Alex Pereira claims there was no significant meaning behind his cryptic, viral social media post that was dissected by the MMA world.
UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] claims there was no significant meaning behind his cryptic, viral social media post that was dissected by the MMA world.
Pereira (9-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC), a former middleweight titleholder, posted “30 + 300 = 3,” which led many to speculate that he could be fighting at the historic UFC 300 event on April 13 in Las Vegas and potentially for a third UFC title at heavyweight.
According to Pereira, the numbers came to him in a dream, and he didn’t know how to interpret them, so he decided to share it with his followers to see if additional sense could be made of it.
“I had a dream – it was 30 plus 300 is equal to three, and I got confused on all those numbers,” Pereira told TheMacLife. “I tossed it on there to see if people could help figure out the equation. Like the other day I had a dream about some numbers, and I played a raffle in Brazil and won a motorcycle. Then two months later, it was actually real. I had another one, and I put some more numbers and won another motorcycle. So I’m like, ‘You know what? Post this for the fans and see if they can help figure it out.’ I had 30 plus 300 is equal to three. We’re all trying to figure it out too.”
Pereira, 36, played coy when asked if it could mean a jump to heavyweight for a matchup with interim titleholder Tom Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC). However, he did leave the door open to switching weight classes again down the line.
If the Brazilian was able to change weight classes, though, it’s not something he would be keen to do on a whim. Pereira thinks his body would need adequate time to properly adjust to face some of the biggest men on the UFC roster.
“I fought at middleweight, and I had to reset my body to go up to fighting at light heavyweight,” Pereira said. “I’m a fighter. I’ll fight anybody, anywhere. I have the height and the size of a heavyweight, but this is a thing that’s got to be programmed, put some work in. It’s not just something I jump in on. I want to make things the right way. I can definitely fight at heavyweight, maybe some day in the future. But it’s got to be something that’s well planned. So right now I’m focused on my light heavyweight reign.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
Former UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling admits he let loose a little too much after losing his title.
Former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] admits he let loose a little too much after losing his title.
After dropping the belt to Sean O’Malley in August at UFC 292, Sterling ballooned in weight. That’s partially because “The Funkmaster” is currently working toward a move to featherweight but not entirely.
Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) always has been a big 135 pounder, but he never failed to appear in impeccable shape on fight night. However, his knack for indulging in sweets made that process a little harder.
“I do wonder how much I’m going to blow up to after the fight,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “Whenever I make 135, I’m almost – just about the last five years, I’ve pretty much always hit 180. Like your body is holding on to everything, blowing back up, so I do wonder if I’m going to do the same thing. I got a sweet tooth and even though I’m not only eating candies and chocolates, it almost feels like a bottomless pit.
“Like you can’t help yourself. You’re telling yourself to stop eating, but somehow your hands are still moving towards the fridge, your legs are still walking towards the fridge, your fingers are dialing DoorDash and Uber Eats. Somehow you’re still ordering food when you know you don’t want anything. It’s like a sickness.”
In his featherweight debut, Sterling draws top contender Calvin Kattar (23-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) on April 13 at UFC 300 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Because of his recent lifestyle, the transition has been a bit of a struggle and has impacted his cardio.
“Right now I’m just tired,” Sterling said. “I do one to two rounds of striking, and I’m exhausted. Also (I’m) moving around and trying to do what I do when I’m lighter. Those eight to nine weeks of drinking every single day and hookah non-stop, staying up late at night, it definitely took a toll on my lungs, so I still feel like I’m battling back from and trying to gain all that. We sparred, and I felt like I had a relatively solid day except when I went with Julian Erosa.
“I did some good stuff, but there’s still some things I’m having trouble with because of the height difference. (He’s 6-foot-1) and fights at 145. There’s going to be some things I need to figure out where I was closer to being the tallest guy at bantamweight. Now you got Sean Woodson, you got Julian Erosa, you got some of these guys who are just like trees, so I’ve got to figure out the game with that. Taking them down, being able to maintain control for longer periods of time, working the threshold and understanding all of that.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
Cody Brundage thinks Bo Nickal is worthy of all the hype and massive favorite status at UFC 300 but likes his chances at an upset.
[autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] had a gut feeling his next fight would be against [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] at UFC 300, so when the offer officially came through, he was all about it.
Nickal (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is arguably the most highly touted prospect in all of MMA. The former three-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion has had high expectations placed on him since his professional debut less than three years ago, and so far he’s delivered by finishing every opponent, including four in 62 seconds or less.
Brundage (10-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) will be the next test, because he will fight Nickal in a middleweight bout at the historic UFC 300 event, which takes place April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.
The Factory X fighter represents the most successful UFC opponent Nickal has faced to date. Brundage knows for a fact that Nickal hasn’t shared the octagon with someone who has seen and done what he has, and given he’s fresh off a slam knockout win over another unbeaten Dana White Contender Series veteran in Zach Reese earlier this month, all the confidence is there.
“Part of it is the same as the guy I just fought – he’d never been in a real scrap,” Brundage told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “He’d just kind of steamrolled everybody that he’d ever fought, and I feel like once you get into that first real fight, it’s different. You’ve got to figure some things out about yourself. Bo doesn’t even know the fighter he is right now. He’s a hammer, and he’s really good. He’s talented. I take nothing away from the kid. I think he’s a good fighter, and he’s done exactly what he should do against the people that he’s fought, but I feel like I’m far and away the toughest test of his career.
“I come from a wrestling background. Obviously I’m not a three-time Division I national wrestling champion, but I come from a wrestling background. I’ve been through the college grind of wrestling, and I’ve had success at the highest level. He’s never even been cracked, really. You don’t know who you are as a fighter. You don’t know how you’ll respond, because it’s never happened. It’s my job to put him there and see how he responds. I was able to do it with this last kid. I think I’ll be able to do it with Bo. I’ve fought some really talented, scary dudes. Some dangerous dudes, and no one’s really run me over yet, and I don’t think Bo’s going to be the first to do it.”
How ‘championship level’ is Nickal?
Brundage, 29, said his primary goal For UFC 300 is to figure out the unknowns about Nickal’s game. If that happens, he believes the desired result will come with it.
Nickal, 27, has faced minimal resistance from any of his opponents this early in his career nor has he encountered any type of adversity. His accomplishments in MMA don’t align with the high regard some people hold him in, and for Brundage, that’s a perfect situation.
“For me, when I look at the fight, you’re talking about a guy with championship-level clout around his name,” Brundage said. “He’s got the clout of a UFC champion without the skills. His wrestling is obviously next level. His wrestling is championship level. But I wouldn’t say his jiu-jitsu is championship level. I wouldn’t say his striking is championship level. We don’t know if his chin is championship level. We don’t know if his cardio is. There’s a lot unanswered.
“So, for me, when they called for the fight, you’re talking about a championship-level fight, in terms of attention and clout, with a guy who doesn’t have those skills necessarily.”
Betting odds misleading?
Although Brundage sees a path to victory and potential opportunities to exploit his next opponent, the oddsmakers don’t hold the same belief in his chances of putting the first blemish on Nickal’s record.
Nickal opened as a gigantic -1450 betting favorite for UFC 300, but Brundage isn’t fazed by the odds. He understands it, in fact, but expects the fight will be far more competitive than the line indicates.
“I feel like that’s the lowest (favorite) he’s been so far, so I guess kudos to me,” Brundage said. “I don’t think it’s disrespectful. I think I haven’t done a great job necessarily of showing my full potential in the fight. I’m getting there. I’m figuring it out. I think when I get there, people will look back and be like, ‘Wow, these odds were crazy.’ But for what it is right now, I feel like the odds make sense. I’m very confident in my ability to win the fight and the things I bring to the table.
“I think it’s the smallest favorite he’s been, and I’ve been the underdog in every single one of my UFC fights except for one. So this will be my ninth fight, and I’ve been the underdog in eight of them, so I’m pretty comfortable in that role. I’m not worried about it. I feel like it makes the story even better for me.”
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The time is now
In the big picture, Brundage said there’s no better time to get this fight. Nickal has stated in multiple interviews over the past year that everyone at 185 pounds should be pushing to fight him as soon as possible because he’s only going to improve moving forward.
Brundage agrees with that sentiment. He thinks now is the most likely time Nickal will take a loss, and he relishes the chance to give it to him.
“Do I want to fight him now, or do I want to fight him five years from now when he has five years to figure out those things and to get to that championship level and be through the fire a little bit?” Brundage said. “Like no, I want to fight him now and be the first one to do that to him. Because I feel like all those things are advantages to me.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
The odds for a Bo Nickal win continue to skyrocket.
The odds for a [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] win continue to be skyrocket.
Nickal (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) takes on [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] (10-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) on April 13 at UFC 300 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
One of the most highly touted prospects in MMA, Nickal has lived up to the hype so far – and the oddsmakers expect him to continue his dominance with ease.
According to DraftKings, Nickal is a whopping -1450 favorite, meaning a $1450 bet would be needed on the standout wrestler to return $100 profit. Brundage is a +750 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the Factory X fighter would win $750.
Nickal, 27, has run through his competition so far. After two successful appearances on Dana White’s Contender Series, Nickal submitted Jamie Pickett at UFC 285, then scored a 38-second TKO of Val Woodburn at UFC 290. All five of his finishes have come in Round 1.
Brundage has been up and down to start his octagon tenure. After dropping three straight, the 29-year-old rebounded with back-to-back wins over Jacob Malkoun by disqualification, then a Performance of the Night slam knockout of Zachary Reese at UFC on ESPN 52 earlier this month.
Holly Holm’s longtime manager says Miesha Tate “wants nothing to do” with a rematch and they’ll request “someone tougher” at UFC 300.
Although the stars appear perfectly aligned for [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] and [autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag] to finally have their rematch, it doesn’t appear it’s going to happen.
With Holm (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) coming off a no contest result vs. Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC on ESPN 49 in July and Tate (20-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) recently removed from a third-round submission of Julia Avila at UFC on ESPN 52 in December, both women are in logical position to run it back.
Holm’s team, JacksonWink MMA in Albuquerque, posted on social media this week stating “The Preacher’s Daughter” was targeting a return to the octagon at UFC 300, which takes place April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and Tate was the ideal opponent.
According to Holm’s longtime manager Lenny Fresquez, however, the interest is not mutual, and he told MMA Junkie on Wednesday that Tate has a repeat history of declining a rematch with his client.
“She wants nothing to do with Holly,” Fresquez said. “She’s turned down the fight three times already. We are looking for someone tougher.”
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Tate, 37, defeated Holm, 42, by fifth-round submission at UFC 196 in March 2016 to capture the women’s bantamweight title. She was trailing in the fight, but managed to score a spectacular finish to claim gold and end Holm’s unbeaten run in MMA.
“Cupcake” told MMA Fighting this month that she was warm to the idea of a rematch with Holm at UFC 300.
“I think it’s a great time,” Tate said. “I think that sounds reasonable. I did I get a little bit of an injury leaving that fight. So I’ve got to get an MRI and check myself out just make sure. But it’s not very severe … I’ve been walking around, and I think I’m actually all right. I think I’ll be OK. So if I can do that, then I think Holly would be a fantastic one.”
Fresquez’s claims indicate Tate is not on the table for the next fight, though, but nothing has been determined with full certainty. The ideal timeline for Holm to fight would be at UFC 300, but her place on the card, nor an opponent, has been solidified.
“We are hopeful we will be on UFC 300,” Fresquez said. “No opponents have been brought up yet.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
Our “Spinning Back Clique” closes out 2023 by looking back at the biggest storylines of the year. Tune in!
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week, panelists Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Nolan King have a special 90-minute show with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the biggest stories of 2023:
The PFL’s purchase of Bellator
Francis Ngannou’s departure from the UFC and the aftermath
Jon Jones returns from more than three years off to claim the vacant UFC heavyweight title
The historic UFC 300 lineup has its first trio of fights as UFC CEO Dana White rolled out some matchups on Thursday.
The historic UFC 300 lineup has its first trio of fights as UFC CEO Dana White rolled out some matchups on Thursday.
After teasing a loaded lineup for the monumental April 13 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the opening slate of matchups features two former champions and one of the top undefeated prospects in the sport.
White took to social media and revealed former light heavyweight champ [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] (29-4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will take on [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), former bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) makes his featherweight debut vs. [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC), and rising middleweight star [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) clashes with [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] (10-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC).
Prochazka, No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie light heavyweight rankings, will attempt to rebound from his vacant title fight loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 295 in November, where he was stopped by second-round TKO. He’ll be charged with welcoming back No. 8-ranked Rakic, who hasn’t competed since he blew out his knee in an injury TKO loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC on ESPN 36 in May 2022.
Kattar, No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, will also try to rebound from a knee injury TKO loss against Arnold Allen in October 2022 when he welcomes No. 3-ranked bantamweight Sterling to a new division after he dropped the belt to Sean O’Malley by second-round TKO at UFC 292 in August.
Lastly, Nickal will try to add to his hype at 185-pounds following a 38-second knockout of Val Woodburn at UFC 290 in July when he meets Brundage, who is coming off a historic slam knockout at UFC on ESPN 52 this month.
The latest UFC 300 lineup now includes:
Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling
Cody Brundage vs. Bo Nickal
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
Dana White is teasing a ultra-stacked lineup for the historic UFC 300 event, but with many ranked names booked before April 13, who will actually fight?
Dana White is teasing a ultra-stacked lineup for the historic UFC 300 event, but with many ranked names booked before the April 13 card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, who will actually fight?
That was a topic of discussion of the latest edition of “Spinning Back Clique” with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and Brian “Goze” Garcia.
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Watch the video above, or check out this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.
Bo Nickal reveals he’s been slotted for the historic UFC 300 card in April, and it’ll be the next step in his plan to crack the rankings.
[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] is taking the longest layoff of his short MMA career in stride, but he already knows when he’ll be getting back to work.
Nickal (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is one of the top prospects in the game after entering the sport following a decorated collegiate wrestling career. He has already made waves with two UFC appearances that ended in a combined fight time of three minutes and 32 seconds, but his momentum has somewhat slowed.
The middleweight hasn’t competed since July, which for him, isn’t ideal. Given he’s only trained in MMA for less than three years, though, Nickal, 27, is trying to look at his career from a macro perspective, and he can’t discount the value of growth in the gym between fights.
“I always try to look at people and compare and see how they did things and compare the positives and negatives and apply those to what I’m doing,” Nickal said on a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “And there isn’t really that many people who’ve done what I’ve done. I’m 5-0 right now. I started training in August of 2021 in MMA.
“I can only fight so many guys before I move into the top 15 and top 10. I’ve only been training in MMA a little over two years, so, is that really the best move for me? Do I want to be fighting a top 15 in the world on two years of experience, or do I want to take control while I can, slow it down, learn, develop and get better? I’m still a prospect, so these type of things that are things that are on my mind. People that are close, coaches, have just helped me with. Because I want to get there. I have goals and a plan, but there’s also a better way to go about it that I’m trying to be considerate of and manage.”
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Nickal’s break from octagon won’t last too much longer, however. He told Rogan he originally wanted to fight at UFC 299 on March 9 in Miami, which is close to his training home of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla. But then the option of competing at the historic UFC 300 on April 13 materialized, and Nickal couldn’t pass on the opportunity.
“No opponent yet, but I’m going to fight at UFC 300,” Nickal said. “I’m fired up. That’s going to be fun. My goal for this next fight is whoever they give me. I’m still on my first contract, so I kind of want to fight this out and then see as it goes. I have two left, so it was four. I would like to fight this fight, then my next fight, I would like to get somebody right outside the rankings, right there in the mix. Ideally that would be like July and then – I’ll at least get one more (after that) next year. Maybe two. Then after that I would like to fight to obviously fight a ranked guy. So hopefully a ranked guy in my third fight of next year.”
If Nickal careful career planning plays out, he expects to be trouble for every 185-pound name on the UFC roster. His ultimate goal is to claim that UFC belt and be an all-time great, but he want to maximize the path there.
“There’s a lot of good guys, but I like where I’m at,” Nickal said. “I feel like I’m a tough matchup for any of these guys, and they all want to fight me now, because I’m the worst that I’ll be. You’ll hear some of these guys talk about me and they want to fight me now and I’m like, ‘That’s smart, because where I’m at right now is not where I’m going to be where I’m at in six months, where I’m going to be at in a year.'”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
Check out the UFC’s official schedule for the first quarter-plus of 2024 including new locations and venues.
With its 2023 campaign finished, the UFC turns its attention to the new year.
At a seasonal news conference Thursday at MGM Grand Garden Arena, the promotion announced its schedule for the first three-and-a-half months in a video highlight package.
The list confirmed many of the previously reported events, but it also revealed a handful of locations and venues that were not official prior.
Scroll below to see the UFC’s official early 2024 schedule:
