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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jared Cannonier and Caio Borralho have been summoned to headline at the APEX.

The UFC announced Tuesday that Cannonier vs. Borralho is the main event of UFC Vegas 96, which takes place Aug. 24 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. This matchup pits MMA Fighting’s No. 7-ranked middleweight Cannonier against a fighter yet to to be beaten inside the octagon.

Cannonier (17-7) is coming off of a controversial fourth-round TKO loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Louisville this past June. The loss snapped a win streak for the one-time title challenger, following back-to-back wins over Marvin Vettori and Sean Strickland.

This is Cannonier’s fourth straight main event booking, with three of those four appearances taking place at the APEX.

Borralho (16-1, 1 NC) headlines in the UFC for the first time after several co-main event outings at Fight Night events. He is 6-0 in the UFC, with his most recent win being a second-round knockout of veteran Paul Craig.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

It’s been five years since former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson has won a fight.  Last weekend, in Abu Dhabi, Ferguson lost his eighth consecutive fight.  He was submitted by Michael Chiesa in the first round.  He removed his gloves following the fight and left one inside the octagon, but he did not retire.  

Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is concerned about Ferguson and explained why in a video posted to his YouTube channel.  

“When Tony gets to the post-fight press conference, he stands up, takes the mic and he made some statements that were simply fiction.  But they were concerning to me,” Sonnen said.  “I took him at his word, and his world was flat frightening.  His words were, ‘Hey, if all these thousands of fans are going to come out here and spend all this money to support me, they’ll follow me somewhere else.”  

Sonnen questioned if Ferguson drew any fans to Abu Dhabi and took issue with Ferguson removing his gloves after the fight if he wasn’t going to retire.  But what concerned Sonnen the most was Ferguson not even attempting to defend the rear-naked choke by Chiesa.    

“Zero people booked a ticket, flew over there, did whatever you had to do to come over there and support Tony,” Sonnen said.  “When a guy takes his gloves off and it’s a retirement, you cheer for him.  It’s called etiquette.  Never in the history of any sport has somebody called it a day and not gotten a standing ovation.”  

“A nation champion wrestler with a black belt under Eddie Bravo just got jobbed out in the first round by a move that you learn on your first day,” Sonnen continued.  “My problem is there wasn’t a hand fight.  That’s my problem.”

“If I were to take somebody that was not a trained fighter…  Just a guy, and I was to put him in that technique, he naturally, with no training, he naturally is going to come to the problem which is the arm around his neck.  That didn’t happen.  That is my problem.”

Sonnen went on to say that he has ‘fear and concern’ that Ferguson will be able to land a fight outside of the UFC.  “That’s concerning to me,” he said.  

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Belal wants Colby
| BJPenn.com

Undefeated bantamweight sensation Umar Nurmagomedov secured the next crack at the 135-pound title by turning away longtime contender Cory Sandhagen as part of the UFC Abu Dhabi mixed martial arts (MMA) event last weekend on ABC. His performance was good enough to land Nurmagomedov at No. 2 in the bantamweight rankings, right below wrestling phenom Merab Dvalishvili, who battles Sean O’Malley for the division strap at Noche UFC next month in Las Vegas.

This week’s official rankings update also saw Deiveson Figueiredo crack the bantamweight Top 5 after his unanimous decision victory over former title challenger Marlon Vera. “Chito” slipped three spots to No. 7 in the wake of his UFC Abu Dhabi loss, his second straight. You’ll notice some unusual activity in several weight classes, like ties and movement from fighters who didn’t compete in recent weeks, which suggests the rankings panel was missing some voters for this latest update.

Here’s how UFC compiles its official rankings:

Rankings were generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.

Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).

MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Islam Makhachev
2. Alex Pereira
3. Jon Jones
4. Ilia Topuria
5. Belal Muhammad +1
6. Sean O’Malley -1
7. Leon Edwards
8. Alexander Volkanovski
9. Tom Aspinall
10. Max Holloway
11. Dricus Du Plessis
12. Alexandre Pantoja
13. Israel Adesanya
14. Sean Strickland
15. Charles Oliveira

FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexandre Pantoja

1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Tatsuro Taira
6. Alex Perez
7. Steve Erceg
8. Matheus Nicolau
9. Manel Kape
10. Tim Elliott
11. Matt Schnell
12. Tagir Ulanbekov
13. Bruno Silva
14. Asu Almabayev
15. Cody Durden

BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Sean O’Malley

1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. Umar Nurmagomedov +8
3. Petr Yan
4. Cory Sandhagen -2
5. Deiveson Figueiredo +1
6. Henry Cejudo -1
7. Marlon Vera -3
8. Song Yadong -1
9. Jose Aldo -1
10. Rob Font -1
11. (T) Kyler Phillips
11. (T) Mario Bautista +1
13. Dominick Cruz
14. Jonathan Martinez
15. Montel Jackson

FEATHERWEIGHT

Champion: Ilia Topuria

1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Brian Ortega
4. Yair Rodriguez
5. Arnold Allen
6. Movsar Evloev -1
7. Josh Emmett
8. Aljamain Sterling
9. Calvin Kattar
10. Giga Chikadze
11. Lerone Murphy
12. (T) Diego Lopes
12. (T) Bryce Mitchell +1
14. Dan Ige
15. Edson Barboza

LIGHTWEIGHT

Champion: Islam Makhachev

1. Arman Tsarukyan
2. Charles Oliveira
3. Justin Gaethje
4. Dustin Poirier
5. Mateusz Gamrot
6. Michael Chandler
7. Beneil Dariush
8. Rafael Fiziev
9. Max Holloway
10. Renato Moicano
11. Dan Hooker
12. Benoit Saint-Denis
13. Rafael dos Anjos +1
14. Jalin Turner -1
15. Paddy Pimblett

WELTERWEIGHT

Champion: Belal Muhammed

1. Leon Edwards
2. Kamaru Usman
3. Shavkat Rakhmonov
4. Colby Covington
5. Jack Della Maddalena
6. Gilbert Burns
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Sean Brady
9. Stephen Thompson
10. Geoff Neal
11. Joaquin Buckley
12. Neil Magny
13. Vicente Luque
14. Michael Page
15. Kevin Holland

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Champion: Dricus Du Plessis

1. Sean Strickland
2. Israel Adesanya
3. Robert Whittaker
4. Nassourdine Imavov
5. Jared Cannonier
6. Marvin Vettori
7. Brendan Allen
8. Paulo Costa
9. Jack Hermansson
10. Roman Dolidze
11. Khamzat Chimaev
12. Caio Borralho
13. Michel Pereira
14. Anthony Hernandez
15. Chris Curtis

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Alex Pereira

1. Jiri Prochazka
2. Magomed Ankalaev
3. Jamahal Hill
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. (T) Nikita Krylov
6. (T) Volkan Oezdemir +1
8. Khalil Rountree
9. Johnny Walker
10. Carlos Ulberg
11. Azamat Murzakanov +3
12. Anthony Smith -1
13. Bogdan Guskov -1
14. Dominick Reyes -1
15. Roman Dolidze *NR

HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Jon Jones

1. Tom Aspinall
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Alexander Volkov
4. Sergei Pavlovich
5. Curtis Blaydes
6. Stipe Miocic
7. Jailton Almeida
8. Marcin Tybura
9. Serghei Spivac
10. Tai Tuivasa
11. Derrick Lewis
12. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
13. Alexandr Romanov
14. Marcos Rogerio De Lima
15. Rodrigo Nascimento

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Alexa Grasso
2. Zhang Weili
3. Valentina Shevchenko
4. Manon Fiorot
5. (T) Julianna Pena
5. (T) Raquel Pennington +1
7. Rose Namajunas
8. Erin Blanchfield
9. Tatiana Suarez
10. Yan Xiaonan
11. Jessica Andrade
12. Kayla Harrison
13. Virna Jandiroba
14. Ketlen Vieira
15. Amanda Lemos

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT

Champion: Zhang Weili

1. Tatiana Suarez
2. Yan Xiaonan
3. Virna Jandiroba
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Amanda Lemos
6. Marina Rodriguez
7. Amanda Ribas +1
8. Mackenzie Dern -1
9. Angela Hill
10. Loopy Godinez
11. Tabatha Ricci
12. Luana Pinheiro
13. Gillian Robertson
14. Iasmin Lucindo
15. Karolina Kowalkiewicz

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexa Grasso

1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Rose Namajunas
6. Jessica Andrade
7. Katlyn Cerminara
8. Natalia Silva
9. Viviane Araújo +1
10. Amanda Ribas -1
11. Karine Silva
12. Tracy Cortez
13. Ariane Da Silva
14. Jasmine Jasudavicius
15. Casey O’Neill

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Raquel Pennington

1. Julianna Pena
2. Ketlen Vieira
3. Kayla Harrison
4. Irene Aldana
5. Macy Chiasson
6. Mayra Bueno Silva
7. Holly Holm
8. (T) Karol Rosa
8. (T) Norma Dumont +2
8. (T) Miesha Tate +1
11. Pannie Kianzad
12. Yana Santos
13. Julia Avila
14. Chelsea Chandler
15. Germaine De Randamie

You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the heavyweight division, following the UFC Vegas 95: “Tybura vs. Spivac 2” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN and ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., Aug. 10, 2024 at APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dana White didn’t know about Jake Paul calling out UFC champion Alex Pereira after his recent win, because he just doesn’t follow what Paul is doing these days.

In the past, the UFC CEO repeatedly allowed himself to get sucked into verbal battles with Paul through interviews and social media, but White eventually decided he has no interest in giving his attention to something that has no impact on his business. While he’s not been a fan of Paul boxing his longtime friend, 58-year-old Mike Tyson, White has done his best to avoid taking unnecessary shots at the 27-year-old Paul in recent months.

White promises his stance regarding Paul hasn’t changed, which is why he didn’t address the Pereira callout, much less tune in to watch him fight UFC veteran Mike Perry, who Paul defeated via sixth-round knockout.

“Let me tell you something about the Jake Paul thing, the media just eats all his bullshit and they actually print it,” White told TNT Sports. “It’s the weirdest thing ever. Not only did I not tell Perry if he won, he’d get in the UFC, I haven’t even talked to Perry in a long time. I didn’t even know Jake Paul was fighting. I was on vacation in Italy, I had no idea. There’s all these stories that were written, it’s ridiculous.

“I stopped paying attention to Jake Paul when he lost to [Tommy] Fury. When he fought somebody that was his age and actually boxed, he lost.”

Of course, Paul rarely misses an opportunity to take shots at White, especially when calling out UFC athletes under exclusive contract that he knows won’t be able to fight him.

That’s been the case for years whenever Paul called for a fight against Conor McGregor and nothing much has changed when it comes to Pereira, who is the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion.

Still, White doesn’t feel like opening Pandora’s box again to take unnecessary jabs at Paul just to start another war of words.

But the same criticism White had about Paul’s boxing career in the past still stands true in the present.

“I’m not shitting on the kid,” White said. “I don’t even think about him anymore. It doesn’t even cross my mind. I have no beef with him. [He said,] ‘They’re trying to get me assassinated!’ Nobody’s trying to get you assassinated.

“I respect Perry. Smaller, older, it’s the same blueprint — fighting older, smaller guys. I literally don’t ever even think about him anymore. It’s all bullshit.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

What Happened to Brock Lesnar? Brock Lesnar, a staple of the WWE and former UFC heavyweight champion, has not been seen for some time on television.

What Happened to Brock Lesnar?

Brock Lesnar was a NCAA collegiate wrestling standout who transitioned into professional wrestling with the WWE. Later on, he would dip his toes in MMA and was able to capture a UFC title by defeating then-champion Randy Couture. Eventually, he would lose this title to Cain Velasquez. But, due to a bad case of diverticulitis, Lesnar decided to leave his MMA career behind and focus on the WWE. What Happened to Brock Lesnar in the UFC? He got diverticulitis and could no longer compete.

But, what happened to Brock Lesnar in the WWE? Brock Lesnar’s current status with WWE is complicated due to legal issues stemming from a lawsuit filed by Janel Grant. The lawsuit involves allegations against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and the WWE, with Lesnar being potentially named as someone Grant was trafficked to. As a result, WWE’s legal team has decided to keep Lesnar off television until the situation is resolved.

Most recently, Lesnar lost to Cody Rhodes in 2023. He was initially expected to participate in events such as the 2024 Royal Rumble and WrestleMania XL, but his involvement was scrapped due to the lawsuit. Although there were rumors that WWE’s ban on mentioning Lesnar had been lifted, there has been no official word on his return to WWE programming.

Triple H has stated that WWE is open to discussing Lesnar’s return when the legal situation is clearer. However, it is ultimately up to WWE to decide when and if they want him back on screen. For now, Lesnar remains in a state of limbo, with his return contingent on the resolution of the legal issues surrounding the lawsuit.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

This past Monday, while leaving his mother’s house in Jacksonville, Fla., UFC bantamweight Roman Taveras narrowly escaped being killed in a drive-by shooting.  Taveras released security video of the terrifying incident to his Instagram account.  

“It’s unfortunate that I even have to make a post like this, but I cannot let this be swept under the rug,” Taveras wrote on social media.  

“Monday, July 29, 2024, at 10:05 pm, a group of armed men drove up on me at my mother’s house and tried to take my life. By the grace of God, I made it out with no injuries and was able to grab my own firearm and return fire in self-defense. This city is unforgiving, and it’s worse that JSO [Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office] does nothing to correct the problem. I lost my brother in 2019 due to gun violence, and his killers are yet to be caught. Now I find myself almost in the same situation.

“JSO did the bare minimum for my brother and is now doing the same for me. They assumed I was targeted due to “gang violence” or a problem I caused. I don’t bother anyone, I stay in my own lane, I focus on my career and family. Even after explaining this, they continued to insinuate that I was involved in something that brought this outcome upon myself.

“Nobody is perfect, and everyone has a past. However, I have changed significantly from who I was ten years ago. For such an incident to occur out of nowhere is alarming. It makes me view my life and family through an entirely different lens. This is a daily reality in my city; I am not the first, nor will I be the last. I am tired of remaining silent about my brother’s case, and I refuse to let this incident slide either. Many other families in my city have endured similar situations, crying out for justice just as my family is.

“My family feels unsafe, and I fear for my children, who nearly lost their father the person striving to change their lives. It is tragic that I have so much love for my city, yet I am compelled to leave. I will use this situation to speak out against the ineffectiveness of JSO and their disregard for the less fortunate parts of the city. They seem indifferent to whether lives are lost or at risk. I am sick of it! This could have been a memorial post; I could have lost my life just like my brother, or somebody else could have lost theirs trying to take mine. I am done being silent. I ask for your support in spreading this message as far as we can.

“I am blessed and happy to be alive, but I’m leaving Duval.”

View the original article to see embedded media.

In the video, Taveras can be seen leaving his mother’s house and walking toward a car when a vehicle opened fire on him from the street.  Taveras positioned himself behind the card until the vehicle drove away.  Taveras drew his firearm and returned shots. 

Taveras made his way to the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series.  He appeared twice in the promotion.  He was defeated by Serhiy Sidey in the first round.  He was given a second opportunity and finished Cortavious Romious in 29 seconds.  The win earned him a UFC contract.  He made his promotional debut in January and avenged the previous loss to Sidey.  He was slated to face Caolan Loughran at UFC 304 but was forced out of the bout due to injury.   

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