MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is back this weekend — and it has been an interesting journey that has carried him to this point. Woodley (19-4-1, 9-3 UFC) is set to face Gilbert Burns (18-3, 11-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday, inside the Apex facility in Las Vegas. It
Luis Ortiz is desperate to get his next bout scheduled – and called out Mike Tyson ‘if he wants’ to get it on in the ring. The Cuban heavyweight, 41, has not fought since his second defeat to Deontay Wilder last November – with the American the only man to have beaten Ortiz in 33 professional fights. He has grown frustrated by his long absence and is desperate to find
Anthony Joshua has backed protégé Joshua Buatsi to settle his British rivalry with Anthony Yarde, who welcomed talk of a light-heavyweight fight in the future. Britain’s unified heavyweight champion helps to guide Buatsi’s career and the unbeaten 27-year-old could be on a collision course with fellow Londoner Yarde. Buatsi has edged closer to a world title fight, with 12 successive wins, while Yarde nearly stopped Sergey Kovalev in a battling
Tyson Fury has reiterated his belief he’ll knock Anthony Joshua out. The long-awaited Battle of Britain took a giant step closer to coming to fruition in February when Fury ended Deontay Wilder’s five-year reign as WBC heavyweight champion All that currently remains for the blockbuster unification fight to come to fruition is for the pair to win their respective bouts against Wilder and Kubrat Pulev. Fury has long fancied his
Carl Froch says George Groves was incapable of knocking him out, even if his former rival had received more time in the opening round of their first fight. The British super-middleweights shared two memorable world-title fights, with Froch emerging with stoppage wins on both occasions, but Groves believes he could have pulled off a sensational knockout in their original meeting in Manchester. After flooring Froch in the first round, Groves
UFC news – Conor McGregor called out UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has called out Conor McGregor for not responding to 170lb title shot he was offered last weekend. “I’m gonna give him the opportunity, if Conor wants, let’s do it,” Usman told ESPN. “Conor’s quiet now. Who says no to a title shot? “I’ve never seen this in history, who says no when the champ says come and get
Anthony Joshua has been warned by his trainer Joby Clayton he can’t box in the same fashion he did in his first clash with Andy Ruiz Jr. Last June, Ruiz Jr turned the boxing world upside down by handing Joshua his first professional loss in devastating fashion. In front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden, Ruiz Jr brought about the end of Joshua’s first reign as unified heavyweight
‘I’ve always said Denzel Washington’: Tyson Fury reveals he is in talks over making a film about his life… and he wants Oscar-winning actor to play him – but admits he’s worried he won’t be able to imitate his ‘husky voice’ Tyson Fury’s admitted his dream is to have Denzel Washington play him in a film World heavyweight champion is in talks over a Hollywood movie about his life He’s
Conor McGregor has explained his reasoning for omitting Khabib Nurmagomedov from his list of greatest fighters of all time. This past weekend, the UFC’s first simultaneous two-weigh world champion sparked fierce debate amongst mixed martial arts fans across the globe. Top of McGregor’s ‘GOAT’ list was former long-reigning middleweight king Anderson Silva. McGregor placed himself second in the list, ahead of former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre and reigning
Otto Wallin wants a big-name battle with Anthony Joshua or Dillian Whyte after proving his “world-class abilities” against Tyson Fury, says promoter Dmitriy Salita. The Swedish heavyweight emerged with credit from last September’s brutal battle with Fury, despite suffering a points loss, and the Brit star has since claimed the WBC belt with a stoppage win over Deontay Wilder. Wallin had to withdraw from a scheduled fight against Lucas Browne
