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Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, has an opportunity to clean out the 205-pound division with a victory over No. 1-ranked title contender, Magomed Ankalaev, atop the UFC 313 pay-per-view (PPV) event this Sat. night (March 8, 2025) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

That could pave the way for a potential Jon Jones super fight, or send “Poatan” back down to the middleweight division (win or lose). The 37 year-old Pereira lost his 185-pound strap to Israel Adesanya in their UFC 287 rematch and does not have a middleweight title defense to his credit.

“I think it depends upon how the fight goes,” UFC 313 play-by-play commentator, Jon Anik, told MMA Fighting. “If Magomed Ankalaev beats Alex Pereira 50-45, and dominates him over 25 minutes, that wouldn’t lay the foundation for a rematch as much as, say, a quick Ankalaev knockout, because ‘Poatan’ has established so much goodwill with the fan base, with the promotion, and you parlay that with the fact that there aren’t a lot of obvious light heavyweight contenders right now. You got Jamahal Hill fighting Khalil Rountree, right? But are you gonna do Ankalaev versus Bogdan Guskov right now? I’m not sure you’re going to do that.”

Guskov (17-3) is the winner of three straight and is currently ranked No. 13 at 205 pounds.

“The one thing that I will say, Alex Pereira can still make middleweight, and he wants to fight Dricus du Plessis,” Anik continued. “He did not defend the UFC middleweight championship. Of all the accolades for the future UFC Hall of Famer Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira, he never defended the middleweight championship, and if you think for a second that he doesn’t have an appetite, no pun intended, to go back down to 185 [pounds], you’re absolutely crazy. And if the calendar doesn’t align for him to challenge Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall in the heavyweight division, I don’t think he’s going stick around at 205 to fight Bogdan Guskov, even though you and I f*cking love the guy. He’s probably going try to go down to 185 and fight Dricus du Plessis.”

UFC CEO, Dana White, is already on board.

Du Plessis has agreed to fight Pereira, but not before defending his middleweight title against unbeaten 185-pound contender, Khamzat Chimaev. The promotion has yet to book that upcoming title fight though an announcement seems imminent.

Jones, meanwhile, has his own announcement to worry about.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 313 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 313 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 313: “Pereira vs. Ankalaev” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 313 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

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Alvarez shared his thoughts on the shifting boxing landscape and why he chose to fight William Scull over Jake Paul.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is set to fight William Scull on May 3rd in Saudi Arabia as the first fight in a four fight deal with boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh. Thursday saw the first press conference for the bout, but any headlines that generated were largely overshadowed by the announcement that Alalshikh was teaming up with UFC parent company TKO and Dana White to form a new boxing league.

During an interview with CBS Sports’ Brian Campbell, Alvarez shared his thoughts on White’s arrival in boxing and the potential seismic shift it could cause in the sport.

“I think it’s the best for the fighters out there. I’m fine with that,” Canelo said. “I think they’re gonna do the best for the fighters. I’m pretty sure about that. And I’m glad somebody [will] take care of the fighters because there is a lot of promoters who don’t take seriously the fighters, and I think this is good for boxing. For the fighters, especially.”

Considering Canelo is expected to bank career-high paydays under his deal with Turki Alalshikh, it’s unsurprising that he’d have supportive words about Turki’s new league. All signs are pointing towards Alvarez helping kick the promotion off — his superfight against Terence Crawford in September is expected to headline the launch event.

Yeah, always [the] opportunity to fight in September in Las Vegas,” he said of the rumors. “That’s my day. But I need to take care of the May fight first, and then we’ll see about September. But the possibility to fight in September in Las Vegas and be the the first event, tomorrow.”

And Campbell had to ask about Canelo’s decision to ditch a fight against YouTube influencer Jake Paul in favor of the Alalshikh deal. Why would he turn down a massive fight like Paul to fight a relative unknown like Scull?

“Because it’s better for me,” Canelo said simply. “This point in my career, I just wanna continue making history, you know? That [Jake Paul] fight, I don’t even call it a fight. It’s like an event more than a fight. That event can wait until I retire.”

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Check out results and highlights from UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10, where Victor Hugo submitted a CJI champ and female BJJ stars stole the show.

UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 (UFC FPI 10) was a pretty stacked grappling event, which was filled with several Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) world champions and top prospects.

The card was headlined by CJI champion Nick Rodriguez and five-time IBJJF world champion Victor Hugo. “Nicky Rod” has been on an incredibly dominant run as of late, but lost all three previous matches to Hugo by close decisions. He believed his improvements would be key to finally get a win over his rival, but Hugo had other plans.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Victor Hugo goes 4-0 against Nicky Rod to close out rivalry

Much like their other matches, this fourth meeting was again close and competitive. Nick Rodriguez actually got to side mount and spent decent time in the dominant position. Unfortunately for the B-Team star, points don’t count in the opening round and the match went to overtime.

Rodriguez tried to use his wrestling to score once points came into play, but Hugo pulled off a counter throw that proved to be clutch. He then immediately transitioned to the back, and got the rear naked choke finish.

Hugo officially went 4-0 against Rodriguez, but this time actually getting a submission to put a definitive finish to their rivalry. He then called for a bigger name after.

“I think there’s only one guy that beat Nicky Rod on this stage. He’s not active, but whenever he is, it’ll be a pleasure. If he’s up for it, (I want) to face Gordon Ryan,” Hugo said, calling out the often inactive BJJ superstar. “After getting through Nicky, that’s the name that makes sense.”

The co-main event was incredibly close, with Renato Canuto vs. Oliver Taza also being decided in overtime. Canuto remained undefeated at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational after getting a clutch guard pass in the waning seconds to win by points.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Helena Crevar, female BJJ stars, steal the show at UFC FPI 10

Outside of the massive main event, several female BJJ stars shined at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10.

Stealing the show on the talent rich event was teenage BJJ phenom Helena Crevar. The ADCC silver medalist made it look easy once again, locking in a nasty calf slicer against Maggie Grindatti-Lira to continue her impressive run at just 18 years of age.

In a rubber match between decorated BJJ world champions, Brianna Ste-Marie countered a guillotine attempt and finished Elisabeth Clay with a rarely seen Von Flue choke. Ste-Marie, a two-time IBJJF world champ and ADCC silver medalist, completed the trilogy and went 2-1 against Clay.

Also on the card, the youngest ever IBJJF black belt world champion in Cassia Moura outpointed Andre Galvao’s daughter, Sarah Galvao in a close and competitive battle between BJJ prodigies.

Filipino-American no gi world champ Alex Enriquez also scored a slick back take and quick rear naked choke earlier on the UFC FPI 10 card.

Check here for full results and more highlights from the UFC FPI 10 event.

For the latest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and grappling-related news click here.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and No. 1 contender Magomed Ankalaev finally came face-to-face at the conclusion of the UFC 313 press conference tonight (Thurs., March 6, 2025), just two days ahead of their five-round championship main event from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The incoming BANGER co-main event between former interim Lightweight champion Justin Gaethje and No. 11 ranked Rafael Fiziev were also in attendance and stared each other down.

Watch the staredowns below.

Pereira vs. Ankalaev

Gaethje vs. Fiziev

Turner vs. Bahamondes

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 313 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 313 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 313: “Pereira vs. Ankalaev” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 313 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

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Alex Pereira doesn’t speak English — and that’s just how coach Plinio Cruz likes it.

Part of Pereira’s appeal is the stone-faced “mystique” that keeps people guessing. It might be harder to package “Poatan” as a silent assassin if he’s cracking jokes and clowning around with combat sports reporters during media day.

Or making “wholesome” pre-fight videos.

“I knew he was able to achieve great things, but over time we knew he was able to conquer anything,” Cruz told Yahoo! Sports. “Like Glover has said, he’s the full package, and I think even the fact that people criticize the no English thing — I don’t want him to speak English! I think the way he keeps that stone face creates a whole mystique around him that people like, and now with his sarcasm behind the jokes … because he doesn’t speak English, I think people can just relate to him as a simple guy.”

And simple guys tend to put family first.

Pereira will defend his light heavyweight title against No. 1-ranked contender, Magomed Ankalaev, atop the UFC 313 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sat. night (March 8, 2025) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Like “Poatan,” Ankalaev doesn’t speak a lick of English.

How do you spell “dud” in Russian?

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 313 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 313 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 313: “Pereira vs. Ankalaev” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 313 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight knockout artists Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev will rematch this weekend (Sat., March 8, 2025) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada at UFC 313.

Coming off the monumental UFC 300 knockout loss to Max Holloway, it’s easy to forget that “The Highlight” was riding high into that contest. He had earned a title shot the instant his high kick landed on Dustin Poirier, but the timing didn’t immediately work out, and staying active backfired. At 36 years of age, Gaethje is still in pursuit of that final opportunity for gold, the long-desired showdown versus Islam Makhachev.

Meanwhile, Fiziev has been on the sidelines since September 2023 after his knee exploded in the cage. He’s been ready to return for a while though, and he was quick to jump on this short-notice rematch as soon as news of Dan Hooker’s broken hand released. It’s a gamble for the Muay Thai ace, who either loses three straight or jumps into immediate title contention.

Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Gaethje vs. Fiziev Betting Odds

• Justin Gaethje victory: +136
• Justin Gaethje via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Justin Gaethje via submission: TBD
• Justin Gaethje via decision: TBD
• Rafael Fiziev victory: -162
• Rafael Fiziev via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Rafael Fiziev via submission: TBD
• Rafael Fiziev via decision: TBD
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Gaethje Wins

Justin Gaethje is a savage. Regardless of whether he’s mauling his way forward or working more of an outside game, he commits himself fully to every exchange and never stops trying to take his opponent’s head off.

Pressuring Fiziev — an excellent kicker — is generally a good idea. Fiziev’s style of fighting is extremely taxing, and explosive kicks are even harder to fire from the back foot. Given the short-notice nature of the booking, attacking that gas tank with pressure and his usual volume is likely to pay off.

The other big key here for Gaethje is to work his jab. In the first bout, he spent ten minutes scrapping without sticking the jab. As soon as he started firing his jab, he took over completely and bloodied up Fiziev! Surely fatigue and wear played a factor as well, but throughout his career, Gaethje’s jab has been an underutilized weapon that is nasty when it does show up.

Why wait?

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Fiziev Wins

Fiziev has a long background in Muay Thai and has even coached striking at Tiger Muay Thai. He has very fast, powerful kicks and explosive punching combinations. He tends to control range really well, managing the distance to the point that a slight pull allows him to fire back.

Hopefully, Fiziev has been paying attention to Justin Gaethje’s previous defeats, because the book is definitely written on what works against “The Highlight.” That’s not to say it’s easy, but we know Gaethje can struggle in the face of active feints, an active jab, and effective body work.

In the first fight, Fiziev kicked the mid-section rather well, and he should go back to that well here. However, he could stand to do more body punching too. Jabbing up-and-down the body is a good option, but using the threat of his kicks to set up the left hook to the liver would be classic Muay Thai as well.

Gaethje relies extensively on his high guard. If his mid-section is pummeled, that guard will lower and his punches will be less thudding, allowing Fiziev to find his own hooks and overhands.

Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images

Gaethje vs. Fiziev Prediction

I don’t believe either man has changed dramatically since the first fight. It’s possible, of course, that the Max Holloway KO or ACL injury have ruined Gaethje or Fiziev athletically. We haven’t seen them fight since then, however, so there’s really no way to know.

Assuming both of them are still close to their 2023 standard … why wouldn’t their bout play out similarly? Gaethje finished strong with momentum in his corner back then, having made the better adjustments to take over late in the fight. He should be able to continue that flow, and the short-notice aspect of the match up only favors him as well.

Fiziev is definitely capable of a big knockout, but I don’t see a reason on paper why he should fare better under worse circumstances.

Prediction: Gaethje via decision

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Alex Pereira is fighting for more than just his fourth title defense this weekend (Sat., March 1, 2025) when he takes on Combat Sambo ace Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 313 main event. If “Poatan” plays his cards right, he could also score a UFC Heavyweight title shot, as well as a possible super fight versus current big man roost-ruler Jon Jones.

That’s according to UFC CEO Dana White.

There are a lot of moving factors to consider when planning the futures of two separate divisions. First and foremost, White’s goal is to get “Bones” booked against interim Heavyweight king Tom Aspinall, and he’s targeting a summer date for that highly anticipated match up.

“The plan is to fight Jon this summer,” White explained on The Jim Rome Show (via MMAFighting). “Obviously, when, where and all that stuff is being determined. My goal this year is to make that fight [with] Aspinall.”

Jones vs. Aspinall is one of the most demanded fights possible right now, widely considered the most dangerous threat to Jones’ (nearly) undefeated record in many years. Unifying the Heavyweight crown is a must, but afterwards, there’s an opening for Pereira to jump into title contention in a third weight class.

“The other thing about Pereira that everybody loves is, this guy wants to go up to heavyweight and fight at heavyweight, too,” White said. “I’m the one that’s actually holding him back on that.”

He continued, “He wants to [fight Jon Jones]. Let’s see how this fight plays out, if he wins, how he wins, all that kind of stuff … I think that the fight that everybody wants to see right now is Jones and Aspinall and then there’s no doubt that Pereira could fight the winner.”

Regardless of who is victorious between Jones and Aspinall, a match up versus a defending “Poatan” would be absolutely huge. Nobody has ever even tried to capture a third UFC title, let alone while being the most exciting knockout artist in the sport. That’s the kind of headliner that makes for the PPV of the year.

If Pereira can get by Ankalaev on Saturday, at least.

Insomnia

What’s your take on the TKO/Turki Alalshikh partnership? Will it disrupt boxing, improving matchmaking, both, or neither?

I thought as a general rule, the combat sports community has agreed not to drug test kickboxing.

Jean Silva knows how to market his fights (aside from simply being extremely entertaining).

One of these days, Daniel Cormer is going to throw his back out shooting singles on Alex Pereira.

The most recent Ultimate Fighter (TUF) winner Ryan Loder returns against 19-3 Azamat Bekoev.

Based on recent officiating, UFC referees would let this fly with a warning.

Mauricio Ruffy named himself after an anime character, and he’s fighting a man who renamed himself King. MMA isn’t real!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Straight right inside the left hook, an eternal battle.

Absolutely devious single leg guard play!

Two of the best Lightweights of their era absolutely throwing down!

Random Land

Beauty at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Midnight Music: Hip-hop, 1996

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO, Dana White, and TKO Group Holdings, Inc. and Saudi’s General Minister for Entertainment, Turki Alalshikh, signed a massive deal earlier today (Wed., March 5, 2025) to form a new boxing league.

While details are still trickling in as to how exactly the new league will look like, White is adamant that his format to pump new life into boxing is no secret: “The best will fight the best.”

“There is zero speculation about the format. You know the format, everyone knows the format, the best will fight the best. You work your way up the rankings and once somebody breaks into the Top 5, there will be no question who the best five guys in the world are in each weight class and they fight it out,” he told Ring Magazine.

“Once somebody holds that belt, you don’t need three letters in front of the belt; whoever has that belt is the best in the world at that weight class. It’s a very simple model,” he added, before Alalshikh chimed by revealing it will be White’s show to run.

“I support him with everything. This is his call now and it is now his responsibility to deliver the people and the fans the best model of boxing.”

During an interview on ESPN’s First Take, White said one of his goals is to not complicate things the way it currently is in boxing, with so many titles across multiple divisions and organizations.

“You get rid of all the five different champions in five different sanctioning organizations. One, it will just be one,” he added.

As far is talent is concerned, White said he and his team have already begun the work to scour new talent across the globe.

“There is a lot of talent that we have been looking at right now that no one knows about. What I would love to do is build this thing from the ground up like we did UFC. When we bought the UFC, we had 12 contracts and nobody knew who anybody was.”

Aside from putting on great fights, the UFC boss said his plans are to also provide fans in attendance with a great experience, as well.

“My son just went to that show (Tank vs. Roach), and he said the live event was terrible and disorganized. We are going to clean that up and make events great again. The run of show will run faster, and it won’t take nine hours to see four fights.

“These guys have a fight, put on a podcast, then have another fight, then another podcast. The show will run like UFC does, fight after fight after fight,” he added before saying his team are currently looking to lock down broadcast deals.

“We will build the sport of boxing here in the United States again. To really grow the sport it has to be strong in the US for it to work anywhere.”

While White has a proven track record with mixed martial arts (MMA), it’s two completely different scenarios when it comes to boxing. White and the Fertitta brothers were able to mold the sport of MMA and UFC into the powerhouse it is today in their image because, let’s face it, it was a new sport on its last leg when they purchased it back in 2001.

Boxing, meanwhile, has been around since the 1920’s and is established. While White isn’t looking to re-invent the wheel, his goal is to put on fights that fans want to see. That said, there is a ton of competition out there with so many boxing promoters who have been doing this all their life such as Goldenboy, Matchroom Sport, Top Rank, Mayweather Promotions, Premier Boxing Championships and the list goes on and on.

And we don’t have to mention that they have all the big name talent at the moment.

So, unless White and Co. are open to co-promoting, something he is totally against in MMA, he has a very steep hill to climb if he ever wants to reach their level. Then again, if anyone can do it it’s White with the backing of Alalshikh’s deep pockets.

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Alex Pereira may be one victory away from cleaning out the 205-pound weight class.

In addition, defeating No. 1-ranked contender Magomed Ankalaev atop the UFC 313 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sat. night (March 8, 2025) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, could leave “Poatan” ranked as “the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.”

That’s according to UFC CEO Dana White.

“He’s one of the biggest stars in the sport right now, if not the biggest star in the sport,” White told ESPN’s First Take. “What makes this weekend so great is Ankalaev is a very serious threat to him. It’s probably the toughest fight he’s ever had. His team always talks about his takedown defense and that the fans don’t really know how good it is. We’re going to find out how good it is this weekend. This is a tough fight for Alex. If Alex comes out of this the way he’s come out of every other fight, he might be the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.”

Pereira is currently ranked No. 3 on the official pound-for-pound chart (see it here).

Above “Poatan” are reigning heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones (No. 2) and current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (No. 1). “Bones” is expected to defend his title against Tom Aspinall later this year while Makhachev could be in line for this championship super fight.

Until then, all we can do is pray.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight brawlers Jalin Turner and Ignacio Bahamondes will go to war this weekend (Sat., March 8, 2025) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada at UFC 313.

It’s always a little amusing when the promotion books two of the biggest men in the division opposite one another. Bahamondes has towered over all of his previous UFC opposition, but he’ll face a two inch height deficit here! These Lightweights have both likely seen 200 pounds at some point in the last six months, making a mockery of the entire theory behind weight classes.

Giant Lightweights aside, this is an intriguing striker’s delight match up. Turner has lost three of his last four despite hurting his opponent at some point in all of those bouts, whereas Bahamondes has won five of his last six in consistently highlight reel fashion. Turner has to halt the bleeding, whereas Bahamondes has a chance to jump up the ladder.

Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Turner vs. Bahamondes Betting Odds

• Jalin Turner victory: -108
• Jalin Turner via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Jalin Turner via submission: TBD
• Jalin Turner via decision: TBD
• Ignacio Bahamondes victory: -112
• Ignacio Bahamondes via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Ignacio Bahamondes via submission: TBD
• Ignacio Bahamondes via decision: TBD
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Turner Wins

“The Tarantula” is a serious problem on the feet. Not only is he rangy as hell, but Turner is seriously powerful with both his hands and feet. He fights well behind his straight punches, forcing opponents to try to walk him down (usually face-first into heavy connections).

Historically, Turner has struggled when forced to wrestle, an issue that’s unlikely to arise here, seeing as Bahamondes has yet to score a takedown in the Octagon. He’ll get the striking match he desires, and his advantage would appear to be boxing.

Twice now, Bahamondes has been touched up in the pocket by sharper boxers in Ludovit Klein and John Makdessi, both of whom managed to outland Bahamondes despite significant height and reach disadvantages. Seeing as Turner actually has the edge in those attributes, he should be working to establish the jab and build combinations from it. Longer exchanges will favor his tighter punching, and nobody just shrugs it off when Turner lands.

The other major focus should be countering kicks. Bahamondes is likely to try to overwhelm Turner with volume, but a few crisp counters down the middle can help calm all that down.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

How Bahamondes Wins

Bahamondes is an athletic striker with a background in amateur kickboxing. The Chilean prospect throws punches-in-bunches often punctuated by lovely kicks, and he’s proven to have both power and durability in spades.

The primary avenue to success here — besides simply clipping Turner with a big shot and putting him down, which could happen suddenly for either man — is volume. Bahamondes throws a lot of strikes and maintains that pace well into the second half of the fight. Turner, conversely, has been known to slow down, notably in his last two losses to Renato Moicano and Dan Hooker.

Bahamondes doesn’t have that issue. If a fight goes three full rounds, he tends to land over 100 significant strikes. He doesn’t have to be quite as reckless, but taking a page from the “Hangman” playbook and pressuring Turner with combos and body work seems like a good idea likely to pay off in the long run.

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Turner vs. Bahamondes Prediction

Despite the recent struggles, I’m still siding with Turner.

“The Tarantula” has only lost to elite, proven opposition throughout his recent struggles. He’s beaten a higher class of competition than Bahamondes has ever faced, regardless of outcome. In addition, I think Turner’s recent losses came down more to flaws in execution rather than skill set. With very minor adjustments, he could have scored the nod over Mateusz Gamrot or secured the knockout of Renato Moicano. At 29 years of age, Turner still has time to work out those kinks.

Bahamondes remains a good prospect, but Turner is simply better at this stage in their respective careers.

Prediction: Turner via decision

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