MMA
Israel Adesanya revealed he wants everything
In his attempt to win undisputed UFC gold, Niferia born Israel Adesanya is not satified just limiting his vision to what is directly in front of him. few days ago, he told Irish website The MacLife that he his set on fighting UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones in Las Vegas in 2021.The next day he was heard telling Australian-based Submission Radio that he wouldn’t mind abadoning the 205-pound division to move forward to a super fight with heavyweight UFC champion Stipe Miocic. In the same interview, Adesanya confirmed he wants to be bigger than Conor McGregor.
“I’m coming for those numbers as well,” he said.
Israel Adesanya has his sight on him. That trait is not unusual for fast-rising contenders. What has stood apart for him so far though, is his ability to quickly reach each new rung of the ladder. How rapidly did he navigate a path toward the top? His UFC debut was barely a year and a half ago, and he’s already fighting for the belt. By comparison, McGregor took a year longer to get his first undisputed title fight.
While Adesanya’s enthusiasm is to be admired, fans who wonder whether he’s overly ambitious have reason to question whether his focus has flickered too far into the distance. There is an entire graveyard of fighters who while preparing for a key fight, voiced a goal of becoming multi-division champions and sport-transcendent superstars. Most, however, waited until they at least captured a first belt. And most, of course, never reached their objective.
Adesanya has so far seemed immune to the things that sideline these sorts of quests — pressure, politics, and opposition chief among them. But one thing we know is that starting at UFC 243, everything changes for him.
Everything gets ratcheted up, expectations rise.
For his first act, he will step foot into Marvel Stadium — yes, it’s named after the iconic superhero brand — in an event that is predicted to break the UFC’s all-time attendance record. Over 56,000 are expected to pack the stadium in what is set up to become a star-making performance. All he has to do is win.
For Adesanya to take the next step in his plan, he’ll have to do it against an MMA opponent that is more complete and in his prime than anyone he’s yet to face. So far this is his UFC hit list: Marvin Vettori (3-2-1 in the UFC), Brad Tavares (current No. 12 middleweight), Derek Brunson (No. 9 middleweight), Anderson Silva (unranked but aging legend), and Kelvin Gastelum (No. 4 middleweight). That’s a decent collection of scalps, but Robert Whittaker stands a level above. He has been excellent since moving to middleweight eight fights ago, and hasn’t lost in over five years. At 28 years old, he should also be in his athletic prime, although he has suffered through a slew of health issues including knee, hamstring and abdominal injuries. He has also openly discussed a battle with depression.
It is the last of those that is perhaps the most concerning for fight fans, although Whittaker’s willingness to discuss the subject at least suggests he has positively addressed the issue.
If Adesanya sees Whittaker as vulnerable, he only needs to look back at Whittaker’s ferocious battles with Yoel Romero for evidence of the current champion’s mental fortitude. In the first fight between them, Whittaker lost the first two rounds and in the process, aggravated an existing leg injury that made his base unstable for the remainder of the bout. With a compromised body and no room for error, Whittaker rallied over the last three rounds to take the fight and earn the championship. In the rematch, Whittaker broke his right hand barely a minute into the fight and gutted out a decision win. The champ has guts.
His courage combined with Adesanya’s flamboyance make this matchup riveting. Both fighters excel in the striking realm, but through contrasting styles. Adesanya is a master of feints and flash, of forcing reactions and creating openings. Whittaker is a bit more fundamental in his approach, concentrating on well-executed basics such as double jabs, the straight right hand and the front kick. He is technically proficient and tactically complete.
How these dynamics will play out in real time is quite literally anyone’s guess. The fight’s odds are currently a virtual tossup, and that’s what makes the fight so intriguing. Bundled within is the Australasian rivalry between the two, and ultimately, the potential ascension of Adesanya to the star status he covets.
Adesanya certainly has the makings of someone special. He was born in Nigeria and spent some time in Ghana before moving to New Zealand as a teenager. He started training after being bullied, and credits his dancing background with his fancy footwork. He once dreamed of becoming an animator, but instead gravitated toward kickboxing, where he compiled a 75-5 record before transitioning into MMA. He has a quirky but charismatic personality, traits that seem to be reflected in his unique fight style.
While he is serious about his craft — he remains unbeaten at 17-0 — he is a natural showman and entertainer. That has helped create a bit of an aura around him, as has his ability to turn a phrase to cameras and recorders. He memorably announced himself as a contender well over a year ago by telling the middleweight division, “I’m the new dog in the yard, and I just pissed all over the cage.”
So far, his bravado has gone unbowed. Whittaker has the goods to set back Adesanya’s dreams, but if you believe in destiny, the prospect of Adesanya evolving to the next level of his powers in a superhero arena before a mega-crowd of onlookers, well that seems downright preordained as the perfect site for the first stage of world domination.
UFC 272 is getting stacked with two title fights, Alexander Volkanovski vs Max Holloway 3 and Aljamain Sterling vs Petr Yan 2 are official.
The maiden Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tagged: “Face-off Fight Night” will debut in Lagos on Friday at the Grand Africa Ballroom, Continental Hotel, all thanks to UFC Welterweight World Champion, Kamaru Usman.
The inaugural editionorganised by an African-oriented Nigeria MMA professional promotion company, 5Five 4Four (54) Limited will feature five bouts among 10 professional fighters.
The clashes will feature Damilare ‘Ring Beast’ Addulrahimb against Ugochukwu ‘Nicotine’ Melvin, while Jude ‘Hurricane’ Ezugwu will lug it out with Richard ‘Resident Ninja’ Chidi Nwankwo, as Emmanuel Onoja contends with Richard ‘Shield’ Muzaan. Daniel ‘Big Shark’ Emeka engage in a brawl against Ayivor ‘Finisher Mawuko.
Usman said the introduction of MMA in Nigeria would create opportunities for the youth that are interested in the sport.
“It is quite often that when someone gets to a position of power they want to help. But the difficult aspect is how to help. You can’t just become the best fighter in the world and then decide to open a swimming school everywhere in Africa and expect it to work when I don’t know anything about swimming.”
“At first, I thought about it over and over on how I can help, and how I can create opportunities for more youths like myself. Luckily, I was able to run into these amazing partners, which was the best way to go to achieve the vision and what we eventually plan to do,” he said.
5FIVE 4Four Limited, the creator and producer of The AFRICAN KNOCKOUT – Africa’s first of its kind Mixed Martial Arts Reality Television Show; will take a series of Mixed Martial Arts fight nights to Lagos State in Nigeria.
This includes i the much-anticipated sports event of this Xmas season – ‘Face Off’ Fight Night slated for January 7, 2022, at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island.
Happening at at the Grand African Ball Room at Lagos Continental Hotel, the first ‘Face Off’ Fight Night will feature a series of activities leading up to the AKO Show Season 2, including an opening press conference with Kamaru Usman, fighters face-off, 5 professional MMA fights featuring AKO Season 1 and other fighters, electrifying music, entertainment breaks, luxury items giveaways and many more.
The ‘Face Off’ Fight Nights is powered by the UFC welterweight World Champion Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman; and will feature MMA fighters from Nigeria and Africa, celebrities and special guests.
This is targeted at promoting the MMA culture in Africa, and especially to its fans and enthusiasts in Nigeria.
Commenting on the event, the organisers stated that “We are proud to organize the first of a kind high-end MMA event in Lagos in the presence of the Champ bringing exciting fights as part of rich entertainment program organized as per world-class standards.
“The fights will be managed by a certified team of officials with top health and safety measures to ensure the wellbeing of our fighters. This edition marks the genesis of a journey with our partner, Kamaru Usman, towards leaving perennial mixed martial arts imprint in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.”
This one might have gotten to Jake Paul as he had to dismiss the latest rumour involving his boxing career and this time, he is doing it loudly.
Jake Paul was rumoured to have chipped in a clause in his opponents’ contract that stated they were not allowed to knock him out during the fight, a development that is rather unbelievable.
This time, he had to respond and he had to do it in a grand style by offering former UFC champion Tyron Woodley an extra $500,000 bonus if he could win their upcoming rematch by knockout or TKO.
“There’s rumors going around that everyone sort of has come to believe that my fights are rigged or I don’t allow my opponents to knock me out in the contract,” Paul addressed when appearing on The MMA Hour.
“It’s just not true. It’s completely bullsh*t.
“Of course all these people are going to do is try to discredit me. Because when you’re at the top, that’s what happens. I just want to nip the rumors in the [bud] and give my opponent — contractually, I’m giving Tyron an extra $500,000 if he can knock me out. It just nips the rumors in the [bud] and shows people that all of my fights have been real, are real and will continue to be real.
“It’s illegal to rig a fight or to stage a fight,” Paul said. “It’s illegal to have things like that because it’s fraud. There’s outcomes. You can’t change the outcomes of a professionally sanctioned bout. It’s illegal. You would end up in jail. The fact that people would say that, we just wanted to squash the rumors.”
A 52-year-old MMA fighter had to replac his son in a fight but he still got disqualified.
He was disqualified shortly after biting his opponent.
Mateusz Muranski, his son was scheduled to fight Arkadiusz Tancula, a rematch at Fame MMA 12 last weekend inside Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland, but could not make it.
The first fight was held in May 2021 with Muranski losing his MMA debut by unanimous decision.
Now he is unable to make his rematch for reasons that weren’t clear and his 52-year-old father Jacek Muranski, stepped up to the plate instead.
Jacek Muranski was knocked down multiple times with a right hand in the contest that was scheduled for five, 2-minute rounds.
The fight was stopped in the fourth round after Muranski bit Tancula’s shoulder and repeatedly grabbed the fence. Tancula exited the cage after winning by disqualification.
Muranski sustained injured during the fight and needed a sling for his shoulder after the contest concluded.
Muranski attempted to do a post-fight interview and could have probably explained why he made the decision to bit his opponent but was booed by the crowd in Gdansk, Poland.
The sanction for his action is yet to be pronounced but it is not clear if he will have any fight anytime soon.
MMA fighter Donovan Salvato is reported to have bitten his roommate’s testicles, leaving a 2.5-inch bite mark.
This happened after he had an argument with his roommate, Abel Sosa, leading to the incident. After he was arrested, he got a ridiculous jail sentence of 12 hours.
Police report revealed that Salvato assaulted his roommate on November 11 but went to jail on Nov. 16 and spent around 12 hours there.
Salvato was held on a domestic violence hold and bodily injury after the incident took place.
The 29-year-old MMA fighter sat in the Metro Nashville Jail following the argument that turned violent.
According to the Police report, a 2.5-inch laceration on Mr. Sosa’s scrotum was discovered upon examination.
Additionally, local authorities revealed bruises and swelling to Sosa’s head.
But when the police arrived the scene, the MMA fighter has fled before he was later arrested.
According to Sosa, the altercation is a result of an ongoing argument that has yet to be resolved.
But he seemed to be in good spirits despite the trauma he’s gone through.
The arrest warrant and affidavit reveal the conflict orbited around the defendant (Salvato) staying at the roommate’s address unwanted.
The police report indicates that the officer on duty believed Salvato was the primary aggressor.
“I need to write a book or something about some of these stories I’ve encountered. Who can clearly say they got their testicles Bit by a professional MMA fighter during a fight? I’ll wait…. Nashville can be so wild that I’ve encountered more danger here than overseas to an extent.” Abel Sosa shared.
He was away for about seven years, the reason why he is referred to as a fomer UFC fighter, having announced his retirement but returned to win a bout, the man is Marcus Davis.
He returned to cage Friday at Premier FC 32 in Springfield, Mass at age 48, stepped into the cage and defeated Stephen Stengal (4-16) via first-round submission in the welterweight main event.
Davis (22-11) also won by triangle choke, the first in his 33-fight career
Davis who competed 14 times in the UFC from 2006-2011, made his name by defeating the likes of Paul Kelly, Paul Taylor, Chris Lytle, and Pete Spratt. He also faced Nate Diaz, Dan Hardy, Jeremy Stephens, Ben Saunders and Mike Swick.
Davis, who had his previous MMA bout in 2014, snapped a two-fight losing skid. Prior to Friday’s event. It’s worthy of note that his challenger, Stengal had only competed once since 2015, making the the 37-year-old fighter a retiree as well.
Marcus Paul Davis, an American professional mixed martial artist and former professional boxer who is perhaps best known for competing in the UFC was born August 24, 1973.
He is nicknamed “The Irish Hand Grenade”
UFC commentator Daniel Cormier drew the attention of some, including Nate Diaz and Rafael dos Anjos when he released his ‘Best MMA Boxers’ list.
Cormier had to do this as a result of the recent debates and conversation about who the best boxer in the UFC is today.
However, Cormier’s top five list includes:
James Toney
Max Holloway
Petr Yan
Conor McGregor
Junior Dos Santos
This expectedly, drew the attention of the the MMA community as a whole, especially his former fighting colleagues. UFC middleweight Eryk Anders, Nate Diaz and Rafael dos Anjos reacted by blasting Cormier in an Instagram comment section.
“Watchu knows about boxing DC, I’m s**tting on this list,” Diaz commented.
Dos Anjos also took the opportunity to poke at Cormier for his alleged bias towards his former teammate Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I’m surprised [Cormier] didn’t put Islam and Khabib on his list,” Dos Anjos said.
Nevertheless, Cormier remains one of the most prominent voices in MMA media today and that gives him an edge to continue to ruffle the feathers of the fighters over time.
Although, this is not the first time he has been accused of bias in his analysis and commentating.
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