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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley gets his first taste of commentary duty after joining the broadcast team for the upcoming boxing card headlined by Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz.

O’Malley is set to call the fights alongside veteran play-by-play man Mauro Ranallo and former boxing champion Shawn Porter.

Of course, O’Mallley has quickly become one of the fastest rising stars on the entire UFC roster, especially after claiming the 135-pound title with a knockout over Aljamain Sterling. Most recently, O’Malley defended his belt against Chito Vera in March and he’s anticipating a showdown against Merab Dvalishvili before the end of the year.

First things first, O’Malley calls some boxing matches on Saturday.

In between fights, the broadcast desk includes Bellator MMA veteran Amanda Guerra, who is joined by Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast co-host Mike Majlak and former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson. Morning Kombat co-host Brian Campbell serves as the reporter for the event with Las Vegas Raiders in-game host Sibley Scoles performing the same duties for the Masvidal vs. Diaz card.

The broadcast team is set to call the full event from Anaheim where Masvidal and Diaz square off in the main event in a 10-round fight contested at 175 pounds.

The pay-per-view broadcast runs $ 49.99 through Fanmio and will also be available through UFC Fight Pass as well.

Here’s the full pay-per-view main card:

MAIN EVENT: Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz

Daniel Jacobs vs. Shane Mosley Jr.

Anthony Pettis vs. Chris Avila

Amado Vergas vs. Sean Garcia

Devin Cushing vs. Manuel Correa

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Alex Pereira banked some extra coin for saving the day and delivering another highlight-reel performance during Saturday’s massive headliner in Las Vegas.

During an appearance on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Pereira’s longtime coach Plinio Cruz revealed that CEO Dana White gave Pereira a $ 303,000 post-fight bonus following his successful light heavyweight title defense at UFC 303.

“He was talking to Dana in the back, and they were talking about a bunch of stuff, and Dana said, ‘As a matter of fact, you won Performance of the Night.’ And he said, ‘$ 303,000?’ He goes, ‘No, no, no, $ 50,000,’” Cruz explained.

”But reality of the fact is, he did not — they gave $ 300,000 bonuses for [UFC] 300 and [Pereira] did not get Performance of the Night. They gave two to Max [Holloway], so he was a little bit salty about that. And I think because of all their history and then taking the fight on two weeks’ [notice], Dana looked at him and said, ‘You know what, man? I’m going to take care of you. You’ve got the $ 303,000.’ He even joked, he said buy a supercar with that money. [Pereira] goes, ‘I’ve got enough supercars.’ He wants a Cybertruck.”

Pereira stepped into the UFC 303 headliner on just 16 days’ notice after the original main event, Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler, was scrapped when the Irishman broke his pinky toe while sparring.

It was the second time in a matter of months that ‘Poatan’ has stepped up to save the day, the last time being at UFC 300 when Pereira put his 205-pound crown on the line against ex-titleholder Jamahal Hill. Originally, Pereira was negotiating to run it back with Prochazka at UFC 305 on August 17 when they got the call to step in and headline this year’s International Fight Week card.

Could Alex Pereira become the UFC’s first-ever three-division champion?

Alex Pereira is now 8-1 under the UFC banner, earning wins over a heap of former champions, including Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, Jamahal Hill, and Jiri Prochazka. He is just the ninth fighter in the promotion’s 30+ year history to win belts in two different divisions.

Following his impressive performance at UFC 303, it certainly seems like Pereira could find himself with a shot at doing what no man has done before — winning belts in three different divisions.

“[Pereira] has actually a very special vision [when it comes to] timing, distance, and the angles in the way that he [approaches his craft],” Cruz added. “It’s almost like he has his own style of fighting. He just combines his boxing and the kickboxing, and the way that he just implements [everything] is just light years ahead, the vision that he has [for] the game.”

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Alex Pereira saved UFC 303 by knocking out Jiří Procházka in the second round with a vicious head kick. He walked out of the Octagon with minimal damage, and fans are already discussing his next fight.

At light heavyweight, Magomed Ankalaev is seemingly the only fighter with a case for a title challenge. However, more fans want “Poatan” to move up a weight class and have a super fight with Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall.

Apart from the loss to Israel Adesanya, Pereira has mostly looked invincible in the UFC. Is he really that good or is he yet to be properly tested by a superior grappler? Here’s Henry Cejudo’s two cents on the matter…

Henry Cejudo Expects Alex Pereira To Fight ‘Well-Rounded Wrestler’ Before Taking On Jon Jones

In a recent episode uploaded on the Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry, the former UFC champions discussed the UFC 303 main event. “Triple C” congratulated the Brazilian but quickly pointed out how the outcome wasn’t surprising because the fight didn’t go to the ground.

According to Cejudo, Procházka should’ve avoided a battle on the feet as Pereira will always have an edge there. He also thinks that the UFC light heavyweight champion still needs to beat a remarkable wrestler like Ankalaev to prove his well-roundedness.

“It’s not until Alex Pereira really fights somebody like Ankalaev where I’m gonna say, ‘okay, this guy is the…’ is he the real deal? 100 percent but, could he get past a well-rounded wrestler? Someone who’s going to bring in the grappling?”

“Triple C” criticized Pereira’s past opponents in the UFC’s light heavyweight division for trying to strike with him. Like many, he believes that fights with heavyweights Jones and Aspinall will truly test his mettle because of the wrestling.

“The IQ of the light heavyweight division, dude, I think everybody just wants to strike, Kamaru. I think that’s where everything goes wrong.”

Cejudo claims that Pereira hasn’t talked about fighting Jones because it won’t be his ideal matchup. This is also why the former UFC double champ is excited to see Pereira vs. Ankalaev at light heavyweight first.

“Either way, Alex Pereira, he’s not mentioning Jon Jones because I think he knows that Jon Jones has that special sauce, and it’s called wrestling. But that being said, I want to see the fight with Ankalaev.”

• Read More: What’s Next After UFC 303? Full Confirmed UFC 304 Main Card For Manchester On July 27

Continue Reading Henry Cejudo Still Unconvinced By Alex Pereira Despite UFC 303 KO Win: ‘He’s Not Mentioning Jon Jones Because I Think He Knows…’ at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Alex Pereira got a little something extra for saving the day at UFC 303.

That’s according to Pereira’s longtime coach Plinio Cruz, who revealed Monday on The MMA Hour that UFC CEO Dana White gave Pereira a $ 303,000 post-fight bonus following his successful light heavyweight title defense at UFC 303. Pereira knocked out Jiri Prochazka with a brutal second-round head kick after accepting the bout on just two weeks’ notice following the withdrawal of original headliner Conor McGregor due to injury.

“He was talking to Dana in the back, and they were talking about a bunch of stuff, and Dana said, ‘As a matter of fact, you won Performance of the Night.’ And he said, ‘$ 303,000?’ He goes, ‘No, no, no, $ 50,000,’” Cruz explained Monday on The MMA Hour.

”But reality of the fact is, he did not — they gave $ 300,000 bonuses for [UFC] 300 and [Pereira] did not get Performance of the Night. They gave two to Max [Holloway], so he was a little bit salty about that. And I think because of all their history and then taking the fight on two weeks’ [notice], Dana looked at him and said, ‘You know what, man? I’m going to take care of you. You’ve got the $ 303,000.’ He even joked, he said buy a supercar with that money. [Pereira] goes, ‘I’ve got enough supercars.’ He wants a Cybertruck.”

Pereira, 36, has now saved the day for UFC twice in a span of three months, having also defeated Jamahal Hill in the short-notice main event of UFC 300 on April 13 to salvage the promotion’s well-documented efforts to find a suitable headliner for the tricentennial card.

But if the saga of UFC 300 was already a roller-coaster, UFC 303 may as well have been the Formula Rossa.

Cruz said Pereira was still in the negotiation stages for a rematch against Prochazka on Aug. 17 at UFC 305 when promotion officials first broached the team about the possibility of filling in for McGregor. Cruz admitted he was initially against the idea and told as much to Pereira, however “Poatan” was ready to accept right away. By the following morning, all details were ironed out and the impromptu title rematch had been made official.

Pereira previously defeated Prochazka via second-round TKO in November 2023 to capture the vacant light heavyweight belt, and Cruz said he expected a longer fight the second time around. That might’ve happened, too, if it wasn’t for some last-second film study.

“Alex is a much better standup fighter than Prochazka is, so we wanted to be patient,” Cruz said. “I told him, ‘Bro, let’s just take the first two rounds easy, let’s pace ourselves.’ Because Jiri, the longer the fight goes, he tends to let a little bit of his level of discipline lower and he starts to throw stuff, he starts to get a little more risky, he takes chances.

“And our game [plan] until the fight night was basically going over there, feel [out] the first two rounds, and push the pace as the fight goes, especially if Prochazka was going to maybe try to do a grappling match. We knew that none of them will be able to grind for five rounds, because it was week two of the camp, so the longer the fight goes, that’ll benefit Alex. And then it happened, that thing in the locker room.”

That thing in the locker room, as Cruz framed it, has already been etched into Pereira lore.

Both Pereira and Cruz revealed post-fight that they noticed the opening for the fight-ending head kick by scrolling Instagram in the locker room before the bout. UFC’s social media team posted clips of both fighters warming up, and Pereira’s immediately team spotted the hole in Prochazka’s game plan. Cruz said the adjustment was made less than 20 minutes before Pereira’s walkout. In the end, the champ’s pre-fight audible worked to perfection.

That locker room footage of Prochazka also stood in stark contrast to the vibe Pereira’s team presented in their clip, which showed Pereira and his team casually line dancing.

Cruz suspects Pereira’s nonchalant yet remarkably focused demeanor throughout fight week may have played tricks on Prochazka’s head, especially after Prochazka made a point to accuse Pereira of practicing “black magic” before their first bout at UFC 295.

“The dance was a magical ritual. That was doing witchcraft right before before the fight,” Cruz said, laughing. “Man, I think he got a little bit in his head. You know what I mean? Alex has his indigenous background from his parents. He likes to honor it and I respect him a lot that he honors the the culture of his people, and I help him to do that, I’m a big supporter.

“I think that Jiri somehow might’ve got in his own head if he’s calling indigenous stuff as witchcraft and whatever. But that just played more on our side. That just helped him.”

Pereira is now 8-1 under the UFC umbrella, with six of those wins coming against either current or former champions. He remains the ninth UFC fighter to ever to win belts in two divisions, and chatter continues to persist about him one day moving up to heavyweight in an effort to make history as the first three-division champion in promotional history.

It’s been a whirlwind ride, and Cruz has ridden sidecar for all of it. The veteran coach has long past the point of doubting Pereira’s ability to pull off anything he sets his mind to.

“[Pereira] has actually a very special vision [when it comes to] timing, distance, and the angles in the way that he [approaches his craft],” Cruz said. “It’s almost like he has his own style of fighting. He just combines his boxing and the kickboxing, and the way that he just implements [everything] is just light years ahead, the vision that he has [for] the game.”

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Watch the UFC 303 highlights video and recap from Saturday’s UFC 300 main event between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier.

UFC 303 took place on Saturday, June 29th, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Francis Ngannou is back in the gym but still dealing with the immense tragedy from the death of his 15-month-old son in April.

The former UFC Heavyweight champion returned to training at Xtreme Couture recently, although he hasn’t made any public statement regarding his career. Ngannou remains signed to the PFL where he was expected to face Renan Ferreira in his debut along with options available to him in boxing after past matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Ngannou’s longtime head coach and friend Eric Nicksick revealed that more than anything, it was just good to have “The Predator” back in the gym again.

“He’s healing,” Nicksick said about Ngannou on The MMA Hour. “That’s the best I can say. He’s healing. You’re seeing the smile back on his face. You’re seeing the banter. He’s back in the gym talking trash to [Sean] Strickland and everybody around the room. That’s the most important thing but all the while, you know there’s a lot of healing going on inside. Every once in a while he’ll have that moment where a vulnerability [happens].”

While no one is pressuring Ngannou to fight right now or any time soon, Nicksick says that it’s definitely on his mind even if there’s no exact timeline for him to compete again.

“He looked at me at dinner last week and was like ‘this next one’s for Kobe.’ That shit hit me,” Nicksick said referencing Ngannou’s son. “I was like f*ck, whoever you’re fighting next, god bless them. If this is what we’re fighting for, this man is going to be dialed in.

“It was just nice to have him home. It was nice to give him a hug and not even really have to say much and just be there next to him and let him talk and let him vent. We cried, we hugged, we laughed and those are the moments you have when you have a brother like him. Happy to have him home.”

Prior to the tragic loss of his son, Ngannou hinted at both boxing and MMA as possibilities for his next fight because he was remaining committed to both moving forward.

He fell by knockout to Joshua back in March but there’s still plenty of opportunities awaiting him in boxing, especially in the heavyweight division.

Of course, the PFL would love to see Ngannou finally debut after the promotion signed him to a lucrative multi-fight contract after he briefly hit free agency after leaving the UFC.

Nicksick isn’t sure what exactly is next for Ngannou but he’s rooting for him to return before 2024 concludes.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know to be honest with you,” Nicksick said about the timeline for Ngannou’s next fight. “I hope so [this year]. I hope so because I think keeping him busy has been the best thing for him. It’s helped him a lot.

“But again, no parent should ever have to go through what he went through. Only time will tell and time will heal. I hope that just because I want to see him compete again with this on him. I want him to be able to find a purpose in competing again but whatever he decides to do, I’m going to have his back 110 percent.”

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