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Mike Perry recently voiced his apprehension about inciting fan outrage if he were to pursue a future boxing match against the legendary, yet much older, Mike Tyson.

Perry is currently slated to fight Jake Paul on July 20 in an eight-round cruiserweight bout at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

This matchup was announced after Paul’s planned fight against “Iron Mike” on the same date was pushed to November 15 due to the former undisputed heavyweight champion’s health scare.

Tyson experienced an ulcer flare-up during a flight in May, leaving him nauseous and in need of medical attention. Although his team initially claimed he had fully recovered, subsequent medical examinations revealed that the 58-year-old boxing legend was not fit to compete in July.

The upcoming bout against Paul presents a tremendous opportunity for “Platinum” to elevate his profile on a grander stage. Already thriving as a bare-knuckle fighter, Perry is the biggest star in BKFC, boasting impressive victories over notable opponents like Michael Page, Luke Rockhold, and Eddie Alvarez.

Despite securing the fight due to unexpected circumstances, Perry is eager to compete against Tyson if he secures a win against the YouTuber-turned-boxer on July 20.

However, the former UFC welterweight fighter is cautious of potential public outcry, as many might disapprove of the matchup due to the significant age difference…

Perry Eyes Tyson Fight But Hesitant About Public Reaction

During a recent ESPN MMA interview, Perry was asked if he would consider fighting Tyson next, should he defeat “The Problem Child” and take his spotlight on November 15. “Platinum” eagerly affirmed his desire to face the boxing icon.

“Yes, absolutely. Of course, man, I’m thinking about that. I would definitely do it.”

However, the 32-year-old Michigan native acknowledged that facing Tyson would be the biggest matchup of his career, and he doesn’t want to provoke public backlash unnecessarily. For now, he is concentrating solely on his fight with Paul.

“The comments can be negative already, anyway, so now they’re going to say, ‘Oh, now you’re gonna fight the old guy.’ The internet is undefeated. That’s the one fight I don’t want to have is Mike Perry vs. the internet because I could be the guy to beat the internet, bro. Fighting Mike Tyson would be obviously be cool but I’m just focused on July 20, man. I gotta have tunnel vision, this is my opportunity to show the world.”

When Paul vs. Tyson was first announced, the MMA community raised alarm bells over the staggering 31-year age gap between the fighters, a difference that would set a new record in professional boxing history.

“Iron Mike” hasn’t fought professionally since retiring during his bout against Kevin McBride in June 2005. However, Tyson made a comeback in November 2020, stepping into the squared circle for an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr., which ended in a draw.

• Read More: Jake Paul & Team Push Back On Accusations From Mike Perry Of Lowball Offer To Box: ‘Need To See Factual Data On Mike’s Ability To Sell Tickets’

Continue Reading Mike Perry Wary Of Fan Backlash If He Angles For Mike Tyson Match: ‘The One Fight I Don’t Want To Have, Mike Perry vs. The Internet’ at MMA News.

MMA News

During a recent appearance on the Today Show Australia, Israel Adesanya took the moment to congratulate a former opponent on his recent victory.

Robert Whittaker produced back-to-back wins when he stopped Ikram Aliskerov in the late-notice main event of UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia on June 22.

“The Reaper” is now back into the title picture after getting Aliskerov out of there in the first round to build on his decision victory against Paulo Costa at UFC 298 this past February.

Adesanya and Whittaker have met two times inside the Octagon, with “The Last Stylebender” coming out on top on both occasions.

While reacting to footage of his iconic UFC 243 walkout in Melbourne, the Nigerian-New Zealander took a second to praise his Australian peer.

“I was fighting the local hero, Rob Whittaker, who just actually had a great win a week or two weeks ago, but I was fighting him here.

“It was beautiful. Robbie’s that guy. We fought twice. We always have history but it was good to see him back in the win column, and he’s coming for me, so I got to stay ready.”

Israel Adesanya Says Dricus Du Plessis Feud Is About Respecting ‘The Guys Who Came Before You’

If Adesanya’s fight with Whittaker — which pitted Australia and New Zealand up against one another — was a big deal, it has nothing on the grudge match that is on deck for UFC 305.

“The Last Stylebender” is set to finally go up against the current middleweight world champion, South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis, and it’s safe to say that they don’t see eye-to-eye.

Much of the tension between them stems from comments made by Du Plessis about how him winning the middleweight title and bringing it back to Africa would make him the first true African champion because he still lives and trains out of the continent.

Adesanya spoke about this during his recent TV appearance, stating that the lack of respect being shown to the people that came before the current champion is where he feels his next opponent crossed the line.

“For me, it’s you have to honor the guys who came before you. He’s the guy saying, ‘I’m the real African champion,’ but look, you wouldn’t have been able to do what you’re doing at home in South Africa if myself, Francis Ngannou, and Kamaru (Usman) didn’t pave the way for you. So you have to respect your elders and I’ll make sure I do that to him.”

Du Plessis and Adesanya will headline the UFC 305 pay-per-view event in Perth, Australia, on August 17. The bout comes almost a year on from the latter’s most recent appearance, an upset loss to Sean Strickland in Sydney.

• Read More: Robert Whittaker Has Sympathy For Referees In MMA Despite Bad High-Profile Calls: ‘Nobody Talks About A Ref Doing A Good Job…’ (Exclusive)

Continue Reading Israel Adesanya Has Kind Words For Robert Whittaker After His Big Win Over Ikram Aliskerov: ‘Robbie’s That Guy!’ at MMA News.

MMA News

The learning curve once a fighter joins the UFC roster roster can often be a steep one. Many fighters take some time to find their feet and work their way toward chasing a spot inside the rankings, and dreams of fighting for a title often have to be put on hold while they settle into the big leagues and slowly carve out a name for themselves.

Not so for Steve Erceg.

The Australian flyweight, who is set to face Kai Kara-France at UFC 305 later this summer, only made his debut inside the Octagon in June 2023 when he beat David Dvořák by unanimous decision in Canada at UFC 289. He followed that up with another win at UFC 295 against Alessandro Costa, before picking up a highlight reel knockout of Matt Schnell in March of this year.

In a surprising turn of events, the 28-year-old was drafted in to fight Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title in the main event of UFC 301 in Rio De Janeiro just two months later. While the fight didn’t go his way, “AstroBoy” believes the experience will stand him in good stead going forward.

“I feel like more people know who I am now,” Erceg said during an interview with Submission Radio this week. “That’s obviously good for getting big fights and opportunities, so that’s great, and I found out that I can hang at that level.

“He’s beat a lot of contenders, basically everybody in the division, so the fact that I was able to hang there for five rounds, and I felt that I was the one coming over the top at the end…that was awesome. It just obviously sucks that I have to look at his record now with my name associated with it, but whatever.”

Erceg Aiming For Rematch With Pantoja Post-UFC 305

Erceg was also asked whether he thinks a rematch could be on the cards, and if he believes Pantoja will still be the one holding the belt by the time he’s able to work his way back into title contention.

“I really hope he’s still the champion because I don’t know what I’m gonna do if some other guy can beat him and I f**kin’ couldn’t. … I don’t like to swear, but…yeah, so I’d prefer if it was him at the top still. We’ll sort it out.”

• Read More: Former UFC Champion On Why We May See ‘One Of The Most Dangerous, Nasty Versions Of Israel Adesanya’ Against Dricus Du Plessis

Continue Reading Steve Erceg On Potential Alexandre Pantoja Rematch: ‘I Don’t Know What I’m Going To Do If Some Other Guy Can Beat Him…’ at MMA News.

MMA News

Former UFC title challenger Darren Till is set to finally make his combat sports return this weekend after taking a late-notice fight at Social Knockout 3 in Dubai.

Till was previously scheduled to make his long awaited boxing debut against Julio César Chávez Jr. on the undercard of Jake Paul’s fight with Mike Tyson. With that card being postponed until November, the fight was off, but the Brit hopes that he will still be a part of that event in some capacity when it takes place later this year.

It has taken him a long time to get back in the mix, and after having this big fight collapse, he doesn’t want to lose out on the big opportunities that could have come with getting a win on July 20.

Till is still targeting two of the biggest names that are out there for him in boxing as they’re set to meet on the originally planned date for Paul vs. Tyson.

Darren Till Talks Wanting To Face Jake Paul & Mike Perry, Predicts Their Upcoming Fight

In an interview with Fred Talks Fighting ahead of his return to competition, Till laid out his plans for the near future.

Regardless of what happens on July 20, he is hoping to face either Mike Perry or Jake Paul, and there’s no denying that both fights would be big occasions for “The Gorilla.”

“I think it’s either Jake Paul or Mike Perry at this point. Me and Mike Perry have got a lot of history. … It’s always beef, it’s always war with Mike. We always push for war, never peace.”

Till also gave his prediction for the upcoming clash between Perry and Paul that was announced shortly after the postponement of the Tyson fight.

The former UFC fighter finds it difficult to call a winner because of what both men bring to the table, but he is leaning ever so slightly toward “The Problem Child.”

“I keep 50:50 on both, some days I say Jake ‘cause I know Jake’s the bigger man, but then I don’t think you can rule Perry out. Perry’s a tough man and he’s been beating all these veterans now. like, I think it’s a 50:50. I’m gonna sway towards Jake a little bit more.”

• Read More: Dan Hardy Names Opponent That ‘Makes The Most Sense’ For Jake Paul In MMA After Nate Diaz’s Rejections

Continue Reading Darren Till Predicts Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry, Provides Update On Future: ‘We Always Push For War, Never Peace!’ at MMA News.

MMA News

Israel Adesanya is certainly not going to be short on motivation heading into his middleweight title fight at UFC 305.

After the longest break of his fighting career, the former champion returns to try and reclaim the belt against his rival, Dricus Du Plessis.

There has been tension between the two men that stems back to last year when some comments from “Stillknocks” made this feud personal and intense.

Now, Du Plessis had added more fuel to the fire with his statements in interviews and the recent press conference, where he gave his feelings on Adesanya’s career.

Michael Bisping Says Dricus Du Plessis Is Motivating & Firing Up Israel Adesanya Ahead Of UFC 305

Despite their feud, Du Plessis has made it very clear that he has a lot of respect for everything that Adesanya has accomplished in his career.

The difference is that the current champion believes his next opponent is not the same man that he used to be anymore and his best days are behind him.

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, former 185-pound champion Michael Bisping gave his reaction to the words between the two men at the press conference.

He believes that Du Plessis saying these things about Adesanya could end up backfiring by giving his opponent more venom ahead of their eventual meeting in Perth on August 17.

“That’s kind of harsh words for Israel Adesanya to hear and for Israel, that’s going to motivate him big time. That’s going to p*** him off, that’s going to grind his gears, that’s going to get in his head, that is going to force him to train his a** off, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see one of the most dangerous, nasty version of Israel Adesanya that we’ve seen.”

Adesanya’s return comes on Australian soil, where he was shockingly unseated by Sean Strickland last September in Sydney.

He’ll look to return to the throne inside Perth’s RAC Arena, where fellow Oceania-based fighters like Kai Kara-France, Steve Erceg, Junior Tafa, and Jack Jenkins will also be among those in action.

• Read More: Dricus Du Plessis Matchmakes For Sean Strickland, Shuts Down Desire To Wait For Title Shot: ‘You Can Main Event That Fight On Any Card…’

Continue Reading Former UFC Champion On Why We May See ‘One Of The Most Dangerous, Nasty Versions Of Israel Adesanya’ Against Dricus Du Plessis at MMA News.

MMA News

A recent trend in combat sports sees influencers asking intentionally provoking questions to professional fighters in order to stir up social media.

The latest example came during the press conference for Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal’s boxing match this Saturday where a streamer named “N3on” got hold of the mic.

He proceeded to ask Diaz whether he was going to retire when he gets knocked out on Saturday night, which obviously did not go down well with the Stockton fighter.

The streamer’s name may ring a bell for fight fans after he was prevented from attending UFC 296 in December last year following comments online about how he would confront Donald Trump at the event.

‘Big’ John McCarthy Says N3on Is Lucky Nate Diaz Didn’t Go Right At Him After Insulting Question

On a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, “Big” John McCarthy gave his reaction to the clip of N3on attempting to antagonise Diaz at the press conference.

Diaz did hold his own and repeatedly responded with expletives before his team appeared to pursue the streamer once the press conference had finished, as shown in the video below.

McCarthy expressed his dislike of this trend that keeps coming back around, expressing that N3on should be lucky that Diaz didn’t just decide to jump off the stage and handle it right then and there.

“Where is it that a guy that has never been in a fight in his life wants to be a smarta** with a guy who is a real fighter, he has to sit up there, he has to listen to your b******* and you want to sit there and say, ‘Are you gonna retire when you get knocked out this Saturday night?’

“It’s like, do you think maybe, do you think just maybe that’s a f****** douchebag thing to say to a guy that’s been through wars throughout his career and you’ve never done a f****** thing?”

McCarthy then continued, warning streamers like N3on who push their luck against real fighters that they may end up biting off more trouble than they can chew.

“It’s always these guys that they’ll never f****** do anything and they’ll sit there and say something like, ‘You’re gonna get knocked out, you gonna retire when you do’. It’s like, homebody, you’re lucky he doesn’t jump over that table and just drop kick you into the f****** third row and let your teeth become f****** chicklets.”

• Read More: Nate Diaz Doubles Down On Support For Conor McGregor Following UFC 303 Pullout: ‘Lost His Last Fight Because He Went In There Like A G & Was Hurt…’

Continue Reading ‘Big’ John McCarthy Slams Influencer Who Disrespected Nate Diaz At Press Conference: ‘Homeboy, You’re Lucky He Doesn’t Jump Over The Table…’ at MMA News.

MMA News

Jiří Procházka was unable to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title in a rematch with Alex Pereira this past weekend in Las Vegas.

Despite believing that he had made some significant adjustments for his approach this time around, UFC 303 was a far more one-sided affair than their previous encounter last November.

Though it is true that Procházka was having success in the first fight until he was stopped in the second round, he was seemingly fighting a losing battle mostly due to the damage that was done to his leg early on in the fight.

The same thing happened on Saturday night but Pereira was able to find a home for his devastating left hook even earlier on this occasion, before finishing the fight at the start of the second round with a head kick.

Firas Zahabi Criticizes Jiří Procházka For Being Happy To Strike With Alex Pereira

The highly-regarded MMA coach Firas Zahabi gave his breakdown of the fight during a recent video on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel.

He was very critical of the approach that Procházka came into the rematch with because there wasn’t enough emphasis placed on switching things up on Pereira.

Zahabi referenced how there is a stark difference in the amount of MMA experience that both men have, with Procházka coming into the main event with 36 pro fights compared to Pereira’s 13.

The former coach of Georges St-Pierre couldn’t understand why the challenger wouldn’t look to take advantage of this by trying to take the former world champion kickboxing out of his comfort zone.

“You’d think Jiří would have like 10 more years under his belt in wrestling and still he didn’t even fathom a takedown. He tried one little clinch, he didn’t even knock on that door. Very disappointing strategy by Jiří. Jiří was just seemingly happy to strike and I will tell you, within the first minute of round one, “Poatan” had landed like four kicks and you could tell he was already hurting Jiří’s leg.

“Jiří’s game plan and performance, I think that was his worst approach to a fight ever, he’s ever had. I heard he was like three days in a cave somewhere meditating, thinking about this fight, how he’s going to approach it. Unfortunately for him it really didn’t work.”

• Read More: Daniel Cormier On State Of The UFC LHW Division Now Compared To Five Years Ago: ‘How Long Can Alex Pereira Reign…’

Continue Reading Georges St-Pierre’s Coach Labels Jiří Procházka’s UFC 303 Performance As ‘Worst Approach To A Fight Ever’ at MMA News.

MMA News

UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis is locked in to prepare for his first title defense, which will come at UFC 305 against Israel Adesanya.

Without looking past the former champion, Du Plessis is still keeping an eye on who else could challenge him for the title in the near future, with it likely coming down to two potential opponents.

Both Sean Strickland and Robert Whittaker have held the title in the past and they’ve rebounded in recent fights from losses to the current champion.

After Whittaker stopped Ikram Aliskerov, who was a late-notice replacement for Khamzat Chimaev, and Strickland convincingly defeated Paulo Costa, a fight between them makes a lot of sense to the champion.

Dricus Du Plessis Says Sean Strickland vs. Robert Whittaker Should & Will Happen Next

In an interview with Submission Radio following the first press conference for UFC 305, Du Plessis spoke about what he thinks should be next for the middleweight division.

Strickland has made it very clear that after believing he beat Du Plessis in January and then getting the win over Costa at UFC 302, he wants to sit out in order to wait for his second shot at the title.

The champion believes that with Strickland and Whittaker both having claims to be the next in line, a number one contender’s match-up should and will take place in the near future.

“Stillknocks” spoke about this option and why he wants to see his two former opponents meet for the first time inside the Octagon.

“In my opinion, how I see this playing out, you cannot not do the Whittaker versus Strickland fight. I think that’s the fight that needs to happen. Now I know Strickland when we’re at the presser said Whittaker is nothing but a blitz and it’s an easy fight and now he doesn’t want to take that fight. Let me tell you one thing, Robert Whittaker is no easy fight for anybody. Strickland, also an incredible fighter, and that is just a fight that makes so much sense. That’s a fight on it’s own, you can main event that fight on any card and I honestly think that’s how it’s gonna play out.”

Read also: ‘This Guy Is Such A Trash Person’ – MMA Fans Annoyed After Sean Strickland Puts A Beating On Navy Seal In Sparring

Continue Reading Dricus Du Plessis Matchmakes For Sean Strickland, Shuts Down Desire To Wait For Title Shot: ‘You Can Main Event That Fight On Any Card…’ at MMA News.

MMA News

Former UFC heavyweight makes the case for ‘Poatan’ to face Jones next.

UFC 303 was an unmitigated disaster for the promotion from a matchmaking point of view. The postponement of the long-awaited ‘Return of the Mac’ was no doubt a spanner in the works for the MMA leader as they were anticipating the highest gate in UFC history, and the bizarre sequence of events that led to Dan Ige stepping up on a few hours’ notice to fight in the co-main event is certainly something we’ve never seen before.

From an entertainment perspective, the majority of the undercard failed to deliver. Outside of Payton Talbott’s quickfire knockout win over Yanis Ghemmouri, there really wasn’t a whole lot to get fans out of their seats during the prelims, and although the welterweight main card opener between Ian Machado Garry and Michael “Venom” Page proved an interesting tactical battle, it wasn’t a fight that impressed the fanbase.

As has been the case time and time again, however, Alex Pereira stepped up to the plate to save the day. His knockout win over Jiri Prochazka in the main event stole all the headlines, just two months after his previous showstopping exploits against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300.  

The main talking point coming out of last Saturday seems to be concerning who “Poatan” will fight next. Rumours continue to circulate about a potential move up to test the waters in the heavyweight division against either interim champion Tom Aspinall or two-weight world champion Jon Jones. There is also the possibility he will defend the 205lb belt against the consensus challenger Magomed Anakalaev.

Brendan Schaub Advocates For ‘Poatan’ vs. ‘Bones’ Next

Speaking on his Extra Thiccc podcast this week, former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub made the case for Pereira to fight Jones next.

“If you’re the UFC, if you’re gonna risk Alex Pereira, wouldn’t you rather him…wouldn’t you rather him lose to the greatest of all time Jon Jones at heavyweight, and then go, ‘Yeah it’s Jon Jones, he’s going back to light heavyweight’, or you know let’s say it’s competitive, you go, ‘Yeah, he’s gonna fight Tom Aspinall’.”

“At least you still have options” Schaub continued “because if you give him to Ankalaev and he loses? There’s no heavyweight…we don’t wanna see you at heavyweight. He’s gonna be stuck at light heavyweight. If you give him Aspinall and he loses that…well the mega-fight with Jon’s gone.

Schaub then urged the UFC matchmakers to make the right decision, keep ‘Poatan’ away from the grappling-heavy Ankalaev – and book him against Jon Jones for the undisputed heavyweight strap after “Bones” is done defending his title against Stipe Miocic [if he beats him, of course].

“If you’re in the boardroom and you’re Mick Maynard this morning and you’re waking up like, ‘Alright he’s an underdog in all three scenarios…what’s gonna be the biggest fight possible, which is not gonna shoot his balloon down of stardom the most?

“You do Jon Jones – Alex Pereira in 2025 for the undisputed heavyweight title”.

• Read More: DC – “How LongCan Alex Pereira Reign?”

Continue Reading Case Made For Alex Pereira Not To Defend Title Against Magomed Ankalaev Next: ‘Wouldn’t You Rather Him Lose To The GOAT Jon Jones…’ at MMA News.

MMA News

June was a big month for the UFC’s middleweight division with several top contenders in action as the upcoming title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya draws closer.

Former champion Robert Whittaker could have announced himself as the number one contender had Khamzat Chimaev not withdrawn from their main event in Saudi Arabia.

Whittaker ended up facing Ikram Aliskerov where he produced a dominant display to earn a first-round finish.

Earlier in the month, there was controversy in the division after Nassourdine Imavov stopped Jared Cannonier in a call that many believe was made too soon.

Referee Jason Herzog waved the fight off in the fourth round with fans believing that he stopped the fight too early despite some worrying signs from Cannonier.

Robert Whittaker Does Not Envy The Thankless Role Of Being A MMA Referee

In an exclusive interview with MMA News, Whittaker said that he feels some sympathy towards MMA officials for the thankless jobs that they do.

“The Reaper” didn’t agree with the stoppage of that fight but he also didn’t want to be too negative about the call that Herzog made in this instance.

He stated that he understands the frustration of being on the wrong end of an early stoppage and having faced Cannonier in the past, knows that there is no quit in him.

However, Whittaker said that he does not envy the role of the referees, specifically referencing how they never get credit but will always get criticized when a mistake is made.

“Mate, being a ref’s hard. It’s a hard gig and it’s easy to point the finger at a ref for being trigger happy or pulling a fight too late or pulling a fight too short but man, the reality is their job is so hard. So hard. Nobody talks about a ref doing a good job, they only get hammered when they make a mistake or when it’s not to the liking of the fans. It’s a hard gig and I don’t have an opinion on it.”

Here are the some of the other topics Whittaker discussed in the exclusive interview that you can watch in the video above:

• Being upset with the media for misrepresenting his injury issue heading into the Aliskerov fight
• Reacting to his first KO finish in seven years
• On refereeing and how he would change judging in MMA
• Explaining his decision not to weigh in at UFC 305 as the backup fighter
• Discussing Sean Strickland, Bo Nickal, and Conor McGregor
• Predicting how a rematch goes against Dricus Du Plessis

Read More: VIDEO: Israel Adesanya Reacts To Longtime Rival Alex Pereira’s Knockout Of Jiří Procházka At UFC 303

Continue Reading Robert Whittaker Has Sympathy For Referees In MMA Despite Bad High-Profile Calls: ‘Nobody Talks About A Ref Doing A Good Job…’ (Exclusive) at MMA News.

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