Author: Dan Hiergesell

Tony Ferguson is not going to let Khabib Nurmagomedov off the hook even if the former UFC lightweight champion is officially retired.

Ferguson, who has been scheduled to fight Khabib on five separate occasions in the past, is still looking to lock himself inside of the cage with “The Eagle.” The two fighters were expected to fight at UFC 249 back in April 2020. Unfortunately, COVID-19 kicked Khabib off the card, the event was moved to May, and Ferguson eventually lost Justin Gaethje. That was the last time “El Cucuy” and Nurmagomedov were linked to each other.

While Ferguson is riding a two-fight losing streak in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division he’s done enough over the past five years to remain a key player in the ongoing title picture. Khabib’s recent departure has left the division wide open for the taking and Ferguson hopes to capitalize on the opportunity.

Luckily, “El Cucy” will have his chance to end his current skid when he takes on Beneil Dariush at UFC 262 next month. If Ferguson is able to end Dariush’s six-fight win streak then it could position him for a top fight his next time out. From there, he can work his way back to a UFC title shot in effort to entice Khabib to return for their long-awaited grudge match.

“I’m getting closer to Khabib and that’s the only fight that his pops wanted for him and that’s the only fight that they agreed to still,” Ferguson said to ESPN. “But he’s gonna watch, man. They’re gonna try to get as much film on me as they possibly can… Quit being a bitchh, quit running, f—king sign on the dotted line, Khabib. It’s the same shit. They keep giving me all these guys from Dominance MMA to kind of like toy with me.”

While it’s unlikely that Khabib returns to fighting anytime soon it’s interesting to see Ferguson still pushing the issue. Even if Nurmagomedov did come back he’d probably do so for a massive rematch with Conor McGregor, or even Dustin Poirier. Ferguson would have to go on quite the tear to make up for his recent losses and that’s a hard ask given the current talent at 155 pounds.

In any case, Ferguson must win his next match against Dariush in order to have any ammo for Khabib. If “El Cucuy” ends up losing that fight then the potential of a future clash with Khabib would officially be put to rest.

What say you, Maniacs? Will we ever see the long-awaited matchup between Khabib and Ferguson?

Sound off!

The trilogy bout between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is already a success and the two lightweights haven’t even stepped inside of the cage.

Early Friday, tickets for UFC 264: ‘Poirier vs. McGregor 3’ went on sale to the public. The event will take place on July 10 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., and offers fight fans their first chance to see UFC live in “Sin City” since the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Unsurprisingly, UFC 264’s tickets sold out in literally seconds. In total, 20,800 tickets were scooped up in advance to one of the biggest trilogy bouts in UFC history. Looks like the insanely highly ticket prices weren’t too steep after all.

UFC president Dana White took to social media to boast about the early success of the event:

“BOOOOOOM!!!!!!!! See you in Vegas.”

McGregor, who lost his rematch to Poirier at UFC 257 this past January, also reacted on social media to UFC 264’s ticket sales. “Notorious” compared the quick sellout to a four-second knockout he had over Paddy Doherty all the way back in 2011. The former UFC champion may be reaching for straws but UFC 264’s early success speaks for itself.

“Wow! I just beat this time in selling out the T-mobile arena! 20,800 fans jam packed! Sold out in seconds! On the 10year anniversary of my fastest one punch KO in professional Mixed Martial Arts! Still One of the fastest in Professional Mixed Martial Arts history. 3.5 seconds.”

There’s no doubt that McGregor remains UFC’s biggest star, but “Notorious” needs to remind fans that he’s still one of the best fighters in the sport today. McGregor’s defeat to Poirier at UFC 257 was the first knockout loss of his career so there is a lot to improve on in the trilogy.

Ben Askren could choke Jake Paul unconscious if he really wanted to. It’s that simple.

Unfortunately, Askren isn’t scheduled to fight Paul in a standard MMA bout. Instead, the two fighters will meet in a highly-anticipated boxing match that will headline Triller Fight Club’s pay-per-view (PPV) event tomorrow night (Sat., April 17, 2021) live on FITE TV from inside Mercedes-Benz Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

Askren will be returning to combat sports after retiring back in 2019. The former ONE Championship and Bellator MMA champion hasn’t won a fight since a controversial submission win over Robbie Lawler over two years ago. “Funky” will not only have to brush off some rust when he steps inside of the boxing ring against Paul, but he’ll have to leave his grappling skills at the door.

Or will he?

While Askren’s boxing match with Paul is a sanctioned bout with standard rules and regulations “Funky” has already opened the door to potentially breaking the rules. Askren would likely face some sort of financial penalty if he decides to take Paul down and choke him out in seconds, but the former UFC fighter seems open to the idea as long as he’s still getting paid.

It will be up to the fans to make it happen. All they have to do is come up with $500,000 to cover Askren’s fight purse.

“One of you guys can start a GoFundMe – how much would you give me to choke Jake Paul out with a guillotine? If the number’s bigger than my purse, maybe I’ll do it,” said Askren during open workouts earlier this week (h/t The Mirror).

UFC middleweight fighter Darren Till took to social media to show his support for Askren’s proposal.

