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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Alexander Volkanovski’s change of fortune has been sudden.

The Australian talent went about a decade without tasting defeat, racking up a UFC title, pound-for-pound king status, and numerous other accolades in the process. In the last 12 months, however, Volkanovski has lost three of four fights, including a pair of back-to-back knockout losses.

“The Great” doesn’t appear to have simply lost his fighting ability — this isn’t a Tony Ferguson scenario. He’s also fighting the cream of the crop! There aren’t many Featherweights who are going to escape the cage clean-faced after a trio of fights with Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria.

Still, there has to be a reason for the sudden downturn. A lot of fans and analysts are pointing to age. Volkanovski turned 35 recently, and that’s historically a bad number for champions in the lighter weight classes. Perhaps it’s that simple?

Former UFC Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has a different theory, at least for Volkanovski’s latest defeat at UFC 298. According to Dillashaw, Volkanovski fought scared, solely kicking and circling because he was so intimidated by Topuria’s power punching.

“He was only throwing kicks. I know he was scared of the power,” Dillashaw said on the “JAXXON PODCAST” (via Yahoo Sports). “You can tell the way he was fighting, he was very scared of Topuria’s power, which he should be to an extent, but he’s never fought like that in the past. The first two rounds, all he was doing was throwing kicks. He wasn’t setting them up. He was just throwing them. He was expecting Topuria to block them.

“I was thinking he was trying to slow down his arms because every time you block a kick, it’s like getting a charley horse in your arm. Every time you get hit there, more blood comes to it. It slows his arms down. So, I was thinking maybe he’s slowing down his arms by throwing kicks and getting him to block, because he wasn’t setting them up. He wasn’t throwing kicks to knock him out. You could tell because if he was trying to do that, you’d throw a combo, finish with a kick, hopefully catch him.”

Aside from the kick heavy game plan, Dillashaw didn’t like how Volkanovski was leaning away from punches. The UFC commentary crew brought up the same point during the broadcast, but Dillashaw also attributes that habit to the fear of Topuria’s power.

“Every time Topuria would get close, he’d be like backing out and leaning away,” Dillashaw continued. “As soon as I saw that, I was like, ‘Damn, he’s going to get caught.’ He was fighting scared. He was worried about the power. I’m a huge Volk fan. I was wanting him to win. … He just kept leaning away, leaning away from everything and leaning away from the power.

“It was only a matter of time before Topuria caught him because that guy stays so tight. He’s so composed in his boxing, and his combos are great. I think that’s where it went wrong. He was scared. He was afraid of his power and fought scared. Topuria didn’t have anything to lose, Volk had all of it to lose, and he fought that way. He fought scared of his power.”

If the two eventually rematch, do you think we get a more aggressive Volkanovski for the second bout?

Insomnia

A cool moment of Dana White and Hunter Campbell congratulating Topuria on his title win, as well as a fan having a far bigger reaction!

There’s nothing less interesting than fighters competing between 125-145 pounds calling their opponents short. It’s so boring!

Arman Tsarukyan fights against top-notch wrestlers produce the craziest scrambles.

Breaking your arm and still scoring a debut knockout win is a serious flex. Danny Barlow looks to have a high ceiling if he works with the right team!

An excellent Featherweight clash of styles is heading to Atlantic City!

A genuinely unsettling photo.

Muay Thai legends getting loose:

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Muay Thai history.

One of the weirder knockouts I’ve seen in recent memory:

A pair of OGs throwing down back in the day! Yves Edwards with the added context online to make it even better.

Random Land

I don’t know if you have to have played the Fallout video game series to find this hilarious, but I cracked up.

Midnight Music: Lo-fi, 1997

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

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

It turns out Merab Dvalishvili fought way more than three rounds this past Saturday night.

With a nickname like “The Machine,” it’s no surprise that the Georgian bantamweight prides himself on his conditioning but his preparation to get ready for Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 went beyond just warming up backstage. Instead, Dvalishvili actually engaged in a three-round fight with his best friend and former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who was there as a coach and cornerman for him.

Dvalishvili’s longtime coach Ray Longo first revealed details about the insane sparring session during the Anik & Florian podcast on Monday.

“He literally fought Aljo, three rounds, f****** brutal,” Longo said. “Little gloves on, swinging for the f****** fences. Like Aljo complains about my boxing class sometimes. That’s way worse what I just saw!

“Dude, they went it at it three [five-minute rounds]. So that’s his second fight of the night. That’s a fact. That’s not even made up. You can check with John Wood, you can check with Aljo.”

Dvalishvili confirmed that’s exactly what happened during an appearance on The MMA Hour as he explained that fighting Sterling backstage got him ready for war against Cejudo just minutes later.

As wild as that sounds, especially given the chance for some kind of freak injury happening, Dvalishvili says that’s just how he prefers to warm up to really feel prepared for a fight.

“Yeah [that’s true],” Dvalishvili said about his coach’s story. “That’s how we warm up. I like to warm up good. But yeah, we are best friends and training partners. We beat each other [up] and make each other better. Then we are ready for anybody else.”

Longo promises there were no punches being pulled or just going through the motions for the sake of breaking a sweat.

Instead, he claims it was essentially the fight that Dvalishvili and Sterling would never do in the UFC thanks to their friendship but backstage without cameras around, all bets were off.

“Full blown f******* fight,” Longo said. “I go ‘Aljo, your cardio looks pretty good, we’re in good shape for your fight that’s in like two months [at UFC 300.’ I mean crazy, the guy’s nuts. No drilling, just complete chaos in that f***** warm up room.”

Sterling also detailed his experience working with Dvalishvili before the fight, which he promises is just part of their normal routine to get the Georgian ready.

“I spar with Merab for three rounds, three hard rounds,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “More of me in a squatted position so my height can drop, getting the absolutely dog s*** kicked out of my calf and he punched me in my eyeball one time, punched me in the back of my head. He did something to my kneecap.

“I was in a fight. I felt afterwards I was in a fight!”

The fight before the fight obviously paid off because outside of a closely contested opening round, Dvalishvili dominated Cejudo en route to a unanimous decision victory.

In fact, Dvalishvili says “I think sparring with Aljo” was a tougher fight than what Cejudo presented in their No. 1 contender’s bout.

Whatever transpired in that sparring session seemed to work as Dvalishvili notched his 10th consecutive win in a row with hopes that a title shot will be awaiting him next.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

CM Punk has left the door open for a return to the Octagon.

Punk — real name Phillip Brooks — has been one of the hottest names in professional wrestling for the last 15+ years. An especially impressive feat when you consider the fact that he never once stepped inside a ring for seven of them. During his time away from the world of sports entertainment, Punk tested his combat sports skills with two separate appearances under the UFC banner.

He made his promotional debut at UFC 203 against welterweight standout Mickey Gall. Things went pretty much how you’d expect, with CM Punk suffering a submission loss less than halfway through the opening round.

Nearly two years later, he would give it another go. To his credit, Punk fared much better in his sophomore appearance against Mike Jackson at UFC 225, but he still lost the bout via unanimous decision — though it was later overturned to a no-contest after Jackson tested positive for marijuana.

That was all she wrote for CM Punk’s MMA career but during a recent interview with Aaron Bronsteter, the Second City Saint said that when it comes to a potential UFC comeback, you can never say never.

“You never say never,” said Punk. “Who thought I would’ve ever fought in the UFC? I was afforded an opportunity by Lorenzo [Fertitta] and Dana [White], and I would be kicking myself to this day if I said no.

“I’m not a guy who lives with regret. I will seize opportunities whether people believe I deserve the opportunities or not. I work hard for my dreams, and I will always chase them. Also, I think a lot of clouds parted, and time heals all wounds, so when it came back to wrestling, it was the right time.”

CM Punk’s Return to Wrestling has left a lot to be desired

CM Punk made his triumphant return to professional wrestling in the summer of 2021, signing with All Elite Wrestling. Unfortunately, Punk’s run was marred in controversy after his all-too-real rivalry with Nick and Matt Jackson — better known as The Young Bucks — spilled out of the locker room and into the headlines. Punk made a brief return after serving a lengthy suspension, but was ultimately released by AEW president Tony Khan in September 2023.

Two months later, he returned to the WWE at the Survivor Series. He has wrestled just twice since then and suffered a bicep injury while competing in the 2024 Royal Rumble in January. He is expected to be out of action for six to eight months.

LowKickMMA.com

Despite not appearing on the coveted UFC 300 card, rumors suggest Israel Adesanya’s return to the octagon could see him lock horns with Khamzat Chimaev.

‘The Last Stylebender’ previously confirmed he would be taking a break from the sport but with UFC 300 approaching, many expected to see him feature. A title grudge match against Dricus Du Plessis or a trilogy for 205 lbs gold against Alex Pereira were potential matchups for Adesanya, but reports are claiming he now has a different opponent lined up.

On February 20, Kingdom Arena leaked what many believed to be a huge middleweight affair between Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev. The company posted a ticket link for the bout, which matches the UFC’s debut in Saudi Arabia.

‼️Israel Adesanya vs Khamzat Chimaev MW Bout 6/23 🇸🇦

* Rumors about this matchup are not confirmed. We’ve reached out to both camps.* pic.twitter.com/gNsXfOlLph

— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) February 20, 2024

Just hours after the rumors dropped, they were put to bed by UFC CEO Dana White who confirmed the post was fake.

White went on to attack MMA media for their involvement in building hype for a fight that hadn’t been spoken about by the organization. Clearly upset at those involved in promoting the unofficial fight, Dana White took to Instagram to air his frustrations.

“Not happening. It was a fake post,” White said in relation to the recent fight rumors between Adesanya and Chimaev. “All the MMA media that ran with it are the problem. Absolute CLOWNS.”

“If you hear it from the MMA media and not us, it’s probably bullsh*t.”

Related: Israel Adesanya reacts to Ilia Topuria knocking out Alexander Volkanovski

Hours later, Dana White added further comments on the situation, this time directing his anger at Yahoo! Sports.

“Yahoo! Sports also ran the fake Izzy vs. Khamzat fight. Yahoo! Sports ran a fake story!!! YAHOO SPORTS. That’s how bad this sh*t is right now. INSANITY.”

On June 22, 2024, UFC will make its first venture into Saudi Arabia with its highly anticipated Riyadh card. With many Muslim fighters able to compete on that date following Ramadan, there are high expectations for the fight night event.

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

A game-changing sports streaming service teaming Disney, FOX and Warner Bros. together faces opposition from a new $ 1 billion antitrust lawsuit filed by rivals at FuboTV.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in New York on Tuesday alleges Fubo is being forced to carry numerous pricey, non-sports channels as a condition of licensing rights for sports networks from the companies that are now teaming up to launch a shared streaming service together. The antitrust lawsuit seeks to stop Disney, FOX and Warner Bros. from launching the service, which would bring channels from all the various companies — including ESPN, TNT, FOX, FS1, FS2 among others — under one umbrella for the new streaming platform that’s expected to launch in the fall.

In the lawsuit, FuboTV accuses the media companies of maintaining an “iron grip on sports content to extract billions of dollars in supra-competitive profits” and engaging in activities that may violate antitrust laws by charging Fubo content licensing rates that are up to 50 percent higher than what other distributors are asked to pay for the same content.

“Each of these companies has consistently engaged in anticompetitive practices that aim to monopolize the market, stifle any form of competition, create higher pricing for subscribers and cheat consumers from deserved choice,” Fubo chief executive David Gandler said in a statement, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter. “By joining together to exclusively reserve the rights to distribute a specialized live sports package, we believe these corporations are erecting insurmountable barriers that will effectively block any new competitors from entering the market.”

The new streaming service announced on Feb. 6 was a first-of-its-kind deal, teaming media companies to launch a sports-specific brand combining all of their networks under one banner that could be offered to consumers.

Disney already maintains numerous streaming services, including Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, while Warner Bros. has the Max app. The new sports package also will be offered in a bundle package that can be included with an existing streaming service at an additional cost.

Right now, FOX doesn’t have its own streaming app, so the only way to access those channels is through cable or another major service like YouTube TV. That would all change with the network teaming up with Disney and Warner Bros.

Of course, all UFC programming is currently controlled by ESPN, so that would also be available through the new streaming service. The UFC’s deal with ESPN comes to an end in 2025, and negotiations on a new contract are expected to start later this year.

Many believe that Disney, FOX and Warner Bros. teaming up together on the new streaming service is an attempt to control the spiraling costs associated with sports rights deals. For instance, the NBA could seek a package that could double or triple their current deal, with costs potentially reaching $ 8 billion per year.

Meanwhile, the UFC broadcast rights are expected to possibly double what ESPN currently pays, approximately $ 300 million per year for a seven-year contract that expires in 2025.

Fubo seeks to stop that sports streaming service from ever launching. The company already saw stock prices drop more than 25 percent the day after the deal between Disney, FOX and Warner Bros. was first announced.

Fubo has dabbled in combat sports in the past, as well, with the streaming service currently broadcasting BKFC events and previously working with Bellator and the PFL on the Challengers Series, which will not be featured for the promotion in 2024.

MMA Fighting – All Posts