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Kevin Holland is gearing up for a return to the Octagon at UFC 299 in March.

‘Trailblazer’ will welcome former Bellator MMA standout Michael ‘Venom’ Page to the UFC when the promotion returns to Kaseya Arena in sunny Miami, Florida. Offering fans a glimpse into his training camp, Holland showed off his training attire which featured a t-shirt brandishing a headshot of rising Irish contender Ian Garry with the word ‘Wagged’ underneath.

In July, Garry came under fire when he started selling t-shirts featuring the mugshot of his originally scheduled UFC 292 opponent, Geoff Neal.

Kevin Holland and other UFC Fighters continue to pour it on Ian Garry

Since then, ‘The Future’ has been lambasted by fans and fighters alike, most of it surrounding his unconventional marriage to Layla Anna-Lee. 14 years older than Garry, Anna-Lee wrote a book more than a decade ago entitled How to Be a WAG. Described by Garry and his wife as satire, the 11-page publication offered advice to older women looking to date young athletes and celebrities.

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland went straight for the jugular, calling Anna-Lee a “succubus” and “predator” in a series of scathing videos on social media. Multiple fighters have since jumped on the bandwagon, including Colby Covington and, of course, Kevin Holland.

Garry was scheduled to appear at the promotion’s final pay-per-view of 2023, but he withdrew hours before the event due to pneumonia. However, many questioned the timing of his withdrawal given all the backlash he had endured over the weeks leading up to his clash with Vicente Luque.

The Irishman is expected to return at UFC 298 in February against the man he was set to scrap with in August, Geoff Neal.

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Oktagon MMA will employ open scoring for all fights starting with the promotion’s upcoming event from the Czech Republic on Friday, Dec. 29.

The European promotion made the announcement on Wednesday, with Oktagon 51 scheduled to kick off at 12 p.m. ET from the O2 Arena in Prague.

Open scoring will be provided for the athletes and their coaches in the corner, with the scores also shown to the crowd and the viewing audience after each round. Promotion officials confirmed to MMA Fighting that the plan is to continue using open scoring at all future Oktagon MMA events.

Over the past few years, numerous fighters have called for open scoring to be employed to offer the athletes a chance to know where they stand, especially in razor-close affairs that might be decided by a single round.

Opponents have argued that open scoring could lead to some fighters cruising through the late stages of a bout to protect a victory if they’ve already built an insurmountable lead on the scorecards.

Thus far, Invicta FC is the only major promotion in the United States to consistently employ open scoring, which first has to be approved by the state athletic commissions where events take place.

Oktagon MMA will take a shot with open scoring starting with this upcoming event, which is headlined by a pair of UFC veterans as Bojan Veličković takes on Andreas Michailidis in the finals of the ongoing welterweight tournament, with the winner earning a €300,000 payday (equal to just over $ 333,000 in U.S. dollars).

The event airs on Oktagon MMA’s website as well as international through DAZN.

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Conor McGregor’s comeback is on the horizon and his rumored opponent is set to be Michael Chandler, but the former Bellator man is no longer convinced the Irishman wants the fight.

The two mixed martial arts legends served as coaches on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter 2023 in mid-2023. Dana White announced the pair would eventually face one another following the conclusion of TUF 31 but the more time has passed, the more unlikely it becomes.

During a recent interview, Michael Chandler aired his feelings about his potential opponent Conor McGregor. ‘Iron’ spoke on the rumors that any possible clash between the two would occur at 185 lbs.

“So after the head kick of Tony Ferguson and the crazy post that people loved, it kind of worked out really well. I think that’s what really parlayed the whole Conor thing.” Chandler said while being interviewed by Steve-O. “I said I wanted to fight him at 170 because he was so big, you know.”

“He was doing the Road House movie which is finally going to come out here soon and he was big. He was beefy and acting like he was really, really big. So I was like, ‘Okay, there’s no reason he’s going to fight 155.’ I don’t want to fight 155, I weigh like 190. I would love to fight 170. So I figured I’d do the callout at 170.”

“Conor likes to act like he’s in control. So he could have said 205 and I would have been like, ‘Okay, I’ll fight you wherever, dude.’ Because truly, I’m bigger than Conor. He’s not that big, at all. He looks big. He’s got really great angles and really great camera, photography work, and lighting in all of his photos and stuff.”

Related: Conor McGregor calls out Manny Pacquiao for fight in Saudi Arabia

Continuing, Chandler claimed McGregor is doing everything in his power to wait him out in hopes of getting an easier opponent.

“We are going to fight and I think right now, he’s trying to wait me out. I mean, because if you were him, would you want to wait as long as possible for a guy like me who’s a real fighter, who wants to be in there, who wants to compete?”

“So I say screw it, I’m going to go fight someone else and then he can go fight an easier fight [like] Nate Diaz, he can go fight an easier fight [like] Tony Ferguson. He can go and find a much easier fight than fighting me.”

Check out Michael Chandler’s full interview with Steve-O in the video below.

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Deiveson Figueiredo has UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley in his sights next.

After O’Malley took to social media to rate Figueiredo’s bantamweight debut a three out of 10, the former UFC flyweight champion responded to the score on The MMA Hour.

“I think that he has something to worry about,” Figueiredo recently said through his translator. “I’m the original. And if he’s the virus, I’m the antivirus to him.”

O’Malley’s first title defense is set for UFC 299 on March 9, and Figueiredo feels that “one more fight should put me in line for the title.” Having said that, Figueiredo would gladly jump on an opportunity to face the winner of O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera if given the chance.

“I think I have a big name coming into the division,” Figueiredo said. “I think that’s definitely a possibility. I’m a two-time former champion. My last fight at 125 [pounds against Brandon Moreno,] I had not had a good camp and now I am great. I feel that could be a possibility. However, I will patiently await what the UFC has in mind for me.”

If not an immediate title shot next, Figueiredo saw ex-champion Petr Yan as “a great name” and “a great fight” for his next step in the division, however Yan was ultimately booked to face Song Yadong at UFC 299.

Now Figueiredo is leaving it up to the UFC and its matchmakers to decide his fate.

“I’m ready for whoever they wanna put me against,” Figueiredo said. “The first name to come to my mind would be Sean O’Malley, so besides him, whoever they put against me.”

Regardless of the opponent, Figueiredo confirmed that one thing is for sure: Former two-division UFC champion and current bantamweight contender Henry Cejudo will continue to be his coach.

“I really like him,” said Figueiredo, who again moved to Arizona with his wife and son to work with Cejudo. “His strategies are awesome. He will be the master of masters among my coaches. I feel really, really comfortable here.”

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Imminent
| BJPenn.com

Former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno looks to retain his No. 1 spot in the 125-pound rankings when he battles streaking division contender and No. 2-ranked “Prince” Amir Albazi atop the UFC Mexico City card this Feb. on ESPN+!

Event: UFC Mexico City: “Moreno vs. Albazi”
Date: Sat., Feb. 24, 2024
Location: Mexico City Arena, Mexico City, Mexico
Broadcast: ESPN+
Start Time: 7 p.m. ET Prelims | 10 p.m. ET Main Card

UFC Mexico City Main Event On ESPN+:

125 lbs.: Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi

UFC Mexico City Main Card, Prelims on ESPN+:

145 lbs.: Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega
125 lbs.: Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda
125 lbs.: Victor Altamirano vs. Felipe dos Santos
115 lbs.: Yazmin Jauregui vs. Sam Hughes
125 lbs.: Jesus Aguilar vs. Mateus Mendonca

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Mexico City news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For more upcoming UFC events click here.

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