WBC, WBO and IBF champion Artur Beterbiev will face WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light heavyweight championship this Sat. night (Oct. 12, 2024) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the winner unifying the 175-pound straps for the very first time in the four-belt era.
The card will stream LIVE on the ESPN+ digital network at 6 p.m. ET.
“When I signed a contract to be a pro boxer, I had a goal to become undisputed champion,” Bivol said at the kickoff press conference back in April. “Everything that I have gone through has been for that. I did it to achieve my goal. Even the fight against Canelo, it was my ticket for big fights. And now I’m happy that I will have this fight on June 1 for all the belts. I believe I can be undisputed champion.”
Khalil Rountree says he’s undergone nose surgery following his knockout loss to Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 307.
The challenger gave it his all in his first UFC title shot, but Pereira finished Rountree in Round 4 to pick up his third title defense of 2024 this past Saturday in Salt Lake City. Rountree was bloodied, battered, and bruised in the loss. On Tuesday, Rountree showed the remnants of the loss after having septoplasty surgery — which according to the Mayo Clinic, is a procedure to straighten the nasal septum through “trimming, moving and replacing cartilage, bone or both.”
Check out the painful aftermath photo of Rountree below.
“Septoplasty is the worst surgery on the planet,” Rountree said. “Pure pain.”
The 34-year-old Rountree received a standing ovation from the Salt Lake City crowd for his efforts against Pereira, despite having his four-fight win streak snapped. “The War Horse” earned his title shot with a stoppage win over Anthony Smith at UFC Vegas 83 this past December.
Michael ‘Venom’ Page | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Michael “Venom” Page is back, but this time it’s not in the cage.
On Monday, Polaris announced that Page will face former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit in a grappling match at its upcoming Polaris 30 event, which takes place on November 2.
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A former Bellator standout, Page signed with the UFC in 2023 and made his promotional debut earlier this year, with a unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland at UFC 299. Page then lost a decision to Ian Machado Garry in his sophomore outing at UFC 303 in June. Page was an accomplished kickboxer before making the move to MMA, and also has experience in boxing and bare-knuckle boxing, but this will be his first foray into professional grappling.
A former WEC welterweight champion and UFC interim welterweight champion, Condit is one of the most beloved fighters of the 2010s, and best known for his 2016 Fight of the Year battle with Robbie Lawler that is widely regarded as one of the greatest fights in MMA history. This will be Condit’s return to professional competition since retiring from MMA in 2021.
Polaris 30 takes place on Nov. 2 at Fairfield Halls in London and will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass.
Jon Jones is prepping for UFC 309 with a lot of different looks.
Jones defends his UFC heavyweight title for the first time in the main event of the UFC’s return to Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16 against former champ Stipe Miocic.
A little over a month away from the fight, Jones revealed he has been training with Olympic gold medalist, and former ex-WWE wrestler Gable Steveson, along with former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker.
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Jones is set to compete for the first time since winning his second divisional UFC world title, submitting Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023. “Bones” was slated to face Miocic this past November before he withdrew due to injury. The former light heavyweight champ has teased that his upcoming bout could be his last, despite hope from the vast majority of the MMA community that Jones will face interim champ Tom Aspinall in a unification bout,
UFC Fight Pass Invitational (UFC FPI) returns for UFC FPI 8 on Thurs. night (Oct. 10, 2024), LIVE at 8 p.m. ET on the UFC Fight Pass digital network from inside the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fresh off his million-dollar performance at Craig Jones Invitational earlier this year, Absolute phenom Nicky Rod will look to continue his winning ways against red-hot grappling prospect Michael Pixley. In the UFC FPI 8 co-main event, Renato Canuto and PJ Barch collide at 170 pounds.
Here’s the complete UFC FPI 8 fight card and grappling lineup:
UFC FPI 8 Main Event:
Nicky Rodriguez vs Michael Pixley (Absolute)
UFC FPI 8 Co-Main Event:
Renato Canuto vs PJ Barch (170 lbs.)
UFC FPI 8 Main Card:
Isaque Bahiense vs Ronaldo Souza Junior (185 lbs.) Andy Varela vs Dante Leon (170 lbs.) Raquel Canuto vs Gabrielle McComb (145 lbs.) Gabriel Sousa vs Josh Cisneros (155 lbs.) Cassia Moura vs Cindy Ung (135 lbs.) Gabriel Almeida vs Johan Oosthuysen (215 lbs.) Pedro Falcao vs Cristian Guzman (155 lbs.)
Below is the compete ruleset and scoring methods for UFC FPI 8, courtesy of UFC.com:
Each match consists of one regulation round (Regulation Time) and one overtime period (OT). There will be no positive points awarded in Regulation Time. Athletes can incur point deductions for illegal guard pulling, passivity, and stalling during regulation time. The overtime period will include both point scoring and deductions. Negatives from Regulation Time will carry into OT.
Time Limits
An eight minute regulation match will have a four minute overtime.
A ten minute regulation match will have a five minute overtime
Referees and Judges
Referee is the only person who can assign positive points or enforce stalling penalties. —Judges may correct points if the referee assigns an incorrect amount. —Should the bout conclude without a submission or a point victory, the judges shall assess the bout in its entirety to determine the winner.
Judging Criteria —Initiation of effective action —Positional control and submission attempts —Duration or control
Managing the competition area —Upon referee discretion, competitors nearing the edge of the matted area will be paused and repositioned towards the center of the competition area. —Athletes are expected to maintain a best effort to compete in the center of the competition area.
Positive Points (Overtime Only)
Passing the guard = 2 points.
All Sweeps & Reversals = 2 points
Knee on belly = 2 points
Takedown = 2 points
Mounted Position = 4 points
Note: All Scoring positions must be maintained for three seconds to earn positive points
Negative Points (Penalties)
Point deductions may be incurred during Regulation or overtime periods.
Ilegal Techniques
Spiking your opponent on their head
Striking of any kind
Gouging of the eyes
Intentionally putting your fingers into any orifice of your opponent
Grabbing of the ears
Intentional pulling of the hair
Twisting or holding any less than four fingers or toes
Intentionally scratching, pinching, or biting
Intentionally grabbing, squeezing or putting pressure on the groin area
Intentionally holding of your competitors clothing
Slamming — Slamming is only allowed when a combatant is using the slamming technique as a method of escaping a fully applied submission
For complete UFC FPI 8 results and highlights CLICK HERE.
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