Muhammad Mokaev rumors explained, UFC 306 ticket prices & Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway?
By Amy Kaplan
I'll be breaking down the news from around the combat sports world and giving you my take on it in this new daily column. Check back every morning to see the biggest or most obscure headlines and what I think about them below.
Muhammad Mokaev rumors explained
My dream is to become UFC Champion
— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) July 30, 2024
I turn them all down because UFC gave me the platform to put my name out there and earn money to feed my family!
btw PFL don’t have flyweight division
All these journalists that make this shit up are idiots!
I hope Dana resigns me, this… https://t.co/ArCTIF9Wwy
There was some thought that Muhammad Mokaev might have been released from the UFC for negotiating with PFL before he was completely out of his contract with the UFC. Both Mokaev and his manager Tim Simpson have denied those claims.
I tend to believe Mokaev on this one. It makes no sense for him to be negotiationf with an organization who deosn't even have a flyweight division. It's true he wants to be UFC champion so why would he risk it? I do believe that there's some backstage issues that are the cause of the release, you can't go around causing trouble and making your boss mad.
UFC 306 ticket prices
$SPHR
— Kevin Mak (@KevinLMak) July 8, 2024
People are starting to get excited about UFC306, but I don't think they quite appreciate the financial magnitude that Sphere will pickup from the event.
1) Dana White has said/promised that UFC306 will be the biggest gate of all UFC events. The current record is UFC205… pic.twitter.com/i2Cy02uDDU
Fans are made about the ticket prices to the UFC 306 Sphere card which at press time are starting at about $3,000 per ticket.
I don't blame fans for being upset about the prices but this it not the average UFC fight. Fans are paying for the experience even more so than the fight card itself and that's hard for people who haven't been to the Sphere to understand. Videos and photos do it no justice and it's going to be worth every penny. There are no bad seats in the whole place.
Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway for UFC 308?
According to Marca, a Spanish news outlet, Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway is verbally agreed to happen at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.
I love this matchup and I don't mind the location, though I wish Topuria could have gotten his event in Spain. I also wonder if the BMF title will be on the line as well, this could potentially be a belt vs. a belt. I also like this fight because it feels like a very even match-up, it's hard for me to predict a winner of this one, and that makes it way more exciting.