Month: May 2023

‘Power Slap is making money’ – Dana White says season 1 raised more than $10 million

Posted on by Zane Simon in Slap Fighting

Don’t tell Dana White that Power Slap isn’t a rousing success. Sure the startup pseudo sport has been dismissed as little more than brain trauma for cash by its critics and pulled minimal ratings on TBS, despite a strong lead-in from AEW wrestling. And maybe it showed little enough promise as a cable entertainment property that networks declined to pick it up after season 1 was in the books, leaving White to go pitch his latest reality-TV abomination to alt-YouTube media platform Rumble.

All that may be true, but it doesn’t mean that the whole project hasn’t still been everything that the UFC president hoped it would be. In a recent interview with Bro Bible, White gave more concrete numbers to the success of Power Slap’s debut run.

“We’ve done 1.5 billion views on TikTok alone,” White claimed, when asked about his past comments on Power Slap being “number one in all of sports.” “The average view count on TikTok for us is 11.4 million…We invested $10 million into Power Slap for season one and the first live event, and all of my investors have been paid back their money. Power Slap is making money. If you look at most of these companies, when you think of combat sports, the PFL, One FC, Bellator, and whoever else is out there, after one season of the reality show, this company is profitable.”

Neurologist calls slap fighting ‘insane’

While criticism of Power Slap has been swift and consistent ever since White & Co. first started bandying the idea about in public, the longtime MMA promoter has been bullish on the sport’s potential to be conducted safely. “We run right toward regulation,” he said in an interview with MMA Fighting, noting how many fewer blows to the head slap fighters take than boxers.

In an interview back in October of last year, however, Neurologist Dr. Nitin Sethi, poured some cold water on White’s enthusiasm, explaining that no amount of medical supervision is going to make activity like this fundamentally safer to participate in.

“We’ve spent so many years trying to educate commissions and fighters about brain damage,” Dr. Schwartz said. “And now you have this. These guys get hit in the head. You’re inflicting a concussion without allowing the combatant to in any way protect himself. And then he gets hit in the head again. Every concussion is brain damage. The first concussion is damaging. And with second impact syndrome, the second concussion can be life-threatening. It’s insane.”

Dana White claims they ‘spend the money’ to make Power Slap safe

In a recent interview with a media entertainment personality, Dana White tried to put any fears over Power Slap’s safety to rest. When asked about the talent and technique involved in the sport, he fell back to more familiar talking points—namely, dollars & cents.

“Because we spend the money to make sure that we have two healthy people in there before the fight,” White said of the technical mastery behind the talent. “But, in Slap, they take 3-5 slaps per event. Fighters in boxing take 300-400 punches a fight. It’s uneducation or pure hate.”

They train hard though

So where does all that money and healthy mindfullness go? No goddamn idea.

https://twitter.com/FullContactMTWF/status/1660966793714991105

New UFC middleweight throws fit at ADCC event

Posted on by Zane Simon in BJJ Competitions, Grappling, MMA News, UFC News

The UFC’s newest middleweight signing has the hardcore MMA fan community hyped. Sharabutdin Magomedov is Dagestan’s latest MMA export. A 29-year-old talent with a perfect 11-0 MMA record, with ten of those wins coming inside the distance. He’s also already made a reputation as a man prone to violent outbursts.

Last year, Magomedov made headlines after he he was arrested in his home city of Makhachkala on charges of assault. “Shara Bullet” as he’s also known, witnessed a man and woman, in front of him on a subway escalator, exchanging a kiss. The public display of affection apparently riled the fighter so much that he felt the need to exchange words, and then even blows, over the incident.

“One has to understand the situation, in Makhachkala there are unwritten rules, a kind of moral code of our own,” Magomedov explained of the incident. “In Moscow it is acceptable [to show affection in public], but with us it is not acceptable. I could not shut up”.

Sharabutdin Magomedov in trouble again

News broke that the GOR MMA talent had signed with the UFC back in December of last year, with his manager, Ali Abdelaziz confirming the reports. More recently rumors have been swirling that Magomedov is being penciled in for a high profile Octagon debut at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Potentially against top-ranked UFC middleweight Derek Brunson. Whether or not that bout actually comes to fruition fans should expect to see the Russian back in competition soon… provided he stays out of trouble.

To keep busy and to keep himself in fighting shape, Magomedov recently competed at the ADCC Southeast Asia tournament, where he had a grappling match against Poland’s Jakub Bilko. At one point, with Magomedov on top, looking to stack his opponent, Bilko rolled for a heel hook. After a few seconds of twisting and adjusting on the mat, Magomedov was forced to tap.

