Bellator 300, which is set to go down this Sat. night (Oct. 7, 2023) from inside Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Calif., has lost one of its four title fights. According to a report from MMA Junkie, Linton Vassell has been forced to withdraw from his championship rematch against division kingpin, Ryan Bader, due to an undisclosed illness.

Bader initially defeated Vassell back in late 2017 via second-round technical knockout (TKO) to retain his Light Heavyweight title (see it here). After losing two more after that, Vassell racked up five straight victories to put himself in position to rematch “Darth,” this time for the 265-pound strap.

As for Bader, he spent some time as both Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight champion before losing his 205-pound belt to Vadim Nemkov in Aug. 2020 at Bellator 244 (recap here). He has since defended the 265-pound title three times, but his fourth attempt will now have to wait a bit longer.

The Bellator 300 main card will proceed with three titles fights which will be headlined by Usman Nurmagomedov defending his 155-pound strap against Brent Primus in a Grand Prix semifinal matchup. In the co-main event, Cris Cyborg will put her belt on the line against Cat Zingano, while the women’s Flyweight strap will be up for grabs as Liz Carmouche defends against former champion, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.

To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.

Tony Ferguson isn’t going down without a fight.

The former interim lightweight champion, mired in a dreadful six-fight losing streak, will look to make his triumphant return to the win column when he collides with 155-pound rising star Paddy Pimblett as part of the UFC 296 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Las Vegas.

UFC CEO Dana White is ready to release “El Cucuy” in defeat.

“I don’t want to retire, it’s not in my f*cking thought process,” Ferguson told ESPN. “It’s not about getting cut. It’s not about doing all this stuff. It’s about competing. And what I did was I started competing without; one—having fun, and two—really giving 100 percent into my training. I thought I did, but that means I have to be coachable. I have to be a student again. I have to ask for help.”

A victory over Pimblett would no doubt give Ferguson, 39, a second lease on his combat sports life. Not surprisingly, “El Cucuy” already has post-Pimblett plans, which include a longstanding rivalry opposite former lightweight champion Conor McGregor (also known as Connie McNuggets).

“Going after Khabib for a long time and going after ‘McNuggets,’ this is about as close as it’s going to get for right now,” the 25-9 Ferguson continued. “So as soon as we get through this dude, we’ll go after Conor if he’ll sign on the dotted line and get through USADA. I’m not even close to being done. What it’s going to take is a great team that got me to my championship belt, my interim belt. I had a great team. But holding on to certain things can sometimes be very detrimental to yourself, which sometimes you just got to let go and hold onto the things that hold onto you very tight. And that goes faith, family, and friends.”

To see who else is fighting at UFC 296 click here.

Charles Oliveira doesn’t think it’s fair that UFC is making him fight in Abu Dhabi.

“Do Bronx” will attempt to recapture his crown from Islam Makhachev, who stripped the Brazilian of the 155-pound strap when they first went to war in the UFC 280 pay-per-view (PPV) main event back in late 2022, also at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Makhachev insists Oliveira’s squawking ahead of their Oct. 21 rematch “makes no sense.”

“Charles, I asked to fight in U.S. in the summer, but UFC had other plans,” Makhachev replied on Twitter. “I am a UFC fighter like you, never set the conditions for the UFC and fought where they offered. My last fight took place in Australia at the challenger’s backyard, simple, everything you say makes no sense.”

Makhachev, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia, made his first lightweight title defense against featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski in the Aussie’s backyard of Perth. The last time Oliveira fought in front of his hometown fans was UFC Fight Night 170 in March 2020.

“Do Bronx” dazzled the Brasilia fans with a third-round submission.

Losing to Makhachev (24-2) at UFC 280 snapped an 11-fight win streak for Oliveira (34-9, 1 NC), who currently holds the UFC record for most finishes. The Brazilian quickly bounced back by planishing Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 last June.

To see the rest of the UFC 294 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

“I followed Usman as a wrestler who wrestled at 184 pounds, so I know that size is not an issue for him.” —Chael Sonnen

Kamaru Usman said he would “absolutely entertain the thought” of jumping to middleweight in search of a second UFC title, but only if longtime friend Israel Adesanya was no longer the 185-pound champion. As it turns out, “The Last Stylebender” was dethroned by Sean Strickland — a former welterweight — at UFC 293 just last month, so the only obstacle keeping “The Nigerian Nightmare” for moving up in weight has now been removed.

Unless the promotion decides to book him against 170-pound contender Belal Muhammad.

Like Adesanya, the 36 year-old Usman also lost his championship strap, so he no longer has the clout to fight for the 185-pound title in his first middleweight bout. That said, an alternate route is now available if “The Nigerian Nightmare” wants to travel to Abu Dhabi to serve as backup fighter for the Khamzat Chimaev vs Paulo Costa showdown at UFC 294, a contest that could produce the next division title challenger.

“I believe that Kamaru Usman should go to 185 pounds, that’s Chael’s belief,” former middleweight contender Chael Sonnen said on his YouTube channel (transcribed by MMA News). “He didn’t want to have to fight Adesanya. Usman was willing to fight Chimaev, but would not fight him at 185 pounds. It was not a size issue, he didn’t wanna do it at 185 because it would have become a number one contender’s match. If Usman was to come up now, the landscape is totally different and the opportunity is only a month away. It is paramount that they have a backup fighter in Abu Dhabi for Paulo Costa vs. Chimaev. The right guy has to be ready. The right guy is out there. The right guy to fill in for Paulo Costa or Khamzat Chimaev [is] Kamaru Usman.”

Chimaev is also a former welterweight with dreams of a middleweight title and has a history with Usman, though neither fighter could seem to get UFC CEO Dana White on board with the idea. Circumstances have changed, thanks to Leon Edwards, who defeated Usman in back-to-back title fights, the most recent of which occurred in the UFC 286 headliner back in March. The promotion doesn’t typically pay for backup fighters in non-title fights, but Costa vs. Chimaev is important enough to the future of the division that it might be worth the investment.

Event: Bellator 301: “Amosov vs. Jackson”
Date: Fri., Nov. 17, 2023
Location: Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois
How To Watch: Showtime (watch here)

Bellator 301 Main Event:

170 lbs.: Champion Yaroslav Amosov (27-0) vs. Jason Jackson (16-4)

Bellator 301 Main Card:

135 lbs.: Champion Sergio Pettis (23-5) vs. interim champion Patchy Mix (18-1)
155 lbs.: Patricky Pitbull (25-11) vs. Alexandr Shabliy (23-3) Lightweight Grand Prix bout
155 lbs.: A.J. McKee (20-1) vs. Sidney Outlaw (17-5)
135 lbs.: Raufeon Stots (19-2) vs. Danny Sabatello (14-3)

Bellator 301 ‘Prelims’ Under Card

265 lbs.: Daniel James (15-7-1) vs. Ali Isaev (9-0-1)
265 lbs.: Tyrell Fortune (13-3) vs. Marcelo Golm (10-4)
145 lbs.: Timur Khizriev (13-0) vs. Justin Gonzales (14-2)
155 lbs.: Archie Colgan (8-0) vs. Pieter Buist (17-7)
125 lbs.: Juliana Velasquez (12-2) vs. Paula Cristina (6-2)
125 lbs.: Keri Taylor Melendez (5-0) vs. Sabriye Sengul (3-3)
135 lbs.: Matheus Mattos (13-2-1) vs. Richard Palencia (10-1)
155 lbs.: Mike Hamel (11-5) vs. Tim Wilde (16-4-1)
125 lbs.: Denise Kielholtz (7-5) vs. Sumiko Inaba (6-0)
160 lbs.: Islam Mamedov (22-3-1) vs. Killys Mota (15-3

To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is continuing to speak out about modern culture, which he considers toxic.

