Rose Namajunas is ready to get back in the mix.

The former UFC strawweight champion successfully hit the 125-pound mark for her co-main event bout against Erin Blanchfield at UFC Edmonton. Currently No. 10 and No. 8, respectively, in the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings, Namajunas and Blanchfield could earn themselves title shot consideration with a win. It’s unlikely either bypasses top contender Manon Fiorot—who recently defeated both fighters—but Saturday’s winner could be next in line should they deliver an impressive performance.

In the main event, flyweights Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi also successfully made weight. Moreno is a two-time UFC champion and seeks to hold on to his No. 4 spot after a pair of painful split-decision losses to rivals Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval. He’ll have to get past No. 6 Albazi, a contender coming off of a long layoff that is yet to lose in five UFC appearances.

Watch UFC Edmonton ceremonial weigh-in video above, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET.

All 28 fighters competing at Saturday’s event at Rogers Place successfully made weight at Friday’s official morning weigh-ins.

See UFC Edmonton weigh-in results below.

Main Card (ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)

Brandon Moreno (125.5) vs. Amir Albazi (125.5)

Erin Blanchfield (125.5) vs. Rose Namajunas (125)

Derrick Lewis (266) vs. Jhonata Diniz (257)

Caio Machado (205) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (205)

Marc-Andre Barriault (185) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (185.5)

Mike Malott (170.5) vs. Trevin Giles (170)

Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 5 p.m. ET)

Aiemann Zahabi (135.5) vs. Pedro Munhoz (135)

Ariane da Silva (125) vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius (125)

Charles Jourdain (135) vs. Victor Henry (135)

Jack Shore (145.5) vs. Youssef Zalal (145)

Alexandr Romanov (261) vs. Rodrigo Nascimento (264)

Serhiy Sidey (135) vs. Garrett Armfield (135)

Chad Anheliger (135) vs. Cody Gibson (135.5)

Jamey-Lyn Horth (126) vs. Ivana Petrovic (125)

Arsenal interim manager Renee Slegers says she will be in charge for at least the next five matches at the Women’s Super League club.

Dutchwoman Slegers took over on 15 October when former manager Jonas Eidevall resigned.

Slegers has since overseen a 4-1 win over against Valerenga in the Women’s Champions League group stages and a 2-0 victory over West Ham in the WSL.

“For these five games, I will be staying in the interim role,” said Slegers.

When asked if she could see herself doing the role long-term, she added: “I definitely see myself doing it at the moment.

“I enjoy working with the girls and the club to try to get successes. I have done it before and enjoy the role but when you do it over a period of time it becomes different. Now, I am really enjoying my role.”

New York City head coach Nick Cushing has emerged as a candidate to replace Eidevall but is overseeing play-off matches in the United States in November.

Cushing led Manchester City to the WSL title in 2016 during a seven-year spell before moving to the United States in 2020.

Arsenal face a trip to Leigh Sports Village to take on Manchester United in the WSL on Sunday before hosting Brighton next Friday – both teams are currently above them in the table.

They also play Juventus twice in the Women’s Champions League this month, either side of an away game at north London rivals Tottenham in the WSL.

“We are competing in two competitions. If you want to get straight to it, we are going for five wins,” said Slegers.

“That is what we’re trying to achieve. It’s as easy as that on paper. I know it’s small margins, top opposition and it will be hard challenges but of course we believe we can achieve that.”

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – A high-stakes matchup in the women’s flyweight division is one step close to reality after Erin Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas made weight for UFC Fight Night 246.

Blanchfield (12-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC), a 25-year-old standout, will look to rebound from her first octagon loss when she takes on two-time strawweight champion Namajunas (13-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC), who has won two of three since changing divisions, in a five-round bout Saturday at Rogers Place (ESPN+).

Both women had to make weight Friday at the UFC host hotel before they can share the octagon, though, and they did their part. Blanchfield stepped on the scale at 125.5 pounds, while Namajunas was 1 25 pounds even.

Check out the video above to see Blanchfield and Namajunas make weight for the UFC Fight Night 246 co-headliner.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.

UFC champ Alexandre Pantoja believes his upcoming title defense against Kai Asakura would deliver in the main event spot at UFC 310.

Pantoja and Asakura are set for a championship bout at the UFC’s year-end pay-per-view event Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout was slated to be the co-main event of the card behind the Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov welterweight title bout, but Muhammad was forced to withdraw from the contest after suffering a nasty bone infection on his foot.

Rakhmonov says he’d be open to remaining on the card to fight for an interim title, but currently, the card is without a main event.

“I heard about Belal [being] hurt like two days ago in my gym before and I said, ‘It’s right?,’” Pantoja told MMA Fighting. “But it’s just talk, the guys just talking about it and then [earlier] I just seen the video [with him] in hospital with his feet. That’s a real, real problem on there, and this happens [at] a lot in the MMA gyms, some infections [on] the floor, they go to the gym. … I just [have] one main event in my life — in my last fight [at UFC 301] in Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro, and I know there’s some difference [fighting in that spot].

“You need to do more stuff to sell your pay-per-view, sell your fight, and let’s go. It’s a good time to learn about that. I think what everybody knows about is how I’m fighting, and after, I took a little break — maybe people don’t realize that, but I took a little break. My last fight was in May and now I fight in December, and this break is very good for me, for my family, you know. a lot of pressure, three title fights, and my coach Marcos Parrumpa say to me, ‘You need a break, you need to relax. You and your family need like one or two months. Don’t think about fights, you know, don’t think about you [needing] a fight, no cameras and everything.

“And now I’m feel super fresh for that fight because I had a good time, my family had a good time and now we’re in camp again. And we can see the difference in the house because my family breathes my fights because this happened for so many years. I know, 100 percent, I’m going to put on a very good show. I don’t like to say I’m going to finish that guy, I do my job, but, 100 percent, I’m in the best shape of my life.”

Pantoja captured the title with a decision win in an exciting battle with Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 in July 2023. “The Cannibal” has gone on to successfully defend the title twice, earning decision wins against Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg.

He’ll face Asakura, the former RIZIN bantamweight champion who signed with the UFC earlier this year. Asakura enters the bout after finishing his past two opponents, including former Bellator champ Juan Archuleta at RIZIN 45 this past December to regain the RIZIN 135-pound title.

With both fighters bringing exciting styles and fun fights to the cage, Pantoja’s suggestion is to have the UFC brass put the phones down and let the 125-pound fighters slug it out to close out the promotion’s pay-per-view year.

“I’m super excited, I’m the main event right now,” Pantoja said. “OK, I don’t talk too much, I’m from Brazil, my English is not so good but I think everybody has a good opportunity to see one of the best [fights] of the year. [The UFC signs] Asakura, the Japanese star, the champion from Japan for long years. I’m super happy with that crossover. I think it all the MMA fans want to see more of that. I [was] talking about [this] in the gym, we have Johnny Eblen in my gym. He’s a Bellator champ, I think about, maybe you have to bring him to UFC.

“That’s what everybody wants to see: The best [in the] UFC versus another promotion, another champion for all the world, and I have the opportunity. I’m very happy with the opponent for me, and more because I have [fought in main] events and Asakura [is] very popular in Japan, and I know [that] the Japanese buy a lot of pay-per-views too. That’s very good.”

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