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Mariya Agapova could really use a fight.

The last handful of years have not been kind to the once-bright Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight prospect. Agapova, 27, recently made a public call to action, needing to fight as soon as possible thanks to her inability to get a job.

The trouble didn’t end there for Agapova as shortly after she further explained the depth of what she’s gone through. Whether homeless, sex slavery, or other struggles, Agapova is doing whatever she can to get by outside the Octagon. When asked about her hobbies or ways she keeps busy when not training or fighting, Agapova detailed her unique adventures as a tattoo artist in the embedded player above.

“I do tattoos at hotel, trap houses,” Agapova said backstage at Karate Combat (h/t Reddit). “I used to do it in the tattoo shop.

“Trap house, it’s … you know, it’s okay. Like, my clients, you like pass out, fall in the bathroom,” she continued. “I hold on [to them], let’s go. He passed out and I just tattoo him [while] he passed out. Yeah, I also know how to save people from overdose.”

The term “trap house” is slang for a drug den or vacant space where illegal drugs and things of that nature are shared and sold. Agapova was alleged to have been kicked out of American Top Team (ATT) in Coconut Creek, Florida for drug use and violent threats in 2021. She denied the accusations before losing a fight to her accuser, Maryna Moroz, via second round arm triangle choke in March 2022 (watch highlights).

Agapova’s last UFC fight came against Gillian Robertson, who defeated her via second round rear-naked choke in September 2022 (watch highlights).

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Andre Lima’s UFC debut will go down as one of the most memorable and bizarre moments in company history, but he wants to leave it in the rear-view mirror.

In March, Igor Severino was infamously disqualified for biting Lima in the second round of their UFC Vegas 89 bout. Lima decided to tattoo the bite mark and the words “I Got F*cking Bit Bonus” on himself hours later, celebrating the $ 25,000 check awarded to him by UFC CEO Dana White for the incident. White then doubled that after the tattoo was inked the same night in Las Vegas, awarding Lima with $ 50,000 atop his show and win money.

The bite went viral and was the topic of the week, and Lima was smart enough to make the most of it. “Mascote” said he was recognized all week by fans in Las Vegas and became popular in his hometown Guarulhos. Now, though, he wants to be more than just a meme.

“I’m very active online and decided to keep posting about it for a few days,” Lima told MMA Fighting ahead of his UFC 302 fight with Mitch Raposo. “Some videos I did hit 200,000, 300,000 views on Instagram, one hit 1,000,000 views. UFC life is great, man. The tattoo and the bite changed my life. That’s also why I’m on a pay-per-view card, I think. That and my fighting potential.

“Dana White liked my performance on the Contender Series even though I didn’t get the knockout. The fight in the UFC was good up until that point [of the foul], and the bite made it go viral. But I’m not in the UFC because of a bite or a tattoo. I’m here because I have heavy hands, I’m a good striker, and I will show my potential. This is the perfect opportunity for me to show what I’ve been doing my whole life.”

Lima was originally slated to face Hyun Sung Park on June 1. Nyamjargal Tumendemberelm then briefly stepped in as a replacement before the spot ultimately landed with Raposo, who held flyweight titles on the regional circuit before answering the call to make his UFC debut on short notice.

Lima likes the matchup and sees Raposo as having a similar fighting style to his main sparring partner for UFC 302, so the changes had no major impact in his preparation.

“I’m a jiu-jitsu black belt, but people will always try to take me down when I start hitting them on the feet,” Lima said. “I think he will try to grapple with me. I have 82 fights in kickboxing and Muay Thai combined so, I will never chose to do jiu-jitsu in MMA. I’ve proven that in Brazil already. My goal is always to stand and trade. I have some of the best hands in the division, if not the best, and I believe in them.”

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Islam Makhachev is confident he can beat Leon Edwards.

On Saturday night, June 1, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ will put his lightweight world title on the line in the UFC 302 main event against division fan favorite Dustin Poirier. Should Makhachev leave The Garden State with his title intact, he has his sights set on champ-champ status.

During an interview with UFC Hall of Famer and friend Daniel Cormier, Makhachev spoke about the possibility of stepping inside the Octagon with current welterweight champion Leon Edwards in a bid to add a second belt to his collection. During the conversation, Makhachev dished details on a sparring session that went down between himself and ‘Rocky.’

“I know I can be double champion.” Makhachev said. “I can beat Edwards. I’ve known his name from my first day in the U.S. I know him. No [he didn’t give my any problems], it was my first sparring session in the U.S. Now people understand [Cormier] lies. My first sparring session in the U.S. was Leon.”

He continued, “…I knew, I couldn’t lose first sparring in the cage. When time began, I went double-leg and took him down. But at that time, he wasn’t a good wrestler. He came to [AKA] to learn. Maybe right now he’s good at wrestling and can defend. But at that time, his big [struggle] was wrestling. I took him down, and I held him.”

Islam Makhachev was offered the chance to fight Leon Edwards at UFC 300

Islam Makhachev was offered the opportunity to challenge Leon Edwards for the 170-pound title in the UFC 300 headliner, but ultimately declined as the event went down just days after the conclusion of Ramadan.

“It’s not possible, man,” Makhachev told MMA Junkie when asked if the UFC proposed a fight against Edwards. “Because we have Ramadan now. One month with fasting, and it’s not possible to do training in Ramadan. It’s very hard. You have to fast when the sun rises, and all day you have to fast. … Training this time is very hard.”

Instead, Makhachev was paired up with Dustin Poirier for UFC 302 leaving Leon Edwards to tend to his division’s No. 1 ranked contender — Belal Muhammad.

Remember The Name’ will finally earn his shot as Edwards is set to put his gold on the line against Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester, England on July 27. It will be Edwards’ first defense since scoring a lopsided victory over Colby Covington at UFC 296 last December.

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Nick Diaz and Tony Ferguson aren’t fighting one another at UFC Abu Dhabi but they share something in common ahead of the Aug. 3 card.

Aside from both fighters competing at 40 years old, Diaz and Ferguson opened as massive underdogs once the first UFC Abu Dhabi betting lines were revealed on Wednesday. Diaz faces Vicente Luque in the five-round co-main event, while Ferguson clashes with Michael Chiesa at welterweight.

According to the oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag, Ferguson is actually a bigger underdog than Diaz. Here are the opening odds for Ferguson vs. Chiesa:

Tony Ferguson: +350
Michael Chiesa: -450

Meanwhile, Diaz, who hasn’t fought since 2021 — with his last win coming all the way back in 2011 — actually sits closer on the betting lines for his fight against Luque.

Nick Diaz: +250
Vicente Luque: -300

Based on those odds, a $ 100 bet on Diaz would return $ 250 if he’s victorious, whereas that same $ 100 bet on Ferguson would get back $ 350.

Of course, Ferguson has lost seven fights in a row and is going up a weight class to face Chiesa at 170 pounds, so the odds likely aren’t on his side.

In possibly a crazier twist, Cory Sandhagen is actually a bigger underdog than Diaz in his main event fight against Umar Nurmagomedov. Sandhagen faces Nurmagomedov in a five-round fight, with the winner expected to earn a bantamweight title shot.

Cory Sandhagen: +330
Umar Nurmagomedov: -400

There’s a lot of hype surrounding the undefeated Nurmagomedov, who counts Khabib Nurmagomedov as his cousin and one of his mentors, but he’ll be taking a decided step up in competition when he meets Sandhagen in August.

As a reminder, odds on a fight can change depending on the bets placed on the athletes, so these lines could shift dramatically before the action begins on Aug. 3.

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The Prudential Center Practice Rink hosts the UFC 302 Pre-Fight Press Conference at 5 p.m. ET.  The press conference will feature the main and co-main event fighters and UFC CEO Dana White.  

UFC 302 takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday and is headlined by a lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier. In the co-main event, former middleweight titleholder Sean Strickland takes on former title challenger Paulo Costa.

UFC 302 Pre-Fight Press Conference 

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