CombatSports.org

Boogeyman
| BJPenn.com

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, Julianna Pena, has been working overtime to discredit former PFL titleholder, Kayla Harrison, as a legitimate title contender. Part of that protracted smear campaign includes accusations of steroid abuse.

Maybe it’s just one of many excuses to downplay an “inevitable” ass whooping.

“I think that Julianna, if she wins this fight against Raquel, is probably going to try and be inactive and push to have Amanda come back,” Harrison told CBS Sports. “She’s trying to avoid the inevitable. I wouldn’t want to fight me either, I get it. She’s calling out Amanda, she’s saying I’m on steroids.”

Nunes retired last June, citing nerve damage in her legs.

Pena, 35, challenges Raquel Pennington for the bantamweight belt in the UFC 307 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event this weekend in Salt Lake City, not long after Harrison locks horns with Brazilian bruiser Ketlen Vieira — a battle that is likely to determine the next 135-pound title challenger.

Harrison is the odds-on betting favorite for UFC 307.

“Julianna doesn’t have a win over someone in the Top 15 right now,” Harrison continued. “What has she been doing? She’s had two years off, coming off a loss. Now she’s going to fight for the title, she’s been blessed with this gift. Her time is coming, and more importantly my time is coming. I’ll be prepared for when it does, and I hope she is too.”

Pena has not competed since getting trounced by Nunes back in summer 2022.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 307 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 307: “Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 307 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/SamDamSam0 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Michael Bisping says a thief tried to steal his wife Rebecca’s purse while vacationing in Paris.

The former UFC middleweight champion and color commentator says he was eating breakfast with his wife when someone ran up and stole Rebecca’s bag, before trying to take off. Bisping says ended up catching the individual, and explained what happened.

Check out Bisping’s wild story in the video below.

“I chase after him, get a hold of him, he had the bag already hidden like a towel,” Bisping said. “Got the bag off him. He didn’t speak a word of English, obviously. Didn’t do anything to him, got the bag back. He was shitting his pants, poor guy. … Anyway, I let him go, turned around, boom, just gave him a nice kick up the ass.”

Bisping remained in Paris after calling the action of this past Saturday’s UFC Paris fight card, capped off by Renato Moicano’s second-round TKO win over Benoit Saint Denis.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

submitted by /u/SamDamSam0 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

If Israel Adesanya had his way, he’ll be fighting sooner rather than later.

The former middleweight champion returned after nearly a year layoff in August at UFC 305 in Perth, where he was submitted by Dricus du Plessis in the fourth round. “The Last Stylebender” has now lost two straight, and three of four, but none of that seems to matter. Adesanya is enjoying himself as a fighter, and wants to keep having fun, competitive battles. In fact, Adesanya says he’d be willing to fight again before the end of the year.

“Even though I don’t have the belt, they still got my name in their mouth,” Adesanya said on The Adam Carolla Show. “I’m still Israel Adesanya. For me, I’ll let them call me out, or whatever. At the moment, I want to fight one more time before the end of this year, or early next year. But I don’t know yet. I’m just training, building off where we left off, and I’ll get the call at some point with a few options. I’m sure Dana [White] will hit me up at some point.”

Adesanya was one of the most active champions in UFC history during his title run, but would eventually drop the middleweight belt to longtime rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in November 2022. Five months later, Adesanya regained the belt with the 2023 Knockout of the Year against Pereira at UFC 287.

The reign didn’t last long as Sean Strickland stunned the MMA community with a lopsided decision victory at UFC 293 in September 2023, a result that led to Adesanya taking a step back from competition.

He returned against rival du Plessis, and while Adesanya was competitive, it didn’t go his way, and moments before the finishing sequence from du Plessis is where Adesanya believes it all slipped away.

“It was just a moment in the fight where, it was my footwork,” Adesanya explained. “I did something and I slipped. And then I pointed to the ground and was like, ‘It wasn’t you, it was the ground,’ and in that moment, I shouldn’t have pointed to the ground. … He jumped on that.

“Look, this is the game. I messed up, my bad, but I wasn’t really attached to the outcome. I just wanted to show off. I wanted to actually be in a fight, and it was a good fight. I enjoyed myself.”

Adesanya is taking the loss in stride, and it has only enhanced his hunger to get back in the octagon.

“I can’t wait to do it again,” Adesanya said. “Against who? We’ll find out.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

submitted by /u/idcman999 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Khabib Nurmagomedov remains steadfast that he’s fought his final fight.

The retired former UFC lightweight champion called it a career after stopping Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020, ending his career with the 155-pound title, and an undefeated record to boot.

On a recent trip to Indonesia, Nurmagomedov was asked during an interview if he would ever consider returning to the octagon.

“There is no chance,” Nurmagomedov told Indonesian outlet iNews. “Not even one percent [chance], minus [percentage].”

Of course, Nurmagomedov is still in the MMA space as he’s coaching a slew of talented fighters — including now-UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, along with Bellator lightweight titleholder Usman Nurmagomedov, likely No. 1 UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov, and more.

Because of that, Nurmagomedov says his legacy will live on as the sport of mixed martial arts continues to grow and evolve.

“If you guys need champions, I’m helping my brothers to become champions,” Nurmagomedov said. “We have Islam, champion. We have Umar, next contender. We have Usman champion [in Bellator].

“We have a lot of champions. You guys [are] never going to miss me because in our team, in our gym, we create champions. You guys [are] going to [always have] champion [from our team], don’t worry about this.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Matchmaking
| BJPenn.com

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight sluggers Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland will this weekend (Sat., Oct. 5, 2024) at UFC 307 inside Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

At 36 years of age and having lost two of his last three, it doesn’t feel like Dolidze is going to put it all together and challenge for the title anytime soon. At the same time, the Georgian standout is an active finisher capable of fighting ranked opposition in two divisions, so there are still plenty of interesting fights available. Similarly, Holland’s Welterweight rebirth didn’t result in a title fight. Nowadays, “Trailblazer” is more interested in kicking necks and cashing checks, which explains this fairly random return to Middleweight slugfest.

Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland Betting Odds

• Roman Dolidze victory: +136
• Roman Dolidze via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Roman Dolidze via submission: TBD
• Roman Dolidze via decision: TBD
• Kevin Holland victory: -162
• Kevin Holland via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Kevin Holland via submission: TBD
• Kevin Holland via decision: TBD
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Dolidze Wins

Dolidze is unintentionally a very funny fighter. On the same evening, he’ll throw the sloppiest charging hooks you’ve ever seen, shoot a sloppy takedown, then perform the most intricate jiu-jitsu sequence of the year.

I think it’s safe to say Dolidze wants this fight on the canvas. He’s got the power to compete with Holland on the feet, but his opponent is the much cleaner boxer and will have a significant speed advantage. Fortunately, Holland was a lot easier to out-muscle at 185-pounds. That’s only likely to have grown more true since he shed some weight to make the Welterweight limit.

The focus here should be on corralling Holland to the fence using hooks and footwork. When Holland’s back foot has nowhere to go, Dolidze can look to change levels and get physical in the clinch. This is a match up of former Light Heavyweight vs. recent Welterweight, so there’s every chance that “The Caucasian” can simply overpower his opponent and dominate from top position.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Holland Wins

I think Holland might actually be a better 185-pounder than Welterweight. In either division, his game — which consists mostly of the 1-2, random kicks, and nasty clinch work — is a little too shallow for the division’s elite. At Middleweight, however, he’s dealing with a bunch of slower, tired opponents who are less likely to be any good at wrestling.

That’s worth a size disadvantage!

Holland is going to be much faster than Dolidze, and his 1-2 stings everybody it touches, even very durable opposition like Marvin Vettori. Footwork will be key for him, as being able to move freely around the cage and stick those straight punches will be a priority. I’d also like to see Holland really aggressive with strikes when Dolidze pursues the clinch. He’s positively nasty with his elbows and knees from close quarters, and those shots could really convince Dolidze to avoid further takedown attempts.

If these two trade for three rounds, there’s little doubt who comes out on top.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Dolidze Vs. Holland Prediction

I think the betting odds are right on the money here. Though both men have clear avenues to victory, I favor Holland to successfully keep this standing by a small amount.

Obviously, it would be a big problem for “Trailblazer” to end up stuck on bottom, and we saw that happen against Marvin Vettori and Derek Brunson. Since then, however, there have been noticeable improvements to his defensive wrestling. In addition, Dolidze just isn’t that consistent of an offensive wrestler. The best fighters he’s successfully wrestled in the Octagon are … Laureano Staropoli? John Allan?

Holland (likely) has what it takes to keep this one standing, and his right hand isn’t going to miss.

Prediction: Holland via decision

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 307 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPNews at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 307: “Pereira vs. Rountree” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

MMAmania.com – All Posts