Robert Whittaker has no intentions to to stop chasing the Middleweight strap as he believes that the trilogy with Adesanya is bound to happen. "The Reaper" lost a rematch for the middleweight championship to Adesanya at UFC 271 in February, but rebounded spectacularly at UFC Paris with a one-sided unanimous decision victory over top contender Marvin Vettori. Whittaker's 13th victory in his last 15 fights. Whittaker, who successfully defended his No. 1 contender spot, stated that his ultimate goal is to become UFC champion again. “I’m hunting that title shot,” Whittaker said on a recent episode of The MMA Hour. “That’s what I’m doing and that’s what I’m always going to be doing because that’s the only up direction. I’m a fiend for progress, I just want to move forward. Whittaker raised eyebrows in his post-fight speech at UFC Paris when he declared himself "the most dangerous man" in the middleweight division, a statement that required clarification given his two losses to Adesanya. “I’m the most dangerous man in the division,” Whittaker said. “Izzy, he’s the champion of the division, he beat me the last fight as well. He’s a great fighter. But I’m the most dangerous man. I can beat anyone in the division. That last fight against Israel I got within a hair’s breadth of taking everything away from him. Just the fights that I’ve been in and the opponents that I’ve had, I’m not just beating them. I’m flogging them. There’s a difference in that. Whittaker has hinted at moving up another weight class after beginning his UFC career at 170 pounds, and he believes that if he ever moves up to compete at 205 pounds, that is where he will eventually retire. For the time being, he's focused on Adesanya's next title defense against Alex Pereira, which takes place at UFC 281 on November 12. Whoever wins, Whittaker believes he will remain at the top of any championship contender discussion. "I know I have one more shot at gold against Izzy if that's what it is, or if he gets dethroned," Whittaker said. "I believe that getting that third fight with Israel will be a deciding factor for that or whoever it is." What do you guys reckon? Does Whittaker have one more shot at the Middleweight gold before moving to Light Heavyweight? Let us know your views in the comment.

Eddie Hearn is taking legal action against Jake Paul. The CEO of Matchroom Boxing has sued for defamation, alleging reputational harm due to Paul accusing Hearn of buying judges in a recent interview. According to TMZ, which broke the story on Friday, this is the case. According to Hearn's lawyer Frank Salzano, “Both legally and ethically there is a clear line separating opinion from defamatory lies,” to TMZ. Jake Paul intentionally crossed the line when he falsely accused Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn of rigging fights. He is aware of this. “Nonetheless, he was still given an opportunity to retract his defamatory statements and refused to. Now he will face the legal consequences of his actions as Matchroom and Mr. Hearn will be seeking damages in well excess of $100 million given the value and goodwill attached to the Matchroom business and the harmful nature of Mr. Paul’s comments.” Paul, who amassed a sizable following on YouTube, has been active in boxing for the past several years, working as a promoter through Most Valuable Promotions as well as a professional fighter. One of the largest women's boxing fights in history, Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano, was staged in April thanks to Paul and Hearn's collaboration. Hearn promoted Taylor through Matchroom Boxing, while Paul promoted Serrano through MVP. Taylor defeated Serrano by a split decision in a fiercely contested match. Judge Glenn Feldman, who had the most extensive scorecard of the three judges presiding over the bout, gave Taylor the victory 97–93. A few months later, Feldman came under fire online once more when he predicted that Anthony Joshua of Matchroom Boxing would defeat Oleksandr Usyk in the rematch for the heavyweight championship with a score of 115-113. Usyk won by a narrow margin when the two more judges recognized his merit. Paul complained that Feldman scored in both fights and suggested that Hearn and Feldman had engaged in improper behaviour earlier this month in an interview with IFL TV, which is no longer available and has been made private on YouTube. “Glenn Feldman, shows up in Saudi and scores Anthony Joshua to win the fight,” Paul said. “Everyone watched the fight, it’s not a split decision. Usyk had a runaway victory, clearly won the fight. This judge, Glenn Feldman, gives it to Anthony Joshua? It’s like a repeated crime here. This type of sh*t, I’m going to call it out here in boxing because it’s bullsh*t. “Clearly, this guy is getting paid money by Matchroom Boxing. That’s a bold statement and an accusation that I don’t take lightly, but it’s just blatantly obvious. You would think they would bring a different judge that f*cked up the scoring of Taylor-Serrano to Saudi Arabia.”

At the Manchester Arena, Joe Joyce defeated former heavyweight champion Joseph Parker, knocking him out with a terrifying left hook to win the WBO interim heavyweight title in 11 rounds. Parker, who has previously gone the distance with Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua, had never been stopped. Additionally, the New Zealander had never before been brutally broken down. The power jab was Joyce's setup, but Parker's primary attack was the overhand right and left hook upstairs. Parker's blows had no effect on Joyce since he continued to saunter forward while walking through each power shot like he was swatting a fly. Due to the intensity of what was being thrown at him, there were times when Parker appeared to be out of the fight, but he showed the heart and will of a champion and persisted in making a fight, appearing to win the ninth and tenth rounds to get himself back into the fight. But Joe Joyce had a point to prove and he wasn't going to go lose the fight at any cost. He fired powerful shots to begin the eleventh on a mission. Then Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) charged directly at Parker, tilted his hips ever-so-slightly, and delivered a vicious left hook that knocked Parker to the ground and back. Parker corrected himself, but the referee had enough. After the bout was over Joyce called out Oleksandr Usyk and made it clear that he wants to fight for the title next. Meanwhile, the WBC Champion Tyson Fury was also in attendance to watch his compatriot Joseph Parker fight. What do you think of Joe Joyce’s performance against Joseph Parker and is it time for him to fight the top dogs of the division? Let us know in the comments.

On Friday, Bobby Green said that his withdrawal from UFC 276 was caused by a positive drug test he claimed was the result of an over-the-counter supplement he had bought at Walmart. Green claimed that after seeing a YouTube video by Dr. Eric Berg, a well-known and contentious health expert and chiropractor headquartered in Virginia, he made the decision to take DHEA, an illegal anabolic substance. The Virginia medical board censured Berg in 2007 for treating patients beyond the parameters of his chiropractic licensure and making misleading claims about his treatment plan. A week prior to the pay-per-view event on July 2, Green said he received word that a testosterone test had come back positive, necessitating the postponement of his bout with Jim Miller. “I go, what? What? In 20 years, I’ve never tested positive for anything in 20 years of my sport,” Green said Friday on a video posted to his Instagram account. “I know drugs, and drugs to me, I’ve only heard of them coming in needle form, I’ve heard them coming in some crazy pill form, and last, like maybe I’ve heard of some cream stuff of testosterone. … “So I say hey, come back, take all the pictures, show them all those bottles. They go, ‘Hey, it’s that one right there. It’s DHEA. That’s a banned substance on our list, and you’re now in failure, and the fight is off.’ A week before the fight. I’m crushed. I’m like, what the f***.” Requests for comment from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which is in charge of the UFC's drug testing program, were not immediately answered. Before they are decided, the agency does not divulge drug positives, but if the contestant discloses a positive test, they will. Green said he had been told to keep quiet about his case to avoid receiving a lengthier punishment. But he felt forced to discuss the circumstance because he wanted to be honest with his followers and because he was sick of retelling the tale to his close friends. “If that’s what they want to do is give me more time because I took something from Walmart that I had no idea was a banned substance, so be it,” Green said. “But, I do want to let you guys know that it’s not USADA’s fault. It’s my fault. I’m taken wrong in this. I f*cked up, and I take responsibility. I was a jackass. I’m the one that made the mistake. I take all responsibility. I ruined my situation.” Green expressed his opposition to performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and search for a natural advantage to combat aging in a 30-plus minute film. He displayed a drawer full of supplements that he claimed to utilize for a "all natural" boost from a number of manufacturers, including UFC supplement partner Thorne. Green acknowledged that he disregarded the UFC's warnings about prohibited drugs, nevertheless. Educative materials on USADA-prohibited drugs and the risks of over-the-counter supplements, which have caught scores of athletes since the program's debut in 2015, are obligatory reading for combatants. Many boxers have claimed to bypassing the readings so managers or other representatives might finish them. A two-year suspension is imposed on first-time PED offenders who are proven to have used anabolic agents. “I had no idea what was going on,” Green said. “I watched a stupid YouTube video, and I did that. F***. I f***** it up, guys. I apologize to my public, to my friends, to my family. My son was supposed to come to this. Like, guys, I was f*cked up.”

Khamzat Chimaev might soon be prepared to dedicate himself to the middleweight class. The unbeaten Chechen, who has competed in the UFC at both 170 pounds and 185 pounds, has hinted at a potential weight-up after a catastrophic cut that forced him out of the main event at UFC 279 and almost prevented him from competing at all. Chimaev wrote a message on Twitter on Friday with the single word "185" and a picture of himself as the only attachment. Of course, Chimaev has already admitted that he intended to compete in two weight classes in the UFC with the hopes of eventually winning crowns in both divisions. When he weighed in at 178.5 pounds, which is 7.5 pounds over the limit for a non-title bout, his quest for welterweight gold suffered a severe setback, as he missed the opportunity to fight Nate Diaz. After his dominating victory over Kevin Holland in a catchweight contest, Chimaev still managed to stay on the event, although UFC president Dana White advised him to step up to middleweight. “It’s a problem,” White said just after UFC 279 ended. “That’s a problem that he missed weight. I don’t know. We’ve got to look at it and figure it out. What makes sense is for him to fight at [185 pounds], so we’ll see. “It is what it is. It happened. We’ll go back this week and come up with a plan and probably have him fight at [185].” On record, it appears that Chimaev will have an easier time winning the middleweight championship than the welterweight one because the current champion, Israel Adesanya, has already destroyed most of the other contenders. Before turning his attention to Chimaev or anybody else, Adesanya must first defeat longtime rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in November. Nevertheless, with Chimaev hinting at a transfer to middleweight, a sizable number of contenders will probably begin lining up to welcome him back to the division where he presently holds a perfect 4-0 record and two UFC first-round knockout victories.

After Jake Paul claimed that Eddie Hearn's Matchroom promotion business had paid a well-known boxing judge, the British promoter hinted that he would sue Jake Paul. Glenn Feldman was displeased with "The Problem Child" when Amanda Serrano, a boxer for his Most Valuable Promotions, defeated Katie Taylor earlier this year. During their rematch for the unified heavyweight championship last month in Saudi Arabia, Feldman was the only referee who gave Anthony Joshua the advantage against Oleksandr Usyk. The 5-0 fighter said that Feldman is dishonest and is being paid by Hearn's organization to score fights in their favor during a recent interview with IFL TV, which has since been taken down from YouTube. “Everyone who watched the fight [knows] it’s not a split decision. Usyk had a runaway victory, clearly won the fight,” Paul said. “This judge, Glenn Feldman, gives it to Anthony Joshua. It’s like a repeated crime here. This type of s***, I’m going to call it out here in boxing because it’s bulls***. Clearly, this guy is getting paid money by Matchroom Boxing.” Hearn, who manages the careers of some of boxing's most prominent figures, took exception at Paul openly accusing his organization of match-fixing. “What he said in terms of his allegations of corruption with Glen Feldman is totally unacceptable,” Hearn stated on Thursday to the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel. “We all have a laugh with Jake and he’s an average fighter but I’m telling you now, what he said is unacceptable and it will be dealt with because we take this sport, our values as a family seriously and we love the sport of boxing. “So, for him to come out with idiotic comments without even thinking of what he said is extremely harmful to me and very disrespectful to us as a business and as a family.” Although Barry Hearn, the son of Hall of Fame boxing promoter Barry Hearn, did not specify how he would respond to Paul's allegations, it looks that Barry Hearn will file a lawsuit. “Jake’s comments will be dealt with appropriately,” Hearn added. “I’m not prepared, as I would be on many occasions, to take what he is saying with a pinch of salt on this occasion because it’s banging out of order and disrespectful to the sport of boxing and me and us. “I take it extremely personally because they’re questioning our credentials, they are questioning our integrity and I won’t have it. So, he’s going to have to take the brunt of that. “Maybe he doesn’t care, but I do.”

Yoel Romero and scary knockouts are a sight to behold for any MMA fan. Even at the age of 45 the ‘Soldier of God’ is putting in violent performances. On Friday, Romero knocked out Manhoef in the third round in the co-main event of Bellator 285, which took place at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. In the co-main event of Bellator 285, the multiple-time UFC title challenger defeated Melvin Manhoef. In the third round of their light heavyweight fight, Romero (15-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) stopped Manhoef (32-16-1 MMA, 4-5 BMMA) with a brutal ground-and-pound. Romero dropped Manhoef early in the first round with a leg kick and then followed him to the ground. From there, the former UFC title contender dominated the action with ground-and-pound. After a few minutes of control, Romero locked an Americana but was unable to complete it. He kept Manhoef under his control until the bell rang. The second round was much more visually appealing. Both fighters exchanged blows at a slow pace, but it was still entertaining. They were packing a lot of punch into their shots. Romero appeared to have the better shots and more volume. Manhoef's output appeared to be hampered by the threat of a takedown. The third appeared to be another standup battle, but Romero closed the gap and took down Manhoef against the cage three minutes in. He remained patient from half-guard and landed powerful shots. As the strikes began to pile up, the referee was forced to call a halt to the fight. Romero had put on a dominant performance. Following the defeat, Manhoef announced his retirement from MMA. “I didn’t want to fight a nobody,” Manhoef said post-fight before taking his gloves off and resting them down in the center of the cage. “I wanted to fight names, and I did the best that I could. For 28 years, I’m doing this, this is what I love, and I appreciate all the support that you gave me. But today, I think I have to hang up the gloves after 28 years of fighting. Thanks for the support, you make my life great, you let me feel alive.” Let us know what you think of Romero’s performance at Bellator 285? Can he still hunt for the title at Light Heavyweight?

Benson Henderson wants another chance at Bellator gold. Henderson made it clear who, what, and where he wants his next fight after a dominant 25-minute performance against Peter Queally in the main event of Bellator 285 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Patricky Freire defends his lightweight title against the undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of Bellator 288. If Henderson gets his wish, he wants to face the winner of the fight, regardless of who wins the gold. If 'Pitbull' wins the rematch, Henderson admits the fight will mean a little more. He said after the fight “I want the title shot next,” Henderson told reporters at the post-fight news conference. “It’s the Russian vs. Brazilian. Mad respect for ‘Pitbull,’ I’m a huge Patricio, Patricky fan. Patricky has the belt, and he has a ‘W’ over me. So, I think it would be very apropos for him to win his fight and for me to square off against him, and take the belt from him since he has a ‘W’ over me. “But if Usman happens to win, if it’s him instead, let’s go ahead and have Bellator set up a fight in Russia. Ohh, eww – Russia’s a no-no right now. So, maybe we go somewhere else in the Eastern Europe and go do a title shot over there somewhere.” Henderson has had mixed results when dealing with both Freire brothers. Patricky avenged his brother's loss by split decision win at Bellator 183 in 2017. If Henderson gets his way, it will be his third chance at Bellator gold during his time with the organization. Henderson made his Bellator debut after leaving the UFC, facing Andrey Koreshkov for the welterweight title at Bellator 153, but lost a unanimous decision. His second title shot came at lightweight against Michael Chandler at Bellator 165, but he lost a split decision.Henderson believes it's time for another shot at the lightweight title after back-to-back victories. What do you think of Benson’s Henderson stint in Bellator so far? Does he deserve one more title shot? Let us know in the comment.

The veteran King Carlos Molina is set to face Oziel Santoyo in a crunch battle on November 19th. This fight will be officially broadcasted by fight.tv. The organization is home to many Mexican boxing bouts as well as MMA. As far as the profiles of fighters goes, King Carlos Molina has a gigantic resume of 52 fights to his name. In which he has won a total of 38 fights losing 12 and drawing 2. He bounced back from his loss against Sam Eggington which was for the WBC Silver Middleweight title. In his comeback he defeated Juan Carlos Raygosa with a unanimous decision victory. He also had several high profile fights in his career. He fought Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in which he was robbed and then later got defeated in the rematch. Molina fought undefeated Olympic gold medalist Erislandy Lara to a disputed majority draw in another fight that many spectators thought Molina deserved. On Showtime, Molina defeated former world champion Kermit Cintron in his next fight. He also fought on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather and defeated Ishe Smith by split decision to win the IBF Junior Middleweight title. Oziel Santoyo would be raring to go after his last defeat where he was beaten by Brandon Perez. He has a pro boxing record of 14 wins, 2 losses and only 1 draw. However youth will be on his side as he is younger and faster than Molina. This scillintating battle between the two warriors will be no less than a barnburner where both the fighters will look to inflict damage upon each other. Fight.tv will be the official broadcasting partner of this amazing fight.

Shakur Stevenson has stepped down as a junior lightweight. After missing weight by 1.6 pounds for his match against Robson Conceicao on Thursday, the unified champion at 130 pounds no longer holds that title. Stevenson had the option of losing the last few pounds after stepping on the scale, but he chose not to. Stevenson announced on Twitter on Thursday that he will no longer compete at 130 pounds, effectively forfeiting his WBC and WBO super-featherweight world titles. He wrote “I gave it my all,” Stevenson said. “I’ve been professional my whole career and made weight, but my body just can’t make 130 anymore. My health has to come first.” The fight, scheduled for the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, was Stevenson's first title defense at home. The fight will still take place, but only Conceicao will be able to win the titles, which Stevenson will officially relinquish once the fight comes to the conclusion. Conceicao, a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, has a 17-1 record with eight knockouts but suffered his first professional loss last year. Even before his weigh in failure, Stevenson was widely expected to advance to lightweight. The lack of top-tier opponents at junior lightweight, combined with the current depth at 135 pounds, made this decision appear much easier. Fights with undisputed champion Devin Haney, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and even Gervonta "Tank" Davis now seem very likely. Stevenson has an 18-0 record with nine knockout victories, with his most recent victory coming in April against Oscar Valdez. The weigh in miss could be a blessing in disguise for the sport of Boxing as Stevenson’s move up to the 135 lbs division will increase chances of crunch matchups in the future. Let us know your views on Shakur Stevenson as a boxer and can he hang with the best at 135 lbs?

Bellator has already made contact with what could be the biggest name in MMA free agency. Diaz has been in talks with Bellator’s Scott Coker. Diaz competed 28 times for the UFC. He made his debut with the promotion in 2007 and has since become one of the biggest names in the sport of MMA due to his personality and fighting style. Diaz finished his promotional contract at UFC 279 by submitting Tony Ferguson in the fourth round of the main event. Following his victory, Diaz stated that he would leave the UFC to "show all these UFC fighters how to take over and own up another sport," which most interpret as a boxing match against Jake Paul. Diaz also stated that he intends to return to the UFC to obtain a UFC belt, which he refers to as "the best title in the world." Scott Coker, on the other hand, hopes to have something to say about it. Coker, the CEO of Bellator MMA, has a long history of promoting Diaz's older brother Nick Diaz back in the Strikeforce days, and in an interview with reporters ahead of Bellator Dublin this weekend, Coker revealed that Bellator is already in talks with the younger Diaz brother. He said “We are definitely talking to him. We’ve reached out,” Coker said. “I know he’s probably talking to everybody. He’s in a pretty good situation. I know he wants to fight Jake Paul. Jake Paul is fighting Anderson Silva on Showtime pay-per-view, which is our home network, so there’s some synergies here. We’re just hoping that we could have some type of deal to at least have his MMA fights with Bellator. So we are in dialogue.” Signing a high-profile free agent such as Diaz is nothing new for Coker. Bellator MMA has signed a number of high-profile UFC fighters in recent years, most notably former women's featherweight champion Cris Cyborg; however, Bellator is not the only promotion interested in Diaz. Both the BKFC and the PFL have already stated their intention to pursue Stockton's finest, and there's also the possibility that Diaz will simply choose to remain independent. Where do you think Nate Diaz will be fighting next? Let us know in the comments.

Cody Garbrandt's almost 10-month wait to return to the UFC cage may be extended even further. Before planned opponent Rani Yahya withdrew from the event for unknown reasons, Garbrandt (12-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC), a former UFC bantamweight champion, was anticipated to make his comeback to combat at UFC Fight Night 211, which takes place on October 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The UFC first looked for a new opponent for Garbrandt's bout, but "No Love" also became hurt. An early story from ESPN was followed by MMA Junkie's confirmation of the news with a UFC representative. “Cody’s fight has been postponed,” UFC Senior Director of Public Relations Dave Lockett told ESPN. “Both fighters are injured, so we are not sure as to when the bout will be rescheduled.” Garbrandt, 31, has struggled since he defeated Dominick Cruz, the reigning champion, to earn the UFC gold medal in December 2016. Since then, he has dropped five of six fights, although against top-tier opposition in the form of T.J. Dillashaw (twice), Pedro Munhoz, Rob Font, and Kai Kara-France. Garbrandt made his flyweight debut against Kara-France, but it resulted in a first-round knockout loss. Then he decided to go back to 135 pounds. Garbrandt v. Yahya has been postponed twice already. Originally supposed to fight in July, it was postponed when Yahya hurt his neck. The new lineup for UFC Fight Night 211 currently includes: Yan Xiaonan vs. Mackenzie Dern Krzysztof Jotko vs Brendan Allen Diego Trinaldo vs. Randy Brown Trevin Jones vs. Raoni Barcelos Aleksei Oleinik vs. Ilir Latifi Tabatha Ricci vs. Jessica Penne Randy Costa vs. Guido Cannetti Julija Stoliarenko vs Chelsea Chandler Daniel Santos vs John Castaneda Joaquim Silva vs. Jesse Ronson Mike Davis vs Viacheslav Borshchev Sodiq Yusuff vs. Don Shainis