🗽 New York, New York

November 11, 2022

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 the Dmitry Bivol vs Zurdo Ramirez fight and cover what's next for Bivol with matchups like Canelo Alvarez and Artur Beterbiev. They also cover the the undercard fights of Rakhimov vs Barrett and Cameron vs Mccaskill. Teddy and Ken then dive into the upco…

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.

  • How to’s and tips for Boxing from Teddy himself.

Fight News From Around The 🌍

Qazaq Style Returns

Palms Casino Resort is set to host a November 12th middleweight title fight on ESPN+, which sees Janibek Alimkhanuly and Denzel Bentley square off for the formers recently upgraded WBO title.

Alimkhanuly will be making his first appearance as champ, having been upgraded from interim titlist when Demetrius Andrade vacated his title rather than defend it against “Qazaq Style.”

Denzel Bentley is a 2x British middleweight champion, beaten only once by fellow young Brit Felix Cash back in March 2021. He carries good power and will arguably be the hardest hitter that Janibek have faced in his pro career thus far.

The Kazakh champion has established himself as one of the hardest punchers in the division, knocking out former champions Rob Brant and Hassan N’Dam on route to capturing the belt this year. The newly minted champ hasn't heard the final bell since April 2019.

This will be his opportunity to really announce himself as a genuine champion in a talented, but frustrating division.

Both divisions either side of middleweight have seen undisputed champions in the last 18 months, whilst middleweight remains at a relative stalemate with its champions.

Should Janibek entertain Saturday (and maybe show some vulnerabilities), he could become a target for some high profile middleweights to either unify or look to take his belt.

What to look for in the fight:

  1. Respect. Bentley is the hardest puncher Janibek has faced up to now, with 14 of his 17 wins coming by stoppage. If Janibek feels a respectable level of power to his, he may look to box a lot more than he has against past opponents.

  2. Southpaw debut. Bentley has never faced a southpaw in his pro career before, making this a bit of a baptism by fire in facing a hard puncher with strong ring IQ and awkward angles. If the Brits power is not respected, look for this one to end fairly early.

UFC 281 Looks Set To Deliver

The UFC returns to the Big Apple on Saturday with the penultimate PPV of the year, headlined by the trilogy fight in the long standing Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira rivalry.

Pereira has history with Israel Adesanya, being the only one to knock out the current reigning middleweight champion in any of the various combat sports Adesanya has competed in.

Despite his immense talent and elite mentality, Adesanya has been criticised in the recent years of his middleweight title reign for being too conservative and looking to win as opposed to entertain.

The fact that there is a clear talent gap between him and the rest of the division doesn't help, but there is an argument to be made that in terms of entertainment value, he has somewhat underachieved as a champion.

The Brazilian power puncher has undoubtably been fast tracked to a title shot given his history with the champ, even though 2/3 UFC wins were highlight reel knockouts and his meteoric rise parallels Adesanya's own rapid rise from debut to title.

Pereira is one of the best strikers on the planet, and thanks to the coaching of former champ Glover Teixeira, he's developed a solid all round game to go alongside it.

Will it be enough to dethrone a fighter who is on the way to building a Hall of Fame legacy?

What to look for in the fight:

  1. Volume vs power. In looking back at their 2 kickboxing fights, it's clear to see that the power advantage lies with Pereira. However, Izzy is much more adept at switching angles and despite the loss in their first match, on paper he was landing very clean shots and for the most part nullifying Pereira's. It'll be interesting to see if he can repeat the same formula in the octagon.

  2. Grappling. Even though neither are renown grapplers, there's a scenario where Adesanya will look to establish just how well rounded he's become since his days as a pure kickboxer and look to grapple with Pereira against the fence. It's unlikely that much of the fight will be on the mat or against the fence, but whoever can use it to their advantage might have an edge.

Odds (Courtesy of MyBookie.Ag)

Adesanya -210

Pereira +175

Carla Esparza and Zhang Weili co-headline the stacked card in a 5 rounder for the Strawweight title.

Esparza became a 2x strawweight champion on the back of one of the most boring fights in recent memory, when she decisioned former champ Rose Namajunas.

She fought a calculated and smart fight, not giving her opponent any of the openings that she needed to get off on her striking, whilst also using her superior grappling effectively.

On Saturday she faces another former champion in Zhang, and she'll be looking to repeat the blueprint that worked well las time out (hopefully in a more entertaining fashion).

Zhang is one of the most explosive and powerful women's fighters the UFC has ever seen, and it's rendered her a fan favourite thanks to the entertainment value she brings to the table.

In this sense it's a bit of a fire vs ice matchup, both in what both these women represent: Esparza as the conservative but effective champion with an all round good game; and Zhang as the explosive fan favourite who will look to finish the fight as early as possible at the risk of ending up on the wrong side of a highlight reel.

It should make for a great fight.

Good friend of the podcast Dustin Poirier fights in the "peoples main event" against "Iron" Michael Chandler.

Poirier will be looking to get back on track after his title fight defeat to former champ Charles Oliveira, a fight he was doing very well in until the Brazilian stepped it up with his superior grappling and finished the contest in round 3.

A win against Chandler puts Poirier in the picture for another run at the title, now held by Islam Makhachev.

Chandler, a former 3x Bellator champion, will be looking to extinguish the "Diamonds" title ambitions.

Even though he is 2-2 in the UFC, Chandler has constantly kept himself in the title conversation due to his unquestionable heart and explosiveness.

A win against one of the best strikers in the UFC, who also happens to be ranked #2 in the division, would be a huge step in the right direction to his dreams of being a multi-organisation champion.

It's a shame it's only 3 rounds...

What to look for in the fights:

  1. Takedown transitions. Esparza will shoot at some point, and if Weili is able to exploit the transition and time her coming in, it could be the vital point that turns it into a striking match, vastly favouring the former champ.

  2. Refined. Poirier vs Chandler will likely come down to who is able to land the cleaner punches more consistently. Chandler's explosiveness makes him a constant threat across 3 rounds, but Poirier's boxing and leg kick defence is much more refined. Look for DP to pick up the heat from round 2 onwards.

Fight ⏰ for this weekend

Boxing: Alimkhanuly vs Bentley (Saturday 12th/Sunday 13th)

  • 🇺🇸 Full Card: 9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific | Main Event: 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific

  • 🇬🇧 Full Card: 2am | Main Event: 4am

  • 🇦🇺 Full Card: 1pm Eastern/ 11am Western | Main Event: 3pm Eastern/ 1pm Western

UFC 281 (Saturday 12th/Sunday 13th)

  • 🇺🇸 Full Card: 10pm Eastern/ 7pm Pacific | Main Event: 1am Eastern/ 10pm Pacific

  • 🇬🇧 Full Card: 3am | Main Event: 5am

  • 🇦🇺 Full Card: 2pm Eastern/ 12pm Western | Main Event: 5pm Eastern/ 3pm Western

Don't forget to tune in to the latest episode 🎧

Thanks for being with us and see you next week #BANG💥