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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

ONE Championship has long maintained a close working relationship with the Lee family, with siblings Angela Lee and Christian Lee both winning titles in the promotion after debuting as teenagers. The latest family member to join the ONE roster is 18-year-old Adrian Lee, who made a successful debut with a submission win in June.

But his addition to the roster came after careful consideration by ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong, who had reservations following the tragedy that occurred with Victoria Lee.

Much like her siblings before her, Victoria fought in ONE while she was still a teenager and quickly put together a 3-0 start to her career. Sadly, Victoria died in December 2022, with her sister Angela later revealing that Victoria took her own life in a tragic suicide.

So when Adrian Lee sought to follow in the footsteps of his brother and sisters, Sityodtong signed him only with an abundance of caution.

“I was very cautious about Adrian, although he’s supposed to be the best in the family from what Angela and Christian have told me,” Sityodtong told MMA Fighting. “He’s the best by far in terms of when they were 17 compared to his skills at 17 years old. Of course, he has the benefit of having two older siblings that are world champions who have gone through that path. Both on the athletic side, but also the marketing side with the pressures, the fame and the fortune, all of that stuff.

“But at the same time, I was still very cautious, because [of] Victoria Lee. Growing up, Angela and Christian were very close, and then there’s a several year age gap, and then it was Victoria and Adrian were very close. So it was two [of them with Angela and Christian] then several years later, another two [with Adrian and Victoria]. Adrian was super close to Victoria. I was very cautious and worried because it’s a very hard thing to follow in the footsteps of older siblings and then also a tragedy.”

As a promoter, Sityodtong works with hundreds of fighters, but even he can’t deny the close relationship he’s forged with the Lee family after spending so many years with them.

Victoria’s death hit everybody hard ,and there was a time when Sityodtong was convinced both Angela and Christian would walk away from fighting forever.

“Without a doubt, the Lee family is an extraordinary family,” Sityodtong said. “Incredible human beings. I love Ken, the patriarch, and Jewel as their mother, and Angela and Christian and Victoria and Adrian.

“When Victoria Lee passed away, it was an unspeakable tragedy. I wasn’t sure they would ever fight again, to be frank, and Angela did end up retiring and doing something in honor of her sister, something much bigger. Now she has her non-profit foundation focused on mental health and helping folks who may be going through difficult times. Christian and I have had several talks, I flew to Hawaii to visit the family and visited Victoria’s resting place. I wasn’t sure if Christian was going to come back, and then one day I got a call from Christian saying, ‘No, Chatri, I want to come back, I just need to get in shape.’”

While Angela surrendered her title and retired, Christian still holds both the ONE welterweight and lightweight titles after Sityodtong promised he would give the 26-year-old fighter whatever time he needed to grieve and recover from the death in his family.

It appears that hiatus is nearing an end, with Sityodtong revealing that Christian would’ve already fought in 2024 but wanted to put full focus onto his brother Adrian’s debut before returning to the cage himself.

“So Christian would have been ready and was ready to fight in June,” Sityodtong said. “But what an incredible older brother, he wanted to make sure he was able to be there 1000 percent for Adrian as a training partner, a coach, and a brother for his fight. He didn’t want to be in camp or focused on his own fight.

“Last year, Christian was having a baby, his second born, so he didn’t want to fight [around then]. So at certain points, he was ready to fight, but I wanted Christian to have the runway and the peace of mind that they weren’t going to get stripped or any of that kind of stuff. They could focus on healing and taking care of their families. I think it was the right thing to do. That being said, Christian is coming back and he will be very active once he’s back. I think the division will start to get a lot of the limelight.

Christian is now officially set to return on Nov. 8, with a lightweight title defense booked at ONE 169 in Atlanta.

As for Adrian, his career got off to a good start with a second-round submission in his pro debut. His second fight is already booked for ONE 167 in Denver in September.

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Conor McGregor became the part-owner of BKFC earlier this year, but he has his sights set on more than just the business side of the sport.

‘The Notorious’ remains sidelined due to an injury he sustained leading into his scheduled return at UFC 303. While he has hopes of making his comeback later this year, the Irishman is still looking toward his UFC exit once his contract expires.

During a BKFC press conference in Marbella, Spain earlier today, Conor McGregor made an appearance. McGregor expressed his belief in the product and shared his ambitions with those in attendance.

“Any real true fighter inside of them knows that to have a bare-knuckle fighting world championship is a real feather in the cap,” McGregor said at the BKFC Spain press conference.

