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Francis Ngannou is deadly serious about his second chance to shock the boxing world.

Ngannou faces former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a 10-round bout on March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Despite being MMA’s lineal heavyweight champion and nearly defeating Tyson Fury in his professional boxing debut, Ngannou once again finds himself poised as a heavy underdog in the contest, with Joshua set as high as a 5-to-1 favorite on some sportsbooks. But “The Predator,” as always, remains undeterred.

Speaking recently on the High Performance podcast, Ngannou responded to a pre-fight promise of Joshua’s regarding a quote about breaking Ngannou’s spirit and taking his soul.

“They say never say never. Nothing is impossible, right?” the former UFC heavyweight champion said. “We don’t know the strength of Anthony Joshua, but even though I don’t believe he has that strength, but we’re going to find out in two months. We’re going to find out, and I think the reverse is going to happen. I’m going to be the one taking his soul.”

Ngannou, 37, stunned the combat sports world in November by fighting to a split decision against Fury in his much-anticipated debut in the squared circle. Despite losing the fight on two judges’ scorecards, Ngannou still pushed Fury to his limits and even knocked down boxing’s lineal heavyweight champion in a performance that blew away the expectations of many and left boxing lifers such as Eddie Hearn and Carl Frampton singing his praises.

The whirlwind experience capped off an unprecedented journey for Ngannou that saw him go to war against the UFC and ultimately depart the the promotion as its heavyweight champion. Ngannou eventually landed the Joshua fight after Deontay Wilder suffered a shocking upset loss to Joseph Parker and scuttled plans for Joshua vs. Wilder.

Currently ranked as a top-10 heavyweight boxer in the world by the WBC, Ngannou could now find himself in prime position to challenge for the unified heavyweight titles following his meeting with Joshua and depending on the result of Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk on May 18.

So even though he came within a hair’s breadth of pulling off one of the greatest upsets in combat sports history, Ngannou is no longer dwelling on the judges’ call against Fury.

“Why? I mean, I won,” Ngannou said. “Look at me now. Look at my life. Look at where I was when you think I lost. You think because some foolish judges make some decision, that changes anything in my life? My family that I was telling you about, they were sitting in the first row watching that fight. The dream that I was carrying since I was a kid, I was that night living that dream. On top of the world, I was there. And for all the people that [have] been doubting me, I was there proving them wrong. For everybody that ever looked down at me, I was there proving them wrong. They were home watching me on their TV.

“I have won everything. You think because some judges make a decision? It’s not a court. The only decision that a judge can make to change my life is a court, if they sign me to go to jail. But I’m out here. In fact, because of that fight, from that fight I won this fight. I won everything. I won everything that night in that fight. I think I won everything from boxing, and the least that they could get back was to get that, ‘Oh, you son of a b****, you’re not taking everything from us.’ What would have happened if they had given me a decision? It makes boxing look really bad. They need to save face at some point. I understand it.”

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Always best to keep things like that to yourself but Volk feels the fight would be different under different circumstances submitted by /u/Unknownrealm [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Former MMA fighter Gina Carano has filed a lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm claiming discrimination and wrongful termination after she was fired from her role on Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

Carano filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in California federal court, alleging that she was fired for voicing right-wing opinions on social media. Carano is seeking a court order that would force Lucasfilm to recast her in the role she played as Cara Dune in the first two seasons of the series.

Carano’s lawsuit is backed by X owner Elon Musk, who previously promised to pay the legal bills for anyone discriminated against for expressing opinions on his social media platform.

“If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill,” Musk wrote on Twitter this past August.

“As a sign of X Corp’s commitment to free speech, we’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit, empowering her to seek vindication of her free speech rights on X and the ability to work without bullying, harassment, or discrimination,” Joe Benarroch, Twitter’s head of business operations, said in a statement.

Back in 2021, Lucasfilm announced that Carano would not be returning for the third season of The Mandalorian and stated that she was “not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future.” The studio also denounced social media posts from Carano, which included a message that seemingly compared living as a conservative in the United States to the atrocities suffered by Jews during the holocaust in Nazi Germany.

“Her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable,” Lucasfilm said in the statement.

Carano also lost her agents at UTA following her split with Disney.

Prior to her dismissal, Carano was also rumored to be one of the stars of a new Star Wars spinoff called Rangers of the New Republic, however that series was later shelved. Her character ultimately earned a very brief mention during the third season of The Mandalorian but obviously did not appear in the show.

In the lawsuit, Carano also claims she was bullied on social media and that Disney/Lucasfilm harassed her over her views on Black Lives Matter, her problems with gender pronouns, and rallying against mandates issued during the COVID-19 pandemic. She added that Disney and Lucasfilm allegedly ignored her male co-stars, who routinely voiced their opinions on social media but faced no reprisal as a result.

“Some of us have been unjustly singled out, harassed, persecuted and had our livelihoods stripped away because we dared to encourage conversation, asked questions, and refused to go along with the mob,” Carano said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I am honored that my case has been chosen to be supported by the company [X] that has been one of the last glimmers of hope for free speech in the world.”

Carano is not only seeking a court order that would force Lucasfilm to recast her in the role, but also a sum of at least $ 75,000 and punitive damages as a result.

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Slow and old?
| BJPenn.com

MMA Mania brings you Sound & Pound. An original podcast that features previews, recaps, lists, prospects, and a Q&A. Oh, and a cool movie club.

MMA Mania brings you Sound & Pound. An original podcast that features previews, recaps, lists, prospects, and a Q&A. Oh, and a cool movie club. All brought to you by yours truly, Alex Behunin and Drake Riggs.

This week reflects on UFC Vegas 85, previewing UFC Vegas 86, and everything in between. Watch it live at 3:00 P.M. EST every Tuesday, or on replay, in the player above on our YouTube channel.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Renato Moicano has Paddy Pimblett right where he wants him.

Coming off of a bloody decision win over Drew Dober this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 85, Moicano appeared on The MMA Hour, where he revealed his long-term plan to set up a fight with the popular Pimblett. The two have already traded words on social media, with Moicano initially suggesting that Dober fight Pimblett next and Pimblett responding in an Instagram comment that he and Moicano should fight instead.

Moicano is definitely interested and he explained why he made a circuitous callout of Pimblett rather than just targeting him immediately after his latest win.

“That’s not the way they work, UFC is protecting him,” Moicano said. “How am I going to call him? This is chess, not checkers. If I go over that, then I’m giving my strategy to you right now.

“Now everybody knows, but if I go over that and I say, ‘Hey, Paddy Pimblett, I’m going to beat you up,’ everybody does that. So I said, OK, I’m going to make him get the bait. Because if I beat Drew Dober and I say Drew Dober will beat you, he’s going to get mad, because he’s going to say, ‘Hey, I can beat you. You beat Drew Dober.’ So at the end of the day, ‘Money’ Moicano is winning again. This is chess, not checkers.”

Moicano’s co-main event fight at UFC Vegas 85 was his first in-cage appearance in 15 months, which was a long time to wait to capitalize on his UFC 281 submission win over Brad Riddell that was capped off by a victory speech in which “Money Moicano” was born. He didn’t miss a beat though, and he has now won two straight fights and four of his past five.

With the UFC returning to Brazil in May, he’d welcome Pimblett to meet him in his home country, but he’s just as happy to head to Pimblett’s native England for a duel with “The Baddy.”

“Then he will have to fight me,” Moicano said. “Because if you go on my page and you say, ‘I will smoke you,’ now UFC cannot protect you because you put your name on the line, my brother. Let me tell you something, if you want to fight in Brazil, I’m ready. But maybe you’re too afraid to go to Brazil, I get it, Brazil is a little bit dangerous. But I can fight you in London, in any place, because you are easy money. I respect you, but I will beat you, so no worries.”

At the moment, Moicano can’t be sure if his plan will come to fruition. Pimblett is currently on the sidelines awaiting the birth of his first child in April. Moicano has also called for a fight with longtime contender Beneil Dariush, who sits higher in the rankings than Pimblett.

No matter who is next, Moicano plans to make plenty of headlines (and cash) when he steps into the octagon again.

“Who knows?” Moicano said. “Maybe the UFC will see value in me saying these things and being myself and maybe, ‘OK, Moicano can fight Paddy Pimblett.’ Or not. Maybe they’ll protect him and will try to find another way to put me in the top 15. It’s not up to me and it doesn’t really matter. If he wants to fight, I’m here, just send the contract. If not, I will keep climbing the rankings, because Moicano is money and the money is at the top.”

“I’m 34 years old,” he continued. “I don’t have much time to wait. I want to be as active as possible and I felt good, but if I did a good performance against Drew Dober, imagine against Paddy Pimblett. That would be amazing and that would be my ticket to the top 10, to top 5 of the division.”

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Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira delivered one of the most intense pre-fight moments in UFC history.

On November 11, 2023, ‘Denisa’ returned to the Octagon for the first time in nearly a year and a half determined to reclaim the light heavyweight title he never lost. Standing in his way was two-time GLORY Kickboxing world champion and former UFC middleweight king Alex Pereira.

It would be a battle between two of the most dangerous heavy hitters in all of MMA. As if fans weren’t hyped enough, the staredown between Prochazka and Pereira seconds before going toe-to-toe inside the cage sent shivers down the spines of every fan tuning in. The moment has since been reposted, retweeted, and meme’d millions of times.

Looking back at that viral staredown during a Lowkick MMA exclusive interview with Mike Owens, Prochazka offered some insight into the message he was trying to send ‘Poatan’ before they started slinging leather in front of 19,000 fans inside the world’s most famous arena — Madison Square Garden.

“Every moment before the fight is important because you’re showing your spirit,” Prochazka said. “You’re showing your strength before the world and I really like to watch my opponent. To see through him and show him that there is no place inside myself for anything other than pure focus and winning.”

In the end, it was Alex Pereira who saw his hand raised after scoring a brutal second-round knockout against Prochazka to claim the vacant 205-pound crown.

‘Denisa’ will return to the Octagon on April 13 for UFC 300 when he meets fellow top-five ranked contender Aleksandar Rakic. With a strong showing against ‘Rocket,’ Prochazka would likely put himself back in line for another shot at recapturing the light heavyweight strap.

As for Alex Pereira, there is no official date for his first title defense, but his next opponent is expected to be another former champion who was forced to vacate the belt due to injury — Jamahal Hill.

Watch the full exclusive interview with Jiri Prochazka below:

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts