Photo by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing/Getty Images
Terence Crawford pocketed a disclosed purse more than three times larger than now-former WBA champion Israil Madrimov for their boxing showdown this past Saturday.
Crawford, who became a four-division champion with a unanimous decision over Madrimov to capture the WBA junior middleweight title, earned a disclosed purse of $ 2,500,000 for his handiwork. Madrimov, competing in his 10th professional bout following an extensive and decorated amateur career, earned a $ 750,000 disclosed purse in the losing effort.
The California State Athletic Commission released the event’s salary report on Monday in the aftermath of Crawford vs. Madrimov, which took place at Los Angeles’ BMO Stadium.
In addition to Crawford, one other fighter on the card crossed the seven-figure threshold with their disclosed purse — now-former WBA super lightweight champion Isaac Cruz earned a $ 1,500,000 disclosed payday for his stunning upset loss to Jose Valenzuela ($ 500,000) in the event’s co-headliner.
A complete list of the Crawford vs. Madrimov salaries can be seen below. As always, these figures do not represent a fighter’s total earnings, as certain sponsorship incomes, pay-per-view earnings, and other streams of income are not publicly disclosed.
Sean O’Malley and coach Tim Welch | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Sean O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch refuses to back down from Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling.
On Sept. 14, O’Malley defends his bantamweight title against Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 306. The fight is a continuation of O’Malley’s rivalry with the Serra-Longo fight camp, as “Suga” won the belt by stopping Sterling, Dvalishvili’s friend and teammate. And given their history, things have gotten tumultuous between the two camps, starting with a series of messages back in May, and most recently resulting in a heated exchange of words at a media event this past week where Dvalishvili threatened to fight Welch in the street.
Speaking with Submission Radio recently, Welch weighed in on the situation.
“Initially, I thought it was because I said we’re going to target his nose in an interview, which isn’t a lie,” Welch said. “I mean, it’s not a lie. I’ve never really said fighting words to those guys. But then Merab tweeted out and said, ‘Next time I see you, I’m going to take care of it,’ or something. And it’s like, come on, brother. I haven’t trained martial arts my whole life for a little 5-foot-4 guy to try to punk me out. I’ve trained my whole life and I’m only 34 years old. I’m six foot, 195 pounds. It’s like, alright, alright, well, we’ll see what happens.
“But that’s that’s besides the point. This is a huge fight. We got the No. 1 contender versus the champion of the world. That fight is going to happen 100 percent. ‘Sugar Show’ versus Merab, and we’re preparing and we’re more dialed in than we’ve ever been because Merab does pose a serious, serious threat.”
Dvalishvili is not the only one to take umbrage with Welch’s words. In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Sterling gave his thoughts on the situation, saying Welch should not be talking trash to a fighter, and if he keeps doing so, suggesting that “there are consequences for things that are being said.”
For Welch, all of this comes down Sterling and his team still being upset that O’Malley beat them.
“I think they’re still bitter,” Welch said. “They let the little curly-haired, funny guy who makes all these videos, who has tattoos on his face — Sean flat-lined [Sterling]. Sean punched him and dropped bombs on him, forced him to turtle up. You’ve got this world championship on the line and you’re fighting the ‘Sugar Show,’ I’m glad you were thinking about fighting me and not the fight you are in.”
Ultimately for Welch, he wants to stay focused on the thing that matters — UFC 306 — and he suggests Dvalishvili does the same. But much like Sterling said, if the other team wants to make something of this as the fight draws near, Welch does not intend to back down.
“It’s probably not smart for Merab to do that [on] fight week. Maybe after the fight,” Welch said. “You got the biggest fight of your life and you’ve got the opportunity to get a world championship. So, fight week, stepping into my face is probably not smart. You’ve got a fight ahead of you that you’re going to get paid for, so taking on me is not very smart. But we’ll see what happens. If they think our team is going to cower down to their team like [Henry] Cejudo’s team did, then they’re going to be wrong. They’re wrong about that.”
NEW YORK CITY — Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga faced off for the first time on Monday following their kickoff press conference ahead of Canelo vs. Berlanga on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. That staredown can be seen above.
The full Canelo vs. Berlanga press conference can be watched below.
There’s a lot riding on the heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic when they finally meet in November.
While an official announcement about the matchup hasn’t been made, Jones and Miocic are expected to headline UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. For Jones, the fight serves as a bout he’s chased since dispatching Ciryl Gane in rapid-fire fashion back in March 2023 to capture the vacant UFC heavyweight title.
Meanwhile, Miocic wants to cement his legacy as the best heavyweight in history by taking out arguably the greatest fighter of all-time in Jones.
The stakes get even higher with the expectations that one — or both — fighters could potentially retire afterward, although UFC CEO Dana White believes that’s only a certainty as far as one heavyweight is concerned.
“Stipe 100 percent is going to retire after this fight,” White told Kevin Iole. “Listen, Jon Jones, you know how I talk about Jon Jones and what I think of Jon Jones as a fighter — Jon Jones always loves to challenge himself, moved up to heavyweight.
“I don’t know what Jon Jones will do after this fight, but I would be shocked if he didn’t want to test himself against [Tom] Aspinall.”
Tom Aspinall currently reigns as UFC’s interim heavyweight champion. The English powerhouse owns an almost spotless record in the promotion aside from a freak injury that prematurely halted his fight against Curtis Blaydes in 2022. Aspinall recently avenged that setback with a one-minute knockout of Blaydes to defend his interim title at UFC 304.
Overall, Aspinall boasts an 8-1 UFC record with eight finishes. No opponent has even made it past the second round against him. Many within the MMA community believe he’s already established himself as the best heavyweight in UFC no matter what title Jones currently holds, but that makes a potential fight between them that much more intriguing.
White believes Aspinall having so much hype around him now may actually serve as the perfect bait to get Jones interested in the fight, assuming he gets through Miocic.
“Everything I’m saying, these are f*cking facts,” White said. “It’s not like me and Jon Jones have this unbelievable relationship like I have with Ronda [Rousey] and Chuck Liddell and Conor [McGregor] and some of these guys that have fought in the past. You know this is not the case. What I am saying about Jon Jones is undebatable.
“[It’s] undebatable what this guy has accomplished in his career, and if he beats Stipe and he comes out and fights Tom Aspinall and beats him, it’s already undeniable — nobody, I don’t care how much you dislike Jon Jones for what he’s done, this isn’t about personally who Jon Jones is and do you like him, we’re talking about the baddest dude to ever walk the face of the Earth in combat sports already — if he goes out and beats Tom Aspinall, he cements his legacy as the greatest fighter of all-time.”
While Aspinall may have momentum right now, White still wants to let Jones and Miocic settle their business in November after promising both of them he would make that fight.
Despite Miocic sitting out for the past three years and his most recent outing ending in a brutal knockout loss to Francis Ngannou, White believes Miocic has earned the opportunity to come back and face Jones for his likely last chance at reclaiming the UFC title.
“This title fight was supposed to happen a long time ago,” White said. “All the things that happened from injuries, whatever that got in the way — you’ve got two sides of the coin. You’ve got everybody talking about, ‘Dana doesn’t respect this guy and he doesn’t do this and he doesn’t do that.’ I’m showing both of these guys the respect. They want to fight each other. It’s a fight that they both want to happen. Total respect fight. I think they both deserve it.
“At the end of the day, I get it. Everybody wants to see Tom Aspinall, but let me tell you what, after Stipe and Jon fight, whoever wins, the Aspinall fight is even bigger.”
Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images
UFC interim titles aren’t exactly rare, but rarely are those belts ever defended.
At UFC 304, Tom Aspinall became just the third interim champion in UFC history to defend that title, joining Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Renan Barao who faced similar situations in the past. Prior to Aspinall dispatching Curtis Blaydes in just 60 seconds at UFC 304, the last time an interim title was defended was Barao all the way back in 2013.
In Barao’s case, he was stuck waiting for an injured Dominick Cruz to return, but Cruz never did in a timely fashion so the Brazilian was eventually just declared the undisputed champ. For Aspinall, he’s largely holding onto the interim title because reigning UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones was injured with torn pectoral muscle, but perhaps more importantly now, it’s that Jones’ next fight most likely comes in November against Stipe Miocic.
While Aspinall didn’t blink when UFC asked him to face Blaydes in July, he’s simply not interested in becoming the longest reigning interim champion in promotional history. That’s why Aspinall is throwing down the gauntlet when it comes to his next fight — and he’s not concerned as much about who he’s facing, but rather what is on the line.
“I don’t know what’s happening [next],” Aspinall told MMA Fighting. “That’s kind of out of my hands. All I know is my next fight’s going to be for an undisputed title. That’s it. I won’t do anything else.
“My next fight, I’ll fight anybody as always, as I’ve done throughout my whole career — you can ask any of the UFC matchmakers that — but right now, I’m the best UFC heavyweight in the world and I’m fighting for an undisputed title next.”
Following UFC 304, UFC CEO Dana White said the promotion would be crazy not to have Aspinall set as the backup fighter for the Jones vs. Miocic bout expected later this year.
While some fighters have bristled at taking on a backup role rather than just getting a title fight, don’t count Aspinall among them. At this point, he can’t imagine a single scenario where he would back down from the chance to face Jones or Miocic in the octagon.
“Yep, I’ll be there. I’ll do that,” Aspinall said about being the backup fighter. “I’d fight them guys on an hour’s notice if they needed me to.
“Listen, I could beat both of these guys, no problem. If I’ve got to do it on a day’s notice, I can do it. Easily. So I’ll be there and savor the opportunity if it presents itself.”
Aspinall isn’t cocky but rather confident in the work he’s shown throughout his UFC career to put himself in a position to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.
He may have to share a part of UFC’s heavyweight championships with Jones right now, but Aspinall has zero doubts he’s the best regardless of the interim tag affixed to his belt.
“I am the best,” Aspinall said. “I beat all the contenders. That means I’m the best. To me, that means I’m the best. You beat all the contenders, you’re the best in the world, and that’s it.”
The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Monday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time.
Ariel Helwani calls in from Paris to break down all the action and storylines from a busy combat sports weekend with Eric Jackman and Conner Burks, plus much more. The gang recaps UFC Abu Dhabi and Crawford vs. Madrimov, plus debates what’s next for the big winners, including Umar Nurmagomedov, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Terence Crawford. Next they react to the announcements for UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, headlined by Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway. Finally, Ariel checks in with the Parlay Boys and GC recaps his picks.
For latest episodes of The MMA Hour, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.
Amit Elor is a candidate for a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. | Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
MMA Fighting has 2024 Olympics wrestling results for the Freestyle and Greco-Roman matches in Paris this week.
Wrestling will take center stage beginning on Aug. 5, with the final gold medal matches wrapping up on Aug. 11.
All of the matches are set to stream on Peacock as well as NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, NBC app and the NBC Olympics app, with the medal rounds airing on USA Network.
The team representing the United States in 2024 may be among the best ever sent to the Olympics. Its hope is to bring home even more medals in 2024 after setting a record with nine total medals at the 2020 Games, which led all nations.
Check out 2024 Olympics wrestling results below.
Monday, Aug. 5
9 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET: Greco-Roman 60kg qualification round (Mat A)
Full draw listed below:
Georgij Tibilov (Serbia) vs. Enes Basar (Turkey)
The remainder of the weight class have byes into the next round
9 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET: Women’s Freestyle 68kg qualification round (Mat B)
Amit Elor (United States) vs. Buse Cavusoglu Tosun (Turkey)
Wiktoria Choluj (Poland) vs. Feng Zhou (China)
Tetiana Sova Rizhko (Ukraine) vs. Nisha Nisha (India)
Sol Gum Pak (North Korea) vs. Irina Ringaci (Moldova)
Koumba Larroque (France) vs. Tayla Ford (New Zealand)
Linda Morais (Canada) vs. Blessing Oborududu (Nigeria)
Soleymi Caraballo (Venezuela) vs. Nonoka Ozaki (Japan)
Meerim Zhumanazarova (Kyrgyzstan) vs. Delgermaa Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia)
9 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET: Greco-Roman 130kg qualification round (Mat C)
Amin Mirzazadeh (Iran) vs. Adam Coon (United States)
Mijain Lopez (Cuba) vs. Seungchan Lee (South Korea)
Heiki Nabi (Estonia) vs. Sabah Shariati (Azerbaijan)
Alimkhan Syzdykov (Kazakhstan) vs. Alin Alexuc Ciurariu (Romania)
Lingzhe Meng (China) vs. Jello Krahmer (Germany)
Oussama Assad (Morrocco) vs. Mantas Knystautas (Lithuania)
Yasmani Acosta (Chile) vs. Kiril Milov (Bulgaria)
Muhammet Bakir (Turkey) vs. Abdellatif Mohamed (Egypt)
3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET: Women’s Freestyle 68kgs, Greco Roman 130kgs and 68kgs semifinals
Sean O’Malley had a vested interest in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event because the winner could end up as the next challenger for his bantamweight title.
In the end, Umar Nurmagomedov earned an impressive unanimous decision win over Cory Sandhagen to vault himself near the top of the division and potentially solidify his position as the No. 1 contender. O’Malley credited Nurmagomedov on a job well done, especially knowing how much respect he had for Sandhagen as a fighter.
“It looked like [Nurmagomedov] did win but again that was a very close fight,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “Cory is, in my opinion, one of the best pound-for-pound guys in the world, so for Umar to be ranked No. 10 — which, a lot of the guys wouldn’t fight him, so I’m not surprised that he didn’t have that many high-level fights up until this or at least high-level, popular opponents. No one in the UFC wanted to fight this guy.
“Incredible performance by both guys really. Cory did a really good job shutting down Umar’s offensive takedowns and wrestling. Striking was pretty close. Umar looked like he landed harder shots. That’s as high level of a fight as it gets.”
Nurmagomedov’s win along with his growing popularity could cement him as the perfect opponent to face O’Malley next — assuming the champ gets through Merab Dvalishvili in his next title defense at UFC 306 on September 14.
Nurmagomedov has piqued O’Malley’s interest, but there may be an even bigger reason to seek out and destroy Nurmagomedov in a title fight — it would drive Conor McGregor nuts.
“Me versus Umar next?” O’Malley said. “Hash tag, ‘We’ll see LOL.’ [Deiveson Figueiredo] called me out, Ilia [Topuria] and Max [Holloway] are going to fight soon. Undefeated Umar 18-0 versus undefeated ‘Suga Show’ 19-0, beat a Dagestani? I wouldn’t mind that.
“That would be a real good way to get at Conor. Imagine how jealous he would be? I might go whoop Umar just for that reason alone. Could be a potential massive next fight.”
Of course, McGregor has a long history with the Nurmagomedov family, having engaged in a fierce rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov before falling to him by rear-naked choke back in 2018. Even after the fight was finished, Nurmagomedov vaulted over the cage to attack one of McGregor’s coaches and a wild brawl broke out before security could intervene.
While Khabib is long since retired with no plans to return, his closest friends and family have carried on the legacy his late father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov started. Islam Makhachev reigns as UFC lightweight champion, Usman Nurmagomedov serves as lightweight king in Bellator, and now Umar may just be the next Nurmagomedov destined for greatness.
Meanwhile, O’Malley has recently targeted McGregor as a potential fight he’d like to pursue after his one-time idol suddenly became his rival following some ugly back-and-forth exchanges through interviews and social media.
Getting a win over a member of the Nurmagomedov clan — something McGregor was never able to do — might just be O’Malley’s way to get his attention.
That being said, the champ can’t lose sight of what’s actually ahead of him next.
O’Malley praised Dvalishvili as a worthy contender who deserves his full attention, but after another win, Nurmagomedov could just be the ideal opponent.
“I’ve got to get through Merab next obviously,” O’Malley said. “We all know how dangerous Merab is. The guy has a nine-fight win streak. He’s beat like five former champions. Dude is as legit as it gets.
“I just believe that I’ll put his lights out and [be] onto the next, so Umar can be next. But same before I fought ‘Chito’ [Marlon Vera], I couldn’t pick. Is Merab next? Is Merab next? I had to figure out ‘Chito’ first, which I did very easily some would say. I’ve got to go out, take Merab out, and we’ll what the ‘Suga Show’ has next.”
Cory Sandhagen is giving Umar Nurmagomedov his flowers.
The longtime bantamweight contender lost a hard-fought decision to Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, putting his bantamweight title plans on hold once again. Sandhagen entered Saturday’s contest on a three-fight win streak, including a victory over recent title challenger Marlon Vera, but the loss to Nurmagomedov likely sends Sandhagen back to the middle of the pack for now.
Shortly after the conclusion of UFC Abu Dhabi, Sandhagen issued a statement via social media.
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“Tough sport,” Sandhagen wrote in a caption. “Umar is really world class – it was an honor to fight one of the world’s best. Congrats to him.
“Gonna keep getting better, like I always do. Thanks for the support. I love you guys.”
Nurmagomedov improved to 18-0 with the win, with six of those victories coming under the UFC banner. Afterwards, he called for the winner of the Sept. 14 UFC 306 bantamweight title main event between champion Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.
Sandhagen previously competed for an interim title at UFC 267, where he lost a five-round thriller to Petr Yan. His UFC record stands at 10-4.
That’s the message from Marlon Vera after a disappointing performance against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
In his first fight back after falling to UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley in lopsided fashion at UFC 299 back in March, the always tough “Chito” suffered a second straight loss after dropping a unanimous decision to Figueiredo. While he had his moments in the fight, Vera started slow and just never put together the kind of offensive volume needed to beat the former flyweight champion.
Following the fight, Vera released a statement on Instagram admitting that he may have been a little too anxious to get back in the cage again without giving himself the proper time to recover from his five-round war against O’Malley just five months ago.
“I fail at myself last night,” Vera wrote. “I thought I was ready. I felt good in the gym but at the end maybe I come back too quick after a hard title fight. Life doesn’t end here I still dream about big things I just need time to let go and reset.”
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During the fight, the UFC broadcast team — which included UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier and Paul Felder — noted that Vera remarked to them about getting out of the gates faster than usual because he only had three rounds to work.
In the past, Vera has often started somewhat sluggishly in the opening round but shown an ability to get stronger as the fight moves forward. That’s worked out for him in the past, most notably with a fourth-round knockout of former UFC champion Dominick Cruz as well as a stunning third-round finish of UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar in 2021.
This time around, Vera just never quite kicked into second gear.
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