UFC 241 Viewers Information: The rematch and the return we have been ready for
So far as principal and co-main occasions go, UFC 241 Saturday night time in Anaheim needs to be thought-about the strongest card of the 12 months thus far.
Right here he’s, heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier (22-1). Nonetheless defending his title in August, regardless of a lot discuss final 12 months of plans to retire on his 40th birthday in March. Cormier will face Stipe Miocic (18-Three), the one man to ever defend the heavyweight championship three consecutive instances, in a rematch of their July 2018 combat at UFC 226.
Within the co-main, Nate Diaz (19-11) returns for the primary time in virtually precisely three years to settle a five-year beef with Anthony Pettis (22-Eight). A beef that, until one in all them is ready to lastly say in any other case, appears to stem from a mutual understanding they had been gonna combat sooner or later. The matchup is so good, it was most likely at all times inevitable.
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UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier’s second job as a highschool coach retains him related to his past love, wrestling.
The storylines going into UFC 241 are countless, they usually would possibly double after the occasion. Is that this Cormier’s final combat? What is going to Miocic’s legacy be after Saturday — the dominant champ who got here again and avenged his solely title loss, or Cormier’s second fiddle? What postfight callout does Diaz take note of, if he wins? Will Pettis be checked out as a legit title contender at welterweight with a victory, or is he extra searching superfights (Conor McGregor, maybe)?
Cormier is staring on the finish of his athletic profession. Miocic has a chip on his shoulder, after ready one 12 months for a rematch he felt he deserved straight away. Diaz is puffing CBD joints in public settings. Pettis has that swagger of “Previous Showtime” again. This must be good.
ESPN Stats & Info
By the numbers
UFC 241 incorporates a heavyweight championship rematch and the return of some of the fashionable stars within the UFC. Daniel Cormier will defend his title in opposition to Stipe Miocic, and Nate Diaz fights for the primary time in three years, taking over Anthony Pettis. Order UFC 241 now
UFC 241: Cormier vs. Miocic 2
• Saturday, Anaheim, California
• Early prelims: ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET
• Prelims: ESPN, Eight p.m. ET
• Most important card: ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET
UFC 241 Content material:
• Viewers Information
• Cormier’s recommendation to younger fighters
• Why did Nate Diaz disappear?
• 24 hours within the firehouse with Stipe Miocic
• UFC 241 greatest bets
• Breaking down Cormier-Miocic II
Order UFC 241 now
Zero: UFC heavyweight title fights in Anaheim during which the champ has not been knocked out within the first spherical. In 2006, Andrei Arlovski fell to challenger Tim Sylvia. In 2010, Brock Lesnar was KO’d by Cain Velasquez. And the following 12 months, Velasquez was flattened by Junior Dos Santos in 64 seconds.
Three: Heavyweight champions who’ve misplaced the belt, then regained it. The primary was Sylvia, who was stripped of his title in 2003 following his first protection, then grew to become champ once more in 2006. Velasquez misplaced his strap in 2011 and bought it again the following 12 months. And Randy Couture is definitely a three-time heavyweight champ, with reigns in 1997-98, 2000-02 and 2007-08.
1: Heavyweight champs who’ve efficiently defended their title greater than twice. Sure, there’s just one, and his identify is Miocic. After profitable the belt in 2016, he rolled by three defenses earlier than being stopped 13 months in the past by Cormier.
CormierMiocicAttempted3751Landed2524Accuracy67%47%Supply: UFC Stats
Four: Fighters who’ve held two UFC titles concurrently. Cormier is one, his win over Miocic coming earlier than he vacated the sunshine heavyweight championship. Two are present double champs — Amanda Nunes (ladies’s featherweight and bantamweight) and Henry Cejudo (males’s bantamweight and flyweight) — and the opposite is Conor McGregor (light-weight and males’s featherweight), who was the primary champ-champ.
406: Days it is going to have been, on combat night time, since Miocic final competed — in his title-losing defeat by the hands of Cormier final summer season.
Supply: ESPN Stats & Info
A glance again
BELTED — Daniel Cormier delivers the ending blows to win the UFC heavyweight championship after flooring Stipe Miocic out of a clinch of their July 2018 title combat in Las Vegas. Christian Petersen/Zuffa LLC/Getty Photographs
Preventing phrases
“I really feel like he acted a bit bit like a brat. Like, ‘I ought to get a rematch!’ I simply thought he ought to have fought once more. It sort of rubbed me the incorrect manner, however you recognize what? It labored. And now he will get an opportunity to combat for the title once more.” — Cormier, talking to ESPN about Miocic ready it out
“I hate shedding. I do not care what it’s. Tying a shoe? I’ll beat you at tying my shoe, the dumbest issues, however I am very aggressive. I hate shedding. It kills me.” — Miocic, talking to ESPN about what drives him within the rematch
Dom & Tyron’s movie research
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Tyron Woodley and Dominick Cruz show how the clinch sport might play an enormous function in Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic 2. Order UFC 241 right here https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv.
Brett Okamoto’s decide
The intangibles level to Miocic for me. He is youthful, and he is arguably by no means been extra motivated. On paper, he at all times matched up nicely with Cormier. Cormier’s velocity scares me, although. It was a fast, quick shot that bought Miocic within the first combat, and the velocity is what caught Miocic off guard. My head says Miocic right here, however finish of the day, the one instances you’ll have been proper choosing in opposition to Cormier is when he fought the best fighter of all time in Jon Jones. How can I’m going in opposition to that? Cormier TKO, third spherical.
Ready within the wings
Jon Jones, clearly, as a result of if Cormier wins, that trilogy combat goes to be the blockbuster that consumes the entire air within the room. It will be breathtaking or suffocating, relying on how drawn in you’re by melodrama. Additionally within the wings: Francis Ngannou, who must be subsequent for the heavyweight champ and possibly will probably be if Miocic wins, plus a trio of 205-pounders — Jan Blachowicz, Corey Anderson and Dominick Reyes — all resigned to probably having their title aspirations placed on maintain.
What to look at for … past the principle occasion
He is again. Lastly. (You are not shocked?)
Simply in case you forgot …
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Earlier than he takes on Anthony Pettis, try highlights from the lengthy and memorable profession of Nate Diaz. Order UFC 241 right here https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv.
Nate Diaz returns on Saturday after an absence of three years — ever since his UFC 202 rematch with Conor McGregor, which on the time was reportedly the biggest-selling pay-per-view in UFC historical past.
Why has he been away for thus lengthy? Hear it from the person himself.
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Nate Diaz discusses his Three-year absence from the Octagon, Conor McGregor, his battles with the UFC and his willingness to combat Khabib Nurmagomedov. Purchase the combat at UFC 241 right here on ESPN+ https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv.
Diaz takes on former light-weight champion Anthony Pettis in a welterweight co-main occasion. You most likely have not forgotten about “Showtime,” as a result of he fought as just lately as March, when he KO’d Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson with a Superman punch. However that stunner was not Pettis’ flashiest profession spotlight. Examine these out — particularly the primary:
So, yeah, this one goes to be a deal with. With these two guys, it simply needs to be, particularly since, other than their particular expertise and their duende for days, there is a backstory:
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Study in regards to the rivalry between Nate Diaz and Anthony Pettis, going again to when Diaz needed to combat “the Wheaties field dude.” Order UFC 241 right here https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv.
Soak in some numbers on Diaz vs. Pettis (from ESPN Stats & Info):
Four: Consecutive fights during which Pettis has earned a bonus (two for combat of the night time, two for efficiency of the night time).
1 Associated
6: Consecutive fights during which Diaz has been the betting underdog. He is Three-2 within the earlier 5.
Three: UFC fighters who’ve received at featherweight, light-weight and welterweight (Pettis, Conor McGregor and Kenny Florian).
1,926: Complete strikes landed by Diaz in his UFC profession, which in line with UFC Stats is the eighth most in promotion historical past.
1: Fighters who’ve lit up a joint at UFC open exercises and shared it with the gang.
This bout is manner too extremely anticipated to be only a co-main. How will it play out as soon as the carnival lead-up ends and these two fighter’s fighters step contained in the Octagon? Listed below are a few ex-champions, Tyron Woodley and Dominick Cruz, breaking it down:
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Dominick Cruz breaks down how Nate Diaz parries on his toes to keep away from punches and counter successfully. Order UFC 241 right here https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv.
You would possibly see this combat on SportsCenter (or a bodybuilding present)
Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa are spectacular middleweights. That goes for his or her granite physiques, each of them as sculpted as you may discover in MMA, in addition to their combating accomplishments.
Romero (13-Three) has 11 victories by KO/TKO and is No. 2 within the ESPN middleweight rankings. The 42-year-old Cuban is one in all MMA’s most embellished wrestlers, a silver medalist on the 2000 Olympics and a multiple-time medalist on the world championships, together with gold in ’99. He has not fought since shedding a cut up choice to champion Robert Whittaker in June 2018. (It was a nontitle bout as a result of Romero missed weight.)
Seventh-ranked Costa (12-Zero) has received each one in all his fights by stoppage (11 KO/TKOs, one submission). In response to ESPN Stats & Info, the Brazilian, 28, is one in all simply six fighters to start out a UFC profession with 4 straight KO/TKO wins. It is sensible that he is often called “The Eraser.”
Yoel Romero was silver medalist at 84 kilograms within the 2005 wrestling world championships, shedding the ultimate in Budapest to Revaz Mindorashvili of Georgia. Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty Photographs
A duel on the crossroads
MMA certain has its traditional matchups. Striker vs. grappler is one — though that primal pairing might quickly be extinct, as younger fighters develop up well-rounded. After which there’s the conflict that may by no means exit of fashion: perennial contender vs. rising star.
Saturday’s prelims characteristic a bantamweight duel on the crossroads, pitting Raphael Assuncao in opposition to Cory Sandhagen. It isn’t precisely a collision of fighters going in numerous instructions — Assuncao (27-6) was on a four-fight win streak and had had his hand raised in 11 of 12 earlier than he bumped into Marlon Moraes and a first-round guillotine choke again in February. However at age 37 and a decade into his UFC/WEC run, the Brazilian is at a distinct stage of his profession than Sandhagen (11-1), 27, who joined the UFC simply final 12 months.
Assuncao, No. 5 within the ESPN rankings at 135 kilos, has 11 UFC wins in that weight class, tied for the second most within the promotion’s historical past. Amongst his conquests: ex-champ TJ Dillashaw, contender Aljamain Sterling and Moraes (of their first combat).
Sandhagen, ranked ninth, has received six straight bouts, 5 by end. He’s Four-Zero within the UFC, coming off a win over heavy-handed John Lineker in April.
And take into account this putting distinction: Assuncao has the third-best vital strike protection in bantamweight historical past, at 71%, whereas Sandhagen lands Eight.49 vital strikes per minute, which might be second in UFC historical past if he had sufficient bouts to qualify.
All of it comes all the way down to a physics conundrum: Can the irresistible pressure get to the untouchable object?