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Max Holloway epitomized the entire reason the UFC created a “BMF” title when he marched to the center of the octagon, pointed to the floor, and invited Justin Gaethje to throw down with him until the final horn in their battle at UFC 300.

With only 10 seconds remaining until a guaranteed victory on the scorecards, Holloway still risked it all by trading bombs with Gaethje, which actually resulted in one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history after the Hawaiian face-planted the former interim lightweight champion with one second left on the clock. Because he was willing to take such a risk, Holloway seems to understand the whole idea behind calling yourself the “baddest motherf*****” in the sport, but he’s not getting those same vibes from Ilia Topuria.

On Wednesday during an appearance on The MMA Hour, Topuria stated that he was only interested in facing Holloway next if he put the “BMF” title up for grabs, because otherwise “I don’t want him at all.” In response, Holloway says that just proves that maybe Topuria isn’t ready to actually compete for that title, because making those kinds of demands doesn’t really fit with the “BMF” mentality.

“That’s not a very ‘BMF’ way to say it,” Holloway told Jim Rome. “A ‘BMF’ wouldn’t say, ‘I’m not going to fight this guy unless …’ That’s kind of un-‘BMF.’ Doesn’t sound ‘BMF’ the way he’s trying to demand it and saying, ‘I’m not going to fight.’

“A ‘BMF’ fights whatever, fights whoever, whenever, any weight, any time, and that’s not a tone of a ‘BMF.’”

While Holloway remains adamant that he’ll ultimately fight whoever UFC throws at him next, a showdown with Topuria still tops his own personal wish-list.

He stated just after booking the Gaethje fight that he always envisioned reclaimed the featherweight title, which he previously held through three title defenses from 2017-19.

To add to that, Topuria dethroning Volkanovski to become champion made Holloway’s path back to the belt that much easier after losing to Volkanovski three previous times.

But Holloway ultimately doesn’t mind if he goes through Topuria and then runs it back with Volkanovski for a fourth time, because that’s just what a real “BMF” would do.

“That was always my main goal. My main goal was always fighting Ilia,” Holloway said. “This was a fun fight. Shout out to Justin Gaethje. Justin Gaethje’s a legend, ‘The Highlight,’ he had everything to lose. He gave me the shot and this happened. But in my mind it was always, no matter what, win, lose, whatever it is, even until today, I wanted to fight Ilia.

“People always ask me, ‘What are your thoughts on Ilia?’ The only thing that comes to my mind is it’s questionable. The dude is super questionable. Every other 145 contender that they wanted to fight [Alexander Volkanovski], they went through me. They fought me or they had to fight me. That’s one guy that eluded me. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but he did and he got the title shot.”

Holloway praised Topuria for dethroning Volkanovski with a brutal knockout to become champion back in February at UFC 298.

That being said, Holloway still sent a not-so-subtle history lesson to Topuria when it comes time to compare their résumés against each other.

“He beat a guy I couldn’t figure out,” Holloway said of Topuria vs. Volkanovski. “He fought the guy once, I fought the guy three times, and I saw him say that slick stuff took him nine minutes for what took me 90 minutes and I couldn’t do it. Something crazy like that.

“That’s funny. Last time I checked, when I was your age, I already had title defenses, buddy. So it looks like you’ve still got some catching up to do.”

As much as Topuria remains the top option for Holloway, Holloway isn’t exactly married to the matchup, especially with a lot of other potential fights available to him.

He could stick around at a higher weight class and await the chance to face Conor McGregor or Michael Chandler after they meet in the UFC 303 main event. Holloway could also potentially pursue a title shot at lightweight with Islam Makhachev, who’s set to defend his belt against Dustin Poirier at UFC 301 in June.

Whatever ends up happening, Holloway has no complaints, because that wouldn’t be very becoming of a true “BMF” champion.

“There’s options. Especially in this sport, it’s always great to have options,” Holloway said. “I’m ranked at a higher weight class now. I’ve got my weight class at [145] sitting right there, knocking on the door. Conor’s coming back. Ilia’s there, Islam’s there. Dustin’s fighting Islam. It should be fun.

“Like I’ve been saying, that [145] title’s what I want. I want it back. But whatever way the UFC wants to push me, they’re going to push me. I’m waiting. I’m all ears.”

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According to Mike Perry, former UFC standout Darren Till turned down seven figures to toe the line with him.

Since making the move from the Octagon to the squared circle in 2022, ‘Platinum’ went from a middling welterweight to a bonafide bare-knuckle star under the BKFC banner. In his relatively short time with the promotion, Perry has already faced a who’s who of combat sports stars including Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Luke Rockhold, and Eddie Alvarez.

Gearing up for a return to the ring in 2024, all signs pointed toward Perry finally throwing hands with longtime rival Darren Till. Both men have traded shots back and forth in interviews and over social media for the past few years, and with neither being bound to a restrictive UFC contract, their clash seemed inevitable.

According to BKFC president David Feldman, the promotion had met Till’s financial needs during negotiations, but ‘The Gorilla’ ultimately declined to sign on the dotted line.

“I heard he said no to over $ 2 million dollars,” Perry said on the latest episode of The MMA Hour. “Darren’s just yapping away over there.”

According to Perry, Till would prefer their fight to be a traditional boxing match rather than a bare-knuckle brawl, and seemingly no amount of money is going to change his mind.

“What’s he doing? What is he doing? I know they gave him a hell of an offer,” Perry said. “Respect that you don’t care about that type of offer and you want what you want. When you want what you want, that’s respectable. But that’s one thing about BKFC too — at the end of the day, screw the gloves. Test yourself for real. Up against the bone. Skin and bone, baby, that’s what’s in there. Test yourself.”

Mike Perry is open to a traditional boxing match with Darren till

Mike Perry hasn’t completely closed the door on a boxing match with Till once his scheduled scrap at KnuckleMania 4 is in the books, so long as it makes sense for him financially.

“A lot of guys say they wanna do it with boxing gloves or gloves of some kind,” he said. “Those fights will happen in the future. A big part of the [BKFC] contract is I can do other things as well, and if the right money, and it has to be right because I’m being paid very handsomely.”

On April 27, Perry will look to add another name to his hit list when he meets former BKFC champion Thiago Alves at the promotion’s fourth annual KnuckleMania event in Los Angeles.

Check out Mike Perry’s full appearance on The MMA Hour below:

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Former UFC lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz has a rematch scheduled against Jorge Masvidal inside the boxing ring.  The two will fight each other in a 10-round boxing match at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. on June 1.

Diaz and Masvidal first fought inside the UFC octagon in the inaugural ‘BMF’ matchup.  Masvidal took home the symbolic belt due to doctor stoppage after the third round.  While Masvidal is his next opponent, Diaz revealed a ‘hit list’ for future bouts and guaranteed a third bout against McGregor will eventually happen.    

Diaz handed McGregor his first UFC loss after stepping in on late notice at UFC 196 in March 2016.  A rematch was quickly booked and McGregor avenged the loss at UFC 202 five months later.  

“I 100 percent guarantee I’m going to fight Conor McGregor again,” Diaz recently said in an interview with multiple outlets. “I 100 percent guarantee that I’m probably going to fight Jake Paul again, this f**king f**ker (Jorge Masvidal) again, and Leon Edwards again. That’s my hit list.”

Diaz lost to Paul via unanimous decision in a boxing match last August.  He was also defeated by Edwards by unanimous decision in June 2021.  Diaz hurt Edwards with a punch in the final round of the fight, but the current welterweight champion soundly won the bout.

Diaz left the fight promotion after fulfilling his contract in September 2022.  In his last octagon appearance, Diaz earned a ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus for his submission win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279.     

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pfl is at #6 with $ 690 million and combate global os at #10 with $ 120 million in regards to other mma leagues btw. submitted by /u/BigBanEvader [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

At the Haney vs. Garcia press conference, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia will talk about finally squaring off at Saturday’s pay-per-view event and will square off again.

The Haney vs. Garcia press conference will begin at 2 p.m. ET.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Bo Nickal knows he has Khamzat Chimaev’s attention.

The three-time NCAA champion wrestler and blue-chip middleweight prospect continued his ascent this past Saturday with a second-round submission of Cody Brundage on the pay-per-view opener of UFC 300. The bout marked the first time Nickal has seen a second round in his nascent MMA career, but nonetheless preserved his undefeated 6-0 professional record. All six of those victories have ended in stoppages.

However, one man, in particular, was not impressed: Khamzat Chimaev. The two have traded barbs for much of the past year, and after the bout, Chimaev posted on social media that Nickal’s wrestling was “big bulls***.” Upon seeing it, Nickal was delighted.

“I love it,” Nickal said Wednesday on The MMA Hour. “I think the fact that he’s recognizing it, and I think he sees what’s coming too, I think that it’s good for everybody. Good for me, good for him, good for the sport. So we’re going to make that fight happen.

“I would just in response to that like to say, yo, who were you fighting at 5-0, bro? Some random dude in Europe? I’m fighting in the UFC on UFC 300, so there’s levels to this. And I think that people just need to get to know me. The more they get to know me, the more they’re going to realize that, hey, I’m that guy, and there’s nothing anybody else can do about that. I wouldn’t surprised if when we fight, I’m like a -1000 favorite, the same as I’ve been against all these other folks.”

Nickal, 28, has prodded Chimaev over a potential fight since formally joining the UFC in 2023. The decorated wrestler is widely considered to be one of the top prospects in all of MMA, and thus far his UFC results have validated that hype. Nickal earned a pair of first-round submissions over Zachary Borrego and Donovan Beard on the UFC’s Contender Series, then kickstarted his run in the promotion with quick submissions of Jamie Pickett and Brundage sandwiched between a 38-second knockout of Val Woodburn.

Nickal knows the Chimaev fight is one for the distant future, but he’s confident he’ll be able to handle the undefeated Chechen as easily as he did Brundage once they meet.

“I think I’d do very similarly to him what I did to this last guy — take him down, rag-doll him, throw him around,” Nickal said. “He’s not a big ‘85er, he gets tired. So is his first round going to be a little better, more competitive? Probably. But if that fight’s five rounds, I don’t think he makes it five rounds, if we’re being honest. And that’s, to me, kind of a general assessment. Will it be tough at the beginning? Is he going to come at me? Absolutely. But I don’t think he’s going be able to really hurt me or do anything that inflicts so much damage that I’m not going to able to just widen the gap on him as the fight continues.”

For now, Chimaev sits exactly where Nickal hopes to be in the future — smack dab in the thick of the middleweight title conversation. After dispatching his first seven UFC opponents, most of whom he handled with ease, Chimaev is set to take on former champ Robert Whittaker on June 22 in the headliner of the promotion’s debut trip to Saudi Arabia.

Nickal doesn’t much care who wins that matchup, although he acknowledged that if Chimaev is victorious, it only turns an inevitable showdown with “Borz” down the line into a bigger fight. So in that sense, he’s selfishly pulling for his rival to have a successful night — and Nickal believes the criticisms Chimaev has faced since his hard-fought win over former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman are overblown.

“I think anytime there’s praise and hype on somebody, it probably goes too far. Even with myself, I think that it can get out of hand quick,” Nickal said. “And there’s the negative side, there’s the positive side, and then reality is probably somewhere in the middle with everybody. And so I think that, with all that considered, I do believe that with his skills, he could still be champion, and he just has built himself such a reputation that guys are scared of him. Like, I guarantee you Whitaker is terrified of getting taken down, just because of his style and what he’s been able to do. Regardless of whether him and Usman had a close fight, he has built that reputation and solidified it.

“The difference with me is just like, I’ve also built my own reputation, I also know what I’m capable of, and I know for a fact there’s zero chance of him doing that to me, which is his strongest asset. So I think the reputation aspect has a lot to do with it, and why he has won the fights the way he’s won them, and why he competes the way he competes. But I do think he does have skills that, he could be the champion.”

As for his own immediate future, Nickal is already targeting a return to action in late July or early August.

“I want to start approaching the rankings here soon,” Nickal said. “It’s funny, because once you get in the rankings, you don’t really need to fight [everyone]. There’s 15 guys ranked, I don’t need to fight 15 guys to get the belt, right? I only need to fight two or three. So it’s like, if I fight a ranked guy, then it’s feasible that within six months I’m fighting for the belt.

“So I think that I want to get maybe one or two more guys that are a little bit better right outside the rankings, and then maybe early next year start [on] ranked guys, and then maybe 2025, fight for the belt. So that’s kind of where I see it going.”

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Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria was in attendance at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the historic UFC 300 event on April 13.  He was there for one reason, to see if Max Holloway defeated Justin Gaethje in their ‘BMF’ bout.  

Holloway did beat Gaethje and did so in highlight reel fashion.  With ten seconds remaining in the final round, Holloway was up on the scorecards.  Instead of coasting to the win, he pointed to the ground to signify his willingness to throw down until the end.  Gaethje obliged and found himself face down on the canvas with one second left on the clock.  

“I was just hoping him (Holloway) to win because if he was to win I was supposed to fight him next,” Topuria said on The MMA Hour.  “He did a great job.  To be honest, the greatest moments in the fight we all know was the last ten seconds.  Without that, I didn’t like the fight.  But what makes the fight special was the last ten seconds.  The real bad motherf**ker moment, so you have to give him his credit.”    

Topuria expects to face the former featherweight titleholder near the end of the year.  Holloway is ranked second in the division.  

“Hopefully we’re going to share the octagon until the end of the year,” Topuria said.  “You know what’s going to happen.”

Related: Joe Rogan reacts to Max Holloway’s ‘greatest knockout of all time’

“Fighting against me is going to be completely different because I don’t make any step backs.  All the time I walk forward.  I can wrestle.  I can go to the ground.  I can punch you and I move.  When I go inside that cage with a strategy.  I don’t go there just to throw some punches,” Topuria continued.  “Max Holloway, he’s next.  He’s next.”  

Topuria challenged Holloway to do what he did in the last ten seconds of the UFC 300 fight with Gaethje in the first ten seconds of the fight against him.  

“Just bring the same energy you had in the last ten seconds but bring it in the first ten seconds.  And we’ll see what’s going to happen.  Let’s bang,” Topuria said.    

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Some lady in California came extremely close to getting beat up after picking the wrong woman to test: a UFC women’s flyweight contender.

Some lady in California came real close to getting her butt kicked after trying to instigate a fight with the UFC’s Maycee Barber.

Barber is currently ranked No. 4 in the women’s flyweight division and is on a six fight winning streak. That could have been extended to seven if she was less patient during a recent parking lot incident captured by her friend and fitness model Demi Bagby.

The video shows Bagby and Barber confronting a woman who seems to be messing with their vehicle.

“Please stop touching my truck,” Bagby says.

“Well you know what, I don’t think you really bought that,” the woman replies, leaning on the truck door.

“Move me. Touch me,” the woman says in another clip. Then “Don’t touch me because I could bust you in your f—ing face … I could beat both of your f—ing asses, but I won’t.”

That leaves Barber and Bagby laughing, which is fortunate for this random woman because things could have taken a turn for the worse.

“California wildin’, someone come get your mom,” they captioned the video.

Barber’s latest win came at UFC 299 against Katyln Chookagian and puts her within striking distance of a title shot against current 125 pound champion Alexa Grasso. Unfortunately, there’s a bit of a logjam at the top of the division with Manon Fiorot and Valentina Shevchenko both in line for shots.

Barber will probably have to win one or two more (against non-Karens in the cage) before she gets a shot at UFC gold.

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