They begin with light heavyweight prospect Jimmy Crute. He Skypes in to discuss his composure in the Octagon, being a forklift driver before competing full-time and his upcoming fight against Misha Cirkunov this weekend. 

Then, „Funky“ Ben Askren joins the show. He talks about bouncing back from his first loss against Jorge Masvidal, takes aim at the rest of the welterweight division and his upcoming bout against Demian Maia in Singapore. 

Finally, Jim calls in to debate the outcome of Cowboy vs Gaethje this Saturday and Aljo leaves with a message for Henry Cejudo and the rest of the bantamweight division.

Due to health issues, Andrew Sanchez has been forced to withdraw from his Saturday bout against Marvin Vettori. 

There will be no replacement opponent and the card will proceed as scheduled with 12 bouts.

UFC Fight Night, which is headlined by the bout between Donald Cerrone and Justin Gaethje, airs live on ESPN+ from Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

That fight, like his last appearance inside the UFC cage, ended in a submission loss, as the Polish contender secured a second-round arm-triangle choke victory, spoiling Krylov’s return to the Octagon and first opportunity to compete in Russia on the biggest stage in the sport.

“I was very disappointed with my previous performance because I got the co-main event in my UFC comeback, I fought for the first time in Moscow and I lost,” said Krylov, who went 4-0 with four finishes, including a second-round knockout of former UFC staple Fabio Maldonado to win the Fight Nights Global light heavyweight title, during his time away from the Octagon.

Seven months after falling to Blachowicz, Krylov got back into the win column by gaining a measure of revenge against Saint Preux, submitting the former interim title challenger in the second round of their rematch at UFC 236.

“The second fight with Saint Preux was a very exciting moment for me,” said Krylov, who pushed his record to 26-6 overall with the victory.  “I got to show what I can do when I’m in good shape.

“My preparation before this fight was one of the most expensive in my career. Had I lost, it would be very difficult because I wouldn’t really know what could be improved. Plus, for me, he remained the man who once beat me and (avenging that loss was) important. He fought with Jon Jones for five rounds, defeated Tyson Pedro and I’m glad that I was able to beat Ovince in our rematch.”

Saturday night on the West Coast of Canada, Krylov gets another opportunity to share the cage with a stalwart in the UFC light heavyweight division as he squares off with Teixeira in the last bout before headliners Donald Cerrone and Justin Gaethje set the Octagon ablaze.

Not only is it a crucial contest in terms of the divisional hierarchy in the ever-shifting 205-pound weight class, but it’s also an opportunity for the now 27-year-old Krylov to take that next step forward in his career and clear the hurdle that has tripped him up twice before.

USADA announced today that Dmitrii Smoliakov, of Kaliningrad, Russia, has accepted a two-year sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for prohibited substances.

Smoliakov, 37, tested positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) and intact human chorionic gonadtrophin (hCG) as the result of urine samples he provided out-of-competition on April 22, 2019 and in-competition on April 27, 2019 at ESPN+ FN 10, where he lost by technical knockout. rHuEPO is a synthetic hormone used to stimulate the body’s production of red blood cells, thereby increasing oxygen transport and aerobic power, and is prohibited at all times in the class of Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances, and Mimetics under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List. hCG is also in the class Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances and Mimetics and its use is prohibited for males at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.

Smoliakov’s two-year period of ineligibility, the standard sanction for a non-Specified Substance under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, began on April 22, 2019, the date his first positive sample was collected. Smoliakov has not competed in the UFC since his fight on April 27, 2019.

USADA conducts the year-round, independent anti-doping program for all UFC athletes. USADA is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental agency whose sole mission is to preserve the integrity of competition, inspire true sport, and protect the rights of clean athletes. In an effort to aid UFC athletes, as well as their support team members, in understanding the rules applicable to them, USADA provides comprehensive instruction on the UFC Anti-Doping Program website (https://UFC.USADA.org) regarding the testing process and prohibited substances, how to obtain permission to use a necessary medication, and the risks and dangers of taking supplements, as well as performance-enhancing and recreational drugs.

In addition, the agency manages a drug reference hotline, Drug Reference Online (https://UFC.GlobalDRO.com), conducts educational sessions, and proactively distributes a multitude of educational materials, such as the Prohibited List, easy-reference wallet cards, and periodic athlete alerts. Many of the resources available to athletes are provided in multiple languages, including Russian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Korean, and Japanese.

Along with education and testing, robust anti-doping programs enable investigations stemming from tips and whistleblowers. USADA makes available a number of ways to report the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs in sport in an effort to protect clean athletes and promote clean competition. Any tip can be reported using the USADA Play Clean Tip Center, by email at playclean@usada.org, by phone at 1 877-Play Clean (1-877-752-9253), or by mail.

Even in logging a dozen minutes in the cage with Russow in his sophomore Octagon appearance, Duffee has still spent less than 1000 seconds inside the UFC over the course of his five fights. Overall, he averages three minutes and 30 seconds in the cage each fight, but that number shrinks to just 54.67 seconds in his victories.

“It definitely feels like missed opportunities,” he said of his four-year absence from the Octagon, which came as a result of multiple surgeries, a nasty bout of MRSA and other issues following his main event loss to former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. “I ran into some management issues on my own, trying to secure a good contract; that was probably the hardest thing. It was really difficult, but again, I feel like it’s safe to say I’m the most exciting heavyweight in the UFC and I’ve done everything in the world to prove that.

“I don’t think it will be much different on Saturday.”

For his return to the Octagon, Duffee has been paired off with Jeff Hughes on the preliminary portion of this weekend’s fight card at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

A training partner of reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, the 31-year-old Hughes earned his place on the UFC roster with a first-round finish during Season 2 of the Contender Series, but dropped his promotional debut in March to TUF alum Maurice Greene.

ANDREW SANCHEZ VS. MARVIN VETTORI

Matt also had a great seat for the Khabib-Poirier showdown – what were his expectations for the fight?

There’s no one better to break down the fight than perhaps Khabib’s toughest opponent, Al Iaquinta. Raging Al discusses his upcoming fight with Dan Hooker in Australia on October 6th. He also talks about what he thinks of the Diaz vs Masvidal fight.

Then, Nate Diaz’s (and Wiz Khalifa’s) training partner joins the show – actor, stuntman and martial artist Ernie Reyes Jr. He talks about how Nate is preparing for Gamebred in NYC, plus how good his student Wiz Khalifa really is at MMA.

Participants:

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone – No. 4 UFC lightweight

Justin Gaethje – No. 5 UFC lightweight

Glover Teixeira – No. 10 UFC light heavyweight

Nikita Krylov – No. 13 UFC light heavyweight

Misha Cirkunov – No. 15 UFC light heavyweight

Cole Smith – UFC bantamweight

Speaking of consistent performers flying under the radar, Belal Muhammad has fit into that category in the stacked welterweight division, but with the crowd in Abu Dhabi firmly in his corner, the Chicago product scored his first submission victory, capping off a stellar effort with a third-round finish of Takashi Sato. Solid everywhere the fight went, Muhammad has earned his crack at the top 15 at 170 pounds, and if he doesn’t get his wish next, a firefight with Li Jingliang will disappoint no one.