Francis Ngannou and Joe Rogan shared a tear-jerking moment after Ngannou opened up about his late son Kobe.
‘The Predator’ has battled his way through adversity his entire life, and now sits atop the MMA mountain as one of the biggest athletes in the sport. The powerhouse became a global star, allowing him to step into the ring against not one, but two of the very best boxers in the world — something no other UFC alum has managed to do.
Despite having an inspirational story in combat sports, the beauty of life can be incredibly cruel at times. Unfortunately, Francis Ngannou had to face just how devastating it can be when he lost his 15-month old son earlier this year.
For the first time since that emotional day, Ngannou publicly opened up to Joe Rogan about the pain that Kobe’s passing caused him.
“In your heart, you feel like you’re broke. You have nothing,” Ngannou said during an appearance on the JRE Podcast. “Nothing is worth it.”
“I always love life. I know that I have never thought of suicide, but at least for once I’m like, at least whenever I die, I’m gonna go see my kid. I’m gonna see him. I’m not afraid of it.”
“You get to that point, to think like that. So, in some way, you’re looking forward for whenever that happens.”
The clear pain in Ngannou’s voice almost brought Joe Rogan to tears. The former UFC heavyweight king revealed that Kobe became the reason he is continuing his fighting career.
Related: PFL launches PLF Africa with Francis Ngannou as Chairman
“I really want to come back and do something. Why do I fight for? I don’t even have to, I don’t want [to]. But, bro, that boy, for only 15 months, he taught me something.”
“He was active, full of life. He would have been doing something, not staying there. Not being a reason of giving up or whatever. That’s the only way to honor him. His memory, keep him alive, get a purpose, make him a motivation.”
Listen to Francis Ngannou’s appearance on the JRE Podcast below.
Leon Edwards may be one of the best mixed martial artists on the planet, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a talent in other sports.
‘Rocky’ cemented himself as the best welterweight on earth after capturing the title two years ago. Since then, the Brit has managed to defend his throne twice and is now approaching his third defense this weekend.
Leon Edwards has been running through the streets of England in preparation for his headlining bout at UFC 304. It was during one of those runs that Edwards produced a moment of pure magic.
While jogging, the 32-year-old approached a group playing basketball. The UFC star was urged to try his luck by members of the group, and what followed was a full court kick that somehow perfectly landed in the basket.
Edwards turned to the camera and shouted his iconic ‘Headshot, Dead’ quote before the video comes to an end.
There has been a lot of speculation online whether the trick shot was real or not. Viewers are divided about the full court shot, but with these two different angles, we’ll let you judge for yourself.
Check it out below.
Fan’s POV: pic.twitter.com/cswEqb6p8R
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) July 22, 2024
Related: Nate Diaz calls for UFC title shot
Leon Edwards returns to the octagon on Saturday when he faces the surging Belal Muhammad for the second time.
The two met earlier in their careers, and although Edwards was taking the initiative in the fight, it was cut short due to an illegal blow.
Over three years later, the welterweights will feature in the main event of the aforementioned UFC 304 event in a battle for 170 lbs gold.
If he gets through the threat of Belal Muhammad, Leon Edwards will have a number of options at his disposal. One man available for the champion is Nate Diaz, who called him out after his recent win over Jorge Masvidal.
Paddy Pimblett recently fired shots at Khamzat Chimaev, labeling the undefeated UFC star a ‘piece of sh*t’.
‘The Baddy’ has amassed a cult following in the sport and has a real ‘love him or hate him’ personality. One thing the scouser isn’t afraid of is speaking his mind, and he did just that when referring to the recent controversies surrounding ‘Borz’.
During a recent interview, Paddy Pimblett bashed Khamzat Chimaev for his involvement in a crypto scam that stole money from his fans.
“Oh yeah, he’s a piece of sh*t,” Pimblett said in an interview with Best Online Poker Sites. “I met Khamzat in person and he was very nice. But, the stuff that I’ve read that he’s done there is wrong.”
“You can’t be doing that to your fans. That’s crazy. If he actually has done that where he’s made a fake coin and scammed so much money out of people, and then just pulled the rug under it and deleted all his posts about it on social media.”
“People have got receipts, people have got screenshots, so you can’t escape that. It’s wrong.”
Pimblett later detailed a story of him being compared to Chimaev, but not in a positive way.
“I mean, actually it’s funny. Someone actually compared Khamzat to me the other day, like, ‘F***ing hell, Khamzat fell off like Paddy The Baddy, sort of like that!”
The Brit then turned his attention to his time in the UFC. With a win over ‘King’ Green, Pimblett has a several-fight plan toward the title.
“Well, after this I want Renato Moicano. Me and Moicano have had a little back and forth. People love to mention my name, they know they’ll get some followers off it.”
“Beneil Dariush, maybe even him after my next fight. Then someone in the top four or five like [Mateusz] Gamrot or [Dustin] Poirier.”
Related: Paddy Pimblett prepared to leave the UFC
“I think a lot of people would like to see me fight Gamrot because he’s also one of the high-level grapplers. I think a lot of people would like to see me fight him, I think that’d be a good fight to be honest.”
Pimblett later spoke of his contract situation and his future inside the octagon.
“I could end up getting a little niggle or something like that, because my shoulders are still not fully recovered from the last fight.”
“So, this is my last fight on my contract. It’ll be renegotiation time after this fight. It’s an exciting time to be here.”
Watch the full Paddy Pimblett interview with Best Online Poker Sites below.
The illegal elbow in mixed martial arts is no longer illegal. The Association of Boxing Commission and Combative Sports lifted the ban on the 12-6 elbows from the Unified Rules for mixed martial arts.
The ban on the 12-6 elbows has been in place since the Unified Rules were adopted in 2000. An ABC rules committee voted unanimously to lift the ban. The lifting of the ban will not go in effect until Nov. 1. It will be up to the individual state athletic commissions whether to allow them.
The rule banning the use of the 12-6 elbow reads, “All elbow strikes are legal except for an elbow that is thrown in a downward trajectory (hand traveling from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock). Any elbow thrown with an arc is a legal elbow. The point of the elbow may be used as striking instrument as well as the forearm or the tricep area of the arm.”
In a February 2006 interview with MMAWeekly Radio, legendary referee “Big” John McCarthy explained why the rule was made and the back history that led to it’s initiation.
“What it was, was when the Unified Rules were put together they took all the organizations. You had the UFC, Pride. You had the IFC. You had Hook-N-Shoot at the time. There were various organizations that all met together in New Jersey. Larry Hazzard is the one that put it together so he could clarify his rules. Marc Ratner was on a phone line for it, and they ended up having everyone sit there and try to come together with what they could be happy with,” explained McCarthy.
“One of the things that happed was there was an IFC show that happened before that meeting occurred. There were a couple of fights, and because New Jersey wasn’t comfortable with Mixed Martial Arts at the time, there were a couple of fights that went on to change things as far as what they were going to permit and not permit,” added McCarthy.
“You have all these different organizations, and you have all these people with what they want to be able to do, so it’s tough to get people to agree on things. Finally, one of the things that was brought up is in one of the fights a fighter took another guy’s back and tried to sink in a choke. He couldn’t sink in the choke, so he started taking his hand and bringing it up and elbowing to the back of the guy’s head and neck,” McCarthy continued.
Related: Sean O’Malley blasts ‘mentally weak drug addict’ Conor McGregor
“The doctor from New Jersey had a conniption about it. He said, ‘I will never ever pass something that allows that type of strike. That could be life threatening,’ and he started going into his thing, and so the one elbow they took out was that elbow, that type of position. The way that they wrote it up, you could interpret it a ton of ways, but the true position they were talking about was the hand coming up to twelve o’clock to six o’clock.”
The most famous incident of a fighter being disqualified due to an illegal elbow came in December 2009 at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale. Jon Jones fought Matt Hamill and dominated through the first four minutes of the opening round when referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight and disqualified Jones. It’s remained the only blemish on Jones’ Hall of Fame worthy resume.
After the ban was lifted, Jones reacted to the news via social media. “Undefeated then, undefeated now,” Jones wrote. “We gotta get that loss out of the history books.”
MMA Weekly launched its official podcast this week, and the first episode was outstanding. Shawne Merriman made a legendary appearance, speaking all things MMA, Jake Paul’s boxing career, and Donald Trump’s assassination attempt.
Merriman is a former NFL standout who rose to superstardom during his debut season with the San Diego Chargers. The linebacker captured the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award and went on to make three Pro Bowl and two All-Pro selections. Unfortunately for ‘Light’s Out’, injuries would plague his career, stunting his career in the National Football League to just seven years.
However, football isn’t the only sport Shawne Merriman has a keen interest in. While making an appearance on the MMA Weekly podcast, Merriman discussed his transition over to mixed martial arts.
The 40-year-old is the founder of rising combat sports promotion Lights Out Xtreme Fighting. Hoping to provide the fan’s with high quality fights for free, Merriman is airing LXF events on his new streaming service — which offers numerous other sporting events and movies, suitable for every sporting fan.
“So, I just launched Light’s Out Sports TV — my own streaming service,” Merriman said on the MMA Weekly podcast. “It’s like a free, ad-supported, multisports streaming service.”
One of his standout shows on the streaming platform is the aforementioned LXF. Merriman has a lot of belief in his product and is hoping to showcase some of his future events on the coveted UFC Fight Pass.
“I’m trying to get some of the fights for Lights Out Xtreme Fighting on Fight Pass now.”
“To me personally, when it comes to combat sports, I think Fight Pass is the best across the board because they’ve got a little bit of everything.”
Merriman went on to explain how he transitioned from NFL to MMA post-retirement.
“So, I grew up boxing. My uncles were professional boxers. So, naturally, from where I grew up in PG County, Maryland, Washington DC, we just grew up boxing.”
“I was hitting the mitts one day in the gym and [Jay Glazer of Fox Sports] looked over and said, ‘Oh, sh*t. You can box?’ I said, ‘Yeah, a little bit.’ I’m not a professional boxer but I can go.”
“[He said], ‘Have you tried MMA? I think it’ll help you out in football.’ So, he text me an address, the next day I showed up and it was at Randy Couture’s gym when it was in LA.”
“I went in there with Randy the first day and I was pummelling and doing ground work, a lot of hand combat stuff and I just saw what it did for me as a football player.”
“So, I started training with all these guys. All the big-name guys in the mid 2000s, I started hanging and training with them after I was done with my football workouts. That’s how I got into the business.”
“Then I ended up launching my own promotion in 2019. So, it’s been crazy, man. We’re a regional organization, but it’s kind of grown the last two years.”
Shawne Merriman’s passion for MMA grew so much that he had hopes of one day competing in the sport.
“Initially, I was planning on fighting for Bellator. It never happened because, at the time, you’ve got to think, I retired in 2013. This whole celebrity, influencer stuff didn’t get big until like 2019 or 20.”
“So, I was ahead of my time for the money that I was looking for. It was crazy to them for what I was asking for [but] now it’s a starting point.”
Merriman later turned his attention to Jake Paul’s splash in the boxing world.
“I’ve got a pretty decent relationship with Jake and I seen him work from the start…” Merriman said. “I saw him working. Running hills, sparring other guys that had six to ten pro fights, and getting after him.”
“[I watched him] getting clocked, coming right back, and I was like, ‘This dude is gonna be something.’ I don’t know how far he’s gonna take it, but he’s going to make a lot of noise on the industry…”
Related: Jake Paul stops Mike Perry after scoring multiple knockdowns
The NFL veteran went on to discuss the controversial Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson matchup.
“I think it’ll happen but I think the steam is off of it… The worst thing that could have happened in that situation is he had a health problem. People are already worried about him fighting because of his age, because of his health, and the fact that the fight didn’t happen yet because of his health. It just takes the steam off a little bit on what it was.”
Moving on to the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Merriman opened up about being emotional watching it all unfold.
“I was watching it live when it happened. When it happened, I thought he was swatting it like a bug… And then I heard the gunshots and I heard them drop.”
“I teared up. I teared up, man, because I thought that we’ve all watched the former president get assassinated on live TV. I was tearing up because, obviously, I’m close with Donald Trump, and I’m close with Jr…”
“I almost cried. I thought we seen him get assassinated on live TV. I was shaken. I was shaken like hell.”
Make sure to check out the brilliant MMA Weekly podcast featuring Shawne Merriman below!
Years after her dominance in the sport, Ronda Rousey still gets questioned about a UFC return. While she would have been open to it, Rousey has detailed the one thing that is preventing her from stepping back into the octagon.
‘Rowdy’ is arguably the most significant figure in the rise of women’s mixed martial arts. The jiu-jitsu phenom was the first real global superstar in the women’s game and was the first female to be inducted into the UFC Hall-of-Fame.
With unanswered questions beginning to surface regarding her future in combat sports, Ronda Rousey spoke of her appreciation for fans who still want to see her compete.
“I appreciate when people ask,” Rousey said during an interview with Sports Illustrated. “Maybe it means they still miss me.”
Rousey continued, discussing why we likely will never see her fight under the UFC banner again.
“If I could [return to the UFC], I definitely would. If I want to have a whole basketball team full of kids, I can’t take anymore detours. I’ve always wanted to be a mom with a lot of kids.”
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Ronda Rousey is among the most accomplished women in UFC history. For a long time, Rousey was being included into many fans’ Mount Rushmore of MMA, and understandably so.
Throughout her career, the now-37 year old has broken several records, some she holds until this day.
Related: Ronda Rousey thrashes ‘evil’ Vince McMahon in new memoir
Rousey was the inaugral women’s UFC bantamweight champion, making a division record six consecutive title defenses during that time.
The legend also holds the record for the fastest submission in title fight history. This came against Cat Zingano, which also earned submission of the year honors back in 2015.
In her absence from combat sport, Rousey has ventured into the world of comic books. Her graphic novel debut, titled: Expecting The Unexpected, will drop on Thursday, July 25.
Expecting The Unexpected follows a hitwoman who becomes pregnant after sleeping with a target. Now, the woman must juggle the dangers of her job whilst keeping her unborn child safe in a world of violence.
Sean O’Malley has long been a fan of Conor McGregor, but that didn’t stop him from tearing his idol to shreds on social media.
‘The Notorious’ often rubs people the wrong way with his blunt approach online, and that was the case once again. After the UFC bantamweight champion claimed that Ostarine — an illegal substance he was flagged with by USADA — can be transferred through sweat, McGregor reacted to the comment with a simple laughing emoji.
Sean O’Malley took offense to McGregor’s response and aired his thoughts on the former two-division UFC champion.
“Miss the old Conor,” O’Malley stated in response to McGregor on X. “You fell off bud.”
“Still a fan, though. I actually don’t care you are 1-4 in your last 5, I’m still excited to watch. Hope the toe is feeling better.”
Miss the old Conor 🙁 you fell off bud. Still a fan tho. I actually don’t care you are 1-4 in your last 5 I’m stills excited to watch. Hope the toe is feeling better. https://t.co/ENSkQw1RmB
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) July 23, 2024
O’Malley continued, dispelling McGregor from any ‘greatest of all time’ discussions, before labeling him mentally weak.
“Conor isn’t in anyone’s GOAT talk. Entertainment, yes. But skill, no. [He] has a really good left hand.”
“[McGregor has] sh*t cardio. Weak [jiu-jitsu]. Decently athletic. Mentally weak. Drug addict, needs rehab. 1-4 [in his] last 5 fights. Still [a] fan, though. Hope toe heals up.”
Conor isn’t in anyone GOAT talk. Entertainment yes but skills, no. Has a really good left hand. Shit Cardio. Weak Jits. Decently athletic. Mentally weak. Drug addict, needs rehab. 1-4 last 5 fights. Still fan tho. Hope toe heals up
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) July 23, 2024
Related: Sean O’Malley: ‘Conor McGregor’s time is running out’
This isnt the first time Sean O’Malley and Conor McGregor have butted heads online. After the Irishman again called O’Malley out for his alleged Ostarine usage, the bantamweight wasted no time in ‘switching up’ against the MMA icon.
Before reconciling following their first spat earlier this year, O’Malley jumped to side with Michael Chandler. The Arizona native wanted Chandler to put McGregor to sleep amid their rumored matchup.
Months later, that blockbuster matchup between McGregor and Chandler still hasn’t come to fruition. Despite the constant setbacks plaguing the fight, there is still hope that the two fan-favorites will collide later this year.
Just days after Mike Perry was easily beaten in the boxing ring, his opponent Jake Paul decided to propose an offer to him.
Perry has been on a tear since leaving the UFC for bare knuckle boxing over three years ago. The self-proclaimed ‘King of Violence’ became the face of BKFC during that time, but his stature in combat sports took a hit last time out.
Taking on the Jake Paul challenge as many MMA fighters did before him, Mike Perry agreed to meet Jake between the ropes but it didn’t take long for the surging boxer to take the initiative.
The YouTube star put on a flawless display before finishing Perry in the sixth round. BKFC shareholder Conor McGregor didn’t like what he saw from his prized asset, thus telling ‘Platinum’ that he no longer has a home in his company.
“Hey, Mike, you’re released,” McGregor said on X. “You can go and compete in your smelly, dirty boxing championship thing, the smell of it, good luck. You’re fired.”
Hey Mike youre released and you can go and compete in your smelly dirty boxing championship thing, the smell of it, good luck. You’re fired. @bareknucklefc
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 21, 2024
Mike Perry has since responded to Conor McGregor, insisting he too owns a part of the company and cannot be fired.
Related: Mike Perry reacts to Conor McGregor saying he’s fired from BKFC: ‘He can’t fire me’
Though, if Perry ever wanted to part ways with BKFC and venture into something new, Jake Paul may have just provided that opportunity. Shortly after getting his hand raised against the UFC veteran, the influencer sent a proposal to the Michigan native.
“Mike Perry, as you got fired by Conor McGregor from BKFC, we will hire you at Betr into a partnership and give you some sort of role.”
“We’ll figure out what that’s going to be. Betr has a job for you, Mike Perry.”
“We can maybe start a podcast with him or something; we’ll figure it out.”
Listen to what Jake Paul had to say about Mike Perry and more below.
Jake Paul and Mike Perry squared off on Saturday inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida in a boxing match that headlined the DAZN Pay-Per-View fight card.
Paul was scheduled to faced Mike Tyson on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas but a medical issued forced Tyson to push the bout back until Nov. 15. Paul, wanting to stay active and gain experience, considered Perry a ‘warm-up fight’ ahead of the Tyson showdown.
Paul was coming off a first-round knockout win over Ryan Bourland in March improving is record to 9-1 as a professional boxer. Perry rejuvenated his career after leaving the UFC in 2021. He was signed by Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and is undefeated in the fight promotion with wins over former UFC champions Anderson Silva, Eddie Alvarez and Luke Rockhold. Perry last fought in April, stopping Thiago Alves in the first round.
Paul entered the match as a heavy betting favorite and predicted that he’d stop Perry in the first round. Perry planned to take Paul into the later rounds before finishing the fight by knockout.
Perry pressed forward as Paul moved on the outside. Paul landed first with a hook to the body. Paul landed a right hand that knocked Perry down. Perry immediately bounced back to his feet. Paul connected with a left hook. The separated after briefly clinching.
Paul’s jab kept Perry on the outside. Perry closed the distance with Paul in the corner and delivered a combination. Paul connected with a right hand that wobbled Perry. Perry continued to press forward. He landed an overhand right. Paul answered to the body. MMAWeekly score the first round 10-8 for Paul.
Paul came out in the second and landed his jab. Perry walked forward flat footed. Paul connected with a clean right hand that send Perry crashing to the canvas. Paul went on the offensive when the fight was restarted. Perry continued to press forward. Perry’s hands were low and didn’t display a lot of head movement. Perry connected with a hook. They clinched and Perry pushed Paul to the canvas. Perry connected with a left hand. The crowd rose to the feet. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-8 for Paul.
Paul was breathing heavily going into the third frame. Perry pressed forward. Paul connected with a right hand. Perry answered with a left hook. Perry landed a left hand. Paul’s hands began to drop. Perry connected with a counter left hand. Paul responded with his jab and a body shot. Perry caused a cut on Paul’s forehead. Perry was cut above his left eye last round.
Paul landed an uppercut as Perry closed the distance. Perry continued to try and walk Paul down. Perry connected with a left hook at the end of the round. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Paul but there seemed to be a momentum change.
Perry landed a short left hand. Paul answered with a straight right hand. Paul went to the body with a right hand. A left hand staggered Perry. A stiff jab snapped Perry’s head back. Perry looked off balance but continued to move forward. Paul connected with a combination. Paul connected with back-to-back jabs followed by a right hand at the bell. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Paul. The referee was paying close attention to Perry at the end of the round.
Paul went back to landing his jab to start the fifth. Paul’s jab caused Perry problems. Perry’s face revealed the damage he’s sustained. Perry’s output dwindled. Paul landed a right hand. Paul doubled up with his jab. MMAWeekly scored the frame 10-9 for Paul.
Perry inched forward but was met with a body show from Paul. Perry landed a left hand. Paul landed a left hook that staggered Perry. A fight hand sent Perry crashing to the canvas. He got to his feet but staggered and the referee stopped the fight. The official time of the finish was 1:12 of the sixth round.
Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry Full Results
Main Card
Jake Paul def. Mike Perry via TKO at 1:12, Round 6
Amanda Serrano def. Stevie Morgan via TKO at 0:38, Round 2
Lucas Bahdi def. H20 Sylve via knockout at 2:27, Round 6
Corey Marksman def. Tony Aguilar via majority decision (76-76, 77-75, 78-74)
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. def. Uriah Hall via unanimous decision (59-55, 59-55, 58-56)
Preliminary Card
Shadasia Green def. Natasha Spence via unanimous decision (78-73, 77-74, 77-74)
Alexis Chaparro def. Kevin Hill via knockout at 2:01, Round 2
Jake Paul is a polarizing figure in combat sports. While he’s been able to generate revenue in boxing, he’s had a hard time generating respect.
On Saturday, Paul picked up his 10th career boxing win over former UFC fighter and undefeated Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s Mike Perry. While in the UFC, Perry competed in the 170-pound division.
Paul has made a name for himself by defeating former UFC fighters, mostly welterweights. In his third professional boxing match, Paul knocked out former Bellator MMA welterweight champion Ben Askren in under two minutes. He then defeated former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley via split decision before knocking out Woodley in a rematch.
In his next fight, Paul took on former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva. He defeated “The Spider” via unanimous decision. After losing to the first professional boxer that he faced, Tommy Fury, Paul defeated former UFC lightweight and welterweight Nate Diaz by unanimous decision. His next two bouts were against inactive professional boxers and he won both fights by knockout.
Paul was lined up to meet Mike Tyson on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas but a medical issue forced Tyson to push the fight back to Nov. 15. Wanting to stay active and gain experience, Paul took the fight against Perry. Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping thinks the fight should have never happened. He accused Paul of ‘cherry picking opponents,’ fighting smaller athletes, and
Related: Former UFC champion considering coming out of retirement to ‘smash Jake Paul’s face in’
“Coming into this fight, I think myself, the whole fight community, everyone was behind Mike Perry, but the reality was he was too small. There are weight classes in boxing, in combat sports for a reason,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Jake Paul was about twice the size of him. The weight difference is going to be insane.”
“Well done Jake Paul if that’s what you want to see. That was a farce. That was ridiculous. That fight should have never even taken place in the first place because it was a sh*t show,” Bisping continued. “Jake Paul was by far the bigger guy, and as I’ve said, there are weight classes for a reason.”
Bisping isn’t a fan of Paul. He’s even considered coming out of retirement to take matters into his own hands against “The Problem Child.” According to Bisping, Paul ‘cherry picks’ his opponents.
“Jake Paul grinds my gears. Let’s be honest, he does because of all the sh*t talk, of how great that he thinks that he is,” Bisping said. “He cherry picks these opponents that are way smaller and less experienced.”
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