Iago Kiladze wasn’t happy when the referee called a stop to his fight with Viktor Faust, and he took out his frustration by punching the official.
Kiladze, a heavyweight boxer who was competing on the Luis Ortiz vs. Charles Martin boxing undercard,…
Iago Kiladze wasn’t happy when the referee called a stop to his fight with Viktor Faust, and he took out his frustration by punching the official.
Kiladze, a heavyweight boxer who was competing on the Luis Ortiz vs. Charles Martin boxing undercard, was in a back-and-forth battle with Faust. At one point, Kiladze appeared completely off balance, which forced referee Samuel Burgos to end the bout.
The crowd at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino wasn’t happy with the stoppage either, erupting with boos directed at Burgos. But Kiladze took things to another level when his verbal altercation with the referee turned physical.
Watch Boxer Iago Kiladze Punch Referee Samuel Burgos
Kiladze threw a lead right that appeared to clip the chin of Burgos, but the strike was mostly blocked by the referee’s arm. Luckily, Burgos didn’t appear to be seriously injured by the blow and appeared stunned by Kiladze’s actions.
Kiladze will likely face financial penalties for the incident.
The loss to Faust was Kiladze’s fifth defeat over his last seven fights. During his time in the ring, he’s competed against the likes of Joe Joyce and Mathew McKinney.
Ranked bantamweight Ricky Simon thinks Sean O’Malley doesn’t want to face him despite a recent call-out.
Simon has expressed interest before in facing O’Malley. He likes the idea of the matchup, as “people want to see him tested against a wrestler,…
Ranked bantamweight Ricky Simon thinks Sean O’Malley doesn’t want to face him despite a recent call-out.
Simon has expressed interest before in facing O’Malley. He likes the idea of the matchup, as “people want to see him tested against a wrestler,” and he also believes he has the striking to go along with it.
With that being said, Simon has given up hope on getting a fight against O’Malley. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Simon was asked how good of a chance he thought he has of getting a fight against O’Malley. Here’s how he responded.
“I don’t think there’s a very good chance … I don’t think he wants to fight. I said his name after the interview, said everything, then he goes and tweets to [Adrian] Yanez. So I’m moving on.”
Simon Doesn’t Understand Why O’Malley Got Ranked Over Him
Image Credit: Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Simon is currently sitting right next to O’Malley on UFC’s official rankings, giving further justification for booking the two. However, this ranking puzzles Simon, who doesn’t understand why the rankings are that way.
Simon expected his recent victory over Raphael Assuncao to make him enter the rankings at #12. But in the end, it was O’Malley who took that spot, leaving Simon down at rank #13.
“I beat the #12-ranked guy in the world and they moved him to #12 … I know there’s a lot that kind of goes into [the rankings], but it just feels like someone was messing with me at that point,” he said.
Are you be interested in ahypothetical fight between Ricky Simon and Sean O’Malley?
After taking down over 300 pounds, DJ Varela now eyes his next venture of becoming a professional MMA fighter.
During an episode of the Truly webseries Brand New Me, Varela documents his journey from once being over 500 pounds to now being fit to b…
After taking down over 300 pounds, DJ Varela now eyes his next venture of becoming a professional MMA fighter.
During an episode of the Truly webseries Brand New Me, Varela documents his journey from once being over 500 pounds to now being fit to begin MMA training after a drastic weight loss.
Varela was not always overweight. In high school, he was very active in sports and lived a healthy lifestyle. However, when he began working as a nightclub promoter at 24, he began to live more excessively, including constant snacking and heavy drinking. Before he knew it, he tipped the scales at over 500 pounds.
He then decided to join a gym and work with a personal trainer. In what serves as a source of inspiration for those beginning their New Year’s resolutions, Varela lost over 300 pounds over the course of 18 months (via MensHealth.com).
“My workout routine has evolved throughout the years,” Varela said. “In the beginning, it was mainly based off of strength training, now it’s moreso based on technique and being more functional… Being an MMA fighter has been a dream of mine since my weight loss journey.”
As any fighter will tell you, a key ingredient to being a successful mixed martial artist is confidence. Once lacking in that area, Varela’s hard work and commitment have now instilled the self-belief he always envisioned for himself and that he hopes will translate inside the cage.
“When I look in the mirror now, I see the person I always visualized,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the future as far as making sure my body, my mind and spirit can be where they need to be to compete as a mixed martial artist. I’m going to continue to evolve and become more and strengthen up my body. The first way out is in, so look inward to the answer that you need, once you find that answer, go from there.”
You can watch Varela tell his journey in his own words as well as catch a glimpse into his early MMA training in the video below.
UFC featherweight Alex Caceres has revealed he’s been offered a March fight against fellow ranked contender Sodiq Yusuff.
Caceres, who has been a part of MMA’s premier organization since 2011, is undoubtedly in the form of his life. After going 9-1…
UFC featherweight Alex Caceres has revealed he’s been offered a March fight against fellow ranked contender Sodiq Yusuff.
Caceres, who has been a part of MMA’s premier organization since 2011, is undoubtedly in the form of his life. After going 9-10-1 in his first 20 outings in the Octagon, things began to click for “Bruce Leeroy,” who’s found consistency and form like never before.
Since a 2019 defeat to Kron Gracie, Caceres has built an impressive five-fight win streak, the longest of his professional career. Following victories over Steven Petersen, Chase Hooper, Austin Springer, and Kevin Croom, the 33-year-old broke into the featherweight top 15 with a memorable submission triumph against Seungwoo Choi last October.
Having entered the 145-pound ladder at #15, Alex Caceres will be hoping to begin his 2022 by climbing further towards the featherweight elite. It appears he could have the chance to do so against the #12-ranked contender, Sodiq Yusuff.
During a recent interview with The Schmo, Caceres revealed the promotion has offered him a fight with the Nigerian-American, who is 4-1 in the UFC after his decision loss to Arnold Allen in 2021. Despite admitting his team have been looking at “Super” as a potential opponent for a while, “Bruce Leeroy” says he ultimately doesn’t care who he faces.
“We’re trying to book March 12, it’s not for sure, there’s no papers signed yet, but it’s an opponent we’ve been looking at for a while, and we tried to solidify that matchup before, but we’re trying to get Sodiq Yusuff… They offered that to me, so I just said, ‘Yeah.’ I don’t really care (who my opponent is), honestly.”
If the fight comes to fruition, a victory for Caceres would be huge in cementing his status as a genuine contender at 145 pounds. For Yusuff, meanwhile, a win would get his charge back on track and ensure he’s still seen as one of the hottest prospects in the promotion.
How do you think a fight between Alex Caceres and Sodiq Yusuff would play out?
Bellator Featherweight Champion AJ McKee is hoping to test his skills against the best in combat sports, including Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.
McKee has quickly developed into one of the top mixed martial artists in the world. At the age o…
Bellator Featherweight Champion AJ McKee is hoping to test his skills against the best in combat sports, including Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.
McKee has quickly developed into one of the top mixed martial artists in the world. At the age of just 26, “Mercenary” has built an unblemished 18-0 record, which includes 13 finishes, beating the likes of Darrion Caldwell and Patricio Pitbull, and having Bellator’s 145-pound strap wrapped around his waist.
After an incredible neck crank submission victory over Caldwell in November 2020 sent him to the final of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix, McKee established himself as the top dog in the division by dethroning then-double champ Pitbull. A first-round choke secured his place on the throne and his spot amongst the global featherweight elite.
At such a young age, McKee has plenty of time to boost his skills and close any gap there might be between himself and the likes of Volkanovski and Max Holloway, and perhaps even crossover to MMA’s premier organization to challenge them. But his ambitions don’t end at facing the best in the cage.
During a recent interview with TMZ Sports, McKee revealed his aspirations to challenge the greatest across all realms of combat. With that in mind, he’s hoping to test his abilities against former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor and legendary undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather inside the squared circle.
“Hell yeah (I’ll box McGregor), what’s up, he’s got a couple fights left, Showtime Boxing, let’s do it. Definitely, I’ll box anybody… I’m a fighter. I want to test my skills against the best. That’s why I’ve always called out Floyd. It’s not like, ‘Ah, I wanna beat Floyd.’ I wanna test my skills, hand-to-hand combat, with one of the best athletes in hand-to-hand combat.
“I’m down for anybody. If it’s 145, ’55, 170, boxing I’ll go up three weight classes, what do I have to lose? It ain’t affecting my mixed martial arts career record. For me, it’s all money moves and fun and games.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXUFj3AvnQX/
With Vitor Belfort, Anderson Silva, Tito Ortiz, Frank Mir, Ben Askren, and Tyron Woodley all crossing over to the ring across the past year, a Mayweather and McGregor callout from a rising MMA champion isn’t as crazy as it would have seemed prior to 2021.
Should McKee continue his dominance in Bellator and possibly make the transition to the UFC, perhaps we’ll see him lace the boxing gloves against top names like “The Notorious” McGregor and “Money” Mayweather in the coming years. Having previously called out the latter, it seems that’s who McKee really has his sights set on.
Would you like to see AJ McKee test his skills in the ring against Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather?
In 2017, before Jake Paul took up combat sports, he grappled with Bellator veteran AJ Agazarm.
Agazarm is known for his jiu-jitsu and is a key member of the Diaz academy and has five fights in MMA, with all five coming in Bellator. In 2017, Agazara…
In 2017, before Jake Paul took up combat sports, he grappled with Bellator veteran AJ Agazarm.
Agazarm is known for his jiu-jitsu and is a key member of the Diaz academy and has five fights in MMA, with all five coming in Bellator. In 2017, Agazaram had yet to fight in MMA but he grappled with Paul who was uber-famous due to his popularity on the Disney channel and YouTube. And to no surprise, Agazarm tapped Paul.
Although Paul got tapped, it shouldn’t be a surprise as Paul had never really done jiu-jitsu. He did some high school wrestling but going against a world champion in jiu-jitsu in Agazarm is a different beast.
Jake Paul, of course, has since entered the combat sports scene and is 5-0 in boxing. He’s coming off a highlight-reel KO win over Tyron Woodley in their rematch after Paul beat him by split decision in August. He also holds knockout wins over Ben Askren, Nate Robinson, and fellow YouTuber, AnEsonGib in boxing.
Although he has become a star in boxing, Paul has admitted he wants to have an MMA fight before his career is done.
“I don’t see why if I can do boxing at this high of a level that I couldn’t do MMA at this high of a level,” Paul said to ESPN. “I’m gonna go get coached up by Jav Mendez, Team Khabib. That’s that. They’re down — 100 percent… I’ve gotta go 10-0, 12-0 in boxing first and then I’ll hit that MMA fight.”
How do you think Jake Paul would do if he committed to training MMA?
