CombatSports.org

UFC

submitted by /u/fresdres [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dana White continues to praise Bud Light as the perfect brand partner for the UFC, and he’s going even further to prove that point by appearing in a new commercial that will air during the Super Bowl.

As part of a new marketing campaign set to launch around the NFL’s biggest game of the year, the UFC CEO shows up alongside musician Post Malone and football legend Peyton Manning in a spot that will air during Sunday’s showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.

The commercial serves as another watershed moment for the beer brand owned by AB InBev after a rough 2023 saw the company deal with financial losses and calls for a boycott over a marketing campaign that included transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Now Bud Light will return to what made the company so famous during the Super Bowl and that’s presenting a fan-favorite commercial during the game. The new ad features the debut of the “Bud Light Genie” alongside White, Manning and Post Malone.

“It was an absolute blast to be a part of Bud Light’s Super Bowl commercial this year,” White said in a statement. “Anheuser-Busch and the Super Bowl are two of the biggest American brands in the world. The cast, the director and Peyton were fun to work with and it was such an incredible way to kick off my new partnership with AB and Bud Light.” 

Bud Light once again became the official beer of the UFC at the start of 2024 after inking a huge multi-year deal work more than $ 100 million.

White defended the partnership in numerous appearances since signing the deal, saying Bud Light is “right up my alley” when it comes to the “core values” he shares with the brand.

Check out the new Bud Light ad featuring White above, which will also air during the Super Bowl on Sunday from the UFC’s stomping ground in Las Vegas.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

During his last outing, Alexander Volkanovski saw his second chance at securing lightweight gold go to waste and he subsequently lost the #1 pound-for-pound spot. Many questioned why the dominant featherweight took the short-notice fight against Islam Makhachev, but we may now have an answer.

At UFC 294, the Australian boldly accepted a fight against the surging Makhachev on just 11 days’ notice after the champion’s original opponent was forced to withdraw. There was intrigue from fans as to how he would perform without a full training camp but midway through the first round, the challenger suffered his first knockout defeat inside the octagon.

While sitting down with David Adesanya—the brother of former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya—Alexander Volkanovski opened up on his most recent loss.

“It’s always going to hurt. Losing’s not fun, you know what I mean? I’m never scared of getting hurt or anything like that, you’re scared of losing.”

“Even though I love challenging myself, even if it’s 11 days notice and put myself in a position where the chances of losing are much higher, I’m still going to do that. That’s just who I am.”

“Even with the fear of losing. But that’s just who I am, that’s what’s made me the guy I am, the champion I am. You know, always challenging myself. I challenge myself in the gym every day.”

Related: Ilia Topuria: ‘I’m going to beat Volkanovski and then fight Max Holloway’

Volkanovski later revealed a worrying truth about his actions in the lead-up to his rematch against the Russian. 

“I wasn’t disciplined. I’m known for being disciplined [and] professional, all year round. 24/7. And I just wasn’t that time.”

“I was drinking every day, for like three [or] four weeks… That’s unheard of for me. Like, every day, I’ve never ever done that. I wasn’t training too much. Obviously, surgery and just trying to help out in the house, I’m like, ‘Oh, I may as well have a couple drinks, you know, they’ll go down good.'”

“Obviously trying to be the best dad I could be, as well. Little pressures that everyone goes through and a little uneasy and the drinking was helping. I just wasn’t happy with where I was.”

Listen to Alexander Volkanovski discuss his alcohol problem and more in the video below.

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

Prediction
| BJPenn.com

Dustin Poirier is extremely familiar with both men involved in the upcoming Baddest Motherf—ker (BMF) title fight at UFC 300 in two months (Sat., April 13, 2024).

Justin Gaethje will be the first to defend the BMF title when he takes on the former UFC Featherweight champion, Max Holloway, in their Lightweight co-main event encounter. To win that title, Gaethje enacted revenge on Poirier via second round head kick knockout (watch highlights) at UFC 291 in July 2023.

Like with Gaethje, Poirier has also fought Holloway twice, but won both times. The most recent of the two came in their interim Lightweight title clash at UFC 236 in April 2019. Poirier defeated “Blessed” via a thrilling unanimous decision.

Despite size being a big factor in the minds of the community after the fight, the Featherweight great is still receiving worry in that regard ahead of his next fight. “The Diamond,” however, isn’t in that boat and would lean toward hearing “and new” on the historic night.

“I respect both guys. Both guys are great fighters. I think I would put money on Max, just him being the [under] dog,” Poirier said on The MMA Hour (h/t MMA Junkie). “I see a lot of people online saying that ‘Max is going to be undersized.’ Max is a big guy.

“Him and Gaethje probably walk around at the same weight,” he added. “Max isn’t a small guy. And the striking, the timing of Max, his range, his durability, it’s a coin toss. But if I was betting, I would bet Max.”

Poirier will make his return for the first time since his Gaethje loss when he battles rising contender, Benoit Saint Denis, at UFC 299 in Miami, Florida next month (Sat., March 9, 2024). The fight will act as the five-round non-title co-main event.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/Morphitrix [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

A couple of changes are coming to the UFC Vegas 86 card this weekend.

On Tuesday, UFC announced that Melsik Baghdasaryan is out of his planned featherweight matchup with Hyder Amil, and that Albert Duraev is out of his scheduled middleweight bout against Robert Bryczek. In their stead, Fernie Garcia will be stepping for injured Baghdasaryan, while Ihor Potieria steps in for Duraev, who had visa issues.

Garcia (10-4) joined the UFC in 2022 off of Contender Series, but has struggled to make much of an impression in the octagon, losing all three of his bouts. Amil is also a Contender Series standout, earning a contract from his appearance on the show last year. This will be his UFC debut.

Like Garcia, Potieria entered the UFC in 2022 off of an impressive Contender Series showing, but he’s also struggled to make waves inside the octagon. Potieria is 1-3 in the promotion, with all three of his losses coming by way of knockout. Bryczek, meanwhile, will be making his UFC debut.

UFC Vegas 86 takes place this Saturday at the UFC Apex, headlined by a middleweight matchup between Jack Hermansson and Joe Pyfer.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

A new streaming service is slated to bring together sports like never before.

Per a report from Variety, Fox Corp., Warner Bros. Discovery, and Disney are teaming up to deliver a one-stop-shop for sports fans looking to get every game without needing four different subscriptions. The app — expected to launch this fall — will bring ESPN, TNT, and Fox Sports under one umbrella, including the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

No details regarding the price have been released, but the service will provide subscribers with access to “ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, Fox, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV and ESPN+, as well as hundreds of hours from the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, and many top college divisions.”

The service will be available to all ESPN+, Hulu, and Max subscribers and will reportedly be split into thirds for each company to have ownership, licensing sports content “on a non-exclusive basis.”

CEOs of Disney, Fox, and Discovery Release statements Regarding new partnership

“The launch of this new streaming sports service is a significant moment for Disney and ESPN, a major win for sports fans, and an important step forward for the media business,” Disney CEO, Bob Iger, said. “This means the full suite of ESPN channels will be available to consumers alongside the sports programming of other industry leaders as part of a differentiated sports-centric service.”

“We believe the service will provide passionate fans outside of the traditional bundle an array of amazing sports content all in one place,” said Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corp.

“This new sports service exemplifies our ability as an industry to drive innovation and provide consumers with more choice, enjoyment, and value and we’re thrilled to deliver it to sports fans,” said David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO.

LowKickMMA.com

submitted by /u/buzznights [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts