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The UFC middleweight contender hopes to get a rematch with the newly crowned champion. 

Sean Strickland wants a rematch against Alex Pereira.

The UFC middleweight contender had a six-fight win streak snapped by Pereira, who added Strickland to his resume with a first-round KO at UFC 276 this past July. In the aftermath, ‘Tarzan’ was criticized for using a ‘stand-and-trade’ strategy for a former two-division GLORY kickboxing champion.

Despite the disastrous result, Strickland told Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie recently that he would use the exact same strategy against Pereira, should he get a rematch at some point.

“He’s a f—king big motherf—king Brazilian who hits like f—king dynamite,” said Strickland. “I mean, f—k. I’ll give you guys a pointer: You stand in front of that motherf—ker and bang, somebody is going to sleep and it’s most likely going to be you.

“And if I fought the guy again, I’d do the same f—king thing,” continued Strickland. “I’d put this (right) hand a little bit more right here (up).”

Before he can get a rematch against the newly crowned UFC middleweight champion, Strickland has a chance to return to the win column at the final UFC event of 2022. The Syndicate MMA product shares the Octagon with Jared Cannonier for his next fight at UFC Vegas 66.

With a few more wins, Strickland could earn his first UFC championship opportunity. And if he does, he hopes Pereira is still at the top of the division.

“The guy f—king hits hard, dude,” said Strickland. “That motherf—ker — he has dynamite in his hands, but [I] got to get a couple wins under my belt, and hopefully he’s still the champ and we’ll run it back.”

UFC Vegas 66 goes down on Sat., Dec. 17, at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Cannonier vs. Strickland serves as the headliner.

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Dustin Poirier shared a nasty photo of his staph infection, and announced that he’ll be released from the hospital today.

Former UFC interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier, was admitted to the hospital over the weekend for a short-notice bout with a pretty serious staph infection. Poirier has been keeping his supporters in the loop by dropping updates on his social media platforms.

“The Diamond” has informed everyone that the doctor let him know that this bacteria that’s been running a muck actually doesn’t know any Jiu-Jitsu, so Dustin should be safe. Let this be a learning moment for all other bacteria out there. Show up to BJJ class!

Included in his updates is a horrific picture of the aftermath of his infected foot. The roughed up appendage looks like it got ran over a bus, and then had to fight Francis N’Gannou for five rounds. His ankle is still badly swollen in the photo, with the only caption from Poirier reading, ‘Wut da helllll.’

It turns out the doctors were right about the weak ground game of the staph infection. Poirier pulled an antibiotics guard that he says is working perfectly, and expects to be released from the hospital today (December 7th). Kudos to Dustin for taking this fight with staph, and good to see him claim another glorious victory from a very game opponent.

Before stopping staph in the championship rounds, Poirier was last seen last month pulling off a fantastic third round finish in his wild war with Michael Chandler at UFC 281. If you haven’t caught that fight yet, then I suggest you stop whatever you’re doing and go straight to viewing it. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $ 200. There is no word yet of who will be Poirier’s next opponent, but we can all hope that his next fight takes place in a cage, and not a hospital bed.

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UFC 282 has been rocked by fight cancellations.

Poor Ovince Saint Preux. The UFC veteran has seen his hopes of a big payday this weekend take another hit after yet another opponent has had to back out of their contest. That makes three for OSP.

Initially Saint Preux was scheduled to fight former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson. However, that fell through when ‘The Mauler’ pulled out for undisclosed reasons. Ex PFL champ Philipe Lins was drafted as a replacement. However, Lins too had to pull out.

Last week it was revealed that Antonio Trocoli would be drafted in as a late replacement for Lins. Last night the UFC announced that Trocoli was out of the match-up, too, due to visa issues.

Trocoli is a Contender Series Brazil product. After earning his contract on that show, Trocoli served a lengthy ban for testing positive for the banned substance nandralone. After this latest issue, the UFC has voided Trocoli’s contract — releasing him from the promotion.

This leaves Saint Preux without an opponent, again. MMA Fighting reports that the UFC will try and find another replacement to keep the vet on the card.

This is just the latest withdrawal that has rocked UFC 282. The fight card was initially built around a rematch between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira for the UFC light heavyweight title. However, that fell apart when Prochazka vacated the title, citing the need for surgery and a long recovery.

With that fight ruined, the UFC made Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev, for the now vacated belt, the headliner.

Earlier this week the event also saw former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler fall out of his main card fight with Santiago Ponzinibbio. Alex Morono has come in as a late replacement for that contest.

This event was also supposed to feature the ‘proper’ UFC debut of Contender series star Bo Nickal. Only Nickal had to pull out due to injury.

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Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov has been reported killed nearly a week after he went missing. 

Tumso Abdurakhmanov, a Chechen dissident known for his vocal criticism of Chechnya’s strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov, has reportedly been killed.

According to Chechen opposition movement 1ADAT, the dissident blogger was reportedly killed shortly after going missing in Sweden.

“Tumso was shot at night by a group of people,” 1ADAT said in a social media post Monday, citing unidentified sources.

1ADAT also claimed that Abdurakhmanov’s brother Muhammad had been “hidden away by the intelligence services.”

Anzor Maskhadov, a prominent figure among Chechenya’s European diaspora, confirmed Abdurakhmanov’s death. The news was later reported by Radio Svoboda, an affiliate of U.S. media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

Abdurakhmanov, 36, had previously survived an attempted assassination in Sweden two years ago when he was attacked in his home by an assailant wielding a hammer. A Swedish court sentenced the suspects to ten and eight years in prison, respectively.

The dissident had been living in exile since 2015, when he fled Chechnya due to threats to his life. He was denied asylum in Poland and has since remained in hiding in Sweden.

Swedish police have yet to confirm the reports surrounding Abdurakhmanov’s death.

Since his rise to power in 2007, Kadyrov has ruled the semi-autonomous republic of Chechnya like his personal fiefdom. He is routinely accused of orchestrating human rights abuses including assassinations, abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and purges targeting the local LGBTQ+ community.

Despite his harrowing human rights record, Kadyrov remains an influential figure in the world of mixed martial arts. He founded his own MMA organization and gyms—all of which were placed under U.S. Treasury sanctions—and has rubbed shoulders with some of the most well known figures in the sport, including former UFC champions such as Kamaru Usman, Justin Gaethje, Henry Cejudo, Frank Mir, Chris Weidman, Fabricio Werdum, Frankie Edgar, Kamaru Usman, and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Kadyrov also has a longstanding relationship with UFC star Khamzat Chimaev, a Chechen native who currently resides in Sweden.

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Welterweight Michel Pereira does not understand why he cannot seem to get a fight against ranked opposition.

UFC welterweight contender Michel Pereira is feeling impatient. Having defeated Santiago Ponzinibbio back in May, the Brazilian can’t seem to figure out what’s taking the UFC so long to find another fight—although he does have a hunch.

In a recent interview with Ag Fight, Pereira blamed his fellow ranked welterweights for the long hiatus, claiming that most of them have been ducking him on purpose. In order to find an opponent, ‘Demolidor’ called out a few of the most notable names in the division, including recent UFC Orlando winner Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, who expressed a willingness to face the Brazilian in the past.

“I’m training, I’m ready,” Pereira explained. “My managers are trying to get me a fight in Rio, but it’s been hard to find an opponent. Those are guys are way too picky. I’ve been waiting for the ranked guys in my division to man up and fight me. I’d fight (Li) Jingliang, the one Chimaev almost killed. This fight was offered to me and I took it, the it was offered to him and he turned it down. I don’t know what those guys are thinking, the reason why they won’t fight me,”

“I’d fight (Colby) Covington,” Pereira said. “I’d really like to fight (Khamzat) Chimaev, because he talks too much. I’d fight Thompson. The only ones I wouldn’t fight are (Vicente) Luque and (Gilbert) Burns. The rest of them, I’m ready for them, they can all come at me. I ask, but they don’t accept it. They’re sissies. Whoever wants it, I’m here.”

Currently on a five-fight winning streak, Pereira (28-11-2 NC) defeated Zelim Imadaev, Khaos Williams, Niko Price and Andre Fialho prior to his most recent win, against Ponzinibbio. The 29-year-old’s latest defeat is was a DQ loss due to an illegal knee against Diego Sanchez, back in February 2020.

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“That fight was ridiculous, okay? Absolutely ridiculous.”

UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping thinks he might have called one of the best fights in MMA history this past weekend at UFC on ESPN 42.

The main event featured a Fight of the Night and potential Fight of the Year candidate between welterweight standouts Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland, with the former taking home a well-earned TKO (corner stoppage) victory between rounds four and five.

Bisping, who called the action ringside with co-hosts Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier, was glad to witness what he felt was one of the best fights he’s ever seen, crediting ‘Wonderboy’ and ‘Trailblazer’ for putting on one of the best shows of the year if not all-time.

“Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson vs. Kevin Holland might have been the best fight that we’ve ever seen inside the UFC octagon,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel (h/t Drake Riggs of MMA Fighting) “I know, that’s big talk. You’re crazy, Bisping. We’ve had a lot of good fights and maybe it’s recency bias, but in Orlando, Fla., Saturday night in front of a sold-out house, the crowd was epic. That fight was ridiculous, okay? Absolutely ridiculous.

“The techniques that we saw from Stephen Thompson, the showmanship and the gameness and toughness that we saw from Kevin Holland, and the excitement back-and-forth. I mean, come on. It doesn’t really get much better than that.”

He continued: “Both guys kind of agreed, it was kind of an unwritten rule, we shook hands, they said we’re not going to take each other down, and that was awesome. For these two, coming into this one, agreeing that they were going to fight, my god. Absolutely sensational stuff and they stayed true to that. ‘Wonderboy’ showed all of his skills. The kicks, the spinning hook kicks, the striking, the punching charges, were just unbelievable. But Kevin Holland landed a lot of huge shots as well.”

Thompson called out Conor McGregor after the fight, wanting to welcome the Irishman back to the Octagon for his comeback fight. Wonderboy is currently #6 in the UFC welterweight rankings while McGregor is unranked at welterweight but #14 at lightweight.

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Strawweight champion Zhang Weili expects nothing but a barnburner with flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

After reclaiming the UFC strawweight title, Zhang Weili has grand plans for herself. The newly-minted champion is now looking at a potential superfight with flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

When asked about it during a recent interview on The MMA Hour, “Magnum” said she is definitely interested in a clash with the reigning 125-pound queen in the future.

“Yes. It’s a must, for sure,” she said about the Shevchenko bout through a translator. “No question.”

“I thought about this a couple of years back. Eventually, we will run into each other in the octagon because the weight divisions are so close.”

While Weili admitted that winning the flyweight title won’t be a guarantee, she did, at the very least, promise a fight to remember.

“I don’t know for sure if I’ll take the belt away from her, but one thing I can guarantee is it’s going to be a banger if me and the champ get in the octagon. It will be a great performance, regardless of the outcome.”

With the win over Esparza, Zhang (23-3) is now on a two-fight win streak. Shevchenko (23-3), meanwhile, hasn’t fought since her split decision win over Taila Santos at UFC 275 in June.

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There will be no ‘Ruthless’ appearance this Saturday, as the UFC looks to find a replacement for the former welterweight champion.

UFC 282 has taken an unfortunate hit.

Robbie Lawler is out of his fight against Santiago Ponzinibbio at the upcoming pay-per-view event on Saturday. Brett Okamoto of ESPN reports that the former UFC welterweight champion suffered an undisclosed injury that forced him to withdraw. The promotion is searching for a short-notice replacement for Ponzinibbio.

Lawler is 1-5 in his past six Octagon appearances. ‘Ruthless’ snapped a four-fight losing streak with a third-round TKO of Nick Diaz (at middleweight) at UFC 266, but suffered a second-round TKO loss at the hands of Bryan Barberena at UFC 276.

Ponzinibbio has fallen to Geoff Neal and Michel Pereira by split decision at UFC 269 and UFC Vegas 55, respectively. Prior to those losses, the Argentinian fighter defeated Miguel Baeza in a ‘Fight of the Night’ awarded appearance at UFC Vegas 28.

UFC 282 is headlined by a light heavyweight championship fight between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev. The current line-up is as follows:

Main Card (ESPN+ PPV)

• Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev
• Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon
• Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. TBA
• Darren Till vs. Dricus du Plessis
• Bryce Mitchell vs. Ilia Topuria

Preliminary Card (ESPN+, ESPN2)

• Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Chris Daukaus
• Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Jay Perrin
• Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Dalcha Lungiambula
• Chris Curtis vs. Joaquin Buckley

Early Preliminary Card (ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass)

• Billy Quarantillo vs. Alexander Hernandez
• Ovince Saint Preux vs. Antonio Trocoli
• TJ Brown vs. Erik Silva
• Vinicius Salvador vs. Daniel Da Silva
• Cameron Saaiman vs. Steven Koslow

Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for updates to the event.

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Former UFC bantamweight champion, TJ Dillashaw, has been removed from the UFC rankings due to an expected lengthy recovery from a shoulder injury suffered early in 2022.

The UFC’s former bantamweight champion, TJ Dillashaw, has been officially removed from the promotion’s in-house rankings.

Dillashaw sparked controversy back in October when he entered his UFC 280 title shot against Aljmain Sterling with a preexisting shoulder injury. His shoulder dislocated early in the opening round. And while Dillashaw somehow toughed it out until his corner could put it back in place between rounds, it dislocated again in the second round, forcing the referee to wave off the fight due to TKO at the 3:44 mark of round-two.

Dillashaw went on the record to disclose that his shoulder had been plaguing him all training camp, after he injured it initially in April, but that he decided to show up and fight anyway. Some fans were understanding of a man pushing through a severe injury to collect a paycheck, while others felt like that decision was selfish and it cheated everyone out of a legitimate competition.

A Twitter bot that scans the UFC website for changes just recently posted that Dillashaw had been removed from the promotion’s rankings pool of eligible fighters, but Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie spoke with TJ’s team who clarified things. The team stated that Dillashaw has ‘NOT’ been released from the UFC, and that he has ‘NOT’ retired from MMA. The removal from the rankings was due to an expected long recovery process for his shoulder.

However, countering that narrative, MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani just posted an update to the story—saying that he spoke to Dillashaw’s manager, Tiki Ghosn, who announced that TJ was in fact retiring from MMA competition. Helwani mentioned that Dillashaw informed the UFC of his decision about two-weeks ago, and that the 36-year-old expects to have a very long road to recovery ahead of him.

“Basically around a month ago, he had the shoulder surgery coming off the Aljamain Sterling fight,” Helwani explained. “And afterwards, when he met with his surgeon, the surgeon told him that it’s going to be a long road—and there’s a chance that he might need a second surgery down the line; that it’s a very delicate injury, that it’s one of the worst injuries to a shoulder that that particular surgeon had ever seen… [Dillashaw] told Tiki that he wanted to walk away, that he had had enough. It came as a shock to both Tiki and the UFC, I’m told.”

It’s unclear exactly what the future holds for Dillashaw. If the former UFC bantamweight champion is calling it a career, then he will be leaving the sport with a highly impressive overall record of 17-5 as well as two stints with the title at 135 lbs.

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Stephen Thompson would like to welcome Conor McGregor back to the Octagon.

Fresh off his dominant TKO victory and Fight of the Night performance against Kevin Holland at UFC on ESPN 42, welterweight veteran Stephen Thompson has called out Conor McGregor (respectfully, of course).

Thompson said he would love to welcome McGregor back to the Octagon for a stand-up battle in what ‘Wonderboy’ promises would be a bonafide pay-per-view seller and a fight for the ages.

“100% [he’d take the McGregor fight]. 100%. I would love that fight,” Thompson said following his fourth-round stoppage victory over Holland (h/t BJPenn.com). “I think it would be an awesome fight. We’ll shake it out right there in the middle of the Octagon. So, that would be a fun fight for sure, man. Let’s make it happen!”

McGregor is expected to return to the UFC next year after he re-enters USADA’s pool and completes six months of mandatory drug testing. The former Cage Warriors and UFC two-division champion left USADA’s pool after needing some time off to recover following his broken leg TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in their trilogy bout at UFC 264 last July. He is expected to make a comeback at welterweight — hence Thompson’s callout — after putting on some considerable muscle mass during his hiatus.

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