Multiple MMA promotions are trying to land Francis Ngannou and boost their credentials against the UFC juggernaut. Singapore-based ONE Championship is about to present its closing offer to the exiled former heavyweight champion this weekend. ONE President Chatri Sityodtong confirmed on The MMA Hour With Ariel Helwani that Ngannou is speaking to their organization, along with Bellator and PFL, although ONE is ready to ask for a commitment. In addition to competing under the ONE banner, Sityodtong wants to further a mutual interest–namely allowing Ngannou to pursue professional boxing matches. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka8IWS5FUFI “If we did boxing, we would be the co-promoter…
Author: Danny Howard
Danny Howard
Danny Howard has been covering combat sports for 13 years and likes to think he knows what he’s talking about. He has been a featured contributor at FightHype, The Boxing Tribune, The Fight City, and Covers.
Norma Dumont continues to win her fights and is tired of waiting for a featherweight title shot to materialize. Dumont’s calls for a title shot against Amanda Nunes have fallen on deaf ears. Even more frustrating is that Nunes has not defended her title since winning it in March 2021. Furthermore, Dumont is calling for the UFC to formally intervene in Nunes’ inactivity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CDTEeNHOcs Nunes is defending her bantamweight title against Julianna Pena at UFC 289. For Dumont, enough is enough, and she’s ready to face anyone else for the title. Following her win over Karol Rosa last weekend, Dumont…
Nate Diaz is in hot water after an altercation with a Logan Paul look alike led to a brawl, and now a warrant for his arrest in New Orleans. New Orleans Police Department spokesperson Karen A. Boudrie confirmed that the Stockton native was wanted for second-degree battery. In a widely circulated video, Diaz is shown getting hands on an individual named Rodney Peterson, choking him out. Additionally, Peterson would then get dropped on the ground, resulting in a subsequent head injury. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4p2ECB2x2k Jake, Logan’s brother, is scheduled to fight Diaz in a boxing match. Diaz and the Paul brothers have…
Sergei Pavlovich scored his sixth consecutive first-round KO in a row, ending the title aspirations of Curtis Blaydes and instilling himself at the top of the heavyweight challengers. The big Russian’s power was always going to play a role going into the fight. However, betting odds favored Blaydes’ wrestling proficiency and experience at the top of the division. Blaydes, whose chin is known to fail him against explosive punchers, wasn’t in sniffing distance of a takedown. As the two started off, Pavlovich detonated Blaydes with a right hand that put him on the canvas. A few shots later, Pavlovich found…
Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis will face off in a critical middleweight clash at UFC 290. The announcement was made by Dana White to cap off a slew of recently announced fights over the last few days. Other fights that have been announced by White are Gilbert Burns vs. Belal Muhammad at UFC 288 and the oft-delayed Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush scheduled for UFC 289. https://twitter.com/danawhite/status/1649529977254334465 Whittaker vs Du Plessis is one among many middleweight fights announced by the UFC President. Former title challengers Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier are penciled in for a fight, Sean Strickland faces…
Paulo Costa and Jan Blachowicz have no reason to fight each other, but they could be on a collision course. UFC 288 lost its huge co-main event between Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira, and a light heavyweight fight between Costa and Blachowicz is a reasonable replacement. Dariush wanted to remain on the card, possibly against Armen Tsaruykan, but the UFC is exploring other options. Costa suggested the match against the former light heavyweight champion, and Blachowicz quickly responded, claiming that Costa turned down the fight as soon as it was offered on Blachowicz’s Twitter. https://twitter.com/BorrachinhaMMA/status/1648746849530966017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Although a fight between Costa…
Beneil Dariush cannot seem to catch a break as he zeros in on a title shot. The streaking lightweight’s run of bad luck started when his highly anticipated fight with Charles Oliveira fell through for UFC 288. Oliveira’s latest injury marks the second time a fight between the two was postponed. The two were originally scheduled to meet in 2020. Naturally, Dariush believed that the pseudo-eliminator bout with Oliveira falling through would lead to a title shot against Islam Makhachev. Unfortunately for Dariush, the UFC has other plans in mind for the lightweight champion. Appearing on the April 17 edition…
Max Holloway proved he is still a force to be reckoned with after a comprehensive win over Arnold Allen in the UFC on ESPN 44 main event. The former featherweight champion had no trouble in outclassing a game Allen, but the outcome of the fight was never in doubt. Holloway got back in the win column and added his name to the records books at the same time. In the first round, Allan kept Holloway outside with leg kicks until an inadvertent low blow paused the action. When they resumed, Holloway fired off combinations and drove Allan back. Though Allan…
UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards wants to forgo a summer title defense with eyes on Abu Dhabi in the fall. He recently won back-to-back matches against Kamaru Usman but has been involved in a public dispute with UFC President Dana White over the next challenger. Despite White’s insistence that Colby Covington is next in line, Edwards is pushing to be on the Abu Dhabi card, which is expected to be a big financial success for the promotion. The original designs were for Edwards to return at UFC 291 in London. While having Edwards on the card would be good for…
Chris “Action Man” Curtis does not believe he got a fair shake in his decision loss to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 287. The middleweight bout headlined the preliminary card and featured sustained action throughout. Gastelum managed the pace and landed the more telling shots to earn a close, but clear decision. Curtis doesn’t see it that way and is crying foul due to the circumstances surrounding their fight. https://twitter.com/Actionman513/status/1645752032895328256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1645752032895328256%7Ctwgr%5E187c5ffd771007fa985ef1948cf6d7330cf6a856%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmmajunkie.usatoday.com%2Flists%2Fufc-287-chris-curtis-to-appeal-loss-kelvin-gastelum Curtis had a full-on meltdown on social media concerning his loss. He went from complaining about a headbutt swaying the judges to arguing who was better between Dame Anderson and Adonis…