After tapping, Magomedov was clearly unhappy and exchanged words with Bilko before kicking him and walking away.

Sharabudtin Magomedov shares his side of the story

What was behind the incident? In a video interview with the Ushatayka YouTube channel, the fighter gave his side of the story. Notably, despite a big stage like the ADCCs, this was Magomedov’s first time in a grappling competition.

“I signed up for the entry level,” Magomedov explained (transcript via fight.ru). “It was my first grappling competition. I came to the tournament, and they told me that since I am a professional fighter, they can throw me into blue belts. I went and signed up for the blue ones. And in the end they take me and throw me into black belts. I signed up for 90 kg, and they threw me into black belts up to 100 kg. Just crossed out of both sections and thrown into black belts.

“I thought I’d fight, no big deal. A Pole was drawn for the semi-final bout. [Coach] told me not to fight him, he does twisting of the heel, this is a big risk, the ankle takes a long time to heal. You can drop out of competition for six months or a year.”

Despite the trepidation, about weight, level of competition, and potential for injury. Magomedov was prepared to go ahead, and tried to strike up a deal with his opponent before hand: No leg attacks. Despite both sides seemingly in agreement, it seems all bets were off once the bout actually started.

“Then, at the entrance to the arena, I ran into these Poles,” Magomedov revealed. “I went up to him and asked: ‘Do you understand Russian?’ He says, ‘Yes, I understand a little.’ We agreed [to grapple] with him without ‘heels.’ I thought that if he agreed so, then I would fight. He agreed. Then he approached one of the coaches and complained about me. He asked me what I want from him. I called a friend, asked him to explain to him in English, because maybe he misunderstood me, thought that I was running into him.

“Then a friend approached me and said that the Pole agreed and 100% would not twist my legs. I go to the fight, and he immediately lies on his back, does not fight with me, but immediately lies on his back. I attacked him from above—and he immediately goes on his leg. Scoundrel. This made me angry. The will to fight is gone. He acted wickedly. I got up angry and called him an asshole. I got angry, I was emotional.”

What’s the lesson?

It’s not hard to see the logic here of why Magomedov was angry. He thought he’d made an arrangement, but his opponent went back on the deal. It also seems like a pretty tragic misunderstanding of the nature of grappling and of competition. For Magomedov, this ADCC event was a chance to get experience and do some light work in prep for the UFC. But there’s no reason anyone else there should be treating the event the same way.

Clearly the fighter got thrown in way over his head, as can happen with grappling competitions where a limited pool of athletes means that last minute consolidations are made to get people matchups and to keep events together. But it also seems like—at the point Magomedov was asking his opponent to change the rules just for him—he probably shouldn’t have been there at all.

If a competition like this one were a higher profile combat sports event, this would be closer to fight fixing than a friendly gentleman’s agreement. And revealing a weakness to an opponent looking to win is more an invitation for them to take an easy victory than it is a way to create a level playing field.

Hopefully Magomedov can manage his expectations and his temper in the future, or his time in the UFC could be as short as it is eventful.

‘Just a few pennies’ – Francis Ngannou details UFC strong-arm tactics

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC News

Where did it all go wrong between the UFC and Francis Ngannou. The Cameroonian-born Frenchman became an overnight sensation for the UFC back in 2015-17, with a string of violent knockouts that presaged his first shot at UFC gold. He didn’t win the title in his first attempt, but by 2019 he looked every bit like an unstoppable juggernaut once again on his way to the crown.

Between 2015-2019, Ngannou fought 11 times inside the Octagon, amassing 8 knockouts and headlining four fight cards, including one PPV. He would fight for the UFC just three more times after that run, however. Snagging another two KOs and the UFC heavyweight crown in the process, and then his run with the world’s largest MMA promotion was over; ending in a slow, dragged out contract negotiation battle that saw a sitting UFC champ walk into free agency, belt in hand.

Francis Ngannou traces UFC contract trouble back to 2019

In a recent interview on the Dan Lebatard show, Ngannou got into the details of his split with the UFC. Most notably how, at the end of an 8-fight deal in 2019, the promotion iced him out for nearly a year, rather than letting him complete his contract and negotiate with Endeavor-owned company as a free agent.

“What I was asking for at first was ‘Can I have a fight,'” Ngannou explained, when asked about the UFC’s negotiating tactics. “Because, I had an eight-fight contract, and I wanted to fulfill that contract. But they wouldn’t allow me, since I wasn’t going to sign another contract. Because they know, if I fulfill that contract, I’m automatically free. They used some kind of dirty game in there, they freezed me out.

