Latest news with #UFCFightPass
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
UFC cookie monster out to back up 19-second masterclass
Quillan Salkilld needed just 19 seconds to taste victory in his UFC debut, now he hopes there will be another memorable ending and lots of celebratory cookies this weekend. Salkilld announced himself as a star of the future in February when he knocked down Anshul Jubli with a vicious right in the opening seconds of their UFC 312 lightweight showdown in Sydney. The performance earned Salkilld a $50,000 fight-of-the-night bonus, but it also left the West Australian with a problem. How can he ever top that stunning display? An unforgettable debut!Quillan Salkilld makes the walk again THIS WEEKEND at #UFC316!Watch his fight on @UFCFightPass — UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) June 4, 2025 Fans are about to find out when Salkilld (8-1) takes on Yanal Ashmouz at UFC 316 in New Jersey this weekend. "It was like a fairytale ending," Salkilld said of his 19-second debut. "The way it ended like that, getting the performance of the night bonus in my home country, it couldn't have gone any better. "I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to top that, which is going to be pretty bloody hard." Salkilld has been training intensely while giving up his favourite foods - with cookies being on top of the banned list. "Cookies mate, that gets me," Salkilld said. "I eat generally clean, but I've got a bit sweet tooth. I've just got to stay away from that in fight camp. For me that's depressing. "I'm in good nick right now. Staying away from the chocolates, the cookies, the cake. "It's been a good six weeks. I'm shredded right now, so it's worth it." So how does he plan to celebrate if he defeats Ashmouz to make it a perfect 2-0 start to his UFC career? "By just eating like a pig. Smoking a couple of cigars and eating all the cookies I want," he said with a laugh. The headline act for UFC 316 will be the bout between bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and No.1 challenger Sean O'Malley. The co-main event will see women's bantamweight champion Julianna Pena up against two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison. Salkilld was born in Pinjarra, 80km south of Perth. But the 25-year-old spent most of his childhood in the picturesque resort town of Broome, a high-profile tourist destination in the Kimberley region that is a 1600km flight north from Perth. The emergence of Salkilld continues a factory line of UFC fighters from WA, which includes new welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena.
Winnipeg Free Press
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cody Chovancek looks to defend Unified MMA bantamweight title, make UFC take notice
TORONTO – Cody Chovancek won the Unified MMA bantamweight championship in June 2024 with a particularly nasty calf slicer submission victory over previously unbeaten American Gage (The Gremlin) Gill. And there will likely be more pain Friday when the 26-year-old from Petrolia, Ont., defends his 135-pound title against American Jordan Howard in the Unified 62 main event at the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto. Chovancek (7-0-0) hopes another win will open the door to the UFC. 'It's my time,' he said matter-of-factly. 'I'm going to go out there and do what I do. Give the fans an exciting fight. I've got knockout power in both hands. I can do it all … I want the UFC. I want (UFC president) Dana White, (matchmakers) Mick Maynard, Sean Shelby to let me fight in my 20s in the greatest promotion in the world, the UFC. 'I know they'll be watching (on UFC Fight Pass) and I'll earn my spot on (Friday).' Chovancek turned heads with the painful calf slicer submission in the fifth round against Gill. The move involves using your leg to hook an opponent's leg and then, using your other foot to brace that leg, pulling the opponent's limb back against the grain, so to speak. Done right, it can tear the calf and injure the knee joint. 'Normally when I do it to people in training, they tap very quickly,' Chovancek said. He trains at Niagara Top Team in St. Catharines, Ont., alongside (Proper) Mike Malott and Jasmine Jasudavicius, both of whom posted convincing wins at UFC 315 in Montreal last month. Chovancek was taking it all in fight week, also fitting in some training sessions at TriStar Gym. 'It's really cool to see behind the scenes, how everything works in the UFC because that's where I'm going to be — very shortly,' he said. 