By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
There were no events this past weekend due to it being Memorial Day
weekend so I’ll just cover some important news.
Gegard Mousasi (49-9-2) recently made comments critical of the PFL,
saying they haven’t offered him any fights in a long time and that they don’t want to honor his contract and pay him. He also said that his team is considering legal action. He also called PFL the worst organization he’s ever been a part of. As a result, he’s been released from his contract and is now a free agent. It’s unknown whether he’ll return to the UFC or fight elsewhere. Mousasi is a two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion, a DREAM Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Champion, a former Cage Warriors Middleweight Champion, and a Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.
2022 and 2023 PFL Featherweight Tournament Winner Larissa Pacheco (23-4) and current Bellator Featherweight Champion (as well as former UFC, Strikeforce, and Invicta FC Featherweight Champion) Cris Cyborg (27-2, 1 No Contest) have both said that the PFL has yet to send them a bout offer for any fights so far this year. That doesn’t really
reflect well on the PFL but there’s two sides to every story so maybe they can’t get anyone to agree to fight either of them? I don’t know but hopefully everything gets settled amicably the less competition
there is in MMA the worse off the sport is.
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Ian Machado Garry (14-0) will fight Michael “Venom” Page (22-2) at UFC
303 on June 29th. Garry is slightly favored but this will be a test
for both men. If I were forced to pick I would go with MVP getting the win via TKO in the second round but this is a toss-up to me.
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Jamahal Hill (12-2, 1 No Contest) has a new opponent for UFC 303.
Carlos Ulberg (10-1) will step in to face the former UFC Light
Heavyweight Champion on June 29th in the co-main event. Hill is a slight favorite because Ulberg has been very impressive, finishing 6 of his 7 UFC opponents. I think Hill grinds out the decision win in a close affair.
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Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall (14-3) will face Curtis
Blaydes (18-4, 1 No Contest) at UFC 304 on July 27th. Aspinall will defend the Interim title rather than face UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon
Jones (27-1, 1 No Contest) because Jones wants to fight Stipe Miocic (20-4), despite Miocic not fighting in over 3 years (and counting).
I completely understand Miocic wanting this fight. Why wouldn’t you
want to fight for the title? Why wouldn’t you want to fight Jones? If you beat him, you shock the world. If you lose, well, you were expected to anyway.
It’s also obvious why Jones wants to fight Miocic. He wants to fight a man 5 years older than him who hasn’t fought in over 3 years. Back to Aspinall vs. Blaydes, I think Aspinall wins that fight by Submission in the 3rd round. At the same time, I wouldn’t be surprised if either man wins by TKO in the first round.
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This one isn’t a UFC fight but hey, there’s not much else going on.
Lorenz Larkin (25-8, 2 No Contests) will face Alan Dominguez (11-6) at PFL 6 on June 28th. I would expect Larkin to win this by decision but we’ll have to wait to see for sure.
My new epic fantasy book is out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: The End’s
Beginning. The exciting epic fantasy series Kingdom of Zarias returns with the 4th book in the series. After the harrowing events of
Book 3 the residents of the Kingdom of Zarias continue on their paths.
Serena Summers continues to learn and grow as a fighter, desperately seeking to become stronger before she loses anyone else in her life.
Daniel Summers discovers new parts of the world that open his eyes to
just how little he truly knows. A new hero, Lamar Abeers, arrives to
join the fight against evil. Plus, Zach Summers, Tiana Highsmith, and Xavien Ekens continue their journeys with their friends, and a new ruler of Vhaharen is crowned. The world has found a little peace.
However, that peace is only temporary. In a shocking act of violence, the monstrous villain Galren strikes from the shadows and changes the
world forever. This is Book 4 in the series. There’s lots of action,
magic, and monsters in the Kingdom of Zarias. It’s like a tabletop
game in novel form. It’s on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other
places. If you’re interested, I would greatly appreciate it if you
would check it out and support me. Also, here’s the link to my
Compendium book about the Kingdom of Zarias series- KoZ Compendium Thank you very much, have a good day.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at
hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank.
Thanks for reading and have a good day.
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