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 284 REACTIONS —

June M. Williams

Here’s a look at what transpired…

This 13-bout card saw five exciting three round finishes, two thrilling KO/TKO’s, four sweet subs, and seven hard-fought decisions – one split, & one majority draw. Post-Fight BONUS Awards included — POTN: Jack Della Maddalena & Yair Rodriguez. FOTN: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski.

UFC 284: ‘Makhachev vs. Volkanovski’ fight card, updated records & full results from the event —

Official UFC 284 Scorecards

ESPN+ PPV CARD | SAT. FEB. 11/SUN. FEB. 12

At 8:04 — 13. UFC LW Championship Bout: Islam Makhachev (24-1) DEF. Alexander Volkanovski (25-2) — via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)

At 17:55 — 12. UFC Interim FW Championship Bout: Yair Rodriguez (15-3) DEF. Josh Emmett (18-3) — via submission (triangle choke) at 4:19 of Round 2

At 20:27 — 11. Jack Della Maddalena (14-2) DEF. Randy Brown (16-5) — via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:13 of Round 1

At 25:12 — 10. Justin Tafa (6-3) DEF. Parker Porter (13-8) — via KO (left hand) at 1:06 of Round 1

At 25:45 — 9. Jimmy Crute (12-3-1) vs. Alonzo Menifield (13-3-1) — Fight to A Majority Draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)

ESPN/ESPN+ FEATURED PRELIMS

At 28:46 — 8. Modestas Bukauskas (14-5) DEF. Tyson Pedro (9-4) — via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

At 28:56 — 7. Joshua Culibao (11-1) DEF. Melsik Baghdasaryan (7-2) — via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:02 of Round 2

At 29:36 — 6. Kleydson Rodrigues (8-2) DEF. Shannon Ross (13-7) — via TKO (strikes) at 0:59 of Round 1

At 29:50 — 5. Jamie Mullarkey (16-5) DEF. Francisco Prado (11-1) — via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

ESPN+/UFC FIGHTPASS

At 29:58 — 4. Jack Jenkins (11-2) DEF. Don Shainis (12-5) — via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

At 6:42 & 30:05 — 3. Loma Lookboonmee (8-3) DEF. Elise Reed (6-3) — via submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:44 of Round 2

At 30:10 — 2. Blake Bilder (8-0) DEF. Shane Young (13-7) — via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

At 30:15 — 1. Elves Brener (14-3) DEF. Zubaira Tukhugov (20-6) — via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

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!

UFC VEGAS 69: ‘Andrade vs. Blanchfield’ PICKS — AT 30:38

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 APEX Facility, Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, February 18th., 2023.

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

UFC Vegas 69 (6 CARES):

ESPN+ MAIN CARD | SAT. FEB. 18 — 7/4PM ETPT (3 Cares)

11. Main Event – 125lbs: Jéssica Andrade (24-9) vs. Erin Blanchfield (10-1) — At 42:29, 3 Cares (Eugene picks Erin)

10. Co-Main – 205lbs: Zac Pauga (5-1) vs. Jordan Wright (12-4) — At 40:41

9. 265lbs: Josh Parisian (15-5) vs. Jamal Pogues (9-3) — At 39:48

8. 205lbs: William Knight (11-4) vs. Marcin Prachnio (13-7) — At 40:06

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 5/2PM ETPT (3 Cares)

7. 155lbs: Jim Miller (35-16) vs. Alexander Hernandez (13-6) — At 37:14, 3 Cares

6. 135lbs: Lina Länsberg (10-7) vs. Mayra Bueno Silva (9-2-1) — At 34:56

5. 145lbs: Jamall Emmers (18-6) vs. Khusein Askhavov (23-0) — At 32:43

4. 205lbs: Ovince St. Preux (26-16) vs. Philipe Lins (15-5) — At 34:14

3. 155lbs: Nazim Sadykhov (7-1) vs. Evan Elder (7-1) — At 36:43

2. 170lbs: AJ Fletcher (9-2) vs. Themba Gorimbo (10-3) — At 33:21

1. 125lbs: Juancamilo Ronderos (4-1) vs. Clayton Carpenter (6-0) — At 35:36

• At 31:25 — UFC Vegas 69 Cancelled & Fizzled Bouts Reviewed

June M. Williams

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 would like to catch the show on our BE Presents SoundCloud Channel, join the gang right here:

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, Podcast Republic. Follow your favorite ‘Bloody Elbow Presents’ hosts on your preferred apps, such as: Downcast, PodCruncher, iCatcher!, Castaway 2, BeyondPod (Android), & more in the App Store! 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 our ‘Bloody Elbow Presents’ Podcast Network. (full bio)

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All the best, most interesting, and unquestionably coolest fights the UFC needs to book following their latest event in Perth, Australia.

Fans have to hope that the promotion didn’t learn exactly the wrong lesson from UFC 284. Namely, that if they put together an extremely top-heavy event with just a few notable names on it, that fans will still walk away entirely satisfied. That’s a long way of saying that Saturday’s PPV, in Perth, rocked hard. Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski truly tested one another as top-flight champions in the prime of their careers. Yair Rodriguez got to show off his skills as one of featherweight’s most dangerous men. Jack Della Maddalena looked every bit the picture of a star on the rise.

So, will Rodriguez get a chance to unify the belt at 145? Or will Volkanovski get a rematch with Makhachev? What about Beneil Dariush, shouldn’t he be next?

To answer those questions—and much more—I’ll be using the classic Silva/Shelby fight booking methodology from the UFC of years past. That means pitting winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured talent up against one another. Hopefully, by following that model, a few of these bout ideas will actually make it off the page and into the Octagon. Now, let’s get to the fights!

ISLAM MAKHACHEV

In reality, Islam Makhachev had an excellent fight for the better part of four rounds. He out-struck Alexander Volkanovski for solid stretches standing, he effectively backpacked the featherweight champion on the ground. All told he put together a rugged, all-around kind of performance that wins decisions. Then that 5th round hit and all of it went south—well, almost south. More like Midwest, considering that Makhachev still escaped the final round to grab the win. Which is to say that, while the end of the fight looked bad, Makhachev performed very well—and his victory wasn’t at all undeserved.

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

The big question now is, who’s his next title challenger going to be? There are two very obvious options, it only remains to be seen which way the UFC will go. The first is a fight with Dustin Poirier. Sure he’s already lost two failed bids for gold, but he’s also the division’s most notable, high-profile talent coming off a meaningful win. The second, and much more technically deserving option is Beneil Dariush—a man even Poirier admits he’s not interested in fighting, because the Iranian-American just isn’t notable enough.

Of course, if Makhachev simply wants to wait, his options could grow. Michael Chandler & Conor McGregor are going to face off later this year, in a fight that could see McGregor directly back in the hunt. There’s always recently dethroned champ Charles Oliveira too. Nothing to say ‘Do Bronx’ couldn’t fight Dariush and get a chance to reclaim his belt. All things considered, I’ll say this is the time to make Dariush vs. Makhachev. The Kings MMA talent has earned his place. Fights with Poirier, Oliveira, or the rest aren’t going away—for Dariush, however, the time is now.

ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI & YAIR RODRIGUEZ

Maybe it’s unfair to say that no fighter exited UFC 284 with more positive momentum than Alexander Volkanovski. After all, he lost. Guys like Jack Della Maddalena, Yair Rodriguez, and Kleydson Rodrigues thrilled in their wins. But, Volkanovski took on a huge task when he moved up to fight Makhachev and, even if judges could find a way to award him the victory, it feels like he had all the success he needed to claim victory. He was devilishly difficult to take down, impossible to break, and when Makhachev lost even half a step Volkanovski was right there to pounce on him and make it clear that the long arc of the bout was very firmly in his favor.

Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images

Immediately following the main event, Volkanovski admitted he had business to take care of at 145, but would be back to fight at lightweight again. Later in the evening, however, he sounded less sure of that plan—with talk of an immediate rematch against the Dagestani, if he could get it. If I had to make a guess, he won’t get it.

Just before the night’s main event, a new piece of the featherweight crown was created. Yair Rodriguez took on Josh Emmett for an interim title, with ‘El Pantera’ making it all too clear that he was a serious level above the Team Alpha Male talent. Emmett had his trademark power, and he even did a little wrestling—something he’s done all too rarely in the past—but the vast majority of the fight had Rodriguez kicking his foe to absolute pieces. The fact that he was able to win by submission off his back after giving up the takedown to Emmett just goes to show how viciously dangerous the 30-year-old can be.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Will that be enough to defeat Volkanovski, in ways that it wasn’t enough to beat Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar? I don’t know. But it absolutely feels like Rodriguez has earned the chance to find out. It may not be as big a fight as the Makhachev rematch that Volkanovski wants, but he set the challenge that the featherweight division needed to create a top contender for him to face. It’s done that now. Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez should absolutely be the next fight on tap for Alexander ‘The Great’.

JACK DELLA MADDALENA

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

For the first minute+ or so of this fight, Randy Brown seemed like he had a handle on things. He was sticking and moving, staying elusive, staying long. But once Maddalena got a feel on the range and timing, he marched Brown straight to the cage, punched him to the mat and then choked him out. Hard to have a better performance than that for the Aussie, especially on home turf. It doesn’t sound like JDM is looking to return to competition soon, but when he does, he’ll be staring the edges of the top 15 right in the eye. Fights against Neil Magny, the Holland/ Ponzinibbio winner, Nicolas Dalby, Michel Pereira or Muslim Salikhov would all be a hell of a lot of fun. Since Muslim Salikhov is coming off a great win and isn’t booked, I’ll say let Maddalena test himself against the ‘King of Kung Fu’. Jack Della Maddalena vs. Muslim Salikhov would be a ‘don’t blink’ thriller.

JUSTIN TAFA

A perfect one-punch KO for Justin Tafa here. Parker Porter came out looking to throw in volume and press the action and take a hard fight to the Aussie. But if Tafa has taken nothing else from Mark Hunt’s game, he made sure to grab that sweet step back uppercut that the ‘Super Samoan’ loves so much. Porter stepped straight on to it for the walk-off knockout. That sets Tafa up for another heavyweight action battle. Dontayle Mayes is set to take on Augusto Sakai in the near future, the winner of that seems like they’d make for a fun next challenge. Tafa vs. the Sakai/Mayes winner would be good. If not that, then I’m all for a fight with Rodrigo Nascimento.

JIMMY CRUTE & ALONZO MENIFIELD

Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images

They wanna run it back, run it back. If something is gonna get in the way of that idea, then do Menifield against Nick Negumereanu, and Crute against the Knight/Prachnio loser.

JOSHUA CULIBAO

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

This looked like the end of Josh Culibao’s surprising run of success in the featherweight division. Melsik Baghdasaryan was entirely too fast, too powerful, and too clinical from distance and Culibao seemed like he had very few answers. See enough kicks though, and sometimes an opportunity presents itself. Culibao finally countered a body kick in round 2 by pushing through it to land a hard jab that caught Baghdasaryan totally off balance. An instant back take to follow and the RNC sealed the deal seconds later. A great win to keep Culibao unbeaten in his last four fights.

Bouts against Makwan Amirkhani, Hakeem Dawodu, or Dooho Choi would all be good options. I think I like that Choi fight most of all. The ‘Korean Superboy’ still has to prove he’s shaken out the cobwebs of his latest long layoff, and it’s another opportunity for Culibao to add a name win to his resume. Culibao vs. Choi sounds like a lot of fun.

KLEYDSON RODRIGUES

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

After a disappointing debut, Rodrigues needed to show up big against a debuting Shannon Ross. A loss here and the seeming top-prospect Brazilian could find himself closer to exiting the promotion than entering the top 15. Looks like he knew the score from the jump, coming out with a spinning back kick and a ton of pressure to start the fight. In the face of that onslaught, Ross essentially never got started—with Rodrigues picking him off with a variety of kicks before blitzing forward with heavy body punches. A few seconds later and the ‘Turkish Delight’ was on the mat. Fight finished. Can the bounceback continue? A fight against the recently surging Charles Johnson seems like a great way to find out. Johnson looked like a killer against Jimmy Flick last time around, should be a good test for Rodrigues to see if he’s truly found his form in the Octagon. Johnson vs. Rodrigues should make for a fantastic flyweight striking war.

LOMA LOOKBOONMEE

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

A fantastic win from Loma Lookboonmee, who appeared strong coming out of the gate and seemed in complete control, right up until the moment she got swept and spent the rest of round 1 getting beat up by Elise Reed from half guard. The adversity only lit a bigger fire under the Thai fighter, however, and she stormed Reed’s castle in round 2 with a slamming bodylock takedown—right into a rear naked choke submission. That’s two-straight for Lookboonmee and should put her right back into another action-forward scrap.

If that’s the case, I’ve got just the prospect on the rise for her to test herself against. Yazmin Jauregui looked fantastic in her debut, but Istela Nunes put a little scare into her last time around—before getting TKO’d in the second. Jauregui’s a thrilling volume striker, still looking to add more pieces to her game. Does she have the physicality to handle Lookboonmee, or can the Tiger Muay Thai talent school her. Lookboonmee vs. Jauregui would be a great test for the young Mexican prospect.

OTHER BOUTS: Josh Emmett vs. Calvin Kattar 2, Randy Brown vs. Jake Matthews, Parker Porter vs. Tanner Boser, Modestas Bukauskas vs. Ihor Potieria, Tyson Pedro vs. Da Un Jung, Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. David Onama, Shannon Ross vs. Carlos Candelario, Jamie Mullarkey vs. Fares Ziam, Francisco Prado vs. Patterson/Ashmoz loser, Jack Jenkins vs. Luis Saldana, Don Shainis vs. Jarno Errens, Elise Reed vs. Jinh Yu Frey, Blake Bilder vs. Joanderson Brito, Shane Young vs. Sean Woodson, Elves Brenner vs. Trey Ogden, Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Damir Hadzovic

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

It’s been in the works for a very long time, but the fourth match between Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena is almost here. With the bout just a few weeks away, the Who’s Number One grappling promotion have released the full supporting card for the event. Alongside the main event, the organization has booked one of the most interesting matches in recent memory—with the ever-exciting Magid Hage takes on the legendary two-time ADCC world champion JT Torres.

The only women’s match confirmed is a fun fight between Jasmine Rocha and Amanda Bruse. The co-main event was confirmed a while ago, and it will see Ryan’s teammate Giancarlo Bodoni challenging Pedro Marinho for the Who’s Number One Light-Heavyweight title. The card is rounded out by another of Ryan’s teammates, Oliver Taza, facing Jonnatas Gracie and Kieran Kichuk against Rene Sousa.

Tye Ruotolo to face Reinier de Ridder at ONE Fight Night 10

Tye Ruotolo is one of the best BJJ competitors on the planet and he’s clearly eager to follow in his brother’s footsteps by claiming a ONE Championship submission grappling title. He’s just been booked to take on another challenge in the promotion’s cage, this time against a two-weight MMA world champion. Ruotolo will be facing off against Reinier de Ridder at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5th, 2023.

De Ridder won both the ONE Championship Middleweight and Light-Heavyweight titles by defeating Aung La Nsang twice, although he has since lost the heavier belt. He’s no stranger to grappling though, as he already fought Ruotolo’s coach Andre Galvao in one of the first grappling matches that ONE Championship staged. The pair fought to a draw but de Ridder was impressive and could be pose a challenge for Ruotolo.

Demian Maia dominates at Spyder BJJ ‘Road to Black’

Demian Maia returned to BJJ competition at the Spyder BJJ ‘Road to Black’ event in a superfight against Sangwook Kim, racking up sixteen points quickly and submitting him with an arm-triangle choke. Earlier on in the night, two groups of eight grapplers were battling it out in the gi to determine the promotion’s latest champions in the under 65kg and under 75kg divisions.

Meyram Maquine emerged victorious at 65kg despite stiff competition from top competitors like Fabricio Andrey and Samuel Nagai. In the 75kg division, Andy Murasaki put in one impressive performance after another on his way to a gold medal. He submitted his opening round opponent Seungmoon Baek before edging past the tough Marcio Andre, and racking up a phenomenal nineteen points against Natan Chueng in the final.

Full results for the event can be found here.

Gabi Garcia announces intention to return to MMA

Gabi Garcia is without a doubt one of the most intimidating women in BJJ history, and she was no less fearsome when she decided to transition to MMA. Garcia announced her decision to retire from IBJJF competition last year, and that made it seem as though her career was winding down. That doesn’t appear to be the case though, as she’s recently expressed an interest in returning to MMA.

Garcia made her professional MMA debut at the RIZIN new year’s eve event in 2015 and quickly amassed an undefeated 6-0 (1) record over the next three years. She hasn’t taken an MMA fight since then and it was always difficult for her to find suitable matches at a similar weight. Although fans may have thought that stage of her career was over, Garcia is interested in re-opening that chapter and will apparently fight at 195lbs.

Quick Hits

• Famous popstar Demi Lovato was just promoted to purple belt in BJJ by her coach, Chris Light after starting the sport back in 2017.
• Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has announced that he’s interested in returning to submission grappling competition in the ONE Championship cage.
• A class action lawsuit has been filed against FloSports, the parent company of FloGrappling, as a result of their alleged billing practices.
• Conor McGregor has signed up to compete in a local Grappling Industries BJJ tournament in London on March 18th.

Technique Corner

Stack pass counter to Crucifix

Hook sweep counter to back-take

Butterfly guard to Arm-drag, to Half-nelson back-take

Meme of the Week

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Next weekend’s card just got a new headliner!

We have a new headliner for UFC Vegas 69.

During the broadcast of UFC 284 on Saturday, UFC play-by-play announcer Jon Anik revealed that Taila Santos was out of her fight against Erin Blanchfield. The promotion has found a short-notice replacement for Blanchfield, who is now sharing the Octagon with Jéssica Andrade.

“Erin Blanchfield was to face Taila Santos in the main event,” said Anik. “Santos is out and in steps the former strawweight champion and likely future Hall of Famer Jéssica Andrade. She just competed in Brazil [and] won against Lauren Murphy. Jéssica Andrade obviously is a factor in multiple divisions. Stepping up and rescuing the UFC here and fighting the credentialed and highly touted Erin Blanchfield.”

Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting reported that Santos withdrew from the fight because two of her cornermen, including her husband, had their visas into the United States denied repeatedly. There was no word on when she can expect to return.

As aforementioned, Andrade was previously in action this past January at UFC 283, where she dominated Lauren Murphy en route to a unanimous decision. That was the third consecutive win for ‘Bate Estaca,’ who also earned finishes of Cynthia Calvillo and Amanda Lemos at UFC 266 and UFC Vegas 52, respectively.

Blanchfield has stayed perfect since joining the UFC, going 4-0 in her first four appearances. ‘Cold Blooded’ scored her most impressive win thus far against Molly McCann — a first-round kimura — at UFC 281 this past November.

UFC Vegas 69 goes down on Saturday, February 18, at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)

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Nate Diaz had something to say about Islam Makhachev’s UFC 284 win, to which the champ had a response to.

UFC 284’s headliner between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski was a back-and-forth battle, with both men showcasing a bit of what they’ve got outside of the skills that they’re known for. But in the end, it was Makhachev who got the judges’ nod with a unanimous decision to mark his first successful title defense.

Many, however, didn’t see it that way. A few fighters who saw what happened leaned more on a Volkanovski win. But the most high-profile of them all was former UFC superstar Nate Diaz, who gave his props to the featherweight champ while dissing Makhachev’s win.

Makhachev was made aware of it during the post-fight scrum, and this is what he had to say.

“Honestly, I don’t want to talk about this guy. He’s a… I don’t know what he say. Maybe he smoke something and watch the fight,” he said with a laugh.

Given how much of a back-and-forth fight it was, both Makhachev and Volkanovski have already agreed on a possible rematch.

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Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Volkanovski was a fun, high level affair.

This was top pound-for-pound number 1 vs number 2, and it really ended up looking that way. Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski went back and forth in a highly competitive and very technical affair.

