Julianna Pena wants Amanda Nunes to give the same respect she did when the belt was on the other waist. The UFC bantamweight championship series between "The Venezuelan Vixen" and her Brazilian rival is tied at one victory each. Pena, who hasn't spoken out much since losing to Nunes at UFC 277 in July, was fired up and demanded a trilogy fight on Instagram. “Everyone keeps asking me what’s next. I’m getting my belt back that’s what’s next! A trilogy with @amanda_leoa is the fight to make. “I did everything I said I was going to do going into that first fight I gave Amanda the immediate rematch within six months and man maybe I should have sat out for two years like she does? She told all y’all she could have finished me in RD2 but I guess she wanted to get her face rearranged for three more rounds and leave on (crutches) instead she even said we head-butted and you guys believed it! Never happened! “She had to go home and change and revamp her ENTIRE STYLE to beat me. I take it as a compliment. She outsmarted me the second time I give her that. We are 1-1 and this time I will not miss! @ufc the #trilogy needs to happen LFG ! #facts” In a stunning upset during their first meeting, Pena defeated Nunes by submission to win the title at UFC 269 in December 2021. However, Pena later gave the title back to Nunes in a rematch at UFC 277 in July of this year. Nunes easily prevailed with a unanimous decision win. Pena undoubtedly had her moments, but the rematch differed greatly from their first fight. Given how quickly she agreed to an imminent rematch with "The Lioness," when the UFC came knocking. So perhaps Pena expects the promotion to strike again while the iron is hot and put a stop to this bantamweight rivalry. After defeating Pena by a huge unanimous decision at UFC 277, Nunes mentioned in her post-fight interview that she was looking forward to going back to Brazil and taking some time off, but she did not specify when she would be returning. Pena, who has already missed a large amount of time due to injuries over her UFC career, isn't happy about it. Pena is confident she can repeat her performance from the first meeting when she out-attacked Nunes and forced the veteran champion to seem uninspired in the crucial second round. “She had to go home and revamp her entire style to beat me,” Peña wrote. “I take it as a compliment. She outsmarted me the second time I give her that. We are 1-1 and this time I will not miss. [UFC], the trilogy needs to happen.” Even though Nunes might go on to defend her 135-pound belt against fighters like Ketlen Vieira or Irene Aldana, those fights can wait. If the trilogy is even remotely as crazy as the first fight between Pena and Nunes, it will be a victory for the UFC. However, Nunes has some clout these days, so "Lioness" is probably going to receive some fresh meat in the cage.

Saturday in Germany, the Czech Republic's Oktagon MMA company will have plenty of UFC flair. Oktagon 36 will feature five UFC veterans, including the return of John Hathaway after more than eight years away. Check out the former UFC fighters you're probably familiar with ahead of Oktagon 36. Jeremy Kimball (ex-UFC) vs. Hatef Moeil Kimball went 1-3 in four UFC fights between 2017 and 2018. All three of his losses were in the first round, but his victory came in the form of an 81-second knockout of Josh Stansbury, which won him a $50,000 Performance of the Night award. Kimball signed with Oktagon after leaving the UFC and is now 3-1. Kimball returned in April after a lengthy absence, including the pandemic, and knocked out Thomas Narmo in the first round with leg kicks. Bojan Velickovic (ex-UFC, ex-PFL) vs. Leandro Silva (ex-UFC, ex-PFL) Velickovic appeared on Season 19 of "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2013, but was not promoted until 2016. He finished 2-3-1, including a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus knockout of Nico Musoke. After that, he suffered back-to-back decision losses to Darren Till and Jake Matthews in 2017 and was forced to leave the UFC. He joined the PFL but only finished 1-4-1 in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. He's been on a bit of a roll lately, with five wins in his last six fights, three of which have been under the Oktagon banner. Leandro Silva (ex-UFC, ex-PFL) vs. Bojan Velickovic (ex-UFC, ex-PFL) Silva joined the UFC after winning Season 2 of "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil." He lost his promotional debut in 2013, then won five straight fights outside of the UFC. He went 3-3, including Charlie Brenneman's $50,000 Performance of the Night submission in 2014. He's done a combination of MMA and boxing since 2017, including battles for the PFL, Titan FC, and Oktagon. John Hathaway (ex-UFC) vs. Andre Ricardo Hathaway has been out of action since March 2014 due to health difficulties, as MMA Junkie reported in September. He'll make his long-awaited return in a welterweight contest on Saturday, no doubt aiming to fight his way back to the UFC. From 2009 through 2014, the British fighter was 7-2 in the UFC. Mallory Martin (ex-UFC, ex-Invicta) vs. Katharina Dalisda Martin will be fighting for the first time since leaving the UFC in December 2021 after her third loss in four fights. She had a bout scheduled with Invicta FC in July, but had to cancel. In the UFC, her lone victory came in August 2020 with a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus submission of Hannah Cifers.

The UFC's October schedule of events will be concluded with a crucial featherweight fight between Calvin Kattar and Arnold Allen. On October 29 at the UFC APEX, UFC Vegas 63 will feature a five-round clash between Kattar and Arnold Allen as its main event. UFC broadcast partner BT Sport unveiled the official poster for the occasion on Friday, highlighting the riveting main event. View the poster down below. After taking a year off following a lopsided decision defeat to Max Holloway, Kattar returned in January of 2022 with a commanding victory over Giga Chikadze in the UFC Vegas 46 main event. The eighth-ranked fighter in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings returned to the octagon in June and lost to Josh Emmett in the main event of UFC Austin via a controversial split decision. 11 victories in a row for Allen, who also had a 9-0 start to his UFC career. The No. 9 fighter in MMA Fighting's global rankings defeated Dan Hooker in March's first round at the UFC London event. Below is the most recent UFC Vegas 63 fight schedule: Calvin Kattar vs. Arnold Allen Dustin Jacoby vs. Khalil Rountree Drakkar Klose vs. Mark Madsen Andrei Arlovski vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima Phil Hawes vs. Roman Dolidze Tim Means vs. Max Griffin Chase Hooper vs. Steve Garcia Jun Yong Park vs. Joseph Holmes Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Jared Vanderaa Christian Rodriguez vs. Garrett Armfield Josh Fremd vs. Tresean Gore Cody Durden vs. Kleydson Rodrigues

‘Triple C’ Henry Cejudo wants to see Conor McGregor step inside the Octagon with Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal when he makes his highly anticipated return to the UFC. Given that Masvidal has established himself as a headliner and that McGregor is the biggest pay-per-view star in the sport, Cejudo anticipates strong attendance for a bout between the two. Since suffering a severe leg injury in the first round of his trilogy match against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021, McGregor has been sidelined. Fans and athletes are heavily speculating over who will enter the cage with the Irish superstar as he prepares for an early 2023 comeback. Henry Cejudo, who is reported to be making his comeback in the upcoming year, thinks Jorge Masvidal would be the ideal opponent for Conor McGregor's spectacular return to competition. “This is a good fight for Conor McGregor,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “Why? It’s because there’s really no grappling involved. You want guys that can strike and that want to strike and don’t want to grapple. And plus, Jorge Masvidal he hasn’t won a fight – I think he’s on a three- or four-fight losing streak? Something like that? But I think Jorge Masvidal would be the best return for him, 170 pounds. They both have the mouthpiece. Just imagine how many pay-per-views they could sell.” The current losing skid for "Gamebred" is three matches, with two of those defeats coming to former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Masvidal lost to Colby Covington in a unanimous decision during his final fight at UFC 272. While Conor McGregor has recently struggled in the ring, losing three of his last four fights by submission or knockout. His solitary victory in about six years came over Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, a boxer who lost all seven of his subsequent fights before hanging up his gloves. Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal are still legitimate stars who can sell pay-per-views and pack arenas despite their recent losses. The battle might be sold by either man in their sleep and yet generate a million purchases from people all across the world. One thing becomes clear when you consider McGregor's desire to fight at welterweight as well as both fighters' dismal records: the fight just makes sense. Masvidal and McGregor traded verbal strikes on social media at the beginning of the year, much to the pleasure of fans who wanted to watch the two well-known pay-per-view stars confront in a battle. The winner of the anticipated title battle rematch between champion Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman, as well as Kevin Holland, Paddy Pimblett, and Colby Covington, made Cejudo's top-five list of potential opponents for McGregor. He won’t be surprised if UFC award the Notorious a title shot in the welterweight division on his much-awaited return to the octagon. “He’s earned it not though accolades, but he’s earned it through sales,” Cejudo said. “He’s earned it through the numbers. I think Kamaru Usman, and Leon Edwards would welcome him. That would be their No. 1 pick, so the champ should also have a say, too. “At the end of the day, I wouldn’t be mad at it, but I kind of probably would be. I have mixed emotions, but at the same time, I feel like Conor has really earned his stripes. But it comes through sales.”

