[Strickland moved up to eighth in the middleweights, next against former champion Lockehold]
UFC Vegas 33 was held on August 1 in UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Beijing time. In the headline mains, Uriah Hall lost to Sean Strickland by unanimous. In the latest UFC rankings, Strickland reached the top 10 in the middleweight with this win, and he moved up 3 places to eighth. Hall dropped two places to tenth, and "Golden Boy" Sabatzam dropped one place to rank 11th.
According to UFC Chairman Dana Bai, Strickland's next opponent (24-3) has been identified, and that is former UFC middleweight champion Luke Lockholder (16-5). The matchup arrangements were satisfactory for both sides, with Lockhold getting a chance to play against the top ten and Strickland having a chance to finish in the top five if he could win the game.
Lockhold has not played since being terminated by "Polish Sledgehammer" Jan Blačović TKO in the second leg of UFC 239. He defeated Chris Wiedemann in 194 to become a middleweight champion, but unfortunately lost to Michael Bispin in his first defensive battle. Because he has not competed for a long time, Lockhold currently has no ranking.
Strickland is currently in a five-game winning streak and, although he has been on a two-year break from a serious motorcycle accident, has been in pretty good shape since his comeback.
November 13: "God bless" Holloway vs Yar Rodriguez
According to the latest statement of UFC Chairman Dana Bai, the UFC fighting night on November 13 local time determined the headline home match, that is, the current number one "God Bless" Max Holloway (22-6 MMA, 18-6 UFC) against the third-ranked Yar Rodriguez (13-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC). The match was originally scheduled to be played on July 17, but Holloway withdrew due to injury and the match was cancelled.
The 29-year-old "God bless" Holloway's most recent match was a unanimous victory over calvin Keital, currently ranked fifth, in January. Prior to that, he had lost twice against the current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovsky.
Yar, 28, has not played since his victory over Jeremy Stephens in October 2019, and he finished 2-1 with no result after losing to "squirrel" Frankie Edgar in 2017.
[Casey Kenny plans to knock down Song Yadong, then TKO wins]
Casey Kenny will play the first match of the UFC 265 home match on August 8, Beijing time, against China's Song Yadong. Kenny's last match was a divisive defeat to "Dance King" Dominic Cruz at UFC 259 in March, after holding up a three-game winning streak, including a victory over China's Alaten Heli. Kenny said, "I like to schedule the game tighter, but after losing the last game, I decided to take a break and plan to play 3-4 games this year. ”
"Song Yadong and I played on the same card in March, and we both lost the game that night, and I thought there was going to be a fight between us. We're all in the 15th-20th ranks of the chicks, so we're a good match. I got some guidance from Keller-Phillips and I had all the information about Song Yadong. I like to knock down my opponent and hope to knock Down Song Yadong earlier and end him in the second or third round. ”
"Winning will get me back on track, my ultimate goal is to be a champion, and beating Song Yadong won't put me in the top 15, but it will allow me to get a top 15 opponent in the next game."
["Mouth Cannon" Connor will attend a wheelchair boxing match in a special capacity, but will not play]
Previously, it was reported that Connor McGregor, a "mouth cannon" with fractures of the fibula and tibia of his left leg, would play in a wheelchair boxing match in Galway, Ireland, on September 11, local time, against comedian Alfrant. All proceeds from this competition will be donated to the Irish Wheelchair Association. "Mouth Cannon" said today, "I will appear that night in some special capacity, but will not participate in the competition." But that night's game was still exciting, as comedian Stivo Timothy would play against Olympic boxer Paddy Barnes. ”
On the advice of the attending physician and physiotherapist, Connor will recuperate until the end of the year. "It was too early for me to race in September, I was still recovering and my doctor and medical team advised me not to race. I reckon I won't be back until late October at the earliest, maybe November or December, but it's hard to say exactly when I'll recover. ”
November 20: Calderwood vs Grasso
The UFC Fighting Night match on November 20 local time confirmed a high-level showdown in the women's flyweight, and Joanne Caldwood (15-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC), currently ranked sixth in the flyweight, will face Alex Grasso (13-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in tenth place. The game is expected to take place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Caldwood just lost to Lauren Murphy by disagreement at UFC 263 in June. She has lost and lost in half of her last six matches and missed the championship challenge twice.
Grasso played two straight wins after being promoted to flyweight in 2020, winning against Messi Barber and South Korea's Kim Ji-yeon in a unanimous decision.
UFC 267: Doss Anjoz vs Makhachev
On October 30, local time, UFC 267 will be held at Abu Dhabi Fighting Island to add a lightweight high-ranking showdown, and the former lightweight champion currently ranked seventh Rafael Dos Anjos will face off against fifth-ranked Islam Makhachev. The two players have played each other twice in 2020, first with Anjos retiring in October due to COVID-19 and then withdrew from the tournament in November with Makhachev injured.
Makhachev currently holds an eight-game winning streak, his most recent game being a victory over Tiago Moises in his first headline home match. Anjos has lost and lost his last four games in half, and after returning to lightweight, he defeated Paul Field, who came off the bench, by a divisive decision.
The headline main event of UFC 257 was a heavyweight championship battle, with "Polish Sledgehammer" Jan Bračevic taking on the challenge of veteran Glover Teixeira. China's Li Jingliang will also play against "Wolf King" Kanzat Chimayev.
[October 23: Paul Costa vs Marvin Vittori]
Two former UFC middleweight champion challengers will face off in October. Currently second in the middleweight, Paul Costa (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) will face fourth-placed Marvin Vitoli (17-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) in the headlines of the Fighting Night Headlines on October 23, local time. The venue for this tournament has not yet been determined.
Costa, 30, was defeated by current champion "Black Dragon" Isriel Adisaya in the UFC 253 Headlines Main Tournament last October, after not playing in the tournament and withdrawing from several scheduled matches.
The 27-year-old, who previously maintained a five-game winning streak, was defeated by a unanimous five-legged tie against Adisaya in the UFC 263 headline main match in June.
["Flower Neck" Gabrant made his Weltweight debut against Kay Carla Francis]
Former UFC wean champion "Flower Neck" Cody Gabrant (12-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) hopes to regain its former glory by relegating to flyweight. He will face Kay Carla Francis (22-9 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the night of the fight on December 11, local time, with both sides verbally agreeing to the match. At present, the location and name of the competition have not been determined.
After 11 consecutive wins, the 30-year-old "Flower Neck" Gabrant has won only one of the last five matches, and that was in the UFC 250 match in June 2020, koing veteran Raphael Assunzan. Gabrand then planned to lower his weight to the flyweight to challenge the then champion "hairdresser" Dwiesen Figueretto, but unfortunately he contracted the new crown and re-entered the chickweight, resulting in a unanimous defeat against Rob Fonter in May.
Carla Francis, 28, has won and lost in the last five matches, most recently beating currently eighth-placed Rogerio Portorian at UFC 259 in March.