Bellator champ Douglas Lima: UFC won’t risk matching me up vs. Kamaru Usman

Douglas Lima doubts the UFC would ever try to match him up against against their champion.

The Bellator welterweight title holder doesn’t think the UFC would take the risk pitting him against Kamaru Usman – the current UFC champion at 170 pounds. Lima (32-8 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) weighed in Friday about the potential matchup with Usman after being asked about it on Twitter.

“UFC won’t take the risk,” Lima posted.

Lima has long been interested in facing Usman in a cross-promotional bout. Bellator has been keen to working with other promotions in the past, but the UFC has not. Former UFC and Bellator champions have left one promotion for the other with more frequency in recent years, but there never has been a fight between an active Bellator and UFC champion.

In 2019, Lima opened up about wanting to face Usman and hoped Bellator could work something out with the UFC.

“It’s not the name ‘UFC,’ or ‘Bellator,’ or ‘ONE FC’ – there’s killers everywhere, and I’ve been fighting all these guys. I’ve been beating them,” Lima told TMZ Sports. “(I’m a) three-time world champion, three tournament (wins), but they still don’t believe me. Now that (Bellator president) Scott Coker is doing the co-promotions – he’s doing that with Rizin – I would love if we would do that with the UFC.”

There’s never been talk on the matter between the two promotions, and it seems unlikely that will change anytime soon, as UFC president Dana White has turned down the idea of cross promotion fights.

Lima most recently fought this past October when he tried to become a two-division champion by fighting Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 250 for the vacant middleweight title. Lima lost the bout by unanimous decision. The defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak for the 33-year-old.

Usman is gearing up for his third UFC title defense. He takes on former teammate Gilbert Burns in the UFC 258 main event Feb. 13.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/bellator-douglas-lima-says-ufc-wont-risk-kamaru-usman-to-fight-him

 

Alexandre Pantoja says COVID-19 gave him six bad weeks, but he’s ‘super ready’ for Manel Kape

LAS VEGAS – Ahead of UFC Fight Night 184, Alexandre Pantoja spoke to the media, including MMA Junkie, on Thursday.

Pantoja (22-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) talks about his difficult experience with COVID-19, training with American Top Team, and where he fits into the flyweight title picture heading into his rescheduled bout with Manel Kape (15-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

You can watch the full interview in the video above.

UFC Fight Night 184 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/alexandre-pantoja-covid-19-manel-kape-ufc-fight-night-184-video

 

Diego Ferreira still wants Drew Dober but happy with Beneil Dariush rematch

LAS VEGAS – Ahead of UFC Fight Night 184, Diego Ferreira spoke to the media, including MMA Junkie, on Thursday.

Ferreira (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) discussed how he kept himself busy during a year off due to the pandemic, still wanting a fight with Drew Dober, which dropped out twice, how he’s glad to have his lightweight rematch with Beneil Dariush (19-4-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC), and his plans to fight three more times in 2021.

You can watch the full interview in the video above.

UFC Fight Night 184 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-fight-night-184-diego-ferreira-happy-beneil-dariush-rematch

 

Donald Cerrone vs. Diego Sanchez agreed upon for UFC Fight Night on May 8

A battle of two of the UFC’s most enduring competitors is in the works for a planned May 8 event.

Donald Cerrone, who has been fighting under the Zuffa umbrella since 2007, and Diego Sanchez, who has been with the UFC since winning “The Ultimate Fighter 1” in 2005, will square off in a welterweight bout on May 8. MMA Junkie confirmed the news after an initial Thursday night report by MMA Fighting.

Cerrone (36-15-1 MMA, 23-12-1 UFC) is the UFC’s all-time wins leader (23) and boasts the most finishes in company history (16). He’s tied with Jim Miller for most fights in UFC history at 36.

Despite those accomplishments, “Cowboy” has hit on rough times in recent outings. He’s winless in his last five fights, although his most recent result, a draw with Niko Price on Sept. 19, ended a four-fight losing streak.

The 39-year-old Sanchez (30-13 MMA, 19-13 UFC), meanwhile, is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame in the fight wing for his legendary 2009 win over Clay Guida. Sanchez has lost two of his last three bouts, with the sole victory a disqualification late for an illegal knee late in a bout with Michel Pereira which Pereira had been handily winning.

The duo, who were both mainstays at Jackson Wink MMA in New Mexico but have moved on, have combined for 26 post-fight bonuses over the years, with Cerrone netting an eye-popping 18 and Sanchez eight.

Earlier in the day, in a tweet aimed at Conor McGregor, Sanchez hinted both that he might be fighting Cerrone — and that this could be his last UFC fight.

This is the first fight to come to light for the UFC’s May 8 card, which does not yet have an event title or location.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/donald-cerrone-diego-sanchez-ufc-fight-night-may-8

 

Beneil Dariush says he’s over Charles Oliveira fallout, ‘not trying to be a bonus machine’

LAS VEGAS – Ahead of UFC Fight Night 184, Beneil Dariush spoke to the media, including MMA Junkie, on Thursday.

Dariush (19-4-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC) talked about getting through his frustrations over a planned Charles Oliveira fight that fell out, why he believes opponent Diego Ferreira (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) deserves more respect, and that he’s not deliberately going out of his way to get bonuses, they just keep happening.

You can watch the full interview in the video above.

UFC Fight Night 184 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-fight-night-184-beneil-dariush-over-charles-oliveria-fallout

 

 

House of Nutrition

 

WELCOME


*** READ ME ***

Welcome to FightFan.net. Your home for local combat sports news and info. Be sure to set up your account for full access. Its EASY. Click the “register” link above. Fill in your name and email. We’ll send a funky password to your email. You log in to your account and set up something not so funky. Oh yeah, and when you’re ready to come back and start checking everything out, just click the “Your home for local combat sports” link at the top of the page. That's it, you’re a member! Tons of stuff to check out, so get after it.