NAC suspends, fines Miles Johns for positive DHMCT test

UFC bantamweight Miles Johns will be on the shelf until February thanks to a suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission.

UFC bantamweight [autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag] will be on the shelf until February thanks to a suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission.

The NAC has suspended Johns for what will amount to 4.5 months from the date of his most recent fight and fined him 10 percent of his purse from a September win over Dan Argueta – $2,300. Johns’ suspension and fine were approved at the NAC’s Tuesday meeting in Las Vegas. Johns will be eligible to return Feb. 6.

Johns was temporarily suspended in November for a positive test in September for the M3 metabolite DHMCT (Dehydrochloromethyltestosterone), an anabolic steroid. Johns posted on social media to say he had three negative tests for the metabolite and one positive at a low level, indicating a tainted supplement.

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Helping his case, too, was a recent change by the commission in allowable thresholds for DHMCT.

Johns’ (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) unanimous decision win over Argueta came at UFC Fight Night 228 on Sept. 23 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It was his first fight in 10 months, second straight win, and fourth win in five fights.

Johns also ran afoul of the NAC in April 2022 with a positive test for Adderall. That got him a six-month suspension and fine, though that instance was not mentioned during Tuesday’s meeting.

MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for September: Alexander Volkov secures rare choke

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from September 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from September 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for September.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

Nominees

MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for September: Cedric Doumbe’s nine-second stunner

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from September 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from September 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for September.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

Nominees

Video: Should Mateusz Gamrot get marquee UFC lightweight fight after injury TKO win?

What should’ve been a signature win for Mateusz Gamrot’s resume was dimmed after Rafael Fiziev tore his ACL in their UFC main event.

What could’ve been a signature win for [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag]’s resume was dimmed at UFC Fight Night 228 after a knee injury for Rafael Fiziev prematurely halted their main event.

Fiziev (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) tore his ACL on a kick attempt in the second round of the lightweight headliner this past weekend at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Gamrot (23-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was awarded the victory by TKO, but many in the MMA community refused to give him full credit because of how the result unfolded.

Ultimately, Gamrot has the victory on his record, and has won six of his past seven inside the octagon. That should warrant a big name at 155 pounds, but there’s no clear direction for him to take going forward.

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So, how should the promotion and divisional matchmaker Sean Shelby proceed? That was a topic of discussion on this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” with panelists Matthew Wells, Nolan King and Danny Segura joining host Mike Bohn to give their takes on the situation.

Watch the video above or the full episode of this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” below.

 

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Sept. 26: Bryce Mitchell reaches top 10

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, which saw key moves at lightweight and featherweight.

UFC Fight Night 228 in Las Vegas was the source of a few moves in this week’s rankings update.

In the main event, [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] picked up a win over Rafael Fiziev, albeit an anticlimactic one by TKO due to injury. Regardless, a win is a win, and Gamrot climbs to No. 7, taking Fiziev’s old spot.

In the co-feature, Bryce Mitchell scored a unanimous decision win over Dan Ige. Mitchell entered the bout at No. 12, and now settles into his new ranking at the No. 10 slot.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

Miles Johns proud of grit shown in action-heavy win over Dan Argueta at UFC Fight Night 228

Miles Johns beat Dan Argueta at UFC Fight Night 228 for his fourth win in five fights.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag] beat Dan Argueta with a unanimous decision Saturday to close out the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 228 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Johns, who won for the fourth time in five fights.

Montserrat Rendon reacts to judge Chris Leben’s score in her win at UFC Fight Night 228

Montserrat Rendon stayed unbeaten with her third split decision win in four fights at UFC Fight Night 228.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Montserrat Rendon[/autotag] beat Tamires Vidal with a split decision Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 228 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Rendon, who stayed unbeaten with her third split decision win in four fights.

Mizuki Inoue unhappy with UFC win over Hannah Goldy after three-year layoff

Mizuki Inoue beat Hannah Goldy and returned from a three-year layoff for her first win since August 2019 at UFC Fight Night 228.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Mizuki Inoue[/autotag] beat Hannah Goldy with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 228 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Inoue, who returned from a three-year layoff for her first win since August 2019.

Rafael Fiziev says he suffered torn ACL in UFC Fight Night 228 loss to Mateusz Gamrot

It’ll be a while before UFC lightweight standout Rafael Fiziev is back in the octagon.

It’ll be a while before UFC lightweight standout [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag] is back in the octagon.

In a video posted to Instagram on Monday, Fiziev told his followers that he tore his ACL during his second-round injury TKO loss to Mateusz Gamrot in the UFC Fight Night 228 headliner. Fiziev didn’t provide a timetable for his return; a typical recovery from a torn ACL is at least eight months.

“I will be back,” Fiziev said. “I’m just sad because I had a very great camp, and I was ready to show my best skills. And I’m sad because it happened only in the second round. … We have plans, but God has different plans. His plan is always the best.”

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Fiziev (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) suffered the injury on his plant (left) leg as he threw a body kick with his right that was blocked by Gamrot. Fiziev immediately fell to the canvas in pain, allowing Gamrot to rush him with punches that forced referee Herb Dean to stop the fight at the 2:03 mark of Round 2.

It was an unfortunate way for Fiziev to pick up his second consecutive defeat following a March loss to Justin Gaethje by majority decision at UFC 286. Prior to his two losses this year, Fiziev was on a six-fight winning streak that dated back to October 2019.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.

UFC Fight Night 228 reactions: Winning and losing fighters on social media

UFC Fight Night 228 winners and losers react on social media outlets such as X, Instagram and Facebook.

Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums, and – perhaps most importantly – social-media platforms.

Fighters interact with fans, each other and many more through the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, which helps outsiders get a deeper look into the minds of the athletes.

Following Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 228 in Las Vegas, several of the winning and losing fighters, along with their coaches, training partners or family members, took to social media to react to the event or share a message with supporters.

Check out some of those reactions.

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The defeated