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Boxing fans waiting on pins and needles for the anticipated Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury rematch may be forced to wait even longer.

The fight was supposedly supposed to be announced during a press conference in Great Britain today. However, a major announcement may have thrown a serious wrench in those plans. Fury and promoter Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions announced a multi-year partnership with ESPN and Bob Arum’s Top Rank Boxing.

The deal will feature a minimum of two fights a year airing on ESPN and the network’s streaming service ESPN+. Fury also re-signed with BT Sport to be his exclusive U.K. home as part of the new deal. Fury expressed excitement at the new deal on social media this morning:

Big thanks to @MTKGlobal and @frankwarren_tv for getting this deal done. Now the best heavyweight on the plant has a home in @espn and a home in @btsport pic.twitter.com/lbOME1TM51

— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) February 18, 2019

A New Horizon

Fury also discussed his future involving the new deal (via CBS Sports):

“I’m delighted that Frank and Queensberry Promotions have teamed up with Top Rank to promote my fights in America. With ESPN and BT Sport behind me, the biggest sports platforms in the world are now linked up with the best heavyweight in the world!”

Arum also expressed his own excitement at entering the partnership with Queensberry Promotions as he hyped Fury:

“Top Rank is very excited to enter into the promotional arrangement along with Queensberry Promotions for the lineal heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury,” Arum said. “He is a generational heavyweight talent at the peak of his powers. We also look forward to our growing relationship with MTK Global, which represents so many world-class fighters.”

Wilder Rematch Off The Table?

While, Fury, Warren, and Arum are all understandably excited at the prospect of the new ESPN deal, there is cause for major concern, however. Fury and Warren stated that the Wilder rematch was still being worked on for this year. However, Warren said that Wilder’s team was not informed of the ESPN deal before it was announced today.

Wilder fights under the Premier Boxing Champions brand, where his fights air on Showtime and FOX. He and Fury fought to a furious split draw in early December. Most thought

Fury controlled the majority of the action but Wilder dropped him twice. After the fight, talk of a rematch swirled immediately. The rematch date was expected to be confirmed as early as this week. The WBC ordered a purse bid due to the controversial nature of the first bout, but that was postponed because it was thought the rematch was so close to truly happening.

Problems Arise In Negotiations

For those not familiar with the intricacies of boxing negotiations, the rematch is now a risky proposition for both sides due to Fury’s ESPN deal. Either side could be outbid for control of television rights. A joint pay-per-view deal could conceivably be struck between the two sides as it was between HBO and Showtime for 2015’s Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight. But Wilder vs. Fury wasn’t nearly on the level of that fight with just 300,000 buys.

Fury essentially came back from a deep depression to become a solid wild card in the heavyweight division’s plans. A super fight between Wilder and British champion Anthony Joshua had been in talks but never happened. Fury swooped in to fight Wilder and upset any sort of balance among promotions and/or negotiations. The previous fact that Fury had no official television deal in the U.S. meant any fight could have been possible for him. But now that he’s exclusively on ESPN, a fight with Wilder has become more unlikely. The same could be said for a fight with Joshua, who signed with streaming service DAZN.

Warren said that Fury signing with ESPN made them the power brokers in the deal:

“The game has changed now, ESPN are the biggest broadcasters in the U.S. If [Joshua] wants to fight Tyson, they’re going to have to come to us.”

The post Tyson Fury Signs Exclusive Deal With ESPN, Casting Shade On Wilder Rematch appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Yesterday, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker received some good news when it was revealed he had been released from the hospital. Now it’s time Whittaker sounds off on his opponent’s recent media stunt.

‘The Reaper’ was forced out of his scheduled title defense against Kelvin Gastelum at last weekend’s UFC 234 at the last minute. He was forced to undergo emergency surgery for a hernia and collapsed bowel, frightening conditions that were prompted by some severe pain and vomiting.

Whittaker is thankful to be back on the mend. Shortly after he was released, Whittaker hopped on a live stream on his YouTube channel GrangeTV (via MMA Fighting) to offer an update on his status:

“I’m in good spirits. I’m thankful that I still have my health and that they found it before I fought and I can walk away from this and fight at a later date. My whole thing is I want to heal, train, and then fight. My health comes first. I need to make sure I’m healthy and then I’ll fight anyone, anywhere.”

Gastelum’s Stunt

His opponent was initially hopeful for Whittaker to bounce back to good health. But Gastelum took things to a new place when he appeared at UFC 234 holding Henry Cejudo’s belt and claiming to be the champion. Like Dana White, Whittaker said it was a ‘cute’ stunt. He had a good comparison for Gastelum:

“I thought it was cute,” Whittaker said. “You know when your kid finds your work belt at home and then he starts wearing it around the house? That’s kind of how I saw the whole thing. It was adorable.”

But overall, he understood Gastelum’s frustrations. He felt bad the fight didn’t go down, but ultimately his health obviously came first. Whittaker did point out that Gastelum, who apparently had ringworm and a staph infection, may have actually benefitted as well:

“I feel bad for him that he trained and made the trip out here and then I couldn’t give it to him. I apologize for that but obviously, my health comes first. It is what it is. . . His health was looking a bit shocking as well. It’s just one of those things. Maybe it was better for both of us.”

Middleweight Suddenly Has ‘Lifeblood’

As for the state of his division after Israel Adesanya beat Anderson Silva in the replacement main event, Whittaker isn’t sure what will happen. He does know that there are suddenly several options in the division, however:

“With Anderson and Adesanya just fighting, I don’t know what that does,” Whittaker said. “I don’t know what the UFC is gonna make. I’ve never picked a fight. They just line them up and I beat them and that’s exactly what I’ve done. I’ve never tip-toed my way to the title. . .

“I’m not worried. I don’t know what the UFC want to do with Gastelum and Adesanya now because obviously, I’ve heard a lot of things. How the UFC wants to go about lining up either Gastelum still or Adesanya or getting them to fight someone before, I think it certainly spices up the division. [Yoel] Romero and [Paulo] Costa have been calling out Adesanya. I know that there’s lifeblood in the division.”

Looking To Return Soon

As for those calling for Whittaker to be stripped of the title, he wanted to remind them he had only been out for nine months. His primary goal was to fight in his homeland last weekend, and he’s gutted it didn’t happen. But he isn’t looking to take much time off, and promised a glorious fight when he does return:

“It’s only been nine months since my last fight. I’ll be back in there before you know it. I’m trying to get my health up to date and get back to training and then I’ll fight soon enough. I’m not looking to take any long periods of time off. Obviously, I’m itching for a fight.

“I’m gutted. I wanted to fight, I did all the work. I got sick after the weigh in! Can someone explain to me why I would go through the whole process of cutting weight and weighing in and then not fight? That is the worst outcome. It couldn’t have happened a day earlier? It is what is. I want to fight, I’m going to fight soon enough, and when I fight it will be glorious.”

The post Robert Whittaker Sounds Off On Gastelum’s “Adorable” Title Stunt appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Conor McGregor is MMA’s biggest star. But McGregor’s next fight is simply an absolute must-win.

There is simply no denying either that after his record pay-per-view main event against Khabib Nurmagomedov last year. Couple that with his rousing success in boxing versus Floyd Mayweather, and ‘The Notorious’ is the most bankable crossover name in combat sports. He deserves that title because few if any MMA stars have attracted a following like he has.

You could argue Ronda Rousey did, but she’s gone. The infamous whiskey-slinging knockout artist from Dublin is still here. Millions of fight fans follow his every move feverishly on social media. You can hardly blame them. McGregor’s fast lifestyle of cash, cars, boats, and mansions is the stuff most only dream of. Ireland’s favorite son still has the fight game in the palm of his hand, at least right now.

Yet you could argue there are cracks beginning to form. ‘The Notorious’ one, for all his fame and glory, has not won a fight since November 2016. A streak like that would derail all but the most infamous fighter’s hype. To put that in perspective, the biggest star in the fight game has not had a win since he knocked out then-champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. Think about how much is changed in the UFC since then. Jose Aldo was the featherweight champion. Michael Bisping was the middleweight champion.

Many Options

Perhaps what’s worse is that McGregor’s recent fights weren’t that competitive. He was always going to lose to one of boxing’s all-time greats in his first professional boxing match. Most expected it. They should have. The one-sided nature of his fight against ‘The Eagle’ is much more concerning, even if the champion has beaten everyone else he’s fought in MMA. It showed McGregor isn’t the lightweight force many thought he was when he held a title he would never defend.

Regardless, the options for ‘The Notorious” next fight are many. They should be. He could face current frontrunner Cowboy Cerrone, longtime rival Nate Diaz, Khabib in an immediate rematch, or even outside shot Anderson Silva.