“I don’t just back the product, I back the people behind the product and Dave Feldman has done a tremendous job, a stellar job…”

“This is a sport on the rise and with my backing, I’m confident I can strap it to a rocket ship and send it right to the moon.”

“Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is number one in this space, there is no one on this level with us. We are separate from any other entity in combat sports, and that is a beautiful, beautiful place to be in this time.”

McGregor then urged fighters to test themselves in the BKFC ring in hopes of becoming a star, similar to Mike Perry’s rise.

“We do not want to see mixed martial artists go from one mixed martial arts organization to another organization, we’ve seen it.”

“We wish for them to take their chances. Come and try it here at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Make a new name for yourself.”

“Look at what’s happened to Michael Perry. One of our big stars here. ‘The King of Violence’ he titles himself. He’s had such a rise in the sport, now he’s up against a little dweeb of a thing this weekend. We’re all rooting for him.”

Related: Michael Chandler wants Nate Diaz as Conor McGregor replacement

Conor McGregor later revealed his shock plan. Once his contract with the UFC comes to an end, McGregor expressed an interest in competing inside the BKFC ring.

“For me, I have a bit of business left with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, two fights left on my contract.”

“But for sure, we’ve got three lightweights up here on the deis, and you know, I have my eye on all of these.”

“I’m not up here just as an owner. Player/manager I will title myself on this one.”

Watch Conor McGregor talk all things BKFC below.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Cody Garbrandt looks to bounce back this fall.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that the former UFC bantamweight champion is expected to face Miles Johns at a UFC Fight Night event on Oct. 12. The card is expected to take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Eurosport was first to report the booking.

After going 2-0 in 2023 with wins over Trevin Jones and Brian Kelleher, Garbrandt competed at UFC 300 in April against former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo. “No Love” was submitted in the second round by Figueiredo, putting a halt to Garbrandt’s two-fight win streak. After winning the title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 207 in December 2016, Garbrandt is 3-6 in his past nine outings.

Johns is unbeaten in his past four octagon appearances, which includes a unanimous decision victory against Douglas Silva de Andrade at April’s UFC Vegas 93 event.

Damon Martin contributed to this report.

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Middleweight move?
| BJPenn.com

YouTube boxer Jake Paul and bareknuckle bruiser Mike Perry came face-to-face earlier today at the conclusion of the “Fear No Man” press conference (watch the replay here). “El Gallo” battles “Platinum” on DAZN pay-per-view (PPV) this Sat. night (July 20, 2024) from inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

To live stream this weekend’s Paul vs. Perry card click HERE.

“I see a lot of people saying, ‘Mike’s the toughest guy on the planet; this is Jake’s biggest challenge yet’. Yo, you’re fools,” Logan Paul, Jake’s brother, told his Instagram followers. “You are fools if you think Mike Perry stands a chance against Jake Paul.”

Paul is 9-1 as a pro boxer with six knockouts, whereas Perry was stopped in his one and only boxing match back in 2015. A lot has changed since then, with “Platinum” establishing himself as one of the most feared fighters in the world of bareknuckle boxing. How that success transitions to the “sweet science” remains to be seen.

Here’s the co-main event face off between Amanda Serrano and Stevie Morgan:

Paul vs. Perry “Fear No Man” PPV costs $ 64.99 (more on that here).

“The face-to-face was hilarious, very entertaining to say the least,” Paul said on MVP Uncut. “It’s just like every time I sit face-to-face with my opponents, they don’t know what’s coming, they’re out of their comfort zone. They think everything is sweet, and then they get into the ring, get hit with the first jab, and then, it’s over for them shortly. Everything we’ve done, all the prank calls, all that s**t, I can tell it’s bothering him.”

Paul vs. Perry will be contested across eight, three-minute rounds.

For the rest of the “Fear No Man” fight card and DAZN PPV lineup click here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jake Paul has no love lost for Conor McGregor but especially not after the Irish superstar insulted him during a BKFC press conference on Thursday.

After becoming a part owner in the bare-knuckle fighting promotion, McGregor touted his support for Mike Perry ahead of his fight against Paul, who he referred to as “a little dweeb.” In response, Paul first decided to fire shots at Perry and bare-knuckle fighters in general before eventually turning his attention to McGregor.

“First of all, he’s big upping the BKFC but you’re going to see what I did to their best fighter on Saturday night,” Paul said during the pre-fight press conference. “I’m going to embarrass their whole entire league.

“This guy has no skill. Those are just brawler, idiot, street fighter dudes who have no idea what the sweet science is. Conor McGregor can say what he wants but he won’t fight me either.”

Funny enough, Paul actually teased a potential crossover into bare-knuckle fighting for a rematch against Perry after they meet in the boxing ring. Of course, Perry scoffed at the idea that Paul would actually risk stepping into the ring against him without gloves on.

As far as McGregor goes, Paul spent years calling for a fight against the Irish superstar but nothing ever materialized, largely because the former two-division champion remains under contract with the UFC.

It seems unlikely Paul gets the answer he wants this time around either but he still suggested an eventual showdown against McGregor in the boxing ring.

“Once I knock out Mike Perry, Conor McGregor let’s run it but you won’t do it because you know what’s going to happen,” Paul said. You saw what I did to Nate Diaz, who you went toe-to-toe with.

“So Conor McGregor, lay off the cocaine, get in the gym and start winning fights and then maybe we can have a conversation.”

Despite McGregor now owning a piece of BKFC, Perry didn’t exactly embrace the comments either, although he definitely defended bare-knuckle fighters from Paul’s jabs at them.

During the BKFC press conference, McGregor called Perry “one of our big stars here, the King of Violence he titles himself.” Perry was quick to remind McGregor that his “King of Violence” title was bestowed upon him by BKFC after he finished ex-UFC champion Eddie Alvarez.

He also touted himself as a co-owner of BKFC before McGregor ever arrived on the scene.

“He’s a disrespectful punk,” Perry said about Paul. “Those men and women fight for their families over there. They put it all on the line and they get in that ring and they put on shows for the fans.

“Conor said my name was self-proclaimed but they gave me the title of ‘King of Violence’ and my tequila is going to be better than his whiskey when that comes out. That was the drop of my brand that’s coming out soon is the platinum tequila. And I was an owner first in that company!”

The war of words between Paul and Perry likely comes to an end for now — outside of jawing at each other at the weigh-ins on Friday ­— but otherwise these two now gear up for the fight on Saturday night from Tampa.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

It would appear that UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis’ entire team has been reaping the benefits of his title crowning.

Du Plessis completed his rise to glory in mixed martial arts’ premier promotion as an undefeated fighter inside the Octagon this past January in Canada, where he headlined the UFC 297 pay-per-view in competition for Sean Strickland’s belt.

The pair went the distance in a competitive and back-and-forth affair, which “Stillknocks” ultimately won by way of split decision, extending his promotional record to 7-0 and ascending him to the middleweight mountaintop.

In addition to achieving his own title ambitions, Du Plessis became the first South African to bring UFC gold back to his nation. And that fact has evidently encouraged his teammates to raise their game now that they have the chance to share a gym with the 185-pound kingpin…

Du Plessis: Team CIT Has Found ‘Another Level’ After UFC Title Win

During an interview with Fox West Texas, Du Plessis spoke about how he’s been enjoying life as a champion thus far.

After noting that his crowning in Toronto earlier this year has only increased his personal drive for more success on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage, “Stillknocks” pointed to the positive impact it’s also had on his team as a whole.

“It’s been great. It’s been everything that I expected, everything that I hoped for, and better,” Du Plessis said. “And training-wise, once I got that belt, I got a fire under me. A lot of people might think once you win that belt, you lose some of that hunger. I always said it, becoming UFC champion is not my end goal, not at all. … There’s a new hunger. There’s that championship hunger because now I’m defending my throne, and I’ll do anything to defend that throne.

“In training, the team, everybody’s stepped it up because now they’re going up against the world champion. Everybody wants to land a shot on the world champion,” Du Plessis continued. “If you can give the world champ a hard time, you’re not far off getting that big shot. My team’s amazing. The coaches, everybody’s stepped it up. Everybody realized, we are now world champions and we should behave as such when it comes to training, recovering. … Just another level.”

Du Plessis will look to spur Team CIT on to an even higher level by successfully defending his place on the middleweight throne at the expense of Israel Adesanya next month inside Perth’s RAC Arena, which plays host to the UFC 305 PPV.

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• Read More: Dricus Du Plessis On ’10-8′ Trash Talk Win Over Israel Adesanya, Post-UFC 305 Prediction

Continue Reading Dricus Du Plessis On How UFC Title Win Has Improved His Team: ‘Everybody Wants To Land A Shot On The World Champion’  at MMA News.

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