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Nikita Krylov predicts Robert Whittakers light heavyweight move will fail

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Nikita Krylov predicts Robert Whittaker's light heavyweight move will fail

Nikita Krylov would like to be the wrench in a former's champ's
plans at 205 pounds. | 📷: Getty/UFC


Nikita
Krylov wants to play spoiler for Robert
Whittaker's light heavyweight move.

Whittaker (26-9) is set to make his light heavyweight debut in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship against Krylov (31-11) at

UFC 329 on Saturday, July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las
Vegas.

Krylov believes Whittaker envisions a light heavyweight move like
Alex
Pereira, who went on to win the title at 205 pounds. However,
the Ukrainian-born Russian fighter has claimed that the former
middleweight champion's move up is more likely to end up like
Israel
Adesanya’s or Chris
Weidman's.

Nikita Krylov says Robert Whittaker’s light heavyweight move
mirrors Israel Adesanya

Adesanya only fought once at light heavyweight, losing his title
bid to then-champion Jan
Blachowicz in 2021. Weidman had also moved back to middleweight
after being thwarted at light heavyweight by Dominick
Reyes in 2019. Krylov hopes to send Whittaker back to 185
pounds in a similar fashion.

“It looks like he wants to move up like Alex
Pereira. But I think it may end up the way it did in Adesanya's
case,†Krylov told Red Corner MMA. “Jan Blachowicz beat Israel
Adesanya; Dominick Reyes beat Chris Weidman; I'd like to see
something similar for Robert as well.â€

Whittaker never reclaimed his middleweight title after losing it to
Adesanya in 2019. The Australian is moving up to light heavyweight
on the back of consecutive losses to Khamzat
Chimaev and Reinier
de Ridder.

Meanwhile, Krylov has gone 6-6 in the UFC since making his Octagon
debut in 2018. He is coming off a stoppage win over Modestas
Bukauskas, rebounding from back-to-back losses to Reyes and
Bogdan
Guskov.

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MMA

Just Scrap Radio Ep. 230 with Dan Ige and Drakkar Klose

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Just Scrap Radio Ep. 230 with Dan Ige and Drakkar Klose

The 230th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com, with host Cole Shelton, is live to preview Noche UFC on Saturday.

We're joined by UFC bantamweight Dan Ige (0:00). We close things out by talking to UFC lightweight Drakkar Klose (14:26).

Dan Ige opens up the show to talk about his Noche UFC scrap against David Martinez. Dan chats about moving down to bantamweight and when that idea first came together. He then talks about the practice cut to 135lbs. Dan then talks about whether or not he was surprised to get a top-ranked opponent like Martinez, and why he actually called for this fight and event. He then talks about the style matchup, fresh matchups at 135lbs and what a win does for him here.

Drakkar Klose then closes out the program to talk about his Noche UFC fight against Tommy Gantt. Drakkar talks about another year-long layoff due to injury and when he was fully cleared to return. He then talks about how familiar he was with his opponent and whether or not it caught him by surprise. Drakkar then chats about the style matchup and wanting to bring Tommy into deep waters. Drakkar then talks about what a win does for him and wanting the Beneil Dariush rematch.

Be sure to tune in every Tuesday for another episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN as Cole Shelton chats with fighters to help preview or recap their fights.

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Stay locked to BJPENN.com all week for your Noche UFC coverage.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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MMA

Ex-UFC stars new career takes wild turn during traffic stop

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Ex-UFC star's new career takes wild turn during traffic stop
Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Marlon
Moraes now deals with real-world situations, as seen in a
recent South Florida traffic stop.

Viral footage circulating on social media shows Moraes, now working
as a police officer, dealing with a motorist who repeatedly
confronted and verbally challenged him. After several warnings to
back away, the man moved toward Moraes, who responded by taking him
to the ground.

Marlon Moraes hip tosses motorist while working as South
Florida police officer

The incident took place on March 27. Moraes joined the Davie Police
Department in Florida in June 2024 before taking a position with
the Coral Springs P.D. later that year.

In the viral footage, the situation escalates after the motorist
repeatedly insults Moraes and another officer. Moraes warns him
against moving closer before eventually using a hip toss to bring
him to the ground, where other officers move in to handcuff
him.

The incident adds another chapter to Moraes’ unusual post-fighting
career, which has seen him transition into law enforcement while
also returning to mixed martial arts competition. The Brazilian
exited the UFC in 2023 on a seven-fight losing streak. He defeated
Maximiliano
Perez by unanimous decision on Aug. 28, returning to
competition after three years to record his first victory since
2019.

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MMA

Shavkat Rakhmonov admits UFC return is far from guaranteed

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Shavkat Rakhmonov admits UFC return is far from guaranteed
Shavkat
Rakhmonov isn’t ready to say that his
Ultimate Fighting Championship career is over, but the unbeaten
welterweight admits his return is far from guaranteed.

Rakhmonov has been sidelined since defeating Ian Garry in
December 2024. He entered that bout with a knee injury and it left
a long-lasting impact. In a new interview, he reflected on the
fight and where he stands in the 170-pound division.

Shavkat Rakhmonov details the knee injury that has kept him
sidelined since beating Ian Garry

“Nomad†admits that he should not have competed with his injury. He
also took a shot at Dagestani stars Khabib
Nurmagomedov and Islam
Makhachev, claiming they would never fight injured.

“Well, that's my problem; I couldn't fight,†Rakhmonov told Alf
Global. “If I had fought, I could've become champion, but that's
how it turned out. I was injured. What can I do? We are only human.
I actually shouldn't even have fought Ian Garry at
all. With injuries like that, I shouldn't have fought at all; I
just took a risk. That's the Kazakh way. Kazakhs are very daring.
They're not afraid. If it had been some other Dagestani fighter
like Khabib or Islam Makhachev, they definitely would've
refused.â€

Rakhmonov then delved deeper into how his injury worsened during
the Garry fight.

“I already had an injury going into the Ian Garry fight,†he added.
“I stepped in; I hadn't fought for a year; I wanted to fight. That
old injury was still bothering me a lot. My leg was swollen. And
when he was striking me, it was probably because I completely
lacked a ligament. I couldn't really feel that strike, in
general.â€

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