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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

A controversial scorecard in the heavyweight fight between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Tai Tuivasa led to judge Howie Booth being removed from UFC 305 where he was actually scheduled to also work the co-main event.

While it’s not an unprecedented change, the removal of an official in the middle of an event is still unusual. Booth scored Tuivasa winning with a scorecard of 30-27, while the other two judges gave the fight to Rozenstruik with scores of 30-27 and 29-28 for the split-decision win.

Judges often score rounds differently during a close fight, which is how many split decisions happen, but there was no question that Rozenstruik deserved the nod over Tuivasa after three rounds. As a result, Booth was removed from the event and judge Ben Cartlidge was inserted as the third official scoring the co-main event between Steve Erceg and Kai Kara-France.

In the aftermath of that decision, Honorable Bob Kucera, the chairman of the Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia issued a statement to MMA Fighting regarding Booth being removed from UFC 305.

“To ensure the best outcome for the event and the sport, the Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia (CSC) supported a change to the judging assignments during the UFC 305 event,” Kucera said.

“Due process was followed in reaching this decision which included consultation with the Head Official. Mr Booth remains a registered official with the CSC.”

Based on that statement, Booth is still cleared to work future events in Western Australia, although it remains to be seen if he’ll be back at a future UFC card when the promotion eventually returns there.

UFC executive David Shaw addressed the decision to remove Booth from the event and he praised the move after there were more than a few complaints about Booth’s scoring in the heavyweight fight.

“It’s good checks and balances,” Shaw said at the UFC 305 post-fight press conference. “I think everyone needs to be held to a high standard. It doesn’t matter if, like, if I don’t do my job, or you don’t do your job, maybe it’s good to sit on the bench for a while, and reconsider the work, and try to figure out how to get back on track and do a better job next time.

“I think just, generally, in life, it’s a decent principle. But it’s not for me to say whether it was right or wrong for the commission.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili will have a familiar set of eyes on them in their title clash.

Referee Herb Dean serves as the third man in the cage for the UFC 306 headlining bout between the bantamweight champion O’Malley and Dvalishvili, which takes place at Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14. Dean’s assignment was made official at a meeting of the Nevada Athletic Commission on Thursday.

The judges for the UFC 306 main event are Mike Bell, Sal D’Amato, and Chris Lee.

Overseeing the co-main event trilogy bout between flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko is referee Mark Smith. The judges for this contest are Ben Cartlidge, Eric Colon, and Ron McCarthy.

A high-profile boxing bout between Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga also takes place on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas, and Thursday’s NAC meeting saw officials determined for that headlining bout at T-Mobile Arena. Harvey Dock serves as the referee, with Max DeLuca, David Sutherland, and Steve Weisfeld assigned as judges for the 12-round title fight.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jon Jones had some choice words in response to a Tom Aspinall interview, to say the least.

Aspinall recorded a cheeky interview with SPORTbible, in which he couldn’t help but take a jab at Jones when the question of who is “the champion of fight dodging?” was lobbed up for him. The two have been involved in a heated public rivalry for the better part of the last year, with Aspinall (the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion) accusing Jones of avoiding a fight with him and instead choosing to defend his heavyweight title against the comparatively inactive Stipe Miocic.

“Fight dodging?” Aspinall said. “That would have to be Jon Jones, wouldn’t it? We know he’s trying to fight ‘Old Man Stipe.’ Well, he’s going to fight Stipe. He’s the fight dodger around here.”

The slight did not go unnoticed by Jones, who left a vulgar comment in the replies that was later deleted.

“This dude literally has my large black c*ck in his mouth every week,” Jones wrote. “I’m flattered. I absolutely guarantee he will not win more world championships than me. That’s truly all that matters at the end of the day.

“There’s been many champions, no one like me. I sleep good at night.”

Jones won a vacant UFC heavyweight title with a dominant submission win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023. Prior to his move to heavyweight, Jones reigned over the 205-pound division for over a decade, going undefeated with the exception of a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill. He won light heavyweight gold three times, having lost an undisputed belt for his involvement in a hit-and-run and an interim belt after failing a drug test. His final run as light heavyweight champion ended in 2020 amid a pay dispute with the UFC and a subsequent change of divisions.

It is not yet known when Jones’ bout with Miocic will be rescheduled (the two were previously booked to fight at UFC 295), but all signs point to the fighters finally crossing paths in November.

In the time since Jones’ win over Gane, Aspinall has won an interim heavyweight title and successfully defended it. He defeated Sergei Pavlovich to win the vacant belt at UFC 295 and then defeated Curtis Blaydes via 60-second knockout at UFC 304 this past July.

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Will it happen?
| BJPenn.com

O’Malley is the big star headlining the UFC’s massive Sphere show, but Sterling believes his record is as suspect as Jake Paul’s.

Aljamain Sterling is throwing shade at Sean O’Malley weeks out from “Suga’s” toughest fight ever as he defends his bantamweight belt against Merab Dvalishvili at Riyadh Season Noche UFC on September 14th.

“Funkmaster” has had a chip on his shoulder over O’Malley since the young YouTube star knocked him out in their UFC 292 showdown back in August 2023. According to the former UFC 135 pound champ, it has to do with the route O’Malley took to get to the belt, which he likened to influencer boxer and notorious sandbagger Jake Paul. Aljo explained the gripe with Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick on his Verse Us podcast.

“I want to see the best of the best compete, no excuses,” Sterling said. “Now, enter O’Malley. He fights one ranked guy and gets a title shot — a split decision albeit. This is not me hating. This is just calling a spade a spade.”

Sterling brought up how the UFC pressured him to defend his title against Sean O’Malley just three months after he defended against Henry Cejudo. He suggested the whole thing was a plot by the promotion to give “Suga” the best chance of winning the belt against a stylistically difficult champion.

“For me, as a competitor, I can never respect that as a man,” he said. “As a man, as a competitor. It’s like the Jake Paul route. Stacking the deck so that you get these highlights or you get these favorable match-ups and these wins to look as good as you do.”

He also flamed “Suga” for having his first title defense against Marlon “Chito” Vera, who is the only man to defeat O’Malley in MMA — a dubiously controversial win earned off injuring Sean’s leg early in their fight.

“You get an easier title defense against a guy you’re clearly worlds better than. Stylistically, the guy’s not going to try and take you down. He can’t take you down because he has no wrestling ability, and he’s ranked six. He didn’t even deserve to be in there.”

Sterling went on to criticize O’Malley’s record further on X (formerly Twitter).

“I’ve always liked Sean’s style since his DWCS fight where I first saw him,” Aljo wrote. “Even complimented him on the JRE podcast. He’s very good. But facts are facts … O’Malley resume in order (all unranked): Ware, Soukhamthath, Quinonez, Wineland, Chito (weird tko), Almeida, Moutinho, Paiva. Ranked: Munhoz (NC eye poke), Yan by split also, then me, then skips #2 Merab for Chito.”

He responded to the haters who suggested his own run was nothing to write home about.

“Try looking at my resume before you come at me bro lol,” he wrote. “I’ve fought all the killers at 135 when they were ALL red hot! 3 unranked opponents my UFC career. Watch ya tone and add respect when you talk about my run.”

Whatever you think of O’Malley’s past record, there’ll be no more easy fights for him so long as he holds the bantamweight belt. Merab Dvalishvili is the best 135er in the world without a title, and then if “Suga” wins on September 14th at UFC 306 he has to fight Umar Nurmagomedov next.

It’s killers in the division all the way down to No. 10 ranked Jose Aldo, so time will tell if O’Malley has what it takes to cement his position as a worthy champion in the UFC.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Conor McGregor’s future could become clearer soon, according to Dana White.

The UFC CEO hosted an Instagram Live chat on Wednesday evening, in which he teased an update on the status of “The Notorious.” McGregor has been out of action since breaking his leg in a July 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, and after a tumultuous summer that saw a scheduled bout with Michael Chandler fall through, there has been no news on when McGregor’s long-awaited comeback will be rescheduled.

White has had to repeatedly shoot down the possibility of McGregor fighting before the end of 2024, so it remains to be seen what White plans to announce for the former two-division champion.

“Conor news coming up, we’ve got Oliveira news coming up,” White said. “We’ve got Chandler news coming up. We’ve got Max Holloway news coming up. All that good shit. Coming soon.”

Shortly after White completed his IG chat, McGregor appeared to respond to the comment with a sly emoji.

Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira has been awaiting his next booking since a loss to Arman Tsarukyan this past April at UFC 300. “Do Bronx” was expected to earn a UFC title shot and a rematch with Islam Makhachev with a win over Tsarukyan, but now seeks to knock off another top name at 155 pounds to remain in the championship discussion.

Chandler’s pursuit of the McGregor fight has sidelined him for close to two years now, but the lightweight contender continues to insist that his matchup with the Irish superstar will take place at some point.

As for Holloway, White’s mention of the “BMF” champion was odd given that Holloway is already booked to fight undefeated featherweight titleholder Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 on Oct. 26. However, given that Holloway is currently a contender at both 145 and 155 pounds, perhaps there are already plans for Holloway at lightweight regardless of the UFC 308 main event result.

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