Tag: Featured

Tony Ferguson claims loss to Bobby Green came after he tried to land a new move called ‘The Boogeyman’

Tony FergusonTony Ferguson revealed that his recent loss to ‘King’ Bobby Green came after the former interim lightweight champ attempted to hit a brand new move on his opponent. UFC 291 saw ‘El Cucuy’ suffer his sixth-straight loss inside the Octagon, dropping a third-round submission to Bobby Green in the waning seconds of their scrap in […]

Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson revealed that his recent loss to ‘King’ Bobby Green came after the former interim lightweight champ attempted to hit a brand new move on his opponent.

UFC 291 saw ‘El Cucuy’ suffer his sixth-straight loss inside the Octagon, dropping a third-round submission to Bobby Green in the waning seconds of their scrap in Salt Lake City. Speaking with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Tony Ferguson revealed that the loss came only after he had attempted to bust out a new move that ended up backfiring on him.

“I put myself underneath him when I shouldn’t have, didn’t take his ground and pound serious when I was doing it. I was hitting a new move, it wasn’t an iminari. Everybody’s like ‘Oh, he’s not as fast.’ Nah, I was trying to do a different one. I call it ‘The Boogeyman’. I’ll just explain it right now, I shoot underneath the guy’s legs and then I end up taking his back from underneath the bottom position and I didn’t do that” (h/t MMA News).

Even if Tony Ferguson had survived the final seconds of the third round, he still would have left the Delta Center with another loss as the scorecards revealed he was already down on two out of three going into the final five minutes.

Tony Ferguson Claims Multiple Eye Pokes Compromised Him Against Bobby Green

‘El Cucuy’ has also blamed his latest loss on what he believes to have been an intentional eye poke from Bobby Green. Ferguson echoed similar sentiments during his conversation with Okamoto, saying:

“Before that, I kept getting poked in the eye which was kind of sh*t. I mean it f*cking hurt and the doctor kept getting in the way. I’m sitting here tryna get my composure back and I’m looking at Bobby. I’m looking at him in the face so that way I can see his breathing and the more time I took, the more composed that he started getting.

It was kind of like a lose-lose situation where it’s like okay cool but I’m not gonna take a no contest, that never even phased my mind like ‘Get the f*ck outta her doc, we got some work to do.’

Many fight fans expected Tony Ferguson to hang up his gloves following the loss to Green. Instead, ‘El Cucuy‘ will step back inside the Octagon for the promotion’s final pay-per-view of the year, UFC 296. On that night, Ferguson is scheduled for a showdown with fast-rising UK standout Paddy Pimblett, a fight that has drawn the ire of many fight fans.

If Ferguson takes another L, as many suspect he will, the ex-interim champ will tie BJ Penn’s record for the most consecutive losses in UFC history.

Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson was ‘Bullied’ into taking fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 294

WonderboyEx-Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson believes Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson was bullied into taking a fight with undefeated standout Shavkat Rakhmonov. Last month, Dana White revealed that Thompson would return for a clash with ‘Nomad’ as part of the promotion’s final pay-per-view of the year, UFC 296. The announcement came two months after ‘Wonderboy’ was scheduled to […]

Wonderboy

Ex-Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson believes Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson was bullied into taking a fight with undefeated standout Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Last month, Dana White revealed that Thompson would return for a clash with ‘Nomad’ as part of the promotion’s final pay-per-view of the year, UFC 296. The announcement came two months after ‘Wonderboy’ was scheduled to step inside the Octagon at UFC 291 in July. However, his opponent, Michel Pereira, stepped on the scale three pounds over the weight limit, prompting Thomspon to turn down the fight.

Fight fans online immediately shared their displeasure with the booking, suggesting that the promotion is essentially sacrificing the aging ‘Wonderboy’ in order to give Rakhmonov another big win as UFC hopes to curate the next big welterweight superstar. But former Bellator and UFC fighter Josh Thomson had a different take, suggesting that Thompson was basically bullied into taking a fight against the Kazakh.

“He got bulled into this fight John,” Thomson claimed on an episode of his WEIGHING IN podcast with ‘Big’ John McCarthy.

He continued, “I mean, there’s like nothing he can do. They’re like, ‘You’re 40 years old or 41, and no matter how much we care, like no matter how much you’ve done for us, no matter how much we like you’… I’m surprised they didn’t give him the Kamaru Usman fight. Kamaru wanted it, he wanted it. It just didn’t… I’m surprised. But then again, we’re going to see exactly… This fight is going to be like this fight, I think Shavkat is going to be able to muscle, I would say muscle him around but find ways to get into the clinch and get this fight to the ground” (h/t MMA News).

‘Wonderboy’ and Kamaru Usman had shown mutual interest in fighting one another, but during an interview with MiddeEasy, Thompson indicated that the promotion had other plans for the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ leaving himself with little options left to fight up the rankings.

Currently, Shavkat Rakhmonov occupies the No. 6 spot in the welterweight top 10 while Thompson is holding strong at No. 7. If ‘Wonderboy’ manages to hand ‘Nomad’ his first career defeat on December 16, it could go a long way toward earning him one final shot at UFC gold before hanging up his gloves for good.

Ex-champ Kamaru Usman tipped to be the backup for Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa at UFC 294

Kamaru UsmanChael Sonnen believes Kamaru Usman’s next assignment should see him serve as the backup for UFC 294’s highly anticipated clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa. On October 21, both men will make the walk to the Octagon for the first time in over a year in what could very well be a middleweight title […]

Kamaru Usman

Chael Sonnen believes Kamaru Usman’s next assignment should see him serve as the backup for UFC 294’s highly anticipated clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa.

On October 21, both men will make the walk to the Octagon for the first time in over a year in what could very well be a middleweight title eliminator. But with both fighters having a history of missing weight, Sonnen believes it would be smart for the promotion to have a backup in place. And in the three-time UFC title challenger’s mind, there is only one man for the job.

“It is paramount that they have a backup fighter in Abu Dhabi for Paulo Costa versus Chimaev. It is paramount and it can’t just be anybody cause that’s the feature match, that’s the main event as far as we’re all concerned. The right guy has to be ready. The right guy is not Jarred Cannonier. I’m not saying that to be negative,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.

“The right guy has a name, the right guy’s already asked for the fight, the right guy’s in shape. The right guy to fill in for Paulo Costa or Khamzat Chimaev, whichever one of them blinks first and they’re both blinking right now, little inside news for you, the fight guy is Kamaru Usman,” (h/t MiddleEasy).

Kamaru Usman Has Already Called for a Fight with Khamzat Chimaev

Usman has not competed since coming up short in his trilogy bout with Leon Edwards last March. Failing to reclaim the welterweight championship, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ has teased a potential move to 185 and, at one point, even called out Khamzat Chimaev for a clash inside the cage. Of course, the bout never came to fruition, but serving as a backup at UFC 294 could be a perfect opportunity for Usman to dip his toe into the division.

Usman could also find himself encouraged to move up a weight class with the rise of a brand new middleweight champion in Sean Strickland.

“I believe that Kamaru Usman should go to 185 pounds,” Sonnen continued. “That’s Chael’s belief. I also followed Usman as a wrestler, who wrestled at 184 pounds, so I know that size is not an issue for him. That’s his actual size. Usman is just fine at 185. I’m telling you that until I’m blue in the face but it’s true. He didn’t wanna do it at 185 because it would have become a number one contender’s match. And if he beat Chimaev, which he planned to do, he did not want to be in a position where he drew into Izzy.”

Kamaru Usman has also shown some interest in a potential meeting with two-time welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson. Currently, ‘Wonderboy’ is gearing up for a clash with undefeated standout Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 296 in December. If he can hand ‘Nomad’ his first career loss, Thompson could be primed for a showdown with the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ next year.

Joe Rogan touts Alexander Volkanovski as UFC’s No. 1 P4P fighter: ‘[Makhachev] lost that fight’

Alexander VolkanovskiLongtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski belongs at the top of the promotion’s P4P rankings. Since making his UFC debut in 2016, few fighters have been as dominant as Volkanovski. Despite that, ‘The Great’ finds himself firmly posited in the No. 2 spot in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings following a contentious […]

Alexander Volkanovski

Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski belongs at the top of the promotion’s P4P rankings.

Since making his UFC debut in 2016, few fighters have been as dominant as Volkanovski. Despite that, ‘The Great’ finds himself firmly posited in the No. 2 spot in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings following a contentious loss to reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in February. Volkanovski suffered a unanimous decision defeat in his bid to become a two-division titleholder, but many fighters and fans believe he did more than enough to dethrone the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ in The Land Down Under.

That includes popular podcaster Joe Rogan who firmly believes that Alexander Volkanovski deserved to have his hand raised and as a result, belongs at the time of the coveted P4P list.

“He’s No. 1 pound-for-pound,” Rogan said on his podcast. “They have him as not pound-for-pound [No. 1 in the UFC] because he lost that fight [to Islam Makhachev]. I think you could make a real argument that he won that fight. I think he won the fight. In my mind, he won the fight” (h/t MMA Fighting).

The way Rogan sees it, ‘The Great’ did a better job of imposing his will and delivering damage throughout the five-round affair.

“He did more damage,” Rogan said of Volkanovski. “I think he imposed his skill set. It’s also insanely impressive that he goes up from [featherweight] to fight a massive [lightweight]. That guy is as big at [155 pounds] as anybody is, and at the end of the fight, [Volkanovski] is on top beating him up. He drops him, gets on top of him and had massive moments throughout the fight.”

