Tag: Featured

UFC CEO Dana White revels in the rumored shutdown of Showtime Boxing: ‘It’s about time’

Dana WhiteUFC CEO Dana White is far from heartbroken over the potential shutdown of Showtime Boxing. Despite co-promoting Conor McGregor’s big-money matchup with Floyd Mayweather in 2017, White’s relationship with Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza has been strained to say the least. Recently, Boxing and UFC analyst ‘Raf’ on social media reported that Showtime Boxing, which […]

Dana White

UFC CEO Dana White is far from heartbroken over the potential shutdown of Showtime Boxing.

Despite co-promoting Conor McGregor’s big-money matchup with Floyd Mayweather in 2017, White’s relationship with Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza has been strained to say the least.

Recently, Boxing and UFC analyst ‘Raf’ on social media reported that Showtime Boxing, which debuted in 1986, would wrap up its nearly 40-year run following its 2024 schedule.

“I can confirm that Showtime will not be continuing their boxing schedule, after 2024. Following a number of conferences/calls across the pond over the past fortnight, I can attest that Showtime will be pulling the plug on boxing – after 37 years in the industry,” ‘Raf’ wrote on X. “It should be noted that the remaining schedule for the 2023 calendar year will remain unaffected.

“However, beyond 2024, there are no plans to renew current deals & that outside of sporadic PPVs… ShoBox will no longer be a feature and if Showtime dabbles in boxing again, it’ll be one-off PPV events only.”

Addressing members of the press following Tuesday’s episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, the UFC CEO appeared to revel in the news of Showtime Boxing’s rumored demise.

“That’s incredibly unfortunate,” White sarcastically told reporters. “Production of that show was fantastic. The guy who runs Showtime Boxing is a great human being. It’s unfortunate to hear this. F*ck Espinoza, and it’s about time that sh*tty product is off the air.”

Showtime Sports President Snaps Back at Dana White

With Showtime Boxing potentially closing up shop, that could leave a big gap in the market. A perfect opportunity for White to launch his long-teased Zuffa Boxing promotion. Asked about the possibility, White said:

“You never know. Sounds good to me” (h/t MMA Junkie).

Getting wind of White’s comments, Espinoza snapped back during his appearance at the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo press conference.

“Not all combat sports is the same. No disrespect to anyone, but there are levels to this,” Espinoza said. “This event will generate a gate (money from ticket sales) of over $20 million. Our third $20 million+ gate in the last six months. To put that in perspective – the UFC has never done a $20 million gate in its entire history. We’ve done it three times since April.”

Exclusive: The Schmo believes Conor McGregor’s last fight could be trilogy bout with Nate Diaz at UFC 300

Conor McGregorMMA journalist Dave Schmulenson, better known by fight fans as The Schmo believes Conor McGregor only has one fight left in him before walking away from mixed martial arts altogether. It’s been more than two years since the Irishman suffered a devastating leg break in the opening round of his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier […]

Conor McGregor

MMA journalist Dave Schmulenson, better known by fight fans as The Schmo believes Conor McGregor only has one fight left in him before walking away from mixed martial arts altogether.

It’s been more than two years since the Irishman suffered a devastating leg break in the opening round of his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. Since then, McGregor has managed to keep his name in the headlines by calling out practically every fighter on the roster whilst continually insisting that his return to the Octagon is imminent. Originally, fans expected to see the former two-division titleholder back in action in December at UFC 296, but after failing to re-enter the USADA testing pool for a required six months of pre-fight screening, his comeback was pushed back to sometime in 2024.

As for his opponent, many assume it will be former Bellator champion Michael Chandler, the man McGregor competed against during his stint as a coach on the 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter. However, that is certainly not the only option.

Speaking with Mike Owens in a LowKick MMA exclusive, The Schmo suggested that McGregor will likely return for one big final fight at UFC 300 next year which could very well be against Michael Chandler. But it’s also possible that the Irishman may book himself a long-awaited trilogy fight with Nate Diaz for his UFC swan song.

“Is Conor McGregor gonna fight Michael Chandler or is Conor McGregor going to come back and have the Nate Diaz trilogy? I truly feel like if Conor McGregor comes back to the UFC, he’s got one fight left and is it going to be [Michael Chandler] or is it going to be the trilogy with Nate Diaz, which he’s always promised?

“What’s going to be super interesting to watch is UFC 300 is around the corner and that is a huge deal. Going to fall in April, or March at the earliest, and what are they going to do there? Because if Conor McGregor is on the [UFC] 300 fight card, he’s the main event. What are they going to do? They’re not going to stack it with title fights. Or on the flip side, do they stake with title fights and they have three or four title fights for UFC 300? Then Conor McGregor wouldn’t be on that card.”

Diaz and McGregor first competed at UFC 296 in 2016 with the ‘Stockton Samurai’ scoring a second-round submission. Five months later, the pair would run it back at UFC 202 with ‘The Notorious’ earning a majority decision victory to even the series at 1-1.

If The Schmo’s words prove to be true and McGregor only has one fight left, would you rather it be against ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler or familiar foe Nate Diaz?

Dillon Danis training with ex-UFC middleweight champ Alex Pereira ahead of clash with Logan Paul

Dillon DanisBJJ specialist Dillon Danis has enlisted the assistance of three-time GLORY Kickboxing world champion Alex Pereira ahead of his highly anticipated clash with social media sensation Logan Paul. On October 14, Danis is scheduled to make his long-awaited return to competitive combat sports when he steps inside the squared circle for a scrap with Paul […]

Dillon Danis

BJJ specialist Dillon Danis has enlisted the assistance of three-time GLORY Kickboxing world champion Alex Pereira ahead of his highly anticipated clash with social media sensation Logan Paul.

On October 14, Danis is scheduled to make his long-awaited return to competitive combat sports when he steps inside the squared circle for a scrap with Paul as part of Misfits Boxing’s ‘The PRIME Card’ in Manchester, England. With the bout closing in and some serious bragging rights at stake, Danis has called in one of the UFC’s biggest guns to help him get ready for his boxing debut.

In a post on social media, Danis revealed that he has been training with none other than the former UFC middleweight world champion, Alex Pereira.

“Heavy rounds today with @AlexPereiraUFC Don’t worry Logan, get the ring cards ready for Nina,” Danis wrote. “I’ll be there October 14th and I’m gonna break your face p*ssy.”

Ahead of his epic UFC 293 title win against Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland was also spotted training alongside Alex Pereira. Will Dillon Danis see similar results from his work with the heavy-handed Brazilian?

The Warfare Between Dillon Danis and Logan Paul Began Long Before Their Scheduled Scrap

The showdown between Dillon Danis and Logan Paul may still be a few weeks away, but the war has been raging on from the moment that the bout was officially announced. Over the last month and a half, Danis has routinely targeted Paul on social media by regularly taking digs at the WWE Superstar’s fiancee, swimsuit model Nina Agdal. Danis has relentlessly trolled Agdal, using her dating history as an opportunity slut-shame the Dane more than 250 times online.

However, Danis appeared to take things too far when he posted a sexually explicit image of Agdal on X. The photo was reportedly taken during “a romantic encounter” more than a decade ago and was not meant for public distribution. As a result, Agdal filed a lawsuit against Danis noting that he had violated state and federal ‘revenge porn’ laws by sharing the photo without her consent. That move could end up costing Danis hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Despite that, Dillon Danis has still regularly taken digs at both Agdal and Paul on social media, but the frequency of his posts has slowed significantly due to the impending lawsuit and an enforced restraining order preventing Danis from posting any sexually explicit photos of Agdal.

Exclusive: The Schmo praises Charles Oliveira’s ability to bounce back: ‘There’s something so special about him’

Charles OliveiraRenowned MMA journalist The Schmo would never bet against former UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira. On October 21, ‘Do Bronx’ will attempt to once again claim the 155-pound title as he challenges reigning champion Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 294, emanating from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Their highly anticipated title rematch […]

Charles Oliveira

Renowned MMA journalist The Schmo would never bet against former UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira.

On October 21, ‘Do Bronx’ will attempt to once again claim the 155-pound title as he challenges reigning champion Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 294, emanating from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Their highly anticipated title rematch will come almost exactly one year removed from their first meeting. On that night, Oliveira suffered a disastrous second-round submission loss to the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ but has since bounced back with a convincing first-round TKO against top-10 contender Beneil Dariush.

Speaking with Mike Owens in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview, Dave Schmulenson, better known by MMA fans as The Schmo, spoke about Charles Oliveira’s impressive ability to come back from a devastating defeat, something that ‘Do Bronx’ has been doing throughout his entire career.

“If you look at Charles Oliveira, he’s the epitome of why combat sports are the greatest sports on the planet,” Schmulenson said. “He’s what makes the UFC brilliant. It’s that anyone can win on any given night and so many people… Look at all the dog fights. Look at the [Dustin] Poirier fight. Look at the [Justin] Gaethje fight. Look at the Michael Chandler fight. Everybody was writing off Charles Oliveira and he had moments in all those fights where you thought he’d get beat.

“For him to come, do what he does, finish fights, and do it in spectacular fashion. He’s got this aura about it. There’s something so special about him and even as I’ve interviewed him as The Schmo and we don’t speak the same language and there’s translators communicating, I’ve always felt an aura with him. A sense of confidence and this greater human achieving greater things and that’s why I say I would not doubt Charles Oliveira. I would not bet against Charles Oliveira because there’s just something so special about him.

“I’m very interested to see how this fight goes and I do know that Islam Makhachev is truly the real deal.”

Can Charles Oliveira Make Another Big Come Back at UFC 294?

Considered by many as the greatest lightweight in the history of the division, Charles Oliveira has seen his fair share of setbacks inside the Octagon. ‘Do Bronx’ has been finished eight times in his UFC career, but after dropping four out of six between 2015 and 2017, Oliveira saw a massive career resurgence, scoring 11 straight wins with only one of those victories coming by way of a decision.

During that run, Oliveira claimed the vacant lightweight title with a big win over Michael Chandler but tragically lost the belt on the scale after weighing in heavy for his UFC 274 scrap with Justin Gaethje. ‘Do Bronx’ went on to win the fight against Gaethje, but would come up short in his bid to reclaim the 155-pound crown against Makhachev at UFC 280.

Will Charles Oliveira solve the puzzle his second time around, or will the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ continue his reign of terror over the lightweight division?

Report: Mark Hunt loses lawsuit filed against the UFC, Dana White, and Brock Lesnar

Mark HuntOne-time UFC title challenger Mark Hunt has taken another L, this time in the courtroom after six long years of litigation against his former employer. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Nevada dismissed Mark Hunt’s case accusing the UFC, Brock Lesnar, and Dana White of battery, fraud, and conspiracy stemming from Hunt’s scrap at UFC […]

Mark Hunt

One-time UFC title challenger Mark Hunt has taken another L, this time in the courtroom after six long years of litigation against his former employer.

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Nevada dismissed Mark Hunt’s case accusing the UFC, Brock Lesnar, and Dana White of battery, fraud, and conspiracy stemming from Hunt’s scrap at UFC 200 on July 9, 2016, against Lesnar. Hunt initially lost the bout via unanimous decision, but the result was later overturned to a no-contest after it was revealed that the WWE Superstar had tested positive for a banned substance in pre and post-fight drug tests. The result of the pre-fight test was flagged by USADA 11 days before their bout.

Mark Hunt alleged that the promotion was made aware of Lesnar’s positive test and intentionally kept it under wraps to keep Lesnar’s name on the card. U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey found that Hunt failed to prove that the trio had conspired to keep Lesnar booked despite prior knowledge that he was using performance-enhancing drugs.

“In sum, each of Hunt’s fraud theories requires far too many inferential leaps and ignores too much contrary evidence for a jury to reasonably find in his favor, particularly by clear and convincing evidence,” wrote Dorsey in a 27-page opinion, which was first reported by Conduct Detrimental writer Jason Morrin.

This is the second time that Mark Hunt has failed to score a win against the UFC in the courtroom. In 2017, the New Zealander attempted to sue the promotion, White and Lesnar for alleged racketeering, fraud, and breach of contract, among other claims. Judge Dorsey ruled against Hunt and dismissed all claims before the lawsuit was revived in 2021 via an appeals court reversal.

“I tried to make things even on the battlefield of MMA, but again, the cheating company, Dana White, UFC with all its billions, they ripped everyone off win again,” Hunt said after a 2019 ruling. “Someone will die against a steroid-using cheater, and your sh*t ripoff company will be at fault, UFC” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Mark Hunt Retired from Combat Sports Four Years Following His Final UFC Fight

Following the fight with Brock Lesnar, Mark Hunt competed five more times inside the Octagon, wrapping up his contract with the promotion in 2018 whilst his lawsuit against the company was raging on. He finished his run with the promotion dropping four of his last five.

Hunt returned to the boxing ring in 2022, scoring a fourth-round TKO against Sonny Bill Williams before walking away from combat sports altogether.

“I’m done fighting,” Hunt said in 2022. “I think I lost the passion a long time ago when I filed this lawsuit against the UFC. They took that passion away from me, to be honest. The only fight I’ve had since I left the UFC was a boxing match, [and] I couldn’t get another match anywhere. I don’t think any company would pick me up because of this lawsuit, to be honest.”

Report: Mark Hunt loses lawsuit filed against the UFC, Dana White, and Brock Lesnar

Mark HuntOne-time UFC title challenger Mark Hunt has taken another L, this time in the courtroom after six long years of litigation against his former employer. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Nevada dismissed Mark Hunt’s case accusing the UFC, Brock Lesnar, and Dana White of battery, fraud, and conspiracy stemming from Hunt’s scrap at UFC […]

Mark Hunt

One-time UFC title challenger Mark Hunt has taken another L, this time in the courtroom after six long years of litigation against his former employer.

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Nevada dismissed Mark Hunt’s case accusing the UFC, Brock Lesnar, and Dana White of battery, fraud, and conspiracy stemming from Hunt’s scrap at UFC 200 on July 9, 2016, against Lesnar. Hunt initially lost the bout via unanimous decision, but the result was later overturned to a no-contest after it was revealed that the WWE Superstar had tested positive for a banned substance in pre and post-fight drug tests. The result of the pre-fight test was flagged by USADA 11 days before their bout.

Mark Hunt alleged that the promotion was made aware of Lesnar’s positive test and intentionally kept it under wraps to keep Lesnar’s name on the card. U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey found that Hunt failed to prove that the trio had conspired to keep Lesnar booked despite prior knowledge that he was using performance-enhancing drugs.

“In sum, each of Hunt’s fraud theories requires far too many inferential leaps and ignores too much contrary evidence for a jury to reasonably find in his favor, particularly by clear and convincing evidence,” wrote Dorsey in a 27-page opinion, which was first reported by Conduct Detrimental writer Jason Morrin.

This is the second time that Mark Hunt has failed to score a win against the UFC in the courtroom. In 2017, the New Zealander attempted to sue the promotion, White and Lesnar for alleged racketeering, fraud, and breach of contract, among other claims. Judge Dorsey ruled against Hunt and dismissed all claims before the lawsuit was revived in 2021 via an appeals court reversal.

“I tried to make things even on the battlefield of MMA, but again, the cheating company, Dana White, UFC with all its billions, they ripped everyone off win again,” Hunt said after a 2019 ruling. “Someone will die against a steroid-using cheater, and your sh*t ripoff company will be at fault, UFC” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Mark Hunt Retired from Combat Sports Four Years Following His Final UFC Fight

Following the fight with Brock Lesnar, Mark Hunt competed five more times inside the Octagon, wrapping up his contract with the promotion in 2018 whilst his lawsuit against the company was raging on. He finished his run with the promotion dropping four of his last five.

Hunt returned to the boxing ring in 2022, scoring a fourth-round TKO against Sonny Bill Williams before walking away from combat sports altogether.

“I’m done fighting,” Hunt said in 2022. “I think I lost the passion a long time ago when I filed this lawsuit against the UFC. They took that passion away from me, to be honest. The only fight I’ve had since I left the UFC was a boxing match, [and] I couldn’t get another match anywhere. I don’t think any company would pick me up because of this lawsuit, to be honest.”