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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Just a week or so after a failed assassination attempt on Jake Paul’s boxing life, “The Problem Child” has avoided another major trap at the hands of his enemies.

During a recent appearance on the Full Send Podcast, Paul was forced to answer some difficult questions from the Nelk Boys about fighter pay. It felt like a bit of a setup: the Nelk Boys are famously (and controversially) buddy-buddy with UFC CEO Dana White, who Paul has been feuding with since the inception of his combat sports career. First, Paul was asked about the fight purses on his own boxing undercards and how those match ups are booked.

He explained, “It’s pretty difficult. We have so many requests, so many fights. Mostly, we want to help young prospects, we want big names, then we want crossover fights like Uriah Hall vs. [Julio Cesar Chavez Jr] … We pay people the most they’ve ever gotten paid pretty much every card. It depends who or what their name is, but it could range anywhere from 40,000 to 1.5 million.”

The Nelk Boys response was to question why there wasn’t an opportunity for bonus pay, like the UFC fighter bonuses. Paul’s response was that he doesn’t have the funds of UFC and Dana White, and pointed out his issue with the multi-billion dollar company’s percentage of revenue that goes to the athletes.

He continued, “We’re not a $ 6 billion company. That’s my gripe with it is the UFC is making billions and billions of dollars, but still only paying the fighters 12% of the income.”

The debate shifted a bit from there, as Nelk Boys weighed the value of the UFC’s more consistent opportunity against the larger dollar figure. Paul mentioned that he also signs athletes to multi-fight contracts and pointed to Amanda Serrano as an example, but he’s certainly employing fewer athletes for fewer fights than the world’s biggest MMA promotion.

Insomnia

This accurate description of Deiveson Figueiredo made me chuckle.

I expect Kyler Phillips rise to continue with this match up.

Guram Kutateladze has trouble stringing UFC wins together, but the guy consistently does cool things inside the Octagon. It’s easy to be a fan!

Marvin Vettori vs. Shara Magomedov has been discussed previously, and the Italian still wants the fight.

I like this post-UFC Abu Dhabi fan booking quite a bit. The two biggest Lightweights collide!

Payton Talbott has now hung out with Tony Hawke and Frank Ocean — rocket ship to stardom confirmed?

A nice breakdown of Umar Nurmagomedov’s kickboxing success against Cory Sandhagen:

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Heel to the chin! Can a spin kick land any cleaner?

Same side head kick claims another victim, but the celebration might be the most notable part of this win.

This brutally one-sided fight makes for a rather good couple summer for the Rosas brothers!

Random Land

Unique bridges.

Midnight Music: Folk rock, 1974

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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.

“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.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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.

“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.

LowKickMMA.com

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.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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.

“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.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts