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If Kayla Harrison can’t find any women willing to fight her, maybe she should just meet men inside the Octagon.

That was the sentiment expressed by Harrison’s manager and Dominance MMA founder Ali Abdelaziz during a recent appearance on Submission Radio.

“I think let’s make her fight some men,” Abdelaziz said. “And I believe she can win, beat all these guys I just mentioned. The UFC offered hundreds of thousands of dollars for a female fighter to accept a fight, and nobody wanted it. But they’re not going to have no choice. The UFC is going to have to strip them from the title or something. But listen, Hunter Campbell is working on this. They will get her a fight. But nobody wants to fight her” (h/t MMA Mania).

Harrison made her promotional debut at UFC 300 in April, earning a second-round submission victory over former bantamweight world champion Holly Holm. The victory thrust the two-time Olympic gold medalist into the No. 4 spot in the 135-pound rankings, putting her in position to challenge for the division’s top prize after just one fight.

Unfortunately, it seems like neither current champ Racquel Pennington nor top-ranked contender Julianna Pena are interested in scrapping with her.

Abdelaziz calls for kayla harrison to fight Aljamain Sterling and/or Merab Dvalishvili

Adding to his comments, Abdelaziz suggested that if Harrison has to take to fighting men just to get booked, she should immediately aim for the top, squaring off with the likes of former ex-titleholder Aljamain Sterling or Merab Dvalishvili.

“Merab (Dvalishvili) or Aljamain Sterling,” Abdelaziz added. “Yeah. I think it’s a very competitive fight. It’s not fair. It’s not, honestly, because if none of these girls want to fight her, let’s fight somebody at 135. Let’s fight some, you know, Rob Font. But I think her wrestling is too good for Rob Font.

“It’s not even a fair fight. Or maybe this Brazilian guy. What’s his name? Former champion. I think she’ll smash all these guys, honestly. Because none of these females, they’re gonna want to fight her. Especially after what she did to Holly.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes might not be out of the question just yet.

A bout between Harrison and the former two-division champion has been discussed for years, with Harrison dominating in the PFL before recently joining the UFC, and Nunes going on a legendary 14-1 run that saw her capture UFC gold at 135 and 145 pounds. The fact that the two had trained together at American Top Team in Florida only added to the intrigue.

But Nunes retired in June 2023 following a dominant decision win over Irene Aldana at UFC 289, 10 months before Harrison debuted at UFC 300 with an impressive submission of former champion Holly Holm. Harrison’s manager Ali Abdelaziz is now suggesting that Nunes’ retirement had as much to do with Harrison’s ascension as it did Nunes being satisfied with her career.

“You have to understand, Amanda Nunes did everything,” Abdelaziz told Submission Radio. She retired because Kayla was coming to the UFC, No. 1. She left ATT because Kayla was training there. She turned on the people who really helped her, like Dan Lambert and ‘Conan’ [Marcus Silveira] and everybody who helped her because Kayla was getting more attention and she’s grown, and [Nunes] knew they were going to have to fight. Amanda Nunes. her biggest nightmare in here, it was Kayla, and this is why she retired. She has a lot of pride in her. She retired because of Kayla Harrison. And now she said she wants to come back. I don’t think she ever comes back. but if she comes back, that’ll be amazing.

“She trained a couple of times [with Harrison] and whatever happened in the training room happened, and she never wanted to train with Kayla again. She didn’t want to spar with Kayla again. She starts training by herself away from the team. Every time Kayla comes to the gym, she left. ATT really created who [Nunes] is and she turned on them because she thought Kayla’s coming. And you know what? She was coming. She was right, Kayla’s coming, but she was the champion. She was jewel of the gym, but her insecurity and uncertainty about beating Kayla allowed her to leave the gym.”

Nunes had some fun following Harrison’s UFC 300 win, expressing disappointment on social media that she wasn’t called out in Harrison’s post-fight speech. Harrison responded to Nunes’ reaction on The MMA Hour, explaining, “She’s been retired for a while now, Harrison said. “If Amanda was still here, and she was holding the belt, then I would have been calling for Amanda Nunes. But for all intents and purposes, I thought she was happily retired and living her best life.”

Since her retirement, Nunes hasn’t made any serious overtures regarding a comeback, and Abdelaziz thinks it has no effect on Harrison’s legacy whether or not “The Lioness” fights again.

“I don’t know,” Abdelaziz said when asked if Harrison and Nunes will ever fight. “I think Amanda, she missed the attention, and I think enough pressure from me and you talking about it, all the media talking about it, it might tickle her ego a little bit for her to come back.

“But it doesn’t matter. If she wants to come back, she can come back. She’s going to take this loss and go back to retirement.”

Harrison was already a famous fighter prior to signing with the UFC. The 33-year-old was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in judo, which she did in 2012 at the London games, and then the first to do it twice when she repeated four years later in Rio de Janeiro. She then went on to win two PFL tournaments competing at 155 pounds.

Given Harrison’s impressive accomplishments, Abdelaziz sees her becoming one of the biggest stars in MMA—perhaps someday surpassing the fame of Harrison’s former judo training partner Ronda Rousey.

“Honestly, Ronda’s cool, but I think Kayla is 4.0 compared to Ronda,” Abdelaziz said. “It’s not even the same skills, it’s not the same work ethic, it’s not the same heart. She’s a much better fighter than Ronda was or will ever be, this is my humble opinion. Not taking anything away from Ronda, she’s a legend, but prime Kayla [vs.] prime Ronda, Kayla would kill Ronda in a fight. This is my opinion.

“Kayla will be the biggest female star in history, I’m telling you. … Ronda cannot fight like Kayla can. Kayla will never quit. Kayla, she was always in a fight, even tough fights. She fought a whole bunch of girls on steroids and she beat all of them. But in reality, it’s just a matter of time, like what happened with Khabib. Nobody wanted to fight him. … I just think she’s this type of fighter. She’s the kind of fighter who people are going to avoid her, but they’re going to run out of road and they’re going to have to face her one day.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC Louisville is in the books, and it was a weird one. The prelims were entirely forgettable and a bit of a slog, but the main card was actually quite fun — right up until the controversial main event. Nassourdine Imavov officially gets a TKO win over Jared Cannonier, but he was helped along by a very premature stoppage from referee Jason Herzog. Oh, and Dominick Reyes finally got back in the win column.

So let’s talk about all that, plus a fun hypothetical to ponder.

The Stoppage

“After the Cannonier-Imavov stoppage, what are the upsides and downsides of immediate rematches for controversial stoppages?”

I figure we’ll start with the stoppage since it’s the biggest story coming out of this weekend.

I believe that Jason Herzog is the best referee in MMA today. That being said, Saturday was not his finest day at the office. If you haven’t seen it, Imavov hurts Cannonier with a beautifully timed right hand and Cannonier goes into survival mode, including turning his back and running away a couple of times. Imavov tries to put on the finishing touches but can’t quite, and as Cannonier finally sets his feet and swings back, Herzog steps in. It was not good.

Now, there is at least some argument that Cannonier turning and running is cause to stop the bout and that’s true. The issue is that Herzog didn’t stop the fight then. He waited until Cannonier was actually punching back. And it’s not like Cannonier was eating big shots. He was hurt, trying to work through it, and it was stopped before he could. Ultimately, I doubt it made a huge difference, as Cannonier was probably not going to overcome this to win the fight, but to not even have the chance is unfortunate.

And while all premature stoppages are tough, these sorts of ones are particularly hard to swallow, because there is no fix. The stoppage wasn’t so outrageous that it demands an immediate rematch, and it’s extremely unlikely Cannonier’s appeal (assuming he makes one) will overturn the outcome. Plus, the fight wasn’t exactly a barnburner, so I doubt the UFC even considers running it right back. In the end, this will go down as win for Imavov and it’ll stay that way. And though it’s unfortunate, I think I’m good with that.

Immediate rematches are among my least favorite things in MMA. Fighting doesn’t have a seven-game series; it’s one fight, one night, winner take all. The whole point of the sport is that wins and losses matter and immediate rematches mess with that dynamic. And it’s not a victimless thing. If this fight stands, yes, it’s a little unfair to Cannonier, but if they decide to run things back, that’s also unfair to Imavov. Remember, he did nothing wrong in this fight, and to ask him to do it again is, to me, more unfair. If Cannonier didn’t want to be in this spot, don’t put yourself in that position.

Ultimately, the thing about immediate rematches is that it’s playing favorites. So for me, you only do that when it’s so egregious that it would be a miscarriage of justice not to. And I’m sorry, Jared, but this Saturday doesn’t hit that mark.

Nassourdine Imavov’s next move

“Stoppage aside, where does Imavov fit in the middleweight division knowing that Strickland is sitting out and [Dricus] du Plessis and [Israel] Adesanya are rumored to fight at UFC 305 in Perth?”

Here’s the other thing about that stoppage, it actually screwed Imavov over too.

The UFC middleweight title picture is a bit of a mess right now, with DDP vs. Izzy not even officially booked at the moment, and Strickland saying he’s going to wait for a title shot. The problem with that is that if Khamzat Chimaev beats Robert Whittaker next weekend, Chimaev is getting the next title shot. So heading into UFC Louisville, I thought that the winner had a decent crack at getting a No. 1 contender fight with Strickland later this year, but after the way it ended? Doubtful.

