Instagram: @ufc

The UFC has found its newest matchmaker.

Historically, the worldwide leader in MMA has kept a pretty tight-knit group in charge of fight-booking duties. For most of the company’s existence, Joe Silva was the man synonymous with the term “MMA matchmaker.” Having since retired and found his way into the UFC Hall of Fame’s contributor wing, Silva has been succeeded by the pair of Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard. Well, go ahead and add Joe Reeves to the team as of Oct. 10, 2023.

UFC recently put on a “matchmaker sweepstakes” tournament, allowing fans to enter with the chance to be UFC matchmaker for a day and book one fight of their choosing. Surely, this came with some type of certain rationale, but in the end, it didn’t matter, according to UFC President Dana White. Reeves was so educated on the UFC that White went ahead and officially brought him on board.

“You wanna know how f****** good Joe is?” White asked at the Contender Series post-fight presser. “I just hired Joe. Joe works for us now. Yeah. This f****** kid is awesome.

“I literally just back there, I did all the contracts and I came back in and I said, ‘I got one more. You want to work for the UFC?’ He freaked out. He is a f****** UFC lunatic. He went toe-to-toe with the boys today, he knew every — bring up a guy on the roster he don’t know. He knows everybody on the roster and he actually did make a fight today. So, apparently — Lenee came into my office today raving about the kid, ‘Oh, this kid’s awesome, we love him,’ and this and that. He met a bunch of fighters in the P.I. today and one of ‘em was Cody Garbrandt. They were talking and I guess Garbrandt said, ‘Listen, if you’re the matchmaker for a day, I want a fight in December.’ So he came in and started pitching us on fights for Cody Garbrandt in December and he made a fight.”

Whether or not the former bantamweight champion Garbrandt played his hand wisely when running into the UFC’s newest staff member remains to be seen. “No Love” hasn’t fought since UFC 285 this past March when he earned a unanimous decision rebound win over Trevin Jones. UFC 292 was supposed to see Garbrandt back in action against Mario Bautista in August but unfortunately, was forced out after suffering an injury.

White wouldn’t budge on Reeves’ first official booking as a UFC matchmaker. Ultimately, the boss is optimistic about his newest addition and what they can do together as a team.

“When we’re ready [we’ll tell],” White said of the Garbrandt fight. “I don’t want to say it before the f****** kids even know that they’re fighting, you know what I mean? Because they don’t know yet but yeah, Cody, good work. You got it done. He’s fighting in December.

“And you know what Joe’s wife does for a living? They live in Detroit, Michigan. Guess what Joe’s wife does for a living. She’s a blackjack dealer. It’s like this was meant to be. Think she’s gonna find a job out here in Vegas? I think she will.”

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MORNING MUSIC

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Whoops.

Work time.

Enjoyed.

Hobby!

Nasty.

Rules shmules.

Statement.

Location, location, location.

It will continue to break.

Mhmm…

Sambo is fake!

Iconic.

Maybe?

The cut…

Bones.

The response.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Islam Makhachev (24-1) vs. Alexander Volkanovski (26-2); UFC 294, Oct. 21

Meng Bo (21-6) vs. Ayaka Miura (11-5); ONE Fight Night 16, Nov. 3

Gabriel Santos (10-2) vs. Westin Wilson (16-8); UFC Vegas 83, Jan. 13

Gillian Robertson (12-8) vs. Polyana Viana (13-6); UFC 297, Jan. 20

Serhiy Sidey (10-1) vs. Ramon Taveras (8-2); UFC 297, Jan. 20

FINAL THOUGHTS

If he’s as good as White says he is, I’m hopeful to see a nice uptick in quality matchmaking. Not to say things have necessarily been bad as of late… but the middleweight division, in particular, has obviously provided some head-scratchers this year.

Thanks for reading!

EXIT POLL

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