Kevin Lee’s four-fight contract with Eagle FC will be paid to him exclusively through cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
After being paid in money during his long UFC career, Lee will be taking a unique route to kick off his partnership with Eagle FC.
Lee’…
Kevin Lee’s four-fight contract with Eagle FC will be paid to him exclusively through cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
After being paid in money during his long UFC career, Lee will be taking a unique route to kick off his partnership with Eagle FC.
Lee’s deal with Eagle FC was first announced Wednesday. His signing came just more than a week after his UFC career had an abrupt end. The promotion reportedly cut him from their roster in late November, ending an 18-fight run in the Octagon.
Lee described his new deal as a lucrative first in the sport.
“To be the first MMA fighter who has a deal worth millions of dollars in Bitcoin, the first one, there was some appeal to that for me,” said Lee in an interview on The MMA Hour.
Lee: Bitcoin Saved Me Before
Kevin Lee (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Lee’s interest in cryptocurrency is in part due to how it has helped him before. Lee described in his interview how an investment he made into Bitcoin four years ago allowed him to make money while he was dealing with injuries last year.
“After my fight with Tony [Ferguson], I invested in Bitcoin all the way back then. Honestly, when I had the knee surgeries, it saved my a**. Because I forgot about that money, but then when Bitcoin blew back up, that gave me some money to live off of. So it’s something that I really believe in and that’s honestly gonna be the big future.”
Lee’s new contract is part of a slowly growing trend seen around sports. NFL player Sean Culkin announced earlier this year that he will have a contract that is exclusively paid in Bitcoin. He is the first fighter in NFL’s history to do so.
Jorge Masvidal’s bare-knuckle MMA promotion Gamebred Fighting Championship has utilized cryptocurrency in the past, using it to hand out performance bonuses after events.
Do you expect more fighters to ask for cryptocurrency-based contracts in the future?
Dustin Poirier may be in store for some wholesale changes to his career after losing to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269, including a new division with an ‘exciting’ first opponent.
At UFC 269, Dustin Poirier hoped to finally reach the mountaintop and b…
Dustin Poirier may be in store for some wholesale changes to his career after losing to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269, including a new division with an ‘exciting’ first opponent.
At UFC 269, Dustin Poirier hoped to finally reach the mountaintop and become a UFC champion. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, and he lost via rear-naked choke for the second time when bidding to become the undisputed lightweight champion.
Four days removed from the event, Poirier appeared on The MMA Hour to reflect on the loss and what may be next for him. One revelation made by Poirier is that a strong part of him feels he will never have the opportunity to become the lightweight champion again. As he alluded to at the post-fight press conference, that uncertainty is rooted in questions of desire, not his abilities.
“I don’t know if I’m gonna make that cut again,” Poirier said about a potential quick path back to a lightweight title shot. “I might never fight at 155 pounds again. I don’t know the future.”
Poirier recalled back to when he chose to make the move from featherweight to lightweight in 2015, a decision brought about by very similar circumstances.
“Yeah, that’s kinda what nudged me to go over the edge to go to ‘55 when I was at ‘45. I was close to a title shot then I lost to Conor in 2014, and I knew I would have to make that cut three, four, fight more times, whatever it would be to get another title shot, and I just didn’t have it in me to do it.
Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
“And here I am at ’55, and I’m thinking, like, well, if I gotta fight two, three more times to get a title shot, I don’t know if I wanna live those training camps on low calories pushing my body like that. I’d rather just do it and have fun because I love what I’m doing, making it as enjoyable as possible instead of sacrificing and hurting every day in camp because I’m low in calories.”
The One Fight That Gets Dustin Poirier Excited
(via AP & Zuffa LLC)
During the interview, Poirier confessed that he does not know what the future holds for him. He is not fully certain when or even if he will fight again. Looking at the landscape at both lightweight and welterweight, nothing particularly gets the veteran’s motor running—that is except for one guy from Stockton, California.
“When I’ve been lying down, thinking about fights, nothing gets me excited—unless Nate Diaz wants to fight. If he wants to fight, that gets me excited.”
Diaz and Poirier were booked to fight in 2018 at UFC 230, but that fight fell through for unconfirmed reasons. Since then, the two have occasionally chirped back and forth at one another on social media. Most recently, Diaz threw a shot at a downed Poirier immediately following the Louisianian’s loss to Oliveira.
Earlier this year, Diaz revealed that he is still keen on the idea of fighting Poirier, and that interest has always been returned. Diaz’s current contract with the UFC has been extended, which buys him and the UFC more time to land the perfect opponent for the final fight on his current deal. So all things considered, now may be as good a time as there ever will be to finally settle some unfinished business.
Would YOU be excited to see Dustin Poirier vs. Nate Diaz in 2022?
This time around, Tyron Woodley is ready for all of the antics of Jake Paul.
Woodley agreed to step up on short notice in replacing an injured Tommy Fury to have a rematch with Paul after their first fight resulted in a loss for the former UFC welt…
This time around, Tyron Woodley is ready for all of the antics of Jake Paul.
Heading into this bout, Woodley is approaching things with a completely different mindset than the first fight. Speaking in a recent interview with Submission Radio, he said that he is going into this rematch very aware of the antics that Jake Paul will try to use, saying that he is already getting DMs from the YouTuber.
“I expect him to try to do something to ruffle my feathers. He’s a kid, you know what I mean? That’s what I’ve also gotta remember. There’s gonna be antics, he’s already started social media stuff, he’s sending me DMs,” Woodley said. “I’m already expecting that. But disrespect won’t be tolerated. So if they do that again, last time they got a warning, this time there’s gonna be action. So I don’t think that’s gonna happen. But I do expect shenanigans. I expect him to do some BS at the press conference.”
It will be curious to see how this press conference goes between Tyron Woodley and Jake Paul, and if there are any sort of altercations that happen as a result of it. That said, it does seem unlikely that either man would do something to put this fight in serious jeopardy, no matter what antics are being used.
Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley 2 goes down this weekend, December 18th, and you can watch the full interview with the former champ in the video below:
Despite giving props to Julianna Peña for her victory over Amanda Nunes, two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison is confident the newly-crowned UFC bantamweight queen wouldn’t be able to repeat it.
Nunes, Harrison’s American Top Team teammate, saw her…
Despite giving props to Julianna Peña for her victory over Amanda Nunes, two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison is confident the newly-crowned UFC bantamweight queen wouldn’t be able to repeat it.
Nunes, Harrison’s American Top Team teammate, saw her 12-fight win streak and reign over the 135-pound weight class collapse in the co-main event of UFC 269 last weekend. Having defeated the likes of Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, and Holly Holm, and ascended the mountaintop of two divisions, it was the unlikely challenge of Peña that proved to be the David to her Goliath.
On fight night, Peña brought the heat to the “Lioness” on the feet, piecing her up with her jab, before forcing the action to the mat and securing her place on the throne with a submission triumph.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXZNFgmMNXs/
Harrison, who considers Nunes to be a friend, as well as training partner, was in attendance for the demise of the 33-year-old’s dominance at bantamweight. In an interview with TMZ Sports, the unbeaten lightweight star expressed her sadness at seeing Nunes defeated.
“I was heartbroken, obviously, for my teammate and my friend. I have a lot of respect for Amanda. I help her train, I’ve trained with her, she’s helped me, you know, we’re teammates, I would consider her a friend, so first and foremost, I was heartbroken for her.”
Nevertheless, Harrison maintained that the loss wasn’t something we’d see often. The two-time Olympic gold medalist suggested Nunes would have no trouble dispatching Peña 90% of the time.
“I still think that if they fought 10 times, nine times out of 10 Amanda starches her. But sometimes it’s just not your night, no matter what yo do, no matter how hard you prepare, no matter how good you feel or how confident you are, sometimes things just don’t go your way. That’s the craziness of this sport.”
Harrison Promises Peña A “2-For-1 ATT Special If She Keeps Talking”
Harrison’s theory could well be put to the test in 2022. After Dana White confirmed the former champ has the option for a rematch on the table if she wants it, both Nunes and the newly-crowned titleholder suggested it makes sense. However, Peña could be facing more than just a “Lioness” if she continues down her current path.
Following her title crowning, Peña discussed the possibility of facing Harrison. Dismissing the threat of the Ohio native, “The Venezuelan Vixen” branded the PFL champ, who she said has only fought in the “B-leagues” the “lesser of the training partners” at ATT.
In response, Harrison said that if she’s not careful, Peña could be the recipient of a special offer out of the famed Florida-based gym.
“I think that she (Nunes) takes a little time off, she relaxes, she spends time with her family, with her daughter, with her wife, and then we get right back at it. I talked to her that night, I was like, ‘This puta’s about to get a 2-for-1 ATT special if she keeps talking.'”
Given their current weight discrepancy, which has the pair fighting 20 pounds apart, a Harrison vs. Peña matchup seems unlikely unless the UFC champ chooses to move up to featherweight. With that in mind, the more likely bout is seemingly a championship clash between the two ATT teammates.
With Nunes still in possession of the 145-pound gold, and Harrison’s free agency status leaving the door open for a move to the UFC, we could see the two friends collide down the line.
Do you agree with Kayla Harrison? Would Amanda Nunes beat Julianna Peña nine times out of 10?
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) will be branching out beyond North America in 2022, with plans to hold events in Africa and Europe.
The PFL is one of the fastest-growing MMA promotions in the world. Ever since adopting its season-themed appr…
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) will be branching out beyond North America in 2022, with plans to hold events in Africa and Europe.
The PFL is one of the fastest-growing MMA promotions in the world. Ever since adopting its season-themed approach to the sport, the PFL has begun airing on ESPN and has become the home to stars of yesterday and tomorrow, with names like Rory MacDonald, Anthony Pettis, Kayla Harrison, and Claressa Shields competing in the promotion. With the $1 million prize offered to the winner of each division’s tournament, the PFL is expected to continue attracting big names for several years to come.
As the promotion continues to grow, one of its New Year’s resolutions is to continue its expansion onto new soil. This includes Africa, a continent that has given birth to UFC champions Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya, and Francis Ngannou. Yet, according to PFL CEO Peter Murray, the PFL will be putting on events in Africa before the UFC does.
“We’ll be making announcements in the first quarter of 2022,” Murray said. “What I can tell you is we’re committed to Africa as a priority market, to develop and grow the sport – at the pro level, at the grassroots level,” Murray told The Independent.
“We’re committed to expanding PFL distribution throughout the continent in 2022, and we’re also committed to staging events in Africa in 2022. So, the plans are firm, it’s just a matter of finalising partnerships and rolling out those details. But come first quarter, we’ll be in a better position to share some context on that.”
Murray also plans on making a splash in the European market next year as well, with the continent figuring largely into the promotion’s 2022 plans.
“With respect to Europe, and in particular the UK, we’re excited about staging events,” Murray said. “We’ll have a new premium distribution partner in the UK in 2022 – critically important for the PFL – so we expect to tick the box on both distribution and live events in the UK next year.”
The PFL is currently being distributed in 160 countries. In addition to these expansion plans, the PFL has also recently announced a “Challenger Series” that will serve as a scouting mechanism for new talent, similar to Dana White’s Contender Series. With all these changes coming down the pike, 2022 figures to be a very ambitious year for the North American promotion.
UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira has given the green light for his red-panty night.
Conor McGregor has let it be known that when he makes his return to the Octagon, he expects to be greeted with a world title shot. Being that McGregor is c…
UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira has given the green light for his red-panty night.
Conor McGregor has let it be known that when he makes his return to the Octagon, he expects to be greeted with a world title shot. Being that McGregor is currently ranked down at #9 and has not won a fight since January 2020, not everyone is taking his expectation seriously. However, one of the only people whose opinion matters, Charles Oliveira himself, is very much on board with the idea.
“If I had the chance [in the past] to fight for the belt or fight Conor, everybody knows I’d fight for the belt,” Oliveira told MMA Fighting through translation. “That already happened, I’m the champion now. The champion has a name and his name is Charles Oliveira, Charles ‘do Bronx.’ If I had the chance to fight Conor for money today, I would. The belt is mine and continues being mine. We’ll continue building our legacy and making history.”
With Oliveira being the undisputed UFC lightweight champion, he certainly has a say in what is next for him. UFC President Dana White has already confirmed that the current plan is for Oliveira to defend his title against Justin Gaethje next. But if the choice were Oliveira’s, the champion insists that he’s no dummy and would opt for the cash grab.
“If I had the opportunity to fight Conor, I would definitely fight Conor. The belt is mine regardless. The division has to get by and wait a little bit. There’s nothing else to do. We have to think about our families, our children, think about what we can do down the line.”
Oliveira would have little sympathy for his lightweight peers if McGregor jumped the line because they weren’t willing to give him an opportunity before he became champion. That being said, Oliveira doesn’t intend on lobbying for the McGregor fight and will continue to be a company man and fight whomever the promotion wants him to, including #1 contender Justin Gaethje.
“That happened to me,” Oliveira said. “I was the No. 7 in the rankings and wanted to fight [top contenders] and they didn’t want to. The champion has a name now, we’re part of the same organization, and I’ll fight whoever the UFC puts against me. If they say it’s Conor, I’ll fight him. If they say it’s Justin, I’ll fight him. I just want to go home now and get some rest with my daughter and go back to the cage as soon as possible.”
What would be your reaction if Conor McGregor skipped the line to a title shot against Charles Oliveira?
