‘Didn’t He Rob Ngannou In Saudi?’ – Fans React After Footage Emerges Of Tyson Fury Blaming Location For Oleksandr Usyk Loss

Tyson Fury seems to be having a hard time coming to terms with being outclassed by Oleksandr Usyk in both of their meetings. “The Gypsy King” challenged Usyk for his WBC, WBO, and WBA heavyweight titles in their rematch at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this past Saturday. However, despite his best efforts, […]

Tyson Fury seems to be having a hard time coming to terms with being outclassed by Oleksandr Usyk in both of their meetings.

“The Gypsy King” challenged Usyk for his WBC, WBO, and WBA heavyweight titles in their rematch at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this past Saturday. However, despite his best efforts, Fury fell short in his attempt to avenge his previous defeat to the undefeated Ukrainian.

Although Fury had moments of success, he ultimately suffered a unanimous decision loss as “The Cat” showcased his exceptional footwork and perfectly timed punches, keeping the Englishman at a distance throughout most of the fight. Usyk’s dominance earned him a 116-112 score from all three judges.

Fury wasted no time leaving the ring after his defeat, bypassing a post-fight interview. And during the post-event press conference, he adamantly stated that he believed he had won the fight convincingly, insisting that the judges had erred in giving the victory to Usyk.

With “The Gypsy King” now facing back-to-back losses — the only two setbacks of his professional career — to Usyk within just seven months, he is claiming that the venue itself may have played a role in his setbacks.

A video capturing Fury returning backstage, visibly agitated after his defeat, has surfaced on social media. In the footage, the former WBC heavyweight champion is heard asserting that many believed he was narrowly outpacing “The Cat.” Fury goes on to suggest that the location itself may have had something to do with the outcome of the fight.

“[Got] robbed there, f**k ’em,” Fury said. “I swear to God I thought I won it by at least three rounds. I bossed the fight on the front foot all night and had that work put on him… I’ll tell you what it is, you’re not getting nothing in these countries.”

The combat sports world has responded with a variety of reactions to Fury’s insinuation that the fight taking place in Saudi Arabia played a role in his losses.

Numerous observers have implied that the 36-year-old Brit is exhibiting a sense of resentment, struggling to reconcile with the reality of his defeat in both bouts.

Fury suffered the first loss of his illustrious career when he faced Usyk in their initial showdown this past May. After a hard-fought battle, “The Cat” emerged victorious via split decision.

This triumph solidified Usyk’s legacy as the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era, a distinction not seen since Lennox Lewis achieved the feat in 1999.

Merab Dvalishvili Denied UFC PI Access Due To Umar Nurmagomedov’s Presence: ‘This Guy Will Get What’s Coming To Him!’

It seems the UFC is taking the growing feud between upcoming opponents Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov very seriously. Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov are set to collide at the first pay-per-view of the new year, with the pair marking one of two championship fights scheduled for UFC 311 on Jan. 18. Before Islam Makhachev and Arman […]

It seems the UFC is taking the growing feud between upcoming opponents Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov very seriously.

Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov are set to collide at the first pay-per-view of the new year, with the pair marking one of two championship fights scheduled for UFC 311 on Jan. 18.

Before Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan run it back for the lightweight gold in the main event, Inglewood’s Intuit Dome will play host to “The Machine’s” first defense of the bantamweight belt, which he captured at Sean O’Malley’s expense this past September.

Much to his dismay, the Georgian is tasked with stalling the charge of the undefeated Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili has been vocal in dismissing the Dagestani’s title shot worthiness, and that topic has caused considerable animosity between the pair.

And that looked likely to boil over both backstage and on stage at the UFC 311 press conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, after which the champ threatened to travel to Dagestan to slap Nurmagomedov for what he perceived as ‘disrespect’.

But Dvalishvili evidently won’t need such travel to cross paths with his upcoming opponent, with the pair both currently training in “Sin City.”

The UFC, however, is taking no chances.

“It’s all good – this guy will get what is coming to him on January 18th,” Dvalishvili wrote in the caption of a video on X, during which the Georgian explained how he’d been turned away from the UFC Performance Institute due to Nurmagomedov’s presence inside.

Regardless, the champ won’t have too much longer to wait before having the chance to lay hands on the unbeaten Russian inside the cage.

While Dvalishvili is unhappy with the choice of opponent, and his teammate Aljamain Sterling has made his thoughts on the short-notice booking known, “The Machine” is still confident of blemishing Nurmagomedov’s record and cementing his grip on the bantamweight gold.

Brandon Royval Calls For Venue Change After Crucial Manel Kape Fight Announced For UFC Apex

UFC flyweight contender Brandon Royval believes the magnitude of his next fight lends itself to a better environment than the Apex. 2024 was a successful year for the #1-ranked Royval, who entered it off the back of a disappointing performance in his title challenge against Alexandre Pantoja last December. First, a short-notice opportunity to run […]

UFC flyweight contender Brandon Royval believes the magnitude of his next fight lends itself to a better environment than the Apex.

2024 was a successful year for the #1-ranked Royval, who entered it off the back of a disappointing performance in his title challenge against Alexandre Pantoja last December.

First, a short-notice opportunity to run it back with Brandon Moreno in Mexico arose, and “Raw Dawg” made the most of it by outpointing the former champion. And eight months later, Royval returned to a win streak by turning away the charge of Japan’s Tatsuro Taira.

With that, the 32-year-old is firmly back within the championship conversation at 125 pounds. And to earn another chance at the gold, Royval must now get past Manel Kape.

The pair were recently announced as the headliners for the March 1 UFC Fight Night at the Apex in Las Vegas. Like his win over Taira, the clash is currently slated to take place with a limited crowd at the low-capacity Apex facility in Las Vegas.

But given the likely title stakes — not to mention both men’s ability to put on a show inside the Octagon — Royval thinks that should change…

“Kape and I is a dope ass fight,” he wrote on X. “We should make this happen in front of an audience.”

For “Starboy,” the bout offers the chance for him to secure a first title shot on MMA’s biggest stage. The former Rizin champ originally called his shot for a rematch versus Pantoja next year after a dominant victory over Bruno Silva in Tampa earlier this month.

But after Dana White was quick to dismiss that as a possibility, Kape now has his next assignment in the calendar, as he looks to wrest Royval’s top contender status away in 2025 en route to the flyweight throne.

Hill’s ‘Stupid’ Trash Talk Ahead Of UFC 311 A ‘Weakness’

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Jiri Prochazka is not wasting any of his energy on Jamahal Hill’s trash talk.
Hill has done an admirable job of keeping himself in the headlines over the last few months by criticizing reig…


UFC Fight Night: Santos v Hill
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Jiri Prochazka is not wasting any of his energy on Jamahal Hill’s trash talk.

Hill has done an admirable job of keeping himself in the headlines over the last few months by criticizing reigning 205-pound titleholder Alex Pereira, and also took a few shots at Prochazka for getting smoked by “Poatan” in his last title fight.

Pot, meet kettle.

“So that’s why I don’t care about these trash talks because do you know how the true confident man, a real man [looks] like? He don’t know,” Prochazka told MMA Fighting. “He don’t need to say some sh*t about others, to speak about his strong sides and about the weaknesses in his opponent because he’s self-confident too much to not do that. That’s, for me, the true power of the man. That’s it. I see that like a weakness to speak some bullsh*t about my opponents, man. I’m going there, I will show my best, and I will show that to all the world that I’m the best, and that’s all. My actions will talk.”

Prochazka is expected to risk his spot in the light heavyweight pecking order when he battles Hill as part of the upcoming UFC 311 pay-per-view (PPV) mixed martial arts (MMA) event, scheduled for Sat., Jan. 18, 2025 inside Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

“I don’t care what he’s saying because it’s not just primarily about me, it just shows what is in his head,” Prochazka continued. “Man, I don’t care about what other people say about me because when you know how this works, how to work the mental of the human body, so how people can speak about others and why they speak about others, especially when he don’t know me personally. He knows just my fighting style and in that, he’s totally out with his commentary.”

To see who else is fighting on the promotion’s first PPV card of the year click here.

