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USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC on ESPN 70: Stephen Thompson draws rising welterweight Gabriel Bonfim in Nashville
UFC on ESPN 70: Stephen Thompson draws rising welterweight Gabriel Bonfim in Nashville Stephen Thompson will look to shut down a welterweight prospect at UFC on ESPN 70. Former title challenger Thompson (17-7-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) takes on Gabriel Bonfim (17-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) on July 12 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, promotion officials announced Friday. Thompson is coming off back-to-back stoppage losses to top contenders Shavkat Rakhmonov and Joaquin Buckley. "Wonderboy" has lost four of his past five fights. His lone win in that stretch coming over Kevin Holland in December 2022. After suffering his first career loss to Nicolas Dalby in November 2023, Brazil's Bonfim rebounded with back-to-back wins over Ange Loosa, then a bonus-winning submission of Khaos Williams at UFC Fight Night 251 in February. The latest UFC Nashville lineup includes:
USA Today
16-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC veterans competing in MMA and boxing action May 16-18
UFC veterans competing in MMA and boxing action May 16-18 Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this week. This week, the UFC returns to its home base in Las Vegas. UFC Fight Night 256 takes place at the UFC Apex, and features a welterweight bout between undefeated contender Michael Morales and former title challenger Gilbert Burns. Elsewhere, many other combat sports events are taking place, featuring several familiar names who have competed under the UFC banner. Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing May 16-18. Scroll below to see how the UFC veterans fared last week, and see the names and details of this weekend's competitors. Upcoming event information from Tapology. Last week's results Yanis Ghemmouri: May 9 vs. Izzeddine Al Durban at 2025 PFL MENA 1 Michel Prazeres: Unanimous decision loss vs. Evgeniy Galochkin at ACA 186 Maxim Grishin: TKO win vs. Evgeny Egemberdiev at ACA 186 Hacran Dias: Unanimous decision win vs. Marat Balaev at ACA 186 Mickael Lebout: Unanimous decision loss vs. Amin Ayoub at KSW 106 Cody Pfister: Split decision loss vs. Michael Stack at Peak Fighting 44 Jose Johnson: May 10 vs. Jovanis Rodriguez at WFC 175 – official results pending Anthony Hamilton: May 10 vs. Jared Torgeson at WFC 175 – official results pending Milana Dudieva (13-9 MMA, 1-2 UFC) Next fight: May 16 vs. Amanda Torres at Invicta FC 62 Last MMA fight: Unanimous decision win vs. Sandra Lavado at Invicta FC 57 on Sept. 20, 2024 Last UFC fight: TKO loss vs. Marion Reneau at UFC Fight Night 99 on Nov. 19, 2016 Record since UFC exit: 2-4 DeAnna Bennett (14-9-1 MMA, 0-0-1 UFC) Next fight: May 16 vs. Rayla Nascimento at Invicta FC 62 Last MMA fight: Unanimous decision win vs. Liz Tracy at Invicta FC 57 on Sept. 20, 2024 Last UFC fight: Majority draw vs. Melinda Fabian at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale on Dec. 1, 2017 Record since UFC exit: 6-6 Victor Hugo (25-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) Next fight: May 17 vs. Damien Lapilus at Brave CF 94 Last MMA fight (also last UFC bout): Unanimous decision loss vs. Farid Basharat at UFC 308 on Oct. 26, 2024 Record since UFC exit: 0-0 Dylan Budka (7-5 MMA, 0-3 UFC) Next fight: May 17 vs. Robert Gidron at AFP 102 Last MMA fight (also last UFC bout): Knockout loss vs. Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Fight Night 251 on Feb. 15, 2025 Record since UFC exit: 0-0 Melvin Guillard (32-22-2 MMA, 12-9 UFC) Next fight: May 17 vs. Josiah Harrell at Ohio Combat League 38 Last MMA fight: Unanimous decision loss vs. Terry House Jr. at united Combat League 32 on Oct. 18, 2019 Last UFC fight: Unanimous decision loss vs. Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 37 on March 8, 2014 Record since UFC exit: 1-9 (1 NC), 2-6 bareknuckle boxing Cris Cyborg (28-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) Next fight: May 17 vs. Precious Harris-McCray at Fight Night 3 (boxing) Last MMA fight: Unanimous decision win vs. Larissa Pacheco at PFL: Battle of the Giants on Oct. 19, 2024 Last UFC fight: Unanimous decision win vs. Felicia Spencer at UFC 240 on July 27, 2019 Record since UFC exit: 7-0 MMA, 6-0 boxing Terrence Mitchell (14-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) Next fight: May 17 vs. Alex Aschenbrenner at Alaska FC 168 Last MMA fight (also last UFC bout): TKO loss vs. Raul Rosas Jr. at Noche UFC on Sept. 16, 2023 Record since UFC exit: 0-0 Teruto Ishihara (14-12-3 MMA, 3-5-1 UFC)
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Coach Marc Montoya discusses UFC contender Youssef Zalal's incredible career turnaround
Youssef Zalal went from being cut by the UFC to a ranked featherweight contender. Zalal (17-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) kicked off his first UFC tenure 3-0. However, he went on to lose three straight – including a decision to Ilia Topuria, followed by a majority draw that led to his UFC release. During his time away from the octagon, Zalal took part in a one-day competition, which included three combat sports: Boxing, kickboxing, and MMA. Zalal won all three fights and the tournament before getting a short-notice call to make his UFC return. Zalal submitted Billy Quarantillo, Jarno Errens, and Jack Shore before drawing perennial contender Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Night 251 in February. Zalal won the bout by unanimous decision. His head coach, Marc Montoya, explains how Zalal was able to turn his career around. "With Youssef, we had a lot of success early in his first run in the UFC, he was 3-0," Montoya told MMA Junkie Radio. "Unfortunately he caught some failure after that. Some of it was short-notice stuff, some of it was some inexperience, and some of it was just timing, and it just didn't work out. So, where I saw it the most was on the regional scene. He did this tournament where he would fight three times in one night. "You box first, you do kickboxing second, and then you do MMA third. If you lose the boxing match, you don't get paid any money. If you win the kickboxing match, you advance to MMA. But, if you lose the kickboxing match, you get paid very little, as well. The risk there was super high, but what I saw in the training there was just his evolution already leading up to all of that. Not just physically, but mentally." Zalal now finds himself in the UFC's featherweight rankings after his win over Kattar. Montoya had the 28-year-old Moroccan level up during training camp. "When we just fought Kattar, I brought in Olympic-level boxers for him," Montoya said. "He trained with (Justin) Gaethje and (Cory) Sandhagen, and of course all his teammates at Factory X. But we just put all these obstacles in front of him and allowed him to work through some of that. It's not like he always succeeds in all of it instantly. "But what he's learned from his first stint in the UFC was, if I'm going to fail, I've got to learn from my failure, and I can do that quickly. I don't need to wait until I get in the cage to do that, and I think that's one of the things that's helped him a lot in his mental transition to get to where he is now." Youssef Zalal likes Yair Rodriguez, Brian Ortega as names to get him to UFC's next level Youssef Zalal accuses Calvin Kattar of greasing at UFC Fight Night 251 Youssef Zalal gets motivation from 15 minutes with UFC champ Ilia Topuria UFC Fight Night 246 video: Youssef Zalal cracks Jack Shore with knee, taps him with choke This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Coach Marc Montoya discusses UFC contender Youssef Zalal's incredible career turnaround
USA Today
13-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Coach Marc Montoya discusses UFC contender Youssef Zalal's incredible career turnaround
Youssef Zalal went from being cut by the UFC to a ranked featherweight contender. Zalal (17-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) kicked off his first UFC tenure 3-0. However, he went on to lose three straight – including a decision to Ilia Topuria, followed by a majority draw that led to his UFC release. During his time away from the octagon, Zalal took part in a one-day competition, which included three combat sports: Boxing, kickboxing, and MMA. Zalal won all three fights and the tournament before getting a short-notice call to make his UFC return. Zalal submitted Billy Quarantillo, Jarno Errens, and Jack Shore before drawing perennial contender Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Night 251 in February. Zalal won the bout by unanimous decision. His head coach, Marc Montoya, explains how Zalal was able to turn his career around. 'With Youssef, we had a lot of success early in his first run in the UFC, he was 3-0,' Montoya told MMA Junkie Radio. 'Unfortunately he caught some failure after that. Some of it was short-notice stuff, some of it was some inexperience, and some of it was just timing, and it just didn't work out. So, where I saw it the most was on the regional scene. He did this tournament where he would fight three times in one night. 'You box first, you do kickboxing second, and then you do MMA third. If you lose the boxing match, you don't get paid any money. If you win the kickboxing match, you advance to MMA. But, if you lose the kickboxing match, you get paid very little, as well. The risk there was super high, but what I saw in the training there was just his evolution already leading up to all of that. Not just physically, but mentally.' Zalal now finds himself in the UFC's featherweight rankings after his win over Kattar. Montoya had the 28-year-old Moroccan level up during training camp. 'When we just fought Kattar, I brought in Olympic-level boxers for him,' Montoya said. 'He trained with (Justin) Gaethje and (Cory) Sandhagen, and of course all his teammates at Factory X. But we just put all these obstacles in front of him and allowed him to work through some of that. It's not like he always succeeds in all of it instantly. 'But what he's learned from his first stint in the UFC was, if I'm going to fail, I've got to learn from my failure, and I can do that quickly. I don't need to wait until I get in the cage to do that, and I think that's one of the things that's helped him a lot in his mental transition to get to where he is now.'
USA Today
02-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC Fight Night 253 video: Mario Pinto debuts with vicious KO of Austen Lane
After showing scary knockout power to earn a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series, Mario Pinto displayed heavy hands again Saturday at UFC Fight Night 253. Pinto (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) won his promotional debut by second-round knockout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas when he floored Austen Lane with a vicious right hook that instantly put the lights out. It was a brutal finish, and you can watch the replay below (via X): MARIO PINTO ENDS IT WITH THE 1-2 👊 #UFCVegas103 — ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 1, 2025 Lane (13-6 MMA, 1-3 UFC) spent some time down on the canvas before eventually returning to the stool and leaving the octagon under his own power. Pinto, meanwhile, celebrated a triumphant debut to keep his undefeated record intact. 'I definitely had the (UFC) jitters,' Pinto said in his post-fight interview with Jon Anik. 'When it's your first time and you're scared and I was a bit nervous. But I got the W. He's a big, 6-foot-6 former NFL player.' Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 251 results include: For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 253.
