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Ciryl Gane has a tall test ahead of him, so what better sparring partner to help him prepare than NBA big man Rudy Gobert?

At UFC 308 on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi, Gane faces Alexander Volkov in a heavyweight bout that serves as a rematch of their June 2021 Fight Night encounter that Gane won via unanimous decision.

It appears that Gane is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that he beats Volkov again as his team at MMA Factory in Paris recently released footage of Gane training with Gobert, a key member of the Minnesota Timberwolves who is fresh off of winning his fourth NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. At 7-foot-1, Gobert towers over the 6-foot-7 Volkov, one of the tallest fighters in the UFC.

Watch the footage below (courtesy of Championship Rounds).

In the clip, Gane can be seen navigating Gobert’s condor-like wingspan, while cautiously slipping in punches, including one particularly accurate shot that brings a comical pause to the action.

Gane has seen mixed results since his first win over Volkov. He won an interim heavyweight title with a knockout of Derrick Lewis, but failed to unify the belts when he faced champion Francis Ngannou at UFC 270. He rebounded with a win over Tai Tuivasa, then fell short of the undisputed title again when he was quickly submitted by Jon Jones.

In his most recent outing, Gane scored a second-round knockout of Serghei Spivac this past September.

See the MMA Factory’s post below, which was also shared by Gobert.

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MMA Fighting has DWCS Season 8, week 5 results for the Stirling vs. Latu event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday night.

Navajo Stirling, who is 4-0 in his career, and Phil Latu (6-1) clash in a light heavyweight contest in the main event.

Kody Steele puts his perfect career start at 6-0 on the line against Quemuel Ottoni (12-3) in a lightweight fight in the co-main event.

Check out the DWCS results below:

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

Navajo Stirling vs. Phil Latu

Quemuel Ottoni vs. Kody Steele

Taiga Iwasaki vs. Yousri Belgaroui

Josias Musasa vs. Otari Tanzilovi

Corinne Laframboise vs. Nicolle Caliari

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The Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga fight card has three title fights set to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night, including Alvarez putting up his WBC, WBA, WBO, and Ring Magazine super middleweight titles on the line in the main event against Berlanga.

Canelo Alvarez (61-2-2) has won four straight fights and competes for the second time this year. He defeated Jaime Munguia via unanimous decision this past May.

Edgar Berlanga (22-0) knocked out Padraig McCrory in the sixth round this past February in his only appearance of 2024.

Also on the main card, Erislandy Lara defends his WBA world middleweight title against Danny Garcia in the co-main event, plus Caleb Plant and Trevor McCumby square off for the WBA interim super middleweight title.

The Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga fight card is as follows:

Main Card (PPV.com at 8 p.m. ET)

Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga for Alvarez’s WBC, WBA, WBO, Ring Magazine titles

Erislandy Lara vs. Danny Garcia for Lara’s WBA world middleweight title

Caleb Plant vs. Trevor McCumby for WBA interim super middleweight title

Rolando Romero vs. Manuel Jaimes (super lightweight)

Prelims (MMA Fighting at 6 p.m. ET)

Stephen Fulton vs. Carlos Castro

Roman Villa vs. Ricardo Salas

Jonathan Lopez vs. Ricky Medina

Lawrence King vs. Vaughn Williams

Yoenli Hernandez vs. Jose Charles

Bek Nurmaganbet vs. Joshua Conley

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UFC Vegas 97 is in the books and it’s full steam ahead to UFC 306 AKA Noche UFC redux.

This past Saturday, Sean Brady scored the biggest win of his career, taking a unanimous decision over Gilbert Burns to put himself in the thick of the title hunt at 170 pounds. That wasn’t the biggest news of the week though as all-time great Demetrious Johnson stole the headlines by announcing his retirement from MMA.

We got questions on all of it this week so let’s dive right in.

Demetrious Johnson

“If science tells us #chickenscantbegoats can a Mouse be a GOAT?”

The biggest news of the previous week was that Demetrious Johnson officially retired from MMA this past weekend, and while we’ve already talked a bit about his legacy and place in the sport, now is as good a time as any to dive a little deeper.

Simply put, Demetrious Johnson is one of six male fighters who have a credible case for the title of Greatest of All Time. I understand that things like the GOAT debate are inherently subjective, but by reasonable standards, the list is DJ, Jose Aldo, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Fedor Emelianenko. They are the only fighters who truly dominated their divisions for years on end with numerous title defenses (you will not find a bigger Khabib Nurmagomedov fan than I am, but his time at the top was cut short and so he’s left out in this particular conversation).

Now as far as the GOAT conversation goes, I don’t really care who you rank No. 1. So long as it’s one of those six, you’re not wrong because you can nitpick problems with any of their résumés. On any given day I might change my mind and prioritize one or the other, because once you get into this pantheon of talent, it’s all splitting hairs. But the important part is that he’s one of the six, which is incredibly exclusive company (more men have walked on the moon!).

On top of that, “Mighty Mouse” has a record which I don’t believe will be broken in our lifetimes: 11 UFC title defenses is categorically insane (he should actually share this record with Anderson Silva, but Silva’s fight against Travis Lutter didn’t count as a defense since Lutter missed weight) and in the current era of the UFC where every fighter is obsessed with champ-champ status, it’s exceedingly unlikely someone puts in the work to hold a belt for six or seven years without getting distracted. Alexander Volkanovski, Kamaru Usman, and Israel Adesanya are all-time greats. Each of them have five title defenses. DJ doubled them up. It’s insane.

And on top of all of this, Johnson is one of the few men in that GOAT pantheon that has no real controversy. He’s a great guy who never had any issues outside the cage. Anderson popped for performance-enhancing drugs, Fedor never fought in the UFC, Jon Jones, well, do I even need to go into all that?

Demetrious Johnson is one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen, and while I’m sad to see him walk away, I’m glad he’s doing it on his terms. The UFC Hall of Fame awaits.

Alternate Universe

“Had DJ remained in the UFC and not been traded, do you think he would have regained the belt?”

When DJ retired last weekend, after I was done thinking about his greatest moments, the very next thought that struck me was how unfulfilling the end of his career was for me as a fan.

Johnson was one half of, to this point, the only trade in UFC history when Dana White shipped Mighty Mouse to ONE Championship in exchange for Ben Askren. It was a big deal at the time, and ultimately, a trade I think all parties were happy with. DJ seemed to like ONE, got to do more things than just fight MMA, and got paid handsomely; ONE got to promote having the best fighter in the world; and the UFC got Askren, who made headlines, drew interest, and ultimately elevated Jorge Masvidal to a superstar. That’s a win-win-win.

But though everyone made out well in the trade, I can’t help but think that we as fans lost a heck of a lot. Aside from his trilogy with Adriano Moraes, DJ’s fights in ONE simply weren’t that compelling. The odd mixed-rules fight with Rodtang was silly, and the rest were forgettable. In fact the only reason the Moraes series was fun was because Moraes pulled off the upset the first time around.

Compare that with the likely events should Johnson not have been traded. A trilogy fight with Henry Cejudo is first up, and I personally thought DJ won the second fight as well. It’s 50/50 that he just immediately reclaims the title and if that happens, maybe Cejudo never moves up to bantamweight. Maybe DJ finally does?

Or if Johnson doesn’t go up to 135, instead we get to seem him fight against the new generation of flyweights that came along after he left and Cejudo retired. You’re telling me you wouldn’t have loved to see Mighty Mouse vs. Deiveson Figueiredo or Brandon Moreno, or Alexandre Pantoja? All of those fights could have happened and would have been fun as hell. And frankly, I still liked DJ’s chances in any of them.

So yes, I think he would have reclaimed the title, and I’m a bit sad we didn’t get to see his final act take place in the UFC.

UFC Vegas 97

“What does a Sean Brady vs. Ian Machado Garry fight look like, and are you interested in that next?”

Pivoting back to the stuff in fight world, Brady outworked Burns for a solid unanimous decision win in the main event this past weekend and now the pride of Philadelphia is back in the title hunt in earnest. Following his win, Brady called for either a top-5 opponent, or a matchup with Ian Machado Garry, saying they share a manager and it should be easy to make happen. I’m not so sure about that.

While Brady is obviously excellent and deserves a shot at a big name, I’m very unconvinced that’s happening. The fight would technically be fighting up for Garry, but the undefeated prospect seems to have his eyes on bigger game and with his name, he can command that. I think Garry is going to get either Usman or Colby Covington, and possibly even Leon Edwards (though a Masvidal matchup makes the most sense there).

On top of that, Brady’s recent loss to now-champion Belal Muhammad still takes some of the shine off fighting him, and most of the guys above him don’t seem likely to accept a fight. The one exception to this is Jack Della Maddalena who also recently defeated Burns, though by the skin of his teeth, so that is a fight that may be possible, and if I had to guess, it’s the one I’d bet happens.

But if the Brady vs. Garry fight does come to pass, of course I’d be interested. We’re talking about two supremely talented fighters. I’m not sure Garry wins a title, but I’m absolutely certain he challenges for one in his career. He’s young and talented and getting better every time out. Brady is a tier below, but with the right breaks he could get a title shot, and at welterweight anyone can have a good night and become champion. Heck, the current champion and the guy he beat were, at one point, entirely dismissed by the fan base. Maybe Brady is the next in line to pick up that mantle? I have my doubts, but I’ve been wrong plenty of times before.

And for the sake of being thorough, I favor Garry in the matchup. Brady gets a little better every time out but his striking still leaves a lot to be desired. Garry has a huge advantage on the feet and is capable enough to not let Brady run away with things via his grappling.

UFC 306

“What if UFC 306/Noche UFC isn’t ‘the greatest event in human history’ and/or it isn’t ‘the most worst event in the UNIVERSE’ and it’s just a mid event?”

As we round the corner and head into the home stretch for Noche UFC, there is a fair amount of optimism surrounding how great the event is going to be. But here’s the thing, if you promise “the greatest live sporting event of all-time,” you’d better freaking deliver. Will it? I have no idea, and apparently neither does Dana White.

My best guess is that this Saturday’s event will actually disappoint the vast majority of fans. From talking to people who have been at Sphere for various shows, it is undeniably cool, and so the lucky few who could pony up thousands of dollars to attend UFC 306, I suspect they will have a great time. But for the millions watching at home on ESPN+? I don’t really see how that live experience will translate through a television screen.

And if so? It won’t matter. The UFC is too big to fail at this point. If UFC 306 under delivers on its broadcast experience, fans won’t care, especially if the fights are good. You’re getting two title fights and one of the biggest stars in the sport defending a belt. It’s a rock solid card and so it’ll all blow over quickly.

Thanks for reading, and thank you for everyone who sent in tweets (Xs?)! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because you can send your tweets to me, @JedKMeshew, and I will answer my favorite ones! Doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane, just so long as they are good. Thanks again, and see y’all next week.

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On the first episode of UFC 306 Embedded, Alexa Grasso and the Mexican stars of Saturday’s show hold a special workout, Sean O’Malley resists temptation at a fine-dining establishment with a weight cut just days away, Merab Dvalishvili studies O’Malley’s game tape, Raul Rosas Jr. hits up a street party, Valentina Shevchenko goes antique shopping, plus more.

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When it comes to the top four UFC fighters of all time, Dana White didn’t blink when revealing his list.

The so-called “Mount Rushmore” of MMA gets debated constantly but the UFC CEO definitely had his names ready when asked that question ahead of UFC 306 on Saturday. While White’s list isn’t exactly surprising, he also mentioned why a couple of people in particular have to occupy a spot among the greatest fighters to ever compete in the UFC.

“You’ve got to go with Jon Jones,” White said emphatically when speaking to ESPN. “You have to go with Ronda Rousey. Women would not be fighting in the UFC if it wasn’t for her.

“You would have to put GSP (Georges St-Pierre) in there and absolutely, positively Conor McGregor. He elevated and changed the game globally.”

The first name on White’s list shouldn’t surprise anybody given the way he’s consistently touted Jones as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport and the greatest of all-time when it comes to MMA. Considering Jones has never truly tasted defeat during his career and he’s competed in 16 title fights — the most in UFC history — his place is pretty secure.

As far as Rousey goes, she’s a UFC Hall of Famer and former bantamweight champion who was certainly the catalyst needed for White to change his stance on never allowing women to compete in the octagon. At her height, Rousey was one of the biggest stars in the sport and she ran roughshod over her opposition until running into Holly Holm in 2015.

While her exit was disappointing after two straight knockout losses, Rousey’s impact on the UFC is still felt to this day.

Much like Jones, Georges St-Pierre put together a ridiculous career with title reigns in two weight classes and the most title defenses in welterweight history with nine straight. He’s second only to Jones in total title fight wins in the UFC with 13 and he’s got a laundry list of statistical records on his resume.

Finally, McGregor’s star power definitely put the UFC on another stratosphere as far as popularity and attention goes. His record hasn’t been stellar lately with a 1-3 record over his past four fights with McGregor last appearance happening back in 2021.

Still, White says that McGregor’s place in history is firmly cemented not to mention his accolade as the first UFC champion to hold two titles simultaneously is just another feather in his cap.

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Dana White isn’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for Oscar De La Hoya.

In a recent Instagram video, De La Hoya continued his rivalry with boxing star Canelo Alvarez while stating that he plans to attend UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas this Saturday. The event runs the same evening as Alvarez’s upcoming bout with Edgar Berlanga, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena just 10 minutes up the road.

De La Hoya, the Golden Boy Promotions founder who has had a long-running feud with Alvarez, called the champion’s bout with Berlanga a “snoozefest” on paper and added, “It’s just robbery at this point.” He then announced that he is choosing the UFC over boxing this weekend.

“I’ll actually be attending at the UFC event at the Sphere instead,” De La Hoya said. “Now, I love the sport of boxing more than anything. I will be watching boxing matches anywhere and anytime. Even if it’s a simple sparring session or two bums fighting in the street.

“So the idea I’m choosing to attend the UFC and support Dana White instead of Canelo tells you everything you need to know.”

De La Hoya and White have hardly been the best of friends over the years, with the two frequently butting heads in public. As recently as 2022, White said that he was doubtful that he and De La Hoya “can ever be friends again.”

In an interview with Grind City Media, White was asked if he’d heard about De La Hoya potentially attending UFC 306. He answered that he was aware of the clip, but that as far as he knows, his team isn’t making any special preparations for the boxing legend’s arrival.

“I don’t know where he’s getting his tickets from, but he definitely isn’t getting them from me,” White said. “I don’t know if he’s coming with [Turki Alalshikh] or what his deal is, but yeah, I saw it.

“It’s him trying to shit on Canelo, and I said it a million times, I respect Canelo. I like Canelo. Met him, he’s a nice guy. I’m saying that that night, we’re talking about the history of Mexico and the history of the people and their traditions and the impact that they’ve had on combat sports. Somebody said to me, ‘So you’ll be celebrating Canelo that night?’ Yes, we are. Canelo is a big part, he’s a big part of the night. Julio Cesar Chavez, Salvador Sanchez, how are you going to do all the baddest dudes that have ever come out of Mexico and not talk about Canelo too?”

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Cain Velasquez is set to be sentenced by a judge in California after pleading no-contest to a variety of charges including attempted murder.

The ex-UFC heavyweight champion is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 18 for his sentencing after his trial was originally set to begin on Monday. The 42-year-old avoided the trial now faces anything from probation to a life sentence as punishment, although the latter is highly unlikely given Velasquez’s plea deal with prosecutors.

In the original statement addressing Velasquez’s decision to plead no-contest, which basically means he’s accepting punishment in the case without actually admitting guilt, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office stated specifically that “he faces prison time.”

Assuming the sentencing moves ahead as scheduled without being reset for a later date, Velasquez will soon find out his fate after he was first arrested all the way back in February 2022. He was detained and charged following an 11-mile high speed car chase going after a vehicle that contained Harry Goularte, a man accused of molesting Velasquez’s son at a daycare owned by Goularte’s mother.

Velasquez fired several rounds from a .40-caliber handgun at the vehicle, which resulted in struck Goularte’s stepfather Paul Bender being struck in the arm. He sustained non-life threatening injuries as a result.

When the car chase ended, Velasquez was arrested without incident by the Morgan Hill Police Department and he was hit with a multitude of charges that kept him behind bars for the eight months before he was eventually granted bail.

Following Velasquez’s arrest, the district attorney stated that the former fighter’s search history on his phone revealed “searches for ‘sexual assault case where victims family fights back’” and “sexual assault cases where victims family retaliates.”

“This defendant decided to become judge, jury, and executioner,” Santa Clara County district attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “His actions endangered innocent bystanders, including young children and their parents who could have been injured or killed as he shot at his intended victim. We have excellent law enforcement in this county. Let them do their jobs.”

Since being released, Velasquez has returned to coaching at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., where he’s continued to work and even corner fighters competing in promotions like the UFC and Bellator.

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Sean O’Malley has already silenced plenty of doubters on his rise to the top. Can he do it one more time against arguably the biggest challenge of his career?

The main event of UFC 306 sees O’Malley defend his bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili, a relentless grinder who has defeated 10 straight opponents. Dvalishvili’s grappling expertise is expected to be O’Malley’s kryptonite and all the pressure is on the colorful champion to prove once again that his game is worthy of the fame.

MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee, Mike Heck, and Jed Meshew make their best guess as to where O’Malley will be—and where his career might be headed—come Sunday morning, plus we predict whether the Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko will reach a satisfying conclusion, and how the UFC plans to deliver in its heavily hyped debut at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images

1. Fill in the blank: After UFC 306, Sean O’Malley is ______

Meshew: The biggest active star in the UFC.

Coming off Contender Series, O’Malley had all the promise in the world and the potential to be “the next Conor McGregor” but the question was would he get there? McGregor was an exceptional talent but he also ran hotter than the Sun for several years, creating a perfect storm of stardom. Could O’Malley do the same? Well, thus far, he has.

Though O’Malley had a rocky road at points, over the past few years, the man has been pitching straight gas. Beating Petr Yan as a big underdog, upsetting Aljamain Sterling to claim the belt, and then dog-walking rival Chito Vera were all big wins, but beating the guy many believe to be the best bantamweight on Earth, and doing it at “the greatest live sporting event of all time”? That’s how you cross over into the mainstream.

And I think he’s going to do it. Don’t get me wrong, if Merab comes in and Merabs him, I won’t be shocked, but the more I’ve thought about this fight, the more I think O’Malley is prepared for it. Merab is imminently hittable and that’s a bad start fighting O’Malley, plus O’Malley is extremely good at controlling range. I think Merab is going to have a lot of difficulty scoring takedowns and thus be stranded on the feet getting plunked up for a lot of the fight, until O’Malley finds the big KO shot, and then the “Suga” Show really begins.

Heck: Calling out the Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway winner.

Much like Mr. No Grey Area just laid out, the promotional push that this event has received — and will get even more during fight week — is not something other cards get. In fact, this has gotten more attention from the UFC than UFC 300, and it’s not all that close. O’Malley is the face of the card even though it’s a “love letter” to Mexican combat sports, and that seemed to be the plan from jump street.

I think O’Malley matches up really well with Dvalishvili, and there’s a vast difference between a fighter who is talking crap and a fighter who is so confident that they know something we don’t. “Suga” has that aura to him, while Dvalishvili, as good as he is, has put a whole lot of extra pressure on himself.

If O’Malley runs through Dvalishvili, what he says on that microphone after that moment becomes the story of the weekend. He called for Topuria after his win over Marlon Vera, there’s no doubt he’s going call for it again — along with Holloway for good measure — should he get his hand raised to close the show.

Lee: Humbled.

O’Malley earned his stripes the hard way, despite what his detractors might say. He got the Snoop Dogg rub on Contender Series and that built up plenty of hype, but he still had to deliver the goods in the octagon and he did that with flying colors, dazzling fans with his exciting striking style before picking up quality wins over Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling to prove he’s the real deal.

He deserves to be at the top, which is going to make the fall hurt that much more.

On paper, Dvalishvili is O’Malley’s worst nightmare. A non-stop cardio machine with great wrestling and zero Fs to give, he could potentially smash O’Malley in the first round or just put him through hell for 25 minutes. Sure, O’Malley could lay him out with one good shot, but imagine how badly the champion’s confidence will be shaken if he connects early and Dvalishvili just shrugs it off. There are levels to this and it’s possible that Dvalishvili is one above everyone else at 135 pounds, including O’Malley.

The brash O’Malley likes to boast that he’s undefeated, shrugging off a loss to Chito Vera that was in part due to injury and one he later avenged convincingly at UFC 299. He’ll be considerably less brash after Dvalishvili is through with him.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

2. Will Alexa Grasso or Valentina Shevchenko definitively shut the door on their rivalry?

Heck: Nah, probably not.

I had Shevchenko winning the second fight, and she has a far better chance than the MMA community seems to be giving her to win the trilogy. If she wins, there’s zero chance we don’t see it again. It may not be next, but we’ll certainly see it one more time.

If Grasso wins, but doesn’t do it in one-sided fashion, I still think there could be room for one more. Even if she does, I wouldn’t rule it out completely. Heck (that’s me), if Max Holloway wins the featherweight title, he could find himself in a fourth fight with Alexander Volkanovski.

Some rivalries just never have a full-on expiration date. This seems to be one of those.

Lee: First of all, TUF NEVER DIE, obviously.

Second, this rivalry is ready to come to an end, one way or the other.

As thrilling as the first two contests have been, Saturday’s co-main event winner should be able to put a stamp on this trilogy barring the competitors going haywire. If Grasso wins, she will hold a comfortable 2-0-1 lead over Shevchenko; if Shevchenko wins, she can make the case that she has two wins in the series given the controversial draw in their second fight. I’d love to see another rematch, but I also want a lineup of worthy contenders get their day in court.

Consider also that the losing fighter has options.

Grasso, five years Shevchenko’s junior, still has plenty of big fights ahead of her in the 125-pound division and should be remain in title contention for years to come. It’s possible she could even find a greater rival than Shevchenko. Should Shevchenko lose, a return to bantamweight seems like the obvious move, especially given that she’d be favored over almost any opponent in that weight class.

All roads have led to Grasso vs. Shevchenko 3 delivering the goods in terms of drama, emotion, skill, and, most importantly, a definitive winner at last.

Meshew: Look, we all know what happened to me the first time these two fought. It wasn’t good.

So when I say what I’m about to, you know that I mean it from the bottom of my heart: Grasso already won this rivalry.

In the first fight, Shevchenko was well on her way to winning an uninspiring decision when Grasso caught her slipping and finished it with the Submission of the Year. Then in the rematch, Grasso should have won the fight, but then somehow stole a draw (the judging was almost transparently dodgy). It wasn’t as definitive as the first time, but through almost 45 minutes of fighting, Grasso has been the better fighter.

Now, heading into their trilogy, Grasso is still in the prime of her career and Shevchenko is 36 and clearly beyond her best days. She’s good enough to not get blown out, but all signs point to Grasso winning again, which we should all be happy about. Flyweight is the best division in women’s MMA and for the past 18 months it has been held up by this one matchup, while other contenders, like Manon Fiorot, emerged.

Grasso closes the door and it’s on to new business.

Photo by David Becker – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

3. What do you hope to see with the Sphere production?

Meshew: The thing about the UFC is, it’s creatively bankrupt. The product has been functionally the same, production-wise, for nearly a decade. There might be one or two new bells or whistles every once in awhile (or when the UFC changes broadcast partners) but it’s all the same. Remember when Dana White promised “Fight Island” would be this insanely cool thing and then he just did UFC APEX shows in Abu Dhabi? That’s what I’m talking about.

So given that, my expectations for Noche UFC 2.0 aren’t high. I’m half-expecting the big reveal to simply be Gladiator Man in Sphere. But I hope I’m wrong because this is an opportunity for them to do something cool. Like what? I have no idea. I’ve been promised the greatest sporting event of all time. Dazzle me. Make me say, “I didn’t even know that was possible.”

Heck: Sorry, Jed, but consider yourself pre-dazzled.

There’s no f’ing way this doesn’t deliver in the, “Holy shit, that’s crazy” department. UFC 300 was a grand slam, and the MMA media knew it would be, which is why we all put it over as the best card on paper, while the promotion put forth one hell of an effort on fight week and on fight night to make it feel like it was this incredible, can’t-miss event. And boy, was it.

As impressive as all that was, it pales in comparison to what they’ve been trying to do with this card. Sure, the ticket prices are criminal, but this is also about the televised live sports-watching experience. I just don’t see a way that we’re looking at this event and thinking, “Eh, this is just OK.” I think this is going to be freaking cool as hell, and being the production geek that I am, I’m so intrigued about how this is going to look.

There’s always a “but” though, right? Here’s mine. Much like UFC 300, we missed it immediately. Once the awful, no-effort APEX cards, and business-as-usual approach returned, we knew it was a short shelf life of fun and extra effort. I think we’re going to be feeling the hangover from that aspect for quite some time after UFC 306, no matter how good some of the fights are for the rest of 2024.

Lee: As always, leave it to me to be planted firmly on the fence with the most levelheaded take of all.

For those lucky enough to be in attendance, it should be a life-changing experience; for those of us watching at home, expect a standard UFC show with a few memorable visual tricks and plenty of shiny things to gawk at. So it is both true and not true that this will be the greatest sports spectacle of all time. It is Schrodinger’s Sphere.

Even if you consider Sphere to be one big, expensive gimmick, it feels like it’s a gimmick everyone should check out once as the people behind the scenes have produced some incredible optical illusions that simply cannot be replicated by any other venue. Mileage may vary on how much these tricks will actually enhance the fight night experience, but it can’t be worse than sitting in the nosebleeds and staring at a screen for most of the night. The in-venue atmosphere promises to be uniquely immersive.

I just have no clue how this will translate through television. Yes, clips from the Sphere often catch the eye when they make the rounds on social media, but personally, I’ve never watched one without thinking, “Boy, I bet that looks really cool if you’re actually there.” This is especially true when it comes to the fights themselves, which should feature bog-standard UFC production (seriously, would you want them to be switching to random shots of Sphere images in the middle of a fight?).

As a proud house mouse, you’ll rarely hear me complain about not going to a live event. But I can’t lie, whatever they show of the Sphere will likely leave me wanting more and experiencing a rare case of FOMMMA (Fear of Missing Mixed Martial Arts).

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Belal Muhammad is the king of the welterweight division and he believes that his talents extend beyond the octagon.

Though it took Muhammad years to earn his shot at the 170-pound belt, he capitalized in dramatic fashion as he outworked Leon Edwards at UFC 304 this past July to become champion. Muhammad awaits his first title challenger, possibly the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov or former champion Kamaru Usman (or maybe both, as Muhammad has playfully suggested), but one name he’s ruling out is UFC superstar Conor McGregor.

McGregor hasn’t fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, which hasn’t prevented speculation that he could leverage his drawing power into an immediate title shot should he return. Most recently, McGregor was scheduled to fight Michael Chandler in a welterweight bout at UFC 303, but even if that matchup is rebooked, Muhammad doesn’t think McGregor is close to No. 1 contender consideration.

“I don’t think he’ll look good at 170,” Muhammad said of McGregor’s welterweight move, in an interview with Submission Radio. “The dude doesn’t look good in life right now. He looks like he’s coked out. He looks like he’s on drugs. If he beats Michael Chandler, I wouldn’t even let him skip the line, because like I said, there’s guys that work for it. There’s guys that got here. And then even with the last fight with Colby [Covington] skipping the line for Leon. I’m like, I would never do that because there’s guys that are actually putting the work in. For legacy-wise, obviously I would want to slap Conor around, but there would be too much for it not to happen, right? It took him this long to fight this fight. It took him this long to make this fight happen with Chandler.

“So for them to even think that, ‘Conor’s going to fight for the welterweight belt,’ then I gotta sit here and wait two years. No, it’s not going to happen. I’ll give it to the guys that are actually fighting, guys that are actually putting the work in and guys that deserve it. Conor doesn’t deserve it. I hope he fights Chandler, because I feel bad for Chandler, that Chandler waited this long for it. So I hope that fight actually happens. But honestly, I don’t think it happens.”

The welterweight division has seen a surge of promising contenders, including Rakhmonov, Jack Della Maddalena, and Ian Machado Garry, plus a handful of fighters who aren’t far off from entering the top-10 such as Joaquin Buckley and Michael Morales. That’s a long list of names to skip over and that’s assuming McGregor and Muhammad’s timelines ever line up.

McGregor’s inactivity hasn’t stopped him from hurling insults at his fellow fighters on social media and recently bringing his popularity to the big screen with a starring role in Road House. Should his box-office muscle be enough to convince the UFC to grant him a title shot upon his return, Muhammad welcomes the opportunity to silence McGregor on the microphone.

“I want that interaction because I want guys that go back and forth,” Muhammad said. “It’s funner for me when guys talk. When Kamaru’s talking, it’s fun, and I love the going back and forth because I love trash talking. I love hearing it and then it makes the fight for me more exciting. When guys are the nicest guys in the world, there’s nothing that I can say and I wouldn’t even want to fake it where I’m talking trash to them. You can’t talk trash to ‘Wonderboy’ [Stephen Thompson]. You can’t talk trash to Demian Maia. So, for me, those types of fights are the ones that are exciting for me. Those types of fights would be fun.

“Conor’s lost his edge in the trash talk game right now. Even with his last couple of fights with [Poirier], it was just like, ‘Bro, what the… this is Conor?’ It’s like a fake version of Conor now. It would be fun to embarrass him on the mic.”

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