Sean O’Malley blasts MMA managers, claims they’re “stealing money from fighters”
Sean O’Malley recently sounded off on MMA managers for fleecing the fighters under their management. The UFC bantamweight, who has been negotiating his own deals since last year, has been speaking out against MMA managers for a long time. O’Malley has long accused such managers and agencies of taking disproportionate cuts from fighters’ pay. ‘Suga’ surprisingly reignited his feud with managers via social media. He sent fans into a frenzy by tweeting a cryptic message, threatening to expose such corrupt managers soon. He wrote: “MMA managers are so bad. Stay tuned.” In a recent interview with MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter, Sean O’Malley was asked about the expose. The 28-year-old bantamweight stated: “I’m waiting to release it the right way. I think it’ll be a big deal, it will be massive, and it will hurt someone’s business, and rightfully so. So I’m gonna put it out there the right way. You know, I’m gonna talk to my legal team and make sure doing everything right. But MMA managers are so bad, it’s horrible, it embarrassing. You know, they are stealing money from fighters. They are talking percentages of these guys’ bonuses. That pi**es me off, to be honest.” Sean O’Malley is confident of getting a win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 Sean O’Malley recently weighed in on his upcoming title fight against Aljamain Sterling. The mercurial striker is slated to challenge Sterling for the undisputed UFC bantamweight title at UFC 292 on August 19 at the TD Garden Arena in Boston. Given Sterling’s resume and the fact that ‘Funk Master’ is one of the most decorated bantamweights in divisional history, ‘Suga’ is seemingly unbothered about the noise and recently expressed his confidence going into the bout. While many believe Sterling’s wrestling pedigree will prove too much for O’Malley, he’s confident of finding a way. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Sean O’Malley stated: “It is what it is, I’m not really too worried about what people say… I agree, I think his wrestling and grappling are very f****** good. It’s whether I can crack him and put his f****** lights out before he grabs me. He continued: “It’s a striker vs. grappler matchup, there’s no secret in our game plans. I truly believe I’m 100 percent capable of putting his lights out…You look at my UFC career, whether I’ve finished them in the first round or not, I’ve dropped a lot of people in the first round.” Watch the full interview below:
Vicente Luque discusses return to the octagon following traumatic brain injury
Vicente Luque is raring to return to action. The perennial UFC welterweight was forced to the sidelines for a year after suffering a brain hemorrhage following his knockout loss to Geoff Neal at UFC Vegas 59 in August last year. Following his diagnosis, Luque was given a mandatory one-year medical suspension. However, ‘The Silent Assassin’ has now been cleared by the Nevada Athletic Commission to compete again. He is slated to face former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 78 this weekend. At a recent pre-fight presser, Vicente Luque opened up about his life-threatening injury and how grateful he is to be able to fight again. He stated: “That was definitely unfortunate, but I was 100 percent blessed to be able to recover very well. Since the first day, right after the fight when I got the news, they did all the testing, all the exams and everything went well. My body was recovering… Now I’m back and 100 percent. I would even say I’m better than 100 percent. I feel a much better fighter than I was before. I’m definitely blessed.” As a result of the brain bleeds, Vicente Luque was forced to lay off sparring for six months. Explaining how his training routine has changed as a result, he stated: “Even the way I spar has changed. It’s much more technical, and I know how to work in a way where I’m not getting into brawls in sparring anymore.” Watch the full interview below: Vicente Luque says he will be throwing everything he has at Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 78 Vicente Luque isn’t planning on holding back during his fight against Rafael dos Anjos this weekend. The two welterweights are set to fight at UFC Vegas 78 and will be headlining the Fight Night event. As mentioned above, Luque is returning to action after a year on the sidelines. After suffering a nasty brain hemorrhage as a result of his last loss, the 31-year-old American had to make many changes to his training and sparring regime. However, Luque is confident that he’ll be ready for Dos Anjos on fight night and recently claimed he’ll be using every weapon in his arsenal to secure a victory. In the same UFC Vegas 78 media day presser, Vicente Luque was asked about his game plan going into the fight. He stated: “I definitely agree with him in the sense that he’s the more experienced guy, but at the same time, I think I’ve been in 31-32 MMA fights… So I also got experience on my side. My plan is to go in there and try to beat him with all the tools that I have… Two of us are really well-rounded, and it’s going to be about who wants it more. I believe I’ll want it more that night.”
BJJ savant Gordon Ryan talks about his experience training with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones
Jon Jones has enlisted the very best to help him train for his next title defense. The UFC heavyweight champion was recently seen sharpening his grappling skills with Brazilian jiu-jitsu maestro Gordon Ryan. ‘The Iron Dragon’ is widely considered the greatest no-gi jiu-jitsu practitioner ever. The 28-year-old’s unparalleled dominance and expertise have resulted in him winning multiple world championships in major competitions. Jon Jones is set to face former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 285 on November 11. The bout will mark Jones’ first title defense as the heavyweight champion. ‘Bones’ has roped in Gordon Ryan to help him prepare for the championship fight. Given Jones’ status as one of the greatest MMA fighters ever, it’s unsurprising to see the three-time ADCC champion starstruck. In a recent Instagram post, Ryan described his experience training with Jon Jones and wrote: “There’s nothing I enjoy more than surrounding myself with people who are exceptional in their given field. This week, I had the luxury of training with Jon Jones, the absolute best in his field, and the baddest MMA fighter on the planet… I threw some complicated sequences at him, and he learned as fast as anyone. By day 3, he was exponentially better at drilling than he was on day one. He is truly an exceptional athlete, and I’m very thankful I could be a very small part of this upcoming camp.” Dana White claims Jon Jones doesn’t get enough credit for his greatness Dana White recently showered praise on Jon Jones and explained what made ‘Bones’ such a unique fighter. Jones is widely considered to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, fighters to ever step foot in the cage. ‘Bones’ became the youngest-ever UFC champion when he captured the light heavyweight title at UFC 128 in March 2011. Jones defended his light heavyweight title a record-breaking ten times and later captured the heavyweight title in March 2023. His dominance, technical skills, and ability to adapt to various opponents solidified his status as one of the greatest MMA fighters ever. In a recent episode of Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson, Dana White claimed Jones’ greatness often went under the radar and stated: “He’s one of the greatest fighters of all time period. I don’t think people give him enough credit. The guy is undefeated. He’s never lost. Went right through murderer’s row at light heavyweight as a young f**king guy, then moves up to heavyweight and wins.” He continued: “What makes Jon Jones so f**king unique and so special is if you look at all the things that he did outside of the octagon and outside of the sport yet still destroyed everybody that he fought, it’s pretty fascinating.” Watch the full episode below:
MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko calls out Mike Tyson for a professional boxing bout a
Fedor Emelianenko has retired from MMA, but he’s not done with combat sports and recently called out Mike Tyson for a boxing match. Emelianenko last went up against Ryan Bader for the Bellator heavyweight title at Bellator 290. ‘The Last Emperor’ lost the rematch via first-round knockout. After the bout, the MMA legend laid his gloves down and announced his retirement from the sport. Widely known as one of the greatest heavyweights ever, Fedor Emelianenko enthralled fans over a career spanning more than two decades. While he’s left MMA for good, the former PRIDE champion now wants to try his hand at boxing. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Fedor Emelianenko revealed that he’d love to make his boxing debut against Mike Tyson and said: “We watched the fight on TV of Roy Jones Jr. vs. Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson would be an interesting fight He has a big name, he’s a legend. … It would be interesting because you can see a lot of his videos on YouTube and all over the place, he’s still in good shape. He still works pads, he still has that same power, and he still has that speed and power. That would be awesome if it’s possible [to fight on the undercard of Fury vs. Ngannou], I would definitely do it.” Mike Tyson last fought fellow heavyweight legend Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match in 2020. The 57-year-old boxing legend secured a split draw. He is now involved in training former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou for his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury. Mike Tyson says Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury will be more competitive than people think Mike Tyson recently opened up about the highly anticipated Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury boxing match. Ngannou is slated to fight Fury in the squared circle on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 10-round fight will take place under official pro-boxing rules, including three ringside judges using the 10-point must system. After the fight was officially announced, many dismissed Ngannou’s chances against the WBC heavyweight champion. However, Mike Tyson recently revealed that the former UFC heavyweight champion is better than people think. As mentioned, Tyson has been roped in to train Francis Ngannou and will be in his corner during the fight. In a recent interview on ESPN’s First Take, Mike Tyson admitted that he was impressed with Ngannou’s skills and stated: “He’s had many professional fights, but he’s never experienced a professional boxing match. But by working with him yesterday, he has the aptitude, and I see a good future in this life. It’s not going to be as one-sided as people think it is… I definitely believe that it’s going to be a tougher fight than anyone thinks.”
Geoff Neal out of bout with Ian Garry at UFC 292 due to medical issue
UFC 292 will no longer feature a welterweight bout between Ian Garry and Geoff Neal. ‘Hands of Steel’ was forced to pull out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury and will be replaced by Neil Magny on short notice. They were booked to fight at UFC 292 which goes down on August 19 at the TD Garden in Boston. A bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley will headline the pay-per-view event. Meanwhile, Zhang Weili will defend her strawweight title against Amanda Lemos in the co-main event. Ian Garry confirmed Geoff Neal’s withdrawal via a video posted to his Twitter account. The post was captioned: “Geoff Neal has bitched out… I will still show up in Boston on August 19.” Interestingly, Garry had initially called out Magny for his next fight. However, the promotion was already in the process of matching up the Irish star with Geoff Neal for UFC 292. Ian Garry is coming off a first-round TKO win over Daniel Rodriguez at UFC on ABC 4. The undefeated star is now 5-0 in the UFC and will be looking to break into the top-ten ranks of the 170-pound division. Meanwhile, Neil Magny is coming off a split decision win against Philip Rowe at UFC on ABC 5. ‘The Haitian Sensation’ leads the promotion’s all-time welterweight victories chart and has alternated wins and losses over his last five outings.
Logan Paul’s next fight date confirmed with Dillon Danis
Logan Paul is scheduled to Face Dillon Danis in Upcoming Boxing Match in Manchester, England on Oct 14 in an event titled The Prime Card. A New Challenge awaits Logan Paul Fresh off his victory at WWE SummerSlam against Ricochet, Logan Paul is ready for his next significant challenge. He is set to step back into the boxing ring against former MMA fighter and submission grappler, Dillon Danis, in a highly anticipated pay-per-view boxing match scheduled for October. Logan Paul’s Boxing Journey: From Mayweather to Danis After his exhibition bout with Floyd Mayweather, which ended in an eight-round draw in June 2021, Logan Paul is returning to professional boxing. This upcoming match against Dillon Danis marks Paul’s first official boxing bout since his encounter with Mayweather. In his professional career, Paul currently holds a 0-1 record, having suffered a split decision loss to KSI in 2019. The Announcement and Trash-Talking: Paul vs. Danis Logan Paul took to his platform to announce the upcoming matchup, expressing his anticipation for the fight against Dillon Danis. He declared, “On October 14th, I am making my boxing comeback following my bout with Floyd Mayweather more than two years ago. While I have doubts about this individual even participating, if he does step up, I am determined to eliminate his presence entirely.” The social media banter has already commenced between the two fighters as they promote their showdown. Dillon Danis: MMA Expertise Meets Boxing Arena Dillon Danis, a notable mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator, brings his expertise to the boxing ring for the first time. Danis, recognized as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion and training partner of UFC superstar Conor McGregor, has previously secured two victories in MMA with first-round submission wins. His debut in boxing against Logan Paul adds a new dimension to his combat sports journey. Confidence and Banter: Danis Fires Back In the lead-up to the fight, both Logan Paul and Dillon Danis engaged in verbal exchanges on social media. Danis took a jab at the Paul brothers, suggesting they avoid genuine fights despite having faced opponents like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Nate Diaz, and Tommy Fury. He asserted that the October 14th fight marks his boxing debut and hinted at the Paul brothers’ reluctance to engage in real combat. Expectations and Aspirations: Paul’s Quest for Victory Logan Paul aims to secure his first boxing victory against Dillon Danis, while his commitments to WWE remain unaffected after re-signing with the company in April. Despite his recent statement that wrestling is tougher than boxing, Paul looks forward to proving his capabilities in the boxing arena once again. Danis’ Confidence and Predictions: An Unfazed Fighter Dillon Danis, though relatively unknown in the boxing world, remains confident in his ability to triumph over Logan Paul. He dismisses Paul’s WWE success and emphasizes the distinct challenges of the boxing ring. Danis believes that on October 14th, in Manchester, he will dominate the fight and prove that Paul is entering his world of pain and defeat. Conclusion: The Awaited Showdown The much-anticipated boxing match between Logan Paul and Dillon Danis is scheduled for October 14th in Manchester, England. This event, titled The Prime Card, will be available for pay-per-view viewing on DAZN. As the excitement builds and the verbal exchanges continue, fans eagerly await the clash between these two fighters from different combat sports backgrounds.
Dana White on UFC’s position regarding Nate Diaz returning to the UFC – “This will always be his house”
It seems the UFC doors will always be open for Nate Diaz. The Stockton slugger is undoubtedly one of the biggest superstars ever to grace the UFC octagon and has fought against world-class opponents in some of the most high-profile bouts in MMA history. After spending a decade competing in the UFC, Diaz left the promotion in September last year. It’s no secret that Nate Diaz had his issues with the promotion and often clashed with its senior-most executives. However, the Stockton native has lately expressed his desire to eventually return to the famed octagon. In a press conference after the conclusion of Dana White’s Contender Series 57, Dana White called Diaz a bonafide UFC icon and stated that the organization will always be his home. He said: “We feel the same way about Nate. We always have… This will always be Nate’s house. Nate grew up here. He came up on The Ultimate Fighter. He fought some of the biggest fights ever here. We love the kid. I don’t know about fighting in the future, but this is always going to be his house. We’ll see.” Jake Paul on Nate Diaz putting him in a chokehold during their boxing match Jake Paul recently opened up about Nate Diaz applying his grappling moves on him during their boxing match. Paul recently welcomed Diaz to the world of professional boxing. The two men faced each other on August 5 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, and Paul secured a unanimous decision victory after their ten-round war. During the final round, Diaz seemed to wrap a momentary guillotine choke around Paul’s neck before letting go. The incident caused quite an uproar among viewers, and many hailed the Stockton slugger for keeping the fight interesting. However, Jake Paul wasn’t pleased about it and recently sounded off on Nate Diaz for using the illegal move. In their post-fight press conference, Jake Paul confirmed that Diaz applied pressure on the choke and said: “He f**king choked me! He was actually choking me. I was like, ‘This is crazy’. I didn’t think he was gonna stop, but he had it in… That’s why I want to do it back in MMA… If it was it was MMA, I would have dropped to a double-leg, picked him up, and dropped him on his head.”
Dana White on ‘Wonderboy’ not being paid his show money for UFC 291 – “You don’t fight, you don’t get paid”
Dana White recently opened up about Stephen Thompson’s compensation issue. ‘Wonderboy’ and Michel Pereira were scheduled to fight in a welterweight contest at UFC 291. However, the Brazilian failed to make weight and came in three pounds over the non-title welterweight limit of 171 pounds. After Thompson chose not to fight at catchweight, the bout was ultimately scrapped. After the event, Stephen Thompson revealed that the UFC didn’t pay him for going through a full fight camp, making weight, and showing up to the weigh-ins. However, ‘Wonderboy’ was vocally optimistic about the UFC doing right by him. In a recent press conference, Dana White revealed why Thompson wasn’t paid and outlined the promotion’s remuneration process. He said: “You decided not to fight, the guy was three pounds overweight, you get a piece of his purse if you take the fight… No, you don’t just show up and say ‘yeah, I’m not going to fight, I want a quarter of a million dollars’, that’s not how it works, hasn’t worked that way for anybody…There’s a lot of different ways that this gets worked out.” White then explained that the promotion was looking for a solution with Thompson’s team and said: “You don’t fight, you don’t get paid necessarily in the contract. But we always make sure that we take care of everybody and we’re working it out with Wonderboy right now. It’s all being worked out behind the scenes, and this should all be worked out by Saturday.” Dana White praises Nate Diaz after Jake Paul loss; claims the Stockton slugger will always be welcome in the UFC Despite their past differences, Dana White and Nate Diaz share a mutual respect for each other. The UFC supremo recently discussed Diaz’s boxing debut against Jake Paul and showered praise on the former UFC star for holding his own against the YouTuber. Diaz faced Paul in an eight-round boxing match on August 5 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Stockton native showed some promising moments during the bout but couldn’t stop Paul from cruising to a unanimous decision victory. In a presser after the conclusion of Dana White’s Contender Series 57, Dana White reacted to Diaz’s performance and said: “For a kid pushing 40 years old fighting a guy four weight classes bigger than him in boxing and two in MMA and going the distance at his age against a 20-f*cking-something-year-old kid, so far, he’s fared the best. He looked good. I’m happy for him.” White addressed Nate Diaz’s eagerness to return to the UFC and added: “We feel the same way about Nate. We always have… This will always be Nate’s house. Nate grew up here. He came up on The Ultimate Fighter. He fought some of the biggest fights ever here. We love the kid. I don’t know about fighting in the future, but this is always going to be his house. We’ll see.”
Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland finally set to go down at UFC 293 in Sydney
Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney. UFC president Dana White recently confirmed the matchup via a social media announcement and outlined some other matchups slated to go down at the Qudos Bank Arena on September 10. Adesanya was initially expected to face fast-rising middleweight contender Dricus Du Plessis for his next title defense. However, the South African was forced to pull out of the bout due to an injury he picked up during his fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. After Du Plessis was unavailable, ‘The Last Stylebender’ campaigned to fight Strickland instead. Adesanya and Strickland have a long-standing feud and will be looking to settle their differences in the cage. The two have previously taken several personal shots at each other via social media and interviews. The co-main event of UFC 293 will feature a heavyweight contest between Tai Tuivasa and Alexander Volkov. Elsewhere on the card, Australian flyweight Kai Kara-France will go up against Manel Kape. Justin Tafa will also fight Austin Lane in another exciting heavyweight battle. It was recently announced that an injury forced Casey O’Neill out of her bout against Viviane Araujo. Jennifer Maia has replaced the women’s flyweight contender and will face Araujo instead. UFC 293: Kevin Holland on Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland Kevin Holland recently weighed in on the Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland middleweight title fight at UFC 293 next month. ‘Trailblazer’ claimed that he doesn’t see ‘Tarzan’ posing too much of a challenge for Adesanya and predicts another successful title defense for the Nigerian-born Kiwi. In an interview with Helen Yee, Holland claimed that neither Strickland nor Dricus Du Plessis posed a threat to Adesanya. He said: “Either way, I think both of those fights are good fights for Izzy. I don’t see either one of those guys giving Izzy a problem. Du Plessis has been known to prove us wrong, and he’s fixed his nose, so maybe he’s a better fighter.” He continued: “I think Izzy picks him apart, Izzy picks Du Plessis apart… Izzy has more chances of knocking out Strickland because Strickland will take more chances than Du Plessis does.” Watch the full interview below: Israel Adesanya last defeated his longtime rival Alex Pereira and reclaimed the middleweight championship. The Nigerian-born Kiwi has put together one of the greatest resumes in UFC middleweight history and has effectively cleared the division. Meanwhile, Sean Strickland is on a two-fight win streak and will be looking to extend that at UFC 293 in September.
Conor McGregor claims UFC isn’t interested in Michael Chandler matchup, ‘Iron’ responds
The highly anticipated Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler bout may be in jeopardy. The Irishman recently claimed that the UFC wasn’t keen on making their matchup a reality and have other plans for his long-awaited return. McGregor has been away from the octagon since July 2021, recuperating from a nasty leg fracture he suffered against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. Earlier this year, the promotion roped him in to coach on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler. After the season concludes, the two explosive strikers are expected to face off in the cage. While many looked forward to Conor McGregor returning to action against an opponent as dynamic as Chandler, the Irishman has been dismissive of their anticipated matchup of late. Over the past two weeks, Mcgregor has called out Justin Gaethje, Nate Diaz, Charles Oliveira, and even Floyd Mayweather. In a now-deleted tweet, Conor McGregor surprisingly claimed that the UFC wasn’t interested in making the Michael Chandler fight. He wrote: “I’ll do it if they want, no prob. I don’t think they want him no more tho. There’s loads of juicy fights around, and my return date is my return date. I never gave a f**k about who it was. Ever. I’ll fight anyone. I’ll even fly them to me, ask [Paul] Malinaggi. Flown in and bet around.” Michael Chandler responds to Conor McGregor dismissing their fight Michael Chandler recently reacted to Conor McGregor’s latest tweet dismissing their anticipated bout. While ‘The Notorious’ confidently claimed the UFC wasn’t keen on it, ‘Iron’ is confident the fight will materialize. It’s no surprise that Chandler has been looking forward to facing McGregor in the cage. Given their striking pedigrees, it’s safe to assume a meeting between them will guarantee fireworks in the cage. However, the UFC has issued no official confirmation about the fight. Nevertheless, the former Bellator lightweight champion is confident their fight will go through. Implying that the Irishman wasn’t telling the whole truth, Chandler tweeted: “This dude… I remember when his words held an immense amount of weight. Just tell the truth.” In a follow-up tweet, ‘Iron’ predicted a second-round knockout victory in their bout. He wrote: “Second round KO. Break his will in the first. Finish in the second.” While Conor McGregor is expected to make his return to action this year, his reluctance to enter the USADA testing pool has made things difficult. It remains to be seen when and against whom the former two-division champion returns.