Welcome to the notebook, a quick catchup of all the smaller (but still important) stories from the world of MMA!
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Here are the latest stories we’re following:
UFC
- With UFC 311 set to go down in Los Angeles, California next weekend, the promotion is monitoring whether a location change may be needed due to tragic wildfires that have ravaged portions of the U.S. state this week. Numerous wildfires, including the Palisades fire and Eaton fire, started this week and have yet to be contained, covering more than 30,000 acres across Los Angeles. UFC is still planning on holding an event at the Intuit Dome next week, per Ariel Helwani, but is keeping the option open of a potential other city being utilized instead. It’s worth noting that other sporting events in the area, including an NFL game this Monday at SoFi Stadium, have been moved out of state.
- UFC is hoping to receive $1 billion per year on their next media rights deal, as reported by Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg. The promotion is currently in an exclusive negotiation period with Disney/ESPN, which will run through to mid-April. If a new deal isn’t reached by that point, there are many other players that UFC is looking to possibly do business with. Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video service, Warner Bros Discovery Inc., and Youtube are all being considered “prospective buyers,” per Bloomberg.
- Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz (24-4) says he will retire from MMA following his February 22nd fight against Rob Font (21-8). Cruz delivered the news during an appearance on ESPN’s “Good Guy / Bad Guy.”
- Three more fights have been added to UFC’s March 1st card, which will be headlined by Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape:
- Former UFC flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg (12-3) will return against Asu Almabayev (21-2), the promotion announced. Erceg’s impressive 12-fight winning streak was stopped when he faced flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja in May, losing via unanimous decision. He then was put away in a 125-pound contender fight at UFC 305, getting finished in the first round by Kai Kara-France. He now faces another tough challenger in Almabayev, who has won four UFC bouts thus far and recently got past contender-level talent Matheus Nicolau.
- Fresh off winning what many have considered a “Fight of the Year” contender for 2024, Esteban Ribovics (14-1) will take on Nasrat Haqparast (17-5) at lightweight, per Marcel Dorff. The split decision war that Ribovics survived against Daniel Zellhuber last year marked his third consecutive victory since mid-2023. Haqparast is similarly on a strong run, beating Jared Gordon via split decision in June for his fourth straight victory.
- Undefeated welterweight Danny Barlow (9-0) will meet Sam Patterson (12-2-1), per social media posts made by both fighters. Barlow picked up two victories in his rookie UFC year, stopping Josh Quinlan with strikes and getting by Nikolay Veretennikov on scorecards. Patterson is coming off an impressive 2024, submitting both Yohan Lainesse and Kiefer Crosbie in the first round.
- Two more fights for UFC 313, which as we mentioned yesterday has a heavy lineup of Brazilian talents booked for the card on March 8th:
- Appearing for the first time since winning Season 32 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Mairon Santos (14-1) has been lined up to face Francis Marshall (8-2), per AgFight. Santos ended his “TUF” tournament run with a stoppage win, putting away Kaan Ofli in August. Marshall earned an important win over the summer, snapping a two-fight skid with a win over Dennis Buzukja.
- Both coming back following recent losses, Jhonata Diniz (8-1) and Vitor Petrino (11-2) have been paired up, per Laerte Viana. Diniz took his first pro loss in November, losing via doctor stoppage against Polish vet Marcin Tybura. Petro took rough back-to-back losses in 2024, getting submitted in the first round by Anthony Smith then stopped just last month by Dustin Jacoby. The upcoming fight will be Petrino’s heavyweight debut since joining the UFC roster.
- Veteran Kurt Holobaugh (21-8) is booked to meet Alexander Hernandez (15-8) on March 15th, as first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Holobaugh picked up his first victory since winning Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in July, overcoming Kaynan Kruschewsky on scorecards. Hernandez snapped a two-fight skid with a split decision win over Austin Hubbard at UFC 307.
- Two more fights have joined UFC’s March 29th show, which we’re expecting will take place in Mexico City, Mexico, per recent scoops from Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes.
- Former Combate Global champ David Martinez (11-1) will make his UFC debut against Saimon Oliveira (18-5). Martinez was an impressive name in Combate, holding their bantamweight title for more than a year, scoring a trio of finish wins in championship fights. He earned a UFC contract in October by ending the undefeated record of Xavier Franklin on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” Oliveira, coming back after more than a year away from competition, will look for his first UFC win through three appearances.
- Another debut will go down on the card when Ateba Gautier (6-1) meets Jose Medina (11-4). Gautier, a 22-year-old prospect from Cameroon, stopped Yura Naito on the “Contender Series” to earn his fifth consecutive stoppage win and join the UFC roster. Bolivia’s Medina is coming off an unsuccessful UFC debut against Zach Reese.
ONE Championship
- Veterans Shinya Aoki (48-11) and Eduard Folayang (23-13) will meet for a fourth time as part of ONE 172 in Japan on March 23rd. Aoki and Folayang have faced off a trio of times on past ONE cards, including title fights in 2016 and 2019. Aoki has prevailed in two of the three prior appearances and comes into the upcoming booking with the momentum of a first-round submission win over John Lineker from early 2024. Folayang will also be returning after some time away to the cage, fighting for the first time in over a year. His last appearance came in September 2023, snapping a lengthy five-fight skid with a stoppage against Amir Khan.
LFA
- Erick Visconde (15-3) picked up one of the more impressive knockouts of 2025 thus far (albeit not a long list just 11 days into the year) in the LFA 199 main event this weekend, dropping Ary Farias (14-5) with a nasty spinning back elbow in the second round. Visconde took the fight on somewhat short notice and now finds himself with a highlight reel win and his second LFA victory within three months. You can see the finish here.
- Highlights from earlier on Friday’s card: Former featherweight title challenger Rafael do Nascimento (10-3) returned to the win column in impressive fashion, tapping Brandon Altomare (4-2) in the first round with a rare calf slicer.
- Former Bellator prospect Theo Haig (6-0) extended his undefeated record, submitting Said-Magomed Abdulgaziev (7-8) in less than two minutes via rear naked choke.
- The full results can be read here.
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