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The Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing spectacle, which streams LIVE on Netflix on Fri., Nov. 15, 2024 from inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will have an all-star lineup handling broadcast and commentary duties next week in “The Lone Star State.”

The main card broadcast will be led by veteran play-by-play announcer Mauro Ranallo, joined by boxing icon Roy Jones Jr. — who fought Tyson to a draw back in late 2020 — and Hollywood actress Rosie Perez of “White Men Can’t Jump” fame.

Perez is a lifelong boxing fan.

A series of fight week activities will be staged at the nearby Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, free and open to the public daily at 5 p.m. local time. That includes open workouts (Nov. 12), final press conference (Nov. 13), and official weigh-ins (Nov. 14).

Other notables broadcast talent expected to appear includes Kate Scott, Sean Wheelock, Sibley Scoles, Amir Tyson, Wade Plemons, Dasha Kuret and Kody “Big Mo” Mommaerts, among others. The main card broadcast kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix.

For much more on the upcoming “Paul vs. Tyson” boxing event click here.

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145 pound fighters better work on their rolling heel hook defense, because Ryan Hall is returning in 2025 after a litany of injuries put him on the shelf for three years.

Watch out, UFC featherweight division: Ryan Hall is on his way back to competing.

Hall is an elite level grappler and IBJJF world champion known for his nasty leg locks. In the UFC he is known as that weirdo who spammed Granby rolls endlessly in an attempt to grab heel hooks. The gameplan was odd but effective — he went 5-1 in the UFC with it, beating Artem Lobov, Gray Maynard, BJ Penn, and Darren Elkins.

He did not beat Ilia Topuria with it … “El Matador” sent him to the shadow realm with a blistering KO when they fought in 2021. After that, Hall earned one more win over Darrick Minner before disappearing for three years.

Now in a new interview with BJPenn.com he describes what’s kept him off cards, “Basically the most serious string of of unfortunate health stuff that I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

“I’ve had 21 general anesthesia surgeries since my last fight,” Hall said. “Hold on … 19 since that fight. There were two prior. So yeah man, it’s kinda been a bit of a journey.”

“I got fallen on, tore my ACL, had to fix a plantar plate that was torn under my foot, got fallen on again, had to have a tightrope surgery — the one that Pat Mahomes and a couple of other people have had. The ACL got infected, had to have a couple of emergency septic arthritis [surgeries]. The tightrope, I was actually allergic to the hardware they put in me somehow, so that had to be re-done.”

“The big one recently is I had a torn shoulder,” he added. “I had a 270 degree tear in my labrum, my torn rotator cuff, big old cyst in my shoulder that was causing weird nerve stuff too. Getting that all fixed as well, you know, has has been huge.”

“Finally on the back end of it, and doing a heck of a lot better,” he concluded.

With all of Hall’s stretches of inactivity you’d think he’s just too fragile to compete in the rough and tumble world of MMA. But he clarified that this was the first stretch of serious injuries he’s ever had over a lifetime of combat sports competition. It all started leading into the Topuria match.

“I went 15 years completely bulletproof,” he said. “I ended up getting fallen on and tore my hip right before that fight and I didn’t know how much that really affected me … About half the surgeries that I had more than half the surgeries that I had were actually, ‘Oops. We screwed that one up. Sorry, dude. Let’s run it back. Didn’t mean to goof up’ … I had 6 elbow surgeries, 5 knee surgeries.”

Now he’s with a new doctor who fixed his knee properly and took care of his shoulder. He’s looking to make a comeback in 2025, although the exact date and even weightclass is in question. There’s a chance he could drop from featherweight to bantamweight. Hopefully he won’t have the same issues securing a fight.

“I’ve been in the UFC for 9 years, and I had long stretches of time where nobody would fight me,” Hall said. “This is the third separate two-plus year period during my time in the UFC of no fights. This one was on me, though, because that’s just injuries. The other two were nobody would fight.”

“I had fight after fight after fight get declined or fight after fight fall through. And then it turns out that your only loss is [to Ilia Topuria] under really difficult circumstances. I had a bunch of injuries going into that fight … he’s a great fighter anyway, and the only fight I lost is [to] the current champ.”

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Three-time UFC title challenger, Colby Covington — who is still ranked No. 6 in the world at 170-pounds, by the way — hasn’t fought much lately. His last appearance was just about a year ago, a lackluster showing against Leon Edwards in December 2023. More to the point, his only victory since 2021 came opposite fading rival Jorge Masvidal, which puts some pressure on Covington to return to action.

A LOT of fighters have called out Covington in the last year. Most notably, UFC has reportedly tried to book “Chaos” opposite Ian Garry on more than one occasion, including the upcoming UFC Tampa card. Instead, “The Future” will face Joaquin Buckley in the main event, whereas Covington continues to languish on the sidelines without a fight booked.

In the interview above with Submission Radio, Covington addresses his absence and explained why he’s been busy away with the cage. According to Covington — who also says he was with Donald Trump on the night of the election — his priority hasn’t been fighting. Instead, it’s been supporting the Trump campaign.

“The most important reason why, everything I do is for God and country. That’s more important than my own selfish agenda to go win UFC fights and be a world champion in the UFC. That doesn’t matter if we don’t have a country to live in. So, the most important thing that’s been in my life the last eight, nine months is the campaign trail, being a little tiny part of the Trump campaign. Trying to help get him elected any way possible. I was traveling with the campaign a lot. I was obviously still getting healthy from my broken foot, but first and foremost is God and country.”

Since Trump won the election (with a little help from Joe Rogan and the Nelk Boys), Covington is now free to resume his career as a UFC fighter. According to “Chaos,” he’ll be back sooner than later.

“… Now I can resume business. I’m excited man, me and [UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell] have sat down and talked about a couple different options. I’m excited to get back in there, first quarter next year, 100% I’m coming back to the UFC Octagon to unleash chaos.”

It’s a lot of devotion to the Commander-in-chief, but sadly, it’s still not enough to be Trump’s favorite UFC fighter.

Insomnia

I’ll admit to being curious about Jon Jones’ game plan ahead of UFC 309. Think he primarily plans to strike at distance or wrestle?

Favorite hobby: Partying hard.

Joe Rogan memes go beyond MMA and beyond simple politics.

The keys to the crescent kick:

Whoever runs Alex Pereira’s social media team deserves a raise. Guy is always making viral clips!

It’s not going to be easy, but there’s something to be said for the idea that avoiding the pocket only plays into Ilia Topuria’s hands. He catches opponents trying to move away from him at the end of his range, where his punches are most powerful!

Khamzat is back to work training in Sweden:

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Fights and fighters were this skilled 20 years ago and fans will still defend Apex slop.

On a more positive note, Carlos Prates is genuinely one of the most exciting newcomers in years. Here’s hoping he doesn’t get Magny’d!

Adjusting on the fly!

Random Land

BKFC with a side of drowning!

Midnight Music: Indie, 2021

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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UFC 309 has lost two awesome fights next weekend (Sat., Nov. 16, 2024).

Today (Wed., Nov. 6, 2024), MMA Junkie reported that Top 15 Light Heavyweight matchup Nikita Krylov vs. Azamat Murzakanov because Murzakanov has pulled out and MMA Fighting reported that Featherweight Lucas Almeida is out of his fight against David Onama, which would have been a banger.

MMAMania.com has confirmed with sources close to the situation that both fights are canceled. It is unknown if Krylov or Onama will stay on UFC 309.

Murzakonov vs. Krylov being off the card is a huge bummer because both fighters are pretty inactive.

Krylov (30-9) has been out of action since his first-round submission win over Ryan Spann (watch highlights) at UFC Las Vegas in 2023. Krylov is ranked No. 6, and with another significant win, he could be a dark horse to fight UFC Light Heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Murzakov (14-0) has been on a roll thus far in UFC, winning all four of his fights. However, he has only fought once a year since 2022.

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Onama (12-2) has been must-watch television since entering UFC in 2021 and is coming off an upset unanimous decision win over Jonathan Pearce. In contrast, Almeida (15-3) is coming off a somewhat forgettable win over Timothy Cuamba.

Here is the current UFC 309 card:

265 lbs.: UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

155 lbs.: Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler 2

185 lbs.: Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig

185 lbs.: Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders

125 lbs.: Viviane Araujo vs. Karine Silva

205 lbs.: Nikita Krylov vs. TBD

125 lbs.: Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura

135 lbs.: Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee

170 lbs.: Mickey Gall vs. Ramiz Brahimaj

145 lbs:. David Onama vs. TBD

170 lbs:. Oban Elliott vs. Bassil Hafez

125 lbs:. Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura

265 lbs:. Jhonata Diniz vs. Marcin Tybura

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Lennox Lewis knows a thing or two about Mike Tyson.

“The Lion” roared past “Iron” when they went head-to-head for the IBF, IBO, and WBC heavyweight titles back in June of 2002, stopping Tyson in the eighth round and solidifying his place as one of the greatest heavyweight pugilists in history.

But he still thinks Tyson has the chops to beat Jake Paul, even at age 58.

“It’s hard to box when you’re that old, moving around the ring, throwing punches, getting punches thrown at you,” Lewis told Sky Sports. “But I think he can handle it. I was thinking that Jake Paul was going to be in trouble because Mike Tyson knows how to throw great body punches, great head shots. We just have to see if he’s going to do them in the ring. I’m hoping he’ll do that. I’ll be there, and it’s going to be exciting.”

Tyson battles Paul atop a special Netflix boxing event on Fri., Nov. 15, 2024 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the biggest fight — and biggest payday — of “El Gallo’s” career. That sort of early exposure can be considered both good and bad, according to Lewis.

“It’s good and it’s bad,” Lewis explained. “A lot of boxers that are out there training hard and working and trying to get a shot at the championship don’t get a chance. All of a sudden, a YouTuber comes along and gets all the excitement, all the praise and the money. So, in that way, it’s not fair.”

Elsewhere on the Netflix card, Katie Taylor rematches Amanda Serrano with the super lightweight title up for grabs. In addition, Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos go 12 rounds for the WBC welterweight strap, not long after Neeraj Goyat battles Whindersson Nunes.

For the finalized “Paul vs. Tyson” fight card and Netflix lineup click here.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the UFC Vegas 100 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, topped by the 170-pound showdown between welterweight bruisers Neil Magny and Carlos Prates.

Event: UFC Vegas 100: “Magny vs. Prates”
Date: Sat., Nov. 9, 2024
Location: UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcast: ESPN+
Start Time: 4 p.m. ET Prelims Card | 7 p.m. ET Main Card

UFC Vegas 100 Main Event On ESPN+:

170 lbs.: Neil Magny vs. Carlos Prates

UFC Vegas 100 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

135 lbs.: Miles Johns vs. Cody Garbrandt — CANCELED (details here)
115 lbs.: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Denise Gomes
135 lbs.: Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj
185 lbs.: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Reinier de Ridder
115 lbs.: Luana Pinheiro vs. Gillian Robertson

UFC Vegas 100 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Zach Scroggin (not Nicholas Dalby) vs. Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos
185 lbs.: Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Dusko Todorovic
170 lbs.: Matthew Semelsberger vs. Charles Radtke
135 lbs.: Cody Stamann vs. Da’Mon Blackshear
135 lbs.: Melissa Mullins vs. Klaudia Syguła
135 lbs.: Gaston Bolanos vs. Cortavious Romious
185 lbs.: Tresean Gore vs. Antonio Trocoli

*Fight card, bout order and amount of fights remain subject to change.*

To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

UFC Vegas 100, which is scheduled for this weekend (Sat., Nov. 9, 2024) from inside the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, just lost one of its best fights. According to a first report from Nolan King, high-action Welterweight veteran Nicolas Dalby has been forced to withdraw from his “Prelims” headliner match up versus fellow scrapper Elizeu Zaleski. Fortunately, Zaleski will be able to remain on the card, though he’ll face UFC newcomer Zach Scroggin.

Alas, it’s the second major cancellation of the day. Just moments ago, it was announced that Cody Garbrandt also withdrew from the event. His scheduled opponent for the co-main event, Miles Johns, will attempt to remain on the card, but it’s uncertain if UFC will find him an opponent in time for Friday’s weigh-ins.

It’s almost appropriate for the 100th Apex “Fight Night” to be plagued by late cancellations, isn’t it?

At 39 years of age, Dalby’s second UFC run has been very impressive. He’s won four of his last five, coming up big as underdog on several occasions and generally looking very sharp. Zaleski was a perfect opponent, as the two first fought to a split-decision in 2015 and have since established themselves as some of the most exciting veterans at 170-pounds. As for the replacement Scroggins, he’s undefeated (7-0) as a professional and has finished five of his victories before the final bell.

For the rest of the UFC Vegas 100 line up, click here.

Insomnia

This Khabib tweet from six years ago reappeared on my feed today, and I can’t imagine why …

Japanese wrestlers have been incredibly successful on the world scene lately.

Gun to my head, I would’ve sworn this fight has happened already.

On a scale of 1-10, how hype are you for Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic? I’m feeling a solid four.

Based on clips I’ve seen and stories I’ve heard, Ilia Topuria has good reason to be so confident leading into his fights.

Mike Tyson’s promotion for the Jake Paul fight has been positively unhinged. Old man still has it!

Anderson Silva at the gun range!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Using the uppercut to set up the body shot:

Hard knees to the body still feel underutilized in MMA.

Kick low, kick high!

Random Land

Cubing eggs, a vital task.

Midnight Music: Punk, 1978

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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“Kung Fu Kid” has a message for “Tarzan.”

We all know by now that Sean Strickland does not have a filter when he speaks and makes off-the-wall comments, usually every week, about race, religion, politics, or the world in general.

A couple of months ago, Strickland made some remarks about Chinese people while being interviewed by reporter Helen Yee, and just recently, top Chinese Bantamweight contender Song Yadong took umbrage at Strickland’s comment.

“Last time I saw your interview with Sean, I heard him say a lot of negativity about Chinese people,” Yadong told Yee. “However, I don’t think he’s ever been to China before, yet he believes Chinese people are a certain way. Since he’s talking his way, he’s no different than toxic fans. I believe this is discrimination towards Chinese people. I really respect him as a fighter but, what he’s saying is not good. If he’s willing to, I can show him around China because there’s good and bad in every country.”

This wasn’t the first time the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight had criticized Strickland. He pushed back about his thoughts about “China’s biggest exports being plastic and COVID.”

“Hey champ, I respect your skills as a fighter, but we should be talking facts, not baseless stereotypes. As athletes, we ought to focus on what we know best and avoid making unfounded comments. Let’s set a good example, alright?”

Both were very classy responses from a classy fighter in Yadong. Maybe “Tarzan” should take Yadong’s offer of going to China seriously.

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Former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo looks to continue his march toward a second world title in his new home at 135 pounds, but the path to the promised land includes a head-on collision with former bantamweight champion Petr Yan atop the UFC Macau fight card on ESPN+!

Event: UFC Macau: “Yan vs. Figueiredo”
Date: Sat., Nov. 23, 2024
Location: Galaxy Arena in Macau
Broadcast: ESPN+
Start Time: 3 a.m. ET Prelims Card | 6 a.m. ET Main Card

UFC Macau Main Event On ESPN+:

135 lbs.: Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

UFC Macau Main Card on ESPN+ (6 a.m. ET):

115 lbs.: Xiaonan Yan vs. Tabatha Ricci
205 lbs.: Ozzy Diaz vs. Mingyang Zhang
170 lbs.: Kenan Song vs. Muslim Salikhov
125 lbs.: Cong Wang vs. Gabriella Fernandes
205 lbs.: Volkan Oezdemir vs. Carlos Ulberg

UFC Macau ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (3 a.m. ET):

125 lbs.: Carlos Hernandez vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel
115 lbs.: Xiaocan Feng vs. Ming Shi
125 lbs.: Kiru Sahota vs. Dong Hoon Choi
135 lbs.: Su Young You vs. Balgyn Jenisuly
145 lbs.: Kangjie Zhu vs. Bin Xie
125 lbs.: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Jose Ochoa
105 lbs.: Long Xiao vs. Quang Le
155 lbs.: Maheshate Hayisaer vs. Nikolas Motta

*Fight card, bout order and amount of fights remain subject to change.*

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Macau news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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Nate Diaz had a playful street spar with a fan asking him to sign some UFC gloves. It was definitely a better experience than some Nick Diaz fans got recently.

The Diaz brothers are an interesting pair, and while the two certainly have their similarities, they’re definitely their own men when it comes to how they handle fan interactions.

The elder legend Nick Diaz has never gotten comfortable in the public eye and has had title shots canceled after no-showing press conferences and media obligations. To this day Nick has a well-earned reputation for being extremely unreliable when it comes to appearances, be it a sponsored meet and greet or jiu jitsu seminar. Even when it comes to his fights these days, there’s serious questions surrounding whether he’ll show up.

So it should be no surprise that the reluctant star’s $ 209 Cameos aren’t the best. But Nick is now being accused of straight up scamming his fans, recording multiple Cameos that were just several seconds of a black screen so he could collect payment.

Compare that to Nick’s younger brother Nate Diaz, who recently gave the full interactive experience to a fan looking to get some UFC gloves signed.

“This dude pulled up on me to sign these gloves so I made him fight me,” Nate wrote on his Instagram stories.

While there’s plenty of sports memorabilia opportunists going around looking to get stuff signed just so they can sell it, this fan knows his stuff: he throws Shara Magomedov’s double bullet at Diaz before eating a playful jab to the face from Nate.

“He lost tho,” Nate added in a second Story showing him taking down the fan, who was clearly having a great time. “Shoutout to the homie, he was down to fight.”

As far as value goes, we’d say Nate clearly beats out Nick for a positive fan interaction, at least these days. It’s really all about catching them at the right moment, though. We’ve heard lovely things about Nick from people who meet him outside the context of celebrity meetups. And Nate is definitely willing to punk you or pop you if the vibes are off.

So just be chill if you’re gonna interact with the Diaz brothers. Unless you pay one of them $ 209 for a blank Cameo. Then you have a right to be less chill.

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