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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) has established itself as a potential post-UFC path for well-loved champions and top contenders. Athletes like Eddie Alvarez, Hector Lombard, Luke Rockhold, and Chad Mendes have all dropped the gloves and stepped into the squared circle (to mixed results) in recent years. It’s not exactly a pension, but BKFC really is a viable “retirement” path for many UFC stars.

Perhaps “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler is next? The longtime MMA veteran and former Welterweight kingpin was recently spotted with BKFC President David Feldman, and naturally, speculation ran rampant online. Some fight fans were very excited about the prospect of Lawler getting violent in a new format, while others were nervous about the retired athlete getting back in the ring.

Here’s a sample of the reactions:

“Can’t imagine how his lip might look after a BKFC fight”

“Please no”

“Someone’s gonna get hurt, Lawler is a beast”

“Robbie Lawler is the only retired UFC fighter able to beat Mike Perry”

“Lawler vs Perry for the most violent title? Make sense to me”

“Big nope for me”

“Further proof UFC fighters don’t make enough”

“I’m good on that. If Robbie wants to do it then cool, but his send off was the best ever and I don’t need to see him fight again”

As mentioned by several fans, Lawler vs. Perry is the obvious booking here IF Lawler is interesting in getting back into action. “Platinum” needs a high-profile opponent, and the two competed at the same weight class in the UFC. Lawler is a older than would be ideal, but there aren’t a ton of perfect options available for Perry — the face of BKFC — at the moment.

If Lawler isn’t interested in joining the BKFC roster, “Ruthless” left on an incredible high note. At UFC 290 in July 2023, Lawler needed less than a minute to pummel the consciousness from Niko Price’s skull (watch highlights) then retired under the wild cheers of an adoring crowd.

Insomnia

I will become Deontay Wilder’s biggest fan if he hits this spin move in a match.

A lovely breakdown of some big man air time!

For all the “boring” talk, I think Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev would be a really fun fight. Dominant wrestlers are most usually boring when they’re dominating a striker who can’t make it interesting!

The cast of The Smashing Machine is selling me on the seeing the new film. If you haven’t seen the 2002 documentary (essential viewing for MMA fans), watch HERE!

More Welterweight violence added to UFC 304:

This picture of Jiri Prochazka after three days without food does actually make a Middleweight move appear feasible.

A quick look into Sean Strickland’s UFC 302 fight camp:

Slips, rips, and KO clips

I cannot help but cheer for a fighter described as a Fedor student who blends clinching with powerful hooks.

A strong left kick into the open side can bully even the most talented of strikers.

A highlight of the man stepping in to face Sharaputdin Magomedov:

Random Land

Know your dogs.

Midnight Music: A new version/recording/master of an all-time great song.

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jamahal Hill has a new opponent for UFC 303.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that the former UFC light heavyweight champion will now face surging contender Carlos Ulberg at the International Fight Week event on June 29 in Las Vegas. The New Zealand Herald was first to report the matchup.

Ulberg steps into his biggest fight to date following Khalil Rountree’s withdrawal after revealing he had taken a banned substance, for which he received a two-month suspension by Combat Sports Anti-Doping. After dropping his octagon debut, Ulberg has won six straight and finished his past five opponents. Most recently, the New Zealander knocked out Alonzo Menifield in 12 seconds at UFC St. Louis earlier this month.

Hill looks to bounce back after getting knocked out by Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 300 in April, his first fight since suffering an Achilles injury that led to him vacating the light heavyweight championship. “Sweet Dreams” captured the vacant title at UFC 283 in January 2023 when he earned a unanimous decision against Glover Teixeira.

UFC 303 is headlined by the return of Conor McGregor against Michael Chandler in a welterweight bout.

Damon Martin contributed to this report.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Gegard Mousasi is a free man.

One day after the former Bellator middleweight champion slammed the PFL, calling it “the worst organization” and threatening them with legal action, the promotion’s head of fighter operations, Mike Kogan, confirmed that Mousasi has been released from his contract.