Regarding the potential date of his upcoming fight, Paddy Pimblett has generally been ambiguous. This changed on Friday when Pimblett (19-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC), a pundit for Cage Warriors 144, was interviewed. But as of right now, he anticipates engaging in one more battle before the year is through. In an interview he stated: “I’m planning on fighting Dec. 10 … UFC 282,” Pimblett said. “I’m planning on fighting on that Dec. 10 (event). I’m just waiting for an opponent, lad. I’m just waiting for an opponent to step up and sign the dotted line. Everyone talks about ‘The Baddy.’ Everyone talks about fighting me. When the contract is in front of them, they’re not as confident.” Numerous fighters have desired a chance to face one of the sport's emerging stars in recent months. Several people have pushed for the battle, including Terrance McKinney, Bobby Green, Ilia Topuria, Jared Gordon, Matt Frevola, and Jared Gordon. The pen hasn't touched the paper yet. “I don’t think there’s anyone ducking me,” Pimblett said. “I don’t think anyone would duck me, because I don’t look very scary. My style, everyone looks at it, ‘I’ll beat him. I’ll beat him.’ I don’t think anyone would duck me, because I have the recognition, as you say, the following that they haven’t gotten. Everyone is going to try to beat me and steal the hype, but no one is going to do it.” Pimblett, a native of Liverpool, has defeated all three of his opponents inside the octagon, defeating Luigi Vendramini and Rodrigo Vargas in the first round, respectively, and most recently submitting Jordan Leavitt at the UFC event in July in London. As a result, "The Baddy" earned Performance of the Night bonuses for each of his three victories and cemented his position as one of the most well-known major figures in the 155-pound weight class. Pimblett was asked who, if anyone, he would pick to fight next after his name was plastered across MMA social media. But he's not one for callouts. “I’m the star of the show,” Pimblett said. “I don’t need to talk about anybody.” In Las Vegas, at the T-Mobile Arena, UFC 282 will take place. The main event is anticipated to be a rematch between current champion Jiri Prochazka and former champion Glover Teixeira at light heavyweight, however, the fight has not yet been scheduled.

In the past few days, if you haven't been living under a rock, you've probably heard about NBA standout and fiery Draymond Green's exploits at training. Following the spread of a video on Friday showing NBA star Draymond Green striking teammate Jordan Poole in the face cleanly, the topic is under serious discussion in which Draymond Green has been highly criticized for his lack of discipline. All promotion is a good promotion in the eyes of The Problem Child. It doesn't take long for Jake Paul to get embroiled in a massive online story. Jake tweeted about the altercation and expressed his admiration for Green's punching power. He even went so far as to make Green a high-paying offer to box under his Most Valuable Promotions company. It wouldn't be unexpected to see Green, 32, don the gloves, especially if Paul's offer is even the slightest bit legitimate given his reputation as one of the best defensive players in NBA history and one of the game's most infamous troublemakers. Even if Paul is sincere, this is obviously just a publicity gimmick on his part, and ten million dollars won't mean much to a man who is in the middle of a four-year, 99.6-million-dollar contract to play basketball. Paul has previously participated in boxing with a Warrior. The YouTube star, who has now competed in five professional boxing bouts, made his pro debut in 2020 when he faced fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib. His second bout, though a matchup with former Warrior Nate Robinson that Paul won by knockout in the second round. Of course, all of this is absurd, but we live in the era of the internet. And hopefully, it can bring a little fun to a really unpleasant circumstance. We won't be seeing Green in a boxing ring anytime soon, so relax. We can only hope that he won't be punching anyone else any time soon. Silva and Paul will meet battle on October 29 in Phoenix. Former UFC fighter Uriah Hall will make his boxing debut on the undercard against former NFL running back Le'Veon Bell.

Uriah Hall, a former rated UFC middleweight, is now preparing for his professional boxing debut against former NFL star Le'Veon Bell after only having announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in August. On October 29th of this year, this fight is scheduled to take place on the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva card. The 38-year-old Hall has a 17-11 career record in mixed martial arts, with 13 of those victories coming through knockout. In addition to Thiago Santos, Chris Weidman, and Gegard Mousasi, he has defeated several renowned fighters, including Silva, who was the subject of his most noteworthy victory in 2020. However, Hall has lost both of his most recent MMA contests, including a unanimous decision loss to Andre Muniz at UFC 276 in July. In an episode of The Ultimate Fighter, Season 17, Uriah famously defeated an opponent with a vicious spinning hook kick to win the match. To follow the trend of retired MMA fighters engaging in the sweet science, Hall will now put his kicks, knees, and elbows on hold. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected former NFL star Le'Veon Bell with the 48th overall pick in the 2013 edition. Bell has been concentrating on pursuing a career in prizefighting after playing for eight seasons for five different teams. Le'Veon made a significant fifth-round knockout of fellow former NFL pro-bowler Adrian Peterson at Social Gloves 2 last month as his first step along that path. It's time for a legitimate boxing contest versus a fighter who is new to pure boxing but has overall proficient striking. Bell might potentially compete in numerous fights on the undercards of Paul's fights if he can overcome Hall, as those events frequently include various fighters who are more known for their achievements outside of the boxing field.

In his anticipated final fight before retiring, Frankie Edgar will face Chris Gutierrez at UFC 281. After an initial rumour from ESPN.com, which quoted Edgar's declaration that it would be his last octagon walk "unless someone gets lippy in Seaside next summer," MMA Fighting confirmed the bantamweight matchup. The former UFC lightweight champion's final UFC fight will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 12. This will be his 30th and last UFC fight. Edgar has fought twice at MSG, including his most recent contest with Marlon Vera, which resulted in a brutal front kick knockout loss. Before crossing the Hudson River to get experience on the local (and legal) MMA circuit, Edgar began his MMA career as a fighter in New York's underground scene. At UFC 67, he made his lightweight debut for the organisation, surviving a vicious kneebar from Tyson Griffin to earn a decision and his first post-fight bonus. Despite being undersized at 155 pounds, Edgar won six fights before defeating B.J. Penn for the lightweight championship at UFC 112 and successfully defending it at UFC 118. Benson Henderson defeated him at his fourth attempt to defend his title. A knockout loss to Chan Sung Jung and three subsequent efforts to regain a featherweight title—two against the legendary 145-pound fighter Jose Aldo—led to his switch to bantamweight. Since lowering his weight to 135 pounds, Edgar has gone 1-2, losing two consecutive knockout fights against Vera and Cory Sandhagen. The native of New Jersey is a lock for the UFC Hall of Fame. After going unbeaten in seven straight matches and most recently stopping Batgerel Danaa in a highlight-reel fashion, Chris Gutierrez takes on the biggest name of his UFC career. The main event of UFC 281 features a middleweight title match between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira.

A catchweight fight between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr was called off on Thursday (Oct 6) after Benn failed a dope test and the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) said it could not go ahead. The fight had been scheduled for Saturday at London s 02 Arena. "After discussions with various parties, we have taken the decision to formally postpone the bout," promoters Matchroom and Wasserman Boxing said in a statement. They said the BBBofC decision was "procedurally flawed and without due process". "That remains a legal issue between the promoters and the Board which we intend to pursue." Plans were thrown into doubt on Wednesday after the failed test emerged and the BBBofC prohibited the much-hyped fight between the sons of famous boxing fathers as "not in the interests of boxing". The possibility of proceeding without the involvement of the BBBofC emerged on Wednesday as lawyers sought a solution but Benn s promoter Eddie Hearn ruled that out. "This is not a situation where we want to run rogue and come up with an alternative plan," he told the BBC. Matchroom said that "whilst there are legal routes to facilitate the fight taking place as planned, we do not believe that it is in the fighters interests for those to be pursued at such a late stage, or in the wider interests of the sport." The promoters called for a full investigation into what happened. Benn, 26, returned a finding for "trace amounts of a fertility drug" in a random test carried out by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), reportedly in August. He had subsequently passed a test carried out by the UK Anti-Doping Agency UKAD, the official testers for the event, and was not suspended by the BBBofC. The fight between welterweight Benn and super-middleweight Eubank was set at a catchweight of 157 pounds. "He s hugely disappointed. He was ready, he was on weight and he was very much looking forward to this weekend," Eubank s promoter Kalle Sauerland told a short news conference that took place without questions being taken.

Bo Nickal recently received counsel from Sean O'Malley regarding the direction of the rookie wrestler's UFC career. Three times as a professional, twice in Dana White's Contender Series, Nickal (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has contested. He quickly submitted Donovan Beard in September to win a UFC contract, and on December 10 he will make his octagon debut against Jamie Pickett at UFC 282. Nickal stated during "The MMA Hour" with Ariel Helwani that he would retire if the UFC put him on the preliminary card. Later, the prestigious collegiate wrestler shared on Twitter that he will compete on the preliminary card, but only if the UFC puts together a lineup including ten fighters who will pull in more spectators. O'Malley (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) has competed on a pay-per-view main card in each of his fights since he headlined the UFC 248 preliminary event in March 2020. O'Malley encourages Nickal to believe in the process as he did, even if he makes it onto the UFC 282 preliminary card. Speaking on his podcast, The BrOMalley Show, Sean O'Malley discussed Bo Nickal's recent tweet. “He’s potentially a superstar,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “They’re going to build him up. He’s fighting a guy who’s 13-8, 2-4 in the UFC, coming off a two-fight losing streak. He’s going to be built up good. They’re going to put him where he needs to be. The UFC is going to put you where you need to be. They’ve done it with me.’’ “They obviously knew I was going to be a superstar, and I am – look at me now. He’s got a lot of confidence – young, stud. I’d say just trust the ride, trust the UFC. But that’s not even that bad of a statement. He probably won’t fight on some sh*t card. They’re going to put him in a spot to where a lot of people are going to see him.” Nickal has yet to make his UFC debut, so his remarks were somewhat shocking. Despite his genuine potential, it wouldn't be shocking to see him win the preliminary card. If the card is not stacked, that wouldn't be the worst scenario for Nickal. He did demand to face the Swede beast, Khamzat Chimaev, on his UFC debut. Chimaev is rumored to move up to the middleweight division after failing to make the weight cut for the fight against Nate Diaz. The fight kind of made sense, but UFC President Dana White ruled out the ongoing speculation regarding the potential match-up. “Let’s not get crazy here,” White said at the “Contender Series” press conference. “You don’t test him against ranked talent. You bring him in just like you would bring in any prospect. You build him up, give him fights. The problem is, there’s no easy fights here. This isn’t like the boxing model. But he walked into a show where there’s no easy fights. Everybody here are killers. So if you perform the way that you performed here twice – there’s some guys that come in here and it’s a rough go. There’s wars, and they’ll squeak out a win at the end. This guy came out and dominated twice.”

The final 2022 UFC Fight Night event to be hosted in front of a full-sized arena worth of fans has its main event. The main event of UFC Orlando, scheduled for Saturday, December 3, 2022, at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, will feature former 170-pound championship challenger Stephen Thompson taking against UFC welterweight Kevin Holland, who recently came out of a brief retirement. After suffering a discouraging defeat to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279 earlier this year in Las Vegas, Holland (23-8, 1 NC) gave up the sport. Speaking on his podcast, Holland said “I’m officially retired” unless “unless something super-duper magical pops up.” However, Holland confirmed that he is battling Thompson on a later episode of his podcast. However, it appears the promotion was successful in luring him back by placing him against Thompson. Both of them dislike wrestling. Before being booked, Thompson complained that it was hard to find a fight that both he and the UFC were excited about. Now that he has one, Thompson will fight again for the first time in almost a year as he attempts to end a two-bout losing streak to Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad. Less than three months after suffering a fast submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279, Holland is scheduled to make a comeback. He changed his fight from Daniel Rodriguez to the five-round co-main event with only 36 hours' notice. Shortly later, Holland hinted at his impending retirement on Instagram. It was his first defeat in the UFC at welterweight and ended a two-fight winning streak that saw the finishes of Tim Means and Alex Oliveira. On Instagram on Wednesday, Holland made the implication that his talk of retiring was merely a charade. UFC Orlando will also include the welterweight showdown between Rafael dos Anjos and Bryan Barberena, Derek Brunson and Jack Hermansson collide at welterweight while Clay Guida and Scott Holtzman throw leather at 155 pounds.

The fight between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr has been "prohibited" by British boxing officials after Benn failed a drugs test ahead of the scheduled weekend bout in London. The catchweight fight was called off earlier on Wednesday after it was revealed Benn had tested positive for "adverse analytical findings for trace amounts of a fertility drug," only for promoters to insist the fight would go on. However, the British Boxing Board of Control has now ruled that the fight at the O2 Arena cannot go ahead. Its statement read: “On the evening of 4th October 2022, the board of the British Boxing Board of Control Limited resolved that the contest between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn scheduled to take place on 8th October 2022 is prohibited as it is not in the interests of boxing. “That was communicated to the boxers and promoters involved on the morning of 5th October 2022.” The contest would be the third bout between the families, after their fathers fought twice in the early 1990s in one of British boxing’s greatest rivalries. Matchroom and Wasserman Boxing had previously issued a joint statement regarding the doping test. “We have been made aware that a random anti-doping test for Conor Benn conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association returned an adverse analytical finding for trace amounts of a fertility drug. “The B sample has yet to be tested, meaning that no rule violation has been confirmed. Indeed, Mr Benn has not been charged with any rule violation, he is not suspended, and he remains free to fight. Matchroom's Eddie Hearn has since stated that lawyers were "back and forth" trying to get the fight to take place.