The light heavyweight division, for years, was MMA’s marquee division. It’s where stars stacked up, where the biggest fights happened as we tacitly admitted as fans that the heavyweight division just wasn’t that good. After UFC Stockholm, part of your MMA brain wants to say “Hey, things are looking up!”. At the same time, you have to wonder if that’s the case at all.
As a fighter going into enemy territory, you dream of silence; of deflecting the crowd energy meant to rattle you back toward them until they fall into stunned stillness. You dream of them standing, mouths agape, at some wizardry they never saw coming. For Anthony Smith, Saturday was a job well done. Smith walked into UFC Stockholm as a sizable underdog, overcame a few rough moments and stopped Alexander Gustafsson in the Swede’s hometown. When Gustafsson tapped to a rear naked choke on Smith’s right arm, the Ericsson Globe deflated. The invader had triumphed, the viking had been slain. It was equal parts thrilling and tragic.
“The Iron Lady” is about to have her mettle tested by an undefeated foe.
Officials announced Wednesday that Germaine de Randamie will fight Aspen Ladd in the bantamweight main event of UFC Sacramento on July 13. The matchup was first reported by MMA Junkie.
Longtime UFC light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson suffered a disappointing submission defeat to Anthony Smith in front of his home fans at UFC Stockholm. The crowd fell silent immediately after he tapped out, as their countryman dropped a second consecutive bout. In the post-fight interview, Gustafsson left his gloves in the cage, signaling his retirement from the sport.
It’s a good day to be Yoel Romero. That’s because a New Jersey court awarded “Soldier of God” $27.45 million after winning a lawsuit against Gold Star Performance Products, the company behind the contaminated substance that was the root of his failed drug test in 2016.
After striking a deal with United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA), his original nine-month suspension was reduced after Romero threatened to bring his case to arbitration, where he could’ve faced a two-year ban from mixed martial arts (MMA) had it not been resolved in his favor.
Light heavyweight Johnny Walker is at a crossroads. On one hand, he wishes to be the one to finally dethrone champion Jon Jones, but on the other, he just can’t bring himself to root against fellow countryman Thiago Santos, who is scheduled to take on ‘Bones’ at UFC 239, on July 6.
Recently crowned UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade has said former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk needs to string some wins together before she earns her shot at the belt.
Andrade (20-6) won the UFC strawweight belt earlier this month when she knocked out Rose Namajunas in the second-round after slamming ‘Thug’ Rose on her head. The 27-year-old beat the best before winning the belt, knocking out Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and winning decisions against Tecia Torres and Claudia Gadelha.
Less than two weeks ago, Aspen Ladd was on the prelims of UFC Rochester against fellow contender Sijara Eubanks. After a Fight of the Night performance and another win, Ladd has been elevated to headliner status after previously never appearing on a UFC main card.
Conor McGregor’s return from a two-year absence from MMA at UFC 229 did not end well for him. “The Notorious” failed to reclaim the 155-pound title from Khabib Nurmagomedov, who ended up tapping him out by the fourth round of their main event fight.