Joe Rogan Believes Charles Oliveira Will Benefit From Volkanovski’s Performance Against Islam Makhachev

On October 21, Makhachev will return to defend his title against Charles Oliveira in a long-awaited rematch between the pair. ‘Do Bronx’ came up short in their 2022 meeting, suffering a second-round submission, but after seeing Volkanovski take Makhachev to the limit, a blueprint for success against the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ could give Oliveira an advantage when it comes to reclaiming the 155-pound title.

“You kind of see vulnerability in Islam after that fight with Volkanovski,” Rogan explained. “First of all, you see how good Volkanovski really is. F*cking animal. [But] it sort of gives an air of vulnerability with Islam where before people were like, ‘This guy’s unstoppable.’”

Following Oliveira’s incredibly impressive bounce-back victory against Beneil Dariush in June, Rogan expects a much different ‘Do Bronx’ come UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.

“Looking at Charles versus Beneil Dariush, it’s like he’s back,” Rogan said.

Ex-UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy snaps two-fight losing skid, scores TKO in latest boxing endeavor

Greg HardyEx-UFC heavyweight standout Greg Hardy snapped a two-fight losing streak in the boxing ring on September 30. Once a highly touted heavyweight inside the Octagon, Greg Hardy exited the UFC in 2022 after suffering three straight knockouts against Marcin Tybura, Tai Tuivasa, and Serghei Spivak. Since then, ‘The Prince of War’ has found some success […]

Greg Hardy

Ex-UFC heavyweight standout Greg Hardy snapped a two-fight losing streak in the boxing ring on September 30.

Once a highly touted heavyweight inside the Octagon, Greg Hardy exited the UFC in 2022 after suffering three straight knockouts against Marcin Tybura, Tai Tuivasa, and Serghei Spivak. Since then, ‘The Prince of War’ has found some success in the squared circle, winning five of his first six post-UFC bouts, his lone loss during that stretch coming under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship banner.

Things took a bad turn for the former NFL prospect earlier this year, losing back-to-back fights including a humiliating first-round knockout loss to Alexander Flores in June.

On Saturday, Hardy brought an end to his two-fight skid with a win over 15-5 fighter Gregory Corbin under the Tower Club banner in Dallas, Texas. The bout only went one round as Corbin failed to muster much offense. Hardy did a good job of alternating attacks on the body and utilizing his jab while Corbin plodded around the ring repeatedly falling into the clinch, a strategy that would open him up to the occasional uppercut from Hardy.

In the waning moments of the opening round, Greg Hardy landed a big right hand that had Corbin staggered. It was then that Corbin’s corner decided they had seen enough and threw in the towel before the second round could get underway.

Including his defeat to Hardy, Gregory Corbin has now lost five straight fights after beginning his career with 15 wins in a row.

‘The Prince of War’ moved to 6-2 overall in his boxing career, though only three of those victories are official as the remaining three were all exhibition bouts.

Jake Paul unimpressed by Canelo Álvarez’s dominant win over Jermell Charlo: ‘Wait till [he] gets my power’

Jake PaulSocial media sensation Jake Paul sent a word of warning to Canelo Álvarez following the Mexican boxing superstar’s dominant win on Saturday night. Returning to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Canelo secured his 60th career win with a decisive unanimous decision victory over Jermell Charlo to retain the undisputed super middleweight world championship. It was […]

Jake Paul

Social media sensation Jake Paul sent a word of warning to Canelo Álvarez following the Mexican boxing superstar’s dominant win on Saturday night.

Returning to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Canelo secured his 60th career win with a decisive unanimous decision victory over Jermell Charlo to retain the undisputed super middleweight world championship. It was the first time that two undisputed titleholders had squared off in men’s boxing history.

The victory appeared to signal a return to form for Canelo who had received a significant amount of criticism following his three prior performances. However, the ‘Problem Child’ was still left unimpressed by what he saw and shared his desire to show the iconic pugilist what real power looks like inside the ring.

“Yeah Charlo is not really giving him anything, not really giving him that power,” Paul said in a clip from IFN Boxing on X. “Yeah, wait till Canelo gets my power, you know? Just wait, brother.”

It’s a rather bold statement from Jake Paul considering his power wasn’t enough to stop, or even earn a win over Tommy Fury in February.

Canelo Álvarez Open to a Fight with Jake Paul

Even with 62 pro fights under his belt, Canelo Álvarez is still just 33 years old, meaning he could have plenty of years left to compete at the highest possible level. But when he does decide to hang up his gloves for good, he’s more than willing to step inside the ring against Jake Paul for what would likely be an exhibition bout.

“When I’m done with boxing, why not? Maybe. Maybe I do it,” Alvarez told Full Send. “Why not? I think it’s good because other people who never watch boxing, they don’t know anything about boxing. They wanna watch Jake Paul because he brings fans from other worlds, not boxing fans. That’s good, because everybody enjoy it. What they do, I think they do for business and you need to respect that.”

Following his win over Charlo in Sin City, Canelo didn’t particularly care to speculate on who he would face next but was confident that his next bout would be during Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2024.