Serghei Spivac made quick work of the durable veteran Marcin Tybura in the main event of UFC Vegas 95 this past Saturday night at the UFC APEX. After the win, Spivac didn’t have a specific name in mind, but called for someone ranked higher, and then Jailton Almeida issued a callout of his own to Spivac. Is that the way to go for “Polar Bear” after a bounce back win?
On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee discuss what could be next for Spivac after becoming the first fighter to submit Tybura. Additionally, future matchups are discussed for Chepe Mariscal following his dominant decision win over Damon Jackson in the co-main event, Danny Barlow after defeating Nikolay Veretennikov, along with fellow main card winners Chris Gutierrez, Yana Santos, Toshiomi Kazama, and more.
Audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
As expected, the argument over African heritage has become a talking point ahead of the upcoming UFC 305 pay-per-view (PPV) main event this weekend in Perth, where Dricus Du Plessis defends his 185-pound strap against former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Du Plessis, who hails from South Africa, ruffled a few feathers by suggesting he would become the first UFC champion to be born, raised, and still-residing in Africa, unlike Adesanya — who alongside Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou — relocated to other parts of the world.
“I want him to take accountability for his remarks,” Adesanya told TMZ Sports. “Abdul Razak [Alhassan] said it before his fight about three weeks ago, saying, ‘I respect Dricus, but he’s a b*tch for what he said.’ He’s a b*tch. Because Dricus is saying, ‘I trained in Africa, I do this in Africa,’ and people like Razak and myself who are forced to flee our own country because of a better opportunity, he’ll never understand that because he lives behind the f*cking gates of his privileged life in South Africa, and he’s able to do that there.”
Based on this video, it appears Du Plessis has the unconditional support of South African fight fans.
“So, someone like Francis [Ngannou], who had to cross the desert to go overseas to go train,” Adesanya continued. “If you know Francis’ story, you can’t call him not a real African champion because he didn’t train in Africa. Like, bro. Are you f*cking kidding? The guy got sent back out to the desert six, seven times to go die, and he survived.”
Don’t expect UFC CEO Dana White to get involved in this debate.
“Even without Francis being champion, without myself being champion, without Kamaru being champion, he would have never been champion,” Adesanya said. “We paved the way for him, and then he comes out there and tries to take it all for himself. What kind of mindset is it that you see three African champions and you’re going to be the fourth one? That’s a colonist mindset. He doesn’t understand the error of his ways, but I will show him the way. He will always be an African champion, but he’ll never be one of the three kings.”
Adesanya, Usman, and Ngannou were dubbed the “Three Kings” of UFC after holding championship titles at the same time, even though “The Last Stylebender” and “The Nigerian Nightmare” failed to “sack up” when “The Predator” went to war with UFC.
To see who else is fighting at UFC 305 this weekend in Perth click here.
Canelo Alvarez | Photo by Kaelin Mendez/Getty Images
Canelo Alvarez doesn’t see UFC as competition.
The boxing superstar returns to action on Sept. 14, when he defends his WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight titles against Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs). Alvarez’s 66th pro bout takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the same night as UFC 306, which goes down at the new Sphere venue just a few blocks away.
UFC CEO Dana White has expressed his annoyance at MGM choosing T-Mobile Arena as the location for their fight, and star Conor McGregor warned that UFC’s show will overshadow Alvarez vs. Berlanga.
Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) responded to the trash talk in an interview on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game. Suffice to say, he’s confident he’ll beat UFC on Mexican Independence Day weekend.
“It’s just different,” Alvarez said. “Maybe other boxing matches, maybe, but Canelo is different. There are other kind of fights, but Canelo is just different. I don’t care if the UFC is there, when Canelo fights, it’s different.”
One knock against Alvarez’s upcoming matchup is that Berlanga lacks the notoriety of some of Alvarez’s other challenger options, namely WBC interim champion David Benavidez. Saudi promoter Turki Alalshikh also accused Alvarez of intentionally pricing himself out of negotiations for a superfight with Terence Crawford, to which Alvarez simply responded with a laughing emoji.
Alvarez explained why he feels justified in defending against Berlanga in the face of calls to take on other opponents.
“Look, at some point all the fighters did [what they were told],” Alvarez said. [Oscar] De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Julio Cesar Chavez, Mike Tyson, everybody did this. There are stars and superstars and they made the championship, not the championship made them. So it’s way different. I come and I do my career and I fight with [Miguel] Cotto with a clause, and I fight with Mayweather with a clause, and I fight with everybody to build the Canelo Alvarez I am. Right now I can do whatever I want.
“The IBF [says], ‘Hey, you need to fight with this because this.’ Who’s [William] Scull? I never hear about him, just when they say, ‘This is your mandatory.’ I never hear about him. I don’t want to do whatever they want. I want to do what I want. In this position I can do whatever I want. Because I deserve it, because of all I did. They said, ‘You don’t want to fight [Gennady] Golovkin,’ I fight him. [Erislandy] Lara, I fight him. Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, Caleb Plant, [Austin] Trout, Mayweather, Cotto, [Dmitry] Bivol, everything. I did everything, and now [Berlanga]. But like I said, I did everything and now I can ask whatever I want and I can do whatever I want.”
Since his UFC debut in 2008, Jon Jones has been through several ups and downs. He only has one DQ loss against Matt Hamill and boasts a record 15 title wins in the promotion. However, arrests and suspensions for performance-enhancing drug usage has compelled many fans to turn on him.
Jones never refrains from acknowledging such upsets, though. He claims to use his religion to learn from his mistakes and get ahead in life. Although he’s mostly come off as an ardent Christian, rumors regarding his conversion to Islam have surfaced at times as well.
So, here’s what religion Jones follows and whether he has converted to Islam…
What is Jon Jones’ Religion?
Jones follows Christianity and there are countless incidents to support this. After winning the UFC heavyweight championship against Ciryl Gane in March 2023, he thanked Jesus Christ in his post-fight interview.
Another huge giveaway is the former UFC light heavyweight kingpin’s chest tattoo. It says “Philippians 4:13” which is based on a verse from the Bible stating:
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
My way of saying thanks to the beautiful city of Albuquerque for showing me love over the years. I literally pray for this city every day. Merry Christmas guys pic.twitter.com/y9NFAd9WW9
— BONY (@JonnyBones) December 22, 2019
On top of this, “Bones” repeatedly talks about Jesus Christ in high regard on his socials. He also shares moments celebrating Christian festivals and appreciates Bible verses on these platforms.
Back in 2013, Jones appeared on an episode of UFC In The Moment and looked back at the time when doubted doubt religion after his sister passed away.
“Spirituality is what makes me do the right thing when no one is looking. To know someone is watching you when no one is watching you. I think it is an important thing to have. But I have also had times in my life where I have questioned religion. I had a sister who passed away. She was 18 years old. She had brain cancer. Within two years’ time, her life was over. Considering that she was a light and she was my only sister, it is tough for me. Despite all the questions that I have had, I have never given up on God, never given up on my faith.”
Did Jon Jones Convert To Islam?
No, Jones never converted to Islam and has only professed faith in Christianity. However, a few misinterpreted incidents have birthed rumors that he’s converted.
These include Jones joking about converting to Islam when Ariel Helwani once asked him about his beard in an interview. In other interviews, he also said the Arabic term Alhamdulillah, used to thank and praise God.
In hindsight, one can easily make out that Jones simply respects Islam. He revealed in the same interview that he grew a beard for no specific reason. Similarly, Arabic phrases like Alhamdulillah are widely used in pop culture regardless of the speaker’s religion.
Read More: Steve Erceg Backs ‘Precedent’ Set By Releasing Muhammad Mokaev After Alleged Behavior Toward UFC Staff
Continue Reading Jon Jones’ Religion: Debunking Rumors About UFC Great’s Links To Islam at MMA News.
Amid the ongoing rollercoaster that surrounds his UFC return, Jon Jones is still finding time to have fun.
‘Bones’ is widely regarded as one of the greatest combat sports athletes ever. Despite his accolades in mixed martial arts, some believe he is afraid to put his legacy on the line against the younger, hungrier contender Tom Aspinall.
After months of defending his choice not to fight Aspinall next, Jon Jones has given up responding to fans. Now, Jones has instead used them to play a prank on a mystery person.
In a post on social media, the UFC heavyweight champion posted a phone number. In a message adjacent to the number, the 37-year-old urged fans to text and call if they want him to agree to the aforementioned Tom Aspinall challenge.
“If you want me to fight Tom, call and text me,” Jones stated in a post on X. “I’ll respond for the next few days.”
If you want me to fight Tom call and text me, I’ll respond for the next few days pic.twitter.com/bPdG7geaIE
— BONY (@JonnyBones) August 6, 2024
Supporters instantly realized that Jon Jones was playing a prank. While it’s unclear which unfortunate person will be receiving countless phone calls and text messages for the next few weeks, the picture clearly shows that they have ties to Greenview, Illinois.
Related: Jon Jones announces decision to retire
However, this wasn’t the last time we heard from him on the matter. Jones later wrote another post on social media, pressing fans to continue texting the number until they get a response.
“If the phone ends up getting turned off, just keep texting,” Jones said. “You’ll get a reply soon.”
If the phone ends up getting turned off, just keep texting. You’ll get a reply soon.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) August 6, 2024
This comes just days after Jon Jones dropped a bombshell on the world. While Jones will be competing against Stipe Miocic — likely later this year — it very well may be his final fight inside the octagon.
If both Jones and Miocic retire following their rumored bout, Tom Aspinall will most probably see his interim title upgraded to undisputed.
Jon Anik stands by his performance at UFC 304 — most notably, his call of the main event.
Anik, who called the event alongside Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping this past July in Manchester, England, took some criticism for how he called the welterweight title fight between new champion Belal Muhammad and Leon Edwards. The longtime play-by-play voice of the UFC is part of the Anik & Florian Podcast group of shows, which includes a program hosted by Muhammad and Anik’s twin brother Jason. Consequently, a friendship has grown from the relationship.
While some fans criticized his call of the fight, Anik went back and re-watched it, and as someone who strives for perfection on every broadcast, he was totally fine with how it sounded live.
“I have interpersonal relationships on both sides of this,” Anik told MMA Fighting. “I actually go further back with Leon than I do with Belal. Tim Simpson, [Leon’s] manager, is a good friend of mine, and historically, for me, the call that has, I think, helped my career the most was something that relates to Leon Edwards. If you listen to the Anik & Florian Podcast, our show open ends with Leon Edwards saying, ‘Head shot dead,’ right? So there’s a lot of connective tissue and interpersonal stuff for me on both sides of all of these fights.
“But yeah, I felt like the call was down the line. … Now, you can imagine all the different things that commentators hear from fans and fighters and coaches and bosses over the years. But I sleep well at night, I stand by that call, and I stand by Belal Muhammad as a friend. When we launched his podcast with my twin brother, four or five years ago, whatever it was, he had 18,000 Instagram followers. He was unranked. We believed in him in terms of him having a social media presence, and that he could maybe become a contender, if not championship athlete. And you know what? We bet on the right f*cking guy, and if I got married a second time, he might be a f*cking groomsman.
“So I can’t help that I have friendships that I have developed in this sport, but you can be sure I’m not as close with Belal as I am with Dominick Cruz, and once any of these guys hit the tunnel or hit the inspection zone, last thing I’m thinking about is their mothers and their brothers and the interpersonal stuff. So, it is what it is, it comes with the territory and people who don’t want to credit this win in this historically great division by Belal Muhammad? Cry. Cry.”
Following Muhammad’s win, Anik did take a bit of a victory lap on social media, but when it comes to the broadcast itself, and when the lights are on, Anik is a consummate professional who calls fights right down the middle regardless of who is involved.
Now that the dust has settled in regards to the event, Anik revealed how he saw the matchup on paper heading into it — and it may be surprising to some.
“I didn’t like him in the fight,” Anik said. “Can I say that now? Does that sound objective? I still believe Leon Edwards is the toughest matchup for him in the welterweight division, and Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Ian Machado Garry, and Sean Brady and others are right there — [and] this was a big result for Sean Brady, who I think is a cannonball coming in his own if he can get past Gilbert ‘Durinho’ Burns — but I still think Leon is the toughest matchup for Belal. And even though promotionally, they don’t want to go in the direction of a trilogy and an immediate run back of that title fight between Belal Muhammed and Leon Edwards, I have an appetite for it, and I actually believe Leon, if not, some long-reigning champion probably deserves it.
“If Shavkat is not ready, or Usman’s not ready, or another guy I’m not thinking of is not ready, I can assure you, Leon would shorten up a training camp to — as he says — try to get this back in blood.”
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