Category Archives: Lowkickmma.com

Ryan Garcia cashed in on Saturday night.

Not only did the 25-year-old boxing star bag the biggest win of his career, but he also walked away with $ 12 million after reportedly placing a $ 2 million bet on himself at +600 odds to defeat Devin Haney. All told, ‘King Ryan’ walked away with roughly $ 50 million following his impressive showing in The Big Apple.

“If you bet, BET ON YOURSELF. On top of what we made, EATING GOOD,” Garcia wrote on Instagram. “About 50 million (probably more) in one night; not too shabby.”

No wonder Ryan wasn’t concerned with forking over $ 1.5 million to his opponent after showing up more than three pounds over the limit.

Did Ryan Garcia pull off the greatest troll job in combat sports history?

After having a complete mental breakdown on social media over the last several weeks, sportsbooks heavily favored Haney to come out on top inside the Barclays Center. Garcia was listed as high as +800, meaning a $ 100 bet would have netted you a return of $ 800.

Pundits have since theorized that Ryan Garcia’s slew of nonsensical rants on social media were nothing more than a way to bring down his odds of winning. The cherry on top was Garcia showing up heavy 24 hours ahead of fight night and chugging a beer as he stepped on the scale.

According to ESPN, there are no regulations about a boxer betting on themselves by the Nevada State Athletic Commission or the Nevada Gaming Control. Whether or not that holds true in NYC remains to be seen.

Fight fans offered a variety of reactions to the news, many of which you can see below courtesy of Sportskeeda MMA:

LowKickMMA.com

Receiving a call out for an October showdown in the Middle East by surging light heavyweight contender, Magomed Ankalaev, division champion, Alex Pereria appears less than interested in remaining sidelined until UFC 308 – favoring a quicker return to action.

Pereira, the current undisputed light heavyweight champion, headlined UFC 300 last weekend, successfully defending his division crown for the first time in a one-sided opening round knockout win over former champion, Jamahal Hill.

And as for Ankalaev, the Russian finisher returned at the UFC Apex facility back in January, rematching Pereira’s compatriot, Johnny Walker, where he scored a second round knockout win of his own.

Reacting to Pereira’s devastating first round stoppage against Hill earlier this month, Ankalaev vowed to turn his own knockout win against the Sao Paulo finisher, offering him a clash at FUC 308 in October. 

Alex Pereira opts out of UFC 308 return

However, as far as Pereira is concerned, if Ankalaev cannot offer him a return sooner than October, he’ll likely skirt the bout in favor of a quicker comeback fight.

“I don’t want to fight at the end of the year,” Alex Pereira told MMA Fighting. “I want to fight sooner, so maybe that shows he (Magomed Ankalaev) won’t be ready. I don’t know why he said that.”

“This guy is complicated,” Alex Pereira explained. “Honestly, I have to see what’s best. I’m here to fight, but I don’t understand best about other things like where is best [to fight] and where isn’t. If I have to fight there, I will, but if it’s not a date I want, then it’s not best for me. I can say no.”

Winning light heavyweight gold last November, Pereira dispatched fellow UFC 300 feature, Jiri Prochazka in the pair’s vacant title clash at Madison Square Garden.

Would you like to see Alex Pereira fight Magomed Ankalaev next?

LowKickMMA.com

Jake Paul makes a sizeable offer to face Jorge Masvidal within the MMA ruleset.

Masvidal is currently booked to face Nate Diaz in a boxing match on June 1, roughly four-and-a-half years on from their BMF title match in the main event of UFC 244. 

The bout will also be the first of several boxing matches Masvidal is set to compete in. The 39-year-old had retired following his fight against Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 but felt the urge to compete again, like many fighters. 

Jake Paul calls out Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz

With the switch to boxing, Masvidal has also opened the door to being involved in ‘crossover’ boxing events, which has the chance of netting him a big paycheque. 

The biggest one of these fights would come against Paul, who has managed to make quite the impression on the combat sports scene over the past few years. Paul has also faced several former MMA fighters, why draw the line at Masvidal?

Paul has even gone as far as say he would be willing to face Masvidal in an MMA fight. Paul had signed to PFL last year but nothing has been made official in terms of an actual MMA fight. 

“The one thing I will say, they’re digging their own grave,” Paul said on his BS podcast. “I’m being so serious when I say that I want to fight them in MMA. Either Masvidal or Diaz in the PFL. $ 10,000,000 offer for either one of those guys. Again, they will literally hide behind the fact — Masvidal, ‘You can’t even box. What the f*** are you going to do coming over to MMA, bro? I’m f****** from Miami, Florida, bro. F****** f*** you, dude, don’t disrespect me you f****** jamoke.’ F****** bird brain, that’s what he hides behind.”

Paul would even call out former UFC champion Sean Strickland and rising contender Paddy Pimblett. 

“Same with f****** Paddy [Pimblett] and Sean Strickland, all of these guys hide behind these crazy things, but still none of them have shown up to the table to talk any business about anything to make anything actually happen in a real fight, a real spar,” Paul continued. “Whatever it is. So the offer still stands there. I want either one of those guys in MMA.”

Who wins in MMA, Jake Paul or Jorge Masvidal?

LowKickMMA.com

The ‘Blonde Bomber’ Ebanie Bridges is fed up with the never-ending stream of rumors regarding her relationship with Irish megastar Conor McGregor.

In December, Bridges brandished a tattoo promoting McGregor’s Forged Irish Stout on her torso ahead of a fight with Miyo Yoshida at a Matchroom Boxing event in San Francisco.

In the months since, the OnlyFans star has been spotted canoodling with Conor McGregor on multiple occasions, even flying out to Dublin to spend the night partying with the Irishman at his pub, Black Forge Inn. Since then, rumors have been flying about the pair’s relationship with most media outlets suggesting that things are far beyond friendship between the two combat sports stars.

However, Ebanie Bridges insists that there is nothing of the sort going on with McGregor, who has four children with his longtime fiancée Dee Devlin.

“Yeah, it’s f*cking annoying [that I have to defend our friendship] because it’s so clear to me,’ Bridges told instantcasinos.com. Maybe I’m either really smart or I just think it’s common sense. I think they [fans] have this little fantasy that we’re f*cking, and then they get excited about that and maybe go have a w*nk. 

“I don’t know but that’s all I can think of. Because honestly if there was something going on, I feel like we wouldn’t be together in public if we were doing something like that. I wouldn’t be wearing that branded clothing all the time and having a Forged Irish Stout in my hand all the time. It’s clearly promotion. 

“They want to think it up in their head for whatever reason, for their own little fantasies or to try and bring me down or to try and bring Conor down, because he has a lot of haters as well. But in the end, the people that are saying that, they’re just trying to spread rumors and make things up or make themselves excited” (h/t DailyMail).

Ebanie Bridges Insists Her Relationship with Conor McGregor is purely business

The Aussie boxer previously stated in an interview that the pair’s frequent appearances were nothing more than a business agreement between the two.

“He uses me for clout really,” Bridges said in November. “He’s sponsoring me to get his brand out. That’s what sponsors do,’ she said at the time. We met at the AJ fight and I wore his brand there, because he’s using me to get his brand out. Otherwise he’d be wearing a stout shirt.

“But we work together because he knows – me and him – will get people talking about his brand. It’s not that I need him, but we both help each other out, we are both an asset to each other’s brands, we both help build each other, it’s not one-sided.”

After nearly three years on the shelf, Conor McGregor will return to the Octagon on Saturday, June 29 for a long-awaited clash with former Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler at UFC 303.

LowKickMMA.com

Officially booked to make his Octagon return this summer atop a UFC 303 card in June, former two-division champion, Conor McGregor has vowed to quit drinking in five days time – as he begins his training camp ahead of a clash with Michael Chandler during International Fight Week. 

McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight titleholder under the banner of the promotion, is finally set to make his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon this summer in a grudge fight with rival, Chandler, with the pair headlining UFC 303 in a welterweight scrap.

Sidelined for the prior three years, McGregor has been out of action since he fractured his left tibia and fibula in a first round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to common-foe, Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in the duo’s trilogy rubber match.

And without a victory since a 2020 knockout win over Donald Cerrone in his most recent welterweight outing, McGregor is tasked with preventing a three-fight skid as he takes on former lightweight title challenger, Chandler.

Conor McGregor vows to stop drinking ahead of UFC 303

Remaining supremely confident of stopping the Missouri native in his comeback to the Octagon, counter striking veteran, McGregor appeared to hint at an upcoming period of sobriety – vowing to quit drinking in five days time, ahead of his UFC 303 clash with Chandler.

“My brother @justinbieber, the Mac has your back for life!” Conor McGregor posted on his official Instagram account. “From Beverly Hills to the Bahamas! See you in Vegas bro, it’s game on, the Mac is back! Five more nights on the delicious and then that be that see ya’s tonight. I’M NOT F*CKING LEAVING @properwhiskey @forgedirishstout @jennifersalke”

Training at his home gym base in Straffen earlier this week, McGregor was subject to a random drug test from new promotional partners, Drug Free Sport International – before praising last night’s win from Ryan Garcia against massive betting favorite, Devin Haney, urging the Californian to “drink responsibly every night” amid scrutiny over of his mental state.

Do you think Conor McGregor can defeat Michael Chandler at UFC 303?

LowKickMMA.com

When it comes to his long-awaited scrap with Conor McGregor, ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler is more focused on his strengths than the Irishman’s weaknesses. Specifically, the busted leg McGregor suffered in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier nearly three years ago.

On Saturday, June 29, Chandler and McGregor will finally step inside the Octagon, bringing an end to a build-up that dominated headlines for well over a year. It will be the former two-division titleholder’s first time competing since snapping his limb in the opening round against ‘The Diamond’ at UFC 264.

Coming back from an injury of that nature is no easy task — just ask Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman.

Fortunately, ‘Mystic Mac’ won’t have to worry about Michael Chandler intentionally targeting his surgically repaired tibia and fibula when they meet in ‘Sin City’ later this year.

“His ‘hurt leg’, if you would, going after it, it’s his back leg,” Chandler told The MMA Hour. “So me focusing on anything other than just being me and focusing on my strengths, which is always punches in bunches. Big punches, punches to the head, punches to the body, pick them up, put them down, kind of in your face, foot on the gas type of Michael Chandler style.

“It would be silly for me to think about anything more than that. Any time you can mess up a guy’s foundations, it’s good for you. Changes their movement, messes up the power in their punches, but I don’t see myself throwing a lot of leg kicks in this fight. So, haven’t really thought about it that much” (h/t MMA Mania).

Michael Chandler predicts an early night for Conor McGregor at UFC 303

As for how Chandler sees things playing out against Conor McGregor, the former Bellator MMA champion plans to make the Irishman feel as uncomfortable as possible in the first round before putting him away in the second stanza.

“My ‘Mystic Mike’ prediction is I finish him in the second round,” Chandler said on Instagram. “Get him on his heels in the first round, make him second-guess himself in the first round, make him realize, ‘Dang, I probably should have just stayed rich and stayed out of the fight game.’

“And I will start planting those seeds of doubts in the first round. By the end of the first round he will go back to his bench and go back to his corner huffing and puffing and realize that he’s about to meet his demise.”

Last competing in November 2022, Chandler carries a 2-3 record under the UFC banner, sporting wins over Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson while facing a handful of losses against some of the lightweight division’s top dogs — Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, and Dustin Poirier.

While it’s been nearly two years since Chandler’s last victory, McGregor will be seeking his first W since a 40-second shellacking of Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 246 all the way back in 2020.

LowKickMMA.com

Someone at DAZN is getting fired.

Ahead of Saturday’s Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia boxing match in Brooklyn, NY, both fighters were present at Thursday’s press conference to hype up their highly anticipated encounter. While the festivities provided the typical trash-talk between the proverbial cocky champion and his overly confident challenger, the real bit of excitement came in the closing moments of the event.

A seemingly innocent graphic ran at the bottom of the screen, revealing previously unannounced details regarding the MF & DAZN: X Series 15 headliner on Saturday, May 25.

According to the graphic, the main event will be a bout between Elle Brooke and Paige VanZant.

Brooke was understandably frustrated by the leak.

“Feel like everyone just found out I was pregnant before I did,” the OnlyFans star wrote on social media. “Just to clarify, I am not pregnant. Just referring to incompetent people leaking sh*t early.”

Ahead of the DAZN Leak, Paige VanZant Teased Her Pro Boxing Debut

Earlier this year, VanZant teased that her return to combat sports would be in traditional boxing, though she offered no details regarding the date or a potential opponent.

“It’s really, really exciting,” VanZant told MMA Fighting. “Gloves on, it’s just straight boxing. I did think my next fight would be a bare-knuckle boxing match, but this opportunity came forward, and I was just like f*** it, let’s go. So I took a fight.”

VanZant’s unofficially official scrap with Brooke will be her first career boxing match. From 2014 to 2020, ’12 Gauge’ amassed a 5-4 record under the UFC banner before walking away from the promotion in pursuit of greener pastures. It didn’t take long for her to land a lucrative deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, making her debut at the inaugural KnuckleMania event in February 2022.

As for Elle Brooke, the ‘Baby Bomber’ claimed the Misfits Boxing middleweight championship, knocking out AJ Bunker in the third round at MF & DAZN: X Series 12 in the United Kingdom earlier this year.

With the cat out of the bag, expect an official Brooke vs. VanZant announcement shortly. Until then, check out Elle Brooke’s title-winning performance below:

LowKickMMA.com

Ultimate Fighting Championship is the most valuable combat sports promotion with its business buddy, World Wrestling Entertainment, sitting comfortably in the No. 2 spot.

Combat sports are more popular than ever. That was more than evident following Saturday’s massive UFC 300 card in Las Vegas. Even before fight night, the UFC expected recording-breaking numbers at the gate and more than a million pay-per-view purchases.

Following the landmark event, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that the event had brought in more than $ 16.5 million in ticket sales, making it the third-best in the company’s 30+ year history.

So it should come as no surprise that the UFC is listed as the most valuable combat sports organization in the world according to Forbes’ list of The Most Valuable Combat Sports Promotions Of 2024 with a whopping $ 11.3 billion evaluation.

Coming in second place is WWE, the pro wrestling giant received a $ 6.8 billion evaluation on the heels of WrestleMania 40. The two-night spectacular scored rave reviews from fans and per WWE, the gate for the event was up 78% compared to the previous record set during WrestleMania 39, with 145,298 in attendance across both nights this year.

In 2023, the UFC’s parent company Endeavor purchased WWE and merged the two organizations under one banner, TKO Group Holdings.

Two of the UFC and WWE’s competitors make forbes’ top five Most Valuable Combat Sports Companies

Rounding out the top five was All Elite Wrestling, the WWE’s top competitor in the world of sports entertainment. Owned by Tony Khan, AEW is worth a reported $ 2 billion.

Singapore-based combat sports entity ONE Championship, founded by CEO Chatri Sityodtong is listed at No. 4 with an estimated worth of $ 1.3 billion.

Coming in fifth is Matchroom Boxing, a UK-based sporting event promotions company founded by Barry Hearn and run by him and his son Eddie Hearn, valued at $ 850 million. The three other boxing promotions in the top 10 were Top Rank Boxing ($ 630 million), Premier Boxing Championship ($ 600 million) and Golden Boy Promotions ($ 450 million).

LowKickMMA.com

Max Holloway doesn’t think Ilia Topuria is acting like a true BMF.

Following Holloway’s incredible buzzer-beating knockout of Justin Gaethje to win the UFC’s bragging rights belt on April 13, reigning featherweight champion Ilia Topuria opened the door for a potential clash between the two titleholders if — and only if — ‘Blessed’ puts his BMF title up for grabs

“Without the BMF belt [on the line], I don’t want him at all,” Topuria said on The MMA Hour. “If not, I’m gonna fight with Volk who deserves more than him, the rematch. Because he has that belt, I’m excited about that. That’s why I want him. He’s been saying, ‘Right now I have a lot of options.’ He doesn’t have any options. I’m the champion right now, I choose the date, I choose the place. He just has to be ready and wait for the call. Whenever I want him, he has to be ready.”

Responding to Topuria’s demand, Max Holloway questioned whether or not ‘El Matador’ was exhibiting the characteristics of a true BMF.

“That’s not a very ‘BMF’ way to say it,” Holloway told Jim Rome. “A ‘BMF’ wouldn’t say, ‘I’m not going to fight this guy unless …’ That’s kind of un-‘BMF.’ Doesn’t sound ‘BMF’ the way he’s trying to demand it and saying, ‘I’m not going to fight.’

“A ‘BMF’ fights whatever, fights whoever, whenever, any weight, any time, and that’s not a tone of a ‘BMF.’”

Staying true to the BMF way, Max Holloway is adamant that he’ll fight any man the UFC chooses to put in front of him, but a world title tussle with Ilia Topuria is at the top of his last.

Ilia Topuria open to a rematch with Alexander Volkanovski if Max Holloway Fight doesn’t happen

Topuria, on the other hand, did open the door to a potential rematch with Alexander Volkanovski, the man he took the featherweight strap from at UFC 298 in February.

However, ‘El Matador’ has a great deal of respect for the former champ and wants ‘The Great’ to take plenty of time to rest and recover after suffering a pair of brutal back-to-back knockouts.

“Alexander Volkanovki’s been the world champ,” Topuria said. “He’s defended it six or seven times. He’s a pound-for-pound fighter. The most technical guy I’ve fought ever. There’s a reason he’s been a world champion, but I think he needs more time to recover. He fought at the end of the year and got knocked out [by Islam Makhachev]. 

“I knocked him out and if he doesn’t get the time to recover, he’ll get knocked out three times in one year, or something like that. I just want the best for him. I want the best version of Volkanovski.”

LowKickMMA.com

According to Mike Perry, former UFC standout Darren Till turned down seven figures to toe the line with him.

Since making the move from the Octagon to the squared circle in 2022, ‘Platinum’ went from a middling welterweight to a bonafide bare-knuckle star under the BKFC banner. In his relatively short time with the promotion, Perry has already faced a who’s who of combat sports stars including Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Luke Rockhold, and Eddie Alvarez.

Gearing up for a return to the ring in 2024, all signs pointed toward Perry finally throwing hands with longtime rival Darren Till. Both men have traded shots back and forth in interviews and over social media for the past few years, and with neither being bound to a restrictive UFC contract, their clash seemed inevitable.

According to BKFC president David Feldman, the promotion had met Till’s financial needs during negotiations, but ‘The Gorilla’ ultimately declined to sign on the dotted line.

“I heard he said no to over $ 2 million dollars,” Perry said on the latest episode of The MMA Hour. “Darren’s just yapping away over there.”

According to Perry, Till would prefer their fight to be a traditional boxing match rather than a bare-knuckle brawl, and seemingly no amount of money is going to change his mind.

“What’s he doing? What is he doing? I know they gave him a hell of an offer,” Perry said. “Respect that you don’t care about that type of offer and you want what you want. When you want what you want, that’s respectable. But that’s one thing about BKFC too — at the end of the day, screw the gloves. Test yourself for real. Up against the bone. Skin and bone, baby, that’s what’s in there. Test yourself.”

Mike Perry is open to a traditional boxing match with Darren till

Mike Perry hasn’t completely closed the door on a boxing match with Till once his scheduled scrap at KnuckleMania 4 is in the books, so long as it makes sense for him financially.

“A lot of guys say they wanna do it with boxing gloves or gloves of some kind,” he said. “Those fights will happen in the future. A big part of the [BKFC] contract is I can do other things as well, and if the right money, and it has to be right because I’m being paid very handsomely.”

On April 27, Perry will look to add another name to his hit list when he meets former BKFC champion Thiago Alves at the promotion’s fourth annual KnuckleMania event in Los Angeles.

Check out Mike Perry’s full appearance on The MMA Hour below:

LowKickMMA.com