Your home for local combat sports!

Mark Martin expecting one-sided win at LFA 96

Just three days shy of a year since he had last fought, welterweight Mark Martin was finally able to get back into the cage when he took on Tony Grant at LFA 86 this past July.

Though he had an extended layoff, Martin looked as if he didn’t miss a beat, finishing Grant with eight seconds to go in the first round to pick up his third win a row.

“I think I showed a little bit of everything: stand-up, clinch work, wrestling, and a little bit of wrestling,” Martin told MMAWeekly.com. “There was no ring rust for me. I was training pretty much throughout the pandemic, getting rounds in, so it wasn’t too much of a difference.

“I’m very critical of myself. There were a few points in the fight; I think I got hit maybe two or three times when I shouldn’t have; other than that I think it went pretty smooth.”

In the months following his win over Grant, Martin has maintained his training and feels he’ll be even better in his next fight.

“I’m always working on my striking and grappling, and trying to add to my game,” said Martin. “Once I get a call for a fight, I start working on picking up the strength and conditioning, and picking up the harder MMA sparring rounds.”

This Friday in Park City, Kan., Martin (4-1) will look to keep his winning streak going when he takes on Matthew Colquhoun (8-4) in a main card welterweight bout at LFA 96.

“My opponent is a long 170-pounder, kind of wild, unorthodox, but I’m not really too focused on him,” Martin said of Colquhoun. “I think if I come in and perform how I know I’m capable of I don’t think I will have too many problems. I think it will be a one-sided, dominant, affair.”

Having missed an ample amount of time of late for various reasons, Martin isn’t going to bank on anything in 2021 yet, but rather take things as they come.

“I always take it one fight at a time,” said Martin. “Especially in MMA, you’ll have people get injuries, fights drop out, as we’ve got Coronavirus right now people might fail Coronavirus tests, so all I can do is focus on getting better in the gym each and every day.

“Everything else will take care of itself when the time is right.”

Taila Santos impressed by Montana De La Rosa’s heart going into UFC on ESPN 19

By MMA Junkie Staff
December 3, 2020 11:05 pm

Follow @MMAjunkie

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-taila-santos-impressed-montana-de-la-rosa-heart

UFC 256 poster released: Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira and a historic title-fight turnaround

The UFC puts on its 11th and final pay-per-view of the year on Dec. 12 with UFC 256.

The event is headlined by a flyweight title fight between Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) and Brandon Moreno (18-5-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC). Both men compete just 21 days after their wins at UFC 255, making it the fastest title-fight turnaround in company history.

In the co-headliner, former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson (25-4 MMA, 15-2 UFC) returns to action against Charles Oliveira (29-8 MMA, 17-8 UFC), who is on a seven-fight winning streak.

The UFC released the official poster for the event on Thursday, which can be seen below (via Twitter):

Who are you taking next weekend!? Your #UFC256 poster has just released 🏆

[ Decemeber 12th – LIVE on #ESPNPlus PPV ] pic.twitter.com/tnJaifB6eC

— UFC (@ufc) December 3, 2020

The latest UFC 256 lineup includes:

Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno
Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira
Dwight Grant vs. Li Jingliang
Kevin Holland vs. Ronaldo Souza
Angela Hill vs. Tecia Torres
Mackenzie Dern vs. Virna Jandiroba
Omari Akhmedov vs. opponent TBA
Serghei Spivac vs. Jared Vanderaa
Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Karl Roberson
Peter Barrett vs. Chase Hooper
Billy Quarantillo vs. Gavin Tucker
Andrea Lee vs. Gillian Robertson
Rafael Fiziev vs. Renato Moicano

UFC 256 will be held at UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+

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/ufc-256-poster-released-tony-ferguson-vs-charles-oliveira-deiveson-figueiredo-brandon-moreno

Holiday countdown: The UFC’s 24 best year-end fights of all time, ranked

The UFC never has been shy about trying to deliver fireworks.

Traditionally, the promotion has liked to close out the calendar year with a bang. (Although a few years, the way the dates fell, it meant starting the new year with one, instead.) But the point is, a big pay-per-view always was something fans could look forward to around the holidays.

The past couple years, the UFC has shifted away from those, and the final pay-per-view of the year has been in the middle of December. But we still have memories of those big blowout events from the past.

In the spirit of the holiday season, this year we’re giving you our countdown of the best fights from the UFC’s past year-end pay-per-views. Each day, come back here and open the proverbial door to find out which fight is next on the list.

Disclaimer: Like all lists, these things are subjective. Maybe Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit was a truly great and competitive fight, but Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey was far from competitive and just a mauling. When we say “best fights,” we also mean best moments, so don’t get too hung up on Monday morning quarterbacking. Just enjoy the look-back.

24. Cole Miller def. Dan Lauzon

Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon, UFC 108

Event: UFC 108
Date: Jan. 2, 2010
Result: Cole Miller def. Dan Lauzon via submission (reverse triangle choke and kimura) – Round 1, 3:05
Notes: “Submission of the Night” ($50,000) for Miller … Miller’s third UFC fight-night bonus award … Miller’s 11th submission in 16 career wins … Lauzon’s return to the UFC after more than three years away … Lauzon’s brother Joe fought later on the card and lost to Sam Stout

23. Sam Stout def. Joe Lauzon

Sam Stout vs. Joe Lauzon, UFC 108

Event: UFC 108
Date: Jan. 2, 2010
Result: Sam Stout def. Joe Lauzon via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Notes: “Fight of the Night” ($50,000 each for Stout and Lauzon) … Stout’s second straight “Fight of the Night” award in a run that hit three in a row … Stout’s second straight win, which gave him his first winning streak in the UFC … Lauzon’s fifth overall UFC bonus award and second in a run that hit six fights in a row … first decision loss of Lauzon’s career … Lauzon’s brother Dan fought earlier on the card and lost to Cole Miller, who won “Submission of the Night”

22. Jon Jones def. Alexander Gustafsson

Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson, UFC 232

Event: UFC 232
Date: Dec. 29, 2018
Result: Jon Jones def. Alexander Gustafsson via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:02 – to win vacant light heavyweight title
Notes: The fight was a rematch from UFC 165 in September 2013, which Jones won by unanimous decision in what was his closest fight to that point … Jones and Gustafsson each made a disclosed $500,000 for the fight; Jones was not scheduled to receive a disclosed win bonus … the win was Jones’ 14th straight, which doesn’t count his stoppage of Daniel Cormier at UFC 214, which was overturned to a no contest … the TKO finish was Jones’ return to stoppages (again, not counting the no contest) after decision wins in his previous four fights … Gustafsson dropped to 0-3 in light heavyweight title fights, including his previous loss to Jones and a split decision loss to Cormier at UFC 192.

21. Travis Browne def. Josh Barnett

Travis Browne vs. Josh Barnett, UFC 168

Event: UFC 168
Date: Dec. 28, 2013
Result: Travis Browne def. Josh Barnett via knockout (elbows) – Round 1, 1:00
Notes: “Knockout of the Night” ($75,000) for Browne … Win was Browne’s third straight first-round knockout and third straight “Knockout of the Night” bonus, all in a perfect 3-0 2013 … After the win, Browne went on a 2-6 slide, including a loss his next time out in a title eliminator to Fabricio Werdum, who went on to become heavyweight champion … Browne fought one fight ahead of Ronda Rousey, whom he started dating less than two years later and eventually married … Loss was Barnett’s first by knockout in seven years

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-best-year-end-fights-all-time-ranked

Ovince Saint Preux unfazed by UFC on ESPN 19 underdog status: ‘They don’t know any better’

Ovince Saint Preuxhas been here before.

Entering UFC on ESPN 19, the longtime light heavyweight contender isn’t bothered he’s fighting another relative newcomer – and the odds for the fight don’t faze him.

Across major online sportsbooks, Saint Preux (25-14 MMA, 13-9 UFC) sits around +140 on average, according to BestFightOdds. The underdog status means nothing to Saint Preux, who said he doesn’t take it personally.

“No, it’s just they don’t know any better,” Saint Preux said Thursday during virtual media day. “A lot of times people look at (and) kind of relate it to boxing. They’ll be like, ‘This person is going to lose because this person is an undefeated boxer or whatnot.’ In mixed martial arts, it’s completely different.

“If you stay in this game long enough, you’re not going to be undefeated. It’s point blank. It’s really hard to be undefeated because, you know, that day is going to come when you catch an ‘L.’ Even in this 205-pound division right now, the talent level if you’re just coming in and you want to jump right on top and start fighting the top guys in the division, it’s not going to take long for you to get that first ‘L.’”

Saint Preux made his promotional debut in April 2013 after a two-year stint in Strikeforce. His UFC on ESPN 19 opponent, Jamahal Hill (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), made his first UFC walk in January 2020.

While he understands an up-and-comer’s willingness to fight the best right away, Saint Preux thinks experienced fighters (himself, in particular) are terrible matchups for fighters trying to quickly carve out their path.

“The 205 division, for an up-and-coming guy, I think would be one of the worst guys to actually go in (there) with,” Saint Preux said. “But it is what it is. Some guys feel like they have it. Some guys want to jump into the top (fights), but it’s different. This game is different. You’ve got guys who have been around for a while like (me). You’ve got experience-level behind it. It’s not only that, but it just experiences being in the cage with top-level guys and whatnot.

“These guys coming up, yes, I mean, anything can happen within a fight. But the circumstances between that fight with what I’ve got going on, and I’ve been through fighting-wise and whatnot, is going to make it a lot more difficult for him.”

UFC on ESPN 19 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-on-espn-19-ovince-saint-preux-unfazed-underdog-status