Dominant UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will face one of his toughest tests to date on Feb. 13, as he meets former teammate Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC 258.

On a 16-fight winning streak, Usman has defeated Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal in defense of the title he took from Tyron Woodley in 2019, and now he puts his belt on the line against the surging “Durinho,” who has won six in a row on his way to the biggest fight in his career.

This bout has been forced to the curb on at least two occasions, hopefully the third time is a charm, and we get to see Usman vs. Burns on Feb. 13 in Las Vegas.

(Video courtesy of UFC)

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/not-ready-for-kamaru-usman-vs-gilbert-burns-maybe-this-ufc-258-promo-will-help

Matt Serra and Din Thomas tour the desert outside Abu Dhabi on camelback, ATVs and sand surfboards. They join Dana White and Khabib Nurmagomedov at a local MMA event, where they discover multiple athletes… plus announcer and chef talent to boot.

Take a look at the latest episode of Dana White: Lookin’ For a Fight, from the UFC’s third trip to Fight Island.

(Video courtesy of UFC)

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white-lookin-for-a-fight-with-khabib-on-ufc-fight-island

Jessica Penne is back.

Having concluded a 20-month U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspension, Penne (12-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) is being targeted for a return against Hannah Goldy at UFC 260 on March 27. The event doesn’t currently have an announced location or venue.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the planned booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Initially a four-year suspension, Penne’s discipline was reduced to a 20-month order by USADA after she tested “positive at trace levels for two metabolites of stanozolol, 16β-hydroxystanozolol and 3′-hydroxystanozolol” due to a tainted supplement. The suspension was made effective retroactively to the date of the test, April 8, 2019. It was Penne’s second career USADA suspension.

A former UFC women’s strawweight title challenge, Penne has lost three straight fights. After a loss to then-champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Penne was then defeated by Jessica Andrade and Danielle Taylor.

Goldy (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), a Dana White’s Contender Series signee, was defeated by fellow UFC debutant Miranda Granger at UFC on ESPN 5 in August 2019. Goldy has not competed since then, though was booked for, and withdrew from, a fight vs. Loma Lookboonme in February 2020.

With the addition, the latest UFC Fight Night on March 27 lineup includes:

• Champ Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou – for heavyweight title
• Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for featherweight title
• Jimmy Crute vs. Johnny Walker
• Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
• Hannah Goldy vs. Jessica Penne

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-260-jessica-penne-usada-suspension-over-fights-hannah-goldy

Sam Alvey knows he’ll have to shed a lot of weight to hit the middleweight mark, but “Smile’n Sam” remains unfazed.

Alvey (33-14-1 MMA, 10-9-1 UFC) will return to 185 pounds for the first time in over three years when he takes on Zak Cummings at a UFC Fight Night event on April 10.

After missing weight for the first time in his career in a unanimous decision loss to Ramazan Emeev in October 2017, Alvey decided to move up to light heavyweight.

He found early success at 205 pounds with a knockout of Marcin Prachnio and a split-decision win over Gian Villante but went on to lose four straight, followed by a split draw against Da Un Jung at UFC 254, which prompted his decision to move back down to middleweight.

Despite knowing it won’t be an easy move to cut back down to the 185-pound division, Alvey – who’s always walked around at well over 200 pounds – says he’s not sweating it.

“I got about 40 pounds to go, but it’s OK,” Alvey told MMA Junkie. “I’m not used to it recently, but I’m used to it a lot throughout my career. I always walked around 225, and now I’ve got to work my way back down to 185 pounds. If I can lose 25 pounds, then cut the last 15, that’ll make everything pretty easy. Well, easy, quote-unquote, it’ll never be easy. But it’ll be worth it when I’m getting my hand raised.”

Having fought in three different weight classes throughout his career, Alvey has always shown his willingness to compete against anyone, from former champions to rising prospects. So, despite his recent losing skid, Alvey continues to draw tough competition as he gears up to face Cummings in April.

“I’m the easiest guy in the world to work with because I don’t have any criteria,” Alvey said. “They ask, ‘Hey, you want to fight this guy over here?’ I say, ‘Let’s do it!’ and that has always been the case. It’s led to some bad weight cuts, it’s led to some short-notice fights, but I think that’s why they like me so much, because I’m the guy that says ‘yes,’ always.”

To hear the full interview with Alvey, check out the video below.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-news-sam-alvey-has-40-pounds-to-cut

Bobby Green and Jim Miller have been in the UFC lightweight division for years, yet they’ve never squared off.

That’ll change Feb. 13, as a fight between Green (27-11-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) and Miller (32-15 MMA, 21-14 UFC) has been added to UFC 258 as a late addition. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

In 2014, the two fighters were scheduled for a fight at UFC 172. However, Green suffered an injury and was replaced by Yancy Medeiros.

Entering 2020 on a two-fight losing skid, Green turned his luck around. From late June to mid-September, Green competed – and won – three times in the UFC. Following those wins against Clay Guida, Lando Vannata and Alan Patrick, Green lost a unanimous decision to Thiago Moises in late October.

Miller, 37, went 1-2 in 2020. Following a unanimous decision loss to Scott Holtzman in February, Miller submitted Roosevelt Roberts by a first-round armbar in June. Then at UFC 252 in August, Miller reentered the loss column with a unanimous decision defeat to Vinc Pichel.

The latest UFC 258 lineup includes:

• Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns – for welterweight title
• Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera
• Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman
• Ian Heinisch vs. Kelvin Gastelum
• Maycee Barber vs. Alexa Grasso
• Gabe Green vs. Phil Rowe
• Dhiego Lima vs. Belal Muhammad
• Miranda Maverick vs. Gillian Robertson
• Anthony Hernandez vs. Rodolfo Vieira
• Mallory Martin vs. Polyana Viana
• Brian Kelleher vs. Ricky Simon
• Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-258-bobby-green-vs-jim-miller-booking-late-addition