Tag: UFC 298

Video – Hasbulla lands sneaky strike on Alex Pereira during photo op ahead of UFC 298

Hasbulla punches Alex Pereira at UFC 298Alex Pereira is the latest UFC star to feel the power of Hasbulla’s right hand. After making a name…

Hasbulla punches Alex Pereira at UFC 298

Alex Pereira is the latest UFC star to feel the power of Hasbulla’s right hand.

After making a name for himself in a series of hilarious videos on YouTube — often parodying UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov — Hasbulla has become known in the MMA community for his sneak attacks on fighters both past and present. He’s engaged with combat sports legends like Mike Tyson and Antonio Nogueira as well as more modern stars like Daniel Cormier, Islam Makhachev, and Henry Cejudo. You can now add Alex Pereira to the list.

In a video clip shared by Jason Williams on X, ‘Poatan’ was posing for a photo op with Hasbulla when the pint-sized influencer threw one of his signature blows at the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion.

In town for Saturday night’s UFC 298 card in Anaheim, Alex Pereira currently sits as the king of 205 following a stellar second-round knockout of former champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 in November. In just seven fights with the promotion, Pereira has already claimed two different title belts — middleweight and light heavyweight.

Poatan’ is expected to return later this year for a showdown with another former titleholder, Jamahal Hill. However, rumors have been circulating that Pereira could feature at UFC 300 on April 13. UFC CEO Dana White is expected to officially announce the landmark event’s headliner following Saturday’s pay-per-view at the Honda Center.

Video – Ian Garry goes after fan trash-talking his wife following UFC 298 weigh-in ceremony

Ian GarryAhead of his return to the Octagon at UFC 298 on Saturday night, Ian Garry told ESPN’s Marc Raimondi…

Ian Garry

Ahead of his return to the Octagon at UFC 298 on Saturday night, Ian Garry told ESPN’s Marc Raimondi that he has never once bumped into a disrespectful fan in person, suggesting that all of his haters are online trolls hiding in their parent’s basement.

That quickly changed on Friday night as ‘The Future’ was leaving Anaheim’s Honda Center following the weigh-in ceremony.

As Garry was heading out, a fan made a disparaging remark about his wife — Layla Machado Garry. “You talking sh*t about my wife? Don’t f*cking do that,” warned Garry as he was being held back.

Garry’s marriage has come under fire in recent months after fighters, including Sean Strickland and Colby Covington, labeled him a “cuck” and claimed that his wife was still involved with her ex-husband, Richard Cullen. Garry has vehemently denied the accusations.

Ian Garry gunning for 14th straight win at UFC 298

The rising Irish contender will look to hush some of his haters when he kicks off the UFC 298 main card against No. 8 ranked welterweight Geoff Neal. The two were originally set to fight last summer, but Neal withdrew. Ahead of their previously scheduled scrap, Garry drew the ire of fighters and fans alike when he began sporting and selling t-shirts with a mugshot of Neal stemming from a 2021 arrest.

Garry enters the bout a perfect 13-0 in his mixed martial arts career.

Conor McGregor predicts early win for Ian Garry in UFC 298 fight with Geoff Neal: ‘He’s gonna run through him’

Conor McGregor picks Ian Garry to finish Geoff Neal at UFC 298 He's going to run through himFormer two-weight champion, Conor McGregor has listed his predictions for a host of main card fights tonight ahead of…

Conor McGregor picks Ian Garry to finish Geoff Neal at UFC 298 He's going to run through him

Former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor has listed his predictions for a host of main card fights tonight ahead of UFC 298 in Anaheim, claiming his compatriot, unbeaten welterweight, Ian Garry will “run through” Geoff Neal in the opening round en route to a blistering stoppage win.

McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight champion under the banner of the UFC, has been sidelined since he headlined a pay-per-view card for the promotion back in July 2021, fracturing his left tibia and fibula in an opening doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier. 

And expected to make his comeback in a return later this year against former lightweight title chaser, Michael Chandler, McGregor insists he will return this summer, much to the dispute of promotional leader, Dana White.

Conor McGregor lays out prediction for Ian Garry at UFC 298

Sharing his thoughts on tonight’s UFC 298 main card – McGregor has picked Garry to beat Neal, as well as Robert Whittaker to topple the returning, Paulo Costa, and Alexander Volkanovski to rally an early storm and finish unbeaten Spaniard, Ilia Topuria in the pair’s featherweight championship showdown.

“Awesome night of @ufc fights tonight!” Conor McGregor posted on his official X account. “Garry is going to run thru (sic) Geoff in the first round. Volk will get hurt early but come back and KO Ilia. Over in two rounds. Costa and Whittaker will have a good 3 round exchange as will Merab and Henry. Have a good evening everyone and remember, Proper Whiskey, Forged Irish Stout, and McGregor rule the roost, baby!”

Do you think Ian Garry will stop Geoff Neal early akin to Conor McGregor at UFC 298?

UFC 298 fight purses revealed: Ex-Champion Henry Cejudo set to receive just $150,000 for return

UFC 298 fight purses revealed as Henry Cejudo makes just $150,000 for fighting returnOfficial guaranteed minimum fight purses for tonight’s UFC 298 card in Anaheim, California have been obtained from the state’s…

UFC 298 fight purses revealed as Henry Cejudo makes just $150,000 for fighting return

Official guaranteed minimum fight purses for tonight’s UFC 298 card in Anaheim, California have been obtained from the state’s athletic commission, with fans questioning the purse of former undisputed bantamweight and flyweight champion, Henry Cejudo, who is guaranteed just $150,000 for tonight’s main card title eliminator with Merab Dvalishvili.

Returning to the Honda Center tonight for the first time in two years, the Octagon lands in Anaheim with a championship headliner taking curtain-closing honors in California.

Headlining tonight’s UFC 298 card; an undisputed featherweight title fight between incumbent gold holder, Alexander Volkanovski, and incoming title challenger, Ilia Topuria – with the Spaniard attempting to capture gold and improve on his blistering unbeaten record.

UFC 298 fight purse minimums revealed

And in the night’s co-headliner, former undisputed middleweight kingpin, Robert Whittaker takes on the returning Brazilian challenger, Paulo Costa in a high-stakes clash to boot.

As per guaranteed minimum pursues filed with the California State Athletic Commission, as obtained by reporter, Manouk Akopyan, defending champion, Volkanovski is set to receive a flat purse of $750,000 – while challenge, Topuria is set to land $350,000.

?Making his comeback tonight in a high-stakes, expected championship eliminator against Georgian force, Dvalishvili, Olympic gold medal winner, Cejudo’s purse has been called into question by fans – who have asked how the former two-weight champion is earning a minimum of $150,000.

Below, find the entire minimum guaranteed fight purses for UFC 298 obtained from CSAC – including both show purses and win bonuses:

Andrea Lee: $70,000 + $70,000 

Miranda Maverick: $75,000 + $75,000

Oban Elliott: $10,000 + $10,000

Valentine Woodburn: $15,000 + $15,000

Josh Quinlan: $12,000 + $12,000

Danny Barlow: $10,000 + $10,000

Zhang Minyang: $10,000 + $10,000

Brendson Ribeiro: $10,000 + $10,000

Rinya Nakamura: $23,000 + $23,000

Carlos Vera: $12,000 + $12,000 

Marcos Rogerio de Lima: $100,000 + $100,000 

Pascall Saumani: $23,000 + $23,000

Amanda Lemos: $80,000 + $80,000

Mackenzie Dern: $200,000 + $200,000 

Anthony Hernandez: $66,000 + $66,000

Roman Kopylov: $80,000 + $80,000

Merab Dvalishvili: $105,000 + $105,000

Henry Cejudo: $150,000 + $150,000

Geoff Neal: $108,000 + $108,000

Ian Garry: $55,000 + $55,000

Robert Whittaker: $300,000 + $100,000

Paulo Costa: $250,000 + $100,000

Alexander Volkanovski: $750,000 flat

Ilia Topuria: $350,000 flat

Ian Garry plays up future fight with Khamzat Chimaev after UFC 298: ‘I’d elbow the skull off him’

Ian Garry talks up fight with Khamzat Chimaev after UFC 298 I would elbow the face off himUFC welterweight Ian Garry likes his chances against fellow undefeated fighter, Khamzat Chimaev.  Garry takes on Geoff Neal this…

Ian Garry talks up fight with Khamzat Chimaev after UFC 298 I would elbow the face off him

UFC welterweight Ian Garry likes his chances against fellow undefeated fighter, Khamzat Chimaev. 

Garry takes on Geoff Neal this weekend on the main card of UFC 298 in what will not just be a test of his MMA skills, but also his mental toughness. The 27-year-old has been on the receiving end of waves of online hate, going on for some months now. 

