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Ryan Garcia is holding firm to the pretense that he did not knowingly cheat ahead of his fight with Devin Haney in April, despite what a failed drug test might insinuate.

The circumstances surrounding the fight were already controversial due to Garcia missing weight ahead of the event, but they turned rather spectacular as Garcia went on to deliver a brutal beatdown of Haney on his way to a decision victory.

Less than a month after the fight, it was reported that Garcia had failed not one but two drug tests for a banned performance-enhancing substance called Ostarine. According to Ryan Garcia, though, he never took steroids and has passionately denied the allegations.

Ryan Garcia tells Jake Paul that he will ‘quit boxing’ on Instagram live

Speaking to fellow boxer and social media celebrity Jake Paul on Instagram Live, Garcia spoke about these allegations and kept claiming that he was innocent.

“Ryan, if you did do it, then that’s really f*cked up,” Paul said (H/T MMA Fighting). “I’m going to be pissed off at you as a friend, that’s f*cked up.”

“If I did it, which I know damn well I didn’t, I would quit boxing,” Garcia replied. “I didn’t do it. That’s crazy… God is watching me at all times. I’m not going to do something to cheat people. I could have hurt him. I could have killed him. Why the f*ck would I do that? It’s so stupid, I’m not going to do it. Deadass, I would never cheat.”

The fight was of epic magnitude for Ryan Garcia, who had the chance to capture his first-ever world title against Haney. However, this opportunity would be denied due to his weight miss on the scales. Now, even the win itself is of question, as obviously, the usage of PEDs would invalidate this impressive victory.

What do you make of these recent events in the boxing world?

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

RIO DE JANEIRO — Drakkar Klose reacts to his UFC 301 win over Joaquim Silva, explains his beef with Daniel Cormier, calls out Beneil Dariush and Jalin Turner, and more.

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Former two-time featherweight champion Jose Aldo retired from fighting shortly after his UFC 278 decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili in August 2022.  On Saturday, “The King of Rio” came out of retirement to take on 12th-ranked Jonathan Martinez in a bantamweight bout that served as the UFC 301 co-main event.  

Martinez entered the bout riding a six-fight winning streak and seven years younger than Aldo.  Deep in hostile territory, Martinez was looking to take out the Brazilian icon at Farmasi Arena, in Rio de Janeiro.  

Aldo inched forward and Martinez pawed with his jab in the early going of the opening round.  Martinez connected with a leg kick and Aldo responded with a right hand to the body.  Aldo pressed forward and landed a right hand.  Midway through the frame, Aldo pressed forward with a combination but Martinez moved out of the way.  Martinez delivered a kick to the body and Aldo continued to press forward.  Aldo connected with a quick right hand.  Aldo landed to the body before going to the jaw with a right hand.  Aldo looked sharp in the first round.  MMAWeekly scored the round for Aldo 10-9 due to cleaner strikes.  

Aldo connected first in the second frame with a leg kick.  Martinez reacted with a high kick that was blocked.  Aldo ripped the body with a combination. Martinez closed the distance and looked to get the fight to the ground.  With his 92% takedown defense, Aldo defended the attempt and the referee separated them.  Aldo landed a straight right hand.  Martinez landed a left hand.  Aldo responded with a clean right hand.  Martinez connected with his jab.  Aldo continued to target the body of Martine.  Martinez began pressuring Aldo and landed a right hand.  Martinez connected again with a right hand.  Aldo immediately fired back.  It was a competitive round but MMAWeekly scored the round for Aldo 10-9.  

Between rounds, Martinez’ corner told him that he has to pick up the pace or he’s going to lose.  Martinez initially pressured Aldo, but Aldo met him with a right hand.  Martinez delivered a kick to the body and continued to pressure Aldo.  Aldo ducked under a punch and briefly looked for a takedown.  Martinez listened to his corner and picked up the pace.  Aldo delivered a combination but Martinez continued to move forward.  They stood in front of each other and looked for an opening.  Martinez missed with a spinning back fist.  Aldo connected with a left hand that hurt Martinez.  Martinez’ legs were wobbly.  Aldo changed levels and slammed Martinez to the canvas.  

It was the first takedown in a fight for Aldo in years.  Aldo moved to half guard and delivered short punches to the body.  Martinez worked his way back to full guard.  Martinez threw strikes from the bottom but Aldo maintained top control.  MMAWeekly scored the round for Aldo.

The judges agreed with all three scored the fight for Aldo resulting in a unanimous decision.  The scorecards read 30-27, 30-27, and 30-27.     

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UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

“Shogun” is entering the UFC Hall of Fame.

The legendary UFC and PRIDE fighter — born Mauricio Rua, but universally recognized by his famous nickname — was announced Saturday as the latest inductee to the UFC’s 2024 Hall of Fame class. Rua, 42, was in attendance for UFC 301 at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro and received raucous applause from the audience following the announcement.

Watch the video package that aired in the arena and on the pay-per-view broadcast below.

In his 42-fight career, Rua authored countless memorable moments, particularly early in his career when he became one of the breakout stars of Japan’s PRIDE promotion. The fearsome Shogun became known for his berserker offensive style and intense finishes, often capped off by the Brazilian star stomping or soccer kicking his unfortunate victims. He famously won a grand prix tournament in 2005, knocking off Quinton Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem, and Ricardo Arona en route to the trophy.

Rua joined the UFC with much fanfare in 2007, but suffered a shocking defeat to Forrest Griffin in his debut that marked a rocky start to his time with the promotion. However, he went on to capture the light heavyweight championship with a first-round knockout of Lyoto Machida at UFC 113. Though he failed to record a defense of the belt, more memorable moments followed, including an all-time great five-round fight with Dan Henderson (the bout was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018), a revenge knockout win over Griffin, as well as a multitude of Fight Night bonuses.

Following a loss to Ihor Potieria in January 2023, Rua announced his retirement from competition. He finished his pro career with a 27-14-1 record.

Rua will be inducted into the pioneer wing, joining Brazilian great Anderson Silva, fellow PRIDE legend Kazushi Sakuraba, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, Randy Couture, and others.

The 2024 UFC Hall of Fame ceremony takes place June 27 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as part of the 12th UFC Annual International Fight Week event. Also set to join the hall this year are Wanderlei Silva, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Frankie Edgar, and the UFC 117 middleweight title fight clash between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.

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“Watershed Moment”
| BJPenn.com

UFC

The UFC bantamweight challenge is ready to fly to Ireland and spar McGregor, provided Mac follows through with his offer to provide a jet.

Sean O’Malley has accepted Conor McGregor’s offer for a spar, if “The Notorious” is serious about sending a jet to bring him to Ireland.

McGregor is back to training in preparation for his UFC 303 fight against Michael Chandler, his first bout in nearly three years after breaking his leg badly against Dustin Poirier back in July 2021. That hasn’t stopped him from challenging anyone who pops up in the news cycle, no matter how tangentially.

McGregor was a huge supporter of troubled boxer Ryan Garcia right up until “King Ryan” tested positive for ostarine following his win over Devin Haney. Now Mac wants to punch up Garcia … or O’Malley, who also failed a drug test for ostarine in 2019.

“Don’t come near me if I see you ever Ryan Garcia. I am actually disgusted,” McGregor wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “This ostarine it reminds me of Sean O’Malley was on that as well. I don’t like this, I’ll bust yous both up, do yous want a spar. I will set flights right now for you both for a full on spar each. Hotel, Black Forge Inn, the lot. #letssparomalley and #garcia two little ostarine heads l’ll ride you both like yous are ostriches.”

The challenge caught O’Malley’s interest.

“Send Jet for a quick spar,” O’Malley declared on X (formerly Twitter).

We doubt anything will actually come of this. McGregor just has ostriches on the brain as he continues to spend his evenings at his Black Forge Inn promoting his Forged Irish Stout. While his upcoming bout against Michael Chandler will undoubtedly earn him millions of dollars from the UFC, the booze business is where he’s pulling nine-figure paydays.

His non-stop marketing of Proper 12 whiskey earned him a reported $ 500 million when he sold chunks of the product to Proximo Spirits in 2019 and 2021. Now he’s trying to recreate that Midas touch magic with his stout, and it’s hard to find pictures of the Irish sports star outside the gym where he doesn’t have a pint in his hand.

How all that ‘delicious’ will affect his fighting abilities in the cage when he returns at UFC 303 on June 29th remains to be seen. But McGregor remains a master of pulling the world’s attention, if not always for the right reasons.

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