MMA News

Author: Dylan Bowker

  • BKFC Announces Debut for Kimbo Slice’s Son

    BKFC Announces Debut for Kimbo Slice’s Son

    The planned bare knuckle debut of Kimbo Slice’s son fell apart for January’s BKFC card but the son of Kevin Ferguson looks to make his debut in gloveless combat in 2025. Kimbo Slice Jr. is set to compete at BKFC 80 on September 12th against an eight fight BKFC veteran in Derek Perez. This showdown will transpire at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida with the card headlined by a massive heavyweight rematch as former multi-time BKFC heavyweight champion Arnold Adams runs it back with Leonardo Perdomo.

    Kevin Ferguson Jr, also known to some as Baby Slice, has taken part in six mixed martial arts contest as well as a gloved boxing bout before this looming foray with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. The aforementioned January booking attempt for Slice Jr. was a planned contest for BKFC KnuckleMania 5 against influencer fighter/ 1-0 BKFC combatant Bryce Hall.

    The fight did not come to fruition with seemingly no attempt to re-book it without the information being publically available as to why that Ferguson Jr. vs. Hall bout fell out. Ferguson Jr. last competed in April 2023 when he fell short in his aforementioned gloved boxing bout when he was TKOed under the Misfits Boxing banner.

    Kimbo Slice Jr. in BKFC and his dad’s history fighting without gloves

    While Kimbo Slice accomplished some notable things in the MMA world with standout UFC as well as Bellator MMA bouts and several contests on the gloved boxing circuit, many felt like BKFC would have been a perfect fit for him if he was still alive and competing. Slice first made his name in the world of combat sports through his bare knuckle backyard fighting videos that captivated many on the internet. Ferguson emerged from this as the first YouTube star in the eyes of many which he parlayed into several high profile bouts with Elite XC that set ratings records.

    For Kimbo Slice Jr. to compete in this sport under the bright lights after what his father did for gloveless combat in a more guerilla-style fashion, it makes all the sense in the world to aficiandos of bare fisted combat. Slice Jr. will not be the only high profile bare knuckle debutant on this card as former UFC and Bellator MMA title challenger Yoel Romero is set to make his BKFC debut on this same card.

  • Ex-UFC foe of Alexander Volkanovski open to alluring Rizin foray, potential PFL and UFC returns

    Ex-UFC foe of Alexander Volkanovski open to alluring Rizin foray, potential PFL and UFC returns

    Jeremy Kennedy has applied a fresh coat of paint to his career by moving up in weight and seemingly has an abundance of opportunity in his future as he revisits something familiar this week.

    ‘JBC’ will collide with Jeremy Henry for the Battlefield Fight League interim lightweight title at BFL 84 on September 4th. Kennedy appeared on MMA Canada and the veteran of circuits like UFC, Bellator MMA, as well as PFL is in a great place with this shift to lightweight in this return to Battlefield Fight League.

    The former BFL featherweight champion is now seeking a strap at 155 pounds under the promotional banner. When describing the shift to lightweight and the return to the BFL cage after almost a decade, Jeremy Kennedy said,

    “Yeah, I mean the biggest part is just being able to fight at home. You know, fighting in Vancouver is something I’ve wanted to do since I last did it in Rogers Arena, you know, 2016. So, it’s just; that was a big stealing point for me to to take this fight and accept it. And also to test, you know, after the last one, I made the the decision to move up to ’55.”

    “And so, this just seems like the right step. Test the waters at ’55. It’s a whole new weight class. A lot of different things, rehydration, weight cut, everything I wanted to figure out and do. Kind of see how my body reacts to it and no better place to do it than at home.”

    Jeremy Kennedy acknowledges UFC Vancouver, PFL and Rizin intrigue

    Jeremy Kennedy, in an interview with James Lynch, was saying the PFL door isn’t closed thing and the Canadian combatant was also tweeting at the Rizin account about some possible fights over there.

    When addressing how it seems like there’s an abundance of potential options out there for him including even a potential return to the UFC someday [although not as directly tangible as other offers], Kennedy stated,

    “Oh, exactly. I feel like where I’m at, I’m still young in this game, you know. I’m not by any means old, you know, 32. Lots of fight in me. I got a lot of experience behind me. I didn’t close any doors and burn any bridges or anything like that. it’s kind of a free feeling, you know, right now. I’m just; I’m not tied down to a contract for once in my career. Now I’m starting this new chapter at ’55.”

    “And you know that I’ve always wanted to fight in Japan, so I’m not leaving that door closed. And PFL was amazing. I love the structure of it. I love the competition of it. I love the caliber of fighters that are in it, especially at ’55. So I’m not closing that door either. Then obviously I get to, you know, come home and and fight in Battlefield, you know, in my own backyard. So that’s always cool.”

    “And I don’t think this would be the last one. You know, if they’re still; I know they have another card in October when the UFC is in town. And then, you know, UFC obviously that’s not immediately on the table, but I’m not ruling that out either. You know, I string together a good little run at ’55 and I would like to see myself back there as well.”

    “So, literally, I have, you know, the wide open concept of the whole landscape. To me, it’s not like I’m stuck to one little place right now. So I’m just excited to see and it obviously all starts next Thursday and I got to get my job done. Then that’s the start of [the] ’55 run.”

  • Lerone Murphy Readies for Alexander Volkanovski Title Match in December

    Lerone Murphy Readies for Alexander Volkanovski Title Match in December

    Lerone Murphy has his eyes set on Alexander Volkanovski after his massive UFC 319 win and foresees a featherweight title bid before 2025 wraps up. Murphy is on the heels of a viral knockout against highly hyped UFC debutant Aaron Pico in Chicago on UFC’s recent pay-per-view offering and seems hotter than ever with the kingpin of his weight category, Volkanovski, seeing him as the next up for a title fight.

    The surging 145 pound contender specifically mentioned December as a month that seemed to align with what Volk was eyeing for his next fight date and Murphy seems game per a recent interview he did. This chat took place with Michael Bisping on the former UFC middleweight champion’s YouTube channel as Murphy said,

    “Volk wants to fight in December. So, I think it’s going to be Las Vegas December. I’m waiting for a call anytime now, next few weeks to get it set in stone and then I’ll start my training camp.”

    Lerone Murphy and his studying approach for Alexander Volkanovski bout

    While Lerone Murphy has at times drawn the ire of certain MMA fans for a perceived lack of finishing ability, it seems like the British fighter has re-ignited a killer instinct with himself after the Aaron Pico finish a few weeks ago. Coming off a somewhat inauspicious, conservative performance against the heavy handed Josh Emmett in April, this co-main event win over the former Bellator MMA prospect was the exact kind of jolt that Murphy needed at this point.

    In discussing that recent mindset shift on the aforementioned Believe You Me Podcast instalment, and how that informs a potential featherweight title bid against Alexander Volkanovski next, Murphy stated [via Bloody Elbow],

    “I’m a technician, I watch a lot of tape on guys so I understand the flaws and I’m already seeing holes in Volkanovski’s game and I’m gonna exploit them.”

  • Let’s go kill Each Other and Get Paid – Anthony Hernandez on Reinier de Ridder Matchup

    Let’s go kill Each Other and Get Paid – Anthony Hernandez on Reinier de Ridder Matchup

    Anthony Hernandez is prepared for war against Reinier de Ridder at UFC Vancouver in what is a high stakes clash in the middleweight tilte contendership queue. During an interview with Mike Heck of MMA Fighting, Hernandez touched on several subjects including how he attended UFC 319 and felt the perfromance was a boring one.

    ‘Fluffy’ has taken the approach of blaming Dricus du Plessis for why the UFC 319 headliner was dull in his eyes and hopes a win over RDR here in October can net him a title shot against newly minted champ Khamzat Chimaev who bested DDP in August. While observing the overall hierarchy of 185 pounds and specifically breaking down his upcoming fight against the former two division ONE Championship titleholder, Hernandez said,

    “Man, like I said, if I got to beat every [] down the list to get to the [] belt, I’m going to do it. It is what it is. Another fight. It’s another road to cross. And it’s like he’s a cool guy. I really like him. We actually talked last weekend. We both got families. Let’s go kill each other and let’s get [__] paid, you know what I mean? Unfortunately, the taxes out there are crazy, so we won’t really get really paid. But if there’s some Canada people that want to bring us some weed, I’ll take that.”

    Anthony Hernandez vs. Reinier de Ridder UFC Vancouver overview

    Anthony Hernandez and Reinier de Ridder will engage in some Canada-based combat on October 18th as the promotion returns to Van city with a massive middleweight matchup. Hernandez vs. de Ridder pits the number six contender against the number four contender, respectively, and the victor has a strong chance at securing a potential middleweight title shot. Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho at UFC Paris is really the only other bout where the winner could leapfrog the UFC Vancouver headliner for a title crack.

    Hernandez is coming off of a dominant win over Roman Dolidze with a fourth round submission win being scored over the impressive Georgian fighter. Conversely for de Ridder, he is on the heels of a split decision win over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi in July.

  • Luke Rockhold Had “The Wrong Attitude” and Got Teeth Cracked for It, per BKB Legend

    Luke Rockhold made some inflammatory comments about bare knuckle boxing as a sport and a legendary figure within the world of gloveless combat who weighed in on that characterization. Luke Rockhold infamously lost to Mike Perry at BKFC 41 when pronounced damage to the teeth of the former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion caused him to. Since then, Luke Rockhold has called bare knuckle a dumbass sport, said it’s not a fight, and things of that persuasion.

    James Connelly clashes with Martin Reffell in the headliner of BKB 45 on September 6th with the former colelcting multiple BKB titles through his journey in this sport. Connelly was the latest guest on Bare Knuckle Bowker and when covering some of the negative comments that Rockhold had toward the sport of bare knuckle, James Connelly said,

    “What I just said to you, mate, that they only find out when they’re in the first round of their first fight. What did Rockhold do? Bang, felt his teeth go, get me out of here. You know, some people will stick out and do the rounds and stuff like that. He found, mate, listen, everyone has their own opinion on the sport. Whether he; I’m not going to get offended if he calls bare knuckle a joke for a sport.”

    “No mate, you couldn’t do it. Just like I ain’t done MMA, you know, different strokes for different folks. That’s exactly what it is. But that’s a prime example of someone that wanted a bare knuckle fight, probably probably thought it was going to be this, that, and the other, and found out it’s f***ing not, mate. You know, you can get your teeth knocked out.”

    “You can’t get scars going across your face. You can come up messed up, mate. That’s why it’s a very; that’s why I say it’s a dirty and horrible sport and you’ve got to be well involved in it. The training; don’t come to this sport if you want to be known as a hard person and you want to have that sort of fear factor about you, man.”

    “It’s not the sport, you know, there is guys out there, man, who wouldn’t say boo to anyone but when they get in that ring, mate, they they’ll just start slicing you up, mate, you know what I mean and stuff like that. The more calmer people, the people that train hard, keep their mouth closed, and you can talk a bit of smack. I’m not talking about that. People like to have a little back and forth and stuff like that.”

    Luke Rockhold had “the wrong attitude” and got his teeth cracked, per Connelly

    Continuing to expound upon how some fighters can enter this sport with a maligned valor component attached to it through the microcosm of Luke Rockhold, James Connelly continued,

    “I’m talking about with that mentality about you want to come in here for anything other that I want to be a bare knuckle fighter. Luke Rockhold found out, you know, and what’s someone going to do when they do lose the fight and they almost lose their teeth? Call it a dumba** sport, you know, like they’re going to say try and like slag the sport off and use it as a term like that.”

    “When really, mate, you went and had a go. You weren’t saying that before. He was all getting ready to have this fight. As soon as you got caught with that first bang, that first crack your teeth open, his teeth. He said didn’t want to lose his teeth. You know, I’m in a sport where I can’t use everything that I’ve used in my life. I use kicks, his MMA grappling and stuff like that. He said that.”

    “He said, “I don’t know what a sport [this is]. I can’t use them.” But he knew what he was getting involved in before he used these just the bare knuckles, you know. So he’s a prime example of bare knuckle fighters coming in with the wrong attitude. You know, it’s an attitude and mentality based sport this is. You know what I mean? You see guys; like I spoke to boxers, mate, high quality boxers.”

    “No, never would dream about doing a bare knuckle fight. They stick the gloves on, man, and be wrapping people up quickly. But yeah, a prime example that is saying that, Dylan, and it’s good that you mentioned that because it just validates what I just said. Do you know what I mean? About it being no joke of a sport and you’re going to need more than just wanting to be hard and wanting to be known as a bare knuckle fighter to be in it. To get anywhere in it, sorry.”

  • Gervonta Davis “hit the lottery” with big Jake Paul bout, per former WBA champ

    Gervonta Davis “hit the lottery” with big Jake Paul bout, per former WBA champ

    Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis are lined up for a curious clash in November with a UK legend in the sweet science offering up his overview of that bout. Speaking to Adventure Gamers, George Groves covered multiple subjects in the world of today including Paul’s latest November showcase on Netflix against ‘Tank’ Davis.

    Last year, Paul had a massively successful fight on Netflix against Mike Tyson in November 2024 and looks to usurp it this year going from fighting a near sixty year old to fighting someone over seventy pounds smaller. The former WBA champion prefaced his statements on this bout by mentioning that he felt the controversial combat sports interloper is ultimately a net positive for combat sports as Groves said,

    “Ultimately, when you add it all up, Jake Paul is good for boxing. He’s promoting now. He’s gone down the female boxing route. It feels like he’s promoting a lot of female boxing and he’s got a big presence. He gets people involved. He gets people invested. And he’s got Netflix at the table now, who are becoming a big broadcaster for boxing. A large part of boxing is about entertainment, and he’s very good at entertainment.”

    Jake Paul may see “there’s levels to this game”, per Groves

    That being said, George Groves emphasised what a huge opportunity this is for ‘Tank’ Davis who was seemingly on track for a rematch against Lamont Roach Jr. in an initial outing that saw Davis tested like never before inside the ring. When giving his overview of the machinations of the matchup between Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis, Groves stated,

    “I think he’s hit the lottery, hasn’t he? Everyone wanted that ticket to fight Jake Paul didn’t they? And he’s got it. Why has he got it? Probably because he’s half the size of Jake Paul. The thing is, there’s boxing and there’s boxing. Jake Paul is a very good sort of white collar-esque boxer, but there’s levels to this game. Gervonta Davis might chin him. He might be looking to slip and slide and wait. And that might be Jake Paul’s downfall.”

  • KSI and Logan Paul Called Out For Avoiding Real Fights “Boxing is not a real fight”

    KSI and Logan Paul Called Out For Avoiding Real Fights “Boxing is not a real fight”

    KSI and Logan Paul are big figures on the influencer boxing circuit but someone who has history with both men does not highly tout the sweet science overall. That combatant in question is Dillon Danis who prepares for the first ever MMA fight in the history of Misfits Boxing. Danis will take on Warren Spencer for the inaugural MF MMA light heavyweight championship at Misfits Boxing 22 on August 30th from Manchester, England.

    This will transpire this Saturday on this ‘Ring of Thrones’ card that features Luke Rockhold vs. Darren Till for the MFB bridgerweight title and Tony Ferguson vs. Salt Papi for the MFB interim middleweight belt.

    Speaking to Ringside with Abbas, Danis covered several subjects ahead of his return to mixed martial arts after several years away where he pursued gloved boxing in the mean time. Herein lies his ties to Paul and KSI, with Danis fighting the former to an inauspicious disqualification in a bad blood fuelled pre-fight build. For KSI, Danis has been booked to box him on a pair of occasions with Danis withdrawing the first time and KSI pulling out from the sophomore bout booking.

    KSI and Dillon Danis’ attempt to make a deal with him

    Putting Logan Paul and KSI in his proverbial crosshairs before he returns to competing in the four ounce gloves this weekend on DAZN pay-per-view, Danis said,

    “KSI… I made him a deal. He said if I knock him out, so it should be; KSI is the type of guy that if he picks up… Here we go again.”

    “So if I knock him out, he has to fight me in MMA. Well, you don’t get any extra money if you don’t. I went to boxing. And I fought Logan. How come Logan can’t fight MMA? How come you always got to go to their field? It’s not a real fight. Boxing is not a real fight. He thinks it’s a real fight. All this [expletive] is fake. ‘Cause in a real fight; yeah, sweet science of getting taken down and choked out. Ain’t no sweet silence in that.”

  • Carlos Prates vs. Leon Edwards booked for Major UFC 322 bout

    Carlos Prates vs. Leon Edwards booked for Major UFC 322 bout

    Carlos Prates is still at the nucleus of a lot of discourse from his previous UFC fight earlier this month but the exciting mixed martial artist already has his next octagon assignment locked in. The surging welterweight contender will take on a former kingpin of 170 pounds in Leon Edwards when the two clash in New York at UFC 322. Madison Square Garden on November 15th is when this high stakes contest will take place.

    Prates is on the heels of a highlight reel bolstering, spinning back elbow KO of Geoff Neal at UFC 319 on August 16th. The finish picked up a lot of attention online with Prates now having five wins in his last six fights with four knockout victories through that stretch.

    Conversely for Edwards, he is on a two fight skid and is aiming to preserve his placement in the rankings against the hungry combatant, Prates. ‘Rocky’ dropped his 170 pound crown to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in July 2024 and Edwards also lost via fourth round guillotine choke to Sean Brady in March.

    UFC 322 will be a consequential card for the ranked welterweights in the promotion even beyond Prates vs. Edwards. The event will be headlined by Jack Della Maddalena aiming to defend his belt against former UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev who vacated his belt to move up in the pursuit of becoming a two division UFC champion.

    Carlos Prates had called out Michael ‘Venom’ Page for UFC Rio

    Carlos Prates had called for a quick turnaround showdown with MVP when the dust settled on his finish of Geoff Neal in Chicago with Prates wanting a clash with Michael ‘Venom’ Page on that UFC Rio card. Page, who also earned a victory at UFC 319 when he bested former UFC middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier, seemed intrigued by the idea of a Prates fight on his rival’s home soil, October 11th in Brazil.

    It would have also presumably had a lot of intrigue for Page who has complained about matchmaking politics at welterweight and how hard it is to get fights there. Alas, the matchmakers had a different vision for what’s next for both fighters with question marks now popping up about what could be next for MVP.

  • Youssef Zalal: UFC Followers Are “The worst fans I’ve ever seen in my life”

    Youssef Zalal: UFC Followers Are “The worst fans I’ve ever seen in my life”

    Youssef Zalal is not particularly fond of the mixed martial arts fanbase and recently expressed why ahead of a high stakes featherweight fight. During an interview with Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie, Zalal touched on multiple topics ahead of his consequential contest with Josh Emmett at UFC 320 on October 4th.

    When touching on the MMA fanbase’s style of interfacing with the sport from a fighter’s perspective, Zalal said,

    “The fans are spoiled. All they care about is what you did the last fight. That’s all they care about. They don’t care about your whole story. They don’t care about nothing. Some guys didn’t even, like, I saw some comments, I think they were saying like, ‘Oh, he’s on a like three and three or something like that.’”

    “I’m like, you guys obviously are the worst fans I ever seen in my life. I fought four fights in 11 months. I was one of the most active guys in the featherweight. And to go have three finishes and two bonuses, and then they still; it’s not enough. We’re spoiled human beings. It’s crazy.”

    Youssef Zalal: Josh Emmett “had no choice” in accepting UFC 320 bout

    Youssef Zalal and Josh Emmett have quasi history with one another with the two set to settle their score in the cage in the coming weeks. Zalal previously called out the former UFC interim title challenger but Emmett at the time of the callout, circa February, indicated he was looking for something a bit bigger in the division. Touching on their prior interactions and how we got to this bout booking becoming locked in, Zalal stated [via MMA Junkie],

    “He’s at a point where he had no choice. He either had to wait a year or so to fight, or fight right now. Obviously, we’ve got a bunch of young guys coming in and a bunch of prospects coming in, and they need to fight, and that’s why I feel he had no choice in a way. It is what it is.”

    Zalal vs. Emmett pits the number nine and number eight ranked contenders, respectively, at 145 pounds against one another in Las Vegas at UFC 320.

  • Tony Ferguson Questions Strength of Salt Papi’s Character Ahead of MFB 22 Boxing Showdown

    Tony Ferguson Questions Strength of Salt Papi’s Character Ahead of MFB 22 Boxing Showdown

    Tony Ferguson is prepared to make his Queensberry Rules debut this weekend but wonders where his opponent’s mindset is at ahead of their Misfits Boxing 22 clash. Ferguson will do battle with Salt Papi for the interim MFB middleweight title on a card headlined by Luke Rockhold taking on Darren Till for the MFB bridgerweight title.

    During an interview with Seconds Out, the former UFC interim lightweight champion covered multiple topics including where he thinks the headspace is at for his influencer boxer adversary Saturday in Manchester, England. Touching on some of the deeper machinations of this matchup set for August 30th, Ferguson said,

    “When it goes into the fight, I don’t think that he’s changed too much in his game. He’s going to use what works for him, which is going to be that southpaw stance in his lead hand and his backhand. So he’s going to be looking to do what he’s going to do, but he’s not going to have his hands full.”

    “It was just him being a [expletive] and not being able to admit it in front of my face. So I talk about character and I’m just a man. When I shook his hand, he kind of shook it like this and I had to show him how to shake it the real way. I’m not an influencer at all, but I go in there and make sure I handle my business. So Saturday night, he’s going to have his hands full.”

    “When you put cameras on somebody, you see the real person come out. This is me. That’s him. So, I’m not him, so I’m going to go in there and do what I got to do.”

    Tony Ferguson and the redemptive path to potentially more interim gold

    Tony Ferguson aims to snap an eight fight losing skid that he has been on from his UFC tenure. After his planned GFL bout with Dillon Danis, who is also on this MFB 22 card, fell through in May, Ferguson is presumably chomping at the bit to just get out there and compete in 2025.

    Salt Papi, government name Nathaniel Bustamante, has put together a 6-1 record on the influencer boxing circuit and has more localized experience fighting in the big gloves than ‘El Cucuy’ does.

  • Chael Sonnen responds to Backlash from MMA Community over Raja Jackson

    Chael Sonnen responds to Backlash from MMA Community over Raja Jackson

    Chael Sonnen normally receives almost unilateral praise from his core fans online, but this was not the case after recent takes that he dropped on the Raja Jackson situation. For those not up to speed, the son of Rampage Jackson, Raja Jackson has been grabbing headlines for the wrong reasons as of late following his unhinged, legitimate attack of pro wrestler Syko Stu which has ignited a lot of online discourse.

    Taking to his personal YouTube channel to address some of the vitriol he has been receiving from fans on social media who vehemently disagreed with their interpretation of what the former two-division UFC title challenger was saying about the Raja Jackson situation, Sonnen said,

    “I have the greatest social media following, but it’s known for that. Other people will tell me like how envious they are, how you guys always back me, how you realize I’m the linear champion, how you realize I’m the one that retired Jon Jones, that I’m the one that ripped his toe off. And I got to tell you, I got lit up.”

    Chael Sonnen continues to expand upon the Raja Jackson reactions

    As Chael Sonnen kept expounding upon the reaction to his video on the visceral in-ring beating delivered by Raja Jackson, Sonnen continued,

    “I got lit up last night. I got challenged. I got called the, the, the f-word. Not the one that ends in an R. I got called the other F-word multiple times. And what do you call that on Twitter where you DM somebody and it goes to a box and you have to accept? Well, DM right?”

    “This all has to do with a piece that I made and put out yesterday about Raja Jackson… of which is a word that he actually used. I’m disgusted. And he goes, ‘I know why you did that. You try to be controversial and get clicks, but yeah, you’re on the wrong side of this. It was an attempted murder.’ And he’s going on and on. But much like the people in the DMs and much like the people that I heard from on social media, you didn’t see the piece. It’s about an eight or nine 10-minute piece and what you’re describing is about 8 and 10 seconds.”

  • Bryan Battle On MMA Fans: “Difference between being held accountable and people just being mean”

    Bryan Battle On MMA Fans: “Difference between being held accountable and people just being mean”

    Bryan Battle has been feeling the heat from MMA fans a bit as of late following his UFC release after his second weight miss across two weight divisions.

    Speaking with Mike Heck of MMA Fighting, Battle discussed how mixed martial arts fans have been interacting with him online as of late after receiving his walking papers from the MMA powerhouse with a signed bout agreement with Dirty Boxing Championship for later this week.

    While he is not obtuse to his own wrongdoings that got him booted from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the entertaining combatant feels like some mixed martial arts fans have crossed a bit of a line here as Battle said,

    “There’s a big difference between being held accountable and people just being mean. You know what I’m saying? A lot of people being nasty. I’m seeing a lot of people’s true colors, but then there’s also people who got my best interest at heart. A lot of people, especially since I took this fight, been on my ass: How’s your weight? How you doing?”

    “What are you gonna do today? What’d you eat? And those are the people who want what’s best for you. They’re not just gonna write this off like, ‘Oh yeah, you’ll get ’em next time.’ No, no, you need to be better. I still love you, but you need to be better. And it’s stuff like that I appreciate as a superstar.”

    Bryan Battle set for DBX 3 clash after UFC departure

    Bryan Battle will attempt his second cut to 185 pounds this month but is preparing for a different combative ruleset altogether.

    ‘The Butcher’ is set to battle Derik de Freitas in a hybrid rules bout as part of DBX 3 which is set for August 29th in Florida. For de Freitas, he has previously had twelve professional mixed martial arts bout and the Brazilian competitor looks for his biggest win ever against a former UFC veteran in Battle.

    DBX 3 also features like notable names such as Jairzinho Rozenstruik who competes for heavyweight gold in the headliner, former Bellator MMA and BKFC champ as well as former UFC veteran Hector Lombard, as well as former UFC vets like Jessica-Rose Clark and Alex Caceres to reference but a few.

  • Paulo Costa Calls Out Dricus du Plessis For UFC Showdown “He’s so unpredictable”

    Paulo Costa Calls Out Dricus du Plessis For UFC Showdown “He’s so unpredictable”

    Paulo Costa returned to the win column at UFC 318 but is envisioning another opportunity to secure a big win before the year is out. On the heels of his victory over Roman Kopylov, the Brazilian combatant seemingly has a few options in front of him but if Costa gets his ideal bout booking, he’ll next be testing skills with former titleholder Dricus du Plessis.

    In a recent interview with Submission Radio, the former UFC middleweight title challenger put DDP in his crosshairs on the heels of the latter losing his belt to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 in Chicago earlier this month. When discussing why a clash with the South African mixed martial artist would be such a compelling next step, Costa said,

    “Oh my God. Unpredictable. He’s so unpredictable. Yeah, he’s a tough guy. Tough guy to fight, to be honest. Very tough, you know. And Khamzat knew that. That’s why he held him for so long.”

    Paulo Costa wants Dricus du Plessis fight over Israel Adesanya rematch

    Paulo Costa is more keen to clash with Dricus du Plessis and test himself in that fight than he is to rematch one of his longer standing rivals in the promotion, Israel Adesanya. During the aforementioned Submission Radio interview, Costa admitted that a rematch with the former two time UFC middleweight champion would be good in it’s own way, the desire to fight DDP is more pronounced at this point in time. Costa mentioned that Dricus du Plessis is the better option, if only because he just got off of holding the 185 pound crown.

    With Costa proclaiming that he feels like he’s the man to beat newly minted UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, beating the last man to hold the title would certainly pay dividends for the number thirteen ranked middleweight contender’s goal of securing another title shot someday.

  • Tony Ferguson: No Cheat Codes In The Next Stage Of Combat Sports Career

    Tony Ferguson: No Cheat Codes In The Next Stage Of Combat Sports Career

    Tony Ferguson simply feels like he is embarking on a new path along a pick your own adventure journey and doesn’t necessarily see his boxing debut as some form of side quest. The former interim UFC lightweight champion will clash with Salt Papi under Queensberry Rules this weekend at Misfits Boxing 22.

    During a recent interview with Damon Martin of MMA Fighting ahead of this MFB interim title bid, Ferguson covered several subjects ahead of his fight on Saturday. When touching upon how he perceives this shift in combat sports as he forgoes the four ounce gloves and looks to enter the sweet science world, Ferguson said,

    “I don’t have side quests anymore. This is a brand new [expletive] game. It’s a new game. I’m not looking for the cheat codes. I’m not looking for anything else. I’m not even looking for the walkthroughs. There’s no walkthroughs in this [expletive]. This is interesting to me. It’s like kind of like taking care of the case, putting it back and making sure that it’s like, ‘Oh man, I can’t wait.’ You’re dusting off your controller.”

    “You’re getting all your snacks. You’re getting all your drinks. You’re getting ready for everything. And you’re putting it there and everything’s going to be [expletive] awesome because your preparation is going to be awesome when it goes into it. You’re going to put in the work and you’re going to get exactly what you got on fighting night.”

    Tony Ferguson fires off on those who thinks he should retire

    Tony Ferguson clearly does not have much bandwidth allocated towards critics and recently mentioned that for those who keep compelling him to hang up the gloves. The 41-year-old combatant is riding an eight fight losing skid into this next bout but seems quite confident heading into this Misfits Boxing interim middleweight title clash.

    Discussing some of his detractors in that aforementioned MMA Fighting interview, Ferguson stated [via BJPenn.com],

    “I don’t give a f**k what anybody thinks about me. ‘[Is] Tony Ferguson in his prime?’ I don’t give a f**k. The interest is there right now. It doesn’t matter who the f**ck is going to step in front of me. You could put anybody in front of me come that night. I’m going to go in there and give the best possible version of myself that I possibly can because I’m uncomfortable in practice right now.”

    “The last four to five years, I’ve been comfortable in practice. I’ve been miserable in the fight because I just didn’t want to f**king do it. I’m uncomfortable in practice right now, getting rounds and making myself feel that way so that way when I get inside that ring, I’m going to be comfortable as f**k.”

  • Raja Jackson May Be Arrested ” it is an assault” Says Combat Sports Insider

    Raja Jackson May Be Arrested ” it is an assault” Says Combat Sports Insider

    Raja Jackson has been making headlines for the wrong reason after a troubling scenario that saw him shoot on a professional wrestler to a graphic degree at a recent show has many talking.

    The son of Rampage Jackson attacked a professional wrestler known as Syko Stu, government name Stuart Smith, and the pro wrestler is reportedly in critical condition after Raja Jackson knocked him out with a slam and then connected on several full force punches after that.

    Chael Sonnen took to his personal YouTube channel to discuss this situation as Sonnen said,

    “If Raja attempts to take a defense in a court from a legal proceeding, the police have not arrested him, but we already know what happened and we’ve got it on video and it’s gross and it is an assault and it is outside of what was agreed upon in pro wrestling. And so many people have made this mistake in sport before thinking, well, it’s up to the referee, you know, whatever the referee says, but this is all part of sport.”

    “If Stu comes out and says this was all part of the spot, if he just says those words, no matter how much you’re reworking reality in history, if he says those words, the police then look like fools. If Stu doesn’t say those words and say, ‘Hey, this was not scripted.’ As a matter of fact, he’s even given a confession.”

    “He’s saying that he’s doing this for retribution for something else that I did. You have a legal right to defend yourself. That’s true. But there’s a sustainable difference between defense and vengeance. And one of them is instantaneous and one of them is premeditated.”

    Raja Jackson’s unhinged attack and further details of the situation

    Raja Jackson is now involved in a police investigation tied to this attack which was broadcast live on the streaming platform Kick which saw several pro wrestlers break up the attack. Knokx Pro Wrestling was the promotion this incident happened in and they have released a statement disavowing the behaviour shown at the recent show.

    An angle involving Smith hitting Jackson with a beer can over his haad was said to be a planned incident to build to what would have been a worked match but that clearly went out the window. Some wrestlers who were involved in the show also mentioned that Smith was dealing with broken bones in his face as well as several missing teeth, reportedly.

  • “King of Blood” Mike Perry Has Been Breaking Teeth and Orbitals – BKFC 82 Opponent Jeremy Stephens Ready for Violence

    Mike Perry is a formidable force in the world of gloveless combat which seems to excite Jeremy Stephens far more than it dissuades him. The two bare knuckle combatants took place in a sit down interview with The Mac Life as 1-0 BKFC fighter Oscar Willis acted in the interviewer role.

    The King of Violence title will be on the line as ‘Platinum’ Perry aims to defend the crown against ‘Lil Heathen’ Stephens at BKFC 82 in Newark, New Jersey. The faceoff being done through the media outlet helmed by Conor McGregor makes sense not just because ‘The Notorious’ is a partial owner of BKFC.

    But also that McGregor has apparently indicated to BKFC figurehead David Feldman that he is training to fight the victor of the BKFC 82 headliner. Ahead of their highly anticipated October 4th clash during this sitdown interview with Willis, Stephens said,

    “This guy right here, he’s been doing it. He’s put [expletive] teeth, orbitals through other planets. Scary dude. [Expletive] it. Even in the UFC, animal, rage, you know, he brings lots of pain to people. This is the sport that’s king of blood, violence, and it’s not for everybody. It’s guys like me and him I feel like are cut from the same cloth.”

    Mike Perry, Jeremy Stephens, and featured fighters trade barbs at BKFC 82 press conference

    Mike Perry and Jeremy Stephens took place in a press conference to promote this Fall card with several featured fighters on the card participating, including a former UFC champion making his bare knuckle debut. Former UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar will be battling with Jimmie Rivera as part of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship‘s debut in the state of New Jersey with the two MMA vets having a respectful faceoff.

    The same respect was not extended during the faceoff with the participants in the inaugural Queen of Violence title fight. BKFC flyweight champion Christine Ferea and BKFC featherweight champion Jessica Borga got into a bit of a pseudo-scuffle as Ferea shoved Borga during the faceoff which escalated into a pull apart brawl that saw promotion officials break the two fighters apart.

  • Johan Ghazali: Muay Thai Tradition, Family’s Ties to Jack Dempsey’s Career, and Big ONE FN 35 Bout

    Johan Ghazali: Muay Thai Tradition, Family’s Ties to Jack Dempsey’s Career, and Big ONE FN 35 Bout

    Johan Ghazali carries on a century-plus family lineage of combat sports competitors and will unfurl the next chapter of his own story at ONE Fight Night 35. ‘Jojo’ will clash with Zakaria El Jamari in an intriguing Muay Thai bout on September 5th and Ghazali appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts with a portion of the discussion touching on how important Muay Thai specifically has been to his family.

