CM Punk calls himself the best in the world, but during his latest promo on Monday Night Raw, the two-time UFC fighter paid tribute to a friend and teammate who earned the same moniker recently.
Following his match at WWE SummerSlam in Cleveland this past weekend, Punk (real name Phil Brooks) showed up at Raw in Baltimore to address his growing rivalry with Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins. Before he got going, Punk shouted out his friend and teammate Belal Muhammad for winning the UFC welterweight title with a dominant victory over Leon Edwards at UFC 304.
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“I just want to take a real quick minute to shout out, give some flowers to my good friend, my teammate, my brother Belal Muhammad,” Punk said in the ring. “He won the UFC welterweight title. It’s been a busy week, I didn’t forget. Congratulations. I love seeing good things happen to good people. I love watching hard work pay off.”
During his brief MMA career, Punk trained primarily under head coach Duke Roufus at his gym in Milwaukee. That’s also where Muhammad frequently worked while he was making his way up the rankings in the UFC’s welterweight division.
Obviously that friendship stuck long after Punk left fighting and went back to professional wrestling. Watch his shoutout to Muhammad for the upset win above.
After an impressive first-round finish against Tony Ferguson in Abu Dhabi, TUF alumnus Michael Chiesa has the perfect opponent in mind for his next appearance.
Chiesa’s appearances inside the Octagon have been few and far between in recent years, but ‘Maverick’ is ready to get right back to work after putting away the former interim lightweight titleholder with relative ease inside Etihad Arena.
During a post-fight interview, Chiesa called for a clash with three-time title challenger Colby Covington to determine who the best wrestler in the Pacific Northwest truly is.
Michael Chiesa called out Colby Covington after his win over Tony Ferguson:
"I want to fight Colby Covington… the guy can sit on the sidelines and say whatever he wants…
Are you gonna idly sit around and do nothing, or are you gonna come back and fight. Keep your ranking, I… pic.twitter.com/nDy1iDfUzW
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 4, 2024
“I want to fight Colby Covington. I’ve been saying this for years,” Chiesa said. “That guy can sit on the sidelines and say whatever he wants. I’m not chasing the ranking. I don’t give a sh*t. I just want to find out who is the best fighter. Who is the best welterweight in the Pacific Northwest? I know he resides in Dade County, Mr. 305, but let’s find out who’s the best in the Northwest. Is it me or is it you?
“That’s what I want to find out. Are you going to idly sit down and do nothing? Or are you going to come back and fight? Keep your ranking, I don’t give a sh*t. I just want to find out who’s the best in the Northwest” (h/t Sherdog).
Colby Covington clings to his No. 4 ranking despite little activity and even fewer wins
Like Chiesa, Covington is 2-3 in his last five, though ‘Chaos’ is barely averaging one fight per year at this point. Still, that hasn’t stopped the staunch MAGA supporter from talking his way into a title opportunity — or three of them. Covington came up short in all three bids, losing to Kamaru Usman twice before getting shut down by Leon Edwards in his last outing.
Covington appeared to be on a collision course with rising contender Ian Machado Garry after ‘Chaos’ shared some distasteful remarks regarding Garry’s marriage to TV personality Layla Machado Garry. Unfortunately, interest in that fight quickly waned after ‘The Future’ claimed Covington had declined the UFC’s offer to make it happen.
Covington has since denied that the promotion ever offered him the fight.
Despite his limited activity and zero wins over anyone in the current welterweight top 15, Covington continues to cling to his No. 4 ranking, making him a target for fighters like Garry who is steadily working his way up the ladder.
However, it looks like ‘Chaos’ is more interested in waiting for undeserved title fights or marquee matchups against fighters on an active losing streak.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson are long-lasting rivals in the sport, but that hasn’t stopped Khabib from showing love to his fellow UFC legend.
Despite his legacy in the octagon, Ferguson recently broke the record for the most consecutive defeats in UFC history. At UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday, the veteran was quickly submitted by Michael Chiesa, extending his losing streak to eight straight — narrowly beating BJ Penn’s seven losses in a row.
While Tony Ferguson hasn’t made his mind up on retiring from combat sports, his aforementioned showing last weekend could have been his last in the octagon. Amid the rumors of his UFC resignation and possible refirement, Khabib Nurmagomedov shared a few kind words with Ferguson.
“It is not a surprise for me because he is 40 years old,” Khabib said after news of Ferguson’s potential retirement surfaced. “I just want to wish him all the best.”
“He is truly one of the best [to ever do it] in the UFC. I just want to wish him all the best, and his life is just beginning, it’s what I think, because he is just 40 years old.”
“He just finished his MMA career, now it’s going to be a different life. A much better life.”
Khabib went on to speak about the stature of his rivalry with Ferguson.
“In prime, my prime and his prime, it’s supposed to be a very interesting fight. But, what [can I] do?”
“He have couple time injuries, I have couple time injuries. It is what it is, you know. Sometimes we have a plan but God has his plan. We cannot control this.”
Watch Khabib Nurmagomedov react to Tony Ferguson’s retirement below.
Related: Michael Chiesa taps out Tony Ferguson, Ferguson teases retirement
During their dominance in the lightweight division, fans were clamoring for a Khabib vs. Ferguson matchup.
The clash had the potential to be one of the biggest in UFC history given the Russian’s undefeated record and ‘El Cucuy’s 12-fight win streak at the time.
Though it never came to fruition, the UFC did attempt to book the fight on five separate occasions. Despite never actually competing against one another, Khabib vs. Ferguson is still considered one of the biggest rivalries and arguably the biggest ‘what if’ in the promotions history.
UFC bantamweight Ramon Taveras is lucky to be alive.
Over the weekend, Taveras revealed he was very nearly the victim of a drive-by shooting in his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., while leaving his mother’s house this past Monday. Taveras even released video of the harrowing incident from the house’s security camera.
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“It’s unfortunate that I even have to make a post like this, but I cannot let this be swept under the rug.
“Monday, July 29, 2024, at 10:05 pm, a group of armed men drove up on me at my mother’s house and tried to take my life. By the grace of God, I made it out with no injuries and was able to grab my own firearm and return fire in self-defense. This city is unforgiving, and it’s worse that JSO [Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office] does nothing to correct the problem. I lost my brother in 2019 due to gun violence, and his killers are yet to be caught. Now I find myself almost in the same situation.
“JSO did the bare minimum for my brother and is now doing the same for me. They assumed I was targeted due to “gang violence” or a problem I caused. I don’t bother anyone, I stay in my own lane, I focus on my career and family. Even after explaining this, they continued to insinuate that I was involved in something that brought this outcome upon myself.
“Nobody is perfect, and everyone has a past. However, I have changed significantly from who I was ten years ago. For such an incident to occur out of nowhere is alarming. It makes me view my life and family through an entirely different lens. This is a daily reality in my city; I am not the first, nor will I be the last. I am tired of remaining silent about my brother’s case, and I refuse to let this incident slide either. Many other families in my city have endured similar situations, crying out for justice just as my family is.
“My family feels unsafe, and I fear for my children, who nearly lost their father the person striving to change their lives. It is tragic that I have so much love for my city, yet I am compelled to leave. I will use this situation to speak out against the ineffectiveness of JSO and their disregard for the less fortunate parts of the city. They seem indifferent to whether lives are lost or at risk. I am sick of it! This could have been a memorial post; I could have lost my life just like my brother, or somebody else could have lost theirs trying to take mine. I am done being silent. I ask for your support in spreading this message as far as we can.
“I am blessed and happy to be alive, but I’m leaving Duval.”
The video shows Taveras leaving the house and walking to a vehicle, when a car on the street nearby opens fire multiple times. Taveras takes cover behind the car until the assailants drive off, at which point Taveras appears to stand, draw a gun of his own and return fire.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond when MMA Fighting reached out for comment.
Taveras joined the UFC in 2023 after two outings on the Contender Series. In his first go-round, Taveras missed weight for the contest and then lost to Serhiy Sidey via first-round TKO in a highly controversial stoppage. After that, Taveras was given another chance later in the season and scored a 29-second finish over Cortavious Romious to earn his spot in the UFC. Taveras made his UFC debut in January in a rematch against Sidey, and again he missed weight, though this time Taveras did win a split decision. He was scheduled to face Caolan Loughran at UFC 304 but an injury forced him out of the card.
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Neiman Gracie | Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Magomed Umalatov now faces Neiman Gracie in the PFL welterweight semifinals at PFL 9 after original opponent Don Madge withdrew from the Aug. 23 event due to an injury, the promotion announced.
Gracie was originally slated to face Luca Poclit in a 170-pound alternate bout on the same card. With Gracie out, Poclit instead fights Eric Alequin.
PFL 9 takes place at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., and airs live on ESPN.
Gracie (13-5) did not initially make it the playoffs after going 1-1 in the PFL regular season. He defeated Madge via decision in June after losing an April match to Goiti Yamauchi.
Umalatov (16-0) has won seven fights in a row since joining PFL in 2021. He beat Andrey Koreshkov and Brennan Ward in this year’s welterweight regular season.
PFL also announced that Maxwell Djantou Nana and Shido Boris Esperanca are set to compete against yet-to-be-announced opponents on the preliminary portion of the card.
The two Canelo Álvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga press conferences set to take place today and tomorrow will stream live on the PBC YouTube Pageas Canelo Promotions presents a Mexican Independence Day weekend extravaganza taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas headlining a PBC Pay-Per-View event available on Prime Video.
Pound-for-pound great and Mexican superstar Canelo Álvarez and undefeated Puerto Rican knockout artist Edgar Berlanga will preview their upcoming showdown for Canelo’s unified WBC, WBA and WBO Super Middleweight World Titles at these press conferences.
The press conferences will also feature Cuban star and reigning WBA Middleweight World Champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara and hard-hitting two-division world champion and Puerto Rican star Danny “Swift” García ahead of their 12-round co-main event between two of this era’s most accomplished fighters.
TODAY! Monday, August 5 in New York beginning at
1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT
TOMORROW! Tuesday, August 6 in Los Angeles beginning at
The teams between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili have a history.
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) Bantamweight title has only belonged to two men since UFC 259 in March 2021. While the former champion, Aljamain Sterling, historically saw his title reign begin in controversy via a fourth round disqualification, it ended definitively. The latter came thanks to a second round technical knockout from O’Malley at UFC 292 in August 2023 (watch highlights).
Bad blood boiled over between O’Malley and Sterling during their build, dripping onto the top contender waiting in the wings, Dvalishvili. “The Machine” now gets his chance to take the strap from O’Malley when they collide at Noche UFC next month (Sat., Sept. 14, 2024). However, Dvalishvil, Sterling, and O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, have all gotten into verbal exchanges online in recent weeks, keeping the feud alive and well.
“Initially, I thought it was because I said we’re going to target his nose in an interview, which isn’t a lie,” Welch told Submission Radio (h/t MMA Fighting). “I mean, it’s not a lie. I’ve never really said fighting words to those guys. But then Merab tweeted out and said, ‘Next time I see you, I’m going to take care of it,’ or something. And it’s like, come on, brother. I haven’t trained martial arts my whole life for a little 5-foot-4 guy to try to punk me out. I’ve trained my whole life and I’m only 34 years old. I’m six foot, 195 pounds. It’s like, alright, alright, well, we’ll see what happens.
“But that’s that’s besides the point,” he continued. “This is a huge fight. We got the No. 1 contender versus the champion of the world. That fight is going to happen 100 percent. ‘Sugar Show’ versus Merab, and we’re preparing and we’re more dialed in than we’ve ever been because Merab does pose a serious, serious threat.”
Sterling will more than likely be in the corner for Dvalishvili’s big opportunity. Had the pair not been best friends and longtime teammates, they’d have battled it out as one of Sterling’s title defenses.
Despite successfully moving to Featherweight after his title loss, Sterling has admitted to “saltiness” on occasion towards O’Malley or about the loss. From Welch’s perspective, their recent and continued spats are only evidence that that still exists.
“I think they’re still bitter,” Welch said. “They let the little curly-haired, funny guy who makes all these videos, who has tattoos on his face — Sean flat-lined [Sterling]. Sean punched him and dropped bombs on him, forced him to turtle up. You’ve got this world championship on the line and you’re fighting the ‘Sugar Show,’ I’m glad you were thinking about fighting me and not the fight you are in.”
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