Tony Ferguson claims he’s ‘Not even close to being done’ amid calls for him to retire after UFC 296 fight

Tony Ferguson not even close to being done with MMA calls for retirement after UFC 296Former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson has claimed he’s “not even close to be being done” with mixed martial arts, amid calls for the Oxnard veteran to consider retiring from active competition in the wake of a worrying six-fight losing skid. Ferguson, a former interim lightweight titleholder under the promotion’s banner, is slated to make […]

Tony Ferguson not even close to being done with MMA calls for retirement after UFC 296

Former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson has claimed he’s “not even close to be being done” with mixed martial arts, amid calls for the Oxnard veteran to consider retiring from active competition in the wake of a worrying six-fight losing skid.

Ferguson, a former interim lightweight titleholder under the promotion’s banner, is slated to make his second Octagon walk of the year at UFC 296 in December, taking on the polarizing contender, Paddy Pimblett in a main card clash.

Last time out, Ferguson slumped to 0-6 in as many fights since 2020, dropping a third round arm-triangle submission loss to Bobby Green in a one-sided defeat at UFC 291 in July in Salt Lake City.

Tony Ferguson once again shuts down calls for him to retire from MMA

And despite calls for The Ultimate Fighter victor to consider calling time on his career should he lose – or even emerge with a victory against Pimblett, Ferguson insists he once more has no plans to hang up his storied gloves.

“I have nothing against the kid,” Tony Ferguson told ESPN. “Patrick (Pimblett) seems like a pretty legit dude. He gets pretty big, his standup is okay, but his ground game is a lot better. I love fighting internationals, it’s cool, I love it.”

“I have sh*t to do,” Tony Ferguson explained. “I’ve been competing for 35 years. I’m not even close to being done. What it’s going to take is a great team that got me to my championship belt, my interim belt. I had a great team. But holding on to certain things car sometimes be very detrimental to yourself, which sometimes you just got to let go and hold onto the things that hold onto you very tight. And that goes faith, family, and friends.” 

Can Tony Ferguson snap his six-fight losing run at UFC 296?

Francis Ngannou branded a ‘Zero fight novice’ ahead of his boxing fight debut with Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia

Francis Ngannou looks like a zero fight novice Tyson Fury fight no chance Carl Froch boxing UFCSlated to make his professional boxing debut later this month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has saw his skills and abilities compated to that of a “zero fight novice” ahead of his boxing match with WBC titleholder, Tyson Fury. Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of […]

Francis Ngannou looks like a zero fight novice Tyson Fury fight no chance Carl Froch boxing UFC

Slated to make his professional boxing debut later this month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has saw his skills and abilities compated to that of a “zero fight novice” ahead of his boxing match with WBC titleholder, Tyson Fury.

Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of the UFC, will make his first venture into professional boxing later this month in the Middle East – taking on Morecambe native, Fury over the course of 10 rounds in a professional boxing.

Sidelined from active competition since January of last year, Cameroonian striker, Francis Ngannou most recently turned in a unanimous decision win over former interim heavyweight champion, Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 270 to successfully unify the championships.

Francis Ngannou likely has no chance according to Carl Froch

And whilst receiving backing from the likes of former two-time heavyweight champion and past-foe, Stipe Miocic to go out and shock the world with a win over Fury, Ngannou’s ability has been cast into severe doubt by another former world championship winner, Carl Froch.

“(Tyson) Fury’s not going to be worried about getting hit by that monstrous punch because I’ve seen (Francis) Ngannou on the pads and he looks terrible,” Carl Froch said during an interview with Best Gambling Sites. “He looks like what I’d expect a zero fight novice to look like. Slow, awkward, stiff. How is he going to get near Fury? He’s going to get his head absolutely peppered off.”

As for Fury, the undefeated WBC heavyweight champion has already put pen to paper on an official contract to make a return to the ring potentially just eight weeks after his fight with Ngannou, booking an undisputed heavyweight championship fight with fellow decorated gold holder, Oleksandr Usyk in the Middle East to boot. 

Can Francis Ngannou beat Tyson Fury in his boxing debut?

