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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The UFC 302 main card has plenty of intriguing matchups for the June 1st event at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

In the main event, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev hopes to derail Dustin Poirier’s quest for a UFC title. Poirier has won three of his past five fights to put himself back into title contention.

Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa clash in a middleweight contest for the co-main event. Strickland aims to bounce back after losing his title to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297, while Costa has lost three of his past four fights.

Jailton Almeida tries to bounce back from his first UFC loss to Curtis Blaydes this past March when he clashes with Alexandr Romanov in a heavyweight contest.

Also on the main card, Cesar Almeida and Roman Kopylov clash in a middleweight contest.

Randy Brown and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos kick off the pay-per-view main card with a welterweight fight.

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The flyweight title was up for grabs in the UFC 301 main event on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  

Champion Alexandre Pantoja faced tenth-ranked Steve Erceg in the fight card’s main event at Farmasi Arena.  It was Pantoja’s second title defense.  He entered the match riding a five-fight winning streak and held the hardware.  

Erceg made the walk to the octagon on an eleven-fight winning streak and fresh off ‘Performance of the Night’ knockout win over Matt Schnell in March.  The knockout punched his ticket to a title fight. 

Pantoja came out aggressive and landed a leg kick followed by a left hand.  Pantoja rushed forward with punches and Erceg briefly tied him up.  Erceg connected with a left kick and pressed forward.  Erceg landed a combination.  Pantoja rushed forward and landed to the body.  Pantoja clinched long enough to deliver a knee.  Erceg pressured and Pantoja landed a left hand and took Erceg down.  Erceg tried to stand and Pantoja delivered a knee to the body.  Pantoja moved to side control with a minute remaining in the round.  Pantoja delivered a series of left hands as Erceg stood.  Pantoja drug him back to the ground.  Erceg scrambled to his feet and separated.  MMAWeekly scored the first frame 10-9 for the champion.  

Pantoja connected with a right hand and pressed froward.  They clinched and worked for position along the cage.  The second round started fast.  Pantoja separated and Pantoja rushed in with a wild combination.  Erceg landed a counter right hand as Pantoja closed the distance.  Pantoja secured a takedown and quickly moved to the mount.  Erceg got to half guard and reversed Pantoja.  The scrambled to their feet and separated at the midway mark.  

Erceg moved in with a right hand and looked for a takedown.  Pantoja defended the attempt and pushed Erceg away.  Pantoja moved in with a right hand.  Erceg landed right a right hand.  He connected with a left as Pantoja moved forward.  Pantoja looked to get the fight to the ground.  Erceg shook off the attempt and pressured the champion.  Erceg landed combination and Pantoja rushed in but missed.  Pantoja closed the distance and ate an elbow but secured the takedown.  Erceg definitely did more damage that round but Pantoja scored two takedowns.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Pantoja.  

Erceg landed an elbow to start the third.  They clinched and Pantoja delivered knees to the body before separating.  Erceg pressed forward.  He landed his jab and Pantoja responded with a leg kick.  Pantoja targeted the body and Erceg responded with a left hand.  Erceg landed his jab to keep Pantoja on the outside.  Pantoja rushed forward and clinched.  Erceg circled free with two minutes remaining in the round.  Both landed shots.  As Pantoja pressed forward, Erceg connected with an elbow that may have stunned Pantoja.  It opened up a cut on Pantoja.  Pantoja quickly went for a takedown and got it.  Pantoja took Erceg’s back.  The round ended.  MMAWeekly scored the round for Pantoja.  

Erceg’s corner told him, ‘you’re probably down three.  You need to go and try to finish this,’ before the fourth frame.  Erceg inched forward and landed a right hand.  They exchanged jabs.  Erceg changed levels and looked for a takedown.  Pantoja stuffed the attempt.  Erceg landed an elbow that had Pantoja looking for a takedown.  Erceg shook off the attempt and landed an uppercut.  

Pantoja stepped forward and connected with a right hand.  Erceg connected with his jab and right hand.  Erceg stalked Pantoja.  Pantoja moved in with a combination.  Erceg went for a takedown and Pantoja successfully sprawled.  Erceg landed to the body.  Pantoja’s cut began leaking into his eyes.  Erceg landed a left and Pantoja clinched.  They separated and Pantoja landed a left.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Erceg.  

Pantoja’s corner told him that he’s ‘won at least three’ before coming out for the final round.  Erceg landed his jab followed by a leg kick.  Pantoja pressed forward and Erceg changed levels and took him down.  Pantoja scrambled to his feet and took Erceg down.  Erceg got to his feet but Pantoja stayed on him.  Erceg looked to have grabbed the fence to stay on his feet.  Pantoja drug him to the ground.  Erceg quickly got to his feet and separated.  

Erceg pressed forward and landed a short uppercut.  With two minutes remaining, Pantoja landed to the body but was hit with an elbow.  A second cut opened up on Pantoja.  Erceg looked for a takedown and Pantoja reversed him and gained top position.  Erceg tried to scramble but Pantoja maintained top control.  He moved to side control and Erceg briefly gave up his back.  He rolled and Pantoja stayed on him.  MMAWeekly scored the final round 10-for Pantoja.  

The judges scored the fight for Pantoja.  The scorecards read 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Ryan Garcia refuses to let a drug test failure tarnish his latest victory.

There was already plenty of controversy surrounding Garcia’s win over Devin Haney this past April, with Garcia botching a shot at Haney’s super lightweight title after missing weight by three pounds. However, Garcia delivered on fight night, scoring multiple knockdowns to win a majority decision and hand Haney his first loss.

On May 1, it was reported that Garcia failed a pair of drug tests, testing positive for the banned substance ostarine. Garcia has vehemently denied that he knowingly used steroids.

In an Instagram Live conversation with boxer and social media influencer Jake Paul, Garcia went as far as to say that if he’s proven guilty, he would leave the sport of boxing.

“Ryan, if you did do it, then that’s really f*cked up,” Paul said. “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.”

It was a much-needed win for Garcia, who had bounced back from a high-profile loss to Gervonta Davis with a knockout of Oscar Duarte. Garcia was seeking his first world title, an opportunity he lost on the scale.

The 25-year-old also exhibited erratic behavior on social media ahead of the Haney fight, which he has since claimed was all an act. Now, he again finds himself having to deal with outside-of-the-ring allegations.

“At the end of the day, I know I didn’t,” Garcia said. “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.”

Garcia has repeatedly questioned the veracity of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) process, specifically the timing of the results. According to Garcia, he tested negative several times leading up to fight week, and he believes there is a conspiracy working to undermine him.

“If all my tests came out clean all the way up to the day before my fight and the day after, obviously they’re setting me up,” Garcia said. “I don’t take f*cking steroids.

“This is like some shit I shouldn’t have to be dealing with, but because I won, they threw this shit on me. I don’t do f*cking steroids. That’s weird. I’ve never done steroids in my life.”

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UFC

Mike Perry has a new promoter after Conor McGregor became a part owner in BKFC, but that doesn’t mean a bare-knuckle fight between them is off the table.

This past weekend during the BKFC KnuckleMania 4 event, McGregor announced his investment into BKFC, which made him a part owner of the promotion. BKFC president David Feldman celebrated the partnership and later explained that he expects McGregor to exert his influence over a lot of different facets of the business.

Almost exactly one year ago, McGregor attended a BKFC card, put one of the organization’s belts over a shoulder, and shared a faceoff with Perry following Perry’s win over ex-UFC champion Luke Rockhold. Now that he owns a piece of the promotion, McGregor might be more concerned with a return on his investment, but Perry would still gladly accept the opportunity to welcome him into the bare-knuckle arena as a fighter.

“It’s great to have the noise,” Perry told MMA Fighting of McGregor joining the promotion. “Because no one markets quite like Conor. Even when he made the announcement, it was a flashy little video.

“But I want it to be known that I am my own boss and I am also a part owner of the BKFC, and I’m in here doing work. So maybe a Conor fight [could happen].”

Of course, Perry is realistic when addressing a potential fight against McGregor, because he knows the Irish superstar remains a high priority for the UFC.

McGregor is slated to make his return to action at UFC 303 in a showdown against Michael Chandler in what currently serves as the penultimate fight on his contract. Win or lose, McGregor will then have one bout remaining, but Perry understands UFC will probably move mountains to ensure the former two-division champ never enters free agency.

That doesn’t stop Perry from entertaining the possibility of a McGregor clash one day.

“The only thing about the Conor fight that could be a possibility is just time,” Perry said. “Because he still has two [fights] on his UFC contract. After he fights Michael Chandler, he’ll have one, and then the UFC’s coming to the table, probably going to attempt to lock him down on deals and probably the best deals you can put together, I don’t know.

“If he wanted to do it, that would be his choice. That is why he still fights, because he wants to. I can respect that all day. A fight would be very fun considering we both fought Eddie Alvarez and he pieced him up real clean. Eddie didn’t really touch him. Eddie got me, he punched on me a little bit, but I kind of like that shit. I’m just a sick bastard like that.”

Nobody has fared well against Perry thus far in his bare-knuckle boxing career, as “Platinum” keeps racking up wins and experience with every performance.

Perry can’t say with certainty that McGregor would do any better than his past opponents, but he knows McGregor stays winning even if he’s not getting his hand raised in the ring.

“It’s hard to say nothing won’t end well for Conor,” Perry said. “The thing about me in bare-knuckle boxing, it’s always ending well for me as well. When you get two guys in the ring like that, you’re talking a heavy magnitude fight here. I used to say things like, ‘I’m the American Conor McGregor.’”

It seems rather unlikely that Perry will draw McGregor anytime soon, just due to his UFC contract, so that still leaves BKFC’s “King of Violence” without an obvious next opponent.

After dispatching Thiago Alves in just 60 seconds this past Saturday night, Perry called out fellow UFC veteran Darren Till, but he’s still not sure that fight will actually happen.

Beyond that, Perry hopes perhaps McGregor might be able to exert some influence along with the powers-that-be at BKFC to find him a worthwhile opponent for his next fight.

“I was looking at Thiago like he had two [fights], he had the bare-knuckle world title. He had two bare-knuckle matches and he’s proven very tough in combat sports throughout the years,” Perry said. “I guess I trained like I thought he might be ready to put it on me, and then the results speak for themselves.”

“Recently, on my podcast — I can’t wait for the episode to come out — I called lots of people. I called out, just to name a couple — I called out ‘Rampage’ Jackson, I called out Jon Jones, I called out Jean-Claude Van Damme. I’m calling them all out. If they want to practice fight first, go ahead, get you a practice fight or two. Because I’m taking off over here. I’m 5-0 in bare-knuckle right now, 6-0 in the past few years when it comes to this boxing. I need a challenge. I need a real boxer or someone I want to beat up like Darren Till. I want to beat that guy up, but I don’t think he’s coming to do no gloves. I’m in a weird place because I’m very good, I’m in a very good place but I’m also, who’s next? What’s it going to be?”

Perry has faith that BKFC will find someone worthwhile, but he also understands there are no certainties when it comes to combat sports. For now, he’s just enjoying the ride.

“Sometimes in fighting, it could be your last fight and you didn’t even know it,” Perry said. “That’s up to the big wigs. I’m still on contract. I’m my own boss, but at the same time, when they call, they say, ‘We have an offer,’ OK, great, I’d love to hear it — and the offer’s extraordinary.

“I know there’s some other prizefighters that want an extraordinary offer. But now it’s a thing that has to be earned. They have to prove that they want the offer. They can’t just get in the ring, get paid, and leave after I knock them out. They have to earn that payday.”

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Following tonight’s UFC 301 event at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the big winners will answer questions from the media during the post-fight press conference.  

A flyweight title bout between champion Alexandre Pantoja and tenth-ranked Steve Erceg headlined the fight card.  In the co-main event, former two-time featherweight champion Jose Aldo came out of retirement to take on 12th-ranked Jonathan Martinez.

UFC 301 Post-Fight Press Conference Video

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What a fight!
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