Tag: Johnny Eblen

Dustin Poirier’s teammate reveals details on UFC 299 fight fall out fiasco: ‘There wasn’t even a verbal agreement’

Dustin Poirier's teammate addresses UFC 299 fight fiasco there was no verbal agreementBellator middleweight champion and teammate of Dustin Poirier discusses the ‘The Diamonds’ recent contractual issues.  Fans were thrilled, if…

Dustin Poirier's teammate addresses UFC 299 fight fiasco there was no verbal agreement

Bellator middleweight champion and teammate of Dustin Poirier discusses the ‘The Diamonds’ recent contractual issues. 

Fans were thrilled, if not a little surprised when the UFC announced that they had made a fight between No.3 Dustin Poirier and No.11 Benoit Saint Dennis. Poirier is a future hall of famer and was potentially expected to take a higher profile fight, rather than taking on the dangerous Frenchman who has had just six UFC fights. 

However, the mouth-watering affair was temporarily off after Poirier had tweeted that the fight was off and in fact was never officially signed in the first place. And just a short time later Poirier announced that it was just a ‘misunderstanding’ and everything seemed to be resolved. 

Dustin Poirier’s teammate delves into UFC 299 fall out

Teammate of Poirier, Eblen spoke with SHAK MMA and discussed the situation, revealing the UFC did not meet Poirier’s terms despite the American agreeing to the idea of the fight.

“I know Dustin pretty well, and I actually spoke with him about it today,”  Johnny Eblen began. “They just didn’t come to terms, man. The things that Dustin laid out for them that they need to provide for this fight they were not willing to do it.” 

“I just think it’s kind of horse s*** because I know how much money the UFC makes and they could make that fight happen but they’re choosing not to because they’re being stingy in a way. The fact that no contract was signed and they were willing to f****** announce it is f****** beyond me, man. That’s never happened to me. Not even a verbal agreement, Dustin said.

“Dustin said, ‘Yeah, that sounds good, but like, we gotta get this deal worked out. That’s not a verbal agreement, Eblen continued. A verbal agreement’s like, ‘Hey, if you do this, this, and this, I’m in,’ and they’re like, ‘Okay, we’ll do this, this, and this.’ Okay, cool, I’ll fight him. Then you do the contract and you sign the contract. There wasn’t even a verbal agreement on his end. It’s kind of crazy to me that they were willing to even promote it to this degree and then let it backfire like this.”

Who wins, Dustin Poirier or Benoit Saint-Denis?

PFL x Bellator Supercard Officially Set for February 24 in Riyadh Featuring Four Champion vs. Champion Fights

PFL x Bellator supercardThe PFL x Bellator supercard is officially set for February 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A few short months…

PFL x Bellator supercard

The PFL x Bellator supercard is officially set for February 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A few short months after the Professional Fighter League’s blockbuster announcement that it had acquired Bellator MMA, we now know when and where the highly anticipated event featuring PFL champions vs. Bellator champions will go down. According to a report from Ariel Helwani, the event will emanate from the Saudi Arabian capital next month with a slew of exciting fights.

In the main event of the evening, 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira will take on Bellator MMA heavyweight titleholder Ryan ‘Darth’ Bader. In the co-main event, 2023 PFL light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay will face Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen in a 185-pound fight.

Also announced for the main card is 2023 PFL featherweight champion Jesus Pinedo who will face Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull, and 2023 PFL welterweight champion Magomed Magomedkerimov will square off with Bellator welterweight champion Jason Jackson.

Rounding out the card will be a series of can’t-miss clashes, including former PFL heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza vs. Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov in a heavyweight bout. Clay Collard vs. A.J. McKee will go down in a lightweight scrap and fight fans will also be treated to a heavy-hitting affair as Thiago Santos meets Yoel Romero.

Also expected to feature on the card will be the return of women’s boxing ‘GWOAT’ Claressa Shields, and the pro mixed martial arts debut of Muhammad Ali’s grandson, Biaggio Ali Walsh.

Check out the full fight card below:

PFL vs. Bellator Main card (ESPN+ PPV at 3 p.m. ET):

  • Renan Ferreira vs. Ryan Bader
  • Impa Kasanganay vs. Johnny Eblen
  • Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Jason Jackson
  • Jesus Pinedo vs. Patricio Pitbull
  • Bruno Cappelozza vs. Vadim Nemkov
  • Thiago Santos vs. Yoel Romero
  • Clay Collard vs. AJ McKee

Prelims (ESPN News/ESPN+ at 12:30 p.m. ET):

  • Gabriel Braga vs. Aaron Pico
  • Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Chris Morris
  • Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis
  • Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
  • Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira

As always, the card is subject to change.

Joe Rogan Insists Fighters are ‘Wasting their careers’ by competing outside of the UFC: ‘No One’s Watching’

Joe RoganJoe Rogan hates to see fighters wasting their careers competing anywhere other than the UFC. There’s no denying that…

Joe Rogan

Joe Rogan hates to see fighters wasting their careers competing anywhere other than the UFC.

There’s no denying that Ultimate Fighting Championship is the biggest show in town. Over the last 30 years, the promotion has built itself into the biggest combat sports organization on the planet. Much of that can be credited to the incredibly deep talent pool that has introduced legends like Chuck Liddell, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and Conor McGregor.

Attempting to take a piece of the pie for themselves, rival mixed martial arts organizations have popped up, including Bellator MMA and the PFL. And while those promotions have seen their fair share of homegrown stars, Rogan knows that if any of them want to achieve greatness on a financial and professional level, there’s only one place to do it.

“No disrespect to the other organizations, there’s very good fighters in the other organizations, but I often feel like they’re wasting their career,” Rogan said on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. “Because I see these elite fighters that are fighting in Bellator and PFL and I’m like, ‘Hey guys, no one’s watching.’ I mean, some people are watching, you’re getting a little bit of a fan base, I don’t want to disrespect, but there’s a reality.

“There’s the XFL, there’s the CFL, and then there’s the f*cking NFL. If you’re not in the f*cking NFL, are you really playing football? That’s just how it is” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Joe Rogan wants to see fighters like Johnny eblen jump to the UFC

When it comes to live ticket sales and pay-per-view revenue, nobody is bigger than the UFC. The Professional Fighters League will attempt to change that next year after a series of blockbuster moves that include signing both former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and social media star Jake Paul.

Not to mention the PFL’s acquisition of Bellator, a promotion that despite giving birth to some notable names in the world of MMA, failed to turn a profit after more than 15 years in business.

“If you’re the UFC champ, you’re the f*cking man,” Rogan said. “If you’re the Bellator champ, I respect the sh*t out of those guys. I love them. Guys like Johnny Eblen, same thing. He’s a freaking animal. I really wish that guy would come to the UFC.

“If you’re a UFC champion, the promotion is just unparalleled. There’s nothing like it. I mean everybody knows who you are when you’re the UFC champion.”

Aside from the talent on display, fight fans are often drawn to the incredible production values and the pageantry that the UFC brings to each event. It’s something Rogan believes every aspiring fighter wants and needs to experience in their career.

“There’s this feeling of being in the UFC that everybody who wants to be a fighter dreams of,” Rogan said. “You want to be there when Bruce Buffer is right in front of you going, ‘It’s time!’ You’re like, holy sh*t!”

Video – UFC star Leon Edwards held back by security after Johnny Eblen KO’s his brother at Bellator 299

Leon Edwards held back by security after Johnny Eblen KO's his brother at Bellator 299Undisputed UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards was corralled by security and officials after the culmination of last night’s Bellator 299 event in Dublin, watching on from the corner after promotional middleweight champion, Johnny Eblen landed a third round KO win over his younger brother, Fabian Edwards. Birmingham native, Edwards, who has been sidelined since he […]

Leon Edwards held back by security after Johnny Eblen KO's his brother at Bellator 299

Undisputed UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards was corralled by security and officials after the culmination of last night’s Bellator 299 event in Dublin, watching on from the corner after promotional middleweight champion, Johnny Eblen landed a third round KO win over his younger brother, Fabian Edwards.

Birmingham native, Edwards, who has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 286 back in March, most recently landed a close, majority decision win over former pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman in the pair’s trilogy rubber match in London, England.

And over the course of this week, the Team Renegade BJJ & MMA staple has been booked for his return to competition, taking on former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington in a championship grudge match atop a UFC 296 card in December. 

However, serving as a corner man last night in Dublin, Ireland, Edwards attempted to guide his younger brother, Fabian Edwards to middleweight success under the banner of the Scott Coker-led Bellator MMA, as he took on American Top Team ace, Eblen.

And despite starting brightly and mitigating a lot of the reigning champion’s offense, Fabian Edwards was dropped with a swinging hook in the third round, before Eblen capitalized and scored a ground strikes KO win.

Johnny Eblen and Leon Edwards lock horns after Bellator 299 title fight

Forced away from the downed Edwards by referee, Dan Miragliotta following his emphatic knockout win, Eblen shared a war-of-words with the above-mentioned, Leon Edwards after Bellator 299 – with promotional officials and security personnel corralling the duo. 

And following his victory, Eblen played up an eventual fight with the elder Edwards brother, claiming he hoped the Brummie landed a victory over former ATT staple, Covington in their UFC 296 title fight in December.

Johnny Eblen boasts ability to defeat UFC champion Israel Adesanya: ‘I think I destroy him, it’s a bad matchup’

Johnny Eblen touts ability to defeat Israel Adesanya I think I destroy him UFC Bellator MMABellator MMA middleweight champion, Johnny Eblen has been touted as arguably the best fighter at the weight class on the planet amid his roughshod run through the ranks under the scrutiny of Scott Coker, and now the American Top Team staple has claimed he would “destroy” his UFC champion counterpart, Israel Adesanya.  Boasting an undefeated […]

Johnny Eblen touts ability to defeat Israel Adesanya I think I destroy him UFC Bellator MMA

Bellator MMA middleweight champion, Johnny Eblen has been touted as arguably the best fighter at the weight class on the planet amid his roughshod run through the ranks under the scrutiny of Scott Coker, and now the American Top Team staple has claimed he would “destroy” his UFC champion counterpart, Israel Adesanya. 

Boasting an undefeated 13-0 professional record, Eblen managed to clinch the undisputed middleweight champion from former UFC top-contender, Gegard Mousasi back in June of last year in the main event of Bellator 282, landing a one-sided unanimous decision victory.

Successfully defending the crown in the main event of Bellator 290 back in February in Inglewood, California, Eblen landed another shutout decision success, this time against Anatoly Tokov.

Johnny Eblen believes he matches up perfectly with UFC kingpin, Israel Adesanya

And with one eye firmly placed on this weekend’s middleweight clash between the aforenoted, Mousasi and Fabian Edwards – the younger brother of current undisputed UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards, Johnny Eblen claimed if he was pitted with City Kickboxing staple, Adesanya, he would comfortably “destroy” the Nigerian-Kiwi.

“I think I destroy ‘Stylebender’ (Israel Adesanya),” Johnny Eblen told Peter Carroll during a recent episode of The Craic. “It’s just a bad matchup for him, I just mix things up too well. I wrestle, strike and he really exposed himself when he fought (Alex) Pereira, how bad his grappling was. So, I just think I’m a terrible matchup for him.” (Transcribed by MMA News)

For Adesanya, the Eugene Bareman product managed to reclaim the middleweight crown at UFC 287 back in April against four-time combat sports rival, Alex Pereira, stopping the Brazilian with a devastating second round KO in their Miami, Florida main event.

Yet to be booked for his impending Octagon return, UFC president, Dana White has earmarked Adesanya for a Sydney, Australia headlining return for the promotion before the end of this year, in a pay-per-view main event against either former champion, Robert Whittaker in a trilogy bout, or emerging South African challenger, Dricus du Plessis. 

Jorge Masvidal Opines On Top Middleweight Fighter In The World

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Jorge Masvidal feels one of his American Top Team teammates is the best middleweight in the sport. Masvidal will return to face Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 later this year. He’s looking to get back in the win…

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Jorge Masvidal feels one of his American Top Team teammates is the best middleweight in the sport. Masvidal will return to face Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 later this year. He’s looking to get back in the win column after three consecutive losses, including back-to-back title fights against Kamaru Usman….

Continue Reading Jorge Masvidal Opines On Top Middleweight Fighter In The World at MMA News.