Ian Garry talks a future fight with Khamzat Chimaev

However, while some of the subjects clearly upset Ian Garry, it didn’t seem to impact his self-confidence. When recently asked about Chimaev, the Irishman was supremely confident of victory should the two meet, and envisions the fight being one of epic proportion and worthy of a special venue.

“It would have to be in the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland as my dream venue because they’re never going to go to Croke Park,” Garry said to Sporting Post. “And the dream opponent would be me versus Khamzat Chimaev because everyone talks about him like he’s this badman and this boogeyman, but in time I’m going get a chance to lay hands on him. If he’s the baddest man that everyone is afraid of I’m going to show the world what’s up.”

“He’d be my dream opponent in Ireland. I want that f—king wolf. I want that badman. I want to be the baddest man on Earth, and everyone considers it to be him at the moment, but let me punch the mouth off him and we’ll see what’s up.” (H/T BJPenn.com)

Garry has seemingly thought that one day he and Chimaev would have some sort of rivalry, one that could go down in UFC history. Chimaev is a formidable force and should the two continue down the road of success, and while ‘Borz’ has recently moved to 185lbs, there is no reason why the two couldn’t meet in the future.

“F*****g right. What’s he gonna do? Take me down? great bring it on, lets go, bring it on, let’s go,” Garry continued. “Dude, so am I, I’m bigger than he’s, I’m 6’3?, I’m taller, longer, faster than he is. Amazing wrestling, he gets tired though, he gets tired pretty quick, I don’t. The truth is, so what if he takes me down, I’d elbow the skull off of him.” 

Who wins, Khamzat Chimaev or Ian Garry?

Ian Machado Garry sets record straight on relationship with his wife, Layla Machado Garry, and her ex-husband

Ian Machado GarryUFC welterweight star Ian Machado Garry cleared the air on some of the rumors surrounding his relationship with his…

Ian Machado Garry

UFC welterweight star Ian Machado Garry cleared the air on some of the rumors surrounding his relationship with his wife — Layla Machado Garry — and why he chose to take her name as opposed to the more traditional approach.

Garry’s marriage has come under fire in recent months after Sean Strickland slammed Garry, believing that ‘The Future’ had willingly taken the name of his wife’s ex-husband. He even went so far as to suggest that she was still involved with her ex romantically — labeling Garry a “cuck” in the process.

The fact is, Machado is his wife’s maiden name from her mother’s side of the family and there is a very good reason why Garry decided to incorporate the name into his own.

“The truth is I only did it because I wanted my son and my stepson to really feel connected,” Garry said in an interview with CBS Sports. “I didn’t want them going through life with two separate surnames. I feel like there is a little bit of a disconnect. If you guys want to be brothers, I want to make sure you guys have that same connection.”

Another point of attack for Strickland was Garry’s unusually close relationship with his wife’s ex-husband — Richard Cullen — whom the couple regularly travels with. Cullen is a renowned sports nutritionist and was brought into Ian Garry’s camp by Layla Machado Garry in 2021.

“He’s an elite performance nutritionist and he’s really f*cking good at what he does,” Garry said. “To the point which we’ve done every single weight cut for the UFC and they’ve been easier every single time,” Garry said. “We’ve worked phenomenally together and I’m very proud of the work we’ve done.

“He’s also the father of my wife’s son. I never want to be a wedge between a father and a son. I never want that on my conscience. I know that we’re going on this adventure to travel the world. ‘Hey dude, want to travel the world, be my nutritionist and we can all do this together? You can come and see your son whenever you want.’ The two of them went to Disney this morning.”

Ian Machado Garry has no regrets over the way he has approached his opponents or his career

As an up-and-comer still trying to establish himself as a viable contender, Ian Garry’s brash and cocky style of selling fights will continue to invite some undesirable attention. Despite that, ‘The Future’ wouldn’t change anything about the way he has approached his opponents or his mixed martial arts career as a whole.

“I’m No. 10 in the world. I haven’t even touched the potential of where I know I’m going to get there. I haven’t touched the limelight of what I know is possible for my career. Yet I’m the most talked about fighter on this fight card. I was the most talked about fighter on the last fight card.

“I’m doing everything right in my way. There is nothing that went wrong other than people flipping the truth into lies and bullshit and running with it. The whole world right now is playing a game of Chinese whispers where they don’t actually know the f*cking truth.”

Ian Machado Garry returns to the Octagon this Saturday night, February 17 at UFC 298. He faces No. 8 ranked contender Geoff Neal as part of the event’s main card inside Anaheim’s Honda Center. Machado Garry enters the bout with a perfect record of 13-0 with six wins under the UFC banner.