Welcome to MMAKO’s Monday episode, featuring combat sports updates from the weekend. This list is compiled by Sunday news writer Zain Bando.

The UFC Abu Dhabi and PFL Nashville cards have come and gone, with Terence Crawford (41-0) winning another belt in the squared circle. Without further ado, here are the biggest headlines in combat sports for Monday, August 5:

UFC 306 tickets officially went on sale as of Monday, July 29, but the vast majority of tickets are priced beyond the average UFC fan’s means.

On Sunday, the cheapest price on TicketMaster was listed as $1,757, while the most expensive capped at $16,000+. Despite the publicly released figures, White is adamant that fans should be able to purchase bargain-basement tickets for under $500, with the cheapest seats available for the Canelo vs. Berlanga boxing match at T-Mobile Arena, despite both events being just a few miles apart.

“But this is on par with any major event that Canelo fights on Cinco de Mayo or Mexican Independence Day,” White told MMA reporters. Kevin Iole in an interview It was released over the weekend.

White expects the MSG Sphere gate to be a major milestone for the company, surpassing the previous record set by UFC 205 in November 2016 ($17.7 million), according to MMAJunkie on July 11. The event featured former dual champion Conor McGregor becoming the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez in the night’s main event.

““We study this shit like f***** scientists,” White said. “That’s our job. That’s what we do, and it’s on par with the Canelo (Alverez – Edgar Berlanga) fight (September 14 at the MGM Grand Arena), and frankly, that’s one event. I put $20 million into this f***** thing, it’s somewhere between $17 and $20 (million) right now, and the fight’s not until September 14.”

September 14th is likely to be one of the biggest Las Vegas sporting event nights in a year, as UFC 306 is the second major sporting event in the venue’s history. The 2024 NHL Draft was held at the MSG Sphere in June.

Terence Crawford remained unblemished as he handed Ukrainian star Israel Madrimov (10-1-1) his first professional defeat with a tough 12-round decision (116-112,115-113, 115-113).

The fight was close throughout. Madrimov, the betting underdog in the close fight, gave Crawford everything he could handle but couldn’t find the KO to close the surprise. Crawford kept his distance in the final stretch of the fight and didn’t let Madrimov get too close in the middle of the ring as BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California looked ahead.

It wasn’t a typical Crawford performance, but it was exactly what the Nebraska native needed to stay perfect in order to lead the big games.

Whether Crawford will fight Alvarez in the future is a big question mark, as it looks set to be the biggest non-heavyweight fight since Mayweather-Pacquiao.

When asked about this question in the ring after the match, Crawford said he would accept the fight, but on one condition.

“If the money is right, we’ll fight,” Crawford said.

It is not yet clear whether the fight will continue, only time will tell.

UFC 308 will air on ESPN+ Pay-Per-View in the afternoon, as it has for the past few years, to appeal to the Abu Dhabi fan base.

UFC executive David Shaw confirmed the news to the assembled media after UFC Abu Dhabi wrapped up Saturday afternoon. Some of the major headline bouts were announced just hours before the ABC/ESPN2 event, which featured 13 fights and a rare cageside appearance by White.

Shaw touched on the importance of off-prime events (i.e. fights broadcast in a region to appeal to that country’s audience), meaning they air at 10:00 PM local time in the country, as opposed to traditional pay-per-view broadcasts starting at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT in the US.

UFC 308 is one of those examples, as ESPN currently lists the Pay-Per-View start time as 2:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT. Expect a non-linear ESPN broadcast for the prelims, as college football will be reaching its halfway point and could take precedence.

PFL Nashville featured 10 fights Friday night, with the PFL playoff bracket being determined in two divisions: women’s flyweight and heavyweight.

Four seeds (1 and 2) also advanced. In the main event, Denis Goltsov (35-8 MMA, 13-3 PFL) defeated Tim Johnson (18-10 MMA, 1-1 PFL) by first-round TKO, while Oleg Popov (19-1 MMA, 3-0 PFL) won a clean unanimous decision over Bellator veteran Linton Vassell (25-10, 1-2 PFL).

In the flyweight finals, Dakota Ditcheva (13-0 MMA, 8-0 PFL) will face former UFC flyweight title challenger Taila Santos (22-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC). Ditcheva quickly defeated Jena Bishop (7-2 MMA, 1-2 PFL) via first-round knockout, while Santos defeated Bellator Flyweight Champion and UFC veteran Liz Carmouche (22-8 MMA, 2-1 PFL, 7-0 Bellator) by unanimous decision. Carmouche did not move up in weight ahead of the bout.

With the completion of the semi-finals, the championship table in both groups is as follows.

PFL Heavyweight Final:

PFL Women’s Flyweight Final:

A lighter week on the combat sports calendar sees UFC APEX transition to UFC Vegas 95, headlined by the heavyweight rematch between Marcin Tybura (25-8 MMA, 12-7 UFC) and Serghei Spivac (16-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC). Tybura won their first encounter by unanimous decision in February 2020.

The card will be available on APEX starting at 16:00 PT/13:00 PT, with the main card available at 19:00 PT/16:00 PT.

MMAKO will provide live coverage of UFC Vegas 95 and the latest news and analysis throughout the week.

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