Watch the UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 Pre-fight Press Conference live on Thursday, Jan. 21 at 8am ET / 5am PT on MMAWeekly.com.

The UFC will hold its first Pay-Per-View of 2021, headlined by a thrilling rematch between former interim lightweight champion and No. 2 ranked contender Dustin Poirier (26-6, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) and former two-division champion and No. 4 Conor McGregor (22-4, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland). The co-main event will see No. 6 ranked lightweight contender Dan Hooker (20-9, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand) take on debuting Michael Chandler (21-5, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla.).

UFC will host a press conference with the headlining athletes ahead of UFC 257: POIRIER vs. MCGREGOR 2 on Thursday, January 21 at 8 a.m. ET and 5 a.m. PT at Etihad Arena.

WHO:

• Dana White, UFC President
• Dustin Poirier, No. 2 UFC lightweight
• Conor McGregor, No. 4 UFC lightweight
• Dan Hooker, No. 6 UFC lightweight
• Michael Chandler, UFC lightweight

WHAT:

• UFC 257: POIRIER vs. MCGREGOR 2 press conference

WHEN:

• Thursday, January 21 at 8 a.m. ET / 5 a.m. PT / 5 p.m. GST

WHERE:

• ETIHAD ARENA

UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 Live Results

(Video courtesy of UFC)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-257-poirier-vs-mcgregor-2-pre-fight-press-conference-video

Umar Nurmagomedov is the latest fighter bearing his surname to grace the UFC cage – and he’s already one-upped his cousin Khabib.

At UFC on ESPN 20 on Wednesday, Nurmagomedov (13-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his long-anticipated UFC debut after three cancellations. Nurmagomedov put on a tactical, multifaceted performance and ended the fight with a technical submission at the 3:39 mark of Round 2.

The beginning of the end for Morozov (16-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was a beautiful double-leg takedown by Nurmagomedov. When Morozov stood up, Nurmagomedov remained relentless. After he swung to the back and dumped Morozov to the ground again, Nurmagomedov worked his submission along the fence. Nurmagomedov got his hands into position, pulled Morozov backward, and put his opponent to sleep.

Following the announcement of the official decision, Nurmagomedov was joined by Khabib, who served as both cornerman and translator.

“He talked about me,” Khabib translated. “Nine years ago today, Jan. 20, 2012, I beat my opponent like this with this choke. Today, he did this. But I did it in the third round. He did it in the second round.”

Check out Nurmagomedov’s finish and subsequent interview in the videos below:

Put him to sleep 😴@UmarNmgdv locked up the choke at #UFCFightIsland8 pic.twitter.com/FgHcjhEf1Y

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 20, 2021

Exactly nine years after @TeamKhabib‘s UFC debut, his cousin @UmarNmgdv made his own UFC debut and one-upped The Eagle 😅 #UFCFightIsland8 pic.twitter.com/slLu8zuO2T

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 20, 2021

UFC on ESPN 20 took place Wednesday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The card aired on ESPN.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-espn-20-video-highlights-umar-nurmagomedov-one-ups-cousin-khabib-submission

After more than a year away from the octagon, and after two prior bookings fell by the wayside, Matt Schnell returned and got back to his winning ways on Fight Island.”

Schnell (15-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) edged past Tyson Nam on the scorecards in their main-card bout at UFC on ESPN 20, which took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, as the Shreveport, La., native showed his boxing skills en route to a split decision victory.

Nam (20-12-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC) calmly took the center of the cage and looked for openings as Schnell fired off some range-finding jabs and kicks. Then, after a few kicks of his own, Nam started to let his hands go and immediately scored with a slick left-right combination.

However, it was Schnell who settled into his rhythm, and the 31-year-old continued to beat Nam to the punch, though Nam appeared untroubled by his opponent’s strikes and responded to one exchange with a solid left hook. Schnell kept the pressure on, however, and appeared to briefly stun Nam with a rapid combination as his faster, more frequent punches started to cause the 37-year-old a few issues toward the end of Round 1.

Schnell started Round 2 in the same way he finished Round 1, by sticking and moving, beating Nam to the punch, and connecting regularly. But Nam started to up the intensity and loosened Schnell’s mouthpiece when a solid right hand found its mark. However, it was Schnell’s strikes that appeared to have the greater effect as the cumulative damage from “Danger’s” strikes started to show on Nam’s face.

Perhaps sensing that the fight was drifting away from him past the midway mark, the Hawaiian bit down on his mouthpiece and let fly in the final seconds of the round. But, despite connecting with a couple of clean shots, Nam was unable to knock Schnell out of his stride.

Round 3 saw both men up the pace, with Nam, in particular, looking to raise his intensity as he started to stalk Schnell around the cage. While Nam increased his strike count, Schnell got on his bike and ensured he stayed on the move as he continued picking off his man on the way in.

Eventually the bout went all the way to the scorecards, with the judges scoring it 28-29, 29-28, 29-28 to give Schnell the victory.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 20 results include:

• Matt Schnell def. Tyson Nam via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Lerone Murphy def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Omari Akhmedov def. Tom Breese via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:41
• Ricky Simon def. Gaetano Pirrello via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:00
• Su Mudaerji def. Zarrukh Adashev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Dalcha Lungiambula def. Markus Perez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Francisco Figueiredo def. Jerome Rivera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mike Davis def. Mason Jones via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Umar Nurmagomedov def. Sergey Morozov via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:39
• Manon Fiorot def. Victoria Leonardo via TKO (head kick, punches) – Round 2, 4:08

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-on-espn-20-results-matt-schnell-split-decision-tyson-nam

Viviane Araujo’s showing at UFC on ESPN 20 was a dominant one.

For the majority of the 15-minute bout, Araujo (10-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) outworked former UFC women’s flyweight title challenger Roxanne Modafferi en route to a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26).

The women’s flyweight bout was part of the UFC on ESPN 20 main card at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. It aired on ESPN.

Throughout the fight, Araujo displayed the skill differential between herself and Modafferi (25-18 MMA, 4-6 UFC) in various areas. The gap in the levels of the two fighters’ striking, in particular, was on full display.

Late in Round 1, Araujo appeared to be close to a submission. However, the sequence never played out in full as the horn sounded.

In Round 2, Modafferi landed her best offense of the night – a right hand that briefly stunned Araujo. A second later, however, Araujo was back to dominating.

Round 3 was more of the same, with Araujo having her way with Modafferi on the feet and on the ground. A late Araujo takedown put a stamp on an already one-sided performance. Swollen and bloody, Modafferi displayed her signature toughness and veteran grit en route to the final horn.

VIVI! 🇧🇷

A stunning performance by @ViviAraujoMMA to get the W.

[ #UFCFightIsland8 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/SwtOyG4THn

— UFC (@ufc) January 20, 2021

With the victory, Araujo turns a lone unanimous decision win over Montana De La Rosa in September into a winning streak. Araujo has only lost once since 2017 – a unanimous decision defeat to Jessica Eye in December 2019.

As for Modafferi, her streak of alternating losses and wins continues. Since her UFC return, a December 2017 title fight vs. Nicco Montano, Modafferi has never accumulated a winning streak or losing skid.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 20 results include:

• Viviane Araujo def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Matt Schnell def. Tyson Nam via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Lerone Murphy def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Omari Akhmedov def. Tom Breese via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:41
• Ricky Simon def. Gaetano Pirrello via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:00
• Su Mudaerji def. Zarrukh Adashev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Dalcha Lungiambula def. Markus Perez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Francisco Figueiredo def. Jerome Rivera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mike Davis def. Mason Jones via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Umar Nurmagomedov def. Sergey Morozov via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:39
• Manon Fiorot def. Victoria Leonardo via TKO (head kick, punches) – Round 2, 4:08

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-on-espn-20-results-viviane-aruajo-dominates-roxanne-modafferi-fight-island

Neil Magny faces Michael Chiesa on Wednesday in the main event of UFC Fight Island 8. Watch Magny’s performance against Craig White at UFC Liverpool in 2018 to prepare for the match-up.

(Video courtesy of UFC)

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/watch-neil-magny-knock-out-craig-white-ahead-of-ufc-fight-island-8