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Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Dana, call me!': Omran Chaaban ready for UFC after 46-second TKO win at UAE Warriors 61
ABU DHABI – Omran Chaaban is UFC ready. Chaaban (9-1) has won three-straight fights since appearing on Season 32 of "The Ultimate Fighter," needing just 46 seconds to take out Wellington Madeira (7-2) with brutal calf kicks at UAE Warriors 61 on Wednesday. As he celebrated his quick finish, Chaaban put up the phone sign, sending a message to Dana White and the UFC matchmakers. "Uncle Dana, Sean Shelby, where you guys at?," Chaaban told MMA Junkie. "Mick Maynard, call me. I'm in Abu Dhabi, I'm 24 years old, I've fought very high-level guys. I'm from Finland, we don't have any UFC fighters. I'm from Lebanon, I don't think we have any Lebanese – a couple of Lebanese fighters maybe? Or one. So yeah, you guys need someone from Finland and from Lebanon so, I'm here. I'm young, welterweight." Chaaban is back to his natural weight class after taking part in "TUF 32" as a middleweight. In his first fight, he upset current LFA champion Shamidkhan Magomedov by submitting him, but then lost a unanimous decision to the eventual season winner Ryan Loder. The 24-year-old is confident he's ready to make the UFC leap, and is even willing to fill in for a short-notice fight. "Of course I would," Chaaban said. "My aim is to become the best welterweight and even my coach believes that. So, that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking to be the best, and UFC is the best promotion in the world, we all know it. And yeah, uncle Dana, call me!" Only one Arab fighter competes on Saturday's return card to the Middle East in Abu Dhabi, when UAE's own Mohammed Yahya meets Steven Nguyen in a lightweight bout on the UFC on ABC 9 prelims. Chaaban thinks there's an opening for him to debut in the promotion's first card in Qatar on Nov. 22. "They're coming to Qatar so that's perfect for me," Chaaban said. "I'm the UAE Warriors welterweight champion, I'm Lebanese, Arab. I think there's loads of Lebanese people everywhere or Arabs – we are everywhere so, yeah, that would be great to fight in the Middle East. And they're coming to Paris as well. They're doing lots with Saudi, here (UAE), Qatar so, it fits perfectly." Chaaban left a final message to the UFC brass. "Dana White, I'm 24 years old, I'm Finnish-Lebanese, I finish people," Chaaban said. "I've finished everyone in my welterweight fights. Call me brother, call me." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Omran Chaaban ready for UFC call after TKO win at UAE Warriors 61
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
UFC 318 results: Daniel Rodriguez vs. Kevin Holland goes totally off the rails
It was a fight UFC matchmakers had tried to make multiple times prior and when it finally came to fruition, it proved worth the wait. Daniel Rodriguez and Kevin Holland came to blows Saturday at UFC 318 and those in attendance at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans were treated to an all-time-wild brawl. When the dust settled, Rodriguez (20-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) was named winner by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). As the fight progressed, the craziness increased. Rodriguez had a strong first round, but peaked in Round 2 when he froze and dropped Holland (28-14 MMA, 15-11 UFC) with a combination. Holland somehow survived and scored a beautifully-timed takedown midway through the round. In Round 3, Holland stunned Rodriguez multiple times. Uppercuts were his biggest weapons, which totally flashed Rodriguez twice. Although the referee he was close to intervening, he did not. Rodriguez was allowed to fight on and for good reason. He scored a takedown on Holland and entered mount. Rodriguez, 38, has won three fights in a row. He entered UFC 318 off back-to-back wins over Alex Morono and Santiago Ponzinibbio. Holland, 32, has been the UFC's most active fighters in 2025. However, he may need a little time off due to the laceration he suffered near his right eye. Holland has a two-fight winning streak snapped and moves to 2-2 in the calendar year. Up-to-the-minute UFC 318 results include: Daniel Rodriguez def. Kevin Holland via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Patricio Freire def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Michael Johnson def. Daniel Zellhuber via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Vinicius Oliveira def. Kyler Phillips via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Brendan Allen def. Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Nikolay Veretennikov def. Franciso Prado via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) Ateba Gautier def. Robert Valentin via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:10 Islam Dulatov def. Adam Fugitt via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 4:06 Jimmy Crute def. Marcin Prachnio via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:42 Ryan Spann def. Lukasz Brzeski via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:47 Brunno Ferreira def. Jackson McVey via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:35 Carli Judice def. Nicolle Caliari via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 3, 1:30 This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 318 results: Daniel Rodriguez vs. Kevin Holland goes totally off the rails
