Fight week for UFC 279 has not gone according to plan, but after a wild 24 hours that saw a backstage brawl cancel Thursday’s presser and Khamzat Chimaev miss weight by 7.5 pounds on Friday for the main event, we have an official card set for Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Chimaev will move to the co-main spot where he’ll face Kevin Holland at a catchweight after plenty of talk and their role as the two at the center of Thursday night’s ruckus backstage. The two faced off on the stage on Friday night at the weigh-in ceremony and were plenty talkative for what figures to be a heated fight.

In the main event, Tony Ferguson will step up into Chimaev’s place in a welterweight bout with Nate Diaz that will still go five rounds, as the longtime UFC veterans will go toe to toe for the first time, something Diaz says was a long time coming while also calling out Chimaev for being afraid to fight him.

Li Jingliang who was scheduled to face Ferguson will now fight Daniel Rodriguez in a three-round catchweight fight with Rodriguez weighing 8.5 pounds more than Li. Diaz and Ferguson were apparently substantially compensated for the shakeup in what Diaz promises will be his final fight with UFC, while Chimaev seemingly gets his wish of facing Holland.

Still riding the highs of his sophomore album, Wasteland, which has proven to be one of the year’s most talked about albums, Brent Faiyaz has shared the visual for album cut, “Loose Change.”

In the visual, Faiyaz arrives to a theatrical adaptation of Wasteland, as performed by a group of ballerinas. Crowds fill up the theater in anticipation of witnessing dancers to bring new life to the project. Olympic gymnast Nastasya Generalova joins Faiyaz in the audience, although tension between the two is evident.

Although starring in a music video may be a new feat for Generalova, she revealed in an interview with C-Heads that she lives in a constant state of performance, so certainly, this new feat was nothing daunting for her.

“Being a rhythmic gymnast on the U.S. team, you are constantly performing,” she said. “I perform not only for the intent for the audience and judges to remember who I was and my personality, but I perform for myself as well. The best feeling is when you know you are alone with just your apparatus and it is as if you are dancing with a partner. Everything blurs out and you forget you are performing in front of thousands of people.”

Check out the video for “Loose Change” above.

Are there other “Weird Al” Yankovic biopics? I don’t think there are. And I’m not going to look this up. But I’m just putting it out there and I don’t care who knows it: Weird: The Al Yankovic story is the greatest Weird Al movie ever made about his life. (This hyperbolic statement with no real meaning is not a direct comparison to UHF, a movie starring Weird Al, but not about Weird Al’s life.)

Daniel Radcliffe plays the title role of “Weird Al” Yankovic, a man who, according to this movie, achieved fame and fortune as an accordion player who changes the lyrics of popular songs to topics that a lot of the time involves food. Later he will become an international assassin and one-man wrecking crew that involves Pablo Escobar’s drug cartel. Look, there are always some narrative liberties taken for the sake of making a better story and, I’m not totally positive, but I think that’s what happened here. I have a hard time believing “Weird Al” Yankovic killed 10 men with his bare hands, but this movie claims he did. And until I can confirm this didn’t happen, I’ll just have to take this movie’s word for it.

In all honesty, I do love Weird Al and, for someone out there who is not a fan, I’m really not sure what they might think of a movie where Weird Al is on a hallucinogenic LSD trip through literal hell and comes up with the lyrics for “Eat It.”

(Speaking of “Eat It,” I will in no way claim I was a fan of Weird Al before this song came out. I was not a cool enough eight-year-old to be listening to Dr. Demento. Until I was seven, my dad had me on a steady diet of Jerry Reed and Lee Greenwood. Also, it’s truly remarkable how big “Eat It” was. There was a few months’ period when the opening riff would start and I had to wait until the lyrics started to know if it was “Beat It” or “Eat It.”)

Eric Appel’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story borrows from the Walk Hard template of using biopic tropes and turning them on their head. Only Weird is much more, well, weird because it’s co-written by Weird Al.

I have a feeling Weird: The Al Yankovic Story will get compared to, and held to the standard of Walk Hard. That’s unfair for a couple of reasons. First, just because Airplane! is amazing and changed comedy for a decade didn’t mean Top Secret! and The Naked Gun (a movie Weird Al is in) aren’t great. (As an aside, I also love Airplane 2: The Sequel.)

Second, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story isn’t trying to be Walk Hard, strangely. It’s trying to be a movie co-written by “Weird Al” Yankovic and there’s just a certain THING about his comedy that’s hard to pinpoint but it’s actually weird, not “oh, this is the epitome of comedic genius.” Anyone who has seen UHF knows what I’m talking about. It’s not always supposed to be smart. He’s not “Smart Al” Yankovic. (For the record: He is a smart human being.) It’s supposed to be weird. And it is. And sometimes “weird” doesn’t work for everyone. Some of Weird Al’s humor (specifically his movies) throws a lot at the wall and see what sticks.

Anyway, whatever, maybe all of this is a long way of saying I loved Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. After our Toronto International Film Festival screening, I got a lot of “that seems like very much a Mike movie.” And I couldn’t tell if that meant the people I heard that from liked it or not? I am pretty sure they did. At least I choose to believe I am not alone in my love for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. In my mind , this will win the Oscar for Best Picture and Daniel Radcliffe will win Best Actor. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, will win more Oscars than Titanic. Long live Weird Al Yankovic. And I’ve fully decided to believe he killed 10 trained assassins with his bare hands. I have no doubt he did.

(Though, please do not ask me how to watch it. For the life of me I don’t know. This is a Roku movie and I do not own a Roku. I wish all of you the best of luck figuring this out. This is between you and your god.)

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

John Legend, born John Roger Stephens, has borne that as his stage name for nearly two decades now. It was given to him by Chicago poet J. Ivy who felt that Legend’s music reminds him of “that music from the old school” and that his voice sounded “like one of the legends.” Legend was reluctant to accept that name, but once it caught on, it was only right that he at least try to live to that new last name.

Twelve Grammy awards, four Platinum-selling albums, and countless TV show and movie appearances later, it’s beyond safe to say that Legend has lived up to his namesake. However, in a continued moment of humility, it wasn’t until now that he was truly ready to bring a sharp spotlight to the name that he once was a bit hesitant to bear.

Less than two years away from the 20th anniversary of his classic debut album Get Lifted, Legend returns with his ninth album, Legend — a double album that he believes captures everything that makes him the artist we’ve come to love.

Together with its release, John Legend sat with Uproxx to speak about Legend, why he is finally comfortable with its title, and a coincidental run-in with Saweetie.

Before we get into any music, I want to congratulate you on your new baby on the way. How are feeling as time progress, as well as, about having a third child around the house?

I’m excited! I feel like we’re pretty experienced parents now. We’re very comfortable and confident in inviting a new life into our world. I think we’ve got a sense of how we want to raise our kids and we just feel more comfortable than we’ve ever been, as far as being parents and our rhythm as a family. I feel like they can handle a new baby. Of course, you know, we’ve dealt with pregnancy loss before. So it’s always a bit of cautious optimism whenever you’re pregnant and you’ve lost one before because you just never know what could happen. But we’re excited to be parents and feel like we can do a good job of parenting together when we do bring the new baby into the world.

We’re officially in a new John Legend era, but I want you to tell it: how you would define this era in terms of the type of music and overall aesthetic at hand?

When I think about the music, I don’t know if it’s like a clean break from any era because I’m always growing and evolving as a musician. Each album has had its own character and its own personality, but it’s all me, it’s all who I am and where I am in my life at that time. I worked with different people on this album, to some extent, and I worked with some of the same people too. There are some songs that will sound very familiar and that will remind people of other things that I’ve done before and then other songs that we found a bit more new and different than what I’ve done before. This is the first time we’ve ever made an album that is self-titled, the first time we’ve ever done a double album, so that’s kind of a big and new thing for me with this project.

What gave you the confidence to go with a title like Legend?

I think the fresh start with Republic. I think also writing the audiobook that I’m doing with Audible that’s coming out in September. I was talking a lot about all that went into me changing my stage name and how I wasn’t sure whether or not I was ready to change my name back then because I was like, “How can I call myself ‘John Legend’ when I haven’t even gotten a record deal yet?” So, I told that whole story, and that’ll come out around the same time as the album, and it just made me really reflect on this whole journey was my name and how I finally felt like I was ready to not only to feel like I’m living up to this aspirational name that I gave myself when I was nowhere near being a legend, but also that I was ready to embrace it as an album title.

What would you say is the overall theme or main message you aim to deliver on Legend?

I think it’s a celebration of love, sensuality, intimacy, and connection. In that way, it’s a continuation of what I’ve been all about my entire career. I think musically, we did some fun and adventurous things that are a bit different from anything I’ve done in the past, and then some things that are more familiar. I think in general, I felt comfortable calling it Legend as well because it felt really representative of who I am as a musician. All the influences that made me who I am and all of it coming together on this really robust, double album that represents all the different parts of who I am.

This project is more collaborative than Bigger Love. What pushed you to reach out to more artists to work with this time around?

I think it’s important for me to stay connected to what’s new. I’ve been in business for a long time, but it’s really inspiring for me to connect with newer artists who inspire me and keep me fresh. I think collaborating with new people keeps you out of creative ruts I think, it pushes you and inspires you.

Is there a truly unique story with any of the collaborations on the album?

Saweetie was probably the most [unique]. It was almost random that she’s on the album because I literally ran into her and her manager at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I worked with her manager many years ago; he booked me and Kanye to do an event together way back — like before Get Lifted even came out, or right around when it came out, so it was literally the beginning of my career. He came up and said what’s up to me and was telling the story of how we worked together over 15 years ago. He’s standing there with Saweetie and I was just talking about Saweetie the day before because one of her songs came on the radio and was telling my wife how much I liked the song. I was telling Saweetie this and I was like, “We should do something together!” Then her manager sat with my A&R a couple of days later. We played them “All She Wanna Do” and they were like, “This is the one.” It all came from me running into her at the Beverly Hills Hotel Restaurant. I love her part on the album. I think it just adds extra flavor and it’s kind of unexpected, but it works really well with the song.

The current landscape of R&B is often criticized by some while others praise it. How do you perceive it?

People are always saying it’s dead or it’s this or that, but I feel like there have been so many talented R&B artists to come out in the last few years. I feel like there’s been some great music. and then there’s been some not-so-great music, but I feel like that’s always the case. I think it is a challenge thinking about this era of heavy auto-tune and where there’s a little less of a premium on really good singing. I think a lot of old-school cats are probably disappointed by that development in R&B and you know, I think it does hinder people’s live shows and hinders certain aspects of what it takes to be a great all-around artist. I still think there’s a lot of great R&B being made and a lot of great young artists that I listen to and enjoy. I love Leon Bridges, I love HER, I love Jazmine [Sullivan], I love Muni [Long], I love Daniel Caesar. There are a lot of just really talented people making R&B music these days. I think there’s always gonna be stuff that we don’t love and there’s always gonna be stuff we love. I just try to focus on the stuff that I love and listen to that and not worry about the rest.

At this point in your career, eight albums in with plenty of awards to your name, what’s your driving force nowadays?

The key is that I can never assume that people are gonna love the next thing I do. So I have to prove myself worthy of their attention and worthy of their love. For any new project I do, I feel like I have to hold myself to the highest of standards and that was the approach I had with this album. That’s the approach I have with every album and every show that I do. Nothing I did before is enough to make you love something new if it’s not good on its own, you know? So I have to prove myself to my fans and to everybody else every single time I make a new album.

What do you hope Legend contributes toward your overall artistry and career?

Well, I like that it’s a double album because it’s showing the different sides of who I am and both where I am now in my life, but also looking back to some extent at where I’ve come from. I think it’s as thorough of a representation of my influences and my artistry as any other project that I’ve done. So I think that’s why I felt like this was the one to call Legend. So I’m really confident making it a double album and that’s why I’m so excited for people to hear it.

Legend is out now via Republic Records. You can stream it here.

Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Nicki Minaj, NAV, EST Gee, and more.

Numerically, today’s date is 9/9, which in fraction form would mean 100%. So this week, I’ve got nine albums and songs for you that all hit the bullseye. You’ll come for Nicki Minaj, NAV, and EST Gee, and then stay for the superb offerings from Tobe Nwigwe, Flvme, TiaCorine, and everyone else. Don’t just take my word for it–well actually, by reading this you kind of will, but listen for yourself too!

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending September 9, 2022.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

NAV — Demons Protected By Angels

After a high year of output in 2020, NAV took 2021 “off” before coming back in 2022 with fury. His new album Demons Protected By Angels features a who’s who in modern music, namely Future, Gunna, Lil Durk, Lil Uzi Vert, and Bryson Tiller.

Yeat — Lyfë

Yeat is one of the hottest up-and-coming rappers today. His new album Lyfë is a 12-track display of this notion as he takes on the majority of the project itself with the exception of the opening track “Flawless” featuring Lil Uzi Vert.

Benny The Butcher & Black Soprano Family — Long Live DJ Shay

As Benny The Butcher continues to rise up the ranks of the rap game, he makes sure to provide opportunities for his crew Black Soprano Family. Their latest project Long Live DJ Shay is 14 songs in length and includes appearances from Conway The Machine, Westside Gunn, DJ Premier, Rick Hyde, Stove God Cooks, Boldy James, and more.

38 Spesh — 7 Shots

38 Spesh has 7 Shots in the chamber and an extra just for good measure. His new project features ballistic bars from Che Noir, Freeway, Ransom, Eto, and Tearz.

TiaCorine — I Can’t Wait

TiaCorine’s lack of patience conveyed in the title of her new project I Can’t Wait comes through in her pointed delivery. The 15-track album adds Kenny Beats, UnoTheActivist, and Tony Shhnow to the mix for a frantic yet calculated display of musical excellence.

Travis Thompson — If I’m Alive, That Is.

Travis Thompson’s latest work considers his mortality. If I’m Alive, That Is. is a 5-track EP featuring the ever-so-talented Guapdad 4000 and Rexx Life Raj. Though it carries a somber theme, the relatability of the music is sure to be comforting to many.

Sampa The Great — As Above So Below

Sampa The Great is confident as ever on the new project As Above So Below. Joey Badass, Denzel Curry, James Sakala, and more all contribute their touch to this effort toward displaying greatness.

Van Buren Records — DSM

Van Buren Records hits the listeners from all angles in their new album DSM. The collective brings together several different voices for a rap buffet with tracks like “Foul,” “How To Kill A Narcissist,” and “The Source” featuring Conway The Machine.

Flvme — Germander II

Flvme’s album title and accompanying songs are in all caps, but there’s no deception in the delivery. Flvme calls on Kewand, Mellow Don Picasso, Yung Tyran and more to further the authenticity of Germander II.

Bigg Unccc — Young Rich Villain

Bigg Unccc has no problem playing the bad guy on Young Rich Villain. Besides, people love villains. “Old Me,” “Gun Don’t Work,” and “Going Wild” are undeniable heaters that will make you questions whether heroes are overrated or not.

Singles/Videos

HDBeenDope — “Wake Em Up”

Roc Nation’s new signee HDBeenDope is coming full force with his new record “Wake Em Up.” With his producer Dizzy Banko by his side, the rapper delivers gut-crushing bars and oozes with confidence. This is the start of what will be a major career for the young rapper.

Tobe Nwigwe — “Catfish Blackened W. Grits” ft. CeeLo Green

Tobe Nwigwe never fails to provide sounds and visuals that listeners will never forget. Continuing the all-mint theme of past releases, he taps the celestial vocalist CeeLo Green.

Laya x Baby Tate — “Sailor Moon 2.0”

It’s giving anime and house music. Laya and Baby Tate soar over the upbeat production of “Sailor Moon 2.0,” blending rap cadences and angelic melodies throughout the three-and-a-half-minute spectacle.

Doodie Lo — “Back Bone”

OTF’s Doodie Lo doesn’t stay long on “Back Bone.” He spends the two-minute record paying tribute to his brothers who have his back, even when he doesn’t make the best decisions.

Prodigy — “Walk Out” ft. DJ Premier

Prodigy, you are missed. “Walk Out” is a welcome reminder of how talented the Mobb Deep member was in his hay day. You can never go wrong with DJ Premier production either.

Wifisfuneral — “Ahhhhh”

Wifisfuneral provides an upbeat jam loaded with scintillating synths and a steady drum pattern. In the end, whether hearing this in the car or in the club, the only appropriate response is the song’s title: “Ahhhhh.”

NewAge Poet — “Sticks And Stones”

NewAge Poet puts his emotions on full display in “Sticks And Stones.” With an intentional effort to advocate for mental health and let men know it is okay to feel things, this song has dualistic greatness.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Humans are enamored with love. We’ve written poems, books, movies, plays, songs and every other art form we can think of to express our love for love. Of course, a good percentage of those stories are about heartbreak—we can’t look away when love doesn’t work—but occasionally a genuinely uplifting story comes along to restore our faith that true love can and does endure.

A video that starts with a man bopping along to the car stereo has gone viral because of the delightful surprise it contains. Clearly, the man thinks it’s just some random song, but soon the lyrics become oddly specific—and personal.

At first he looks confused, then delighted as he looks at his wife who was driving and asks, “Is this us?”

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He laughs as the song alludes to how he and his wife met, calls out their lasting love and mentions him by name. But when his daughters’ names come up, he gets emotional.

And when the song says his mom is proud of him, looking down on him from the heavens, it’s all over. Grab a tissue and enjoy this sweet moment:

See on Instagram

The woman used the service Songfinch to create the custom song. Users can choose the style of music they want and Songfinch will match them up with one of more than 1,200 songwriters. One custom song will set you back $199, which really isn’t bad for an unforgettable gift that doesn’t take up any space and will never be discarded.

Songfinch shared the full video on Instagram, crediting the songwriter @millyannamusic and revealing that the couple’s last name is Polk.

See on Instagram

What a sweet way to celebrate long-time love. Here’s to many more years of marital bliss, Mr. and Mrs. Polk.

Ever since winning the Republican primary, Dr. Oz has routinely trailed John Fetterman in the Pennsylvania senate race for Pat Toomey’s open seat. That gap continued to widen over the summer as Fetterman repeatedly hammered Oz on social media. After already having a field day with the fact that Oz is barely a resident of the state, the TV doctor gave Fetterman a massive opening with an ill-advised campaign video where he pretended to go grocery shopping. (Note to future politicians: If you want to attract everyday voters in PA, don’t refer to veggie trays as crudités.)

Despite Oz’s campaign starting to go low and attacking Fetterman for having a stroke, Oz is still trailing in the polls and Fox News wants to know what the heck is going on. During a recent appearance on the conservative-leaning network, Harris Faulkner asked Oz point blank why he can’t seem to get ahead of an opponent who’s not been making a lot of public appearances. Via Mediaite:

“Let’s take a look at where you are. You would be replacing a Republican, Pat Toomey, Senator, but you are still 6 and a half points down,” Faulkner began.

“RealClearPolitics average shows Fetterman up still by 6 and a half percent. I drilled down and looked at all, what they are taking an average of here, doctor. The margin of error is well below that. My question for you is, with Fetterman willing to wear the invisibility coat why aren’t you actually leading? We can’t see or hear from him. What is going on?”

Despite being teed up by Faulkner to attack Fetterman, Oz didn’t have much to say except the same things he’s been saying all summer, which essentially boils down to… uh… Fetterman is a socialist disciple of Bernie Sanders, or whatever.

“He has never had a job. He grew up affluent and not done much with it. At the same time he was attacking me on baseless personal charges,” Oz said. “Here is the reality, as the race tightens, which it is doing and as people begin to understand how radical he really is.”

Just to show how Oz can’t catch a break, his campaign was banking on Fetterman not participating in a debate, which they hoped to capitalize on by saying he’s unfit for office. However, Fetterman has agreed to a debate, so there goes that talking point as quickly as it started.

(Via Mediaite)

For months, maybe years, there have been reports and rumors of the NBA entertaining the idea of an in-season tournament. On Friday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania, that could come to fruition as soon as 2023-24.

Charania followed up by clarifying details of this tournament are still be ironed out, including incentives for the eight teams that advance to the single-elimination stage.

The initial outline of this tournament closely resembles that of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup. The Commissioner’s Cup is an in-season tournament with each team playing “10 designated regular-season cup games — first home game and first road game against conference opponents, with a prize pool of $500,000 in the championship game for the players and at least $165,000 in charitable donations throughout this year’s series.”

This past season, the Las Vegas Aces took home the crown, defeating the Chicago Sky, 93-83, in the title game.

I understand the appeal of a midseason tournament and I very much like the fact these games overwhelmingly won’t be in addition to the standard 82-game slate. The margins for winning are so slim at the highest level and while an NBA championship will always rein supreme, it’s cool there will presumably be multiple outlets to highlight the best teams in a given season.

I was long against this concept, but really like the fact it will be woven almost seamlessly into the regular-season schedule. Establishing more avenues to recognize the top teams — and often the top players — every year benefits everyone, particularly if it doesn’t add considerable wear and tear to the already arduous 82-game season.

There are few things that will cause a network to interrupt your grandmother’s daily soap opera and a member of the British Royal Family dying is one of them, for some reason.

Fans of the long-running soap Days Of Our Lives (along with any kid who stayed home sick from school) were met with a shock today when the show’s season finale was cut short due to King Charles III’s first speech after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. But it wasn’t just any finale: it was the final ever episode to air on NBC now that the soap switches to Peacock for its upcoming 58th (!!!) season.

Friday’s episode featured one of the characters visiting her dead lover’s crypt (yup!) to tell her dearly departed love interest about her new love interest. Keep in mind that this show has been on since 1965 so they are allowed to have those “out there” storylines that the Riverdale team can only dream of.

But when the character began her big emotional introspective monologue, the action cut straight to King Charles. Fans of Days Of Our Lives (there are many, you just might not know they exist) were angered by the event, but happy that it will be the last time NBC will interrupt their drama. The line was: “But, you know, even though-” and yet we may never know!

The next batch of episodes beings airing on Peacock starting Monday, September 19th. That means you have one week to show your grandma how to work that Roku of hers or else she will never know what happened to Gabi and her dead lover. Good luck!!!

Over the years, there have been multiple cases of rappers or producers withholding big features from their albums because it “wasn’t the right time” (Rick Ross removing Pusha T from “Maybach Music VI”), they didn’t want one song to overshadow the entire project (Swizz Beatz not placing “Just Because” with Jay-Z, Nas, and DMX on Poison) or various other reasons. In the most recent case of this confusing phenomenon, NAV spoke on why his collaboration with Drake did not make it on his new album Demons Protected By Angels.

In the “Myself” artist’s recent appearance on Full Send Podcast, he told the hosts “We did a song. I feel we could’ve done a better song and the timeframe was just not good, it didn’t work out.” He continued on saying “He’s such a big artist that I didn’t want to put the song on the album and have it take away from anything else on the album. You know, take away life from all the other moments.”

Co-host Kyle Forgeard was bewildered and replied, “So you had a song with Drake and you’re purposefully not putting it on your album? That’s pretty crazy.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, NAV had nothing but positive things to say about the “Six God,” saying “Drake’s an amazing person and we hang out all the time in Toronto.”

Demons Protected By Angels was released on Friday (September 9) with features from Future, Travis Scott, Gunna, Bryson Tiller, and more. Though the decision was questionable, the hope is that maybe one day this collaboration will see the light of day.

Check out NAV’s appearance on Full Send Podcast above.

Demons Protected By Angels is out now via XO and Republic. Listen here.