Midnight Mania! Rogan Names Pound-For-Pound King

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight! Welcome to Midnight Mania!
UFC color commentator Joe Rogan believes there’s a clear choice for the top p…


UFC 273: Volkanovski v The Korean
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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

UFC color commentator Joe Rogan believes there’s a clear choice for the top pound-for-pound fighter on the planet right now. Though he’s previously declared Jon Jones the greatest of all time, he’s giving the current title to Featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski, despite his competitive loss to Islam Makhachev earlier this year.

“He’s No. 1 pound-for-pound,” Rogan said of Volkanovski (via MMAFighting.com). “They have him as not pound-for-pound [No. 1 in the UFC] because he lost that fight [to Islam Makhachev]. I think you could make a real argument that he won that fight. I think he won the fight. In my mind, he won the fight.”

“He did more damage,” Rogan continued. “I think he imposed his skill set. It’s also insanely impressive that he goes up from [featherweight] to fight a massive [lightweight]. That guy is as big at [155 pounds] as anybody is, and at the end of the fight, [Volkanovski] is on top beating him up.

“He drops him, gets on top of him and had massive moments throughout the fight.”

Indeed, Rogan was stunned when Makhachev was named the victor over Volkanovski at UFC 284. Currently, Volkanovski stands at No. 2 on the official UFC pound-for-pound rankings, sandwiched between Jones and Makhachev in that order.

Volkanovski is still working to earn a second shot at Makhachev to really prove himself the better man. At 145-pounds, however, his greatness is not up for debate. The Australian champion has won 11 straight at Featherweight, defending his belt five times in the process. If he can handle streaking Spanish contender Ilia Topuria in his next defense, he’s pretty effectively cleared out the division and can fully focus on Lightweight gold.

Insomnia

I don’t care to learn who Tristan Tate is, but I’d love if this story ends when Sean Strickland randomly beating up Andrew Tate in a free sparring match while talking trash.

A banger Featherweight booking with an intriguing style clash! Both Jonathan Pierce and Joanderson Brito are on the cusp of a ranking.

A trio of Brazilian legends hanging out:

Tosses and throws in super slow-mo!

Canelo Alvarez really walked all over Jermell Charlo, pushing him around and working the body.

Michael Bisping, man on a mission.

A big boxing match (potentially) in the making!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Walking out to the rules of Fight Club is actually kind of innovative.

Now, I’m not a martial arts legend like One’s Chatri Sityodtong, but this seems bonus-worthy to me!

A heavy low kick, body-head combo, and fight-finishing high kick — what a lovely sequence of strikes!

Random Land

A big ol’ block.

Midnight Music: Rock, 1991

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

Video: No Teeth, No Problem! ‘I Enjoyed The Whole Process’

Instagram – @bareknucklenewstv

Melanie Shah just might be built differently.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) touched down in Salem, Virginia for BKFC 51 this past weekend (Sept. 29, 2023). The promotion’s Straw…


Instagram – @bareknucklenewstv

Melanie Shah just might be built differently.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) touched down in Salem, Virginia for BKFC 51 this past weekend (Sept. 29, 2023). The promotion’s Strawweight title was on the line in the event’s headliner, featuring the champion, Britain Hart, defending opposite the previously undefeated 2-0 Shah. Unfortunately for Shah, she suffered a punishing five round beating from the title holder, resulting in a unanimous decision (and tooth) loss (watch highlights).

Despite the facial rearrangements Hart provided her with on the night, Shah had no regrets.

“I think after the first round, I realized that she was a lot tougher than I was expecting,” Shah told Bareknucklenewstv in the embedded video above. “Although I expected her to be tough, I just expected her to show a bit more tiredness. It didn’t go the way I wanted, but I was still happy that I went all the five rounds.

“Even if I don’t look like it, I enjoyed the whole process,” she continued. “I enjoyed being in the ring and challenging myself. If I could fight Brit again, I think what I’d do is — although I fought the way I like to fight — I’d have backed off a little bit more than maybe I should have. I’d probably try to do other things I wouldn’t normally do.”

The 2-1 Shah had an uphill battle ahead of her when matched with Hart. The reigning champion has come into her own as a bare-knuckle boxer, winning eight of her last nine matches (8-3 overall). Hart has earned notable wins on her run over the likes of former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweights, Paige VanZant, Bec Rawlings, and Pearl Gonzalez. Hart already has her next match lined up as she’ll head to Thailand to face Chisakan Ariphipat on Nov. 4, 2023. Meanwhile, Shah will likely take a decent amount of time to let herself heal up before getting back into action. Well, we sure hope so, anyway.

UFC ‘F—ked Up’ Not Signing Doumbe

PFL

Cedric Doumbe set the mixed martial arts (MMA) world ablaze in his Professional Fighters League (PFL) debut this past weekend (Sept. 30, 2023).
PFL touched down in Doumbe’s home of France with its third European even…


PFL

Cedric Doumbe set the mixed martial arts (MMA) world ablaze in his Professional Fighters League (PFL) debut this past weekend (Sept. 30, 2023).

PFL touched down in Doumbe’s home of France with its third European event in 2023, taking place in Paris. The highly-talented free agent signing was supposed to debut earlier in the year, but suffered a wrist injury that forced him from his scheduled bout opposite Jarrah Al-Silawani in San Antonio, Texas in June 2023.

Everything worked out better than the 31-year-old Doumbe could have asked for with his debut coming in front of a raucous Paris crowd. Inside the cage, Doumbe (5-0) delivered in spades, knocking out Jordan Zebo in nine seconds (watch highlights). After getting his MMA career back in motion, the former Glory Welterweight kickboxing champion has no qualms about how things fell apart with him and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

“The thing about them, they did what they did,” Doumbe told The MMA Hour. “They f—ked up (laughs). They f—ked up. It is what it is.

“Now, I’m part of the PFL,” he continued. “For me, PFL is the future. It’s the future. They are doing very great. We got Francis [Ngannou] now. He’s part of the team. I mean, I’m part of the future, you know? We are changing something. We are doing something great. So, I didn’t even think about them. They are doing their thing. I’m doing my thing. I think I’m the best. They lost something. Now, PFL earned something. So, it is what it is.”

Doumbe has lived up to his nickname of “The Best” thus far in his five-fight MMA career (75-7-1 in kickboxing), finishing all of his opponents with strikes. After the star-making performance and atmosphere provided by the French faithful, Doumbe believes he’s now his country’s biggest star in the combat sports world.

Tony Ferguson looking past Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296, plans on fighting Conor McGregor in 2024

Tony FergusonTony Ferguson sees his next opponent, Paddy Pimblett, as nothing more than a stepping stone to a showdown with Irish megastar Conor McGregor. Riding a six-fight losing streak, many thought Tony Ferguson’s last defeat at the hands of ‘King’ Bobby Green in July would send ‘El Cucuy’ quietly into retirement. We now know that won’t […]

Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson sees his next opponent, Paddy Pimblett, as nothing more than a stepping stone to a showdown with Irish megastar Conor McGregor.

Riding a six-fight losing streak, many thought Tony Ferguson’s last defeat at the hands of ‘King’ Bobby Green in July would send ‘El Cucuy’ quietly into retirement. We now know that won’t be the case as the former interim lightweight champion is scheduled for another go inside the Octagon this December. Helping to close out the promotion’s pay-per-view schedule, Ferguson will square off with UK fan favorite Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296.

Many fight fans were quick to condemn the UFC for booking a fighter on a six-fight losing streak against an opponent on a six-fight win streak, but according to Tony Ferguson, he’s already looking past ‘The Paddy’ and onto a long-desired scrap with Conor McGregor.

“I have nothing against the kid. Patrick seems like a pretty legit dude,” Ferguson said of Pimblett in an interview with ESPN. “He gets pretty big, his standup is okay, but his ground game is a lot better. I love fighting internationals. It’s cool, I love it. Going after Khabib for a long time and going after ‘McNuggets’, this is about as close as it’s going to get for right now. So as soon as we get through this dude, we’ll go after Conor if he’ll sign on the dotted line and get through USADA” (h/t BloodyElbow).

Being one win away from tying BJ Penn’s record for the most consecutive losses in UFC history, Tony Ferguson may be better served by focusing on the task at hand.

After touting his own return for the last year, McGregor no longer seems slated for a 2023 comeback after failing to re-enter the USADA testing pool for six months of required pre-fight screening. The Irishman has remained adamant that ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler will be his next opponent but with a laundry list of challengers lining up to win the Conor McGregor lottery, there’s no telling who the former two-division titleholder will face when (and if) he makes his return.