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Dan Hooker began his career at featherweight, but after an unsuccessful return to 145 pounds in March, it sounds like he’ll be competing at lightweight for the foreseeable future.

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Hooker is coming off a first-round technical knockout loss to Arnold Allen in a featherweight bout at UFC Fight Night 204 in London on March 19. That move came on the heels of a stretch in which he lost three of four lightweight appearances. Ultimately, Hooker decided the effort needed to make 145 pounds wasn’t worth it.

“I felt like I could’ve stayed at 145, but obviously a lot of sacrifice goes into that,” Hooker said on Submission Radio. “But off of the result of the last fight, and then I feel like I’m in the exact same position at both weight classes – so why not? Why would I make the extra sacrifice? The extra sacrifice was to get me back in the same position that I was in. You know what I mean? But if I’m in the exact same position, I’d rather be in the exact same …

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

The physical transformation was evident on the scales, but the results remained the same for Alexander Romanov at UFC on ESPN 35.

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The biggest favorite on Saturday’s card, Romanov rolled through Chase Sherman for a submission win 2:11 into Round 1 of their preliminary heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The more svelte Romanov revealed that he underwent something a physical transformation while speaking to assembled media after the fight.

“My body has changed a lot,” Romanov said. “We a lot worked with my coach and trainer on cardio, on our footwork. My coach made for me a special diet. I lost around 45 pounds in the last three months. I feel that I’m in the best shape of my career now. But we just started this.”

The 31-year-old Moldovan wasted little time taking his opponent down, moving to mount and unloading ground-and-pound before securing a keylock to elicit a tap from She…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

The physical transformation was evident on the scales, but the results remained the same for Alexander Romanov at UFC on ESPN 35.

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The biggest favorite on Saturday’s card, Romanov rolled through Chase Sherman for a submission win 2:11 into Round 1 of their preliminary heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The more svelte Romanov revealed that he underwent something a physical transformation while speaking to assembled media after the fight.

“My body has changed a lot,” Romanov said. “We a lot worked with my coach and trainer on cardio, on our footwork. My coach made for me a special diet. I lost around 45 pounds in the last three months. I feel that I’m in the best shape of my career now. But we just started this.”

The 31-year-old Moldovan wasted little time taking his opponent down, moving to mount and unloading ground-and-pound before securing a keylock to elicit a tap from She…

A middleweight showdown pitting Darren Till against Jack Hermansson has been targeted for UFC Fight Night in London on July 23.

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MMANytt.se was first to report the booking. UFC London takes place at the O2 Arena and features a heavyweight tilt between Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall.

A former welterweight title challenger, Till has lost four of his last five Octagon appearances. Most recently, “The Gorilla” was submitted by Derek Brunson in the third-round of their main event bout at UFC Fight Night 191 last September. Till’s lone victory during this recent rough stretch was a split-decision triumph against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244.

Hermansson, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses in his last six UFC bouts. “The Joker” is coming of a split-decision setback to Sean Strickland in the UFC Fight Night 200 headliner on Feb. 5. Prior to that, he outpointed Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Fight Night 188 in his lone outing of 2021.

The first time Marlon Vera and Jose Aldo squared off, it didn’t go Vera’s way.

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Aldo defeated Vera via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 183 in December 2020. While Vera enjoyed success with leg kicks and knees in close quarters, Aldo punctuated his victory with a takedown and back control in the third round. With three straight victories under his belt since then, Vera wouldn’t mind crossing paths with Aldo in the Octagon again.

“I would love to fight Aldo again, especially in a five-rounder especially since he declined a five-rounder when we fought last December (2020),” Vera said on Saturday. “I would love to kick his ass. If we get to match again I would finish him, I can guarantee you that.”

Vera held up well in a five-round affair at UFC on ESPN 35, where he scored three knockdowns en route to a unanimous decision triumph over Rob Font in Saturday night’s bantamweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“I feel good in there. I j…

Marlene Vera und Rob Font hatte eine schlacht zum Erinnern in der UFC auf ESPN 35 headliner, aber nur Vera wird das Extra ernten finanzielle Belohnungen.

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Der Kampf im Bantamgewicht wurde als "Kampf der Nacht" ausgewählt, aber da Font am Freitag um 2, 5 Pfund an Gewicht verloren hat, wird Vera einsacken die Gesamtheit der $ 100.000 Bonusgeld. Angetrieben von drei knockdowns, Vera überlebte ein beeindruckendes Schlagvolumen, um zu gewinnen. einstimmige Entscheidung am Samstag beim UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Anderswo, Joanderson Britos erhielt einen $ 50.000 "Performance of the Night" -Scheck für kurze Arbeit machen Andre Fili in eine besondere Begegnung im Federgewicht. Der Anwärter von Dana White Serienalaun stach seinen Feind mit einem Paar linken Stößen, bevor er fallen ließ Fili mit massiver Überhand rechts. Eine Flut von Hammerfäusten beendete die Show nur 41 Sekunden nach Runde 1.

Schließlich, Francisco Figueiredo verdiente die anderen $ 50.000 des…

Marlon Vera simply had too many weapons in his arsenal for Rob Font.

Making the most of his first headlining appearance in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Vera battered and bloodied the visage of his opponent en route to an impressive unanimous decision triumph at UFC on ESPN 35 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges had the fight in favor of Vera: 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46.

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Font, who missed weight by 2.5 pounds on Friday, was in a rhythm from the outset, as he worked behind a stellar jab, straight punching combinations and uppercuts through the guard of his adversary. While Font (19-6, 9-5 UFC) landed in superior volume throughout, Vera (19-7-1, 13-6 UFC) connected with the strikes of consequence.

Vera began to assert himself late in Round 2, when he floored Font with a left hook and dropped elbows from above until the horn sounded. It would be a recurring theme for the rest of the fight. Vera dropped Font with …

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 35 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

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1️⃣6️⃣-0️⃣@KongRomanov came in to handle BUSINESS.

[ #UFCVegas53 | Prelims LIVE on ESPN 2 ] pic.twitter.com/wlUttQucl3

— UFC (@ufc) April 30, 2022

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Alexander Romanov was by far the biggest betting favorite on the UFC on ESPN 35 card, and he performed as such.

The Moldovan known as “King Kong” encountered little resistance from short-notice foe Chase Sherman en route to a quick submission victory in a preliminary heavyweight bout on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Romanov put Sherman away with a keylock at the 2:11 mark of the opening round to keep his undefeated record intact.

Romanov (16-0, 5-0 UFC) wasted little time getting Sherman (15-10, 3-9 UFC) to the canvas, as he landed an initial takedown and then suplexed his foe on his head within the bout’s first 30 seconds. Sherman had one more attempt at standing before he was planted on his back again. From there, Romanov passed to full mount, walked his foe…

A matchup of featherweight contenders is set for UFC Austin, as Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett will lock horns on June 18.

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The promotion confirmed the booking during the UFC on ESPN 35 broadcast on Saturday. UFC Fight Night takes place at the Moody Center in Austin and includes a number of reported bouts, including Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn and Kyle Daukaus vs. Roman Dolidze.

After absorbing a horrific beating from Max Holloway in the UFC on ABC 1 headliner, Kattar bounced back in his most recent outing, taking a five-round verdict over Giga Chikadze at UFC on ESPN 32 approximately one year later. “The Boston Finisher” has won three of his last four Octagon appearances.

After being sidelined for more than a year recovering from knee surgery, Emmett made a triumphant return at UFC 269 with a unanimous decision win over Dan Ige. The 37-year-old Team Alpha Male member has won four straight promotional appearances dating back to 2019.

A heavyweight bout between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa is expected to serve as the headliner when the UFC heads to Paris on Sept. 3.

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The matchup was initially reported by Ariel Helwani. The location has not been finalized, but assuming it holds up, it will mark the Las Vegas-based promotion’s first venture to France.

A former interim heavyweight champion, Gane is coming off a five-round decision loss to Francis Ngannou in a title unification bout at UFC 270 on Jan. 22. Prior to that, the Frenchman known as “Bon Gamin” was victorious in his first 10 professional appearances, including notable UFC wins over the likes of Derrick Lewis, Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Junior dos Santos.

Tuivasa has seen his share of peaks and valleys thus far in his UFC tenure. After winning his first three bouts, “Bam Bam” dropped three straight contests from 2018 to 2019. He has since turned things around, going on a five-fight winning streak — all f…

Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall will headline the card when the Ultimate Fighting Championship heads back to London on July 23.

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Ariel Helwani was first to report the heavyweight bout, which is expected to be finalized soon with verbal agreements already in place. The UFC Fight Night event takes place at the O2 in London and will mark the promotion’s second trip to the city in 2022.

Blaydes made his first appearance of the year at UFC on ESPN 33, where he defeated Chris Daukaus via second-round technical knockout on March 26. The Elevation Fight Team representative has been victorious in six of his last seven Octagon appearances, with his lone defeat coming against Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night 185.

A native of Manchester, England, Aspinall has emerged as a person of interest at heavyweight following five straight victories within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, Aspinall submitted former Bellator and M-1 Global champ Alexander…