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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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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In his bid to build a super fight between Terence Crawford, as well as super middleweight gold holder, Canelo Alvarez – Saudi adviser, Turki Alalshikh has hit out at the Mexican for apparently “wasting time” during negotiations as well as picking “easy fights” during his career.
Canelo Alvarez, the current super middleweight champion, returns to action next month in Las Vegas, taking on unbeaten New York challenger, Edgar Berlanga in the pair’s grudge fight – with the WBA, WBO, and WBC championships on the line.
As for Crawford, the unbeaten striking sensation landed the WBA and interim WBO light middleweight crowns in Las Angeles over the course of the weekend, turning in his stunning forty-first professional win with a decision success over Israil Madrimov.
Turki Alalshikh hits out at boxing star, Canelo Alvarez
And amid links to a potential super fight for gold in the future, Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford have hit a sticking point in negotiations according to recent reports this month – with the above-mentioned, Alalshikh hitting out at the Guadalajara puncher in particular.
“I heard what Canelo said that he respects me but doesn’t like the way we do business,” Turki Alalshikh posted on his official X account. “As for him respecting me, it doesn’t matter to me if he does or not. As for the way I do business, I know why he doesn’t like it, because I only target big fights at fair prices, so of course anyone who likes big fights won’t like that.”
“And I know how he feels after losing to Bivol, so he’s been looking for easier fights ever since,” Turki Alalshikh continued. “Also, I’m not the one who’s afraid of fighting Benavidez or Crawford. Therefore, I knew he was wasting our time and making excuses with big amounts of money that can’t be paid. So I’m continuing my way to make big fights that serve the boxing world, and he’s on his way to making eash show-only fights.”
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TJ Dillashaw recently escalated his critique of Anthony Smith, backing up all of his previous fault-finding of the former UFC light heavyweight title challenger.
Smith might have faced a sobering reality regarding his hopes for a second run towards the title after enduring a challenging unanimous decision loss to short-notice replacement Roman Dolidze at UFC 303 in June.
Interestingly, the former UFC bantamweight champion was highly critical of “Lionheart’s” performance during his appearance on the JAXXON PODCAST with former UFC champions Rampage Jackson and Luke Rockhold last month. Dillashaw mocked Smith’s moniker, bluntly stating that the 36-year-old Texan will never become champion because he lacks the resilience to persevere.
Smith swiftly responded to Dillashaw’s pointed remarks during an episode of the BELIEVE YOU ME Podcast. “Lionheart” didn’t hold back, taking a scathing jab at the 38-year-old Californian’s positive performance-enhancing drug test in 2019, which resulted in a two-year suspension from the UFC.
However, the exchange of verbal jabs didn’t end there. Dillashaw has returned with a fresh barrage of critiques, once again labeling Smith as a quitter…
Dillashaw Thinks Smith Becomes Defensive When Judged
During his recent appearance on the JAXXON PODCAST, Dillashaw sought to defend his previous comments about Smith, arguing that he lacks the attributes of a true championship contender—a reality Smith himself has acknowledged.
“I thought he was going to be a champion. I said no, and then you’re like, why not? It’s like, he gives up,” Dillashaw said. “He doesn’t have that fight, he doesn’t have that dog in him personally, and I think he admitted it himself without even hearing our podcast yet. He did a video after that, kind of like deciding he’s going to continue to fight.”
The bantamweight veteran further noted that while Smith frequently criticizes other fighters, he doesn’t handle criticism directed at himself with the same grace.
“I mean, dude, the guy’s got to sit there and be like, why are you wearing your feelings on your sleeve? I mean, he sits there and talks sht about people on the broadcast all the time. I’m no stranger to it; he said some sh*t about me. It’s like, whatever, dude. That’s just how I feel, and if you don’t like it, if the truth hurts, too f**king bad.”
Smith competed for the light heavyweight title in March 2019 against Jon Jones at UFC 235. In that bout, “Lionheart” decided to continue after being struck by an illegal knee from Jones and ultimately lost by unanimous decision.
Following his defeat to “Bones”, Smith struggled to find his footing, unable to gain any significant momentum in his subsequent outings.
- Read More: Anthony Smith Feels Leon Edwards More Improved Than Belal Muhammad Ahead Of Rematch: ‘He Was So Good On His Feet That Colby Didn’t Even Want To Shoot’
Continue Reading TJ Dillashaw Criticises Anthony Smith: ‘He Doesn’t Have That Dog In Him…’ at MMA News.
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Chad Mendes was ranked as the second-best featherweight on the planet behind Jose Aldo for many years in the 2010s and gave the Brazilian one the hardest tests of his UFC reign in an epic battle in 2014. Looking back, he names Aldo as the toughest man he’s ever faced.
“Aldo’s a beast,” Mendes told MMA Fighting. “I still tell everybody to this day, that was my toughest fight. Everyone always thinks it’s Conor [McGregor], but it wasn’t. Aldo was next level. I think that took about 10 years off my life, I always say. That night I got back to the hotel, I was pissing blood. I’d never had that happen on any of my fights. I was pretty beat up after that fight.”
Mendes tested himself against three other former or future UFC champions during his final run in MMA — Conor McGregor, Alexander Volkanovski, and Frankie Edgar, plus Eddie Alvarez in bare-knuckle boxing — but says there’s still no one like Aldo.
Mendes was undefeated in MMA when he first challenged Aldo for UFC gold, venturing into enemy territory as an undefeated 11-0 prospect but ultimately losing via first-round knockout in 2012. Mendes earned another crack at Aldo’s featherweight title in 2014 after earning five wins in a row, and the two put on an epic five-round thriller again in Rio de Janeiro. Aldo won a decision, his final title defense before losing to Conor McGregor.
Mendes replaced Aldo on short notice at UFC 189 to face McGregor for the interim featherweight title the following year, but lost via second-round stoppage.
Aldo recently returned to the UFC after nearly a two-year hiatus — a period in which he went 2-0-1 in boxing — and dominated rising prospect Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301. After completing his UFC deal, Aldo re-signed and now faces Mario Bautista at UFC 307.
“He’s a beast, man,” Mendes said of Aldo’s lateet win. “I’m definitely not surprised he came back and completely dominated like that. … I didn’t even know he was coming back [for UFC 307]. He doesn’t need to. I think he just has the true love for it. And honestly, I do too, that’s why I keep coming back. But that’s awesome, man. I always like watching Aldo fight.”
Aldo could make a case for another shot at the UFC bantamweight title if he keeps beating up-and-comers and UFC contenders, and Mendes won’t count him out against the likes of Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, who headline UFC 308 for the belt on Sept. 14.
“I would imagine he’s gonna keep pouring his heart and soul into it,” Mendes said. “He doesn’t seem like a guy that half-asses anything, so I think [he can win].”
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Aleksandre Topuria is joining his brother Ilia Topuria in the UFC, MMA Fighting confirmed after the bantamweight talent announced on social media.
UFC has yet to work on a date and opponent for his octagon debut.
Topuria, 28, is one year older than his UFC featherweight champion brother. The elder Topuria scored all his five professional victories via first-round finishes, choking out his first two opponents and then beating his past three by knockouts.
Topuria (5-1) lost by TKO the sole time his fights stretched past the opening round in MMA, falling short against Ivo Ivanov on the Spanish circuit in 2015. He took a six-year layoff from MMA after that loss before returning with a win over Lucas Tenório in 2021.
Ilia Topuria is currently scheduled to put the UFC featherweight belt on the line in the main event of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, facing Max Holloway on Oct. 26. It will be his first title defense since a shocking knockout over Alexander Volkanovski in February.
Mike Heck contributed to this report.
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3 potential opponents
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