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In the fifth episode of UFC 305 Embedded, Dricus du Plessis hangs with the South African rugby team, the athletes answer questions, Israel Adesanya reacts to presser trash talk, and more.

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The Craig Jones Invitational live stream online will feature Friday’s action from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

The Craig Jones Invitational schedule for the first day is as follows:

Friday’s action:

Over 80kg first round:

Nicky Rod vs. Max Gimenis

Owen Livesey vs. Mahamed Aly

Adam Bradley vs. Kyle Boehm

Luke Rockhold vs. Pat Downey

William Tackett vs. Joao Gabriel Rocha

Fellipe Andrew vs. Daniel Kerkvliet

Inacio Santos vs. Pedro Alex

Victor Hugo vs. Lucas Kanard

Under 80kg first round:

Tye Ruotolo vs. Jason Nolf

Roberto Jimenez vs Levi Jones-Leary

Lucas Barbosa vs. Kenta Iwamoto

Jozef Chen vs. Andy Varela

Nicky Ryan vs. Andrew Tackett

Magid Hage vs. Eoghan O’Flanagan

Renato Canuto vs. Tommy Langaker

Kade Ruotolo vs. Matheus Diniz

Over 80kg quarterfinals:

TBD

Under 80kg quarterfinals:

TBD

The Craig Jones Invitational live stream online will begin at 6 p.m. ET. Saturday’s action will be at 9 p.m. ET.

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Gordon Ryan may rub some people the wrong way, but it’s impossible to deny the credentials he’s established as one of the best grapplers in history.

That’s according to UFC veteran and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Kenny Florian, who is preparing to call Ryan’s pair of superfights at the ADCC World Championships on Saturday and Sunday from Las Vegas. In rare back-to-back matches over two days, Ryan faces longtime rival Felipe Pena and then takes on 2022 ADCC champion Yuri Simoes.

Ryan’s willingness to take on a daunting challenge like that after missing a significant amount of time in his career while dealing with a debilitating stomach disorder only speaks to the résumé he’s attempting to put together as the greatest of all-time.

“Gordon Ryan at his best, when he’s healthy, he’s the Michael Jordan of submission wrestling, whether you like it or not,” Florian told MMA Fighting. “He’s just that good. He was a phenom when he was younger. He had a commitment unlike any other person out there. He has just so much to his game. There’s so many ways that he can win. Everything from his defense to his offense, he’s as perfect of a grappler as you’re going to get.

“He knows how to compete when the lights are brightest. Everyone wants to see him either win or lose. When you’re that good in this sport and you talk a little trash like Gordon Ryan, people are going to want to see you compete. He has two big challenges ahead of him. With his health issues, it makes it an interesting wrinkle, for sure.”

While Ryan’s activity has slowed down considerably due to his health issues, the now 29-year-old submission specialist still maintains a remarkable list of wins on his record, with his last noted loss coming all the way back in 2018 in a match against Vinny Magalhaes.

Since that time, Ryan has rattled off a ridiculous amount of wins in succession while taking out champion after champion to help him truly earn his nickname as “The King.”

There’s no metric that can be measured to truly define anybody across sports as the greatest, but Florian believes in his estimation that Ryan has done more than enough to cement himself in that position when it comes to submission grappling.

“There’s no question about it,” Florian said of Ryan’s stake as the best ever. “I think the proof is in the pudding based on what he’s accomplished at this stage of the game. You have to have him as the GOAT. To me, there’s three grapplers that really stand out, all of them ADCC world champions — Marcelo Garcia, Roger Gracie, and Gordon Ryan, and Gordon Ryan being the latest iteration of those gentlemen.

“The sport evolves. You learn from those that came before you. We stand on the shoulders of giants. I think Gordon Ryan and his coach John Danaher, of course one of the best coaches in the world, knows how to learn from those guys, knows how to apply successful techniques, successful strategy, successful training methods, and has improved upon that a lot. We have Gordon Ryan because of it.”

Of course, it’s impossible to ignore that off the mats, Ryan has become one of the most polarizing figures in the sport thanks to his willingness to speak his mind and talk trash to his opponents, which isn’t typically the case in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community.

Ryan’s brash attitude earned him plenty of attention, but also a few enemies who don’t particularly love the way he handles himself.

In a way, Florian feels like that only adds to Ryan’s mystique and also creates an audience with some fans backing his every move and others constantly rooting for his downfall.

Florian expects those emotions to bubble up a lot this week with the ADCC World Championships kicking off, but even more with Ryan preparing to grapple his old rival Pena, who actually holds two wins over Ryan in the past.

Add in Ryan’s health woes in recent years and Florian knows the drama surrounding his return will reach a fever pitch by his first match on Saturday.

“Gordon Ryan isn’t 100 percent or hasn’t been,” Florian said. “On certain days, he feels great. On certain days, he doesn’t. So I’m certainly curious to see what kind of Gordon Ryan we see. This potentially opens the door for someone to come in here and get an upset.

“[And] just based on their history, the fact that [Ryan and Pena] really do not like each other, it’s what makes it exciting.”

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Welcome to the latest edition of Missed Fists, where we shine a light on fights from across the globe that may have been overlooked in these hectic times where it seems like there’s an MMA show every other day.

Why, hello there! It’s been a while my avid Fisties, but I’m excited to be back. I haven’t graced Missed Fists in a long time, but with Alexander K. Lee out on vacation, I selflessly offered to step in and take a trip down memory lane. Things are a little different since the last time I was here, but the core concept remains the same: Hey y’all, look at this cool stuff!

So let’s look at some cool stuff!

And because I’m in charge this week, I’m going to cheat. Usually AK doesn’t opt for UFC adjacent content because this is about regional MMA, after all. But I love me some Contender Series, and on the first episode of the season this week, fans got to see one of the very best prospects in all of MMA show out.

Lone’er Kavanagh is only 25 years old and a lot of very smart people expect very big things out of this young man. It’s easy to see why.

An Tuan Ho is a good prospect in his own right, yet it took Kavanagh little more than two minutes to figure out the timing and lamp him.

Kavanagh has TV star looks (seriously, he kinda looks like Tanner Buchanan from Cobra Kai), unreal power, and a bit of something special around him. Many people expected him to go win the Cage Warriors belt but then the UFC called, and if he keeps delivering performances like this, the talk will turn to when he’s fighting for the UFC title instead.

Wender Batista vs. Ricardo Nogueira

MMA debuts always fascinate me because it’s a hurricane of emotions washing over you before you make the walk for the first time. Even the most confident people will have some doubts, as for the first time, the rubber is truly about to meet the road. What if you actually suck, and embarrass yourself and your family and no one will ever love you again because you did so poorly?

Or, what if you’re Wender Batista?

Batista made his MMA debut against Ricardo Nogueira at Sinop Fighting Combat 2 in Sinop, Brazil, and you can hardly dream of a better outcome. Despite being massively disadvantaged when it comes to experience, Batista showed poise in his first fight, before landing a beautiful head kick that dropped Nogueira. He then finished the job with a series of savage punches that left Nogueira folded up on top of himself like Mirko Cro Cop after the first Gabriel Gonzaga fight.

Not bad for your first time.

Ngoc Tin Huynh vs. Tuyet Dung Phan Ngoc

Not all debuts go as well, though. Case in point, when Ngoc Tin Huynh made his debut in June at Lion Championship 14, he lost a unanimous decision. But the young Vietnamese fighter didn’t let that keep him down, and at Lion Championship 16 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, his sophomore effort went substantially better.

Ngoc Tin Huynh opened the contest with a sneak high kick that almost finished the job immediately, but Tuyet Dung Phan Ngoc covered up and retreated, allowing Ngoc Tin Huynh to knock him out in just 13 seconds.

Somewhere out there, Conor McGregor is thinking fondly about when he used to fight.

Langston Sykes vs. Anson Swindle

But while Ngoc Tin Huynh was undeniably excited to redeem himself from his unfortunate debut with a great KO, there might not be a man alive who was happier this week than Langston Sykes.

Sykes fought Anson Swindle in the co-main event of Island Fights 84, and heading into the contest, Sykes was 0-4 in his professional MMA career. That kind of repeated losing can wear on a person, and Sykes was able to exorcise those demons with one of the most aesthetically pleasing knockouts you’ll see this month.

The combination, the clean right hand to finish him off, the way Swindle’s head snaps around and then he falls perfectly between the ropes, landing on the middle one like he’s about to get 619ed by Rey Mysterio. *Chef’s kiss.*

Ilzat Assiyev vs. Abylaikhan Zholdasbayev

But Missed Fists doesn’t just celebrate the knockouts in regional MMA. We’re also all about the wonkiest and rarest submissions. Regional MMA is great for subs because the disparity in fighters can be vast, so you get all sorts of things that are extremely rare in UFC or PFL.

To that end, one of my favorite submissions is the Suloev stretch as it’s very cool and also brutal, as Abylaikhan Zholdasbayev found out.

Zholdasbayev faced Ilzat Assiyev in the opening bout of NAIZA 65 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and the poor man got run over. Assiyev scored an early takedown, moved to mount, and battered Zholdasbayev until finally delivering a merciful end with a Suloev stretch. It’s not often the Suloev is considered mercy, but in this case, it was — though Zholdasbayev may not walk right for a while.

Qiulun vs. Bayanduuren Gantumur

On the topic of fun submissions, former Contender Series and Road to UFC fighter Qiulun got back in the win column with a nasty ninja choke against Bayanduuren Gantumur at JCK Fight Night 90 in Luliang, China.

Gantumur opened the second round with a naked shot at Qiulun’s legs and paid the price for his mistake, as “Tibetan Knight” quickly locked in the fight-ending choke. Gantumur fought valiantly to survive and break the grip, but ultimately couldn’t find a way out and was forced to tap before going to sleep.

And that’s it for this week, Fisties! Honestly, fairly light as far as regional highlights I would consider great, but still, some pretty fun ones. And as always, a big thanks to @Barrelelapierna for their weekly lists of the best KOs and submissions, and to @Grabaka_Hitman for uploading many of the clips you see here. Give them a follow and chip in on Patreon if you can.

If you know of a recent fight or event that you think may have been overlooked, or a promotion that could use some attention, please let us know on Twitter (I’m not calling it X) — @AlexanderKLee — using the hashtag #MissedFists.

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At the UFC 305 official weigh-ins, all 24 fighters on Saturday’s fight card step on the scale Friday evening in Perth, Australia.

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and former UFC champion Israel Adesanya square off in the main event. Du Plessis and Adesanya can weigh no more than 185 pounds, the maximum limit for a middleweight championship bout.

The UFC 305 official weigh-in video will be at 6 p.m. ET.

The UFC 305 ceremonial weigh-in video will be at 11 p.m. ET.

Check out UFC 305 weigh-in results below.

Main card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)

Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya

Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg

Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker

Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates

Prelims (ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)

Junior Tafa vs. Valter Walker

Joshua Culibao vs. Ricardo Ramos

Casey O’Neill vs. Luana Santos

Jack Jenkins vs. Herbert Burns

Prelims (ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET)

Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes

Song Kenan vs. Ricky Glenn

Stewart Nicoll vs. Jesus Aguilar

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Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya kept thing somewhat respectful throughout the early stages of UFC 305 fight week. That changed in a hurry at Friday’s press conference.

In an emotional scene that saw a furious Adesanya break out into tears, the two middleweights erupted in an explosive back-and-forth over the same “true African champion” debate that initially ignited their rivalry. After Adesanya responded in the affirmative to a question about whether he’d take the belt back to Africa if he dethrones du Plessis, the champ jumped into the fray with a swipe at Adesanya’s childhood, referencing a 2020 ESPN feature in which Adesanya recalled not learning how to bathe himself until age 8 “when he insisted he no longer needed the aid of the family’s domestic servants.”

“Are you taking the servants with you when you’re going back [to Africa with the belt]? Are you taking the servants with you if you’re going back?” du Plessis asked.

“What the f*ck are you even on about?” Adesanya responded.

“My God, it’s obviously a see and tell. We can see that. What do you mean? You’re saying that I made [the build-up to UFC 305] about culture?” du Plessis said.

“Bro, shut the f*ck up. You don’t even know anything about my story. You have no idea who the f*ck I am,” Adesanya shot back.

“I don’t care about your story. I don’t care about your story,” du Plessis repeated.

“Listen, my father and myself had to wake up at 4 a.m. and clean the banks while my mom studies to be a nurse,” Adesanya said. “You don’t know my f*cking story. Don’t f*cking speak on my story if you don’t know my story. I will show you who you are Sunday, so right now shut the f*ck up.”

“I can’t wait,” du Plessis responded. “You’re talking about, I made [the build-up] about anything else than being the first residing African champ. I am the first.”

“You did, you did,” Adesanya said. “You couldn’t even respect the people of the land. [At the] welcome to the country [ceremony for UFC 305], you were the one not even doing anything. I took my shoes off to connect with the people, with the [natives]. What did you do? You stand there and try to mean mug me. Are you stupid?”

“My man,” du Plessis started.

“I’m not your f*cking man, bitch,” Adesanya interrupted. “… You sound silly, you sound like a f*cking pig. I will slay you, Porky Pig.”

“You can’t change the facts,” du Plessis replied. “You can’t change those facts.”

Du Plessis, 30, and Adesanya, 35, have feuded since the South African du Plessus declared in March 2023 that he wanted to be the first true African UFC champion, reasoning that he still resides and trains in Africa whereas then-champs Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou — all Africa-born — ultimately moved away before finding success.

Adesanya took exception to du Plessis’ remarks and the rivalry has only grown more fervent in the 16 months since. That tension finally boiled over for the former champ.

“He touched a subject there because I do this for my family,” a tearful Adesanya said, his voice breaking. “I do this for the people I love, and I will fight for you forever, I swear to God. Watch this. Look, I am a f*cking human being, I am a man. I can cry and whoop your ass at the same time.

“First time I fought here [in Perth], [UFC] 221, that was February 2018, that was me making me dreams come true. Sunday, I’m going to f*cking kill your dreams, bitch. I’m going to f*cking kill your dreams.”

Du Plessis captured the UFC middleweight title in January with a split decision win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297. The first South African champion in promotional history, du Plessis holds a perfect 7-0 record in the octagon, earning stoppage wins over the likes of Robert Whittaker, Darren Till, and Derek Brunson, among others.

Adesanya is a two-time former UFC middleweight champion. “The Last Stylebender” was expected to defend the belt against du Plessis in late 2023, but du Plessis was unable to make the date and Adesanya instead fought Strickland, losing in a shocking and one-sided upset. Adesanya’s 12-fight win streak at 185 pounds to kick off his UFC career was the second-longest streak in UFC middleweight history, second only to MMA legend Anderson Silva, however his 11-month layoff since the Strickland loss is the longest of his career.

Du Plessis initially opened as a betting underdog in the grudge match, although those odds have continued to narrow as UFC 305 draws near. For the champ, that’s a telling sign.

“There’s no place for odds in the octagon, I have to say that, but obviously the oddsmakers are seeing what I know and seeing what the people are seeing,” du Plessis said. “It’s pretty evident. Like I said, the man needs to be motivated to be back here. He had an emotional feel to be back here. He said it, he’s motivated by me, that’s what gets him back in here.

“I’m motivated by greatness. I’m not motivated by some person. If he doesn’t step in, I’ll be the same motivated fighter that steps in there, and anybody can see this. Once again, it’s about how bad do you want it. It’s pretty evident how bad I want this. And on Sunday morning, there will be no doubt of how bad I wanted this.”

UFC 305 takes place August 18 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

Watch the fiery exchange between du Plessis and Adesanya above.

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At the UFC 305 press conference, a plethora of fighters from Saturday’s pay-per-view event will take the stage Friday morning.

Dricus du Plessis, Israel Adesanya, Kai Kara-France, Steve Erceg, Mateusz Gamrot, Dan Hooker, Tai Tuivasa, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik are expected to attend the event at the RAC Arena.

The UFC 305 press conference is scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. ET.

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Conor McGregor appears determined to fight in 2024, but Dana White has other plans.

Days after White surprised many by announcing that McGregor won’t fight in 2024 despite calls for a December date with Michael Chandler, the UFC CEO doubled down on his comments, reiterating to Canadian broadcast partner SportsNet that he strongly believes McGregor won’t make his UFC return in 2024 regardless of McGregor stating otherwise.

“I don’t know what Chandler’s planning on doing. I know he’s kind of kicking around right now,” White told SportsNet. “You know, you can imagine after I said that, Conor was blowing me up, going, ‘I’ll definitely fight this year.’ When we get to a point where we’re setting a fight and I believe that a Conor McGregor fight is going to happen, I will announce it.

“As of right now, I believe that Conor will not fight this year. Conor’s saying he wants to fight, he wants to fight in December. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Following White’s comments, McGregor issued a simple all-caps statement on social media Thursday night: “THE UFC LOVE AND WANT ME FOR DECEMBER! I AM READY.”

Chandler quickly agreed to McGregor’s proposed December date: “December it is.”

McGregor, 35, has been tentatively linked to a UFC return bout against Chandler since coaching against the former Bellator champion on The Ultimate Fighter 31 in early 2023. After a long, drawn-out saga, McGregor’s comeback fight against Chandler was initially scheduled for June 29 at UFC 303, however McGregor ultimately withdrew from the bout due to a broken pinky toe. “The Notorious” has not competed since suffering a broken leg in his July 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier, but publicly maintains his desire to make a UFC return.

Chandler has also sidelined himself since a November 2022 loss to Poirier, largely to wait for McGregor. He told TMZ on Wednesday that he still hopes to fight McGregor in December but also indicated a willingness to move on to a different matchup if the McGregor bout fails to come together in 2024. He added that he believes White may not have been entirely truthful with his comments nixing the idea of McGregor making a winter return.

“There’s no reason why Conor can’t fight this year,” Chandler said. “Obviously, you know I can fight this year. I think it comes down to scheduling. December makes a lot of sense. November, you’ve got MSG, it’s already kind of booked up. Before that, you’ve got Abu Dhabi, so December is that big pay-per-view card. You know, cap off the year with a huge pay-per-view, Chandler vs. McGregor. Makes a lot of sense.

“Dana, as much as we love him, he has also said some things that were just absolutely false in press conferences and whatnot — which, that’s his job. Sometimes it’s his job to give you the exact information; his job is, sometimes, to give you misinformation. So sometimes, saying the fight isn’t happening this year might mean that this fight is happening this year, just like he did when I already knew I was fighting June 29.

“So you can read between the lines, but as far as I know, this fight has some very huge prospects to fight by the end of the year. Conor’s ready, I’m ready, let’s sign on the dotted line.”

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Josh Silveira is looking for revenge, a belt, and a $ 1 million check in the 2024 PFL light heavyweight playoffs.

The son of American Top Team head coach Conan Silveira goes toe-to-toe with the man who beat him for the light heavyweight title in the 2023 season, Impa Kasanganay, at Friday’s PFL 8 card in Hollywood, Fla. Silveira vows to be “a whole new Joshua” in the semifinal match.

“I’m going to beat that guy, that’s for sure,” Silveira told MMA Fighting. “I’ve learned a lot from that fight. Unfortunately I lost in a crucial moment, a million [dollars on the line], the belt, but that’s part of fighting. Impa has experienced a bad loss in the UFC, he was cut, so he felt that pain before. He didn’t want to feel that pain again that night, you know? It was my time to feel that pain and I’ve learned a lot. And now I’m fighting as a fighter who has felt that pain and won’t let it happen again.”

The unanimous decision setback against Kasanganay in the 2023 finale wasn’t Silveira’s first MMA loss, but he says his 2022 defeat to teammate Omari Akhmedov felt “quite weird,” so it didn’t hurt like the one to Kasanganay.

“I didn’t have much chance to hit [Kasanganay] in the fight,” Silveira said. “I think I felt the pressure of the moment and that got me tired, and he did a good job. But thank God we’re here again, and I’ll be able to fight someone that has defeated me, which doesn’t happen very often in MMA. And it will be very different this time around.

“[Losing] is part of the sport. No champion, except Khabib [Nurmagomedov], ends a career like that [undefeated]. Losing is part of the game. We have to learn from it and train to make sure it’s a different result in the next fight.”

Kasanganay remains undefeated in the PFL season and playoff matches, losing only a split decision when he fought Johnny Eblen in a champion vs. champion match between PFL and Bellator titleholders. The UFC veteran stopped Alex Polizzi and Jakob Nedoh in the 2024 regular season, and Silveira promises an aggressive game plan Friday.

“You’re going to see a man with attitude, a man who doesn’t accept what happened last time,” Silveira said. “I’d rather get the KO or get knocked out, but I’ll have to try. That’s how I’ll fight. Last time we fought there was too much pressure, and it didn’t work out. This time, I’ll embrace everything I’m feeling and go in there to beat that guy.”

Silveira won the first fight of the 2024 season after Sadibou Sy suffered an injury 74 seconds into the match in April, then lost a split decision to Rob Wilkinson two months later. Silveira had enough points to advance to the playoffs, and saw Wilkinson advance to the other side of the brackets against fellow ATT fighter Dovlet Yagshimuradov.

Silveira hopes his teammate Yagshimuradov makes it to the final as well, but admits it would be sweeter to claim the PFL title by avenging two defeats.

“I feel like I won that fight, but that’s something we can’t control,” Silveira said of the Wilkinson loss. “I feel like I was the aggressor. He’s a boxer who knocks everybody out, but he became a grappler that night, and I wasn’t expecting that. I was the one trying to finish the fight. When I lost that fight, I didn’t feel that pain. I was thankful for making it to the playoffs so I didn’t think too much about the loss. I know I fought well against a tough guy, and to rematch him and Impa would make it a nice story, beating two guys that have defeated me. I would like to beat Wilkinson again just to show the world that I won that fight.”

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UFC is returning to Macau for the first time in 10 years.

The promotion officially announced that a Fight Night event is set for Nov. 23 at Galaxy Arena. It will be the UFC’s first trip to the area since an August 2014 event headlined by Michael Bisping and Cung Le.

No fights were officially announced for the card.

UFC has hosted three previous events in Macau, all taking place at CotaiArena. In the most recent trip, Bisping stopped Le in the fourth round via TKO. Tyron Woodley competed in the co-main event, knocking out Dong Hyun Kim in just 61 seconds. The card also featured Colby Covington in a preliminary fight earning a first-round TKO win over Anying Wang.

Le also headlined the UFC’s first Macau card, knocking out Rich Franklin in the first round in an event that aired on Fuel TV in November 2012. The second fight card in Macau took place in March 2014, and was finale for The Ultimate Fighter: China, which was capped off by Kim knocking out John Hathaway with a spinning elbow.

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