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.
UFC featherweight champion Elijah Topuria has reached out to former titleholder Max Holloway.
BKFC President David Feldman spoke about the beginning of cooperation with former UFC champion in two weight categories Conor McGregor. Earlier it became known that the star Irishman became a co-owner of the organization.
"He will have a big role, we will use Conor to the fullest. He is full of enthusiasm. And we don't want Conor to be a silent owner ourselves. We want to move forward with this partnership. He has achieved superstar status. We hope he helps other fighters along the way.
No, Conor will not fight at BKFC, we haven't discussed that. That wasn't part of the deal. He's doing great with the UFC, he intends to work with them until the end. Right now he has two more fights left. We'll see what happens next," MMA Mania quotes Feldman as saying.
Chael Sonnen, former UFC fighter and current commentator and analyst, had his say on how Max Holloway should handle his dispute with Elijah Topuria.
"You know what Max should say. I personally would like him to say the following: "Elijah, I'm ready to go down back down to welterweight. You said you'd fight Brian Ortega if I didn't put the BMF belt on the line. But I will go back to the featherweight division and offer that belt to Ortega." Let Brian Ortega make his decision publicly. What would he prefer, a title fight or the BMF belt? I don't think even the UFC realizes how much fighters value BMF status. So I'm not sure it will be that clear-cut for Ortega," MMA News quoted Sonnen as saying.
Elijah Topuria, the current UFC featherweight champion, said in a recent interview that he will be the highest paid athlete in the world next year. It's worth noting that last year, the world's highest paid athlete was Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo, earning $275 million dollars for the year.
"Look, I'll tell you this. I have no doubt that in 2025 I will be the highest paid athlete in the world. That's for sure. I'd be surprised if it doesn't come true, honestly," Topuria said in an interview with Webpositer.
Recall, not so long ago Topuria, who is a Real Madrid fan, several times posted photos with Barcelona legend Lionel Messi on his social networks, admiring the Argentine.
Former dominant UFC lightweight champion Demetrious Johnson has spoken about wanting to try his hand at professional boxing.
UFC featherweight champion Alesandre Pantoja revealed that six years ago he trained with current titleholder Sean O'Malley.
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has spoken out about his upcoming fight against Hamzat Chimaev, which will take place on June 22 at the promotion's debut event in Saudi Arabia.
