Category Archives: Mmamania.com

Mariya Agapova is more than ready to fight again.

The 26-year-old Kazakhstan native last fought against Gillian Robertson in Sept. 2022. Unfortunately for Agapova, she suffered a second round rear-naked choke loss (watch highlights) that made her 2-3 in her five-fight Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) run thus far (10-4 overall).

Although Agapova missed all of 2023, it hasn’t been without a lack of trying to rebound as soon as possible. The women’s Flyweight prospect took to Instagram today (Mon., March 18, 2024) with a now-deleted post that called for action after her extended time away.

Instagram: @mma.mashka

“I have two more fights under my contract in the UFC,” Agapova said. “Because of the contract, I can’t fight in other places and promotions to make money. I also train two-three times a day, because of this, I am not able to get a job. Thank you very much to my friends, sponsors, and tattoo clients for their help. But I urgently need a contract for the fight. My documents have been in order for a month now, and it’s still not clear when I’ll sign the contract for the fight. Let’s make some noise. Write to the UFC that you miss my fights.

“When is the fight?” she concluded. “Don’t ask me that! Let’s ask the UFC [Matchmaker] Mick Maynard. WHEN WILL MY FIGHT BE HAPPENING???”

Agapova has been a prospect to watch within the women’s Flyweight division since her mixed martial arts (MMA) debut in 2015. “Demonslayer” rapidly put together a six-fight winning streak to start, which resulted in an opportunity against Tracy Cortez on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019. Cortez held off her fellow prospect as she won a unanimous decision and a contract with the promotion.

After two stellar first round finishes in Invicta Fighting Championship, Agapova got the call-up to UFC where she dispatched of Hannah Cifers before she fell victim to the biggest upset in UFC history, according to the odds. Agapova was a -1400 favorite in her bout with the +940 underdog, Shana Dobson, who finished her with strikes in round two at UFC Vegas 7 in Aug. 2020 (watch highlights).

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Light Heavyweight gatekeeper? No way.

Last week, it was announced that former Light Heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith will fight surging undefeated prospect Vitor Petrino later this Spring in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at UFC 301.

Petrino actually called for a matchup with Smith after he defeated Tyson Pedro at UFC Vegas 87 earlier this month, and the Brazilian got his wish; however, Smith was not happy at all with the call-out, in fact he was offended.

“I’m offended,” Smith said on SiriusXM’s MMA Today. “Why didn’t he call out someone higher ranked? Why didn’t he call out [Aleksandar] Rakic? As far as timelines go, Rakic is going to be fighting soon. That would be a little closer to your timeline in terms of two guys who are fighting around the same time. Why didn’t you call out Rakic or Volkan Oezdemir? Why didn’t you call out any of those guys? Because you think you can beat me. You’re not sure about the other ones, and that pisses me off.

“I’m not done,” Smith continued. “I’m not the old wounded lion that’s just pacing around waiting to be killed by the younger ones. That’s not me. I refuse to be the new Neil Magny. Three guys in a month and a half have fought, won, and called me out, all unranked, all young guys. We’re going to dead this right in its tracks. Call me a gatekeeper. Call me whatever the hell you want to call me, but here’s the fact: I’ve been fighting inside the top 10 for a very long time and have been fighting in the rankings in two different weight classes for a very long time.”

Smith is referring to Magny as the ultimate gatekeeper in the Welterweight division. However, “Lionheart” has a good record of shutting down rising prospects in the 205 lb division—he beat Jimmy Crute, Devin Clark, and Ryan Spann twice. On the other hand, he was just smashed by Khalil Rountree Jr. on short notice.

Nevertheless, Smith is at a point in his long career where he will have to fight the young, hungry prospects unless he can turn back the clock and get to one last title run.

Maybe he fights his brother from another mother next? Or Heavyweight…?

MMAmania.com – All Posts

A lightweight contender bout between Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan has been bumped up the card.

Bo Nickal’s premium placement on the upcoming UFC 300 card in April has generated a lot of discussion amongst MMA fans, and not in a good way.

Nickal is a three time NCAA Division I national champion and one of the hottest prospects in the sport. Unless he fizzles hard, he’s going to develop into a solid middleweight contender that will terrorize any stand-up specialists in his division. Some believe he’s destined to be a champion. So what’s the harm in putting him on the pay-per-view portion of UFC 300 so more fans can check him out?

For one thing, even if Nickal is future champion material, a win over unranked Cody Brundage isn’t going to prove it. For another, UFC 300 is stacked with past champions and future Hall of Famers. Featuring Bo above them displays a certain lack of respect for their accomplishments. And based on a recent small change to the UFC 300 bout order, it seems like the UFC agrees with that assessment.

When UFC 300’s bout order was revealed, it had Nickal vs. Brundage as the second fight on the pay-per-view, above Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan. After an outpouring of anger directed at Nickal, Brundage, and the UFC, that was changed. New promotion for the card now has Nickal vs. Brundage as the opening PPV fight of the night.

Considering a win for Oliveira or Tsarukyan could propel them into the next lightweight title fight, it seems only appropriate that the bout take place above a Bo Nickal squash match. Not that bout order is important to anyone but hardcore fans. UFC 300 is stacked from bottom to top with amazing fights, and Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt will still be great despite being relegated to the early prelim curtain jerker spot.

So does it really matter? No. Was it the right call? Definitely.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

A football match between Turkey’s Trabzonspor and the visiting Fenerbahce turned ugly on Sunday (Mar. 17, 2024) when the home crowd stormed the field after a 3-2 loss and proceeded to brawl with security and opposing players.

It looked like a mixed martial arts (MMA) bout on steroids.

Following the conclusion of the match, players from the visiting Fenerbahce team started to celebrate at the center of the pitch (a fancy word for field). I’m not too familiar with international football, but if it’s anything like American football then celebrating at an opponent’s mid-field is an absolute no-no. That seemed to be the case on Sunday.

Fans in attendance began to storm the field and attack players from Fenerbahce. Security obviously got involved, but that didn’t stop a collection of skirmishes from breaking out that will leave the most casual fight fan proud. In fact, one player from the opposing team nearly landed a spinning back kick to the face. Others relied on throws and punches to ward off the hoard of angry fans.

It was a chaotic scene to say the least and a terrible way to end the weekend if you’re a football fan. Check out the post-fight brawl in the above video player and more footage below:

According to ESPN, authorities have launched an investigation to identify the fans who had stormed the pitch and created the post-fight melee.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Francis Ngannou may have nearly fell asleep during warmups for his boxing return earlier this month, but the former UFC heavyweight champion was left unconscious after Anthony Joshua delivered a knockout from hell.

Fight fans can now check out the moments immediately following Ngannou’s devastating defeat as “Predator” shared new behind-the-scenes footage on Saturday. Check it out in the above video player via Ngannou’s YouTube channel.

In case you missed it, Ngannou fell flat in his return to the boxing ring. The former UFC heavyweight king shocked the boxing world by almost defeating Tyson Fury in his boxing debut last October. Ngannou scored a knockdown in that fight and looked poised to give Joshua a real run for his money earlier this month in Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

Ngannou, who had never been finished in his combat career before his tilt with Joshua, was blasted with a huge knockdown in Round 1. “Predator” was completely caught off guard and almost had an outer body experience when it happened.

“Even the first time, I was quite surprised, like, ‘Damn, I can’t be falling from this punch,’” Ngannou said. “The punch was hard, but I don’t think it was the punch that usually would take me down.”

The chaos didn’t stop there. After regrouping in his corner after the first round Ngannou went back out and suffered two more knockdowns. The final punch from Joshua sent Ngannou crashing to the canvas in terrifying fashion, leaving fight fans everywhere in complete awe. It also left Ngannou thinking about all the things that went wrong.

“I think this is a knockout, this is a weird loss,” Ngannou said. “Something that I wouldn’t like to experience, but I think it will stay as a defeat only if I don’t learn from it and come back from it.

“Just life, you don’t make any excuse. That’s what we sign up for when you come to a sport like this. You always know that there is stuff like that, that could happen.”

The video also captures Ngannou being embraced by family members and teammates backstage as he was recovering from the vicious knockout.

Ngannou, who should be making his official return to mixed martial arts (MMA) later this year for his Professional Fighters League (PFL) debut, will have some time to recover from this wild knockout loss. But now that he’s seen the shadow realm firsthand will the former UFC champion ever be the same?

Let us know!

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Mike Tyson continues to document his training camp for his upcoming return to boxing and just released another eye-popping video clip that should have Jake Paul fans trembling in fear.

The two fighters will meet this July as part of a special event on Netflix, which is largely due to the popularity of “Problem Child.” While Paul could have picked somebody else to fight he chose a 57-year-old retired Tyson. That may seem like a crime against the elderly, but Tyson looks downright incredible at this point and ready to destroy the world in four months. He’s like a fine wine being saved for the big day.

On Saturday, Tyson posted another training session showing his progress on the pads and his bulky stature. Paul remains adamant that he still wants to tango with “Iron Mike” despite his terrifying video posts over the past week, but maybe “Problem Child” should start taking a longer look in the mirror.

Check it out in the above video player.

“Day 4, you know, it was okay,” said Tyson via Twitter. “But you don’t know what you got in store, baby. You got to face the ‘God of War.’ And get ready, baby. Fire in the house.”

Fight fans know what to expect from Paul after seeing his professional boxing career play out over the past few years. He has some decent technique accompanied by legit power and a pretty solid chin. But what will happen when a reinvigorated Tyson steps into the ring coming off four months of training and tries to take Paul’s head off?

Well, it’s very likely that the YouTube star will “panic” after Tyson’s first punch lands.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Here’s what you may have missed?

Isaac Dulgarian may have coughed up his undefeated record last night (Sat., March 16, 2024) during UFC Vegas 88, but he didn’t do so without controversy.

In fact, Dulgarian dominated Christian Rodriguez for at least five minutes. That much is undisputed. All three judges agreed, awarding Dulgarian a 10-8 on the first round scorecards. Dulgarian threw “CeeRod” all over the cage, spent a lot of time in mount (and back mount), and really appeared to be breaking down Rodriguez. He landed a healthy amount of strikes, threatened submissions, and according to UFC Stats — the source for all the numbers I’ll be using in this post — spent but 12 seconds of the round in control positions.

Sounds like a 10-8!

Let’s fast-forward to the third frame for a moment, in which the script was entirely flipped. Dulgarian was tired, and Rodriguez was kicking his butt all around the cage. Rodriguez was fatigued as well, which is the reason no finish materialized, but it was still dominant work. Rodriguez landed some hard shots on the feet, reversed takedowns, and nearly finished the fight from flattened-out back mount on a couple of occasions.

All told, 74 Rodriguez strikes landed compared to five from Dulgarian, as well as 3:14 of control. That also sounds like a 10-8, and again, all three judges agreed. That’s a lot of agreement and clear-cut scoring for a bizarre scorecard, but all the strangeness is packed into the middle frame, that pesky second round.

The judges were split on the second. Two awarded Rodriguez the 10-9 nod, while judge Anthony Maness dissented and gave the round to Dulgarian. The correct party is dependent upon how strictly you follow the judging criteria, which remains an eternally gray area open for interpretation.

According to the current scoring criteria, damage is prioritized over control, and striking is prioritized over grappling. For wrestling and jiu-jitsu to score, it has to result in meaningful offense. From this point of view, and taken entirely black-and-white, Rodriguez is the winner, because he landed three more strikes than his opponent (18 vs. 15 total, 12 vs. 8 significant).

And, in fairness, his landed shots were also the harder ones, which does matter.

The problem is that Dulgarian landed four takedowns and controlled four entire minutes of the fight. That makes the situation at least a little gray, right? I’ve been punched and taken down in professional fights, and I have to say, the average takedown hurts at least as badly as an average punch.

It’s kind of an absurdly strict following of the rules. I am inclined to argue too strict. While I’m in favor of the damage preference overall, we cannot pretend that Rodriguez wasn’t manhandled for long portions of the round, and he didn’t win the striking differential by all that much. In lots of other fights, a four strike difference is considered VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL, forcing the judges to weigh in the other facts like grappling, Octagon control and aggression.

Truthfully, we don’t know exactly how Rodriguez’s lands compare to Dulgarian’s. Measuring a strike’s significance is not an exact science. Innocent looking jabs can hurt. A chipping ground strike from Demian Maia was probably written down as a total strike (not significant), yet it stunned the famously durable Carlos Condit.

Is one hard low kick worth more than one hard jab? Who f—king knows!

It’s a judgement call, and in this case, the judges decided that the guy who won four minutes out of five in a round lost the round. Barring exceptional circumstances, that seems silly, and four strikes do not make for particularly exceptional circumstance.

My personal bottom line is this: I don’t think Rodriguez deserved the decision according to the current judging criteria. Admittedly, I also don’t have a problem with him getting his hand raised, because Dulgarian deserved to lose a point for fingering Rodriguez’s gloves in the third round, which may have presented a technical knockout stoppage.

It was a close fight, so in many ways, a close decision is an appropriate result one way or the other. Still, it’s one of the most bizarre scorecards in recent memory, the most standout moment in a standard Apex event.

It was allegedly a little greasy, too.

For complete UFC Vegas 88: “Tuivsasa vs. Tybura” results and play-by-play, click HERE.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Last night (Sat., March 16, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 88. Unless directly related to Tai Tuivasa or Marcin Tybura, this was nobody’s event of the year. Really, it was more of a come down from UFC 299. On the plus side, there was a healthy handful of fun fights and interesting finishes, so the card moved along at a good pace.

Let’s take a look back over at UFC Vegas 88’s best performances and techniques:

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Tybura Weathers The Storm

For about 90 seconds, it was clear why Tai Tuivasa was favored to win the main event. He bullied Marcin Tybura, shucking off his takedown attempts and landing hard low kicks and big shots upstairs. Immediately, the Polish veteran was bloodied and looking uncomfortable on his feet opposite the knockout artist.

When we speak about big punchers like “Bam Bam,” a common phrase is “It only takes one.” That’s true to an extent, but conversely, Tuivasa landed a lot more punches than Tybura did takedowns. In this case, however, that single takedown meant a whole lot more.

Tybura’s one well-timed double along the fence pretty much spelled game over for Tuivasa, who remains woefully inept on his back. Tuivasa floundered around on bottom, getting pummeled and unable to offer any defense other than holding onto a wrist whenever he could catch a punch. Tybura landed dozens and dozens of shots, then put his foe to sleep with a rear naked choke.

It looked easy for him.

Tuivasa is a fan favorite, a gamer, and a nasty striker. If he wants to consistently win fights in the Top 10, however, his ground game has to at least improve from abysmal to mediocre.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

No Contest?!?

Bryan Battle looked really sharp against Ange Loosa … for as long as the fight lasted.

Battle really dominated the first round. He hurt Loosa early with a counter punch, denied his attempts to wrestle — in fact, he reversed them briefly — and then maintained range really well. Loosa couldn’t hit him, and meanwhile, Battle was constantly touching him with probing straight punches and teeps. His eyes were really on point, as Battle was slipping shots and returning fire like a veteran.

Unfortunately, a collision of heads early in the second resulted in an eye poke as Battle shoved Loosa away. Loosa admitted to the referee and doctor that he couldn’t see, and the fight was called off. When the official “No Contest” decision was announced, a screaming and shoving match between Battle, Loosa, and a handful of officials occurred.

Hilariously, Michael Bisping proceeded to interview only Bryan Battle as if he were the official winner, and Battle absolutely roasted Loosa and labeled him a quitter. I don’t have strong opinions one way or another if that’s true, but I’ll say this: Battle won the crowd, and thus he won the fight.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Chiasson Makes A Statement

Macy Chiasson looked really good against Pannie Kianzad. The fight only went a few minutes, but on the feet, Chiasson landed some good shots before getting to the clinch and implementing her game. Her takedowns came smoothly, and once in top position, it didn’t take her long to take the back and attack the neck.

At No. 10 in the world, Chiasson isn’t in the immediate title mix, but she could be. Women’s Bantamweight is an empty division, and Chiasson certainly has the skills to contend. If she can continue to perform and consistently make the weight, she could really make an impact.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Bryan Barberena Has No Business At Middleweight

I don’t have any interest in breaking this one down, because it’s unnecessary. Barberena isn’t a Middleweight; he’s a Lightweight-turned-170-pounder who doesn’t feel like getting in shape and cutting weight anymore. Subsequently, Gerald Meerschaert was pretty easily able to outwrestle him, work his way to the back mount, and put his opponent to sleep.

The whole fight was EXTREMELY predictable. If Barberena wants to stick around the UFC beyond 2024, he has to go back to Welterweight.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The Return Of Beast Boy

Mike Davis has consistently proven to be really good. Since his short-notice debut loss to Gilbert Burns way back in 2019, Davis hasn’t tasted defeat inside the cage. He’s won four straight now, finishing two of his opponents in the process. A bit of quick math demonstrates the issue, however: “Beast Boy” doesn’t fight very often, which makes it hard to climb the ranks.

He still walked through Natan Levy! Levy is a pretty solid Lightweight, a rangy kickboxer with good grappling and athleticism. Davis closed the distance and floored him with his first right hand of the fight, nearly finishing the match immediately. Instead, Levy survived to the second, giving Davis a chance to show off his excellent wrestling and top grappling as well. Rather than hunt for the rear naked choke again, Davis managed to catch an arm triangle in transition between back mount and mount.

It’s another notch in a good win streak. Hopefully, Davis is back in the cage in 2024 and can really start to build on his success, because “Beast Boy” clearly has a lot of talent.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Additional Thoughts

• Jaqueline Amorim defeats Cory McKenna via first-round armbar (HIGHLIGHTS): Playing around on the ground with Amorim is a risky endeavor. The jiu-jitsu black belt actually jumped guard, almost immediately landing in a triangle choke. Referee goofiness aside, Amorim demonstrated her grappling expertise in transitioning with and around McKenna’s attempts to scramble free, eventually cranking the arm at a deeply unpleasant angle and forcing the submission.

Jafel Filho defeats Ode Osbourne via first-round rear naked chokes (HIGHLIGHTS): Filho pretty much ran through his opposition here. His grappling-based game plan was neither a secret nor a surprise, but Osbourne couldn’t do much to stop it. The Brazilian “Pastor” advanced towards the back mount quickly, mixing strikes and strangle attempts until finally the arm slipped under the neck late in the first. At 30 years of age, Filho has won two straight in the Octagon and looks to be one to watch moving forward!

Thiago Moises defeats Mitch Ramirez via third-round knockout (HIGHLIGHTS): Moises has no business in the cage with Contenders Series randoms. He’s a notch above that class, a former ranked Lightweight! Ramirez was filling in on short-notice, and it really showed. Moises nearly submitted him in the first from back mount, but then switched strategies when his low kicks began taking effect in the second. He attacked the lead leg relentlessly, scoring his first stoppage from strikes since 2018!

For complete UFC Vegas 88: “Tuivsasa vs. Tybura” results and play-by-play, click HERE!

MMAmania.com – All Posts

With UFC Vegas 88 a wrap after an exciting night (Sat., Mar. 16, 2024) of fights on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, fight fans can now check out the post-fight press conference video above for all the best reaction and official bonus winners.

On a night that featured a main event clash between heavyweight veterans Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura, a co-headliner pitting former Ultimate Fighter winner Bryan Battle against surging welterweight fighter Ange Loosa, and a collection rising young prospects, there will be a lot to discuss now that the action has concluded.

The post-fight presser is scheduled to go LIVE around 10:00 p.m. ET. It will feature the biggest winners and losers from the card.

For complete UFC Vegas 88 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

We are still four months away from Mike Tyson’s official return to boxing this July against Jake Paul on Netflix and the former heavyweight champion of the world is already showing signs of his former self.

Tyson will turn 58 years of age before he officially steps inside of the ring opposite “Problem Child” this summer, but that doesn’t mean he’s not in great shape. In fact, Tyson has begun to post training videos on his social media accounts and he’s looking downright scary. Tyson has always kept up with training in some way or another, but things have seemingly hit a new level.

On Friday, “Iron Mike” took to Twitter to share yet another workout video for his upcoming fight with Paul. This time around, Tyson added in a little bit of trash talk for the social media sensation.

Check it out in the above player.

“Day three. You still wanna f—k with me?” asked Tyson while showing off his 57-year-old physique.

Paul, who seems as confident as ever that he will take out Tyson this coming July, wasted little time responding to the veteran boxer. Despite all of the footage he’s seeing on social media and what some around the combat community are saying about Tyson’s growing chances to win, Paul still wants all the smoke he can get.

“Yes, yes I do,” responded Paul on Saturday.

Tyson will have more than enough time to fully prepare himself for Paul this July. He’ll have his chance to strengthen his body and put in enough work to make Paul doubt himself. However, “Iron Mike” will still step inside of the ring with an aging chin so fight fans won’t know exactly what he’s capable of doing until he eats a punch or two.

MMAmania.com – All Posts