MMA news updates

Instead of spamming the boards everytime I see some cool news, I’ll post it here. I’ll also keep track of prospects I like, new signings to ufc/dwcs/Bellator/etc.

* Edited at 05.02.2022, 4:44 PM ET *

I love how Pedro Munhoz is still ranked in the top 10 for beating Garbrandt and an overrated Jimmie Rivera. They also still forgot to list a 15th guy in the rankings since Jack Shore is at featherweight now. My guess is that it is Said, but I think it should go to Javid since he has only really beat killers. I think Montel Jackson is also right there, but I would still put Said ahead of him by a little

Oof Darius flowers and Kyler Phillips have both been suspended after positive tests for ostarine. That really sucks Phillips is a juicer; this is gonna set him back a lot

So Phillips tried to ascend the Matrix... Most people will need steroids to beat Yadong Song as he comes into his prime I wonder was he doping for all his big wins

Kyler is a teammate of O'Malley and O'Malley already popped twice for Ostarine https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/01/sean-omalley-accepts-retroactive-sanction-for-second-usada-doping-violation

First violation, before UFC 229. Second violation, before UFC 239. That whole gym is probably dirty, but I think the majority of their guys are either Bellator or regional fighters so they don't have random out of competition testing.

USADA needs to bust O Malley that kid is on dope and weed get him off the streets

https://www.sugashop.co/products/high-times-robe

https://www.sugashop.co/products/contender-shorts

Darius Flowers being on steroids does not surprise me at all. That dude went from being an average regional fighter to UFC caliber in a matter of 2 years

Im joking I am strongly pro-CBD/THC but anti doping in sports, I prefer natural, but understand why people use PED's... That doesnt mean I sympathize, but its a cut throat world, people will do anything to get an advantage and make it to the top

* Edited at 03.21.2023, 2:13 PM ET *

Everyone is saucing it up, doesn’t matter if your a can or if your a borderline top 15 guy

* Edited at 03.21.2023, 2:38 PM ET *

@danromanick calling Darius flowers “ufc caliber” is a big stretch. He got very lucky to even get a win on dwcs. He was using ostarine to promote muscle growth. If you watch his regional fights from just last summer, you can see he was fat as **** and not the jacked beast he looked in recent fights. I was always wondering how he went from 190 lb catchweight fights to going down to 155 in the span of 1.5 years 

* Edited at 03.21.2023, 2:50 PM ET *

Lazy king has announced he is moving down to 155. That leaves 2 options; he goes for ares triple champ, or he fights at 155 in the ufc. I think the move to 155 actually is not a bad idea; he was clearly incredibly undersized at 185 and has a small frame for 170. My only worry is he will struggle to make weight as he is muscular as ****

Top flyweight prospect Azat maksum is one step closer to the ufc. He has just attained a petition to get a work visa. His manager, sayat Abdurakhmanov said the ufc is interested in him, and Sean Shelby even asked sayat personally about him. So both parties are clearly very interested, the only thing currently holding him back is that he doesn’t have an approved visa. Maksum should be signed in the coming months 

I should add on, this leads me to believe the ufc is either A) trying to build talent from that region or B) try and redo ufc Kazakhstan (covid stopped it first time). 

Why do I think this? Well, we’ve got this news about maksum, I said a while ago Magomed Kabardiev was offered to fight Chris duncan last week (Duncan obviously declined), a news article from an interview with diyar nurgozay said he was offered short notice fight at ufc 283 (nothing materialized he said), and recently I saw an interview with Shavkat saying his training partner asu almabaev and sister Sora rakhmanova are also in talks with the ufc. Very interesting from the ufc. 

Random tangent, but when Chael was saying all his ******** on that podcast, he mentioned he made $4 million in one of his fights against Anderson Silva. He then said that the reports going out about pay is way understated, and he believes that these fighters are consistently making that type of pay during title fights now. I don't believe a single word that comes out of Chael Sonnen's mouth, but if these media outlets are understating the pay, then that is a huge gamechanger. It makes Francis look like an idiot cause that means he was making more than $1 million. It also would mean that Leon probably made like $5 million in that last fight if not more if that was the case. Anyone know if there is any truth to this? Is Chael exaggerating/lying or are the media outlets exaggerating/lying?

I'm also really curious because that means that these fighters net worths would be incredibly understated. I personally don't believe for a minute that Kamaru Usman is only worth $3.2 million. That dude has too much expensive **** to only be worth that much, and he obviously ain't close to broke

* Edited at 03.21.2023, 5:47 PM ET *

Chael is a company man at this point, and a known exaggerator, I wouldn't believe a word he says

Magomed Kabardiev was recently interviewed about the status of his visa, it's still a work in progress. Also the UFC possibly signing 16-0 Flyweight Azat Maksum doesn't prove interest in the region..he is one of the best Flyweight prospects in the world by far, they sign crap tier Americans, Mexicans, Brits etc by the boatload in comparison.  Azat and Asu are better than 95% of the guys they have on their contender series lmao. The barrier for entry for Russians and Central Asians is that they sign fewer of them and ask for more of the ones they do tend to sign, usually. 

Hopefully we get a FN Kazakhstan by the UFC though. Not holding my breath, we hear about PI Mexico and PI Africa and PI China but Sana never speaks of the talent coming out of Central Asia, probably doesn't even know where that is. UFC is just a lot less int wrested in this guys. 

* Edited at 03.21.2023, 10:53 PM ET *

IMO the best route would be to do a Central Asia UFC Fight Night card some time in 2023 that would have guys like Abbasov, Bekzat, Zholdosbek, Maksum, Gadzhiyasulov, Nurgozhay, Idiris, Idrisov, Ignatiev, Almabaev, Odilov (if he's able to break out of ACA), Gaziev and Zhusupov

all of these names are way above the skill level that DWCS offers and deserve to get signed straight up plus they're huuuuge names in that part of the world and would easily kickstart a massive wave of popularity for the UFC there

if that happens, that leaves DWCS spots open for westerners and brazilians which is the demographics they love to promote on that show, some of the names that I would love to see there are Jhonata Diniz, Baki Chamsoudinov, Prates, Islam Dulatov, Luana Santos, Fatima Kline, Michael Pagani, Bruno Lopes, Veronika Borisova, Bruno Fontes, Raheam Forest, Mark Climaco, Loughran, Jacobe Smith, de Oliveira, Lucas Fernando, Zach Scroggin, Vallejos, Talisson Texeira, Kavanagh, Payton Talbott, Currie, Shauna Bannon, Danni McCormack, Kabardiev and Murodov. 

obviously a lineup like this sounds too good to be true but I think it generally fills the demographic quota that the UFC is looking to meet since it mainly has Westerners and Brazilians with a tiny sprinkle of Central Asia/Russia. 

IF, and that's a big IF, a Central Asia Fight Night goes through this year though I think DWCS in the next few years is going to be absolutely dominated by central Asia and russian fighters. some of the guys I think will be on DWCS next couple of years from that region are Yunusov, Amangeldy, Atdayev, Zhubanysh, Zhassiya, Akbar Abdullaev, Shaydullaev, Toychubek and some of the russians that I think are also UFC bound in the next few years are Aleksandra Savicheva (reaaaally high on this girl), Ivan Podrugin, Dzhaniev if he sticks to MMA, Kornilov if he somehow decides to leave ACA, Saralapov, Dzhamaludin Aliev, Ruslan Satiev, Khavalov

this post turned to me ranting about my favorite russian / central asian prospects but yeah since the topic is around the UFC's inability to correctly spot and sign prospects from every part of the world instead of drooling over Mexican and U.K. cans, it really is a huge telling sign that we won't get to see even half of the guys I mentioned in the UFC

* Edited at 03.22.2023, 11:02 AM ET *

Great list, a few observations: Climaco has already been signed to RtU and Akbar Abdullaev has been signed by ONE. I think Akbar already has a fight booked there.