Latest news with #Bellator
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Patricio Freire shares mixed feelings with first UFC win, wants Aaron Pico next
Patricio Freire had mixed feelings after winning his first UFC fight. NEW ORLEANS – Patricio Freire is conflicted over his first UFC victory. The former Bellator champion stepped into the octagon for the second time at UFC 318 to face Dan Ige, and came out with a unanimous decision nod. Despite getting his first win under the UFC banner, Freire (37-8 MMA, 1-1 UFC) believes he could have done more to prove his skills against Ige (19-10 MMA, 11-9 UFC). "I'm happy, but I know I can do better," Freire told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. "Much respect to my opponent. Dan Ige's a very tough guy. ... He's very good, but I'm better. I proved it today." "Pitbull" made his UFC debut against former interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314, losing by unanimous decision. The scorecards were in his favor this time around, and while he was glad to get his hand raised, he wasn't satisfied with his performance. "I'm not very happy now – because I know I can do better," Freire said. "I was with a little pressure on my shoulder. I came from a defeat. Of course, I lost the April fight against Yair. He's very good. He was a former champion, but I know I'm better than these guys." Freire hopes to make a quick turnaround to face a fellow former Bellator competitor waiting to make his debut, Aaron Pico, who was scheduled to face Movsar Evloev at UFC on ABC 9 on July 26. "He's ready, I'm ready," Freire said. "I cut my nose now, but two days, I'm good. ... He can make his debut in the UFC against me. Now I'm a (UFC) veteran."
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC 318 results: Patricio Freire notches first win in promotion with decision over Dan Ige
Patricio Freire now has a win under the UFC banner after getting past Dan Ige. Freire (37-8 MMA, 1-1 UFC), one of best champions from the Bellator era, won his sophomore appearance in the UFC by winning a unanimous decision (29-29, 29-28, 29-28) over Ige (19-10 MMA, 11-9 UFC). The featherweight bout served as the second fight on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 318 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The fight started off at a methodical pace as neither fighter rushed the feeling-out process. "Pitbull" secured a nice takedown sequence midway through the round as the first big action of the fight. Ige did well to prevent damage and scrambled to his feet. Freire leaped forward with a knee for a nice connection, but the crowd wasn't very happy with the overall offering in the opening frame. Round 2 started off at a similar slow pace, but Ige offered a good combination. The boo birds continued to chirp as the fight reached the midpoint of the round. That's when things changed out of nowhere. "Pitbull" cracked Ige with a hard left hand, dropping him to a knee. The swarm from Freire was on, but Ige survived the moment. Although the finish was no longer in play, Freire kept the pressure on with a nice takedown with some ground and pound before heading back to the stools. Needing to change the fight in a hurry, Ige cracked Freire with a hard head kick early in the final round. Freire held on to avoid follow-ups, though. A low kick from Ige paused the fight momentarily, but on the restart, Freire kept Ige busy with takedown attempts, and caught a kick to bring the fight to the ground until the final horn. All three judges scored the first two rounds for Freire and the final for Ige. With the win, Freire successfully rebounds from his UFC debut loss to former interim champ Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314 in April. "Pitbull" entered the UFC on he heels of a Bellator title defense against Jeremy Kennedy last March. On the other side, Ige fails to keep momentum going after a third-round finish of Sean Woodson, which also took place at UFC 314. Up-to-the-minute UFC 318 results
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
PFL Africa results: Costello Van Steenis shocks Johnny Eblen, Dakota Ditcheva re-signs after lopsided win
Costello Van Steenis shocked the MMA world with a buzzer-beater submission that rendered former Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen unconscious in the final seconds of their title clash Saturday in Cape Town, South Africa. The previously undefeated Eblen (16-1) — long considered one of the best talents outside of the UFC — was putting on a signature display for PFL's maiden voyage to Cape Town, though cracks began to appear in the fourth round when a calf kick forced him to stumble, prompting Van Steenis (17-3) to let his hands go. It seemed as though Eblen regained momentum in the fifth round when he secured Van Steenis' back with a minute left on the clock. However, the challenger managed to force a scramble, reverse the position and immediately apply a rear-naked-choke. The referee waved off the contest with eight seconds left on the clock once Eblen's arms dropped as the referee checked to see if the American was still conscious. 'Nobody is as strong as Johnny in the first and second rounds,' said Van Steenis after the contest. 