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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Michael Page and Khamzat Chimaev teamed up ahead of their upcoming fights.

Chimaev is currently scheduled to fight top-ranked middleweight Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia on June 22 and ahead of that pivotal matchup, he spent part of his birthday week training with “Venom.”

See a photo of the fighters below (via Page’s Instagram):

“Pleasure to train alongside such a beast,” Page wrote of Chimaev.

Page awaits his next booking after making a successful UFC debut this past March. The former Bellator star defeated welterweight contender Kevin Holland via unanimous decision at UFC 299. With the UFC visiting Manchester, England, on July 27, it is likely that the matchmakers are aiming to book the London-born Page for that card.

Chimaev, who turned 30 on Wednesday, is coming off of a majority decision win in a middleweight bout against former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 294. The win kept Chimaev’s record unblemished at 13-0 and he now has a chance take out another former champion when he faces Whittaker on June 22.

See another photo from the training session below, courtesy of former fighter Tam Khan:

@tam_khan, Instagram

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jose Aldo is one of the greatest fighters in UFC history. You think you know his story? Think again!

On this episode of This is CineMMA, the MMA Fighting movie review crew gets in touch with their feelings as we follow Aldo’s heart-wrenching journey from Brazilian bad boy to MMA legend in the 2016 biopic Mais Forte que o Mundo a.k.a. Stronger than the World. Some… interesting choices are made, with Aldo (José Loreto) shown rising through the ranks in the fighting world while battling demons outside of the cage. If this sounds more like a telenovela than a martial arts film, then this might be just what you’re looking for.

Ahead of Aldo’s return at UFC 301, Alexander K. Lee, Jed Meshew, E. Casey Leydon, and special guest Guilherme Cruz try to make sense of a sometimes baffling narrative, separate fact from fiction, and point out how easy it would be to improve this movie.

Is this even about Jose Aldo? Why is it missing some of his most famous moments? And is lumber-bashing a real hobby in Brazil?

(Leg) kick back and chill with us for the answers to these questions and more.

New episodes of the This is CineMMA show come out weekly and are available to watch on YouTube, and in podcast form on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts. This week’s episode can be heard below.

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The plot thickens
| BJPenn.com

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight strikers Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Martinez will collide this weekend (Sat., May 4, 2024) inside Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for UFC 301.

It’s been almost two years since Aldo suffered a competitive defeat to Merab Dvalishvili and opted to walk away from UFC competition. Dedicated fight fans may remember that Aldo should have gotten a title shot against Aljamain Sterling instead of floppy-shouldered T.J. Dillashaw, but instead Aldo walked away in disappointing circumstances.

Perhaps he’d like to leave on a higher note?

As for Martinez, “The Dragon” rides a six-fight win streak into the biggest fight of his career. Aldo may not technically be ranked at the moment, but a victory here would easily be the most notable of Martinez’s career.

Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:

Aldo Vs. Martinez Betting Odds

• Jose Aldo victory: +130
• Jose Aldo via TKO/KO/DQ: +700
• Jose Aldo via submission: +2500
• Jose Aldo via decision: +200
• Jonathan Martinez victory: -155
• Jonathan Martinez via TKO/KO/DQ: +350
• Jonathan Martinez via submission: +1400
• Jonathan Martinez via decision: +140
• Draw: +5000
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

How Aldo Wins

Aldo is quite simply one of the greatest fighters of all time. The Brazilian legend is a tremendous striker with a deep skill set on the feet, an underrated grappler, and he remains the greatest counter wrestler in MMA history.

This is a great match up for Aldo, who has the tools to take away Martinez’s greatest weapon: his power kicks. Aldo has a long history in Muay Thai, and defense has developed into one of his most primary skills. Notably, Aldo is one of very few MMA fighters genuinely great at checking kicks.

A hard check can easily break a foot. At the very least, it will discourage his opponent from trying again. If Aldo can start to take away his opponent’s kicks via checks, cut kicks, counter punches, trips — all standard weapons in his Muay Thai arsenal — then it’s going to really mess up Martinez’s flow.

If this fight becomes a boxing match, Aldo has a significant edge in fluidity and power.

How Martinez Wins

Martinez has the best left leg in the division … if not the sport. The Southpaw kicks through his opponents, breaking apart their legs and livers alike. He uses his footwork and feints to manage distance really well, and he tends to time hard counters on opponents who really try to press him.

Martinez’s great advantage in this fight is that he’s almost a decade younger and has far fewer miles on him. In general, Martinez operates at a slightly higher volume than Aldo, which is an important factor in a possible kickboxing match likely to go to a decision.

The most notable adjustment Martinez must make here is being sure to set up his kicks. Generally, Martinez times his kicks cleanly by hiding them behind movement and feints. That’s good strategy, but Aldo’s kick defense is simply better than average. To ensure that his left leg is landing and doing damage, Martinez has to establish the threat of his hands and hide those kicks behind his punches.

Generally, if Martinez’s kicks are landing, he’s winning the fight.

Aldo Vs. Martinez Prediction

This card on the whole may leave something to be desired, but this is a great fight.

I am wary of picking a 37-year-old Bantamweight against a genuine ranked contender. Statistically, the odds are not great in that kind of match up. Yet, Aldo was fighting tremendously well when he walked away two years ago. He was absolutely still a Top 5 fighter, doing better than Dvalishvili than almost anyone else (at elevation no less). Last year, he competed three times in boxing, so clearly the Brazilian hasn’t gotten fat in his time away from the cage.

Furthermore, it’s a great style clash for Aldo. A fellow Muay Thai striker? Martinez kicks real hard, but his game isn’t something new to Aldo. He doesn’t hold a significant edge in height, reach or speed. He’s going to fight Aldo on Aldo’s terms, which rarely ends well for anyone.

Prediction: Jose Aldo via decision (+200)

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 301 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 301: “Pantoja vs. Erceg” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Anthony Smith has spent the better part of six years ranked among the UFC’s best light heavyweights, but some struggles have suddenly made him the target of several callouts.

Despite the fact that the three losses in his past four fights all came against top 15 opposition, the one-time UFC title challenger knows he has some work to do to climb back up toward the top of the division. Unfortunately, because he’s dealt with some setbacks, Smith has a lot of up-and-coming prospects mentioning his name, including his next opponent Vitor Petrino.

On paper, Petrino’s résumé doesn’t compare to Smith’s, but the 35-year-old veteran still decided to answer the challenge for one specific reason.

“I’m not the name that you’re going to view as a wounded lion that’s got a name and some tenure in the company that you’re going to build your name off of,” Smith told MMA Fighting. “So we’re going to f*cking put that to bed now. We’re just going to be done with it.”

On his Sirius XM radio show leading up to UFC 301, Smith said he felt “offended” that Petrino called him out and he refused “to be the new Neil Magny.”

While Magny caught a stray in his rant, Smith’s explanation highlighted how the veteran welterweight became the most popular callout for anybody looking to make a name for themselves at 170 pounds. Not only was Magny an established top 15 ranked fighter, but he always happily accepted any and all challenges thrown his way.

Smith wasn’t trying to insult Magny, especially after watching him demolish highly touted prospect Mike Malott in his last outing, which seemingly quieted down a whole lot of loud, boisterous welterweights. Smith wants to do the same after beating Petrino on Saturday.

“How many up-and-comers have called out Neil since his last fight? Exactly. F*cking zero,” Smith said. “Because they’re like, ‘Oh, OK, never mind, that guy’s still got something left in the tank and he’s a problem.’ So maybe I’ve got a better skill set or maybe I’m better at this or maybe I’m more athletic, but Neil Magny is not going to go away and he just took out one of the hottest up-and-coming prospects in the division. So that’s kind of exactly what I’m looking to do. Leave me alone. That’s what I want. I want them to leave me alone.

“That’s on me. I put myself in that position. So it’s up to me to change the narrative. That’s exactly what I want to do. That’s why when he called me out, right away I was on the phone with Mick Maynard. Perfect, let’s go.”

Smith didn’t blink when Petrino asked to fight him, and truth be told, the Brazilian might want to offer a little gratitude that the matchup is actually happening.

Deep down, Smith knows he didn’t have to answer the call, and he certainly didn’t have to travel all the way to Brazil for his next fight, but he ultimately embraced the idea.

“Let’s just be honest, if he would have called me out and I wouldn’t have responded, he wouldn’t be getting that fight,” Smith said. “But as soon as he called me out, I kind of rolled all those things in my head. UFC 301 is exactly the timeline I want to fight. I want to get a win in Brazil. UFC 301 is the exact timeline I want to fight, it’s a pay-per-view, he’s Brazilian.

“It’s the type of guy I want to fight. I like the style matchup and he called me out. So I told Mick Maynard right away, ‘If he’s ranked on Tuesday, I’ll fight him in Brazil.’ That’s exactly what happened.”

As much as he understands the public narrative that he’s on a bit of a slide lately, Smith promises that couldn’t be further from the truth.

His record may not reflect it, but Smith believes that he’s still capable of beating anybody at 205 pounds in the UFC. He takes responsibility that fighters like Petrino now feel emboldened enough to call him out and realistically believe the fight could happen.

It all makes sense, but Smith wants nothing more than to put an end to that nonsense in violent fashion.

“I’m f*cking done with this shit,” Smith said. “I’m over it. We’re done with this. We’re going to dead this in its tracks. I’m not done. At least in the gym, I’m as good now as I’ve ever been. I feel really good. I’m moving really well. My conditioning is good. I’m still learning and being able to adjust and change my game.

“As I’m getting a little bit older, there’s some things I’ve got to adjust to. That’s just part of it. But I haven’t lost my speed. I’m still seeing things, like my reaction time is still good. I’m even not really banged up. I don’t want to jinx myself because I’ve still got a couple days left, but I’m not banged up. It’s all going really, really well.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts