Ian Machado Garry and Joaquin Buckley will battle it out in the final fight of 2024 for the UFC.

The promotion announced on Saturday that Garry and Buckley headline UFC Tampa, which takes place Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena.

Both Garry and Buckley expressed interest in stepping in to face Shavkat Rakhmonov in the main event of UFC 310 for the interim welterweight title following Belal Muhammad withdrawing due to a toe infection, but instead the UFC matchmakers have decided to pair up the surging 170-pound contenders.

The undefeated Garry competes for the third time in 2024. “The Future” earned a split decision win over Geoff Neal at UFC 298 in February, and then handed Michael Page his first promotional defeat at UFC 303 in June. Garry is currently ranked No. 7 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.

Buckley, No. 10, is unbeaten since moving down to welterweight, winning all five of his 170-pound octagon appearances. “New Mansa” looks to make it 4-0 in 2024 after stoppage wins over Stephen Thompson and Vicente Luque, and a unanimous decision win against Nursulton Ruziboev. The former middleweight makes his 15th UFC appearance.

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Belal Muhammad and Conor McGregor are beefing like they have a fight coming up.

The latest round of verbal volleys between the two occurred after news broke that Muhammad is pulling out of a welterweight title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov that was scheduled to headline UFC 310 on Dec. 7. Muhammad is dealing with a toe infection that has him sidelined for the foreseeable future.

McGregor, who has been out of action for over three years, had little sympathy for Muhammad, responding with laughing emojis in a tweet reply that has since been deleted. The two fighters have rarely had a kind word for each other, but McGregor was particularly motivated to mock Muhammad after Muhammad seemingly did the same to McGregor when he withdrew from UFC 303 this past June due to a toe injury:

Muhammad responded to McGregor’s emojis by accusing McGregor of being a drug addict.

“I have this for antibiotics,” Muhammad said in a comment accompanied by a picture of his arm receiving an injection. “You use needles because you are a junkie. We are not the same.”

In another tweet that has since been deleted, McGregor responded with an invective-filled rant, calling for Muhammad to be “stripped” of the UFC welterweight title (h/t MMA On Point).

“Scutter talk just like your fighting,” McGregor wrote. “You lambasted UFC world champions multiple times on having to reschedule their bouts through injury and now it has come down on you like a bomb from the sky.

“It is glorious to see. No fight. No money. But staph infection. Bum. Stripped. Instantly. Zero knockdowns/any excitement or traffic or views or ticket sales in bout, and now also non-reliable to show? Strip. Cut. Infected fighter. You have infections.”

McGregor’s “bomb” line is particularly heinous given Muhammad’s Palestinian heritage and the genocide currently taking place in Gaza, Palestine’s largest city, at the hands of Israel.

Muhammad is yet to respond to McGregor’s latest comment.

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Alex Pereira won’t save another UFC pay-per-view on short notice.

“Poatan” had the MMA world wondering if he would step up and headline UFC 310 on Dec. 7 after welterweight champion Belal Muhammad withdrew from a main event matchup with Shavkat Rakhmonov. The light heavyweight champion appeared to tease another quick turnaround after posting a phone emoji on social media in reaction to the Muhammad news, but MMA Fighting has learned that the fight is not being discussed for the card.

“Poatan” fought three times in 2024, defending his title with knockouts over Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr.— two of those on short notice—and competing on just over a month’s notice yet again has been ruled out.

The Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura clash for the UFC flyweight championship, and originally the co-main event for UFC 310, remains the top bout on the line-up at the moment.

It’s still early to pinpoint when Pereira will defend his title next. However, with UFC’s first pay-per-view card of 2025 scheduled for Jan. 18, it’s unlikely that Poatan could be part of that numbered show. UFC 312, the following pay-per-view on Feb. 8, could be an option. That event takes place in Sydney, Australia.

Ankalaev has solidified himself as the next man up for the 205-pound championship, and volunteered to face Pereira as soon as Dec. 7. The Russian fighter is currently riding a 13-fight unbeaten streak with a trio of victories against Brazilian fighters. Ankalaev won twice in 2024, stopping Johnny Walker before earning a decision over Aleksandar Rakic.

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At the UFC Edmonton official weigh-ins, all 28 fighters on Saturday’s fight card step on the scale early Friday morning in Edmonton, Canada. Watch ceremonial weigh-ins above, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET.

In the main event, two-time UFC featherweight champion Brandon Moreno fights Amir Albazi, a top contender yet to taste defeat inside the octagon. Moreno looks to rebound from back-to-back split decision losses to Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval, while Albazi seeks to declare himself the No. 1 contender at 125 pounds in his first fight since June 2023.

Moreno is No. 4 at flyweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, while Albazi sits at the No. 6 spot.

The headliners can weigh no more than 126 pounds, the maximum limit for a non-title lightweight bout.

In the co-main event, former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas (ranked No. 9) looks to win her third straight fight at flyweight when she takes on Erin Blanchfield (ranked No. 4). For Blanchfield, this is her chance to regain her spot in the contender line after suffering her first UFC loss at the hands of Manon Fiorot.

See early morning weigh-ins from the top-2 fights below.

UFC Edmonton official weigh-ins are set to begin at 11 a.m. ET.

Ceremonial weigh-ins take place at 7 p.m. ET.

See UFC Edmonton official weigh-in results below.

Main Card (ESPN+ at 5 p.m. ET)

Brandon Moreno (125.5) vs. Amir Albazi (125.5)

Erin Blanchfield (125.5) vs. Rose Namajunas (125)

Derrick Lewis (266) vs. Jhonata Diniz (257)

Caio Machado (205) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (205)

Marc-Andre Barriault (185) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (185.5)

Mike Malott (170.5) vs. Trevin Giles (170)

Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)

Aiemann Zahabi (135.5) vs. Pedro Munhoz (135)

Ariane da Silva (125) vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius (125)

Charles Jourdain (135) vs. Victor Henry (135)

Jack Shore (145.5) vs. Youssef Zalal (145)

Alexandr Romanov (261) vs. Rodrigo Nascimento (264)

Serhiy Sidey (135) vs. Garrett Armfield (135)

Chad Anheliger (135) vs. Cody Gibson (135.5)

Jamey-Lyn Horth (126) vs. Ivana Petrovic (125)

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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.

Halloween has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t frightful fights to be revisited.

In fact, our first clip of the week is guaranteed to disturb you more than any scary movie you watched last night.

(Big thanks as always 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.)

Kimbert Alintozon vs. Estrada Donga-as

If you’re reading Missed Fists, you know what you’re getting into as far as seeing a variety of knockouts and submissions that will make even the most seasoned combat sports fan squirm, so we don’t usually issue warnings for what you’re about to watch.

Still, this knockout from a Zeus Combat League show in Quezon City, Philippines, requires extra caution. Just scroll past to the next section if you’d rather not see what is, without hyperbole, the most gut-wrenching KO of the year.

OK, here it is.

Kimbert Alintozon tagged Estrada Donga-as with a combo that had Donga-as retreating. Unfortunately, he stepped right into an Alintozon power punch that violently separated him from his consciousness.

The way Donga-as fell looked plenty scary, but the grisly scene didn’t stop there. In the footage above, you get a clear view of his lower body rapidly twitching for an uncomfortable amount of time. Unsurprisingly, Donga-as needed to be stretchered out of the cage.

Nissi Icasiano, the reporter who uploaded the footage, later shared an update on Donga-as’ status.

“Donga-as was immediately taken to the hospital but managed to return before the event concluded. This journalist caught up with him in the dugout, where he shared that his CT scan and other test results were clear.”

Let’s hope Donga-as is taken care of and doesn’t return to action anytime soon.

Cam Rowston vs. Blair Bretag

With that ugliness out of the way, let’s move on to a clip featuring one of my favorite submissions: The calf slicer!

At a Stealth Fighters League show in Auckland, New Zealand, Cam Rowston showed off some sweet grappling skills, opening up a turtling Blair Bretag with the leg submission that caused an immediate tap.

Still nasty, but considerably less troubling to look at, right?

Daichi Kamiya vs. Raymart Quintana

This next submission from Eternal MMA 89 (available on UFC Fight Pass) is the stuff of nightmares, though.

Daichi Kamiya had Raymart Quintana tied up something fierce, eventually putting him away with a modified twister. At least that’s what I think that is, your guess is as good as mine. If I was Quintana, even if I wasn’t in clear danger, I’d tap just like he did because I’m not waiting to find out if the predicament was about to get a lot worse.

Hat tip to Kamiya, a 25-year-old lightweight who is now 6-0 as a pro. Kamiya has only been competing since 2022 and dreams of following in the footsteps of his idol Khabib Nurmagomedov and someday becoming UFC lightweight champion. Not a bad start to his career so far.

Jadon Shuey vs. Lukas Nazad

From a Flex Fight Series event in Queens, N.Y., amateur lightweight Jadon Shuey picks up the spectacular KO win and nails an even more spectacular post-fight cage flip.

No notes.

Can Hircin vs. Tom Molenaar
Barry Irausquin vs. Freek Van Iersel

Can Hircin stalked his prey like The Predator (uhh, the classic sci-fi alien, not Francis Ngannou… though this was kind of Ngannou-esque, now that I think about it) and landed a right hand wrecking ball on poor Tom Molenaar.

No setup, just load it and let it rip.

Speaking of which, Barry Irausquin got to slipping and ripping with this gorgeous 19-second punch-out of Freek Van Iersel.

He’s a super-Freek, super-Freek, he’s super-unconscious, yeeeoooooow.

Not my best work.

You can watch a free replay of Levels Fight League 14 from Amsterdam on the promotion’s YouTube channel.

Ilzat Asiev vs. Bekhruz Isroilov

There are so few positions in MMA where you are “safe,” as it were, and this definitely wasn’t one of them.

Ilzat Asiev and Bekhruz Isroilov were engaged in some spirited grappling, with Isroilov using a whizzer to block a takedown. Unfortunately for Isroilov, he never managed to free his arm, so when Asiev straightened him up, he was left wide open for that knockout knee.

Great timing, but chill on the ground-and-pound, my dude.

A replay of Octagon League 65 from Almaty, Kazakhstan is also available for free on YouTube.

Christopher Alvidrez vs. Albert Gonzales

Christopher Alvidrez was putting it on onetime Bellator fighter Albert Gonzales at a Lights Out Xtreme Fighting show in Long Beach, Calif., but the resilient Gonzales kept coming at him like a zombie.

Only one solution for that: head shot.

No reanimating after that. One of those knockouts that’s so bad, Alvidrez showed instant remorse after. Spooky stuff, for sure.

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 X — @AlexanderKLee — using the hashtag #MissedFists.

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Tom Aspinall is set to be a backup fighter at UFC 309, but he might also put in some work as a pitch man while he’s there.

When Jon Jones returns to defend his heavyweight title against fellow legend Stipe Miocic in the Nov. 16 main event at Madison Square Garden, Aspinall will be on hand to step in should either fighter be unable to make to the cage on fight night. Regardless of the result, Aspinall—the interim heavyweight champion—would like to face the winner, assuming that this doesn’t prove to be the final fight for both headliners.

Aspinall plans to do his part to convince either Jones or Miocic to put off their retirement plans and make the walk at least one more time.

“What’s the plan?” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. “Turn up, do some media, cause a few scenes here and there, and try and make the winner stick around and fight me, hopefully.”

Since Jones’ most recent fight, a dominant win over Ciryl Gane in March 2023 to capture a vacant belt, Aspinall has claimed an interim title and successfully defended it once. Despite his success, the No. 1 heavyweight in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings enters UFC 309 with no assurance he’ll get the chance to face the undisputed champion.

Aspinall is excited to see his potential opponents in action, at the very least. Having made his UFC debut in July 2020, Aspinall hasn’t had many opportunities to see Jones or Miocic from a cageside seat with the pair having fought a combined three times since then.

“Just see what happens, really,” Aspinall said. “I’m really interested how both guys look in the fight, that’s really interesting for me, up close. Especially up close because it’s a little bit different than on the TV. I want to go up close and see what these guys look like in live action, do you know what I mean?

“How are they moving? What are they doing? You can see little differences in real life than you can on the TV and I’m looking forward to that.”

TOP STORIES

Out. A bone infection in his foot has forced Belal Muhammad off of UFC 310.

Happy Trails. Former UFC featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie announced her retirement after 25 years of fighting.

Thanks. Derrick Lewis signed a new UFC deal, one that may have been boosted by PFL’s interest in him for a Francis Ngannou rematch.

Intervention. Brendan Schaub looks back at the moment Joe Rogan changed his life forever.

Still Beefing? Derrick Lewis had strong words for Daniel Cormier… even if it’s unclear exactly what the issue is.

VIDEO STEW

Between the Links.

Derrick Lewis and Mike Heck.

Alexander Volkanovski in Abu Dhabi.

Just bleed, obviously.

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Who wants some?

Ian Machado Garry, that’s who.

And maybe Kamaru Usman.

And definitely Joaquin Buckley.

I chuckled.

Real talk: Coyote -2000

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Payton Talbott (9-0) vs. Raoni Barcelos (18-5); UFC 311, Jan. 18

FINAL THOUGHTS

The UFC is back in Canada for the first time since January, and in Edmonton for the first time since July 2019. Let’s hope for the country’s sake that it’s more like UFC 289 in Vancouver (all the Canadians won!) and less like UFC 297 (Jasmine Jasudavicius and Gillian Robertson delivered, all the Canadian men lost!).

There are NINE fighters representing Canada on Saturday. Surely, they’ll come out with a better than .500 record, right?

Right, eh?

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.

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Belal Muhammad’s first title defense will have to wait.

The UFC welterweight champion announced Thursday that he is out of his UFC 310 main event matchup with challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov due to a bone infection in his foot. Al Zullino first reported Muhammad’s withdrawal on Twitter.

Muhammad shared the news in a social media post.

“Caught a bone infection in my foot,” Muhammad wrote. “Had to put a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line in my arm for IV antibiotics the next six weeks with no physical activity.

“Allah’s plan is the best plan. I’m sorry to everyone that were coming to see me. I’ll be back soon. Inshallah.”

As of now, the UFC is seeking out a replacement for Rakhmonov, but a person with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting it’s unknown whether or not the undefeated fighter will compete on the Dec. 7 fight card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas or if the matchup will be moved to a later date and location.

Muhammad captured the title with a unanimous decision victory over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July. “Remember the Name” is unbeaten in his past 11 bouts, and hasn’t tasted defeat in nearly six years.

Rakhmonov earned his first UFC championship opportunity with a second-round submission of Stephen Thompson at UFC 296 this past December. “Nomad” has finished all 18 of the opponents he’s faced as a pro.

Following the news, Rakhmonov wished Muhammad well and suggested he is willing to fight anyone at UFC 310 for an interim welterweight title.

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Rose Namajunas hopes to get into title contention with a win over Erin Blanchfield at UFC Edmonton on Saturday, but she could have arguably been closer already if her previous fight happened as scheduled.

Back in July, Namajunas was set to face Maycee Barber in a fight that potentially was to determine the No. 1 contender in the division. Unfortunately, Barber fell ill in the days leading up to the fight and she still hasn’t return to action as she continues to deal with her medical issues.

Namajunas moved on and defeated Tracy Cortez in dominant fashion instead and was happy to then book the fight against Blanchfield on Saturday rather than revisit the matchup with Barber.

“I always had my eye on Erin whenever she started her momentum and stuff in the UFC,” Namajunas said during UFC Edmonton media day. “I was in strawweight and thought she was a great competitor and somebody that if I ever got the chance to face her, I’d be really excited about.

“It’s unfortunate with Maycee there’s a lot of ambiguity, a lot of questions what’s going on. I still wish her health and wellness and hopefully she can get back to things but it really sucks when you train specifically for a fight and then it just gets all the way down to it and then it doesn’t [happen]. I’m good at adapting and changing scenarios and things like that. I would just be a little hesitant to book that fight right away because there’s a lot of questions with what’s going on with her.”

While Barber just recently posted an update that she’s continued to work with multiple doctors searching for answers so she could begin working towards her comeback, Namajunas wasn’t going to wait on that possible fight. Instead, she gets a higher ranked opponent in Blanchfield (currently No. 4 at 125 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings), who looks to rebound after suffering her first loss in the UFC in a unanimous decision to Manon Fiorot.

By all accounts, Fiorot, who also holds a win over Namajunas, is expected to get the next flyweight title shot against reigning champion Valentina Shevchenko sometime in 2025. Nothing has been signed, sealed or delivered by the UFC when it comes to that matchup, however, so Namajunas wouldn’t complain if she got the chance to jump the line with an impressive win over Blanchfield on Saturday.

“I guess anything’s possible and that’s my intention to put on a really good performance enough to where there’s no doubt I could be next,” Namajunas said. “But I just feel as if Manon deserves it next anyways regardless of what I do. She technically has a [win] over me. I do feel like if that was a five-round fight, I think I could have found a way to win. I was finding it towards the end. But it is what it is.”

Namajunas wouldn’t complain if she was granted a title shot, but again she’s not going to be too upset to potentially face Fiorot in a rematch or get the chance to go up against Shevchenko, one of her idols in the sport.

“If [Manon Fiorot] wins the belt, that would be great to fight her again or even have that dream matchup with Valentina one day,” Namajunas said. “So I’d be excited to see them fight but if the UFC wanted to put me ahead of that with a very spectacular performance, I’d be open to that as well.”

Namajunas has often talked about her adoration for Shevchenko after they trained together in the past. It might be bittersweet to face her in a title fight, but Namajunas couldn’t imagine a better person to fight than somebody she admires so much.

“She’s definitely always been my favorite female fighter,” Namajunas said about Shevchenko. “She’s somebody that I admire a lot and trained with a lot. It would be hard for me to not just be fanning out while I’m fighting her at the same time, it would be kind of weird.

“At the same time, just as a martial artist, it would be the ultimate dream to test myself against I’d say one of the truest martial artists in the game right now.”

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Derrick Lewis and Daniel Cormier fought six years ago, but is there still bad blood to this day?

That appears to be the case at least on Lewis’ side as the veteran heavyweight cast Cormier in a negative light at Wednesday’s media day ahead of his fight with Jhonata Diniz at UFC Edmonton this Saturday. Lewis was asked what fight in his lengthy career he’d want to run back and “DC” was the name that came to mind.

“Probably DC,” Cormier said. “Because that’s still not sitting right with me, I don’t know. Do people really like DC like that?

“I told DC in his face, that guy a piece of shit. He’s a piece of shit, scumbag. F*ck DC.”

Lewis and Cormier met in the main event of UFC 230 in November 2018, with Cormier defending his heavyweight championship against “The Black Beast.” Cormier recorded his first and only successful heavyweight title defense, submitting Cormier in the second round.

When Lewis asked to elaborate on his issues with Cormier, he gave a cryptic response, joking about a past beef over a Popeyes chicken sponsorship, but then insulting Cormier again.

“DC know why,” Lewis said. “Everyone know why, too, he disrespect that Popeyes chicken, but other than that, he’s a piece of shit.”

Lewis’ comments made the rounds on social media, though it remains unclear how serious the often sardonic fighter intended to be.

During an episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Wednesday, Helwani gave Cormier an impromptu call to sort out the situation, with the conversation arguably only raising more questions.

“I haven’t seen him for a while, but I was pretty hard on him about retiring because he had lost a couple of fights and I was kind of telling the truth and he seemed mad at me, but I haven’t seen him,” Cormier said. “I’m going to see him this weekend and I’m going to kind of ask him, ‘Yo, are you mad at me?’”

Lewis has seen mixed results in his past eight fights, with just three wins during that stretch, including a third-round knockout of Rodrigo Nascimento in his most recent outing this past May. In Cormier’s role as an on-air analyst and podcaster, he’s required to give his honest opinion on how fighters are performing and he believes he might have said something that rubbed Lewis the wrong way.

It’s important to note that Cormier was yet to see the clip of Lewis’ comments himself when discussing the matter with Helwani, so he was basing his response strictly on second-hand accounts. Still, real or not, Cormier sees no reason to reignite their former feud.

“It sounds like it may be a little underlying, he might be a little pissed at me because of the way I talked about him,” Cormier said. “I don’t know what fight it was where it he didn’t look great, but then he knocked the last guy out and I was like, ‘I’m glad he’s back.’ So I don’t know. My opinions go with their performances and I think maybe that’s what it is, but in terms of anything else, Derrick and I don’t really have many things that we do together outside of the Popeyes thing and then our fight.

“But we can’t be mad at each other, we already fought. It’s settled.”

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Joaquin Buckley wants his shot at the interim title.

On Thursdays, news broke that welterweight champion Belal Muhammad was forced out of his UFC 310 title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov due to a nasty injury. While nothing is official, reports are that the UFC currently is looking for a replacement opponent for Rakhmonov, perhaps even for an interim welterweight title, and almost immediately Ian Machado Garry threw his hat in the ring for that opportunity.

But not so fast, so says Buckley.

Thursday evening, Buckley released a response video to Garry’s callout of Rakhmonov, dismissing the undefeated Irish star’s claim and suggesting he is better served to “take the throne.”

“Hey look, I’m going to let you finish but I’ve got something to say,” Buckley said while hitting a heavy bag. “Nobody wants to see that fight. People want to see knockouts. People want to see finishes. And that’s exactly what we’re fixing to bring, me versus Shavkat. He’s got 18 finishes, 10 subs, 8 knockouts, and your boy? I’ve got 14 knockouts, and I just knocked out my last two ranked opponents. So what you think I’m fixing to do to this dude?

“UFC, this is the fight y’all have got to make. Like I told y’all, I’m coming to take the throne, and I ain’t playing. Boom!”

Currently ranked No. 9 in the UFC welterweight rankings, Buckley is on a five-fight unbeaten streak since dropping back down to 170 pounds. Most recently he knocked out Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 307 earlier this month.

Garry, meanwhile, is No. 7 in the UFC rankings and most recently won a close decision over Michael “Venom” Page at UFC 303 this summer.

UFC 310 takes place on Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and also features a men’s flyweight title bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura.

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