Dos Anjos stops 'Cowboy,' retains UFC lightweight belt

Rafael Dos Anjos successfully defended the UFC lightweight championship for the first time after a brutal first round stoppage of "Cowboy" Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC on FOX Saturday at the Amway Center in Orlando.

Dos Anjos had already beaten Cerrone when they first fought in August 2013, but "Cowboy" was coming into the match on the heels of a spectacular eight-fight winning streak that included a victory over former champion Benson Henderson.

Cerrone's winning streak came to a quick end, however, as Dos Anjos thoroughly dominate him. The Brazilian connected on a huge knee early in the first round that visibly hurt "Cowboy," and Dos Anjos then landed a kick to the body that proved to be the beginning of the end.

With Cerrone still stumbling due to the kick, Dos Anjos unloaded several punches that forced the challenger to cover up against the cage. He managed to survive the initial barrage and get the fight back in the middle, but Dos Anjos would not be denied, connecting on more strikes that forced the referee to stop the fight.

"I proved that I am in this division to stay," said Dos Anjos, who was announced the winner via technical knockout. "All those accusations that people were throwing at me – I'm here with my belt. It's just he beginning of my career."

Dos Anjos had dominated former champion Anthony Pettis in March to win the title, but needed only one minute and six seconds to defend it. Nevertheless, he commended Cerrone afterward, pointing out that it was not easy to win eight straight fights in the lightweight division.

"But I have the best team," Dos Anjos was quick to add. "I'm surrounded by great people."


Dos Anjos' last words were reserved not for other challengers in the lightweight division, but to featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who last week dethroned his countryman, Jose Aldo, in just 13 seconds.

"Hey, Mr. McGregor," Dos Anjos said, "If you want to come to the lightweight division, this is my division, man. You better stay in featherweight."

"I will fight him in Brazil, I will go to Ireland to face you there, whatever, man. I'm here to stay," he announced.

Cerrone, for his part, said the loss "sucks" but had no complaints. "I didn't show up to work," he said. "I couldn't find my gear. He showed up and I didn't. He did a good job."



Overeem TKOs Dos Santos

In the co-main event, Alistair Overeem stopped Junior Dos Santos in the second round in a battle of heavyweights.

After an uneventful first round, the two heavyweights finally opened up in the second, exchanging heavy kicks, with Overeem – a former world champion kickboxer – targeting Dos Santos' body multiple times. A combination by Overeem opened up a cut above Dos Santos' eye with a minute to go in the round, but the Brazilian responded by catching Overeem against the fence and unloading punches.

Overeem shook off the attack, however, and moved back to the center of the cage, where he unleashed a picture-perfect left hook that dropped Dos Santos to the mat. He followed it up with hammer fists, and the referee moved to stop the fight immediately.

Dos Santos was unhappy with the stoppage, but it was clear that the former heavyweight champion was groggy and struggling to get back up to his feet. The official time of stoppage was at the 4:43 mark of the second round.

"Junior is a very, very dangerous opponent," Overeem said afterward. "You have to fight cautious against him, because he throws bombs. He felt very strong. You have to have this game plan, figure out his rhythm, and pick him apart."

The victory was the 40th of Overeem's career, and put him in prime position to challenge for the UFC heavyweight championship.

In the undercard, Nate Diaz made a winning return to the UFC, out-pointing Michael Johnson with scores of 29-28 across the board.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Fighter denies making anti-gay comments after UFC win

Moments after booking the biggest win of his UFC career, middleweight contender Yoel Romero found himself mired in controversy because of the comments he made in his post-fight interview inside the Octagon.

Romero knocked out former light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Florida on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time), an impressive performance for the former Olympian.

His victory lost a bit of luster, however, thanks to a post-fight speech that seemed to criticize the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage in all fifty stages.

Speaking in heavily accented English, Romero said: "What happened to you, USA? What happened to you? What's going on? You forget the best of the best of the world, the name of Jesus Christ. What happened to you? What come, USA? Go back for you, go!"

His final statement drew the most scrutiny, with some saying that Romero said: "Go for Jesus, not for gay Jesus," while others believe the fighter said: "Go for Jesus, not forget Jesus."

Romero, whose nickname is "Soldier of God," explained his comments via an interpreter in the post-fight press conference.

"First of all, I am a man of God, and God is love. My expressions are always going to be about love. What I was trying to say in the Octagon was, live for the American Dream," Romero said, as quoted by MMA Fighting.

"I will tell you guys something. God made man to be free. Anybody can do whatever they want. I wouldn't be the type of person to critique anybody. I have to look at myself first, and be a better person, to love people," he continued.

"What I was trying to say was, to the United States, thank you for giving me the American Dream. There is no better country, because it is blessed by God."

Other UFC fighters were at a loss for words while watching Romero's Octagon speech. Scott Jorgensen, a UFC bantamweight, said on Twitter: "Why, Romero, why?" and lightweight fighter Kevin Lee said Romero should expect a "PR visit" after his comments.

Lee also said on Twitter: "Maybe I'm tripping, but sounds like Yoel was about to go at the USA for making gay marriage legal. Am I tripping?... I just don't think it's a good idea to come to a foreign country and insult their morals and policy."

Adnre Fili, a featherweight fighter, pointed out that it was difficult to determine exactly what Romero said.

"I'm pretty sure he just yelled a bunch of homophobic stuff, but it was so hard to understand that no one is sure if they're offended or not," he said on Twitter.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Will Mark Munoz compete at UFC Fight Night Manila?

MANILA, Philippines – It remains to be seen if Mark Muñoz, popularly known as "The Filipino Wrecking Machine," will compete in the first-ever UFC event in Manila in May.

Muñoz is set to compete at UFC 184 on February 2 against Roan "Jucao" Carneiro.

The UFC is set to hold a UFC Fight Night event at the Mall of Asia Arena on May 16.

Ken Berger, the general manager of UFC Asia, was non-committal when asked about Muñoz's participation in the fight card.

"Mr. Muñoz is fighting in a fight coming up next month," Berger said. "It depends, of course, on how he performs. The matchmakers will look at everything."

"Of course, his popularity here is well understood, so strategically, our guys will be looking at key fighters that will help us make the event a success," he added.

Berger also could not say who would be appearing in the fight card.

"The matchmakers are working on that now," he said. "There are a lot of issues with respect to current fighters and how they're performing, and the local fighters."

"All that will be sorted out in the coming weeks," he added.

Berger is hopeful, however, that some local fighters will be able to feature in both the preliminary card and in the main card of the event.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Munoz prepares to face good friend Machida

LAKE FOREST, California – When UFC middleweight contender Mark Muñoz steps inside the Octagon later this week, he’ll be facing more than just an ordinary opponent – he’ll be fighting a friend.

Muñoz, known as “The Filipino Wrecking Machine,” is slated to fight former light-heavyweight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida on October 26 at UFC Fight Night in Manchester, England.

Muñoz and Machida have been good friends for the past two years, and were training with each other just days before Muñoz’s original opponent, Michael Bisping, withdrew from the match after suffering an eye injury.

The UFC then announced the Muñoz-Machida match-up.

“It’s a very big challenge, but at the same time, we’re professionals,” said Muñoz. “This is business. Nothing personal, and the winner is going to buy dinner.

“It’s crazy, it just took us by surprise,” he admitted. “But it is a business, that’ just the way it is. We’ll remain friends afterwards.”

Muñoz and Machida now have a difficult task of fighting one another but also as two people who intimately know each other’s fighting styles.

Riley Ross, one of Muñoz’s trainers, said the key factor for Muñoz is to take the former champion to the ground.

“One takedown, and it’s done. That’s our plan,” said Ross. “There’s no secret about it. We’re not going to stand and trade with a guy like that. But if Machida gets caught trying to defend a takedown, Mark will bring the thunder.”

Muñoz has a lot riding on this fight. A win against Machida could propel his career to new heights and give him a shot at the middleweight championship.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Sonnen submits 'Shogun' on UFC Fight Night

MANILA, Philippines – Chael Sonnen arrested his two-fight losing streak in impressive fashion, submitting former UFC light-heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Boston on Saturday (Sunday morning in Manila).

Sonnen, who has lost to Anderson Silva and Jon Jones in back-to-back title fights, took the Brazilian Rua down seconds into the fight and kept up the pressure even as “Shogun” got back up to his feet quickly.

Sonnen missed a couple of huge shots late into the fight, but with just 30 seconds left, he was able to trap Rua in a guillotine choke. The former champion tapped at the 4:47 mark of the very first round.

After the fight, Sonnen called out another Brazilian legend, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva.

Sonnen’s submission victory capped an impressive fight card that saw a lot of quick finishes, including Matt Brown’s 29-second knockout of Mike Pyle in the undercard.

Brown won his sixth consecutive bout after lading an overhand right, then swarming Pyle with more blows to claim the stoppage victory.

In another exciting showdown, Travis Browne survived an early barrage from Alistair Overeem to shockingly knockout the Dutch kickboxer late in the first round.

Overeem nearly stopped Browne early in the bout, showering him with body punches and knees. But Browne managed to hold on, and then landed a perfectly placed front kick to the chin that dropped Overeem to the mat.

The time of stoppage was 4:08 of the first round.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com