Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois will clash in the main event Saturday night. | Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
MMA Fighting has Joshua vs. Dubois results live for the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois fight card at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on Saturday afternoon.
When the main event begins around 5 p.m. ET, check out our Joshua vs. Dubois live round-by-round updates for our live blog of the main event.
Anthony Joshua (28-3) has reeled off four straight victories, including a devastating knockout of former UFC champion Francis Ngannou this past March.
Daniel Dubois (21-2) was recently promoted to IBF world heavyweight champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt. He defeated Filip Hrgovic via eighth-round TKO this past June to win the IBF interim title.
Check out the Joshua vs. Dubois results below.
Fight Card (PPV.com at 11 a.m. ET)
Main event
Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois — IBF heavyweight title fight
Undercard
Tyler Denny vs. Hamza Sheeraz — EBU European middleweight title fight
Anthony Cacace vs. Josh Warrington — IBF and IBO super featherweight title fight
Ishmael Davis vs. Josh Kelly — 12-round middleweight fight
Joshua Buatsi vs. Willy Hutchinson — WBO interim light heavyweight title fight
Mark Chamberlain vs. Josh Padley — 10-round lightweight fight
Anthony Joshua | Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Anthony Joshua has his chance to become world champion again.
The British star challenges Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London, and both fighters successfully made weight at Friday’s official weigh-ins. Joshua weighed in at 252.7 pounds, just a few pounds heavier than Dubois.
THE FINAL FACE-OFF @anthonyjoshua vs @dynamitedubois
IBF World Heavyweight Title #JoshuaDubois | DAZN PPV | #RiyadhSeasonCard pic.twitter.com/8iOtFz21so
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) September 20, 2024
Joshua (28-3) enters Saturday’s contest on a four-fight win streak. He has bounced back impressively following a pair of title fight losses to Oleksandr Usyk and now has his chance to regain the IBF title that he dropped to Usyk in 2021.
In his most recent outing this past March, Joshua defeated former UFC champion and current PFL fighter Francis Ngannou via highlight-reel knockout.
“I look at myself as a gladiator and I’m about to step into an arena tomorrow to perform for the people who love to see blood, guts, and glory,” Joshua said in his post-weigh-in interview. “I’m pumped and I’m ready to perform for the people.”
Dubois (21-2) scored an eighth-round TKO victory over the previously undefeated Filip Hrgovic this past June to capture an interim IBF heavyweight championship. That same month, Dubois was elevated to undisputed status when Usyk vacated his share of the title.
See full Joshua vs. Dubois weigh-in results below.
Fight Card (PPV.com at 11 a.m. ET)
Anthony Joshua (252.7) vs. Daniel Dubois (248.6) — IBF heavyweight title fight
Tyler Denny (159.9) vs. Hamza Sheeraz (159.6) — EBU European middleweight title fight
Joshua Buatsi (174.7) vs. Willy Hutchinson (174.9) — WBO interim light heavyweight title fight
Anthony Cacace (129.8) vs. Josh Warrington (129.5) — IBF and IBO super featherweight title fight
Ishmael Davis (159.3) vs. Josh Kelly (159.1) — 12-round middleweight fight
Mark Chamberlain (139.4) vs. Josh Padley (139.6) — 10-round lightweight fight
Ilia Topuria | Photo By Dennis Agyeman/Europa Press via Getty Images
Ilia Topuria faces off with a legend this October.
The official fight poster has been released for UFC 308, which takes place Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi. In the main event, Topuria puts his featherweight title on the line for the first time when he defends against “BMF” champion Max Holloway.
See the poster below.
The official #UFC308 poster has dropped
We will see you next month in the UAE!@VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/fJ7T1eRQPI
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) September 20, 2024
The undefeated Topuria won the 145-pound title with a thudding knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 this past February. He became the first fighter to defeat Volkanovski in a featherweight bout and his profile has continued to soar in his dual homes of Spain and Georgia.
Holloway, a former featherweight titleholder, added the BMF belt to his collection at UFC 300 after flattening fellow fan favorite Justin Gaethje. He has won three straight fights since losing a trilogy bout to Volkanovski.
In the UFC 308 co-main event, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker takes on the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev. Whittaker aims for another shot at gold, while Chimaev looks to cement himself as the No. 1 contender despite fighting just four times in the past three years.
Belal Muhammad will forever be remembered by the city he calls home.
The recently crowned UFC welterweight champion was honored by the city of Chicago, where the fighter was born and raised, at a ceremony on Friday at Harold Washington Library Center. Mayor Brandon Johnson proudly declared Sept. 20 to be Belal Muhammad Day, two months after “Remember The Name” defeated Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 304 to earn his world title.
Muhammad shared a friend’s video of the ceremony on his Instagram Stories. Watch the footage below (re-uploaded by Championship Rounds).
September 20th, 2024 is now “Belal Muhammad Day” in Chicago
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 20, 2024
“We do hereby proclaim Sept. 20, 2024, Belal Muhammad Day,” Johnson said.
Muhammad also uploaded a photos from the occasion to his social media.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170)
It’s been a long road to prominence for the 36-year-old Muhammad, who had to go on a 10-fight unbeaten streak before earning his shot at UFC gold. Muhammad scored notable wins over top-10 contenders, including Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady, Vicente Luque, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, and Demian Maia before finally being granted a crack at Edwards this past July.
The new champion is yet to book his first title defense, though he has no shortage of challengers. Undefeated Kazakh fighter Shavkat Rakhmonov and former champion Kamaru Usman have made their case to be chosen for the opportunity, while others like Brady, Jack Della Maddalena, and Ian Machado Garry are also jockeying for position in the intriguing welterweight division.
Oscar De La Hoya | Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images
Oscar De La Hoya enjoyed UFC 306, but that didn’t change his mind about Dana White.
For the past several years, De La Hoya and White have taken shots at one another through the media over all manner of things. However, if there’s one person in combat sports De La Hoya is on worse terms with, it’s his former fighter Canelo Alvarez. So this past weekend, when Alvarez fought Edgar Berlanga, going head-to-head with “Noche UFC” in Las Vegas on Mexican Independence Day weekend, the boxing Hall of Famer declared he would attend UFC 306 instead of the boxing event.
Apparently De La Hoya did just that, and rather enjoyed himself at Sphere.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Oscar De La Hoya (@oscardelahoya)
“UFC Noche. I was true to my word,” De La Hoya said on Instagram. “I did attend last Saturday. I sat in [Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority] Turki [Alalshikh’s] box upstairs and I have to be honest with you, it was beautiful. It was spectacular. It looked really cool. The production value was there, everything was amazing. The fights were actually really good. So congratulations to Turki for footing the bill on this and making this celebration of the Mexican culture come to life.
“And Dana, I know this wasn’t your idea or vision. Nothing ever is at the UFC. You’re the Fertitta’s errand boy. But I’m always honest and fair, and I want to praise the production. UFC Noche was a good time and I really enjoyed it.”
Part of the production involved in UFC 306 was telling the history of Mexico through several vignettes played on Sphere’s screens. One chapter focused on Mexico’s history in combat sports, which even included De La Hoya.
But while De La Hoya enjoyed UFC 306, the same can’t be said for the Canelo vs. Berlanga fight. The bout received substantial criticism beforehand as Canelo was a massive favorite, and that bore out on Saturday night as Canelo won a wide unanimous decision, even dropping Berlanga in the third round.
Because Canelo was unable to finish Berlanga despite the perceived gap between them, De La Hoya excoriated the pound-for-pound standout.
“As far as the action, I called it in advance. Another fight that went the distance without any truly exciting moments,” De La Hoya said. “Berlanga didn’t win one round! He was never remotely in the fight from the first bell. Is this where boxing is going? The bar has been set so low that fans are just happy to see fighters last 12 rounds? What? Fighters are getting praised for simply going the distance with a 35-year-old Canelo who hasn’t knocked anybody out since 2021. Don’t you all want to see knockouts?
“I’m from a different time in this sport when fighters went to war in the ring. We wanted to destroy our opponents. I still took the [Manny] Pacquiao fight knowing my body was broken and old and I couldn’t beat him, but I was a warrior. I wanted to be a legend. It’s a different mentality, a champion’s mentality. Canelo wants to get paid. He avoids [Joseph] Benavidez and [Dmitry] Bivol who schooled him just like [Floyd] Mayweather. He wants to cruise easily into retirement.
“Where are the fighters who have balls? Don’t we want to see the best fight the best? Why are we, as boxing fans, accepting this low level competition and entertainment?”
De La Hoya previously promoted Alvarez until Canelo left Golden Boy Promotions in 2020. Earlier this year, Alvarez claimed De La Hoya stole money from his fighters which led De La Hoya to threaten legal action in return.
Jake Paul is willing to let Dana White off the hook – with one condition.
Ever since Paul made the transition from YouTube influencer to professional boxer, he has argued for better fighter pay in both boxing and MMA, the latter of which has drawn the attention and ire of UFC CEO White. Paul and White have engaged in a public war of words over the topic, with the feud becoming increasingly personal.
On his BS podcast, Paul laid out the conditions under which he would back off from the conversation, with his withdrawal contingent on White increasing pay for the lesser known fighters on the UFC roster.
“The only thing I’ve really asked for is for the minimum fighter pay, which is $ 12,500, to be changed to $ 50,000,” Paul said. “So that if fighters who have to work multiple jobs, if they fight once a year even, they would still be able to live off of that and if it was twice a year, they’d make a hundred grand, which is great.
“But now, if they’re fighting once a year, it’s $ 12,500, or twice a year would be $ 25,000. So that’s been my only ask to Dana to change, and that would only cost the UFC $ 20 million annually. So it seems like you made three, four billion dollars, why not just give a little bit more to the fighters? It’s only $ 20 million. That’s been my biggest thing. Make that change and I’ll shut the f*ck up.”
White’s name came up when guest Steve-O claimed that he and White actually watched Paul’s August 2023 bout against former UFC star Nate Diaz together. That story would contradict White’s claim that he “stopped paying attention” to Paul’s fighting career after “The Problem Child” lost to Tommy Fury seven months prior to the Diaz fight.
In Paul’s eyes, the only reason there’s beef between them at all is because White doesn’t want to hear what he has to say when it comes to boosting fighter compensation.
“I could talk about all the intricate details about this shit all day long, but it’s definitely when I started talking about this, that’s when Dana White was like, ‘Jake Paul does steroids. Jake Paul’s fights are rigged. Jake Paul this, Jake Paul that,’” Paul said. “So he’s the one that started all the personal rumors. ‘Jake Paul doesn’t sell. Jake Paul won’t fight Anderson Silva.’
“He’s been the biggest voice of oppression to me because I’m the only one, literally in the whole entire fight business, who can talk back to him. There’s probably four people who can, but I’m the only one who has the balls to do it.”
Longtime MMA veteran Josh Barnett discussed his issues with Paul’s plan on X.
Just goes to show that you can be given a mic but that doesn’t mean you know what you’re talking about.
There is ZERO problems with “minimum pay” in the UFC.
-Contract structure and clauses? You’ve got an argument there. -Pay and Incentives for main event and those whose IP is… https://t.co/pY5SwMuYDy
— (@JoshLBarnett) September 20, 2024
Just goes to show that you can be given a mic but that doesn’t mean you know what you’re talking about.
There is ZERO problems with “minimum pay” in the UFC.
-Contract structure and clauses? You’ve got an argument there.
-Pay and Incentives for main event and those whose IP is used to promote the fight? 100%
-Pay for the lower and mid tier fighters? Nope. As themselves, they usually cost the UFC more than they bring in.
Merab Dvalishvili isn’t having any of Sean O’Malley’s nonsense.
This past weekend, Dvalishvili won the bantamweight title, taking a unanimous decision victory over O’Malley in the main event of UFC 306. Though in the immediate aftermath O’Malley offered “no excuses,” on Thursday “Suga” changed his tune, disputing the judging in the fight, claiming to still be the 135-pound champion, and saying he will defend the title against Umar Nurmagomedov next summer. But the true champion isn’t having it.
Taking to Instagram with a response to O’Malley, Dvalishvili trolled the former champion with a video showing him acting as a disapproving father towards O’Malley.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Merab Dvalishvili (@merab.dvalishvili)
“What the f*ck, bro?! What’s going on? Sean, is that you my friend? What’s wrong with you, bro? Why do you keep smoking, my friend? I thought you were just sleeping now. It’s sleep time for you, bro. Come on, bro.
“Listen son, don’t worry about this Umar Nurmagomedov. I will take care of Umar. You’re not a champion anymore. I’m going to take belt from you again, so you drive safe, son. Let’s go Sean. No more smoking. Drive safe.”
Merab also kisses the doll version of O’Malley several times on the head, a callback to the curious exchange that occurred during their fight.
Regardless of O’Malley’s claims, Dvalishvili remains the undisputed UFC bantamweight champion and appears poised to defend his title against either Umar Nurmagomedov or possible Deiveson Figueiredo sometime next year. Meanwhile, O’Malley is headed for surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip and will be out of action for at least six months.
Raul Rosas Jr. understands why he got more than a few curious looks after calling for a post-fight bonus following a unanimous decision win over Aoriqileng at UFC 306.
While there was no controversy surrounding his victory, the 19-year-old bantamweight prospect ultimately won with 29-28 scorecards across the board, but it wasn’t some crazy, all-out war that deserved attention for Fight of the Night. He also didn’t get a finish, which is almost universally accepted as a necessary step for consideration to receive an extra $ 50,000 for Performance of the Night.
So why exactly did Rosas call for that bonus?
“It was just the heat of the moment,” Rosas told MMA Fighting. “Since I’m used to getting finishes and asking for it after, it just came out.”
As much as Rosas concedes that he probably didn’t deserve the bonus based solely on his performance, he does believe there are other metrics that could be considered.
“The way that my argument to say that I would deserve it — don’t get me wrong it was a unanimous decision so obviously I’m OK with not getting it because I should have got a finish — but if I would have got it, my argument would be the people showed up because of me,” Rosas said about serving as the opening fight on the prelims. “The event was packed because of me. They were there early because I was on the prelims.
“I’m not trying to be cocky but a lot of people came to watch me fight. With them putting me on the first fight on the prelims, I made a lot of people show up and tune in on their TV’s right away. That would have been my argument for the $ 50g’s but obviously I agreed, I didn’t do enough to get those $ 50g’s.”
Rosas credits Aoriqileng for making it a tougher fight on him than many expected heading into the event.
Despite earning a dominant position during the opening round and searching for a rear-naked choke submission, Rosas just wasn’t able to put Aoriqileng away.
“I knew he was going to be tough,” Rosas said. “Obviously he has 25 wins, 11 losses so that’s a lot of experience. I knew he was going to be calm but I knew I was going to get the job done.
“I wish I would have got the finish but he defended good when I got to his back. He stayed relaxed. I knew he was going to be tough. I’m OK with my performance though.”
Later in his post-fight interview, Rosas said he wanted to have the chance to sit down with UFC CEO Dana White to talk numbers.
That made it sound like Rosas was possibly unhappy with his current financial situation with the UFC, but he promises that’s not actually the case.
Of course, Rosas would like to make more money just like every other person on Earth, but he’s not complaining about the way he’s being treated by the UFC. Rosas also wants the chance to face ranked competition in the near future so that’s another number that could come up in a potential meeting with the UFC brass.
“We sit down and see what’s next and talk numbers,” Rosas said. “Pretty much we’ll see what’s next. I feel like I bring a lot of people and I feel like I deserve an opportunity to test myself.
“It’s good to work with [the UFC], and they’ve been so good with me. We’re all on the same page. We’re all good. Everything’s fine. Everything’s perfect. I’m happy with my contract. Like obviously we all want more so I feel like I deserve more but I’m happy with it. There’s no problem … we’ll see what’s next. Either way, my time will come. It’s all good.”
Right now, Rosas believes he still has two fights left on his current UFC contract, but he’s certainly not looking to go anywhere else. More than anything, he just wants to continue proving his worth to the company and bringing in a crowd for the first fight of the night at Sphere was a great way to show his growing appeal with fans.
“It doesn’t matter to me where I’m at on the card,” Rosas said. “People are going to tune in regardless like you saw. The Sphere was already packed with me in the first fight. That usually does not happen.
“The people are going to tune in regardless whether I’m the main event or the first prelim or I’m in the middle, they’re going to tune in to watch me fight, to watch me perform.”
Once Michael Chandler realized that he wouldn’t be fighting Conor McGregor before the end of 2024, he had to move on with his career.
He’s now slated to face Charles Oliveira in a five-round rematch as the co-main event for UFC 309 in November but he knew the moment that fight got announced, he would start hearing about how he wasted the past two years of his career. Actually, Chandler heard that plenty of times from his fellow fighters long before Oliveira fight got announced because so many of them already criticized him publicly for sitting and waiting for McGregor to finally return.
No matter how loud the noise got from other UFC athletes, Chandler knows without a doubt that just about every single one of them wanted to be in his position.
“It’s really funny,” Chandler told MMA Fighting. “You’ve had a thousand fighters sit here across from you and talk to you doing interviews and all of them who have said that I was Conor’s little whipping boy or I was waiting too long or I was wasting my career, every single one of them would have held onto this Conor fight even if they say publicly that they wouldn’t. Every single one of those guys wants this fight.”
While he’s satisfied with the choices he made, Chandler still believes he will eventually get to welcome McGregor back to the octagon after his last appearance came all the way back in 2021.
The fight may not happen as originally scheduled but Chandler is confident that McGregor is eventually going to compete again — he just can’t say when that might happen.
“I do think [he returns],” Chandler said. “Maybe I’ve just been so close to it and so focused on it that you just look at his history, Conor McGregor is a nothing, nobody without the sport of mixed martial arts. Without the UFC platform. Without the legacy that he has created.
“I believe he’s romantic about it. I believe that he loves the sport. I believe that his spirit loves the sport but sometimes his body and his brain want other things. I’ve never walked a mile in that man’s shoes, neither have you, so who are we to critique him? But I do believe he comes back and when he does, I’ll be waiting. I just might have the title by then.”
There’s a risk and reward with any fight but Chandler getting the rematch against Oliveira could potentially vault him back into title contention with a win or a loss could cost him the chance to settle the score with McGregor when he does return.
Chandler understands that’s the reality of his situation but he’s confident that his choices will eventually pay off.
“I still stand firm in the notion that Conor McGregor is coming back,” Chandler said. “When he does, his road goes through Nashville, Tenn. and Michael Chandler and we finish The Ultimate Fighter. But it’s not going to be my next fight. I am Conor’s next fight but he is not my next fight.”
The best possible reward for Chandler after this whole ordeal is that beating Oliveira at UFC 309 gives him even more options for the future.
Maybe that means welcoming McGregor back to the octagon in early 2025 or perhaps he waits for an eventual showdown with UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev instead.
Chandler has no problem betting on himself to win in November and then looking towards a very busy year ahead in 2025.
“When he gets his house in order, I’ll be waiting for him,” Chandler said about McGregor. “If not, I’ve got no problem beating Charles and going to fight for the title because if I had that choice today, I’m going to fight Islam after I beat Charles.”
File under: Mmafighting.com | Leave a comment »