The Level Change Podcast 181: UFC on ABC, Sean Sheehan talks judging in classic fights
Welcome to ‘The Level Change Podcast’, our combat sports themed variety show hosted by Stephie Haynes, Mookie Alexander and Victor Rodriguez. Featuring the news of the week, fight card breakdowns and analysis, a roundup of regional promotions’ cards and fights; and whatever else we decide is important enough or entertaining enough to bring to your […]
Rafael Fiziev to undergo nose surgery after UFC Vegas 58, hopes to return by end of year
Rafael Fiziev is undergoing surgery. Ariel Helwani reported on Tuesday that Fiziev needs surgery on his nose after his fifth-round knockout of Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 58 this past Saturday. The lightweight contender revealed during his post-fight press conference his nose was broken either in the first or second round of the fight. […]
Mookie & Crookie Show 173: UFC Vegas 58, Muhammad-Brady, Dern-Yan
Welcome to ‘The Mookie & Crookie Show’, a spinoff of ‘The Level Change Podcast’ that goes a little more in-depth on major combat sports news, as well as takes a humorous look at the crazy world of combat sports social media. The show is hosted by Mookie Alexander and Stephie Haynes and airs every Tuesday. […]
Scouring the scoring: Michael Johnson vs. Jamie Mullarkey at UFC Vegas 58
Michael Johnson’s last two-fight winning streak came in 2018 when he earned decisions over Andre Fili and Artem Lobov. Johnson went winless in his next four fights. The UFC vet ended that skid in May when he scored a knockout win over Alan Patrick. On Saturday, Johnson was on the losing end of a split-decision […]
‘He’s a big challenge for me’ – Rafael Fiziev calls out Justin Gaethje after UFC Vegas 58 win
Rafael Fiziev’s fifth-round TKO of former champion Rafael dos Anjos firmly established him as a major contender in the UFC’s lightweight division. As Fiziev creeps closer into the top-five of the rankings, the heavy-handed striker has another big name in mind for his next fight. I mean, besides tennis legend Rafael Nadal. In the post-fight […]
UFC Vegas 58 Reactions & UFC Long Island Picks | Care/Don’t Care Podcast
It’s time for another one of our infamous and patented Care/Don’t Care Podcasts, with your talent: the astounding Eugene S. Robinson, author of the ‘Eugene S. Robinson Substack’, the fight book: “Fight: Everything You Wanted to Know About Ass-Kicking but Were Afraid You’d Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking”, host of the ‘Eugene S. Robinson […]
I won’t be a ‘dumb fighter’ – Caio Borralho’s calculated approach to fighting will have drawbacks
One of the talking points that emerged in the aftermath of the UFC 276 main event fight between middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier was that fans — and fighters — expect to be entertained during UFC events. Many fans (and again, also professional fighters), weren’t satisfied that Adesanya employed a “safe” — or […]
UFC Vegas 58: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev – Unofficial Awards
In what appears to be the UFC’s final event at the APEX for quite a while – we can only hope – we finally received an answer to who the better Rafael was once and for all as Rafael Fiziev put away former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos early in the fifth round of their […]
‘He won fair and square’ – RDA doesn’t feel ref stopped Fiziev fight early at UFC Vegas 58
Rafael dos Anjos put in 20 minutes of grueling, rock solid fighting work against Rafael Fiziev in their main event bout at UFC Vegas 58 last Saturday—only to have it all end in an instant. After losing the fourth round, Fiziev came out in the fifth with guns blazing. Eighteen seconds later and it was […]
UFC Vegas 58: RDA vs. Fiziev – Fights to make
UFC Vegas 58 looked fine—not great—on paper, and that’s largely what it ended up delivering. There were some grinding decisions, a couple cool highlights, and a really rock solid lightweight scrap up at the top. At the end of it all, Rafael Fiziev walked away looking like a top 5 lightweight, and Said Nurmagomedov proved […]
Best Rafael in sports? – Rafael Fiziev calls out Rafael Nadal after UFC win over Rafael dos Anjos
Shortly after Rafael Fiziev scored a TKO win over former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos, he offered up a pretty unique call out. The 29-year-old MMA fighter wants to continue battling Rafael’s and called out the Tennis superstar. “Now we know who is the best Rafael in the UFC,” Fiziev said on his post-fight interview. […]
UFC Vegas 58: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev – Winners and Losers
The tide in the UFC lightweight division is changing. A new generation of fighters are establishing themselves in the promotion’s 155-pound division. Islam Makhachev and Mateusz Gamrot have placed themselves inside the top-10 of the weight class. Meanwhile, Arman Tsarukyan, Jalin Turner and Damir Ismagulov have worked their way into the top-15. On Saturday, another […]
UFC Vegas 58: RDA vs Fiziev | 6th Round Post-Fight Show
Bloody Elbow fight expert, Zane Simon is here, joined by his co-host, Mookie Alexander. We recorded for you on Saturday, July 9th, 2022, with a breakdown of the UFC Vegas 58: ‘RDA vs. Fiziev’ 11-bout Fight Night event, which took place at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. June M. Williams The guys have hot […]
Video highlights: Rafael Fiziev stuns Rafael Dos Anjos by TKO in UFC Vegas 58 main event
Rafael Fiziev is the best Rafael in the UFC after finishing Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 58 this past Saturday. Dos Anjos tried to get Fiziev to the ground, but ‘Ataman’ denied him nearly every time. The former UFC lightweight champion stood and traded with the No. 10 ranked contender, who was finding a […]
‘Explosive finish’ – Pros react to Rafael Fiziev’s TKO of Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 58
Rafael Fiziev managed to finish former champion Rafael dos Anjos in the last round of UFC Vegas 58’s main event. Following four tough rounds, ‘Ataman’ managed to knock down ‘RDA’ and finish it off with some ground and pound. On Twitter, pro fighters reacted to the match. @RafaelFiziev is always a treat to watch, the […]
UFC Vegas 58 results and highlights: Rafael Fiziev TKOs Rafael dos Anjos in final round
Rafael Fiziev scored the biggest win of his career in the main event of UFC Vegas 58. With just a handful of seconds elapsed in the fifth and final round, Fiziev hurt and knocked out former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos to extend his winning streak to six. Fiziev’s vaunted power and exemplary takedown defense […]
UFC Vegas 58: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev post-fight press conference live stream
Join us here at BloodyElbow.com around 12:30 AM ET/9:30 PM PT for a live stream of the UFC Vegas 58: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev post-fight press conference, live from Las Vegas. You can catch the video above, and since Bloody Elbow has the best comments section of any sports site, you should stick around and […]
UFC Vegas 58: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev live results and discussion
Join us here at Bloody Elbow for live results and discussion as UFC Vegas 58: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev goes down from the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event is a lightweight bout between former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos and top-10 ranked contender Rafael Fiziev. It’ll be the first five-round […]
UFC Vegas 58 main card fight cancelled at last minute due to illness
There’s been a late change to the UFC Vegas 58 lineup. A women’s flyweight matchup between Nina Nunes and Cynthia Calvillo has been scratched on fight day. Nunes revealed on her Instagram page that she’s been dealing with a stomach virus and had been ill since the weigh-ins. Hey everyone, I had an amazing camp […]
UFC Vegas 58: Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev betting odds
Rafael vs. Rafael. This is our main event for tonight at UFC Vegas 58, which is happening from the super-familiar APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC’s former lightweight champion, Rafael Dos Anjos, will be putting his #7 ranking up against the #10 rated 155-pounder, Rafael Fiziev. Before that kicks off, though, let’s go […]
She fish-hooked me! – Fiziev tells story of how Shevchenko refereed his first fight at 12-years old
29-year-old lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev headlines his first UFC event this Saturday, which is a huge milestone on a long fighting career that started with Muay Thai in Kyrgyzstan. “(I was) 12,” Fiziev told The MMA Hour about his first ever fight. “My first fight opponent was like around 18 or 19 years old. It […]
Dos Anjos: Fighters get ‘desperate’ against Charles Oliveira, but I’d ‘punish him’ on the ground
Since 2018, Charles Oliveira has been able to handle and even dominate the top contenders thrown his way. “Do Bronx” faced the likes of Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and most recently, Justin Gaethje, all of whom he either finished or outclassed. But for fellow ex-champion Rafael dos Anjos, the problem isn’t so much […]
UFC Vegas 58: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev staff picks and predictions
The Bloody Elbow staff has made its picks for Saturday’s UFC Vegas 58 event, and only Zane Simon is backing Rafael dos Anjos to beat Rafael Fiziev in the main event. As for the co-main, we’re pretty split on who will win between Caio Borralho and Armen Petrosyan in this battle of Dana White’s Contender […]
The Level Change Podcast 180: Faber upset, PFL’s Harrison & Pettis make big $
Welcome to ‘The Level Change Podcast’, our combat sports themed variety show hosted by Stephie Haynes, Mookie Alexander and Victor Rodriguez. Featuring the news of the week, fight card breakdowns and analysis, a roundup of regional promotions’ cards and fights; and whatever else we decide is important enough or entertaining enough to bring to your […]
UFC Vegas 58: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev – There can only be one Rafael
It appears the third time is the charm. Too bad that wasn’t the case for Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. Anyway, rather than lament what might have been, I should focus on what is right in front of us at UFC Vegas 58. What we have is a pretty damned good fight between the Rafael’s, […]
UFC Vegas 58 weigh-in results and video
The UFC is back in the APEX facility on Saturday night. Savior these events, by the way, it seems as the promotion is starting to get back to its road warrior roots. But anyways, for this weekend’s UFC Vegas card we have a match up of Rafaels with former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos […]
The MMA Vivisection – UFC Vegas 58: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev picks, odds, & analysis
It’s not quite as fascinating as the UFC’s last couple Fight Nights—or the upcoming Ortega vs. Rodriguez card, but UFC Vegas 58: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev should be a pretty solid event this Saturday night. In the main event, former lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos takes on surging contender Rafael Fiziev. Said Nurmagomedov returns against […]
UFC Vegas 58 preview: Ricky Turcios out to prove ‘TUF champion’ still means something
Another week, another Fight Night card. It gets harder all the time to point out what might be separating one of these cards from the other, particularly on the prelims. Prospects typically aren’t enough to excite casuals as there are prospects who could become something on every card. Thus, while there are a slew of […]
UFC Vegas 58: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev fight card
The UFC is back in the APEX for a Fight Night card on Saturday, July 9th. In the main event, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos takes on rising contender Rafael Fiziev in a bout that was originally set for UFC 272 before Fiziev was forced off the card with COVID-19. RDA would beat […]
UFC 276 Reactions & UFC Vegas 58 Picks | Care/Don’t Care Podcast
It’s time for another one of our infamous and patented Care/Don’t Care Podcasts, with your talent: the astounding Eugene S. Robinson, author of the ‘Eugene S. Robinson Substack’, the fight book: “Fight: Everything You Wanted to Know About Ass-Kicking but Were Afraid You’d Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking”, host of the ‘Eugene S. Robinson […]