Matchroom Boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn has revealed why his infamous spat with Saudi adviser and budding boxing promoter, Turki Alalshikh blossomed – in direct response to last year’s infamous match between Tyson Fury, and former UFC star, Francis Ngannou.
Hearn, a high-profile promoter under the banner of Matchroom Boxing, claims his rivalry with Alalshikh stems from his rather unfavorable comments regarding the booking of a clash between former WBC heavyweight boxing champion, Fury, and former UFC heavyweight titleholder, Ngannou – which is slowly being squashed.
Eddie Hearn reveals spat with Saudi promoter, Turki Alalshikh
“I did one of the most stupid things I’ve ever done, but unfortunately if you ask me questions,” Eddie Hearn said on Cigar Talk. “I’m pretty honest. I really didn’t speak favorably about (Tyson) Fury – (Francis) Ngannou. He (Turki Alalshikh) is putting on this event, and there’s this big promoter who used to work with these other guys, now he’s slagg8ing off Fury – Ngannou. Slowly, I’m coming down the order of ‘Flavor of the Month’ with him (Alalshikh).”
Fighting Morecambe native, Fury back in October of last year in Riyadh, former heavyweight mixed martial arts champion, Ngannou suffered a controversial split decision defeat to the former over the course of 10 rounds – even scoring a stunning knockdown against the British fighter en route to defeat.
However, back in March, Ngannou took on Eddie Hearn’s posterboy, former two-time heavyweight world champion, Anthony Joshua in the Middle East – suffering a hellacious knockout defeat to the Watford star in his first knockout stoppage in professional combat sports.
Slated to make his return to mixed martial arts in October in Riyadh for his third round trip to the region, Cameroonian knockout ace, Ngannou is set to take on 2023 PFL heavyweight champion, Renan Ferreira in his first venture to the PFL SmartCage before the end of the annum.
UFC 305 takes place on Saturday night, and MMA News is here to bring you the final faceoffs from the ceremonial weigh-ins!
The upcoming pay-per-view event at Perth’s RAC Arena provides a chance for UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis to further enhance his legacy on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage.
After unseating Sean Strickland in the American’s first defense this past January, the South African will look to avoid the same fate when he puts the gold on the line Down Under opposite former two-time champ Israel Adesanya.
Title stakes could be down the line for the co-main event winner, meanwhile, with recent challenger Steve Erceg looking to immediately bounce back from his first UFC setback against the returning Kai Kara-France.
Elsewhere on the UFC 305 card, lightweight fan favorite Dan Hooker shoots for a top-five ranking opposite Mateusz Gamrot, hard-hitting heavyweights Tai Tuivasa and Jairzinho Rozenstruik likely swing for the fences, and China’s Li Jingliang makes a long-awaited comeback.
Ahead of the event, 23 out of the 24 fighters successfully made weight, with Jesus Aguilar’s 1.5-pound miss of the flyweight limit marking the sole indiscretion on the scale.
Nevertheless, every fight has remained intact, and all that remains on Friday night (Saturday local time) is for the athletes to face off one final time at the UFC 305 ceremonial weigh-ins!
Check out a live stream via the official UFC YouTube channel below, commencing at 11 PM ET.
UFC 305 Ceremonial Weigh-In Stream
Continue Reading UFC 305: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya Ceremonial Weigh-In Live Stream at MMA News.
Impa Kasanganay vs. Josh Silveira headlines PFL 8 at in Hollywood, Fla., on Friday night. | PFL
MMA Fighting has PFL 8 results for the Kasanganay vs. Silveira fight card and more from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood in Hollywood, Fla., on Friday night.
In the main event, Impa Kasanganay faces Josh Silveira for a berth into the light heavyweight final. Kasanganay beat Silveira via unanimous decision in their previous meeting — the light heavyweight final for the 2023 season.
Rob Wilkinson and Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov clash in the other light heavyweight semifinal.
Prospect Biaggio Ali Walsh also will compete in his second PFL fight of the year.
Check out PFL 8 results below.
Main card (ESPN/ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET)
Impa Kasanganay vs. Josh Silveira
Rob Wilkinson vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov
Gadzi Rabadanov vs. Michael Dufort
Brent Primus vs. Clay Collard
Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Brian Stapleton
Prelims (ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET)
Danny Sabatello vs. Lazaro Dayron
Mads Burnell vs. Elvin Espinoza
Thad Jean def. Chris Brown via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Jordan Oliver def. Braydon Akeo via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
The fighters competing on the UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya fight card in Perth, Australia officially weigh-in on Friday. The event takes place at RAC Arena and is headlined by a middleweight title bout between champion Dricus Du Plessis and former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya. The event will mark the third trip for the fight promotion to Perth.
The championship bout will be Du Plessis’ first title defense. He captured the championship in January by defeating Sean Strickland via split decision in the UFC 297 main event. Adesanya lost the belt to Strickland in his last outing last September.
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Card Info
Airing on ESPN on Friday 08.16.2024
Main Card @ 9:00pm ET
Division
Fighters
Light Heavyweight
Impa Kasanganay vs. Josh Silveira
Light Heavyweight
Rob Wilkinson vs. Dovlet Yagshimuradov
Lightweight
Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Michael Dufort
Lightweight
Brent Primus vs. Clay Collard
Lightweight
Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Brian Stapleton
Prelims @ 6:30pm ET
Division
Fighters
Bantamweight
Danny Sabatello vs. Lazaro Dayron
Lightweight
Elvin Espinoza vs. Mads Burnell
Welterweight
Thad Jean vs. Chris Brown
Featherweight
Jordan Oliver vs. Braydon Akeo
Featherweight
Michelle Montague vs. Marilia Morais
Fight card order and start times may be inaccurate.
Useful Links
Live Updates: Tapology,
Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Professional Fighters League, Twitter, Youtube
Reddit: Reddit Stream, General Discussion, Flair bets
Keep it civil.
Do not ask for or supply streams. Your post will be removed and your ability to post will be suspended.
Dricus du Plessis | Photo by Will Russell/Zuffa LLC
This Saturday, the UFC returns to Perth, Australia for UFC 305, headlined by a middleweight title fight between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya. It’s a fight that looked like it may have been derailed entirely with Adesanya’s shocking upset loss to Sean Strickland last September, but now that du Plessis is the champion, the matchup is back from the dead, and it brings with it 11 other fights for the Perth fans.
So let’s dive into the best bets for this weekend.
As always, all odds are courtesy of our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Straight Bets
Dricus du Plessis (-105)
I have a larger breakdown of this fight over on SBNation, so we don’t need to get into too much detail for the main event, but it’s a pretty simple bet: I believe Israel Adesanya is past his prime, perhaps by a decent amount.
Adesanya is 35 years old and has 145 fights (that we know about) to his name. That’s a lot of mileage for anyone. Too much mileage. I think we saw his decline manifest pointedly in the Sean Strickland fight and that’s not something that gets better. Add in that du Plessis is a cagey fighter (I’ve comped him to Yoel Romero) at the peak of his powers and that lines up for a “DDP” win.
Dan Hooker (+270)
Dan Hooker takes on Mateusz Gamrot in the featured bout of the evening as a heavy underdog. Too heavy, in my opinion.
Coming off the Jalin Turner war, I was prepared to fade Hooker in his next bout, because that’s the type of fight that changes fighter’s careers. But then he got this matchup, and while in a straight head-to-head I might pick Gamrot, Hooker has a very good chance to win this one.
Gamrot is all cardio chain wrestling, and Hooker, for his faults, is a very solid defensive wrestler and grappler. He will be able to stuff many of Gamrot’s shots, if not all of them, and he has the superior striking game. Plus, Gamrot isn’t much risk to hurt Hooker on the feet, so my biggest concern for Hooker isn’t in play this fight.
Casey O’Neill (+130)
I’m not sold on Luana Santos, at least not yet. Santos certainly has talent but she’s also been somewhat mercurial in her performances while O’Neill was on her way straight up the rankings before getting upended by Jennifer Maia. No shame in losing to a veteran like Maia, but the loss to Ariane Lipski afterwards has but O’Neill’s back to the wall and I expect to see her fight like it. As long as she doesn’t get overrun in the grappling, O’Neill’s high pace and output on the feet give her a clear path to victory.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Prop Bets
Tai Tuivasa To Win By KO/TKO/Decision (+250)
Picking a man who is currently on a four-fight losing streak to break that streak with a finish may not be the smartest idea I’ve ever had, but it’s one I’m committed to.
Tuivasa takes on Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a main card heavyweight title, and despite his run of terrible performances, he’s got a decent shot in this one. Rozenstruik is also a kickboxer but doesn’t have a bulletproof chin and is prone to getting into sloppy engagements. That’s where Tuivasa makes his money.
If Tuivasa gets knocked out in this one, it’s probably the end of his career. But I’m betting he’s got a little more left in the tank. And when Tuivasa wins, it’s almost exclusively by knockout, so take the extra edge with the prop.
Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates Under 2.5 Rounds (-160)
In 25 career fights, Prates has gone to a decision three times. The man is simply an exceptional get-or-get-got fighter who hasn’t even seen the third round since 2019. Jingliang certainly has a few more decisions under his belt but in his 16 fights in the UFC, “The Leech” has only seen the scorecards six times and he’s coming off a nearly two-year layoff. I expect this fight to be violent.
Photo by Brenton Ho/Zuffa LLC
Parlay of the Week
When there’s a gimmick to be had, I’ll parlay it and there are two available this week. First is the former KSW champion gimmick with du Plessis and Gamrot, but since I’m fading Gamrot, we can’t do that. So instead we’ll have to fade the brothers!
This card features FOUR fighters who have brothers in the UFC: Alex Reyes (Dominick Reyes), Herbert Burns (Gilbert Burns), Valter Walker (Johnny Walker) and Junior Tafa (Justin Tafa). You may also notice from that list that each of these men’s brothers are better than they are, with one exception (it’s debatable but Junior appears to be better than Justin).
Fortunately, that works in our favor as Tafa and Walker are scheduled to fight each other anyway, so let’s we have a very simple “Fade The Less Good Brother” parlay available which is both deeply silly and quite fun.
Parlay these three bets together for +115 odds.
Wrap Up
I’ve been waiting for this main event for a long time so I’m pumped for this weekend. Hope y’all are as well.
Until next week, enjoy the fights, good luck, and gamble responsibly!
All information in this article is provided to readers of MMA Fighting for entertainment, news, and amusement purposes only. It is the responsibility of the reader to learn and abide by online gambling laws in their region before placing any online sports betting wagers.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images 
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images 
Photo by Brenton Ho/Zuffa LLC
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