By John Morgan |

January 22, 2021 1:50 pm

ABU DHABI – Ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC 257 are now complete following Friday’s festivites.

Saturday’s card, which takes place at Etihad Arena on “Fight Island” and streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+, is headlined by a rematch between Dustin Poirier (26-6 MMA, 18-5 UFC UFC) and Conor McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who meet in a high-stakes lightweight contender matchup. Another pivotal 155-pound bout serves as the co-main event as former Bellator champion Michael Chandler makes his promotional debut against Dan Hooker.

Check out the faceoff highlights for all 11 fights in the video above, as well as a complete photo gallery below.

Breaking, Conor McGregor, Dan Hooker, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, UFC 257, video, News, UFC, Videos

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-257-mcgregor-vs-poirier-ceremonial-faceoffs-video-highlights

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

Shinya Aoki looked back to his brilliant best as he submitted James Nakashima in the opening round at ONE: Unbreakable on Friday. The Japanese fighter needed just 3:41 to finish the former welterweight title challenger with a neck crank.

Shinya Aoki returned to form with his win over James Nakashima

Aoki went to work with body kicks in the early exchanges. He soon tried to take the fight down by grabbing one of Nakashima’s legs. They ended up clinching against the cage with neither man able to gain an advantage.

The lightweights separated and Aoki landed a right hook. Nakashima tried to respond with a straight right, but the Japanese southpaw timed it to perfection and ducked under to take his opponent’s back from a standing position.

Nakashima was powerless to prevent Aoki from securing the body triangle and then wrapping his forearm around his face. The neck crank was tight and the American tapped almost instantly.

Aoki improved to 46-9-0-1, but played down talk of a title shot afterwards, despite having put together a three-fight winning streak. Nakashima drops to 12-2 after losing back to back fights.

Gadzhimurad Abdulaev moves into welterweight title contention

Former welterweight champion Zebaztian Kadestam returned after a lengthy layoff to face Gadzhimurad Abdulaev. It was a match that pitted the striking of the former against the grappling of the latter. It was the undefeated Russian who ultimately prevailed.

Abdulaev caught a kick early in the fight and took Kadestam down. Moments later he had the Swedish fighter’s back and after a brief tussle he locked in a neck crank with the tap coming at the 2:09 mark.

With the win, Abdulaev moved up to 6-0 and establishes himself as an immediate contender for the welterweight title. Kadestam dropped to 12-6 after losing back to back fights for the first time in his career.

The best of the rest at ONE: Unbreakable

In the first fight of the night, Lito Adiwang (12-3) got back to winning ways in style. He finished Namiki Kawahara (7-4-2) with a left hook at 2:02 of the second round in their strawweight fight.

In a catchweight contest that had originally been set for atomweight, Meng Bo (17-5) scored a unanimous decision win over Samara Santos (11-8-1). 

TRENDING UFC releases Ottman Azaitar for brazen violation of COVID-19 safety protocols

ONE: Unbreakable full results

• Captain Petchyindee def. Alaverdi Ramazanov via TKO at 1:46 of Round 2
• Shinya Aoki def. James Nakashima via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:41 of Round 1
• Rade Opacic def. Bruno Sasano via KO (Punches) at 1:07 of Round 2
• Gadzhimurad Abdulaev def. Zebaztian Kadestam via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:09 of Round 1
• Meng Bo def. Samara Santos via unanimous decision
• Lito Adiwang def. Namiki Kawahara via KO (Punch) at 2:02 of Round 2

ONE: Unbreakable fight highlights

(Video courtesy of ONE Championship)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/shinya-aoki-submits-james-nakashima-at-one-unbreakable

Tune in for MMAWeekly.com’s UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 pre-fight show with live chat, Friday at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT.

UFC 257 takes place on Saturday, Jan. 23, in Abu Dhabi, where Conor McGregor rematches Dustin Poirier in the main event. Former Bellator champion Michael Chandler makes his promotional debut in the UFC 257 co-main event opposite Dan Hooker.

UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 Live Results

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-257-poirier-vs-mcgregor-2-live-prefight-show

Cody Stamann has drawn a new opponent.

With Merab Dvalishvili unable to partake in a fight due to complications stemming from COVID-19, Stamann (19-3-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) will now face Andre Ewell at UFC Fight Night on Feb. 6, which is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Both fighters recently announced the matchup on their respective Instagram pages. BJPenn.com was the first to report the news.

After a 3-0 start off his UFC tenure, Stamann has put forth mixed results in the cage. At UFC 250 in June, he picked up a unanimous decision win over Brian Kelleher, but fell short to Jimmie Rivera at UFC on ESPN 13 in July.

The winner of three of his past four, Ewell (17-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is coming off back-to-back split decision wins over Jonathan Martinez and, in his most recent outing, Irwin Rivera at UFC Fight Night 178 in September.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Feb. 6 now includes:

• Frankie Edgar vs. Cory Sandhagen
• Alistair Overeem vs. Alexander Volkov
• Macy Chiasson vs. Marion Reneau
• Molly McCann vs. Lara Procopio
• Macy Chiasson vs. Marion Reneau
• Aliaskhab Khizriev vs. TBA
• Julio Arce vs. Timur Valiev
• Collin Anglin vs. Seungwoo Choi
• Clay Guida vs. Michael Johnson
• Beneil Dariush vs. Diego Ferreira
• Alex da Silva vs. Devonte Smith
• Danilo Marques vs. Mike Rodriguez
• Nicco Montano vs. Karol Rosa
• Manel Kape vs. Alexandre Pantoja
• Andre Ewell vs. Cody Stamann

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-news-cody-stamann-vs-andre-well

ABU DHABI – Matt Schnell beat Tyson Nam with a split decision Wednesday on the main card at UFC on ESPN 20 in Abu Dhabi.

Take a look inside the fight with Schnell, who got back in the win column in his first fight since December 2019.

Tyson Nam vs .Matt Schnell

Result: Matt Schnell def. Tyson Nam via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Updated records: Schnell (15-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC), Nam (20-12-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC)
Key stat: Schnell won the striking game 85-58.

Schnell on the fight’s key moment

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JANUARY 20: (L-R) Matt Schnell punches Tyson Nam in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island on January 20, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

“I knew I’d have the speed advantage. It’s always the game plan that if they hit you once, hit them three times. That was probably about the clip — one to three. I was doing subtle things to keep him from lining me up and squaring me up with a good one. Most of the ones that hit me didn’t land clean. Most of them were skimming off me. He wasn’t quite able to line me up, but the young man’s go some thump—no doubt about it. You can’t take it away from him. He was definitely bringing it.

“I was trying to stay offline so I don’t eat the brunt of his right hand, so he can’t turn his hip over on me. I was delivering good shots, too. I had him stepping in potholes a couple times.”

Schnell on being overlooked by some experts

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JANUARY 20: (L-R) Tyson Nam punches Matt Schnell in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island on January 20, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

“Tyson had all the momentum coming into this thing. Ask the pundits who they were picking. They were all picking Tyson Nam. You can’t blame them because you’re only as good as your last fight. I took an ‘L’ in my last fight and Tyson’s been cleaning dudes’ clocks. I get it, but I’m telling you I’m one of the best in the world. With 15 focused minutes, I can beat any man on two legs.”

(To note: Half of MMA Junkie’s 14 pickers took Schnell in a fight with the closest betting lines on the main card.)

Schnell on what he wants next

“It’s been over a year since I’ve been in there. I felt fine, but I’m going to amass some momentum. I’m a serious guy in this division. I’m interested in fun fights. I knew Tyson Nam would be a fun fight. I played it pretty conservative tonight, tried to stay on my jab and just outwork him. There are some exciting matchups out there.”

To hear more from Schnell, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

Breaking, Matt Schnell, UFC on ESPN 20, video, News, UFC, Videos

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/matt-schnell-overlooked-wants-to-be-taken-seriously-ufc-on-espn-20-video