UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has had a stellar 2020.

Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC), who remained unbeaten when he submitted Justin Gaethje in the second round at UFC 254, has been voted World Sport Star for 2020 at BBC Sports Personality of the Year, beating the likes of NBA star LeBron James, golfer Dustin Johnson and Irish boxer Katie Taylor.

Congratulations, @teamkhabib!

The UFC fighter has been voted World Sport Star for 2020 at BBC Sports Personality of the Year.#SPOTY

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 18, 2020

The dominant champion has emerged as one of the biggest stars in the history of the sport, boasting over 26 million followers on Instagram. Nurmagomedov may have had a dominant showing inside the cage, but it didn’t come without adversity. “The Eagle” tragically dealt with the death of his father just months before his fight with Gaethje and later revealed he entered the fight with a broken toe.

An honored Nurmagomedov took to social media to react to the news.

“This award means a lot for me. Recognition is the one of the biggest motivation in the life, as in the sport.”

A post shared by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov)

Following his win over Gaethje, Nurmagomedov hung up his gloves. However, UFC president Dana White is hoping to lure the lightweight champion out of retirement and the two are projected to meet next month in Abu Dhabi.

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/2020/12/khabib-nurmagomedov-voting-bbc-sports-personality-star-of-year-ufc-champion-mma

A featherweight fight is the most recent addition to the UFC’s Feb. 20 UFC Fight Night card.

Both Massachusetts’ Charles Rosa and Nebraska’s Darrick Minner will look to turn standalone victories into winning streaks at the event, which doesn’t currently have an official location or venue.

Multiple people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Island was the first to report the news Friday.

Rosa (13-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) bounced back from a lopsided loss to Bryce Mitchell, when he defeated Kevin Aguilar by split decision at UFC on ESPN 10 in June. Rosa is 2-1 since returning from a 30-month layoff due to a neck injury.

Minner (25-11 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has long been known for his fight-ending chokes. In September, Minner showed that for the first time during his UFC tenure when he made quick work of heavy favorite T.J. Laramie. Minner submitted Laramie 52 seconds into Round 1.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night card for Feb. 20 includes:

• Chris Daukaus vs. Aleksei Oleinik
• Jai Herbert vs. Drakkar Klose
• Danny Chavez vs. Jared Gordon
• Shana Dobson vs. Casey O’Neill
• John Castaneda vs. Eddie Wineland
• Yana Kunitskaya vs. Ketlen Vieira
• Jamall Emmers vs. Chas Skelly
• Darrick Minner vs. Charles Rosa

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-news-charles-rosa-vs-darrick-minner-booking-february-20

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-vegas-17-thompson-vs-neal-weigh-in-face-offs

(James Goyder is the owner/editor of AsianMMA.com)

Remaining undefeated for nearly a decade requires a lot of ability and, sometimes, a little bit of luck. Lowen Tynanes didn’t get any of the latter at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday as he dropped a split decision to Marat Gafurov at ONE: Collision Course.

It was the first time the Hawaiian had ever tasted defeat. But the margins between success and failure could not have been any finer with a takedown attempt in the final seconds of the fight probably making the difference for Gafurov.

With Tynanes only having fought once in the last four years and Gafurov coming off a loss on his lightweight debut, the stakes were high for both men. They made a tentative start with very little action to speak of at the start of the first.

Tynanes decided to utilize his wrestling and take the fight down, but Gafurov stood strong and resisted his attempt long enough for the referee to separate them. The Russian decided to try some flashy spinning strikes at the start of the second, but nothing connected.

Again Tynanes unsuccessfully pursued a takedown. Following a brief pause due to a low blow, Gafurov started to find a home for his body kicks.  

ONE Championship fights are scored overall, not round by round, meaning that any sort of success in the final round could be decisive on the scorecards. So it proved with Gafurov scoring a takedown and forcing Tynanes to defend in the final moments, even if he was unable to land anything of note.

A draw might have been an appropriate outcome, but this isn’t an option in ONE Championship. So the judges were forced to choose. Ultimately, it was Gafurov that they picked, with only one of the three voting in favor of Tynanes. 

Gafurov improved to 18-3, while Tynanes dropped to 10-1. A place in the top five lightweight rankings awaits the winner, who will be looking to win a title in a second division, having previously held the featherweight strap.

Also breaking into the top five at flyweight should be Yodkaikaew Fairtex (7-2-1), who scored a split decision win over Tatsumitsu Wada (22-12-3). Meanwhile, Yusup Saadulaev (20-5-1) beat Troy Worthen (7-1) by decision in their bantamweight fight.

ONE: Collision Course Results

• Kickboxing: Roman Kryklia def. Andrei Stoica via unanimous decision
• Muay Thai: Nong-O Gaiyanghadao def. Rodlek PKSaenchaigym via KO (punch) at 1:13 of Round 3
• Marat Gafurov def. Lowen Tynanes via split decision
• Yusup Saadulaev def. Troy Worthen via unanimous decision
• Yodkaikaew Fairtex def. Tatsumitsu Wada via split decision
• Xie Wei def. Chan Rothana via TKO (punches) at 1:39 of  Round 3  

TRENDING Dana White says Rose Namajunas doesn’t want UFC title, might do Weili Zhang vs. Carla Esparza

ONE: Collision Course Fight Highlights

(Video courtesy of ONE Championship)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/marat-gafurov-moves-into-lightweight-contention-after-defeating-lowen-tynanes-at-one-collision-course

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official UFC Fight Night 183 fighter weigh-ins, which kick off at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

The weigh-ins take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The same venue hosts Saturday’s card, which has a main card on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.

Among those weighing in are former welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson (15-4-1 MMA, 10-4-1 UFC) and Geoff Neal (13-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who meet in the main event, and former featherweight champion Jose Aldo (28-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) and Marlon Vera (18-6-1 MMA, 10-5 UFC), who fight in the bantamweight co-feature.

The full UFC Fight Night 183 weigh-in results include:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

• Stephen Thompson () vs. Geoff Neal ()
• Jose Aldo () vs. Marlon Vera ()
• Michel Pereira () vs. Khaos Williams ()
• Rob Font () vs. Marlon Moraesv
• Greg Hardy () vs. Marcin Tybura ()
• Alex Morono () vs. Anthony Pettis ()

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

• Sijara Eubanks () vs. Pannie Kianzad ()
• Dalcha Lungiambula () vs. Karl Roberson ()
• Antonio Arroyo () vs. Deron Winn ()
• Tafon Nchukwi () vs. Jamie Pickett ()
• Cody Durden () vs. Jimmy Flick ()
• Christos Giagos () vs. Carlton Minus ()
• Gillian Robertson () vs. Taila Santos ()

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-fight-night-183-stephen-thompson-geoff-neal-weigh-in-results-live-video-stream