Ahead of his UFC 279 headliner on September 10. – Nate Diaz has opened as an enormous betting underdog against the undefeated, Khamzat Chimaev – entering the final fight on his lengthy Octagon tenure. Reports emerged last night detailing how Diaz and Chimaev had verbally agreed to headline a UFC 279 pay–per-view event on September […]
Ahead of his UFC 279 headliner on September 10. – Nate Diaz has opened as an enormous betting underdog against the undefeated, Khamzat Chimaev – entering the final fight on his lengthy Octagon tenure.
Reports emerged last night detailing how Diaz and Chimaev had verbally agreed to headline a UFC 279 pay–per-view event on September 10. – with the former set to complete his contractual obligations with the organization as a result.
Last time out, back in June of last year, Diaz, who previously challenged for UFC lightweight gold, suffered a five round unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 263 in Glendale, Arizona.
Cracking the top-3 of the welterweight division back in April, Chimaev, a staple of AllStars MMA in Sweden, Chimaev defeated former title challenger, Gilbert Burns with a close, hard-fought unanimous judging success at UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Nate Diaz opens as a monstrous betting underdog ahead of UFC 279
Viewed as somewhat of a likely mismatch given Chimaev’s dominant displays in the Octagon so far, online bookmaker, SportsBetting_ag have provided their opening lines for the September headliner – placing Chimaev as a stark betting favorite, with lines of -2000 available on the undefeated bruiser.
As for Nate Diaz, the Stockton native is placed as quite a massive betting underdog for the UFC 279 curtain closer, with odds opening at +1000 for The Ultimate Fighter 5 tournament winner.
A perpetual underdog when the bookies are concerned, Nate Diaz, incidentally most recently closed as a betting favorite back in April 2013 for his matchup with promotional alum, Josh Thomson – where he suffered an eventual second round high kick knockout defeat.
Ahead of his UFC 279 headliner on September 10. – Nate Diaz has opened as an enormous betting underdog against the undefeated, Khamzat Chimaev – entering the final fight on his lengthy Octagon tenure. Reports emerged last night detailing how Diaz and Chimaev had verbally agreed to headline a UFC 279 pay–per-view event on September […]
Ahead of his UFC 279 headliner on September 10. – Nate Diaz has opened as an enormous betting underdog against the undefeated, Khamzat Chimaev – entering the final fight on his lengthy Octagon tenure.
Reports emerged last night detailing how Diaz and Chimaev had verbally agreed to headline a UFC 279 pay–per-view event on September 10. – with the former set to complete his contractual obligations with the organization as a result.
Last time out, back in June of last year, Diaz, who previously challenged for UFC lightweight gold, suffered a five round unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 263 in Glendale, Arizona.
Cracking the top-3 of the welterweight division back in April, Chimaev, a staple of AllStars MMA in Sweden, Chimaev defeated former title challenger, Gilbert Burns with a close, hard-fought unanimous judging success at UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Nate Diaz opens as a monstrous betting underdog ahead of UFC 279
Viewed as somewhat of a likely mismatch given Chimaev’s dominant displays in the Octagon so far, online bookmaker, SportsBetting_ag have provided their opening lines for the September headliner – placing Chimaev as a stark betting favorite, with lines of -2000 available on the undefeated bruiser.
As for Nate Diaz, the Stockton native is placed as quite a massive betting underdog for the UFC 279 curtain closer, with odds opening at +1000 for The Ultimate Fighter 5 tournament winner.
A perpetual underdog when the bookies are concerned, Nate Diaz, incidentally most recently closed as a betting favorite back in April 2013 for his matchup with promotional alum, Josh Thomson – where he suffered an eventual second round high kick knockout defeat.
Undefeated professional boxer, Jake Paul has claimed that he will be backing veteran Stockton favorite, Nate Diaz to defeat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279 on September 10. – referring to the latter as a “fake Khabib”. Paul, who makes his return to combat sports the month prior, is set to headline a professional boxing card […]
Undefeated professional boxer, Jake Paul has claimed that he will be backing veteran Stockton favorite, Nate Diaz to defeat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279 on September 10. – referring to the latter as a “fake Khabib”.
Paul, who makes his return to combat sports the month prior, is set to headline a professional boxing card at Madison Square Garden on August 6. – tackling Hasim Rahman Jr. in a headlining clash in New York.
Significantly, the matchup will come as Diaz’s final contracted fight on his current UFC deal. And it seems the Californian will ride off into the sunset from the promotion regardless of result against Chimaev, after he continually called for his release from the UFC in recent months.
Jake Paul backs Nate Diaz to land an upset win over Khamzat Chimaev
Sharing his thoughts on the matchup, Ohio native, Paul insisted that he would be putting his money on Nate Diaz to score – what would come as a major upset win, over Chimaev on September 10.
“Betr (Better) believe I’m putting my money on Nate Diaz to win versus fake Khabib (Nurmagomedov) (Khamzat Chimaev),” Jake Paul tweeted.
Betr believe I’m putting my money on Nate Diaz to win versus fake Khabib
Paul’s decision to chime in on Diaz’s final contracted Octagon appearance, comes off the back of months of speculation regarding a potential future squared circle matchup between the duo.
Paul has expressed an interest in fighting another UFC standout, including the likes of Conor McGregor, and Jorge Masvidal, however, Diaz has always appeared to have found himself on the YouTuber’s radar.
Diaz, an adept grappler under head coach, Cesar Gracie, has also previously teased a move to professional boxing in the past, as well as noting his interest in competing in several submission grappling tournaments.
Khamzat Chimaev has provided a rather stark warning for Nate Diaz following the announcement of their UFC 279 headlining clash on September 10. – claiming that he will land the Stockton favorite a “funeral” from the UFC at the T-Mobile Arena event. Earlier this Tuesday evening, reports detailed how verbal agreements were in place as […]
Earlier this Tuesday evening, reports detailed how verbal agreements were in place as per UFC Chief Business Officer, Hunter Campbell, for Chimaev to tackle the veteran, Diaz, in the main event of UFC 279 on September 10.
Currently holding the #3 rank in the official welterweight rankings, Khamzat Chimaev, who boasts an undefeated 11-0 professional record, most recently defeated one-time title challenger, Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 back in April.
As for Diaz, the Stockton fan-favorite featured on the main card of UFC 263 back in June of last year, suffering his second straight loss in the form of a unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards – which followed a prior doctor’s stoppage defeat against Jorge Masvidal.
Khamzat Chimaev issues a certain prediction for his UFC 279 bout with Nate Diaz
Releasing a brief statement following the announcement of his headlining bout against Diaz, Chimaev claimed that he would be planning the former’s “funeral” for UFC 279 on September 10.
“Khamzat Chiamev (@KChimaev) provided this comment about the fight to ESPN,” ESPN MMA reporter, Brett Okamoto tweeted. “Translated from Swedish by his representative Majdi Shammas.
Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) provided this comment about the fight to ESPN. Translated from Swedish by his representative Majdi Shammas.
"I am going to handle Nate Diaz's funeral with the UFC."
“I am going to handle Nate Diaz’s funeral with the UFC,” Khamzat Chimaev said.
Sharing his thoughts on his training partner, Chimaev’s first headlining bout with the promotion against Diaz, former welterweight title challenger, Darren Till posted, “What a fight” – reacting to the announcement of the September pay-per-view main event.
Ahead of the bout, much coverage is likely to fall on the issue of Diaz’s contract with the promotion – which will be officially completed upon the completion of his fight with Chimaev on September 10.
Diaz had tirelessly campaigned for either his release from the organization in recent months, and had been linked to fights with both Chimaev and former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier.
After months of drama, UFC star Nate Diaz is closing in on a return to the Octagon against welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev. According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, via UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell, the Chimaev/Diaz matchup has bee…
After months of drama, UFC star Nate Diaz is closing in on a return to the Octagon against welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev. According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, via UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell, the Chimaev/Diaz matchup has been verbally agreed upon and the UFC is working on finalizing the bout. The fight will take…
MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring fights for surging heavyweight Alexandr Romanov, Mexican bantamweight Irene Aldana, entertaining flyweight Francisco Figueiredo, strawweight prospect Diana Belbi??, and lightweight mainstay Michael Johnson. With UFC cards being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning…
MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring fights for surging heavyweight Alexandr Romanov, Mexican bantamweight Irene Aldana, entertaining flyweight Francisco Figueiredo, strawweight prospect Diana Belbi??, and lightweight mainstay Michael Johnson.
With UFC cards being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.
It’s been a relatively quiet few days in terms of big announcements, but there was one notable adjustment to the upcoming UFC 276 pay-per-view card, which you can read about by following the link below:
If you’ve had your fix of big announcements since last Monday, scroll down and check out this week’s matchmaking bulletin, featuring a number of bouts that may have flown under your radar between June 20 and June 25.
Michael Johnson vs. Jamie Mullarkey – UFC Vegas 58 (July 9)
UFC Vegas 58 is looking likely to be the under-the-radar card of July, with the other four, UFC 276, UFC Long Island, UFC London, and UFC 277, set to be stacked from top to bottom.
Johnson (20-17) has faced the best since arriving in the UFC back in 2010. Given that he’s defeated the likes of Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier, and Edson Barboza, and fallen short against a number of elite fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Beneil Dariush, and Justin Gaethje, his nearly-even record is certainly not an accurate measure of his talent.
If anyone needed a reminder of Johnson’s abilities following the four-fight skid he went on between 2019 and 2021, the 36-year-old’s latest appearance likely provided just that. At UFC Vegas 54, “The Menace” brutally knocked out Alan Patrick. Johnson will now look to prove his post-fight claim as one of the division’s best strikers when he makes his second appearance in a calendar year for the first time since 2019.
He’ll certainly have the chance to display his standup skills again when he shares the cage with Mullarkey (14-5) on July 9. The Australian has 10 knockouts in 14 wins, two of which came in 2021 against Khama Worthy and Devonte Smith. But after turning around his 0-2 UFC start with a pair of triumphs last year, Mullarkey failed to make it three in a row at UFC 272 in March, falling to a second-round TKO against Jalin Turner.
While Johnson will be looking to further spark his resurgence with a two-fight win streak, the 27-year-old Mullarkey will have his sights set on a return to the win column at UFC Vegas 58.
This matchup was first reported by @Bendaman2001 on Twitter.
Alex Morono vs. Matthew Semelsberger – UFC 277 (July 30)
With just over a month to go until the promotion returns to Dallas for its UFC 277 pay-per-view, a welterweight scrap between Alex Morono and Matthew Semelsberger has been announced,
Morono (21-7) has had alternating returns in recent years. While 2019 saw him go unbeaten at 2-0, his form in the Octagon dipped the following year, with defeats to Khaos Williams and former lightweight titleholder Anthony Pettis surrounding a sole victory over recently crowned Cage Warriors champion Rhys McKee.
But like 2019, “The Great White” went perfect in 2021, recording a first-round TKO over UFC vet Donald Cerrone, as well as unanimous decision wins against David Zawada and Mickey Gall. The 31-year-old will look to make it four in a row when he squares off with Semelsberger (10-3).
“Semi the Jedi” has gone 5-1 since making his UFC debut in 2020, with two wins on either side of a unanimous decision defeat to Williams. After rebounding with an emphatic knockout victory over Martin Sano Jr. last September at UFC 266, Semelsberger outpointed AJ Fletcher at UFC Vegas 50 in March.
While the Maryland native will be targeting his first three-fight win streak in the UFC, Morono will be looking to prevent that from happening with his fourth straight triumph.
Alexandr Romanov vs. Marcin Tybura – UFC 278 (August 20)
The heavyweight title picture has a lot of bodies at the moment, and it could be facing the addition of another come August 20.
At UFC 278, Alexandr Romanov (16-0), long tipped by many as a future championship contender, will face a true litmus test of his potential. The Moldovan has made a big impact since arriving in the Octagon, going 5-0. That slate includes a memorable submission victory over Marcos Rogério de Lima, which came via the UFC’s first-ever forearm choke.
While a split decision win against Juan Espino, which came after Romanov was unable to continue following an accidental groin strike, partially stalled his fast rise, “King Kong” has firmly returned to his finishing ways in his last two outings, defeating Jared Vanderaa via TKO and Chase Sherman with a key lock submission.
Having ascended to #13 in the rankings, Romanov is set for a steep step-up in competition, which will come in the form of Marcin Tybura (22-7) at the August pay-per-view. While a decision defeat last time out to perennial contender Alexander Volkov prevented the Polish powerhouse from improving on his #10 place, his form beforehand was impressive.
After going 4-5 in his first nine UFC outings, the former M-1 Global Heavyweight Champion went on a run that saw him collect five straight wins, including over Sergey Spivak, Ben Rothwell, and Greg Hardy.
Having been initially been scheduled to welcome Romanov to the UFC back in 2020, a bout that fell through after the then-newcomer tested positive for COVID-19, “Tybur” will look to stall the Moldovan’s rise two years on.
This matchup was officially announced through a UFC press release.
Jared Gordon vs. Leonardo Santos – UFC 278 (August 20)
In another notable bout added to Utah’s first UFC pay-per-view in the past week, lightweight veterans Leonardo Santos and Jared Gordon are set to collide.
Following that loss, Gordon will look to rebound four months later at UFC 278, where he’ll share the Octagon with Santos (18-5-1). The Brazilian perhaps had an under-the-radar record a number of years ago. Prior to a three-year layoff between 2016 and 2019, “Lamparão,” who won The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 welterweight tournament, went 7-0-1 in the UFC, including finishes against Anthony Rocco Martin and Kevin Lee.
While he returned to action in the same form, extending his unblemished promotional record with victories over Stevie Ray and Roman Bogatov, he’s since lost back-to-back outings for the first time in his career courtesy of a last-second KO loss to Dawson and a submission defeat to legend Clay Guida.
Although both men will be looking to re-enter the win column following defeats last time out, the stakes will likely be slightly higher for Santos, who will be hoping to avoid the often fatal three-fight skid.
This bout that was first reported by Eurosport’s Marcel Dorff.
Amir Albazi vs. Francisco Figueiredo – UFC 278 (August 20)
Staying at UFC 278, a flyweight scrap between Amir Albazi and Francisco Figueiredo is slated for August 20, per an official press release.
Figueiredo (13-4-1), the younger brother of reigning UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson, arrived on MMA’s biggest stage in 2021 as a former Interim Jungle Fight Bantamweight Champion who was unbeaten since 2017.
While he began his Octagon career on the right foot, earning a unanimous nod on the scorecards against Jerome Rivera, the Brazilian fell on the wrong side of the judges’ verdict in his sophomore appearance against Malcolm “X” Gordon.
Having immediately rebounded this year at UFC Vegas 53 by submitting Daniel Lacerda via kneebar just over a minute into the opening round, “Sniper” will be looking for his first win streak under the UFC banner when he makes his first PPV appearance this summer.
The man looking to stop the 32-year-old from doing so will be Albazi (14-1). The Swedish-born Iraqi joined the UFC in 2020 as a highly touted flyweight prospect. He enhanced that reputation with a first-round triangle choke against Gordon, who got the better of Figueiredo, and a unanimous decision victory over Zhalgas Zhumagulov.
Having been on the sidelines since last January and had bouts against Ode’ Osbourne and Tim Elliott scrapped, “The Prince” will look to pick up where he left off when he makes his return and take the next step towards his goal of becoming the first fighter to bring UFC gold to Iraq.
Irene Aldana vs. Macy Chiasson – UFC 279 (September 10)
While the UFC 278 card is still taking shape, the UFC 279 PPV is beginning to have matchups added to it, including this women’s bantamweight contest between Irene Aldana and Macy Chiasson.
Having had her main event debut spoiled by former champion Holly Holm in late 2020, Aldana (13-6) returned to winning ways last July in some style. At the Conor McGregor-headlined UFC 264, the Mexican made the most of the big stage, finishing former featherweight title challenger Yana Kunitskaya in one round.
Following failed matchups against Germaine de Randamie and Aspen Ladd, Aldana has been unable to utilize the momentum from her last outing, with her next appearance set to come over a year later. Nevertheless, she’ll hope to pick up where she left off when she welcomes Chiasson (8-2) back to bantamweight.
After moving to 5-1 in the UFC early last year, Chiasson was stalled by her first loss since 2019 in December. As well as being submitted by Raquel Pennington, the Louisianan set an unwanted record, with her 2.5-pound weight miss for the featherweight contest marking the highest weight registered by a woman in UFC history.
— Carlos Contreras Legaspi (@CCLegaspi) June 23, 2022
Melissa Gatto vs. Gillian Robertson – UFC Fight Night (September 17)
12-fight promotional veteran Gillian Robertson has her next fight booked, and it’ll see her collide with women’s flyweight prospect Melissa Gatto at the September 17 UFC Fight Night.
Robertson (10-7) has been incredibly active since debuting in 2017, facing the likes of Molly McCann, Maycee Barber, and recent title challenger Taila Santos during her time in the Octagon. But the Canadian has struggled for form as of late.
After rebounding from back-to-back losses to Santos and Miranda Maverick with an impressive first-round submission win against Priscila Cachoeira, which came in spite of the Brazilian’s blatant eye gouge, “The Savage” failed to continue her momentum onto a win streak, falling to a unanimous decision loss against JJ Aldrich at UFC Vegas 50 in March.
Like Robertson, Gatto (8-1-2) will be looking to make her way back to the win column on September 17. But while the Canadian’s latest setback marked her fifth in the UFC, the Brazilian’s represented the first blemish on her record.
After a pair of TKOs against Victoria Leonardo and Sijara Eubanks, the 26-year-old had extended her unbeaten form into the Octagon. But having fallen short against fellow hot prospect Tracy Cortez at UFC 274 last month, Gatto is in need of a victory to get her charge up the flyweight ladder back on track.
Loma Lookboonmee vs. Diana Belbi?? – UFC Fight Night (September 17)
As well as the women’s flyweights, there will also be action in the strawweight division at the UFC’s September 17 event.
Loma Lookboonmee (6-3) arrived in the UFC in 2019 having made the switch from Muay Thai to MMA just over a year prior. After a decorated career in her former discipline, which included gold medals at the 2015, 2017, and 2018 I.F.M.A. World Championship, the Thai fighter hoped to replicate that success in the cage.
After a 1-1 start in the Octagon, with the loss coming against UFC veteran Angela Hill, the 26-year-old found form with consecutive victories over Jinh Yu Frey and Sam Hughes on the scorecards. But having been a victim of Lupita Godinez’s recent form last November, Lookboonmee is targeting a rebound performance on September 17.
Also look to re-enter the win column will be Belbi?? (14-7). The 25-year-old has struggled since earning a place in the MMA leader with four straight wins under the promotional banner of RXF, Romania’s largest mixed martial arts organization.
After breaking her initial two-fight skid, which comprised of defeats to McCann and Liana Jojua, with a unanimous decision win against Hannah Goldy, “The Warrior Princess” found herself with another blemish on her résumé earlier this year courtesy of Gloria de Paula.
Gregory Rodrigues vs. Chidi Njokuani – UFC Fight Night (September 17)
Just one week on from his memorable knockout victory over Julian Marquez at UFC Austin, Gregory Rodrigues (12-4) has another fight booked, and it looks set to be a banger.
If Rodrigues’ short stint in the Octagon so far has taught us anything, it’s expect fireworks. After debuting with a decision win against the once-highly touted Duško Todorovi?, the Brazilian earned an extra $50,000 in his sophomore outing, with his memorable KO of Park Jun-yong last October securing Fight of the Night honors.
While a narrow split decision setback against Armen Petrosyan earlier this year snapped the former LFA Middleweight Champion’s four-fight win streak and blemished his UFC record, Rodrigues bounced back fast in front of a sold-out Texas crowd last weekend.
He’ll look to return to a win streak at the September 17 event when he squares off with Chidi Njokuani (22-7). The 33-year-old has made quite the impression since arriving on the UFC scene last year.
This exciting matchup was first reported by MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz.
A week after knocking out Julian Marquez at UFC Austin, Gregory Rodrigues is already booked to return to the octagon against fellow KO artist Chidi Njokuani at the Sept. 17 UFC event, sources told myself and @MikeHeck_JR. Story coming to @MMAFighting.
Undefeated professional boxer, Jake Paul has claimed that he will be backing veteran Stockton favorite, Nate Diaz to defeat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279 on September 10. – referring to the latter as a “fake Khabib”. Paul, who makes his return to combat sports the month prior, is set to headline a professional boxing card […]
Khamzat Chimaev has provided a rather stark warning for Nate Diaz following the announcement of their UFC 279 headlining clash on September 10. – claiming that he will land the Stockton favorite a “funeral” from the UFC at the T-Mobile Arena event. Earlier this Tuesday evening, reports detailed how verbal agreements were in place as […]
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