'And to see those guys go out there and perform the way they did, it just speaks to the training that we're doing. We're doing all the right things and it can take us to the highest level.' Chovancek has been involved with other UFC shows. In Edmonton in November, he was on standby in case a 135-pounder had to drop off the card. But in Montreal, he was involved in more of the fight week proceedings, including taking the stage with Jasudavicius for the ceremonial weigh-in. Fights have been hard to come by for Chovancek, who had two bouts in 2023 and just one last year. 'It's rough once you're at certain spot,' he said. He had been waiting, in case the UFC called with another short-notice opportunity. 'But I didn't feel like waiting any more,' he said. 'I want to get out there and give the fans what they want to see. I truly believe this will be my last fight on the regional scene.' He sees Friday as a chance for one more show in front of friends and family, hopefully followed later this year by an invitation to showcase his skills on 'Dana White's Contender Series' — the road Malott and Jasudavicius travelled to the promotion. Chovancek applied unsuccessfully for a spot on a cast of Season 32 of 'The Ultimate Fighter,' where he would have competed up a division at featherweight. 'I believe everything happens for a reason and it's just given me more time to hone my skills before the big show,' he said. The five-foot-nine Chovancek, who normally walks around at 160 pounds, fought as a featherweight (145 pounds) in his first three pro fights. He is in 3-0-0 in Unified MMA action and has gone the distance just twice as a pro. Four of his bouts did not make it past the second round. Howard (12-5-5) went 2-2-0 in Bellator. 'I don't think he's fought anyone with this much experience thus far,' Howard speaking in a social media post, said of Chovancek. 'And not just experience but experience at a high level, under the big lights.' Chovancek agrees the 35-year-old Howard is a step up in class but is not fazed. 'He's probably the best fighter I've fought,' said Chovancek. 'It's just going to bring out a better performance in me. The better the opposition, the better I perform.' Chovancek, who is half-Thai, grew up in southwestern Ontario, some 25 kilometres southeast of Sarnia. 'There wasn't a whole lot to do there (other) than fight and fish,' he said. Chovancek started wrestling in high school then added kickboxing at 16. He had just turned 18 when he had his first amateur MMA fight in August 2016. A year later, he went to Thailand to train. Chovancek has spent five years training at Niagara Top Team where he teaches Muay Thai classes, putting aside his job as a steel framer. — This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ex-UFC fighters Tanner Boser and Vinicius Moreira co-headline UAE Warriors 60
Ex-UFC fighters Tanner Boser and Vinicius Moreira co-headline UAE Warriors 60 A pair of UFC veterans will co-headline UAE Warriors 60. Light heavyweights Tanner Boser (21-10-1) and Vinicius Moreira (14-8) square off June 13 at Space 42 Arena from Abu Dhabi and airs on UFC Fight Pass. A person with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the news but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Boser became a free agent after completing his contract with the UFC in 2023. He was headed to the Global Fight League where he was drafted to Team London, but after GFL was forced to cancel their first scheduled events, he opted to stay active elsewhere. The 33-year-old Canadian hasn't competed since defeating Aleksa Camur at UFC on ESPN 50 in August 2023. Meanwhile, Dana White's Contender Series alum Moreira has stayed busy since failing to notch an octagon win in four attempts. After getting released from his UFC contract in 2021, the Brazilian went 5-3, but he's on a four-fight winning streak. He captured the Jungle Fight light heavyweight title with a submission of Andre Miranda this past October.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Road to UFC results: Violent knockouts highlight Day 1 in Shanghai
Road to UFC returned Thursday at the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai, China – and it brought the violence. Of the 10 bouts that took place over the span of two episodes filmed, six ended by knockout or TKO. Perhaps the most stunning of the bunch was an expertly-timed knee by Keiichiro Nakamura as he caught Eoh Jin Park diving in for a takedown. A NASTY KNOCKOUT VIA KNEE 🫣Keiichiro Nakamura delivers a stunner to advance to the #RTU4 semi-finals![ Watch NOW on @UFCFightPass : ] — UFC (@ufc) May 22, 2025 Thursday's cards consisted of the featherweight and flyweight quarterfinal bouts, with some familiar names among the path. ENDS IT UNDER A MINUTE 👏Agulali gets the KO in a frenzy to advance to the Road to UFC 4 semi-finals! 