Month: July 2022

‘It’s remarkable, the similarity’ – Conor McGregor praises Nunes, compares Peña to Nate Diaz

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC 277, UFC News

UFC 277 was punctuated by a remarkable performance from Amanda Nunes in the main event. Fresh off a shocking upset loss to Julianna Peña back in December of last year, doubt was thick in the air that the Brazilian still had the hunger to find her place as the queen of the bantamweight division.

“Amanda is a multi-millionaire who is now at a completely different financial status,” UFC president Dana White said of Nunes’ drive in the lead up to the bout. “She has a baby now. Her life—she is not that hungry savage she was when she started to take this run at becoming a world champion. A lot of that factors in.”

If that was the fear coming into this fight, however, Nunes re-wrote the narrative on Saturday, putting a 5 round beating on Julianna Peña to regain her ‘champ champ’ status. In the wake of her victory, a fellow former two-division title holder gave his thoughts on the ‘Lioness’, and the similarities between her bouts with Peña and his own battles against Nate Diaz.

“It’s remarkable to me, the similarity of last night’s ladies bantamweight title fight rematch, to mine and Diaz—the McGregor Diaz fights,” Conor McGregor explained in a series of recorded messages posted to his Twitter account. “Fight number one: the highly touted—the GOAT of the sport—me/Amanda Nunes; sheer toughness, willingness to fight, and caught off-guard. Eats a couple of shots, gives a couple of shots, then eats a couple of shots, then the tide turns—then gets choked.

“Now the return, the rematch; now confidence on the other side. Tenacity, toughness, all that still there. More focused work on the Nunes side/my side. The reason I’m even saying this, originally, is I’m a fan of both women. I’m a huge fan of both those women—Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena—and everyone who steps inside that fucking Octagon, to be honest, and makes the walk. And at the end of the original bout, ‘I’m not surprised, motherfuckers!’ And then, again, ‘I’m not surprised, motherfuckers!’ Julianna says it. And maaaan, the fight goes the exact same way in the second fight; dropped multiple times, just better prepared. Cracks the shots, gets the drop multiple times, but then the toughness just still there, still in Amanda’s face, still in my face.

“Some fights they are. They’re iconic mixed martial arts bouts that we’re all lucky to witness. And it’s mad that, you know, double-champ, double-champ. ‘I’m not surprised,’ ‘I’m not suprised.’ I dunno, it’s a madhouse scene…”

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After his praise for Nunes and comparisons to his Diaz bouts, McGregor went on to talk about Magomed Ankalaev’s kick check and Anthony Smith’s leg, and Brandon Moreno’s stellar interim flyweight title winning performance.

“That Mexican is a little animal of a thing. So’s the little New Zealander, also. Two goers, two proper goers from completely different parts of the world. Two different people, but two of the same in their own way. That was great to watch that bout. A really great bout. And the little Mexican is some boy-o. You gotta give it to him… A proper Mexican entrance and a proper Mexican fight…”

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Eventually he wrapped up with a thank you to all the fighters on the card, and what sounds to be the promise of a return to the cage sometime in the not to distant future.

“I’m buzzing, I want to come back. What’s up? Good fights like that, good fight nights like that, good cards like that, good PPVs inspire millions all around the world. Thank you all so much for the entertainment, and I’ll see you real soon.”

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McGregor has been rehabbing a broken leg suffered in his third bout against Dustin Poirier in July of last year. No word yet as to just when he might be expected to return to the Octagon, or against who, although the UFC seems to be expecting him back in the cage sometime later this year.

UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2 – Fights to make

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC 277, UFC Editorial, UFC Results

All things considered, UFC 277 was a really fun PPV event. Amanda Nunes returned to her double-champ status in dominating form, Brandon Moreno left absolutely no doubt about who the next flyweight title contender would be, and Alexandre Pantoja staked his own claim to a future shot at gold.

So, is there a good argument for a Peña/Nunes trilogy bout? Should the UFC consider running Derrick Lewis vs. Sergei Pavlovich back? And did Magomed Ankalaev do enough to put him at the front of the light heavyweight contender’s list?

To answer those questions—and lots more—I’ll be using the classic Silva/Shelby fight booking methodology from the UFC of years past. That means pitting winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured talent up against one another. Hopefully, by following that model, a few of these bout ideas will actually make it off the page and into the Octagon. Now, let’s get to the fights!

AMANDA NUNES

For one brief shining moment in time, the UFC had a clear answer as to just what the hell to do with Amanda Nunes in the midst of her extended run of bantamweight dominance. She had finally run up against a challenger that could push her to her physical limits, and even break her. In the wake of UFC 277, however, we’re back to asking a lot of the same old questions. Is it time to finally run back Valentina Shevchenko vs. Amanda Nunes again… again? Or does Julianna Pena deserve an instant rematch, despite being utterly dominated for just about every minute of a five round fight? Has Ketlen Vieira done enough to earn herself a title shot? Would a win over Macy Chiasson be enough to get Irene Aldana in the hunt?

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, because I never thought I’d find reason to say it, but it might just finally be time to book Shevchenko vs. Nunes 3. The second fight was abysmal, but Nunes has been through enough tribulations lately to feel more beatable than ever, and Shevchenko isn’t exactly facing any upcoming challengers that have fans clamoring. Shevchenko vs. Nunes 3 is worth booking while both women are still champions.

JULIANNA PEÑA

If the possibility was lingering, out in the ether, that Julianna Peña might just be too tough and determined for Amanda Nunes to handle after their first meeting, then it also has to be recognized that there was a distinct chance that Nunes might also be way too good for Peña to beat twice. Technical craft has never been the backbone of the ‘Venezuela Vixen’’s success, and a more composed, better prepared Nunes was able to exploit that fact for an absolutely crushing 25 minutes. To Peña’s credit, she never gave up, even for a second. And her dogged toughness and aggression gave the fight a strange precariousness, where it felt like the now-former bantamweight champ could swing the whole thing her way—given just the right punch or submission threat. But that never came, and instead Peña simply got trounced.

That leaves me a lot less interested in the idea of a trilogy, even though I could absolutely see the UFC booking one. Instead, Holly Holm is coming off a pretty disappointing loss that had her really riled up about judging. And she’s still one of the division’s most notable athletes. The ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ seems like a great fight to see if the 32-year-old can make a quick return to the title and keep her place among the bantamweight elite. Julianna Pena vs. Holly Holm looks like a top quality bounce back booking.

BRANDON MORENO

A very, very controlled performance for Brandon Moreno. He picked his spots early, working behind his jab, did a solid job pressuring and landing over Kara-France’s low kicks, and then even battled through some adversity to rally for the stoppage win. As a result, there’s only one fight left to make and it’s a fourth bout against Deiveson Figueiredo. The Brazilian was cageside to see this interim title bout, and after the fight the two men met in the cage and agreed to a possible showdown in December, in Brazil. Is that PPV card actually on the UFC schedule? I have no idea. But if it is, and if both men can continue the kind of shared drive and passion they showed in the cage Saturday, getting that quadrilogy booked shouldn’t be a problem. Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 4 is the flyweight title fight to make, no question.

KAI KARA-FRANCE

Kai Kara-France made the climb to the top of the mountain, and unfortunately found Brandon Moreno standing at the top, waiting to kick him right back down. To his credit, rather than slowing down as the fight went on (as many suspected might happen) the third round seemed to be Kara-France’s best—right up to the moment that it wasn’t, at least. Fortunately, there are more fighters looking to rise up the ranks at flyweight. Plenty of bouts for the City Kickboxing talent to use to reassert his spot as a top contender. Alex Perez lost earlier in the night, he could make a decent next option. Or there’s fights with Matt Schnell, Matheus Nicolau or a rematch with Brandon Royval as well. I especially like the idea of running back that Royval fight. ‘Raw Dawg’ is never boring business inside the Octagon, Royval vs. Kara-France 2 would be an absolute thriller.

SERGEI PAVLOVICH

Can’t blame Sergei Pavlovich for the quick finish in this one. He put serious hands on Derrick Lewis and had him in all kinds of trouble from the jump. If the ref stepped in before Lewis was out, that doesn’t change anything about the punches the Russian was landing leading up to that moment. The result pushes Pavlovich right into the midst of an already overcrowded heavyweight title picture. It’s not at all clear when any of the top contenders of this division are going to be competing again, and until they do, guys like him are just going to have to find ways to tread water.

Fights with Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, or Curtis Blaydes would all be fine options. Assuming there’s no training/friendship complications getting in the way, I’d say the Volkov fight is the clear first option. A fight with Blaydes is great if Pavlovich can get it, but Blaydes should probably be waiting to see if he can get a clear title eliminator bout, and Pavlovich isn’t necessarily that. Pavlovich vs. Volkov seems like a good way for both men to stay in the conversation of the heavyweight elite.

ALEXANDRE PANTOJA

Alexandre Pantoja was a man on a mission at UFC 277. He walked straight into the teeth of Alex Perez’s offense off the opening bell, set the tone with some winging, wild power shots, then forced a scramble to back take, straight into a face crank submission. A brilliant performance for the Brazilian and a rough return to action for Perez. After the bout, Pantoja was unequivocal in his demands for a flyweight title shot. Unfortunately for him, however, the interim title on the line in the co-main more or less guaranteed the next challenger—and it won’t be Pantoja (despite the fact that he’s beat both Moreno and Kara-France before).

Considering all that, and considering Figueiredo’s injury and possible bantamweight desires, that still likely means that waiting is the best option Pantoja has. He has a clear reason to claim a fight with anyone holding gold at the end of the year. If, for some reason he doesn’t want to wait—and assuming Figueiredo returns soon—then the only other option is a bout against Askar Askarov. At that point, Pantoja should just sit tight for his chance at gold.

MAGOMED ANKALAEV

It may not have been exactly the kind of thrilling performance people keep hoping to see Ankalaev develop his game into, but his patient, technical approach was just the right thing for Anthony Smith to break himself against with a checked low kick. That pushed Ankalaev on to the TKO victory, and the seeming position of no. 1 contender. Unfortunately for him, Jiri Prochazka wants to fight Jan Blachowicz, and there’s a lot of talk about a Glover Teixeira rematch for the belt as well. And that could mean a whole lot of time between fights if Ankalaev won’t take other fights.

I’m gonna go ahead and assume that an Ankalaev title shot isn’t the top priority for the UFC, and that the Dagestani will need to get in the Octagon at least once more. If Rakic wasn’t recovering from a knee injury, that’d be an obvious booking. Instead, if the UFC really is going to do a rematch for Teixeira, I’ll say book Ankalaev vs. Blachowicz. If it’s a Blachowicz title shot instead, go with Ankalaev/Texieira. But, Magomed Ankalaev vs. Jan Blachowicz is exactly the kind of bout to make a no. 1 contender.

DREW DOBER

There may still be gaps in Dober’s takedown defense, submission defense, and punching defense, but Drew Dober has used his time in the UFC to mold himself into one of the promotion’s most absolutely thrilling action talents. Rafael Alves looked like he had all the answers in round 1 behind his blinding speed, serious power, and even a nifty trip takedown. Dober weathered the storm, kept the pressure high and started breaking down Alves’ body on the way to a one punch liver shot KO in round 3. A beautiful win for the Elevation Fight Team product.

Given Dober’s self stated predilection for only choosing exciting action fights, bouts with Jim Miller, Michael Johnson, Renato Moicano, or Jalin Turner would all be solid options. Turner is making some serious waves at 155 right now, and is always a thrill to watch, how about Turner vs. Dober just to see if Dober can find a way into the rankings?

MICHAEL MORALES

It wasn’t the easiest bout of Morales’ career, but ultimately he came away with exactly the kind of win fans would hope to see from a great prospect against an opponent with just a few days notice. Fugitt has a crafty, broken rhythm, kick-heavy game and—coupled with a couple takedowns—it gave Morales some serious trouble. But, Morales found his power strikes in every round and made Fugitt pay for his willingness to keep the fight standing, to the tune of a 3rd round TKO. That should leave the 23-year-old poised for a solid step up next time. Bookings against Jack Della Maddalena, Mounir Lazzez, or even Mike Mallott would all be fun thrillers. But I like the idea of giving Morales someone with some solid experience to test his consistency. Sergey Khandozhko may not have a big name in the UFC, but he’s an extremely battle-tested veteran with a rock solid striking game. Morales vs. Khandozhko feels like just the kind of tough fight Morales needs next.

OTHER BOUTS: Derrick Lewis vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alex Perez vs. Askar Aksarov, Anthony Smith vs. Paul Craig, Alex Morono vs. Jake Matthews, Matthew Semelsberger vs. Gabriel Green, Rafael Alves vs. Mike Davis, Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jarjis Danho, Don’Tale Mayes vs. Parker Porter, Drakkar Klose vs. Thiago Moises, Rafa Garcia vs. Omar Morales, Adam Fugitt vs. Yohan Lainesse, Joselyne Edwards vs. Julia Avila, Ji Yeon Kim vs. Jessy-Rose Clark, Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Alonzo Menifield, Ihor Potieria vs. Mingyang Zhang, Orion Cosce vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov, Mike Diamond vs. Pete Rodriguez

The MMA Vivisection – UFC 277: Pena vs. Nunes 2 picks, odds, & analysis

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, MMA Podcasts, UFC 277, UFC Gambling

The UFC is back on PPV this week with a card that, while not bad, seems unlikely to get many fans excited. The main event features a women’s bantamweight title fight rematch between Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes, with a rematch between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France for an interim flyweight title in the co-main. Derrick Lewis is back in front of home-state fans, and Anthony Smith will battle Magomed Ankalaev for the hopes of a light heavyweight title shot.

June M. Williams

For fans interested in diving deeper into the undercard, check out the Prelims Vivi below.

The MMA Vivisection is brought to you by The Fine Art of Violence, a collection of art and essays recapping the year in MMA by Chris Rini, featuring the most talented artists and writers in Mixed Martial Arts. The book is available in both hard copy and digital formats at chrisrini.com.

Here’s a look at the UFC 277 fight card as it stood at the time of recording:

PPV MAIN CARD | 10pm/7pm ET&PT
Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes — At 1:19, Odds 26:08, Picks, Zane: Nunes, Connor: Pena
Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France — At 27:23, Odds 41:16, Picks, Both: Moreno
Derrick Lewis vs. Sergei Pavlovich — At 41:32, Odds 52:26, Picks, Both: Lewis
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Alex Perez — At 54:18, Odds 1:04:50, Picks, Both: Pantoja
Anthony Smith vs. Magomed Ankalaev — At 1:06:00, Odds 1:17:35, Picks, Both: Ankalaev

ABC PRELIMS | 8pm/5pm ET&PT
Alex Morono vs. Matthew Semelsberger — At 0:52, Odds 14:00, Picks, Both: Morono
Drew Dober vs. Rafael Alves — At 18:14, Odds 27:39, Picks, Both: Dober
Don’Tale Mayes vs. Hamdy Abdelwahab — At 27:56, Odds 34:45, Picks, Both: Mayes
Drakkar Klose vs. Rafa Garcia — At 35:10, Odds 40:08, Picks, Both: Klose

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 6pm/3pm ET&PT
Michael Morales vs. Adam Fugitt — At 40:29, Odds 45:46, Picks, Both: Morales
Joselyne Edwards vs. Ji Yeon Kim — At 47:20, Odds 54:22, Picks, Both: Edwards
Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Ihor Potieria — At 54:29, Odds 59:06, Picks, Both: Negumereanu
Orion Cosce vs. Blood Diamond — At 59:44, Odds 1:05:00, Picks, Both: Cosce

For those of you following the picks made on the show, we started tracking them with the July 13th, 2020 Vivisections for ‘Kattar vs. Ige’… Standings for our last event, UFC London: Blaydes vs. Aspinall — Zane went 10/14, while Connor went 9/14. So far, here are the overall standings: Zane is now 669/1041 and Connor is now 627/1041. Reference: Vivi Picks Stats_7.28.22.pdf

If you enjoy our variety of shows, give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, and give us a “like”, share & subscribe on your BE Presents Podcast platform of choice: SoundCloud, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, OverCast, Player FM, & Amazon Music – For previous episodes of the show, check out our playlists on any of our BE Presents channels. Check out the new MMA Vivi Facebook Page, “Like”, Follow, Share! At: https://www.facebook.com/TheMMAVivi.

ABC releases MMA judging infographics, plans changes to downed fighter & eye poke rules

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, MMA News, UFC News

Back in 2016, the Association of Boxing Commissions hoped to create a paradigm shift in the world of MMA, with a reimagining of what it meant to be a ‘downed fighter.’ To eliminate the gamesmanship from athletes around defending knees and kicks to the head by placing as little as a single fingertip on the canvas, the ABC announced that fighters would need to have both hands on the mat as well as at least one foot (or to have any other body parts on the mat) to be considered ‘down’.

Unfortunately, individual state commissions weren’t nearly so interested in implementing this new regulation as the ABC had been in passing it, and what followed was a patchwork of different rules around the country. The ABC hoped to address those inconsistencies back in 2019, with a shift back to letting fighters have just one hand down. In 2022, it appears they’re taking things a step further and moving all the way back to only fingertips as a standard for being considered ‘grounded’, provided that those fingertips are significantly weight bearing.

Combat Sports Law expert Erik Magraken highlighted the potential change to the ‘downed fighter ruling,’ noting that the changes wouldn’t be up for a formal vote until the 2023 ABC conference, next year.

Current Language – Grounded Fighter

Any part of the body, other [than] sole of the feet touching the fighting area floor. To be grounded, the palm of one hand (a flat palm) must be down, and/or any other body part must be touching the fighting area floor. A single knee, arm, (not fingers) makes the fighter grounded without having to have any other body part in touch with the fighting are floor. At this time, kicks or knees to the head will not be allowed.

Proposed Language – Grounded Fighter

An opponent shall be deemed to be a “grounded opponent” if at least one of the opponent’s hands is weight-bearing on the floor, including, but not limited to, the palm, finger tips, or fist, or if one or more the opponent’s body parts, other than a non-weight bearing hand or sole of a foot, is touching the floor.

More immediately, the ABC plans to vote this year on allowing a five minute recovery period for fighters who suffer an eye poke during a bout. That rule would mirror current standards for groin strike fouls. Currently, regulations allow referees some discretion to give fighters recovery time due to an eye poke, but are mostly focused on bringing in a ringside physician to check for damage or impaired vision before restarting the bout or waiving it off. Here’s the language of the new regulation:

A fighter who has received an eye poke as called by the referee is allowed up to five minutes to recover from the foul as long as the ringside doctor confirms the fighter may possibly continue in the contest once recovered. If the fighter states they can see and wish to continue, and confirmed by doctor, the referee shall as soon as practical restart the fight. If the fighter goes over the five minute time allotment the fight cannot be restarted and the contest must come to an end with the outcome determined by the round and time in which the fight was stopped.

The ABC is also considering standardizing the use of neoprene sleeve joint coverings across the various US commissions.

Alongside those measures the ABC released a couple of helpful pieces of judging information for fighters and fans. Amid what many fans seem to feel is a regular string of controversial decisions in high profile bouts, these graphics are meant to provide a clearer picture of exactly what judges are supposed to be looking for when they score rounds. Notably, the graphics point out the intended rarity of 10-10 and 10-8 rounds, as well as the intention that criteria like aggression and control are only to be considered in rounds where there’s no discernible difference between the striking and grappling offense of the competitors in the cage.

Grid View

Hopefully revisions to the ‘downed fighter’ rule bring back the relative clarity to various US commissions that was in place before the 2016 changes. And at the very least, assuming the new eye poke regulation goes into effect, we won’t have to hear commentary members wonder why fighters don’t get the same amount of time they do for a groin strike anymore.

‘I’m all about sportsmanship’ – Hermansson sorry for post fight confrontation with Curtis

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC London: Blaydes vs. Aspinall, UFC News

UFC London was a card plagued by problems. An injury in the main event, a number of slow, grinding fights, and little in the way of finishes or moments of exciting action. While the main card built some solid momentum—behind stoppage wins for Molly McCann, Nikita Krylov, and Paddy Pimblett—all that came to a halt once again in the co-main, where Jack Hermansson and Chris Curtis fought to a somewhat tepid decision.

Curtis, who spent much of the fight struggling to cut off the cage or deal with Hermansson’s range kicking game, was visibly frustrated by the final bell and showed it with a pair of middle fingers and some unkind words for his victorious opponent. Not to be outdone, Hermansson was quick to throw a few words back Curtis’ way. Ultimately the two men had to be separated until the decision could be read.

Curtis even had a little animosity left over on his way out of the arena.

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Time heals all wounds, however, and in the aftermath, Hermansson has been quick to try and take the edge off the incident—offering an apology to Curtis for his part of the conflict during a post-fight media scrum backstage.

“I can’t remember [what was said] but he was, like, taunting me, then something slipped from my tongue,” Hermansson explained (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I’m a little bit disappointed with myself that I got caught up in that because I’m all about sportsmanship. I want the sport to be clean and after a fight we should be good friends. So I really apologize to Chris Curtis for that…

“I haven’t [spoken to him yet], unfortunately. I would love to square up and again, I apologize so much for my bad behavior.”

Curtis has been forthright about making up with Hermansson as well, telling fans on Twitter that he would try to catch up with the ‘Joker’ in the near future. “I was out of pocket,” the ‘Action Man’ said on social media, “and it takes a few to calm down once I’m worked up.”

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Fortunately, at the end of the night, it looks like they managed to find one another and patch things up.

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UFC London: Blaydes vs. Aspinall – Fights to make

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC Editorial, UFC London: Blaydes vs. Aspinall, UFC Results

UFC London was a dud. It’s rare that the world’s largest MMA promotion ever puts together a truly hard to watch card, but between Tom Aspinall’s injury, Chris Curtis’ flat footed co-main event, and Paul Craig’s flopping (all on top of a heap of grind-heavy prelims), this was one of the poorest action-delivering cards in recent memory. At least Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann showed up, but that was about it.

So, what’s the best option for Curtis Blaydes to keep treading water atop the heavyweight division? Is it worth it for the UFC to try and book Jack Hermansson against Darren Till again? And how big a step up should the UFC give Pimblett next time out?

To answer those questions—but not much else—I’ll be using the classic Silva/Shelby fight booking methodology from the UFC of years past. That means pitting winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured talent up against one another. Hopefully, by following that model, a few of these bout ideas will actually make it off the page and into the Octagon. Now, let’s get to the fights!

CURTIS BLAYDES

Not much of a win for Curtis Blaydes, all things concerned, but when a fighter’s already in the top 5, any fight that doesn’t set them back has to be considered some kind of victory. Curtis Blaydes set foot in the cage against Tom Aspinall and didn’t walk away with a loss or a lower ranking, that’s really just about all he can ask short of a title shot or a performance bonus. Since Francis Ngannou is still injured and still in contract talks with the UFC, and because Blaydes is the last person anyone cares about seeing the champ fight again, it seems obvious the Blaydes will need at least one (if not several) more wins to actually compete for gold. Tai Tuivasa and Ciryl Gane are facing off in Paris in September. Especially if Gane wins, then Gane vs. Blaydes is a great fight to make—since the MMA Factory talent isn’t that far removed from his own loss to Ngannou. Either way really, though, Curtis Blaydes vs. the Gane/Tuivasa winner is a top quality booking.

TOM ASPINALL

If it were some kind of quicker healing injury, like an eye poke or something, I’d love to see this fight get re-booked. But, Curtis Blaydes has already said he’s not interested in running it back and, given the nature of knee injuries, there’s really no saying how quickly Tom Aspinall will be ready to return to the cage. Right now, I’d be pretty shocked to see him fight again this year. And it may be that anything short of next summer is optimistic. At that point, who can say which fighters will be ready to compete and coming off of what kind of performances? With the division as it stands right now, the obvious bookings for Aspinall would be a bout against the loser of Lewis vs. Pavlovich next week, or the loser of Tuivasa vs. Gane on September 3rd. Neither idea really has much meaning until we know more about Aspinall’s recovery. For the sake of picking something, I’ll say give Aspinall the Lewis/Pavlovich loser. Seems like it’d be a fun banger either way.

JACK HERMANSSON

All things considered, this was a very solid performance from Hermansson, who identified Chris Curtis’ lack of kicking game pretty early and took over the fight at range from the jump. A steady diet of low kicks, head kicks, and body kicks along with a willingness to circle out and change directions left Curtis chasing Hermansson all fight and meant the Norwegian-born Swede could more or less cruise to a decision win. After the bout, the ‘Joker’ noted that he wouldn’t be opposed to a re-booked bout with Darren Till. And frankly, if he wants it, he’ll probably get it, since there isn’t really an otherwise obvious fight for the ‘Gorilla’ in the middleweight top ten right now. If Till’s not going to be back anytime soon, then fights with Derrick Brunson or Andre Muniz would also be totally fine bookings. But for now, as long as both men are willing, I’ll say go ahead and re-book Till vs. Hermansson.

PADDY PIMBLETT

Jordan Leavitt may not have been a huge step up for Pimblett coming off his first two UFC victories, but it provided another great opportunity for the Liverpudlian to put together an electric finish in front of a home crowd. Of course, the downside to that is that it’s going to heavily increase calls from fans to see Pimblett take a big step forward. I still think a fight against Jim Miller is one of the best bookings the UFC can offer the ‘Baddy’ right now. But fights with Grant Dawson, Claudio Puelles, or Joe Solecki would also be some interesting, serious challenges. I’ll keep beating the Jim Miller vs. Paddy Pimblett drum as long as I can. Both men are coming off another set of thrilling victories, both can compete everywhere, and Miller has made a habit of showing young fighters a thing or two in the Octagon.

NIKITA KRYLOV

This couldn’t have gone better for Nikita Krylov. Alexander Gustafsson may not be the fighter he once was, but he’s still one of the biggest name opponents of Krylov’s career and the first time he’s turned a big fight opportunity into a win. After the fight, the ‘Miner’ called out Volkan Oezdemir, who got a hard won victory over Paul Craig further down the card. It’s a great fight and a fun matchup, no question. If the UFC wants to go that route, then I have no problem with it. But, I never like to match fighters up off the same event if I can avoid it. It just feels lazy. Instead, fights with Dustin Jacoby or Ryan Spann would also work great for Krylov. I really think that fight with Jacoby would especially be a ton of fun to watch. Two men who love to throw in volume. And with Krylov’s wrestling in his back pocket, it’d be another test to see if Jacoby’s takedown defense is on point. Krylov vs. Jacoby would be a hell of a lot of fun.

MOLLY MCCANN

Hannah Goldy hung tough with McCann for a few minutes, but once her takedown game didn’t get off the ground, McCann started to find more and more confidence flurrying forward with power. Eventually McCann stuffed a shot and landed an immediate hard followup that had Goldy rocked. A short flurry later and the fight was over. All of a sudden ‘Meatball’ is riding a three fight win streak, and it’s time to start pushing her back toward the edges of the top 15.

Fights with Amanda Ribas, Tracy Cortez or Erin Blanchfield would all be fine ideas to that end. The UFC could also pair her up with Antonina Shechenko or JJ Aldrich if they don’t want to throw her too far up the division. All things considered, I think the Shevchenko fight is the way to go. It’d be a striker with enough range to make McCann think twice from distance and enough of her own wrestling and grappling to not be a walkover on the mat. Molly McCann vs. Antonina Shevchenko feels like the right kind of step forward for Liverpool’s own.

VOLKAN OEZDEMIR

It wasn’t pretty, and Paul Craig did absolutely everything he could to bring his fight to Volkan Oezdemir, but ‘No Time’ was well prepared to fight off Craig’s grappling attack—shucking leg locks and guard pulls for three solid rounds to land his own ground and pound and the better strikes standing. The end result wasn’t a thriller, but it was a clear decision win for the former title contender. A bout with Ryan Spann wouldn’t be the worst next step possible for Oezdemir, but he’s probably looking to fight his way back up the division. With a bout between Thiago Santos and Jamahal Hill upcoming, the winner of that fight could be just the kind of matchup the Austrian is looking for. Oezdemir vs. the Santos/Hill winner is a rock solid bout.

NATHANIEL WOOD

It may not have resulted in a finish, but Nathaniel Wood put together an absolutely dominating performance in his featherweight debut. Wood started out the fight landing crushing low kicks on Charles Rosa. Coupled with hard hooks up top and a strong counter-wrestling game, Rosa wasn’t left with many other options than to bite down on his mouthpiece and swing for the fences as best he could. It’s a great way for the ‘Prospect’ to announce his presence in his new weight class and it should mean an immediate bump up toward the top 15 next time out. That leaves me with a pretty obvious choice, honestly. There’s another former bantamweight that’s been making his name at 145 as an action-forward fighter: Ricardo Ramos. Ramos may have hit a setback against Zubaira Tukhugov, but an electrifying KO over Danny Chavez quickly reminded fans that he can be a thrill to watch. Wood vs. Ramos seems like guaranteed fireworks.

JONATHAN PEARCE

Pearce’s surprising success in the UFC continues. His combination of cardio and hard-nosed scrambling has paid off to the tune of four-straight victories. Makwan Amirkhani had him in a couple bad spots early, but Pearce never let him settle on a position and sapped his gas tank badly as the fight continued. Coming off this win it feels like Pearce should really be in there against another top rising prospect in the featherweight division. There’s Lerone Murphy, Ryan Hall (whenever he may return from injury), Billy Quarantillo, or Hakeem Dawodu. Of those, Murphy seems like the most obvious choice. He’s been rolling up the featherweight ranks and is fresh off his own victory over Amirkhani. Murphy vs. Pearce is a great way for one of these two men to prove they’re ready for top 15 competition.

OTHER BOUTS: Chris Curtis vs. Uriah Hall, Jordan Leavitt vs. Viacheslav Borshchev, Alexander Gustafsson vs. Shogun Rua 2, Hannah Goldy vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius, Paul Craig vs. Dominick Reyes, L’udovit Klein vs. Ignacio Bahamondes, Mason Jones vs. Steve Garcia Jr., Marc Diakiese vs. Grant Dawson, Damir Hadzovic vs. Chris Gruetzemacher, Charles Rosa vs. Herbert Burns, Makwan Amirkhani vs. Seung-Woo Choi, Muhammad Mokaev vs. Jeff Molina, Charles Johnson vs. Carlos Candelario, Victoria Leonardo vs. Karine Silva, Mandy Bohm vs. Luana Carolina, Nicolas Dalby vs. Max Griffin, Claudio Silva vs. Ramazan Emeev

‘Do you think we’re schoolboys!?’ – MMA promoter cancels co-main event mid-fight due to timidity

Posted on by Zane Simon in Events, Front Page, MMA News

MMA has had its share of lame fights over the years. UFC fans may remember Derrick Lewis’ classic stinker against Francis Ngannou, or the now infamous Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza rematch. Old school fans will remember Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn 2 as the longtime holder of the mantle of ‘worst fight in MMA history.’

It seems one promoter, however, wasn’t about to let his event enter into that kind of inauspicious company. Mairbek Khasiev, head of one of Russia’s most prominent MMA promotions—Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA)—found himself hitting his limit for boredom during ACA 141’s co-main event and decided to do something about it.

The booking, between UFC veteran Rashid Magomedov and former ACA welterweight title contender Ali Bagov, was set to serve as quarterfinal match for the promotion’s ongoing lightweight tournament. But after four rounds of relative inaction, Khasiev had seen enough. The ACA president stepped into the cage before the start of the fifth to wave the fight off (h/t Caposa).

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As a result of the unexpected stoppage, both fighters were reportedly DQ’d—and the bout was declared a ‘no contest’.

“Dear friends. The ACA League is not a kindergarten. It is a serious league,” Khasiev told the audience after stopping the bout (Translation via Fight Site editor & native Russian speaker Tumen). “The ACA League today, is—regardless of what anyone says—is the 2nd greatest fight league in the world. Every time I say this, someone comes out with some sort of criticism. And now we are showing you what sort of league we really are.

“That’s it! Disqualified! That’s it, I’ve had it, I got no nerve for this. What is this? What the f-ck are you—What are you? Do you think we’re schoolboys over here!? Right, you’re all free to go, that’s it. Akhmat Power, Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.”

The winner of that bout was expected to face Artem Reznikov in the tournament semifinals. Reznikov is fresh off a 5 round decision back in June, over UFC vet Davi Ramos in Ramos’ first fight since getting his release from the world’s largest MMA promotion back in March. No word yet on just what the ACA plans to do with their tournament following this controversy.

‘Mr. Increase Fighter Pay’ – Rahman Jr. takes a dig at Jake Paul for not giving him a PPV cut

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, Front Page

Jake Paul’s ongoing war of words with Dana White has given him something of a reputation for being one of the highest profile voices in the MMA ‘fighter pay’ debate. Paul has even gone so far as to offer to compete with the UFC for free, provided that the promotion increases their base salaries and revenue sharing for athletes on their roster. To date, those offers don’t seem to have sparked much interest from the UFC president.

They have, however, provided some ammunition to Hasim Rahman Jr. in the buildup to his upcoming boxing match with Paul. Rahman Jr. stepped in to replace Tommy Fury, after Fury’s ties to reported crime boss Daniel Kinehan stopped him from traveling to the US. Despite the ‘Problem Child’ being in a bit of a desperate spot to keep his August 6th PPV date on track, Rahman has been very public with the fact that negotiations with Paul’s team were a very simple ‘take it or leave it’ offer.

“No, you have to respond within 45 minutes, before the top of the hour, or the offer’s off,” Rahman Jr. said of the first conversation he had with Paul’s team about the fight, “and you’ll never get the opportunity to fight Jake Paul again.”

The 31-year-old son of former undisputed heavyweight boxing champ Hasim Rahman decided to take the offer that was on the table. But, when Paul recently took to social media to complain that he was breaking his back carrying all the fight promotion on his own, ‘Gold Blooded’ jumped on the opportunity to point out Paul’s seeming hypocrisy.

‘Mr. “Increase Fighter Pay,” Rahman Jr. posted to his Instagram stories under a picture of Paul in his fake hospital bed (h/t The Daily Mail). “Maybe if I wasn’t getting 0% of the PPV you’d have some help, don’t blame me dumbass.”

For Paul’s part, he claims that Rahman Jr. has been working to renegotiate his contract behind the scenes, despite already getting paid “10 times more than he’s ever been paid for any one of his fights.”

“He’s trying to suck more money out of the fight,” Paul complained in a July 11th interview on the MMA Hour. “He’s trying to do anything he can to claw and make the money, because I think he realizes the consequences of what might happen.’”

Paul vs. Rahman Jr. takes place at Madison Square Garden on Showtime PPV. Alongside the cruiserweight main event, the card is expected to feature a women’s featherweight title fight between undisputed champion Amanda Serrano and challenger Brenda Carabajal.

The MMA Vivisection – UFC London: Blaydes vs. Aspinall picks, odds, & analysis

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, MMA Podcasts, UFC Gambling, UFC London: Blaydes vs. Aspinall

The UFC is back in the UK this weekend with a top quality Fight Night offering. Highlighting the event is a heavyweight top contender’s bout between Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall. In the co-main event, Chris Curtis looks to keep his momentum going with a bout against top-ranked Jack Hermansson. And former title contender Alexander Gustafsson makes his return to light heavyweight against Nikita Krylov. Throw Molly McCann, Paddy Pimblett, and Paul Craig in there and it should be a thrilling card.

Your official & honorary Vivi hosts!
June M. Williams

For fans interested in diving deeper into the undercard, check out the Prelims Vivi below.

The MMA Vivisection is brought to you by ‘The Fine Art of Violence’, a collection of art and essays recapping the year in MMA by Chris Rini, featuring the most talented artists and writers in Mixed Martial Arts. The book is available in both hard copy and digital formats at chrisrini.com.

Here’s a look at the UFC London fight card as it stood at the time of recording:

ESPN+ MAIN CARD | 3pm/12pm ET&PT
Curtis Blaydes vs. Tom Aspinall — At 5:14, Odds 22:48, Picks, Zane: Aspinall, Connor: Blaydes
Jack Hermansson vs. Chris Curtis — At 24:43, Odds 38:10, Picks, Both: Curtis
Paddy Pimblett vs. Jordan Leavitt — At 39:17, Odds 48:22, Picks, Both: Pimblett
Nikita Krylov vs. Alexander Gustafsson — At 50:04, Odds 58:12, Picks, Both: Krylov
Molly McCann vs. Hannah Goldy — At 58:38, Odds 1:05:08, Picks, Both: McCann
Paul Craig vs. Volkan Oezdemir — At 1:05:49, Odds 1:15:52, Picks, Both: Oezdemir

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 12pm/9am ET&PT
Mason Jones vs. L’udovit Klein — At 0:59, Odds 7:06, Picks, Both: Jones
Marc Diakiese vs. Damir Hadzovic — At 8:32, Odds 11:47, Picks, Both: Diakiese
Nathaniel Wood vs. Charles Rosa — At 12:25, Odds 17:28, Picks, Both: Wood
Makwan Amirkhani vs. Jonathan Pearce — At 20:06, Odds 25:49, Picks, Both: Amirkhani
Muhammad Mokaev vs. Charles Johnson — At 28:12, Odds 34:32, Picks, Both: Mokaev
Jai Herbert vs. Kyle Nelson — At 35:54, Odds 41:51, Picks, Both: Herbert
Victoria Leonardo vs. Mandy Bohm — At 42:45, Odds 47:02, Picks, Both: Bohm
Claudio Silva vs. Nicolas Dalby — At 47:34, Odds 51:57, Picks, Both: Dalby

For those of you following the picks made on the show, we started tracking them with the July 13th, 2020 Vivisections for ‘Kattar vs. Ige’… Standings for our last event, UFC Long Island, aka: UFC on ABC 3: Ortega vs. Rodriguez — Zane went 9/12, while Connor went 6/12. So far, here are the overall standings: Zane is now 659/1027 and Connor is now 618/1027. Reference: Vivi Picks Stats_7.23.22.pdf

If you enjoy our variety of shows, give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, and give us a “like”, share & subscribe on your BE Presents Podcast platform of choice: SoundCloud, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, OverCast, Player FM, & Amazon Music – For previous episodes of the show, check out our playlists on any of our BE Presents channels. Check out the new MMA Vivi Facebook Page, where the shows always drop an hour earlier than they do anywhere else on the network, be sure to “Like”, Follow, Share — At: https://www.facebook.com/TheMMAVivi.

‘Coward’ Khamzat Chimaev is just ‘seeking attention’ – Alex Pereira responds to callout from ‘Borz’

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC News

Khamzat Chimaev made an instant reputation with the UFC for his willingness to fight anyone at anytime. The Chechen-born Allstar Training Center product ran out three straight wins between the middleweight and welterweight divisions in just three months back in 2020, turning himself into one of the promotion’s most hyped prospects along the way.

While a wicked case of COVID and a climb toward title contention have slowed the pace of his bookings lately, it doesn’t seem to have dampened Chimaev’s desire to chase down bigger and better challenges. Including, apparently, a potential fight with likely middleweight title challenger Alex Pereira.

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As it’s turned out, the UFC has totally different plans for Chimaev—with the July 19th announcement that he’ll be facing Nate Diaz in the main event UFC 279 this coming September. That’s probably for the best, considering Pereira’s reaction to ‘Borz’ calling for a fight between them. By all accounts, the Brazilian was anything other than impressed.

“Look at this guy,” Pereira said of Chimaev’s tweet in a recent interview on MMA Fighting’s Trocacao Franca podcast. “I’m going to fight for the belt, it’s guaranteed. He wants to attention. ‘Oh, I wanna fight this guy.’ He knows I’m the next contender and he still says something like that. I’d like to see [what he would do] if Dana White came out and said, ‘Alex, your shot at Adesanya is guaranteed but he wants some time to prepare, so fight this guy first because he wants to fight you. Your title shot is still guaranteed.’ Let’s see what he would say.

“[Chimaev] wants attention because he knows it doesn’t make sense. I’m going to go back and fight him when I’m already guaranteed for the belt? He wants attention, but he’ll have to take a number and go back to the line.”

“These guys wanna make a name for themselves [by talking],” Pereira added. “If I wasn’t going to fight for the belt already and he said something like that, hats off to him. But the way he’s doing it, he’s a coward. He’s a coward seeking attention.”

No word yet on just when fans might expect to see Pereira face off against Adesanya in the Octagon. However, ‘Poatan’ already holds a pair of victories over the ‘Last Stylebender’ from their kickboxing days, adding a serious layer of intrigue to their first meeting under MMA rules. Couple that with Pereira’s 3-0 UFC run, including a spectacular KO over Sean Strickland earlier this month, and UFC president Dana White has essentially guaranteed that the UFC is making him the next defense of Adesanya’s title.

“I f-cking guarantee you. I absolutely, positively guarantee you that the next fight that Israel Adesanya fights will be bat-sh-t nuts,” White told the assembled media at the UFC on ABC 3: Ortega vs. Rodriguez post-fight presser, speaking of Pereira.

In the meantime, Chimaev will just have to settle for his upcoming battle with Diaz, and the very likely welterweight title shot that will await him if he comes out of that booking with his hand raised.