Tag: Featured

Dana White uses ONE Championship production blunder to take another dig at Showtime Boxing President

Dana WhiteDana White just can’t help himself. The UFC CEO has never been shy when it comes to his feelings about Showtime Boxing and Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza. Over the last week, the pair have been firing shots at one another, all kickstarted by White who had an almost giddy reaction to a report that […]

Dana White

Dana White just can’t help himself.

The UFC CEO has never been shy when it comes to his feelings about Showtime Boxing and Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza. Over the last week, the pair have been firing shots at one another, all kickstarted by White who had an almost giddy reaction to a report that Showtime Boxing would end its nearly 40-year run following the conclusion of the 2024 schedule.

Espinoza didn’t take kindly to the comments and snapped back, taking a dig at White’s perpetual unprofessionalism despite being the CEO of a publicly traded company.

“I’m shocked by the comments,” Espinoza told FightHype.com after a press conference for the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo pay-per-view event. “We’ve always known Dana to be so articulate and intelligent and witty with his comments. It’s so strange of him to lash out in anger. Who would have guessed that he would lash out in anger at somebody. We’ve never seen that before, right?”

He continued, “If that’s the only way he can engage in some sort of dialogue, then more power to him. I hope he can someday elevate his vocabulary and learn how to speak more eloquently and articulately. I think it’s something that might be necessarily helpful if you’re going to be a leader of a publicly traded company.”

Perhaps making Espinoza’s point, Dana White took another dig at the Showtime Sports President courtesy of an assist from rival combat sports promotion ONE Championship.

During the ONE Fight Night 14 broadcast on Friday night, an unidentified individual made his way on camera just as submission specialist Danielle Kelly was set to make her walk to the Circle.

It was a relatively minor production mishap, but White saw it as a golden opportunity to take a jab at both of his competitors. “Espinoza has taken over the Production for One FC,” White wrote on X.

It’s Not the First Time Dana White Has Slammed Showtime Boxing or Stephen Espinoza

It’s far from the first time Dana White has slammed Showtime Boxing and Espinoza ever since the pair teamed up to co-promote Conor McGregor’s boxing match with Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather in 2017.

“Showtime is f*cking horrible,” White said in August following the Power Slap 4 event. “Those guys suck so bad; you f*cking guys could show up with your f*cking video cameras and do a better job than Showtime. Seriously, it’s the worst production in all of television. F*cking PBS has better f*cking programming than Showtime. It’s horrible. Everybody who works on that f*cking show should be embarrassed” (h/t MMA Mania).

With Showtime Boxing reportedly closing up shop next year, perhaps Dana White will have the opportunity to show Espinoza how it’s done by launching his long-talked-about Zuffa Boxing concept.

Aljamain Sterling wins BJJ contest, calls for a rematch with Sean O’Malley: ‘Stop ducking the real contenders’

Aljamain SterlingFormer bantamweight world champion Aljamain Sterling had a few unsavory words for the man who took the title from him, ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley on Saturday night. A little more than a month removed from his devastating second-round loss to O’Malley at UFC 292, Aljamain Sterling stepped on the mat as part of the Polaris 25 […]

Aljamain Sterling

Former bantamweight world champion Aljamain Sterling had a few unsavory words for the man who took the title from him, ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley on Saturday night.

A little more than a month removed from his devastating second-round loss to O’Malley at UFC 292, Aljamain Sterling stepped on the mat as part of the Polaris 25 event in the UK. In addition to an eight-man Grand Prix tournament, submission grappling fans were treated to a superfight between the ‘Funk Master’ and former UFC standout, Mike Grundy. Sterling saw his hand raised, scoring a decision victory over Grundy.

Following the contest, Sterling sent a stern message to Sean O’Malley, telling the current 135-pound champ to either accept a rematch or take a fight with the next man in line.

“I got a message for mister sugar tits, because he’s still that to me,” Sterling said. “Give me my rematch or fight Merab [Dvalishvili]. It’s that simple. Stop ducking the real contenders and be a man and be a real champ and fight the best of the best. That’s what I did. Now you need to turn around and do the same exact sh*t.”

Whether It’s Aljamain Sterling or Someone Else, Sean O’Malley Already Knows What’s Next

Immediately following his win over Aljamain Sterling in August, Sean O’Malley called for a long-awaited rematch with the only man to defeat him inside the Octagon, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. The callout earned some criticism among fight fans considering ‘Chito’ had just bounced back from a loss to Cory Sandhagen in March. Meanwhile, No. 2 ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili is riding a nine-fight win streak, including a dominant victory over the very man that O’Malley beat to earn his own title opportunity, Petr Yan.

Regardless of what Aljamain Sterling may want to see happen at the top of the bantamweight division, the UFC appears to have already made its decision, as indicated by ‘Sugar’ in a recent interview with the promotion.

“I know exactly who, when, and where, but I got to play dumb,” O’Malley told UFC.com. “I know exactly what’s going on because, but I know the UFC is smart business and I know Dana White wants to wait and that’s what we’ll do. I want big fights. I want big PPVs. I remember saying this before being on the Contender Series. I want to break records and do massive PPVs; that’s what I still crave.”

Who do you see being the first man to challenge Sean O’Malley for the bantamweight title?

‘King’ Bobby Green says he’d ‘Wax’ LeBron James in proposed UFC vs. NBA crossover fight

Bobby GreenUFC lightweight contender ‘King’ Bobby Green believes he would easily handle 6’9? NBA icon LeBron James in a hypothetical fight. Over the last month, the UFC has seemingly experienced an unexpected and unsolicited crossover with NBA players and athletes who think their sheer size and stature would be enough to contend with some of the […]

Bobby Green

UFC lightweight contender ‘King’ Bobby Green believes he would easily handle 6’9″ NBA icon LeBron James in a hypothetical fight.

Over the last month, the UFC has seemingly experienced an unexpected and unsolicited crossover with NBA players and athletes who think their sheer size and stature would be enough to contend with some of the world’s best mixed martial artists. Recently, NBA journeyman James Johnson, who claims to have an undefeated MMA record, said that with a year of training, he could finish Jon Jones in a potential scrap.

Fight fans were also treated to some footage of UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski failing to submit Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray in 60 seconds or less.

Bobby Green Joins the UFC vs. NBA Crossover Conversation

Getting in on the act during an interview with TMZ Sports, Bobby Green suggested that if he were ever to find himself going toe-to-toe with LeBron James inside the Octagon, it wouldn’t even be close.

“If LeBron wanted to fight with me, it wouldn’t be close,” Green said. “He’s a big dude but he doesn’t have the skills I’m sorry. Skills pay the bills, sir.”

Asked if he would welcome a fight with the multi-time NBA All-Star, Green answered emphatically.

“In a drop of a dime,” Green replied. “In a heartbeat, without even thinking about it. Hell yeah. I’ll wax his a**!”

LeBron James was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. Two decades later, James has established himself as one of, if not the greatest player in the history of the game. During his tenure, James has led his team to the NBA Finals an astonishing 10 times and went home with the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy four times with three different teams.

Weighing in at 250 pounds, James is nearly 100 pounds heavier than Bobby Green on fight night. Despite that significant size gap, Green would undoubtedly defeat the L.A. Laker in an MMA bout, but it’s also safe to assume that James would absolutely embarrass Green if the two ever played a game of one-on-one.

Khamzat Chimaev is looking absolutely shredded weeks ahead of his UFC 294 clash with Paulo Costa

Khamzat ChimaevUndefeated Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev is absolutely shredded weeks ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Octagon. By the time ‘Borz’ steps inside the cage at UFC 294, it will have been more than a year since his first-round destruction of Kevin Holland. With a dozen career wins and zero losses, Chimaev has established […]

Khamzat Chimaev

Undefeated Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev is absolutely shredded weeks ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Octagon.

By the time ‘Borz’ steps inside the cage at UFC 294, it will have been more than a year since his first-round destruction of Kevin Holland. With a dozen career wins and zero losses, Chimaev has established himself as a title contender in practically any division he chooses. On October 21, he’ll attempt to put the entire middleweight division on notice when he squares off with one-time UFC title challenger Paulo Costa in Abu Dhabi.

With the bout just a few short weeks away, Khamzat Chimaev looks to be in the best shape of his life, courtesy of an image shared by TheMACLife on Instagram.

Screenshot 2023 09 30 2.13.45 PM

With a Win over Costa, Will Khamzat Chimaev Secure Himself a Shot at Sean Strickland?

With Sean Strickland scoring a shocking unanimous decision victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, the middleweight title picture has been blown wide open with many, including former three-time title challenge Chael Sonnen, suggesting that Khamzat Chimaev’s fight with Paulo Costa could serve as a potential championship eliminator.

“Now it’s my time,” Chimaev said in his YouTube vlog. “Smash that guy [Costa], then it doesn’t matter if it will be Izzy or Strickland or somebody else. We’re coming for them.”

Borz’ is a perfect 6-0 inside the Octagon, his most notable victory coming against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273. If he can add another big win against Costa in the UAE, Khamzat Chimaev will see himself thrust into the division’s top 10 and a likely candidate to challenge Sean Strickland next year.

Of course, he’ll have to go through his toughest test to date in Paulo Costa. Coming off a win over former middleweight champ Luke Rockhold in August 2022, ‘The Eraser’ is determined to climb back into the title picture after coming up short in his first title tilt with Israel Adesanya more than three years ago.

Video: UFC strawweight champ Zhang Weili picks up 300+ pound NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal

Zhang WeiliReigning UFC strawweight world champion Zhang Weili may come in a small package, but she packs a big punch and plenty of power. Fresh off her dominant unanimous decision victory over Amanda Lemos at UFC 292 in August, Zhang showed off some of that iconic strength by lifting up 7’1? and 325-pound NBA Hall of […]

Zhang Weili

Reigning UFC strawweight world champion Zhang Weili may come in a small package, but she packs a big punch and plenty of power.

Fresh off her dominant unanimous decision victory over Amanda Lemos at UFC 292 in August, Zhang showed off some of that iconic strength by lifting up 7’1″ and 325-pound NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in a clip, which you can see below, courtesy of Parry Punch on X.

It’s not the first time Zhang Weili has shown off her strength by picking up someone more than twice her size. Last year, a video of ‘Magnum’ raising former UFC heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou off the ground in a similar fashion went viral.

What’s Next for Zhang Weili?

After suffering back-to-back losses against ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas in 2021, Zhang Weili bounced back with three straight wins kicked off by a stunning second-round knockout against Joanna J?drzejczyk in a rematch of their 2020 classic. From there, ‘Magnum’ reclaimed the strawweight title with a rear-naked choke submission of two-time titleholder Carla Esparza at UFC 281.

With her decisive five-round performance against Amanda Lemos, Zhang improved her record to 8-2 inside the Octagon and 24-3 overall.

What comes next for ‘Magnum’ is yet to be determined, but the likeliest options have her competing against fellow countrywoman Yan Xiaonan or undefeated Covina, California native Tatiana Suarez.

“She’s good,” Zhang said of Suarez during the UFC 292 post-fight press event. “She’s undefeated. She’s a very good fighter. I think she can be a potential challenger next.”

Who would you like to see Zhang compete against in her next strawweight title defense?

Ex-UFC referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy answers for controversial call made more than a decade ago

UFCFormer UFC middleweight contender Tim Kennedy woke up on Wednesday and decided to break out a can of 10-year-old beef. Kennedy, who was once a prominent name in the division after making a name for himself under the Strikeforce banner is still a little salty about a decade-old fight between himself and Yoel Romero. After […]

UFC

Former UFC middleweight contender Tim Kennedy woke up on Wednesday and decided to break out a can of 10-year-old beef.

Kennedy, who was once a prominent name in the division after making a name for himself under the Strikeforce banner is still a little salty about a decade-old fight between himself and Yoel Romero.

After an impressive four-year stint in Strikeforce, Kennedy made his UFC debut in 2013 and promptly rattled off three-straight wins over Roger Gracie, Rafael Natal, and Michael Bisping. That streak led him to a big divisional matchup with Romero at UFC 178. Kennedy clearly lost the opening round, but he stormed back in the second, lighting up the ‘Soldier of God’ with a flurry of strikes.

In between the second and third rounds, there was some confusion that ultimately led to Romero being allowed to sit on his stool for longer than the traditional 60 seconds of allotted time between each round. With more time to recover, Romero came surging back in the third and finished Kennedy less than a minute into the final round.

Tim Kennedy was left fuming and apparently, a decade later, he’s still not over it.

“Robbery anniversary and the end of my fight career,” Kennedy wrote on X. “Dear Nevada Athletic Commission. NAC 467.728 If a combatant fails or refuses to resume competing when the bell sounds … the referee shall award a decision of TKO.”

Former UFC Ref John McCarthy Offers Explanation to Tim Kennedy

Kennedy’s comments didn’t go unnoticed by legendary UFC referee, and the man who just happened to be overseeing Kennedy’s fight with Romero that night, ‘Big’ John McCarthy.

Responding to Kennedy’s comments on social media, McCarthy offered a lengthy explanation for what happened that evening and why Romero was allowed to continue after taking longer than the allowed time.

“Tim you are an amazing person and I truly wish the very best life has to offer both you and your family,” McCarthy wrote. “Perhaps I could of done something differently during your fight. I wish I had the forethought to envision this exact situation before it ever occurred and that way I may have handled it differently.

“But you are not stating facts about what occurred. Yoel was told to stay seated by the NSAC Inspector. The truth is the Cutman hired and paid for by the UFC did not re-enter the cage when summoned to do so and that is what held up the start of the 3rd round. It is not Yoel’s fault that this occurred and the Cutman is not part of Yoel’s official corner. Language barriers did not help as well.

It’s egregious to penalize a person when they are not at fault and that is why there were no point deductions nor DQ. Was it completely fair to you? No I don’t believe it was, but there are times when there is no perfect solution in the moment. I hope the very best for you in all that you do.”

Most UFC fans were quick to suggest that Yoel Romero had intentionally milked the clock to allow himself more time to recover, but with McCarthy offering up his explanation, do you see it differently now?