All Posts By Muscle Insider

On Deck! UFC 287 Blockbuster In Miami!

Event: UFC 287: “Pereira vs. Adesanya 2”Date: Sat., April 8, 2023Location: Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, FloridaBroadcast: ESPN+ PPV, ESPN, ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET Prelims | 10 p.m. ET Main Card)

UFC 287 PPV Main Event On ESPN+:

185 lbs.: UFC Middleweight Champion Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya

UFC 287 PPV Main Card On ESPN+ (10 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal135 lbs.: Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez170 lbs.: Kevin Holland vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio135 lbs.: Christian Rodriguez vs. Raul Rosas Jr.

UFC 287 Prelims Card On ESPN/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):

185 lbs.: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Chris Curtis170 lbs.: Michael Chiesa vs. Li Jingliang115 lbs.: Luana Pinheiro vs. Michelle Waterson265 lbs.: Chase Sherman vs. Chris Barnett

UFC 287 Early Prelims Card On ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET):

185 lbs.: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Joe Pyfer115 lbs.: Cynthia Calvillo vs. Loopy Godinez155 lbs.: Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Nikolas Motta — CANCELED (details here)145 lbs.: Steve Garcia vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke115 lbs.: Jaqueline Amorim vs. Sam Hughes
*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

For more upcoming UFC events click here.

Video: Referee blindly allows bout to continue with unconscious fighter — who then woke up and tapped to armbar

On the night before UFC San Antonio, the Texas city hosted Fury FC 76, an event that included a horrific scene due to a referee’s unbelievable incompetence.
In the main event, Edgar Chairez — who is a one-time competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series — took on Gianni Vasquez. In the fourth round, Chairez locked on a nasty triangle that visibly put Vasquez to sleep, which was repeated multiple times on the broadcast by the commentators — which included current UFC welterweight Alex Morono.
Referee Frank Collazo watched the hold for nearly 30 seconds, which most of that time, Vasquez was choked out, only to allow the action to continue despite many sitting cage side screaming to Collazo that Vasquez was out. Chairez then transitioned to an armbar, a move that actually woke Vasquez up before eventually tapping following the irresponsible scene.
Watch the video of the scary moment below.

Ridiculous scene at Fury FC. Edgar Cháirez puts Gianni Vazquez to sleep with a triangle, and the ref simply doesn’t stop it. Cháirez ends up armbarring an unconscious Vazquez who wakes up in the submission. #Furyfc76 pic.twitter.com/AgcwI2i3ss— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) March 25, 2023

A message to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation — the commission overseeing the event — has yet to returned to MMA Fighting in regards to the matter.
On Saturday, promotional officials released a statement on the Fury Fighting Championship Facebook page to react to the referee’s performance.
“It is the referee’s job to protect the fighter when the fighter cannot protect him or herself. In last night’s main event, the referee failed to do this,” the promotion stated. “While the job of a referee is one of the hardest to do in this sport, the need for proper and continued training would help to alleviate things like this incident.
“We do not hire, train or select refs for our shows, but we would be more than willing to lead a revamp and overhaul of the reffing and judging selection and training process.”

Free Fight: Vera Destroys Cruz With Laser-Like Kick

Marlon Vera will attempt to solidify his spot as the next possible contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight title picture if he can score a win over Cory Sandhagen this Saturday (March 25, 2023) in the main event of UFC San Antonio.

Before then, let’s take a trip down Memory Lane to see “Chito’s” last win, which came at the expense of former 135-pound champion, Dominick Cruz, in Aug. 2022. Vera came out aggressive in round one, dropping “The Dominator” early to make things interesting.
The rest of the fight was competitive, with Cruz using his legendary footwork to get in and out, all the while Vera was doing a lot of stalking. In round four, however, Vera caught Cruz with a vicious kick to the nose as the former champ was ducking and trying to slide away.
Vera got enough of what he needed and sent Cruz crashing to the canvas and followed it up with another three strikes, though Cruz was pretty much out before he hit the canvas. The victory gave Vera (No. 3) his fourth straight and will now look to climb the ladder by earning his first five-fight win streak inside the Octagon.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC San Antonio fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC San Antonio news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Vera vs. Sandhagen” fight card and ESPN/ESPN+ line up click here.

Garbrandt Hints At Cruz Rematch In July

According to Cody Garbrandt, a rematch against former longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz, could be in the works for an event planned for sometime in July.
During a recent chat with MMA Junkie Radio, “No Love” hinted at the possibility of running it back with “The Dominator” when discussing their original fight that took place almost seven years ago.
“It was a good fight, man – he’s (Dominick Cruz) a legend of the sport,” Cody Garbrandt said as transcribed by MMA News. “It was a great night for me to fight such a masterclass performance against one of the greatest bantamweights to ever do it. And it was great, you know? He’s still out here plugging along and doing his thing. It’s funny, Ali (Abdelaziz) hit me up the other day and was like, ‘Hey, would you like to do a Dominick Cruz rematch in July?’”

At the time of their first fight at UFC 207 in Dec. 2016, Cruz was the reigning champion riding a 13-fight win streak including three title defenses. Garbrandt, on the other hand, was scorching hot as an undefeated (11-0) contender, including winning his first five fights inside the Octagon, four via knockout.
After 25 minutes of back-and-forth action, Garbrandt was declared the winner via unanimous decision (see it here), ending Cruz’s lengthy reign as champion while handing him his first loss in nearly a decade.
Interestingly enough, their respective careers took drastic turns after that fight, with Garbrandt losing three in a row including back-to-back losses to TJ Dillashaw. In fact, “No Love” has only been able to muster up a 2-5 record since defeating Cruz, and was last seen getting back in the win column by defeating Trevin Jones at UFC 285.
As for Cruz, he sat out nearly 3.5 years after his loss to Garbrandt due to extensive injuries. When he returned, he faced Henry Cejudo for the 135-pound belt and lost via second-round technical knockout (TKO).
“The Dominator” bounced back with two straight wins over Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz, but was last seen getting knocked out by Marlon Vera in Aug. 2022.

According to “No Love,” he holds no ill will toward Cruz despite their history, but is confident in his chances should they get the chance to run it back.
“I’ve got nothing against Dominick, I have a lot of respect for him – not that I didn’t prior to us fighting,” Cody Garbrandt explained. “I have a lot of respect for him you know, and understanding of him. “We’ve had a lot of conversations. We run into each other – I mean, that night was just my night. I feel like any night against Dominick Cruz will be my night, for sure.”
Are you interested in a potential rematch between those two former Bantamweight champions?

Midnight Mania! Rogan Wants To Legalize Life-Threatening Technique

Welcome to Midnight Mania!
I don’t think anyone believes the current rules and regulations for MMA are perfect.
Some rules make great sense and help keep the sport, well, a sport rather than an assault charge. “No Biting,” for example, is widely considered a good idea. Some rules face far more criticism, like the 12-6 elbow rule that dictates that an elbow cannot be thrown at a perfect vertical angle. Legend has it that the rule was put into place back in the day due to old Karate videos of men breaking bricks with that technique, and thirty years later, it’s still in place despite there being little evidence this kind of elbow is more impactful than any other.
Then, there’s style choices. Should knees to a grounded opponent be legal? One Championship says yes, and many fight fans are thrilled to relive great PRIDE FC-type moments. It’s a gray area!
Strikes to the back of the head, also known as rabbit punches, are the first category. The reasoning here is that shots directly to the back of the head carry an increased risk of doing damage to the cervical vertebrae and spinal cord. In fact, any shot that directly targets the spinal cord is illegal in MMA, because athletes getting paralyzed and potentially killed is BAD! The well-known example in boxing is that of Prichard Colon, who in 2015 fell into a coma and found himself in a vegetative state after absorbing several blows to the back of the head against Terrel Williams.
In short, strikes to the back of the head are bad news. In his latest wild comment this week, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan argues they should be legalized, since they happen incidentally anyway. Talking with Jorge Masvidal, the conversation moved from the normal realm of legalizing grounded knees to the weird and wild concept of permissible back of the head shots.
“I don’t even know that we should stop hitting people in the back of the head,” Rogan argued. “It doesn’t make any sense to me because a lot of knockouts, like high kicks, wrap around the back of the shoulder and they go right to the back of your head. And it’s legal.”
When guest Jorge Masvidal pointed out that back of the head shots are common in fight-finishing exchanges, Rogan continued, “In wild exchanges and scrambles, like Ciryl Gane and Junior dos Santos. He kind of hit him with an elbow in the back of the head. It’s like, it should be legal. I don’t understand why it’s not legal. People say you’re more vulnerable there, well, don’t get f—king hit there.
Eddie Bravo’s talked about this all the time, the old days of MMA, When a guy got someone’s back, they would just drop elbows down on his head, back of the head. If they have your back and the head is there, all this punching just to the side is not realistic.”
I’ve been in quite a few backstage rules meetings over the years, so aside from again mentioning that this is an insane line of reasoning, I’d like to clarify how referees determine whether a shot to the back of the head is a foul. As Rogan accurately mentioned, a kick is allowed to wrap around the side of the head, touch an illegal area, and still be considered fair game. MMA is chaotic, and when both men are moving, it’s considered part of the game.
Referees take issue when there’s control involved. In the clinch or on the canvas, for example, fighters must be careful with where their shots are landing. When there’s little movement involved, leniency is removed from the equation. If a fighter gets rocked and turns away, the attacking fighter still has an obligation to angle their shots and avoided blasting the brain stem.
Do back of the head shots sometimes happen in fight-finishing exchanges? Definitely, and occasionally it’s allowed to a troubling degree. Still, that’s not an argument for making them more common, which could result in devastating outcomes for athletes and the sport.

Insomnia
Rafael dos Anjos is 38 years old, has fought some of the best ever, and wants seven more UFC fights. Legend!

I’m looking to finish my contact with Ufc, 7 more fights at 170. After that I’m planing to open a gym and teach martial arts. Martial arts changed my life and I’m looking forward to change other people’s life— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) March 24, 2023

Can Khusein Askhabov recover from his first pro loss to Jamall Emmers? David Onama has thunder in his hands, so it’ll be a real interesting challenge.

It’s a family affair.

Related: Marlon Vera is a savage.

Leon Edwards’ last two fights with Kamaru Usman have created a pretty iconic pair of moments.

Speaking of Usman, TUF winner Mohammed Usman finally has a second fight booked.

This picture draws attention to the fact that Drew Dober is a DENSE Lightweight.

If Jiri Prochazka sparred like he fights, he would be knocking out partners left and right. That’s bad for everyone.

People take training so seriously….. I watched Buckley beat curt in the gym which is why Buckley wanted the fight and then they fight and curt clowns him…..— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) March 24, 2023

I didn’t realize Cory Sandhagen’s back tattoo was so religious, but regardless, it still goes pretty hard!

Slips, rips, and KO clips
I feel like it’s fairly uncommon to see a distance kicker also move his head so efficiently.

Amri Madani is an early 2000’s savate tireur who was so incredibly wiry. This dudes kicks are so weird looking because of just how long his legs are. Pretty interesting. pic.twitter.com/pjqJdpKZH5— Blaine Henry (@BlaineHenryTFL) March 24, 2023

Shin draped along the side of the head is going to cause a nap.

Peter Aerts scores another skull crushing headkick knockout, this time over former WKA & IBF champion James Warring.BRUTAL KO pic.twitter.com/TXgrCb2LMG— Cerebral Vigilante (@Delisketo) March 24, 2023

Random Land
Some weird s—t.

Midnight Music: The new Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA project Scaring The Hoes dropped, and it’s as lyrically dense and musically chaotic as I hoped.
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Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

Referee Refuses To Stop Fight After Fighter Passes Out

One of the worst stoppages in recent mixed martial arts (MMA) history occurred tonight (Fri., March 24, 2023) inside the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas during Fury FC 76. In the main event, former Dana White Contender Series (DWCS) veteran Edgar Chairez took on Gianni Vazquez.

In the fourth round, after a very competitive fight up to that point, Chairez locked up a tight triangle choke, and what followed was very disturbing and horrifying.
Vazquez went unconscious while locked in the triangle choke; however, Texas referee Frank Collazo missed it. While still unconscious, Chairez transitioned to an armbar and held it for 20 seconds until Vazquez woke up and tapped.
The victory was huge for Chairez was massive, but it was overshadowed by the evident incompetency of Collazo, who could have had Vazquez killed.
Twitter went nuts when the clip hit the internet.

WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK. Never let that man be near any competition setting again — Jeff Molina (@jmolina_125) March 25, 2023

You know it’s bad when the guy gets puts to sleep and wakes up and still in a bad arm bar the ref was scared to call it— Luis Martinez (@MartinezLuis209) March 25, 2023

This is not one of the worst this is the worst— Hendrix (@MMAHendrix) March 25, 2023

Steve Mazagatti is horrified by this display, ffs. Sweet Jesus.— Rian (@srcdc313) March 25, 2023

Been watching this shit a looooong time, I’ve witnessed two decades worth of late stoppages and this one may be the latest. Fuck. https://t.co/CfjW4FdL3N— Freddy Cringe Jr. (@KyleCobraIsMeh) March 25, 2023

How the fuck are there so many mma refs that look like they’re seeing jiu jitsu for the first time?!?— Vince Mancini (@VinceMancini) March 25, 2023

Thankfully, Vazquez appeared alright when he woke up and stood during the decision.

Highlights! UFC Vets Shine With KO Wins At Fury FC 76

It was a good night for former UFC fighters.

Regional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion Fury FC went down last night (Fri., Mar. 24, 2023) inside Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. Two former UFC fighters on the card were trying to get back to the big show, and they did a good job getting noticed.
First was Carlton Minus (13-5), who was in action against hot prospect Dimitre Ivy at Fury FC 76. After a very competitive first round, Minus slept Ivy 21 seconds into the second round and then had quite the celebration.

Minus, 29, went 0-2 in the UFC, losing to Matthew Semelsberger in his debut and then to Christos Giagos in 2020. Since his release from the UFC, he has gone 3-1 with three finishes.

Marcelo Rojo (17-9) was the other former UFC fighter in action against Angel Luis Cruz, and he got back into the win column in style after a brutal run in the UFC.
“Pitbull” bloodied Cruz with ground and pound and ended up finishing him. Usually, after his win, he does his famous velociraptor celebration, but instead, he climbed the cage and stayed there like a spider.

After his win during his post-fight interview, he pleaded with UFC matchmakers Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby, who were in attendance, to bring him back to the UFC and let him fight on the undercard of his teammate, best friend, and ‘idol’ Brandon Moreno – which is something he had asked for since before he got signed.

Rojo, 34, went 0-3 in the UFC, losing all three via finish. He was released after his knockout loss to Francis Marshall at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Holland (watch highlights).

For more regional MMA news and notes click here.