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Slated to headline UFC 302 in June, undisputed lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev is hellbent on challenging for a second title after his comeback this summer, specifically in a showdown with welterweight titleholder, Leon Edwards.

Makhachev, the current lightweight gold holder, is set to make his comeback to the Octagon this summer in New Jersey, taking on former interim champion, Dustin Poirier in the pair’s championship headliner atop UFC 302.

Sidelined since December, Birmingham native, Edwards himself most recently took main event honors at UFC 296, himself turning in a one-sided unanimous decision victory against former interim champion, Colby Covington in the pair’s heated grudge fight.

Islam Makhachev calls for Leon Edwards clash

And forever staking his claim for a siege at a second title belt, Makhachev, the current pound-for-pound number one, claims his decision to welcome title challenges from Alexander Volkanovski in a featherweight rise, should allow him to challenge for welterweight spoils after UFC 302.

“My dream fight: I have to fight in the next division, 170 [pounds],” Islam Makhachev told The New York Post. “I have to fight Leon Edwards. I already gave a chance to fighters at 145 [pounds]. That’s why I need my chance at a second belt. …Honestly, I don’t have any exciting fights, because Dustin (Poirier) has just one-fight win streak.”

“And we have Arman (Tsarukyan), but I already beat this guy,” Islam Makhachev explained. “I don’t have some job in my division, in my opinion, honestly. And I think I have a chance. They have to give me the chance for a second belt because I already beat the old guys.” 

Himself linked with a comeback fight at the end of July in Manchester, Edwards has been touted as a shoo-in to feature at UFC 304 in a home soil return – amid links to a title fight rematch with the streaking, Belal Muhammad.

Who wins in a future title ‘super fight’: Leon Edwards or Islam Makhachev?

LowKickMMA.com

After a week off, the UFC is back on Saturday with UFC Vegas 91 from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.  

The fight card is headlined by flyweight match between fifth-ranked Matheus Nicolau and eighth-ranked Alex Perez.  Nicolau (19-3-1) had a six-fight winning streak snapped in his last outing, losing to Brandon Royval a year ago.  Perez (24-8) has lost his last three fights in a row and is in desperate need of a win.  

Perez officially weighed in a 126 pounds for his main event fight.  Nicolau tipped the scale at 125.5 pounds.    

UFC Vegas 91 Official Weigh-In Results

Main Card (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET)

• Matheus Nicolau (125.5) vs. Alex Perez (126)
• Bogdan Guskov (204.5) vs. Ryan Spann (205.5)
• Ariane Lipski (126) vs. Karine Silva (125.5)
• Jhonata Diniz (255) vs. Austen Lane (254.5)
• David Onama () vs. Jonathan Pearce (146)
• Tim Means (171) vs. Uros Medic ()

Preliminary Card (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

• Victor Henry (135.5) vs. Rani Yahya (136)
• Michal Figlak (155) vs. Austin Hubbard (156)
• Caio Machado (251.5) vs. Don’Tale Mayes (264)
• Marnic Mann (115.5) vs. Ketlen Souza (115.5)
• Chris Padilla (154.5) vs. James Llontop ()
• Liang Na (126) vs. Ivana Petrovic (126)
• Gabriel Benitez (155) vs. Hayisaer Maheshate (155.5)

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Welcome to the latest edition of Missed Fists where we shine a light on fights from across the globe that may have been overlooked in these hectic times where it seems like there’s an MMA show every other day.

We all know the UFC touts a policy of free speech absolutism (eye roll), but one thing you rarely see is fighters call out individual judges after a win. Normally, a fighter is relieved enough to have earned a decision, and don’t speak in detail about the judging until they’re chatting with the media later. But sometimes, you’ve got to just let it rip right out of the gate.

Ladies and gentlemen, here’s Cameron Smotherman.

(Big thanks as always to @Barrelelapierna for their weekly lists of the best KOs and submissions, and to @Grabaka_Hitman for uploading many of the clips you see here. Give them a follow and chip in on Patreon if you can.)

Cameron Smotherman vs. Ryan Kuse
Michael Aswell vs. Nate Richardson
Kody Steele vs. Alejandro Martinez
Lester Batres Jr. vs. Garrett Foster
Cameron Cash vs. Mario Suazo

“Damage wins fights,” Smotherman said after scoring a split nod over Ryan Kuse. “To that judge, 30-27, you f*cking suck. I hope you quit. Damage wins fights, and if that’s the criteria, I’m going to win every f*cking time.”

The judge in question is Chance Williams, who gave all three rounds to Kuse in a classic grappler vs. striker battle. Smotherman was the striker in this instance, and though his takedown and ground defense were put to the test, at the very least the damage he did in the standup should have given him a clear third round. However, Williams didn’t see it that way, resulting in Smotherman’s post-fight interview tirade.

I don’t know if this will endear Smotherman to promotions like the UFC (he’s already had one crack on the Contender Series), or if they’ll view this as a red flag, but he’s a character, that’s for sure. MMA needs characters.

Also from Fury FC 89 (available on UFC Fight Pass), Michael Aswell battered Nate Richardson in the main event to capture a vacant featherweight title.

Aswell, 23, improved to 9-1 with the win. Let’s hope he gets a little more seasoning before a larger promotion calls him up.

Less experienced, but possibly more prepared for a call to the big show, is undefeated welterweight Kody Steele.

We’ve featured Steele a couple of times in Missed Fists already, rarely for his highly vaunted grappling. Instead, Steele has taken full advantage of being able to crack people in the face under MMA rules to the tune of a 6-0 record with three KOs/TKOs. The 29-year-old has flirted with a drop to 155 pounds and he would be a welcome addition to any roster’s lightweight or welterweight divisions.

If you’re looking for submissions, how about Lester Batres Jr.’s 14-second armbar of Garrett Foster?

Add this to the “flying attacks gone wrong” pile. Slick jiu-jitsu from Batres and questionable decision making from Foster. Perhaps there’s a reason Foster is now 0-4 as a pro (all by knockout or submission).

Cameron Cash might have done Batres one better, turning a sloppy takedown attempt from Mario Suazo into a fight-ending D’Arce choke.

Zhang Qinghe vs. Sundet Aytkul
Mario Sousa vs. Tyago Moreira
Krikor Balkian vs. Jason Jones
Ilya Varvarskiy vs. Maksim Dyupin

There’s no polite way to put this: fighters were catching BODIES across the globe.

Let’s start this trip at Octagon 57 (free replay available on YouTube) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where Zhang Qinghe brushed off a jumping knee from Sundet Aytkul before landing a right hand KO shot.

That was so clean, Zhang had time to step forward, check on Aytkul’s condition, and stop himself from following up. A classy finish.

Over at a Fight Music Show in Curitiba, Brazil, Mario Souza finished off a retreating Tyago Moreira with a knee up the middle.

There’s your Humpty Dumpty Fall of the Week winner, folks. If you want to more from this event, Fight Music Show is available for replay with a subscription to TrillerTV.

In amateur action, Krikor Balkian was spinning and winning at an Up Next Fighting event in San Bernardino, Calif.

Watch how Balkian defended against that first attack from Jason Jones. He saw something there. When Jones stepped forward again, that backhand was fully loaded. Then he planted his lead leg just past Jones’ and obliterated him.

At MMA Series 79 in Russia, Ilya Varvarskiy clipped Maksim Dyupin with a sharp elbow, forcing him to back off. Then this happened:

Get sliced up inside or booted outside. There are no good options in fighting.

Monika Kucinic vs. Sofiia Bagishvili

We interrupt this KO parade for a brief submission interlude, courtesy of Monika Kucinic.

At Brave CF 81 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Kucinic pulled off a thrilling comeback in her home country. After somehow surviving an armbar and a triangle choke early in the fight, the strawweight prospect turned the tables on Sofiia Bagishvili in the third with a sweet armbar of her own.

Bagishvili has been a magnet for Missed Fists weirdness in the past, once submitting an opponent on a rain-soaked mat that may as well have been a Slip ‘N Slide and another time having to point out an opponent’s injury to the referee in her KSW debut. For better or worse, I don’t think this is the last time we’ll hear from Bagishvili or Kucinic.

Lu Kai vs. Asyljan Tasket

Everyone is BMF’ing these days and the boys at Jue Cheng King are no exception. In this past Tuesday’s JCK Fight Night 83 main event, Lu Kai and Asyljan Tasket threw down until Lu broke through with a left on the button that sent Tasket spiraling.

If this is what Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje have wrought, then we have one more reason to be thankful for their existence.

Walber dos Anjos vs. Paulo Henrique

Now to close out with some more body-dropping goodness.

At Centurion FC 19 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Walber dos Anjos hulked his way out of a bad position on the ground and then wallopped recent PFL competitor Paulo Henrique.

It’s difficult to tell what Henrique – a veteran of 23 pro fights to dos Anjos’ five – was thinking here. He showed little respect for dos Anjos’ power and just tried to grab at him rather than actively defend himself. And down he went.

If you know of a recent fight or event that you think may have been overlooked, or a promotion that could use some attention, please let us know on X — @AlexanderKLee — using the hashtag #MissedFists.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

By all accounts, Thiago Alves thought his fighting career was done.

After knocking out Uly Diaz to become BKFC middleweight champion in 2021, the now 40-year-old Brazilian veteran didn’t get an offer that enticed him enough to fight again. With his focus shifting towards coaching, as he’s now one of the primary instructors at American Top Team in Florida, Alves never retired but also didn’t expect to compete again.

That all changed when BKFC came calling with a huge payday and a chance to face Mike Perry at KnuckleMania IV on Saturday.

“I’m always active,” Alves told MMA Fighting. “I’m six days out of the week at American Top Team working with top-level athletes. It’s important to stay in shape so you can show what you’re trying to tell them really works. When you can actually apply what you’re talking about, it’s always easier. So I’m always in shape, always training.

“I wasn’t training with the fighting mind at all. I was done with this part of my career, but BKFC literally called me on Monday coming back from Saudi Arabia [after the PFL vs Bellator card] and they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. It’s like, alright, I guess it’s time to get back in there! Here we are.”

Alves quietly walked away from active competition because he didn’t think another offer would come his way to make it worth his time to fight again. He was completely resolved in his new life helping fighters like Dustin Poirier and working alongside other coaches such as former WEC champion Mike Brown.

He never made some headline-worthy announcement about retirement because Alves was always open for business under the right circumstances.

“I had great things going on outside of fighting,” Alves said. “Coaching. I’m a MMA director for an online training platform called Life Training, where you can learn anything you want from high-level professionals in the field, so I had that. My family life as well was great. So I wasn’t planning on [fighting anymore], but again, I never really closed that door.

“I always felt I had one more in me. At least one more in me.”

While returning to face Perry was never in Alves’ long-term planning, he’s not saying this fight will be his last. Saturday could be the final time he competes, but Alves promises he’s always open to potential offers, which is how the BKFC deal was brokered in the first place.

“Money talks,” Alves said. “You can always use some extra money in your bank account, especially today. It’s important to stay active. It’s important to stay open to opportunities. I wasn’t planning on it, I wasn’t waiting for anything. It just happened to fall in my lap, so I’m ready, I’m excited. I’m going to go out there and show what the ‘King of Violence’ looks like.”

Despite nearly three years off between fights, Alves has one major advantage to help him get ready for Perry in a way some of Perry’s past opposition never did.

With two bare-knuckle fights already on his résumé, Alves knows what it’s like to hit and get hit in that BKFC ring, which was new to fighters like Michael Page and Luke Rockhold when they accepted a similar challenge with Perry.

“I’m battle tested,” Alves said. “I know what it takes to win inside of that squared circle. I’m excited. I’m really excited. It’s been a long journey to get back in there. I always felt there was something missing, the extra motivation in my daily life, and it’s the perfect time. I wish I had a little bit more prior notice so I could prepare more, but eight weeks is enough.

“I already have the experience. I know what it takes. He’s not going to be fighting somebody that’s just looking for a big payday. He’s going to fight a guy who’s been there, done it, and I’m going to go out there and do it again.”

Long before they were scheduled to trade punches in bare-knuckle, Alves was actually matched up against Perry in the UFC.

Back in 2017, Alves was supposed to face Perry at a UFC Fight Night card in Pittsburgh, but a hurricane hit Florida and it prevented the one-time welterweight title challenger from making the trip. The storm forced Alves and his family to move into the gym at American Top Team, and they lost their beloved pet dog during the tragic incident.

There were also repercussions in his professional life, as Alves claims UFC matchmaker Joe Silva never forgot about him dropping out of the Perry fight despite the extreme circumstances that prevented him from traveling to that event.

“I kind got blacklisted from the UFC after that, not being able to make it,” Alves said. “Joe Silva at the time, kind of had a little [grudge] against me because he thought I didn’t want to fight. I tried. I tried to leave Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. [Flight didn’t happen.] I’ve got to do what’s best for my family.

“You know how it is sometimes when companies want you to be all about them and not about what’s important for you. I just made a decision. I paid for that decision. Joe Silva wasn’t happy with me at that time, but it is what it is. Here we are and I’m glad that I made that decision.”

Now, seven years later, Alves hopes to settle some unfinished business with Perry.

Obviously this time it’s in a much different combat sport, but Alves expects the results will still be the same as he planned back then.

“I think I’m just a better striker overall,” Alves said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re going to use kicks or not. I think I’m more polished. I think I’ve been in there with better fighters as well. The fight against Julian Lane, I thought he lost. The fight against Michael Page, besides the knockdown, I thought he got pieced up in that fight as well. Luke [Rockhold] is not about that life. Eddie Alvarez was piecing him up in the beginning of the fight. If it wasn’t [for] that punch that broke his orbital bone, it would be a completely different result.

“We’re excited. We’re confident. We know he’s tough. We know he’s supposedly the A-side because they’re trying to build him. He’s younger, he has the following behind him, but we’re going to crash the party. I think I’m going to finish him in the fourth round. I’m going to put him away in the fourth round.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Two warriors
| BJPenn.com

The biggest bareknuckle event of the year is finally here!

More than four years after signing with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) — and nearly two years after first teasing a Mike Perry fight — former UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves will finally return to headline the BKFC “KnuckleMania 4” pay-per-view (PPV) bareknuckle boxing event against the “Platinum” power puncher. The action gets underway tomorrow night (Sat., April 27, 2024) inside Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California.

This marks the BKFC debut in “The Golden State” after scoring legislation back in late 2023.

“I want to thank Andy Foster and the California state athletic commission,” BKFC President David Feldman said at the “KnuckleMania 4” press conference (watch it here). “I want to thank him for welcoming us with open arms to California. BKFC is close to being legislated everywhere. There’s really no reason for anyone to say no to this sport anymore. We didn’t just create a promotion or a sport; we created a phenomenon. When we started this thing, the media wasn’t writing about us. When we sell the kind of tickets we sell, and the kind of views we do, they can’t say no to us anymore.”

They can, however, say no to Darren Till.

Former UFC heavyweights Ben Rothwell and Todd Duffee will also hook ‘em up on the “KnuckleMania 4” fight card (see the full lineup here). This marks the second time BKFC has tried to make this fight happen after “Big Ben” bailed on the bout last December. Reports of turkey tampering were later proven to be a Duffee smear campaign (or maybe he was still “bitter” about flunk-out fighting). In addition, Lorenzo Hunt and Mick Terrill collide for the BKFC Heavyweight Championship in the “KnuckleMania 4” co-main event. The entire card can be streamed for $ 29.99 on YouTube.

Let’s take a closer look at all three fights.

185 lbs.: “Platinum” Mike Perry (4-0) vs. Thiago “Pitbull” Alves (2-0)

Mike Perry had a losing record in UFC and dropped four of his last five MMA fights before parting ways with the promotion. His career inside the Octagon didn’t get off to a great start and “Platinum” couldn’t seem to keep himself out of trouble, which had a lot of people (myself included) writing him off. I thought he might go to Bellator or PFL and eventually fade away but instead, Perry found his calling in BKFC. Whatever you think about him as a person, there is no denying Perry is the biggest bareknuckle star in the sport and has the record to prove it, racking up a perfect 4-0 with two stoppages against former UFC champions and one victory over former Bellator MMA striking specialist Michael “Venom” Page. “Platinum” only seems to be getting better (and more violent) in each successive fight.

“I’m honored to be on top of the card of these crazy fights,” Perry said at the “KnuckleMania 4” press conference (watch it here). “All these fights are insane. I’m going to be watching these fights in the back and I’ll be excited to perform myself. I’ve gotta steal the show. These guys are trying to steal the show from me, so I’ve gotta take it up a notch at the end of the night.”

“If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it. I’ve been on the same path all this time since I got here, and that’s putting my knuckles up against people’s faces,” Perry continued. “They call, they offer me a name, I say yes to it, and we prepare. I think I’ve had a tough selection of fights in bareknuckle, which is why I can have that designation as the face of bareknuckle, and that’s why I’m on top of the card.”

“I’ve been saying it for years: the next one is the best one, and this is the best one,” Perry said. “I’ve been climbing, every fight has been better than the last and it’s always been against a tougher opponent. Alves was a BKFC champion, but I don’t think he’s ever beat a UFC champion, and I did. I think he’s bringing it, and I can’t wait to meet him in the middle on Saturday.”

Thiago Alves, who turns 41 this fall, departed UFC back in late 2019 after dropping four of five and looking rather listless in the process. In the nearly five years that he’s been gone, Alves has only managed to compete twice for BKFC, scoring the promotion’s inaugural middleweight title with a stoppage over Ulysses Diaz at BKFC 18 in June 2021. If you combine his age with his inactivity, it’s kind of hard to make a case for his victory tomorrow night in “The City of Angels.” I think we also have to abandon this idea that Alves is some sort of striking savant because if you look at his UFC record, “Pitbull” has just one knockout since planishing Matt Hughes in early 2008, a span of 16 years and 17 fights.

“I prepared my mind, my body,” Alves said at the “KnuckleMania 4” press conference (watch it here). “I’m ready to go. You’ll see it. It was the Mike Perry name and the money that brought me back.”

I hope the contract was a good one, because Perry is younger, fresher, and not fighting for the money. He’s fighting because that’s who he is and this is what he does. He likes pain almost as much as he likes inflicting it. Old man Alves just wants a paycheck. Consider this a mismatch.

Prediction: Perry def. Alves by technical knockout

265 lbs.: Mick Terrill (7-1) vs. Lorenzo “The Juggernaut” Hunt (11-1) for BKFC Heavyweight Championship

Lorenzo Hunt was not a very good MMA fighter, starting his cage-fighting career in late 2015 and putting together a dreadful 3-5 record before migrating to the fertile landscape of bareknuckle boxing. In BKFC, “The Juggernaut” — much like Perry — found his calling, compiling an impressive 11-1 record with nine knockouts. He also captured world titles in two different weight classes, outpointing Hector Lombard at BKFC 22 to win the inaugural light heavyweight strap before stopping Quentin Henry to score the vacant cruiserweight championship at BKFC 30.

Hunt believes those accomplishments make him the greatest bareknuckle fighter in history.

“I’m the best that’s ever done it,” Hunt said at the “KnuckleMania 4” press conference (watch it here). “I’m already the GOAT. I’m not sure if you pay attention to the numbers, but I’ve got more fights and more wins than everybody else up here combined. There’s no (expletive) way that I should be up here on the ‘B’ side. I’ve bled for this; teeth, blood, bones. I am the show. I’m not the face of bareknuckle, as they keep telling me; I’m the knuckles of bare knuckle.”

“After I become the three-division world champion, I will allow the other divisions to crown new champions. For now, I’ll let them breathe,” Hunt continued. “When I came to this organization, I came through the tryouts. I knew for a fact how I would be and how it would go. I told everybody, but they didn’t believe me. After I become the triple world champ, I’ll grab the mic and I’ll say, ‘Do you (expletive) believe me now?’”

Mick Terrill did not flounder in MMA like many of his BKFC brothers but did have a successful run as a kickboxer for SuperKombat. In addition, the British brawler has a Muay Thai background and used his striking skills to rack up a 7-1 record for David Feldman and Co. with eight knockouts, including his title-winning destruction of Arnold Adams at BKFC 56 late last year. He’s only a year younger than the 41 year-old Hunt, but unlike “The Juggernaut,” Terrill is a true heavyweight and certainly hits like one, which I expect to be the difference maker on fight night.

“I think the thing with Lorenzo is; I think he’s well suited back at school,” Terrill said at the “KnuckleMania 4” press conference (watch it here). “He’s got the mentality of a 10 year-old. I think he’d be more suited there.”

Unless Terrill fights sloppy and gets caught, expect him to end this somewhere in the second half of the fight.

Prediction: Terrill def. Hunt by knockout

265 lbs.: “Big” Ben Rothwell (2-0) vs. Todd Duffee (0-0)

I’m kind of fascinated by Todd Duffee, who is somehow still a “name” despite the fact that he hasn’t won a fight in 10 years. Once heralded as the future of the heavyweight division, thanks to a record-setting knockout at UFC 102 back in late 2009, Duffee would get mixed up in the TRT drama, piss off UFC CEO Dana White, then get cut from UFC after a knockout loss to the unheralded Mike Russow in May 2010. Duffee would eventually return after a protracted battle with injuries but once again, failed to make an impact in the 265-pound division. His last trip to the cage ended in a technical knockout loss to Phil De Fries at KSW 79 in early 2023, his only fight over the last five years.

“I’m going to go out and make history on Saturday night,” Duffee said at the “KnuckleMania 4” press conference (watch it here).

I have no idea what that means because win or lose, it’s just a bareknuckle fight on the PPV main card. I’m not sure what the historical component is or what he plans to do that would etch his name into the annals of combat sports history. Maybe he’ll drive up to the ring in a beer truck like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and give his opponent a sudsy shower?

Like most UFC veterans who later link up with BKFC, Ben Rothwell struggled to stay consistent inside the Octagon, getting smoked by Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC Vegas 42 before getting abruptly released in early 2022. “Big Ben” was not a perfect fighter by any means, earning a two-year drug suspension in early 2017, but for the purposes of this contest it’s worth noting that Rothwell has 28 knockouts in 39 MMA fights. More importantly, the 42 year-old bruiser already has two wins in the bareknuckle arena, smashing Bobo O’Bannon at BKFC 30 before wrecking Josh Copeland at BKFC 41. Duffee has no victories and no experience as a bareknuckle fighter, is coming off an extended layoff, and hasn’t seen the win column in nearly a decade. This seems like a pretty easy pick.

“I love this company,” Rothwell said at the “KnuckleMania 4” press conference (watch it here). “David Feldman and the BKFC staff are trail blazers. They’re making history. Each one of these events are historic, and I want to be a part of it. I’m out here to perform and set my place in BKFC history.”

I guess these guys were instructed to keep repeating “history!” during last night’s presser.

Prediction: Rothwell def. Duffee by knockout

For much more on this weekend’s “KnuckleMania 4” card click here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts