Real American Freestyle recently announced that former
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder
Rockhold will meet current UFC 185-pounder Pyfer in a catchweight
wrestling match at RAF 13 on Sept. 19 at Watsco Center in
Miami.

Former UFC champion Luke Rockhold meets middleweight contender
Joe Pyfer in a catchweight wrestling match Sept. 19 in Miami

While neither fighter is primarily known for wrestling, both bring
considerable grappling and combat sports experience into the
matchup.

Pyfer, 29, has since established himself as one of the UFC’s most
promising middleweight contenders. A
Dana White's Contender Series signee, Pyfer has won four
straight fights and owns a 7-1 record since joining the UFC in
2022. Most recently, he finished former UFC champ Israel
Adesanya earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Rockhold is looking to register his first victory under
the RAF banner. The 41-year-old made his promotional debut in
January, losing to Colby
Covington. He has remained active across several combat sports
since leaving the UFC in 2022, competing in bare-knuckle boxing,
karate, jiu jitsu and boxing.

Zuffa LLC

Carlos Prates believes that Islam Makhachev will be leaving Philadelphia without the UFC Welterweight Championship.

Makhachev's 170-pound gold will be at stake when he collides with Ian Machado Garry in the UFC 330 main event on Saturday. It'll be Garry's first UFC title fight and his first pay-per-view headliner. “The Future†will serve as Makhachev's first welterweight title challenger.

The champion will enter as a clear betting favorite, but Garry insists he will stun the MMA world by putting the top pound-for-pound MMA fighter to sleep. While Prates isn't going as far as to predict a finish for Garry, he does feel “The Future†has what it takes to pull off the upset win.

In a clip posted on UFC's X page, Prates shared his pick for the underdog Garry to pull it off.

“UFC 330, Ian Garry is gonna beat Makhachev by decision,†Prates said. “I don't know if unanimous decision or split decision, but it's gonna be a decision.â€

Prates has shared the Octagon with Garry and he nearly pulled off a come-from-behind victory. The Fighting Nerds standout ended up dropping a unanimous decision, and he actually became quite chummy with “The Future†once their fight wrapped up. Garry has envisioned facing Prates in a rematch with the UFC Welterweight Championship on the line.

In order for Garry to see his vision through, he'll need to become just the second man to defeat Makhachev in pro MMA competition. The reigning 170-pound titleholder hasn't been beaten since suffering an upset knockout loss back in 2015. The hiccup didn't deter Makhachev, who eventually broke the record for the most successful UFC lightweight title defenses before he moved up.

Make sure to stick with BJPenn.com throughout fight week for the latest tidbits leading up to Friday's weigh-ins and fight night.

As we get closer to Saturday's UFC 330 card, what are you expecting in the first few minutes of Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry? Share your thoughts on how things could play out early in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

The unbeaten
Professional Fighters League star revealed that she broke both
hands during her recent unanimous decision victory over Denise
Kielholtz at
PFL New York. While she's likely set for another stint on the
sidelines, the Manchester native has revealed her interest in
competing in boxing.

Dakota Ditcheva suffers multiple hand breaks yet again, eyes
boxing bout

Ditcheva, who improved to 16-0 with the win, said she first noticed
the damage early in the second round but kept the injury to herself throughout the remainder
of the fight. She opened up about her latest hand injury in a
recently released YouTube video.

“Breaking news, I am injured again,†Ditcheva said. “I broke my
hands in the fight. I could feel it from the moment I started the
second round. I didn't tell my corner. I didn't tell anybody. I
didn't show it this time and I didn't tell anybody until I got out
of the cage.â€

Ditcheva is now wearing splints while she waits to learn whether
surgery will be necessary. The latest injury also stems from a
previous issue with her hands.

The 27-year-old previously broke both hands and elected to have
surgery on only one of them. She explained that doctors had warned
her the untreated fracture could break again if she continued
fighting without surgery. Ditcheva clarified that she did not
suffer two entirely new fractures, explaining that one of her
previous breaks held up while another finger was damaged during the
fight.

The injury comes after Ditcheva returned from a year-long absence
to defeat former kickboxing champion Kielholtz by unanimous
decision. Although she couldn’t find the stoppage, Ditcheva
controlled the contest and reaffirmed her status as one of the
faces of the PFL.

Despite the setback, Ditcheva remains interested in expanding her
combat sports endeavors. She has expressed interest in boxing for

Most Valuable Promotions, which recently merged with the PFL.
In an X clip posted by MVP, Ditcheva said that she's
“interested.â€