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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Francis Ngannou’s MMA return happens this Saturday as the PFL returns to pay-per-view for Battle of the Giants in Saudi Arabia. With the PFL needing to badly get some buzz, does Ngannou have to beat Renan Ferreira — not just for himself, but for the PFL as a whole?

On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel discusses Saturday’s big fight card, how important it is that the card delivers as a whole, and what happens based on the result of the main event. Additionally, topics include Dana White once again ripping the UFC rankings panel after UFC 307, the promotion returning to the APEX this Saturday for UFC Vegas 99 headlined by Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira, Donald Cerrone announcing he’s ending his retirement with hopes of two more UFC bouts, UFC 310 fight announcements including Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov for the welterweight title, and more.

Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and UFC lightweight Grant Dawson.

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.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

PFL co-founder Donn Davis continues to lay down the gauntlet to Dana White and the UFC.

Davis spoke to the media ahead of Saturday’s PFL: Battle of the Giants pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia, headlined by Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira. The outspoken Davis went on to explain why White is afraid of booking a PFL vs. UFC cross-promotional event.

“Yes, the UFC’s brand name is bigger, we recognize that, we’re the new guy,” Davis said. “We have to work harder. We’re in year five, they’re in year 30. But if push came to shove, and it was five fights — we pick five, they pick five — let me tell you, they wouldn’t do that. Because we’d win half, and they’d win half. … That’s why Dana, hashtag Dana scared, would never do that. He knows that and we know that.

“But be fans of all of us. We love all fighting, we root for all fighters. Watch them both.”

Davis has not been afraid to speak his mind when it comes to White, the UFC, and the strength of the PFL roster. In fact, Davis believes that the winner of Ngannou’s return to the MMA cage for the first time since making the choice to vacate the UFC heavyweight title and sign with PFL — no matter who wins — is the best in the world at the weight class.

Another gauntlet was laid down by Davis for current UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones to face Ngannou, or the winner of this fight.

“This is the fight everyone wants to see,” Davis explained. “Whoever comes out of this fight is the No. 1 [heavyweight] in the world. So whoever wants to claim the No. 1 spot goes through the winner of this fight — not through the UFC, this fight. So whoever wants to claim that position better be calling us after Saturday, not calling them.

“We’ve said at PFL, we want to give fans what they want. … Francis Ngannou has said he’ll take on all comers. I think Jon Jones wants to cement his legacy. There’s only one obstacle to that fight, and we know who that is.”

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Let’s go
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Hollywood leading lady Sydney Sweeney returns to the big screen to play former WBC super welterweight champion and boxing hall of famer Christy Martin in a new biopic from Black Bear Pictures, directed by David Michod.

To help prepare for the role, Sweeney underwent rigorous physical training to transform her body to look more like a professional athlete. Some of her recent Instagram photos reflect those changes, leaving her nearly unrecognizable.

“Well the cat’s out of the bag thanks to some [paparazzi] in the bushes so here’s a little BTS from my film I’m working on right now,” Sweeney wrote. “Over the past few months, I’ve been immersed in training to bring to life the story of an incredible woman — a true champion who fought battles both inside and outside the ring. Her journey is a testament to resilience, strength, and hope, and I’m honored to step into her shoes to share her powerful story with you all. More to come soon.”

Fighter biopics are all the rage these days.

In addition to her trailblazing run throughout the 1990s, Martin had a tumultuous personal life, surviving a murder attempt by her then-husband in 2010. “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” now 56, finished with a professional record of 49-7-3 with 32 knockouts.

The untitled project does not yet have a release date.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Former champion Gegard Mousasi filed a lawsuit in New Jersey against Bellator, and the promotion’s new owners at PFL, over numerous complaints including breach of contract.

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday with several PFL executives named in the lawsuit including company co-founder Donn Davis, PFL CEO Peter Murray and matchmaker Mike Kogan.

The claims from Mousasi against Bellator include “breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, a claim for relief for Monopsonization.”

In the 81-page filing, Mousasi’s attorneys detail the contract that the veteran middleweight signed with Bellator in 2017 and then agreed to an extension in 2020 that was later amended in 2023.

Under the terms of the deal, Mousasi would be paid a “guaranteed purse of $ 150,000 for his first four bouts, and then after his first four bouts were completed, Gegard would receive guaranteed purse for each subsequent bout of $ 200,000.”

Mousasi would also receive a “finish bonus of $ 50,000 for any bouts won by knockout or submission, plus a promotional fee for each such bout of $ 600,000. Accordingly, after his fourth bout was completed, Gegard was guaranteed to earn $ 800,000 per bout, and up to $ 850,000.”

The lawsuit details Mousasi’s complaints over his lack of activity after completing the first four fights under his contract and then accepting a fight against Fabian Edwards “despite carrying an injury that effectively forced him to fight Edwards with one arm” because he was worried that the promotion was going to sideline him indefinitely.

Mousasi claims that his situation only got worse after Bellator sold to PFL in November 2023 and a lack of communication with promotion officials continued to keep him out of action. The former UFC fighter expressed his frustration when speaking to MMA Fighting back in April.

“The problem is we cannot get ahold of them,” Mousasi said at the time. “They refuse to answer us back. I’ve been training, I’ve been ready. But like I said, they don’t promote me, or people think I’m retired actually. People don’t even know. After my fight, Fabian Edwards fought twice, and since then, they don’t even talk to us. I know I have a contract with them. I know they are obligated to give me those fights. I’m just waiting and I don’t know. Just waiting, what can I do?

“I talked to Mike Kogan, he suggested, ‘Well, you make too much money.’ He said, ‘I would get back to you after I talk to them because they cannot let you hang like this.’ I haven’t heard from him either.”

The lawsuit lays out months of back and forth between Mousasi’s manager and PFL executives as attempts were made to resolve the situation, although the now 39-year-old fighter remained out of action.

Then in May, PFL and Bellator announced that Mousasi had been released from his contract after threatening legal action.

Now Mousasi has followed through with the lawsuit alleging breach of contract and claims that Bellator/PFL “engaged in anti-competitive monopsony conduct” while claiming he was misclassified as an independent contractor rather than an employee.

Mousasi is seeking “compensatory, consequential and/or equitable monetary damages in an amount to be determined at trial, but not less than $ 15 million” as well as punitive damages and attorney fees.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts