The Oba Femi open challenge series officially began on Monday’s WWE Raw with the first challenger — Otis — getting a viral forearm en route to a loss to “The Ruler.”
It was Otis’ first singles match on Raw since May 2025 and a rematch from their August 2024 clash in NXT for the NXT North American title.
With the series underway, here’s a few other wrestlers who could step in the ring with Femi on the upcoming editions of Raw.
Ilja Dragunov
Even after having one on-screen interaction, Dragunov and Femi never squared off in NXT despite being notable names on the brand.
Before WrestleMania 42, Dragunov was teasing a pursuit of the United States Championship, a title he lost to Carmelo Hayes in December. He was initially hesitant because he claimed wanting to go into the title match with a clear mind, avoiding all the mental blocks and confidence issues he said he was facing.
Despite being on SmackDown, Dragunov could cross over to Raw to confront Femi as WWE has done in the past with their rosters.
Ivar
During his reign as NXT North American Champion, Femi faced talents from the main roster, too. Ivar was one of them as he challenge Femi at NXT Spring Breakin’ on April 30, 2024.
On the February 2 Raw, Femi singlehandedly overpowered The War Raiders. Although Ivar has been competing solely in AAA the past couple of months, he could stop by Raw to seek redemption against Femi.
Royce Keys
After debuting at the Royal Rumble, Keys finally competed in his first SmackDown singles match last month against Berto.
With Femi being an unstoppable force in the ring, WWE could pit him against Keys in a showdown that could possibly escalate into a long term feud later. Perhaps Keys crosses over to Raw at some point before a big PLE to put that into motion, helping elevate Keys in the process.
Omos
Omos and Femi have stepped inside the ring once before, facing each other at an NXT house show in October 2025. Omos instigated the match after a brief interaction on one of the shows and stated that there could only be one Nigerian giant.
Their rivalry garnered a huge amount of attention on social media. That could be magnified if the two giants collide on WWE TV for the world to see and prove which one of the two is better in the ring. Additionally, it would also be an ideal pathway to bring back Omos to televised matches on the main roster which he hasn’t done in a very, very long time.
Getting back to reality after a week in Sin City can be very disorienting, but hey, there’s still a Big Vinny V Show to do.
So, let’s start by coveroing AAA, which is still WWE’s best weekly TV show. The main event pitted Psycho Clown vs. War Raider Ivar as trouble continues to brew amongst the Psycho Circus. We also have Lola Vice & Mister Iguana defending their AAA Mixed Tag Team titles against Dinamico & La Hiedra, plus an opening contest that pitted Joaquin Wilde, AeroStar and Lince Dorado against each other in a fun three-way.
Then, it’s time to review Vinny’s trip to Las Vegas including where he slept, what he ate, what he drank, what he’d do again, and what he’d do differently next time.
William Regal’s comments about wrestler safety have drawn responses from around the wrestling world.
On Sunday, Regal posted a message to social media warning wrestlers about being dropped on their heads and the long-term effects of neck injuries.
WWE’s Ivar of the War Raiders responded to Regal’s post on Monday, writing:
“Life altering. There was a before and an after. Man, I wish I could remember the before.”
Ivar underwent neck surgery in September 2020 after being injured in a match on Raw. He did not return until April 2021. He suffered another neck injury in April 2024 and was at one point told that his career was over. In an interview with Chris Van Vliet in December 2024, Ivar revealed that he “dodged a very big bullet” with that injury but lives with permanent damage.
“I do have permanent nerve damage and nerve pain in my hands. And that will never go away, and that’s something I live with. But as far as everything else, I got most of my mobility back in my neck,” Ivar said.
Bron Breakker accidentally lands on his head after receiving a Doomsday Device Steiners are build differently. He was back on his feet like he didnt feel anthing #WarGames#SurvivorSeriespic.twitter.com/YUdS2reXM7
This weekend, WWE star Ivar is heading home for an anniversary celebration.
Chaotic Wrestling in Massachusetts has announced that Ivar of The War Raiders will be in action at their 25th Anniversary Celebration event in Lowell this Saturday. He’ll be challenging for the Chaotic Heavyweight Championship, with Ivar set to face either MORTAR or Richard Holliday for the belt. Those two are facing off in a title match at Chaotic’s Summer Chaos show on Friday.
IVAR RETURNS TO CHAOTIC WRESTLING!
3x Chaotic heavyweight champion and current WWE Superstar Ivar makes his long-awaited in-ring return this Saturday! This will be his first Chaotic match since January of 2018.
The New England indie scene is where Ivar got his start in wrestling. In addition to competing for Chaotic, he was a trainer at their wrestling school in the past.
“3x Chaotic heavyweight champion and current WWE Superstar Ivar makes his long-awaited in-ring return this Saturday! This will be his first Chaotic match since January of 2018,” the promotion announced. “Before heading to WWE, Ivar said, ‘The world is my battlefield.’ Since then, he’s battled across the globe, held the most prestigious tag team titles in wrestling, and made his mark on the biggest stage in the world. And now he’s coming home!”
Ivar and his tag team partner Erik are members of the WWE Raw tag team division. They were most recently the champs of the division from December 2024 to April 2025. The two have also held gold together in NXT, NJPW, and ROH.
Two new matches have been added to the card for today’s WWE Raw in Paris, France.
Following Clash in Paris, WWE is back at Paris La Defense Arena this afternoon for the final stop on its European tour. It was already known that an Intercontinental Championship bout between Dominik Mysterio and AJ Styles would be taking place on the episode. Now, two more matches have been confirmed.
.@ScrapDaddyAP previews what will surely be another WILD night in Paris for #WWERaw TODAY with a special start time of 2PM ET/11AM PT!
The Kabuki Warriors will team up against Judgment Day’s Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez. Plus, there will be a six-man tag match pitting New Day and their new ally Grayson Waller against The War Raiders & Penta.
Today’s show has a special start time of 2 p.m. Eastern, streaming live on Netflix worldwide. Here is everything that has been announced:
WWE Raw (Monday, September 1) —
Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio defends against AJ Styles
The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) vs. Judgment Day (Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez)
The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) & Grayson Waller vs. War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) & Penta
Erik & Ivar of the War Raiders now have their opponents confirmed for this Saturday’s Bloodsport XIV, confirmed by Josh Barnett on Thursday night.
Erik will take on 1 Called Manders while Ivar will face Royce Isaacs in singles matches as part of the 1 PM card in Rutherford, New Jersey, during WWE SummerSlam weekend in the area. It will be the debuts for both Erik and Ivar in the unique format.
Manders has competed in the format once before against Barnett, but not on an official Bloodsport event. Isaacs is a Bloodsport veteran with Saturday being his 11th event and his 12th match in the format overall. He has been successful against WWE contracted talent, going 2-1. He’s coming off a defeat to Tavion Heights this past April.
Barnett also revealed Matt Mako will face Ray Jaz on the event, airing live on Triller+.
Current GCW Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIV card | Saturday, August 2:
For the first time ever, a WWE tag team will be part of Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport.
Announced by Barnett on Tuesday, former two-time WWE World Tag Team Champions The War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) will both compete on this Saturday’s Bloodsport XIV, set for 1 PM Eastern on Triller+ from Rutherford, New Jersey, during WWE SummerSlam weekend.
Neither man has competed in the unique format before. Opponents were not named for either man.
The two haven’t wrestled since the July 7th episode of WWE Main Event and have competed just three times since June 1st.
The Bloodsport shows have seen an increased WWE presence in the last year with Natalya, Pete Dunne and Charlie Dempsey already representing on this show before Tuesday’s announcement.
Current Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIV lineup | Saturday, August 2 | Rutherford, New Jersey
Another new match is officially on the books for WrestleMania 41.
WWE confirmed this afternoon that The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) will defend their World Tag Team titles against New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) at WrestleMania in Las Vegas. The match was expected to be added to the Mania card after their title bout on Raw earlier this week ended with New Day winning by disqualification. It was made official via a social media announcement from Raw general manager Adam Pearce.
During their match on Raw, Woods introduced a chair into the ring but had it wrestled away from him by Ivar. The referee then called for a DQ after Ivar struck Woods with the chair. New Day launched a post-match steel chair attack on The War Raiders until officials broke things up.
A stipulation for War Raiders vs. New Day has not been announced, but Dave Meltzer reported earlier today that it’s possible one could be added. Meltzer wrote that the bout is expected to be part of the card for night one of WrestleMania.
Ivar & Erik have been World Tag Team Champions since winning the belts from Judgment Day’s Finn Balor & JD McDonagh in December.
As things stand, the matches set for WrestleMania are expected to happen on the following nights:
Night one (Saturday, April 19) —
Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins
WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano (Chad Gable)
United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
Jade Cargill vs. Naomi
World Tag Team Champions The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) defend against New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
Night two (Sunday, April 20) —
Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against TBD (challengers will be decided in a gauntlet match on SmackDown this Friday)
AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
Randy Orton vs. ?
Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio in a four-way match
Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match
It was a battle of power vs. agility as Dragon Lee made his second defense of the WWE Speed Championship.
Lee retained his title with a win over Ivar on this week’s WWE Speed episode. Filmed earlier this month at a SmackDown episode in Philadelphia, the match went three and a half minutes before Lee was able to reverse a Death Valley Driver attempt into a crucifix pin for the victory. There was a show of respect after with Ivar shaking Lee’s hand despite being disappointed in the loss.
Following reigns by Ricochet and Andrade, Lee is the third-ever men’s WWE Speed Champion. He’s now made successful title defenses against Chad Gable and Ivar.
Starting next week, WWE will begin the process of finding a new challenger for women’s Speed Champion Candice LeRae. Sol Ruca vs. Katana Chance and Michin vs. Shayna Baszler are the first-round matchups. The Ruca vs. Chance bout premieres next Wednesday (March 26) at noon Eastern. Ruca is part of the NXT women’s division and is making her Speed debut in this match.
After making relatively quick work of Dominik Mysterio, Ivar is next in line for a shot at WWE Speed Champion Dragon Lee.
A new Speed episode debuted on Wednesday with Ivar defeating Dominik in the finals of a number one contender’s tournament. The match lasted less than two minutes with Ivar using a Tiger Bomb to get the victory with 1:22 left on the three-minute clock.
This was a four-man tournament where Ivar defeated Yoshiki Inamura of NXT/Pro Wrestling NOAH in the first round. Dominik’s opening round win was against Chris Sabin.
Dragon Lee vs. Ivar for the WWE Speed Championship airs on X/Twitter next Wednesday (March 19) at noon Eastern time. Since winning the title from Andrade in November, the only defense Lee has made up until this point was a win against Chad Gable.
Ivar — who holds the World Tag Team titles with his War Raiders partner Erik — would be a double champion if he wins the Speed belt from Dragon Lee.
A hard-hitting bout took place on WWE Speed this week with Ivar facing off against Yoshiki Inamura.
The two collided into each other immediately as the bell rang and then traded strikes. Ivar dropped Inamura with a German suplex, but Inamura popped right back up and delivered a suplex of his own. They continued going back and forth after the hot start until Ivar scored the victory with a powerslam from the second rope. Inamura was going for a superplex, but Ivar was able to counter and get the win with 39 seconds remaining on the three-minute clock.
Next up for Ivar is a match against Dominik Mysterio on Speed next Wednesday (March 12). The winner earns a title shot against WWE Speed Champion Dragon Lee.
Ivar vs. Inamura was taped at SmackDown last Friday — and this was Inamura’s first time competing in front of a WWE main roster crowd. He’s a Pro Wrestling NOAH wrestler but has been with NXT since November 2024. Inamura is part of a tag team with Josh Briggs in NXT.
The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) are the current World Tag Team Champions on WWE Raw.
Ivar is lucky to still be wrestling following the neck injury that he suffered earlier this year.
The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) became the new World Tag Team Champions by defeating Finn Balor & JD McDonagh on Raw this Monday. The victory happened just months after Ivar was told that his career was likely over. While appearing on the latest episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Ivar opened up about the neck injury he suffered and what his health is like at the moment.
During a match against Ricochet this April, Ivar felt something wrong after taking a European uppercut. He did a quick system check but felt like he was fine and was able to continue. Ivar was able to keep working a full schedule, but he then lost strength in his arm while facing Oba Femi on the April 30 episode of NXT.
“We got to the second half of that match [against Oba Femi], and I just lost all strength in my right arm,” Ivar said. “I couldn’t pick him up, so I just started calling audibles in the ring where I wasn’t going to pick him up. We made it through the match, and that was that. And the whole time we were checking on medical to see how I was doing. And then after that match was like, ok, that’s no good.”
Ivar and his wife then went on a vacation looking to take a break. On an animal trek, he was unable to hold his arm up. Ivar underwent an MRI immediately. When he got the results, he was told that he would likely have to retire due to a herniated disc.
“They’re like, ‘Ok, this is probably the end of your career.’ To the point where they handed me mental health paperwork to kind of get that rolling,” he said.
After already having double fusion surgery in 2020, another fusion would have probably ended Ivar’s career. It was initially thought that another fusion would be necessary, but that fortunately was not the case. Ivar’s surgeon told him that he could likely rehab the injury without surgery. And if a surgery did end up being needed, it could be done arthroscopically.
“My surgeon had read the result in the MRI, and he pretty much felt the same way that this was it,” Ivar said. “So for five days, I think this is it. It’s over with. I flew too close to the sun and the wings melted and that’s it. But when I saw him in Birmingham five days later, and he actually had the disc for the MRI, and he read the results for the MRI himself, he’s like, ‘Ok, we can work with this.'”
On multiple occasions, the surgeon told Ivar that he “dodged a very big bullet” with this injury.
Van Vliet asked Ivar how he’s feeling now.
“So I’m pretty good,” he responded. “To be fair, I do have permanent nerve damage and nerve pain in my hands. And that will never go away, and that’s something I live with. But as far as everything else, I got most of my mobility back in my neck. It’s a little stiff now because I have another herniation, but I still have very good range of motion. I credit that to yoga pretty much. And then all my strength is returned to my arm, so I have no problems there. So it’s really just the nerve pain right now from the original injury that I have that’s permanent. But I have good days and bad days. Some days I can really feel it, it goes down my arm a little bit, and some days I can’t feel it all. Kind of all depends. But quality of life, I feel pretty good.”
Ivar and Erik made their return on Monday’s Raw, quickly defeating American Alpha (Akira Tozawa and Otis). It was quickly made clear that the duo have now reverted to the names they used in NXT, the War Raiders. As a result of their win, they have now advanced in a new tournament to crown number one contenders for the World Tag Team titles.
Earlier in the show, Finn Balor confronted Adam Pearce, asking when he’d get his rematch against Damian Priest. Pearce told him that things were over between the two, and now it’s time to focus on defending the World Tag Team titles with JD McDonagh.
The War Raiders had been out of action as a team since last year when Erik announced he was recovering from neck fusion surgery. Ivar continued to wrestle as a single until this past May when he announced that he was dealing with a “very serious injury”. Valhalla is currently pregnant with her and Erik’s second child.
Ivar is trying to figure out all of his options as he deals with a “very serious” injury.
Taking to social media on Friday, Ivar confirmed that he is legitimately injured. He clarified that he has not undergone surgery. Ivar thanked everyone for their love and support and noted that he’s still trying to figure out all of his options.
“There has been alot of misinformation floating around about me. Let me [clarify]: Yes I am injured,” Ivar wrote. “Yes it is very serious. No I have not had surgery. Still trying to figure out all options and what this means for my future. That being said, I Want to thank everyone for the out pouring of love and support, not only after finding out I was injured but thru out the last several months, I have heard you all!”
Ivar added that he’s determined to get back in the ring and perform for the fans.
“No matter what happens, I owe it to everyone who ever believed in me to do everything I can to get back in that ring, under those lights, and infront of the most amazing fans on the planet,” he wrote. “See you [as] soon as I can!”
There was an angle on NXT this week where Ivar was laid out backstage by the returning Gallus. WWE then announced that, because of the attack, Ivar would be out of action indefinitely.
Ivar vs. Wes Lee vs. Josh Briggs in a triple threat North American Championship number one contender’s match had been announced for next Tuesday’s WWE NXT. That episode has already been taped with Ivar not competing in the bout.
A match between Ivar and Tyler Bate was scheduled for next Wednesday’s WWE Speed episode. It will now be Bate vs. Apollo Crews.
After initially reporting that Ivar was just being given time off with how hard he’s worked of late, Dave Meltzer clarified in today’s Daily Update that the injury was more serious than that.
