Paige VanZant briefly considered retiring from combat sports following her loss at “Bare Knuckle FC: KnuckleMania.” Upon reflection, though, she thought better of it.

VanZant’s post-UFC career began on Friday with her transition to the bare knuckle boxing world for a showdown with Britain Hart in the main event at Bert’s Barracuda Harley-Davidson in Clearwater, Fla. She lost a unanimous decision, dropping four of five rounds to her opponent in the 125-pound matchup.

After choosing BKFC over other suitors such as Bellator, VanZant placed high expectations on herself to perform against Hart. The fight didn’t go her way, and with that comes a natural level of disappointment.

In a social media post on Saturday, VanZant admitted she briefly thought of retirement in the aftermath of her loss. That won’t be the case, though, and she promised to rise again in the wake of a difficult moment (via Instagram):

The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear our defeat without losing heart. Last night I told my husband I didn’t want to fight any more. But as soon as the words left my lips I knew that wasn’t true. I’m a fighter. This is what I live for. Losers quit when they fail, winners fail until they succeed. That fight last night was a good learning experience for me. The timing and distance took a little bit to figure out. But I felt my last round was my best round and I’m going to build off of that! I’m thankful to fight for the best team in the world and we are going to go back and fix our mistakes. Thank you to Britain for competing last night and congrats on victory! I’m also confident we will cross paths again.

A post shared by Paige VanZant (@paigevanzant)

VanZant did not put a timeline on her future plans and when she’ll aim to get back to work. Her promoter, BKFC president David Feldman, told MMA Junkie that he would like to see her compete this summer, but intends to give VanZant all the time she needs to get into the right mental space.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/bkfc-paige-vanzant-considered-retirement-loss-next-fight-future-live-for

(Click on the fight below and then scroll down to see in-fight live stats and full results, courtesy of Fight Analytics. Full live results for the first UFC Vegas 18: Overeem vs. Volkov bout from The Apex in Las Vegas is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT on Saturday, Feb. 6, on MMAWeekly.com)

UFC Vegas 18: Overeem vs. Volkov start times

• UFC Vegas 18 main card start time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on ESPN+
• UFC Vegas 18 prelims start time: 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT on ESPN+

NOTE: To select the appropriate fight, click on the images with the yellow name plates at the bottom of the Fight Analytics window and drag until you see the fight you are interested in. Quick results are located below the Fight Analytics window.

UFC Vegas 18: Overeem vs. Volkov live results

UFC Vegas 18: Overeem vs. Volkov takes place on Saturday, Feb. 5, at The Apex in Las Vegas. It marks the promotion’s return to its home base following a third stint on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

UFC President Dana White and Company restarted the professional sports world with UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje on May 9, 2020, followed by two more events in Jacksonville, Fla., all within an eight-day span.

UFC Vegas 18 features two bouts with strong title implications. Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov square off in the main event with hopes of getting a crack at the heavyweight belt. The co-main event features Cory Sandhagen vs. Frankie Edgar with the winner aiming for a shot at the bantamweight belt.

Check out the MMAWeekly.com Rumors page for more scheduled events and rumored fight cards.

UFC Vegas 18: Overeem vs. Volkov results

UFC Vegas 18 Main Card

• Main Event – Heavyweight Bout: Alistair Overeem vs Alexander Volkov
• Co-Main Event – Bantamweight Bout: Cory Sandhagen vs Frankie Edgar
• Flyweight Bout: Alexandre Pantoja vs Manel Kape
• Featherweight Bout: Cody Stamann vs Askar Askar
• Lightweight Bout: Diego Ferreira vs Beneil Dariush

UFC Vegas 18 Prelims

• Lightweight Bout: Michael Johnson vs Clay Guida
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Mike Rodriguez vs Danilo Marques
• Featherweight Bout: Timur Valiev vs Martin Day
• Catchweight Bout (160-lb): Devonte Smith vs Justin Jaynes
• Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Karol Rosa vs Joselyne Edwards
• Women’s Flyweight Bout: Molly McCann vs Lara Procopio
• Featherweight Bout: Seungwoo Choi vs Youssef Zalal
• Featherweight Bout: Ode Osbourne vs Jerome Rivera

UFC Vegas 18 Alistair Overeem vs. Alexander Volkov face-off

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-vegas-18-live-results-overeem-vs-volkov-quick-results

Former UFC lightweight champion, featherweight title challenger, and current number four ranked bantamweight Frankie Edgar spoke with the media ahead of his co-main event spot against number two ranked prospect Cory Sandhagen on UFC on Vegas 18.

Following Edgar’s split decision victory over Pedro Munhoz, Edgar catapulted himself into the lightweight title picture. “The Answer” believes a win over Sandhagen could warrant a title shot for the winner of Saturday night’s bout.

“I think the winner between me and Cory are right there,” Edgar said. “Put on a good performance, and could be fighting for that belt next.”

Edgar also had high praise for his opponent. 

“He’s right up there with some of the best guys I fought,” Edgar said. “Obviously his ranking says that, his resume says that, and he’s got a future ahead of him too in this sport. He’s one of the best guys I’ve fought.”

Over the course of his career, Edgar faced all-time greats such as B.J. Penn, Jose Aldo, and Max Holloway. That is some impressive company for Sandhagen to be a part of.

Frankie Edgar not surprised to once again be an underdog

Edgar is going into this fight as a heavy underdog. But he has been an underdog for the majority of his career, a role he is rather familiar with.

“I don’t think I’m the favorite many times in my fights, especially the older I get,” Edgar said. “It’s kind of normal to me.”

Edgar says the underdog role puts zero pressure on him, and believes it actually adds pressure to the favorite. In this particular case, putting the bricks on Sandhagen’s shoulder.

“Everyone seems to bring up the fact that I’m the underdog,” Edgar said. “I mean, that puts the pressure on [Sandhagen]. If you look at the line, he’s supposed to go in there and walk through me, which is kind of laughable a little bit.”

Assuming Edgar is the one who gets the last laugh on Saturday, he believes his standing in the division, along with his Hall of Fame career, will guarantee him another chance at gold.

“I think where I’m at in my career, a win over Cory will definitely give me a title shot.”

UFC Vegas 18: Overeem vs. Volkov Live Results

UFC Vegas 18 Frankie Edgar and Cory Sandhagen weigh-in

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/frankie-edgar-relishes-underdog-role-chance-at-another-ufc-title

Chris Leben says his combat sports career is over following a win over Quentin Henry at Bare Knuckle FC “KnuckleMania” on Friday.

Leben, who appeared on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series and has a lengthy and memorable UFC career, transitioned to bare knuckle fighting after retiring from MMA and had some solid moments.

He got one final high in his light heavyweight fight with Henry, earning a first-round knockout victory at the event in Clearwater, Fla. in what was deemed as his farewell fight from combat sports.

Leben got the upper hand early in the fight, connected with an uppercut that damaged the left eye of Henry, who went down claiming an eye poke. Replays showed Leben landed a clean punch. The bout was restarted shortly thereafter, then the pair brawled it out.

In the midst of the exchange, Leben landed a pair of powerful left hands that hurt Henry and put him down for the 10 count, marking the knockout at the 1:07 mark of Round 1.

Man somebody had to go down pic.twitter.com/iJ8ngFHNah

— Steven Wright (@steventhewarman) February 6, 2021

After the fight, Leben confirmed he wouldn’t go out any other way.

“What a (expletive) way to finish a career right there, huh?” Leben said in his post-fight interview. “I wanted someone who was going to swing like a mother(expletive) at me, and what a way to finish a career. Thank you to Quinten and to BKFC. … If I had some gloves on, I would leave them in the ring.”

Leben, 40, had a 3-1 record in BKFC. In MMA, Leben (22-12) was the inaugural WEC middleweight champion, and his noteworthy wins include Wanderlei Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/bkfc-knucklemania-results-chris-leben-retires-from-combat-sports-knockout

Britain Hart gave Paige VanZant a rude welcome to the Bare Knuckle FC world on in the “KnuckleMania” main event on Friday.

In VanZant’s anticipated debut with the promotion after moving on from the UFC in late 2020, Hart showed off superior work in the clinch and from range to take four of five rounds to win a unanimous decision by scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 49-46 in the 125-pound contest.

“BKFC: KnuckleMania” went down at Bert’s Barracuda Harley-Davidson in Clearwater, Fla., and streamed via online pay-per-view following prelims on MMA Junkie.

VanZant opened the fight with a solid uppercut in the clinch, but Hart fired back with some hard body shots from the inside before they were separated. VanZant charged forward with a combination, and was met with a hard counter hook. They got into a flurry just before the end of the round.

Hart opened the second round working behind her jab as VanZant attempted to weave in and land her hook. They exchanged before clinching up on the inside, where Hart worked her hard body shots. The referee broke them up, then the fighter exchanged from a distance, as Hart landed a right hook what was her best punch of the round.

VanZant opened the third round with a pair of nice right hands, but Hart showed no fear in firing back with combinations. VanZant started to get her jab going, but as soon as she came inside Hart got the better of her with activity inside the clinch. Hart showed much more aggression from the range, and VanZant clinched her again before being separated. They clinched again and burned off time until round’s end.

LFG Hart #KnuckleMania #BKFC pic.twitter.com/qIGRy3P5t9

— Pucc0 (@ppucc0) February 6, 2021

VanZant got some respect to start the fourth round in landing a nice right hand. She forced her way inside the clinch, but they were quickly broken up. Hart connected with a clean uppercut, and VanZant scored back to bloody the nose of her opponent. Hart used good ring control and moved forward with her punches, forcing VanZant to clinch her again. VanZant’s shots continued to be shy of the target, and Hart landed a stiff right hand before the end of the round.

The final round, Hart initiated the pressure from the striking range as VanZant used her movement to stay on the outside. She scored with a left hand and a right, but Hart charged her way inside and battered the body with more punches. VanZant landed three good hooks as the fight came under one minute remaining. They started to brawl down the stretch, with VanZant finding solid success. Hart stayed tough, though, and kept pushing her way inside and punching until the final bell.

“This is as big as you make it. Paige VanZant was an idol to me, because she’s pretty and showed you can break the limits,” Hart said in her post-fight interview. “I was not going to let Paige VanZant outwork me. You cannot outwork me.”

Wrap it up. Here’s the post fight promo of the year.
pic.twitter.com/MygunihcQ4

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) February 6, 2021

A post shared by Paige VanZant (@paigevanzant)

MAIN CARD

• Britain Hart def. Paige VanZant via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
• Dat Nguyen def. Johnny Bedford via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) – to win bantamweight title
• Chris Leben def. Quentin Henry via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:07
• Martin Brown def. Zach Zane via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:28
• Lorenzo Hunt def. Rob Morrow via knockout (punches) – Round 4, 2:00
• John Chalbeck def. Greg Bono via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 0:28
• Haim Gozali def. John McCallister via knockout (punches). Round 2, 1:08
• Dillon Cleckler def. Chris Jensen via TKO (body punch) – Round 1, 0:24
• Charisa Sigala vs. Taylor Starling via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-43, 49-44)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Travis Thompson def. Dave Morgan via TKO — Round 2, 0:22
• Jarod Grant def. Brandon Lambert via knockout — Round 3, 1:11
• Jeff Bailey def. Drew Lipton via knockout — Round 1, 1:32

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/bare-knuckle-fc-knucklemania-paige-vanzant-britain-hart-live-stream-official-results