Ryan Garcia says he’s serious about retirement and testing the waters in MMA.
This past Thursday, Garcia accepted a 1-year suspension from the New York State Athletic Commission following a failed drug test for his April 20 bout against Devin Haney. As part of the settlement, Garcia’s win was overturned to a No-Contest and he forfeited his $ 1.1 million fight purse. In response, Garcia went on an emotional tirade on social media, saying he never took performance enhancing drugs, he was retiring from boxing, and even with some time to cool down, the 25-year-old star is sticking to it.
“I’m retiring for a year,” Garcia told TMZ Sports. “So they don’t get the [satisfaction] for suspending me cause it’s bull. I never took steroids in my life. They can all suck weiners.”
Garcia also originally teased the possibility of fighting in the UFC, but “satisfaction” or not, he’s still suspended for a year, meaning that even if he were to move to MMA, “King Ryan” would still be forced to adhere to the NYSAC ruling. Nonetheless, Garcia says maintains he’s serious about possibly branching out beyond boxing.
“I like ‘Suga’ Sean [O’Malley] cause he defended me,” Garcia said. “But if he really wants to run it in the UFC, I’ll run it. Or bare knuckle. Shit, I’m ready to fight anyone at this point.”
Over the past year, both Garcia and O’Malley have hinted at a possible matchup, with Garcia even contending he’d be happy to do so under MMA rules.
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Ikram Aliskerov | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Ikram Aliskerov has no regrets.
This past Saturday, Aliskerov stepped in on short notice to face Robert Whittaker in the main event of the UFC’s debut event in Saudi Arabia. Originally set to face Antonio Trocoli a week earlier at UFC Vegas 93, it was a big risk for Aliskerov, and it didn’t go well. Whittaker demolished the Dagestani fighter, finishing Aliskerov in under two minutes with a brutal knockout.
But despite how things turned out, Aliskerov says he has no regrets about stepping up.
Alhamdulilla, no excuses. I don’t regret anything. It was a big experience against one of the best in the sport. I’m young, I’ll work on my mistakes , learn and get back into business soon.Thank to everyone for support messages.
— ikram_aliskerov (@ikram_aliskerov) June 23, 2024
“Alhamdulilla, no excuses. I don’t regret anything. It was a big experience against one of the best in the sport. I’m young, I’ll work on my mistakes , learn and get back into business soon. Thank to everyone for support messages.”
The 31-year-old Aliskerov is a former combat sambo world champion and viewed by many as one of the best prospects in the middleweight division. Aliskerov made his UFC debut in 2023, scoring impressive knockout victories over Phil Hawes and Warlley Alves. The loss to Whittaker is his first in the octagon and only the second of his career, following a knockout loss to Khamzat Chimaev in Brave FC back in 2019.
With Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski waiting for featherweight title shots, Ortega plans on heading to 155 pounds and having some ‘fun.’
Enjoy Brian Ortega’s fight against Diego Lopes at UFC 303, because it may be the last time we see “T-City” fighting at featherweight for a while.
Ortega is the latest fighter to step up and help the UFC save a card in crisis after Conor McGregor withdrew from the June 29th card with two weeks’ notice. He’ll face hotshot finish-machine Diego Lopes on the show’s new co-main event.
The bout was a welcome fight for the No. 3 featherweight contender, who is struggling to find a fight — and purpose — at 145 pounds. Because of that, he plans on moving up to 155 pounds for a while after the Lopes fight, no matter what the outcome in Las Vegas.
“They told me my weight class had no one that they wanted me to fight,” Ortega told MMA Junkie in a new interview. “They didn’t really want me to fight contenders and stuff, so I decided to move to 155. [We had an opponent], but I can’t say it. It might still happen. And I hope it does.”
It seems crazy for Ortega to abandon featherweight when he’s right at the top of the division, but he recognizes a title shot logjam when he sees one.
“There’s no title fight for me anytime soon because of what’s going on in the game,” Ortega said. “Max has a guaranteed title shot, and Volkanovski does as well. So even when Topuria does fight, he fights Max. If Max wins, it’s Max vs. Volk 4, which is going to take up to next year. If Topuria wins, then it’s Topuria vs. Volk 2. Then I still have to wait until next year.”
“So when I say the title fight’s not coming anytime soon, it’s just not because of the favors that both of them have done, the leaps and the risks that they both have taken. Volk on two weeks’ notice against Islam [Makhachev], and Max against [Justin] Gaethje, although it was a full camp, he fought for the BMF belt. Both of them, it’s just a lot. Everyone has done a lot.”
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A post shared by Brian Ortega (@briantcity)
“So for me to say that I’m there and deserve it right now, it’s not true,” Ortega concluded. “Selfishly, of course, since I was a kid I’ve been chasing to be a champion. But you have to make peace with reality, and that’s the reality of this game right now. That’s where it’s at, that’s where it’s going, so why not just have fun with my career?”
Ortega vs. Lopes is definitely a fun fight, and a tough one according to the bookies. They have “T-City” a very slight +130 dog to -150 Lopes, which is a bit shocking given their respective resumes. Lopes is young and on a hot streak, having finished his last three fights via first round submission. Ortega is injury-prone and 2-3 over his last five … but those losses came to the absolute best 145 has to offer.
We’re looking forward to seeing how Ortega handles Lopes, and whoever the UFC has in mind for him at lightweight after that.
Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
There have been a number of changes to UFC 303 over the past couple of weeks but a finalized lineup was revealed just a week out from the event.
Following an injury suffered by Conor McGregor that forced him to drop out of his scheduled return against Michael Chandler, the UFC had to scramble to fill that spot. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill also fell off the card and then the same thing happened to his opponent Carlos Ulberg.
So now, following a flurry of changes, Alex Pereira headlines UFC 303 in a short-notice title defense as he puts his light heavyweight belt up for grabs in a rematch against former champion Jiri Prochazka. In their first encounter at UFC 295, Pereira scored a knockout win to claim the vacant 205-pound title so Prochazka is looking for revenge.
The new co-main event added to the card pits two-time featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega against fast-rising star Diego Lopes.
Also on the card, Anthony Smith, who was originally pulled in as a replacement for Hill, faces Roman Dolidze in a fight at 205 pounds. Dolidze took the fight after an injury forced Ulberg off the card.
Rounding out the main card are the only two original fights scheduled for UFC 303 as recent bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva takes on Macy Chiasson, and Ian Machado Garry faces Michael “Venom” Page at welterweight.
Here’s the full card for UFC 303: Pereira vs. Prochazka 2 with the bout order for the prelims still to be determined.
With the repeated ads of the same commercial in a loop not even caring to change it up. They’ve cut out fighters walkouts and the corner men between rounds . Is there anywhere outside the US where you can watch the full event with the corner men and walkouts on each fight ?
Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Lemos | Photo by Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
Amanda Lemos and Virna Jandiroba have the spotlight on July 20.
It was announced during Saturday’s UFC Saudi Arabia broadcast that a strawweight contenders’ bout between Lemos and Jandiroba is now scheduled to serve as the main event of UFC Vegas 94 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The bout had previously been reported, but its placement was not known.
Lemos and Jandiroba are neck and neck at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings at 115 pounds. Lemos also currently sits at No. 17 in the Pound-for-Pound Rankings.
This is a pivotal fight for both women, with Lemos having won three of her past four fights including a recent win over Mackenzie Dern, and Jandiroba seeking a fourth consecutive victory.
A full lineup for the July 20 event is yet to be finalized, but a list of announced bouts can be seen below.
We need to actually appreciate all these MMA fighters. We don't see it but they've all worked so hard to make a living out of this sport, and most of them don't even make enough having to sacrify many things.
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