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Australians stick together.

Khamzat Chimaev is finally back! (hopefully) UFC CEO Dana White announced that the undefeated Middleweight has been rebooked against Robert Whittaker for UFC 308, which will take place on Oct. 26 inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The rest of the card is stacked; check it out here.

Yesterday (Sat., Aug. 3, 2024), UFC Welterweight Jack Della Maddalena took to his Instagram stories and blasted Chimaev.

“Chimaev loves steroids,” Maddalena wrote.

To be honest, the steroid accusation came out of nowhere. The only thing that makes sense is that maybe Maddalena is just backing his Australian countryman, Whittaker.

Chimaev has not fought since UFC 294 (Oct. 21, 2023) because of visa issues and hospitalizations. He was supposed to headline UFC’s first show in Saudi Arabia against Whittaker but withdrew a week before.

Maddalena last fought at UFC 299 in Miami, where he knocked out Gilbert Burns (watch highlights). Since that fight, the 27-year-old Aussie has been dealing with infections caused by his broken arm, which he suffered in the fight with Burns.

The infection was so nasty that he could not fight in his hometown of Perth at UFC 305 on Aug. 17.

To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Umar Nurmagomedov may have earned the biggest win of his career over Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi, but that doesn’t mean he’s satisfied with his performance.

Despite winning at least four rounds on every scorecard, the undefeated bantamweight was still critical about some mistakes he made during the fight. In particular, Nurmagomedov pointed to Sandhagen’s ability to shut down his wrestling and grappling after finishing just five of 13 takedown attempts. While getting the victory was obviously most important, Nurmagomedov still expected better of himself.

“I’m not happy,” Nurmagomedov said at the UFC Abu Dhabi post-fight press conference. “It was a good performance on the striking, but if you’re talking about grappling and how I controlled him, it was not good.

“Because I [expected I would do that], I thought I would maul him on the ground, but he’s tough, he’s good. Cory’s too good and he has hard kicks. He’s a tough man. I think he has more experience than me in the UFC cage, but I won. But I’m happy, I won.”

While Nurmagomedov may not have found as much success with his grappling as he’s become accustomed to, he still kept Sandhagen guessing across all five rounds, which was still a weapon even if the takedowns weren’t happening.

The bantamweight fight played out in back-and-forth fashion, particularly through the first three rounds, but it was during those final 10 minutes that Nurmagomedov really took over.

It turns out that happened at least partially thanks to the advice Nurmagomedov received from his cousin and head coach Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was working his corner for the fight.

“After the third round, Khabib cornered me and he [said], ‘Now is the beginning of [the championship] rounds and you have to be strong, don’t show weakness,’” Nurmagomedov said. “[Khabib said,] ‘You have to be strong. Go ahead and take this victory, press him, push him, don’t lose any second.’”

Nurmagomedov took that advice to heart as he pressed the pace on Sandhagen and imposed his will during those final two rounds.

As much as the entire fight didn’t leave him feeling the best, the 28-year-old bantamweight contender can’t deny that his conditioning was a real asset in his first UFC main event.

“It’s a little bit difficult but I didn’t [get] tired how he said [I would],” Nurmagomedov said. “You remember how Cory said I will get tired, he will choke me, and at the end of the rounds, nothing happening. I think I was more fresh than him.”

With the win over Sandhagen, Nurmagomedov almost certainly cements himself as the No. 1 contender in the bantamweight division as the title goes up for grabs at UFC 306 when reigning champion Sean O’Malley takes on Merab Dvalishvili in the main event.

In the past, Nurmagomedov stated that he sees the matchup as an even fight, and he’s not changing his opinion now, especially knowing he really just wants the winner.

“I’m planning on going to the fight, but I don’t want to name one guy or the other guy because I don’t want the other guy to think I’m trying to avoid fighting him,” Nurmagomedov said. “So of course, I’d be very happy to fight both of them. The goal is to fight the winner.”

While Nurmagomedov anticipates a title shot for his next fight, he’s not quite as certain when asked about possibly making a quick turnaround to serve as the backup for O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili on Sept. 14.

To add to that, he highly doubts Dvalishvili would just abandon his title shot in a worst-case scenario if O’Malley is unable to compete at UFC 306.

“It’s only a month away so it really depends on my health,” Nurmagomedov said. “Out of my 17 fights, I’ve never gotten as much damage as I got during this fight. It’s really kind of soon but it depends on the health. I do not think any of them are going to fall out.

“This is a fight that Merab’s been waiting for, for a really long time, so even if it does happen that O’Malley pulls out, I think Merab is just going to wait for his title shot and wait for O’Malley to get better and fight him.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Imane Khelif was the target of online abuse by bad-faith actors earlier this week. The Algerian Olympic boxer has been the leading story during these Olympic games, and the story of her gender. Chael Sonnen, former UFC fighter, has taken a step forward to try and counteract the misleading information that has been circulating.

Imane Khelif

Many people online were led to believe that Imane Khelif was a trans athlete or a man acting as a woman. This infuriated the masses who called out in uproar. The fact is Imane Khelif is from Algeria where being a trans person is illegal and transitionary surgeries are not allowed. The Algerian Olympic boxer was born a woman and still is a woman to this day. Additionally, she has never been found to have increased levels of testosterone and has been in Olympic testing for at least four years.

Last year, Imane Khelif was suspended by the IBA, an organization that is not recognized as legitimate by the Olympics. The IOC has been critical of the IBA for corruption and not following proper procedures. In a statement, the IOC explained, “The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.”

“‘Are these athletes women?’ The answer is yes, according to eligibility, according to their passports, according to their history.” IOC director Mark Adams added.

Chael Sonnen Talks Imane Khelif

Those who acted too quickly, and judged without knowing more, are now taking a step back to apologize for their words. Chael Sonnen, former UFC title contender and MMA personality, has gone to X and is attempting to counteract misinformation being spread.

One Tweet claimed that two men were competing for medals in Olympic boxing. Sonnen responded simply: “This is not accurate.”

In another Tweet, people tried to explain how women were fighting men in boxing. Sonnen countered with, “Matt, you got played. Delete this. The XY talk and the testing for such was misinformation.”

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UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Logan Paul’s title reign has come to an end.

The YouTuber-turned-professional wrestler (and sometimes boxer) did the job at the 2024 edition of WWE’s SummerSlam event in Cleveland on Saturday, losing his United States Championship to WWE Superstar LA Knight in front of 55,000 screaming fans.

Watch how Machine Gun Kelly tried to help Paul and Paul’s reaction below.

The predetermined result saw Knight overcome the odds, as Paul was accompanied to the ring by rapper Machine Gun Kelly. The beloved Cleveland native actually got involved in the contest, cracking Knight with a pair of brass knuckles, but he couldn’t save Paul from succumbing to Knight’s finisher, “BFT” (Blunt Force Trauma).

This is the first title in the WWE for Knight, a charismatic fan favorite who was involved in a feud with then-Undisputed Champion Roman Reigns for much of 2023, though his character was never booked to defeat Reigns.

Paul won the U.S. title after going over Rey Mysterio at WWE Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April 2023. He successfully defended it twice, at this past January’s Royal Rumble and in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 40.

See more highlights from the match below, including Paul taking a scary top-rope bump and showing off his high-flying skills.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

The UFC Abu Dhabi: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov main card on Saturday featured a women’s strawweight clash between 7th ranked Mackenzie Dern and 10th ranked Loopy Godinez.  

Dern entered the bout hoping to rebound from back-to-back losses.  She had been defeated in four of her last six fights and was desperately needing a win to stay relevant in the division.  Godinez had a four-fight winning streak snapped in her last outing.  Looking to get back in the win column, a win would move Godinez up several spots in the rankings.  

Dern landed her jab early.  Godinez kept her guard high and tried to close the distance.  Godinez caught a kick and took Dern down but immediately let the ground specialist back to her feet.  Dern closed this distance behind punches and clinched.  Godinez separated and landed on the break.  She connected with a counter combination.  Dern pressed forward with a right hand.  Dern clinched and tossed Godinez to the ground.  She advanced to the mount with 95 seconds remaining in the round.  

Dern isolated an arm and worked to extend her hips to secure an arm bar.  She delivered hammer fists and punches from the bottom and Godinez freed her arm.  She landed a couple of punches from top position as the round ended.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Dern.  

Dern continued to use her jab in the second frame.  She came out aggressive and pressed forward.  The two clinched after an exchange but quickly separated.  Dern connected with a right hand.  Godinez responded with a stiff jab.  Dern began pressuring Godinez.  Dern has had the higher output as Godinez looked to counter strike.  As Dern moved into the pocket, Godinez met her with a right hand.  Dern delivered a combination.  

Godinez changed levels and took Dern down.  Dern quickly stood and Godinez worked to lock in a standing arm-triangle.  Dern stayed calm and the round ended.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Dern.  

Dern landed her jab to start the final round.  Godinez responded with a hard right hand.  Dern delivered a leg kick but Godinez countered with a left hand.  Godinez began landing left hands.  Dern changed levels, elevated Godinez and slammed her to the canvas.  Dern moved to side control.  Godinez kicked her off and stood.  As she did, Dern worked to secure a guillotine choke.  Godinez popped her head out and the two fought for position along the cage before separating.

Dern connected with an uppercut.  Godinez reacted with a left hand.  Godinez stepped in the pocket with a right hand.  Dern responded with a leg kick.  Godinez clinched and the worked for position.  They separated with 20 seconds remaining.  Godinez rushed in and delivered knees to the body as Dern fired off right hands.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Dern.  

The judges scored the fight for Dern via unanimous decision.  The scorecards read 29-28, 29-28, and 29-28. 

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