MMA Today: UFC Locations Announced, Brandon Royval Upsets Brandon Moreno, Dana White’s Future, Jon Jones Meets Francis Ngannou
With UFC Mexico City and the PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions events concluded, it’s time to move into the final days of February and into March on the combat sports calendar.
With it being Monday, MMA Today is back on the horizon. I am MMA Knockout’s Zain Bando, your lead Sunday news writer, and thanks for coming along for the ride.
I am back with another edition of the top stories for the week, which can be found every week under my author profile or on the main MMA Knockout homepage at 8 a.m. ET or shortly thereafter.
Without further ado, here are the key headlines in MMA, as of Feb. 25.
UFC 303 and UFC 306 will take place in Las Vegas, the promotion said Saturday during UFC Mexico City.
(Zuffa LLC)
The UFC will stay home in June and September
After UFC 300’s main event between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill was finalized minutes after UFC 298’s conclusion, the promotion is already moving quickly forward.
It was revealed Saturday night during the UFC’s return trip to Mexico City that the fights would remain in Las Vegas, Nevada, for UFC 303 on June 29 and UFC 306 on Sept. 14. UFC 303 will serve as the promotion’s International Fight Week, which normally is hosted in July. As for UFC 306, it will serve as “Noche UFC 2.”
No fights have been officially announced for either event, but given UFC CEO Dana White and his key interest in making Mexico a priority destination for the fanbase and marquee events, Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3 makes the most sense to headline or co-headline the September card.
Grasso took the title from Shevchenko at UFC 285, which led to their immediate rematch.
The pair met at “Noche UFC” just five months ago in a rematch which ended in a draw. With no resolution to the series, a redo is a must for the flow of the women’s flyweight division to keep its contenders at bay.
For UFC 303, it’s all contingent on who is still active. It is unclear whether or not Conor McGregor will return to the promotion and who he might wind up against. Dricus du Plessis and Leon Edwards are two champions without fight bookings, and it is unknown if Jon Jones’ injury status will allow him to return before November opposite Stipe Miocic.
The promotion has decisions to make, as tickets drop at the beginning of the month.
Brandon Royval outlasted Brandon Moreno in a number-one contender matchup at flyweight.
(Zuffa LLC)
The UFC flyweight saga continues
Brandon Moreno failed to deliver in front of his home country Saturday night, losing a decision on two of the three judges' scorecards and getting Brandon Royval back in title contention.
It was a tough pill to swallow for Moreno who hasn’t held flyweight gold for longer than a single outing his entire UFC career. Having lost back-to-back fights for the first time, Moreno will remain in the mix but may need one or two wins to get back to championship potential.
As for Royval, who is fully healthy and firing on all cylinders, a trilogy with champion Alexandre Pantoja is on the horizon and, based on their similar styles, there could be another series of action-packed wars to look forward to.
Dana White has no plans of retiring anytime soon
Dana White doesn’t intend to walk away from the UFC just yet.
(Zuffa LLC)
The last days of White are far from finished, according to the man himself.
While on Maxx Crosby’s podcast “The Rush With Maxx Crosby,” the topic of retirement was asked of White.
As such, White didn’t have much to elaborate on but did make it clear that, at present, the 54-year-old Vegas mogul will be part of the promotion’s long-term plans and doesn’t see himself leaving until he says the time is right.
What he did make clear, however, is that the promotion and state of MMA will look “very different” by the time he leaves.
Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou were seen together in Saudi Arabia during the PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions event on Saturday.
Jon Jones, Francis Ngannou link up at a non-UFC card together
Less than two years ago, it would have been unfathomable to see current and former UFC heavyweight champions, Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou respectively, at the same non-UFC event.
Camera shots panned to the two men who were in the audience Saturday, as Ngannou awaited his fate to find out who he would challenge for heavyweight gold in his PFL debut.
As for Jones, he is still undergoing a torn pectoral while getting back to 100-percent, having not fought in nearly a year. It is unknown if this so-called “dream fight” between Jones and Ngannou will happen, but if it does, it will almost definitely be one for the MMA history books.
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