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Earlier this week, PRIDE champion and MMA legend Wanderlei Silva revealed serious health issues and possible CTE symptoms in court documents related to the UFC antitrust lawsuit and possible settlement, which could award fighters $ 375 million if approved by the judge.

Sadly, Silva will not be the last champion revealed to be suffering from his combat sports career. Many athletes are declaring their own support for the settlement, using their health concerns as arguments for the judge to approve the lawsuit and grant them some financial relief.

One of the most eye-raising in the recently revealed (courtesy of John Nash, who has been an invaluable source in tracking the lawsuit) is that of Fabricio Werdum. “Vai Cavalo” is former Heavyweight champion of the world and fought just last year, but Werdum revealed there are serious concerns about his brain health.

Werdum’s statement reads, “While fighting for the UFC, I suffered many concussions. I fear that during my career I have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) and am noticing symptoms common with TBI and CTE including irritability, anger, anxiety, insomnia, and memory loss. I have many lesions and scarring in my brain, and I have a cyst that is located centrally within my brain making surgery impossible. I monitor this cyst with biannual exams to determine if it is growing. To date, no treatment for CTE has been found.”

I wouldn’t expect this to be the final unfortunate health update from this series of declarations.

Fabricio Werdum fought on the UFC roster in two separate stints. The first took place between April 2007-October 2008 after his PRIDE career, but a loss to Junior dos Santos saw him crossover into Strikeforce, where Werdum would score the most legendary win of his career over Fedor Emelianenko.

He rejoined the UFC roster in 2012, going on a six-fight win streak that would see him submit Cain Velasquez to capture UFC Heavyweight gold. He remained on the roster until 2020, when Werdum opted not to re-sign with the promotion. Most recently, Werdum suffered a split decision loss to Junior dos Santos in the Gamebred FC promotion on Sept. 8, 2023.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Magomed Ankalaev had some harsh words for Anthony Smith.

Later this month, Ankalaev takes on Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 in a bout that many believe is a title eliminator for the next shot at light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira; however, not everyone agrees.

Earlier this week, Smith, a past opponent of Ankalaev’s, suggested there are other fighters in line for a crack at Pereira, saying that Ankalaev’s unexciting style has made the UFC less interested in him.

“I wouldn’t count on it because there’s a good chance that Volkan Oezdemir and Carlos Ulberg can have a conversation, or at least have some sort of case to make to get that fight,” Smith told MMA Junkie. “Especially if Ankalaev does what he tends to do sometimes, and that’s lay an egg and still win. He’s already been punished for that. He’s already done it once before in the Jan Blachowicz fight and Dana was absolutely furious.

“Pereira just fought. What would have stopped him from fighting in Abu Dhabi and fighting Ankalaev there?”

“They’re not rushing Ankalaev into a title fight for a reason,” Smith continued. “I think if that fight lays an egg and Volkan Oezdemir goes in there and finishes Carlos Ulberg, I think Volkan Oezdemir has a great case to make for a title shot. So I wouldn’t just count on that.”

As you might expect, Ankalaev did not seem to take too kindly to this.

On Friday, Ankalaev responded to Smith’s recent comments, ripping his former opponent on social media and calling Smith his “easiest fight ever.”

“Just to be clear, Rakic is my toughest fight in the division.”

“Anthony Smith said I sometimes sting the show, hey do you remember what I did to you [and] Johnny Walker? You are an analyst and supposed to stay neutral.”

“Chael Sonnen, you are right my friend, my toughest fight in the division is Rakic, my easiest fight ever was Anthony Smith. I hit him with a combination from a video game I used to play when I was 12.”

Ankalaev and Smith faced off back at UFC 277, where Ankalaev won by second-round TKO. That fight earned Ankalaev a shot at the vacant light heavyweight title against Jan Blachowicz in a fight that ended in a split draw. Following that, Ankalaev had a no-contest with Johnny Walker due to an illegal eye poke, but then won their rematch this January, stopping Walker in the second round and earning a Performance of the Night bonus. Ankalaev also holds wins over Oezdemir and No. 7-ranked Nikita Krylov.

UFC 308 takes place Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The UFC returns to the APEX this Saturday for UFC Vegas 98, headlined by a top-10 flyweight matchup between Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira. Royval is a former title challenger and the current No. 1-ranked contender at flyweight, while Taira is the undefeated prospect trying to make his way to the belt for the first time.

Ahead of Saturday’s Fight Night card, MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and Alexander K. Lee preview the entire card, including who wins the main event and whether a title shot is next up for the winner. Additionally, they discuss under-the-radar matchups on the card, which fighters are in danger of receiving their walking papers, the state of MMA judging, and much more.

Catch the UFC Vegas 98 preview show above. An audio-only version of the show can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Darren Till certainly knows how to pick his social media targets.

Undefeated UFC middleweight Bo Nickal is the latest fighter to draw Till’s ire, with the former welterweight contender taking a shot at Nickal on Thursday.

In post on Twitter responding to Nickal outlining his future plans on his YouTube channel, Till wrote, “The ginger ninja doesn’t even fight. Talks more than me and I talk a lot.”

The timing of Till’s comments are somewhat strange given that Nickal is set for his second appearance of 2024 when he fights Paul Craig at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. A three-time NCAA Division-I wrestling champion who made his pro MMA debut in 2022, Nickal has so far lived up to his enormous hype, going 6-0 and finishing all but one of his opponents in the first round.

However, Till isn’t impressed with the quality of competition nor does he feel that Nickal passes the eye test.

“He even shit talks me and hasn’t beat an opponent who’s record is a winning one,” Till wrote.

There is some truth to Till’s statement. All of Nickal’s UFC opponents came into the cage with winning pro records, but none of them were over the .500 mark inside the octagon.

Even when Till went on to compliment Nickal, he made sure to throw in a few nasty digs.

“Yes, his wrestling is good but his striking is appalling and his cooking videos make me want to stab myself to death,” Till wrote.

It’s unclear what Till’s angle is here as he is not currently competing in MMA. Till previously fought for the UFC welterweight title against Tyron Woodley at UFC 228, where he was submitted by Woodley in Round 2. He parted ways with the UFC in February 2023.

Currently, Till is dabbling in the world of boxing. He made a successful debut this past July with a controversial win over Mohammad Mutie, and was supposed to fight veteran Julio César Chávez Jr. on July 20 on the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson card, but that event was postponed to Nov. 15. Till’s bout was not re-booked.

Check out Nickal’s podcast below.

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Critique
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its APEX facility this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada, for UFC Vegas 98, topped by the 125-pound showdown between Top 5 flyweight contenders Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira. Shortly before that five-round banger on ESPN+, longtime middleweight veteran Brad Tavares goes head-to-head with 185-pound “Iron Turtle” Jun Yong Park!

Event: UFC Vegas 98: “Royval vs. Taira”
Date: Sat., Oct. 12, 2024
Location: UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcast: ESPN+
Start Time: 4 p.m. ET Prelims Card | 7 p.m. ET Main Card

UFC Vegas 98 Main Event On ESPN+:

125 lbs.: Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira

UFC Vegas 98 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

185 lbs.: Brad Tavares vs. Jun Yong Park
155 lbs.: Grant Dawson vs. Rafa García
115 lbs.: Cory McKenna vs. Julia Polastri
170 lbs.: Daniel Rodriguez vs. Alex Morono
185 lbs.: Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd — CANCELED (details here)

UFC Vegas 98 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Chidi Njokuani vs. Jared Gooden
125 lbs.: CJ Vergara vs. Ramazonbek Temirov
145 lbs.: Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini
170 lbs.: Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price
265 lbs.: Junior Tafa vs. Sean Sharaf (not Chris Barnett)
135 lbs.: Dan Argueta vs. Cody Haddon
125 lbs.: Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha

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

To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.

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