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Matt Brown is going out on top.

The “Immortal” UFC welterweight registered a violent knockout victory over Court McGee as part of the UFC Charlotte fight card last year on ABC, and recently told his social media followers that he will not be returning to the Octagon.

But like this former champion, Brown won’t use the word “retiring.”

“Not doing it again. I’m out. That’s the announcement,” Brown wrote on Twitter. “My life will now be dedicated to serving others. Growing others in the martial arts and building businesses that can help the community and the world. Also, I’m not using the word ‘retiring’ … I’m moving on to other things, not chilling in Miami golfing all day. That’s retirement. I’ll be working harder than when I was fighting lol.”

Brown, 43, finishes with a 24-19 record, which includes 16 knockouts and six submissions.

This isn’t the first time the former Ultimate Fighter (TUF) contestant called it quits. Brown previously “retired” from cage fighting back in late 2017, but kept himself in the drug testing pool in case he had a change of heart somewhere down the road.

“The Immortal” returned two years later and smashed Ben Saunders at UFC 245.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Next stop, UFC 302.

UFC 302 takes places on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Headlined by a lightweight title fight between the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world Islam Makhachev and former interim champion Dustin Poirier, the trailer primarily focuses on both combatants and their past successes, with voiceover from Dustin Poirier sending a message to Makhachev:

“I never quit, I never say die. I believe in myself and I know I can finish anybody in the world. See you in the middle.”

UFC 302 also features a pivotal middleweight clash between former champion Sean Strickland and former title challenger Paulo Costa, who also make an appearance in the trailer which you can view above.

Check out the rest of the UFC 302 fight card below.

• Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier
• Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa
• Roman Kopylov vs. Cesar Almeida
• Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
• Randy Brown vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
• Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
• Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
• Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
• Phil Rowe vs. Jake Matthews
• Niko Price vs. Alex Morono
• Tatsuro Taira vs. Joshua Van
• Nyamjargal Tumendemberel vs. Andre Lima

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As per multiple reports this Monday evening, fresh off his decision win over Jaime Munguia over the course of the weekend, super middleweight kingpin, Canelo Alvarez is being lined up to take on current welterweight gold holder, Terence Crawford – potentially as soon as December of this year.

Canelo, the current super middleweight champion, extended his winning run to four straight fights over the course of the weekend in Las Vegas, turning in a unanimous decision win over compatriot, Munguia, dropping the Mexican star en route to his judging success.

And as for Crawford, the welterweight slicklest has been sidelined since he improved to 40-0 as a professional back in July of last year with an emphatic ninth round knockout win over Errol Spence Jr. 

Canelo Alvarez targeted to meet Terence Crawford in December blockbuster

According to reports tonight, however, Saudi Arabian adviser, Turki Alalshikh is currently targeting a fight between Canelo and Crawford – with the hope of brokering a clash between the duo as soon as December.

“Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford is being potentially eyed for December/January by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh,” Boxing reporter, Michael Benson posted on X. “”I’m working to deliver (Canelo Alvarez), but it will be a big fight (for Terence Crawford). I’ll discuss the names with him,” Alalshikh stated. 

Linked with a potential showdown against Arizona striker, David Benavidez both before and in the immediate aftermath of his clash against Munguia, Canelo appears on a collision course with Crawford should the above-mentioned, Alalshikh manage to strike a deal between the two. 

Racking up his fourth consecutive defence of middleweight spoils, Jalisco favorite, Canelo had turned in a trio of victories over Gennady Golovkin, John Ryder, and Jermell Charlo before his decision win over Munguia in ‘Sin City’. 

Who wins in a potential fight: Canelo Alvarez or Terence Crawford?

LowKickMMA.com

UFC announced on Saturday that former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will be inducted into the 2024 Class of the UFC Hall of Fame as a Pioneer. The 2024 UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place as part of the 12th Annual UFC International Fight Week, on June 27, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“Shogun Rua is one of the greatest Brazilian athletes in combat sports history,” said UFC President & CEO Dana White. “Shogun had an incredible run in PRIDE and UFC, and he was fearless inside the Octagon. His fights against Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, and Dan Henderson represent some of the most memorable moments in UFC history and helped put Brazilian MMA on the map. It will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer during International Fight Week.”

Rua will enter the UFC Hall of Fame as the 20^th member of the Pioneer Era Wing. The Pioneers Era category includes athletes who turned professional before November 17, 2000 (when the unified rules of mixed martial arts were adopted), are a minimum age of 35, or who have been retired for one year or more.

A veteran of 42 fights during his 21-year professional MMA career, Rua registered a record of 27-14-1 (23-13-1 – UFC / PRIDE), securing notable wins over UFC Hall of Famers Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell, Kevin Randleman, and Forrest Griffin, former UFC light heavyweight champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida, and former Strikeforce® heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.

Rua made his professional MMA debut on November 8, 2022, competing as part of Meca World Vale Tudo 7. Rua would win four of his first five fights in Meca World Vale Tudo and IFC, before entering PRIDE FC with a 4-1 record.

Rua made his PRIDE FC debut as part of PRIDE FC: BUSHIDO 1, which took place on October 5, 2003, in Saitama, Japan. Rua defeated Akira Shoji via KO in the first round and immediately became a fan favorite.

Rua would win his next seven fights in PRIDE, which included winning the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix by defeating Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona via first-round knockouts on the same night as part of PRIDE FC: Final Conflict 2005.

Following his first loss in PRIDE to former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman via injury in the co-main event of PRIDE 31: UNBREAKABLE in February 2006, he would return in September and win his next four fights over six months before joining UFC.

Rua made his UFC debut against Forrest Griffin in the co-main event of UFC 76: KNOCKOUT, which took place on September 22, 2007, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Rua would lose his debut to Griffin inside the Octagon^® via third-round submission and take a year off to recover.

Rua returned in 2009 with two wins over Coleman and Chuck Liddell at UFC 93 and UFC 97, respectively, earning his first title shot against undefeated champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 104.

UFC 104: MACHIDA vs. SHOGUN took place on October 24, 2009, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Machida entered the Octagon with an undefeated 15-0 record which included wins over five future UFC Hall of Famers.

Rua and Machida matched evenly throughout the bout, with the champion absorbing more punches than in any of his 15 previous fights. The fight would go all five rounds, and Machida would retain the title with a controversial unanimous decision.

Due to the controversy surrounding the decision, Rua was granted an immediate rematch for the UFC light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 113.

UFC® 113: MACHIDA vs. SHOGUN 2 took place on May 8, 2010, at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Rua took control of the fight at the opening bell, securing more strikes and kicks during the first round. With 1:38 remaining in the first, Rua landed an overhand right that knocked down the champion. Rua immediately mounted Machida and landed several strikes to win the fight and decisively become the new UFC light heavyweight champion.

Rua would put his title on the line 10 months later against top-ranked contender Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 128: SHOGUN vs. JONES in March 2011. Rua would lose the title via third-round TKO.

Over the next 11 years, Rua would compete inside the Octagon 18 times, facing the top contenders of the light heavyweight division while delivering numerous Fight of the Night performances. His fights against James Te Huna, Antonio Rogerio Nogueria, Tyson Pedro and Dan Henderson earned performance honors, with his UFC 139 war against Henderson entering the UFC Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing in 2018.

He retired from competition following his loss to Ihor Potieria during UFC 283, which took place on January 21, 2023, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Rua enters the UFC Hall of Fame with an impressive resume that includes:

UFC:

• Most fights in UFC light heavyweight history – 24

• Tied for most knockdowns in UFC light heavyweight history – 14

• Second-most knockouts in UFC light heavyweight history – 8

• Third-most knockouts in Zuffa history (UFC / PRIDE / WEC / SF) – 17

• Fifth-most finishes in Zuffa history (UFC / PRIDE / WEC / SF) – 18

PRIDE:

• Tied for most knockouts by soccer kicks/stomps in PRIDE history – 4

Outside the Octagon, Rua has won several awards during his career, receiving Knockout of the Year honors in 2010 during the Fighters Only World MMA Awards for his bout against Lyoto Machida at UFC 113. In 2005, he received Fight of the Year for his bout against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at PRIDE FC: Critical Countdown 2005.

A native of Curitiba, Brazil, Rua began training in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a member of the famed Chute Boxe Academy. He also trained in wrestling and boxing as a teenager. He currently lives in Curitiba with his wife and children.

To see a complete list of UFC athletes and fights enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame, as well as details regarding the UFC Hall of Fame format, please visit UFCHOF. For additional information, please visit UFC.com. 

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jose Aldo picked up right where he left off.

Despite taking a 21-month sabbatical to get inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and test out his boxing prowess, “The King of Rio” looked as sharp as ever on Saturday, outclassing Jonathan Martinez in a pillar-to-post victory in UFC 301’s co-main event. Aldo is now the hottest free agent in MMA with a wealth of options seemingly in front of him, both within the sport and outside of it in boxing. The only thing for certain is that Aldo is clearly not done yet — at age 37, he spoke openly at Saturday’s night post-fight press conference about entertaining the idea of another run toward the UFC bantamweight title.

But now that he’s back, is Aldo immediately a top-five bantamweight in the world?

Survey says…

MMA Fighting

It was a close race, but ultimately MMA Fighting’s seven-person voting panel slotted Aldo just outside of the top five, debuting him back at No. 6 in the aftermath of UFC 301. Still, that’s nothing to sneeze at. Aldo was our No. 5 ranked bantamweight when he retired from MMA in August 2022, and 21 months later, he’s essentially held his spot despite the division having been turned upside-down by the dual rises of Sean O’Malley and Patchy Mix.

It doesn’t hurt that Aldo’s résumé at 135 pounds still holds strong — he owns big wins over Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz, Rob Font, and now Martinez, and his only losses since 2020 have come in competitive bouts against top-five contenders Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan.

So what do you think, MMA Fighting faithful? Did we get this right? Did we get this wrong? Is Brazil’s ageless wonder still among the elite of the elite at 135 pounds?

Vote in the polls (bonus poll!) and let us know in the comments below.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour (finally!) is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Monday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time.

1 p.m. ET: We kick things off by recapping our time away, including UFC 301.

2 p.m.: Dan Hardy and Veronica Hardy return in-studio to preview Veronica’s scheduled UFC St. Louis bout against JJ Aldrich.

3 p.m.: Dustin Poirier is back to look ahead to his UFC 302 title challenge against Islam Makhachev.

3:30 p.m.: Paul Hughes joins us in-studio to discuss his MMA free agency and decision to sign with PFL.

4:30 p.m.: Alexandre Pantoja returns fresh off his UFC 301 title defense over Steve Erceg.

5 p.m.: The Parlay Boys look back at their best bets from UFC 301 weekend.

For the latest episodes of The MMA Hour, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.

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