The 2024 NFL season kicks off this Thursday, and in light of that, the MMA Fighting crew decided to get together to draft yet again, but this time, we’re having even more fun with it. While the previous MMA Fighting drafts have centered around promotions and stardom, this one stands in homage to all the millions of fantasy football leagues that are about to get underway. That’s right, we’re drafting Fantasy MMA for the remainder of 2024!

The rules are fairly simple: Alexander K. Lee, Jed Meshew, Mike Heck, and Shaun Al-Shatti all draft fighters to fill out an MMA roster, with slots in each of the 11 UFC weight classes, plus one wild card spot that can go to anyone. Then, for the remaining 13 events on UFC’s 2024 calendar, each fighter earns points for his or her team based on the scoring criteria. What are those criteria?

• +100 points for a win
• An additional +50 points for a finish, with an additional +20 if it’s in the 1st Round and an additional +10 if it’s in the 2nd Round
• +25 points for beating an opponent in the UFC rankings
• +20 points for being in a title fight
• +20 points for being in a main event fight
• +50 points for winning Performance of the Night or Fight of the Night bonus

Easy enough? We sure hope so.

Based on the Wheel of Justice, Mr. Heck has the first overall choice, followed by Mr. Lee, then Mr. Al-Shatti, with Mr. Meshew taking the wheel in the Snake Draft format.

So, let’s get drafting!

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Round 1

Heck — Alex Pereira, light heavyweight

It seems as if Alex Pereira and I are just made for each other, as once again, he sits in a tremendous position to boost my squad at the top, while also beginning the draft with a gut punch for my fellow competitors.

Pereira has already established himself as the current frontrunner for Fighter of the Year with sensational knockouts of Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka, and now, at least on paper, has a terrific stylistic matchup on Oct. 5 when he defends the light heavyweight title against surprising challenger Khalil Rountree Jr.

Big points as soon as he steps in the octagon, but the extra scoreboard-tally potential couldn’t be higher for “Poatan,” so it was a no-brainer to take my fellow New Englander from Danbury, Conn.

Lee — Jon Jones, heavyweight

Jon Jones is the GOAT! Dana said so! How can I not pick him first?

Doing some quick math here, good ol’ reliable “Bones” should net me an easy 200 points once we’re through with the ritual sacrifice of Stipe Miocic. With respect to the heavyweight great, this is Jones’ fight to lose, and if he doesn’t finish Miocic, then something went terribly wrong.

Now, all I need is for the matchup to, uh, actually be booked.

The plan from Day 1 has been for this clash of living legends to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York and that hasn’t changed, we just had to wait 12 months longer than expected. Surely, with November just a couple of months away, nothing will go wrong this time.

Surely.

Al-Shatti — Kayla Harrison, women’s bantamweight

Damnit, AK! I’d hoped to snag Jones at No. 3 since that’s about as guaranteed of a points bonanza as exists on UFC’s current championship slate, but since that’s not an option, Team Al-Shatti must pivot to our Plan B.

You know what else doesn’t exist on UFC’s year-end schedule? Women’s bantamweights. UFC might be lucky to squeeze out five women’s bantamweight bouts before 2024 is done, and virtually none of them inspire confidence to light up the scorecard given our scoring criteria. In that sense, this is a pick based on both value and scarcity. Give me Kayla Harrison effortlessly racking up 150+ points at UFC 307 while the rest of y’all try to wade through the Nora Cornolles and Daria Zheleznyakovas of the world.

Meshew — Sean O’Malley, bantamweight

Since this is the first time we’ve ever done this, I’m not entirely sure what the best plan of attack is, but I’ve settled on one I’ll be using: The title fight bonus is massive, and the potential for getting more than one fight in a year is too.

O’Malley gets me 40 points right out of the gate for being in a main event and a title fight, and if he wins, the numbers skyrocket. Plus, since he’s fighting next week, that means there is a world where he turns around for UFC 310 in December and I can double dip. He was No. 1 on my draft board and a steal here.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Round 2

Meshew — Alexa Grasso, women’s flyweight

This is a heck of a wheel for me, getting the betting favorite in both of the title fights taking place in a week. If one or both win (I think they both will) and then fight again this year, it should be a huge advantage.

Al-Shatti — Isaac Dulgarian, featherweight

And here is where things go off the rails.

Look, I’m either going to look brilliant or absurdly stupid by the time this year is done, but someone needs to zig while the rest of y’all are zagging, so screw it, it may as well be me. Is Isaac Dulgarian a sexy pick? No. Could 99.9 percent of fight fans pick him out of a two-person lineup? Not at all. But you know which boxes he does check off? He’s a -3000 favorite being spoon-fed a showcase matchup just three days from now.

Like Billy Beane snatching Scott Hatteberg off free agency in Moneyball, we’re hunting for inefficiencies in the system here. Sure, we could go all-in on a 50/50 title challenger in hopes that they hit a home run. Or? We could slap up singles and doubles all day by locking down a guaranteed 120+ points and maximizing the chances of double-dipping with a second go-round in late 2024. Y’all are laughing now, but there’s a real world where Dulgarian demolishes Brendon Marotte on Saturday, nabs a performance bonus, then ekes out another win in December, and suddenly we’re looking at the year-end standings and Isaac Dulgarian is out here out-earning first-round picks like Jones and Pereira.

Maybe I’m crazy. Maybe not. All I know is that guys like Dulgarian? THEY GET ON BASE.

Lee — Ilia Topuria, featherweight

As the brilliant Mr. Meshew noted earlier, title fights are easy points on the board, so I’m snagging one of the other championship bookings with Ilia Topuria taking on Max Holloway at UFC 308. I’m not quite as confident in Topuria as I am in Jones (and even less confident that Topuria can finish Holloway), but I’ve long been a believer that the featherweight champ is the real deal, and I expect him to take care of business in his first defense.

Heck — Raquel Pennington, women’s bantamweight

Again, this gets me quick points, and I feel like Raquel Pennington has a very good chance of retaining her title — at least for this defense.

Julianna Peña hasn’t fought in more than two years, and there’s a pretty good argument to be made that she shouldn’t even get this opportunity; however, she has done a tremendous job of staying in the news cycle and talking a whole bunch of crap about everyone in the division.

“Rocky” seems to be in peak form right now, and before she’ll likely have to face the buzz saw that is Kayla Harrison, I expect Pennington to get the victory here to get me the quintessential “nine catches for 87 yards”-like showing.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Round 3

Heck — Alessandro Costa, flyweight

This might look like a surprising pick, but this is a play of value, and potential. Costa probably won’t be fighting for a world title anytime soon, but he is a sizable favorite to beat Matt Schnell this weekend at UFC Vegas 97 — and if he gets the job done, he will likely do so with a finish.

So the chances to get a win, do so over a ranked opponent, and with a stoppage, there’s just too many possible sleeper points on the table to let Costa go any further. Welcome to the team!

Update: Well, here’s my first blunder of the draft, as Costa suffered an injury and is out of the fight. Fun times.

Lee — Benoit Saint Denis, lightweight

I’m going finish-hunting with this pick. When the final odds come out for Benoit Saint Denis vs. Renato Moicano, I’m sure it will be close to a toss-up, but if “BSD” gets the job done, he’s either taking Moicano out inside the distance or they’re throwing down for a couple of Fight of the Night checks. Either way, gimme those bonus points.

Al-Shatti — Raul Rosas Jr., bantamweight

After last round’s Dulgarian stunner, Team Al-Shatti is now going all-in on two things:

1) Heavy betting favorites.

2) Fighters already booked for September.

Keeping with our prior Moneyball analogy, the goal is to bank as many singles and doubles as possible while maximizing the chances that a few of these athletes sneak into a second scoring opportunity in November or December. In that way, Rosas fits in perfectly. He a proven finisher pegged as a massive favorite (-700) on a fast-approaching stage (Sept. 14), and the UFC loves him enough that it won’t be shocking if he comes back for a second bite of the apple on one of the bigger year-end pay-per-views. Chiwiwis indeed.

Meshew — Tatsuro Taira, flyweight

Like my first two picks, Tatsuro Taira also has a main event slot — against Brandon Royval in October — and an opportunity to beat a ranked opponent and maybe even make a quick turnaround, depending on how the flyweight title picture unfolds. Taira gives me a good floor with high upside.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Round 4

Meshew — Derrick Lewis, heavyweight

Jon Jones was No. 1 on my Big Board overall, so if I want to fill my heavyweight slot with a real player, I had to get aggressive. The UFC’s all-time KO leader faces Jhonata Diniz in November.

Al-Shatti — Robelis Despaigne, heavyweight

Give me the 6-foot-7 giant who’s being given the type of friendly matchmaking that screams first-round knockout + Performance of the Night bonus on an otherwise unremarkable UFC APEX show.

Guaranteed points is what we’re after and guaranteed points is what we’re getting when “The Big Boy” meets get-or-get-got all-star Austen Lane in October.

Lee —Natalia Silva, women’s flyweight

“Natty Ice” is the truth.

The Brazilian star takes on her biggest challenge yet when she fights Jessica Andrade on Saturday, and if she can put “Bate Estaca” away then she’ll make a strong case for a title shot. More importantly, she’ll make a strong case to be the best pick at women’s 125 in this whole draft.

Andrade has piled up the stoppage losses in recent years, so I’m confident Natalia Silva keeps this one out of the hands of the judges.

Heck — Magomed Ankalaev, wild card

While offense wins game, defense wins championships. So while this seems like strange strategy, I can’t let a guy like Magomed Ankalaev fall into the late rounds to be snagged up by one of my opponents — especially a fighter with incredible talent who will have a massive chip on his shoulder heading into UFC 308. Sorry, gents.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Round 5

Heck — Ciryl Gane, heavyweight

UFC 308 will be a huge event for me, and much like Ankalaev, Gane will be competing as a guy that the MMA community seems to forget about in the heavyweight discussion. He has a tough matchup ahead of him against the surging Alexander Volkov, but Gane already holds a victory over the man, and I like him to get it done again.

Lee — Khamzat Chimaev, middleweight

Khamzat Chimaev, at his best, beats anybody, and I’m including the always enjoyable Robert Whittaker. Imagine if he actually finishes “The Reaper?” Gimme my points.

And yes, two of my first five picks are dependent on Chimaev and Jones making it to fight night. What could go wrong?

Al-Shatti — Morgan Charriere, wild card

Massive betting favorite? Check. (-1200.)

Proven finisher? Check. (14 stoppages in 19 wins.)

Fighting soon? Check. (Sept. 28.)

Morgan Charriere, come on down!

Apologies in advance, AJ Cunningham, for what awaits you at UFC Paris.

Meshew — Dominick Reyes, light heavyweight

Aside from Alex Pereira, 205 doesn’t have a lot of good options, but I like Reyes’s chances to do something violent against Anthony Smith when the two lock horns at UFC 309.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Round 6

Meshew — Gillian Robertson, strawweight

Like light heavyweight, strawweight is a tough division to feel good about in this game. There’s no guarantee we even get a title fight and there aren’t a lot of fighters with high finishing rates. Robertson is one though and she’s facing Luana Pinheiro at a Fight Night event in November.

Al-Shatti — Oumar Sy, light heayvweight

It’s already established that 2024’s year-end light heavyweight schedule is dog doo-doo, but y’all are really giving me an undefeated Frenchman fighting a dude who’s lost three straight (Da Un Jung) at a hometown show just a few weeks from now at UFC Paris?

Yes please.

Lee — Asu Almabayev, flyweight

Men’s flyweight is one of the thinner positions heading into the final stretch of the year, so it’s deep cut time. Asu Almabayev is a sleeper contender in the division while upcoming opponent Matheus Nicolau is trending in the opposite direction. Keep the good times rolling and get me some points, Almabayev.

Heck —Shara Magomedov, middleweight

Middleweight is tough with the current slate, and hand up — and I know I’m not alone on this — leaving Bo Nickal on the table because his next fight hasn’t been announced is a giant mistake.

On the flip side, “Shara Bullet” has a matchup he can look pretty good in. Fighting in Abu Dhabi and on a massive pay-per-view card will hopefully bring out his best, at least that’s what I’m banking on against Armen Petrosyan.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Round 7

Heck — Mike Malott, welterweight

No disrespect to Trevin Giles, but UFC has something with Malott as they look to try to build the next crop of Canadian stars, and after a heartbreaking loss to Neil Magny in January, this seems like an excellent bounce back fight for Malott at UFC Edmonton.

Lee — Sean Brady, welterweight

We’re in safe pick territory now, and at least I know Sean Brady is booked and ready to go. He has an enormously tough test ahead of him in Gilbert Burns, but if the Philly native is ever to live up to his potential, the time is now. A win on Saturday makes Brady a steal at 170 pounds.

Al-Shatti — Yazmin Jauregui, strawweight

It’s getting to be slim pickings at 115 pounds, so I’ll just bite the bullet here and snag the fighter who best hits that cross-section of delightful odds (-455) and instant availability (Sept. 14). Former Invicta FC champ Ketlen Souza is no walkover, but I like Jauregui’s chances to show out at the Sphere.

Meshew — Joanderson Brito, featherweight

This pick was a mistake. Brito is very likely to annihilate William Gomis at UFC Paris, but there was another option I left on the table that I couldn’t talk myself into taking because I’m not picking him to win. That was silly though as I left a lot of upside on the table.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Round 8

Meshew — Joaquin Buckley, welterweight

It doesn’t seem like Belal Muhammad will be defending his title anytime soon, so here I’m opting to just get on the board. Buckley faces Stephen Thompson at UFC 307 and it should be a straightforward wrestling clinic victory for big points.

Al-Shatti — Andre Petroski, middleweight

Hands up, I hate this pick. It’s my least favorite of this draft.

But middleweight is also a wasteland right now, and Petroski is a 3-to-1 favorite who fights as early as this Saturday. I’m not expecting a 175-point bonanza here, but if my eighth-rounder can slide in and out with a workmanlike 100 points against Dylan Budka at UFC Vegas 97, that’s fine by me.

Just get on base, Andre.

Lee — Jaqueline Amorim, strawweight

I’m as big a fan of Vanessa Demopoulos as anyone, but toughness and spunk only get you so far. Jaqueline Amorim’s grappling skills are elite and she should have more than enough on her tool belt to continue her submission streak against “Lil Monster.”

Heck — Jose Aldo, bantamweight

Death, taxes, and picking Jose Aldo to win a fight as an underdog against a solid, but somewhat unproven talent. Yes, Aldo’s fight at UFC 307 marks a return to the scene of the crime when UFC matchmakers did their worst job in the history of the position by booking Aldo in Salt Lake City against Merab Dvalishvili, but Aldo looked fantastic against Jonathan Martinez in May. Fresh with a new contract, I expect Aldo to get another win over a ranked fighter not named Dominick Cruz. (Why has that fight not been made?)

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Round 9

Heck — Grant Dawson, lightweight

There’s too many unknowns at lightweight right now, and this is a bit of a risky play, but Grant Dawson is one of the 20 best fighters in the best weight class in MMA. Rafa Garcia is an absolute dog, but Dawson — like he did against Joe Solecki — knows the assignment. Just get the W. Grind away, suck the life out of Garcia on Oct. 12 at the World’s Most Famous APEX. Base hits boost the ol’ batting average, no need for a Wade Boggs 1987 year to prove you can hit 20+ homers. Singles and doubles, my man.

Lee — Merab Dvalishvili, bantamweight

Up to this point, we’ve yet to have a head-to-head pick, so leave it to me to stir the pot. O’Malley was my boy Jed’s first pick, so how fun would it be if Merab Dvalishvili ground out a decision win over him and denied Team Meshew all of those delicious points?

Al-Shatti — Daniel Zellhuber, lightweight

For better or worse, I’ll either be sitting pretty by the end of September or lose this whole damn draft. I’m not a patient man, so I’m OK with that.

Daniel Zellhuber is a future lightweight contender and his Sept. 14 bout against Esteban Ribovics is a certified banger. Some call it Mexican Independence Day, I call it Shaheen Scores All The Points Day.

Meshew — Julianna Peña, women’s bantamweight

Back on schedule! I was one of, like, three people to pick Peña to beat Amanda Nunes when she did, so maybe she can make me look like a genius yet again. If she wins, that means I stole a champion in the ninth round, and one in a weak weight class. Big payoff if this hits.

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Round 10

Meshew — Michel Pereira, middleweight

And give me the other Pereira for my middleweight. He’s fighting Anthony Hernandez in a main event so there’s a lot of point potential, plus “Demolidor” has always been my guy. Sometimes you’ve just gotta ride with your team.

Al-Shatti — Erin Blanchfield, women’s flyweight

I’ve already lost the main event bump in the days since we drafted — thanks, Brandon Moreno — but as a long-time believer in Blachfield’s potential, sometimes you have to just ride with your team (as Jed so astutely just mentioned). I’m terrified of touching Grasso-Shevchenko 3, so give me Blanchfield showing out in a bounce-back fight against Rose Namajunas after crashing back down to earth this past March.

Lee — Payton Talbott, Wild Card

We’re taking a biiiiiiiiig swing here with a young man that doesn’t have a fight scheduled. The mercurial Payton Talbott could just be taking the rest of 2024 off to surf or binge watch anime or, I don’t know, go on a meditation journey to another plane or something. He’s in his 20s, he’s unpredictable.

But you can be sure that if Talbott is booked, it will be against someone that he can beat, and he’ll do it in impressive and fast fashion.

Heck — Karine Silva, women’s flyweight

Love this pick so late in the draft. Silva has looked fantastic, and she’s facing a fighter in Viviane Araujo at UFC 309 who is still pretty good, but is most certainly on the back nine of things at 37, soon-to-be 38. Looks good for another victory over ranked opposition.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Round 11

Heck — Max Holloway, featherweight

This is the getting a golf shirt at Marshall’s type pick — high quality stuff at tremendous savings.

Max Holloway is an absolute badass. The man is so damn good, and yes, he has his hands full. But with just one more pick after this, I can’t let “Blessed” sit on the board any longer. If he somehow pulls this off and beats Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 to regain the featherweight title — and he could absolutely do it — this fantasy MMA season is a wrap. Just give me the damn trophy if he wins.

Lee — Azamat Murzakanov, light heavyweight

With everyone else filling up their 205 slot early, I could sit on Azamat Murzakanov until the end. I actually had him several rounds higher on my board because his UFC 309 matchup with Nikita Krylov has finish written all over it. In fairness, it could be Krylov that does the deed, but I like Murzakanov’s chances of scoring a knockout to stay undefeated.

Al-Shatti — Ramazonbek Temirov, flyweight

There’s literally no one else left at flyweight who I like, so hell, give me the knockout machine hailing from the former Soviet bloc who’s matched against a dude with a 3-3 UFC record.

If you’re telling me I can snag an “-ov” name in the penultimate round, I’m happy with that.

Meshew — Manuel Torres, lightweight

Holloway is the steal of the draft. I should have taken him at featherweight and was planning to use him for my wild card here, but alas. So let’s fill out the lightweight roster post with a guy who should get an impressive win, some stoppage points, and maybe a bonus kicker.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Round 12

Meshew — Robert Whittaker, wild card

And then we will end as all fantasy drafts do, with a whimper. I should’ve gotten more aggressive and taken a swing on someone not booked, but I chose the cowardly path. I think Whittaker can beat Chimaev, and if Chimaev doesn’t show up for the fight, Whittaker will beat whoever steps in.

Al-Shatti — Shavkat Rakhmonov, welterweight

After going the Moneyball route virtually all draft, Team Al-Shatti may as well take a home run swing before we’re through. Shavkat Rakhmonov has already been offered a title shot in 2024. It’s clear UFC matchmakers want him to be the first challenger for Belal Muhammad. Sure, there’s a good chance Rakhmonov doesn’t end up fighting in 2024 and gives me a big ol’ goose egg, but there’s also a chance welterweight’s heir apparent sneaks onto that December card and wins us the whole damn draft with his long-awaited coronation.

Without an abundance of compelling options left on the welterweight board, it’s a risk worth taking.

Lee — Irene Aldana, women’s bantamweight

Saving the best for last with Irena Aldana as my pick in the UFC’s glamour division. She fights Norma Dumont at UFC 306 and I’m still not convinced that Dumont is actually good at MMA. Add in the fact that she’s one of the few women who can finish fights at 135 pounds and it’s clear that for the 12th round in a row, I’ve made the best selection.

Heck — Zhang Weili, strawweight

This all hinges on Zhang Weili fighting again this year, but if you check out her Instagram, she’s hossing heavy weight around like she’s preparing for something. I would pick Zhang against either Tatiana Suarez or Virna Jandiroba — or any other strawweight on the planet — but if she ends up defending her title in Macau in November, I expect her to face the latter while UFC holds Suarez for a pay-per-view card in early 2025.

Risky pick, but again, value is the name of the game. If Zhang fights — and I expect she’ll get another one in — she’ll hopefully get me some much-needed points down the stretch.

And there you have it! The first MMA Fighting UFC Fantasy Draft is in the books! A few notable names were left on the table, including the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Islam Makhachev, UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, and uber-prospect Bo Nickal among them. Who got snubbed and which picks were reaches? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll see you in 2025 with the results and the next season.

Final Draft Results:

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Dana White is fully on board with Alex Pereira going back down to middleweight.

In October, Pereira defends his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event of UFC 307, but “Poatan” already has his eyes set on another opponent: UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.

After du Plessis’s recent title defense over longtime Pereira rival Israel Adesanya, the light heavyweight champion suggested he’d be open to return to his old middleweight stomping grounds for a matchup, and on Tuesday, he doubled down on that claim, saying regardless what happens at UFC 307, he wants to drop back down and attempt to reclaim the middleweight title he lost to Adensanya last year.

Given that Pereira already has a fight coming up and that he’s previously mentioned the possibility of moving up to heavyweight, some might think “Poatan” is biting off more than he can chew at the moment, but White is not one of them.

“My take on him is he’s f*cking nasty. That’s my take on him,” White said at Tuesday’s Contender Series press conference. “He wants to move up, he wants to move down. That’s why people love him. Those are the type of fighters people love. Pereira wants to fight everybody. I love it.”

Pereira’s willingness to fight anybody at any time has been a huge boon to the UFC this year in particular. The light heavyweight champion stepped in on relatively short notice to serve as the main event of UFC 300, knocking out former champion Jamahal Hill in the first round. He then stepped in on just a couple week’s notice to save UFC 303 when Conor McGregor withdrew from the International Fight Week card due to injury.

But despite what Pereira has done for the UFC this year, White isn’t prepared to commit to allowing him to drop back down and challenge du Plessis. At least not right now.

Instead, White wants to keep their options open.

“I don’t know,” White said when asked if Pereira vs. du Plessis will get booked. “The thing that’s great about it is, first of all, I said a minute ago it’s why everybody loves him and it’s great, but it also gives us a ton of options as we’re matchmaking. Should we do this? Should we do that? Shouldn’t we do this? Shouldn’t we do that? It’s a good problem to have with a guy like him.”

For Pereira, though, there may not be much time left. Already 37 years old, “Poatan” had an extensive kickboxing career before joining the UFC, which suggests he may not have many prime years left in the sport. Given that, a Pereira vs. du Plessis matchup may not be guaranteed if the UFC doesn’t jump on it soon. Still, White insists that when it comes to Pereira, the UFC wants to weigh all its options and not just rush into a fight.

“Listen, all these guys are battling time,” White said. “They all battle time. We’re just going to have to see what happens over the next couple of months. There’s a lot of fights happening in these weight classes. First Stipe [Miocic] and [Jon] Jones needs to happen and then we figure out where we go there. [Tom] Aspinall is obviously the next guy that should get the next title shot, and we’ll see how this all plays out.”

UFC 307 takes place on Oct. 5 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

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Alex Pereira has doubled down on a return to middleweight as he sent a message to Dricus du Plessis. Of course, “Poatan” has to defend his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree first at UFC 307 on Oct. 5, but if he is successful — or even if he isn’t — will Pereira make that huge weight cut one more time to fight du Plessis?

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee react to Pereira’s challenge to du Plessis, discuss the likelihood that it happens, why the callout of the middleweight champ with Jon Jones likely getting ready to face Stipe Miocic with Jones’ already-expressed interest in that matchup, what a betting line for a potential Pereira vs. du Plessis fight would look like, who would win, and more.

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.

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It was a night for the underdogs on the latest episode of Contender Series.

On Tuesday night, the fourth episode of season eight of Contender Series took place in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX. After five fights, three underdogs managed to get their hands raised, including Yuneisy Duben, who delivered one of the best knockouts in Contender Series history. At the end of the night, UFC CEO Dana White rewarded all the underdogs with UFC contracts, along with the two other winners, signing five new fighters to UFC.

Ko upsets Cavalcanti

In the featured fight of the evening, Seok Hyun Ko took on Igor Cavalcanti in a welterweight contest, showing well-rounded skills to win a unanimous decision.

A +240 underdog heading into the bout, Ko survived Cavalcanti’s big haymakers and mixed his skills well, scoring takedowns and landing clean shots on the feet, wearing Cavalcanti down for three rounds. In the end, Seok Hyun Ko won a wide unanimous decision and impressed White enough to earn a UFC contract.

Santos outboxes Currie

It wasn’t the most exciting performance, but Djorden Santos kept his win streak alive against Will Currie.

Santos was a sizable underdog in his middleweight matchup with Currie but certainly didn’t look it, defending takedowns and working Currie over with his superior boxing and pressure. As the fight went on, Santos wasn’t able to secure a finish, but nonetheless picked up a wide unanimous decision win and White rewarded Santos for the big upset win with a UFC contract.

Bashi submits Ramos

Austin Bashi entered Contender Series as one of the best prospects of the season, and the 22-year-old looked every bit of that, scoring a submission finish over Dorian Ramos.

Already 12-0 in his young MMA career, Bashi is one of the new breed of fighters who has been training in all aspects of MMA since he was a child, and he showed all of those skills, working combinations on the feet to then transitioning into the grappling. Ramos fended Bashi off as best he could, but simply had no answer for the BJJ prowess of Bashi and eventually gave up the choke in the second round. Given how hyped he is, it’s unsurprising that Bashi was awarded a contract.

Duben starches Clark

Yuneisy Duben delivered one of the most impressive knockouts in Contender Series history over Shannon Clark.

A massive +800 underdog coming into this matchup of two undefeated fighters, Duben came out with fire, repeatedly tagging Clark as the Canadian fighter charged blindly in. That proved to be disastrous for Clark, as a little over a minute into the fight, Duben timed a perfect overhand right that starched Clark stiff as a board and had White telling her she was in before they even got to the end of the show. Then, when the time for contracts did arrive, White brought Duben with him and lauded her with praise for her great performance.

Salkilld outworks Young

In the opening fight of the evening, Quillan Salkilld won a hard-fought scrap over Gauge Young.

Both Salkilld and Young are only 24 years old and they showed that youthful enthusiasm trying to earn a UFC contract, but it was Salkilld’s great kicks and wrestling ability which allowed him to control the action for most of the fight. So competitive was the fight that White even went into the cage to tell both Salkilld and Young they have a bright future in the sport, though ultimately only Salkilld received a contract.

Check out the DWCS results below.

Seok Hyun Ko def. Igor Cavalcanti via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Djorden Santos def. Will Currie via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Austin Bashi def. Dorian Ramos via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 2, 3:15

Yuneisy Duben def. Shannon Clark via knockout (punch) — Round 1, 1:13

Quillan Salkilld def. Gauge Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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Jon Jones is the greatest fighter of all time, at least so says the UFC.

On Tuesday night during the latest episode of Contender Series, the world’s leading MMA promotion unveiled a new trailer, not promoting their next pay-per-view or event, but one strictly promoting heavyweight champion Jon Jones as the greatest fighter to ever compete in MMA.

The video shows a number of Jones’s best career highlights, interspersed with his impressive statistical accomplishments — including 15 championship wins, eight wins over UFC champions, most wins in UFC light heavyweight history (20), among others — all with voiceover from Dana White, Jon Anik, and others proclaiming Jones to be the greatest fighter in history.

The video is the latest salvo from White who recently became somewhat of a meme for his insistence that Jones is not only the greatest ever and his ire at the fact Jones is not the current top pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC’s own rankings. Over the past several weeks, White’s argued with reporters over the meaning of “pound-for-pound” and Jones’s place on the current list. White even previously promised he had something prepared for those who disagreed with him, so during the Contender Series post-fight press conference on Tuesday evening, he had a smug response for those in attendance.

“Did you guys read the stats?” White said. “He recently just beat the No. 1 heavyweight in the world. I hope you guys read that stat. You know what is f*cking great about technology? We’re not far away from A.I. actually doing these rankings and it will be a great f*cking day when A.I. starts doing this shit. So I’m really excited about that.”

Jones is currently ranked No. 3 in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings and No. 8 in the MMA Fighting Global pound-for-pound rankings. He most recently competed back at UFC 285 in March of 2023, where he submitted Ciryl Gane in just over two minutes to claim the vacant heavyweight title. Though not yet official, Jones is expected to defend his belt against former champion Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309 which takes place on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

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Yuneisy Duben is about to get a UFC contract.

On Tuesday evening, Duben faced Shannon Clark in the first women’s fight of season eight of Contender Series and she took the opportunity to deliver one of the best knockouts in the history of the show, flattening Clark in the very first round.

Duben was a massive +800 underdog coming into this matchup of unbeaten prospects but she certainly didn’t look it as the Venezuelan fighter lit Clark up with combinations right from the start. Clark couldn’t figure out the range and continued to charge in on Duben, which ended in disaster for her as Duben stepped in with an overhand right that shut off the lights in violent fashion. The sensational knockout makes Duben the biggest underdog to ever win on Contender Series and almost certainly guarantees her a UFC contract.

Check out the highlight below.

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UFC 306 has a new flyweight matchup.

On Tuesday, news broke that Kevin Borjas is out of his scheduled fight at UFC 306. Instead, Edgar Chairez now faces Joshua Van, who steps in as a short-notice replacement. The switch was first reported by MMA Junkie and later confirmed by MMA Fighting.

One of eight Mexican fighters competing at the event branded “Noche UFC,” Chairez also competed on the original Noche UFC last year, where his bout with Daniel Lacerda resulted in a no contest following an error by referee Chris Tognoni. The two rematched earlier this year at UFC Mexico City, with Chairez pulling off a first-round submission.

Still only 22 years old, Van suffered the first loss of his UFC career when he was knocked out by Charles Johnson at UFC Denver in July. That defeat ended a three-fight win streak in the promotion, and now “Fearless” looks to get back on track at an event UFC CEO Dana White claims will be “the greatest live sporting event of all-time.”

UFC 306 takes place on September 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas and will be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, while a women’s flyweight championship trilogy matchup between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko serves as the co-main event.

Mike Heck contributed to this report.

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UFC’s return to Edmonton has a new main event, as former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno returns to action against Amir Albazi in a five-round matchup on Nov. 2 from Rogers Place.

UFC CEO Dana White announced the fight Tuesday on social media, with the previously announced headliner between Rose Namajunas and Erin Blanchfield shifting to the co-main event. Namajunas vs. Blanchfield is expected to remain a five-round bout.

The fight serves as Moreno’s return to action after suffering back-to-back split decision losses to Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval, then announcing plans to take a hiatus from the sport. Moreno ultimately opted to take some down time before booking his return, which is now set for November.

Meanwhile, Albazi competes for the first time since beating Kai Kara-France with a razor-close decision in June 2023 to put himself in title contention. Albazi was actually scheduled to face Moreno back in February, but a neck injury forced him to the sidelines to recover.

Now that he’s healthy again, Albazi resumes his career against Moreno with hopes that a win could vault him into a title shot against Pantoja in the future.

The UFC Edmonton card also features a pair of heavyweight fights, as knockout king Derrick Lewis takes on Jhonata Diniz and Alexandr Romanov clashes with Rodrigo Nascimento.

Here’s the full card as it currently stands, with a bout order still to be determined:

MAIN EVENT: Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi

Rose Namajunas vs. Erin Blanchfield

Derrick Lewis vs. Jhonata Diniz

Aiemann Zahabi vs. Pedro Munhoz

Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles

Caio Machado vs. Brendson Ribeiro

Alexandr Romanov vs. Rodrigo Nascimento

Chad Anheliger vs. Cody Gibson

Serhiy Sidey vs. Garrett Armfield

Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

Ariane Da Silva vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius

Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Ivana Petrovic

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Francis Ngannou negotiated a unique deal when he joined PFL after his championship stint in the UFC, and Renan Ferreira will benefit greatly from it.

Ngannou’s contract with the promotion includes equity in the company, a role on the PFL board of directors and as chairman of PFL Africa, plus the freedom to box. He also not only negotiated a seven-figure deal for himself, but also made sure to request a guaranteed $ 2 million purse for each of his PFL opponents.

Ferreira and Ngannou will battle in the main event of PFL Super Fights on Oct. 19, and “Problema” said Ngannou has earned his respect for providing him a life-changing payday.

“My respect for him has only grown because of him seeking better opportunities for not only him as an athlete,” Ferreira said. “Not only for gaining space in the boxing scene as well, which we know is hard for MMA fighters to do that — although he didn’t have a good performance in his last fight [vs. Anthony Joshua] — but it was enormous of him to say that his opponent should be valued as well. It was very nice of him.”

Ferreira pocketed $ 1 million for winning the 2023 heavyweight season in PFL, aside from his four purses throughout the year, and will receive $ 2 million when he faces Ngannou in October. Ferreira’s purse for his nasty knockout win over Ryan Bader this past February was not disclosed.

“I feel honored with all that, and it only motivates me to get better and continue to show who am I as an athlete and be among the best, and be the best,” Ferreira said. “I’m happy to be there and to be fighting him. This turning point in my career is the culmination of a long road of hard work and dedication. I’m proud of the history I’ve created with honesty, never stomping on others. It makes me really happy.”

Ngannou left UFC with consecutive wins over Ciryl Gane, Stipe Miocic, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Junior dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, and Curtis Blaydes, and “Problema” knows it won’t be an easy night in the cage, although the Cameroonian heavyweight hasn’t competed in MMA since January 2022.

“Francis is an aggressive man and a knockout artist like myself, but I’m working in all areas,” Ferreira said. “I have good takedowns, I have good jiu-jitsu, so if the opportunity presents itself, I’ll definitely attack and take him down and use my heavy ground and pound, something I’ve always done. I’m working on that as well. My striking will definitely be sharper than ever. He hasn’t fought [MMA] in a while and that could make him less active in some areas, so I’ll explore all that.”

“To me, what matters the most is the win, but a nice win, a spectacular victory, like I’ve done many times before, it’s definitely gratifying,” he continued. “It shows that the work we’ve been going is well-made. But we have to be cautious in this fight. We have a tough and experienced guy on the other side, a man that has fought many great fighters. Winning is what matters, no matter how. Francis is a confident man, a big and imposing man, and I know it’s going to be a war. It’s going to be a very tough fight, and that motivates me to work hard every day.”

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Alex Pereira wants to be a simultaneous two-division UFC champion by taking down middleweight titleholder Dricus du Plessis.

“Poatan” won the 185-pound title in November of 2022 but lost it in a rematch to Israel Adesanya before moving up a division and making his way to the 205-pound gold. Pereira is slated to defend his throne next against Khalil Rountree, but reaffirms his intention to cut an extra 20 pounds again after his UFC 307 clash on Oct. 5.

“I’m focused on my next fight and I’m going prepared but you never know what can happen,” Pereira wrote on social media Monday night. “So regardless of the result, I want to go down one more time to the middleweight and go for the belt. Hey Dricus, bring your will to fight me so you can prove that you are better than me, with your public statement it is easy to make this happen. Chama.”

Pereira first mentioned he was “coming down to 185 one more time” moments after du Plessis’ win over Adesanya on Aug. 17, and the middleweight champion responded by suggesting a light heavyweight match instead. Du Plessis is expected to rematch Sean Strickland in his next title defense at middleweight, but the UFC has yet to officially announce that fight.

Du Plessis has beaten three of the past four middleweight champions in Adesanya, Strickland and Robert Whittaker, with Pereira as the one left to face.

“I honestly don’t think Alex Pereira should drop down to 185,” du Plessis said at the UFC 305 post-fight press conference. “If he wants to, great, perfect. But then we’re going to hear the excuses. I saw Izzy stiff that man in the first round. I felt Izzy’s punching power tonight. Izzy has great timing, he’s fast, he’s long and he has great combinations, but I felt the power.

“If Izzy stiffens you like that, you do not want to be in there with me, especially not when you’ve got to come in there with the excuses, ‘Oh, I cut too much weight.’ That’s going to happen. Everybody’s going to say it.”

Update: du Plessis responded later on X.

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