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Former UFC women’s flyweight Paige VanZant will make her Power Slap debut against Christine Wolmarans on Friday at the Colbalt Ballroom inside Fontainebleau Las Vegas.  

Since leaving the UFC in 2020, VanZant has fought in bare-knuckle boxing, was briefly a professional wrestler, and made her boxing debut earlier this year.  Now she can add Power Slap to her resume and she considers herself ‘a gangster’ for doing it.  

“I got a call if I’d do Power Slap.  I said, ‘absolutely,’ and that was it.  Signed the contract and here I am here to do Power Slap,” VanZant told the media on Wednesday.  “I think it’s exciting for me because, like, listen, I am a gangster.  Whether people want to admit it or not.  I am here to slap somebody.  It doesn’t matter what organization, what combat sport.  I’m here to take over and have some fun.”  

Before getting the phone call with an offer, VanZant had considered doing Power Slap.  On Friday, she’ll get the opportunity.  

“It was a conversation that we had in the gym.  Everybody watches Power Slap.  They’ve taken over.  Everybody knows what it is.  Everybody’s seen the highlight videos and a lot of people are like, ‘No.  I would never do that,’ or they have mixed emotions about it all,” VanZant said.  “For me, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’d do that.’  Of course.  I look back at my UFC career, my bare-knuckle boxing career, everything that I’ve done.  You can’t take away how tough I am.  This is like the ultimate test of toughness.  You stand there and you’ve got to have the balls to get hit.”

VanZant made her professional boxing debut in Misfits Boxing in May against English Onlyfans model Elle Brooke.  The bout ended in a split draw and VanZant expects to rematch Booke later this year.  She also left the door open to return to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, but right now she wants to be in Power Slap.  

“I am a woman who does whatever the f**k I want and right now I want to do Power Slap,” she said.  

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UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso is gearing up to fight at UFC 306 — recently rebranded as Riyadh Season Noche UFC — with or without Valentina Shevchenko.

Despite coaching against one another for the ongoing season of The Ultimate Fighter 32, Grasso still hasn’t received any assurances that Shevchenko is going to be her opponent on the Sept. 14 card. Shevchenko previously commented that she wasn’t all that excited about fighting on the Mexican Independence Day event again after her previous matchup against Grasso on the Noche UFC card in 2023 ended in a controversial split draw.

Grasso hopes Shevchenko ultimately settles whatever reservations she has against fighting on the Sphere card in Las Vegas, because she’s defending her belt one way or another.

“That’s the plan,” Grasso said. “That’s the fight I would like to happen. I have to be part of Noche UFC. How can I not be part of Noche UFC this year? So I just truly hope she can accept the fight. It’s good for both of us.”

As of now, UFC announced the event along with a partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season, which serves as the titled sponsor for the card, but no fights have been confirmed.

All signs point to Grasso vs. Shevchenko 3 happening, but the reigning champion at 125 pounds admits even she has no assurances who she’s fighting in September.

If Shevchenko ends up passing on the fight, Grasso expects she will shift her attention to Manon Fiorot, who is the next person in line for a title shot after defeating Erin Blanchfield back in March to move her UFC record to 7-0 overall.

“I think that’s her opportunity too,” Grasso said of Fiorot. “She’s the No. 2 contender and she’s been having a nice winning streak. So just in case if it’s not Valentina, I think it’s going to be Manon.”

As champion, Grasso knows her job boils down to defending the belt against anybody UFC throws at her, so whether it’s Shevchenko or Fiorot, she’s ready to rock in September.

That being said, Grasso hopes Shevchenko comes around and eventually a deal gets inked to put them in the octagon together again for the third and potentially final time.

“It’s a fight I would like to have,” Grasso said. “The trilogy is something I would truly love. Because it will be the first trilogy from women’s MMA. Both were coaches on TUF, I’m from Mexico, she’s from Kyrgyzstan.

“We have a lot of history and I’m truly inspired to be competing with someone at this high, high level.”

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Even though Conor McGregor’s return has been delayed, UFC 303 has moved on quite nicely without him, and this Saturday, Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka will run it back for the UFC light heavyweight championship in a fight that continues to build in anticipation. Have MMA fans put the McGregor vs. Michael Chandler chaos behind them ahead of Saturday’s pay-per-view event?

On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel previews UFC 303, the main event between Pereira and Prochazka, the build to the fight, and what Pereira may be risking. Additionally, they’ll discuss the co-main event between Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega, other great fights on the card, Arman Tsarukyan getting a nine-month suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission, and much more.

Host Mike Heck will be joined by MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew to answer those questions, and more from the viewers.

Watch the show live at Noon ET / 9 a.m. PT in the video above.

If you missed the show live, you can still watch above, or listen to the podcast version, which can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your pods.

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UFC 303 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday and is headlined by a middleweight championship rematch between champion Alex Pereira and former titleholder Jiri Prochazka.  The two first fought at UFC 295 last November with Pereira finishing Prochazka in the second round via technical knockout.  

Every fight is different.  Former middleweight champion Michael Bisping doesn’t think the rematch will look anything like their first fight.  He also expects a different outcome.  

“Alex Pereira, once again defending the strap against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Prochazka.  This is a phenomenal fight and I’m telling you right now, I believe this fight will look very, very different from the first fight,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel.    

“Alex Pereira’s incredible.  What he’s achieved in the sport in such a short amount of time, beating all these champions, becoming a two weight division champion, and doing it with one skillset,” Bisping continued.  “Kickboxing, devastating punching power, knocking people out.  The way he knocked out Jamahal Hill, not to mention countless others.  The man’s unbelievable.  He’s phenomenal.  He stopped Israel Adesanya.”

“I can not wait for this fight.  I am very, very excited because, I’m telling you right now, we are going to get a different result.  We are going to get a different fight.  It will not be the same,” Bisping added.  

In their first bout, Prochazka’s undoing came when he attempted to take Pereira down along the cage.  Pereira unloaded a series of elbows and badly hurt Prochazka.  Bisping doesn’t see that happening again.  He expects Prochazka to reclaim the 205-pound championship.  

“I think the first round is going to be a feeling out process.  Alex isn’t a crazy, overly aggressive madman.  He’s calculated.  He takes his time.  He picks his shots, chips away at the calves and the rest of it.  Jiri’s the flip side.  He’s a madman,” Bisping said.  

“He’s going to go right at Alex Pereira and turn it into a barnburner straight away because that’s the only way the man fights.  He only knows one speed,” Bisping continued.  “Saturday night, when the dust settles, when it is all over, Jiri Prochazka will be the light heavyweight champion of the world.  Bet your bottom dollar.  I’m willing to put money on that, not because I underestimate Alex Pereira.  It’s because I have a lot of faith in Jiri Prochazka.”

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UFC

Gordon Ryan is struggling with his health … again.

His ongoing stomach issues could interfere with his plans to win the imaginary medal he just created for his ADCC 2024 Super Fight against longtime rival Felipe Pena, recently announced for Sat., Aug. 17 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Assuming Ryan doesn’t succumb to his life-threatening illness.

“If my body holds up we need to have two more matches, because then it’ll be 3-2 to me,” Ryan said. “For my soul I need that. That’s going to be a tall mountain to climb, going against Pena. This is one of the biggest if not the biggest matches of my life. I’m having a tough time right now. If I could say anything to Felipe right now, if you beat me I’m going to blame it on my stomach issues. But you better not make an excuse if I beat you.”

The score is currently 2-1 in favor of Pena.

Their most recent showdown occurred at Who’s Number One (WNO) back in Aug. 2022 in Frisco, Texas, with Ryan winning by technical submission (forfeit). WNO booked a fourth fight in early 2023; however, Ryan fell ill and was forced to withdraw.

For much more on ADCC 2024 click here.

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