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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. submitted by /u/Wisithewizard [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Robert Whittaker picked up an important in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia against a dangerous opponent, and shortly after, his originally scheduled opponent Khamzat Chimaev took the opportunity to respond.

Shortly after Whittaker scored a first-round knockout of Ikram Aliskerov—Chimaev’s replacement—in Saturday’s main event, the undefeated Chimaev commented on the result via social media.

“Congratulations [Robert Whittaker], we are not done,” Chimaev said, according to a Google translation on Twitter. “I wish you a speedy recovery [Ikram Aliskerov], keep your head up my brother.”

Speaking with reporters following his second consecutive victory, Whittaker was asked about Chimaev’s comments, and Whittaker laughed it off while also telling Chimaev to pump the brakes a little bit considering he just completed a fight.

“Don’t jump me as soon as I finish a fight,” Whittaker said during the evening’s post-fight press conference. “I don’t want people to do that — I say that, but I probably did that once or twice as well. Let me have this one for a little bit, all right? We can settle the score another day.”

Chimaev was forced to withdraw from the matchup against Whittaker after falling ill less than two weeks before the UFC’s first trip to Saudi Arabia. It would have been Chimaev’s first fight of the year, and first since his majority decision win over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 this past October.

In his post-fight interview, Whittaker expressed interest in being a backup for the UFC 305 middleweight championship headliner between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya. When asked if he would compete on that card against a different opponent in Perth, Whittaker says he needs to have some conversations before makes that decision.

“It’s on home soil, I plan to be there one way or another,” Whittaker said. “But I do need to go back and talk to my team. I need to talk to my team about it. We’ve got to work on the other guys who are preparing. I took this fight and it sort pushed a lot of things around. I want to go back and talk to my team.

“Perth, it’s in my home turf. But, yeah, let me talk to my team.”

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Bonus Report
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Here’s what you may have missed!

Last night (Sat., June 22, 2024) at UFC Saudi Arabia, Johnny Walker suffered his sixth knockout loss as a professional at the hands of power-punching Swiss kickboxer Volkan Oezdemir.

To be frank, it’s getting hard to watch.

Now, no medical professional would recommend getting knocked out six times, but on its own, that number isn’t unheard of in mixed martial arts. Some competitors fight multiple decades and have 50-fight careers, which can lead to some ugly statistics. The legendary Alistair Overeem, for example, has 15 losses via knockout in MMA and another three in the kickboxing ring.

The problem is that Walker doesn’t just get knocked out. He doesn’t take a hard punch, fall to the floor, and cover up until the referee saves him. Each and every time Walker gets put down, he falls like a tree being chopped down in a wind storm. He goes stiff in the fencing response and deep into a long sleep, two bad signs of serious damage.

There are handful of reasons for these knockout losses, both obvious and inobvious. On the technical side of things, Walker still hasn’t developed much of a boxing skill. His defense is to avoid the pocket, but when his back touches the fence, it all goes to hell in a handbasket. That’s a technical and tactical issue, one I don’t believe his current fighting style or fight team have appropriately addressed.

Technical woes are less concerning than the way Walker reacts to getting hit. His brain seems to go on the fritz. You can see him glitch out in real time. In the past, I’ve theorized this reaction is the result of cutting too much weight, which can severely affect a fighter’s ability to take a shot. Walker is one of the biggest men in the division, so my recommendation was a move up to Heavyweight, where at least his brain would be fully hydrated when getting pummeled.

That recommendation came over two years ago, and now it feels too late. Generally, fighters get easier to knock out the more it happens. Walker has suffered two more BAD knockout losses since that article. A lot more damage has been done, and jumping up a weight class feels like less of a solution.

What’s the answer? I don’t have one anymore. I have no desire to be the pearl-clutching writer demanding an athlete retires. He’s still a Top 10-ranked UFC fighter, after all. At the same time, I know full well that some other 220-pound slugger is going to walk Walker to the fence and send him into another deep sleep in the next six-to-18 months.

It’s only going to grow harder to watch.

For complete UFC Saudi Arabia results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Conor McGregor is eyeing perfection for his return.

Earlier this month, McGregor was forced out of his planned bout against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 due to injury. On Friday, McGregor revealed that the injury that forced him to withdraw was a broken toe, a revelation that immediately received flak from fans and fellow fighters. But as far as McGregor is concerned, those people can go kick rocks.

On Saturday, McGregor attended Bellator Dublin, cornering his friend and teammate Sinead Kavanagh in her rematch with Arlene Blencowe. Kavanagh lost, but afterwards, Bellator commentator Dan Hardy still interviewed McGregor, who defended his choice to withdraw and fired back at critics.

“I’m still here rocking away,” McGregor said. “I had a little lapse in concentration so I had to reschedule the belt, so I’m a little upset about that. But it’s keeping me dialed in. It’s keeping me focused… The job is not done. So that’s not bad for someone like me. I’m onwards towards the new date and take my lessons learned.

“It was a lapse in concentration. If I was any one of these other little bums that can’t move, that have no footwork, that don’t rely on their skills, then I would be OK. And I’ve done it before. I’ve made the walk a multitude of times in those circumstances and given these bums an advantage over me that they don’t even deserve. So now I’m dialing it in, I’m getting this training camp correct, I’m walking in there 100 percent Conor McGregor, injury free. Perfection is on the menu with me, and that’s it.”

After the event was over, McGregor also spoke with SevereMMA backstage about the injury and recovery, saying that this break is actually more painful than the catastrophic leg injury he suffered against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 back in 2021.

“The injury is a nuisance. It’s painful,” McGregor said. “I’m not going to lie, it’s very, very painful. Probably even more painful than the leg, and that’s the truth. And I’ll tell you why, the leg, at least, was wrapped up. I couldn’t access it. The foot is just there still, it’s like it’s exposed. So it’s a bit painful but it comes with the territory.”

Fortunately, the toe break has a much shorter recovery rime than his leg break, and McGregor hopes to rebook the Chandler fight later this year, preferably in the late summer or early fall.

“August, September, I’d love [that],” McGregor said. “I’m in recovery mode. It’s three weeks to the day, it happened three weeks ago today. I’m still here rocking around in the slippers. They’re not bad slippers, thankfully and they’re cozy enough but I can’t get into a shoe yet.”

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After last night’s sophomore Octagon victory in Riyadh, surging middleweight prospect, Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov has agreed to take on fellow highly-touted challenger, Bo Nickal following a call out – praising the Colorado star’s wrestling ability.

Magomedov, who made his promotional bow last year at UFC 294, earned a decision win over Bruno Silva in Abu Dhabi – before taking on the Brazilian’s compatriot, Antonio Trocoli on short-notice overnight in Saudi Arabia, courtesy of a third round knockout win.

And improving to 13-0 as a result, the Makhackala native has landed himself on the radar of the above-mentioned, Nickal – who most recently enjoyed a second round rear-naked choke win over Cody Brundage on the monumental UFC 300 card back in April. 

Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov welcomes Bo Nickal clash after UFC Saudi Arabia

Staking his claim for a fight with the Russian ace after his knockout win over Trocoli, Nickal’s call out appeared to grab the attention of Magomedov, who described a potential pairing as an “interesting fight” for the duo.

“Yes, Bo Nickal is an interesting opponent,” Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov told assembled media after UFC Saudi Arabia. “Interesting fight – interesting opponent. He has good wrestling. Wrestling now for me, [is] no problem. I’m from Dagestani you know, brother. Russia – Russian men [are] icemen. No problem [with] wrestling, takedowns no problem. Dangerous damage: elbow, knee – let’s go.” 

As for Nickal, the wrestling ace claimed he was unable to land himself a short-notice fight with former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker atop last night’s card – failing to respond in time to the promotion’s short-notice offer.

Headlining the promotion’s premiere outing in Riyadh, ex-champion, Whittaker made lightwork of the seven-fight winning spree of Ikram Aliskerov, finishing the Russian with a brutal first round uppercut knockout win in Saudi Arabia.

Who wins in a future fight: Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov or Bo Nickal?

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The UFC Saudi Arabia co-main event featured a monumental heavyweight bout between third-ranked Sergei Pavlovich and fifth-ranked Alexander Volkov.  

Pavlovich entered the bout coming off a knockout loss to interim titleholder Tom Aspinall at UFC 295 in November.  Heading into that fight, the was riding a six-right winning steak.  Volkov made the walk to the octagon on a three-fight winning streak.  He submitted Tai Tuivasa in his last fight back in September.

Pavlovich took the center of the cage and inched forward.  Volkov delivered a leg kick and Pavlovich responded with a jab.  Volkov landed a hard kick to the body.  Pavlovich answered with a stiff jab.  Volkov moved along on the outside before landing to the body with a kick.  Pavlovich began loading up on punches.  Volkov used kicks to keep Pavlovich on the outside.  Volkov stepped in the pocket with a straight right hand.  Pavlovich looked to counter a body kick with punches.  Volkov landed a jab but Pavlovich reacted with a right hand.  They exchanged jabs and Volkov connected with a leg kick in the closing seconds of the round.  MMAWeekly scored the round. 10-9 for Volkov.

Volkov continued to utilized a kicking heavy offense in the second frame.  He landed two leg kicks followed by a kick to the body.  Pavlovich rushed in with a combination that came up short.  Volkov dictated the pace throughout the fight and brought a diverse attack.  A straight right hand stunned Pavlovich.  Pavlovich returned fire with a right hand.  Pavlovich tried to counter but had issues dealing with Volkov’s distance.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Volkov.

Volkov opened the third round with leg kicks.  Pavlovich missed with a big right hand.  Pavlovich pressed forward but Volkov moved just out of reach.  Pavlovich connected with a combination.  Volkov responded with a right hand but Pavlovich delivered another combination.  Volkov switched stances and Pavlovich checked a leg kick.  Volkov continually landed his jab.  With a minute left in the frame, Volkov connected to the body with a kick.  Pavlovich closed the distance and clinched but separated seconds later.  Pavlovich landed a clean right hand but Volkov absorbed it.  Volkov connected with a head kick in the final seconds but Pavlovich withstood it.  MMAWeekly scored the third round 10-9 for Volkov.

The judges scored the fight for Volkov via unanimous decision.  The scorecards read 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.

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