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Chris Curtis is set for a 2025 return to the UFC octagon.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotions plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Curtis will face Roman Kopylov in a middleweight bout at the UFC’s Fight Night event on Jan. 11 at a location and venue yet to be announced.

Curtis is set to make his 10th promotional appearance and looks to bounce back in the win column following a split decision loss in a Fight of the Year contender against Brendan Allen at UFC Vegas 90 in April. “The Action Man” returns to action after suffering a torn hamstring in the fight, and was slated to face Kevin Holland on Saturday’s UFC 307 card before being forced to withdraw.

After having his four-fight win streak snapped by Anthony Hernandez at UFC 298 in February, Kopylov returned to the win column three months later with a split decision win against Cesar Almeida at UFC 301. During his previous winning streak, Kopylov finished all four of his opponents.

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Finally getting this poster up. I bought it in the early 2000s from a memorabilia page. It’s been in a tube for 20+ years waiting for me to stop moving long enough to display it. submitted by /u/Damo_762 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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!

What we need from you

1. Play the game
2. Share your result in the comments and on social media
3. Provide feedback (Google Form or in comments below)

Today’s UFC in-5 game

Friday’s UFC in-5 game

Thursday’s UFC in-5 game

Wednesday’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.

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UFC

Finally getting this poster up. I bought it in the early 2000s from a memorabilia page. It’s been in a tube for 20+ years waiting for me to stop moving long enough to display it. submitted by /u/Damo_762 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

It was unavoidable that Kayla Harrison would receive comparisons to Ronda Rousey when she first made her transition into MMA.

Both came from judo backgrounds with Rousey becoming the first woman from the United States to capture a medal at the Olympics only to be outdone by Harrison, who ended up with a pair of gold medals in back-to-back games. While Rousey’s contributions to the sport are almost immeasurable, especially given the fact that she played a part in Dana White actually bringing women to the UFC, Harrison may eventually surpass her again.

That’s according to Harrison’s longtime manager Ali Abdelaziz, who has been with her since before she was even fighting and now she stands on the precipice of potentially fighting for gold again if she gets through Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307.

“This is no disrespect to Ronda, she’s great, she opened the door for all of the women but Kayla, all the time, did things much better than her,” Abdelaziz told MMA Fighting. “[Ronda] won a bronze medal. Kayla won two gold medals. The way Kayla is going to beat people, I don’t think Ronda was ever going to beat people the way Kayla is going to do it.

“I’m talking about dominance. She doesn’t say much but she does a lot of damage. She inflicts a lot of pain.”

In her octagon debut, Harrison ran roughshod over former champion Holly Holm, submitting her with a rear-naked choke in the second round at UFC 300. Holm was the fighter that famously dethroned Rousey back in 2015 when Rousey was on top of the world and seemingly unbeatable.

Comparisons aside, Harrison is forging her own path in the UFC after she grew up competing in the PFL and through one fight thus far, her style has certainly translated between promotions.

Having witnessed other fighters on his roster like UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov and current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev dominate the competition, Abdelaziz believes that Harrison can do the same now that she’s in the UFC.

“She smothers people, she punishes them,” Abdelaziz said. “She creates a lot of damage, creates a lot of chaos and it’s exciting at the same time. Khabib was always exciting. Kayla is always exciting. Kayla has never been in a boring fight. That’s what Kayla does. She’s a world class athlete. She’s an A-plus, two-time Olympic champion and the way she dominates people, she makes you be like, ‘Why am I doing this?’

“She makes people rethink their careers. Anybody Kayla is going to fight, they are going to rethink their career. It doesn’t matter who. No disrespect to nobody. She’s the best. She’s the most dominant and Saturday night you’re going to see one more time why I keep saying that for the last 10 years.”

If Harrison gets through Vieira on Saturday, all signs point towards her getting a shot at the title against the winner of the UFC 307 main event between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Peña.

There’s a world where Harrison could have just slipped right into a title fight after her win against Holm in April but Abdelaziz understands why the UFC went in a different direction.

“It was talked [about Kayla getting a title shot] but I think the UFC previously they promised Julianna they would give her a title shot,” Abdelaziz revealed. “It was kind of promised and these guys, you like it or not, they give you their word, they always keep it. I respect their opinion. It’s OK. If Kayla believes she’s the best in the world, she has to smash everybody. I believe she is the best in the world. I believe Ketlen Vieira is a great fighter, a great test for Kayla. I think Saturday night, Kayla’s going to show why she’s the best female fighter on the planet in any division.

“[Kayla is next for the title], this is what [the UFC] said but in reality [crazy things] happen in the sport. Kayla needs to do what she has to do on Saturday night and I think 99.9 percent she is next. Undoubtedly, nobody can tell her she’s not.”

Whether it’s Pennington or Pena, none of that seems to matter much to Harrison and the same goes for her manager. No matter what he expects Harrison to have a title around her waist soon enough.

“If the champ wants to retire [rather than fight her], I understand,” Abdelaziz said. “I don’t want to fight Kayla, too.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Fair point
| BJPenn.com

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Just a months ago, UFC veteran and former One Featherweight champion, John Lineker, crossed into the ring with a successful professional Muay Thai debut opposite Asa Ten Pow. Lineker entered the match up as a significant underdog, but his “Hands of Stone” proved more than sufficient in battering Ten Pow and securing the late knockout win (watch here).

The Brazilian’s Muay Thai venture continued opposite Alexey Balyko earlier tonight (Fri., Oct. 4, 2024) at the One Fight Night 125 event from the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand against Alexey Balyko. Balyko is an experienced Russian kickboxer who entered with a 3-1 record in One, but it was a step back from Ten Pow and Lineker won easily.

The fight didn’t last a round, and it was all Lineker. The Brazilian fireplug exploded forward with his usual mix of left hooks and overhands, and the left hook kept finding its mark. He dropped Balyko twice before finishing the wobbly athlete off with a MASSIVE left hook that slumped him to the canvas.

Check out the finish clip below:

After the win, Lineker called out Rodtang, probably the most well-known Muay Thai fighter on the One roster. Rodtang is famous for his aggressive fighting style and iron chin, and though he’d be smaller than Lineker, it would surely be an electric match up if it materializes.

One way or another, Lineker seems to have found a home in the art of eight limbs!

Insomnia

Kayla Harrison vs. Henry Cejudo … book it!

It feels like some really fun wrestling scrambles are guaranteed in this one.

I don’t know how this story came up on an official UFC broadcast, but I’m glad it did.

To laugh or to cry? That’s the question.

Joaquin Buckley and Kevin Holland actually want to be best buds so bad.

Your favorite fighter’s favorite fighter.

This has to be a reoccurring injury, but still! Gnarly.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Naoya Inoue has been tearing up bodies for years and years now. That inside tie to left liver shot feels like it would work well in MMA!

Impressive to control the neck for that long and still have the juice for the final squeeze.

Really long kicks with huge power at the end:

Random Land

A rock climbing cat … how could I not post?

Midnight Music: Tomorrow, I will be cornering my team mate, Namiki Kawahara, as he challenges for the Cage Warriors Academy Strawweight title. Here’s his walkout song!

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

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/LatterTarget7 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The UFC returns to pay-per-view this Saturday for UFC 307, and Alex Pereira will put his UFC light heavyweight title on the line against Khalil Rountree in the main event. If Pereira is to pick up his third win of the year, what does it do for his legacy?

Ahead of Saturday’s pay-per-view card, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Jed Meshew preview the event, the headliner between Pereira and Rountree, and what is at stake for both men. Additionally, they’ll discuss the co-main event between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena for the women’s bantamweight title, Pena getting the shot over Kayla Harrison, José Aldo’s return to action, Harrison making her second octagon appearance, this time against Ketlen Vieira, the low-key storylines, and much more.

Catch the UFC 307 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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