As expected, Jon Jones is the UFC kingpin once again.

What an event UFC 285 turned out to be. Many fighters made the most of big opportunities (with almost all over them being betting favorites other than Alexa Grasso), and there were a lot of nice finishes. This caused quite a rankings ripple.

As expected, Jon Jones pushed Islam Makhachev out of top spot on the P4P list and now sits on the throne. His quick and dominant finish of Ciryl Gane will lead to some debate over whether he should be there right away, but – well, he is. And of course, Grasso picked up a massive upset over Valentina Shevchenko to claim the UFC women’s flyweight title.

Dricus Du Plessis and Shavkat Rakhmonov really arrived on the scene as well.

Here’s a look at the changes this week.

Men’s P4P – Jones back on top. The next ten fighters dropped one spot. With Gane out, 12-15 stayed the same.

Heavyweight – The title was vacant so not much changed other than Jones taking the champion spot. Stipe Miocic moved into a tie for top contender with Gane. Jailton Almeida flip-flopped with Alexandr Romanov for 13 and 14.

Light Heavyweight – No changes.

Middleweight – Du Plessis made a huge step forward, rising four spots to six (and that actually bumped Paulo Costa one to five). Brunson dropped three to eight. Roman Dolidze and Jack Hermansson drop one each to nine and ten.

Welterweight – Rakhmonov picks up the biggest win of his career and up three to the six spot. Wonderboy, Neal, Sean Brady and Vicente Luque all fall one spot to seven through ten. Michael Chiesa falls one to 13.

Lightweight – No changes.

Featherweight – No changes.

Bantamweight – No changes.

Flyweight – Adrian Yanez is up one to 12, pushing Chris Gutierrez to 13.

Women’s P4P – Grasso comes out of nowhere to end up at number two on the list. Shevchenko drops a spot to three, as does nearly everyone else. Taila Santos drops two to 12. Marina Rodriguez drops two to 14. Holly Holm holds on at 15.

Women’s Bantamweight – Mayra Bueno Silva is up two spots into the top 10. Miesha Tate is down to 11 (and coincidentally was booked against Bueno Silva today) and Julia Avila is now 12.

Women’s Flyweight – As with P4P, a change on top makes everyone else drop a spot. Valentina is still the number one contender. Amanda Ribas entered the list at eight following a win over Viviane Araujos. Araujos drops two to nine.

Women’s Strawweight – Ribas changing divisions means Virna Jandiroba and Michelle Waterson and up to eight and nine. Ribas is 10 but will fall off soon. Tatiana Suarez takes over 12, making Angela Hill the 13 contender now. Tabatha Ricci enters at 15 following a win over Tecia Torres.

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A running tally of important stats for all UFC events in 2023

Heading into Saturday’s UFC 285 fight card, Jon Jones held the record for UFC title fight wins with 14, while Valentina Shevchenko entered the event with the most title fight wins in the UFC women’s flyweight division with eight. Jones extended his record, defeating Ciryl Gane by submission in the first round and winning the vacant UFC heavyweight crown. Shevchenko’s record run ended in the UFC 285 co-main event when Alexa Grasso submitted her in the fourth stanza to win the promotion’s 125-pound women’s title.

Jones made easy work of Gane. The ex-UFC light heavyweight titleholder returned from over three years of inactivity — and without a title of his own to defend for the first time in more than four years — to score the fastest UFC title fight win in nearly two years.

As for Grasso, she had success with her striking in the first stanza of her bout against Shevchenko, but struggled in the second and third rounds when the defending champion used her wrestling and ground control to negate Grasso’s boxing skills. However, the tables turned in the fourth round when Shevchenko failed to connect on a spinning technique. That error allowed Grasso to pursue the choke that ended the fight.

Before the UFC 285 title fights, Shavkat Rakhmonov added his name to the UFC record book by securing a submission in the third round of his “Fight of the Night” bonus-winning scrap opposite Geoff Neal. With the win, Rakhmonov became the first UFC welterweight to start his career with the promotion with five straight finishes.

UFC 285’s main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.

Below, we look at all the significant UFC stats for 2023.

Total Fights: 85

Title Fights: 6

Unanimous Decisions: 26

Split Decisions: 6

Majority Decisions: 2

Majority Draws: 2

KOs/TKOs: 24

Submissions: 25

Types of Finishes

Submissions

Rear Naked Choke: 13

Guillotine Choke After Drop to Guard: 2

Arm Triangle from Half Guard: 2

Guillotine Choke on Ground: 1

Guillotine Choke from Bottom Guard: 1

Kneebar on Ground: 1

Arm Triangle from Mount: 1

Arm Triangle on Ground: 1

Armbar from Side Control: 1

Triangle Armbar from Bottom Guard: 1

Triangle Choke from Bottom Guard: 1

Knockouts and Technical Knockouts

Punch to Head at Distance: 6

Punches to Head at Distance: 3

Elbows to Head from Mount: 2

Doctor Stoppage: 2

Punches to Head in Clinch: 2

Flying Knee to Head: 1

Kick to Body at Distance: 1

Knees to Body at Distance: 1

Knees to Head in Clinch: 1

Punches to Head from Back Control: 1

Punches to Head from Guard: 1

Punches to Body at Distance: 1

Punches to Head on Ground: 1

Punches to Head from Corner Stoppage: 1

Fights by Weight Division

Heavyweight: 7

Light heavyweight: 10

Middleweight: 8

Welterweight: 9

Lightweight: 15

Featherweight: 9

Women’s Featherweight: 1

Bantamweight: 8

Catchweight: 1

Women’s bantamweight: 2

Flyweight: 7

Women’s Flyweight: 6

Women’s strawweight: 2

UFC Stat Totals in 2023

Total Knockdowns Landed: 28

Total Submission Attempts: 57

Total Reversals: 21

Total Significant Strikes Attempted: 14,581

Total Significant Strikes Landed: 7.059

Total Significant Head Strikes Attempted: 11,057

Total Significant Head Strikes Landed: 4,312

Total Significant Body Strikes Attempted: 2,137

Total Significant Body Strikes Landed: 1,609

Total Significant Leg Strikes Attempted: 1,387

Total Significant Leg Strikes Landed: 1,138

Total Significant Distance Strikes Attempted: 12,732

Total Significant Distance Strikes Landed: 5,659

Total Significant Clinch Strikes Attempted: 1,126

Total Significant Clinch Strikes Landed: 830

Total Significant Ground Strikes Attempted: 723

Total Significant Ground Strikes Landed: 561

Total Strikes Attempted: 18,210

Total Strikes Landed: 10,132

Total Takedowns Attempted: 466

Total Takedowns Landed: 168

Memorable Fight Stats in 2023

Shortest Five-Round Fight: Jon Jones submits Ciryl Gane at 2:04 of Round 1 via guillotine choke.

Shortest Three-Round Fight: Rinya Nakamura KOs Toshiomi Kazama at 0:33 of Round 1 via punch to head at distance at UFC Vegas 68.

Latest Finish in a Three-Round Fight: Brendan Allen submits Andre Muniz at 4:25 of Round 3 via rear-naked choke.

Most Takedowns Landed: Loik Radzhabov lands 11 takedowns on 21 attempts vs. Esteban Ribovics.

Most Submission Attempts: HyunSung Park three submission attempts against SeungGuk Choi, Jimmy Crute three submission attempts against Alonzo Menifield, Clayton Carpenter with three submission attempts vs. Juancamilo Ronderos and Joe Solecki with three submission attempts vs. Carl Deaton.

Most Knockdowns Landed: Rinya Nakamura scores two knockdowns on Toshiomi Kazama , Alonzo Menifield scores two knockdowns on Jimmy Crute and Trevor Peek with two knockdowns vs. Erick Gonzalez.

Most Significant Strikes Landed in a Three-Round Fight: Jessica Andrade lands 231 of 369 significant strike attempts in unanimous decision win over Lauren Murphy.

Shutouts: Serghei Spivac prevents Derrick Lewis from landing any strikes or takedowns during their UFC Vegas 68 main event fight.

New UFC records in 2023

Jon Jones became the eighth double-champion in UFC history.

Jon Jones broke his own UFC record with 15 title fight wins.

Shavkat Rakhmonov became the first UFC welterweight to open his run with the promotion with five straight finishes.

Jamahal Hill lands 232 significant strikes in a UFC light heavyweight fight for a new UFC LHW single-fight record. Hill defeated Glover Teixeira to by unanimous decision to win the UFC light heavyweight title.

Jessica Andrade lands 231 significant strikes in a UFC women’s flyweight fight for a new UFC women’s flyweight record. Andrade defeated Lauren Murphy via unanimous decision.

Jessica Andrade tied Amanda Nunes for most wins in women’s UFC history with her 15th victory with the promotion.

Jim Miller participated in his 41st fight in the UFC. Andrei Arlovski is second to Miller with 39 UFC bouts.

With his one submission attempt vs. Alexander Hernandez, Jim Miller has the most submission attempts in UFC history with 47. Charles Oliveira is second with 40 submission attempts.

Jim Miller has 38 fights in the UFC lightweight division. Three other fighters: Clay Guida, Gleison Tibau and Joe Lauzon are tied for second with 27 fighters each.

Jim Miller has 6:18:59 of UFC lightweight fight time. Clay Guida is second with 5:10:50.

Jim Miller has 44 submission attempts in UFC lightweight fights. Joe Lauzon is second with 29.

Erin Blanchfield has a control time percentage of 55.4 percent in UFC flyweight fights. Taila Santos is second with 46.3 percent.

Erin Blanchfield has a top position percentage of 48.6 percent in UFC flyweight fights. Gillian Robertson is second at 41.9 percent.

Erin Blanchfield averages 1.57 submissions per 15 minutes of UFC women’s flyweight fight time. Taila Santos is second at 1.5.

Mayra Bueno Silva secures first kneebar submission in UFC women’s bantamweight history.

Stats via UFC Stats

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Bloody Elbow takes a look at financial figures from Endeavor’s SEC filings and earnings call, detailing how UFC broke records yet again.

Endeavor Group Holdings, the parent company to the UFC, recently released their 4th quarter and full year earnings for 2022. For the full year, they saw $ 5.268 billion in revenue, up $ 190.4 million over 2021, and their adjusted EBIDTA was $ 1.164 billion, up $ 283.2 million year-over-year. Endeavor also noted that they had made $ 500 million in discretionary debt payments, bringing its total long-term debt down from $ 5.63 billion at the end of 2021 to $ 5.17 billion.

In both their 8-K and 10-K filings with the SEC and on their earnings call to investors, Endeavor went out of its way to highlight how well the UFC did last year, and how important it was to the overall company’s success. Since Bloody Elbow is a combat sports site that caters mostly to MMA fans, we are going to focus on what we can glean about the UFC’s finances from these financial disclosures.

UFC makes up most of Endeavor’s Owned Sports Properties

While Endeavor’s filings with the SEC did not give any granular details about the UFC, it did report on last year’s performance by the Owned Sports Properties segment, which is made up of the UFC, PBR bull-riding and Euroleague basketball (as well as for a portion of last year, Diamond Baseball Holdings, a collection of 10 minor league teams that Endeavor sold in August.) Last year the entire Owned Sports Property segment generated $ 1.332 billion in revenue, an increase of $ 224 million from the previous year. It also reported an adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) of $ 648 million, an increase of $ 111 million from 2021. The EBITDA margins also ticked up slightly, from 48.5% in 2021 to 48.6% in 2022.

Endeavor Group Holdings, LLC 10-K For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022

While Endeavor’s SEC filing did not reveal how much the UFC was responsible for those numbers, we have an idea based on what the credit rating company Moody’s has reported on the UFC’s finances. In 2019 Endeavor reported $ 935 million from their Owned Sports Properties. For that same year Moody’s reported that the UFC had generated approximately $ 860 million in revenues, or 92% of the segments revenues. In 2020 Owned Sports Properties saw $ 953 million in revenue and the UFC around $ 890 million, or 93% of the revenues. And in 2021 Owned Sports Properties had $ 1.108 billion in revenue and the UFC approximately $ 1.020 billion, or 92% of all the revenues.

Best financial year ever for fourth consecutive year

In 2022, Owned Sports Properties reported $ 1.332 billion in revenue, with the increase from 2021 being driven in large part by the UFC “due to increased media rights fees, greater sponsorship, licensing, commercial PPV and event related revenue from more events with live audiences.”

Endeavor’s 10-K informs us that Diamond Baseball Holdings was responsible for $ 64 million of Owned Sports Properties revenues. Since this entity was not part of the segment in previous years, we can deduct their portion to get $ 1.268 billion in total revenue from the UFC, PBC, and Euroleague; the three entities that made up the segment in previous years. If we assume that the UFC was again responsible for no less than 90+ percent of the revenue than the UFC can be expected to have generated at least $ 1.14 billion last year.

This amount for the UFC would line up with Endeavor’s statement that the company “posted its best financial year ever for the fourth consecutive year.” This best year came with a slew of records broken, including revenue, sponsorships, consumer products (“most notably within the video game, trading card, and NFT categories”) and the highest grossing Fight Nights in company history, both globally and in the U.S.

For sponsorship in 2022, UFC had its highest sales in the company’s history. According to CEO Ari Emanuel, the UFC’s sponsorships went “from eight figures to nine figures.” Amongst the new sponsors added to their roster was the blockchain platform VeChain, New Amsterdam Vodka (“the Official Ready to Drink Vodka of UFC”) , and Dwayne Johnson’s Project Rock along with new categories like the official electric commercial truck and the official law firm.

While the current ESPN broadcast broadcast deal still has two more years left, the UFC renewed ten of their international media rights deals in 2022. These renewed deals saw their overall average annual value more than double over the prior deals. During their earning call, Endeavor pointed out, as an example of how much demand there was for the UFC internationally, that there were six bidders for their UK rights.

Live events were also a strong point for the UFC, with all 21 of their events with live audiences selling out. This included “four of the highest grossing fight nights in the U.S. and the two highest grossing fight nights in UFC’s history, both at London’s O2 Arena.” Site fees, which the UFC collected on events from Singapore, Perth, Abu Dhabi, and Utah, were highlighted as something that potentially provided high margins and that the company was looking “to have high margin site fees for three to four of our live events “ in 2023.

Expenses

In addition to higher revenues last year, direct operating costs for Owned Sports Properties were also up $ 54.1 million, or 14.2%, from 2021, totaling $ 433.8 million. The higher direct operating costs were credited mostly to expenses connected to the increased number of live UFC and PBC events as well as costs for the seven months Endeavor ran the Diamond Baseball Holdings. It was also noted by Endeavor that these increases in direct operating costs were “partially offset by lower athlete costs for UFC.”

Based on comments by Endeavor executives, we estimated that total fighter pay in 2021 was $ 178.8 million or 17.5% of the UFC’s revenue. This falls right in line with what we know about the share of revenue the UFC paid in the past and what they projected they would continue to pay after their sale in 2016.

If UFC’s total athlete pay was just 1% lower in 2022 than it was in 2021, and their revenues ended up being $ 1.14 billion, then the fighters’ share of revenue would have been only 15.5% last year.

Of course, if fighter pay was lowered more than 1%, their revenue share would’ve been even worse than that paltry figure.

Read the rest of the post on the Bloody Elbow Substack, where we detail the UFC’s earnings and debt, along with Endeavor’s own projections as they name two possible risks to their lucrative MMA business.

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Check out all the fights announced over the past week in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.

Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.

UFC 285 on Saturday was a great pay-per-view event! Jon Jones became the new heavyweight champion with a quick submission of Ciryl Gane. Alexa Grasso stunned Valentina Shevchenko to claim the flyweight championship. Shavkat Rakhmonov and Geoff Neal put on a show in their ‘Fight of the Night’ awarded appearance. And Bo Nickal had a successful debut. With that event now over, let’s take a look at what we have ahead of us on the upcoming schedule.

The UFC either announced or finalized 7 fights this week, and a top-10 strawweight clash is set.

With her time at flyweight coming to an end, Jéssica Andrade is shifting her focus to strawweight. For her next UFC appearance, ‘Bate Estaca’ is sharing the Octagon with Xiaonan Yan at UFC 288, the upcoming pay-per-view event scheduled for May 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Though she split time at 115 and 125 pounds, Andrade decided to focus on the former after suffering a second-round submission loss to Erin Blanchfield at UFC Vegas 69 in February. At strawweight, the Brazilian is 8-3, with wins over Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Rose Namajunas and Amanda Lemos. After a 6-0 start to her UFC career, Yan dropped consecutive fights to Carla Esparza and Marina Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 27 and UFC 272, respectively. Recently, ‘Fury’ rebounded with a majority decision over Mackenzie Dern at UFC Vegas 61 this past October.

UFC San Antonio — March 25

• Manuel Torres vs. Trey Ogden — lightweight (First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency)

UFC Vegas 71 — April 22

• Rani Yahya vs. Montel Jackson — bantamweight (First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency)

UFC Vegas 72 — April 29

• Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson — flyweight (First rep. by Alex Behunin of MMA Mania)
• Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla — featherweight (First rep. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes)

UFC 288 — May 6

• Andre Petroski vs. Armen Petrosyan — middleweight (First rep. by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland)
• Devin Clark vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu — light heavyweight (First rep. by Nolan King and Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie)
• Jéssica Andrade vs. Xiaonan Yan — women’s strawweight (First rep. by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland)

Announced Bellator fights:

Bellator 294 — April 21

• Kenneth Cross vs. Killys Mota — lightweight (First rep. by Twitter user BookieChamp)
• Danny Sabatello vs. Marcos Breno — bantamweight (First rep. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie)

Announced Professional Fighters League (PFL) fights:

PFL 2 (2023 Regular Season) — April 7

• Ante Delija vs. Yorgan De Castro — heavyweight
• Larissa Pacheco vs. Julia Budd — women’s featherweight
• Bruno Cappelozza vs. Matheus Scheffel — heavyweight
• Renan Ferreira vs. Rizvan Kuniev — heavyweight
• Olena Kolesnyk vs. Aspen Ladd — women’s featherweight
• Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. TBA — lightweight
• Martina Jindrova vs. Amber Leibrock — women’s featherweight
• Marcelo Nunes vs. Maurice Greene — heavyweight
• Denis Goltsov vs. Michal Andryszak — heavyweight
• Amanda Leve vs. Karolina Sobek — women’s featherweight
• Marina Mokhnatkina vs. Yoko Higashi — women’s featherweight

Announced Cage Warriors fights:

Cage Warriors 152 — April 15

• Luke Riley vs. Alexander Lööf — featherweight

Announced Invicta FC fights:

Invicta FC 52 — March 15

• Fatima Kline vs. Natalia Kuziutina — women’s strawweight
• Ramona Pascual vs. Kaylee Vos — women’s featherweight
• Minna Grusander vs. Shauna Bannon — women’s strawweight

Announced KSW fights:

KSW 80 — March 17

• Robert Ruchała vs. Lom-Ali Eskijew — featherweight
• Tom Breese vs. Bartosz Leśko — middleweight
• Kacper Koziorzębski vs. Borys Borkowski — welterweight

KSW 81 — April 22

• Adrian Bartosiński vs. Artur Szczepaniak — welterweight

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Alexa Grasso welcomes immediate rematch against Valentina Shevchenko following her title win at UFC 285.

It seems that the newly crowned UFC women’s flyweight champion is willing to give Valentina Shevchenko an immediate rematch. Following her submission win over ‘Bullet’ at UFC 285, Alexa Grasso believes the former champ had a dominant enough reign to warrant that right.

In an interview with Ag Fight, Grasso explained how she felt prepared for the fight and unwilling to accept any other result but a win. Even though the 29-year-old admitted to getting into some trouble during the second round, she gave some insight into just how she was able to remain calm and eventually manage to turn the fight around.

“I told you I’d finish the fight,” Grasso stated. “I had pictured it many times in my head. I only wanted to walk out of there as the champion. She changed her strategy in the second round. She took me down and I wasn’t doing great for a while there. But I kept thinking I was going to get out of it. I drilled that position a lot. The immediate rematch makes sense. She was a dominant champion. We can fight again.”

