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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Watching Alex Pereira shine in the UFC convinced former GLORY champion Jady Menezes to return to MMA.

Menezes, who captured the GLORY super bantamweight (121 pounds) title in 2018, is set to face Gisela Luna at Sunday’s UAE Warriors 48 event in Balneario Camboriu, Brazil. It’s her first MMA contest since 2015.

“I thought I’d never fight MMA again in my life, but life is full of surprises and it doesn’t always go the way you’re planning,” Menezes told MMA Fighting, laughing. “I’ve tried coming back to MMA before. I didn’t like it, but I’ve since switched teams and am now working with people I admire, and that has made me realize I’m good at this. That has changed my relationship with MMA. I like it a lot now.”

Menezes carries a record of 3-1 in MMA and a 14-4 record in kickboxing.

Menezes admitted she had to adapt her kickboxing to MMA after almost a decade away. A purple belt in jiu-jitsu, the 32-year-old striker looks up to UFC light heavyweight champion Pereira as her reason to believe that it’s never too late to make a transition to MMA.

“‘Poatan’ inspired me a lot,” Menezes said of the former two-division GLORY champ. “I’m a huge fan of his. Who isn’t, right? He’s something out of the ordinary. He’s an alien.”

Menezes said she works at a pet shop and has an exhausting daily routine between her job and training MMA. As she reenters the sport, she hopes to make enough money to “slow down” and change her life — “and bother the girls in my division,” she added with a laugh.

“I want to make money, wherever that is,” Menezes said, “but the UFC is a big dream for every athlete.”

Menezes vs. Luna will be contested at flyweight, however the former kickboxer plans to cutt down an extra 10 pounds to compete at strawweight in the future.

“I believe she will try to come and trade with me because she’s also a striker,” Menezes said of Luna, “but if she tries to take me down, that’s an opportunity for me to show how aggressive my jiu-jitsu is.”

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Tom Aspinall admitted that Jon Jones doesn’t appear to be “in good shape” after the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion made an appearance at the PFL vs. Bellator event in Saudi Arabia.

Jones has been on the sidelines since capturing the heavyweight title with a quick finish of Ciryl Gane in May. ‘Bones’ was originally scheduled to defend his belt against two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic at UFC 295, but he suffered a pectoral injury in the weeks leading up to the bout, forcing him to bow out.

Despite his inactivity in the Octagon, Jones has been making public appearances, including a trip to Thailand where he visited a few gyms, and at Bellator’s joint event with PFL. Fans quickly noticed that Jones was looking heftier than usual, even with the pounds he packed on for his move from 205 to heavyweight. Though the criticism was mostly light-hearted, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou — who was also in attendance at the PFL event — noted that ‘Bones’ looked “f*cking fat.”

Reigning over the UFC’s heavyweight division in Jones Jones’ absence, interim champion Tom Aspinall offered his own take on the MMA GOAT’s pleasantly plump appearance.

“Just because he doesn’t look in good shape doesn’t mean that he can’t fight very well because he is Jon Jones and is one of the best to have ever done it,” Aspinall said in an interview with Bettson. “I don’t know Jon personally and I’m not connected to him in that way, so I don’t know where he is mentally. I’d love him to fight and keep going so I get a chance to fight him but who knows.”

Standing 6’5″ and tipping the scales at over 260 pounds, Aspinall knows a thing or two about how quickly a fighter his size can appear to be out of shape after just a few short months of inactivity.

“Yeah, for instance, if I don’t train for a couple of months, I’m going to look in bad shape so that’s the way it is,” Aspinall explained. “As a big guy, you need to be eating a lot of calories and if you’re not burning them, there’s only one place they’re going to go. Jon looks heavy right now but maybe that’s normal for him to look like that outside of training camp.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jake Paul is set for the next leg of his boxing journey.

Paul and his veteran opponent Ryan Bourland made weight Friday ahead of their co-headlining showdown on the Serrano vs. Meinke card in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Paul tipped the scales at 199.8 pounds, while Bourland weighed in at a slightly lighter 197.4 pounds.

Nicknamed “The Rhino,” Bourland (17-2, 6 KOs) steps into the biggest spotlight of his career as he seeks to upset Paul in his first professional appearance since September 2022.

“Do exactly what we’ve got to do, adjust however we’ve got to adjust, and get the W,” Bourland said of his game plan for Saturday night.

Paul (8-1, 5 KOs) continues his campaign against opponents with professional boxing experience following his first-round knockout of Andre August this past December.

“I want to do this for Puerto Rico,” Paul said. “I’m sick and tired of these dumbass rhinos walking around this motherf****** island. Tomorrow, the rhinos are going extinct, I promise you that.

“[I knock him out in] two rounds or less.”

In the main event, both Amanda Serrano (125.6) and Nina Meinke (125.2) hit their contracted weight for their championship scrap. Serrano’s WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring featherweight titles will be on the line.

Complete Paul vs. Bourland weigh-in results can be seen below.

• Amanda Serrano (125.6) vs. Nina Meinke (125.2)
• Jake Paul (199.8) vs. Ryan Bourland (197.4)
• Jonathan Gonzalez (108) vs. Rene Santiago (107)
• Javon Walton (130) vs. Joshua Torres (130)
• Krystal Rosado (115) vs. Gloria Munguilla (114.4)
• Christopher Diaz (129.6) vs. Headley Scott (130)
• Christopher Ortiz (139.6) vs. Omar Pacheco (140)
• Elijah Flores (149) vs. Alejandro Munera (148.6)

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Following Friday’s UFC Vegas 87 official weigh-in, the fighters faced off with their opponents ahead of Saturdays fight at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.  

The event is headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Jairzinho Rozenstruik (13-5) and undefeated Shamil Gaziev (12-0).

UFC Vegas 87 Face-Offs

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Taila Santos has landed in the PFL.

MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin confirmed with league officials that the one-time UFC title challenger has signed a contract to join PFL’s flyweight roster. The move was first reported by OCP News.

Santos (19-3) parted ways with the UFC this past September following a 4-3 run with the promotion. After winning four of her first five UFC fights, Santos challenged Valentina Shevchenko for the 125-pound title at UFC 275 in June 2022. Though Santos came out on the wrong end of a split decision, her aggressive grappling game pushed Shevchenko to the limit and Santos nearly pulled off a major upset.

After losing a unanimous decision to Erin Blanchfield in her next fight, Santos became a free agent.

Now, Santos is in position to be a major player in the PFL’s inaugural flyweight season. The league has previously hosted women’s tournaments in the 155- and 145-pound divisions, so 2024 marks the first season that the 125-pounders can compete for a tournament crown and a $ 1 million prize.

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