Latest news with #AngeLoosa
Forbes
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC Cuts Veteran After ‘Toughest Loss' During 3-Fight Winless Streak
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 27: UFC president Dana White (Photo by) We've learned over the past few years that the UFC cuts fighters in small waves of three to five at a time. Usually, you see the names and you're like "yeah, I saw that coming." Other times, the names on the cut reports raise your eyebrows a bit. Wednesday's news was one of those other times. Respected veteran welterweight Ange Loosa was among four fairly well-known fighters to be removed from the UFC's active roster, per UFC Roster News. The move comes just over three weeks after Loosa suffered the only stoppage loss of his pro MMA career against Phil Rowe on June 14 in Atlanta. ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JUNE 11: Ange Loosa poses for a portrait during a UFC photo session on June 11, ... More 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Loosa's release is especially tough to swallow because he appeared to be headed for a victory via decision after holding a noticeable edge in significant strikes through the first two rounds. Loosa was fatigued and he didn't fight smart in the third round. He chose to stand in the pocket against a fighter who had a massive height and reach advantage. He paid the price and suffered a brutal KO loss as Rowe held his face against the Octagon fence and pounded away before falling forward to the canvas. In case you missed it, take a look at the finish. After the loss, Loosa took to Instagram and wrote: It's been a tough stretch for Loosa overall. He hadn't won since he scored a unanimous decision win over Rhys McKee in September 2023. Since that win, he had a no-contest in March 2024 against Bryan Battle which ended after Loosa suffered an eye poke that he couldn't recover from during the fight. Loosa also dropped a unanimous decision to Gabriel Bonfim in July 2024. Despite his activity and pedigree as a member of Kill Cliff FC, the UFC moved on from Loosa. These kinds of roster moves are nothing new for the UFC, especially when a fighter isn't on a winning streak or doesn't have an obvious path to title contention. With more events on the calendar than ever, the promotion often trims the middle and bottom tiers of its divisions to make space for rising prospects from Dana White's Contender Series or international circuits. That pattern, combined with a lackluster recent stretch, likely contributed to Loosa's exit. The welterweight division has its share of top contenders, young up-and-comers like Michael Morales and a new champion in Jack Della Maddalena. There's also Islam Makhachev who is new to the division, but set to challenge JDM for his title. To put it plainly, the UFC isn't desperate for 170-pound contenders which could explain why Loosa would be expendable. When you add in the looming returns of fighters like Shavkat Rakhmonov, the potential for someone like Ian Garry to make a leap, the division is loaded. Loosa had some good moments in the UFC, but in this kind of climate, those don't always translate to job security. Loosa is just 31. He has time to rebound and make another run. In his Instagram post after the loss to Rowe, he said he would make adjustments and be back. I'm sure he thought that would be in the UFC. As it is, he may need to rebuild and impress before getting another shot in the Octagon. Promotions like the PFL might offer a fresh start, especially if Loosa can secure a few dominant wins on the regional circuit.
USA Today
04-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month for June: A record-setting UFC flyweight war
That will do it 🤯What a win for Philip Rowe! #UFCAtlanta With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from June 2025: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month award for June. At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice. Nominee: Phil Rowe def. Ange Loosa at UFC on ESPN 69 For nearly 90 seconds, Ange Loosa's (10-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) mouthpiece laid on the canvas, and in about that same time, Phil Rowe (11-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) started to mount a comeback in the welterweight bout. With less than a minute left in the fight, Rowe put Loosa away with a vicious TKO that easily could have been stopped sooner by referee Brent McKeehan, and finally was when Loosa collapsed to the canvas. Nominee: Tagir Ulanbekov def. Azat Maksum at UFC on ABC 8 Tagir Ulanbekov (17-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) showed again that he is an emerging threat in the flyweight division with a entertaining win over Azat Maksum (15-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC). Ulanbekov extended his winning streak to four fights by being a step ahead of Maksum throughout the 15-minute affair, ultimately leaving with the unanimous decision nod. A post shared by 🇰🇿OMG (@qazomg) Nominee: JunYong Park def. Ismail Naurdiev at UFC on ABC 8 JunYong Park got one of the wilder decision wins in middleweight history when he claimed the win after Ismail Naurdiev was deducted two points for an illegal blow. With Naurdiev finding success early, he threw an illegal knee that cut Park open and nearly stopped the fight. Park battled on after the two-point deduction and rallied back to dominantly defeat Naurdiev with one ultra-rare 29-25 scorecard. A post shared by Combat Buzz (@combatbuzz) Nominee: Nazim Sadykhov def. Nikolas Motta at UFC on ABC 8 Azerbaijan's Nazim Sadykhov (11-1-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC) sent the Baku crowd into a frenzy when, after a back-and-forth war for nearly two rounds, he blasted and dropped a bloodied Nikolas Motta (15-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) for the TKO finish. Both men were hurt and on the ropes throughout the just over nine minutes of chaotic action. Sadykhov was the winner, both men were rewarded as each got $100,000 in bonus money for Fight of the Night and an individual Performance of the Night award. NAZIM SADYKOV GETS THE KO AFTER AN EPIC FIGHT AT #UFCBAKU 💥 🇦🇿 The winner: Joshua Van def. Brandon Royval at UFC 317 If it wasn't already apparent that he's elite, Joshua Van (15-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) proved that Saturday at UFC 317 when he defeated Brandon Royval (17-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) in an elite flyweight featured fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Van's power and timing proved the difference. In Round 1, he out-timed Royval in the exchanges and appeared to land the more effective shots. Although Rovval came on strong in Round 3, Van dug deeped and out-dogged "Raw Dawg." In the final moments of the bout, Van may have stole the fight on the judges' scorecards as he badly stunned and dropped Royval. Though the buzzer saved Royval, he was still wobbly when he got up the shake hands with Van after the horn. The bout was one of the year's best by many accounts. Van and Royval showed off elite technical abilities, but also provided exciting levels of violence. Prior to the bout, Dana White said the winner of the bout would be next for flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, and Van faced off with him in the octagon that same night. Cast Your Vote!
USA Today
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
The Thrill and Agony: UFC on ESPN 69 winner and loser social media reactions
The Thrill and Agony: UFC on ESPN 69 winner and loser social media reactions Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums, and – perhaps most importantly – social-media platforms. Fighters interact with fans, each other and many more through the likes of X, Facebook and Instagram, which helps outsiders get a deeper look into the minds of the athletes. Following Saturday's UFC on ESPN 69 in Atlanta, several of the winning and losing fighters, along with their coaches, training partners or family members, took to social media to react to the event or share a message with supporters. Check out some of those reactions. The defeated: Ange Loosa The defeated: Cameron Smotherman The defeated: Kris Moutinho The defeated: Court McGee The defeated: Oumar Sy The defeated: Cody Garbrandt The defeated: Miranda Maverick The defeated: Joaquin Buckley The no contest: Rodolfo Bellato The no contest: Paul Craig The victorious: Jamey-Lyn Horth The victorious: Phil Rowe The victorious: Ricky Simon The victorious: Jose Ochoa The victorious: Malcolm Wellmaker The victorious: Michael Chiesa The victorious: Alonzo Menifield The victorious: Raoni Barcelos The victorious: Edmen Shahbazyan The victorious: Rose Namajunas The victorious: Kamaru Usman
