Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz would like to box Jake Paul.

UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz has expressed interest in a boxing match with Jake Paul despite considering himself an ‘amateur’ in boxing.

Ortiz made his pro boxing debut last year (Sept. 11, 2021) against fellow UFC legend Anderson Silva on the undercard of Triller: Holyfield vs. Belfort. He was knocked out in the first round.

Although his debut didn’t go as planned, Ortiz hopes to return to the boxing ring at some point in the future and would gladly welcome a fight with Paul, who holds knockout victories over former MMA champions Ben Askren (ONE and Bellator) and Tyron Woodley (UFC).

“I would love to,” Ortiz told podcaster Chris Van Villet when asked if he would like to fight Paul (h/t MMA News). “That’d be amazing. That would be fun. Once again, I have an 0-1 record, he has a [5-0] record. I still feel like I’m an amateur in boxing. I do a lot in mixed martial arts, but I still feel myself as an amateur but I’m competitive. I’m very competitive.”

Paul, 25, is on the lookout for his next opponent after his Aug. 6 matchup with Hasim Rahman Jr. was canceled at the last minute due to weight issues. He is 5-0 in boxing with victories over fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib, former NBA player Nate Robinson, and the fighters mentioned above in Askren and Woodley.

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

Fight 2 Win 207 was headlined by a match between two elite athletes who may very well meet again later this year, at ADCC 2022. Roosevelt Sousa and Yuri Simoes will be competing at different weightclasses at the event, with the former weighing over 99kg and the latter under it. Regardless, both men are no stranger to the absolute division and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them competing there too.

At F2W 207, Sousa managed to overcome the experience advantage that two-time ADCC world champion Simoes had over him in order to win by decision in a close match. Both men had their opportunities to finish the fight over the course of eight minutes, including both of them attacking the other’s legs from 50/50, but in the end it was Sousa’s work off his back that got him the nod from the judges.

Full results for the event can be found here.

First champions for 2022/23 crowned at Abu Dhabi Grand Slam tour Rio

The 2022/23 season of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tour got underway last weekend in Rio de Janeiro, and the first winners have now taken home their prizes. There were a number of expected winners alongside some athletes who surprised the crowd in outperforming their peers. In the women’s divisions, Gabrieli Pessanha and Ana Rodrigues both put in solid showings and walked away with gold in their respective weightclasses.

In the men’s divisions, Yatan Bueno won the heaviest weightclass in impressive fashion while Yuri Hendrex emerged victorious on the other end of the spectrum. There were also several competitors who came out of the event looking like ones to watch in the immediate future of the gi world, like Lucas Protasio and Jansen Ramos, while Zayed Alektheeri was the only medallist to come from outside of Brazil.

Full results for the event can be found here.

‘Saved by the Bell’ star Mario Lopez wins gold at IBJJF Phoenix Open

Mario Lopez is best known for his work as an actor, particularly as the popular wrestler AC Slater on ‘Saved by the Bell’. What many people may not know however is that Lopez was actually a wrestler in his youth, and has been deeply connected to the martial arts world since a young age. He’s not just a grappler either, as he also has experience in both Karate and Boxing over the years.

Around 2017, Lopez found Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has never looked back. He was promoted to blue belt in 2018 by Robert Hill of Gracie Barra Glendale and has competed and won at that level before, making it to the fourth stripe on his belt. Most recently Lopez competed at Master 4 in the Lightweight blue belt division of the IBJJF Phoenix Open and managed to win gold, although he has said that this will be the last time he competes.

Lineup finalised for first Enyo Grappling event

Enyo grappling will make history on August the 20th when the UK’s first all-female promotion stages it’s inaugural event. The main event will see Draig’s top female competitor Ashley Bendle take on a black belt from Roger Gracie Academy Headquarters, Nina Navid. While this pair might be leading the way, they’re by no means the only talented grapplers on a very busy card.

Another black belt match between Chelsea Leah and Rose El Sharouni will also be taking place, while Polaris veteran Abbie O’Toole faces off against Fightzone brown belt Magdalena Maria. Not only will Enyo grappling be providing a great opportunity for top female grapplers like them, but the entire undercard is stacked with blue belts and kids matches between up-and-coming women and girls as well.

Quick Hits

• A Russian MMA fighter actually broke his own arm while attempting to buggy choke an opponent in a fight on the regional circuit.
• In a strange turn of events, Nate Diaz has decided to endorse BJ Penn in his run for governor of Hawaii.
• A Mongolian Olympic Judo champion, Naidangiin Tüvshinbayar, has been jailed for the murder of one of his childhood friends.
• A local BJJ black belt, Ro Malabanan, was caught on film taking down and restraining a suspect in an assault in New York City.

Technique Corner

Inside trip set-up

Two Omoplata defenses

Triangle Choke set-up from bottom side control using the lapel

Meme of the Week

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Zane Simon & Eddie Mercado are here to breakdown this Saturday’s, August 6th, UFC Vegas 59: Santos vs Hill Fight Night event. The guys will have hot takes, possible next fights, as well as reactions to the overall event.

Bloody Elbow fight expert, Zane Simon is here, joined by his cohort, Eddie Mercado. We recorded for you on Saturday, August 6th, 2022, with a breakdown of the UFC Vegas 59: Santos vs Hill & Luque vs Neal now dwindled down 10-bout Fight Night event; which took place at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

June M. Williams

The guys have hot takes, possible next fights, as well as reactions to the overall event in the player above, or they can be caught on our Bloody Elbow Presents YouTube Channel or any platform in our BE Presents Podcast Network.

For all the results, reactions and a plethora of details about the main card, and plenty of tidbits about all the prelims, be sure to hit play on the show to hear what our fight experts have to say!

Overall, this now dwindled down 10-bout card saw four exciting first round finishes, seven thrilling KO/TKO’s, three sweet submissions, and surprisingly no decisions. Rounding things out, our fighters who were awarded for putting forth BONUS efforts included — FOTN: Thiago Santos vs. Jamahal Hill. POTN: Bryan Battle, Geoff Neal, and Mohammed Usman.

Here’s a look at the UFC Vegas 59: Santos vs Hill & Luque vs Neal fight card with full results & updated fight records:

The main event was scheduled for five rounds, with the remaining bouts scheduled for three rounds each. | Official UFC Scorecards

ESPN/ESPN+ MAIN CARD | SAT. AUG 6
10. Jamahal Hill (11-1) DEF. Thiago Santos (22-11) — via TKO (strikes) at 2:31 of Round 4

9. Geoff Neal (15-4) DEF. Vicente Luque (21-9) — via KO (punches) at 2:01 of Round 3

8. TUF Tournament Championship — Mohammed Usman (8-2) DEF. Zac Pauga (5-1) — via KO (left hook) at 0:36 of Round 2

7. TUF Tournament Championship — Juliana Miller (3-1) DEF. Brogan Walker (7-3) — via TKO (strikes) at 3:57 of Round 3

6. Sergey Spivak (15-3) DEF. Augusto Sakai (15-5) — via TKO (punches) at 3:42 of Round 2

5. Terrance McKinney (13-4) DEF. Erick Gonzalez (14-7) — via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:17 of Round 1

ESPN/ESPN+ PRELIMS

4. Michal Oleksiejczuk (17-5) DEF. Sam Alvey (33-18) — via TKO (punches) at 1:56 of Round 1

3. Bryan Battle (8-1) DEF. Takashi Sato (16-6) — via KO (head kick) at 0:44 of Round 1

2. Cory McKenna (7-2) DEF. Miranda Granger (7-3) — via submission (Von Flue choke) at 1:03 of Round 2

1. Mayra Bueno Silva (9-2) DEF. Stephanie Egger (7-3) — via submission (armbar) at 1:17 of Round 1

Be sure to follow Zane – @TheZaneSimon & Eddie – @TheEddieMercado; and follow @BloodyElbow on twitter as well, for all the latest in MMA happenings.

If you enjoy our wide variety of shows, 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: SoundCloud, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, OverCast, Player FM, & Amazon Music – For previous episodes of the show, check out our playlists on any of our BE Presents channels.

Join us again for another episode of ‘6th Round’ next week on Saturday, August 13th, for UFC SAN DIEGO: Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz:

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On the UFC Vegas 59 prelims, Bryan Battle landed a brutal head kick knockout on Takashi Sato, Sam Alvey got stopped again, and Mayra Bueno Silva and Cory McKenna caught submissions.

We got nothing but finishes on the UFC Vegas 59 prelims, including a set of subs, a blistering 44-second head kick knockout, and a complete battering of a longtime vet.

Closing out the preliminary card, Michal Oleksiejczuk ran right through Sam Alvey, unloading haymakers and dropping him twice to get the TKO in just under two-minutes. Alvey didn’t really stand a chance out there. The overwhelming pressure never slowed down, as Oleksiejczuk seemed to be on a mission for a quick finish. Michal looked darn good here on his move down to middleweight.

Before that, Bryan Battle banked the most impressive finish of his career with a sensational 44-second head kick knockout of Takashi Sato. This head kick was perfectly placed, sending Sato unconscious upon impact. In his post-fight interview, “Pooh Bear” called for matches with either Ian Garry, or Bryan Barberena.

The UFC got its first-ever women’s Von Flue choke thanks to Cory McKenna submitting Miranda Granger in the second round. McKenna’s gameplan seemed to be planting Granger on the ground, and her execution was spot on. The 23-year-old Cory has improved her UFC record to 2-1.

Opening up UFC Vegas 59, Mayra Bueno Silva defeated Stephanie Egger by way of armbar in the first round. There was little bit of controversy here as the referee did not actually see the tap, but took Bueno Silva’s word for it. Egger never admitted to tapping out, so the referee then polled the judges, and was able to confirm that Stephanie did in fact tap.

Prelims:

Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Sam Alvey by TKO at 1:56 of round 1: Middleweight

Oleksiejczuk went right after Alvey with huge haymakers. It wasn’t long before a big bomb landed flush and floored Sam. Oleksiejczuk took top position and kept punishing Alvey with nasty ground and pound. Somehow, ALvey stood back to his feet, but another heater came flying in to send Sam crashing back down to the canvas. At that point the referee had seen enough and stopped the match.

Bryan Battle def. Takashi Sato by KO at :44 of round 1: Welterweight

Well, the one didn’t last very long. The fight starts and the men began feeling each other out with probing strikes. Then KABOOM! Battle uncorks an insane head kick that landed on the money! Sato was out on impact, but a couple of followup strikes landed before the ref had a chance to step in and stop it. WOW!

Cory McKenna def. Miranda Granger by submission (Von Flue choke) at 1:03 of round 2: Strawweight

McKenna was the aggressor right out of the gate. She clinched up with Granger, and was able to secure a double leg takedown up against the cage. As soon as Granger stood up, McKenna took her right back down. From the top of half guard, McKenna landed several quality punches, before ultimately passing into side control. The round ended with McKenna squeezing on an arm triangle.

McKenna caught a kick early in the second round, and used the moment as an entry into a takedown. Granger wrapped her arm around McKenna’s head, but all that did was give McKenna a chance to lock up a Von Flue choke. The squeeze was on and Granger frantically tapped out.

Mayra Bueno Silva def. Stephanie Egger by submission (Armbar) at 1:17 of round 1: Bantamweight

Egger went for a head and arm throw early on, and despite almost giving up her back, she was able to get on top. Bueno Silva angled for an armbar, and was able to get full extension. She let go of the hold, and although the ref didn’t see the tap, he still stopped the match. The referee consulted with the ringside judges to confirm the tap.

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UFC Vegas 59 has just ten fights.

UFC Vegas 59’s bout order has been reduced and reshuffled.

A pair of fights have been moved from today’s show to next Saturday’s UFC San Diego card. The first is a prelim bout between Jason Witt and Josh Quinlan, which the UFC explained was due to a USADA sample from Quinlan that caught the attention of the Nevada commission.

UFC was notified by USADA that a recent urine sample from Josh Quinlan indicated the presence of a small amount of the M3 metabolite of dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT). While not a violation under UFC anti-doping program rules, Nevada State Athletic Commission has ruled that Quinlan is not cleared to fight. As a result, his bout against Jason Witt has been canceled from tonight’s event.

So Quinlan didn’t fail a drug test, but Nevada didn’t clear Quinlan to compete. MMA Fighting confirmed that the fight has been rescheduled for next week.

The other postponed matchup is a main card fight between women’s flyweights Priscila Cachoeira and Ariane Lipski. This comes after Lipski badly missed weight on Friday, and the commission wouldn’t clear her to compete after she was hospitalized. Combate’s Evy Rodrigues has more on Lipski’s camp, which sounded extraordinarily difficult given she had Covid.

With just four fights now slated for the preliminary card, UFC Vegas 59’s start time has been pushed back to 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT. The main card still begins at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT, with Terrance McKinney vs. Erick Gonzalez pushed up to the main card opener.

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Flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo was not impressed by Brandon Moreno at UFC 277.

The UFC flyweight champion looks forward to unifying his title against the new interim title-holder. After witnessing Brandon Moreno’s win over Kai Kara-France at UFC 277, Deiveson Figueiredo was not impressed by what he watched and believes his opponent will be nervous ahead of their fourth fight.

In an interview with Ag Fight, Figueiredo explained why he did not enjoy Moreno’s performance at UFC 277. Furthermore, Deiveson also shared some insights as to why the Brazilian thinks he will be the favorite when he and Brandon meet for the fourth time in the Octagon.

“I saw no quality in his game. I saw the same guy brawling with Kara-France. He gets desperate when he’s striking. He can’t take a shot, It’s hard for Moreno to study me. He sees me as an aggressive guy, who goes for the knockout. In my last fight, I was calmer. strategic and that make it difficult for him. I’m sure he’ll be really worried in the next one. He knows I’m a different guy every time. They can expect a patient guy, who will try to control the fight and then at the right time, I will knock him out.”

Still healing from hand injuries that prevented Deiveson from competing ever since his win over Brandon in January, the Brazilian hopes to face Moreno again in January of 2023. Should things go according to plan, Figueiredo wishes that the UFC can give him the opportunity to have the fight take place in Brazil.

“I want to fight at home, while feeling that warmth from the Brazilian fans. The crowd chanting ‘Uh, vai morrer’. I want to give them a show. I’d love that. I hope the fight happens in Brazil. I’ll ask for the fight to happen in January. Until then, my weight will be in a better place. Right now, I’m way above the limit. I’m coming back from some injuries. I hope the UFC understand that books the fight for January in Brazil.”

In his last outing, Figueiredo (21-2-1) defeated Moreno via unanimous decision, back in January. Before that, the Brazilian got submitted by Brandon in June 2021, In their first encounter, the pair fought all the way to a majority draw, in December 2020.

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Hasim Rahman Jr. wanted to prove a point, only for it to backfire on him.

Saturday night was supposed to feature the Hasim Rahman Jr. vs. Jake Paul boxing match at Madison Square Garden. But as we all know, that bout has been called off after Rahman’s weight issues and a lot of back-and-forth about the 205-pound limit.

In an attempt to clear his name and prove a point, Rahman Jr. stepped on the scales on Friday night, the day of their scheduled weigh-ins. He decided to stage his own weigh-ins at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn to show that he could make the 205-pound mark.

Unfortunately for him, his attempts turned out to be futile. As you can see in the video below, the 31-year-old fighter tipped the scales at 206.6 pounds, which was still over the limit.

Of course, this recent mishap won’t fly without a reaction from “The Problem Child.”

Rahman Jr. stepped in as a replacement for Tommy Fury, who was barred from entering the United States due to visa issues. The bout was subsequently scrapped after Team Rahman allegedly requested a 215-pound catchweight, which Paul and his team understandably declined.

Scheduled to co-headline the supposed event was a featherweight unification bout between Amanda Serrano and Brenda Carbajal.

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The UFC star is backing the former UFC champion in the gubernatorial race to determine the next governor of Hawaii.

BJ Penn appears to be gaining support from his fellow fighters in his quest to become the next governor of Hawaii.

The latest fighter to throw his weight behind the former champion is Nate Diaz, who, despite being unsure what government office Penn was running for, encouraged listeners to donate to his gubernatorial campaign during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour.

“I just talked to BJ Penn earlier,” Diaz told Ariel Helwani on the show. “Shoutout to BJ Penn. Let’s all vote for BJ Penn to be…uh…governor of Hawaii. Let’s all donate to my guy BJ Penn. He is doing fundraisers right now or some shit like that. It don’t matter—I’m with BJ Penn.”

Penn officially announced his intention to run for governor of Hawaii as Republican alongside four other GOP candidates in April with the aim of replacing incumbent Democratic Governor David Ige, who is term-limited and ineligible to run for a third term in office.

Penn joined the GOP after finding his political fervor during the pandemic. The former fighter spoke out against mask mandates and vaccine restrictions, promising to lift them if elected governor. He has since voiced his support for the second amendment following the Robb Elementary School shooting while also announcing himself as “for life” in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Despite Penn’s inexperience and lack of campaign goals or policy framework, his decision to run for office sparked increased interest in the gubernatorial race. A recent Civil Beat/Hawaii News Now poll puts Penn in a close second to former Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona with a significant percentage of undecideds, suggesting that the former UFC champion could win the Republican nomination in the coming weeks.

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Gilbert Burns believes Conor McGregor would get absolutely mauled at welterweight.

Gilbert Burns thinks it would be a mistake for Conor McGregor to return to the UFC as a welterweight, advising ‘The Notorious’ to stick to lightweight unless he wants to get mauled at 170 pounds.

McGregor is 2-1 at welterweight with wins against Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone, but neither of those fighters had any real success at that weight class and spent most of their careers at 155 pounds.

When it comes to the top welterweights such as Burns, Usman, and Chimaev, ‘Durinho’ thinks ‘we’d just destroy Conor’ and that it wouldn’t be fair to match him up with someone in the top five.

“He’s not a welterweight but if he wants to fight at welterweight, I’d love to beat the s*** out of Conor,” Burns told MMA Fighting in a recent interview. “I think he’s not going to take that punch. I’m not even talking about grappling cause that’s not fair. [I’d] just take him down and maul him but a fight with Conor, it’s a win-win for me. I’m going to beat him up and I’m going to get a ton of crazy money. I’m not even calling for that fight cause it’s not fair. I think he’s a 55-pounder, [if] he’s at 170, he can’t take those punches. He cannot handle that wrestling.”

“If you’re talking about the top five in the world, everybody hits hard except Colby [Covington] but everybody can wrestle,” Burns continued. “Colby can wrestle. Colby and Conor is not fun cause Colby would just outwrestle him. Kamaru [Usman], he can hit hard and he can wrestle. Khamzat [Chimaev], he can hit hard and he can wrestle. Leon Edwards, he can hit very hard, good striking and can wrestle. I hit hard and can wrestle so don’t say you’re a welterweight.

“You can’t handle the top five guys in that division. You can fight a couple of guys at 170 but he’s not a welterweight. If he really thinks [he is], try some top five [fighters] in that division. I think it’s not fair. We’d just destroy Conor.”

McGregor has put on considerable weight during his year-long hiatus, with the Irishman looking almost unrecognizable in some of his photos. It’s thought that McGregor now weighs around 190 pounds, with SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh confirming his prized student is much bigger than he used to be.

McGregor is still recovering from the broken leg suffered in his TKO loss to Dustin Poirier last July, with the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion expected to return to the Octagon by late 2022 or early next year. He is currently unranked at welterweight.

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Dana White questioned the official explanation for Jake Paul’s latest fight cancellation.

Last week Jake Paul saw his scheduled debut at the historic Madison Square Garden go down in flames when his promotion company, MVP, called off his fight with Hasim Rahman Jr.

In a press release MVP claimed they were forced to cancel the fight after Rahman told Paul’s team that he had no intention of weighing in at the agreed upon limit of 200 lbs. MVP further claimed that it had offered a weight limit increase up to 205 lbs, but that Rahman claimed he would weigh in at 215 lbs instead.

UFC President Dana White, who is no friend of Paul’s, didn’t buy that official explanation. Instead, White claimed that Paul cancelled the event due to poor ticket sales.

“I think they sold under a million dollars in tickets and it cost $ 500,000 to turn the f—ng lights on at MSG,” claimed White earlier this week. “That’s what I think. Not to mention the fact that hotel rooms in New York and transportation and everything else is very expensive.”

MMA Fighting reached out to Madison Square Garden to ask if there was any validity to White’s claim. According to the venue, White is wrong in his assessment of what went down.

“To be clear, sales were strong heading into fight week — the cancellation was not based on ticket sales,” said the MSG representative. “This fight was projected to be in the top 10 of highest grossing boxing events at MSG in the past 15 years.”

The MSG spokesperson added that the venue is eager to work with Paul again, despite this cancellation.

“MVP has been great partners and we’re looking forward to working with them again soon.”

When White touted his conspiracy theory on the fight cancellation he also took a dig at Paul’s business partner Nakisa Bidarian (a former chief financial officer for the UFC).

“I will say this: just because you’re an accountant here, doesn’t mean you know what the f—k goes on here, and doesn’t mean you can run a fight promotion company,” said White — referring to Bidarian.

Bidarian clapped back at White, stating that the Paul vs. Rahman event had already sold more tickets than Ryan Garcia’s latest fight at LA’s Staples Center and that his event was tracking to be one of the top-ten gates at MSG since 2005.

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