“How much I was getting per fight wasn’t much at all, just a few pennies. So they knew that I couldn’t make a living out of it. I had to come back and accept those contract. And that was after the Junior Dos Santos fight, was in June 2019. So, it was almost one year after that I have to fight. So I just resisted to that. That was very hard.”

Ngannou made a more public stand in later negotiations

It was a ‘take it or leave it’ style of negotiation that Ngannou felt was repeated once he actually won the UFC belt in 2021, as well. Despite only just having secured the UFC title in March of that year, the UFC immediately started making plans for Xtreme Couture talent’s next title defense. If he wasn’t going to be ready to fight Derrick Lewis in August, then Ciryl Gane could have the job with an Interim belt on the line.

“One of the things that was hard about it as well was the pressure that was putting on you,” Ngannou revealed. “Before I decided to speak up about this, I realized that if I just stay there and not speak up, not only are they going to change the narrative, but I would not take the pressure on me. I’m just me, and they are them; they are massive. I couldn’t fight that. I started to see how they promote even the interim title by saying I don’t want to fight. I’m like, ‘These people are killing me.’ So, I think that’s when I started to speak up about it.”

Not all about money

It seems that experience taught the ‘Predator’ that the most important part of dealing with the UFC wasn’t getting them to cough up more money, but getting the ability to actually bargain with Dana White & Co. while in a position to consider more options than the one they were prepared to give. To hear him tell it, the promotion had no problem throwing more cash his way, the trouble seems to have been more the idea that as long as he accepted new deals he’d always be meeting with the UFC exclusively on their terms.

“Exactly,” Ngannou agreed, noting that the problem with the UFC wasn’t just one of dollars and cents. “I didn’t ask for more money because—by the way, the new contract was more money, but I was like, ‘I don’t want more money, just give me the fight, so I can fulfill my obligation and be free. Therefore I can renegotiate as a free man.

“I can’t be locked here and negotiate. I’m not negotiating, you’re just telling me what I will get. Either way, it’s my right. We have an 8-fight deal, and then I’m here asking for the fight to deliver.’

“And they’re very happy to go out there all the time and say, ‘Oh, we give the fighters three fights per year. We give this.’ At the time, I even have to save all the video that Dana was saying. Like, ‘We give those fighters three fights a year!’ I’m like, ‘This guy is joking, right? I’m here, I’ve been here for five, six months, asking for fight, because I need money. I need to fulfill the contract, I need to make a living out of it.’

“My contract was exclusive, so I didn’t have any other revenue. But they were holding me captive into that, and now they’re trying to act like I want more money. I didn’t want more money. If it was about more money, I would have signed the contract, because there was more money into those contract and more and more by the time I was getting to the end.”

According to Ngannou, by the end of his 8-fight deal he was making somewhere around $100k-$120k to show while headline UFC events. By the time he beat Ciryl Gane to retain his belt in 2022, he was bringing in a flat rate of $600k with no win money (although likely PPV points and a probable side-letter agreement as well).

Negotiating as a free agent no longer under UFC contract has seen Ngannou reportedly net one of the highest paying contracts in MMA history. It may not have been all about money, but the ability to field multiple offers and sit at the table without restrictions certainly didn’t hurt his bank account.

‘Whatever it is, he’s got it’ – Joe Rogan gushes over next UFC star

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC News

To hear Joe Rogan tell it, the UFC has something pretty special in Ian Garry. The unbeaten Irishman first rose to prominence coming through the Cage Warriors circuit, branding himself as a sort of second coming of Conor McGregor.

“Being compared to one of the biggest superstars on the planet and the person who changed the sport isn’t a bad thing in my eyes,” Garry said in a 2022 interview with ESPN. “So, yeah. I’ll take it and run with it.”

While he’s worked more to distance himself from that image in the time since then, the shadow of his longtime idol still clearly hangs over the top of the 25-year-old from Portmarnock. Considering the level of superstardom to which McGregor has climbed, that may not be such a bad thing.

Joe Rogan and Bas Rutten high on Garry’s future

On a recent episode of his Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the longtime UFC commentator sat down with old school MMA legend Bas Rutten. Rutten was there first and foremost to talk about Karate Combat, the recent startup combat sports promotion that features pure, full-contact Karate bouts, where the former UFC champion is a commentator. At some point, however, the conversation got to other fighters outside the organization, including Ian Garry and his future potential.

“(He’s) undefeated, so confident and so intelligent,” Rogan said (transcript via MMA Junkie). “Beating Daniel Rodriguez like that in the last fight, and being the first guy to stop Rodriguez (with strikes) – that’s a big deal. He’s got it. Whatever ‘it’ is, he’s got it. He’s on his way up.”

Dana White is impressed too

Joe Rogan isn’t the only one singing Garry’s praises. After his first round KO victory over Daniel Rodriguez at UFC on ABC: Rozenstruik vs. Almeida, UFC president Dana White had nothing but praise to heap on the streaking welterweight talent.

“You know what [Garry] said to us tonight?” White told the assembled media after the event. “‘I want to beat all the top guys in the top 10. I want to beat all the guys in the top 5. I want to make sure there’s no question that when I fight for the title that people know I deserve it.’ That’s a fun guy. He’s fun.

“We have the Irish guy blueprint around here. So, we’ll probably take him to Boston, or MSG, and then eventually Ireland if he keeps doing what he’s doing.”

No word yet on when Garry will be back in the Octagon, although the UFC has teased plans for a return to Madison Square Garden in October, for a PPV headlined by Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic. It just might be that Garry will find his next trip to the Octagon this fall. If so, no doubt there will be a lot more eyes on him when he steps into the cage.

Adam Sandler to produce Office-styled UFC TV show

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA Business, MMA News, UFC News

Okay, yeah—sure, you got me. A lot of things could be funnier. But this is what we’re getting, so we better all start bracing ourselves now.

MMA has long been ripe turf for cinematic excellence, with such powerhouse films as Never Back Down, Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown, Never Back Down 3: No Surrender, Never Back Down 4: Revolt, and that all-time cinematic classic: Here Comes the Boom. Ready to add another piece of vital artistic expression to this pantheon of creative discourse is none other than comedy legend Adam Sandler.

Sure, a pedant might note that Sandler is more well known for that absolutely unending river of sub-par dreck he’s attached his name to over the years, than he is for those rare bright spots of wonderful acting he’s done that remind us how badly he really is phoning it in the rest of the time. Fortunately for those fearful that this will be one of the former and not one of the latter, he’s got a top-tier visionary in his corner to guide his hand. None other than UFC president Dana White.

Dana White announces new Adam Sandler produced UFC show

On a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show, White delivered the big news. Not only is there a behind the scenes documentary about the UFC headed down the pipeline, but there’s a comedy TV show as well. Produced by Sandler’s Happy Madison company (who also handled production on Here Comes the Boom), the show will apparently give fans an amusing take on what it’s like to work in the UFC head office.

“It’s not easy to just whip out a documentary and do it,” White told McAfee (transcript via MMA Fighting). “But we’re doing a deal right now with Roku where we’re filming a documentary behind the scenes of the UFC, that will come out later this year. [It’s about] the whole business. You guys will see all the behind the scenes.”

“We’re working on that [documentary], we’re also working on a show right now with Adam Sandler that’s a comedy about working in the offices of the UFC.”

Dana White will never star in a documentary

With all the reality TV that White’s done over the years, and countless hours of ‘UFC Countdown’ shows and ‘The Thrill and the Agony’ mini-docs—’Lookin’ for a Fight’, ‘F-ck It Fridays‘, and so much more—it’s worth wondering if Dana White would ever take a break from his busy filming schedule to have a documentary made about himself.

The answer, apparently, is a resounding ‘No’.

“Never. Never,” White responded quickly when asked at a recent UFC presser when fans could expect his Netflix documentary, now that Conor McGregor has had his released. “I’m not into that kind of stuff. Believe me, I get offers for all kinds of books and this and that. I’m just not interested in that kind of stuff at all. Movie roles, none of that shit. This is what I like to do. I’ll literally never do any of that stuff.”

Sad news for fans looking for a behind the curtain peek of Dana White’s life. In the meantime they’ll just have to settle for the multiple hours he spends on camera each week. And, maybe at some point in the future, a humorous recreation of White’s working life, produced by Adam Sandler.

A new change coming to Bellator

Posted on by Zane Simon in Bellator, MMA News

For much of the past decade there’s been something of a mystery in Bellator’s business. No, not ‘How do they make money without seeming to have a dedicated fanbase?’ Instead it’s been a mystery why, despite having former and future men’s flyweight fighters on their roster, the promotion has never had a men’s flyweight division.

The promotion introduced their first bantamweight title in 2010, with a fight between future UFC flyweight Zach Makovsky and Ed West. Despite picking up word class talents former flyweight talents like Kyoji Horiguchi and Sergio Pettis over the years the promotion has never seemed all that interested in actually building a 125-pound division for its male fighters. That is up until now.

Bellator to launch men’s flyweight division

First reported by MMA Junkie, the news has since been confirmed by multiple outlets, that Bellator plans to open up a new weight class for their talent to compete. That decision comes on the heels of a botched previous attempt at launching the weight class back in April, when Ray Borg failed to even make it to the scales for a planned bout against Kyoji Horiguchi. Borg was subsequently released from the promotion, and even publicly dumped from his management team.

