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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

There were more than a few curious looks when it was announced that light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira would defend his title next against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307.

The assumption was Magomed Ankalaev was the clear cut No. 1 contender at 205 pounds but he ended up booked against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 instead. As disappointing as it was for the Russian currently riding a 12-fight unbeaten streak to get that news, his manager has been assured that one more win gets him a chance at becoming UFC champion.

“Listen, I’m happy for Khalil,” Ankalaev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz told MMA Fighting. “It’s funny how Magomed Ankalaev is now rooting for Alex Pereira. At the end of the day, it’s the UFC’s decision. It wasn’t my decision. It wasn’t Ankalaev’s decision. But I know I’ve been told, Ankalaev do what he has to do, Alex Pereira do what he has to do, and both of them will fight next.

“I don’t think Alex is ducking him. I think it’s the UFC’s decision. I don’t think Alex is the guy ducking people. I have respect for him and his team. He just became a big star and [the UFC] knows, you know, the fans know, Magomed Ankalaev is the hardest and toughest fight for Alex Pereira. Let’s be real. It’s OK. Because if you’re the best in the world, if you want us to beat Rakic, we’ll beat Rakic. Now [Pereira] has do his job and beat Khalil Rountree. It’s not an easy task. I don’t think it’s an easy fight. Magomed Ankalaev has to beat Rakic and these two guys will fight and people will get the best two light heavyweights in the world right now. No. 1, Magomed Ankalaev, No. 2 is Alex Pereira. This is my opinion.”

Leading into UFC 307 fight week, Pereira teased his interest in potentially returning to his old stomping grounds at middleweight with hopes that he could challenge current champion Dricus du Plessis. There’s also been talks about Pereira possibly testing himself at heavyweight in the future against names like Tom Aspinall or maybe even Jon Jones.

While he initially spurred on those rumors, Pereira actually shut down talks about changing weight classes on Wednesday when asked about his plans after UFC 307.

“I would choose to defend my belt,” Pereira said during media day. “Because it takes a planned work to cut down in weight, and it takes planned work to move up as well, but it’s perfect for this division.”

That’s exactly what Ankalaev surely wanted to hear but it’s apparently what the UFC already told his manager.

“I’m not concerned about [Pereira moving weight classes] at all,” Abdelaziz said. “I have conversations behind closed doors and Magomed Ankalaev needs to go out there and show why he should fight for the title and he will get his title shot.”

There’s any number of reasons why the UFC opted to go with Rountree right now but it was Pereira who speculated that Ankalaev’s “boring style” cost him the chance to fight for the title.

Both Ankalaev and his manager have now noted that when it comes to finishes in the UFC, he’s got just as many as Pereira so it’s difficult to understand how he’s not been as entertaining.

“Nobody can say Magomed Ankalaev is boring because he has six knockouts in the UFC,” Abdelaziz said. “Pereira has six knockouts. [Ankalev] fought everybody but it’s OK. It’s no problem. It’s no hard feelings. It’s no complaining, no crying. We’ll just keep going.”

The way Abdelaziz sees it, Ankalaev is just going to have to keep proving himself until it’s undeniable that he’s the best light heavyweight in the sport.

That may require him to extend his unbeaten streak to 13 in a row with his upcoming fight at UFC 308 but Abdelaziz truly believes Ankalaev will eventually become UFC champion in 2025.

“Khabib Nurmagomedov [won] 10 fights, Kamaru Usman [won] 10 fights [to get a title shot], these type of guys they have a long road to get to the UFC [title],” Abdelaziz said. “When they get there, they stay there. Kamaru stayed there. Islam [Makhachev] is staying there. Khabib stayed there. Belal [Muhammad], too, is one of these guys. He takes a long road and now we’re going to see if he’s going to stay there.

“It’s OK. it’s just making it more tougher and makes it more better, it makes you have something to prove. It’s no problem for him fighting Khalil Rountree. Did Khalil Rountree deserve it over Ankalaev? Absolutely not but it’s a business.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Izzy backs DDP
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

It’s been said before, but Ilia Topuria is not lacking for confidence.

The undefeated Featherweight champion is definitely riding high ahead of his first title defense opposite the resurgent Max Holloway, whom he promises to brutalize in short fashion. It’s a lot of tough talk, but can you blame the 27 year old when he’s largely lived up to his word and dominated everyone else so far?

Either way, Topuria’s ambitions are not limited to 145-pounds. Inside the Octagon, “El Matador” fought just once at Lightweight against Jai Herbert, suffering a bit of trouble before landing a tremendous knockout (watch it). Recently, Topuria responded to a fan question online and expressed interest in returning to Lightweight, targeting a match up with champion Islam Makhachev.

“The truth is that of course I do,” Topuria responded when asked if he thinks about fighting Makhachev. “He’s a great fighter. Sometimes he talks too much, sometimes not, but we can always resolve it in the Octagon. Not in the street because I’ll have to pay for his medical bills.”

All told, it’s pretty mild trash talk by Topuria standards. Makhachev’s team mate and undefeated Bellator Lightweight champion, Usman Nurmagomedov, was unimpressed however. He responded on an Instagram story, questioning “When did you ever fight on the street European boy?”

Topuria responded with questions of his own about Nurmagomedov’s murky 2023 drug test failure. He replied to Nurmagomedov’s question on X, writing “It has been a long time, to be honest. How are you doing with drugs? Are you still on steroids?”

As mentioned, Holloway is next up for Topuria, as the two are scheduled to throw down the upcoming UFC 308 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. If he’s victorious, top Featherweight contenders like Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev are waiting for their first shot at UFC gold, and Topuria is also supposed to fight Alexander Volkanovski a second time. If and when he does jump back into the Lightweight waters though, Topuria will have plenty of options for opponents.

Insomnia

Conor McGregor doesn’t seem THAT upset about his return fight being continually delayed.

Oh yeah, we love veteran vs. veteran violence! It will be interesting to see how Damon Jackson fares back at 155 pounds as well.

Daniel Cormier is just asking to get kicked in the calf again.

It goes without saying, but … a master at his craft.

What kind of reality dating nonsense has Payton Talbott gotten himself into? I look forward to not watching but posting some clips in this column!

Hang it in the Louvre.

Merab vs. Umar Nurmagomedov is obviously next, but does the challenger really get to dictate when the fight takes place? Eh.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Classic Muay Thai on display.

Two minutes of Alex Pereira deleting people with his left hook!

A Capoeira kick that didn’t miss! Incredible.

Random Land

Never underestimate the power of a good feint.

Midnight Music: Post-rock, 1996

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Tecia Pennington doesn’t have a lot of love for MMA judges.

This Saturday, Pennington faces Carla Esparza on the undercard of UFC 307. The bout is the final of Esparza’s storied career but for Pennington it’s equally as important as “The Tiny Tornado” is currently on a two-fight losing streak, dropping split decisions to Mackenzie Dern and Tabatha Ricci, which have Pennington with her back against the wall.

“The split decisions have hurt me,” Pennington told reporters at UFC 307 Media Day. “It’s hurt more, the loss, than anything, getting punched or kicked by these girls or whatnot. I truly believed I won those last two fights.”

Pennington has been a fixture of the strawweight top-15 since entering the UFC of of The Ultimate Fighter in 2014. But despite notable wins over the likes of Angela Hill and Michelle Waterson-Gomez, “The Tiny Tornardo” has been unable to even earn a title shot. Now at 35 years old, time is running out for Pennington to make a title run, which she blames, in part, on the judging in her fights.

“I’m still getting at it. I feel like I’ve got one more good run in me,” Pennington said. “I feel like I can make it happen for myself too. I have the skill…

“Honestly, it’s the judges who keep f*cking me, if I’m being honest,” Pennington said. “I go back and I’m like, I don’t know who the judges were but do they go home and rewatch that fight and they’re like, ‘Man, I took away opportunity from this girl. I took away money from this girl. That sucks. I wish I could have done something different.’

“I kind of wish we had universal [open scoring] where they tell you the score after [each round] like Invicta does it. That would be awesome because then as an athlete, I know.”

Universal scoring has been a topic of discussion in MMA for years, with Invicta FC even implementing it on a trial basis in 2020. However, there’s been no major push for universal scoring to make it into the UFC and it won’t be in effect Saturday when Pennington faces off with Esparza. Fortunately for Pennington, she does not believe she’ll need it.

“I think she’s going to be the same old Carla,” Pennington said. “Same thing, coming in with some [punches], going for the takedown, try to catch my leg and take me down that way. I’m not saying she’s not going to take me down, she might. But I’ll get right back up, I’ll stuff a lot of her takedowns, I’ll use my movement. The key to her winning is holding me down, but I don’t see that happening. There’s not been a girl who has been able to do that. I’ve been able to get up and do what I want to do.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

PFL co-founder Donn Davis continues to claim that Kayla Harrison went to the UFC to avoid fights with Larissa Pacheco and Cris Cyborg.

After a past interview where Davis compared one of the PFL’s biggest stars in the history of the promotion to Kevin Durant, as opposed to a LeBron James, following Harrison’s departure for the UFC earlier this year, Davis doubled down on those comments when Din Thomas said he had some “choice words” when addressing the two-time Olympic champion.

“Choice words, I wouldn’t describe it,” Davis said on Sirius XM’s MMA Today. “We brought Kayla into MMA from the Olympics. Developed her into a [17-1] star, two-time champion, and one of the greatest women [fighters], top-five in the sport today. Nothing but pride for that, and nothing but respect for Kayla. As a competitor, to build the company, I want every great fighter here. I want every fighter here. … So I’m disappointed we couldn’t keep Kayla here for, what I think, are the two biggest fights of her legacy, [and] career — avenging Pacheco and winning the championship, and beating Cyborg, who’s the greatest ever.

“I think those are the two toughest fights ahead of Kayla. I don’t like that she ran from those. I don’t like that, and that she ran to a brand to validate herself. I think so highly of Kayla Harrison, she doesn’t need a brand to validate her. She’s that great. Some fighters need a brand to validate them. Some employees need a validation of a brand, some people need to wear clothes or jewelry to validate them. And other people are so strong that their actual actions and accomplishments validate themselves. That’s how highly I think of her, so that disappointed me.”

Harrison decimated former champion Holly Holm in her octagon debut at April’s UFC 300 event, and she faces Ketlen Vieira this Saturday at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. The only MMA loss for Harrison came via decision to Pacheco at the PFL World Championships card in November 2022. Harrison had already defeated Pacheco twice before their trilogy fight.

Cyborg and Pacheco battle it out in their own matchup at the PFL’s PPV card on Oct. 19 in Saudi Arabia.

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