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Robert Whittaker: No Controversy Regarding UFC 297 Headliner Scoring

While many have opined that the UFC 297 main event clash between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis could have been scored either way, Robert Whittaker (24-7) disagrees.

Strickland (28-6) looked to defend his middleweight strap against du Plessis (21-2) at UFC 297 in Toronto last weekend. While the American looked impeccable in the opening frame, “Stillknocks” made adjustments as the fight progressed to rope in a closely-contested split decision win.

However, fans and pundits alike were divided on the scoring of the fight. Even Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White and color commentator Joe Rogan had Strickland winning.

However, Whittaker said du Plessis won every round except the first. The former middleweight champ saw du Plessis as the hungrier fighter, which he finds praiseworthy.

“I don’t know why it’s controversial,” Whittaker declared on his “MMArcade” podcast. “I’ve seen a lot of other fighters and even Dana White himself…

Mayra Bueno Silva Claims She Sustained Ear Injury vs. Raquel Pennington at UFC 297

Mayra Bueno Silva believes an injury suffered during her championship clash against Raquel Pennington led to her defeat.

Silva (10-3) took on Pennington (16-8) in the co-main event at UFC 297 with the vacant Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight title on the line. While “Sheetara” won the first round on all three official scorecards, attempting a submission along the way, she never won another round. Pennington went on to earn a unanimous decision victory in a lackluster affair.

Silva has revealed that a strike from Pennington partially ruptured her eardrum early in Round 2, impairing her ability to make reads. The Brazilian told MMA Fighting on Wednesday:

“I had a minor ear injury, but aside from that, I feel great and ready to come back. Raquel hit me hard in the ear and partially tore my eardrum and I kind of lost balance. But it’s part of the game.”

Silva continued, “I couldn’t read the fight and know what was happening af…

Si Yoon Park-Seika Izawa Atomweight Title Fight to Headline Deep Jewels 44

Two of the top women in MMA’s lighter divisions are set to meet in a champ vs. champ superfight with pound-for-pound implications.

Deep Jewels atomweight champ Si Yoon Park (6-3) will defend her title against her strawweight counterpart, Seika Izawa (12-0), at Deep Jewels 44 on March 24 in Tokyo. The promotion made the announcement on Jan. 23, just days after “Sankaru” added the Black Combat atomweight title to her hardware collection by defeating Moeri Suda at Black Combat 10.

In the challenger, Park will face a fellow multi-divisional champion, as Izawa owns the Rizin Fighting Federation super atomweight (108 lbs.) belt in addition to her Jewels title. A win by Izawa would make her a simultaneous three-division champion, a feat nearly unprecedented in top-level MMA.

On the other hand, a successful defense by Park would reaffirm her status as one of the world’s top atomweights and continue her shocking rise over the last year. Park, who wen…

Ryan Bader, Renan Ferreira Both Target Francis Ngannou After PFL vs. Bellator Bout

It’s safe to say that Ryan Bader and Renan Ferreira have their eyes on the prize. In this case, that can apply to more than thing.

Bader, the reigning Bellator heavyweight champ, and Ferreira, the defending PFL 2023 heavyweight king, will square off in the main event of the PFL vs. Bellator card on Feb. 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Both men recognize the magnitude of a cross-promotional event that features some of the top talents in PFL and Bellator.

“It’s a huge deal,” Bader said at a press conference in Hollywood, Florida, on Wednesday. “It doesn’t happen in MMA. All the fans are wanting these superfights. A lot of organizations don’t want to risk putting there champions out there. I love it. The whole card if you look at it, it’s stacked.”

Added Ferreira: “It’s a special moment for the fans. it’s a special moment for the sport. I feel honored to be in this position as the main event to fight against a guy with the credentials that Ryan Bade…

Peter Murray: PFL vs. Bellator Champions Card Will Not Be a ‘One-Off Event’

Professional Fighters League CEO Peter Murray believes the inaugural PFL-Bellator card will be a monumental event to kick off a stacked 2024 — including pay-per-view powerhouses and aggressive expansion — for the promotion.

At the first PFL-Bellator press conference on Wednesday at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, Murray spoke on PFL’s plans to host an annual PFL-Bellator card and plans to re-imagine the Bellator brand with the Bellator International Champions Series.

“[Bellator’s] a beloved brand of MMA,” Murray said to a collection of reporters. “We have an opportunity to re-imagine the Bellator brand, support these great fighters and the property fits into our portfolio.”

The PFL vs. Bellator card takes place on Feb. 24 at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Bellator champions Johnny Eblen, Ryan Bader, Jason Jackson and Patricio Freire are defending their promotion’s honor against the likes of PFL’s season champions such as Impa Kasang…

UFC 300 Update: Featherweights Diego Lopes, Sodiq Yusuff to Clash in Las Vegas

A featherweight showdown pitting Diego Lopes against Sodiq Yusuff has been added to the UFC 300 lineup.

Lopes confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from Freak MMA. UFC 300 takes place on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will see Justin Gaethje defend his “BMF” belt against Max Holloway in a featured lightweight bout. Additionally, Weili Zhang will lock horns with Xiaonan Yan in a strawweight championship tilt.

After giving Movsar Evloev a tougher-than-expected test in his short-notice Octagon debut at UFC 288, Lopes emerged as a person of interest at 145 pounds thanks to back-to-back first-round finishes of Gavin Tucker and Pat Sabatini. The 29-year-old Brazilian owns a 23-6 career mark with 21 victories coming inside the distance.

Yusuff is coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Edson Barboza in the UFC Fight Night 230 headliner this past October. Prior to that, the Dana White's Contender Series…

Rafael Cavalcante Details LFA’s Plans for Brazil in 2024

Legacy Fighting Alliance is renowned as a pipeline for talent to the UFC, making it a prime destination for many burgeoning fighters.

Rafael Cavalcante, the South American president of the organization, recently revealed LFA’s plans for 2024 in an interview with Sherdog.com.

“In 2023 we did 26 events, 20 in the USA and six in Brazil [while] putting a monthly average of 3.4 fighters in UFC,” Cavalcante said. “This year our goal is to keep around the same number of events in Brazil and USA.”

The first event on the promotion’s calendar in Brazil is set for Saturday with LFA 175 in Cajamar, Sao Paulo. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between reigning champion Bruno Lopes and Marcos Brigagao.

“Both are very aggressive and look for the knockout all the time. I have no doubt this fight will not reach the fifth round,” Cavalcante said.

According to Cavalcante, LFA is planning to hold the same number of events in…

Max Holloway: ‘BMF’ Title Fight at UFC 300 Creates a ‘Lot of Options’

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While Max Holloway was eyeing a title shot, he also wanted to be on the UFC 300 card.

A “BMF” title fight against Justin Gaethje was good enough to make the latter a reality.

Holloway has bested the majority of the UFC’s featherweight division with the exception of reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski, who owns three victories over the Hawaiian. After earning consecutive victories over Arnold Allen and Chan Sung Jung, Holloway had been rallying for yet another shot against Volkanovski. However, the promotion decided to book “The Great” against undefeated Spanish contender Ilia Topuria for UFC 298 on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, California.

Things eventually worked out well for Holloway with a booking against Gaethje on the marquee UFC 300 card.

“Oliveira and Islam was booked, I just came off a big win with ‘Korean Zombie,’ and then the 45 title was booked too at the same time,” Holloway told Kevin Iole. “So, he had the ‘BMF’ belt…

Yair Rodriguez Believes Win Over Brian Ortega Could Earn Him Another Title Shot

Yair Rodriguez believes he is not very far from title contention.

Rodriguez is coming off a third-round stoppage loss against Alexander Volkanovski in his first shot at featherweight gold at UFC 290 last July. The Mexican standout will next face Brian Ortega in a rematch in front of his home fans at UFC Mexico on Feb. 24.

“El Pantera” believes a title shot could be waiting on the other side of a win over Ortega.

“I think it’ll put me right there for the title shot again,” Rodriguez told Middle Easy. “Of course, that would have a lot to do with the [Ilia] Topuria vs. Volkanovski fight. I think that will dictate where the division will go and what fights there are to make. If 'Volk' wins, which I think he will and I win my next fight, I think a rematch could be a potential reality.”

Rodriguez acknowledges that the possibility of a title shot depends on the outcome of the UFC 298 title fight, where Volkanovski will look to defend his th…

ONE Championship Study Reveals Significant Growth in U.S. Market

ONE Championship’s share of viewership from mixed martial arts fans in the United States has grown significantly in recent months.

The Singapore-based promotion partnered with consumer research company GWI for a case study on how to increase brand awareness among fans in the U.S. market. With the insights it acquired, ONE was able to grow its audience in the U.S. by 46% over the course of a six-month period from December 2022 to May 2023.

“We've always known there was a passionate group of combat sports fans in the U.S. Year-on-year, we could see our metrics increasing organically there, and we knew there was a growing fan base,” said Jane Guo, vice president, head of analytics and insight at ONE. “It was really about finding the right partner to take it to the next level in terms of scale.”

Based on the data from ONE’s brand tracker study with GWI, the promotion was able to identify Amazon Prime as the ideal broadcast partner.

“Amazon is pro…

Coach: Sean Strickland Lost ‘Optics Battle’ Against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297

Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis’ camps have the utmost respect for each other following their UFC 297 clash.

Strickland defended his middleweight strap agianst Du Plessis in the main event at UFC 297 last weekend in Toronto. Following a lot of drama, ranging from trash talk to a brawl leading up to the fight, the two delivered a competitive bout on fight night. “Stillknocks” eventually secured a closely-contested split-decision win to be crowned the new middleweight champ.

Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick believes his fighter did enough to get his hand raised against Du Plessis. However, the renowned trainer also thinks Strickland needed to win the “optics battle,” as it was an extremely close contest.

“Congratulations to [Dricus Du Plessis] and his team. I never met a more classy opposing fighter during fight week, along with the skills to back it up. I’m happy for you, your team, and your country, you made them proud,” said Nicksick…

Vitor Petrino vs. Tyson Pedro Booked for UFC Fight Night 238 on March 2

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A light heavyweight clash has been added to UFC Fight Night 238.

Undefeated Brazilian standout Vitor Petrino (10-0) will take on Australian veteran Tyson Pedro (10-4) at the UFC Fight Night event, which is set to go down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 2. The matchup was announced by Petrino on Instagram.

Petrino earned his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract with a technical knockout win over Rodolfo Bellato in an appearance on Dana White’s Contenders Series in September 2022. The Brazilian has since picked up three victories in the last year, including two finishes. In his most recent outing, Petrino scored a brutal Round 2 knockout win over Modestas Bukauskas in November.

Meanwhile, Pedro has gone 6-4 in hi…

Kayla Harrison to Make Bantamweight Debut vs. Holly Holm at UFC 300

Two-time Professional Fighters League champion Kayla Harrison has signed with the UFC for an Octagon debut on the biggest stage possible.

UFC CEO Dana White announced Tuesday night that Harrison will make her bantamweight debut against former champion Holly Holm at UFC 300 on April 13. Harrison has competed at both lightweight and featherweight but never at 135 pounds during her 17-fight professional tenure.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Harrison fulfilled her PFL contract at the 2023 Championships, where she earned a unanimous verdict against Aspen Ladd in a 150-pound catchweight affair. Harrison was twice a PFL champion at 155 pounds but came up short in her third title bid, falling to Larissa Pacheco in a massive upset at the conclusion of the 2022 season. Thus far, Harrison has only cut to 145 pounds once, when she defeated Courtney King via second-round TKO at Invicta FC 43.

Holm, meanwhile, is coming off a second-round submission …

Alonzo Menifield Replaces Dominick Reyes, Meets Carlos Ulberg at UFC Atlantic City

Alonzo Menifield will step in for Dominick Reyes and square off against Carlos Ulberg at UFC on ESPN 54.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the new light heavyweight booking on Tuesday. A reason for Reyes’ withdrawal was not given. UFC on ESPN 54 takes place on March 30 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and is headlined by a welterweight duel pitting Sean Brady against Vicente Luque.

Menifield is 4-0-1 in his last five Octagon appearances dating back to June 2022. Most recently, the 36-year-old Dana White's Contender Series alum scored a unanimous verdict against Dustin Jacoby at UFC 296 on Dec. 16.

Ulberg, meanwhile, has won five straight contests since dropping his promotional debut to Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC 259. In his last outing, the City Kickboxing representative submitted Da Woon Jung in the third round of their clash at UFC 293.

Reyes has not competed since November 2022. The two-time light heavyweight ti…

‘Big’ John McCarthy Expects New Role with PFL, Bellator Following Acquisition

In recent years, “Big” John McCarthy was a consistent presence on Bellator MMA broadcasts.

