logo
UFC on ESPN 67 adds Gaston Bolanos vs. Quang Le to Des Moines lineup

UFC on ESPN 67 adds Gaston Bolanos vs. Quang Le to Des Moines lineup

USA Today02-04-2025
The UFC's return to Des Moines, Iowa, has another fight.
At UFC on ESPN 67 on May 3, Peru's Gaston Bolanos will battle Vietnam's Qaung Le in a three-round bantamweight bout at Wells Fargo Arena.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Bolanos (8-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) competed nine times under the Bellator banner before he jumped to the UFC. After a debut win over Aaron Phillips, Bolanos lost to Marcus McGhee. He rebounded in his most recent outing with a win over Cortavious Romious.
Le (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) seeks his first UFC win in his third attempt. After establishing himself as a knockout artist on the regional scene, including wins in seven LFA appearances, Le signed with the UFC in mid-2024. He lost his debut to Chris Gutierrez before a knockout defeat to Xiao Long.
With the addition the UFC on ESPN 67 lineup includes:
Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
Reinier de Ridder vs. Bo Nickal
Mason Jones vs. Jeremy Stephens
Mario Bautista vs. Marlon Vera
Yana Santos vs. Miesha Tate
Montel Jackson vs. Daniel Marcos
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Trevor Peek
Serhiy Sidey vs. Cameron Smotherman
Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos
Azamat Bekoev vs. Ryan Loder
Don'Tale Mayes vs. Thomas Petersen
Juliana Miller vs. Ivana Petrovic
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC on ESPN 67.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Josh Thomson scolds UFC for releasing Martin Buday from 'weak' heavyweight division
Josh Thomson scolds UFC for releasing Martin Buday from 'weak' heavyweight division

USA Today

timean hour ago

  • USA Today

Josh Thomson scolds UFC for releasing Martin Buday from 'weak' heavyweight division

Josh Thomson can't fathom why the UFC would let go of rising heavyweight contender Martin Buday. The UFC parted ways with Buday (16-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) just days after he fought out his contract in a unanimous decision win over Marcus Buchecha (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) earlier this month at UFC on ABC 9 in Abu Dhabi. Buday, 33, was released as the No. 12 ranked UFC heavyweight. "Let's not pretend there is a ton of great heavyweights," Thomson said on his "Weighing In" podcast. "If you want to get him beat, then get him beat so he leaves. Not re-signing him? One of two things happened: The contract negotiations didn't go well or he's just been so boring that they were like, 'Look, we don't want to have anything to do with you. You're too wrestling-based, you're too top-control based.'" Thomson takes issue with the UFC's decision, especially because of how shallow the heavyweight division is. "What I get upset about, though, is stop saying you have the best fighters in the world when you're pushing away some of the best fighters," Thomson added. "This guy is 7-1 in a weak heavyweight division where you need the best fighters. You can say this guy is the best fighter. Have him fight the guys in the top seven, top eight. If he wins, he wins. Maybe the cream rises to the top. Maybe you get a great performance out of him that makes him something that he never would have been. "If he's used to being that guy, have him fight Jailton Almeida, have him fight (Alexander) Volkov who's used to being taken down. Let's see what happens. Let's see if he rises to the occasion. You can sometimes find that little diamond in the rough by making them fight somebody that's going to pull it out of them. I just hate when I hear all the best fighters are in the UFC because we know that's not true. It bothers me when they're cutting guys that are good, and who are beating UFC fighters, and they still let them go." Buday earned his UFC contract though Dana White's Contender Series in 2021 when he knocked out Lorenzo Hood. His lone octagon loss came to Shamil Gaziev by TKO in December 2023.

McMenamin: LeBron James is still monitoring the Lakers' moves
McMenamin: LeBron James is still monitoring the Lakers' moves

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

McMenamin: LeBron James is still monitoring the Lakers' moves

Ever since LeBron James opted into the final season of his contract in late June, there has been lots of speculation about his immediate future with the Los Angeles Lakers. That speculation stemmed from a statement his agent, Rich Paul, gave to ESPN that stated, in part, that the two "want to evaluate what's best" for the superstar moving forward. James is 40 years of age and is headed toward his record 23rd season in the NBA. It does appear he will start the new season as a member of the Lakers, but what happens afterward with him is anyone's guess, especially now that the franchise revolves around Luka Doncic, who just agreed to a three-year contract extension. ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported that James is supportive of Doncic being with the team, but that the four-time MVP is still looking at what the team will do to build a championship-caliber roster (at 10:42). "I'm told that the statement that Rich Paul gave to Shams Charania back in June when LeBron opted in still stands," McMenamin said. "LeBron and his representatives will be monitoring the Lakers' moves that they make, because they recognize that there's only a very limited amount of time left in his career and he wants to be competing for championships, whatever time that is." It has been rumored that James and his camp have been unhappy that the Lakers are now catering to Doncic and not James. However, Charania also reported that James is supportive of this shift. With Doncic now under contract for at least the next three years, Los Angeles can fully shift its focus to building a championship team around both superstars. Once James leaves, there's no telling how long it will take the team to find another star to put alongside Doncic, and therefore, now is the time for it to go for its 18th NBA championship, especially since Doncic made it clear that he wants to get a ring now. This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: McMenamin: LeBron James is still monitoring the Lakers' moves

Chael Sonnen confident that Ilia Topuria vs. Arman Tsarukyan is '100 percent' UFC's plan
Chael Sonnen confident that Ilia Topuria vs. Arman Tsarukyan is '100 percent' UFC's plan

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Chael Sonnen confident that Ilia Topuria vs. Arman Tsarukyan is '100 percent' UFC's plan

Chael Sonnen thinks Arman Tsarukyan is the No. 1 contender after all. Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) pulled out of his lightweight title bout against Islam Makhachev just one day before UFC 311 in January, resulting in Dana White saying that he had to earn his way back to a shot. UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) recently claimed that he'd vacate his belt before defending it against Tsarukyan, and sees either Justin Gaethje or Paddy Pimblett as first title defense. However, despite all those stipulations, Sonnen says he's hearing otherwise. "Outside of illness or injury, even if I'm breaking news to you, I'm not sharing my opinion. I'm sharing a fact with you: It's Arman vs. Ilia," Sonnen told MMA Junkie. "That is 100 percent the plan." Sonnen explained where he came up with his theory. "There's a couple things (that have changed for Tsarukyan)," Sonnen said. "I'm obviously coming to you with information, whether I should have or shouldn't have. Secondly, I was the best man at his wedding and his name is Darryl Christian and he's the wrestling coach of Arman Tsarukyan. Third of all, I just spoke to coach (Sam Calavitta) who wanted to film Chimaev training, and it turned out Tsarukyan is in the room. And a bigger tell also is what Ilia did a week ago, which he said, 'I don't want the fight.' The greats, they don't even know they have it. ... Ilia's first move for doing a fight is to deny the fight. The only person that he said he'll openly fight is Paddy. "Everybody else that he's getting ready to fight, he denies. It's just his approach. Anderson (Silva) had one. He would always deny the fight and he would let that run for about two weeks. He would then accept the fight. He would let that run for about a month then he would slip an injury report to the media where you think the fight is off and it's not going to happen. He would go and get his run out of that and would tell everybody, 'I'm fine, it's on.' I'm only sharing. That was his system – 100 percent of his fights, he built the same way. Ilia's not any different, whether he knows about it or not. Ilia's first move when he's going to fight a guy, aside from Paddy, is to say to, 'I'm not going to fight the guy.'" Tsarukyan weighed in as the official backup for the vacant lightweight title fight between Topuria and Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June, but his services weren't needed. Tsarukyan hasn't competed since defeating Oliveira at UFC 300 last April. "(Tsarukyan) got put through a purgatory and he had to get out of it, but he did," Sonnen said. "When he showed up, got licensed, weighed in, went through a training camp and he has to sit in the first row and even watch Paddy 'The Baddy' get in the ring and get the attention and not him, I'm just saying, there is an appreciation, historically, that has shined down – and it's also going to be shown to him." Like many pundits, Sonnen agrees that Tsarukyan is Topuria's sternest test on paper – but still sees "El Matador" being the favorite. "Matchup-wise, the hardest matchup for Ilia is Arman Tsarukyan. ... I think that the world would lean toward Topuria right now," Sonnen said. "He's just the flavor. He's hot. He's undefeated and he's the champion of the world. (He) should be two-division champion, BMF champion, lineal-wise. But if Tsarukyan gets his hand on you, you've got a problem." To hear more from Sonnen, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst: Ilia Topuria vs. Arman Tsarukyan '100 percent' the plan

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store