Author: Dan Hiergesell

Santiago Ponzinibbio will try to capture his first Octagon win since 2018 tomorrow night (Sat. June 5, 2021) at UFC Vegas 28 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he matches up with undefeated welterweight contender Miguel Baeza.

Ponzinibbio, who won seven-straight fights at 170 pounds from 2015-2018, made his long-awaited return to the cage this past January after suffering a litany of injuries from 2019-2020. Unfortunately for Ponzinibbio, he ran into welterweight finisher Li Jingliang and suffered his first knockout loss in over five years.

The loss was crushing to Ponzinibbio’s welterweight stock considering he had missed so much time as other fighters ranked up. There are some fighters that are put in that type of position and never rebound from a devastating knockout loss after such a long layoff. Luckily, Ponzinibbio is not one of those fighters. He is already putting the loss to Jingliang behind him and keeping his focus on becoming the best welterweight fighter in the world.

“Let me tell you this, I had a lot of expectations for my return, but it was a lot of mixed feelings,” Ponzinibbio told MMA Fighting. “The result wasn’t what I expected, and I was shaken because I was on a seven-fight winning streak, fighting for the top of the division, and all that time wasted because of the infection, but that’s how the sports is. A punch landed, it sucks.”

“This fight doesn’t define me,” he continued. “I got in too slow due to my time away. I was starting to connect my jab and my calf kicks in the end of the first round, I was starting to show my game, and one hand connected on the right spot. It wouldn’t have knocked me out if it landed anywhere else but that’s how the sport goes, the best athlete does not alway wins. I believe I’m better then him but that’s in the past, I’ve turned that page.”

For what it’s worth Ponzinibbio didn’t look completely lost in his return. Sure he had to shake off some cage rust, but “Gente Boa” started to regain the confidence and timing that led to his previous seven-fight win streak. Jingliang simply didn’t give Ponzinibbio enough time to really dust the cobwebs off and regain his full capabilities.

“If we had fought 15 minutes and I had given my all in there, showed the world [what I got] and he still beat me, OK,” he said. “But that way, man…there wasn’t much of a fight. I started too slow, he was throwing and I was dodging everything, seeing everything. I would have gotten much stronger in the second round, but that punch landed on the right spot, and it’s over. It’s frustrating. I think I’m better [than him], I hope someday we can do a rematch, but it’s a sport.”

Ponzinibbio, 34, still carries an impressive 9-3 UFC record into this weekend’s festivities. And despite his recent knockout loss Ponzinibbio remains one of the most skilled knockout artists in the division. If he’s able to take out a talented youngster like Baeza he should be able to jump back into the top 15 and make another push towards title contention.

“My goal is the world title. I’m 100 percent focused on this fight and I believe a good win will put me back in the ranking to start climbing again. I’m very talented, I train with great guys and great coaches, and I know my potential. This loss doesn’t define who I am and I’ll show that Saturday.”

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 28 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.

While nothing is finalized just yet it looks like Darren Till will be headed back to London for his main event clash with middleweight contender Derek Brunson this September.

Per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Till’s matchup with Brunson, which was originally scheduled to headline UFC’s Fight Night event on Aug. 14, is likely to be moved to Sept. 4 in order to headline the promotion’s return to England.

Again, nothing is official. The report also states that if UFC does in fact move Till vs. Brunson to Sept. 4 then the UFC 266 pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for the same date would be moved.

Till, who is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Robert Whittaker back in July 2020, was expected to face Marvin Vettori at UFC on ABC 2 this past April, but a broken collarbone knocked him out of the fight. If Till’s upcoming matchup with Brunson does in fact get moved to London then it will be the first time “Gorilla” is competing in his home country of England since Jorge Masvidal knocked him dead back in 2019. Till is just 1-1 since moving up to middleweight after his loss to “Gamebred” so a win over Brunson would be huge for his 2022 title aspirations.

Brunson, 37, is currently riding another one of his patented win streaks. The middleweight veteran is coming off an easy decision win over Kevin Holland to push his current streak to four. This will be Brunson’s third-straight main event bid for UFC, but his first action on English soil. For what it’s worth, Brunson is currently 3-2 in UFC headliners.

