Marcin Tybura and Serghei Spivac face off | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The UFC is back to the world’s most famous APEX.
This Saturday, the UFC returns Sin City for UFC Vegas 95, headlined by a heavyweight rematch between Marcin Tybura and Serghei Spivac and the No Bets Barred boys are back with a full breakdown of the event.
Co-hosts Conner Burks and Jed Meshew kick things off with a brief UFc Abu Dhabi and their unfortunate weekends before diving into this Saturday’s event. Can “Surging” Serghei Spivac exact revenge on Marcin Tybura? Why is one of the top-15 women’s bantamweight matchups buried on the prelims? Was this card truly necessary?
All that plus some more Olympics talk on this week’s episode.
Tune in for episode 97 of No Bets Barred.
New episodes of the No Bets Barred podcast drop every Wednesday and are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts. The latest episode can be heard below.
Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis earned his title shot by defeating former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July 2023. The event took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and the bout was billed as a ‘title eliminator.’ Du Plessis seized on the opportunity.
The South African entered the fight with Whittaker riding a seven-fight winning streak but was the betting underdog. Midway through the second round, he stopped Whittaker with punches to secure a title shot. He’d go on to defeat Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January to capture the 185-pound championship. Take a look back at the win that earned Du Plessis a title shot.
Dricus Du Plessis vs. Robert Whittaker Full Fight Video
Du Plessis puts his title on the line against former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the UFC 305 main event on Aug. 18, in Perth, Australia in a grudge match.
Whittaker is booked to take on the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 308 co-main event on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi. The two were scheduled to fight on June 22 at UFC on ABC 6 but illness forced Chimaev out of the fight. Ikram Aliskerov stepped in as Chimaev’s replacement and was knocked out in the first round.
Muhammad Mokaev is the best, least wanted fighter in mixed martial arts (MMA) right now.
The 24-year-old Flyweight has been perfect in his career thus far, winning 13 of his 14 fights with the lone asterisk coming in the form of a no-contest before his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) arrival in March 2022. Unfortunately for Mokaev, a unanimous decision win over Manel Kape at UFC 304 was not his ticket to a UFC title fight as he hoped. Instead, it was Mokaev’s last with his contract expiring and UFC CEO, Dana White, immediately declining to negotiate and re-sign him.
The decision had many in the MMA community scratching their heads while others agreed with the choice because of a difference in entertainment levels. Former UFC Bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, isn’t among the latter.
“If you ask me, I think it’s f*cked up,” Sterling told The MMA Hour. “I don’t think there was any real reason to cut him. You can say the piggybacking of the fight at the P.I., but that takes two to tango.
“I know Mokaev was the first one to talk sh*t,” he continued. “Manel told him, ‘When you see me, keep that same energy.’ He saw him, tried to apologize, but Manel told him to keep that same energy, they had a fight or whatever happened, the scuffle. Fast forward, they had a fight again … and then we saw what happened at the hotel, which is kind of odd to put your arm around someone to take a picture and then sucker-punch them. I think that’s a little bit too low for me. I think that one was very, very dirty.
“Then they fought the way that they fought, which was unfortunate because the whole toe thing with Manel in that fight,” Sterling concluded. “Then you’ve got one guy who is undefeated, gets cut, it’s weird.”
As clarified, Mokaev wasn’t released but simply fought out his contract and had negotiations closed. Ultimately, Sterling’s point still stands as Mokaev is an undeniable top talent at 125 pounds.
Mokaev likely won’t be back too soon, but anything is possible if he goes out and shines with enough good performances elsewhere.
“You’ve kind of got to just do what’s best for you,” Sterling said. “Mokaev is [24] years old. It’s unfortunate that he got cut for that. I don’t think that was necessary. He more than deserved another chance and I think if he goes on the regional circuit and wins one fight, or if they just bring him back right away, it gets odd.”
Sterling, 35, will make his second appearance in the Featherweight division when he battles the undefeated 18-0 contender, Movsar Evloev, at UFC 307 on Oct. 5, 2024.
Abus Magomedov dominates Warlley Alves | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Abus Magomedov is the latest Russian addition to UFC 308 after agreeing to face Brunno Ferreira at the Oct. 26 card, multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting following a report from Laerte Viana.
UFC 308 is headlined by Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway for the featherweight championship, with former middleweight titleholder Robert Whittaker taking on Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event. The event takes place at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena.
Ferreira (12-1) was initially set to face Roman Kopylov on Aug. 24, but the Russian withdrew due to illness.
“Hulk” scored a pair of first-round knockouts in his most recent UFC appearances, winning performance bonuses for his brutal finishes of Phil Hawes and Dustin Stoltzfus.
Magomedov (26-6-1) won a decision over Warlley Alves in his most recent fight in May, rebounding from back-to-back decision losses to Caio Borralho and Sean Strickland.
The 33-year-old Dagestani has finished 14 of his 26 MMA wins by knockout, including a 19-second stoppage of Stoltzfus in his octagon debut.
Magomed Ankalaev was announced to be returning at UFC 308 in October but the opponent had some left scratching their chins.
The 32-year old contender is ranked as the #2 in the division behind the former champion and the last man to challenge Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title, Jiří Procházka.
Though he does have a no contest from his first fight with Johnny Walker and a draw against Jan Błachowicz, Ankalaev is undefeated since his UFC debut and has won ten in a row (excluding the two previously mentioned blemishes).
Following his win in a rematch with Walker earlier this year, many expected that Ankalaev would be next the title challenger after Jamahal Hill’s failed attempt to reclaim the belt at UFC 300.
Though it makes sense why Pereira would then instead be booked for a rematch with Procházka on late notice at UFC 303, Ankalaev would surely then be the next one up.
However, he is now set to face Aleksandar Rakić, who is coming off of a loss to Procházka, in Abu Dhabi.
Robert Whittaker Jokes That Magomed Ankalaev May Simply Not Be In The UFC’s Good Books
In a recent episode of his MMArcade Podcast, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker gave his reaction to this fight being put together.
Whittaker, who will also feature on UFC 308 in a co-main event clash with Khamzat Chimaev over five rounds, was also surprised to see Ankalaev back in action against someone other than Pereira.
He laid out how there are two thought processes behind this fight with one being that “Poatan” has earned a rest and his number one contender would rather be active in the mean time.
Whittaker also laid out how this decision may have been made due to the relationship that Ankalaev currently has with the UFC, which has been rocky to say the least in recent years.
“Pereira deserves a break, he took that second fight with what’s his name and won it in outstanding fashion and then his toe was broken so he deserves a break. I guess I can look at it like… UFC really don’t like Ankalaev. Like when he fought against Błachowicz to that draw, they were just like cross his name out. They’re like yeah, like he didn’t have great rapport after that fight right. So that or it’s exactly as you said, Pereira needs some time out, Ankalaev doesn’t want to sit out forever. Or, bear with me here, they’re prepping him to fight Aspinall.”
Read also: ‘Predator Is On The Hunt’ – MMA Fans React To Confirmation Of Francis Ngannou’s PFL Debut, Renan Ferreira Clash
Continue Reading Whittaker On Pereira’s Next Title Defense: ‘UFC Really Don’t Like Ankalaev…’ at MMA News.
Francis Ngannou in Rebel Moon — Part One: Director’s Cut (2024) | @mmaclips101, Twitter
Francis Ngannou is adding to his Hollywood credentials.
This past Friday, Netflix released the director’s cut of its 2023 sci-fi epic film, Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire. The brainchild of director Zach Snyder, Rebel Moon tells the story of a ragtag group of adventurers combating an evil space empire, and much of part one of the series shows the protagonists gathering their party.
One such scene was to involve Ngannou in a speaking part, but it apparently hit the cutting room floor before the original version’s release. In this new cut, Ngannou has a more significant role.
Watch Ngannou’s cameo below.
pic.twitter.com/70DTkjHnfE
— . (@mmaclips101) August 6, 2024
Ngannou is initially mistaken for a general the heroes are searching for, but he informs them that the man they want, Titus (played by Djimon Hounsou), has fallen on hard times. His space gladiator character then tells them where Titus can be found.
This isn’t the first major movie role for the PFL star. Ngannou made his movie debut in 2021’s F9 (a film that grossed over $ 700 million worldwide), getting in the mix as a heavy that opposes the Fast and Furious crew during the film’s climactic close.
He also appeared in 2022’s Jackass Forever, where his prodigious punching power was used to hilarious effect by the infamous prank squad.
Ngannou most recently fought this past March in a high-profile boxing bout with British heavyweight star Anthony Joshua. Joshua defeated Ngannou via second-round knockout.
The former UFC champion has been on hiatus as he and his family mourn the tragic passing of his young son, Kobe. On Wednesday, PFL announced Ngannou is set to fight 2023 heavyweight tournament champion Renan Ferreira on Oct. 19.
UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall considers himself the best heavyweight in the world. MMA legend Jon Jones holds the heavyweight title, but has been inactive due to injury. While Jones has been on the mend, Aspinall has been defeating Top 5 ranked fighters.
Jones tore a pectoral muscle my training to face former two-time heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 this past November. He capture the heavyweight championship by defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023, but hasn’t defended the belt. Aspinall defended his interim title at UFC 304, taking out Curtis Blaydes in 60 seconds.
Aspinall earned a ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus for his quick win over Blaydes and plans to wait for a title fight. UFC CEO Dana White believes the winner of the Jones and Miocic fight ‘owes’ Aspinall a title fight.
“There’s not enough credit being given for this, what he did to Curtis Blaydes, the way that he did and how fast that he did it, there’s no doubt. This guy is a scary dude,” White said in an interview with Kevin Iole. “He looks like the future of the heavyweight division.
“He looks great, and he looks like he’s going to be the guy. You have Stipe and Jon, who have paid their dues; they’ve been here forever. They fought everybody. They fought all the fights you could possibly fight. These guys deserve to fight each other. Whoever wins that fight, I think that they owe it to Aspinall to fight him to give him the opportunity that they’ve been given,” White continued.
“When you look at Jones and Stipe, they’ve beaten all the guys. Right? You’re either going to be the guy that cement your legacy forever, or you’re going to hand the torch off the way the torch was handed off to you guys by all the guys that came before you.”
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