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Decorated jiu-jitsu fighter and Heavyweight MMA prospect Marcus Almeida (4-1) has a problem with One Championship.

Better known as “Buchecha,” is a multiple-time world champion in Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) and the gi worlds. He’s one of the most accomplished Heavyweight grapplers of the last 20 years, and there was a fair amount of hype behind him when he signed with One Championship to begin his MMA career. Almeida won his first four bouts before coming up short to Senegalese wrestler Reug Reug in a hilarious fight.

The battle with Reug Reug went down August 2023, and Almeida hasn’t fought since then. Earlier on Thursday, Almeida posted to social media to complain about the unwanted layoff. According to “Buchecha,” he’s been asking for a fight but has been sidelined so long that people are asking if he’s retired.

“A lot of people are asking me lately if I retired,” he began. “The answer is of course not, the reason I’m not fighting it’s not my choice, I’ve been out waiting for a fight for almost one year but I don’t have luck getting a fight, that’s the reason I’m away from cage or the mats. The right question you should ask me is when I’m fighting again? But right now I’m asking to some people the same thing, to be more precise 13 months. It’s been 13 months of waiting, to be in a situation like that it’s sucks, I don’t wish this to anybody! So if you want this answer, you know who to ask and tag! [One Championship]”

Unfortunately, Buchecha is not alone in having problems with One. The promotion has shifted away from MMA, holding more and more Muay Thai fights. Many theorize that it’s an attempt to keep costs down to improve financial numbers for their next round of fundraising. It’s not just cage fighters either. Pound-for-pound kickboxing king, Chingiz Allazov, is actively feuding with the promotion online and recently announced his intent to fight elsewhere despite his contract with One.

At 34 years of age, Buchecha doesn’t have time to sit around forever. Hopefully, he’s booked sooner than later.

Insomnia

Nate Diaz finding himself in his quarterly street altercation. Stockton, 209, what?!?

Every Jessica Andrade fight is like 20% cool technique and 80% left hook-overhand-left hook combinations.

The next Fight Circus event in September 13, and Matt Brown will be doing … something?

Petr Yan calls out Deiveson Figureiredo, which is the most obvious must-watch fight-to-make in recent memory.

Francis Ngannou — who hired Mike Tyson to be his boxing coach for the Tyson Fury fight — believes Jake Paul is getting knocked out in November.

Yesterday’s cancelled bout between Ovince Saint Preux and Ryan Spann will be delayed by just a month.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

The referee watched Debana getting beaten lifeless without blinking or considering stopping the fight for quite a while.

Established the right straight then switched it up with an uppercut:

A classic bit of bare knuckle brutality.

Random Land

I don’t know who’s in the right or wrong here, but the jump-and-chop maneuver is a win.

Midnight Music: Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay is a new experimental pop record that’s taking the internet by storm, so I gave it a listen tonight. Some catchy songs!

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

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Conor McGregor might be more likely to get into Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s (BKFC) than Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Octagon at this point.

The part-owner of the company took to social media this week to help promote the event, BKFC 65, tomorrow night (Fri., Sept. 6, 2024). In the main event, Flyweight champion, Christine Ferea, returns to defend her title against Jade Masson-Wong. However, it’s the co-main event that has McGregor intrigued.

“In our co-main event also we have ‘who the f*ck is that guy’ (Jeremy Stephens) facing off again against Bobby Taylor,” McGregor said on Instagram. “Me and ‘who the f*ck’ is an exciting bare knuckle fight down the line 100%!”

Longtime UFC veteran, Stephens, 38, recently turned to bare-knuckle boxing (BKB) when he made a successful debut against Jimmie Rivera in December 2023. When it comes to McGregor, the pair infamously had their interaction at a UFC pre-fight press conference when Stephens made a comment towards McGregor and received the “who the f*ck is that guy” response.

Although they have their — albeit minor — history, Stephens isn’t bothered to see “The Notorious” in a position of power over him.

“I got a boss now in Conor McGregor, who is writing my checks,” Stephens told MMA Fighting. “I could potentially be fighting my own boss! There’s a lot of people out there who want that Conor fight, but if he was ever to come over to bare-knuckle, I’m on a hot streak, get the ball f*cking rolling. I would love to be that f*cking guy to welcome him to bare-knuckle.

“I don’t get tired. I can take a f*cking shot. I’ve been in the f*cking game. I would love to max out that opportunity and put myself into those opportunities. Day by day, brick by brick, it will come.”

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What happens when the lightweight “God of War” meets the division’s most dangerous submission fighter? Fireworks! UFC Paris on ESPN+ will feature a five-round banger between Benoit Saint Denis and Renato Moicano with a spot in the division title chase up for grabs!

Event: UFC Paris: “Moicano vs. Saint Denis”
Date: Sat., Sept. 28, 2024
Location: Accor Arena in Paris, France
Broadcast: ESPN+
Start Time: 12 p.m. ET Prelims | 3 p.m. ET Main Card

UFC Paris Main Event On ESPN+:

155 lbs.: Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint Denis

UFC Paris Main Card On ESPN+ (3 p.m. ET):

185 lbs.: Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen
205 lbs.: Ion Cutelaba vs. Ivan Erslan
145 lbs.: William Gomis vs. Joanderson Brito
135 lbs.: Germaine de Randamie vs. Nora Cornolle
135 lbs.: Darya Zheleznyakova vs. Ailín Perez

UFC Paris Prelims Card On ESPN+ (12 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Fares Ziam vs. Matt Frevola
125 lbs.: Daniel Barez vs. Victor Altamirano
205 lbs.: Oumar Sy vs. Da Woon Jung
170 lbs.: Kevin Jousset vs. Bryan Battle
145 lbs.: Morgan Charriere vs. A.J. Cunningham
155 lbs.: Bolaji Oki vs. Chris Duncan
155 lbs.: Ľudovít Klein vs. Roosevelt Roberts

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Paris: “Moicano vs. Saint Denis” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight sluggers Jessica Andrade and Natalia Silva will go to war this weekend (Sat., Sept. 7, 2024) at UFC Vegas 97 inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Andrade has rebounded nicely from a rough 2023, winning her last two bouts opposite quality competition. Now that the former champion has a bit of 115-pound momentum, she’s — once again! — going to risk it all by jumping up 10 pounds and facing off with a top-notch Flyweight prospect.

Cash rules.

Silva has been highly impressive in her two years on the UFC roster. Undefeated in five trips to the Octagon, the 27-year-old Brazilian has picked apart all of her opponents and shown impressive athleticism. She looks like a future contender, and she’ll get a chance to prove her time is now in this match up.

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

Andrade vs. Silva Betting Odds

• Jessica Andrade victory: +240
• Jessica Andrade via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Jessica Andrade via submission: TBD
• Jessica Andrade via decision: TBD
• Natalia Silva victory: -298
• Natalia Silva via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Natalia Silva via submission: TBD
• Natalia Silva via decision: TBD
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Andrade Wins

Andrade is a powerhouse. She’s more physically dominant at Strawweight, but she’s still a powerful hitter and big takedown threat at 125-pounds. Aside from raw power and huge slams, Andrade is known for putting together body-head combinations of hooks.

Closing the distance is going to be a huge key here. Silva’s kickboxing at times leans more towards enthusiastic than technical, but she is still often able to keep opponents away by spamming them with a variety of kicks. Given Andrade’s height and reach disadvantages, closing into the pocket will be very important.

It’s a common situation for the former champion.

Andrade does her best work at closing range when she doesn’t headhunt. Her low kicks are a great weapon, as they can disrupt her opponent’s stance, leaving them stationary for follow-up punches. Body-head combinations are more likely to catch Silva circling with her chin high as well.

Generally, Andrade has to answer every kick. Whether she blocks, evades, or absorbs a Silva kick, “Bate Estaca” has to swarm forward with her own offense afterward rather than hang back.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Silva Wins

Silva has a Taekwondo background, and it shows in the cage! Strong and fast, Silva stabs at her opponent with lots of powerful kicks. When pressed, she’ll stand her ground and fire hard counter punches before returning to her bike and punishing kicking game. It’s an exhausting style, but Silva has the athleticism to pull it off.

We’ve seen Andrade cracked on the counter many times as she tries to come forward. Notably, Yan Xiaonan knocked her cold just last year with a plant right hand. Joanna Jedrzejczyk landed about 100 plant counters in her 25-minute domination of Andrade. Silva has the power to make that shot hurt as well as the style to land it often.

It starts with the jab, kicks, and movement. If Silva keeps her feet moving and offense flowing, she’ll force aggressive charges from the Brazilian. Silva can take her time, get a sense of Andrade’s timing, then plant her feet and try to make Andrade pay for her reckless nature.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Andrade Vs. Silva Prediction

Jessica Andrade’s career management is tragic.

On one hand, I get it: divorce and alleged embezzlement are expensive. Being a UFC fighter isn’t THAT profitable even for former champions. Andrade takes on any fight the UFC offers because she signed a lucrative contract relatively recently and wants to cash in on all those fights.

Alas, it’s very bad strategy for earning another title shot. All of Andrade’s style relies on her physicality advantage, which just isn’t as prominent at Flyweight. Silva in particular can probably match her speed and strength, which means Andrade is facing a range disadvantage without the skill to compensate.

Andrade is a gamer and could always pull it off via sudden KO or submission, but it sure feels like Silva picks her apart and ruins her Strawweight win streak.

Prediction: Natalia Silva via decision (odds not yet released)

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

When it rains, it pours.

Just a day after Alessandro Costa was forced from his scheduled Flyweight banger versus Matt Schnell, the Light Heavyweight preliminary card headliner between Ovince Saint Preux and Ryan Spann has been cancelled. UFC announced the news on Wednesday, blaming the cancellation on an “OSP” illness.

In the Costa vs. Schnell situation, UFC was able to find a short-notice replacement in Cody Durden. This time around, there was no mention of a replacement, so it’s likely that Spann is off the card entirely. It remains to be seen if the bout is rebooked at a later date or scrapped entirely.

Saint Preux (27-17) is a longtime Light Heavyweight veteran who fought for the 205-pound title back in 2016. At 41 years of age, “OSP” is in the closing stages of his career, but he’s still managed to win two of his last three since returning to Light Heavyweight. Spann, meanwhile, has lost his last three bouts. The 33-year-old knockout artist has fallen out of the Top 15 rankings and was looking to rebound in this match up.

Check out the full UFC Vegas 97 fight card right here.

Insomnia

A pair of all-time great Brazilian fighters getting some training in!

The “kickass Bantamweight fights” cup runneth over.

Probably the first time in history that a dude from Philly has liked The Sopranos and Meek Mill (no shade).

Nate Manness, who was controversially released from the UFC roster last month, has officially signed with BKFC.

The greatest Heavyweight of all time.

I don’t have anything against Torrez Finney in the least, but I just know Michel Pereira front kicked the crap out of him.

TJ Dillashaw was so slick at his peak.

An interesting look into the finances of one of the premier regional shows in the US.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Yanarsanov definitely baited him into the buggy choke by allowing the guard pass.

Spin to win!

Slipping while kicking doesn’t appear to have affected the power delivered by even a single iota.

Random Land

Gorgeous scenery.

Midnight Music: Hip-hop, 1998

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

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Jorge Masvidal isn’t planning to re-retire.

The inaugural Baddest Motherf*cker (BMF) champion, Masvidal, ended his brief retirement to rematch Nate Diaz in a boxing match this past July 2024. Unfortunately for “Gamebred,” things didn’t go his way as he suffered a majority decision loss.

The loss coincidentally kept Masvidal out of the win column since his BMF coronation against Diaz in November 2019. Despite the run of negative results, the 39-year-old Welterweight veteran isn’t done and will return to mixed martial arts (MMA).

“I had a blast doing the boxing, it was fun, it was everything, but there’s just nothing in the world that compares to MMA,” Masvidal told Grind City Media. “There ain’t sh*t in the world like MMA. I just finished up training at American Top Team (ATT) right now and it’s just the funnest thing I’ve ever done in my life. A lot of nights, I went to sleep just missing it, just doing certain training or certain workouts. I f*cking love it, man.

“Definitely 100 percent back to MMA [next],” he continued. “I don’t know when I’m fighting but I’m fighting at either the end of this year or next year.”

Masvidal found himself in a rare position for his Diaz rematch, receiving permission from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to compete outside the promotion while under contract. Even though Masvidal’s come up short in his final four UFC appearances (35-17 overall), he believes a title shot is still within reach.

“When I get the biggest fights that I can possibly get, knock that motherf*cker dead, they’ll be begging me to fight for the title,” Masvidal said. “A title run is never ever out of the question. Especially for somebody as skilled as me.”

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Merab Dvalishvili is back in the headlines … for all the wrong reasons.

Not long after “The Machine” was sent to the shop for repairs, courtesy of a training camp cut that had UFC CEO Dana White blaring the trumpet of stupidity, the UFC 306 headliner was spotted with a gruesome, Staph-like infection on his arm with less than two weeks to go before his Sean O’Malley title fight on Sept. 14 at The Sphere.

Not surprisingly, fans on social media are starting to panic.

I’m not a doctor (and I don’t play one on TV) but this is the Internet and it’s not only our right, but our civic duty to make wild, uneducated assumptions about the injury in question. Dvalishvili still has to clear medicals before his five-round, bantamweight headliner gets the rubber stamp from Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

Here’s a recent training video with the injury on display:

Expect Dvalishvili to release another “It’s no big deal!” video in the coming days.

O’Malley has yet to comment on Merab’s injury but don’t be surprised to see a response on social media, where “Suga” routinely eviscerates his bantamweight foe. I’m sure the champ is not looking forward to Dvalishvili grabbing a neck or limb with that wonky arm. Hopefully everything is healed up by fight night.

If not, it might be time to make another call to Usman Nurmagomedov.

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Saudi bigshot Turki Alalshikh, responsible for mending fences in the broken world of boxing, has a new plan to help combat sports promotions combat piracy, one of the big reasons organizations (like this one) continue to hemorrhage cash.

Drop pay-per-view (PPV) prices to a more budget-friendly $ 20.

“Trust me, we know exactly how to combat piracy,” UFC CEO Dana White told reporters at the “Contender Series” media scrum on Tuesday night. “I won’t tell you extensively what we do every event, but we go after piracy hard and you saw a few years ago we started prosecuting people.”

“That’s how you combat piracy. Start f*cking prosecuting people for stealing. There ya’ go.”

Streamers beware, UFC loves to make an example of its piracy busts.

UFC PPV events cost $ 79.99 and require a paid subscription to ESPN+, which may have pushed more fight fans to seek out unauthorized feeds. Competing organizations like Triller have also faced their share of pirated broadcasts over the last few years.

But eighty bucks for a PPV seems like a bargain compared to these ticket prices.

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

UFC CEO Dana White is tired of the pound-for-pound discussion. In his mind, it’s absolutely undeniable that Jon Jones is the current pound-for-pound king of MMA (despite having just a single victory in the last three years). Despite the UNDEBATABLE nature of Jones’ greatness, White has been forced to defend his position so much so that he learned the definition of “glazing” from the online UFC fanbase.

Given a full week to prepare his argument before this week’s meeting with the media, White has utilized the UFC production crew to create a Jon Jones promotional video advertising him as the greatest of all time (GOAT). It’s chockfull of Jones’ statistics and facts, and it can be seen in full above.

It should be noted, however, that the promotional video doesn’t announce Jones’ planned bout versus Stipe Miocic. Technically, “Bones” remains unbooked, so this is a rare case of UFC quite actively promoting a fighter who doesn’t have a fight scheduled.

White reflected to the video in the post-fight press conference of Tuesday’s episode of Contenders Series. White seemed very pleased with the video and revealed that it won’t be long until the UFC rankings are run by artificial intelligence.

“Did you guys read that stats?” White asked the media. “He recently just beat the No. 1 Heavyweight in the world. Hope you guys read that stat. You know what is f—king great about technology? We’re not far away from AI actually doing these rankings, and it’ll be a great f—king day when AI starts doing this s—t. I’m really excited about that!”

Just for fun, I went on ChatGPT and requested that the program “Compile a list of the top 10 current pound-for-pound best UFC fighters.” Here’s the result:

As of September 2024, the top 10 current pound-for-pound UFC fighters are often debated among fans and analysts, but here’s a list based on recent performances, titles, and overall impact in the sport:

Alexander Volkanovski – UFC Featherweight Champion and highly skilled with impressive victories across multiple weight classes.

Islam Makhachev – UFC Lightweight Champion known for his dominant wrestling and striking abilities.

Jon Jones – UFC Heavyweight Champion and former Light Heavyweight Champion, regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time.

Leon Edwards – UFC Welterweight Champion with a well-rounded skill set and notable victories.

Israel Adesanya – Former UFC Middleweight Champion and a standout striker with a dynamic fighting style.

Charles Oliveira – Former UFC Lightweight Champion with exceptional grappling and finishing skills.

Kamaru Usman – Former UFC Welterweight Champion, known for his strong wrestling and striking.

Amanda Nunes – Former UFC Featherweight and Bantamweight Champion, with a powerful and aggressive fighting style.

Jamahal Hill – UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, noted for his striking power and recent rise in the division.

Aljamain Sterling – UFC Bantamweight Champion, recognized for his grappling prowess and technical skills.

Given that more than half of the names above lost their last bout and one is retired, it looks like the rankings panel gets to exist for at least one more week. As for Jones, he has a much stronger case for GOAT than current pound-for-pound king, so I’m not sure that video entirely hit the mark either.

They are, after all, different things!

Insomnia

Cody Durden is stepping up to replace the injured Alessandro Costa!

Every time Javier Mendez posts behind-the-scenes bantering at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), it’s going in the column.

It’s cool to see Terence Crawford on the other side of the mitts, offering insight and advice.

Whatever Russian promotion this is having face-offs take place in a matted area … smart!

This prompt ignited a bit of discussion, and all I can think about is just how mangled Michael Bisping’s face was after five rounds with geriatric Dan Henderson.

How many people can actually force Tom Aspinall back? An accomplishment in its own right.

Petr Yan has some of the coolest takedowns of all time.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Since being released from the UFC, Vince Morales has won five in a row with four stoppages. A strangle this slick deserves a second chance!

I miss watching Demian Maia knife through opponent’s defense like butter.

High kick rocked him straight through the guard.

Random Land

Every balding man has this level of attachment to his hat.

Midnight Music: Soul/Jazz, 1968

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

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It’s that time of year again!

Contender Series keeps rolling on for 10 straight weeks of mixed martial arts (MMA) action. Week four goes down tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, in front of UFC CEO, Dana White, as well as his cadre of matchmakers.

As has become standard for the program of late, four of five fighters got UFC contracts last week.

In the main event this evening, Korea’s Seok Hyun Ko (10-2) takes on Igor Cavalcanti (9-0), who has a 100 percent finish rate with seven knockouts. The co-main event sees Middleweights clash as London’s Will Currie (12-3) takes on Djorden Santos (9-1). The “Featured” bout has the best prospect in North America, Austin Bashi (12-0), fighting short-notice opponent, Dorian Ramos (8-2). A pair of undefeated women’s Flyweights clash as Shannon Clark (5-0) takes on Yuneisy Duben (4-0), and Welterweight finishers kick off the card as Gauge Young (8-1) fights Quillan Salkilld (6-1).

‘Contender Series’ Quick Results:

Seok Hyun Ko vs. Igor Cavalcanti
Djorden Santos defeats Djorden Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Austin Bashi defeats Dorian Ramos via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 2, 3:15
Yuneisy Duben defeats Yuneisy Duben via knockout (punch) Round 1, 1:113
Quillan Salkilld defeats Gauge Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

‘Contender Series’ Highlights & Results:

170 lbs:. Seok Hyun Ko vs. Igor Cavalcanti
185:. Djorden Santos defeats Djorden Santos via unanimous decision

145:. Austin Bashi defeats Dorian Ramos via submission

125:. Yuneisy Duben defeats Yuneisy Duben via knockout

155:. Quillan Salkilld defeats Gauge Young via unanimous decision

For more Contender Series news and notes, be sure to hit up our comprehensive archive right here.

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