What kind of world are we living in? Sean Strickland is currently the UFC middleweight champion, which is crazy enough. Now we can report that he’s giving out life advice, and it’s ... actually pretty solid?

Strickland is best known for sharing an endless variety of off-color opinions on the world. Usually his stories involve almost murdering someone who’s annoying him, and those are the ones that are fit to print compared to others. But now Strickland is using his new platform as UFC champion to try and impart some proper wisdom on all watching him.

He signed off from his first YouTube video as UFC champ with an interesting message.

“The reason why I drive a s—y Hyundai is, one: I’m cheap, very cheap,” he said. “But the entire world makes you feel inadequate. Everything we do from what you wear to what you drive. You are born living in a f—ing commercial. When you’re a little infant and you’re watching TV, you are born looking at Audi and Mercedes commercials. When you hand a kid a cell phone when they’re born, they’re being f—ing brainwashed.”

“I love America more than anything, but I do not recognize the world we live in,” he continued. “We are creating a generation of boys who judge their character by what they drive and what they wear. I don’t want to participate in making people feel like you are not enough. If you make, if you work an 8-hour job, if you do rebar, if you do electrical, I think that value of you comes from how you act, by the kind of father you are.”

“It’s a damn shame,” he concluded. “It’s a damn shame that we let corporations come in this country and we ruin the idea of what a f—ing man is. So as long as I’m a f—ing champion: you guys, enjoy your old f—ing crocs, enjoy your old beat-up f—ing Honda Civics, man. Just enjoy that s—.”

Something has definitely changed in “Tarzan” lately. Could it be love that’s rubbing the sharp edges off his persona? Whatever it is, we’re kind of here for it. Whether this force will be powerful enough to help him hold onto his 185 pound strap in a division full of hungry sharks waiting to take it from him remains to be seen.

Big boxing money continues to get even bigger, making Francis Ngannou’s $10 million dollar payday seem quaint in comparison.

We already knew that Tyson Fury was set to make tens of millions of dollars in his upcoming fights, but now his promoter is claiming that “The Gypsy King” may earn close to a quarter of a billion dollars over the next six months.

Fury will box Francis Ngannou in October and then Oleksander Usyk in December or January. Both fights go down in Saudi Arabia as part of the country’s big Riyadh Season festivities. The House of Saud is reknown for throwing massive wads of cash around, and ESNews queried Fury’s promoter Bob Arum on claims Fury would make $100 million against Usyk.

“I didn’t say that!” Arum replied, before sharing an even more impressive number. “I said Fury, with that [Usyk] fight and the Ngannou fight, in the near future, we’re hoping that he comes in at around $200 million dollars.”

Arum also explained how the Fury vs. Usyk fight came together after all the ‘middle men’ in Saudi sports moved aside and the real player, Turki Al al-Shikh, came to the table to make a deal.

“We’re not idiots,” Arum said. “We studied and we knew that Turki [Al al-Shikh] was the head of the entertainment division of the [Saudi] sovereign fund, and what he says goes in spending money on entertainment and sports in Saudi Arabia.

“Everybody else was a middleman. Like Wilder and Joshua made a deal with Saudi people, but they were middle men. They have to go to him to get the money, and there was no assurance that they would get it from him. But if you’re dealing with the guy that’s in charge of the money, that’s a whole different kettle of fish.”

While Arum is excited for these two bouts, he admitted he’s not involved as he’d normally be because Saudi Arabia basically takes care of everything surrounding the event moving forward.

“It’s a big fight, it’s a good fight. It has nothing to do with me and my legacy,” he said. “I’m not the one that’s paying for it, I’m not the one that’s put it together. It’ll be a happy experience for us to be involved as we are in the event and to go over there and watch a good fight.”

Tyson Fury fights Francis Ngannou on October 28th. Few people are giving Ngannou much of a chance in that fight, but we assume the wiggle room in December or January dates for Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk is in case Fury comes out a bit beat up and needs some time to recover.

Gordon Ryan not only beat Patrick Gaudio with apparent ease, he called which submission he’d use to win. Again!

Gordon Ryan has done it again.

“The King” returned to action for the first time in 2023 to defend his WNO heavyweight title, tapping Patrick Gaudio with an armbar submission.

Ryan was in complete control through the entire 4:40 that the 30 minute superfight lasted. He got on top of Gaudio early and methodically moved into mount and then isolated his opponent’s arm. He went all in on the armbar, transitioning to straight jacket then breaking Gaudio’s grip with a bicep slicer and forcing the tap.

Following the bout, Ryan revealed what was in his spooky box of mystery: another envelope with a pre-fight prediction: armbar submission. The Mystic “King” strikes again. It’s crazy that Gordon Ryan isn’t just beating some of the best jiu jitsu players in the game, he’s calling his shot and pulling it off every time.

Also in the box: a bottle of Proper 12 whiskey. Is Gordon Ryan now sponsored by Conor McGregor?

The last item in the box? A creepy lil doll. Nothing to get upset about, though. We’re just impressed, and hopefully we won’t have to wait almost an entire year before we get to see Ryan work again.

While O’Malley won’t get to fight in December as hoped, he still believes he’ll be back in the cage for early 2024.

Don’t expect Sean O’Malley to get added to the UFC’s upcoming December pay-per-view.

“Suga” had been pushing to fight before the end of 2023, and had specifically suggested he’d like to fight at UFC 296 on December 16th. But UFC matchmakers already have more than enough champions to fill out that card: Leon Edwards is defending his welterweight belt against Colby Covington and Alexandre Pantoja’s flyweight tile is on the line against Brandon Royval.

In a new episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, O’Malley explained how talks with the promotion shook out.

“I really, really did truly want to fight in December,” O’Malley said (via MMA Fighting). “Like when I called out Chito [Marlon Vera] for December. But I talked to UFC and they kind of already had [plans]. They were trying to get Colby [Covington] and Leon [Edwards] together.”

O’Malley was told he’s too big of a name to get stuck as co-main to champions in a higher weight class.

“They want me to main event my own show, which I think is f—ing dope,” he said. “I’m down with that.”

UFC CEO Dana White recently declared Sean O’Malley vs. Aljamain Sterling the biggest bantamweight title fight in the history of the company. When you draw that many numbers on your own, there’s little reason to stack the card further. That’s a good position to be in, but it sort of precludes him from participating in a historic event coming up in early 2024.

“I think UFC 300 is in April,” O’Malley revealed. “That would be a sweet card to be on. But again, they’re not going [to want me as main event].”

“I’m going to guess [I’ll fight] before that, before UFC 300.”

O’Malley still doesn’t know who the UFC will put forward as his first title defense, but he’s hopeful it will be Marlon “Chito” Vera. With Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili angling for their own shots, it’s not a sure thing.

“I’m really hoping [the UFC] f—in’ just say ‘Let’s f—ing do it,’” O’Malley said.

The former NFL player and UFC prospect has had a busy 2023, and is now 4-3 over seven fights this year.

Greg Hardy snapped a two fight losing streak last night (Saturday, September 30th) when he defeated Gregory Corbin via corner stoppage in his third professional boxing bout.

The fight with Corbin didn’t last long: the two fought for three minutes before Corbin’s corner threw in the towel between the first and second rounds. Hardy didn’t look bad as he alternated between jabs to the head and body shots. Corbin didn’t answer with much offense at all. For the most part, he fell repeatedly into the clinch, occasionally paying the price and eating an uppercut.

A big right hand from Hardy seemed to stagger him in the dying seconds of the first round, and that was enough for his team to stop things. Corbin came into the bout with Hardy on a four fight losing streak. This defeat moved his boxing record to 15-5.

Former NFL and UFC prospect Greg Hardy has had a hot and cold career in the squared circle. After exiting the UFC on a three knockout loss slump, he won his first two professional boxing bouts. He then got KO’d in bare knuckle boxing before winning his following three exhibition boxing bouts.

The next two exhibition bouts didn’t go his way, dropping him to 5-2 in unofficial fights. Now he’s earned another pro boxing win, moving his official record to 3-0.

Even with this win, it’s unclear whether Hardy will ever end up being a force in combat sports. Promotions are certainly trying to make it happen, but he loses every time he goes up against stiff competition. This latest match doesn’t signal much other than that he’s still around, and he’s still trying to sort this fighting thing out.

Gordon Ryan is back in competition for the first time in 2024 and he’s bringing a mystery box to WNO 20 containing ‘something to upset people.’

Gordon Ryan returns to the mats at WNO 20 on Saturday October 1st where he will defend his men’s heavyweight title against Patrick Gaudio in a 30 minute no-gi Brazilian jiu jitsu match.

Tonight’s bout is a rematch of a hotly contested battle between the two BJJ aces from five years ago, which saw Ryan edge Gaudio and win by advantage with seconds left on the clock. Now Ryan is hoping to win more definitively, and upset a few people afterwards.

“Patrick is the last guy to almost beat me, that was 2018 at the NoGi Worlds,” Ryan said at the WNO pre-event press conference. “Going into this match, he could easily make an argument that if he’d done a few things differently he could have beat me. And of course I just want to go back and submit the guys that I either haven’t either competed against or haven’t submitted yet.”

“We had a razor close match. He was 30 seconds away from beating me and spoiling my double gold run. I think at five years in the making it’ll be a good test to see where my progression is at over time versus his progression over time.”

This is Ryan’s first match since a UFC Fight Pass Invitational bout in December 2023 due to continued issues with Gastroparesis.

“I’m just happy to be healthy enough to compete, first of all,” he said. “I was supposed to compete in February but it’s been since December, so I’m just happy to get back on the mats ... To be honest I’m just happy to be healthy and happy to be back here.”

In the past “The King” has pulled some theatrical stunts, like predicting what submission he’d use to win before a match, writing it in an envelope, and giving the envelope to commentators. This time Gordon is showing up to Houston, Texas with a mysterious box in tow. Who knows what’s inside it, but Ryan said it would ruffle some feathers.

“It’s the month of October so I’ll have a little Halloween-esque kind of plan in store for this one,” he said. “It’s better than an envelope and will be something to upset people after this match, for sure.”

As for what to expect from Gordon Ryan in the match?

“This is more than just entertainment value for spectators,” he declared. “This is going to be an educational masterclass where you can see that what I teach in instructionals is actually what I use against the best guys in the world.”

The entire WNO 20 event headlined by Gordon Ryan vs. Patrick Gaudio can be watched live on FloGrappling starting tonight (Saturday, October 1st, 2023) at 7 p.m. ET.

Canelo admitted he hasn’t felt great ‘for a long time, but now I’m back.’

On Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Canelo Alvarez swatted down light middleweight challenger Jermell Charlo with ease, earning a unanimous decision victory with 119-109, 118-109, and 118-109 scores (watch the highlights here).

It was a powerful performance and exactly what the 33-year-old Canelo needed to push back against detractors who were saying his best days are behind him. Following the win, Alvarez made sure to put the boxing world on notice: he wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’m a strong fighter all the time, against all the fighters,” he declared in the ring following his victory. “I’m a strong man. Nobody can beat this Canelo.”

“We worked on attacking the body for three months,” he said. “For three months in the mountains without my family, without everything ... I still love boxing. I love boxing so much. Boxing is my life. Boxing made me the person I am today. That’s why I love boxing so much. And I love boxing so much because of my fans, too.”

He then revealed when we’d see him again: Cinco de Mayo 2024.

“I’ll face whoever, I don’t care!” he said.

The Canelo we saw at the post-fight press conference was more reflective and admitted he’s been struggling over the past few years. He lost a super light heavyweight title fight to Dmitry Bivol, and then seemed less explosive than usual in the two follow-up fights. He still won those, but said he wasn’t on top of his game.

“I think this is Canelo. I’m back. Finally, I’m back,” Alvarez said through an interpreter. “I feel confident right now, I feel great. I didn’t feel like this for a long time, but now I’m back.”

Alvarez was happy with the win, even though it didn’t end with a finish.

“You fight 12 rounds and try to show you’re the best,” he said. “That’s what I did. You’ve got to give Charlo credit, he’s an undisputed champion in his division for a reason. That’s how the fight went ... Charlo is a savvy fighter, one that can move around the ring. Sometimes you win by knockout, sometimes you win by decision. I did my job ... I did what I was supposed to do, and I feel great.”

While Charlo had a few strong moments, he was mostly overwhelmed against the bigger and stronger Alvarez, who hammered him with body shots early in the fight. As the fight continued, critics suggested that Charlo stopped going for the win and simply tried to survive to the final bell.

“I think that happens with a lot of fighters,” Alvarez said of Charlo’s performance. “That’s not in my mind, to just survive. I’m not that way. But I did my job. I think he never did anything to win. [The gameplan was to] neutralize everything he’d come with. He’s a counter-puncher with the left hand, and I tried to not get hit.”

As for who Canelo might fight in his next bout, the Mexican fighter said they had no firm plans ... before suggesting Terrence Crawford wasn’t a part of his plans.

“I always say if the fight makes sense, why not? But he’s not in the plan,” he said. “If it makes sense, maybe. I don’t know right now. Let me enjoy this fight, and then you’ll know for sure.”

One likely candidate is fellow PBC fighter David Benavidez, who is coming off a big win over Caleb Plant. Benavidez will need to get past Demetrius Andrade later this year for that to come together. With Canelo still at the very top of the sport, he’ll have his pick when May 5th rolls around in 2024.

Fighting someone in their own backyard is always tough.

Charles Oliveria rematches Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight championship in 20 days at UFC 284 (Sat., Oct. 21, 2023), back where he had his 11-fight win streak snapped ... Abu Dhabi (watch highlights).

In a recent interview with journalist James Lynch, Oliveira revealed he doesn't think returning to the Middle East for his next title fight is fair.

"[I] don't necessarily think it's fair, but it's the game," Oliveira said through a translator. "You know, that's where the champion is. He calls the shots, but I'm coming back for my belt."

"Do Bronx" has not fought in his home country of Brazil since UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira in early 2020 (it was the first UFC card fought behind closed doors and the last event before the world shut down due to COVID-19). Since then, Oliveira has fought in Las Vegas, Canada, Texas, and Justin Gaethje's home state of Arizona. He would again fight in enemy territory, Abu Dhabi, five months later, where he lost his title (technically vacant, but he was champion).

While Oliveira is a major fan favorite, he will be booed at UFC 294 when he returns to Abu Dhabi and will be fighting the timezone.

"Do Bronx" is coming off a first-round TKO win over Beneil Dariush at UFC 288 that earned him a second crack at Makhachev later this month.

On Friday (Sept. 30, 2023), Zhang Weili had an incredible run-in with NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, and after the wholesome encounter, Zhang can basically do anything.

Zhang shared the run-in on her Instagram, where she punched the 7’1”, 325 lb giant.

In the clip, Zhang meets the NBA legend for the first in a gym. O’Neal then asks Zhang to punch him - and she does, twice. The first punch wasn’t hard because the Chinese fighter didn’t know if O’Neal really wanted one. When O’Neal told her to punch him harder, she did, and it made the basketball star just about take a knee. Obviously, it wasn’t a full-force punch, but it was enough.

Watch the punch below.

“I met a big shark today. And I punched him @shaq,” Zhang wrote on Instagram.

The two-time Strawweight champion wasn’t done. Next, she lifted O’Neal off the ground. Yep, a 115 lb fighter lifted a 300 lb giant.

O’Neal was visibly shaken after Zhang picked him up; you can see it on his face.

Watch the clip below.

“You meet a big guy like Shaq; I still lift him up.”

“Magnum” isn’t new to lifting giant human beings. She lifted former UFC champion Francis Ngannou off his feet last year.

Zhang is coming off a five-round beatdown of Amanda Lemos at UFC 292, where she successfully defended her Strawweight championship.

The s—t talking saga continues.

UFC President Dana White and Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza do not like either and have been sending shots at each other since the epic Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather cross-over boxing event.

In the past week, the beef has started up again, with White celebrating the rumored demise of Showtime Boxing and then Espinoza clapping back with, “UFC has never done a gate of $20 million in its entire history. We’ve done it three times since April.”
White would respond to that claim; read about that here.

Randomly, White took to his Twitter to burn Espinoza again last night (Sat., Sept 30, 2023).

During ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham, which took place Friday (Sept 29, 2023), there was a production mishap that made the broadcast, and Twitter legend Caposa shared it.

White saw the embarrassing mistake and wrote, “Espinoza has taken over the Production for One FC.”

The diss is a call back to White’s disdain for the Showtime Boxing’s production. White bashes Showtime’s “sh—ty” production whenever he can. In fact, in August of this year, after Powerslap 4, the head UFC honcho did a mega rant.

“Showtime is f—king horrible,” White said. “Those guys suck so bad; you f—king guys could show up with your f—king video cameras and do a better job than Showtime. Seriously, it’s the worst production in all of television. F—king PBS has better f—king programming than Showtime. It’s horrible. Everybody who works on that f—king show should be embarrassed.”

Espinoza will probably clap back in the coming days, or White will continue his verbal smackdown of Showtime. Whatever.

Damn, Terence.

Canelo Alvarez showed levels last night (Sat., Sept. 30, 2023) as he defended his super middleweight titles against Jermell Charlo over 12 rounds, winning a unanimous decision from inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (watch highlights).

Immediately after the fight, undisputed Welterweight champion Terence Crawford took to his Twitter to completely blast Charlo on his performance.

[Charlo] you went out sad. Didn’t even try to win, all you did was try to survive. You should be ashamed of yourself,” Crawford wrote.

There was a possibility of getting a Crawford vs. Charlo showdown, but “Bud” isn't interested after the loss to Alvarez.

“Ok y’all I’m over [Charlo]. He’s no longer on my hit list. He went out there and laid down and let Canelo spank him like he was his daddy with no type of resistance.”

Crawford did congratulate Alvarez after bashing Charlo.

“Congratulations [Canelo] you made the so-called lion look like a baby cub,” Crawford wrote.

Crawford (40-0) is coming down a one-side beatdown of former WBA, IBF, and WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. early this year (July 29, 2023), where he stopped him in the ninth round via TKO (watch highlights).

For whatever reason, Crawford and Spence Jr. are going to rematch, but the date and weight class are currently being discussed.

For complete ‘Canelo vs. Charlo’ results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

Anglea Lee has called it a career.

On Friday (Sept. 29, 2023), minutes before the ONE Fight Night 14 main event between Stamp Fairtex and UFC veteran Seo Hee Ham, Lee took to the ONE Championship ring to vacate her Atomweight championship and announce her retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).

“I’m here today to officially announce my retirement,” Lee told the crowd from inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium. “It has been an incredible eight years. I just want to say thank you to the fans, to ONE Championship, to Chatri [Sityodtong], to my teams, and just to everyone. There have been so many battles, in and out of the cage.

“The last thing I want to say is this: To the fighters and to everyone out there watching right now, is that the greatest battle we will ever face won’t be with an opponent standing in front of us. The greatest battle will be within ourselves. We all go through struggles, but we all fight. And each day, we are victorious when we choose to rise up in the face of adversity. So, thank you guys so much; I love you. Thank you.”

The decision to retire from MMA comes after Lee revealed in an essay that her car crash in 2017 was a suicide attempt and that her younger sister, Victoria Lee, committed suicide late last year.

Lee has been competing since the age of 6 in combat sports, and in 2016, she became the youngest world champion when she captured the ONE Atomweight World Championship at just 19 years old. “Unbreakable” defended the title five times.

In her last fight, she came up short of becoming a two-division champion when Xiong Jing Nan defeated her at ONE on Prime Video 2.

Lee told ESPN that her younger brother Christian Lee will continue to fight. Christian is reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion and ONE Welterweight World Champion.

The 27-year-old will continue fighting, but not in the ring; instead, she will solely focus on her non-profit organization, Fight Story.

Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KO) looked as sharp as ever last night (Sat., Sept. 30, 2023) live on Showtime PPV and Fite.TV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, defending his super middleweight titles in a historic meeting with fellow undisputed champion Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KO).

Canelo looked sharp from the opening bell. He worked quick to cut off the distance and take away Charlo’s reach advantage. Once inside, Canelo unloaded power rights and ripping body shots. Charlo tried to find his jab to even the score, but he wasn’t having much success. Canelo was having his way and completely controlling the pace.

Charlo started to wake up in the fifth round with some heavy shots that caught Canelo’s attention. But it was Alvarez who returned the favor in the sixth with more pressure and power punches. Canelo followed his efforts up in the seventh with a brutal right hand that dropped Charlo to a knee. Charlo returned to his feet only to have Alvarez stalk him down again for more offense.

Canelo was on cruise control for the next few rounds before hurting Charlo in the 10th round. Carlo tried to keep Canelo at bay with jabs and constant movement, but Canelo’s angling and ability to land power shots on multiple levels was too much to handle. He was beginning to fold.

Charlo did last all 12 rounds, but he was outclassed for most of the fight. He just couldn’t stop Canelo from bullying his way inside and scoring almost at will. In the end, Alvarez walked away with the unanimous decision win.

Check out some of the video highlights below:

For complete ‘Canelo vs. Charlo’ results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo went toe-toe-toe last night (Sat., Sept. 30, 2023) live on Showtime PPV and Fite.TV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a super-rare meeting between two of boxing undisputed champions. Alvarez put his super middleweight titles up for grabs looking to defend them for a third-straight time. Charlo was moving up from light middleweight.

Once the PPV action concludes fight fans can check out the official Canelo vs. Charlo post-fight press conference. The coverage is expected to begin around 12:15 a.m. ET (Sunday) and can be seen in the above video player. That could change depending what time the main event clash between Alvarez and Charlo ends.

The post-fight presser is also expected to showcase some of the other winners of the night. This includes undefeated 20-year-old prospect Elijah Garcia and former WBA super lightweight champion Mario Barrios, who defeated veteran Yordenis Ugss to claim the interim WBC welterweight title.

For complete ‘Canelo vs. Charlo’ results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

Boxing fans are in high attendance tonight (Sat., Sept. 30, 2023) live on Showtime PPV and Fite.TV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, to see Canelo Alvarez defend his super middleweight titles against undisputed light middleweight champion Jermell Charlo. Luckily for those you paid the heavy ticket price, the PPV undercard produced immediate sparks.

The opening contest pitted undefeated 20-year-old prospect Elijah Garcia against Mexican knockout artist Armando Resendiz. Garcia was a heavy -700 betting favorite but had some early issues in the opening rounds. He eventually settled down and was able to win Rounds 4-7 with a variety of punches and combinations.

In Round 8, Garcia smelled blood in the water and turned up the heat. He came inside and landed two crisp punches to the body. Then came the follow-up right hook that stuck Resendiz and put him on a knee. Resendiz would eventually return to his feet but Garcia pinned him along the ropes and unloaded more strikes before the referee stepped in.

As a result, Garcia walked away with the TKO finish and pushed his perfect record to 16-0. Check out some of the video highlights below:

For complete ‘Canelo vs. Charlo’ results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.