Former WBC and WBO Super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez will have another tune-up fight coming his way as he is set to face Richard Commey on March 25th in Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California. Ramirez had to face severe criticism from the boxing fraternity after the Cali native turned down the fight against WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis. The fans wanted that fight to happen but only to their dismay, Ramirez backed out at the last minute. Ramirez who represents Top Rank explained that he was more inclined towards the prospect of fighting Commey as the 65-35 bill split for the Prograis fight doesn’t suit him. The ‘Jaguar’ wants to avenge his loss against Scott, Josh Taylor and for that to happen, he had to take a diversion to the WBO path where he is ranked no.3 and will not have to wait very long for him to get a crack at Taylor. Meanwhile, the Mexican-originated, Ramirez expects Commey to be at his best and bring him the fight when the two come blow-to-blow inside the Save Mart Arena on March 25th. “Richard Commey is a championship fighter with everything to gain,” said Ramirez. “I expect the best version of Commey on March 25. My goal is to become champion again, and I am more motivated than ever to prove that I am the best junior welterweight in the world.” Ramirez will need a big performance against washed-up Commey to make his case further stronger. And to cool down the anger and the wrath he is facing from fans for not accepting the fight against Prograis. Ramirez will be under immense pressure. All eyes will be on him how he manages the trickery of the Ghanian, Commey on March 25th.

The newly crowned lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov didn’t get much time to decide his opponent for his first title defense instead has to win a major tournament to retain his gold strap. The eight contestants in the Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix have been selected by Bellator. Usman Nurmagomedov, the lightweight champion, and AJ McKee, a former featherweight champion, were two of the greats when the competitors were revealed on Wednesday. On "The MMA Hour," Bellator President Scott Coker officially announced the move. “As you know, we pick our tournament based on what we feel is the best division of our league and right now I think lightweight, including A.J., is going to be something that fans are going to want to watch,” Coker said. Throughout the competition, the lightweight Bellator champion will be challenged, as well as a $1 million prize will be awarded to the winner. Nurmagomedov, McKee, Patricky Pitbull, Benson Henderson, Tofiq Musayev, Alexander Shabliy, Mansour Barnaoui, and Sidney Outlaw are the eight men who made the list. Two first-round matches will kick off the Grand Prix on March 10 in San Jose, California. Versus former UFC champion Henderson, lightweight champion Nurmagomedov will defend his championship on that card. The promotion revealed that Musayev will square off against Shalbily that same night. Later, in May, when the promotion comes to Paris, France, Outlaw will square off against Barnaoui. This indicates that McKee and Pitbull will face off in the first round's finale at a later point in time. The majority of the top contenders in the division compete in the Lightweight World Grand Prix. There are five of the leading lightweights in the world, including the current champion. In October, McKee (No. 8) successfully made his lightweight debut by defeating Spike Carlyle. The most intriguing entrant is Barnaoui, who defeated Adam Piccolotti via tap-out in his Bellator premiere despite being unranked at the moment. Every bout of a Grand Prix match typically lasts five rounds, with the current champion defending their title. Even though Coker is certain that the competition will conclude in 2023, he cautioned that variables beyond his and the fighters' influence might delay it until the next year. “These things are kind of a fluid process because injuries happen, scheduling conflicts, things like that,” Coker said. “Mostly we just want to make sure that the fighters are healthy and really ready to fight and give it 100 percent. That’s why some of these things have taken so long and then COVID hit when we had our featherweight tournament, there’s a lot of those issues. “Really, we want the fighters to be 100 percent and if that’s the case in 2023 then we’ll finish it this year.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov, a former UFC champion, has indicated that he plans to step down from his head coach position two years following his sudden exit from the competition. After his father died in 2020, Khabib, arguably one of the best greatest fighters of all time, decided to put down the gloves and devote more time to his family. He did, nevertheless, spend a good deal of the last two years touring because of his duties as Eagle FC's administrator. and his position as a cornerman. The UFC Hall of Famer guided Makhachev and Usman to the lightweight titles in the UFC and Bellator, respectively. While standing with his colleagues for a photo, Khabib Nurmagomedov posted a statement on Instagram that appeared to suggest that he was quitting mixed martial arts. The Instagram caption read as follows: “The year certainly turned out to be a very busy and successful. Take care of yourself, brothers. I hope my decision is only for the best, a big hug to you all.” The report was implicitly confirmed by "The Eagle," but his manager Rizvan Magomedov recently made an appearance on the Russian sports network Match TV. The former lightweight champion will not accompany his pupil Islam Makhachev in the UFC 284 showdown versus Alexander Volkanovski, he said during the conversation. Note that Magomedov, who is also the CEO of Khabib Nurmagomedov's fight promoter, Eagle FC, is a close friend of the latter. "I think he made it clear and it was such a balanced decision that he approached for a long time. There is no need to look for any behind-the-scenes reasons or radical incidents there. He just came to this. He ended his career in 2020 but travels during training camps, during fights. Out of 12 months, he is 10 absent from home, constantly on these trips. And he came to such a decision that it was time to spend time with his family, devote time to children. And, most likely, he will miss this fight, yes." While rapidly establishing himself as among the good coaches in the industry after his departure from competing in October 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov caused a stir by sharing an Instagram post that hinted at him completely leaving mixed martial arts. He has worked with athletes like UFC Lightweight Champion Makhachev, Bellator Lightweight Champion Usman Nurmagomedov, Umar Nurmagomedov, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, and even Belal Muhammad, who he coached and cornered during his recent victory over Sean Brady. It is worth noting that the legendary fighter, who compiled a 29-0 record in mixed martial arts after his third title defense against Justin Gaethje, declared his retirement in October 2020 at the insistence of his mother.

Eric Nicksick, Francis Ngannou's head coach, is optimistic that the UFC will be able to complete the major bout between Ngannou and Jon Jones for the UFC heavyweight title, but there are still obstacles to overcome. According to various sources and chats, the bout will take place at UFC 285 on March 4 in Las Vegas. Ngannou is recovering from knee surgery after tearing his ACL and MCL prior to his UFC 270 victory against Ciryl Gane in January 2022, as well as a public contract battle with the UFC this year. When asked where things stand for the Ngannou-Jones battle at UFC 285, Nicksick offered his best assessment. “I think it’s 50-50, to be honest with you, when you’re talking business and timeline,” Nicksick told MMA Fighting. “I’m confident from what I saw from Francis a couple of weeks ago that if we had to be ready for March, I think we can get him ready, but I think it is cutting it a little bit short because he had to go back home and renew his visa. “And then obviously they still haven’t announced anything yet with his contract and where they’re at, so 50-50 for me. I’m hoping for this thing, fingers crossed that we can get this deal done. If it’s not March, maybe it’s April or May, or something like that. I do know that they’re shooting for March and that Jon Jones is the opponent. Everything else is out of my hands, but if they tell me, ‘Hey, we’re fighting March 4,’ we’ll have our guy ready, that’s for sure.” Ngannou is presently in Cameroon, where he spent the holiday season, renewing his visa in order to return to Las Vegas and Xtreme Couture for whatever comes his way. Prior to departing for home, Nicksick worked with Ngannou in the gym during a private session, which left the head coach in a very favorable mood, not only because of what he witnessed from the UFC heavyweight champion physically, but also emotionally.

Artur Beterbiev believes he's improved his hand speed in preparation for his title defense of his IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight crowns against Anthony Yarde on January 28th at the OVO Arena in London, England. Many boxing experts believe Yarde has no chance of winning unless the 37-year-old Beterbiev has aged dramatically since his last bout in June against WBO 175-pound champion Joe Smith Jr. Yarde will not last more than two rounds if that version of Beterbiev shows up on January 28th since he is not even on the level of Smith Jr, who was knocked out in the second round of that bout. Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs), who has exceptional hand speed, criticized the undefeated Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs), stating that his punches are slow and that he believes he can profit on this when they face on BT Sport on January 28th in their main event. Given that boxing fans haven't seen Yarde compete against an elite-level opponent since a faded 36-year-old Sergey Kovalev knocked him out in 2019, it's tough to predict whether he'll beat Beterbiev. Yarde, 31, has won five of his past six fights since his loss to Kovalev, but the opposition has been average fighters rather than world-class opponents. “Yes, you will see on the 28th of January,” said Artur Beterbiev to Queensberry Promotions when asked if his hand speed has improved during training camp for his title defense against Anthony Yarde on January 28th.”Yes, mind and working on it. “He’s a good fighter with experience in , but as far as details, I never give you details. What I see and what I’m working on,” said Beterbiev about Yarde. “Any boxer is strong. Any boxer is dangerous. It’s a real fight and I’m preparing 100% to be ready 100%. He’s preparing, and it’s going to be a good fight.