Volkanovski looked sharper, faster, and had more layers to his striking game early, with Makhachev clearly having a power advantage after wobbling him with short shots. That wasn’t really the complete story of the fight though, as Volkanovski managed to hurt him multiple times on the feet as well, and by the latter rounds, Makhachev also showed beautiful reads with counter strikes and reactive takedowns in a truly high level affair.

Whether or not Makhachev did it to make a statement, the lightweight champion willingly veered away from “Father’s Plan” and decided to play Volkanovski’s game on the feet for long stretches. It may not have been the best idea, but he did well enough and it made for a close and entertaining contest.

Volkanovski showed the tremendous Fight IQ he’s been known for, and even came up big to win the fifth round, but in the end it wasn’t enough. He was able to scramble and impressively avoid damage on the ground, but he did lose key rounds to those grappling exchanges.

The fight had such big ramifications, and while it didn’t seem to get marketed enough to a wide casual audience, the fight truly delivered.

Makhachev was pushed and he showcased real layers of his game that we didn’t see before. He answered a lot of people’s questions on just how good his overall game is, and in my opinion, Makhachev passed a real test with flying colors.

On the other hand, Volkanovski once again displayed why he deserves his top spot in the pound-for-pound list. He came up short, but Volkanovski didn’t look out of place at 155 lbs, and I would have a hard time picking against him against most lightweights.

Next up for him though, will probably be Yair Rodriguez.

• In the co-main event, Rodriguez won the interim featherweight belt, with his first UFC submission win over Josh Emmett. He survived one big punch from the hard hitter, and just won everywhere the fight went. Rodriguez’s body kicks were so sharp and folded and hurt Emmett repeatedly, but it was also impressive how he did so well on the guard. Emmett couldn’t land any offense, and Rodriguez kept landing hard elbows from bottom en route to a triangle finish.
• It’s not exactly a real belt, but it was a fun fight and a great performance for Rodriguez, who will at least get a champion’s contract and better pay on his next bout, which should be a title unification.
• Jack Della Maddalena looked fantastic in his hometown win. Randy Brown was trying to stay long and control distance early, but Della Maddalena remained patient and immediately pounced the moment he pressured and got him to the fence. A short shot face-planted Brown, and eventually finished with a rear naked choke. The hype seems justified, and that marks four first round finishes in a row, clearly deserving a top contender next.
• Justin Tafa got his second straight KO win, winning in his home country in just one minute. It was a pretty step back counter shot as Parker Porter was reaching, and he put him out cold immediately.
• Jimmy Crute’s heart was on full display after surviving being dropped repeatedly, but it was just terrible Fight IQ and decision making from Alonzo Menifield, who kept clinching and making him recover. Perhaps he was gassed, but Crute was in far worse shape and he should’ve kept it standing to end it. Add that to the fence grab that cost him a point, and it really was just bad decision over bad decision that went from a sure win to a draw.
• We all know Loma Lookboonmee has a killer clinch and Muay Thai game. Tonight, she showcased overall MMA improvements and the work she’s been doing with the Hickman brothers, taking a quality submission. It was her first ever submission win in the UFC, making her one of the biggest standouts during the prelims.

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Check out the live results and highlights for the UFC 284 prelims.

Stay up to date with what’s happening today with the UFC 284 preliminary card, which is going down from the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

The card’s featured prelim will take place in the light heavyweight division when Tyson Pedro collides with Modestas Bukauskas. After four years on the sidelines, Australia’s Pedro returned to action in 2022 to post up back-to-back first round knockouts. For Bukauskas, he was cut from the UFC following a 1-4 stint, but will be returning to the promotion following two Cage Warriors wins to get back on track.

On the Early Prelims, there’s a scrappy strawweight tilt between Muay Thai aficionado, Loma Lookboonmee, and the always game, Elise Reed. I am expecting a fun striking battle here. Not only is the standup where each fighter thrives, but the ground game is what has given both Loma and Elise the most fits thus far in the UFC. Lookboonmee has the best Muay Thai in the UFC, and no that is not up for debate, but Reed has a big right hand that she is more than willing to throw.

The early prelims begin at 6:00pm ET/3:00pm, PT, immediately followed by the regular preliminary card. Both broadcasts can be streamed on ESPN+. The PPV main card is slated for 10:00pm ET/7:00pm PT, and can be purchased on ESPN+.

Prelims:

• Tyson Pedro vs. Modestas Bukauskas: Light Heavyweight
• Joshua Culibao vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan: Featherweight
• Kleydson Rodrigues vs. Shannon Ross: Flyweight
• Jamie Mullarkey vs. Francisco Prado: Lightweight

Early prelims:

• Jack Jenkins vs. Don Shainis: Featherweight
• Loma Lookboonmee vs. Elise Reed: Strawweight

Blake Bilder def. Shane Young by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28): Featherweight

The opening round started out a bit sticky here. Neither fighter was really opening up in the feet, but there was a lot of movement going on. With about two minutes to go in the round, Bilder switched gears and hit a takedown. Young eventually scrambled up to his feet, just to eat a knee to the face when he got there.

The same sort of sticky kickboxing match continued into the second stanza. Bilder tried to go back top his takedown, but Young was all over it. Each time Blake tried to get the fight down, Young had an answer to remain standing. It was a pretty close round, but I’d have to give it to Young.

The final act saw Bilder try to for a takedown again, but again Young was refusing to play that game. Bilder was the more active fighter in the standup. He was unloading a bunch of volume, and although they weren’t exactly fight-enders, they were definitely adding up. In the final minute, Young stalked forward, but Bilder kept intercepting him with counters.

Elves Brener def. Zubaira Tukhugov by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29): Featherweight

There was quite a bit of feeling out going on to kick off the show. Gradually, Tukhugov started to apply pressure, and did land a few punches, but wasn’t really able to take over. Brener fought off of his back foot for most of the round, pawing with his jab and scoring with leg kicks. A big gash opened up on the middle of Tukhugov’s forehead, but it’s unclear what caused it.

Brenner came out aggressive to begin the second act, but the forward pressure didn’t last very long. Tukhugov began coming forward, mixing up his jab and left hook, keeping Brener guessing at which strike it was going to be. The cut on Tukhugov’s forehead was still leaking, but it didn’t seem to be bothering him much at all. During the final minute of the round, Brener started to rally by increasing his output and keeping Tukhugov defensive. It wasn’t enough to win the round, though.

Tukhugov continued to work his boxing in the third. He kept finding crafty ways to use his right hand to set up his left. Both men shot in for their first takedown attempts early in the final round, and neither man was successful. It was Tukhugov who came up with a body lock, and from there spent some time pressing Brener up against the cage. The final minute saw Brener go for it, launching a varied attack while Tukhugov sat back and remained defensive.

**It should be noted that Zubaira Tukhugov missed weight by 1.5-pounds

About the author: Eddie Mercado has covered combat sports since 2015. He covers everything from betting odds to live events and fighter interviews. He holds a 1-0 record in pro MMA and holds a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu. (full bio)

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Jon Jones received an epic backhanded compliment recently.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has, hands down, one of the most impressive in-cage resumes of any fighter on the planet. However, over the years, his issues outside the sport (some of which have bled over into the cage) have tarnished many of his achievements.

Recently, one of Jones’ former opponents heaped praise on Jones’ talent as a fighter. However, that praise came with quite the caveat.

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, a former UFC light heavyweight champion himself, recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet all about ‘Bones’.

“Jon Jones is a great fighter. Even if he was standing in this room I would say it. But he’s the dirtiest fighter ever,” Jackson said (ht MMA Junkie). “The guy is so smart. He does the most dirtiest things.”

“If you’re doing anything good on him, he’s going to poke you in the eye,” alleged Jackson. “If you’re advancing or doing anything good or you get the advantage, he’s going to kick your knee backwards.”

“For one, I think that knee kick – they call it like an oblique kick – he’s kicking you right on your kneecap,” Jackson added. “I think that should be banned. … My knee is still messed up from that fight because it hyperextended – he kicked it all the way back. You can end people’s careers with those moves.

“Jon Jones, he’s good. He doesn’t even have to do that. Think about all of those spinning elbows he used to do in the beginning. Where did they land? Do you remember? In the back of people’s heads. It’s illegal. Jon Jones is like the dirtiest fighter.”

Despite his opinion on the cleanliness of Jones’ fighting style, Jackson said he didn’t have anything personal against him.

“I’m cool with Jon Jones,” he explained. “When I see Jon Jones, we’re cool. … I always had honor when I fought. I wanted to be the best fighter on the day. I wanted to win the fight clean. But I know that every fighter is not like me.”

Jackson and Jones tangled back in 2011 at UFC 135. Jackson was challenging Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title, having won back-to-back decisions over Lyoto Machida and Matt Hammil. The fight with Jones ended fourth round submission loss.

Jackson would lose his next two UFC fights after that before securing his release from the UFC in 2013. He then went 6-3 in Bellator before calling it a career.

Jones last fought in February 2020, where he defended his title against Dominick Reyes. Since then Jones has been on the sidelines preparing for his transition to the heavyweight division. During this time he was also charged with domestic violence over an incident at a Las Vegas hotel, though those charges were later dropped through a plea deal.

Jones is scheduled to return to the Octagon on March 4 in the main event of UFC 285. There he is expected to fight Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight title.

About the author: Tim Bissell is a writer, editor and deputy site manager for Bloody Elbow. He has covered combat sports since 2015. Tim covers news and events and has also written longform and investigative pieces. (full bio)

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Jose Aldo won his pro boxing debut, and is looking for bigger money fights.

Friday night in Brazil, Jose Aldo won his professional boxing debut.

The former UFC and WEC champion has always spoken about wanting to make the switch to boxing during his career, and he was finally able to make it happen after retiring from mixed martial arts.

The 36-year-old MMA legend fought at 140 lbs for his debut, beating journeyman Emmanuel Zambrano with a one-sided decision over six rounds. Aldo got a near sweep of the scorecards, with judges giving him 60-54 twice and 59-55 for a unanimous decision victory.

Aldo officially becomes 1-0 in his boxing career, while Zambrano drops to 0-4.

Even fresh off his debut, Aldo already has a couple of fights planned as he continues his boxing journey. Aldo is currently lined up to box former UFC opponent Jeremy Stephens, in Jorge Masvidal’s “Gamebred Boxing 4” event this April.

Interestingly enough, Aldo has also revealed that terms have been “agreed” for an exhibition boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“(Mayweather’s) side has already agreed, my side too. We’re now waiting for (the promoters) to get the deal done,” Aldo told MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz. “It might be exhibition on (Mayweather’s) side, but not for me. It’s punch to the face like always. He knows that.”

Mayweather has been active making money on the exhibition circuit after retiring at 50-0. He has had five bouts against the likes of kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura, and influencers Logan Paul and Deji Olatunji.

Like all of Mayweather’s inexperienced opponents in this post-retirement tour, Aldo would also likely be overmatched against the boxing legend. Hopefully the former UFC champion just gets a good payday out of it.

Watch highlights from Aldo’s boxing debut held at Shooto Brazil below.

About the author: Anton Tabuena is the Managing Editor for Bloody Elbow. He’s been covering MMA and combat sports since 2009, and has also fought in MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing. (full bio)

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Join us tonight on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, and round by round scoring for UFC 284 from the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia

Join us tonight on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, and round by round scoring for UFC 284 from the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia.

Today’s card will be headlined by two title fights. In the main event, Islam Makhachev will look to defend his lightweight title against the featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski. The co-main will see the featherweight division have an interim champion crowned as Yair Rodriguez clashes with Josh Emmett.

This post will cover the main event between Makhachev and Volkanovski. Makhachev is fresh of claiming the lightweight title over Charles Oliveira in October. Volkanvoski is looking to claim a second title, having previously defended the featherweight title four times. Volkanovski and Makhachev are ranked #1 and #2 in the official UFC P4P rankings, respectively.

UFC 284 is a standard PPV. There are four early prelims on ESPN+ and Fight Pass that will kick off around 6:00pm ET/3:00pm PT. The televised four-fight prelims will air on ESPN+ and big ESPN and will start at 8pm ET/5pm PT. The PPV kicks off at 10pm ET/7pm PT with five fights, and you can order it on ESPN+ PPV.

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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