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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley successfully defended his title for the first time in the UFC 299 main event on Saturday against familiar foe Marlon “Chito” Vera.  Vera handed O’Malley his first and only career loss at UFC 252 in August 2020.  

O’Malley dominated Vera in the rematch winning every round.  Following the victory, O’Malley stated that he’s undefeated again.  

“I knew I was better than this guy for three and a half years.  I knew the first fight was a fluke,” O’Malley said during the UFC 299 Post-Fight Press Conference.  “The Suga State Athletic Commission, they said if I win that they’ll take that first fight away, so officially I’m undefeated again.  It feels really good, so we’re 1-0 right now.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Rejected
| BJPenn.com

UFC

After knocking out Jailton Almeida at UFC 299, Curtis Blaydes has Tom Aspinall’s stamp of approval as No. 1 contender for the interim heavyweight title.

Curtis Blaydes pulled off the upset on Saturday night at UFC 299, snapping Jailton Almeida’s six-fight winning streak by knocking the Brazilian out with hammerfists in the second round (watch the highlights here). If Almeida had gotten past Blaydes, there was no question he’d be next in line to face interim champion Tom Aspinall. Now Curtis is looking to step into that position.

“I believe me and Aspinall have some unfinished business,” Blaydes declared in the cage following his win. “I’d like to get that one next. That’s my next fight: Aspinall.”

Blaydes and Aspinall fought back in July 2022, but the bout lasted just 15 seconds before Aspinall blew out his knee. Now that Aspinall is the UFC interim champ, “Razor” Blaydes wants to give him a chance to avenge that loss.

“Don’t gotta ask me twice. I’m in,” Aspinall wrote on Twitter in response to a fan calling for a summer fight.

Heavyweight is in a bit of an odd spot right now with undisputed champion Jon Jones recovering from a pectoral injury. When he does return, it will be against Stipe Miocic in a match that was originally scheduled for UFC 295. That leaves Aspinall in a lurch until late 2024 at the earliest … so why not have him fight Curtis Blaydes in the interim?

While nothing is confirmed, it’s expected that the UFC will return to the U.K. this summer for an event. If that happens, Curtis is ready and willing to travel.

“London was dope,” he said at the UFC 299 post-fight press conference. “I’m down to go back.”

What he’s not interested in is a title eliminator match with the only other potential opponent for Aspinall, Ciryl Gane.

“I feel like you guys are all trying to edge me towards Gane, that’s not happening,” Blaydes said. “I asked for him already in the past, he missed that bus. If it’s not Aspinall, we’ll figure it out. I’m not going to make no concrete decisions right now because I don’t know what’s going on – I haven’t even looked at my phone all day.”

Aspinall hasn’t fought since a first round KO win over Sergei Pavlovich to win the title in November 2023. He’s repeatedly said a fight with Blaydes interested him, considering it’s his sole loss in the UFC. If the promotion wants to keep their burgeoning British star active, the choice seems obvious — unless they decide to go with Ciryl Gane, who could get the nod due to his popularity in France.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC lightweight standout Benoit Saint Denis said he was on borrowed time for his pivotal UFC 299 meeting with Dustin Poirier.

In a statement posted to Instagram after a second-round knockout loss, Saint Denis said he underwent antibiotic treatment for an infection prior to the fight. As a result, he wrote that his body “didn’t respond” as normal during this past Saturday’s bout.

“Unfortunately this evening, I was not able to fully express myself,” Saint Denis wrote (via Google translate). “My body didn’t respond after a week of antibiotics to fight an infection.

“Throughout I was present, but my body was absent, it did not react as usual. I only had one round to give you.”

Saint Denis nearly overwhelmed Poirier in the first round of Saturday’s pay-per-view fight at Kaseya Center in Miami. But in the second, Poirier caught the French standout with a well-timed counter that set up a knockout victory at 2:32 of the second round.

Afterward, Poirier said it was his strategy to let Saint Denis expend energy early, believing he could not keep his relentless pace for the scheduled five rounds. UFC CEO called Poirier’s choice to fight the lower-ranked competitor, calling his performance “the s*** that makes you a f****** legend.”

Prior to the fight, MMA fans online speculated whether Saint Denis had suffered from a staph infection, pointing to an apparent abscess on his forehead that appeared to be healing.

With his post, Saint Denis appeared to confirm that he was dealing with a health issue prior to the fight. He wrote that the opportunity was still too good to pass up.

“Sorry to have disappointed you,” he wrote. “I will come back stronger, thanks to Dustin for accepting this fight. It was impossible for me not to seize the opportunity of such a fight. Thanks everyone for the support. Thanks to my team and my family.”

UFC 299 marked Saint Denis’ second setback after an octagon debut loss to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at UFC 267. He then won his next five contests, generating buzz that culminated in a highlight-reel knockout of Matt Frevola at UFC 295 this past November.

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The hype train behind Bo Nickal is as real as it gets, as evidenced by the surprising placement of his fight on the main card of the historic UFC 300 event.

Nickal vs. Cody Brundage will be the only fight on the main card between two unranked fighters. Furthermore, they will be fighting higher up on the card than names like Jiri Prochazka, Aljamain Sterling, and even Kayla Harrison who was formerly the face of the PFL and makes her UFC debut at UFC 300.

The event itself will be the third centennial event in the promotion’s history, taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 13. The night of fights will truly be special and might even go down as the greatest night of fights the UFC has ever provided.

Bo Nickal and Cody Brundage Land Surprisingly deep into UFC 300 card

The fight lineups can be found below, but keep in mind that the order of bouts can still change as fights drop off or are added to the card.

Main Card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill – for light heavyweight title
• Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan – for strawweight title
• Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway – for BMF title
• Cody Brundage vs. Bo Nickal
• Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan

Preliminary Card (ESPN, ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic
• Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling
• Kayla Harrison vs. Holly Holm
• Jessica Andrade vs. Marina Rodriguez
• Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt
• Diego Lopes vs. Sodiq Yusuff
• Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller
• Renato Moicano vs. Jalin Turner

It is also worth noting some of the storylines that Bo Nickal and Cody Brundage will supersede. Deiveson Figueiredo and Cody Garbrandt will be facing off in what could be considered a title-eliminator bout, and are only the fourth fight of the night.

As mentioned earlier, Kayla Harrison will make her UFC debut against the legend Holly Holm, and the always-exciting former champion Jiri Prochazka will be taking on the dangerous Aleksandar Rakic. Not to mention that another former champion Aljamain Sterling will face a tough contender in Calvin Kattar.

What are your thoughts about the order of the fights on the UFC 300 card?

LowKickMMA.com

Kevin Holland welcomed former Bellator MMA welterweight standout Michael “Venom” Page to the octagon on Saturday.  The two met on the UFC 299 main card on Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami, Fl

Page entered the bout having won seven of his last eight bouts.  Holland was coming off a split decision loss to Jack Della Maddalena.  He had lost in three of last five outings.  The question about how Page would do in the UFC was answered on Saturday. 

The two touched gloves.  Page stood sideways in a karate-type stance.  Holland pressed forward and Page worked on the outside.  Page connected with a clean right hand.  Holland closed the distance with punches and clinched.  Page pulled away and separated.  

Page had his hands down to his sides and leaped in with a right hand.  He initiated the clinch and quickly separated.  Page landed a combination followed by a hard right hand.  Page landed another right hand and clinched.  The broke away and Page connected with a right hand.  Holland went in pursuit but was having issues with the distance.  In the closing moments, Holland landed an elbow on the inside.  MMAWeekly scored the first round 10-9 for Page.  

Holland said, “He’s faster than we thought,” in the corner before round 2.  They clinched early in the frame.  Holland delivered a couple of knees to the legs of Page before separating.  Page stepped into the pocket with two right hands.  Page slipped while throwing a kick and Holland immediately grabbed him and took him down.  Holland mounted Page and connected with a few hard elbows.  Midway through the round Page was on his back.  

Page did a good job controlling Holland’s posture and got to his feet with just under two minutes remaining.  Page connected with a left hand that caused a small cut to Holland.  Page landed a right hand as Holland tried to close the distance.  He landed another one and tripped Holland to the canvas.  Holland got up and went to the body with a kick.  Page connected with a back elbows in the closing seconds.  The second round was close, but MMAWeekly scored it 10-9 for Page.

Related: Curtis Blaydes finishes Jailton Almeida with come-from-behind performance

Page landed a right hand to start the third round and tripped Holland to the ground.  He leg Holland up.  Holland closed the distance and worked to get Page to the ground.  Page stayed on his feet and connected with a clean right hand.  Holland looked frustrated.  Page landed a kick to the body and connected with another back elbow.  Holland was cut by the blow.  They clinched with two minutes left on the clock.  

Page separated and landed a straight left hand.  Holland quickly tied him up.  Page circled free and connected with a right hand.  Holland pressed forward but couldn’t mount an offense.  The round ended with Holland clinching.  MMAWeekly scored the final round for Page.  

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