Author: Dan Hiergesell

Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KO) is entering 2021 as one of the hottest names in boxing after defeating Luke Campbell via TKO last month to claim the interim WBC lightweight title (highlights HERE).

One of the most intriguing matchups for Garcia in the coming year is a clash with undefeated knockout specialist Gervonta Davis (24-0, 23 KO), who is the reigning WBA (Regular) lightweight champion. Garcia alluded to the matchup in his post-fight interview following his win over Campbell last weekend, but things took a heated turn earlier this week on Mike Tyson’s “HotBoxin’’’ podcast.

Garcia was in studio to discuss his most recent win with Tyson when Davis joined the two boxers via FaceTime. That’s when “KingRy” and “Tank” exchanged some trash talk before agreeing to a matchup later this year. The video can be seen in the above player.

“You’re 5’5”. You’re going to need a ladder to hit me. You’re going to need a StairMaster. You won’t be able to touch me. You ain’t never fought a 135-[pounder] in your life. This is different. I don’t care what you say. You ain’t got nothing,” said Garcia.

Tyson, who was orchestrating most of the back-and-forth, was loving every second of it. The former heavyweight champion was quick to build the fight up and start the hype train that will follow Davis vs. Garcia until the second it actually happens.

“This just became one of the biggest events of 2021 and it was perfect to announce on ‘Hotboxin’’,” Tyson said. “Stay tuned: We’ve got a lot of big things coming.”

Davis, who is coming off a monstrous knockout finish over veteran Leo Santa Cruz last October (see it HERE), released the below fight poster to his Instagram account earlier this week. Safe to say “Tank” is ready to throw down with the Golden Boy.

What do you think, fight fans? Who wins this matchup of undefeated lightweights?

Let’s hear it!

Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon later this month when he meets lightweight contender Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on Jan. 23 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Considering this is McGregor’s first trip to the cage since a TKO win over Donald Cerrone roughly one year ago fight fans are curious what “Notorious” will show up at UFC 257. McGregor has been dropping photos and videos on social media over the past few months showing how good of shape he’s in for his rematch with Poirier. Fans have gotten an inside look at McGregor’s training camp and preparation for his return to 155 pounds, but they didn’t know the extent of the Irishman’s diet and nutrition until now.

McGregor’s nutritionist, Tristin Kennedy, who has been working with “Notorious” for the past two years, believes the former UFC double champ is in the best shape he’s ever been in. Kennedy recently spoke to ESPN about McGregor’s extensive preparation for his UFC return.

“It entails seven-days-a-week work,” said Kennedy. “Obviously, you get time off and things like that. But it entails daily nutrition plans, supplementation guides, cooking, being at all his training sessions, observing, taking data — the more data you take, the better.

“If I need to cook, I need to cook. We’re obviously constantly in contact as well. The better you know your athletes, the better results you can give them and the better program you can give them. And that’s what you see when you see his body composition and his performance in training.”

McGregor, 32, hasn’t competed at 155 pounds since a submission loss to rival Khabib Nurmagomedov back in 2018. As McGregor returns to the lightweight title mix and tries to fight his way to another UFC belt he has taken his training and dieting to an entirely new level.

“He’s in great shape,” said Kennedy. “Consistency breeds success in nutrition. When he focuses on something and gets down to it, he’s the most consistent man there is.

“On top of that, you have this hard work ethic,” added Kennedy. “I can guide the man, but I can’t eat the food for him. It’s up to him to do all that. And that’s what he does in abundance. He stays consistent to it. It’s that hard work and that professionalism. And then you’ll see the results. Like on social media, the kind of condition he’s in. You can see with your eye. But a lot of athletes, they look well, but it’s the performance that really matters. That’s where I take great pride when I see all these fantastic results we’re seeing in how he’s performing.

“Several people have commented already that this is the best shape he’s ever been in,” Kennedy concluded, sharing his impressions from inside Team McGregor. “They’re the people that are closest to him throughout all the camps. [Striking coach] Owen Roddy just said it. John Kavanagh just recently said it. I would absolutely agree. I guess going from what I’ve seen and what I know, the man is phenomenal and ready to take on this fight and do well.”

While McGregor has fought only twice in the past four years the former UFC champion believes he’s ready to set the Octagon ablaze at UFC 257. In a recent post to Instagram, “Notorious” even suggested that he’d currently destroy older versions of himself, including what he was for his fights against Cerrone and Eddie Alvarez.

“McGregor Vs Alvarez McGregor. I’d destroy both these versions of myself. And Together. And I’m not messing. Absolutely demolish them both. 16 days!”

With only two weeks left before McGregor meets Poirier for a second time fight fans aren’t going to have to wait long to see what “Notorious” will bring to the table in 2021. If he’s able to quickly take out “Diamond” there’s a real good chance McGregor fight for the UFC’s lightweight title next.

For more UFC 257 fight card news and coverage click here.

The family of Irwin Rivera has released an official statement after the UFC fighter was arrested on attempted murder charges for allegedly stabbing his two sisters earlier this week.

Rivera, 31, was reportedly not himself leading up to the attack. His one sister, Lezlye Campos, recognized the odd behavior and decided to fly out to help her brother. Unfortunately, Rivera was too far gone at that point and ended up attacking Lezlye and another sister, Kelly, in the middle of the night.

Rivera, who thought he had killed both siblings, was later arrested and told police that “he did so because it was his purpose, which he was told to by a higher power.”

Luckily, both sisters made it to the hospital in time where they were treated for multiple stab wounds and are expected to make a full recovery.

Despite the unprovoked attack from Rivera, both sisters are staying positive and asking to pray for their brother. Lezlye released the following statement to Facebook earlier today asking for support:

“Me and Kelz are fine n well so we just wanna clear the air n let it be known that this is not about us! We love our brother to the fullest and anyone that knows us n our family knows exactly how much we all LOVE and mean to each other and knows just how close we as a family are, all we wish is for him to get the professional mental help he so desperately needs.

“This past weekend my brother hasn’t been acting like himself . Not sleeping or talking like himself and completely just losing interest in his training, which we all know is what he lives to do. This concerned me and had me jump on the next airplane ASAP n go check up on him. Unfortunately his mental stage was worse then we could of imagined and before we could help him he completely broke. This is not easy for me or my family but I ask to pleeeeesse keep MY BROTHER in your prayers , pray he can stabilize and come back to us bc sometime within the past 24hours his mentality has been completely corrupted into something unrecognizable. Again we LOVE OUR BROTHER and are 100% here to support him n try n get him this help he so desperately needs!”

Stick with Mania for further updates on Rivera’s alleged charges.

Forget about Logan and Jake Paul. Those YouTube stars are for the birds. It’s now all about Hollywood actor Chris Hemsworth and his Thor-like pad work.

Hemsworth, who is best known for playing the roll of Thor in Marvel’s long line of superhero movies, is one of the most yoked actors on the planet today. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson still holds the crown, but Hemsworth has stayed in close second over the years.

Recently, Hemsworth traded in his acting chops to throw on a pair of boxing gloves and do a little mitt work. While some may think Hemsworth is all muscle and incapable of showing technique with his striking the Thor actor showed some solid skill.

In the above video courtesy of ESPN, Hemsworth can be seen piecing together combinations, keeping his hands up, and channeling some of his Asgardian power. It was quite impressive.

Hemsworth, 37, has no specific fighting experience, but it would still be interesting to see the A-list actor strap on some boxing gloves for real and test his luck against another celebrity. Maybe Hemsworth can take advantage of the current state of boxing and score a showdown with Logan Paul after the YouTube star gets washed out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. next month.

Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KO) solidified himself as one of boxing’s most promising young champions earlier today (Sat., Jan. 2, 2021) live on DAZN from inside American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, as “Kingry” became the first fighter to stop Luke Campbell (20-4, 16 KO) with a seventh-round TKO finish. As a result, Garcia walks away with the interim WBC lightweight title.

Garcia opened up the main event with quick hands and impressive footwork, but that didn’t last long as Campbell knocked him down with a beautifully-timed left hook in the second round. Garcia was able to rebound and ended up winning the third and fourth rounds with more volume and pressure, although Campbell was able to consistently land to the body. “Kingry” was able to land a brutal left hook in the fifth that nearly put Campbell on the mat as well.

In the seventh, Campbell seemed to be getting some good shots off on the inside as Garcia waited to counter. When the two separated towards the end of the frame Garcia blasted Campbell with a huge hook to the body. Campbell immediately dropped to one knee and then two, eventually staying down and handing Garcia the seventh-round TKO win.

Check out the full fight video highlights below:

For complete ‘Garcia vs. Campbell’ results and coverage click here.

Brian Kelleher will have to wait even longer to get his hands on bantamweight contender Ricky Simon as “Boom” has been forced out of UFC Fight Island 7 due to a positive COVID-19 test, per a recent report by MMA Fighting.

This matchup was originally booked for UFC Vegas 9 back in September but Simon’s cornerman ended up testing positive for coronavirus and the fight was re-booked for UFC Fight Island 7 on Jan. 16. It remains to be seen if the bantamweight affair will be rescheduled once more or if UFC will bring in a replacement to fight Simon in two weeks time.

Kelleher has taken to social media since late Friday night to discuss the positive test and assure his fans he’s trying to re-book the Simon fight for next month.

“Put a lot of work in to peak at a certain time. That’s the hard part. Gotta reset and keep on keeping on. Hoping to get a negative test soon and rebook this fight for early feb. my girlfriend and training partners are negative and I feel no symptoms so Hopefully false positive”

“I think it’s a false positive to be honest.Will find out soon. I’ll be back shortly. Thanks for those who showed concern. All the people I’ve been close proximity with have tested negative. Hope to get this fight rebooked early February. I know you wanna see this fight.”

Kelleher, 34, is coming off an impressive 39-second submission finish over Ray Rodriguez back at UFC Vegas 9 (see it HERE). “Boom” ended up turning in a 3-1 record in 2020 and became a true staple for the promotion during a year riddled with fight cancelations and last-second changes. Kelleher also managed to capture two Performance of the Night bonuses and one Fight of the Night award over the past 12 months.

UFC Fight Island 7 is scheduled to take place on Jan. 16 live on ABC and ESPN+ from inside Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. The main card is expected to be headlined by a featherweight bout featuring former UFC champion Max Holloway and rising contender Calvin Kattar.

For complete UFC Fight Island 7 fight card news click here.