“Bellator has released Gegard Mousasi from his agreement,” Kogan wrote. “We wish him all the best fighting in his next chapter.”

While Mousasi has not yet commented on the situation, his manager, Nima Safapour of Moments Management, referred to the release as “alleged” and called out the promotion for not standing by their “fighter first” mantra.

“We will not comment on the merits of the alleged release at this time for obvious reasons,” Safapour said in a written statement provided to MMA Junkie. “However, we believe there is a greater lesson here that our community should pay close attention to. For an organization that repeatedly claims to be ‘fighter first,’ we now truly see how PFL treats their fighters, especially their legends.”

Gegard Mousasi’s Threats of Legal action draw a response from pFL founder Donn Davis

Gegard Mousasi has not competed since a unanimous decision loss to Fabian Edwards in May 2023. 11 months prior, he surrendered his Bellator belt to Johnny Eblen. Following the PFL’s acquisition of the promotion late last year, Mousasi has vented his frustration over being shelved, accusing the PFL of refusing to honor his contract by asking him to take a pay cut.

“They said that the amount [of money I get paid], we don’t want to cut you, it’s so much, that it’s better for you, I don’t know, look somewhere else or do something else,” Mousasi said Wednesday on The MMA Hour.

“At this moment, I’m like, listen, if someone doesn’t want me, I’m like, ‘F*ck it. Let’s go.’ But my team around me is like, ‘F*ck it, we’ll sue them.’ If it was up to me, I would just go, but I don’t know. We’ll see. The team around me is not that happy. So I think there is going to be legal action against them.“

During a recent appearance on the Weighing In podcast with ‘Big’ John McCarthy and Josh Thomson, PFL founder Donn Davis disputed Mousasi’s claim, suggesting that while they plan to honor every Bellator contract, they can’t guarantee every fighter will get exactly what they’re asking for.

“Occasionally we’ll have a fighter grumble,” Davis said. “It’s one of 205 (fighters we acquired from Bellator). You expect five to 10 percent issues on any deal. You can’t be perfect. You can be 90 to 95 percent. We’ve had a handful of people say, ‘Oh, I wish it went this way, I wish it went that way.’ I’m delighted. I’m very, very proud of how we treated our fighters.

“How we treat our employees. Most of all, the product. We just completed our second (Bellator show) in Paris, which was awesome. We didn’t sit on this for six months. We didn’t take a year off. We didn’t lay off 100 fighters. All the stuff that always happens in all acquisitions. So I just could not be more proud.

“I’ll say two things: One, what I’m super proud of is the market, and anyone you talk to – fighters, business partners, media, mangers – we’re direct, fair and reasonable. 100 percent. That’s my 35 years in business. That’s the culture we’ve built here. So I will say, without commenting out of respect on individual negotiations and specifics situations – we’re direct, fair and reasonable with everybody that we deal with.

“Will everybody’s contract be honored? Of course. Do some people have different ideas of what works and what doesn’t work? Sure. But we’re fair and reasonable with everybody. Will all 205 fighters (from Bellator) have everything fall the way they want? No.”

LowKickMMA.com

Oleksandr Usyk has had his boxing license suspensed by the British Boxing Board of Control, leaving his rematch with Tyson Fury in limbo.

The Ukraine native jus secured the biggest win of his career as he got his hands raised ahead of the previously undefeated Fury last time out. After a closely fought 12-round affair, two of the three judges at ringside agreed that Usyk did enough to earn him a split decision victory.

Following his successful outing, Oleksandr Usyk was handed a lengthy suspension that will keep him out of action until next year.

The pound-for-pound standout will be unable to return to the ring until July 2, 2024–forcing him out of competition for almost 14 months. Usyk suffered some knocks during the fight and was expected to be dealing with some injuries before eventually stepping back into the squared circle.

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After falling to defeat for the first time in his career, Tyson Fury was keen on running it back with Oleksandr Usyk. ‘The Gypsy King’ activated a clause in his contract, giving him the right to an immediate rematch.

Related: Conor McGregor and other pro fighters react to Oleksandr Usyk’s win over Tyson Fury

The two titans were set to meet in October later this year, though those plans are now scrapped. Although he’ll be approaching his 37th birthday by the time the fight comes around, Fury will undoubtedly pursue a second shot at the undisputed heavyweight champion in hopes of avenging the single loss of his career.

Despite coming up short, Tyson Fury put on a brilliant performance and was likely ahead on the scorecards up until the ninth round. The Brit was caught with a crushing left and follow up shots that almost left him out on his feet. As Fury typically does, he recovered well and battled back but it wasn’t enough for him to clinch the win in the eyes of the judges.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Paige VanZant vs. Elle Brooke press conference video sets the stage for the Misfits Boxing 15 main event this Saturday.

UFC and BKFC veteran Paige VanZant and Misfits Boxing women’s middleweight champion Elle Brooke are expected to attend the press conference Thursday afternoon in Houston.

The VanZant vs. Brooke press conference is expected to begin at 4 p.m. ET and can be watched above.

VanZant and Brooke headline the Misfits Boxing 15 card on May 25 at NRG Arena in Houston, Texas. Bet on the fight at DraftKings Sportsbook.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Devin Haney doesn’t believe Ryan Garcia.

In April, Garcia shocked the boxing world when he won a majority decision over Haney in their super lightweight fight. However, on May 1 it was revealed that Garcia tested positive for the banned substances ostarine in two drug tests with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) in relation to that bout. Garcia has maintained his innocence, but on Thursday, Garcia’s B-sample for the tests once again pinged positive for ostarine.

In response to the B-sample coming up positive, Garcia’s legal team put out a statement noting that Garcia voluntarily submitted to hair testing which came back negative, and claimed that this was proof any ostarine in his system was there as a result of supplement contamination and not advantageous for Garcia.

Well, Haney doesn’t buy it.

On Thursday, Haney responded to Garcia, questioning the validity of his voluntary test.

“Ryan & his team knew he would test positive that’s why they did a bs “hair test” on their own which who really he knows if they did it.”

Haney’s team has already lobbied for Garcia to be disqualified retroactively in an eight-page letter sent to the New York State Athletic Commission, and given the B-sample failure, a formal appeal is likely to follow.

But Haney’s issues are not only with Garcia, they’re also with Garcia’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya. After tweeting about Garcia, Haney then turned his attention to the head of Golden Boy Promotions, saying De La Hoya is avoiding him and suggesting that he has not been compensated appropriately.

It seems that the Garcia-Haney controversy is far from over.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Israel Adesanya is a fan favorite fighter and one of the biggest names in the sport of mixed martial arts. Despite this, he is often underappreciated, though that didn’t stop one fan from putting the kickboxing phenom on display for the world to see.

‘The Last Stylebender’ has long been a standout performer in the world of combat sport but his time competing inside the octagon catapulted him to much greater heights of fame. While some continue to bash him for staying true to himself, others have shown their appreciation for the former UFC middleweight champion.

One man among those in support of Israel Adesanya is street artist and fellow New Zealand native Owen Dippie. Dippie is the artistic mind behind many memorable pieces, and an Adesanya mural is the latest addition to his workings.

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Adesanya was grateful for the brilliant artwork. He loved Owen Dippie’s art so much, he shared his thoughts with a social media post of his own.

“‘The pen is mightier than the sword,'” Adesanya quoted in response to his mural. “Then, the can is mightier than words!”

“Modern day hieroglyphics that tell a story with many twists and turns. Now I’m stamped by the great Owen Dippie in the city.”

“A city I helped put on the map, a city that shaped me into the man I am today. Forever grateful to you, Auckland. Even though I’m global, I’ll always support my locals.”

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Related: Israel Adesanya teases return “soon”, not sticking to original 2027 timeline

With every other top-ranked middleweight booked to fight, all signs are pointing toward a grudge match between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis.

While the bout has not been made official, Du Plessis did hint at the this being the case. The South African insinuated that he will make the first defense of his title against Adesanya at UFC 305, in Perth, Australia.

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