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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

MMA’s co-leader had a tough night in the production booth this weekend.

On Friday, PFL 2 took place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas and featured the start of the 2024 lightweight and light heavyweight seasons. Though it was a good night of fights, perhaps the most talked-about moment of the evening was a gaff by the commentary team.

For most of the evening, the commentary team could be heard on live mics on the ESPN+ when the program cut to commercial break. That came back to bite them following the co-main, when Rob Wilkinson destroyed Tom Breese in just 70 seconds, and commentator Sean O’Connell could be heard making a joke about Wilkinson and steroids.

“Can I ask him about his steroids? Where he got them?”

Wilkinson, the 2022 PFL light heavyweight champion, had his first post-title win – a stoppage of Thiago Santos – overturned due to a no-contest after he tested positive for elevated testosterone. As a result, he was pulled from the 2023 light heavyweight season as a result and received a nine-month suspension.

O’Connell later interviewed Wilkinson in the cage about his win, and of course, made no mention of his off-stage joke. But later on X, he apologized for his words.

Apologies to Rob Wilkinson and team about the wisecrack on hot mic. [Factory X MMA], gotta be better. Never want to be a lame distraction from a great performance.

Check out the full PFL 2 results here.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Iron Reacts
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UFC

After months of mixed martial arts (MMA) sludge and a few decent events, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) remains in Las Vegas, Nevada, for UFC 300. It’s FINALLY here!

In the pay-per-view (PPV) main event, Light Heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, defends the 205-pound strap against former division roost-ruler, Jamahal Hill, who never officially lost the belt (in the cage). In UFC 300’s co-main event, women’s Strawweight champion, Zhang Weili, takes on fellow countrywoman, Yan Xiaonan.

UFC 300 is the best card (see it here) that the promotion has ever put together and is absolutely stacked from the first “Prelims” undercard bout to the PPV main event. So, before it all goes down later this evening (Sat., April 13, 2023) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, let’s checkout some random storylines, tidbits and statistics ahead of showtime …

11,111

UFC 300 will take place 11,111 days after UFC 1, which took place on Nov. 11, 1993. The historic event will also be the 687th UFC fight card to take place.

(Not) UFC 300

UFC 300 is not the 300th-numbered event. In actuality, it is the 302nd-numbered event because three numbered events were canceled: UFC 151, UFC 176 and UFC 233. In addition, there were random .”5” events back in the day (e.g. UFC 35.5).

But, who really cares, right?

HISTORY

There are 12 former, interim and/or current UFC champions competing at UFC 300.

Phenomenal ‘Poatan’

In seven UFC fights, Pereira has become a UFC champion in two divisions, headlined Madison Square Garden (twice), defeated four former UFC champions, and is now headlining UFC 300.

When you really think about it, those accolades are genuinely incredible, especially since most of his combat sports career was in kickboxing.

Never Lost It

“Sweet Dreams” Hill never lost the Light Heavyweight championship, but he relinquished it after tearing his Achilles during 2023 International Fight Week.

Returning to competition after just nine months is a crazy feat, but Hill somehow pulled it off … right?

Hill is riding a four-fight win streak with three finishes.

Revenge For Coach

After Hill defeated Glover Teixeira for the vacant Light Heavyweight title (watch highlights), Pereira — who was in his coach’s corner — looked at Hill like he wanted to exact immediate revenge; fortunately, he waited until this weekend.

China Vs. China … In Vegas?

UFC 300’s co-main event features two fighters from China, but for some reason, they are not fighting in China. UFC has not been to China since 2019, when Zhang won the Strawweight title from Jessica Andrade (watch it).

The promotion was trying to return to China last year, but the event got canceled.

‘Magnum’ Back In Vegas

The last time Weili competed in “Sin City” was UFC 248 in 2020, which happened to be her iconic showdown with Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Since then, the Chinese fighter has fought all over the world.

BMF!

The “Baddest Motherfu—er” (BMF) belt will make its third appearance at UFC 300. Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal battled for the inaugural belt at UFC 244 back in Nov. 2019. Then, it was revived at UFC 291 last year in Salt Lake City, Utah, between Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje.

Gaethje defends against Max Holloway.

Gambling A Title Fight Away?

Gaethje earned a Lightweight title shot last year with the epic Poirier knockout; however, instead of sitting on the sidelines and waiting for division champion, Islam Makhachev, Gaethje decided to gamble away his title shot this weekend. If he loses to Holloway, his Lightweight title shot is gone; however, with a win, he’s still in contention.

Lightweight Max

Holloway will be returning to Lightweight to challenge Gaethje for the “BMF” title after eight fights at Featherweight. The last time Holloway fought at Lightweight was against Poirier at UFC 236, losing a lopsided unanimous decision for UFC’s interim Lightweight championship.

Four Years

When Holloway steps in the cage on Saturday, it will literally be four years to the day from when “Blessed” last competed at Lightweight — UFC 236 (April 13, 2019).

Max Gets His Wish

Holloway has been asking for custom floral shorts for a few years now, and he got them for UFC 300.

Winner Gets Next

According to UFC CEO, Dana White, the winner of Arman Tsarukyan vs. Charles Oliveira will become the next title contender, so the stakes of the 155-pound bout are huge.

Oliveira got back into the win column by running through Beneil Dariush (watch it). Tsarukyan also starched Dariush in his last fight (see it), improving his win streak to three.

Massive Dog

UFC mega prospect, Bo Nickal, opens the PPV card against Cody Brundage. As of this writing, Brundage is one of the biggest underdogs in UFC history, going as high as +1100.

Nickal is a -2100 favorite, and while he’s not as big a favorite as he was in his second UFC fight, he is still a massive favorite.

‘Rocket’ Returns

It has been 22 months since Aleksandar Rakic tore his ACL against Jan Blachowicz at UFC Vegas 54. Before his injury, Rakic was climbing toward a Light Heavyweight title shot, but so much has changed since his injury, including two new champions.

Regardless, with a win at UFC 300, Rakic puts himself right back at the top of the division. “Rocket” faces Jiri Prochazka.

Samurai Mind Games

Rakic declared his fight with Prochazka for the “King of Europe” because both fighters reside in Europe (Rakic in Austria; Prochazka in Czech Republic).

At UFC 300 Media Day, Prochazka responded and said UFC 300’s showdown is not for the “King of Europe” and that Rakic talks too much, especially about Prochazka being a, “fake samurai.”

“He’s talking too much; he doesn’t know me,” Jiri said. “But, he will know who I am in the cage.”

Mr. Boston Returns

Calvin Kattar returns to action this week after a 17-month layoff. In his last fight against Featherweight contender, Arnold Allen, he destroyed his knee, requiring extensive rehab. Kattar secretly wanted to return at UFC 292, which took place in his hometown of Boston, Mass., but it was just a little too early.

Kattar is riding the first two-fight losing streak of his career.

Goodbye, Bantamweight

After 27 fights at Bantamweight (19 of them in UFC), Aljamain Sterling jumps to the Featherweight division after capturing the Bantamweight title (and destroying his body in the process).

And he looks great.

While we obviously won’t know until the fight starts on Saturday, an un-depleted Sterling could make a dent in the 145-pound division, and a fight with Kattar is a great test. It’s also fascinating because Sterling is a grappling ace, while Kattar boasts terrific takedown defense.

Welcome To UFC!

Only one fighter makes their UFC debut this weekend, former two-time Professional Fighters League (PFL) Lightweight champion, Kayla Harrison (16-1). The two-time Judo Olympian gold medalist holds a 76 percent finish rate with six knockouts and six submissions in MMA.

In addition to making her highly-anticipated debut, she is moving down to Bantamweight, two weight classes below her normal class (see her transformation here).

Harrison faces former Bantamweight champion, Holly Holm. And, with a win, she could jump the line and fight Raquel Pennington for the title.

Top 15 Opportunity

Just three fights into his UFC career, Diego Lopes will get another shot at the Top 15 Featherweight rankings as he takes on No. 13 Sodiq Yusuff. Lopes has been much watch television since entering the promotion on short notice against Movsar Evolev – receiving three “Performances of the Night” bonuses.

Lopes is riding a two-fight winning streak, while Yusuff is coming off his first main event loss against Edson Barboza.

Ranked Lightweights Clash

Jalin Turner puts his No. 10 Lightweight ranking on the line in the early “Prelims” headliner against No. 13-seeded, Renato Moicano.

Turner — fighting on his ninth-numbered UFC card — got back in the win column after destroying Bobby Green at UFC Austin (watch it). Meanwhile, Moicano is riding a two-fight win streak.

The winner of this fight will take a big step forward in UFC’s stacked Lightweight division.

Fighting Friends

Top-ranked women’s Strawweight contenders Jessica Andrade vs. Marina Rodriguez throw down on the early “Prelims,” and it is interesting because they are friends and have been under the same management several times.

There have been several instances of friends fighting throughout the years, and while sometimes it seems like they are sparring, both Andrade and Rodriguez said at UFC 300 media day they are going to try to knockout each other because the Strawweight title scene is pretty wide open.

10 Years In The Making

Jim Miller vs. Bobby Green is finally happening (KNOCK ON WOOD). The two Lightweights have been scheduled three times before, but it has never happened; in fact, the first time the fight was booked was way back in 2014. UFC tried to book the fight again in 2021 and 2022; however, bad luck struck again.

While it has taken them 10 years to finally collide, the stakes are as high as ever because Green is defending his No. 14 ranking.

Trifecta

On Saturday, Miller will be the only fighter to have competed in UFC 100, UFC 200 and UFC 300. At UFC 100, he defeated Mac Danzig via unanimous decision, and then at UFC 200, Miller stopped Takanori Gomi in the first round.

Will they be going undefeated (3-0) at iconic events this weekend?

Ridiculous Curtain Jerker

In what will probably go down as the “Best First Fight of a UFC Fight Card Ever,” former Flyweight champion-turned ranked Bantamweight contender, Deiveson Figueiredo, takes on former Bantamweight kingpin, Cody Garbrandt.

Two former champions kicking off the card is just nuts … and it should be a banger.

Rebooked

Figueiredo vs. Garbrandt were initially supposed to collide at UFC 255 in a Flyweight title fight; however, the fight was scrapped because Garbrandt contracted COVID-19.

UFC 300 Fight Leader

The fighter with the most career fights competing at UFC 300 is Miller (57).

UFC Vegas 90 Fight Rookie

The fighter with the least amount of career fights competing at UFC 300 is Nickal (5).

UFC Vegas 90 Knockout King

The fighter with the most amount of career knockouts competing at UFC 300 is Prochazka (25).

UFC Vegas 90 Submission Savant

The fighter with the most amount of career submissions competing at UFC 300 is Oliveira (15).

Winners And Losers

Nineteen fighters are coming off wins, and six are coming off losses. One is coming off a dreaded “No Contest” (Holm).

Multi-Divisions

Here are the divisions that will be on display tonight:

• Two Light Heavyweight fights
• One Middleweight fight
• Four Lightweight fights
• Two Featherweight fights
• One Bantamweight fight
• One Bantamweight fight
• Two Women’s Strawweight fights

Beta Dog

According to DraftKings, UFC 300’s “biggest” underdog is Brundage at +900.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 300 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN 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 300: “Pereira vs. Hill” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

MMA Fighting has UFC 300 results for the Pereira vs. Hill event, live blogs for the entire fight card, and more from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., on Saturday night.

In the main event, UFC lightweight champion Alex Pereira will put his title on the line against former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill.

UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili will defend her title against top contender Yan Xiaonan in the co-main event.

Justin Gaethje aims to keep his BMF title against former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway also on the main card.

Check out the UFC 300 results below.

Main card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)

Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan

Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway

Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan

Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage

Prelims (ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)

Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic

Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling

Holly Holm vs. Kayla Harrison

Sodiq Yusuff vs. Diego Lopes

Prelims (ESPN/ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET)

Jalin Turner vs. Renato Moicano

Jessica Andrade vs. Marina Rodriguez

Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller

Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Conor McGregor is planning to use his surgically repaired leg to use in his UFC return.

McGregor broke his leg in July of 2021 and since then, he needed a rod in his leg to help the rehab process. With it being nearly three years since he last fought, the Irishman is getting closer to a return.

McGregor has claimed he will be returning in June against Michael Chandler at International Fight Week. In his return, the Irishman plans to win his return fight by head kick KO, using the leg he broke.

“God bless medical science. God bless my pockets, my net worth and, you know, being able to afford care at the highest, highest level. I had the best care,” McGregor said on This Life of Mine with James Corden (via MMAFighting). “I am ‘Terminator’ now. I have a titanium rod that goes into the knee and down to the bone, right down to my ankle. It’s unbreakable, so I have free reign to kick now, so I’m ready to go and I’m excited. I wish for and I will work for landing this kick with this steel bar in my leg against an opponent and getting them out of there. I want to see a picture of myself in the octagon with my leg broke, and then I wanna see a picture of myself in the octagon with my leg wrapped around my opponent’s neck or head and putting him out and side by side.”

If McGregor does get a head kick KO with the leg he broke in his return, it would be a storybook return for him.

Conor McGregor knew his leg would break

Entering his trilogy with Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor knew he had a stress fracture in his leg and was well aware it was only a matter of time until it broke.

Unfortunately for the Irishman, his leg broke at the end of the first round, but the injury has allowed him to rehab and act in the remake of Road House.

But, now that the movie and rehab are all done, McGregor is getting closer to a UFC return which could be this June at International Fight Week.

LowKickMMA.com

The UFC 300 main event fighters, middleweight champion Alex Pereira and former titleholder Jamahal Hill faced off following Friday’s UFC 300 Ceremonial Weigh-In.

Hill will attempt to win back the title he was forced to relinquish due to injury.  It’ll be Pereira’s first title defense.  

UFC 300 Ceremonial Weigh-In: Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

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