Tag: ufc 310

Update Provided On Nick Diaz’s Status Following Concerning Video & Canceled UFC Return

Following a surprise announcement last year, fight fans learned that Stockton’s own Nick Diaz was gearing up for another Octagon return that would take place against Vicente Luque. The matchup was initially set for the UFC’s Abu Dhabi event on August 3 before it was pushed back to UFC 310 which took place in Las […]

Following a surprise announcement last year, fight fans learned that Stockton’s own Nick Diaz was gearing up for another Octagon return that would take place against Vicente Luque. The matchup was initially set for the UFC’s Abu Dhabi event on August 3 before it was pushed back to UFC 310 which took place in Las Vegas last month.

The last time that Diaz made a comeback was in 2021 where both before and after his loss to Robbie Lawler, there were serious concerns regarding his health. This was the same in the lead up to his bout with Luque which ended up being removed from the card with Luque going on to face and submit Themba Gorimbo in the final PPV card of 2024.

A video that went viral on social media several days after the news that Diaz would be in action on December 7 prompted further worries as the former welterweight title challenger appeared to be trying to light grass on fire whilst being shirtless at the side of a road. Having not won a fight since 2011, many were critical of him returning in 2021 from a competition point of view alone.

Following this period of concern, a close friend of Diaz’s gave a promising update about his current situation. His long-time training partner Jake Shields recently stated that this has been a difficult period for both the 41-year old and his loved ones.

However, Shields is optimistic that things are now on the up for the fan favorite who has been dealing with “some stuff” behind the scenes.

“He’s doing a lot better,” Shields said on The Overdogs podcast. “I’m not going to get into anything personal with him. But he had some stuff that’s been going on for a little while and he’s finally heading in the right direction. “So, I’m hopeful for Nick because he’s like a brother of mine, one of my best friends.

“Life’s tough sometimes, ups and downs, and things can happen. Nick was dealing with something, and I think he’s headed in the right direction. I haven’t felt that way in a long time. I finally feel a lot better about that situation. We’ll see, time will tell. I’m so close to him so it’s painful watching you know someone struggle with some things. But I think he’s going to be finally better.”

Anthony Smith On Dominick Reyes During UFC 310 Fight: ‘Goddamn, You’re Not That Good’ 

UFC 310 was an incredibly difficult night for Anthony Smith who in the featured prelim, suffered a loss to Dominick Reyes. It was clear from the first few seconds of his walk out that this fight would be unlike any other for the former title challenger following the recent loss of his longtime friend and […]

UFC 310 was an incredibly difficult night for Anthony Smith who in the featured prelim, suffered a loss to Dominick Reyes. It was clear from the first few seconds of his walk out that this fight would be unlike any other for the former title challenger following the recent loss of his longtime friend and coach, Scott Morton.

Smith was visibly struggling to keep it together on his walk to the cage which is completely understandable when you consider what he was going through. After being stopped in the second round, he told Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview that in the moment, he thought this would “probably” be the last fight of his career.

In a recent interview with SiriusXM, Smith spoke openly about his mental state going into that fight and how he wasn’t able to control his emotions despite believing that he would be able to “power through it”. He also gave more context to one of the most alarming moments in the fight where it looked like he was allowing Reyes to repeatedly punch him without defending or throwing anything back.

Reyes later came out and said that his opponent was asking to be hit and given what was on the line for him, he obliged. “Lionheart” explained why he did this and how he had a huge realization during the fight which could impact whether he decides to return to the Octagon or not.

“I got impatient,” Smith said. “I just wanted something to f*cking happen. I just forced it. I just got impatient. Nothing was happening. He wasn’t engaging. I’d seen everything. That was the worst part, too. I was in there, and I was like, ‘Goddamn, you’re not that good.’ And then it hit me like, ‘F*ck, maybe I’m not either.’

“Maybe I’m not either anymore. The left hand wasn’t nearly as fast as I expected it to be. I think I over-predicted how good he was going to be on his feet. He landed a shot here or there, and then at some point where I was like, ‘F*cking hit me or something. I need to f*cking feel something. Give me something here.’”

Michael Bisping: Anthony Smith Will Be ‘Embarrassed’ Watching UFC 310 Fight Back, But He Shouldn’t Retire

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping would like to see his podcast co-host, light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith, continue his active career inside the cage. Smith’s latest outing on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage came at last weekend’s UFC 310 pay-per-view, where he competed in the featured preliminary bout opposite a fellow former title challenger […]

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping would like to see his podcast co-host, light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith, continue his active career inside the cage.

Smith’s latest outing on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage came at last weekend’s UFC 310 pay-per-view, where he competed in the featured preliminary bout opposite a fellow former title challenger in Dominick Reyes.

“Lionheart” was open during fight week about his recent struggles following the passing of a coach and friend. And the veteran was visibly emotional en route to the Octagon inside T-Mobile Arena, to the point where the commentary team questioned whether he was in the right head space to fight.

That theory only grew stronger when Smith fell by way of a long-lasting TKO stoppage at the hands of “The Devastator,” which was followed by the defeated contender admitting fans may have seen him in action for the very last time.

One prominent name who knows the 36-year-old well, however, doesn’t think that’s the case.

During a recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast, Bisping gave his reaction to Smith’s latest setback, which leaves him 1-3 across his last four bouts.

Similar to his thoughts on “Lionheart’s” defeat to Khalil Rountree a year ago, “The Count” suggested he was against Smith taking the fight in the first place. With that in mind, the Brit plans to share some advice to the light heavyweight if he chooses to make the walk again — something he’s expecting.

“I don’t think he should’ve taken that fight, at all,” Bisping said (h/t Bloody Elbow). “But I don’t think he will retire. I think when he watches that back, he’s going to be embarrassed when he watches it, and it’ll inspire him to come back. The world doesn’t deserve to remember him like that.

“Maybe it was therapeutic in some ways, but I’d like to see him fight again. … This isn’t a sport that you play, and that’s why Dana White says Chris Weidman and Clay Guida need to retire. That s*** will stay with you,” Bisping continued. “If he fights, I’m going to give him a call, and say, ‘If you do this, do it for the right reasons. Train as if you’re training for a world title fight, as if you’re going against Jon Jones. Leave no stone unturned, otherwise if you’re not willing to do that, then don’t even think about it in the first place!’”

It remains to be seen what comes next for Smith, and if UFC 310 did indeed mark a disappointing farewell.

Reyes, meanwhile, will look to continue his resurgence at 205 pounds next year. “The Devastator” has now won back-to-back fights since a knockout loss to Ryan Spann in late 2022 left him 0-3 post-fighting Jon Jones.

Merab Dvalishvili Gets Support From UFC Veteran For Latest Fan Altercation: ‘Don’t F*ck With Pro Fighters!’

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has been involved in several altercations with fans in recent times. The latest instance came this past weekend at UFC 310 where a video showed him being separated away from a member of the crowd when he was walking to the back with his teammate, Aljamain Sterling. Dvalishvili has since […]

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has been involved in several altercations with fans in recent times. The latest instance came this past weekend at UFC 310 where a video showed him being separated away from a member of the crowd when he was walking to the back with his teammate, Aljamain Sterling.

Dvalishvili has since shared a video on social media which suggests that the fan was a friend of Umar Nurmagomedov, who he will face at UFC 311 in his first title defense. This additional footage shows how the person grabbed him which kicked off the series of events that led to UFC fighter Dennis Buzukja trading punches with the man.

Buzukja later explained that the fan had also been trying to antagonize the 135-pound titleholder on their way to the Octagon for Sterling’s contest against Movsar Evloev. One former member of the roster is able to specifically relate to this kind of situation given his own interactions with fans in the past.

During the walk out for his fight against Demian Maia in Brazil back in 2016, Matt Brown was grabbed and hit by several people in the audience which led to him hitting back.

In a recent episode of MMA Fighting’s Fighter vs. Writer, Brown reflected on this experience and stood by Dvalishvili for his response to being provoked.

“I still say these fans, keep to your f*cking self, bro. You don’t f*ck with professional fighters. Most of us are martial artists that are respectful and stuff, but we’re also human beings and we’ll rip your f*cking throat out. Don’t f*ck with us. It’s stupid.

“You can’t grab a professional. Someone touches me, I’m f*cking them up.”

Brown also said that in the aftermath of his incident in Brazil, he wasn’t penalized for the altercation and the UFC looked to make changes to stop this kind of thing from happening.

“I remember Dana [White] changed things after that,” Brown said. “I don’t know what exactly the changes were but basically talking about separating the fans a little bit more, particularly in Brazil, maybe having a little bit better security when guys are walking out. I was right there in touching range, and they were hitting me and pulling my hat off.

“I’m not just going to sit here and take this, plus I’m completely fired up ready to walk into a fight. You get hit, it’s a natural reaction — you hit someone back.”

UFC Commentator: Champion Belal Muhammad Has Advantage After Shavkat Rakhmonov Performance

UFC Commentator: Champion Belal Muhammad Has Advantage After Shavkat Rakhmonov PerformanceBelal Muhammad is probably feeling pretty good about his chances against Shavkat Rakhmonov after seeing ‘Nomad’ go five rounds…

UFC Commentator: Champion Belal Muhammad Has Advantage After Shavkat Rakhmonov Performance

Belal Muhammad is probably feeling pretty good about his chances against Shavkat Rakhmonov after seeing ‘Nomad’ go five rounds at UFC 310.

While Rakhmonov scored his 19th career win in the evening’s co-main event, his clash with Ian Machado Garry left a lot to be desired. Rakhmonov largely dominated the action against the fence and logged nearly 12 minutes of control time en route to a unanimous decision victory, but it was the first time that the Kazakh looked human since UFC fans became familiar with him in 2020.

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Looking back on Saturday’s scrap during an appearance on Michael Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast, Paul Felder thinks the reigning welterweight world champion probably got a big boost of confidence after seeing how the title eliminator between Rakhmonov and Garry played out in Las Vegas.

“I think if you’re Belal, you’re pretty happy with either one of those guys winning, right? I mean, they spent a lot of time in the clinch,” Felder said. “There were a lot of moments of inactivity, whereas a guy like Belal Muhammad is going to be relentless in those positions—against the fence, with the takedown attempts.

“Now, I know Shavkat potentially had a pretty bad knee injury that he was dealing with. How badly that affected him, we can’t really know, but he did look a little off to me. But I’m telling you, if I’m the champ, I’m excited for the next matchup with him. I think a lot of times we see when these guys are so scary and get all these finishes, once somebody shows a little bit of weakness in them—shows that there’s a chance to beat them—other guys are very excited at the opportunity. So, I’m excited to see that fight happen.”

Rakhmonov reportedly went into UFC 310 with a pre-existing injury

With the win, Rakhmonov is expected to be the first man to challenge Muhammad after ‘Remember The Name’ scored a decisive decision win over ex-champion Leon Edwards earlier this year in Manchester. Originally, Muhammad had hoped to defend his title at UFC 310, but a bone infection in his foot forced him to bow out of the bout.

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According to Daniel Cormier, Rakhmonov tore his MCL ahead of the fight with Garry which could explain why ‘Nomad’ chose to take a more measured approach against Garry.

“If I’m Belal Muhammad, I’m actually kind of happy watching this fight tonight because Shavkat Rakhmonov did not look like himself even though I learned after that he had an injury,” Cormier said in a video on his YouTube channel. “I think he might have tore his MCL going into the fight. Granted, with a torn ligament in your knee you’re not going to look like the killer that you looked like in fights prior.”

No details have been revealed regarding the extent of the injury or how long it could put Rakhmonov on the shelf, but he is expected to undergo an MRI this week.

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Chase Hooper On Clay Guida After Dana White’s Retirement Plea Post-UFC 310: ‘Didn’t Feel Like He Was As Hungry…’

At UFC 310, Chase Hooper earned his fourth consecutive win in the lightweight division by beating a veteran of the sport in Clay Guida. His armbar in the first round saw him continue to put together the best run of his career to date whilst collecting a performance of the night bonus in the process. […]

At UFC 310, Chase Hooper earned his fourth consecutive win in the lightweight division by beating a veteran of the sport in Clay Guida. His armbar in the first round saw him continue to put together the best run of his career to date whilst collecting a performance of the night bonus in the process.

As for his opponent, some people (including UFC boss Dana White) believe that it is time for Guida to hang up the gloves. “The Carpenter” has fought 37 times inside the Octagon since making his debut with the promotion all the way back at UFC 64 in 2006. At 43-years old, Guida has lost his last three and his submission loss to Hooper saw him break the promotion’s record for the most losses.

His 19th defeat saw him clear past Jeremy Stephens and Andrei Arlovski who were previously all tied at 18. In a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Hooper recapped his second win of 2024.

Hooper also gave his opinion on whether Guida needs to step away at this stage in his career and though he admitted that everyone is different, he did think that there was a certain level of intensity missing from his opponent on Saturday night.

“It’s one of those things where I honestly didn’t feel like, when we were in there, I didn’t feel like he was as hungry for the competition as I was and I think that’s a big piece. I think, I don’t know, I didn’t feel like he was really in there as much as he could be but I think he’s a guy that needs to get pumped up for the fight. I’ll never tell anybody to retire right, I don’t think that’s my business but, you know, what 37 fights in the UFC? I mean I damn sure won’t be doing that when I’m 42. I’d sail off into the sunset but that’s just me.”