On the latest episode of This is CineMMA, the MMA Fighting movie review crew walk the long road back to redemption with the 2020 drama Bruised, written, directed, and starring Berry. The Academy Award-winning actress plays Jackie Justice, a one-time UFC star who gets a second chance to kickstart her cage-fighting career when she gets the offer to fight an Invicta FC champion, played by Valentina Shevchenko. But will Justice’s traumatic past derail her ambitions?
In our second crack at reviewing a female-led MMA drama (shout-out to Fight Valley!), Alexander K. Lee, Jed Meshew, and E. Casey Leydon pay respect to Berry and Shevchenko’s incredible work, while also pointing out what the film gets right and what it gets wrong about the world of fighting.
Is Berry vs. Shevchenko one of the best fight scenes ever? How much trauma can one character take? And what did they do with Invicta FC boss Shannon Knapp in this movie?
Mend your wounds and spend some time with us for the answers to these questions and more.
New episodes of the This is CineMMA show come out weekly and are available to watch on YouTube, and in podcast form on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts. This week’s episode can be heard below.
Carlos Ulberg | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Carlos Ulberg wants to bring “Ladies’ Night” to the City of Love.
Ulberg picked up his sixth UFC win in a row at UFC St. Louis when he knocked out Alonzo Menifield in just 12 seconds. Speaking afterward on The MMA Hour, Ulberg said he and his team knew that a quick finish was possible heading into the fight.
“We knew that he could possible rush in, and he did that,” Ulberg said. “He did exactly that. We anticipated that. We were prepared for anything going into the fight, obviously. He’s a big puncher, he’s got his name, he’s been knocking everybody out in the division. Anything could have been taken from that fight, or in the lead-up to the fight, so we were prepared for anything.”
Ulberg’s quick win not only netted him an extra $ 50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, but it also vaulted the Kiwi fighter to a spot in the UFC’s light heavyweight top 15, at number 11. And now that the 33-year-old is a legitimate contender, Ulberg has grand hopes for his next outing.
“I think definitely someone in the top 10, for sure,” Ulberg said. “Could be top five, who knows? It is the light heavyweight division and the UFC know what they’re doing. I trust that anything can happen from now until the end of the year. You do have Jamahal [Hill] and [Khalil] Rountree … in Vegas [at UFC 303]. Who knows what’s going to happen there? If maybe they need to fill, someone pulls from that, who knows? But we’ll see.”
As it turns out, they may.
Hill, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, was set to face Rountree on June 29 during International Fight Week, however Rountree withdrew from the contest on Saturday due to a doping violation, leaving Hill without an opponent.
Ulberg said on Wednesday that he specifically targeted the matchup as it was one of the few fights currently booked between top light heavyweight contenders, and noted that he wants an opportunity to advance. And if that doesn’t come from stepping in on short notice, then Ulberg instead hopes he can get on the UFC Paris card this fall.
“There’s also France coming up, which I’d love to do as well,” Ulberg said. “That side of the world would be nice. I’ve never been to Europe so something in France would be nice.
“Perth would be alright. It would be good. Who knows? … I just haven’t been to Europe. And it could make some sense. It could lead us to fight somebody on that side of the world. But if people scream out for Perth, then let it be. That’s all good.”
UFC Paris takes place Sept. 28 at Accor Arena and will mark the UFC’s third trip to Paris.
Silva later posted to social media on Sunday stating that he will NOT be fighting Crews after all. The former UFC champion states that Crews is a close friend and that he will announce his actual opponent shortly. See below:
UPDATE | Anderson Silva says he will NOT be fighting Terry Crews.
He will instead be announcing his opponent later this evening for what will be the final fight of his career.
The headline above isn’t wrong. Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight king Anderson Silva is expected to enter the boxing ring against actor Terry Crews on June 15 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It’s being called “Spider’s Grand Finale” and will air LIVE on TV Globo.
This is according to a recent report by Brazilian news outlet, @choquei.
AGORA: Terry Crews e Anderson Silva marcam luta no Brasil para o dia 15 de junho com transmissão da TV Globo. pic.twitter.com/8f1jbWN8dT
— CHOQUEI (@choquei) May 18, 2024
Silva, who turned 49 this past April, has fought three times since leaving UFC back in 2020. All of those contests have come inside the boxing ring. “Spider” defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. with a huge upset decision, then knocked out Tito Ortiz with ease, and then most recently suffered a decision loss to Jake Paul in Oct. 2022. That is the last time fight fans saw Silva compete.
Since then, the UFC legend has bearded and bloated almost beyond recognition.
If this report is true and Silva will fight Crews next month in Brazil it’s not the best way to end a legendary career chock-full of real accomplishments. Crews is an in-shape actor with zero combat experience, but a massive social media following that should draw considerable interest. So even though it’s a smart move for ratings purposes, Silva will be a heavy betting favorite to handily stop Cheeseburger Eddy in his tracks.
Crews, 55, is known for his roles in movies such as White Chicks, Idiocracy, and The Longest Yard. The confident actor took to social media over the weekend to deliver a cringe-worthy callout of Silva. Check it out below:
Why in the hell is Terry Crews trying to fight Anderson Silva pic.twitter.com/sxKB8HZNXO
— Jason Williams (@jasoneg33) May 18, 2024
“I’ve been training, I’m ready,” said Crews (shown above). “I will see you at fight night, on June 15th, in Brazil.”
Silva eventually took to his social media and delivered his own video for Crews. That can be seen below:
Anderson Silva sends a message to Terry Crews:
“Terry Crews, June 15 I’m waiting for you. I’m preparing myself for you.”
IG / @SpiderAnderson pic.twitter.com/owtINgDpN4
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 19, 2024
“Terry Crews, June 15 I’m waiting for you. I’m preparing myself for you,” responded Silva.
Dricus du Plessis | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Dricus du Plessis can’t hate on what Jake Paul has done in combat sports.
The past few years have seen Paul become one of the most talked-about boxers in the world, with the popular social media influencer bringing his legion of fans to the sport while also drawing the ire of boxing traditionalists and fighters.
You can count the UFC middleweight champion among those supporting his efforts, even if he questions Paul’s overall impact on promoting professional fighting.
“Everybody goes, ‘Jake Paul has done great things for boxing,’” Du Plessis said on the Shadow Banned podcast. “No, he hasn’t. His fans only watch him box, they don’t know boxing for s***, they know Jake Paul. But I do not hate him at all. … Successful dude. I respect the grind and what he’s done. There was one problem that I had and that is the martial artist in me speaking. The fact that he’s getting paid crazy money, [more than] people that have been working their whole lives — not me, I get paid — people, boxers that have been working, world champions, but that’s the entertainment industry. Fight a boxer. The first real boxer he fought, he lost.”
“But one thing I can say, I don’t disrespect him in the sense of what he’s been able to do,” Du Plessis added. “My man’s making money … He is fighting, he’s getting better every fight. He is getting better. He’s not a s*** boxer, make no mistake, but take the route that you need to be taking. … To hate him for no reason, it’s uncool. To hate the fact that he’s getting paid more than all the other fighters, call it jealousy if you will, and there’s a part of me that probably is — I just know if we had to box each other, it wouldn’t be a fight.”
The response was prompted by a fan question asking if du Plessis would like to box Paul someday. That crossover matchup isn’t on du Plessis’ radar at the moment, as he’s more concerned about talking up a future fight with longtime rival Israel Adesanya, but should it ever happen, he doesn’t like Paul’s chances of making it a competitive bout.
“It wouldn’t be a fight, I promise you that,” Du Plessis said. “Two rounds. [In MMA,] two minutes. Oh no, one low kick. If we do takedowns in it, it’s not a fight. I would tap him out within a minute.”
Paul already has his next boxing appearance lined up, a heavily promoted match on July 20 against legendary heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. That bout is set to air live on Netflix.
In his past two outings, Paul made short work of boxers Ryan Bourland and Andre August to add to a list of conquests that also includes MMA stars Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, and Ben Askren.
Given Paul’s history of defeating opponents with far more impressive fighting credentials than him, du Plessis joked that there’s one more important reason that they won’t be trading punches anytime soon.
“He wouldn’t ask me to fight him now,” Du Plessis said. “No, he wouldn’t, because I wouldn’t take the money to take a dive.”
Tyson Fury fans are already trying to discredit Oleksandr Usyk’s win on Saturday, claiming the Ukrainian sensation used an illegal inhaler in between rounds.
Boxing has its first unified heavyweight world champion in 25 years after Usyk delivered a stunning performance against ‘The Gypsy King’ during their 12-round affair in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. While Fury appeared to have things well in hand in the early going, Usyk turned it up in the later rounds — particularly in the ninth when he was credited with a knockdown after overwhelming Fury with an onslaught of strikes.
However, some skeptics were quick to cry foul after a clip of Usyk in his corner began making the rounds on social media. The clip, which you can see below, had commenters accusing ‘The Cat’ of using an inhaler between rounds seven and eight.
Speculation on boxing twitter about what looks to be an inhaler Oleksandr Usyk uses in between rounds 7 and 8. Did Usyk use an inhaler? NO!!! pic.twitter.com/xalETwogxM
As it turns out, there was no inhaler. The object in question turned out to be a cross.
For the inhaler crowd:
#BOXINGnBBQ #Boxing#FuryUsyk
pic.twitter.com/fgc5Zn4TpL
— BOXING n BBQ (@BOXINGnBBQ) May 19, 2024
Tyson Fury Credits Oleksandr Usyk’s Title Win on Ukraine
After taking a fairly significant beating to the body, Usyk bounced back beautifully, showing off his conditioning compared to that of the significantly bigger Brit. Fortunately, rumors of him using an inhaler were quickly debunked as it could have resulted in a disqualification, putting a big fat blemish on an otherwise spectacular fight.
Following the fight, Fury insisted that he was the rightful winner after coming up on the wrong side of a split decision. He even went so far as to suggest that the war between Ukraine — Usyk’s home country — and Russia played a role in the scoring.
“You know his country’s at war, so people are siding for the country at war,’’ Fury said during a post-fight interview. “Make no mistake, I won that fight, and I’ll be back.’’
While some of the scores provided by the presiding judges raised a few eyebrows, the consensus appears to approve of Usyk’s win.
Regardless, Fury will have the chance to even the series via a rematch clause that was worked into their initial fight contract. No official details have been revealed, but the two are rumored to run it back in October.
#BOXINGnBBQ #Boxing#FuryUsyk
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