That is likely to change following Professional Fighters League’s purchase of the California-based promotion. McCarthy, who was a longtime official before transitioning to the broadcast table, will remain with the company but expects that his role will change in the coming months.

“I am going to be staying with the PFL because I had a contract with Bellator, and it still has a year on it, so the PFL picked that up,” McCarthy told MMAjunkie.com. “Will my role be the same? I don’t think it’s going to be the same.

“I think it’s going to be more towards rules and regulations, scoring the fights and doing those things – making sure everyone understands what’s being done, if it’s being done in the correct way and what options do the officials have.”

In addition to a career as a referee, McCarthy helped to develop the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts…

UFC Fighter Josiah Harrell Needs $80K for Surgery to Treat Rare Brain Condition

Josiah Harrell needs at least $80,000 to help cover the surgery needed to treat the brain condition that forced him out of his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

The 25-year-old mixed martial artist recently launched a GoFundMe account to pay for the expenses associated with the procedure required to treat moyamoya, which is a “rare vascular disease of the brain in which the main arteries that supply blood to your brain become narrowed and blocked,” according to pennmedicine.org.

Harrell was supposed to make his first Octagon foray against Jack Della Maddalena on short notice at UFC 290, but a pre-fight brain scan caught the condition and forced him out of the fight. The Ohioan was supposed to undergo surgery shortly thereafter the July diagnosis, but financial issues have apparently complicated that situation.

“As of right now I cannot go any further with anything that has to do with surgery until I have [$80,000] up front,” Harrell w…

UFC, WWE Parent Company Appoints ‘The Rock’ to Board of Directors

TKO appoints Dwayne Johnson to Board of Directors@TheRock @WWE @ufc pic.twitter.com/bhTgADAEb7

— TKO (@TKOGrp) January 23, 2024

TKO Group Holdings — the parent company of both the UFC and WWE — has added a prominent name to its board of directors.

On Tuesday, the company announced that Dwayne Johnson, more commonly known as “The Rock,” will serve on the TKO Group Holdings board of directors. According to a release, “the appointment of Johnson reflects TKO’s commitment to delivering long-term value and strong performance for shareholders through strategic growth initiatives across both UFC and WWE.” Johnson is current a major motion picture star and also one of the most popular figures in professional wrestling history.

“My grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, and my dad, Rocky ‘Soulman’ Johnson, would’ve never thought this day would come. Which is why I’m very humbled to have a seat at the table that has decades of hi…

Carlos Barreto: Israel Adesanya Controls UFC Middleweight Title Picture

Dricus Du Plessis' contested victory over Sean Strickland in the UFC 297 headliner left the immediate future of the middleweight division uncertain.

According to UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator Carlos Barreto, Dana White should make an immediate rematch between Du Plessis and Strickland.

“You can’t say it was a robbery, the fight was really very competitive, but in my [view], and Demian Maia agreed with me, Strickland won four rounds — clearly 3 rounds — so the fairest thing would be an immediate rematch,” Barreto said on his weekly YouTube program Papo de Luta.

While offering live commentary of the fight with Maia, Barreto gave Rounds 1,2,3 and 5 to Strickland.

“When I came home I saw the fight again,” he said. “I could accept Dricus winning the third round. But Rounds 1, 2 and 5 were clear for Strickland. Anyway, it was a very tough match and an immediate rematch would be really fair in my personal view.”

Shortly after the eve…

Tom Aspinall Claims He Received Death Threats From Jon Jones’ Fans

The internet is a wild place, as Tom Aspinall recently learned.

The UFC interim heavyweight champion has been involved in a polite feud with undisputed champ Jon Jones for a while now. Aspinall recently revealed that his online back-and-forth has provoked death threats from fans of “Bones.”

“People on the internet are wild,” Aspinall told Lord Ping (h/t MMA Mania). “You have to kind of see it for what it is. It’s not real life, a lot of it comes from jealousy. People don’t like to see other people do well, unfortunately that’s the way of the world. With a lot of love comes a lot of hate as well. That’s the way the cookie crumbles, unfortunately.

“I’m human so it affects me sometimes. But I try to just turn a blind eye to it and just crack on. The internet is a strange place. I clicked on my message requests by accident the other day and people are sending me death threats for wanting to fight Jon Jones, who’s the best in the world and it’s m…

Neil Magny Holds No Grudge Against Ian Garry for Damaging Trash Talk

Neil Magny is ready to forgive Ian Garry despite the Irishman’s trash talk taking a toll on his personal life.

Magny dropped a unanimous decision in a short-notice booking against Garry at UFC 292 in August last year. Leading up to the fight, “The Haitian Sensation” had promised to put on a “father-like” beating on Garry. While Magny insisted that it was just trash talk, Garry twisted the context and accused his opponent of child abuse.

Unfortunately, Magny was also going through a divorce and a custody battle for his kids around the same time. The welterweight veteran claims Garry’s trash talk had legal repercussions on his personal life. However, he doesn’t harbor any ill feelings towards “The Future” and especially doesn’t want the Irishman to go through the same experience as himself. Magny instead wishes Garry can soon get a hold of his own personal life, which has also recently been in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

“At the end o…

Khamzat Chimaev Unhappy With Dana White for Not Delivering Promised Title Shot

Khamzat Chimaev wants the title shot that was allegedly promised to him by Dana White.

Chimaev moved up to middleweight this past October, welcoming Kamaru Usman to the division on short notice at UFC 294.

“Borz” went on to score a tightly-contested majority decision win over the former welterweight champ. While the outing marked only his third middleweight win under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner, the Chechen claims to have been guaranteed a title shot by the UFC CEO for his next outing.

Chimaev was expecting to face the winner of Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 on Saturday. However, Du Plessis called out Israel Adesanya after dethroning Strickland and “The Last Stylebender” has also expressed interest in that bout.

While “Borz” still hasn’t given up hope of fighting for the title next, he made clear that he isn’t happy with recent developments.

“They promised me after Usman fight, ’You will for sure goin…

Malcolm Gordon Announces Retirement Following UFC 297 Loss

Malcolm Gordon has seemingly hung up his gloves.

The Canadian fighter recently took on Jimmy Flick at UFC 297 in front of his home crowd in Toronto, Canada. Gordon failed to make weight for the fight, which appeared to be a big factor early on as “X” smothered Flick with volleys of punches.

Gordon looked close to securing a finish when he ended up taking the wrestling standout to the ground. However, it was Flick who locked in a slick arm triangle to secure the finish in an impressive come-from-behind win in the second round. Gordon looked visibly dejected after the loss and was seen taking his gloves off inside the Octagon.

The 33-year-old subsequently wrote on his Instagram stories: “Retired.”

Malcolm Gordon posted this on his Instagram last night shortly after his heartbreaking loss to Jimmy Flick pic.twitter.com/p2J0Yk52S9

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) January 21, 2024

Gordon was 12-3 as a pro w…

Ikram Aliskerov Out; Roman Kopylov Meets Anthony Hernandez at UFC 298

Ikram Aliskerov has been forced to withdraw from UFC 298 due to a staph infection.

As a result, Roman Kopylov will step in and face Anthony Hernandez on Feb. 17. The Las Vegas-based promotion initially confirmed Aliskerov’s exit over the weekend, and MMAFighting.com subsequently brought word of the new middleweight booking.

Unfortunately because of staph infection I had to cancel my fight. It was a great chance to jump to the top 15 and fight in this crazy fight card…See you guys after Ramadan

— ikram_aliskerov (@ikram_aliskerov) January 21, 2024

UFC 298 takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and is headlined by a featherweight championship clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria. Hernandez vs. Kopylov is expected to take place on the evening’s main card.

Kopylov has been victorious in his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 32-year-old Russian scored a second-round kno…

Sean Strickland Points to Accidental Headbutt as Key Factor in UFC 297 Defeat

Sean Strickland was very close to retaining his middleweight title in the UFC 297 main event this past Saturday night in Toronto.

Were it not for an accidental headbutt that he claims occurred in the second half of his fight against Dricus Plessis, Strickland believes he might have gotten the nod. Instead, it was Du Plessis who claimed the middleweight crown with a closely-contested split decision triumph.

Strickland has twice referenced the alleged headbutt, which wasn’t identified by referee Marc Goddard, on social media since his loss to Du Plessis.

“Well f—k haha … that headbutt really made it difficult to see, but I thought we got the job done,” Strickland wrote Sunday on X. “Blood and all!!! Onto the next one!!!. Thanks to everyone who supported me!!!!!”

Well fuck haha... man that headbutt really made it difficult to see but I thought we got the job done. Blood and all!!! Onto the next one!!! Thanks everyone who sup…

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