Tag: welterweight

UFC

UFC 286: Edwards outpoints Usman to defend welterweight crown, after Gaethje stifles Fiziev in firefight

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Leon Edwards of Jamaica kicks Kamaru Usman of Nigeria in a lightweight fight during the UFC 286 event at The O2 Arena on March 18, 2023 in London,...

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 in their London headliner, after Justin Gaethje’s impressive majority decision win over Rafael Fiziev in the night’s co-main event sees The Highlight inch ever closer to another championship charge at 155lbs. Continue reading “UFC 286: Edwards outpoints Usman to defend welterweight crown, after Gaethje stifles Fiziev in firefight” →

UFC

UFC 286: Usman vows to reclaim gold, while Edwards adamant he’ll retire the former champion

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Opponents Leon Edwards of Jamaica and Kamaru Usman of Nigeria face off during the UFC 286 press conference at Magazine London on March 16, 2023 in...

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” →

Boxing

Ambition and activity: Stephen McKenna eyes bigger challenges after passing Brandon Denes test

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Stephen McKenna celebrates after the Welterweight fight between Stephen McKenna and Brendon Denes at OVO Arena Wembley on February 11, 2023 in...

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” →

UFC

UFC 284: Makhachev outlasts spirited Volkanovski showing in instant classic, Rodriguez stops Emmett

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Islam Makhachev of Russia punches Alexander Volkanovski of Australia in the UFC lightweight championship fight during the UFC 284 event at RAC Arena...

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

Leon Edwards: Khamzat Chimaev is not the untouchable monster UFC built him to be

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Khamzat Chimaev speaks to the media following their UFC 279 win on September 9 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

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” →

Boxing

Ryan Garcia next? Davis rocks, briefly blinds WBA super-featherweight titlist Hector Garcia in R9 TKO

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Gervonta Davis celebrates after defeating Hector Luis Garcia in their WBA World Lightweight Championship bout at Capital One Arena on January 7, 2023...

“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” →

UFC

UFC 283: Gilbert Burns keen to leave judges out, wants emphatic finish vs. Neil Magny on Jan. 21

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Gilbert Burns appears at the UFC 282 post-fight press conference on December 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

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” →

Boxing

Errol Spence Jr rubbishes idea of tune-up fights, with April-June timeline for his next bout

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Errol Spence Jr. Addresses the crowd after arriving on stage during the official weigh-in at Texas Live! on April 15, 2022 in Arlington, Texas.

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” →

Boxing

Crawford crunches Avanesyan with R6 KO on his career night, but now the big fights must be made

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Champion Terence Crawford is introduced prior to his welterweight title fight against David Avanesyan at CHI Health Center on December 10, 2022 in...

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” →

UFC

UFC Orlando: Wonderboy outworks Holland in crazy headliner – after RDA, Nicolau and Dolidze win big

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Stephen Thompson kicks Kevin Holland in a welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Amway Center on December 03, 2022 in Orlando,...

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

UFC Orlando: Stephen Thompson refutes retirement talk before Kevin Holland main event matchup

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Opponents Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland face off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Amway Center on December 02, 2022 in Orlando,...

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” →

Boxing

Chris Eubank Jr vs. Conor Benn cancelled: Common sense prevails in dark week for British boxing

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Chris Eubank Jr. Trains during a Media Workout at The Now Building on October 05, 2022 in London, England.

After the Daily Mail’s Riath Al-Samarrai broke an exclusive story Wednesday morning uncovering Conor Benn’s positive drugs test for clomifene – something both sides reportedly knew for a few weeks – tonight’s heavily anticipated fight card was eventually cancelled altogether Thursday after a manic 30-hour sequence which again has undermined the sport.
Continue reading “Chris Eubank Jr vs. Conor Benn cancelled: Common sense prevails in dark week for British boxing” →