Mixed Martial Arts / Boxing Thread

[Chicho Makedonski]

Massive upset today with the so-called unified heavyweight champion (Joshua) being taken out by a Mexican-American (Ruiz) who nobody thought had a chance. Some are comparing it Tyson-Douglas. Honestly, serves Joshua right for dodging Deontay Wilder for so long, knowing that the latter had a more than average chance of knocking him into next week. So much for the 'money fight'.

Tyson Fury will beat them all. He’s too tall, long, skillfull, quick, uses faints, good footwork and speed for heavyweight especially at his height and weight.

[Karposh]

Another great win for Volkanovski today. A unanimous decision by the judges gave him the 5 round fight. Congratulations to Alex.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA08iW7MOQk

[Soldier of Macedon]

Another great win for Volkanovski today. A unanimous decision by the judges gave him the 5 round fight. Congratulations to Alex.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA08iW7MOQk

The first UFC champion of Macedonian heritage. He beat a man who is arguably the best featherweight MMA fighter in history. Congratulations Alex!

[Soldier of Macedon]

Tyson Fury will beat them all. He’s too tall, long, skillfull, quick, uses faints, good footwork and speed for heavyweight especially at his height and weight.

Many people say that. Hard to disagree, but I still think, despite the lack of finesse and potentially questionable endurance (especially when he has suffered some damage), Wilder is still the most dangerous and brutal heavyweight boxer today and has the capability to knock them all out. The rematch with Fury should be a great fight.

[Soldier of Macedon]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/ufc/ufc-251-live-updates-results-fight-island-kamaru-usman-vs-jorge-masvidal-alexander-volkanovski-vs-max-holloway-start-time-in-australia-how-to-watch/news-story/ee5fe57ffb0e72aa6896cb558c87befe

Kamaru Usman proved tougher than the UFC’s ‘Baddest Motherf*cker’, Australian Alexander Volkanovski survived a huge scare, and a new champion was crowned in the bantamweight division as Fight Island got off to an incredible start. Usman, the welterweight champion defended his strap for the second time at UFC 251 on Yas Island after defeating Jorge Masvidal in what ended up being a comfortably display of dominance. The 170-pound king is now 12-0 in the UFC, and took the unanimous decision victory (50-45 x 2, 49-46) to beat Masvidal, who took the fight on six days’ notice after a positive COVID-19 test forced Gilbert Burns out of the headline act. In the co-main event, Australian Alexander Volkanovski was dropped in the first and second rounds, but roared back defend his UFC gold against Max Holloway. It was his first featherweight title defence, and he had a far harder time than he did in their first go-around. Still, sitting in a 2-0 hole, Volkanovski never looked flustered as he pulled off three straight rounds to take the split decision victory (48-47 x 2, 47-48).

Before that, Petr Yan became the new bantamweight champion of the world after a stunning display against Jose Aldo. In the first of three title fights on the card, Aldo, off the back of two losses, was given a shot at the vacant 135-pound belt, but was outclassed by his Russian opponent who finally stopped him in the fifth round. Yan, who takes the title Henry Cejudo left behind when he retired, is now 7-0 in the UFC. The new champion took over in rounds four and five, with a final round barrage proving too much for Aldo, who probably could have been put out of his misery earlier than he was by referee Leon Roberts. In a rematch of champions, Rose Namajunas survived a late push from Jessica Andrade to avenge her 2019 loss in a hard-fought split decision victory. Before that, Amanda Ribas made light work of Paige VanZant.

Congratulations to Alex for defending his belt, very close call. Good to see Rose get her revenge also. But unfortunate for Jorge Masvidal, he has been the most interesting fighter to watch since last year but the short notice and consequent rapid weight cut before the fight may have taken its toll. I hope he bounces back stronger. Either way, no excuses, all of their opponents fought well. It would be great to see Conor make a comeback and challenge Alex or Usman for their belts.

[Dejan]

Yeah, i didn't have Alex winning that fight personally, but i'm no judge. He was quite solid on the tail end of the fight

[Karposh]

I thought this was pretty funny - "Alexander Volkanovski being Australian"...(Note to self, cue the inner bogan) - What a sick cunt!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWFjNJhvo54

On a side note, I wonder if there's going to be another rematch? There's a lot of people out there who are saying that Max got robbed.

[Soldier of Macedon]

On a side note, I wonder if there's going to be another rematch? There's a lot of people out there who are saying that Max got robbed.

I think they may fight again, but not right away. Irrespective of what many have said, Alex has two recorded victories in a row against Max. It would be unreasonable to expect him to go against Max again in his next fight. Plus, that division has a few top fighters itching for a shot. I think Alex will fight Zabit next whereas Ortega will fight the Korean. The winners will fight each other. Then Max, if he wins his next fight against Yair or someone else, will fight for the championship again. That said, nothing can be accurately predicted given the COVID-19 situation and the often turbulent relationship between the UFC and its fighters.

[Soldier of Macedon]

https://www.mmafighting.com/2020/6/21/21298087/dana-white-confirms-stipe-miocic-vs-daniel-cormier-3-will-take-place-at-ufc-apex

Dana White confirms Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier 3 will take place at UFC APEX

The long awaited trilogy between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier has a date, and now the fight has a location. Following UFC on ESPN 11 on Saturday night, UFC president Dana White confirmed plans for the heavyweight title fight, which is scheduled for Aug. 15. “That would be here [at the UFC APEX],” White said when asked about the UFC 252 main event. “Yeah, [it’s official].” While it’s not exactly a huge surprise that Miocic vs. Cormier 3 will be held at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, given that the coronavirus pandemic has severely limited the promotion’s locale choices for live events, there hadn’t been any formal announcements since the fight was confirmed. There were rumors swirling that perhaps certain states might begin allowing fans to attend events again in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but White made it clear that’s the furthest thing from his mind right now.

“First of all, this would be a state or a country, or whatever it will be that would decide they were ready for fans, we would get together with the government there and whatever entities we had to deal with, whether it was the athletic commission or whoever, and we would figure out how we were going to do this, how it was all going to work, how would it be safe and then we would do it,” White said. “We would be first if we were able to do it. We’d be first and do it. “I just don’t see that happening any time soon in the United States. I could see it happening in another country. Not here though. Again, you can’t f**king believe anything you read. You don’t know what’s true and what’s not true. You’re hearing flatten the curve and the curve had flattened. Now they’re saying things are spiking up in Texas and Arizona and Florida and all these other [places]. I don’t know the answers to this stuff. It’s why I just stay in my lane. We’ve got the APEX. We’ve got ‘Fight Island’ we’re kicking off here soon. I am not even thinking about doing an event with fans.”

If there’s one potential roadblock to the title fight trilogy being held at the UFC APEX, it’s the heavyweight champion’s preference to compete inside a 30-foot cage. Source close to Miocic told MMA Fighting that he would rather fight in the larger octagon, but the UFC APEX currently houses a 25-foot cage. To add to the problem, sources say the lighting structure inside the APEX was made specifically for the smaller cage. That could hinder any plan to swap out the cages and put the bigger 30-foot octagon inside the APEX for the heavyweight title fight. These are all issues that will undoubtedly be dealt with between now and Aug. 15, when Miocic and Cormier face off in their rubber match with the heavyweight title up for grabs.

This fight going to be huge and is of utmost significance for the heavyweight division. I didn't mind Daniel Cormier in the past but in the lead up to his second fight with Stipe Miocic he was a condescending prick. He got lucky in the first fight and was appropriately ruined by Stipe in the second fight. Hopefully Stipe smashes him again in the third fight and sends Cormier to retirement, thereby solidifying his own place as the best heavyweight ever. Otherwise if Cormier wins he will most likely retire as champion and severe the lineal title, then endlessly gloat from his position as commentator outside of the ring. Go Stipe!

[Soldier of Macedon]

https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/boxing/tyson-to-return-to-ring-for-exhibition-against-roy-jones-jr/ar-BB176vCl?ocid=msedgntp

Tyson to return to ring for exhibition against Roy Jones Jr

Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson will make a much anticipated return to the ring when he faces four-division world champion Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout on Sept. 12, Triller, the virtual social media and music platform, said on Thursday. The eight-round fight will be part of a three-hour pay per view event shown on Triller, which has also obtained streaming rights to a 10-part docuseries featuring behind-the-scenes, pre-fight footage leading up to the bout. The program will also include a "significant" undercard as well as musical performances. Tyson teased fans about a possible return to the ring in May when the 53-year-old boxer posted videos of himself training. One video showed Tyson, the first heavyweight to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, hitting the pads with ferocious power before signing off with the message "I'm back". Tyson later said he was interested in returning to the ring to raise money for charity and potential opponents immediately began to line up for a crack at the fighter known as "Iron Mike". Old rival Evander Holyfield and New Zealand rugby great Sonny Bill Williams were among those reported to be in line for the fight before Jones Jr. was chosen. The 51-year-old Jones, who has simultaneously held a record seven belts, last fought in 2018. Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion of all time when he defeated Trevor Berbick in 1986 aged 20. He won 50 of his 58 professional fights before retiring in 2005 after a loss to Kevin McBride.

Meh, why not. He could still probably KO most in the heavyweight division today.

[Risto the Great]

He is fighting fit. He won't be embarrassing himself.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Damn, not many people saw that coming. Conor's stock has dropped quite a bit after this loss. He needs a spectacular win in his next fight.

https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/...nd-tko-ufc-257

Dustin Poirier avenged his loss to Conor McGregor and picked up by far the biggest win of his career. The perennial UFC lightweight contender shocked McGregor, beating him via TKO after swarming him with punches at 2:32 of the second round Saturday night in the main event of UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

[JPMKD]

Damn, not many people saw that coming. Conor's stock has dropped quite a bit after this loss. He needs a spectacular win in his next fight.

Shocker! Out on his shield and all, but shocker. (Not that Porrier was not capable of that, but no one called that!)

[Soldier of Macedon]

Conor vs Dustin 3 coming up the weekend after next. There is fighter on the card from Macedonia, who fights out of Italy. His name is Alen Amedovski and he is originally from Debar. A cursory look at his social media (e.g., #makedonija, #macedonianwarror) seem to suggest he may be Macedonian (Muslim). Obviously the whole ventilator thing is distasteful, but it appears he is partial towards Macedonia, whatever his heritage, which is more than one can say about certain other sporting figures from the country.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Alen Amedovski had to pull out of the fight due to COVID issues. Australia's Tai Tuivasa had a big KO win in the first round. But the main event between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor had an anticlimactic conclusion when the latter injured his leg at the end of the first round, after being dominated for the most part. Then he went on a tangent and insulted Poirier's wife, which is poor form. That is 2 losses in a row for Conor against Dustin and 3 losses out of his last 4 fights (4 out of 5 if one includes the Mayweather fight). This time, it didn't come as much of a shock. The star is definitely losing its shine. To quote the great Marvin Hagler, "it's tough to get out of bed to do roadwork at 5 am when you've been sleeping in silk pajamas."