“Ray couldn’t even make it to ‘35,” said Coker, speaking of Borg’s miss. “I think Horiguchi would’ve probably fought him at ‘35 today, just because he wanted to fight so bad. But listen, in the past, I get it—but his management and my team assured me that he was going to be able to make weight and make the catchweight, which was 130, for sure, no problem. And so you go by their word, because usually we don’t have a problem like this in a fight that big. But unfortunately, that’s what happened today.”

As of the moment, that move means that ex-UFC title contender and former Bellator & RIZIN bantamweight champ Horiguchi is the only flyweight fighter currently signed to the promotion’s roster. No planned debut for the promotion’s newest weight class has been announced, although expectations are that the promotion will make the move official with a public statement in the immediate future.

What’s on the horizon?

In the meantime, the Showtime promotion is gearing up for a fight card on June 16th in Chicago, IL. Bellator 297 takes place at the Wintrust Arena and is expected to feature a pair of title bouts. In the main event, light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov will take on former UFC title contender Yoel Romero. With bantamweight champ Sergio Pettis taking on featherweight king Patricio Pitbull in the co-main.

Here’s a look at the full card:

  • Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero
  • Sergio Pettis vs. Patricio Pitbull
  • Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis
  • Daniel James vs. Gokhan Saricam
  • Karl Moore vs. Alex Polizzi
  • Pieter Buist vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
  • Jaleel Willis vs. Ramazan Kuramagomedov
  • Archie Colgan vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
  • Norbert Novenyi Jr. vs Kamil Onizsczuk
  • Timur Khizriev vs. Richie Smullen
  • Kyle Crutchmer vs. Bobby Nash
  • Austin Vanderford vs. Imamshafi Aliev
  • Leandro Higo vs. Nikita Mikhailov
  • Wladmir Gouvea vs. Kevin Childs
  • Mike Hamel vs. Shamil Nikaev
  • Jordan Newman vs. Matthew Perry
  • Cody Law vs. Edwin Chaven
  • Max Metzgar vs. David McKinney

‘I’ve never said the words ‘more African” – Dricus du Plessis wishy-washy on Israel Adesanya narrative

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC News

Just what the hell is Dricus du Plessis trying to say? The potential middleweight title contender opened a big can of worms when he told Dan Hardy, back in 2020, that he wanted to be the “first real African champ; trained, born, bred in Africa.” It’s clearly been a way to blow his own horn and to celebrate the work that he’s put in, basing his combat sports journey out of a part of the world whose MMA scene is only beginning to pick up steam.

But it’s also felt like a pot-shot at fighters like Kamaru Usman, Francis Ngannou, and most particularly Israel Adesanya, who have all, at various points had their achievements celebrated as those of African champions in MMA. It especially can’t help feel targeted when du Plessis has made statements like this:

“Did those belts ever go to Africa?” Du Plessis said at a UFC media event back in March. “As far as I know, they came to America and New Zealand. I’m going to take a belt to Africa.”

“I’m the African fighting in the UFC. Myself and Cameron [Saaiman], we breathe African air. We wake up in Africa every day. We train in Africa, we’re Africa born, we’re Africa raised, we still reside in Africa, we train out of Africa. That’s an African champion, and that’s who I’ll be.”

It’s a rhetorical path that’s created a lot of solid heat for du Plessis for a potential future fight with Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title, but it’s also created a lot of backlash. Including from fellow African born and trained fighter Themba Gorimbo. It may be that it’s becoming a narrative that du Plessis won’t want to make the defining point of his career.

Dricus Du Plessis clarifies, but won’t backpedal on ‘Real African’ comments

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, du Plessis got back into the discussion of just what he means and what he’s trying to say by taking shots at other fighters from the African continent. Despite continuously referring to himself as the ‘first real African’, in his mind, that doesn’t suggest that Ngannou, Adesanya, and Usman are less African than him.

“I’ve never said the words ‘more African’ in my life,” Du Plessis said when asked about his statements (transcript via MMA Mania). “I didn’t say they were not African. I didn’t say they were not African. I stated facts. I am the only one in title contention ever to be born in Africa, live in Africa, reside in Africa and train there every single day.

“That was my statement,” he continued. “Some people say I’m backpedaling. I’ve never backpedaled. I’m sticking with that because that is the fact. I never said the words, ‘I’m more African.’ I never said that they were not African or that they were fake Africans. I never said that in my life. I simply stated the facts.”

Israel Adesanya’s Chinese heritage?

The Team CIT MMA fighter made a special point of prodding Adesanya for getting riled about national identity, considering that beyond his representation of New Zealand and Nigeria, he’s also waved the flag for China in the past as well.

“Black outside, China inside. I am Chinese,” Adesanya said in a promo video made during his kickboxing days, in which he also stated that he hoped to buy a house and live in China some day.

“He’s referred to himself as a Kiwi,” Du Plessis said. “He’s referred to himself as Chinese, he’s referred to himself as Nigerian. At the end of the day, he’s born in Africa. He is African. But he does not reside here, and that is the fact. That is what makes me and him different.”

Maybe it’s a good idea that the UFC started getting rid of the country flags during walkouts. Sooner or later it would probably be for the best if Du Plessis could just put this culture war to bed.

‘We paid Floyd’ – Dana White wants credit for Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC News

Combat sports always has been and always will be the promotion business. No sports contest is as unpredictable as a fight. Two of the meanest, baddest dudes of all time could get together in the ring and have a 12-round (or 5-round) staring contest, just like two lackluster decision machines could go to war. The action could end in a second or feel like it drags for hours. That’s why it’s always important to be selling the narrative. Whatever might happen, it’s going to be cool.

In that aspect, perhaps Dana White can be forgiven that selling the sizzle doesn’t work half so well when it comes to re-imagining the past. Especially not in the internet age, when everyone has receipts. The UFC president decided to jump into the suddenly growing war of words between Jon Jones and Tyson Fury, an offshoot of Fury’s supposed candidacy as a potential Francis Ngannou opponent.

Things really kicked off with a recent Joe Rogan quote that Tyson Fury would stand no chance against Jones if the two men were locked in a room together. Fury took exception to the idea, eventually walking back claims that he could beat Jones in a fight to claims that he could beat Jones in the ring. For his part, Jones took the opportunity to try and make something of it.

Jon Jones calls for cage match with Tyson Fury

“Hey Tyson, it seem [sic] like Joe may have struck a nerve,” Jones wrote in a surprisingly still not deleted post on Twitter. “I’ll admit there’s no one touching you in that ring right now, but let’s not let that confuse you with what would happen if you stepped foot in my cage. If you ever want to put some of those questions you got going on to rest, give Dana a call. I’ll help you out.”

While the real chances of that ever happening are essentially zero, it’s worth noting that Fury has teased the idea that he’d fight in a cage before. Only, under an exceptionally limited rule set.

“Let’s kick it up spicy, in a cage, four-ounce gloves under Queensbury [rules] and let’s have a badass referee like ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson,” Fury teased back in January, speaking on the idea of a bout with Francis Ngannou. “Did I just sell that to the world?”

Dana White throws some wild spin on Zuffa boxing

For those wondering about what’s essentially been an extensive preamble here, this is the point where we get to Dana White saying some aggressive promoter nonsense. Not to let Jon Jones’ callout go to waste, White addressed the feud in an interview with Bro Bible, where he did a little extra work to try and lure Fury into the Octagon—with a reminder of how well the UFC did getting Floyd Mayweather paid for his bout against Conor McGregor.

Let’s all let that sink in a moment.

“We can talk all we want,” White astutely noted, given that he was in an interview (transcript via MMA Junkie). “Tyson can talk, Jon Jones can talk, I can talk, we can all talk. Let’s do it. If Tyson is serious, and he wants to do it, listen, I got Floyd Mayweather to fight [Conor McGregor], and we paid Floyd. We got Floyd the number he wanted.

“If Tyson Fury is serious, and he wants to fight Jon Jones in the UFC, let’s start talking.”

Just to make sure we all know the context here, Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather came together with a plan to put together a boxing match, to which the UFC was pretty much unequivocally opposed when rumors of their talks first hit the press. After much wrangling and negotiation, the UFC agreed to let McGregor compete, if they could take home a sizeable chunk of his profits from the event.

To make all that nice and legal, the UFC branded themselves as a boxing promoter and got licensed in the state of Nevada. Despite the fact that that should have made McGregor’s contract legally dubious under the Ali Act, all parties went along with it, since litigation would be far more expensive than making huge piles of cash off a monster PPV. The UFC has never promoted or even been involved with another boxing fight before or since. They hitched their wagon to two of the biggest starts the combat sports world has ever seen, and got paid for being in the building.

Chances we see Jon Jones vs. Tyson Fury in the Octagon?

Zero.

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No Paulo Costa, Khamzat Chimaev expecting ex-UFC champ in Abu Dhabi

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC News

It wasn’t that long ago that a fight between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev seemed like a sure thing for the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi in October. With Costa coming off extended contract negotiations with the world’s largest MMA promotion, he and his manager both made it public that UFC officials were working on making Chimaev vs. Costa a reality.

