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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Youssef Zalal is on one heck of a hot streak.

“The Moroccan Devil” made it three straight wins at UFC Edmonton since returning to the octagon this year, defeating Jack Shore with an arm-triangle choke submission that came moments after he cracked Shore with a devastating knee.

Watch the telling blow and finishing technique below.

After a competitive opening round, Zalal capitalized on a Shore mistake early in Round 2, blasting him with a knee up the middle that instantly rocked the Welshman. Though Shore was not knocked out by the sudden strike, he was unable to recover as Zalal swarmed and attacked from top position. It wasn’t long before Zalal locked in the arm-triangle submission and earned the tap.

The official time of the stoppage was 59 seconds into the second round.

Zalal (16-5-1) has shined in his second stint with the UFC, notching consecutive submission victories over Shore, Jarno Errens, and Billy Quarantillo. He went 2-3-1 in his first UFC campaign before returning to the regional scene where he fought his way back to the big show. Overall, Zalal has won six straight fights, all by knockout or submission.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Carlos Condit and Michael “Venom” Page put on a show for the fans as they have throughout their storied fighting careers.

The platform was certainly different for the MMA stars, who met on the mats to test their grappling skills in the main event of Polaris 30, which took place at Fairfield Halls in London. What hasn’t changed is their competitive fire as the two went back-and-forth for the duration of the bout, showing off wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and even a leglock attempt from Condit.

In the end, Page had his hand raised by decision.

Condit made his first in-competition appearance since stepping away from cagefighting in July 2021 following a loss to Max Griffin at UFC 264. “The Natural Born Killer” is a former interim UFC welterweight champion and WEC champion, and has been part of some of the most exciting fights of all time.

More known for his knockout prowess, Page looked comfortable going hold for hold with Condit, and can now claim a victory over the longtime fan favorite.

See the highlights from the bout below, courtesy of UFC Fight Pass.

Check out a live blog of the match by MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck:

Pre-Fight

Michael Page makes his way to the mat, and in the usual “MVP” way, doing his signature cobra pose, and being a showman.

Carlos Condit makes the walk to the Polaris mat to a nice ovation from the London crowd.

Rules

The bout will be one 10-minute round with judges scoring it mat-side should it get to the cards.

Match Rundown

Page faints and seems to be having fun early. After a tie-up, it goes beyond the setup area, and they need to be separated. MVP is very aggressive offensively, while Condit is staying calm and relaxed. As Page moves forward, Condit pulls guard and Page is on top. Condit looking for a hip-bump sweep, but Page does a nice job defending and staying in top position.

Condit getting his legs up for a triangle, now looking for an arm, but Page is able to escape, and they are back on the feet. Three minutes down. Page with a hard takedown on Condit, knocking him out of the required area. They return to the feet and Condit attacks the leg. They hit the mat, Condit trying to lock in a toehold, and MVP is able to work his way to the feet. Beautiful duck under from Page, and he takes Condit down. That was pretty sick.

Action has slowed down a bit, and they get back to the feet. Condit attacks the leg of Page again with just over three minutes to go, and it’s looking nasty. MVP does a nice job avoiding significant damage, sweeps, and Condit stays on top. 50-50 position now.

Condit decides to stand up and they tie up. Referee separates them with two minutes to go. Page defends a shot from Condit. The former WEC champ shoots a single again, Page able to stay upright. Another attempt from Condit, Page sprawls.

Final minute, Page with a duck-under takedown, Condit gets back up. Page shoots a single and forces Condit to the lighting systen, Condit falls over the lighting and disappears. Condit rushes back to the mat. They tie up again, Condit fakes a shot, they collide shoulders and the horn sounds. Super fun and competitive match. Now, to the scorecards we go.

Post-Fight

Page gets the win. Condit looked puzzled by the decision. Frankly, I scored it for Condit as well, but it was very, very close. Page looked solid in there and definitely was impressive.

Condit says he was disappointed he didn’t get the nod, and couldn’t get a submission. He says he wants to return to Polaris as soon as possible.

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Lewis is out
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Max Holloway is officially taking his talents to UFC’s stacked lightweight division.

The former UFC featherweight champion announced his move to 155 pounds on Saturday following a knockout loss to UFC’s 145-pound champion, Ilia Topuria, at UFC 308 last weekend. It was the first time “Blessed” has ever been finished by way of strikes and it marked his fourth-straight loss in UFC title fights (unless you’re counting his “BMF” scrap with Justin Gaethje back at UFC 300).

Now that Topuria has solidified himself as the best featherweight in the world and just stopped Holloway with an epic knockout, it would be very hard for “Blessed” to work his way back towards a 145-pound title shot in 2025. Add in a crappy weight cut down to featherweight and Holloway’s decision to move up to lightweight seems like an easy one.

“This is like my phoenix moment, from the ashes we’re reborn,” said Holloway via his YouTube channel (transcription via MMA Junkie). “We’re on to bigger, better stuff and walking through a new door and starting a new chapter. I’m a big believer in never say never, and the big question now is, ‘Was that your last fight at 145?’ You guys saw me touch upon it in the press conference, and I can honestly say I think I’m done with 145. Your boy is only getting older. I turn 33. This cut – no excuses. This cut was easy, bro. Shout out to my wife. They helped make this cut really easy, but it takes a tole cutting weight, period. No matter what weight you are.

“I had to give up ramen for my ’45 camps. So I’m done with that. I don’t ever want to give up ramen again. 155, here we come and 155 is where I want to stay. This is a new chapter. This is where we start. This is where we begin. I cannot wait. Like I said, never say never. But I can honestly look you guys in the eye and tell you guys I’m probably not ever going back to ’45. I love what I did. I did what I did. I did what I had to do there. I worked my way back, I clawed my back to the championship fight multiple times there. I was a champion. I defended at that weight. Now it’s time to move on to the next chapter, and 155 there’s a bunch of fun fights that I cannot wait to take.”

Holloway, who has dabbled at 155 pounds in the past, is excited to make a permanent move up and finally pack on the necessary weight and muscle he needs. “Blessed” wasn’t able to go all-in in the past because he was always going to move back down to featherweight, but with 145 pounds no longer in the equation “Blessed” could be even better at his new home.

“When I do make the return it’s going to be at 155 and we’re there to stay,” said Holloway. “Even the version of myself you saw at 155 against Gaethje is not the full version. We had the idea of going back to ’45 because I wanted that world title. I can’t wait for the future. If you thought that version of myself against Gaethje at 300 was good – I can’t wait to get in the lab with my coaches and put some size on.”

As for a potential timeline for his long-awaited move to lightweight, Holloway is aiming to return sometime next July for UFC’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas. The former UFC featherweight king is hoping to land an opponent ranked higher than him in order to fight towards a 155-pound title.

“If I got to choose a timeline, International Fight Week,” he said. “I would love to be back on the Ninth Island in Las Vegas. Huge card is International Fight Week. I don’t know who is going to be available at that time. With me being ranked at ’55 is great. Hopefully I can fight somebody in front of me, get a big win and who knows? Might be knocking on the door of a title fight at 155.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Belal Muhammad doesn’t believe an interim title fight makes sense for Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 following the welterweight champ’s withdrawal, but he’d be OK with it if the UFC goes in that direction.

“Remember the Name” was set to defend his title for the first time against the undefeated Rakhmonov in the main event of the Dec. 7 pay-per-view event, but a bone infection on his toe scratched Muhammad from the bout. Muhammad was asked on his podcast with Jason Anik what he thinks the promotion will do to fill that empty slot, and whether it could be a fight between Rakhmonov and former champion Kamaru Usman.

“I can see them trying to do something with Shavkat,” Muhammad said on his podcast. “He’s calling for an interim title fight. Interim title fight, bro? It’s six weeks, not six months that I’m off. But even for myself, if they just want to do that just to make it a main event, I don’t really care about it if they want to make an interim title fight, regardless because they know who has the real belt.

“So for me, I know who my next opponent is going to be. If he wants to wait, it’s going to be us. If it’s going to end up being him, the only person that makes sense now would be Kamaru since Buckley and Garry are out… and I think [Jack Della Maddalena] is injured, so there’s really nobody else out there. … It really doesn’t [make sense], but it’s one of those — when you’re in the middle of camp, it’s hard, and when you’re like six weeks left, you’re locked in. So I can understand it for him that he’s like, ‘Bro, I want to fight.’”

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that the UFC is actively searching for a new main event, but as of now, nothing is set and “negotiations are ongoing.”

The news of Muhammad’s injury was a tough one for the new champ, and the MMA community as the fight between Muhammad and Rakhmonov was an anticipated one. Rakhmonov has finished all 18 of his opponents, while Muhammad is unbeaten in 11 fights, culminating with a championship win over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July.

Muhammad also revealed more details about why the infection spread the way that it did.

“They open it up and he’s like, ‘Bro, you had a broken toe, that’s what caused the infection to hit the bone much faster,’” Muhammad said. “He was able to fix the toe but the infection is still in there and [I] have to be on antibiotics for the next six weeks. And I’m shocked, I’m like, ‘Bro, are you kidding me right now?’ It was heartbreaking.”

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Rinat Fakhredinov recently criticized the UFC 308 commentary team for their work during his fight against Carlos Leal. The bout ended in a controversial unanimous decision win for Fakhredinov, which commentator Daniel Cormier openly disagreed with.

Following the fight, Fakhredinov spoke out during a post-fight press conference, saying the commentators were biased and that he felt he had clearly won the second and third rounds.

Daniel Cormier Responds

While doing a Q&A session before UFC Fight Night 246, Cormier was asked about Fakhredinov’s remarks.

“I don’t know what this dude was talking about,” Cormier said. “Listen, bro, he lost. I don’t care how many times he complains – that’s the thing. These fighters, they go and fight, and it was so clear that the guy lost the fight. He gets a microphone and goes and sticks his foot in his mouth. That’s the problem. He’s a moron, and he just needs to recognize he lost.”

Cormier continued, “Take it. Just take it. You got gifted a win. Take it, keep your head tucked down until you fight somebody next time.”

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier Fires Back At ‘Moron’ Rinat Fakhretdinov Over Commentary Criticism at MMA News.

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