A battle between past UFC light heavyweight title challengers is expected to take place in December.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a matchup between Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes is targeted for UFC 310, which is slated for Dec. 14 in Las Vegas. MMA Mania was first to report the booking.
Smith has dropped four of his past six bouts, including a loss to Roman Dolidze in his most recent appearance at UFC 303 in June. “Lionheart” began 2024 with a big upset win at UFC 301 in May, handing Vitor Petrino his first career loss with a first-round guillotine submission. Smith makes his 24th walk to the octagon, which includes a decision loss to Jon Jones in his lone title fight at UFC 235 in March 2019.
Reyes started off 2024 returning to the cage following a 19-month layoff, finishing Dustin Jacoby in the first round at UFC Louisville in June. The victory was Reyes’ first in nearly five years since stopping Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC Boston in October 2019. “The Devastator” then lost a controversial decision to Jones at UFC 247 in his first title opportunity in February 2020, before suffering brutal knockout losses against Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Ryan Spann.
Tom Aspinall wants Stipe Miocic to take a lesson from the 46th President of the United States.
Despite extensive calls for UFC to scrap Miocic’s expected title challenge against UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, UFC CEO Dana White tripled down on his promotion’s plans to proceed with the bout this past week, arguing that Jones and Miocic “both deserve it” and that he’s “showing both of these guys the respect” of rebooking the matchup after it fell through in November 2023 at UFC 295 due to a Jones shoulder injury.
Aspinall instead stepped up at UFC 295 and captured the interim heavyweight title with a first-round knockout of Sergei Pavlovich. He then defended that interim belt at UFC 304 with a 60-second knockout of Curtis Blaydes, successfully avenging the only loss of his UFC career. Afterward, Aspinall made it clear to MMA Fighting that he’s only willing to fight in a title unification bout next — and at this point, he’s sick of waiting on Jones and Miocic.
“Get Stipe out of there,” Aspinall told TNT Sports on Friday. “Let’s be honest. The guy is 43 years old, he’s had a four-year layoff, and his last fight was a knockout loss. Granted, he’s an absolute legend in this sport. He’s the best heavyweight ever — like statistically, he’s the best heavyweight ever. But the guy needs to be pulled out of the race.
“The guy needs to be Joe Biden’d, mate. He’s too old. No one’s that interested anymore. And I respect Stipe a lot. Pull him out, stick me in. It’s right though, isn’t it? It is right.”
Miocic, 41, is actually set to turn 42 years old on August 19, but Aspinall’s point still stands. A two-time UFC heavyweight champion, Miocic has not fought since losing his title with a brutal second-round knockout loss at the hands of Francis Ngannou in March 2021.
For context, Alex Pereira’s UFC debut came in Nov. 2021, meaning the 2024 frontrunner for Fighter of the Year has competed nine times, captured two different divisional titles, and strung together a UFC Hall of Fame résumé in less than the 40 months since Miocic’s most recent octagon appearance.
Biden, of course, withdrew from the 2024 U.S. presidential race in July following a catastrophic debate performance against Republican nominee Donald Trump that prompted widespread questions about the 81-year-old’s mental fitness for another term.
Aspinall may simply be an Englishman dipping his toes into American politics, but he feels Miocic should take the hint and do the same for the upcoming title bout against UFC heavyweight champion Jones, which is expected to take place November in New York City.
“Get Joe Biden out of there,” Aspinall said. “Stick me in.”
Kelly Ottoni runs a martial arts gym in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and wants to lead by example. That’s why she’s putting the gloves on at age 39 and taking on a tough challenge against PFL and Bellator veteran Jackie Cataline at Friday’s Invicta FC 56 event in Denver.
The former Jungle Fight bantamweight champion said her reasons for returning to MMA after more than two years away are to show the power of combat sports and change lives, not only her own. With more than 80 competitions under her belt in various forms of martial arts, from boxing to wrestling to jiu-jitsu to Muay Thai, Ottoni sees MMA with different eyes.
“Martial arts is a philosophy of life for me, but MMA is more about making money,” Ottoni told MMA Fighting. “It’s money to give me a better life as I get older, because I’m not only changing my life, I have other people around me who are as much of hustlers as I am and dream of better things in life, so I want to help the youth.
“You pay the price for a dream and work hard every day, and sometimes you still don’t achieve it and can’t have a good performance because you need a second job to pay bills. It’s hard to live as an athlete in Brazil. That’s extremely common in several sports, and that’s what I explain to my students. You have to dream and work hard to achieve it.”
Ottoni jokes she’s “quite an old hand” but her experience in martial arts is far greater than her 5-0 MMA record shows, and she feels “extremely happy and pressure-free” entering the Invicta FC cage for the first time. Open to fighting from anywhere from 135 to 155 pounds, she faces Cataline in a featherweight contest while looking for other great opportunities.
Her brother is Quemuel Ottoni, who has also held the Jungle Fight belt before. He was the first man to defeat future UFC and GLORY two-division champion Alex Pereira in MMA back in their Jungle Fight days, and is set to fight for a UFC contract against Kody Steele on the Sept. 10 card of the promotion’s Contender Series. She believes they could one day share a UFC card, but competing in the octagon isn’t her ultimate goal.
“I see Invicta FC as a door to other major promotions, but not only the UFC,” Ottoni said. “We have the PFL and Bellator. We have Larissa Pacheco as the current [PFL] champion. I’m not only thinking about the UFC. UFC is the World Cup and everybody knows that, but I want to make money. If I get to the World Cup, great, but I want to buy a house, I want to keep my NGO going. I’ll enter the door that opens for me.”
Cataline, her opponent Friday night, is 4-3 as a professional with two first-round finishes under the PFL Challenger Series banner. Ottoni, whose 5-0 record includes two first-round knockouts and one submission, says “it’s pretty clear” what Cataline will attempt to do.
“I’m sure she’s watched my fights and she will try to take me to the ground. That’s obvious,” Ottoni said. “There’s no other path for her, but she’s never fought anyone at my level. It’s about taking me down and holding me there, it’s about trying to stop someone that knows how to do jiu-jitsu.”
“The champion Alex ‘Poatan’ is showing the world what a striker can do, and that’s the thing I do best,” she continued. “My brother has always said I can beat these girls in MMA. I’ve always like to strike, I’ve always done jiu-jitsu and wrestling, but I’m kind of crazy. You cut me open? I’ll cut you back. That’s my style, you know? I’m a sniper looking for blood. I can’t walk backward. Hit me all you want, I’ll always smile at you and keep walking forward.”
Oscar De La Hoya | Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images
Oscar De La Hoya is the latest to go after Canelo Alvarez.
It seems like everyone has something to say about the boxing champion these days, with UFC CEO Dana White, UFC star Conor McGregor, and Saudi promoter Turki Alalshikh all taking shots at Alvarez ahead of his Sept. 14 super middleweight title fight against Edgar Berlanga. The general theme of the criticism is that Berlanga is not a desirable opponent and that Alvarez is avoiding more difficult—and presumably more lucrative—matchups.
De La Hoya and Alvarez have had a frosty relationship since Alvarez parted ways with De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions stable in 2020, and the promoter took aim at his former business partner in his latest edition of “Clap Back Thursdays” on social media.
Clap Back Thursday time!!! Hey DUCKNELO pic.twitter.com/Y1UWRFjmah
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) August 9, 2024
“So it turns out, I’m not the only one that thinks Canelo is an arrogant piece of shit,” De La Hoya said. “Turki Alalshikh recently revealed that Canelo refused to meet with him in person and isn’t entertaining any deals to be done with him.
“Why? Because he’s out-priced himself so much that the Saudis don’t even want to deal with him. And it’s all because he will do anything not to fight David Benavidez. Look, Turki is trying to make the best fights that everybody wants to see, and Canelo continues to take the fights that nobody wants to see.”
Alvarez has won four straight fights since a failed attempt to move up to light heavyweight and claim Dmitry Bivol’s WBA title. His wins during that stretch include a trilogy bout with Gennady Golovkin, plus super middleweight championship defenses against John Ryder, Jermell Charlo, and, most recently, Jaime Munguía.
According to De La Hoya and Alalshikh, Berlanga is the latest in a line of Alvarez opponents that they don’t see as moving the needle.
“That takes me to Edgar Berlanga, who is fighting Canelo on Sept. 14,” De La Hoya said. “Now, he claims he has a whole country behind him. Edgar, bro, you’re from Brooklyn. I think I’m more Puerto Rican than you are and I only lived there for six years. Puerto Rico doesn’t claim you, bro.”
De La Hoya then echoed McGregor’s sentiment that UFC 306, which takes place at Sphere in Las Vegas, will dwarf the Canelo vs. Berlanga event.
“As I said weeks ago, this fight will not do well on Sept. 14,” De La Hoya said. “Not only because the matchup is OK, but because they’re going up against the UFC’s debut at the Sphere in Las Vegas. That’s a spectacle that everyone and their mother has been waiting to see since it opened up about a year ago.
“And who is funding it and making it all happen? Turki Alalshikh. Canelo, you’re really making the wrong enemies. But you know what? F*ck you.”
Daniel Cormier will not be the only “DC” in the commentary booth for UFC 305.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that the commentary team for the UFC’s next pay-per-view event on Aug. 17 will be Cormier and former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz joining Jon Anik octagon-side. Cruz steps in for Joe Rogan — who will likely return for UFC 306 in September.
Megan Olivi will serve as the roving reporter the promotion’s return to Perth, Western Australia. Further broadcast details will be announced at a later date.
UFC 305 will feature a heated middleweight championship grudge match between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya. Du Plessis makes his first title defense since defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January, while “The Last Stylebender” makes his first octagon appearance in nearly a year after losing the title to Strickland at UFC 293 this past September.
Serghei Spivac will step on the scale at UFC Vegas 95 weigh-ins Friday. | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The UFC Vegas 95 weigh-in video features 20 fighters stepping on the scale Friday morning in Las Vegas. Watch a live stream of the official morning weigh-ins above, courtesy of Ag. Fight.
In the main event, Marcin Tybura and Serghei Spivac have to make the heavyweight non-title fight limit of 266 pounds. Tybura and Spivac have both won three of their last four fights. The two previously fought at UFC Norfolk in February 2020, with Tybura earning a unanimous decision win.
The UFC Vegas 95 official weigh-ins begin at 12 p.m. ET.
Francis Ngannou’s head coach Eric Nicksick knew the former UFC heavyweight champion would someday return to MMA despite the lucrative opportunities in boxing.
PFL recently announced Ngannou’s promotional debut — and first MMA fight since defending the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in January 2022 — takes place Oct. 19 at PFL’s superfight pay-per-view event against Renan Ferreira in a five-round main event.
Following big-money boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, as well as unfortunate death of Ngannou’s son Kobe, Nicksick felt the stars aligned for a return to the sport that put him on the map as MMA’s lineal heavyweight champion.
“I’m excited for him,” Nicksick told MMA Fighting. “Honestly, I think for me as a coach, just trying to get him through the loss of his son was the most important thing, and get him back in the gym, and get him back around the fellas and back to training. With that being said, that process, I think, has led him to feel comfortable in taking this fight, getting back in the cage, and then doing his PFL obligations.
“So first and foremost, man, I think he was just getting through that hard part and that hard stretch, which I don’t think he’s necessarily through. I think he’s just being able to occupy his mind and his time with MMA, and thankfully, he’s willing [and] wanting to come back and fight.”
Ngannou returns to MMA for the first time since making the decision to leave UFC as heavyweight champion at the beginning of 2023, which led to him signing a big free agent deal with PFL. After switching promotions, Ngannou dropped a split decision in a stunning performance against Fury in boxing before getting knocked out by Joshua.
There are still big-money fights in the squared circle Ngannou could likely get right now, but returning to MMA — and living up to his word as a PFL fighter — meant a lot to Ngannou.
“I didn’t [think his MMA career was done] because of the conversations that we have,” Nicksick said. “I think just because of his competitive nature and the legacy that he wants to leave behind when it comes to MMA, the things that we spoke about, I definitely felt like he was going to come back and fight. Then, there’s just a lot of the freedoms that PFL has given him, I think that he really enjoys and wants to help build this promotion.
“So if he’s the bell cow when it comes to PFL, I think he kind of wants to carry that role and help make this organization better. I really think that he’s fallen in love with MMA in a way when we were fighting Ciryl Gane before the knee injury, that he was just scratching the surface of his actual athletic potential when it comes to MMA. That’s something he’s told me in the past. So knowing the competitor that he is, I [always felt] he’s definitely going to fight again in MMA.”
Ferreira gets the biggest fight of his career coming off a quick knockout of former two-division Bellator champion Ryan Bader at PFL vs. Bellator in February. “Problema” enters the bout with four straight finishes, totaling just over 10 minutes of combined action.
What Ferreira carries in size and stature, he lacks in high-level competition and big-fight experience compared to Ngannou. While Nicksick is certainly aware of that massive advantage, it doesn’t mean they can overlook somebody as dangerous as Ferreira.
“Confidence in this sport is something that can take you over the top more than skill at times,” Nicksick said of Ferreira. “Just believing in your skill set and winning the way that he has been winning, reeling off some good wins, heading into a Francis Ngannou fight, I think that Renan has this confidence that he can beat anybody — and he should. He’s very good and he’s a guy that Francis and I have been watching even before he was in the PFL, like, ‘Oh man, this guy is good.’
“So I think just keeping Francis focused on the task at hand [is key], and understanding this guy is dangerous everywhere, but I feel like we have the ability to kind of neutralize some of those things that he does well, and go out and make it a short night.”
If Ngannou continues his path of destruction in MMA, the options will be aplenty for “The Predator.” Is it boxing, MMA, or perhaps, rising combat sports promoter Turki Alalshikh pulling a magic rabbit of his hat?
“Because of the freedoms that he has, he can always revisit boxing if there’s a name that pops up,” Nicksick said. “That’s the best part about the situation that he’s in — he’s a contractor. He goes out to the highest bidder. He can decide what he wants to do whenever he wants to do it.
“We have our sights on Oct. 19. Whatever position or whatever situation arises by that time — hell, you never know, Turki might come in and get UFC to get him to fight Jon Jones. You never freaking know with this sport what comes about. All options are on the table, man. We’ll figure that out once we handle this business Oct. 19.”
A slew of massive MMA bouts were announced for both the UFC and PFL featuring some of the sport’s biggest and rising stars. In the main event of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, Ilia Topuria defends the featherweight title against BMF champ Max Holloway, while Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev have been rebooked for the co-main event.
On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel reacts to the current UFC 308 lineup, the top-two fights, and where that now leaves UFC307 — which is slated to take place three weeks earlier. Additionally, topics include Francis Ngannou’s MMA return announced vs. Renan Ferreira at PFL’s superfight pay-per-view in October with Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco serving as the co-main event, Umar Nurmagomedov defeating Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, and where that puts his stock at 135 pounds, and much more.
Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and the Co-Main Event Podcast’s Ben Fowlkes.
Watch the show live at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT in the video above.
If you missed the show live, you can still watch above, or listen to the podcast version, which can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your pods.
Dana White wasn’t kidding when he teased that UFC was breaking the bank to produce the first ever live sporting event at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
The UFC CEO disclosed recently that the promotion has already spent at least $ 17 million on production for UFC 306 — also known as Noche UFC — at the Sphere, which takes place on Sept. 14. While total cost for the event hasn’t been revealed, TKO Group Holdings chief financial officer Andrew Schleimer stated on Thursday that costs are even higher than the company expected.
That being said, Schleimer believes UFC 306, which is headlined by bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley defending his title against Merab Dvalishvili, could also end up as potentially the most successful event in history in regards to ticket sales.
“Look, we’re bullish,” Schleimer said of the event. “We’ve talked obviously about this being a cultural event and Dana has publicly stated how much more [invested UFC is] in this event, and obviously this is going to be a massive spectacle for those in the arena and for those at home. On the top side, this will be one of the largest gates if not meaningfully the largest gate that we’ve ever done, and on the cost side, it’s going to be the single largest investment that we’re making in an event. It’s even more expensive than we originally anticipated and that’s reflected in our new guide.
“We talked about some tailwinds going into the balance of the year, but if there’s one meaningful headwind that has a direct dollar-for-dollar impact on EBITA (earnings before interests, taxes and amortization), it’s the incremental expense we’re seeing at the Sphere.”
Both TKO executives and White have stated that UFC 306 at the Sphere is a “one and done” live show, which means the promotion won’t be putting on another card there again — at least not any time in the near future.
The Sphere, which cost $ 2.3 billion to construct, features a 160,000 square foot LED screen that wraps around the entire arena. Approximately 20,000 fans are able to pack into the structure when including standing room only seating. Unlike most arenas where UFC hosts events, the Sphere features a stage setting where the octagon sits at the end of the venue with the majority of seats cascading up the structure like a movie theater.
Limited seating is available closer to the octagon, but the setup for UFC 306 is vastly different from the majority of live events UFC produces.
While the astronomical cost goes far and beyond what UFC usually spends on a live event, TKO Group Holdings president Mark Shapiro believes the juice is worth the squeeze in the long run.
“[TKO Group Holdings CEO] Ari [Emanuel] and I held a dinner in Paris for the Olympics for our premiere ad partners — one of them made a comment about us being in a position and always sort of having a history, and I credit Dana with this more than anybody else, of not making every decision based on the dollar,” Shapiro said. “We are committed to growing the brand. We are committed to growing the audience, and sometimes we will make investments that short term won’t necessarily pencil out but long term, there will be a big win for us and play out tenfold.
“That’s what the Sphere is when Andrew talks about a spectacle. This event is going to be very positive for the UFC brand and business long term. If we have to spend more than we’ve ever spent on an event — and believe me, we’re doing that — it will pay off long term. We expect to use this event to grow our fan base, to increase fan engagement, and most importantly, to capitalize on the growth area that is the Latin market for us.”
As far as the live gate goes, UFC won’t get those final numbers until the event actually takes place, but the launch of ticket sales saw huge interest with prices reaching as high as $ 12,000 per seat. There are still tickets available now, with the lowest price available (not based on resell tickets) at just over $ 1,300.
UFC is heading back to Utah for the first of two October pay-per-view events.
On Thursday, the promotion officially announced that UFC 307 takes place Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. It will be UFC’s return to the city for the first time since UFC 291 on July 2023, which was capped off by Justin Gaethje’s head-kick knockout of Dustin Poirier to win the BMF title.
In August 2022, the Delta Center played host to one of the wildest moments in UFC history when Leon Edwards delivered an out-of-nowhere head kick to knock out Kamaru Usman in the fifth round to win the welterweight title at UFC 278.
No fights have been officially announced for the card, although MMA Fighting confirmed several matchups that are slated for the pay-per-view lineup, including Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling, Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista, and Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira.
UFC 307 takes place three weeks prior to UFC 308, which is set for Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi.
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