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Mark Hunt could be back in the ring soon.

This past weekend, Hunt sent out a message on social media tagging Jake Paul and seemingly indicating a desire to box the famous influencer. Paul recently announced that his next boxing match will be in March with an opponent to be announced.

Hunt was asked about the callout during an appearance on The MMA Hour, and he didn’t rule out the possibility that he and Paul could trade punches someday.

“Is that the fight that he wants?” Hunt said. “I always thought he was kind of small for it, but if he wants to throw hands, I’ll throw hands with anyone, to be honest. That ain’t a problem.

“I actually like what he’s done. He’s actually done a lot of good things for himself and for fighting. If he can sell out stadiums as being a YouTuber, so I have respect for that, but as skill level goes, I don’t think so, to be honest. But who knows what the future holds?”

The former UFC heavyweight contender’s past two fights have taken place in the boxing ring. In December 2020, Hunt lost a decision to former rugby league player Paul Gallen, then bounced back in November 2022 with a TKO of Sonny Bill Williams. Following his win over Williams, Hunt indicated that he was retiring from combat sports, an announcement that he has since gone back on.

In all likelihood, when Hunt fights again it won’t be in boxing or MMA gloves. The 49-year-old is currently in discussion with BKFC for a future fight.

“I’m kind of keen on doing some bare-knuckle,” Hunt said. “I have been talking to the [BKFC] for a while ago, but we just didn’t lock down a deal. I’m keen on doing some bare-knuckle, I had a lot of messages with the champ, [Mick] Terrill, maybe we can throw our hands together somewhere.”

“No one says fighting is good for anybody, you’ve got to be kind of tough to say fighting is good for you,” Hunt continued. “But like I said, what it provides is financial stability. I don’t fight because I love to, I fight because God has put me to be a fighter. It provides good money and that’s what it is, it’s an honest living. I’m not going to sit here and s*** in your pants and say that I love doing it, it’s just fighting, it is what it is. Growing up, I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life, but God said, ‘You are going to be a fighter’ and that’s what I’ve been doing with my whole life. It’s been over three decades… and I’m still going.”

BKFC heavyweight champion Mick Terrill isn’t the only target that Hunt thinks would make sense for his bare-knuckle debut.

Former UFC contender Ben Rothwell has emerged as a standout in the BKFC ring and he has a history with Hunt. The two fought at UFC 135 in Denver over 12 years ago, with Hunt outpointing Rothwell in a grueling contest.

“Dave has actually messaged me about – we’ve been speaking about a fight,” Hunt said. “Maybe in June we can sort something out, I’ll be ready to throw hands, and hopefully, I thought I’d take that title in three fights fights, well, take it in one.”

“Who knows? We could be throwing hands in England or wherever with Big Mick. … [Rothwell] is another fight I’ve been talking about,” he later added. “We locked horns in Denver, Colorado, me and Ben Rothwell, but man, that was a hard fight because if you don’t get acclimatized to that air, he’s struggling like I was. That was a hard match, not because of the fight, but because of the altitude.”

While Hunt is open to facing any number of intriguing names on the BKFC’s heavyweight roster, which also includes Junior dos Santos, Alan Belcher, and Todd Duffee, he does have one condition.

Hunt recently had a longstanding case against the UFC struck down in federal court, putting an end to a saga that saw Hunt accuse the promotion, UFC CEO Dana White, and UFC 200 opponent Brock Lesnar of conspiring to allow Lesnar to compete against him with the assistance of performance-enhancing drugs (Lesnar subsequently failed a drug test in relation to the fight, but Hunt’s team failed to provide evidence that officials were aware in advance that Lesnar was using banned substances).

The 25-year veteran will demand that his next opponent forfeit their purse if they are caught cheating.

“At the end of the day, as long as they put a clause in the contract that if you’re caught using steroids you don’t get any funds, that’s all I’m keen about, to be honest,” Hunt said. “We’ll see what happens.”

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Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will make his featherweight debut against seventh-ranked Calvin Kattar on the historic UFC 300 fight card.  Coming off a loss to Sean O’Malley, Sterling is looking for a new start in a new division.  

Sterling has a grappling match lined up against Chase Hopper at ADXC 2 in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 19 and a fight signed against Kattar at UFC 300 in April in Las Vegas.  He likes to stay busy.  

“I’m not getting any younger, that’s one, and I like to compete,” Sterling told MMAJunkie about his active schedule.  “I think people had me a little bit misunderstood.  There was one year where I had five fights in a year.  I just tried to bang out as many things that I could do as long as I’m healthy.  As I got older I got a little bit injury prone with all the setbacks.  I want to make as much money as I can, be as active as I can.  Now that I’m not going to be cutting as much weight, it makes it so much easier for me to get back out there.”

Sterling’s move to the 145-pound division isn’t a one off deal.  He expects the move to be permanent.  

“I’m excited to get back.  I think that’s the most important thing.  The most important point for me is I want the fans to know I’m excited to get back, and I think I’m going to have new live, new energy at this weight class,” said Sterling.  

“I’m definitely nervous because I’m used to being the bigger guy even though I don’t get that big when I rehydrate at 135, but I think I left some stuff in the gym cutting down to 135.  I’d like to see what I can do at 145, and I think that I’m going to shock the world… There’s no more 135.  I didn’t even want to do it the last time… 135 is done.”  

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Even though he’s next scheduled to face Robert Whittaker, Paulo Costa still has his sights set on Khamzat Chimaev.

Costa and Chimaev have a long-running feud that was supposed to get settled at UFC 294. However, Costa was forced off that card due to injury, and instead, Chimaev took on former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, winning by decision.

Costa is now set to face Whittaker at UFC 298, and speaking with The MMA Hour, “Borrachinha” explained why he’s facing the ex-champ instead of Chimaev.

“I was trying to fight Gourmet Chen Chen — Chimaev,” Costa said. “I was trying. Since I could not fight, and he fought against Kamaru — he won, but he didn’t convince anyone I don’t think, me and the people I talk with, at least, and most of the fans I don’t think. I was not convinced he’s the guy, No. 1 contender. So I keep trying that fight, pushing for that fight. ‘OK guys, let’s make this fight happen,’ and what Hunter and the UFC guys said he’s not going to fight until June or July or something like that. …

“So then I needed to move. They said, ‘We have Whittaker.’ I said OK, let’s go.”

Costa and Chimaev have publicly feuded for over a year, dating back to an altercation between the two ahead of UFC 279. Costa and Whittaker have also been linked as possible opponents for several years, with the pair booked on two previous occasions. Now, the two will finally square off, and Costa believes that if he wins, a title shot could be next.

“We never know, but I’m supposed be the No. 1 contender,” Costa said of the stakes for this matchup. “Either me or Whittaker, whoever wins, I think. Whittaker is coming off a loss, but I think this is an interesting fight, and the situation at middleweight right now is to decide who is going to be next in line.”

In 2020, Costa fought for the middleweight title, coming up short against Israel Adesanya at UFC 253. If he is correct this time around, he will face the winner of the Sean Strickland-Dricus du Plessis matchup, which takes place on Jan. 20 at UFC 297. And if he wins the title, there’s only one fight he wants for his first title defense: Chimaev.

“My dream fight is for the belt against Chen Chen,” Costa said. “I have no question about one fight, one matchup against Chimaev. I can bet everything on me. I’m so confident in that fight.

“This should happen, it has to happen. But they cannot force [him]. You don’t know how much everybody from the UFC forced, they actually forced Khamzat to fight me in Abu Dhabi. He [turned is down] three times last year. They put him in the corner and said, ‘OK, so you’re going to fight no one if you don’t fight Paulo.’ They made him a very good contract, like $ 2 million, to sign this deal. But Allah saved him. God saved him, just for now.”

First things first, though, Costa has to get past Whittaker at UFC 298. As he is with Chimaev, “Borrachinha” is supremely confident the former middleweight champion is but a stepping stone for his dreams.

“I think I’m going to catch him, punches or kicks, I don’t know,” Costa said. “But I have a feeling I’m going to get him on some movement that he cannot see, and he’s going to sleep.”

UFC 298 takes place on Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. It’s set to be headlined by a featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria.

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Jake Paul is currently preparing for his boxing return on March 2, 2024 in Puerto Rico, though he won’t be headlining that event. Indeed, it will be headlined by IBF, WBO, WBA, IBO and The Ring women’s Featherweight champion, Amanda Serrano, who will defend all of her belts against Nina Meinke.

The boisterous social media personality-turned boxer teased an eventual debut in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) after joining forces with Professional Fighters League (PFL) in Jan. 2023, but it never came to be. And delaying it it was a smart move, really, because he has zero experience in the MMA world.

So will “The Problem Child” make his debut in 2024? According to PFL MMA CEO, Peter Murray, an announcement regarding Paul’s MMA debut will be coming down the pipe pretty soon.

“Yeah, Jake’s very active, A in boxing, B he’s training MMA, and we’re excited,” Murray told longtime MMA reporter John Morgan during a recent interview while adding that there are several opponents eager to welcome Paul into the Smart Cage.

“Multiple opponents are lining up to be part of his debut into MMA. We’ll be announcing those details, I would say, in the coming months.”

Paul has had his eye on none other than former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran Nate Diaz, claiming that’s he has offered up a multi-million contract that has garnered very little interest from the Stockton slugger.

Perhaps Diaz is trying to avoid a repeat of this?

One former UFC veteran who is interested in taking the Paul fight is none other than former 170-pound champion, Tyron Woodley, who suffered back-to-back losses to “The Problem Child” in the boxing ring in 2021. Despite ending his MMA career with four straight losses, “The Chosen One” would still undoubtedly have the edge against Paul should that matchup come to pass….right?

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Johnny Walker has laid out a scenario in which he becomes the UFC light heavyweight champion by April, and now he’s working towards that goal.

The Brazilian talent rematches Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC Vegas 84 this Saturday at the UFC APEX, running back a match that ended prematurely due to an illegal knee at UFC 294 in October 2022, and he sees bigger stakes now.

Light heavyweight had no champion back then, but that changed weeks later when Alex Pereira claimed the vacant title against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295. Now, Walker believes he could insert himself in the title mix with a victory over a former title challenger in Ankalaev.

Jamahal Hill won the vacant belt in January 2022 but then vacated it due to injury, and it’s still unclear if he’ll recover in time to be Pereira’s next opponent.

“I think Jamahal is ahead of me, and if he wants to fight [Pereira next], whatever,” Walker said on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. “But if he can’t fight, I’ll do it. You have to respect those ahead of you, but if he can’t fight, I’ll take the spot and fight for the belt.”

If Walker and Pereira meet next, preferably at UFC 300 on April 13 as the contender suggested, Walker said “it will be a brawl.” Pereira dropped the middleweight title in a rematch with Israel Adesanya run early 2022 but performed an incredible turnaround months later, beating Jan Blachowicz and Prochazka to add another gold to his legacy.

“We have to fight smart,” Walker said of facing Pereira. “The first to connect, [the other guy] goes down. It’s going to be an interesting fight if it happens — and I hope it does. I’m excited because the division is heating up again, there are plenty of interesting fights to book. I think it’s going to be a fun fight and everybody will enjoy watching. For sure, someone will get knocked out, so it’s going to be fun.”

Walker wasn’t surprised to see “Poatan” excel in the 205-pound division considering “he’s a big guy and has lots of potential, a great striker.” He even wonders if the two-division champion could eventually move up to heavyweight sometime down the line.

That switch, in fact, seems inevitable for Walker as well.

“I dons know if I could go down to middleweight [like Pereira did], but I’ll definitely fight at heavyweight one day,” Walker said. “I’m the heaviest and tallest fighter in this division. I’m just passing by in this division, I won’t be able to make the weight for much longer. It will get harder as I get older, but I’m still young. It’s getting harder, but I can do it.”

Walker said his metabolism is good so hitting championship weight at 205 is relatively easy now, but it still takes a toll on his body as he needs to follow a strict diet during his camp. The SBG Ireland representative has competed as a heavyweight in the past in his native Brazil, but said today’s Walker would absolutely maul that old heavier version of himself.

“It’s different when I can eat more calories,” Walker said. “I’m stronger when I’m not on a diet mid-camp, I lift weight easier, I’m stronger. I can do better rounds. It’s energy, it’s different. If I fight at heavyweight one day, I’m excited to do that to see how it’s going to be to train and eat properly, to eat enough for my body to have energy to spend during training and fighting. I’m always on deficiency to keep my weight low. I’m never on my peak during camp. I’m only peaking on fight night when I’m done with the diet and the weight cut and I can eat, eat, and eat, and put all the energy in, so I feel like a monster on fight night.”

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Despite being slated to fight former undisputed middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 next month in Anaheim, California, polarizing division contender, Paulo Costa has claimed he has yet to put pen to paper on a bout agreement to fight the ex-titleholder – nor has he received one as of yet from the organization.

Costa, the current number six ranked middleweight contender, has been sidelined for over a year, making his most recent outing in a unanimous decision win over former champion, Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 in August 2022.

And booked to make his comeback in a high-stakes title-eliminator against the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October last, Costa was forced from the Abu Dhabi, UAE grudge match with the former after he developed a nasty bursitis infection in his elbow ahead of the bout, requiring numerous surgical procedures to address.

Paulo Costa unsure if Robert Whittaker fight happens at UFC 298

Expected to make his return to the Octagon as part of UFC 298 next month in Anaheim at the Toyota Center, Costa has claimed, however, that he has yet to fight former gold holder, Whittaker at the event – and has yet to even receive an official bout agreement from the promotion for the middleweight battle.

“I’ll tell you, I didn’t sign [bout agreement] yet,” Paulo Costa told MMA Fighting. “They [the UFC] didn’t send. They didn’t send the email – I’m waiting on this email. I don’t know what happened. But, they said Anaheim. I’m okay with Anaheim, I like the Californian people, I spent a couple of months there last year…”

“The only problem with Anaheim is the tax – of Calfiornia, high tax,” Paulo Costa explained. “They say Anaheim, so I think the fight is gonna happen.” 

Sidelined since a July knockout loss to incoming title chaser, Dricus du Plessis, former champion, Whittaker was expected to fight Belo Horizonte native, Costa at UFC 284 back in February of last year, however, similarly, the latter insisted he had not officially signed to fight the ex-champion. 

Do you expect Paulo Costa to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC 298?

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