Issue 212
December 2024
Ray Klerck jumps into the Fighters Only wayback-when machine to recap the best of mixed martial arts in December 2024.
Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos Official For UFC 311 In California
Another big attraction has been confirmed for UFC 311 on January 18 in California which serves as the first big event from the MMA leader in 2025.
In a great match-up at 135-pounds, undefeated rising star Payton Talbott will face his toughest test to date in Raoni Barcelos.
The fight was initially reported by MMA Fighting before it was officially confirmed by the UFC.
9-0 Talbott has been one of the breakout stars of 2024 following a Contender Series win in August of last year.
He followed that up with a finish over Nick Aguirre on his Octagon debut but it's this year where he has really emerged as one of the most exciting prospects in the sport.
The 26-year old has earned consecutive performance bonuses by dominating and stopping Cameron Saaiman in March and finishing Yanis Ghemmouri in just 19 seconds in June.
37-year old Barcelos has got eight more Octagon appearances than his opponent and far more pro experience as a seasoned bantamweight contender.
In his last outing, the Brazilian submitted Cristian Quiñonez to bounce back from consecutive defeats to Umar Nurmagomedov and Kyler Phillips.
Barcelos tends to only lose to opponents that go on to compete in and around the top 15 so this will be an excellent acid test for the surging Talbott.
The following ten fights have been confirmed for the card meaning that we're only a few more match-ups away from knowing the full line-up for the first PPV card of 2025:
Jamahal Hill vs. Jiri Prochazka
Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder
Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac
Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
Muin Gafurov vs. Rinya Nakamura
Bogdan Guskov vs. Johnny Walker
Ailin Perez vs. Karol Rosa
Sedriques Dumas vs. Zach Reese
Raoni Barcelos vs. Payton Talbott
Bernardo Sopaj vs. Ricky Turcios
Leon Edwards Announces That He Will Return To Headline In London On March 22
Leon Edwards has announced that he will return to headline the UFC's upcoming return to the O2 Arena in London on March 22.
The Octagon is back in the capital next year for what has become a regular fixture of the MMA leader's first quarter calendar.
Edwards has not fought since UFC 304 this past July where he lost his welterweight title to Belal Muhammad in the main event.
"Rocky" won the 170-pound title when he produced arguably the greatest comeback in UFC history to stop Kamaru Usman in the fifth round at UFC 278.
He then went on to defend the title twice in a rematch with Usman and a fight with Colby Covington last December before coming up short in a rematch with Muhammad in Manchester.
During the DAZN broadcast of the Sunny Edwards vs. Galal Yafai card on Saturday night, Edwards said that his return will be the main event in London but he did not mention any potential opponents.
Edwards has headlined the O2 Arena once before in his trilogy fight with Usman at UFC 286 where he defended the title on home soil.
He was previously scheduled to compete in the main event at 2020's London card against Tyron Woodley but the event was cancelled due to COVID-19.
With the Brit still occupying the #1-ranking, it's likely that he'll be facing another one of the division's top contenders.
Several big welterweight match-ups are coming up in the next few weeks with Shavkat Rakhmonov facing Ian Machado Garry and Colby Covington returning to take on Joaquin Buckley.
The likes of Sean Brady and Jack Della Maddalena are other potential fights that could be of interest to Edwards.
Umar Nurmagomedov Reveals Arm Injury That Kept Him Out Of Fighting In January
UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov has recently revealed why January was not an option for his return despite initial reports.
The undefeated contender at 135-pounds has won six in a row inside the Octagon since debuting in 2021 as a highly touted prospect.
In August, he earned his biggest win to date by beating Cory Sandhagen in the main event in Abu Dhabi, living up to his potential as the cousin of the great Khabib Nurmagomedov.
After Merab Dvalishvili defeated Sean O'Malley at UFC 306 to become the new champion, it looked likely that his first challenger would be Nurmagomedov which was addressed in his post-fight interview at Sphere.
Dvalishvili didn't seem entirely sold on the idea at first which potentially opened up the opportunity for a rematch with Petr Yan instead after he defeated Deiveson Figueiredo in Macau with a fantastic performance.
There had since been reports that the UFC was targeting a fight between Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong for UFC 311 in January.
Yadong lost a unanimous decision to Yan last time out at UFC 299 in March following back-to-back wins.
The Russian has now clarified on social media that an arm injury stopped him from competing in California at the first PPV card of 2025.
"I had a small arm fracture and couldn't perform in January. My arm is fine now, and I'm open to any offers. Anyone, Anywhere!!"
It still remains unclear how the bantamweight title picture will play out in the coming months but with rematches against the likes of Yan and O'Malley also being options for Dvalishvili, there's no guarantee that Nurmagomedov will be next.
Makhachev vs Tsarukyan & Dvalishvili vs Nurmagomedov Headline UFC 311
We have our headliners for the first UFC PPV of 2025 and to the surprise of a lot of fans, we've got two title fights topping the bill at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.
It has been known for some time that the promotion was targeting the next lightweight title defence from Islam Makhachev for the main event of this card on January 18.
Number one contender Arman Tsarukyan was always going to be next for the champion following his win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in April but several factors delayed the fight until 2025.
In 2019, Tsarukyan made his short notice UFC debut against Makhachev and gave the pound-for-pound number one a tough test which set up an inevitable rematch down the line.
With both men now occupying the two top spots at 155-pounds, it's time to run it back in a fight that has got the hardcore fans incredibly excited.
What a lot of fight fans didn't know is that Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2 wouldn't be the only title fight that is set to kick off 2025.
It's set to be a busy night for Khabib Nurmagomedov and the rest of his team because they now have back-to-back title fights to attend to.
Before his long-time training partner is the last man to make the walk in California, it will be Khabib's cousin that will look to bring yet another world title back to their camp.
In the co-main event, Merab Dvalishvili will put the bantamweight title on the line against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.
Between them, these two grappling specialists have won 17 consecutive UFC fights with Dvalishvili capping off his incredible win streak by beating Sean O'Malley in September to become the champion.
Just one month prior, Nurmagomedov earned his biggest win to date when he defeated Cory Sandhagen over five rounds.
There has been some debate in recent months as to whether Dvalishvili could end up fighting someone else because he didn't seem overly sold on the idea of Nurmagomedov as the next challenger because he only has one win over a ranked opponent.
However, as Dana White said during his announcement of these fights, Dvalishvili had enough of being disrespected so he arrived into the UFC offices and called for this fight to happen as soon as possible.
16th Annual World MMA Awards 2024 Full Results
The 16th annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards took place in Las Vegas at The Theater at Virgin Hotels last night.
Thursday, December 5th was another incredible night of celebration for the sport of mixed martial arts and all of the people that dedicate their lives to it.
The Charles "Mask" Lewis Fighter of the Year award went to the UFC's light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira.
"Poatan" won four fights (with three finishes) in the nomination period of July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, beating three former champions in Jan Błachowicz, Jiří Procházka and Jamahal Hill.
Female Fighter of the Year was awarded to the UFC's strawweight champion, Zhang Weili, who defended her title via two unanimous decision victories.
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year went to the UFC's interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall whilst at middleweight, 185-pound titleholder Dricus Du Plessis took home the International Fighter of the Year.
Fight of the Year and Knockout of the Year both went to Max Holloway's incredible battle with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 which he ended with a buzzer-beater knockout to win the BMF title.
Diego Lopes may have missed out on the Breakthrough award but he did claim the Submission of the Year for his triangle armbar finish over Gavin Tucker in August of 2023.
England's Aspinall secured a second trophy for Comeback of the Year after coming back from his devastating injury to win gold at UFC 295 in New York.
Former middleweight champion Sean Strickland picked up the Upset of the Year for his one-sided performance against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.
Mark Coleman, a man that the entire sport has rallied around in recent times, deservedly claimed the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Fighting Spirit Award for the tremendous bravery he showed when rescuing his family and loved ones from a burning building.
Check out the rest of the results listed below:
Commentator of the Year - Jon Anik
Analyst of the Year - Michael Bisping
Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year - Plinio Cruz
Trainer of the Year - Ian Larios
Gym of the Year - The Fighting Nerds
Referee of the Year - Herb Dean
Ringcard Girl of the Year - Luciana Andrade
Leading Man - Dana White
Best Promotion - UFC
Personality of the Year - Nina-Marie Danielle
Best MMA Programming - Dana White's Contender Series
MMA Media Source of the Year - ESPN
MMA Journalist of the Year - Ariel Helwani
Two Huge Title Fights Announced For UFC 312 In Sydney, Australia
The Octagon is set to return to Australia on February 9 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney next year for the second PPV card of 2025.
During the main card broadcast for UFC 310, two huge title fights were announced for the headline spots of UFC 312.
In the main event, South Africa's Dricus Du Plessis will put the middleweight title on the line in a rematch with Sean Strickland.
We first saw this match-up at UFC 297 in January where Du Plessis won a split decision to take the title from Strickland in his first title defence.
Since then, both men have gone away and secured wins with Strickland bouncing back against Paulo Costa and "Stillknocks" cementing his reign by submitting Israel Adesanya.
The co-main event in Sydney will finally see a long awaited clash take place in the strawweight division.
Zhang Weili has been totally dominant since winning the belt back in November of 2022, producing consecutive title defences against Amanda Lemos and Yan Xiaonan.
If there's one contender that fight fans believe might be able to test the champion it's the #1-ranked Tatiana Suarez.
The undefeated 115-pounder has long been considered to be one of the best in the world but injuries have significantly delayed her progress.
Suarez was previously booked to face Virna Jandiroba at UFC 310 on December 7 but her challenging Zhang for the title is something that people have wanted to see for a long time.
With four title fights already locked in for 2025, it looks like the UFC is getting off to a strong start in the first quarter of the new year.
UFC 310 Results: Pantoja Ends 2024 On Top, Rakhmonov Remains Undefeated
The final PPV card from the MMA leader this year is in the books with UFC 310 taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on December 7.
In the last title fight of 2024, Alexandre Pantoja produced his third flyweight title defence in perhaps his best performance to date.
The Brazilian champion was tasked with welcoming Japanese star and former RIZIN champion Kai Asakura to the Octagon.
Despite Asakura having some success, Pantoja stayed a step ahead and in the second round, he produced a remarkable back take to get the rear-naked choke finish.
In the co-main event, Shavkat Rakhmonov came out on top in the battle of the undefeated welterweights after he went to the scorecards for the first time.
Ian Machado Garry put up a good fight but in the end, it was the number one contender who cemented his status as the next in line.
Ciryl Gane also came out on top in a closely contested rematch with Alexander Volkov in a fight that many believed the Russian did enough to win.
The main card opened with a pair of finishes from Bryce Mitchell who became the first man to stop Kron Gracie and Dooho Choi who produced a career-best display against Nate Landwehr.
There were plenty of highlights throughout the rest of the card with Vicente Luque closing the show early with a sub-minute win over Themba Gorimbo.
Highly ranked bantamweight contenders Movsar Evloev and Aljamain Sterling put on a great grappling-heavy contest which saw the Russian remain undefeated.
Joshua Van, Michael Chiesa, Chase Hooper and Kennedy Nzechukwu all looked at their very best in consecutive fights to open the card.
We also potentially saw the last fights from two UFC staples as Chris Weidman and Anthony Smith suffered difficult defeats to Eryk Anders and Dominick Reyes.
Check out the full results listed below:
Main Card:
Flyweight Championship Main Event: Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Asakura via submission: R2, 2.05
Welterweight Co-Main Event: Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Ian Garry via unanimous decision (48-47×3)
Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane def. Alexander Volkov via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
Featherweight: Bryce Mitchell def. Kron Gracie via KO: R3, 0.39
Featherweight: Dooho Choi def. Nate Landwehr via TKO: R3, 3.21
Preliminary Card:
Light Heavyweight: Dominick Reyes def. Anthony Smith via TKO: R2, 4.46
Welterweight: Vicente Luque def. Themba Gorimbo via submission: R1, 0.52
Featherweight: Movsar Evloev def. Aljamain Sterling via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
Welterweight: Bryan Battle def. Randy Brown via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
Early Preliminary Card:
Catchweight (195lbs): Eryk Anders def. Chris Weidman via TKO: R2, 4.51
Flyweight: Joshua Van def. Cody Durden via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
Welterweight: Michael Chiesa def. Max Griffin via submission: R3, 1:53
Lightweight: Chase Hooper def. Clay Guida via submission: R1, 3.41
Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Lukasz Brzeski via TKO: R1, 4.51
Demetrious Johnson Gives Instant Reaction To Pantoja Calling Him Out: "Champ Ain't Coming Back"
In his post-fight interview at UFC 310, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja produced a surprising call-out.
The Brazilian has already beaten many of the top contenders in his division and this past weekend in Las Vegas, he added newcomer Kai Asakura to that list.
In his closing statement at the T-Mobile Arena, Pantoja said the name of Demetrious Johnson, telling the former flyweight king that if he wants to come out of retirement to prove he's still the best, they can make it happen.
For a video on his YouTube channel, "Mighty Mouse" recorded his reactions to the fights and as a result, this was his immediate response to hearing Pantoja call his name:
"Why would I do that? Boys, boys. The bank account is sitting nice and good, 38-years old, 11 consecutive title defences. Champ ain't coming back."
Johnson announced his retirement at ONE 168 in September where he vacated the ONE flyweight world championship after not fighting for over a year.
The UFC recordholder wanted to give himself 12 months to see if he would miss competing but when he didn't, he knew it was the right time to end his MMA career for good.
Later on in the video, Johnson explained his reaction in further detail.
“When Alex Pantoja called me out, everyone’s blowing me up: ‘What do you think?’ I was like, ‘Guys, I’m retired. I have no interest to fight anymore,'” Johnson said. “I’m so happy for Pantoja. I’m happy he got his third title defense. I’ve always thought he was an amazing athlete. He’s the greatest flyweight in the world right now. …
“I’m not the best flyweight in the world anymore. My black ass is retired, and I’m happily retired. I ain’t gonna be no m************ Jose Aldo. I ain’t gonna be no m************ Donald Cerrone coming back to fight. There ain’t no point coming back to fight.”
PFL Europe 4 Championships Preview: Four New Winners To Be Crowned
On December 14 at the LDLC Arena in Lyon, the second season of PFL Europe comes to an end.
Four new champions will be crowned in the bantamweight, lightweight, welterweight and women's featherweight divisions.
In a fight that wasn't even possible until the semi-finals this past September, Lewis McGrillen will look to produce a remarkable win at 135-pounds when he takes on Alexander Luster.
After suffering the first loss of his pro career last December, McGrillen rebounded with a win over Matiss Zaharovs in June.
When the opportunity arrived, the knockout artist stepped into the semi-finals to take on Dean Garnett who had gone through multiple opponents already.
The two men put on a fight of the year contender that ended with McGrillen faceplanting his former training partner.
He will now face Germany's Luster who has blitzed through the opposition with back-to-back first round rear-naked choke finishes.
At lightweight, the undefeated Jakub Kaszuba will look to become PFL Europe's first ever two-time champion when he takes on Connor Hughes.
Poland's Kaszuba has won all five of his fights in the promotion, stopping John Mitchell last year to win the 155-pound title with victories over Kane Mousah and Daniele Scatizzi bringing him back to the finals.
After suffering his first loss in a shock upset against Dylan Tuke last year, Hughes has bounced back in 2024.
In the welterweight division, it's Albania vs Italy as Florim Zendeli takes on Daniele Miceli with both men beating tough opposition in Jack Grant and Ibrahima Mané to advance through the semi-finals.
Finally, at women's flyweight, top seed Shanelle Dyer was forced to withdraw from the finals due to an injury after being the clear frontrunner this season.
Last year's finalist and Dyer's semi-final opponent, Valentina Scatizzi, will step into her place to try and become the first woman to defeat Poland's Paulina Wiśniewska.
The 26-year old may only be four fights into her pro career with a with an extensive amateur background which includes multiple IMAAF tournaments, she's been singled out as one to watch for some time.
Wales' Jack Shore Announces Retirement From MMA At 29
Wales' Jack Shore has announced that at 29-years old, he will be retiring from MMA after fighting out his UFC contract.
"Tank" took to Instagram to explain his decision to walk away from the pursuit that he has dedicated the majority of his life to up to this point.
Having made his pro debut back in 2016, Shore amassed a record of 17-3 during his eight active years and will go down as one of the best talents that the UK has produced.
Training under his father, Richard Shore, Jack would build a record of 10-0 fighting mostly under the Cage Warriors banner where he was the bantamweight champion.
From here, he signed to the UFC and put together a five-fight win streak at 135-pounds before suffering the first loss of his career in 2022.
Shore then decided to move up to featherweight where he would fight three more times before coming to the decision that it was time to take a step back.
He wrote on Instagram that though he could have chose to re-sign with the UFC after his contract came to an end, he has come to realise in recent months that training and competing are no longer his sole priority.
"For the entirety of my 20’s fighting and training was my life and sole focus, however the last few weeks/months have showed this is no longer the case. And I always promised myself when I was mentality checked out I would retire from the sport rather than the sport retire me. Injures have caught up with me after a lifetime in the sport. I’m leaving with my mental in check, good health, financially stable and am fully ready to move onto the future."
Shore went on to thank the UFC, his fiancé Kaydie, his young son Fraser, the rest of his family and the other coaches that helped him turn a dream into reality.
"Tank" has been an incredible representative of UK MMA and the growing Welsh scene so whilst the fans are sad to see him go, it's great that he's leaving on his own terms.
Fighters Only wishes Jack Shore the very best in his future endeavours and we look forward to seeing him standing alongside the next generation of Welsh talent that will follow in his footsteps.
Muhammad Mokaev Submits Joevincent So In MMA Return At BRAVE CF 91
Muhammad Mokaev got his hand raised in his MMA return at BRAVE CF 91 on Friday night.
The former UFC flyweight contender made a triumphant return to his former promotion by submitting Joevincent So in the first round.
Just days out from the first of the promotion's back-to-back events in Bahrain, Mokaev's original opponent withdrew.
South Africa's Luthando Biko suffered an injury and in his place, So stepped in to take on "The Punisher" on December 13.
After starting the fight standing, Mokaev then looked to secure a single leg takedown where his dominant wrestling took over.
The undefeated 24-year old quickly took top position and from there, he secured a D'Arce choke less than two minutes in.
With this win, Mokaev improved to 13-0 with seven wins via submission after producing his first finish since he submitted Tim Elliott in October of 2023.
Having won seven consecutive fights in the UFC, he has already delivered on his huge potential by proving himself to be one of the best flyweights in the world at such an early stage of his career.
Mokaev departed the UFC following his win over Manel Kape at UFC 304 in July where it was announced after the event that the promotion would not be re-signing him after his contract had expired.
Despite the somewhat rocky year that he has gone through in 2024, he's still just as motivated as ever to prove that he's the best in the world at 125-pounds.
“I’m ready for everyone in this division,” Mokaev said after the finish. “I will be pound-for-pound and best flyweight in the world. They can deny, but they can’t hide. And I’m coming for everyone on the 125 division. I’m the best flyweight in the world.”
Cage Warriors Bantamweight Champion Kennedy Freeman Signs To The UFC
Cage Warriors bantamweight champion Kennedy Freeman has announced via social media that she has signed to the UFC.
With her father, Ian Freeman, being the first Brit to compete inside the Octagon, she will now look to follow in the footsteps of her own family.
Freeman recently claimed CW gold after stopping Mafalda Carmona at CW 181 in Newcastle to win the vacant bantamweight title.
After going 3-0 in 2018, Freeman was inactive for five years before she returned in 2023 and looked to make up for lost time.
She has now accumulated a perfect 6-0 record with four finishes, leading "The Machine 2.0" to be snapped up by the MMA leader after proving her status as one of the best in Europe right now.
Freeman posted the news on her Instagram alongside the following caption:
"We did it guys… UFC CONTRACT SIGNED! What an unbelievable year 2024 has been. Thankyou to everyone who has been involved in the last 12 months of been back in this sport. Next year is going to be crazy. Life long goal achieved. LFG BABYYYY"
Following her title winning performance against Carmona, she spoke about being ready for the next phase of her career in a post-fight interview with Cage Warriors.
Freeman admitted that though she had been offered some big opportunities in the past, she didn't believe that she was ready for them back then but after putting on a dominant performance over four rounds, it was time to pull the trigger.
It isn't yet known when or where she will make her Octagon debut but one upcoming date on the schedule stands out from the rest.
On March 22, the UFC returns to the O2 Arena in London, England and there's nowhere better than home soil to make the walk for the first time.
Two Huge Middleweight Clashes Announced For UFC's Return To Saudi Arabia
The UFC has announced a pair of middleweight contests for their upcoming return to Saudi Arabia next year.
In Riyadh on February 1, the former two-time middleweight king Israel Adesanya returns to the Octagon for his first non-title fight since 2019.
"The Last Stylebender" was last in action at UFC 305 in August where he challenged Dricus Du Plessis for the 185-pound title.
After suffering the first submission loss of his career, Adesanya will now look to get back in the win column by facing off with one of the few top middleweight contenders that he is yet to compete against.
Nassourdine Imavov has climbed to the #5 ranking spot in the division following three consecutive wins over Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier and Brendan Allen.
The Frenchman will now look to secure the biggest win of his career by handing Adesanya his third consecutive loss.
In another dynamite match-up at 185-pounds, the undefeated Shara Magomedov will look to put his elite striking to the test against another absolute sniper on the feet.
"Bullet" has won four in a row since debuting in the UFC last year and making an immediate impact.
His latest performance came at UFC 308 in October where he delivered one of the best knockouts of the year by stopping Armen Petrosyan with a double spinning backfist.
As he looks to go 5-0, he will welcome Michael "Venom" Page to the middleweight division after the knockout artist made the switch over from Bellator earlier this year.
Page has gone 1-1 inside the Octagon with a loss to Ian Machado Garry last time out following a debut win against Kevin Holland in March.
As one of the most unique strikers in the sport, it will now be on Magomedov to solve a puzzle that few have managed to crack without taking the fight to the floor.