“If @Benaskren shoots for a double leg Saturday night & slams @jakepaul on his head. He won’t need to worry about his purse because welle set up a Go-Fund me for him.”

Despite everything he’s accomplished throughout his collegiate and professional sports career Askren is a sizeable underdog against Paul. Most believe the only way “Funky” wins is by breaking the rules and dragging Paul to the mat like a sack of potatoes. Askren, on the other hand, is confident that his athletic capabilities will shine through when he makes his boxing debut.

“Boxing, obviously it’s different, but I told someone the other day that I’m really good at athletics,” he said. “I wanted to be a really great wrestler. I won NCAA titles and made the Olympics. I wanted to be a good mixed martial artist. I won multiple belts in multiple organizations. If I want to beat up an amateur boxer, it ain’t gonna take me more than three months of training to do so.”

For the complete Triller Fight Club PPV lineup and musical guests for April 17 click here.

We are just 24 hours away from Jake Paul’s main event boxing match with Ben Askren and both fighters have officially made weight. The two men will headline the anticipated Triller Fight Club pay-per-view (PPV) event, set for tomorrow night (Sat., April 17, 2021) live on FITE TV from inside Mercedes-Benz Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

This will be Askren’s professional boxing debut as he returns from his MMA retirement to bank a massive payday. Askren is currently the betting underdog despite his background in combat sports, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be completely outmatched against Paul.

For Paul, this is his return to the boxing ring after demolishing former NBA star Nate Robinson with one punch late last year. Paul is trying to make a real run at a professional boxing career and continues to talk a lot of game. He certainly has more skill on the feet than Askren, but “Funky” is a seasoned veteran capable of dragging the YouTube star to deep waters.

While fight fans will have to wait and see who comes out on top tomorrow night on PPV at least Friday’s official weigh ins (replay HERE) offered a sneak peak at the action. After successfully making weight, Paul and Askren came nose-to-nose for one final time before their anticipated PPV showdown. The official weigh ins staredown can be seen in the above player.

Only time will tell if Askren has made he proper adjustments in camp to become a real threat on the feet. If “Funky” is unable to gain Paul’s respect early on it could be a long night for the former MMA world champion.

For the complete Triller Fight Club PPV lineup and musical guests for April 17 click here.

Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo claims he’s fighting undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Cejudo, who retired from combat sports back in May 2020 following a TKO win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249, has been hinting at a possible return to fighting. Most of Cejudo’s callouts have revolved around a UFC comeback but it seems as if “Triple C” is also looking to lock down a meeting with Mayweather.

On Friday, Cejudo posted to Twitter hinting that a matchup with “Money” was in the works. The former UFC double champ didn’t offer any other details so it’s hard to know if this is an ultimate troll job or if a matchup is actually being discussed.

“It’s going down! The Triple C Vs The Olympic bronze medalist @FloydMayweather #staytune” Cejudo tweeted.

You also Dana White’s tweet below from earlier in the week showing the UFC president alongside Mayweather and RIZIN FF CEO, Nobu Sakakibara. Remember, Mayweather had an exhibition boxing match against Tenshin Nasukawa under the RIZIN banner back in 2018 (details HERE). He has history with the promotion and UFC could be leaning on RIZIN to get a deal done for a Cejudo fight (whatever that may be).

“HOOOOOOOLY SHIIIIIIIT!!!!!! WTF is goin on here,” wrote White.

At this point, fight fans need to sit back and see how this unfolds. It’s a strong possibility that Cejudo was once again tapping into his box of cringe for some late-week trolling, but there may be some legitimacy to his claim. Mayweather has been trying to get back in action to score another nice payday while “Triple C” wants a high-profile fight to continue his own combat career.

Seems like a match made in heaven.

The mid-afternoon action delivery earlier today (Sat., Apr. 10, 2021) at UFC Vegas 23 live on ABC/ESPN+, ESPN from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nev., as Marvin Vettori kept his middleweight win streak alive with a decision over Kevin Holland in the main event (highlights HERE).

In addition to the middleweight headliner, a long list of main card and “Prelims” matchups produced memorable action. Check them out below:

• Mackenzie Dern pushed her current win streak to four with an impressive first-round armbar finish over veteran contender Nina Nunes
• Lightweight contender Mateusz Gamrot cashed in on his massive hype with a slick knockout finish over battle-tested veteran Scott Holtzman (watch it HERE)
• Heavyweight finisher Jarjis Danho returned after a near-five year absence to score an early upset knockout over Yorgan De Castro

• Impa Kasanganay made good on his UFC welterweight debut with a dominant submission finish over Sasha Palatnikov (highlights HERE)
• John Makdessi scored split-decision win over newcomer Ignacio Bahamondes in a lightweight matchup that saw both fighters land over 100 significant strikes
• Rising middleweight contender Julian Marquez captured his second submission win of 2021 with a second-round finish over Sam Alvey

In order to sift through the action and see which fighters took home an extra $50,000, we take a closer look at the official UFC Vegas 23 bonus winners below:

Fight of the Night: Julian Marquez vs. Sam Alvey

Performance of the Night: Mackenzie Dern

Performance of the Night: Mateusz Gamrot

For complete UFC Vegas 23 results and coverage click here.