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Paddy Pimblett has silenced many critics and is now back in the spotlight after he put on a dominant display against the legendary Tony Ferguson last time out.

‘The Baddy’ received a barrage of backlash from fans who claimed that his performance against Jared Gordon proves the scouser wasn’t on par with the division’s elite. Despite the criticism, Pimblett bounced back with a one-sided decision victory—arguably the most notable of his career—over the aforementioned Tony Ferguson.

During a recent video on his YouTube channel, Paddy Pimblett responded to recent fight rumors and gave a timeline for his eventual comeback.

“Laura’s going to have the babies in about 6 weeks, a busy couple of months ahead,” Pimblett said regarding his personal life. “Then we’ll get a fight sorted.”

“I saw something the other day on Twitter. I’m meant to be fighting Renato Moicano on UFC 301. No, no. The kids will be about two weeks old, something like that. I’m not fighting that soon. I won’t be fighting until like June [or] July.”

Pimblett doubled back on his rumored fight against Renato Moicano, stating his interest in locking horns with the Brazilian upon his return.

“We’ll see when I do end up fighting but that is who I want next. Renato Moicano, ‘Money’ Moicano. You owe me money, lad. I’m coming for you, you little sausage.”

Check out what Paddy Pimblett had to say about Moicano below.

Related: Paddy Pimblett gets heated about feud with Ilia Topuria and Terrance McKinney

Is Paddy Pimblett vs. Renato Moicano next?

Amid his rise to stardom, Paddy Pimblett has been targeted by numerous killers in the lightweight division. 

While their feud is beginning to intensify, this wasn’t the first time Pimblett and Moicano have exchanged words. Following his win over Drew Dober, the South American got into a confrontation on social media.

Although all signs seem to be pointing toward the two facing off next, this may not be the case. Renato Moicano is currently scheduled to compete on the UFC 300 card against the towering powerhouse, Jalin Turner.

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submitted by /u/filinatorfili [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Chito Vera is hopeful for a trilogy fight with Sean O’Malley following his loss to the champ at UFC 299. Portions of their second fight left him with a bad taste in his mouth.

A few days after the bantamweight title fight earlier this month, Chito sent out a tweet accusing champ O’Malley of being greased “to the bone” throughout the bout.

Vera was asked about why he sent the tweet out, and he went a little deeper as to why he felt that way.

“I’ve braided my hair in the past, and if you braid it in a normal salon, they put an extremely big amount of pomade gel, whatever they use, to make it nice and tight,” Vera said on The MMA Hour. “When the UFC lady did my hair before the Frankie Edgar [fight at UFC 268], which is the main person that does everybody, she didn’t use nothing. She just went [with] a little bit of water. And when I finished the fight with Frankie, I was dry.

“Every time I was grabbing Sean, he was like grabbing a fish out of the water. It was just like, voom. And maybe he didn’t attempt to [cheat], but he was extremely greasy on his hair. And that’s why when I hurt him at the end of the round, I grabbed his head, the knee [slipped], all my knees [that slipped by] were really close. Maybe if it would’ve been dry, I could’ve hurt him. Maybe not. I’m still where I am for a reason — I lost the fight, and I’m not going to find [an] excuse, but matter of fact, his head was extremely greasy.

“Even if you see the post-fight interviews … his face was shiny, and after a fight, the Vasoline is over. It’s really over. I’ve been in, what, 23 fights inside the UFC? Once you get out of the cage, after you sweat it out, there’s no Vasoline. He was really shiny, and that can be something.”

Of course, O’Malley saw Vera’s tweet and responded.

After losing to Jose Aldo in December 2020, Vera won four straight bouts, and he is 5-2 over his past seven outings. He is a fan-favorite competitor and is hopeful that the buzz he’s accumulated over the past few years — and with a couple of wins — could propel him back to a third fight with O’Malley.

For now, Vera is excited to get back in the octagon, and he’s targeting a return at the promotion’s annual stop at Madison Square Garden.

“Now we’re 1-1,” Vera said of O’Malley. “I stopped him in [the first fight], he won a decision. I mean, he landed that big knee, that I believe that it was more the sound than actually the damage. The fifth-round punch was the one that really hurt me, because it [affected] my vision, but it’s pretty much those two against my body shot, and I said f*** it. If we’re fighting [until] death, the O’Malley family [would be] having a funeral right now.

“But it’s professional. Good for him. … I will eventually get revenge, and now let’s see what’s available now. I’m aiming, I would love to fight in New York. I love New York, I think that’s my city, I feel I’m native from Queens, so hopefully I get to get on that card. I’m sure I’m in a good spot. I can pretty much tell Hunter [Campbell] whatever I want, and I feel after a fight like that, they give you [what you want] because, you know, I’m not too needy.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

3 Potential Opponents
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Light Heavyweight gatekeeper? No way.

Last week, it was announced that former Light Heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith will fight surging undefeated prospect Vitor Petrino later this Spring in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at UFC 301.

Petrino actually called for a matchup with Smith after he defeated Tyson Pedro at UFC Vegas 87 earlier this month, and the Brazilian got his wish; however, Smith was not happy at all with the call-out, in fact he was offended.

“I’m offended,” Smith said on SiriusXM’s MMA Today. “Why didn’t he call out someone higher ranked? Why didn’t he call out [Aleksandar] Rakic? As far as timelines go, Rakic is going to be fighting soon. That would be a little closer to your timeline in terms of two guys who are fighting around the same time. Why didn’t you call out Rakic or Volkan Oezdemir? Why didn’t you call out any of those guys? Because you think you can beat me. You’re not sure about the other ones, and that pisses me off.

“I’m not done,” Smith continued. “I’m not the old wounded lion that’s just pacing around waiting to be killed by the younger ones. That’s not me. I refuse to be the new Neil Magny. Three guys in a month and a half have fought, won, and called me out, all unranked, all young guys. We’re going to dead this right in its tracks. Call me a gatekeeper. Call me whatever the hell you want to call me, but here’s the fact: I’ve been fighting inside the top 10 for a very long time and have been fighting in the rankings in two different weight classes for a very long time.”

Smith is referring to Magny as the ultimate gatekeeper in the Welterweight division. However, “Lionheart” has a good record of shutting down rising prospects in the 205 lb division—he beat Jimmy Crute, Devin Clark, and Ryan Spann twice. On the other hand, he was just smashed by Khalil Rountree Jr. on short notice.

Nevertheless, Smith is at a point in his long career where he will have to fight the young, hungry prospects unless he can turn back the clock and get to one last title run.

Maybe he fights his brother from another mother next? Or Heavyweight…?

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Been a rough couple years for him, sad to see him fall from his invincible aura submitted by /u/1columbia [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Tom Aspinall doesn’t want people to thank that his face-to-face with Jon Jones was any more dramatic than it seemed.

The UFC heavyweight titleholders — Aspinall is the promotion’s interim champion, while Jones holds undisputed status — had a run-in this past Saturday at the Arnold Sports Festival in Birmingham, England, and the brief encounter saw them exchange words and an awkward moment when Jones brushed Aspinall’s hand away as Aspinall attempted to place it on Jones’ shoulder.

In an interview with JN Media, Aspinall shrugged off Jones’ response and explained why he stepped up to Jones in the first place.

“It was good,” Aspinall said. “We were at the same event so obviously it makes sense for me, we’ve got the interim champion and the undisputed champion at the same event. But it’s a bit weird that there’s an undisputed champion and an interim champion, because undisputed means no one can dispute it, but if there’s another champion, I don’t know, it’s a little bit weird the way it works. It was good, we had a little chat, it was all good.”

“I think he thought I was putting a hand on his shoulder being disrespectful, but I wasn’t,” Aspinall continued. “I wasn’t there to be disrespectful. I was doing it in a friendly way. I’m not going to cause more beef. I’m trying to fight the guy and take his belt, that’s what I want. I have no beef against the guy. To me it’s just friendly, nothing crazy.”

Aspinall made an incredible comeback from a knee injury in 2023, needing just 73 seconds to finish Marcin Tybura in July and then winning an interim title with another first-round knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in November. Since that time, Jones — who won his share of a vacant heavyweight crown by running through Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 — has insisted that he plans to defend his belt against former champion Stipe Miocic and not Aspinall.

If the matchup with Jones never happens, Aspinall doesn’t expect to lose sleep over it.

“No, because I don’t think he’s going to fight me anyway,” Aspinall said when asked if he’s been disappointed by Jones not fighting him. “I’d be very, very surprised if me and Jon Jones ever stepped in the octagon together. I’m trying to get the fight, but I’m not trying to get it realistically. I’m trying to have a bit of fun and see what he’s all about.

“Like, today, I don’t expect the fight to be off the back of this, because in all honesty I don’t think the UFC is going to go for it and I don’t think Jon Jones is going to go for it either, so I’m not deflated at all because I wasn’t expecting the fight anyway.”

Despite plenty of chatter concerning Jones on social media and in interviews, Aspinall is ready to move on, possibly to a matchup with Curtis Blaydes. It was against Blaydes that Aspinall injured his knee in July 2022 and a rematch has long made sense given that the first fight came to an abrupt end 15 seconds into the opening round.

Blaydes recently handed Jailton Almeida his first UFC defeat at UFC 299, and as far as Aspinall is concerned, the ball is in the matchmakers’ court to book the Blaydes fight.

“Curtis Blaydes it is then,” Aspinall said. “I’m easy, I’m the easiest person ever to entice into a fight. I’ve never turned one down yet. So anything that’s stopping me from fighting right now is not down to me, it’s down to the UFC. So I’m just waiting for the UFC to let me know who and when and I’ll be ready.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Set to make his homecoming in May at UFC 301, undisputed flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja has opened as an impressive betting favorite to defeat surging division contender, Steve Erceg in the pair’s title offing in Rio de Janeiro this summer.

Pantoja, the current undisputed flyweight champion, has been sidelined since last December, landing an impressive decision win over recent UFC Mexico City headliner, Brandon Royval in the duo’s championship rematch.

As for Erceg, the three-fight promotional veteran cracked the flyweight top ten at the beginning of the month, landing a blistering knockout win over Matt Schnell – which earned him a Performance of the Night bonus, and subsequently, he is first title siege.

Alexandre Pantoja opens as favorite to beat Steve Erceg

And with betting lines officially on offer for UFC 301, Alexandre Pantoja is currently riding an impressive -258 betting favorite line over the +210 betting underdog, Steve Erceg ahead of their title showdown at the Jeunesse Arena. 

A host of betting sites and markets are already offering odds on Pantoja’s title fight return to his native Brazil against Erceg, and punters can also play their favorite slot games and other betting games – which includes the chance to play a Big Bamboo Demo game whilst punting on May’s return to South America for the UFC. 

Striking championship spoils back in July of last year during International Fight Week, Pantoja, the current number ten ranked pound-for-pound ranked fighter under the banner of the promotion – did so with a third career win over former two-time champion, Brandon Moreno.

Extending his impressive winning spree to five straight fights with his title defense win over Royval back in December, Pantoja turned in prior submission wins over Alex Perez, and Royval before that – to go with a decision success against the highly-touted Angolan-born contender, Manel Kape. 

Improving to 12-1 as a professional with his knockout win over Schnell, Western Australia prospect, Erceg had landed a pair of victories against both David Dvorak and Alessandro Costa in his first two outings under the banner of the UFC – making his debut just last summer in June. 

Fighting for gold in May, Erceg’s involvement at UFC 301 will come as a swift title charge for the Perth-born contender, who will be just eleven months deep into his tenure with the promotion by the time he faces Pantoja later this year in Brazil. 

Along with Pantoja’s championship fight against Erceg at UFC 301, over the weekend, reports confirmed that former undisputed featherweight champion and Hall of Fame inductee, Jose Aldo would be snapping his almost two-year retirement from the sport in a bantamweight fight against Jonathan Martinez.

Aldo, a fan-favorite striker and the promotion’s inaugural featherweight titleholder, has been sidelined since he dropped a one-sided unanimous decision loss to surging number one ranked bantamweight contender, Merab Dvalishvili – snapping a three-fight winning spree against Rob Font, Pedro Munhoz, and a decision win over most recent title challenger, Marlon Vera – who challenged for gold just earlier this month at UFC 299 against the incumbent, Sean O’Malley. 

Who wins at UFC 301 in May: Alexandre Pantoja or Steve Erceg?

LowKickMMA.com

In a wild turn of events, Mike Tyson has announced his return to boxing later this year. Fans are ecstatic to see him back in action, though many have a problem with the 57-year-old stepping in against the much younger Jake Paul.

Jake may have bitten off more than he can chew with his next matchup. Despite his age, Mike Tyson is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous boxers of his generation and still seemingly carries the devastating knockout power that he showed so often on the world stage.

Mike Tyson looks as scary as ever in a recent training footage video released to his social media. The 16-second clip shows Tyson working the body and implementing his coveted head movement. Check the video below.

‘It’s day 1…the fun has just begun’ pic.twitter.com/RUbzX1Coba

— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) March 14, 2024

While he may look like his old self in the brief video, Chael Sonnen isn’t buying it. The former UFC athlete was quick to make his thoughts known about Tyson’s footage in a post on X.

“In the future, if you’re ever going to spend five seconds hitting mitts, as a way of making the audience believe you’re doing a training session, make sure you splash water on your face and T-shirt first.”

Not regarding Sonnen’s comments, Mike Tyson has continued to release footage of his progression in training as the fight draws closer with each passing day.

The boxing legend’s mobility and speed look much sharper of late and he seems to be taking the challenge from Jake Paul incredibly seriously. Watch it below.

In the future, if you’re ever going to spend five seconds hitting mitts, as a way of making the audience believe you’re doing a training session, make sure you splash water on your face and T-shirt first. https://t.co/5MZ11RjshH

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) March 14, 2024

Related: Chuck Liddell on Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson: ‘When Tyson hits him, it’s over’

‘The Problem Child’ has been almost flawless in his opponent choices dating back to his debut in the sport. Excluding his defeat to Tommy Fury, Jake Paul has made a splash in the squared circle, besting some high-profile fighters just four years into his boxing journey.

Despite holding wins over Nate Diaz, Tyson Woodley, and Anderson Silva, if Jake manages to get his hands against Mike Tyson raised on July 20, it would undoubtedly be the biggest victory of his career.

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