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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Ryan Garcia’s career is in the midst of a free fall.

Just about two months ago, Garcia shocked the world by upsetting Devin Haney (watch here), erasing the champion’s undefeated record and hurting him badly more than once. It was a stunning moment, particularly given Garcia’s erratic public behavior and apparent problems with substance abuse. After the win, Garcia claimed it was all an act to score the role of underdog.

Maybe not.

Shortly after the win, Garcia tested positive for Ostarine, a performance-enhancing drug (PED). After some deliberation, Garcia accepted a one-year suspension, and his career-best victory over Haney was overturned to a “No Contest.” It also cost Garcia over a million in fines and fees.

Now, Garcia finds himself in more trouble. His social media behavior has long been unpredictable, but in the clip above, Garcia can be heard using the N word and identifying with the Ku Klux Klan (H/T NYPost). Because of that rant and other racist remarks online, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has expelled Garcia from the WBC.

“Exercising my authority as president of the WBC,” Sulaiman wrote on social media. “I am hereby expelling Ryan Garcia from any activity with our organization. We reject any form of discrimination. I fear for Ryan well being as he has declined multiple attempts for our help with mental health and substance abuse.”

Afterward, Garcia wrote online that he was just “trolling,” but that didn’t stop him from arguing with random people online and continuing to use slurs.

Insomnia

Happy 4th!

Michael Page reacts to his competitive loss to Ian Garry:

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Dustin Poirier feels like the perfect fight for both men right now after their respective title fight losses.

James Vick has taken so much damage in the last few years, scary stuff.

Mark Hunt shares a document from his lawsuit against Brock Lesnar and the UFC:

Neil Magny is always taking on the baddest up-and-comers at 170 lbs. The greatest gatekeeper of all time?

Shocking that Denver isn’t overly excited about an Apex-level event.

Merab Dvalishvili and company are just doing what’s necessary to stay cool in this heat wave.

Apparently, Chael Sonnen’s Twitter account was hacked yesterday.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

A juicy stoppage win.

Hand trapping is growing more and more prevalent in MMA.

The agony of a well-placed body shot:

Random Land

Be careful out there!

Midnight Music: Folk, 1972

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Off the back of his latest exit from a high-profile return to the Octagon last month, Khamzat Chimaev should be avoided when it comes to promotion by the UFC – according to current middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis.

Forced from yet another slated return to action – this time in the form of his would-be main event debut for the promotion, Chimaev exited a UFC Saudi Arabia headliner with ex-champion, Robert Whittaker, through an apparent “violent illness”.

And plotting another return – this time at UFC 308 in October, Chimaev, who has been sidelined since the same month an annum prior, warned contenders and fans alike that he would show who the real “king” was when he eventually makes a comeback.

Khamzat Chimaev not in the title picture claims Dricus du Plessis

However, in his pursuit of a rebooked clash with fan-favorite, Whittaker, Chimaev has been labelled as a waste of time currently by du Plessis – who admitted he would also fight the Chechen, if he ever strung together a run of consistency.

“I’m feeling sorry for the guy (Khamzat Chimaev), I know what it feels like, I’ve been on that side of the are of not being able to fight and it sucks,” Dricus du Plessis told Submission Radio.”

“Right now, it just doesn’t even make sense to talk about it [a future fight],” Dricus du Plessis explained. “You know, he hasn’t fought one single ranked middelweight – not one, and to put him in that conversation right now, seems like we’re wasting time. He’s not in the run and up until [the time] he proves that he deserves to be in that run, there’s no use in talking about it.”

Himself returning at UFC 305 next month in a trip to Perth, undisputed middleweight champion, du Plessis will defend his middleweight crown against former two-time titleholder, Israel Adesanya in a heated battle ‘Downunder’. 

Do you agree with Dricus du Plessis’ assessment of the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev?

LowKickMMA.com

A recent trend in combat sports sees influencers asking intentionally provoking questions to professional fighters in order to stir up social media.

The latest example came during the press conference for Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal’s boxing match this Saturday where a streamer named “N3on” got hold of the mic.

He proceeded to ask Diaz whether he was going to retire when he gets knocked out on Saturday night, which obviously did not go down well with the Stockton fighter.

The streamer’s name may ring a bell for fight fans after he was prevented from attending UFC 296 in December last year following comments online about how he would confront Donald Trump at the event.

‘Big’ John McCarthy Says N3on Is Lucky Nate Diaz Didn’t Go Right At Him After Insulting Question

On a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, “Big” John McCarthy gave his reaction to the clip of N3on attempting to antagonise Diaz at the press conference.

Diaz did hold his own and repeatedly responded with expletives before his team appeared to pursue the streamer once the press conference had finished, as shown in the video below.

McCarthy expressed his dislike of this trend that keeps coming back around, expressing that N3on should be lucky that Diaz didn’t just decide to jump off the stage and handle it right then and there.

