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Michael Page recently voiced his opinion that MMA judges should deliver verdicts in a manner that discourages fighters from narrowly securing victories by relying on a single fighting style.

MMA judging has been a hotly debated topic within the sport for years. Many argue that certain cage-side judges occasionally stray from the sport’s established guidelines, possess limited expertise, and sometimes deliver decisions that raise eyebrows or award points that are hard to justify.

Accusations of an inconsistent scoring system and insufficient quality control in the training and selection of judges fuel the ongoing controversy, making it a persistent source of contention at numerous events. And “Venom” is pushing for a reform in how judges evaluate and score fights…

Page on MMA judging: ‘There’s So Many Wayward Decisions’

During a recent Q&A video on his YouTube channel, Page delved into the changes he believes are necessary in the MMA world, touching on topics like judging, weight cuts, and more. The 37-year-old striking sensation highlighted the recent incident involving judge Howie Booth, who was removed from his position following a controversial scorecard in the heavyweight clash between Tai Tuivasa and Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 305.

“Venom” also stressed the importance of revamping the scoring system, calling for judges to favor fighters who actively seek to finish their opponents and take risks, rather than those who attempt to secure a victory by relying solely on one fighting style.

Page had a turbulent introduction to the Octagon, earning a win against Kevin Holland in his UFC 299 debut, but later suffering a tightly contested decision loss to Ian Garry at UFC 303. As of now, there’s no official word on when “Venom” will make his return to the cage.

• Read More: Georges St-Pierre’s Coach Honest About Michael ‘Venom’ Page’s Chances To Get UFC Gold: ‘He’s Fought A Lot Of Guys You’ve Never Heard Of…’

Continue Reading Michael ‘Venom’ Page Wants MMA Judging To Stop Fighters From ‘Sneaking’ Wins at MMA News.

MMA News

Alex Pereira wants to be a simultaneous two-division UFC champion by taking down middleweight titleholder Dricus du Plessis.

“Poatan” won the 185-pound title in November of 2022 but lost it in a rematch to Israel Adesanya before moving up a division and making his way to the 205-pound gold. Pereira is slated to defend his throne next against Khalil Rountree, but reaffirms his intention to cut an extra 20 pounds again after his UFC 307 clash on Oct. 5.

“I’m focused on my next fight and I’m going prepared but you never know what can happen,” Pereira wrote on social media Monday night. “So regardless of the result, I want to go down one more time to the middleweight and go for the belt. Hey Dricus, bring your will to fight me so you can prove that you are better than me, with your public statement it is easy to make this happen. Chama.”

Pereira first mentioned he was “coming down to 185 one more time” moments after du Plessis’ win over Adesanya on Aug. 17, and the middleweight champion responded by suggesting a light heavyweight match instead. Du Plessis is expected to rematch Sean Strickland in his next title defense at middleweight, but the UFC has yet to officially announce that fight.

Du Plessis has beaten three of the past four middleweight champions in Adesanya, Strickland and Robert Whittaker, with Pereira as the one left to face.

“I honestly don’t think Alex Pereira should drop down to 185,” du Plessis said at the UFC 305 post-fight press conference. “If he wants to, great, perfect. But then we’re going to hear the excuses. I saw Izzy stiff that man in the first round. I felt Izzy’s punching power tonight. Izzy has great timing, he’s fast, he’s long and he has great combinations, but I felt the power.

“If Izzy stiffens you like that, you do not want to be in there with me, especially not when you’ve got to come in there with the excuses, ‘Oh, I cut too much weight.’ That’s going to happen. Everybody’s going to say it.”

Update: du Plessis responded later on X.

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Watch Naoya Inoue vs. TJ Doheny full fight video highlights from their main event showdown Sunday night, courtesy of multiple outlets.

Inoue vs. Doheny took place Sept. 3 at the Ariake Arena in Toyko, Japan. Naoya Inoue (28-0) and TJ Doheny (26-5) squared off in the the main event clash for the undisputed bantamweight title. The fight aired live on ESPN+.

Catch all the video highlights below.

For more on Inoue vs. Doheny, check out live blog below.

Round 1: Both fighters staying at jab range to start, Inoue showing his patience. Inoue flicks out an aggressive jab but Doheny slips out of the corner. Neither man landing anything after 60 seconds. There’s Doheny with a quick right to the body to break the stalemate, but Inoue backs him up with a counter left. Inoue goes to the body. Doheny lightly jabbing, daring Inoue to make a mistake. Inoue back to the body. Douheny doubles up on his jab. Crisp jab by Inoue to close the round, slight edge to the champion.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Inoue.

Round 2: Doheny circles and keeps his jab hand moving. Inoue wants to walk him down, but Doheny just rushes forward for a quick clinch to push Inoue back. Inoue again to the body. Hard right to the body has Doheny defending against the ropes, he avoids the follow-up punches. Another right from Inoue slips past Doheny’s defenses. Doheny blocks a 1-2. Doheny reaches out with a lunging left and connects. Another good body shot by Inoue. Combo by Inoue with Doheny fighting out of the corner. Should be two in the books for Inoue.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Inoue. Overall, 20-18 Inoue

Round 3: Pace quickens, both men staying light on their feet with Inoue holding the center of the ring. Right to the body by Inoue. Doheny letting his hands go, but can’t get past Inoue’s gloves. Doheny with several feints and he scores with his left. Body shot by Doheny. He goes body-head, good round for the challenger so far. Inoue jab snaps Doheny’s head back. Doheny with a left to the body, Inoue answers with a body shot.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Doheny. Overall, 29-28 Inoue.

Round 4: Inoue and Doheny trade jabs to the body. Jab up top from Inoue, he looks more aggressive. Left from Doheny as he connects and circles. Another left by Doheny. Inoue sticking with the body work when he can pin Doheny down. Big 1-2 from Inoue. Left from Doheny scores again. Inoue with a clean jab. Quick combo by Doheny. Right hook from Inoue just before the bell to cap off a close round.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Inoue. Overall, 39-37 Inoue.

Round 5: Doheny coming out as the aggressor in the fifth. Inoue looking to box out of the corner now, Doheny respecting the champ’s power. Two body shots score for Doheny. Inoue sticks the jab in his face. Hard uppercut to the body in close by Inoue. Counter combo by Doheny on an advancing Inoue. Inoue letting his gloves fly, Doheny’s defense holding up so far. Inoue finding a home for that jab. Doheny is in there and landing shots, but isn’t having as much success avoiding punches as before. Straight right and a left by the challenger.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Inoue. Overall, 49-46 Inoue.

Round 6: Inoue just ripping rights to the body now. Doheny answers with a 1-2 combination. He’s making Inoue pay for his home run swings. Doheny targets the body as he stays bouncy. Inoue comes forward and cracks Doheny’s body. Doheny needs to focus on blocking those body shots. Overhand right by Inoue scores. Tricky combo by Doheny has Inoue guessing. Another right scores for Inoue, his power advantage is starting to play out. Doheny keeping the gloves high as Inoue bears down on him. Good jab by Doheny, but Inoue just unloads on him in the corner. Big round for Inoue.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Inoue. Overall, 59-55 Inoue.

Round 7: Inoue right back on the offensive. Ten seconds into the round, Doheny looks hurt. Maybe his back stiffened up? The referee steps in and this one is over. Anticlimactic end to this one just when it looked like it was picking up. The champion defends.

Official result: Naoya Inoue def. TJ Doheny via TKO (injury) (R7, 0:16)

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Alessandro Costa has withdrawn from his Matt Schnell fight.

“NoNo” was scheduled to face “Danger” on the UFC Vegas 97 main card this Sat. night (Sept. 7, 2024) at the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to a report from MMA Fighting, there are no plans to find Schnell a flyweight replacement.

“I won’t be able to fight this September 7th due to an injury that won’t allow me to get 100 percent for this fight,” Costa wrote on Instagram. “It was a very important fight to get into the rankings and it wouldn’t be a good idea to fight injured.”

“My team and I decided not to [fight],” Costa continued. “I’m already recovering and will be ready to go back very soon!. Thank you all for your great support and good vibes always.”

Costa (14-4) is just a couple of months removed from his Kevin Borjas victory at the UFC 301 pay-per-view (PPV) last May in Brazil. As for Schnell (16-8, 1 NC), he’s looking to snap a two-fight losing streak after recently falling to Matheus Nicolau and Steve Erceg.

For the revised UFC Vegas 97 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.

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A flyweight fight between Matt Schnell and Alessandro Costa has been scrapped from the upcoming UFC Vegas 97 card scheduled on Saturday from UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

Schnell first announced the news via YouTube and later confirmed the fight cancellation to MMA Fighting with no plans to book a replacement opponent on short notice.

While nothing has been determined yet, it’s possible that the UFC reschedules Schnell vs. Costa for a later date.

In the original video addressing the cancellation, Schnell claimed that Costa suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to drop off the card. Since arriving in the UFC, Costa has put together a 2-2 record thus far including wins over Jimmy Flick and Kevin Borjas.

As for Schnell, the veteran flyweight is looking to get back on track after suffering back-to-back losses to Steve Erceg and Matheus Nicolau in his past two appearances in the UFC.

UFC Vegas 97 moves forward with 12 total bouts including the main event as Gilbert Burns clashes with Sean Brady at welterweight.

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Quinton Jackson recently shared how he cleverly exposed a spy allegedly sent by Jon Jones to his fight camp by faking an injury to flush them out.

Jackson took on Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 135 in September 2011, but his efforts fell short as he was submitted in the fourth round. Despite being thoroughly outmatched in the bout, “Rampage” later criticized Jones for his fighting style and his tendency to extend his fingers during exchanges, a habit that has unintentionally resulted in eye pokes for several of his opponents.

However, in the lead-up to their fight, Jackson stirred the MMA world by claiming that “Bones” had planted a spy in his camp to gather intel on him. To test his suspicions, Jackson fabricated a story and let the word out that he had a hand injury…

Jackson on Jones Reportedly Planting A Spy: ‘It was Somebody That Worked For MusclePharm’

During a recent episode of his JAXXON Podcast, “Rampage” revealed that Jones was allegedly in contact with someone from his supplement sponsor, MusclePharm, to spy on his fight camp. The former UFC light heavyweight champion recounted how he began to suspect that his every move was being monitored, so he devised a plan.

He faked an injury and shared the news only with his Team Wolfslair, yet somehow, the information still leaked to the public.

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports in August 2011, Jackson revealed that just hours after planting the fake news, his manager received a call from then-UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, who was eager to find out what had happened.

As Jackson anticipated, the response was swift and telling: Silva mentioned that Jones’ manager, Malki Kawa, had reached out. Although Jackson has never produced any concrete evidence to support his claims, “Bones” once playfully admitted to planting a spy in his opponent’s camp.

• Read More: Former UFC Heavyweight Champ Joins Quinton Jackson In Favoring Jon Jones Against Tom Aspinall: ‘GOAT Of Our Sport!’

Continue Reading ‘Rampage’ Jackson On How He Smoked Out Jon Jones’ Alleged Spy In His Camp With Injury Lie at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

MMA Fighting has Inoue vs. Doheny results live for the Naoya Inoue vs. TJ Doheny event on Tuesday at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

When the main event begins around 7 a.m. ET, check out our Inoue vs. Doheny live round-by-round updates for our live blog of the main event. Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) looks to defend his IBF, WBC, and WBO super bantamweight titles against former IBF super bantamweight champ TJ Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs).

Widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of boxing, Inoue, 31, most recently defeated Luis Nery with a sixth-round knockout this past May.

Doheny, 37, has won three straight bouts over Kazuki Nakajima, Japhethlee Llamido, and Bryl Bayogos to earn another crack at the super bantamweight belts.

Check out the Inoue vs. Doheny results below:

Main Card live now

Naoya Inoue vs. TJ Doheny — follow live updates now

Yoshiki Takei def. Daigo Higa via unanimous decision (114-113 x2, 115-112)

Preliminary Card

Jin Sasaki def. Qamil Balla via TKO (R7, 0:52)

Andy Hiraoka def. Ismael Barroso via TKO (R9, 2:58)

Toshiki Shimomachi def. Ryuya Tsugawa via unanimous decision (96-93 x2, 97-92)

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts