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Mickey Gall: I’m A “Bigger Killer” Than Alex Morono

UFC welterweight Mickey Gall is confident he can take a step closer towards the 170-pound rankings when he faces Alex Morono this weekend.

Since victories over Mike Jackson, CM Punk, and Sage Northcutt got him off to a 3-0 start in the UFC and esta…

Alex Morono, Mickey Gall

UFC welterweight Mickey Gall is confident he can take a step closer towards the 170-pound rankings when he faces Alex Morono this weekend.

Since victories over Mike Jackson, CM Punk, and Sage Northcutt got him off to a 3-0 start in the UFC and established himself as one of the most promising prospects in the promotion, Gall has been unable to carry forward any momentum, trading wins and losses since 2017.

In-between victories over George Sullivan and Salim Touahri, the 29-year-old fell to setbacks against Randy Brown, Diego Sanchez, and Mike Perry. Having rebounded from his defeat to “Platinum” with an impressive submission win against Jordan Williams at UFC Vegas 32 in July, Gall will be looking to close 2021 out with a second consecutive triumph, something he hasn’t managed in five years.

If he’s to succeed in doing so, he’ll have to get past welterweight mainstay Morono at UFC Vegas 44 this Saturday. Ahead of their prelim clash, Gall spoke exclusively to MMA News’ James Lynch.

Discussing his 10th opponent in the UFC, Gall admitted that Morono, who’s fought 14 times since 2016 and boasts wins over Donald Cerrone and Max Griffin, is an unassuming threat, but a dangerous foe nonetheless. Despite that, Gall believes he boasts the superior killer instinct.

“He’s a tough dude, man. He’s very, he’s scrappy, he’s tough. I knew I had to come correct to this fight, and I did that… He’s one of those guys like, he doesn’t look like a killer, but he’s definitely a killer. So am I. I believe I’m a badder killer and a bigger killer. I feel real good about the fight.”

When asked for his prediction, Gall told MMA News he’s capable of having his hand raised through multiple routes, be it knockout or submission. Either way, he expects to deal damage come December 4.

“I see me bashing my bones into his skull; cracking him with big, heavy shots, concussive blows. I could submit him, I could knock him out. Wherever the fight goes, I’m just gonna go in there and be me; just do what I do.”

Gall Claims He’s Had His “Best Fight Camp” Ahead Of Morono Clash

Despite coming up against an experienced veteran who’s riding a two-fight winning streak, Mickey Gall is clearly confident he’ll get the job done on fight night. The 29-year-old’s self-belief derives from a positive fight camp, which he described as the “best” he’s had in the UFC.

“Fight camp went well. Even if it didn’t, I’d probably tell you the same thing. But it really was, I think, my best one. I think I was able to peak, and like, do everything right. It’s just been great. My team around me; it’s been a homegrown like, good camp… We’ve been putting in some good, hard work, and I’m really proud of what we did as a team. The way I feel now is beautiful, everything’s great.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CWMOMG_vzcp/

Gall vs. Morono will be the second fight on the UFC Vegas 44 card, following a bantamweight contest between Louis Smolka and Vince Morales.

Having missed out on a bonus for his first-round stoppage win last time out, Gall will be hoping to leave the Apex with an extra $50,000. But with the likes of Rob Font, Jose Aldo, Rafael Fiziev, Alonzo Menifield, Manel Kape, Brendan Allen, and Jimmy Crute all in action, he’ll have to deliver a special performance versus Morono to make the bonus list.

Who do you think will have their hand raised at UFC Vegas 44, Mickey Gall or Alex Morono?

Continue Reading Mickey Gall: I’m A “Bigger Killer” Than Alex Morono at MMA News.

BMF Barberena Headed To Vegas Willing To Fight Anyone (Updated)

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

Bryan Barberena was in line to face Matt Brown in what was sure to be a highly-entertaining Welterweight bout this Saturday (Dec. 4, 2021) at UFC Vegas 44 in Las Vegas, Nevada. But as luck w…


UFC Fight Night: Waterson v Hill
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

Bryan Barberena was in line to face Matt Brown in what was sure to be a highly-entertaining Welterweight bout this Saturday (Dec. 4, 2021) at UFC Vegas 44 in Las Vegas, Nevada. But as luck would have it, Brown was forced out of the fight after testing positive for COVID-19, leaving “Bam Bam” without an opponent.

The news of the cancellation was seven days ago and UFC has not given Barberena any indication that they will have a suitable replacement for him to remain on the card. Undeterred, Barberena is still making his way over to “Sin City” without knowing who — or if — he will be fighting this weekend.

That’s according to MMA reporter Alex Behunin, who got the word straight from “Bam Bam,” who said he is down to fight anyone as long as he gets to compete.

Barberena is hoping to bounce back after suffering a tough loss at the hands of Jason Witt earlier this year, his third loss in the last four outings inside the Octagon. Despite his recent woes, Barberena has never been one to shy away from a fight, taking on some of the best the 170-pound division has to offer including Colby Covington, Leon Edwards, and Vicente Luque.

Now, all “Bam Bam” can do is hope the promotion can find him an opponent willing to take on the challenge on less than a week’s notice. Still, one would have thought UFC matchmakers would’ve given Barberena and his team some kind of heads up as to whether or not they had someone willing to step in before he made the trip.

UPDATE:

Darian Weeks — who is 5-0 as a pro — has agreed to step in to face Barberena on short notice in what will be his UFC debut.

To see the most updated UFC Vegas 44 fight card click here.

Khamzat Chimaev To Colby Covington: ‘Call The Cops I’m Coming For You’

Rising UFC star Khamzat Chimaev took aim at former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington, stating that Covington ‘represents cowardice’ In a recent Twitter tirade by No.11 ranked welterweight, Chimaev berated the often polarizing Covington. This is not the first time that Chimaev has took to social media to call out just about every fighter on […]

Rising UFC star Khamzat Chimaev took aim at former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington, stating that Covington ‘represents cowardice’

In a recent Twitter tirade by No.11 ranked welterweight, Chimaev berated the often polarizing Covington. This is not the first time that Chimaev has took to social media to call out just about every fighter on the roster, including UFC royalty, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz and George St Pierre.

Let’s go bitch fight with me @ColbyCovMMA I will take your [heart]

‘Call the cops I’m coming for you @ColbyCovMMA‘

‘You do not represent USA i represent USA you represent cowardice.’

Will Khamzat Chimaev vs, Colby Covington Happen Next?

Chimaev has been as close to perfect as you can get throughout his UFC career and is quickly moving up the ranks. The Chechen-born fighter has had four fights in the UFC, four stoppage wins, has only gone in the second round once, and has absorbed one strike. Most recently taking out No.11 ranked (at the time) JingLiang Li in a dominant display, ending in a first-round submission victory.

Chimaev’s talent is evident and he has the confidence to match, calling out all the big names and more than willing to jump in the octagon with them. Due to Chimaev’s complete domination of his opponents so far, UFC president is Dana White is more than happy to push him. So theoretically if Chimaev wins a couple, even one more fight, a fight with Covington is feasible.

So what does Covington have to say? well when asked about Chimaev in an interview with MMAFighting, Covington had this to say “He’s a joke. He needs to beat someone worthy — someone in the top 5, someone in the top of the rankings, not just fight hand-picked people.

“What does he have, four UFC fights? The media loves to rush these kids and these hype jobs. This is fighting, man. People can get seriously hurt from rushing people like that.

“But if you guys want to rush a guy, take some time off of his life and send him for a hospital treatment, then, yeah, the door is open for that. I love doing good business and I love doing business with the UFC. It would be an honour to beat who they want me to beat, and if that’s the name they put in front of me, I can promise you that I’m gonna train extremely hard and I’m gonna show a new skill set the world hasn’t seen yet.”

What do you think? How would a fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Colby Covington go?

‘I’m just excited to be my own boss’ – Woodley has big plans for 2022

Tyron Woodley makes his entrance for his Showtime Boxing PPV bout against Jake Paul. | Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

The former UFC welterweight champion plans on taking four fights in four different combat sports d…


Tyron Woodley makes his entrance for his Showtime Boxing PPV bout against Jake Paul.
Tyron Woodley makes his entrance for his Showtime Boxing PPV bout against Jake Paul. | Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

The former UFC welterweight champion plans on taking four fights in four different combat sports disciplines in the coming year.

In some respects it feels as though there’s rarely been a better time to be a free agent in MMA. Promotions like Bellator and the PFL have worked to find room in the North American market that got swallowed up by the UFC when they acquired Strikeforce. And a sudden increased interest in celebrity boxing, bare knuckle boxing, and other hybrid forms of fisticuffs have been a boon to several notable fighters following their exit from the world’s largest mixed martial arts organization.

Among those is none other than former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. The ‘Chosen One’ exited the Endeavor-owned promotion following an 8-year stint that saw him capture gold and defend his belt four times before losing the title to Kamaru Usman in 2019. The defeat started a four-fight slide, during which Woodley failed to win even on round against his opponents.

If that seemed like an especially low note to go out on, however, Woodley parlayed his past glory into a PPV boxing match against internet celebrity turned pugilist Jake Paul. A fight Woodley has claimed resulted in the highest payday of his lengthy combat sports career.

The longtime Roufusport fighter may not have won that bout either, but that hasn’t stopped him from making some big plans for the immediate future. In a recent interview with Fight Hub TV, the 39-year-old revealed that he’s hoping for a very busy 2022, including four trips to the ring in four different fighting disciplines (transcript via MMA Fighting).

“So I’m just excited to be my own boss. I’m really the only real, true free agent in the whole sport. Nobody is a real combat free agent, but I am. I can go box, I can come fight here [at Triller Triad Combat]. … I can do whatever I want to. So I’m really enjoying that freedom. Next year I plan on fighting four times in four different forms of combat. MMA; some form of boxing; an actual, real boxing fight; and do something special for New Year’s.”

One of the fights still on Woodley’s mind, unsurprisingly, is a rematch against Jake Paul. Woodley made it clear that he still feels as though he won their first meeting, and once Paul vs. Fury is in the rear view mirror maybe negotiations can be restarted. “I don’t think he wants a rematch,” Woodley explained, “but at the end of the day, if it happens, I’ll get the job done this time. I’ll knock him out.”

In the meantime, it seems fans can hope to see ‘T-Wood’ back in the ring sometime in January, assuming everything goes to plan.

“January, March, July, and December,” Woodley said of his targeted timeline. “I’m just trying to have a fight that people give a f-ck about. I don’t care about the belts and names and all that. If people care about it and it’s a big fight, and it’s really built up really well, that’s what I want. If it’s not that, I don’t care about, ‘Oh, he did this and he beat (him),’ because it didn’t matter when I was doing it. I was at the top forever. I was three, four years without losing to nobody, didn’t lose a f-cking round, and it never monetized to the bags I’m getting now. So 2022, January, March, July, December, some asses getting beat.”

Rafael dos Anjos Trades Barbs With ‘Khabib Wannabe’ Islam Makhachev

Rafael dos Anjos and Islam Makhachev are back at it once again, throwing insults back and forth.

dos Anjos and Makhachev have been on the docket to fight each other on multiple occasions, with the fight falling through each time for various reasons…

Rafael dos Anjos Islam Makhachev

Rafael dos Anjos and Islam Makhachev are back at it once again, throwing insults back and forth.

dos Anjos and Makhachev have been on the docket to fight each other on multiple occasions, with the fight falling through each time for various reasons. This has led to a beef between the two that has ebbed and flowed throughout the years, never ceasing to entertain.

The most recent of these interactions came when dos Anjos posted a clip of an altercation between he and Conor McGregor to Twitter, captioning it by saying that the Irishman was lucky that guards were between them. Makhachev chimed in by noting that there were no guards stopping RDA during that altercation.

“Let’s meet without security to break up the fight. See you in 2022,” dos Anjos wrote, directing his message to McGregor.

“There was no security around you man ?” Makhachev quipped.

This led to a fiery response from dos Anjos, who brought up the fact that Islam Makhachev has not faced any former champions and saying that he only has hype because of his close relationship with former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

In response, the Dagestani made the point that he was booked to fight RDA, but the Brazilian withdrew.

“How many champions have you fought? How many main events? You only getting the hype because of your brother, Get my name out of your dirty mouth Khabib wanna be,” dos Anjos said.

“Never fought champion, because you keep pulling out, unfortunately,” said Makhachev in response.

Finally, dos Anjos stated that Makhachev is lucky to not be facing him and that he must be his manager, Ali Abdelaziz’s favorite fighter. However, Makhachev countered this by somewhat sarcastically saying that this honor clearly belongs to Justin Gaethje, who appears to be getting the title shot over him while he instead faces Beneil Dariush.

“Btw you’re lucky because you’re yours manager’s favorite,” dos Anjos tweeted.

“Wrong, Justin is favorite , he’s fighting for title ???,” responded Makhachev.

This was an entertaining back-and-forth between Rafael dos Anjos and Islam Makhachev. While it is unclear if they will ever end up actually fighting, it is always entertaining to see them trading barbs online.

Continue Reading Rafael dos Anjos Trades Barbs With ‘Khabib Wannabe’ Islam Makhachev at MMA News.