Another busy weekend for international MMA, with more familiar names attempting to bounce back from deficits.
The MMA world outside of the Big Two continues to offer a lot of fun. This weekend is a good one in which some established veterans get the opportunity to get some work in, while some younger talent get tested.
Case in point: Fight Nights Global 84: Deák vs Chupanov. Sharamazan Chupanov (4-1-1 draw) faces Tomas Deak (17-9-1) for the Fight Nights bantamweight championship. This fight is actually a rematch from a bout they had in 2015, win which Deak won by split decision. Chupanov has been fighting much more experienced opposition in his last two fights, and has had all of his wins go to a decision. That means he clearly knows how to pace himself and can go deeper into a fight, but Deak has faced much more battle-tested opposition. Deak’s had losses to powerhouse wrestler Antun Racic, as well Alexander Sarnavskiy, Yusup Saadulaev and KSW champion Mateusz Gamrot (who also fights this weekend). His ceiling appears firmly established at this point, as none of his wins have been against notable opponents. This should still deliver in terms of action.
Former BAMMA interim flyweight champion Andy Young (11-9) steps up for the biggest fight of his life against former UFC fighter Ali Bagautinov (17-7). Bagautinov’s first fight outside of the UFC was a devastating knockout loss to former WSOF fighter (and lineal Bellator champion, look that one up) Tyson Nam, but bounced bag with a submission win over Pedro Nobre. That win was followed by a decision win over former TUF contestant and UFC fighter Danny Martinez last October. Also on the card, Swiss veteran Yasubey Enomoto (16-10) faces Shamil Amirov (3-0-1). Remember Viktor Pesta? Well, he’s back to bump his record up from 12-4 against former OPLOT fighter (why, yes... those guys) Alexander Gladkov (10-1). Only two of Gladkov’s wins have been by way of decision. As for Pesta? He’s doing quite well these days. Released by the UFC after his submission loss to Alexey Oleynik, he’s earned back to back wins with a TKO of Michal Kita and a submission of Alexei Kudin. This could be the sleeper fight of the card.
Fight Nights Global 84: Deák vs Chupanov takes place in Bratislava, Slovaka. Card starts at 5:00pm EST this Friday. Videos will be shared via their YouTube channel.
Friday’s LFA card has some promise as well, with LFA 34: Watley vs Jenkins starting at 7:00pm. Robert Watley (9-1) lost his pro debut, but hasn’t lost since. His record has four finishes due to strikes, and one submission win. His opponent Brandon Jenkins is nicknamed “The Human Highlight Reel“, and it’s not hard to see why. His last fight in December against Carl Wittsock was the only decision win on his record. Travis Perzynski (22-9) meets Trey Ogden (9-2) at lightweight, while Darrick Minner (20-7) shares the cage with14-5 Jordan Griffin. MMA pioneer Kelly Kobold (18-3-2 draws) takes on Katy Collins (7-3), who has also fought for Bellator. Collins has losses to Shannon Sinn and Emily Ducote (who fights this weekend for Bellator), but has wins over Mandy Polk and Bruna Vargas. Kobold started her pro career in 2002, going 17-0 with a draw against Ginele Marquez to start off her career. She holds signature win over Shayna Baszler in 2004, and Adrienna Jenkins. Fun fact: Kobold has a win over Jessica Kresa, better known to professional wrestling fans as O.D.B. After losses to Tara LaRosa, Julie Kedzie, and Gina Carano (in 2008), she took a break until 2011 and didn’t return to action until last August. Her last fight was a split draw against Alliance MMA’s Christine Stanley.
LFA 34: Watley vs Jenkins will air live on AXS TV.
Ring of Combat 62 also goes down this Friday at 7:00pm, with FIVE title fights on the line. Former Ultimate Fighter contestant and originator of the “Let Me Bang Bro“ phenomenon Julian Lane (12-8-1) will be headlining against Jeff Lentz in a rematch for the welterweight title. Lane had been released from the UFC after his first TUF stint and a loss to George Sullivan in his UFC debut. After a 2013 loss to Paul Felder, he went on a four-fight win streak that was halted in a rematch against Luis Felix. Things were up and down for Lane until he made it to his second run on the Redemption season of The Ultimate fighter, and he lost his first fight after the reality series wrapped in a fight against Akhmat’s Haseyn Daudov. He bounced back with a decision win over Lentz last November for the then-vacant title, and hopes to successfully defend it. Lentz is another fellow TUF contestant, as well as a CFFC and Ring of Combat veteran. Despite losses to Andre Harrison and the aforementioned Lane fight, has wins over Dustin Pague, Anthony Leone and Jared Gordon.
Bradley Desir (10-5) added to the prelim fireworks at last year’s Bellator NYC show, finishing Nate Grebb with a sensational knockout. This was after finishing Julian Lane with a headkick knockout in his previous fight. Not a single Desir fight has gone to a decision, so this is another name to look out for. His opponent is 6-1 Tajuddin Abdul Hakim, riding two consecutive wins into this bout.
And on a personal note, big ups to Bill Algeo (9-3), fighting for the featherweight title against Tevin Cooke (5-1).
Before UFC 222 this Saturday, you might want to start off with Cage Warriors 91, headlined by Josh Reed (7-1) vs Brian Bouland (6-1) at bantamweight. Welterweight Ross Houston (5-0) is scheduled against Aaron Khalid (6-3-1 draw). Cage Warriors will be streaming live via UFC Fight Pass, starting at 4:00pm EST.
As a final aside, UFC veteran and Czech wrestling standout Karlos Vemola (19-5) competes at X Fight Night 8 in his native Czech Republic this Saturday against 8-3 Englishman Jamie Sloane. Vemola has gone 10-1 since his UFC release with his lone loss in that stretch being against current UFC talent Jack Hermansson.
]]>Another busy weekend for international MMA, with more familiar names attempting to bounce back from deficits.
The MMA world outside of the Big Two continues to offer a lot of fun. This weekend is a good one in which some established veterans get the opportunity to get some work in, while some younger talent get tested.
Case in point: Fight Nights Global 84: Deák vs Chupanov. Sharamazan Chupanov (4-1-1 draw) faces Tomas Deak (17-9-1) for the Fight Nights bantamweight championship. This fight is actually a rematch from a bout they had in 2015, win which Deak won by split decision. Chupanov has been fighting much more experienced opposition in his last two fights, and has had all of his wins go to a decision. That means he clearly knows how to pace himself and can go deeper into a fight, but Deak has faced much more battle-tested opposition. Deak’s had losses to powerhouse wrestler Antun Racic, as well Alexander Sarnavskiy, Yusup Saadulaev and KSW champion Mateusz Gamrot (who also fights this weekend). His ceiling appears firmly established at this point, as none of his wins have been against notable opponents. This should still deliver in terms of action.
Former BAMMA interim flyweight champion Andy Young (11-9) steps up for the biggest fight of his life against former UFC fighter Ali Bagautinov (17-7). Bagautinov’s first fight outside of the UFC was a devastating knockout loss to former WSOF fighter (and lineal Bellator champion, look that one up) Tyson Nam, but bounced bag with a submission win over Pedro Nobre. That win was followed by a decision win over former TUF contestant and UFC fighter Danny Martinez last October. Also on the card, Swiss veteran Yasubey Enomoto (16-10) faces Shamil Amirov (3-0-1). Remember Viktor Pesta? Well, he’s back to bump his record up from 12-4 against former OPLOT fighter (why, yes... those guys) Alexander Gladkov (10-1). Only two of Gladkov’s wins have been by way of decision. As for Pesta? He’s doing quite well these days. Released by the UFC after his submission loss to Alexey Oleynik, he’s earned back to back wins with a TKO of Michal Kita and a submission of Alexei Kudin. This could be the sleeper fight of the card.
Fight Nights Global 84: Deák vs Chupanov takes place in Bratislava, Slovaka. Card starts at 5:00pm EST this Friday. Videos will be shared via their YouTube channel.
Friday’s LFA card has some promise as well, with LFA 34: Watley vs Jenkins starting at 7:00pm. Robert Watley (9-1) lost his pro debut, but hasn’t lost since. His record has four finishes due to strikes, and one submission win. His opponent Brandon Jenkins is nicknamed “The Human Highlight Reel“, and it’s not hard to see why. His last fight in December against Carl Wittsock was the only decision win on his record. Travis Perzynski (22-9) meets Trey Ogden (9-2) at lightweight, while Darrick Minner (20-7) shares the cage with14-5 Jordan Griffin. MMA pioneer Kelly Kobold (18-3-2 draws) takes on Katy Collins (7-3), who has also fought for Bellator. Collins has losses to Shannon Sinn and Emily Ducote (who fights this weekend for Bellator), but has wins over Mandy Polk and Bruna Vargas. Kobold started her pro career in 2002, going 17-0 with a draw against Ginele Marquez to start off her career. She holds signature win over Shayna Baszler in 2004, and Adrienna Jenkins. Fun fact: Kobold has a win over Jessica Kresa, better known to professional wrestling fans as O.D.B. After losses to Tara LaRosa, Julie Kedzie, and Gina Carano (in 2008), she took a break until 2011 and didn’t return to action until last August. Her last fight was a split draw against Alliance MMA’s Christine Stanley.
LFA 34: Watley vs Jenkins will air live on AXS TV.
Ring of Combat 62 also goes down this Friday at 7:00pm, with FIVE title fights on the line. Former Ultimate Fighter contestant and originator of the “Let Me Bang Bro“ phenomenon Julian Lane (12-8-1) will be headlining against Jeff Lentz in a rematch for the welterweight title. Lane had been released from the UFC after his first TUF stint and a loss to George Sullivan in his UFC debut. After a 2013 loss to Paul Felder, he went on a four-fight win streak that was halted in a rematch against Luis Felix. Things were up and down for Lane until he made it to his second run on the Redemption season of The Ultimate fighter, and he lost his first fight after the reality series wrapped in a fight against Akhmat’s Haseyn Daudov. He bounced back with a decision win over Lentz last November for the then-vacant title, and hopes to successfully defend it. Lentz is another fellow TUF contestant, as well as a CFFC and Ring of Combat veteran. Despite losses to Andre Harrison and the aforementioned Lane fight, has wins over Dustin Pague, Anthony Leone and Jared Gordon.
Bradley Desir (10-5) added to the prelim fireworks at last year’s Bellator NYC show, finishing Nate Grebb with a sensational knockout. This was after finishing Julian Lane with a headkick knockout in his previous fight. Not a single Desir fight has gone to a decision, so this is another name to look out for. His opponent is 6-1 Tajuddin Abdul Hakim, riding two consecutive wins into this bout.
And on a personal note, big ups to Bill Algeo (9-3), fighting for the featherweight title against Tevin Cooke (5-1).
Before UFC 222 this Saturday, you might want to start off with Cage Warriors 91, headlined by Josh Reed (7-1) vs Brian Bouland (6-1) at bantamweight. Welterweight Ross Houston (5-0) is scheduled against Aaron Khalid (6-3-1 draw). Cage Warriors will be streaming live via UFC Fight Pass, starting at 4:00pm EST.
As a final aside, UFC veteran and Czech wrestling standout Karlos Vemola (19-5) competes at X Fight Night 8 in his native Czech Republic this Saturday against 8-3 Englishman Jamie Sloane. Vemola has gone 10-1 since his UFC release with his lone loss in that stretch being against current UFC talent Jack Hermansson.
]]>Colby Covington reveals his backup plan if he does not get the title shot that he has been pushing for.
Since defeating Demian Maia in Sao Paulo last October, number three-ranked welterweight contender Colby Covington has been campaigning for a title shot against current champion Tyron Woodley. The UFC, however, is looking to book Woodley against former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, instead.
From his end, Covington never understood why the UFC is keen on making the aforementioned fight, pointing dos Anjos’ recent string of fights which included two losses in his last couple of runs at 155 pounds.
“I don’t get why UFC wants to do RDA-Woodley. I mean, RDA is 3-2 in his last five,” Covington told BJPenn.com Radio in a recent interview. “Last five fights, I’m 5-0, so RDA was just getting melted by lightweights last year. Eddie Alvarez. The guy’s a complete bum. He’s just looking to piggyback and get one more fight, then he’s out of the game man.”
“And that’s what these guys don’t understand. I’m the future. These guys are all old, at the end of their careers. I’m just getting started. I’m just getting warmed up. You haven’t even seen my potential yet.”
If the UFC does end up finalizing their preferred match-up, Covington is willing to take on another opponent but hopes to be part of the same card.
“Yeah, I mean, if the UFC’s gonna do RDA vs. Woodley, then I guess I am fighting Stephen Thompson on the same card as them,” Covington said. “So I’m lined up, so I can get the winner of that next fight after I put choir boy out to the pasture. But you are gonna have to ask [Thompson’s] daddy, if he’s gonna let him fight. I’m not sure if his dad is gonna let him fight.”
“I’ve just barely gotten started. So, when the dust settles, I still will be here and I will take my throne because that is my throne. There’s no doubt about it. These guys, they’re running from me.”
The 30-year-old Covington currently holds a record of 13-1, with seven wins by stoppage.
]]>Colby Covington reveals his backup plan if he does not get the title shot that he has been pushing for.
Since defeating Demian Maia in Sao Paulo last October, number three-ranked welterweight contender Colby Covington has been campaigning for a title shot against current champion Tyron Woodley. The UFC, however, is looking to book Woodley against former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, instead.
From his end, Covington never understood why the UFC is keen on making the aforementioned fight, pointing dos Anjos’ recent string of fights which included two losses in his last couple of runs at 155 pounds.
“I don’t get why UFC wants to do RDA-Woodley. I mean, RDA is 3-2 in his last five,” Covington told BJPenn.com Radio in a recent interview. “Last five fights, I’m 5-0, so RDA was just getting melted by lightweights last year. Eddie Alvarez. The guy’s a complete bum. He’s just looking to piggyback and get one more fight, then he’s out of the game man.”
“And that’s what these guys don’t understand. I’m the future. These guys are all old, at the end of their careers. I’m just getting started. I’m just getting warmed up. You haven’t even seen my potential yet.”
If the UFC does end up finalizing their preferred match-up, Covington is willing to take on another opponent but hopes to be part of the same card.
“Yeah, I mean, if the UFC’s gonna do RDA vs. Woodley, then I guess I am fighting Stephen Thompson on the same card as them,” Covington said. “So I’m lined up, so I can get the winner of that next fight after I put choir boy out to the pasture. But you are gonna have to ask [Thompson’s] daddy, if he’s gonna let him fight. I’m not sure if his dad is gonna let him fight.”
“I’ve just barely gotten started. So, when the dust settles, I still will be here and I will take my throne because that is my throne. There’s no doubt about it. These guys, they’re running from me.”
The 30-year-old Covington currently holds a record of 13-1, with seven wins by stoppage.
]]>Zane Simon, Eddie Mercado, and Victor Rodriguez breakdown the action for this week’s Bellator and KSW shows. With picks and odds for the main cards.
Outside this weekend’s UFC PPV, two of the other major players in global MMA are putting on notable events. Bellator returns with a bantamweight title fight, as Darrion Caldwell makes his first defense against Leandro Higo. And KSW has a stacked main card with Ariane Lipski putting her flyweight title on the line, Mateusz Gamrot defending his lightweight belt, and a champion vs. champion fight between Tomasz Narkun and Mamed Khalidov.
As always, if you enjoyed the show, give us a ‘like’ over on YouTube. And while you’re there, subscribe to MMANATIONDOTCOM. That way you’ll always be among the first to get the latest BE shows, interviews, and analysis.
Bellator airs this Friday on Paramount network at 9pm Eastern & Pacific. KSW 42 airs via online PPV this Saturday, starting at 10am Eastern/7am Pacific. Here’s a look at the cards as they stand now.
PARAMOUNT MAIN CARD
Darrion Caldwell vs. Leandro Higo
Joe Warren vs. Joe Taimanglo
Emily Ducote vs. Kristina Williams
Juan Archuleta vs. William Joplin
ONLINE PRELIMS
Romero Cotton vs. Justin Reeser
Ky Bennett vs. Morgan Solis
Teagan Dooley vs. Kevin Holland
Thomas Lopez vs. Aaron Webb
Treston Thomison vs. Jessie Vasquez
Fernando Trevino vs. Armando Servin
Cris Williams vs. Daniel Carey
Andrew Parker vs. William Florentino
Justin Patterson vs. Brian Grinnell
iPPV MAIN CARD
Tomasz Narkun vs. Mamed Khalidov
Michel Materla vs. Scott Askham
Lukasz Jurkowski vs. Martin Zawada
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Grzegorz Szulakowski
Ariane Lipski vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez
ONLINE PRELIMS
Marcin Wojcik vs. Chris Fields
Karolina Owczarz vs. Paulina Raszewska
Filip Wolanski vs. Bartlomiej Kopera
Krystian Kaszubowski vs. Christopher Henze
Zane Simon, Eddie Mercado, and Victor Rodriguez breakdown the action for this week’s Bellator and KSW shows. With picks and odds for the main cards.
Outside this weekend’s UFC PPV, two of the other major players in global MMA are putting on notable events. Bellator returns with a bantamweight title fight, as Darrion Caldwell makes his first defense against Leandro Higo. And KSW has a stacked main card with Ariane Lipski putting her flyweight title on the line, Mateusz Gamrot defending his lightweight belt, and a champion vs. champion fight between Tomasz Narkun and Mamed Khalidov.
As always, if you enjoyed the show, give us a ‘like’ over on YouTube. And while you’re there, subscribe to MMANATIONDOTCOM. That way you’ll always be among the first to get the latest BE shows, interviews, and analysis.
Bellator airs this Friday on Paramount network at 9pm Eastern & Pacific. KSW 42 airs via online PPV this Saturday, starting at 10am Eastern/7am Pacific. Here’s a look at the cards as they stand now.
PARAMOUNT MAIN CARD
Darrion Caldwell vs. Leandro Higo
Joe Warren vs. Joe Taimanglo
Emily Ducote vs. Kristina Williams
Juan Archuleta vs. William Joplin
ONLINE PRELIMS
Romero Cotton vs. Justin Reeser
Ky Bennett vs. Morgan Solis
Teagan Dooley vs. Kevin Holland
Thomas Lopez vs. Aaron Webb
Treston Thomison vs. Jessie Vasquez
Fernando Trevino vs. Armando Servin
Cris Williams vs. Daniel Carey
Andrew Parker vs. William Florentino
Justin Patterson vs. Brian Grinnell
iPPV MAIN CARD
Tomasz Narkun vs. Mamed Khalidov
Michel Materla vs. Scott Askham
Lukasz Jurkowski vs. Martin Zawada
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Grzegorz Szulakowski
Ariane Lipski vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez
ONLINE PRELIMS
Marcin Wojcik vs. Chris Fields
Karolina Owczarz vs. Paulina Raszewska
Filip Wolanski vs. Bartlomiej Kopera
Krystian Kaszubowski vs. Christopher Henze
Alexander Gustafsson is thinking about jumping up to heavyweight to avoid fighting two of his friends at 205 pounds.
When Daniel Cormier decided to jump up to heavyweight to fight Stipe Miocic this July at UFC 226, Alexander Gustafsson all of a sudden lost a would-be opponent. Now that he could potentially be matched up against two of his friends, “The Mauler” is also considering a jump up in weight class.
“I can move up to heavyweight, in the light heavyweight division we have Jon Jones coming back, [Daniel Cormier] who maybe is coming back or maybe not. We’ll see how it all plays out,” Gustafsson told Viaplay Fight Week (transcript by MMA NYTT). “But me and Ilir Latifi will not compete against each other and the same goes for Jimi Manuwa.”
“Heavyweight is also an option. I’m a heavyweight today. I’m actually only a light heavyweight during one day and that’s the weigh-in, after that, I’m a good heavyweight.”
Manuwa, who began training with Gustafsson in October 2014 after they fought in March of that year, is currently at the number four spot in the 205-pound rankings. Fellow Swede fighter Latifi, on the other hand, is currently ranked number five after his big win against Ovince Saint Preux last weekend in Orlando.
Gustafsson is somehow assured that everything will be sorted out, as he keeps his sights set on eventually bagging UFC gold.
“We’re teammates, we are friends — close friends — first and foremost and we won’t fight each other,” Gustafsson said of Latifi and Manuwa. “I want to start our discussion by making it clear that we will not fight each other, so now you all know.”
“It’s a tricky situation, for sure. But I mean, we’ll see what happens. [Daniel Cormier] is now going up to face [Stipe Miocic], Ilir Latifi has heavyweight as a possibility,” he continued. “We’ll sort it out somehow. Of course, we both should be able to dream of the belt and we both should get our chances to fight for the title, but we’ll see how it all turns out when we get there.”
The 31-year-old Gustafsson last fought in May in his home country of Sweden, where he knocked out fellow former title contender Glover Teixeira in the fifth round. Both men took home $50,000 for the Fight of the Night bonus.
]]>Alexander Gustafsson is thinking about jumping up to heavyweight to avoid fighting two of his friends at 205 pounds.
When Daniel Cormier decided to jump up to heavyweight to fight Stipe Miocic this July at UFC 226, Alexander Gustafsson all of a sudden lost a would-be opponent. Now that he could potentially be matched up against two of his friends, “The Mauler” is also considering a jump up in weight class.
“I can move up to heavyweight, in the light heavyweight division we have Jon Jones coming back, [Daniel Cormier] who maybe is coming back or maybe not. We’ll see how it all plays out,” Gustafsson told Viaplay Fight Week (transcript by MMA NYTT). “But me and Ilir Latifi will not compete against each other and the same goes for Jimi Manuwa.”
“Heavyweight is also an option. I’m a heavyweight today. I’m actually only a light heavyweight during one day and that’s the weigh-in, after that, I’m a good heavyweight.”
Manuwa, who began training with Gustafsson in October 2014 after they fought in March of that year, is currently at the number four spot in the 205-pound rankings. Fellow Swede fighter Latifi, on the other hand, is currently ranked number five after his big win against Ovince Saint Preux last weekend in Orlando.
Gustafsson is somehow assured that everything will be sorted out, as he keeps his sights set on eventually bagging UFC gold.
“We’re teammates, we are friends — close friends — first and foremost and we won’t fight each other,” Gustafsson said of Latifi and Manuwa. “I want to start our discussion by making it clear that we will not fight each other, so now you all know.”
“It’s a tricky situation, for sure. But I mean, we’ll see what happens. [Daniel Cormier] is now going up to face [Stipe Miocic], Ilir Latifi has heavyweight as a possibility,” he continued. “We’ll sort it out somehow. Of course, we both should be able to dream of the belt and we both should get our chances to fight for the title, but we’ll see how it all turns out when we get there.”
The 31-year-old Gustafsson last fought in May in his home country of Sweden, where he knocked out fellow former title contender Glover Teixeira in the fifth round. Both men took home $50,000 for the Fight of the Night bonus.
]]>If Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring, it won’t be on April 14th.
Top Rank Boxing’s master plan for its April 14th event will need some tweaking.
The original idea was to have Manny Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs) fight Mike Alvarado (38-4, 26 KOs) on the undercard of an ESPN pay-per-view headlined by Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs) moving up in weight to challenge WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn (18-0-1, 12 KOs). It’s been eons since Pacquiao was on an undercard, and his team made it clear that Pacquiao won’t be taking this fight.
“No he’s not fighting [Mike] Alvarado,” Aquiles Zonio, Pacquiao’s media relations officer, said in a message to ESPN5’s Lyn Olavario. “He rejected Bob Arum’s offer to fight [in the] undercard of the Crawford-Horn fight.”
“It’s an insult to him,” Zonio said. “The world knew who won that dirty fight in Brisbane. It was the biggest broad-daylight boxing heist.”
The “dirty fight” would refer to the controversial Pacquiao decision loss to Jeff Horn last year, with many observers believing the eight-division world champion was robbed of victory in enemy territory.
With Pacquiao’s career winding down, promoter Bob Arum recently said that the Filipino legend would have the choice between fighting Terence Crawford (assuming a win over Horn) or Vasyl Lomachenko in the fall. That was before the news about Pacquiao-Alvarado being nixed, so it’s uncertain whether that stays true under these new circumstances.
For what it’s worth, Alvarado may have been a fun action fighter in his prime, but he’s not beaten anyone of note since the second of his trilogy bouts with Brandon Rios in 2013. He’s taken massive punishment in virtually all of his losses, and his current four-fight winning streak doesn’t include anyone of note. Pacquiao vs. Alvarado was derided from the start, and presumably the purpose of booking such a fight would be for Pacquiao to get his first knockout win since 2009.
It’s most likely that Crawford vs. Horn would be on regular ESPN, seeing as having that as a PPV main event and no other draw on the undercard would flop spectacularly. What we could see in place of Pacquiao vs. Alvarado is IBF super-flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas (29-1-1, 20 KOs) taking on his mandatory challenger Jonas Sultan (14-3, 9 KOs), also from the Philippines. If that’s the case, then consider it a major plus that Pacquiao’s team isn’t interested in fighting on the undercard next month.
]]>If Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring, it won’t be on April 14th.
Top Rank Boxing’s master plan for its April 14th event will need some tweaking.
The original idea was to have Manny Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs) fight Mike Alvarado (38-4, 26 KOs) on the undercard of an ESPN pay-per-view headlined by Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs) moving up in weight to challenge WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn (18-0-1, 12 KOs). It’s been eons since Pacquiao was on an undercard, and his team made it clear that Pacquiao won’t be taking this fight.
“No he’s not fighting [Mike] Alvarado,” Aquiles Zonio, Pacquiao’s media relations officer, said in a message to ESPN5’s Lyn Olavario. “He rejected Bob Arum’s offer to fight [in the] undercard of the Crawford-Horn fight.”
“It’s an insult to him,” Zonio said. “The world knew who won that dirty fight in Brisbane. It was the biggest broad-daylight boxing heist.”
The “dirty fight” would refer to the controversial Pacquiao decision loss to Jeff Horn last year, with many observers believing the eight-division world champion was robbed of victory in enemy territory.
With Pacquiao’s career winding down, promoter Bob Arum recently said that the Filipino legend would have the choice between fighting Terence Crawford (assuming a win over Horn) or Vasyl Lomachenko in the fall. That was before the news about Pacquiao-Alvarado being nixed, so it’s uncertain whether that stays true under these new circumstances.
For what it’s worth, Alvarado may have been a fun action fighter in his prime, but he’s not beaten anyone of note since the second of his trilogy bouts with Brandon Rios in 2013. He’s taken massive punishment in virtually all of his losses, and his current four-fight winning streak doesn’t include anyone of note. Pacquiao vs. Alvarado was derided from the start, and presumably the purpose of booking such a fight would be for Pacquiao to get his first knockout win since 2009.
It’s most likely that Crawford vs. Horn would be on regular ESPN, seeing as having that as a PPV main event and no other draw on the undercard would flop spectacularly. What we could see in place of Pacquiao vs. Alvarado is IBF super-flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas (29-1-1, 20 KOs) taking on his mandatory challenger Jonas Sultan (14-3, 9 KOs), also from the Philippines. If that’s the case, then consider it a major plus that Pacquiao’s team isn’t interested in fighting on the undercard next month.
]]>Check out the full media day staredowns for UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya.
The UFC 222 media day is in the books, and of course the session was capped off with the traditional staredowns. Everyone on the main card was featured, including headliners Cris Cyborg and Yana Kunitskaya, but the star of the show was probably the stylish attire of bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley.
You can catch the UFC 222 media day staredowns at the top of the page, with commentary courtesy of MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.
A reminder that the full fight card for Saturday is as follows:
Main Card (10 PM ET, PPV)
Cris Cyborg vs. Yana Kunitskaya
Frankie Edgar vs. Brian Ortega
Sean O’Malley vs. Andre Soukhamthath
Stefan Struve vs. Andrei Arlovski
Cat Zingano vs. Ketlen Vieira
Preliminary Card (8 PM ET, FS1)
Mackenzie Dern vs. Ashley Yoder
Beneil Dariush vs. Alexander Hernandez
John Dodson vs. Pedro Munhoz
C.B. Dollaway vs. Hector Lombard
Preliminary Card (6:30 PM ET, Fight Pass)
Mike Pyle vs. Zak Ottow
Bryan Caraway vs. Cody Stamann
Jordan Johnson vs. Adam Milstead
Check out the full media day staredowns for UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya.
The UFC 222 media day is in the books, and of course the session was capped off with the traditional staredowns. Everyone on the main card was featured, including headliners Cris Cyborg and Yana Kunitskaya, but the star of the show was probably the stylish attire of bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley.
You can catch the UFC 222 media day staredowns at the top of the page, with commentary courtesy of MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.
A reminder that the full fight card for Saturday is as follows:
Main Card (10 PM ET, PPV)
Cris Cyborg vs. Yana Kunitskaya
Frankie Edgar vs. Brian Ortega
Sean O’Malley vs. Andre Soukhamthath
Stefan Struve vs. Andrei Arlovski
Cat Zingano vs. Ketlen Vieira
Preliminary Card (8 PM ET, FS1)
Mackenzie Dern vs. Ashley Yoder
Beneil Dariush vs. Alexander Hernandez
John Dodson vs. Pedro Munhoz
C.B. Dollaway vs. Hector Lombard
Preliminary Card (6:30 PM ET, Fight Pass)
Mike Pyle vs. Zak Ottow
Bryan Caraway vs. Cody Stamann
Jordan Johnson vs. Adam Milstead
Add Jon Fitch to the list of familiar UFC faces now under the Bellator MMA banner.
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch is headed for Bellator MMA.
It was announced on Thursday that Fitch has signed an exclusive, multi-fight contract with the promotion. Per the press release, “Fitch’s promotional debut will be determined at a later date, but he is expected to return to action this year.”
The 40-year-old Fitch was the World Series of Fighting welterweight champion, winning the vacant title by beating Joao Zeferino in 2016. He defended his belt by beating Jake Shields, then choked out Brian Foster for his first finish in a decade. The Foster win was under the rebranded Professional Fighters League, and once the promotion vacated all of its titles, Fitch became a free agent.
In his heyday, Fitch (30-7-1, 1 NC) was one of the top welterweights in the world. His one title shot came at UFC 87 vs. Georges St-Pierre, who won via lopsided decision, but it was Fitch’s only UFC loss until Johny Hendricks knocked him out three years later. The UFC released Fitch after being beaten by Demian Maia at UFC 156, and he’d spent the past several years with WSOF/PFL. He’d also been suspended for nine months after failing a pre-fight drug test vs. Rousimar Palhares.
Bellator’s current welterweight champion is fellow ex-UFC title contender Rory MacDonald, who beat Douglas Lima by unanimous decision back in January of this year. Fitch now joins a stable that includes not just MacDonald and Lima, but also Lorenz Larkin, Paul Daley, and Andrey Koreshkov.
]]>Add Jon Fitch to the list of familiar UFC faces now under the Bellator MMA banner.
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch is headed for Bellator MMA.
It was announced on Thursday that Fitch has signed an exclusive, multi-fight contract with the promotion. Per the press release, “Fitch’s promotional debut will be determined at a later date, but he is expected to return to action this year.”
The 40-year-old Fitch was the World Series of Fighting welterweight champion, winning the vacant title by beating Joao Zeferino in 2016. He defended his belt by beating Jake Shields, then choked out Brian Foster for his first finish in a decade. The Foster win was under the rebranded Professional Fighters League, and once the promotion vacated all of its titles, Fitch became a free agent.
In his heyday, Fitch (30-7-1, 1 NC) was one of the top welterweights in the world. His one title shot came at UFC 87 vs. Georges St-Pierre, who won via lopsided decision, but it was Fitch’s only UFC loss until Johny Hendricks knocked him out three years later. The UFC released Fitch after being beaten by Demian Maia at UFC 156, and he’d spent the past several years with WSOF/PFL. He’d also been suspended for nine months after failing a pre-fight drug test vs. Rousimar Palhares.
Bellator’s current welterweight champion is fellow ex-UFC title contender Rory MacDonald, who beat Douglas Lima by unanimous decision back in January of this year. Fitch now joins a stable that includes not just MacDonald and Lima, but also Lorenz Larkin, Paul Daley, and Andrey Koreshkov.
]]>Birmingham’s own Leon Edwards gets ready to face Peter Sobotta, and he’s expecting a big step up with a win.
With eight UFC fights under his belt, Leon Edwards has carved out a very good record so far in the #1 organization in the world. With a respectable run that includes wins over Seth Baczynski, Albert Tumenov, and Bryan Barberena, the former BAMMA champion was hoping for a fight with someone further up the ladder in a crowded welterweight division. While he’s happy to fight on his home soil at UFC Fight Night 127: Werdum vs. Volkov, he’s still hoping that a win over Peter Sobotta gets him some upward mobility.
So in anticipation for the event, Edwards made some time on his schedule to talk to Bloody Elbow regarding his upcoming fight, as well as the U.K. maturing into its current state. And food. The man likes food. Enjoy.
Victor Rodriguez: Leon, you’ve been in the UFC for some time after coming up the ranks through BAMMA, you’ve got a great win streak put together here and you’re fighting Peter Sobotta, who has been a pretty consistent and reliable veteran. Have been watching much footage, have you been analyzing his game?
Leon Edwards: Peter’s a tough opponent, and I expected to get a higher ranked opponent (since I’m) coming off a four-fight win streak. Yeah, I’ve been watching him, I’ve been watching him a lot. He’s tough, he’s tough. But he brings nothing to the table that I haven’t seen before. So, I’m looking forward to going out there and performing in London.
VR: Is there anything that you’ve seen from him that makes you kind of step back and go “OK, I like the way he does that”? Anything in his game that you see that makes you think “I respect that“?
LE: Nothing I haven’t seen before. He’s a veteran, he was in the UFC before and he fought one of my teammates, Paul Taylor, back in the day. He came back and got a good little streak, so like I said, I don’t see anything he brings to the table that I haven’t seen before from any guy I’ve competed against in the UFC. So, I’m looking forward to going out there and putting him away in London.
VR: Looking at your career, you’ve fought some really, really tough guys. In your progression and evolution as a fighter, is there one specific fight that you can say between one fight and the other “I’ve made a leap in my improvement”?
LE: I think that for me, traveling and working - I spent some time at AKA - that’s improved my grappling by leaps and bounds. Now I’m back in the U.K., I did my last 3-4 camps here and it’s all paying off. I think everything with my training partners and my coaches is coming together, everyone is working for the same goal. Before I’ve kind of gone here and here and there, but now I’ve got a good, stable crew here in the U.K. I think it’s all paying off. I’m gonna stay in the U.K. for the rest of my camps, I think.
VR: As far as the MMA scene in general in the U.K., we’ve seen a lot of really great fighters come out with a higher level of consistency across the board. Now obviously, U.K. fighters were known for being really good with their striking but perhaps faltering somewhat in the grappling, but there’s a lot more equity in the game now. I want to know what you think might still be missing or what you’d like to see improved in the overall U.K. scene when it comes to training.
LE: I think we’re catching up. We’re catching up. We’ve got everything we need: great striking, great wrestling. I’ve proven that my wrestling has improved in my last four fights. I think there’s nothing in the U.K. that we can’t get. The up-and-comers now, the younger guys on the U.K. scene, they’ve got everything. They’ve got grappling, they’ve got striking, they’ve got Jiu-Jitsu. ... So I think back in the day we had to travel to learn to wrestle and to get the Jiu-Jitsu, but now I think everyone in the U.K. - the games come to a higher level. We don’t have to travel no more. We can stay here and do it. We don’t have to go to America to learn wrestling. I feel that we’re not really lacking in much, it’s just time and we’ll prove that we’re on the same level.
VR: A few months ago we had Mark Diakiese walk out to viral sensation “Man’s Not Hot“...
LE: (Laughs) Oh, yeah...
VR: Are you surprised he was the first UFC fighter that came out to that or that it took that long for a U.K. fighter to come out to that song?
LE: (Laughs) Yeah, it’s a good tune, it’s kind of like, a comedic tune. I expected more guys to come out with it. On the local scene there’s a lot of guys coming out, but not in the UFC. But yeah, it was funny!
VR: Your fight is a few weeks away, have you started the preparation for cutting weight yet?
LE: Not really cutting, but I’m watching my carbs and my protein and my fat. My weight’s coming down nicely, I’ve never had trouble cutting weight before. I expect to make it again. I’ve never missed weight for as long as I’ve been doing it for. It should be easy again.
VR: When you actually do get to the cut - and I know it’s a bit of torture asking you, so I’m sorry - what food do you miss the most? What’s the one thing that you know you shouldn’t be eating but you crave horribly?
LE: (Slight groan) My favorite food is pizza. I love pizzas, and...cutting weight, fuck it (laughs), it reminds me, on the Sunday after the fight I’m gonna have to go to Pizza Hut, Domino’s. That’s all I think about, really. That and chocolate...
VR: Oooh...
LE: Those are my two things that really... (laughs) those are the two things I really think about. After the fight I go to where I can get it and it’s all good.
UFC Fight Night 127: Werdum vs. Volkov (also known as Fight Night London) takes place on March 17th, and will be streaming live via UFC Fight Pass starting at noon EST.
]]>Birmingham’s own Leon Edwards gets ready to face Peter Sobotta, and he’s expecting a big step up with a win.
With eight UFC fights under his belt, Leon Edwards has carved out a very good record so far in the #1 organization in the world. With a respectable run that includes wins over Seth Baczynski, Albert Tumenov, and Bryan Barberena, the former BAMMA champion was hoping for a fight with someone further up the ladder in a crowded welterweight division. While he’s happy to fight on his home soil at UFC Fight Night 127: Werdum vs. Volkov, he’s still hoping that a win over Peter Sobotta gets him some upward mobility.
So in anticipation for the event, Edwards made some time on his schedule to talk to Bloody Elbow regarding his upcoming fight, as well as the U.K. maturing into its current state. And food. The man likes food. Enjoy.
Victor Rodriguez: Leon, you’ve been in the UFC for some time after coming up the ranks through BAMMA, you’ve got a great win streak put together here and you’re fighting Peter Sobotta, who has been a pretty consistent and reliable veteran. Have been watching much footage, have you been analyzing his game?
Leon Edwards: Peter’s a tough opponent, and I expected to get a higher ranked opponent (since I’m) coming off a four-fight win streak. Yeah, I’ve been watching him, I’ve been watching him a lot. He’s tough, he’s tough. But he brings nothing to the table that I haven’t seen before. So, I’m looking forward to going out there and performing in London.
VR: Is there anything that you’ve seen from him that makes you kind of step back and go “OK, I like the way he does that”? Anything in his game that you see that makes you think “I respect that“?
LE: Nothing I haven’t seen before. He’s a veteran, he was in the UFC before and he fought one of my teammates, Paul Taylor, back in the day. He came back and got a good little streak, so like I said, I don’t see anything he brings to the table that I haven’t seen before from any guy I’ve competed against in the UFC. So, I’m looking forward to going out there and putting him away in London.
VR: Looking at your career, you’ve fought some really, really tough guys. In your progression and evolution as a fighter, is there one specific fight that you can say between one fight and the other “I’ve made a leap in my improvement”?
LE: I think that for me, traveling and working - I spent some time at AKA - that’s improved my grappling by leaps and bounds. Now I’m back in the U.K., I did my last 3-4 camps here and it’s all paying off. I think everything with my training partners and my coaches is coming together, everyone is working for the same goal. Before I’ve kind of gone here and here and there, but now I’ve got a good, stable crew here in the U.K. I think it’s all paying off. I’m gonna stay in the U.K. for the rest of my camps, I think.
VR: As far as the MMA scene in general in the U.K., we’ve seen a lot of really great fighters come out with a higher level of consistency across the board. Now obviously, U.K. fighters were known for being really good with their striking but perhaps faltering somewhat in the grappling, but there’s a lot more equity in the game now. I want to know what you think might still be missing or what you’d like to see improved in the overall U.K. scene when it comes to training.
LE: I think we’re catching up. We’re catching up. We’ve got everything we need: great striking, great wrestling. I’ve proven that my wrestling has improved in my last four fights. I think there’s nothing in the U.K. that we can’t get. The up-and-comers now, the younger guys on the U.K. scene, they’ve got everything. They’ve got grappling, they’ve got striking, they’ve got Jiu-Jitsu. ... So I think back in the day we had to travel to learn to wrestle and to get the Jiu-Jitsu, but now I think everyone in the U.K. - the games come to a higher level. We don’t have to travel no more. We can stay here and do it. We don’t have to go to America to learn wrestling. I feel that we’re not really lacking in much, it’s just time and we’ll prove that we’re on the same level.
VR: A few months ago we had Mark Diakiese walk out to viral sensation “Man’s Not Hot“...
LE: (Laughs) Oh, yeah...
VR: Are you surprised he was the first UFC fighter that came out to that or that it took that long for a U.K. fighter to come out to that song?
LE: (Laughs) Yeah, it’s a good tune, it’s kind of like, a comedic tune. I expected more guys to come out with it. On the local scene there’s a lot of guys coming out, but not in the UFC. But yeah, it was funny!
VR: Your fight is a few weeks away, have you started the preparation for cutting weight yet?
LE: Not really cutting, but I’m watching my carbs and my protein and my fat. My weight’s coming down nicely, I’ve never had trouble cutting weight before. I expect to make it again. I’ve never missed weight for as long as I’ve been doing it for. It should be easy again.
VR: When you actually do get to the cut - and I know it’s a bit of torture asking you, so I’m sorry - what food do you miss the most? What’s the one thing that you know you shouldn’t be eating but you crave horribly?
LE: (Slight groan) My favorite food is pizza. I love pizzas, and...cutting weight, fuck it (laughs), it reminds me, on the Sunday after the fight I’m gonna have to go to Pizza Hut, Domino’s. That’s all I think about, really. That and chocolate...
VR: Oooh...
LE: Those are my two things that really... (laughs) those are the two things I really think about. After the fight I go to where I can get it and it’s all good.
UFC Fight Night 127: Werdum vs. Volkov (also known as Fight Night London) takes place on March 17th, and will be streaming live via UFC Fight Pass starting at noon EST.
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