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Max Holloway has done it all at 145 pounds and he’s no less ambitious when it comes to his expectations in the lightweight division.

“Blessed” recently made it official that he plans to move up in weight and join the UFC’s 155-pound roster following a 12-year run that saw him compete primarily as a featherweight and reign as that division’s champion from 2017 to 2019. Holloway had a chance to regain the featherweight title this past October at UFC 308, but lost to Ilia Topuria, who handed Holloway his first-ever knockout loss.

Moving from one deep division to another, Holloway hopes to follow in the footsteps of light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who claimed the UFC middleweight title from rival Israel Adesanya in just his fourth fight for the promotion. He dropped the belt back to Adesanya in an immediate rematch, but two fights later he won a vacant light heavyweight title by defeating Jiri Prochazka.

Holloway called Pereira an inspiration during a recent Kick stream (h/t Championship Rounds):

“155, cannot wait,” Holloway said. “All I know is, we saw Alex Pereira get finished [by Adesanya], right? Next fight he fought for a No. 1 contender spot. Fought for the title and he’s on a title run right now, a spectacular title run. Let’s mimic it. Let’s do it.”

Since winning the light heavyweight title, Pereira has successfully defended it three times in 2024, making him one of the UFC’s most valuable players. A former kickboxing champion, the 37-year-old Pereira still has plenty of big fights ahead with No. 1 contender Magomed Ankalaev breathing down his neck and all-time great Jon Jones stating his preference would be to fight Pereira should he continue competing after his bout with Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.

Suffice to say, if the lightweight chapter of Holloway’s career is anything close to how Pereira reinvented himself, he’ll be more than pleased.

“I get inspiration in that,” Holloway said. “He’s a beast.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Carlos Prates has harsh words for fans who believe Neil Magny didn’t give it his all.

On Saturday night, Prates faced Magny in the main event of UFC Vegas 100, knocking out the longtime UFC veteran at the end of the first round. It was the fourth finish of Prates’s 2024 campaign, and earned him his fourth performance bonus of the year, but the finish was not without some detractors.

Though Prates dropped Magny early in the round, the finishing blow that face-planted “The Haitian Sensation” was a curious little left hook that seemed to clip Magny’s temple instead of land flush like many fans have come to expect with such knockouts. As a result, some fans took to social media to question Magny’s willingness to fight, even suggesting Magny took a dive. But Prates has no time for that nonsense.

“I think they should come here and let me give a punch on his head,” Prates said in his post-fight scrum. “Then after they can talk.

“You know when I fought Li Jingliang? It was the same the first knockdown. I hit his head and then he goes down. I think Neil Magny was the same. I train a lot of boxing, many times. Maybe four times per week. Bro, my hand, when I punch you, no matter how or where, you’re going to get hurt.

“On the head is different on the face. On the face you get a little bit dizzy. But on the head you cut your legs and don’t feel nothing and then you come back. So I think people talking shit, they should come here and let me hit his head and then they’ll talk after.”

Magny currently holds a number of UFC divisional records including most fights, wins, strikes, and decisions in UFC welterweight history. His 34 fights in the promotion make him tied with Jeremy Stephens at sixth-most fights all-time in the UFC. So given his long history with the UFC and numerous accolades, it’s fair for Prates to give little credence to the idea that Magny simply wanted out.

What Prates does give credence to is where he goes from here. Magny is currently ranked No. 15 in the UFC welterweight rankings, meaning Prates is likely to take his spot when those update this coming week. Soon to be a ranked fighter in just his first year with the promotion, Prates now hopes he can keep this rapid upward momentum with a fight against No. 4-ranked contender Jack Della Maddalena when the UFC heads to Maddalena’s home country of Australia in February for UFC 312.

“To be honest, I think the best option would be against Jack Della Maddalena, but you have the rank,” Prates said. “I think he’s No. 4 and probably next Tuesday I will be 15. So I don’t know if he’s going to accept the fight. Also, if the UFC is going to do that fight, if they think it’s interesting or something like that. But if it’s so far and the UFC and Jack Della Maddalena don’t agree with that fight, I would be happy fighting against Geoff Neal probably would be cool.”

And if neither of those work out, that’s fine too. For Prates, even making this far is already a dream, and one that is quickly changing his life.

“It’s a dream,” Prates said about his incredible 2024 run. “A few years ago — not a few years ago, I think two years ago, one year and a half I was fighting for maybe $ 200. Now I’m doing a lot of money. It’s a dream. I worked hard for this for many years and I’m really happy.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

When Stipe Miocic suffered a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 back in 2021, he thought a trilogy fight was inevitable.

Considering Miocic manhandled Ngannou in their first encounter three years earlier, it wasn’t a shocking request that he would get the rubber match to settle the trilogy. Unfortunately for Miocic, Ngannou ended up facing Ciryl Gane instead nine months later, aggravated a knee injury in the process and then sat out to recover from surgery before entering free agency.

In the end, Ngannou surrendered the UFC heavyweight title and opted to sign with the PFL while also crossing over to boxing for a pair of fights against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

“I was trying. I was trying to get the rematch,” Miocic said about pursuing the Ngannou trilogy when speaking to MMA Fighting. “Then he left and it didn’t happen unfortunately.

“Listen, I’m a fighter. I don’t work for the UFC internally and [figuring] out matchmaking. It’s what they wanted to do and it’s what they did.”

As much as Miocic wanted that third fight against Ngannou, he can’t fault the former UFC heavyweight champion for opting to take a deal that would allow him to live out his dream in the boxing ring and get paid a whole lot of money to do it.

“Yeah of course [I was bummed] because I wanted the rubber match,” Miocic said. “But also at the same point, he’s doing better for himself and his family. I’m not mad at him. He’s doing great.”

