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🇦🇺 Return Of The Great
The Fight Team
July 07, 2023
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.
How to’s and tips for Boxing from Teddy himself.
Fight News From Around The 🌍
The Inevitable Jaron Ennis
Jaron Ennis will be hoping that 2023 is finally his year to be crowed a welterweight world champion.
He’s been at the precipice of exploding onto the scene for what feels like years, building up a 30-0 record, with 27 coming within the distance.
Last time out was the first time he’d heard the final bell since 2017, when he outpointed a game but decisively limited Karen Chukhadzhian.
He’ll be taking on the tough and confident Roiman Villa in his first defence of his IBF interim welterweight strap. Villa is on a 7 fight win streak since his lone loss back in 2019, with wins over then undefeated fighters Rashidi Ellis and Janelson Bocachica on his resume.
Ennis knows that a return to the KO column here will keep him in on track for welterweight gold. Whilst Crawford and Spence’s impending mega fight takes up most of the spotlight, Ennis will have to stay comfortable in the background for a little while longer, collecting wins in style to keep himself at the front of the queue.
His talent and fan friendly style is a recipe for eventual superstardom. Villa might provide a stern test, but Ennis will more than likely be too much for the 30 year old Colombian, whose come forward style will lead him straight into the Philly native’s hard, crisp punches.
Volk Comes Back Down
The UFC 290 PPV event, marking the culmination of International Fight Week, will take place on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event will feature a featherweight title bout between the #2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter, Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski, and the newly-crowned interim titleholder Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez.
Volkanovski will be eager to reassert his authority over the 145 lbs division following his brief side quest over to 155 lbs, where he was so close to capturing his second belt, only to be edged on the scorecards (controversially) by champion Islam Makhachev.
A win against Rodriguez will remind the division that all the roads to featherweight gold still go by way of Australia, and it would open the path back to a rematch with Islam.
Yair, despite only being 30, is somewhat of a UFC veteran, having made his debut back in 2014. He’s been hot and cold to say the least, but the last few years have seen him come into his stride and develop a composure that might have been missing in his earlier days.
Facing the dominant champion is the biggest opportunity of his career, and the chance for him to transition away from the “entertainer” that he’s been known as, to being the champion that he has the potential of being.
The co-main event sees flyweight champion Brandon Moreno take on Alexandre Pantoja in a rematch of their 2018 bout, which Pantoja actually won. Technically, the fight is a trilogy bout, as the two also faced of in The Ultimate Fighter, with Pantoja coming out on top against the current champ.
However, Moreno has evolved into a complete mixed martial artist, and the undisputed best flyweight in the world. His entertaining 4 fight saga with Deiveson Figueiredo virtually saved the division from being scrapped, and he now holds finishes over 3 of the divisions top 5.
If he can exercise his demons on Saturday and finally defeat Pantoja, who himself is coming off of 3 wins on the bounce, he can further cement his legacy as one of the all time great flyweights champions.
Other fights to look out for on the card:
Rob Whittaker vs Dricus du Plessis
Jalin Turner vs Dan Hooker
Robbie Lawler vs Niko Price
What to look for in the fights:
Early doors. Look for Yair to be aggressive early on and throw Volk off with his timing and unorthodox attacks. Should he be able to keep up a good rhythm past the halfway point, things could get interesting.
Geography. Yair was out grappled by Max Holloway, who is in no way shape or form known as a grappler. Volkanovski, who held his own on the mat with Islam, will present a whole different dimension to Yair, especially if he isn’t having as much success on the feet as he would have hoped.
Jab. Moreno’s accurate and busy jab will be key in neutralising the aggressive but at times overly reckless Pantoja.
Hear From Both Champions
Teddy and Ken have had the pleasure to hit down with both the champions competing at the top of this weekends card.
Check out both episodes by clicking the links below.
Fight ⏰ for this weekend
Boxing: Ennis vs Villa (Saturday 8th/Sunday 9th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 10pm Eastern/ 7pm Pacific | Main Event: 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 3am | Main Event: 4am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 12pm Eastern/ 10am Western | Main event: 1pm Eastern/ 11am Western
MMA: UFC 290 (Saturday 8th/Sunday 9th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 10pm Eastern/ 7pm Pacific | Main Event: 12am Eastern/ 9pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 3am | Main Event: 5am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 12pm Eastern/ 10am Western | Main event: 2pm Eastern/ 12pm Western