Day: 9. März 2025

Ignacio Bahamondes doesn’t want Jalin Turner to retire after their fight at UFC 313.

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Bahamondes made a statement by submitting Turner with a slick triangle in the first round of their UFC 313 clash on Saturday. Turner then hung up his gloves inside the Octagon and announced his retirement at just 29 years of age.

Turner’s loss against Bahamondes marked his return to action after nearly a year. It was also the fourth loss in his last five outings for “The Tarantula.” Turner elaborated on his retirement decision in an emotional post-fight interview. Turner revealed that he was contemplating retirement since his previous loss against Renato Carneiro at UFC 300 last year. The loss against Bahamondes was the last straw for Turner, who didn’t feel he was in it as much he expected he would be.

“You either gotta be all in or not,” Turner told Aaron Bronsteter. “And being in there wasn’t fully all in as I thought I would be. And the decision to stay o…

Justin Gaethje hopes the third time’s the charm when it comes to the UFC lightweight title.

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After a brutal knockout loss to Max Holloway last April, “The Highlight” returned to the win column with a hard-fought unanimous decision triumph over Rafael Fiziev in the UFC 313 co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. It was Gaethje’s second victory over Fiziev, who stepped in on short notice after Dan Hooker withdrew from the event with a broken hand.

Gaethje is a fan favorite and one of the promotion’s most notorious action fighters, so he won’t be lacking for options when it comes to his next bout. At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, Gaethje made it clear where his ambitions lie.

“I want to fight for the belt, obviously,” Gaethje said. “That’s a much different matchup than the one I just had. They tried to give me a doughnut. I took a bite, but I’ve got to get back to running if I’m going to fight [Islam] Makahc…

Alex Pereira didn’t perform up to his usual lofty standards at UFC 313, but “Poatan” is taking his first light heavyweight defeat in stride.

Pereira relinquished the 205-pound strap to Magomed Ankalaev in Saturday’s headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, falling via unanimous decision in an affair where he struggled to unleash his vaunted striking. After the bout, the Brazilian released a brief statement in a video on Instagram.

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That’s it, everyone. Some marks, but I’m good,” Pereira said. “Going to rest a bit. I’ll be back, like I’ve always done. This has already happened. Life continues.”

It isn’t the first time Pereira has tasted defeat in the Octagon, as he suffered a second-round knockout loss to Israel Adesanya in a middleweight title rematch at UFC 287 in April 2023. After that, he move to 205 pounds and won five straight bouts before falling to Ankalaev.

At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White indicated tha…

Magomed Ankalaev did not get the version of Alex Pereira that he expected.

The Dagestani standout outstruck his opponent on the feet and mixed in occasional control against the fence to capture a close unanimous decision triumph in the UFC 313 headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. While Pereira is typically known for his offensive prowess, Ankalaev proved to be too difficult a puzzle to solve for the Brazilian star.

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“He was considered to be the best striker in the division on the way to this fight,” Ankalaev said through a translator at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “That’s what everybody was talking about, the narrative was that he’s the best. You saw what kind of best striker he was in the fight. You saw how well we did against the striking and how our striking was working.

“We didn’t have to rely on the wrestling because we were confident in our striking. We were trying to get him to go forward the entire time,…

UPDATE: The UFC website now shows the Palestine flag under Belal Muhammad's name

@bullyb170 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/BKZBntKqjp

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 8, 2025

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Belal Muhammad’s complaints about the absence of a flag next to his name have been addressed.

While he now lives in Chicago, Muhammad has always been a proud representative of his Palestinian roots. The UFC welterweight champ walks out with the Palestinian flag and has strongly voiced his opinions on the ongoing crisis in the region.

Muhammad recently complained about the lack of a Palestinian flag next to his name on the UFC’s official website, and Dana White made sure that the issue was addressed immediately. Muhammad thanked White and the UFC for now adding the flag next to his name on the website. “Remember the Name” also noted that White, a strong advocate of free speech, never lets anyone influence his opinions.

“Just wann…

Mauricio Ruffy’s spot among post-fight bonus winners was secured long before UFC 313 concluded.

Ruffy received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a highlight-reel finish of Bobby Green in their featured lighweight encounter on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Fight Nerds standout put his opponent to sleep at 2:07 into the opening round, landing a spinning wheel kick that will likely wind up on many “Knockout of the Year” lists when all is said and done. It was just the 16th knockout by spinning kick in UFC history.

Elsewhere, Ignacio Bahamondes garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for making short work of Jalin Turner in another featured lightweight pairing. Turner took top position early in the bout, but eventually he found himself trapped in a triangle choke. Turner tapped out 2:29 into Round 1, giving Bahamondes his third consecutive first-round finish.

Finally, Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev earned “Fi…