Excitement surged among fans when Muay Thai legend Liam "The Hitman" Harrison recently announced on Instagram his return to competition. Harrison, who retired in 2024 laying down his gloves after his loss to Seksan, has decided to pick up his gloves once again and make a highly anticipated comeback in ONE Championship. Known for his aggressive style, thunderous leg kicks, and thrilling knockouts, Harrison's return promises to add further excitement and intensity to the already stacked ONE Championship events. Fans eagerly await to see if "The Hitman" can reclaim his former glory and entertain with his explosive striking style.

This weekend’s fight cards offer something for everyone—from boxing purists appreciating tactical matchups to MMA fans hungry for dramatic rivalries and kickboxing enthusiasts eager for world-class striking. Each main event brings significant implications for rankings, legacies, and careers.Get ready for an unforgettable weekend of combat sports excitement!

Is Star Power declining in the UFC?

March 11, 2025

By Chris Cannon, M2MMA General Manager

This past weekend's defeat of Alex Pereira signaled more than just a title change—it highlighted an issue quietly brewing within the UFC: a growing lack of star power. For the last decade and a half, the UFC has experienced unprecedented global growth driven by iconic figures such as Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Ronda Rousey, and more recently, Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. These champions transcended the octagon, capturing mainstream attention and elevating the sport to new heights. Not only has the UFC been blessed great champions but also great rivalries such as Volkanovski vs Holloway and Jones vs Cormier. Also perennial contenders such as Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier have become firm fan favorites for their exciting styles and never back down attitudes.

However, as these stars retire, transition away from the sport, or near the end of their competitive journeys, a significant void looks to be emerging. Pereira, particularly over the past two years, stood as one of the UFC's primary attractions, creating buzz with each of his appearances and emphatic performances. His recent loss and in a somewhat underwhelming fashion underscores a pressing concern: who is next in line to capture public imagination and maintain UFC’s momentum?

The reality facing the UFC now is that the promotional machine seems to be struggling to cultivate new megastars capable of generating widespread excitement. While talent remains abundant, and the quality his higher than ever, there's a noticeable absence of charismatic, crossover figures and indeed rivalries that can carry the promotion forward. Current champions such as Islam Makhachev, Dricus Du Plessis, and Ilia Topuria have demonstrated skill of the highest caliber to dethrone some of the aforementioned iconic Champions and successfully defended their titles. Yet, despite their impressive performances, they have yet to capture the broader public imagination or achieve the type of mainstream appeal enjoyed by their predecessors. There's no doubt however they have the potential to be the next global icons, but, and it is a big but, they need worthy contenders in order to cement their legacy. Makhachev is without doubt one of the greats but his stardom still seems to lack in comparison to his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov despite arguably a more successful career in the cage, simply perhaps because he hasn't had a Conor McGregor to catapult his name into the global limelight. Great fights are not just about two great fighters getting in the cage together, its about more than that, it's about WHO is in that cage. Dana White has been the master of understanding this as he has driven the UFC to lofty heights at which it sits today.

The timing of this apparent developing star power gap is intriguing, particularly in the context of UFC president Dana White and TKO Group Holdings' recent strategic move into professional boxing as I discussed recently in my article Dana White and Turki Alalshikh join forces to 'Make Boxing Great Again'. Could it be that White himself foresaw this issue coming and chose to diversify his promotional interests? By branching out into boxing, White positions himself and TKO to mitigate the risks associated with a potentially declining UFC and take his promotional expertise into the boxing world where there is great room for structured growth in this regard. The question remains whether the UFC can effectively navigate this period of transition or if the sport’s premier promotion faces a decline from a lack of star power and a rising Boxing scene. A question that Dana White might have already been pondering and now having skin in both games so to speak, the question must also be asked, where will his priorities lie?

Ultimately, for the UFC to continue thriving, it will need to not only develop new stars internally but also innovate in the way it markets and engages fans. At M2MMA, we understand these dynamics intimately. Reliance on star power alone to sell events is inherently unstable due to its cyclical and unpredictable nature. A promotion must also be responsible for elevating its athletes in every regard as they are the life and blood of the business. At M2MMA, we recognize this and we are proactively reshaping sports entertainment through cutting-edge technology. By harnessing AI we can dramatically enhance athlete profile, fan engagement and deliver a revolutionary integrated experience that brings the audience closer than ever to the heroes in the arena driving sports into a new era.

From Heroes to Algorithms: Why Sport's Star Power Decline Demands an AI Revolution

March 12, 2025

By Chris Cannon, M2MMA General Manager

I have been watching Sport since as long as I can remember. Growing up as the son of - David Cannon one of the world's leading sports photographers meant sport was my life and some of my earliest memories included Alan Smith scoring the winner for Arsenal in the Cup Winners Cup, Roberto Baggio missing his penalty in the World Cup Final and the death of Ayrton Senna at Imola. All I can remember ever wanting to be was a professional sportsman, lifting a trophy in front of a packed stadium full of fans. To be the Hero. Throughout my lifetime, most of which has been spent pursuing that dream, with 15 years spent playing professional golf, I have have been fortunate to witness icons of sport and indeed culture, raise the bar time and time again, transcending their chosen arena.

In recent years I've started to feel like a trend is emerging. One that mirrors recent developments I have previously discussed in the UFC earlier this week Is Star Power declining in the UFC?: A noticeable decline in star power throughout sport. Traditionally, sports leagues and organizations have heavily relied on charismatic, standout athletes to drive viewership, fan engagement, and revenue growth. Names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Tom Brady have dominated headlines and drawn millions of fans globally. However, with many of these legendary figures retiring, moving leagues, or approaching the twilight of their careers, there is growing uncertainty about the next generation's ability to sustain similar levels of star-driven appeal. It's not just the superstars that seem to be in decline, where are the Villains and the outliers? Who is the next Mike Tyson, John McEnroe, or Dennis Rodman?

This concern reaches across the broader landscape of professional sports. For instance, in golf, my previous profession, Tiger Woods significantly elevated the sport's global profile over two decades. I saw first hand having played in the same tournament as Tiger Woods the hype and hysteria his presence would bring, but his influence has notably declined due to age and injuries. While he still wields considerable influence in the game as more statesman like figure, the days of screaming crowds and Tiger Mania week after week are behind us. Though promising golfers like Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy have emerged, none have yet matched Woods’ transcendent cultural impact.

In tennis, we are witnessing the close of a remarkable era marked by legendary rivalries featuring Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray. Three of these icons have now retired and Djokovic is nearing the end of his career, leaving the sport arguably struggling to replicate their unique blend of individual charisma and competitive excellence. These men divided crowds, countries and even families, as sides were picked and battle lines drawn. The Hero vs Villain narrative was played out clearly in front of our eyes as Federer or Nadal would go toe to toe with the villain Djokovic for hours on end in many a spectacular Grand Slam Final. While emerging talents such as Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Coco Gauff show promise, they have not yet filled the enormous shoes of their predecessors in terms of global appeal, individual brilliance or epic rivalries.

Soccer faces a similar challenge. The immense popularity built around Ronaldo and Messi over the last two decades is approaching a natural conclusion. While promising talents like Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Jude Bellingham have captured attention, they have yet to achieve the consistently lofty levels of performance and universal recognition of their iconic predecessors. All you have to do is take El Classico for example and think back to the days of Messi vs Ronaldo, or Ronaldhino vs Zidane. Does Bellingham vs Lewandowski quite have the same ring to it? Soccer organizations must now consider how to sustain fan engagement without relying solely on the gravitational pull of a few superstar athletes. Soccer perhaps doesn't suffer from the same reliance as some individual sports previously discussed due to the team element, which helps create lasting fan attachments. However, individual stars still play a significant part, particularly in merchandising and global visibility. The David Beckham effect highlighted this to the greatest degree with Real Madrid arguably sacrificing team cohesion and performance for sky rocketing shirt sales.

Several factors I believe contribute to this trend of declining individual star power, each to a varying degree. The rapid increase in media saturation on the internet, social media platforms, and instant content availability has fragmented audience attention, making it harder for athletes to achieve universal acclaim or sustained dominance through focused a spotlight. There was a time when you used to have to win something or get caught by a paparazzi up to no good to get your name on the front or back pages. Nowadays every athlete is a social media star and in the day an age of cancel culture there is simply no room for misbehavior. Could careers of soccer mavericks like Paul Gascoigne or Diego Maradona have survived in today's world? Additionally, increased competitiveness, participation and specialization within sports have led to shorter periods of athlete dominance as the playing field evens, further diluting the star-driven narratives sports once depended on heavily. Evolution and technology has dictated the gap between the best and the rest has narrowed. Perhaps also increasingly larger pay cheques and consistent media attention for the sporting elite simply does not quite light the fire it once did to go above and beyond your competition. Changing social narratives over recent years have perhaps also played a part in influencing sporting culture. Would Michael Jordan's uncompromising, ruthless intent to win be as socially acceptable in this day an age?

This emerging dynamic within sport underscores a fundamental issue: relying predominantly on individual star athletes is inherently unpredictable and can lead to instability when star power inevitably wanes. Sport is as much story telling as it is competition. Fans are invested in their heroes and the narratives from which they rise. What happens when those storylines start to diminish and there are no heroes and villains left?

At M2MMA, we believe the answer lies in AI technology. It's time to start innovating, to tell new stories and create new heroes through greater athlete insight and fan engagement than we've ever seen before. AI-driven experiences offering real-time data analytics, transparent decision-making, and heightened interactivity for fans. AI integration can redefine how audiences experience sports, transforming passive viewing into an engaging, interactive, and deeply personalized experience that connects fans to their heroes beyond just the performance you see in the arena.

I must admit I occasionally long for the days of the rivalries I cherished. Where the likes of Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira would go head to head, Robbie fowler would be doing lines on the six yard box and Michael Jordan would ensure Isiah Thomas was excluded from the Olympic dream team, which true or not, what a story! The world is evolving though and sport has to also. In a world where attention is a precious commodity Sport must compete with a rapidly changing landscape and increasingly without the biggest weapons it once relied upon. The next chapter in sports entertainment has to involve cultivating new dimensions of fan engagement through AI technology, fundamentally altering the relationship between spectators, athletes, and the sports they love and M2MMA is here to do just that.

M2MMA is a revolutionary combat sports promotion that transforms the industry through cutting-edge innovation, advanced technology, and a steadfast commitment to athlete welfare. By integrating artificial intelligence, data-driven insights, and forward-thinking strategies, M2MMA enhances athlete safety, optimizes performance, and redefines the fan experience. Focusing on community engagement and fostering a dynamic future for combat sports, M2MMA stands at the intersection of technology and tradition, driving progress while honoring the sport's rich heritage.

The company is publicly traded on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) of NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "RLAB." 

RLAB/M2MMA is majority controlled by M2Bio Sciences, which is also publicly traded on the Over-the-Counter market under the ticker symbol (OTC Pink: MRES)