Tszyu vs. Mendoza Preview

The WBO junior middleweight title will be on the line Saturday, October 14 in Queensland at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. Australian champion Tim Tszyu will defend his title against interim WBC champion Brian Mendoza.

Tszyu (23-0, 17 KO) is coming off a first round KO victory in June over Carlos Ocampo in which he retained the interim WBO title. He was elevated to full champion when Jermell Charlo battled Canelo Alvarez a few weeks ago. He will be defending as full champion for the first time in his home country.

While Tszyu and the boxing world have been waiting for a fight between he and Charlo, the newly crowned champion has reassured his critics he is focused on Mendoza.  “He’s been my sole focus, I’m locked into taking him out and moving forward again. From what I’ve seen, his style can be awkward at times, and he throws from different angles, but I’m eager to unpack it on October 15th,” Said Tszyu.

‘I was hopeful the WBC would follow the WBO and elevate Mendoza, so we could unify but it is what it is and it’s still fight that fight fans are excited to see.”

The Australian detailed his plan for the future. “Mendoza first and then mega-fights,” he said. “Who knows how long that bloke Charlo is going to need to take this time after that performance, but knowing him it’ll be another 12 months and I’m not waiting around. Titles will come but I want the big names on my resume. I’m not waiting for anyone.”

Tszyu is motivated to prove himself in this title defense. “It’s a fight that excites me as with Charlo running off and doing his thing against Canelo for the cash,” he said.. “Mendoza was the only other guy in the division worth fighting.”

The champion has looked dominant in his last two fights with the other being a ninth round TKO over former champion Tony Harrison in March. He cannot sleep on Mendoza’s power or we could see the belt change hands again.

Mendoza (22-2, 16 KO) has won three straight having most recently defeated former interim champion Sebastina Fundora by a brutal seventh round KO in April. With the win he claimed the interim WBC junior middleweight belt and now looks to carry the momentum of three straight finishes into his first regular title fight. Prior to the Fundora win, he defeated former champion Jeison Rosario by fifth round KO.

The 29-year-old addressed the idea that he has more power than Tszyu. “The thing about me is I have power but I’m not just a power puncher. I don’t go in there trying to look for one shot. I’ll hurt you for 12 rounds. You know, old school, like I think of Miguel Cotto vs Mayorga — that was a 12th round last second knockout. I’m even content with that,” said Mendoza.

While he talked about how he has other skills than power punching, Mendoza will be looking for the knockout. “I do look for the knockout, I want to put on a big show. I think that’s why I even got called here to this beautiful country in the first place for this title fight. But I’m in there to put punishment on you for 12 rounds. Yeah, I have one-shot knockouts here and there, but you’ve seen my last few fights, it’s been the fifth round, sixth round, seven. And I carry the power late and I’m totally fine however long the fight needs to go for me to get that victory, that’s what I got to do.”

Mendoza talked about having to go into Tszyu’s home country to pull off the upset. “It’s all fuel. I’m using an entire country going against me on fight night as fuel. Nobody believes, man. Very few people actually believe that I can pull this off. Just like in my last fights. The comments don’t even get to me anymore. The last guy was supposed to kill me, and so was the guy before that. Fans are funny sometimes. I’m here to put on a great show and get that victory because the victory secures my family’s future. That’s what I’m focused on. I’m super motivated to accomplish that,” said Mendoza.

The challenger concluded, Whether it’s a knockout or decision, you can expect an explosive performance. At the end of the night, “And the new WBO super welterweight world champion, Brian “La Bala” Mendoza.”

The main card can be seen at 10:30pm ET on Showtime.

UFC Vegas 81 Preview

The UFC returns to the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, October 14 for UFC Vegas 81. The main event will be in the featherweight division between #11 Sodiq Yusuff vs. #13 Edson Barboza.

Yusuff has won two straight fights, he is 6-1 in the UFC, and he is 8-2 in his last 10 fights. His most recent win was by first round submission over Don Shainis a year ago. The Nigerian fighter will be facing his toughest test on Saturday and fighting in his first main event. He wants to prove to the world that he deserves to be in a headlining spot.

“It feels natural,” Yusuff said. “When I first got it, it was a little bit surreal. But the closer and closer I got, this is like this is the destined path. I feel like I’ve spent enough time here and I’ve gotten enough eyeballs on me to where the company feels like I deserve it. When Saturday comes, you’ve just got to go out there and put on a good show so they give you another one.”

The 30-year-old knows what a win over Barbosa would do for him. “They originally gave me that name for Abu Dhabi, but I couldn’t make it because of passport problems,” Yusuff said. “So I thought it was an opportunity that I already missed. So when they brought it back around, it was a yes, definitely. Edson is a legend. That’s a name I’d love to have under my resume.”

Yusuff has key wins over Andre Fili and Alex Caceres, but he will have his hands full with a veteran fighter who is still one of the most dangerous strikers in the world. Yusuff’s wrestling will likely be the difference for him, but if he gets lazy, he could get caught by Barboza on the ground.

Barboza won his last fight by first round KO over Billy Quarantillo in April, which was a huge rebound after losing two straight. The 37-year-old is 4-6 in his last 10 fights but is looking to prove he is still capable of winning a war against Yusuff.

“He’s a great fighter – definitely one of the best in the world,” Barboza said. “He’s No. 11 (in the UFC rankings), in front of me in the rankings. It’s going to be a war like always. Everybody know every time I step into the octagon I give a good fight, and this Saturday is not going to be different. It’s going to be a war.”

The Brazilian fighter is ready to win the fight no matter what Yusuff’s gameplan is. “It’s an MMA fight,” Barboza said. “I need to be ready wherever this fight go. I am ready. It’s an MMA fight. But everybody knows my style, they know the game plan is always the same. Keep it on the feet and try to stop him, try to finish the fight as soon as possible. But wherever this fight goes, I’ll be ready.”

Barboza concluded, “I see the fight at the end with me with the win. I don’t know if it’s going to be a decision or a knockout or submission. But I know if I go there and give my best, I’m going to win this fight.”

While he is getting closer to retirement, Barboza has legendary knockout victories and wins over some of the toughest in the sport. He has been fighting in the UFC since 2010 and has key wins over Bobby Green, Paul Felder, Anthony Pettis, Gilbert Melendez, Beneil Dariush, Dan Hooker and Shane Burgos.

A win for Barboza would remind the featherweight top 15 that he is never an easy fight and is always a threat. A loss would push him one step closer to a glove removal for one of the most electric fighters in UFC history.

The rest of the main card:

Women's Flyweight - #9 Jennifer Maia vs. #11 Viviane Araújo

Bantamweight - #13 Jonathan Martinez vs. #14 Adrian Yanez

Middleweight - Michel Pereira vs. Andre Petroski

Flyweight - Edgar Cháirez vs. Daniel Lacerda

Bantamweight - Cameron Saaiman vs. Christian Rodriguez

ESPN + Prelims:

Featherweight - Darren Elkins vs.T.J. Brown

Women's Bantamweight - Tainara Lisboa vs. Ravena Oliveira

Lightweight - Terrance McKinney vs. Brendan Marotte

Women's Bantamweight - Irina Alekseeva vs. Melissa Dixon

Bantamweight - #15 Chris Gutiérrez vs. Alateng Heili

Women's Strawweight - Ashley Yoder vs. Emily Ducote

UFC Vegas 80 Preview

The UFC is heading back to Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, October 7th for UFC Vegas 80. The main event will be in the lightweight division between rising contender #10 Grant Dawson vs. battle-tested veteran Bobby Green.

Dawson has won three straight fights and is 9-0-1 in the UFC. He most recently defeated Damir Ismagulov by unanimous decision in July. The 29-year-old believes a matchup with Green is better for him now than worrying about fighting another fighter in the rankings.

“Matchups don’t make any sense to me anyway,” Dawson said. “I’m not a really big, anything outside the champion is just suggestion. The rankings change very single day. If he beats me on Saturday night, then the matchup wasn’t that weird.”

Is Green a threat? “I’m taking Bobby Green very seriously. I know how good he is, and I’m going to be honest with you, I think a win over Bobby Green does more for my career than a couple of wins over some other guys in the top 15. I just think he’s got that much of star power, he’s that big of a veteran, and I’m expecting the best Bobby Green on Saturday night.”

Dawson is excited to be fighting in his first main event. “I wanted to be a UFC world champion from day one, and if I want to be a UFC world champion, I have to know that these kind of moments are going to happen,” Dawson said. “They’re great, and I’m so happy that they’re finally starting to get here, but this was supposed to happen. I’m supposed to be in a main event. I’m supposed to be doing this kind of thing. Now I get to show the UFC you can put me in a main event and I can perform, and I can go all five rounds if need be. This is everything I’ve ever worked for.”

Green is coming off the biggest win of his long UFC career with a third-round submission over fan-favorite Tony Ferguson at UFC 291 in July. The win was a big rebound after two straight losses and a no contest in his previous three fights. The 37-year-old made his UFC debut in 2013 and is fighting in his second main event.

Ahead of UFC Vegas 80 Green did not know who Dawson was, but has now formed opinions after familiarizing himself with his opponent. “Man, I didn’t even know who that guy was. I never even heard of him, and that goes to his body of work. I think the issue is that like, he’s been kind of boring, you know? He’s been in the Apex fighting,” Bobby Green said. “But, had he been around these crowds, he’d already feel the pressure from the crowd.’

Green believes he needs to put on an exciting fight. “Even though sometimes he got some finishes, so it’s like, ‘Cool, yeah.’ But it’s a snorefest. So it’s going to be a real test for me is to moreso make a boring guy exciting. That’s the real fight,” Green said.

While his first main event did not go according to plan against now champion Islam Makhachev, Green is ready to seize the moment on Saturday. “I just feel like I didn’t have the proper time to prep for Islam,” Green said. “I was sitting on the couch, my girl was supposed to have surgery, I’m smoking a blunt, and they’re like, ‘Hey, get up and fight again.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, great. F*ck it, let’s do it.’ I think that this one’s going to be a lot different now that I had the time to prepare.”

The Rest of the Main Card:

Middleweight - Joe Pyfer vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan

Welterweight - Alex Morono vs. Joaquin Buckley

Lightweight - Drew Dober vs. Ricky Glenn

Featherweight - Alexander Hernandez vs. Bill Algeo

ESPN + Prelims:

Light Heavyweight - Philipe Lins vs. Ion Cuțelaba

Women's Strawweight - #15 Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Diana Belbiţă

Bantamweight - Aori Qileng vs. Johnny Muñoz Jr.

Women's Strawweight - Kanako Murata vs. Vanessa Demopoulos

Flyweight - Nate Maness vs. Mateus Mendonça

Women's Flyweight - Montana De La Rosa vs. JJ Aldrich

Alvarez vs. Charlo Preview

The undisputed super middleweight championship will be on the line at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, September 30. Champion Canelo Alvarez will defend the title against undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo. This will be the first time that two undisputed champs face each other in boxing history.

Alvarez is defending the undisputed championship for the third time after unanimous decision wins over Gennady Golovkin and John Ryder. He is the only undisputed super middleweight champion in boxing history. The Mexican fighter has held multiple titles in four different weight classes and has been one of the top three pound for pound fighters in the world over the last six years.

The 33-year-old is now tasked with a new challenge in facing a fighter who is trying to take the leap up in weight class and prove to the rest of the world he is the best pound for pound fighter, much like Alvarez did back in 2018 in two fights with Golovkin.

The champion is ready for a great performance on Saturday. “I feel confident, I feel 100%, and that makes me feel happy, and it makes me feel confident,” said Alvarez.

Charlo has stated that Alvarez has never fought a fighter like him, but the champion responded by saying, “I’m thinking in my mind that I fought against every style, every great fighter out there. So what does he mean that I haven’t been in the ring with a fighter like him,” said Canelo.

While Alvarez has achieved more than most boxers dream of, he still has his critics. Ahead of this fight, the pundits are saying he has lost a step. Canelo responded by saying, "I feel fresh. I feel in my prime.”

While winning his last fight against Ryder, he was criticized for his performance. "I had a little injury on my hand [that was] slowing me down a little bit, but you will see Saturday night," Canelo said.

Alvarez does not take any opponent for granted. “When you love what you do, that’s what it’s all about. He’s a great fighter. It’s not for nothing that he’s undisputed champion at 154,” said Canelo about Jermell. “Now I have the opportunity to show him why I’m at the top.

“He knows how to box, he’s strong, he counter-punches fast. He has a lot of ability, but I’ve been in the ring with all kinds of fighters, and I’m ready for this. “He has a lot of good wins. Harrison, Castano. No, nobody,” said Canelo when asked if any of the fighters that Jermell has fought are similar to him.

“They have confidence and enthusiasm to win. I know. I’ve been against a lot of motivated fighters, but when they step in the ring, and they start feeling, it’s difficult.”

With a win over Charlo, an honest question for Alvarez would be, what else is there to do? He will likely be driven by his critics until he retires. These are the people who believe he did not defeat Golovkin in their first two fights, he defeated an old Sergey Kovalev, and he had too many excuses for the loss to Dmitry Bivol. With the criticism aside, Alvarez will go down as one of the greatest boxers of all-time.

Aside from Golovkin, he has key victories over Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, Sergey Kovalev, Daniel Jacobs, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Liam Smith, Amir Khan, Miguel Cotto, Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, Josesito Lopez, Shane Mosley, Kermit Cintron and Alfonso Gomez.

Charlo is coming off a 10th round KO of Brian Castano in May for his third straight defense of the unified junior middleweight belts. The win was a big rebound after his first fight with Castano was ruled a split draw. He will now be taking the biggest step up in a challenge he can take in a fight with Alvarez.

The 33-year-old is embracing the moment.

“I mean, it feels amazing to be able to go into a fight as historical as this. I love the sport of boxing, and for me to be able to be a part of a fight where two undisputed fighters, which has never happened in the sport of boxing, against such a large and dynamic opponent as Canelo, it feels amazing. It feels great. It feels-- it's awesome. It's super because I'm a part of such an event,” said Charlo.

He continued, “I knew that one day eventually, that I would have my opportunity. Maybe I could have been the main super attraction, or star. But it has to start from someone that's at the top, or someone like the Mayweathers and the big guys in the boxing world. So you know, I can't question God in his timing, and everything happens for a reason. And the star's in the making.”

Jermell has agreed to take this fight in place of his twin brother Jermall who is the WBC middleweight champion. While a fight between Jermall Charlo and Alvarez was much anticipated, Jermell will be stepping in to take the fight while his brother deals with personal issues.

While Charlo has used trash talk in the past to get into his opponents heads, he knows that will not work with a decorated champion like Alvarez. "I don't need to trash talk or do all that," Jermell Charlo said. "I wish that I never would've presented such a negative or bad energy but this is just who I am. I am going to give you all what it is. If you piss me off, I'm going to give you the attitude. [But] you can't care about what some other somebody else says. If you focus more on that, you won't be able to do your job.”

The champion believes he will be a different fighter against Alvarez.

"I just have it in me," Jermell told CBS Sports. "It was built in me and instilled in me. I grew with this and I have a fire in me so I just need to keep that thing lit. I hope you all are peeping the maturity that I have been through and the lessons of life that taught me that I'm growing and learning as a man, now. And growing as a man has put me in position to fight Canelo.

"Y'all are going to see that, dang, we underestimated Jermell Charlo. I like when I got haters and doubters and people that don't really know me yet. They don't really know how hard I hit because they haven't been in the ring with me yet. Hopefully, after the fight, Canelo can let you all know that I'm one of the most dangerous fighters he has fought.”

To date, Castano is Charlo’s biggest victory but a win over Alvarez would shake up the boxing world. He could become just the second male boxer in history to unify two weight classes. Terence Crawford became the first with his victory over Errol Spence Jr. in July.

The fight can be seen on DAZN PPV.

UFC Vegas 79 Preview (Fiziev vs. Gamrot)

The UFC is returning to the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 79. The main event will be a lightweight showdown between two fighters hungry to go on a run to a title shot. #6 Rafael Fiziev will battle #7 Mateusz Gamrot.

Fiziev is trying to rebound from a majority decision loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 286 in March. Prior to the loss he was on a six fight winning streak and with a win he would have been on the short list to challenge for the lightweight title.

The Azerbaijani fighter believes he learned a valuable lesson in the loss to Gaethje. "I learned to cook some good humble pie," Fiziev said. "Really, I learned in this fight. like, (to) come through my emotions. I don't need to follow the fans, follow the screaming. Sometimes it makes fire too much inside of me. So, yeah, this is what I learned."

Fiziev talked about preparing for a different part of his game. “I’m always learning how to control emotions. I come back now and have to control my emotions, not listen to the people outside the cage, because when you touch him a little bit and many people start screaming, you feel it here (touches chest) and it starts a fire, you want to show more,” said Fiziev.

“We’ll see in the next fight,” he quickly responded when asked how the learning process has been going. “I’m working on it, thinking about it, because it’s so hard to control emotions in a fight.”

The 30-year-old does not have a problem being motivated to get back into the win column. “I lost, so I can talk s*** about it,” began the amiable lightweight, smiling as he voiced his frustrations, much like he would in previous interviews when he was targeting those positioned above him in the rankings. “Some fighters, they can talk s*** about it. But you? Guy who never steps in the cage, never stands in front of somebody who wants to beat your face?”

He succinctly concluded, “I just want to fight with strong guys, and after my fight, I want people to say, ‘Wow!’ That’s it.”

Fiziev has proven in his last two fights that he will not back down from a back and forth battle. With a win over Gamrot he can break into the top five of the rankings and set himself up potentially for a fight with Dustin Poirier or Beneil Dariush.

Gamrot has won five of his last six fights and most recently defeated Jalin Turner by split decision at UFC 285 in March. The Polish fighter wants to prove he is a to contender at lightweight. “I want to make statement in this lightweight division. Of course, I am a professional fighter and for me the most important is to win this fight. But I want to show my shape and good performance, and I want to finish him, Gamrot said.

While he wants to make a statement, he does respect Fiziev. “He’s a real dangerous opponent. A high-level, world-class striker. But I believe I am better all-around fighter. To be honest, I don’t care because of course I have much respect for Rafael, but my wrestling skills kill every striker.”

The 32-year-old has his sights set on champion Islam Makhachev with a win on Saturday. Gamrot said, “I don’t care because my wrestling skills always beat a striker. I am only interested in one guy in this lightweight division, and he’s a wrestler. He is Islam, and I believe he will win against Charles Oliveira. I hope that we meet in the future, maybe next year or two, to two years.”

While critics and analysts believe the champion is the best wrestler in the lightweight division, Gamrot has other ideas. “I think so we’ll see I have to meet him in the octagon and fight with him and then we get the answer who is the better wrestler than myself in my opinion I am the best wrestler in the lightweight Division”

The rest of the main card:

Featherweight - #10 Bryce Mitchell vs. #12 Dan Ige

Women's Strawweight - #8 Marina Rodriguez vs. 10 Michelle Waterson-Gomez

Welterweight - Bryan Battle vs. AJ Fletcher

Featherweight - Ricardo Ramos vs. Charles Jourdain

ESPN + Prelims:

Bantamweight - Miles Johns vs. Dan Argueta

Welterweight - Tim Means vs. André Fialho

Middleweight - Jacob Malkoun vs. Cody Brundage

Heavyweight - Mohammed Usman vs. Jake Collier

Women's Strawweight - Mizuki Inoue vs. Hannah Goldy

Women's Bantamweight - Montserrat Rendon vs. Tamires Vidal

Zhang vs. Joyce 2 Preview

The WBO interim heavyweight title will be on the line Saturday, September 23 in London. Champion Zhilei Zhang will defend the belt in an immediate rematch against former champion Joe Joyce.

The two fighters battled in April where Zhang shocked Joyce in London, outclassing him and winning by sixth round TKO. Joyce ate a barrage of power left hands which eventually closed his right eye altogether forcing the fight to be ended. Zhang proved that even at his age, he has more power, speed, and better defense than Joyce. It will be interesting to see what type of adjustments the former champion will make in the rematch.

Many pundits believed Joyce was next in line to challenge Oleksandr Usyk for the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles. But the luck of the mandatory-challenger- draw forced Joyce to watch Daniel Dubois get the title shot, a fighter he dominated in 2020. Joyce who was then undefeated and coming off a KO victory over former champion Joseph Parker, chose to stay active and accepted the fight with Zhang.

The London native has reflected on what could have been.   “It was frustrating that it was the guy I beat convincingly that got the shot before me,” Joyce said. “And it bothers me that I was once the WBA gold [champion] and paid the sanctioning fees, and then I was completely out of that [mix]. That’s a route I could’ve taken, but I did the WBO route and I’m in that position again. But to have to lose to Zhang, when I was so close and I could’ve just waited and took a different shot, it was quite a hard time and lesson to learn.”

Joyce believes an immediate rematch with Zhang was the way to go. “I don’t really have time to piece my way back another way, so I have to,” Joyce said. “Because I could’ve had a fight in the meantime. Someone could’ve fought Zhang instead or Zhang could’ve had that opportunity at the WBO [title]. But this is why I enacted the immediate rematch [clause], so I can get back in position.”

The former olympian turned 38 years old on Tuesday, so the run at unifying any heavyweight title must begin now. Another loss to Zhang wouldn’t make becoming a champion impossible for Joyce, but he would have a long road back to title contention. Many of his critics believe using the activation clause and insisting for this rematch was a stubborn move on Joyce’s part, because he is not willing to admit that Zhang is a bad matchup for him. However, to be the best in the world you have to beat the best in the world.

Zhang rebounded from a unanimous decision loss to Filip Hrgovic with his win against Joyce. The 40-year-old certainly flew under the radar heading into his first title fight, but he proved that he has skills that should not be slept on. He like many watching was somewhat muddled at Joyce’s speed and lack of defense.

The Chinese champion was hoping Joyce would not activate the rematch clause because he thought he was on the way to fighting Tyson Fury. "I was little bit disappointed because I was very, very close to making that Tyson Fury fight happen, right before Joe activated the rematch clause," said Zhang.

"But we had this in the contract. I had to sign the rematch clause in order to get to the first fight. So I will do whatever is right which is the rematch."

Zhang’s co-manager Terry Lane believes a second win over Joyce separates him from all other heavyweight contenders. "I think a win for Zhilei on Saturday really separates out the heavyweight division," Lane told Sky Sports. "If he is victorious, you really have Fury, Usyk and Zhang on top. Everyone else will be far, far beneath.”

He continued, "If Zhilei wins, as we expect him to again, Fury is our first target.

"We will have to sit back and see what fights get made - and perhaps more importantly, which fights do not get made.

"This division is just a constant game of 'musical chairs'."

The main card can be seen on ESPN + starting at 2:20 pm ET

Noche UFC Preview (Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2)

The UFC is returning to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday September 16 for Noche UFC. The event is set to celebrate Mexican Independence Day and the main event will be a rematch for the flyweight title between Mexican champion Alexa Grasso and former champion Valentina Shevchenko.

Grasso defeated longtime champion Shevchenko by fourth round submission at UFC 285 in March. The win came as a big surprise to many in the MMA world because going into the fight Shevchenko was one of the most dominant champions in UFC history. Grasso was unphased, focused, and displayed a resolve she had not shown in previous fights. Will Grasso defend the title the same way she won it?

Shevchenko believes she lost the belt and Grasso did not win it. Grasso responded, “It just kind of surprised me because someone with such big experience and competing at such high level, we know that there are no accidents,” Grasso said. “I trained for that moment. You can see the video that I have before the fight. I was training that exact same position. It was something that I trained to win that fight.”

The champion has once again trained hard, but this time to honorably defend her title. “Thanks to my team and my coaches, they’re always trying to keep me focused, ‘Yeah, you’re the champion, but you’re just one more in the gym. You have to help your teammates. You have to evolve. You have to be here on time. You have to do everything we ask you to do and more.,'” Grasso said.

“I think the most important thing at this high level is to keep motivated, to keep the hunger, and do my best to evolve and improve.”

Grasso wants to show that she has improved since beating Shevchenko. “I know what I’m capable of,” she said. “I will be more prepared for this second fight, for wherever the fight goes. So, yeah, I’m just excited to show everyone what I’ve been working on. My training has changed a lot. I trained better than the last one. I did a lot of adjustments to be winning every single round now.”

She continued, “I know she’s a great athlete, she’s training super hard and she’s super competitive too. Yeah, I’m expecting her best version… She was a super dominant champion, and I’m ready for that. I’m ready for every single thing that she can be ready [to do] in the fight. I’m here to do my best, and to keep this belt with me.”

Grasso was losing the first fight, but she would not go away and stuck to a clear gameplan, which paid off in a big way in her pulling off the upset. One thing Shevchenko has shown in her last two title fights is that the longer the fight goes on, the more she gives her opponents chances to stay in the fight. Grasso was the first to take full advantage of the championship rounds against Shevchenko, but will she commit to moments early in the fight? Grasso needs to threaten Shevchenko in the early rounds and cannot fall behind on the scorecards.

Shevchenko was on a nine-fight winning streak heading into the first fight with Grasso. Another win was likely going to land her a mega-fight at bantamweight with two division champion Amanda Nunes who is the only other fighter to defeat Shevchenko (twice) in the UFC. However, Nunes has since retired after another successful title defense, so Shevchenko’s focus now can be to reign the flyweight division once again.

The former champion has reflected on her title loss to Grasso. “Watching the fight back, I would say I was winning all the fight from first to the third round, except the last moment of the fourth round,” Shevchenko said.

“And another thing, right now my mindset and my focus, I don’t go back to March. I don’t go back and think about what happened there. I did it already. I did it in my training camp. I did it for all these months.

She has realized what she needs to do to win the fight. “Right now, I’m a person who’s motivated to get rid of that feeling back then in March. I’m determined on what I have to do this Saturday. That’s my mindset. I don’t watch back. Everything I had to take from the fight I took. Now it’s strong energy, positive energy, no mercy. Go to the end.”

The Russian fighter went on to say, “The position that I’m right now, I have no choice for any sentimental things,” Shevchenko said. “I have no time for that. It’s a fight. In this fight, I have to just go without any step back, always forward.”

Shevchenko promises a convincing win. “I’m not playing around,” Shevchenko said. “I’ll just go there, my goal — enter the octagon, finish, destroy my opponent, take my belt back and continue what I have to continue.”

Shevchenko defended the title seven times and is one of the winningest champions in UFC history. We cannot completely rule out Shevechnko vs. Nunes 3 somewhere down the road which is the win she needs to cement her legacy as the greatest women’s fighter of all-time. If she wants to cement her position as the greatest women’s fighter right now, it starts with a win over Grasso on Saturday.

The rest of the main card:

Welterweight - #13Kevin Holland vs. #14Jack Della Maddalena

Bantamweight - Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Terrence Mitchell

Lightweight - Daniel Zellhuber vs. Christos Giagos

Featherweight - Fernando Padilla vs. Kyle Nelson

ESPN + Prelims:

Women's Strawweight - Lupita Godinez vs. Elise Reed

Middleweight - Roman Kopylov vs. Josh Fremd

Flyweight - Edgar Cháirez vs. Daniel Lacerda

Women's Flyweight - #14Tracy Cortez vs. #15Jasmine Jasudavicius

Lightweight - Alex Reyes vs. Charlie Campbell

Lopez vs. Gonzalez Preview

The American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas will host a dynamic title fight on Friday September 15. IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez will defend his belt against former title title challenger Joet Gonzalez.

Lopez will be making his second title defense after defeating Irish fighter Michael Conlan by 5th round TKO in Belfast this past May. He won the belt with a majority decision win over English fighter Josh Warrington in England last December.

The champion believes he needs a convincing win over Gonzalez. “I’m going for the knockout. It’s a personal challenge that I have. Joet Gonzalez has faced great fighters like Shakur Stevenson, Emanuel Navarrete and Isaac Dogboe, and he has never been knocked out. Knocking out a tough fighter like him is a huge goal for me,” said Lopez.

He went on to say, “I know this fight will be difficult. Joet Gonzalez is a fighter who comes forward throwing a lot of punches. But I like to come forward, too. So, we know it’s going to be a real clash.”

“Representing Mexicans on such an important night is a great motivation. And I can’t wait for the fight. We’re ready. We have a plan ready, and we are going to do our job. We are going to put on a great show on September 15.”

The Mexican champion will have the added pressure of fighting on Mexican Independence Day weekend. However, in his last two fights he has proven he is comfortable with going into enemy territory so it is unlikely the pressure of representing his nation un such an important day will get to Lopez.

Gonzalez won by unanimous decision over Enrique Vivas in his last fight in April. He challenged for the WBO featherweight title in 2021 and in 2019. He believes it is now or never if he wants to become a champion.

"I'm truly grateful for the opportunity," Gonzalez said. "I've worked really hard and every time I step in the ring I want to give it my all."

Gonzalez continued, "Plan and simple, I just have to win. This is my third opportunity and now I'm here again," Gonzalez said. "I'm ready to go and I have to get this fight one. I've worked really hard and come Friday night I'm going to become IBF champion."

While he is challenging for a third featherweight title, his losses to Emanuel Navarrete and Shakur Stevenson are nothing to scoff at. Gonzalez has proven he is one of the most talented fighters in boxing today to never hold a title. With both fighters feeling they have something to prove, fans should be in for a treat Friday night in Corpus Christi.

UFC 293 Preview

The UFC will be invading Sydney, Australia on Saturday August 9th for UFC 293 at the Qudos Bank Arena. The main event will be in the middleweight division between champion Israel Adesanya and #5 Sean Strickland.

Adesanya will be making his first title defense for his second run as middleweight champion, after winning back the belt in April at UFC 287. He defeated long-time rival Alex Pereira by second round KO to become a two-time champion and solidify his spot as the greatest middleweight in the world.

This title defense against Strickland comes with a different challenge as Adesanya will be battling the most outspoken opponent he has faced during his time in the UFC. Dating back to UFC 281, Strickland has verbally attacked Adesanya with not only critique on his reign as a champion, but personal attacks as well.

Is this a dangerous game to play for Strickland? Will we see a different Adesanya in the octagon? Strickland has taken full advantage of the opportunity to run his mouth whether there is a microphone in his face or not.  "This is his moment," Adesanya said. "Sunday afternoon it's my moment. Sunday, I'm going to knock this motherf---er out."

The champion continued, "He's talking all this s---, but he should be grateful. I got him his first passport. I got him his first flight out of his country. I got him this big-money fight," Adesanya said. "He tries to act like a tough guy, but there's no danger with him. He's that idiot at the back of the class who talks over you and talks loud just to get his point across."

Many pundits have questioned Adesanya’s decision to defend against Strickland. The 34-year-old has responded to his critics.  “You can't punish me for my own greatness,” Adesanya said. “(I) just didn’t want to fight the same people again. I like fresh blood, and Sean, I think he's dangerous. He does some things really well against other people, so my job is to make sure it doesn't work against me. I'm used to doing that when it comes to fighting, and f*** everything else. This is about fighting.”

Adesanya is looking for a big result on Saturday. “This is like a once in a while thing, but people like to hold on to it,” he said. “It's special for this. I just feel like I need to knock this guy out with some drip tips.”

With a win over Strickland, Adesanya is expected to defend next against Dricus Du Plessis as he has also had a verbal back and forth with the South African. Adesanya must first get passed Strickland who is dangerous because he has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Strickland is riding two straight victories into his first title shot. He most recently defeated Abusupiyan Magomedov by second round TKO in July, in a fight where he was the underdog against a rising contender. The 32-year-old has not been shy about leveraging personal attacks against Adesanya into gaining interest in this fight.

"He's a f---ing cringe lord," Strickland said at media day Wednesday. "Everything that guy does just makes you f---ing wince. When someone sucks to that degree, it's pretty easy to make fun of them."

While at times it is difficult to tell when Strickland is being cringe for the sake of cringe or being genuine, he has acknowledged leading up to this fight that Adesanya is dangerous. Despite this, Strickland believes he has what it takes to become champion.

"When I walk in that f---ing cage ... I want to go and win that belt for you guys," Strickland said Thursday. "And I want to bring some pride back to the middleweight division. I've got what it takes. I'm ready. I'm up for it."

