Latest news with #UFCSeattle
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Roman Dolidze explains how ‘MMA drama' led to UFC Vegas 109 headliner with Anthony Hernandez
Roman Dolidze didn't expect Anthony Hernandez to be his next opponent, but he certainly feels ready for it. Dolidze faces Hernandez in the main event of UFC Vegas 109 this Saturday at the UFC APEX. Following his victory over Marvin Vettori at UFC Vegas 104 in March, Dolidze called for a fight with former champion Robert Whittaker. According to Dolidze, the UFC was interested in making that fight happen, but instead, Whittaker was booked to headline UFC Abu Dhabi in July, where he lost a split decision to Reinier de Ridder. Dolidze ended up getting 'Fluffy' instead. 'No reaction, but my thoughts are like, MMA drama, you know?,' Dolidze told MMA Fighting. 'And it's funny for me because we have, probably, different understanding of what's going on. Some guys are second Conor McGregors, [trying] to say like loud stuff, but sometimes, I don't understand them. 'But they tell me that I will fight him. [For] two months, they were telling me that I will fight Whittaker. And after they announced that Whittaker is fighting de Ridder, they gave me Fluffy. It happened like that.' Hernandez has won his past seven bouts and proven to be a tough opponent, with a cardio-heavy style that provides problems to all of his opponents. The 31-year-old recently earned a decision win over Brendan Allen at UFC Seattle in February. After picking up wins over Kevin Holland, and past title challengers Vettori and Anthony Smith, Dolidze was a little surprised Hernandez was the name on the other side of the contract. To be fair, Dolidze feels his opponent may have deserved better as well. 'I said that I deserve a better opponent, that this is not a fight what I wanted — the fight with Fluffy,' Dolidze said. 'But who cares? I will still fight. I will still win, and I will just make them give me fight that I deserve. … 'I think that UFC is, first of all, business. UFC is, first of all, a show and they have their own goals and their own way how to achieve what they wanna do. And now, it's a situation when a lot of guys are up and coming, and a lot of good fighters[are] there and [it's] a little bit [of a] mess. A lot of things going on there. And we both, I think, even my opponent Fluffy, we both deserve higher-ranked opponents, but in the end, we are fighting each other. 'But I think everything is fair. If you are still winning, they will have no they have no other option to give you title [shot]. That's all.' The middleweight division is in a fascinating place right now. De Ridder's big win puts him in a potential bigger spot next, Dricus du Plessis is getting set to defend his title against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 later this month, and Nassourdine Imavov faces Caio Borralho in a huge main event bout at UFC Paris. With a win over Hernandez, Dolidze feels a title eliminator should be next. 'Anthony is different,' Dolidze explained. 'Anthony is interesting fighter. I think he's not [great] in [any one thing]. He's not super striker, or he's not super grappler, or he's not super wrestler, but he's super cardio guy, like Mario, you know? Like, he's always like going. 'And he's a good fighter and very interesting. Like I said, he's not super grappler, but he could make you tired, and he's a good grappler when you're tired and you can't do nothing. He has wins over good grapplers, high-level grapplers. He was losing fight, but when he makes them tired, he's doing whatever he want to do. That's why it's an interesting fight, and he's a good fighter, I think so. … 'It will be an interesting fight,' Dolidze continues. 'I don't know what he will offer me, but for anything, I'm ready, especially with his good side. He likes to go on the ground, let's go on the ground. Let's see [who is] better. 'And if you're talking where I will be after this fight, after this win, I think he has a seven-fight win streak. That's good. And when I will win over him, will put me higher [in the rankings], and I think I will be one step until title fight. One more fight, and title shot.'
USA Today
12-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What time is Bryce Mitchell vs. Jean Silva? Walkouts for UFC 314 fight
After much trash talk since being booked, Bryce Mitchel and Jean Silva are finally ready to settle their differences. Their featherweight fight scheduled for three rounds will take place Saturday, April 12 at UFC 314 from Kaseya Center in Miami. It's been a heated buildup between Mitchell (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) and Silva (15-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) ever since Silva called him out after his TKO win on Feb. 22 at UFC Seattle. Things got even more heated between them at the UFC 314 press conference in early March and have only escalated from there. Silva, a Dana White's Contender Series alum, has four finishes in his first four UFC appearances. Mitchell is 2-2 in his past four bouts but is coming off a slam knockout of Kron Gracie this past December at UFC 310. When does the UFC 314 fight card start? The UFC 314 lineup consists of 13 fights. Early prelims start at 6 p.m. ET, prelims at 8 p.m. ET, and the pay-per-view main card at 10 p.m. ET. Bryce Mitchell vs. Jean Silva walkout time As the featured bout, Chandler and Pimblett are expected to walk out to the cage at approximately 11:15 p.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dominick Cruz, Bruce Buffer, Keyshawn Davis in studio, Song Yadong, Youssef Zalal The Ariel Helwani Show
The Ariel Helwani Show is BACK ... IN ... YOUR ... LIFE! Ariel and The Boys In The Back break down the latest in the combat sports world. Monday's lineup can be seen below: 1 p.m. ET: Ariel and the gang react to the busy weekend. 1:40 p.m. ET: Youssef Zalal stops by after his big UFC Vegas 102 win over Calvin Kattar. 2 p.m. ET: Bruce Buffer, the UFC's legendary "Voice of the Octagon," joins the program. 2:30 p.m. ET: Keyshawn Davis joins us in-studio following his WBO lightweight title win over Denys Berinchyk. 3:45 p.m. ET: Song Yadong previews his UFC Seattle main event against Henry Cejudo. 4:15 p.m. ET: Dominick Cruz returns following his official MMA retirement.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Song Yadong dismisses Henry Cejudo rematch after eye-poke controversy: 'Why? It is easy money for me'
Song Yadong returned to the win column at UFC Seattle, but not how he hoped. After two and a half rounds of back-and-forth action, China's Song landed an grisly eye poke to fellow headliner Henry Cejudo that halted the action for the entire five-minute recovery period Cejudo was allotted. Had the fight been waved off in the third frame, it would've likely been ruled a no contest. Instead, Cejudo finished out the final minute and change, then headed back to his corner. Between rounds, the former two-division UFC champion told his coaches and the cageside physician that he couldn't see, bring the contest to a premature end and resulting in a bizarre technical decision win for Song, as the Chinese bantamweight was ahead on all three scorecards at the time of the doctor's stoppage. "My strategy was [to] finish him in the fourth and the fifth round. I knew he would be more exhausted than me, and he knew he was going to be finished in the fourth and fifth round," Song said Tuesday on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "That was my fault I got the eye poke. I don't want to judge him. But the result wasn't a win. I wanted to finish the five rounds and see what happened. But I believe I can finish him." The entire scene was an odd one to watch unfold, with the Seattle crow growing increasingly restless as Cejudo bled the clock. Technical decisions are some of the rarest results in MMA, and Song admits he didn't even know what the rules were in the situation. He expected a no contest to be the only outcome. "I just want to fight," Song said. "I don't know the rule, but that was my fault, yeah." Song's victory returned him to the win column after a March 2024 setback against Petr Yan, while Cejudo's losing streak extended to three since returning from his MMA retirement in 2023. Cejudo, 38, would've at least come away with a majority draw if a point had been taken from Song for the illegal — and ultimately fight-ending — maneuver. And if it had, Song wouldn't have taken issue with it. "It depends on the judges," Song said of a point deduction. "If he take my points, I'm OK with that. I'm not [a] p****, I'm OK. I just want to continue the fight and face him. Everybody know I win [against] him. I won the fight. I have the ability to knock him out. He knows. I don't care if you take my one point." Did Cejudo look for a way out? For Song, it's hard to say. "I have no idea what happened [to his eye]," Song said. "But I feel he rested for five minutes, and when he came back, I feel he can see me very clearly, he can avoid any attack. I see his eye, I watch his eye — I knew he can see me very clearly. But I don't know, maybe not. "I punch him, he slides left, slides right. But when I fought Cory Sandhagen, I had a broken orbital bone in one eye and the other eye was covered by blood — I still fight [for] three, four rounds until the doctor stop the fight. I didn't want to comment on Henry, but it is what it is. "That was actually an eye poke [I committed]. I'm not him, so I don't want judge him," he continued. "I don't want to come at him. But if he [had beaten] me up for three rounds, I [don't] think he [would've given] up. I think he will continue. Because in my mind, I think he knew — he knew that he's going to get beat up in the fourth round, so that's why he don't want to continue. That's my thought." Song, 27, maintains his ranking in the bantamweight top 10 after UFC Seattle. He's watched the fight back and is confident he won the first three rounds, further bolstering his opinion on an impending finish. UFC CEO Dana White quickly shut down the idea of a rematch at Saturday's post-fight press conference. Despite that, Cejudo has repeated called to run things back. Song has a different idea instead. "At the time [after the fight], I want to rematch with him," Song said. "But after the interview, my coach, my teammates, they told me, 'Don't look back, you should go forward.' And I heard that Dana White don't want the rematch. "You know what? If UFC don't set it up, I can go to his gym and spar with him. See what it is, who is better. Seriously, yeah. He wants rematch. I'm done with that. So I can beat him? Why? It is easy money for me. So if UFC don't set up, I can go to his gym. Let's go spar."
