Category Archives: Bloodyelbow.com

One down, one to go for KSI.

Social media star KSI is boxing not once, but twice in one night at The O2 Arena in London. Part one was a matchup against rapper Swarmz, who took this fight on short notice and looked like he’d never boxed before. Predictably, Swarmz looked like someone who’d never boxed before, and KSI ripped him apart. KSI scored a knockdown in the opening round and then once more in the second round to pick up a comically easy win.

Watch the highlights below:

This card is filled with YouTube stars and social media influencers, including Deen The Great, who TKO’d Evil Hero in the opening round. Deen The Great’s celebration didn’t quite stick the landing.

But if you want a real KTFO, check out Salt Papi’s starching of Andy Warski.

KSI’s quest for two wins in one night will cap off with a main event fight against Luis Alcaraz Pineda. If you want to check in on this event then catch the live stream on DAZN worldwide or DAZN PPV if you’re in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, or the Republic of Ireland.

Bloody Elbow – All Posts

The UFC middleweight is on the mend after undergoing surgery recently. 

Paulo Costa was hoping to return to the Octagon by the end of the year, but his timeline may have to change.

The UFC middleweight defeated Luke Rockhold by unanimous decision in a ‘Fight of the Night’ awarded outing at UFC 278 this past Saturday. During that 15-minute affair, Costa fractured his right hand, which he has undergone surgery to repair recently.

The Brazilian revealed on his official YouTube channel that the surgery was successful, and his recovery timeline is going to be around eight weeks before he can resume training.

“I broke my hand in the fight,” said Costa. “I thought I had a bone injury or maybe ligaments, but what really happened was a fracture to the metacarpal bone. I hoped it wasn’t a fracture because then I would be able to come back to fighting again in 50 or 60 days and use all the conditioning and the whole camp I’ve done [for UFC 278].”

Because the UFC has its schedule full with the remaining Fight Night and pay-per-view events for 2022, Costa could wait until 2023 to fight again. That timing would be perfect for ‘Borrachinha,’ who may have an opportunity to compete in Brazil for the first time in five years. The UFC announced its return to the country with UFC 283, the upcoming pay-per-view event set for Jan. 21 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Costa has one fight remaining on his current UFC contract and hinted at completing it in front of a home crowd.

“I planned on fighting in 60 days but it won’t be possible,” said Costa. “I’ll have to fight in December or January. We’ll have a UFC card in Rio [on January 21] so maybe it happens there. It’s up to the UFC.”

Bloody Elbow – All Posts

Israel Adesanya may have lost his first MMA bout in 2021, but the real disappointment came a year earlier in a title fight victory.

Israel Adesanya enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in the UFC. After making his debut with the promotion in 2018, the former world class kickboxer rattled off six straight victories, picking up an interim middleweight title in the process—before defeating Robert Whittaker to unify the the belts in 2019.

A little more than a year later, and Adesanya tried his hand at securing his second UFC belt, with a light heavyweight title fight against then-champion Jan Blachowicz. The ‘Last Stylebender’ walked out of that fight with the first loss of his pro MMA career. However, in a recent video posted to his YouTube channel, the 33-year-old admitted that losing didn’t sit half so poorly with him as a fight he had in 2020. The real low point of Adesanya’s MMA career came in his first title defense, a notably lackluster victory over Yoel Romero.

“It’s not the Jan fight, surprisingly,” Adesanya admitted in the brief interview clip, “Because people expected, like, ‘Oh, it’s gonna be—’ No, I’m fine. Like I said, dare to be great.”

“Lowest point in MMA, holdup—if I’m being honest, the Romero fight. Because that was the first time people were just like, ‘Ah, boring.’ He had another fight after me and he did the same thing. The smart people were like, ‘Ah, Israel was right. He’s doing the exact same thing.’ Because he knew if he made a move against me the wrong way, I was gonna catch him.”

“Bits of it still reared its ugly head, but I squash it now because I’m an adult and I know how to handle it. But after that fight, I was like, ‘I was fighting, I was trying to—he was just standing there, why are you blaming me?’ That’s why this now, I’m just like, ‘Eh, whatever.’ And I talked to George about it, and I’m like, ‘Eh, whatever, I know what I’m gonna do.’

“But that was my first time where I kind of felt, like, ‘Bluh.’ I hate to say it, but the fans ‘turned on me’ in a way. Where I was like, ‘Wait, what? Now they’re saying I’m shit?” I’m like, ‘Did you not watch the one before this? Did you not watch the one before-before that? The one before, before that!?’

