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A battle of top-shelf UFC welterweights Shavkat Rakhmonov and Jack Della Maddalena appears to be possible, at least in theory.

Rakhmonov on Sunday welcomed a callout from Maddalena at UFC 299, where the Aussie standout delivered a come-from-behind stoppage of Gilbert Burns.

“I respect your courage and confidence Jack, but you will face the same fate as my previous opponents,” he wrote on X.

Rakhmonov, 29, is currently ranked No. 3 in the promotion’s rankings on the strength of a six-fight winning streak (he is also No. 3 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings). He most recently stopped two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson at UFC 296 to get more people talking about a potential title shot.

With an impressive knockout of one-time title challenger Burns, Maddalena could seize the No. 4 spot “Durinho” holds in the promotional rankings (No. 5 on MMA Fighting’s list). That would make him a prime candidate for a title eliminator with the Kazakhstani MMA fighter.

Maddalena has won seven straight with his triumph at UFC 299. He also distinguished himself by calling out Rakhmonov, who’s reportedly struggled to find top-tier opposition.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Joanna Jedrzejczyk, the most dominant champ in UFC strawweight history, has received her due in the UFC Hall of Fame.

The promotion announced Jedrzejczyk’s induction into the HOF on Saturday during the UFC 299 event in Miami. The ex-champ’s addition arrives almost two years after she announced her retirement following a knockout loss to current champ Zhang Weili in a rematch at UFC 275.

Weili was one-half of Jedrzejczyk’s most famous contribution to UFC lore, a spectacular five-round battle at UFC 248 that ended in a split decision loss (and massive hematoma) for the ex-champ. The two won MMA Fighting’s “Fight of the Year” and dominated best-of lists for 2020.

The celebrated fight was Jedrzejczyk’s fourth attempt at re-capturing gold after losing the strawweight belt to future two-time champ Rose Namajunas. “Thug Rose” ended a dominant title run by the Polish fighter that included five title defenses and a regular spot on pound-for-pound lists. Jedrzejczyk captured the belt with a lopsided beatdown of inaugural champ Carla Esparza and refused to cede it until a blitz of punches by Namajunas ended her run at UFC 217.

Jedrzejczyk once tried her fortunes at flyweight, facing three-time kickboxing opponent Valentina Shevchenko in a fight for the then-vacant title at 125 pounds. Shevchenko dominated the fight, prompting Jedrzejczyk to return to 115 pounds.

Overall, Jedrzejczyk earned a 10-5 record in the octagon, going undefeated in her first 14 MMA bouts. She targeted a move into MMA management after hanging up the gloves and has acted as a UFC ambassador since her retirement.

Jedrzejczyk is just the second woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame after former bantamweight champion and breakout star Ronda Rousey.

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Following his one-sided win over Marlon “Chito” Vera in the UFC 299 main event, bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley called out featherweight titleholder Ilia Topuria.  

“Dana, get me a jet to Spain, baby, I’m coming for Ilia Topuria,” O’Malley said immediately following the unanimous decision win over Vera.  During the event’s post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White shot down O’Malley’s efforts to face Topuria.  

“I don’t know about moving divisions,” White said.  “You know how I feel about that.  Even Topuria was talking about not fighting anybody in the division after just winning the title.  That’s crazy talk.”  

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Islam Makhachev is interested in fighting Dustin Poirier in Saudi Arabia on the UFC’s June 22nd card. But is the UFC interested in booking it?

Following his big UFC 299 win over Benoit Saint-Denis in Miami, a frustrated Dustin Poirier declared there was no clear path forward to a title shot in the ‘murky’ lightweight division. But that no longer seems to be the case after 155 pound champ Islam Makhachev’s manager issues a challenge to “The Diamond.”

“Dustin Poirier took a huge risk tonight and came out on top and looked amazing,” Ali Abdelaziz wrote on Twitter following UFC 299. “Dustin vs Islam in June especially since everyone else has fights. If the UFC is good with this then Islam would be game.”

Poirier responded with his own call for “Islam in June,” adding a nose-steam emoticon for emphasis.

There are three UFC shows in June: UFC 302 on the 1st, UFC Riyadh on the 22nd, and UFC 303 on the 29th. None have main events set, so Abdelaziz could mean any of them. But there has been speculation that Islam Makhachev would be a no-brainer for the Saudi Arabia event given his popularity in the region.

The only issue?

“It’s a ‘Fight Night’ card and there will not be a championship fight on it,” White said about the card back in January. Things certainly could have changed since then, especially considering Saudi Arabia’s reported refusal to accept UFC cards without sufficient star power.

Regardless of which event it is in June, Abdelaziz does have a point about everyone else being unavailable. Justin Gaethje, who was all but promised the next title shot against Makhachev, is set to face Max Holloway at UFC 300 on April 13th. What chance is there that he could turn around in two months for the most important fight of his career? Charles Oliveira also fights at UFC 300. It’s just too soon.

Makhachev clearly wants to compete in June. If the UFC wants him to compete in June as well, then Poirier suddenly makes a lot of sense.

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