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UFC featherweight “Super” Sodiq Yusuff stars as Sunday Adelekan in the Disney+ series Iwájú.

UFC fighters are no stranger to television shows — just ask Officer Weidman.

But those combat sports athletes who do land a network gig are usually one-and-done after a single episode. That’s not the case for UFC featherweight Sodiq Yusuff, who locked up a “Super” role on Iwájú, which Disney describes as an “original animated series set in a futuristic Lagos, Nigeria.”

“In Yoruba [Yusuff’s native language], Iwájú means ‘in the future,’” Yusuff told The MMA Hour. “It’s about a futuristic Nigeria, and I play a character [Sunday Adelekan].”

Here’s a sample of what to expect from Iwájú:

Yusuff landed the six-episode role after chatting with one of the show’s animators on social media.

“He was a Nigerian UFC fan, so I checked off all the boxes,” Yusuff said. “I was like, I’ve always been a big nerd, and I would love to be a part of your project, no matter how small the role is. Now I’m in a Disney show. My DMs are full of me shooting my shot at a million different things. And yes, I get no’s all the time. But it doesn’t matter how many no’s you get – you just need a yes every once in a while.”

Yusuff, 30, is hoping to get a “yes” from the judges when he fights Diego Lopes at UFC 300 on Sat. night (April 13, 2024) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas — unless the “Super” featherweight can lock up a finish and find his way back into the win column.

“As long as you sign a paycheck at the end, I could care less,” Yusuff said about landing a coveted spot in the historic UFC 300 lineup. “I haven’t fought in front of a crowd since the pandemic. It’s always dope. I’m sure when it’s over I’ll be able to see the bigger picture.”

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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Michel Pereira needs a new opponent for UFC 301 after Makhmud Muradov withdrew from the May 4 card in Rio de Janeiro.

Muradov announced on his social media that he’s dealing with an infection and decided alongside his team to cancel the fight. Pereira posted on his social media he’s still training and hoping to be given a replacement.

UFC 301 goes down May 4 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and features flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja battling Steve Erceg in the pay-pewr-view headliner. Pereira vs. Muradov was expected to be the third to last bout of the card, just under Jose Aldo’s return opposite Jonathan Martinez.

Pereira (30-11, 2 no-contest) scored his seventh straight victory in the UFC in this past March by submitting Michał Oleksiejczuk in just over a minute, improving to 2-0 since moving up full-time to middleweight.

Check the updated card below.

• Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg
• Jonathan Martinez vs. Jose Aldo
• Michel Pereira vs. TBD
• Paul Craig vs. Caio Borralho
• Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Iasmin Lucindo
• Anthony Smith vs. Vitor Petrino
• Joaquim Silva vs. Drakkar Klose
• Alessandro Costa vs. Kevin Borjas
• Dione Barbosa vs. Ernesta Kareckaite
• Joanderson Brito vs. Jack Shore
• Elves Brener vs. Myktybek Orolbai
• Jean Silva vs. William Gomis
• Vinc Pichel vs. Ismael Bonfim
• Jamie Mullarkey vs. Mauricio Ruffy

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Charles Oliveira is ready to let his fighting do his talking against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 on Saturday.

Oliveira is set to fight Tsarukyan on Saturday in a potential No. 1 contender fight at lightweight. It’s a very intriguing matchup, and in the lead-up to the fight, Tsarukyan took aim at Oliveira’s record as he said the Brazilian is limited to taking his opponents’ backs and submitting them with rear-naked chokes.

“People say what they want, right?” Charles Oliveira said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “If I only have that, and I have 16 submissions on my [UFC] record, I guess they were all from the back, right? And I guess the knockouts I have weren’t knockouts, they were submissions. It’s too much bulls*** they talk. It was said that I’m a quitter, but I was knocked down, walked forward and knocked them out. I also heard I’m not hungry, that I don’t want it anymore. He doesn’t know how bad I want to become champion again.”

Oliveira knows Tsarukyan is a solid well-rounded opponent so the Brazilian is expecting a very tough fight on Saturday at UFC 300.

Charles Oliveira vows to finish Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300

Charles Oliveira enters his UFC 300 scrap as the betting underdog, but the Brazilian has confidence he can pull off the upset.

Oliveira believes he has all the tools to defeat Tsarukyan, and thinks he can finish him to have another statement win.

“Of course, I want to knock him out. I want to submit him. I want the win, and I don’t want to leave it to the judges. The worst thing that can happen is leave it to the judges, so I will go for it the entire time. Of course, very strategically, making things happen. He’s super tough, has good striking and good takedowns, but I’m 100 percent ready for this. I’m not worried about what Arman can bring, but with what I can do. It’s all about me being happy and bold, and having my hand raised.”

If Oliveira wins, he thinks he could get a title shot next, but isn’t ruling out being Conor McGregor’s return opponent.

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UFC 300 fight week is upon us.  The historic event is headlined by a light heavyweight title bout between champion Alex Pereira (9-2) and former titleholder Jamahal Hill (12-1, 1 NC).

Pereira won the 205-pound championship by stopping former champion Jiri Prochazka in the second round of the UFC 295 main event in November. 

“I feel very good.  I’m ready.  This camp was good.  Perfect camp.  Perfect training partners.  The energy is good,” Pereira told SHAK MMA.     

Looking ahead to the Hill matchup, Pereira believes Prochazka is a superior striker to his UFC 300 opponent.  

“I think Jiri is more accurate and precise on his strikes, the way that he flows, the way that he fights.  Jamhal Hill has a little bit more advantage on his power which makes him dangerous too because nobody wants to take a hit and go down in fights.  But when You talk about skill level, Jiri Prochazka is superior.”   

UFC 300 will be Pereira’s first light heavyweight title defense.  He moved up a division after losing to Israel Adesanya in a rematch UFC 287.  He plans on bringing the same excitement that he did at middleweight to the 205-pound weight class.  

“I want to bring the same level of excitement for the fans at light heavyweight,” Pereira said.  “I want to make the fans want to by the pay-per-view.  I want to make the fans get excited for my performance.”  

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Michael Bisping gladly gives his opinion, but that doesn’t mean he’s making any decisions for the UFC.

Case in point, the former middleweight champion threw out a suggestion after UFC 299 that perhaps Dustin Poirier should slot right into a title fight against Islam Makhachev following a stunning knockout of Benoit Saint Denis. That didn’t sit well with Justin Gaethje, who fired back on social media when he replied “Bisping talking bollocks” after previously knocking out Poirier this past July.

In response, Bisping made it clear that he doesn’t influence UFC when it comes to who is or isn’t getting a title fight. But Bisping also reminds Gaethje that he can’t get booked against Makhachev right now because he’s already scheduled against Max Holloway at UFC 300.

“Justin Gaethje kind of came at me on Twitter and I understand,” Bisping told MMA Fighting. “No. 1, I’m not the matchmaker. I was just throwing it out there saying, wow, with that performance and the way that fight went down with Dustin Poirier, I see a reason and why he might get that opportunity. But the main reason I said that was because Justin Gaethje is fighting a featherweight. So right now, you’re booked up.

“Islam wants to be busy. Apparently still wants to fight three times this year. If he wasn’t booked to fight Max Holloway, I would say, well, that doesn’t make sense, Justin Gaethje’s the guy. But he’s booked, simple as that. And guess what? You’re fighting someone that isn’t named Islam Makhachev. You’re fighting someone that isn’t even a 155er. That’s just the landscape that we’re in because of a contract that he signed. Nothing to do with me.”

Timing often trumps rankings when it comes to UFC title fights, and that may end up as the biggest obstacle in Gaethje’s path back to a championship. Rumors swirled that Makhachev could potentially fight as early as UFC 302 on June 1 or possibly UFC 303 on June 29.

With Gaethje scheduled for a five-round showdown against Holloway — a fighter who has never been finished by strikes — the odds are good that those two won’t walk away unscathed from their battle at UFC 300. Turning around and fighting again as quickly as six weeks later just seems unrealistic, but anything is possible.

None of that even matters if Gaethje doesn’t win, so Bisping stands by his pitch that perhaps Poirier gets that opportunity since he’s healthy, ready, and available without a fight already booked.

“I kind of just threw [Dustin Poirier getting a title shot] out there — maybe he should fight Islam. Because Justin is fighting Max Holloway,” Bisping said. “Yeah, sure, Justin should be next but it’s not guaranteed that [first] Justin wins — he probably will most likely, but you can’t underestimate Max, and secondly, you can’t guarantee that he’s not going to be banged up, he’s not going to have an injury, he’s not going to need a little bit of time off.

“So I think Justin, if he wins, of course he’s the guy, but in the interim, if he’s not well enough or because he’s already got a fight lined up, put in Dustin Poirier. Because I think everybody would love to see that and I think Islam wants to be busy.”

Of course, Gaethje’s bigger problem might be UFC CEO Dana White declaring that a separate lightweight fight at UFC 300 between Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan would determine the next No. 1 contender in the division.

Bisping understands that’s a good problem to have for the division because there’s a growing list of potential candidates to challenge Makhachev. It doesn’t make things any easier on Gaethje but that’s just how the sport goes sometimes.

“Charles Oliveira-Arman Tsarukyan, they’re still the No. 1 contender, they’re still the next guy,” Bisping explained. “Let’s just say Dustin does fight [Islam]. If Justin wins, Justin is next and then the winner of Arman Tsarukyan-Charles Oliveira, they solidify their spot as the next guy. The problem is in this sport, they might have to wait around for a little bit, and if you wait on the sidelines, sometimes you get forgotten about.

“I guess the reality is in hindsight, maybe — I don’t mean this as any kind of insult at all — maybe Justin shouldn’t have taken that fight against Max. If he hadn’t taken that, I think without a shadow of a doubt, he would be next. But he wants to stay busy, he wants to stay active. He wants to take on the legendary Max Holloway, so good for him.”

Truth be told, Bisping can’t say with any certainty what the UFC will ultimately decide. He can only pitch an idea and give his opinion on what makes the most sense, but White and the powers-that-be at UFC will really be the ones to determine Gaethje’s future.

“Justin, f****** relax, I’m a fan of your work,” Bisping said “I didn’t mean any disrespect and I wish him all the best and he deserves a f****** title fight. But right now you’re booked against Max Holloway, and until that business is done and until you know that you’re healthy, you’re not going to get booked in another fight. That goes for all of them.

“People think I have all the answers and I know all the inside information. I’m just a knucklehead from England that’s still lucky enough to have a job. I show up, I do my job and I give my opinions. It doesn’t mean those opinions are true.”

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