Author: Ariel Helwani

The next Nevada Athletic Commission hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13, however, don’t expect referee Steve Mazagatti’s performance in the Rousimar Palhares vs. Jake Shields World Series of Fighting welterweight title fight on Aug. 1 to be publicly addressed.

“I have discussed the challenges referee Mazzagatti encountered,” NAC executive director Bob Bennett told MMAFighting.com via e-mail, “and we will continue to move forward.”

Mazzagatti was criticized for his decision to not penalize Palhares during the fight after the Brazilian repeatedly eye gouged Shields. The veteran referee was also criticized for his positioning at the end of the fight, which may have led to Palhares holding onto his Kimura submission a beat or two longer than need be.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Mazagatti has been the subject of criticism following a fight. Long a target of UFC president Dana White, the Nevada-based referee has repeatedly made questionable decisions or been slow to react throughout his officiating career, and he has been assigned to less UFC cards in Las Vegas since Bennett replaced Keith Kizer as executive director of the NAC in April 2014.

Among many other topics (including Anderson Silva), the commission is expected to address Palhares’ offenses throughout the fight, as well as Shields’ post-fight punch after tapping to the Kimura. WSOF has stripped Palhares of the welterweight title and suspended him indefinitely, and the NAC also temporarily suspended both Shields and Palhares following the fight.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the hearing live to its subscribers on Thursday.

What Paddy wants, Paddy apparently gets.

A fight between streaking flyweights Paddy Holohan and Louis Smolka is expected to be officially added to UFC Fight Night Dublin on Oct. 24, according to sources with knowledge of the card.

Holohan (12-1) recently defeated Vaughan Lee last month in Glasgow, extending his UFC record to 3-1. Following the unanimous decision win, he expressed interested in fighting Smolka in Dublin to avenge his fellow Irishman Neil Seery’s loss at UFC 189 to the Hawaiian. Smolka (9-1), who is also 3-1 inside the Octagon, promptly accepted the challenge via Twitter.

UFC Fight Night Dublin, which will air live on UFC Fight Pass in the United States, will be headlined by Joseph Duffy vs. Dustin Poirier.

Bellator officially announced Tuesday evening that it had inked MMA veteran Josh Thomson to a new multi-fight contract.

In a press release to announce the move, Thomson appeared to take exception with MMAFighting.com’s original report, which stated the UFC decided against offering him a new contract following his loss to Tony Ferguson last month.

MMAFighting.com obtained an e-mail, entitled “Josh Thomson offer,” sent from Thomson’s manager Bob Cook to UFC matchmaker Joe Silva on Aug. 10, which backs up this report.

“I know you said it wasn’t necessary,” Cook wrote in the e-mail, “but here’s the offer for Thomson[. I] was trying to do everything by the book. The sooner you can let me know we can proceed would be appreciated thank you.”

As reported earlier, Silva didn’t match the offer sent to him on Aug. 10, nor did he offer a new contract.

MMAFighting.com later reached out to Cook for further comment, but he politely declined to discuss the matter on the record. Multiple sources close to Thomson did confirm that while preliminary contract talks occurred months before Thomson’s contract expired, no new deal was offered following the July 15 Ferguson fight.

Furthermore, UFC president Dana White confirmed the initial report, as well:

“We told them we weren’t interested,” White said. “We released Josh. We didn’t even want to match. He was free to deal with whoever he wanted to after his last fight and they knew we weren’t going to match.

“Good for Bob,” White continued. “He’s supposed to make believe that more people want [his client]. That’s how he makes Josh more money.”

The 36-year-old Thomson (20-8, 1 NC) is currently on a three-fight losing streak following his unanimous decision loss to Ferguson on July 15. Prior to that defeat, he dropped two split decisions to Benson Henderson and Bobby Green. Thomson returned to the UFC in April 2013 after a nine-year hiatus with an impressive TKO win over Nate Diaz, which earned him a title shot, however, he missed out on that opportunity after then-champion Anthony Pettis pulled out of their title fight due to an injury.

No word just yet on when “The Punk” will debut with Bellator.

Bellator officially announced Tuesday evening that it had inked MMA veteran Josh Thomson to a new multi-fight contract.

In a press release to announce the move, Thomson appeared to take exception with MMAFighting.com’s original report, which stated the UFC decided against offering him a new contract following his loss to Tony Ferguson last month.

MMAFighting.com obtained an e-mail, entitled “Josh Thomson offer,” sent from Thomson’s manager Bob Cook to UFC matchmaker Joe Silva on Aug. 10, which backs up this report.

“I know you said it wasn’t necessary,” Cook wrote in the e-mail, “but here’s the offer for Thomson[. I] was trying to do everything by the book. The sooner you can let me know we can proceed would be appreciated thank you.”

As reported earlier, Silva didn’t match the offer sent to him on Aug. 10, nor did he offer a new contract.

MMAFighting.com later reached out to Cook for further comment, but he politely declined to discuss the matter on the record. Multiple sources close to Thomson did confirm that while preliminary contract talks occurred months before Thomson’s contract expired, no new deal was offered following the July 15 Ferguson fight.

Furthermore, UFC president Dana White confirmed the initial report, as well:

“We told them we weren’t interested,” White said. “We released Josh. We didn’t even want to match. He was free to deal with whoever he wanted to after his last fight and they knew we weren’t going to match.

“Good for Bob,” White continued. “He’s supposed to make believe that more people want [his client]. That’s how he makes Josh more money.”

The 36-year-old Thomson (20-8, 1 NC) is currently on a three-fight losing streak following his unanimous decision loss to Ferguson on July 15. Prior to that defeat, he dropped two split decisions to Benson Henderson and Bobby Green. Thomson returned to the UFC in April 2013 after a nine-year hiatus with an impressive TKO win over Nate Diaz, which earned him a title shot, however, he missed out on that opportunity after then-champion Anthony Pettis pulled out of their title fight due to an injury.

No word just yet on when “The Punk” will debut with Bellator.

Raphael Assuncao’s injury woes continues.

The bantamweight contender will undergo surgery on his right ankle this Thursday in Atlanta, his manager Danny Rubenstein informed MMAFighting.com. Assuncao injured the same ankle back in December but was told he did not need surgery. However, he was recently forced to go back in a boot after he was informed he rushed back to training too soon and the ankle didn’t properly heal. After several weeks in a boot, he was then informed by doctors that he would require surgery after all.

The Brazilian, who has won his last seven fights in a row but has not fought since Oct. 2014, could have been next in line for a title shot after Dominick Cruz suffered another torn ACL late last year. He now hopes to return to action by the end of 2015, if all goes well following this week’s surgery.

Assuncao holds the distinction of being one of two men to hold a win over current 135-pound champion T.J. Dillashaw, who he defeated via split decision in Oct. 2013.

Josh Thomson’s latest UFC run has come to end.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the UFC declined to offer Thomson a new contract once his most recent one expired following his loss to Tony Ferguson last month. As a result, Thomson is close to finalizing a new deal with Bellator MMA, which would reunite him with his long-time promoter Scott Coker. That new contract is expected to be announced in the coming days.

The 36-year-old Thomson (20-8, 1 NC) is currently on a three-fight losing streak following his unanimous decision loss to Ferguson on July 15. Prior to that defeat, he dropped two split decisions to Benson Henderson and Bobby Green. Thomson returned to the UFC in April 2013 after a nine-year hiatus with an impressive TKO win over Nate Diaz, which earned him a title shot, however, he missed out on that opportunity after then-champion Anthony Pettis pulled out of their title fight due to an injury.

The former Strikeforce lightweight champion, who fought for Coker under the Strikeforce banner for six years, is considered a pioneer in the lightweight division. He went 2-1 in the UFC between 2003 and 2004 prior to the organization originally dissolving the 155-pound division.

No word just yet on when “The Punk” will debut with Bellator, however, it is worth noting that the promotion is holding an event in San Jose, which is where he currently lives, on Sept. 19.