Dana White warmly welcomes Tyson Fury into the UFC community. In recent weeks, Fury, the current WBC heavyweight champion and former undisputed monarch of the division, has engaged in a contentious online argument with Jon Jones, the current UFC heavyweight champion. When podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan said that Jones would easily defeat Fury in an unofficial environment, Fury responded by calling Rogan a "little p**** and firmly asserting that he could defeat Jones. It was just a matter of time before UFC President Dana White entered the fray after Jones responded and the two combat sports stars continued to trade blows. White agreed with BroBible in a conversation, saying it could be a huge money-making opportunity for both men. “Jon Jones is the baddest dude on the planet,” White said. “There’s no debate, there’s no denying it. There’s no debate. I don’t care what anybody says, everybody can try to spin it, a lot of this stuff is clickbait, and you know how I am. “If Tyson Fury really wants to fight Jon Jones in the UFC, I will make it happen. Here’s my thing right now to Tyson Fury, ‘Tyson, if you’re serious, let me know.’ Tyson and I have a good relationship. I like Tyson Fury.”

The current featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, has dispelled rumours of a fourth matchup with Max Holloway, claiming that it could be challenging to promote such a match to the audience. Undisputedly, these two fighters have a history together, with Volkanovski stealing Holloway's championship during their first meeting in 2019. After that moment, they have squared off against one another on two additional occasions, with Volkanovski winning both contests. Holloway is still committed to getting a fourth bout with the title regardless his prior losses. On the latest edition of The MMA Fan Podcast, Volkanovski highlighted the obvious that he had no curiosity in the concept. Given the results of their prior clashes, he thinks it is going to be difficult for the UFC to advertise such a match. “It’s a hard fight to sell, you know what I mean? Three fights, you know, three wins with a guy and then doing a fourth one and then what if he does win? What are you going to do? We’re going to have to go another two times? Obviously, that wouldn’t happen. I definitely believed and proved I’ve got his number.” “How do you sell it? Volkanovski asked. “I mean, never say never, but like I said, I want fights that are going to excite me. Honestly, right now, I need to see more maybe, maybe it would be different, but yeah, that doesn’t sound very exciting. It’s not very fun to talk about.” Volkanovski lost to Islam Makhachev a few months ago while seeking to become the two-weight division champion; as a result, his attention has since been diverted somewhere else. But he has no choice but to keep fighting and has scheduled his next match. He will unify the featherweight title with current holder Yair Rodriguez on July 8 at UFC 290. On the other side, Holloway just defeated Arnold Allen by unanimous decision, and he has a target set on another opportunity to win the featherweight championship. But if he wants to get a fourth bout with Volkanovski, he has to keep winning convincingly against other opponents. The rivalry between Volkanovski and Holloway has produced thrilling battles in the past, but it seems that the champion is not interested in revisiting this matchup at the moment. The fans may be disappointed by his decision, but Volkanovski's focus lies on his upcoming title unification bout. Only time will tell if Holloway can earn another opportunity to face Volkanovski in the Octagon. For now, both fighters have their own paths ahead of them, and fans will eagerly anticipate their future endeavours.

According to reliable sources, Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. have reached an agreement to square off on July 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the undisputed welterweight championship. The most anticipated boxing bout since the megafight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in 2015 will take place thanks to negotiations between PBC's Al Haymon, who represents Spence, and CAA's Ish Hinson, who represents Crawford. According to insiders, Crawford and Spence will both receive a guaranteed eight-figure payday for their Showtime PPV bout, and the loser has a 30-day window in which to request a bidirectional rematch. According to insiders, Crawford's contract with PBC calls for two fights. Both boxers are anticipated to go up to 154 pounds following the likely rematch between Crawford and Spence, which must occur before the end of 2023. The likelihood of a trilogy fight increases significantly if they split the two contests. And whoever prevails is anticipated to strive for a shot at Jermell Charlo's undisputed junior middleweight title, which is presently held by Charlo. Derrick James trains Spence and Charlo in Dallas. The agreement puts an end to years of Crawford and Spence circling one another as the two best welterweights in the world without ever engaging in combat. But now, they're about to face off in one of the biggest fights the sport has to offer. This fight will determine who is the best at 147 pounds and will give the victor the right to call themselves the best boxer in the world at any weight. Spence is now ranked No. 4 on ESPN's list of the top boxers pound-for-pound, three positions behind Crawford. In order to fight Keith Thurman in the summer, Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) was supposed to step up to 154 pounds, but Spence and Crawford both wanted to fight each other first. According to insiders, the combatants met in March and reached an agreement on broad principles. The advisers for each of the fighters were essential to the agreement. Longtime friends Haymon and Hinson collaborated in Tyson Fury's and Deontay Wilder's second and third heavyweight championship bouts. Finally, now the fight between Crawford and Spence, which fans have been waiting years for, is now scheduled to take place.

'Mighty Mouse' Demetrious Johnson, the current ONE flyweight world champion, was in the spotlight during the organization's historic on-ground United States debut a few weeks ago. The 36-year-old MMA veteran is regarded as one of the best to have ever competed, but what he saw at ONE Fight Night 10 in Denver, Colorado, was something absolutely spectacular. The fact that ONE Championship is known for celebrating other cultures and showcasing talent from throughout the globe is a breath of new air, especially for American fans. Johnson recently made a guest appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani and discussed the broad selection that ONE Championship provided to the country. “I think to give the fans something else besides just mixed martial arts, like a Muay Thai, the submission grappling, you know you got the Ruotolo brothers, you got Mikey Musumeci, you have Rodtang, you have Stamp Fairtex. That was something great.” The ONE Championship showcases a variety of martial arts styles. In addition to its mainstay MMA event, the promotion also features top-tier competitions in kickboxing, muay thai, and submission grappling, among other sports. In 2022, Johnson was able to compete in a special mixed-rules fight against ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion "The Iron Man" Rodtang Jitmuangnon, which he ultimately won via rear-naked choke submission in the second round.

Remembering the great Joe Lewis AKA "The Brown Bomber" , one of the first Black-american hero's during WW2 when he defeated Germany's Max Scmeling. Boxing had a really big impact in the world at that time, so imagine the importance of Lewis winning that rematch. It was so big that they even made Joe Lewis action figures, in that time where there was so much racism he was America's pride. A man of a few words that did all his talking with his fist. Joe Lewis terrorized the heavyweight división through his 12 year reign as heavyweight world champion. He still hold's the record for most world title defenses in the heavyweight división at 25. A record really hard to beat, its been over 60 years and it still stands. Some have come close but not close enough. They just dont make them like the great "Brown Bomber" anymore.

Michael Bisping recently slammed controversial YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul even more. 'The Count' recently posted a video to his YouTube channel in which he discussed the upcoming boxing match between "The Problem Child" and Nate Diaz. The fight is scheduled to take place on August 5 at the Dallas, Texas, American Airlines Centre. The Count' didn't hold back when talking about the recent heated DMs Jake Paul sent him. "I'll tell you what I think, I think Jake Paul's a little d***head," Bisping said. "He's been sending me DMs on Twitter again. I don't know what prompted this one, I don't know, maybe six months ago, maybe a bit less.” “He just came at me on Twitter, and started talking a lot of crap, this is direct messages by the way, I won't go into the exact details. We went back and forth for a bit, you know what I mean, I was just kind of laughing at him, he was all upset." "The reality is I don't know Jake Paul," Bisping continued. "I'm sure he's not a bad person, you know, he talks a lot of crap, he's doing his thing, he's promoting himself, but I don't know him, I've never met him. The former UFC Middleweight Champion clarified that he is not personally connected with Paul and would only like to see him concentrate on taking on real fighters. Diaz has said that after his fight with "The Problem Child," he plans to take steps to get back into the UFC. Diaz will have a perfect 1-0 record in professional boxing should he be able to defeat the younger Paul brother.

Former world heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano at 5'10" and with the smallest reach of any heavyweight champ in history, he wouldnt even make todays cruiserweight weight limit, but despite his size, reach and weight disadvantages and even starting boxing at a late age of 23 he was still able to build one of the most legendary boxing careers in history. He is arguably boxings toughest and best conditioned heavyweight. He fought all comers and retired on top at the age of 31 and as heavyweight champion of the world with a record of 49-0-0 with 43kos. The fighters of yesterday were warriors that loved to fight and did it with passion, the fighters of today are business men and clowns that dont want to take chances fighting dangerous fights without cashing out or asking for ridiculous conditions. Sorry Tyson Fury , you should learn something from these greats.

It's official ladies and gents, WBO superfeatherweight champ Vaquero Navarrete (36-1-0) will defend his title against former world champion Óscar Valdez (31-1-0) on August 12 in Glendale, Arizona. This fight has been in talks for at least a couple of years and its finally going to go down.

With his impending bout versus Robert Whittaker, rising middleweight sensation Dricus Du Plessis has landed himself at the center of the debate. The audience and experts have questioned the choice to match him up with Whittaker rather than the reigning champion, Israel Adesanya. Du Plessis, though, is unconcerned by the harsh remarks and is prepared to demonstrate his value inside the Octagon. Du Plessis has been creating a stir in the division with an incredibly unblemished track of 5-0 in the UFC. Many thought that between his outstanding performances and the intriguing matchup, he was going to be the best person to take on Adesanya for the crown. Du Plessis chose to divert and go up against Whittaker, though, on purpose. Du Plessis admitted in his most recent interview that taking on Whittaker may not be the "smart move" in terms of getting an opportunity at the title. He is aware of the concerns raised by his decision, but he is motivated to disprove them by taking down Whittaker, a previous champion. From the perspective of the UFC officials and the fans, Du Plessis reckons that triumph against Whittaker would render him unquestionable. “A lot of people are saying it’s not the smartest move to fight Whittaker and 100 percent, I agree with that,” Du Plessis told Submission Radio. “I agree it’s not the smart move, but I’m not here to be smart. Otherwise, I would’ve stayed in school and finished my studies, gone to work at a bank, wear a suit to work every day, and do some corporate life. But that’s not the life I chose. I chose to be a warrior, to be an entertainer, and at the end of the day, I’m a fighter. And that’s what I do: I fight.” Du Plessis is interested in capturing the crown, but he desires to accomplish that based on his abilities rather than because of his animosity toward Adesanya. He seeks to take out the best competitors to showcase his superiority in the class to show that he earned the chance. “I don’t want to get that title shot based on some hype created by, I don’t even know what, some guy who has the title who’s behaving like a little child and overreacting and now the fight is happening because of that,” Du Plessis said. “I want to deserve my title shot. I don’t want to be handed a title shot. I’m going to deserve that belt, and that’s why I wanted that Whittaker fight.” It's a bold move from Du Plessis, but one that exemplifies his confidence and determination. As the date for UFC 290 approaches, all eyes will be on Du Plessis as he steps into the Octagon with Whittaker. This matchup promises to be a thrilling display of skill and determination from both fighters. Will Du Plessis prove his detractors wrong and make a statement with a victory over Whittaker? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure - Dricus Du Plessis is a force to be reckoned with in the middleweight division, and he's ready to take on all challenges in his quest for greatness.

In a bold move to regain his footing in the light heavyweight division, Jan Blachowicz has seized the opportunity to face former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira at UFC 291 on July 29 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Blachowicz, determined to prove himself as a top contender once again, aims to be the first to welcome Pereira to the 205-pound weight class and send him back to middleweight. His motivation for the fight stems from his disappointing majority draw against Magomed Ankalaev in his last bout. Eager to secure a victory that will catapult him back into title contention, Blachowicz wasted no time in requesting the matchup when he heard that Pereira was making the move up in weight. Recognizing the potential stylistic matchup, Blachowicz believes he has what it takes to hand Pereira a decisive defeat. “I think this is my job in the UFC sometimes. I need to do it in the best way, to send him back to the lower category,” Blachowicz said on The MMA Hour. Pereira's rise to the UFC was nothing short of remarkable, earning a title shot in just his fifth professional MMA fight. His kickboxing background and previous victories over Israel Adesanya paved the way for his opportunity, culminating in a dramatic comeback knockout to claim the middleweight gold. However, his reign was short-lived when Adesanya knocked him out at UFC 287, leading Pereira to decide to move up to the light heavyweight division. Blachowicz is no stranger to facing fighters making the transition to 205 pounds. Having broken the jaw of former UFC champion Luke Rockhold in a similar situation, as well as handing Adesanya his only other defeat in the promotion, Blachowicz is confident in his ability to give Pereira a rude welcome. He plans to utilize his experience and skill set to ensure that Pereira's venture into the light heavyweight division is met with a harsh reality check. “For sure, he’s going to have power but what I always say if you change weight category you can spar in your gym with the bigger guys but when you fight, it’s completely different,” Blachowicz added. “Timing, speed, everything is different. Three times I fight before with guys from the lower division and I won everything. This time will be the same.” The UFC has embraced Blachowicz's request for the matchup and even offered him a promising incentive. If he can emerge victorious against Pereira, the promotion has promised Blachowicz a title shot. This opportunity could potentially set him on a collision course with the winner of the anticipated showdown between reigning light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and former titleholder Jiri Procházka. “If I win the fight, my next fight will be for the title. It’s bigger motivation for me, and thanks to Alex that he moved to our category — new blood.” Blachowicz said. With Blachowicz's sights set on a return to the top, he has positioned himself as the gatekeeper for Pereira's light heavyweight aspirations. Will Blachowicz succeed in his mission to send Pereira back to middleweight, or will the Brazilian prove to be a formidable force in his new weight class? The answer awaits on July 29, when two talented fighters collide in the co-main event of UFC 291.

It's not a rags-to-riches story just yet, but UFC welterweight Themba Gorimbo is on his way... The welterweight faced off against Takashi Sato on UFC Fight Night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Seeing wrestling as his path to victory, Gorimbo shot and controlled Sato against the cage for most of the first round. Gorimbo's big moment came at the start of the second, when an overhand right floored Sato. He pounced, raining hammer fists and emptying the gas tank, but the referee felt Sato had done enough to escape danger. However, it didn't really matter because Gorimbo won the fight by unanimous decision, earning him his first victory in the organisation and a first for Zimbabwean MMA. Gorimbo, who was a nervous wreck in his UFC debut, was choked out by AJ Fletcher in February. In his post-fight interview, he made reference to the chorus of disappointment that came from home as a result of the defeat. "Straight after my loss, when I got home, everybody [looked at me] like a guy that was smelling like s**t," he told MMA Mania's Alex Behunin. “It’s been a roller coaster. I didn’t have money, if you look at my bank account there’s $7 right now. In my bank account, there’s $7, and I have to enjoy this. I don’t know how much I’m getting paid. All I’ve been focused on for this fight was to get the win. The win was the most important thing, the money is the byproduct of getting the win.” Without a team and a place to train to get ready for his fight, Gorimbo found MMA Masters in Miami, where he says he slept on a couch in the corner of the gym leading up to the bout. With a wife and family back home, the financial struggles were impossible to ignore. Luckily, while he was at MMA Masters, Gorimbo was able to get support from his teammates and training partners — including the likely next challenger for the UFC welterweight title in Colby Covington. “Colby Covington, he’s such a great guy,” Gorimbo said. “Sometimes, Colby Covington would [bring me food] at the gym. And people say what they want about him, but that guy is a great man. You have to know him to really know him, just like me. “At the end of the day, it’s business. I’m going all the way to the belt with the team that I have right now.”

Although promoter Eddie Hearn and former YouTube star turned boxer Jake Paul have frequently disagreed, Hearn still believes Paul will prevail in his forthcoming matchup with MMA veteran Nate Diaz. On August 5 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, Paul and Diaz will clash. Paul lost for the first time in his professional career earlier this year when he lost an eight-round decision to Tommy Fury, the younger brother of undefeated light heavyweight contender Tommy Fury. “With Nate, no one knows. He could get completely smashed to pieces in a round, or he could be a great fighter. I hear he used to spar with Andre Ward and stuff like this," Hearn told the Matchroom Youtube channel. “If you’re asking me, Jake Paul beats him comfortably. I really like Nate Diaz and I hope he wins – mainly so he doesn’t put me to sleep on the concrete! But I think he gets stopped.” After a decisive victory over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279, Diaz's 15-year tenure with the UFC came to an end when his contract expired last year. He has boxing experience because he has sparred in California gyms with many top pros and previous world champions. Paul, though, unquestionably has the advantage in terms of professional experience and size.