CombatSports.org

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

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Takaya Suzuki must be a big fan of Jorge Masvidal.

The Japanese flyweight did his best “Gamebred” impression Saturday at a Shooto event in Tokyo, needing just four seconds to land a flying knee that left opponent Yuichi Miyagi out cold.

Watch the unbelievable knockout below.

In the clip, a tentative Miyagi appears to open the fight by suggesting a touch of gloves, only to end up being blasted by the speedy Suzuki. Afterwards, Miyagi had to be taken out of the cage on a stretcher.

Impressively, Suzuki actually did Masvidal one better. His flying knee knockout was officially one second faster than Masvidal’s famous five-second KO of Ben Askren at UFC 239 in July 2019.

This is the third straight first-round knockout for the 19-year-old Suzuki, who has won five straight fights since losing his pro debut.

Miyagi, a 17-year veteran, fell to 20-14-1 with the loss. This marked just the 4th loss of his career by KO/TKO.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Ronda Rousey has spoken out about the Vince McMahon situation, and she’s claiming that even though he’s resigned, he won’t be done playing a role with the WWE.

After horrible sexual abuse allegations were exposed, Vince McMahon is now facing a lawsuit and has stepped down from his role as executive chairman of TKO. One would assume that this means the end of McMahon’s connection with the brand, but according to Rousey, this isn’t the case.

On the night of the “Royal Rumble” WWE event, Rousey took to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter and claimed that McMahon would continue to have a hand in the business due to one of McMahon’s lackeys who she claimed was the former executive chairman’s “avatar”.

Ronda Rousey claims Vince McMahon will Still “Have a Hand” In Running the WWE

A former wrestler, Rousey actually parted ways with the WWE in October of 2023. Hence, the reason why she seemed unafraid to call out the former longtime WWE executive publicly.

“Bruce Prichard is basically Vince’s avatar,” Ronda Rousey began. “If he’s still around, Vince still has a hand in the business. Vince was still running things through Bruce when he was ‘gone’ before.”

Regarded as one of the most powerful executives in the WWE, Prichard is believed to hold more sway than his title of executive director would suggest.

Regardless, one can only hope that Vince McMahon stays far away from the WWE after the recent allegations that have surfaced. Due to the merger of the UFC and WWE under Endeavor, it’s imagined that Endeavor CEO Ari Emmanuel will look to play a closer role in the company, and maybe even inspire a deep change.

What do you think about the statement Ronda Rousey made about Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard?

LowKickMMA.com

submitted by /u/Aromatic_Memory1079
[link] [comments]
MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Neil Magny knew the script heading into UFC 297.

As a constant presence in the welterweight rankings, the 36-year-old veteran has remained one of the top 15 fighters in the world for several years. But he’s never quite gotten close to a title shot. In many ways, he serves as the measuring stick for welterweights who can potentially challenge for UFC gold.

That’s exactly how it worked out for fighters who defeated Magny like Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry, and Magny expects he was being set up the same way in his fight against Mike Malott at UFC 297.

“It’s very evident what’s happening here,” Magny said on The MMA Hour. “I’m fighting a guy who’s undefeated in the UFC, he’s a young up-and-comer, fighting in his backyard. It’s absolutely an opportunity for him to break into the rankings by beating me, and I welcome that kind of adversity with open arms.”

At the time, Malott sported a 3-0 record in the UFC, with all three fights ending by knockout or submission. He was widely considered Canada’s best prospect, which is likely why he got a main card spot on the pay-per-view against an established veteran.

After falling to Garry in fairly lopsided fashion in his previous outing, Magny understood why the UFC matched him up against Malott. He’s been there before, and Magny took no offense to the method behind the madness for UFC matchmakers.

“At the end of the day, that’s just the way that the cards lay, so to speak,” Magny explained. “My last fight, I came up short. For me to get an opportunity to fight someone ranked in the top 10, top five, whatever else it may be, I have to go out there and get another win. Just beating an average Joe wouldn’t really make that big of a statement. I have to go and face some of these up-and-comers that are looking to break into the rankings, so to speak, and I have to do it in very impressive fashion.

“So when the fight was offered to me and I saw who the opponent was, and I saw that it was in Canada, all that kind of stuff, it was very evident what the game plan was, as far as promoting goes. But I welcome that pressure with open arms.”

For two rounds, it looked like the UFC’s strategy was paying off. Malott dominated the fight with a blistering series of kicks that chewed away at Magny’s legs before taking the action to the canvas, where he constantly threatened with ground-and-pound and submissions.

With five minutes remaining, it looked as if Malott would cruise to victory, but Magny’s coaches refused to let him give up. They expressed the dire consequences he faced and effectively told him he had to deliver a finish – or he’d leave Canada with a second straight loss.

“By the third round, they’re just very evident like, ‘Hey, you’re probably down two rounds to zero at this point … you’re definitely down two rounds to zero,’” Magny said. “‘We need you to go out there and make it a fight. We need you to make it a dog fight at this point. I know you can push for five minutes. We need five minutes of work out of you.’ Literally, I just jumped off the stool and said, ‘Yes sir, I’ll get it done.’”

Midway through the round, Malott started to run out of gas, which prompted Magny to look for a takedown of his own. The Canadian prospect made the ill-fated decision to counter with a guillotine choke, which Magny quickly countered — and that landed him on top as the fight hit the ground.

Magny wasted no time shredding Malott’s defense, moving into mount and looking for a submission before eventually dropping hammers with his fists.

“I just went screw it — we’re going to punch until the ref pulls me off,” Magny said.

That’s exactly what happened. Magny continued his relentless assault as Malott offered almost no resistance other than rolling side to side and covering his head. Referee Kevin MacDonald gave Malott every opportunity to fight back before finally stopping the fight with just 15 seconds remaining until the final horn.

Magny felt like it was a justified stoppage, even as some complained that MacDonald let the fight go on a little longer than necessary.

“At the end of the day, the sport being what it is, I feel he gave him every opportunity to stay in the fight,” Magny said. “If one of those opportunities [were there] had he called the fight too early, then he would have argued, ‘No, he called the fight too early, he was up two rounds, you should have let the fight play out.’ But I feel like it was a good call on the ref’s part to give Mike every opportunity to get himself back in the fight.

“He gave him ample verbal warnings, ‘Get back in the fight, fight back! Reposition!’ He gave him every opportunity to make it clear that he wanted to stay in the fight, and he still had fight in him, but it ended up being too much. Just overwhelming shots were landing pretty flush, and it was enough to get the victory.”

Considering how his previous fight ended, Magny knew he needed to bounce back with an impressive win, and that’s exactly what he delivered.

Of course, Magny would have preferred not losing the first two rounds, but ultimately he got the job done.

“For me, it was important to go out there not only to fight just to fight hard and prove to myself, ‘Nope, you’ve still got some in the tank left to go,’ and beating a guy like Mike Malott proves just that,” Magny said. “It gave me the confidence, gave me the boost I needed to keep moving forward in my own personal career.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

UFC

submitted by /u/foofighter1351
[link] [comments]
MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Ryan Bader and Renan Ferreira both have a lot riding on their upcoming fight at the PFL vs. Bellator card on Feb. 24.

Every win matters, of course, especially in a rare champ vs. champ fight like this one. But the stakes get even higher when you throw Francis Ngannou into the mix. The former UFC heavyweight champion signed with the PFL in free agency, and is expected to fight for the upstart MMA promotion when his boxing career subsides.

Bader and Ferreira are gunning for the chance to welcome Ngannou to the PFL after their heavyweight headliner in Saudi Arabia.

“Yeah, 100 percent [Ngannou should be next],” Bader said on Wednesday. “He’s got his boxing fight coming up, but I think it’s perfect timing. We get this done, and the winner gets that opportunity.

“Francis is coming over, former UFC champion, he just had an amazing fight with Tyson Fury. He put everybody on notice. To have the ability to go in there and prove to everybody, to go out there and get that win, that’s huge. I’m not looking past Renan, but get that done, 100 percent [he’s next].”

Bader certainly has the most impressive resume among the heavyweights vying for the chance to face Ngannou. He previously reigned as Bellator light heavyweight champion before moving up to heavyweight, where he’s still undefeated with wins over legends like Fedor Emelianenko and veterans such as Valentin Molkavsky and Cheick Kongo.

As for Ferreira, the 34-year-old Brazilian burst on the scene in the past few years after he joined the PFL and beat former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum before the contest was overturned. Overall, Ferreira has gone 6-1 with three no contests in the PFL, which includes his recent run to become the heavyweight champion during the 2023 season.

Much like his upcoming opponent, Ferreira believes a natural next step for the winner is the chance to face Ngannou in the PFL.

“Absolutely, I feel like it’s undeniable,” he said. “If everything goes as planned, after Feb. 24, Francis is the name. That being said, I’ll be ready to go however he wants to do it. If he wants to do it in MMA, boxing, we’ll be ready.”

For all the ways that Ngannou looms over their fight, Bader and Ferreira both paid respect to the other and acknowledged a showdown with “The Predator” won’t happen without a win in February.

Bader, who will give up a significant amount of size to the 6-foot-8 giant opposing him, promises Ferreira has his full attention.

“I have 40 some fights, he has quite a bit less,” Bader said of Ferreira. “I’ve been in this game, I’ve stood across from everybody, legends in the sport. Champions, former champions. I’ve been in there, I’ve been fighting five-round fights since I can remember. I’m proven in that aspect.

“He’s an amazing fighter. He’s huge. He’s fun to watch, and it’s one of those challenges where I’m going to have to go in there and dictate what I do. I just feel like I have more tools. At the same point, he’s a giant man in there swinging hard. You never know what happens.”

After coming up short in two previous PFL seasons, Ferreira finally broke through with his tournament win in 2023, and he’s anxious to build on that in 2024. That starts with the fight against Bader and then perhaps he’ll be able to turn his attention toward Ngannou.

“It’s a special moment for the fans,” Ferreira said. “It’s a special moment for the sport. I feel honored to be in this position as the main event to fight against a guy with the credentials like Ryan Bader has.

“Just excited to get there. You guys know my fight style, always pressing the action, moving forward. So I’m excited to put on a great show.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Former UFC and WWE champion Ronda Rousey has her doubts that Vince McMahon’s influence has been fully removed from WWE after he recently resigned.

After a lawsuit laid out horrific allegations of human trafficking and sexual violence by Vince McMahon, the WWE head was forced to resign as executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, the media conglomerate that houses both WWE and UFC. But is Vince really gone for real this time?

Ronda Rousey has her doubts.

Following a five year stint in combat sports that revolutionized women’s MMA and saw female divisions added to the UFC, Rousey moved on to try her hand at pro wrestling. “Rowdy” competed at the highest levels during her two runs with the WWE, ultimately leaving in October 2023.

She’s been mostly silent in the run-up to the release of a second autobiography, Our Fight, which is set to come out in April. But she did make her first tweet in two months to address the McMahon controversy.

“Bruce Prichard is basically Vince’s avatar, if he’s still around Vince still has a hand in the business,” Rousey wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Vince was still running things through Bruce when he was ‘gone’ before.”

Prichard is considered one of the most powerful people in the WWE not named McMahon, and his official title is Executive Director of RAW and SmackDown. When Vince McMahon was initially forced out as the head of WWE in 2022 for spending $ 20 million in company cash on hush money for women he’d allegedly abused, Prichard was placed in the role as head of talent relations.

Many (including Rousey, it seems) considered this a move that allowed Vince to continue calling the shots on creative. Every time it was claimed that McMahon was no longer in control of the company, it turned out he was still running things from the shadows. Several months after his ‘departure’ he staged a board coup to regain power, steering WWE to a multi-billion dollar merger with UFC parent company Endeavor.

What WWE upper management knew and didn’t know about McMahon’s sexual exploits is going to be a hot topic of discussion as this lawsuit gets going. There’s many inside the sports entertainment company that are anticipating Endeavor will ‘sweep out’ WWE brass that were too close to McMahon.

It’s worth remembering that this is after one lawsuit from one woman — the allegations she made (some backed up by extensive text messages) are truly disgusting and implicate numerous unnamed employees and wrestlers in the organization. With McMahon spending tens of millions to buy the silence of others, what other skeletons will fall out of the closet?

And how will Endeavor look if the people they keep around are revealed to have known about or participated in McMahon’s degeneracy?

MMAmania.com – All Posts

I'm not gonna post the fight here because it was not good. I also won't post every single time I fight that'd be annoying I'm sure I just didn't want to post my win and then not post my lose also. submitted by /u/PagannRyann [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts