Tag: UFC 296

Tony Ferguson Brings in David Goggins to help him prepare for clash with paddy pimblett at uFC 296

David GogginsDetermined to break out of his recent slump, Tony Ferguson has brought in retired U.S. Navy Seal and ultramarathon…

David Goggins

Determined to break out of his recent slump, Tony Ferguson has brought in retired U.S. Navy Seal and ultramarathon runner David Goggins.

El Cucuy’ returns to the Octagon on December 16 sitting on a six-fight losing streak that began with a brutally lopsided loss to Justin Gaethje in May 2020. Since then, Ferguson has lost to a who’s who of lightweight talent including Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, Michael Chandler, Nate Diaz, and Bobby Green. He has been finished in his last three losses.

Many assumed his defeat at the hands of Bobby Green at UFC 291 would spell the end of Ferguson’s career, but the former interim titleholder is not ready to hang up the four-ounce gloves just yet. Earlier this year, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that Ferguson would once again look to end his losing skid at UFC 296 against U.K. fan favorite Paddy Pimblett.

‘The Baddy’ goes into the contest a winner in his last six, with four of those victories coming under the UFC banner.

In hopes of turning things around and making another run in the division, Tony Ferguson has brought in International Sports Hall of Famer David Goggins to help put him through hell in preparation for the Liverpudlian.

Warning: If you are sensitive to seeing people throw up, you may want to skip the following video.

David Goggins Has Previously Worked with Jon Jones

Aside from his impressive career in the armed forces, David Goggins is a former Guinness world record holder for having done 4,030 push-ups over 17 hours. Goggins is also a motivational speaker and a New York Times best-seller for his book Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds.

Earlier this year, Goggins worked with Jon Jones ahead of his return from a three-year-long layoff to claim the UFC heavyweight championship against Ciryl Gane in March.

UFC 296 emanates live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on December 16. The event will air exclusively on ESPN+ pay-per-view in the United States and will close out the promotion’s year of premium events.

Recently, Dana White made three blockbuster announcements regarding what fans can expect for the first few pay-per-views of 2024. You can read all about that right here.

Ian Garry claims ‘Weak-Minded’ Leon Edwards had him kicked out of gym: ‘I’m not allowed to train there’

Ian GarryReigning UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards won’t be training with Ian Garry anytime soon. On December 16, Garry will…

Ian Garry

Reigning UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards won’t be training with Ian Garry anytime soon.

On December 16, Garry will return to the Octagon four months removed from his impressive unanimous decision victory over Neil Magny. With the win, ‘The Future’ finally broke into the welterweight division’s top ten and announced himself as a legitimate contender in the stacked 170-pound weight class.

Unfortunately, Ian Garry’s success has seemingly resulted in him being booted from his gym in Birmingham courtesy of the division’s top dog, Leon Edwards, who also trains at the facility.

“Leon Edwards, his head coach asked me not to come back to Renegade,” Garry told The Independent. “Told me I’m not allowed to train there. I have to word this correctly because I don’t wanna be… The guys at Renegade… It was great energy. Tom and Ash were very welcoming, lovely, and nice to me. It was nothing to do with them.

“Leon and his head coach had an issue with me training on the mats and recently have asked me not to train there, because, ‘Leon doesn’t want any insecurities or doubts on his own mats, within the gym,’ which I don’t fully understand.”

Ian Garry is not a threat to Leon Edwards… for now

Leon Edwards and Ian Garry are both scheduled to step inside the Octagon at UFC 296. Garry will attempt to continue his climb up the top-ten rankings when he meets division standout, Vicente Luque. As for Edwards, the undisputed welterweight champ will put his title on the line against perennial contender Colby Covington in the evening’s highly anticipated main event.

“I get that we’re both in the top 10 and you might see me as a threat, but I’m not a threat to you right now; I’m not fighting for the title right now,” Garry continued. “His coach said the words: ‘Ian is a threat, I cannot have Leon having any doubts or insecurities.’ That makes me think someone is weak-minded and can’t have another contender training on the mat. That’s why gym conflict is annoying. For me, why not have that other elite guy on the mat? Why not train with him?”

Ian Garry is currently 13-0 in his mixed martial arts career with six of those victories coming under the UFC banner. He boasts a 50% finish rate inside the Octagon with knockouts against Rostem Akman, Song Kenan, and Daniel Rodriguez.

Rising Irish star Ian Garry Sets His Sights on Former UFC Champion: ‘Watch what I’ll do to him’

Ian GarryWhether or not you love his brash attitude and the ability to back it up, Ian Garry is a…

Ian Garry

Whether or not you love his brash attitude and the ability to back it up, Ian Garry is a UFC superstar in the making, and ‘The Future’ has some big plans once he takes care of a little business with top-ten-ranked contender Vicente Luque.

After kickstarting his UFC career with an impressive six straight wins, including a decisive decision victory over Neil Magny in his last outing, ‘The Future’ plans on clawing his way up the stacked welterweight rankings. Appearing on the Anik & Florian podcast, Garry hopes to one day share the Octagon with perennial contender Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, but he isn’t stopping there, calling for potential showdowns with ex-titleholders Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman.

“Here’s the thing, anybody who’s ranked above me, anybody whose number when I finish that fight is ranked higher than me is an opponent and it just has to see,” Garry said. “Right, we sit there and we look at it. I’ve called ‘Wonderboy’ out, he said no to me multiple times. Is the UFC Dublin card gonna manifest? Can we put me and ‘Wonderboy’ on a main event in UFC Dublin in front of the Irish crowd and bring it back to Dublin, Ireland? Why not. 

“If Colby goes out there and gets starched by Leon, who is he gonna fight next? Let me go in there and thump the mouth off him. You’ve got Usman who’s just come off of a loss against Khamzat, why not give me him? Go out there and it’s like alright, Khamzat couldn’t finish him, watch what I’ll do to him. Anybody that’s above me, they’re all opponents” (h/t MMA News).

Ian Garry looking to improve his ground game with one of the UFC’s greatest grapplers

Perhaps the Irishman is biting off a little more than he can chew, but 13 wins in a row certainly shows that Ian Garry is ready for the next level of competition. He’ll get exactly that at UFC 296 in December when he returns to take on Brazilian knockout artist Vicente Luque.

I’m going to spend a month with Demian Maia, improving my jiu-jitsu, working on fundamentals, and just fixing and growing and learning jiu-jitsu from arguably the best grappler that UFC has ever seen,” Garry revealed. “So, that’s what I’m going to do and then I’m going to go in there on December 16 and do whatever the f*ck I want to do when I’m in the fight because I can, that’s the truth.”

Rising Irish star Ian Garry Sets His Sights on Former UFC Champion: ‘Watch what I’ll do to him’

Ian GarryWhether or not you love his brash attitude and the ability to back it up, Ian Garry is a…

Ian Garry

Whether or not you love his brash attitude and the ability to back it up, Ian Garry is a UFC superstar in the making, and ‘The Future’ has some big plans once he takes care of a little business with top-ten-ranked contender Vicente Luque.

After kickstarting his UFC career with an impressive six straight wins, including a decisive decision victory over Neil Magny in his last outing, ‘The Future’ plans on clawing his way up the stacked welterweight rankings. Appearing on the Anik & Florian podcast, Garry hopes to one day share the Octagon with perennial contender Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, but he isn’t stopping there, calling for potential showdowns with ex-titleholders Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman.

“Here’s the thing, anybody who’s ranked above me, anybody whose number when I finish that fight is ranked higher than me is an opponent and it just has to see,” Garry said. “Right, we sit there and we look at it. I’ve called ‘Wonderboy’ out, he said no to me multiple times. Is the UFC Dublin card gonna manifest? Can we put me and ‘Wonderboy’ on a main event in UFC Dublin in front of the Irish crowd and bring it back to Dublin, Ireland? Why not. 

“If Colby goes out there and gets starched by Leon, who is he gonna fight next? Let me go in there and thump the mouth off him. You’ve got Usman who’s just come off of a loss against Khamzat, why not give me him? Go out there and it’s like alright, Khamzat couldn’t finish him, watch what I’ll do to him. Anybody that’s above me, they’re all opponents” (h/t MMA News).

Ian Garry looking to improve his ground game with one of the UFC’s greatest grapplers

Perhaps the Irishman is biting off a little more than he can chew, but 13 wins in a row certainly shows that Ian Garry is ready for the next level of competition. He’ll get exactly that at UFC 296 in December when he returns to take on Brazilian knockout artist Vicente Luque.

I’m going to spend a month with Demian Maia, improving my jiu-jitsu, working on fundamentals, and just fixing and growing and learning jiu-jitsu from arguably the best grappler that UFC has ever seen,” Garry revealed. “So, that’s what I’m going to do and then I’m going to go in there on December 16 and do whatever the f*ck I want to do when I’m in the fight because I can, that’s the truth.”

Islam Makhachev echoes calls for welterweight title fight after UFC 294 return: ‘I want to be double champion’

Islam Makhachev calls for welterweight title fight after UFC 294 I want to be double championStill with it all to do this weekend in the Middle East, undisputed lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev has plans…

Islam Makhachev calls for welterweight title fight after UFC 294 I want to be double champion

Still with it all to do this weekend in the Middle East, undisputed lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev has plans to definitely challenge for gold a division higher, following his title rematch with Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294.

Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight gold holder, will return to the Octagon this weekend atop a UFC 294 card in Abu Dhabi, drawing former-foe, Volkanovski in a reshuffled event curtain closer.

Initially, the Russian grappling ace was slated to headline the Etihad Arena event against former champion and previous opponent, Charles Oliveira, however, just 10 days’ out from the clash, the Brazilian suffered a nasty laceration over his eyebrow during sparring, forcing him out of the pairing. 

Attempting to land a second consecutive title defense in a rematch with Volkanovski, back in February of this year in Perth, Australia, Makhachev handed the undisputed featherweight champion and pound-for-pound number one his first promotional loss in a close, unanimous decision headliner at UFC 284. 

Maintaining distinct plans for a welterweight move after the culmination of UFC 294, Makhachev has stressed his desire to fight for a second championship in the promotion, mentioning the draw of stylistic matchups against either the incumbent, Leon Edwards, or incoming UFC 296 challenger, Colby Covington.

Islam Makhachev plans two-division title reign

And with UFC 294 just two days away, the American Kickboxing Academy staple remains firm in his plans to loft two titles simultaneously inside the Octagon after his return to the Middle East.

“Yeah, of course, if they [the UFC] call me, I will be ready for Colby (Covington) or Leon (Edwards),” Islam Makhachev told assembled media during his availability. “Any fight – but my dream, my goal, I want a second belt.”

“We have many UFC champions, but not much (sic) double champions,” Islam Makhachev explained. “I want to be double champion.” 

Do you think Islam Makhachev can win a second Octagon crown?

Report – Ex-Champion Cody Garbrandt books UFC 296 return in December bantamweight fight

Cody Garbrandt set to fight Brian Kelleher at UFC 296 on December 16.Former undisputed bantamweight champion, Cody Gabrandt is set for his first Octagon walk since March earlier this year, booking…

Cody Garbrandt set to fight Brian Kelleher at UFC 296 on December 16.

Former undisputed bantamweight champion, Cody Gabrandt is set for his first Octagon walk since March earlier this year, booking a final flagship event of the annum return at UFC 296 in December, taking on Brian Kelleher at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Garbrandt, a former undisputed bantamweight champion under the banner of the Dana White-led organization, is slated to feature at UFC 296 on December 16. in ‘Sin City’ – returning to the Octagon for the first time since he defeated Trevin Jones with a unanimous decision win at UFC 285 back in March. 

As for Kelleher, New York native looks to snap a two-fight losing skid and back-to-back submission losses to both Said Nurmagomedov, and Mario Bautista when he tackles Garbrandt in December, making his sixteenth Octagon appearance since a 2017 bow. News of Cody Garbrandt’s return against Brian Kelleher was first reported by Eurosport reporter, Marcel Dorff.

Cody Garbrandt books UFC 296 fight with Brian Kelleher in December

“BREAKING, former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt returns on December 16th at #UFC296,” Dorff posted on X. “”No Love” takes on Brian “Boom” Kelleher in Las Vegas.”

Winning undisputed bantamweight gold back in 2016 with a stunning win over former two-time champion, Dominick Cruz, Garbrandt, who entered the bout as a sizeable betting underdog, turned in a comprehensive and one-sided unanimous decision victory.

Dropping the title afterwards in a grudge match knockout loss to former two-time titleholder, T.J. Dillashaw, Garbrandt would experience a staggering downturn in form, losing 5 of his next seven walks since 2017, including four separate knockout blemishes.

During his route to the title, Garbrandt turned in impressive stoppage wins over Marcus Brimage, Thomas Almeida, and Takeya Mizugaki.

Landing a Knockout of the Year winner on many’s cards in 2020, Garbrandt took out Brazilian veteran, Raphael Assuncao with a buzzer-beating one-punch KO win at the UFC Apex facility, snapping a three-fight losing skid in brutal fashion. 

Who wins at UFC 296: Cody Garbrandt or Brian Kelleher?