Featuring Combat Wombat in the role of Charlie Kelly from It’s Always Sunny

Chris Rini

I’ve been shooting process videos of some large MMA paintings for a gallery show in Denmark, the latest is Weili Zhang vs Carla Esparza, have a look over here. Take care of yourself and I’ll talk to you Wednesday.

Chris

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All the best, most interesting, and unquestionably coolest fights the UFC needs to make following their latest event in Orlando, FL.

UFC Orlando ended up being a hell of a wild ride. The card started with a bang, dragged a little, and then wrapped up with seven straight finishes to make for a thriller all the way to the final frame. Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland put on one of the UFC’s most creative striking wars, Rafael dos Anjos showed Bryan Barberena why he used to be a champ, Sergei Pavlovich gave the heavyweight elite something to mull over in the coming months.

So, is Thompson ‘back’ as an elite fighter at 170 lbs? Is RDA really going to convince Conor McGregor to fight him? And will any of the top 5 flyweights be willing to take a risk on facing Matheus Nicolau?

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!

STEPHEN THOMPSON

In a lot of ways it’s hard to know what to make of this fight as a marker of where Stephen Thompson sits in the welterweight division right now. He certainly still has the fantastic timing and footwork that has made him such a dynamic threat for so long. But Holland was also able to track him down with a lot of wild shots, and take him down with some well timed responses to Thompson’s punch entries too. Had Holland wanted to do more grappling is this still a fight Thompson would have won?

At the very least we know that ‘Wonderboy’ can still be pure action in fights that keep him exactly where he wants to be. The trick is to figure out just what those are. I wouldn’t mind seeing him take on Jorge Masvidal again, but getting Masvidal back in the Octagon seems like a lot of effort these days. The other name then that springs to mind is Michel Pereira. He’s huge and rangy and has enough power to hurt Thompson at any moment, but has the same kinds of technical gaps Holland showed in extended combinations. And he’d probably keep it standing. Thompson vs. Pereira seems like a fun striking battle for the former title contender.

KEVIN HOLLAND

If it’s hard to know what to make of this for Thompson, it’s doubly difficult to see just what’s going on with Kevin Holland these days. The ‘Trailblazer’ has talked a lot about retirement lately and if his performance here is anything to judge by, he was a lot less interested in winning than he was in having fun. Once he injured his hand and the fight stopped being a good time, Holland seemed like he didn’t have much interest in competing at all. Is he going to come back to MMA after months on the sidelines? Can he be a top 10 welterweight if he’s not that concerned about getting his hand raised? Time off and a step back are in order. Whenever (or if) Holland does return, fights against Michael Chiesa, Max Griffin, or maybe even Khaos Williams all seem like decent ideas. Considering what kind of bouts he’s after, I’ll say book Holland against Williams and let them throw hands.

RAFAEL DOS ANJOS

This second trip up to welterweight for the former lightweight champion got off on just the right foot for Rafael Dos Anjos. As long as the fight was standing, Barberena kept things scrappy, but once RDA started getting takedowns he turned it into a landslide in a hurry. Barberena just couldn’t keep up with Brazilian’s grappling and tapped to a neck crank after giving up back control in round 2.

After the bout, RDA had just one thing on his mind: a chance to regain a past promise, a bout against Conor McGregor. The two men had previously been matched up back in 2015, back when RDA held the belt. An injury to dos Anjos put the brakes on the fight though. McGregor went on to fight Nate Diaz instead, while RDA lost his title to Alvarez. As far as the 38-year-old Kings MMA talent is concerned, the bout makes perfect sense. For McGregor, its any one of 10 different opportunities he can choose from. I kinda doubt it’s the most likely option. I’d love to see RDA get McGregor, but a fight with Vicente Luque feels more likely and also a ton of fun.

