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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Francis Ngannou suffered a parent’s worst nightmare.

On Monday, Cameroonian news outlet 237 Online reported that Ngannou’s 18-month old son passed away. While the exact circumstances of the tragedy are still unknown, sources with MMA Fighting confirmed the news. Ngannou has not publicly spoken on the matter, but did post to social media conveying his grief.

“What’s the purpose of life if what we’re fighting tooth and nail to get away from is what finally hit us the hardest!?

“Why is life so unfair and merciless?

“Why does life always take what we don’t have? I’m f*cking tired”

Ngannou’s head coach Eric Nicksick and manager Marquel Martin also took to social media to share their condolences with their fighter.

“It’s been a heavy few days, words can’t express the pain we all feel for the Ngannou family during this time. Please keep Francis and his family in your heart, and may this be a reminder of the fragility of life. Say “I love you,” more often, tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.”

“Please respect Francis Ngannou and his family during this traumatic time. I along with millions others will be praying for their strength. #perspective #WhatReallyMatters”

The former UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou was one of the biggest stories in combat sports this past year as he transitioned to boxing to great success. “The Predator” nearly upset lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in his professional debut, even knocking the undefeated boxer down during their 10-round fight. His sophomore outing was less successful, as Ngannou was knocked out by Anthony Joshua in their second round of their fight in March.

Ngannou’s efforts in MMA and in boxing have made him a beloved figure in combat sports, and faced with such tragedy, the MMA world mourned the terrible news along with him on Monday.

Damon Martin contributed to this report.

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Francis Ngannou has suffered a loss that no parent should have to experience.

According to information obtained by journalist Joseph Essama and reported by 237online.com, the former UFC heavyweight champion’s 18-month-old son has passed away. No additional details regarding the tragedy have been revealed at this time.

“What’s the purpose of life if what we’re fighting tooth and nail to get away from is what finally hit us the hardest!? Why is life so unfair and merciless? Why does life always take what we don’t have? I’m f*cking tired,” Ngannou wrote on X.

The combat sports star received a flood of support from the MMA community, including Conor McGregor who offered his condolences to the Cameroonian.

“I am so sorry to hear of your loss Francis, my prayers are with you and your family at this time,” McGregor replied.

Ngannou’s longtime coach Eric Nicksick also commented on the tragic turn of events online.

“It’s been a heavy few days, words can’t express the pain we all feel for the Ngannou family during this time,” Nicksick wrote. “Please keep Francis and his family in your heart, and may this be a reminder of the fragility of life. Say “I love you,” more often, tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.”

the Combat Sports Community Rallies Around Francis Ngannou

It’s uncertain how this will impact his long-awaited return to mixed martial arts under the PFL banner, but that is likely the least of his concerns at this time. On behalf of everyone at LowKick MMA, we offer our sincere condolences to Francis Ngannou and his family during this trying time.

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Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and Holden Boxing confirmed on Monday that the upcoming boxing match between influence-turned boxer Jake Paul and former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has been sanction as a professional fight.  

“Mike Tyson and Jake Paul signed on to fight each other with the desire to do so in a sanctioned professional fight that would have a definitive outcome,” said Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian. “Over the past six weeks MVP has worked with its partners to satisfy the requirements of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) to sanction Paul Vs Tyson and we are grateful that we have gotten to this point. 

“MVP has championed fighter choice since its inception, including advocating for women’s boxing to be contested with 2 or 3 minute rounds based on the particular fight matchup. Paul vs Tyson and Taylor vs Serrano 2 will both be contested with 2 minute rounds and each mega-fight will have its winner. Thank you to the TDLR and Holden Boxing for their efforts throughout this process to date and we look forward to working closely with them as we approach fight night.” 

Paul is coming off a first-round knockout win over Ryan Bourland. He’s 9-1 in his professional boxing career. In November 2020, Tyson faced Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout. The fight went the distance and was ruled a draw. 

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Charly Arnolt almost passed on the opportunity to make UFC history.

The backstage reporter was called upon to make a clutch save this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 91, when ring announcer Joe Martinez was briefly unable to fulfill his duties due to an illness. With little notice, Arnolt stepped in to announce the winner of the Karine Silva vs. Ariena da Silva fight, and stayed on to handle the fighter introductions and result of the Bogdan Guskov vs. Ryan Spann co-main event.

In doing so, Arnolt became the first woman to serve as a ring announcer on a UFC broadcast. Arnolt later made an Instagram post detailing the experience and how close she was to not taking the last-second gig.

“I was assigned as a reporter, that’s my normal responsibility for UFC fight nights, and I’m doing my thing, I’m about to jump on headset with the guys before a fight’s about to begin,” Arnolt said. “The next thing you know, one of my producers, he walks up to me and he was like, ‘Hey, Joe Martinez is sick. His voice is giving out. He doesn’t know if he’s going to be able to do the next few announcements. Can you do it?’

“I was like, ‘I’m sorry, what are you asking me?’

“He’s like, ‘Listen, if you’re not comfortable, you can say so. But we need to figure out a solution and figure it out very quickly because time is of the essence, obviously.”

Initially, Arnolt told her producer that she was not comfortable replacing Martinez out of fear making a mistake on national television in a role that she is unfamiliar with. Arnolt has done reporting and provided commentary for several outlets such as Fox News and OutKick, and also previously worked as an on-screen personality for the WWE, but live ring announcing was not on her résumé.

It was two UFC makeup artists that gave Arnolt a pep talk and convinced her to jump on the opportunity.

“They look at me and they’re like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Of course, you can do it. You’re super talented, you’re a professional. Why would you say you’re uncomfortable? You need to do it,’” Arnolt said. “I was like, OK, I’m freaking out. But I’m like, ‘You’re right. I have to do it. I can’t say no to this. I can’t back down when the team needs me.’

“So [the producer] swings back around and I was like, ‘Listen, if you need me, I can do it. I’m OK. I’ll figure it out.’ He’s like, ‘We will get you completely prepared.’”

Not only did the backstage staff support Arnolt, Martinez himself was on hand to give her as many pointers as he could before she made the walk to the octagon (Martinez later resumed his duties for the evening’s main event).

Fortunately for Arnolt, the UFC’s faith in her did not go unrewarded as she did an admirable job briefly replacing Martinez. Afterward, she was still in disbelief at what had just happened.

“Time comes, I step into the octagon, I do my first announcement, and ‘Oh my God. I did it. Oh my God, oh my God, I did it,’” Arnolt said. “Honestly, I was kind of in a state of shock, but obviously then I had to keep going and had tons of help from the team.

“The point here is, not only am I thankful for the help that I was given by these people. I am so thankful for the confidence that they gave me. I’m not a person that lacks confidence, I’ve got plenty of it, but I was scared. I was scared of messing up. And if it wouldn’t have been for these wonderful people, the team that pushed me, everybody, I don’t know if I would have ended up doing it. So I’m so thankful that I was pushed outside of my comfort zone because holy crap, I made history, and what a cool thing to now have to look back on. This is something I will never, ever forget.”

This wasn’t first time that one of the UFC’s female reporters showed their versatility. Veteran broadcaster Laura Sanko became the first woman to work as a UFC commentator in the modern era when she took to the desk in February 2023 at UFC Vegas 68 and followed that up by also handling color commentary for UFC 293 the following September.

Sanko has also previously handled ring announcer duties for Dana White’s Contender Series.

Watch Arnolt’s Instagram post below.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul is one for the record books.

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck confirmed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation that the upcoming July 20 boxing match between Tyson and Paul has been sanctioned as a professional bout with the result counting on their records. The fight takes place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The news was first reported by ESPN.

Tyson (50-6, 2 NC) competes in his 59th pro bout, while Paul (9-1) competes professionally for the 10th time.

Paul, a social media influencer and YouTube star, has said from the beginning that his bout with the 57-year-old Tyson would be a sanctioned contest. On Monday, he posted to Instagram to confirm the news.

“I wasn’t joking when I said this would be a real fight,” Paul wrote. “See you in July.”

The bout takes place over the course of eight two-minute rounds, with the competitors wearing 14-ounce gloves.

Tyson, for his part, appears to be taking his training as seriously for the bout, having released several videos showing off his preparation for what will be his first pro fight since June 2005. He has competed in a pair of exhibition bouts since his retirement, most recently battling fellow legend Roy Jones Jr. to a split draw in November 2020.

In his prime, Tyson was the most feared knockout artist of his generation. “Iron Mike” recorded 44 career knockouts and held multiple heavyweight titles from 1986 to 1996.

Paul is currently on a three-fight win streak following his lone loss to Tommy Fury. He holds notable wins over former UFC stars Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, and Tyron Woodley.

In the July 20 co-main event, Amanda Serrano fights Katie Taylor in a rematch of their epic April 2022 encounter that Taylor won by split decision. This time, Taylor’s undisputed super lightweight title is on the line.

Paul vs. Tyson tickets are set to go on sale May 16. The event airs live on Netflix.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Amazing
| BJPenn.com