Author: Dan Hiergesell

The bare knuckle boxing action unfolded last night (Fri., Sept. 10, 2021) at BKFC 21 live on FITE PPV from inside Ralston Arena in Omaha, Nebr., as former Bellator standout Mike Richman met former UFC fighter Dakota Cochrane in the main event.

In addition to the barn-burner of a headliner, heavyweight veteran Sam Shewmaker locked horns with Josh Burns in the co-main event, and former UFC fighters Houston Alexander and Jason High made their respective BKFC debuts.

Check out the complete fight card highlights below and let us know which bare knuckle contest stood out the most:

Jeff Souder def. Adam Valcourt via second-round KO

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Carlos Trinidad-Snake def. Noah Cutter via first-round KO

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Cody Land def. TJ Benson via second-round KO

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Sean Wilson def. Will Shutt via first-round TKO

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Houston Alexander def. Wes Combs via first-round KO

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Josh Burns def. Sam Shewmaker via first-round KO

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Mike Richman def. Dakota Cochrane via second-round KO

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will look to continue his boxing transformation tomorrow night (Sat., Sept. 11, 2021) live on FITE TV pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., when “Spider” meets former UFC light heavyweight titleholder Tito Ortiz in the co-main event.

Silva, who is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA), is coming off an impressive return to boxing this past June when he defeated former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. via split decision. The victory shocked many boxing pundits and now lines Silva up for another payday inside of the squared circle and another chance to prove his combat career is far from over.

Standing in Silva’s way is none other than Ortiz. The former UFC champion has recently been trying his luck at politics but that pipedream has officially ended. Instead, Ortiz will return to action for the first time in nearly two years when he meets “Spider” in his professional boxing debut this weekend. Ortiz has never been known for his striking prowess but he certainly packs a punch and looked to be in great shape during Friday’s weigh ins (although he missed the 195-pound mark by five pounds).

As of now, Silva is a massive -1400 favorite (via BetOnline) to knock off Ortiz and push his professional boxing record to 3-1. Ortiz, who comes in at +700, is aiming to shock the combat world and prove that he also has a future in the sport of boxing. Before the two former UFC champions lock horns on Saturday you can check out the full fight video preview below courtesy of Triller’s ‘Legends II’ docuseries:

Stick with Mania for full coverage of Saturday’s ‘Holyfield vs. Belfort’ PPV card.

Tito Ortiz means business heading into his boxing match with fellow UFC legend Anderson Silva tomorrow night (Sat., Sept. 11, 2021) live on FITE TV pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., and that includes stifling the movement and unorthodox strikes of “Spider.”

Ortiz, who is making his first combat appearance since a submission win over Alberto Del Rio back in Dec. 2019, has never been known for his striking. He has always relied on his wrestling to control opponents inside of the cage, but Saturday night “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” will have to let his hands do all the talking.

“I’m no boxer,” Ortiz said during Thursday’s pre-fight press conference (replay HERE). “I’m gonna come here, I’m gonna fight, I’m gonna try to knock him out. That’s my job. I’m gonna come in, I’m gonna punch him through his face. I’ve gotta touch him and I’ve got to touch him with numbers.

“He’s fast, he’s elusive, he moves well, but once again, me at 195, I’m gonna be a lot faster than I was at 205. A 10-pound difference, that makes a huge difference because I don’t have the muscle size I did when I was at 205. But once again, I’m here to kick ass, that’s my job. I’m here to entertain, that’s my job. I’ve been doing it for 24 years, I’m not stopping on Saturday night.”

Despite being a 46-year-old veteran coming off a two-year layoff Ortiz seems to be in pretty good shape for his professional boxing debut. Ortiz will be fighting an uphill battle when he enters the ring across from Silva, but if he can show up and land his punches he may be able to pull off the upset.

“[This is] the first time in the last eight years that I’ve been able to do four miles a day for the last five weeks now, seven days a week,” Ortiz said. “I’ve been very focused on this fight. I’m getting to fight one of the best mixed martial artists to ever grace the octagon, Anderson Silva. To get down to 195 pounds is gonna be a challenge, but I take challenges in stride, every single competition I’ve always competed against.

“For this one, I’m not gonna change. I know what I need to do to beat Anderson. He’s 2-1 in boxing, I’m 0-0, but I just want to make a statement. I want to make sure that I make a statement on his face on Saturday night and do what I do best and punish people.”

All of that said, Ortiz isn’t going up against a conventional boxer who he can gameplan for. Silva is as unorthodox as they come, which “Spider” showed in his recent upset win over former boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. this past June. Ortiz will have to push through some pretty funky attacks to find a home for his own offense, but he seems ready to do whatever it takes.

“Anderson’s gonna do his little magic, Wing Chun, Bruce Lee bullsh*t,” said Ortiz. “I’m gonna come in to fight.”

Daniel Cormier is already making good on his career after fighting, but the former UFC double champ is about to take things to a new level and make his move to television.

This is according to Gavin O’Connor, who directed the 2011 film Warrior which starred Hollywood actor Tom Hardy. O’Connor recently sat down with DiscussingFilm (h/t Awful Announcing) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the film and revealed that “DC” will be cast in the upcoming TV series spin-off titled Warriors.

Cormer, who retired from UFC in 2020 and has been serving as color commentator for the promotion, is expected to have a prominent role in the series. Per O’Connor, who will direct and executive produce the upcoming TV spin-off, Cormier will play Bobby Watkins, a character who lives in Houston and is trying to bring his family out of poverty. Like the original movie, Cormier’s character will have to fight his way out of financial distress.

Details are scarce at this time, but the series will have no connection with Hardy’s 2011 film and is likely to be picked up by a streaming service (negotiations are ongoing).

Cormier, who seems to be making the most out of his post-fighting career, confirmed the news on social media earlier this week with a message for his fans and supporters.

“DC going to Hollywood baby!!! For all the support you guys have given me makes opportunities like this possible. This is only the beginning hopefully. Thank you,” wrote Cormier.

What do you think, Maniacs? Will Cormier transition well to the TV screen?

Let us know in the comments below!

One of the more unexpected boxing matchups in recent memory will unfold tomorrow night (Sat., Sept. 11, 2021) live on FITE TV pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., as former UFC champions Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz square off inside of the ring.

While Silva vs. Ortiz will serve as a prelude for the headlining act between Evander Holyfield and Vitor Belfort combat fans are more interested in seeing the co-main event than the main course. That’s because “Spider” and “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” are two of the most popular UFC fighters of all time and former champions who failed to meet inside of the Octagon when they were competing under the UFC banner.

Don’t worry. While we won’t get to see Silva and Ortiz fight under the bright lights of the Octagon at least the two fighters will lock horns in a sanctioned boxing match Saturday night. Silva certainly has the edge in the striking department, but Ortiz is the bigger man and never shy of going in for the kill.

Ahead of their co-main event matchup, Silva and Ortiz stepped on the scale Friday for official weigh ins. Unfortunately, Ortiz failed to make weight and missed by a whole five pounds. Silva was nice enough to take 20 percent of Ortiz’s purse and let the fight go on. After they tipped the scale both fighters squared off for one final staredown. Check it out below:

Only time will tell which former UFC champion has enough left in the tank to pull out the victory live on FITE PPV this weekend in Florida. Silva is coming off a masterful return to boxing this past June when he defeated former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but Ortiz is looking to prove his doubters wrong and put a beating on the man they call “Spider.”

Stick with Mania for full coverage of Saturday’s ‘Holyfield vs. Belfort’ PPV card.

Paddy Pimblett impressed the entire MMA community earlier today (Sat., Sept. 4, 2021) at UFC Vegas 36 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the former Cage Warriors champion shook off an early scare to score a blistering TKO finish over Luigi Vendramini (see it HERE).

Pimblett carried a lot of hype coming into this fight as a former European champion with swag, good trash talk, and outstanding finishing ability. The man known as “Baddy” had already proclaimed himself the next big UFC star so he needed to impress in his debut. Luckily, Pimblett came through and scored a massive finish that instantly puts him on the map in a crowed lightweight division.

After the fight, Pimblett spoke with media members at the UFC Vegas 36 post-fight press conference (shown above via The Mac Life) to discuss his debut finish.

“I showed everyone that I can come through adversity as well, because he did catch me with a nice left hook,” Pimblett said. “I need to stop letting people punch me in the face. I want to put on too much of a show, so I just put my hands down and get into firefights with people. I do it in the gym.

“I can’t help myself. I like fighting. It’s pretty stupid, because it can go wrong, but it didn’t go wrong.”

Pimblett, 26, has now won his last three fights and could not have made a better UFC debut on Saturday. “Baddy” did have to eat a massive counter punch from Vendramini, but he showed resolve and poise in the biggest spot of his career thus far. After the fight, he talked about the next possible step in his UFC journey.

“Luigi Vendramini was the fourth name I got put forward to me for this fight,” he said. “Every other name I got put to me I said yeah. I’ll never say no to a fight. I’m not a b*tchass. Whatever name gets put to me on the contract, I’m going to sign it. I don’t care if they’re ranked or not ranked or where they’re from, or where it is, if it’s in their backyard. If it’s in their backyard, everyone will start going sick when I walk out anyway. That’s just what I do.

“But as Dana said … he said honorable mention to Paddy the Daddy. He knows it will be fun going back to England with this kid. … November or December, let’s get a show in England, and let’s blow the roof off.”

There’s still a lot of work for Pimblett to do, but the sky is the limit for the kid from Liverpool, England. He looks to have the full package to really dig his feet into the 155-pound division and the best part about it is Pimblett is not afraid to speak his mind.

“People think I’m a grappler, and I’ve just shut everyone up,” he said. “I can strike. I can grapple. I can wrestle. I’ve got the personality, I’ve got the look. The new king’s here, lad.”

For complete UFC Vegas 36 results and coverage click here.