Tag: Global MMA

Anderson Silva Undecided On Boxing Future After Chavez Jr. Win: ‘I Am A Free Man’

SilvaAnderson Silva is undecided on what’s next for him in the world of combat sports. Silva enjoyed an impressive return to boxing when he outpointed former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in their eight-round boxing match last night in Mexico. Many have since called for him to continue in the sweet science with one […]

Silva

Anderson Silva is undecided on what’s next for him in the world of combat sports.

Silva enjoyed an impressive return to boxing when he outpointed former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in their eight-round boxing match last night in Mexico.

Many have since called for him to continue in the sweet science with one particular fight of interesting being a contest with Roy Jones Jr.

As far as Silva is concerned, however, he won’t be making any decisions for the time being. Part of that is because he feels he doesn’t have anything to prove.

“I don’t know,” Silva said about his fighting future (via MMA Fighting). “Now, I go back to my home and my son has a fight very soon, a kickboxing fight and I’ll go help my son. Maybe I fight jiu-jitsu, maybe I fight gi or no-gi, maybe I have next boxing fight. I don’t know. Right now, my focus is helping my son.

“Let me tell you something, I don’t have nothing more to prove to anybody. The boxing community have shown me respect, for my opponent I showed my respect, for the people here in Mexico. I love Mexico. I don’t know. Maybe I fight again in boxing. I’m free right now. I’m a free man. I try to do my best in everything I do in my life. My focus right now is to help my son. My son has a fight very soon and I’ll go help my son in training. I’m training my son for his next fight. The future is amazing. Everything is possible. Maybe I fight again or not. Right now my focus is enjoy my day and help my son to the next fight.”

As for the win, it was an emotional moment for Silva who had a rough end to his UFC career. That said, he can’t compare the win to some of his biggest moments inside the Octagon.

“I can’t compare,” Silva added. “This is completely different. You can’t compare. You come to Mexico, it’s a traditional sport here. You’re doing a big show for the whole Mexican people. I’m emotional right now. It’s completely different. I can’t compare.”

Whatever’s next for Silva, his fans will most certainly be watching.

Official – Patricio Pitbull vs. A.J. McKee Headlines Bellator 263 On July 31

PitbullThe Bellator featherweight Grand Prix finale between two-weight champion, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire, and the #1 ranked featherweight contender, A.J. ‘Mercenary’ McKee has finally got its landing pad — in the form of a main event tilt at Bellator 263 from Los Angeles, California on July 31.  Headlining the promotion’s return to California, Pitbull looks to […]

Pitbull

The Bellator featherweight Grand Prix finale between two-weight champion, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire, and the #1 ranked featherweight contender, A.J. ‘Mercenary’ McKee has finally got its landing pad — in the form of a main event tilt at Bellator 263 from Los Angeles, California on July 31. 

Headlining the promotion’s return to California, Pitbull looks to lodge the sixth successful defence of his undisputed featherweight championship under the Scott Coker-led banner, following his most recent win over two-time foe, Emanuel Sanchez at Bellator 255 in April — stopping the Milwaukee native with a first round guillotine.

For Long Beach standout, McKee, he’ll make his 18. walk under the Bellator banner, attempting to lift gold at the first time of asking, after a hugely innovative hybrid neck crank finish over former bantamweight gold holder, Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 253 in November of 2019. McKee currently holds a perfect professional record of 17-0. MMA Fighting reporters, Guilherme Cruz and Damon Martin were first to report the finale bout, whilst Bellator officials confirmed the matchup this afternoon. 

Riding a seven-fight undefeated streak into the tournament finale, Pitbull began the featherweight Grand Prix with a unanimous decision win over former bantamweight champion, Juan Archuleta back in September of 2019 before progressing into the quarter final stage where he defended his crown with a quickfire one-punch knockout over Straight Blast Gym mainstay, Pedro Carvalho.

A Bellator feature since his 13. professional fight dating back to April of 2010, Freire has also lodged other notable victories against the likes of Wilson Reis (x2), Georgi Karakhanyan, Daniel Straus (x3), Daniel Weichel (x2), Pat Curran, Henry Corrales, and took the lightweight championship from recent UFC lightweight title challenger, three-time Bellator gold holder, Michael Chandler.

On route to his final appearance, McKee, the son of Bellator feature, the veteran, Antonio McKee — has managed to notch wins over contenders, common-foe, Georgi Karakhanyan and promotional alum, Derek Campos. 

With six knockouts to go with another six submission successes, McKee has been a Bellator staple since his professional debut back in April of 2015 — spending his 17-fight career under their banner. 

Antonio ‘Big Foot’ Silva Contests Stoppage In His Return To MMA

Antonio 'Bigfoot' SilvaAntonio ‘Big Foot’ Silva is back in the cage but is disputing the TKO stoppage loss in his return fight. Silva recently returned to MMA under the Megdan Fighting promotion out of Serbia. In the main event of Megdan Fighting 9, Silva faced Quentin Domingos, an up-and-coming fighter from Portugal. The fight was Silva’s first […]

Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva

Antonio ‘Big Foot’ Silva is back in the cage but is disputing the TKO stoppage loss in his return fight.

Silva recently returned to MMA under the Megdan Fighting promotion out of Serbia. In the main event of Megdan Fighting 9, Silva faced Quentin Domingos, an up-and-coming fighter from Portugal. The fight was Silva’s first since a defeat at the hands of Vitaly Minakov at Fight Nights Global 68 back in June 2017.

Silva and Domingos entered the second round exchanging shots. As Silva was trying to defend a flurry from Domingos, he fell to the ground. The referee stopped the fight 28 seconds into the round, as Silva was trying to get back on his feet.  

Silva immediately protested and then took to social media to voice his complaints.

“Why the refer to stop the fight? @megdan.fighting … You train for months, give up many things like food, fun and sometimes even family to get 100% in a fight, then a referee comes along and spoils all the hard work you did every day , losing or winning is part of it but unfortunately some people do not know or understand the sport they are part of… They sent me this video to give me an idea that there was no reason for the referee to stop the fight…#megdanfighting”

From the two videos posted to Silva’s Instagram and a fan’s Twitter, Silva attempted to defend and get back up, supporting his claim that the stoppage was premature.

Antonio ‘Big Foot’ Silva needs a win.

It’s understandable why Silva wants this decision reviewed and hopefully overturned. This decision places him on an eight-fight skid, with eleven losses in his last twelve fights. Silva’s only victory over the previous eight years was a TKO over Soa Palelei at UFC 190 in 2015.

Do you think that the referee stopped Antonio ‘Big Foot’ Silva’s return prematurely?

Jared Cannonier Supports Paulo Costa’s Decision To Withdraw: Someone’s Gotta Fight For Us To Get Paid More

CannonierUFC middleweight contender, Jared Cannonier appeared set to meet with most recent title challenger, Paulo Costa at a UFC Fight Night event on August 21. — however, last Saturday reports emerged detailing that Costa had withdrawn from the bout, before citing his displeasure with how underpaid MMA fighters are compared to YouTube content creators amid […]

Cannonier

UFC middleweight contender, Jared Cannonier appeared set to meet with most recent title challenger, Paulo Costa at a UFC Fight Night event on August 21. — however, last Saturday reports emerged detailing that Costa had withdrawn from the bout, before citing his displeasure with how underpaid MMA fighters are compared to YouTube content creators amid their recent influx into combat sports.

Cannonier, who suffered a fractured ulna in his last Octagon appearance at UFC 254 back in October on ‘Fight Island’ against former division champion, Robert Whittaker, is now expected to meet with former interim title challenger, Kelvin Gastelum on short notice in August — with the latter replacing Costa for the second bout running. 

Belo Horizonte native, Costa responded to claims that he had withdrawn from the pairing, by suggesting that he had actually never officially signed a bout agreement to meet with the Texan on August 21. — before questioning how YouTubers like Jake and Logan Paul could earn significantly higher fight purses for both professional and exhibition boxing matches over the last two months than MMA fighters.

In response to those claims, UFC president, Dana White stated that he believes Costa did, in fact, sign to fight Cannonier, before claiming that the #2 ranked middleweight challenger was in no position to request “crazy money” off the back of his knockout loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 253 in September — describing the performance as “ridiculous, and horrible“”.

“I don’t think that’s true, I think he did sign (to fight Cannonier) because we extended him — we extended his contract, for turning down the fight,” White said. “But, listen, don’t fight. I have to offer you three fights a year, this is my situation with all these guys. I offer you three fights a year — he doesn’t have to fight, no problem, don’t fight.“

“Guess what, you (Paulo Costa) should have started a YouTube channel when you were f*cking 13-years-old and built your name up and everything else. You could have had the fight on Saturday (Sunday) night (Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul) but you didn’t, you’re not a f*cking YouTuber, you’re a fighter, and this is what you do for a living — or you don’t. It’s up to you.“

“You’re (Costa) in no position to be talking about crazy money after your last performance, okay?” White continued. “So, you either want to fight or you don’t want to fight. No problem, you don’t wanna fight, you can hang out and do whatever you want. When you’re ready, you let me know. 

Giving his thoughts on the switch up in opponent and the reasoning surrounding the reshuffle, Cannonier explained that the argument surrounding fighter pay was common amongst fighter circles, before explaining that somebody needs to come forward in a bid to help mixed martial artists receive a higher percentage of generated revenue from promotions.

“Well, I don’t know how much he’s (Paulo Costa) is getting paid per fight,” Cannonier said during a recent interview with Submission Radio. “MMA fighters, UFC fighters, MMA in general, fighters don’t get paid as much in comparison to the organizations or the promotions are getting paid. So, yeah, I mean, I understand the argument. I can’t hate on him or knock him or chastise him for having his stance. It’s a very bold stance to say, ‘I’m not gonna fight unless you guys pay me some more money.’ But, yeah, someone’s gotta fight for us fighters to get paid more.“

Cannonier went on to suggest that Costa may even be removed from the official middleweight rankings as a consequence of his recent outburst against the UFC brass.

“And I’m not gonna turn down a fatter paycheck either,” Cannonier explained. “So, it is what it is. It’s his (Costa’s) choice. With that being said, he has to be able to deal with the consequences of that, not fighting and maybe even losing his position (in the rankings). He’s ranked #2 right there. He’s just fought for the title (in September), so he’s right there. He can get right back in there with a few wins. But once you get a title fight, that’s when you start getting pay-per-view points, that’s when I hear the money starts rolling in. I wouldn’t know. I’m not there yet.“

Russia’s Dwarf Athletic Association Concerned By ‘Unethical’ Hasbulla Magomedov Fight

Hasbulla MagomedovThe Russian Athletic Association for dwarfs has voiced their displeasure toward the social media interest in a potential fight between social media star, Hasbullah Magomedov and Abdu Rozik — labeling the potential fight as “unethical“. The potential fight, which is expected to be organized by professional mixed martial artist, Asxab Tameav, is currently yet to […]

Hasbulla Magomedov

The Russian Athletic Association for dwarfs has voiced their displeasure toward the social media interest in a potential fight between social media star, Hasbullah Magomedov and Abdu Rozik — labeling the potential fight as “unethical“.

The potential fight, which is expected to be organized by professional mixed martial artist, Asxab Tameav, is currently yet to be nailed down, however, footage of a face-off between Magomedov and Rozik circulated through social media over the last number of days, gaining sizeable exposure.

Magomedov, who is commonly known as ‘Little Khabib’ — in reference to former UFC lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, has gained social media exposure over the last couple of weeks, however, the head of Russia’s Dwarf Athletic Association, Uliana Podpalnaya has called the potential mixed martial arts fight between Magomedov and Rozik “unethical” during a recent interview with Gazeta.ru as per RT Sport.

“It’s not even like a show fight — they (Magomedov and Rozik) get paid a lot of money and it’s a show to make people laugh,” Podpalyana said. “There’s nothing serious about this, this isn’t sport. This is unethical, wrong, from my point of view. It seems to be that only on the one hand it can be correct and beautiful — if martial arts among small people are made a Paralympic sport.“

“It could be Judo, Karate, and people will understand that this is a serious sport, serious performances, and not some kind of laughing show,” Podpalyana explained. “Events like this don’t draw attention to the sport of little people. If interest in this appears, it’s only business a lot of money is being invested in it. And from the point of view of the sports career growth of these guys, there are no prospects.“

Magomedov, 18, has gained fame as a star on the social media network, Tik Tok — where he had gained popularity and views for impersonating the above-mentioned, fellow Dagestan native, Nurmagomedov, whom he has been pictured with in the past on his social media. 

Both Magoemdov and Rozik suffer from a growth disorder in which their disease makes them appear younger than they actually are, as well as their dwarfism. 

Earlier this afternoon, the aforementioned, Tamaev posted a series of video clips on his official Instagram account, that has 4.3 million followers, which show Magomedov super-imposed into various scenarios, such as a goalkeeper saving a penalty, and as two-time UFC welterweight title challenger, Jorge Masvidal during his five-second flying knee knockout win over Ben Askren. Throughout the comment section, many users have reacted with laughing face emojis to the post and video content.

Dan Hardy Confirms He’s Been Officially Granted His Release From The UFC

HardyAfter detailing recently that he was hoping to cut ties with the UFC in regards to his fighter contract, one-time welterweight title challenger, Dan Hardy has officially been granted his release from the promotion following a thirteen-year stint.  The Nottingham native had planned a return to active competition for the first time since September 2012 […]

Hardy

After detailing recently that he was hoping to cut ties with the UFC in regards to his fighter contract, one-time welterweight title challenger, Dan Hardy has officially been granted his release from the promotion following a thirteen-year stint. 

The Nottingham native had planned a return to active competition for the first time since September 2012 — after he was cleared to compete back in 2018 after his career was initially put on hold when he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

Announcing officially that he had been cleared to compete professionally again, Hardy had noted plans to enter the USADA testing pool in a bid to kick start his professional mixed martial arts career again.

Hardy, who featured prominently as a colour commentator and analyst particularly during the promotion’s international events, saw his broadcasting contract with the UFC terminated due to a reported “disagreement” with an employee from the organization earlier this year. 

Appearing on the Submission Radio podcast recently, Hardy explained that he was hoping to secure his release from the UFC, claiming that he was finding it difficult to put together a comeback fight, and even if he managed to score a hiatus snapping return, he doubts it would come against a fellow veteran, which would be his preference.

“I’ve asked two different people for my release from the UFC because obviously with one contract coming to an end (broadcaster) it makes sense for me to leave with my fight contract as well,” Hardy said. “I’m currently trying to get my release from the UFC so then I can start looking at other places. I’ve got a few ideas, a few options that I’d like to consider. It’s just getting hold of someone. I might have to recruit Joshua Fabia to get someone’s attention at some point.“

“I think if it even got to the stage where I could get (the) UFC to give me an opponent, it’s not going to be one of the ones that I want,” Hardy explained. “They’re not matching veterans with veterans anymore. They’re matching veterans with the new guys coming up so they can build the next name. I’m not interested in fighting someone nobody knows. You want ‘Cowboy’ (Cerrone), Matt Brown. They would never in a million years give me the Nick Diaz fight. They’ll use Nick Diaz to build someone else up. I just don’t want to be in that situation. Plus, my fight contract is eight years old so you can imagine the numbers on it.“

Confirming his official release to MMA Fighting today, Hardy detailed how he had been informed by the UFC that he was officially a free agent in a letter that he received on Tuesday night, and thus, is now eligible to field offers from other interested organizations. 

Prior to his release, Hardy had made it known that he was hopeful of securing a comeback in the not-too-distant future, earmarking potential showdowns against the likes of past foe, Carlos Condit, Donald Cerrone, Matt Brown, or even fellow former title challenger, Nick Diaz — who is long-speculated to make his return to the Octagon this year for the first time since January of 2015.

Attending UFC 261 in April, Diaz was, according to promotional president, Dana White set to meet with him backstage after the event to discuss a potential comeback. And while White claimed that the meeting was promising, he has since subsequently questioned Diaz’s desire to return to the sport. 

“Just the amount of time that he’s taken off already,” White explained. “When you hear him talk about fighting, you hear him talk about the sport, and I sit down daily or talk to daily (with) hungry, young savages, they want to break into the top-ten, become world champions, all that stuff.Nick Diaz has done it all, seen it all, he’s been in big fights, I just don’t see that in him when I talk to him.“

Echoing calls for a showdown against the elder Diaz brother, Hardy has called for White to release the Stockton veteran from his UFC deal if he is questioning his desire to fight again — suggesting a clash between the two under the Nobuyuki Sakakibara-led Rizin FF banner in Japan. 

“If Uncle Dana (White) doesn’t think @nickdiaz209 (Nick Diaz) actually wants to fight, they should release him so we can fight on #Rizin in Japan,” Hardy tweeted. “Oldschool #PrideFC style. The #GoldenAge of #MMA.“

Calling time on his career back in September of 2012, Hardy featured in a UFC Fight Night Nottingham homecoming opposite Amir Sadollah, taking home a unanimous decision victory.

The former two-weight Cage Warriors champion challenged Georges St-Pierre for the undisputed UFC welterweight championship back in March of 2010 at UFC 111 — suffering a unanimous decision loss. 

With a professional record of 25-10 — Hardy has scored notable career triumphs over the likes of Daniel Weichel, Akihiro Gono, Rory Markham, Marcus Davis, Mike Swick, and Duane Ludwig.