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UFC president Dana White says he doesn’t make fights immediately after cards, but declared former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington is the next challenger for Leon Edwards’ 170lb belt. Considering the 35-year-old’s relative inactivity and underwhelming resume, a myriad of questions have been asked. Continue reading “Questions asked as Colby Covington mooted as Edwards’ next title defence”
Leon Edwards’ persistent kicks helped him manage risk vs. reward and ultimately prove successful over 25 minutes during his first welterweight title defence against Kamaru Usman, after Justin Gaethje’s impressive majority decision win over Rafael Fiziev in the night’s co-main event. Continue reading “UFC 286: Edwards outpoints Usman to defend welterweight crown, after Gaethje stifles Fiziev in firefight”
Ahead of this weekend’s heavily-anticipated trilogy bout between new welterweight champion Leon Edwards and long-reigning, now-former titlist Kamaru Usman, both have different mindsets before their latest title fight. Usman wants nothing more than a marquee win on enemy soil, while Edwards feels he’ll open the door to retirement for a 35-year-old with other interests. Continue reading “UFC 286: Usman vows to reclaim gold, while Edwards adamant he’ll retire the former champion”
Although calling out welterweight pair Conor Benn and Florian Marku attracted all the attention in the immediate aftermath of the 26-year-old’s win earlier this month, The Hitman’s confidence stems from years of California-based training – something most of his contemporaries haven’t experienced. He wants more. Continue reading “Ambition and activity: Stephen McKenna eyes bigger challenges after passing Brandon Denes test”
Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev was thrust into deep waters and finished an arduous first title defence on his back, but did enough over 25 minutes to outpoint featherweight titlist Alexander Volkanovski in a clash of two champions which lived up to the billing in-front of a manic 14,124 strong RAC Crowd in Perth, western Australia. Volkanovski will face new interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez at 145lbs, after his second-round submission win over Josh Emmett. Continue reading “UFC 284: Makhachev outlasts spirited Volkanovski showing in instant classic, Rodriguez stops Emmett”
UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards believes unbeaten contender Khamzat Chimaev has been overvalued by the promotion, and in a recent interview with Michael Bisping, said as much as he prepares for his first title defence against former titlist Kamaru Usman in March.
Continue reading “Leon Edwards: Khamzat Chimaev is not the untouchable monster UFC built him to be”
“I was a little surprised but when I caught him, I knew he was hurt bad and didn’t want to show it because he’s a fighter,” Gervonta Davis declared post-fight. The 28-year-old improved to 28-0 (26 KOs) after a R9 TKO over WBA super-featherweight champion Hector Luis Garcia, inflicting the Dominican’s first professional defeat. However some hurdles remain, including an ongoing jury trial starting next month, before the Ryan Garcia megafight can be confirmed for April. Continue reading “Ryan Garcia next? Davis rocks, briefly blinds WBA super-featherweight titlist Hector Garcia in R9 TKO”
After falling narrowly short in a Fight of the Year contender clash against rising star Khamzat Chimaev last April, perennial welterweight contender Gilbert Burns hasn’t been as active as he would have liked – but the experienced Brazilian knows he needs a series of impressive finishes if he wants to earn another title shot and realise his dream of becoming world champion.
Continue reading “UFC 283: Gilbert Burns keen to leave judges out, wants emphatic finish vs. Neil Magny on Jan. 21”
Although it will have been at least a year since his last bout once the three-belt welterweight champion returns, Errol Spence Jr pushed back the idea of tune-up fights and said he wouldn’t be as motivated in training as he would if the opponent was a more known quantity who posed more danger. The 32-year-old, rumoured to defend his titles against PBC stablemate Keith Thurman next, is expected to finally face WBO champion Terence Crawford sometime this year.
Continue reading “Errol Spence Jr rubbishes idea of tune-up fights, with April-June timeline for his next bout”
After a 13-month layoff, Terence Crawford shook off the ring rust against a competitive opponent in David Avanesyan – better than most expected – en route to a big KO finish. He discussed his free agency status afterwards and in 2023, the WBO welterweight champion must do all he can to secure the division’s most pressing fights before father time deems it too late. Continue reading “Crawford crunches Avanesyan with R6 KO on his career night, but now the big fights must be made”
Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson danced with some first-round danger before rolling back the years en route to a R4 TKO victory during a fun battle against Kevin Holland in last weekend’s UFC Orlando main event, while there were big main card stoppage wins for Rafael dos Anjos, Matheus Nicolau and Roman Dolidze – a newcomer in the middleweight rankings this week. Continue reading “UFC Orlando: Wonderboy outworks Holland in crazy headliner – after RDA, Nicolau and Dolidze win big”
UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson (#6) may be on a two-fight losing streak, but the two-time title challenger has responded to speculation that he’ll soon retire – so long as his body holds up – with his father the only man who can influence his decision to call it a day.
Continue reading “UFC Orlando: Stephen Thompson refutes retirement talk before Kevin Holland main event matchup”
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