The UFC returns this weekend for another stacked pay-per-view card headlined by a Heavyweight Title rematch between Daniel Cormier and former champion Stipe Miocic.

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The Main Event

DC is returning to action to defend his UFC Heavyweight title for the second time after previously defending against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230.

Cormier got the better of Lewis in that fight very early on and ended up securing a second round rear naked choke to make the first defense of his title.

Former Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic makes his return to the Octagon since losing his title to DC back in July last year, marking 13 months since he last fought.

DC knocked out the former champion in thier first ‘Superfight’ encounter. Looking back at the fight it was evidently clear that the need to no longer cut weight was a huge factor for DC heading into the bout.

DC who has never lost at Heavyweight looked sensational, keeping Miocic at bay with jabs before coming in close to setup the eventual knockout blow, which Miocic had no chance of seeing.

Looking ahead to this rematch, on paper things are once again even, Stipe dispite the knockout loss to DC has a granite chin. DC has that olympic wrestling pedigree and at Heavyweight I believe DC can knock almost anyone out.

So what will be the deciding factor in this fight? I believe the time out for Stipe will play a major role in this bout, Stipe hasn’t fought since he lost his title and losing in the fashion that he did must be in the back of his mind.

DC on the other hand has already defended the title once, and were it not for the on again then off again negotiations in getting Brock Lesnar back into the UFC, he probably would have defended the belt again a lot sooner.

With all this being said, I believe DC will be victourious in this rematch, I believe DC wears out Stipe over the first 2 rounds to secure a knockout in the third.

Nate Diaz returns!

In the co-main event is a matchup only dreams are made of! and thankfully them dreams have come true. Nate Diaz finally makes his return to fighting after a long 3 years out.

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We last seen Diaz back at UFC 202 where he lost a very close decision to Conor McGregor. Diaz was originally inked to fight Dustin Poirier in November last year, but after disagreements with the UFC over McGregor fighting Khabib, the fight never happened.

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Thankfully now, however, it appears as though Diaz and the UFC have patched up their differences and finally Diaz returns.

Welcoming back Diaz is the former UFC Lightweight Champion, Anthony Pettis. Pettis’ last outing was a second round knockout over Stephen Thompson, a knockout which will forerver be cermented in his highlight reel alongside the running cage kick.

Pettis also fought Tony Ferguson back in October of last year in a fight that was an absolute brawl whilst it lasted, unfortunately for Pettis his broke his hand during the bout and had to retire at the end of the seconding round.

Pettis is now 2-2 in his last four UFC fights and is looking for a big win over Nate Diaz. Diaz is also 2-2 in his last four, the big factor going into this fight is the time off for Diaz.

3 years out has got to be a huge issue for Diaz, and whilst it’s known that Diaz is always keeping fit all year round running triathalons, the cage rust will likely be an issue.

This fight is a real treat for UFC fans, however I feel that Pettis will get the job done in the third round, I believe Pettis’ recent fighting time will allow him to take over late in the fight and secure a stoppage win.

Rest of the Card

The rest of UFC 241 is also stacked, we see a middleweight encounter between the always dangerous Yoel Romero and the undefeated Paulo Costa.

Yoel hasn’t fought inside the Octagon since a split decision loss to current UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 225 back in June last year.

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Paulo Costa last fought in July last year knocking out Uriah Hall, coincidently his last fight was on the Miocic vs Cormier undercard.

Looking at this fight, this is Costa’s first true big test, he has never fought anyone with the power that Yoel posses, if he can make it past the second however, I believe he can nap a decision win. A win for Paulo sets him up for title contention, he will likely have to face either Gastelum or the loser of Whittaker/Stylebender first, but a win over either of them will see him as the next 185lb challenger.

Sodiq Yusuff who is 2-0 in the UFC will take on Gabriel Benitez, looking at this fight I can see Sodiq grinding out a decision win.

Ian Heinisch makes his third UFC appearence taking on Derek Brunson. Heinisch is 2-0 in the UFC with wins over Antonio Carlos Junior and Cezar Ferreira, both by way of decision.

Brunson who is 2-2 in his last four UFC fights is returning after beating Elias Theodorou back in May, before that Brunson was knocked out in the first round during his previous two bouts. Ronaldo Souza knocked him out in January last year, followed by Israel Adesanya knocking him out in November last year.

Looking ahead to this fight, I think it’ll be a tough night for Brunson, who really needs a win here to keep his place in the UFC, Brunson is now 4-4 in his last eight UFC appearences.

With all this being said, I feel Henisch will grind out a deicsion win over Brunson.

The full UFC 241 card looks as follows

UFC Fight Pass Prelims

Women’s Flyweight
Sabina Mazo vs Shana Dobson

Bantamweight
Kyung Ho Kang vs Brandon Davis

Women’s Strawweight
Hannah Cifers vs Jodie Esquibel

Prelims – ESPN/BT Sport

Bantamweight
Manny Bermudez vs Casey Kenney

Lightweight
Christos Glagos vs Drakkar Klose

Bantamweight
Raphael Assuncao vs Cory Sandhagen

Lightweight
Devonte Smith vs Khama Worthy

Main Card – PPV / BT Sport

Middleweight
Derek Brunson vs Ian Heinisch

Featherweight
Gabriel Benitez vs Sodiq Yusuff

Middleweight
Yoel Romero vs Paulo Costa

Co-Main Event – Welterweight
Anthony Pettis vs Nate Diaz

Main Event – UFC Heavyweight Title Bout
Daniel Cormier (C) vs Stipe Miocic

What do you think of UFC 241? Sound off in the comments below and be sure to check back with MMAThread for all your latest MMA News.

Tomorrow night (or Sunday morning if you’re in the UK) the UFC is back!

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UFC Flyweight Champion Henry Cejudo is set to face off against Marlon Moraes for the vacant Bantamweight title.

Cejudo was originally supposed to be in a much-rumoured rematch with T.J Dillashaw, after being T.J back in January to successfully defend his 125lb title.

However, things changed in March when T.J vacated his 135lb title after being flagged by USADA for a failed drug test.

In steps Marlon Moraes in what is expected to be a barn burner of a fight, and one in which Cejudo could become the next two-weight champion in the UFC.

In the co-main event UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko makes the first defense of her 125lb title after beating Joanna Jedrzejczyk in December for the then-vacant title.

Plus Tony Ferguson returns after some much-publicised personal issues outside of the cage to take on Donald Cerrone in what is expected to be a fight for the number one contender’s spot.

The winner is expected to face off against the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Dustin Poirier which is set to take place at UFC 242 in September.

Watch the Weigh-Ins LIVE below

Full Fight Card:

EARLY PRELIMS (UFC Fight Pass)

Women’s Flyweight (125lb)
Katlyn Chookagain vs Joanne Calderwood

Bantamweight (135lb)
Eddie Wineland vs Grigory Popov

Middleweight (185lb)
Bevon Lewis vs Darren Stewart

Women’s Strawweight (115lb)
Xiaonan Yan vs Angela Hill

PRELIMS (ESPN / BT SPORT 1)

Featherweight (145lb)
Ricardo Lamas vs Calvin Kattar

Women’s Strawweight (115lb)
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Alexa Grasso

Bantamweight (135lb)
Aljamain Sterling vs Pedro Munhoz

Women’s Strawweight (115lb)
Tatiana Suarez vs Nina Ansaroff

MAIN CARD (PPV / BT SPORT 1)

Heavyweight (265lb)
Tai Tuivasa vs Blagoy Ivanov

Bantamweight (135lb)
Jimmie Rivera vs Petr Yan

Lightweight (155lb)
Tony Ferguson vs Donald Cerrone

UFC Women’s Flyweight Title (125lb)
Valentina Shevchenko vs Jessica Eye

UFC Bantamweight Title (135lb)
Henry Cejudo vs Marlon Moraes

Andy Ruiz Jr. is on top of the world after defeating Anthony Joshua this past Saturday, and now he’s calling all the shots.

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Currently it is unclear where or when, if at all, a rematch will happen. AJ has stated in the post-fight press conference that he “didn’t has about a rematch clause” because he was so confident he’d beat the Mexican heavyweight.

However, despite Joshua’s comments his promoter Eddie Hearn insists there is a rematch clause and they reckon the fight will take place in November, December.

This is however, all based on whether Matchroom can get a deal with the newly crowned champion. The ball is now of course in Andy Ruiz Jr’s. hands.

In an interview with Fight Hub Ruiz has recently stated that he will take the rematch, but if AJ & Hearn want it in the UK then they are going to have to dig deep in their pockets to make it happen!

“I think they said November, December but right now my team are negotiating. I gotta stay busy, healthy and be ready for the rematch”.

“I would love it to be in Mexico or the United States, but it all depends on what we negotiate. If they want me to go over there (U.K) then they have to give me $50 million dollars”.

Ruiz also stated that he expects Joshua to fight differently but he will once again come out victorious.

“I have the faster hands and I can take a punch” said Ruiz.

So what do you think? Will Anthony Joshua face Ruiz in the U.K or will Mexico get a star studded night of action? Sound off in the comments below and be sure to check back with MMAThread for all the latest MMA & Fighting News.

Former UFC Welterweight and Middleweight Champion Georges St-Pierre is expected to announce his official retirement tomorrow in a planned press conference

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GSP was last seen in the Octagon at UFC 217 in November of 2017 when he submitted then UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping to snatch the title, becoming a two-weight champion.

Since then GSP has been out of action due to ulcerative colitis which forced him to vacate the Middleweight Title just over a month after winning. Since then GSP has been linked to ‘super fights’ with various opponent including Conor McGregor, Anderson Silva and most recently UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Today news broke that GSP has arranged for a press conference to take place tomorrow, where according to multiple sources, he is expected to officially announce his retirement. This comes after GSP says he wanted a fight with Khabib to become a three-weight champion (the first in UFC history) since that fight never materialised he now wishes to call an end to his fighting career for good.

However, since the news broke, Khabib has called out GSP stating that “he doesn’t want to be the reason St-Pierre retires” and that he wants to give the former champion one last fight. Khabib’s most recent outing inside the Octagon was a submission win over former Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor in what was the biggest pay-per-view in UFC history, however, after the win Khabib scaled the cage and attacked Conor’s cornermen causing a brawl both inside and outside the cage.

Khabib received a 6 month suspension and a fine for the NSAC, however, Khabib’s training partners received 12 month suspensions and Khabib has gone on to state that he will not fight for the UFC until their suspensions are up, if that’s the case we won’t see Khabib inside the Octagon until at least November at the very earliest – Only time can tell now whether the time frame suits GSP’s desires, or if this is truly the end for one of the greatest fighters to have ever graced the Octagon.

If this truly is the end for GSP, then he leaves behind a legacy that many fighters will look up to, unbeaten for 13 straight fights, two-time UFC Welterweight Champion and one-time UFC Middleweight Champion. GSP is truly heading for the MMA Mount Rushmore.

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