Aljamain Sterling: Yair Rodriguez getting UFC featherweight title shot is 'crazy work'
Aljamain Sterling: Yair Rodriguez getting UFC featherweight title shot is 'crazy work'
Aljamain Sterling is baffled by Yair Rodriguez being the potential next UFC title challenger.
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (27-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) confirmed the rumors that Rodriguez (19-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is in discussion to be the first title defense of his second reign, but nothing is official yet.
Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC), who's coming off a unanimous decision loss to Movsar Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) at UFC 310, thinks his past opponent was snubbed out of a title shot. Rodriguez snapped a two-fight losing skid by defeating former Bellator champion Patricio Freire at UFC 314. One of his two losses came in a title fight against Volkanovski at UFC 290.
"If they give it to Yair, all respect to Yair, but that's crazy work," Sterling told Home of Fight. "But he's popular. ...I'm not the UFC, I don't run the company. These guys have all these metrics and things like that they follow to try to promote fights. I'm always the guy based on merit. I had to work my ass off. I've seen a lot of guys work their ass off and not get their fair shake. I almost didn't get a fair shake, and I had to claw tooth and nail just to get to a title shot.
"It was lackluster to say the least, and I was able to redeem myself. It's just one of those things. You never know what the UFC is thinking, and what they think makes the most sense for their bottom line, and I get that. You get into this sport thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to work hard and if I win X, Y, and Z, then I'm going to get this opportunity,' and not everyone gets that fair shake so, it is what it is. Once you understand that, you can make peace with it. For '45, I thought it should have been Movsar."
As for what's next for Sterling, the former UFC bantamweight champion thinks he was in the wrong end of the decision against Evloev. He hopes his next fight is a matchup which allows him to continue his ascent up the featherweight ladder.
"I was hoping that I could maybe fight a Diego (Lopes) or Brian Ortega," Sterling continued. "Much love and respect to Brian. He's cool, but we're not like me and Merab (Dvalishvili), we're not training together. So, it's just one of those things where I'm up at the weight class.
"Even Arnold Allen, even called out Lerone Murphy. I just want to fight someone where the fight means something. I won the belt, I'm no longer this up-and-comer unknown name so, I want to fight guys who actually mean something for my career. Not just helping a young fighter build their career."
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USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison prediction, pick: Is expected blowout coming at UFC 316?
Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison prediction, pick: Is expected blowout coming at UFC 316? Show Caption Hide Caption Julianna Pena vs. Kayla Harrison prediction | UFC 316 breakdown MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom offers his breakdown and prediction for the UFC 316 co-main event. dan tom MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom goes in-depth to break down the biggest fights in the UFC. Today, he takes a closer look at the UFC 316 co-main event between women's bantamweight champion Julianna Peña and Kayla Harrison. Julianna Peña UFC 316 preview Staple info: Record: 13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC 13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC Height: 5'6" Age: 35 Weight: 135 lbs. Reach: 69" 5'6" 35 135 lbs. 69" Last fight: Decision win over Raquel Pennington (Oct. 5, 2024) Decision win over Raquel Pennington (Oct. 5, 2024) Camp: Sikjistu/VFS Academy (Chicago) Sikjistu/VFS Academy (Chicago) Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing Orthodox/kickboxing Risk management: Fair Supplemental info: + UFC bantamweight champion + 'The Ultimate Fighter' season 18 winner + Regional MMA title + 3 KO victories + 6 submission wins + 4 first-round finishes + Aggressive pace and pressure ^ Puts together punches when feeling in stride + Well-conditioned athlete + Strong inside of the clinch ^ Favors inside and outside trips + Solid transitional grappler ^ Works well toward the back + Effective ground striker +/- 2-1 against UFC-level southpaws Kayla Harrison UFC 316 preview Staple info: Record: 18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC 18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC Height: 5'8" Age: 34 Weight: 135 lbs. Reach: 66" 5'8" 34 135 lbs. 66" Last fight: Decision win over Ketlen Vieira (Oct. 5, 2024) Decision win over Ketlen Vieira (Oct. 5, 2024) Camp: American Top Team (Florida) American Top Team (Florida) Stance/striking style: Southpaw/kickboxing Southpaw/kickboxing Risk management: Good Supplemental info: + 2x Olympic judo gold medalist (U.S.) + 2x PFL tournament winner (2019, 2021) + 6th degree judo black belt + Multiple judo accolades + 6 KO victories + 7 submission wins + 9 first-round finishes + Aggressive pace and pressure + Steadily improving southpaw striking ^ Jabs, kicks and crosses + Strong inside the clinch ^ Excellent trips and takedowns + Solid wrestling ability + Good positional grappling ^ Works well from half guard Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison point of interest: Open-stance affair The co-main event in New Jersey features a women's title fight between two bantamweights who operate out of opposite stances. The orthodox fighter in this equation, Julianna Peña, has seen her share of open-stance affairs before. Sure, there may not be a lot to write home about as far as her skills on the feet go, but Peña has clearly been working hard with Mike Valle and others to improve upon the rawness that we've seen since the 'TUF' house. Now, it is uncommon to see Peña being much more measured in her form, occasionally feinting or throwing away a right hand in order to finish with the left. Peña will still blitz forward in combination when feeling in stride, but she displayed some decent improvements to her jabbing ability in her series with Amanda Nunes. However, in her rematch with Nunes, "The Lioness" was able to change things up successfully on Peña by fighting her from a southpaw stance and scoring multiple knockdowns on the now-champion. Although Harrison is not on the same level as Nunes from a striking perspective, the southpaw judoka has made some measurable strides that Peña will need to respect. Despite initially throwing power a bit naked from her rear side to start, Harrison has been applying the same discipline to striking that she did for judo. Now, in more recent years, Harrison has appeared much better at staying on balance and setting things up off of her lead hand. In fact, having a more active lead hand will likely serve Harrison well considering how potent lead right hands were for Nunes in what was Peña's last official loss. That said, I'm not sure how much Harrison will be looking to strike given that her win conditions are heavily weighted toward the grappling side of the playing field. Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison breakdown: Winning the wrestling Considering that both fighters have traditionally been comfortable operating in closed quarters, I suspect that the clinch with be a key junction in this fight. Although Peña is not shy about getting in on a shot, she secures a vast majority of takedowns via the clinch. Whether she is attempting inside or outside trips, Peña is ultra-aggressive whenever she can get her hands locked around her opponent. When able to get the fight to the floor on her terms, Peña is a blanketing top player who uses both strikes and pressure to encourage opposition into giving their backs. However, given the superior on-paper firepower that Peña will be dealing with in tie-ups, I'll be curious to see what her approach is and if she enters clinch space as recklessly as usual opposite Harrison. A two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo who has six degrees to her black belt, it's safe to say that Harrison is comfortable inside of the clinch. That said, she – like other judokas in the modern era of MMA – has embraced the more traditional wrestling attacks we see in this sport a la double-legs along the fence. Once Harrison can ground her opposition, her hips immediately serve as staples while she looks to see what advances are given to her. Working particularly well from half guard, Harrison shows a combination of wicked shoulder pressure or strikes and will smartly push down and away on her opponent's knees to establish quarter-to-full mount positions. Peña is a dogged grappler from multiple positions, but she could be forced to pick her poison if she allows Harrison to settle in on top. Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison odds The oddsmakers and the public are heavily favoring the challenger, listing Harrison -720 and Peña +450 via FanDuel. Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison prediction, pick Considering all the Ronda Rousey comparisons from the outset of her career, it should be of no surprise that Rousey-like odds have also followed Harrison in kind. And though you can always do much worse than sprinkling on the underdogs in outrageously priced women's MMA matchups, I have a hard time seeing Peña's winning conditions outside of Harrison failing to finish and falling apart down the stretch. Don't get me wrong: we've seen Peña win that way before and falling apart is a real possibility given the amount of weight the Harrison cuts to get down to this division. That said, it's still not enough to sway me from the skills gaps I see at play. Aside from the fact that Raquel Pennington should probably still be champion (as I believe that Pennington-Peña was quietly one of the more questionable scorecards of last year), Peña has proven to be too defensively liable for my liking. From her lack of head movement to her porous takedown defense, she leaves a lot for her foes to work with. Sure, Peña's toughness and staying power are both admirable and undeniable. However, I still don't think it's advisable to stand on the tracks when a freight train is coming through. Prediction: Harrison by submission in Round 2. Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison start time, how to watch As the co-main event, Peña and Harrison are expected to make their walks to the octagon at approximately 11:45 p.m. ET. The fight streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
CNET
an hour ago
- CNET
UFC 316: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley: Watch Livestream, Start Time, Full Card
Merab Dvalishvili's bantamweight title will be on the line as he faces old foe Sean O'Malley this Saturday at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey, in UFC 316's headline act. Below, we'll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch all of today's UFC 316 bill as it happens, wherever you are in the world, and how to use a VPN if it's not available where you are. The pair first went toe-to-toe last September at UFC 306 in Las Vegas, in a bout that saw Dvalishvili out-wrestle O'Malley to win via unanimous decision. Georgian star Dvalishvili has since gone on to make a successful defence of his title against Russia's Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 back in January. Saturday's co-main event, meanwhile, sees double Olympic Judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison make her highly anticipated UFC debut against current women's bantamweight champion Julianna Peña. Catch all the action live by following our guide to watching UFC 316 no matter where in the world you are. Merab Dvalishvili (left) comes into this rematch title fight with Sean O'Malley on an impressive streak of 12 straight victories. Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC UFC 316 start time The UFC 316 main card gets going at 10 p.m. ET local time (7 p.m. PT) on Saturday, June 7. Here are all the details for multiple time zones. US and Canada The main card starts June 7, 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT). The prelims start June 7, 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT). The early prelims start June 7, 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT). UK The main card starts June 8, 3 a.m. BST. The prelims start June 8, 1 a.m. BST. The early prelims start June 7, 11 p.m. BST. Australia The main card starts June 8, 12 p.m. AEST. The prelims start June 8, 10 a.m. AEST. The early prelims start June 8, 8 a.m. AEST. Main event start time It's hard to say exactly when the main event will take place, but if you're looking to only watch the fight between Dvalishvili and O'Malley, ring walks will start no earlier than midnight ET (9 p.m. PT). How to watch UFC 316 in the US The UFC has a long-running partnership with ESPN. That's great news for the UFC and the expansion of the sport of MMA, but it's bad news for the consumer choice of US UFC fans. In the US, if you want to watch UFC 316, you'll find the fight night only on pay-per-view through ESPN Plus. The cost structure is a bit confusing, but here are the options to watch UFC on ESPN, according to ESPN's site: Existing annual ESPN Plus subscribers can order the upcoming UFC card for $80. New ESPN Plus subscribers can buy a bundle of the UFC 316 PPV event (streaming in HD) and an ESPN Plus annual recurring subscription for $135. This is a decent deal. The ESPN Plus annual ESPN subscription will auto-renew after one year, at the price of an ESPN Plus annual subscription at the time of auto-renewal. You can do all of the above at the link below. How to watch UFC 316 in the UK MMA fans in the UK can watch all the action from New Jersey via TNT Sports and the surprisingly good news is that, unlike some UFC events on the network, this event won't be PPV. Coverage gets underway on TNT Sports 1 with the prelims at 1 a.m. BST in the early hours of Sunday morning. TNT Sports TNT Sports Watch UFC events live in the UK with TNT Sports TNT Sports is the exclusive UK broadcaster for all numbered UFC events in the UK. You can access TNT Sports in exactly the same way as its predecessor BT Sport, including via Sky Q as a TV package, as well as the option of streaming online. It costs £30 either way and comes in a package that includes Discovery Plus' library of documentary content. See at TNT Sport How to watch UFC 316 in Australia You can watch UFC 316 through Main Event on Foxtel. That means you can also watch online via sports streaming service Kayo for AU$60. How to watch UFC 316 in Canada UFC 316's main card is available to watch through a variety of PPV providers, including cable operators such as Bell, Rogers and Shaw, as well as streaming services such as DAZN, Sportsnet Plus and UFC Fight Pass. Whichever option you opt for, it's a PPV fee of CA$70 across the board. It's also worth noting that early prelims will be available to stream via UFC Fight Pass, while the event's Prelims will be shown on Sportsnet and TVA Sports. Full fight card Main card Merab Dvalishvil (c) vs. Sean O'Malley: Bantamweight title fight Julianna Peña (c) vs. Kayla Harrison: Women's Bantamweight title fight Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer: Middleweight Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix: Bantamweight Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland: Welterweight Prelims Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van: Flyweight Azamat Murzakanov vs. Brendson Ribiero: Light Heavyweight Serghei Spivac vs. Waldo Cortes Acosta: Heavyweight Khaos Williams vs. Andreas Gustafsson: Welterweight Early prelims Quillan Salkillo vs. Yana Ashmouz: Lightweight Marquel Mederos vs. Mark Choinski: Lightweight Ariane Da Silva vs. Wang Cong: Women's Flyweight Jeka Saragih vs. Joosang Yoo: Featherweight How to watch UFC 316 online from anywhere using a VPN If you find yourself unable to view UFC 316 locally due to incorrectly applied blackout restrictions, you may need a different way to watch the bout and that's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on fight night by encrypting your traffic, plus it's a great idea for when you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the matchup. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, nonblackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this. Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US and Canada, as long as you've got a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions. Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now. James Martin/CNET ExpressVPN Best VPN for streaming Price $13 per month, $100 for the first 15 months (then $117 per year) or $140 for the first 28 months (then $150 per year) Latest Tests No DNS leaks detected, 18% speed loss in 2025 tests Network 3,000 plus servers in 105 countries Jurisdiction British Virgin Islands ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month. Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 61% off with 2yr plan (+4 free months) See at ExpressVPN Quick tips for streaming UFC 316 using a VPN
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Manager: Magomed Ankalaev will wait for Alex Pereira title rematch, but not forever
Manager: Magomed Ankalaev will wait for Alex Pereira title rematch, but not forever Show Caption Hide Caption Manager Ali Abdelaziz previews UFC 316, gives mass client update Dominance MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz talks to MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn about Islam Makhachev, Movsar Evloev, Magomed Ankalaev and UFC 316 clients Kayla Harrison, Patchy Mix and more. MORRISTOWN, N.J. – UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev wants Alex Pereira to get a title rematch, but there's only so long he will wait. Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) came through as a slight underdog to win the 205-pound title from Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) at UFC 313 in March. Pereira racked up all three of his title defenses in 2024, and since losing the title, appears to want a little time off before making a big return in what is expected to be a rematch for the title. Manager Ali Abdelaziz understands the situation Pereira is in, but his client, Ankalaev, is eager to get back in the cage soon, and doesn't want to wait around forever for "Poatan." "Listen, we got asked to fight International Fight Week, we said yes," Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie. "We got asked to fight Alex in August, we said yes. We got asked to fight October. This is what Maga is saying: 'Alex is at every event. He's on vacations, he's doing this – I don't know if he's really going to fight me or he's just having fun.' "He's like, 'I'm killing myself in the gym. I don't know when I'm fighting him. I'm the champion, I feel like I'm the challenger.' And I said if he's not ready, let me get him some of these other guys." Ankalaev, 33, fought in January and October last year before his crowning moment against Pereira. Throughout his career, he has typically made two appearances in a calendar year. Now as champion of the divsion, he's hungry to get back in the octagon to record his first title defense. Abdelaziz says he will be patient, for now. "It's no problem," Abdelaziz said. "I think Alex Pereira earned it, and I think he deserves it. If we have to wait, it's OK. That guy did a lot for the sport, and we respect him, and I think it should be him and Magomed Ankalaev next." While Team Ankalaev will patiently wait for the rematch, there is a cut-off point. If there's nothing on the books by the time UFC is expected to make a return to Abu Dhabi late in October, they will look to move on. "Hundred percent - if it's not Abu Dhabi, he will fight someone else, for sure."
