Author: mmafighting
Jake Paul wanted to make an even bigger splash for his boxing match against ex-UFC champ Tyron Woodley in his hometown of Cleveland after asking Grammy award-winning rapper Kid Cudi to perform ahead of his walkout. Unfortunately the collaboration never happened after Paul says that his fellow Cleveland native asked for too much money to make an appearance, which nixed those plans in a hurry. Paul addressed the situation during a recent podcast with LeBron James’ business partner Rich Paul, who also hails from the northern Ohio city. “I tried to get him to perform at the Tyron Woodley fight…
The UFC is ending 2023 with a loaded UFC 296 pay-per-view event that features two world title fights, and a slew of compelling storylines outside of the top-two bouts. Of all of the non-title fights, what is the most intriguing on the card? On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses the UFC 296 card, the low-key storylines, and if Ian Machado Garry vs. Vicente Luque could be the big talking point outside of the championship bouts at night’s end. Additionally, listener questions include Colby Covington’s future following next Saturday’s main event, the UFC…
The Ultimate Fighter 32 will debut in June on ESPN and ESPN+ with casting for the new season already underway. The long-running reality series will focus on featherweights and middleweights for the latest installment with coaches to be named later. Casting for the series will run through Jan. 19 with applicants submitting information through this link. Casting will be done virtually with no physical tryouts with selections to be made sometime in late January. The latest season of TUF comes after TUF 31 focused on bantamweights and lightweights with a cast comprised of both UFC veterans and newcomers. Former two-division…
Walysson Aguiar was shot twice at age 13 and then abandoned by his mother in Fortaleza, Brazil. “Saved” by martial arts, he now tries to make the most of a last-minute opportunity at Thursday’s Brave CF 78 in his hometown. Aguiar woke up one Wednesday morning and headed to the gym like any other day. His shift as a security guard began after lunchtime so he had plenty of time to train at V8 MMA, but it all changed when his phone started ringing non-stop at 10:28 a.m. Joilton Lutterbach had missed weight moments before for his main event bout…
This past Saturday delivered a fun and chaotic day in the world of MMA and combat sports as Arman Tsarukyan and Mike Perry ended UFC Austin and BKFC 56 with main event stoppages. With both men vying for big fights next, where will Tsarukyan and Perry go from their big wins? On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel attempts to answer those questions following the latest offerings from the UFC and BKFC, discuss what 2024 could look like for Tsarukyan, and Perry’s future as the face of bare-knuckle fighting. Additionally, topics include Dana White’s response to PFL’s…
Former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is headed for shoulder surgery, which will prevent him from competing at his scheduled rematch against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 297 on Jan. 20. Blachowicz posted that he suffered an injury during training that will not only knock him out of the fight but he’ll have to undergo an operation to repair the damage done. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way,” Blachowicz wrote on Instagram. “It’s hard to express how I feel because it’s a mixture of anger and sadness. Withdrawing from a fight due to injury is one of the most difficult…
Katlyn Chookagian is being tasked with slowing a rising contender for her return fight. MMA Fighting has confirmed with sources with knowledge of the matchup that Chookagian (18-5) is set to fight Maycee Barber (13-2) in a flyweight bout at UFC 299 on March 9. A location for the event is still to be announced, but Miami is rumored to be the front-runner to host. MMA Mania was first to report the matchup. Chookagian is currently No. 7 at 125 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, with Barber a few spots behind her at No. 10. When Chookagian steps…
Francis Ngannou still wants the biggest challenges available to him, but he understands when it comes to potential opponents like Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua that he will either have to face them in boxing or concede to mixed rules to make it a fair fight. While he prefers a rematch with heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury more than anything else, Ngannou has other options available to him after nearly pulling off the upset of the century in his professional boxing debut. Despite losing a split decision to Fury in October, Ngannou suddenly became an attractive opponent for a lot…
Leon Edwards is ready to secure his second title defense as the UFC welterweight champion. The United Kingdom’s “Rocky” fended off his biggest rival Kamaru Usman in the pair’s immediate trilogy bout at UFC 286 when he won a majority decision this past March. Ahead of fight night, the MMA world was treated to the surprise of a wild Colby Covington appearing at the official weigh-ins as the title fight’s back-up fighter if needed. Thanks to “Chaos’” willingness to take the role, he now finds himself as the next challenger set to take on Edwards at UFC 296 in Las…
Alexander Volkanovski is not impressed by Ilia Topuria’s performance. Volkanovski returns on Feb. 17 when he seeks the sixth defense of his UFC featherweight title against undefeated challenger Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. While Volkanovski has lost two of his past three bouts up a weight class against Islam Makhachev, including a first-round knockout loss to the lightweight champ this past October at UFC 294, “The Great” remains the class of 145 pounds. Volkanovski holds a perfect 12-0 promotional record competing in the division he’s long called home, and when he takes a close look at the road his Spanish…