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📟 The Matrix Returns
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Fight With Teddy Atlas Newsletter, your one stop shop for all things combat sports related, brought to you by Teddy and The Fight team.
Teddy Atlas and co-host Ken Rideout breakdown UFC 280 with Islam Makhachev submitting Charles Oliveira, Aljamain Sterling dominating an injured TJ Dillashaw, Sean O'Malley getting a controversial decision over Petr Yan, and more from the UFC card. They also discuss disappointing news about Terence C…
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A combat sports news digest with all the headlines you need to know from Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts.
Highlights from the podcast and across the fight world.
Fight times and information you need to know ahead of time.
How to’s and tips for Boxing from Teddy himself.
Fight News From Around The 🌍
Lomachenko Eyes Undisputed
Pound for pound regular Vasily Lomachenko returns this weekend, looking to score his third consecutive victory since his loss to Teofimo Lopez in October 2020.
He takes on the rising lightweight Jamaine Ortiz, who is fresh off of a career best victory against former world champion Jamel Herring back in May.
He's highly technical, big for the weight and will be high on confidence following his win over Herring. The combination of all these factors could make him a much tougher opponent than some are expecting him to be.
However, he is up against a very special fighter in Loma.
This is a man who became a three weight world champion in 12 fights, having fought some of the top operators in and around 135 lbs, such as Richard Commey, Jose Pedraza, Luke Campbell and Jorge Linares just to name a few.
These are all good fighters (as is Ortiz). But there's a gap between good, or even very good, and truly great. It's likely we see that gap become evident on Saturday night.
A win for either man would be a significant step towards a showdown with the undisputed king of the division, Devin Haney.
Loma, Ortiz and Haney are all Top Rank fighters, so it should be an easy fight to make, and it adds more on the line for Saturday.
What to look for in the fight:
Does size matter? We've seen Loma take a while to get going against taller fighters i.e Lopez & Nakatani. Ortiz is listed as only an inch taller, but in the face offs he looks a lot bigger. Look for the fight to definitely go past 6 rounds due to the size difference.
Deceptive power. Loma has dropped or stopped 15 of his 18 opponents. Chances are if you get into the ring with him, you will touch the canvas at some point, even if you manage to go the distance. Ortiz has been dropped and hurt by lesser opponents, so it could be the case of too much too soon for the younger man come the second half of the fight.
Featherweight Crossroads Fight
Arnold Allen and Calvin Kattar meet in a matchup of top 10 featherweights as they headline a UFC Fight Night on at the Apex in Las Vegas.
If it feels like Arnold Allen has been around forever, it's because he has! Despite his relatively young age at 28, he's been in the UFC since 2015, 2 years more than the 34 year old Kattar.
His last outing against Dan Hooker at UFC London was his most impressive scalp to date, knocking out the lightweight contender in the first round in the co-main event of what was one of the most finish heavy cards of the year.
His first main event of his UFC career comes against a man who is no stranger to 5 round headliners. Calvin Kattars last three fights have all been 5 round main events and they have all won fight of the night.
He may be 1-2 in said fights, but whatever the occasion, there is no doubt that Kattar comes to entertain, and Saturday night will be no different.
A win for either man wouldn't necessarily position him as the #1 contender for the featherweight title, but it would be a serious step in the right direction.
Kattar has spoken about his desire to become champion "the hard way", having taken inspiration from the rise of Charles Oliveira. Getting through an up and coming, hungry fighter like Allen definitely fits under that definition.
We're in for a good one here folks.
What to look for in the fight:
Pace. 4 of Kattar's last 5 fights have been 5 rounders. Allen has none coming into this one. Kattar has a definite advantage as the fight enters the last two rounds so look for him to exploit openings here should Allen start to feel the pace.
Durability. Both men are very durable and have only been finished once. This fight seems destined to be a back and forth striking battle that could very much see the judges come into play.
Odds (Courtesy of MyBookie.Ag)
Allen -119
Kattar -107
Fight ⏰ for this weekend
Boxing: Lomachenko vs Ortiz (Saturday 29th/Sunday 30th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific | Main Event: 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 1am | Main Event: 3am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 12pm Eastern/ 10am Western | Main Event: 2pm Eastern/ 12pm Western
Boxing: Taylor vs Carabajal (Saturday 29th/Sunday 30th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 2pm Eastern/ 11am Pacific | Main Event: 5pm Eastern/ 2pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 7pm | Main Event: 10pm
🇦🇺 Full Card: 5am Eastern/ 3am Western | Main Event: 8am Eastern/ 6am Western
UFC: Allen vs Kattar (Saturday 29th/Sunday 30th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 7pm Eastern/ 4pm Pacific | Main Event: 9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 12am | Main Event: 2am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 10am Eastern/ 8am Western | Main Event: 12pm Eastern/ 10am Western