On December 23, 2022, the MMA community was deeply saddened by the tragic news that former UFC light heavyweight contender Stephan Bonnar died at the age of 45.

“Stephan Bonnar was one of the most important fighters to ever compete in the octagon,” commented UFC President Dana White. “His fight with Forrest Griffin changed the sport forever, and he will never be forgotten. The fans loved him, related to him, and he always gave them the best. He will be missed.”

Bonnar made his name known during the UFC’s first-ever airing of The Ultimate Fighter reality show in 2005. And with the help of Forrest Griffin, Bonnar produced one of the greatest fights of all time, a bout that earned him a place in UFC’s Hall of Fame fight wing.

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Many people regularly participate in gambling activities, whether placing bets on their favorite sporting event or enjoying casino games. Gambling’s main principle is that you put your funds at risk in exchange for an opportunity to earn considerably more cash than you put up. As a result, gambling seems to have a lot of benefits, as you will discover if you dig a little deeper. However, most of the gambling’s benefits also do not physically manifest because gambling differs greatly from working out.

It has been over two years since the long reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones stepped away from the sport and relinquished his title.  Since then, the division has been in turmoil.  The title belt has already been passed through three sets of hands – a similar state of affairs to what the division went through in the period between Chuck Liddell losing the title and Jones finding his way to the top. It may be a while before we have another dominant champion at 205 lbs.  If you are a bettor, this could mean some unpredictable results, but if you have a knack for predicting fights, you can try your luck betting on UFC with crypto at Cloudbet. In the meantime, let’s look at the current top fighters in the division, and their prospects in the near future.

[#1] (C)  Jiri Prochazka 

The current UFC champion hails from Czech Republic and holds a record of 29-3-1, with only one of his fights going to a decision. Prochazka has a wild, aggressive fighting style.  This generally leads to exciting fights and earned Jiri a title shot in his third fight with the promotion, after scoring knockouts over Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes. Prochazka was in some trouble in a war with the previous champ Glover Teixeira, but against all odds managed to submit Glover with a rear naked choke in the last minute of the fight. Jiri’s offense-heavy style may ultimately cost him the title but he is sure to deliver enterntaiment while on top. Prochazka expressed interest in facing Jan or rematching Teixeira for his first defense.

Conor McGregor has been putting the hard yards in at the gym as he continues his recovery from a broken leg. But by the looks of things, he is trying something new to strike fear into his rivals.

A video recently surfaced of the Irishman using his unconventional “bow and arrows” technique and he is gearing up for a return to the Octagon later this year. The “bow and arrows” technique seems to be modelled on boxing and McGregor famously took on Floyd Mayweather nearly five years ago in one of the highest-grossing exhibition fights in Las Vegas.

For now, McGregor has been hitting pads with his coach and he will be itching for a return after back-to-back defeats last year in his ongoing feud with Dustin Poirier. While McGregor came under fire from UFC rival Henry Cejudo over his boxing heavy approach, labelling it “unbelievable”, McGregor is sticking to his guns and isn’t moving away from his style.

Mixed martial arts fights are exciting and intense. There are so many fans of this popular combat sport worldwide, and you’re likely one of them. You probably gamble on the fighters sometimes for fun, but what if you could get a consistent payout by turning this hobby into a lucrative one?

With the correct sports betting intel, you can make huge profits on your bets and get a long-term edge over the odds. Gambling on these matches is not about favorites or how much time you’ve spent watching the sport. It requires substantial analysis of the fighters, gameplay, and history. What if this is not your forte? How can you turn a profit while learning from industry experts without breaking the bank?

An MMA gambling podcast is an excellent tool for gaining fun insights and reliable information. Choose one of the podcasts prepared by the experts of the CasinoTop service listed below. This will allow and enjoy insightful conversations on betting news, tips, and tricks, and have the opportunity to win real money.

Learn how to be an expert bettor and win big without putting in too much work with these podcasts.

Mixed Martial Arts or MMA is an exciting sport with a combination of different types of Martial Arts. Jiu-jitsu is a form of Martial Art that focuses on taking the fight to the ground and grappling. It consists of different techniques – positioning, submissions via joint manipulation, chokes, sweeps, and reversals. Most professional MMA fighters have different martial arts backgrounds, some started jiu jitsu training no gi style. Here are the top 5 UFC Superstars who are well known for their jiu jitsu even before they entered the cage:

Official sites for humanitarian aid to Ukraine

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of military people and civilians have become the victims of the war. Millions had to leave their homes seeking a safer place to live. Over 1.5 million people left the country and found support in Poland, Slovakia, Moldova, and other European countries. Ukrainians are grateful for the help we receive from all around the world, but the humanitarian crisis has already reached some cities and towns in Ukraine. On March 8, a child died of dehydration in Mariupol city.

How to Help Children in Ukraine?

The Red Cross is working to provide food, water, medicines, and other humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s citizens trapped in towns surrounded and blocked by occupying Russian forces. You can support this international charity organization if you donate to Ukraine crisis fund here.

Another way to support children in Ukraine is to provide financial aid via UNICEF. This organization collects funds for first aid kits, medicines, and the support of 7.5 million children living in Ukraine. You can send your donations here.

Charity for Humanitarian Needs

The platform WithUkraine, along with the National Bank of Ukraine, accepts foreign aid to Ukraine’s citizens. The costs collected by these fundraisers will be used to provide humanitarian aid to the victims of war, refugees, and Ukrainian children.

Donate to Support the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The National Bank of Ukraine opened a special account to raise charity funds to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Another charity organization working to support the Ukraine army is Come Back Alive. Visit their website to donate money and support Ukraine against Russian aggression.

There will be plenty for UFC fans to get excited about over the coming weeks.

UFC enthusiasts will be eagerly anticipating UFC 269 next month where Charles Oliveira will put his lightweight title on the line former interim champion Dustin Poirier.

Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that Poirier may hang up his gloves and retire from the Octagon. However, that appears to be the furthest thought from his mind, and when quizzed whether he would consider walking away, Poirier was unequivocal with his answer.

He said: “Nah man – I’m a fighter. I’m fortunate enough now, with this year that I’ve had that I could walk away.

“It’s a great position to be in, but these guys need ass-whoopings, and I’m the guy to give it to them. And we can’t walk away like that.”

Poirier (28-6) will fancy his chances against Oliveira (31-8), and it will mark his second attempt at an undisputed UFC Championship after he lost via submission against Khabib Nurmagomedov over two years ago.

2021 has been a busy year for the UFC.  Year-to-date, the organization held eight numbered Pay-Per-View (PPV) events, with 12 title bouts. Of those, the reigning champions defended their titles six times, the belts changed hand four times, and a vacant or interim belt was crowned on two occasions. This is not to mention the almost weekly Fight Night events, totaling 28 shows for the year and bringing the all-time count to 575 (!) with last weekend’s UFC on ESPN 30.

Here’s a look at the five most interesting fights scheduled in the UFC for the remainder of the year. These fights are sure to be exciting, possibly even more so you partake in online betting on some of your favorite fighters. Three of these five are title bouts, three are rematches, one is a top contender bout and one fun nostalgic matchup to boot.

[#1 WW] Kamaru Usman vs [#2 WW] Colby Covington

This is the currently scheduled UFC matchup I am personally looking forward to the most. Kamaru Usman will be looking to defend his UFC (and lineal) Welterweight title for the fifth time, which will tie for second place with Matt Hughes for most title defenses in the division. Usman and Colby Covington previously met in the Octagon in 2019, with Usman stopping Covington with strikes in the fifth round in what was an absolute barn-burner of a fight.  Usman seems to have only improved since then, defeating Gilbert Burns as well as taking two wins over Jorge Masvidal. His most recent win over Masvidal was a thunderous knock out that shocked many fans. Covington in the meanwhile only fought once, dominating and stopping former champion Tyron Woodley. It remains to be seen how much has Colby improved his overall game and how he will deal with Usman’s ever evolving striking this time around. We will find out in November, close to two years since their first matchup.