“Where is it that a guy that has never been in a fight in his life wants to be a smarta** with a guy who is a real fighter, he has to sit up there, he has to listen to your b******* and you want to sit there and say, ‘Are you gonna retire when you get knocked out this Saturday night?’

“It’s like, do you think maybe, do you think just maybe that’s a f****** douchebag thing to say to a guy that’s been through wars throughout his career and you’ve never done a f****** thing?”

McCarthy then continued, warning streamers like N3on who push their luck against real fighters that they may end up biting off more trouble than they can chew.

“It’s always these guys that they’ll never f****** do anything and they’ll sit there and say something like, ‘You’re gonna get knocked out, you gonna retire when you do’. It’s like, homebody, you’re lucky he doesn’t jump over that table and just drop kick you into the f****** third row and let your teeth become f****** chicklets.”

• Read More: Nate Diaz Doubles Down On Support For Conor McGregor Following UFC 303 Pullout: ‘Lost His Last Fight Because He Went In There Like A G & Was Hurt…’

Continue Reading ‘Big’ John McCarthy Slams Influencer Who Disrespected Nate Diaz At Press Conference: ‘Homeboy, You’re Lucky He Doesn’t Jump Over The Table…’ at MMA News.

MMA News

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Max Holloway doesn’t take lightly to being publicly called out.

Reigning UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria was in Madrid on Wednesday to promote his upcoming autobiographical documentary, Matador, and he took to the stage to answer a few questions. When asked why he is yet to book his first title defense after defeating Alexander Volkanovski to become champion this past February, Topuria put the onus on his potential opponents. Particularly Holloway.

“It’s not because of me,” Topuria said (translation from Spanish via ESPN MMA). “They called me to say that Max Holloway was having family issues, that he was having trouble cutting weight, and that he wanted to fight in a higher weight class. Honestly, I don’t know. I have no idea.”

Holloway reacted to the translated clip and wrote that Topuria “is just making things up.”

A bout between Topuria and Holloway emerged as a possibility following Holloway’s spectacular last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje in their “BMF” title fight at UFC 300 this past April. That bout was contested at 155 pounds, so the win instantly thrust Holloway into the lightweight title conversation, but the former featherweight champion remains a viable option to compete for 145-pound gold as well.

Since 2014, Holloway’s only losses at featherweight have occurred in a trilogy of fights with Volkanovski. Around those defeats, Holloway has knocked off several ranked opponents including Arnold Allen, Yair Rodriguez, and Calvin Kattar.

Topuria has previously mentioned wanting to face the future Hall of Famer and he made that clear again in his social media response to Holloway.

“Choose a date, choose the way you want me to beat you, and write it here,” Topuria wrote. “I am ready to turn off your lights whenever and wherever. Call [UFC CEO] Dana [White].”

Not long after, Holloway again responded, telling Topuria that he has been in talks with the UFC and then offered a tongue-in-cheek answer to Topuria, daring him to fight at Sphere in Las Vegas for UFC 306 on Sept. 14 and to use a rare submission hold to get the win.

“Since you said it,” Holloway wrote. “The Sphere, by toe hold. See you soon.”

Topuria is 15-0 in pro MMA, including a 7-0 record in the UFC. He has eight career submission victories, with his most recent being an arm-triangle choke of Bryce Mitchell at UFC 282 in December 2022.

The featherweight champion replied to Holloway, showing respect, while also suggesting that he’d like to be the first fighter to finish Holloway by knockout.

“God bless you brother,” Topuria wrote. “Nothing against you! But it brings me great joy to be the first to disconnect you. It seems so fun.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Li Jingliang will finally re-enter the octagon after a long recovery process to face surging welterweight Carlos Prates at UFC 305 on Aug. 17 in Perth, Australia. Multiple people with knowledge of the booking confirmed the news to MMA Fighting after a report from UFC partner Weibo.

Jingliang (19-8) hasn’t fought since September 2022, when he was pulled from a planned match versus Tony Ferguson to face Daniel Rodriguez instead, losing a controversial split decision. The Chinese talent was then slated to fight Michael Chiesa next in April 2023 but suffered a spine injury that kept him out of action since.

Prates (19-6) improved to 2-0 in the UFC with a knockout over Charles Radtke in June, pocketing Performance of the Night bonuses for both first-round finishes wins, and voiced his interest in competing in Perth next for the chance to visit his daughter, who lives in Australia.

UFC 305 airs live on pay-per-view with a championship showdown between middleweight king Dricus Du Plessis and ex-champion Israel Adesanya in the main event. The co-main event features one-time flyweight title contender Steve Erceg in a Australia vs, New Zealand battle against Kai Kara-France.

Damon Martin contributed to this report.

MMA Fighting – All Posts