Kayla Harrison isn’t surprised that Julianna Pena didn’t address her after reclaiming the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) edged out Raquel Pennington in Saturday’s UFC 307 co-main event at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. On the same night, Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) became No. 1 contender when she defeated Ketlen Vieira.

During Peña’s post-fight interview in the octagon, a split screen showed Harrison watching her talk. But instead of calling out Harrison, Peña turned her attention to a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes.

“I think she’s just scared, got to make a lot of noise,” Harrison told TMZ. “I think she’ll do anything not to fight me, including call out – she’s probably going to call out Ronda Rousey next. I’m used to it. We’re blonde, and we did judo, so we must be just alike. From what I understand from my manager, I’m next.”

Harrison was asked who she’d rather fight next: Peña for the title or Nunes, and the two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka said she has a plan.

“I want both,” Harrison said. “Can I not have both? I want to win the title. Give Amanda time to get back in shape and train. She can be training for me that whole time. I’ll go f*ck up Julianna real quick, and then Amanda and I can fight.”

Many thought Pennington was robbed against Peña and Harrison agrees – even though she admits that she didn’t get to watch the entire fight.

“I didn’t get to see the full fight, I haven’t gone back and watched the first round yet, but I thought that ‘Rocky’ (Pennington) won,” Harrison said. “I mean, it’s kind of like an unspoken rule: You’ve got to take the title. You don’t get to steal the title. You’ve got to take the title.

“And I looked on MMA Decisions and every single – like that never happened. I’ve never seen it where every single journalist agrees, and they all said that Raquel won it. I didn’t see the first round, so I can’t absolutely say.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

MMA Fighting has DWCS Season 8, Week 9 results for all the action from season eight, week nine of UFC’s Contender Series on Tuesday night at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

In the main event, Artem Vakhitov (2-1) faces Islem Masraf in a heavyweight contest. Vakhitov, a former GLORY kickboxer, has competed in the kickboxing ring with current UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira, going 1-1 including a decision victory over “Poatan” in September 2021. Vakhitov enters the bout with back-to-back first-round finishes under his belt.

Masraf has finished all three of his opponents, including a 10-second head-kick knockout in his most recent outing at PFL Europe 1 in March. Masraf has yet to go past the seven-minute mark in any of his pro bouts.

In the co-main event, Kody Steele gets his chance to compete in front of Dana White and crew as he faces Chasen Blair. The undefeated Steele was slated to face Quemuel Ottoni on the Sept. 10 DWCS fight card, but Ottoni withdrew from the bout moments before.

Check out DWCS Season 8, Week 9 results below.

Main card (Live now on ESPN+)

Artem Vakhitov vs. Islem Masraf

Kody Steele vs. Chasen Blair

Mario Pinto vs. Luis Camacho

Islam Dulatov vs. Vanilto Antunes

Sean Gauci vs. Anthony Drilich

Over 50 former UFC fighters submitted letters of support for the proposed settlement agreement in the Le vs. Zuffa antitrust class-action lawsuit.

According to online records, the letters were filed Monday by plaintiffs as part of a memorandum in support of settlement. The filing comes 12 days after the agreement proposal was filed Sept. 26.

News of the filings was first reported by journalist John Nash.

The proposed agreement amount is $375 million. It comes less than two months after U.S. District Court judge Richard Boulware denied an initial proposal of $335 million.

The initial proposal also included Johnson vs. Zuffa under its umbrella, whereas the current proposal is strictly for Le vs. Zuffa.

The letters

Many fighters who wrote letters painted a picture of life after fighting.  Reoccurring themes across the letters include financial struggles, physical injuries, brain trauma concerns, and mental health problems.

The fighters reiterated their preference for immediate financial relief rather than risking the outcomes of a trial, which could benefit the fighters more or leave them completely empty-handed.