'He's the strongest guy I've ever fought with, but everybody has got a gas tank and so do I, but I gave my life for this s***, man. Twelve years in the professional business, started really young, made some mistakes … 16-3, but if you saw those threes losses, man, it was just too early for me. I was fighting legends. But I guess now I'm f***ing legend.' In the night's co-main event, 'Dangerous' Dakota Ditcheva (15-0) appeared to tell her corner that she broke her hand midway through the third and final round of her flyweight bout with Sumiko Inaba (8-2). Nonetheless, Ditcheva's striking arsenal was once again spellbinding at times as knees, elbows, fists and feet thudded into Inaba, who deserves credit for going the distance. The broadcast claimed that the Manchester talent landed 87% of her attempted strikes over the three rounds — 152 of 174 shots — helping pound-for-pound star Ditcheva to a clear unanimous decision win. Having gone the distance for the second time in her career, Ditcheva admitted she was disappointed to sustain a knock after a long period on the sidelines. 'I think I've injured my left hand, but I think I'm even more gutted because I've been out for so long and now I've come back and I'm injured again,' said Ditcheva in her post-fight interview. 'That was the best walkout I've ever had, so I just wanted to say thank you so much,' she added, praising the Cape Town crowd. Interestingly, with speculation rampant concerning a potential future move to UFC, Ditcheva also announced that she signed a new deal with PFL that will keep her with the promotion for the foreseeable future. 'I've just re-signed with the PFL, we've come to a great agreement and I'm going to look forward to the next few years,' she said. A.J. McKee (23-2) negotiated a challenging task put forth by Khabib Nurmagomedov student Akhmed Magomedov (11-2) to get back into the green. McKee jarred the Dagestan lightweight with a body kick just before the bell rang to end the first round. In the second, he showcased his stellar grappling ability, spending the majority of the five minutes on Magomedov's back. Although Magomedov looked to push the pace in the final round, McKee controlled him diligently to see out the victory. Earlier in the night, another Nurmagomedov fighter, Makkasharip Zaynukov (17-4), took victory on the main card, earning a clean unanimous decision nod over Japan's Takeshi Izumi (6-4). Opening the main card, Corey Anderson (19-6) put on stellar debut showing at heavyweight against former PFL tournament winner Denis Golstov (36-9). The former Bellator light heavyweight champion forced the Russian the grapple throughout the contest, and after comprehensively draining his gas tank, Anderson stopped the bout with grounded punches with approximately 90 seconds left in the second round. Check out complete PFL Africa results and highlights below. Main Card Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:51 of R5 | Watch finish Dakota Ditcheva def. Sumiko Inaba via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-24) A.J. McKee def. Akhmed Magomedov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Artur Zaynukov def. Takeshi Izumi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Corey Anderson def. Denis Goltsov via TKO (strikes) at 3:28 of R2 | Watch finish Preliminary Card Nkosi Ndebele def. Mahmoud Atef via TKO (punches) at 4:50 of R1 | Watch finish Maxwell Djantou Nana def. Mickael Groguhe via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Boule Godogo def. Shannon Van Tonder via split decision (30-26, 28-29, 29-27) Justin Clarke def. Jashell Ticha Awa via TKO (doctor's stoppage) at 5:00 of R1 | Watch finish Karim Henniene def. Antero dos Santos via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) Joffie Houlton def. Abdoulaye Kane via DQ (illegal knee) at 4:20 of R1 | Watch finish Simbarashe Hokonya def. Frans Mlambo via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25) Abraham Bably def. Badr Medkouri via KO at 4:59 (punch) of R1 | Watch finish Juliet Ukah vs. Ceileigh Niedermayr via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
PFL Africa results: Costello Van Steenis shocks Johnny Eblen, Dakota Ditcheva re-signs after lopsided win
Costello Van Steenis shocked the MMA world with a buzzer-beater submission that rendered former Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen unconscious in the final seconds of their title clash Saturday in Cape Town, South Africa. The previously undefeated Eblen (16-1) — long considered one of the best talents outside of the UFC — was putting on a signature display for PFL's maiden voyage to Cape Town, though cracks began to appear in the fourth round when a calf kick forced him to stumble, prompting Van Steenis (17-3) to let his hands go. It seemed as though Eblen regained momentum in the fifth round when he secured Van Steenis' back with a minute left on the clock. However, the challenger managed to force a scramble, reverse the position and immediately apply a rear-naked-choke. The referee waved off the contest with eight seconds left on the clock once Eblen's arms dropped as the referee checked to see if the American was still conscious. 'Nobody is as strong as Johnny in the first and second rounds,' said Van Steenis after the contest. 