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Paul Craig targets UFC 286 clash with Anthony Smith for the title “of being the jiu-jitsu guy at light-heavyweight.”

Paul Craig has welcomed the opportunity to face fellow light-heavyweight contender Anthony Smith at the UFC’s upcoming pay-per-view in London. Paul Craig returns to action later this month at UFC 283. The Scottish grappling wizard had been tasked with taking on native Brazilian, Johnny Walker, in his homeland when the promotion heads to South America […]

Paul Craig has welcomed the opportunity to face fellow light-heavyweight contender Anthony Smith at the UFC’s upcoming pay-per-view in London.

Paul Craig returns to action later this month at UFC 283. The Scottish grappling wizard had been tasked with taking on native Brazilian, Johnny Walker, in his homeland when the promotion heads to South America for their first pay-per-view event of the year.

The 35-year-old will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing final outing in 2022 where he dropped a unanimous decision to Volkan Oezdemir at UFC London.

Meanwhile, his opponent, Johnny Walker, will be looking to claim back-to-back victories for the first time since 2019 after he closed his 2022 out with a submission victory over Ion Cutelaba at UFC 279.

You can expect an all-out war when these two men step inside the octagon at the UFC 283, The two hold a combined 47 professional outings so far in their respective careers which have only required the judges’ influence on five occasions,

Should Craig emerge victorious out in Brazil, ‘Bearjew’ already has his sights set on his next opponent after he called for a matchup with former light-heavyweight title challenger, Anthony Smith.

Paul Craig Calls For Anthony Smith at UFC 286

Speaking in an interview with Michael Bisping, Craig explained his interest in the matchup and why he is so eager to take on the currently ranked 6^th 205-pound contender.

“Anthony Smith is already in a camp. So potentially could be Anthony Smith in London. That would be a pretty good fight in London.”

Craig continued, “He’s obviously come out and said that he wanted to fight me after one of his press conferences. I think it’s a tough and fun fight. Two high-level Jiu-Jitsu guys kind of staying with each other, that just turns into this rock em’ sock em’ robot fighting. I think that is how it’s going to go and I’m also looking for a challenge, I’d like to have that title of being the jiu-jitsu guy at light-heavyweight.”

Anthony Smith has already revealed he is almost certainly guaranteed an outing in March and having expressed an interest in facing Paul Craig the UFC matchmakers should have a very easy decision to get these two men paired up.

Would you like to see Paul Craig vs Anthony Smith at UFC 286 in London?

Leon Edwards still expecting Kamaru Usman rubber match to take place at UFC 286: ‘The fight’s on’

Leon Edwards Kamaru Usman UFC 286 Incumbent UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards has claimed the UFC have informed him former champion, Kamaru Usman is already preparing for a title trilogy rubber match at UFC 286 on March 18. in London, England – despite the fact the bout has yet to be officially confirmed by the organization. Edwards, the undisputed welterweight champion, […]

Incumbent UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards has claimed the UFC have informed him former champion, Kamaru Usman is already preparing for a title trilogy rubber match at UFC 286 on March 18. in London, England – despite the fact the bout has yet to be officially confirmed by the organization.

Edwards, the undisputed welterweight champion, managed to land Octagon spoils at the end of August last year in a rematch against Auchi native, Usman, rallying from a three round swing to land a stunning fifth round high kick KO win.

The victory saw Edwards avenge a 2015 unanimous decision loss to ONX Labs trainee, Usman during their respective tenures as division contenders – with the welterweight standouts expected to headline a UFC 286 card in March.

Leon Edwards still expecting to fight Kamaru Usman at UFC 286

Yet to find himself officially booked against Usman, speculation has mounted that Edwards may be facing any combination of Khamzat Chimaev, Colby Covington, or even Jorge Masvidal in a London homecoming, however, the Birmingham favorite has been offer reassurances from the UFC that a trilogy fight with Usman is still on.

“Yeah, 100 percent, that’s what I’ve been told – that’s what my team’s been told,” Leon Edwards said of a UFC 286 fight with Usman during an appearance on the Believe You Me podcast. “I talked to the UFC last week, I think, and I’ve been told ‘The fight is on, he’s already training for the fight.’ So I was like, okay, perfect.”

“I am aiming towards that,” Leon Edwards explained. “If something changes in the meantime that, then we’ll go from there. But I am focused on having that trilogy with Usman in London.”

Seeing his promotional-perfect run halted against Team Renagade BJJ & MMA staple, Edwards back in August, Usman also slumped from the #1 rank in the official UFC pound-for-pound rankings, and has since been replaced by featherweight best, Alexander Volkanovski.

Rafael Fiziev reveals the UFC have promised him fight with Justin Gaethje in March

Surging UFC lightweight contender, Rafael Fiziev has revealed the organization have promised him a mouth-watering matchup as soon as March of this year – in the form of a potential title eliminator against former interim gold holder, Justin Gaethje. Fiziev, who landed his first promotional headliner back in July of last year at UFC Vegas […]

Fiziev, who landed his first promotional headliner back in July of last year at UFC Vegas 58, managed to earn the #6 rank in the official lightweight rankings with an eventual fifth round knockout win over former undisputed champion, Rafael dos Anjos.

As for Gaethje, the current #3 ranked lightweight contender, headlined UFC 274 back in May of last year against former champion, Charles Oliveira, suffering a first round rear-naked choke loss on home soil in Arizona.

Rafael Fiziev claims a fight with Justin Gaethje is being targeted for March

In the time since, Fiziev has been linked with a potential championship eliminator against the veteran Gaethje. And amid rumblings of a pairing between the two for this year, the Kazakh-born striker claims the UFC have promised him a fight with Trevor Wittman trainee, Gaethje for March – either at UFC 285 on March 4. – or UFC 286 in London, England on March 18.

“I’m not announcing anything, but the UFC promised us that I’ll be fighting Justin Gaethje in March,” Rafael Fiziev told Captain Hardcore during a recent interview. “Everyone wants this fight, Dana White wants this fight. I was told to get ready for March.”

“We’re waiting for the contract to make it official,” Rafael Fiziev explained. “That’s what it is as of now. If something changes, I’ll be shocked. If it gets cancelled, I’ll record a story like, ‘UFC, what’s going on?’ [Location] is the only question. They said either March 4. or 18.”

Despite Gaethje’s apparent radio silence of a potential fight against him, Tiger Muay Thai striker, Fiziev insists the UFC are eager to book the matchup regardless.

“I like that the UFC supported this fight from the beginning,” Rafael Fiziev said. “(Justin) Gaethje is being quiet – Ali Abdelaziz tried to say something. They are still doing what they’ve been doing. The UFC wants it. When the UFC wants it, they make it happen.”

12-1 as a professional, Fiziev has so far enjoyed a 6-1 stint with the UFC, defeating Alex White, Marc Diakiese, Renato Moicano, Bobby Green, Brad Riddell, and the aforenoted, dos Anjos following a debut knockout loss to UFC alum, Magomed Mustafaev.

Report: Major Update On Possible Justin Gaethje Vs. Rafael Fiziev Fight

UFC fans hoping to see former lightweight title challenger Justin Gaethje take on Rafael Fiziev just got some good news. During a recent interview with Patrick McCorry, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto revealed that Gaethje/Fiziev remains on the UFC’s …

Continue Reading Report: Major Update On Possible Justin Gaethje Vs. Rafael Fiziev Fight at MMA News.

Report – Casey O’Neill returns from injury, meets Jennifer Maia at UFC 286 on March 18.

Undefeated UFC flyweight prospect, Casey O’Neill is set for her first Octagon outing in over a year after suffering a debilitating leg injury, as she books a UFC 286 return at The O2 Arena on March 18. against one-time flyweight title challenger, Jennifer Maia. O’Neill, the current #11 ranked flyweight contender, has yet to return […]

O’Neill, the current #11 ranked flyweight contender, has yet to return to active competition since February of last year, where she retired the veteran contender, Roxanne Modafferi in a unanimous decision effort at UFC 271.

Suffering a brutal ACL tear ahead of a scheduled July return last year, Casey O’Neill, who boasts an undefeated 9-0 professional record was booked to fight former title challenger, Jessica Eye, however, was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury.

And according to an initial report from Dama de Ferro MMA on Twitter, Casey O’Neill and Jennifer Maia are expected to clash at UFC 286 in London, however, official contracts are yet to be signed by the pair.

No dia 18 de março, @jennimaiaufc (20-9-1) vai enfrentar @kingcaseymma (9-0) pela categoria peso mosca no #ufc286, em Londres pic.twitter.com/qP1KATZuzq

— Dama de Ferro MMA (@damadeferromma) January 3, 2023

Scottish-born Australian contender, O’Neill, who plys her trade at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, debuted in the UFC back in February 2021, defeating Shana Dobson in a second round TKO win.

Casey O’Neill has been touted as a potential top-contender at flyweight

Returning to the Octagon in June of that year, O’Neill submitted Lara Procopio, before then finishing Antonina Shevchenko – the elder sister of division champion, Valentina Shevchenko with strikes.

For Curitiba veteran, Maia, the former Invicta FC flyweight champion boasts a 2-2 record since her title challenge loss to Shevchenko three years ago.

In the time since, Maia defeated both Jessica Eye, and most recently, Maryna Moroz, snapping a run of back-to-back defeats against both Katlyn Chookagian, and Manon Fiorot. Maia currently holds the #8 rank in the official UFC flyweight pile.

UFC 286 takes place on March 18. from The O2 Arena in London, England – with an official headlining bout yet to be determined by the organization.

Muhammad Mokaev Suffers Setback With Dislocated Shoulder, Still Hopeful To Compete At UFC 286.

Muhammad Mokaev has revealed he has had to undergo surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder he suffered in training. Despite this, the prospect still remains hopeful he will be able to compete at UFC 286, London. Muhammad Mokaev has suffered a major setback as he was aiming to build upon his impressive run in 2022. […]

Muhammad Mokaev has suffered a major setback as he was aiming to build upon his impressive run in 2022. Signing with the promotion in 2022 Mokaev went an impressive 3-0 last year as he introduced himself to the flyweight division.

Mokaev started the year off with an impressive finish of Cody Durden and UFC London. The former IMMAF champion would then follow up this victory with a win over Charles Johnson before closing the year out by submitting Malcolm Gordon at UFC 280.

However unfortunately for the rising contender, he has suffered a setback, damaging his shoulder in training which resulted in a dislocation that ultimately needed surgery.

Muhammad Mokaev Reveals Dislocated Shoulder Injury

Taking to his social media to announce the news, Mokaev recalled a similar position he found himself in prior to UFC London last year.

“Unfortunately I have dislocated my shoulder, now I will wait for the operation!” Mokaev wrote on Twitter. “Thanks to all my supporters I will be back as soon as possible, I promise you! Love you all!

“Exact same day last year I [broke] my hand before my UFC debut in London, I will do everything to fight on [the] UFC London card! I tried to keep the operation till after the fight but I can’t even lift my arm.”

It remains unknown how long Muhammad Mokaev will be sidelined despite the undefeated Brit still aiming to compete at UFC 286, scheduled to take place on March 18^th.

Should Mokaev miss out on the London card, you can guarantee that he will aim to return to competition soon after as he aims to continue climbing up the flyweight rankings.

Who would you like to see Muhammad Mokaev face in his next outing?