Ever wonder what a typical day is like for one of the best MMA fighters in Thailand?

Topnoi Kiwram is looking to be the first male fighter from Thailand to make it to the UFC, with his compatriot and teammate Loma Lookboonmee already making waves in the Women’s strawweight division.

The lifestyle of a fighter in Thailand certainly isn’t an easy road, with countless athletes starting that grind from a very young age. Topnoi, like Lookboonmee, took a slightly different path than most. After competing in over 200 Muay Thai fights, Topnoi switched sports and established himself as one of the best MMA fighters in his home country.

Alongside his status as a fighter on the rise, Topnoi finds himself now balancing his role as a striking coach at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA. With his interesting path and lifestyle, our video feature above shows Topnoi giving an inside look on his daily routine as a professional fighter and coach in Phuket, Thailand.

“Everyday I wake up at 7:30 a.m,” Topnoi told Bloody Elbow, noting that he starts his day off as a coach first and foremost.

“8:00 a.m. I come to teach people, a class in Muay Thai.”

Paolo Tabuena

When running Muay Thai classes, Topnoi will typically hold pads, do drills, and sometimes spar with students of all levels—from hobbyists to professional Muay Thai fighters and fellow MMA fighters.

This class will typically run until 9:30 a.m. While that’s already a workout in and of itself for the average person, it’s only after that class where he’ll actually begin focusing on his own training for the first time that day.

“10:00 a.m. I come to train BJJ,” he said. Topnoi already has extensive Muay Thai experience, but he also works with the jiujitsu coaches and other top notch grapplers in camp to work on rounding out his overall MMA game.

Around this time, he’ll typically also get some strength and conditioning work done, before having lunch and taking a break to rest.

“In the afternoon, at 4:00 p.m. I come to train, sparring, MMA and wrestling,” he added. Topnoi works with his main coaches and other pro fighters in the afternoons, and depending on the day, these hard MMA sessions will focus on either sparring, wrestling, or technique.

Immediately after that intense workout, Topnoi normally heads back to the Muay Thai area to work his striking with his fellow Muay Thai coaches.

“Around 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. I come to kick pads for a few rounds,” he said.

Paolo Tabuena

“Maybe I have privates for two hours (too),” Topnoi said, explaining how he also teaches a couple of one-on-one sessions either early in the afternoon or at night, after his workout. It cuts down on his remaining free time, but it does pay extra.

There are also multiple people from the Bangtao gym that compete in Muay Thai every week, in various levels and stadiums in the country.

“Sometimes I go and support people, students that are fighting in Bangla or Patong Stadium,” Topnoi said. “I put their hand wraps, massage—like a manager. I take care of all the people there, like same family.”

Whether it’s for Bangtao’s regular students, first timers, or even seasoned professionals and fellow champions in their stable, Topnoi and other coaches travel with them to be in their corners.

“When they finish fighting, it’s around 11 p.m. or 12 a.m.,” he said. “I leave, I come home, and sleep. It’s like this. This is one day for me. This is a day in the life of Topnoi.”

Weekends typically mean less classes and a chance to recover and unwind at the nearby beaches. On most days though, hybrid fighter-coaches like Topnoi go to bed after a long day filled with several training sessions both for himself and for his students.

When he has an actual fight booked and he’s in training camp, everything gets dialed up significantly more.

Paolo Tabuena

It’s an intense grind that can easily add up, especially for those that have been fighting since they were kids. You wouldn’t notice it much from Topnoi though, who always has a smile on his face and tries to make everybody laugh all the time.

While none of it is easy, Topnoi says he prefers this current grind over one of pure Muay Thai, where he’s already had over 200 fights. A part of that is the better pay he gets now, and his goals to achieve more in his combat sports career.

“I fight for money. To take care of everyone in my family. I only think about this,” Topnoi said about the busy lifestyle he maintains. “I have no time for ‘tired,’ I have no time for ‘pain.’ I work hard (to change) my life.”

After starting from very humble beginnings, Topnoi’s years of hard work have led to a shot at the big leagues. He’s currently knocking on the door at a UFC berth. After an impressive quarterfinal win—and some interesting quips about cigarettes—the RIZIN veteran now has his semi-final bout set in a UFC tournament designed to look for Asian talent.

“So now I’m fighting for the Road to UFC. My next fight is this October 23, in Abu Dhabi.”

Ever the showman, Topnoi isn’t just looking to win the tournament and showcase the tools he’s been working hard on. His main goal is to have each of his fights become “must watch” affairs that MMA fans won’t soon forget.

“I want to show something crazy in the UFC, understand? Win or lose, I don’t care,” Topnoi exclaimed. “I fight 100 percent every time. I’ll fight hard. I’m crazy! It’s me, same me, every time.”

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UFC gloves were compared to gloves from Bellator and PFL.

Eye pokes in MMA were discussed at the 2022 Association of Ringside Physicians in Las Vegas recently (per Combat Sports Law). During that discussion data was presented showing how the rate of pokes differed based on the gloves being worn at the time.

The study that was shared at the conference was presented by ARP President Dr. John Neidecker, who is a ringside physician. The study included research by Neidecker, Jared Bukowski, Vijay Kurup and Bobby O’Donnell.

For their study, the researchers analyzed fights in the UFC, Bellator and PFL (all of which have different glove designs). The researchers looked at fights through January 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022 and counted the amount of eye pokes that happened in the bouts.

The study found that the rate of eye pokes in the UFC was considerably higher than the rate calculated in Bellator. PFL’s rate was a little lower than the UFC’s, but also higher than Bellator’s.

The eye poke rate in the UFC was 23 in 233 bouts, which translates to one per ten bouts. The PFL rate was 6 in 46 (one in every eight bouts). The Bellator rate was 2 in 87 bouts (one in every 44 bouts).

Dr. John Neidecker

The findings aren’t a great shock, considering that Bellator announced a substantial change in their glove design in 2014 with the express purpose of reducing eye pokes. Their glove design includes stiffer finger sections which force an athletes fingers to curl inwards. UFC gloves have no such mechanism, which allows fights to measure distance with their fingers pointing straight out, which often leads to eye pokes.

Neidecker said online that his plan is to continue his study for the remainder of the year. Neidecker also said he would expand his research, looking to see if eye poke rates are affected by which fighters are competing or which official is refereeing the fight.

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Muhammad vs. Brady could determine the next UFC welterweight title challenger or set up a title eliminator vs. Khamzat Chimaev

There are several meaningful fights on the UFC 280 preliminary card. However, none are more significant than the welterweight tilt between Belal Muhammad and Sean Brady.

The winner of the matchup between Muhammad, who is the No. 5 ranked fighter in the official UFC rankings and Brady, who checks in at No. 8, might put the victor in line for a shot at the UFC welterweight title — or at the very least — a title eliminator opposite (possibly) Khamzat Chimaev.

To be fair, this fight is more immediately crucial for Muhammad and his career than it is for Brady.

Muhammad is unbeaten in his past three fights and undefeated in his past eight. The no-contest result in his March 2021 matchup with Leon Edwards is the only imperfection on his resume since Geoff Neal defeated him in 2019.

One of the reasons Muhammad could elevate himself to title challenger with a win on Saturday is that he has unfinished business with Edwards, who is the current champion. Their matchup ended when an eye poke from Edwards left Muhammad unable to continue. Another reason to think the 34-year-old could earn himself a shot at UFC gold is his lengthy run of fights without a loss.

However, the biggest reason to move Muhammad to title challenger or place him in a title eliminator is that it will fall in line with the UFC’s persistent messaging. That message is the promotion does not want its fighters to sit and wait for opportunities to come their way based on their accomplishments or what they believe the promotion owes them.

That type of thinking is something UFC president Dana White often rails against.

“I never like when guys say, ‘I just wanna wait around.’ That’s the patented, worst move of all time,” White said in August. “Look back throughout history for guys that said, ‘I just wanna wait around’ and see how that plays out for you. That story ends the same every way.”

The timing is right for the UFC to use Muhammad to send that message.

Over the past few days, Jorge Masvidal has been vocal about how Edwards owes him a title shot based on something that happened outside the octagon more than three years ago. What Masvidal is not doing is winning fights or telling the UFC to book him a matchup against an opponent who might earn him a chance to fight Edwards.

Masvidal and Muhammad provide a ready-made storyline for the UFC. That storyline is stay active, be willing to fight down in the rankings if need be to keep your name in the mix, win fights and you’ll get opportunities.

