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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

NEW YORK CITY — UFC lightweight contender and former Bellator champion Michael Chandler discusses his rematch with Charles Oliveira at UFC 309, their first fight at UFC 262, how he’ll approach this matchup differently, his place in the lightweight title picture, and his new tequila line with MMA Fighting’s Jose Youngs.

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

UFC Heavyweight champion Jon Jones is the talk of the town this week, but it’s really not because he’s returning after the better part of two years to defend his title against Stipe Miocic. There’s almost no discussion around that fight despite its status as the main event of UFC 309, which takes place in the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

Instead, the conversation continues to revolve around Jones and interim kingpin Tom Aspinall. Aspinall’s rise to stardom and championship gold has come at a perfect time to pose an intriguing challenge to the all-time great “Bones,” but Jones has consistently remarked that he isn’t interested. According to Jones, Aspinall is too new and doesn’t do anything for his resume.

Former Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who not that long ago was the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the roster, disagrees. “The Great” knows a thing or two about chasing double champion status, and he believes that Jones simply has to face Aspinall if he’s to be a “proper double champion.”

“If you want to be a Heavyweight champion, you want to claim that crown,” Volkanovski said of Jones on his YouTube channel. “It’s going to be hard to convince me you’re defending champ if you don’t fight Tom Aspinall while he’s the interim champ. Does Jon Jones even need to do this? No. He’s already got an incredible legacy. But if you want to claim the Heavyweight division, say you were a proper double champ — you gotta fight Tom Aspinall!”

“ … If you want that on your resume saying that I’m the best Heavyweight while i was there, you have to fight Tom Aspinall. I think he’s definitely the biggest threat, the wrestling, he can dangerous everywhere, and he’s a legit Heavyweight.”

Volkanovski also explained that he understands why Jones would want to fight a major star in Alex Pereira but thinks dropping the Heavyweight belt would be necessary to do so. All told, it’s going to be very interesting to see whether or not Jon Jones’ career continues beyond Saturday night and what lies in his future.

Insomnia

Bringing back the old gloves for a Jones event is the most unintentionally hilarious thing UFC has ever done.

Just a few guys being dudes.

Wild times on the Russian regional scene! Anecdote of the week: I did once watch a fighter get arrested immediately after his fight at Gladiator Challenge in Northern California. He won via KO in 22 seconds!

No easy fights for Edson Barboza — Steve Garcia has been on a tear!

Dana White casually winning more money than most of his champions will make this year:

A tricky technique from the great Craig Jones!

Fighting Rodtang for $ 8k is ROUGH!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Absolutely frantic hand-fighting and a great turn at the end.

Khabib cousins grow on trees, have cool names, and win fights like nobody’s business.

Former One Championship Flyweight king Adriano Moraes is back in the win column.

Random Land

What would you do in this situation?

Midnight Music: Soul, 2020

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Mike Tyson believes he’s better today than he was 20 years ago.

A former undisputed heavyweight champion, Tyson retired from professional boxing at 38 years old after losing to Kevin McBride in 2005. After a long hiatus from the sport, Tyson returned for an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, and now will make his return to professional action this weekend when he faces Jake Paul in an eight-round bout this Friday.

Now 58 years old, Tyson’s bout with Paul has drawn some criticism from fans who worry about the old champion facing a man 30 years his junior, but “Iron Mike” contends he’s in a better place now than he was when he retired.

“Thank you very much for being concerned. But I am fighting. I’m going to be okay… I was a different person then,” Tyson told Manouk Akopyan about his message to fans. “I was using narcotics, alcohol back then. I’m not that person anymore. I see a better picture of myself now. I see light. I see the world from a different perspective now.”

Tyson’s personal and professional career has been fraught with controversy, including a 1992 rape conviction which led to two years in prison. More recently, in 2006 Tyson was arrested for driving under the influenced where he admitted to drug use and addiction. He checked himself into rehab in 2007.

But despite now being clean and his repeated assertions that he’s ready to face Paul, many still worry about the dangers of this bout, especially as the fight was postponed from its original date over the summer after Tyson suffered a medical emergency while flying. But Tyson insists that based on all his training, he’s more than ready for this matchup.

“Great. I feel great,” Tyson said. “… I’ve got the rounds in me. Listen, I’m sparring young guys, 30s, 20s, I’m sparring young guys and they’re hitting me real hard. It wasn’t a picnic when I first started training. I’m fighting with younger guys and they’re really giving me a shellacking at first. … I’m doing my share [now].”

Regardless of the wisdom of the bout, everything appears set to take place this Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and broadcast live via Netflix, in what figures to be the biggest combat sports event of the year. And depending how things go, this might not be a one-time return for Tyson.

“Sky is the limit,” Tyson said. “We’ll see. I’m interested in doing it again.”

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Jake Paul is just days away from facing off against Mike Tyson this Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. But even as he prepares for this high-profile fight, he’s already eyeing his next challenge: Canelo Alvarez.

As a pro, Paul has a record of 10-1 with seven knockouts, with many of his wins coming against YouTubers and former MMA fighters. If he manages to defeat Tyson, Paul plans to call out Alvarez, who is fresh off a dominant win over Edgar Berlanga in September.

“I do (have a callout). It’s Canelo,” Paul said. “This moment will prove that I’m the face of boxing, the biggest attraction. Me vs. Canelo at 200 pounds for the cruiserweight championship of the world is the biggest fight—arguably even bigger than me vs. Tyson. It just makes sense. Canelo is on his way out, and he’ll want a payday. I want to show the world that all the talk about me beating Canelo is real.”

Paul believes he can pull off what he calls “the biggest upset in the sport of boxing.” He’s determined to challenge Alvarez as a way to settle who is the true “face of boxing.”

“After this event, I’m going to claim that title,” he said. “I beat his gate record in Texas; I’m beating ticket sales—all of that. The numbers and the data back it up. I have more followers than him, and this will be the most-watched fight of the century. I’m going to be the new money magnet.”

Continue Reading Jake Paul Eyes ‘Biggest Upset’ In Boxing Fight With Canelo Alvarez at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jake Paul is taking this “El Gallo” thing seriously.

Previously fighting with the nickname “The Problem Child,” Paul recently switched things up to “El Gallo” which translates from Spanish to “The Rooster.” And on Tuesday at the open workouts for his boxing match with Mike Tyson this Friday, Paul took that moniker one step further, showing up with his hair dyed red and decorated like a rooster.

Paul faces Tyson in an eight-round boxing match this Friday, broadcast live on Netflix, which figures to be one of the biggest combat sports events of the year.

After years of building his resume in boxing with fights against MMA fighters, the 27-year-old Paul now hopes to move into bigger names in the boxing ring with this matchup against Tyson, even calling out super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. And speaking after his workout, Paul made it clear this will be a defining fight in his career.

“Friday, my dreams come true and my career starts,” Paul said. “This is the start of an amazing journey. What I’ve done so far doesn’t matter. Friday night my career starts. …

“I promise you, I was built for this, destined for this. The gods got me. The universe got me and I, Jake Joseph Paul, will knock out Mike Tyson. Friday November 15, it is written in the history books.”

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