Latest news with #UFCApex
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC adds Chris Duncan vs. Mateusz Rebecki to Aug. 2 Fight Night lineup
UFC adds Chris Duncan vs. Mateusz Rebecki to Aug. 2 Fight Night lineup Two UFC lightweights who have spent time on the mats together will meet in the octagon when it counts. At the UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 2 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Scotland's Chris Duncan will face Poland's Mateusz Rebecki. MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup with two sources, although the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The event is headlined by a flyweight bout between Amir Albazi and Tatsuro Taira. Duncan (13-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and Rebecki (20-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) have spent a lot of time in the training room together at American Top Team, and have many career similarities, which adds an interesting layer to the fight. The 32-year-old Duncan has won back-to-back fights by guillotine choke, submitting Bolaji Oki and Jordan Vucenic. The former earned "The Problem" his first Performance of the Night bonus. A veteran of Dana White's Contender Series, Duncan has proven to be a solid addition to the roster with a 4-1 UFC record. Coincidentally, Rebecki, who is also 32, is a DWCS veteran too, with a 4-1 record in the UFC like Duncan. In his last outing, Rebecki won a split decision over Myktybek Orolbai to bounce back from a loss to Diego Ferreira. The battle earned Rebecki his first career bonus for the Fight of the Night. Aug. 2 UFC Fight Night lineup
USA Today
12-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC books Bellator notable Mandel Nallo vs. Cage Warriors champ Samuel Silva for DWCS
UFC books Bellator notable Mandel Nallo vs. Cage Warriors champ Samuel Silva for DWCS MMA worlds will collide as a former Bellator knockout artist and a current Cage Warriors champion will collide this summer with a UFC contract on the line. Tristar's Mandel Nallo and Cage Warriors lightweight champion Samuel Silva are set to square off Sept. 2 on Dana White's Contender Series at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Nallo (13-3) competed eight times for Bellator from 2017 to 2023. He compiled a 4-3 record with one no contest, as the promotion struggled to find him fights. That problem continued when Nallo hit free agency in early 2023. Since then, he's 4-0 in MMA with an additional win in bareknuckle MMA. All five of those fights he finished inside the distance. Silva (13-4-1) empathically turned heads in March when he upset Cage Warriors champion George Hardwick in an epic five-round battle. Silva won the bout via unanimous decision to extend his winning streak to five. The current DWCS lineup for Sept. 2 includes:
USA Today
04-06-2025
- General
- USA Today
Valentina Shevchenko calls for professionalism after Maycee Barber's fight night withdrawal
Valentina Shevchenko calls for professionalism after Maycee Barber's fight night withdrawal UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko believes Maycee Barber's medical issue could be related to her weight cut. Barber (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) withdrew from her UFC on ESPN 68 headliner against Erin Blanchfield (13-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas just 30 minutes before she was scheduled to make the walk. She was transported to the hospital and still requires more medical testing to find out exactly what happened. Although Barber missed the non-title flyweight limit by half a pound, she doesn't believe her medical issue is weight-cut related. However, Shevchenko does. "Of course, everyone is now saying like, the health issue and they are seeing results, right? And definitely we all wish (Barber) a speedy recovery," Shevchenko told The Schmo. "The health is No. 1 for every athlete, but let's not forget that we are professional fighters, and we have to do everything. Not starting fight week, not starting one day before the weigh-in. We have to start it back. If we know that the weight cut will affect us somehow, we have to put our efforts to make it smoother." Shevchenko thinks after all the pre-fight hype and build-up, fighters have an obligation to make the walk. "You kind of like think what you have to do to make everyone not disappointed, what you have to put on a list when everyone is so attentive watching you. We have to be professionals, and not professional only in the last week," Shevchenko said. "We have to start it like, back, back over there, when we just hear the notice when our fight is going to be, then we start our like, going slowly down our weight cut, and if we know it's going to be affected, we have to take some measures to not be affected by circumstances. This is what I call professionalism."
USA Today
04-06-2025
- General
- USA Today
Maycee Barber struggles to explain medical issue that forced UFC on ESPN 68 withdrawal
Maycee Barber struggles to explain medical issue that forced UFC on ESPN 68 withdrawal Maycee Barber has opened up on the medical issue that caused her to withdraw from UFC on ESPN 68, but she doesn't have many answers. Just 30 minutes before she was scheduled to make the walk against Erin Blanchfield in this past Saturday's flyweight main event at the UFC Apex, Barber (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) was transported to the hospital after she wasn't medically cleared to compete, and the fight was canceled. She checked out of the hospital Monday, but a couple of days later, Barber is still trying to figure out exactly what happened. "We're not entirely sure what happened," Barber told ESPN. "Obviously there was a medical emergency. We're not quite sure exactly what it was, what it is, but there was something that happened, and I don't exactly remember everything. But there was an event that happened in the back when I was warming up, and the doctor, the commissioners, like everybody saw it. The commissioners were asking me if I was OK, and I was saying that I was, and they didn't think that I was. "They kept asking the coaches, and the coaches were like – again, I'm not entirely sure because it's hard for me to remember everything that happened, but from what I was told, the coaches were like, 'We're not quite sure.' They were trying to figure it out, and they ended up getting the doctors. Next thing I know, I was in the back of an ambulance and being transported to a hospital. I stayed there and was doing a bunch of tests and trying to figure out what was going on." This isn't the first time Barber has been hospitalized for medical reasons caused by a fight. She spent nine days in the hospital after defeating Katlyn Cerminara at UFC 299, and ongoing health issues forced her to withdraw from her UFC on ESPN 59 bout against Rose Namajunas last July. Barber said the UFC is seeking the best doctors and specialists to get to the bottom of what exactly happened to her. "It looked like my autonomic nervous system might have been having an issue," Barber said. "They said it looked like a pseudo-seizure, is what I was told, but there's no answer. We need to run tests." Blanchfield (13-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was visibly frustrated and went off on Barber, who is more upset with how the fans have reacted. "I see people commenting, 'Oh, I'm glad it happened to her and not to someone who is relevant,' and I feel that's a pretty heartless and cold thing to say," Barber said. "I wouldn't wish that on anybody. I wouldn't wish this kind of situation, an unknown situation, on anybody. It's frustrating because it makes me have a lot of sympathy toward whoever has a medical issue or something going on in their life."
USA Today
04-06-2025
- General
- USA Today
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 3: Allan Nascimento enters top 15
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 3: Allan Nascimento enters top 15 UFC on ESPN 68 took place Saturday, prompting a new entry into the men's flyweight division. Although the late cancellation of the main event prevented a move in the women's flyweight division, earlier in the event at the UFC Apex, Allan Nascimento's victory over Jafel Filho caused change on the men's side. Filho entered the event No. 12, but after the loss, falls to No. 14. Nascimento enters the rankings, landing at No. 13. Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
