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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira is crossing over to Hollywood with his first major acting role booked in upcoming film directed by Adam Wingard, who is also responsible for Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Pereira is expected to portray the villain in the movie Onslaught, which is described as a “gonzo action horror thriller” with DNA similar to some of Wingard’s early films such as You’re Next and The Guest. The Hollywood Reporter first reported the casting news with additional sources confirming Pereira’s casting to MMA Fighting on Thursday.

Pereira is expected to star alongside Adria Arjona (Hit Man) playing “a mother who falls back on a particular set of skills in order to protect her loved ones after she runs afoul of a threat that has escaped a secret military base,”

Pereira plays that threat as a character called The Butcher and he’s expected to incorporate some of his fighting skills in the featured role for the project.

Wingard is set to direct Onslaught with a script from longtime collaborator Simon Barrett, who just recently penned the screenplay for the Samara Weaving led horror film Azrael. The film is being produced by A24, Lyrical Media and Ryder Picture Company.

The role is a first for Pereira, who has quickly become one of the biggest stars on the entire UFC roster after he conquered both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions in record time. Most recently, Pereira dispatched Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307, which was the third defense of his title in 2024.

Following the fight, Pereira said he had some commitments to fulfill but hoped to return to action in early 2024. It appears playing a villain in the upcoming film Onslaught is one of those obligations now.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

TKO Group Holdings — the combined company with UFC and WWE — has acquired new assets from Endeavor in an all-stock deal worth $ 3.25 billion.

Terms of the deal were announced on Thursday with TKO acquiring Professional Bull Riders, the event planning and hospitality service On Location as well as IMG, a sports and media agency, producer and distributor previously housed at Endeavor.

Under the terms of the deal, Endeavor “will receive approximately 26.14 million common” shares of TKO stock and “will subscribe for an equal number of shares of TKO’s Class B common stock.”

Once the deal closes, Endeavor will own 59-percent of TKO with remaining shareholders controlling the other 41-percent of TKO stock.

“PBR, On Location, and IMG are industry-leading assets that meaningfully enhance TKO’s portfolio and strengthen our position in premium sports globally,” TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro said in a press release. “Within TKO, they will help power the growth of our revenue streams and position us to capture even more upside from some of the most attractive parts of our sports ecosystem: media rights, live events, ticket sales, premium experiences, brand partnerships, and site fees.

“These assets are already built into our business strategy at TKO and will serve to further enhance our strong track record of execution across UFC and WWE.”

The deal comes as Endeavor is preparing to go private after spending the past three years as a publicly traded company. Silver Lake, a private equity firm, is funding the privatization at an approximate cost of $ 13 billion.

Obviously, Endeavor remains the primary shareholder in TKO, which is still a publicly traded company with UFC and WWE now being joined by these new assets in the combined company.

Since UFC and WWE merged under TKO Group Holdings, the company has flourished with stock prices continuing to rise in 2024. The UFC has continued to report record revenues year after year since being acquired by Endeavor back in 2016.

UFC is expected to give TKO another jolt in 2025 when the promotion negotiates a new broadcast rights deal, which is expected to be worth several billion over the next few years. The UFC’s current deal remains exclusive with ESPN through the end of 2025.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Nearly cut
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Power Slap Super Heavyweight champion “Da Crazy Hawaiian” took on the man who got UFC CEO Dana White into this crazy sporting event, “Russian Dumpling,” at Power Slap 9 today (Thurs. Oct. 24, 2024) from inside Space42 Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Da Crazy Hawaiian slapped first and seemed to wobble Dumpling. The Russian slapped second, but Da Crazy Hawaiian flinched, causing a point deduction, allowing Dumpling to slap again.

In the second round, both men ate their respective slaps. Another foul occurred in the third round, as Da Crazy Hawaiian flinched yet again, causing Dumpling to slap him twice.

Nothing significant happened in the fourth round, but in the final round, Da Crazy Hawaiian had his best shot of the fight and seemed to really hurt his Russian opponent. Dumpling slapped last in the bout but it was pretty weak.

While it seemed that Dumpling would become the new titleholder because of the champion’s two fouls, the judges saw it differently and scored the fight a majority draw (48-46, 47-47, 47-47).

After the fight, Dumpling simply told the post-fight interviewer, “this sucks.”

Watch highlights below:

For full results of Power Slap 9, including Paige VanZant’s second Power Slap outing, click HERE.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts