At the UFC Louisville official weigh-ins, all 28 fighters on Saturday’s fight card will step on the scale early Friday morning in Louisville, Ky.

In the main event, No. 5-ranked middleweight contender Jared Cannonier fights No. 11 Nassourdine Imavov. Both fighters have to hit 186 pounds, the maximum limit for a non-title bout.

Watch highlights of the weigh-ins below.

Cannonier has won four of his past five fights, including back-to-back decision victories against Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori. He seeks a second chance at becoming UFC champion after falling short against Israel Adesanya in a forgettable loss at UFC 276.

Imavov scored a much-needed win in his most recent outing, earning a decision over Roman Dolidze to break out of a two-fight slump that saw him lose to Strickland and then go to a no-contest against Chris Curtis.

In the penultimate bout of the evening, one-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes fights Dustin Jacoby.

Friday’s weigh-ins are expected to begin at 9 a.m. ET.

See official UFC Louisville weigh-in results below.

Main Card (ESPN and ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

Jared Cannonier (185) vs. Nassourdine Imavov (185)

Dominick Reyes vs. Dustin Jacoby

Raul Rosas Jr. (136) vs. Ricky Turcios (136)

Brunno Ferreira (186) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (184.5)

Julian Marquez (185.5) vs. Zachary Reese (185)

Miguel Baeza vs. Punahele Soriano (171)

Preliminary Card (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)

Thiago Moises (156) vs. Ludovit Klein (156)

Charlie Radtke vs. Carlos Prates (169.5)

Brad Katona (136) vs. Jesse Butler

Andrea Lee (126) vs. Montana De La Rosa (126)

John Castaneda vs. Daniel Marcos (135.25)

Eduarda Moura vs. Denise Gomes (116)

Cody Stamann (135.75) vs. Taylor Lapilus

Rayanne dos Santos (116) vs. Puja Tomar (116)

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Luke Rockhold is interested in one particular name for a potential UFC return.

Earlier this week, it was the whopping eighth anniversary of the all-time greatest event in MMA history, UFC 199. That’s my opinion, of course, but, man, how time flies and how insane that card was. Seven months before that fateful night of June 4, 2016, I officially started my journey in media, too. Aging sucks.

Enough about me, though. UFC 199 was loaded with unbelievably memorable fights, moments, and finishes from top to bottom. Unfortunately for Rockhold, he was on the receiving end of the one that superseded them all in the main event. The former UFC middleweight champion was upset and lost his title in his short-notice rematch against Michael Bisping. Since then, Rockhold has won once in MMA competition, losing three in a row to close out his UFC tenure (6-5, 16-6 overall) in 2022.

In the near-full decade post-UFC 199, the 185-pound strap has seen many different owners, including the latest to earn the “former” label, Sean Strickland. Mildly familiar and once booked to collide, Rockhold has nothing complimentary to say about “Tarzan.”

“I’m not a fan,” Rockhold told The Schmo. “He puts on the most boring fights of all time. He’s a fake, he’s a fraud. I think he’s f*cking acting up there. I’ve heard he’s got social media managers telling him what to do and telling him what to say. Let’s try to be a little more real, boy.”

Rockhold and Strickland were supposed to settle their differences in the octagon at UFC 268 in November 2021 — that year’s Madison Square Garden showcase. However, a herniated disc on Rockhold’s end axed the matchup and the fighters went their separate ways.

Instead, Rockhold eventually returned to suffer an entertaining unanimous decision loss to Paulo Costa at UFC 278 in August 2022. Meanwhile, Strickland won a split decision over Jack Hermansson the following February and has stayed active with six more fights before he most recently took on Costa at UFC 303 last Saturday.

Strickland scored another split decision win, albeit a controversial one thanks to the Costa scorecard from Dave Tirelli, and now Rockhold wants to make it clear he’d gladly accept a return to the UFC for a rebooking.

“Hey, what the fans want is what the fans get. If it makes sense, we’re gonna get it,” Rockhold said of a Strickland UFC fight. “I would fight that kid any way, in any form, in any place, with the right paycheck, of course. I don’t fight for free.”

“I trained with the kid when I was just on a bender in COVID. I felt what he feels like. I felt the feel, and he hasn’t really felt my feel. I feel that things could feel my way. Under the right feel-ing circumstances.”

Rockhold, 39, might still be many years removed from his last MMA victory, a second-round TKO of David Branch in 2017, but he did return to the win column this past month. In his Karate Combat debut on April 20, Rockhold knocked out former kickboxer and Bellator veteran, Joe Schilling, in round three. He’s teased his next move when discussing Strickland without indicating anything too specific.

Ultimately, the tough-guy alpha persona displayed by Strickland is what Rockhold can’t stand. Historically, middleweight has always been about walking the walk by backing up the talk, after all.

“Sean acts like he’s all, ‘I’ll f*cking go to the death,’ and he puts on this hillbilly f*cking right-wing f*cking bogan attitude when he’s really just a f*cking b*tch,” Rockhold said. “You ain’t gonna fight to the death. You go out there and you put on the line like the last five f*cking seconds of every fight and you sit there and you walk around like a f*cking stupid nut-cracker kicking and punching like an idiot.”

TOP STORIES

Build. Nate Diaz reacts to press conference brawl, nearly gets into another melee with Jorge Masvidal’s team

Comparison. Dana White: Conor McGregor at Muhammad Ali’s level when it comes to ‘mental warfare’

$ $ $ . Eddie Alvarez scoffs at Sean Strickland’s criticism of BKFC fighter pay: ‘I make more than Sean Strickland’

Lightweight. Arman Tsarukyan unimpressed by ‘slow’ Islam Makhachev: ‘A very easy fight for me’

Transition. Kade Ruotolo bringing different level of grappling to MMA: ‘I’m not sure if the MMA world is ready for it’

Crazy. Bare knuckle, headbutts, and one 30-minute round: IVC plans return with vintage vale tudo rules

LET’S WATCH

Between the Links.

Free fight.

Cooking with Volk.

Almight’s UFC 304 camp.

MORNING MUSIC

Let’s get weird.

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN

How fun.

Nomad.

No. 1.

Great name.

Plus the usual.

Hydration!

Still wrong, but it’s a start…

UFC + Ali.

Question.

Hangman.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Denis Goltsov (33-8) vs. Thiago Santos (22-12); PFL Uncasville, June 13

FINAL THOUGHTS

Sorry, gang. You are not allowed to cop out with the Friday poll today by getting a “neither” option! Maybe if it was Monday, but we’ll see what that has in store for us.

Anyway, as past it as we are now, I still wouldn’t hate to see it. Sean is going to have some time to kill before that title shot he wants if Khamzat Chimaev wins. Even if he loses to Robert Whittaker, it might be tough. There’s a line behind Israel Adesanya and at least possibly one of those guys. We’ll see.

Happy Friday, everyone. Enjoy the weekend. The summer is upon us. Unless you live in Antarctica. Please don’t fact-check that. Thanks for reading!

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Endorsement
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UFC

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Arman Tsarukyan isn’t the most popular man at American Top Team (ATT) right now.

Last weekend (Sat., June 1, 2024), longtime ATT member Dustin Poirier challenged Islam Makhachev for the Lightweight title in the main event of UFC 302. The 35-year-old veteran dug deep and forced the champion into a dogfight that lasted five rounds, exceeding the expectations of most. Despite the great effort, Makhachev proved his greatness with a slick d’arce choke deep in the fight (watch highlights). Both men earned an additional $ 50k “Fight of the Night” bonus for their efforts.

Tsarukyan, unfortunately, wasn’t impressed by his ATT team mate. Admittedly, Tsarukyan isn’t full time at ATT, but he was unnecessarily harsh in his assessment of Poirier’s performance, describing him as “mentally broken” and accusing him of giving up in the fifth. A bit of a rude thing to say about an older team mate who shattered his nose, tore his ACL, and broke a rib while bloodying up the champion!

Predictably, other members of ATT didn’t appreciate Tsarukyan’s critique or choice of words. Former Tsarukyan foe Mateusz Gamrot — who worked extensively with Poirier to train his wrestling for this bout and cornered him — responded simply, “Arman is a b—ch!”

In addition, ATT boxing coach Dyah Davis slammed Tsarukyan online for being fake. In an Instagram comment replying to Tsarukyan’s comments, he wrote “This guy, fake love and respect in the gym but the moment he has an opportunity to take a shot, he goes for it. B—ch move, he a clown.”

Given Poirier’s highly respected stature in the ATT room — and the MMA world as a whole, for the record — I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a bridge burned. If Tsarukyan is next in line for a chance at Lightweight gold, his preparation probably won’t take place in Coconut Creek, Florida at American Top Team.

Insomnia

Speaking of, Poirier’s nose isn’t supposed to look like that …

Another sparring clip from top kickboxer Yuki Yoza:

Sean Strickland responds to Luke Rockhold’s callout! In Rockhold’s prime, I think he wipes the floor with Strickland, but those days are long gone …

Payton Talbott getting to skate with Tony Hawk is pretty rad!

Imagine if Dominick Reyes somehow returns in peak form this weekend.

Makhachev vs. Poirier really was an absolute dogfight.

Eddie Alvarez didn’t take kindly to Strickland’s recent criticism of bare knuckle boxing, and if anyone has been there and done that, it’s “The Underground King.”

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Hernandez did a nice job of angling off as he fired his overhand.

I agree with Bas, I like the vicious highlights and soft music.

No need for that extra shot in an amateur fight …

Random Land

Battle of apex predators.

Midnight Music: classic rock, 1970

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Amid the continued speculation regarding the status of his UFC 303 headliner against former two-division champion, Conor McGregor later this month, former lightweight title challenger, Michael Chandler remains positive – albeit cryptic on his social media. 

Chandler, the current number six ranked dvisional contender, has been sidelined for almost two years, most recently suffering a third round rear-naked choke submission defeat to former interim champion and common-foe, Dustin Poirier at Madison Square Garden.

And slated to headline UFC 303 later this month in a main event clash against the above-mentioned, McGregor at the welterweight limit, Chandler has remained tight-lipped on the status of his fight with the Dubliner at the end of the month, amid continued speculation the pairing is in deep jeopardy.

Plying his trade at Kill Cliff FC in Florida, Chandler reportedly had his bags packed and was heading to the airport late Sunday night when he received word that a planned press event in Dublin the following afternoon had been postponed by the promotion, leading to a mass media fiasco in the time since.

Furthermore, the former Bellator MMA star revealed that he was returning to his residence in Tennessee if anyone was looking for him – leading to fans speculating that his bout with McGregor had all but hit the skids.

However, yesterday’s reports cited “great positivity” and “optimism” the two would headline UFC 303 as planned at the end of the month, with McGregor sharing a picture of himself inside a medical examination office overnight, amid rumors he had suffered an injury during training camp.

Michael Chandler remains tight-lipped on UFC 303 return

On his social media tonight, Chandler spoke of “resistance” amid speculation of his UFC 303 main event grudge fight with McGregor, albeit cryptically. 

“This life wasn’t meant to be lived lukewarm,” Michael Chandler posted on his official X account. “Find your way or FORCE a path toward what you want. When you encounter resistance, go right through it. Walk on. See you at the top!”

Do you think Conor McGregor fights Michael Chandler at UFC 303?

LowKickMMA.com