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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Benoit Saint Denis returns to action this Saturday, but it won’t be inside the UFC octagon.

“God of War” is slated to headline ADXC 4 in a grappling showdown versus fellow UFC lightweight Marc Diakiese in his native France. When the bout was offered, the lightweight contender saw it as the perfect way to stay active and recharge after losing a highly-anticipated fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 299 in March.

“It’s good stuff to stay a bit active, to keep training and to stay motivated after the difficult fight I had in Miami,” Saint Denis told MMA Fighting. “ADXC is coming to France, a big stage for professional grappling. I’m training in every art of the mixed martial arts. I was happy, I took the challenge right away.”

A black belt in judo and brown belt in jiu-jitsu, Saint Denis competes under grappling rules for the first time since 2019, and apparently, Diakiese was not the first name thrown his way. According to Saint Denis, ADXC approached his team with the idea of booking him against ex-Bellator champion Brent Primus and then UFC contender Arman Tsarukyan.

Saint Denis sees Diakiese as “a very experienced guy in the UFC, a good name to face,” and the fact he doesn’t have many submissions in MMA, unlike Saint Denis’ near 70-percent submission rate in the sport, makes the matchup a “bit tricky.”

“He’s very athletic, and against all the strikers he has been facing in the UFC, he has been wrestling,” Saint Denis said. “You see against [Viacheslav] Borshchev. When he’s against a striker, he wrestles. And when he’s against a wrestler, he strikes. He’s a well-rounded guy. His ground [game] is good, but I think in the grappling department, he’s a better wrestler than a grappler. But his wrestling is very good.

“The time period of the fight [five three-minute rounds] is also tricky because a very good wrestler, athletic as he is, can be dangerous decision-wise. That’s the complicated part, because [with] five minutes, usually the guy starts to get tired after three minutes and then you can work your positions a little bit more. Three minutes is very fast.”

Even though Saint Denis is focused on climbing the UFC rankings to one day hold the undisputed belt, he’s not taking this challenge lightly.

“I’m taking this as a way to stay active and to have fun in there, but, of course, I’m a warrior. I’m a competitor,” Saint Danis. “I will be competitive that day. It’s to reconnect and to have fun a lot.”

Asked if he’s open to bigger challenges in the grappling world, such as competing at ADCC, the French talent said he likes the idea, but only when he’s able to focus 100 percent on the task.

“I think the ADCC is very serious and I would like to compete in it, but it will be after my MMA career, I do believe,” Saint Denis said. “It’s a lot of time investment to be very competitive. And if I’m doing it, I’m doing it to win it all. I have the same mindset in MMA. Stuff like this to have fun sometimes is good, but if you want to win the ADCC obviously, it means you are one of the best grapplers in the world. You have to invest a lot of time in it.

“As you can see, even a talented and high-level grappler like Demian Maia had no time to try competing in the ADCC during his MMA career. You have to make choices. You want to be the best MMA fighter or the best grappler? It’s two different things. Even if a lot of skills are common, 50 percent of the work is different, even more than that. It’s different disciplines.”

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With this coming summer season set to bring some of the most high-profile fights of the year for the UFC, let’s take a look at the most anticipated bouts currently booked on paper ahead of a massive schedule for the sport leader.

Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier – UFC 302

Just mere weeks away, a huge undisputed lightweight title fight lands in Newark, New Jersey in June – with pound-for-pound number one, Islam Makhachev looking to rack up a third successful defense of his divisional title.

And matching with a fresh face following a pair of consecutive fights against former featherweight best, Alexander Volkanovski, dominant champion, Makhachev takes on the returning former interim champion, Dustin Poirier – who looks to strike it third time lucky in pursuit of an undisputed crown. 

Earning his return to a title setting at UFC 302, Lafayette veteran, Poirier rallied against the surging, Benoit Saint Denis back in March – halting the Nimes native’s run through the division, with a highlight-reel KO win. Entering at number one on our list of the top three most anticipated bouts of the year – fans can bet on MMA fights – including Makhachev’s title defense against Poirier, up and until they enter the Octagon next month. 

Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev – UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia

Marking the promotion’s first foray to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – former undisputed middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker looks to keep his slot atop the division’s elite, and likely earn himself another shot at his former crown, as he takes on unbeaten berserker, Khamzat Chimaev.

Whittaker, a fan-favorite former undisputed titleholder at 185lbs – returned to winning ways back in February at UFC 298 against former championship chaser, Paulo Costa, battling over the course of three rounds to land himself a split judging victory. 

As for Chimaev, the Chechnya-born starlet has admittedly lost a head of steam built up since his October decision win over former champion and pound-for-pound pacesetter, Kamaru Usman in Abu Dhabi. However, he can go a long way to generating massive backing for a title fight once more with a victory over a name like Whittaker.

Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler – UFC 303 

Arguably the most anticipated of these three fights we’ve chosen ahead of a huge summer period – especially for the mass audience and onlookers comes in the form of a return fight for ex-two-weight champion, Conor McGregor against rival, Michael Chandler at the end of next month at UFC 303 during International Fight Week. 

Without a win since 2020 and sidelined for the last three years since a gruesome leg fracture, former undisputed lightweight and featherweight gold holder, McGregor makes his return to the welterweight limit of 170lbs in tandem with his entrance back to the Octagon. 

For Chandler, the ex-Bellator MMA thrice-time lightweight gold holder will snap an almost two-year hiatus himself from active competition in his much-sought-after fight with the Dublin megastar, and with the added caveat of a first welterweight walk since a professional debut back in 2009, both have been flapping gums aplenty – with first round knockout predictions fielded by both.

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Edson Barboza looks to put a halt to another surging contender in the UFC featherweight division as he faces Lerone Murphy in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 92 event at the APEX. Should Barboza get it done, where will he go in the loaded 145-pound division? And if Murphy can keep his long winning streak alive, how high is his ceiling?

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and José Youngs take a deeper look at the upcoming UFC Fight Night event, the headliner between Barboza and Murphy, and the stakes attached to it. Additionally, they discuss Khaos Williams’ return to the octagon, Adrian Yanez looking to bounce back in the win column after a tough 2023 campaign, how the card as a whole stacks up on the final stop to UFC 302, answer listener questions, and much more.

Catch the UFC Vegas 92 preview show above. An audio-only version of the show can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.

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On July 20, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and influencer-turned boxer Jake Paul will fight in a professional boxing match.  The two have been on a press tour to promote the event.  

Tyson and Paul faced off following the press conference in Dallas.  As Tyson turned away, Paul acted like he shot “Iron Mike.”     

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Patchy Mix narrowly avoided disaster.

The 30-year-old American defended his Bellator bantamweight title with a split decision over Russian rival Magomed Magomedov on Friday at Accor Arena in the main event of Bellator Paris. Two judges scored the contest 48-47 for Mix, while the lone dissenter had it 49-46 for Magomedov.

“I think he just came prepared and this is two high-level guys, so I guess it was a high-level contested fight, for sure,” a relieved Mix said afterward.

Mix (20-1) previously choked Magomedov (20-4) unconscious with a second-round guillotine choke in their first meeting at the Bellator bantamweight grand prix semifinal in December 2022, however Friday’s rematch was significantly more competitive.

Magomedov hurt Mix early in the opening round with a pair of hard punches that set the tone for the back-and-forth battle that followed. Mix then seized back momentum in the second and third rounds when he jumped onto two more tight guillotine chokes and nearly repeated history. The third-round attempt, in particular, was the closest anyone came to finding a finish, but Magomedov escaped and continued to pepper the champ with strikes from distance.

The championship rounds followed a similar theme, as Mix worked his jab and hunted for a series of unsuccessful takedowns along the fence, while Magomedov mixed his attack from range. Magomedov ultimately out-landed Mix by a tally of 86-79 in total strikes, but Mix’s workrate was enough to give him the nod in two judges’ eyes, securing his first successful defense of the Bellator bantamweight belt.

Afterward, Mix called out one-time Bellator title challenger Leandro Higo for his next title defense.

Check out complete Bellator Paris results here.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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