🥊 The UFC Heads Down Unda' and Conor SHELVED Until 2025

The UFC is goin’ down unda’ this weekend as Perth, Australia welcomes the worldwide leader for #UFC305 pitting incumbent champ Dricus Du Plessis against the middleweight legend Israel Adesanya. This, PLUS, Dana puts the nail in the coffin of 2024 for a Conor McGregor return….OR DID HE!?!

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HEADLINES

🥊 We spoke about this in-jest last week with Conor McGregor spending some time in Sturgis at a Bike Week event for BKFC. Well, this week, after DWCS season debut, UFC President Dana White was asked if we can expect to see Conor McGregor anytime soon, to which Dana flatly responded: "We talked & he wants to fight," White said when asked when McGregor will return to the Octagon. "We'll figure it out. Not this year. He won't fight this year." 😦 😦 

🥊 Last week’s UFC Apex event finished with a 70% decision rate, but Serghei Spivac sent us home early with a R1 submission of Marcin Tybura that lasted just under 2 minutes. This matchup, whilst not immediately consequential to the title picture, puts Spivac back in the win column after a loss to Ciryl Gane last year. Gane is booked to fight Alexander Volkov at UFC 308 in October & I would expect the winner of that fight to get Spivac next.

🥊 Dana White’s Contender Series returned this week with an incredible night of fights. It’s now Season 8 of the program & we have seen the show act as the launching pad for SUPERSTARS like Sean O’Malley & Jamahal Hill. Dana is blunt & clear about wanting to see finishes & see fighters PROVE that they are UFC-caliber & you certainly see that in the results. Check out this recap from Dan Tom on MMA Junkie, one of the best!

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UFCFN: Tybura v. Spivac 2 Reap

Serghei Spivac def. Marcin Tybura (via Armbar Submission at 1:44 in R1)

I mentioned it earlier but 70% of these fights went to a decision on a Saturday afternoon, but just like I told you he would, Spivac came out with the dub. The lone loss last week in the picks was Chelsea Chandler. Hand up, my bad.

BUT BACK TO THE RECAP.

This is another week where the recap is going to feel short but that’s because “The Polar Bear” didn’t exactly leave me much to discuss at the UFC Apex arena. It took Serghei Spivac just one minute and 44 seconds to lock Tybura into the fight-ending armbar.

Watching at home, it seemed to me like the arm bar happened so fast that Tybura verbally tapped in pain, causing the ref to stop the fight. This #8 vs #9 matchup looked more like #8 vs unranked and is a tough pill to swallow for the aging Tybura.

What’s next for Serghei Spivac?

After the fight, #6 ranked Jailton Almeida posted a tweet calling out Spivac, who in the Octagon asked for a fighter ranked above him to square up in the Octagon. Spivac’s response was “let him train”…whatever that means?

I love that fight at Heavyweight as we await a Jones/Miocic announcement likely November at MSG. Both fighters are currently available and with Aspinall/Blaydes off the table, it would clear up a lot in the Top 10.

What’s next for Marcin Tybura?

Oof, that’s tough. On the bright side, he didn’t take any damage in this fight relatively speaking, maybe a sore arm. He only dropped to #9 in the most recent UFC rankings but, there aren’t many favorable matchups for him if last weekend was any indication of future performance. I’d say do Tybura vs Pavlovich overseas.

QUICK HITTERS from UFC Vegas 95: Tybura v. Spivac 2

• Chepe Mariscal def. Damon Jackson via UD in a largely one-sided affair that probably could’ve been stopped a few times with multiple 10-8 rounds. Don’t look now but Chepe is making a RUN as “Machine Gun” has rattle off 4 straight wins since his UFC debut in 2023.

• Danny Barlow def. Nikolay Veretennikov In a razor-close split decision fight that really had no loser. Both fighters proved their worth and entertained fans. The undefeated Barlow, nickname “LeftHand2God”, yes with the number two, is now 2-0 in the UFC after a nasty contender series KO that got him into the big show in 2023. Don’t be shocked if we see him get a big jump in competition after this one after missing weight as a -375 favorite.

• Toshiomi Kazama def. Charalampos Grigoriou with a slick triangle choke in R2 after absorbing 24 strikes and landing none of his own. Truly one of the weirdest stat lines in UFC history.

Best finish of the night IMO 👇️ 👇️ 👇️ 👇️ 

How to Bet UFC 305: Du Plessis v. Adesanya

BUCKLE UP FOLKS, this one is a BANGER as the UFC hits Western Australia 🇦🇺 harder than a Colby Covington boomerang 🪃 WE KNOW WHAT YOU CAME HERE FOR ↙️↙️↙️↙️↙️↙️

THIS WEEK:

• KICKOFF PARLAY: NICOLL ML + SONG ML + TAFA ML + PRATES ML

  • +409 Odds - $100 pays $509.70

    • This “parley” as my Rochester-native friend Ronnie Pellegrino says it is going to start your night off right as we roll through some of these fights.

      • Nicoll is a straight up stud, Aussie-native, 8-0, he gets it done to start. I like Song by decision against a GAME Ricky Glenn, both tough vets of the sport. Give me Junior Tafa, my gut tells me his gut sways him to a KO win. Then Prates is liable to KO “The Leech” Li Jingliang and leave us all in tears (until you check your balance).

• STEVE ERCEG (-162) v. KAI KARA-FRANCE (+136)

  • This fight is incredibly interesting in a division that our man Henry Cejudo once SAVED FROM EXTINCTION. These two former title challengers square off in Erceg’s backyard of Perth, which I do think plays a factor for him, coming off a close decision loss to current champ Alexandre Pantoja. On the other side, KKF will look to stave off the dreaded 3-fight loss streak, with the first of which being a devastating body kick KO loss in an interim title bout with Brandon Moreno in 2022.

    • I just think Erceg has the momentum here and will have the support of his home fans, a luxury he didn’t have in a decision loss to Pantoja where many felt he was one poor fight IQ decision away from a championship belt.

• DRICUS DU PLESSSIS (-105) v. ISRAEL ADESANYA (-115)

  • As it stands now, “Stillknocks” the current 185lbs UFC Champion is an underdog as he enters the cage for his first title defense against a true legend of the division in “The Last Style Bender”. WHY IS HE THE DOG?? (okay I’m being dramatic)

    • It’s CLEAR why Dricus is the underdog. Adesanya ranks in the Top 10 all-time in 11+ categories the UFC tracks. Most notably here? His 8 Title Fight Wins ranks 2nd only to Anderson Silva (11) widely considered to be on the Mount Rushmore of Modern Day MMA.

    • HOWEVER, I truly believe Du Plessis when he says things like: “He doesn’t have enough fuel to feed his fire to even compete with mine."

      • It’s lines like that, and a confidence that seems to have only grown in spades since attaining the UFC title that make me believe that not only does Dricus Du Plessis think he can walk through Israel Adesanya…but he BELIEVES it.

        • This fight could very well be similar to Belal Muhammad vs Leon Edwards where the sniper (in this case Adesanya) is unable to keep the brute force (DDP) at-range and gets smothered in the process. Dricus Du Plessis by decision is the pick for me, but I love a DDP via KO prop as well given the heavy hands of the South African champ.

POUND 4 POUND PODCAST

Who do you guys think is getting the “egg of embarrassment” punishment on P4P this week?

LISTENER HOT TAKES

WHAT UP HARVEY?

Harvey Dickens…ha-ha…clever

SO YOU WANT TO SEE BELAL MUHAMMAD v. KAMARU USMAN NEXT?

This…is the fight to make Harv!!

Yes, I understand the mystic allure of Shavkat Rakhmanov, the undefeated 18-0 Kazakhstani banging down the doors of a UFC title shot…but hold your horses. Shavkat just beat Stephen Thompson in December (2023). Belal Muhammad beat Stephen Thompson in December 2021, then had to net 4 more wins, against increasingly ranked competition, including a former title challenger on a few weeks notice, just to earn a title shot which was a REMATCH from a short notice fight where the story was already built in! - OOF

Now, Kamaru is technically coming off 2 losses at 170lbs but who else is there to make a case for at 170lbs? Leon Edward’s coach is pining for an Ian Garry fight. Colby Covington hasn’t won since 2022. Kamaru is healthy, he just did the UFC a huge solid fighting Chimaev at UFC 294 in October, and as one of the all-time greats at 170lbs in the UFC, it’s an opportunity the fans would certainly get behind.

AGREE 👍️ 👍️ 👍️ 

I just wanted to add this one because I agree with MMA JOEY. For too long we’ve seen a lot of muckraking in the sport with regard to clickbait journalism and repetitive content. @NinaDrama does the sport a ton of good with her unbridled personality and positive energy. We love to see good people being recognized for their hard work! 💗 

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