MATHEUS NICOLAU

Matheus Nicolau couldn’t have followed the game plan better if this fight had been scripted. He kept on the back foot, forced Schnell to try and walk him down, and caught him with heavy counters whenever the American let his hands go. The result was a bevvy of knockdowns and an eventual KO on the back of a huge overhand right. That win puts Nicolau squarely ‘in the mix’ at the top of the flyweight division. Bouts with Kai Kara-France, Alexandre Pantoja, or Brandon Royval would all be sensible next options. Pantoja is probably waiting for a chance at gold, and Royval just got pulled from a fight due to injury, and Kara France is set to fight Alex Perez. Assuming KKF vs. Perez goes forward then put Nicolau in with the winner. Whoever comes out of that with their hand raised will be firmly in title contention.

SERGEI PAVLOVICH

It looks like we’ve got a new heavyweight contender on our hands. Tai Tuivasa may not have quite made it all the way to the top of the mountain yet, but he had definitely turned himself into one of heavyweight’s most dangerous men. Pavlovich went out there and bulldozed him like it was nothing at all. Unfortunately, with the way the division is right now, just what that lines him up for is anybody’s guess. Is Stipe still fighting? Will Curtis Blaydes accept a bout with another lower-ranked opponent? Is Francis Ngannou ever coming back? Is Jon Jones going to make his heavyweight debut? All questions, few answers. One person I don’t have questions about, however, is Ciryl Gane. A fight between Pavlovich and Gane feels like it would absolutely be must see, and could make either man top of the heap for whenever the UFC figures out what to do with that belt.

ROMAN DOLIDZE

Even if it hadn’t been on short notice, this felt like a huge step up for Roman Dolidze. Jack Hermansson has earned his stripes at the top of the middleweight division with years of controlled, offensively diverse performances. He’s the kind of fighter that rarely makes big mistakes—a huge ask for a fighter like Dolidze who tends to rely on creating chaos. That said, Dolidze found his moment in the second round. Hermansson took him down with an easy double but found an aggressive guard game that he wasn’t at all prepared for. Armbar to triangle to leg lock to calf slicer, to back mount and GnP all in the span of about 20 seconds. Not long after and the ref was waiving off the fight. A huge victory for the Georgian that rockets him into the top 15. After the bout he called out Khamzat Chimaev. Any chance that fight happens? No. But how about a fight with Andre Muniz? I’d buy that.

PHILIP ROWE

For something of a surprising change, Philip Rowe actually looked great coming out of the gate against Niko Price—exchanging the ‘Hybrid’’s wild combos for laser sharp 1-2s in the pocket. It’s the second round where things started to get a little hairy, with Price landing repeatedly as he pushed the pace. Rowe had his own big moments, but when Price started hurting him in round 3 it seemed like the fight was over. Rowe rode out the blitz though, and when they got back to their feet his opponent was entirely gassed. A few huge right hands later and Philip Rowe walked away with his third straight UFC win. That should keep him perfectly on track for another action fight on his way up the welterweight division, and there’s another lanky sniper out there that I’d love to see him face. Ian Garry has been looking fantastic in his short Octagon career. Garry vs. Rowe would be a great bout to see whose the rangiest man at 170 lbs.

ANGELA HILL

A highlight performance from Angela Hill, who put her foot on the gas early against Emily Ducote and never let up for a moment. Ducote found points to land hard 1-2s and catch Hill on the counter, but things got especially ugly in the clinch, where Hill landed crushing knees over and over. That’s two straight victories for Hill who looks to still be very much in the prime of her career and ready for another high level test. Unforunately for her, unless she wants another newcomer like Luana Pinheiro or Piera Rodriguez there aren’t many top 15 fighters Hill hasn’t already faced. Rematches with Amanda Lemos or Michelle Waterson wouldn’t be a terrible idea, but I say give Hill a chance to take on Mackenzie Dern. Dern still needs more seasoning to truly compete with the elite. For Hill, it’d be a great chance to make a title run. Hill vs. Dern is a good opportunity for Hill to take another charge at the top of the 115 lb division.

OTHER BOUTS: Bryan Barberena vs. Francisco Trinaldo, Matt Schnell vs. Tim Elliott, Tai Tuivasa vs. Alexander Romanov, Jack Hermansson vs. Imavov/Gastelum loser, Eryk Anders vs. Dusko Todorovic, Kyle Daukaus vs. Wellington Turman, Niko Price vs. Takashi Sato, Emily Ducote vs. Mizuki Inoue, Clay Guida vs. Ricky Glenn, Michael Johnson vs. Nasrat Haqparast, Marc Diakiese vs. Christos Giagos, Jonathan Pearce vs. Andre Fili, Darren Elkins vs. Charles Rosa, Natan Levy vs. Nikolas Motta, Genaro Valdez vs. Erick Gonzalez, Francis Marshall vs. William Gomis, Marcelo Rojo vs. Lucas Alexander, Yazmin Jauregui vs. Cory McKenna, Istela Nunes vs. Melissa Martinez

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Bellator president cites ‘integrity and honor’ in MMA in supporting regulators

Bellator president Scott Coker supports the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspending MMA coach James Krause and the UFC barring fighters who stay with Krause’s Glory MMA gym.

Coker responded to an inquiry from MMA Fighting on the steps the athletic commission and the UFC are taking while investigations play out around potential betting irregularities surrounding the November 5 bout between the Krause-coached Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke.

“As a lifelong martial artist, integrity and honor have been the foundation upon which I have built my career as a Mixed Martial Arts promoter, and I believe that it is of utmost importance that the integrity of MMA remains unquestioned,” Coker wrote in his statement. “It is my understanding that certain regulatory agencies have taken action that they deem necessary to ensure that any appearance of impropriety is removed from our sport, and I support those actions.

“Bellator MMA is a promotion that highly values the importance of independent regulation of our sport, and we will continue to abide by the mandates of the regulatory bodies which sanction and oversee our events.”

The ongoing investigation into the fight, which took place at UFC Vegas 64, kicked off after the betting line on Nuerdanbieke moved from -220 to -420 and bets came in on Nuerdanbieke to win via knockout.

During the early moments of that fight, Minner’s knee buckled in the first exchange of the fight. Nuerdanbieke finished him via TKO shortly afterward.

Gambling watchdog U.S. Integrity immediately notified sportsbooks of the irregular line movement and opened an investigation into the fight. The UFC and NSAC followed shortly afterward.

Minner’s coach, James Krause, became an immediate person of interest for many fans and pundits following the investigation, as Krause had recently made headlines for operating a popular Discord channel where he gave betting tips. The channel has since been closed along with a similarly focused YouTube account.

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It sounds like the ‘Trailblazer’ is going to need time to recover from his broken hand. 

Kevin Holland is dealing with a broken right hand after his loss to Stephen Thompson at UFC Orlando this past Saturday.

Four rounds of an all-action fight between the ‘Trailblazer’ and ‘Wonderboy’ ended in a corner stoppage, as Holland was clearly compromised. In a brief post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier, Holland said he knew something was wrong in the first round, which was the same round that he nearly finished Thompson with some brutal right hands.

“I think I hurt him in the first round and after that, it was hurting,” said Holland. “It is what it is.”

Holland was transported to a local hospital, where his manager Oren Hodak of KO Reps confirmed he suffered a broken right hand.

“[Kevin Holland] broke his right hand landing a cross in the first round,” Hodak wrote. “Hand is very swollen. Being transported to the hospital. Congrats to [Stephen Thompson] and team.”

Hours after the hospital visit, Holland revealed the extent of the damage, which was three broken knuckles.

“[Stephen Thompson], hard head brother lol,” wrote Holland (H/T Amy Kaplan of FanSided MMA). “I broke not one, but three knuckles on it. Respect.”

Funny enough, Thompson also lauded how hard of a head Holland has, as both of his hands hurt after their ‘Fight of the Night’ outing.

“He’s tough as nails,” said Thompson in his post-fight interview. “I mean, both of my hands hurt right now because of his hard noggin, but Kevin Holland is a beast.”

With the loss, Holland fell to 2-2 in his 2022 appearances. The 30-year-old started off with two wins over Alex Oliveira and Tim Means at UFC 272 and UFC Austin, respectively. He had that win streak snapped by Khamzat Chimaev, who he met in a short-notice fight at UFC 279 in September.

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

Vinny Magalhaes is one of only a handful of men who own a win over Gordon Ryan, and he’s the last person to hand Ryan a loss in professional grappling. The pair met in 2018 at ACBJJ 13 where Magalhaes won on points, and now they’ll be running it back at UFC FightPass Invitational 3 as the main event. Ryan will be looking to level the score just a few months before he attempts to do the same thing with Felipe Pena at WNO in February.

The co-main event for the night will be a battle between a fantastic grappler and a former UFC world champion, as Beatriz ‘Bia’ Mesquita takes on Miesha Tate. Shortly before either of those superfights take place, the UFC has put together an eight-man tournament in the absolute division. Although the competitors have yet to be confirmed, the winner will take home a grand prize of $ 25,000.

Urijah Faber set to make Combat Jiu Jitsu debut at CJJ Worlds

The next Combat Jiu Jitsu World event is set to take place on December 18th and it will be headlined by UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber making his debut under the CJJ ruleset. Faber will be taking on a tough opponent in Elias Anderson, the reigning CJJ Bantamweight world champion. While Faber is undoubtedly the more experienced competitor overall, Anderson is a veteran of the format and has already excelled in it.

The promotion has decided to change the format for the latest event, opting to change from a single-elimination tournament format to a team grappling one instead. The event will be a Team Duel, and four teams of five elite grapplers will battle it out for a $ 50,000 grand prize. The twenty athletes competing will be representing Combat Jiu-Jitsu Mexico, 10th Planet, Team Alpha Male, and B-Team Jiu-Jitsu.

Ruotolo brothers impress at ONE on Prime Video 5

Both Kade and Tye Ruotolo were competing at ONE on Prime Video 5, with Kade putting his Lightweight title on the line against Matheus Gabriel. Tye was competing much earlier in the night on the preliminary card, and he was set for a tough fight against former ONE Featherweight MMA world champion Marat Gafurov. Both brothers put a crazy pace on their opponents and showed exactly why they’re so well-respected in professional grappling.

Tye Ruotolo managed to get deep on an armbar attempt pretty early on in the match against Gafurov before transitioning to a triangle choke as he defended. From there he kept Gafurov controlled while he returned to attacking the arm and forced the tap. Kade wasn’t able to get the finish in his match, but he put Gabriel on the defensive for the entire time and won a convincing decision to retain his title.

Full results for the event can be found here.

Three exciting title-fights top Grapplefest 14

Grapplefest 14 took place this past weekend and saw some of the top grapplers from across Europe gather together to put on a fantastic show, headlined by three title-fights. The first of the three was for the inaugural women’s under 65kg title, and saw Julia Maele show off impressive leglock defence before locking up a kneebar of her own to take home the belt. Next up was another inaugural title, this time in the women’s under 70kg division.

Rosa Walsh was aggressive right from the start against Gabi Schuck and locked on to an armbar, forcing the tap shortly after. The final fight of the night saw ADCC 2022 standout Eoghan O’Flanagan putting his under 90kg title on the line against Jacob ‘The Hillbilly Hammer’ Couch. O’Flanagan launched into non-stop leg attacks and although he couldn’t get the finish, he did more than enough to win the decision and retain his title.

Full results for the event can be found here.

Quick Hits

• Felipe Pena has announced that he will be training at ATOS HQ under Andre Galvao for his upcoming fourth match with Gordon Ryan.
• Footage emerged from Renzo Gracie’s in New York that showed UFC welterweight contenders Neil Magny and Khamzat Chimaev grappling together.
• Kevin Holland made an unusual choice when he decided to challenge former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo to a grappling match.
• UFC Middleweight world champion Alex Pereira showed off his grappling skills in an indigenous wrestling match.

Technique Corner

The Teepee choke from Closed guard

Setting up the Ankle-pick

Two passing options from Three-quarter Mount

Meme of the Week

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Stephen Thompson defeated Kevin Holland via TKO at UFC Orlando. On Twitter, pro fighters reacted to the match.

In one of the most entertaining fights of his career, Stephen Thompson scored his first stoppage win since 2016. Paired up against Kevin Holland at UFC Orlando, ‘Wonderboy’ once again showcased his striking skills, which led to almost finishing ‘Trailblazer’ at several different points in the fight.

However, the stoppage came from Holland’s corner at the end of the fourth round, in order to spare their athlete. On Twitter, pro fighters reacted to the match.

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Start time for Gonzalez vs Estrada is 8pm EST, 5pm PST.

Two superflyweight legends meet for the third time in an era-defining fight this Saturday, as Roman Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada close a rivalry that’s been running a decade. A WBC world title is also on the line, although this is a fight so important on its own terms the title is almost beside the point.

Gonzalez (51-3-0, 41 KOs) won their first fight, way back in 2012, whereas Estrada (43-3-0, 28KOs) won the second to some dispute last year. The time in between saw them both establish themselves as lower-weight greats, and now we’ll see the highly skilled aggression of Gonzalez against the all-round craftyness of Estrada one more time. It should be a great fight.

This article will provide round-by-round coverage of the main event. The card is available on DAZN in the US, Europe, and other DAZN markets, and starts at 8pm ET, with the ringwalks on the main event expected around 11pm – but stay tuned here for updates on that.

Results

WBC super flyweight title: Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez

WBC flyweight title: Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Samuel Carmona

Super-middleweight: Diego Pacheco vs. Ricardo Adrian Luna:

Flyweight: Joselito Velazquez vs. Cristofer Rosales

Super-middleweight: Diego Pacheco vs. Ricardo Adrian Luna:

Middleweight: Austin Williams UD Simon Madsen: 99-90, 99-90, 99-90

Super featherweight: Marc Castro UD8 Maickol Lopez Villagrana: 80-71, 80-71, 80-71

Super flyweight: Anthony Herrera TKO3 Juan Sequeira

Women’s super featherweight: Beatriz Ferreira TKO2 Carisse Brown

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The UFC Hall of Famer explains why Masvidal should entertain a fight against Chandler. 

Daniel Cormier wants Jorge Masvidal to reconsider a potential fight against Michael Chandler.

Shortly after his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 this past November, ‘Iron’ started to consider options for his next Octagon appearance. One of them was a fight with ‘Gamebred’ for the ‘Baddest Mother F—ker’ (BMF) belt, which he thought would ‘get the juices flowing of the entire mixed martial arts world’. In response, Masvidal rejected Chandler, telling Mike Heck of MMA Fighting that beating him would do nothing for his career.

But Cormier believes Masvidal beating Chandler would do something for his career. On an episode of 3 Rounds with Daniel Cormier, the UFC Hall of Famer explains why Chandler would be valuable to Masvidal, especially if he wants one more shot at the UFC welterweight championship.

“I believe there’s more value in this fight for Masvidal than he even believes,” said Cormier. “He seems to still want to be champion, and I think that the first step in trying to be a champion is exactly what he’s doing — trying to get on the same card as Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards because, as we saw before, that’s how he got his first championship fight.

“I think he needs to recognize that there’s more value in the Chandler fight than he believes because it might just get him closer to what he wants, and that’s another shot at the welterweight championship,” continued Cormier. “But the first thing you’ve got to do is find a way to get on that card, and if no one else is available, that guy in Tennessee would step up right away. He’d be ready to scrap with you.”

Masvidal has yet to return since losing a unanimous decision to Colby Covington at UFC 272 in March.

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This weekend’s biggest boxing match involves Tyson Fury taking on Derek Chisora for the third time.

This weekend’s biggest bout in boxing involves arguably the world’s greatest heavyweight boxer, Tyson Fury, taking on the winner of one of his last four — Derek Chisora. This will be the third time that “The Gypsy King” has fought Chisora, and Fury is every bit of the massive betting favorite that you would expect him to be.

The oddsmakers fancy Fury by a mile here, with his heavily favored moneyline residing around the -2500 mark. That means that a successful $ 100 bet on Tyson would only gain a profit of $ 4, which isn’t exactly the most lucrative endeavor out there. As for Chisora, he is sporting a rather large underdog line of +1200. Dropping a hundred bucks on Derek could possibly enjoy a total payout of $ 1300.

Not only is Fury favored to best Chisora for the third time, but the odds also foresee him getting the finish — like he did in their last meeting. The prop bet ‘Tyson Fury by KO/TKO/DQ’ can be found with a moderately favored moneyline of -350, with ‘Dereck Chisora by KO/TKO/DQ’ lingering around at a massive long shot position of +2000.

If you suspect that this trilogy bout is going to end up going the distance just like their first encounter, then you’ll discover the proposition ‘Tyson Fury by Decision or Technical Decision’ trending as the second-most likely outcome at +275. Oddly enough, the prop bets for a ‘Draw’ and for ‘Dereck Chisora by Decision or Technical Decision’ are both on deck with identical moneylines of +2800.

Check out the betting odds for Tyson Fury vs. Derek Chisora 3, courtesy of DraftKings:

Be sure to subscribe to our Bloody Elbow Presents YouTube channel to stay up to date with all of our podcast content. Stay glued to Bloody Elbow for all of your event coverage including play-by-play, results, highlights, and more! Happy hunting!

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Check out all the ways to watch this highly anticipated trilogy fight.

Of the two boxing trilogy fights that are happening this weekend, this is the one that is actually worth a damn. On Saturday night Juan Francisco Estrada will take on Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez for the vacant WBC super flyweight title. If their past two bouts are anything to go by, expect fireworks here!

It was Chocolatito who got his hand raised when the pair first met in 2012. That night he defended his WBA light flyweight title. The pair met for a second time in 2021. This time Chocolatito staked his WBA (Super) super flyweight title for a chance to win Estrada’s WBC and The Ring super flyweight titles.

What ensued was an absolute war, which broke records for the number of punches thrown over a 12 round fight. It ended in a split decision win for Estrada.

Since then Chocolatito has picked up a win over Julio Cesar Martinez and Estrada has beaten Argi Cortes. Now, all eyes are on the the Desert Diamond Arena outside of Phoenix to see who takes the rubber match and whether we will see a repeat of the incredible contest we witnessed last time around.

Tickets

Tickets at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ are available here.

Bout order

Main card (8 p.m. ET on DAZN)

WBC super flyweight championship: Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez (ring walks expected at 11 p.m. ET)

WBC flyweight championship: Julio Cesar Martinez (c) vs. Samuel Carmona

Flyweight: Joselito Velazquez vs. Cristofer Rosales

WBC USNBC super middleweight championship: Diego Pacheco (c) vs. Ricardo Adrian Luna

Super featherweight: Marc Castro vs. Maickol Lopez Villagrana

Super featherweight: Beatriz Ferreira vs. Carisse Brown

Super flyweight: Anthony Herrera vs. Juan Sequeira

Live Stream

Estrada vs. Chocolatito 3 will air exclusively on DAZN across the globe. Viewers in Argentina, Chile and Colombia can only watch the fight if they download the DAZN app from the Apple App Store or Android Google Play store and sign up as a subscriber there instead of via a web browser.

In the US DAZN costs $ 19.99 a month or $ 99.99 per year.

In Canada a monthly subscription to DAZN is $ 20 and an annual subscription is $ 150. In the UK you can get a monthly subscription for £7.99.

DAZN can be viewed on the following devices:

Mobile Devices

• iPhone, iPad
• Android phones, tablets
• Amazon Fire tablet

TV & Streaming Devices

• Amazon Fire TV
• Amazon Fire TV Stick
• Android TV
• Apple TV
• Google Chromecast
• LG Smart TV, Smartcast
• Panasonic Smart TV
• Samsung Smart TV
• Sony Smart TV

Games Consoles

• PlayStation 4
• PlayStation 5
• XBox One
• XBox Series X | S

Pay-Per-View events are available to watch either live or on-demand. Events will be available to buy, and to watch, for 7 days after they go live.

Live news, updates and round-by-round commentary is available here on Bloody Elbow.

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