Report: Tony Ferguson vs Anthony Pettis Booked For UFC 229

A lightweight bout between Tony Ferguson and Anthony Pettis is being reported for UFC 229. MMAJunkie.com reported the match-up, which is set for Oct. 6 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. If the report holds true, then it adds some more bee…

A lightweight bout between Tony Ferguson and Anthony Pettis is being reported for UFC 229. MMAJunkie.com reported the match-up, which is set for Oct. 6 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. If the report holds true, then it adds some more beef to UFC 229’s main card which will be headlined by a […]

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Kevin Lee Aiming For Anthony Pettis At UFC 229

Kevin Lee is aiming to fight Anthony Pettis at UFC 229.

The post Kevin Lee Aiming For Anthony Pettis At UFC 229 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

It’s no surprise to see Kevin Lee aiming to fight Anthony Pettis at UFC 229.

Lee (17-3) is currently the No. 5-ranked lightweight in the world. Pettis (21-7) occupies the  No. 8 spot, just three places behind Lee. A fight between “Showtime” and the “Motown Phenom” actually makes a lot of sense.

According to Lee who spoke with ESPN on Monday, he suggested a fight between him and Pettis to be added to the UFC 229 card.

When asked how the UFC responded to the suggested bout Lee said, ” I think the UFC likes the fight”.

The “Motown Phenom” has been in the news as of late. A rumored Nate Diaz fight was hinted at prior to Diaz’ return being announced against Dustin Poirier at UFC 230. Then Lee tried to lure Georges St-Pierre back out retirement for a fight.

That fight won’t be happening. Lee understands it’s just business.

“I get his reason for not taking a fight against me,” Lee said regarding GSP. “I’m a big risk and not much reward. I get it. I’ll move past it.”

“That said, I kind of took it a little bit as disrespect. I took it as a little bit of a challenge, that he doesn’t see me as worth his time. I’ll make my point. If I have to show how good I am again, and Anthony Pettis has to be the victim of it, then I’ll beat the f— out of Anthony Pettis.”

As of this writing, Lee doesn’t have an official fight scheduled for UFC 229, however, things can change very quickly in this sport and often they do. Regardless, Lee wants the rest of the division to know that just because he hasn’t been doing as many interviews as of late doesn’t mean he has fallen off.

“I’m the best lightweight out there, for sure,” Lee said. “Not only that, but I’m getting better and better. I’m constantly looking to improve myself. That’s why I’ve even stayed out of the media for bit, I’ve been working on my skills. Whatever the UFC decides, I’m going to be ready to go on Oct. 6, ready to make that weight, even if they don’t find me an opponent.”

Despite being ranked No. 5 in the lightweight division, Lee says the UFC was pushing him to move up to 170 pounds. Lee thinks that move is to protect the promotion’s undefeated champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov:

“They said that just because they’re trying to push me out of the division,” Lee said. “They’re trying to keep me away from the Russian [Nurmagomedov] boy for as long as possible. I’ve been calling him out for years. I get it, they have a big market in Russia they want to push into, and I’m bad for that business.”

“They’ll try to spin it and say it’s about my health, but at the end of the day, if you put me and Khabib on a scale right now, I’m lighter than the guy. I’m lighter than a lot of guys fighting at 155.”

If the UFC grants Lee his wish and books the ‘Motown Phenom’ v.s ‘Showtime’ at UFC 229, MMA fans will win.

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Dan Hooker Targets Bouts With Anthony Pettis & Edson Barboza

Dan Hooker targets bouts that will take him to the next level. Hooker is coming off a first-round knockout victory over Gilbert Burns. The two did battle last month at UFC 226 in Las Vegas. The victory extended Hooker’s winning streak to four and…

Dan Hooker targets bouts that will take him to the next level. Hooker is coming off a first-round knockout victory over Gilbert Burns. The two did battle last month at UFC 226 in Las Vegas. The victory extended Hooker’s winning streak to four and he’s finished all of his opponents in this current span. Dan […]

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Six Fighters Who Turned Their Careers Around In 2018

These six fighters defied the odds and turned their careers around in 2018.

The post Six Fighters Who Turned Their Careers Around In 2018 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Mixed martial arts is a crazy and unpredictable sport. It takes a special kind of individual to throw caution into the wind and risk their own physical wellbeing for the sake of entertainment.

There is no blueprint on how to become a fighter. We have seen fighters come from all different walks of life. There have been lifelong athletes that transition into MMA after their collegiate days, and we have seen real estate agents by day turn into savage cage fighters at night.

Likewise, some fighters hit the ground running in MMA, laying waste to opponents right from the very start of their careers. Other fighters don’t quite hit their fighting groove till much later in their careers.

One thing, however, does remain true in combat sports. and particularly MMA. That is you can always expect the unexpected. 2018 has provided mixed martial arts fans with some memorable moments, and with five months still left to go in the year, its a safe bet there are still many more heart-stopping outcomes still to come.

2018 has seen its fair share of comebacks inside the octagon, but we here at Lowkick wanted to put a different spin on the term “comeback.” We took a look back at the first half of 2018 to bring you our list of six fighters who have turned their fight careers around this year.

Here is our list:

Jeremy Stephens

There is perhaps no greater example of what one year can do for an MMA career than Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens.

Stephens first set foot into the Octagon back in 2007 at UFC 71. He would lose his debut against Din Thomas on that night, but here we are over a decade later, and “Lil’ Heathen” has never looked better.

In Stephens’ last outing, he destroyed rising Team Alpha Male contender Josh Emmett via KO at 1:35 of the second round of their main event at UFC on FOX 28 in February. Just one month prior to FOX 28 at UFC Fight Night 124, “Lil Heathen” took out highly-touted prospect Doo Ho Choi in a war that earned “Fight of the Night” honors.

Stephens is 2-0 in 2018 and plans on adding more Ws to the win column before year’s end. He was recently called upon to fill in for Max Holloway at UFC 226 after the champ was removed from the card for exhibiting concussion-like symptoms. “Lil’ Heathen” jumped at the short-notice opportunity, however, his would-be opponent Brian Ortega refused the fight.

Stephens now turns his sights to longtime former featherweight king Jose Aldo, who he will be facing in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 30 next week (July 28, 2018).

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Anthony Pettis Calls Out Nate Diaz & Former Title Contender

It didn’t take long for Anthony Pettis to get over the high of his latest win and started calling out fighters.

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It didn’t take long for Anthony Pettis to get over the high of his latest win and started calling out fighters.

As seen on the main card of the UFC 226 pay-per-view event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the former UFC lightweight champion was able to score submission win in the second round over Michael Chiesa to put him back to his winning ways.

Over the weekend, Pettis took to his official Twitter account to call out two fighters – Nate Diaz and Al Iaquinta – for his next fight as he wrote the following as a way to get his next fight booked inside of the Octagon under the banner of the Las Vegas-based promotion:

“Yo @ALIAQUINTA I’m down 2 Fight @ufc said you are out indefinitely @NateDiaz209 what’s up don’t be scared homie #teampettis #fuckthediazbrothers @danawhite.”

Diaz has not been seen in the Octagon since his rematch with Conor McGregor back at UFC 202 when he suffered a majority decision loss which came five months after Diaz submitted McGregor in their first bout at UFC 196. Since then, Diaz has been biding his time since a third bout has been off the table with McGregor.

It’s been documented that UFC President Dana White was attempting to make the next super fight that would see Diaz fight former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at the upcoming UFC 227 pay-per-view event but GSP wouldn’t take the fight and thus, it got nixed.

Iaquinta is coming off the biggest fight thus far in his pro-MMA career as he agreed to step in on 24 hours notice and fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of the UFC 223 pay-per-view event after the promotion was seeking a replacement for both Tony Ferguson and Max Holloway, which led to Khabib ending up winning the fight by decision along with the undisputed UFC lightweight title.

Iaquinta won’t be fighting Justin Gaethje at UFC Lincoln despite the fact that the UFC officially announced the fight last month as it will not happen and now, there’s no word yet on when Iaquinta will fight again inside of the Octagon.

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Dan Hooker’s Coach Hopes Anthony Pettis Bout is Next

Dan Hooker’s coach wants his fighter to go one-on-one with Anthony Pettis. Hooker and Pettis are both coming off victories. Hooker defeated Gilbert Burns via first-round TKO at UFC 226. At the same event, Pettis submitted Michael Chiesa on pay-pe…

Dan Hooker’s coach wants his fighter to go one-on-one with Anthony Pettis. Hooker and Pettis are both coming off victories. Hooker defeated Gilbert Burns via first-round TKO at UFC 226. At the same event, Pettis submitted Michael Chiesa on pay-per-view. Hooker finds himself in the 14th spot on the official UFC lightweight rankings. Meanwhile, Pettis […]

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