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Rekindling his rivalry with incoming foe, Sean O’Malley as well as his head coach, Tim Welch, surging bantamweight contender, Merab Dvalishvili has hit out at the trainer – branding him a “snake” ahead of his return next month.

Dvalishvili, the current number one ranked bantamweight contender, is slated to return to action next month in the main event of Noche UFC, challenging O’Malley for the undisputed divisional crown at the Las Vegas Sphere. 

In the midst of an impressive winning spree, Tbilisi native, Dvalishvili turned in a dominant unanimous decision win over former two-weight champion, Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 back in February in Anaheim, earning a well-overdue first title fight inside the Octagon.

However, ahead of the pairing, Dvalishvili and O’Malley clashed over the incumbent’s head coach, Welch – with the champion urging the challenger to take his issues with the trainer up with him rather than himself ahead of Noche UFC.

Merab Dvalishvili continues his spat with head coach, Tim Welch

And reigniting their rivalry ahead of the matchup, Dvalishvili called Welch a “snake” of a person – setting the stage for another spat between the two.

“I have a problem with his (Sean O’Malley’s) coach, Tim (Welch),” Merab Dvalishvili told MMA Fighting. “He was very disrespectful to me and he was doing stupid and not respectful things. Any real coach should never do that, whatever he was doing. Try do the same thing in basketball or let’s try to do the same thing in a football game. They will give you a disqualification.”

“Only in the UFC can you get out of this,” Merab Dvalishvili explained. “Coach your guy, coach your fighter. Don’t be disrespectful to the opponent. What kind of people does this? Only a snake person does this.”

Who do you think wins at Noche UFC: Sean O’Malley or Merab Dvalishvili?

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Fight week for the UFC 305 pay-per-view this Saturday night has kicked off with the release of the promotion’s latest Countdown episode. Under the spotlight in this edition is the headliner between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.

Saturday’s lineup is topped by a championship rematch, with middleweight kingpin Du Plessis (21-2) looking to add a first successful defense to his reign, which got underway with a victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in Toronto, Canada, this past January. He earned that shot with a monumental triumph over the highly regarded Robert Whittaker during last year’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

If “Stillknocks” is to continue his rule atop the 185-pound mountain, he must record a victory over the returning Adesanya (24-3). “The Last Stylebender” will be making his comeback 11 months on from losing the middleweight gold in shocking fashion to Strickland in Sydney.

The Nigerian-New Zealander will be back competing on Australian soil once again, with Perth’s RAC Arena potentially hosting his historic crowning as three-time champ should he hand his South African rival the first loss of his career on MMA’s biggest stage.

Ahead of that contest Down Under, fans can catch a preview in the full episode of UFC 305 Countdown on the promotion’s YouTube channel.

UFC 305 Countdown: Full Episode

And below, check out the full card for this weekend’s numbered event.

Main Card:

• Middleweight Championship Main Event: Dricus Du Plessis (C) vs. Israel Adesanya
• Flyweight Co-Main Event: Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg
• Lightweight: Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker
• Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
• Welterweight: Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates

Preliminary Card:

• Heavyweight: Junior Tafa vs. Valter Walker
• Featherweight: Joshua Culibao vs. Ricardo Ramos
• Women’s Flyweight: Casey O’Neill vs. Luana Santos
• Featherweight: Jack Jenkins vs. Herbert Burns

Early Preliminary Card:

• Lightweight: Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes
• Welterweight: Song Kenan vs. Rick Glenn
• Flyweight: Stewart Nicoll vs. Jesus Aguilar

Be sure to keep it right here on MMANews.com this week for all the updates and news on UFC 305!

Continue Reading VIDEO: UFC 305 Countdown Episode Ahead Of Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya at MMA News.

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Healing
| BJPenn.com

Dricus Du Plessis might just be MMA’s Rodney Dangerfield: the guy just can’t get no respect!

At 30 years of age, the first-ever UFC champion from South Africa is both at the top of his game and the top of the 185-pound division. His professional record stands at an impressive 21-2 with 19 victories via finish. He’s defeated former champions like Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland, as well as veteran contenders like Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson.

Why then, are so many fans baffled by his success? He rarely enters fights as the betting favorite. Until Du Plessis defeated Whittaker, the general belief among fans was that Du Plessis was outright bad at MMA despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. Stopping the second most accomplished Middleweight of the last decade forcibly earned Du Plessis a bit of begrudging recognition, but even now, many don’t understand how Du Plessis keeps winning.

It’s ultimately a matter of substance vs. style. From a style stand point, “Stillknocks” does a lot wrong. His movement is herky-jerky rather than fluid. His punching mechanics are awkward. He tends to advance hard and retreat on straight lines, off-balance either way. Half the time, his takedowns resemble Rugby tackles more than scholastic wrestling.

If we’re talking about substance, however? From a strategic and effectiveness standpoint, Du Plessis’ success makes a ton of sense. Those Rugby tackles land him in top position fairly often for a man who primarily identifies as a striker. He’s finished more opponents via submission than knockout despite his brawler reputation, and he came closer to strangling Whittaker than a genuine jiu-jitsu master in “Jacare” Souza.

Then, there’s Du Plessis’ kickboxing, which is never pretty but has still stopped nine opponents and bloodied up one of the least hit strikers in the sport. There are standout factors in play here. Notably, Du Plessis is the rare high-volume striker with knockout power, and he is also unusual in consistently attacking all targets. He kicks hard with both legs up and down the body, throws punishing hooks at the mid-section, and will fire stiff jabs or overhands alike upstairs.

That kind of variety is unusual, especially at the bigger weight classes. Sean Strickland’s ability to stay in the pocket and avoid clean shots is probably his greatest attribute, but Du Plessis was able to slowly wear through those defenses because he attacked at all levels constantly. All of his early low kicks were checked, but his continued commitment to low kicks, body shots, and shifting combinations meant that they eventually did start to land. By the championship rounds, Strickland was absolutely feeling the damage and wear of Du Plessis’ offense despite his slick parrying.

Du Plessis is a very smart fighter with ugly mechanics. He makes sound strategic choices even if the means are sometimes confusing. Incredible physical attributes — can anyone at Middleweight match both Du Plessis’ raw strength and physical conditioning? — make it possible at the elite level, but that shouldn’t undermine Du Plessis’ tactical and technical abilities.

This weekend (Sat., Aug. 17, 2024), Du Plessis will finally collide with rival and former champion Israel Adesanya after more than a year of feuding. “Stylebender” will live up to his name and be the smoother, more elegant striker between the two. However, that’s no guarantee of victory … and Du Plessis has proven it a dozen times over.

To checkout the latest UFC 305 fight card and rumors click here.

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Rough N’ Rowdy 25 over the course of the weekend brought more to it than just in-ring action – with the end of a hotly-contested boxing match ending in a mass brawl – as well an arrest by law enforcement.

Hosted by online media outlet, Barstool Sports, Rough N’ Rowdy saw it’s twenty fifth edition over the course of the weekend – headlined by a boxing match of sorts between Mikey Bets and his opponent, Zach Abel. 

Brawl and arrest happen in Rough N’ Rowdy 25 main event

Sharing the ring in the night’s main event, Bets and Abel had shared some verbals during a pre-fight brawl at the official weigh-ins the day prior. And following the culmination of their boxing fight this weekend at Rough N’ Rowdy 25, another coming together – this time unsanctioned broke out. 

Losing a split decision judging to Bets, the above-mentioned, Abel – clearly distraught with the decision he had found himself on the receiving end of, sucker punched one of his opponent’s cornermen. 

Rushing into the squared circle in a bid to separate both scrapping teams, security officials and other personnel – with Abel eventually floored to the canvas, where he was then stunningly slapped in cuffs by law enforcement officers. 

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