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Devin Haney lost more than his undefeated record on Saturday.

While Haney was fortunate to retain his WBC super lightweight title after opponent Ryan Garcia missed weight for their bout, he still suffered a deflating majority decision loss, with Garcia battering him with power punches during several key exchanges in their 12-round bout. Haney was officially knocked down three times and saw his pro record drop to 31-1.

Haney has consistently been ranked in the top 10 of the pound-for-pound rankings on most major boxing sites, but his reputation is likely to take a hit after a disappointing performance in which he was pegged as a heavy favorite.

Analyst and former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi believes fans got a proper gauge of Haney’s talents in the loss.

“Back to the drawing board for Devin Haney,” Malignaggi said on his YouTube channel. “Still a good fighter, but he just wasn’t a pound-for-pound guy. I think this exposed it. No ability to adjust whatsoever.”

At the start of the fight, Garcia aggressively pursued a finish, but Haney weathered the storm and battled back to take several of the early rounds. However, Haney was reminded of Garcia’s power in Round 7 as he was knocked down and put into survival mode. Garcia went on to score knockdowns in Round 10 and Round 11 as well.

Malignaggi expected Garcia to have the power advantage and was surprised that Haney couldn’t adapt to Garcia’s approach.

“I saw some people that were giving Ryan a chance, but I really couldn’t take it seriously based on, not just his antics, but his inability to have shown me different dimensions in the past,” Malignaggi said. “I really am not so sure he showed those different dimensions in this fight. It more so was exposing Devin Haney than it was Ryan Garcia showing anything else.

“Garcia still was mainly a left hook guy. His left hook has always been dangerous and we’ve always known that. Did he really set it up in any other creative ways that set up Haney in different manner than anybody else? I’m not really sure. He fought the fight in spots, he fought the fight where he was either going 100 miles an hour or he was fighting really, really quietly, and the big spots were huge spots and eventually took over the fight.”

Malignaggi went on to dissect Haney’s résumé, saying that he mostly defeated past-their-prime or over-hyped fighters outside of a quality win over Vasiliy Lomachenko. In particular, Malignaggi pointed to a two-fight series against George Kambosos Jr. as playing a major part in Haney’s credentials being blown out of proportion, as he sees it.

With Haney no longer among the ranks of the undefeated, Malignaggi wonders if critics will view him in a different light now.

“The lightweight work that Haney really did that’s worth anything is Kambosos, who was famous for one win and hasn’t really looked good ever since,” Malignaggi said. “You’ve got to start reassessing Haney.

“Haney put up a great effort last night. He just didn’t have the power and the versatility. I’ll tell you what, I had a better jab than Haney, that’s for sure. Haney’s jab should have been working overtime and he should have been less squared off as it is, because if he had not been so squared up as it is, he wouldn’t have got hit with so many of those hooks. I don’t know what he’s doing.

“That’s another thing, that you can’t compare Haney to Floyd Mayweather. I remember Team Haney and some of those Haney ‘D riders’ were jumping on Haney about how he’s going to be the next Mayweather. There’s only one Mayweather.”

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Ryan Garcia cashed in on Saturday night.

Not only did the 25-year-old boxing star bag the biggest win of his career, but he also walked away with $ 12 million after reportedly placing a $ 2 million bet on himself at +600 odds to defeat Devin Haney. All told, ‘King Ryan’ walked away with roughly $ 50 million following his impressive showing in The Big Apple.

“If you bet, BET ON YOURSELF. On top of what we made, EATING GOOD,” Garcia wrote on Instagram. “About 50 million (probably more) in one night; not too shabby.”

No wonder Ryan wasn’t concerned with forking over $ 1.5 million to his opponent after showing up more than three pounds over the limit.

Did Ryan Garcia pull off the greatest troll job in combat sports history?

After having a complete mental breakdown on social media over the last several weeks, sportsbooks heavily favored Haney to come out on top inside the Barclays Center. Garcia was listed as high as +800, meaning a $ 100 bet would have netted you a return of $ 800.

Pundits have since theorized that Ryan Garcia’s slew of nonsensical rants on social media were nothing more than a way to bring down his odds of winning. The cherry on top was Garcia showing up heavy 24 hours ahead of fight night and chugging a beer as he stepped on the scale.

According to ESPN, there are no regulations about a boxer betting on themselves by the Nevada State Athletic Commission or the Nevada Gaming Control. Whether or not that holds true in NYC remains to be seen.

Fight fans offered a variety of reactions to the news, many of which you can see below courtesy of Sportskeeda MMA:

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Arman Tsarukyan took over the top contender spot in the lightweight division following his UFC 300 win over former titleholder Charles Oliveira.  The fight went the distance with Tsarukyan winning via split decision, but claims a judge scored the third round wrong and later apologized.  

Following the event, Tsarukyan claims that one of the UFC 300 judges called his coach and apologized for his third round scoring of the fight.  

“I talked to referee.  He did a mistake on the third round because he gave to Oliveira.  The judge,” Tsarukyan told Daniel Cormier on Cormier’s YouTube channel.  

“I didn’t talk to (him).  My coached talked to him.  He called my coach and said, ‘Sorry.  You were right.  I wasn’t give to Oliveira, so he apologized,” Tsarukyan continued.  

In a split decision, one judge and tilt the scorecards in either fighters’ favor.  Tsarukyan would have been livid had the decision gone the other way.  

“He’s going to kill my career.  I’ve been training like ten years nonstop,” Tsarukyan said.  “Everyday like think about the fight, cut weight, train, a lot of surgeries, trauma, drama, I don’t know, all things together.  And like some judge, maybe he was watching his phone, but now we’re good.  Thank you for that.  He said I understood I was wrong.”

The win over Oliveira was the biggest win in Tsarukyan’s career and put him in line for a title shot.   

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Conor McGregor helped produce the two biggest live gates in UFC history, and based on current ticket prices, his return may set another record.

The Irish superstar, who faces Michael Chandler in the main event at UFC 303 on June 29, fights for the first time in three years since suffering a gruesome broken leg in his most recent outing in 2021. Now healthy again, McGregor seeks to resume his career with his return at International Fight Week 2024.

Tickets for the event go on sale on April 26, but UFC released information about VIP ticket packages on Monday, which are brokered through OnLocation — the live event service owned by Endeavor, the company that serves as the primary shareholder in UFC.

The highest priced option lists at $ 12,000 per ticket, which includes a guaranteed seat in the 100 level section along with in-venue hospitality, a reserved seat at the ceremonial weigh-in, a post weigh-in reception, and a VIP entrance into the T-Mobile Arena.

The next level down starts at $ 11,500 per ticket, which features the same amenities but a guaranteed floor level ticket.

The smallest package, which is already sold out, started at $ 2,750, and that included a ticket in the 200 level seats along with pre-fight hospitality, a reserved seat at the ceremonial weigh-ins, and a post weigh-in reception.

There is an even higher package available that comes with a floor level ticket, all elite experiences included, side stage weigh-in access, a framed fight card poster signed by the main card athletes and UFC CEO Dana White, and custom fight kits, but the price is only available through inquiry with the company. Obviously, those prices exceed $ 12,000 per ticket.

VIP packages for tickets have become big business for the UFC in recent years after Endeavor acquired the company in 2016. OnLocation also handles seating for the UFC APEX events, which feature a limited number of seats with VIP packages raging in price, but usually hitting several thousand dollars at the highest level.

Standard ticket prices for UFC 303 will likely range between $ 700 to $ 2,500, with higher prices expected for the lower level seats on the floor closer to the octagon.

The full live gate won’t be made available until fight night, but McGregor’s last appearance at UFC 264 in 2021 pulled in $ 15,759,800 at the T-Mobile Arena, which stands as the fourth-highest live gate in the history of the promotion. McGregor’s biggest live gate happened in 2016 when he became the first ever simultaneous two-division champion at UFC 205 in New York, which brought in $ 17.7 million.

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Deiveson Figueiredo wants to add another former UFC champion to his résumé next.

“Deus da Guerra” beat Cody Garbrandt in impressive fashion at UFC 300, scoring a second-round rear-naked choke finish to improve to 2-0 as a bantamweight. Now, he’s calling for a match with Dominick Cruz.

“People are throwing some names at me, but what I really want is to fulfill a dream of mine, which is to face Dominick Cruz,” Figueiredo told Canal Encarada. “Dominick has a big name and everybody knows the history he has in the UFC. He works for the UFC and is always on the spotlight, and I hope to one day get to fight him.”

Cruz, a former UFC and WEC bantamweight titleholder, earned back-to-back decision wins over Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz before losing by knockout to Marlon Vera in his most recent appearance in August 2022.

Figueiredo went 11-3-1 as a UFC flyweight, with victories over the likes of Brandon Moreno, Alexandre Pantoja, Joseph Benavidez (twice), and Alex Perez.

“I think [Cruz] is an opponent that could take me to a title fight,” Figueiredo said.

Figueiredo, who trained for his UFC 300 bout alongside Bellator legends Patricio Pitbull and Patricky Pitbull in Brazil, stayed in Las Vegas a few extra days after the win to “do some recovery work” at the UFC Performance Institute and stay in shape in case UFC calls soon.

If he had the option, Figueiredo would book his next fight for UFC 303, which goes down June 29 in Las Vegas.

“I’m staying ready,” Figueiredo said. “For me, it would be sensational to fight on the [Conor] McGregor card in June. That depends on [Cruz] signing the contract, and I’ll be ready. I want to fight him. I want to make this fight happen.”

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In typical Justin Gaethje fashion, he was involved in yet another fight of the night display at UFC 300, but fans are questioning whether he now regrets taking the Max Holloway matchup.

Win or lose, ‘The Highlight’ has been one of the most consistently entertaining fighters the sport has ever seen. In 13 fights of his UFC career, Gaethje has picked up a sensational 13 bonuses. He strives to put on a show for the viewers, though this has sometimes come back to haunt him.

During a recent interview, Justin Gaethje reflected on his defeat at UFC 300. Despite potentially losing a title opportunity against Islam Makhachev, Gaethje insists he has no regrets taking the Max Holloway matchup.

“[It’s a] crazy game, you know?” Gaethje said regarding his UFC 300 loss. “I think a lot of people in my position would have set out not taking [the Holloway fight].”

“I have no regrets. I think it was–I had so much fun. I think it was such a huge historic card for the UFC. And to be a part of that, to be the best fight on that card, you know, is gonna live on forever.”

“And again, it was a huge risk. I failed, and if I would have won that fight, if I’d got a quick knockout, I would have been taking that fight [against Islam Makhachev], but it’s just the name of the game.” [h/t MMA Knockout]

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Related: Max Holloway shows off leg injury days after UFC 300

In the aftermath of Max Holloway’s knockout of Justin Gaethje, Dana White announced Islam Makhachev’s next title defense.

At UFC 302, Makhachev will put his lightweight throne and #1 pound-for-pound ranking on the line against the undeniable Dustin Poirier.

‘The Diamond’ entered his last outing as the underdog, taking on Benoit Saint-Denis. As he usually does, Poirier came out on top in a dog fight, knocking out his opponent and now securing a title fight opportunity on June 1.

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Title fight?
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Michael Chandler knows what it’s like to battle back from adversity in mixed martial arts (MMA).

The former three-time Bellator Lightweight champion finally has his long-awaited dream match up against Conor McGregor booked for UFC 303 on June 29, 2024. Chandler, 37, played a risky game holding out for the unpredictable “Notorious” having not fought since November 2022. Ultimately, his patience paid off.

Chandler’s last time out saw him fall short via a third round rear-naked choke loss to Dustin Poirier in their UFC 281 Fight of the Night (watch highlights). Reflecting on the period of inactivity, Chandler recently compared it to a previous gap in his 31-fight career (23-8) when he lost three straight to Eddie Alvarez and Will Brooks (twice) in Bellator.

“I went 688 days without winning a fight, almost two full years without winning a fight,” Chandler told Shawn Ryan. “For a mixed martial artist, this could be a career death sentence. That’s when the doubt from everybody plus yourself continues to compound on itself.

“So, I hired a sports psychologist,” he continued. “I really started realizing I can do all the reps and all the sets and all the push-ups and all the lifts and all the sparring and all the sessions. I can do all the physical stuff, but if I’m not building up the mind, I’m really just making a bigger, faster, stronger more dangerous subpar version of the man that I’m supposed to be if I don’t start doing the work inside my mind.”

Chandler’s hiatus won’t be the only time-related factor in his upcoming match up. McGregor, 35, will also return to action for the first time after an extended break. Like “Iron,” his last fight was also a loss to Poirier when he suffered a first round technical knockout and leg break in their trilogy at UFC 264 in July 2021 (watch highlights).

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