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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

If there was any question about Conor McGregor’s drawing power following a three-year absence, the live gate for his return to action should answer that rather emphatically.

Following UFC St. Louis on Saturday, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that McGregor’s upcoming fight against Michael Chandler on June 29 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, has already produced the biggest live gate in the company’s history with the event still six weeks away.

“It’s already way over $ 20 million,” White told reporters at the post-fight press conference.

UFC has actually never produced a $ 20 million live gate previously, but McGregor has played a part in three of the top five selling events of all-time already.

Back in 2016, McGregor became the first fighter to become a simultaneous two-division UFC champion when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in New York. That card generated a $ 17.7 million live gate, which holds the current all-time record.

The second biggest gate came for McGregor’s UFC 229 showdown against Khabib Nurmagomedov in Las Vegas, which pulled in $ 17,188,895.

Of course, UFC banked on a lot of interest surrounding McGregor’s return for UFC 303, with the promotion offering up ticket packages for VIPs that exceeded more than $ 12,000.

Breaking the $ 20 million mark also gives White a chance to thumb his nose at a former rival, one who previously mocked the MMA promotion for never reaching the same heights as some of the biggest boxing events in history.

Stephen Espinoza, who ran Showtime Sports before Paramount shut down the operation at the end of 2023, famously touted that UFC had never done a $ 20 million gate while he was promoting his third such event in the same calendar year with a 2023 event headlined by Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo.

Of course, Espinoza and White remained at odds for years after co-promoting the boxing match between McGregor and Floyd Mayweather back in 2017. They rarely missed an opportunity take shots at each other, and this situation was no different.

“This event on Saturday night will generate a gate of over $ 20 million,” Espinoza said this past September before Alvarez vs. Charlo. “That’s a rare feat in combat sports. This will be the third time in the last six months that we’ve done a gate of $ 20 million. To put that in perspective, UFC has never done a gate of $ 20 million in its entire history. We’ve done it three times since April.”

White didn’t think much about Espinoza’s comments back then, and his opinion hasn’t changed much now that UFC is preparing to break the $ 20 million mark for the first time.

“Who gives a flying f*ck what Espinoza thinks, pardon my language,” White said. “Where is Espinoza? Who gives a shit?”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Artur Szpilka made a great first impression this weekend, but froze when it came to the actual fight.

Saturday evening, Szpilka faced Arkadiusz Wrzosek in the co-main event of KSW 94 in Gdańsk, Poland. Szpilka is a former professional boxer who once challenged Deontay Wilder for the WBC heavyweight title, and as such, the man has a history of showmanship in his walkouts. For instance, in 2023 he came to the KSW cage in a car for his bout with Mariusz Pudzianowski. But on Saturday, Szpilka outdid himself, arriving to the arena in a Mr. Freeze-esque cryochamber.

Unfortunately for Szpilka, that cool walkout didn’t translate to in-cage success, as the 35-year-old fighter ended up getting iced in just 14 seconds. Szpilka charged across the cage early and Wrzosek simply dumped him forward to the mat, following up with a hail of punches for the quick finish.

Check out the highlight below.

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Statement
| BJPenn.com

Pereira beat Potieria so badly that ‘Duelist’ wont be able to fight Magomedov in Saudi Arabia. So ‘Bullet’ now wants Pereira to replace him.

Ihor Potieria is out of his UFC Saudi Arabia fight on June 22nd against Shara Magomedov, and it’s all Michel Pereira’s fault.

That’s Potieria and Magomedov’s view of the situation, which is somewhat understandable given the circumstances. The two were set to fight in Riyadh, but the UFC threw Potieria onto UFC 301 against Pereira as a late replacement opponent. Now a medical suspension from that loss has Potieria sidelined until August.

Pereira choked out “Duelist” in just 54 seconds in Rio de Janeiro, with the key moment of the fight being a backflip knee to the face from “Demolidor” that the referee never called. Officials were concerned enough about the damage Potieria took to issue him a 45 day medical suspension, and apparently UFC doctors have lengthened that suspension to three months.

All over an illegal knee to a grounded opponent that no one is willing to officially acknowledge!

“It’s a shame, but the UFC suspended me from fighting for three months due to an illegal kick,” Potieria wrote on social media. “Perhaps there will be justice and this fight will be annulled.”

Shara “Bullet” also took a shot at Pereira over the fight cancellation.

“[Michel Pereira] you damn acrobat, I lost my opponent because of you,” he wrote in an Instagram Story. “Everyone knows that you can do backflips now, but UFC is not a circus. You made an illegal move, and now you have to punished. Let us kick him out of the rankings and let me deal with this clown. Ship him to Saudi Arabia on June 22nd and I will board him.”

It’s unlikely that the Brazilian commission CABMMA will overturn the fight at this point, which sucks for Ihor. As for Shara, we’re sure the UFC will find the popular Dagestani fighter another opponent. Will it be Michel Pereira? The promotion has already attempted to turn “Demolidor” around quick by setting up a June fight with teammate Roman Dolidze, but Pereira says news of this booking is premature.

We gotta say, Pereira vs. Shara “Bullet” is a sexier fight than Dolidze in our books. We’ll keep you updated as the matchmaking for both men gets worked out.

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David Taylor didn’t leave his shoes in the middle of the mats after coming up short in his bid to win a second Olympic gold medal but his competitive career has come to an end.

On Friday, the two-time NCAA champion and 2020 Olympic champ was officially introduced as the new head coach for the Oklahoma State wrestling team. Taylor takes over for legendary two-time Olympic gold medalist John Smith, who coached at Oklahoma State for the past 33 years before announcing his retirement in April.

Taylor accepted the job just weeks after he came up short from representing the United States at the 2024 Olympics in Paris following back-to-back losses to fellow Penn State wrestler Aaron Brooks. While Taylor had previously contemplated a potential future in MMA after wrestling was finished, he ultimately decided to step into a full-time coaching role at one of the top colleges in the sport.

“I knew in 2024 this was going to be it for me as a competitor,” Taylor said during his introductory press conference. “I think after 2021, it was really difficult. Every decision that I made in my life was to be an Olympic champion. Every decision.

“After the Olympics, [I realized] well the next one is three years down the road. It’s close. I can win a second [gold medal] and I think my inner fire to do that started to dwindle a little bit. It showed. But I believe in my performance in the Olympic trials. It’s like ‘how do you feel about that?’ Honestly, I’m at peace with it. Because I did everything I wanted to do in my career. Everything and more.”

At 33, Taylor likely only had one more Olympic cycle remaining but after he failed to make the 2024 team, his options to continue in wrestling were probably limited.

Even before the most recent Olympic trials, Taylor had started learning more and more about MMA while working with head coach Marc Montoya at his Factory X gym in Colorado.

Despite interest in possibly fighting, Taylor just couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to take over a top program like Oklahoma State after Smith produced five team championships and 33 individual NCAA Division I National Champions.

“I just realized as my career came to an end, I wanted to pour into the next generation of kids,” Taylor said. “I believe this is the way that I can do it, to the best of my ability.

“My journey as a competitor is done but my journey now as a coach is now just getting started.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Derrick Lewis has always loved to joke around, and when asked about a potential WWE crossover, he responded in a hilarious way.

‘The Black Beast’ returned to his winning ways last night in St. Louis against Rodrigo Nascimento at the Enterprise Center. In between the second and third rounds, Lewis’ coach implored his fighter to get back to what he does best, which is to knock people out. Lewis obliged and shut the lights of Nascimento out before even a full minute could pass in the third round.

Now just 2-3 in his last five fights, Lewis has shown an eagerness to make a foray into WWE as his UFC career winds down. When asked about what his WWE finisher and costume would be like, Derrick Lewis didn’t mind delving further into the details.

Derrick Lewis Speaks on what his WWE gimmick would look like

“Um, it’s probably,” Lewis began. “You remember Goldust? Probably something like that.” He had a smile on his face as he said those words, possibly implying a genuine interest in doing that, as well.

“You know, as long as I get to paint my face,” Derrick Lewis continued. “People really ain’t gonna know it’s me. Imma be a whole a*s freak out there.”

When asked if he was going to go all in with the tights and boots, Lewis smiled and replied in the affirmative. “All that, and be a little sassy with it,” he said.

Lewis wouldn’t be the first athlete to crossover from MMA to the WWE, and now that the two companies are owned by the same people, it’s very likely that it could happen. With his personality, ‘The Black Beast’ would probably be an entertaining wrestler, and it sounds like he’d want a funny and out-of-the-box gimmick as well.

What do you think about Derrick Lewis considering making a change to the WWE?

LowKickMMA.com

UFC

Ciryl Gane is going to be an Olympic torchbearer.

The 2024 Olympic Games take place this summer in Paris, and as per tradition, the Olympic flame will go on a relay through the country of the host nation in the lead-up to the opening ceremony. As the UFC’s top French fighter, Gane has been selected to serve as one of the honorary torchbearers for the relay, “Bon Gamin” revealed on his Instagram on Saturday.

“Proud to carry the flame

“Hoping to see MMA as an Olympic event one day

“Meet on June 4 at La Roche-sur-Yon”

The 2024 Olympic Torch Relay began on Thursday, May 9, in Marseille and will spend the next 11 weeks traveling through France until the start of the Olympic Games on July 26. Nearly 10,000 athletes, volunteers, and other luminaries will serve as torchbearers this year, with each person carrying the Olympic flame an average of 200 meters. Gane will serve as a torch bearer during the 24th stage of the relay as the flame moves from the Deux-Sèvres region to Les Sables-d’Olonne.

Gane is a former interim UFC heavyweight champion and has twice headlined UFC events in Paris, including his most recent fight, a TKO win over Serghei Spivac this past September.

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