Author: mmafighting
Ever since Patchy Mix first arrived in Bellator, he’s dreamed of becoming the company’s undisputed bantamweight champion. On Friday night, he’ll get his second opportunity to capture that title, but it might also be the last chance he’ll ever have to compete for the promotion as rumors continue to swirl about Bellator’s looming demise. With Showtime announcing plans to get out of the combat sports business at the end of 2023 and parent company Paramount speaking to potential buyers about a sale, Bellator appears to be teetering on the brink of extinction. That’s a hard pill to swallow for many…
Fighters will no longer be biking on Pelotons when visiting the UFC Performance Institute. UFC CEO Dana White demanded that all of the exercise equipment made by the New York-based company removed from his gyms after comedian Theo Von told him that Peloton demanded that a past episode of his podcast had to be removed. According to Von, Peloton was a sponsor for his show and he was told to take down an interview he posted with presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., which resulted in White slamming the company along with their CEO Barry McCarthy. “So Peloton, what do they…
Sergio Pettis feels like he’s been here before. As he prepares to face Patchy Mix at Bellator 301 in what could be Bellator’s final show, Pettis is reminded of one of his final UFC flyweight fights in 2019. At the time, he was riding high after defeating multi-time UFC title challenger Joseph Benavidez, and he knew a win would likely put him in title contention. Unfortunately, his rise up the ranks ran parallel to rumors that the UFC was possibly dumping the entire 125-pound division. Several high-profile fighters — including future champion Brandon Moreno — had suddenly been released from…
Did Chael Sonnen really tattoo Anderson Silva’s face on his right arm? In the end, the social media post that went viral on Tuesday was a tease for Silva’s biopic mini-series, which premiered Thursday on Paramount+. Sonnen posted a photo earlier this week of the tattoo with the caption, “I’m a man of my word.” Two days later, Silva released a video revealing that the old rivals watched Silva’s series together. In the video, Silva and Sonnen agree that the Sonnen will tattoo Silva’s face on his shoulder if he gets emotional watching the series. The clip then shows Sonnen…
MMA Fighting has Bellator 301 weigh-in video Thursday afternoon in Chicago. Two titles are on the line, with dominant welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov defending against Jason Jackson in the main event, and bantamweight stars Sergio Pettis and Patchy Mix fighting in a unification bout in the co-main event. Amosov defeated interim champion Logan Storley this past February to record his first title defense and improve to 27-0 in his career. He faces Jackson, who has been flawless since losing in his Bellator debut, rattling off six straight wins including decision nods over Douglas Lima, Neiman Gracie, and Benson Henderson. The…
The high-stakes rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker is already set. Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 is expected to take place at the UFC Fight Night event on January 13, Walker’s coach John Kavanagh revealed Monday on The MMA Hour. UFC later announced the matchup as official. With Alex Pereira having captured the vacant UFC light heavyweight title this past Saturday at UFC 295 and former champ Jamahal Hill still recovering from an Achilles injury, there is a good chance Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 decides the division’s next No. 1 contender. The January 13 event will take place at the…
UFC 295 delivered an exciting event at Madison Square Garden, and when the dust settled in the World’s Most Famous Arena, Alex Pereira entered the two-division champion club, while Tom Aspinall stated his case to be MMA’s best heavyweight when he ran over Sergei Pavlovich in just over a minute. Where does Pereira go from here? And could we get a fight between Aspinall and Jon Jones? On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel recaps UFC 295, discusses what could be next for Pereira in his first title defense at 205, if the Israel Adesanya trilogy fight…
Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill for the UFC light heavyweight title will be a super intriguing matchup, but it’s doubtful that Pereira will sit on the sidelines for that long while Hill recovers from his achilles injury. If the UFC chooses to keep Pereira active, will he get his third fight with Israel Adesanya, or will there be a new challenger for the title? On an all-new Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck attempts to answer that question, talks options for Pereira, and why the UFC probably won’t wait for Hill before booking the UFC’s newest two-division champion.…
Alex Pereira called out Israel Adesanya for a trilogy bout after claiming the UFC light heavyweight championship this past weekend at Madison Square Garden, but “The Last Stylebender” didn’t sound too interested in fighting him one more time. Adesanya took on social media to react to Pereira’s title-winning knockout over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295, saying he’s still living “rent free” in Pereira’s head after stopping the Brazilian earlier this year. “Poatan” rebounded from that defeat to score wins over Jan Blachowicz and Prochazka and conquer the 205-pound belt, while Adesanya dropped the middleweight crown to Sean Strickland. Pereira’s longtime…
Andre Ward has trained with Nate Diaz many times over the years, and believed the former UFC fighter would have a great chance against Jake Paul when they met in their boxing match in August. That wasn’t the case, however, as Paul earned a unanimous decision victory over Diaz in Dallas. Ward, a former multi-division boxing champ, believed Diaz fought valiantly, but in the end, he was hoping the Stockton native would’ve thrown more punches. “I thought he did OK,” Ward said on The MMA Hour. “I would’ve liked to have seen him let his hands go more. I think…