UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Islam Makhachev. Alex Pereira. Ilia Topuria. Any one of these incredible fighters is worthy of being called the best in the world.

But who else belongs in the discussion?

With the men’s Pound-for-Pound top-3 comfortably set for now, the MMA Fighting Crew looks ahead to 2025 to figure out if UFC champions Belal Muhammad, Dricus du Plessis, Tom Aspinall, or perhaps a surging contender can enter the conversation for the No. 1 spot in the near future. Host Alexander K. Lee is joined by esteemed rankings panelists Damon Martin, Jed Meshew, and E. Casey Leydon as we attempt to figure out who has the best chance of shaking up the P4P list.

We also discuss the moves made in the wake of October’s two UFC events and PFL’s Battle of the Giants, including Khamzat Chimaev’s big jump, Kamaru Usman’s exit, and where the top of the heavyweight division stands with Francis Ngannou’s MMA return and Jon Jones about to fight Stipe Miocic this November.

Watch the latest episode of the MMA Fighting Rankings Show above or listen below and don’t forget to subscribe to the MMA Fighting feed on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and all your other favorite podcast platforms for the latest episodes from the team.

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Let’s go!
| BJPenn.com

That was fast.

Undefeated UFC middleweight sensation Shara Magomedov recently booked his next MMA fight and already began preparations, just a handful of days removed from his highlight-reel knockout victory over Armen Petrosyan as part of the UFC 308 pay-per-view (PPV) card in Abu Dhabi.

“Right now we’re all happy,” Magomedov’s coach, Gor Azizyan, told UDAR. “We already began preparation for February 1st. We don’t know who the opponent will be, but the date is set.”

“It’s going to be February 1st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,” Azizyan continued. “It may be Israel Adesanya. There isn’t much more of a ‘wow’ out there.”

The promotion is expected to make its return to Kingdom Arena in Riyadh early next year and the Saudi Arabia fight card already has a heavyweight collision attached to the lineup. No word yet on who Magomedov will fight, but “Last Stylebender” doesn’t sound too interested.

Stay tuned.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dricus du Plessis believes Khamzat Chimaev should be his next title defense.

This past Saturday, Chimaev scored the most impressive win of his career, literally breaking former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the first round of their UFC 308 matchup. The performance was so impressive that du Plessis, the current middleweight champion, stood up and took notice of “Borz,” saying he wants to be the first man to defeat him. And now the champ says he wants to do that next.

Speaking with RadioRaps on Wednesday, du Plessis made the case for Chimaev as his next title challenger, instead of the presumed rematch with Sean Strickland that previously seemed to be in line.

“We always knew between Rob and Khamzat if there was going to be something exceptional that happens, there might be a change in the title fight,” du Plessis said. “We have no clarity on that, but as a fan of the sport and as the middleweight champion of the world, that’s a fight that gets me more excited, taking somebody’s 0. I’ve beaten Strickland before and I know I’ll beat him again. Getting that Khamzat fight, that gets me excited.”

Du Plessis won the title from Strickland back in January, taking a contentious split decision win at UFC 297. Since then, du Plessis defended his title with submission win over Israel Adesanya, while Strickland won a decision over Paulo Costa, leading UFC CEO Dana White to say Strickland is next in line for a title shot.

But that may have changed for White as well. In his UFC 308 post-fight press conference, White was less committed to Strickland than he previously was, saying who gets the next crack at du Plessis is “a good question.” And for du Plessis that question boils down to which fight is bigger for the fans?

“I think the whole world wants to see it,” du Plessis said. “The fans ultimately pay to watch the fights, so the fight the world thinks is the best next fight, that’s what I want. So I think the Khamzat fight is 100 percent what I want. The UFC is going to do what they’re going to do, but from a fan perspective and from a fighter’s perspective, I think Khamzat should get the next shot.”

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UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria is the man of the moment right now following his knockout win over Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308. In the past, there was a lot of people calling out “El Matador” but this has gone quiet following this recent performance.

The new UFC star has now beaten two great former champions in back-to-back fights, finishing both Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. It wasn’t that long ago that the champion of the weight class below was eyeing up a fight with him.

Before Sean O’Malley lost his bantamweight belt to Merab Dvalishvili, who certainly isn’t going to fight Topuria, “Suga” had teased the idea of moving up in weight. Topuria appeared to welcome it but after what he did in Abu Dhabi at the weekend, O’Malley jokingly remarked that he’s no longer interested.

Despite this, O’Malley’s long time coach Tim Welch believes that the 135-pounder could cause Topuria some issues due to the strengths be brings to the table. Many are looking at the featherweight champion and his undefeated record as an unbeatable fighter in this current form.

Welch explained in a recent interview with Submission Radio why this is never the case and how O’Malley would be able to have success against him.

“No, I don’t think it’s past. I mean, you never know what’s going to happen in the UFC. It’s not impossible that Volkanovski goes out there and beats Ilia Topuria. I mean, that’s possible so you never know and I do think stylistically, Sean could give Ilia problems. He really could but Ilia Topuria is a very, very scary fight.

“That’s not a fight that you go in there and be like, ‘Oh yeah man we’re gonna…’, it’s like you make one mistake with Ilia Topuria and you’re going to be lights out, looking up at the ceiling or whatever but that’s a scary, scary fight. But I do believe that Sean, with his range and with his speed and with his, with his I mean, just his, his overall skill set, he could give Ilia problems. I do believe that.”

Continue Reading Sean O’Malley’s Coach Analyzes How He Would Fare Against Ilia Topuria at MMA News.

MMA News

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

If Ilia Topuria is going to take some time off, Diego Lopes wants Alexander Volkanovski next.

This past Saturday, Topuria authored one of the most impressive wins of the year, knocking out Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308. It was the first-time the iron-chinned Holloway has ever been knocked out, which even impressed Lopes, who was sitting cageside for the event.

“It was a good knockout,” Lopes told Ariel Helwani. “It was really impressive, but it was even more shocking just to see Max on the floor. It had never happened. I was really shocked by that…

“Max did a good job keeping the distance in the [beginning] of the fight, but I told my brother during the fight, if Ilia got in there he could have the chance to knock him out…

“Going into the fight I thought that Max was going to win. I never thought that Ilia would knock him out.”

Lopes served as the backup fighter for UFC 308 but his services were not needed as both Topuria and Holloway made weight for their featherweight title fight. And while sometimes being a backup fighter means you’re next in line for the title shot, that doesn’t appear to be the case for Lopes.

Following his Topuria’s big win, the UFC brought former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski into the cage for a faceoff, seemingly setting up a rematch between the two. That could leave Lopes waiting in the wings again.

All hope isn’t lost for Lopes though. For one, Topuria seems interested in taking some time off instead of making a quick turnaround to defend his title again, and for another, UFC CEO Dana White has already suggested the promotion wants to bring him to Spain for a debut event. If that means a prolonged hiatus to figure out, Lopes has the perfect plan.

“We were never promised a title shot going into this,” Lopes said. “We just agreed to be the backup but we will for sure try to find our way to that title shot…

“Ilia mentioned on Saturday night that he wanted to take some time off. Also, UFC mentioned they’re working on a date for Spain. While this is all going on, it would make the most sense for me to just fight ‘Volk’ in Sydney for the interim title. ‘Volk’ has already suggested this. I’ve already agreed to it. Let’s just do it.”

The UFC heads back to Sydney on Feb. 9 for UFC 312, and it would make sense for Volkanovski to be on the card. Moreover, the former featherweight champion has already shown some willingness for this scenario, depending on how long Topuria will be out. However, Volkanovski may ultimately choose to wait for his title shot, and if he does, then Lopes may wait as well — unless the UFC comes to him with a particularly good offer.

“Obviously, we feel that the fight with Volkanovski makes the most sense for us,” Lopes said. “It gets us on the title shot track, but if UFC wants to give us another offer in Mexico City, we have to talk as a team with the management and see what the options are here.

“I’m not really interested in fighting anybody but Volkanovksi. It makes the most sense. If the UFC says we have to wait around for a title shot, then we’ll wait. If we fight for the interim [title] or Volkanovski, that’s a conversation we’ll have to have with management.”

Ultimately, it may be quite a while before Lopes gets his crack at Topuria and the featherweight title, but when he does, he believes the fight will be worth the wait for fans.

“We know watching Ilia’s fights that he’s very forward [moving] and likes to create pressure,” Lopes said. “I also like to create pressure and we both have very heavy hands. It would be a really good fight and any one of us could drop at any moment because of that.”

TOP STORIES

Plea. Jon Jones reached an agreement to have charges dismissed in assault case.

FOTY. Matt Brown believes Ilia Topuria locked up Fighter of the Year for 2024.

185. Chael Sonnen revealed what Sean Strickland said to him after Khamzat Chimaev’s impressive win at UFC 308.

Shorts. Brandon Moreno got custom fight shorts for UFC Edmonton this weekend.

Retired. Carla Esparza didn’t like the decision, but insists she’s done with fighting.

Mailbag. Answering reader questions including how long can Ilia Topuria reign at featherweight?

VIDEO STEW

Carla Esparza.

The bogeyman of the UFC.

Brandon Moreno and Amir Albizi got a feature from ESPN.

Some free fights.

And Carlos Condit highlights.

FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR

Fighter vs. Writer

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Statement.

Paulo Costa with harsh words.

Class for days.

Training.

Surgery.

Samesies.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mauricio Ruffy (10-1) vs. James Llontop (14-4); UFC 309, Nov. 16.

Sergei Pavlovich (18-3) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (15-5); UFC Saudi Arabia, Feb. 1.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Some people won’t like it, but I think Volk vs. Lopes is the right idea. Let Topuria take some time off and get a venue in Spain for the summer where he fights the winner. Plus, Volk really should get a win before stepping back in there and getting clobbered again.

EXIT POLL

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

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