UFC Hall of Fame member Ronda Rousey attempted to get her newly-announced fight with Gina Carano in the Octagon, but there was apparently no interest from UFC in hosting it.
Announced on Tuesday, Rousey will fight Carano for the first time ever in both woman’s first fight in years and in a fight that was once attempted to be made in UFC but was derailed due to misrouted texts to Carano that referred to her as a “bitch.”
Speaking to ESPN MMA Tuesday, Rousey said she reached out to Dana White to ask if he was interested in it.
“…It didn’t exactly work out with the UFC, but it led us her today,” she said, not saying if White or TKO leadership turned down the idea and for what reason.
Rousey said the idea for the fight has been in process for more than a year as while she was pregnant with her second child, she saw Carano and didn’t think she looked good and wanted to do anything she could to help as “I owe her immensely.” She said as much as Carano needs this fight, she also needs it.
“We fought for this. We fought to fight each other,” Rousey said, mentioned both women had to work together to overcome obstacles to get to this point.
The 145-pound MMA fight will take place on Saturday, May 16 from Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome, promoted by Jake Paul’s MVP promotion and airing live on Netflix.
The 39-year-old Rousey last competed in December 2016 in a first round TKO loss to Amanda Nunes while the 43-year-old Carano last fought in August 2009 in a first round loss to Cris Cyborg.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about all the big news from today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
At the end of an Instagram story Thursday (seen below), UFC president Dana White said he had both a long and good day and was about to take off from Washington, DC.
“The White House fight is on. I will have more details on that in the next few weeks, but we got it done today,” he said.
News broke earlier this year that U.S. president Donald Trump wanted a UFC event at the White House, but the idea was initially scoffed at by critics as to whether that was even possible given the logistics.
The event will take place on Saturday, July 4th and will air on Paramount+ (and very possibly CBS) as part of their new seven-year deal that begins in 2026.
Trump and White (seen above) are close friends with White crediting the two-time president with helping the UFC in its early tenure as he hosted events from his venues at a time when the sport was reviled by the mainstream. White has spoken at the Republican National Convention while Trump has been a regular at major UFC events over the past few years.
🚨 Dana White says the UFC White House event is officially on 👀
"White House fight is ON. I will have more details on that in the next couple weeks. We got it done today."
UFC boss Dana White is hoping to recruit indie wrestlers into his Power Slap league.
Power Slap is a promotion that White launched in 2022 after seeing slap-fighting videos on social media. The controversial organization airs its events on YouTube, and White is hoping that we’ll see some aspiring pro wrestlers crossover to slap fighting.
“For instance, there’s a bunch of people out there that want to get into the AEW or the WWE, right? And these guys will f*cking jump off a ladder onto a table full of tacks for $50 a night,” White told the Cutler Cast. “You can come into Power Slap and make a sh*tload of money, you know what I mean?
“And these guys are all tough guys, big guys. So we’re looking at these guys that wanted to be professional wrestlers, and a lot of other athletes around the world that didn’t become professional athletes to come into Power Slap.”
White said money isn’t a problem for Power Slap. A bigger issue has been finding a steady flow of talented fighters since, unlike when the UFC started, there isn’t an existing pool of talent.
“Any big guys out there, if you are a bodybuilder, or you’re trying to be a pro wrestler, or any of that sh*t, whatever your dream is, you can literally come into this and make some real money,” White said.
White has a relationship with WWE due to WWE and UFC both being under the TKO Sports umbrella. He is also friends with AEW founder Tony Khan.
During a press conference on Saturday after UFC Baku, Dana White said Jones, 37, contacted UFC on Friday night to say he was retired. Jones later posted on X to confirm the news and give thanks.
“Jon Jones contacted us last night and is retired. Jon Jones is officially retired, Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC,” White said.
“As I close this chapter of my life, I look forward to new opportunities and challenges ahead. MMA will always be a part of who I am, and I’m excited to see how I can continue to contribute to the sport and inspire others in new ways. Thank you all for being part of this incredible journey with me. The best is yet to come,” Jones wrote as part of his goodbye.
Jones had been heavyweight champion since March 4, 2023, defeating Cyril Gane. When Jones was unable to defend the title, Aspinall defeated Curtis Blaydes on July 27, 2024, to win the interim title. Despite there being an interim champion, Jones successfully defended the actual heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 which will serve as his final MMA match unless he returns.
A match between Jones and Aspinall had been in the talking stages following Jones’ last title defense, but the unification bout was never officially announced, leaving the title in a state of flux for months.
Jones began fighting in 2008 and over his career established himself as one of the most dominant fighters in history, amassing a 28-1-1 record, his only loss being a questionable disqualification over Matt Hamill. He won the UFC light heavyweight title twice and the interim title once, losing them each time due to drug and behavior issues.
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A few hours after the news broke, a new report from the Albuquerque Journal revealed there is a criminal summons against Jones with a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident stemming from an incident on February 21st. The summons was filed this past Tuesday and he has been called to appear in court on July 24th.
An Albuquerque police officer was investigating a crash when she saw a woman in the car “exhibiting signs of significant intoxication and lacking clothing from the waste down.” The woman said Jones was the driver and when the officer called Jones, he “appeared to be heavily intoxicated and made statements implying his capacity to employ lethal force through third parties.”
The officer requested backup and that person also reported similar threats of violence were made.
Several days later, Jones was interviewed in person and said the woman left his house intoxicated earlier in the day and called him after getting in the accident. He then said the officer he spoke with used “unprofessional language” which made him think it wasn’t legit.
The woman later told the police she drank alcohol and took mushrooms at Jones’ house, and after changing her clothes at her house, the next thing she remembered was being at the scene of an accident. She said Jones was the last person she remembered driving the car.
According to the report, Jones called the woman’s phone 13 times from the time of the crash until 11:34 AM the next morning in addition to text messages.
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking UFC, AEW Continental Classic, NXT Deadline, Japanese tag team tournaments, and the rest of the news with Wrestling Observer Radio. I had a very in depth WOR on Friday with Garrett Gonzales talking about AEW, Terry Funk, Haystacks Calhoun, new wrestling books, WWE angles, and much more.
After the UFC PPV last night, Dana White was asked about his reaction to the Conor McGregor case by Kevin Iole and said, “What do you mean, what’s my reaction? If I had a comment, I would have put it out already. He also said, “He hasn’t been fighting here in I don’t know how long. Well, if he does fight, it’ll be sometime next year.” Yes, if that was Paul Levesque or Nick Khan, they’d be excoriated for that answer. If it was Tony Khan, it would be even worse than that.
Alexandre Pantoja, after his win over Kai Asakura in last night’s main event, challenged Demetrious Johnson to return for a title shot. Johnson basically responded saying he’s not fighting again and has already turned down a $2 million offer for a fight.
The UFC 312 show in Sydney, Australia, has Dricus du Plessis defending the middleweight title against Sean Strickland rather than Khamzat Chimaev, who I think would have been a much bigger draw but there may be other circumstances involved. Du Plessis beat Strickland for the title and it was a close decision. Also announced is Zhang Weili defending the strawweight title against Tatiana Suarez, a world class wrestler and fighter who has had a career filled with injuries and bad luck but has never lost an MMA fight.
Merab Dvalshvili claimed that the person who he said accosted him last night as he was going to the back and ended up in a fight with was a teammate and friend of next opponent Umar Nurmagomedov. That was his claim. Nurmagomedov has yet to address that claim.
The winners of Iron Survivor from last night’s Deadline, Oba Femi and Giulia, get their shots at Trick Williams and Roxanne Perez on the 1/7 NXT TV show from Los Angeles. The venue will be announced imminently.
Regarding people with DirecTV whose DVR didn’t record AEW Collision, I don’t know the issue but it was the same for me. I have been checking every week to manually record after it didn’t record about a month ago. This would be the fourth time in the last few weeks I had to manually do it and also that I heard from people saying the show didn’t record. If you have a season pass, the issue for many is that it shows no new recordings and I don’t know why. (thanks to many)
The NJPW tag tourney finals saw Naito & Hiromu Takahashi over Sanada & Gabe Kidd when Hiromu pinned Sanada in 27:12. With no tag champs, it’s going to be Hiromu’s dream match at the Tokyo Dome, a match he’s wanted for years: a singles bout with Naito on 1/4.
The Saito Brothers beat Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. to win the Real World Tag League of All Japan, which sold out Korakuen Hall one day in advance. The semifinals saw Miyahara & Smith over Yuma Anzai & Rising Hayato and the Saitos over Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe. Heard both were good and the finals were great (thanks to Gerard Di Trolio)
Tokyo Sports is expected to announce its 2024 awards for pro wrestling very shortly. They usually do the voting right after the conclusion of the tag team tournaments. Only one foreigner has ever won Wrestler of the Year: Bob Sapp. Zack Sabre Jr. should win, but probably won’t as Vader, Stan Hansen, Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay never did.
Bill Goldberg has said that he’s currently filming a show about his car collection called “Goldberg’s Garage” for Paramount Plus.
Both the New York Times and Los Angeles Times have had articles on Donald Trump’s connections with Ari Emanuel, Dana White, Vince & Linda McMahon.
As far as matches to see, last night’s Nathan Frazer & Axiom vs. Myles Borne & Tavion Heights (this guy is going to be a top worker in a short period of time) match was really good. I haven’t seen Arena Mexico but was told the main event was very good. Also, I was told both tag team tournament finals in All Japan (Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Saito Brothers) and New Japan (Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Gabe Kidd & Sanada) were great.
We’re looking for your thoughts on NXT Deadline, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]. We’re also looking for reports on the matches not airing on live television from AEW last night in Columbus, OH, ROH stuff or any dark matches, results and highlights to [email protected].
Last night’s UFC show did 500,000 Google searches which is more than I would have expected and more than double that of Survivor Series. Lots of UFC names also made the list. Neither NXT Deadline or anyone on the show made the list.
AEW will be doing an event at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Eastern and 9:30 a.m. local time to promote the onsale for tickets to All In: Texas. Appearing will be Tony Khan, Bobby Lashley, Big Boom AJ, Meredes Mone, Darby Allin, Thunder Rosa and Big Justice. The event will stream live on YouTube, Facebook and X.
William Morrissey (Big Bill) and AEW announcer and ROH character Lexy Nair, the stepdaughter of Diamond Dallas Page, were married over the weekend.
Pat Buck of AEW appeared as a Gladiator on a Saturday Night Live sketch last night spoofing the Gladiator 2 movie.
There were a number of decisions on last night’s UFC show talked about. The only fight that seemed like a robbery was Cyril Gane’s win over Alexander Volkov, who was furious about it. It came down to round two. Everyone gave Gane round one and Volkov round three. Judges Adelaide and Junichiro Kamijo gave Gane the second round. Media scorers were 95 percent for Volkov.
In Bryan Battle’s win over Randy Brown, all three judges had round one for battle two for Brown and the third saw Byrd and Ron McCarthy judge it for Battle while Michael Bell had it for Brown. Media scores were 79 percent for Battle.
In the Movsar Evloev win over Aljamain Sterling, all three judges had rounds two and three for Evoloev and one for Sterling. Media scores were 69 percent for Evloev.
Rob Van Dam was shown at the UFC show last night.
David Crockett will be given the Gordon Solie Award at the Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame ceremony on 7/17 to 7/19 in Waterloo, IA. The award is essentially a Hall of Fame for wrestling announcers.
WWE’s Joe Tessitore was announcing yesterday’s Big 12 football championship game and made a reference to the Usos. (thanks to Barry Werner)
MLW tickets go on sale Monday for the 4/5 Battle Riot VII show at the Commerce Casino & Hotel in Los Angeles.
Butterbean was on Memphis Wrestling yesterday.
Ricky Starks will be wrestling on House of Glory shows on 1/17 in Chicago against Mike Santana for the HOG title and on 1/25 in Jamaica, Queens, NY at Club Amazura.
Awesome Championship Wrestling on 1/4 at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie NY has announced Thom Latimer vs. Tommy Dreamer for the NWA title, Nic Nemeth vs. Matt Riddle (who lost the AAA cruiserweight title to Laredo Kid last night in Mexico City) for the TNA title, and Real 1 (Enzo Amore), Little Guido and Crowbar appearing.
The most in-depth look at AEW media rights deal completed and the deal not yet completed. We look at what different numbers mean for different levels of popularity, figuring different scenarios in, best and worst case, PPV and secondary deals.
UFC 306 coverage with the record gate at The Sphere going head-to-head with Canelo Alvarez in the same city.
Coverage of the CMLL anniversary show what did and didn’t work and the difference from a normal crowd.
One of the biggest stars of this generation talks about retirement, gives a date and the significance of that date.
Where pro wrestling shows this past week fit into the weekly cable charts.
A look at every national pro wrestling show this past week, how it compared to last year, placings, competition and segment ratings.
Who is CMLL’s booker?
What country celebrated a national pro wrestling holiday this week
Update on El Hijo del Vikingo
The man who was believed to be the oldest living wrestler passes away
World team tryouts
Notes on a movie coming out soon on the life of Mildred Burke
Note on a Blu-Ray I just did voiceovers for
wXw tag team tournament notes
A very valid criticism of AEW
Update on ticket sales to WWE & AEW shows the next two months
International TV ratings and streaming numbers
Notes on the NFL Films piece on Tony Khan
Updates on TV time length for Raw & Smackdown in January
Second day streaming rights updates on Raw, Smackdown, and NXT starting next month
Notes on the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event and a look back at the first one and numbers that would be incredible today
Update on WWE moving the second NXT on CW show from a major arena and why
A look back at Vince McMahon’s promises when he was expanding.
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
– Bryan and I will be back tonight covering the weekend wrestling news with Wrestling Observer Radio. We’ll also be back Monday night after Raw. We had no Garrett Gonzales show this past week but we will be doing something for the Vince McMahon documentary and perhaps some on the Dump Matsumoto series on Netflix as well later this week.
– An amber alert is out for the three-year-old son of independent wrestler Keyra. He was admitted to the hospital and needed a blood transfusion. His father, Myzteziz Jr. of AAA, was at the hospital. The two are estranged and the belief from her side is that he kidnapped the child. Keyra posted an unmasked photo of him and said police were looking for him and said he hadn’t even visited his child since they split up two years ago. Reportedly the family of Myzteziz said the child was unhealthy.
– We will have a new book out very shortly covering arguably the single most important year of U.S. pro wrestling history, 1984.
– Time Magazine will have an interview with Dana White tomorrow talking about the future of the fight business and his friendship with Donald Trump.
– IBF champion Daniel Dubois dominated and finished Anthony Joshua last night in the fifth round. The fight at Wembley Stadium announced a record attendance in the building for a sports event at 96,000.
– There was an angle on Smackdown LowDown after the show building up the Michin vs. Chelsea Green dumpster match on 10/4. Michin was being interviewed when Piper Neven attacked her with a garbage can.
– Paul Heyman was one of the key people directing the Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns segment on Smackdown as you would figure he would be. As far as when he returns as a character, it’s expected it’ll be as a babyface and they are just waiting on the right timing.
– Yesterday was AEW day in Springfield, MA, the site of the Collision and Rampage tapings. Mayor Dominic Sarno presided over it with talent including The Outrunners, Darby Allin, and Mark Sterling appearing.
– The El Hijo del Santo retirement tour ran Arena Ciudad in Mexico City tonight. We just got a live-in-the-building note saying it was about 20 percent full (about 4,000).
– Brock Rechsteiner, the son of Scott Steiner, a wide receiver at Jacksonville State, caught an 85-yard touchdown pass in yesterday’s 44-7 win over Mississippi State. That’s the team’s first win this season.
– A note regarding Penta & Fenix. They are still under contract to AEW. Both are leaving for WWE. It’s not clear about Fenix still but Penta will be out of his contract shortly but right now both are still under AEW contracts.
– Mistico this past week said he’d be doing a 20th anniversary show in Japan.
– El Hijo del Vikingo is now targeting 9/27 for his return to the ring after knee surgery.
– Ren Ayabe won All Japan’s Oudou tournament today beating Ryuki Honda in the finals in what was called a star-making performance. Honda beat Kento Miyahara earlier in the show in one semifinal and Ayabe beat Rei Saito in the other semifinal. (thanks to Gerard Di Trolio)
– Ayabe vs. Honda is the only match we were told over the weekend so far to make sure and see.
– KENTA vs. Cara Noir for the Def y title headlines the 10/27 Progress show in London.
– This is the Wednesday AEW lineup from Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Dynamite:
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuiness (if Danielson is cleared)
Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin – winner faces Danielson on 10/12 for the AEW title in Tacoma
Young Bucks vs Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher for tag titles
Adam Page vs. Jeff Jarrett lumberjack match
Kazuchika Okada vs. Sammy Guevara non-titlle match
Mariah May vs. Yuka Sakazaki for AEW women’s title
Hook vs. Roderick Strong for FTW title
Pac & Wheeler Yuta & Claudio Castagnoil vs. ? for the trios titles
Collision:
Jamie Hayter vs. Saraya under Saraya’s rules, whatever that means
Chris Jericho & Big Bill & Bryan Keith vs. Orange Cassidy & Kyle O’Reilly & Mark Briscoe tornado match
– Thunder Rosa, who is cleared to return from her concussion, threw out the first pitch at the San Diego Padres game.
– Ray Traylor (Big Bossman/Bubba Rogers) passed away due to a heart attack 20 years ago today.
– Primo & Epico debut for the NWA on its 10/5 and 10/6 TV tapings in Tampa.
– TNA champion Nic Nemeth will be on the 10/18 House of Glory show in New York, which also has Mike Santana defending the HOG title against Masato Tanaka. Joe Hendry vs. Joey Janela headlines their 9/29 show.
While there is still no definitive date for when Conor McGregor will return to the UFC, his scheduled opponent is moving on for the time being.
News originally broke in a clip from an upcoming Barstool Sports interview with UFC president Dana White where he revealed to Robbie Fox that Michael Chandler was done waiting and had moved on. Thus, Chandler would not be fighting McGregor in his return.
However, that has already changed.
Fox released another clip where he said White called him and said there was a misunderstanding. Chandler may still fight McGregor in his return, but Chandler wanted to take a fight in the meantime and will be taking on former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in the co-main event of November’s UFC 309 from Madison Square Garden.
CORRECTION: I just got off the phone with Dana White, and there was a slight misunderstanding here. Michael Chandler may still fight Conor in his return next year, but he’s taking another fight first…. https://t.co/HanYNbDN7ppic.twitter.com/zh8CqD6QGu
McGregor’s hasn’t fought since he lost to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 while Chandler (the former Bellator lightweight champion) has been on the shelf since November 2022’s UFC 281 when he also lost to Poirier.
WBD could be a landing spot for the UFC if ESPN doesn’t close a deal with the world’s top fight company within its exclusive negotiating window.
White did an interview with Sports Business Journal after this weekend’s UFC 303 when the topic of UFC’s impending media rights came up. When specifically asked if WBD was interested in UFC, White said, “I think everyone is kicking the tires and is interested in making a bid.”
The UFC rights expire in 2025 with ESPN’s exclusive window to negotiate beginning this January although White and other TKO executives have previously said both sides have talked already. TKO’s Mark Shapiro has said they want to be “flexible” with these negotiations, even suggesting that ESPN might be willing to buy out their pay-per-view rights altogether in order to charge more for their standalone streaming service.
White said that while UFC has “had some headbutting with ESPN” during the course of their relationship, he thinks both sides are in a very good place with how the overall relationship has gone.
“We’ll see how it plays out,” he said.
White has worked with WBD previously for the launch of his inaugural Power Slap series that only lasted one season on TBS.
It is expected that WBD will lose their long-running NBA TV rights package, potentially opening up some significant budget for a bid. They are currently in negotiations with AEW on a TV rights renewal with that exclusive negotiating window set to expire shortly as the current deal between both sides is believed to end at the end of 2024.
Conor McGregor will not be fighting at UFC 303 after all.
UFC head Dana White revealed the news on X Thursday night that McGregor was injured and immediately moved on to promoting the new main event: reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira defending against former champion Jiri Prochazka with a co-main event of Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes.
The show is set for Saturday, June 29th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as part of International fight Week. Due to the high ticket prices for McGregor’s return, the show already had a company record-breaking $20 million gate in mid-May. Because of the change, they will have to offer fans the ability to get a refund if they so choose due to a policy in Nevada.
Ariel Helwani went deeper into the reasons for McGregor’s fight vs. Michael Chandler to be postponed to later this year with a target of either August or September, reporting that McGregor got hurt a day or so before the UFC’s press conference in Dublin, Ireland, that was canceled. The specific injury has not been reported. He stated that all parties tried to save the fight, but it was pulled internally within the last 48 hours.
All sides were fairly quiet as talk of the fight being off circulated after that press conference cancellation. Helwani said that the new main event was a top choice but had to overcome some hurdles: mainly that the champion is in Australia doing seminars and is recovering from some broken toes.
It was to be McGregor’s first UFC fight since his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 while Chandler (the former Bellator lightweight champion) has been on the shelf since November 2022’s UFC 281 when he also lost to Poirier.
More context on what happened to McGregor x Chandler – how it was on then off then on and then finally off again – dating back to last week, plus how Pereira x Prochazka got made. pic.twitter.com/6JhCNpya6m
Dana White says WWE and UFC are “very separate” despite both being under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella.
During the UFC 302 press conference on Saturday, White was asked if he’s learned anything from working with WWE since the merger. The UFC president responded that he has not worked with WWE at all.
“It’s very separate, I haven’t worked with them at all,” White responded. “I do what I do and they do what they do. They’re using some of the people from my team to help them in different areas business-wise but as far as putting on live events, WWE is very good at what they do and we’re very good at what we do, and that’s about as far as it goes with me.”
There were more layoffs at WWE last week related to the merger with UFC. Senior Vice President of Entertainment Relations Kristin Prouty was let go after nearly 20 years with the company. Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Beth Fisher was also let go.
“These cuts largely have to do with job duplication and they cut staff and have people doing similar jobs for both WWE and UFC, thus people from each side, but more the WWE side, are getting cut,” wrote our own Dave Meltzer about the layoffs in Friday’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Last month, White was asked about UFC fighters, particularly Derrick Lewis, crossing over to WWE. White responded that he does not have a problem with his fighters doing so.
“Listen, some of the fighters who fight here have always dreamed about doing a WWE match or whatever it is and I don’t have a problem with that,” White said. “I didn’t have a problem with that when Vince was consistently f—ing me for no reason and now that that’s not the case anymore, I, obviously, would absolutely do it.”
Dana White says he’s open to UFC fighters crossing over to WWE.
Saturday’s UFC headliner Derrick Lewis recently stated he’s been in contact with WWE about a potential pro-wrestling career. At last night’s post-event media event, White was asked about Lewis’ comments and if he is open to UFC fighters performing in WWE. White responded that he was not aware of Lewis’ comments but has no problem with UFC fighters wanting to live out a dream in WWE.
“I would do anything for Derrick Lewis. I really like Derrick Lewis a lot. Listen, some of the fighters who fight here have always dreamed about doing a WWE match or whatever it is and I don’t have a problem with that,” White said. “I didn’t have a problem with that when Vince was consistently f—ing me for no reason and now that that’s not the case anymore, I, obviously, would absolutely do it.”
White was then asked if he would ever be a special guest referee at a WWE event, to which the UFC president guaranteed that would never happen.
Our own Tom Lawlor, formerly of the UFC, offered the following reaction to White’s comments.
— “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (@FilthyTomLawlor) May 12, 2024
Lewis, who picked up a KO win over Rodrigo Nascimento last night, was asked about potentially performing in WWE during a media event on Thursday.
Yeah, we actually in talks right now. We’ve been talking for a few months now. I was supposed to go down there in February to check everything out,” he responded.
It’s a historic night for the UFC as the Octagon returns to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for UFC 300, an action-packed card featuring a record 12 former or current UFC champions on the card, capped by three title fights.
The main event sees UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira making his first title defense against Jamahal Hill, a former champion who vacated due to injury before being able to defend it. There is added heat and a revenge factor to the fight as Hill beat Pereira’s head coach and mentor, Glover Teixeira, for the title.
In the co-main event, it will be the first-ever UFC title fight with two Chinese women as UFC women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili defends against Yan Xiaonan. Weili is coming off a title defense over Amanda Lemos in August while Xiaonan has won eight of her ten UFC bouts.
The third title fight sees the ceremonial BMF Championship on the line in what could be an all-time classic as current title holder Justin Gaethje faces Max Holloway. UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman, who recently saved his parents from a house fire, will present the championship to the winner.
Among other stories on the loaded card:
Bo Nickal looks to remain undefeated when he gets a prime main card spot against Cody Brundage.
Former two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison makes her much-anticipated UFC debut, taking on former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm.
Jim Miller completes the trifecta, becoming the only fighter to compete at UFC 100, UFC 200 and UFC 300. He also is looking to make it 3-0 in those bouts.
Garbrandt with a pair of leg kicks. He lands another hard calf kick. Garbrandt lands a left hook as Figueiredo lands a calf kick. Garbrandt lands a right hand then a leg kick. Figueiredo lands a body kick as Garbrandt throws a wheel kick. Garbrandt with a calf kick. They trade kicks. Garbrandt lands a left hand and Figueiredo tries to pull guard but they scramble up. Garbrandt lands a combo. Figueiredo lands a left hand. Garbrandt lands a right hand. Figueiredo gets a late takedown but they scramble up and Figueiredo lands a right hand on the way up. 10-9 Garbrandt.
Garbrandt lands a right hand. Figueiredo looks for a takedown and takes the back, but Figueiredo is able to trip it to the mat. Figueiredo has the back and flattens Garbrandt out. Figueiredo with some right hands from the back and now looks for an arm-triangle choke. He has it locked in and Garbrandt is fighting it. He lets go and lands a right hand. Garbrandt tries to explode out from the bottom but Figueiredo gets the mount. Figueiredo gets the back and has the body triangle in and locks in a rear-naked choke. Garbrandt taps! Awesome work from Figueiredo on the mat to get the submission.
Official Result- Deiveson Figueiredo def. Cody Garbrandt by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:02 of Round 2
> Lightweights- #14 Bobby Green (31-15-1 1 NC, 12-10-1 1 NC UFC) vs. Jim Miller (37-17 1 NC, 26-16 1 NC UFC)
Green with a front kick to the body and lands a right hand. Green with a combo and Miller lands a left hand. Miller lands a right hand. Green with a body kick. Green with a combination. Green with a jab. Green lands a body kick then a leg kick and right hand. Miller lands a leg kick as Green lands a left hand. Green lands a pair of left hands. Green with a right hand as Miller lands a leg kick. They trade left hands. Miller with a leg kick. Miller stuns Green with a left hand and Green retreats. Miller landing left hands and Green lands a knee. Green with a flying knee. 10-9 Miller.
They trade to start the second. Both land in close range. Green lands a combination. Miller with a head kick. Green landing with more volume as he is landing in close range. Green picking up the volume as Miller is busted up. Miller with some leg kicks as Green lands a right hand. Miller is bleeding badly from under his right eye. Green lands a right hand as Miller lands a body kick. Green with a combination. 10-9 Green, 19-19.
Green landing lots of early punches. Miller lands a right hand. Green lands a combination and Miller lands a left hand. Green with another combo. They trade kicks. They trade punches. Green with a combo and Miller lands a right hand. Miller is still bleeding badly from his eye. Green with a flurry of punches. Green lands a big right hand. Miller lands a pair of left hands and they clinch. They separate. Miller with a leg kick. They trade punches. Miller lands a big left hand then Green hurts Miller and Miller goes to the mat. Green is landing from the top as Miller is trying to sprawl. Green with right hands as they stand. Green gets a takedown and lands from the top as the fight ends. 10-8 Green, 29-27 Green.
Official Result- Bobby Green def. Jim Miller by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 29-26)
Rodriguez lands a right hand as Andrade lands a leg kick. Rodriguez with a body kick. Andrade lands a leg kick. Andrade with a pair of leg kicks. Rodriguez lands a combo then a front kick. They trade leg kicks. Rodriguez lands a right hand. Rodriguez with a hard leg kick. Rodriguez with a combination. Andrade with a leg kick. Rodriguez lands a high kick but slips to the mat. Andrade gets on top and lands some punches before getting the half-guard. Andrade with some left hands. Andrade stands up. Andrade spins to get back inside the guard of Rodriguez. Andrade lands from the top before getting to side control. Rodriguez looks for a D’Arce choke from the bottom but Andrade escapes and continues to land from the top. 10-9 Andrade.
Rodriguez lands a right hand and Andrade with a leg kick. They trade punches. Andrade lands a combination. Rodriguez lands a right hand. Rodriguez lands another right hand. Andrade with more leg kicks. Andrade lands to the body as Rodriguez lands a combination. Rodriguez landing more punches inside the pocket. They clinch and Rodriguez lands on the break. Rodriguez with another combination. Andrade lands a quick flurry. Andrade lands a right hand. Rodriguez is retreating away. Rodriguez lands a knee as they clinch. Andrade with some big right hands. Andrade lands a combo and Rodriguez is circling away and hurt. Rodriguez lands some knees. 10-9 Andrade, 20-18 Andrade.
Andrade with some leg kicks. Rodriguez lands a spinning back fist. Andrade with more leg kicks and Rodriguez lands a right hand. Rodriguez with some big combinations. They trade and Andrade grabs a leg and scores a takedown. They get to their feet and Andrade lands a right hand against the fence. Rodriguez lands a right hand. Rodriguez lands another right hand then a combination. Andrade with a few leg kicks. Rodriguez tries a flying knee but Andrade grabs the leg. Rodriguez looks for a standing guillotine choke. She lets go and they trade combinations. Rodriguez with a combo. Andrade with a hard leg kick and Rodriguez goes down for a moment then lands. They clinch and trade at the end. 10-9 Rodriguez, 29-28 Andrade.
Official Result- Jessica Andrade def. Marina Rodriguez by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Moicano with a body kick. Turner lands a body kick that hurts Moicano. They clinch but separate. Moicano is looking for the takedown. He is able to get it to the mat. Moicano working from the top looking to set up a choke. Moicano landing from the top. Turner is able to get to his feet and they break. Turner with a high kick that Moicano blocks. Moicano lands to the body. Turner drops Moicano with a left hand and walks away, which lets Moicano up. 10-9 Turner.
Turner lands a right hand. They trade in close range. Moicano lands a right hand. Moicano is able to get a takedown. Moicano is working from the top and landing as Turner is unable to do much on the bottom. Moicano turns Turner away from the fence. Moicano gets the mount and is landing a big flurry. Turner is covering up as Moicano is reigning down a lot of left hands and it is stopped! What a comeback from Moicano to get the finish!
Official Result- Renato Moicano def. Jalin Turner by TKO (punches) at 4:11 of Round 2
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> Featherweights- #13 Sodiq Yusuff (13-3, 6-2 UFC) vs. Diego Lopes (23-6, 2-1 UFC)
Lopes with a pair of calf kicks. They clinch and Lopes drops Yusuff with an uppercut and starts landing from the top trying to finish. They get to their feet and Lopes drops Yusuff again. Lopes gets on top and starts landing and Yusuff gives up his back and Lopes continues to land until it is finished. Lopes with an absolute thrashing.
Official Result- Diego Lopes def. Sodiq Yusuff by TKO (punches) at 1:29 of Round 1
> Women’s Bantamweights- #5 Holly Holm (15-6 1 NC, 8-6 1 NC UFC) vs. Kayla Harrison (16-1, 0-0 UFC)
Harrison lands a jab. Harrison with an inside leg kick. They trade and clinch and Harrison gets a big judo throw takedown, but Holm is able to reverse to the top. Harrison works her way to the feet and they remain clinched with Harrison landing a knee. Holm tries for a takedown but Harrison is on top. Harrison stands and lands some big punches. Harrison in the half-guard and landing big punches. Harrison with big left hands from the mount and lands a few elbows now. Harrison with punches from the top. Harrison with lots of big shots from the top. Harrison ends the round on top. 10-9 Harrison.
Holm with a side kick. Harrison lands a head kick and looks for a takedown as she grabs the neck. Harrison lands a knee as she lets go of the neck. Harrison gets a takedown and quickly gets the mount. Holm gives up her back. Harrison locks in a rear-naked choke and Holm taps! Complete domination from Harrison in her debut.
Official Result- Kayla Harrison def. Holly Holm by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:47 of Round 2
Sterling lands some leg kicks. Kattar lands a jab. Sterling continues to land leg kicks and lands a few punches. Sterling gets a takedown against the fence. Sterling lands as he is looking to take the back. They get to their feet as Sterling still has the back and Sterling gets it back down and still has the back. They get to their feet. Sterling gets a takedown and ends in side control. 10-9 Sterling.
They clinch right up after Sterling lands some leg kicks. Sterling is looking for a takedown against the fence. Sterling holding Kattar down but they get up and Sterling still has the body lock. Sterling with some knees against the fence as they’re tied up. They separate. Sterling lands a leg kick then scores a big takedown. Sterling ends the round in side control. 10-9 Sterling, 20-18 Sterling.
Sterling with a leg kick and tries for a takedown as he gets the back. Sterling gets a takedown against the fence and is keeping Kattar pinned against the fence. They scramble up and Sterling lands a power bomb on Kattar and starts landing punches from the top. Sterling with some elbows to the body. Sterling in side control and lands to the body and head as the fight ends. 10-9 Sterling, 30-27 Sterling.
Official Result- Aljamain Sterling def. Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
> Light Heavyweights- #2 Jiri Prochazka (29-4-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. #5 Aleksandar Rakic (14-3, 6-2 UFC)
They trade leg kicks. Rakic with more leg kicks. Rakic with more leg kicks and lands a right hand. Prochazka lands a left hand and Rakic lands a right hand. Rakic with a leg kick. Rakic with a hard leg kick and lands another. Prochazka lands a left hand. Rakic with more leg kicks. Rakic lands a right hand. Rakic lands a right hand. Prochazka with a body kick. Prochazka lands a high kick. Prochazka lands a big right hand and Rakic is hurt. Rakic lands an uppercut then a right hand. Rakic with a right hand. 10-9 Rakic.
Rakic lands a right hand. Prochazka with a high kick. Rakic lands a right hand. Rakic lands a right hand. Rakic with a jab. Prochazka lands a jab and Rakic lands a right hand. Prochazka with a head kick and they trade big shots inside the pocket. Rakic with a knee to the body and a left hand. Prochazka with a big right hand and Rakic is hurt and retreating. Prochazka with a big knee then a flurry. Prochazka throws Rakic to the mat and starts landing from the top. Prochazka with big elbows and punches from the top and it is stopped! What a massive finish from Prochazka!
Official Result- Jiri Prochazka def. Aleksandar Rakic by TKO (strikes) at 3:17 of Round 2
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> Middleweights- Bo Nickal (5-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. Cody Brundage (10-5, 4-4 UFC)
Brundage with a body kick. Both are throwing big punches. Nickal gets a brief takedown but they scramble up. Nickal has the back of Brundage against the fence. Nickal puts Brundage on his knees as he has back control. Nickal is looking for a choke. He lets go. Nickal gets the mount and lands some big elbows. Nickal has the back and Brundage is taunting him. They make it to the end of the first. 10-9 Nickal.
Nickal with a body kick. Brundage tries a kick and Nickal catches it but Brundage shakes him off. Nickal gets a takedown and has the back. Nickal looks for a choke but Brundage spins out. Nickal gets the mount. Both are landing on the mat. Nickal lands and Brundage gives up is back. Nickal with right hands from the back. Nickal locks in a rear-naked choke and Brundage quickly taps. Nickal gets the win in dominant fashion.
Official Result- Bo Nickal def. Cody Brundage by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:38 of Round 2
> Lightweights- #1 Charles Oliveira (34-9 1 NC, 22-9 1 NC UFC) vs. #4 Arman Tsarukyan (21-3, 8-2 UFC)
They trade leg kicks and Tsarukyan lands a right hand. Oliveira lands a leg kick that trips Tsarukyan up. Oliveira grabs the neck in the sprawl position. Oliveira locks in a guillotine choke and it is in tight. Tsarukyan pops his head out but Oliveira ends up in the mount and lands an elbow. Oliveira working from the top but Tsarukyan is able to reverse to the top. Tsarukyan with a big elbow from the top. Oliveira landed an illegal upkick as they were on the ground and we have a timeout. They get back to action and Tsarukyan lands an elbow from the top. Oliveira reverses and they get to their feet and Oliveira lands a knee. Close round. 10-9 Oliveira.
Tsarukyan with a body kick. Tsarukyan lands a jab and Oliveira lands a nice right hand. Tsarukyan lands a combo. Tsarukyan with an axe kick. Tsarukyan tries for a takedown but they scramble to the feet. Tsarukyan pushes Oliveira against the fence. Tsarukyan gets the takedown. Tsarukyan with an elbow from the top and Oliveira throws a pair of elbows on the bottom. Oliveira is cut open as Tsarukyan lands more elbows from the top. Tsarukyan with some ground-and-pound late. 10-9 Tsarukyan, 19-19.
Oliveira lands a right hand. They tie up and Tsarukyan pushes it to the fence. Oliveira with a knee to the body and Tsarukyan lands an elbow as they break. Tsarukyan with a leg kick. Tsarukyan shoots for a takedown but Oliveira defends. Tsarukyan with a jab. Oliveira with a body kick. Tsarukyan lands a high kick. Tsarukyan scores a takedown. Tsarukyan working from the top and takes the back of Oliveira. Oliveira slips out and is looking for a choke. Oliveira has a D’Arce choke locked in. Tsarukyan gives a thumbs up and survives. Close fight. 10-9 Oliveira, 29-28 Oliveira.
Official Result- Arman Tsarukyan def. Charles Oliveira by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
> BMF Championship- C Justin Gaethje (25-4, 8-4 UFC) vs. #2 FW Max Holloway (25-7, 21-7 UFC)
Gaethje with a leg kick. Holloway lands a leg kick. Gaethje with some hard calf kicks. Gaethje connects with a right hand. Holloway with an uppercut and a left hook hurts Gaethje. They trade leg kicks. Holloway with a right hand to the body. Gaethje with a hard leg kick. Holloway with an uppercut. Gaethje with a leg kick and Holloway counters with a right hand. Gaethje lands a right hand. Holloway lands a spin kick to the body. 10-9 Holloway.
Holloway peppering some short leg kicks. Gaethje lands a left hook. Holloway with a leg kick then a high kick. He lands a body kick. Gaethje lands a leg kick. They both swing and we have a timeout for an eye poke. They get back to action and trade body kicks. Holloway with a right hand to the body. Gaethje with a jab to the body. Holloway fires a combination. Gaethje lands a right hand followed by a leg kick. Gaethje lands a right hand and there’s another eye poke. They get back to action. Gaethje with a leg kick. Holloway lands a right hand. Holloway with a spin kick. They connect late. 10-9 Holloway, 20-18 Holloway.
They trade leg kicks. Holloway with a body kick. Gaethje lands a leg kick. Gaethje lands a right hand and Holloway lands a left hook. Holloway lands a leg kick. Gaethje lands a left hook. Holloway lands a stiff right hand then a spin kick to the body. Holloway hurts Gaethje with a combination. Gaethje lands and lands a hard leg kick. Holloway with a body kick. Holloway with another spin kick. Holloway lands an uppercut. Gaethje with a leg kick and Holloway lands a right hand to the body. Holloway lands a right hand. Holloway with a body kick. 10-9 Holloway, 30-27 Holloway.
Holloway with a leg kick then a pair of front kicks. Holloway lands a right hand to the body then a body kick. Gaethje with a solid combination. Gaethje lands a solid right hand. Gaethje lands a stiff jab. Holloway hurts Gaethje with a right hand. Gaethje lands a combination. Holloway partially lands an uppercut. Holloway lands a right hand. They trade leg kicks. Holloway with a knee to the body. Gaethje knocks Holloway down to his knees for a second with a right hand. They trade right hands. Gaethje lands a right hand and body kick. 10-9 Gaethje, 39-37 Holloway.
Holloway with a body kick. Holloway lands a combo. Holloway lands a hard spin kick to the body. Gaethje with a leg kick. Holloway lands a big right hand and Gaethje is hurt. Holloway is pouring it on and Gaethje is covering up. Holloway lands to the body against the fence and Gaethje lands a right hand. Holloway with a spin kick to the body. Holloway lands a right hand. Gaethje with a left hand. Holloway with a left to the body followed by a right hand. Gaethje lands a right hand. Holloway with a spin kick. Gaethje lands a jab. Holloway with a body kick. They start swinging for the fences and both connect and Holloway lands a massive right hand that puts Gaethje out cold right before the buzzer. What a finish from Holloway! One of the craziest knockouts in UFC history.
Official Result- Max Holloway def. Justin Gaethje by knockout (punch) at 4:59 of Round 5 to win the BMF Championship
> UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship- C Zhang Weili (24-3, 8-2 UFC) vs. #1 Yan Xiaonan (17-3 1 NC, 8-2 UFC)
Xiaonan lands a right hand. Weili with a calf kick. Weili looks for a body kick but Xiaonan grabs the leg and lands a pair of right hands before they clinch. They separate. Weili lands a leg kick and they both swing wildly. Weili lands a left hand and Xiaonan gets a takedown. They get to their feet. Xiaonan lands a left hook and Weili stumbles but collects herself. Weili with a high kick. Weili lands a body kick followed by a spinning back fist. Weili lands a right hand and gets a big throw takedown. Weili gets the back and lands some punches. Weili has a choke locked in but Xiaonan looked to survive the round. She looked out as the horn sounded and Weili let the choke go. 10-8 Weili.
They trade and Weili gets the back and scores a takedown and has the back. Weili with some right hands but Xiaonan spins and Weili stands. Weili gets back on top and they transition around and Weili is in side control. Weili lands a few elbows. Xiaonan gives up her back and Weili flattens her out. Weili with big punches and is looking for the choke. Weili with lots of punches. Weili gets on top and locks in an arm-triangle choke. Xiaonan escapes and is able to get on top. They get to their feet. They trade right hands. 10-9 Weili, 20-17 Weili.
Xiaonan lands a side kick to the body. Xiaonan lands a right hand. Xiaonan lands and Weili drops to the mat. Xiaonan landing leg kicks as Weili is throwing upkicks. Xiaonan with more leg kicks until Weili is ordered to her feet. Weili lands a body kick and Xiaonan lands a leg kick. Xiaonan lands a right hand and Weili goes to a knee looking for a takedown. Xiaonan gets the takedown and is in the half-guard. Weili kicks Xiaonan off and they get to their feet. Xiaonan gets a takedown after sweeping the leg. They stand and separate. Xiaonan lands a side kick. Weili lands a right hand and Xiaonan with a knee to the body. 10-9 Xiaonan, 29-27 Weili.
Xiaonan lands a right hand. Xiaonan drops Weili to her butt with a right hand though Weili gets right up. Weili looks for a takedown and Xiaonan about reversed it but Weili ends up with back control. Weili lands a knee. Weili with left hands. Weili has the back and lands some left hands. Xiaonan grabbed the fence. Weili with punches from the back and flattens Xiaonan out. Weili continues to land from the back. 10-9 Weili, 39-36 Weili.
Weili with a head kick. Xiaonan lands an inside leg kick. Weili gets a takedown. They scramble to their feet. Weili lands a right hand and scores another takedown. Weili is working from the half-guard. Weili lands and gets the back of Xiaonan. Xiaonan spins and Weili is now on top and landing. Weili landing to the body then mixes to the head as the fight ends. 10-9 Weili, 49-45 Weili.
Official Result- Zhang Weili def. Yan Xiaonan by unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45) to retain the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
> UFC Light Heavyweight Championship- C Alex Pereira (9-2, 6-1 UFC) vs. #1 Jamahal Hill (12-1 1 NC, 6-1 1 NC UFC)
Pereira with a leg kick. Hill with a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Pereira with a body kick and Hill lands a right hand. Hill with a pair of leg kicks. Pereira lands a jab. Hill with a high kick that Pereira blocks. Hill with a body kick. Hill with a pair of kicks. Pereira drops Hill with a left hand and starts landing hammerfists and it is all over! What a finish from Pereira!
Official Result- Alex Pereira def. Jamahal Hill by knockout (punches) at 3:14 of Round 1 to retain the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
After weeks of speculation and buzz, UFC head Dana White has announced the main event for April’s UFC 300 — one that had some fans disappointed given the hype going into it.
UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will defend against former champion Jamahal Hill in the pay-per-view headliner, set for Saturday, April 13th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
White revealed the fight after UFC 298 Saturday night, adding that welterweight champion Leon Edwards accepted three different opponents for the event, but no fight could be made.
In the weeks leading up to the event, White had pushed that the main event would be a “huge” one in his effort to make the 300th PPV a great one. White said he had talked to “lots of people, trying to make lots of fights.”
Some speculation was whether Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler would be pushed up to the event or possibly Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title.
In the end, White turned to Pereira, who will make the first defense of the title he won last November, and Hill who hasn’t fought in over a year due to a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in July during a pickup basketball game.
White said the difficulties were trying to put together great lineups for UFC 298, 299 and 300 and that money demands from potential fighters didn’t have anything to do with it.
“It was all about timing. We’ve got three killer cards in a row and in this business, you have injuries and all kinds of other bullsh*t that goes on behind the scenes. We have been talking about 300 forever. We were just trying to make the best fights that we could possibly make. We had two more fights to make and we’re trying to put on two bad ass fights,” he said.
Here’s the current card:
UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira defends against Jamahal Hill
UFC women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili defends against Yan Xiaonan
“He made every call. He didn’t make one move without picking up the phone and calling me and getting me in the loop and seeing if I was cool with this and that. And he went from being, oddly enough, I don’t know why, an enemy (of UFC) to being an unbelievable, incredible partner,” he said.
Like the WWE events, the UFC show was negotiated with the Saudi General Entertainment Authority who also set up and hosted last weekend’s Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match.
White has been asked frequently in recent weeks about his relationship with McMahon, revealing last week that McMahon nixed a deal in the past that would have seen UFC broadcast on both NBC and USA Network. UFC eventually signed a seven-year deal with Fox instead.
