UFC Fight Night 186 has lost a women’s strawweight bout.

A matchup between Sam Hughes and Emily Whitmire has been removed from the Feb. 27 card in Las Vegas after Whitmire was forced out of the bout due to undisclosed reasons. It has yet to be announced if the bout will be rescheduled for a later date or if the fight will be scrapped all together.

Hughes confirmed the news Sunday on her social media, following a report from Cage Side Press.

Hughes (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was replacing Hannah Cifers on short notice to take on Whitmire. She is coming off a loss in December against Tecia Torres at UFC 256, which marked her promotional debut.

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.

Sorry y’all. No performance of the night for me on Feb 27th @Cagesidepress @ufc pic.twitter.com/8giaZg4gy3

— Sam Hughes (@samhughesmma) February 14, 2021

With the cancellation, the UFC Fight Night 186 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD

• Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Ciryl Gane
• Raoni Barcelos vs. TBA
• William Knight vs. Alonzo Menifield
• Alexis Davis vs. Sabina Mazo
• Randy Brown vs. Alex Oliveira
• 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
• Macy Chiasson vs. Marion Reneau

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/sam-hughes-vs-emily-whitmire-off-ufc-fight-night-186-booking-women-mma

The UFC hosted its second pay-per-view of the year on Saturday with UFC 258, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with 10 fighters on a heavily-altered card.

In the main event, Kamaru Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) showed there’s no going back in the conversation about him being an all-time great in the welterweight division when he battered Gilbert Burns (19-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) for a third-round TKO to secure his third title defense at 170 pounds.

Usman’s name is all over the record books with the win, and for more on the numbers, check below for 40 post-event facts to come out of UFC 258.

Event stats

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $169,500.

Usman, Julian Marquez, Anthony Hernandez and Polyana Viana earned $50,000 UFC 258 fight-night bonuses.

Debuting fighters went 0-1 on the card.

UFC 258 drew an announced attendance of zero for a live gate of $0.

Betting favorites went 7-3 on the card.

Betting favorites improved to 3-2 in UFC headliners this year.

Total fight time for the 10-bout card was 2:05:02.

Kamaru Usman def. Gilbert Burns

Usman extended his winning streak to 17 fights. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since May 2013.

Usman became the third fighter in UFC history to start 13-0 with the promotion. Anderson Silva and Khabib Nurmagomedov also accomplished the feat.

Usman’s 13-fight UFC winning streak is the longest active streak in the company.

Usman’s 13-fight UFC winning streak is tied for the second longest in company history behind Silva (16).

Usman’s 13-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is the longest active streak in the division.

Usman’s 13-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is the longest in divisional history.

Usman has defended 100 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC competition, the highest rate in company history.

Usman has been controlled for just two seconds in UFC competition, the least amount of time in company history for anyone with at least 10 appearances.

Burns fell to 4-1 since he returned to the welterweight division in August 2019. He’s 5-1 when fighting at the weight class.

Burns has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.

Alexa Grasso def. Maycee Barber

Alexa Grasso (13-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) improved to 2-0 since she moved up to the UFC women’s flyweight division in August.

Grasso earned consecutive victories for the first time in her UFC career. She’d alternated results in her first seven octagon appearance.

Grasso has earned all five of her UFC victories by decision.

Maycee Barber (8-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting her career 8-0.

Barber has suffered both of her career losses by decision.

Kelvin Gastelum def. Ian Heinisch

Kelvin Gastelum (16-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) snapped his three-fight losing skid for his first victory since May 2018.

Gastelum improved to 4-4 (with one no contest) since he moved up to the UFC middleweight division in December 2016.

Gastelum’s six takedowns landed marked a single-fight record in his UFC career.

Ian Heinisch (14-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) fell to 1-3 in his past four fights dating back to August 2019.

Heinisch has suffered all three of his UFC losses by decision.

Ricky Simon def. Brian Kelleher

Ricky Simon (18-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) earned his second UFC victory in a 24-day stretch. He also won at UFC on ESPN 20 on Jan. 20.

Julian Marquez def. Maki Pitolo

Marquez (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has earned all of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished both of his UFC wins by submission.

Maki Pitolo’s (12-8 MMA, 1-4 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since June.

Pitolo has suffered six of his eight career losses by stoppage.

Anthony Hernandez def. Rodolfo Vieira

Hernandez (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has earned seven of his eight career victories by stoppage. He’s finished both of his UFC wins by submission.

Rodolfo Vieira (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) had his seven-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.

Belal Muhammad def. Dhiego Lima

Belal Muhammad (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) improved to 8-1 in his past eight fights dating back to February 2017. His lone defeat came against Geoff Neal at UFC on ESPN+ 1.

Muhammad’s four-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is tied for the fourth longest active streak in the division behind Usman (13), Leon Edwards (eight) and James Krause (five).

Muhammad has earned 13 of his 18 career victories by decision. That includes seven of his nine UFC wins.

Dhiego Lima (15-8 MMA, 4-6 UFC) fell to 3-3 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in July 2017.

Polyana Viana def. Mallory Martin

Viana (12-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has earned all 12 of her career victories by stoppage. She’s finished all three of her UFC wins by first-round submission.

Mallory Martin (7-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has suffered both of her career stoppage losses by submission.

Chris Gutierrez def. Andre Ewell

Chris Gutierrez (16-4-2 MMA, 4-1-1 UFC) has earned three of his four UFC victories by decision.

Andre Ewell (16-8 MMA, 4-3 UFC) suffered his first decision loss since Feb. 18, 2017 – a span of 1,457 days (nearly four years) and 16 fights.

Gabe Green def. Philip Rowe

Gabe Green (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) earned the first decision victor of his career.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-258-post-event-facts-kamaru-usman-records-history-winning-streak-goat-georges-st-pierre

With another night of action in the rearview mirror at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC 258‘s key winning and losing fighters outside the main event.

Alexa Grasso

Katlyn Chookagian

Should fight: Katlyn Chookagian
Why they should fight: The top of the women’s flyweight division got a little more interesting with Alexa Grasso putting on arguably the best performance of her UFC career to beat Maycee Barber in the co-main event.

With Valentina Shevchenko reigning atop the 125-pound mountain, most write it off as a largely hopeless division. That might be the reality, but there are some important fights coming up that will shape the title picture, and Grasso (13-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) has inserted herself nicely into the mix.

With Shevchenko expected to fight Jessica Andrade next, then top contenders Laure Murphy and Joanne Calderwood angling to scrap, the highest ranked player available is Chookagian (15-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC). And conveniently enough for Grasso, “Blonde Fighter” is actually campaigning for the matchup.

It’s a layup if there ever was one in terms of matchmaking, and if Grasso wins, she’s a legit title contender.

Maycee Barber

Diana Belbita

Should fight: Diana Belbita
Why they should fight: It’s not time to hit the panic button on Maycee Barber just yet, but it is important to proceed with caution after she went from undefeated to on a two-fight losing skid in less than 13 months.

Barber (8-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) was by no means outclassed by Grasso in their matchup, and she really started to come on late in the fight. Perhaps that can be chalked to some rust following a long layoff and serious knee surgery, or maybe she was just inferior to Grasso on the night regardless.

No matter how you slice it, though, Barber’s on a two-fight skid. Unless the UFC wants to give up on the 22-year-old for some unknown reason, it’s important not to let that slide in outcomes go any further. That doesn’t mean give her a freebie, but a rather favorable matchup would be wise.

Belbita (11-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has twice the professional experience of Barber despite being just two years older. Putting her in a fight with Barber where she’d likely be a massive underdog wouldn’t be doing any favors after a rough start in the UFC, but that’s how the game works sometimes.

Kelvin Gastelum

Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum

Should fight: As a replacement
Why they should fight: So, here’s the deal with Kelvin Gastelum after his much-needed win over Ian Heinisch that snapped his three-fight losing skid: He’s in kind of a weird spot.

The UFC middleweight division is ridiculously locked up at the moment with notable fights that are going to forge the future of the division until Israel Adesanya’s future gets a little more clarity based on the outcome of his UFC 259 title fight with Jan Blachowicz in March.

In the meantime, upcoming fights include Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa, Darren Till vs. Marvin Vettori, Derek Brunson vs. Kevin Holland and Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman. We all hope those fights go down as planned, but in the COVID-19 era, nothing is certain.

Gastelum (16-6 MMA,11-6 UFC) expressed post-fight that he’ll be on standby in case something happens to Whittaker or Costa for their fight, but he should really be ready for any opportunity that may surface. In the current chaotic climate, it would be in his favor to stay ready and keep his phone on.

Belal Muhammad

Li Jingliang

Should fight: Li Jingliang
Why they should fight: As soon as he was presented an opportunity to make a post-fight callout after beating Dhiego Lima by unanimous decision, Belal Muhammad took advantage by pointing his finger at a ranked welterweight.

Muhammad (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) said he wants a piece of Jingliang (18-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC), and that seems nothing short of perfect at this point. Allow him to explain exactly why (via Twitter):

Can you complain? Because I can’t.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-258-matchmaker-next-fight-alexa-grasso-maycee-barber-kelvin-gastelum

The UFC’s second pay-per-view and first title fight of the year are both in the books as, as UFC 258 went down on Saturday night.

As with every UFC event, four fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses for outstanding work in the octagon on the evening. This time around, the promotion didn’t give out a “Fight of the Night” bonus, but rather went with four “Performance of the Night” awards.

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, Polyana Viana, Anthony Hernandez, and Julian Marquez all earned post-fight honors.

UFC 258 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Here’s a look at each of the competitors who earned post-fight bonuses.

‘Performance of the Night’: Kamaru Usman

(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Gilbert Burns gave Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) his best, and it wasn’t close to good enough to unseat a fighter who seems well on his way to becoming the UFC’s next dominant champ.

Usman shook off an early knockdown, roared back, picked Burns apart, and finished him at the 34-second mark of the third round.

That’s three successful title defenses for Usman, and his fourth career post-fight bonus.

‘Performance of the Night:’ Anthony Hernandez

(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

The middleweight bout between Hernandez (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Rodolfo Vieira wasn’t just exciting, but it had an incredible finish: Hernandez used a guillotine to submit Vieira, marking the first time in history a former ADCC gold medalist was ever submitted in the octagon.

If that’s not worth an extra $50K, nothing is. It marked the first post-fight bonus of Hernandez’s UFC career.

‘Performance of the Night:’ Polyana Viana

(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Brazilian submission ace Viana (12-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) was at it again on Saturday night.

Viana went for the finish early in her flyweight preliminary bout against Mallory Martin as she held a triangle tight. When the tough Martin wouldn’t surrender, Viana transitioned into a fantastic armbar and that was all she wrote.

That’s two straight submission wins for Viana and her second career post-fight bonus.

‘Performance of the Night’: Julian Marquez

(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Marquez (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Maki Pitolo got the pay-per-view portion of the card off with a bang, but it was Marquez who got the job done in the end.

Fighting for the first time in 31 months, Marquez used a nifty anaconda choke to end things at the 4:13 mark of the third round.

That’s the middleweight competitor’s second career post-fight bonus.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-258-bonuses-kamaru-usman-four-performance-of-the-night-honors

UFC president Dana White couldn’t think more highly of Kamaru Usman following the welterweight champion’s successful title defense at UFC 258.

Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) recorded an impressive third-round TKO of Gilbert Burns (19-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) in Saturday night’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, setting a record for the longest winning streak in welterweight history with his 13th consecutive triumph.

That record was previously held by Georges St-Pierre, leading to comparisons comparison’s between Usman and the future UFC Hall of Famer.

In White’s opinion, Usman’s legacy is already in line to surpass that of St-Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC), and he thinks it might not be long until that happens.

“He just broke his record tonight,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC 258. “If you look at what he just did, he broke his record tonight for consecutive wins (in the welterweight division), and if this guy keeps rolling, if Usman can keep doing what he’s doing, he’s going to go down as the greatest welterweight ever. Fact.

“Just look at who he’s fought and who he has to fight here in the future, it’s undeniable that this guy will go down as the best welterweight. The question is, where will he go down in the history of the sport?”

Although he’s been nothing short of dominant throughout his UFC career, Usman’s name has yet to truly resonate. A performance like what “The Nigerian Nightmare” displayed against Burns could be a moment that turns the corner, and White thinks it’s high time Usman gets his complete and proper due.

“The kid’s the real deal,” White said. “For the people that know, for the people that actually know about fighting, they know that this win tonight was a big deal over a very motivated, well trained, mentally tough, confident, badass kid.

“This guy’s got nothing but badass dudes lined up ahead. If he doesn’t have the respect now, he should’ve got it after the Covington fight. I can’t stop talking about the Covington fight. One of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen. Anyone who didn’t respect him after that? That’s your problem, not his.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-258-dana-white-praises-kamaru-usman-goat-georges-st-pierre