MMA news this week began with a small social media tiff on Monday between UFC President Dana White and Marquel Martin, UFC Heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou’s agent, after he announced Derrick Lewis would fight Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 265. Also this week, Dustin Poirier will face off against Conor McGregor at the highly-anticipated UFC 264, Bellator fighter Joe Schilling knocked out a man at a bar and former UFC women’s badass Ronda Rousey made a huge announcement!
Upcoming UFC & iKon Fight Cards
iKON 8 kicks off Friday, July 9th at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT with a six-fight card. In the Main Event, Ben “Brutal” Egli (12-4) takes on Ryse Brink (8-2). We’ll also see Boston “Boom Boom” Salmon (7-3) up against “Iron” Mike Barnett (10-3) in a 145-lb. fight and a match between Cole Jordan (0-1) vs. Kristien Ruffin (0-0.)
UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor takes place July 10th from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Early prelims start at 6 pm ET/3 pm PT, Prelims start at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT, and the Main Card kicks off at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT. The lightweight trilogy between former interim UFC Lightweight Champion Dustin Poirier (27-6) and former UFC Featherweight and Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor (22-5) headline the card. McGregor defeated Poirier at their first meeting at UFC 178. The tables turned at the pair’s second meeting. Poirier defeated McGregor via a second-round KO at UFC 257 in January 2021.
Fight Announcements
UFC President Dana White announced a heavyweight interim fight between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane set for UFC 265 on August 7th.
TASS reports that Diana Avsaragova (3-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will take on Gabriella Gulfin at Bellator 262 on July 16th.
Three new fights have been added to the Bellator 263 card.
MMAJunkie announced a bout between Alejandra Lara (9-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) and DeAnna Bennett set for the Bellator 263 card on July 31st. The two will fight in the women’s flyweight division.
Bellator 263 will now include a bout between Jared Scoggins (10-1) as he faces Brian Moore (13-7) and a matchup between “Insane” Georgi Karakhanyan (30-11-1) as he battles Kiefer “Big Daddy” Crosbie (8-2.)
MMA News (6-28-21 to 7-4-21)
Social Media Tiff After Lewis vs. Gane Interim Heavyweight Fight Announcement
Dana White announced Monday afternoon that Derrick Lewis (25-7) will fight Ciryl Gane (9-0) for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 265 on August 7th after Francis Ngannou is unable to defend his title by that date.
Marquel Martin, Francis Ngannou’s agent, tweeted that he was “shocked” over the interim heavyweight fight announcement, which triggered a response from White, who said Martin was “full of sh*t.”
Martin again responded to White with a rather long-winded response, although the tiff dissipated and there were no further exchanges between the men.
Joe Schilling Bar Brawl
GLORY Tournament Champion & Bellator fighter Joe Schilling was involved in an altercation at a Florida bar and the entire incident was caught on video. Schilling uploaded and posted the video of the bar brawl to his own social media account, showing him knocking out a man cold, although he says that it was in self-defense.
It’s a Girl!
On Tuesday, June 29, former UFC women’s badass Ronda Rousey posted a 3D ultrasound on social media with the announcement that she and her husband, Travis Browne, are expecting a daughter. Rousey announced her pregnancy in early May.
Valentin Moldavsky Takes Home First-Ever Bellator Interim Title
Valetin Moldavsky (11-1) defeated Tim Johnson (15-7) in the main event at Bellator 261 via a unanimous decision win, earning the first-ever Bellator interim belt. This win moved Moldavsky from the No.3 rankings to the No. 1 heavyweight contender spot.
Dodson Out of MMA Fight After “Near-Death” Car Accident
John Dodson is out of his XMMA fight scheduled for July 30th after a “near-death” car accident. The family was traveling to Texas on vacation when the accident occurred. Dodson and his family were treated and released from a local hospital the following day.
Dodson’s manager has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover financial costs associated with the accident.
See you next week for more MMA news and another instalment of This Week in MMA. In the meantime, follow me on Twitter @AmandaG_LWOS for the latest MMA news and information.
Featured Image
Embed from Getty Images
