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We are here with another edition of Fights on Tap for you! This is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions. 

The UFC either announced or finalized nine fights this week, and we finally have a headliner for UFC 300!

We were a few minutes removed from seeing Ilia Topuria finish Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 this past Saturday when Dana White uploaded a video from the Honda Center in Anaheim. In the video, the UFC CEO announced who would headline UFC 300, the upcoming pay-per-view event scheduled for April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. White and Co. have tapped newly minted UFC champion Alex Pereira for his first defense against Jamahal Hill.

2023 was quite a year for Pereira. He went from a loss to Israel Adesanya, a shift from middleweight to light heavyweight and a win against Jiri Prochazka for the then-vacant championship. For his first defense, ‘Po Atan’ never strayed from his first option in Hill, who he has wanted to fight since ’Sweet Dreams’ defeated his mentor, Glover Teixeira. Now that Hill has recovered from his Achilles injury, he and Pereira can finally share the Octagon.

Pereira vs. Hill is a fine fight. There are a lot of interesting questions around it, too. Can Pereira deal with Hill and his power? Can Hill return from injury and reassume his championship? I want answers, so I have no issue with this fight. 

Announced UFC fights

UFC Vegas 87 — March 2

• Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Bezkat Almakhan — bantamweight (First rep. by Front Kicked)

UFC Vegas 89 — March 23

• Edmen Shahbazyan vs. AJ Dobson — middleweight (First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency)
• Stephanie Luciano vs. Julia Polastri — strawweight (First rep. by Ag. Fight)

UFC Atlantic City — March 30

• Vicente Luque vs. Joaquin Buckley — welterweight (First rep. by Boardwalk Hall)

UFC 300 — April 13

• Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill — light heavyweight 

UFC Fight Night — April 27 

• Austin Hubbard vs. Michal Figlak — lightweight (First rep. by Alex Behunin of MMA Mania)
• Don’Tale Mayes vs. Caio Machado — heavyweight (First rep. by Team Machado)
• James Llontop vs. Gabe Green — lightweight (First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency)

UFC Fight Night — May 11

• Terrance McKinney vs. Esteban Ribovics — lightweight (First rep. by Gaston Reyno of ESPN Knockout)

Announced Bellator fights

Bellator 302 — March 22

• Tofiq Musayev vs. Alfie Davis — lightweight (First rep. by Matt Erickson and Nolan King of MMA Junkie)
• Fabian Edwards vs. Aaron Jeffrey — middleweight
• James Gallagher vs. Jeremy Kennedy — featherweight
• Tim Wilde vs. Manoel Sosa — lightweight 
• Ciaran Clarke vs. Darius Mafi — bantamweight 
• Nathan Kelly vs. Vikas Singh Ruhil — featherweight 
• Abraham Bably vs. Isaiah Pinson — heavyweight 

Good to see James Gallagher here against Jeremy Kennedy. To me, the ’Strabaninal’ was always poised for a championship opportunity, but he has had a few detours in his career so far. If he can get through Kennedy, he cements himself a contender in a new weight class. 

Announced Cage Warriors fights

Cage Warriors 166 — February 23

• Devon Simons vs. Chadricc Kindle — heavyweight 
• Elijah Harris vs. Giovanni Sarran — heavyweight

Cage Warriors 168 — March 16 

• Adam Cullen vs. Harel Cohen — lightweight 

Cage Warriors 169 — March 30

• Thomas Paull vs. Dimitry Solimeis — featherweight
• George Hardwick vs. Lucas Clay — lightweight

Cage Warriors 170 — April 6

• Sineadh Ni Nuallain vs. Jennifer Trioreau — catchweight (120 lbs.)

Cage Warriors 171 — April 20

• Scott Malone vs. Nicolas Leblond — flyweight 
• Chris Bungard vs. Dumitru Girlean — lightweight
• Aidan Stephen vs. Gianluca Scottoli — bantamweight
• Paull McBain vs. Alberth Dias — featherweight 
• Damon Donald vs. Matteo Martignoni — featherweight 
• Carlo Pedersoli Jr. vs. Wallison Henrique — welterweight
• Michael Blair vs. Dec Dean — lightweight
• Keir Harvie vs. Kaique Modesto — bantamweight 
• Ronal Siahaan vs. Igor Wojtas — flyweight

Sign me up for any George Hardwick fight. Dude is violent, and I expect nothing else when he gets into the Cage Warriors cage with Lucas Clay. 

Announced KSW fights

KSW Epic — February 24

• Konrad Rusinski vs. Muslim Tulshaev — catchweight (181 lbs.)

KSW 92 — March 16

• Daniel Rutkowski vs. Julio Cesar Neves — featherweight

If you have read my most recent editions of Fights on Tap, you would understand my excitement for KSW Epic, so I was sad when we lost a fight. That was until KSW came through and found a short-notice replacement for Konrad Rusinski, who was originally scheduled against Andreas Berg Gustafsson in a No Holds Barred (!) fight. In for Gustafsson is Muslim Tulshaev, who is as violent as his upcoming opponent, so I love this replacement. 

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Hey, my guys and ghouls! In this edition of the Injury Report, we discuss UFC fighter Aoriqileng needing a testicular ultrasound after UFC Vegas 86 this past Saturday. Plus, we get into one of my favorite categories, Bare Knuckle Bruisin’ after the most recent BYB Extreme Fighting Series event. 

Ready? Enjoy!

UFCup

Aoriqileng (testicles)

Poor Aoriqileng. This past Saturday, we started the preliminary portion of UFC Vegas 86: Hermansson vs. Pyfer with Daniel Marcos vs. Aoriqileng. After a tough time with Marcos in the first round, things got even tougher for the ‘Mongolian Murderer’ who fell victim to a series of accidental fouls. 

It started when Aoriqileng accidentally caught Marcos’ eye with a finger during an exchange. Referee Jason Herzog paused the action for Marcos, who needed a few seconds to recover, and we were off. That was until ’Soncora’ accidentally caught Aoriqileng in his nether regions with a kick. Herzog came in, paused the action, Aoriqileng needed a few seconds to recover, and again, we were off. 

I kid you not; in the next 30 seconds or so, these two exchange low blows, but Aoriqileng got the worst of it because, after a full five minutes of trying to recover, he could not continue. Alex Behunin of MMA Mania reported that Aoriqileng was transported to a hospital for a testicular ultrasound (alongside a CT scan for his other potential injuries). His manager, Wang Le, provided Behunin with this update: 

“He is ok. The structure of his testicles is okay, but the tubes around his testicles are swollen.”

Aorileng got the worst of it, indeed. 

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A post shared by Wang Le (@wangle714)

UFChanges

We have a UFC pay-per-view to get excited for, as UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria goes down this Saturday. That said, the official line-up for that PPV has recently undergone some changes due to injury. 

Tresean Gore (shoulder)

Ahead of his fourth Octagon appearance, Tresean Gore was forced to withdraw from his upcoming fight against AJ Dobson. In an Instagram Story (H/T Nolan King of MMA Junkie), ‘Mr. Vicious’ could not get cleared due to ‘a labral tear, paralabral cyst, and likely Grade 2 AC joint separation’ in his shoulder. 

Though Gore wanted to fight anyway, his coach did not want him to do so with an impairment. 

“Gutted posting this, but the UFC didn’t clear me to fight,” posted Gore. “I initially was gonna fight anyway, but my Coach made me [get] a MRI because he didn’t want me fighting with one arm! Man I don’t understand why some things happen, but it’s all on God’s time not mine! I will be back and when the time is Right, I will be P4P. I can’t allow injury’s to kill my dream!”

Gore was hoping to add another UFC win to his resume after earning his first with a second-round sub of Josh Fremd at UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen. 

Justin Tafa (unidentified)

I have to start with this: we are still getting Tafa vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 298 this Saturday. There is a twist, though. 

As we waited for the official weigh-ins, it was reported that Justin Tafa was withdrawing from his fight against Marcos Rogerio de Lima due to an injury. An hour after the report, Marc Raimondi of ESPN revealed that the UFC was securing a short-notice replacement for Rogerio de Lima, and it was none other than a Tafa! Junior Tafa, that is. 

Junior, the younger brother of Justin, came in (with five minutes left in the weigh-in window!), weighed 249 pounds, and secured his fight. No word yet on what injury Justin has, but hopefully he has a speedy recovery. Perhaps he could get rescheduled against Rogerio de Lima after his brother?

Bare Knuckle Bruisin’

We can always expect some gruesome goods from BYB Extreme Fighting Series, and they did not disappoint after BYB 24: Super Brawl Saturday.

Ike Villanueva (face)

Since leaving the UFC, Ike Villanueva found a new home with BYB. And now, he is a champion after defeating Dj Linderman via fourth-round finish!

Also, I want to give a special shoutout to one of our own, Blaine Henry. For the third episode of his Fight Finders Series, Blaine shadowed Villanueva for this fight. It is great watch!

Kendell Ward (face)

Kendell Ward suffered a “small” cut in his loss to Brandon Desrosier. Scroll to the third slide in that Instagram post so you can see it.

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A post shared by BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle (@bybextreme)

(Re) Face the Pain

Merab Dvalishvili (toe)

Nothing is going to stop Merab Dvalishvili! UFC fighter Matt Frevola shared a 2017 gem from his Merab vault, which contained this: 

Ouch. Anyway, you can watch Dvalishvili in action this Saturday! He fights Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 on pay-per-view. Enjoy the festivities, friends!

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Ilia Topuria’s rise ahead of UFC 298

Ilia Topuria has had quite the rise in the UFC since signing with the promotion three years ago. With wins against Youssef Zalal, Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall and Jai Herbert, Topuria cemented himself as a contender, but he was still a few wins away from a potential championship opportunity. He got those in his next two appearances, as ‘El Matador’ defeated Bryce Mitchell and Josh Emmett at UFC 282 and UFC on ABC 5, respectively.

After that, Topuria got the fight he always wanted: reigning UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski. 

UFC champ says Topuria could fade into irrelevance with a loss

There is no shortage of confidence in Ilia Topuria. The 27-year-old already sees himself alongside some divisional greats such as Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor and Alexander Volkanovski with a win at UFC 298 this Saturday.

But with a loss? Well, Topuria has no intentions of losing, but if he does, then UFC champion Sean O’Malley says instead of a divisional great, he would be a divisional dud. 

“Ilia, is he going to get the f—ing job done? Ilia vs. Volk,” said O’Malley on an episode of the TimboSugarShow. “He better hope he f—ing does, because he’s talking a lot of games. He’s talking a lot of s—t. He’s got a documentary going coming out, he’s got a f—ing movie coming out. He’s calling out Conor McGregor. Dude, if he goes and loses to Volk, he’s irrelevant. I’m not going to be calling him out. He should be thanking me for talking about him.”

Sean O’Malley wanted a Topuria fight

Though in a different weight class, Sean O’Malley has said a fight with Ilia Topuria was ‘happening’. Of course, that would depend on if they win their upcoming fights against Marlon Vera and Alexander Volkanovski. 

Also, Topuria has already rejected any fight with O’Malley, who he deemed as ‘too easy of a challenge’ for him. To O’Malley, too easy actually translates into too difficult.

“Ilia Topuria, I feel like he’s a little confused on life,” said O’Malley in another episode of the TimboSugarShow. “He said that he wouldn’t want to fight me if he beats Volkanovski because I’m too easy. I just feel like that makes you look so f—ing stupid. He says I don’t have anything. I’m the champ and the biggest star in the UFC.

“For him to say that makes me think that he’s — or he just had someone tweet for him or he had something with the translation,” continued O’Malley. “Because it’s gotta be one of the dumbest things any UFC fighter has ever said. If a 25er was like, ‘I’m going to move up and beat your ass’ and they were a huge star and I thought the fight was actually easy, I would be pushing for that fight. 100 percent, I’m in. So I’m thinking that he looks at me like, ‘F—k, that’s not a great matchup’.”

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Hey, my guys and ghouls! In this edition of the Injury Report, we get into why Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk was delayed again. 

Eye See You, Tyson Fury

Tyson Fury (eye)

In the words of English Grammy-award-winning singer Adele, we could have had it all. We were days away from Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, a fight originally scheduled for this past December. That was until Fury ran into Francis Ngannou, who gave him a tougher fight than he expected, so he needed a few more months to get ready for Usyk. 

Fast forward to February, and everything was fine. Fury and Usyk were nearing the end of their training camps when something happened. On Friday, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported that Fury suffered a cut during a sparring session, forcing his fight with Usyk to get delayed again. The reaction was swift, with most fans and fighters expressing disappointment in yet another deterrent. 

After the report, Team Fury shared a photo of the cut. It is indeed a fight delayer, especially when you consider its size and site. Here is the cut:

Here is how it happened:

As disappointing as it is to have Fury vs. Usyk delayed, at least we have a new date to anticipate (or dread, depending on how cynical you are about this fight happening). These two are now scheduled to fight on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fingers crossed nothing else gets in the way of Fury vs. Usyk. 

Jamaine Ortiz (eye)

Though it was not an exciting fight, most thought Jamaine Ortiz should have got the win against Teofimo Lopez this past Thursday. The ’Technician’ was exactly that — technical. His approach frustrated Lopez, who failed to cut off the ring and connect with significant punches. That said, Ortiz found himself on the wrong end of the judges’ scorecards, losing to Lopez via decision.

To add insult to injury, Ortiz suffered a gruesome cut atop of his left eye, which was the result of an accidental clash of heads. 

Checkin In’ with the UFC

Renato ‘Money’ Moicano (eye)

After more than a year away from the Octagon, Renato Moicano returned at UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov, where he earned a win against Drew Dober this past Saturday. Of course, Moicano found success on the ground, controlling Dober throughout most of the fight. However, there was a moment when Dober had the upper hand against ‘Money,’ who suffered a cut after an accidental clash of heads. 

The canvas went from white to red as blood poured from Moicano.  

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A post shared by Renato Moicano – UFC (@renato_moicano_ufc)

Makhmud Muradov (eye)

There were a few eye pokes at UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov, but none were as brutal as the one Makhmud Muradov suffered. Within the first ten or so seconds of his fight against Aliaskhab Khizriev, ‘Mach’ got poked. He fell to the canvas, and though he tried to address his eye during the pause, there was no way he could continue. When the camera panned to him, the eye was already closed. 

A few days after, Muradov visited with an optometrist. He said the eye is ‘fine,’ but he does need some time to recover. 

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A post shared by Makhmud Muradov (@makhmud_muradov)

Diana Belbita (arm)

Diana Belbita avoided some serious damage to her arm after her most recent Octagon appearance. In a rematch against Molly McCann (at a new weight class!), the ‘Warrior Princess’ suffered her second loss to McCann. This time, though, ‘Meatball’ tapped Belbita with an armbar. 

While there was concern Belbita broke her arm (you could see a clear pop as McCann cranked), Aaron Bronsteter of TSN Sports reported that there was no break in her CT scan.  

Bare Knuckle Bruisin’

Derek Perez (face) 

After a fast (and near fight-ending) start, Derek Perez suffered a loss to Ryan Reber at BKFC 57 this Friday.

Ouch Championship

Punmongkol Sor.Mongkolkarnchang (eye) 

I watched ONE Friday Fights 51 while I touched up the Injury Report. Guess what I caught? This cut on Punmongkol Sor.Mongkolkarnchang. 

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Watch this event live on DAZN!

Preview

OKTAGON goes to Germany for its next event, OKTAGON 53, which features new strawweight champion Katharina Dalisda defending against Eva Dourthe this Saturday. Following two straight losses to Danni McCormack and Chiara Penco, Dalisda returned to the win column with a decision against Dourthe when they were fighting for National Fighting Championship. 

The ‘Tigress’ then signed with OKTAGON where she has a perfect record of 4-0, with her most recent win getting her the then-vacant strawweight championship. 

She defends for the first time against Dourthe, who earned her championship opportunity with a win at OKTAGON 51 this past December. Who wins the rematch? Tune in this Saturday! 

OKTAGON 53 full fight card

Main card

• – Katharina Dalisda (10-3) 🇩🇪 vs. Eva Dourthe (8-5) 🇫🇷; strawweight
• – Islam Dulatov (9-1) 🇩🇪 vs. Ioannis Palaiologos (20-12-1) 🇬🇷; welterweight 
• – Miroslav Broz (16-3-1) 🇨🇿 vs. Tom Crosby (8-3-1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿; welterweight 
• – Hojat Khajevand (7-3) 🇮🇷 vs. David Zawada (18-9) 🇩🇪; middleweight 
• – Cihad Akipa (6-1) 🇩🇪 vs. Ivica Truscek (42-39) 🇭🇷; welterweight 

Prelims

• – Jan Malach (15-14) 🇨🇿 vs. Gokhan Aksu (11-6-1) 🇦🇹; catchweight 
• – Jaroslav Pokorny (16-10) 🇨🇿 vs. Gjoni Palokaj (7-3) 🇩🇪; featherweight 
• – Endrit Brajshori (2-1) 🇽🇰 vs. Jan Fajk (4-0) 🇨🇿; welerweight
• – Emir-Can Al (0-0) 🇩🇪 vs. Tomas Votava (0-0) 🇸🇰; welterweight 

Early Prelims

• – Sami Zarabi (3-1) 🇩🇪 vs. Jakub Batfalsky (3-0) 🇨🇿; featherweight 

Start time and date

OKTAGON 53: Dalisda vs. Dourthe goes down on Sat., Feb. 10, live from the Rudolf Weber-Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. The event starts at 12 p.m. ET | 9 a.m. PT. 

Tickets

Purchase your tickets for OKTAGON 53: Dalisda vs. Dourthe here. 

Live streams

To watch the free preliminary portion of OKTAGON 53: Dalisda vs. Dourthe, head to the official YouTube channel of OKTAGON. 

To watch the pay-per-view portion, you can choose from the following options: DAZN, which you can sign up for here. Prices for DAZN start at $19.99 USD | $24.99 CAD | £9.99 GBP | $13.99 AUD per month. 

OKTAGON.TV, which has OKTAGON 53 priced at approximately $13.98 USD | €12.99 EUR.

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Preview

For the first defense of his WBO and The Ring super lightweight titles, Teofimo Lopez returns to the ring against a familiar foe in Jamaine Ortiz this Thursday. After losing his IBF, WBA, WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles to George Kambosos Jr. in 2021, Lopez moved to super lightweight. So far, the ‘Takeover’ has won three straight, which included his title-winning effort against Josh Taylor this past June. 

After his statement win against Taylor, Lopez wants another against Ortiz, who he has already defeated when they were amateurs. 

“February 8 at Mandalay Bay, ‘The Takeover’ will entertain inside that squared circle as only I can! To the boxing fans around the world, I look to not only dominate and break down Jamaine Ortiz, but to do it in such a fashion that my division will be put on alert,” said Lopez via release. 

“Jamaine is tough,” continued Lopez. “I would know, because I faced him back in the amateur days in 2015 for the National Golden Gloves Championship. I’ll show the world that champions don’t flinch when faced with challenges. They rise and shine the brightest when the stakes are highest. This one is for all my people on the Takeover Express! Let’s show the world once again what real boxing looks like.”

Now that he faces Lopez again, Ortiz is aiming for an ‘Upset of the Year’ contender. 

“This is the most important fight of my career,” said Ortiz. “It’s my first world title bout. I believe this fight will bring out the very best in me, and I’m looking forward to coming home as the new champion!”

Recently, the ’Technician’ returned to the win column with a decision against Antonio Moran this past September. 

Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz full fight card

Main card

• – Teofimo Lopez (19-1) 🇺🇸 vs. Jamaine Ortiz (17-1-1) 🇺🇸; super lightweight
• – Keyshawn Davis (9-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Jose Pedraza (29-5-1) 🇵🇷; lightweight

Undercard

• – George Acosta (17-1) 🇺🇸 vs. Rene Tellez Giron (18-3) 🇲🇽; lightweight
• – Javier Martinez (9-0-1) 🇺🇸 vs. Raul Salomon (12-2) 🇲🇽; middleweight
• – Abdullah Mason (11-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Benjamin Gurment (8-0-3) 🇺🇸; super lightweight
• – Charlie Sheehy (8-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Abdel Sauceda (12-3) 🇲🇽; lightweight
• – Alan Garcia (10-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Tomas Ornelas (7-3) 🇺🇸; super lightweight
• – Art Barrera Jr. (2-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Michael Portales (3-2-1) 🇺🇸; super lightweight
• – Antonio Zepeda (6-1) 🇺🇸 vs. Lemir Isom-Riley (3-2) 🇺🇸; heavyweight

Start time and date

Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz goes down on Thurs., Feb. 8 live from the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The undercard starts at 6:25 p.m. ET | 3:25 p.m. ET, while the main card follows at 10:30 p.m. ET | 7:30 p.m. PT.

Ringwalks for Lopez vs. Ortiz are expected around 12 a.m. ET | 9 p.m. PT.

Tickets

Purchase tickets for Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz here. 

Live streams

The undercard of Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz streams exclusively on ESPN+, the streaming service you can sign up for at $10.99 USD a month.

The main card of Lopez vs. Ortiz airs on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. You can stream ESPN+ on the following devices:

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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Alexander Volkanovski expects to reign supreme at UFC 298

Ilia Topuria is confident he dethrones Alexander Volkanovski, but the reigning UFC champion says the challenger has another thing coming. Volkanovski returns to the Octagon for his sixth defense, which comes after a tumultuous year. In 2023, the ‘Great’ started off with a move from featherweight to lightweight in an attempt to earn champ-champ status. Though he fell to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 this past February, Volkanovski turned in a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate. 

A few months after, Volkanovski successfully defended his championship with a third-round TKO of Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 in July. As he awaited his next challenger, he accepted a short-notice fight against Makhachev, who needed someone to fill in for Charles Oliveira at UFC 294 in October. In a ‘KO of the Year’ candidate, Makhachev finished Volkanovski in the first round with a head kick. 

How Ilia Topuria gave Volkanovski more motivation

After the Makhachev loss, many questioned whether Alexander Volkanovski could return to form. For the champion, the answer is simple: Yes, and he hopes to do so against Topuria, who has given him even more motivation in recent months. 

Since earning his championship opportunity, Topuria has exuded confidence. ‘El Matador’ has even added ‘UFC champion’ to his X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram bios. That was enough to light a fire under Volkanovski. 

“You earn your spot — earned not given,” said Volkanovski in an interview with FREESTYLEBENDER. “That’s been a quote I’ve loved using. I’m all about that quote…I’m not saying he hasn’t earned this shot or anything, but again, let’s be real. Look at the way that I had to get to the title, a lot of people had to get to the title, things like that. I’m glad he’s in this position, I wouldn’t want anyone in front of me other than him right now, so I’m fine with that. But, he’s already acting like he’s a champion. 

“He thinks he’s this and that,” continued Volkanovski. “He literally thinks he’s some superstar already. Oh, mate, that all changes Feb. 17 and he’s going to have a rude shock. He’s gonna have to literally eat a big humble pie and I get to do that. It’s perfect for my storyline right now.” 

Topuria shares his prediction for UFC 298

Though he fights one of the pound-for-pound greats, Ilia Topuria expects a short night at the office against Alexander Volkanovski. In fact, the undefeated fighter already sees how he gets the win. 

“It’s going to be a first-round knockout. You will see,” said Topuria during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. “He’s saying a lot of bulls—t, ‘There’s levels, I have this and I have that, dah, dah, dah.’ You’re right, there are levels. There are levels, then there is me. I’m going to show you where the levels are. I’m going to dominate him everywhere. I’m going to make him look like a punching bag. You will see. I will be dancing Feb. 17.”

When is UFC 298?

UFC 298 goes down on Sat., Feb. 17, live from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Aside from Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria, other featured fights include Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa, Geoff Neal vs. Ian Machado Garry and Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo. 

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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We are here with another edition of Fights on Tap for you! This is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions. 

The UFC either announced or finalized 12 fights this week, and there are a few additions to a slew of Fight Nights. 

We may not have a lot of fights here, but there are a couple that I am interested in seeing. First, we have Vitor Petrino vs. Tyson Pedro, which I see as a step up in competition for Petrino. So far, ‘Icao’ has had excellent performances with finishes of Marcin Prachnio and Modestas Bukauskas. If he can continue chopping down these opponents, especially another vet such as Pedro, then I see Petrino in the top 15 within a year. 

Then, we have Cameron Saaiman vs. Payton Talbott. I thought these two up-and-coming talents would get a little further in their UFC careers before getting paired. That said, it is a fun fight. Saaiman has had more time to find his footing in the promotion, though, so I am curious to see how he bounces back from his first loss. 

Announced UFC fights

UFC Vegas 86 — February 10 

• Hyder Amil vs. Fernie Garcia — featherweight (First rep. by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland)
• Ihor Potieria vs. Robert Bryczek — middleweight (First rep. by Alex Behunin of MMA Mania)

UFC Vegas 87 — March 2

• Vitor Petrino vs. Tyson Pedro — light heavyweight (First rep. by Diego Ribas of Ag. Fight)
• Matt Schnell vs. Steve Erceg — flyweight 

UFC Vegas 89 — March 23

• Mohammed Usman vs. Mick Parkin — heavyweight 
• Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Dusko Todorovic — middleweight
• Junior Tafa vs. Karl Williams — heavyweight 
• Cameron Saaiman vs. Payton Talbott — bantamweight (First rep. by Damon Martin and Mike Heck of MMA Fighting)

UFC Vegas 90 — April 6

• Trevor Peek vs. Charlie Campbell — lightweight (First rep. by The Peek Nation Podcast)

UFC Fight Night — April 27

• Jhonata Diniz vs. Austen Lane — heavyweight (First rep. by All In Sports Management)

UFC 301 — May 4

• Alessandro Costa vs. Kevin Borjas — flyweight (First rep. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes)
• Paul Craig vs. Caio Borralho — middleweight (First rep. by Diego Ribas of Ag. Fight)

Announced Professional Fighters League (PFL) fights

PFL Paris — March 7

• Abdoul Adbouraguimov vs. Jack Grant — welterweight 
• Patrick Habirora vs. Claudio Pacella — lightweight 

If you go to Paris, you need some Parisian superstars, so good on PFL for getting Abdoul Adbouraguimov scheduled for its return. The ‘Lazy King’ is no stranger to a highlight reel, so I am excited to see how he fares in his second PFL appearance. 

Announced Cage Warriors fights

Cage Warriors 166 — February 23

• Miguel Peimbert vs. Carlos Elizarraraz —bantamweight

Cage Warriors 168 — March 16 

• Tom Wright vs. Orion Lombardi — bantamweight 

Cage Warriors 169 — March 30

• Tom Creasey vs. Amir Malekpour — flyweight
• Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Shawn Da Silva — flyweight 

Cage Warriors 170 — April 6

• Francesco Mazzeo vs. Jordan O’Neill — middleweight
• Decky McAleenan vs. Villie Mankinen — featherweight
• Taka Mhandu vs. Rory Evans — bantamweight 

Cage Warriors 171 — April 20 

• Reese McEwan vs. Cameron Else — bantamweight 

I hope you are familiar with Lone’er Kavanagh because he is a top-tier talent. He is fun, fast and explosive, and every time he comes into the Cage Warriors cage, he shines (watch his finishes of Ryan Morgan and Davide Scarano to see what he can do). This fight against Shawn Marcos Da Silva is in the ‘fun for as long as it lasts’ category, so I can’t wait to see it.    

Announced KSW fights

KSW Epic — February 24

• Rafał Haratyk vs. Marcin Wójcik — light heavyweight 
• Kleber Raimundo Silva vs. Damian Piwowarczyk — light heavyweight 
• Phil De Fries vs. Josh Barnett — openweight 

We need to fast forward to Feb. 24 because this Epic event from KSW is…epic. Sorry, I had to. Anyway, Phil De Fries vs. Josh Barnett in Submission Grappling is yet another cherry on top of these recent additions. I have no idea what else KSW has in store for us, but I have a simple request: More please!

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Tyson Fury suffers cut ahead of Oleksandr Usk fight

A few days away from Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported that the highly anticipated fight was not happening due to Fury suffering a cut. Team Fury confirmed the report, releasing a statement that revealed they were discussing a rescheduling. 

“Whilst this is still breaking news, it is clearly a massive disappointment, after the worst that has been done by so many people to finally deliver this historic event to the world,” said Team Fury in a statement. “Once the doctors have appraised Tyson’s eye, we will have a better idea of the period of recovery need. Once known, we will work diligently with all the stakeholders and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reschedule this fight as soon as possible and will of course keep everything updated with developments.”

With his eye appraised, we now have an official date for Fury vs. Usyk — again. 

Fury vs. Usyk gets a new date

During a special edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Fury, alongside Saudi Arabian advisor and promoter of the fight, Turki Alalshikh, revealed that Fury vs. Usyk was rescheduled for May 18 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. 

Since this was yet another postponement, Alalshikh also included a caveat: if either fighter withdraws, they forfeit $10 million. 

“I have guarantees from both of the fighters, $10 million if someone escapes from the fight,” said Alalshikh.

Should either of them withdraw, they would get a replacement opponent, such as the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou. The ‘Predator’ has already responded with this short, yet effective idea: 

Fury explains sparring incident, Team Usyk responds

Tyson Fury also shed some light on the day he suffered a cut in one of his final sparring sessions. 

“It was yesterday morning, sparring,” said Fury. “I arranged to spar 12 rounds with four different guys. In Round 5, I got an elbow in the eye, got a split eye. Obviously I’ve been to the hospital and had 11 stitches. They have the medical reports, they have everything. 

“Right across the eye, lovely,” continued Fury. “Nothing much anybody can do about a cut in sparring. S—t happens. I’ve never had one before. First time for everything.”

Despite his condition, Eglis Klimas, manager of Usyk, had no sympathy for Fury, who he said was ‘scared’ to fight. 

“Maybe when you want to get cut, you’re going to get cut,” said Klimas. “Because he didn’t want to fight with Usyk. He’s scared.”

That earned a fiery response from Fury. 

“Eglis, never called me a coward again,” said Fury. “I’ve had 35 professional fights. I’ve been boxing 18 years of my life. I’ve climbed off the canvas 10 times of the biggest punches in history to win. Never a coward. Never backed down from any man in my life.” 

Recently, Tyson Fury defeated the aforementioned Ngannou in the ‘Battle of the Baddest’ in Riyadh this past October. 

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Preview

Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez go from friends to foes when they square off this Saturday. After their first fight was postponed due to an Azeez injury, Buatsi returned to the ring and fought Pawel Stepian this past May. He defeated Stepian via decision, but ‘Just Business’ thought his performance was ‘average’. Hoping to avoid another average performance, Buatsi requested a ‘big fight’ for his next appearance, which led to Azeez again in this WBA title eliminator. 

On the line is an opportunity to fight WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol, a name Buatsi has wanted for years. 

“A win in this will put me in a very strong position,” said Buatsi in an interview with Jake Donovan of Boxing Scene. “Depending on the timing of it, the winner on Saturday could get Bivol next or the winner of Bivol-Beterbiev. I will only have to decide whether I want to fight for one belt or all.”

Though he had to wait a few months, Azeez is ready for his fight against Buatsi. 

“Josh is the perfect dance partner,” said Azeez in an interview with Boxing Scene. “From our spars, they’re never boring so I can’t imagine what this is going to be like. 10 ounce gloves. He can whack. I’ve got a bit of dig on me too.”

Also featured is Adam Azim, who defends his EBU European Super Lightweight title for the first time against Enock Poulsen. 

Joshua Buatsi vs. Dan Azeez full fight card

Main card

• – Joshua Buatsi (17-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Dan Azeez (20-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿; light heavyweight 
• – Adam Azim (10-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Enock Poulsen (14-0) 🇩🇰; super lightweight 
• – Ben Whittaker (3-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Khalid Graidia (10-13-4) 🇫🇷; light heavyweight 
• – Caroline Dubois (8-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Miranda Reyes (7-1-1) 🇺🇸; lightweight 
• – Jamie Tshikeva (5-1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko (10-14-1) 🇺🇦; heavyweight 

Undercard

• – Francesca Hennessy (2-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Laura Belen Valdebenito (5-5-1) 🇦🇷; bantamweight

Start time and date

Joshua Buatsi vs. Dan Azeez goes down on Sat., Feb. 3, live from the OVO Wembley Arena in Wembley, England. The undercard starts at 6 p.m. locally, or 1 p.m. ET | 10 a.m. PT. The main card follows at 7 p.m. locally, or 2 p.m. ET | 11 a.m. PT. 

Ringwalks for Buatsi vs. Azeez are expected around 10:15 locally, or 5:15 p.m. ET | 2:15 p.m. PT.

Tickets

Purchase tickets for Joshua Buatsi vs. Dan Azeez here.

Live streams

You can watch the undercard of Joshua Buatsi vs. Dan Azeez on the official YouTube channel of Sky Sports Boxing. 

For US viewers, Buatsi vs. Azeez airs exclusively on Peacock, the streaming service you can sign up for at $5.99 a month. For UK and Ireland viewers, the fight airs on Sky Sports. 

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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Watch this event live on DAZN!

Preview

Conor Benn continues his United States tour, visiting Las Vegas for his next fight against Peter Dobson this Saturday! After rattling off wins against names such as Adrian Granados, Chris Algieri and Chris van Heerden in his recent appearances, Benn was scheduled to fight Chris Eubank Jr.. However, when the ‘Destroyer’ failed two drug tests for clomifene, a fertility drug used to elevate testosterone levels, the Eubank Jr. fight was canceled. For the next year or so, Benn was suspended. Eventually, that was lifted after the National Anti-Doping Panel found he did not intentionally ingest the clomifene. 

That said, the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) and British Boxing Board of Control (BBB of C) appealed the decision from the NADP, so Benn cannot get a license to fight in the UK. Though he has fought at home for most of his career, Benn is excited to perform overseas, especially in Las Vegas.

“Headlining in Vegas is a dream come true, not just for me, but for any fighter who grew up watching the sport of boxing,” said Benn via release. “Vegas has been the stage for many legends before me, and I can’t wait to step into that arena on February 3rd against the undefeated Welterweight Peter Dobson, who stepped up to accept the challenge when many wouldn’t.

“I was disappointed when my previous fight fell through, but in this sport, when one door shuts, another one opens,” continued Benn. “This setback has brought me back to where I need to be, and I’m here to put the entire 147 division on notice.”

After his suspension was lifted, Benn returned to the ring, where he defeated Rodolfo Orozco via decision this past September. 

Dobson was supposed to fight for Matchroom this past November, but his opponent Pat McCormack suffered an injury and withdrew. Since then, ‘Pistol Pete’ has waited for another opportunity, which eventually came against Benn. 

“I want to thank Matchroom for keeping their word and circling back to me after a few fights fell through previously,” said Dobson. “Eddie Hearn is a standup guy. Let’s hope Conor Benn stays healthy and comes ready, but the fact is, I’ve said yes to everyone Matchroom has given me. Agyarko, McCormack, and now Benn.

“Conor is coming to the US and going to get his ass whooped,” continued Dobson. “He’s not his daddy. He never seen anyone like me. ‘Pistol’ Pete Dobson is about to ruin another Matchroom hype job. This time in the ring.”

Conor Benn vs. Peter Dobson full fight card

Main card

• – Conor Benn (22-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Peter Dobson (16-0) 🇺🇸; junior middleweight
• – Austin Williams (15-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Armel Mbumba-Yassa (10-0) 🇩🇪; middleweight
• – Johnny Fisher (10-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Dmytro Bezus (10-1) 🇺🇦; heavyweight
• – Khalil Coe (7-0-1) 🇺🇸 vs. Gerardo Osuna (14-0) 🇲🇽; light heavyweight

Undercard

• – George Liddard (5-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Andrew Buchanan (3-0-1) 🇺🇸; middleweight
• – Jimmy Sains (0-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Alejandro Avalos (1-2) 🇺🇸; middleweight

Start time and date

Conor Benn vs. Peter Dobson goes down Sat., Feb. 3, live from The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada. The undercard starts at 2 p.m. ET | 11 a.m. PT, while the main card follows at 3 p.m. ET | 12 p.m. PT.

Ringwalks for Benn vs. Dobson are expected around 5 p.m. ET | 2 p.m. PT.

Tickets

Purchase tickets for Conor Benn vs. Peter Dobson here. 

Live streams

The undercard of Conor Benn vs. Peter Dobson streams on the official YouTube channel of Matchroom Boxing.

The main card airs exclusively on DAZN. You can sign up for the streaming service here. Prices for DAZN start at $19.99 USD | $24.99 CAD | £9.99 GBP | $13.99 AUD per month. 

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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Hey, my guys and ghouls! We start this edition of the Injury Report with this question: What is happening with Dominick Reyes? We have an answer from the ex-UFC title challenger, and it is scary. 

Sittin’ on the Sidelines with some UFC fighters

Dominick Reyes (leg)

In November, the UFC announced its line-up for UFC 297, a pay-per-view event that featured championship fights such as Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis and Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva. Also on the line-up was the return of Dominick Reyes, who had not fought since suffering a KO loss to Ryan Spann at UFC 281 a year ago. 

In December, the ‘Devastator’ revealed that his fight was canceled due to an Ulberg injury. A ‘frustrated’ Reyes weighed his options, including a rescheduling with the ‘Black Jag’ at UFC Atlantic City, but that was not official. In January, Reyes vs. Ulberg was officially canceled, as the UFC announced Ulberg would now fight Alonzo Menifield. 

So what happened to Reyes? In a recent interview with James Lynch of Middle Easy, the ex-UFC title challenger revealed that he could not fight due to deep vein thrombosis. 

“God puts us through some trials, man, and I’m having another hard go right now,” said Reyes. “Me and Carlos were slated to fight January 20th. He pulled out, I don’t know why. It’s an injury, obviously, but he’s not going to say what his injury is. And then a week later, I ended up getting blood clots. Deep vein thrombosis. So yeah, I’m out for a minute.

“I’m lucky to be alive right now, that’s always nice,” continued Reyes. “We caught it early, so it didn’t become a pulmonary embolism, and thank God for that. Which is kind of crazy because I got a massage. My leg was hurting, and I thought I pulled a muscle in my calf, so I got a massage, and that’s the worst thing you can ever do. I’m lucky I didn’t die on that massage table right there.”

As for what happens next with Reyes, he is sat for at least ‘three months’ since he is on blood thinners. 

Tatiana Suarez (knee)

We have an update on Tatiana Suarez, who was forced from her fight against Amanda Lemos at UFC 298 in February. After spending years away from the Octagon due to a myriad of injuries, Suarez returned in 2023 with two straight finishes of Montana De La Rosa and Jessica Andrade, respectively. 

Hoping to continue her run at a potential championship opportunity, the No. 2 contender accepted a fight against No. 3 in Lemos, who recently fought — and lost — to reigning champion Zhang Weili. That was until one of her past injuries reared its ugly head again during a sparring session, forcing the undefeated UFC fighter to sit on the sidelines. 

“It was sparring day. Everything was going well and then within like, 15 seconds, I ended up hurting my knee,” said Suarez during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. “We thought it was going to be okay. We thought it was going be, like, a short [recovery] time because it was swollen. They’re like, ‘It’ll be okay by your fight,’ and then the inflammation just never went down.

“I had to have my knee drained and there was like 400 [cubic centimeters] of fluid inside my knee, and you’re only supposed to have like three [cubic centimeters] of fluid,” continued Suarez. “So it was quite a bit. And they had given me some stem cells and my knee reacted badly to the stem cells, so then that took some more time. And then I just wasn’t able to train, like, at all. I couldn’t grapple, I couldn’t wrestle.”

Though another knee injury is not ideal for Suarez, she said that there was nothing ‘anatomically wrong’ with it, so she does not expect to stay on the sidelines for an extended period. That is great news for those of us, including myself, who want to see Suarez against Weili at some point. 

Ready to Return 

Jared Cannonier (knee)

Jared Cannonier is (almost) healthy again! After undergoing surgery for an MCL tear this past October, the ‘Killa Gorilla’ is nearing a return and has set his sights on a potential No. 1 contender fight against Khamzat Chimaev. 

Cannonier was actually ready to serve as a short-notice replacement for Paulo Costa, who was scheduled to fight Chimaev at UFC 294 until a staph infection led to his withdrawal. After missing ‘Borz’ the first time, Cannonier hopes the UFC gives him a second chance.  

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A post shared by Al Escobar (@arisphysicaltherapy)

Jamahal Hill (heel)

It appears as though Jamahal Hill is ready to return. The former UFC champion shared a photo of himself with the caption, ‘I’m back!,’ which comes a few months after he ruptured his Achilles tendon during International Fight Week this past July. ’Sweet Dreams,’ who was the first Contender Series fighter to win a UFC championship, underwent surgery and vacated, but was ‘guaranteed’ a fight against whoever the champion was when he returned. 

The newly crowned champion is Alex Pereira, so Pereira vs. Hill could come next. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jamahal Hill (@sweet_dreams_jhill)

Ouch Championship

Sevket Cerkez (head)

In his first ONE Championship appearance, Sevket Cerkez was the victim of a Slice N’ Dice, courtesy of an Abdulla Dayakaev elbow at ONE Friday Fights 49 this past Friday. 

Takeru Segawa (arm, leg)

Takeru Segawa ran into Superlek Kiatmoo9, a.k.a. ’The Kicking Machine,’ at ONE 165 this past Sunday. This was the result: 

Bare Knuckle Bruisin’

Michael Manno (face)

As frustrated as Michael Manno was with his fight getting waved off at BKFC Prospect Series: Albuquerque, I can understand why it was, especially after seeing his face.

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Watch this event live on DAZN!

Preview

Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) features one of its top-tier talents in Ashton Sylve for its next Most Valuable Prospects event this Friday. Hoping to shine a light on a new wave of fighters, Jake Paul signed Sylve to his MVP roster in 2022 when he was 18 years old. Since then, ‘H20’ has shined, with wins against Braulio Rodriguez, Adam Kipenga and William Silva. 

For his next challenge, Sylve faces Estivan Falcao. 

“Back in May, I headlined MVP’s very first Most Valuable Prospects event and it’s been amazing to see the continued growth and talent emerge from this series,” said Sylve to a quote to Jake Donovan of Boxing Scene. “It’s an honor to come back to Orlando to headline my very own second event and I promise to put on a clinic my fans won’t forget.

“Thank you to MVP, Boxlab, Caribe and DAZN for this opportunity and I look forward to seeing you there.”

Falcao was recently featured at a ShoBox New Generation event, where he defeated James Bernadin via decision. Prior to that, ‘Tunny’ returned to his winning ways with a fifth-round TKO of Djamel Dahou. 

Ashton Sylve vs. Estivan Falcao: Most Valuable Prospects V full fight card

Main card

• – Ashton Sylve (10-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Estivan Falcao (13-2) 🇧🇷; lightweight
• – Orestes Velazquez (8-0) 🇨🇺 vs. Julian Smith (7-2) 🇺🇸; super lightweight
• – Benigno Aguilar (11-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Corey Marksman (8-0) 🇺🇸; lightweight
• – Maricela Cornejo (17-6) 🇺🇸 vs. Kandi Wyatt (11-5) 🇨🇦; welterweight

Undercard

• – Jasmine Artiga (11-0-1) 🇺🇸 vs. Nancy Franco (18-18-2) 🇲🇽; super flyweight
• – Luis Lebron (19-5-1) 🇵🇷 vs. Giovanni Gutierrez (11-6-1) 🇳🇮; lightweight
• – Dainier Pero (5-0) 🇨🇺 vs. Joe Jones (14-9) 🇺🇸; heavyweight
• – Jorge Carlos (5-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Quinterius Chappell (3-0) 🇺🇸; super lightweight
• – Alexander Gueche (3-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Osmar Rodriguez Gamez (5-2) 🇲🇽; super flyweight

Start time and date

Ashton Sylve vs. Estivan Falcao: Most Valuable Prospects V goes down on Fri., Feb. 2, live from the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida. The undercard starts at 5 p.m. ET | 2 p.m. PT, while the main card follows at 8 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. PT. 

Ringwalks for Sylve vs. Falcao are expected around 11:30 p.m. ET | 8:30 p.m. PT.

Tickets

Purchase tickets for Ashton Sylve vs. Estivan Falcao: Most Valuable Prospects V here. 

Live streams

The undercard of Ashton Sylve vs. Estivan Falcao: Most Valuable Prospects V streams on the official YouTube channel of DAZN Boxing.

The main card airs exclusively on DAZN. You can sign up for the streaming service here. Prices for DAZN start at $19.99 USD | $24.99 CAD | £9.99 GBP | $13.99 AUD per month. 

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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Preview

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is in the Sunshine State for BKFC 57: Luis Palomino vs. Austin Trout this Friday. Palomino, the No. 1 pound-for-pound BKFC fighter, moves from lightweight to welterweight again, setting his sights on another championship. The ‘Baboon’ has to go through Trout to get it, though, and that is a tough challenge. 

“In a world of crowned kings, the Emperor reigns supreme,” said Palomino via release. 

Recently, Palomino added another successful defense of the BKFC lightweight championship with a decision against James Lilley at BKFC 45 this past June. 

As for Trout, he earned this championship opportunity with a decision against Diego Sanchez at BKFC: KnuckleMania 3 in February. After his first foray into bare-knuckle boxing, the former boxing champion was hoping for a step up in competition. He got it. 

“I’m very excited to compete at the highest level of BKFC,” said Trout. “I want to thank David Feldman and Nelson Lopez for giving me the chance to compete at this level. I also want to thank Luis Palomino for accepting this challenge.”

BKFC 57 full fight card

Main card

• – Luis Palomino (9-0) 🇵🇪 vs. Austin Trout (1-0) 🇺🇸; welterweight 
• – Bryce Henry (3-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Robbie Peralta (3-0) 🇺🇸; lightweight
• – John Michael Escoboza (8-1) 🇩🇴 vs. Issac Doolittle (3-1-1) 🇺🇸; light heavyweight 
• – Bryan Duran (5-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Louie Lopez (3-2) 🇲🇽; featherweight 
• – Alberto Blas (3-0) 🇨🇺 vs. Frank Daniel Alvarez (1-1) 🇺🇸; bantamweight 
• – Chris Garcia (2-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Albert Inclan (1-1) 🇺🇸; bantamweight 
• – Leonardo Perdomo (2-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Bobby Brents (0-0) 🇺🇸; heavyweight 
• – Christine Vicens (2-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Sydney Smith (1-1) 🇺🇸; flyweight
• – Justin Ibarrola (2-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Landon Williams (0-1) 🇺🇸; featherweight 
• – Edgard Plazaola (1-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Darrick Gates (1-4) 🇺🇸; featherweight 

Prelims

• – Ryan Reber (4-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Derek Perez (2-1) 🇺🇸; bantamweight 
• – Stephen Townsel (3-3) 🇺🇸 vs. Leo Bercier (3-1) 🇺🇸; cruiserweight 
• – Matt Russo (2-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Justin Street (0-0) 🇺🇸; flyweight 

Start time and date

BKFC 57: Luis Palomino vs. Austin Trout goes down on Fri., Feb. 2, live from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The preliminary portion starts at 8 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. PT, while the pay-per-view portion follows at 9 p.m. ET | 6 p.m. PT. 

Tickets

Purchase tickets to BKFC 57: Luis Palomino vs. Austin Trout here. 

Live streams

For the preliminary portion of BKFC 57: Luis Palomino vs. Austin Trout, you can watch it through the BKFC app or Fubo Sports.

For the pay-per-view portion, you can watch it through the BKFC app, Fubo Sports or TrillerTV, which has the event priced at $9.99 USD.

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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Kayla Harrison quells weight-cutting concerns ahead of UFC 300

Kayla Harrison understands why there are concerns over her weight cut ahead of her first UFC appearance. However, she does not have those same concerns. 

A few days ago, Dana White announced that Harrison signed with the promotion, adding her to UFC 300 against Holly Holm. The UFC CEO also announced that Harrison would move to a new weight class: bantamweight. There were a lot of questions, especially since Harrison has fought at lightweight and featherweight (a one-off with Invicta FC three years ago) in her career, but she never attempted a move to bantamweight. 

So what changed?

Harrison has already done test weight cuts

The UFC has no lightweight division, the featherweight division was scrapped, so Kayla Harrison chose to move to bantamweight. Though moving down two weight classes was a tough test, it is a test she has already completed. 

After Dana White revealed she has had some test cuts to bantamweight, the two-time Olympic medalist confirmed that was the case. 

“I wouldn’t have made the move if I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it,” said Harrison in an interview with Kevin Iole. “We did a test cut. Everything was measured, from my heart rate to my blood pressure to my blood sugar. We did a test recovery. We did a test simulated fight. Everything has been dialed in and everything has been tested. 

“I’m really confident in my team and I’m really confident in myself,” continued Harrison. “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but the things in life that are worth having are usually not easy [to obtain].”

Holly Holm expects Harrison to make weight

While others are concerned with Kayla Harrison and her weight cut, Holly Holm has confidence in her upcoming opponent. During an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, the former UFC champion said she would not fight Harrison if she missed weight, but she does not see that happening since she is a professional. 

“I don’t really know what she walks around at, how much water she drops, I don’t know all those details,” said Holm. “But for me, it’s like if somebody was to tell me I’ve got to go to 125, I couldn’t make 125. So you think about that and that is a concern but I feel like she’s a professional, not just in MMA but obviously in professional sports in her judo and everything, so I give that confidence in her that she’s going to make weight.”

With a win against Harrison, Holm is setting her sights on another championship opportunity. Raquel Pennington recently won the then-vacant UFC bantamweight championship against Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 in January. Holm has already fought — and defeated — ‘Rocky’ twice, so a third fight is ideal, especially now that her former foe has what she wants. 

“I fought for the belt more than once and so a lot of people, they think about what the anticipation is, they want to see other people fight for the belt, but you’ve also got to put people in line that deserve to be there and there’s a reason that I have been up there, it’s because I stayed ranked in the top 5 for a really long time,” said Holm. “My goal is always to get to the belt. If I’m not fighting for the belt, I don’t want to be fighting at all. If I don’t have some kind of path to the belt, I really don’t want to do it.

“I’m not just fighting for a payday, I’m not just fighting for fun, it’s with a goal in mind, so that’s always it. It really stinks when you have a loss because it takes you a step away from it rather than a step closer, so I do feel like this is a fight that can be closer to the belt, so I’m going to make it work, make it happen.”

UFC 300 goes down on Sat., April 13, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

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We are here with another edition of Fights on Tap for you! This is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions. 

The UFC either announced or finalized 12 fights this week, and a new signee is getting a former champion in her first Octagon appearance.

Say hello to the newest UFC fighter: Kayla Harrison. This past Tuesday, Dana White announced that Harrison has signed with the promotion and already has her first fight set. For the first time in her professional career, the two-time Olympic gold medalist heads to bantamweight, where she faces former UFC champion Holly Holm at UFC 300 in April. 

Harrison completed the Professional Fighters League (PFL) chapter of her career at the 2023 PFL Championships, where she returned to the win column with a decision against Aspen Ladd this past November. Prior to that, the two-time PFL champion suffered her first professional loss to Larissa Pacheco in their trilogy fight. 

Holm has not fought since a loss (now a No Contest) to Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC Vegas 77 in July. 

What a signing. I always figured Kayla Harrison would join the UFC, especially after there was some negotiation during her time as a free agent nearly three years ago. Now that she is indeed a UFC fighter, I am excited to see what she can do in a division that could use a fresh face.  

Announced UFC fights

UFC 299 — March 9

• Joanne Wood vs. Maryna Moroz — flyweight

UFC Vegas 88 — March 16 

• Gerald Meerschaert vs. Bryan Barberena — middleweight 
• Mike Davis vs. Natan Levy — lightweight 
• Pannie Kianzad vs. Macy Chiasson — bantamweight 
• Josiane Nunes vs. Chelsea Chandler — bantamweight 
• Joshua Culibao vs. Danny Silva — featherweight 

UFC Atlantic City — March 30 

• Alonzo Menifield vs. Carlos Ulberg — light heavyweight 

UFC Vegas 90 — April 6

• Alatengheili vs. Victor Hugo — bantamweight (First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency)

UFC 300 — April 13

• Holly Holm vs. Kayla Harrison — bantamweight 
• Sodiq Yusuff vs. Diego Lopes — featherweight (First rep. by Freak MMA)
• Jessica Andrade vs. Marina Rodriguez — strawweight

UFC 301 — May 4

• Joaquim Silva vs. Drakkar Klose — lightweight (First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency) 

I love Sodiq Yusuff vs. Diego Lopes. Since joining the UFC after a successful Contender Series appearances, Yusuff has had ‘Super’ fantastic fights against names such as Andre Fili, Alex Caceres and Edson Barboza. I expect the same when he goes up against Lopes, who was easily one of the most electrifying UFC signings in 2023. In his past three appearances, Lopes has had a ‘Fight of the Night’ loss to Movsar Evloev (on short-notice!), a submission of Gavin Tucker and a KO of Pat Sabatini. 

I hate that someone has to lose, but this is such a great fight. 

Announced Professional Fighters League (PFL) fights

PFL vs. Bellator: Champions — February 24

• Ray Cooper III vs. Jason Jackson — 182-pound catchweight (First rep. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie)
• Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Emmanuel Palacio — lightweight

No more amateur fights for Biaggio Ali Walsh! This is his first as a professional. With the exception of a loss to Devin Rothwell, the grandson of Muhammad Ali has shined with finishes of his past six opponents. Hopefully we see more of those finishes as he goes from amateur to professional.  

Announced Cage Warriors fights

Cage Warriors 166 — February 23

• Elijah Harris vs. Kelvin Fitial — heavyweight 
• Chasen Blair vs. Orlando Sanders — welterweight
• Chace Eskam vs. Ilias Faquiri — 195-pound catchweight
• Mason Jones vs. Bryce Logan — lightweight 

Cage Warriors 167 — March 15

• Amaury Junior vs. Giuseppe Ruggeri — featherweight
• Tommy Hawthorn vs. Simone Patrizi — lightweight
• Sergio Gavinelli vs. Helio Hernandez — welterweight 

Cage Warriors 168 — March 16

• Sheldon Ryan vs. Michelangelo Lupoli — flyweight
• James Power vs. Gianluca Rocca — lightweight
• Andy Clamp vs. Matty Byfield — light heavyweight 
• Andy Yates vs. Christian Tebbett — flyweight
• Antonio Sheldon vs. Tom Mearns — lightweight
• Aaron Johnson vs. Ermil Xhaferi — lightweight

Cage Warriors 169 — March 30 

• Will Currie vs. Leon Aliu — middleweight 
• Tommy Brunning vs. Kevin Cesari — bantamweight 
• Jimmy Quinn vs. Yohan Salvador — bantamweight 
• Matt Figlak vs. Kamil Dolgowski — welterweight
• Jamie Richardson vs. Olli Santalahti — welterweight
• Mitchell Goode vs. Angus Hewett — middleweight
• Joe Middleton vs. Sean McCormac — middleweight
• James Webb vs. Yannick Bahati — light heavyweight

Cage Warriors 170 — April 6

• Adam Shelley vs. Emanuele Sabatino — lightweight 

Our own Dayne Fox recently had Mason Jones on his list of fighters the UFC should re-sign, and I agree with him. Sure, his first UFC stint ended in a 1-2-1 record, but he had some great performances. The ‘Dragon’ has since rattled off two wins against Alexandre Ribeiro and Yann Liasse. If he can get this win against Bryce Logan, I hope he returns. 

Announced KSW fights 

KSW 91 — February 17 

• Josef Štummer vs. Adrian Wieliczko — featherweight 
• Kacper Koziorzębski vs. Viktor Červinský — welterweight 
• Vasil Ducár vs. Dawid Kasperski — light heavyweight 

KSW Epic — February 24

• Michał Królik vs. Václav Sivák — featherweight 
• Andreas Gustafsson vs. Konrad Rusinki  — 176-pound catchweight

KSW is going all in for its Epic event in February, so I was excited to see what it had up its sleeve for its most recent announcement. Andreas Gustafsson vs. Konrad Rusinki is No Holds Barred. No. Holds. Barred. 

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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What can you expect from someone named ‘The Kicking Machine’? Kicks. A lot of kicks. Takeru Segawa was the recipient of those kicks, courtesy of Superlek Kiatmoo9 (a.k.a. ‘The Kicking Machine’) at the most recent ONE Championship event, ONE 165 this past Sunday. 

Takeru Segawa’s leg was tenderized at ONE 165 

Originally scheduled to fight Rodtang Jitmuangnon for his first promotional appearance, Takeru was paired against Superlek, who was set for the first defense of his ONE Kickboxing championship. Throughout 25 minutes, Takeru had his lead leg tenderized by Superlek, which left the challenger with a welt. The ‘Natural Born Crusher’ did have some success, though, as he had Superlek up against the ropes with a flurry of punches midway through the fight. 

That said, Superlek weathered the flurry and returned to his original strategy, which was to kick Takeru. In the end, Superlek retained. 

A day after his loss, the former K-1 champion revealed the various injuries he was dealing with due to those Superlek Kiatmoo9 kicks.  

Warning: Photo is graphic. Please proceed with caution. 

“Thank you all for the comments and messages,” posted Segawa on X (formerly Twitter). “I’m encouraged by everyone’s words. I would be happy if my fight gave someone the strength to live. 

“Superlek’s kicks were really strong,” continued Segawa. “I tore a muscle in my thigh, and now I can’t walk or think about anything, but I’m determined to keep moving forward. I’ll take a little break, figure out the answer myself, and report back. Thank you very much for all your support.”

Along with the torn thigh muscle, it was reported that Takeru also had a fractured knee. 

Next for Takeru?

During his post-fight interview, it appeared as though Takeru Segawa hinted at what could come next after the loss. 

“I really wanted to win and prove that I’m the best in the world… to all my fans… to those who are in the arena… to all who are watching the PPV… I wanted to give you strength,” said Takeru (translation courtesy of X user Combat Cat of Beyond Kick). “I did everything that I currently could, what I could do with my current body to the absolute limit. I really wanted [my fans] to be able to think, I’m so glad I kept supporting Takeru… so I worked hard, even if it would kill me.

“There are a lot of things going on right now like the earthquake and people are experiencing pain, there are many people experiencing suffering and I really wanted to convey to those people through fighting and risking my life… that I could give them strength… and that if you work really hard… good things come your way… but this is the limit to which I can go on,” continued Takeru. “I can’t prepare my body any more than this. Thank you everyone for coming today. Thank you to all my fans who believed in me and came along with me the whole way.”

Hopefully Takeru recovers and we see him fight in ONE again. Superlek did say he would entertain a rematch with the Japanese fighter, so perhaps we could have Superlek vs. Takeru II at a future ONE event. 

Full ONE 165 Results

Main Card

• Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Takeru Segawa by unanimous decision (49-46 x3)
• Kade Ruotolo def. Tommy Langaker by decision 
• Shinya Aoki def. John Lineker by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:00 of Round 1
• Nieky Holzken def. Yoshihiro Akiyama by TKO (punches) at 1:40 of Round 1
• Marat Grigorian def. Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong by KO (knee, punches) at 1:20 of Round 3
• Garry Tonon def. Martin Nguyen by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:41 of Round 1
• Ayaka Miura def. Itsuki Hirata by unanimous decision 

Preliminary Card

• Yuya Wakamatsu def. Danny Kingad by unanimous decision
• Rade Opacic def. Iraj Azizpour by unanimous decision
• Bokang Masunyane def. Keito Yamakita by unanimous decision 
• Gustavo Balart def. Hiroba Minowa by split decision 

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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Vince McMahon resigns from WWE, TKO after new allegations

Vince McMahon resigned from WWE and TKO after a new lawsuit was filed against him that alleged sexual abuse, sexual assault and sex trafficking this past Thursday. 

“I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name,” said McMahon. “However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately.”

Despite his resignation, there are some who have questioned whether McMahon is really gone.

Ronda Rousey doubts McMahon is gone from WWE  

Former UFC and WWE champion Ronda Rousey responded to the recent news around Vince McMahon. To ‘Rowdy,’ the WWE founder could still have a say, especially with his ‘avatar’ in creative running things for RAW and SmackDown. 

“Bruce Prichard is basically Vince’s avatar, if he’s still around Vince still has a hand in the business,” posted Rousey on X (formerly Twitter). “Vince was still running things through Bruce when he was “gone” before.”

Rousey is referring to the first time McMahon resigned from WWE as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2022 amid sexual misconduct allegations. McMahon returned to WWE in 2023, this time as Executive Chairman of TKO — the publicly traded company formed when WWE and UFC merged this past September. 

When McMahon returned, some thought he would have control over creative in RAW and SmackDown again, especially since reports surfaced of his appearances during those shows. Prichard denied that was the case during an interview on The Press Box in March. 

“He hasn’t yet. He made it to one TV and really had nothing to say other than, ‘great show, thank you guys.’ In that regard, he is busy working on the business end of things and has given us free rein on the creative end of things to handle it. I think we’ve done a pretty good job so far,” said Prichard (H/T Jeremy Lambert of Fightful).

Rousey’s stints in WWE 

Ronda Rousey has had two stints with WWE, with her most recent ending after SummerSlam this past August. She lost to Shayna Baszler, who she credited for her post-UFC move.

“[Shayna Baszler] you were the reason I got into this business,” posted Rousey on Instagram. “Now I got no reason to stay.”

Shortly after SummerSlam, Rousey retired. The 36-year-old has since appeared at various shows, including Ring of Honor (ROH). She, alongside friend Marina Shafir, teamed up and defeated Athena and Billie Starkz. Rousey has chosen not to return to the ring, which she says was due to wanting to focus on family.  

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Hey, my guys and ghouls! In this edition of the Injury Report, we get into the controversy around a cut suffered at UFC 297 this past Saturday. Plus, we have a few updates on Ryan Curtis and two others who need help. 

UFCuts

Sean Strickland (eye)

Aside from the judging, there was another controversy regarding Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis. Immediately after losing the fight, Strickland shared a photo of his stitched eyelid after he suffered a cut in the championship rounds. According to the ex-UFC champion, that cut was caused due to a headbutt from Du Plessis, which he says was a factor in his loss. 

“I didn’t take the coward’s way out and tell the doctor I couldn’t see and got a No Contest,” posted Strickland. “The only reason why you took a round from me is because I couldn’t see. I won that fight, the world knows I won that fight. The belt they gave you will never make you a champion, enjoy.

“They had to stitch through muscle to get it closed,” continued Strickland. “Thank you to everyone, your support has really kept my head up high through all this, grateful forever.”

After highlighting the cut, though, some tried to pinpoint exactly how it happened. As aforementioned, some, including Strickland, said it was a headbutt. Others said it was a series of punches from Du Plessis, who then worsened the cut when they were clinched up against the fence.

Without the cut and the optics around it — the blood pouring and face wiping — Strickland thought he should have retained. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sean Strickland (@stricklandmma)

Movsar Evloev and Arnold Allen (faces)

Movsar Evolev earned his eighth consecutive UFC win with a decision against Arnold Allen, but it came at a cost. Though he used his wrestling to neutralize Allen throughout the fight, Evloev found himself in a scary situation when ‘Almighty’ defended one of his takedowns. With Evloev wrapped up, Allen responded with knees to the head that cut him. Though referee Marc Goddard ruled those knees were illegal since Evloev had his hand on the canvas, the damage was done. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Movsar Evloev (@movsar_evloev_94)

As for Allen, he was cut under his eye after getting hit with a series of punches from Evloev.  

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Arnold Allen (@arnoldbfa)

Serhiy Sidey (nose)

In the fight I thought should have received UFC ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, Serhiy Sidey had his nose shredded against Ramon Taveras. Like Strickland, some thought the Contender Series signee may have also lost due to optics, especially since a lot of blood poured from his nose. 

While I have you here, watch this recent upload from UFC commentator Laura Sanko, who gave us some great insight as to how important visible damage is to judges. Given the conversations around Strickland vs. Du Plessis and Sidey vs. Taveras, this was an excellent explanation for why those fights received the scores that they did. 

Bare Knuckle Bruisin’

The BYB Extreme Fighting Series Blood Bank is full after BYB 23: Brawl in the Pines II this past Thursday. While I usually explain how these injuries happened, I figured you could see for yourselves because BYB has given us a gift by posting the entire event on YouTube. Thank you, BYB! 

Now, I give you the aftermath of some of these fights. 

Daniel Lerwell (eye)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Daniel Lerwell (@bkblerwell)

Ulysses Diaz (face)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ulysses Diaz (@uly_monster)

Dewitt Dixon (face)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DeWitt Dixon (@dewitt.dixon)

Yordan Fuentes (lip)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle (@bybextreme)

Matt Phillips (eye)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Matt Phillips (@mattbabyfacephillips)

Best of the Rest 

These cuts deserve a shoutout, so here I am, shouting them out on the Injury Report. 

Emerson Guerrero (face)

Fabricio Zavala (face)

Helping Hands

Ryan Curtis 

We have another update on Ryan Curtis’ condition, courtesy of friend and teammate Leah McCourt. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, McCourt revealed Curtis has undergone two surgeries to address the injuries sustained to his back, neck and spine. Though still a ways to go in his recovery, McCourt remains positive that Curtis can come through from his toughest fight. 

“Ryan is a fighter through and through,” said McCourt. “He’s got so much heart. I think the first couple of days were definitely difficult as it would be for anyone. It is the most traumatic thing you could go through. He’s worried about his daughter. He’s worried about his partner, Emma. We’re looking after them, but he has got positivity and we believe in the power of prayer. We believe in miracles. We believe if anybody can do the impossible, it’s Ryan and that’s what we’re going to keep believing and keep praying for.” 

If you want to donate to Curtis’ GoFundMe campaign, go here.  

Josiah Harrell

A few months ago, Josiah Harrell was scheduled for his first UFC fight after he was tapped as the short-notice replacement for Sean Brady against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 290 this past July. Then, he received some live-saving news. Due to some pre-fight tests, Harrell found out he had Moyamoya, a brain disease that ‘causes a blockage to the main blood vessels serving the brain’. 

On Tuesday, Harrell underwent surgery, but he does need help with his recovery. He has set up a GoFundMe campaign, which you can find here. 

Lei Zhenhuan

A friend of BE, Erik Magraken, shared the story of Lei Zhenhuan, who suffered an ‘irreversible’ brain injury at a kickboxing event. To help the Zhenhuan family, you can donate to his GoFundMe campaign here. 

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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Watch this event live on DAZN!

Preview

Jaime Munguia is preparing for his next challenge, which comes against John Ryder this Saturday. After spending most of his career at light middleweight and middleweight, Munguia moved to super middleweight, with his first introduction scheduled for June. The 27-year-old got the ‘exciting fight’ he hoped for, getting a win against Sergiy Derevyanchenko in a 2023 ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate. Since then, Munguia has not fought. 

“I am very happy to return to the ring, and I’m excited to be with my people from Phoenix,” said Munguia via release. “We know that Ryder is a dangerous rival, but we are prepared for it. We have not stopped training and preparing. I am also very happy to have added Freddie Roach and his team to my camp. We are going to give a great night of boxing to everyone watching, and if we overcome this great test, I hope to see you all again in May. Viva Tijuana and Viva Mexico!”

After rattling off five consecutive wins, Ryder earned a championship opportunity against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May. The ‘Gorilla’ failed to dethrone the champion, falling to Alvarez via decision. Now, Ryder wants to return to the win column, and he expects to do so against Munguia. 

“I’m glad this fight has been made. I’m looking to kick 2024 off with a bang and make a statement come January 27,” said Ryder. 

Jaime Munguia vs. John Ryder full fight card

Main card

• – Jaime Munguia (42-0) 🇲🇽 vs. John Ryder (32-6) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿; super middleweight 
• – Oscar Collazo (8-0) 🇵🇷 vs. Reyneris Gutierrez (10-1) 🇳🇮; minimumweight
• – Gabriela Fundora (12-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Christina Cruz (6-0) 🇺🇸; flyweight
• – Darius Fulghum (6-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Alantez Fox (28-5-1) 🇺🇸; super middleweight 
• – Alan Picasso Romero (26-1) 🇲🇽 vs. Erik Ruiz (17-9-1) 🇺🇸; super bantamweight 

Undercard

• – Daniel Garcia (7-0) 🇺🇸 vs. Daniel Lugo (4-1) 🇲🇽; lightweight
• – Gregory Morales (15-1) 🇺🇸 vs. Ronal Ron (14-4) 🇻🇪; super bantamweight
• – Gael Cabrera (3-0) 🇲🇽 vs. Miguel Ceballos (2-0) 🇺🇸; bantamweight
• – Johnny Canas (2-0) 🇺🇸 vs. William Davis (2-1-1) 🇺🇸; bantamweight 

Start time and date

Jaime Munguia vs. John Ryder goes down on Sat., Jan. 27, live from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The under card starts at 5 p.m. ET | 2 p.m. PT, while the main card follows at 8 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. PT.

Ringwalks for Munguia vs. Ryder are expected around 11:15 p.m. ET | 8:15 p.m. PT.

Tickets

Purchase tickets for Jaime Munguia vs. John Ryder here. 

Live streams

The undercard of Jaime Munguia vs. John Ryder streams live on the official Golden Boy Boxing YouTube channel. 

The main card airs exclusively on DAZN. You can sign up for the streaming service here. Prices for DAZN start at $19.99 USD | $24.99 CAD | £9.99 GBP | $13.99 AUD per month. 

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Preview

ONE Championship returns to Japan with a heavy-hitting lineup that features a pair of flyweights in Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. Takeru Segawa at ONE 165 this Sunday. A year ago, Superlek won the then-vacant ONE Kickboxing championship at ONE Fight Night 6 with a decision against Daniel Puertas. The ‘Kicking Machine’ was then scheduled for his first defense, which was expected against Rodtang Jitmuangnon. However, Jitmuangnon withdrew, and Superlek competed in Muay Thai for his next appearances. 

After finally getting the fight with Jitmuangnon — in Muay Thai, not Kickboxing — the 28-year-old set his sights on his first official defense, which comes against Segawa. Though competing in front of a pro-Segawa crowd, Superlek is ready to spoil their hopes of seeing his opponent as champion. 

“I have a lot of motivation for this fight. I get to defend my belt in Japan against the top-ranked fighter there,” said Superlek in an interview with Jay Furness of ONE. “I want to show all the Japanese people that I can defeat their hero. I badly want to knock him out as quickly as possible, even though I know this will not be an easy task.”

Segawa fights for the first time in ONE after the promotion announced his signing this past April. The start of his multi-fight deal was set for ONE 165, where he was originally expected to fight the aforementioned Jitmuangnon. When that fell through due to injury, the former three-weight K-1 Kickboxing champion accepted Superlek as a new opponent. 

“He has been fighting in Muay Thai for a long time [before kickboxing], possessing Muay Thai techniques and strong kicks,” said Segawa to Ben Coate of ONE. “In terms of the match content, I believe it will be a battle between my punches and Superlek’s kicks. Since this match has five rounds, it may become a match where one of us falls. I absolutely want to KO Superlek and win the belt.” 

Other fights featured at ONE 165 include Shinya Aoki vs. Sage Northcutt, Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Nieky Holzken and Garry Tonon vs. Martin Nguyen. 

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru full fight card

Main card

• – Superlek Kiatmoo9 🇹🇭 vs. Takeru Segawa 🇯🇵; flyweight (Kickboxing)
• – Kade Ruotolo 🇺🇸 vs. Tommy Langaker 🇳🇴; lightweight (Submission Grappling)
• – Shinya Aoki 🇯🇵 vs. Sage Northcutt 🇺🇸; lightweight
• – Yoshihiro Akiyama 🇯🇵 vs. Nieky Holzken 🇳🇱; 187.25-pound catchweight 
• – Marat Grigorian 🇦🇲 vs. S. Sitsongpeenong 🇹🇭; 156.5-pound catchweight (Kickboxing)
• – Garry Tonon 🇺🇸 vs. Martin Nguyen 🇦🇺; featherweight
• – Itsuki Hirata 🇯🇵 vs. Ayaka Miura 🇯🇵; atomweight

Prelims

• – Danny Kingad 🇵🇭 vs. Yuya Wakamatsu 🇯🇵; flyweight 
• – Rade Opacic 🇷🇸 vs. Irak Azizpour 🇮🇷; heavyweight (Kickboxing)
• – Bokang Masunyane 🇿🇦 vs. Keito Yamakita 🇯🇵; strawweight
• – Hiroba Minowa 🇯🇵 vs. Gustavo Balart 🇨🇺; strawweight

Start time and date

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru goes down on Sun., Jan. 28, live from the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The event starts at 5 p.m. locally, which is 3 a.m. ET | 12 a.m. PT. 

Tickets

Purchase tickets for ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru here.

Live streams

For the preliminary card of ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru, you can watch it on the following: Watch.ONEFC.com, ONE Facebook, or ONE YouTube. 

For the main card, you can purchase it at  Watch.ONEFC.com for $39.99 USD.  

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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Watch this event live on DAZN!

Preview

OKTAGON has its first event of 2024 and it features a highly anticipated fight at OKTAGON 52 this Saturday. Jonas Magard has had Jack Cartwright in his crosshairs for years, so when his rival joined the promotion, he lined himself up for the fight he wanted. Shortly after Cartwright dispatched Junior Assis via first-round finish at OKTAGON 48, Magard entered the cage with a challenge. 

OKTAGON wasted no time scheduling Magard vs. Cartwright, which has a lot on the line personally and professionally. 

“I want to fight everybody in the division, I’m not bothered, I’ll fight any man, anywhere, but Jonas is next,” said Cartwright ahead of the fight. “Jonas says he’s wanted to fight me for a long time, but he could’ve fought me three years ago. He’s a liar. He annoys me, he’s got a punchable face, and when I hit him, he’ll know he’s made a mistake. Jonas, you’ve made a mistake.”

As for Magard, the ‘Shark’ says Cartwright is in for a tough time. 

“I’ve always had my eyes on him, and I’ve always known that I could beat him,” said Magard. “That time is now. I’m the best version of myself, and not a man on this planet can beat me. I’m coming there to take his head off.”

The winner of Magard vs. Cartwright could get a championship opportunity against OKTAGON champion Felipe Lima, so tune in to see who cements themselves as the next No. 1 contender. 

OKTAGON 52: Magard vs. Cartwright full fight card

Main card

• – Jonas Magard (15-6) 🇩🇰 vs. Jack Cartwright (11-1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿; bantamweight 
• – Matej Penaz (8-1) 🇨🇿 vs. Matthew Bonner (16-9-1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿; middleweight 
• – Aaron Aby (15-8-1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 vs. Christopher Daniel (9-3-1) 🇺🇸; flyweight 
• – Adam Palasz (9-2) 🇵🇱 vs. Stuart Austin (17-8) 🇬🇧; heavyweight
• – Shoaib Yousaf (11-3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Eduard Kexel (9-1) 🇩🇪; featherweight 

Prelims

• – Corey Fry (5-1) 🇬🇧 vs. Max Holzer (6-0) 🇩🇪; featherweight 
• – Jan Sirosky (13-16) 🇨🇿 vs. Denis Frimpong (0-2) 🇮🇪; lightweight
• – Roman Paulus (8-4) 🇸🇰 vs. Nathan Haywood (3-1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿; bantamweight 
• – Jack McHugh (1-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Armand Herczeg (0-1) 🇮🇪; featherweight

Early Prelims

• – Daniel Bainbridge (2-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Hazma Dagdeviren (1-1) 🇩🇪; 137-pound catchweight

Start time and date

OKTAGON 52: Magard vs. Cartwright goes down on Sat., Jan. 27, live from the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England. The event starts at 12 p.m. ET | 9 a.m. PT. 

Tickets

Purchase tickets for OKTAGON 52: Magard vs. Cartwright here. 

Live streams

To watch the free preliminary portion of OKTAGON 52: Magard vs. Cartwright, head to the official YouTube channel of OKTAGON. 

The main card airs exclusively on DAZN. You can sign up for the streaming service here. Prices for DAZN start at $19.99 USD | $24.99 CAD | £9.99 GBP | $13.99 AUD per month. 

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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We are here with another edition of Fights on Tap for you! This is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions. 

The UFC either announced or finalized 17 fights this week, and the newly crowned BMF champion has his first defense scheduled.

The UFC is still a few months away from UFC 300, its tricentennial event that Dana White promised would have ‘insane’ fights. So far, the UFC CEO has announced a couple, such as Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan, Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan and Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic, which are all great fights. However, on Tuesday, White really upped the ante with a fight that is the very definition of insane when he announced that BMF champion Justin Gaethje would defend against Max Holloway. 

In his most recent appearance, Gaethje won the BMF championship with a highlight-reel finish of Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 in July. Though the ‘Highlight’ thought he should get Islam Makhachev next, the promotion went a different direction. Now Gaethje faces a former UFC champion in Holloway, who comes into this fight months removed from a ‘Fight of the Night’ awarded performance against Chan Sung Jung at UFC Singapore. 

I have to give props to Max Holloway for this because he really willed this fight into existence. A few months ago, ‘Blessed’ said his ideal fight was Gaethje at UFC 300, which was ‘short on guys’ at the time. I thought the promotion would have something else for Gaethje, so I figured Holloway was not an option. Then Dana White announced Islam Makhachev was recovering from an injury, Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan was the next No. 1 contender, and suddenly, Gaethje was in need of an opponent. 

Holloway came in, and that was that. Regardless of your thoughts on this fight, it is fun for the fans.

Announced UFC fights

UFC Vegas 86 — February 10 

• Dan Ige vs. Andre Fili — featherweight (First rep. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie)

UFC 298 — February 17

• Amanda Lemos vs. Mackenzie Dern — strawweight (First rep. by Brian Martin of the OC Register)
• Anthony Hernandez vs. Roman Kopylov — middleweight (First rep. by Mike Heck and Damon Martin of MMA Fighting)
• Rinya Nakamura vs. Carlos Vera — bantamweight (First rep. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie)

UFC Vegas 87 — March 2

• Julia Polastri vs. Josefine Knutsson — strawweight (First rep. by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland)

UFC Vegas 88 — March 16

• Mohammed Usman vs. Chris Barnett — heavyweight (First rep. by Mohammed on Instagram)
• Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Ovince St. Preux — light heavyweight (First rep. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie)
• Chad Anheliger vs. Charalampos Grigoriou — bantamweight (First rep. by Grigoriou on Instagram) 

UFC Vegas 89 — March 23

• Billy Quarantillo vs. Gabriel Miranda — featherweight (First rep. by Quarantillo on Twitter)

UFC Atlantic City — March 30 

• Ibo Aslan vs. Anton Turkalj — light heavyweight (First rep. by Team Turkalj)

UFC Vegas 90 — April 6

• Cesar Almeida vs. Josh Fremd — middleweight (First rep. by Leo Guimaraes of Super Lutas)
• Cynthia Calvillo vs. Piera Rodriguez — strawweight (First rep. by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland)

UFC 300 — April 13

• Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway — lightweight 
• Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller — lightweight 

UFC Fight Night — April 27

• Ariane Lipski vs. Karine Silva — flyweight (First rep. by MMA Hoje)
• James Llontop vs. Lando Vannata — lightweight (First rep. by MMA Fusion)
• Maheshate Hayishaer vs. Anshul Jubli — lightweight (First rep. by Hayishaer via Douyin, H/T Chris Presnell of MMA Ecosystem)

Anthony Hernandez vs. Ikram Aliskerov was one of the fights I was most excited to see at UFC 298 in February, so when Aliskerov withdrew due to a staph infection (speedy recovery to him!), I was disappointed. I got over it when I saw the short-notice replacement for Aliskerov was Roman Kopylov. 

Hernandez and Kopylov are not only on four-fight win streaks, but they are also finishers, so you can expect some violence. Plus, this fight was already supposed to happen in September, so I am excited to finally see it. 

Announced Professional Fighters League (PFL) fights

PFL vs. Bellator: Champions — February 24

• Ryan Bader vs. Renan Ferreira — heavyweight (First rep. by Ariel Helwani)
• Johnny Eblen vs. Impa Kasanganay — middleweight (First rep. by Ariel Helwani)
• Jason Jackson vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov — welterweight (First rep. by Ariel Helwani)
• Bruno Cappelozza vs. Vadim Nemkov — heavyweight (First rep. by Ariel Helwani)
• Thiago Santos vs. Yoel Romero — light heavyweight (First rep. by Ariel Helwani)
• Clay Collard vs. AJ McKee — lightweight (First rep. by Ariel Helwani)
• Gabriel Braga vs. Aaron Pico — featherweight (First rep. by Ariel Helwani)
• Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Chris Morris — lightweight
• Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis — lightweight
• Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondala Rao — featherweight 

2024 PFL Europe 1 — March 7

• Cedric Doumbe vs. Baissangour Chamsoudinov — welterweight (First rep. by ARENA)

I was hoping Professional Fighters League (PFL) would give us more fights for the PFL vs. Bellator: Champions card, and they did! From Johnny Eblen vs. Impa Kasanganay to Clay Collard vs. AJ McKee, this card is shaping up nicely. However, I have my eyes on what they have set for Cedric Doumbe. In September, Doumbe appeared for the first time in the SmartCage, where he slept Jordan Zebo in nine seconds. NINE SECONDS! Afterwards, ‘Le Meilleur’ started campaigning for fights against prominent names such as Anthony Pettis. 

Not sure when he gets those fights, but for now, I can appreciate the approach PFL is going with Doumbe. 

Announced Cage Warriors fights

Cage Warriors 166 — February 23

• Xavier Vines vs. Corvan Allen — bantamweight 
• Bobby Winther vs. Devin Goodale — welterweight
• Diego Vazquez vs. Sean Rose — heavyweight 

Cage Warriors 167 — March 15

• Omiel Brown vs. Rafael Aronov — welterweight 
• Michael Pagani vs. Konstantinos Ntelis — lightweight

Cage Warriors 168 — March 16 

• Liam Gittins vs. Roberto Hernandez — bantamweight 
• Tom Nicholls Burton vs. Craig Rawlins — middleweight
• Sam Kelly vs. Alessandro Giordano — bantamweight 

Cage Warriors 169 — March 30

• Jordan Vucenic vs. Simone D’Anna — featherweight 

Cage Warriors 170 — April 6

• Eimear Darcy vs. Jenny Line — flyweight

Listen. If I see an announcement regarding Jordan Vucenic, then I tune in. It is simple. 

Announced KSW fights

KSW Epic — February 24

• Piotr Kacprzak vs. Adam Brysz — lightweight

KSW 92 — March 16

• Jakub Wikłacz vs. Zuriko Jojua — bantamweight 

Good to see Jakub Wikłacz scheduled for another defense, especially after his most recent ended in a Draw. Now that the Sebastian Przybysz chapter of his career has closed (or has it? Perhaps they fight again, a la Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo since Wikłacz and Przybysz are 1-1-1), I am ready to see what comes next. He and Zuriko Jojua were previously scheduled to fight until Jojua withdrew due to injury in June, so hopefully this was worth the wait. 

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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After announcing her retirement following a successful defense against Irene Aldana this past July, it appeared as though ex-UFC champion Amanda Nunes was content. Not only did she win and defend two championships, she also cemented herself as one of the greatest of all time throughout her UFC career. As for her post-fighting career, Nunes admitted she wanted to remain close to mixed martial arts, setting her sights on starting her own team.

“I love this sport,” said Nunes in an interview with Combate. ”I’ve got my gym, I’ve got some girls over there. I’d love to help out. I have so much to offer. I’m a double champion, I know a lot of stuff. I can make another fighter become a champion. I know all about this game. The mental aspect, how to be a good at it, how to develop a strategy. My team and I really understand this. We’re building a strong team in the future.”

However, after sitting Octagon-side for Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 — a fight that would usher in a new champion after her retirement — Nunes is starting to feel the itch to compete again.

Amanda Nunes won’t rule out UFC return

After watching Pennington vs. Bueno Silva, Amanda Nunes gave her thoughts on seeing someone else with one of her former championships. A longtime friend of Pennington, the ‘Lioness’ admitted she was a little sad to see the title changing hands without being in the cage to compete for it, but she was also happy to see ‘Rocky’ win the belt.

When asked about a potential UFC return on the UFC 297 post-fight show, however, the former champ had this to say.

“I don’t know — we never know,” said Nunes (transcript via Damon Martin of MMA Fighting). “I’m a fighter and this is my job. I love this so much, and I don’t know. I enjoy as well not being in the gym everyday and having a normal life, stay home a little bit and be lazy. I [can’t be] lazy as a fighter, it’s very hard.

“But I’m still healthy and powerful, smart, think like a champion. I still feel like a champion, so we’ll see.”

Julianna Pena craps on UFC 297 title fight

While one former champion had nothing but respect for Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297, another was not impressed. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Julianna Pena went off on the fight, saying that there was ‘literally’ no winner.

“It was a snooze fest. I was not impressed. Not impressed with their performance, as my friend Georges St-Pierre likes to say,” Peña explained (transcript via Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting). “Nobody won. The fans lost. Literally, there was no winner.”

After missing out on her second UFC championship opportunity due to injury, Pena staked claim to whoever was holding the title when she was ready to return. Now that she has her answer in Pennington, the ‘Venezuelan Vixen’ looks forward to being the one to dethrone the newly minted champion.

“She just doesn’t get that fire lit underneath her butt,” Peña added later, speaking of Pennington. “She doesn’t have that eye of the tiger, that shark that smells blood in the water. She’s not a killer. She’s doesn’t have that killer instinct. But I know somebody that does — and her name is Juliana ‘The Venezuelan Vixen,’ the Peña power.”

For her side, Pennington appears receptive to Pena as her first challenger, especially since they have a history after their time together on Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter. Whether the UFC goes in that direction remains to be seen, but if both parties are ready, Pennington vs. Pena could be the next fight to make.

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Dricus Du Plessis dethrones Sean Strickland at UFC 297

Dricus Du Plessis has earned his first UFC championship after dethroning Sean Strickland at UFC 297 this past Saturday. After five close rounds, ’Stillknocks’ did enough to get the win via the judges’ scorecards, ending the now short-lived reign of Strickland. In his post-fight interview, Du Plessis already set his sights on his first challenger, a former UFC champion in Israel Adesanya.

Here is how Round 1 went, courtesy of the play-by-play provided by our own Stephie Haynes:

Stricland with a quick left jab to start the action that falls short. Dricus with a low kick that misses. Strickland with a good body kick. Good jab to follow it. Left jab again finds its mark by Strickland. Dricus starting to throw over the top now and is landing. Dricus spun around but didn’t throw the backfist. Looks like he stooped too close and thought better of it. Nasty high kick by Dricus lands. Another high kick by Dricus finds its mark.

Dricus bleeding from the nose from all Strickland’s jabs. Strickland checks another low kick. Strickland lands a nice straight and Dricus missed with his overhand right. Dricus gets the double leg and dumps Sean on his butt. Nice body kick sneaks through for Dricus. A welt is forming under the right eye of Dricus.

Dricus lands two more of those body kicks to Sean’s ribs. Big right hand lands for Strickland but only on the shoulder and Dricus flurries behind it as the horn sounds.

Thanks, Stephie!

Pros react to Du Plessis’ win at UFC 297

See how Twitter reacted to Dricus Du Plessis’ win against Sean Strickland at UFC 297:

UFC 297 Full Results

Main Card

• Dricus Du Plessis def. Sean Strickland by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
• Raquel Pennington def. Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)
• Neil Magny def. Mike Malott by TKO (punches) at 4:45 of Round 3
• Chris Curtis def. Marc-Andre Barriault by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
• Movsar Evloev def. Arnold Allen by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Preliminary Card

• Garrett Armfield def. Brad Katona by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
• Sean Woodson def. Charles Jourdain by split decision (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)
• Ramon Taveras def. Serhiy Sidey by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Gillian Robertson def. Polyana Viana by TKO (punches) at 3:12 of Round 2

Early Preliminary Card

• Sam Patterson def. Yohan Lainesse by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:03 of Round 1
• Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Priscila Cachoeira by submission (anaconda choke) at 4:21 of Round 3
• Jimmy Flick def. Malcolm Gordon by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 1:17 of Round 2

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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Watch this event live on DAZN tonight!

Preview of tonight’s event

Elle Brooke vs. AJ Bunker II is featured at the next Misfits Boxing and DAZN event, MF & DAZN: X Series 012 tonight! When her fight against Astrid Wett at Ed Matthews vs. Simple Simon got canceled, Brooke got paired against Bunker, who she defeated via unanimous decision. Fast forward a few months, and the pair eventually found their way to Misfits Boxing, where they are now scheduled to rematch. 

After their first fight, Brooke went on to fight under other promotions such as Rage Combat and Kingpyn, where she recently competed in the 2023 Kingpyn High Stakes Tournament. After a win against Aleksandra Daniel in April, she suffered a loss to Jully Oliveira in July. Brooke has not fought since then. 

As for Bunker, she eventually captured her first MF & DAZN championship when she defeated Arabella del Busso. She defends for the first time against Brooke. 

Also featured at MF & DAZN: X Series 012 is Ed Matthews, who is expected to headline against a Mystery Opponent. 

Tonight’s Elle Brooke vs. AJ Bunker: Misfits Boxing X Series 012 full fight card

Main card

• – Mystery Opponent Luis Pineda 🇲🇽 def. Ed Matthews 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 via KO at 1:11 of Round 2.
• – Elle Brooke 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 def. AJ Bunker 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 via KO at 1:56 of Round 3.
• – Ashley Rak-Su 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. OJ Rose 🇳🇬 decision draw (39-37, 37-39, 38-38)
• – Tristan Hamm 🇨🇦 def. Not Logan Paul 🇺🇸 via KO at 1:39 of Round 1
• – Chase DeMoor 🇺🇸 def. Minikon 🇺🇸 via unanimous decision (40-33×4)
• – Fox The G 🇺🇸 def. Small Spartan J 🇵🇭 via KO at of 1:34 of Round 1
• – Ben Williams 🇮🇪 def. Fes Batista 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 via unanimous decision (40-36×2, 39-37)
• – Joey Knight 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 def. Most Wanted 🇸🇱 via TKO at 1:07 of Round 3
• – DTG 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 def. Myles Rak-Su 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 via corner retirement after 2 rounds 

Start time and date

Elle Brooke vs. AJ Bunker: Misfits Boxing X Series 012 goes down tonight (Sat., Jan. 20) live from the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England. The event starts at 7 p.m. locally, which is 2 p.m. ET | 11 a.m. PT. 

Ringwalks for Brooke vs. Bunker are expected around 10 p.m. locally, or 5 p.m. ET | 2 p.m. PT.

Tickets

Purchase tickets for tonight’s Elle Brooke vs. AJ Bunker: Misfits Boxing X Series 012 here.

Live streams

To watch Elle Brooke vs. AJ Bunker: Misfits Boxing X Series 012 tonight, sign up for DAZN here. Prices for the streaming service start at $19.99 USD | $24.99 CAD | £9.99 GBP | $13.99 AUD per month. 

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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Our Substack is where we feature the work of writers like Zach Arnold, John Nash and Karim Zidan. We’re fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. Please help us by subscribing today.

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We start this Injury Report with a Call to Action for MMA fighter Ryan Curtis, who has suffered some serious injuries in training. 

A Call to Action for Ryan Curtis 

This past Saturday, Leah McCourt shared Curtis had injured his back, neck and spine in training, resulting in the loss of movement in his arm and legs. Though he underwent emergency surgery, Curtis’ recovery could have him hospitalized for ‘at least five months’ in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). After that, McCourt shared he would hopefully move to the spinal ward, where he would receive additional attention for a ‘further period of time’.

Curtis competed in several promotions, such as Bellator, Brave CF, and Cage Warriors, compiling a record of 6-4 throughout his career. His most recent win was a first-round finish of Ryan Taylor. 

Due to the life-altering injury, McCourt has set up a GoFundMe for Curtis, with donations going to his ‘rehabilitation, vital treatment, recovery and supporting his family’ during this time. Several prominent names in the MMA community, including former UFC champion Conor McGregor and SBG Ireland coach John Kavanagh, have already donated. 

“Sending my support and well wishes to Dublin MMA fighter Ryan Curtis after suffering life changing injury in practice,” posted McGregor on X (formerly Twitter). “Here is a link to his GoFundMe, he has a young daughter and the family needs our support.”

In a recent update from McCourt, she revealed Curtis’ mood has improved due to the support, but his road to recovery remains lengthy. 

“Ryan’s mood is good during the day but at night it can be overwhelming and panicky,” posted McCourt. “This is a huge life-altering event and the realization of what is happening to him is a lot to cope with right now. If you can please pray for peace over Ryan’s mind at night time. 

“Ryan is still in ICU and the main focus is his recovery from the major surgery and trauma his body has went through, for him to be able to breathe on his own without extra help.”

To those of you who want to donate to Curtis’ GoFundMe, go here. We send all the well wishes to Curtis and his family. 

Dealing with Lingering Injuries

Jon Jones (elbow)

We have a couple of updates from Jon Jones after the UFC heavyweight champion recently underwent surgeries. A few days ago, ‘Bones’ revealed he shaved down ‘some bone spurs’ in his elbow. Now, some were curious as to what caused those spurs, with a fan on X going straight to the source: Jones. @KamuraShops responded to Jones’ post regarding the impending removal of stitches following that elbow surgery with this question: ‘Is the elbow injury from TRT Vitor in Toronto?’

During his reign as UFC light heavyweight champion, Jones fought Vitor Belfort at UFC 152, where he notched another successful defense with a ’Submission of the Night’ awarded keylock. However, earlier in the fight, Jones had to fend off a submission from the ‘Phenom,’ who had the champion in danger with an armbar. Though the armbar did damage (Jones had a ‘strained ligament’ that required no surgery), that was not the reason for Jones’ lingering injury. 

Here is the real reason, according to Jones:

There you go. If you elbow enough people — and Jones has elbowed a lot of people throughout his career — you might end up needing surgery. As for his other injury, the pec is ‘progressing,’ but not enough to return yet. 

Tony Ferguson (elbow, knee)

Someone else who has elbowed a lot of people throughout his career is Tony Ferguson, who also underwent surgery on his elbow. This past Friday, the ex-UFC interim lightweight champion posted a video that showed him getting some fragments removed. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @TonyFergusonxt (@tonyfergusonxt)

While recovering from that surgery, Ferguson underwent another, this time on his knee. ‘El Cucuy’ posted a video of himself headed to the hospital, where he was gearing up for surgery again. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @TonyFergusonxt (@tonyfergusonxt)

No word yet on when we can expect to see Ferguson again, especially after these two surgeries, but ‘El Cucuy’ is determined to fight. Though he finds himself on a seven-fight skid following a loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 in December, Ferguson has said he has no intention of retiring. 

Rose Namajunas (finger)

Rose Namajunas has decided against surgery on the injured finger she suffered in her most recent fight against Manon Fiorot at UFC Paris. That said, ‘Thug’ Rose now has to deal with its lingering stiffness. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Namajunas shed light on her decision, which came after a visit with a hand specialist. 

“Right after the fight, they set it back in place, and then they basically just said, I think it was, like, six weeks in a splint or whatever,” said Namajunas. “But then it wasn’t until like a month later that I went to see JJ Aldridge fight, and then the doctor was like, ‘Oh, that looks terrible. You’re going to need surgery on that.’

“I got all stressed out about it, and then I ended up seeing a hand specialist, and they said that I didn’t need surgery,” continued Namajunas. “The only thing that surgery would really do is just make it a little more straight.”

Aside from that, the ex-UFC strawweight champion said surgery would ‘run the risk’ of not being able to make a fist. That was enough for her to decide against it so she could continue with her career. Her next fight comes against Amanda Ribas at an upcoming UFC Fight Night in March. 

UFChanges

Tatiana Suarez (unspecified)

After a return to form in 2023 with finishes of Montana De La Rosa and Jessica Andrade, UFC contender Tatiana Suarez has started 2024 with a hiccup. Brian Martin of the OC Register reported that Suarez was forced to withdraw from her fight against Amanda Lemos at UFC 298 due to an unspecified injury. 

After the report, the former Ultimate Fighter winner confirmed her withdrawal, revealing that the injury was ‘minor’. Filling in for Suarez is Mackenzie Dern, who hopes to return to the win column after a (T)KO loss to Andrade. 

Lerone Murphy (unspecified) 

UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Pyfer has lost Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige. Kyle Dimond of Violent Money TV reported that Murphy suffered an unspecified injury that led to his withdrawal, leaving Ige without an opponent. 

That was until Friday when Nolan King of MMA Junkie reported that Andre Fili had agreed to share the Octagon with Ige. ‘Touchy’ comes into the fight after a first-round finish of Lucas Almeida at UFC 296 in December. 

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Kenshiro Teraji has the next defense of his WBA and WBC light flyweight titles scheduled against Carlos Canizales this Tuesday. The reigning champion has had two successful defenses, with consecutive TKOs against Anthony Olascuaga and Hekkie Budler, respectively. Ahead of him now is Canizales, who the ‘Amazing Boy’ credits as one of his toughest tests thus far. That said, he expects to hear ‘And Still’ at the end of their fight. 

“Cañizales has fought around the world,” said Teraji to Anson Wainwright of The Ring through Takashi Misako. “He is tough and has heart, good footwork and a strong punch. I think everything [I do] is better. I have good jab and speed. I think he will be surprised.”

After suffering his first professional loss in an upset to Esteban Bermudez, Canizales found his footing in his next four fights. ‘CCC’ dispatched German Valenzuela, Ganigan Lopez, Armando Torres, and most recently, Daniel Matellon. 

Also featured on this event is Artem Dalakia, who defends the WBA flyweight title against Seigo Yuri Akui.

Kenshiro Teraji vs. Carlos Canizales full fight card

Main card

• – Kenshiro Teraji (22-1) 🇯🇵 vs. Carlos Cañizales (26-1-1) 🇻🇪; light flyweight
• – Artem Dalakian (22-0) 🇺🇦 vs. Seigo Yuri Akui (18-2-1) 🇯🇵; flyweight 
• – Tenshin Nasukawa (2-0) 🇯🇵 vs. Luis Robles Pacheco (15-2-1) 🇲🇽; super bantamweight
• – Yuki Yonaha (13-5-1) 🇯🇵 vs. Juiki Tatsuyoshi (14-0-1) 🇯🇵; super bantamweight

Prelims

• – Ruiji Takenaka (1-0) 🇯🇵 vs. Koki Oda (1-0) 🇯🇵; super lightweight
• – Toshiki Fujiwara (0-1) 🇯🇵 vs. Seiya Nishioka (0-2) 🇯🇵; super welterweight 

Start time and date

Kenshiro Teraji vs. Carlos Canizales goes down on Tues., Jan. 23, live from the EDION Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan. The undercard starts at 4 a.m. ET | 1 a.m. PT, while the main card follows at 5 a.m. ET | 2 a.m. PT.

Ringwalks for Teraji vs. Canizales are expected around 7:30 a.m. ET | 4:30 p.m. PT.

Tickets

Sorry! We could not find any information regarding tickets for Kenshiro Teraji vs. Carlos Canizales. 

Live streams

For US viewers, Teraji vs. Canizales airs exclusively on ESPN+, the streaming service you can sign up for at $10.99 USD a month. You can stream ESPN+ on the following devices:

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Natasha Jonas defends her newly acquired IBF welterweight title against Mikaela Mayer this Saturday. After a loss to Katie Taylor nearly two years ago, the Olympian has rattled off five consecutive wins, including title-winning efforts against Chris Namus, Patricia Berghult and Marie-Eve Dicaire. In her most recent appearance, Jonas added another to her résumé when she defeated Kandi Wyatt for the IBF welterweight title. 

For her first defense, she faces Mayer, a fellow Olympian who wants another title. Jonas is ready for the challenge. 

“I’m so excited to be fighting back in Liverpool in my first headline show and in the biggest fight of my career so far,” said Jonas via release. “It’s my fifth world title fight with BOXXER, in my backyard, and I’m ready for it. It’s Mikaela Mayer, she stretches above and beyond the UK shores. ‘Miss GB’ versus ‘Miss USA’ and may the best woman win!”

After losing her IBF, WBO and The Ring super featherweight titles to Alycia Baumgardner via split decision, Mayer moved to lightweight. Her first appearance in the new weight class went well, as she defeated Lucy Wildheart for the then-vacant WBC interim lightweight title. A few months after that win, Mayer moved up again, this time to junior welterweight for a fight against Silvia Bortot. 

After getting through Bortot, the 33-year-old said she was moving to welterweight with the hopes of getting a fight with Jonas. She got it. 

“These are the types of matchups boxing needs,” said Mayer. “I am feeling better than ever at my new weight and confident that 2024 is when I take it all back.”

Natasha Jonas vs. Mikaela Mayer full fight card

Main card

• – Natasha Jonas (14-2-1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Mikaela Mayer (19-1) 🇺🇸; welterweight
• – Jack Cullen (22-4-1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Zak Chelli  (14-2-1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿; super middleweight
• – Karriss Artingstall (2-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Lila Furtado (8-1) 🇧🇷; featherweight
• – Aaron McKenna (17-0) 🇮🇪 vs. Linus Udofia (19-2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿; middleweight

Prelims

• – Mark Jeffers (16-0) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Germaine Brown (13-2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿; super middleweight 
• – Jack Massey (20-2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Steve Eloundou-Ntere (8-1) 🇧🇪; cruiserweight 

Start time and date

Natasha Jonas vs. Mikaela Mayer goes down on Sat., Jan. 20, live from the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. The undercard starts at 12 p.m. ET | 9 a.m PT, while the main card follows at 2 p.m ET | 11 a.m. PT.

Ringwalks for Jonas vs. Mayer are expected around 5:30 p.m. ET | 2:30 p.m PT. 

Tickets

Purchase tickets for Natasha Jonas vs. Mikaela Mayer here. 

Live streams

Watch the undercard of Natasha Jonas vs. Mikaela Mayer on the official Sky Sports Boxing YouTube channel.

For US viewers, Jonas vs. Mayer airs exclusively on ESPN+, the streaming service you can sign up for at $10.99 USD a month. You can stream ESPN+ on the following devices:

For UK and Ireland viewers, the fight airs on Sky Sports. 

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Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW) is in Poland for KSW 90 this Saturday. A pair of heavyweights headline, as Arkadiusz Wrzosek goes for his fourth consecutive win against Ivan Vitasović.   Since focusing on mixed martial arts, Wrzosek has found success so far, getting wins against fellow former kickboxers in Tomasz Sarara, Tomas Mozny and Bogdan Stoica. Now 3-0, the ‘Hightower’ wanted a more experienced name, and he got his wish with Vitasović. 

“It will definitely be a big challenge,” said Wrzosek to KSW. “Especially since he recently won against Michał Andryszak, and to win against such a fighter is already someone in the world of MMA. A rival on a wave, a rival after a very big victory, a champion of his home organization. I think he will come here very focused on the fight. We decided that this is the rival I am ready for today. And since my coaches decided that I was good enough in MMA to be able to fight someone like that, I was also more motivated because of it.”

With more than 10 years of experience, Vitasović is ready to rid Wrzosek of his 0 when they head to the Hala Torwar.

“He is tall, brave, and has an uncomfortable style,” said Vitasović to KSW. “He has great high kicks and calf kicks. Plus he hits great boxing combinations. I would consider his weaknesses to be wrestling and ground fighting. Despite this, I think I can beat him in every level, including standing.”    

Vitasović heads into this fight on a six-fight win streak, with five of those coming via finish. 

KSW 90 full fight card

Main card

• – Arkadiusz Wrzosek (3-0) 🇵🇱 vs. Ivan Vitasović (12-5-1) 🇭🇷; heavyweight
• – Bartosz Fabiński (16-5) 🇵🇱 vs. Laïd Zerhouni (11-8 1NC) 🇫🇷; middleweight
• – Damian Stasiak (14-9) 🇵🇱 vs. Adam Soldaev (7-2) 🇵🇱; featherweight
• – Ramzan Jembiev (5-1) 🇫🇷 vs. Isai Ramos (7-1) 🇻🇪; 161-pound catchweight
• – Werlleson Martins (18-5) 🇧🇷 vs. Oleksii Polishchuk (11-4) 🇺🇦; bantamweight 
• – Alexandra Toncheva (5-3-1) 🇧🇬 vs. Ewelina Woźniak (7-2) 🇵🇱; strawweight
• – Islam Djabrailov (9-5) 🇩🇪 vs. Alfan Rocher-Labes (10-2) 🇫🇷; bantamweight

Prelims

• – Marek Samociuk (4-4) 🇵🇱 vs. Oļegs Jemeļjanovs (11-4) 🇱🇻; heavyweight
• – Hugo Deux (2-0) 🇫🇷 vs. Gino Van Steenis (4-0) 🇳🇱; lightweight
• – Szymon Karolczyk (5-3) 🇵🇱 vs. Artur Krawczyk (4-3) 🇵🇱; lightweight

Start time and date

KSW 90 goes down on Sat., Jan. 20, live from the Hala Tower in Warsaw, Poland. The event starts at at 7 p.m. locally, or 1 p.m. ET | 10 a.m. PT. 

Tickets

Purchase tickets for KSW 90 here.

Live streams

Want to watch KSW 90? Purchase the event at $9.99 USD | €9.99 EUR | £7.99 GBP through KSWTV.com or the KSW app. For Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, KSW 90 airs exclusively on Viaplay.

Thank you for reading this article. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

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