“Ivar’s injury is more serious than we were first led to believe,” Meltzer wrote. “They did an NXT angle where Gallus took him out as a storyline reason as he was not going to be around for a while.”
– Our weekend schedule is that we will be doing a show today with Garrett Gonzales talking about the news of the week and Bryan and I will return Sunday night covering the weekend news.
The legal games involving the Janel Grant lawsuit against Vince McMahon. The arguments for arbitration, McMahon’s side goes after Janel Grant’s character, why Vince can’t produce the text messages, and WWE and McMahon file new arguments.
AEW going to tape Collisions & ROH leading up to All In, all in Arlington, TX. We look at the good and the bad as well as the significance to this move
The crazy competition the first AEW show in the building wll face
Update on King and Queen of the Ring as well as AEW Double or Nothing. What to look for on both shows.
Full detailed rundown of New Japan Resurgence
The death of inDemand, a company that was a huge part of the wrestling and boxing business for decades
Huge historical feature on the life of Bob Bruggers, as well as the 1972 Verne Gagne training camp that produced five Hall of Fame candidates of its six trainees and background of Ken Patera, Ric Flair, Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell and Iron Sheik
The most detailed look at the ratings of all the pro wrestling and MMA TV shows this past week
The biggest trouble spot AEW faces
The weekly rankings for wrestling, quarter hours, competition for the shows and more
Arena Mexico big show update
AAA doing a feuding authority figure angle
NWA deal with All Japan
Behind the new executive who will be in charge of three different pro wrestling companies at the same time
New Japan Super Juniors coverage
One of the biggest drawing cards of the last 40 years to announce his retirement details this week
Another of the biggest stars of the last 40 years enters sports Hall of Fame
Billy Corgan talks TV deal for NWA
Homicide talks injuries
Death of wrestler and horror stories about warring with Eddie Graham
MLW breaks records and gets its most mainstream media ever
New AEW licensing deals
Konosuke Takeshita talks frustrations in AEW
Advance ticket sales for AEW & WWE shows
More on Dwayne Johnson’s next movie
Details of the most expensive sports ticket I’ve ever heard of
Dana White talks WWE PPVs on Sundays and update
What Las Vegas is expecting as far as tourism for WrestleMania
More behind the departures of two more WWE executives
Lots of injury updates
Streaming numbers and international TV numbers
Sami Zayn’s first comedy show looked at
*WWE arena notes and weekend business
– Ivar’s injury is more serious than we were first led to believe. They did an NXT angle where Gallus took him out as a storyline reason as he was not going to be around for a while. Ivar posted that he’s trying to figure out all of his options and what it means for his future.
– A correction from what was earlier reported in the Observer today. WWE isn’t taping two episodes of SmackDown in Jacksonville tonight. Next week’s show will be taped for the first time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
– Yesterday was the 61st anniversary of Bruno Sammartino’s original WWWF title win over Buddy Rogers.
– Today is the fourth anniversary of the death of Shad Gaspard, the first winner and namesake for our Shad Gaspard/Jon Huber annual award. Last year on this day was the death of Superstar Billy Graham, a performer whose influence on the industry can’t be overstated and whose Madison Square Garden drawing power sellout percentage (as noted in our bio in the May 22, 2023 issue) will likely never be topped.
– Also want to make a note of the story in the current Observer on Bob Bruggers, the 1975 plane crash and the Verne Gagne 1972 training camp. For those into pro wrestling history, and just really a look at a unique life, you’ll probably really like this one. There are so many twist and turns in it from different territories, stars like Ric Flair and Ken Patera breaking in, and the 1975 plane crash and all the different what-ifs that could have happened, from the potential end of Flair’s career to what if Wahoo McDaniel was on the flight.
– The New Japan Best of the Super Juniors continues at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning from Hachioji:
Kosei Fujita vs Clark Connors
Dragon Dia vs. Drilla Moloney
Hayata vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Ninja Mack vs. Douki
TJP vs. Bushi
Kushida vs. Robbie Eagles
Titan vs. Blake Christian
Taiji Ishimori vs. Francesco Akira
El Desperado vs. Kevin Knight
Sho vs. Hiromu Takahashi
– The U.K FantasticaMania shows are tomorrow at York Hall in London.
Afternoon show:
Zozaya & Michael Oku vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Angel de Oro
Mistico & Ricky Knight Jr. & JJ Gale vs. Templario & Gabe Kidd & Magnus
Hechicero vs. Connor Mills
Barbaro Cavernario vs. Robbie X
Stephanie Vaquer v. Kanji
Luke Jacobs & Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Mascara Dorada & Neon & Futuro
Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. & Dulce Gardenia vs. Okumura & Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II
Evening show:
Oku vs. Ultimo Guerrero
Mistico vs. Templario
Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Atlantis & Atlantis Jr for British tag titles
Jordon Breaks vs. Neon for British cruiserweight title
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Rhio
Mascara Dorada vs. Gabe Kidd vs. Magnus
Zozaya vs. Angel de Oro
Robbie X & Dulce Gardena & Futuro vs. Hechicero & Barbaro Cavernario & Okumura
– Funeral services for longtime Bay Area wrestling star Tony Jones will be tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Duggans Funeral Home in Daly City, CA. Jones was featured in Beyond the Mat and was a standout college wrestler. He was a super nice guy who I talked with at almost every major wrestling show I attended in the last 20 or so years, was a regular listener to our shows and had tryouts with WWF & WCW.
– We’re looking for reports on these weekend shows:
Smackdown tonight in Jacksonville (dark matches only)
TNA TV tapings Saturday in Newport, KY
NXT Saturday in Fort Pierce, FL
TNA TV tapings Sunday in Newport, KY
– The Apple TV documentary “Monster Factory,” about Danny Cage’s wrestling school in Paulsboro, NJ, was nominated for a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Documentary series. The ceremony will be on Tuesday.
– UFC is at the Apex tomorrow with a show purely on ESPN+ from the Apex Arena in Las Vegas:
Vanessa Dempoulo (116) vs. Emily Ducote (115.5)
Alatengheil (136) vs. Kleydson Rodrigues (135.5)
Piera Rodriguez (116) vs. Ariane Carnelossi (115.5)
Abus Magomedov (185.5) vs. Warlley Alves (186)
Tamires Vidal (134.5) vs. Melissa Gatto (134.5)
Oumar Sy (206) vs. Tuco Tokko (205.5)
Victor Martinez (156) vs. Tom Nolan (155.5)
Luana Pinheiro (116) vs. Angela Hill (115.5)
Adrian Yanez (136) vs. Vinicius Salvador (136)
Themba Gorimbo (170.5) vs. Ramiz Brahimaj (170.5)
Khaos Williams (170) vs. Carlston Harris (169.5)
Edson Barboza (145.5) vs. Lerone Murphy (146)
– Jon Jones in a tweet teased that he would return to fighting in November. Jones is expected to defend the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic next. November would be UFC’s annual show in Madison Square Garden. That would make sense. Jones previously said he had agreed to a return date but would wait for UFC to announce it.
– The Bellator show from Paris, France, is currently airing Friday afternoon on MAX.
– MLW Battle Riot on 6/1 at Center Stage in Atlanta is almost sold out. That’s a 700 seat venue.
– MLW Fury Road airs at 10 p.m. tomorrow night on Bein Sports and the MLW YouTube channel as a two-hour special. Satoshi Kojima vs. 1 Called Manders for the MLW title and Matt Riddle vs. Sami Callihan headline. Details on the show that was taped this past weekend are in the current Observer.
– Former UFC fighter Jack Marshman has signed a multi-fight deal with the BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle promotion.
– Combate Global airs on Univision Saturday night from Miami on Univision and FUSE with Patrick Lahane (7-2) vs. James Gonzalez (10-7) in the main event. It airs at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. Gonzalez is a late replacement for Ivan Castllo of Mexico who pulled out earlier in the week due to a bad eye poke in training
– Buff Bagwell returns to wrestling this weekend on the Memphis Wrestling YouTube show that airs on Saturdays at Noon. Bagwell & John Dalton in the main event face Lord Gaston & Sir Matthew.
– Eve on 6/7 at the Big Penny Social Club in Walthamstow, London. Miyuki Takase and Haruka Umesaki will debut with Eve on that show. They face Safire Reed and Chantal Jordan.