Instead, it seems to me like Imavov is going to end up fighting Brendan Allen next. That won’t get him a title shot but it will get him a title eliminator next, or maybe he could sneak in if the timing breaks well for him, like it did for Strickland and his middleweight title shot.

Imavov is in a better spot today than he was this past Friday, but the best thing he can do now is stay ready. After all, the best ability is available.

Where does Jared Cannonier go from here?

“Is Jared done?”

He’s cooked.

Cannonier was trying to work his way back to a title shot, but at this point, that dream is dead. He’s 40 years old and in that sour spot of not being popular enough to get a feel-good title shot (a la Dustin Poirier) but being well-known enough that the next generation of contenders will want to make their bones on him. And they’re going to get their chance.

When push comes to shove, Cannonier’s had his chance. He’s fought everyone in the top five other than the champion and he’s gone 2-2. It’s time to give defend your position against the young pups. Michel Pereira, Caio Borralho, and Anthony Hernandez all have earned a chance to climb the ladder, and Cannonier is going to have to defend the gates for his next couple of fights.

Dominick Reyes is back!

“After his win this weekend, could Reyes could potentially make another run for the belt at light heavyweight?”

Oh God no.

Here’s the thing: Reyes was never washed, he was simply losing fights to some of the best fighters in the world. That means the man still has plenty left in the tank, and when he fights guys like Dustin Jacoby — good but not great — he can still get quality wins. But those losses to Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Ryan Spann weren’t flukes.

Here’s the other thing: Reyes is not the fighter we thought he might be when he was robbed of the decision against Jon Jones. Prior to the Jones fight, Reyes was not viewed as a future all-timer. He was just a young light heavyweight in an old division who had some talent. But he got the Jones fight by knocking out career middleweight Chris Weidman, not exactly the greatest accomplishment. Then he fought (and should have beaten) Jones and we all reconsidered him. But sometimes champions have off nights and challengers have the best night of their life, and I think it’s fair to say that’s what happened with Reyes.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re all stoked that Reyes finally got a win. The man has been through a lot, career-wise, and deserved to get his hand raised again. But let’s not get out over our skis here. Reyes still has limitations, he’s a bit chinny, and he’s no longer even that young. So let’s just enjoy this for what it was and not think about title talk for the time being.

A hypothetical

I love silly hypotheticals, so this is right up my alley. If every male UFC champion (including interim (*cough* real *cough*) heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall was locked in a room together, who would be the one to walk out alive?

Derek Brunson believes it’s Leon Edwards and makes a reasonable case. But Brunson is wrong. Dricus du Plessis is the last man standing.

First off, no one is jumping anyone to start. I feel confident that everybody would look around, realize the situation, and decide that collectively they can finally force Jon Jones to fight Tom Aspinall, which is cool. So everyone from Alexandre Pantoja to Alex Pereira simply sits down and lets the two big fellas get to things.

In my head, Tom wins that fight because he’s not old and injured. But it kind of doesn’t matter who wins, because while they’re fighting, the remaining fighters then do decide to collectively jump the winner. So either way, both men are done.

But while this has all been happening, a secret alliance has formed between Pereira and DDP as they both realize they’re next on the chopping block. While Aspinall is getting pounded to a pulp. Pereira then kicks off the next phase of things and boops Makhachev out of nowhere, neutralizing the next biggest threat while DDP goes after Leon Edwards.

Leon holds his own against DDP, leaving Pantoja, Sean O’Malley, and Ilia Topuria to deal with Pereira. None of them are enthused about this but it’s now or never. Pereira clubs Pantoja but is overwhelmed by the numbers. Leon and DDP realize what’s happened and stop fighting, deciding to resume after they deal with small fellows. It’s over quickly because weight classes mean something, and then Leon and DDP get right back to it, and Dricus wins because if Nate Diaz can almost knock out Leon, I suspect DDP can.

So, when you think about it, Dricus du Plessis is actually the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Thanks for reading, and thank you for everyone who sent in tweets (Xs?)! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because you can send your tweets to me, @JedKMeshew, and I will answer my favorite ones! Doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane, just so long as they are good. Thanks again, and see y’all next week.

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Anik defends Herzog
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Dustin Poirier may have made his final walk to the Octagon at UFC 302 at the start of this month (June 1, 2024).

Unfortunately for “The Diamond,” UFC Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, was too much to overcome in his third attempt at becoming an undisputed champion. The bout was more competitive than some expected it to be, but in the end, Poirier succumbed to a fifth round d’arce choke (watch highlights).

It was speculated ad nauseam ahead of the bout whether or not it would be Poirier’s final fight of his thrilling 40-fight career (30-9, 1 no contest). Poirier admits he’d have hung up the gloves off a win, but now, he still isn’t 100 percent sure despite leaning towards still doing so.

