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🇦🇺 Never Two Without Three
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.
Every Friday We Bring You:
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.
Fight News From Around The 🌍
One Last Step?
Tomorrow night, Christian Mbili hope to continue his rise up the super middleweight ranks with what would be the biggest win of his career.
He takes a significant step up in opposition as he takes on multiple-time world title challenger and decorated amateur Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
Mbili’s all-action style and willingness to engage have slowly made him a fan favourite, taking him from relative obscurity to headlining big shows in his adopted homeland of Canada.
He’ll want to translate this fan friendliness into world title opportunities, and despite solid names on his record, he’s lacking that marquee opponent who can set him up for world honours.
Derevyanchenko fits the bill perfectly. However, he’ll have his own plans in mind.
The Ukrainian will potentially end his pro career as one of the best boxers of the last few years never to pick up a world title. He came very close against Danny Jacobs and GGG back in 2018 and 2019 respectively, before falling short again against Jermall Charlo in 2020 at the third time of asking.
A win against a hot property like Mbili won’t atone for these straight away, but it’ll keep his hopes of finally securing a championship alive and shake off his reputation as one of boxing’s “Nearly Men.”
If Derevyanchenko still has enough in the tank, he has more than enough to trouble the relentless but still raw Mbili. He has little left to lose and a lot to gain. Combined with his years of experience and skills, this makes him a dangerous “stepping stone”.
But Boxing is a young man’s game, and touching 40, it could be a step too far up against the 29-year-old former Olympian.
There Can Only Be One
More than a year after their viral face-off in the Octagon, Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya are set to finally clash for the UFC middleweight title this weekend in Perth, Australia.
The roles are now reversed from their famous stare-down, with Du Plessis the champion and Adesanya playing the role of the challenger, looking to become the first fighter to defeat DDP in the UFC.
The South African captured the title in January, securing a split decision victory over Sean Strickland in a fiercely contested battle, extending his UFC record to an impressive 7-0.
He may be slightly unorthodox compared to previous middleweight titleholders, but the results Du Plessis has achieved at 185 lbs are undeniable.
He’s been grinding away since 2020, working his way up from the likes of Derek Brunson and Darren Till, through to becoming the only man other than Izzy to beat Robert Whittaker at Middleweight, and eventually completing his ascent with his crowning moment against Strickland at UFC 297 in Toronto.
Adesanya, on the other hand, enters this fight off the back of a loss to Strickland last September in Sydney, in what was an unusually lacklustre performance. The 35-year-old has a history of bouncing back from setbacks in spectacular fashion, most notably spectacularly reclaiming the middleweight title by knocking out Alex Pereira at UFC 287 last April.
The big question now is how Adesanya will respond in yet another high-stakes scenario, where a second consecutive loss would leave more questions than answers on his status as a middleweight.
Should Du Plessis emerge victorious, it would mark the beginning of a new era, solidifying the 30-year-old as the dominant force in the 185-pound class and setting the stage for a wave of fresh matchups (or a rematch with Strickland).
Conversely, if Adesanya wins, he’ll become the first fighter to claim the middleweight title three times, reaffirming his dominance in a division he first conquered nearly five years ago, and making an even stronger case for his status as one of the greatest in the history of the division.
Rest Of The Card
Kai Kara France vs. Steve Erceg
Mateusz Gamrot vs Dan Hooker
Tai Tuivasa vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Li Jingliang vs Carlos Prates
Fight ⏰ for this weekend
Boxing: Mbili vs Derevyanchenko (Saturday 17th/Sunday 18th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific | Main Event: 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 2am | Main Event: 4am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 11am Eastern/ 9am Western | Main event: 1pm Eastern/ 11am Western
MMA: UFC 305 (Saturday 17th/Sunday 18th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 10pm Eastern/ 7pm Pacific | Main Event: 12am Eastern/ 9pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Main Card: 3am | Main Event: 5am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 12pm Eastern/ 10am Western | Main event: 2pm Eastern/ 12pm Western