Plenty of things can happen in the world of MMA in seven days.
From event announcements and the fights on the weekend to the best tweets and latest trash talk between fighters, we’ll keep you in the know at the end of each week with the latest happenings in the sport.
But first off, make sure you read issue 140 of Fighters Only Magazine! It’s now available on all good newsstands and on the Fighters Only app, featuring the women who blazed a trail in mixed martial arts.
MMA News
UFC Norfolk: Deiveson Figueiredo stops Joseph Benavidez but doesn’t become UFC flyweight champion
Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez were all set to fight for the vacant UFC flyweight belt on Saturday night in Norfolk, Virginia.
Unfortunately the former failed to make championship weight and was therefore not allowed to walk away with UFC gold if he had won, while Benavidez, who did meet his 125-pound weight limit, would have been able to earn the title if he had exited the Octagon victorious.
The MMA gods can often be cruel, and they were again on Saturday. Of course, it was Figueiredo who won on the night, leaving the UFC flyweight division in further disarray.
Their fight came to a crushing crescendo in the second round. First, an accidental clash of heads saw Benavidez come off much worse as he was leaking blood from his forehead.
Distracted and fighting on the backfoot already, Benavidez couldn’t get himself out of the way of the Brazilian bezerker’s giant right hand.
Figueiredo left Benavidez crumpled on the canvas with a big right straight before following up with some nasty hammerfists.
This was the third UFC title fight which has seen Benavidez come up short. As for Figueiredo, he may feel like the championship, but he unfortunately doesn’t have the hardware to show for it.
Who knows what’s next for the UFC flyweight title picture and the division in general.
Read more about UFC Norfolk and catch the full results here.
One Championship – King of the Jungle: Kimihiro Eto submits Amir Khan, “Sexyama” victorious
One Championship returned to Singapore late last week for its King of the Jungle card. Though, it was an odd scene as the fights took place in an empty Singapore Indoor Stadium without any fans due to the ongoing, and quickly developing, coronavirus situation.
In the main event of the MMA portion of the card, Japan’s Kimihiro Eto submitted former lightweight championship contender Amir Khan in the first round.
The One Warrior Series winner had his way with Singapore’s Khan in the grappling stakes, quickly seeking – and getting – the takedown before easily taking his back to snatch a rear-naked choke. Khan promptly tapped.
Eto returns to the win column and moves to 4-1 from his last five fights. Meanwhile, Khan has now lost four of his last five bouts.
Further down in the King of the Jungle’s MMA card, Yoshihiro Akiyama – better known as “Sexyama” – melted Egypt’s Sherif Mohamed in the first round.
Mohamed wildly chased after the judoka before being met with a giant right hook which quickly ended his night.
Akiyama, now aged 44, made his unexpected return to mixed martial arts for One Championship last summer, losing a decision to Agilan Thani.
His win over Mohamed is his first since he outpointed The Ultimate Fighter season 7 winner Amir Sadollah in 2014.
Fighters Only MMA features
Jai Herbert: From scaffolding to fighting at the O2 Arena with the UFC
Cage Warriors lightweight champion Jai Herbert makes his UFC debut at the upcoming UFC London show this month.
Read our interview with Herbert ahead of his fight against fellow Brit Marc Diakiese by clicking the link above.
Zhang Weili: The Backstory
As originally featured in the magazine, Fighters Only chronicled the rise of Zhang Weili as she surged to prominence to lift UFC gold.
Read the story by clicking the link above.
Andre Fili: 5-minute round
As originally featured in the magazine, we spoke to Andre Fili about all manner of subjects as he has become firmly established as one of the UFC’s must-watch featherweights.
Read the interview by clicking the link above.
Best of MMA social media
Henry Cejudo
After the anti-climactic end to Figueiredo’s win over Benavidez sees him not become champion, the former kingpin at 125 pounds had plenty to say.
Henry Cejudo [via Ariel Helwani]
And this was Henry Cejudo’s reaction after the news emerged that Figueiredo hadn’t made weight.
Michael Bisping to Yoel Romero [via ESPN MMA]
We all knew Yoel Romero loves Michael Bisping. As it turns out, Bisping reciprocates!
UFC Norfolk dancer [via ESPN MMA]
There has been a lot of dancing in the UFC, lately.
From Israel Adesanya’s dance-filled entrance before his fight against Robert Whittaker to become undisputed UFC middleweight champion, to his recent dance-off with Yoel Romero and Michel Pereira’s in-cage dance/fight hybrid, it’s clear this influence has spread out to UFC fans as well.