In his two fights crossing over to boxing, Ngannou took Fury to a razor-close decision loss after scoring a shocking knockdown on the former heavyweight champion. Things didn’t go as well against Joshua after Ngannou suffered a pair of knockdowns before being finished with a vicious punch in the second round.

Miocic, a Golden Gloves boxer in his youth, admits he didn’t watch both of Ngannou’s fights, but he was still proud to see his former rival getting the chance to compete against two of the best heavyweights in the sport.

“I saw clips of it,” Miocic said about the boxing matches. “The first one he did well with Fury and unfortunately the second one didn’t go well with Joshua. But it happens. It’s fighting, anything can happen.

“Some people said he won [against Fury]. I didn’t see the whole fight but a lot of people said he won the fight. He put him down. He did a lot of things. Listen, he convinced that many people that he could [beat him]. Shows that we can hang.”

Ngannou returned to MMA this past October when he made short work of Renan Ferreira in his PFL debut. As of now, he’s undecided on what comes next.

With opportunities available in both boxing and MMA, Ngannou can essentially pick or choose whatever he wants to do, but it seems highly unlikely that a return to the UFC ever happens. Ngannou remains at odds with UFC CEO Dana White and appears happy controlling his own destiny.

That means there’s little to no chance that Miocic ever gets to settle the score. As much as he once wanted the trilogy, he’s resolved in knowing that his rivalry with Ngannou ends at one win apiece.

“Listen, I’m OK with letting go,” Miocic said. “I get it. As much as I would love to fight him, I wish him nothing but the best and it is what it is. We’re 1-1. That’s the way it will be. He got the last one unfortunately.”

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Welterweights beware!
| BJPenn.com

UFC Vegas 100 went down last night (Sat., Nov. 9, 2024) inside the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, which featured a Welterweight bout that saw Carlos Prates starch Neil Magny in the very first round (see it again here). In the co-headlining act, Reinier de Ridder stopped Gerald Meerschaert via third-round submission (highlights).

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Biggest Winner: Carlos Prates

Another fight, another impressive stoppage win for Prates, who has quickly become a legit threat in the Welterweight division. He is now 4-0 inside the Octagon and improved his win streak to 11. What’s even more impressive is that he is on a 10-fight stoppage streak, which will be good enough to put him in the Top 15 next week. Big things are coming for Prates, who has proven to be a real “Nightmare” for the division in such short time.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Runner Up: Reinier de Ridder

Thanks to the co-main event getting scrapped not once, but twice, de Ridder got an opportunity of a lifetime to co-headline a UFC card in his promotional debut. And the former ONE double-champion made the most of it by securing a third-round submission win over Meerschaert (see it again here). With an explosive debut like that, de Ridder puts himself on the map right away. He didn’t secure a post-fight bonus award, but there will be plenty of time for that since his UFC journey is just getting started.

Biggest Loser: Matthew Semelsberger

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Coming into the event, Semelsberger was our pick for the fighter who needed a win the most seeing as how he had lost his last three bouts. But things got worse for “Semi the Jedi,” who was knocked out by Charles Radtke in just 51 seconds. With four straight losses, and losing five of his last six under the UFC banner, Semelsberger should feel very nervous because his time fighting inside the Octagon could be nearing its end since the promotion is looking for any reason to thin the herd.

For complete UFC Vegas 100 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Charles Oliveira is as focused as he’s ever been on UFC 309, and cementing a career legacy that will last for generations to come.

Oliveira meets Michael Chandler in a rematch this Saturday in the five-round co-main event of UFC 309, which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York. While “Du Bronx” is focused on the rematch with Chandler for the opportunity to fight for the lightweight title, Oliveira knows another rematch could be in his future with Max Holloway, now that the BMF champ is moving up to lightweight following his knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308.

“I’m about legacy,” Oliveira told MMA Fighting. “That’d be great. Why not? As I’m talking about [legacy], I mean, being the BMF champ would be gigantic for that.”

In his first go-around with Holloway, Oliveira suffered an injury 1:39 into the fight, which gave Holloway a TKO victory.

Oliveira’s history with Chandler is a bit different. In May 2021, Oliveira faced Chandler for the vacant lightweight title, and after a tough first round, he battled back to stop Chandler to win his first UFC title at UFC 262.

Chandler was linked with Conor McGregor for nearly two years, and the fight was booked to take place at UFC 303 in June before McGregor was forced to withdraw with an injury.

When Oliveira was presented with Chandler, he wasn’t surprised, nor would he be with any opponent the UFC offered up.

“Listen, I’m ready, happy, very motivated,” Oliveira said. “I’m just waiting for the day to come.

“I just love the opportunity. I’m always ready for a fight and I think that whatever the UFC says, I’m ready to go. They know I’m ready to fight and I know that I’m winning this fight and I’m next in line [for the title]. That’s how I feel.”

Oliveira looks to get back in the win column after losing a decision to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 in April. Tsarukyan will likely face Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title next, but if Oliveira can defeat Chandler, Oliveira puts himself in a great position to try to reclaim his spot on the lightweight throne.

As focused as he is on the task at hand, Oliveira does look back on his first meeting with Chandler with fondness, and hopes to use that performance to deliver one even better at The World’s Most Famous Arena.

“Without a shadow of doubt, the spirit of that [first] fight [is with me] and it’s just always [focusing on] getting to this fight, pushing forward, coming out with the win, [and to make sure that my hand is raised,” Oliveira explained.

“Listen, we train all the time. We try to get ready. So I want to be ready, but our idea is to be better. It doesn’t matter what we did before, we are going to be better than the last time. That’s what I do. That’s what I train for, and no matter what happens, I want to have my hand raised on Saturday.”

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