UFC Fight Night 184 this Saturday features a pair of veterans in pursuit of UFC titles – one for the first time and the other looking for a second run.

In the main event, Alistair Overeem meets Alexander Volkov in a key heavyweight clash. And in the co-headliner, former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar meets Cory Sandhagen in a pivotal bantamweight showdown.

Overeem, 40, would be on a five-fight winning streak if not for a miracle last-second knockout loss to Jairzinho Rozenstruik, but he’s won four of five and would push his winning streak to three if he beats Volkov. Edgar, meanwhile, hopes to earn a title shot in a third division at 39, and a victory over Sandhagen – coming off a win over Pedro Munhoz in his 135-pound debut – would put him right in consideration.

With that in mind, who do you think has the better chance at earning a title shot between Overeem and Edgard? Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Nolan King, and Danny Segura weighed in during this week’s episode.

You can watch that discussion in the video above. The full episode can be seen below.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-alistair-overeem-or-frankie-edgar-better-chance-title-shot-video

An intriguing stylistic matchup between streaking heavyweights will take center stage on Feb. 20.

After their initial November booking was scrapped, Curtis Blaydes (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) will take on Derrick Lewis (24-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 185 main event, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Both men will look to enter title contention when the division’s most prolific takedown artist takes on the division’s record holder for most knockouts in UFC heavyweight history.

Check out the official poster for UFC Fight Night 185 below (via Instagram):

A post shared by ufc (@ufc)

The pre-fight artwork features the two heavyweight contenders standing face-to-face, with a deep red color filter applied as the pair stare one another down. But will it be Blaydes or Lewis who puts the heavyweight title on red alert after Saturday’s clash?

The latest UFC Fight Night 185 card includes:

• Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis
• Chris Daukaus vs. Aleksei Oleinik
• Darrick Minner vs. Charles Rosa
• Jai Herbert vs. Drakkar Klose
• Danny Chavez vs. Jared Gordon
• Shana Dobson vs. Casey O’Neill
• Jamall Emmers vs. Chas Skelly
• Rafael Alves vs. Mike Trizano
• Andrei Arlovski vs. Tom Aspinall
• Julian Erosa vs. Nate Landwehr
• Nassourdine Imavov vs. Phil Hawes
• Drako Rodriguez vs. Aiemann Zahabi
• Ketlen Vieira vs. Yana Kunitskaya
• Serghei Spivac vs. Jared Vanderaa
• John Castaneda vs. Eddie Wineland

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-fight-night-185-poster-curtis-blaydes-and-derrick-lewis-see-red-in-official-pre-fight-artwork

Another fight week change has hit the UFC Fight Night 184 lineup due to COVID-19.

Marion Reneau (9-6-1 MMA, 5-5-1 UFC) on Wednesday announced on Instagram that she has tested positive for COVID-19, and her women’s bantamweight fight against Macy Chiasson (6-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has been postponed. UFC officials have not yet made a formal announcement.

Reneau said the fight has been moved from Saturday to later this month on the UFC’s Feb. 27 card, and that she and Chiasson agreed to the new date.

UFC Fight Night 184 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+. Reneau and Chiasson had a spot on the main card. It is not yet known if a preliminary card bout will move up to keep the main card at six fights, or if the show will go on with five on the main card.

A post shared by Belizean Bruiser🇺🇲🇧🇿 (@marion_reneau)

Reneau is mired in three-fight skid with a decision loss to Cat Zingano in 2018, one to Yana Kunitskaya in 2019, and one to Raquel Pennington in June 2020. Prior to that, she was on a 3-0-1 run that included a submission win over Olympic medalist and former title challenger Sara McMann in February 2018.

Chiasson rebounded from the first loss of her pro career with a unanimous decision win over Shanna Young about a year ago. That got her back on track after a decision loss to Lina Lansberg in September 2019 that came after a perfect 5-0 start, as well as wins on Season 28 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

With the postponement, the UFC Fight Night 184 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

• Alistair Overeem vs. Alexander Volkov
• Frankie Edgar vs. Cory Sandhagen
• Manel Kape vs. Alexandre Pantoja
• Askar Askar vs. Cody Stamann
• Beneil Dariush vs. Diego Ferreira

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)

• Clay Guida vs. Michael Johnson
• Danilo Marques vs. Mike Rodriguez
• Martin Day vs. Timur Valiev
• Justin Jaynes vs. Devonte Smith
• Joselyne Edwards vs. Karol Rosa
• Molly McCann vs. Lara Procopio
• Seungwoo Choi vs. Youssef Zalal
• Denys Bondar vs. Ode Osbourne

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/marion-reneau-vs-macy-chiasson-postponed-ufc-fight-night-184-coronavirus-mma

Hannah Cifers has withdrawn from her Feb. 27 fight.

Scheduled to take on Emily Whitmire in a strawweight fight at UFC Fight Night, Cifers (10-7 MMA, 2-5 UFC) has pulled out for an undisclosed reason.

Two people with knowledge of the change recently informed MMA Junkie of the withdrawal but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Cifers competed four times in the first eight months of 2020. She lost all four outings inside the distance with three submissions and one TKO. The four-fight losing skid came on the heels of a two-fight winning streak.

Whitmire (4-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) has been submitted in back-to-back fights against Amanda Ribas and Polyana Viana. In her UFC tenure, Whitmire holds wins over Jamie Moyle and Aleksandra Albu.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Feb. 27 now includes:

• Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Ciryl Gane
• Raoni Barcelos vs. TBA
• William Knight vs. Alonzo Menifield
• Alexis Davis vs. Sabina Mazo
• Randy Brown vs. Alex Oliveira
• Emily Whitmire vs. TBA
• Alex Caceres vs. Kevin Croom
• Magomed Ankalaev vs. Nikita Krylov
• Montana De La Rosa vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
• Alexander Hernandez vs. Thiago Moises
• Vince Cachero vs. Ronnie Lawrence

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-fight-night-news-hannah-cifers-injured-out-february-27-vs-emily-whitmire

Conor McGregor suffered a number of firsts when Dustin Poirier knocked him. However, according to the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, the “firsts” weren’t all bad.

In a lengthy statement issued Wednesday on Instagram, McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) broke down his loss to Poirier (27-6 MMA, 20-6 UFC). A 416-word analysis was accompanied by a highlight video of his successes in the UFC 257 main event.

“I am most certainly on the right path,” McGregor wrote. “Despite the loss, I am on the correct path of evolution.”

McGregor explained how a third fight against Poirier would go differently and voiced confidence in his chances at winning. He acknowledged Poirier’s leg kicks, a problem he hadn’t encountered in prior fights. McGregor blamed his preparation and focus on a potential future boxing match with Manny Pacquiao as being the driving force of a failing outcome.

“A little single disciplined in my approach and stance with mostly boxing,” McGregor wrote. “It’s what I get for picking this bout and opponent as a precursor to a boxing match against Pacman. I deserved to get the legs kicked off me going in with this thinking. This is not the game to play around with.

“Besides this tho [sic] my shots (were) sharp and I was in full control. Albeit the leg attacks (were) building up on me throughout the course. 18 in total thrown at me, with the final one buckling my leg fully, that was that. The peroneal nerve compromised. Fascinating! First time to experience it.”

As for positive takeaways, McGregor praised his own cardio and endurance. For the first time, he said, he felt fresh following grappling exchanges and still managed to pack his usual power.

“I was in second gear cruising this fight,” McGregor wrote. “Best condition I’ve ever been in. After the wrestling and clinch exchanges my shots still held their pop. First time for me with this so I am very encouraged to keep going. It was the first time I did not use/nor need the stool between rounds also. I did need the stool after tho [sic] that’s for sure.”

Though mostly a self-critique, McGregor closed by tipping his cap to Poirier for his victory, all the while voicing anticipation of a future trilogy fight.

“A tremendous finishing flurry by my opponent,” McGregor wrote. “Hats off! A well fought fight by The Diamond. 1 a piece now with a Trilogy [sic] bout for all the marbles! Wow! Exciting! Not a trilogy I was expecting, nor the tactical affair I was anticipating, but I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t meant to be. This is exactly how this was always meant to be! Buzzing!!”

Check out McGregor’s full post below:

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma)

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/conor-mcgregor-overlooked-dustin-poirier-manny-pacquiao-prep