Author: mmafighting
Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou squared up for the first time this week ahead of their heavyweight clash. The knockout artists faced off following a press conference for their highly anticipated boxing match, which takes place Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Joshua and Ngannou remained respectful as they stared each other down, then shook hands before posing for pictures. Watch the post-press conference faceoff below. The winner of Friday’s bout is expected to challenge the winner of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk undisputed heavyweight title bout, which takes place on May 18 in Riyadh. Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) looks…
With the UFC’s antitrust trial date quickly approaching on April 15, Judge Richard F. Boulware ruled on several motions in the case in a Nevada courtroom on Monday including 13 witnesses that were potentially being called to testify on behalf of the promotion. The fighters on the list included UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Chael Sonnen, Miesha Tate and Michael Chandler as well as prominent managers such as Ali Abdelaziz, Dan Lambert from American Top Team and Iridium Sports Agency CEO Jason House. It turns out none of them will be allowed to testify at the…
The early morning weigh-ins for UFC 299 on Friday will look slightly different than usual. The Florida Athletic Commission confirmed to MMA Fighting that the weigh-ins will still take place between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. local time like usual but this time around all fighters will be required to hit the scale during the first hour from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. rather than having two full hours to make weight. The second hour from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. “will be for those participants that did not make the contracted weight to get back on the scales.” The…
The UFC 299 media day will feature the fight card’s top stars answering questions from the media Wednesday morning in Miami. The tentative schedule is as follows: 10:45 a.m. ET: Curtis Blaydes 10:55 a.m.: Maycee Barber 11:05 a.m.: Song Yadong 11:15 a.m.: Benoit Saint Denis 11:25 a.m.: Michael Page 11:35 a.m.: Jack Della Maddalena 11:45 a.m.: Sean O’Malley 11:55 a.m.: Kyler Phillips 12:05 p.m.: Rafael dos Anjos 12:15 p.m.: Lunch Break 1:20 p.m.: Marlon Vera 1:30 p.m.: Jailton Almeida 1:40 p.m.: Mateusz Gamrot 1:50 p.m.: Pedro Munhoz 2 p.m.: Kevin Holland 2:10 p.m.: Dustin Poirier 2:20 p.m.: Gilbert Burns 2:40…
Dricus Du Plessis will fight when he’s ready. All the drama surrounding UFC 300’s main event was settled on the night of UFC 298 in Anaheim, Calif. last month. The light heavyweight title will be on the line when the recently crowned champion Alex Pereira defends against the champion before him in Jamahal Hill. A middleweight championship bout seemed like one of the strongest possibilities when we entered 2024. Now-former title holder Sean Strickland was tasked with a UFC 297 defense against South Africa’s Du Plessis in Canada, but was unable to retain as he lost a hard-fought split decision.…
The octagon will return to the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3, this time for a Fight Night event, the UFC announced Wednesday. The event will mark UFC’s first non-pay-per-view show in the United Arab Emirates since the pandemic days, when Abu Dhabi was the sole location to hold UFC card outside of Las Vegas. In total, the UFC held eight Fight Nights and three numbered shows in t he UAE in a span of five months. The promotion has yet to announce the main event attraction. Islam Makhachev headlined the last UFC trip to Abu Dhabi in…
Merab Dvalishvili hopes to get his title shot sooner rather than later but until then he’ll take on the backup role for the main event at UFC 299. The top-ranked bantamweight contender, who secured his own opportunity to become champion with a win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298, will fly to Miami on Wednesday and hit the scale on Friday as the backup for the title fight between Sean O’Malley and Marlon “Chito” Vera. Dvalishvili’s manager Oren Hodak of KO Reps confirmed his status as the backup on Tuesday when speaking to MMA Fighting. It’s become standard practice for…
Since the first day Curtis Blaydes arrived in the UFC, the heavyweight title has almost always been under duress for one reason or another. Whether the belt was tied up in the Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier trilogy or Francis Ngannou was at odds with the UFC over his contract, the path to a shot at heavyweight gold has always been filled with obstacles. The latest instance involves the injury Jon Jones suffered that prevented him from fighting Miocic this past November, and the UFC ultimately crowning Tom Aspinall as an interim champion in his absence. Since that time, Aspinall…
The Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou fight card is set with its blockbuster main event and a compelling undercard. The pay-per-view portion of the Knockout Chaos card kicks off at 1 p.m. ET from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Joshua and Ngannou are expected to make their walk to the ring at 5:50 p.m. ET. The winner of their highly anticipated heavyweight clash is likely to face the winner of the upcoming undisputed heavyweight championship bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, which takes place on May 18. Friday’s preliminary card is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET. Knockout Chaos is…
Francis Ngannou already captured boxing’s attention when he knocked down linear heavyweight champ Tyson Fury and nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport. Now he’ll attempt to trump that performance with his fight against Anthony Joshua, but does a win effectively doom any chance of an MMA return? UFC Hall of Famer and current PFL commentator Randy Couture doesn’t think so. Despite the massive paydays Ngannou is earning in boxing and the potential for a future rematch with Fury, especially if Ngannou gets past Joshua on March 8, Couture still believes the former…