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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Colby Covington’s next fight will be a critical one.

It’s safe to say that UFC 296’s main event didn’t quite go the way anyone expected earlier this month. After nearly the full year of build-up, Covington returned to action for an arguably undeserved third-career undisputed UFC welterweight title shot. Unfortunately for “Chaos,” the third time wasn’t the charm as he was soundly stifled in an uncharacteristic performance as the champion Leon Edwards cruised to a 49-46 unanimous decision victory across the board.

UFC 296 was a fight week full of characters with the 170-pound weight class taking up most of the spotlight. As the week began, rising undefeated 13-0 contender Ian Machado Garry had become one of the hottest topics in the sport for a variety of reasons both in and out of the cage. Throughout the weeks leading up, the vocally fearless Covington took his shots at just about any fellow fighter he was asked about, including Garry’s personal life. Garry fell under fire from the community — and the UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland — after a decade-old book published by his wife Layla Anna-Lee titled How to be a WAG surfaced online. Anna-Lee has since come out and claimed the book was a parody and not to be taken seriously.

For Covington, he couldn’t help but pile on whenever asked about the 26-year-old.

“It’s funny because all the people that have taken [trash talk] personal in the past, during the time, after their checks clear their banks they realize, ‘Hey, man. I actually appreciate everything you did, Colby,’” Covington told Tucker Carlson. “‘You made me a lot more money otherwise if you would’ve just been quiet and acted like a mute. But the fact that you were vocal and you made it more animosity-filled for the fight, that made me more money in the long run. So, thank you, Colby.’

“There’s one guy that’s a legitimate cuck and I’ve called him out for that. I just said the truth, I said, ‘That’s disgusting, you’re a cuck and your wife is a vile lady.’ She’s selling books promoting being a ‘WAG,’ being a wife and a girlfriend. I’m not gonna let the world not notice that. I’m gonna bring it to the forefront and make sure everyone’s talking about it and make it a joke for you.”

Ultimately, Garry didn’t end up fighting at UFC 296 in his scheduled clash with Vicente Luque after he fell ill with pneumonia during the Las Vegas fight week. “The Future” has since had a previously canceled matchup with Geoff Neal now rebooked to take place at UFC 298 in February.

Immediately after his loss to Edwards, Covington targeted his fellow veteran welterweight contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson as the top option for his next opponent. However, should the possibility line up to get his hands on Garry, Covington is all for it.

“He was pretty angry. I think he probably wants to settle the differences in the octagon,” Covington said. “It just so happens I like to fight in the octagon so if it needs to happen one day, I’d be honored to settle that.

“It’s just someone that’s been talking smack in the media, been throwing some terms around at me, and never done anything or accomplished half of what I’ve accomplished in the sport so I had to give it back to him and just say the truth. It did shut him up, but I have a strong feeling he’ll have something else to say very soon.”

TOP STORIES

Assessment. Daniel Cormier: Dricus Du Plessis’ people believe Sean Strickland is ‘an afterthought,’ fight won’t be competitive

Awards. MMA Fighting’s 2023 Submission of the Year: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko

Planning. Dana White expects to ‘get something figured out soon’ with Conor McGregor

Critique. Colby Covington fires back at Paddy Pimblett: ‘He’ll never be a top-30 fighter’

Progress. Oktagon MMA to employ open scoring for fights starting with upcoming event

Contention. Deiveson Figueiredo: Sean O’Malley ‘has something to worry about now’

VIDEO STEW

MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin chats with Paige VanZant.

BROADENED HORIZIN.

UFC Honors: UFC Event of 2023 nominees.

UFC 296 Slo-Mo.

Year of the Fighter: The Great and a Thug.

Best PFL rounds of 2023.

Zombie Trip 3.

LISTEN UP

Between the Links. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Jed Meshew bring you the 2023 Promotional Festivus: Grading the best and worst from UFC, PFL, more.

MORNING MUSIC

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Ready.

Sports clash.

Signing.

Funk.

Boxing.

Team.

History.

He knows a thing or two.

This guy.

Response?

FINAL THOUGHTS

Covington feels kind of like the perfect gatekeeper-type of test at this point so the Garry matchup isn’t all too bad should Garry beat Neal.

Happy Friday and Happy New Year, everyone. Here’s to 2024 being better than the last. Have a great but safe weekend. Thanks for reading!

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Alex Pereira offered some insight into his cryptic Instagram post.

Earlier this month, ‘Poatan’ had fight fans in a frenzy as they tried to interpret a confusing mathematical equation that they believed held some information regarding his next appearance inside the Octagon. Pereira wrote “30+300=3” on social media. It didn’t take long for fans to link the second set of numbers, suggesting that the former middleweight titleholder was sharing his intentions of pursuing a third world title at the promotion’s next big milestone event, UFC 300, on April 13.

With Pereira already claiming gold at 185 and 205, fans quickly concluded that he would pursue three-division glory via a move to heavyweight for a potential clash with current interim titleholder Tom Aspinall.

Aspinall added some fuel to the fire when he shared a festive image of himself sitting alongside Alex Pereira, suggesting that there could be some truth to the theory.

However, it appears as though Alex Pereira’s post had nothing to do with the UFC or his desire to collect a third belt. It was actually something about a dream he had and winning a motorcycle. It’s all a bit confusing so feel free to hear the ‘Brazilian Boogeyman’ explain it courtesy of the video clip below:

Pereira vs. Aspinall Still Makes Sense for UFC 300

After capturing the middleweight title with a shocking fifth-round knockout of Israel Adesanya at UFC 281, Alex Pereira made the move to light heavyweight to claim the vacant 205-pound crown against former champion Jiri Prochazka at the promotion’s 30th-anniversary showcase in MSG.

That same night, Aspinall stepped into the co-main event spotlight on two weeks’ notice for an interim heavyweight championship clash with Russian knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich. Aspinall only needed 69 seconds to put away Pavlovich and claim his first UFC title.

With Pereira and Aspinall now sitting on the sidelines waiting for the returns of Jamahal Hill and Jon Jones, we see no reason why they can’t keep each other busy with an epic champion vs. champion showdown at what is already being touted as the biggest event in UFC history.

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

What are some of the most one-sided fights you remember? Glover vs Smith and Rountree Jr vs Anders come to mind too. Obviously fights like Ngannou v Rozenstruik and Conor vs Aldo etc. are one sided too but there have been plenty of lengthy beat downs over the years. submitted by /u/jxsh7 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Return fight
| BJPenn.com

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Kevin Holland might just be angling for a fight versus Welterweight hotshot Ian Garry.

“Trailblazer” just recently scored a big fight booking opposite the debuting Michael “Venom” Page at UFC 299 in March, it’s true, and Garry himself was just rebooked opposite Geoff Neal for UFC 298 a month earlier. However, Holland isn’t one to rest on the sidelines, which could explain why he’s already talking trash to a different top-ranked Welterweight striker.

The other explanation, of course, is that everyone is dunking on Ian Garry right now for his wife’s old book about becoming a Wife And Girlfriend (WAG) of a famous athlete. His pneumonia-induced withdraw from UFC 296 didn’t help him either in the court of public opinion, which is looking a bit grim for “The Future” currently.

Regardless of the reasoning, Holland just gave Garry a dose of his own medicine. Earlier this year when he was booked to face Neal the first time, Garry produced and sold a t-shirt featuring Geoff Neal’s mugshot on the front — a low blow to be sure. Holland has now imitated Garry, creating a shirt with Garry’s own face on the front and the simple caption “WAGGED.”

In a video on his Instagram (reposted above), Holland showed off a quick combo before advising viewers, “Don’t get WAGGED!”

There’s one more potential backstory here. Holland and Neal are both Dallas, Texas residents, and the two actually fought way back in 2017 prior to their UFC careers. Holland was victorious, and the two don’t train on the same team, but perhaps this is simply a case of “Lone Star” state camaraderie?

Bottom line: Holland vs. Garry could be a serious banger some time in 2024 if the cards play out right.

Insomnia

Paulo Costa, king of USADA.

The audio in this clip is just demanding a quick application of the smother technique.

I could recognize that lazy Southpaw jab anywhere.

Sean Strickland can always be counted upon to bring it on sparring day … and it’s always sparring day for the Middleweight king!

Terrance McKinney went full Naruto with his latest ink!

A lot of big names stepped into the cage for the last time this year. The crowd singing to “Korean Zombie” might be my favorite moment of the year!

It’s always fun to watch Ben Askren bring the funk.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

This highlight reminds me of a Mortal Kombat fatality — appropriate.

… Homie looks pretty unconscious to me!

Lorenz Larkin hit him with the Leon Edwards clinch break elbow special.

Random Land

A mind-bending jump.

Midnight Music: Psych rock, 2023

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

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

We now have a date for the previously announced crossover clash between Manny Pacquiao and Buakaw Banchamek.

Emanating from Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, the eight-time boxing world champion will square off with the Muay Thai icon on April 20, 2024. Billed as ‘The Match of Legends,’ the bout will be contested under international boxing rules, in a “six three-minute rounds with two-minute breaks” format. The fighters will compete at 154 lbs, or 70kg, the equivalent of super welterweight in boxing, or junior middleweight in Muay Thai.

The winner will walk away with a cash prize of 10 million baht which translates to $ 289,000 and a WBC Legends Belt.

We are honored to have Manny ‘PacMan’ Pacquiao and Buakaw Banchamek for this historic event, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you won’t want to miss,” Fresh Air Festival CEO Vinij Lertratanachai said in a statement.

Manny Pacquaio last competed in August 2021, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Yordenis Ugás. Over his 26-year career, ‘PacMan’ is the only boxer to win 12 world championships across eight different divisions. He is also the first fighter to win the lineal championship in five different weight classes.

With nearly 300 fights to his credit, Buakaw Banchamek is widely considered to be one of the greatest Muay Thai practitioners in the history of the sport. He is a two-time K-1 World Max Champion and has captured titles under the WMC and WBC banner. In November, he earned a decision victory over Saenchai at BKFC Asia 5. A month later, Buakaw added another win to his resume, besting Nayanesh Ayman at Rajadamnern Stadium.

LowKickMMA.com

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