Former UFC featherweight champion Aleksander Volkanovski said he could make his next appearance at UFC 305, scheduled for Aug. 17 in Perth, Australia.
Undefeated British mixed martial arts fighter Muhammad Mokaev, who competes in the UFC's lightest weight class, emphasized his career achievements and promised that he will delight fans with more colorful fights in the future.
UFC fighter Paul Craig has spoken out about his upcoming fight with Brazilian Caio Borrallo at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro on the night of May 5.
"Obviously, the UFC set up this matchup because they want me to go to Rio and get defeated. They want to promote this young guy. I truly believe that. I don't know, maybe it's the fact that I'm just being myself, being that British fighter, and we always write ourselves off, thinking we're outsiders. I'm 36. What do you do with a 36-year-old champion if I get the opportunity to be one? It's a lot easier to promote a Brazilian champion, it's a lot easier to promote a much younger guy, it's a lot easier to promote a guy who has no losses in the UFC."
Max Holloway, former UFC featherweight champion, addressed the organization's current featherweight champion Elijah Topuria, who had previously put a number of conditions on Max for the fight.
"Bro, you're the one making it hard. Hvvvaaaattttttttt already. I'm bringing your 'Whiny Bastard' belt. All you're doing now is putting words together. You're spiraling," Holloway wrote on social media X.
Earlier, Topuria gave Holloway the following conditions for the fight:
"Do you want to fight? If the answer is yes, there's nothing more to discuss. Bring my belt and your pillow".
Recall, Topuria won the championship belt in the welterweight division by knocking out Alex Volkanovski. The fight took place in February this year.
Alex Volkanovski criticized UFC featherweight champion Elijah Topuria, who finds himself fighting a number of challengers at his weight but is challenging lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
"This situation smells bad. Because the status of a champion is connected with responsibility. It's a serious pressure. You can't say 'no, no, no'. It's not right. People are used to the way I acted when I owned the belt. I understand he's up to his game. But you have to know how to be a champion. Does he even want to fight anytime soon? Probably not. But the UFC will make him. Topuria isn't in a position to decide anything on his own. He's not worthy of challenging the same Islam Makhachev. Although I understand why he's doing it. Topuria still has a lot to prove," Fox Sports quoted Volkanovski as saying.
Manel Kape, a fighter in the UFC's lightweight division, said in a recent interview that he would beat former promotion middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in a street fight. According to Kape, he has beaten guys on the street many times who were bigger than him.
"I'm not beatable on the streets. I don't care, I've beaten a lot of guys bigger than me. Size doesn't matter. Put Adesanya in front of me on the street and see where it ends," MiddleEasy quoted Kape as saying.
Manel Kape is currently on a streak of four straight wins. Two fights out of the four he has won by knockouts.
As for Adesanya, he lost a unanimous decision to Sean Strickland in his last fight.
UFC flyweight belt challenger Steve Erceg shared his opinion on division champion Alexandre Pantoge, who he will face in the main event of UFC 301 on the night of May 5 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
WBC welterweight champion Devin Haney reacted to the news that Ryan Garcia, who defeated him on April 20 by majority decision, tested positive for the banned substance ostarine.
Former UFC featherweight champion Aleksander Volkanovski made a prediction for the upcoming title fight in the lightest division between Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg.
"I'm looking forward to this fight - Erceg is ready to shock the world. I've seen Steve in action, he's ready. It might be hard for people to believe it, but Erceg will successfully pass that test this weekend. I think he'll knock out the champ in the third round.
Pantoja has a risky style, so Steve will probably try to wait out the onslaught. Pantoja throws wild punches at times, so Steve will be able to catch him. Pantoja can counter-strike when he gets forward. Anybody can fall asleep, no matter how hard they hit. I believe in Erceg. He will come out of nowhere and become a champion," - quotes Wolkanowski Fox Sports.
Recall that the Brazilian and the Australian will meet in the main event of UFC 301, which will take place on the night of May 5 in Rio de Janeiro.
Matt Brown, a former UFC fighter, believes that boxing promoters are woefully underutilizing social media, not using it to its full potential to engage their audience.
"When Holloway knocked out Gaethje, the first thing that came to my mind was social media. The UFC work with interviewer Nina Drama, I'm not a fan of hers at all, I don't like watching her, but I understand a thousand percent why the UFC does it. She's good at what she does and the UFC gets clicks. The UFC is still trying to get more clicks, more views, puts more emphasis on social media. And boxing doesn't do that shit at all. They're stuck in the 1990s," Brown said on the podcast The Fighter vs. The Writer.
