Author: Dan Hiergesell

Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal are finally scheduled to fight, but it’s not a matchup that came to fruition overnight.

In turn, Edwards has been criticized for potentially sitting out and waiting for a title shot rather than fighting another welterweight contender, such as Masvidal. Edwards and Masvidal have history that dates all the way back to a backstage fight at UFC London in 2019. The two have been on a collision course ever since, but Edwards is now riding a nine-fight win streak while “Gamebred” has lost his last two. Things aren’t exactly the same as they were.

While Edwards has received some criticism for taking too long to book his fight with Masvidal the English contender is actually one of the more game fighters at 170 pounds. In reality, Edwards has been trying to get his hands on just about everyone over the past few years, but not every fighter is willing to step up. That, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, is a big reason why Edwards only has two fights under his belt over the past two years. Whether it’s been scheduled matchups with Khamzat Chimaev, Belal Muhammad, or Nate Diaz, “Rocky” has answered each and every time UFC has called.

“I’m the only one that’s taking all these risks,” Edwards said during a recent appearance on the MMA Hour. “Khamzat [Chimaev], Masvidal, [Nate] Diaz, I’m the only one that’s fighting and taking all these lower ranked guys. Like what the f—k is going on?

“Like I said, it is what it is. I keep doing my thing. I keep making my moves, keep making my money and eventually I’ll be a world champion.”

Edwards, who seems to be one win away from his first ever UFC title shot, is trying his best to block out the haters. Despite his efforts to fight as much as possible over the past two years it seems like Edwards is widely underappreciated. It has left the English contender in a state of absolute focus and self preservation.

“It’s a mad world. The MMA world is mad,” Edwards said. “I’ve come to realize that these people are crazy. I can’t sit and listen to it. I keep doing my thing and stay focused on the task at hand. You can’t pay too much attention to it. It will drive you mad.

“Some of the things I see on social media it’s like what’s going on? Everyone out there is tweeting and talking s—t but I’m the only one that’s making moves. I’m the only one that’s putting it all on the line. I’ve grown into a title shot but I’m taking a back step, fighting No. 6 [ranked UFC fighter] in the world to then fight for a title. It’s all good. Let them talk.”

Edwards will have the chance to finally put an end to his ongoing feud with Masvidal at UFC 269 this December and lock down his shot against current welterweight king Kamaru Usman. If he loses it may be a long road back to the top, especially since it has taken Edwards nine-straight wins and five years to get to where he is now.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos is expected to make his official pro wrestling debut later tonight at AWE Rampage live on TNT and it may not be the last time we see “Cigano” inside of the ring.

Dos Santos, who parted ways with UFC earlier this year, has been quietly making appearances on recent AEW shows. As part of Dan Lambert’s stable of MMA fighters, JDS has joined the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Paige VanZant, and Andrei Arlovski as former UFC fighters making waves in pro wrestling. “Cigano” will be the first of the bunch to break off and partake in an official match.

Dos Santos, who will partner with AEW wrestlers Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky to challenge Chris Jericho, Jake Hager and Sammy Guevara in a six-man tag-team match, has not officially signed with the buzzing AEW promotion just yet. It’s something that JDS could see happening, but nothing that has been inked on paper.

“Not yet – but maybe,” Dos Santos told MMA Junkie. “The one responsible for this is this man right there, Dan Lambert. He brought some of us to the shows at AEW, and I was just impressed with that. I remember I enjoyed watching some pro wrestling matches, but I wasn’t really following it. Once I was there and I could see how things worked, I was impressed and I said, ‘Man, this is amazing. I want to be a part of it. I want to be in that ring, too.’ So things started to happen, and here we are, close to our debut.

“Why not? I’m not going to say no. I really enjoy this. I’m happy doing it. I’m enjoying participating in this and the challenge it’s been for me. It feels great, actually. I was looking forward to having a next fight and here I am, close to fighting again in a pro wrestling match, and I feel good about it.”

While Dos Santos is one of the more respected heavyweights to ever compete under the UFC banner he is not a professional wrestler at heart. It has yet to be seen how “Cigano” will perform inside of the ring on Friday night and moving forward, but the Brazilian veteran believes he’ll bring some experience to the mix seeing as MMA and pro wrestling share a few similarities.

“The biggest one is to have a good performance,” Dos Santos said. “You have to put on a good show for all the crowd, all the people that will be there cheering for us. And it goes the same (as MMA) – to have a good performance and get a good victory with yourself. I’m just impressed with this whole (pro wrestling) world. Back in the day, I didn’t even imagine how big it was.

“I’m just impressed with everything and how hard these guys get prepared for this – (and) how hard it is for them, as well. You’ve got to train a lot. You’ve got to put yourself in a very good preparation to be 100 percent, to go there and have a good performance. That’s the main thing that attracted me on this thing. I said, ‘Wow, this is amazing. These guys go hard. I want to do some of that,’ and here I am doing it.”

AEW Rampage is expected to take place this evening live on TNT starting at 10 p.m. ET. Mania will have coverage and full highlights of Dos Santos’ pro wrestling debut.

Tyson Fury kept his WBC heavyweight title and won his trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder last night (Sat., Oct. 9, 2021) live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as “Gypsy King” finished “Bronze Bomber” via 11th-round knockout in one of the best heavyweight fights you will ever see.

