Tyron Woodley will attempt to return to the win column against one of the most dangerous rising stars in the welterweight division.

Woodley, a former longtime UFC champion at 170 pounds, is set to take on Vicente Luque at UFC 260 in March.

MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup between Luque (19-7-1 MMA, 12-3 UFC) and Woodley (19-6-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) with multiple people close to the situation. The people requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement following an initial report from broadcast partner ESPN.

Woodley, No. 8 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings, has experienced a rough patch since dropping gold to Kamaru Usman in March 2019. He’s in the midst of a three-fight losing skid to Usman, Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington, failing to win a round on the scorecards in all three fights.

“The Chosen One” will get his chance to bounce back against No. 10 Luque, who has won eight of his past nine octagon appearances. “The Silent Assassin” has frequently won in devastating fashion, finishing 89 percent of his career victories by knockout or submission. Now he’ll attempt to add a former champion to that list.

UFC 260 takes place March 27. The event does not have an official venue or location, but will air on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.

With the addition, the latest UFC 260 lineup now includes:

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

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-260-tyron-woodley-booked-vs-vicente-luque

The UFC continues to roll out its April lineup.

A fight between Tracy Cortez and Justine Kish is in the works for the promotion’s April 17 event, which will take place at a location and venue to be announced in the coming days.

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

Cortez (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) rides an eight-fight winning streak into the contest. Since a contract-earning performance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019, Cortez won her two UFC outings by unanimous decision

Kish (7-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) enters the April 17 matchup having lost three of four outings. In January 2020, Kish returned from a two-year layoff and defeated Lucie Pudilova by unanimous decision. In her most recent fight in September, Kish was submitted by Sabina Mazo.

With the addition, the UFC’s April 17 lineup includes:

• Paulo Costa vs. Robert Whittaker
• Bartosz Fabinski vs. Gerald Meerschaert
• Parker Porter vs. Chase Sherman
• Tracy Cortez vs. Justine Kish

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-news-tracy-cortez-vs-justine-kish-april-17-targeted-booking-announcement

Neil Magny is not one to talk trash, but it appears he makes an exception for Khamzat Chimaev.

Magny took to Twitter on Monday to respond to a tweet from Chimaev, who poked fun at Magny for losing to Michael Chiesa on Jan. 20 at UFC on ESPN 20. In a series of posts, Magny (24-7 MMA, 17-6 UFC) questioned Chimaev’s opposition in the UFC and vowed to slap him if they cross paths.

“Where was this energy a few months (ago) when you had opportunity to fight me?” Magny wrote.

“I don’t hand pick opponents like you do, I’ve fought the best guys in the UFC for the 8 years. Something you know nothing about.

“Make sure you keep that same energy when you see me in person! I’ll give you my word, that I’m slaaping [sic] you on sight (hand emoji) and teaching some respect!”

Chimaev was supposed to compete in the main event of UFC on ESPN 20, but his battle to recover from COVID-19 pushed the Leon Edwards bout back to March 13, causing Chiesa vs. Magny to get promoted to the headliner.

Magny’s loss to Chiesa snapped a three-fight winning streak. The 33-year-old has yet to be booked for another UFC bout.

Below are Magny’s Tweets responding to Chimaev:

Where was this energy a few months when you had opportunity to fight me?

— Neil Magny (@NeilMagny) February 2, 2021

I don’t hand pick opponents like you do, I’ve fought the best guys in the UFC for the 8 years. Something you know nothing about.

— Neil Magny (@NeilMagny) February 2, 2021

Make sure you keep that same energy when you see me in person! I’ll give you my word, that I’m slaaping you on sight 👋 and teaching some respect!

— Neil Magny (@NeilMagny) February 2, 2021

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-news-neil-magny-trash-talk-khamzat-chimaev-twitter

It took Pena a while to get up and running in her UFC 257 bout against McMann.

But once Pena did, it was like watching a sports car rev up. “The Ultimate Fighter 18” winner shook off a slow round, turned the tide in the second, then finished things with a rear-naked choke in the third. The time of the finish was 3:39.

“It went exactly as I expected,” Pena said. “Sara McMann is the best wrestler in the division. I beat the best wrestler in the division, and now I want Amanda Nunes next.”

The first round was all for 2004 Olympic wrestling silver medalist McMann. She came into the bout the all-time leader in takedowns in the women’s bantamweight division with 20 and wasted little time adding to her total. She transitioned from side control to a back take and nearly sunk in her hooks, then when she couldn’t quite get there, transitioned to top control, landing elbows along the way.

The second saw both fighters have their moments in a round again mostly fought on the ground, but as the round wore on, it was clear Pena was becoming stronger, even as she was on the bottom where she landed punch after punch as McMann tried to improve her position.

By the third, Pena had plainly taken over. She was aggressive from the outset, threw McMann to the mat, landed elbows aggressively as McMann turtled, then made a sweet transition to take her back and sink in the winning choke, the fourth submission victory of her career.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/submission-of-the-month-january-2021-julianna-pena-sara-mcmann-ufc-257

UFC welterweight Mike Perry on Monday issued a public apology for his past use of the N-word and vowed not to use it again.

Perry, who in 2018 said he was allowed to use the slur because a DNA kit revealed him to be 2 percent African, indicated in a tweet that the motivation for his apology was wanting to do better for his newborn son.

“I know some won’t care but some might appreciate this. This is for my son and me as a son to be different than my father. Also black history month,” Perry wrote. “I would like to apologize for any time I ever said n***a , [sic] plain and simple you won’t hear it from me anymore.”

Perry accompanied his apology with the hashtag #NoDisrespect.

Perry has been caught on camera multiple times using the N-word, most recently last summer in the immediate aftermath of punching an older man in a restaurant altercation. He’s also openly used the N-word on social media, including in a spat with actor Michael Jai White, who is Black.

Fatherhood could be having a positive effect on Perry. He and girlfriend Latory Gonzalez announced the birth of their son, Ocean, on Jan. 6.

Perry, 29, has fought for the UFC since August 2016. He’s 7-7 with the promotion and has lost three of his past four fights, most recently dropping a unanimous decision to Tim Means at UFC 255.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-mike-perry-apologizes-n-word-wont-use-it-again