Belal Muhammad, a top welterweight fighter, has spoken out about his upcoming bout with the organization's featherweight champion Leon Edwards.
"I envision coming out and tearing him apart with boxing in the first round. In the second round I start kicking him with leg kicks and body punches, then in the third round I start pinning him against the cage and hitting him with elbows. In the fourth round I do a teikdown and start doing sub-missions, he'll start lunging and then I let him go. I hear his trainer shouting magic words from the corner. Then I lick my lips and point to the center of the cage like Max Holloway and Leon looks at me in fear. I then deliver a takedown and win by a score of 50-42 on all three judges' scorecards."
As a reminder, Muhammad's fight with Edwards will take place on July 27 at UFC 304 in Manchester.
UFC lightweight Dan Hooker revealed when he plans to return to the octagon and who he wants to fight. Hooker named Beneil Dariush as his number one contender.
"If Beneil Dariush wants to fight me in June, I would love to face him. June-July, I'll blow his head off his shoulders, there's no doubt about that. Fighting Dariusz is a priority option for me, but he remains silent. If Beneil doesn't want it, I could fight Renato Moicano," Hooker told MMANews.
It's worth noting that Hooker is based at number eleven in the UFC's lightweight division. In his last fight, he won by split decision on judges over Jalin Turner.
On August 4, Los Angeles will host an evening of boxing headlined by a fight between one of the best boxers of our time, Terence Crawford, and Uzbek boxer Israil Madrimov, who holds the WBA bantamweight title. At stake in this fight will be the title of interim world champion in the first middleweight WBO version, as well as the championship belt of Madrimov. To your attention fights of the main card of the upcoming tournament:
Terence Crawford - Israil Madrimov
Tim Tszyu - Virgil Ortiz.
Andy Ruiz vs. Jarrell Miller.
Isaac Cruz for Jose Valenzuela.
David Morrell - Radivoje Kalajdzic
Andy Cruz - Antonio Moran
Recall, not so long ago Crawford became an absolute world champion already in the second division. Now he will have a chance to become world champion in the fourth weight class.
Former UFC lightweight title challenger Marlon Vera said he plans to fight former division champion Peter Yan in November.
Famous American boxer Ryan Garcia revealed how much he earned for a fight with WBC bantamweight champion Devin Haney. According to Garcia, he doesn't know the exact figure at this point, but he expects to make at least $30 million dollars.
"I'm not sure if my antics before the fight helped, but I'm assuming they brought the fight to the attention of the average person. I don't know what the pay-per-view or ticketing situation is, but we'll find out very soon. I'm projected to make thirty to fifty million on this fight," Garcia said on the PBD Podcast.
Recall, Garcia defeated Haney by majority decision of the judges.
Sergey Lapin, sports director of the team of the world heavyweight champion WBA, WBO, IBF Oleksandr Usyk, spoke out about the "cross-section" of Tyson Fury, the WBC world champion, because of which their fight with Usyk was postponed from February 17 to May 18.
"There were really many versions. One of them is that the 'section' could have been made surgically. But again there is no proof of this. Anyway, I hope Fury realizes that these games are definitely not good for him. And Oleksandr Usyk is the end of his career!" - quotes the functionary "Champion".
Recall that the fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury will be held on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Irish UFC welterweight division prospect Ian Harry has once again reached out to former title challenger Colby Covington, urging him to sign a contract.
"Everybody understands what fight should be next for me. It's not a secret to anybody. All we need is for Colby to sign the damn contract and say yes. Come on, Colby. When you talk so much shit, you need to be held accountable for your words," Sportskeeda quoted Garry as saying.
Earlier, Harry has already talked about the fact that he signed the contract for the fight, but Colby did not do it.
Recall, in his last fight Covington lost by unanimous decision of judges to Leon Edwards.
Sergey Lapin, the sports director of Oleksandr Usyk's team, told how much the Ukrainian WBA, WBO, IBF world champion has spent to help his country.
"The plan is to draw people's attention to Usyk Foundation during the megafight in Saudi Arabia, as our team usually did at previous fights. After all, during the fights the activity is much higher and it is a convenient moment to raise more funds to help Ukraine. There are projects of the fund, where Alexander's direct involvement is required. But now it is very difficult. The training camp lasts almost six months. However, after the fight, we will return to these projects. Now we continue to develop different areas of fundraising and assistance. As for Sasha's personal contributions, they are regular and it is not only the work of our fund. Usik does not traditionally advertise such moments. It is not a secret that Alexander helps the Ukrainian Armed Forces. I know that the total assistance to Ukraine already exceeds a million dollars".
Sergei Lapin, the sports director of the team of the world champion in heavyweight WBA, WBO, IBF Oleksandr Usyk, told how the preparation for the fight with Tyson Fury, the world champion under the WBC version.
"Everything is going well. The team is analyzing the opponent. We plan further program in training camp. We see what elements of training should be given more attention. The sparring sessions started months ago, when we were preparing for the fight in February. They never ended, rather we took a little break. For some time we emphasized on physical training. It's not about that. Everyone wants to get in and train with the champion. But the key question here is how much value they can bring to the campground. We invite those who give a full amount of work and show a good result. How much does a training camp cost now? Our camps are held in different countries and, accordingly, have different budgets. But it's hundreds of thousands...", - quotes the functionary "Champion".
Justin Gaethje, former UFC interim lightweight champion and former BMF belt holder, recalled his loss to Max Holloway, former featherweight champion. Justin admitted that he underestimated Max.
"It was harder for me to go into a primal state because of the fact that I didn't realize the danger that was upon me. I never in my life considered Max as an opponent I could fight. He was always in a different weight class," said Gaethje on Le Batard Show.
Recall that the fight between Gaethje and Holloway took place on April 14 as part of the UFC 300 anniversary tournament. Max knocked out Justin at the last second of the final round.
