The Habiba League ( UFC) enters the American market: Liga Khabib Nurmagomedova signed contracts with former MMA stars, Amanda Nunez sensationally lost to Juliana Peigne, and Charles Oliveira dealt with Dustin Poirier. “MK-Sport” tells about the main events in the world of mixed martial arts over the past week.
Nurmagomedov promotes his league in the States
Already in January 2022, the promotion of Eagle FC, the main one of which is the former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov , will hold its first tournament in the United States.
According to the president of the league, Shamil Zavurov , by the end of the year, nine tournaments of the organization will take place in the United States, in which both young prospectuses and famous veterans will perform.
Several famous athletes have already signed up to the league: former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans , Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Tyrone Spong .
It is also expected that the American Kevin Lee will join the roster of the light division , with whom Yusuf Raisov volunteered to fight .
UFC Tournament Results 269
On December 12, the last numbered UFC tournament of this year died down in Las Vegas, which presented MMA fans with two sensational title battles.
Brazilian Amanda Nunez lost one of her belts, losing in the second round by submission to American Juliana Peña , who opened before the fight as the biggest outsider of all the participants in the show. It was possible to bet on her victory with a coefficient of 10.00.
“I know I was considered the absolute underdog. But you can believe in anything, everything is possible in this world. I proved it. I thank my team, they helped me a lot. Without them, I would not have won. I want to say thank you to my family too, ”said Peña in an interview after the fight.
The defeat of Nunez is the biggest sensation this year. The Brazilian has been on a 12-win streak and hasn’t known the bitterness of defeat since September 2014, when she lost to Cat Zingano by TKO in the third round at UFC 178.
Peña, who became the champion in the bantamweight division, said that she would like to have a rematch with Valentina Shevchenko , the owner of the belt in the lightest division. The girls met in January 2017 at the UFC on FOX 23 tournament. Then the representative of Kyrgyzstan won by submission in the second round. However, another revenge is not excluded – Peñi with Nunez. In any case, Peña’s victory gave the bantamweight a little boost.
“First I want to express my respect for your opponent, – he said after the fight Nunez. – Peña is a real warrior. I did my best, honestly, I was well prepared. Sometimes it happens. I just turned off in the octagon, it was as if I was not there. Days like this happen. All I can do is go back to the gym and work even harder. I will rest for a few days and will definitely come back to pick up my belt. “
The main event of UFC 269 was also not without surprise. American Dustin Poirier , who beat himself in the chest, which would certainly knock out Charles Oliveira and take the lightweight championship belt away from him, lost ahead of schedule, and even faster than in the fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Oliveira survived the first round, in which Poirier dominated, took the second five-minute on the ground, beating off the challenger’s face with his elbows, and in the third he jumped onto the American’s back and performed his signature move – strangulation.
“Why was I passive on the ground in the second round? I was far from the net, so I decided not to take risks, not to push him away, so as not to give my back outright. I delivered clean shots, but Charles is a champion by right, he is very persistent. I was surprised. My plan was to take my time and take it apart , ”Poirier said after the defeat.
This was Oliveira’s first title defense. At the moment, he is going on a streak of ten wins and is waiting for the next opponent, which will be American Justin Gajee .
It is interesting that at once eight fighters participating in the UFC 269 tournament received cash bonuses in the amount of $ 50 thousand.
The best fight of the evening was recognized as the fight between American Dominique Cruz and Brazilian representative Pedro Munoz (Cruz’s victory on points).
Bonuses for the best performance were given to Bruno Silva (knocked out Jordan Wright ), Tai Tuivas (knocked out Augusto Sakai ), Kai Kara-France (knocked out Co di Garbrandt ), Sean O’Malley (knocked out Rowlian Payu ) and Julianne Peña (sensationally won Amanda Nunez with a choke hold).
Also, the cash bonus went to Charles Oliveira (strangled by Dustin Poirier).
Fights Announcements
Bellator welterweight champion Ukrainian Yaroslav Amosov will play the next fight in early 2022. His rival will be Briton Michael Page .
Russian Viktor Nemkov on December 19 in Moscow at the “Fight to Save” tournament will fight against Brazilian Leonardo Guimaraes . In the main duel of the show, Ruslan Provodnikov will fight with Ali Bagautinov . The fight will take place according to the rules of boxing.
Asia Times Now Instagram: Click Here
Asia Times Now Facebook: Click Here
Asia Times Now Twitter: Click Here
Asia Times Now Mockrack: Click Here
