UFC 317 Preview
The UFC is returning to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, June 28 for UFC 317. The main event will be for the lightweight championship as former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will battle former lightweight champion #2 Charles Oliveira.
Topuria is undefeated and is coming off a third round TKO victory over legend Max Holloway in his only defense of the featherweight title. He won the belt with a devastating second round KO victory over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. He vacated the title for a chance to move up to lightweight and become a two-weight champion.
How does the Spanish fighter feel about moving up a weight class? “The reality is I belong (in) this weight division,” Topuria said. “My muscle is on point, my power’s on point, everything is on point.”
Topuria looked like he was on track to become one of the greatest featherweight champions of all-time, but he believes he will be a better fighter at 155 pounds. “I think that I am a better fighter right now,” Topuria said. “More mature, more experienced. You’re going to see, for sure, a better version of myself, Topuria said.
"When I was fighting in the featherweight division at this point, I was feeling really, really bad. I think I made a great decision. This is one of the best training camps that I’ve ever had.”
The 28-year-old has a prediction for the fight on Saturday. "From the first second, he's going to feel the speed and the power. He's going to start to look for the takedowns and for the ground game. But I think that it's going to be very, very quick, because I'm going to finish him in the in the first two or three minutes.
"He has done amazing things in the sport. I respect him as a sportsman. As a human being, he seems to be a nice guy. But we are going to fight. And when we are competing with each other, I go all in. Just be careful,” said Topuria.
Oliveira is 2-2 in his last four fights with one of the losses being to Islam Makhachev for the vacant lightweight title that was stripped from Oliveira when he missed weight at UFC 274 in 2022. He most recently defeated Michael Chandler for the second time at UFC 309 in November.
The former champion knows what type of challenge he faces in Topuria. “A guy that continues to be thirsty, a guy who is hungry for the win,” said Oliveira. “Yeah, he is younger, comes in undefeated. But does he want it more than I do, does he have more hunger and more thirst than I have?
“This is for my legacy, this is for my history. I’m ready for this fight.”
While he knows Topuria is worthy of the title shot, Oliveira believes he will get back the lightweight belt. “It’s something emotional,” Oliveira said. “I have all the confidence in the world that on Saturday, you’re going to hear Charles Oliveira is the champion, and I’m going to be the champion once again.”
The Brazilian believes in the strategy that once made him champion. “It’s always just push forward, walk forward and charge forward,” Oliveira said. “That’s what I do. It’s just: be myself and do that. I’ve worked a lot to become a champion, to be a champion and I’m sure I’m going to be a champion again.”
Oliveira is trying to go down as one of the greatest lightweights ever. “I came to the UFC to make history,” he said. “I am illuminated. I tell people to listen to what I’m saying: ‘I’m going to be a champion again. I’m going to become a champion once again.’”
The co-main event will be for the flyweight title as champion Alexandre Pantoja will defend his belt against #4 Kai Kara-France.
Pantoja has won his last seven fights and this will be his fourth defense of the title. He most recently defeated Kai Sakura by second round submission at UFC 310 in December. The 35-year-old believes Kara-France comes into this fight extra motivated.
"I see the different things that Kai Kara-France has. He has a family right now. He has kids. He has a reason to fight. And because I think about that, I think that's good (motivation) for me.
"All the time, I (look at) my opponent as the best in the world. That's why I'm training so hard for this moment. But I'm going to still be with this belt. The same thing happened in 2016, when I beat Kai. Now I want to beat Kai in 2025,” Pantoja said.
The champion has respect for his opponents abilities. "Kai has some of the best takedown defense in the whole division. That's so nice to have one guy like that, because everybody knows how my grappling is working in the Octagon, and that's a good challenge," he said.
Pantoja continued, "But I don't just focus on my grappling. I fight MMA, and I put everything together. Maybe people don't realize how hard I punch, but maybe you will see that in this fight. Kai is going to feel my hands, too.”
The Brazilian concluded, "Kai Kara-France showed to everybody that he's a high-level fighter. But I think I can win the fight, whatever the zone – grappling, striking.
"I have five rounds to prove to all the world that I'm the best fighter in the division. All the time, I say that it's a new chance (to prove that). I don't feel like I'm champion of the world right now. I want to show for myself that I'm champion of the world on June 28.”
Kara-France is 4-2 in his last six fights and most recently defeated Steve Erceg by first round TKO at UFC 305 last August. He fought for the interim title in 2022 but lost by third round TKO to two-time champion Brandon Moreno.
The 32-year-old believes he is a bad matchup for the champion. “Sylistically, this is a tough matchup, not just for myself but for him as well. If he tries to get me to the ground, he can’t keep me there. I’m too quick, I’m too fast,” Kara-France said. “I’ve got one of the best takedown defenses in this flyweight division. Pantoja’s biggest weakness is that he will be too stubborn, and he will try to walk me down, and eventually, he will get sloppy.
“One thing I always have in my back pocket is that I can finish the fight whenever,” Kara-France added. “In a division, there are not many knockouts; I’ve got 12 of them. Fighting for a world title, I’m excited because this is 15 years of fighting. It’s a long time to work on one goal, a goal I haven’t ticked off. I want to be the first one to knock him out in the UFC flyweight division. And, bring another belt back to New Zealand. That’s what I’m chasing.”
The rest of the main card:
Renato Moicano -148 vs. Beneil Dariush +116, lightweights
Brandon Royval -120 vs. Joshua Van +100, flyweights
Payton Talbott vs. Felipe Lima, bantamweights
ESPN+ Prelims:
Gregory Rodrigues -186 vs. Jack Hermansson +148, middleweights
Jose Delgado -167 vs. Hyder Amil +133, featherweights
Tracy Cortez -240 vs. Viviane Araujo +180, women's strawweights
Terrance McKinney -195 vs. Viacheslav Borschev +155, lightweights
Jhonata Diniz -265 vs. Alvin Hines +200, heavyweights
Jacobe Smith -1667 vs. Niko Price +950, welterweights
UFC Baku Preview
The UFC is invading the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan on Saturday, June 21 for UFC on ABC 8. The main event will be in the light heavyweight division between former champion #4 Jamahal Hill and former title challenger #7 Khalil Rountree Jr.
Hill is trying to rebound from two straight losses to former champions Alex Pereira and most recently by third round TKO to Jiri Prochazka. He won the vacant belt at UFC 283 in 2023 with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Glover Texeira but has been unable to claim victory since then.
The 34-year-old reflected on his current skid. “You have to make adjustments based off of what you see and what's happening in the fight,” he said. “This is a level everybody is fairly (good) at that, and then you're going to run into some guys that are really good at adjusting and really good at changing things up mid-fight. You gotta be ready for that, as well.”
Hill and Rountree were originally scheduled to fight in June of 2024, and despite Hill publicly disparaging Rountree’s rise to a title shot, he does have respect for his opponent.
“The biggest thing is that he’s always dangerous,” Hill said. “He comes, he throws, he throws with a lot of power, a lot of ferocity. He likes to be very, very aggressive. He’s kind of ruthless in the way that he comes at his opponents, so you got to be aware of that. But, for me, he's got to worry about everything. I have my own ferocity. I have my own speed. I believe I'm faster. I'm the taller, longer fighter, and I believe I have more experience against better competition.”
Hill continued, “He's got my undivided attention, which unfortunately for him is a bad place to be.”
There is a new champion in the division in Magomed Ankalaev and Hill wants to return to championship form with a win on Saturday. “Sweet Dreams (is) coming back to form, getting back to that championship form and just back to dominance,” he said. “That's the main thing I love to get back to.
“I'm looking to return the dominance to where I was before.”
Aside from Texeira, Hill has key victories over Thiago Santos, Johnny Walker and Jimmy Crute. He fought Pereira in what many considered to be a quick turn around after surgery for a torn achilles, but the pundits believe Prochazka exposed holes in his game in his last fight. However, a convincing win over Rountree will put him right back in the title conversation.
Rountree will be fighting for the first time since losing in a title fight by by fourth round TKO to Alex Pereira at UFC 307 in October. Prior to that he had won five straight fights and proved he is one of the most lethal strikers in the light heavyweight division.
The 35-year-old responded to Hill’s remarks leading up to this fight. "I think that's a mixture of a lot of things, but it's also not the first time that I've heard this," Rountree said. "I heard it against Alex (Pereira), we've heard it against Jiri (Prochazka). 'Alex is not on my level, Jiri is not on my level, Khalil Rountree is not on my level.' So, I'm just going to leave it at that (laughs). I'm prepared.”
Rountree fought a competitive fight against Pereira before being stopped. Does he believe a win over Hill puts him back in the title conversation?
"It's so hard to say with guys' decisions and choosing to fight who and this and that," Rountree said. "So, I really don't know what to expect, who's going to fight who, but all I know is that by the end of the year, I would love to be right there fighting for the belt again. Whether it would be Alex or whoever else. I don't care who's there, it's about the belt and my biggest dream is I would love for it to be in Vegas. I would love to fight for the belt in Vegas, at home, and get a chance to win it at home.”
While Rountree is unsure of what might happen at the top of the division, he does feel like he is at his best right now. "There's been talks of what we'd like after this, and I think that the UFC have their own ideas and thoughts on what they would want," Rountree said. "My plan is to put on a performance that makes a title shot again undeniable, if that makes any sense.
"I'm definitely sure that I'm ready to be a champion, and I'm ready to be that champion. Everything that I'm working on and doing is to be prepared for that again. That's absolutely what I want and what I'm gunning for. So my plan is to put on an undeniable performance, so that I can get that chance again.”
Despite losing by TKO, Rountree feels he learned a valuable lesson in his last fight. "I saw how far I was willing to go," Rountree said. "I was really tested to the very end in that fight. I went as far as I possibly could. In my mind, I enjoyed the whole thing. I enjoyed it all the way through, and it was just something that I remember. I gave my absolute all in that fight, so I got to experience what that feels like. I think that it just helped me grow — and not necessarily be afraid of the fire, for lack of better words. I've been through the fire, and although I didn't make it out victorious, I've been there, and I felt that, I felt it. So I think it toughened me up a bit.
"No fight stands out to me like that one does as far as having to go into deep waters.”
The rest of the main card:
155 lbs.: Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
265 lbs.: Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev
155 lbs.: Myktybek Orolbai vs. Tofiq Musayev
155 lbs.: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta
145 lbs.: Muhammad Naimov vs. Bogdan Grad
Prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+:
170 lbs.: Seokhyeon Ko vs. Oban Elliott
185 lbs.: Ismail Naurdiev vs. Jun Yong Park
135 lbs.: Darya Zhelezniakova vs. Melissa Mullins
135 lbs.: Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Syguła
125 lbs.: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Azat Maksum
265 lbs.: Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman
UFC Atlanta Preview
The UFC is invading the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday June 14th for UFC on ESPN 69. The main event will be in the welterweight division between former champion #5 Kamaru Usman and surging contender #7 Jaoquin Buckley.
Usman is trying to rebound from three straight losses having most recently lost in a fight on 10 days notice at middleweight against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. Chimaev was widely considered one of the most feared fighters in the UFC before the fight but Usman not only stepped in on short notice but appeared to be the better fighter in the third round of a hard fought battle, albeit not enough to win over the judges.
Prior to the Chimaev fight he lost two straight against Leon Edwards the first of which he lost he welterweight title in one of the most shocking KO losses of all-time. While most fighters in the UFC would be on hard times having lost three straight fights, Usman has proven even in losses he is still an elite fighter.
Buckley called for this fight after his last victory and Usman responded. "I remember a time when people didn't want to fight me, and that was very frustrating and annoying. So, he can want what he wants, but it's my time, and it's my opportunity, my job, to be able to go in there and let him know that you've done a great job, but you're just not here yet, Usman Said.
Usman is happy to be welcoming new contenders into the ranks of the welterweight division. "It is exciting, because there's a lot of new guys, a lot of new blood, so I appreciate that," said Usman.
How does the 38-year-old feel about Buckley calling him out? "I think Buckley has done a great job with what he's been presented,” Usman said.
"I can't take anything away from him. He's gone out there and earned an opportunity to be in a position to get a fight like this, and I remember that was something that, when I was coming up, getting a fight with the top guys, it was very, very difficult. So for him to get that opportunity, that means he's done something right.”
Usman continued, "So I respect it, but I still believe that there's a difference with the way that we fight, with the way that myself and the rest of the division fights. So Saturday is going to be on me to go out there and show the world that."
While Usman respects Buckley, he is looking forward to facing the winner of the next welterweight title fight between Jack Della Madallena and Islam Makhachev. "I'm waiting for the that fight between JDM (Della Maddalena) and Islam (Makhachev), which is a fantastic fight. Both guys are extremely talented. Both guys are really, really good," he said.
"A fight with either one of those guys is going to be fantastic. A fight with myself and JDM – humongous fight. I know they probably want to do a stadium in Australia. I haven't been in the stadium yet. So, why not? And also a fight with the current pound-for-pound (Makhachev) and the former pound-for-pound. I think that's a blockbuster anyone would sign up for.”
The pundits are saying Usman’s days as a title contender are over. How does he feel?
"I'm in a place in my career and in my life where you understand that each and every moment, no matter how difficult, no matter how good or bad, is an opportunity, and understanding that once it's gone, it's gone; it's not there anymore," he said.
"So, understanding that it's an opportunity, you kind of approach it and see it a little differently. So, everyone excites me. Even now, going into the fight on Saturday, I'm nervous, I'm a little scared, I'm excited, and I'm anxious. So, all of these things wrapped up in one, I know, at the end of the day, it's still a blessing to have the opportunity to feel these things.”
Usman is a hall of famer and before he lost the title was considered one of the greatest if not the greatest welterweight of all-time. A win over Buckley puts him back in the title conversation, but how much time does the aging veteran have left?
Buckley has won six straight fights since returning to welterweight. He most recently defeated three-time title challenger Colby Covington by third round TKO in December. The 31-year-old from St. Louis experienced mixed success at middleweight but has looked as dangerous as ever at 170 pounds.
Usman has been known to be in heated rivalries in the past, but Buckley did not feel that same energy from Usman when they faced off at weight ins for their fight. “I always love to see the type of energy that fighters give other people and to see if they will give it to me,” Buckley said. “With Kamaru Usman, I feel like with a lot of fights he had and a lot of opponents that he would go back-and-forth with, whether that’s Masvidal, whether that’s Leon, whether that’s Colby Covington himself – he was quiet with me.
“Not about his body language, but just his demeanor. Him taking in a deep breath before he seen me. Little details like that mean a lot to me because he knows the person that he’s going to deal with in front of him is about to give him that action. I just can’t wait because I know with that type of energy, even though you might be nervous or worried about what’s in front of you, you’re going to be locked in, and those are the fighters to watch out for.”
For fans, a Buckley title shot feels inevitable if he defeats Usman in spectacular fashion. While Buckley had mixed results as middleweight, he does have the most viral and legendary knockout in UFC history where he KO’d Impa Kasanganay by spinning back kick in 2020. The KO put him on the fans radar but his most recent work of disposing of former title contenders has forced the welterweight division to take him seriously.
A win over Usman will undoubtedly put Buckley at the top of the contender list in a division where there is many moving parts to a title shot. Buckley has the benefit of having the fans on his side and a finish of Kamaru Usman will have the UFC community pleading for a title shot.
The rest of the main card on ESPN+:
Rose Namajunas vs. Miranda Maverick (Women’s Flyweight Co-Main Bout)
Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Andre Petroski (Middleweight)
Cody Garbrandt vs. Raoni Barcelos (Bantamweight)
Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Cody Brundage (Middleweight)
Alonzo Menifield vs. Oumar Sy (Light Heavyweight)
ESPN+ Prelims:
Paul Craig vs. Rodolfo Bellato (Light Heavyweight Featured Bout)
Michael Chiesa vs. Court McGee (Welterweight)
Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Kris Moutinho (Bantamweight)
Cody Durden vs. Jose Ochoa (Flyweight)
Ricky Simón vs. Charles Jourdain (Bantamweight)
Philip Rowe vs. Ange Loosa (Welterweight)
Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Vanessa Demopoulos (Women’s Flyweight)
UFC 316 Preview
The UFC is invading the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, June 7th for UFC 316. The main event will be a rematch for the bantamweight title between champion Merab Dvalishili and former champion #1 Sean O’Malley.
The two fighters first battled at UFC 306 in 2024 where Dvalishili was victorious by unanimous decision ending O’Malley’s title reign. Since then Dvalishili has defended the belt successfully against Umar Nurmagomedov in January while O’Malley has not fought since losing the belt, but was granted an immediate rematch.
Pundits were outspoken against the idea of O’Malley getting a rematch without having to win a fight after losing the title. The champion is already thinking about who he will defend the belt against next. “Right now, clear contender looks like it’s Cory Sandhagen, especially [because] we never fought each other,” Dvalishvili said. “He has a good style, a good fighter. He beat a lot of good guys in this division.
“I’m sure MMA fans want to see this fight. But most important is what the UFC wants. I am champion now and whoever the UFC will give me, I will fight the next contender, the next best guy in the division.”
While it may appear that Dvalishili is looking beyond O’Malley, he believes he is going to get a better version of the former champion this time around. “He should be 70 percent better because he quit a lot of stuff,” Dvalishvili said about O’Malley. “He quit social media, he quit smoking weed and I’m sure he was more focused on wrestling, getting better knockout power. I want to test all of that. I’m ready for the best version of Sean O’Malley.”
The 34-year-old talked about how he stayed inspired for a rematch. “It’s hard to keep the same energy against the same guy, motivate myself, but this is the challenge for me,” Dvalishvili said. “Sean wants to avenge his loss, he hits hard, but I put everything into my training camp, did my best, and now I’m ready to show.
“I’m super-motivated and I believe I’m a better fighter (than the last time we fought). I have to win, but Sean always has a chance. Even though I am a better fighter than him, it’s a fight, it’s a sport, and anything is possible, which is why I have to make sure I fight hard and smart at the same time.”
Dvalishili wants to dominate the fight even more than the first showdown with O’Malley. “I want to leave no questions,” said Dvalishvili.
“Right now, at this moment, only Cory Sandhagen is a clear contender — Petr (Yan) has another fight, the other guys don’t deserve it, so Sean is the most deserving guy right now.”
“I’m gonna fight the top contender, and then after, if Cory Sandhagen wants the smoke, I will go with him,” he added. “I just want to stay busy and keep fighting.”
O’Malley won the belt at UFC 292 with a second round TKO of Aljamain Sterling and the defended the belt with a dominant five round decision in a rematch with Marlon Vera at UFC 299. The former champion talked about having a rematch to regain his the title.
“More motivated to beat Merab, for sure. I don’t think he got the best version of me,” O’Malley said.
The former champion has talked about how he was not 100% in the first fight, but does not want to make excuses. “I never felt like I was in a bad place or a sad place,” he said. “But I always felt like I could feel better. Whether it helps my performance or not, I feel better.”
O’Malley respects Dvalishili but feels he will give a much better performance this time around. “Merab’s in his prime right now,” O’Malley said. “But I don’t think he got the best version of me, so I think I can surprise him. The mindset is don’t let him touch me — if he doesn’t touch me, I win the fight.”
The 30-year-old has made it clear that what fans saw in the first fight will not happen again on Saturday. "Different fight this time," O'Malley said. "You know that.”
The co-main event of UFC 316 will be for the women’s bantamweight title as champion Julianna Pena will defend against #2 Kayla Harrison.
Pena is two-time champion who won the belt for the second time in her last fight with a split decision victory over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 in October. The 35-year-old first won the belt in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history at UFC 269 in 2021, with a second round submission over the women’s G.O.A.T Amanda Nunes. She would then lose the belt in a rematch with Nunes at UFC 277 in 2022.
Despite being the champion, Pena is coming into this fight as the underdog. Being doubted is something she has come to expect in the UFC. “I thought beating the greatest of all time was going to give me that respect and it didn’t, so you never know,” Peña said. “I say this often, but it’s so true, it’s never enough. It doesn’t matter what you do, it’s never enough. Everybody’s always going to want more from you.”
The trash talk from Pena has been heavy ever since this fight was announced and if she can emerge victorious, she could potentially be welcoming back Amanda Nunes for a trilogy match.
Harrison is 2-0 in the UFC after a successful run as a PFL champion. She has wins over former champion Holly Holm and a unanimous decision win in her last fight over Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307 in October.
The 34-year-old is savoring the moment of fighting for the title after only two fights in the UFC. “I’m feeling ready, grateful for this opportunity and ready to make the most of it,” Harrison said. “The goal was always to be UFC champion, and I didn’t know how long and winding of a road it would be, but we’re finally here, so I’m excited.”
Harrison talked about what led to this title shot. “I had no expectations; the goal was to be so good that they couldn’t ignore me and to get a shot. The sooner the better, but all in God’s time – God’s plan,” Harrison begins, “I believe it’s all working out how it’s supposed to.”
How does she feel heading into the biggest fight of her career? “I think it all feels like it’s coming together, I am the best I’ve ever been, my Fight IQ is the best it’s ever been, my confidence is the highest it’s ever been, my belief is on point and I’m just grateful,” Harrison shares, “I am super grateful that I get to do what I love every single day. A lot of people don’t get to say that, a lot of people clock in and clock out, but I’m literally living my dream.”
She continued, “I don’t think anyone’s leaning Julianna’s way,” Harrison expresses, “I’m prepared and there’s just no stopping me; what’s mine is mine and this is my destiny.”
The former Olympic Judo champion believes she has all the tools to defeat Pena. “I think I’m better everywhere. I think I’m bigger, faster, stronger. I think I have a wealth of experience behind me now. I think I’m a better striker, a better grappler, but she’s a fighter. She’s got heart and she’s not going to give up easily. It’s just about me going out there and instilling my will and being smart.”
How does Harrison want to win? “The goal is always a KO, TKO or submission. In a perfect world, I think that a TKO with some elbows to the (head) would sit nicely with me.”
The rest of the main card:
Joe Pyfer -400 vs. Kelvin Gastelum +310, middleweights
Patchy Mix -170 vs. Mario Bautista +140, bantamweights
Kevin Holland -280 vs. Vicente Luque +230, welterweights
ESPN+ Prelims:
Joshua Van -550 vs. Bruno Silva +400, flyweights
Azamat Murzakanov -550 vs. Brendson Ribeiro +400, light heavyweights
Serghei Spivac -140 vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta +120, heavyweights
Wang Cong -550 vs. Ariane da Silva +400, women's flyweights
Yoo Joo-sang -500 vs. Jeka Saragih +380, featherweights
Quillan Salkilld -440 vs. Yanal Ashmouz +340, lightweights
UFC 315 Preview
The UFC is invading The Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Saturday, May 10th for UFC 315. The main event will be in the welterweight division as champion Belal Muhammad will be defending his title against #5 Jack Della Maddalena.
Muhammad will be making his first defense of the title since winning the belt with a unanimous decision victory over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July. The 36-year-old has not lost since 2019 and during that stretch he has gone 10-0-1.
The champion has a different mindset than most title holders heading into this fight. “We're still chasing the belt,” Muhammad said. “I'm not defending it. I'm still that challenger. I got to have the challenger’s mindset, and we're never satisfied. We want to be the best.”
“To be the best, we got to keep winning our next fight.”
Hard work has paid off for Muhammad. “This is where I always pictured myself,” Muhammad said. “I got what I always wanted, always dreamed of, and the hard work is starting to pay off. We're here now. These are the problems you wish for, right? The extra interviews, the extra talking, the media. But I'm happy because it was all worth it.”
The Chicago native is laser-focused on proving he is better than Maddalena. “I was in his place last fight; I was the challenger,” Muhammad said. “I was the guy that had my first moment to fight for the belt, so I know what he's thinking. I know what he's feeling. But the thing that he doesn’t realize is he's fighting a champion that has that same mindset. I'm still that guy that wants what he has. He has 17-fight winning streak. I want that win streak. I want to take that from him, and that mindset is going to give me time to keep me winning, to keep me hungry.”
Muhammad has an overall goal for his fighting career. "GOAT is the goal," Muhammad said. "I'm chasing GSP. I'm trying to catch up to him.”
Maddalena has won 17 straight fights since losing his first two fights as a pro. He is coming off a third round KO of former title challenger Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 a year ago. The Australian fighter has big plans for UFC 315.
“I’m going to try and finish him dominantly, that would be the way I’d like it to go down, a dominant finish. Then, it’s up to him at that point on what’s next for him, Della Maddalena said.
The 28-year-old knows he is in for the biggest challenge of his career. “Obviously, this is the big one,” Della Maddalena said. “I’ve been working this for a long time. But yeah, it’s just another fight. It’s a five-rounder. I was prepping for a five-rounder. Now I’m fighting the best guy in a five-rounder. I put all the work in. It’s the toughest fight of my life.”
Muhammad has made predictions that he is going to show Canelo Álvarez like boxing in this fight. Maddalena commented, “I’ll Floyd Mayweather his ass, take him to school.”
The co-main event of the evening will be for the women’s flyweight title as two-time champion Valentina Shevcheno will fight #2 Manon Fiorot.
Shevchenko regained the title she held for nearly five years in her last fight with a unanimous decision victory over Alexa Grasso at UFC 304 in a trilogy fight. Since 2018 she has gone 10-1-1 and is considered one of the greatest women’s fighters of all-time.
The champion reacted to Fiorot’s trash talk after she regained the title. “She started to throw this Tweet a little bit too soon, in my opinion, because I just fought,” Shevchenko said. “It was one month after the fight. But I understand, she was desperate. She had a little bit [of a delay]. But I think everything, at the end, worked perfectly.”
The talking by Fiorot does not bother Shevchenko. “My experience in martial arts, it’s so many years. I started when I was five and all these years before joining UFC I already was 17-time world champion in Muay Thai, in MMA, in kickboxing. So imagine how many different characters I was able to meet and how many words they could say. If everything would bother me, I never would achieve what I achieved. I think it’s my biggest ability to block all the energy that’s happening around and focus on your main goal.”
She concluded, “I like this, when people go in with so much confidence,” Shevchenko said. “They say, ‘It’s going to be a finish,’ something like that. But I like this moment when they feel frustration in the ring, inside of the octagon, when they feel that any plan that they had, it doesn’t work. This is the best feeling, to see them breaking up.”
Fiorot has won 12 straight fights and most recently defeated Erin Blanchfield by unanimous decision last March. She also has wins over Rose Namajunas and Katlyn Chookagian.
The challenger continues to dismiss the champion as a threat to her. “I think she’s not the best woman in the world,” Fiorot said. “She’s not as dominant as she was a few years ago because of the level of the division. When I saw her fight against Taila Santos, it was a split decision, and it was tight. The same thing with her fight with Grasso — losing that one fight.
“Yeah, definitely the level of the Flyweight division is higher than in the past.”
Fiorot is listed as the betting favorite but is in the for the toughest fight of her life. A win for Fiorot could shake things up at flyweight and could be fighting the winner of former champion #1 Alexa Grasso and #5 Natalia Silva also on the main card.
The rest of the main card:
Jose Aldo -220 vs. Aiemann Zahabi +175, bantamweight
Natalia Silva -225 vs. Alexa Grasso +175, women's flyweights
Benoit Saint Denis -1115 vs. Kyle Prepolec +750, lightweights
ESPN+ Prelims:
Lee Jeong Yeong -127 vs. Daniel Santos +102, featherweights
Mike Malott -200 vs. Charles Radtke +160, welterweights
Modestas Bukauskas -110 vs. Ion Cuțelaba -110, light heavyweights
Jasmine Jasudavicius -335 vs. Jessica Andrade +250, women's flyweights
Navajo Stirling -278 vs. Ivan Erslan +215, light heavyweights
Joshua Van -480 vs. Bruno Silva +360, middleweights
Alvarez vs. Scull Preview
The ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will host a dynamic title fight on Saturday, May 3rd. All-time great Canelo Alvarez is back in action against William Scull for the IBF middleweight title and he will be defending the WBA (Super), WBO and WBC titles.
Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KO) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Edgar Berlanga in September giving him his fifth straight victory since losing for just the second time in his career in 2022 to Dmitry Bicol for the WBA Super Light Heavyweight title.
The Mexican fighter was not shy about what type of fight fans will see out of him against Scull. “The only thing he will eat on Saturday will be my right fist," said Alvarez.
Alvarez refused to fight Scull in favor of Berlanga which forced him to vacate the IBF belt which Scull won with a win over Vladimir Shishkin in October. While Alvarez has been accused of ducking Scull, he responded by saying, "Everybody talks trash before the fight, but when they get in the ring with me, it's something different. He's going to feel something different, that's for sure. For me it's no different, but for him it is, and he's going to feel it, believe me, he said.
The 34-year-old will be fighting outside of the United States or Mexico for the first time in his career after signing a lucrative deal to fight four times in Saudi Arabia. Alvarez claims, “I'm getting ready to make history.”
The pundits are not giving Scull (23-0, 9 KO) much of a chance against Canelo, but the Cuban fighter does not care. "I fled Cuba, crossed borders and now I'm here to win. I don't care what the press says about me. I will fight calmly and with strategy," he said.
While Scull will be fighting the biggest fight of his career against the toughest fighter he has faced up to this point, he has remained confident. “They can say whatever they want. Even commentators can say whatever they want. It’s their criticisms because they really don’t know,” Scull said.
The 33-year-old is expecting a big result against Alvarez. “The knockout comes when it needs to come. A fight is a fight, and we’ll see if that difference will make a different fight on Saturday. If he has more knockouts or not, they just come in handy, but in my book, I’ve done my work and I’m able to do a great fight on Saturday.”
Alvarez is already one of the greatest fighters in boxing history with wins over Gennady Golovkin (twice), Billie Joe Saunders, Caleb Plant, Sergey Kovalev, Daniel Jacobs, Miguel Cotto, Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, Shane Mosley, Kermit Cintron and Alfonso Gomez. He has nothing left to prove other than getting up for fights against fighters who want to shock the world.
Scull’s highest quality win came in his last fight against Shishkin. A win over Alvarez would be one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, but many other fighters have been in the same position and have failed to defeat Alvarez. What will Scull do different?
UFC Des Moines Preview
The UFC is invading the Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, May 5th for UFC Fight Night. The main event will be in the bantamweight division between former interim title challenger #4 Corey Sandhagen and former two-time flyweight champion #5 Deiveson Figueiredo.
Sandhagen is trying to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov in August. Prior to that he had won three straight fights after losing an interim title fight to Petr Yan in 2021. The 33-year-old has not been able to win the fight that would have landed him a title shot. He believes another run at the title begins with a win over Figueiredo.
“The time to win the belt is now,” Sandhagen said. “A lot of the reason why I'm still kind of doing this whenever I need an extra push or motivation is I try to think of that 16, 17-year-old kid that was on the track running sprints on Thanksgiving and on Christmas and working his butt off because one day he wanted to be in the spot that I'm in right now. It's time to do it for me and for that kid.”
Sandhagen has key wins over Marlon Vera, Rob Font, Song Yadong and Frankie Edgar, but it is the losses that fuel him. “I try to just juice out the losses with as much good stuff as I can,” he said. “I'm in this for the long run. I have two goals. It's to be a world champion and then also to be the best martial artist that I can before I age out. One of those is unachievable, but winning the world title certainly is.”
While he is coming off a loss, Sandhagen did not let that stop him from getting back to working hard. “I worked my ass off from that loss up until now,” Sandhagen said. “The second I could start working out again, I was working out again. Me and Trevor, (it was) like we were in training camp. Learning, experimenting with new stuff, all of that. Trying to learn all of that. We worked real hard in that off-time, and it's going to come to light for sure.”
Along with the hard work, Sandhagen his driven by motivating others. “A big piece of why I'm doing this whole thing is because I think that there's no other better feeling in life than feeling inspired,” he said. “If I can make someone feel like they're like me and they can do something because I've done something, then that's a cool feeling.”
A win on Saturday puts Sandhagen back in the title conversation. A finish over Figueiredo will certainly put him at the top of that list.
Figueiredo is also coming off a loss in his last fight where he lost by unanimous decision to Petr Yan in November in one of the best fights of 2024. The 37-year-old is chasing history.
“I would love to be able to get the opportunity and get the title to be a double-champ one day,” Figueiredo said. “Also, (I want) to get my name to the Hall of Fame. I think these are goals that I have, and that's what I want, to I have my name written in the history of this division.”
The Brazilian believes a win over Sandhagen puts him in the position to make history. “The Top 5 is very deep,” Figueiredo said. “I think they're great fighters, experienced fighters, high level fighters. I think that anybody can have a title shot, and I think that with this win against Cory on Saturday, I think it puts me in line for a title shot. I believe I should have a chance to go for the title.”
The former champion knows he will not have an easy fight with Sandhagen. “I trained a lot to be ready for the versatility that he brings to the Octagon and also to be very aggressive against him,” Figueiredo said. “That's how I beat him. We did everything not to be surprised by any of his moves (and) to be very aggressive all the time to go at him.
“Cory is a guy that loves a marathon, loves to run around in the Octagon, so we trained for that.”
Figueiredo believes he knows how to claim victory on Saturday. “I've worked so much for this,” he said. “I've prepared myself. I visualize this guy moving around the Octagon with me, so I'm going to make that happen and get that win.”
The former two-time champion has already had a hall of fame worthy career, but a win over Sandhagen and challenging for the bantamweight title puts him into legendary status.
The rest of the main card on ESPN+ and ESPN:
Reinier de Ridder vs. Bo Nickal, middleweight
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez, welterweight
Montel Jackson vs. Daniel Marcos, bantamweight
Cameron Smotherman vs. Serhiy Sidey, bantamweight
Jeremy Stephens vs. Mason Jones, lightweight
ESPN+/ESPN Prelims:
Yana Santos vs. Miesha Tate, bantamweight
Ryan Loder vs. Azamat Bekoev, middleweight
Marina Rodriguez vs. Gillian Robertson, strawweight
Gaston Bolanos vs. Quang Le, bantamweight
Thomas Petersen vs. Don’Tale Mayes, heavyweight
Juliana Miller vs. Ivana Petrovic, flyweight
UFC Kansas City Preview
The UFC is invading the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri for UFC on ESPN 66. The main event will be in the welterweight division between #7 Ian Machado Garry and #13 Carlos Prates.
Garry is trying to rebound from the first loss of his career in his last fight where he was lost by unanimous decision to Shavkhat Rahkmonov at UFC 310 in December. Prior to the loss he collected key victories over Neil Magny, Geoff Neal, and Michael Venom Page.
The 27-year-old has had a difficult time admitting that he lost his last fight. “The ego in me doesn’t like to admit that my hand never got raised,” Garry said. “I still feel like, to this day, I didn’t lose that fight. He was gasping for air, grateful the fight was over. I was ready for more.”
Garry went on to explain why the fight against Rahkmonov was a victory to him. “The biggest emotion after that fight was joy. I was so proud and happy that I’d take a fight against the scariest man in the division on short notice, show up and put on a performance like that. I learned from the Shavkat fight that I am absolutely destined to be the best in the world, to be the champion. And, there will be a time where we will face off again, and I will prove to the world that I am the better fighter.”
The Irish fighter has not been shy about his true feelings on Prates. “Look the dude smokes American cigarettes. Drinks Irish whiskey,” Garry said. “Meanwhile, I’m in Brazil having [acai and paçoquinha]. I’m more Brazilian than this guy. I’ve got his whole country wanting me to win.”
He continued, “That’s his life choice,” Garry said. “That’s nothing for me to get involved in. He can do whatever he wants with his life and we can all sit here and talk about it. At the end of the day on Saturday night, you step into that octagon with someone who’s a complete professional.
“I’m going to manhandle him in every way, shape and form that I want. I will manipulate him and there’s nothing he can do to stop it.”
Garry also further explained why he thinks Prates can be defeated. “I like to do my job and watch my opponents and watch their fights,” Garry said. “I analyze. Look his team is called the Fighting Nerds. They do the same thing. They’ve never seen a fight where I quit before. So when I saw that, he put his hand in the air, he waved at the ref and said ‘I’m done.’ I have never seen that in MMA.
“That showed the true Carlos Prates as well. When the going gets tough he quits and on Saturday night, I’m going to put him in that position where he has to choose if he wants to quit.”
Despite coming off a loss, Garry believes his experience will help him prevail over Prates. “I want to prove I’m the best against everyone and I think Carlos is up there,” Garry said. “When you look at my previous opponents, I don’t think he’s as awkward as [Michael ‘Venom’ Page]. I don’t think he’s as fast as MVP. I don’t think he’s as well-rounded as Shavkat [Rakhmonov] and I think obviously because of the awkwardness because I’m long and tall, he doesn’t have the stylistic irritation that Geoff Neal does. For me, this is a guy I can go out there and put on full display that I’m just levels and levels above him.”
He concluded, “This guy is a one-trick pony,” Garry said. “He’s got a left hand, he’s got a left knee and he’s got a left leg. They’re all on one side. I’ve got everything I need. I can beat him everywhere for every second of this fight and that’s what I’m doing Saturday night.”
Prates has won 11 straight fights and is 5-0 in the UFC. He is coming off a first round KO of Neil Magny in November. The Brazilian also has a key win over Li Jingliang and he has won all his fights in the UFC by KO.
Prates is ready to silence Garry and prove he is a top contender in the welterweight division. “I’m going to show him a lot of things,” Prates said.“I’m going to show him who is the fighter. And I’m going to smash him. I’m going to knock him out and become really close to becoming UFC welterweight champion, really close to fighting for the title.”
The 31-year-old believes he has Garry figured out. “When some fighters do what he’s doing is because his mind is not so strong like mine,” Prates said. “He’s trying to break my mind because maybe at some point in his life or some fight, somebody did it to him. Now he’s afraid about me starting to do it with him, so he starts to do it with me. Nothing has changed. Saturday night, I’m going to go there, listen to my music, walk out, step in the cage and get one more win, one more bonus, knock him out and that’s it.”
The winner of the fight between Garry and Prates will have a great case to be at the top of the title conversation or at the very least book a title eliminator fight. Champion Belal Muhammad is fighting #3 Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in May. #1 contender Sean Brady is coming off a fourth round submission victory over former champion Leon Edwards in March. Rakhmonov is sitting at #3 in the rankings and has been playing the waiting game since defeating Garry. With a win Garry could leapfrog Rakhmonov despite losing to him in his last fight due to being the more active fighter. If Prates gets his hand raised on Saturday, he could be set for a fight with Rakhmonov or Brady, but Brady has said he is holding out for a title shot.
The rest of the main card:
205 lbs.: #15 Anthony Smith vs. Zhang Mingyang
145 lbs.: #12 Giga Chikadze vs. David Onama
185 lbs.: #14 Michel Pereira vs. Abus Magomedov
170 lbs.: Randy Brown vs. Nicolas Dalby
185 lbs.: Ikram Aliskerov vs. Andre Muniz
ESPN+ Prelims:
125 lbs.: Matt Schnell vs. Jimmy Flick
155 lbs.: Evan Elder vs. Gauge Young
145 lbs.: Chris Gutierrez vs. John Castaneda
135 lbs.: Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Heili Alateng
135 lbs.: Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Cameron Saaiman
115 lbs.: Jaqueline Amorim vs. Polyana Viana
145 lbs.: Timmy Cuamba vs. Roberto Romero
135 lbs.: Chelsea Chandler vs. Joselyne Edwards
UFC 314 Preview
The UFC is invading the Casey Center in Miami, Florida on Saturday 4/12 for UFC 314. The main event will be for the vacant featherweight championship as former champion Alexander Volanovski will battle #3 Diego Lopes.
Volkanovski is trying to rebound from two-straight KO losses with his most recent being to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 where he lost the belt. While he is 1-3 in his last four fights (two of which were for the lightweight belt), the former champion defended the 145 pound belt five times before falling in his last fight. The resume he put together as a champion makes him more than worthy to fight for the title that Topuria vacated.
The 36-year-old responded to the pundits that believe his latest run is a sign that he is no longer a championship fighter. “Look, I think a lot of people are going to look at [those losses] and be like it was a bad run and they obviously can point to skill and what not,” Volkanovski said. “It was a short-notice fight that I took [against Makhachev]. I wanted to take a high-risk fight with high reward. I was ready to take it on and I thought I could it done. Didn’t go that way. Quick turnaround and got caught again [by Topuria].
“But a lot of people are going to look at that and be like ‘he’s done,’ and they have every right to think that. But for me, the guy that’s turning up at the gym, seeing what I’m seeing in preparation, I know I’m not done. There’s only one way to change everyone’s opinion is go out there this weekend and remind everybody. That’s exactly what I plan on doing.”
Volkanovski fought Topuria just four months after being KO’d by Makhachev, but for this fight he has had over year off. How does he feel? “Preparation’s where you know you still got it,” Volkanovski explained. “A lot of people are going to look at the last two [losses], I had the time off and it’s easy to say he’s done. But I’m in the gym knowing I’m not done and so is my training partners. Again, I can just show everyone and remind them this weekend and that’s the beauty of it.
“People will forget and that’s why we love this game, right? People can be quickly reminded as well and that’s exactly what’s going to happen this weekend.”
While the Australian hoped to one day face Topuria again, he knows he is in for a tough test on Saturday. “I obviously wanted that rematch with Ilia to just remind everyone and to get that win back,” Volkanovski said. “But at least I still get to fight the new generation of fighter.
“The game’s evolved so I’m fighting a young, hungry guy who’s on a bit of a tear so I still got the next best thing for the vacant belt.”
Volkanovski has key wins his career over Yair Rodriguez, Brian Ortega, Max Holloway (three times), Chan-sung Jung, Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes. If he can become a two-time champion he will solidify his place in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Lopes has won five straight fights since losing his UFC debut in 2023. He most recently defeated Brian Ortega by unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September. What does fighting for the title mean to him?
“I was able to make my dream come true,” Lopes said. “My dream was to have something to eat because I would still fight with or without having something to eat. We went to tournaments to win and having something to eat. That’s what really mattered for us, really.
“And it was all worth it, man. I don’t regret anything. I’m happy with everything that happened. I left home 11 years ago and it all worked out. All the sacrifices and hard work. To be blessed with the opportunity of fighting for the belt is something that motivates me a lot. I’ll show I deserve this shot. I was away from my family and friends to have what I have today.”
Lopes had a rough start to his career but showed resiliency in and out of the cage. “I took a lot of risks in my life to make this happen,” Lopes said. “I think it goes to show what happens when you take advantage of the opportunities. This is why we're here. The reason why I was able to be here is because I took all these risks when I did not know what was going to happen. If you take advantage of opportunities that are given to your life that you have in front of you, you can make it, as well. I think that's what it shows.”
What does overcoming adversity mean to him? “I think it just inspires a lot of people to say if you don't give up, you can continue in your dreams; if you work hard and have a good head on your shoulders and have good people surrounding you, you can make things happen,” Lopes said. “Turn around and look at where I am. Four years after that loss on Contender, look at how far I've gone. I think this will inspire many kids. There will be setbacks, but they will be able to come back. And if you continue to pound on that, you'll be able to achieve something. Look at where we are right now.”
How does the Brazilian fighter feel he matches up against Volkanovski? “I think (my biggest strength) is 100% my jiu-jitsu,” Lopes said. “I'm so offensive. My aggressiveness now is different, too. I'm so hungry for this fight. I know Volk has so much experience and has fought so many guys, different styles. This guy has been in the UFC for a long time. This is his tenth consecutive fight for the title, so it is a lot of experience. But, I think I'm different. I'm special and I'm different.”
Lopes believes he is destined to become a champion. “It's something that I've imagined,” Lopes said. “I have envisioned that from time to time. I'm not afraid to think of that. I'm not afraid to believe and to fight for it. The tattoo that I have on my chest means that you dream about it, you go ahead and do it and that's what it is. I have envisioned it.”
The rest of the main card on PPV:
155 lbs.: Michael Chandler vs. Paddy Pimblett
145 lbs.: Bryce Mitchell vs. Jean Silva
145 lbs.: Yair Rodriguez vs. Patricio Freire
205 lbs.: Nikita Krylov vs. Dominick Reyes
ESPN+ Prelims:
145 lbs.: Dan Ige vs. Sean Woodson
115 lbs.: Yan Xiaonan vs. Virna Jandiroba
155 lbs.: Jim Miller vs. Chase Hooper
145 lbs.: Darren Elkins vs. Julian Erosa
Early Prelims on ESPN + and UFC Fight Pass:
185 lbs.: Sedriques Dumas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
125 lbs.: Su Mudaerji vs. Mitch Raposo
185 lbs.: Tresean Gore vs. Marco Tulio
135 lbs.: Nora Cornolle vs. Hailey Cowan
UFC Mexico City Preview
The UFC is invading Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico on Saturday, March 29 for UFC on ESPN 64. The main event will be in the flyweight division between former two-time champion #2 Brandon Moreno and former title challenger #8 Steve Erceg.
Moreno is 4-2 in his last six fights having most recently defeated Amir Albazi by unanimous decision in November. He suffered two straight split decision losses one of which he lost the title to Alexandre Pantoja and the next loss was a rematch to #1 contender Brandon Royval, but he returned to championship form in his last fight against Albazi.
The Mexican fighter has already put together a hall of fame worthy career and feels his experience will help him against Erceg. "It's weird because in other fights, a lot of people were talking about that," he said.
"Like, 'Brandon Moreno has a lot of time fighting in the company, he has so many fights in the UFC, so he has a lot of experience.' But I don't feel like I had the ability to take advantage of that experience before.
"But now, after my last fight against (Amir) Albazi in Canada, now I can feel how that experience can work in my benefit. So I'm just excited to fight against Steve. I know he's very motivated to fight against me. So it's gonna be a nice fight.”
Through the experience the former champion has put himself in the best position mentally. "I think (it's helped) with the confidence. Because, man, I have so many years in this game, it's definitely not my first rodeo!" he grinned.
"I think (it's given me) the confidence to understand that I'm really good. The confidence to understand I can take the fight where I want to take it. So I think that's the difference.”
e continued, "I feel I’m in an amazing moment. I feel very young, but, at the same time, I have so many years doing this. So it's amazing, between being young and having the experience.
"I think when you start this game, you are very young and very excited, full of energy, but you don't have the experience. And the other side, though, the opposite side, is when you have all the experience of the game, but your body starts to feel not the same.
"So, right now, I feel in an amazing balance. I feel I’m in the best shape of my life. I feel in my prime, and I have to show it. I have to execute, like my coaches say, but I'm ready to do it."
With a win on Saturday Moreno could re-enter the title conversation. "I know the state of the flyweight division right now," he said.
"It's a lot of fighters, a lot of contenders, trying to get the opportunity for the title.
"I know I was the champion. I know I had the opportunity before. So I was very, very conscious to understand that maybe I had to fight one or two more times in the future.
"So, that's what I'm doing right now. I fought Albazi. I won. I got the victory. Now I want to get this one on Saturday, and after that, let's see what happens.”
Is the 31-year-old thinking about a title shot? "My main focus right now is, don't even think of the past," he said.
"I'm just trying to be very focused on Steve Erceg. He's a very dangerous opponent. I think he's very motivated, because he's coming for a big moment in the company, so I think he's gonna (try to get) that victory again.”
'
Moreno continued, "So, with that being said, again, I'm not thinking about the past, I'm trying to be very, very focused on my present, and that's it.
"A lot of people think he won that fight against Pantoja. Right now he's not in his best moment – he came from a loss with Kai Kara-France. But that makes a fighter very dangerous, because he wants to win. He wants to get the title opportunity again in the future.”
He concluded, "He knows if he beats me this Saturday, it can be a really good step for that goal in the future. He's a really good boxer, good distance, a good jiu-jitsu, good ground game."
Aside from Albazi, Moreno has key wins over Deiveson Figueiredo (twice), Kai Kara-France (twice), Brandon Royval, Jussier Formiga and Dustin Ortiz. A win over Erceg will without a doubt get people talking about a third fight with Pantoja.
Erceg is coming off two-straight losses, the first was for the title at UFC 301 where he lost by unanimous decision to Alexandre Pantoja. His last loss was a devastating TKO loss to Kai Kara-France at UFC 305 in August. He started 3-0 in the UFC before being granted a title shot but he could erase his recent losing streak by defeating Moreno.
The Australian commented on his quick rise in the UFC. “It’s been a wild ride,” Erceg said. “I've got to fight all the best guys very quickly and, honestly, I wouldn't change it. All I want to do is fight the toughest guys. And I feel like even though I've had some losses now, it's character building, and you learn a lot, and I'm going to be a better fighter and a better person for the experiences I've had.”
Erceg believes he has learned from his losing streak. “The fact that I'm getting exposed to the level of athlete I'm getting exposed to definitely makes you become better faster,” he said. “So I just think, ‘Man, if I got here at 21, how good I'd be by now?’
How does he feel about facing Moreno in hostile territory? “I'm competitive enough that all that stuff goes out the window like, ‘Hey, none of that. It's my turn,’” he said. “I won't have to think, ‘Oh, no, that's Brandon,’ right?
“It will just be, ‘I'm going to win this fight and stop me if you can.”
The rest of the main card:
Manuel Torres vs. Drew Dober; 155 lbs
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer; 185 lbs
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Vince Morales; 135 lbs
David Martinez vs. Saimon Oliveira; 135 lbs
Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Kevin Borjas; 125 lbs
ESPN+ Prelims:
Edgar Chairez vs. CJ Vergara; 125 lbs
Jose Medina vs. Ateba Gautier; 185 lbs
Christian Rodriguez vs. Melquizael Costa; 145 lbs
Loopy Godinez vs. Julia Polastri; 115 lbs
Rafa Garcia vs. Vinc Pichel; 155 lbs
Jamall Emmers vs. Gabriel Miranda; 145 lbs
Marquel Mederos vs. Austin Hubbard; 155 lbs
UFC Vegas 104 Preview
The UFC is heading back to the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 15th for UFC Vegas 104. The main event will be in the middleweight division between former title challenger #8 Marvin Vettori and #12 Roman Dolidze. The two will be facing each other in a rematch to their first fight at UFC 286 in 2023 where Vettori won by unanimous decision.
Vettori has not fought since 2023 and will be trying to rebound from a unanimous decision loss in his last fight against Jared Cannonier. The 31-year-old is 2-2 since unsuccessfully challenging for the middleweight title in 2021.
The Italian fighter feels like his best days are ahead of him. “I don't even think I hit my prime yet,” Vettori told UFC.com. “But I can feel I'm about to. It’s good. I've done a lot of mistakes because coming up young not knowing the game, not knowing media, not knowing a lot of s**t, everything that was thrown on me, I was just taking it, and with that comes a lot of mistakes.
“But f***, I did some good stuff too. It's good… I believe I still have a lot to accomplish,” Vettori said.
Vettori explained why he has not fought since 2023. “I already thought that after my last fight, I had to take some time and figure out a few things, especially a different gym and stuff,” Vettori said. “I accepted that. It's just part of the game and you really have to accept that because I think that's how you grow from it. Something very big had to happen. Otherwise, I would have always had to find a way to keep up, to keep pushing, so I sat back, and I just looked at the game from the outside for a moment.
“It was good. I think I improved a lot, and I evolved a lot, too.”
He concluded, “I put my heart into it,” Vettori said. “That’s one thing about me. I'll go out and just do everything that I can, that's for sure. I'll leave it all out there. I'm sure it's going to be a good performance.”
Aside from Dolidze Vettori has key wins over Jack Hermansson, Kevin Holland, and Paulo Costa. He is still just 31 years old and with a convincing win over Dolidze he could remind a rejuvenated middleweight division that he is still a title contender.
Dolidze has won two straight fights having most recently defeated Kevin Holland by TKO at UFC 307 in June. He is 8-3 in the UFC and aside from Holland he has key wins over Anthony Smith and Jack Hermansson.
Does Dolidze feel like he has made adjustments since the first fight with Vettori. “Marvin is a very durable fighter, he’s tough,” Dolidze said.
“I hope he will be in the best shape for our fight, but I think now I’m more prepared because I know exactly what he will do and how he moves and how he reacts but the main thing that I can point on is he’s a very durable guy, it’s hard to finish him,” he continued.
While Dolidze knows how tough fighting Vetorri will be a second time around, he wants to be the first to accomplish what no other middleweight has been able to. “Deep inside, I still want to be the first to stop him, I will do everything for that.”
Does the 36-year-old believe he lost the first fight? “I didn't expect that UFC would offer me exactly this fight, but I'm glad, because a lot of people had questions after our last fight,” said Dolidze.
“And I also think I didn't lose my previous fight with Marvin. I won that fight, and I think this fight will now give answers to all the questions that everybody had.”
What does Dolidze expect in the future with a win on Saturday? “A little bit more money – that's important, of course – and the opportunity to get more attention. That's exactly what I mostly ask UFC for.
“If you are giving me opponents, if they have a good name, I'm OK to fight anybody.
“Of course, the preparation is a little bit different, but it's more (about) understanding how we don’t need to rush and don't waste too much energy in the beginning, and to be ready for all five rounds. I’ve put in very good work (to prepare) for this, and I feel very confident in this.”
The Georgian concluded by saying, “My gameplan is just to be who I am, and that's all what I need to win this fight.”
The time is now for Dolidze to prove he belongs in the middleweight title conversation. A win over Vettori is a great start, but a loss could send him out of the top 15 rankings.
The rest of the main card:
Welterweight - Chidi Njokuani vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
Lightweight - Alexander Hernandez vs. Kurt Holobaugh
Bantamweight - Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Cody Gibson
Light Heavyweight - Diyar Nurgozhay vs. Brendson Ribeiro
Featherweight - Seung Woo Choi vs. Kevin Vallejos
ESPN+ Prelims:
Heavyweight - Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Ryan Spann
Bantamweight - SuYoung You vs. A.J. Cunningham
Bantamweight - Carlos Vera vs. Josias Musasa
Strawweight - Stephanie Luciano vs. Sam Hughes
Flyweight - Daniel Barez vs. Andre Lima
Women’s Bantamweight - Josiane Nunes vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Women’s Flyweight - Yuneisy Duben vs. Carli Judice
UFC 313 Preview
The UFC is invading the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday March 8th for UFC 313. The main event will be in the light heavyweight division as champion Alex Pereira will defend his belt against #1 Magomed Ankalaev.
Pereira the former middleweight champion is looking to defend the 205 pound belt for the fourth time in just over a year. He is coming off a fourth round TKO of Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 in October. The Brazilian fighter has won five straight since being KO’d by Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 in 2023 where he lost the middleweight title.
The 37-year-old has already put together a hall of fame career in just 10 fights in the UFC. How does he feel about his meteoric rise? "I honestly didn't expect all of this, but I've always said that you got to be ready and you got to take your opportunities, and that's exactly what I did," Pereira said.
"I'm just a very focused guy, and I feel like I've had a lot of growth. I've had a lot of improvement and, thankfully, I was able to put in a great year like last year.”
Pereira’s to brutal punching power and ability to finish fights has quickly made him become a fan-favorite. He does not take it for granted. "I'm very grateful for all the love I get from the fans," he said.
"I feel like I'm very welcome everywhere I go, and everyone wants to just really treat me very well anywhere I go. “
He concluded, "But this is the highest level of the sport. A lot of people are trying to get to this position, so I'm just really grateful.”
Aside from his last fight against Rountree, Pereira has key wins over Jiri Prochazka (twice), Jamahal Hill, Jan Blachowicz, Isreal Adesanya, and Sean Strickland.
Ankalaev has not lost since 2018 and is 11-0-2 in that span. He fought for the vacant light heavyweight belt at UFC 282 but suffered a draw against former champion Jan Blachowicz. Since then he has collected wins over Johnny Walker and most recently against Aleksandr Rakic at UFC 308 in October.
How does the Dagestani fighter feel about Pereira? “He’s a great fighter. What can I say?” he said.
“He's achieved a lot. He's a champion. He's defended his belt two or three times. But I think his time is up, that's it, because he's never fought somebody like myself.”
Many people are saying Ankalaev poses a difficult challenge to Pereira because of his grappling abilities. How does he feel he matches up? “I’m going to be a very new challenge for him. I'm going to get this belt. And I think after my fight, he's done.”
Ankalaev continued, “If we take out the striking completely, we know exactly what we can do with him in just the wrestling department, but that's not what we're here for,” he said.
“We're going to show our striking. We're going to show our wrestling. We're going to do whatever we can to make sure to get this belt.
“We don't have a specific strategy to just wrestle, and that's it. We're gonna make sure to find weak points, attack it, and that's the way to get the victory.”
The 31-year-old feels destined to be a champion. “It’s a dream,” he said.
“This is something I've worked for, my team worked for, for a long time. This is the last step, this is the last thing I have to do, feel (the belt) around my waist and call myself the world champion (and) know how it feels.”
He concluded, “I think it would be really good for the UFC to have me as a champion, because I'm not going to be the kind of champion that you have to protect,” he said.
“I’m going to be fighting with whoever throws the challenges out. I'm going to be active. I'm going to defend the belt as many times as I can.”
The rest of the main card:
155 lbs.: Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev 2
155 lbs.: Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Jalin Turner
115 lbs.: Amanda Lemos vs. Iasmin Lucindo
155 lbs.: King Green vs. Mauricio Ruffy
ESPN+ Prelims:
265 lbs.: Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev
125 lbs.: Joshua Van vs. Rei Tsuruya
185 lbs.: Brunno Ferreira vs. Armen Petrosyan
170 lbs.: Carlos Leal vs. Alex Morono
ESPN+/UFC FIGHT PASS Early Prelims:
145 lbs.: Francis Marshall vs. Mairon Santos
185 lbs.: Djorden Santos vs. Ozzy Diaz
145 lbs.: Chris Gutierrez vs. John Castaneda
UFC Vegas 103 Preview
The UFC is heading back to the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday March 1st for UFC Vegas 103. The main event will be in the flyweight division between #6 Manel Kape and #8 Asu Almabayev.
Kape is 5-1 in his last six fights and most recently defeated Bruno Gustavo da Silva by third round TKO in December. The Angolan fighter has hit his stride since 2022 but before that he collected a win over Kai Asakura in Rizin and his UFC debut was against current flyweight champion Alejandre Pantoja where he lost by unanimous decision back in 2021.
How important is this fight on Saturday to Kape? "I see this a title eliminator," Kape said.
"I didn't pull out of this fight, it was Brandon Royval. We both signed the contracts. I'm still here, with injuries or without injuries. I'm still going to this fight. Against Asu, I'm doing my job. I never choose opponents, and whoever they give me (I'll fight).
"In Australia. I was supposed to fight Kai Kara-France. They gave me a newcomer, and I faced him. I believe another person in my position will do (things) different to secure their ranking. But that's not who I really am.”
The 31-year-old continued, "It could be a newcomer again, or it could be someone UFC offers me. I'll still accept the fight and show that I trust myself. The deeper message is that I trust myself, I trust my skills, and I trust my game, and I'm gonna win, whoever they put in front of me."
Kape feels prepared to fight Almabayev. "The only change is that Royval is a taller fighter (and) I could work my body shots," he explained.
"I like to strike to the body. I like to make people pay and do more this (type of) game.
"But against Asu, he's a much shorter guy. He reminds me of Bruno Silva. I will target more his face.
"I believe his face is going to be full of blood, because he's going to be right there, and I have a longer reach. So that's the only thing I've changed in my game.”
While Kape was not originally preparing for a fight with Almabayev, he thinks he has spotted the path to victory. "He's a great fighter, but he's more a decision guy, and his conditioning is not the best," he said.
"He is not the same fighter in the first and third round, and that's the key.
"I'm going to take advantage in that fight. I'm the same fighter, and even better when the rounds go up and up. So, for me, fighting five rounds is fighting on my terms, and I'll take the opportunity.
"But, if (he) makes any mistake in the first round, I'll make him pay.”
Almabayev is on a 17 fight winning streak and is 4-0 in the UFC. He has not lost a fight since 2017. He most recently defeated Matheus Nicolau by unanimous decision in October. The Kazakhstani fighter is relishing the opportunity to prove he is a title threat.
"I feel great about this. Obviously, I was going to be on the card, and now the card has changed and I got all the way to the top, he said.
"This is something for me to show myself, to be able to show a great fight and then eventually get into the title race. So the biggest thing right now is just to come out, show out, win, and then everything else will fall into place. But I feel great. I feel really lucky.”
The 31-year-old continued, "I actually was preparing for (Steve) Erceg first, then he fell off. They gave me a Brazilian fighter (Nascimento) and I started preparing for him. And then, when Royval fell off, it was actually me who reached out to my management team and said, 'You know what? Give me this opportunity.'"
How does he feel about fighting Kape? "He's a great opponent," he said.
"He's very experienced. He's got good cardio, he's got good striking. He's not better (at) wrestling. But I think that whoever is going to come in there and implement their game plan, who is going to be more mentally prepared, that's the person that's going to win.
"He's had his wins. He's had his ups and downs, losses. I've only been winning so far. I've been very good at that. It just depends on who's going to come out there and be number one, and who's going to say that 'I'm ready for this title.' And I think it's me.
Almabayev is ready to prove he belongs at the top. "I need to be here. I deserve to be here. I worked really hard, so I'll show whatever I can and use every second to win.”
"It's every fighter's dream to be from around the world and represent their country here in the UFC – the biggest, toughest promotion in the world," he said.
The rest of the main card:
Middleweight - Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez
Lightweight - Masrat Haqparast vs. vs. Esteban Robotics
Featherweight - Hyder Amil vs. William Gomis
Welterweight - Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson
ESPN+ Prelims:
Heavyweight - Austen Lane vs. Mario Pinto
Featherweight - Ricardo Ramos vs. Chepe Mariscal
Catchweight (148 lb) Danny Silva vs. Lucas Almeida
Women’s Flyweight - Andrea Lee vs. JJ Alrich
Flyweight - Charles Johnson vs. Rmazan Temirov
UFC Seattle Preview
The UFC is invading the Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington on Saturday, February 22nd. The main event will be in the bantamweight division between former champion #7 Henry Cejudo and #8 Song Yadong.
Cejudo is riding two straight losses into the fight most recently to current bantamweight champion Merab Dvalashili and previously in a title fight to former champion Aljamain Sterling. The former two-weight champion took three years off from fighting before making his return to fight Sterling for the bantamweight belt.
The future hall of famer reflected on how he feels about his current losing streak. “F***, it’s a chip on my shoulder,” Cejudo said. “I mean, nobody wants to make ‘the greatest comeback of all time’ and you’re f***ing 0-2, but it’s part of the game.
“There is always a 50 percent chance you may lose, particularly in this sport, and it’s humbling. It’s a lot of different emotions, but it’s also motivating.”
The 38-year-old knows what is at stake against Yadong. “Nobody wants to continue losing,” Cejudo said. “But sometimes failure is not a bad thing because it’s also an indicator that lets you know, ‘Hey man, it’s time to move on.’
“I’m not one of these guys that’s gonna hold on forever; I’m not a jealous ex-girlfriend. I think I’ve done some amazing things in combat sports, period, but (the position I’m in) is bittersweet, to say the least.
“Everything is at stake, man,” continued the always engaging Fight Ready standout. “In every single fight that you compete in, everything is always at stake because people always recognize you according to your last fight. Your last fight is what defines you, typically, so there is so much at stake in the sense where…”
Cejudo believes he is in for a tough fight with Yadong in Seattle. “I think his power — he has power — and he’s a counterpuncher,” he continued, offering an assessment of what makes Song dangerous. “He’s beaten good guys and he’s put away good guys. He has power and you’ve gotta respect that. Guys that have power are the most dangerous guys, but the fire can get them burnt, too, because they risk it all through power; they can turn themselves into you, too.
“I think his youth, being 27, and he’s from a great camp — he’s training with Urijah Faber, so I’m sure they’re doing a lot of wrestling, but it’s just different when you actually get in there.
“Is he the real deal? 100 percent,” he added. “He’s a scary dude, full of muscle.”
Cejudo is also a former flyweight champion and is one of only seven fighters in UFC history to win belts in two weight classes. He has key wins in his career over Dominick Cruz, Marlon Moreas, TJ Dillashaw, Demetrious Johnson, Sergio Pettis, Wilson Reis and Jussier Formiga. A win on Saturday could keep him in contention and with one more win he could enter the title conversation once again.
Yadong is trying to rebound from a loss to former champion Petr Yan in his last fight at UFC 299 in March. The 28-year-old is 2-2 in his last four fights but has the chance to prove that he is a title contender with a win over Cejudo. He is ready to keep Cejudo’s losing streak going. “Yeah, I think if he lost this one, this is his last fight, the last round,” Yadong said. “But I will win the fight. I believe this is his last one, [his] last fight. This will be the last fight in Seattle. Time is over, it’s time to retire.”
Although Yadong expects Cejudo will retire on Saturday, he does say he will feel a little bad about retiring the former champ-champ. However, he is looking forward to the fight as he says this is someone he has been calling out.
“That’s what I [wanted],” Yadong said. “Last year, in May, I called him out. UFC wanted me to fight him in September, but he got injured and we finally got this one. Yeah, he’s a very good fighter — two-division UFC champion, Olympic champion, a lot of achievements. It’s an honor to fight him.”
Yadong knows there is still work to do with a win on Saturday. “So if I win this fight, I have another chance to challenge the top 5,” Yadong explained. “If I win this one, give me top 5 fighters, for sure, [then] one more, two more, I will get a title shot.”
Yadong has come up short against top contenders but he can turn that all around with a win over Cejudo. A win reminds the bantamweight division why he has fought the likes of top contenders such as Yan and Corey Sandhagen.
The rest of the main card:
Middleweight -Brendan Allen vs.Anthony Hernandez
Catchweight (140 lb) - Rob Font vs.Jean Matsumoto
Featherweight - Jean Silva vs.Melsik Baghdasaryan
Light Heavyweight - Alonzo Menifield vs.Julius Walker
ESPN+ Prelims:
Light Heavyweight - Ion Cuțelaba vs.Ibo Aslan
Featherweight - Andre Fili vs.Melquizael Costa
Middleweight - Mansur Abdul-Malik vs.Nick Klein
Bantamweight - Ricky Simón vs.Javid Basharat
Catchweight (175 lb) - Nikolay Veretennikov vs.Austin Vanderford
Middleweight - Nursulton Ruziboev vs.Eric McConicoLight
Heavyweight - Modestas Bukauskas vs.Raffael Cerqueira
UFC Vegas 102 Preview
The UFC is heading back to the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, February 15th for UFC Vegas 102. The main event will be in the middleweight division between former title challenger #7 Jared Cannonier and Gregory Rodrigues.
Cannonier is trying to rebound from two straight losses having most recently lost a unanimous decision to Caio Borralho in August. He is 2-2 since challenging for the title at UFC 276 in 2022. The 40-year-old answered questions about being a gatekeeper of the middleweight division.
“I think he’s pretty much earned what he’s done,” Cannonier said. “I guess you can consider me the sacrificial lamb in that regard, right? This is the name of the game: we fight each other. I try to separate the emotional aspect from what we’re doing here.
“This is a business. We’re doing business. So that’s just it. Plus, my last two fights were of the same essence, if you will. … Same situation again.”
Rodrigues has been presented with a golden opportunity, but Cannonier is all business. “I don’t know, that onus will be put on the guys who are facing off against the contenders, i.e. myself,” Cannonier said. “I’m losing these fights against the up and comers and opening the door for them. I don’t want to say it, but it’s not that I’ve found myself in a gatekeeper sort of position, but it kind of smells like it if you’re on the outside, know what I mean?
“I’m just analyzing it for you. You’re asking the question; I’m doing some analysis on it. This isn’t how I feel. I don’t really consider all this sh*t when I’m thinking about what I’m doing on a daily basis or when I’m matching up with these guys. I’m just getting prepared to go to war with another big up and comer.”
While Cannonier has been at the top of the rankings for some time now, he understands his position in the division. “I do appreciate them giving me another main event. I’m aware of who Gregory Rodrigues is, and it’s a tough challenge, Cannonier said.
“I’m appreciative of that, that I have another challenge to overcome. That’s what’s expected in this organization. I’m in the position that I find myself in because I didn’t win those last two fights.”
Cannonier has key wins over Anderson Silva, Jack Hermansson, Kelvin Gastelum, Derek Brunson, Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori. With a win on Saturday he can still remain a main event fighter in the middleweight division.
Rodrigues has won three straight fights and most recently defeated Christian Leroy Duncan by unanimous decision at UFC 304 in July. The Brazilian is 8-2 in his last 10 fights but will be facing the toughest challenge of his career on Saturday.
Hard work has led Rodrigues to this fight. “I think the UFC likes to recognize hard workers,” he said. “After I accepted a short-notice call to face Leroy Duncan in Manchester, they offered me Ikram Aliskerov in December. I said yes, but he refused. I asked for [Paulo Costa], but he didn’t want the fight. Then they offered Roman Dolidze. I accepted; he didn’t. When the UFC came up with Cannonier, who has already been part of five main events, I couldn’t think of any better recognition for my hard work.”
The 32-year-old has nothing but respect for Cannonier. “Cannonier deserves all respect,” Rodrigues said. “This guy already fought in three diferent divisions and faced champions like Anderson Silva, Glover Teixeira, Jan Blachowicz, Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya. But I believe he is naturally paying a price for all those wars and of course, he is 40 years old. I’m prepared for a five-round war against the best version of Cannonier, but of course my goal is to knock him out or submit before that.”
Rodrigues explained the key to his recent success. “The secret to evolution is to never stay in your comfort zone,” he said. “Last year I trained with Glover and [Alex Pereira]. It was such a great experience for me. In my own academy I have names like ‘Durinho,’ [Shavkat] Rakmonov, [Nassourdine] Imavov. When I train jiu-jitsu with my coach, Vagner Rocha, I [also] train with [Antonio Carlos Jr. and Marcus Almeida]. When you face challenges of that level every day, you have no reason to fear any opponent.”
The rest of the main card:
Featherweight - #10 Calvin Kattar vs. Youssef Zalal
Middleweight - Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Dylan Budka
Lightweight - Ismael Bonfim vs. Nazim Sadykhov
Middleweight - Rodolfo Vieira vs. Andre Petrovksi
Featherweight - Connor Matthews vs. Jose Delgado
ESPN + Prelims:
Women’s Strawweight - Angela Hill vs. Ketlen Souza
Lightweight - Jared Gordon vs. Mashrabjon Ruziboev
Flyweight - Rafael Estevam vs. Jesus Santos Aguilar
Welterweight - Gabriel Bonfim vs. Khaos Williams
Bantamweight - Vince Morales vs. Elijah Smith
Heavyweight - Valter Walker vs. Don’Tale Mayes
Women’s Bantamweight - Julia Avila vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
UFC 312 Preview
The UFC is invading the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia on Saturday, February 8th for UFC 312. The main event will be a rematch for the middleweight title between champion Dricus du Plessis and former champion Sean Strickland.
The two fighters first met at UFC 297 last January where du Plessis won by a razor thin split decision. The fight was Strickland’s first defense of the title after defeating legend Israel Adesanya for one of the biggest upsets of 2023. The current champion made his first defense of the title at UFC 305 in August where he defeated Adesanya by fourth round submission.
Du Plessis talked about facing Sean Strickland again. “The key for me is that it’s not a rematch; it’s a match,” said Du Plessis. I’m not looking at it as a rematch. I’m looking at it where I’ve beaten Sean Strickland and now I have to beat Sean Strickland again. Even more so, I’ve beaten this guy and now I’m beating another guy.”
The 31-year-old continued, “We are not the same fighters we were a year ago,” the champion said. “The Dricus that stepped in there a year ago is not the same guy that is stepping in there now, the same with him, and that’s why I don’t see it as a rematch — I see it as a fight.
“If this was somebody else stepping in there, I would approach it exactly the same because I don’t see it as a rematch: I see it as I need to beat whoever steps into that Octagon on Saturday night, and that is the only thing I see.”
While many pundits believe Strickland won the last fight, du Plessis does not see it that way. “When we fought, I was moving forward 23 minutes out of a 25-minute fight. I was advancing, throwing — landing less, but throwing more, for sure. Power punches? 100-percent, trying to catch him, trying to get him out of there, trying to finish the fight from the get-go; getting takedowns, getting back up, and pushing that pace.
“I was the one dictating that pace. I was the one going forward and advancing, and this time around, it will be the same.”
The South African fighter concluded, “He’s gonna change it up because they know I have the answer for (what he typically does,” Du Plessis stated, projecting how he believes things will play out in Saturday night’s main event. “He’s gonna lose a decision again if he tries to be that defensive and just move backwards, because that is how fighting works.
“This time ‘round, he’s forced to come forward and fight me, and I know that he can. He’s a guy that can take a punch, but it’s much better taking a punch hiding, shelling up, and riding than coming forward and eating a punch while you’re throwing a punch, especially one of mine.
“That’s where it’s gonna be different. He’s gonna initiate the wrestling, and I think he’s gonna look at those avenues and change it up to try to throw me off, because he has to do that now that he knows that in terms of the scoring system, he won’t beat me the way that he tried to the first time.
After the split decision loss to du Plessis, Strickland went on to win a split decision over former title challenger Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June. How does he feel about fighting du Plessis this time around?
“I’m going to be out there on Sunday and I’m going to come out f*cking hard and strong,” Strickland said. “The hardest and strongest you’ve ever f*cking seen. To the f*cking death, Dutchman!”
The two had heated exchanges in the media before their first fight and this time around Strickland responded to du Plessis’ claim that he is injured. The champion tweeted that Strickland has a staph infection and the challenger responded at the final UFC 312 press conference on Thursday.
“Listen you motherf*ckers, I’m immune to staph,” Strickland shouted. “You see this f*cking mustache? I give staph, I don’t f*cking get staph.
“Calm the f*ck down. I don’t get sick. I don’t get f*cking injured and I don’t get f*cking staph. So relax.”
Strickland has become a fan-favorite with his brash ideologies and his lack of fear when it comes to speaking his mind. He has been his normal self heading into this fight but you can tell there is a mutual respect between the two, which could lead to another five round war on Saturday.
The rest of the main card:
Women’s Strawweight Title Fight - Champion Zhang Weili vs. #1 Tatiana Suarez
Heavyweight bout - Justin Tafa vs. Tallison Teixeira
Light Heavyweight bout - Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato
Welterweight bout - Jake Matthews vs. Francisco Prado
ESPN + Prelims:
Featherweight bout - Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos
Lightweight bout - Tom Nolan vs. Viacheslav Borshcev
Women’s Flyweight bout - Wang Cong vs. Bruna Brasil
Bantamweight bout - Colby Thicknesse vs. Aleksandre Topuria
Early Prelims on UFC Fight Pass:
Lightweight bout - Rongzhu vs. Kody Steele
Welterweight bout - Jonathan Micallef vs. Kevin Jousset
Lightweight bout - Quillan Salkilld vs. Anshul Jubli
UFC 311 Preview
The UFC is invading the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on Saturday, January 18th for UFC 311. The card will feature two title fights and the main event will be for the lightweight title as champion Islam Makhachev will defend his belt against late replacement #10 Renato Moicano. Makhachev was originally scheduled to defend against #1 Arman Tsarukyan, but Tsarukyan withdrew from the fight due to injury.
The champion did not hesitate to accept the last minute opponent change. “What does this title represent?,” Makhachev said. “It means you are the best in the world and if you are the best in the world, it doesn’t matter who’s going to be standing across from you. What do I say? No? NEVER. Let’s do this!”
Makhachev has won 14 straight fights and is widely considered to be the best pound for pound fighter in the UFC. He has defended the belt three times and with a win on Saturday, he could become the first lightweight champion in UFC history to defend the belt four times.
The champion has key victories in his career over Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovksi (twice), Charles Oliveira, Bobby Green, Dan Hooker, Thiago Moises and Drew Dober. The fight with Tsarukyan was set to be a rematch after Makhachev won the first fight by unanimous decision in 2019.
Moicano has won four straight fights and most recently defeated Benoit Saint Denis by second round TKO in September. The 35-year-old immediately took to social media after getting the opportunity of a lifetime.
“’Money’ Moicano is coming for the belt,” he said.
“Be ready, Islam Makhachev. Tomorrow is ‘Money’ time.
“Man, I’m so happy I got this opportunity. I have been working for this for a long time.
“I knew that could happen, that’s why I was training for five rounds. That’s why I was training with a southpaw.
The new challenger concluded by making a promise. “I’m ready, and tomorrow I’m going to shock the world. Be ready because I am.
“This is ‘Money’ Moicano and tomorrow I will be the champion of the world.
“Let’s f***ing go! Let’s f***ing go! Time to go.”
The co-main event of the evening will be for the bantamweight championship as title holder Merab Dvalishvili will battle #2 Umar Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishili won the belt in his last fight via unanimous decision victory over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in September. The win was his 11th straight and he continued his streak of looking like the most dominant bantamweight in the UFC.
The champion addressed the rumored bad blood with Nurmagomedov. "That's another thing, it's not true. I don't need to hate nobody you guys know. I was kissing Sean O'Malley. I had so much fun inside the octagon. I was smiling there. I don't need to hate nobody. I don't hate nobody but it was things that Umar disrespect me,” Dvalishili said.
"He call me fake champion which is; I'm not a fake champion... He mentioned my country and then he still continue [to] disrespect me and this is not right... I want to shake hands. I want to give him respect. I want to be good with him again. We have to settle this one now
Dvalishili has been dealing with injuries but addressed it as a non-factor leading into his first title fight. "Once I hear the UFC needs me, I stepped up and Dana [White] said, 'Yes'. I go to the office and I said 'Ok, I will step up. I'm a company man. Let's do it’
Aside from his title win over O’Malley, Dvalishili has key victories over Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, Jose Aldo, Marlon Moraes and John Dodson. With a win Dvalishili will cement his position as the top bantamweight in the UFC, but fans will be clamoring for a rematch with O’Malley.
Nurmagomedov is undefeated and is coming off a unanimous decision victory over former interim title challenger Corey Sandhagen in August. The 29-year-old addressed the rumored bad blood with the champion which he believes Dvalishili manufactured. “Of course, I remember that moment,” Nurmagomedov said. “When he asked to me, I saw him, I smiled at him and go to do an interview. He come to ask me ‘why you disrespect me?’ OK, he has a question why you disrespect me? I want to tell him what are you talking about? Exactly what did I say? You’re too sensitive. Explain to me. He’s talking about ‘why are you disrespecting me? Why are you disrespecting me?’ I’m not his son. He can’t ask me like father and son ‘why do you do this?’ He’s not my father. Of course, I want to tell him because what can you do?
“If you guys can find anything where I said with his name Merab — Merab is a coward, Merab is a bullshit guy or anything else — show me.”
While many pundits believe a win over Sandhagen earned Nurmagomedov a title, he does not believe Dvalishil wanted to fight him. “He’s nervous – of course he’s nervous,” Nurmagomedov said at Wednesday’s UFC 311 media day. “He’s maybe upset with UFC – they pushed him to fight with me. Even before he was champion, he don’t take this fight. He doesn’t want to fight with me and when he became champion I think he tried to fight with others because others would be easier fights for him.
“He can’t tell anything to UFC or Dana (White) to show them. He’s always talking he’s company guy, company guy – but they pushed him to fight with me.”
The Dagestani believes he earned the title shot. “It’s not true that it came too early,” Nurmagomedov said. “I’m fighting for the title like most of the fighters. Some of them fight for the title after one fight, some fight on his debut fight. It’s not make sense to tell this that I fought for the title because of my cousin name Khabib or UFC pushed me. Aljamain Sterling fought for the title after five-fight win streak. Why can’t I fight for the title after six?”
The rest of the main card:
Light heavyweight - #2 Jiri Prochazka vs. #3 Jamahal Hill
Heavyweight - #6 Jailton Almeida vs. #7 Serghei Spivac
Middleweight - Kevin Holland vs. Reiner de Ridder
ESPN+ Prelims:
Bantamweight - Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos
Middleweight - Zach Reese vs. Azamat Bekeov
Light heavyweight - #13 Bogdan Guskov vs. Billy Elena
Lightweight - Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims:
Women’s bantamweight - #9 Karol Rosa vs. #13 Ailin Perez
Bantamweight - Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
Bantamweight - Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj
Flyweight - #11 Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter
UFC Tampa Preview
The last card in 2024 for the UFC is going down Saturday, December 14th at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida. The main event will be in the welterweight division between former interim champion #6 Colby Covington and #9 Joaquin Buckley.
Covington has not fought in a year since he unsuccessfully challenged for the welterweight title at UFC 296. It marked his third time fighting for the belt but coming up short. The 36-year-old is 2-3 in his last five fights and when you add his inactivity to his inconsistency, he has drifted out of the conversation as a top contender in the division.
While he has shown signs of greatness in the octagon, Convington is known by the fans more as an outlandish trash-talker who goes on incoherent rants that at times have nothing to do with the fight he is in or his opponent. However, he has commented on Buckley and has made a typical Covington style prediction. “I’m going to break this kid in half, I’m going to break every bone in his body, he’s never going to be the same after December 14. He has no idea, he’s never fought or faced anyone like me. It’s going to be a tough night for him,” Covington said.
Covington wants to remind everyone that he is not a steppingstone, and he is still as good as he ever was despite his last loss. “After Masvidal, I got another shot for the undisputed title,” Covington said. “The first kick I threw, I broke it on his elbow, I was compromised from the very first round, the very first 30 seconds of the fight and I knew it was going to be a tough night for me. With a broken foot in a big fight against a guy who wanted to take my head off, who’s probably the hardest fight I’ve ever had to endure. I know I’m so much better than that. Now, it’s about coming back and giving the fans a real treat of who Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington. People have tried to write me off, and now it’s about re-writing all those wrongs.”
The former interim champion believes he has learned from his losses. "After I lost three shots at the undisputed title, it felt like the lowest of low," Covington said. "I lost and forgot who I was. It was a good reminder that woke me up again. I just had to cancel out the bad energy and couldn't let the hype and ego get to my head.
“I had to train harder to become the No. 1 contender again because all I ever wanted was to be the undisputed champion,” he added. “That's all I cared about.”
He concluded by saying, "It's been a year since my last fight and I've used that time to really grow myself as a martial artist and as a person,” Covington concluded. “Mentally speaking, I'm in a better place than I've ever been."
Covington has key wins over Demian Maia, Rafael Dos Anjos, Robbie Lawler, Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal. A win over Buckley who is favored in the fight will keep him hovering around the top 5 of the division and perhaps set him up for a high-profile fight with another younger contender on the rise.
Since returning to welterweight, Buckley has won five straight fights. His most recent win was a third round KO over former two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson. He saw some success at middleweight in the UFC but appeared to be at a size disadvantage for the division in key fights. This run at welterweight has set him up nicely to prove on Saturday that he is a title contender.
The 30-year-old believes a convincing win against Covington puts him in the title conversation. “The performance that I’m going to put on Colby Covington, I can probably take the opportunity to fight for the belt one day,” Buckley said.
Buckley understands the skills Covington brings into the fight. “The pace that he’s able to put on guys is tremendous. He might not have much punching power and the ability to finish guys, but he has a good ability of breaking guys and wearing them out mentally.”
While he respects Covington, Buckley is confident that he is better. “To be honest with you, he has no other choice but to wrestle. My man gotta wrestle for his life, but with that being said, I like that challenge. I like the idea that he is going out there to shoot and try to grapple and use his best weapon. And yet again, it’s still not going to be enough.”
The St. Louis native believes that growth is his biggest asset right now. “I feel like change is necessary; you can’t keep doing the same things.” Buckley said. “Even though a lot of people are like, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, nah, I don’t believe in that. I believe that you always gotta grow and you always gotta put yourself in the position where you’re getting better. I feel like with this move and with this change, I have been able to adapt my game just a little bit better, and that’s why you keep seeing me grow.”
Buckley feels the work paid off in his last fight against Thompson. “We knew we was gonna get the knockout up against the cage so that’s why we kept pushing him up against the cage. And as he’s thinking. ‘Oh, he’s gonna wrestle me,’ we change our level, we come back upstairs and we got the knockout. Yet again, it’s just being versatile and being dynamic in the cage, I think that’s one thing I can do.”
With a win Buckley would move into the top six of the welterweight division. The winning streak would speak for itself but Buckley’s personality along with his finishing capabilities make him prime for a big fight in 2025 if he can defeat Covington in Tampa.
The rest of the main card:
Featherweight - Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo
Flyweight - #9 Manel Kape vs. #12 Bruno Gustavo da Silva
Light Heavyweight - Vitor Petrino vs. Dustin Jacoby
Bantamweight - Adrian Yañez vs. Daniel Marcos
Light Heavyweight - Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos
ESPN + Prelims:
Lightweight - Michael Johnson vs. Ottman Azaitar
Lightweight - Joel Álvarez vs. Drakkar Klose
Featherweight - Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla
Featherweight - Miles Johns vs. Felipe Lima
Women's Flyweight - Miranda Maverick vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
Bantamweight - Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras
Women's Strawweight - Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez
Navarrete vs. Valdez 2 Preview
The Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona will host two dynamic title fights on Saturday, December 7. In the main event WBO junior lightweight champion Emanual Navarrete will defend his belt in a rematch against former two-weight world champion Oscar Valdez.
Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KO) has been a champion in three divisions which includes WBO junior featherweight from 2018 to 2022, WBO featherweight from 2020 to 2023 and he has been the WBO junior lightweight champion since 2023. He challenged for a fourth division championship in his last fight but came up short losing to Denys Berinchyk by split decision for the WBO lightweight title.
The Mexican fighter won the WBO junior lightweight belt in 2023 with a devastating ninth round TKO of Liam Wilson. He has since retained the belt in two fights with the first being a unanimous decision win over Valdez.
While Valdez may be looking for revenge, Navarrete is taking a calmer approach into the rematch. “There’s little time left before the fight, and you start to feel the nerves,” said Navarrete. “I don’t like to go back and forth with my opponents. I respect my opponents a lot. My principal instilled in me. I know I don’t gain anything by offending them. “I always show a lot of respect. But in the ring, it’s different. I do what I have to do to walk away victorious. Outside of that, there’s nothing,” said Navarrete.
Navarrete has been criticized for the shape he was in during his last fight. Analysts believed he looked slower and did not have the same snap in his punches. The champion commented, “Everything was fine except for a few personal things,” said Navarrete. “I was fine throughout the fight other than being a little fatigued, but those are things that can be worked on. After watching the fight over, it was just a bad night for me.”
The pundits believe the best move for Navarrete is to stay at lightweight, but he know he has a responsibility as junior lightweight champion. “I never said I was staying at 135 pounds”, said Navarrete. “I wanted to see how I performed at 135 and make my decision based on that. At 130, I’m the champion, and there was an opportunity to have another great fight with Oscar Valdez. After speaking to my team, we decided to come back down and defend my title at 130. Valdez is coming into this fight motivated, and we think it’s going to be a great fight. If all goes well, we will look at moving up to 135 after doing everything we need to do at 130.”
How does Navarrete feel about fighting Valdez for the second time? “This one will be much harder especially with our styles and us knowing each other already from the first fight. I think this fight will be better than the first one. I’ll be looking for the knockout, which will force me to work harder.”
He concluded, “I try my best to give it my all during every fight,” said Navarrete confidently. “At times, there are circumstances or things that can affect my performance, but those are things that can happen to anyone. This fight has motivated me to work hard during training camp and work on my body in ways I wasn’t able to in the past. This could potentially be the second prime of my career.”
Valdez won the interim version of the WBO belt in his last fight in March with a seventh round TKO over Liam Wilson. The fight was a much needed rebound from the loss to Navarrete as he has gone 2-2 in his last four fights.
The 33-year-old is former two division world champion having held the WBC junior lightweight title from 2021 to 2022 and the WBO featherweight title from 2016 to 2019. How does he feel about facing Navarrete a second time? “This time, it’s going to be a good fight. I already fought him. I know what he’s got. Awkward shots, he comes forward and doesn’t give off,” said Valdez. “I got to win this fight, come back, and it’s going to be a dream come true.”
“We know what to do. We’ve put in the work, and now it’s time to show it on December 7th. I don’t need more motivation than I already have. I have a chance to redeem my loss. Getting a rematch is just as motivating as it can get.
“We know what to do. We’ve put in the work, and now it’s time to show it on December 7th. I don’t need more motivation than I already have. I have a chance to redeem my loss. Getting a rematch is just as motivating as it can get.
“Now, it’s time to step it up and to win. I’m locked and loaded. There’s nothing here that will make me lose focus. Outside of the ring, you can be gentlemen. Inside the ring, there’s no respect,” said Valdez.
The co-main event of the evening will also be for a title as WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza will defend his belt in a rematch against Robeisy Ramirez.
Espinoza (25-0, 21 KO) won the belt in the first fight with Ramirez last December by majority decision. He followed that up with an impressive fourth round TKO over Sergio Chirino Sanchez in June.
The champion talked about his approach to fighting. “When I’m in the fight, I like to decide what I’m going to do and adjust to that. I do things so they don’t hurt me as much. I try to box and not get hit and leave everything in the ring,” said Espinoza.
“Sometimes I like to go ahead to get the results that I want to push on the gas. I’m going to try and do everything intelligently in the ring. I don’t know what happened to him, but I do expect the best version of Robeisy. I want the best version, and I don’t want any excuses. I’m also going to try and give the best version of myself as well.”
While his critics did not consider his last win to be over the best competition, they are questioning whether Espinoza has improved and can handle the power of Ramirez in a second fight.
Ramirez (14-2, 9 KO) followed the loss to Espinoza with a seventh round KO of Brandon Leon Benitez in June. The former champion claims he was not himself in the first fight and vows to get his belt back.
“That Wasn’t Me” “There were a lot of physical things that happened in the fight. A lot of things were happening in my life, but the good thing is everything is fine now. I’m going to be focused for this fight,” Ramirez said.
He proclaimed again, “That wasn’t me. I was looking for a way out of exchanges, and I wasn’t feeling good at that point. I was trying to do something different, and the things that I wanted to do weren’t happening, said Ramirez.
Ramirez continued, “Even though I was like that, it was still Fight of the Year for Top Rank and ESPN. You saw 12 strong rounds. This time, it’s going to be different. In the first fight, I dropped him, and when he got up, it looked ugly. I think that the bell saved him.”
He concluded by saying, “In the camp, my father got sick and almost passed away. That affected me a lot because my father is in Cuba. I can’t go back. I can’t even see him in the hospital. So, that affected me really hard. I didn’t have the desire to train or anything,”
Ramirez won the belt in 2023 and had one title defense before fighting Espinoza. If both fighters do what they promise to do, boxing fans are in for another fight of the year type battle.
The main card is set for 10:30 ET on ESPN and ESPN+.
Paro vs. Hitchins Preview
The IBF junior welterweight title will be on the line Saturday, December 7th in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Champion Liam Paro will defend his belt against Richardson Hitchins in a 12-round fight.
Paro (25-0, 15 KO) won the title in his last fight with a unanimous decision victory over Subriel Matias. The champion talked about how important it is to have a great fight against Hitchins. “You know, we got a lot of good current champions [in Australia],” Paro said. “To keep my reign as current champion, it’s huge. It means a lot, especially if you wanna have those massive homecoming fights in Australia next year. They’re definitely gonna have more pulling power with this belt. So, it’s very important, not only to me, but to all of Australian boxing, to keep winning these big fights and getting those big fights over to Australia next year.”
The Australian knows what he is up against in Hitchins. “It would mean the world to me,” Paro said. “I’ve always wanted the target on my back, and I’ve got that now. We’re taking on a mandatory [challenger]. You know, there’s no easy fights. My résumé speaks for itself. We’re taking on another undefeated guy. He’s a good boxer, a well-credited boxer, I would say. And I’m keen to show the world that I’m gonna be here for a long time to come. It’s really exciting.”
Paro was linked to a fight with Devin Haney before signing the contract to fight Hitchins. With a win he will set himself up for big fights especially in his home country of Australia.
Hitchins (17-0, 7 KO) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over former title challenger Jose Zepeda in September. The 27-year-old is fighting for his first title on Saturday. He talked about his approach to fighting Paro and what he learned from his last fight.
“Richardson Hitchins wins this fight by showing he’s a world-level fighter, like I’ve done every other fight,” Hitchins said. “My last fight, a lotta criticism came from the fight. People seen the fight close. I don’t believe that I lost the fight. … But I think that my last fight was definitely an experience to show me you do everything right as a professional, especially with nutrition and listening to the right people, making weight the right way. And I said that’s why I gotta respect Liam, because Liam one of them guys, he’s not gonna f*** off.”
The Brooklyn native continued, “Like with me in my last fight, ‘I’mma eat whatever I want and I’m not doing the IBF [second-day weigh-in].’ And my manager, Keith [Connolly], was like, ‘No, we gotta be professional. You gotta lose the weight the day before the fight.’ So, this fight I came in more experienced, more seasoned. I’m doing everything right. So, like I said, for me to win the fight it’s not by any means necessary. It’s by showing I’m at a world-class level. Liam never been in the ring with an opponent like me. I’mma say it now, and he will be saying it after the fight.”
Both fighters are confident heading into the fight but the champion believes he is more composed than Hitchins. “If you watch any of his videos, he contradicts himself over and over again,” Paro said. “It just shows the emotions take over. He’s not even realizing what he’s saying. He’s back and forth, like a tennis match. It is what it is. If it boosts him up enough to step through them ropes, and stand across from me in the ring, that’s all that matters. He can say all he wants. Talk is cheap. Everyone knows Liam Paro goes in there and gets it done with action.”
The main card will start at 9:00pm EST on DAZN.