Strickland has gained massive attention from the MMA community for his not so popular takes on culture and society. He has gained a fan-base by being unapologetic about who he is and why he is a fighter. It only took a day in Australia for him to live up to his reputation as he was seen punching a fan in the stomach.

“Boom, right in the guts,” Strickland said. “I’d only been in Australia a day and already I’d committed an assault. Initially, I thought the guy was coming up for a photo. Because anybody who wants a photo, man, I love the fans. But if you wanna come up to me and run your f…ing mouth, I’ll smack you like I smack anybody else.”

Most analysts are not giving Strickland a chance to win, but he has the advantage of knowing that as the underdog, people think he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. That is a comfortable place for a challenger to be and dangerous place for a champion. But Adesanya has proven that even when rattled, he is willing to enter the fire to achieve a victory.

Strickland is believed to have the better wrestling, but he prefers to stand and bang with a fighter even if they have superior striking. He does use forward moving pressure to his advantage, but Adesanya has plenty of weapons to counter that type of style. If Strickland can get out of the first two rounds, the fight could get interesting as the pressure continues to mount on Adesanya.

The rest of the main card:

Heavyweight - #6Tai Tuivasa vs. #7Alexander Volkov

Flyweight - Manel Kape vs. Felipe dos Santos

Heavyweight - Justin Tafa vs. Austen Lane

Light Heavyweight - Tyson Pedro vs. Anton Turkalj

ESPN + Prelims:

Light Heavyweight - Carlos Ulberg vs. Jung Da-un

Featherweight - Jack Jenkins vs. Chepe Mariscal

Lightweight - Jamie Mullarkey vs. John Makdessi

Lightweight - Nasrat Haqparast vs. Landon Quiñones

Early Prelims on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass:

Welterweight - Mike Mathetha vs. Charlie Radtke

Featherweight - Shane Young vs. Gabriel Miranda

Welterweight - Kevin Jousset vs. Kiefer Crosbie

UFC Paris Preview

The UFC will be invading the Accor Arena in Paris, France on Saturday, September 2 for UFC on ESPN+ 84. The main event will be in the heavyweight division between former interim champion and French Fighter Ciryl Gane vs. #7 Sergey Spivac.

The UFC debuted in France last September with Gane being the headliner on that night as well. What the event produced was a back-and-forth battle between he and Tai Tuivasa for one of the best fights of 2022. His third round KO of Tuivasa earned him a title shot in March against all-time great Jon Jones, but Gane was defeated by first round submission.

The French fighter explained that he took this fight with Spivac to spark another run at the heavyweight belt. “The better way for me, no, it’s not this way,” Gane said. “The better way for me is to do exactly what we did the last years – to put a big message this Saturday, and the message is: ‘I’m still here, I want to go back to the belt.’ This is the better way, shorter way to go to the belt.”

Gane explained what will be different about this title run. “All of my career, I was in a rush,” Gane said. “I started MMA in 2018 and I did my first fight just after six months. Since this fight, I was already in a rush until today. So, yes, I want to take my time now. I want to take my time at the gym,

“But I’m going to find some time without all of the things you have around the training and the gym. So, I don’t need to take my time in between two fights, I need more time. No, it’s about that. I need to manage my schedule without all the things you have around the fight, and like that we’re going to have time.”

The 33-year-old faced harsh criticism over his performance against Jones, but the former interim champion believes he will prove to the world that it was just a bad moment. "We were confident, comfortable with the situation," Gane said. "I was really happy to be there and fight, and then boom...it was a bad moment. It was a really bad moment...then we went back to the gym and focused on my future. But before that, we had the social media...and I understand people were really disappointed. The people expected a big war, maybe a surprise by me, and then it wasn't what the people expected. When they're disappointed, its really bad. People forgot really quickly and it's not easy but I'm strong. I had a good foundation, a good team and good family, and in real life if you walk in the street, you already have a good message from the people."

Aside from Tuivasa, Gane has key victories over Derrick Lewis, Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Junior Dos Santos. Jones exposed holes in his grappling which was much of the talk leading up to the title fight. Gane will have his hands full on Saturday as Spivac relies heavily on his grappling and is one of the better practitioners in the heavyweight division. A convincing win for Gane will be what he needs to remind the world that he is still a title threat.

Spivac has won three straight fights and most recently defeated Derrick Lewis by first round submission in February. The Moldovan fighter is not driven by any bitterness leading up to this fight. “I can talk only good about my opponents. I respect everyone, and I respect Ciryl, too,” said Spivac.

The 28-year-old actually defended Gane regarding his loss to Jones. “Journalists talk too much, too much sh*t. Who (out of them) can go to fight in the UFC? It’s really hard to go to fight. He (Gane) is first place in the UFC. He has good results in the UFC. These (people) talk sh*t. Ciryl needs to be focused on his life. This is not important for him.”

A win over Gane represents the biggest of Spivac’s career and could lead to quite a few intriguing matchups. He has been open to a Tom Aspinall rematch, a fight he believes he was not at his best. But most importantly, a win for Spivac puts him on a list of young contenders at heavyweight that are serious threat to the belt, which has not happened in some time.

The rest of the main card:

Women’s Flyweight - #3 Manon Fiorot vs. #2 Rose Namajunas

Lightweight - Benoît Saint-Denis vs. Thiago Moisés

Light Heavyweight - #9 Volkan Oezdemir vs. Bogdan Guskov

Featherweight - William Gomis vs. Yanis Ghemmouri

Featherweight - Morgan Charriere vs. Manolo Zecchini

ESPN + Prelims:

Bantamweight - Taylor Lapilus vs. Caolán Loughran

Welterweight - Ange Loosa vs. Rhys McKee

Women’s Bantamweight - Joselyne Edwards vs. Nora Cornolle

Bantamweight - Farid Basharat vs. Kleydson Rodrigues

Catchweight (140 lb) - Zarah Fairn dos Santos vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti

UFC Singapore Preview

The UFC is making a return visit to Singapore for the sixth time on Saturday, August 26th at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang. The main event will be a featherweight battle between former champion Max Holloway vs. two-time title challenger Chan Sung Jung.

Holloway is coming off a dominant unanimous decision victory over surging contender Arnold Allen in April. The win was the third in his last four fights with the loss coming in a third fight against champion Alexander Volkanovski.

The former champion won 13 straight fights between 2014 and 2019, he defended the belt three times, and is one of the most durable fighters in the history of the UFC. The 31-year-old will not be making his first trip to Singapore, in fact his winning streak started in the country with a TKO win in 2014. Holloway remembers this experience.

“It wasn’t just another fight,” he said, reflecting on his first trip to Singapore. “I was down two fights. You’re fighting a new guy making his debut, and it doesn’t look good if you lose, so, at the end of the day, I knew I had to do something — not only win, but put a mark on it, and that’s what I did. That started everything back in 2014.

“We’re here now, years later — I’m only 31, turn 32 at the end of the year,” he added, laughing. “People keep forgetting and I gotta keep reminding people. I’m a veteran in a lot of you guys’ eyes because I’ve been here for a minute, but another long run is on my mind.”

Many critics believed that Holloway’s chin would finally be tested in his last fight, but just like he has done many times before, he reminded the pundits to never sleep on him. “I knew what I was capable of. My team knew what I was capable of. That Arnold fight — that ‘Still Here’ fight — was just a reminder,” said Holloway. “Everyone was telling me that Arnold is the one that is going to crack my chin, and this is it, ‘Max shouldn’t be fighting,’ and blah blah blah.

“I went out there and did my thing.”

The Hawaiian fighter plans on making the same kind of statement on Saturday. “We go out there, fight ‘The Korean Zombie,’ put another stamp on it, and make myself undeniable,” he added. “The last one was to remind everybody that we’re still here, and this motivation is undeniable. Nothing but love for ‘The Korean Zombie,’ who was another guy I used to watch growing up, just like Aldo.”

“I thought we were gonna fight way earlier, but things didn’t pan out — they never do,” Holloway said, chasing his quip with a chortle. “But Mother Time found a way, we’re here now, and what better place to be. I can’t wait. He’s a legend in every sense, and I get to fight him in Asia. I’m excited.”

The same critics that thought Holloway would lose his last fight are saying he does not deserve a fourth fight with Volkanovski. Holloway responded by saying, “I know I have some history with the champ, but it’s not like I’m holding this No. 2 in the world or whatever it is — it’s not like I’m holding this position and not fighting, for years,” he said, a little frustration tinging his words. “I could see how people would be mad if I were sitting around and crying for a title shot — ‘I’m owed this! I’m owed that!’ — but I’m fighting contenders, I’m fighting tough guys.’

He concluded, “Before I got to fight the champ for a third time, I had to fight top contenders that you guys thought were gonna take me out. I got it, things didn’t go my way, I fought another contender because I want to be the best.

“I could start fighting down the line and being like ‘Let me fight the 10 and below guys, and let the champ fight 1-10,’ but no — this is the guy I’ve gotta fight to get the title shot, so this is what I gotta do.”

“My goal is to go out here and be undeniable — put a stamp on it, mail it in, and let everybody know,” he said. “I can’t wait to be out there.

Aside from the losses to Volkanovski, Holloway is arguably the best featherweight of all-time. The first two fights with the current champ were incredibly close, and both could have been scored for Holloway. The problem he is facing now is that Volkanovski may have distanced himself a bit in the last fight between the two. Of the three fights, Volkanovski looked the most dominant of the two fighters in the third fight and there was no doubt that he was the winner. However, if Holloway continues to dominate contenders, it will be difficult to argue a fourth fight with Volkanovski.

Aside from Allen, Holloway has key victories in his career over Yair Rodriguez, Calvin Kattar, Frankie Edgar, Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo (twice), Anthony Pettis, Ricardo Lamas, Jeremy Stephens, Charles Oliveira and Cub Swanson. A win over Volkanovski could put a stamp on his hall of fame status, but he must first get by Jung in Singapore.

Chan Sung Jung otherwise known as The Korean Zombie, has not fought since UFC 273, 16 months ago. In that fight he challenged Volkanovski for the title but was completely dominated by the champion losing by fourth round TKO. He is 3-3 in his last six fights but in the victories he has looked dominant.

The 36-year-old was brutally honest about his last loss for the title.  “The Volkanovski fight was a a big fight so losing like that was hurtful. I had to take a break, to reassess. I watched the fight and if I (ever) fight like this again I will not continue my career,” said Jung.

The Korean Zombie is feeling revitalized by a fight with Holloway. “He’s a fighter I have wanted to fight my entire career. As he mentioned in his interview, we’ve been in the top ten for many years (and) Max and I are exciting fighters so him and me inside the octagon cannot be boring.”

The former title challenger feels great heading into Singapore. “Before every fight I believe I am in the best shape but before this fight it’s true. I’m in the best shape of my entire career both physically and mentally.”