“…[The UFC] really do see that the potential of a fight against Chimaev is gigantic,” Costa’s manager said back in March. “It’s Abu Dhabi, there’s that Asian market. They know Chimaev and Paulo have a true rivalry and that would help selling the fight.”

Whether it came down to issues with timing, money, or some other unforeseen complication, however, that fight no longer seems to be on the horizon. Instead, Costa has been set up in a fairly lackluster affair at UFC 291 against Islam Makhachev disciple Ikram Aliskerov.

Fresh off his UFC debut, where he picked up a first round KO of Phil Hawes, the 30-year-old Aliskerov sports a shiny 14-1 record in MMA. That single loss, though? It against to Khamzat Chimaev, back in 2019. For his part, ‘Borz’ wasn’t exactly impressed by the announcement of the Brazilian’s new booking.

“Paulo has spoken a lot of shit about me, ‘That guy, I want to smash him. I want to kill this guy.’ Doing a lot of things,” Chimaev said in a video blog released on his YouTube channel. “And he wants to fight with other guy? That guy? I fought him long time before—three, four years ago—before the UFC. I win against that guy. I think that guy will beat [Costa] as well. Paulo is not good. He’s shit, bro.”

Khamzat Chimaev targeting Kamaru Usman

With Costa seemingly out of the picture, what’s next for Chimaev? The 29-year-old hasn’t been seen inside the Octagon since September of last year, when he beat Kevin Holland in a short-notice booking at UFC 279. Chimaev had been set to face Nate Diaz in the PPV’s main event, but came in nearly 8-pounds over the welterweight limit for the bout. After months of speculation following the botched cut, the UFC announced that the Allstars Training Center fighter would continue his career up in the middleweight division.

Despite that move, it seems that another welterweight fighter is currently at the top of the list for potential next opponents. That’s after Usman called out the Chechen-born fighter back in May, saying it was the “biggest, funnest, most intense” bout on his radar.

“The UFC told us we’re going to fight in Abu Dhabi, so that’s what I’m waiting for,” Chimaev revealed. “I’m already here. I’m here in Dubai, living here. Training camp, everything is good. So I’ve been in shape a long time. I’ve been in Thailand in training camp, I’ve been here in training camp, I’ve been in Sweden training. I’m just waiting for the opponent, for the contract. We’ll see what’s going to happen.

“Usman wants to fight, I make [it] his last fight. He wants money, he knows where is the money, you know? Everyone knows the money. Now I’m going to fight this guy, in Abu Dhabi; smash his face, finish him. Then they’ll have to give me that title shot. There’s no money fights anymore, there’s only me. Because they know that Leon Edwards, they don’t give you that much money [to fight him], you know? If you fight with me, everyone knows it’s money fight.”

UFC targeting Islam Makhachev for UFC 294

Whatever ends up happening with Chimaev and his next UFC booking, the promotion has already made its plans clear for their Abu Dhabi PPV headliner. At UFC 289, this coming June, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is set to take on Beneil Dariush in the evening’s co-main event. Whoever comes out of that bout with their hand raised is likely to face Islam Makhachev later this year (assuming health and timing allows). In fact, even if ‘Do Bronx’ doesn’t make it to fight night, Dariush still gets a chance at gold.

“I said a couple of things: if this guy pulls out again, I want the title shot,” Dariush explained, when news broke that the first planned fight between he and Oliveira had been delayed. “And basically [I asked for] a pay bump, too. And [the UFC] agreed to both things, and that was pretty much it.”

As of yet, no bookings have been made official for the UFC 294 fight card at this time. But it seems likely that we’ll be seeing more concrete plans laid down in the coming weeks.

African kids look up to Israel Adesanya, not Dricus du Plessis – UFC fighter weighs in on middleweight drama

Posted on by Zane Simon in UFC News

At least one UFC fighter is in a better position than most to weigh in on the bad blood between middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and divisional rival Dricus du Plessis. Hailing from South Africa, du Plessis has made identity a key part of his campaign for gold. Notably, he’s made the claim that he and his teammate Cameron Saaiman are the only ‘real African’ fighters in the world’s largest MMA promotion. And that men like Kamaru Usman, Francis Ngannou, and Israel Adesanya can’t claim that identity, because they left the continent to live, compete, and train elsewhere.

At the point he first made that claim, however, it seems he was forgetting at least one person; recently signed welterweight fighter Themba Gorimbo. Born in Zimbabwe, Gorimbo has spent much of his career fighting, living, and training in close proximity to du Plessis, as a competitor on the South African MMA scene. Now 1-1 inside the Octagon, Gorimbo recently took the opportunity to share his thoughts on du Plessis’ narrative and why it bothers him.

Themba Gorimbo says Dricus du Plessis’ narrative is wrong

Gorimbo recently sat down with MMA Mania to talk about his first victory inside the UFC, a unanimous decision win over Japan’s Takeshi Sato. Alongside revealing that he won his bout while dealing with the flu, he took some time to go into detail about being broke heading into the fight, before the topic got on to du Plessis and his feud with Adesanya.

“I saw that interview… What Dricus said was wrong, right? Firstly, at that time and point when that interview was done, him and Cameron were not the only African who breath and smell African air; who wake up in an African sun, with an African address. I was in Africa too, and we trained 30 minutes away from each other. He knew about me, he talked to me a week before, when I lost my fight. He talked to me, and I’m like, ‘Okay, bro. Thank you so much.’ He’s like, ‘Sorry about your loss,’ whatever. At that point in time, he was wrong.

“All he said, I didn’t stand up, because I didn’t have a foot to stand on, because I was coming off a loss. You can’t come off a loss and come in and claim, ‘Hey, what about me too, bro?’ People will be like, ‘Hey, no way you’re standing, you’re just coming off a loss. Get out of here.’ So, I kinda took a back step on that. But it ate me too, to be honest.

“It ate me that the guy is saying, ‘Myself and Cameron are the only African fighters who lives and breathes African air; who wake up in Africa.’ Everyone can try to say whatever they say, go and listen to that interview, that’s exactly what he said… That was not cool.”

Gorimbo can’t dismiss Dricus du Plessis’ point entirely

Despite his feeling that du Plessis has no real claim to being the ‘only African’ fighter in the UFC, Gorimbo wasn’t entirely willing to dismiss the point ‘Stillknocks’ was making about fighters who live overseas claiming their African heritage. After all, it’s a point he himself has made—and regrets making—in the past.

“And then the story with Izzy and Kamaru and those other guys? He was right, but he was also not right. Because the belts have gone to Africa. Ngannou took his to Cameroon, Adesanya went to Nigeria, Kamaru went to Nigeria. But do they live and train Africa? No. For those belts, they didn’t live and train Africa. Which also comes back to infrastructure, things we don’t have in Africa.

“As Africans, we don’t have some things, and we should accept and say, ‘Okay, cool.’ They didn’t willingly go to these countries. I’ve also said stuff about Usman, when I won my championship in EFC. I said, ‘That man left Africa when he was six.’ Yes, I did my research! Kamaru left Africa when he was six. When I say that man can’t represent Africa? I know what Africa is about. I know how to live and survive in Africa. I said that with my own mouth. And you know what, do I feel proud of saying that? No. Because, you know what? It was wrong. We should accept when we are wrong.

“I was wrong in some way. It’s because, in saying that, ‘That man can’t represent Africa,’ that’s wrong, man. He’s African, he’s a brother. But he left Africa when he was six, you know? Me being the guy that knows what Africa is about, surviving Africa, know the suffering of Africa, I was correct. So, that was not cool.”

Israel Adesanya is the fighter African kids idolize

Whatever definition fighters or fans want to place on the idea of African identity, Gorimbo wanted to make one point clear. As far as what he’s seen from young fighters on the rise and MMA fans in Africa, if there’s an athlete that people are connecting with, it’s Israel Adesanya and not Dricus du Plessis. To hear him tell it, the ‘Last Stylebender’ is the fighter that African fans see as a reflection of themselves.

“And the whole beef with Izzy? Izzy is the guy that any African kid in Africa looks up to, that is doing MMA. No matter who says what, most African kids in Africa—including myself. I’m in the UFC, I look up to Izzy. Few looks up to Dricus. He’s great. We can get inspired by him, but not a lot of kids look really up to him, to be honest and fair.

“I don’t want to go deeper within it, but their suffering is different. Like, the small African kids would probably be looking up to me than they would to him, because the suffering is different. He’s coming from a rich family. I grew up without a father, no mother, and I kinda had to fight my way through life…”

“I’m not throwing shade at him, it is what it is. It’s life, it’s all life. We all have different avenues in life. God bless his path, God bless my path.”

Whatever narrative he wants to spin, for the moment, du Plessis has a more serious obstacle in front of him. If he wants to make his way to a UFC title shot, he’s going to have to go through former title holder Robert Whittaker to get there. There’s only one fighter the ‘Reaper’ has lost to in the last 9 years, that’s Israel Adesanya.