Tim Sylvia is ready to test his luck as a slap-fighter.

Yes, that’s right. The 47-year-old former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion, Sylvia, is coming out of his combat sports retirement on April 22, 2023, when facing a man by the nickname of “Bulldozer,” who is an undefeated 1-0 in SlapFIGHT Championship. The Underground was first to break the news earlier today (Thurs., March 30, 2023).

“We are extremely excited for the debut of Tim Sylvia at SlapFIGHT,” SlapFIGHT Chief Executive Officer (CEO), J.T. Tilley, stated. “Tim has joined us as a guest cornerman during our past two underground events, and the excitement of the sport has captured his focus. He has reached a multi-fight agreement with SFC and we look forward to seeing him in competition on April 22.”

It will have been a full decade since Sylvia last fought in MMA come Oct. 2023. “The Maine-iac” ended his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career on the heels of three losses, beginning with Satoshi Ishii and ending vs. Ruslan Magomedov. The Sylvia win for Magomedov led him to start his UFC run, winning three straight fights before testing positive for a myriad of banned substances, resulting in his departure from the promotion in 2019.

Sylvia’s debut against “Bulldozer” will take place at SlapFIGHT’s 25th event, which goes down in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Upon seeing the news, Sylvia’s fellow former UFC Heavyweight, Ben Rothwell, was skeptical of whether or not it was a good idea for the notoriously injury-riddled Sylvia to be participating in such an activity.

“The new MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) i took was clear with no problems,” Sylvia tweeted in response. “But my knees don’t allow me to run and do cardio any longer so i could no longer make the weight.

“Ben thx for your concern,” he added. “Like i said there is nothing wrong with my brain. I am willing to bet our MRI would look the same. As you know Mohegan Sun is the worst athletic commission on the planet. The MRI wasn’t clear and couldn’t be read, so i had to take another one. What they did see was what they thought was trauma from 16 years in a contact sport. Mine looks just like any other fighter competing that long.”

“None of us spoke Japanese, no one around us spoke English. It was an experience.”

Mixed martial arts (MMA) in Japan is just different.

It’s not abnormal for fighters starting their careers to get paid “peanuts.” Paying to fight, though? That’s never something that’s part of the plan. Now over a full decade into her journey as a professional, Jessica-Rose Clark has several stories that highlight just how wacky MMA can be.

When it comes to trash talk, one of the more outrageous claims a pro fighter can make is saying they’ll fight somebody for free. Clark can say she did fight for free ... it wasn’t at all the intention, but it happened in March 2017 against Sarah Kaufman at Battlefield Fighting Championships’ lone event. Why was it Battlefield’s only event? Well, the promotion never wound up paying the fighters and still hasn’t to this day.

Clark’s Battlefield bout took place in South Korea, adding another crazy Asia fight trip to her resume. Two years prior, “Jessy Jess” traveled to Tokyo, Japan, facing Emiko Raika in what turned out to be an all-timer of a “lose-lose” scenario.

“When I fought in Japan, I paid to fight,” Clark told MMA Mania. “I paid her (Raika) my fight purse. They f—ked me. I fought there before I got in the UFC. In my contract, it said I was supposed to be arriving in Tokyo three days before the fight so I could do my weight cut there. They flew me in and I landed a couple hours before the weigh-in. So, I missed weight by two pounds. Also in the contract was if the fight didn’t happen, you’re now financially responsible for all expenses for your fight.

“I’m like, ‘F—k, I got no money. I can’t afford to pay for my flight, pay my corner’s flights,’” she continued. “I missed weight, but if they hadn’t of flown me in right before the weigh-in, I wouldn’t have missed weight. It was two pounds, that was it. I was so close. The circumstances of the whole situation were that I could not continue to cut. I simply had no time because of when they brought me in.”

The Ryo Chonan-helmed Tokyo Tribe Fight Challenge (TTF) 05 card was supposed to act as Clark’s official debut at 125 pounds, which didn’t help matters. In most Japan-based MMA promotions, it’s tradition for weight misses to be taken extremely seriously. In some cases — more with larger promotions — it can arguably be better not to fight at all.

Unfortunately for Clark, that wasn’t the case, and the overall environment made for a literally unwinnable situation.

The Cairns, Australia native agreed to compete, but couldn’t come in heavier than 131 pounds on fight night. It was nothing a little water and soup couldn’t aid. In the cases of weight misses in Japan, the guilty party is no longer capable of winning. It’s either a no-contest or defeat. Pile that on top of every other factor, and Clark found the fight to be entirely without benefit regarding her bank account.

It was a memorable in-cage experience for Clark despite all the wackiness. Her would-be third-round technical knockout win was almost preceded by a first-round armbar, but in the end, none of it mattered thanks to the weight miss. Clark says the footage of her bout with Raika has been seemingly scrubbed from every corner of the internet. Not even the promotion had anything to share with her upon request.

“Half of my cut, I had to do by myself naked surrounded by old Japanese women, covered in athletic tape because I had to cover all my tattoos up because I wasn’t allowed to wear clothes. It was single-sex only,” Clark said.

“When I got to the point where we couldn’t do that anymore, we went to the hotel and I was wrapped in trash bags, sitting under a hot shower because we didn’t have a bathtub,” she added. “We didn’t have access to a portable sauna, nothing. None of us spoke Japanese, no one around us spoke English. It was an experience.”

It wasn’t all bad for Clark during her one fight in Japan. Coincidentally, the trip intertwined with UFC Fight Night 75 fight week, where Josh Barnett took on Roy Nelson. After getting her fisticuffs out of the way, Clark recalls living off plum wine and pre-packaged fruits before meeting Cody Garbrandt, Demetrious Johnson, Cub Swanson, and UFC matchmaker, Sean Shelby. Two years later, she was in the ultimate proving ground herself.

Clark (11-8, 1 no contest) has been out of action since July 2022 when she suffered a second consecutive first-round submission loss. Falling short against Julija Stoliarenko in a fast-paced, but short-lived, thriller, the Bantamweight veteran was forced to take several months off to recover from an elbow injury. That plus the loss itself left “Jessy Jess” questioning if she’d continue her career.

Photo by Alejandro Salazar/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“For the entirety of my career until right now, I said I was gonna retire at 35,” Clark said. “I’m 35 right now and I thought at that stage I would have been 15 years in and I would have been ready to leave it, you know? After the last fight and getting my arm f—ked up, I thought about it. It wasn’t even that I didn’t want to continue competing. I was just so tired of being injured.

“In 2019, I tore all the ligaments in my foot and was out for almost a year,” she continued. “2020, tore my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and was out for almost a year. Then 2022, f—king tear all the ligaments in my elbow. Out again for almost a year. It was just these massive injuries that kept coming up and after the last one, I was like, ‘F—k. Do I want to keep doing this? Do I want to keep putting myself through all the stress, pain, emotional heartache, financial stress that getting ready for a fight brings ... just to not have it pay off?’ Then be out for a year after that.”

Ultimately, the answer was yes for Clark, who felt her passion and excitement to compete again build up around her birthday in Nov. 2022.

The time away helped Clark realize she still has plenty left in the tank and hopes for redemption against her last two opponents, the aforementioned Stoliarenko, and Stephanie Egger, at some point. First, the Aussie fights out the final fight on her contract when she welcomes UFC newcomer and Brazilian Muay Thai specialist, Tainara Lisboa, to the Octagon on May 13 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

“She has a lot more striking experience than I do,” Clark said. “I feel like our jiu-jitsu experience is probably relatively similar, but I have a lot more experience in MMA. So, I am really excited for this one.

“When they offered her to us, I looked her up and she fought Valentina [Shevchenko] back in the day,” she continued. “She’s been around in the Muay Thai community for a long time. That’s kind of what I’ve been wanting. We fought a couple grapplers and that didn’t f—king pay off the way that I wanted it to (laughs). I said let’s find a striker. Let’s find somebody that we can actually have a good f—king striking fight with, and hopefully, this is the one.”

Who is the greatest UFC fighter in history?

Ask four different UFC fans and you may get four different answers. Well, it turns out Google’s new artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, “Bard,” is no different. I recently asked my algorithmic sidekick to identify the best to ever do it.

“There is no definitive answer to the question of who is the greatest fighter in UFC history,” it responded. “Ultimately the question is a matter of opinion. There are many factors to consider, such as a fighter’s record, their dominance, their impact on the sport, and their popularity.”

Bard then listed four of the most common fighters included in the “best ever” debate: Former UFC champions Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and Khabib Nurmagomedov, along with current UFC titleholder Jon Jones.

But when I tweaked my query from Who is the greatest UFC fighter in history? to Who is the greatest UFC fighter of all time? I only got one response: Georges St-Pierre. Bard also gave me the same spiel about current trends and subjectivity.

I made one final adjustment and asked, “Who is the greatest MMA fighter of all time?”

Once again, I got St-Pierre, Silva, Nurmagomedov, and Jones.

Much like my attempt to have Bard predict the best betting parlay for UFC 287, Google AI can only work with material that already exists and then attempt to Frankenstein together a coherent response, which may or may not include predictive models.

So far it’s proven to be just as divided as the rest of us, at least in terms of the GOAT debate.

Justin Gaethje has made it very clear that he will “burn it all down” if Conor McGregor waltzes in to yet another UFC title shot, despite having a lightweight record of 1-3 over the last seven years. Now “The Highlight” is upping the ante and threatening to quit the promotion altogether if “Notorious” manages to (eventually) wallop Michael Chandler and capture another crack at the 155-pound crown.

McGregor first has to defeat the plastic cup brigade at USADA.

“Would I quit if Conor won and they gave him a title shot? Probably,” Gaethje told ESPN. “That’s how hurt I would be by the actions of the company that I represent. But that’s out of my control. I just really hope that doesn’t happen. We can imagine a lot of things, but there’s a possibility that’s the scenario, which I would be devastated, for sure.”

Not surprisingly, McGregor was unimpressed by Gaethje’s position.

“This braindead fool got a title shot off of one single win and it was [against] Chandler,” the Irishman tweeted. “Yet he will quit and retire if I get the same thing. Classic Gaethje bird brain. Jackass. Two title attempts, no wins.”

Gaethje has promised to zip his lips if McGregor fights (and defeats) him.

They might not want to admit it, but Gaethje and McGregor have a lot in common. Both fighters were knocked out by Dustin Poirier and submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov. They’re also both 34 years old and running out of time, at least when it comes to making another run at lightweight gold.

But one thing “The Highlight” doesn’t have is this ... which is usually all that matters in prizefighting.

In combat sports, making weight is half the battle. For some, hitting the number right on the head is harder than others, even when fighting up a division because in rare cases gaining weight is just as hard as losing it.

In Randi Field’s case, she has trouble doing both.

The Bellator MMA women’s Flyweight contender has competed at 115, 120, and 125 pounds throughout her amateur and pro mixed martial arts (MMA) career. Since signing with Bellator MMA in Oct. 2021, she had no choice but to compete as a Flyweight because the promotion does not have a Strawweight division ... yet.

For “Rose City Phoenix,” Bellator opening up the 115-pound weight class would be a blessing since it’s her natural division. With a record of 1-1 at 125 pounds under the Bellator banner, Field says sometimes gaining weight to hit that mark can be real challenge.

“Absolutely, I would love to fight at 115. Yes, and I also find the training camps to be less stressful,” she said during a recent media day. “When I’m fighting at 125, I’m always constantly trying to gain weight. I’ll go take a poop and I’m back at Square 1. So yeah, 115 I’m definitely good at it, and I’m very strong for the division,” she added.

Field will next face Ashley Cummins this Friday night (March 31, 2023) at Bellator 293 in Temecula, Calif., at a catchweight of 120 pounds. Cummins usually competes in the Strawweight division, and has spent the last few years fighting at Atomweight (105 pounds).

For Field, the 115-pound division is perfect because while gaining weight for 125 is a battle, so is dropping the weight to fight as an Atomweight. And it’s one specific part of her body that prevents her from doing so.

“I would love if Bellator opened up that division because I usually fight at 115 pounds. My only problem making 105 is, this (points to her butt). So that is why I am not at Atomweight fighter.”

To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.

UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal, when he’s not busy training for his upcoming Gilbert Burns fight at UFC 287 in Miami, is promoting his pay-per-view (PPV) lineup for the Gamebred Boxing 4 event, scheduled for this Sat. (April 1, 2023) at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Headlining the card will be aging boxing icon Roy Jones Jr. and former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, a pro bout that will follow the recently-booked showdown between former UFC featherweight rivals Jose Aldo and Jeremy Stephens, no stranger to fisticuffs.

The LIVE press conference video stream gets underway promptly at 2 p.m. ET.

“I’ve always been a fan of Roy Jones,” Masvidal told The MMA Hour. “Always wanted to work with Roy Jones in some capacity. He’s going to be fighting someone that inspired me in my career numerous times. WEC champion, UFC champion, I think both his wins for the UFC title were finishes. This guy has knockouts and finishes at 145, 155, 170, it’s crazy what this guy has done in his career in MMA. Great striker. He agreed to fight the walking, living legend, the pound-for-pound king, one of the best fighters, athletes, I’ve ever seen in combat sports, period, versus Anthony Pettis.”

For the finalized Gamebred Boxing 4 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

Meet Bard, my new digital bookie.

I’m using Google’s new artificial intelligence (AI) “Bard” to help me bet on UFC 287.

I don’t think that’s what programmers had in mind when they developed this language model but if Bard and its ChatGPT friends are going to take over the world, they can at least help me earn a few bucks along the way.

After all, those doomsday bunkers aren't cheap.

UFC 287 will be headlined by the 185-pound title fight pitting current middleweight champion Alex Pereira against former division titleholder Israel Adesanya. In addition, Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal will collide in the welterweight co-headliner to see who stays alive in the 170-pound title chase.

So what’s a good bet for UFC 287?

Bard recommended a parlay of Pereira by knockout, Luana Pinheiro by submission, and Chase Sherman by decision at +380 odds for a $380 payout on a $100 bet ($480, minus the initial $100 investment). When I plugged that parlay into Draft Kings, it came up at +381 for a nearly identical return — but only betting the money line, not the method of victory.

When I asked for betting advice on Pereira, Bard was fairly non-committal and presented multiple betting scenarios with no clear indication on which wager would be most favorable (or profitable). It reminded me of that one indecisive buddy we all have, the one who likes to ride the fence until after the fight, then brags about how he “called it.”

That separate, follow-up query also named Adesanya as the middleweight champion, one of many mistakes you can expect from AI while it’s still finding its sea legs.

I’m going to put a few bucks on the Bard parlay and we’ll see how it plays out. Wn or lose, we’ll follow up after the event to see how the results match up. For those of you who prefer to bet on instinct over technology, stay tuned for a complete UFC 287 odds and betting guide from our still-human (but just barely) Patrick Stumberg early next week.

For more on UFC 287 click here.

Bellator 293 is set to go down this Friday night (March 31, 2023) inside Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. Headlining the event is a Heavyweight slugfest between Marcelo Golm and Daniel James. In the co-main event, Cat Zingano will battle Leah McCourt in a women’s Featherweight title eliminator match. The early weigh-ins will take place today (Thurs., March 30, 2023) at 12 p.m. ET and a ceremonial event — with staredowns, etc. — will be streamed at 3 p.m. ET in the video player above.

Full Bellator 293 Weigh-In Results:

265 lbs.: Marcelo Golm (257.6) vs. Daniel James (265.4)
145 lbs.: Cat Zingano (145.2) vs. Leah McCourt (145.4)
185 lbs.: John Salter (185.8) vs. Aaron Jeffery (185.2)
205 lbs.: Sullivan Cauley (205 8) vs. Luke Trainer (205.2)
155 lbs.: Mike Hamel (155.6) vs. Nick Browne (155.6)
155 lbs.: Archie Colgan (155.4) vs. Justin Montalvo (154.4)
145 lbs.: Lucas Brennan (145.4) vs. Josh San Diego (146)
155 lbs.: Lance Gibson Jr. (156) vs. Vladimir Tokov (155.2)
145 lbs.: Pam Sorenson (145.2) vs. Sara Collins (145.8)
265 lbs.: Christian Edwards (237.8) vs. Rakim Cleveland (240.4)
120 lbs.: Randi Field (120) vs. Ashley Cummins (119.2)
135 lbs.: Bryce Meredith (135.6) vs. Brandon Carrillo (135.4)
115 lbs.: Maria Henderson (115.4) vs. Mackenzie Stiller (115.4)
170 lbs.: Joey Davis (169 2) vs. Jeff Creighton (169.8)

MMAmania.com will deliver coverage of Bellator 293 tomorrow evening on Showtime right here. To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.

See you then!

Ciryl Gane’s wrestling is like En Vogue’s Lovin’ — never gonna get it.

That’s according to No. 4-ranked 265-pound contender Curtis Blaydes. “Razor” is convinced that any heavyweight with decent wrestling will be able to thwart Gane’s striking attack, like we saw when “Bon Gamin” battled both Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones.

Blaydes, 32, has 62 takedowns landed under the UFC banner, a heavyweight record.

“I think he’s like a lot of guys, he got away without having to wrestle,” Blaydes told Low Kick MMA (transcribed by MMA News). “Just like Francis when he fought Stipe (Miocic). He got away with not having to learn how to wrestle. There’s a lot of guys with holes in their games because they only focus on one aspect of MMA. I know a lot of people are expecting him just to plug it. It takes years to learn how to grapple. He’s not gonna get it. I don’t expect him to get it.”

Blaydes also holds division records for both top position time and control time.

The promotion has yet to rebook Gane, 32, after “Bon Gamin” fell to Jones at UFC 285 but there is a chance the Parisian could (eventually) cross paths with Blaydes, depending on what happens when “Razor” collides with Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Vegas 71 on April 22.

Expect a victory over Pavlovich to lead to this “ridiculous” title fight.

Francis Ngannou may be headed to PFL.

The former UFC heavyweight champion parted ways with the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion earlier this year after failing to come to terms on a new contract. But head of operations for PFL Europe Dan Hardy — no stranger to UFC drama — expects “The Predator” to put pen to paper “in no time.”

“We’ll have Francis Ngannou in no time coming over and fighting for it,” Hardy told Middle Easy. “I just feel it in my bones. I know he’s coming. I just know he’s coming. I can just feel it. It makes sense. His demands for the UFC is exactly what the PFL are offering.”

“Everything that he was asking for from the UFC, it’s already on the table over here as long as the money’s on the table alongside to match the heavyweight king’s purse, then I think you’ll be happy and I think we can certainly do that for him,” Hardy continued.

In addition to a sizable salary increase, the 36 year-old Ngannou was asking for a contract stipulation that would allow him to compete as a professional boxer in between MMA fights, something PFL has done for other top stars (like this new addition). Bellator MMA and BKFC have also expressed interest in working with “The Predator.”

Ngannou remains tight-lipped regarding his next move.

The date has officially passed where Sean O’Malley would be willing to step in for a title shot at UFC 288.

The UFC has made a big deal of pulling in some top names to serve as back-ups for important fights. But they shouldn’t turn to Sean O’Malley if they’re hoping he’ll play that role for UFC 288’s Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo bantamweight title fight.

Colby Covington was the most recent backup for an event, and he was allegedly paid $25,000 to make weight for the Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman 3 fight at UFC 286. O’Malley didn’t mention the money being an issue. He just can’t focus in on a training camp properly if he doesn’t know he’ll be fighting for sure.

“I was really planning on being backup for Henry [Cejudo] - Aljo [Sterling],” he said on his YouTube channel. “Now we’re at the point where going and doing a camp, five fives, planning on a fight, it’s hard enough to do knowing you have a fight. But knowing you’re probably not going to fight?”

“I can’t train the same way, and I don’t feel like I’m in a position where I’m like, ‘Well, it’s my only opportunity, I need to be a backup.’”

“I was trying,” O’Malley continued. “But now I’m to the point where I’m like, ‘F— that.’ If one of those dorks pull out, reschedule it. I need a real eight weeks where I know I’m fighting. And it’s just too hard to go be that disciplined. You can’t be that disciplined all the time. There’s a certain level of disciplined you can be in camp, that’s why you feel like a f—ing superhuman when you’re in there. Because of how disciplined you’ve lived the life the last eight weeks, whatever it is.

“But now we’re at a point where they’re five weeks out to the fight, if I got the call I’d be like, ‘I’m not ready to do five f—ing fives,’” O’Malley said. “I haven’t been doing every possible thing that I could be doing. So I’m pulling out from backup fighter. I never officially was. But breaking news.”

Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo goes down May 6th from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Sean O’Malley has already been tapped as next in line for a title shot, so is there even an advantage to him stepping into the role, burning himself out training for a title fight that doesn’t happen, and potentially injuring himself?

As much as we enjoy big name backups as fans, the risk / reward system doesn’t exactly make the most sense for fighters already on the verge of a title shot. What do you think, Maniacs? Who would you like to see in the backup spot for UFC 288?

Former boxing champion Carl Froch claims he’d fight Conor McGregor in the UFC octagon. McGregor says bring it on.

Does a boxer finally want that smoke with Conor McGregor in the octagon?

McGregor was the MMA fighter that kicked off an exodus of MMA fighters boxing in the ring, and it has not gone well for our cage fighters. Aside from Anderson Silva’s surprise split decision win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the vast majority of mixed martial artists have been battered and embarassed in boxing, with nothing to show for it other than a decent paycheck.

Now it looks like we might actually have someone from boxing who is willing to cross over into MMA. In this case it’s former super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch, who now serves as an analyst and commentator. In a recent episode of his Froch on Fighting podcast, the 45-year-old discussed the idea of fighting Jake Paul or Conor McGregor.

“Jake Paul, I’d only need one arm for Jake Paul,” Froch said. “Conor McGregor might give me a few small problems, but he’s too small. I wouldn’t train much for either of them.”

“If I’m fighting Conor McGregor in the cage, I’d train harder,” he continued. “Because I’d fight Conor McGregor in the cage. I could be getting myself in trouble here or into a position I can’t wiggle out of, but I think I’d take him on in the cage. Is that ridiculous? Is that wrong? I’d take him on in the cage, he’s too small.”

It is ridiculous. At this point everyone but the most casual of casuals understands that boxers beat MMA fighters in boxing bouts, but MMA fighters would destroy boxers in MMA bouts. That may be why McGregor jumped at Froch’s comments, welcoming the fight.

“Eddie Hearn, get this signed up, lad,” McGregor wrote with a laughing emoji.

Conor and Carl have been going back and forth for a while now after “Cobra” said “The Notorious” “can’t punch the skin off a rice pudding.”

“I’ll grab his head and twist it clean off at a 1er with my bare hands,” McGregor replied on social media. “Little wally of a thing I’ll slap you around you little toffee nose toss pot.”

“Who is this mouthy little p— talking to?” Froch countered. “I will drag you outside with that wispy beard and show you how the big boys do it!!”

Chances of this fight actually going down are low. McGregor is in the process of preparing for a fight with Michael Chandler which is expected sometime in late 2023. Maybe once he gets some momentum going he’ll have time for a freakshow fight or two, but right now he’s fighting to prove he’s still relevant at the top of the UFC.

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Ever since UFC was sold to Endeavor, the promotion’s focus has been on cutting costs and raising revenue above all else. Record profits are seen as more important than previously prioritized factors like growth or quality, which is why UFC Apex cards have remained in vogue long after the arenas and stadiums opened back up for business.

Advertising inside the Octagon has grown more and more prominent as part of this trend. Case in point: there are no longer red and blue corners inside the Octagon, but “PRIME Hydration Recovery Zones.” That’s a mouthful even for a pro card-reader like Jon Anik.

Next up for sale are the tiny bits of blank space beside the massive HOWLER HEAD and CRYPTO.COM logos. Starting with UFC 288, these are now being sold directly to fans.

For a measly thousand bucks, YOUR NAME can be hand painted directly onto the UFC canvas. Then, after the event, your bit of the mat will be professional framed and mailed as a forever keepsake — potentially with the blood of your favorite athlete imbued into the fabric! It’s worth-mentioning that fighters still aren’t allowed to wear their own sponsors into the cage, because that would be too unsightly and unprofessional.

For another option on where to spend one’s hard-earned cash, check out the Insomnia section below.

Insomnia

This GoFundMe is doing tremendously well quickly, and it’s a moment to be proud of the MMA community. All the best to the Ray family.

Henry Cejudo is always finding ways to banter on Twitter ... but also, Merab Dvalishvili definitely beat Frankie Saenz.

An update to some May Welterweight action:

Both Nate Landwehr and Dan Ige are up for a scrap — run it!

There’s a lot more to Alex Pereira’s kickboxing game than simple power, though that attribute certainly helps!

I’ve seen a bunch of my friends get knocked unconscious on the local and global scene alike, and it never stops sucking.

Every Conor McGregor sparring clip I’ve ever seen is him teeing off on a guy not throwing punches back.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Don’t fight Hawaiian dudes unless you’re prepared to eat pavement.

Show the low kick and instead step through with the knee — this is the Slava Borshchev special!

Punching when the arm is still in danger is not a great idea.

Random Land

I understand it’s a different country and different kind of mining, but it’s hard not to see videos like this without thinking of Francis Ngannou and his incredible story of escaping the sand mines.

Midnight Music: Folk/country, 1972

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

Aaron Jeffery —who returns to action against John Salter at Bellator 293 tomorrow night (Fri., March 30, 2023) — feels like mixed martial arts (MMA) fans are the worst. Indeed, it is a love-hate relationship between fans and fighters (promoters, too). To quote numerous athletes: “The fans love you when you’re winning, but flip on you when you lose.”

For Jeffery — Bellator’s No. 7-ranked Middleweight — he felt that toxicity firsthand after his last technical knockout win, which took place at Bellator 284 in Aug. 2022. Jeffery picked up the biggest win of his career, finishing former 185-pound title challenger, Austin Vanderford, in less than two minutes.

While Jeffery got some praise for such a big win, he was also showered with, “Vanderford is a bum.”

“It is what it is, man,” Jeffery told MMAmania.com. “In MMA, like we’ve got the worst f—king fan base of any sport. People are so sh—ty, so you just gotta take it with a grain of salt....[Austin] is a f—king phenomenal fighter. He’s only got two losses to two pretty high-level guys. And everyone hates him because of who his girlfriend [Paige VanZant] is.

“I mean, it’s insulting to me, too,” Jeffery continued. “Everyone’s just like, ‘Yeah, this guy f—king sucks,’ and I’m like, well, years of my life have come to this moment to beat this guy, and it’s very important to me, you know? Everyone just saying he sucks — it’s disrespectful to both of us.”

The massive win over Vanderford vaulted Jeffery into the Top 10 and set him up for his next match against the No. 3-seeded Salter.

With a win over Salter, Jeffery thinks he will be fighting for a title by the end of 2023.

“If I beat John Salter, and they don’t give me the title shot right away, how many more are in front of me? I’d say one more,” Jeffery said. “[Fabian Edwards vs. Gegard Mousasi] is in the middle of the year, so I can get one more at the end of the year, and it’s gonna be a title fight.”

To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.

Israel Adesanya isn’t leaving any stone unturned ahead of his big UFC 287 rematch with Alex Pereira next weekend (Sat., April 8, 2023).

There has been one reoccurring theme between Adesanya and Pereira in all of their combat sports collisions, and unfortunately for “The Last Stylebender,” that theme is Pereira winning. The pair fought twice in kickboxing before their recent — and first — encounter in mixed martial arts (MMA) this past Nov. 2022. Gaining a solid lead through the first four and a half rounds of their UFC 281 clash, Adesanya ultimately succumbed to a wild comeback effort from “Poatan” via technical knockout (watch highlights).

UFC 287 marks chapter four of the Pereira vs. Adesanya rivalry in totality, and Adesanya feels it’s his final opportunity to reclaim the Middleweight championship.

“I’m hunting, and I mean that in every sense of the word,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel (h/t MMA Junkie). “The mindset is different, definitely. Even [coach] Eugene [Bareman] and I are on the same page. The mindset is definitely different.

“I like it because it puts it all on me, and it’s kind of poetic in a way,” he concluded. “One life: Roll the dice. This is my last shot, and I’m going to give it all I’ve got in every sense of the word.”

The Pereira loss in Nov. 2022 was only the second of Adesanya’s impressive 25-fight career (his first at Middleweight). For Brazil’s Pereira, he blazed his way to the top of the division in no time at all, winning his first three UFC bouts in less than one year to earn his title shot. Outside of his Oct. 2015 debut against Quemuel Otton, the reigning champion has been flawless in his eight-fight career thus far.

Gilbert Burns doesn’t want to be left out of Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) Welterweight title talks.

UFC President, Dana White, is adamant that two-time title challenger and former interim champion at 170 pounds, Colby Covington, is next in line for the reigning champion, Leon Edwards. White has stuck to his claims of giving “Chaos” the next crack despite a big upcoming match up at UFC 287 next weekend (Sat., April 8, 2023).

Burns will collide with another two-time title challenger, Jorge Masvidal, in the card’s co-main event bout. A win for Burns would get him back on a winning streak, which is more than either Covington or Masvidal would be able to say heading into a potential Edwards clash.

“100 percent, I can steal the show and put doubt on everyone’s mind,” Burns told MMA Junkie. “It all depends on the performance. If I go out there and dominate this guy and finish what Colby didn’t do in this last fight, what took Kamaru [Usman] seven rounds to do. If I go out there in one or two [rounds], I think that says a lot. So we’ll see. We’re still 11 days to the fight, there’s work to do, but I’m confident that I’m going to finish Jorge Masvidal.”

In terms of finishing ability, Burns has had no trouble finding ways to put opponents away in his 26-fight career. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt has notched nine submissions under his belt along with six knockouts. “Durinho” most recently submitted Neil Magny with a first-round arm-triangle choke (watch highlights) at UFC 283 in Jan. 2023.

UFC 287 will take place in Masvidal’s backyard of Miami, Florida, providing Burns with an even greater opportunity to silence all the doubters. On the other side, Masvidal intends on snapping a three-fight losing streak, dating back to his star-making run in 2019.

“I have the opportunity on April 8 to make a doubt in everyone’s mind and go out there and finish this guy spectacularly,” Burns said. “I hope Leon is there. I hope Dana is there. I hope Colby is there. I will put on a clinic against this guy and try to get a title shot. But I’m not going to cry about it if they give it to Colby.

“I want a clear path,” he continued. “Okay, everything goes good against Jorge, what should I do now? Otherwise, I just sit down and wait like this guy is doing and then deserve it. It’s not just because it’s me, but I’m willing to fight anyone, and I’ve proved that over and over. Yet, this guy sits down for a year and he gets the opportunity. I don’t know, it just doesn’t make sense. I’m not crying about it. He does whatever he wants to do. He talks and everyone talking about him now. But deserving, earning? I don’t think he did. I’m the only guy in the division that’s willing to fight anyone, and I’m going to keep doing that.”

Ilia Topuria has his biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) opportunity to date.

Georgia’s Topuria (13-0) is set to headline his first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event on June 17, 2023, against recent interim Featherweight title challenger, Josh Emmett (18-3), per a report from KOImenero. A location for the UFC Fight Night event has yet to be be determined.

The surging Topuria shined brightest on his biggest platform this past Dec. 2022, facing Bryce Mitchell on UFC 282’s main card. Needing just two rounds to get the job done, “El Matador” beat “Thug Nasty” everywhere the fight went before submitting him with an arm-triangle choke (watch highlights). Topuria called for a bout with two-time title challenger, Brian Ortega, afterward, but “T-City” isn’t 100 percent healthy, which is what possibly led to this new pairing.

Emmett will hope to rebound off his first title opportunity this past Feb. 2023. Competing in Perth, Australia at UFC 284, Emmett fought valiantly against Yair Rodriguez in their interim title affair. Unfortunately for the 145-pound knockout artist, Emmett came up short via a second-round triangle choke submission (watch highlights).

The news of the Emmett vs. Topuria headliner bout makes for just the third fight on the June 17, 2023, card thus far.

Check out the current line up for the June 17, 2023 UFC Fight Night below:

• 145lbs.: Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria
• 125lbs.: Jimmy Flick vs. Alessandro Costa
• 125lbs.: Tereza Bledá vs. Gabriella Fernandes

Anthony Pettis is representing team mixed martial arts (MMA) this weekend (Sat., April 1, 2023) at Gamebred Boxing 4 in his hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

No, it’s not a joke. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight titleholder, Pettis, is stepping into the boxing ring for the first time in his professional combat sports career when he faces off with the legendary Roy Jones Jr. in a Heavyweight affair.

Pettis’s bout will headline the card and act as his first appearance since coming up short in the 2022 Professional Fighters League (PFL) semifinals against Stevie Ray in Aug. 2022. “Showtime” already had it in mind that he was done at 155 pounds following the season, leading him to start his bulk and answering this opportunity weighing 205 pounds.

“Most of the MMA guys that came over to boxing besides Conor McGregor weren’t fighting top-level boxers,” Pettis told MMA Fighting. “I’m coming over and testing myself against one of the greats. It’s huge to get this win. It’s huge for mixed martial arts as a sport, for myself, for my coaches. My coaches have been busted their ass for this.

“I’m not going to go out there and let this fall through my fingers,” he continued. “I’m going to go out there and I think he’ll be surprised by my boxing skill set. I’m not going to go out there and fight like an MMA fighter. I’m going to fight like a boxer.”

Jones Jr., 54, hasn’t fought in a pro boxing match since his 2018 unanimous decision win over Scott Sigmon. Two years later, however, “Superman” participated in a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition bout against Mike Tyson, resulting in a split draw (watch highlights).

At age 36, Pettis (25-14) has essentially been there and done that in MMA as a former UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champion. He’s not calling it a career just yet in the sport he made his name in yet, but a lot will depend on how well his boxing debut goes.

“Now that this opportunity with boxing is in front of me, I’m hiring the right guys, I’m spending the money on the right team, the right sparring partners,” Pettis said. “Everything I need to do to take this 100 percent serious. I guess I don’t want to look past this fight. I’m fighting a G.O.A.T. in his arena. I’m going into the ring, so I can’t go past that. I’m focused on April 1 and we’ll see what comes after that.”

“In ONE Championship, I am fighting in the same promotion, but if you go to a different country a small thing is so different because of the cultural background.”

Mei Yamaguchi’s six-year run with ONE Championship has come to an end.

After a March 2022 grappling match draw against Danielle Kelly at ONE: X, Japan’s Yamaguchi was ready to head home. The 40-year-old 36-fight veteran has since parted ways with the company and now joins the RIZIN Fighting Federation roster, where she’ll debut at RIZIN Landmark 5 on April 30, 2023, opposite perennial top-ranked Atomweight, Kanna Asakura.

“I was always looking for a chance to fight for RIZIN, but if I have a contract with ONE Championship I cannot,” Yamaguchi told MMA Mania on BROADENED HORIZIN. “Thinking about my career, I really wanted to finish fighting in Japan. So, I talked to ONE Championship and they showed a lot of respect for what I think. I asked for my termination and they allowed that. There was a lot of understanding.

“It was an honor to be in those big events,” she continued. “It was pretty fun fighting around Asia. In ONE Championship, I am fighting in the same promotion, but if you go to a different country a small thing is so different because of the cultural background.”

Yamaguchi (21-14-1) has fought damn near every legend and pioneer imaginable at 115 pounds or lighter. Beginning her career in March 2007 as a member of the now-defunct SmackGirl roster, “V.V” understands that she’s finally winding down her career on this final stretch with RIZIN.

“I don’t know, one or two years [left], but I really want to show everything in RIZIN,” Yamaguchi said. “I want all the fans — especially in Japan, especially at my age — to give a lot of power to those people in my career.

“Angela Lee the second time. That’s the only fight that I really thought I won,” she said when asked which fight she wishes she could get back.

The Asakura match up will mark Yamaguchi’s first fight below 115 pounds since her final Deep Jewels bout in 2015. When stepping foot in the RIZIN ring, the unfinishable veteran will look to continue her trend of never being stopped and snap the only three-fight losing skid of her career.

“I think it’s a very good matchup,” Yamaguchi said. “Because Kanna needs to show what she’s learned from RIZIN, what she’s done in her career, and I have to show what I’ve done outside Japan. That’s what everyone wants to see. So, it’s pretty exciting.

“I trained with her once, so I kind of understand how it feels [against her]. It’s fun,” she concluded.

Watch the full episode in the video embedded above or you can listen on Spotify.

BROADENED HORIZIN Ep. 25 AUDIO - 以下の日本語版:

Henry Cejudo may want to change his nickname to “Quadruple C” to account for the massive CUT he suffered on his face, which (understandably) has fans concerned for his fighting future after this prominent lightweight was recently forced to withdraw from his upcoming bout after being struck with a similar gash.

Cejudo is currently booked to battle reigning bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling atop the UFC 288 pay-per-view (PPV) event on May 6 in Newark, which gives the Olympic gold medalist just over five weeks to heal before “Funk Master” tries to bust him back open. In addition, an injury of that magnitude could prevent Cejudo from sparring ahead of his Octagon return.

Fans on Twitter are demanding answers.

Don’t expect bantamweight title contender Sean O’Malley to save the day.

“I was really planning on being backup for Henry-Aljo,” O’Malley said on his Timbo Sugar Show podcast (transcribed by Farah Hannoun). “It is so hard. Dude, go and do a camp, five fives, planning on a fight, is hard enough to do knowing you have a fight. But knowing you’re probably not going to fight? I can’t train the same way. I don’t feel like I’m in a position to where I’m like, ‘Well, it’s my only opportunity to be a backup.’”

You can also factor in the puny paycheck that comes with being a backup fighter.

“I was trying, but now I’m at the point where I’m like, f*ck that. One of those dorks pulls out, reschedule it. I need a real eight weeks where I know I’m fighting. It’s too hard to be that disciplined. You can’t be that disciplined all the time. They’re five weeks out. If I got the call, I’m not ready to do five f*cking fives. I haven’t been doing every possible thing that I could be doing, so I’m pulling out from backup fighter.”

As of this writing there are no plans for the UFC 288 headliner outside of Sterling vs. Cejudo, so hopefully “Triple C” can get healed up within the next few weeks and return to full training. That said, you can expect the tender flesh on his face to have a big red target around it for Sterling, who will no doubt look to exploit any and all potential weaknesses.

To see who else is fighting at UFC 288 click here.