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Elves Brener vows to be more professional year-round to ensure his weight is on-point following a rough experience before, during, and after his recent UFC bout in May.

Brener made weight for a UFC 301 lightweight clash against Myktybek Orolbai in Brazil, but lost a decision. The Chute Boxe prospect was 3-0 in the UFC with two bonuses claimed prior to that, and now looks back at his experience in Rio de Janeiro as a learning lesson.

“I was having a lot of problems with my weight cut,” Brener told MMA Fighting ahead of his fight with Joel Alvarez on Saturday at UFC Abu Dhabi. “I was always returning to Sao Paulo from Amazonas at around 200 pounds and agreed to a fight and had to rush things to make 155 in two or three months, and that wasn’t good for me. After this fight, I sat down with [coaches] Diego [Lima] and Allan [Nascimento] and set a limit I could go up before having to cut down again.”

Brener traveled early to Abu Dhabi this time and said he wouldn’t go over 176 pounds while in camp for the fight. Off camp, Brener won’t go over 180 pounds.

“It was messed up. I was drained, and it won’t happen again,” Brener said of his UFC 301 weight cut. “I’ll be more professional. Not that I wasn’t being a professional, but we always believe we’ll make weight. I went there and made weight, but how healthy is that for me and my future? I want to see my kids grow up and enjoy retirement.

“I have a professional mindset now and I won’t be defeated by my mouth. I came from the bottom and I’m poor, I’ve never seen so much food in my life [laughs], but I won’t be defeated by my mouth. I’ll live like an athlete all year round. Some people don’t do that. I’ve learned that when it happened to me. We see others say, ‘This guy doesn’t live like an athlete and it will come back at him eventually’. But we only learn when it happens to us. It has happened to me and it’s all good, I’ve learned it.”

“I don’t want to go to a fight like that anymore, having to make weight that way with my vision blurry during the weight and and after the fight, during the fight,” he continued. “I don’t want to feel that again. Only I know what I went through. I don’t see that fight as a loss itself, but as a learning experience. I learned the worst way possible. I’ll come back to rebuild my company again and again and how many times I have to.”

Brener believes he would have beaten Orolbai at UFC 301 if it wasn’t for his weight-cutting drama, but expects to meet him for a rematch in the future. Brener sees Alvarez s a great opponent to bring him closer to the top 15 of the UFC lightweight division, and feels ready for the task after adding specific boxing training to his camp at Chute Boxe.

“It’s going to be just the two of us in there and we’ll break each other up,” Brener said of Alvarez, who enters the cage coming off a submission win over Marc Diakiese. “That’s what fans want to see in the cage, and I’m going there to give them that. I’ll put my hands on this guy. He’s not one of those guys with a boring wrestling style. He has a good guillotine, a good kick, but we’ll see how he does walking backwards. I’m going there to walk forward, representing the Chute Boxe style, to hit hard and puts my hands on this guy.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

MMA Fighting has PFL 7 results for the Goltsov vs. Johnson fight card and more from Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn.

In the main event, PFL veteran finalist Denis Goltsov looks to make it back-to-back trips to the heavyweight finals when he takes on longtime Bellator contender Tim Johnson. Goltsov went 2-0 in the regular season, while Johnson needed just one quick finish to qualify for the semifinals.

Undefeated flyweight Dakota Ditcheva fights Jena Bishop in the co-main event.

Check out the PFL 7 results below.

Main Card (9 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN+)

Denis Goltsov vs. Tim Johnson

Dakota Ditcheva vs. Jena Bishop

Oleg Popov vs. Linton Vassell

Liz Carmouche vs. Taila Santos

Preliminary Card (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Tyrell Fortune vs. Sergey Bilostenniy

Alexei Pergande vs. Daniel Boehle

Cody Law vs. Zachary Hicks

Sergio Cossio vs. Dedrek Sanders

Jaleel Willis vs. Anthony Ivy

Kevin Pease vs. Nick Meck

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So-called experts
| BJPenn.com

UFC

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones will finally make his Octagon return in November.

“Bones” is scheduled to defend his 265-pound strap against former division titleholder Stipe Miocic, a five-round showdown that was previously scheduled for UFC 295 late last year but delayed when Jones suffered a pectoral tear.

In his absence, fast-rising heavyweight bruiser Tom Aspinall captured the interim crown in New York, then defended the substitute strap by laying waste to Curtis Blaydes in their UFC 304 rematch last month in Manchester.

Unfortunately, the 31 year-old “Honey Badger” will have to sit on the sidelines while Jones and Miocic settle their unfinished business.

A choice that will undoubtedly protect the champ’s UFC legacy.

“Jon Jones is not an idiot,” Aspinall told MMA Fighting. “Even though he might act like it sometimes. He’s not unintelligent. Stipe, one of the best heavyweights if not the best heavyweight of all time. Stipe’s also 43 years old, coming off a three-year layoff and his last fight was a knockout loss. Obviously, he’s going to want to take that fight before me because it’s easier. Way easier. Way, way, way easier. He knows that I’m the tougher fight for him. I’m not going to say [Jones is] scared because he isn’t, but he’s smart in his approach and he’s going to fight Stipe before me every time.”

Sadly, Jones doesn’t have time for “intern” champions like Aspinall.

“I’d like to think he would [fight me] but at this point is Jon Jones even fighting Stipe? We don’t know,” Aspinall continued. “We have no idea. Like I said, Jon Jones is a bit of an unusual guy. You don’t get what you see. He’s tricky, slimy, snaky, he does different movements. He says one thing, does another. So I don’t know. I have no idea to be honest. Jon got one win in the heavyweight division. I got eight, all finishes. I’m not saying my résumé is better than Jon Jones because it isn’t. It’s not close. He’s way better than me but as far as heavyweights go, I’m the best heavyweight in the world.”

And impatient UFC fans are the best crybabies in the world, according to Miocic.

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At the Crawford vs. Madrimov weigh-ins, Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov will step on the scale Friday in Los Angeles, Calif.

Crawford and Madrimov have to hit 154 pounds, the contracted limit for their super welterweight main event showdown.

In the co-main event, Andy Ruiz and Jarrell Miller compete in a heavyweight contest and there is no weight limit.

The Crawford vs. Madrimov ceremonial weigh-ins are expected to begin at 9 p.m. ET.

Check out the Crawford vs. Madrimov weigh-in results below.

Main card (DAZN, PPV.com at 6 p.m. ET)

Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov

Andy Ruiz vs. Jarrell Miller

Jared Anderson vs. Martin Bakole

Isaac Cruz vs. Jose Valenzuela

David Morrell vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic

Andy Cruz vs. Antonio Moran

Prelims (MMA Fighting at 4:20 p.m. ET)

Steve Nelson vs. Marcos Ramon Vazquez

Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Michal Bulk

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Umar Nurmagomedov isn’t a fan of Sean O’Malley’s antics on social media.

The undefeated Dagestani standout returns to the Octagon this Saturday as the UFC heads to Abu Dhabi for a stacked Fight Night in Etihad Arena. Meeting Nurmagomedov in the main event will be bantamweight staple Cory Sandhagen in a bout that should produce the next 135-pound title contender.

As it stands, O’Malley sits atop the bantamweight throne, though his days could be number as he finds himself on a collision course with streaking Georgian sensation Merab Dvalishvili.

The pair will headline Noche UFC at Sphere in Las Vegas this September with the winner presumably facing the winner of Nurmagomedov vs. Sandhagen.

During a recent conversation with Daniel Cormier on the Hall of Famer’s YouTube channel, Nurmagomedov didn’t mince words while discussing O’Malley, slamming ‘Sugar’ for acting like a “clown” on social media and doing things unbecoming of a strong champion.

“Me and Sean are two different [people],” Nurmagomedov said of O’Malley. “He loves being funny. We’re different guys and I’m ashamed we have Sean O’Malley as a champion. Men have to be different, it’s about different things…you have to be a good example for the young generation, and you can’t do something like a clown. When Sean Strickland tells him he looks like a clown…is life about money? No, men have to be strong guys…

“Men have to be gentlemen, not a clown, or doing some TikToks, music and dancing. It’s not about that…women can do this…we know what the UFC cares about. They don’t want to give him good fighters with good wrestling” (h/t BJPenn.com).

Thus far, O’Malley has not responded to Nurmagomedov’s comments.

‘Sandman’ looks to snatch Umar Nurmagomedov’s ‘O’ in Abu Dhabi

Umar Nurmagomedov is a perfect 17-0 in his mixed martial arts career with five of those victories coming under the UFC banner. Currently, he is sitting as the No. 10 ranked contender in the bantamweight division, but if he can score a big win over ‘Sandman’ in Abu Dhabi, he’ll skyrocket himself toward the top of the rankings and all but guarantee himself a shot at UFC gold.

Sandhagen goes into Saturday’s bout having won his last three, earning victories over Song Yadong, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, and Rob Font. Sandman’ also holds wins over Frankie Edgar, Marlon Moraes, and John Lineker. Sandhagen landed his first shot at a UFC title, competing against Petr Yan for the interim crown in October 2021. Yan won the bout via unanimous decision, forcing Sandhagen to go back to the drawing board.

If the Colorado native can take Nurmagomedov’s ‘O’ in the UAE, a showdown with either O’Malley or Dvalishvili will surely await.

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