At the UFC Vegas 85 weigh-ins, all 26 fighters on Saturday’s card in Las Vegas will step on the scale Friday. MMA Fighting will have live video of the proceedings, courtesy of Ag. Fight.

In the main event, Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov can weigh no more than 186 pounds, the maximum allowed for their non-title middleweight fight.

The UFC Vegas 85 official weigh-ins are at 12 p.m. ET.

Main Card (ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)

Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov

Renato Moicano vs. Drew Dober

Randy Brown vs. Muslim Salikhov

Viviane Araujo vs. Natalia Silva

Aliaskhab Khizriev vs. Makhmud Muradov

Gilbert Urbina vs. Charlie Radtke

Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET)

Molly McCann vs. Diana Belbita

Azat Maksum vs. Charles Johnson

Themba Gorimbo vs. Pete Rodriguez

Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Blake Bilder

Luana Carolina vs. Julija Stoliarenko

Landon Quinones vs. Marquel Mederos

Thomas Peterson vs. Jamal Pogues

MMA Fighting – All Posts

“Defend That Thing”
| BJPenn.com

The Australian middleweight wants to make a statement on February 17th, and that involves putting a serious beating on his opponent Paulo Costa.

We’re two weeks away from UFC 298 in Anaheim, California, headlined by Alexander Volkanovski defending his featherweight title against the dangerous Ilia Topuria. Also on the card: two other Australians. Robert Whittaker and Justin Tafa joined Volkanovski for a special media event in Sydney to pump up the February 17th card.

For Whittaker, it was a chance to address what he’s changed since losing his first fight since 2014 to someone other than Israel Adesanya. Dricus Du Plessis knocked “Bobby Knuckles” out in the second round of their fight en route to winning the middleweight championship. Now Robert is looking to stop Paulo Costa from also using him as a stepping stone to the belt.

“The Du Plessis camp and fight itself was a good wake-up call,” Whittaker admitted (via The Mac Life). “I think there’s good to be had in just about everything. And from that fight, from that camp, and that preparation, we went back to the gym, we went back back home, and we saw things in hindsight which is always 20-20. We took things away that we liked, added things in that we wanted to add, made some tweaks here, some changes there. And honestly, I’d say it’s for the better.”

“I’m coming into this fight hungrier than ever. I’ve been really focusing on bringing that animal back. I’m not just in it, this fight, to win. I’m in it to hurt Costa, and I think that mentality is a powerful thing to have.”

“When you fight for so long and you have so many changes in your life, sometimes all it takes is just loosening the reins a little bit,” he said regarding the loss. “And you’re fighting these hungry dudes. Dricus is a hungry guy, man. You saw in his last fight. And I think I underestimated that hunger.”

“I still do believe I beat him nine times out of ten, I still believe I’m a better fighter than he is, that I have a better skillset. But mate, a big strong guy that’s hungry and willing to leave it all there? You need to match that. I feel like I didn’t do that in my last fight.”

Whittaker confirmed that he was still hoping to win back the 185 pound strap, which he lost to Adesanya in 2019.

“I’m not looking at anything past Costa because I think that does disrespect to the fight itself and how bad I want to get in there to put work in,” he said. “But the over-reaching career objective is obviously to get my belt back. That’s the plan, if you look at the grand plan, that’s the plan for my career: to win these fights, switch these guys off, become champ and then play with the kids.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Dustin Poirier UFC 299 saga took the MMA world by storm yesterday.

One of the most anticipated fights on the immediate calendar was on then off and then on again all within roughly five hours. It all started with Poirier tweeting that his Benoit Saint Denis lightweight co-main event next month was off without explanation before it reportedly was never official to begin with.

UFC CEO Dana White went on to share text messages from a conversation with Saint Denis agreeing to fight in response to everything. All while taking shots at MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz for sharing a video interview of Saint Denis’ coach saying the fight was announced before he or Saint Denis knew it was happening. Ultimately, things worked out for Poirier as he apologized for a “misunderstanding” shortly after, stating he “jumped the gun.” Throughout the day, Poirier also spoke with his American Top Team teammate and the Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen.

“They’re trying to generate interest and generate likes and clicks,” Eblen told Shakiel Mahjouri on why UFC announced the fight prematurely. “I think that was not a good move on them because I know Dustin pretty well, and I actually spoke with him about it today. They just didn’t come to terms, man. The things that Dustin laid out for them that they need to provide for this fight they were not willing to do it.”

The undefeated 14-0 Eblen has fought nearly all of his career in Bellator and added how he never had a negotiation period with UFC ahead of the recent PFL acquisition. With five fights left on his current deal and an upcoming bout against Impa Kasanganay later this month, it will be interesting to see how any possible future talks would go between both parties.

Since reaching his status as a perennial Top 5 lightweight, Poirier has been clear about only taking fights that get him excited while still maintaining pursuit of championship goals. At this stage, he’s done just about everything except capture the elusive undisputed UFC lightweight title.

“Dustin’s in the position where he’s like, ‘Motherf*****, if you want me to fight, you gotta do this, this, and this for me. If you’re not gonna do this, this, and this for me, I’m not gonna fight.’ It’s not like he needs to fight, man. He doesn’t need to fight ever again. He makes really good money, he’s doing well for himself, he’s one of the best lightweights to ever do it. One of the best fighters to ever do it. I’m a huge fan of his fight style and the way he fights.

“I just think it’s kind of horse s*** because I know how much money the UFC makes and they could make that fight happen but they’re choosing not to because they’re being stingy in a way. The fact that no contract was signed and they were willing to f****** announce it is f****** beyond me, man. That’s never happened to me. Not even a verbal agreement, Dustin said.

“Dustin said, ‘Yeah, that sounds good, but like, we gotta get this deal worked out,’” he continued. “That’s not a verbal agreement. A verbal agreement’s like, ‘Hey, if you do this, this, and this, I’m in,’ and they’re like, ‘Okay, we’ll do this, this, and this.’ Okay, cool, I’ll fight him. Then you do the contract and you sign the contract. There wasn’t even a verbal agreement on his end. It’s kind of crazy to me that they were willing to even promote it to this degree and then let it backfire like this.”

TOP STORIES

Fallout. Jon Anik won’t back off social media after controversy: ‘My skin is far thicker than maybe I led on’

Helpful. Sean O’Malley, Chael Sonnen offer Cory Sandhagen advice on seeking UFC fame

Unimpressed. Roman Dolidze criticizes fellow UFC contenders for ‘acting like kids,’ saying anything ‘just for attention’

Setback. Tatiana Suarez reveals injury that pulled her off UFC 298, timeline for return: ‘We tried everything’

VIDEO STEW

Between the Links.

Free fight.

Full fight.

Izzy at the tournament.

LISTEN UP

Reaction. Dustin Poirier’s Magical Mystery Tour Of A Very MMA Day

DAMN! They Were Good. MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew, Alex K. Lee, and The Score’s Nick Baldwin remember Georges St-Pierre, the greatest of all time.

Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses if Nate Diaz will return to the UFC in 2024.

MORNING MUSIC

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Violence.

Next?

PSYCHE!

Speedo time.

Hell yeah.

Cover girl.

Closer to the goal.

Action.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Vitor Petrino (10-0) vs. Tyson Pedro (10-4); UFC Vegas 87, March 2

FINAL THOUGHTS

Happy Friday, gang. Wild, wild times as always. Enjoy the weekend and stay safe. Thanks for reading!

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Former undisputed light heavyweight champion, Jamahal Hill appears steadfast on his impending return to the Octagon – amid continued links to a title showdown with incumbent gold holder, Alex Pereira – claiming he’s “back” after suffering a ruptured achilles last summer, forcing his vacating of the UFC crown.

Hill, the current number one ranked light heavyweight contender, officially vacated his championship come the conclusion of November’s title fight headliner at UFC 295 in Madison Square Garden.

Watching from ‘fighter row’, Illinois native, Jamahal Hill was in attendance as former undisputed middleweight champion, Alex Pereira added the light heavyweight crown to his ever-growing trophy cabinet, courtesy of a second round TKO win over former divisional best, Jiri Prochazka in the pair’s showdown.

And calling for a shot at the newly-minted Sao Paulo native in the immediate aftermath of UFC 295 in New York, Hill’s calls were backed by Pereira – who appeared to shutdown the prospect of a defense against Magomed Ankalaev next, who turned in a brutal knockout win over Johnny Walker in the pair’s rematch last month.

Jamahal Hill teases impending return against Alex Pereira

Teasing his impending return to the Octagon – amid links to his inclusion on a massive UFC 300 card in April, and a title fight against knockout artist, Pereira, Dana White’s Contender Series alum, Hill posted “I’m baaaack” on his official social media accounts. 

Drawing a distinct history with GLORY Kickboxing Hall of Fame inductee, Pereira, Hill became the first DWCS alum to win Octagon gold back in January of last year – landing a decision win over the former’s training partner and former champion, Glover Teixeira on hostile territory in Brazil. 

Weighing up the future of a title fight with Pereira in the future after his ascension to the throne, Hill’s injury suffered during a pick-up basketball game during International Fight Week in July, forced a change in the light heavyweight title landscape.

Who wins in a future title affair: Alex Pereira or Jamahal Hill?

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Going Nowhere
| BJPenn.com

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Just over a week ago, news broke that Dominick Reyes was forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout opposite Carlos Ulberg at UFC Atlantic City. A month prior, Ulberg was the man who withdrew from the match up, which originally was supposed to take place at UFC 297. A minor war of words ensued after the first withdrawal, and ultimately, Ulberg has been rebooked versus Alonzo Menifield.

As it turns out, that’s far from the end of the story. In a recent interview with Middle Easy, Reyes revealed that he was forced to withdraw from the fight due to sudden blot clots in his calf, a condition that could have easily turned deadly.

“God puts us through some trials, and I’m having another hard go right now,” Reyes explained (via MMA Junkie). “Me and Carlos were slated to fight January 20th. He pulled out, I don’t know why. It’s an injury, obviously, but he’s not going to say what his injury is. And then a week later, I ended up getting blood clots. Deep vein thrombosis. So yeah, I’m out for a minute.”

“I’m lucky to be alive right now, that’s always nice,” Reyes continued. “We caught it early, so it didn’t become a pulmonary embolism, and thank God for that. Which is kind of crazy because I got a massage. My leg was hurting, and I thought I pulled a muscle in my calf, so I got a massage, and that’s the worst thing you can ever do. I’m lucky I didn’t die on that massage table right there.”

Unfortunately, it’s not like Reyes can just immediately hop back into training either. He’s been prescribed blood thinners, so it his serious training options are limited for the next few months.

When he is able to return to action, Reyes is looking to break a rough streak that began in February 2020 with his controversial loss to Jon Jones. After nearly taking the title, Reyes has lost three in a row via knockout to Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Menifield.

Insomnia

One Championship possibly losing out on the pound-for-pound kickboxing king doesn’t read like good business.

Drew Dober has come a long way in the Octagon in more ways than one, but he’s always been a class act.

Chuck Liddell did not hold back with this low kick. “The Iceman” still got it?

This pair of hungry young Bantamweight talents are likely going to knock the crap out of each other.

I like that this art appropriately captures just how violent Khabib fights tended to be.

A bit of Muay Thai history!

If Sean Strickland wants a quick return after his title loss, maybe Khamzat Chimaev is the fight?

Slips, rips, and KO clips

He definitely felt that shot through the elbow guards …

A quick look at the UFC’s latest talent from Kazakhstan:

Several others said the same online, and I find it hard to argue: this is one of the single greatest counter shots I’ve ever seen!

Random Land

Instantly recognizable.

Midnight Music: Indie rock, 2014

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

MMAmania.com – All Posts