While he has respect for Holloway, Jung knows what a victory over the former champion would do for his storied run in the UFC. “Max is one of the best fighters out of all the division, he’s a former champion and in the pound for pound ranking. Getting a win over such a legendary fighter would be a huge boost to my career.”

The Korean Zombie is already a legend in the sport of MMA and has key victories over Dan Ige, Frankie Edgar, Renato Moicano, Dennis Bermudez, Dustin Poirier, Mark Hominick and Leonard Garcia. A win over Holloway at this point would be the biggest victory of his career and could potentially be the boost he needs to go on one last improbable run at the title.

The Rest of the Main Card:

Light Heavyweight - #8 Anthony Smith vs. #10 Ryan Spann

Featherweight - #9 Giga Chikadzevs. #15 Alex Caceres

Bantamweight - Rinya Nakamura vs. Fernie Garcia

Women's Flyweight - #3 Erin Blanchfield vs. #4 Taila Santos

Heavyweight - Junior Tafa vs. Parker Porter

ESPN + Prelims:

Heavyweight - Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Łukasz Brzeski

Bantamweight - Toshiomi Kazama vs. Garrett Armfield

Middleweight - Chidi Njokuani vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk

Welterweight - Song Kenan vs. Rolando Bedoya

Welterweight - Billy Goff vs. Yusaku Kinoshita

Women's Flyweight - Liang Na vs. JJ Aldrich

Featherweight - Choi Seung-woo vs. Jarno Errens

UFC 292 Preview

The UFC will be invading the TD Garden Arena in Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday August 19th for UFC 292. The main event will be for the bantamweight title between underappreciated champion Aljamain Sterling and fan-favorite #2 Sean O’Malley.

Sterling is coming off a split decision victory over future hall of famer Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 in May. The win was his third straight title defense, a UFC bantamweight record and his ninth straight win overall. The champion has not been shy about the distaste he has for his next opponent.

“I want to smash this guy’s face,” Sterling said. “I want to smash the ugly mole rat. When I take this man down, that naked mole rat is getting smashed. I want him to pay for everything that he’s said – all the trash talk, all his Dana White privilege. I ain’t have none of that, and I can’t wait to take it out on him.”

Despite what he may think about O’Malley as a person, as a fighter Sterling is not looking beyond him. “Based on accolades, O’Malley is on the longer list of accomplishments, I mean the only guy he beat by split decision is Petr Yan,” Sterling said. “Everybody else is out of the UFC. So, it’s a tough test. The guy in front of you is always the toughest competition so, I’m not overlooking him by any means. He’s long. He’s rangy. I made sure I brought some great training partners to get the looks and do the same mannerisms he does in the octagon.”

The 34-year-old has predicted a convincing victory. “My prediction, I think second-round TKO,” Sterling said. “But if he gives me his neck – he’s got that little daddy long neck out there so, if he leaves that out there, I’m going to strangle his ass.”

A win over O’Malley could be Sterling’s final fight at bantamweight. “This is more than likely my last fight at 135,” Sterling said. “There’s a 99 percent chance it’s my last. If I win this, for sure, I’m out of here.”

Since he became champion in 2021, Sterling has not taken the UFC fan-base by storm. It started with him winning the title over Petr Yan by DQ after Yan landed an illegal knee to Sterling’s head. This resulted in plenty of arm-chair-quarterback opinions about whether Sterling was injured by the knee or could have continued. From that moment on his legitimacy as a champion has been heavily questioned.

Sterling responded to his critics by neutralizing Yan’s offense in the rematch and winning the fight by using his superb wrestling. He used that same grappling in his next defense against TJ Dillashaw and then again against Cejudo. Sterling’s wrestling and ability to transition from takedowns to submission attempts could spell major trouble for O’Malley.

O’Malley is coming off a split decision win over Yan at UFC 280 last October. The win was a much-debated victory as the fight could have gone either way, but it was enough to earn O’Malley the title shot. He has not lost a fight since 2020, the first of his career to Marlon Vera.

The challenger plans to silence his critics on Saturday with a dynamic finish. “I don’t really care what people say. It doesn’t really affect me. I kind of like being the underdog, being doubted. Going into this fight, I don’t have much pressure. He’s the bantamweight GOAT,” Sean O’Malley said at UFC 292 media day. “He’s on a nine-fight winning streak and he’s saying I haven’t earned the shot. How stupid will he looked when I go out there and knock him out, not even have earned being in that position, and putting his lights out. It makes him look real stupid.”

O’Malley commented on Sterling moving up to featherweight with a victory. “Yeah, I go out there and knock him out and he goes up to 145, boom, I carry on what he was doing in the division, taking people out. He goes out there and wins and moves up to 145, I’m the last person to fight for the belt. I’m the champ either way. I like this situation. It’s a win-win for me,” O’Malley said.

The 28-year-old answered questions about who he would like to fight next if he becomes champion. “If you asked me what fight is bigger, me versus ‘Chito’ rematch, or me versus Merab? I’m pretty sure we could all agree on which one is bigger,” O’Malley said.

“I’m in the fight business. I’ve been saying that. I’ve never been afraid to say that. This is a business to me. Who makes more money — me versus Merab or me versus ‘Chito?’ It’s very simple to me.”

Marlon “Chito” Vera is also fighting on the card and owns O’Malley’s only defeat. Merab Dvalishvili is Sterling’s teammate and is on his own nine fight winning streak. “The rematch needs to happen,” O’Malley said. “Everyone, even ‘Chito’ himself truly knows that wasn’t a win.

“I’ve always wanted to get that one back, and they’re like, ‘Why don’t you rematch him right away?’ I’ll do it when the time is right.”

Vera faces long-running contender Pedro Munhoz and many believe the battle has fight of the night potential. What does O’Malley think? “God, I want to be like, ‘Yeah, it will be exciting,’ but for some reason, I feel like it’s going to be so boring,” O’Malley said. “I feel like it’s going to be Pedro kind of not wanting to engage on the outside, trying to kick his legs. ‘Chito,’ we saw his last performance against Cory [Sandhagen]. There’s a possibility it could be a very exciting fight. I feel like it might be really boring.”

O’Malley concluded, “I’m hoping ‘Chito’ wins. Me versus ‘Chito’ rematch in December, Vegas, title defense. That sounds wonderful. I love that. So ideally ‘Chito.’”

Sterling’s wrestling will play a factor in this fight if O’Malley cannot utilize his length and striking from the outside like he did against Yan. His speed and accuracy could stun the champion and turn the fight in his favor, but getting at him early will be the key to victory.

The co-main event of the evening will be for the women’s strawweight title between champion Zhang Weili and #5 Amanda Lemos.

Weili won the title for the second time in her career after defeating Carla Esparza by second round submission in her last fight at UFC 281. She is 2-2 in her last four but has looked impressive in two straight victories, one of which sent former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk into retirement.

The champion has respect for Lemos. “Lemos is good,” Zhang said. “I admit she’s a very good fighter, and she’s very aggressive. Her fighting style, she is a hard hitter, a hard kicker, she has knockout power but so do I.”

The Chinese fighter wants to prove why she is a great champion. “What I want to showcase more in this fight is to fight like water,” Zhang said. “I can fight very flowing, smooth and shapeless. I can be water and just wrap her up. Even if she makes any tiny mistake, I can catch it and finish her.”

A win over Lemos could mean a potential fight with Chinese contender Yan Xiaonan, but the champion is not looking beyond Lemos. “Let’s see what happens in this fight,” she said when asked about Yan. “Now I’m only focusing on this fight on this Saturday. This is what I’m focusing on right now.”

Lemos has won two straight fights having most recently defeated Marina Rodriguez by third round TKO last November. The Brazilian fighter is ready to shock the world. “People may not be talking about it now, but they will be talking about it after,” Lemos said. “Because it’s going to be a war. And it’s going to be historic. … The more they forget (about me), the more motivation I have to go out there and get the title. On Saturday, they will know who Amanda Lemos is.”

The 36-year-old knows she is in for a tough fight but is confident she can become the new champion. “Every fight I’ve had, I’ve always imagined I was actually fighting a champion,” Lemos said. “I’m in a good place. My head is in a good place, and I’m ready to bring a belt home. … Weili is coming very strong. A complete athlete and very strong coming up, but I’m going to show that I’m stronger and on Saturday I’m going to show who is actually the strongest in the division.”

The rest of the main card:

Welterweight - #13 Ian Machado Garry vs. #11 Neil Magny

Bantamweight - Da'Mon Blackshear vs. Mario Bautista

Bantamweight - #6 Marlon Vera vs. #10 Pedro Munhoz

ESPN + Prelims:

Middleweight - Chris Weidman vs. Brad Tavares

Middleweight - Gregory Rodrigues vs. Denis Tiuliulin

Lightweight - Austin Hubbard vs. Kurt Holobaugh [c]

Bantamweight - Brad Katona vs. Cody Gibson

ESPN + Early Prelims:

Middleweight - Andre Petroski vs. Gerald Meerschaert

Women's Flyweight - #13 Andrea Lee vs. Natália Silva

Women's Flyweight - Karine Silva vs. Maryna Moroz

Navarrete vs. Valdez Preview

The WBO junior lightweight title will be on the line Saturday August 12th in Glendale, Arizona at the Desert Diamond Arena. Champion Emanual Navarrete will be defending the title for the first time against former two-time champion Oscar Valdez.

The two were originally scheduled to fight for the vacant belt in February but Valdez was forced to pull out of the fight in December. He was replaced by Liam Wilson on short notice. Wilson fought a brilliant fight for the first five rounds against Navarrete, scoring a knockdown in the fourth round.   But Navarrete came on strong in the eighth and ninth rounds winning by TKO to become champion in one of the best comebacks of the last five years.

The victory over Wilson made 28-year-old Navarrete a three-weight world champion, having also held the WBO featherweight and junior featherweight titles. Navarrete is excited to get the biggest win of his career over a fellow Mexican fighter. “Personally, I would feel complete. What is missing in my career is a victory against a rival like Valdez,” said Navarrete. “It would fill me with pride to be able to carry out such an iconic fight between Mexicans and win.”

He commented on the type of fight Valdez will bring to the ring, “I know that talking about me is talking about a lot of blows and an attractive fight. Now, with Valdez, it will be twice as spectacular. It’s going to be twice as attractive. Valdez is a fighter who has no reverse.

“We always see him going forward, throwing blows. This time, he says he’s going to blow my head off. Well, we’ll see, right? Good, all good. Very fast.”

Many pundits believe Valdez represents the biggest challenge of Navarrete’s career. To this point he has key victories over Joet Gonzalez, Christopher Diaz, Ruben Villa, Juan Miguel Elorde, and Isaac Dogboe.

Valdez is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Adam Lopez in May. Prior to that he suffered the first loss of his career in 2022 for the WBC and WBO super featherweight titles to Shakur Stevenson. He also held the WBO featherweight title from 2016 to 2019.

The 31-year-old is ready to prove that he deserves to be champion once again. “This is my chance to come back from my loss to Shakur Stevenson, when I lost my title and my undefeated record,” Valdez said. “It’s something very personal that I have. I want to come back and make a statement.

“I want to show that losing your undefeated record it doesn’t mean the end of your career.”

The Mexican fighter has a clear mindset heading into what he believes can be a career defining fight. “I always visualize myself as the best,” insisted Valdez. “It’s not that I’m arrogant and think that I’m better than anyone else. The reason I think like that is because I know the work I put in during training. I can’t train the way I do, waking up early and running the mountains the way I do, staying on my diet.

“I train the way I train to tell myself that I’m number one. I would never train this way just to tell myself that I’m the second best. I will always train this way to win and make a statement that I am the best at 130 pounds.”

Valdez has key victories in his career over Robson Conceição, Miguel Berchelt, Jayson Velez and Scott Quigg. A win for either fighter on Saturday will help define a legacy as one of the greatest Mexican champions of all-time.

UFC Vegas 78 Preview

The UFC will be returning to the Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday August 12 for UFC Vegas 78. The main event will be a welterweight battle between #9 Vicente Luque and #10 Rafael Dos Anjos.

Luque is trying to rebound from two straight losses which put an end to a four-fight winning streak. He is coming off a devastating third round KO to Geoff Neal last August, the worst loss of his career. The 31-year-old is looking forward to coming back strong against what he believes is the perfect opponent.

“Man, that was like the perfect fight. I couldn’t pick a better fight. It was crazy how it happened. At a point when I didn’t have a fight I just wanted to have an idea who I was fighting against. At least have a verbal agreement so I could start focusing on someone,” Luque explained. “Me and Ali were talking about who I was going to get next and looking at the division. I am coming off two losses but I’m still in the top 10 in the UFC. So I want to move forward and get into the mix and into the top part of the division. I wanted a fight that would move me up and we weren’t sure who it would be. Then, Ali called me and said Rafael dos Anjos.”

Luque is predicting a big result against Dos Anjos. “It’s hard to tell, I’ve been trying to predict things and I never get it right. When I’m in there, I’m never really trying to finish my opponent. But, whenever I see an opportunity I go for it,” Luque said. “In a five-round fight that presents itself many times. I will go after it and if he can withstand it, then it will be a long fight. Knowing RDA’s durability and his experience, it won’t be an easy fight, but I do believe I can finish him. I do believe I have the skills to finish him whether it’s on the ground or in striking.”

To summarize, Luque believes a win on Saturday puts his name back in the title conversation. “A win over him is going to put me back in the mix… It is a great moment for me to get a big win and get back into the mix. Get back into the talks of guys who could soon be fighting for the title,” Luque said.

There will be plenty of mutual respect between Brazilian fighters on Saturday.

“This bout against Rafael is very important for me,” Luque said. “Before I joined the UFC, I already followed his career. I’m a fan of his. As a Brazilian, I see him as a good example. It’s an honor to be facing him. I expect a tough and highly contested bout that’s full of action. It’s our nature. I’m more likely to get finishes against my opponents by submission or knockout. Rafael has more wins by decision. As a former champ, he’s fought at a very high level for several years.

“In his fights, he attacks equally on the feet or on the ground,” he added. “We’re both true and complete MMA fighters. I bring danger no matter where the fight goes. I could see myself winning early if I connect well near the start, but considering his experience level, I expect him to be able to defend well. The plan is to get a finish before the final buzzer—in a decisive fashion—so it won’t go to the judges.”

Dos Anjos is coming off a second round submission win over Bryan Barbarena in December. The former lightweight champion is 3-1 in his last four fights and is looking to find new life at welterweight. He is looking forward to starting a run with a big win over his fellow Brazilian.

"I know Vicente, we’ve fought on the same card before, but we don’t have any relationship, we’re not friends, and that’s work, and I’m really glad that the fight is going to happen this Saturday,” said Dos Anjos.

The 38-year-old continued, “Here I am fighting another contender, a tough guy, younger than me,” he acknowledged.

“I feel that I have a lot in my tank, in a polite way, my lightweight days are over. I want to compete at my best and my best is 170, and of course it’s hard not to think about the belt. I‘m a very competitive guy and I like to win. Being a former champion and former title contender in this division - I’ve fought for the title before in this division - it’s a method of winning, I have a tough challenge this weekend.

"Vicente Luque is a tough guy, but once past him, if I keep winning, a title shot will happen. I’m a former champion.

“I think the wait is shorter, it’s a matter of opportunity. If the opportunity knocks on my door. You know how this game works, so many things can change in a day, in a half-day. People get hurt and other guys are ready to go. My goal is to be ready, like I always do. Live a good lifestyle.

The Brazilian fighter confidently concluded, "If I get the call to fight a champion, get the luck, I’ve fought a champion before, and I went the distance, I got four weeks' notice. I have a lot in my tank and I’m just happy to be competing again this Saturday.

“I fought everybody, tough guys. The level I’ve been through is pretty high. It’s not the number of fights, it’s the level of competition, I think that people think I’m a BMF (Bad mother-f*****). I don't think I meet the right requirements to fight for the BMF [title].

"I’m a former champion, I had a belt. Guys who fight for a BMF, guys who never had a title.”

In his storied career Dos Anjos has key victories over Renato Moicano, Paul Felder, Kevin Lee, Robbie Lawler, Neil Magny, Tarec Saffiedine, Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Nate Diaz and Benson Henderson.

The rest of the main card:

Featherweight- Cub Swanson vs. Hakeem Dawodu

Light Heavyweight - #13 Khalil Rountree Jr. vs. #14 (HW)Chris Daukaus

Women's Strawweight - Polyana Viana vs. Iasmin Lucindo

Middleweight - A.J. Dobson vs. Tafon Nchukwi

Middleweight - Josh Fremd vs. Jamie Pickett

ESPN+ Prelims:

Bantamweight - JP Buys vs. Marcus McGhee

Lightweight - Terrance McKinney vs. Mike Breeden

Featherweight - Francis Marshall vs. Isaac Dulgarian

Heavyweight - Josh Parisian vs. Martin Buday

Women's Strawweight - Jaqueline Amorim vs. Montserrat Ruiz

Bantamweight - Da'Mon Blackshear vs. Jose Johnson

Women's Flyweight - Juliana Miller vs. Luana Santos

Sandhagen vs. Font Preview

The UFC is heading back to Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday August 5 for UFC on ESPN 50. The main event will be a fight between two bantamweights with potential title implications as former interim title challenger Corey Sandhagen will face battle-tested veteran #7 Rob Font.

Sandhagen was scheduled to fight Umar Nurmagomedov, but Nurmagomedov was forced to withdraw from the fight in July due to a shoulder injury. Font will step in on short notice but the fight will be fought at a catchweight of 140 pounds. Despite the bout being fought at a catchweight, this will most certainly be a bantamweight showcase and the winner could be next in line to challenge for the title.

Sandhagen is riding two straight wins into the fight, a TKO of Song Yadong and a split decision victory over Marlon Vera. He has rebounded well since losing a unanimous decision to Petr Yan at UFC 267 for the interim title.

The 31-year-old responded to fighting a new opponent on Saturday. “I feel like the amateur days in MMA really prepare you for the kind of s–t show that this sport can sometimes feel like it is,” said Sandhagen.  “As far as things just not going to plan for reasons that are kind of no one’s fault.”

Sandhagen spoke about the kind of stakes a win over his original opponent meant for him. “[The Nurmagomedov fight was] bringing a No. 1 contender spot to me that was offered to me by the UFC if I took the Umar fight,” Sandhagen explained, “because no one else wanted to fight him.”

The former title challenger will need to put that aside because he does understand how dangerous his new opponent is. “Fighting Rob Font is a different type of challenge because Rob is super seasoned,” Sandhagen said. “And he’s had his ups and downs and his fair share of adversity in the UFC, which I think brings out the best in people.

“So Rob does pose different challenges, but I want to beat Rob just as bad as I wanted to beat Umar. And that’s how I feel about every single person that I face.”

Sandhagen concluded, “I do like that I’m switching from Umar to Font and then not Font to Umar because I am super familiar with fighting this type of person,” he said. “I’ve been doing it for a really long time now. It’s a style that I feel like I have a lot of really good and familiar answers with. So the matchup itself, as far as Rob goes as martial arts style, [I’m] extremely familiar with and very comfortable fighting that type of person on two weeks’ notice.”

Sandhagen has proven that he can hang with the best bantamweights in the world. His only bad loss in the UFC was a first round submission defeat to current champion Aljamain Sterling back in 2020. If he wants to avenge the loss he cannot look beyond Rob Font who has proven he is perfectly comfortable stepping in on short notice and fighting as the underdog.

Font is 7-3 in his last 10 fights and is coming off a devastating TKO victory over Adrian Yanez at UFC 287. The 36-year-old made his UFC debut in 2014 and he has key victories over Cody Garbrandt, Marlon Moraes, Ricky Simon, Sergio Pettis, Thomas Almeida and Matt Schnell.

Font knows what a win on Saturday means for him. “I am looking to get a huge win against Cory so I can get closer to a title match,” said Font. “It won’t be easy, but I am riding the momentum of a huge win over Adrian Yanez last time.”

The Boston native talked about losing two in a row before defeating Yanez. “There were all these doubts and the naysayers didn’t help. You cannot imagine how huge that win over Yanez was while receiving Performance of the Night and the bonus. That was sweet,” he added.

Font is planning on bringing a fan-pleasing fight to the octagon with Sandhagen. “I am super motivated," he exclaimed. “It is a huge fight with a lot of upside for me. The UFC knows I am going to put on a show and I am going to bring it, and look for a finish.”

He concluded, “This is going to be a tricky fight,” said Font. “Cory is smart and has very good footwork. Furthermore, he is explosive with good combinations.”

“I am good at that too and I hope to make the most out of my reach advantage on him. The good thing about Cory is I don’t think I need to chase him around the cage.”

The rest of the main card:

Women's Strawweight - #5 Jéssica Andrade vs. #10 Tatiana Suarez

Light Heavyweight - #15 Dustin Jacoby vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu

Featherweight - Diego Lopes vs. Gavin Tucker

Light Heavyweight - Tanner Boser vs. Aleksa Camur

Lightweight - Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Ľudovít Klein

ESPN Prelims:

Featherweight - Billy Quarantillo vs. Damon Jackson

Bantamweight - Kyler Phillips vs. Raoni Barcelos

Welterweight - Jeremiah Wells vs. Carlston Harris

Flyweight - Cody Durden vs. Jake Hadley

Flyweight  - Ode' Osbourne vs. Assu Almabayev

Holm vs. Bueno Silva

The UFC is heading back to the Apex for UFC Vegas 77 on Saturday July 15. The main event will be a women’s bantamweight fight with title implications. Former champion #3 Holly Holm will battle rising contender #10 Mayra Bueno Silva.

Holm is 3-1 in her last four fights since challenging Amanda Nunes for the title in 2019. Her only loss during that stretch was a controversial split decision to Ketlen Vieira in 2022. She is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Yana Santos in March.

Amanda Nunes vacated the title in June to focus on retirement after another successful title defense at UFC 289. Does Holm think she will be fighting for the vacant title with a win on Saturday? “I don’t see why I wouldn’t (fight for the belt), we’re No. 1, 2 and 3,” Holm said. “I’ve already had this fight scheduled before a lot of the shake up in the division, but my focus is still on Saturday night because that’s all I’m promised right now because I need to get past that. My focus needs to be present that night and see where we go from there.”

Holm became champion in 2015 with a KO victory over Ronda Rousey in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. The 41-year-old would go on to lose the belt in her next fight to Miesha Tate at UFC 196. Rousey is widely considered the most popular women’s fighter of all-time and there have been talks of her making a return to the UFC now that the belt is vacant. Would Holm fight her again?

“You know, I don’t know if she will really come back. Who knows if it is just talk? I know she is a very competitive person, there’s a reason why she was an Olympian and a reason why she was a champion for so long,” Holly Holm said. “So, I would absolutely revisit that fight at either weight (135 or 145), I don’t think it is an advantage or disadvantage depending on the weight. I think either one. We will see if she comes back, I know she has been pretty busy with her life and whatever she wants to do, more power to her. But, if she comes back that would be great to fight again.”

The talks amongst the analysts and pundits are that former champion Julianna Pena and former title challenger Raquel Pennington will fight for the vacant title. Holm has two victories over Pennignton and has never fought Pena. However, she sits behind them in the rankings at #3 so she will likely have to wait in line. First things first, she will need to take care of business on Saturday and if she does, she could very likely fight the winner of Pena and Pennington for the title.

Bueno Silva has won three straight fights and most recently defeated Lina Lansberg by second round submission in February. She is 5-2-1 in the UFC and will be facing her toughest test on Saturday.

The Brazilian fighter does not believe in Pena vs. Pennington and thinks she should be fighting for the title with a win over Holm. "You want to watch this fight?" Bueno Silva asked a reporter. "No, no, no. Nobody wants to watch this fight. Nobody! ... I believe I need to knock out (Holm). She needs to knock out me, too. If (one of us wins) a good fight, I think (we're) next. Because nobody wants to watch Julianna Peña and Raquel Pennington, sorry."

The 31-year-old has put together a solid gameplan for the fight. “I want to hurt her,” Silva said. “I want to hurt her for four rounds and then in the fifth round, I knock out Holly.”

She continued, “I need to knock her out, and she needs to knock me out, too,” Silva said. “When someone wins a good fight, I think they’re next, because nobody wants to watch Julianna Peña vs. Raquel Pennington, sorry.”

The rest of the main card:

Middleweight - Albert Duraev vs. Park Jun-yong

Women's Featherweight - #13 Norma Dumont vs. #15 Chelsea Chandler

Lightweight - Ottman Azaitar vs. Francisco Prado

Lightweight - Terrance McKinney vs. Nazim Sadykhov

ESPN+ Prelims:

Featherweight - Tucker Lutz vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan

Women's Strawweight - Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Istela Nunes

Featherweight - Austin Lingo vs. Melquizael Costa

Welterweight - #14 Jack Della Maddalena vs. Bassil Hafez

Lightweight - Evan Elder vs. Genaro Valdez

Flyweight - Tyson Nam vs. Azat Maksum

Lightweight - Alexander Munoz vs. Carl Deaton III

Women's Bantamweight - Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Ailín Pérez

UFC 290 Preview

The UFC is heading back to the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday July 8 for one of the best fight cards of 2023. UFC 290 will feature two title fights, a title eliminator, and a preliminary card with legends and rising stars.

The main event will be for the featherweight title between pound for pound champion Alexander Volkanovski and interim champion Yair Rodriguez. Volkanovski is trying to rebound from a unanimous decision loss at UFC 284 in which he challenged Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. Many fans and critics believe Volkanovski won the fight and should be a double champion. Despite the loss he willl still have the opportunity to prove that he is the featherweight king.

Does Volkanovski think he should be double-champ? “Obviously, it was a close fight,” says Volkanovski. “I finished very strong. We thought we did enough. A lot of people thought we did enough. It is what it is, and we’ve got to move on, but it definitely was frustrating.”

Has the champion moved on from his first loss since 2013? “It’s been hard,” says Volkanovski. “It was a big title fight, and I wanted that moment in Australia. It was a David-vs.-Goliath type of story. It was shaping up to be a perfect ending. I just didn’t get my hand raised.”

Prior to the his last fight the champion had won 22 straight fights which included three wins over Max Holloway who is considered one of the greatest featherweights of all-time. What does he think about his next opponent?

“Yair is very dangerous, and it’s the biggest fight of his life,” says Volkanovski, who, at 34, has shown no signs of slowing down. “But I’m planning on having this belt for a very long time.”

While there have been talks of a Makhachev rematch, Volkanovski is focused on UFC 290.

“There are a lot of exciting fights in my future,” says Volkanovski. “I want that lightweight title, and there are so many contenders in that stacked division. But all my plans are useless if I don’t get the win this weekend.

“I’m 100% focused on Yair. He’s dangerous, but I’m going to show why I’m the number-one guy. I’m coming for records, starting with the pound-for-pound number one.”

The 34-year-old concluded, “I’m fighting for my legacy,” says Volkanovski. “I’m fighting for people to remember my name. I’m going to keep moving forward until I’m in the conversation as the best of all time.”

Aside from his wins over Holloway, Volkanovski has key victories over Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung, Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and Darren Elkins. A win over Rodriguez will likely determine if we see a rematch with Makhachev. If Volkanovski loses on Saturday we could see an immediate rematch with Rodriguez as he has held the featherweight title since 2019.

Rodriguez won the interim title in his last fight at UFC 284 with a second round submission in a dominant win over Josh Emmett. The 30-year-old has only lost twice since 2017, but has only fought seven times during that period. Should he become champion, his critics will definitely be questioning his activity.

The Mexican fighter is confident he can defeat Volkanovski. "I think he has holes in his game," Rodriguez said. "I've been watching his fights, and I've been finding a couple of things he always does. I'm going to capitalize on those things he does.”

Rodriguez believed he should have been granted a title shot after his victory over former title challenger Brian Ortega, but he explained why he took an interim title fight against Emmett. "Honestly, I felt it would have been the best thing to go straight to the champion," said Rodriguez, who gave the best performance of his illustrious career in submitting Emmett in the fourth round. "With all due respect to my opponent, Josh, I always knew that I could beat him. That's why I didn't want to take that fight and wanted to go straight to fighting the current champion.

"But the UFC offered it to me and this is what I had to do to get the fight I really wanted, so I accepted the fight with Josh Emmett. But I always knew I could beat him and I just did what I had trained to do.”

It is believed  that Rodriguez will pose a different kind of challenge to Volkanovski because of his Taekwondo background and his unique striking style. But Volkanovski stated that he is not afraid to stand and strike with Rodriguez.  “It’s all about getting good guys in that are gonna give me as many different looks as they can, unpredictable looks. I’ve got a 11-time Taekwondo world champion, Carl Van Roon… throwing tornado kicks and you name it at me… just giving me as many looks to keep me on my toes,” said Volkanovski.

“The fighter Yair is now compared to when he fought someone like Dan Hooker or even Frankie Edgar… completely different fighter. Way better at certain ranges. I think he was better at one range early in his days. Now he’s just as dangerous in every range. So that’s something that excites me. I can’t wait to go out there and systematically break him down, and show people that even the most unpredictable, awkward, and hardest guys to sort of train for, even I can shut them down.”

The champion concluded, “Everyone knows that I love to take people out of their own game as well. I really like challenging people and showing people how wide my skill set is, how well rounded I really am. The Taekwondo challenge excites me. I can’t wait to throw some spinning heel kicks, and Taekwondo Volk’s gonna come for Yair, you know, really beat him at his own game.”

The co-main event will be for the flyweight title as two-time champion Brandon Moreno will defend his title against #2 Alexandre Pantoja. Pantoja has two victories over Moreno before he became champion.

Moreno claimed the title for the second time in his last fight at UFC 283 with a third round TKO over Deiveson Figueiredo in their fourth hard fought battle. Moreno believes the rivalry with Figueiredo has made a better fighter. “I always answer the same. I’m very grateful with Deiveson for what we did in the UFC and MMA, for our careers and the history of the sport, but of course, I feel happy at the same time to fight with another guy. I felt this kinda fresh air when I fought Kai Kara-France in Dallas and this one is the same. I feel very good,” said Moreno.

While Moreno has lost to Pantoja twice, once on The Ultimate Fighter and again three years later, he does not believe there is a personal rivalry.

“Sorry if I’m not this guy who talks sh*t on social media or tries to make some drama, but at the end that works for me,” Moreno said. “The people love what I’m doing because it’s real, it’s natural. It’s nothing personal against Pantoja.

“For sure, there’s a competitive part of myself knowing he beat me twice in the past. It gives me a different flavor. But at the same time, I’m thinking about the opportunity, if you beat Alexandre Pantoja at the T-Mobile Arena, International Fight Week – man, your legacy. I’m just very focused on that last goal, to win my second, first title defense.”

Aside from two wins over Figueiredo, Moreno has key victories over Kai Kara-France (twice), Brandon Royal and Jussier Formiga. A win over Pantoja will truly mark his dominance in the flyweight division.

Pantoja has won three straight fights and most recently defeated former title challenger Alex Perez by first round submission at UFC 277. He is 4-2 in his last six fights and has key victories over Brandon Royal, Manel Cape, Matt Schnell and Willson Reis. Most importantly he has the victory over Moreno in 2018.

The Brazilian fighter is expecting a different fight this time around with Moreno. “That’s a different opponent for me,” Pantoja said. “One thing is, I’m excited to see how much me and Moreno evolved. Everyone talking about much he evolved about his last fight with me. That’s what I want to see, you know? Because I’m training at American Top Team for five years. I never leave out of the gym. I’m training a lot, and I’ve evolved a lot. I want to see how much I evolved with the one guy I fight before.

“That’s a good thing for me, and maybe that’s more energy for Moreno because he lost to me twice. Maybe he’s keeping this in his head. But for me, this is good because I know if I lose to someone twice, I’m going to make a difference. This makes me very alert with that and so prepared for that fight.”

He concluded, “I think that word ‘deserve,'” Pantoja said. “I deserve to fight for the belt. That’s nice fighting with Moreno, one guy that I respect a lot. One of the guys who learns a lot when he loses.

“… I’m expecting the best Moreno. I’m here for that, to fight with the best. I really want to fight with the prime Moreno, with his best skills, his mindset different.”

The rest of the UFC 290 card:

#2 Robert Whittaker (-400) vs. #5 Dricus Du Plessis (+300)
#11 Jalin Turner (-255) vs. #12 Dan Hooker (+215)

Bo Nickel vs. Val Woodburn

Robbie Lawler (+220) vs. Niko Price (-260)
#14 Jack Della Maddalena (-900) vs. Josiah Harrell (+600)
Yazmin Jauregui (-400) vs. Denise Gomes (+320)
#14 Jimmy Crute (-120) Vs. Alonzo Menifield (+100)
Vitor Petrino (-280) vs. Marcin Prachnio (+235)
Cameron Saaiman (-500) vs. Terrence Mitchell (+370)
Shannon Ross (+125) vs. Jesus Santos Aguilar (-145)
Kamuela Kirk (+130) vs. Esteban Ribovics (-150)

Ennis vs. Villa Preview

The Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City will play host to a title fight for the interim IBF welterweight belt. Undefeated champion Jaron Ennis will defend against hungry Columbian contender Roiman Villa.

Ennis (30-0-1, 27 KO) is coming off his unanimous decision victory over Karen Chukhadzhian to win the vacant belt in January. The win was just his second decision victory in his last 25 fights. Other than a no contest due to an accidental head clash, Ennis has been storming through welterweights in dominating fashion.

There have been heavy talks that the Philadelphia native will challenge the winner of Erol Spence and Terence Crawford, should he defeat Villa on Saturday. Ennis believes he is next in line. “I’m definitely the next guy waiting,” Ennis said. “You’ve got [Vergil] Ortiz, you’ve got [Eimantas] Stanionis, they’re right there, too. The young guys are here. If we can’t fight Crawford or Spence, I’ll take Stanionis, Ortiz, or even the older guys, Keith Thurman and [Yordenis] Ugas. It doesn’t really matter.” 

Ennis is ready to prove why he is the next great welterweight champion. “What will separate me from the younger guys is my skills and my ability all around,” Ennis said. “I feel like my style is fan-friendly. Everybody always wants to see me fight. I fight both ways — orthodox and southpaw. I’ve got power, I’ve got speed from the inside. I box, I do everything. I’m like a variety pack. Any chip you want, I’ve got it. I feel like everybody wants to see that, so I feel like I’ve got a little advantage over those other guys.” 

While he does have key victories over former title challenger Thomas Dulorme and former champion Sergey Lipinets, Ennis has yet to prove he is ready to mix it up with the pound for pound greats at 147 pounds. However with another dominant KO victory on Saturday, he will be difficult to deny.

Villa (26-1, 24 KO) is coming off a majority decision win over Rashidi Ellis in January. The only blemish on his record is a split decision loss back in 2019 to Marcos Villasana.

The 30-year-old is confident he can shock the heavy favorite Ennis. “I like it because he’s such an overwhelming favorite that I feel like people have me flying under the radar, and that’s just the way I like it,” said Villa.

Villa enjoys being the underdog. “There are no big men. So I’m going to be ready to be up for the challenge, and he’s a quality fighter, but I’m looking forward to showing the fans what I’m capable of,” said Villa.

He concluded that he is not scared like Ennis’ last opponent. “I’m going to pull off the upset. You couldn’t pay me even 10 million dollars to fight scared like that because what happened in the fight is that clearly fear paralyzes the best of them,” Villa said of Karen Chukhadzhian.

“If you allow yourself to be paralyzed by fear, then that’s it,” said Villa. I can promise you that there is not a single ounce of me that’s willing to fight like that. I’m the total opposite.”

The fight can be seen on Showtime starting at 9pm ET

UFC on ESPN 48 Preview (Strickland vs. Magomedov)

The UFC will be hosting another hard-hitting event at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday July 1st. The main event will be in the middleweight division between #7 Sean Strickland and Abus Magomedov.

Strickland is coming off an impressive and dominant unanimous decision victory over Nassourdine Imavov in a light heavyweight bout in January. Strickland jumped in on short notice and much to the surprise of many pundits, he put an end to his two fight losing streak against an opponent many thought was on the rise to a title shot.

The 32-year-old is 7-2 in his last nine fights and he explained why he took a fight against an unranked opponent. “If the money is right, I’ll fight anybody,” Strickland said. “I would like to fight f—kin’ ‘Izzy.’ I think Whittaker is gonna f—k Dricus up. I think we all know that.”

He continued, “I had no idea who the f*ck he was,” Strickland said. “So I’ve been hounding the UFC to fight, I even offered to do 205, but Mick (Maynard) didn’t want me to f*ck up the rankings because there are a lot of 205ers I’d f*ck up. So I had a conversation with Mick, and he pretty much offered me a couple of ranked guys. I said yes to them, they said no.

“So I had a choice: I either wait eight f*cking months or I f*cking fight. The money was right and here we are. I mean, we all fight for money. If the dollar is right, I will f*cking do it. We came to good terms and good pay, and here we are fighting Abus.”

Strickland continued to not spare words about champion Israel Adesanya and middleweight contenders. “It’s kind of embarrassing that Dricus gets a potential shot, but ‘Izzy’ the Chinese — true Chinese — they probably want to bring a real African back to the championship. Can you guys believe that s—t? Is that real when he says look at the color of my skin? Did that really happen? Is that real? This f—king clown, this f—king loser, bro. They need to revoke your black card, bro. I don’t even look at you like a black man. I look at you like the f—king Chinese.”

Despite his title hopes, Strickland as usual took a fun-loving approach to commenting on his current opponent. “This is a fun fight, man,” Strickland said of him vs. Adesanya. “Like, you take Abus. Who the f—k is Abus? Let’s just say Abus knocks me the f—k out and he becomes the champion. Who the f—k is Abus? Do you really want Abus as a champion contender? Does that guy even speak english? A little bit? Well, there we go. I don’t know, man. I barely speak f—king english. Man can’t fight during f—king Ramadan and s—t.”

“I deserve a shot,” he said. “Let’s make it happen. Worst case scenario, me and ‘Izzy’ are gonna fight in the f—king parking lot because that s—t needs to happen.”

The last time Strickland looked into the future at a potential title shot with Adesanya, he was finished badly by Alex Pereira at UFC 276. Strickland has become somewhat of a fan favorite due to his brash trash talk and attempts at being humorous on the mic. So if he can manage to get by Saturday’s fight and follow that with a win, the build up to a fight between he and whoever is champion will be entertaining, especially if it still Adesanya.

Magomedov is coming off a brutal first round TKO victory over Dustin Stoltfzus last September. The win was his eighth in his last 10 fights and it marked a highly successful UFC debut for him. 

The 32-year-old did not back down from giving his true thoughts on Strickland. "My advice for Strickland is he has to be quiet. He has to take care of himself, take care of his survival," Magomedov said. "If he wants to talk, we can talk after the fight. But in the fight, we have to fight. It's not a talk show, you know?”

A fight with Strickland is the kind of showcase Magomedov needs to solidify his position as a contender. Both he and Strickland represent “new blood” or a new challenge to the middleweight title so a convincing win could work wonders for either fighters title hopes. 

The Rest of the Main Card:

Lightweight - #12 Damir Ismagulov vs. #15 Grant Dawson

Welterweight - Max Griffin vs. Michael Morales

Women’s Flyweight - Ariane Lipski vs. Melissa Gatto

Lightweight - Ismael Bonfim vs. Benot Saint-Dennis

Middleweight - Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Brunno Ferreria

ESPN + Prelims:

Welterweight - Kevin Lee vs. Rinat Fakhretdin

Featherweight. - Joanderson Brito vs. Westin Wilson

Women’s Featherweight - #6 Yana Santos vs. #9 Karol Rosa

Lightweight - Guram Kutateladze vs. Elves Brenner

Women’s Flyweight. - Ivana Petrovic vs. Luana Carolina

Heavyweight - #14 Alexander Romanov vs. #15 Blagoy Ivanov

UFC Jacksonville Preview (Emmett vs. Topuria)

The UFC will be returning to the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday June 24. The main event will have title implications in the featherweight division between #5 Josh Emmett and #9 Ilia Topuria.

Emmett will be trying to rebound from a second round submission loss to Yair Rodriguez at UFC 284 in February, in which he challenged for the interim title. Prior to the loss he had won five straight fights that included victories over Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige.

The 38-year-old will need to make a big statement on Saturday if he wants to remain in the title conversation at 145 pounds. Where does Emmett feel he is at in his career and on his search for a title shot?

“I don’t look and I don’t fight like a 38-year-old. I got into this sport later than a lot of people. I have the best team around me, and I have everything dialed in to a tee; it just wasn’t my night,” Emmett said. "I give it up to Yair. (Alexander) Volkanovski and him are going to fight July 8, I wish them the best — they’re both good people — and I just have to move on, get back to what’s the next task at hand, and that’s June 24.

“With a big statement, a big win, I feel like I’m right back in the mix.”

How does Emmett feel about Topuria? “The UFC is looking to build him up, but I’ve fought a lot of guys that are similar to him, his style. He’s really good. He’s a really good fighter, young, confident, but he’s never fought anyone close to me. There is nobody that is even close to my abilities.”

Topuria is undefeated and has five wins in the UFC. He most recently defeated Bryce Mitchell by second round submission at UFC 282 in December. The 26-year-old is facing his toughest challenge in Emmett, and he will enter his name in the title conversation with a win on Saturday.

Topuria believes a win over Emmett represents a title shot. "What's going to happen is that I'm the next guy in line," Topuria told CBS Sports. "Once I shine on Saturday night, I'm going to beat Josh Emmett and I'm the next guy in line without any doubt. Who else deserves to fight for the championship more than me?”

While he is confident, Topuria knows that Emmett will be a tough challenge. "He doesn't really have many weaknesses. That's why he's one of the best fighters in the world. But I know that he can't match my level of skill inside the cage," Topuria said. "As always, the new generation always brings something new. The level of my fight game is much better than his. This is the way I feel.”

Does Topuria think the spotlight is on him and this fight? "I really feel that especially after my last fight. When I beat Bryce Mitchell, it started to become more huge," Topuria said. "I feel good about that.”

The rest of the main card:

Women’s Flyweight - Amanda Ribas vs. Maybe Barber

Middleweight - Cody Bundrage vs. Sedriques Dumas

Featherweight - David Onama vs. Gabriel Santos

Middleweight - #13 Brendan Allen vs. Bruno Silva

ESPN + Prelims:

Welterweight - #11 Neil Magny vs. Philip Rowe

Flyweight - Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Joshua Van

Heavyweight-  Austen Lane vs. Justin Tafa

Welterweight - Randy Brown vs. Wellington Turman

Lightweight - Mateusz Rebecki vs. Loik Radzhabov

Women’s Strawweight - Tabatha Ricci vs. Gillian Robertson

Lightweight - Trevor Peek vs. Jose Mariscal

Featherweight - Jamall Emmers vs. Jack Jenkins

Flyweight - Tatsuro vs. Kleydson Rodrigues