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From a nasty eye poke to surprise baby revelations, Saturday's (Feb. 3) UFC Vegas 85 saw several intriguing incidents unfold at Apex. Meanwhile, Turki Alalshikh announced a new date for Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, but with a contingency plan.
Below are the biggest stories presented by Sportskeeda's MMA News Roundup.
Exciting things that happened at UFC Vegas 85
Despite being a Fight Night event, UFC Vegas 85 had its share of excitement on Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Apex. Headlined by Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov, the card saw Themba Gorimbo secure his second promotional win and Molly McCann make a successful strawweight debut in the prelims.
The main card kicked off with Charles Radtke taking a jab at Colby Covington following a knockout win over Gilbert Urbina. Next up, the middleweight clash between Aliaskhab Khizriev and Makhmud Muradov finished in a disappointing eye poke, resulting in the fastest No Contest in UFC history jointly with a Kevin Casey and Antonio Carlos Junior fight.
After a decision win over Drew Dober, Renato Moicano disclosed in an expletive-laced speech that his father, at 62 years old, has welcomed a baby into this world recently. The main event between Dolidze and Imavov ended in a decision as well in the latter's favor.
Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk to have $10M penalty clause
After the originally scheduled fight on Feb. 17 got postponed due to Tyson Fury suffering a cut in training, the bout with Oleksandr Usyk is now targeted on May 18. The news was revealed by Saud Arabia's Turki Alalshikh on The MMA Hour.
To deter any further withdraws or delays, there is a $10 million penalty clause in the contract. Whoever pulls out of the May 18 date will forfeit the amount of their purse for the fight.
Watch the exclusive interview below [Comments are from 5:40]:
Themba Gorimbo gets "delusional" after win over Pete Rodriguez
After debuting with a loss, Themba Gorimbo has bounced back well with two back-to-back wins, the latest coming against Pete Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 85. He needed only 32 seconds of the first round to knock Rodriguez out and secure the 12th win of his career, which left the fans at a loss for words.
In the post-fight interview with the media, Gorimbo said he believes he will not need to run through the welterweight rankings but will end up with an accidental title shot due to a short-notice win.
"It's [title shot in 2024] gonna happen. What is gonna happen is something like a short-notice fight with a guy in the top ten, and I'll beat him and make my case. It's not gonna be a clear pathway [where] I have to fight through the rankings. I don't have to do that."
Watch his comments below:
Fans did not take too well to his bold claims. One said he was acting too "entitled", while another cited it to the backing of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.
Read the fan reactions here.
