Jean Silva: 'I want to educate Bryce Mitchell'
Jean Silva discusses his sensational showing at UFC Seattle, his journey through MMA, a his fight at UFC 314 with Bryce Mitchell and more.
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Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
UFC Atlanta Fight Card Odds And Predictions: Namajunas Vs. Maverick
An important women's flyweight scrap serves as the co-main event of Saturday's UFC Atlanta fight card. In that matchup, former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas looks to bounce back from a November loss to Erin Blanchfield while stopping the climb of Miranda Maverick. Maverick enters Saturday's UFC Fight Night event on a four-fight winning streak. UFC Atlanta takes place on Saturday, June 14, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. In the main event, former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman faces the rising Joaquin Buckley. The main card airs on ESPN at 10 p.m. ET, following ESPN+ streaming prelims at 7:00 p.m. ET. Rose Namajunas (13-7) was 2-1 and had under two years of professional MMA experience when she fought Carla Esparza for the UFC women's strawweight title on the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter Season 20. Esparza won that December 2014 bout by submission, claiming the inaugural 115-pound title. Over the next few years, Namajunas was essentially learning on the job, and she learned well, running up a record of 4-1 between October 2015 and April 2017. In November 2017, Namajunas stepped into the Octagon to face then-UFC strawweight titleholder Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The champ was a -700 favorite on fight night, while the challenger checked in at +500. Namajunas stunned the MMA world that night, scoring an upset first-round knockout win to become the champ. Proving her victory was not a fluke, Namajunas defeated Jedrzejczyk by decision in their rematch in April 2018. Namajunas lost the title in her second attempted defense when Jessica Andrade scored a slam knockout win at UFC 237. A non-title fight victory over Andrade, who dropped the belt in August 2019 to Zhang Weili, followed. That win earned Namajunas another shot at the title. In April 2021, Namajunas regained the belt with a perfectly timed head kick to stop Weili in the first round. She defeated the former champ by decision in their rematch in November 2021. Namajunas surrendered the title to Esparza in May 2022 in a tepid performance. Since losing the title, Namajunas is 2-2 at 125 pounds, losing a decision to Manon Fiorot in September 2023, defeating Amanda Ribas by decision in March 2024 and beating Tracy Cortez by decision in July 2024. In her most recent outing, Namajunas dropped a decision to Erin Blanchfield in November. Namajunas is the No. 7 ranked UFC women's flyweight fighter. Miranda Maverick (15-5) joined the UFC in 2020 after spending most of her time with Invicta FC. At the time, she was 7-2 and coming off a 'Performance of the Night' bonus-winning decision win over Pearl Gonzalez. Maverick opened her UFC career with two wins. The promotion then matched her against another young fighter, Maycee Barber. Barber was on a two-fight losing skid at the time. She ended that run of defeats with a split-decision win over Maverick. Things did not get any easier for Maverick in her next matchup, as the UFC booked her opposite Erin Blanchfield, who was 1-0 in the UFC, but riding a four-fight winning streak. Blanchfield kept that winning streak intact with a unanimous decision win over Maverick. Since those back-to-back setbacks, Maverick has gone 6-1 with her only loss being a June 2023 decision to Jasmine Jasudavicius. She is 4-0 in her most recent bouts, and coming off a unanimous decision win over Jamey-Lyn Horth in December. Maverick is ranked 11th in the UFC's 125-pound division. When BetOnline first listed the betting odds for this matchup, Namajunas was a -205 favorite over the +155 Maverick. Today, Namajunas is -241, while Maverick checks in as the +206 betting underdog. Age: 32 Height: 5' 5' Reach: 65' Stance: Orthodox Age: 27 Height: 5'3' Reach: 65' Stance: Southpaw Despite her 2-2 record in her past four fights, there are questions about Namajunas' heading into UFC Atlanta. Most of those questions revolve around her confidence, mindset, and ability to defeat top-level 125-pound competition at this stage of her career. The good thing for Namajunas is that this contest appears to be designed to give her a win. Namajunas has good footwork and takedown defense. With that, the former champ should be able to thwart Maverick's takedown attempts. Maverick has strong wrestling and ground control, but if she cannot get the fight to the mat, she struggles on her feet. Namajunas has the skills to keep this fight standing. One worry is that Namajunas has become accustomed to fighting at the pace a five-round fight requires. A slow start in this three-round scrap could hurt her. The betting pick is for Namajunas to beat Maverick via decision. We will have more on the UFC Atlanta fight card as fight night nears, and fight night results and reactions on Saturday.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Malcolm Wellmaker: UFC went to ends of earth for opponent – and found zombie in Kris Moutinho
Malcolm Wellmaker: UFC went to ends of earth for opponent – and found zombie in Kris Moutinho UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby had to travel to the ends of the Earth to find Malcolm Wellmaker an opponent, and seemingly the only man willing to step up might be part zombie. Given that he might have otherwise been robbed of a home state fight at UFC on ESPN 69, Wellmaker (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) already has a tremendous amount of respect for Kris Moutinho (14-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) not even having stepped inside the cage with him yet. "I already knew what kind of guy he was based off the knowledge I had about him," Wellmaker recently told MMA Junkie. "But for him to take a fight with me on 11 days' notice, obviously seeing what I did in my last fight, I can only respect him and be glad that he was willing to fight me." The road back to the UFC for Moutinho has been one years in the making. Typecasted in MMA as a walking chin for his memorable bout vs. Sean O'Malley in July 2021, during which he absorbed 320 significant strikes, Moutinho is eager to shake the label. Wellmaker gained respect for Moutinho for taking the fight, but there was already a high baseline given the heart he saw years ago during O'Malley's beatdown. "I watched him fight Sean O'Malley live," Wellmaker said. "I remember thinking, 'Oh my goodness, he's got a chin on him.' It was an exciting fight, and I actually somewhat became a fan of him. I remember watching him afterward eating the ice cream sandwich seeming like a humble guy. Yeah, it was a name I was 100 percent familiar with when I got the call." The fight turned Moutinho into a viral sensation, and he still carries a large social media following with him. But for those in attendance at State Farm Arena on Saturday, their energy and attention will solely be focused on Wellmaker. Born, raised, and living in Augusta, Ga., the fight Saturday is a dream-come-true homecoming. "To be honest, I'm surprised they went to the lengths they did," Wellmaker said. "As difficult as the matchmaking process was, especially with how late in the game we got down to, for them to cash in on the Kris Moutinho call, I think it says a lot. I think the thing that I've believed in myself the whole time is that I can put on a show, and I can make us all a lot of money, have some fun, and be exciting. I think that they're willing to invest in me. It's good. I like to think that I'm in good standing with those guys right now." "That's kind of what I heard. Obviously, it was a short turnaround from Kansas City. What I assume and from what I was told, not too many people were excited to try to take that matchup with the amount of time to prepare that was available. So as time went on, I started getting more and more skeptical about the likelihood of a matchup happening. But my manager told me, 'Look, Sean (Shelby) said he's going to make it happen and I believe in him.' He did." "To be honest, it's a super bonus for me," Wellmaker added. "Back when they came to Atlanta last time, I wasn't even involved in the sport enough to know who was even going to be fighting on the card. I didn't go. I was so new to the sport. So when I found out they were coming to Atlanta, that wasn't something that was really even on my mind. So for me to be able to get such a quick turnaround in a place so close to home that I've been many times on the regional scene with so many family members and supporters being able to come out, it's perfect – and the matchup is as exciting as it gets. Everything is just a dream come true with this card." While it was a quick camp having just won his UFC debut by knockout April 26, Wellmaker enters the bout having prepared as a full-time fighter for the first time in his career. Following his bonus-earning win over Cameron Saaiman, Wellmaker quit his job as a pipe-fitter. He's excited for the world to see what he's capable of – even if Moutinho presents as zombie-like as possible. "Just to be completely honest with you, I'm fairly comfortable that I'm going to knock him out," Wellmaker said. "If he goes zombie mode on me, I'm fine with that. Obviously, the pressure makes a lot of people uncomfortable. I've had tough fights in my past. I've fought zombie-style guys before. Even if I've got to strangle them out, I'll do that. Whatever it takes to win that fight and get it done within the distance, it's always my goal. I don't want to coast. I don't want to ride it to a decision. Like I said, I'm going to hit him with my best shot and we'll see how many times he can take it."
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
UFC on ESPN 69: Kamaru Usman sees 'pretty simple' path to win two UFC titles
ATLANTA – Does Kamaru Usman still have UFC title aspirations? If you answered yes, take that and double it. UFC on ESPN 69 takes place Saturday at State Farm Arena and marks the first competition for Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) in nearly two years as he battles Joaquin Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in the main event. Although he's on a three-fight skid at 38 years old, Usman hasn't been deterred from the goal he's had his entire career: to be the best. Advertisement "My path there is pretty simple," Usman told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. "I'll just lay out the map here. It's finish Buckley this weekend and then wait for the winner of, I believe, Islam (Makhachev) and JDM (Jack Della Maddalena), which is going to be an incredible fight. It's such a great thing now having Islam come up into the division. Who wouldn't buy a ticket to that? Former pound-for-pound and current pound-for-pound (fighting). I love Islam. Islam is a great fighter. I think that's something that we'd both remember forever." But the aspirations don't stop there. Usman not only wants to return to the place he once was, holding gold atop the UFC welterweight division, no. He wants to take it further. Middleweight gold is also on his mind. "(I'd) win that and go ahead and probably vacate, go up," Usman said. "Myself (vs.) Dricus Du Plessis, if he is the champion, or Khamzat Chimaev, too, if Dricus is no longer the champion, we do that. If Dricus is the champion, we do that in the first card in Africa. That's another blockbuster. These are back-to-back blockbuster fights you tell your grandkids about. Who wouldn't watch those? After that, now you're sitting with two belts. It's like, 'What do we do next?' That's, I'd say, the long-term goal in the back of my mind." Usman is widely considered one of the best welterweights in MMA history. He defended the title five times during his reign that stretched from March 2019 to August 2022 when Leon Edwards' head kick brought it to an abrupt end. Usman then lost a trilogy bout vs. Edwards by unanimous decision. His most recent competition came in October 2023 when he lost a close middleweight fight to Chimaev. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Atlanta: Kamaru Usman sees 'pretty simple' path to win two titles