By no means is Muhammad a lock to face the winner of the as-yet unscheduled trilogy fight between Edwards and the man he took the title from, Kamaru Usman, but he’s not to be dismissed from that conversation if he defeats Brady at UFC 280.

Brady is still relatively green with the UFC. The 29-year-old is 15-0 overall and 5-0 in the UFC, but he is still developing as a UFC talent and as a recognizable name with the promotion. Therefore, a win at UFC 280 won’t move him into title contention as it will a veteran like Muhammad, who has been with the UFC since 2016.

The more likely outcome of this fight — no matter who is the winner — is that the UFC matchmakers will book the victor in a title eliminator opposite Chimaev.

Chimaev, had he made weight at UFC 279, was all but penciled in as the fighter who would face the victor of the trilogy bout between Edwards and Usman. But Chimaev missed championship weight by 4.5 pounds and forced the reshuffling of the top three fights on the card. The odds the UFC will trust him to headline another pay-per-view event, especially one with a title on the line before he shows he can make the welterweight limit aren’t zero, but they are only percentage points above that.

UFC 280 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The event’s main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNEWS. The Muhammad vs. Brady fight is the featured prelim.

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Fighters may not get the protections or compensations that other high profile athletes are afforded, but they still see the same limitations.

The UFC and gambling have long gone hand in hand. The modern iteration of the world’s largest MMA promotion wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for Station Casinos magnates Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta. At this stage, the Endeavor-owned company has firmly embedded itself into the Las Vegas landscape—with their Apex facility, Performance Institute, and plans to build their own hotel just for fighters traveling to ‘Sin City’ to compete.

It’s no surprise, then, that with such a cozy relationship to gambling culture, fighters haven’t shied away from making a little money of their own. In 2021, lightweight talent Justin Jaynes made headlines when he bet his entire fight purse of $ 25k on himself to win.

“I just wanna tell everyone I really appreciate the positive energy I’m receiving and the negative energy I’m receiving,” Jaynes told fans amid public criticism of his actions. “But at the end of the day I really just don’t give a f-ck. It’s not your money. Let me bet what I wanna bet. I believe in myself, I believe in my coaching staff, I believe in my ability, I believe in my full training camp.”

Jaynes went on to lose that bout by split decision, a result that would see him released from his UFC contract as well. He’s hardly a rare case, though. While announcing his retirement from the UFC on the MMA Hour Glory MMA & Fitness head coach James Krause revealed that he’s made a lot more money gambling than he did fighting or coaching.

“I bet every single card just about every fight,” Krause said. “I have a Discord [server], like 2,000 members in it, we crush it. Last week, we destroyed it. I take over people’s accounts and play for them, I do pretty well. I make more money gambling on MMA than I do anything else.”

Unfortunately for him, and others like him, that era of the UFC appears to be coming to an end. MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reports that the promotion just sent a memo to all fighters and managers that they had updated the language of the UFC ‘Code of Conduct’ to specifically ban fighters from betting on UFC fights.

Moreover, the newly inserted agreement notes that—beyond fighters—it’s illegal in most states for coaches, managers, trainers, family members or other close affiliates to bet on these contests as well.

“An athlete that becomes aware or has knowledge of any wagering in violation of these restrictions must immediately notify UFC of such incident in accordance with this UFC Athlete Conduct Policy,” the updated Code of Conduct reads

Those are the kinds of restrictions that have long been in place for other sports as well. Major League Baseball has banned Pete Rose from the sport’s Hall of Fame in perpetuity after evidence surfaced that he had bet on games while manager of the Cincinnati Reds. More recently, the NFL suspended Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley indefinitely (for at least the rest of 2022) for betting what he claims was a total of $ 1,500 on the Falcons to win various NFL games.

As always, the major difference between the UFC and the big stick & ball sports is that those athletes are employees, who collectively bargain their rights and penalties with the league and team owners. It is notable, however, that in 2007 Alessio Di Mauro became the first player punished by the Association of Tennis Professionals for betting on matches. He was suspended 9-months and fined $ 60,000.

The UFC isn’t without precedent when it comes to cracking down on athletes and gambling. But for a promotion that spent years operating out of casinos, brings ‘gambling experts’ in as shoulder programming for events, and even announced their intentions of creating their own ‘Live Betting Product’ back in 2019, it does seem a bit hypocritical.

Then again, it may be that this is exactly the kind of legal coverage the UFC needs to really kick their own gambling interests into high gear. If that’s the case then, as usual, it seems the UFC’s business will come at the expense of their fighters.

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Check out this clip of UFC veteran Chris Camozzi starching Bubba McDaniel in his BKFC debut.

This past Saturday night, former UFC middleweight, and PFL light heavyweight Chris Camozzi (27-15-0) just made his BKFC debut in spectacular fashion by knocking out another UFC veteran in Bubba McDaniel. It took him a total of 37 seconds.

BKFC 31 witnessed action right away as the fighters toe’d the line and went right to work. Exchanging in the pocket, Camozzi threw a counter right hand, and then before his feet were even set, he followed up with a shorter right that sent McDaniel crashing to the canvas. The fight was over after that.

Camozzi had a couple of stints under the UFC banner, ultimately producing a promotional record of 9-10. There he fought the likes of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (twice), Thales Leites, and Lorenz Larkin. After losing his final UFC match to Trevor Smith in 2017, Chris went 3-2 on the kickboxing circuit with GLORY, and also had a lone grappling match where he drew even with Gian Villante. He then went back to MMA, where he is currently on a two-fight winning streak in the PFL.

Time will tell as to whether or not this bare knuckle experience will be a solid side hustle before PFL’s 2023 205-pound season, or the new home of one Chris Camozzi.

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Sorry cry babies! It’s time for another of our infamous and patented Care/Don’t Care Podcasts, with your talent: Eugene S. Robinson, John S. Nash, & Stephie Haynes. The format of the show is to review the prior weeks picks & then to announce each fight on the upcoming card, commenting on which upcoming fights are hot and which fights are not – for UFC 280: Oliveira vs Makhachev.

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 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, along with 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’.

NOTE: Eugene is on hiatus while he is on tour with the band, Bunüel. He will return in a few episodes. In the meantime, John and Stephie have got you covered!

June M. Williams

The format of the show is to review the prior weeks’ picks & then to announce each fight on the upcoming card, quickly commenting on which fights are hot, and which fights are not, based on 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”. This effort is in the hopes that we can steer you towards fights that affect rankings, title contention, have significant meaning, or are sure to be “must see tv” 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 Vegas 62: Grasso vs Araujo REACTIONS —

June M. Williams

Overall, this now 11-bout card saw two exciting first round finishes, four thrilling KO/TKO’s, two sweet submissions, and five hard-fought decisions, one split. Rounding things out, our fighters who were awarded for putting forth BONUS efforts included — POTN: Jonathan Martinez and Tatsuro Taira. FOTN: Duško Todorović, & Jordan Wright.

Here’s a look at the UFC Vegas 62: ‘Grasso vs Araujo’ fight card & current records —

Main event scheduled for five rounds. All other bouts scheduled for three rounds. | Official UFC Vegas 62 Scorecards

MAIN CARD | SAT. OCT. 15
At 3:15 — 11. Alexa Grasso (15-3) DEF. Viviane Araujo (11-4) — via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)

At 6:39 — 10. Jonathan Martinez (17-4) DEF. Cub Swanson (28-13) — via TKO (leg kicks) at 4:19 of Round 2

At 14:02 — 9. Duško Todorović (12-3) DEF. Jordan Wright (12-4) — via TKO (elbows) at 3:12 of Round 2

At 16:57 — 8. Raphael Assunçāo (28-9) DEF. Victor Henry (22-6) — via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

At 20:33 — 7. Alonzo Menifield (13-3) DEF. Misha Cirkunov (15-9) vs. — via KO (strikes) at 1:28 of Round 1

PRELIMS
At 21:23 — 6. Mana Martinez (10-3) DEF. Brandon Davis (14-10) — via split decision (29-82, 28-29, 29-28)

At 23:22 — 5. Jacob Malkoun (7-2) DEF. Nick Maximov (8-2) — via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

At 26:27 — 4. Joanderson Brito (14-3) DEF. Lucas Alexander (7-3) — via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:02 of Round 1

At 26:59 — 3. Piera Rodriguez (9-0) DEF. Sam Hughes (7-5) — via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

At 27:08 — 2. Tatsuro Taira (12-0) DEF. C.J. Vergara (10-4) — via submission (armbar) at 4:19 of Round 2

At 27:44 — 1. Pete Rodriguez (5-1) DEF. Mike Jackson (1-2) — via KO (knee and punches) at 1:33

UFC 280: Oliveira vs Makhachev PICKS — at 28:48

At this point in the show we offer you our ‘disclaimer’, then our trio will go about predicting the UFC 280 PPV 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 at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island (aka: FIGHT ISLAND) in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, October 22nd, 2022.

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

UFC 280 (22 Cares):

ESPN+ MAIN CARD | SAT. OCT. 22 — 2PM/11AM ETPT ( 14 Cares)
14. UFC Vacant LW Championship: Charles Oliveira (33-8) vs. Islam Makhachev (22-1) — At 55:17, 3 Cares (But Split)

13. UFC Bantamweight Championship: Aljamain Sterling (21-3) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (17-4) — At 45:06, 3 Cares

12. 125lbs: Petr Yan (16-3) vs. Sean O’Malley (15-1) — At 42:15, 3 Cares

11. 155lbs: Beneil Dariush (21-4) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (21-1) — At 40:54, 3 Cares (But Split)

10: 125lbs: Katlyn Chookagian (18-4) vs. Manon Fiorot (9-1) — At 40:20, 2 Cares

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 10/7AM ETPT (8 Cares)
9. 170lbs: Belal Muhammad (21-3) vs. Sean Brady (15-0) — At 37:30, 3 Cares

8. 185lbs: Makhmud Muradov (25-7) vs. Caio Borralho (12-1) — At 36:38

m7. 205lbs: Volkan Oezdemir (18-6) vs. Nikita Krylov (28-9) — At 35:36, 3 Cares (But Split)

6. 145lbs: Zubaira Tukhugov (20-5) vs. Lucas Almeida (14-1) — At 34:59

5. 155lbs: Yamato Nishikawa (21-3) vs. Magomed Mustafaev (14-4) — At 34:26, 1 Care (Eugene)

4. 170lbs: A. Nurmagomedov (16-3) vs. G. Omargadzhiev (13-1) — At 33:25, 1 Care (Eugene)

3. 185lbs: Armen Petrosyan (6-2) vs. AJ Dobson (6-1) — At 32:39

2. 125lbs: Muhammad Mokaev (7-0) vs. Malcolm Gordon (14-5) — At 31:21

1. 135lbs: Lina Länsberg (10-6) vs. Karol Rosa (15-4) — At 30:00

June M. Williams

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

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

If you enjoy our variety of shows, give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, or give us a “like”, share & subscribe over on whichever BE Presents Podcast Channel happens to be your listening platform of choice: SoundCloud, YouTube, iTunes & Apple TV, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, OverCast, Player FM, & Amazon Music – For previous episodes, check out our playlists on all of our BE Presents channels.

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Get a unique rundown of all the trophies that should have been handed out at UFC Vegas 62 with Dayne Fox’s Unofficial Awards.

UFC Vegas 62 wasn’t a disappointment. However, opening up the article with that phrase should be a giveaway that it wasn’t an overwhelming success either. Most of that sort of ‘meh’ sentiment resounds from the main event.

Alexa Grasso and Viviane Araujo put on a tight, nip-and-tuck fight that wasn’t easy to score. However, it was also a fight bereft of big moments or momentum changes. As a result, it feels like this will be a contest quickly forgotten, even though it was competitive and could net Grasso a shot for Valentina Shevchenko’s gold.

Had the bigger name athletes that fell off the card—due to various reasons—been able to stay on, it might have been a different story. Alas, we got what we got. Dig into my Unofficial Awards to get a feel for the rest of the event….

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

BIGGEST JUMP IN STOCK

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

While there is a possibility Grasso gets a title shot off her win over Araujo, it wasn’t the statement she needed if she wanted to ensure she’d be the choice over Manon Fiorot (should Fiorot get her hand raised in Abu Dhabi). Thus, while her win may prove to be the most consequential on the night, I don’t think she actually had the biggest leap in stock. That would go to Jonathan Martinez.

Martinez entered the UFC four years ago as an injury replacement, expectations were low that he’d even become a mainstay. He not only developed into that, he’s also managed to put together an impressive 7-3 record. The problem was, the best of those wins came against the likes Alejandro Perez & Thomas Almeida. Well, not only did he supplant that by taking out Cub Swanson, he did it by kicking the legs out from under Swanson. If I’m being fair, Swanson didn’t look bad fighting at 135 either. It was impressive enough that no one scoffed when Martinez called out Dominick Cruz. That’s a hell of a jump from where he was entering the event.

BIGGEST FALL IN STOCK

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Keeping in mind that I’m only picking among fighters I believe will be remaining on the roster here, this was a hard spot to figure. No one had a truly disastrous evening. Swanson and Victor Henry were considered, but ultimately I felt compelled to go with Nick Maximov.

Many may dispute that choice, given Maximov suffered a leg injury in the first round and it was gutsy for him to even end up making it to the final bell. However, I’m not seeing a lot of growth out of him from fight to fight. Even before Maximov got hurt, it didn’t feel like he was bringing anything new to the table. Yes, I know he dropped Malkoun, but he was also unable to capitalize on that. I’m not saying anyone should give up on Maximov, but given his youth and lack of experience, I’d think now is when he’d be making big strides. It hasn’t been happening.

SAVED THEIR JOB(S)

Nobody looks at Dusko Todorovic as a blue-chip prospect anymore. Entering the fight with Jordan Wright, Todorovic had dropped three of his previous four, including two first round KO losses. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t favored to beat Wright, but no one would have been shocked at this point if Todorovic was unable to secure the win. Wright did secure a dominant opening round, but Todorovic hung in there and unleashed hell on Wright to open the second, eventually securing a stoppage and holding onto his job in the process. If Todorovic continues to show improved maturity, he could still fulfill his previously high expectations. Even if he doesn’t (and the guess here is he doesn’t) he should be able to carve out a long UFC career.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

A member of the UFC roster ever since the WEC was absorbed into the promotion, Raphael Assuncao has carved out a role as one of the most respected members of the 135 lb division. After all, he entered the contest tied for the third most wins in bantamweight history. That’s also indicative of a long career, and Assuncao entered his fight against Victor Henry on a four-fight losing streak at the age of 40. Knowing the end is nigh, the Brazilian wanted to close out his career with some sort of dignity, throwing everything into his training camp. It paid off. It was the best version of Assuncao we’ve seen in years, showing perfect timing on the counter and securing several takedowns off caught kicks to take a competitive, but clear decision victory. Assuncao may not retire, but he has the option for another fight if he wants… maybe two.

I don’t see the future for Pete Rodriguez being at 170, but his first official UFC win came at that weight class. Then again, he didn’t prove all that much in disposing of Mike Jackson, as anyone who loses to the photographer has been released shortly thereafter. I’d love to see Rodriguez drop to lightweight as he’s tiny for welterweight, but he’s given no indication that’s in the cards.

START TYPING A RESUME

I’ve always had sympathy for Wright given how many haters he has, but I also figured this day would come sooner or later. Given his lack of stamina and athleticism, I believed he would have been better off plying his trade at light heavyweight. The issue with his stamina proved to be the issue this time around. A strong opening round that featured a lot of wrestling completely drained him, leaving him exhausted. Todorovic had his way with him from there, dropping Wright to 2-4 with three consecutive losses. It looks like Wright is done.

Photo by Todd Lussier/Zuffa LLC

Hard to believe Misha Cirkunov hasn’t reached the end of his UFC road. Four consecutive losses is more than enough to get someone a pink slip. A stretch in which he’s won twice over the last nine contests only makes it worse. Cirkunov looked like he was going to be a BIG part of the light heavyweight division at one point. Instead, right as he was being asked to prove he could be a serious player, the wheels came off. At this point, it looks like his chin has completely deteriorated. I’m not even sure he could play gatekeeper in the lower half of the division anymore.

Typically, after the UFC signs someone, they give them three opportunities to pick up a win before cutting them loose. There are exceptions where they let them go after two, typically if the fighter in question is boring or got completely blown out in both contests. Neither of those apply to Brandon Davis, but this is his second stint in the organization and now sits at 2-7 over the course of both frames. There’s a lot of young talent looking to prove themselves at bantamweight. I didn’t mind Davis getting the second chance, but his limitations seem pretty well established. It makes more sense to give someone else those opportunities.

I’m sure there was at least one person in the UFC offices who exclaimed, “FINALLY!” when Rodriguez put Jackson away. All indications were that the UFC was embarrassed he was taking up a roster spot, but they signed him to a contract to fight CM Punk and he hadn’t done anything within the terms of the contract to warrant being released. With the loss, they now have the excuse they were looking for to cut him loose.

BIGGEST WOW MOMENT

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

I loved the submission from Tatsu Taira and Martinez’s stoppage from leg kicks was a masterful display. However, even though I admit those impressed me more, I didn’t say “WOW!” to those in the same way I did for Alonzo Menifield’s brutal finish of Cirkunov. Menifield made no secret he was looking to turn out the lights, launching several hard punches before connecting about ninety seconds into the fight. Even though those are the type of KO’s Menifield is known for, it was his first one like that since 2019. Not that I thought the other choices for Performance Bonuses were bad, but I was shocked to see Menifield didn’t pick one up.

BEST CALLOUT

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

I haven’t been passing this award out much as of late as I tired of trying to make it something. But Joanderson Brito threw out one that makes sense, though I admit it isn’t a matchup I would have put together without being prodded. He needed a dominant win to make it work, but it he delivered.

Dan Ige is on a three-fight losing streak, but each one of those losses have come against some of the best fighters in the division. It would be wise for him to take a step down in competition, but the list of fighters who will purposely ask for a lesser opponents is short. For Brito, Ige represents a clear step up in competition and a way to climb up the ladder in a hurry. By calling out Ige, it gives Ige the perfect opportunity/excuse to take a step back in competition. He’s not in a great position to be turning down callouts as it is anyway. Granted, it took the callout for the fight to make sense, but that’s also what makes it that much better.

RARE FINISHER

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

We’ve seen leg kick finishes before. Edson Barboza has two of them in the UFC. But I think we often get KO’s created by leg kicks confused with actual leg kick finishes. For instance, Santiago Ponzinibbio set up his finish over Neil Magny by taking out the legs, but it was punches that actually put the finishing touches on Magny. It wasn’t the UFC, but many fondly remember the beating Jose Aldo put on Urijah Faber’s legs. However, that fight didn’t involve a stoppage; it went the distance.

Leg kick finishes are more rare than we tend to think of them. Martinez’s finish of Swanson was just the 14th official leg kick stoppage in UFC history. However, the most impressive part of Martinez’s finish is that it came against an established veteran. Barboza’s came over Mike Lullo and Rafaelo Oliveira—not exactly the most glowing of names on Barboza’s resume.

BIGGEST BRAG

Photo by Todd Lussier/Zuffa LLC

I am excited about the future of Tatsuro Taira. He’s only 22 and has the talent to fight for the title someday. In his post-fight interview, he claimed he’s going to remain undefeated up until he claims the flyweight title. That’s hell of a claim. Not impossible; nine have been able to claim the title undefeated since the beginning of the Zuffa era (eleven if you include interim titles). But given the best fighters tend to learn the most following their first loss, I wouldn’t count on it.

I’m not trying to dissuade him from having that attitude; it takes an unreasonable degree of confidence to achieve the types of things champions achieve. All I’m saying is expect him to lose a fight or two before he becomes the best version of himself. Regardless, you’d be foolish not to keep a close watch on him.

BONUS NUMBERS

With half of the participants on this card having four or less fights in the UFC, there wasn’t an extended history of Performance Bonuses. Thus, after Cub Swanson’s nine career bonuses, the most bonuses anyone else had was two. One of those was Raphael Assuncao, who also happened to have the longest amount of time since he last picked one up out of those who did have a past bonus, that coming in November 2017. In terms of those who have never been awarded a bonus, Araujo extended her streak to eight fights. The bonuses proved to be the first for both Wright and Taira while it was just the second for Todorovic and Martinez.

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The UFC’s former light heavyweight champ, Jon Jones, is a strong betting favorite over the promotion’s former heavyweight king, Stipe Miocic.

It has been reported that the UFC’s former light heavyweight champ, Jon Jones, will finally make his heavyweight debut at UFC 282 in December against the former king of the big men, Stipe Miocic. We have betting odds for this long awaited matchup.

Online gambling site Sportsbetting.ag has Jones listed as a -200 bering favorite. Dropping a $ 100 on that line could win you back a profit of $ 50, plus your hundred bucks back of course. The former UFC heavyweight champ is being offered up as a +170 underdog. Throwing a bill at Stipe at those odds could turn that $ 100 into $ 270 altogether. The website states that this fight must take place before December 31, 2022 for action. No prop bets for this contest have been released yet.

Miocic hasn’t fought since suffering a knockout loss in his rematch with Francis N’Gannou at UFC 260 back in March of 2021. Nonetheless, Stipe is still the UFC’s #2 ranked heavyweight. Jon hasn’t competed inside of the Octagon since defending his light heavyweight belt against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February of 2020. It’s hard to say what to expect out of either man in this potential matchup, so do you think the betting line should be wider, tighter, or is perfect right where it’s at?

Check out the betting odds for Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, courtesy of Sportsbetting.ag:

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The controversial influencer met with UFC welterweight champ Leon Edwards, UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling, and UFC star Sean O’Malley. 

Several UFC fighters have been pictured with Andrew Tate, the disgraced influencer banned from social media platforms for his misogynistic and other problematic views.

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, UFC bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling, and rising star Sean O’Malley were among the fighters who met with Tate and his brother, Tristan, in the United Arab Emirates. The aforementioned fighters are currently staying in the Emirates to prepare for their upcoming match-ups at UFC 280 next week.

Edwards was pictured with Tate at a restaurant in Dubai while Sterling posted several pictures of himself hanging out with Tate at a party in Dubai on Saturday. “Top G’s never die. Good chopping it up with you fellas,” Sterling tweeted before referring to criticism of Tate as “fake” in several follow-up tweets.

On Sunday, O’Malley posted an Instagram story of himself and Tate with a Lamborghini in the backdrop. The post was captioned, “Top Fucking Gs.”

Tate was accompanied by his brother Tristan, as well as Tam Khan, the owner of the Dubai-based TK MMA gym and self-proclaimed “pioneer of MMA in the UAE.” Khan has previously met with Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov and invited Irish crime lord Daniel Kinahan to visit his gym in Dubai earlier this year. Both Kinahan and Kadyrov are under US sanctions.

As for Tate, the British-American former kickboxer rose to fame by styling himself as a self-help guru who offered tips and advice for young men looking to attract women and improve their lives. However, he has also been accused of “extreme misogyny” by domestic abuse charities, and is considered dangerous due to his ability to radicalize young men and boys.

An investigation by The Observer showed that some of the widely shared content from Tate include videos of him saying rape victims are to blame for their own assaults and that women are the property of men. He also called an ex-girlfriend who accused him of abuse a “dumb hoe.”

In April 2022, Tate’s mansion was raided by Romanian authorities after the U.S. embassy alerted them that an American woman might be held at the property against her will. The investigation was later expanded to include human trafficking and rape allegations. While the investigation is ongoing, no person has been charged with a crime.

Tate was permanently banned from major social media platforms in August 2022. TikTok claimed his account violated their policies on “content that attacks, threatens, incites violence against, or otherwise dehumanizes an individual or a group” while YouTube cited violations such as hate speech.

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“If he connects with Silva he’s going to knock him out. If he touches Silva he’s going down.”

Boxer-turned-promoter Oscar De La Hoya believes underdog Jake Paul will add another UFC legend to his highlight reel when he takes on mixed martial arts icon and former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a boxing match on October 29.

Silva is considered one of the greatest strikers of all time and has shown, even at 47, that he can still dazzle in the boxing ring as evidenced by recent victories against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz, defeating the former via decision and the latter via knockout.

However, as crafty a veteran Silva is, De La Hoya doesn’t think ‘The Spider’s’ chin will hold up against the much younger, more explosive fighter in Paul who demonstrated his knockout power in 2021 with highlight-reel victories against Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren, defeating both men via KO.

“That’s a good fight,” De La Hoya told Inside Fighting in a recent interview (h/t MMA News). “I’m gonna go with Jake Paul. Yeah, I’m gonna go with Jake Paul just because he seems like he’s getting into the rhythm of things. He doesn’t have too many fights. He loves boxing, is a hard worker, and has a lot of power. If he connects with Silva he’s going to knock him out. If he touches Silva he’s going down.”

“Look, where everybody’s going based on what Silva did to Julio César Chávez Jr. and Tito Ortiz. Come on. I mean, Chávez Jr. Wasn’t even 20% of himself. Okay? Conditioning-wise, physically just wasn’t him,”

Paul vs. Silva is scheduled to take place on Oct. 29 at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

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