“For me, a significant recovery in the near future is much more appealing than the possibility of a larger recovery several years from now, especially in light of the possibility that there would be no recovery at all if this settlement were not approved,” each letter read. “In my situation, a bird in the hand truly does beat two (or three, or even nine) in the bush.”

Among the most notable names is UFC Hall of Famer Wanderlei Silva, who stated concerns for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

“While fighting for the UFC, I suffered many significant injuries, including concussions,” Silva wrote. “I fear that during my career I have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) and am noticing symptoms common with TBI and CTE including depression, mood swings, and irritability. To date, no treatment for CTE has been found. I suffer from sleep apnea and have difficulty sleeping and breathing.”

“The Ultimate Fighter, Season 1” winner Diego Sanchez voiced similar worries about his health, including bouts of depression, and financial problems after his UFC career concluded.

“Increasingly, day to day survival is a struggle,” Sanchez wrote.

UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee recalled 16 surgeries he had during his career, but went into greater detail about the narrative he said the promotion crafted around him, likely referring to 2010 comments made by Dana White.

“Picture yourself at 25 in the most important job interview of your life,” Duffee wrote. “To have the interviewer question why your former employer at a fighting organization, believes you to have a bad attitude and to announce it is publicly causing them to express concern over this characterization— simply because you refused to fight while injured for a second time in a row after previously competing with a torn MCL and shingles in your eye.

“I am sure you can see how this mischaracterization has had quite an economic impact moving through my life. It has continued to haunt me and is weaponized against me in all kinds of business job settings stifling my potential for many opportunities.”

Shane Carwin

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Former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin said he still struggles from the damage sustained during his six-fight stint with the promotion, and can no longer focus on his day job.

“Cognitive tests conducted at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for
Brain Health and Concussion Legacy Foundation at Boston University (among others) are indicating I have suffered damage to the pre-frontal cortex and left hemisphere,” Carwin wrote. “I spend days in bed suffering from bouts of paranoia, fear and anxiety.”

The list of other notables who submitted letters include Matt Brown, Patrick Cote, Jon Fitch, Cung Le, Sage Northcutt, and Cat Zingano, among others.

A full list of the fighters who submitted letters can be viewed here.

Feb 28, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Cat Zingano leaves the arena after she was defeated by Ronda Rousey (not pictured) in her women’s bantamweight title bout at UFC 184 at Staples Center. Rousey won in the first round. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

What does the settlement look like?

According to the recent filing, the total sum allotted to the plaintiffs (should Boulware approve), will be $375 million. It will be paid in installments.

According to the proposed notice of class action settlement, each fighter’s payout will depend on two factors: the number of fights they had and the amount of money they earned from the UFC during the class window.

“The proposed Plan of Allocation can be summarized as follows,” the notice states. “Each Claimant will be allocated his or her share of the Net Le v. Zuffa Settlement Fund based upon two pro rata factors: (i) the total compensation each received from the UFC for participating in UFC bouts (i.e., the fighter’s Event Compensation) during the Class Period; and (ii) the total number of UFC bouts each fought during the Class Period. All Claimants will receive a minimum recovery amount of $15,000.”

What’s next?

Upon receiving the previous settlement proposal, Boulware denied it based factors including what he perceived to be a low payout, particularly given the initial asking amount by the plaintiffs.

It’s not yet known if Boulware will sign off on the new agreement. If Boulware denies the settlement and the case goes to trial, Plaintiffs would need a unanimous jury verdict to win. Even with victory, the plaintiffs could be looking at years worth of appeals before seeing compensation or injunctive relief.

Should Boulware approve this new agreement, the Johnson vs. Zuffa case will continue separately. The class in that case includes all fighters who competed in one UFC bout from July 1, 2017, to the present and seeks injunctive relief.

It was Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor’s first game in charge of the club in the Women’s Champions League so she was pleased to get off to a winning start.

The Frenchwoman has won the competition three times, twice as a player and once as a manager with former club Lyon.

But she said on Monday that the postponement of Chelsea’s Women’s Super League match against Manchester United – due to be played on Sunday – impacted their preparation.

They had not played a competitive fixture in 10 days when they lined up at Stamford Bridge to face Real and were hit by illness in the squad this week.

“We have to play with a lot of intensity. I don’t want to find excuses but maybe because we didn’t play for 10 days, it’s something that can help you understand why tonight we were a little bit down,” said Bompastor.

“We scored the two goals but the players were not working as hard as I wanted them to work on the pitch.

“When we had the ball we were just walking to get the ball which is not enough. If you want to possess the ball, you have to run a lot.”

Bompastor also said she wanted her side to “manage the game more” after sloppiness let Real back into the game.

“When I say manage the game, it’s not about slowing it down, but being smarter,” added Bompastor.

“When you begin the game with two goals, it’s good to keep that result. We conceded two goals where we maybe could have done better.

“We were a bit nervous about Madrid getting stronger. I would like us to manage the game better.”

Kayla Harrison entered the UFC cage for the second time this past Saturday to defeat Ketlen Vieira in Salt Lake City and move one step closer to the bantamweight title, and Larissa Pacheco disapproved the PFL social media game that day.

Harrison started her MMA career under the PFL banner in 2018 and won 15 of her 16 bouts. The lone defeat came against Pacheco, whom she beat twice before, and PFL used Harrison’s big UFC 307 clash to promote Pacheco’s upcoming fight with MMA legend Cris Cyborg on Oct. 19. PFL also posted a clip promoting Harrison later that day.

“I thought that was uncalled for, honestly,” Pacheco said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “I think [PFL] have the champion they deserve, they have a respectful champion, who has defeated Kayla, so why do that? Promote me right. Let’s promote the champion. ‘Oh, but Larissa beat Kayla.’ You don’t need that. I’ve shown [my work] with other results, I’ve proven myself, so you don’t need that.

“But anyway, that’s not on me. I have nothing to do with that. I respect Kayla. Our rivalry is over right now because she’s in another organization. Had she stayed here it would be the two of us and Cris clashing heads here, but there’s no reason to talk [about her now]. I wish her good luck. The more she wins, the bigger my win over her gets, so I’ll always cheer for her.”

UFC CEO Dana White also bashed PFL for the tweet, joking that “when you’re losing as much money as they are, f*cking go for it.”

Cyborg is a legend of the sport with titles won in the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce and Invicta FC. Pacheco looks to make history by adding the Brazilian to her list of victims after winning belts in two weight classes in the PFL.

Pacheco is riding a 10-fight winning streak and has only lost to Harrison, Germaine de Randamie and Jessica Andrade in 27 professional fights, but feels “it’s clear to everybody” that PFL has promoted Harrison differently.

“I don’t know if it’s because I’m Brazilian, if it’s because I don’t speak English and don’t sell that much, but I feel the difference,” Pacheco said. “She’s not even here anymore and they still [post] a lot about her, you know? She’s gone, she’s already in another organization. I think they can look at people that are in the organization.”

Pacheco hopes the public perception — and actual PFL marketing machine — changes with a win over Cyborg in Saudi Arabia.

“I think it takes me to another level, makes me one of the greats in women’s MMA,” Pacheco said. “To beat two great athletes — one two-time Olympic champion with all the hype now in the UFC, and a legend [in Cyborg]… What else do I need to say? It will take me to another level and give me the credibility promotions still don’t give me. I miss that, I won’t deny. Even from the PFL, to treat me and give credit as their actual champion.”

“People give too much weight to the fact that I’ve lost to Kayla, but I’ve l lost in 2019, when I was broken, and people don’t take that in consideration. And I won when we were both in our primes, the peak of our performances. I’m not saying one win deserves more credit than two, but there’s a huge difference. And beating Cris now would give me the hype and credibility that I need at this stage of my career.”