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He’s not the problem, he’s the SOLUTION! And a fighting cock, according to his Puerto Rican fans.

Our little Jake Paul is all grown up.

The social media boxer is putting on his big boy pants and moving on from his “Problem Child” nickname, because it’s weird to refer to a 27 year-old man as a child. In addition, he’s proving to be the solution for many of society’s ills — at least in his own mind — and prefers to embrace the cock culture of Puerto Rico.

The stadium chants don’t lie!

“I’m not the ‘Problem Child’ anymore,” Paul told Pat McAfee. “My life coach was like ‘Yo, you’re not the Problem Child you’re actually the Solution Child. You’re also not a child, you’re the solution. You’re tryna fix all these problems in the world, tryna fix boxing, do all of these things, make boxing great again.’ All these things I do outside of the ring in terms of politics, whatever, I’m tryna make the world a better place.”

He certainly made it better for this off-clearance UFC fighter.

“The Puerto Rican people started calling me ‘El Gallo’ and chanting it in the stadiums there — which means the ‘fighting rooster’ for those who don’t have the translation,” Paul continued. “There’s a big fighting cock culture in Puerto Rico so it’s kinda like this thing of honor. So the name kinda just stuck and now it’s ‘El Gallo’ slash ‘Problem Child’ — I’ll still rep ‘Problem Child’ but I also like ‘El Gallo’ as well.”

And just like the “Rooster” lyrics, they ain’t found a way to kill him yet.

Former UFC welterweight Mike Perry, who still answers to “Platinum” as far as I know, will try his damndest when they hook ‘em up in the DAZN boxing pay-per-view (PPV) main event this Sat. night (July 20, 2024) at Amalie Arena in Tampa (stream it here). Beating “El Gallo” will no doubt put an end to Paul’s November return against Mike Tyson on Netflix.

To see who else is fighting on the “Fear No Man” card this weekend in Florida click here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dustin Poirier has a list of names.

At UFC 302, Poirier fell short in his bid to become lightweight champion, losing by fifth-round submission to Islam Makhachev. Following the bout, Poirier suggested it may have been his final fight in MMA, but in the past few weeks, “The Diamond” has walked that back, saying he still feels the urge to compete. And now it seems all but a forgone conclusion that Poirier will step back into the octagon at least once more.

“The shift needs to be internally for what the motivation for fighting is,” Poirier told Jon Anik and Kenny Florian on the Anik & Florian podcast. “Because if it’s not about the world title, why am I fighting? And after the Islam fight, when I got back home I thought, ‘Maybe this is it?’ A few weeks went by, injuries started hurting less and less post-fight, and I was like, ‘I’ve got to do this again.’ I’ve never lost two in a row. I can’t leave this sport on a loss.

“But at the same time, I want to be 100 percent in it if I’m going to do it again, because I don’t want to disrespect the sport. I honor this stuff. I do. I just want to do it right and get my hand raised and leave on my terms with a win. But that’s no guarantee. I could go back out there and somebody could whip my ass. That’s the thing.”

The biggest name tied to a possible Poirier return is Nate Diaz. Poirier and Diaz have a long history together, and with Diaz recently suggesting he might return to UFC, the matchup would make sense for the promotion. However, Poirier is skeptical that will happen.

“The thing with Diaz is — I’m in contact with the UFC behind the scenes about my next moves all the time,” Poirier said. “We talk when I want to fight again, how bad are my injuries, things like that. And the last time I brought his name up, they didn’t want to talk about him, they didn’t want to do business. A lot of fans don’t know, behind the scenes he’s such a struggle to deal with that I think they just don’t want to do it anymore.

“But if it came around, if that was something that was a reality, I 100 percent would take the fight right now, sign a contract today. And Nate knows that because I’ve done it a few times.”

So if Diaz isn’t likely, who might serve as Poirier’s possible retirement opponent?

It turns out, there are a few options.

Anik listed a number of possible matchups for the former interim lightweight champion, and Poirier confirmed his next (and likely final) fight will be someone from the that list.

“Do you believe that your next opponent will come out of this batch of names?” Anik asked. “Nate Diaz, Conor McGregor, Alexander Volkanovski, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira, and Colby Covington.”

“100 percent,” Poirier responded. “… For sure. If I do fight again and when I do fight again, it will be definitely one of those guys you just said.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

After signing with the PFL in May of 2023, there is still no news regarding when Francis Ngannou will be making his debut in the SmartCage.

Several factors have led to this postponement like the success he had against Tyson Fury in boxing and the tragic loss of his son earlier this year.

The one big development regarding his career in the PFL was the recent announcement that PFL Africa will launch in the second quarter of 2025, with the former UFC heavyweight champion acting as the Chairman.

This was a crucial aspect in his decision to sign with the promotion following his UFC departure but Randy Couture believes it may have been even more significant regarding his future in the PFL.

Randy Couture Says Francis Ngannou’s PFL Africa Role Has Been Crucial To His Continued Involvement

In a recent interview with InsideFighting, PFL commentator Randy Couture said that the confirmation of PFL Africa could have helped to keep Ngannou with the promotion.

The former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion stated that he believes that Ngannou may have felt at odds with the promotion after the PFL vs Bellator Champions event earlier this year.

When Renan Ferreira stopped Ryan Bader in the main event, the PFL looked to set up the Brazilian as their big-money signing’s debut opponent in the SmartCage but Ngannou didn’t seem overly enthused by the idea.

Couture says that it can’t be underestimated how much this role as Chairman of PFL Africa means to Ngannou because of his want to give back to others who come from similar backgrounds.

“I think there’s been a little blip after the boxing and Fury and then losing in the next one and they were pushing him to say, ‘Yes I want to take on Renan Ferreira,’ the winner of this champions vs champions and Francis was there at cage side and I think that rubbed Francis the wrong way a little bit.

“But, at the end of the day, this opportunity to be the Chairman for PFL Africa is what kept him there [at PFL] and I think it means a lot to him. As much as him continuing to develop his legacy and establish himself as one of the best heavyweight mixed martial artists in the world and certainly an amazing boxer at this stage of things too, I think this chairmanship in Africa means a lot to him and he wants to do something special for his countrymen.”

Read also: UFC Commentator: ‘I Consider There To Be Two Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champions Right Now’

Continue Reading Randy Couture On Why Francis Ngannou Was ‘Rubbed The Wrong Way’ By PFL: ‘There’s Been A Little Blip After The Boxing’ at MMA News.

MMA News

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler seemed to be on the same page this past weekend in regards to the rebooking of their matchup, but UFC CEO Dana White says he hopes it can happen before the end of the year. Will we see the fight happen before the calendar shifts to 2025? Will it happen at all at this point?

On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck reacts to White’s comments about the fight on Monday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show, if December makes the most sense, and White giving more details about UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas. Additionally, topics include Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, how Tom Aspinall should handle his interim title reign moving forward if he beats Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304, Tracy Cortez’s ceiling after her UFC Denver main event loss to Rose Namajunas, Nate Diaz’s lawsuit against Fanmio, and much more.

You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on the MMA Fighting Twitter Spaces.

If you miss it live, audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Mike Tyson is reportedly doing well on his comeback trail.

And Jake Paul is not happy about it.

“He’s doing great — and Jake is pissed,” Paul’s advisor and promotional partner Nakisa Bidarian said on The MMA Hour, “because he sees Mike in Europe, living life, doing appearances, celebrating his birthday, and he’s like, ‘What? I thought he was injured. Like, what’s going on?’

“I talked to Team Tyson yesterday. They said he’s back, not doing boxing training, but doing strength and conditioning, feels great. So everything looks to be on track. But first, we’ve got to get through Saturday, July 20.”

Tyson withdrew from his scheduled big-money boxing match against Paul in May after the Hall of Fame boxer suffered health complications related to an ulcer flare-up.

In Tyson’s stead, Paul is now set to face UFC veteran and BKFC star Mike Perry in a July 20 boxing match at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

Paul vs. Tyson remains on the menu, though. The bout between the 27-year-old social media star and the 57-year-old former heavyweight champ has been rescheduled for November 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., much to the chagrin of critics who argue Tyson’s health issues only inflame concerns that the fight is an irresponsible and dangerous booking.

Bidarian sees the whole debate over Tyson’s health and age as much ado about nothing.

“Anyone can get an ulcer, right? And injuries, as I just said, look at Conor McGregor — 36 years old, he’s been rehabbing for three years, the fight gets postponed,” Bidarian said. “Mike Tyson and Jake Paul makes sense because of the age, from my perspective. If Mike was in his early 30s, given Jake’s experience, there’s no sense to that fight. Age is the equalizing factor. When you look at Mike Tyson at age 27, he was 40-1. Jake Paul is 27, he’s 9-1. Jake Paul has been a professional for four years. Mike Tyson at that point was a professional for I think 14 years.

“So what makes this fight exciting, what makes it real, is that there is a chance that either guy can lose. And if you actually talk to the vast majority of the public, if you look at the polls we’ve done, everyone thinks that Mike Tyson is going to knock out Jake Paul. So I think as long as he has a clean bill of health, which he did and he 100 percent will if we move forward with November 15, which we plan to, then of course that fight should happen.”

“We went through the process of his full medicals and making sure his doctors gave him the clearances, and then working with the commission to get to that point as well,” Bidarian later added. “So we felt comfortable. The rules are obviously eight rounds, two minutes, and those two minutes are really to give Mike the chance to be as powerful and impactful as he can. Because look, power doesn’t go, but certainly stamina goes when you get older. That’s that’s clear, right? So it’s, how do you equalize the playing field in all regards?”

In many ways, the financial and cultural significance of Paul vs. Tyson puts even more pressure on Paul to handle business against Perry on July 20. In addition to the mainstream attention Paul vs. Tyson is going to draw, it also represents the inaugural foray for Netflix’s entry into live combat sports. Bidarian hopes the streaming giant likes what it sees.

“We want to be in business together for the long-term,” Bidarian said. “But obviously, if I’m Netflix, I would say, ‘Let me do this first one, see how it performs, and then go from there.’”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall returns to the cage on July 27 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England against 4th ranked Curtis Blaydes.  The heavyweight match will serve as the UFC 304 co-main event.  

Aspinall will be defending the interim title before heavyweight champion Jon Jones defends his belt.  Jones has been sidelined since tearing a pectoral tendon while training to face former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic last November.  Potentially further setting back Jones’ return is a recent finger injury.  He tweeted, “Getting half my finger cutoff at the Los Angeles Airport,” on Saturday.  The post has since been deleted.  

Despite a stall at the top of the division, Aspinall believes it’s a great time to be a fan of heavyweights.  

“The heavyweight division is on a revival right now,” Aspinall told The MMA Hour.  “We’ve got Jon Jones.  Who knows what he’s going to do but he’s going to be active again soon, hopefully.  We’ve got Alex Pereira potentially moving up.  We’ve got [Alexander] Volkov who’s on a resurgence.  We’ve got Ciryl Gane knocking around.  We’ve got Curtis Blaydes.  We’ve got [Sergei] Pavlovich still in the mix.  

“We’ve got all kinds of guys and there’s probably a few that I have not even mentioned.  We’ve got [Jailton] Almeida.  There’s so many top level heavyweights and these next five to ten years are going to be absolutely incredible at heavyweight.  What a time to be involved in heavyweight MMA.” 

The heavyweight division is deeper than it has been in a long time.  Jones and Aspinall sit at the top of the weight class with the championship and interim title, but only one can be the best heavyweight in the world.  Aspinall believes it’s ‘by far’ him.     

“I truly believe skill for skill I’m the best heavyweight in the world by far.  By far.  Nobody comes close to me,” Aspinall said.  “Does that mean I’m going to win every fight?  No.  It doesn’t at all.  This is heavyweight MMA.  It’s literally a flip of the coin.  Anybody can win at any time.” 

“But I’m all in.  I’m absolutely all in, 100 percent on being the best heavyweight that I can possibly be,” Aspinall continued.    

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