Category Archives: Mmamania.com

“PVZ” — UFC’s former “it” girl — takes on social media star and model, Elle “Dumbledong” Brooke, tonight (Sat., May 25, 2024) in Houston, Texas.

Hello, all fans of the wild and weird side of combat sports. Tonight (Sat., May 25, 2024), live from Houston, Texas, we’ve got Misfits Boxing 15, and we’ve got some fun names ahead of us to look forward to.

It all goes down on DAZN pay-per-view at 7 p.m. ET (order here). Let’s start off with a few folks on the undercard. In the curtain jerker, we’ve got former One Fighting Championship (OneFC) mainstay, Bi Nguyen, making her second foray into the boxing world. Later on this evening, there will be former NFL star running back, Le’Veon Bell, as he looks to rack up win No. 3 in his young second career.

But, they’re not who you’re here for (probably). You’re here for the main event, featuring former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Top 10 women’s Strawweight, Paige VanZant, taking on model and social media star, Elle Brooke, for the MFB Middleweight Title.

Coming to you live on DAZN pay-per-view at 7 p.m. ET (order here)

Misfits Boxing 15 Brooke Vs. VanZant Quick Results:

125 lbs. – Elle Brooke vs Paige VanZant
200 lbs. – Le’Veon Bell vs. Tristan Hamm
160 lbs. – Okemka “OJ Rosé” Jibunor vs. Brendan Kelly — Cancelled
135 lbs. – Elijah “YuddyGangTV” Smith def. Ree “Lil Cracra” Moo — Split 48-47 x2, 47-48
170 lbs. – Anthony Vargas def. Jeremy Park — Unanimous decision
145 lbs. – Alaena Potocnik vs. Lauren Baker — Split draw
145 lbs. – Alysia Magen def. Jessica “Fangs” Duban — Unanimous decision
115 lbs. – Bi Nguyen def. Sylvia Fernandez — Unanimous decision

Misfits Boxing 15 Brooke Vs. VanZant Play-by-Play Results:

Elle Brooke vs Paige VanZant for the MFB Women’s Middleweight Championship

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Round 4:

Round 5:

Final result:

Le’Veon Bell vs. Tristan Hamm

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Round 4:

Round 5:

Final result:

Elijah “YuddyGangTV” Smith vs. Ree “Lil Cracra” Moo

Round 1: Yuddy in red, CraCra (pronounced “cray-cray”) in white. Nice right hands by both men. Yuddy tries pumping out the jab, but CraCra evades well. CraCra gets in a left. He’s coming after Yuddy well. Pouring on the pressure. Yuddy is getting hit often here. He’s still standing, lands a nice uppercut that puts a slight hold on the offense coming his way. Yuddy to the body. Ref thought that was low, but that looked good to me. A right to the hip earns him a second warning, and that was well deserved. CraCra has looked a lot faster all round.

10-9 CraCra

Round 2: Yuddy looks a bit better now, landing body and head. CraCra cracks a left. Yuddy gets into a clinch and lands a few shots. CraCra is definitely slowing down a bit, or perhaps just taking the round off, but he’s now the one getting landed on more often. Rights by both men, then a clean left by CraCra. Nice jab as well.

10-9 YuddyGang

Round 3: Solid punches by both men here. Not fight ending power, but they’re mustering up some good snap. Slower round here, as both men look like they’re ensuring that they don’t gas out. CraCra flurrying at the bell. Close round.

10-9 CraCra

Round 4: Both men seem to be doing their best work in the clinch here, as they’re not really throwing much from range. CraCra with a nice jab. There’s a right-left a few seconds later. CraCra’s right hand lands clean again.

10-9 CraCra

Round 5: Yuddy with a nice series of jabs. Left by CraCra. A leaping left, too. Rights by both men. CraCra backs Yuddy into a corner and lands a few, but mostly onto the gloves is what it looked like. There’s a right by CraCra, Yuddy answers back with a left. Uppercut cracks in for Yuddy, and a hook connects for CraCra. Yuddy with a bit more volume at the end.

10-9 CraCra

Final result: Elijah “YuddyGangTV” Smith defeats Ree “Lil Cracra” Moo

To checkout the latest and greatest boxing news and notes be sure to hit up our archive here.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Paige VanZant claims she’s returning to fighting to show off her improved boxing skills, but opponent Elle Brooke believes “12 Gauge” is coming back to gain some clout.

The two women will lock horns later this evening (Sat., May 25, 2024) at Misfits Boxing 15 live on DAZN PPV from Houston, Tex., as VanZant makes her professional boxing debut for a shot at Brooke’s MFB middleweight title. It will be the first time VanZant is competing in combat sports since a short stint in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) back in 2021.

VanZant, who has made a ton of money over the past three years through social media and OnlyFans, still has a little bit to prove at this point in her career. She hasn’t fought in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) since 2020, went 0-2 as a bareknuckle boxer, and hasn’t won a fight of any kind since 2019. “12 Gauge” is hoping regain the respect of combat fans with a solid showing this weekend.

Brooke, who has been extremely active inside of the ring over the past two years, doesn’t believe VanZant is returning to the mix for the love of the sport. Instead, Brooke believes VanZant is fighting at Misfits Boxing 15 this weekend to stay relevant and earn a hefty payday.

“I think she fights to keep relevant, whereas that’s not the reason why I fight,” Brooke told MMA Fighting. “My bread and butter is entertainment and entertaining people, but that’s not what she does. Yeah, she probably does love it, but it’s probably for the bag as well.”

While VanZant has a large advantage over Brooke when it comes to overall combat experience, Brooke believes her boxing skills are superior and will allow her to dictate tonight’s title fight.

“I know that she’s had a couple of bare-knuckle [fights] but it’s still a little bit more awkward in the stances, it’s not exactly the same sport,” Brooke said. “I think that I probably have the advantage in the boxing ring.

“I am confident that I will win, but she is the hardest opponent to date. She’s a mixed martial artist. She’s been fighting her whole life. So she’s definitely more experienced than me, but I definitely feel I have the edge when it comes to boxing.”

To order Misfits Boxing 15: “Brooke vs. VanZant” on DAZN pay-per-view (PPV) CLICK HERE.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Jake Paul is expecting big viewership numbers for his upcoming boxing match with Mike Tyson on July 20 from Dallas, Texas. In fact, “Problem Child” is claiming that “hundreds of millions” of people will watch his clash with “Iron Mike.”

The combat community is still on the fence about the legitimacy of a Paul vs. Tyson boxing match considering Tyson is pushing 60 years of age, but it’s happening nonetheless. The massive Netflix event is expected to produce a sell-out crowd and one of the most memorable boxing cards of 2024. Whether or not you agree with the professionally sanctioned bout, Paul vs. Tyson will play out in dramatic fashion.

Earlier this week, Paul was asked about potential viewership numbers for his clash with one of boxing’s all-time greatest fighters. Since the superfight will air LIVE on Netflix for current subscribers there won’t be any pay-per-view (PPV) buys to tally up when it’s all said and done. Instead, Netflix will need to count all of the households that streamed the Paul vs. Tyson fight when it goes down this July.

According to Paul, that number could be in the “hundreds of millions.”

“The global viewership could be in the hundreds of millions like you said,” said Paul. “It’s wild. It doesn’t make any sense, but the fact that Netflix is a part of this is the perfect piece of the puzzle. It makes this trifecta of Netflix’s audience, my audience, and Mike Tyson’s audience.”

What do you think, Maniacs? Is Paul out of bounds or will his boxing match with Tyson really produce these types of numbers?

Let’s discuss!

For much more on the upcoming “Paul vs. Tyson” showdown on Netflix click here.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Top-ranked Bantamweights are heading to Abu Dhabi! According to a first report from Ag. Fight and confirmed by MMA Fighting, Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo is verbally agreed as part of the upcoming UFC Abu Dhabi event, which is scheduled for August 3 inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Vera is currently ranked No. 4 at 135-pounds. “Chito” was last seen in the Octagon opposite Sean O’Malley, who used him as a punching bag for most of five rounds. Prior to that defeat, Vera won five of his previous six to establish himself as a top-tier Bantamweight, though Cory Sandhagen did also dominate the Ecuadorian talent in the midst of his rise.

Meanwhile, Figueiredo is chasing gold in a second weight class. The Brazilian’s Flyweight title reign ended with a back-and-forth rivalry opposite Brandon Moreno, but he’s been perfect since moving up to Bantamweight. “Daico” beat up Rob Font then stopped Cody Garbrandt at UFC 300 (watch here), earning the No. 6 spot in the UFC rankings.

Two men enter the cage, but only one leaves as a Top Five-ranked contender relevant to the title mix. Who ya’ got?

Insomnia

Jon Jones is in constant verbal feud with the MMA fanbase over this whole not-fighting-the-interim champion thing.

Alex Pereira was actually taking it pretty easy until his partner tried to punch his way off the wall.

Paulo Costa is studying his opposition!

I don’t fully understand Alexander Volkov’s latest Instagram skit.

Get more limber with the help of Georges St. Pierre (and a stick).

Islam Makhachev’s UFC 302 fight camp is presumably about wrapped up, and the champ has surely earned some downtime.

Maybe my immaturity is showing, but I love a press conference shoving match.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

A massive face plant from the recent Road To UFC fights:

Gheirati almost chambered his knee before unrolling the push kick, and that angle caught his opponent off-guard.

It won’t happen, but Kyoji Horiguchi getting a second chance at a UFC title would be so cool. His name would go so far in avoiding the constant Flyweight rematches …

Random Land

The fastest animal on the planet in action.

Midnight Music: Country, 1974

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

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Ian Garry has officially been booked for the biggest fight card of the year, as “Future” returns to fight fellow welterweight contender Michael Page at UFC 303 on June 29 from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. That card will be headlined by the return of Conor McGregor.

This fight news is according to UFC CEO Dana White, who released the below video post on Friday breaking Garry vs. Page and a few other juicy tidbits:

Garry, who has produced an undefeated record of 7-0 since joining UFC back in 2021, has been trying to lock down his next fight for months. Back in March, he made it very clear that he had no interest in fighting Page since he was ranked lower. Flash forward two months and Garry is calling out the former Bellator MMA star.

As expected, “Venom” gladly accepted and left UFC with no other option but to book the welterweight clash.

Page, 37, is one of the most respected strikers in all of mixed martial arts (MMA). The former Bellator welterweight standout made his official Octagon debut at UFC 299 this past March, defeating fan favorite Kevin Holland in a one-sided affair. It wasn’t the most entertaining UFC debut in recent memory, but it put Page’s offensive capabilities on full display. Watching “Venom” use his unique skillset against Garry should be fun to say the least.

Thoughts?

For more UFC 303 fight card news and details click HERE.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight sensation and part-time bareknuckle boxer, Paige VanZant, will make her “sweet science” debut against social media pugilist and current Misfits women’s middleweight champion, Elle Brooke, as part of the upcoming Misfits Boxing 15 event on DAZN pay-per-view (PPV), scheduled for this Sat. night (May 25, 2024) at NRG Arena in Houston, Texas.

To order the Misfits Boxing 15: “Brooke vs. VanZant” fight card click HERE.

Before they can fight, they must first weigh in.

Both combatants will take the stage on Fri. afternoon (May 24), LIVE from the “Lone Star State” at 4 p.m. ET in the embedded video above. Expect “Dumbledong” and “12 Gauge” to face off (again) immediately after today’s scale-tipping festivities. This weekend’s boxing headliner is a professionally sanctioned bout scheduled for five, two-minute rounds.

Check out the entire Misfits Boxing 15 fight card and DAZN PPV lineup right HERE.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Add Du Plessis to the list of UFC champions seeking gold in two divisions. But the South African wants to knock off the two most dangerous men at 185 before a 205 pound title shot.

Dricus Du Plessis may be the UFC middleweight title holder, but it feels like he’s currently in a holding pattern as the UFC waits for their former 185 pound champ to come back and fight.

Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis is the obvious fight to make next, but things are complicated by Adesanya’s current leave of absence from competition. There has been talk that the fight could take place in Perth, Australia for August. But nothing is official yet.

In a new interview on YouTube, “Stillknocks” gave an update on the “Stylebender” fight and even paid his rival some compliments in the process.

“I know what the people wanna see, and I go and do it,” Du Plessis said. “And fighting Israel Adesanya is by far the fight that everybody wants to see. There’s a lot of history there. There’s animosity there. I don’t see why we are not fighting. Well, I mean, I understand why we’re not in South Africa at the moment, although that would have been great, but Adesanya doesn’t have a lot of years in the sport left. Two years if that much.”

“What he’s done in the sport is spectacular, it’s amazing,” he added. “And as an athlete, if you don’t respect Israel, you are a moron. As a person, you can have your opinions, which I do. But when it comes to what he’s done in the sport, he is nothing short of spectacular. He’s he’s an incredible fighter, and fighting him is is going to cement my legacy. It’s gonna be it’s gonna be something it’s gonna be another feather in the cap, you know?”

“Beating a guy like Robert Whittaker, becoming a world champion, and then beating one of the greats like Israel Adesanya? How are you not motivated by that? I’ve seen Adesanya as my even when I wasn’t in the UFC. I’ve seen him as the guy that I need to beat to become the best. He set the bar. I mean, long before I was in the UFC, he was the champion, and he set the bar of what you need to be to be a champion.”

Du Plessis also commented on Sean Strickland, the fighter he took the belt off of to become champion. They had a close fight at UFC 297 in January, and there was some talk of a rematch if Adesanya wasn’t ready to return.

“To be quite honest with you, I would have been very happy with [the Strickland] fight,” Dricus said. “I would have loved that fight. It would have been a lot easier, if you ask me, because I’ve been in there full speed with him and I felt what he can do, and I felt the mistakes that I made. We didn’t call it mistakes. I’ll just put my foot on the gas quicker, and then I think I’ll get him out of there.”

“But that that’s not what the UFC wanted. I was happy to do it. Very happy. I have no problem with that whatsoever. Give me [Strickland], perfect. Give me Adesanya, perfect. And they went with Adesanya. Cool. And that’s it. That’s exciting. I’m happy either way.”

Du Plessis also confirmed his roadmap to potential double champion status: defeat Israel Adesanya, defeat Khamzat Chimaev, and then fight Alex Pereira for the 205 pound strap.

“If Khamzat beats Whittaker, beating Khamzat? That earns you a spot at light heavyweight,” he said. “If you look at the the greats, the boogeyman, everybody seems to be scared of Khamzat. I would love that fight.”

“But like I said, I have no problem defending my belt a few times before that. For now, my focus is 100% on the middleweight division and my next fight, which in all likelihood would be Israel Adesanya. And that’s where all my focus is. None of the other plans can come together without this.”

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) has established itself as a potential post-UFC path for well-loved champions and top contenders. Athletes like Eddie Alvarez, Hector Lombard, Luke Rockhold, and Chad Mendes have all dropped the gloves and stepped into the squared circle (to mixed results) in recent years. It’s not exactly a pension, but BKFC really is a viable “retirement” path for many UFC stars.

Perhaps “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler is next? The longtime MMA veteran and former Welterweight kingpin was recently spotted with BKFC President David Feldman, and naturally, speculation ran rampant online. Some fight fans were very excited about the prospect of Lawler getting violent in a new format, while others were nervous about the retired athlete getting back in the ring.

Here’s a sample of the reactions:

“Can’t imagine how his lip might look after a BKFC fight”

“Please no”

“Someone’s gonna get hurt, Lawler is a beast”

“Robbie Lawler is the only retired UFC fighter able to beat Mike Perry”

“Lawler vs Perry for the most violent title? Make sense to me”

“Big nope for me”

“Further proof UFC fighters don’t make enough”

“I’m good on that. If Robbie wants to do it then cool, but his send off was the best ever and I don’t need to see him fight again”

As mentioned by several fans, Lawler vs. Perry is the obvious booking here IF Lawler is interesting in getting back into action. “Platinum” needs a high-profile opponent, and the two competed at the same weight class in the UFC. Lawler is a older than would be ideal, but there aren’t a ton of perfect options available for Perry — the face of BKFC — at the moment.

If Lawler isn’t interested in joining the BKFC roster, “Ruthless” left on an incredible high note. At UFC 290 in July 2023, Lawler needed less than a minute to pummel the consciousness from Niko Price’s skull (watch highlights) then retired under the wild cheers of an adoring crowd.

Insomnia

I will become Deontay Wilder’s biggest fan if he hits this spin move in a match.

A lovely breakdown of some big man air time!

For all the “boring” talk, I think Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev would be a really fun fight. Dominant wrestlers are most usually boring when they’re dominating a striker who can’t make it interesting!

The cast of The Smashing Machine is selling me on the seeing the new film. If you haven’t seen the 2002 documentary (essential viewing for MMA fans), watch HERE!

More Welterweight violence added to UFC 304:

This picture of Jiri Prochazka after three days without food does actually make a Middleweight move appear feasible.

A quick look into Sean Strickland’s UFC 302 fight camp:

Slips, rips, and KO clips

I cannot help but cheer for a fighter described as a Fedor student who blends clinching with powerful hooks.

A strong left kick into the open side can bully even the most talented of strikers.

A highlight of the man stepping in to face Sharaputdin Magomedov:

Random Land

Know your dogs.

Midnight Music: A new version/recording/master of an all-time great song.

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

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Tom Aspinall is about to become a fighting (interim) champion.

UFC 304 will mark the return of arguably Heavyweight’s finest fighter on July 27, 2024. Unfortunately for the interim titleholder, Aspinall, he’ll be defending against perennial top contender, Curtis Blaydes, rather than unifying his belt with the undisputed champion, Jon Jones’.

Instead of fighting the Brit, Jones’ previously scheduled legacy title fight against former two-time champion, Stipe Miocic, is expected to get rebooked. Miocic, 41, believes the fight could happen around the same time as it was supposed to last year in November. Most of the community, including UFC Bantamweight champion, Sean O’Malley, have been on the fence about the match up since it fell through and Aspinall became the interim champion.

“It’s hard to deny the activity,” O’Malley said on his TimboSugar Show. “Tom Aspinall, he’s in it. This game is f—king just … two, three years you don’t fight, you ain’t s—t. That’s just how it’s looked at.

“I don’t know why, I just picture Jon Jones smoking Stipe,” he concluded. “In my head, that’s just always how it starts and plays out.”

When it comes to activity levels, Jones’ Heavyweight debut saw him earn a first round guillotine over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023 (watch highlights). The fight was only Jones’ second of the decade after previously earning a unanimous decision against Dominick Reyes in his final Light Heavyweight title defense,

Miocic has also only fought twice since 2019, going 1-1 with his last fight resulting in a second round knockout against Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021. Aspinall, on the other hand, joined UFC in 2020 and is 7-1 since then (14-3 overall). His lone loss came in 15 seconds against Blaydes when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in July 2022 (watch highlights).

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Former UFC strawweight sensation and part-time bareknuckle boxer, Paige VanZant, will make her “sweet science” debut against social media pugilist and current women’s middleweight champion, Elle Brooke, as part of the upcoming Misfits Boxing 15 event on DAZN pay-per-view (PPV), scheduled for this Sat. night (May 25, 2024) at NRG Arena in Houston, Texas.

To order Misfits Boxing 15: “Brooke vs. VanZant” click HERE.

Both combatants will take the stage on Thurs. afternoon (May 23), LIVE from the “Lone Star State” at 4 p.m. ET in the embedded video above. Expect “Dumbledong” and “12 Gauge” to face off (again) immediately after today’s media festivities. This weekend’s headliner is a professionally sanctioned bout scheduled for five, two-minute rounds.

Check out the entire Misfits Boxing 15 fight card and DAZN PPV lineup right HERE.

“How do you go from being in the UFC, arguably one of the biggest stages in fighting, in combat sports, to then going on to fight an influencer?” Brooke told VanZant on The MMA Hour. “There’s a reason that [Floyd] Mayweather does it, it’s for money. I don’t think it’s necessarily for the passion anymore. You’re doing it for the money and who am I to judge?”

“I just don’t think that you can necessarily say it’s for the love of the sport,” Brooke said. “Because you are fighting an influencer. What do you gain from that? She’s gone from UFC, BKFC, to now fighting an influencer. I don’t know, in my head it’s not because she’s on a losing streak and she’s just like, ‘I want an easy fight.’ Is she underestimating me?”

We’ll find out in two days on DAZN.

MMAmania.com – All Posts