🤩[ Watch NOW on @UFCFightPass : ] — UFC (@ufc) May 22, 2025 Road to UFC alum Kaiwen Li and Dana White's Contender Series alum Aaron Tau both picked up first-round stoppage victories, but other Road to UFC alums Xiaocan Feng and Baergeng Jieleyisi came up short. RIGHT HAND SITS HIM DOWN 👊Namsrai Batbayar earns the TKO to advance to the #RTU4 semi-finals![ Watch NOW on @UFCFightPass : ] — UFC (@ufc) May 22, 2025 One American-born fighter, Mansher Khera, competed Thursday as he dominated Aziz Khaydarov en route to a unanimous decision. Khera is a highly-touted jiu-jitsu practitioner who has been on the cusp of a UFC call for some time. Road to UFC will return for its semfinal bouts Aug. 22, one day before the promotion holds a main-brand event in Shanghai – the first on mainland China since November 2017. Kaiwen Li def. Dong Hyun Seo via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:21 Agulali def. Mrdiul Saikia via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:37 Chang Min Yoon def. Jin Aoi via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27) Aaron Tau def. Rio Tirto via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 1, 1:26 Mansher Khera def. Aziz Khaydarov via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28) Sebastian Szalay def. Baergeng Jieleyisi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Shuai Yin def. Kai Yoshida via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:38 Keiichiro Nakamura def. Eoh Jin Park via knockout (knee) – Round 2, 2:24 Namsrai Batbayar def. Wataru Yamauchi via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:46 Arisa Matsuda def. Xiaocan Feng via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Road to UFC results: Violent knockouts highlight Day 1 in Shanghai
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Chael Sonnen urges Valentina Shevchenko to drop the "nice girl act" after UFC 315 title defence
Retired UFC fighter and analyst Chael Sonnen has complained about UFC Women's Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko's public persona despite her dominant performance at UFC 315 . Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Chael Sonnen is of the opinion that 'The Bullet' has all it takes to be a mainstream star but lacks in marketing herself to the fans as she does not embrace her so-called natural 'heel' character, according to him. Sonnen believes Shevchenko should embrace a villainous persona Valentina Shevchenko defended her flyweight strap against Manon Fiorot by unanimous decision on May 10, 2025, at UFC 315, Montreal, thus extending her legendary career. After UFC 315, Chael Sonnen was a little sceptical about the way in which Valentina Shevchenko behaves in public, saying that her attempts to appear as a 'nice girl' are against what he thinks she really is. In his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen said that Valentina Shevchenko is more of a heel, or a villain in the world of MMA storytelling. Chael has a Problem with Valentina Shevchenko… The former UFC fighter and commentator contended that Valentina Shevchenko 's glorious background (fluency in seven languages, elite martial arts credentials, and alleged military training) provides a much more compelling picture than her current image. Chael Sonnen believes that an athlete like her, who has been dominant in several combat disciplines and hails from a family of fighters, does not need to start to soften her public image to appeal to the fans or increase her legacy. Record-breaking champion faces potential super fight opportunity Although Sonnen puts her marketing strategy under attack, Valentina Shevchenko keeps breaking records in the octagon. At 37, she was the oldest fighter to defend a title in the middleweight division after her UFC 315 win. This accomplishment put her in the ranks of the best, as she became the sixth fighter in UFC history to win ten title fights. The champion is now staring at a career-defining opportunity as UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili publicly challenges her after UFC 315. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Weili, who outpointed Tatiana Suarez in February, seems to be prepared to go up in weight to become a double-champion. "Congratulations to the champion. It has all come together perfectly, it's destiny,' Zhang Weili said on Instagram after the Valentina Shevchenko victory. Fans can watch the post-fight interview with Valentina Shevchenko and see the highlights of UFC 315 on the official UFC YouTube channel and UFC Fight Pass streaming service. Also Read: Despite criticism of her public persona, Valentina Shevchenko's in-ring dominance continues cementing her legacy as one of the greatest female fighters in mixed martial arts history.
