LAS VEGAS – Cory Sandhagen has called next.

In the UFC Fight Night 184 co-main event Saturday, Sandhagen (14-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) toppled a former UFC lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar, with a 28-second body-stiffening flying knee knockout.

At UFC 259 on March 6, UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan will make his first title defense against Aljamain Sterling. Sandhagen wants the winner. With his win over Edgar, Sandhagen thinks he’s done enough to claim dibs against whoever holds the belt on the morning of March 7.

“I think I’m better than Yan,” Sandhagen told MMA Junkie on Saturday. “If he wins, I want Yan. Same with Sterling, too, though. I’m a different animal. You guys have seen in the last two fights.”

Sandhagen’s only UFC loss was to Sterling at UFC 250, but Sandhagen believes his statement wins since show he’s a much improved fighter.

“I’m a different animal since that fight with Sterling,” he said. “I’m grateful that he got to teach me a lesson. But the next time we fight, I’m going to hurt Aljamain. I want to fight the winner of that fight in July or whenever they want really. But nah, man. I’ve got to be next for the title. There’s no one else even in the conversation, I don’t think – especially after a performance like that.”

Sandhagen dismissed the possibility someone could step in front of him and claim the next 135-pound title shot after UFC 259 – especially former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw, who is now eligible to compete again after he served a two-year suspension for EPO.

“I heard Yan doing an interview talking about how he wants to fight T.J. (Dillashaw) after. T.J. is coming off some of the most serious PEDs you can do in the sport,” Sandhagen said. “That seems disrespectful to the sport. I’ve been working. I’ve been working these last two years. I’m ready for the belt.”

As for the win against Edgar (24-9-1 MMA, 18-9-1 UFC), Team Elevation’s Sandhagen was proud of his performance. That said, Sandhagen doesn’t want to see anyone get seriously hurt in a fight, especially not a legend like Edgar.

“I’m glad it was him and not me,” Sandhagen told MMA Junkie at a post-fight news conference. “This isn’t a game. It doesn’t feel good to watch someone crawl up and be all dazed, especially when it’s Frankie Edgar, who everyone loves, including myself.”

Despite his status near the top of the UFC 135-pound division, there’s still much Sandhagen has to learn. Through constant improvement, Sandhagen realized his ceiling is high.

“I don’t really think I still even know that much about this sport, to be honest with you,” Sandhagen said. “I think the better I get, the more I realize how not great I am in certain spots, which is a good thing because I know that comparatively, I’m much better than a lot of people. I always have a learner’s brain. I don’t think I’m anywhere near 100 percent. There’s so much to be learned in this sport. I don’t think it’ll ever end. That will never end.”

UFC Fight Night 184 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streamed on ESPN+.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-fight-night-184-cory-sandhagen-dismisses-tj-dillashaw-leapfrog-disrespectful

Cody Stamann vs. Askar Askar has been removed from UFC Fight Night 184.

The UFC has announced the featherweight fight, which was scheduled for tonight’s main card, has been canceled after Askar (11-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was forced to withdraw after he was not medically cleared to compete.

The cancellation marks the third opponent who withdrew from a UFC Fight Night 184 booking against Stamann (19-3-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC). Merab Dvalishvili was originally scheduled for the fight but withdrew after catching COVID-19; Stamann was later paired up with Andre Ewell.

Like Dvalishvili, Ewell also withdrew due to a positive COVID-19 test. On less than one week’s notice, Askar stepped in to replace Ewell in what would’ve been his promotional debut.

With the removal the UFC Fight Night 184 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

• Alistair Overeem vs. Alexander Volkov
• Frankie Edgar vs. Cory Sandhagen
• Clay Guida vs. Michael Johnson
• Manel Kape vs. Alexandre Pantoja
• Beneil Dariush vs. Diego Ferreira

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)

• Danilo Marques vs. Mike Rodriguez
• Justin Jaynes vs. Devonte Smith
• Joselyne Edwards vs. Karol Rosa
• Molly McCann vs. Lara Procopio
• Seungwoo Choi vs. Youssef Zalal
• Martin Day vs. Timur Valiev
• Ode Osbourne vs. Jerome Rivera

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-fight-night-184-cody-stamann-vs-askar-askar-canceled

Eddie Alvarez shares a rich history with the majority of the fighters that competed in the main and co-main events of UFC 257.

In a pivotal night for the UFC’s lightweight division, Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler reigned supreme Jan. 23 as they positioned themselves at the top of the 155-pound ladder.

Having gone into battle with Conor McGregor and both Poirier and Chandler twice, Alvarez (30-7) admits he was a little surprised with the way things panned out at UFC 257.

Poirier scored an upset finish of McGregor in the night’s headliner, while former three-time Bellator lightweight champion Chandler made quick work of Dan Hooker in the co-main event.

In a night of unexpected results, Alvarez admits there was some personal satisfaction seeing the underdogs cash in with big performances.

“Dustin Poirier putting on them sprints that he puts on, I thought that would be the best way that he could get it done,” Alvarez told MMA Junkie. “I agreed that if he gave Conor the space that Conor can relax and create stuff that he’d have a bad night. But Dustin just fought a beautiful game plan by kicking that leg and then putting a short sprint on him and being able to cause him to panic and put him away.

“And then Mike Chandler coming out and, in your debut, with all that pressure, with all them people saying, ‘You’re not this and you’re not that,’ to be able to go out there and execute the way he did, it was just a beautiful night for MMA. I think a lot of times in this sport, they don’t care if you’re the bad guy or good guy. The fight gods give the winner to whoever the winner is, and the good guys conquered that night. It doesn’t always go that way, but it’s beautiful when it does.”

Alvarez, who has captured lightweight titles in both the UFC and Bellator, is on a quest to add another major title to his resume in ONE Championship. His next outing will see him take on fellow contender Iuri Lapicus at ONE on TNT 1 on April 7.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-news-eddie-alvarez-hails-dustin-poirier-michael-chandler-ufc-257

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