Just a few days out now from what promises to be an explosive card, the final press conference took place. 15,000 people watched live on YouTube, as fight day looms, but what did we learn? First lets learn more about the main event. On Saturday, the social media star turned boxer KSI (4-0-1 in the influencer boxing scene) was supposed to take on the 29-year-old MMA fighter Dillon Danis (2-0 in MMA). Danis pulled out of the fight, thus Faze Temperrr (2-1-0) entered the fray. When KSI faces Temper of the Faze Clan, it will be his sixth bout, and he will be aiming to put on a fight. After fighting twice in one night on the first-ever Misfits card, when he knocked out both Swarmz and Luis Alcaraz Pineda, this will be KSI's third bout with the organisation. On the Misfits x DAZN 004 card, KSI, real name Olajide Williams Olatunji, will be up against a fresh obstacle as he prepares to face his first southpaw opponent. Temper, whose real name is Thomas Oliveira, is a rangy technical southpaw who is 6 feet 4 inches tall. He recently defeated Overtflow in the first round by knockout after previously defeating King Kenny and the "hitman" Slim. Both boxers displayed their skill sets and slickness during their public walkouts. While Temper displayed his desire to box on the outside, KSI came out firing on all cylinders, displaying his angels, speed, and combos. Temper has stated his desire to knock KSI out, casting doubt on UK judges after his victory over Kenny was initially ruled a loss. KSI will be aiming to cut the gap and expose Tempers inferior inside game, as displayed by Slim, and will be looking to finish his opponent's match early. The press conference kicked off with a heated exchange between former KSI opponent Swarmz and Ryan Taylor, who had previously faced off against Slim. Their online arguments continued into the press conference, where Swarmz predicted a knockout in the second round and Ryan Taylor used the rapper's decline in his music career to attempt to get under his skin. Josh Brueckner and Salt Papi squared off in what has been labelled the "main event for the people." These two, according to commentator Wade, are the "influencers boogeyman," and now they're going to fight, claiming the winner is a "guaranteed superstar" and it's clear to see why. Both are really skilled fighters who have strength and a lot of heart. At the end of the face off, Salt Papi turned to face KSI and challenged him to fight him next, claiming he would be KSI's biggest test, something a lot of people would agree with. The co-main event between Tom Zanetti and Slim came next. Slim will enter the match with a record of 5-0, 4 of which by knockout, while Tom will make his debut. Many people think Zanetti will pull off the surprise victory because of the skill he showed during his open workout, where he put together flashy combos and demonstrated his power. Slim defeated Faze Temper in his last outing and will want to improve his record on Saturday by becoming 6-0, putting him closer to a potential outing with KSI. Slim asserted that he will match and outperform anything Zanetti does, contrary to Tom's promise that he will take off Slim's chin. It was finally time for the major event, and both guys entered the stage with a cool confidence. Both men had a great deal of respect for one another and were smiling as they talked their game, having been friends. Then, to KSI's hilarity, Temperr asserted that this would be their toughest struggle. Before promising to knock out his opponent, KSI made a lot of bold statements about his goal to destroy everyone in this scene, including Tyrone Woodley, Jake Paul, and Slim, claiming he would do so with ease and by knockout. Anthony Taylor and KSI got into a verbal confrontation on the sidelines. KSI told Anthony Taylor to "shut up" and predicted that he would lose to Idris on the undercard of his fight and that nobody even knows who he is, before turning his attention back to his opponent, where he then predicted that Temper would be knocked out in the first round. The press conference concluded, promising a night of fireworks with a lot of intriguing match ups to offer and a lot of potential for potential fights to be raised in the future with the eventual winners on Saturday. You can catch this card exclusively on DAZN P4P.

There are many conflicting views about boxing right now, both within and outside the community. On one end of the scale, you have fighters who are sheltered from losing by avoiding huge fights, and on the other, you have influences who are just getting started who are putting on the gloves in front of millions of spectators across the world. To the dismay of boxing purists who see the platform these stars have as an insult to the hardworking boxers who could only dream of being on that stage, we have seen the sudden rise of celebrities like Jake Paul, KSI, and Logan Paul, headlining massive events and shifting high PPV numbers in sold out events. But is this bad for boxing? There is no questioning the incredible figures these guys produce, but where do they come from? It couldn't be the opinion of the purists in boxing, can it? This is where it gets interesting, because these influencers and YouTubers have tens of millions of followers on their platforms. It's fair to assume that this is where most, if not all of the numbers originate, and it's undoubtedly impressive. But do these numbers actually correlate to an increase in boxing fans? I would think so. These influencers frequently claim that people approach them to express their interest in the sport and how their passion for it started with them and their bouts and if their claims are correct, that could surely be a claim for their impact being a positive one. The majority of people have the potential to become professional boxers; the status is only that, a status granted by a licence. In my experience as a boxing fan, I have witnessed some awful performances from these so-called pro boxers, performances that were much worse than those displayed by some of these influencers. All you need is a licence to proclaim yourself a "pro boxer.” For example, SaltPapi has proven that he is serious while donning the gloves and that he takes his training and physical transformation seriously, earning accolades from renowned boxers like Sunny Edwards and Chris Eubank Jr. Even the so-called 'greatest of all time', Floyd Mayweather, has engaged in combat with YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI's younger brother Deji, the former taking it the distance. Jake Paul, on the other hand, is accumulating a good record in the sport. I realise that this man is a touchy subject in this sport, but I'd like to challenge you to compare your favourite opponents instead of simply any boxer's first six or seven opponents to see how they stack up. For a man without any boxing experience, except from his white-collar versus Deji, in which he was a wide favourite. Influencer boxing, in my perspective, can only be viewed as a positive development for the sport. With each event and even the videos they make promoting the event, more people are becoming aware of the sport. These influencers were the subjects of some of boxing reporters' most well-viewed interviews on YouTube, as well as some of Dazn and Sky Sports' most well-liked videos on their respective channels. This new trend has been embraced by interviewers and broadcasters alike, and new occupations are emerging as a result.

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Following his widely publicised physical incident with his wife on New Year's Eve, UFC President Dana White has disclosed what punishment he will get. At a New Year's Eve party in Mexico, White and his wife, Anne, were seen on camera arguing. After Anne struck him, White retaliated by beating his wife before other people intervened. Since then, White and his wife have apologised to one another and said that their argument was an isolated episode. White and his wife both admitted that they were very drunk when the argument took place. Critics of White's behaviour have speculated about the possible outcomes of the incident. This includes White placing a suspension on himself or resigning completely as president of the UFC. White recently gave an explanation for why he won't face formal consequences for the event involving his wife during a news conference. “What should the repercussions be?” White said. “I take 30 days off? How does that hurt me? It’s much like COVID, actually. Me leaving hurts the company. Hurts my employees. Hurts the fighters. The next morning when I woke up, I’ve been against this, I’ve owned this, I’m telling you that I’m wrong." “We’ve had plenty of discussions internally. With Ari, with ESPN. Nobody’s happy about this, neither am I. But it happened and I have to deal with it." What punishment should Dana White receive? Comment and let us know.

UFC enthusiasts who were wanting to see Rafael Fiziev face Justin Gaethje, a former lightweight championship contender, reportedly received some great information. Upon entering the Top 15 in the division, Kazakhstan's favorite lightweight prospect has made it apparent who he intends to face. As per Fiziev, a fight between him and Justin Gaethje is currently being planned for the first quarter of 2023. “I’m not announcing anything, but the UFC promised us that I’ll be fighting Justin Gaethje in March,” Fiziev told Captain Hardcore (h/t Red Corner MMA). “Everyone wants this fight, Dana White wants this fight. I was told to get ready for March. “We’re waiting for the contract to make it official. That’s what it is as of now. If something changes, I’ll be shocked.” Due to his ambition to compete against people who are ranked higher than him, Gaethje recently appeared uninterested in a matchup with Fiziev. Gaethje seeks matches that will inspire him to practice and push through the hardships of a fight camp at this juncture in his distinguished career. Since losing to Charles Oliveira for the lightweight championship at UFC 274, he hasn't engaged in a competition inside the octagon. The fact that all single noteworthy fighters in the lightweight division have been competing against one another has become one of the recently noted "problems" in the division. As a result, the emerging contenders miss out on their chances to advance and further solidify their positions. Arman Tsarukyan, a rival who competes with Fiziev, also remarked that fighters like Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Michael Chandler must either face new opponents or quit the sport altogether. Gaethje lately indicated that he preferred a Poirier rematch against all other possibilities. Considering this, Fiziev is utterly certain that events will go in his favor. “If it gets canceled, I’ll record a story like, ‘UFC, what’s going on?’” Fiziev said. “[Location] is the only question. They said either [London or Las Vegas], March 4 or 18. “I like that the UFC supported this fight from the beginning. Gaethje is being quiet, [his manager] Ali Abdelaziz tried to say something. They are still doing what they’ve been doing. The UFC wants it. When the UFC wants it, they make it happen.” It would be an effort to state that Fiziev has received his chance to compete with a top-tier star like Gaethje. The biggest achievement of "Ataman's" career occurred in July 2022, when he defeated Rafael dos Anjos, the former lightweight champion, to continue his winning streak to 6-fights. After Oliveira was defeated by Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, things are going well. Gaethje's quasi-competitor now retains the championship, hence a victory over Fiziev might qualify him for a future title fight. The same goes for Fiziev too. With his winning streak and strong display, a win over Gaethje might cement his place in the title fight. The fight will happen sometime, perhaps as soon as UFC 286 in London. Gaethje wishes to compete on the same card as Kamaru Usman, a comrade who will certainly encounter Leon Edwards.

The former two-division champ, Paulie Malignaggi has raised questions over Ryan Garcia’s tactics ahead of his mouth-watering clash with Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. Garcia is rumoured to face Tank in a highly anticipated lightweight match on April 15. It is after quite a while that boxing fans will have a fight they desperately want to see. But Malignaggi feels it could prove to be a one-sided affair. Malignaggi argued that Garcia lacks the substance and the motivation to excel at this stage. He believes the Californian is less interested in what is happening inside the ring which could prove to be fatal against the quality of Tank. The 24-year-old Garcia has only one notable name on his resume so far where he had to struggle hard to get over the line. Garcia had to dig deep and rise from the canvas to defeat Britain’s Luke Campbell in 2021. But after that, he is somewhat gone missing. Malignaggi feels Tank is more willing to get into trenches and bring himself up from there to the victory stand. Davis grappled hard with the likes of Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, Rolando Romero and Hector Garcia but he never gave up easily. But unlike Tank, Garcia is more of a showman outside the ring, hanging out with the likes of Paul brothers. Malignaggi believes that Garcia’s attitude could prove to be the reason for his downfall. “I’m not quite sure about Ryan’s mentality. I haven’t seen enough of it to know that it’s bonafide and it’s legit,” said Paulie Malignaggi to ESNEWS about the Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia match that still needs to be negotiated for April. “I know that Gervonta’s mentality is bonafide and legit. He’s been in there and been in a dog fight. Against guys like Pitbull, he fought. He was behind against Rolly, but stayed calm and knocked him out.” It will be interesting to see how Garcia copes with Tank’s superior ring IQ when the two meet each other in the coming April.

Francis Ngannou, the heavyweight champion of the UFC, may have merely suggested switching to the PFL. Jake Paul's recent investment in the promotion increases the likelihood of The Predator joining the PFL. The element Ngannou has been requesting for a very long time may be the discovery of a new Super Fight division by the YouTube star. Since January of last year, when the Cameroonian was preparing for his first world title defense at UFC 270, Francis Ngannou's contract situation with the UFC has been in jeopardy. The major "and still" was still the lingering uncertainty regarding whether Ngannou would ever put the belt on the stake in the promotion afterward. Ngannou did beat Ciryl Gane by a unanimous decision to keep the gold strap in his last outing. Such concerns arose from the fact that Ngannou was fighting under his contract at that time and from his transparency in expressing his displeasure with the UFC. Ngannou made it clear before his win at UFC 270 that he would become a free agency anyway after making three more championship defenses or once a year had passed. Ngannou’s disclosed his unhappiness a long time ago regarding a $500,000 base fee and the lack of possibility of a professional boxing fight while remaining under contract with UFC. He also raised his voice when he had a chance to sign a sponsorship deal with a crypto exchange but could not finalize it because of a rival organization deal with UFC. Over the weekend, speculations surfaced that the UFC fighter with the No. 5 pound-for-pound ranking would be leaving for the PFL. Ngannou posted pictures of his family welcoming in the New Year, one of whom was seen donning a PFL jersey. Some experts have concluded that this woman's attire selection is not random and could be a precursor to a major revelation. Although it is unknown if the heavyweight champion will be departing the organization, the consequences of his probable exit are obvious, especially given that the UFC had hoped to schedule a title match between Ngannou and Jon Jones at UFC 285 in March.