Holly Holm. The Brazilian slugger, who trains out of South Florida, is also the UFC women’s featherweight champion.

Nunes, 34, is the first UFC fighter to defend two titles in separate weight classes concurrently — and has seven title.

Jorge Masvidal to Fight Colby Covington in Headlining Welterweight Bout in March

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jorge Masvidal is returning to the Octagon in March…

The 37-year-old Cuban and Peruvian American professional mixed martial artist will headline UFC 272, in a welterweight grudge match against Colby Covington, on March 5, UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell has announced.

While contracts haven’t been signed yet for the 170-pound scrap, the bout is nearly finalized, per Campbell.

The UFC 272 pay-per-view will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The match will be a five-round, nontitle bout.

“He better f—ing show up,” Covington said in a text message to ESPN Tuesday.

The UFC originally targeted featherweight and bantamweight title fights for the event, however those bouts are no longer on the March 5 date. Part of that was due to an injury to featherweight challenger Max Holloway.

Masvidal (35-15) is one of the UFC’s most popular figures. He hasn’t fought since he suffered a knockout loss to Kamaru Usman in a welterweight championship fight at UFC 261 last April.

Masvidal’s past two fights have been against Usman. He also lost to the champ via unanimous decision in July 2020.

Covington (16-3) is also coming off a failed title bid against Usman in his last fight. The 33-year-old also has lost twice to Usman, both via decision. His most recent win came against Tyron Woodley in September.

Masvidal and Covington trained together at American Top Team in South Florida, and even lived together for a period of time. The two had a falling out in 2018, and Covington left ATT in 2020.

Both welterweights still fight out of the Miami area.

Thiago Santos Outlasts Johnny Walker to Win by Unanimous Decision at UFC Fight Night

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Thiago Santos is celebrating another victory…

The 37-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist edged Johnny Walker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.

The fight featured two of the most explosive knockout artists in the UFC light heavyweight division, but it never got out of first gear.

A big overhand left from Santos in the fifth round likely sealed the victory in the close contest.

Santos to win by decision was +650, according to the Caesars Sportsbook. Neither man landed more than 11 significant strikes in a single round.

“I tried to do my best,” Santos said in his post-fight news conference. “I tried to knock him out, but it’s hard to get close to him. He’s big, but he moves fast.”

ESPN has Santos ranked No. 10 in the world at light heavyweight and Walker was trying to ascend the ladder. Both men were born in Brazil, but live and train elsewhere.

Santos competes out of Florida’s American Top Team and Walker trains at Dublin’s SBG Ireland, the home gym of Conor McGregor.

Santos said in his post-fight interview on ESPN+ that he next would like to face top Czech Republic light heavyweight Jiri Prochazka.

Walker held a 4-inch height and 6-inch reach advantage, so it made it hard for the smaller Santos to get inside where he’s so effective with his hard hooks. But Walker also wasn’t very active offensively. The best techniques of the fight were Santos’ kicks to the legs and body of Walker.

Walker had a solid first round with leg kicks, keeping Santos at bay. Santos landed some hard kicks to the body and legs of Walker in the second round. In the third, Santos had his best head shot to that point, a left that wobbled Walker off a Walker kick. Walker got back some momentum in the fourth round with some kicks and a right hand, his best punch of the night.

Santos, though, cemented the win in the fifth. He landed two hard left hands and big body kick. Walker didn’t show much urgency down the stretch and the bout went to a decision.

Santos (22-9) came in tied for the second most KO/TKOs in UFC history with 11. “Marreta” snapped a three-fight losing streak with the victory. One of those losses came against then-champion Jon Jones in a 2019 UFC light heavyweight title fight in which Santos blew out both of his knees. Santos earned his first win Saturday since that surgery. He was coming off a unanimous decision loss to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 259 in March.

“I come from a tough injury on my knees,” he said in his postfight interview. “It’s so tough to recover. … I was sure this fight I was going to do 100% better than my last fights. And I did. I’m going up, not down.”

Walker (18-6) was coming off a huge first-round knockout over Ryan Spann in September 2020. This was only the third time he’s been to a decision in his pro career. He has won all four of his UFC bouts via finish. Walker, 29, was considered an outstanding prospect before back-to-back losses to Corey Anderson and Nikita Krylov in 2019 and 2020. Now, he has lost three of his past four.

Jorge Masvidal Signs Multi-Fight Contract with the UFC

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Jorge Masvidal has a new deal…

The 35-year-old Cuban and Peruvian American mixed martial artist has signed a new multi-fight contract with the UFC ahead of his bout against Kamaru Usman at UFC 251.

Masvidal tells ESPN the UFC didn’t give him every single thing he asked for but that the deal came “very, very close” to that and he’s “happy” with it.

Masvidal had been one of the most vocal UFC stars in years on the topic of fighter pay. Last month, the welterweight star tweeted that if the UFC didn’t think he was worth it, the promotion should release him.

Those tweets were made as the negotiations between the UFC and Masvidal for a welterweight title fight against Usman fell apart.

On Sunday — just six days before the fight — the two sides finally came to an agreement.

Usman will defend his welterweight belt against Masvidal in the main event of UFC 251 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

Usman’s previous opponent, Gilbert Burns, withdrew Friday because of illness. Masvidal is stepping in on six days’ notice, though he was the challenger the UFC tabbed in the first place before contract talks stalled out.

“I’m happy more than anything because I get to break this guy’s face and get paid for it,” Masvidal said.

Masvidal said the UFC’s first offer last month for him to fight Usman was a “s— deal on the pay-per-view end and on the guaranteed side.”

“I can understand you don’t want to give me that much on the guaranteed,” Masvidal said. “But on the pay-per-view, what I bring in, what people purchase, I want more money on that, and they weren’t budging. And that was that. So, all this craziness had to happen for them to come to their senses.”

Masvidal said he won’t stop speaking up about what he perceives as an issue with how much fighters get paid. But he said things have gotten closer to an understanding between him personally and the UFC.

“We’re not there yet, but we’re headed in that direction,” Masvidal said. “Moving forward after this fight, they’re gonna treat me accordingly. Or I’ll just step in last minute six days to go and get paid then, I guess. That’s the new scheme I have to do, whatever. But I’m gonna get paid every time out.”

Masvidal flew to Las Vegas on Sunday and passed a COVID-19 test. He was quarantining in his hotel room Sunday night and will be taking a private jet to Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Usman is expected to leave Las Vegas on Monday as well.

Regarding training and being ready to fight, Masvidal said he wasn’t in a full training camp because he didn’t know he’d be competing in a fight until this weekend. But “Gamebred” said he had been at his American Top Team gym two or three times a week and lifting and staying active. Masvidal said he weighed 192 pounds on Saturday. He’ll have to weigh 170 pounds at maximum this coming Friday for the title fight to be official.

“I never stopped training,” Masvidal said. “I’m always training. But I’m not always in the gym doing the specifics.” Masvidal said that he believes he’s in adequate shape to fight Saturday, while taking a shot at Usman compared with two of Masvidal’s recent opponents.

“If you’re asking me, are you in shape?” Masvidal said. “… Maybe not to fight Ben Askren. I’m not in Ben Askren shape, because he’s a hell of a wrestler. Or even to fight a guy like Darren Till. But am I in shape for this bum I’m about to decapitate and baptize? Hell yeah.”

Masvidal will have 48 career pro fights Saturday when he makes the walk against Usman (pending further COVID-19 protocols in Abu Dhabi). That’s the second most ever for a fighter appearing in his or her first UFC title fight.

If he wins, Masvidal already knows whom he wants to defend the welterweight belt against: Nate Diaz and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.

Amanda Nunes Reportedly Agrees to Defend Her UFC Bantamweight Title Against Germaine de Randamie

Posted on August 18, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Amanda Nunes is going on the defense…

The 31-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artistand two-weight UFC champion will defend her 135-pound title against Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245 on December 14, according to ESPN.

