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MMA Today: No More APEX? UFC 305, Jake Paul To 2028 Olympics, Next Events

Here are the biggest headlines in MMA for Monday, Aug. 12.

Zain Bando

UFC

It's finally UFC 305 fight week, which means it's finally Monday, and yet another edition of MMA Today is back in the fold, courtesy of MMAKO's Zain Bando.

For the first time in the short history of the series, no recaps of fights will be discussed. The consensus of UFC Vegas 95 was too brutal of a watch that its arena's potential temporary closure might be a bigger storyline.

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Without further ado, let's get straight to the news for Monday, Aug. 12.

UFC APEX To Potentially Close In November?

As mentioned Sunday morning, the UFC APEX event era will be coming to a brief end in November, as the promotion plans to undergo a $25 million-dollar renovation to expand arena capacity, among other aspects.

The UFC APEX has its pros and cons. There have been 27 UFC events in 2024 thus far, with 11 of them taking place inside the venue. Those cards don't feature title fights but normally hold the attraction of putting on semi-top-contender types of main events. If anything, it helps showcase the next major pay-per-view star before fame, or an unexpected slugfest that the MMA community didn't see coming.

UFC CEO Dana White has even clarified his feelings about what the UFC APEX should and shouldn't be perceived as. During the pandemic, White famously described these cards as Zoom calls. With the pandemic far away in the rearview mirror, maybe the renovations will allow the promotion to realize that hosting quality Fight Night cards, such as the ones in St. Louis or Atlantic City, isn't always a bad idea. As the old saying goes, "It takes two to tango," and in this case, there's no 'tango' without the energy from the crowd.

“I’ve been saying this for a long time — we’ve got to get out of the APEX and start doing more events in all these different cities," White said in May. "We’re starting to do it. We’re getting it done this year.”

For the time being, however, the promotion's plans to host APEX shows will continue for the next few months, starting with the first episode of "Dana White's Contender Series," which begins Tuesday night with 10 straight weeks of five-fight cards with potentially multiple contract winners by night's end.

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Bad Blood Will Boil Over Between Dricus Du Plessis & Israel Adesanya Saturday Night

Barring anything catastrophic, Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya will finally fight for the middleweight title after a year-long wait. Adesanya will be looking to earn his belt back, while Du Plessis can successfully defend the belt for the very first time.

For those who missed it, the official "Countdown" special is on YouTube previewing the fight. MMA Knockout will be covering UFC 305 from all angles, including on fight night Saturday night.

Jake Paul Wants To Compete in 2028 Summer Olympics

Jake Paul continues to stay active in the boxing ring, but wants to take the next step in his career. During a recent podcast interview on Betr, Paul, who is coming off a KO/TKO win against Mike Perry, intends to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Calif. Paul said he was disappointed in Team USA's performances in Paris and wants to change the country's fortunes by then.

"I am going to enter the 2028 Olympics," Paul said. "For boxing, in Los Angeles."

Paul also made it clear that he will not retire early to pursue this venture, but it remains to be seen how everything plays out over the next few years.

What's Coming Up?

A busy week in MMA continues with the PFL postseason from Hollywood, Fla., featuring an 11-fight card headlined by Impa Kasanganay and Josh Silveira in a win-or-go-home rematch. The card begins at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on ESPN+ before transitioning to ESPN for main card action shortly thereafter..

The month of August will then roll on with the final playoff installment from Washington D.C., which will be covered more extensively next week.

Read More UFC & MMA News

• UFC News: Tom Aspinall Likens Stipe Miocic to Joe Biden, ‘Too Old’ to Fight Jon Jones

• MMA News: Fighter Lands Brutal Counterpunch for Record-Setting KO at EFC 116

• UFC 305: Former Featherweight Champion Picks Israel Adesanya To Regain Title

• UFC News: Dana White Reveals 'Holy S***' Moments Are What Make MMA Exciting

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Zain Bando

ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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