“I still don’t know,” Poirier said on The MMA Hour. “I can’t say I’ll never fight again, but I just don’t know the reason. What am I going to fight for? To get into a battle? I love that, but I’ve taken some lumps over the years. It has to be for something. And maybe that’s something I’ll realize in the coming weeks, but I’m just taking it one day at a time.

“I’m leaning towards being done. For sure,” he continued. “Especially with getting the title fight, how many more times would I need to fight to put myself back in position to fight for the world title? I don’t know. And like I said, I’m not going to do it again, I’m not going to fight five more times to try and earn another title shot. I’m in a weird spot and I don’t know how to explain it or what decision to make. I’m just taking it day by day and seeing what comes with my mind changing and just to see how I feel.”

Although Poirier never earned the label of undisputed champion, he held interim Lightweight gold on one occasion and earned 10 Fight of the Night bonuses in his 31 UFC appearances.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Anatoly Malykhin currently holds titles across three divisions in ONE Championship, but he’s still working to get his name out there more to a bigger, worldwide fight audience.

The Russian mauler has built a reputation as a ferocious finisher with a perfect 14-0 MMA record. He doesn’t have a single decision on his résumé and only one of his opponents has survived past the second round. While he’s arguably conquered every mountain ONE could throw at him, Malykhin remains open to other challenges, which includes his interest in a showdown against former UFC champion and current PFL heavyweight Francis Ngannou.

Malykhin has called for a fight against Ngannou in the past, and it’s still a matchup he’d love to land if ONE Championship and PFL could someday come to terms on some sort of crossover event. While he has a lot of respect for Ngannou and the former UFC champ’s accomplishments, Malykhin likes his chances in that fight, especially after watching the Ngannou get flattened by Anthony Joshua in a boxing match back in March.

“I want to congratulate Ngannou,” Malykhin told MMA Fighting through his interpreter. “Although it wasn’t his night, he made good money, it wasn’t [a lose-lose] evening for him. He got paid pretty good money.

“As for our potential fight, I can say that my strong points are that I move better than him and also I do great body shots. I think me on my feet would be a big problem for him.”

Malykhin saw one moment, in particular, that made him further believe he’d vanquish Ngannou in a potential fight. He actually predicted Joshua would knock out Ngannou with a very specific punch, which also happens to be one of his own personal favorites.

“When I was thinking about the Anthony Joshua fight with Ngannou, even before the event and it happened later, the way he knocked him out, this is my signature punch,” Malykhin said. “So when I was thinking about how Anthony Joshua could knock him out, I could foresee that is how it was going to happen.

“Unless Ngnanou works on it, this is how I could knock him out as well. At the moment, it’s hard for Ngannou to fight against a professional boxer in boxing, but MMA guys, fighting in boxing, it can be interesting.”

As much as Malykhin would love the opportunity for a crossover fight against Ngannou, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong doesn’t sound quite as interested, and it has nothing to do with orchestrating the moves to co-promote an event with PFL.

Instead, Sityodtong has so much faith in Malykhin as MMA’s best heavyweight that he expects the undefeated Russian would actually have an easy night against Ngannou.

“I don’t think it would be competitive,” Sityodtong told MMA Fighting. “Francis has one-punch KO power, great striking, but he doesn’t have a ground game. I mean, genuinely [he has] blue belt level jiu-jitsu and no wrestling. Anatoly would take him down in a heartbeat. I don’t think it would be competitive, just to be very blunt, and I’m speaking as a lifelong martial artist. I’m trying to be as objective as possible, and I’ve been doing 40 years of Muay Thai and 15 years of jiu-jitsu. I’m just speaking from personal experience and I’m trying to be objective.

“We all know in all the different weight classes, wrestling is the one discipline that allows you to dictate where the fight takes place. If a wrestler wants to keep it standing, he keeps it standing. If he wants to take you down or she wants to take you down, they’ll take you down, especially a world-class wrestler — a Russian national team wrestler like Anatoly Malykhin. [But] we’ve always been open [to cross promotion].”

As a promotion primarily based out of Asia, ONE Championship has continued to fight for a bigger market share in the west, which could put fighters like Malykhin on Ngannou’s radar.

Malykhin knows he may not have the biggest or most profitable name in MMA right now, but he has unwavering belief that he’d dispatch Ngannou in impressive fashion. He just hopes enough people eventually start calling for the fight that it might actually happen.

“Right now he’s much more well-known than me, but I’m working on it,” Malykhin said of Ngannou. “People are starting to get to know me.”

“At the moment, my name is being mentioned quite a lot, but when I started fighting in MMA, I couldn’t foresee that I would be so well-known. I started MMA five or six years ago. Give me another year, year and a half, and I definitely [will] be mentioned alongside these guys [as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport].”

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