The speculation surrounding a potential superfight that would feature retired boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC star Conor McGregor continues to build in 2017.
In a Showtime interview Saturday night (via Mike Cranston of the Associated Press), Mayweather said a fight "can happen," noting it would ideally take place in the 147- to 150-pound range.
More to follow.
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With Ronda Rousey's career possibly over, the UFC women's bantamweight division is officially trying to move on. The first step in doing so? Determining the next challenger for reigning champion Amanda Nunes. While picking out the top contender can sometimes be a difficult task, the women's bantamweight was down to a two-horse race between UFC on Fox 23 main eventers Julianna Pena and Valentina Shevchenko.
Pena established herself as one of the most compelling young talents at 135 pounds on The Ultimate Fighter 18. Racking up wins over women's MMA pioneer Shayna Baszler, former rival Sarah Moras and accomplished boxer Jessica Rakoczy, she set herself up to become an instant contender in what was at the time a shallow division.
A catastrophic knee injury saw her shelved for a prolonged length of time. But any doubts about her progression or health were dismissed when she returned in 2015 and broke off three consecutive wins, including a clean decision over former top contender Cat Zingano. That put her on strong footing for a title shot and likely would have been enough to secure her one, if not for Shevchenko's sudden rise.
That rise came at UFC on Fox 20. After taking a solid win over Sarah Kaufman in her UFC debut, Shevchenko was given a bout against Nunes in her second fight with the promotion. While she lost a straightforward 29-28 decision, she demonstrated strong cardio, resiliency and grappling to go along with her established striking. And that earned her a high-profile fight opposite Holly Holm.
Despite entering the fight as an underdog, Shevchenko shocked fans and pundits by neutralizing the former champ's offense and scoring a unanimous 49-46 decision win. That win, and the strong ratings it produced, vaulted Shevchenko right back into the title picture, despite her owing a loss from the champ that is less than a year old.
That gave this UFC on Fox 23 tilt big, clear stakes in the bantamweight division and beyond. And that bright spotlight gave Shevchenko a big opportunity to shine.
From the very beginning, both women's approaches were clear. Pena inched forward and steadily lowered herself for a shot while Shevchenko fought behind her punches. At first, it seemed like this would favor Pena, as she controlled much of the action with her clinch work, but Shevchenko managed to keep her striking in check with well-timed trips. Pena hunted for submissions from underneath, but ultimately Shevchenko took the round, likely on her minutes-long control from the top.
The second round was much of the same, but this time, Pena managed to avoid Shevchenko's sneaky clinch takedowns and eventually score a takedown of her own. That moral victory, however, was quickly followed by a legitimate loss.
After absorbing some punches in full guard position, Shevchenko whipped her hips around and locked up a lightning-quick armbar. Pena attempted to roll her way out, but Shevchenko stuck with her every move and forced the tap.
It was a shocking ending to a fight where Pena was expected to own a major advantage on the ground, and one that cements Shevchenko's place as an elite-level bantamweight. After the official decision was read, Nunes entered the Octagon and seemingly accepted a proposed rematch with the former muay thai champion.
Whether that rematch happens is a question for another time, but it's hard to dismiss Shevchenko's chances, should it come to pass.
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If you slumbered on UFC on Fox 23, you missed a title eliminator bout, one of the best action fights possible in the welterweight division and the most exciting prospect in the heavyweight division.
You also missed Bruce Leeroy and Redneck Diaz.
A lot was going on Saturday night on this UFC card in Denver, wedged into Pro Bowl weekend. In the main event, Valentina Shevchenko and Julianna Pena, respectively the first- and second-ranked women's bantamweights on the UFC roster, did battle to see who would face champion Amanda Nunes.
In the co-main event, dynamic welterweights Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and Jorge Masvidal faced each other. If that doesn't sell itself, you don't buy much of anything in MMA.
Later on the main card, heavyweight up-and-comer Francis Ngannou tried to get over against veteran Andrei Arlovski.
And those are only three of the evening's 12 fights. As usual, the final stat lines only reveal so much. These are the real winners and losers from UFC on Fox 23.
UFC on Fox 23 unfolded Saturday evening at Pepsi Center in Denver, and Valentina Shevchenko stole the show in the main event with a second-round victory via submission over a fiery Julianna Pena.
The triumph represented the second straight for Shevchenko, who bested Holly Holm via unanimous decision in July to rise up the bantamweight ranks.
Pena secured the first clinch of the bout and used her knees to strike Shevchenko early, but Shevchenko countered by notching the first takedown. That said, Shevchenko didn't offer much in the way of effective offense, as SB Nation's Bloody Elbow observed:
Pena followed up with a pair of takedowns in the second round, but Shevchenko came up with a stunning armbar as the frame drew to a close to wipe away thoughts of her initial inability to generate consistent strikes.
And considering she's a kickboxer by trade, Shevchenko's ability to pull off a win in that fashion was remarkable, according to MMA Fighting:
By virtue of Saturday's win, Shevchenko is now primed for a showdown against Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight belt.
And with Nunes in attendance, Shevchenko didn't hesitate to call out The Lioness in advance of one of the promotion's most anticipated tilts, via the UFC on Twitter:
Before Shevchenko stole the show in dramatic fashion, the evening had a slew of compelling fights for the packed house to enjoy. Below, you'll find a rundown of Saturday's complete results along with a recap of the other three fights featured on the main card.
Main Card
Undercard
Highlights and Analysis
Jason Knight appears to be going places.
On the heels of a unanimous-decision victory over Dan Hooker at a UFC Fight Night event in November, The Kid secured arguably his most impressive win to date on Saturday evening.
Matched up against Alex Caceres, the 24-year-old brought his tactical best and secured a victory via submission (rear-naked choke) in the second round.
Bloody Elbow broke down how Knight was able to stop Caceres in his tracks:
Knight has now won three fights in a row and is 3-1 in UFC fights, according to ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto.
And now that he's riding a hot streak and has carved out a place for himself in the featherweight division, Knight has his eyes set on a showdown against Dooho Choi, according to MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani:
The evening's second showdown didn't last as long.
As expected, Francis Ngannou made light work of Andrei Arlovski and dispatched his challenger 92 seconds into the first round.
UFC on Fox provided a breakdown of some of the elite striking that allowed Ngannou to take control and never look back:
With a third straight first-round win under his belt, Ngannou is now looking like a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division. And as Helwani noted, his rising star could make him a tough out for even the toughest heavyweights moving forward:
The final showdown before the main event featured a vicious brawl between Jorge Masvidal and Donald Cerrone, as the UFC documented on Twitter:
Masvidal appeared headed for a first-round TKO when he had Cerrone on the canvas and started to blast away, but Cowboy was saved by the bell to ensure there would be a second round.
As it turns out, the second stanza didn't last long.
Masvidal continued to impose his will, and the fight was stopped in his favor a minute into Round 2, as UFC on Fox showed:
And while his performance was impressive from top to bottom, Okamoto raised an important point regarding Cerrone's fitness after he fought on Dec. 10 at UFC 206:
Cerrone will be back in the Octagon soon if his grueling track record is any indication, but Masvidal needs to be monitored as a welterweight wrecking ball now that he's rattled off three straight wins over quality competition.
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Donald Cerrone’s Cinderella march through the welterweight division encountered its first bit of adversity Saturday at UFC on Fox 23.
Jorge Masvidal dashed Cerrone’s four-fight winning streak at 170 pounds, stopping the popular Cowboy via second-round TKO during their co-main event bout at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.
Cerrone came into their bout ranked No. 5 in the UFC’s official welterweight rankings, and it was thought this bout shaped up as a good chance for him to make his case as one of the weight class’ top contenders.
Instead, it was Masvidal who made the emphatic statement.
“I’m excited man, but back to business,” Masvidal told UFC color commentator Brian Stann on Fox in the cage when it was over. “The real is back. There’s lot of fake media out there, a lot of BS going on. I’m a real fighter. I don’t take pictures on social media and all that, that’s why my name ain’t out there, but I kick ass. If you like watching people that kick ass, tune in.”
Masvidal also offered to put up $200,000 in a bet against UFC President Dana White, arguing that White couldn’t find a welterweight fighter who can beat him.
Suffice to say, this was an eye-opening turn of events for the 170-pound pecking order.
Masvidal came into the bout on the heels of two straight wins, and adding a stoppage victory against the surging Cerrone could see him rocketing up the 170-pound rankings.
We already know welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will rematch with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 209 on March 4. The winner of that bout will likely take on a challenge from a wide-open field of contenders that could include former champ Robbie Lawler, longtime contender Demian Maia or even a wild card like Nick Diaz.
Cerrone had been hoping to throw his own name in with that group, after moving up to welterweight at the start of 2016. He’d been on an absolute tear, winning four fights in a row last year, most recently stopping perennial contender Matt Brown via third-round KO at UFC 206.
That bout went down on Dec. 10, and Cerrone made a quick turnaround to fight Masvidal in his hometown of Denver this weekend.
Unfortunately, the gamble didn’t pay off.
Cerrone began the bout looking patient, scoring with low kicks and body kicks against the 32-year-old Florida native. Masvidal also scored with some hard punches, but Cerrone appeared to dictate the early action, countering well with kicks on the occasions that Masvidal was able to get off first.
During the final two minutes, however, Masvidal began to turn the tide. He warded off a takedown attempt from Cerrone and scored with a hard spinning backfist. Cerrone fired back with a head kick of his own, but Masvidal weathered it and started to find a home for his harder shots.
The potential game-changer came just before the bell, when Masvidal dropped Cerrone with a counter right-left combo and then poured on more shots as Cerrone fell to the canvas.
As referee Herb Dean stepped in at the end of the round, it appeared as if Cerrone may have been saved by the bell.
Masvidal started aggressively in the second, capitalizing on a still-dazed Cerrone. He scored with kicks and knees, ultimately dropping Cerrone again with an overhand right. Cerrone worked his way back to his feet, but could do nothing besides cover up against Masvidal’s punches until Dean stepped in to stop the fight just one minute into the second stanza.
The victory puts Masvidal on a three-fight winning streak and offers him the opportunity to finally become a real player in the UFC welterweight division.
Meanwhile, Cerrone goes back to the drawing board.
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