Trevin Giles | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting Trevin Giles and Kevin Holland will collide at UFC APEX to open the UFC Vegas 5 main card, but that’s where the animosity ends on on Giles’ side. While there are a few hooks to the middleweight matchup, such as Giles and Holland both hailing from Texas and the fact that they share the same manager, Giles insists that a missed training session between the two isn’t one of them. Asked about Holland mentioning a supposed “brush off” in the past, Giles clarified that it was a simple miscommunication, and he doesn’t expect there to be added tension because of it. “I didn’t brush him off,” Giles said at UFC Vegas 5 media day.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images UFC Vegas 5 is just one day away, and MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Jose Youngs break down all the storylines heading into Saturday’s event in Las Vegas featuring Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan.

Handout Photo-USA TODAY Sports It looks like the UFC won’t be going back to Fight Island so soon. The promotion has requested permits for four events at the UFC APEX, including the Sept. 19 date reserved for UFC 253, which features a middleweight title fight between champ Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa. Additionally, five dates have been requested for Dana White’s Contender Series, which begins its fourth season on Sept. 1 at the UFC’s facility. The permit requests were disclosed as part of the agenda for the Nevada Athletic Commission’s Aug. 5 meeting in Las Vegas. The APEX became the domestic home for the UFC for a quintet of events in late May and June after the promotion restarted

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC UFC President Dana White is laying down the law on confronting UFC officials one week after a highly publicized dustup between UFC commentator Dan Hardy and Herb Dean, promising swift action for any UFC employee who interferes with an official’s job. “If you work for me and you approach a judge or a referee or any type of official, I will fire you,” White said. “You will lose your job. You will never work for me again if you do that.” Hardy was picked up on a hot mic during the UFC on ESPN 14 broadcast shouting to stop the Francisco Trinaldo vs. Jai Herbert fight after Herbert was felled by a punch. The former fighter

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images After UFC Vegas 5 weigh-ins, all the fighters squared off on Friday in Las Vegas.

Esther Lin, MMA Fighting Edmen Shahbazyan had no problems making weight for his first UFC main event. The unbeaten 22-year-old weighed in at 185.5 pounds for the UFC Vegas 5 middleweight headliner. Opponent Derek Brunson also successfully weighed in at 186 pounds. All but two of the 22 fighters scheduled to compete Saturday at UFC APEX in Las Vegas beat the scale, with the lone failed attempt belonging to bantamweight Jonathan Martinez. Martinez weighed in at 140.5 pounds, 4.5 pounds over the bantamweight limit, for his matchup with Frankie Saenz, who weighed in successfully at 136 pounds. Martinez’s bout with Saenz will proceed at a catchweight with Martinez forfeiting 30 percent of his purse to Saenz. A bout between Markus Perez and Charlie

Adam Borics | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting Adam Borics has a new opponent for the Bellator “Fightsphere.” Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Derek Campos has been removed from his scheduled bout with Borics at Bellator 243 for undisclosed reasons. Stepping in is promotional newcomer Mike Hamel on Aug. 7 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Borics looks to bounce back after his first professional loss to Darrion Caldwell in the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix at January’s Bellator 238 event. “The Kid” entered the bout with an impressive 14-fight winning streak, which includes five finishes in the Bellator cage of Anthony Taylor, Teodor Nikolov, Josenaldo Silva, Aaron Pico and Pat Curran. Hamel, 27,

Referee Marc Goddard and Ahmad Al Darmaki at a UAE Warriors show on Friday in Abu Dhabi | @Grabaka_Hitman, Twitter Featherweight Ahmad Al Darmaki threw away a much-needed win on Friday. Al Darmaki blew a fuse following a first-round submission of Bogdan Kirilenko at UAE Warriors 12 in Abu Dhabi, hanging on to a choke for longer than referee Marc Goddard’s liking and forcing the veteran official to step in and break the hold. Ahmad Al Darmaki was just DQ'd after he refused to release an RNC against Bogdan Kirilenko. Things got physical between him and ref Marc Goddard.#UAEWarriors12 pic.twitter.com/XF1azA1Jzs— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 31, 2020 An incensed Darmaki immediately became physical with Goddard and in the above clip he can be seen

Ray Borg | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting For the second time this year, Ray Borg has been removed from a scheduled fight. MMA Fighting confirmed with sources that Borg will no longer be competing in a bantamweight bout at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 5 event at UFC APEX in Las Vegas against Nathan Maness. After withdrawing for undisclosed reasons, Borg has been replaced by UFC newcomer Johnny Munoz (10-0). Munoz now faces Maness in a featherweight bout. The change was first reported by MMA Junkie. Borg has withdrawn from several UFC fights in his six-year run with the promotion, most recently missing a fight with Merab Dvalishvili at UFC on ESPN 10 in June due to personal reasons. The 26-year-old did not go

Esther Lin, MMA Fighting At the UFC Vegas 5 weigh-ins, all 22 fighters taking part in UFC Vegas 5 on Saturday night will step on the scale Friday morning. In the main event, Derek Brunson and Edmen Shahbazyan will have to make the middleweight limit of 186 pounds. The UFC Vegas 5 official weigh-in video will take place at 12 p.m. ET. Check out UFC Vegas 5 weigh-in results below. Main card (ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET) Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (185.5) Joanne Calderwood (126) vs. Jennifer Maia (124.5) Vicente Luque vs. Randy Brown (170.5) Lando Vannata vs. Bobby Green Kevin Holland (184) vs. Trevin Giles (185) Prelims (ESPN/ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET) Frankie Saenz vs. Jonathan Martinez (140.5)* Ed Herman vs. Gerald Meerschaert Nathan Maness vs. Johnny Munoz (145.5) Markus Perez