Both sides have verbally agreed to the bantamweight championship, and the pay-per-view event will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN.

UFC officials have not confirmed the bout’s official placement on the card.

Nunes (18-4) is the current champion of the 135- and 145-pound weight classes. She’s coming off the fourth defense of her bantamweight title in July, a head kick knockout of Holly Holm at UFC 239.

Originally from Brazil, now fighting out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, Nunes is ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by ESPN.

De Randamie (9-3), of the Netherlands, is a former featherweight champion. She won the 145-pound belt in February 2017 by defeating Holm. However, she was stripped of the belt later that year when she refused to face No. 1 contender Cris “Cyborg” Justino over concerns of prior use of performance-enhancing drugs.

De Randamie has since elevated herself to the status of No. 1 contender at 135 pounds with wins over Raquel Pennington and Aspen Ladd.

Amanda Nunes Defeats Holly Holm by TKO to Retain UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title

Posted on July 7, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Amanda Nunesis making the case to be considered the greatest women’s MMAfighter of all time…

The 31-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter defeated Holly Holm by TKO on Saturday to retain her women’s bantamweight title.

Nunes landed a right head kick to Holm’s face and followed up with a hard right hand on the ground. The TKO finish came at 4 minutes, 10 seconds in the first round of the co-main event of UFC 239at T-Mobile Arena.

Nunes said she’d told her coach beforehand that she wanted to stop Holm with a head kick, because that is Holm’s signature technique. Holm had the only other head-kick knockout in a UFC women’s bantamweight title fight, against Ronda Rouseyin 2015.

Coming in, Nunes, also the featherweight champion, had beaten every other former UFC women’s bantamweight or featherweight champion outside of Holm, and now she has defeated Holm as well.

“I told my coaches I wanted to knock her out the same way she knocks people out,” Nunes said. “I did it tonight. She was the only former champion I didn’t beat yet. Now I beat her, and I’m very happy.”

Nunes (17-4) said that she next wanted to defend her featherweight belt to become the only UFC champion to defend two titles while holding them concurrently.

The Brazilian fighter, who trains out of American Top Teamin Florida, has won nine bouts in a row. Nunes, 31, has four first-round finishes in title fights, tied for second with Matt Hughes. Rousey is first with five.

UFC president Dana Whitereiterated his stance that Nunes ranks among the greatest MMA fighters ever, putting her alongside the likes of Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones.

White said he was open to booking a rematch between Nunes and Cris Cyborg, who lasted only 51 seconds against Nunes in December.

“This woman is tough, man,” White said of Nunes. “She’s unbelievable. Pound for pound, one of the greatest of all time. But there will be somebody next.”

Holm (12-5) had won two of her past three fights. The former three-division world champion boxer has now lost in four UFC title fights. Holm is only 2-5 since her knockout of Rousey at UFC 193.

Amanda Nunes to Defend her UFC Bantamweight Title Against Holly Holm

Posted on March 28, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Amanda Nunes is ready to defend her title.

The 30-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist, the reigning champion in both the women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions in the UFC, will defend her 135-pound bantamweight title against Holly Holm in the co-main event of UFC 239on July 6 in Las Vegas.

Verbal agreements are in place for that fight as well, sources said.

The bout will be part of a pay-per-view event, which will take place at T-Mobile Arena.

Nunes (17-4) is a three-time defending bantamweight champion. She moved up to the 145-pound featherweight division in December and upset Cris “Cyborg” Justino in a first-round knockout for the UFC’s featherweight championship.

She trains out of American Top Teamin Coconut Creek, Florida.

Holm (12-4), of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is coming off a decision win against Megan Anderson last June. She was scheduled to fight Aspen Ladd in March, but that bout was ultimately canceled and Ladd has since been rescheduled.

She is the first woman in UFC history to become a two-division champion, in addition to also being the first and only woman in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously.

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