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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Monday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time.

1 p.m. ET: We recap UFC 297 from all angles.

2 p.m.: Jasmine Jasudavicius reflects on her record-setting rout of Priscila Cachoeira at UFC 297.

2:25 p.m.: Julianna Peña returns to discuss her future and the state of the women’s bantamweight division following UFC 297.

3 p.m.: Chris Curtis looks back on his win over Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 297 and more.

3:25 p.m.: Neil Magny is back after his incredible come-from-behind win over Mike Malott at UFC 297.

3:50 p.m.: The Parlay Boys review their best bets for UFC 297.

For the latest episodes of The MMA Hour, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Dricus du Plessis was unable to make it today. We hope to hear from the new UFC middleweight champion in a future episode.

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Over the weekend (Sat. Jan. 20, 2024), Dricus Du Plessis dethroned Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 297, capturing the Middleweight crown via split-decision after a 25-minute battle (watch highlights). The first South African champion didn’t win his belt without controversy, however, as Strickland has some complaints more than bad optics.

The judges’ scorecards are always up for debate, of course, but another big topic of conversation is the cut above Strickland’s eye. According to the former champion, it was opened by a clash of heads late in the fight. Du Plessis denied the accusation, but in five rounds of chaos, who can say what shot exactly caused the cut?

Internet fight fans, that’s who!

Shoutout Redditor /u/UVB076_Enjoyer specifically for isolating the punches that opened up the cut on Sean Strickland’s eye. The quality isn’t the best, but it’s a concise summary of how the cut above Strickland’s eye opened in the fourth round.

Here’s another clip of the same combination landing, as well as Strickland blinking off the damage immediately afterward — prior to any clinching.

There is definitely some minor head clashing after this exchange, as the first video illustrated. However, it’s pretty par for the course to bump heads occasionally in the clinch and while wrestling. This is more incidental contact than head butt, and if that little bit of rubbing was enough to split the cut further, well, it was probably going to happen in the next nine minutes of scrapping at some point or another.

Time to move on.

Insomnia

An unfortunate update to the PFL vs. Bellator super card, but at least Ray Cooper III fights are always fun.

I wouldn’t call it a barnburner necessarily, but I thought Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev was a high-level and interesting fight. Am I a nerd or is Dana White a casual? Perhaps both.

Vitor Petrino really impressed me in his last fight, and Tyson Pedro is very much a do-or-die finisher. Banger alert?

Oh yeah, Chandler Jones is ready for a career in MMA.

Cory Sandhagen is a gifted analyst and could be a great coach someday if he chooses.

Jiri Prochazka keeping it loose!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

There’s no way this should have worked in a professional fight.

Cris Cyborg can crack like few others, regardless of sport.

A perfect counter right hand intercepts the start of a lunging combo:

Random Land

Someone to aspire towards: Lawrence Eagleburger.

Midnight Music: Classic rock, 1977

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Sean Strickland offered congratulations to Dricus du Plessis after dropping a close split decision in the UFC 297 main event.

Forty-eight hours later, he’s had a change of heart.

The now-former UFC middleweight champion showed off the aftermath from a gruesome cut he suffered during the fight, along with video showing where an accidental head butt opened a nasty gash over his eye. He wiped blood away from cut on his eyelid throughout the fight, but he said there was never a moment when he thought about asking for a way out.

Instead, Strickland doubled down on his belief that even with the cut, he should have still won the fight – and du Plessis shouldn’t be celebrating like he’s the undisputed UFC middleweight champion.

“I didn’t take the coward’s way out and tell the doctor I couldn’t see and got a no-contest,” Strickland wrote on Instagram. “The only reason why you took a round from me is because I couldn’t see. I won that fight, the world knows I won that fight. The belt they gave you will never make you a champion, enjoy.”

Strickland also revealed the severity of the cut that caused so much bleeding during the fight.

“They had to stitch through muscle to get it closed,” he wrote.

The post also showed the video where it appears du Plessis raises up during an exchange, and the back of his head clashes with Strickland. A split second later, Strickland is wiping blood off his eye from a cut.

Despite dealing with the cut, Strickland pressed forward and continued engaging with du Plessis until the 25-minute fight was over.

When it was over, two judges favored du Plessis with 48-47 scorecards with the third official handing the same 48-47 score to Strickland. It was still enough for du Plessis to get the win as he became the new middleweight champion.

Obviously that’s not sitting well with Strickland, especially after he realized just how much the cut over his eye affected him during the fight.

Controversial or not, UFC CEO Dana White already shot down any suggestion about an immediate rematch, which means Strickland will likely have to earn his way back to another fight with du Plessis sometime in the future.

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Unbeaten middleweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev has blasted promotional CEO, Dana White following UFC 297 over the weekend, claiming the former “promised” him a shot at divisional gold next, and any talk of another challenger to Dricus du Plessis is simply “bullsh*t”.

Chimaev, the current number nine ranked middleweight contender, most recently turned in a close, majority decision win over former undisputed welterweight champion and prior pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman – improving his unbeaten record to 13-0 as a professional to boot.

Khamzat Chimaev frustrated with UFC boss, Dana White

Initially billed to fight former title chaser, Paulo Costa in an official billed title eliminator at UFC 294 until the Brazilian was forced from the bout due to a bursitis injury, Chimaev has hit out at promotional boss, White, for seemingly breaking a “promise” he made of guaranteeing him a title fight after his win over Usman.

“All these guys fight me, but I’m not the only one undefeated and undisputed,” Khamzat Chimaev told ESPN MMA. “13-0, so I don’t know. They [the UFC] promised me after [the] (Kamaru) Usman fight, ‘You will for sure going to fight for the title’, and I win that fight. I don’t know what’s going on. I heard Dana White say stuff like, ‘I don’t think Khamzat is next for the title.’ That’s bullsh*t, man.” 

“If you promised me something, you have to answer for your words,” Khamzat Chimaev explained. “I’m the guy who always answers for my words so I don’t care if it’s some president or something, like a king. If you give me your word, you have to answer for that. So, I grow up, when I give word, you have to answer for it… We’re doing that. I will be happy to answer for my word about killing them, man. So, we’ll see – maybe in the USA, it’s a different mentally.” 

What do you make of Khamzat Chimaev’s spat with Dana White?

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The UFC and ESPN are expected to sit down at the negotiating table to discuss a new broadcast rights deal in the very near future.

That’s according to UFC CEO Dana White, who acknowledged plans for those talks ahead of the expiration for the current deal that runs through 2025. The UFC inked a lucrative seven-year deal with ESPN in 2018 that was reportedly worth more than $ 1.5 billion, which eventually included pay-per-view broadcasts.

Now, with the deal coming to a close, the UFC will first sit down with ESPN before potentially branching out to discuss broadcast rights with other suitors.

“Our deal is coming up,” White said of the UFC’s relationship with ESPN. “I believe that talks will begin with ESPN within the next three to four months.”

Negotiations will be handled by the UFC’s parent company at TKO Group Holdings led by CEO Ari Emanuel, who has played a huge part in almost every major TV deal for the MMA organization. Prior to Endeavor buying the UFC for just over $ 4 billion in 2016, the talent agency turned multi-faceted conglomerate represented the promotion as a client.

That included the deal to take the UFC to FOX and then eventually move to ESPN.

Live broadcast rights deals are still at a premium right now for networks like ESPN, especially with major streaming platforms such as Amazon and Apple TV getting involved in the bidding. One Wall Street analyst predicted that the UFC’s next TV deal could balloon up to more than $ 3 billion — more than double the most recent contract signed with ESPN.

UFC also has an advantage in that there’s no offseason in MMA like most sports, so it’s a consistent driver for both ratings and advertising dollars, which is something almost nobody else can offer. The dedicated fan base for the UFC has helped drive ESPN+ growth, with the Disney-owned streaming service now boasting more than 26 million subscribers.

Reports surfaced recently that the NFL has also engaged in talks with ESPN recently on a potential groundbreaking deal that could see the football league take an equity stake in the network. Disney CEO Bob Iger has stated numerous times that he plans to explore potential partners to take on a share of ESPN but still maintain an overall controlling interest.

Given Endeavor’s rapid expansion after spinning off the UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment into one merged company, it’s entirely possible a similar deal with ESPN could emerge. Then again, TKO president Mark Shapiro has hinted at the potential for a UFC TV package to get split up among several networks, which is something leagues like the NFL and NBA do as well.

Whatever the case, the UFC has a lot riding on the future with this next TV deal, which is expected to close sometime in 2024.

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