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Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire have both made weight.

Nonito Donaire and Naoya Inoue have both made weight, making their highly anticipated rematch on Tuesday official.

The Filipino four-division champion in Donaire came in at 53.4 kg (117.7 lbs), while Japanese knockout artist Inoue weighed right at the bantamweight limit of 53.5 kg (117.9 lbs). Donaire’s WBC title, and Inoue’s WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine belts will all be on the line in this title unification at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

The weigh-in and pre-fight medicals were streamed by Donaire’s camp:

The pair first fought in what was awarded as the 2019 Fight of the Year. After a back-and-forth war, Inoue ended up with a unanimous decision victory, which is one of the rare occasions that “The Monster” went the distance in his career.

Since that first bout, Inoue has won three straight bouts, all by stoppage again. Donaire, on the other hand, has won two straight bouts by knockout, as he won and defended the WBC bantamweight title in 2021.

The 29-year-old Inoue is unbeaten in 22 fights and is ranked among boxing’s top pound-for-pound. The future Hall of Famer in Donaire is already 39, and has set the record for being the oldest fighter to win a bantamweight title.

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Tony Gravely celebrating his KO victory over Johnny Munoz
Tony Gravely celebrating his KO victory over Johnny Munoz | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Get a unique rundown on all the trophies that should have been handed out at UFC Vegas 56 with Dayne Fox’s Unofficial Awards

After a week away, the UFC returned with UFC Vegas 56 to kick off 12 straight weeks of events. It wasn’t a bad way to return to action, though the lack of name value to the card means it is likely to fade into the background in short order. It doesn’t help that the main event between Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik doesn’t have a significant impact on the hierarchy of the heavyweight division. It does help that the contest delivered the action, Volkov delivering a spirited performance as opposed to the flat appearances leading up to this contest. Rozenstruik didn’t roll over and die for his part – he appeared to have Volkov on the ropes at one point – but he ultimately went down a bit over two minutes into the contest. Rozenstruik wasn’t happy with the stoppage as he was still moving, but he was also falling to his knee when Herb Dean made the move to end the action. Given the large amount of competitors fighting for their employment, there aren’t a lot of awards listed in this edition, but lets delve into my Unofficial Awards….

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

Biggest Jump in Stock: It’s one thing when you beat a proven opponent whom your expected to beat. It’s another when you completely dominate that opponent. There were already plenty of people who expected Movsar Evloev to compete for the title someday. I think there are quite a few more people who feel that way after Evloev completely dominated Dan Ige. While it’s firmly established that Ige isn’t an elite fighter, he wasn’t dominated by other elite fighters in the same way Evloev dominated him. It was in every aspect of the fight, not just the wrestling as everyone expected. Evloev came closer to putting Ige away than anyone else when he landed a flying knee that wobbled the Hawaiian. The added threat on the feet might be the thing that will ultimately push him over the top.

Biggest Fall in Stock: I considered not including this spot given no one who is likely to stay on the roster is likely to take too big of a hit in their stock. Ige would be a good candidate, but he was too big of an underdog for me to feel his stock wasn’t already down. Thus, I’ll go with Rozenstruik, even though there were signs that he has improved. The problem for Rozenstruik is he has continually fallen short when matched up with the elite of the division. Given Volkov isn’t elite, this was a must-win in a sense for Rozenstruik if he wanted to be more than a gatekeeper for the top ten. Rozenstruik is young enough that he could eventually claw his way to the top, but the likelihood of that appears low.

Best Newcomer: Many would argue Rinat Fakhretdinov is more deserving given he was in control of his contest for nearly the entire time – and he probably has the higher ceiling – or Lucas Almeida but I’m going with Karine Silva for a couple reasons. First, she may not have been the underdog, but Silva’s contest was much more of a toss-up heading into the event than Fakhretdinov’s and secured a stoppage within the first round. Second, while I still stand by the idea Fakhretdinov has the higher ceiling, that doesn’t mean he has a greater chance of making noise. Welterweight, where Fakhretdinov ply’s his trade, is a deep division. So is featherweight, Almeida’s stomping grounds. Women’s flyweight, Silva’s home, is far more wide open, offering Silva far more opportunity. I understand things can change in the course of a few years when both would likely have the best chance of being players, but that’s where I stand for now.

Start Typing a Resume: Off the bat, it needs to be said I’m not sure Mike Trizano is being handed walking papers. On paper, it’s not only his second consecutive loss, but his third in four fights, two of those coming via stoppage. Plus, the former TUF winner has yet to secure a stoppage victory of his own, nor does he have much of a ceiling. However, Trizano doesn’t back down and this loss to Lucas Almeida was easily the most entertaining scrap he’s been in. That could be enough for the UFC to bring him back, but I say that with minimal confidence.

There was a nice swathe of fans and writers who liked the future prospects of Poliana Botelho when she debuted back in 2017. I’ve been wrong MANY times, but I feel like I had the right read on Botelho. No doubt she had physical tools to work with, but she was always missing something in transitioning from one phase of fighting to another, plus a questionable gas tank. She looked like she had been working on that – I liked what I was seeing prior to being dropped by Silva – but it comes too late. She’s now lost three in a row, four of her last five. I’m sure the UFC is moving on.

While I wouldn’t be opposed to the UFC bringing Zarrukah Adashev back for another chance to right his ship, his 1-3 record indicates that isn’t likely to happen. Two of those losses came as a result of quick KO’s, including Ode Osbourne doing the honors at this event. Adashev does have room to grow, but I don’t think there is enough of a ceiling for the UFC to justify bringing him back.

It should be noted Felice Herrig opted to retire as opposed to her likely being cut, but there was a good chance she would have been given a pink slip anyway. Regardless, Herrig told herself she would retire if she wasn’t feeling it and it was clear she wasn’t looking like her old self. She’s been competing for a long time. It feels like the right move for her. Here’s hoping only the best for her as she moves on to different things in her life.

I’m not happy to put Alex da Silva here as I believed he was very clearly deserving of a draw with Solecki, but a pair of judges disagreed in a way that I struggle to understand. That isn’t to say da Silva doesn’t anyone to blame other than himself given he could have taken a draw if he hadn’t had a point deducted – more on that further down – but he’s now sitting at 1-3 in his UFC run. The unfortunate thing about that is that record isn’t indicative of the talent he has shown in his tenure, but your record is what your record is.

While I was very concerned about the energy levels of Niklas Stolze dropping down to 155, it was ultimately his ability to stop takedowns that disappeared instead. Nobody was ever predicting Stolze would emerge as a special talent, he looked like someone who could pick up a win or two before going on his way on the strength of his outside striking and beautifully timed knees. While the knee almost worked out of the gate, it ultimately wasn’t enough, likely sending him on his way winless after three appearances.

While it was a close enough contest that I didn’t see a single cry of robbery from MMA Twitter, most thought Zhalgas Zhumagulov did enough to take the W over Jeff Molina. Hell, Molina himself thought he lost when he heard a card of 30-27, storming off in frustration before he heard his name announced as the victor. It’s a real shame as this was easily the most complete performance from Zhumagulov in his UFC run, mixing takedowns, control, and the occasional power shot to force respect from Molina. Unfortunately for him, the judges disagreed and it dropped him to 1-4 in his UFC run.

It’s been a weird ride for Andreas Michailidis. Fighting in three different weight divisions over his tenure, he also seemed like he was being fed to hyped prospects every time out. Not that anyone ever felt Michailidis was going to be a world beater at any point, but he looked like he could be a serviceable gatekeeper. Then again, the UFC isn’t looking for gatekeepers. Regardless, while Michailidis’ drop to 170 didn’t seem to deplete him to the point many expected, he came up far short of what was needed for a win.

Saved Their Job(s): I was shocked the UFC brought Karolina Kowalkiewicz back in the first place given she entered her fight with Herrig on a five-fight losing streak, but I can’t help but feel they let her know in no uncertain terms this was her last chance. She made the most of it, implementing major changes in her training and entering the fight with a level of confidence that had been missing for several years. She didn’t look like the fighter who beat Rose Namajunas to earn a title shot all those years ago, but she looked good enough to secure her first UFC finish. Interesting to see if this proves to be her peak or if she can build off this momentum.

Normally, I wouldn’t include someone like Benoit Saint-Denis here after two losses. However, the UFC has been quicker to pull the trigger as of late, the releases of the likes of Bruno Silva and Kris Moutinho being prime examples. Saint-Denis looked like a completely different fighter, the cut to 155 doing wonders for his ability to muscle around his opponents. Of course, no one is mistaking Stolze as a definitive test to prove Saint-Denis is a UFC caliber fighter, but it is a test Saint-Denis did emphatically pass.

Biggest WOW Moment: There was no shortage of stoppages on the card, nine to be exact. None of them feel like they’ll make the Baba O’Reilly reel, so it’s hard to pinpoint which one exactly stands out the most. Perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing was Almeida’s knock down of Trizano. However, I’ll go with Tony Gravely putting down Johnny Munoz. When it happened in real time, I was confused about what happened. Munoz shot in for a takedown before slumping to the mat, from what was difficult to see. The commentators speculated it was a knee, but that didn’t seem right. Replay showed Gravely somehow generated enough power despite having just inches of space to generate the power to put Munoz down with his hybrid uppercut/shovel punch. At first glance, the KO was an enigma. Upon further inspection, it was incredibly impressive.

Best Referee Call: One of the most consistent gripes amongst MMA observers is the constant inability of referees to punish fighters for blatant rule infractions. Perhaps part of the issue is not wanting to disturb the flow of the fight, particularly if the rule-abiding competitor is in control. That appeared to be the case with Solecki and da Silva. While Solecki rode the back of da Silva for nearly the entirety of the round, da Silva continually used his toes in the fence to improve his defensive position in the second round of the their fight. I’m totally fine with people criticizing referee Chris Tognoni for how long it took him to finally deduct a point, but he did do it and he did without interrupting the action. Thus, the momentum of the fight wasn’t interrupted and Solecki was able to maintain his advantage. Hopefully, referees can take this approach with greater frequency going forward.

Theme of the Event: An argument could be made the chopping block was the theme of the event given how many combatants were fighting for their employment life. Hell, I wouldn’t put up a fight if someone wanted to go that direction. However, I’ll go with questionable judging. Despite the large amount of finishes, two of the decisions appeared to be so questionable, they were receiving far more attention on the Twitterverse than any other contest. A solid case could be made for Molina having gotten the job done, but the 30-27 awarded to him set off a fair amount of observers. The da Silva loss was more egregious in my eyes, but I appear to be in the minority with that opinion.

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US DEA rewards for Daniel Kinahan, Christy Kinahan and Christopher Kinahan Jr. are revealed at a Garda press conference in Ireland.
US DEA rewards for Daniel Kinahan, Christy Kinahan and Christopher Kinahan Jr. are revealed at a Garda press conference in Ireland. | Richard Chambers/Twitter

Daniel Kinahan is wanted by the US government for his role in a billion dollar narcotics smuggling operation.

The sport of boxing remains shaken after the US government announced sanctions against Irish national Daniel Kinahan. Kinahan, along with his father, brother, and a handful of other individuals and companies, were sanctioned for their suspected involvement in a billion dollar organized crime outfit known as the Kinahan Organised Crime Group.

Since then, MTK Global—previously one of the most powerful companies in world boxing—has folded due to intense pressure and scrutiny regarding their connections to Kinahan. Kinahan established the company that would become MTK and, despite the company claiming he had stopped working with them in 2017, he remained a close advisor to MTK’s biggest clients; including Tyson Fury, Billy Joe Saunders and the UFC’s Darren Till.

With MTK shuttered, attention has now shifted to boxing and MMA promoter Probellum. That company released a statement saying it would abide by the sanctions and not do any business involving Kinahan.

It is alleged that Probellum was set up by MTK and that a number of people involved with MTK have shifted over to Probellum.

According to MailOnline, Sky Sports, the UK’s leading satellite sports channel, is wary of doing business with anyone associated with Probellum.

That outlet claims to have seen a letter that has been circulated by promoter Boxxer. The letter states that Sky Sports will not allow any fighter to appear on their network unless they can provide assurances that they are not involved with Probellum.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum has also stated that he won’t work with Probellum because of their alleged ties to Kinahan.

Previously, Arum worked directly with Kinahan when booking fights for Tyson Fury. Fury himself revealed that Kinahan had been personally involved in negotiating his fight contracts. This was later confirmed by Arum and Eddie Hearn.

Before the US sanctions against Kinahan, Arum was one of many boxing luminaries who praised Kinahan in a press release regarding an ultimately cancelled boxing expo in the middle east.

In that release Arum was quoted as saying: “We are very enthusiastic about putting events in Bahrain and making the country a worldwide tourist destination. We appreciate the work and effort of advisor Daniel Kinahan, who has dedicated himself to exploring the possibility of opening up this new market.”

Frank Warren, Roy Jones Jr., Shelly Finkel and Darren Till also praised Kinahan in that release.

In addition to levying sanctions against Kinahan, the US government also authorized a $ 5 million reward for information leading to Kinahan’s arrest and conviction.

It is believed that Kinahan lives in Dubai. He fled to that part of the world after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt in Dublin in 2016.

That attempt occurred during a weigh-in show for MGM (which would later become MTK). The attack involved a team of gunmen and resulted in the death of David Byrne, a suspected top lieutenant in the Kinahan organization.

Gerry Hutch, alleged leader of the Hutch Gang, is accused of orchestrating that attack. He is currently on trial in Ireland. It is believed Hutch ordered the hit against Kinahan after he survived an assassination attempt in Spain.

The Hutch-Kinahan feud began when Hutch’s nephew was killed by suspected Kinahan members in Spain.

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Unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.
Unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. | Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Boxing’s big 2022 could get even bigger.

Arguably the best fight in boxing is targeted for October.

ESPN’s Mike Coppinger reports that Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford are “closing in on a deal” for a blockbuster October pay-per-view showdown for the undisputed welterweight championship. No agreement has been made yet, but if pen is put to paper the fight would likely be held in Las Vegas.

Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) is coming off a 10th round TKO of Yordenis Ugas in April, defending his WBC and IBF welterweight titles while taking the WBA belt away from Ugas. His reign as a welterweight champion began with his TKO of Kell Brook in England to win the IBF title back in 2017. He’s gone on to win unifications over the aforementioned Ugas and Shawn Porter. Errol has fought just twice since 2019 due to a serious car accident and surgery on a retinal tear that nixed his planned matchup vs. Manny Pacquiao.

Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) has held the WBO version of the welterweight championship since his demolition job on Jeff Horn back in 2018. He’s defended his title five times, albeit not exactly against the best that welterweight has had to offer. By far his best win at this weight class was in his last bout, a TKO of Shawn Porter last October in what was his final fight under the Top Rank Boxing banner. He’s a promotional free agent, which in itself clears a potential major roadblock as far as making this fight a reality.

These two are the unquestioned top two welterweights in the world, among the best pound-for-pound boxers around, and they’ve both expressed interest in fighting each other. There’s no doubt this fight is bigger now than it would’ve been had it happened sooner, as the belts now belong exclusively to those two.

If this fight comes to fruition it will be a continuation of what has been a year filled with massive unifications and undisputed title bouts in boxing, but none would be as anticipated as this one.

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Devin Haney throws a right hand at George Kambosos during their lightweight title fight.
Devin Haney throws a right hand at George Kambosos during their lightweight title fight. | Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images

Devin Haney keeps wins the undisputed lightweight title as he deals George Kambosos his first professional loss.

Apart from the undisputed lightweight title, zeroes on Devin Haney and George Kambosos’ records were also on the line on Saturday night. Haney was also fighting in enemy territory, but he impressively got the job done by significantly outworking his opponent for 12 rounds.

Throughout the night, Haney remained methodical, fighting off his jab and landing most of them at will. Kambosos, meanwhile, was seemingly looking to make a strong statement with bigger looping shots, a lot of them, however, missed the mark for the most part.

Haney kept the steady but effective pace that he did throughout the next rounds as he slowly pulled away. And while Kambosos did find a home for his right hand a few times, they weren’t enough to make an impact.

In the end, it was Haney who won the fight via a clear unanimous decision as he took home the WBA, IBF, WBO, and Ring Magazine 135-pound titles. He also gets to keep an undefeated record of 28-0 as Kambosos gets his first taste of defeat and drops to a record of 20-1.

Full results:

Devin Haney def. George Kambosos Jr. via unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 118-110)

Jason Moloney def. Aston Palicte via TKO (2:35 of round 3)

Lucas Browne def. Junior Fa via TKO (1:58 or round 1)

David Nkiya def. Karim Maatalla via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)

Hemi Ahio def. Christian Ndzie Tsoye via TKO (3:00 of round 1)

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George Kambosos Jr and Devin Haney face off during the weigh in for the World Lightweight Championship bout in Australia.
George Kambosos Jr and Devin Haney face off during the weigh in for the World Lightweight Championship bout in Australia. | Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

The undisputed lightweight championship is at stake in Melbourne, Australia.

Tonight (June 4th in North America, or early Sunday, June 5th if you’re in Australia) at a packed Marvel Stadium, unified WBO/IBF/WBA champion George Kambosos Jr (20-0, 10 KOs) takes on WBC champion Devin Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) in what is a homecoming fight for the Aussie against the 23-year-old American sensation.

Kambosos Jr shocked the boxing world last year when he dethroned Teofimo Lopez and took all of his titles in New York. A major underdog as a mandatory challenger, Kambosos dropped Lopez, survived a knockdown of his own, and won a deserved decision to make him the man to beat at 135 lbs. Haney was a standout amateur who has scored wins over the likes of Jorge Linares, JoJo Diaz, and Yuriorkis Gamboa in recent years, and now he’s getting his biggest matchup of his career as part of his new deal with Top Rank Boxing. Both men are talented boxers without being big punchers, but don’t be surprised if we see someone get hurt in this contest. Unlike the Lopez fight, Kambosos is only a slight underdog according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

This post will include full play-by-play for the headliner. Preliminary card action begins at 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT on ESPN+, before the main card starts at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT on ESPN and ESPN+. The main event should start at around 11 PM ET/8 PM PT but it’ll probably be up to an hour later. Those in Australia can purchase this event via Main Events PPV at 11 AM AEST.

Join as at Bloody Elbow for live results and play-by-play of the fight. Offer your opinion in the comment section!

Main Card (9 PM ET)

George Kambosos Jr vs Devin Haney, lightweights, 12 rounds

Jason Moloney vs Aston Palicte, bantamweights, 12 rounds

Lucas Browne def. Junior Fa by TKO, 1:58 of Round 1

Swing fights (it could make main card or go after main event)

David Nyika vs. Karim Maatalla, cruiserweights, 4 rounds

Hemi Ahio def. Christian Ndzie Tsoye via TKO (retirement) at 3:00 of Round 1

Preliminary Card (7:30 PM ET)

Terry Nickolas vs Lachlan Higgins, middleweights, 6 rounds

Taylah Robertson vs Sarah Higginson, flyweights, 5 rounds

Yoel Angeloni vs Ken Aitken, welterweights, 4 rounds

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Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik at the UFC Vegas 56 weigh-ins.
Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik at the UFC Vegas 56 weigh-ins. | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Join us here at Bloody Elbow for live results and discussion as UFC Vegas 56: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik goes down from the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The main event for this first show of June is a heavyweight battle between former Bellator champion Alexander Volkov and the heavy-handed Surinamese kickboxer Jairzinho Rozenstruik. In the co-main event, featherweights collide as veteran contender Dan Ige takes on the undefeated Movsar Evloev.

This will be an ESPN+ show but it’s also much earlier than usual. The eight-fight preliminary card is scheduled to start at 1 PM ET/10 AM PT. The six-fight main card then kicks off at 4 PM ET/1 PM PT on ESPN+. Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Main Card (4 PM ET, ESPN+)

Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Dan Ige vs. Movsar Evloev

Michael Trizano vs. Lucas Almeida

Poliana Botelho vs. Karine Silva

Alonzo Menifield vs. Askar Mozharov

Ode Osbourne vs. Zarrukh Adashev

Preliminary Card (1 PM ET, ESPN+)

Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Felice Herrig by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:01 of Round 2

Joe Solecki def. Alex Da Silva by majority decision (28-28, 28-27, 29-27)

Damon Jackson def. Daniel Argueta by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Benoit Saint-Denis def. Niklas Stolze by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:32 of Round 2

Tony Gravely def. Johnny Munoz by KO (punches) at 1:08 of Round 1

Jeff Molina def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Andreas Michailidis by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

Erin Blanchfield def. JJ Aldrich by submission (standing guillotine) at 2:38 of Round 2

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Mike Tyson at the weigh-ins for Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant in 2021.
Mike Tyson at the weigh-ins for Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant in 2021. | Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

The boxing legend believes McGregor should take a few tune-up fights when he returns to the UFC. 

Mike Tyson is encouraging Conor McGregor to build his confidence and accept a tune-up fight in his return to the Octagon.

McGregor is still on the sidelines after undergoing surgery to repair the broken leg he suffered in his first-round technical knockout loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 this past July. Now nearing a return to competition, the ‘Notorious’ one has considered a fight against reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Several prominent figures in the sport have cautioned McGregor against pursuing Usman, and now the boxing legend is echoing those sentiments.

Tyson told Henry Cejudo on The Fight Card podcast that McGregor should fight a couple of times and rebound from his losses before getting those opportunities against the upper echelon of the division. It is something Tyson has done in his career, going on extended runs after losing his heavyweight titles.

“I’m a strong believer that after a defeat, you should do a couple of fights to get your feet wet,” said Tyson. “I’m a strong believer in that. Conor, I think you should build your confidence up and go do what you do: win excitingly.”

Cejudo suggested one of those fights should be against Tony Ferguson, the former UFC interim lightweight champion who recently returned against Michael Chandler at UFC 274 in May. ‘El Cucuy’ performed well in his first appearance in over a year until he was finished by a front kick in the second round.

Despite losing to Chandler, Tyson still sees Ferguson as a tough opponent for McGregor.

“Well, that’s a tough fight,” said Tyson. “He’s a warrior, regardless if he loses. He makes exciting fights. It’s hard to beat that guy. I don’t want a big-time guy [for Conor], let him get three fights and build his confidence back up. Every fight the opponent goes to a higher level.

“Even if he wins, he’s going to get hurt in the next fight and he can’t fight the next fight,” continued Tyson. “You get your experience down, three more fights, you feel good, you beat the last two guys who are really qualified opponents, now you go back out there.”

There is no shortage of opponents for McGregor to consider in his return. The SBG Ireland product has been challenged by lightweight and welterweight contenders such as Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler and Jorge Masvidal in recent months.

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George Kambosos Jr makes weight during the weigh in for the World Lightweight Championship bout between George Kambosos and Devin Haney at Margaret Court Arena on June 04, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia.
George Kambosos Jr makes weight during the weigh in for the World Lightweight Championship bout between George Kambosos and Devin Haney at Margaret Court Arena on June 04, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. | Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

The undisputed lightweight title fight is official.

We’ve got drama already ahead of the undisputed lightweight title fight in Melbourne.

WBA, IBF, and WBO lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr (20-0, 10 KOs), competing in front of his home fans for the first time since his famous upset of Teofimo Lopez last November, came in .36 lbs over the 135 lbs limit for his unification bout against WBC champion Devin Haney (27-0, 15 KOs).

Kambosos weighed without and with the towel, and he was heavy on his initial attempt. He was given two hours to cut to 135 lbs or else he’d be stripped of his three belts and only Haney would be eligible to win anything tomorrow. It took under that two-hour limit for him to drop to 134.49 lbs, thus making Saturday’s title matchup official and no stripping of the belts on the scale.

Haney weighed in at 134.95 lbs without any issues, by the way. We did have tensions flare up at the staredown after Kambosos’ failure to hit the limit on this first try.

Before weighing in again, apparently there was some sort of controversy over the scale mentioned by Australian TV, creating flashbacks to UFC 274 and Charles Oliveira. Evidently we didn’t have to go that far on this occasion, but Kambosos’ excuse for missing weight initially was some semi-serious suggestion that he did it on purpose.

Watch the videos below.

Kambosos vs. Haney airs live on ESPN and ESPN+ starting at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT.

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Alexa Grasso after UFC Vegas 8.
Alexa Grasso after UFC Vegas 8. | Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

A potential title eliminator between Grasso and Araújo has been booked again. 

A fight between No. 5 and No. 7 in the flyweight division is set again.

MMA Fight Universe reports that Alexa Grasso and Viviane Araújo are sharing the Octagon at an upcoming UFC Fight Night scheduled for Aug. 13 at a soon-to-be determined location and venue. Grasso and Araújo were previously scheduled to fight at UFC 270, but the Brazilian suffered an injury and was forced to withdraw.

Since moving from strawweight to flyweight, Grasso is on a three-fight win streak. The 28-year-old bested Ji Yeon Kim and Maycee Barber by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 8 and UFC 258, respectively. She followed those performances with a submission — her first-ever as a professional — over Joanne Wood [née Calderwood] at UFC Columbus this past March.

Araújo is 3-1 in her past four appearances. The 35-year-old won decisions against Montana De La Rosa and Roxanne Modafferi, but fell short against former title challenger and current No. 1 contender Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 262. The aforementioned injury suffered by Araújo required surgery, which kept her out of action for a year. When she was cleared, the Cerrado MMA product returned to the win column with a unanimous decision over Andrea Lee at UFC Vegas 54 in May.

The UFC Fight Night does not have a headliner yet. With the addition of Grasso vs. Araújo, there is now 6 confirmed fights. The lineup is as follows:

  • Istela Nunes vs. Yazmin Jauregui
  • Alexa Grasso vs. Viviane Araújo
  • Sara McMann vs. Aspen Ladd
  • Bruno Silva vs. Gerald Meerschaert
  • Devin Clark vs. Azamat Murzakanov
  • Martin Buday vs. Łukasz Brzeski

Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for updates on the event in the coming weeks.

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