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Anastasia Nikolakakos recaps successful sophomore ONE Championship outing: 'Great opportunity to be on this platform'

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Anastasia Nikolakakos recaps successful sophomore ONE Championship outing: 'Great opportunity to be on this platform'

How do you protect an unbeaten record when your opponent refuses to lose either half of the fight? Very carefully, and not without a scare.

Anastasia Nikolakakos improved to 7-0 with a split-decision win over Jihin Radzuan in a high-stakes atomweight MMA showdown at ONE Fight Night 45 on Friday, July 17, inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Gracie Humaita Bolton representative arrived off a blistering first-round knockout of Victoria Souza this past March, announcing herself to the global fanbase in emphatic fashion. Friday's sophomore outing under the bright lights demanded considerably more from her.

“We were prepared everywhere. There are always things that you want to improve on during a fight, things you want to do more, wish that you did, but all in all, I'm very blessed, I'm very grateful, and I'm happy with the outcome,†she said.

“We got the win. I think we deserved it. And that's it. I feel good, and I'm happy to be back. It's a great opportunity to be on this platform.â€

Anastasia Nikolakakos grades her own performance

Anastasia Nikolakakos dictated the pace early with her elite ground game, dragging Jihin into deep waters before the Malaysian leveled the fight on the feet in round two.

It came down to a decisive final five minutes, where Nikolakakos leaned on her superior takedowns to edge out the scorecards. Given how closely contested the fight was, she remained her own toughest critic afterward.

“I felt that I won unanimously. But when they said split decision, I think it was just from maybe my eye being puffy. As for my performance, I'd give myself a seven out of ten.â€

With two promotional wins now banked and her record still flawless, Nikolakakos has made her ultimate target clear: the vacant ONE Women's Atomweight MMA World Championship.

“I believe I'm next in line, and whoever it is, I will try my best to get that belt.â€

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MMA

Quillan Salkilld makes candid admission after Mateusz Gamrot win

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Quillan Salkilld makes candid admission after Mateusz Gamrot win
Quillan
Salkilld vaulted into the top tier of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division with his
impressive win over Mateusz
Gamrot.

The
Dana White's Contender Series alum is now 6-0 inside the
Octagon after submitting Gamrot in the first round of the
UFC Vegas 120 main event at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

Quillan Salkilld had to overcome nerves before maiden UFC main
event

Salkilld called out Gamrot after his win over Beneil
Dariush. It was expected to be a challenging matchup, given the
Polish 155-pounder's wrestling credentials and durability. However,
Salkilld shut down Gamrot's offense before taking his counterpart's
back, locking in a rear-naked choke and forcing the tap in his
first UFC main event.

The Australian recently detailed how nervous he was before the
bout.

“I sh*t myself, yeah,†Salkilld said in a post-fight interview. “I
was nervous… I tried to stay as calm as possible and I think I did
a pretty good job actually of staying poised in there. I was just
focusing on having fun.â€

Salkilld called for a top-ranked opponent after beating Gamrot, but
opted against naming names.

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MMA

Matt Brown rips fan backlash against Anthony Smith after arrest

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Matt Brown rips fan backlash against Anthony Smith after arrest
Matt
Brown recently went off on fans for mocking Anthony
Smith's recent run-in with the law.

Smith was arrested in Sarpy County on charges of domestic assault
causing serious bodily injury, first-degree false imprisonment and
terroristic threats. He allegedly forced his wife into a car and
tried to run her over when she managed to get out. Witnesses who
helped Smith's wife and children reportedly heard gunshots from
inside the retired veteran's house.

Matt Brown slams Anthony Smith backlash: ‘We don't know what
happened'

While Brown isn't downplaying the gravity of the incident, he
doesn't like the nature of the backlash Smith is facing from fans.
He notes that further details of the incident are yet to come
out.

“I'll tell you, what turned me off on this whole thing was the fan
reaction, when I read the comments… These motherf***ers need to lay
off Anthony Smith,†Brown said on the latest episode of “The Fighter vs. The
Writerâ€.

Brown believes the incident can be treated seriously without fans
kicking Smith while he's down. The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight isn't defending
Smith's actions in any way, but he refuses to let this one episode
define the UFC analyst.

“That doesn't mean I'm going to defend what happened,†Brown added.
“We don't know what happened yet… We weren't there and neither were
a 100% of the people that are confidently judging his life from
headlines and social media posts. Headlines and social media posts
are not real life. I know Anthony personally. I know his character,
know he's a good dude. That doesn't mean good people don't make
serious f***ing mistakes. I'm not gonna pretend either that this
one moment tells the complete story of who he is. We could take
this whole thing seriously without defaming Anthony Smith. Without
making jokes, attacking his family, calling him different names and
celebrating someone's downfall.â€

A Sarpy County judge set Smith's bond at $500,000 and also ordered
him to have no contact with his wife. Notably, Smith's wife has
since released a statement in support of “Lionheart.â€


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MMA

UFC 332 set for Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City

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UFC 332 set for Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship is heading back to Utah.

UFC 332
will take place Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, the
promotion recently announced. The event will mark the UFC's return
to Utah after the state was left off the promotion's 2025
schedule.

UFC returns to Salt Lake City for fourth numbered event since
2022

UFC 332 will be the fourth numbered event held in Utah since 2022.
It will serve as one of two numbered events in October, a rare
occurrence in the UFC calendar, with UFC 333 already scheduled for
Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. No bouts have been announced for the card
yet.

UFC events in Salt Lake City over the past few years have delivered
some of the most memorable in-cage moments. The promotion's
previous numbered event in the Utah capital was UFC 307
in October 2024, where Alex
Pereira defended his light heavyweight championship against
Khalil
Rountree in a back-and-forth clash.

Justin
Gaethje's BMF title-winning knockout of Dustin
Poirier and Leon
Edwards' late knockout of Kamaru
Usman to win the welterweight title closed out the two previous
numbered events in Salt Lake City before UFC 307.

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