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UFC Edmonton is getting a shake up.

UFC Edmonton takes place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Canada on Nov. 2 and was supposed to feature a top-15 heavyweight matchup between Derrick Lewis and Alexander Romanov; however, the UFC decided to mix things up as Lewis will now face Jhonata Diniz. The news was first reported by Laerte Viana and later confirmed to MMA Fighting with multiple sources.

Currently No. 11 in the UFC heavyweight rankings, Lewis is one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster and the promotional leader in knockouts with 15. Most recently he knocked out Rodrigo Nascimento at UFC St. Louis.

A former Glory kickboxer, Diniz made his UFC debut in April after being signed off the Contender Series, knocking out Austen Lane. He then won a unanimous decision over Karl Williams at UFC Vegas 95 to move to 2-0 in the promotion.

There’s no word yet on why the change was made as MMA Fighting confirmed that Romanov will in fact stay on the card, and is now expected to instead square off with Rodrigo Nascimento.

Currently No. 12 in the UFC heavyweight rankings, Romanov made his UFC debut in 2020 and quickly amassed five wins in the organization before falling short against Marcin Tybura at UFC 278. Since then he’s gone 1-2, most recently losing to Jailton Almeida at UFC 302 in June.

The No. 15-ranked heavyweight in the UFC, Nascimento had an up-and-down start to his UFC career before rattling off three straight wins to earn a ranking. Most recently, he lost to Lewis via third-round knockout back at UFC St. Louis.

UFC Edmonton will be headlined by a women’s flyweight bout between Erin Blanchfield and former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.

Mike Heck and Damon Martin contributed to this report.

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For the first time in his 12-year mixed martial arts career, former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has lost back-to-back fights.  “The Last Stylebender” was submitted in the fourth round of the UFC 305 main event against champion Dricus du Plessis last Saturday. 

Adesanya has suffered defeats to the last two 185-pound titleholders: Sean Strickland and du Plessis.  Strickland believes Adesanya’s recent losses happened  because Adesanya’s not that good.  

“I have an unpopular opinion.  I just don’t think Izzy is that good,” Strickland told the Verse Us with Eric Nicksick.  “Let me tell you why.”

“When he fought Kelvin [Gastelum], I think Kelvin sucks.  Everyone is like, ‘Oh man, Izzy, he’s this and that.’  I’ve sparred Kelvin so many times where I’m like, you kind of had a close fight with Kelvin.  Like, you’re not that f***ing good,” Strickland continued.  “You’re not that f***ing good.  You fought f***ing [Paulo] Costa.  Costa was scared sh*tless of you.  You f***ing blew on him and he fell asleep.  Izzy is not that f***ing good.”

Strickland and Gastelum are friends.  They’ve trained together and sparred several times, but Strickland doesn’t consider Gastelum in the top tier of fighters.  

“I love Kelvin.  Kelvin is a stand-up guy.  When I say you’re not that good, I’m not talking about 90 percent of the roster.  I’m talking about the 10 percent of the most elite guys.  That’s what I’m talking about, and you’re not in that,” Strickland said.  “I love Kelvin.  I think Kelvin’s a f***ing stud.  Hell, Kelvin has beaten two of my teammates.  Kelvin is a f***ing stud, but we’re talking about the top of the echelon.”   

“He (Israel) doesn’t really have that f***ing dog in him,” Strickland continued.  “When he fought Kelvin I was like, you let Kelvin have that close of a fight with you.  If I fought Kelvin, Kelvin wouldn’t touch me.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dricus du Plessis is finally starting to convince people he’s the real deal, including the oddsmakers.

This past Saturday, du Plessis successfully defended his middleweight title with a fourth-round submission of former two-time champion Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305. The win was du Plessis’s first title defense and now firmly entrenches him as the man to beat at 185 pounds. And that holds true with the oddsmakers as well, as Sportsbetting.ag released odds for a number of possible next opponents for the champion, and du Plessis is favored to beat almost all of them.

Dricus du Plessis (-130) vs. Sean Strickland (+110)

Dricus du Plessis (-200) vs. Alex Pereira (+170)

Dricus du Plessis (-185) vs. Robert Whittaker (+160)

For reference, a bettor placing a $ 100 wager on du Plessis would win $ 76 should he defeat Strickland, $ 50 should he defeat Pereira, and $ 54 should he beat Whittaker again. Also, the odds for the Pereira matchup are for a bout at 185 pounds, not at light heavyweight.

However, there was one opponent that oddsmakers did not like du Plessis’s chances against: Khamzat Chimaev.

Dricus du Plessis (+170) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (-200)

Against Chimaev, a $ 100 bet on du Plessis would return net $ 170 dollars.

Strickland appears to be the most likely next contender for du Plessis. The two fought to a split decision back at UFC 297, where “Stillknocks” took the middleweight title, and UFC CEO Dana White has already said Strickland should get the next title shot.

However, Chimaev and Robert Whittaker are scheduled to fight at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi, and with du Plessis declaring Whittaker as the most deserving of the next shot, it’s possible the winner of that fight cuts to the head of the line.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Four African horsemen
| BJPenn.com

Casual UFC fans, the ones who buy tickets and actually pay for their pay-per-view (PPV) streams, love highlight-reel finishes — particularly knockouts. And as we saw against Jamahal Hill (UFC 300) and Jiri Prochazka (UFC 303), reigning light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, is one of the best in the business when it comes to switching off the lights.

Perhaps that’s why matchmakers are working overtime to protect the “golden goose.”

The promotion drew criticism for booking Pereira against No. 8-ranked contender Khalil Rountree Jr., bypassing No. 2-ranked Magomed Ankalaev (who now fights No. 5-ranked Aleksandar Rakic). The “War Horse” showdown at UFC 307 also leaves former champ Jan Blachowicz without an opponent for his end-of-year return.

“No f*cking idea, I don’t know, you tell me because I am confused,” Blachowicz told Middle Easy. “What the f*ck, you know? Why did they book Ankalaev with Rakic, why? Why don’t they ask me about this? Maybe I’d be ready a little bit earlier. Nobody asked me. I just don’t understand. Like I said on the internet, I feel like it’s special protection for Pereira.”

Pereira scraped past the No. 4-ranked Blachowicz when they first went to war at UFC 291 last summer. The 41 year-old Pole has remained sidelined in the months that followed as a result of shoulder surgery but hopes to blast his way back into the 205-pound title picture upon his inevitable return.

“I believe that I won this fight against [Pereira] and maybe they don’t want to make this fight again because they know this time he’s going to lose 100 percent,” Blachowicz continued. “Maybe that’s also why they don’t want to give Ankalaev to him because Ankalaev is also very strong. Maybe they want to make another nice win for him, another knockout win. I just don’t understand it.”

UFC 307 takes place on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City.

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Former UFC champion Benson Henderson retired from MMA in 2023, but he’s not done fighting.

Misfits Boxing announced on Tuesday that Henderson would clash with fellow UFC and Bellator veteran Chris Avila in a matchup that takes place as part of a one-night light heavyweight tournament for the influencer-led promotion. While Henderson battles Avila on one side of the bracket, Idris Virgo clashes with Fes Batista in the other semifinal matchup.

The winners from the two fights then meet later that same night to crown the tournament champion.

For Henderson, the fight against Avila serves as his first boxing match after he tested the waters with Karate Combat this past December for a matchup against Anthony Pettis. Henderson has also competed in submission grappling matches in the past, but now he’s strapping on a pair of gloves and entering the boxing arena for the first time.

As for Avila, the Nate Diaz protégé has made quite a career for himself since transitioning to boxing with six straight wins in the ring including victories over Pettis, Jeremy Stephens and Anthony Taylor

When it comes to the main event for the Misfits card, online personality Elle Brooke is set to defend her MFB middleweight title against BKFC veteran Jenny Savage.

Brooke returns to action after fighting to a closely contested draw against UFC veteran Paige VanZant back in May. It appeared Brooke and VanZant were going to meet again sometime in 2024, but it appears that rematch is on hold for now.

VanZant previously revealed to MMA Fighting that she inked a multi-fight deal with Misfits so it remains to be seen if she’ll end up fighting Brooke or someone else when she returns to boxing.

The Misfits card dubbed MF & DAZN: X Series 18 takes place from the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, England on Sept. 14 with the card airing on DAZN.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

All the fights for Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway in Abu Dhabi on Saturday 26th October 2024. With betting odds, start time, date, fight card, and information on how to watch.

• Event: UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway
• Date: Sat, Oct. 26, 2024
• Location: Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Broadcast: Prelims 10 a.m. ET in the U.S., Main Card 2 p.m. ET in the U.S.
• Broadcast in the UK: Prelims will begin at 3 p.m. BST, Main Card at 7 p.m. BST

UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway Full fight card

Main Card

• Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway: Featherweight Main Event Title Fight
• Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev: Middleweight
• Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov: Heavyweight
• Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic: Light Heavyweight
• Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige: Featherweight

Prelims

• Geoff Neal vs. Rafael Dos Anjos: Welterweight
• Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu: Heavyweight
• Abus Magomedov vs. Brunno Ferreira: Middleweight
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nursulton Ruziboev: Welterweight

*Fight card, bout order, and number of fights are subject to change

Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway Tale of the Tape

Start date and time

UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway takes place on Saturday, October 26th, at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The main card will start at 2 p.m. ET with the the Prelims starting at 10 a.m. ET. In the UK, the main event starts at 7 p.m. GMT with the Prelims starting at 3 p.m. GMT.

Betting Odds

• Ilia Topuria: -225 odds favorite
• Max Holloway: +185 underdog

Tickets

If you are lucky enough to be near Abu Dhabi or plan to attend UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway. at the Etihad Arena tickets are available here.

UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway Trailer

TBA

PPV price and Live streams

UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway is Live on ESPN+ PPV and the PPV is not available right now. When available you will be able to purchase the PPV here. In the UK, UFC 308 is available on TNT Sports as well as the early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

What is Next after UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway?

The next UFC event that follows UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway is UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs. Namajunas at Rogers Place, Edmonton, Canada on 2nd November 2024.

LowKickMMA.com

Interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall defended his belt at UFC 304 on July 27 finishing Curtis Blaydes in 60 seconds.  Champion Jon Jones is expected to fight former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic later this year but Aspinall doesn’t understand why that fight is even happening.  

“What the f**k is going on?  What is going on,” Aspinall questioned during an appearance on the Believe You Me podcast.  “They want me to be a backup fighter for it but why are you giving a guy who is 42, or however old he is – I have the upmost respect for Stipe and what he’s done in his career and Jon Jones on the contrary of what people might think.  I respect those guys more than I can even put into words, but they don’t f***ing deserve to be fighting for the heavyweight title.

“Them guys are not the top of the heavyweight division right now.  Dana White and everybody can say whatever they want, them guys are not the best heavyweights in the world right now,” Aspinall continued.  “I’m not saying they haven’t had amazing careers because I idolize those guys.  I want to have a career like that.  That’s what I’m aiming to do with my life is what they’ve done, but they’re not the best right now.  Right now, they’re definitely not the best, so let’s stop talking all this bullish*t like they are.”

Jones was scheduled to defend the heavyweight championship against Miocic at UFC 295 last November, but was forced out of the fight after tearing a pectoral tendon in training.  The fight promotion opted to rebook the matchup.  In the meantime, Aspinall was crowned the interim champion and defended his title.  At the end of the day, Aspinall doesn’t think Jones wants to fight him.  

“Jon Jones, he was praying that I would lose that fight against Curtis Blaydes.  Praying that I would because there is nowhere that you can find publicly, nowhere him saying that he would fight me.  It doesn’t exists,” Aspinall said.  

“Since I won that fight he’s gone completely silent, and he’ll continue to go completely silent about me until he retires because there’s no way on Earth that he’s going to fight me,” Aspinall continued.  “I will retire Jon Jones without even fighting him.” 

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