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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight grapplers Jailton Almeida vs. Alexander Romanov will duel this weekend (Sat., June 1, 2024) at UFC 302 inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Almeida started his UFC career off hot, winning six straight bouts to establish himself as a Heavyweight contender. The Brazilian suffered his first Octagon defeat last time out, however, as Curtis Blaydes was able to survive the first round and pull the rug out from underneath Almeida with a sudden series of hammerfists (watch highlights). “Malhadinho” will attempt to rebound opposite a fellow grappler in Romanov, who actually started his UFC career in similar fashion. Five straight wins saw Romanov climb the ladder quickly, but consecutive losses and significant weight gain raised questions about whether the Moldovan wrestler could really cut it at the highest level.

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

Almeida Vs. Romanov Betting Odds

• Jailton Almeida victory: -290
• Jailton Almeida via TKO/KO/DQ: +350
• Jailton Almeida via submission: +175
• Jailton Almeida via decision: +375
• Alexander Romanov victory: +205
• Alexander Romanov via TKO/KO/DQ: +800
• Alexander Romanov via submission: +600
• Alexander Romanov via decision: +650
• Draw: +5000
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

How Almeida Wins

Almeida is not a complicated tactician, but his strategy has been wildly effective. The muscled Brazilian wastes little time in flashing a high kick or left hook then exploding forward into a double leg takedown. Once on top, his control and guard passing is masterful, and he’ll hunt for submissions from dominant positions like mount.

For all the “boring” complaints, Almeida has finished 19 of his 20 victories — mixed martial arts (MMA) fans are silly!

At some point, Almeida is going to have to add more layers to his kickboxing offense to really set up his grappling, but … this is not that point. I don’t know that Romanov even has the striking advantage here. They’re pretty much pure grapplers, and based on footage and results, Almeida seems like the better one!

Even if he isn’t, his cardio is much better. Almeida can start wrestling from the first bell, and by the second, Romanov will probably fade to the point that he can take over if he hasn’t already.

How Romanov Wins

Romanov was an accomplished freestyle wrestler before moving into MMA. In the cage, he’s known for high-velocity throws and an aggressive top game, which has resulted in 15 finishes out of 17 victories.

The odds are stacked against him, but I do see a single realistic path to victory for Romanov — aside from closing his eyes and swinging for a random KO punch, which could always happen between two big men. The better strategy, however, would be to sprint from the starting gun and initiate the wrestling exchanges himself.

As we just saw in Almeida vs. Blaydes, a Heavyweight being good at offensive wrestling doesn’t mean his defensive wrestling is particularly nuanced. There’s every chance that Almeida’s takedown defense is mediocre, and we’ve just never seen that aspect of his game because nobody has tried. Surprisingly, one of the safest ways to avoid being taken down is to take the other guy down first!

That’s the case here. If “King Kong” shoots early, he might just be able to throw Almeida through the air and gain top position.

Almeida Vs. Romanov Prediction

Heavyweight grappling matches have a reputation for being awful, but this one should create some interesting scrambles.

One of the most difficult situations in MMA is trying to beat someone who’s superior in your own strength. What is a very good kickboxer supposed to do against an elite kickboxer? They can try to wrestle, but nobody likes turning to their backup game plan, and the elite kickboxer is probably used to shucking off takedown attempts from actual wrestlers!

Such is the case here. Almeida is the superior athlete with more dominant wrestling and better jiu-jitsu. Romanov might be able to start fast and catch him off-guard, but Almeida is pretty dang excellent at exploding out of the gate. Plus, even if he is taken down, Almeida showed a good ability to wrestle up into single legs from his back against Derrick Lewis last time out, and it feels unlikely that Romanov can keep up the pace for more than a round.

When he fades, Almeida wraps up a strangle.

Prediction: Almeida via submission (+175)

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 302 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 302: “Makhachev vs. Poirier” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Dustin Poirier has been consistently honest that his legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) career is coming to a close sooner than later.

“The Diamond” has set no expiration date, but he’s made it clear each fight could be his last. He’s a significant underdog heading into his UFC 302 main event title fight versus Islam Makhachev, setting the stage for a fairytale ending … or at least a respectable high point to walk away from if defeated by the sport’s current pound-for-pound king.

UFC color commentator and retired champion Daniel Cormier doesn’t love Poirier’s openness on the subject. “DC” doesn’t want to see Poirier walk away, but he also think it’s a bad idea for fighters to recognize they’re almost done while still fighting. According to “DC,” that’s a mistake he made himself before walking away.

“I can’t stand hearing that it’s almost over for a guy that we all universally love and enjoy when he’s inside the octagon,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel (via Yahoo Sports). “I also hate it for another reason: I hate it for the idea that it could be almost over, and he recognizes that. I don’t like when athletes because I did it myself, I’m almost judging myself; I don’t love when athletes put a timeline or a finishing point on a career that’s still actively going on. That is a hard thing to do.”

Cormier continued, “I started looking to a time where I didn’t have to worry about cutting the weight and doing all this other stuff. That’s miserable. Life afterwards is vacations, beaches, eating what you want and doing what you want.

“I don’t love that there’s so many references to, ‘My last chance or my last dance. I’m not committing to retirement.’ It’s like, if you have any desire to fight, you have to be so in the fight that there is no thought of what comes next.”

It should be noted that Poirier talked similarly ahead of his fight versus Benoit Saint Denis, then showed absolutely no quit opposite the French talent and knocked him out cold. Regardless of pre-fight talks, I would expect the Louisiana-native to be at his best on Saturday night.

Whether that’s enough to dethrone Makhachev remains to be seen.

Insomnia

Now that I’ve read this tweet, I fully understand Ronda Rousey’s desire to never associate with anything MMA-related ever again.

Why would doc squeeze the hematoma, seems rude!

Between calling out Israel Adesanya for a street fight and comparing himself to Khabib will never wrestling, Manel Keep is rising through the ranks of pound-for-pound most delusional fighter. An impressive and hilarious accomplishment!

Be like water!

… I would unironically watch Kamaru Usman vs. Jan Blachowicz in 2024. Does it make sense? No. But I would watch it!

The best staredown in recent memory:

Henry Cejudo may not want to fight Kyler Phillips, but he’s interested in Song Yadong and Petr Yan.

Imagine if Kevin Lee somehow becomes good again. Even if you weren’t a fan during his height, it sucks to see a stellar athlete destroyed by injury.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Russian undefeated amateur champion who does cool throws and foot sweeps — that’s a prospect to remember.

Legalize upkicks to a grounded opponent!

Number one rule of being stuck in single leg back control: don’t reach backwards!

Random Land

Butterfly hooks!!!

Midnight Music: G-Funk, 1992

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

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There’s only one Conor McGregor.

Ireland’s finest is often imitated, but never replicated — for better or worse. McGregor, 35, is the biggest star in mixed martial arts (MMA) history, transcending sport unlike any other fighter has before. If any skepticism remained about that notion, his recent appearance as an actor in Road House will put that to rest.

No matter how divisive of a figure he’s become, McGregor has still demanded and gained the respect of his peers as he gets set to return to action against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 next month (Sat., June 29, 2024). Amongst those excited for “The Notorious” return is UFC Middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis, who believes everyone should be thankful in some way for McGregor.

“I mean, that guy, everything he touches, he’s such a legend in this sport,” du Plessis said on The Sias du Plessis Show (h/t MMA Junkie). “What he’s done for the sport, he’s transformed it into such a mainstream sport.

“I can understand disliking the persona but knowing — I don’t know him personally but meeting him, different person,” he continued. “And even if you don’t like him, you can’t ever, ever discredit what he’s done for this sport because every single fighter needs to thank him, in my opinion, for the raise in pay, the raise in awareness of this sport because I think Conor McGregor might be one of the most famous people on earth.”

du Plessis, 30, has been flawless in his UFC career thus far (7-0, 21-2 overall). His last time out saw him capture the 185-pound title with a hard-fought split decision nod over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 this past January 2024 (watch highlights). The South African expects his first title defense against the former two-time champion, Israel Adesanya.

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Sean Strickland, like so many other UFC fighters, is prepared to die inside the Octagon.

I’m not sure a co-main event against Paulo Costa is worth dying for; but hey, whatever gets you into the gym every morning to train, I suppose. “Tarzan” battles “The Eraser” as part of the UFC 302 pay-per-view (PPV) on Sat. night (June 1) inside Prudential Center in Newark.

“UFC 302, man, it’s going to be a bloodbath,” Strickland said during “Countdown to UFC 302” (watch the replay here). “I think that me and Costa, we’re going to go in the deep water. It’s going to be a 25-minute war.”

“I think we’re both going to be looking at each other in that third, fourth round, thinking, ‘f**k, we got one more round.’ But mentally, as always, I’m ready to die for what I want. And I think I’m going to pick him apart.”

Strickland (28-6) is looking to rebound from his decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 297 main event earlier this year in Toronto. As for Costa (14-3), he recently dropped a decision to former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 in Anaheim.

For the rest of the UFC 302 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is making its return to “The Garden State” this weekend for the upcoming UFC 302 pay-per-view (PPV) event, locked and loaded for Sat., June 1, 2024 inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Headlining the card will be the lightweight title fight between reigning 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev and former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier. The UFC 302 PPV co-main event will feature an important middleweight matchup between former 185-pound champion Sean Strickland and one-time title challenger Paulo Costa.

Check out their “Countdown to UFC 302” video special embedded above.

“I feel like I can climb my way back up the way I have over and over again,” Poirier told Yahoo Sports. “It’s just, do I have it in me? Do I want to do that? I’ve been doing it for so many years, grinding tooth and nail, fighting my way up this ladder to try to be No. 1. The goal is to be the undisputed world champion. That’s the only thing I have left to do in this sport. I want to finish the story and be the champion forever. That’s my goal.”

Makhachev has goals of his own.

“Dustin, he is a warrior, legend — he has more than everybody experience in this sport,” Makhachev told TMZ Sports. “But his problem is his style. That’s the one problem this guy has. His weak point is wrestling and grappling, and I have the key for the easy fight. And if I follow the plan, I can beat him easy. My style and Khabib’s style, it’s worst style for Dustin. People who can can take him down, hold him there, it always gives him problems.”

For the rest of the UFC 302 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

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“The Notorious” shared photos and videos from his wild night out on Instagram, raising questions of how seriously he’s taking preparations for his June 29, 2024, comeback fight.

Conor McGregor is hard at work training for his comeback fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 next month (June 29, 2024) in Las Vegas, Nevada. But, all work and no play make “The Notorious” a dull boy, so the Irish sports star took some time this weekend to rage out at his pub until the early morning hours (2 a.m.).

McGregor posted various photos and videos from the Black Forge Inn in Dublin, Ireland, where he danced and groped the night away with his long-time partner and mother of his children, Dee Devlin. Others shared media from the night as well. He was seen hawking his whiskey and stout, but not a drop passed his lips that we can see.

That’s because McGregor claims he’s in the middle of a 10-week dry run for his high-profile (and long-awaited) return to the Octagon.

But, will it be enough if he continues to spend his nights at the Black Forge Inn, partying and dancing? Compare McGregor’s behavior to his upcoming opponent, whose Instagram account is jam-packed full of intense gym session footage. “Iron Mike” is also hawking a tequila, but you can tell it’s a side hustle, not the meat to his potatoes.

As for McGregor, the money he makes from fighting for UFC is nothing compared to the big bucks he gets from his booze empire. His Proper 12 whiskey has earned him hundreds of millions. He hopes to make similar amounts building his Forged Irish Stout into another powerhouse. And there’s no better moment than now to give his high cost Black Forge Inn a boost via some high value promotion.

There’s plenty of people out there suggesting this is all McGregor pulling a Ryan Garcia on us. Garcia engaged in some of the strangest mental warfare we’ve ever witnessed leading up to his boxing match with Devin Haney. Simply put, he acted like he was in the middle of a mental breakdown only to show up on fight night and knock down Haney multiple times (watch highlights).

But, what was real and what was fake?

Garcia admitted afterward that he was drinking every night leading up to the fight, and there’s no faking his very real divorce from the mother of his newborn child. At 25, Garcia can lean on his talent and youth to carry him through his rough patch.

Can the 35-year-old McGregor?

After years away from the sport, McGregor is returning from an injury few ever truly recover from. He needs focus and discipline, not mind games or business promotion.

Ring rust is real.

To checkout the latest and greatest UFC 303 fight card and rumors click here.

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Jones thinks Miocic is playing possum in new training footage that shows the aging heavyweight looking slow and out of shape.

Jon Jones isn’t buying what Stipe Miocic is selling as legit training footage on Instagram.

Miocic has caught a lot of strays in a fan backlash against Jon Jones, who refuses to unify the UFC heavyweight title against interim champ Tom Aspinall. Instead, Jones insists on fighting Miocic in November, barring more injuries or scandals.

But Stipe Miocic is old! He’s slow! After three years without a fight, he’s barely relevant any more! Or so fans say as they push “Bones” to fight Aspinall instead. And in a new video uploaded to his Instagram, Miocic looks every bit as bad as social media haters have been saying.

Watch the former two time heavyweight champion hit the mitts and tell us he looks like the toughest opponent Jones could face!

Jones has watched the video, and he doesn’t see a broken 41-year-old opponent. Instead, he believes the clip is a ruse designed to lull him into complacency.

“I’m not a historian of war or anything, but I have learned a thing or two in my day,” Jones wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “A big part of combat strategy is timing, and deception. To make a long story short, if your opponent appears weak, prepare even harder. Complacency is the greatest enemy to a fighter like myself.”