'He's the strongest guy I've ever fought with, but everybody has got a gas tank and so do I, but I gave my life for this s***, man. Twelve years in the professional business, started really young, made some mistakes … 16-3, but if you saw those threes losses, man, it was just too early for me. I was fighting legends. But I guess now I'm f***ing legend.' In the night's co-main event, 'Dangerous' Dakota Ditcheva (15-0) appeared to tell her corner that she broke her hand midway through the third and final round of her flyweight bout with Sumiko Inaba (8-2). Nonetheless, Ditcheva's striking arsenal was once again spellbinding at times as knees, elbows, fists and feet thudded into Inaba, who deserves credit for going the distance. The broadcast claimed that the Manchester talent landed 87% of her attempted strikes over the three rounds — 152 of 174 shots — helping pound-for-pound star Ditcheva to a clear unanimous decision win. Having gone the distance for the second time in her career, Ditcheva admitted she was disappointed to sustain a knock after a long period on the sidelines. 'I think I've injured my left hand, but I think I'm even more gutted because I've been out for so long and now I've come back and I'm injured again,' said Ditcheva in her post-fight interview. 'That was the best walkout I've ever had, so I just wanted to say thank you so much,' she added, praising the Cape Town crowd. Interestingly, with speculation rampant concerning a potential future move to UFC, Ditcheva also announced that she signed a new deal with PFL that will keep her with the promotion for the foreseeable future. 'I've just re-signed with the PFL, we've come to a great agreement and I'm going to look forward to the next few years,' she said. A.J. McKee (23-2) negotiated a challenging task put forth by Khabib Nurmagomedov student Akhmed Magomedov (11-2) to get back into the green. McKee jarred the Dagestan lightweight with a body kick just before the bell rang to end the first round. In the second, he showcased his stellar grappling ability, spending the majority of the five minutes on Magomedov's back. Although Magomedov looked to push the pace in the final round, McKee controlled him diligently to see out the victory. Earlier in the night, another Nurmagomedov fighter, Makkasharip Zaynukov (17-4), took victory on the main card, earning a clean unanimous decision nod over Japan's Takeshi Izumi (6-4). Opening the main card, Corey Anderson (19-6) put on stellar debut showing at heavyweight against former PFL tournament winner Denis Golstov (36-9). The former Bellator light heavyweight champion forced the Russian the grapple throughout the contest, and after comprehensively draining his gas tank, Anderson stopped the bout with grounded punches with approximately 90 seconds left in the second round. Check out complete PFL Africa results and highlights below. Main Card Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:51 of R5 | Watch finish Dakota Ditcheva def. Sumiko Inaba via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-24) A.J. McKee def. Akhmed Magomedov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Artur Zaynukov def. Takeshi Izumi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Corey Anderson def. Denis Goltsov via TKO (strikes) at 3:28 of R2 | Watch finish Preliminary Card Nkosi Ndebele def. Mahmoud Atef via TKO (punches) at 4:50 of R1 | Watch finish Maxwell Djantou Nana def. Mickael Groguhe via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Boule Godogo def. Shannon Van Tonder via split decision (30-26, 28-29, 29-27) Justin Clarke def. Jashell Ticha Awa via TKO (doctor's stoppage) at 5:00 of R1 | Watch finish Karim Henniene def. Antero dos Santos via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) Joffie Houlton def. Abdoulaye Kane via DQ (illegal knee) at 4:20 of R1 | Watch finish Simbarashe Hokonya def. Frans Mlambo via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25) Abraham Bably def. Badr Medkouri via KO at 4:59 (punch) of R1 | Watch finish Juliet Ukah vs. Ceileigh Niedermayr via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
PFL Africa results: Costello van Steenis pulls off insane buzzer-beater, taps Johnny Eblen
If he does nothing else, Costello van Steenis will always be remembered for Saturday's fight. Not only did he become PFL middleweight champion, van Steenis (17-3) did so in improbable fashion when he submitted Johnny Eblen with nine seconds left in their five-round bout. The stoppage came at 4:51 of Round 5. The middleweight clash headlined PFL Africa at GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, South Africa. Eblen (16-1) had utilized his strong wrestling base and relentless pressure to largely dominate van Steenis the entire fight prior to his demise. Entering Round 5, Eblen was up 39-37 on two judges' scorecards with a third having the fight tied 38-38. Eblen got the fight down to the ground midway through Round 5 and took van Steenis' back. With approximately 45 seconds left on the clock, Eblen made a fatal mistake and fell off the top. Van Steenis slickly flipped the script, got Eblen's back, locked in a rear-naked choke, and put Eblen to sleep. A longtime training partner of Gegard Mousasi, van Steenis built his name in Bellator where he went 7-2 prior to PFL's merger. A 48-second head kick in his PFL debut earned him a crack at Eblen, who had never lost prior to Saturday's bout. Up-to-the-minute PFL Africa results include:
