Author: mmafighting
Francis Ngannou nearly flipped the combat sports world upside-down when he faced Tyson Fury this past October in his professional boxing debut. Now, Ngannou meets Anthony Joshua in his sophomore foray this Friday in a Saudi Arabia matchup that carries titanic stakes for both boxing’s heavyweight division and Ngannou’s future in MMA. Ahead of Ngannou’s next great test, MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti, Alexander K. Lee, and Damon Martin sidle back up to the roundtable to break down all angles of the marquee bout. 1. Is this week make-or-break for Ngannou’s boxing career? Al-Shatti: On its face, this question may as…
Jake Paul isn’t sure what’s gotten into Ryan Garcia, but if a fight is really what the former WBC interim lightweight champion wants, Paul is more than happy to oblige. Garcia called out Paul with an aggressive series of social media posts on Saturday following Paul’s first-round knockout victory over Ryan Bourland. Garcia demanded to fight Paul and promised to end Paul’s professional boxing career for “disrespecting my sport.” Paul responded to Garcia’s comments at his post-fight press conference. “Ryan, I love you. You know that, bro. But you’ve got to chill out,” Paul said, “because there’s a line and…
Jake Paul absolutely ran over Ryan Bourland on Saturday in Puerto Rico, as many expected him to do. Paul picked up his second victory in less than three months with another quick knockout victory over a professional boxer. The social media star turned boxer barely broke a sweat as he had Bourland in trouble early, before a huge barrage of punches in the corner led to the referee stepping in and waving it off. Following the win for Paul, fighter in both boxing and MMA had their thoughts about the night’s festivities — from the actual fight itself, to the…
Jake Paul needed less than three minutes to dispatch an overmatched opponent in Ryan Bourland as the social influencer turned boxer delivered another first-round knockout. In what was touted as his toughest matchup to date, Paul essentially teed off on Bourland, who had only fought one time in the past five years but held a 17-2 record overall in his career. Paul established his jab early but Bourland offered almost nothing in return as he barely tossed out a few punches and decided to play defense instead. That didn’t help matters much either as Paul kept slipping through to land…
Ryan Garcia is throwing down the gauntlet for Jake Paul. On Saturday night, a furious Garcia took to social media to challenge Paul to a fight following Paul’s first-round knockout victory over Ryan Bourland in Puerto Rico. Okay enough, it’s on I’m going to have to do this! I’m going to end this JAKE PAUL BOXING THING. BRING IT ON JAKE IM DEAD F****** SERIOUS F*** YOU! HIT MY TEAM UP “I can’t do this s***,” Garcia said in a follow-up voice message posted on X. “I feel so f****** bad for introducing Jake Paul to boxing. I f***** up.…
Junior dos Santos has another title to add to his trophy case. “Cigano” faced Alan Belcher in the main event of Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 7 on Friday for the promotion’s inaugural heavyweight title. In a bloody battle, dos Santos picked up a nasty second-round TKO stoppage to close the show at the Kia Center in Orlando, Fla. Belcher came out very aggressive, charging forward to keep dos Santos moving backward. However, the former UFC heavyweight champion used foot movement and patience to try to find his openings, and dos Santos busted Belcher open with the first clean shot he landed.…
Chase Sherman waited a decade to avenge one of the early losses of his professional fighting career, and he did it with vicious style. The former UFC heavyweight took on Alex Nicholson in the co-main event of Saturday’s Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 7 card, and after a tough start that saw Nicholson find success, Sherman landed an absolutely brutal right hand that sent Nicholson toppling unconscious to the cage floor. Check out the vicious first-round knockout from Sherman in the video below. In 2014, Nicholson knocked Sherman out in the first round in their MMA bout for regional promotion Island Fights.…
Watch Jake Paul vs. Ryan Bourland full fight video highlights from their co-main event showdown Sunday night, courtesy of multiple outlets. Paul vs. Bourland took place March 2 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Jake Paul (9-1) and Ryan Bourland (17-3) squared off in the the co-main event clash. The fight aired live on DAZN. Catch all the video highlights below. For more on Ryan vs. Bourland, check out the live blog below from MMA Fighting. Well, Jake Paul could not be more relaxed. He kicks us off by reciting Ricky Bobby quotes with a…
Jairzinho Rozenstruik capped off Saturday’s UFC Vegas 87 event at the APEX with a referee stoppage TKO victory after the fourth round against previously undefeated Shamil Gaziev. While that fight was the main event, the bout with the highest stakes in most people’s minds was the flyweight fight that saw Muhammad Mokaev defeat Alex Perez via unanimous decision. With flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja potentially needing an opponent for UFC 301, did Mokaev do enough to get him that shot? MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Eric Jackman react to Rozenstruik’s big win and what should be next, if Mokaev’s performance warrants…
Jairzinho Rozenstruik didn’t give Shamil Gaziev a chance to go the distance in his first UFC main event. Saturday’s heavyweight headliner ended before the start of Round 5 as a battered and bruised Gaziev was unable to continue following an inspection by referee Marc Goddard. The veteran official found himself in a heated discussion with Gaziev’s team, but it was ruled that Gaziev was having difficulty with his vision and the bout was stopped. It was the first loss of Gaziev’s pro career and several of the responses on social media were unkind, including that of UFC flyweight Cody Durden…