Think you can figure out which UFC fighter we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out.
We’re back for another day of the SB Nation UFC in-5 daily trivia game, and we’re switching to a system of a new article each day for the game.
We tried using a single article for the game, updated with the latest game each day, but it was creating a bit of an unwieldy experience in the comments. So, we’ll have the current day’s game plus the previous three days in each new article. That way, you can catch up if you miss a day.
Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game!
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Today’s UFC in-5 game
Thursday’s UFC in-5 game
Wednesday’s UFC in-5 game
Tuesday’s UFC in-5 game
The goal of the game is to guess the correct random UFC fighter player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED FIGHTERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. It will be a mix of well-known players and some “that guys” that we haven’t thought of in some time. The game will appear in slot #3 of the MMA Fighting layout each morning, with occasional movement later in the day.
After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media.
Nick Rodriguez and Dante Leon took big wins and made it look easy at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8.
UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8 (UFC FPI 8) is in the books, and it saw a fun clash of wrestlers as Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) million dollar winner Nick Rodriguez avoided an upset and dominated Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) standout Michael Pixley in the main event.
The event produced a lot of entertaining no gi Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) action, and we run down the key matches on the UFC FPI 8 card below.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
No upset! Nicky Rod outwrestles, submits Michael Pixley
Pixley wanted another massive upset to follow up his highlight reel win over Nicholas Meregali at ADCC 2024, but Nick Rod proved to be a little too much for him in all areas.
While the NCAA Division II champion in Pixley was the more credentialed wrestler on paper, it was Nicky Rod who got multiple takedowns. Rodriguez won the wrestling exchanges, got on top and worked his trademark body lock passing to secure mount in the opening round. That smothering pressure only continued in the overtime period, as he again got a takedown, before eventually transitioning to the back and finishing with a rear naked choke.
Rodriguez outclassed Pixley, much like he has been doing to many credentialed grapplers recently. Apart from slightly more stand up exchanges early, this pretty much looked the same as Nicky Rod’s dominant run at CJI where his body lock passing repeatedly led to clean back takes and rear naked choke finishes.
The winningest grappler in UFC FPI history improved to 7-1 in the promotion, and Rodriguez continued to prove his case as one of the most imposing and dominant forces in jiu-jitsu today.
Nicky Rod taps Michael Pixley in OT pic.twitter.com/8VkgYzA2jn
The UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8 co-main event between Renato Canuto and PJ Barch ended up with a highlight reel finish. Known for his flashy, flying submissions, Canuto lived up to his reputation as he pulled off another slick sequence. After showcasing improved wrestling and even taking down a wrestler in Barch early, Canuto eventually jumped on a scissor takedown and immediately transitioned to a heel hook that forced a quick tap.
Slick heel hook #FPI8 pic.twitter.com/j6FTCLLBJ5
— (@ChampFiggy) October 11, 2024
The Canuto family ended up with a great evening. Not only did Renato win the evening’s co-main event and settled the rubber match against Barch, his wife Raquel Canutoalso got a submission finish earlier in the card.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Dante Leon gets slapped, then easily chokes out Andy Varela
Another big standout from UFC FPI 8 was Dante Leon, who showcased why he’s among the top pound-for-pound grapplers in the planet now. The recent ADCC absolute bronze medalist again moved up to face a bigger, stronger foe in Andy Varela, but Leon still made it look easy. After a chippy start, where Varela was deducted a point for slapping him in the face, Leon immediately returned the favor by swiftly locking in an arm-in guillotine off a takedown attempt.
Leon also called for a title fight after.
“Here’s the cool thing about me. I can kind of fight at any weight class,” Leon said. “I can go down to 155, stay at 170, go up and fight someone at 220 lbs. I kinda don’t give a f—k. But I want to win titles, so if UFC Fight Pass ever wants to do 155 or 170 titles, I want first crack that and I deserve it!”
Dante Leon taps Andy Varela!#FPI8 pic.twitter.com/cAMV6pfbSq
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) October 11, 2024
Gabriel Sousa and Josh Cisneros also put on a show earlier on the card, with constant scrambles and non-stop action. After a scramble heavy opening round, Sousa managed to score two points early in overtime after a takedown that his Filipino-American opponent conceded. Cisneros then turned it up after, and had an armbar attempt and multiple near-back takes. Sousa looked to be in trouble up until the very last second, but he managed to defend just enough to survive, avoid getting scored on and ultimately win due to the early takedown.
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Also getting finishes on the event are Ronaldo Junior and Raquel Canuto. For full results and highlights from UFC FPI 8, check here.
UFC FPI makes good changes to ruleset, mat area
UFC Fight Pass Invitational organizers made major changes for this event, adjusting their core ruleset and their fighting surface. The most noticeable change was removing the elevated stage and lowering the mat to the floor to make it safer for the athletes.
No more stage, the mat is on the floor#FPI8 pic.twitter.com/pveV4aLlrY
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) October 11, 2024
The other change was to their ruleset. The opening eight-minute rounds (or 10 for main events or title bouts) are submission-only, apart from potential point deductions due to stalling. If there’s no finish, they go to an overtime period with points similar to ADCC that rewards takedowns, passes and dominant positions. The difference from ADCC though, is that FPI only deducts points for stalling, not guard pulling.
Some of the early matches went to overtime, but I do like the changes, and the event ended with five straight submissions. The new point system really encouraged action, while also not favoring a certain style of grappling and keeping things balanced for either guard or top players. Grapplers also didn’t worry about falling off a stage and just continued scrambling near the edge of the mat area. It’s not quite like CJI’s alley walls that nearly eliminated resets completely, but it was still an improvement from the previous UFC Fight Pass Invitational card.
For the latest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and grappling-related news click here.
There are a lot of different metrics to measure the success or failure of a combat sports promotion but perhaps one of the biggest indicators comes down to ticket sales. For BKFC, that might be the most telling sign that the bare-knuckle outfit has surpassed almost every other competitor out there.
With a debut card scheduled in Spain on Saturday, BKFC is embarking on a massive stretch of events that likely culminates with the organization going to Philadelphia for the first time ever in December. While organizations like the UFC proudly tout the live gate after an event, ticket sales for other promotions are rarely ever talked about.
BKFC founder and president David Feldman has a feeling he knows why.
“The UFC sells tickets,” Feldman explained when speaking to MMA Fighting. “The big, big boxing matches, they sell tickets. The smaller ones, the mid-ones don’t. The mid-MMA companies, they’re not selling tickets. Obviously the smaller [MMA promotions] are, they’re selling 1,000 tickets. Not really selling.”
When to BKFC, Feldman proudly talks about the promotion’s ticket sales because those numbers of steadily increased ever since the first show launched back in 2018.
There have been a number of sellouts over the years with BKFC 63 in Sturgis, S.D. setting a new record with 15,000 in attendance for a card headlined by strawweight women’s champion Britain Hart.
Feldman admits BKFC’s ability to sell tickets has become one of his proudest achievements, especially when it comes to drumming up more interest in potential investors looking to bet on a combat sports promotion.
“It’s actually my pitch to investors,” Feldman said. “I go ‘listen, we’re actually one of the only promotions in the world that sells tickets.’
“We just sold 5,400 tickets this past weekend. We’re projected to sell 6,700 tickets in Spain and then Denver, we’ll probably do 4,000 tickets there and then we’re doing Poland in December, Montana, All these shows coming up, they should really be a minimum of 4,000 tickets sold. Actually sold and that’s a big deal right now in combat sports because they’re not all sold. A lot of them are papered up.”
“Papered up” means tickets being given away for free to fill an arena, which happens quite often in combat sports.
Feldman admits there was definitely a time when BKFC gave away more tickets than the organization sold but that’s just not the case any longer.
“I won’t lie to you — I might have lied to you five years ago and said we sold 3,000 tickets when we only sold 1,000,” Feldman said. “But now we’re actually selling all our tickets.
“We might give away three or four percent of our tickets right now but we’re selling it all.”
With ticket sales on the rise, a new broadcast deal in place with DAZN and Conor McGregor on board as a co-owner now, Feldman expects 2024 to be the biggest year yet for BKFC and he’s anticipating an even bigger 2025.
“We thought we were out of business 10 different times and we just found a way to make it happen and make it work,” Feldman said. “I don’t see any end in sight. I think we got a really great shot right now of knocking on the No. 1’s door.”
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Belal Muhammad is preparing for his first title defense with the reigning UFC welterweight champion most likely returning in December.
That’s according to his manager Ali Abdelaziz, who confirmed that Muhammad is training and ready to fight before the end of the year.
“Belal is ready to go in December,” Abdelaziz told MMA Fighting. “No problem. We’re ready to go, but the UFC has to announce. I can’t be announcing a fight on your podcast. Most likely you’re going to see for sure Belal in December. Against who, where, when, this is a Dana White question.
“It can be Shavkat [Rakhmonov]. It can be [Kamaru] Usman. It can be whatever the UFC wants. I said if you’re the champ, you have to defend the title against [whoever] they’re going to give you. It doesn’t matter who.”
If December happens, Muhammad would almost certainly fight at UFC 310, which is scheduled on Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
As far as potential opponents, Muhammad has seemingly singled out undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov as his most likely challenge, although he’s definitely engaged in a war of words with former champion Kamaru Usman as well.
Abdelaziz actually manages both Muhammad and Usman and he expects that fight to happen at some point in the future, but it’s just unclear if that’s the one that happens next.
“Kamaru is one of my best friends, my brother, Belal is my brother, I love both of these guys,” Abdelaziz said. “At the end of the day, two alpha males. Kamaru hold this crown for a long time, Belal has earned the crown. He’s the king now. Kamaru believes he can still be the king. I think these guys don’t respect each other too much, to be honest with you.
“You can pretty much see these guys fight in the future for sure. I think one of the biggest fights in the welterweight division is Kamaru vs. Belal. It’s not even close. Nobody even close. Belal needs big names to certify himself as one of the greatest welterweights of all time. He needs Kamaru Usman. Kamaru is the king of the welterweight division. Dana White says he’s the greatest of all-time. When these two guys fight, it will be one of the biggest fights in the welterweight division at the time.”
For his part, Abdelaziz promises that he’s not going to get involved in the war of words between two of his fighters. He’s been here before. Abdelaziz says his only job is making sure the fighters stay healthy, they get everything they need from him, and both end up with bigger bank accounts when it’s all over.
“They will fight,” Abdelaziz said. “At the end of the day, they’re two grown men. They both want the same thing. I’m in the middle of this and my job is when they both fight I’m going to make sure they make a whole bunch of money and they got everything they need.
“Look, Marlon Moraes fought Henry Cejudo. Kamaru fought Gilbert [Burns]. Justin Gaethje fought Khabib [Nurmagomedov], all for the title, and I stay neutral. I will remain the same.”
Whether it’s Rakhmonov or Usman, Abdelaziz says that Muhammad isn’t going to back down from any challenges thrown his way. He waited so long to get his title shot that his manager believes Muhammad is very anxious to begin his championship reign.
“Belal will fight anybody, too, don’t get it twisted,” Abdelaziz said. “Belal is not afraid of any man on this planet. He’s the champ for a reason. Kamaru also is not afraid of anybody. I’m sure Shavkat is not afraid of anybody. When you come to these top five guys, nobody can say these guys are afraid or ducking anybody.
“The guy who’s been ducking people for years and he never fights is Colby Covington. He only fights when it’s convenient for him. That’s the only guy I can say ducks people. Not anybody else.”
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A number of veterans have been removed from the UFC roster including one-time interim title challenger Ovince Saint Preux.
The full list of names removed from the roster also includes Brian Kelleher, Ricky Glenn, Victor Altamirano, Da Woon Jung, Kaynan Kruschewsky, Brianna Fortino, Victoria Leonardo, Karl Williams, Danyelle Wolf and Jarno Errens.
The fighters removed from the roster were either released or their contracts came to an end and the UFC opted not to re-sign them to a new promotional contract at this time. The changes were first noted by the UFC Roster Tracker on Twitter.
For Saint Preux, his UFC run comes to an end after he spent the past 11 plus years with the UFC after he first made a name for himself in Strikeforce. The former University of Tennessee football player faced a laundry list of top fighters over the years and scored victories over many of them including a head kick knockout over current Bellator champion Corey Anderson and a pair of wins against UFC Hall of Famer Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
In 2016, Saint Preux welcomed Jon Jones back to the octagon following more than a year long layoff in an interim light heavyweight title fight but he ultimately lost a unanimous decision after five rounds.
In his most recent fight, Saint Pruex suffeed a submission loss to Ryan Spann in the final bout on his contract, which precipitated his exit from the UFC.
Meanwhile, Kelleher is another notable name on the list after he spent the past seven years in the UFC while competing in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. Always willing to take on whatever challenge thrown his way, Kelleher took on many top fighters during his run with the UFC but his time with the organization came to a close after four straight losses including fights against Umar Nurmagomedov and former champion Cody Garbrandt.
The fighters removed from the roster are now free to sign with any organization.
Can ADCC standout, Michael Pixley, secure another massive upset when he faces the reigning CJI champion, Nicky Rodriguez? Join us for live results of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8.
UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8 (UFC FPI 8) happens TONIGHT (Thurs., Oct. 10, 2024), and the mixed martial arts (MMA) leader’s grappling venture will be headlined by an intriguing stylistic matchup between two of the best wrestlers in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) in Nick Rodriguez vs. Michael Pixley.
The no gi jiu-jitsu event will stream LIVE on UFC Fight Pass, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
Nicky Rod is on the best stretch of his career fresh off his $ 1 million tournament win at CJI, while Pixley is coming off the biggest upset and highlight reel finish of ADCC 2024. Several BJJ stars are also on the card, with PJ Barch vs. Renato Canuto serving as co-headliner, and a top pound-for-pound talent in Dante Leon also in a feature match against Andy Varela.
Checkout our full preview of UFC FPI 8 right here, including the three matches to look out for. Follow along below as we bring you live results and video highlights from the BJJ event below:
UFC FPI 8 Quick Results:
Openweight: Nicky Rodriguez vs. Michael Pixley — 170 pounds: Renato Canuto vs. PJ Barch — 185 pounds: Isaque Bahiense vs. Ronaldo Junior — 170 pounds: Andy Varela vs. Dante Leon — Dante Leon def. Andy Varela by submission (arm-in guillotine) 145 pounds: Raquel Canuto vs. Gabrielle McComb — Raquel Canuto def. Gabrielle McComb by submission (RNC), OT 155 pounds: Gabriel Sousa vs. Josh Cisneros — Gabriel Sousa def. Josh Cisneros by points, 2-0 135 pounds: Cassia Moura vs. Cindy Ung — Cassia Moura def. Cindy Ung by points, 6-0 215 pounds (Catchweight): Gabriel Almeida vs. Johan Oosthuysen — Gabriel Almeida def. Johan Oosthuyusen by points, 3 to -1 155 pounds: Pedro Falcao vs. Cristian Guzman — Pedro Falcao def. Cristian Guzman by points, 8-0
UFC FPI 8 Results, Video Highlights
Nicky Rodriguez vs. Michael Pixley
Final result:
Renato Canuto vs. P.J. Barch
Final result:
Isaque Bahiense vs. Ronaldo Junior
Final result:
Andy Varela vs. Dante Leon
Final result: Dante Leon def. Andy Varela by submission (arm-in guillotine)
Raquel Canuto vs. Gabrielle McComb
Finally a submission!! And the ladies BROUGHT IT Great job Raquel Canuto! #FPI8 pic.twitter.com/6QRuOVfTII
— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) October 11, 2024
Final result: Raquel Canuto def. Gabrielle McComb by submission (RNC), OT
Gabriel Sousa vs. Josh Cisneros
Final result: Gabriel Sousa def. Josh Cisneros by points, 2-0
For the latest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and grappling-related news click here.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC 
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC 
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