Author: mmafighting
There’s an eight-hour time difference between Las Vegas and London, so when you’re Michael “Venom” Page (or any other diehard MMA fan), you get used to late nights. If you’re negotiating with the UFC on a new contract, as Page found himself this past weekend, all bets are off. “I genuinely had zero sleep in 48 hours,” Page said on The MMA Hour. Page became a free agent this summer after a 10-year run with Bellator MMA, and with that came lots of late nights and texts. A breakout star in Bellator, there were plenty of options on the table.…
Jan Blachowicz won’t be back in the octagon for a while. On Saturday, the former UFC light heavyweight champion posted an update on his health on social media, two weeks after announcing that he was pulling out of a rematch with Aleksandar Rakic scheduled for UFC 297 on Jan. 20. Blachowicz cited an injury to his shoulders that would require surgery. Now, it appears that he’ll have to wait for both shoulders to be taken care of after having the right one recently operated on. See Blachowicz’s post below. First shoulder operated on. Unfortunately, there was too much work to…
The global pandemic crushed a lot of businesses across the globe, but it’s safe to say the UFC is one of the biggest success stories to emerge from that disastrous time. While the pandemic prompted down years for just about everybody, the UFC still exploded in popularity over the past three years, securing bigger sponsorship deals, higher viewership, and strangely enough an invulnerability to losing fan interest in events that didn’t always have great name value attached. Case in point: Conor McGregor hasn’t fought since 2021 yet the past two years have still been the best ever for the UFC…
Conor McGregor is getting sick of waiting to make his UFC return. The former two-division champion had a ringside seat on Saturday for the Day of Reckoning boxing pay-per-view in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, which saw Anthony Joshua defeat Otto Wallin via fifth-round stoppage and Joseph Parker upset Deontay Wilder in a lopsided decision. Afterward, an animated McGregor spoke to TalkSPORT and erupted once the topic turned to his potential return to UFC, which remains without a concrete date in 2024. “‘The Mac’ has loads to offer and loads to deliver,” McGregor ranted. “The lads here [in Saudi Arabia] are talking…
Watch Deontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker full fight video highlights from their eight-round cruiserweight contest, courtesy of multiple outlets. Wilder vs. Parker took place Dec. 23 at Freedom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Deontay Wilder (43-3-1) and Joseph Parker (34-3) competed in a heavyweight contest. Result: Joseph Parker def. Deontay Wilder via unanimous decision. Catch more video highlights below. For more on Wilder vs. Parker, check out our live blog below. Round 1: Wilder circling on the outside as both fighters take their time before engaging. Taking plenty of time as we’re two minutes in with little action of note.…
Watch Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin full fight video highlights from their eight-round cruiserweight contest, courtesy of multiple outlets. Joshua vs. Wallin took place Dec. 23 at Freedom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Anthony Joshua (27-3) and Otto Wallin (26-2, 1 no-contest) competed in a heavyweight contest. Result: Anthony Joshua defeated Otto Wallin via fifth-round knockout Catch more video highlights below. For more on Joshua vs. Wallin, check out the live blog below. Round 1: Joshua the aggressor right away. Good jab pressure as he looks to set up that right hand. Hard right to the body by Joshua. Wallin…
Anthony Joshua’s dreams of fighting Deontay Wilder may be dashed, but the two-time former unified boxing heavyweight champion still has a big 2024 ahead of him. Joshua dominated Otto Wallin en route to a fifth-round TKO stoppage on Saturday in the main event of the Day of Reckoning card in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. The win capped off a perfect 3-0 year for Joshua, and likely set him up for a massive opportunity in his next bout. Check out reaction to Joshua vs. Wallin below, including calls from both Francis Ngannou and his agent Marquel Martin for Joshua vs. Ngannou to…
Deontay Wilder vs. Anthony Joshua may truly be dead. The long-awaited heavyweight superfight once again burst into flames on Saturday after Wilder suffered a shocking and lopsided unanimous decision loss at the hands of Joseph Parker in the co-headlining bout of the Day of Reckoning event in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. All three judges scored the contest for the 31-year-old New Zealand native — 118-111, 118-110, and 120-108 — imploding the proposed plans for a Wilder vs. Joshua bout in early 2024. Check out reaction Wilder’s stunning upset loss below, including commentary from Francis Ngannou and a callout from his representative…
Jai Opetaia doesn’t have a belt anymore, but he’s not relinquishing his claim to be the best cruiserweight in the world. At the Day of Reckoning event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, Opetaia (24-0, 19 KOs) made short work of Ellis Zorro (17-1, 7 KOs) with a power lef- hand knockout that left Zorro flat on the mat. Watch the incredible finish below. Opetaia vacated his IBF cruiserweight title earlier this week due to a disagreement with the sanctioning body (the IBF wanted Opetaia to face Mairis Briedis, not Zorro), but that didn’t stop him from making a statement…
Israel Adesanya could be back in action sooner than you think. The two-time UFC middleweight champion has been on a self-imposed hiatus since losing his title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 this past September, suggesting that he may not compete again until 2027. However, in a recent interview with iFL TV, Adesanya said he was exaggerating and teased an earlier return date. “Me right now, I’m taking my time,” Adesanya said. “My last few fights, I had four fights in 14 months as a champion in the UFC. That’s unheard of. I was the most active champion, not fighter,…