Stick with Mania for ongoing updates for this “Till vs. Brunson” fight card.

Logan Paul is under the impression that he can somehow defeat Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a exhibition boxing match this weekend live on Showtime PPV. It may seem completely insane for the YouTube star to even dream of beating “Money” inside the squared circle, but Paul needs his confidence nonetheless.

Paul, 26, hasn’t been nearly as active in the boxing ring as little brother, Jake. The elder Paul only has one professional bout to his name which came in the form of a split-decision loss to KSI back in Nov. 2019. Competing against someone like KSI two years ago and then turning around to fight Mayweather is like a tax attorney randomly trying to execute open-heart surgery. Things aren’t going to go the way you want.

That said, Paul believes he’s in this position for a reason. He believes that the sport of boxing chose him. Despite the fact that he’s about to fight a professional boxer who went 50-0 in his career doesn’t seem to bother the social media influencer one bit.

“I didn’t choose boxing, boxing chose me,” Paul said during an interview with Showtime. “Seriously, I got challenged to box. I answered that challenge and then kind of fell perfectly into the sport. Truthfully, boxing’s a bit easier on the body than MMA. MMA’s f—king hard.

“I got bad knees. I’m old now. I’m aging. My upper body’s strong. My upper body always has been strong. I got dense-ass bones. I’m in like the top half-percentile in bone density. My strength is all here. MMA is tough. The lower body knows.”

Now that Paul is in a massive position to fight “Money” Mayweather live on PPV in front of millions of viewers he’s going to put his best foot forward. While it would be impossible for Paul to build up to the same skill level as Mayweather the YouTube sensation is going to rely on his natural gifts to get a win this Sunday on PPV. This includes fighting with heart and relying on his power.

“Fight my heart out. Fight my f—king heart out,” said Paul when asked about his strategy against Mayweather. “Fight my heart out. That’s the beautiful thing about this sport. Experience, it’s fantastic. In almost any industry, experience is going to trump everything else. But at the end of the day, this is a fight and anything can happen.”

With the odds stacked against him it may seem like Paul is in over his head. The YouTube sensation has never fought a competitor quite like “Money” and his skills will never, ever be on par with Mayweather. That said, Paul is not shying away from the bright lights. In fact, he believes he thrives in situations like this one that would make most of us crawl up in a ball and disappear.

“I often have to ask myself ‘am I affected by this?’” Paul said. “You look at this crowd, you see all these people, the hot lights, the pressure, you want to do well, your friends and your family’s watching and I always want to be real with myself. Am I affected by this? But I love this. I love this. This is me in my element. This is what I came out to Hollywood to do when I started making videos.

“When I started making f—king videos on YouTube, that was the cusp, the precipice for all this. This is it. This is endgame. This is what I signed up for. This is what I wanted. This is me in my element. I love this s—t. All of it’s exciting for me.”

For the complete Mayweather vs. Paul fight card and lineup click here. For much more on the Mayweather vs. Paul boxing event on June 6 click here.

A middleweight matchup between streaking contenders Uriah Hall and Sean Strickland will now headline UFC’s upcoming Fight Night event on July 31, per ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.

Originally, Hall and Strickland were expected to meet at UFC 265 on Aug. 9. The pairing has been bumped up one week and will now lock horns in a five-round main event. The location of the July 31 fight card is unknown at this time, but likely to take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

Hall, 36, was supposed to do battle with former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman at UFC 261 this past April, but a nasty leg injury for Weidman seconds into the fight stopped the two men from really going toe-to-toe (see it HERE). Instead, Hall will now face Strickland in his third UFC main event bid. Before his brief bout with Weidman, “Prime Time” had won his previous three Octagon appearances, including a fourth-round TKO win over the legendary Anderson Silva in Oct. 2020.

Strickland, 30, has been on an absolute tear of late. Since moving back up to 185 pounds last year Strickland has turned in a 3-0 record, including a recent decision win over veteran contender Krzysztof Jotko. The former KOTC middleweight champion has looked incredible since returning to the division and could be a real threat moving forward. Strickland should be able to use his boxing and precision to give Hall issues when they meet this July.

Stick with Mania for updates for the “Hall vs. Strickland” fight card.

Jake Paul will not give Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White a break, especially when it comes to fighter pay.

Paul, who recently signed to box former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley later this year, may not seem like the most likely person to speak out about UFC fighters being underpaid. But with growing popularity and an increased following, the YouTube star is beginning to speak out about the world of combat sports as he continues to infiltrate the landscape.

It’s no secret that White has had trouble in past keeping fighters happy who feel they are underpaid. Some of UFC’s biggest stars have sat on the sidelines over the past few years or decided to go somewhere else to compete all in effort to increase profitability and get what they are worth. White has ultimately been able to navigate these issues when they pop up, but it doesn’t seem like they are going away anytime soon.

Paul, who has put himself in a position to make millions each and every time he steps inside of the boxing ring, already spoke out about White back in April following his knockout win over former UFC fighter Ben Askren (see it HERE). Paul targeted White back then for not paying UFC athletes what they deserve and he’s doing the same thing now.

During a recent interview with Showtime Sports, Paul slammed White yet again for the type of contracts he puts in place for his stable of UFC fighters. Check it out below:

“There’s a movement moving forwards that is going to show that fighters should be getting paid more. It’s unfair. The UFC fighter’s don’t have fair pay. Out of all the sports, the percentage that the owners get versus the athlete, they’re the lowest. Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones, that fight should happen. Dana White, pay them the $10 million. He’s taking their money. They’re the ones making the content. They’re the ones who get in the ring risking their life. Chris Weidman goes in, snaps his leg in half, what’s that look like? He may never be able to fight again and provide for his family. These fighters are risking their lives. You can quite literally die in the ring and they need to be compensated more. I’m a big proponent of that movement and being in control. It’s just like music labels, same thing, these artists are getting owned and get locked up into these sh—-y contracts and they don’t know what to do. So f—k that shit. F—k Dana White.”

While Paul may be the most obnoxious persona in combat sports today the aspiring boxer continues to speak out on behalf of UFC fighters everywhere. Paul may be saying all of the things that he is in effort to bring some talent over from UFC into the boxing ring, but his points are valid.

We’ll have to wait and see if Paul can continue his magic inside of the boxing ring when he takes on “Chosen One” later this year.

The first ever Gamebred Fighting Championship (GFC) bareknuckle MMA event has an official date and headlining act.

Ultimate Fighter Championship (UFC) superstar, Jorge Masvidal, unveiled the newly-minted bareknuckle MMA promotion prior to his rematch opposite Kamaru Usman back at UFC 261. Masvidal ended up losing to Usman in vicious fashion, but his proposed bareknuckle MMA promotion is still moving forward as planned.

According to a recent Instagram post by Masvidal (shown above), the first ever GFC event will take place on June 18 live on BKTVApp.com from Biloxi, Miss., with Jason Knight vs. Charles Bennett serving as the main event.

No additional details are known at this time, but the inaugural GFC card should have a collection of bareknuckle MMA fights involving notable fighters from around the sport.

Knight, 28, is a former UFC veteran will loads of professional MMA experience. The former UFC featherweight once won four-straight inside of the Octagon including victories over Dan Hooker, Alex Caceres, and Chas Skelly. Following his UFC departure in 2018 Knight signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) and had a pair of high-profile contests with Artem Lobov. Knight made his return to professional MMA this past March with a second-round submission win over Cliff Wright at iKon Fighting Federation 5.

Bennett, 41, is a well-known name around the sport of MMA and a fighter who has competed in some of the biggest organizations in the world. Unfortunately, “Krazy Horse” has lost his last 11 professional MMA bouts dating back to 2017. Bennett ended up crossing over to BKFC from 2018-2020 but lost all three of his appearances there. He will be the betting underdog for his main event clash with Knight, but with 21 career knockouts in MMA competition Bennett certainly has a chance to earn the win.

Stick with Mania for more GFC 1 fight card news.