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Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal appears have to been a financial disaster.

Five years removed from their BMF title clash under the UFC banner, Diaz and Masvidal ran it back inside the squared circle on July 6 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Their 10-round scrap was an entertaining affair that ultimately saw the ‘Stockton Samurai’ score a majority decision victory over Masvidal.

Unfortunately, nobody paid to see it.

“It did horrible on pay-per-view, it did TNA numbers,” Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reported. “I’m not exaggerating. I knew it would not do well, but I was absolutely stunned how poorly it did. Nobody bought the fight. People are sick of seeing MMA fighters boxing” (h/t BJPenn.com).

For reference, TNA wrestling’s PPV numbers range anywhere from 5,000 to 60,000. If those numbers prove to be true, it’s safe to say that Fanmio’s venture into combat sports pay-per-view is an unmitigated disaster.

Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal scored a solid $ 1.25 million gate in Anaheim

It wasn’t all bad news for Fanmio as the event hosted a sell-out crown of 18,040 per a post-fight press release, generating a solid $ 1.25 million gate according to the California State Athletic Commission.

Unfortunately, that’s not going to be anywhere close to what they allegedly promised to pay Nate Diaz for his participation in the evening’s headliner.

Less than two weeks removed from the fight, Diaz filed a lawsuit against Fanmio and CEO Solomon Engel for fraud and breach of contract, claiming that he is still owed 90% of a promised $ 10 million purse.

Engel has since released a statement responding to the allegations and Diaz’s lawsuit.

As of this writing, official pay-per-view numbers for the event have not been released to the public.

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Zhilei Zhang believes Anthony Joshua is ducking him.

In 2012, Zhang and Joshua met in the quarterfinals of the Olympics, where Joshua won a decision en route to taking home the gold medal. Since then, Zhang has been interested in running things back in the professional ranks, but even after his stoppage win over Deontay Wilder in June, “Big Bang” thinks he’s unlikely to ever get a chance to avenge that loss.

“Mark my words, he’s not fighting me,” Zhang said Wednesday on The MMA Hour through a translator. “He’s not going to fight me, ever. Because after the 2012 Olympic Games, that was when we initially collided. After that, it’s been so many years. I was with Matchroom [Boxing] and I know what happened. I don’t think he’s ever going to fight me. My managers flew to London and I got words. So I don’t think he’s going to fight me.

“Look at his previous opponents. Francis Ngannou from the UFC, Robert Helenius — I don’t think he has what it takes to stand up against me. The way he picks his opponents says a lot about him.”

Following their bout at the Olympics, both men went on turn amass impressive professional records, with Zhang claiming the interim WBO heavyweight belt and Joshua becoming a two-time unified heavyweight champion. For years, Joshua appeared to be the next big thing in boxing and Zhang says his promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, protected that investment.

“Neither does Eddie. They don’t want it,” Zhang said. “He’s a cash cow for Eddie.

“The closest time we had to getting the deal done was after AJ lost to Usyk and I lost to Filip Hrgovic in Saudi Arabia. My managers got an invitation, flew to London to talk to them, and got a no.

“I don’t know why. I don’t have a reason. That’s his problem. But if he ever wants to fight, I’m in.”

Despite his many accomplishments, Joshua also faced harsh criticism over much of the past several years. After suffering a stunning upset defeat to Andy Ruiz in 2019, Joshua became a more tentative fighter, delivering tepid performances in many of his next bouts. However, since losing back-to-back fights to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua appears to be back to top form, stringing together four straight wins, three by stoppage. But Zhang says he can’t be sure whether Joshua is “back” or if he’s simply being fighting overmatched competition.

“Maybe people say he’s back,” Zhang said. “He knocked out Ngannou in two rounds, he beat Robert Helenius, knocked him out, and he beat Jermaine Franklin, Otto Wallin. I can’t say he’s back until I meet him in the ring and test him with my fists.”

Unfortunately for Zhang, that doesn’t appear to be on the horizon anytime soon. Joshua fights Daniel Dubois in September for the IBF heavyweight title, and should he win, that most likely sets up an undisputed heavyweight title fight with the winner of the Usyk vs. Tyson Fury rematch, which takes place sometime later this year.

So with Joshua not on the menu for the moment, Zhang hopes for a shot at a different kind of redemption: Avenging his majority decision loss to Joseph Parker from March.

“I’m looking at the top-ranked guys,” Zhang said. “Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are definitely ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world, and I’m looking to fight them, for sure. If you go down the rankings, Agit Kabayel is highly ranked, so that could be on my radar as well. [Or] Parker. Rematch.”

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TAMPA — Jake Paul is still interested in a rematch against Nate Diaz under MMA rules, but that offer may be a little less enticing now that Diaz is embroiled in his own legal melee.

Diaz filed a lawsuit against Fanmio on Monday alleging that the promotional company owes him $ 9 million from his recent boxing match against Jorge Masvidal. Diaz opted to box Masvidal despite Paul and PFL founder Donn Davis making very public $ 15 million offers to Diaz for an MMA rematch between the former UFC superstar and Paul in the PFL cage.

Now that Diaz’s payday against Masvidal appears to have far different than what was advertised, Paul can’t help but chuckle at Diaz’s decision-making process.

“I think Nate Diaz and the Masvidal lawsuit just shows how dumb these people are,” Paul said Wednesday at open workouts for Paul’s bout against BKFC star Mike Perry. “This is not an easy business. Boxing is not easy. It’s not easy to sell pay-per-views. If someone’s giving you a big guarantee, it’s most likely fraudulent. And Nate Diaz should’ve taken my $ 15 million MMA offer, but yesterday’s price is not today’s price. So now that he needs the money, the offer goes down. And I’m still down to run it in the PFL against Nate Diaz.”

Paul previously defeated Diaz in an August 2023 boxing match, earning a one-sided unanimous decision over the MMA star in a fight that served as Diaz’s pro boxing debut.

In January 2023, Paul and PFL announced a partnership for any future MMA bouts of Paul’s to take place under PFL’s promotional banner. Paul remains committed to boxing first and foremost — he’s already expected to face heavyweight legend Mike Tyson on November 15 after his business with Perry is completed on Saturday — but the 27-year-old reiterated his desire to eventually make his MMA debut in PFL. He just needs the right dance partner.

“I think I’ll make the transition into MMA when the opponent — or an opponent — wants to sign a contract. Somebody that I’m interested in fighting for my first MMA fight,” Paul said. “And that’s a name like Nate Diaz, I would be interested in fighting Mike Perry. But I want to do MMA. I love it. I have a wrestling background and I think it’d be really exciting.”

Watch Paul’s entire open workout scrum above.

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UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones appeared virtually in court in New Mexico on Wednesday and entered a not guilty plea to misdemeanor charges stemming from an alleged incident with drug testing agents in March.  

Jones, along with his lawyer Christopher Dodd, appeared at the virtual hearing in front of Judge Brittany Maldonado Malott.  Jones’ charges include a petty misdemeanor for assault and a misdemeanor for interference with communications.

Jones will next appear in court on Aug. 22 for a bench trial.  The charges stem from a visit to his residence by two Drug Free Sport agents to collect a sample as part of the UFC anti-doping policy. One of the agents, Crystal Martinez, alleges that Jones grew “agitated” after failing to be able to provide a urine sample and was given the option of providing a blood sample instead.  

She also claimed Jones took her phone and began recording the agents.  The incident left Martinez “terrified,” she told police.  Jones has denied the account provided by Martinez.  In April, he released a statement giving his account of what occurred.  

“I was recently visited by testers while I was celebrating a birthday and taking a nap. Upon waking up, I was caught off guard by the unprofessionalism and protocol by one of the testers which caused frustration, leading me to use some profanity [that] I regret.”

“However, I want to emphasize that at no point did I threaten, get in anyone’s face, raise my voice to anyone, or engage in any form of assault,” Jones wrote on social media.  

Hello everyone,
I wanted to address some misinformation that has been circulating this morning . I woke up to false reports that I had been arrested . I have not been arrested. In fact, I am currently in Texas with my daughters at a volleyball tournament.

I must admit, it's…

— BONY (@JonnyBones) April 7, 2024

Jones is expected to make his return to the octagon in November against former two-time campion Stipe Miocic.  While preparing to face Miocic last November, Jones tore a pectoral tendon that sidelined the all-time great.

Jones returned after three years away from competition in March 2023 to fight for the heavyweight championship against former interim titleholder Ciryl Gane.  Jones defeated Gane to become a two-division UFC champion adding to his already Hall of Fame resume.  The expected match against Miocic will be Jones’ first title defense.      

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Mike Perry is arguably going to be Jake Paul’s toughest boxing match yet.

The gloves are going back on for “Platinum” after becoming a bare-knuckle boxing (BKB) superstar in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). Perry, 32, will, in a way, enter to save the day for what was originally supposed to be the spectacle Paul vs. Mike Tyson match in AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Paul vs. Tyson will still happen. It’s just been pushed back to November 2024. In the meantime, Paul and Perry had their open workouts during fight week today (Weds., July 17, 2024). In an advertisement for Paul’s recently released fragrance brand, W, a mascot entered the ring during Perry’s appearance and it didn’t result ideally. Afterward, Perry showed off some unique jewelry that displayed Paul’s head getting punched. It can be seen in the embedded player above.

“I’ve earned this shot to be here and I’m ready to beat [Paul] and showcase my talents to the world,” Perry said. “I’m ready for it and I’m excited to get in the ring and punch on Jake and make him feel the pain of the hood, bro.”

Paul will be Perry’s first opponent in a traditional professional boxing match since he took on Kenneth McNeil in March 2015. Unfortunately for Perry, McNeil knocked him out in round four. “Platinum” has only been finished once by strikes in his 26 mixed martial arts (MMA) or BKB fights (14-8 in MMA overall, 6-0 in BKB) that followed.

If Paul defeats Perry, he’ll extend his winning streak to four (9-1).

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

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TAMPA — Mike Perry is making his presence felt ahead of his fight against Jake Paul.

Perry made sure of that on Wednesday at the Paul vs. Perry open workouts when he knocked over Paul’s mascot and ignited a minor stir after the mascot approached the BKFC star with a thumbs down during Perry’s in-ring interview. The entire scene can be watched above and appeared to be in good fun.

The mascot ultimately escaped with the help of security, although afterward Perry refused to say whether the situation was a work or a shoot.

“Man, I’m here for the W. I’m taking all the Ws all week long. You can’t get up in my face and talk that shit like these boys on social media,” a fired up Perry said. “This is real life. When I’m really in your face, I treat you like that.

“Bro, don’t get up in my face talking that mess. I’m here for the Ws, I’m taking home the money, I’m taking home the wins, and I’m taking home Jake’s head. Let’s go.”

Paul faces Perry in an eight-round boxing Saturday at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

Perry’s full open workout scrum can be watched below.

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