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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

After weighing in as the backup at UFC 299, Merab Dvalishvili actually rooted for Sean O’Malley to get past Marlon “Chito” Vera just so they could finally meet in a title fight.

His wish came true after O’Malley dominated Vera over five rounds and ultimately secured a lopsided decision win but afterwards the reigning UFC bantamweight champion called out featherweight king Ilia Topuria again rather than focusing on the No. 1 contender in his own division. The usually even tempered Dvalisvhili was understandably upset as the UFC filmed his reaction to the main event while he sat in the front row watching from cageside.

Following the end of the event, Dvalisvhili went backstage and actually approached O’Malley with the intention of just offering a congratulations but his demeanor changed rather quickly.

“Let me tell the whole thing,” Dvalishvili explained when speaking to MMA Fighting. “We are watching the fights, of course I want O’Malley to win because I want to fight the superstar, the champion, the O’Malley. I want to challenge myself. I’m there, O’Malley wins and then he made a call out but he don’t call me out. I was so mad. Like come on O’Malley, especially he’s talking about he’s going to knock me out. Please, then fight me and knock me out, show the world. Let’s fight! If you say world, you’re going to knock me out and you make fun of [my] nose. Who cares about my nose? It’s a fight. It’s a skill, it’s a fight, it’s a challenge.

“Anyways, I was mad and I moved to backstage and he’s coming. I want to shake his hand and say congratulations to him and when I touch his hand, I said congratulations, bro, and he kind of ignored me. He don’t even look at me. So again, I’m mad again. Like look at me and shake my hand. You don’t even shake my hand? I did mention, hey bro, you should mention my name. Then, he’s like I don’t even know who you are and then I’m mad again. Come on, you don’t even know who I am? What the heck.”

O’Malley later revealed that he actually recognized Dvalishvili when the Georgian fighter approached him but he decided to take a jab by saying he didn’t recognize the person speaking to him.

As much as it angered him in the moment, Dvalisvhili says he didn’t dwell too much on the interaction because he’s gotten used to O’Malley calling out various opponents but refusing to ever mention his name.

Based on the odds for the fight where Dvalishvili opened as a decided favorite, he has an idea why O’Malley isn’t interested in facing him.

“I was there and I was rooting for O’Malley because I want to fight him and then he called out Ilia [Topuria] and I know this fight is not going to happen,” Dvalishvili said. “He’s still not mentioning my name. I don’t want to say ducking me or something but come on, bro, let’s build this fight. Let’s make it even bigger. I don’t understand why. You are champion. Before I understand, he wasn’t fighting top 15 guys, he was fighting outside the ranks and the only top guy he fought was Petr Yan and we all know that was a close fight and then they give to him [Aljamain Sterling] on short notice for Aljo and he got lucky. Now give the division respect.

“You’ve got to fight the best of the best. You’ve got to fight the No. 1 contenders, especially [since] I’m here waiting. I was so pissed but now I don’t care. I’m good. I was just mad but as long as he’s going to fight me, I’ll be fine.”

Even if O’Malley was just playing head games, Dvalishvili promises he doesn’t really care because he’s confident the UFC will follow through with a promised title shot after he dominated former two-division champion Henry Cejudo in his last outing.

He’s felt a swarm of support since that fight ended and now Dvalishvili is just waiting on the call with the date and location to make the showdown against O’Malley official.

“I don’t care if he mentions my name or not but the UFC knows I’m next,” Dvalishvili said. “UFC is not going to let him go somewhere [else], he just defends his belt. It’s not a stupid video game. It’s the UFC and we’ve got to respect the company and respect the people and we’ve got to give people want they want.”

Ever since his win over Cejudo in February, Dvalishvili has really felt the support grow for his title shot as he looks to add UFC gold to his resume after rattling off 10 consecutive wins in a row.

As much as wins and losses should always determine who fights for a title, Dvalishvili understands that getting the fans behind the matchup matters to the UFC. Considering the push that he’s seen on social media as well as the love he received from the crowds during recent appearances in Miami and Mexico City, Dvalishvili has no doubt that the fans are ready to see him against O’Malley.

“I want to tell all my fans, all MMA fans and everyone, thanks for all the support,” Dvalishvili said. “They really see hard work and they really hard behind the hard working guy. Maybe I’m not a superstar like O’Malley but I’m working hard.

“I have 12 fights in the UFC and I should be 12-0. I got robbed in the first two fights and if you guys go and watch my first fights in the UFC, I win those fights but I moved on. I’m just focused on winning and fighting and I put all my hard work and dedication to this sport because I love it.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Islam Makhachev turned down the chance to headline one of the biggest UFC events ever.

Next month, UFC 300 will be headlined by a light heavyweight title tilt pitting reigning and defending champion Alex Pereira against former titleholder Jamahal Hill. In the weeks preceding the big announcement, multiple fighters were rumored to step into the main event spotlight next month, including Israel Adesanya, Khamzat Chimaev, and Jon ‘Bones Jones’

Among those top names was current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, who revealed that UFC CEO Dana White came calling with an opportunity to move up and challenge Leon Edwards for welterweight gold.

“Honestly, yes, but it’s not possible, man,” Makhachev said when asked if he was offered the spot while speaking with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn. “Because we have Ramadan now. One month with fasting, and it’s not possible to do training in Ramadan. It’s very hard. You have to fast when the sun rises, and all day you have to fast. … Training this time is very hard.”

Islam Makhachev eyeing fight with Dustin Poirier

Considered the holiest month on the Islamic calendar, Ramadan runs from March 10 through April 9. With UFC 300 scheduled to go down on April 13, there simply wasn’t enough time for the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ to prepare himself for such an important opportunity.

“Of course (it makes me sad), this is a dream fight for me,” Makhachev said. “I don’t have any small chance to fight at UFC 300, that’s why I’m very upset, man. It’s a big deal, big fight with Leon Edwards for the second belt, but this time I miss the chance.”

Though the timeline for UFC 300 did not work out, Makhachev hopes that he can book himself a fight this summer. With both Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira already booked, Makhachev has been angling for a fight with former interim champion Dustin Poirier. The Diamond’ is fresh off a highlight-reel-worthy knockout of Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 on March 9.

“I know Dustin does not deserve the title fight, but we don’t have any option right now,” Makhachev said. “Everybody is busy. I want to fight. I want to fight three times this year. I have to call out someone, and Poirier is free now. He showed an excellent performance and scored a beautiful knockout. He’s free now, he’s healthy, and I asked him to fight in June.”

Check out the full interview with Islam Makhachev below:

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

At the UFC Vegas 88 weigh-ins, all 26 fighters on Saturday’s card in Las Vegas will step on the scale Friday. MMA Fighting will have live video of the proceedings, courtesy of Ag Fight.

In the main event, Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura can weigh no more than 266 pounds, the maximum allowed for their non-title heavyweight fight.

The UFC Vegas 88 official weigh-ins are at 12 p.m. ET.

Main Card (ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)

Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura

Bryan Battle vs. Ange Loosa

Ovince Saint Preux vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu

Christian Rodriguez vs. Isaac Dulgarian

Pannie Kianzad vs. Macy Chiasson

Gerald Meerschaert vs. Bryan Barberena

Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET)

Natan Levy vs. Mike Davis

Josiane Nunes vs. Chelsea Chandler

Jafel Filho vs. Ode Osbourne

Joshua Culibao vs. Danny Silva

Thiago Moises vs. Mitch Ramirez

Jaqueline Amorim vs. Cory McKenna

Charalampos Grigoriou vs. Chad Anheliger

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

War awaits
| BJPenn.com

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

I feel obligated to start this post with the simple declaration that I believe Jason Parillo to be one of the best boxing coaches in MMA. He’s a big part of the reason Michael Bisping became a world champion, helped grapplers like Luke Rockhold and Mackenzie Dern shore up the technical issues in their stand up, and definitely refined Marlon Vera’s hands by a significant degree. He’s trained everyone from Cris Cyborg to BJ Penn, and I cannot remember Parillo making any absurd statements and getting embroiled in any significant controversy.

All of which makes his Instagram post from earlier today more bizarre and surprising.

“Couldn’t be prouder of my fighter [Marlon Vera]!” Parillo wrote. “He competed for the UFC world title! Representing his country Ecuador and every hard working man that doesn’t give up! Chito 1-1 now with this kid! The kid got the decision and retained the title! Chito got the knock out in the first fight. With no clock? Chito goes to jail for murder!”

For some context, Sean O’Malley dropped a master class on Marlon Vera’s face (watch highlights) over the weekend (March 9, 2024) at UFC 299.

At any rate, the first part of the post is normal, as Parillo supports his athlete and recognizes the accomplishment of fighting for a world title. Even pointing out that the record is tied is true, even if nobody is asking for any kind of rematch. Then, it goes completely off the rails with the whole “no clock” and “murder” part.

O’Malley didn’t leave the cage with a destroyed face. His hands and feet may have been sore from delivering the beating, but he didn’t seem incapable of continuing to beat the crap out of “Chito.” Even by Diaz brothers rules, it was a shutout win.

Fan reaction to the post was nearly universally negative. Fight fans wondered why Vera didn’t use his clinch and wrestling skills at all, or if anything could be done to address his slow starts. One fan also directly countered, “If there was no time clock Chito would be in a grave.”

It certainly doesn’t inspire hope that Vera will return drastically different whenever he heals up.

Insomnia

Bobby Green and Tony Ferguson appear to have settled their beef.

It’s great to have a positive update on the Mark Coleman situation. RIP Hammer!

This should be a really fun Featherweight match up, both athletes are active and skilled. I foresee scrambles!

Lot of Twitter fingers from Sean Strickland as of late. The best way to get a title shot is go win a fight …

By my count, this is the sixth time Cory Sandhagen has scored a 10-9 over Vera.

It’s a tough and unlikely road to gold for Gilbert Burns, but I’ll always watch a “Durinho” fight.

Be right back, going to take out a second mortgage and bet it on Devin Haney.

Give it a few years, and the Netflix Joshua Fabia/Diego Sanchez documentary should be both fascinating and depressing.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

This is not a clip of great fighting, but I didn’t know there was an “African games” that featured amateur MMA. Neat!

One of the best elbow KOs in recent memory.

Punches in bunches!

Random Land

Midnight Music: Country, 2007

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Mike Tyson might have a little more left in the tank than many expect.

Earlier this month it was announced that Tyson will make his return to the boxing ring against Jake Paul on July 20 at ATT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The event, which is set to be broadcast live on Netflix, received immediate criticism for pairing the 57-year-old former heavyweight boxing champ against a man 30 years his junior, who has a history of knocking out older opposition. Even the oddsmakers quickly installed Jake Paul as a heavy betting favorite over Tyson, but everybody might be counting out Tyson a bit soon.

On Wednesday, Tyson posted a training video to his social media showing “Iron” Mike looking surprisingly spry and powerful for a man with an AARP card.

“It’s day one, the fun has just begun,” Tyson says in the video.

Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion and holds the record for youngest boxer to win a heavyweight title, winning his first belt at 20 years and four months. He retired from the sport in 2005, but did return for an exhibition boxing match against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020.

Paul, most recently, has taken fights against professional boxers in an effort to legitimize his presence in the sport, knocking out both Andre August and Ryan Bourland in December and March respectively.

It is still unclear if this bout between Tyson and Paul will be a professional match or another exhibition bout.

MMA Fighting – All Posts