MMA

MMA

One of a planned three heavyweight fights at UFC Rio (though Usman vs. Walker wound up cancelled) saw Vitor Petrino take on Thomas Petersen. Petrino had started his UFC run at 205 pounds, but after back-to-back losses, moved to heavyweight in his last outing, defeating Austen Lane in his debut in the weight class. Petersen was 2-2 under the UFC banner, and coming off a win over Don'Tale Mayes.

Kicking off this UFC Rio edition of TTP is our interview with Tuff'N'Uff featherweight, Eduardo Penha. Penha discusses the expectations that come along with having a father that is a coral belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. While some expect him to have had an easy path, he explains how that couldn't be further from the truth. Now with a record that stands for itself in the world of MMA, he looks to take the leap to that next level. His eye is on a late replacement fight or a Contender Series shot.

"Every fight you guys are going to be surprised how much this guy improves," Mavliudov told Cageside Press. "Is there even a limit for me to stop, you know? I'm just going to do well every fight that I go to." Mavliudov (6-0) knows he's stepping in against a seasoned opponent in Dedrek Sanders, a fighter who's tested himself across multiple high-level promotions. Still, the lightweight made it clear that experience alone won't be enough to catch him off guard.

Suman Mokhtarian, founder of Australian Top Team and a former UFC athlete and Ultimate Fighter veteran, has been slain in what is being called a gangland hit. Mokhtarian, who survived a previous assassination attempt, was killed on Wednesday while walking in the Riverstone district of Sydney, Australia. The Daily Telegraph was first to report the "brazen" shooting, which saw emergency responders attending the scene where Mokhtarian was found at about 6PM local time.

They know what it is. They know who deserves the spot. I definitely know that I'm next on the spot. I've earned my due, but I'm not even going to call for it anymore. I will fight anyone. I will fight anyone. If I have to, just to prove to the critics or anyone in the division, anyone, I will fight Jiri or Khalil. Whoever wins between the both of them,

In other words, Rutten had scripted lines, but was playing a younger version of himself. Mind you, director Benny Safdie didn't require Rutten to stick to the script. Rather, he gave the retired fighter a massive amount of leeway to make the role his own. So while Rutten did get a script and lines, he told Cageside Press recently, "those are just for your guidelines," the director informed him. "I want you to do what you do, because it's you! Why would I change it?"

With my team, my coach, we never really had a like a training camp for specific opponents,

I was too patient, and yeah, that was something I didn't realize. I waited too much for a counter, too much waiting for a counter, because I thought that will be there," Prochazka (32-5-1) admitted following the fight, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. His thinking was "I'm on the place, I will catch him really clearly with the counter.

The two Tipsport Gamechanger middleweight tournament finalists would be determined on Saturday at Oktaagon 77. Two semifinal bouts were on the card, with Kerim Engizek vs. Dominik Humburger headlining the show in one. The other found UFC vet Krzysztof Jotko, who had missed weight for the fight, taking on reserve fighter Hojat Khajevand, a German-Iranian wrestler who had made the jump to MMA.

Sergio Pettis got the action going in a big way at the PFL Champions Series 3 card in Dubai on Friday. After a mixed bag of decisions on the early card that was snapped by an upset of heavyweight Slim Trabelsi by the little-known Pouya Rahmani, the first couple of main card bouts likewise went to the judges. Pettis, however, had no intention of following suit.

Both title fights at Friday's PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai - The Rematch event had their share of fouls early. In the co-headliner, it was back-to-back eye pokes landed by Dovlet Yaghimuradov on ex-Bellator champ and UFC contender Corey Anderson, giving "Overtime" some adversity to fight through. In the main event, a rematch between Bellator lightweight champ Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul "Big News" Hughes, it was a low blow suffered by the challenger. Both fighters were able to carry on.

What I believe, though, is that I love fighting not in spite of my athletic limitations but because of them. Fighting is hard. The defining aspect of combat sports is discovering that you are worse at fighting than you had assumed and that getting better will be a grueling process that will chew you up, physically and mentally, unless you spend a life-altering amount of time on it. Therein lies the appeal.

Before I fought Kelvin I was offered Abus and I said no. I didn't like it. I didn't think it made sense. I want to go up in the rankings.

Everyone sees the glasses, everyone sees the top knot. I just didn't get my pink shorts tonight, so hopefully I get that in the future.