Author: Dan Hiergesell

Former UFC champion Rashad Evans is ending his retirement to return to combat sports and score a lucrative fight against Logan Paul or Roy Jones Jr.

This is according to Evans’ manager, Ali Abdelaziz, who revealed the news to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. According to Abdelaziz, negotiations are already ongoing for Evans’ return to action.

Evans, 41, stepped away from UFC and MMA as a whole back in 2018 following a brutal knockout loss to Anthony Smith. It was Evans’ fifth-straight loss at the time which prompted the veteran to hang it up. “Suga” hadn’t been the same since his title loss to Jon Jones back in 2012, but he remained a top level contender for most of his career.

Now, Evans is stepping back into the limelight in hopes of joining the new wave of combat entertainment. With guys like Logan and Jake Paul mixing it up with former world champions for million dollar paydays it makes sense for some of these older UFC and boxing veterans to set up shop and test their hand as well.

It is unknown at this time if either Paul would be interested in a scrap with Evans, who hasn’t competed in over three years. If Evans is unable to lock down a fight with the social media influencers then maybe a matchup with former boxing world champion Roy Jones Jr. would suffice.

What do you think, Maniacs? Should Evans be coming out of retirement? Who do you see him fighting in his return?

Sound off!

The early numbers are in and UFC 263, led by a middleweight rematch between champion Israel Adesanya and rival Marvin Vettori, did considerably well across the board.

According to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal, UFC 263, which went down on June 12 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, reportedly did over 500,000 PPV buys in the U.S. only. The event did even better on the global scale with over 600,000 PPV buys.

While these numbers aren’t going to break any UFC records they’re nothing to scoff at. This was Adesanya’s return to middleweight after a failed attempt to capture UFC gold at light heavyweight and it was also Vettori’s first PPV headliner. The middleweight rematch was fairly one-sided, but these numbers show that “Last Stylebender” is one of the bigger stars on the roster.

It should be noted that UFC 263 also featured a flyweight title rematch between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno, as well as a five-round welterweight clash involving Leon Edwards and Nate Diaz. The flyweights certainly produced in their co-main event spot, but it was Diaz who likely boosted the overall PPV numbers in his awaited return to the cage.

In comparison to other recent UFC PPVs, UFC 263 did well for itself. UFC 261, which featured three title fights and a rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal, reportedly did 700,000 PPV buys. And UFC 262, which was headlined by a lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler, did over 300,000 buys.

For complete UFC 263 results and coverage click here.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) might be the only sport in the world where you can dislocate an opponent’s arm and then grab a beer with them after the competition is over. That’s exactly what happened last weekend after Paul Craig defeated Jamahal Hill at UFC 263 with a first-round submission (highlights HERE).

Craig and Hill talked a lot of trash before their light heavyweight showdown that sparked UFC 263’s PPV main card. After some crisp punches from Hill it was Craig who was able to pull guard and lock up an arm. Craig cranked so hard that he dislocated Hill’s arm and left it flopping around. Hill, who didn’t miss a beat, kept fighting for a few more seconds before the referee finally stepped in.

After the fight, the two men came together to bury the hatchet. Not only did they meet up after UFC 263 to grab a few beers but Hill was in attendance when Craig’s coach, Brian Gallacher, presented him with his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Check out the video below:

I didn’t want to do it in the cage and take any attention of his performance and win. It was the right time more a personal moment. More to the point well well over due

Hill, who suffered his first professional loss at UFC 263, can be seen sitting at the same table as “Bearjew.” Some may have expected an awkward moment between the two fighters but cooler heads ultimately prevailed. After all, Craig broke Hill’s arm in the first round. You have to respect that.

For complete UFC 263 results and coverage click here.

Dan Ige will have a lot on the line tomorrow night (Sat., June 19, 2021) at UFC Vegas 29 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the rising featherweight contender takes on “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung in the main event. This will be just Ige’s second main event bid as a member of the promotion.

Ige, 29, just scored a massive 22-second knockout win over streaking prospect Gavin Tucker this past March (highlights HERE). The hard-hitting featherweight was coming off a decision loss to Calvin Kattar so the victory was much needed to stay afloat at the top of the 145-pound division. The win also allowed Ige to land a matchup with Korean Zombie, who will test Ige every second of their main event fight.

“Honestly, from day one, I’ve been preparing for this fight like I’m embracing zombie apocalypse mentality,” Ige told MMA Fighting. “I’m preparing myself every single day for the apocalypse, and the apocalypse is June 19. I’m 100 percent ready for it. I’m ready for it right now.

“He’s been through a lot of wars, he can take punishment. But there’s a difference, and I really think there’s a difference in my power and the way I can touch someone and put them out. I’ve always known I’ve had that ability. I’ve never gotten to show it except in my last fight.”

Korean Zombie, who is coming off a decision loss to Brian Ortega back in Oct. 2020, remains one of the most dangerous and durable fighters at 145 pounds today. His fighting style is a fan favorite and it often entices his opponents to exchange in an all-out brawl until someone drops. Ige understands this mentality that Korean Zombie brings to the Octagon and is ready to counter with his brutal knockout power.

“If he comes at me and fights me the way he does and wants to brawl the way he does, then he will get knocked out cold,” Ige said. “There’s no what if, can he take my punishment? No, he can’t take my punishment. I’m not going to fight a 50/50 fight with him. It’s going to be a fun fight, but it’s going to be a fun fight for me.

“It may be a war, but it may be a one-sided victory as well, because I’m just 100 percent prepared. I’m ready to go, and I’m going to take it to him.”

If Ige does in fact take Korean Zombie out it will leave him in a great position atop the featherweight division. A win would increase his overall UFC record to 8-2 and it should be enough momentum to land Ige a No. 1 contender’s bout his next time out.

“As much as this is the fight game, this is a business,” Ige explained. “The Korean Zombie is a big move in my business. Establishing myself as a top-five fighter in the world. Establishing myself as a title contender. You’re always one good fight away from a title shot or a No. 1 contender fight. This is it. This is my opportunity. I have to go out there and make a statement.

“I have to put on a performance, especially the fact that he went to a decision with Brian Ortega. That motivates me to go out there and put on an even greater performance. I want to get something exciting, a big finish, a KO, a submission or complete domination. That’s literally the only way I see this fight. No disrespect of course to him but he’s in the way of me obtaining my goal and my title. That’s all I have to do, go out there and win and then I’m established. I’m right there in the title picture with the other big names like Max [Holloway] and Yair [Rodriguez] and [Alexander] Volkanovski and [Brian] Ortega.”

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 29 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN2 / ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN2 / ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.

Logan Paul may be looking to take his boxing talents up a few weight classes to battle former world champion Mike Tyson.

Paul, who is doing his best to infiltrate the world of boxing to land the biggest paydays he can find, is coming off a massive bout with undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. While the bout was only an eight-round exhibition Paul still managed to land some shots and last the entirety of the fight opposite “Money.” Paul clearly lost the match, but walked away a lucrative winner as the pay-per-view (PPV) showdown brought in over 1 million buys.

With Mayweather in his rearview Paul is now searching high and low for his next opponent. To this point, Paul has been smart with his fight selection. Mayweather is a far superior fighter, but he weighed in nearly 30 pounds less than Paul before their fight. “Money” may have held back a little bit and carried the social media influencer for all eight rounds, but Paul did not look out of place.

Unfortunately, Paul’s time inside of the ring may be limited depending on who he competes against next. And considering the 26-year-old star is already talking about a potential fight with former heavyweight king Mike Tyson there’s a good chance he doesn’t stick around for too much longer.

That’s because Tyson would absolutely mop the floor with Paul, right?

“Someone mentioned Mike Tyson,” Paul said on his podcast, Impaulsive, when talking about his next opponent. “My lawyer mentioned it and he’s like, ‘Nah, Tyson will rip your head off, you don’t stand a chance.’ I’m like, ‘I just went through all this.’ You can’t tell me I can’t beat Mike Tyson. He’s old, old.”

Tyson, 54, is certainly old and well past his prime, but “Iron Mike” is still a very dangerous fighter inside of the ring. After releasing countless training videos throughout last year showing off his re-fined boxing skills and overall physical shape Tyson stepped inside of the ring against Roy Jones Jr. back in Nov. 2020. That bout was an exhibition also, but one that saw Tyson land some heavy body shots and get the best of Jones (highlights HERE).

It is unknown at this time if there are any serious talks being had between Team Paul and Team Tyson, but it would be a massive matchup. Considering the current shift in combat sports that favors circus fights over real competition there’s a chance Paul vs. Tyson does more than 1 million PPV buys.

Israel Adesanya returned to the win column with a successful middleweight title defense over Marvin Vettori at UFC 263 earlier this month in Glendale, Arizona, and you can now watch the action in super slow-motion.

Adesanya, who was coming off a loss to Jan Blachowicz in his quest for double-champ status, absolutely dominated Vettori from bell to bell with incredible precision, takedown defense, and shot selection. In the end, “Last Stylebender” captured his third-straight title defense at 185 pounds and pushed his overall middleweight record to 21-0 (10-0 UFC).

In addition to Adesanya’s main event dominance, flyweight contender Brandon Moreno stepped up in a huge way to pull off an upset in his rematch with UFC champion Deiveson Figueiredo. Moreno wasted little time in attacking the champion and started to really shine on the feet. In Round 3, Moreno worked his way to back control and finished Figueiredo via rear-naked choke. He became the first fighter to finish the Brazilian and also walked away with his first UFC title.

Last, but certainly not least, Leon Edwards and Nate Diaz also met at UFC 263 in an entertaining five-round welterweight clash. Edwards got the best of Diaz over the course of the first four rounds, but Diaz landed a crisp left hand in the fifth that badly hurt “Rocky” and nearly closed out the comeback win.

All of this action can be seen above as part of UFC 263’s “Fight Motion” video, courtesy of UFC

For complete UFC 263 results and coverage click here.