However, no matter which high-profile opponent he agrees to fight next, he simply has to win. Going three years without a win as the UFC’s biggest star is just ridiculous. If he gets finished again it will be even worse. I’m by no means a McGregor hater; what he has done for the sport in terms of mainstream exposure has been unparalleled. But his record in his last five fights is 2-3 (including the foray into boxing). All three losses were by TKO and submissions. Many believe his second fight with Nate Diaz could have gone the other way.

McGregor needs to get back on track in the worst way. He’d probably still be the biggest star in MMA with yet another loss. How long can he really sustain that, however? Whispers that he’s just there to collect another massive paycheck would get infinitely louder if he lost. And it’s just a bad look for the UFC.

The man brings eyeballs even if what he does is often controversial. He re-defined the fight game in that regard, for better or worse. But when the dust is settled, this is combat and you have to win fights to stay relevant. Well, scratch that. You have to win fights to stay at the top. One more loss and McGregor just won’t be there.

The post Conor McGregor’s Next Fight Is An Absolute Must-Win appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Last weekend’s (Sat., February 9, 2019) UFC 234 main card from Melbourne, Australia, got off to a bit of a controversial start. The debate centered on referee Marc Goddard’s early stoppage in the opening main card bout between Jim Crute and Sam Alvey.

Rising Australian Crute rocked Alvey with a short, crisp right hand in the first round. The tough-as-nails Alvey was absolutely hurt but still in the fight attempting to recover. Making the situation more complicated, Goddard jumped in like he would stop the fight. Crute stepped back in hopes of a walk-off knockout in his homeland but was forced to fight on when Goddard chose not to stop the bout.

Crute then ground ‘Smile ‘N’ again, this time following him to the mat to pour on ground and pound. In the end, Goddard chose to stop the bout at 2:49 of the first round. Alvey immediately jumped up in protest, appearing not out of the fight by any stretch of the term. Upon replay, it appeared that several of Crute’s punches landed on Alvey’s arms or the ground.

Comes Clean

It appears Goddard now knows that. The decorated MMA official appeared on this week’s The MMA Hour to detail his views on the stoppage now that he’s had time to go back and review the tape. He totally admitted he would have let the fight continue if he did it again:

“Yes, I know that Sam obviously jumped straight back up, obviously demonstrating to me and telling me he’s OK,” Goddard said. “But at that point, the fight is called. And you know what? Going back and looking at it again, if I could run it back again, yeah I would have taken a half step back. I would have let another two shots or three shots play out. And I’m gonna put it down to a mistake. I’m big and ugly enough to do that.”

He also noted that he didn’t stop the fight immediately when Alvey was absorbing ground shots. It was 16 strikes to be exact. He believed Alvey was still rocked from the first knockdown as well. But the veteran had his thumb up indicating he was still in the fight, a dynamic Goddard said he didn’t see during the card:

“It wasn’t one, two or three shots I’m jumping in and stopping,” Goddard said. “It was 16. Sixteen shots. And at that point, I’m taking into assessment, I think he’s hurt and not recovered from the original knockdown. I think he’s hurt, I see his head on the mat, I see the shots coming in and I make my call.

“At the same time, as I’m doing that, people are saying, ‘Didn’t you see Sam’s thumb up?’ No, I didn’t. Wholly and honestly, I didn’t see his thumb up, because his arm is outstretched and my focus, my vision is on where these shots are trying to land.”

Focused On One Thing

It’s understandable that his focus would be on where the punches were potentially landing, after all, that is his job. Yet Goddard still drew some harsh criticism from the MMA world and perhaps more importantly, UFC President Dana White. Goddard said White was, of course, entitled to his opinion. He wanted to reiterate that he immediately focuses on a fighter when he or she becomes injured. his focus is completely on them, and understandably so. He was looking for a reason to let Alvey fight:

“When Sam gets dropped, I run in and my focus, my peripheral vision then becomes tunneled,” Goddard said. “My eyesight is honed in on one person and that one person is Sam Alvey. What I’m looking for as I run is if Sam can give me a glimmer, show me something that tells me he’s still there. Something that’s gonna allow me to let the fight to continue. He does, he gets back up, he’s clearly wobbled.

“Of course I’m running in to stop it, because that’s my job. I don’t want Sam to take an unnecessary follow-up if he doesn’t have to. My mind is going 100 miles an hour as I’m running in. I’ll assess it in real time and then I’ll back off, because I know I’m gonna give Sam that chance. He gets that chance to stay in the fight.”

Alvey Out?

Although he admitted he could have let it continue for a short while, however, Goddard also said Alvey showed signs of being out of it after the first knockdown. Goddard cited how easy it was to get him back on the canvas. In the opposite situation, he wanted fans to know he’d be taking criticism for letting it go too long:

“He rolls over like it was nothing, like he was a baby,” Goddard said. “And I know that in normal times, Sam wouldn’t do that. Obviously, he’s still disorientated, etc. And he’s still trying to get a grip of what’s going on. I recognize that, I’m letting the fight go.

“Let’s say I let it play out and then the last two shots that came through put him completely facedown, unconscious,” Goddard said. “What do you think they’ll be saying about me?”

Couldn’t Win

Goddard ended the interview by apologizing to Alvey. He said he was only trying to do his job the best he can annd approaches each fight with the same focus. Sometimes, he said, an MMA referee just can’t win:

“I approach my job and all the fights the same,” Goddard said. “And I’m sorry to Sam, I really am. I feel bad. But all I want people to try and do is understand where my mental aspect came from. Had I stopped the fight from the ground and pound alone, people would be rightly jumping all over me. But I’m not. It was the fact of what happened before that.

“I’m just doing what I do,” Goddard said. “This sport is ingrained in me. Not just the mind, I’m operating from the heart as well. It means a lot to me. I want these guys to have their trust and faith in me. I don’t know. Sometimes it’s like the old adage — you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

The post Referee Reacts To Controversial UFC 234 Stoppage appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The UFC’s President has been a busy man during the week of last night’s UFC 234 from Melbourne, Australia. The topics of Conor McGregor and Anderson Silva’s next fights seem to be looming for the company’s public face. But there was one thing at UFC 234 that did not impress him, so it’s time Dana White blasts Kelvin Gastelum for pretending he is UFC champion.

TUF 17 winner Gastelum was set to battle middleweight champion Robert Whittaker for the belt in the UFC 234 main event. “The Reaper” was beset with scary abdominal issues the night before the fight, however. He was forced to pull out of the bout and go into two kinds of emergency surgery as a result.

Gastelum was classy in his initial reaction to the last-minute news. But he soon changed his tune after arriving at UFC 234. He claimed he was champion as he flaunted a belt while talking to media:

“I earned this, you know what I mean? I mean, I showed up, traveled thousands and thousands of miles from home, made the weight. You know, in my world, guy shows up, makes the weight, for some reason doesn’t wanna, you know, cancels the bout. The guy forfeits the match. I win. I’m the champion, 

“I’m the champ, for sure. I’m not going home empty-handed. I made a promise to my people that I was gonna come home with some hardware. And here I am, I’m gonna go home with the belt.”

White’s Reaction

Unfortunately for him, that’s not how things work at the highest levels of the UFC, however. Many, including Conor McGregor, blasted Gastelum’s act. White also spoke up about Gastelum’s claim at the post-fight press conference following UFC 234, calling the move ‘cute.’ He revealed Gastelum had ‘borrowed’ flyweight champion Henry Cejudo’s title belt:

“I saw, that was cute. He borrowed Henry Cejudo’s belt,” White said as he confirmed Gastelum was still the next contender to face Whittaker.

As to when will the champ will return, he apparently has about four to six weeks of recovery time before he can resume training. There’s already been talk of an interim title, however, so he’ll have to get recovering. He said he doesn’t want to strip Whittaker of the title, but the show must go on:

“He’s going to be better in four to six weeks. When we have a guy who blows an ACL or takes some time off, we look at how long those guys are going to be out for and make a decision.”

“Time is not your friend in this business. Rob’s looking like four to six weeks, so we’ll go from there. It’s never fun to strip someone of the title, they worked hard to get there, so it’s never fun.”

The timeline may seem a bit optimistic considering Whittaker has dealt with a myriad of significant injuries during his time as champion. If he’s unable to return,

The post Dana White Blasts Gastelum: It’s ‘Cute’ He Thinks He’s Champ appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Legendary former UFC champ Anderson Silva will return from a two-year absence when he meets surging Israel Adesanya in the co-main event of this weekend’s (Sat., February 9, 2019) UFC 234 from Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. We took a look back at Silva’s best UFC finishes to celebrate that fact.

Few are giving the 43-year-old veteran much of a shot at toppling ‘The Last Stylebender.’ But while he may be nearing the end of his historic career, it seems Silva has fallen out of the limelight as new stars have arisen during his downward turn. That’s, of course, the natural progression of the UFC.

With each big event that passes these days, it seems like the champion of the hour is instantly inserted into the debate for GOAT. That’s made the discussion a bit diluted. It also means accomplishments are rapidly thrown away for the next thing.

But there was once a day when the discussion was much, much more clear-cut. Silva ruled the day with his creative, shocking, and one-of-a-kind finishes to reign as the unquestioned pound-for-pound king. In context, that was during a time when Georges St-Pierre was in his prime. ‘The Spider’s’ victories were simply astonishing. You make remember those days with a fond reverence, or you may not have been a fan of MMA at all back then. Nevertheless, we looked back at Silva’s best UFC finishes in the twilight of his career.

Enjoy.

6.) Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Over Dan Henderson – UFC 82:

Silva faced off with legendary Pride two-division champion Dan Henderson to unify the UFC middleweight and Pride world welterweight championships in March 2008.

Looking back, it was a match-up of historic proportions. That alone made it one of Silva’s greatest victories as a result. It was also a unique one. Obviously known for his lethal Muay Thai skills, ‘The Spider’ used his underrated grappling skills in this fight.

“Hendo” was unable to fell the UFC champ with his vaunted H-bomb. His Olympic-caliber Greco Roman wrestling skills also didn’t play into the result much either. Instead, Silva used his Brazilian jiu-jitsu to ensnare Henderson’s back like an anaconda in South American waters. He wrapped up a rear-naked choke with eight seconds left in the second round. It was one of his finest finishes. The choke earned both “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night.”

5.) Knee KO Of Chris Leben – UFC Fight Night 5:

This was the UFC’s introduction to ‘The Spider,’ and what an introduction it was. Silva came into the UFC with a decent amount of fanfare for that era. He immediately shot his starpower into the stratosphere in this fight.

Leben was a tough, respected veteran of the game. ‘The Spider’ made him look silly. Using the Muay Thai skills that made his opponents believe eight limbs were coming at them, Silva stalked Leben down with a vicious assault of confusing, unstoppable offense.

He finished it with a beautifully destructive knee and a star was born. Silva earned an immediate title shot in the next fight…

4.) Knee KO Of Rich Franklin – UFC 64:

This just may be one of the most historic fights in UFC history looking back. That’s merely due to the fact that this was were Silva’s still-record title reign began.

Franklin was knocking top names out left and right during this era. When ‘The Spider’ made his way to the Octagon, that all changed quickly and violently. Silva’s striking was clearly on another level as he bludgeoned Franklin with perhaps the most violent knees in UFC history.

He badly broke ‘Ace’s’ nose, and the UFC’s greatest title reign began.

3.) Epic Jab Knockout Of Forrest Griffin – UFC 101:

There’s not much else to say about this shocking win for ‘The Spider’ a month after the historic UFC 100.

Griffin was a light heavyweight champion, but ‘The Spider’ made him look silly. Dodging Griffin’s seemingly foolish attempts to hit him with kinetic ability rivaling ‘The Matrix,’ Silva knocked the befuddled fighter to the mat with one precise jab.

One of the toughest men in all of MMA, Griffin threw his hands up in the air in MMA’s version of ‘No Mas.’ Legendary stuff.

2,) Front Kick KO Of Vitor Belfort – UFC 126:

This battle of Brazilians featured one of the most iconic kicks in UFC history, something Silva was becoming known for after nearly five years as champion.

We’ve come to find out that ‘The Phenom’ was almost assuredly on some “extracurricular” substances in this timeframe, but that didn’t matter to ‘The Spider.’ He landed a laser of a front kick right down the middle on Belfort, knocking him out and leaving the crowd with their jaws agape.

This was ‘The Spider’s seventh consecutive UFC middleweight title defense.

1.) Last-Second Triangle Over Chael Sonnen – UFC 117:

This may be Silva’s most iconic victory in his most high-profile rivalry.

‘The Spider’ was mainly dominated by Sonnen’s nonstop wrestling attack. He reportedly came into the fight with a broken rib that hindered him. Regardless, Sonnen took Silva to the mat at will for the better part of five rounds.

After one of the most heated trash talk buildups in UFC history, Sonnen had backed it up. He battered the sport’s biggest star and was easily on his way to a clear sweep on the scorecards for a title-sealing win. However, Silva didn’t give up. At 3:10 of the final round, he threw up a desperation triangle choke that caught hold and forced Sonnen to tap.

Unreal, and a testament to Silva’s heart as a fighter that complimented his once-in-a-lifetime skills.

The post The GOAT? Remembering Anderson Silva’s Best UFC Finishes appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.