Complacency is what Jon Jones was fighting towards the end of his light heavyweight reign. He got sick of fighting further down the 205 pound rankings as no great challenge appeared on the horizon. His move up to heavyweight was partially to cement his legacy as GOAT and partially to re-invigorate himself against worthy opponents.

As the heavyweight champion with the most title defenses, Stipe Miocic represents that. Alex Pereira as well, somehow. Tom Aspinall? Sadly, not so much in Jones’ opinion.

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The UFC’s new fight gloves debut at UFC 302, and the lightweight champion has mixed feelings about the complete re-design.

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has mixed emotions about the new fight gloves being debuted at UFC 302.

Makhachev is set to defend his title against Dustin Poirier in New Jersey on June 1st, and the event will mark the debut of a new glove the UFC has been working on for months. The re-design was revealed during UFC 300 fight week, and now Makhachev will wear the first golden pair of gloves as befits the champ.

But Islam has some not-so-complimentary thoughts about the new equipment after receiving a pair to train in.

“The new gloves are very stiff,” he said in an interview with Sport 24. “They will cause more cuts, as the previous UFC gloves were softer. These are stiffer. They don’t let you fully open your hand just to make sure the fingers don’t extend straight forward.”

Many fans had hoped the new design would gently curve a fighter’s fingers down to lessen the chance of eye pokes. Now we have Makhachev suggesting these gloves do that too much! He’s also not the first fighter to note that there seems to be extra fabric around the finger holes that could cause more cuts.

“But overall they are pretty much the same,” he concluded. “I am going to frame them next to the belt as the first golden gloves in the UFC. I believe that means a lot.”

We’ll see how the new gloves work out at UFC 302, but we’re not going into this blind. At the end of 2023 the gloves were being tested in training by many UFC fighters, and thus far there’s been nothing but positive reviews regarding the re-design.

But if we witness a bad cut during Makhachev vs. Poirier … well, to say that would cause some drama would be an understatement.

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Last night (Sat., May 25, 2024), in the main event of Misfits Boxing 15, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Strawweight turned Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) boxer Paige VanZant fought to a dreaded split draw against Onlyfans model and social media influencer Elle Brooke from inside NRG Arena in Houston, Texas (watch highlights). Brooke retained her Misfits Middleweight title.

After the fight, VanZant posted to her Instagram that she wants a rematch in August. She is willing to go into enemy territory by fighting Brooke at the O2 Arena in London, England.

VanZant revealed during the broadcast that she signed a multi-fight deal with Misfits Boxing.

“I watched her past fights. I knew it’d be tough. It is what it is. It sets up the perfect rematch,” VanZant said after her fight. “I signed a multi-fight contract for a reason. It looks like we’re going to do it one more time.”

Brooke spoke with Misfits Boxing after the split draw and also recommended a rematch in London.

“Yeah, obviously, I didn’t get the win, but I’m still the champ,” Brooke said. “This was the biggest step up for any influencer. Arguably, I could have won that; it could have gone either way, whatever. But yeah, this isn’t even my home turf. This will be a great fight in London, number two.”

VanZant (0-0-1) has not won a fight in combat sports since 2019 (her last UFC win against Rachael Ostovich). She went 0-2 in BKFC and now has a draw in boxing. Meanwhile Brooke (2-0-1) has been perfect in Misfits Boxing besides the draw.

To checkout the latest and greatest boxing news and notes be sure to hit up our archive here.

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Paige VanZant made her return to action after nearly three years on the sidelines — all while dedicating that time to boxing training — to face Elle Brooke in the main event of Misfits 15 in Houston, Texas.

And while many expected “12 Gauge” to have the upper hand against Brooke in the boxing match, it didn’t exactly pan out that way. In the very first round, Brooke was content with working her jab, with VanZant was a bit more aggressive trying to pop off some combinations. But the biggest punch of the round was when Brooke clipped the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star with a right hooked that dropped her.

After shaking off the cobwebs, VanZant was the aggressor, but she didn’t exactly have the power in her punches to do much to Brooke. And that was the story of the fight, both ladies had some shining moments but one never really pulled away to convince the judges they had done enough to win the fight. In the end, the bout was scored a split-draw.

Check out some of the highlights below:

VanZant has not had her hand raised in victory in her last three fights, with two losses coming under the Bareknuckle FC banner. The two ladies have stated they’d be open to to the rematch to settle the score, and since it was a fun little brawl I wouldn’t be too surprised to see them run it back before the year is over.

To checkout the latest and greatest boxing news and notes be sure to hit up our archive here.

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