Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall reacted to the news that former titleholder Cyril Gun declined to fight him at an upcoming event in Manchester because of a movie shoot.
"Cyril Gun declined the offer to fight Tom Aspinall in Manchester because of filming in the movie, - quoted the Briton news in the social network.- Does anyone know what movie Cyril is starring in?".
Recall, earlier Aspinall confirmed that he will appear on June 27 at the UFC 304 show in Manchester. The most likely candidate for the British opponent is now American Curtis Blades, to whom he lost early in July 2022 due to a leg injury.
Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has not ruled out that after his fight with Miocic, he will meet light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in the octagon. The Brazilian has accepted the challenge, and is ready to fight "Bones."
"We are both professionals. I have nothing against John, I have nothing but respect for him. We're both trying to accomplish something. I feel like we would be able to give the fans an exciting fight. If it does happen, it would be fantastic. We have fans that want it. We have athletes who want it. We have the organization to make it happen. Yes, there are other athletes in the division that need to move on, so we need to look at the best way to do it. If the UFC gives us the green light and they show interest, we can make it happen. It would be a real war. It would be a very entertaining show for the fans...," Yahoo Sports quoted Pereira as saying.
UFC welterweight Anthony Smith has given Dustin Porier advice for his upcoming bout with the organization's lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
"If I were coaching Dustin, we would need to, first and foremost, work on not letting Islam press us. And not to drive us to the net in any way. As soon as he gets into a position for a tekdown at the net, that's the end of it. He's definitely going to transfer you. So we have to figure out how to get him to back off and not get us at the net. And we'd have to attack a lot ourselves and get forward. And yeah, I would probably advise Dustin not to try the guillotine. You know how Dustin likes to jump for that hold. But if the choke fails, you're just giving Islam the top position. And you might stay there for the rest of the round. That's if you're lucky enough to make it to the end. You've got to be able to work at maximum pace. Work the body. Low kicks. That's probably the second most important part of the gameplan. You've got to kick his legs out. That's going to slow him down, make him less explosive...".
UFC welterweightAnthony Smith gave his prediction for the upcoming bout between Alexander Volkov and Sergey Pavlovic.
"The Pavlovic vs. Volkov fight is very interesting to me. It's just super. I'm still a little bit more leaning towards Pavlovic winning. Because Volkov, despite all his strengths, is still not a puncher. He won't put you out with one punch. And it will be a little bit easier for Pavlovic, because he'll be able to find the right distance and start throwing his bombs, and it will be hard to move him, especially for a tall guy like Volkov. All in all, a very cool and interesting fight."
Recall that Pavlovic's fight with Volkov will take place on June 22 at the UFC event in Saudi Arabia.
Tim Welch, the coach of UFC lightweight champion Sean O'Malley, told his side of the story about his mentee's sparring session against lower division titleholder Alesandre Pantoja.
The Brazilian had previously claimed that he had beaten the American in training six years ago.
"Sean comes out and knocks him down in the first minute. Now keep in mind that it's hard for me to even say what year it was. I don't think Shawn was a pro, he probably turned pro later.
Shawn went to the cage, moved around a lot and then boom, he punched him like a laser beam. Pantoja stopped and dropped to his knees, asking Henry to stop sparring. There's even a video that hasn't been released," Bloody Elbow quoted the specialist as saying.
Former dominant UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has broken down the upcoming bout between flyweight titleholder Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg.
The Brazilian and the Australian will fight in the main event of the UFC 301 show, which takes place on the night of May 5 in Rio de Janeiro.
"I didn't even know Erceg was Australian. The fight with Pantoja is going to be incredibly difficult for him. I really want Steve to win because it would be a cool story. Fourth fight in the UFC, he's being offered a title shot, and he's like, "Who, me!" I really hope Steve gets his way.
But don't underestimate Pantoja. He breaks people down, and that's hard, especially when it comes to guys like Moreno. I haven't watched Steve enough to bet on him, but I've had the opportunity to see Pantoja fight, and I know his ability. My official choice is Alesandre," Bloody Elbow quoted Israel as saying.
Former UFC two-weight champion Daniel Cormier revealed when he realized that former featherweight division leader Jose Aldo was the promotion's star.
On the night of May 5, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will host UFC 301, headlined by a fight between local flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and Australian Steve Erceg.
Ahead of the tournament, the official weigh-in ceremony took place, with the results of which we offer you to read.
Main card:
Alesandre Pantoja (56.69 kg) - Steve Er ceg (56.69 kg);
Jonathan Martinez (61.68 kg) - Jose Aldo (61.68 kg);
Anthony Smith (93.21 kg) - Vitor Petrino (93.44 kg);
Michelle Pereira (84.36 kg) - Igor Losing (83.91 kg);
Paul Craig (83.91 kg) - Caio Borrallo (84.36 kg).
Preliminary card:
Jack Shore (65.99 kg) - Joanderson Brito (66.22 kg);
Karolina Kowalkiewicz (52.61 kg) - Yasmin Lucindo (52.61 kg);
Elvis Brener (70.76 kg) - Myktybek Orolbai (70.53 kg);
Jean Silva (66.22 kg) - William Gomis (64.86 kg);
Joaquim Silva (70.53 kg) - Drakkar Klose (70.76 kg);
Mauricio Ruffy (70.76 kg) - Jamie Mullarkey (70.3 kg);
Dione Barbosa (57.15 kg) - Ernesta Caricaite (56.92 kg);
Ismael Bonfim (70.76 kg) - Vince Pichel (70.76 kg);
Alessandro Costa (56.69 kg) - Kevin Borjas (56.92 kg).
Former UFC two-weight champion Conor McGregor has responded to the challenge posed to him by former lightweight division titleholder Charles Oliveira.
UFC heavyweight championJon Jones has spoken out about a possible fight with the organization's bantamweight champion Alex Pereira.
"A fight with Pereira after the Stipe Miocic fight could be the next big step that could be taken. This killer has already defeated so many champions, he's already a legend to millions of people. My fight with him is the biggest thing the UFC can do. Give Alex a chance to avenge all those great Brazilian champions I defeated," Jones wrote on social media.
Recall that Jones recently trained for the first time after a long recovery from an injury he suffered in preparation for his fight with Stipe Miocic.
