Curtis Blaydes will headline UFC Vegas 19 as he takes on fellow top heavyweight Derrick Lewis. The rest of the fight card is stacked with some incredibly interesting fights all the way to the preliminary card. However, the card had to be reduced by one fight after Rafael Alves missed weight for his fight against Patrick Sabatini.

The two men were supposed to fight in the featherweight division. Earlier today, Alves set a record that he might not want to be tagged with his name. The Brazilian fighter stepped on the scale at 157.5 pounds. A staggering 11.5 pounds over the featherweight non-title limit of 146-pounds. In the process, he set a record in the UFC for the biggest weight miss. The fight has been since scrapped from the card due to the lopsided miss.

What is next for Rafael Alves?
Unfortunately, Alves was one of four fighters to have missed weight for UFC Vegas 19. After missing weight, the Brazilian fighter said, “I ate salmon yesterday and fell ill, [had] vomit and diarrhea, so the doctor said I had to treat it with [drinking] water. I only had 2kg [4.4 pounds] left to cut, [but] when I drank water my weight went up and got stuck, so the doctor didn’t clear me to fight. But God owns everything, and He knows what He does”

Leading up to the fight, Alves had mentioned that this would be his last fight in the featherweight division and that he planned to move up to lightweight after his fight. However, this has been fast-tracked and Alves now aims at fighting in the lightweight division next and will not be aiming to make remake the fight with Patrick Sabatini.

The UFC has insisted that despite the record weight miss, the promotion will not be cutting ties with the fighter. ‘The Turn’ made his debut on Dana White’s Contender Series in August last year. This would have been his second fight in the UFC.

Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson held the previous record for missing weight when he came in 11 pounds overweight for his bout against Vitor Belfort at UFC 142.

2021 can see the biggest heavyweight showdown of the era take place between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua with all the world titles at stake.

It’s a matchup that has allured the boxing fans for several years and with both the contenders as champions, this is the right time to stage them opposite each other.

However, the fight is still to have an official clarification as the promoters are trying to come under terms. We all are aware of the politics in boxing and its inevitable ability to ruin the big fights.

That said, Bob Arum is optimistic about its materialization and has shed light on the developments to the fight. In an interaction with the Pug and Copp, the Top Rank Kingpin clarified that some minor aspects need to be resolved and we can expect the heavyweight blockbuster to happen this year.

Arum said, “What I can say is we are down no to the last couple of fights, everybody has done their job, everybody has had their say, everybody is going over the document and hopefully, we will be able to come to an agreement on these last couple of points which I really believe will be the case.

“And at that point, under the contract, which I don’t want to talk about what’s in the contract.”

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He added, “Both parties will jointly announce the fight and then maybe a week or two later, they will announce the site of the fight. That’s the plan. The way I am talking, it’s not done yet, but I am extraordinarily optimistic that it gets done.”

Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua- A battle for the ages
Meanwhile, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua also appear ready to lock horns, citing a nail-biting fight between themselves in the coming days. Following a successful KO over Kubrat Pulev, Joshua initiated the call and demanded to fight Tyson Fury.

In response, Fury posted a video on social media and accepted the challenge. While the matchup has its roots in history, there’s no running away from this point.

Both Joshua and Fury have faced their mandataries and don’t have any more relevant contenders left apart from each other. So, a fight between them will help the division to move forward.

It will also determine the best heavyweight boxer of the era and the new undisputed champion. So, fans cannot afford to miss out on a particular fight.

Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr will return to the ring for an eight-round exhibition fight on September 12 in Los Angeles. Tyson, 54, and Jones, 51, are legends of American boxing but will be making shock comebacks, although it is expected they will wear headgear and use larger gloves.

Jones Jr posted on social media: “I am happy that this fight between me and Mike Tyson will happen! I was always ready and will be ready this time as well.”

The former heavyweight champion Tyson has been posting ferocious clips of himself in training over the past few months fuelling speculation of a first fight since 2005. Jones Jr, a four-weight world champion, won fights in 2017 and 2018 in what was his 75th pro fight. Tyson previously said: “I want to go to the gym and get in shape to be able to box three or four-round exhibitions for some charities and stuff.