Category Archives: Mmamania.com

Serghei Spivac will FINALLY get the chance to avenge his UFC Norfolk loss to Marcin Tybura.

No disrespect to either competitor, but it says a lot about the UFC heavyweight division — and the state of APEX cards — when this lowly-anticipated rematch takes headlining duties for ESPN+, which may or may not remain the promotion’s broadcast partner in 2025.

Tybura (25-8) is 7-2 in the nine fights since his Spivac victory roughly four years back and remains ranked in the Top 10 at 265 pounds. So too does Spivac (16-4), who is 6-2 after falling to the well-traveled Pole in early 2020.

Here’s the full version of their UFC Vegas 95 poster:

UFC

Cool poster, lukewarm event.

UFC Vegas 95 will also feature the bantamweight showdown between Javid Basharat and Chris Gutierrez. Elsewhere on the card, Damon Jackson collides with Chepe Mariscal at featherweight, not long after Jafel Filho and Allan Nascimento hook ‘em up at 125 pounds.

Stay tuned for more UFC Vegas 95 news and notes in the coming days.

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Belal Muhammad is now ranked in the Top 10 of the pound-for-pound rankings.

The newly-crowned welterweight champion unseated former division titleholder Leon Edwards in the UFC 304 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last weekend in Manchester, shaking up the 170-pound leaderboard in the process.

“Rocky” slipped to No. 7 at pound-for-pound and No. 1 at welterweight.

Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall also gained some ground on the “bullsh*t” pound-for-pound chart, clocking in at No. 9 after disposing of longtime contender Curtis Blaydes. In addition, lightweight sensation Paddy Pimblett finally cracked the Top 15 at 155 pounds by submitting veteran bruiser King Green.

Here’s how UFC compiles its official rankings:

Rankings were generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.

Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of the UFC app. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).

MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Islam Makhachev
2. Alex Pereira
3. Jon Jones
4. Ilia Topuria +1
5. Sean O’Malley +1
6. Belal Muhammad *NR
7. Leon Edwards -3
8. Alexander Volkanovski -1
9. Tom Aspinall +2
10. Max Holloway -2
11. Dricus Du Plessis -2
12. Alexandre Pantoja -2
13. Israel Adesanya -1
14. Sean Strickland
15. Charles Oliveira -2

FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexandre Pantoja

1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Tatsuro Taira
6. Alex Perez +1
7. Steve Erceg +2
8. Matheus Nicolau +2
9. Manel Kape -1
10. Tim Elliott +1
11. Matt Schnell +1
12. Tagir Ulanbekov +1
13. Bruno Silva +1
14. Asu Almabayev +1
15. Cody Durden *NR

Note: Muhammad Mokaev released from UFC, removed from flyweight rankings

BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Sean O’Malley

1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. Cory Sandhagen
3. Petr Yan
4. Marlon Vera
5. Henry Cejudo
6. Deiveson Figueiredo
7. Song Yadong
8. Jose Aldo
9. Rob Font
10. Umar Nurmagomedov
11. Kyler Phillips
12. Mario Bautista
13. Dominick Cruz
14. Jonathan Martinez
15. Montel Jackson

FEATHERWEIGHT

Champion: Ilia Topuria

1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Brian Ortega
4. Yair Rodriguez
5. (T) Movsar Evloev
5. (T) Arnold Allen +1
7. Josh Emmett
8. Aljamain Sterling
9. Calvin Kattar
10. Giga Chikadze
11. Lerone Murphy
12. Diego Lopes
13. Bryce Mitchell
14. Dan Ige
15. Edson Barboza

LIGHTWEIGHT

Champion: Islam Makhachev

1. Arman Tsarukyan
2. Charles Oliveira
3. Justin Gaethje
4. Dustin Poirier
5. Mateusz Gamrot
6. Michael Chandler
7. Beneil Dariush
8. Rafael Fiziev
9. Max Holloway
10. Renato Moicano
11. Dan Hooker
12. Benoit Saint-Denis
13. Jalin Turner
14. Rafael dos Anjos
15. Paddy Pimblett *NR

WELTERWEIGHT

Champion: Belal Muhammed

1. Leon Edwards -1
2. Kamaru Usman -1
3. Shavkat Rakhmonov
4. Colby Covington
5. Jack Della Maddalena
6. Gilbert Burns
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Sean Brady
9. Stephen Thompson
10. Geoff Neal
11. Joaquin Buckley
12. Neil Magny
13. Vicente Luque
14. Michael Page -1
15. Kevin Holland

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Champion: Dricus Du Plessis

1. Sean Strickland
2. Israel Adesanya
3. Robert Whittaker
4. Nassourdine Imavov
5. Jared Cannonier
6. Marvin Vettori
7. Brendan Allen
8. Paulo Costa
9. Jack Hermansson
10. Roman Dolidze
11. Khamzat Chimaev
12. Caio Borralho
13. Michel Pereira
14. Anthony Hernandez
15. Chris Curtis

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Alex Pereira

1. Jiri Prochazka
2. Magomed Ankalaev
3. Jamahal Hill
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. Nikita Krylov
7. Volkan Oezdemir
8. Khalil Rountree
9. Johnny Walker
10. Carlos Ulberg
11. Anthony Smith
12. Bogdan Guskov
13. Dominick Reyes
14. Azamat Murzakanov
15. Alonzo Menifield

HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Jon Jones

1. Tom Aspinall
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Alexander Volkov
4. Sergei Pavlovich +1
5. Curtis Blaydes -1
6. Stipe Miocic
7. Jailton Almeida
8. Marcin Tybura
9. Serghei Spivac
10. Tai Tuivasa
11. Derrick Lewis
12. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
13. Alexandr Romanov
14. Marcos Rogerio De Lima
15. Rodrigo Nascimento

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Alexa Grasso
2. Zhang Weili
3. Valentina Shevchenko
4. Manon Fiorot
5. Julianna Pena
6. Raquel Pennington
7. Rose Namajunas
8. Erin Blanchfield
9. Tatiana Suarez
10. Yan Xiaonan
11. Jessica Andrade
12. Kayla Harrison
13. Virna Jandiroba
14. Ketlen Vieira
15. Amanda Lemos

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT

Champion: Zhang Weili

1. Tatiana Suarez
2. Yan Xiaonan
3. Virna Jandiroba
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Amanda Lemos
6. Marina Rodriguez
7. Mackenzie Dern
8. Amanda Ribas
9. Angela Hill
10. Loopy Godinez
11. Tabatha Ricci
12. Luana Pinheiro
13. Gillian Robertson
14. Iasmin Lucindo
15. Karolina Kowalkiewicz

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexa Grasso

1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Rose Namajunas
6. Jessica Andrade
7. Katlyn Cerminara
8. Natalia Silva
9. Amanda Ribas
10. Viviane Araújo
11. Karine Silva
12. Tracy Cortez
13. Ariane Da Silva
14. Jasmine Jasudavicius
15. Casey O’Neill

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Raquel Pennington

1. Julianna Pena
2. Ketlen Vieira
3. Kayla Harrison
4. Irene Aldana
5. Macy Chiasson
6. Mayra Bueno Silva
7. Holly Holm
8. Karol Rosa
9. Miesha Tate
10. Norma Dumont
11. Pannie Kianzad
12. Yana Santos
13. Julia Avila
14. Chelsea Chandler
15. Germaine De Randamie

You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the bantamweight division, following the UFC Abu Dhabi: “Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ABC and ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., Aug. 3, 2024 at Etihad Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev is one of the more unique fight moments in recent memory. When’s the last time a fight had an exciting build up, absolutely terrible climax, then interesting and controversial fallout? Outside of the boring fight itself — which saw Mokaev defeat Kape via close decision — the whole ordeal has been rather entertaining.

The big narrative after UFC 304 has been Mokaev’s release. The 23-year-old Flyweight prospect has won seven in a row to start his UFC career, and his victory over Kape should have bumped him into the Top Five. Instead, he’s been released outright, reportedly for chasing Professional Fighter’s League (PFL) leverage and generally being difficult to work with.

Or maybe he’s just too boring.

Whatever the case, Kape is arguing online that Mokaev doesn’t deserve the win at all because he tapped to a guillotine. “Starboy” wrote on social media, “You can clearly see the moment when Mokaev Tap” alongside the slow-motion clip above, which does see Mokaev reach down to Kape’s leg in a tapping-like motion.

There’s a couple problems, however. One, the referee walks in front of the shot, blocking the view! Secondly, Mokaev could just as easily be moving his hand to press on the leg in an attempt to weaken Kape’s guard and general squeeze. It’s not exactly damning evidence, and far better cases have still failed to see commissions take action.

Ultimately, Kape is still on the roster and Mokaev is not, so the Portuguese fighter should probably just take that moral victory and move on.

Insomnia

I saw a few comments complaining that Belal Muhammad spiked Leon Edwards illegally, which was not the case. Unless it’s a genuine Tombstone Piledriver from The Undertaker himself, you will never see a slam takedown penalized in MMA.

Arnold Allen is not impressed by Giga Chikadze’s post-fight comments.

A very interesting threat about referee Mike Beltran with better cited sources than one might expect …

How many highlight reel KOs does Robelis Despaigne have to deliver before people are excited about him again? I’d guess two.

It won’t happen, but I would unironically watch Conor McGregor vs. Sean O’Malley in 2024 and think it would be competitive.

How many miles do you think Jiri Prochazka can shadowbox-hike in a full day?

It’s going to be really difficult to uncover weaknesses in Aspinall’s game when he fights in 60 second spurts.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Big swings in the pocket from both men.

Reinier de Ridder is still signed to One Championship, but that didn’t stop him from picking up a victory in Abu Dhabi over the weekend …

About as clean as a body cross-hook upstairs combination can land!

Random Land

An epic shot and how it came to be.

Midnight Music: Hardcore punk, 1998

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

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Muhammad Mokaev kept his undefeated 13-0 (1 no contest) record intact at UFC 304, but it wasn’t enough to keep his job this past weekend (July 27, 2024).

The top Flyweight contender revealed ahead of his grudge match with former RIZIN Bantamweight champion, Manel Kape, that their bout would be the last on his UFC contract. Ultimately, Mokaev’s unanimous decision victory wasn’t enough for the promotion to want to start new negotiations.

UFC CEO, Dana White, immediately shut down the idea of Mokaev returning to the promotion after the win, exclaiming that “PFL is going to get a great undefeated guy.” The comments and willingness from UFC’s boss to part ways with a surging 24-year-old top fighter caught many in the community off guard. White did allude to the many issues Mokaev presented in the lead up to the fight, such as the pre-fight scuffles with Kape, on top of its underwhelming nature.

According to multi-sport commentator, Ben Davis, there’s more to the story, says a longtime business partner close to Mokaev.

“Mokaev and his management team tried to check on what PFL would pay well before his last fight on the deal,” Davis’ source said in their screenshotted direct messages. “UFC got wind of this and considered it the last straw of why they weren’t going to re-sign. It’s why Dana mentioned, ‘PFL is getting a good undefeated guy.’

“Essentially, he was trying to use the number from PFL as leverage,” they concluded.

If Mokaev ends up signing with PFL, he’ll likely have to move up to the Bantamweight division as the promotion doesn’t currently have Flyweight. That’s unless they were to do singular bouts at 125 pounds just for the Manchester, England resident.

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Wouldn’t be the first time UFC made a “big mistake” with a hasty goodbye…

UFC is no longer in the Nate Maness business.

That might come as a surprise to fans, considering “Mayhem” is coming off back-to-back victories over Mateus Mendonca and Jimmy Flick. In addition, Maness already has three post-fight performance bonuses in just seven fights with UFC.

“We received word back from the UFC matchmaker last week about why we weren’t re-signed,” Maness (16-3) wrote on social media. “We were told the Flyweight division is comprised of exciting fighters and he doesn’t view me as exciting. I suppose half your fights being finishes-bonuses isn’t good enough now. So there ya have it, we will not be getting a new contract.”

Maness, 33, is a seasoned veteran with more than a decade of cage-fighting experience. More than half of his professional victories have come by way of knockout or submission and “Mayhem” was considered a serious threat to the flyweight division.

Perhaps he can join this “great undefeated guy” in PFL.

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Curtis Blaydes landed a stiff jab to open his UFC 304 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event against interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall last weekend in Manchester, but instead of staying patient and building on his offense, “Razor” got greedy.

It cost him the fight — and the chance to usurp the substitute strap.

“Sorry guys, I got greedy when I touched him early and threw out the amazing gameplan that my coaches Vinnie Lopez and Cody Donovan came up with that would’ve worked, I’m sure of it,” Blaydes wrote on Facebook. “No excuses. Tom was on point tonight. I know this isn’t the end of my journey but dammit, I know I’m better than tonight’s performance. I appreciate all the support, truly it’s been an eye opening experience to have so many people rocking with me.”

Aspinall avenged his previous loss to “Razor” at UFC London in summer 2022.

Blaydes is currently ranked No. 4 in the 265-pound division and is unlikely to lose any ground when the updated rankings are released later this week. The 33 year-old heavyweight drops to 18-5 (1 NC) with his UFC 304 loss to the “Honey Badger.”

For more UFC 304 results and fallout click here.

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Mokaev admits he planned an attack on Kape in Manchester after the two came to blows in Las Vegas months before.

Despite winning his UFC 304 fight against Manel Kape, Muhammad Mokaev has found himself without a job in the UFC.

Following the event, UFC CEO Dana White announced the promotion would not be re-signing Mokaev, who completed the last fight on his contract in Manchester. Mokaev had suggested it was his wrestling-heavy fighting style that the promotion wasn’t a fan of. White said that wasn’t the only reason.

“The matchmakers aren’t big fans of his for many different reasons,” White said. “There’s a lot of people who shoot takedowns in this business, a lot of guys that fight with that type of style. But it’s a lot more than just that.”

Perhaps it’s been all the drama that has surrounded Mokaev over his last two fights with Manel Kape. The two men got into an altercation at the UFC Apex that saw Kape headbutt Mokaev. Mokaev got his revenge in a Manchester fighter hotel brawl, and the two clashed again at the ceremonial weigh-ins and even in the cage before the opening bell. If those incidents weren’t the last straw for UFC, the stinker of a fight with Kape certainly was.

Mokaev for his part was unrepentant over the pre-fight fight, which he admitted to setting up during a UFC 304 post-fight interview.

“In an interview, [Kape] said if he comes to Manchester, he’s going to [attack me] a second time,” he said. “I couldn’t come close to him in the hotel, so I told him let’s come take a picture. And once he came, I dropped him.”

“I’m not other guys who, somebody can bully me. “I come from a rough background. My life was tough and I give no s— to anyone to bully me.”

There were signs that Mokaev was out of favor with the UFC coming into the British event. The bout schedule for the event was set with the flyweight contender competing on the main card. But as the event approached, his fight with Kape was moved onto the early prelims.

Now the man who hoped to become the youngest UFC champion in history finds himself outside the promotion with little chance of returning any time soon.

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Makhachev was expected to defend his lightweight title in Abu Dhabi this October. That may not happen due to a ligament tear in his hand.

Islam Makhachev is suffering from a hand injury that may keep him from an expected October fight date in Abu Dhabi.

While nothing has officially been announced, reports have Makhachev penciled in to fight Arman Tsarukyan on the UFC’s annual pay-per-view in the United Arab Emirates. But we’ll have to see whether a ligament tear in his hand heals quickly enough.

“After the fight my fist hurt a lot, a lot of things hurt,” Makhachev told Ushatayka in a new interview. “We’ll take time, everything is healing little by little. But my hand continues to bother me. An MRI recently confirmed that I have a partial ligament tear. let’s see if I can recover. If not, I may even have to have surgery.”

“Well, it is questionable,” he said of the Abu Dhabi show. “We haven’t talked about the fight yet. I am doing rehabilitation every day now and we’ll see how the hand goes.”

If not October, Islam still wants to compete before the start of 2025. He’d previously asked to fight on the UFC’s upcoming November event at Madison Square Garden.

“I really want to perform before the end of the year,” he said. “I plan to, too. So far I haven’t even thought about not performing. But I want to come in shape, prepared, so that nothing bothers me. Before the last fight, there were also a lot of minor injuries, everything accumulated. And I want to give my body time to recover.”

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No one expected Paddy Pimblett to hang with Bobby Green on the feet, which ‘The Baddy’ blames on his deceptive looks.

Paddy Pimblett was the star of the night at UFC 304 in Manchester, England. Not only did he charge up a sleepy local crowd with his rousing first round submission win over Bobby “King” Green, he charged up his bank account with two $ 100,000 performance bonuses.

The win puts Pimblett in the lightweight rankings at No. 15, a point Paddy made in the cage on the mic.

“That’s a statement to all the haters out there who said I’d never get a ranking,” he said. “Now you’re just going to have to move the goal posts again and say Bobby’s a has-been, Bobby’s finished. Well, I’ve got a ranking next to me name now haven’t I, so suck it!”

Pimblett was surprisingly sharp with his striking against Green, who’s known for being a sniper on the feet.

“People thought that I was just gonna come straight in and shoot in, and I told you all I didn’t need to,” he said at the post-fight press conference. “You know know what I mean? People underestimate me striking. Don’t think I can strike … I had a striker shooting in on me. You know what I mean?”

That takedown attempt was the beginning of the end for Green, who ended up in a triangle choke with Pimblett cranking his arm (watch the finish here).

“Yeah, I was surprised,” he said of Green shooting on him. “But as I say, everyone underestimates me just because I look like a 14 year old girl.”

Pimblett was on the verge of becoming a free agent after his bout at UFC 304, and had suggested he was willing to fight an influencer if the money was right. But he confirmed that he had signed a new deal with the UFC instead.

“I’m gonna be here for the rest of my life, lad,” he said. “People took what I said and click-baited it. Obviously, it goes without saying, just like what McGregor did with Mayweather, if you get an offer of a million pounds to go and do a boxing match, you’re gonna do it. But I’ve signed a 6 fight deal, so I’m here for a while. I’m getting some nice wages. Need to get the duffle bag out.”

Pimblett’s performance was all the more impressive considering his coaches were considering pulling him off UFC 304 due to a mental health struggle in training camp. Paddy said it was important for him to bounce back from that and stay on the card.

“It’s not just to prove it to myself either,” he said. “It’s to prove to everyone else that no matter how low you feel and how dark times are, you can push through it. And as I’ve showed tonight, even though 5 or 6 weeks ago I was in a dark place … I went out there and put on the best performance that I’ve ever done. I’ve never looked that good in the UFC.”

So good that he took Green out faster than the current lightweight champion.

“My coach has just said they finished them a a second faster than Islam Makhachev,” he said with a smile.

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ESPN+ had all sorts of problems … again.

UFC 304 took place last night (Sat., July 27, 2024), and in the main event, Leon Edwards lost his Welterweight title to Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision. In the co-headliner, Tom Aspinall made quick work of Curtis Blaydes (watch highlights).

All throughout the night, the UFC 304 broadcast was in complete shambles, from starting over 10 minutes later because of seven straight decisions to audio issues to black screens.

The broadcast showed a graphic of retired NFL Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger three times, and at the start of the final round of the Gregory Rodrigues vs. Christian Leeroy Duncan fight, ESPN+ went down for 30 seconds.

Check out some reactions.

UFC CEO Dana White was asked about the complete train wreck of a broadcast.

“How nutty is that?” White told the media during the UFC 304 post-fight press conference (watch here). “I guess ESPN was having all kinds of problems tonight, technically, with audio and graphics and NFL graphics were popping up, and I heard about it, but I don’t know why, but it was, it was an ESPN issue.”

ESPN+ is no stranger to having numerous problems with basically every single UFC fight card, but last night was by far the worst it has ever been, and for fans who paid $ 80, it is unacceptable.

But at the end of the day, nothing ever happens.

ESPN+ better fix the issues soon because UFC TV rights are up, and there are several other options.

For complete UFC 304: “Edwards vs. Muhammad” results and play-by-play, click HERE!

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