    Through Ghazali’s own efforts in the ONE Circle, he has built a strong fan base in Malaysia as he competes in the high octane, smaller gloves iteration of Muay Thai that ONE Championship has become known for. When asking what stylistic amendments have to be made from traditional Muay Thai that generally uses the bigger gloves versus the ONE Championship permutation of Muay Thai with the smaller, 4oz gloves, Johan Ghazali said,

    “I mean I’m lucky because I joined ONE Championship very early on in my career. You know, I signed the contract when I was like 16. So I didn’t really fight; I fought in like stadiums with big gloves and five round fights and the traditional Muay Thai, so. But my goal has always been ONE Championship. I knew what I wanted to do. So, I’ve always been like planning my style and training my style to fit into ONE Championship. Not with 4 oz gloves, but you know, the fast paced, three round style, so.”

    “You know, thank God that the; I feel like the four oz gloves really fall into my favor. Of course, it’s not a God-given talent. You know, I had to work a lot, really hard for me to evolve into this style. Learn how to block properly, how to punch properly without breaking your hands. There’s so many obstacles that I went through, but I’m glad to say that I feel like this style suits me, you know, the four ounce gloves suit me.”

    Johan Ghazali on Muay Thai traditionalists, familial ties to Jack Dempsey’s career

    Johan Ghazali’s dad has been a prominent part of the old school Muay Thai scene in Malaysia and considering that aspect of things, when asked if he has had any Muay Thai traditionalists express certain sentiments to him about the ONE Championship way of promoting the art of eight limbs, Johan Ghazali stated,

    “I mean definitely there’s always going to be traditionalists. There’s always going to be people who say this is how you do it and this is how it’s supposed to be. But at the end of the day, you know, everything has to evolve. You know, every sport has to evolve, every person has to evolve. So, I’m just doing what I think is best at the moment. You know, I can stay in traditional Muay Thai and do five round fights, but I wouldn’t be in the position that I am.”

    “You know, I wouldn’t have the fan base or the crowd reach that I have. So, I’m just making the best moves possible and I like it, you know. If one day, once Muay Thai changes into something else, I’ll be there too, you know, because I’m ready to evolve and I’m ready to; I mean, even if you look at it from a different point of view, you know, this is how the best species stay alive. You know, you have to evolve. If you don’t, you’re dead. So, yeah.”

    There is so much combat sports history throughout his family’s history that extends even beyond the beautiful art of Muay Thai. In fact, Ghazali’s great-grandfather fought on some Jack Dempsey undercards a century ago. When referencing his past relative Eric Johnson Sr. who fought under the moniker of Swede Johnson, in the context of how rich the family’s history in fight sports is, Johan Ghazali quipped,

    “Absolutely. Combat sports in my family goes way back. So yeah, fighting in my family is, they don’t go apart [laughs].”

  • Former UFC Champ Feels “Very Sad” for Aaron Pico Amid “Worrisome” Post-UFC 319 Situation

    Former UFC Champ Feels “Very Sad” for Aaron Pico Amid “Worrisome” Post-UFC 319 Situation

    Aaron Pico sustained a brutal knockout loss in his UFC debut and a former multi-time bantamweight champion in the promotion who has worked with Pico before has weighed in on that situation. Appearing on the JAXXON Podcast, TJ Dillashaw discussed Pico’s devastating defeat by way of a spinning back elbow to Lerone Murphy in one of the more hotly discussed fights from UFC 319 which went down on August 16th from Chicago.

    When touching upon his anecdotal experience with the former Bellator MMA star in terms of things Pico does well and what he could improve on for subsequent octagon outings, Dillashaw said [via MMA Junkie],

    “The first time I ever trained with Aaron Pico was when I moved back down here and started training with Sam Calavitta, and from day one, I was like, ‘This kid could be a champion.’ He is so good because he’s an insanely good wrestler and his boxing is just awesome. He drops bombs. He’s got an awesome liver shot.”

    “He looked really good in this fight. But again, I’m going to go back to [feints]. Pico was putting things together. His technique was great and his pressure was awesome, but he’s just moving forward without any feints. He’s not making Murphy guess on what he’s throwing. Pico has now been knocked out a few times and he gets caught with another, back-to-back, spinning back elbow. He walks right into it.”

    Aaron Pico “has everything there is to be a champion”, but is “so tense when he’s fighting”

    While expressing how much effort Pico puts into his training preparations and how he could further optimize his efforts within the heat of live UFC competition, Dillashaw stated [via MMA Junkie],

    “Like, I work hard. This guy, it’s insane how hard he works with Sam Calavitta at the gym. He puts everything into this thing. I’m very sad for him because he’s a very talented guy. He’s been knocked out a few times now, which is worrisome. Pretty heavy knockouts. It’s just some small things he could do a little bit better. He’s so tense when he’s fighting. He’s got this tunnel vision that he’s looking for knockouts constantly.”

    Also, the former UFC titleholder praised Pico as someone who could also hoist UFC gold above his head someday and in addressing the UFC 319 situation while eyeing a more uplifting path forward, Dillashaw quipped [via MMA Junkie],

    “Aaron Pico has everything there is to be a champion, it’s just some small tweaks and changes that he can make. I hope he bounces back from this because I love the guy. He’s an amazing human being. He works his ass off. He’s very talented. Total bummer to have this happen.”

  • Referee Herb Dean Breaks Down Standing Up Khamzat Chimaev in UFC 319 Championship Match

    Referee Herb Dean Breaks Down Standing Up Khamzat Chimaev in UFC 319 Championship Match

    Herb Dean recently weighed in on some of the discourse regarding Khamzat Chimaev’s championship winning performance on August 16th and a specific decision made during the contest from a regulatory perspective. During an interview with Helen Yee Sports, Herb Dean touched upon Khamzat Chimaev having one of the more dominant performances in UFC history over previous champion Dricus du Plessis.

    Some observers have called the grappling heavy performance boring or tantamount to stalling which did lead to a stand up not onc ebut twice from assigned in-cage official Marc Goddard. Conversely, some saw the refinement of skill needed to dominate an opponent of that caliber.

    Considering he is one of the more tenured referees in the game and has a lot of localized insights on the craft in the context of how he perceived the story that unfurled in the UFC 319 main event and Marc Goddard’s decision making in that DDP vs. ‘Borz’ bout, Dean said,

    “It’s an ongoing conversation that everyone and the stakeholders and everyone in the sport has, but what do we want this sport to look like? Do we want people to achieve a dominant position, which if you’re not using it to beat your opponent could almost be looked at as a hiding place, a place to burn time? I’m never gonna accuse Khamzat of hiding, because the man’s a savage.”

    (mfn_mma & Herb Dean on Instagram)

    “But if you get a position, like, we can break that one down, the crucifix chest-to-chest position, not a lot of height, very difficult to get a place where you can punch your opponent. Sometimes he’s able to get elbows and you want to reward people, but at the same time, you want to reward someone with a 10-8 for trying to finish their opponent, for taking a risk. It takes a risk to make some space to posture, where you’re going to be able to maybe finish the fight. And I think that’s what we want our sport to look like.”

    Khamzat Chimaev Aiming to Become a Triple Champion in the UFC - Middleweight, Welterweight, and Light Heavyweight

    Khamzat Chimaev and fighters in general “should be trying to work for a finish” says Dean

    Further discussing aspects of Khamzat Chimaev’s record breaking 185 pound title win in Chicago, Dean continued,

    “We want people, if they have a dominant position, we want to see effort to finish the fight, effort to initiate fight-ending sequences. That’s what we’re looking for. If someone’s not in a position where they’re maintaining a safe position but they’re not able to diminish their opponent and finish the fight, then that’s a situation where people are going to get a warning to work. And when they say work, you know, I think you always should be trying to work for a finish.”

  • Johnny Walker Has Been Learning the Chinese Language To Better Connect with the Shanghai Audience

    Johnny Walker Has Been Learning the Chinese Language To Better Connect with the Shanghai Audience

    Johnny Walker feels confident he can get the crowd on his side as he endeavours to learn more Chinese to better endear himself to the Shanghai crowd on Saturday. Speaking on MMA Junkie Radio ahead of his UFC Fight Night 257 headliner, the 33 year-old combatant spoke about his journey with the local language ahead of his clash with Zhang Mingyang this weekend.

    This is a high stakes clash in the light heavyweight division with Walker vs. Mingyang pitting the number thirteen contender agaisnt the number fourteen ranked light heavyweight, respectively. When describing his desire to connect with the Chinese fanbase and his broader vision of thingsbeyond August 23rd, Johnny Walker said,

    “Wherever I go in the world, I feel at home. I see the Chinese here, they all like me, you know. I’m learning a little bit of Chinese as well to connect with the fans already. And I can’t wait to come back to China to fight again. I’m going to get the crowd on my side too and I’m going to do a good job here because it’s a good place to be, China, big market, and it’s really a good city, has good food, good everything here as well.”

    “Even if they’re not, they’re going to be on my side after, because I’m going to win this fight and I’m going to conquer the crowd for sure. And the dream of the Chinese belt championship is going to still live in me, you know? I can bring the belt back here when I get it.”

    “Of course, I’ve been practicing my Chinese a bit and I know some Chinese words, and one is very special that is going to connect with the crowd.”

    “Wherever I go in the world, I feel at home. The Chinese fans are amazing, they like me. I’m already learning some Chinese to connect with them. I can’t wait to come back and fight again here.”

    Johnny Walker’s Xtreme Couture shift was ‘one of the best moves for my career’

    Johnny Walker has been trying out some newer things lately beyond learning a new language and that extends to a change in what gym he hones his skills at. The Brazilian combatant has been working out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas as of late and describing in the same MMA Junkie Radio interview how much of a difference just being in Vegas in general has made for him, Walker stated [via MMA Junkie],

    “It was a very good move, one of the best moves I did for my career. Not just because of Xtreme but because of the UFC Performance Institute. Of course, Eric is an amazing coach. He’s been an amazing add to my career. A lot of big guys there to train [with]. Performance Institute have breakfast, lunch, dinner, physiotherapy, recovery, strength and conditioning, so everything I need to achieve the next level. I’m very happy. That was my best training camp that I did, and I just feel very excited and amazing.”

  • Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz Didn’t Want to Face Me Even For $5 Million

    Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz Didn’t Want to Face Me Even For $5 Million

    Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz have not entered live competition in years but they are still getting lucrative offers to compete with former UFC champions. The former UFC champion in this instance is Tyron Woodley with ‘The Chosen One’ mentioning the GSP and Diaz gialogue while speaking to Action Network.

    Woodley has also not competed in a few years since being stopped inside the distance during his boxing rematch with Jake Paul in late-2021. When touching on the situations with both St-Pierre and Diaz as well as why the respective fights never ended up getting traction or materializing at all, Tyron Woodley said,

    “I offered GSP $5 million to fight me in the Middle East. I had an organization, and we was gonna promote a fight, for me and GSP and he just flat out said, ‘Tyron, I’m not in that space any more, I’m not fighting anymore. I appreciate the offer,’ I said,’ cool, well, if you’re not in that space, we’re not’. It was nothing disrespectful, because he is the best welterweight of all time. He’s the greatest. So why would I not want to fight him?”

    “If I beat Georges St. Pierre, nobody would care about [my losses to] Gilbert Burns, Vincente Luque, Colby Covington, or Kamaru Usman. None of those losses matter. I’m the best welterweight of all time, so I was looking at it from that standpoint. I did think I could beat him. I never got a chance to prove it when I was at my peak.”

    “And, he just declined the fight. And then I turned around and Nick Diaz offered him the same amount of money off, $5 million to fight in the Middle East. He liked the message I sent him. He hearted it, but he never replied back.”

    Georges St-Pierre
    (Tyron Woodley & Georges St-Pierre on Instagram)

    Georges St-Pierre and his last fighting foray

    Georges St-Pierre last stepped into the cage in November 2017 and cemented himself even further in the history books. GSP would compte at the world’s most famous arena and ascended to the UFC championship throne once again and in a new weight class no less. At UFC 217, the Canadian combatant would do battle with Michael Bisping for the middleweight crown.

    The long time welterweight kingpin would vault himself into that rareified air of two division UFC champions when Georges St-Pierre submitted ‘the Count’ to claim the 185 pound strap inside of Madison Square Garden in the pay-per-view headliner.

  • Aljamain Sterling is Confident in Avoiding Brian Ortega’s Nasty Chokes

    Aljamain Sterling is not obtuse to the problems on the ground that Brian Ortega presents but is confident in how his own skillset matches up with that in their UFC Fight Night 257 co-main event bout. This consequential contest at featherweight takes place in Shanghai on August 23rd.

    Speaking to Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, the former UFC bantamweight champion covered several subjects as he aims to further climb the UFC’s featherweight hierarchy by taking on a former multi-time title challenger at 145 pounds in the promotion. This Saturday will see Sterling and Ortega do battle for a higher rankings position with the number seven and number five ranked contenders in the division, respectively, testing skills.

    When getting into the machinations of this massive matchup at 145 pounds this weekend, Sterling said,

    “I think my style matches up well with him. He does have some tricky stuff off of his back and on top. He’s pretty tough and has a really nasty head and arm choke. I haven’t really seen him go for many other submissions, maybe a guillotine and a triangle, but overall he’s pretty well versed with chokes, so I’ve got to be careful.”

    “I think my top pressure and passing game should be good enough to get to some good dominant positions. Hopefully, I can get to where I’m really strong, which is side control or the back mount.”

    Aljamain Sterling thinks UFC Shanghai bout being 5 rounds is “kind of f***ing stupid”

    Aljamain Sterling is prepared for twenty five minutes of competition but is still unsure why the promotion booked his Brian Ortega bout for five rounds. This was expressed by Aljo during a recent interview with Mike Heck of MMA Fighting as Aljamain Sterling stated [via MMA Fighting],

    “Yeah, I don’t know why it’s five rounds. I don’t know if Brian Ortega is the one who asked for five rounds. But like, five-round main events, if you’re not the champion, you get an extra pay incentive. So I’m kind of annoyed because we’re not getting extra pay for five rounds.”

    “I’m like, ‘Did he want to fight five rounds for no extra money?’ I think it’s kind of f*cking stupid. Like, what are we getting out of this? We’re not getting a trophy at the end of this, so why are we fighting five rounds? This is 10 extra minutes of training, 10 extra minutes of fighting. I don’t know. I legitimately do not know. We’ve got the same manager, so. I don’t want 5 rounds. Like, who wants to do five rounds? Who wants to fight more for the same pay rate that they’re going to get? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  • Michael Venom Page Is ready to Go Through Fire, Show Valor vs. Khamzat Chimaev Post-UFC 319

    Michael Venom Page Is ready to Go Through Fire, Show Valor vs. Khamzat Chimaev Post-UFC 319

    Michael Venom Page is not obtuse to the fact that Khamzat Chimaev would be a rough night of work but it is a challenge he is game for, all the same. Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show in the wake of his win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 319, MVP touched on multiple subjects related to his win over the former UFC middleweight title challenger.

    The former Bellator MMA star also touched on the fact that he is intrigued by a fight with the current UFC middleweight champion who emerged as the newly minted titleholder at the same UFC card Page just bested Cannonier on. In Chicago on August 16th, Chimaev defeated Dricus du Plessis in a dominant performance that saw him notch historic numbers in terms of the striking metrics as ‘Borz’ ascended to the throne.

    While MVP normally plies his trade at welterweight, he now has a pair of impressive wins at middleweight to his credit over Shara Magomedov and the aforementioned Cannonier. When discussing what could be a desired next step or a challenge in the future at the very least, Page said,

    “I was thinking about the champ, Khamzat Chimaev. I’ve had the privilege of being in the gym and watching him work. He is an absolute beast, an absolute animal. What he did was insane. At times I felt like he was being nice when he got someone in the crucifix. I don’t understand why he wasn’t raining down elbows. He was there for like four minutes at a time.”

    Michael Venom Page knows what he would be getting into, but wants to work against Khamzat Chimaev

    As Michael Venom Page further expounded upon his thoughts on the new UFC middleweight titleholder Khamzat Chimaev, Page continued,

    “That guy’s amazing. And I’ve got to make a decision to be really prepared to defend myself and get back up because in my head it doesn’t matter. You have to walk into that fight knowing that you’re going to spend some time on your back and you have to work from there.”

  • Rizin 51: Huge flyweight Grand Prix semifinals and Reserve Bout are Set

    Rizin 51: Huge flyweight Grand Prix semifinals and Reserve Bout are Set

    The RIZIN flyweight Grand Prix semifinals have been set, as well as an alternate bout for the tournament, for Rizin 51 in the Fall. On September 28th, Yuki Motoya will be taking on Makoto Shinryu in one of the semi final clashes.

    Motoya is a veteran of over fifty professional MMA bouts and the 35-year-old has tested skills with several notable names during his tenure in the sport. Motoya has battled the likes of Tatsumitsu Wada, Masakazu Imanari, Kyoji Horiguchi, Patchy Mix, Hiromasa Ougikubo, Victor Henry, Justin Scoggins, Kai Asakura, and Rogério Bontorin to name but a few.

    For Shinryu, he is entering with around half the professional MMA experience of Motoya who is ten years Shinryu’s senior. After Shinryu lost a narrow split decision to Jose ‘Shorty’ Torres, the 25-year-old combatant would secure bounce back wins over Yuki Ito and Erson Yamamoto. Shinryu has also fought in mixed martial arts with individuals who have big combative cache like Hiromasa Ougikubo, Tatsumitsu Wada, Diego Paiva, Hideo Tokoro, and Kyoji Horiguchi.

    The other side of the grand prix bracket will see Hiromasa Ougikubo versus Alibek Gazhammatov transpire.

    Ougikubo notably has a win over current UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and the tenured veteran is on a three fight win streak that is comprised of victories against John Dodson, Makoto Shinryu, and Jose ‘Shorty’ Torres. The 38-year-old has tested skills with fighters like Kai Asakura and Kyoji Horiguchi with Ougikubo previously capturing the 2021 Rizin bantamweight Grand Prix championship with a focus on also adding a RFF flyweight GP title to his mantle.

    For Gazhammatov, while he only boasts a 6-0 pro MMA record, the Dagestan native has a one hundred percent finishing rate. Gazhammatov is 2-0 specifically under the Rizin banner after a four fight run with ACA Young Eagles and most recently finished the well regarded Takaki Soya with strikes at Super Rizin 4 in July.

    Rizin 51 semi finals set and the reserved bout has been announced

    The reserve bout is only fifty percent filled out at this juncture as Yuki Ito will test skills with the dreaded TBA with a more firmed up bout cofnirmation expected in the coming weeks.

    Rizin 51 emanates from IG Arena in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan with a headliner set between Razhabali Shaydullaev and Viktor Kolesnik for the RFF featherweight championship.

  • Francis Ngannou Not Happy with PFL over Africa Tournament Issues

    Francis Ngannou Not Happy with PFL over Africa Tournament Issues

    Francis Ngannou has responded to Donn Davis’ discontentment surrounding the former’s lack of presence at PFL Africa events but ‘the Predator’ has his own grievances. Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, the lineal MMA heavyweight champion covered multiple topics including issues that he had with the presentation of the July 19th PFL Africa card that was headlined by Johnny Eblen taking on Costello Van Steenis for the middleweight belt.

    Ngannou expressed issues with the earlier portion of the card receiving the PFL Africa branding while the main card was labelled Road to Dubai Champions Series. This perception of the PFL Africa brand not getting the predominant focus resulted in Ngannou not attending the card with PFL figurehead Donn Davis later mentioning his disappointment that the PFL Africa chairman was not in attendance.

    While mentioning that he predominantly engages with Peter Murray and other PFL executives while quipping that he rarely speaks with Davis himself, Ngannou said,

    “We have a good relationship with PFL; it’s just that sometimes things don’t run smoothly. Sometimes we don’t agree, but that’s how it works. It’s about making things right so that the vision can come together.”

    “The problem is cultural. There’s a culture difference, and they are struggling to understand the African culture aspect of things. I have to make sure that is being considered.”

    “I wasn’t very okay with the first PFL Africa event seeming to be like an undercard. I hope PFL Africa debut would have at least have its glory, its moment. That wasn’t my decision, and I wasn’t done for it, but I expressed my feeling to them.”

    Francis Ngannou addresses his thoughts on the second PFL Africa card

    Francis Ngannou was not happy with the July 19th card that also featured big names like Dakota Ditcheva but the August 9th PFL Africa card seemed to fit his vision of things with a predominant focus on African mixed martial artists. That being said, the former UFC heavyweight champion and current PFL champ also did not attend that sophomore PFL Africa card and when offering up his thoughts on the sophomore effort from this branch of PFL’s global expansion, Francis Ngannou stated [via MMA Junkie],

    “Matter of circumstances, and again, we were still working on it. This is not the only event. PFL Africa is something that is made to be run forever. So, as we take the time that it takes to set things up right, then the company will run properly. So, I don’t have any problem with that. I don’t have any problem with going, as long as we get things right and feel comfortable. Because I’m going there, stepping forward, putting myself in line as a guarantee. So,at least I’m going to make sure I’m going to stand by what I’m saying.”