The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale at the Park Theater in Las Vegas on Friday night. Instead, Cinderella received a gold championship belt, as the 14th seeded Montano capped off an improbable run on the reality show to defeat No. 1 seed Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision and claim the first women’s flyweight title in UFC history.
“I feel amazing,” Montano said. “I’m at a loss for words now. I’m so happy. I don’t know what else to say.”
There are no adequate words to describe what the 28-year-old from Albuquerque did, as she went from someone thinking of taking a step back from the sport to a fighter who defeated Lauren Murphy, Montana De La Rosa and Barb Honchak in succession before beating the veteran Modafferi and becoming a world champion. And despite the wide margin on the scorecards, she got a fight out of “The Happy Warrior.”
“I gave everything I had, I did my best,” said the 35-year-old Modafferi, a pioneer of the sport who took the fight on one day’s notice after Sijara Eubanks was pulled from the bout due to medical issues.
Scores were 50-45 and 49-46 twice for Montano, now 5-2. Modafferi, who was originally scheduled to face Honchak on Friday’s card, falls to 21-15.
The fighters set a fast pace on the feet to begin the bout, Montano holding the edge over her veteran foe. Midway through the round, Montano scored a takedown, and Modafferi immediately went searching for a submission from her back. Montano defended well and brought the fight back to the feet with a minute left, but seconds after they stood, it was Modafferi scoring the takedown, putting her in control until the end of the round.
Modafferi kicked off round two with a hard right to the head that stunned Montano, and the Las Vegan followed up with a barrage of strikes, but Montano got her bearings back quickly. Modafferi kept pressing the action, though, and her unorthodox style was proving difficult for Montano to decipher. With under two minutes left, Montano found her range and was peppering her opponent, and while Modafferi turned a takedown attempt into her favor, Montano responded with a triangle choke attempt and some hard strikes until the horn sounded.
The third was tough to call, with both fighters keeping up a remarkably fast pace on the feet as they worked throughout the five-minute stanza. By the end of the round, both were showing the marks of battle on their face, but they didn’t stop moving.
A takedown by Montano in the second minute of round four broke up the standup exchanges and put a notch in the scoring column for the New Mexico native. But they didn’t stay there long. Modafferi did put Montano on the deck briefly, and kept her locked up against the fence for a spell before breaking. Modaferri went on to bloody Montano with a trio of right hands, prompting Montano to look for – and get – an important takedown in the final minute.
Not surprisingly, neither fighter was willing to take their foot off the gas in the final round, and after some striking exchanges to start the fifth, Montano scored a takedown and landed some strikes before standing. Modafferi answered with her own takedown, but Montano scrambled into the top position and then side control. Midway through the frame, the two rose, and Modafferi landed a couple hard kicks and knees to the body. After scrambling to the mat, Montano wound up on top, and the battle continued, with Modafferi nearly locking in an armbar before Montano pulled loose and the two rose, throwing punches to the final horn.
“The Sugar Show” returned to Las Vegas Friday night, and after an impressive effort on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series in the summer, Sean O’Malley had a successful UFC debut at the Park Theater, winning a hard-fought three-round unanimous decision over Terrion Ware.
O’Malley (9-0) came out throwing a variety of strikes at Ware (17-6) in the opening minute before Ware locked up the Arizonan briefly. After breaking, O’Malley went back to work and Ware began letting his hands go more, leading to some interesting exchanges as the clock ticked down. O’Malley held the edge though, with his stick and move strategy working well.
In the second, Ware’s pressure began to tire O’Malley, and his strikes bloodied the newcomer and had him playing more defense than offense. Late in the round, O’Malley started to settle back into a groove, even trying a jumping triangle, but his strikes and the submission attempt was having little effect on the Californian.
With the fight likely on the line, O’Malley surged ahead in the final round, as he emptied his tank with a wide variety of strikes and a trio of takedowns that kept him a step ahead of Ware, who got his shots in but wasn’t able to match the pace of “Sugar” Sean, who took the bout by three scores of 29-28.
MURPHY vs HONCHAK
Veteran TUF 26 competitors Lauren Murphy and Barb Honchak put on a high-level three-rounder in flyweight action, engaging in a back and forth bout that Murphy emerged victorious from via split decision.
Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Murphy, now 10-3. Honchak falls to 10-4.
The first five minutes were fought on the feet and both veterans scored well, Murphy as the aggressor and Honchak as a counterstriker. It made the round tough to score, as each fighter had their moments.
In the second minute of round two, Honchak rattled Murphy with a right hand, but after a couple seconds to get her legs back, the Arizonan went back on the attack. Honchak’s counters were getting more accurate as the round progressed, but Murphy broke up the kickboxing match with a pair of takedowns in the final minute that were going to help her on the scorecards.
Murphy took the fight back to the mat in the second minute of round three, but Honchak worked well off her back as she looked for an armbar. Murphy muscled her way out of trouble, but Honchak went right back to it, and this time she nearly got the armbar, but it was Murphy getting loose and taking Honchak’s back in the final minute. And that’s where they stayed until the final horn of a stellar bout.
Milwaukee middleweight Gerald Meerschaert bounced back from a rough first round to knock out Eric Spicely with a single kick to the body in the second stanza.
Meerschaert had success with his striking early, scoring with a hard body kick and then following up with a series of punches, a lot of which were blocked. After taking a few, Spicely fired back and seconds later the bout was on the mat and Spicely had Meerschaert’s back. Meerschaert defended well, and by the end of the round, he was in Spicely’s guard and out of trouble.
Meerschaert kept it standing in round two, and that allowed him to pepper Spicely with punches until he decided to unleash kicks to the body, with the final one sending the New Englander down and out, with referee Herb Dean stepping in at the 2:18 mark.
Meerschaert moves to 27-9 with the win; Spicely falls to 10-4.
FABIAN vs BENNETT
A point deduction cost Hungary’s Melinda Fabian against DeAnna Bennett in a clash of Team Alvarez members, as a majority draw verdict was rendered after three rounds in the flyweight division.
Scores were 29-27 Bennett and 28-28 twice.
Fabian’s striking was sharp when she was able to stay at distance, but Bennett (8-3-1) was able to dilute that striking for a good portion of the round with a swarming clinch attack. But at the close of the round, Fabian (4-3-2) went on the attack and dropped Bennett hard with a left kick to the head. Only the horn intervened to save Bennett, and in the second, “Vitamin D” went right after the takedown. She didn’t get it, but she did get an important edge on the scorecards when referee John McCarthy deducted a point from Fabian for grabbing the fence. When the bout resumed, Bennett was still coming up short on her takedown attempt, and after the action stalled, McCarthy restarted the two. Bennett went right after the takedown again, and again there was a restart, leading to another clinch until the horn.
The third was more of the same, with Bennett seeking the takedown throughout, but Fabian did land some hard knees at close range and a jarring elbow. It wasn’t enough to get the victory though, as the point deduction turned out to be costly for the Budapest native.
JOHNS vs SOTO
Unbeaten bantamweight Brett Johns made it three for three in the UFC, as he delivered his first Octagon finish by submitting veteran Joe Soto in just 30 seconds.
The Welshman came out throwing punches, leading to a takedown by Soto 20 seconds into the fight, but as the two hit the canvas, Johns grabbed a hold of his opponent’s leg, and soon, Soto was tapping due to the rare calf slicer submission.
Swansea’s Johns improves to 15-0 with the win; Porterville, California’s Soto falls to 18-6.
In TUF 26 Finale prelim action at Park Theater in Las Vegas, Team Gaethje’s Montana De La Rosa made quick work of Team Alvarez’ Christina Marks Friday night, submitting her opponent via first-round submission.
A furious striking exchange to start the bout went in Marks’ favor, but De La Rosa quickly tied her foe up. After a brief spell in the clinch, Marks caught a kick and the fight went to the mat, but De La Rosa locked up an armbar and the San Diegan tapped out. The official time was 2:00.
With the win, Fort Worth’s De La Rosa ups her record to 8-4
JANES vs SANCHEZ
Canadian middleweight Ryan Janes had to dig deep to earn his first Octagon victory, roaring back from a near-stoppage in the first round to halt former Ultimate Fighter winner Andrew Sanchez in the third stanza.
Sanchez nearly ended the bout early on after dropping Janes with a right hand and then following up with a barrage of shots. Remarkably, the Canadian recovered, and it was clear that Sanchez had emptied his tank trying to finish, allowing Janes to get out of the round and back into the fight.
After a minute’s rest, Sanchez landed with some solid shots to begin round two, but the gas tank emptied soon enough, allowing Janes to start tagging him with punches of his own. Sanchez found the energy for a quick takedown, but Janes got right back up and continued teeing off on Sanchez, whose legs were clearly gone. He still kept swinging, even though his punches had lost their steam by the end of the frame.
Early in round three, Janes completed his comeback in style, jarring Sanchez with a combination and then following those shots with a series of punches that brought in referee Mark Smith to stop the bout at :58 of the third frame.
With the win, British Columbia’s Janes moves to 10-3. Sanchez falls to 10-4.
Waianae’s Rachael Ostovich picked up her first UFC win, submitting fellow Team Gaethje member Karine Gevorgyan in the first round.
Ostovich scored a quick takedown to kick off the bout, and while Gevorgyan scrambled out of immediate danger, she ran right into some more, with the Hawaiian locking in the armbar that produced a tap out at 1:40.
Ostovich moves to 4-3 with the win; Armenia’s Gevorgyan, who missed weight for the bout at 130.5 pounds, falls to 3-3.
DOBSON vs BECK
In a clash of Team Alvarez flyweights from TUF 26, Shana Dobson impressed with a second-round stoppage of Ariel Beck.
There was solid back and forth standup action from both fighters in the opening round, with Dobson particularly effective with her kicks throughout. Beck mixed things up nicely, though, with her body attack working well.
In the second, Dobson began to start throwing upstairs with more frequency, and while Beck took the shots well for much of the round, just past the midway point, a huge right hand hurt the Montana native, and a follow-up right sent her to the canvas with her hands covering her head, prompting referee Mark Smith to step in at 2:53 of round two.
Fort Worth’s Dobson moves to 3-1 with the win; Beck falls to 4-5.
ROBERTSON vs WHITMIRE
Team Gaethje squadmates Gillian Robertson and Emily Whitmire kicked the night off against each other in the flyweight division, with Robertson scoring a first-round submission win.
Robertson got the fight to the mat in the opening minute and went to work. A scramble allowed her to take Whitmire’s back, but the Las Vegan got free and took the top position against the fence. Robertson stayed cool, though, and out of nowhere she locked on an armbar, forcing the tap at the 2:12 mark.
With the win, Robertson moves to 4-2. Whitmire falls to 2-2.
The days are shorter, nights are longer and there is a nip in the air. Somehow, we’ve worked our way back around to the final month of the year, a time traditionally filled with holiday cheer, festive gatherings and a whole lot of outstanding fight cards.
December has become one of the premier months on the UFC’s annual calendar, boasting a pair of Pay-Per-View events, an Ultimate Fighter Finale and the final offering on “Big FOX.” This year, a fun little fight card in Fresno, California has been added to the mix as well, making it pretty difficult to whittle down the collection of contests set to hit the Octagon in the next couple weeks to the number required for this monthly offering.
But I think I’ve come up with a pretty solid list.
The unpredictability of Season 26 of The Ultimate Fighter has carried over to the championship finals, making for a chaotic, but still exciting clash between top seed Roxanne Modafferi and upstart Nicco Montano.
A 17-year vet, Modafferi entered the competition on a two-fight winning streak and having won six of eight since her previous appearance on the long-running reality TV competition in Season 18. During that time, she relocated to Las Vegas and collected victories over the likes of Andrea Lee, DeAnna Bennett and Sarah D’Aleilo, securing the top seed in this season’s tournament.
After getting upended in the semifinals, Modafferi got a surprise second chance to challenge for UFC gold when Sirjara Eubanks was forced from this evening’s fight card. “The Roxy Renaissance” has been one of the most enjoyable stories in the sport over the last couple years and it could still have a storybook ending after all.
Seeded 14th in the 16-woman tournament, Montano has also advanced by turning back top seeds, beating No. 3 Lauren Murphy, No. 6 Montana Stewart and No. 2 Barb Honchak on her way to this weekend’s championship bout – a trio that makes up the toughest possible road to the finals for the Albuquerque resident.
Montano pondered putting her career on hold prior to flyweights becoming the focus of this season of The Ultimate Fighter, but with a little push from her coach Tom Vaughn, she threw her name in the ring and now could emerge as the ultimate Cinderella story by adding a victory over the No. 1 seed to her improbable and highly entertaining run to the UFC women’s flyweight title.
This season has been outstanding and, despite the changes, this clash for the flyweight title should still provide a fitting end to an entertaining competition.
UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo – Saturday, December 2 (Detroit, Michigan)
One night after Modafferi and Montano do battle to determine the first women’s flyweight champion in UFC history, the coaches from this season of The Ultimate Fighter will square off for bragging rights in a bout that will also have significant ramifications on the lightweight division.
Fighting for just the second time since losing the lightweight strap last November, Alvarez is looking for his first victory since claiming the title from Rafael Dos Anjos and to reaffirm his place in the upper echelon of the 155-pound ranks. After debuting with a thrilling victory in a symphony of violence opposite Michael Johnson, Gaethje aims to keep his unbeaten record intact while taking another sizeable step towards challenging for UFC gold.
Even without the top-end implications, this is an outstanding fight that has the potential to earn Fight of the Year honors. Both men are happy to take two to land one and are amongst the most resilient, tough-to-finish fighters in the business. Expect a demolition derby that ends decisively with the crowd on their feet.Alistair Overeem vs. Francis Ngannou
A classic pairing between a veteran looking to make one more run at the title and an up-and-coming standout in need of that signature victory that takes him from prospect to contender, this one should be fireworks from the jump and probably won’t last long.
Overeem bounced back from his title loss at UFC 203 with victories over Mark Hunt and Fabricio Werdum. At age 37, “The Demolition Man” is still a formidable force in the heavyweight ranks and precisely the type of proven, dangerous contender every hopeful has to beat at some point along the way in order to join the title conversation.
In the span of two years, Ngannou has gone from debuting in the Octagon to facing one of the most accomplished fighters in the division with a championship opportunity potentially hanging in the balance. The hulking Frenchman (by way of Cameroon) has collected five straight stoppage wins to emerge as the most compelling new name in the division in quite some time.
Overeem has become more patient in recent years, but still brandishes a ton of power, while Ngannou is a menacing presence who stalks forward with vicious intentions. Much like the Alvarez-Gaethje fight, this one should end with a thud and the audience in full throat, cheering on the heavyweight action for as long as it lasts.
Back in June, Holloway ventured to Rio de Janeiro and unified the featherweight titles with a third-round stoppage win over Brazilian legend Aldo. It was a tremendous battle, and now the duo will do it again at a neutral site.
Holloway has been perfect over the last three years, amassing an 11-fight winning streak to climb to the top of the 145-pound weight class. The Hawaiian standout might be the best striker in the sport today – a master at mixing crushing body blows into his combinations and connecting at a ridiculous clip, especially when he’s got his opponents on the ropes.
For nearly a decade, Aldo was unbeatable, and even after losing the featherweight title to Conor McGregor, the Nova Uniao product rebounded to reclaim UFC gold with a convincing decision win over Frankie Edgar at UFC 200. Now the 31-year-old looks to replicate what TJ Dillashaw accomplished last month in New York – reclaiming the title he once held by knocking off a champion who seems poised to reign supreme for a number of years.
Their first encounter was one of the best fights of the year – a technical, tactical contest that suddenly tilted in Holloway’s favor and ended before the close of the third round. The rematch should be just as much fun, if not more.
UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega – Saturday, December 9 (Fresno, California)
While it doesn’t have the same buzz as the heavyweight clash from UFC 218 mentioned above, the final bout on the debut event in Fresno has a similar “veteran vs. prospect” vibe as that contest.
Swanson has been perfect since returning from a one-year hiatus a couple years back, collecting four straight victories to once again emerge as a serious contender in the featherweight division. One of the best boxers in the sport, “Killer Cub” is smooth and technical, with a strong ground game at his disposal if needed.
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Ortega has steadily climbed the ranks since entering the UFC in July 2014 and stamped himself as a potential contender by collecting four straight third-round stoppage wins to push his record to 12-0 overall (with one no contest). Laid back with an outstanding guard, the 26-year-old could cement himself as a title threat by knocking off Swanson and pushing his winning streak to a baker’s dozen.
UFC on FOX: Lawler vs. Dos Anjos – Saturday, December 16 (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
If you’re looking for a slightly under the radar contest that could end up being the most explosive bout of the month, look no further than this potential welterweight slobberknocker.
Ponzinibbio has been quietly making steady progress up the divisional ladder before really making his presence known to the wider audience with a first-round stoppage win over Gunnar Nelson in Scotland during the summer. The victory pushed the Argentine’s winning streak to five and carried him to No. 10 in the rankings.
Perry, meanwhile, doesn’t do anything quietly, but has been making moves of his own since arriving on the biggest stage in the sport just 16 months ago. He’s earned Performance of the Night bonuses in back-to-back blistering finishes of Jake Ellenberger and Alex Reyes already this year and could put himself in the title conversation by replicating that feat in Winnipeg.
While the winner of the above bout will likely find themselves on the short list of contenders in the welterweight division, the winner of this one could very well end up being the next man to challenge for the welterweight title once 2018 rolls around.
After 364 days away, Lawler returned to the cage and the win column in July with a hard-fought victory over Donald Cerrone. The former champion is still one of the most lethal finishers and durable fighters in the division, a risky combination for any opponent to contend with, and as he closes in on the twilight of his career, the soft-spoken knockout artist has his sights set on reclaiming the welterweight title.
Dos Anjos has been one of the pleasant surprises of 2017, which might sound odd to say given that he is a former lightweight champion, but after starting the year on a two-fight slide and switching divisions, the fact that he’s looking for a third straight win and potentially fighting for a title shot, it’s hard to argue otherwise. Following a methodical win over Tarec Saffiedine in his divisional debut, the Brazilian veteran ran through Neil Magny in September and looks to add a second straight stoppage win in Canada to his resume here.
Regardless of whether the winner gets a title shot or not, this is a compelling clash of styles that should answer any lingering questions anyone has about these two veteran contenders heading into the New Year.
UFC 219: Cyborg vs. Holm – Saturday, December 30 (Las Vegas, Nevada)
This card is laced with outstanding matchups and while there are a couple others that could have taken the place of this one in a pinch, the fact that Calvillo is looking to wrap up an incredible rookie campaign in the UFC with a fourth victory and a win over a former champion just couldn’t be overlooked.
The Team Alpha Male product made her promotional debut in March, followed it up with another win a month later in Buffalo and then made it three-in-a-row in the Octagon by besting Joanne Calderwood at home in Scotland over the summer. It was the culmination of an 11-month run that saw her go from making her pro debut to fighting in the co-main event of a UFC card and now she has the chance to establish herself as a legitimate contender by toppling Esparza here.
Injuries have slowed the inaugural women’s strawweight champion since her title reign came to an end in March 2015, but the Team Oyama representative is coming off a quality win over Maryna Moroz in June and three straight strong showings, with the only blemish on her record being a suspect split decision loss to Randa Markos last spring.
With a new champion atop the division creating new possibilities for the top contenders, the winner of this one should find themselves in the championship mix as 2018 gets underway.
After closing out last year with a dominant victory over Michael Johnson where he provided his own in-fight play-by-play, many fans anticipated Nurmagomedov fulfilling his dream of fighting for the lightweight title in 2017, but it wasn’t meant to be. Now, the unbeaten grappler faces another stiff challenge to close out this year and once again put him in a position to potentially fight for gold once 2018 gets underway.
Barboza enters on a three-fight winning streak and is coming off one of the most impressive knockouts of the year – a second-round flying knee finish of Beneil Dariush back in March. Having come up short in previous encounters that would put him in the thick of the title chase, the Brazilian Muay Thai specialist has never looked better as he heads into the next biggest fight of his career.
Even with nothing at stake, a bout like this would be highly anticipated and all kinds of exciting, but when you add in the lingering questions about title shots and surrounding it with additional outstanding battles in the lightweight division, the importance and intensity gets cranked up to 11.
Only four fighters have managed to win UFC gold in two different divisions, but Holm gets a second chance to accomplish the feat in the final bout of 2017. All she has to do in order to make history is stop one of the most dominant fighters of the last decade.
Holm came up short in her initial bid to claim the featherweight title back in February, dropping a close, controversial decision to Germaine de Randamie, but rebounded with a signature win over Bethe Correia in Singapore four months later. Back in the win column for the first time since winning the bantamweight title at UFC 193, “The Preacher’s Daughter” gets the chance to close out the year by picking up a second belt.
Standing in her way is Cyborg, who rolled into Anaheim and claimed the vacant featherweight strap with a patient, yet powerful, performance against Tonya Evinger at UFC 214. The victory pushed the Brazilian superstar’s unbeaten streak to 18 and re-affirmed her as the most dominant force on the female side of the sport – and one of the most accomplished and successful competitors in all of mixed martial arts.
Stylistically, this one should be interesting as Cyborg likes to dictate the terms of engagement and get after her opponents, which plays into Holm’s preference to counter. Expect fireworks.
Jeremy Kimball tomorrow in Detroit. He might have even had several, but two in particular stood out when he got to give his two weeks’ notice at his IT job and become a full-time fighter.
Best weeks ever?
“I don’t know about the best two weeks of my life, but it was pretty cool,” laughs the light heavyweight prospect, who always felt that the cubicle life just wasn’t his final destination.
“It’s not for me,” he said. “I have too much fire burning inside me to be sitting on a computer all day.”
After racing out to a 6-0 pro MMA record following a successful college football career at Stony Brook University, the Californian made it 7-0 with a blistering 29-second knockout of Christensen in June. Soon after, he made the call to go all-in on his fight career. He admits it was a bit scary to make that decision, but while IT will always be there, a fighting career has a small window of opportunity attached to it.
“IT is a good job, so I was like, I don’t know,” Reyes said. “But I’ve already proved that I belonged here, so I might as well go all-in. Worst case scenario, I’ve got my degree and I can come back.”
And while Reyes has proven to be an unrepentant knockout artist on fight night, outside of the Octagon, he’s a 27-year-old with a good head on his shoulders who is already making his plans for life in fighting and after it.
“I’m pretty much taking all the right steps,” he said. “I’m trying to take it slow, I’m not trying to rush to the head of the line. I’m earning my way to the top.”
You wouldn’t think he was the patient sort if you’ve seen him fight, with the Christensen win being the latest example. But the way he sees it, the faster he ends his fights, the better.
“I don’t get paid per punch that I take,” he said. “There were a couple fights that I did have where I wanted to get into a war and I wanted to be hit and all that, but that was early on in my career. I realized that I want to do this for a long time, so the quicker I can get out of each fight is better for me.”
It’s better for the fans as well, because everyone loves finishers, making Saturday’s clash between Reyes and Kimball, who ended his most recent UFC win in 81 seconds, a must see. Add in the fact that they’re both rising stars in a division that needs all the young guns it can get, and the winner might get a more accelerated route to the top than similar fighters in other divisions, a fact not lost on “The Devastator.”
“I’ve realized that there’s not many light heavyweights,” he said. “And I’ve only been fighting MMA for three years, so it’s accelerated in that aspect itself. So whatever God has in store and whatever happens, I’ll be ready for it.”
That’s the job of a defensive back, IT specialist or prizefighter. Be prepared for anything that comes up, because nothing is predictable. So Reyes has plenty of experience there, and he never gets too high or too low because the next moment is always around the corner. And though there will probably be a lot more clips for his personal highlight reel, his UFC debut will always hold a special spot there.
“I don’t think there’s anything that’s ever topped the Christensen win,” he said. “My first time on the huge pro stage, where I wanted to be my whole life, and going above and beyond what I ever thought I would do there, that was the top moment in my athletic career. But I respect all the moments that I had – the interception to beat Albany, the first playoff win in Stony Brook history, that was its own moment in itself. And all these moments are accumulating to get me ready for the next moment.”
He’s hoping those moments add up to a world championship some day, and he believes being a full-time fighter will help get him there.
“I’m just getting ready for that next level,” he said. “It’s more preparation for hopeful future title fights and things like that, to become champ and stay champ.”
The world looks upon Francis Ngannou in awe. His superhero muscles and freight train speed and power has combined to create a level of hype in the heavyweight division maybe never seen before.
But Ngannou speaks about his skills and his 5-0 UFC record (four knockouts and one submission) as just a matter of fact. The hype is “The Predator’s” reality and he remains unfazed by the attention, expectations or pressure.
Walking the halls of the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas the past seven months, Ngannou has made his home in the desert after years spent developing his craft in France. He grew up in Cameroon, Africa with very little and now he’s on the verge of everything he’s ever dreamed of if he can beat Alistair Overeem at UFC 218 Saturday night: a heavyweight title shot.
“I’m here to take all – to take everything. When I go to fight, when I go to punch, I believe what I’m doing. The goal is to win,” Ngannou said. “I have one goal and I have to do anything for my goal. I’m gonna become world champion.”
Ngannou is unlike any fighter on the roster. His confidence is unmatched because he approaches the game as if he has nothing to lose. His destructive power has been evident throughout his siege on the heavyweight division. He has the hardest recorded punch on planet earth and he’s only been training mixed martial arts for four years.
There doesn’t seem to be a limit to his potential as he now takes on the biggest challenge of his career in Overeem – a decorated multiple-promotion champion who boasts one of the most staggering resumes in all of combat sports.
Ngannou respects Overeem, but he fears no one. He’s self-confident.
“Some fighters, they don’t believe in themselves and they need the biggest gym, with some famous gym, and some famous coach. Because they need someone to tell them they’re ready and that they’re going to win the fight. I don’t need that. I’m going to win the fight. In my mind, I’m going to win,” Ngannou said.
“I heard that Alistair said he would knock me out for the second round,” he continued. “But it was just funny because I said, ‘To reach the second round you need to pass the first round. And that’s where I’m going to get you.’”
The winner between Ngannou and Overeem seems the likely next challenger to champion Stipe Miocic’s heavyweight title. Ngannou has visualized the finish and if he’s able to deliver the hype is set to reach a new galaxy.
“Even if you’re blind you should know that Ngannou is a tough opponent,” he said. “We’re going to see how the fight goes and I’m sure I’ll connect and he’ll go down. Knockout, man – knockout first round.”
Matt Parrino is a digital producer and writer for UFC.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MattParrino
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From the 14th seed to a world championship fight, Nicco Montano has surprised a lot of people on her way to tonight’s Ultimate Fighter main event against Roxanne Modafferi.
Including herself.
“Oh yeah, one hundred percent,” she laughs. “But I kept faking it until I made it. After a couple days of practice with my teammates, I was like, well, I deserve to be here and I can fight like the rest of them with the other 15 best girls in the world. And I believed it.”
Unheralded and virtually unknown before she was selected to compete in the tournament that would determine the UFC’s first women’s flyweight champion, Montano was thinking about returning to school and making fighting a hobby, not a full-time endeavor. Coach Tom Vaughn, as no nonsense as they come in this game, let her know that he thought she had the talent to succeed. She just had to want it too.
She did.
“Here I am,” Montano laughs.
Defeating Lauren Murphy, Montana De La Rosa and Barb Honchak in succession, the 28-year-old earned her place in the final alongside Sijara Eubanks, but when medical issues forced “SarJ” from tonight’s fight, TUF 26’s number one seed, Modafferi, stepped in. It’s another twist in the wild ride Montano took to get here, but she’s not rattled by any of it, simply because TUF showed that she belongs with the best 125-pound fighters in the world. That’s heady stuff for the New Mexico native to take in, but knowing it helps her push through any doubts that ever crop up.
“It’s a super intense feeling and I don’t really resort to it because I don’t want to settle right now,” she said. “I still have my fight, and I don’t want to be part of this or be number two. I want to be the one, I want to be the champion. So whenever I have these long days of training or something’s going wrong, knowing that I can tell myself ‘You’re gonna be a world champion’ ignites a whole different fighter inside.”
That whole different fighter may have a target on her back come Saturday morning if she leaves the Park Theater with a gold belt around her waist, but if she wasn’t rattled by six weeks of training and fighting with a cast of top flyweights around her, odds are nothing will rattle her now.
“I knew that once there was a ’25 division, there was gonna a ton of girls, which is gonna make for more exciting fights,” Montano said. “I knew going into the show and even before that that it was gonna be a big division and that the winner would have a target on their back, but now that I’m this close, it doesn’t really faze me.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she laughs. “I wonder all the time. I’m just a weird kid, I do what I want.”
And what a beautiful thing that is. Whether she’s joking with friends, sparring with detractors on social media or doing Gilbert Gottfried impressions (don’t ask), the 33-year-old isn’t just a breath of fresh air for the UFC’s new flyweight division, she’s a hurricane of positivity that just isn’t seen too often in any walk of life these days.
It’s why when the woman who is going to be trying to punch her in the face tonight in Las Vegas, Ultimate Fighter castmate Melinda Fabian, was asked her thoughts on Bennett for her UFC bio, she simply wrote that her opponent is “An excellentSijara Eubanks, expect to see even more from the former Invicta FC standout, as she’s spent her entire training camp in New Jersey with the Ricardo Almeida BJJ and All-Star MMA teams. That’s a big switch from Utah, but she’s more than happy with the results.
“Sarj (Eubanks) was my favorite training partner on the show and now I get her as a training partner here and she’s my really good friend,” Bennett said. “I feel like in the last two months I’ve become ten times the fighter that I was beforehand and grew more than I have in those two years.”
She may not be leaving either, as she’ll be helping out fellow UFC fighter Katlyn Chookagian with her camp, and it’s evident in the tone of her voice that she’s adopted the Garden State as her own.
“You do crazy things when you love the sport,” she said.
For Bennett, one of those crazy things was turning an 8-0 pro record that included a win over Julianna Pena into an 8-3 slate when she took a run at the strawweight division in 2016-17. And after missing weight for a split decision loss to Jodie Esquibel in March, she finally hit the wall at 115 pounds.
“I had been struggling and trying to get down there, and after my fight in March, which was supposed to be 115 and I didn’t make weight, I talked to (Invicta FC President) Shannon Knapp and she said, ‘You’re a flyweight.’ I said, ‘I know, I need to be.’”
Luckily, tryouts at 125 pounds for TUF provided a new opportunity for Bennett to not just re-establish herself at flyweight but to compete in a tournament that would crown a new champion. She didn’t get that title fight, but she did get a spot on the UFC roster, and along the way, she made some friends (no surprise) and saw where she stacked up in the division.
Eddie (Alvarez) and the other coaches we had told me that physically, I was unnaturally strong. That’s cool because I never really realized that. And now, focusing more on the training and being able to switch my mindset has been huge because it means I can learn more and I can do more techniques instead of just focusing on the weight. 125 is my home and I feel strong there. I never see a reason to go back down to 115, and thank goodness for everyone around me, I will never do that again. (Laughs) I feel comfortable at ’25 and I’m happy there.”
Happy, positive, friendly with her opponent. You may think that’s not conducive to getting into a fistfight, but Bennett disagrees, noting that when it’s time to fight, she’s always ready to go.
“It’s all part of the competition,” she said. “I have a hard time taking myself seriously outside of the cage, but I take fighting seriously and I take the competition seriously. And the best thing you can do to honor your opponent, especially if they’re a friend, is to give them the best damn fight that you can and not hold back. Feeling the emotions in the cage and knowing you’ve done everything to build up to that point, that’s the trigger for me. Game mode. Let’s go do it.”
UFC 218: Holloway vs Aldo 2, which features the featherweight title bout between champion Max Holloway and former champion Jose Aldo and a heavyweight co-main event between Alistair Overeem and Francis Ngannou, airs live on Pay Per View on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 10pm/7pm ETPT from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Four prelim bouts will air live and free on FS1 starting at 8pm/5pm ETPT. One prelim bout will air live on UFC FIGHT PASS starting at 7:30pm/4:30pm ETPT.
The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale at the Park Theater in Las Vegas on Friday night. Instead, Cinderella received a gold championship belt, as the 14th seeded Montano capped off an improbable run on the reality show to defeat No. 1 seed Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision and claim the first women’s flyweight title in UFC history.
“The Sugar Show” returned to Las Vegas Friday night, and after an impressive effort on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series in the summer, Sean O’Malley had a successful UFC debut at the Park Theater, winning a hard-fought three-round unanimous decision over Terrion Ware.
Veteran TUF 26 competitors Lauren Murphy and Barb Honchak put on a high-level three-rounder in flyweight action, engaging in a back and forth bout that Murphy emerged victorious from via split decision.
Milwaukee middleweight Gerald Meerschaert bounced back from a rough first round to knock out Eric Spicely with a single kick to the body in the second stanza.
A point deduction cost Hungary’s Melinda Fabian against DeAnna Bennett in a clash of Team Alvarez members, as a majority draw verdict was rendered after three rounds in the flyweight division.
In TUF 26 Finale prelim action at Park Theater in Las Vegas, Team Gaethje’s Montana De La Rosa made quick work of Team Alvarez’ Christina Marks Friday night, submitting her opponent via first-round submission.
Canadian middleweight Ryan Janes had to dig deep to earn his first Octagon victory, roaring back from a near-stoppage in the first round to halt former Ultimate Fighter winner Andrew Sanchez in the third stanza.
Waianae’s Rachael Ostovich picked up her first UFC win, submitting fellow Team Gaethje member Karine Gevorgyan in the first round.
In a clash of Team Alvarez flyweights from TUF 26, Shana Dobson impressed with a second-round stoppage of Ariel Beck.
Team Gaethje squadmates Gillian Robertson and Emily Whitmire kicked the night off against each other in the flyweight division, with Robertson scoring a first-round submission win.
Jeremy Kimball tomorrow in Detroit. He might have even had several, but two in particular stood out when he got to give his two weeks’ notice at his IT job and become a full-time fighter.
“Some fighters, they don’t believe in themselves and they need the biggest gym, with some famous gym, and some famous coach. Because they need someone to tell them they’re ready and that they’re going to win the fight. I don’t need that. I’m going to win the fight. In my mind, I’m going to win,” Ngannou said.
fight, and I don’t want to be part of this or be number two. I want to be the one, I want to be the champion. So whenever I have these long days of training or something’s going wrong, knowing that I can tell myself ‘You’re gonna be a world champion’ ignites a whole different fighter inside.”
Sijara Eubanks, expect to see even more from the former Invicta FC standout, as she’s spent her entire training camp in New Jersey with the 
