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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jamahal Hill isn’t taking his second UFC title fight for granted.

The 32-year-old returns to action on Saturday to face champion Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 300 in Las Vegas. Having spent much of the past year on the sidelines, Hill enters the octagon with a fresh perspective.

“Appreciate the moments,” Hill said. “It could have all been over. It really could have all been over for me.”

Fifteen months ago at UFC 283, Hill completed a rapid rise to stardom, defeating Glover Teixeira to claim a vacant light heavyweight title. Six months later, he ruptured his achilles during a game of pickup basketball. And just like that, his reign was over.

“There are people, there are athletes who have suffered this same injury who had to call it quits on their hopes and their dreams, and I’m fortunate enough to now be in a time and in a position where the best medicine available was available to me,” he continued. “I was able to take advantage of that and use the resources to make my way back and come back in a time that people really just can’t seem to believe.”

The news that Pereira and Hill would headline the UFC’s landmark event came as a surprise to some, given the severity of Hill’s injury. There were plenty of seeds planted for the matchup, as they’ve frequently spoken of each other in interviews. The timetable for Hill’s return was not known until the UFC 300 main event was announced, however.

For Hill, self-belief was key to preparing for this opportunity, as it has been since his youth.

“If somebody told me [three years ago] I’d be headlining UFC 300, I’d believe it,” he said. “I’d believe it because I know myself, and I know the belief I’ve always held in myself. But it would have gotten me hype. It would have definitely had me excited. I don’t know. I just always planned on being in these moments and being in this situation ever since I was a kid.

“You can even ask my dad, my dad is here right now. Just from the time I was a kid, I just always believed that whatever I did I was going to be one of the best at it. For a time, it was football. For a time, it was basketball. Whenever I set in on fighting, I knew I would be here in moments like this, fighting for championships and able to have an opportunity to put myself up there with the greatest names to ever do it.”

Hill, who was signed to the UFC from Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019, has lost just once in 14 pro bouts and is currently on a four-fight winning streak. After he relinquished the title due to injury, it remained vacant until this past November, when Pereira defeated Jiri Prochazka to bring a modicum of order to the light heavyweight division.

Since then, Hill has eyed a chance to fight Pereira and regain the belt. But despite the professional tension between them, they still found time to share a moment of respect during fight week.

“I just took away the fact that I appreciate him taking the time out to sign that for me,” Hill said when asked about his friendly encounter with Pereira. “It’s something that I wanted to get from this week. I’m just enjoying the time. It’s my time. Life is but a vapor, so I’m going to enjoy it. This is one of the very special moments, very special cards, very special week and fight, and I just want to take it in as much as possible.”

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Ian’s desire
| BJPenn.com

Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and red-hot Russian bruiser Arman Tsarukyan will collide in a No. 1 contender fight (thanks to Justin Gaethje) on the UFC 300 pay-per-view main card on Sat. night (April 13, 2024) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

But Oliveira hasn’t done much in the way of pre-fight promotion.

That’s why Tsarukyan has been carrying the load, at least in terms of trash talk, but that doesn’t mean “Ahalkalakets” believes Oliveira is a “quitter.”

“Former champion can’t be like this,” Tsarukyan said during the UFC 300 media day. “He was former champion and he defend titles, quitter guys can’t be champion. I gotta talk about him because he doesn’t talk about me. I gotta talk about him. I wanna get more people to watch this fight. That’s why I gotta say something about him. I’m just trying to get more fans to watch this fight.”

Tsarukyan also cleared the air on the Kayla Harrison drama from last month’s fan Q&A.

“We talked to each other after that,” Tsarukyan said. “She understood what I meant and now we’re good.”

Tsarukyan (21-3) dropped a decision to Islam Makhachev in his UFC debut back in early 2019. In the years that followed, “Ahalkalakets” compiled an 8-1 record, which includes his first-round destruction of Beneil Dariush at UFC Austin. That performance was good enough to land Tsarukyan at No. 4 in the official lightweight rankings.

As for Oliveira (34-9, 1 NC), he coughed up the strap to Makhachev in the UFC 280 headliner back in late 2022. After disposing of the aforementioned Dariush at UFC 289 to get himself back into the lightweight title hunt, a late cut in training camp bounced “Do Bronx” from his Makhachev rematch at UFC 294.

One final hurdle to clear for the next 155-pound title shot.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 300 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 300 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 300: “Pereira vs. Hill” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive UFC 300 event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 300 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Cody Garbrandt believes he has the mental edge over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300.

On Saturday, Garbrandt fights Figueiredo in the opening fight of Saturday’s blockbuster pay-per-view. It’s a fight nearly four years in the making, as the two were previously booked to face each other for the flyweight championship at UFC 255. Garbrandt was ultimately forced to withdraw from that bout due to COVID-19, but now he has his chance to face the former flyweight champion, and he couldn’t be more excited.

“I called him out,” Garbrandt said at UFC 300 media day. “He doesn’t want this fight. So let’s get that clear. It’s a fight that’s been in my mind for a while. I was supposed to fight him four years ago. Obviously I got COVID really bad, had to pull out of the fight and focus on getting healthy. It’s been an uphill grind to get back to this point. But I stuck true to myself, believed in myself through the ups and the downs, the adversity, what life throws at you, and everything comes full circle. We’re here fight week, and I’m more excited for this fight now than when it was scheduled in the past.”

This is Figueiredo’s sophomore outing at 135 pounds, and ahead of the fight, the former flyweight champion took shots at Garbrandt, citing his struggles over the past few years.

To Garbrandt, that’s just a sign of weakness.

“Truly, he’s trying to sell the fight,” Garbrandt said. “And also, I’ve been there. I’ve been where I had to talk, where I wasn’t mentally prepared to go in there. I’m always ready to fight physically. Mentally it’s the biggest thing. …

“I’ve been there where maybe he lacks a lot of confidence. Maybe he didn’t prepare like he needed to, so he’s trying to get into the head game. That’s maybe his out. [He’s thinking], ‘I’ll get in Cody’s head, I’m going win this fight.’ If that’s what he’s going off of to be victorious on Saturday, he’s going to have a long night ahead of him.”

Garbrandt is a former bantamweight champion, but he’s struggled the last few years, losing five of his next six bouts after winning the title. He rebounded in 2023, winning back-to-back fights, and he believes that a win this weekend over a former champion comes with a bigger reward than just his win bonus.

“Deiveson is a former world champion at flyweight,” Garbrandt said. “He came up, he’s ranked what, eighth in the division? I think rankings are a bunch of bulls*** anyway, but he’s eight, so he’s in the rankings. That will be three fights in a row for me. I’m going to knock him out on Saturday. That puts me right back in title contention where I belong.”

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Aleksandar Rakic is tired of hearing about Jiri Prochazka’s “fake samurai sh*t.”

This Saturday night, April 13, Rakic will look to get back into the win column after going down due to a leg injury in the third round of his clash with former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in May 2022. This time, ‘Rocket’ will be tasked with trying to take out another ex-titleholder, Jiri Prochazka.

Shortly after their UFC 300 showdown became official, Rakic went on the record calling Prochazka a “clown” and denouncing the Czech’s affinity for the samurai code. “I don’t care about him and this fake samurai shit that he’s doing,” Rakic said in an interview with MMA Junkie.

Rakic echoed a similar sentiment while speaking to members of the media days ahead of the UFC’s next landmark event.

“I said he’s a fake samurai because you cannot become a samurai after just reading a book,” Rakic said at Wednesday’s UFC media event. “If you’re a samurai, you need to live [like] this for a long time and not for the last 2-3 years. So that’s why I said he’s a fake samurai.”

Aleksandar Rakic gunning for a uFC title Opportunity with a win over Prochazka

Aleksandar Rakic is 6-2 under the UFC banner, his lone losses being a split decision to Volkan Oezdemir and his injury TKO against Blachowicz. A win over Jiri Prochazka would undoubtedly be a feather in his cap, as it could put him in a position to challenge the winner of UFC 300’s headlining act between current 205-pound king Alex Pereira and challenger Jamahal Hill.

Prochazka looks to bounce back from his first loss inside the Octagon after suffering a second-round KO at the hands of Pereira in November. Overall, ‘Denisa’ is 29-4-1 in MMA, and 3-1 in the UFC.

Check out Aleksandar Rakic’s full appearance at Wednesday’s UFC media day below:

LowKickMMA.com

A bout between bitter welterweight rivals Ian Machado Garry and Colby Covington appears to be half done.  Garry claimed via social media that he has agreed to face Covington next and the a date has been set.  

The only hold up, according to Garry, is that Covington ‘still hasn’t signed the contract.’

“What’s up everyone, it’s Tuesday the 9th of April at ten past one. I just want to let everyone know I have agreed the fight with Colby Covington. There is a date in place – Colby still hasn’t signed the contract,” Garry said in an Instagram video.  

View the original article to see embedded media.

Following Garry’s UFC 298 win over Geoff Neal on Feb. 17, he called out the former three-time title challenger.  Weeks later, Covington responded with stipulations and attacks on Garry’s wife.  

“Let me teach you all a lesson about how you bait someone. Ian Garry, you translucent cuck, you wanted my attention, now you got it,” Covington said in the video. “Everybody knows why you want to fight me, Ian. I’m the biggest star in the division. It’s big city, bright lights, and the most attention and eyes you’re ever gonna have on you when I fight. But, everybody knows Ian you missed your chance, you had your chance in December to step on the same stage as me and have a microphone and say whatever you want to say to me.”

Related: Daniel Cormier: Ian Garry fight ‘dangerous’ for Colby Covington

“But, you were scared, you were scared of what I was going to say to you and you got the sniffles and you cried your way out. That was just a taste of what I could do to you, Ian,” Covington continued.  “All I did was ask the five thousand people in attendance, how many people banged your wife? It’s not my fault that every single one of them raised their hand. If you are scared of that Ian, if you are scared of words, what do you think it’s going to be like when you step in the steel cage with Chaos.”

“Everybody knows what’s in it for you, Ian, but what’s in it for me? Why do I have to go down in the rankings and fight some Casper-The-Ghost looking Irish kid who has a gold-digging wife? Let me teach you the art of a deal, Ian. Let’s come to a compromise. If you can meet these three stipulations, we got a fight. Stipulation one, you and the gold-digging w***e got to turn your Instagram comments back on, and if you turn them back off before the fight, you forfeit the fight. If you turn them off during fight week or after I beat your ass, you forfeit your purse. Stipulation number two, Ian we have heard you cry and beg on your knees, but we all now you aren’t the boss and you don’t wear the pants in your relationship,” Covington said.

“Layla, you got 60 seconds to convince me and the people why this fight needs to happen. So, put your husband in the corner, get on your hands and knees and beg. Now, for stipulation number three, my personal favorite. As you all may have noticed, something has been missing from my MyBookie promos lately, that’s because I’ve been saving that spot for a special someone. Layla, you want to be a star? You want the spotlight, I got it for you, sweetie,” Covington said.  

Garry is undefeated (14-0) and ranked seventh in the 170-pound division. Covington (17-4) lost to champion Leon Edwards in his last outing. He’s ranked fourth but has lost three of his last five fights. 

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

At UFC 300 media day, all the fighters on Saturday’s card will answer questions from the media Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas.

The UFC 300 media day video is expected to start at 1 p.m. ET.

1 p.m.: Cody Brundage

1:15 p.m.: Arman Tsarukyan

1:30 p.m.: Aleksandar Rakic

10:45 a.m.: Marina Rodriguez

2 p.m.: Kayla Harrison

2:15 p.m.: Bobby Green

2:30 p.m. Cody Garbrandt

2:45 p.m. Diego Lopes

3 p.m. Renato Moicano

3:30 p.m. Xiaonan Yan

3:45 p.m. Max Holloway

4 p.m. Aljamain Sterling

4:15 p.m.: Jamahal Hill

4:30 p.m.: Deiveson Figueiredo

4:45 p.m.: Alex Pereira

5 p.m.: Jiri Prochazka

5:15 p.m.: Jessica Andrade

5:30 p.m.: Jalin Turner

5:45 p.m.: Sodiq Yusuff

6 p.m.: Bo Nickal

6:15 p.m.: Holly Holm

6:30 p.m.: Zhang Weili

6:45 p.m.: Jim Miller

7 p.m.: Justin Gaethje

7:30 p.m.: Charles Oliveira

7:45 p.m.: Calvin Kattar

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