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California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) overhauled its weight-cutting policy back in early 2016, with the goal of reducing — and in many cases eliminating — the antiquated (but still common) practice of dehydrating to achieve a predetermined weight.

Fighters are literally dying to make their mark.

In the years following its amended policy, a handful of fighters across multiple promotions have been found in violation, including UFC middleweight Paulo Costa. Not surprisingly, the beefy Brazilian was back in the commission’s crosshairs after UFC 298 in Anaheim.

But he isn’t the only combatant on the hot seat.

Below is the complete list of weights measured on the day of the UFC 298 early (and official) weigh ins against the night of the “Golden State” fights, a difference of just over 24 hours. Fighters in violation of the 15 percent threshold (courtesy of MMA Fighting) will be marked in boldface.

Alexander Volkanovski: (145 to 166.2 pounds = 15 percent) vs. Ilia Topuria (144.5 to 167.2 pounds = 16 percent)

Paulo Costa (185.5 to 215.2 pounds = 16 percent) vs. Robert Whittaker (185.5 to 207.6 pounds = 12 percent)

Ian Garry (170.5 to 180.6 pounds = 6 percent) vs. Geoff Neal (170.5 to 200.8 pounds = 18 percent)

Henry Cejudo (135 to 150.6 pounds = 12 percent) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (135 to 156.8 pounds = 16 percent)

Roman Kopylov (185 to 194 pounds = 5 percent) vs. Anthony Hernandez (185.5 to 203.6 pounds = 10 percent)

Mackenzie Dern (116 to 127 pounds = 9 percent) vs. Amanda Lemos (115.5 to 123.8 pounds = 7 percent)

Junior Tafa (249 to 247 pounds = -1 percent) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (261.5 to 273.4 pounds = 5 percent)

Carlos Vera (135.5 to 158.6 pounds = 17 percent) vs. Rinya Nakamura (135.5 to 147.2 = 9 percent)

Brendson Ribeiro (205.5 to 219.6 pounds = 7 percent) vs. Zhang Minyang (204.5 to 230.2 pounds = 13 percent)

Danny Barlow (171 to 197.8 pounds = 16 percent) vs. Josh Quinland (169 to 187.8 pounds = 11 percent)

Val Woodburn (169.5 to 184 pounds = 9 percent) vs. Oban Elliott (170.5 to 185.2 pounds = 9 percent)

Miranda Maverick (126 to 135.8 pounds = 8 percent) vs. Andrea Lee (125.5 to 136.2 pounds = 9 percent)

UFC heavyweight Junior Tafa somehow managed to lose weight after the official weigh ins, so either “The Juggernaut” enjoyed a big breakfast before stepping on the scale on Friday morning or took a giant dump right before his fight the following night.

So what happens now?

Previous penalties included temporary suspensions but with so many athletes crossing the allowable limit, CSAC will first discuss changes to its regulations regarding fighter rehydration at its upcoming meeting, according to ESPN. Just don’t expect anyone to be changing weight classes anytime soon.

UFC 298 was headlined by the featherweight title fight pitting Alex Volkanovski against Ilia Topuria. “The Great” was lanced by “El Matador” in the second stanza, blowing open the 145-pound division for the first time in nearly five years.

For more UFC 298 news and notes click here.

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Conor McGregor famously declared that he would apologize to absolutely nobody after became the first ever simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history but it turns out he might actually have a couple of regrets regarding his career outside the cage.

As he was ascending to superstardom in the UFC, McGregor suddenly became a primary target for Hollywood with directors and actors clamoring for the chance to work with him. Rumors swirled for years that McGregor was considering one project or another but he ultimately didn’t commit to anything until finally signing onto star in the upcoming Road House reboot due out on March 21.

Looking back now, McGregor admits he probably rubbed some people the wrong way showing interest in some projects but then never actually accepting the roles offered to him.

“I had turned down a good few roles in my time on the climb,” McGregor told Total Film. “I’ve had directors show up at fight camp, really beautiful directors doing really top-end movies … and over and over, they’d come to me, and I always turned them down.

“I’d leave people a little high and dry. I probably have a few enemies out there that I don’t really know of because I had said, ‘I might do it.’”

Back in 2016, McGregor was announced as a new cast member joining Vin Diesel in xXx: The Return of Xander Cage only to drop out of the project following a shocking loss to Nate Diaz. Diesel claimed McGregor had a role written specifically for him but “had to go get his manhood back” after suffering his first defeat in the UFC.

The director on that project DJ Caruso said he was “really pissed” when McGregor backed out of the film with his part ultimately going to fellow UFC veteran Michael Bisping.

With copious amounts of downtime as he recovered from a broken leg suffered in his last fight with Dustin Poirier in 2021, McGregor decided that the Road House reboot would serve as the perfect entry into an acting career, although it doesn’t sound like he’s going to start jumping at more offers any time soon.

McGregor makes it clear that fighting is still his priority but he enjoyed his role as Knox — a hired gun sent to take out Jake Gyllenhaal’s character in the film — and he’s glad he waited for Road House for his acting debut.

“I was just in awe of it all, to be honest with you, the whole process,” McGregor said. “I didn’t know how I was going to take to it. I didn’t know whether I was going to like it, to be honest. I’m a fighting man – that’s my bread and butter. It’s where I come from.

“I’m not an actor, but I’m show business. That was my vibe to it. I felt that. I enjoyed every second of it.”

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Israel Adesanya claims a title rematch with one-time foe, Sean Strickland will come round his direction again – and remains confident of avenging the defeat, however, still took time to once more mock the championship run of the former, which ended last month at UFC 297.

Adesanya, a former two-time middleweight champion, has been sidelined since he fought Strickland atop UFC 293 back in September of last year, dropping a stunning upset decision shutout loss defeat to the Xtreme Couture staple in Sydney, Australia.

Promising a lengthy hiatus from the Octagon in the midst of his second middleweight championship loss in the space of a calendar year, Adesanya has made a significant u-turn – claiming he will fight sooner than expected.

And linked with a potential main event slot atop UFC 300 in April, Adesanya claimed he accepted a bout agreement to fight Pretoria rival, Dricus du Plessis in a title grudge match on the card, however, boldly claimed the South African reneged on the clash.

Israel Adesanya eyes title rematch with Sean Strickland

Still hoping to secure a fight with the newly-minted champion later this year, Adesanya revealed that he still wants to fight Strickland in a rematch before calling time on his career – claiming he just wasn’t supposed to win in their UFC 293 showcase.

“I look to the next fight, never – I look ahead, like a little peek at the future,” Israel Adesanya told Theo Von during an appearance on This Past Weekend. “But I don’t try to focus on it. And I just know the (Sean) Strickland fight will come back around, and I’m in a good place right now health wise, mentally, and I know exactly what happend in that fight, that just wasn’t for me.”

“He’s (Strickland) a great fighter,” Israel Adesanya continued. “He’s also a good champion – what a reign. I mean, he did what he did. Even the way he beat me was spectacular, it was his moment.”

Would you like to see Israel Adesanya rematch Sean Strickland this year?

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The UFC heavyweight division is at a standstill while heavyweight champion Jon Jones recovers from a shoulder injury.  

After making a return to the octagon after a three-year hiatus from the sport, Jones captured the heavyweight championship by easily defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023.  He was scheduled to defend the title against former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November last year but  Jones was forced out of the bout due to tearing his pectoral tendon.

The fight with Miocic was put on hold until Jones is able to return.  In the meantime, an interim heavyweight champion was crowned.  Tom Aspinall knocked out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 to win the interim title.  He accepted the bout on two-weeks notice.

UFC CEO Dana White expects Jones and Moicic to take place this summer and thinks the winner should face Aspinall.

“This summer, it should happen (Jones vs. Miocic). It’s interesting, I think it (both retiring) depends on who wins. Either guy that wins, how do you not fight Aspinall,” White said during an interview with Maxx Crosby.

“I think there’s almost like a courtesy if you will. If you’re looked at as one of the GOATs, whoever wins this fight, it’s almost like a courtesy thing to give that guy the shot, give him an opportunity to win, or you win and it just absolutely cements.  Nobody can poke holes in it.  Nobody can say anything about it,” White continued.  

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UFC enjoyed another record-breaking year for revenue in 2023 but there’s plenty on the horizon that could help or hurt the company in the next year.

Perhaps the most monumental date to watch will be April 15, which is when the ongoing antitrust class action lawsuit filed against UFC by several former fighters will go to trial in Nevada. The lawsuit, which was first filed all the way back in 2014, has a trial date set in April with both the plaintiffs and the defendant gearing up for a legal fight in court.

The former fighters have claimed UFC engaged “in a scheme to acquire and maintain monopsony power in the market for elite professional MMA fighter services,” and use three components to achieve this goal including acquisitions, exclusive contracts and coercion.

On Tuesday, the UFC owners at TKO Group Holdings addressed the upcoming trial while noting that closed door discussions between the two parties involved are still ongoing.

“As we’ve always said and this is our consistent message since we started talking about this case publicly, we believe strongly that the facts and the law are on our side and we look forward, in terms of timing, to making our arguments to a jury at trial,” TKO chief financial officer Andrew Schleimer said during the call.

“But as is typical in a case like this, we’ve been engaged in private mediation simultaneously with our trial preparation. That’s what we’re prepared to comment on at this time.”

The fighters who filed the lawsuit are seeking damages between $ 894 million and $ 1.6 billion.

UFC TV Deal Negotiations Start Soon

When celebrating another robust year financially for UFC with revenues hitting $ 1.3 billion in 2023, it doesn’t take long to discover those numbers could skyrocket even higher very soon.

UFC will soon begin negotiations on a new broadcast rights deal with the promotion’s current contract with ESPN coming to an end in 2025. That seven-year partnership maintained exclusive rights for all UFC programming including pay-per-views on ESPN and ESPN+, which was a landmark deal at the time it was first announced.

Many believe UFC will be seeking at least double in broadcast rights fees for the new deal. It’s tough to imagine ESPN won’t try to retain UFC, especially given how successful the current partnership has been for both brands.

That said, it’s an ever-changing market where sports rights are concerned with the NBA preparing for a new TV deal right now that could be worth more than double what they currently receive, which sits around $ 2.6 billion per year. The NBA deal could reset the market for sports rights deals, which in turn could have some adverse effect — positively or negatively — on the UFC.

There’s also the new streaming service that ESPN/Disney will launch later this year with Warner Bros. and FOX that will feature sports channels from all three networks under one banner. It’s possible the three studios are teaming up to prevent bidding against each other to inflate sports rights packages in the future.

That said, TKO CEO Ari Emanuel believes the UFC is positioned for another huge deal once negotiations begin, especially with so many potential partners looming out there but still praising the current relationship shared with ESPN.

“We feel very strongly about that and our partnerships that we currently have,” Emanuel said. “But there’s many players in the marketplace just based on the subs we have at Comcast with the [premium live events with WWE] and what we’ve done for ESPN/ESPN+ with the UFC.

“I think [Netflix is] now a player in this and everybody is paying attention to them and what they’re going to do and now with the new entry with FOX, Warner Bros. and ESPN. That being said, I think they’re all moving toward a linear [streaming] service and I think our assets are going to be really important in that conversation. We’re going to see what happens with the NBA, I think that’s going positively and so we feel very good in general about where sports rights are going. It’s all on an upward trend.”

TKO president Mark Shapiro also pointed out that rumors about the so called “bubble bursting” with sports rights has been swirling for years yet various leagues continue to ink landmark deals. For instance, TKO just recently closed a massive 10 year, $ 5 billion deal to bring WWE Raw to Netflix.

“For the better part since we bought the UFC, it’s just been commentary about sports rights, the bubble, when’s it going to burst, when’s the cap coming,” Shapiro said. “We certainly faced a lot of those headwinds on the WWE renewals. But I’ll just remind you — the platforms are going to pay for premium content and we’re blessed by having two great premium content properties in the WWE and UFC. When you have premium content and you have several bidders, which clearly are out there, and you have a move from linear to digital but you still have to keep linear alive, you’ve got a pretty robust marketplace.

“Sports, live sports especially when you have what we have, which is volume and year round, we’re sitting at a really good place.”

Emanuel also addressed concerns over more competition facing the UFC ahead of this TV deal with the PFL also having a home at ESPN and recently combining forces with Bellator MMA.

None of that concerns Emanuel or the powers-that-be at TKO because they know without a doubt that the kinds of crowds the UFC draws both in attendance and on television can’t be matched by anybody else in the same business.

“Just do yourself a favor, look at the ratings that just happened,” Emanuel said hinting at the UFC Mexico City card versus the PFL vs. Bellator card from this past weekend. “We’re happy with competition. Not only are the PFL and Bellator competition but football’s competition, basketball is competition, video games are competition, there’s a lot of competition and there’s a lot of competition in the MMA space.

“That being said, we perform significantly better than them as it relates to the ratings that took place recently.”

More UFC and WWE Crossover Opportunities

A successful UFC 298 event in Anaheim was followed two days later by WWE Raw taking place in the same building, which is just the tip of the iceberg for what TKO has planned for the two organizations in the coming years.

Just after the merger was completed, WWE president Nick Khan teased “all-star TKO weekends” with the possibility of putting on a Smackdown card on Friday followed by a UFC event on Saturday and then a major WWE event on Sunday or perhaps an episode of WWE Raw that following Monday.

Add to that, UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler made an appearance during WWE Raw where he cut a fiery promo aimed at Conor McGregor. This past weekend at UFC Mexico City, WWE superstar Rey Mysterio Jr. made an appearance and helped promote the event in Mexico.

“As you saw in Mexico City, there was a WWE star there. As you saw at the WWE event, [Michael] Chandler was there promoting stuff,” Emanuel noted. “So there’s a lot of crossover there and there’s some cross synergies that we recognize but there will be more because that was just two of our events and there’s more to come.”

When it comes to a weekend long takeover for a city or an arena featuring events from both UFC and WWE, Emanuel said that will definitely happen but those plans will likely unfold in 2025.

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