Month: Oktober 2024

As the backup fighter for the UFC 308 main event, Diego Lopes really wants the original fight to stay intact.

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Max Holloway (26-6) challenges Ilia Topuria (15-0) for the featherweight title in the main event at UFC 308 this Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Because he is the backup fighter, Lopes could have a shot at the title if he has to step in for someone — but the Brazilian is so excited for the fight that he hopes he doesn’t have to replace anyone. However, if needed, Lopes is in perfect shape and willing to serve his duties as the replacement.

“I’m so excited to watch the fight,” Lopes told MMAjunkie.com. “I hope that Friday morning everything [is] OK. The guys stay healthy for their fight Saturday night… I hope this but if they say they need me, I’m waiting… [My] weight is good, every time I have no problem for the weight.”

UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway Saturday at 2 PM ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Topuria defeated Alexander Volkan…

😳🤒Aleksandar Rakić's coach reveals Rakíc was on antibiotics when he lost to Jiří Procházka at UFC 300 and believes Rakíc is the only fighter that can beat Alex Pereira:

"At UFC 300 he fought Jiří Procházka on antibiotics...second round when he was sitting on stool he told me… pic.twitter.com/mUimzox1qK

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) October 22, 2024

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Aleksandar Rakic coach Babak Nejadmoghaddam claims the Austrian wasn’t his 100% for his last fight.

Rakic suffered a second-round technical knockout loss against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 300 this past April. While Rakic had already compromised Prochazka’s movement with leg kicks in the first round, “BJP” came from behind to score the TKO in the second stanza. Nejadmoghaddam revealed that Rakic was on antibiotics going into UFC 300. According to his coach, it was Rakic who said that he couldn’t feel his legs when he returned to his corner in between rounds.

UFC 308: Topuria…

CUNG LE VS ZUFFA IS OVER🚨

LIVE FROM THE COURTHOUSE

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Judge Boulware grants preliminary approval in the HISTORIC $375 million Le v ZUFFA antitrust lawsuit

BIG TIME BLOW LANDED BY UFC VETS👊🏼#ufc #mma pic.twitter.com/rROqcAN1hK

— “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (@FilthyTomLawlor) October 22, 2024 A Nevada judge has temporarily approved a settlement agreement in the UFC antitrust lawsuit.

On Tuesday, Judge Richard Boulware approved a settlement plan where the UFC agreed to pay $375 million to the plaintiffs to settle the lawsuit, which was initially filed in 2014 by a group of fighters that included the likes of Cung Le and Nate Quarry. The UFC’s former parent company, Zuffa, was initially accused of engaging in a scheme "to acquire and maintain monopsony power in the market for elite professional MMA fighter services” by purchasing rival organizations and limiting earnings by binding fighters to exclusive contracts.

Accordin…

After winning 15 of his last 17 professional bouts, Carlos Leal Miranda will finally achieve his goal of fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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The Brazilian will step up on short notice to face Rinat Fakhretdinov at UFC 308 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. What makes the situation more interesting is how someone who hadn’t fought in the UFC and lives in Curitiba, Brazil, was able to accept such a call from the promotion on the week of the fight. The foundation for the move was laid in August 2023.

After losing to Sadibou Sy via decision in a second consecutive Professional Fighters League semifinal, Leal decided that it was time to leave PFL and try to achieve his goal of fighting in UFC.

“When I entered the PFL my goal was to be a champion. In the first season I got really close and decided to try once again. When I lost the second time, me and my team decided it was time to leave,” Leal said.

While things didn’t work out as planned in …

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Even if he reclaims UFC featherweight gold on Saturday, Max Holloway might not be done in the lightweight division.

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Holloway will challenge reigning champion Ilia Topuria for the 145-pound title in the UFC 308 headliner at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. That fight comes on the heels of a successful venture to 155 pounds, where he knocked out Justin Gaethje to capture the BMF belt at UFC 300 this past April. Gaethje was regarded as one of the top title contenders at lightweight before that defeat, which has Holloway thinking about a potential matchup with current divisional kingpin Islam Makhachev. In 2018, “Blessed” was scheduled to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title clash at UFC 223 before his weight cut was determined to be unsafe by the New York State Athletic Commission.

“You’ve got to do great things,” Holloway recently told Demetrious Johnson on his YouTube channel. “We had that fight booked with Khabib a while bac…

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According to Dana White, there is one bad thing about the highly-anticipated featherweight championship clash between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway.

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“This Topuria-Holloway fight is terrible because when you like both guys and they actually have to go in there, and somebody has to lose – it sucks,” White recently said on the Outta Pocket with RGIII podcast.

“Max Holloway is one of the greatest ever to do it and just one of the nicest dudes, he has the BMF belt, and he is a BMF. Topuria has been an absolute rockstar. It’s gonna be a fun fight. I hate to see somebody lose that fight.”

UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway Saturday at 2 PM ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Topuria will defend his featherweight crown against Holloway in the UFC 308 headliner at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Topuria is unbeaten in 15 professional bouts and is coming off a second-round stoppage of Alexander Volkanovski to claim featherweight gold at UFC 298…

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Ilia Topuria’s brother, Aleksandre Topuria, had some elite corner advice for him in his UFC featherweight title win.

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Ilia defeated Alexander Volkanovski via second-round knockout at UFC 298 this past February to be crowned the featherweight champ. The Georgian-Spaniard is set to defend his title for the first time against Max Holloway in the main event at UFC 308 on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Leading up to the fight, Topuria revealed how his brother helped him in his win over “The Great.”

Once Ilia returned to his corner after the first round, Aleksandre pointed out that Volkanovski’s left arm doesn’t stay on guard. Aleksandre also advised Ilia to add pressure when Volkanovski moved toward him once the second round started.

“His left arm is set quite low. He puts his left arm here. Once you start, cut his distance a bit if it is possible,” Ilia said via translation in the UFC 308 Countdown video. “Continue w…

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Kamaru Usman believes Khamzat Chimaev will beat Robert Whittaker at UFC 308.

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Chimaev and Whittaker will clash in a high-caliber middleweight bout in the co-main event at UFC 308 on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. While Chimaev has opened as a betting favorite, many consider it a pick ‘em matchup.

Usman, who has previously shared the Octagon with Chimaev, favous the Chechen-born Swede over Whittaker. Whittaker and Chimaev were originally scheduled to fight at UFC Saudi Arabia in June, but “Borz” was forced to pull out due to illness. Whittaker went on to score a first-round finish over highly-touted debutant Ikram Aliskerov, whose only other career loss came against Chimaev on the regional circuit. While Usman acknowledged Whittaker’s elite skillset, “The Nigerian Nightmare” feels Chimaev is just gifted. Although Whittaker boasts strong anti-grappling abilities at middleweight, Usman believes Chimaev will be able to imp…

Ilia Topuria shows respect to Khabib, but goes IN on his cousins/teammates 😳

"One thing I respect about Khabib, the guy is super respectful... I mentioned Islam, and all the cousins come out.

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They've never knocked anyone out, they get caught using steroids, they're super… pic.twitter.com/Bxmm77AEG0 — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 21, 2024

Ilia Topuria doesn’t have the same respect for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teammates as he does for “The Eagle.”

Topuria is slated to defend his featherweight title against Max Holloway in the main event at UFC 308 this Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. If he defends his strap successfully, “El Matador” has expressed interest in challenging lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, leading to a war of words with the Dagestani contingent.

Umar Nurmagomedov, Usman Nurmagomedov, Tagir Ulanbekov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov all teamed up to throw online barbs at Topuria. The beef …

Muhammad Mokaev’s strained relationship with the Ultimate Fighting Championship isn’t getting any better.

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Mokaev and Raul Rosas Jr. were scheduled to meet in a catchweight submission grappling bout in the main event at ADXC 6 on Friday at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi. However, the fight was canceled soon after it was announced, which the promotion blamed on “unforeseen circumstances.”

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, [Muhammad Mokaev] vs [Raul Rosas Jr.]has been cancelled as the ADXC6 main event! The show must go on,” ADXC wrote in a statement. “Stay tuned for a new grappling main event to be announced soon!.”

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Muhammad Mokaev vs Raul Rosas Jr has been cancelled as the #ADXC6 Main Event! The show must go ON 🔥 Stay tuned for a new Grappling Main Event to be announced soon! 👀#ADXC6 #JiuJitsu #Grappling #AbuDhabi #MubadalaArena pic.twitter.com/4KXq3aTaK6

— ADXC_official (@adxc_o…

Tatiana Suarez’s path to Ultimate Fighting Championship gold has hit another roadblock.

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The strawweight contender has reportedly suffered an undisclosed injury and has been forced to withdraw from a proposed clash against Virna Jandiroba at UFC 310 on Dec. 7. Multiple outlets confirmed the news following an initial report from MMA Melotto. It is currently unknown if Jandiroba will remain on the card against a replacement opponent.

Suarez and Janiroba were previously booked to square off in August 2023 before the Brazilian suffered a knee injury and pulled out of the fight. Suarez would remain on the UFC on ESPN 50 card, where she submitted ex-strawweight queen Jessica Andrade in the second round of their encounter. The 33-year-old Milennia MMA representative was supposed to return to action against Amanda Lemos at UFC 298 in February, but Suarez withdrew from that contest due to what she described as a “minor setback.”

When healthy, Suarez i…

The BMF title will not be on the line at UFC 308, but Ilia Topuria believes he can have a negative impact on its relevance.

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Topuria will defend his featherweight crown against former champ Max Holloway in Saturday’s headliner at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. After going 0-3 in 145-pound title bouts against Alexander Volkanovski, Holloway was on the outside looking in when it came to the featherweight title picture. However, that changed when Topuria defeated Volkanovski to become the new featherweight king at UFC 298.

Meanwhile, Holloway moved up to 155 pounds at UFC 300, where he captured the BMF belt with an iconic fifth-round knockout of Justin Gaethje. Topuria has since stated that Holloway was reluctant to accept a championship fight at 145 pounds, and he reiterated that claim in a recent interview with CBS Sports.

"After he knocked out Justin Gaethje, I asked about Max Holloway," Topuria said. "Before that fight, I thought of giving the rema…