Matheus Nicolau | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Matheus Nicolau has a do-or-die fight lined up.
MMA Fighting confirmed with sources with knowledge of the matchup that Nicolau (19-4-1) is set to fight Asu Almabayev in a flyweight bout (20-2) on Oct. 19 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The bout was first reported by Sportkor.
This is a pivotal bout for Nicolau, a top-15 flyweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. The 31-year-old Brazilian emerged as a sleeper contender at 125 pounds with a six-fight unbeaten stretch that included wins over Matt Schnell, David Dvorak, Tim Elliott, and Manel Kape, but he has lost by knockout in his past two outings. Most recently, he was finished in the second round by Alex Perez.
Almabayev, 30, has impressed in his brief time with the UFC, winning his first three fights with the promotion to run his current win streak to 16 straight. He brings a wealth of high-level experience to the octagon, having also competed for Brave CF and M-1 Global.
Serghei Spivac will FINALLY get the chance to avenge his UFC Norfolk loss to Marcin Tybura.
No disrespect to either competitor, but it says a lot about the UFC heavyweight division — and the state of APEX cards — when this lowly-anticipated rematch takes headlining duties for ESPN+, which may or may not remain the promotion’s broadcast partner in 2025.
Tybura (25-8) is 7-2 in the nine fights since his Spivac victory roughly four years back and remains ranked in the Top 10 at 265 pounds. So too does Spivac (16-4), who is 6-2 after falling to the well-traveled Pole in early 2020.
Here’s the full version of their UFC Vegas 95 poster:
UFC
Cool poster, lukewarm event.
UFC Vegas 95 will also feature the bantamweight showdown between Javid Basharat and Chris Gutierrez. Elsewhere on the card, Damon Jackson collides with Chepe Mariscal at featherweight, not long after Jafel Filho and Allan Nascimento hook ‘em up at 125 pounds.
Stay tuned for more UFC Vegas 95 news and notes in the coming days.
King Green and Paddy Pimblett | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Paddy Pimblett’s submission of King Green was never in doubt. According to him, anyway.
“The Baddy” pulled off a rare feat at UFC 304, defeating Green by submission, something that hadn’t happened to the 50-fight veteran since 2009. It came as a surprise to few that Pimblett’s grappling came into play given Green’s striking acumen, but it was actually Green who instinctively went for a shot after being clipped by a Pimblett leg kick.
Shortly after the fight went to the ground, Pimblett locked in a triangle choke that put Green to sleep. The finishing technique actually developed into a triangle armbar, which left Green with a busted wing afterwards.
In a post-fight vlog released by Pimblett on Monday, the budding lightweight contender explained that he felt all throughout training camp that he’d have a chance to take a limb home.
“Mad, that,” Pimblett said. “I was saying all camp I’m gonna snap his arm. And it happened. But, like, I feel bad.”
Green can also be seen in the vlog, sporting a sling on his arm. The extent of his injury is not yet known.
When Pimblett’s team suggested it was the easiest fight of his UFC career, he responded, “I made it easy.”
The brash Pimblett has polarized fans since debuting with the UFC in 2021 after a successful run with England’s Cage Warriors promotion. So far, his results have been favorable as he has gone 6-0 inside the octagon.
Pimblett went over his finish of Green in an interview with commentator Jon Anik.
“I know when it goes tight,” Pimblett said. “When I get under that leg and I get that angle, I know it’s tight. And no disrespect to the ref, I think he was quite slow. I think Bobby was unconscious for a couple of seconds before I took the arm.”
Three-time UFC title challenger Alexander Gustafsson believes Tom Aspinall has all the tools he needs to defeat Jon Jones.
Aspinall sent fight fans into a frenzy on Saturday night, scoring a 60-second knockout of Curtis Blaydes in the UFC 304 co-main event to retain his interim heavyweight championship.
Next up for Aspinall should be a clash with undisputed heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones, assuming ‘Bones’ gets past the division’s consensus GOAT, Stipe Miocic, in a bout rumored to go down this November inside Madison Square Garden.
During a recent interview sponsored by Top Offshore Casinos, two-time Jones foe Alexander Gustafsson believes that Aspinall may very well be “too much” for Jones to handle, should the two finally cross paths inside the Octagon.
‘‘Aspinall is on fire right now and he is a very, very good heavyweight,” Gustafsson said. “I don’t see anyone beating Aspinall right now. I understand why Tom wants to fight Jon, it’s because Jon is the GOAT, he is the biggest UFC star right now. If Tom was to beat Jon it would be bigger than winning any UFC belt. The biggest achievement in the UFC right now is to beat Jon Jones. I understand why Aspinall is chasing the fight. I think he is ready for Jon. He’s on fire right now. If he fights Jon Jones it should be now.
“Yes, I think Tom will be too much for Jon. He has all the weapons to beat Jon. Jon hasn’t been that active, but he’s still the GOAT. You can never count this guy out, he’s so freaking good at what he does. He’s handled every opponent and everybody knows how good he is, but Aspinall right now, I see him as very dangerous for Jon right now. He’s dangerous on his feet, he’s fast, he has great footwork and he’s a smart fighter. He has the tools to do good against Jon and even beat him. If they will fight, now is the time for Aspinall. He could go down as one of the best heavyweights ever.’’
Can Tom Aspinall Do What Alexander Gustafsson could not?
If there’s anyone who knows a thing or two about beating Jon Jones, it’s Gustafsson. Challenging ‘Bones’ for the light heavyweight title at UFC 165, ‘The Mauler’ handed Jones his toughest test up to that point during their iconic five-round scrap. In the eyes of many, Gustafsson did enough to dethrone Jones and leave Toronto with the 205-pound crown wrapped around his waist.
Unfortunately, the judges didn’t see it that way.
Jones was awarded the victory via unanimous decision causing widespread outrage. They would run it back five years later, but this time, ‘Bones’ would leave no question unanswered, finishing the Swedish fan favorite in the third round. Jones would go on to defend his title three more times against Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and Dominick Reyes before vacating the belt in favor of a move to heavyweight.
Jones’ first meeting with Gustafsson was voted the 2013 Fight of the Year and was inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2021.
Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier thinks Tom Aspinall should switch strategy if he really wants to tempt Jon Jones into a fight.
Aspinall’s case for the next shot at Jones grew ever stronger in the co-main event of this past weekend’s UFC 304 pay-per-view, which went down inside the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England.
Close to home, Aspinall put his interim heavyweight title on the line in a rematch with Curtis Blaydes, pursuing both a successful first defense and redemption for the injury-forced TKO setback he fell to opposite “Razor” in 2022.
It took the Brit just one minute to achieve those goals, dropping Blaydes with a stiff jab before reigning down ground-and-pound for the first-round stoppage.
As expected, Aspinall had Jones’ name on his lips post-fight, remaining respectful with his latest callout of the heavyweight titleholder. One of Jones’ former opponents, however, thinks he needs to abandon his nice nature…
Cormier: Aspinall Must ‘Get Louder’ & ‘Rile Up’ Jones
During a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Cormier gave his take on the events that unfolded at UFC 304 from cageside inside Manchester’s Co-op Live.
“DC” touched on his Octagon interview with Aspinall following the co-headliner, claiming the Brit needs to change approach and begin ‘riling up’ Jones if he is to ensure a future dream showdown with the former two-time light heavyweight champ.
“This guy seems to be the future and the present of the heavyweight division,” Cormier said. “You know, Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic are gonna fight each other, and deservedly so. … When they get to New York and they fight, Tom Aspinall needs to be in the building, if he’s smart.
“I watched him finish, I watched the way the crowd reacted to him, and I watched his callout to Jon Jones. And in Tom Aspinall fashion, he was nice about it,” Cormier continued. “He needs to rile up Jones a little bit to get the people more invested. … I have seen the crowd get so behind a certain person that the organization will pivot. … Maybe they’ll pivot and make Aspinall vs. Jones right now. We don’t know…but Aspinall has to get a little bit louder.”
Jones had a short and succinct response to Aspinall’s UFC 304 triumph and post-fight callout on social media. By all accounts, the Brit’s emphatic performance did little to convince “Bones” or the UFC to alter their plans for an expected November title fight.
Supply and demand at its finest, I love it.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) July 28, 2024
Read More: Daniel Cormier Defends Belal Muhammad Against Criticism Of UFC 304 Title Win: ‘That Was The Furthest Thing From A Boring Fight!’
Continue Reading Daniel Cormier Advises Tom Aspinall On How To Boost Chances Of Jon Jones Fight After UFC 304 at MMA News.
The welterweight title changed hands this past Saturday in the UFC 304 main event in Manchester, England. Belal Muhammad captured the crown by defeating then-champion Leon Edwards via unanimous decision.
With a new champion in place, fourth-ranked Colby Covington seized the opportunity to go after Muhammad in an interview with Submission Radio. Covington would ‘love’ to fight “Remember the Name.”
“You know, the guy’s a f**king p*ssy. The only time that Belal the racist juice monkey wanted to fight me was when I already had a title fight signed, sealed and delivered. That’s the only time he wanted to fight me. Otherwise, he’s never said my name because he knows he’s a little b*tch and he knows what I would do to him,” Covington said. ““If I cross paths with him, he won’t be champion anymore. He won’t be a man anymore. I will take his man card and we know he’s still a virgin.“
Covington, a former interim welterweight titleholder, has fought for the undisputed title three times and lost in each one. He’s coming off a loss to Edwards and hasn’t put together back-to-back wins since 2019. He still plans to lobby the fight promotion for a match against Muhammad.
“I’d love to fight him. I hope that fight happens. I’ll do whatever it takes to get to that. I’m going to talk to the UFC, see what I need to do to get to that fight. But, you know, I can tell you that he knows that I’m in his crosshairs now,” Covington said. “He’s not going to take me down. He’s not going to be able to put a wrestling game plan on me. His striking sucks.”
““Honestly he’s got nothing for me. It’d be an easy fight,” Covington continued. “And you know he’s going to look to duck and pick and choose all the easiest fights he can. But guess what? He’s not a star. He has no pull in the company, so he’s going to do what he’s told like a good little boy.”
Mayra Bueno Silva could face a financial penalty from the Nevada Athletic Commission after she jumped up and over the cage following her loss to Macy Chiasson at UFC 303 in June.
The Brazilian jumped out of the cage after her fight was stopped by the cageside physician due to a gruesome cut she suffered over her eye.
On Tuesday, the commission revealed that $ 2,500 of Silva’s $ 100,000 purse had been withheld after she was given explicit instructions not to jump out of the cage.
A resolution in Silva’s case is expected at the next commission hearing scheduled on Aug. 27.
Prior to competing, athletes are given numerous instructions about behavior that could potentially land them in hot water and jumping out of the cage after a fight is not allowed by the commission.
Diego Lopes faced a similar sanction after he leapt over the cage following his win over Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 300 in April. UFC CEO Dana White actually said at the time that he would pay whatever fines the commission handed down after he allowed Lopes to jump over the cage to greet him following the win.
The commission ultimately fined Lopes $ 2,500 along with attorney fees for jumping over the cage.
Silva could potentially face the same exact punishment because Lopes also earned $ 100,000 for his fight, which resulted in the $ 2,500 fine handed down by the commission.
Silva learns her fate at the next commission meeting, but for now, $ 2,500 of her purse remains withheld until a resolution is reached on her punishment.
In the ever-shifting MMA landscape, ranking the world’s greatest fighters might seem like a fool’s errand, but that’s exactly what we’ve set out to do with the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. Here, our esteemed panel sorts out the movers and shakers from every division to provide you with the most definitive list of the best fighters on the planet.
Updated pound-for-pound rankings can be found here.
There is plenty of movement up and down the divisions to talk about, with Belal Muhammad ascending to the top of the welterweight mountain, Kyoji Horiguchi once again emerging as a two-division threat, Alexander Volkov upsetting Sergei Pavlovich to make an absolute mess of the heavyweight rankings, Nassourdine Imavov and Macy Chiasson claiming top-five spots with breakthrough performances, and flyweight contenders Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape both somehow hurting their stock following a dud of a grudge match at UFC 304.
But it was actually a less visible move that intrigues us the most this month, as Tom Aspinall further established himself as the best heavyweight on the planet with a 60-second drubbing of Curtis Blaydes. Forget the interim tag on his belt and the upcoming Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic vanity fight, Aspinall is the man to beat in his division until proven otherwise.
All seven of our panelists put Aspinall at No. 1 on their ballots, with the last Jones holdovers finally seeing fit to change allegiances. That means this is the first time in the history of our rankings that Jones does not have a single No. 1 vote to his name after previously receiving such support in the heavyweight, light heavyweight, and men’s pound-for-pound charts.
Is this a true changing of the guard? Should Jones be getting more respect? Or does Jones have to go through Aspinall to regain his spot now?
All eyes are on Jones now as his next fight can’t come soon enough.
Check out the complete July rankings below.
Heavyweight
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Tom Aspinall def. No. 4 Curtis Blaydes, No. 7 Alexander Volkov def. No. 3 Sergei Pavlovich, No. 14 Phil De Fries def. Augusto Sakai
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Alexander Volkov vs. No. 6 Ciryl Gane (UFC 308, Oct. 26), No. 8 Marcin Tybura vs. No. 10 Serghei Spivac (UFC Vegas 95, Aug. 10), No. 9 Tai Tuivasa vs. No. 15 Jairzinho Rozenstruik (UFC 305, Aug. 17), No. 12 Anatoly Malykhin vs. Reug Reug (ONE Fight Night 28, Nov. 8)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Derrick Lewis (4), Linton Vassell (4), Ryan Bader (1), Mick Parkin (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): N/A
Light Heavyweight
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Alex Pereira def. No. 2 Jiri Prochazka, Roman Dolidze def. No. 13 Anthony Smith, No. 15 Volkan Oezdemir def. No. 8 Johnny Walker
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 15 Azamat Murzakanov vs. Alonzo Menifield (UFC Abu Dhabi, Aug. 3)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Rob Wilkinson (3), Bogdan Guskov (2), Roman Dolidze (2), Alonzo Menifield (1), Dominick Reyes (1), Anthony Smith (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 13 Anthony Smith
Middleweight
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 4 Robert Whittaker def. Ikram Aliskerov, No. 11 Nassourdine Imavov def. No. 5 Jared Cannonier
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Dricus du Plessis vs. No. 3 Israel Adesanya (UFC 305, Aug. 17), No. 5 (tied) Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards (Bellator London, Sept. 14), No. 5 (tied) Nassourdine Imavov vs. No. 9 Brendan Allen (UFC Paris, Sept. 28), No. 13 Michel Pereira vs. No. 15 Anthony Hernandez (UFC Fight Night, Oct. 19)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Caio Borralho (3), Jack Hermansson (2), Ikram Aliskerov (1), Chris Curtis (1), Fabian Edwards (1), Impa Kasanganay (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): N/A
Welterweight
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 4 Belal Muhammad def. No. 1 Leon Edwards, Ramazan Kuramagomedov def. No. 7 Jason Jackson, No. 8 Ian Machado Garry def. No. 13 (tied) Michael Page
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 6 Gilbert Burns vs. No. 9 Sean Brady (UFC Fight Night, Sept. 7)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 15 Vicente Luque
Lightweight
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 7 Usman Nurmagomedov vs. No. 15 Alexander Shabliy (Bellator San Diego, Sept. 7), No. 9 Mateusz Gamrot vs. No. 12 Dan Hooker (UFC 305, Aug. 17), No. 11 Renato Moicano vs. No. 13 (tied) Benoit Saint Denis (UFC Paris, Sept. 28)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Paddy Pimblett (4), Jalin Turner (1), Matt Frevola (1), Drew Dober (1), Tofiq Musayev (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): N/A
Featherweight
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 7 Arnold Allen def. No. 13 Giga Chikadze, No. 14 Diego Lopes def. Dan Ige (165-pound catchweight bout)
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Movsar Evloev vs. No. 10 Aljamain Sterling (UFC 307, Oct. 5), No. 5 Brian Ortega vs. No. 11 Diego Lopes (UFC 306, Sept. 14), No. 13 Calvin Kattar vs. Kyle Nelson (UFC Fight Night, Sept. 7)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Lerone Murphy (3), Chihiro Suzuki (2), Movlid Khaybulaev (1), Bryce Mitchell (1), Adam Borics (1), Joanderson Brito (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Sean O’Malley vs. No. 2 Merab Dvalishvili (UFC 306, Sept. 14), No. 3 Patchy Mix vs. Leandro Higo (Bellator Paris, Nov. 16), No. 4 Cory Sandhagen vs. No. 8 Umar Nurmagomedov (UFC Abu Dhabi, Aug. 3), No. 9 (tied) Deiveson Figueiredo vs. No. 12 Marlon Vera, No. 15 Raufeon Stots vs. Marcos Breno (UFC San Diego, Sept. 7)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Magomed Magomedov (2), Jonathan Martinez (2), Kai Asakura (1), Mario Bautista (1), Kyler Phillips (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 15 Magomed Magomedov
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Jessica Andrade vs. Natalia Silva (flyweight bout) (UFC Fight Night, Sept. 7), No. 7 Marina Rodriguez vs. No. 14 Iasmin Lucindo (UFC 307, Oct. 5), No. 8 Mackenzie Dern vs. No. 10 Loopy Godinez (UFC Abu Dhabi, Aug. 3), No. 11 Angela Hill vs. No. 12 Tabatha Ricci (UFC Fight Night, Aug. 24)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Loma Lookboonmee (4), Karolina Kowalkiewicz (2), Danni McCormack (1), Tecia Pennington (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): N/A
A refresher on the ground rules:
The seven-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Shaheen Al-Shatti, Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew.
Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout. Updates to the rankings are typically completed following each month’s UFC pay-per-view.
Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice. (Let’s put it this way: We’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did.)
Holding a promotion’s title does not guarantee that fighter will be viewed as the best in their promotion. Additionally, fighters who regularly compete or hold titles in multiple weight classes are eligible to be ranked in multiple lists.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.
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