The first UFC pay-per-view of 2025 features a Brazil vs. Argentina bantamweight clash when Karol Rosa takes on Ailin Perez on Jan. 18. Both fighters announced the matchup on social media following a report by Gaston Reyno.
UFC 311 is rumored for Los Angeles, but the company has yet to officially announce the exact location and its headlining attraction.
Rosa (18-6) has gone 1-1 since returning to her original weight class at 135 pounds, defeating Pannie Kianzad this past August to bounce back from a Fight of the Night loss against Irene Aldana.
The Brazilian, who turns 30 years old just weeks before the fight, holds wins over the likes of Yana Santos, Lina Lansberg and former title contender Bethe Correia throughout her 7-3 octagon career.
Perez (11-2) is looking to extend her winning streak to five after a perfect career so far as a UFC bantamweight. “Fiona” lost a 135-pound clash to Stephanie Egger in her octagon debut, but then cut back down to bantamweight to beat Ashlee Evans-Smith, Lucie Pudilova, Joselyne Edwards and Darya Zheleznyakova.
“With over 120,000 presale signups, we anticipate that all tickets and VIP packages will sell out very quickly.” —Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of MVP.
Jake Paul is scheduled to fight Mike Tyson on Netflix at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, a professionally sanctioned boxing match that has divided the combat sports community. Probably because “Iron Mike” is 58 years old and as we’ve learned from other former champs, Father Time is a far more dangerous opponent than anyone inside the ring.
Hopefully the 80,000-seat venue is equipped with wheelchair access.
Tickets and VIP packages for the Nov. 15 spectacle have been on sale for several months and promoters recently slashed prices on “hundreds” of seats, according to a report from MMA Junkie, with some going as low as $ 30. That’s a far cry from the quick sellout promoters expected when the once-delayed bout was announced last March.
The struggle continues.
“Paul vs. Tyson and Taylor vs. Serrano 2 represents a once-in-a-lifetime cultural phenomenon, spanning six generations of fans, that warrants ticketing options for every fan,” said Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of MVP. “With over 120,000 presale signups, we anticipate that all tickets and VIP packages will sell out very quickly.”
Or not.
For the finalized “Paul vs. Tyson” fight card and Netflix lineup click here.
Ben Askren and Dana White | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Ben Askren knows what Francis Ngannou is going through.
Earlier this month, Ngannou made his PFL debut, knocking out Renan Ferreira at PFL Superfights: Battle of the Giants in his first MMA fight since leaving the UFC last year.
Ngannou’s return reignited discussion about his UFC exit, which in turn led UFC CEO Dana White to repeatedly bash his former heavyweight champion, saying Ngannou is “full of shit,” that left because he didn’t want to fight Jon Jones, and questioning Ngannou’s character. It was a full blown attack on Ngannou, one that Askren knows all too well.
“Dana spent years lying, saying I didn’t want to fight the best, I didn’t want challenges, I was running away, and that couldn’t have been further from the truth,” Askren said on his YouTube show with Daniel Cormier. “So, it sucked to have this guy – it’s essentially slander, saying things about me that I knew weren’t true. Dana has this part of his personality when he can’t get what he wants, and in that case, he didn’t offer me a contract, so he kind of got what he wanted.
“But then I think because I was continuing to have success and people were continuing to follow me, he wanted me off in a dark corner where everyone ignored me or something. But he’s done the same thing with [Cris] Cyborg, I believe Randy Couture had a similar experience, obviously now Francis. If I thought really hard I could probably think of some other ones. But there’s this weird part of Dana’s personality where, if he doesn’t get exactly what he wants, he just starts crapping on people. And because he has a big microphone and because he’s generally very truthful and generally correct, people just believe him.
“So I had to deal with many years of Dana telling lies about me that were very harmful to me, that he had no reason or basis for doing.”
Askren is a former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight champion and widely considered to be one of the best fighters outside of the UFC during his title runs. He ultimately did join the promotion in 2019 when ONE Championship traded him for Demetrious Johnson, and had a newfound positive relationship with White, who lauded Askren’s willingness to fight and promote himself.
Unfortunately, Askren’s UFC career was short-lived as he struggled to find the same level of success in the UFC, going just 1-2 in the promotion before retiring at the end of the year due to injuries. And now that he’s retired, Askren says he simply has no relationship with White.
“I don’t see Dana, ever,” Askren said. “I haven’t seen Dana since I finished fighting. I’m not in that world anymore. I don’t train very many fighters … I kind of just do my own thing.”
Joe Rogan has voiced his support for Khamzat Chimaev, stating that the top contender deserves the next UFC middleweight title shot.
Chimaev recently scored a decisive first-round victory over Robert Whittaker in the UFC 308 co-main event, sparking debate among fans about whether he or Sean Strickland should be next in line for the title. While UFC CEO Dana White had previously indicated that Strickland was set to challenge for the belt, Chimaev’s dominant performance has led many fans to speculate that plans might change.
Changing Plans
“Once he gets a hold of you, it’s so dangerous,” Rogan said during his Fight Companion podcast. “He gets a title shot. Not just that (how he beat Whittaker in the first round), but he ran through him. He didn’t get touched. He ran through him and strangled him in the first round. He might be the guy. Think about this at 185: So this guy was killing himself to get to 170. At 185, he’s the fcking man. That guy’s a scary-ass motherfcker – scary. That grappling is next level.”
Strickland, meanwhile, bounced back with a win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June after losing the title to Du Plessis by split decision at UFC 297.
Continue Reading Joe Rogan: ‘Scary Motherf*cker’ Khamzat Chimaev Deserves UFC Title Shot at MMA News.
Michael Page is willing to bump up to middleweight to face one of the division’s surging up and comers in defense of his friend Israel Adesanya.
Shara “Bullet” Magomedov recently competed at UFC 308 this past Saturday where he delivered a bonus-winning double backfist knockout of Armen Petrosyan in the main card opener. After the win, Magomedov called for a fight with the former middleweight champion — which Adesanya didn’t take too kindly to — and since that fight is unlikely to happen, Page is more than willing to move up to 185 to face Magomedov.
“Actually, I just forgot his first name, which is terrible, Magomedov — he just fought, did the double spinning back [fist] knockout and then he called out my boy Izzy,” Page told MMA Fighting. “Mate, I’m at that weight right now. You don’t even have to wait too long. That one there, I’ll just take straight away just for the fun of it.”
.@michaelpage247 would absolutely move up to middleweight for a “nice stand up fight” against Shara Bullet:
“Leave my boy Izzy alone. He’s trying to get back to the throne. I’ll take his place.”
( : @MikeHeck_JR) pic.twitter.com/Yj6MMkWeee
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) October 30, 2024
Page is set to face former interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit in a grappling match this Saturday at Polaris 30, which takes place in London and streams on UFC Fight Pass.
The match between “MVP” and Condit is taking place at 185 pounds, so for Page, he could just roll right into a camp in preparation for Magomedov.
“That’s what I’m grappling at right now,” Page said. “So, I’m in shape now, ready to go. So that’s a good fight for me, I think. Just a nice stand up fight for everybody, just to come back to the game. and like I said, leave my boy Izzy alone. He’s trying to get back to the belt, to the throne, so I’ll take his place.”
The longtime Bellator star signed with the UFC earlier this year and made two octagon appearances. In his UFC debut, Page earned a decision against Kevin Holland, before facing one of the division’s surging prospects in Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303 in June. Garry came out on top via unanimous decision, but Page made things very difficult for the young star.
Heading into his second year with the promotion, Page got a lot of his initial questions answered. Now, it’s about making a dent in things, and if that means competing frequently — even in multiple divisions — that’s exactly that he’ll do.
“I’d say [it’s been] a prosperous year,” Page explained. “I really have enjoyed the level up I have enjoyed, almost putting a stamp on where I knew I was. I know there is a big question mark over my head with regards to can I hang in the UFC? Is my talent level that of the UFC level? So it’s been nice to not only get signed, but also tick that box off, let everyone know that, oh yeah, now, he is competitive at this level, as well.
“The last one didn’t go my way, but it was close and there is only a few alterations. … And now I get to, again, express my martial arts skills in a different way, show the world, or keep shocking the world by doing a little something different. And then straight back to the next year, I want to be really, really aggressive in the cage. I’ve had a year when I have had five fights in one year. That’s the goal again, I want to be that kind of aggressive: Get a fight, put someone away, back at it, back at it, back at it, straight away.
“I want to make noise, man. I said that as soon as I came in here, if it’s a good fight, exciting fight, we can do it wherever. Let’s go.”
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