CombatSports.org

Garcia claps back
| BJPenn.com

UFC 301 results live online: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, TONIGHT (Sat., May 4, 2024) with a hungover pay-per-view (PPV) card (thanks, UFC 300). In UFC 301’s headliner, Flyweight roost-ruler, Alexandre Pantoja — who has been with the world’s leading mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion for more than eight years — will headline his first-ever event (it also marks his first-ever UFC bout in Brazil) — against relatively unknown ranked Australian contender, Steve Erceg. In UFC 301’s PPV co-main event, former Featherweight champion and first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee, Jose Aldo, emerges from MMA “retirement” to lock horns with No. 12-ranked division contender, Jonathan Martinez. In addition, UFC 301’s PPV main card will feature Anthony Smith vs. Vitor Petrino, Michel Pereira vs. Ihor Potieria and Paul Craig vs. Caio Borralho. All that and SO MUCH MORE! UFC 301’s entire “Prelims” undercard will stream on ESPN+ (in English and Spanish), beginning at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT (ESPN2 will simulcast the “late” portion at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT) before the PPV main card action kicks off at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (also on ESPN+). Of course, UFC 301 odds and betting available at DraftKings Sportsbook.

ITTTTTTTTTTT’S TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!

MMAmania.com will deliver bell-to-bell results coverage of UFC 301 online LIVE all evening (late) night, including latest fight updates, fight recaps, video highlights, winners, losers, press conference streams and all the other post-fight fallout you can handle well into Sunday. Buckle up! We’ll have all the news that’s fit to print and much, much more. We’ve got UFC 301’s entire card — including “Prelims” undercard matches on ESPN+/ESPN2 — all covered below in our comprehensive story stream.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 301 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 301: “Pantoja vs. Erceg” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

The Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia live stream online is the place to find all the early action for one of boxing’s most anticipated events on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

In the main event, Canelo Alvarez puts his WBC super middleweight title on the line against Jaime Munguia in a 12-round contest.

The Canelo vs. Munguia live stream features the following fights starting above at 6 p.m. ET.

Jesus Ramos vs. Johan Gonzalez

Vito Mielnicki Jr. vs. Ronald Cruz

After the prelims are over, fans can head to DAZN or PPV.com at 8 p.m. ET to watch Canelo Alvarez and Jaime Munguia battle in the main event. The pay-per-vew undercard will also have three other fights.

There will only be two title fights on the undercard after Jessie Magdaleno missed weight.

Mario Barrios vs. Fabian Maidana – WBC interim welterweight championship

Brandon Figueroa vs. Jessie Magdaleno

Eimantas Stanionis vs. Gabriel Maestre – WBA “regular” welterweight championship

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Anthony Smith has gotten plenty of flack from fans online and he’s firing back.

Smith’s role as a UFC analyst and frequent podcast guest have opened him up to criticism from online commentators, most of whom are quick to insult the veteran light heavyweight when they disagree with his takes. At this point, Smith is used to it.

However, that doesn’t mean “Lionheart” takes all of the digs from trolls lying down.

“Some of it is the position I put myself in as being an analyst,” Smith said at UFC 301 media day. “Fans are stupid. They are. Like, you guys write an article and they don’t read the article. They just read the headline and they just make up the rest in their head. If they actually read it, almost everything I say makes a lot of sense. Every once in a while, maybe I have some crazy takes, but it’s not that often.

“Honestly, me and my friends play a game: What kind of crazy shit can I say to see what the fans will say? Then they just play into it. They can’t separate me as an analyst and me as an athlete. When I’m talking about someone as an analyst, I don’t put myself into that.”

One piece of analysis that Smith has taken flack for is evaluation of UFC light heavyweight champion and former middleweight champion Alex Pereira. “Poatan,” a veteran kickboxer, has torn through two divisions in the UFC despite a limited amount of pro MMA experience, and Smith hasn’t hesitated to point out holes in his game.

Smith takes solace in his belief that knowledgeable fans and fighters understand where he’s coming from.

“I can talk about Alex Pereira all I want,” Smith said. “I’m not talking about how it would be with me. I’m not even saying I’m better than he is. How I feel about myself personally has nothing to do with what I’m talking about. I’ve said he’s a fantastic striker, no lies there. I said he’s probably not a great grappler. Does anyone in this room think he’s a black belt grappler? Come on. I’m not being disrespectful. I’m saying what he’s done at this level for as long as he’s done it is amazing.

“[Daniel Cormier’s] loud ass out there said the exact same thing and no one said shit, but as soon as I say it, because I’m still competing, they have a problem with it. I’ve just gotten to the point where I don’t really care. It doesn’t matter. The fighters know that I’m speaking the truth. You don’t see anyone coming up in hallways trying to fight me about it. They know I’m right.”

Smith has the chance to vent whatever frustrations he may have with the fan base in his upcoming fight at UFC 301. He takes on Vitor Petrino at Saturday’s event in Rio de Janeiro, with the aim of bouncing back from a loss and handing the 11-0 Petrino his first.

Regardless of the background static that comes from his commentary work, Smith feels like he is mentally in the best place he can be.

“It’s the most important part,” Smith said. “If I’m not having fun, I might as well not do it. I fight like shit when I’m not having fun. If I’m not enjoying the process and that team atmosphere, there’s no point in me doing this. So the happier I am, the more dangerous I am. I’m in a really good spot. I’m happy.

“I’ve always talked about my personal life — and I don’t mean that as, like, my marriage or kids — just where I’m at in my day-to-day, where I’m at in my own head, makes a big difference on my performances. I’m in a great place. I’ve done the work, I’ve spent time with a therapist and worked on all that stuff that’s going on in my brain, and I feel good. So it changes from time to time, fight to fight, it’s different, but this one I’m in a good spot.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

submitted by /u/event_threads
[link] [comments]
MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

There’s a saying: “Never meet your heroes.” But what about beating them up?

On Saturday night at UFC 301, Jonathan Martinez goes up against a third fighter he admired growing up when he faces Jose Aldo in the co-main event. Upon first receiving the offer, Martinez admittedly did a double take — he didn’t realize immediately that he was facing the Jose Aldo, because that Jose Aldo retired back in 2022.

Once he realized it was arguably the greatest featherweight in history and a constant presence among the best fighters at 135 pounds, Martinez shifted his focus toward beating Aldo. In many ways, he felt strong similarities between his upcoming fight and past UFC encounters he shared with Cub Swanson and Thomas Almeida.

“I was actually watching [Jose Aldo] when I was in the eighth, ninthe grade when I was watching the WEC,” Martinez told MMA Fighting. “The same thing watching Cub Swanson. I was sitting on my couch with my parents, my brother, and watching those fights. I never thought I was going to fight them, but here we are.”

Going back even further, Martinez recounted the first time UFC forced him to switch from fan to opponent when tasked with facing one of his favorite fighters.

“This is my third time going against [someone I admired],” Martinez said. “My first time was Thomas Almeida, I was a huge fan of him. I remember I shared on my Instagram that he was going to be a world champ one day when he was coming out of Legacy [FC], he was just beating guys up.

“Then when the name came up, I think it was a short-notice fight and I told my coach we’d take it. I went out there and I beat him. After that, I was like, ‘That was pretty cool.’”

Martinez beat Almeida by decision. Two years later, he chopped down Swanson with leg kicks to earn a Performance of the Night bonus.

He hopes to add Aldo to his win column in similar fashion at UFC 301, because as much as he respects “The King of Rio,” Martinez knows it’s his own time to shine.

“I’m going out there to make a statement to everybody,” Martinez said. “Hopefully get some of his fans too. He had his chance. Now I should have my chance.

“This is going to be real good. Excited I got this opportunity to fight and it’s even better to fight someone in their town. I like that feeling.”

As far as the matchup goes, Martinez won’t give away any secrets for his strategy, but there’s definitely been some noted interest in watching him exchange leg kicks with somebody like Aldo.

During his rise to fame in the WEC and eventually the UFC, Aldo routinely brutalized his opponents with leg kicks, including a memorable performance where he left Urijah Faber with so many bruises that it looked as if Faber was wearing purple pants.

Meanwhile, Martinez has stopped two of his past three opponents with leg kicks, which seemingly sets the stage for him to play lumberjack with Aldo.

But Martinez is quick to point out that he has more in his arsenal than just leg kicks, so don’t expect him to start swinging those just to prove a point because he’s fighting Aldo.

“I’m going to try to mix everything up,” Martinez said. “He’s really good everywhere. I’m going to try to do everything. It’s mixed martial arts. Some fights I throw kicks, some fights I don’t. We’ll see.”

More than anything, Martinez just wants to continue climbing up the ranks at bantamweight, and facing a legend like Aldo helps. He has nothing but admiration for the legendary Brazilian, but Martinez has no problem playing spoiler to Aldo in his home country, in what seems likely to be Aldo’s final appearance in the UFC.

“I am excited for that,” Martinez said. “Honestly just to show my skill and show I do belong in the top five. If I go get him out of there, it’s going to bring a lot of eyes. So that’s my goal — to get him out of there.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

The Haney’s React
| BJPenn.com

Jake Paul may be friends with Ryan Garcia, but even “Problem Child” is having a hard time believing the boxer’s recent failed drug test was a “setup.”

In case you missed it, Garcia popped earlier this week for a performance-enhancing drug dating back to his fight against Devin Haney last month. Garcia was a massive underdog in that fight as Haney is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, but “King Ry” ended up shocking the world of boxing and delivered multiple knockdowns en route to a decision win.

Everything was looking up for the controversial and presumably unstable Garcia until a failed drug test was revealed earlier this week. Now the verdict is out as to whether or not Garcia cheated against Haney. The young boxing superstar claims he’s innocent and is being setup by Team Haney after his win, but some around the combat community aren’t buying it.

Even former UFC double champion Conor McGregor put his friendship with Garcia to the wayside to destroy the boxer with a recent social media post.

Paul, who has a good relationship with Garcia, recently jumped on a video call with the boxing superstar and grilled him about his failed drug test. Garcia remains adamant that his failed test was staged and that he’s been trying to rush along a secondary test to prove his innocence. Paul seems like he wants to believe Garcia, but told him it would be “f—ked up” if he really did cheat.

“If you did do it, that’s really f—ked up and I’m gonna be pissed off at you,” said Paul (shown in the above video player. “That’s f—ked up.”

What do you think? Who are you believing at this point?

Sound off!

Stick with Mania for any new developments regarding Garcia’s drug test

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/Guilty-Vegetable-726 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The UFC 301 start time and TV schedule for the Pantoja vs. Erceg event at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday night is below.

The fight card is broken into three different parts and airs on multiple mediums. This post helps explain which fights are airing where and at which times.

The event kicks off with a five-fight early preliminary card at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+, headlined by a lightweight bout between Mauricio Ruffy and Jamie Mullarkey.

Mauricio Ruffy vs. Jamie Mullarkey

Dione Barbosa vs. Ernesta Kareckaite

Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel

Alessandro Costa vs. Kevin Borjas

The event then moves to a four-fight preliminary card at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+, headlined by a featherweight bout between Jack Shore and Joanderson Brito.

Jack Shore vs. Joanderson Brito

Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Iasmin Lucindo

Elves Brener vs. Myktybek Orolbai

Joaquim Silva vs. Drakkar Klose

The ESPN+ pay-per-view begins at 10 p.m. ET and is headlined by a flyweight title fight between UFC champion Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg. Pantoja hunts for the second defense of his flyweight belt against up-and-coming talent Erceg, who has compiled a perfect 3-0 record over his 10 months in the UFC. The official UFC 301 main card can be seen below.

Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg

Jonathan Martinez vs. Jose Aldo

Anthony Smith vs. Vitor Petrino

Michel Pereira vs. Ihor Potieria

Paul Craig vs. Caio Borralho

MMA Fighting – All Posts