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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

A slew of massive MMA bouts were announced for both the UFC and PFL featuring some of the sport’s biggest and rising stars. In the main event of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, Ilia Topuria defends the featherweight title against BMF champ Max Holloway, while Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev have been rebooked for the co-main event.

On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel reacts to the current UFC 308 lineup, the top-two fights, and where that now leaves UFC307 — which is slated to take place three weeks earlier. Additionally, topics include Francis Ngannou’s MMA return announced vs. Renan Ferreira at PFL’s superfight pay-per-view in October with Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco serving as the co-main event, Umar Nurmagomedov defeating Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, and where that puts his stock at 135 pounds, and much more.

Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and the Co-Main Event Podcast’s Ben Fowlkes.

Watch the show live at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT in the video above.

If you missed the show live, you can still watch above, or listen to the podcast version, which can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your pods.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dana White wasn’t kidding when he teased that UFC was breaking the bank to produce the first ever live sporting event at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

The UFC CEO disclosed recently that the promotion has already spent at least $ 17 million on production for UFC 306 — also known as Noche UFC — at the Sphere, which takes place on Sept. 14. While total cost for the event hasn’t been revealed, TKO Group Holdings chief financial officer Andrew Schleimer stated on Thursday that costs are even higher than the company expected.

That being said, Schleimer believes UFC 306, which is headlined by bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley defending his title against Merab Dvalishvili, could also end up as potentially the most successful event in history in regards to ticket sales.

“Look, we’re bullish,” Schleimer said of the event. “We’ve talked obviously about this being a cultural event and Dana has publicly stated how much more [invested UFC is] in this event, and obviously this is going to be a massive spectacle for those in the arena and for those at home. On the top side, this will be one of the largest gates if not meaningfully the largest gate that we’ve ever done, and on the cost side, it’s going to be the single largest investment that we’re making in an event. It’s even more expensive than we originally anticipated and that’s reflected in our new guide.

“We talked about some tailwinds going into the balance of the year, but if there’s one meaningful headwind that has a direct dollar-for-dollar impact on EBITA (earnings before interests, taxes and amortization), it’s the incremental expense we’re seeing at the Sphere.”

Both TKO executives and White have stated that UFC 306 at the Sphere is a “one and done” live show, which means the promotion won’t be putting on another card there again — at least not any time in the near future.

The Sphere, which cost $ 2.3 billion to construct, features a 160,000 square foot LED screen that wraps around the entire arena. Approximately 20,000 fans are able to pack into the structure when including standing room only seating. Unlike most arenas where UFC hosts events, the Sphere features a stage setting where the octagon sits at the end of the venue with the majority of seats cascading up the structure like a movie theater.

Limited seating is available closer to the octagon, but the setup for UFC 306 is vastly different from the majority of live events UFC produces.

While the astronomical cost goes far and beyond what UFC usually spends on a live event, TKO Group Holdings president Mark Shapiro believes the juice is worth the squeeze in the long run.

“[TKO Group Holdings CEO] Ari [Emanuel] and I held a dinner in Paris for the Olympics for our premiere ad partners — one of them made a comment about us being in a position and always sort of having a history, and I credit Dana with this more than anybody else, of not making every decision based on the dollar,” Shapiro said. “We are committed to growing the brand. We are committed to growing the audience, and sometimes we will make investments that short term won’t necessarily pencil out but long term, there will be a big win for us and play out tenfold.

“That’s what the Sphere is when Andrew talks about a spectacle. This event is going to be very positive for the UFC brand and business long term. If we have to spend more than we’ve ever spent on an event — and believe me, we’re doing that — it will pay off long term. We expect to use this event to grow our fan base, to increase fan engagement, and most importantly, to capitalize on the growth area that is the Latin market for us.”

As far as the live gate goes, UFC won’t get those final numbers until the event actually takes place, but the launch of ticket sales saw huge interest with prices reaching as high as $ 12,000 per seat. There are still tickets available now, with the lowest price available (not based on resell tickets) at just over $ 1,300.

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When Israel Adesanya made the walk to the octagon at UFC 287 in April 2023, he had been beaten by Alex Pereira and lost the 185-pound championship.  He had also been defeated by Pereira twice in kickboxing matches.

Late in the second round, Pereira began pressuring Adesanya looking for a finish and Adesanya connected with a perfectly timed right hand that sent “Poatan” crashing to the canvas.  “The Last Sylebender” had gotten his revenge and became a two-time middleweight titleholder.  Take a look back at devastating knockout.  

Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 2 – Full Fight Video

Adesanya returns to the octagon at UFC 305 on Aug. 18 with the opportunity to become a three-time UFC champion.  He faces middleweight titleholder Dricus Du Plessis in the fight card’s main event at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.  The event will mark the fight promotion’s third visit to Perth.      

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Bigger than Cejudo?
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Dricus Du Plessis has a handful of challengers calling for his head.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) saw a change in Middleweight champions to kick off 2024. At UFC 297, South Africa’s Du Plessis made history as his country’s first UFC champion when he dethroned Sean Strickland via split decision (watch highlights) in January 2024. Now, Du Plessis is onto his first title defense opposite bitter rival and former two-time champion, Israel Adesanya, at UFC 305 next weekend (Sat., Aug. 17, 2024).

In the meantime, a big Middleweight contender pairing has been rebooked as another former champion, Robert Whittaker, will battle the undefeated 13-0 Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 on Oct. 26, 2024. Although Strickland has maintained he won’t fight anyone without a title on the line in his next time out, Du Plessis doesn’t see a world where “Tarzan” leapfrogs the other contenders.

“Whittaker does have the two wins,” Du Plessis told Shak MMA. “Strickland shouldn’t have been there in the first place, he got it by default and then proved that he deserved to be there. So that’s amazing. The winner of Khamzat and Whittaker is gonna get the title shot. That’s gonna happen. Strickland says he’s gonna wait until he gets a title shot. He’s gonna wait for quite a while, in my opinion.

“If Whittaker beats Khamzat, he’s 100 percent getting the title shot,” he continued. “The UFC’s been wanting to give Khamzat a title shot since his debut. Maybe if it’s a draw, Khamzat will still get the title shot. Let’s see if he makes it to the fight.”

Strickland, 33, has had the idea proposed of facing one of his fellow contenders like Whittaker (before the Chimaev fight was rebooked). Unfortunately for Strickland’s hopes, he doesn’t see how a win over “The Reaper” would help prove his worthiness as the top contender.

Having beaten both in his last two fights, Du Plessis can see cases for each. Ultimately, as the champion, “StillKnocks” will do as the fans desire.

“More deserving? Both of them are making a case,” Du Plessis said. “Whittaker, being more active, getting those wins, and Strickland when we fought, it was a close fight. Both of them are making a case, but like I said, for me, it’s about the fight the fans want to see. Which one’s going to be the biggest fight? Which one do the fans think is going to be the best fight?”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC is heading back to Utah for the first of two October pay-per-view events.

On Thursday, the promotion officially announced that UFC 307 takes place Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. It will be UFC’s return to the city for the first time since UFC 291 on July 2023, which was capped off by Justin Gaethje’s head-kick knockout of Dustin Poirier to win the BMF title.

In August 2022, the Delta Center played host to one of the wildest moments in UFC history when Leon Edwards delivered an out-of-nowhere head kick to knock out Kamaru Usman in the fifth round to win the welterweight title at UFC 278.

No fights have been officially announced for the card, although MMA Fighting confirmed several matchups that are slated for the pay-per-view lineup, including Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling, Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista, and Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira.

UFC 307 takes place three weeks prior to UFC 308, which is set for Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi.

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