CombatSports.org

Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall continued to make his case for being the best heavyweight in the world this past Saturday by taking out Curtis Blaydes in 60 seconds in the UFC 304 co-main event.    

The last time Aspinall legitimately tasted defeat was in 2015.  He lost to Blaydes in their meeting after suffering a knee injury 15 seconds into the first fight in July 2022.  He lost by disqualification in 2016 for illegal elbows but that rule was recently lifted.    

Heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones is expected to face former two-time heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic later this year.  Jones last fought in March 2023.  He tore a pectoral muscle while training to defend the title against Miocic at UFC 295.  While Jones has been sidelined recovering from the injury, Aspinall has been finishing all of his opponents in the first round.  The Brit hasn’t seen the second round since February 2021.  

Aspinall has been on a collision course with Jones.  A title unification bout between Aspinall and the winner of the upcoming Jones versus Miocic match seems inevitable.  UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley believes a fight between Jones and Aspinall ‘has to happen.’    

“Tom Aspinall versus Jon Jones, that’s a fight that needs to happen,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel.  “Who would you rather see, Tom Aspinall versus Jon Jones, Alex Pereira versus Tom, Pereira versus Jon Jones?  Who would you guys rather see?”  

According to O’Malley, a fight between Jones and Aspinall would be ‘interesting,’ but perhaps a match between light heavyweight titleholder Pereira and Jones would be a bigger fight.  

“Jon Jones versus Tom Aspinall is f***ing interesting,” O’Malley said.  “I think as far as entertainment, fun aspect of it, the bigger fight would be Jon versus Alex Pereira.  I don’t know how close that would be.  

“Alex can knock anyone out.  Jon could probably win that I’d guess.  Alex versus Tom?  Alex can knock anybody the f**k out, but I think Tom’s just too big.  Tom is 260,” O’Malley continued.  

O’Malley headlines the UFC 306 “Noche” fight card at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14 in celebration of Mexican Independence Day.  He’ll face top contender Merab Dvalishvili.    

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

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.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Hunger Strike
| BJPenn.com

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.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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.

LowKickMMA.com

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.

• 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.

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.”

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

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.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

submitted by /u/smithdog223 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts