Search Results

The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday imposed a six-month suspension on Askar Mozharov for failing a drug test in connection with his lone UFC participation. The hormone and metabolic modulator GW1516 sulfone was detected in Mozharov's blood sample. The drug was "initially created and studied for the treatment of obesity, diabetes, and other illnesses related to metabolic issues," according to USADA, and it can alter how the body metabolizes fat. Because the sample Mozharov provided fell below USADA's threshold for an anti-doping infraction, he was not subject to sanctions. Mozharov received a ten percent fine of his winnings from his first-round technical knockout defeat to Alonzo Menifield at UFC Fight Night 207 in addition to a six-month ban. The event's salaries weren't made public. Before competing against Menifield, Mozharov made headlines for fabricating his MMA record; once those false records were published on the Sherdog database, his career record dropped from 25-7 to 15-14. Following his defeat against Menifield, Mozharov was fired from the UFC, and he is not presently scheduled to compete. The 27-year-old Ukrainian, who was let go by the UFC following his defeat, was also fined $2,000 (10% of his winnings, according to the commission), in addition to $529 in court costs. Before being granted another license, he will also need to submit to clean drug tests 30, 15, and 3 days prior to his next scheduled match and settle any fines (or set up a payment plan). Even though Mozharov tested below the GW1516 limit permitted by the USADA, which oversees the UFC's drug testing program, the NAC doesn't accept that specific level and requested a temporary ban after learning of his failed drug test. Mozharov, who was absent from the hearing on Tuesday, refuted claims that he embellished his resume. However, after MMA databases Sherdog and Tapology claimed that his record had been fabricated, they later updated it, and he fought Menifield as a 17-12 professional. He was defeated in the opening round. The ban on Mozharov is in effect until December 4, 2022.

Everyone was surprised when they heard the news that the 17 year old kid from Mexico got a special license to fight at UFC Dana White Contender Series. Many experts also raised concerns that it would be a step too high for the young fighter. However, Raul Roasa’s Jr left no doubt and turned many doubters into believers when he stepped into the octagon for the first time. Raul Rosas Jr. stunned the MMA community and earned a deal with the UFC as a result.At Dana White's Contender Series 55, which took place on Tuesday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the 17-year-old bantamweight completely outclassed his opponent Mando Gutierrez. Rosas (6-0) outclassed Gutierrez (7-2) and won convincingly, 30-27 on all three judges' scorecards, becoming the youngest fighter ever to sign a contract with the UFC according to president Dana White. Dana White said while talking to Laura Sanko “He is absolutely, positively talented. He’s special,” White told Laura Sanko at the post-event decision announcement. “He’s different. At 17 years old you just don’t see kids handling themselves like that.” Rosas quickly closed the gap in the opening round and took the fight to the ground. He controlled Gutierrez for the majority of the round, even making a suloev stretch threat. Rosas was trapped in a guillotine choke in the very last seconds, but he managed to resist the submission until the final buzzer. The second round was not much different than the first with Rosas domination continuing on the ground. In the third Gutierrez’s corner asked him to show some urgency as they had to chase a finish in order to win the fight but Rosas stood firm and reversed Gutierrez yet again and dominated till the final belt. After the victory he said “Since I was born, I knew this was going to happen, so everybody should not be surprised,” an elated Rosas Jr. said. “I’m the new king in here, so I’m coming for that belt now.” Rosas wants to grab his hands on the championship belt by the age of 20. Let us know what you thought of the 17 year old wonder kid from Mexico?

Nate Diaz, a former UFC superstar, has a few alternatives for his next move now that he is a free agent, and it appears like he already has something in mind. Although the whole list of potential suitors is unknown, Diaz recently showed interest in a boxing match with Paul, which he was unsure about prior to his fight on September 10 at UFC 279 in Las Vegas. After winning his final UFC fight, Diaz opened up a little bit more about his future while watching Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin 3 on Saturday in Las Vegas. He told iD Boxing "[Jake Paul] is for sure one of the options. He's doing big stuff. He's doing big things. He's got a big fight ahead of him. If he wins that, I'm sure people will be really impressed by it. And if Anderson [Silva] does his thing on him, that’s impressive also. Now we've got a fight on his hands. I'm looking forward to it." The last fight under his contract, Diaz's main-event submission victory over Tony Ferguson in the fourth round of UFC 279 was his most recent triumph. He has often indicated that he would like to consider his options beyond the company. Paul, a 25-year-old professional boxer who has a perfect record, has long shown interest in facing Diaz. On October 29 in Glendale, Arizona, he will compete against Anderson Silva. The Spider (3-0), a former middleweight champion of the UFC is regarded as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. It will be a tough fight for Jake Paul as Silva still has that boxing acumen which can trouble the ‘Problem Child’. Whether it's Paul or someone else, Diaz said he'll end up in boxing. His passion for it precedes his career in mixed martial arts, which Diaz claimed was never his desire. "From 17 or 18 years old, I was starting to fight, I was boxing with my boxing coach. There were boxers all over my gym, and I was going to box initially, but MMA shows were more around my area, and they were happening, so I got stuck in MMA. I got stuck in a cage this whole time with contracts and stuff. Now everything is open for the taking. I never stopped training for a boxing fight since I started fighting. When the right opponent or right thing comes, we’re going to take it." The 37-year-old also left the possibility of joining the UFC open, but for the time being, it seems he's prepared to make his boxing debut.

Paulo Costa, a middleweight contender in the UFC, thinks his next opponent must be Khamzat Chimaev. ‘The Eraser’ just defeated Luke Rockhold by unanimous decision last month. For the Brazilian, the victory was significant because he had suffered back-to-back defeats. Costa had lost two consecutive matches to Marvin Vettori and Israel Adesanya. Paulo Costa now has one fight left on his UFC contract, and he wants to fight Khamzat Chimaev in it. The middleweight Brazilian is hoping that by provoking Chimaev long enough, he will snap and choose to fight at 185 pounds. The Brazilian came close to engaging in another fight just a few weeks after earning his previous victory. not in the cage, but rather at the UFC Performance Institute. Costa and Khamzat Chimaev got into a heated argument during UFC 279 fight week. The Las Vegas pay-per-view was supposed to feature "Borz," but that didn't happen. Chimaev was significantly overweight for his main-event matchup with Nate Diaz. As a result, Tony Ferguson was promoted, and he was moved down to the co-main event against Kevin Holland. Chimaev, his coach, and Dana White all said after the fight that he would continue to fight at middleweight. Paulo Costa. During an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, the Brazilian talked about the fight. Costa said there that he is the one who should be credited for stealing Chimaev's limelight. He said “I think, Chimaev [is the fight to make], yeah.” stated Paulo Costa. “I stole some of his hype, I stole his night of sleep, I stole his cap, I stole his main event fight, I stole everything. Chimaev, you need to do something. Motherf*cker, I stole everything that you had! Everything that you had. I stole your night’s sleep, I stole your weigh-in, I stole everything.” He continued, “You are stupid, you’re so crazy… I think I need to fight that guy. For sure [I’m the reason he missed weight]. Because he became so angry, so stressed, he gave up. He missed weight by eight pounds, almost nine, he gave up for sure.” What do you make of Paulo Costa’s comments on the ‘Wolf’ and do you think a fight between them will take place?

This time, Canelo Alvarez's victory over Gennady Golovkin was unquestionable. One of boxing's greatest rivalries of the twenty-first century was effectively put to rest Saturday night when the Mexican boxing superstar defeated his opponent in their third fight. In their 12-round, 168-pound championship bout at T-Mobile Arena, Alvarez outperformed the 40-year-old Golovkin in every manner. He was busier, more accurate, the harder puncher, and just all-around superior. Even though it seemed like Alvarez was winning by a greater margin, judges Dave Moretti (116-112), David Sutherland (115-113), and Steve Weisfeld (115-113) all gave him the victory. Between when they last met, four years ago, and Saturday night, there were apparent differences between the 32-year-old Alvarez and an older, slower Golovkin. In the ninth round, Golovkin made a brief comeback, but Alvarez had already amassed what appeared to be an insurmountable lead. Even though Golovkin had his moments in the 10th and 11th rounds, Alvarez came back strongly to make Golovkin fearful of his power. In the post fight interview Canelo told DAZN’s Chris Mannix that he will require surgery on his left hand. After completing their trilogy, the Mexican held onto his IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight titles. He also recovered from his one-sided 12-round loss to undefeated WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7 at T-Mobile Arena, which was also decided by unanimous decision. Canelo also showed respect to his rival with whom he shared 36 rounds inside the ring. He said “He’s a really good fighter,” Alvarez told Mannix. “He’s strong and a great fighter, and that’s why we are here. And I am glad to share the ring with him. … He did not surprise me. I know he’s a strong fighter and I am not surprised. For me, I am just glad to share the ring and we gave the fans three really good fights.” The 12-round middleweight championship rematch between the four-division champion and Golovkin took place in September 2018 at T-Mobile Arena, and the champion won by majority decision. Nearly exactly one year prior, they battled to a highly contentious split draw at T-Mobile Arena. Despite Golovkin's claims to the contrary, his rival's victory over him in their two 160-pound title fights is convincing. GGG also clarified that he is not ready to retire now and he is looking forward to put on shows for the fans in the future. “I have a lot left,” Golovkin said. “Congrats to Canelo, to all the fans. Remember, I have three belts at 160 and I am still champion. … Congrats to Canelo and his whole team. He is a real warrior.”

After an illustrious 18 year old career Jose Aldo has finally decided to retire from MMA. Even though the former featherweight champion has one fight left on his contract, the UFC has decided to release Aldo, allowing him to pursue other combat sports enterprises if he so chooses. In the previous 15 years, mixed martial arts players have advanced dramatically, bringing the discipline close to its apex. They had actually been catching up to Jose Aldo during that period. Aldo (31-8) is recognised as one of the best fighters ever pound-for-pound and as the greatest featherweight to ever step inside the cage. He won 25 of his first 26 professional fights, including many highlight-reel knockouts and convincing decisions. The announcement comes less than a month after Aldo's last contest, a three-fight winning streak-ending unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278. Aldo made his professional debut in August 2004 and started off 10-1 until joining the World Extreme Cagefighting organization in 2008. Before facing Mike Brown for the featherweight title at WEC 44, Aldo kept up his winning ways by knocking out his next five opponents. At the age of 23, Aldo defeated Brown via TKO in the second round to win his first championship. Before switching to the UFC as part of a corporate merger in 2010, Aldo successfully defended that title twice. He was then instantly elevated to the position of first-ever UFC featherweight champion. Before losing it to Conor McGregor at UFC 194, he successfully defended the championship seven times in a row, still a UFC record. He then won an interim title at UFC 200, which was later elevated to undisputed status in McGregor's absence. Aldo was a warrior who could almost accomplish anything. He had kicks that were as powerful and potent as any fighter in MMA history. When he was at his best, his takedown defense was unbeatable, and if a fight ever went to the ground, he was a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and the 2001 World Jiu-Jitsu Championships bronze medallist in his weight class. Aldo is probably going to keep practicing different combat sports in the future. Like fellow UFC veterans Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort, he may try his hand at boxing. He could also fight in muay thai and jiu-jitsu. We might have seen the last of him inside the octagon but it might not be the last time we saw ‘King of Rio’ in action.

Yadong Song and Gregory Rodrigues carried gruesome mementos from their fights at UFC Vegas 60 on Saturday outside the Octagon. With solid punches that connected and takedown defense, Song was dominating Cory Sandhagen at the time. After jarring the "Sandman" with a left hand at the start of the second round, the "Kung Fu Kid" had one of the fight's more memorable moments. Sandhagen recovered, though, and struck back with a step-in elbow that tore open a wound above Song's left forehead. Song was instantly covered in crimson as blood began to gush forth. When the cutman got back to his corner and started working on Song, we saw just how awful the cut was. Warning: there is a spoiler ahead. While allowing him to continue, the doctor instructed Herb Dean, the fight's referee, to keep a close eye on it. As you would have imagined, the wound became worse and opened even further. The doctor reexamined Song prior to the fifth and final round and found he was unable to continue, which declared the bout over. Sandhagen was disappointed that he could not offer Song another round, but given the seriousness and location of the cut, it was probably for the best. Unexpectedly, Song wasn't the only competitor to suffer a split face tonight. In the opening round of his bout with Chidi Njokuani, Rodrigues took a knee, but the damage it caused was too great to overlook. In addition to being unsteady, "Robocop" suffered one of the worst wounds in UFC history between his eyes. Before Rodrigues entered the second round, the cutman once more did his damnedest to close the wound and stop the bleeding. Fortunately, the Brazilian dodged a doctor's stoppage, rushed to knock 'Bang Bang' down, and then used ground-and-pound to end him. Backstage, Rodrigues would need stitches, and now you can view the before and after photos of his wound according to UFC president Dana White (H/T Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting). You have been forewarned in advance: they are harsh.

With a decisive victory, Canelo Alvarez completed his trilogy against Gennadiy Golovkin. In a 12-round fight on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) prevailed by majority decision against Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) despite Golovkin's late charge. The judges gave Canelo victories by scores of 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113, despite the fact that Canelo appeared to be in charge of the fight for most of the battle. With the victory, Canelo solidified his position as the undisputed super middleweight champion as the current holder of the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring championships. Canelo and "GGG" have met twice previously, with the results of those fights being hotly debated. On September 16, 2017, Canelo and Golovkin were able to draw a split decision. A year later, Canelo defeated Golovkin by a majority decision. Fans and peers reacted differently to both results. After the bout, in his post-fight interview, Canelo congratulated Golovkin for their three battles together. “We gave the fans three good fights,” Canelo said. “Thank you for everything.” Canelo owned the opening half of the fight, staying and moving against a hesitant Golovkin while controlling the action. With the exception of the occasional jab, Golovkin struggled to generate any substantial offense in the first rounds. Canelo scored points by consistently using his body and landing strong uppercuts. Later, Golovkin began to show signs of life, increasing his output and even occasionally putting Canelo at a disadvantage. Canelo was still constantly outworking Golovkin, though, and it looked like he would win by a significant margin on the scorecard. However, the fight ended up being closer than some would have anticipated. With the victory, Canelo overcame his May setback to Dmitry Bivol in the WBA light heavyweight title battle. When asked if he wanted to fight Bivol again, Canelo said that he did, but noted that he needed time to recover and take care of a left-hand injury. Gilberto Ramirez will be Bivol's opponent as he defends his championship on November 5. In his post-fight interview, Golovkin displayed the same graciousness. “Everybody knows this is high-level class for boxing,” Golovkin said. “Everybody knows this is Canelo. You miss one punch, he can finish the fight. Look at his face, look at my face. We trained well and this shows that we did a very good fight as a result of it.” “Today, Canelo is better,” Golovkin added before he and Canelo shook hands and embraced.

This weekend's third battle between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin is expected to feature impressive performances from both boxers. When the two initially met in 2017, many thought Golovkin had done enough, but the judges at the ringside ruled the fight a draw. The following year, Canelo improved and won, but Golovkin continued to believe he had won. Since their second encounter, the two have taken divergent paths, but on Saturday they will resume hostilities. It has been Alvarez and Golovkin's goal to unify the middleweight division twice. Their opening match of 2017 ended in a hotly contested tie. When Alvarez received a six-month ban for failing a drug test, which he attributed to consuming tainted meat, a rematch was postponed. When the second bout finally occurred in 2018, the Mexican prevailed by unanimous decision. Both combatants believe that their business is not done. When Golovkin arrived in Las Vegas for their third bout, which would take place at super-middleweight, where Alvarez is now the undisputed champion, he said, "This is not just for me, [it's] for sport. I want to bring boxing's position back, I want a clean sport." Alvarez is incensed by remarks that cast doubt on his character and stated: "The history we have, after the second fight he said a lot about me, so that's why I take this personally. "It means a lot because everybody is going to remember this trilogy, so it means a lot for me." Their feud runs deep. Even his mother "hates so much Golovkin". "You're going to hear in the arena a lot of bad words from my mum," Alvarez said with a smile. "But it is what it is, it's my mum." Even though Golovkin has never been stopped, Alvarez will be going for a knockout. "Look, that's my goal," the champion said. “But you never know in boxing. That's my goal. I prepare myself for that. But you never know. I'm going to jump in the ring and fight with my head. That's my goal, I'm going to try all the fight to end the fight before the 12th round. But you never know."

Through several previous encounters, Cory Sandhagen has learned to never write Aljamain Sterling off. In addition to his prior encounter with the current UFC bantamweight champion in 2020, Sandhagen felt as though he was going to witness Sterling's demise when he fought Petr Yan again after their initial encounter resulted in a disqualification. Instead, Sterling pulled off the incredible upset by defeating Yan on a razor-thin margin of victory to retain the championship and establish himself as the world's finest 135-pound fighter. “I was actually surprised,” Sandhagen told The Fighter vs. The Writer when reacting to Sterling’s win. “When people were asking me, I was saying Yan was going to win. Good for Sterling. There’re so many different types of fighters in the sport and there are so many different paths to victory. I think Sterling has just done such a good job of finding his path to victory and it’s pretty great. “Honestly, it’s mildly inspiring just to see a person who has figured it out, even though he might not be the most technical, he might not be the most this, the most that, the guy has figured out a way to make himself win over and over again against the best guys in the world.” Sandhagen has started to have even more trust in his old opponent after Sterling stunned the world by defeating Yan in a battle that many expected him to lose. Even though Sandhagen is known for not enjoying making fight predictions, he has enough faith in Sterling to think that when he defends his championship next against T.J. Dillashaw in the UFC 280 co-main event, he will once again disprove the naysayers. “I definitely would not count out Aljamain at all,” Sandhagen said. “Honestly, I have Aljamain kind of picked in this one. Not a prediction guy but most of the time it’s because I don’t think about the fights but this one I actually spent some time thinking about because I have to see Duane [Ludwig] around at local fights, we’re both in Colorado, so I’ve kind of been like ‘how’s that fight going to go?’ I have a lot of respect for Duane. On some level, I still respect T.J. He was kind of my friend for a couple of years. “I’ve given it some thought and actually think that Sterling is just going to be able to do what he does. I think that he’ll be able to take T.J. down and I think that he’ll probably be able to submit him if he can get on his back.” In the grappling game, Sterling has repeatedly shown that he is a monster, taking down opponents and moving on to his preferred position when he transforms into a self-described "human bag." Additionally, Sandhagen fought Dillashaw for five rounds a little over a year ago; he ultimately lost by a controversial split decision, but that experience gave him insight into what to anticipate from Sterling's battle in October. “I don’t think T.J. has the amount of punching power that he may be used to have to be able to stop Sterling or hurt him really bad,” Sandhagen said. “I don’t think he contains that much power. Just from feeling the both of them, too, I don’t really think that T.J. packs the same punch and I don’t think he’s going to be as strong as Sterling. “I think Sterling’s wrestling is really discredited and I think that he’s an amazing wrestler and I think he’s very strong and I think he’s going to be able to outpower T.J.” With a victory in his upcoming bout against Song Yadong on Saturday, Sandhagen aims to re-enter the championship picture. He would also dearly love to one day face either Dillashaw or Sterling across the cage.

According to sources quoted by ESPN, Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford have reached an agreement, and the only elements that need to be verified are the fight's targeted date of November 19, 2022 in Las Vegas. Terence Crawford accepted the suggested financial terms by Al Haymon, the creator of the PBC, regarding revenue sharing, but the agreement has not yet been finalised since lawyers from both parties need to clean up the legal language in the bout agreement, according to ESPN. There will be a rematch clause in the contract for both athletes. The contract for this fight includes a rematch clause for both fighters. The loser can request a rematch right away, and the victor receives the largest payout in the follow-up bout. The weight limit for the fight is 147 pounds. While Crawford only has the WBO belt to display, Errol Spence Jr. presently owns the WBC, WBA, and IBF championships. The promotion of this fight will be a joint effort between Spence Jr.'s Man Down Promotions and Crawford's TBC Promotions for the PBC pay-per-view. This matchup between both the fighters might just be the biggest showdown in the history of boxing as such is the level of both the boxers. They are also at their peak of the powers and the world wants to see who really is the undisputed welterweight champion of the world. Let us know in the comments who do you think has the upper hand going into this mega fight?

The fight card for this weekend's UFC Vegas 60: Sandhagen vs. Song has been reduced by one fight after a women's bantamweight matchup had to be canceled. The troubles Aspen Ladd is having with the scales don't seem to be over. Going all the way back to 2016, the top-ranked bantamweight has experienced difficulties getting to the 136-pound limit of the category. The 27-year-UFC old's debut was postponed on fight day due to a suspected sickness related to her weight-cut, making a total of four fights canceled during fight week, three after she entered above the bantamweight limit. Following a particularly challenging weight cut before her fight with Germaine de Randamie in 2019, Ladd had her license to compete in the state of California suspended. The CSAC stated that Ladd exceeded the commission's mandated 15% tolerance by regaining 18% of her body weight after weigh-ins. Ladd was noticeably emaciated and on the point of passing out when standing on the scales, despite making weight and making it to the bout. In response to criticism from former bantamweight Miesha Tate following the cancellation of a bout with Macy Chiasson in 2021, Ladd stated that she will be making efforts to make things right. But whatever she's been doing doesn't seem to have made the issue go away. For her upcoming fight at UFC Vegas 60: Sandhagen vs. Song versus Sara McMann, Ladd checked in two pounds overweight. The bout she was supposed to compete in has been canceled. And there is no news whether the bout will be rescheduled to a later date. Should Aspen Lad move to the featherweight division after a history of weight cutting struggles?