Latest news with #TheUltimateFighter
New York Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Alexandre Pantoja pumped for UFC 317 title clash with ‘Ultimate Fighter' pal Kai Kara-France
Frequently in combat sports, there are fighters who seek conflict both in and out of the cage and those who ooze respect and humility. Alexandre Pantoja is firmly in the latter camp. The UFC flyweight champion always has been quick to heap compliments upon upcoming opponents throughout his two-year run at the top. Advertisement It might be even easier for him to do so this time, in the leadup to his UFC 317 showdown on June 28 against former 'The Ultimate Fighter' teammate Kai Kara-France.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC Cuts Ties With Record-Breaking Veteran On 2-Fight Losing Streak
In professional sports, it's almost never about what you've done in the past. It's almost always about what you've accomplished lately. UFC CEO Dana White and his brass make moves every week to adjust the roster and the current week is no exception. Veteran Brad Katona found that out firsthand on Monday when the 33-year-old was reportedly removed from the UFC's active roster. Katona is the only fighter in history to win The Ultimate Fighter twice. He won as a featherweight in 2018 and again as a bantamweight in 2023. It shouldn't be undersold how difficult it is to win two TUF seasons, to do it in different weight classes—and to have the later one happen in a lighter division. The release ends Katona's second stint in the UFC. After he won TUF in 2018 with wins over Kyler Phillips and Bryce Mitchell, Katona won his first two fights in the UFC. He then lost unanimous decisions to Merab Dvalishvili and Hunter Azure just before the pandemic. Katona was released and then signed with Brave CF, where he won four straight before getting another crack at the UFC through another stint on TUF. After battling past Carlos Vera, Timur Valiev, and Cody Gibson to win TUF for the second time, he was officially back in the UFC. In January 2024, Katona lost a unanimous decision to Garret Armfield in his first fight on the main roster since 2019. However, he defeated Jesse Butler via unanimous decision in June 2024 before losing back-to-back fights to Jean Matsumoto and Bekzat Almakhan via first-round KO. The loss to Almakhan was significant because it was the first time Katona had ever been stopped in his professional MMA career. No one will ever question Katona's toughness, heart, and resilience. Almost no one has battled as hard to get to, remain, and return to the UFC. That said, Katona has some obvious holes in his overall package. He almost never finishes opponents. Instead, he battles hard and competes in a lot of really close fights that produce debatable decisions from the judges. There isn't a world where he will be a legit title contender in any weight class within his region. At best, he can be a tough test for a rising young fighter. It doesn't appear the UFC has much interest in a fighter with that profile, thus the release. I can see Katona going to the Professional Fighters League and competing on a high level for their championship at 135 or 145 pounds. We saw Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Ryan Bader, and Corey Anderson leave the UFC and enjoy championship success with Bellator and/or the PFL. Perhaps Katona could follow their lead. In any case, it'll be interesting to see which direction he's headed. At 32, he could have some fight left in him, but it probably won't be with the UFC again. The promotion is in Baku on Saturday for a special Fight Night event. Here's a look at the card scheduled for June 21.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Alexandre Pantoja sees Kai Kara-France as Mike Tyson-level knockout threat at UFC 317
Alexandre Pantoja sees Kai Kara-France as Mike Tyson-level knockout threat at UFC 317 Alexandre Pantoja thinks highly of Kai Kara-France's knockout power and will be weary of it going into their UFC 317 title showdown. The reigning UFC flyweight champion Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) has tasted the hands of Kara-France (25-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC) before. They met in a two-round exhibition on Season 24 of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series in 2016, with Pantoja winning by unanimous decision. Now they rematch with the highest possible stakes in the sport on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view). Pantoja has put together a reign of terror over the 125-pound weight class, and has already racked up three consecutive title defenses within a seven-fight winning streak overall. The Brazilian is arguably the UFC's most dominant champ, but even he admits Kara-France brings a different degree of danger than other contenders, and especially the one he faced almost a decade ago under far different circumstances. "I'm not playing when I get into the octagon," Pantoja told MMA Junkie. "It's kill or die. I fight with my soul every time and that's why everyone stops to watch my fights. I have the opportunity to do it one more time with Kai Kara-France. The guy with the powerful hands. I feel Kai-Kara France is like a Mike Tyson. I'm going to fight with someone who can knock me down and that makes me pay a lot of attention to his hands. That's a good challenge. I need challengers to train, I need challengers to live." Pantoja, No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie pound-for-pound rankings and No. 1 at flyweight, said he is fully focused on further establishing his legacy in the division against No. 8-ranked Kara-France. Already having run through many of the division's top contenders, and some of them twice over, Pantoja would have every reason to be complacent in his position. That's not in his DNA, though, and instead he is trying to hone in on and overcome the difficulty in every successive fight. With this one, it's the threat Kara-France brings on the feet. Does that mean he'll try to engage with the New Zealander as little as possible when standing? Pantoja hinted that could be far from the case. "He can knock you out with one punch," Pantoja said. "I need to pay attention to that. If I see him like Mike Tyson, maybe I need to be more like Muhammad Ali. I need movement. But if he tries to hit me, I have a very good chin. I've proved that many times. I don't want to prove that a lot. I want to move my head more. That's something I've really worked on. But I have strong hands, too, and that's going to be an amazing opportunity to prove to everyone that I have strong hands. "If you want to hit me, you need to know I'm going to hit you, too. I have strong hands. Maybe it's going to be a good opportunity to knock someone out. Kai Kara-France is a good fighter. Very competitive, high-level fighter and is going to be a good challenge for me."
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Michael Chiesa has mixed feelings about Court McGee win at UFC Atlanta
Michael Chiesa has mixed feelings about Court McGee win at UFC Atlanta Show Caption Hide Caption UFC on ESPN 69: Michael Chiesa post-fight interview UFC on ESPN 69 winner Michael Chiesa talks to MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight after his decision victory over Court McGee in Atlanta. ATLANTA – Michael Chiesa met the media Saturday after his unanimous decision win over Court McGee at UFC on ESPN 69. Chiesa (19-7 MMA, 14-7 UFC), the Season 15 winner of "The Ultimate Fighter," outworked McGee (22-14 MMA, 11-13 UFC), the Season 11 winner – but wasn't entirely happy with his performance. "Unless you finish Court McGee, he's really not an easy guy to look good against," Chiesa told MMA Junkie at his post-fight news conference. "… It's the fight I expected, so I guess I shouldn't be so critical of myself. I've won three fights in a row. "… Me wanting to go for finishes has cost me at times. We felt like that was Court's best way to beat me, was if I got ahead of myself like I did against (Vicente) Luque. … I had to force myself to be patient, and it paid off." Chiesa said with three straight wins, he normally would have a callout. But with his side hustle as a key member of the UFC's analyst desk during events, he's got a busy summer and early fall. One fighter he said he won't bother trying to fight anymore is Colby Covington, though. Check out Chiesa's post-fight news conference in the video above.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC on ESPN 69 post-event facts: Can Kamaru Usman catch Neil Magny's all-time wins record?
UFC on ESPN 69 post-event facts: Can Kamaru Usman catch Neil Magny's all-time wins record? The UFC's return to Atlanta for the first time since April 2019 delivered some memorable moments as UFC on ESPN 69 unfolded Saturday at State Farm Arena. Although it wasn't the biggest highlight of the night, the definitive win went to headliner and former champion Kamaru Usman (21-4 MMA, 16-3 UFC), who got his first victory in nearly four years with a unanimous decision over Joaquin Buckley (22-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC). For more on the numbers to come out of the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie's post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 69. Event stats The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $260,500. Usman, Buckley, Malcolm Wellmaker and Jose Ochoa earned $50,000 UFC on ESPN 69 fight-night bonuses. UFC on ESPN 69 drew an announced attendance of 17,204 for a live gate of $3,239,744. Betting favorites went 9-3 on the card. One fight ended in a no contest. Betting favorites fell to 13-7 in UFC headliners this year. Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 2:47:26. Kamaru Usman def. Joaquin Buckley Usman snapped his three-fight losing skid for his first victory since November 2021. Usman's 16 victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied for fifth-most in divisional history behind Neil Magny (22), Georges St-Pierre (19), Matt Hughes (17) and Matt Brown (17). Usman has earned 11 of his 16 UFC victories by decision. Buckley fell to 6-1 since he dropped to the welterweight division in May 2023. Rose Namajunas def. Miranda Maverick Rose Namajunas (14-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC) improved to 3-2 since she moved up to the women's flyweight division in September 2023. Miranda Maverick (15-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has suffered all four of her UFC losses by decision. Edmen Shahbazyan def. Andre Petroski Edmen Shahbazyan (15-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) earned just the second decision victory of his career. Andre Petroski (13-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of his career. Raoni Barcelos def. Cody Garbrandt Cody Garbrandt (14-7 MMA, 9-7 UFC) fell to 3-7 in his past 10 fights dating back to November 2017. Garbrandt fell to 2-2 since he returned to the bantamweight division in March 2023. Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Cody Brundage Mansur Abdul-Malik (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career. Alonzo Menifield def. Oumar Sy Oumar Sy (11-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) had his 11-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career. Rodolfo Bellato vs. Paul Craig Paul Craig's (17-9-1 MMA, 9-9-1 UFC) four-fight winless skid is the longest of his career. He hasn't earned a victory since July 2023. Craig fell to 1-5 with one no contest in his past seven fights dating back to July 2022. Michael Chiesa def. Court McGee Michael Chiesa (21-7 MMA, 14-7 UFC) improved to 7-3 since he moved up to the welterweight division in December 2018. Chiesa improved to 4-0 against fellow winners of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series. Court McGee (22-14 MMA, 11-13 UFC) fell to 9-11 since he dropped to the welterweight division in February 2013. McGee has suffered 11 of his 14 career losses by decision. Malcolm Wellmaker def. Kris Moutinho Wellmaker (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned eight of his 10 career victories by stoppage. He's finished both of his UFC wins by knockout. Kris Moutinho (14-7 MMA, 0-3 UFC) has suffered all seven of his career losses by stoppage. Jose Ochoa def. Cody Durden Ochoa (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned all eight of his career victories by stoppage. Cody Durden (17-8-1 MMA, 6-6-1 UFC) has suffered five of his six UFC losses by stoppage. Ricky Simon def. Cameron Smotherman Ricky Simon (22-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) has landed 47 takedowns in UFC bantamweight competition, the second most in divisional history behind Merab Dvalishvili (84). Cameron Smotherman (12-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered both of her UFC losses by decision. Phil Rowe def. Angela Loosa Phil Rowe(11-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has earned all 11 of his career victories by stoppage. Ange Loosa (10-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) suffered the first stoppage loss of his career with a knockout defeat. Jamey-Lyn Horth def. Vanessa Demopoulos Jamey-Lyn Horth (7-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) has earned all three of her UFC victories by decision. Vanessa Demopoulos' (11-8 MMA, 5-5 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn't earned a victory since May 2024. Demopoulos has suffered seven of her eight career losses by decision. UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.