“That’s why in that Costa fight I had that chip on my shoulder, and I was just like, ‘Watch this.’”

Adesanya went on to talk about his feelings in the wake of his KO loss to Alex Pereira as well, but eventually came back around to the Romero fight again.

“Like I said, the Romero thing as well, that was the worst for me,” Adesanya added. “It wasn’t that ‘worst.’ But, it was just, like, the narrative, and it was the voices that were the loud—they were probably the minority, but they were the loudest voices. The fucking eat-ass cunts. So that’s why I went in to the Costa fight just free, like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna show you what’s up.”

Adesanya is currently scheduled to take on his aforementioned former kickboxing foe, Alex Pereira, in defense of the UFC middleweight title on November 12th, at UFC 281, in Madison Square Garden, New York, NY. Alongside that main event bout the UFC has booked a women’s strawweight title fight between recently re-crowned champion Carla Esparza and former champion/current top contender Zhang Weili.

Bloody Elbow – All Posts

This strawweight fight is the latest addition to the UFC’s run of December fight cards.

The UFC is returning to Florida.

The promotion has settled on Orlando for its upcoming UFC Fight Night scheduled for Dec. 3 at a soon-to-be-finalized venue, per a report from Nolan King of MMA Junkie. This is the first visit to the city in nearly three years, with UFC on FOX: Emmett vs. Stephens being the most recent offering.

Also reported by King was a new addition to the event, a strawweight fight between Angela Hill and Emily Ducote. Both women have confirmed the report on their respective social media accounts.

Hill returned to the win column with a unanimous decision over Lupita ‘Loopy’ Godínez at UFC San Diego in August. ‘Overkill’ was previously on a three-fight skid that saw her come up short against Tecia Torres, Amanda Lemos and Virna Jandiroba. Known for being one of the most active fighters on the roster, Hill stays true to the distinction as she is now set for her third appearance this year.

Ducote joined the UFC following her brief reign as Invicta FC strawweight champion. ‘Gordinha’ won the then-vacant championship with a ‘KO of the Year’ contender against Daniel Taylor at Invicta FC 44. She followed that up with a successful defense over Alesha Zappitella, who she defeated via second-round TKO at Invicta FC 47 this past May. The 28-year-old debuted in the UFC against Jessica Penne at UFC Long Island and earned a unanimous decision.

Hill and Ducote are ranked at No. 12 and No. 13 in the division, respectively.

UFC Orlando now has nine confirmed fights. Here is the updated line-up:

• Derek Brunson vs. Jack Hermansson
• Tracy Cortez vs. Amanda Ribas
• Matheus Nicolau vs. Matt Schnell
• Eryk Anders vs. Kyle Daukaus
• Francis Marshall vs. Marcelo Rojo
• Natan Levy vs. Genaro Valdez
• Marc Diakiese vs. Michael Johnson
• Clay Guida vs. Scott Holtzman
• Angela Hill vs. Emily Ducote

Bloody Elbow – All Posts

Khabib Nurmagomedov has no interest in signing Luke Rockhold to Eagle FC.

Eagle FC might welcome the likes of Diego Sanchez and Kevin Lee to its roster, but that doesn’t mean every ex-UFC fighter is a good fit.

One of those soon-to-be ex-UFC fighters whose name was brought up as a potential candidate for the Russian-based MMA promotion was Luke Rockhold, a former teammate of Eagle FC’s Khabib Nurmagomedov.

But rest assured, Khabib has no intention of signing Rockhold despite their budding friendship, with the former UFC lightweight champion turned MMA promoter claiming that Rockhold has nothing left to prove at this stage in his career.

“I don’t think so. [Rockhold] was a Strikeforce champion. He was a UFC champion. He has nothing to prove here, I believe he does not have to fight anymore,” Khabib, who used to train with Rockhold at AKA, told Red Corner MMA in a recent interview.

Rockhold lost to Paulo Costa in a grueling Fight of the Night at UFC 278, with the fifteen-year MMA veteran hinting at and later confirming his retirement in the aftermath of the fight. He is a former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion, with six victories in the UFC against Costas Philippou, Tim Boetsch, Michael Bisping, Lyoto Machida, Chris Weidman, and David Branch, as well as wins over Ronaldo Souza, Keith Jardine, and Tim Kennedy in Strikeforce.

Bloody Elbow – All Posts

Middleweight Paulo Costa is upset at fans who don’t cheer for him due to political reasons.

UFC Middleweight contender Paulo Costa is not too happy about some of the Brazilian MMA fanbase.

As the country’s presidential elections approach, ‘Borrachinha’, a supporter of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, does not like the way political reasons might make people not cheer for him in the Octagon.

In a conversation with Super Lutas’ YouTube channel, Costa expressed his discontent about the issue. The way Paulo puts it, he is allowed to make his political opinions public and is frustrated at the way Brazilian fans will not root for him even if Borrachinha performs well in the cage.

“I focus a lot on that over here, unfortunately. I love Brazil, I live in Brazil. I’ve had multiple opportunities to come live in the United States up to today. Brazilians like to involve fandoms in fighting. They involve politics in fighting.”

“I’m a person, I’m allowed to have political opinions.” Costa said. “No matter what I do, if a guy cheers for a different party. I may win by knockout, the more, the better. Still, it will never be good enough for them. It’s a crazy thing.”

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Bolsonaro campaigned against vaccination, social distancing, masking and locking down. In a recent scandal, Borrachinha was also accused of assaulting a nurse while trying to verify his vaccination card without getting the jab.

Most recently, Costa (14-2) defeated Luke Rockhold via unanimous decision, back at UFC 278. The victory snapped a two-fight skid for the 31-year-old, with losses to Marvin Vettori and Israel Adesanya.

Bloody Elbow – All Posts

Former UFC welterweight Mike Perry believes he’s “the best fighter out there right now”.

Former UFC welterweight turned bare-knuckle boxer Mike Perry has found a home for himself at BKFC and believes he’s the best fighter in the world right now.

Perry, who extended his bare-knuckle record to 2-0 with a hard-fought decision victory over ‘MVP’ at BKFC London, is so confident in his abilities that he has offered to welcome the likes of former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Ukrainian heavyweight boxing champ Oleksandr Usyk to the BKFC ring.

‘Platinium’ also extended an offer to British YouTuber and rapper KSI, who was reportedly in attendance for BKFC 27 last Saturday.

“I haven’t seen Jon in a while, so if Jon Jones wants to come beat me up in bare knuckle then I’d be down,” Perry told Ariel Helwani during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour (h/t Low Kick MMA). “That’s my boy, I love fighting man. So, I want to fight the best. Usyk, if you wanna come, or KSI was at the fight, I don’t think he wants those problems. As far as bare-knuckle boxing, a lot of people might not want it. I mean who’s the best fighter out there right now. It’s me, I am!”

Perry might not be a world beater in MMA, but the Miamian has made a name for himself in bare-knuckle fighting and is one of just two fighters to get the better of Page in a striking contest, badly bruising ‘Venom’s’ face in their bare-knuckle bloodbath that went to sudden death. He has an overall combat sports record of 17-9, including MMA, boxing, and bare-knuckle.

Bloody Elbow – All Posts

Ben Askren doesn’t think Jorge Masvidal deserves another title shot.

Ben Askren has slammed Jorge Masvidal for requesting a title shot against Leon Edwards after avoiding the newly-crowned UFC welterweight champion for the last three years and losing his last three fights in a row.

Edwards and Masvidal have a history dating back to 2019 when ‘Gamebred’ sucker-punched ‘Rocky’ with a ‘three-piece and a soda’ backstage at UFC London. The pair were expected to settle their differences in the Octagon last year, but Masvidal pulled out of the matchup due to injury.

Masvidal is 0-2 in title fights against Kamaru Usman but believes he deserves a third title shot against Edwards, which Askren thinks is ridiculous. ‘Funky’ put his former opponent on blast on Twitter, demanding Masvidal win some fights before he starts asking for a title shot against a man he ducked for several years.

“Been off the grid camping….. why is not getting a title shot off 3 losses in a row a controversial opinion,” Askren questioned on Twitter before following up with a couple more Tweets.

“Also I would rather be a has been than a never was.”

“Lastly you can’t avoid someone for 3 years then try to pick a fight once they get a belt.”

Edwards is likely to defend his title against Usman in a trilogy fight next year, with UFC president Dana White teasing a welterweight showdown at Wembley Stadium in the U.K.

Bloody Elbow – All Posts

Michael Bisping toasts former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold farewell

From one UFC Hall of Famer to another future UFC Hall of Famer, Michael Bisping toasts Luke Rockhold farewell and wishes the 37-year-old all the best in retirement.

Bisping and Rockhold might not have seen eye to eye as competitors, with both men fierce rivals during their UFC heydays, but that’s all water under the bridge now that both men have retired and put their fighting careers behind them.

Rockhold retired following a gutsy performance against Paulo Costa last Saturday at UFC 278, but Bisping still doesn’t think the former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion gets the respect he deserves.

Bisping thinks Rockhold is massively underappreciated and that most fans don’t fully respect what the latter had accomplished throughout his career, winning multiple world titles and defeating a who’s who of top contenders and former champions, including Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo Souza, Chris Weidman, and of course, himself.

“I wish you all the best in retirement, Luke. I really, really do mean that,” Bisping, who is tied 1-1 with Rockhold, said on his YouTube channel (h/t MMA Fighting). “I know we had some back and forths over the years, but it was just competitive. Just rivals, sporting rivals. I’m sure if we met under different circumstances — in fact, I always said this — I’m sure we’d get along. We’ve got some mutual friends and Jason Parillo thinks the world of you as well. So congratulations in what you do.”

“It’s weird because he was always a guy who was kind of subject to a lot of ridicule. And I know I didn’t help a lot of stuff with the ‘Conceive, believe, achieve’ thing and I kind of turned him into a little bit of a meme, but that’s what you do. When you’re fighting each other, you make fun of one another. Then obviously he was always ‘a little bit arrogant,’ but you need that. You have to be arrogant as a fighter. You’re stepping foot into an octagon, in front of 20,000 people, with the entire world watching. Believe it or not, you have to have some self-belief and you have to have confidence. So that was always the issue there. Maybe he was a little misunderstood, maybe some of the things didn’t come out the right way, but Saturday night, when the fight was done, when the dust was settled, we saw from Luke Rockhold a look into him. He pulled back the curtain, you got to see the real Luke, and he was very emotional, and rightly so.”

“Luke, I do believe is underappreciated by a lot of people,” Bisping added. “The run that he had, the career that he had, Strikeforce champion, UFC champion, always a top contender, always in big fights, always took on the best challenges. I mean look at that, he just came back after three years of being away and took on Paulo Costa, one of the toughest guys in the division, one of the top guys, one of the hardest hitting and one of the hardest hitting with the best chins. There’s not a lot of people queueing up to take on that guy when they’ve been out of the octagon for three years…

“To go out there and lose three of your last four, all by knockout, to then go and take three years away from the sport and come back and go right in, co-main event, in a pay-per-view, against Paulo Costa, an absolute killer, that tells you the measure of the man. That tells you what the man is made of and what he thinks of himself and the kind of challenges and risks he’s willing to take… So Luke, whatever you’re going to do in retirement, mate, enjoy. You had a fantastic career. I think people still don’t give him the credit that he was due, but I do.”

Rockhold announced retirement following his unanimous decision defeat and Fight of the Night with Costa at UFC 278, marking one of the greatest sendoffs in UFC history.

Check it out below.

Bloody Elbow – All Posts

“Bisping’s 100% percent f—king British, and the reason why Leon Edwards is where he is today.” 

On Saturday at UFC 278, Leon Edwards scored the biggest victory of his career with a last-minute knockout win over former pound-for-pound and welterweight king Kamaru Usman. With the victory, “Rocky” also became the second British titleholder in UFC history.

His predecessor, of course, is Michael Bisping, who became the undisputed middleweight champion in 2016. And for former heavyweight fighter turned commentator Brendan Schaub, “The Count” deserves all the props for paving the way for all UK fighters today.

“Everything he does is based out of Birmingham, England,” Schaub said of Edwards in the recent episode of the Schaub Show (H/T MMA Mania). “He is a full-on, f—king thoroughbred of a Brit to get it done. Granted, [Michael] Bisping’s 100% percent f—king British, and the reason why Leon Edwards is where he is today.

“Don’t get it twisted, the U.K. scene wouldn’t be anywhere it is today without what Michael Bisping has done.”

Schaub went on to explain his statement with this analogy.

“He’s the pioneer, he’s the f—ng Rosa Parks of British fighters. First one to become [UFC] champion, first one to win the Ultimate Fighter, first one to beat these huge names.

“His fight with Anderson Silva is one of my favorites of all time. Michael Bisping is a straight-up legend. I don’t think there will ever be a Brit more important than Michael Bisping.”

The UK MMA scene did get some shine through Bisping’s popularity, but it’s quite an odd comparison to Rosa Parks, an icon in the civil rights movement that pushed to end racial segregation.

Bloody Elbow – All Posts