Skip to main content

Manon Fiorot relishes UFC Paris test in fighting ex-champ Rose Namajunas before title shot

PARIS – Manon Fiorot sees Rose Namajunas as the perfect test to earn a UFC title shot.

Fiorot (10-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) welcomes two-time UFC strawweight champion Namajunas (11-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) to the flyweight division in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 226 co-main event at Accor Arena in Paris. The event streams on ESPN+.

Fiorot is coming off back-to-back wins over former title challengers Jennifer Maia and Katlyn Chookagian. But going up against a notable name in former champ Namajunas excites France’s Fiorot.

“It’s one of the biggest fights of my life against the biggest-name opponent I’ve fought until now,” Fiorot told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “So I really want to put on a great fight in front of my people.”

Namajunas knows what it’s like to rebound. She won gold, lost it, reclaimed it, then lost it again in her most recent outing against Carla Esparza in May 2022.

“She’s the most experienced opponent to date,” Fiorot said of Namajunas. “She’s a former champion so for me, it’s a good test before the title fight.”

Although Namajunas said she’s put on some muscle and adjusted her diet, Fiorot hasn’t seen much of a difference in Namajunas’ physique in her move up from 115 to 125 pounds.

“Yeah, I crossed paths with her yesterday, and I saw the photos that were published of her in this new weight class,” Fiorot said. “I didn’t see a big difference. Physically, I didn’t notice a big difference.”

Namajunas is excited at the prospect of matching up her taekwondo with Fiorot’s karate, but Fiorot admits she’s not entirely sure where the fight will go. But if it hits the mat, she expects to excel.

“I think we’re both complete fighters, so I don’t know where the fight will end up,” Fiorot said. “Grappling and wrestling, I’ll have the strength advantage, but I’m ready for everything.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 226.



from MMA Junkie https://ift.tt/kM8LpZU
via IFTTT

Popular posts from this blog

Burmese fighter: Joshua Van details pioneering journey to plant Myanmar's flag on UFC turf

Joshua Van remembers asking his mother why they had to live in Houston. Why couldn’t they just go back home where things were familiar? He was 12 years old at the time, and Van wanted to go back to where he lived the first decade of his life, in Myanmar. Life wasn’t easy for an undersized pre-teen who spoke little English and was picked on during school for both of those attributes. Looking back, the math adds up that he’d become the first Burmese fighter to compete in the UFC. “I was a small kid,” Van recently told MMA Junkie. “From where I come from, you get picked on. It’s kind of like I fight everyday, and I got to the point where I enjoyed fighting. I watched clips on street fights and how to win street fights. I tried it in my next fight and things like that. That’s what got me into my career.” Van grew up one of five siblings in Myanmar, a country ridden with military and political conflict . When things increasingly worsened, Van’s parents decided to move to Malaysia. Van...

Video: Oli Thompson lands devastating first-round knockout punch on Aleksei Oleinik in Russia

Aleksei Oleinik returned to action for the first time since his UFC exit, but things did not go in his favor. In the main event of REN TV Fight Club at Dynamo Volleyball Arena in Moscow, Russia, Oleinik (60-17-1 MMA) faced fellow UFC veteran Oli Thompson in a heavyweight bout. The result was a violent finish that left Oleinik staring up at the lights. Thompson (21-16 MMA) unleashed a crushing right hand that sent Oleinik crashing to the canvas with 35 seconds remaining in the opening round. Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter ): Oli Thompson destroys Alexey Oleynik with a massive right hand in the first round pic.twitter.com/AdWy25dQxR — caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) May 26, 2023 Thompson, 43, returned to the win column for the first time since 2020, snapping a four-fight losing skid. His last victory was also a first-round stoppage; a 23-second knockout of Szymon Bajor at Fight Exclusive Night 28 on June 13, 2020. Oleinik, 45, competed in his final UFC bout in Octo...

Logan Paul, KSI to fight (separately) as part of Misfits Boxing 'The Prime Card'

Logan Paul and KSI will top an upcoming Misfits Boxing card entitled “The Prime Card,” they announced Friday on social media . The event takes place Oct. 14 at AO Arena in Manchester, England and streams on DAZN pay-per-view. Opponents for the two influencers-turned-boxers have not yet been announced. It is unclear if the bouts will be professional or exhibition. Paul, 28, has not competed in a professional boxing match since he fought and lost to  KSI in November 2019. The bout was a rematch of an August 2018 amateur fight which ended in a draw. In June 2021, Paul competed in an exhibition bout against Floyd Mayweather and went all eight rounds in a non-scored bout. While he’s been relatively inactive in boxing, Paul has thrilled fans with his athleticism in intermittent appearances in pro wrestling bouts for WWE. KSI, 30, has competed four times since the pro bout against Paul. All four of those matches were exhibitions. KSI won three of them inside the distance, while a f...