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This edition already went out on September 21, 2023. Subscribe to never miss an edition.

Edition 54September 21, 2023

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1
The UFC announced 3 major Championship fights to close out 2023

UFC 295: Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira for the vacant Light Heavyweight title will serve as the co-main event to Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden. This is the perfect matchup from a stylistic point of view, as both fighters are elite strikers.

UFC 296: Leon Edwards will defend his Welterweight title against Colby Covington in the final UFC PPV of the year, while Alexandre Pantoja defends his Flyweight title against Brandon Royval. The final two UFC PPVs of the year will both have two Championship fights on the line.

2
Nevada State Athletic Commission held a special 10-8 training session for all licensed judges

Why? The meeting was held after the controversial 10-8 score from Mike Bell in the 5th round in favor of Alexa Grasso against Valentina Shevchenko. Had Bell not scored it a 10-8, Valentina Shevchenko would be the UFC Flyweight Champion.

The meeting: Commissioner Jeff Mullen held the meeting and invited media members to sit in on the discussion of what warrants a 10-8 round. Every round with a 10-8 score from Noche UFC was re-watched, with each individual in the meeting tasked to score each round in a poll followed by discussion anonymously. They all scored the 5th round a 10-9 for Grasso.

3
Noche UFC was the most watched UFC Fight Night of all time

The numbers: Dana White confirmed that the event received 1.1 million unique viewers on ESPN+, making it the most-watched UFC Fight Night card in history on ESPN. ** The future:** The event was so successful that Dana White stated that he'll be running a Mexican-themed event on every Mexican Independence Day weekend moving forward for as long as he's in control of the UFC.

4
The latest on the PFL/Bellator acquisition

Current situation: Ariel Helwani confirmed this week that both parties are talking, and the deal is not dead. He expects a resolution to be made by January 1, 2024.

How things would look: Rumors came out this week that the PFL and Bellator would continue to operate under separate brands if an acquisition happens. This is unlikely, as the PFL wants to be a superpower in combat sports, which involves having a much more extensive roster.

5
Sean O'Malley is open to fighting at Featherweight

The condition: O'Malley is open to moving up, but as long as Alexander Volkanovski is not the Featherweight Champion. He has a lot of respect for Volkanovski and knows it would be a very difficult fight for him.

Featherweight frame: O'Malley is taller than most of the Featherweight division, including Alex Volkanovski, Ilia Topuria, Arnold Allen, and Brian Ortega. He's the same height as Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez.

6
PFL announces their 2023 Championship

The fights: The main card will feature all 6 Championship fights along with a showcase bout featuring the return of Kayla Harrison against former Bellator Champion Julia Budd. It's a 7 fight main card.

It's a PPV: Like the 2022 Championship event, the 2023 Championship card will be on PPV through ESPN+. As it stands, this is the last event of the PFL/ESPN partnership.

7
Israel Adesanya breaks silence after Sean Strickland fight

What he said: Adesanya revealed to his brother on his YouTube channel that he felt like he was having a bad dream in there and couldn’t get into a rhythm. After Dricus du Plesis backed out of the fight, and Strickland was announced as the new opponent, Adesanya lost his venom.

His return: He still doesn’t know when he’s going to come back and fight.

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OverUnder
All of your weekly MMA updates in one place.
Keeping up to date with combat sports news can take up a lot of time, so we’re simplifying the process by bringing the most important stories directly to you. We read the internet all week and then summarize what you need to know in 3-4 minutes.
Enter your email to sign up for the OverUnder newsletter. The first email newsletter in MMA.
By subscribing, you will receive a weekly MMA newsletter from Verdict MMA. You can unsubscribe at any time.