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The Roundup: biggest MMA & UFC stories, Aug 11

UFC 330 approaches with betting favorites and team divisions, while RIZIN 54 delivers a night of finishes and DWCS Season 10 kicks off.

UFC 330: Makhachev Favored, Fighters Divided [1]

UFC 330 is just around the corner, and the main event between Islam Makhachev and Ian Machado Garry is already generating plenty of discussion. Makhachev is entering the fight as the clear betting favorite to retain his welterweight title [1]. However, not everyone in the MMA world agrees on the outcome. Even within the “Fighting Nerds” team, there’s a split, with Jean Silva and Caio Borralho disagreeing on who will emerge victorious [4]. This kind of internal debate among fighters always adds an extra layer of intrigue to a big fight.

RIZIN 54 Delivers a Night of Finishes in Tokyo [2]

RIZIN Fighting Federation held RIZIN 54 in Tokyo, Japan, and it was a wild event. Out of the ten fights on the card, eight ended via finish, with only the main and co-main events going to the judges [2]. The main event saw 20-year-old Kyoma Akimoto defeat a former RIZIN champion [2].

Edopolo King Advances to Heavyweight Grand Prix Final [3]

One of the standout performances at RIZIN 54 came from King Edokpolo, who advanced to the Heavyweight Grand Prix final [3]. Edopolo, who is 6’8” and undefeated, is coached by Alex Pereira’s coach, Plinio Cruz [3]. He secured his spot in the final by knocking out Mikio Ueda with a knee from the clinch in the second round [13]. Both heavyweight tournament semifinals at RIZIN 54 ended in KOs, setting up an exciting final [13].

Notable Finishes at RIZIN 54 [7]

Beyond the main event and Grand Prix, RIZIN 54 featured several other impressive finishes. Li Kaiwen defeated Arata Mizuno by TKO in the first round after Mizuno was hit by an elbow during a clinch and then a left hook [7]. Naoki secured a TKO victory over Issei Hosokawa in the second round, dominating with right low kicks, straight punches, and elbows that crushed Hosokawa’s left eye [8]. Jyo Hiramoto scored his first career KO win, finishing Jolly with a left straight followed by a right hook in just over a minute of the first round [9]. Joji Goto submitted Temirov with a rear-naked choke in the first round after hurting him with a left tenkao and a left straight [10]. Koji Takeda surprised many by submitting Kazunori Majima with an armbar from the bottom in the first round [11]. Finally, Yuki Ito stopped Alibek Gajiev with standing strikes in the second round after grinding him down with an Anaconda choke [12].

DWCS Season 10 Kicks Off [5]

Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) Season 10 has officially begun at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas [5]. The debut episode featured a heavyweight main event between Anthony Wint and Matt Adams, with Adams aiming to hand Wint his first career loss [5]. Abe Alsaghi also looked to maintain his perfect record against Fabrizio [5]. The tenth year of the Contender Series is underway, and fans are eager to see who will earn a UFC contract [6].

Sources

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