Garry Lost Respect For Excuseman

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Ian Garry had Kamaru Usman on a pedestal.
Right up until the former 170-pound champion turned down a fight against “The Future,” leaving Garry with a bitter taste in his m…


UFC 286: Edwards v Usman 3
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ian Garry had Kamaru Usman on a pedestal.

Right up until the former 170-pound champion turned down a fight against “The Future,” leaving Garry with a bitter taste in his mouth. The once-beaten welterweight went on to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov, dropping a decision at UFC 310 earlier this month in Las Vegas.

”I had a lot of respect for him, until he turned me down,” Garry told Spaceport Sweden. “That’s a fact. He turned the fight with me down and that’s it. I had a lot of respect for him. I had a lot of respect for him and his career and everything that he did as the champion. And when I was a young kid watching the sport and I was an amateur and I’m watching him fight Gilbert Burns for the world title during COVID and I’m like ‘f**k, this guy’s one of the best we’ve seen’. That was the opinion the world had of him at that point.”

Usman (20-4) defended the title five times over a span of three years.

“When that same guy turns down a fight against you, it changes the way you think about him,” the 27 year-old Garry (15-1) continued. “So I had respect for Kamaru, might be still a little bit, but not much after you turned me down, not much. And I don’t care what his excuses are. I don’t care what his excuses are. You turned down the fight. In my mind, you’re a b*tch.”

He’s not the only one, according to this recent gripe.

Usman has not competed since falling to Khamzat Chimaev in a short-notice bout at UFC 294 back in late 2023. “The Nigerian Nightmare” claims his time off has led to a slew of abuse, comparing his plight to that of heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones.

Garry, meanwhile, expects to return in mid-2025.

“Every year since I’ve been in the UFC, I fought three times every year,” Garry said. “So if I don’t fight until International Fight Week next year, then you’re seeing me in June or July. You’re seeing me in September. You’re seeing me in December. If I don’t fight the first six months of the year, just because I want to focus on myself and grow and make minor adjustments and then I’m 10 times the fighter I am. That’s my main focus, but I will fight three times next year and I will win the belt next year.”

As of this writing, Usman remains unbooked.

The exact moment Arman Tsarukyan realized he could be UFC champ: ‘I thought it was impossible’

The exact moment Arman Tsarukyan realized he could be UFC champ: 'I thought it was impossible'Just weeks out from his UFC 311 title charge, Arman Tsarukyan has claimed the minute he entered the Octagon…

The exact moment Arman Tsarukyan realized he could be UFC champ: 'I thought it was impossible'

Just weeks out from his UFC 311 title charge, Arman Tsarukyan has claimed the minute he entered the Octagon against current champion, Islam Makhachev in his 2019 debut, he knew his dream of becoming a promotional gold holder was no longer “impossible.

Tsarukyan, the current number one ranked lightweight challenger, earned himself a title fight rematch with the current pound-for-pound number one, Makhachev back in April on the main card of UFC 300.

Arman Tsarukyan talks Khabib Nurmagomedov - Islam Makhachev debate: 'He’s the GOAT'

Facing off with common-foe and former champion, Charles Oliveira in an officially-billed championship-eliminator, Tsarukyan would narrowly beat the Brazilian in a controversial split decision win over the course of three rounds.

Arman Tsarukyan reveals moment he knew UFC dream was possible

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And slated to take main event honors next month at UFC 311 in a re-run with Makhachev, Armenian force, Tsarukyan has revealed that once he finally got the call to feature against the Russian at a ‘Fight Night’ billed card in St. Petersburg nearly five years ago, he knew he could actually achieve his dream of landing Octagon spoils.

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“When I fought my last time in Russia, it wasn’t the UFC yet. My manager told me, “You’re going to get into the UFC soon.” Then, he called me three weeks before and said, “You got the fight in the UFC.” I said, “Okay, sign the contract.” Then he told me it was Islam Makhachev. I said, “Okay, even better,” Arman Tsarukyan told ESPN MMA during a recent interview ahead of UFC 311.

I was super excited because I was super young — 22 years old — and I wanted to win so badly,” Arman Tsarukyan explained. “That fight was the biggest dream of my life. When I was young, the UFC seemed super big for me, and I thought it was impossible to get there. But when I got there and started fighting, I understood I could be a champ.”