The win over Valentina put Grasso (16-3) on a five-fight winning streak, with wins over Ji Yeon Kim, Maycee Barber, Joanne Wood and Viviane Araujo prior to beating Shevchenko. The 29-year-old’s latest loss took place in September 2019, when she dropped a majority decision to former strawweight champion Carla Esparza.

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Get a unique rundown of all the trophies that should have been handed out at UFC 285 with Dayne Fox’s Unofficial Awards.

When I look back at UFC 285 several years from now, I’ll tell myself that it was a great card. Jon Jones solidified his status as the GOAT by easily disposing of Cyril Gane to claim the heavyweight title. Alexa Grasso pulled off what is easily the front-runner for upset of the year by dethroning who was at the time the current longest reigning UFC champion in Valentina Shevchenko. Plus, the slugfest between Shavkat Rakhmonov. And Geoff Neal was fantastic and Mateusz Gamrot and Jalin Turner provided a very interesting chess match.

But right now… I feel kind of cheated. The main event between Jones and Gane was so anticlimactic, so noncompetitive, so… blah. It isn’t so much that the fight was short. Had the end of the contest been an explosive KO, I’d feel differently. As it is, I’m bummed it wasn’t a more competitive fight or that Jones didn’t pull off something more visually spectacular. I know what he did wasn’t easy, but I expected a clash that would better indicate the two best fighters in the division clashing. Regardless, that’s my problem and I’m sure I’ll get over it soon enough. Despite that, I’m not quite to that point yet.

All that said, there’s a LOT more to come out of UFC 285 that needs to be touched on outside of the top of the card. That’s what I intend to do – without ignoring the top of the card – with my Unofficial Awards. Let’s dig in….

For a different perspective, click here. For an audio recap of the event, click here.

Biggest Jump in Stock

There was a lot of drama on the night, but to me there’s only one choice for this spot: Grasso. She was a HEAVY underdog going into the fight – no one on the Bloody Elbow staff picked her to win – and found a way to snap the long reign of Shevchenko. While Grasso ultimately won with a split second moment in which she grabbed and wrapped up Shevchenko, she was fighting a competitive contest up to that point. In other words, this doesn’t feel like a flash in the pan upset. That’s not me saying Grasso is going to automatically successfully defend against Shevchenko in the inevitable rematch. What I’m saying is Grasso looks like she belonged in the title picture, something many of us weren’t sure of heading into the contest. At the very least, Grasso now has a title that few can achieve and it will never be taken away from her: world champion.

Biggest Fall in Stock

I have a hard time believing Gane is getting another title shot anytime soon. The big Frenchman lost in his first bid at official UFC gold when he was outwrestled by Francis Ngannou. That’s not something anyone expected. While it wasn’t a shock to see him lose the grappling battle to Jon Jones, he proved completely incapable of stopping Jones from getting the fight to the mat whenever the former light heavyweight kingpin wanted. It made for an anticlimactic contest with Jones, leaving Gane 0-for-2 in title bids, neither of them showing him in the best of lights. Given a lot of people already see him as a boring fighter, it’s going to be difficult for Gane to jump to the front of the line again. Anyone else think Curtis Blaydes isn’t chomping at the bit for a chance at Gane?

Best Newcomer

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Could it be anyone other than Bo Nickal? Yes, there’s some controversy given the takedown sequence started with a low blow. Perhaps more concerning was Nickal’s poor BJJ fundamentals. I know I’m not the only one who noticed Nickal wasn’t leaving half guard when he had the opportunity to finish the arm-triangle choke. But natural flow of Nickal’s wrestling and grappling indicates he’s a special talent. The biggest concern is whether the UFC will end up rushing the former D-1 wrestling champion. Nickal is giving plenty of signs that he’ll prove to be the exception as opposed to the rule, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Saved Their Job(s)

Some may disagree with me, but I would have expected Cody Garbrandt to get the axe if he came up short against Trevin Jones. It would have been the sixth loss in seven fights had Garbrandt lost and it would have snapped a three-fight losing streak for Jones. In other words, Garbrandt would have lost to someone whom most believed should have already lost their roster spot. Garbrandt picked up the win, but unfortunately did so at the expense of the aesthetic of the fight. I don’t blame him; a win was more important for him than adding to his highlight reel. But it will keep his critics chirping, even if Garbrandt has added some security with the win.

If the UFC has shown leniency early in a fighter’s run with the company, they will often have a shorter leash down the road. Given they kept Marc-Andre Barriault around when he could secure a win in his first four UFC appearances – in part because of a failed PED test – I expected they’d hand him his traveling papers if he lost to Julian Marquez. That looked like the case in the first round as Marquez pieced him up for the entirety of the round. However, Marquez fell off a cliff in a hurry the next round, Barriault’s pressure breaking him. Barriault has a very defined ceiling, but the UFC has need for fighters like him on the roster. He should have another couple of years as a mid-tier gatekeeper before he begins to fall off a cliff.

Start Typing a Resume

I’ve already touched on this, but a quick rehashing. There was some surprise Trevin Jones was still on the roster after he lost his third consecutive fight. Were he to come up short against Garbrandt, it felt like a sure thing he was going to be handed a pink slip. There’s no doubt about it now. For two-and-a-half rounds, Jones did next to nothing. I get that he was looking to counter, but his number one objective should have been to touch Garbrandt’s questionable chin. When Jones finally did let his hands go, he began to find success. Alas, it was too little, too late. The fight was the least aesthetically pleasing contest on the night

I’d like to see him return, but there’s no promise the UFC will bring Da’Mon Blackshear back given he’s been unable to secure a win in his first two UFC appearances. However, looking at it that way is a bit too black and white for my tastes. Blackshear fought to a draw against Youseff Zalal in his debut. Zalal wasn’t exactly hyped, but Blackshear didn’t have a lot of notice for that contest. And while he lost to Farid Basharat, Basharat was one of the more hyped bantamweight debutants we’ve seen in a while. Blackshear had plenty of nice moments in the fight, including catching Basharat in a triangle-armbar combination in the closing seconds.

Biggest WOW Moment

If I take this award literally, there were two moments that I stated “wow” out loud. Those were at the conclusion of the two title fights. Neither of the finishes were the type of moves that you only see something of the sort every ten years or so. With Jones, it was because I wasn’t expecting the fight to be so one-sided, ending in a fashion that was devoid of drama. With Grasso, it was that she did it; she pulled off the upset. Granted, if I pull back a bit further, the speed in which Grasso jumped on the back of Shevchenko following the botched spinning attack was amazing, a moment Grasso had clearly prepared for as she suggested in her post-fight interview. Given that added nugget, I’ll lean towards that as the most deserving “wow” of the event.

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Worst Fight Discipline

That he was able to walk away with a victory is indicative of how talented he is, but Cameron Saaiman has a long way to go before he begins reaching his full potential. The 22-year-old has secured enough fouls in his two UFC contests that he has had points docked in both contests. He even came dangerously close to having it happen a second time in his contest with Mana Martinez for a bad eye poke, but the referee showed him some leniency. Saaiman probably would have benefitted from another year on the regional scene to help work out some of the kinks, but he’s here and has to perform on the big stage. He’ll be eyeballed in his next contest to see if he can avoid a point deduction, perhaps over his next several contests.

Sloppiest Win Streak

At some point, the piper will come for his due for Dricus Du Plessis. The promising middleweight has benefitted from favorable matchups and a lot of luck to remain undefeated for his five UFC contests. He was losing to Trevin Giles before he wasn’t. He lucked out when Darren Till wasn’t able to finish him despite Du Plessis being dog tired. This time around, it was weathering an early storm from a 39-year-old Derek Brunson before benefitting from Brunson’s poor energy management. Du Plessis hasn’t had greatest the best stamina himself, but the South African has managed to work through his exhaustion, in part because he’s faced some opponents who have had poor stamina themselves. I don’t want to call Du Plessis a fraud. He’s still young with room to grow. It also sounds like he might be able to remedy his stamina issues some with a surgery on his nasal cavity. As it is, Du Plessis has been very advantageous of the situation he’s been presented. I can’t fault him for that, but I’d say I’m justitifed in having my doubts about how well he’ll do if given someone else in the top five.

Happy Trails

Speaking of Brunson, he threw up this tweet following his loss:

The longtime UFC vet talked last year about his retirement, indicating he was already one foot out the door. He reneged on that recently, saying he had three or four more fights in him. If his performance against Du Plessis is any indication, he’s probably best getting out now. Brunson took a LOT of damage against Du Plessis, unable to present much in terms of defense after his gas tank depleted. His stamina has never been great, but it was worse than usual. If it is the last we see of him, I only wish him the best. He’s been one of the more entertaining middleweights on the roster for the last decade while consistently fighting some of the bigger names. He always came up short against the best in the division, but a 14-7 UFC record in that time is nothing to sneeze at. Happy trails Derek. May your life after MMA be fulfilling.

A Tale of Two Fights

The first round between Viviane Araujo and Amanda Ribas saw a calm and collected Araujo patiently countering Ribas with a jab and the occasional power shot. Not that Ribas didn’t have her moments — the numbers indicated she was easily the busier fighter — but Araujo was getting the fight she wanted with the more damaging shots and was in the driver’s seat. Ribas hurt Araujo early in the second round, putting Araujo in survival mode for the rest of the round. Araujo did survive the early onslaught from Ribas’ strikes, but spent the rest of the time focused on stopping Ribas from advancing position or limiting the damage she threw down. No surprise, Araujo wasn’t the same fighter after the round. The third round saw her listless in her punches. She did land some strikes, but they didn’t have the same zip her punches in the first round did. As a result, Ribas operated without fear in the third, more than doubling up on the amount of significant strikes. It was the first time we’d seen Araujo hurt. If the contest was any indication, she doesn’t respond well.

Most Impressive Overcoming of Adversity

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

It was supposed to be a cake walk for Ian Machado Garry. Song Kenan hadn’t fought in two years and was never considered to be a major prospect in the first place. And if we’re being fair to Garry, most of the fight was a cake walk for him. He ended up more than tripling up on the striking advantage he held over Song in the second and third round. The issue was Garry gave all of those who threw him into their parlays into a panic when Song sent him sprawling to the canvas with a counter left. Garry was able to maintain his composure while Song was unable to put the finishing touches on Garry. Not that he didn’t try, but the discipline to do so wasn’t there. Garry still worries me with his defense, but he proved he can not only survive a rough situation, but he can come back with a vengeance.

Bonus Numbers

There’s some controversy here due to a fifth bonus being handed out. Typically, I’m in favor of more than the typical four being awarded, but I’m not happy to see Neal pick up an extra $ 50K despite having missed weight. If the UFC wants to award him a win bonus for the performance, I’d be fine with that. That’s their prerogative. But a Performance Bonus? There’s going to be guys yelling to be the exception to the rule time and again after this. I acknowledge both fought their asses off, but the rules are there for a reason. If they wanted to hand out extra bonuses, they should have looked at Loik Radzhabov and Esteban Ribovics. Those two also fought their ass off while Radzhabov made weight despite having roughly a week’s notice he’d be on the card. How about respecting the hell out of having the professionalism to make weight on short notice?

Regardless, it turned out to be the third bonus for Neal, not to mention the third for Rakhmonov. Given it was just his fifth UFC appearance, that’s impressive as hell. In terms of most overall for those participating at the event, Jones added to his total, leaving the event with nine. Grasso secured just her second while Nickal secured his first in his debut. In terms of drought, Barriault still hasn’t picked one up after ten appearances since May 2019. In terms of length of time, Brunson last picked one up in October 2017, a span of nine appearances. Araujo has yet to pick one up either, this being the ninth appearance of her UFC career.

About the author: Dayne Fox is a contributing writer and analyst for Bloody Elbow. He has been writing about combat sports since 2013 and a member of Bloody Elbow since 2016. Dayne primarily contributes opinion pieces and event coverage. (full bio)

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New York Times columnist Kurt Streeter doesn’t hold back in his condemnation of Dana White’s latest venture

The New York Times is far and away the most influential media outlet in the United States, if not the world. “The Gray Lady” is the home of “all the news that’s fit to print” and since it is read by more opinion leaders, elected officials, and media influencers than any other outlet it is often called “The Paper of Record.”

As such, it’s never a good day for a business if it finds itself squarely in the cross-hairs of the NYT.

Today is Dana White’s turn in the barrel. Times columnist Kurt Streeter has been following the Power Slap League and calls it “an ugly undertaking masquerading as a sport”, “a display of pure punishment created for TV ratings, video views and money, money, money” and that’s just his warm up on the way to a comprehensive demolition of the indefensible.

Streeter quotes one-time Power Slap competitor Kortney Olson describing her appearance on the show as “an awful experience.”

And that’s just the warm up. Check this:

“When Olson was struck, she lost consciousness, then fell to the stage at the U.F.C. Apex in Las Vegas like a crunched-up soda can tossed away as litter.

“Instantly,” she told me, “it was lights out.” She got up but immediately fell into a forward roll. She struggled to her feet, wobbly and dazed. “Where am I? What am I doing here?” she recalled thinking.

“A slow-motion clip of the blow played on the TBS broadcast, her face being disfigured for a television audience of about 415,000 viewers. The camera cut to White, who watched in a room nearby, gleeful.

“White wants slap fighting to be the next thing. “Morons,” he calls his critics, pointing out that plenty were similarly dismissive of the U.F.C. and its predecessors in the past. He says that slap fighting, as he presents it, with safety checks and doctors on hand, is safer than boxing. “In Slap, they take three to five slaps per event. Fighters in boxing take 300 to 400 punches per fight,” he said, adding that if you don’t like it, don’t watch. He left out the fact that many slap fight participants take only one blow — and it knocks them out cold.”

To response to Dana’s name-calling, Streeter brings in a big gun: “Dr. Geoffrey Manley, a professor and vice chairman of neurological surgery at the University of California San Francisco.”

Manley says, “Hits to the side of the head — the only kinds allowed in slap fighting, where the cheek area is targeted — are by far the worst kinds of blows.”

Then Streeter turns his attention to the people behind Power Slap:

“What a world. What a disgrace.

Shame on the Nevada Athletic Commission, which sanctioned slap fighting late last year, giving it an air of official blessing.

TBS and its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, deserve scorn as well. They provide a glossy, highly produced platform for slap fighting, disregarding both the human toll and the way the fights undercut the broader push for athlete safety.

And he saves his biggest shot for the Slap Happy Pappy himself.

White is a multimillionaire who has wielded his power to keep people defenseless. Under his leadership, he has balked at U.F.C. fighters’ pleas for better pay. He also suffered no repercussions for publicly slapping his wife in January.

Of course he’s a Svengali for slap fighting. But there is no chance he would ever put himself in the dangerous, powerless position he’s pushing on others. Instead, he will watch from the sideline, gleeful.

Dana is currently working on a new video to insult and demean members of the media. I wonder if he’ll have the guts to take on The New York Times? Punching down at MMA blogs is one thing, but taking on “the paper of record” is a whole ‘nother thing. Good luck with that Dana.

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Sorry cry babies! It’s time for another of our infamous and patented Care/Don’t Care Podcasts, with your talent: Eugene S. Robinson, John S. Nash, & Stephie Haynes. The format of the show is to review the prior weeks ‘cares’ & then pick which upcoming fights are HOT and which fights are NOT!

It’s time for another one of our infamous and patented Care/Don’t Care Podcasts, with your talent: the astounding Eugene S. Robinson, author of the ‘Eugene S. Robinson Substack’, the upcoming “A Walk Across Dirty Water and Straight Into Murderer’s Row: A Memoir”, & the ‘Fight Book’, “Fight: Everything You Wanted to Know About Ass-Kicking But Were Afraid You’d Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking”, host of ‘The Eugene S. Robinson Show Stomper! Podcast’, and co-host of the ‘If The Shoes Fit Podcast’, as well as the recently released ‘Bad Boss Brief Podcast’. He is joined by his co-hort, the indubitable John S. Nash, our chief financials columnist and host of our brand new ‘Hey Not the Face! Podcast’, co-host of our ‘Show Money Podcast’, & he is also one of the co-hosts of the ‘If The Shoes Fit Podcast’. Our trio is moderated by the insightful Stephie Haynes, of Bloody Elbow’s ‘The Level Change Podcast’, & the ‘Crooklyn’s Corner Podcast’.

June M. Williams

The format of the show:

• Review the prior weeks’ ‘Cares’ while offering up reactions to bouts from that event.
• Announce each fight on the upcoming card, quickly commenting on which fights are “HOT”, and which fights are “NOT” – by indicating if they care about the bout or not. (This is based on several criteria, including relevancy to the sport as a whole).

This format of “Caring” or “Not Caring” about each bout is geared to our listeners who consider themselves to be “Casual MMA Fans”. We endeavor to steer you toward fights which affect rankings, title contention, possess significant meaning, or are sure to be “must see tv” exciting fights; therefore saving you the tedium of watching every fight on every card – or perhaps missing out on something you might have otherwise skipped.

UFC 285 REACTIONS —

June M. Williams

Here’s a look at what transpired…

This 14-bout card saw two exciting first round finishes, three thrilling KO/TKO’s, four sweet subs, and six hard-fought decisions – one was a majority decision. Post-Fight BONUS Awards included:

POTN: Bo Nickal, Alexa Grasso & Jon Jones
FOTN: Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov

UFC 285: ‘Jones vs. Gane’ fight card, updated records & full results from the event —

Official ‘UFC 285’ Scorecards

MAIN CARD | SAT. MAR. 4

At – 14. UFC Vacant HW Championship: Jon Jones (27-1) DEF. Ciryl Gane (11-2) — via Sub – Guillotine Choke at 2:04 of Rd 1

At – 13. UFC Flyweight Championship: Alexa Grasso (16-3) DEF. Valentina Shevchenko (23-4) — via Sub – Rear Naked Choke at 4:34 of Rd 4, Total 19:34

At – 12. Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0) DEF. Geoff Neal (15-5) — via Sub – Standing Rear Naked Choke at 4:17 of Rd 3, Total 14:17

At – 11. Mateusz Gamrot (22-2) DEF. Jalin Turner (13-6) – via Dec – Split (29X28, 28X29, 30X27)

At – 10. Bo Nickal (4-0) DEF. Jamie Pickett (13-9) — via Sub – Arm Triangle Choke at 2:54 of Rd 1

Zane’s Picks from The MMA Vivisections Shows on Thursday, March 2nd:
Jones, Shevchenko, Rakhmonov, Gamrot, Nickal, Jones, Brunson, Araujo, Marquez, Garry, Saaiman, Ricci, Blackshear, & Radzhabov

FEATURED PRELIMS

At – 9. Cody Garbrandt (13-5) DEF. Trevin Jones (13-10) — via Dec – Unanimous (29X28, 29X28, 29X28)

At – 8. Dricus Du Plessis (19-2) DEF. Derek Brunson (23-9) — via KO/TKO – Corner Stoppage at 4:59 of Rd 2, Total 9:59

At – 7. Amanda Ribas (11-3) DEF. Viviane Araujo (11-5) — via Dec – Unanimous ( 27×29, 26×30, 27×30)

At – 6. Julian Marquez (9-4) DEF. Marc-André Barriault (15-6) — via KO/TKO – Punches (Standing TKO) at 4:12 of Rd 2, Total 9:12

EARLY PRELIMS

At – 5. Ian Garry (11-0) DEF. Kenan Song (19-7) — via KO/TKO – Punches at 4:22 of Rd 3, Total 14:22

At – 4. Cameron Saaiman (8-0) DEF. Mana Martinez (10-4) — via Dec – Majority (26X29, 28X28, 27X28)

At – 3. Tabatha Ricci (8-0) DEF. Jessica Penne (14-7) — via Sub – Armbar at 2:14 of Rd 2, Total 7:14

At – 2. Farid Basharat (10-0) DEF. Da’Mon Blackshear (12-5-1) — via Dec – Unanimous (28×29, 28×29, 28×29)

At – 1. Loik Radzhabov (17-4-1) DEF. Esteban Ribovics (11-1) — via Dec – Unanimous (28×29, 28×29, 28×29)

Be sure to follow The 6th Round Post-Fight Show Crew… You can find Zane – @TheZaneSimon & Eddie – @TheEddieMercado; and follow @BloodyElbow on twitter as well, for all the latest in MMA happenings. Plus now, you can show your love and support the efforts of Zane’s Podcast teams by becoming a ‘Devoted Degenerate Patron’ at our 6th Round/MMA Vivi Patreon – the only platform you can find our infamous MMA Depressed-us Podcast on ever again!

If you would like to catch the Care/Don’t Care show on our BE Presents SoundCloud Channel, join the gang right here in this spot on Monday… at that time the YouTube Video will appear in the lead slot above.

UFC Vegas 71: ‘Yan vs. Dvalishvili’ PICKS —

At this point in the show we offer you our ‘disclaimer’, then our trio will go about predicting the UFC Fight Night bout sheet from the bottom up, wrapping up the C/DC quick-picks portion of the show with the Main Event. This UFC on ESPN+ event will take place from The Theatre at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, March 11th., 2023.

Here’s a look at the fight card & records for the upcoming event via tapology.com, bout order subject to change…

UFC Vegas 71 ( CARES)

ESPN+ MAIN CARD | SAT. MAR. 11 — 6/3PM ETPT ( CARES)

14. 135lbs: Petr Yan (16-4) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (15-4) — At

13. 265lbs: Alexander Volkov (35-10) vs. Alexandr Romanov (16-1) — At

12. 205lbs: Nikita Krylov (29-9) vs. Ryan Spann (21-7) — At

11. 145lbs: Ricardo Ramos (16-4) vs. Austin Lingo (9-1) – At

10. 135lbs: Said Nurmagomedov (17-2) vs. Jonathan Martinez (17-4) — At

9. 205lbs: Vitor Petrino (7-0) vs. Anton Turkalj (8-1) — At

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 3/12PM ETPT ( CARES)

8. 265lbs: Łukasz Brzeski (8-2-1) vs. Karl Williams (7-1) — At

7. 135lbs: Raphael Assunção (27-9) vs. Davey Grant (12-6) — At

6. 185lbs: Sedriques Dumas (7-0) vs. Josh Fremd (9-4) — At

5. 135lbs: Mario Bautista (11-2) vs. Guido Cannetti (10-6) — At

4. 125lbs: JJ Aldrich (11-5) vs. Ariane Lipski (14-8) — At

3. 135lbs: Tony Gravely (23-8) vs. Victor Henry (22-6) — At

2. 125lbs: Tyson Nam (21-12-1) vs. Bruno Silva (12-5-2) — At

1. 170lbs: Carlston Harris (17-5) vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov (17-3-1) — At

Timestamps, YouTube video, care tally infographic will all appear in this post on Monday due to a delay in recording there was a delay in post-production this week.

Be sure to follow John on twitter @heynottheface, you can catch Stephie @CrooklynMMA, and twice a week she’s on @LevelChangePod. Meanwhile, Eugene is @EugeneSRobinson on twitter and @MrSleep3 on instagram.

If you enjoy our variety of shows, please give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, and give us a “like”, share & subscribe on your BE Presents Podcast platform of choice: YouTube, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, OverCast, PocketCasts, Castro, Castbox, Player FM, imdb, ThisMMALife, Podcast Addict, Podvine, Podchaser, Podbay, Podtail, Owltail, Listennotes, Podcast Republic, MuckRack, Chartable, Podtoppen.se & Patreon.

Follow your favorite Bloody Elbow Presents hosts on your preferred apps, such as: Downcast, PodCruncher, iCatcher!, Castaway 2, Podcastapp, Podbean, BeyondPod (Android), & more in your App Store! Coming soon to Simplecast, Pandora & Sirius XM!

For previous episodes, check out our playlists on any of our BE Presents channels.

About the author: June M. Williams is a midwest-based graphic designer, videographer, author & editor for Bloody Elbow. She began work for the Combat Sports Division in 2010, BE since 2013. Among other tasks, she currently manages & syndicates our ‘Bloody Elbow Presents’ Podcast Network. (full bio)

And now for something completely different: a “sports” column.

Editor’s Note: This column was originally published for the Look What You Made Me Do newsletter on SubStack.

No one needs to know how the sausage is made. And no one seems to ask “why” either. But one of the benefits of reading Look What You Made Me Do, is the only order it adheres to exists in the dank recesses of whatever the week has presented me.

Of course, while having participated in the New York Times exposé of my longtime former employer OZY Media and its erstwhile CEO Carlos Watson, and having written about it myself not just one, or two, but three times, it seems I would have had my hands full this last week. Watson, having been arrested, charged and arraigned for multiple counts of fraud after the guilty pleas of former COO Samir Rao and Chief of Staff Suzee Han, was grist for the schadenfreude mill. That and OZY finally shuttering its doors and Watson declaring that he has no money for a defense attorney.

However, since so much of that was fait accompli for me, something snuck ahead of it in my estimation. There’ll be time a’plenty to write about the depredations of Watson and crew, and have no fear, I will in the most stunning of ways, at such time as the dank recesses require. For this week though…it’s…sports.

Sorry, sorry, sorry, if sports is not your jam. This I understand. I understand because, in general, I hate sports too. If I know who your teams are AND I don’t like you, rest assured I follow your sports enough to know when your team loses since I’m petty like that and take joy, fleeting though it may be, from your sad days after your team has lost the night before.

Outside of that, though? Nothing. No baseball, hockey, football, soccer, basketball, golf, Formula One, tennis, poker, darts, billiards, bowling. Whatever your jam, I’m un-jammed there.

Until we start talking combat sports (also, still a dispensation is always made for bodybuilding, but am I OK with not calling that a sport? Yes I am).

I’m a sucker, a mark, a patsy, an OZY investor, for just about anything that involves fists and the inevitable conclusion that you, not anybody else but YOU, are lacking in the kind of virtues that guarantee the continuation of your bloodline. Sounds quasi-intellectual but hiding behind that is not what’s going to happen this week. This week, in the midst of a raft of truth telling, what will be said is this: only crazy people need to read much beyond this because only crazy people will understand it.

You know there’s a line from the 2013 Israeli film Big Bad Wolves that paints a picture for what’s meant here. A father and a father-in-law have a suspected criminal tied up in a basement. The father is trying to scare him with a gun. His father-in-law, a former Mossad agent, waves him off.

“Crazy people are not scared of guns,” he says. “Crazy people are scared of other crazy people.”

So it was that I battled back against the 105 degree heat in Marfa, Texas and left the poolside where creatives had been drawn by the awesome earning power of Scion to some sort of Chautauqua. In the cool of the hotel room, an 80 degree cool, I sat on the edge of my bed and called Malki Kawa, sports agent of note for the youngest Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) Jon Jones.

In every single combat sports interview I’ve ever done or every fighter I’ve ever met — Evander Holyfield, Tank Abbott, Chuck Liddell, Cain Velasquez, Fedor Emelianenko, Daniel Cormier, Dan Hardy, Ryan Bader and the list goes on and on — rarely have I not done so without some point nursing the idea: “yeah…I bet I could give him a run for his money.”

In some case I’ve been granted the luxury of this having been proved out. Cain and Chuck most famously. How’d it go? How do you think it went? After Cain Velasquez I stood on the phone outside of American Kick Boxing Academy blinking in the sun and whining to Renzo Gracie blackbelt and Cro-Mags founder Harley Flanagan.

“What the fuck did you THINK was going to happen?!?” He asked without really expecting an answer.

I wasn’t sure but while bullshitting with Kawa and waiting for Jones to get on the line I was quite sure of one thing: even were I to be given the chance to step in the cage with Jones, I would demur. For many reasons but the most aggressively held one is that Jones would murder me.

“It was like being in the cage with a bear,” is what Chael Sonnen said to me post-his light-heavyweight match up with Jones. Jones broke his toe in the fight, so much so that the bone was protruding through the skin, a development that had it been spotted by the refs would have cost him the fight. The fact that he knew this and knew he had to shut Sonnen down before this happened was proof positive enough that the bear had really just been playing prior to that.

In fact when I finally mention this, half way through my interview with Jones, that that would have been trouble, a flicker, and then a brief glimpse into the Jones that you read about it.

“Chael didn’t have me in any kind of trouble.” And there it was all at once. His extreme annoyance with me at suggesting such, and maybe even failing to note precisely how phenomenal he truly is.

“I meant because of the toe.”

And he caught himself, as much for the killer reveal as for the tone he had taken with me. A tone that was all contempt and cold. Ice-cold cold. Had I said what he thought I said, it would have been deserved. But I hadn’t, and while thinking “fuck you, bro” I also never advanced to thinking it made any sense at all to try my scant heavyweight brazilian jiu jitsu purple belt (at the time) skills against Jones.

“Crazy people are not scared of guns,” he says. “Crazy people are scared of other crazy people.” Indeed.

So on the occasion of the fight that just happened last night, a fight that subjugated my week, I went all spooky Nostradamus on it. Flying out of San Jose Airport I ran into Cormier. Unshaven and with food stuck to his face I figured that that was a sign that Jones would win. My spies in Vegas though told me that in an interview the day before Jones smelled like alcohol. That was a sign that Jones would lose.

In fact Jones, in the end, would and did win, and in the most obvious of fashions, a result that carried to me messages from the beyond. Which is what sports is all about anyway. Seeing even a little of Jones in me or me in Jones, the quality of relatability, I feel a skosh better seeing him, the older man, win in a little over two minutes.

On the other hand he also did seem slower, heavier (well, yeah) and a victim of not just the last three years he’s had off, but time.

And as I write this, my ankle in a cast, and the absence of any clocks around my house that run backward, I’m dreading the sunsetting of Jones, a once in a lifetime talent.

“You know it’s not death that concerns me so much,” a gym sage once told me two hours into our three hour workout. “It’s dying.”

Don’t you know it.

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A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.

The IBJJF grand prix took place this weekend and the team at Art of Jiu-Jitsu managed to win two out of three titles at the event. First up was the men’s lightweight tournament, where Johnatha Alves and Andy Murasaki both impressed in the opening round by defeating their respective opponents in style. The final between them was incredibly close but AOJ’s Alves ended up winning by the thinnest of margins.

The other trophy going to AOJ came in the main event superfight, where Tainan Dalpra put up the biggest points-difference of the day to defeat Isaque Bahiense. There were other superfights on the night, and a tournament in the women’s heavyweight division. Nathiely De Jesus returned to professional grappling after the birth of her daughter and beat both of her opponents to win the division.

Full results for the event can be found here.

Three American athletes visit Tokyo for Unrivaled 2

Unrivaled 2 took place in Tokyo, Japan and the top three fights on the card all featured top American grapplers who had made the long journey to compete. The event featured the use of a unique points system that actually seemed to work quite well throughout the preliminary fights. First up for the Americans was the young Andrew Tackett who put on a great display against Murilo Souza and submitted him with a kimura.

Then the co-main event saw Jacob ‘The Hillbilly Hammer’ Couch taking on Igor Tanabe, a huge challenge for any grappler. Tanabe executed a beautiful finishing sequence, passing Couch’s guard like lightning and quickly transitioning to the back to lock up the rear-naked choke. Then in the main event, William Tackett managed to win a close match against fellow ADCC veteran Kenta Iwamoto.

Full results for the event can be found here.

Combat Jiu-Jitsu Welterweight worlds lineup announced

The Combat Jiu-Jitsu world championship is back again and the promotion’s first event of 2023 will see sixteen top welterweight grapplers competing for the grand prize. As always, there’s a healthy mix of MMA veterans and no gi BJJ specialists, including some talented young competitors for good measure. Alan Sanchez stands out as a potential winner after putting in a fantastic night of work when he won EBI 19 last year.

He’ll have plenty of tough opposition along the way though, with veterans of the format like Jim Alers and Derek Rayfield looking to stop him. There are a few young competitors who could make it through the brackets too, with Andrew Tackett being one of the most promising young talents coming out of America in the last few years and Davis Asare putting in consistently good performances in the last few months.

The Miyao brothers start opening a new academy in New Jersey

Paulo and Joao Miyao are two of the most successful BJJ competitors in the lighter weightclasses over the last few years, and now the brothers are preparing to open their own academy too. They’ve been transitioning from their high-level competitive career to the masters division and a coaching career over the last few years, with Paulo Miyao even becoming the head coach at Dream Art last year.

Now the Miyao brothers are going to be joining forces to train the next generation of top talent, as they have started work on their own space to do so. From the initial photos, it appears as though the renovation has only just begun and they will likely be quite a while being available to the public. The new academy that the Miyao brothers are opening will be based in New Jersey and will open under the name Studio 1908.

Quick Hits

• Guigo Jiu-Jitsu will now join forces with Dream Art for all upcoming tournaments and athletes from both teams will compete under the Dream Art name.
• The IBJJF has announced that an Absolute grand prix will take place at some point in 2023, although the date and competitors are not yet confirmed.
• Three-time NCAA champion Bo Nickal is eager to book a fight against fellow wrestler Khamzat Chimaev at some point in his UFC career.
• ADCC medallist and IBJJF world champion AJ Agazarm just promoted his younger brother Anthony to purple belt in BJJ.

Technique Corner

Omoplata to Americana

How to wrestle up

Sweep Single-leg takedown

Meme of the Week

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