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The boxing match between former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and influencer-boxer Jake Paul was originally scheduled to take place on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but the bout has been postponed.  

Earlier this week, on a flight from Florida to Los Angeles, Tyson experienced some worrying signs of nausea and dizziness.  The 57-year old was seen being pushed in a wheelchair leaving the airport.  Following the incident, Tyson’s team released a short statement saying he was ‘doing great.’    

“Thankfully, Mr. Tyson is doing great,” insisted Tyson’s team following the scare. “He became nauseous and dizzy due to an ulcer flare up 30 minutes before landing.”

Due to the ulcer flare up, the fight has been postponed.  A new date for the fight will to be announced on June 7, according to Most Valuable Promotions, Paul’s promotional company who is organizing the event.  The fight is expected to remain at AT&T Stadium.

“I want to thank my fans around the world for their support and understanding during this time,” Tyson said in a statement. “Unfortunately, due to my ulcer flareup, I have been advised by my doctor to lighten my training for a few weeks to rest and recover. My body is in better overall shape than it has been since the 1990s and I will be back to my full training schedule soon.

“Jake Paul, this may have bought you some time, but in the end you will still be knocked out and out of boxing for good. I appreciate everyone’s patience and can’t wait to deliver an unforgettable performance later this year.” 

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The fighters competing on Saturday’s UFC 302 event officially weighed in on Friday morning.  At 5 p.m. ET they will participate in the ceremonial weigh-in with fans in attendance.  

UFC 302 takes place at the Prudential Center and is headlined by a lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev and former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier. In the co-main event, former middleweight titleholder Sean Strickland takes on former title challenger Paulo Costa. 

UFC 302 Ceremonial Weigh-In

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The UFC 302 official weigh-in took place on Friday morning in Newark, New Jersey.  The co-main event fighters, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa, both weighed in at 185 pounds.  

Strickland is coming off a split decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis in his last fight and needs a win to remain the top contender in the division.  Costa is also coming off a loss.  He was defeated by former champion Robert Whittaker in his last outing.  The Brazilian has lost three of his last four fights and needs a win to stay relevant in the weight class.  

UFC 302 Co-Main Event Weigh-In Video

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The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey hosts Saturday’s UFC 302 pay-per-view event.  The fight card is headlined by a lightweight title bout between champion Islam Makhachev and former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier.  

In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland returns to take on former title challenger Paulo Costa.  The first fighter is expected to step on the scale at 9 a.m. ET.  

UFC 302 Live Weigh-In Video

UFC 302 Official Weigh-In Results

Main Card

• Islam Makhachev () vs Dustin Poirier ()

• Sean Strickland () vs Paulo Costa ()

• Kevin Holland () vs Michal Oleksiejczuk ()

• Jailton Almeida () vs Alexandr Romanov ()

• Randy Brown () vs Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos ()

Preliminary Card

• Cesar Almeida () vs Roman Kopylov ()

• Grant Dawson () vs Joe Solecki ()

• Phil Rowe () vs Jake Matthews ()

• Niko Price () vs Alex Morono ()

Early Preliminary Card

Mickey Gall () vs Bassil Hafez ()

Ailin Perez () vs Joselyne Edwards ()

Nyamjargal Tumendemberel () vs Andre Lima ()

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When former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier enters the octagon for the UFC 302 main event on Saturday, it will be the third time he’s fought for undisputed UFC gold.  “The Diamond” takes on champion Islam Makhachev and is a heavy underdog.  

Makhachev (25-1) suffered his only career loss in October 2015.  He enters his third title defense riding a 13-fight winning streak.  Poirier (30-8, 1 NC) is coming off a knockout win over Benoit Saint Denis and believes he can do that same to Makhachev.    

“I can definitely win this fight,” Poirier said during the UFC 302 Media Day.  “If I touch his chin, he’ll go down.  He’ll find that out on Saturday.  Maybe that’s something he doesn’t need to believe.  Maybe he needs to be positive and confident walking into this, which he should be, but if you don’t think I have a chance to win you’re lying to yourself.”  

“Over the years, if there’s anything I’ve learned fighting is like the media, my opponents, their camps, the critics don’t matter.  It’s in my hands,” Poirier continued.  “I’m the only guy who has the opportunity to make this happen, or whatever decisions I make under those lights on Saturday, I’m the guy in the driver’s seat.  All these other guys talking are passengers, or in the backseat.  I steer where this goes.”

The UFC 302 title fight could be Poirier’s last octagon performance the 35-year old has stated leading up to the event.  

“It could be (my last fight). It could be. I haven’t made like an official decision yet, but it could be,” he said in an interview with Fight Bananas. “I’ve said this over and over again. I still have a lot of tread on the tired. I can beat these guys. I can beat these young guys. I just did it. I still feel good. My body feels good, but it’s just like how much do I want to give to this sport because you don’t ride for free.”  

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Ahead of Saturday’s UFC 302 pay-per-view event, the main event and co-main event fighters participated in the pre-fight press conference.  

UFC 302 takes place at the Prudential Center in New Jersey on Saturday and is headlined by a lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev and former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier. In the co-main event, former middleweight titleholder Sean Strickland takes on former title challenger Paulo Costa.

UFC 302 Press Conference Face-Off: Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier  

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The Prudential Center Practice Rink hosts the UFC 302 Pre-Fight Press Conference at 5 p.m. ET.  The press conference will feature the main and co-main event fighters and UFC CEO Dana White.  

UFC 302 takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday and is headlined by a lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier. In the co-main event, former middleweight titleholder Sean Strickland takes on former title challenger Paulo Costa.

UFC 302 Pre-Fight Press Conference 

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In April, the UFC announced the development of new fight gloves.  They will debut this weekend at UFC 302 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

“We have been working on these gloves over the past few years with the best designers, engineers, and athletes in the world,” said UFC CEO and President Dana White during their unveiling. “This redesign will truly be a game changer for the entire sport of MMA. These gloves will feel lighter, fit fighters’ hands better, prevent injuries, and provide maximum flexibility during the fights. 

While some fighters like the new gloves, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland is not one of them.  Strickland takes on Paulo Costa in the UFC 302 co-main event and heavily criticized the new gloves during the UFC 302 Media Day. 

“They suck,” said Strickland.  “They suck.  Can we talked to the person who designed these gloves?  Have you ever been in a fight in your f***ing life?  It’s like you get these f***ing dorks that have no idea.  ‘Oh this sounds like a good idea,’ and they make it… They absolutely suck.  UFC, you dropped the ball on that one.”  

One complaint UFC 302 main event fighter Dustin Poirier has raised about the new gloves is he anticipates fighters will receive more cuts due to the less compact padding.  

“I do think there might be more cuts because the padding isn’t as dense.  I feel like the knuckles are going to pierce through that padding they have and cause more cuts,” said Poirier.     

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When Ronda Rousey made her professional mixed martial arts debut in King of the Cage in March 2011, no one knew that she’d change the landscape of the sport.  She was signed by Strikeforce later that year and was noticed by UFC matchmakers.  

At the time, women did not compete in the UFC.  There were no women’s divisions.  Rousey’s star power and ability to arm bar seemingly any opponent propelled women into the spotlight and changed the mind of UFC CEO Dana White.  White once said that women would never fight in the UFC. but then he met Rousey.

Rousey was the inaugural UFC women’s bantamweight champion and the first female fighter signed by the fight promotion.  She defended the title six times before losing her last two fights and leaving the sport.  Since walking away in 2016, Rousey hasn’t even attended an event.  She believes the MMA media and the fans have turned on her and that she’s not welcome at events.  

“I feel like I’m really vilified by MMA media at this point and I’m not really welcomed back, which is why I haven’t gone to a UFC fight since, ’cause I’m pretty sure if I walked into the arena, I’d be booed. Yeah! That’s how it feels,” Rousey said in a recent interview on the “High Performance” podcast.

Former UFC title challenger and commentator Chael Sonnen doesn’t think Rousey’s treatment was unique, and believes she was treated like every other fighter.  

“If the public understood Ronda is done, I can assure you they would not boo her.  If her career were truly done and it’s not a back-and-forth, and it’s not a play, and it’s not to get a bigger contract here… If they truly understood that that artist, even if a martial artist, but that artist’s career is behind, they absolutely would not boo,” said Sonnen.   

Related: Khabib Nurmagomedov: ‘We have great respect for Dustin Poirier, but …’

“She is right.  That’s how her career went.  They built her to the highest and the second she fell they talked about she was terrible.  That’s true.  The part that she’s missing is that”s not unique.  There’s never been anybody to come along who has a story that’s any different,” Sonnen continued.    

“The peaks and the valleys of many other athletes aren’t the same.  They never rose to the level that Ronda did and therefore that fall was never quite as dramatic.  And that’s just something we know about life.  What goes up must come down.  Not maybe and not sometimes.  What goes up must come down,” Sonnen said.  

“I do admit, it might have felt unique to Ronda.  It might have felt like an extra level of hate, or even meanness by the fans…  If you stand back and look at it there was nothing, and I mean nothing, aside from the peaks and the valleys, those were higher and I suspect lower, but there was nothing about her career or the way the media treated her that isn’t how the media treats everybody.”

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Mike Tyson’s recent health scare could put his fight with Jake Paul in jeopardy. While nothing has been confirmed, a former UFC title challenger has hinted at replacing the boxing icon.

Tyson was all set to make his return to combat sports but that is now uncertain following a medical scare. The 57-year-old suffered bouts of nausea and dizziness during a plane ride from Miami to Los Angeles earlier this week.

With his health remaining under question, Mike Tyson may be forced to withdraw from his Jake Paul clash. If that is the case, the YouTube star may already have a replacement lined up.

According to the man himself, Chael Sonnen will be called upon to compete on July 20. The former UFC middleweight title challenger alerted everybody to the decision during a post on social media.

“I guess it was wise of Jake Paul to write me into the contract as Tyson’s backup, wasn’t it?”

“If Jake Paul realizes he might be fighting ME in a month, HE may be the one having a heart attack.”

I guess it was wise of Jake Paul to write me into the contract as Tyson's backup, wasn't it???

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) May 27, 2024

If Jake Paul realizes he might be fighting ME in a month, HE may be the one having a heart attack

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) May 28, 2024

No matter who is standing across the ring from him, Jake Paul will likely still perform in two months’ time. He is headlining a significant event that will be available to broadcast on Netflix.

Related: Mike Tyson pictured in wheelchair following serious health scare

Amid the uncertainty, Sonnen used the opportunity to fire shots at Anderson Silva–a man he will share the boxing ring with on June 15.

“Maybe the Anderson Silva tune up with Spaten Brasil makes a little more sense now, doesn’t it?”

…Maybe the Anderson Silva tune-up with @spatenbr makes a little more sense now, doesn't it…? #MasterPlan

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) May 28, 2024

Chael Sonnen will be hoping to avenge his UFC losses to Anderson Silva when he makes his first appearance inside a boxing ring next month.

The pair locked horns on two occasions during their time competing inside the octagon. Their first outing at UFC 117 was an instant classic affair and eventual inductee into the UFC Hall-of-Fame.

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