Wilder surprised many with high volume to the body in the early going, but Fury quickly responded with a huge right hand that briefly buckled “Bronze Bomber.” Fury kept busy in the third round and knocked Wilder down with a powerful right hand followed by an uppercut. Wilder would eventually return to his feet and sustain more damage as “Gypsy King” searched for the finish.

In the fourth, Wilder turned the fight upside down with a knockdown over Fury with a ferocious right hand. The champion would return to his feet only to have “Bronze Bomber” knock him down again. It was absolute chaos.

The seventh round saw Fury hurt Wilder on the feet again and try to end him with a flurry of punches along the ropes. Wilder didn’t go down and tried to fire back with moments on the clock. “Bronze Bomber” would land another hard right in the ninth round, but Fury returned favor with a combination inside. “Gypsy King” nearly ended the bout in the 10th round when he clocked Wilder with a hard right hand. Wilder returned to his feet like a zombie and kept moving forward, even landing a collection of punches at the end of the round to put Fury on notice.

Fury came out firing in the 11th round and started to really wobble Wilder, who kept throwing punches. The champ would time a powerful right hook in the corner that stuck Wilder and sent him crashing to the canvas for the stoppage.

Check out the full fight video highlights below:

For complete ‘Fury vs. Wilder 3’ results and coverage click here.

The long-awaited heavyweight trilogy fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will finally unfold later tonight (Sat., Oct. 9, 2021) live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Needless to say, this is a massive fight for boxing and the heavyweight division as a whole. After seeing Oleksandr Usyk dethrone Anthony Joshua last month this is a chance for Fury or Wilder to punch their ticket as the best heavyweight in boxing today. Add in the bad blood shared between both “Gypsy King” and “Bronze Bomber” and this fight has all the fixings for a legendary affair.

Fury, who has yet to taste defeat in his professional career, is coming off a TKO finish over Wilder in their rematch back in Feb. 2020 (see it HERE). That is the last time either man has fought and Fury doesn’t believe Wilder has made enough adjustments to win the third installment. Fury was such a level above Wilder in the rematch that he may be right.

That said, Wilder is a knockout puncher through and through. That’s the reason why he almost deaded Fury in their first meeting back in 2018. It’s also the reason why “Bronze Bomber” has amassed a 42-1-1- professional record with 41 knockouts. The fighter from Alabama can crack and if he’s able to land a punch on Fury it could flip the entire division upside down.

So when can fight fans expect this massive trilogy bout between Fury and Wilder to actually begin later tonight on ESPN+ PPV?

Start times are always difficult to predict in the world of boxing due to extended walk outs and lengthy promotion, but Fury and Wilder should make their respective entrances to the ring sometime around 11:45 p.m. ET. The ESPN+ PPV main card is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET and feature a collection of heavyweight bouts so there’s a chance the main event between Fury and Wilder gets pushed up or bumped back.

If things run late (or early) Mania will be sure to provide an updated start time for tonight’s Fury vs. Wilder 3 heavyweight matchup. You won’t want to miss it!

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow updates of the complete “Fury vs. Wilder 3” fight card TONIGHT right here, beginning with the early “Prelims” at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, followed by the ESPN+ “Prelims” at 7 p.m. ET, then the ESPN+ PPV main card at 9 p.m. ET, with Fury and Wilder making their walk at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET.

For more boxing news and notes click here.

Former UFC fighters Joe Riggs and Melvin Guillard collided in a bare knuckle main event last night (Sat., Oct. 9, 2021) at BKFC Montana from inside First Interstate Arena in Billings, Montana, with Riggs finishing “Young Assassin” with a first-round knockout.

Riggs was able to land a beautiful straight left hand with less than a minute off the clock that knocked Guillard through the ropes. The former lightweight contender couldn’t find his way back to his feet and the fight was waived off. It marks the fourth straight loss for Guillard after joining Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) back in 2019.

Check out the knockout finish below:

Undefeated boxing sensation Edgar Berlanga was back in action earlier tonight (Sat., Oct. 9, 2021) live on ESPN+ from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the knockout sensation did not look like his usual self.

Berlanga, who finished his first 16 professional fights via first-round knockout, was coming off his first decision win after going the distance with Demond Nicholson back in April. This time around, Berlanga struggled to land his power and gain the respect of super-middleweight counterpart Marcelo Esteban Coceres. Berlanga did wobble Coceres early on, but he wasn’t able to keep up with the speed and movement of the veteran fighter to find his patented finish.

Coceres started to gain confidence in the later frames and scored a massive knockdown in Round 9. It was the first time in Berlanga’s career that he’s been knocked down. Luckily for Berlanga, he was able to regain his composure and close out the 10th and final frame on top.

In the end, Berlanga was able to walk away with the unanimous decision win and the vacant WBO–NABO super-middleweight title. Check out the full fight highlights below:

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Remember, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will collide in a trilogy fight later tonight live on ESPN+ PPV for the WBC heavyweight title and ultimate bragging rights. Click HERE for viewing details.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow updates of the complete “Fury vs. Wilder 3” fight card RIGHT HERE, beginning with the early “Prelims” at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, followed by the ESPN+ “Prelims” at 7 p.m. ET, then the ESPN+ PPV main card at 9 p.m. ET, with Fury and Wilder making their walk at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET.