With the new year comes big fights — not just for the UFC, but also for Francis Ngannou as he’s set to clash with Anthony Joshua in a boxing match in March. What is at stake for the current PFL star, and what does his future now hold in the world of MMA?

On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel reacts to the booking of Ngannou vs. Joshua, what Ngannou has to gain and lose in the bout, and what comes next regardless of result. Additionally, they’ll discuss Dana White announcing Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis for UFC 299, Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan for UFC 300, if the excitement levels are up thus for with the matchmaking in 2024, Saturday’s UFC Vegas 84 event headlined by Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker, Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall stating their cases, and more.

Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and Morning Kombat’s Brian Campbell.

Watch the show live at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT in the video above.

If you missed the show live, you can still watch above, or listen to the podcast version, which can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your pods.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Arnold Allen isn’t sure which way he’s leaning for his division’s next title fight at UFC 298, but he already sees at least one major red flag for Alexander Volkanovski.

Volkanovski defends his featherweight title on Feb. 17 in the main event of the Anaheim pay-per-view against undefeated challenger Ilia Topuria. The bout comes less than four months after Volkanovski suffered a brutal knockout at the hands of UFC lightweight king Islam Makhachev in a short-notice rematch this past October, and Allen can’t help but wonder if the 35-year-old champion is making a mistake by committing to such a quick turnaround.

“I haven’t set a pick, but I don’t like how soon Volk’s coming back after that fight,” Allen said Wednesday on The MMA Hour. “It was a few months ago now, but still, then you should’ve probably taken a long time out of the gym, or definitely not sparring at least a month or something. And then to go straight back? But if he’s the kind of guy who went full bore straight into it, hopefully he’s in tip-top shape. And Ilia’s good, man. He’s a good boxer, good wrestler, good jui-jitsu, solid black belt, and poses some good problems, so it’s going to be an interesting fight. I just hope Volk turns up tip-top and you get the best version of him and it’s not [too soon]. I’d hate to see his legacy fall apart because of a silly decision.”

Volkanovski is unbeaten as a featherweight since debuting in the UFC in 2016 and already stands among the greatest 145-pound fighters in MMA history, holding victories over top names such as Max Holloway (x3), Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung, and Yair Rodriguez. His bout against Topuria will mark the sixth defense of his UFC title.

However, Volkanovski is also the oldest champion under 170 pounds in UFC history, and his once invincible veneer was cracked not once, but twice in 2023 by Makhachev. The rematch at UFC 294, in particular, was a disastrous affair, as Volkanovski stepped in as an injury replacement on less than two weeks’ notice and suffered a devastating head-kick knockout — his first knockout loss since a 2013 welterweight bout on the regional scene.

In comparing MMA to boxing, Allen noted that if the roles were reversed and the pound-for-pound king of the sweet science, Terence Crawford, were presented a bout under the same circumstances as Volkanovski, “it wouldn’t even be considered.” But MMA is a different beast with different expectations thrust on its athletes, of course, and while Allen admitted that he likely would’ve made the same decision as Volkanovski, he still was surprised that the featherweight champ accepted the Makhachev rematch in the state he did.

“I mean, I don’t know how much money he made. I’m sure it’s [a lot] more than I make,” Allen said with a laugh. “But, I mean, if you put me in the same situation, I’ll get to take however [much] — if it’s $ 10 million, I could do with $ 10 million right now. That’d be nice. But, you know, he is the champion, the pound-for-pound king, so I’m sure those paydays are going to come again and again, so I don’t know. I don’t know. But when I saw it, because he posted something, he had stitches in his arm and he was not training really, I was like, ‘Oh, you know, he’s injured.’ And then he took the fight. I was like, ‘What the f***?’”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Make it happen
| BJPenn.com

Namajunas will stay at flyweight for her next fight, which could take place without a crowd at the UFC’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A long-rumored scrap between Rose Namajunas and Amanda Ribas now has a date, location, and weight class locked in.

The former two-time strawweight champ Namajunas will remain at flyweight for this next battle, which will reportedly take place on March 23rd at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. Brazilian outlet Combate confirmed the UFC’s plans for Rose’s return, and now we’re just waiting on confirmation that contracts are signed.

“She’s going to stay at flyweight,” Namajunas’ manager Brett Butler told MMA Junkie Radio on Wednesday, January 10th. “You’ll see her first half of this year.”

If there’s any sticking point to a deal being made, we hope it’s with the decision to have Namajunas vs. Ribas headline a UFC APEX card. Even though the pandemic is nothing but an afterthought these days, the UFC continues to hold regular events at their small facility in Vegas. They have several lined up for March and April, and someone needs to fight in those main events.

But does it really have to be a fan favorite like Rose Namajunas? A fighter whose combat sports career could be over after any fight? Are we really talking about having her fight in the sterile APEX with a no one but a handful of rich bozos and B-rate influencers in attendance?

That’d be a real shame. Put Namajunas in front of a real crowd, UFC.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The UFC lightweight division can potentially go through a large changing of the guard in the first half of 2024.

UFC CEO Dana White surprised the MMA community with recent announcements of big upcoming matchups in the 155-pound division. First, fans will be treated to the five-round non-title co-main event banger between the perennial lightweight elite Dustin Poirier and rising contender Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 in March. One month later at UFC 300, former champion Charles Oliveira returns with hopes of turning back another rising star in Arman Tsarukyan.

Title implications were firmly placed upon the bout by White during his announcement, claiming that the winner will be next for an allegedly injured current champion Islam Makhachev. However, Makhachev took to social media yesterday to show himself doing some workouts and mapping out his immediate future, which he wants to be a Justin Gaethje title defense in June. After that, he wants to face the Oliveira vs. Tsarukyan winner before a February 2025 defense. While Gaethje is firmly in the mix and deserving of an opportunity at gold, the 27-year-old Tsarukyan believes he has to wait now that his Oliveira bout is official.

“I think he should wait [for] us because we are going to be contender No. 1,” Tsarukyan told Daniel Cormier. “Hopefully they’re not going to book that fight for the summer and wait [for] us. After, when I win, I’m going to fight with Islam, and then we can talk about Gaethje. I feel like we are next and Gaethje has to wait [for] us. Gathje has to wait [until] October. Okay, we’re going to fight for the title in the summer.”

After his previous first-round knockout of Beneil Dariush at UFC Austin last month, Tsarukyan extended his winning streak to three and arguably launched himself to the forefront of the title contender discussion. If it wasn’t going to be him challenging Makhachev, most were in agreement that the Oliveira matchup was the perfect alternative. Now that it’s on, clarity atop the talent-rich division is finally culminating.

Despite the relatively quick turnaround that it might be going from Oliveira in April to Makhachev in June, Tsarukyan is fully prepared to make it happen and get his title shot rematch after an expected quick and painless victory over “Do Bronx.”

“If you know wrestling and jiu-jitsu, how to defend, it’s a completely different game,” Tsarukyan said. “If we’re going to do jiu-jitsu without ground and pound, of course, he can maybe get any submissions. But when you punch someone, he can’t think about like, ‘Oh, I got to get his arm,’ or whatever. He’s got to defend himself, you know? That’s why it’s so difficult. Especially with high-level fighters right now.

“To choke someone is so difficult, especially when I train with high-level fighters. To choke them you’ve got to beat them for 15-20 minutes, and then when he gets tired, you can finish. First two rounds, it’s almost impossible to choke high-level fighters. … I believe that I can do that in the first round, and I want to show everybody I’m the best here. My goal is to go there, and knock him out in the first round to show everybody I deserve that title fight.”

TOP STORIES

Hopes. Paulo Costa wants ‘dream fight’ against Khamzat Chimaev for UFC middleweight title

Drama. Ian Machado Garry: Attacks on wife Layla ‘f****** stung,’ but made relationship stronger

Return. Mark Hunt open to Jake Paul boxing match, in talks with BKFC

Potential. Johnny Walker makes case for ‘fun’ UFC 300 fight with Alex Pereira: ‘Someone will get knocked out’

Cleared. Israel Adesanya reportedly avoids conviction for August 2023 drunk driving incident

VIDEO STEW

The MMA Hour.

UFC Vegas 84 Promo.

RIZIN Landmark 8 Trailer.

Fancy KC necktie.

LISTEN UP

No Bets Barred. MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and Conner Burks discuss 2024 UFC champion futures, plus best bets for UFC Vegas 84.

MORNING MUSIC

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Mapped out.

Support.

Scenes.

Shots.

Still doing it.

Keep it tight.

Bam Bam.

Return.

Motivation.

Careful … Sneako…? Don’t know who that is, but they better watch out…

The star.

Sights.

Only in Thailand.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Claudio Puelles (12-3) vs. Fares Ziam (14-4); UFC Mexico, Feb. 24

Vinicius Oliveira (19-3) vs. Yanis Ghemmouri (12-2); UFC Saudi Arabia, March 2

Jairzinho Rozenstruik (13-5) vs. Shamil Gaziev (12-0); UFC Saudi Arabia, March 2

Javid Basharat (14-0, 1 NC) vs. Aiemann Zahabi (10-2); UFC Saudi Arabia, March 2

Brendon Marotte (8-2) vs. Mohammad Yahya (12-4); UFC Saudi Arabia, March 2

Bryan Battle (10-2) vs. Ange Loosa (10-3); UFC Vegas 87, March 16

Cory McKenna (8-2) vs. Jaqueline Amorim (7-1); UFC Vegas 87, March 16

Thiago Moisés (17-7) vs. Brad Riddell (10-4); UFC Vegas 87, March 16

Angel Pacheco (7-2) vs. Caolan Loughran (8-1); UFC Atlantic City, March 30

Chidi Njokuani (22-10, 1 NC) vs. Rhys McKee (10-5-1); UFC Atlantic City, March 30

Zhang Weili (24-3) vs. Yan Xiaonan (17-3, 1 NC); UFC 300, April 13

FINAL THOUGHTS

Have to disagree with Arman on this one. Absolutely no reason at all to keep Gaethje on the sideline when that fight is happening in April and Makhachev appears to be ready to go. Not believing Uncle Dana on this one…

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 two-time middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya has escaped a drunk driving conviction in Auckland, New Zealand.

The MMA superstar was pulled over on August 19, 2023, three weeks ahead of his UFC 293 title loss to Sean Strickland, and failed a blood alcohol test, blowing 87 mg per 100 mL which is significantly over the the 50 mg legal limit and narrowly exceeding the 80 mg threshold to turn the incident into a jailable offense. Per a report from MMA Mania, ‘The Last Stylebender’ faced up to three months behind bars and a $ 4,500 fine.

However, Adesanya’s lawyer, Karl Trotter, indicated that a conviction would come with “adverse consequences” that would be “monumental” to his client.

Trotter was specifically referring to an affidavit confirming that Adesanya may have to repay up to 50 percent of a six-figure sponsorship if the deal was terminated because of bad behavior on his part. Adesanya would also face travel restrictions, preventing him from making a trip to Canada later this month for the UFC 297 pay-per-view in Toronto.

Israel Adesanya Shown Leniency in New Zealand Court

In the end, Adesanya’s good standing with the country and his charitable contributions earned him some leniency with New Zealand Judge Peter Winter. “You’ve bought credit on the country … I accept that in all other respects, you are an exemplary citizen,” he said before delivering a six-month driving suspension and a $ 1,500 fine. He must also complete an anti-drunk-driving program.

After surrendering his title for the second time in less than a year, Adesanya opted to take some time away from the Octagon. Despite that, rumors have continued to fly about his potential return at the promotion’s next big milestone event, UFC 300, on April 13.

No official announcements have been made, but the ‘Stylebender’ is expected to be in attendance for this month’s highly anticipated middleweight title tilt between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis.

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts