The welterweight match-up between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev has been derailed for a third time.

UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Thursday that the March 13 bout was off after Chimaev once again had to withdraw from the fight because of lingering effects from COVID-19.

The bout was initially booked for Dec. 19, but was scrapped after Edward s withdrew while dealing with a serious case of COVID-19. It was rescheduled for Jan. 20, but canceled after Chimaev withdrew because of lingering health issues from his own bout with COVID-19.

With his health issues persisting, White told ESPN that the UFC was going to move on from the Edwards match-up and give Chimaev time to fully recover. They will instead move on to another match-up for Edwards.

“I’m so bummed out. I was so excited. That was one of my favorite fights this year,” White told ESPN. “The one thing you have to look at right now is health. Let’s make sure this guy is healthy, get him the best care we can and make sure he makes a full recovery.”

Is it time for Leon Edwards vs. Stephen Thompson?

Though White didn’t say who the UFC had in mind, he indicated that matchmaker Sean Shelby was already hard at work to line up an opponent.

It might not prove to be too difficult of a task. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson was quick to step up and offer to fight Edwards.

“Hoping for a full recover for Khamzat Chimaev,” Thompson wrote on Twitter. He then added, “Leon Edwards, let’s give the fans what they want to see! No. 3 vs. No. 5!”

Ryan Hall’s troubles getting inside the octagon have continued with another fight withdrawal.

Hall (8-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is out of his scheduled featherweight matchup against Dan Ige (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night on March 13 for undisclosed reasons.

MMA Junkie confirmed the news with a person close to the situation following an initial report from BJPenn.com. The person requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

The UFC is currently looking for a replacement to fight Ige, who is No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings. Ige last competed at UFC on ESPN 13 in July, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Calvin Kattar in the main event.

Due to the withdrawal, Hall, who won Season 22 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, still remains without a fight since beating Darren Elkins at UFC Fight Night 155 in July 2019.

The latest lineup for UFC Fight Night on March 13 now includes:

Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Davey Grant vs. Jonathan Martinez
Matthew Semelsberger vs. Jason Witt
Jinh Yu Frey vs. Gloria de Paula
Dan Ige vs. opponent TBA
Eryk Anders vs. Darren Stewart
Nasrat Haqparast vs. opponent TBA
Steve Garcia vs. Charles Jourdain
Ricardo Ramos vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
Ray Rodriguez vs. Rani Yahya
Philipe Lins vs. Ben Rothwell

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-news-ryan-hall-out-fight-vs-dan-ige-ufc-fight-night-march

LAS VEGAS – Jim Miller spoke to the media ahead of UFC 258 at Wednesday’s media day with reporters.

Miller (32-15 MMA, 21-14 UFC) answered questions from MMA Junkie and other media members ahead of his lightweight bout with Bobby Green (27-11-1 MMA, 8-6-1 UFC) about wanting to hit 40 career UFC fights, taking another short-notice matchup and much more.

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

Watch the video of Miller’s complete pre-fight media availability above.

Breaking, Jim Miller, UFC 258, video, News, UFC, Videos

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-258-jim-miller-still-motivated-by-fighting-the-best

It’s no secret there’s a shared past between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns.

The two UFC welterweights trained for many years together under the tutelage of Henri Hooft in South Florida. However, that’s no longer the case, as Usman (17-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) and Burns (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) are set to clash on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 258 in Las Vegas. Usman defends his 170-pound title for a third time against first-time challenger Burns.

Burns continued training with Hooft in South Florida, and Burns moved his training to Colorado so he can work with renowned striking coach Trevor Wittman. Usman’s departure from the team was cordial, and the two fighters have been respectful in the lead-up to UFC 258.

With just a couple of days left until their championship fight, Burns released footage of what he says is the last time he shared the mat with Burns. You can watch in the video above of Usman and Burns working on wrestling drills.

UFC 258 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on 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/2021/02/video-ufc258-kamaru-usman-gilbert-burns-last-training-session-together

LAS VEGAS — It’s true that after UFC welterweight Kamaru Usman’s last two title defenses — A highly charged finish of controversial Colby Covington and the circus atmosphere surrounding his one-sided, short-notice win over Jorge Masvidal — his upcoming UFC 258 title fight against Gilbert Burns is as drama-free as it gets.

That’s because the two former training partners maintain a respectful stance towards one another.

But while Usman (17-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) returns the respect Burns (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) sends his way, he has another way of looking at things: Burns wants what Usman has. And in that way, that makes this fight as personal to Usman as any.

“The paycheck is always nice when you have a circus like the last one and the one before that, but you know, this one, a lot of people are writing us up like friends and teammates fighting each other,” Usman said. At the end of the day I don’t see this anybody, there’s no friends in there.”

“What could be more personal than someone you train with every day saying ‘I see what you have, I want that, I’m going to take that from you?’,” he added. “What could be more personal than that? So each and every one of these I approach the same.”

That said, you can be sure Usman will take Burns seriously when they step into the octagon Saturday night. Burns hasn’t clowned his way to hype like Covington or become a supernova like Masvidal. Burns has earned his spot the old-fashioned way, winning six in a row and eight of his past nine, to get himself into the cage with Usman.

And the champ recognizes the challenger’s game, even if he isn’t about to call him a friend at the moment.

“We hadn’t really trained a lot in the last couple years,” Usman said. “I think it does go away a little bit because he’s going to try hard, and I’m going to go in and get what I always do. … I like the fact he’s got all this confidence going into this. I like it. He’s put the work in the last year and a half. He’s done some good work and I see this and I recognize that. We both know.”

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

To hear more from Usman, watch the video above.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/kamaru-usman-on-facing-former-teammate-gilbert-burns-at-ufc-258-theres-no-friends-in-there