With a decisive victory, Canelo Alvarez completed his trilogy against Gennadiy Golovkin. In a 12-round fight on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) prevailed by majority decision against Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) despite Golovkin's late charge. The judges gave Canelo victories by scores of 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113, despite the fact that Canelo appeared to be in charge of the fight for most of the battle. With the victory, Canelo solidified his position as the undisputed super middleweight champion as the current holder of the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring championships. Canelo and "GGG" have met twice previously, with the results of those fights being hotly debated. On September 16, 2017, Canelo and Golovkin were able to draw a split decision. A year later, Canelo defeated Golovkin by a majority decision. Fans and peers reacted differently to both results. After the bout, in his post-fight interview, Canelo congratulated Golovkin for their three battles together. “We gave the fans three good fights,” Canelo said. “Thank you for everything.” Canelo owned the opening half of the fight, staying and moving against a hesitant Golovkin while controlling the action. With the exception of the occasional jab, Golovkin struggled to generate any substantial offense in the first rounds. Canelo scored points by consistently using his body and landing strong uppercuts. Later, Golovkin began to show signs of life, increasing his output and even occasionally putting Canelo at a disadvantage. Canelo was still constantly outworking Golovkin, though, and it looked like he would win by a significant margin on the scorecard. However, the fight ended up being closer than some would have anticipated. With the victory, Canelo overcame his May setback to Dmitry Bivol in the WBA light heavyweight title battle. When asked if he wanted to fight Bivol again, Canelo said that he did, but noted that he needed time to recover and take care of a left-hand injury. Gilberto Ramirez will be Bivol's opponent as he defends his championship on November 5. In his post-fight interview, Golovkin displayed the same graciousness. “Everybody knows this is high-level class for boxing,” Golovkin said. “Everybody knows this is Canelo. You miss one punch, he can finish the fight. Look at his face, look at my face. We trained well and this shows that we did a very good fight as a result of it.” “Today, Canelo is better,” Golovkin added before he and Canelo shook hands and embraced.

This weekend's third battle between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin is expected to feature impressive performances from both boxers. When the two initially met in 2017, many thought Golovkin had done enough, but the judges at the ringside ruled the fight a draw. The following year, Canelo improved and won, but Golovkin continued to believe he had won. Since their second encounter, the two have taken divergent paths, but on Saturday they will resume hostilities. It has been Alvarez and Golovkin's goal to unify the middleweight division twice. Their opening match of 2017 ended in a hotly contested tie. When Alvarez received a six-month ban for failing a drug test, which he attributed to consuming tainted meat, a rematch was postponed. When the second bout finally occurred in 2018, the Mexican prevailed by unanimous decision. Both combatants believe that their business is not done. When Golovkin arrived in Las Vegas for their third bout, which would take place at super-middleweight, where Alvarez is now the undisputed champion, he said, "This is not just for me, [it's] for sport. I want to bring boxing's position back, I want a clean sport." Alvarez is incensed by remarks that cast doubt on his character and stated: "The history we have, after the second fight he said a lot about me, so that's why I take this personally. "It means a lot because everybody is going to remember this trilogy, so it means a lot for me." Their feud runs deep. Even his mother "hates so much Golovkin". "You're going to hear in the arena a lot of bad words from my mum," Alvarez said with a smile. "But it is what it is, it's my mum." Even though Golovkin has never been stopped, Alvarez will be going for a knockout. "Look, that's my goal," the champion said. “But you never know in boxing. That's my goal. I prepare myself for that. But you never know. I'm going to jump in the ring and fight with my head. That's my goal, I'm going to try all the fight to end the fight before the 12th round. But you never know."

Through several previous encounters, Cory Sandhagen has learned to never write Aljamain Sterling off. In addition to his prior encounter with the current UFC bantamweight champion in 2020, Sandhagen felt as though he was going to witness Sterling's demise when he fought Petr Yan again after their initial encounter resulted in a disqualification. Instead, Sterling pulled off the incredible upset by defeating Yan on a razor-thin margin of victory to retain the championship and establish himself as the world's finest 135-pound fighter. “I was actually surprised,” Sandhagen told The Fighter vs. The Writer when reacting to Sterling’s win. “When people were asking me, I was saying Yan was going to win. Good for Sterling. There’re so many different types of fighters in the sport and there are so many different paths to victory. I think Sterling has just done such a good job of finding his path to victory and it’s pretty great. “Honestly, it’s mildly inspiring just to see a person who has figured it out, even though he might not be the most technical, he might not be the most this, the most that, the guy has figured out a way to make himself win over and over again against the best guys in the world.” Sandhagen has started to have even more trust in his old opponent after Sterling stunned the world by defeating Yan in a battle that many expected him to lose. Even though Sandhagen is known for not enjoying making fight predictions, he has enough faith in Sterling to think that when he defends his championship next against T.J. Dillashaw in the UFC 280 co-main event, he will once again disprove the naysayers. “I definitely would not count out Aljamain at all,” Sandhagen said. “Honestly, I have Aljamain kind of picked in this one. Not a prediction guy but most of the time it’s because I don’t think about the fights but this one I actually spent some time thinking about because I have to see Duane [Ludwig] around at local fights, we’re both in Colorado, so I’ve kind of been like ‘how’s that fight going to go?’ I have a lot of respect for Duane. On some level, I still respect T.J. He was kind of my friend for a couple of years. “I’ve given it some thought and actually think that Sterling is just going to be able to do what he does. I think that he’ll be able to take T.J. down and I think that he’ll probably be able to submit him if he can get on his back.” In the grappling game, Sterling has repeatedly shown that he is a monster, taking down opponents and moving on to his preferred position when he transforms into a self-described "human bag." Additionally, Sandhagen fought Dillashaw for five rounds a little over a year ago; he ultimately lost by a controversial split decision, but that experience gave him insight into what to anticipate from Sterling's battle in October. “I don’t think T.J. has the amount of punching power that he may be used to have to be able to stop Sterling or hurt him really bad,” Sandhagen said. “I don’t think he contains that much power. Just from feeling the both of them, too, I don’t really think that T.J. packs the same punch and I don’t think he’s going to be as strong as Sterling. “I think Sterling’s wrestling is really discredited and I think that he’s an amazing wrestler and I think he’s very strong and I think he’s going to be able to outpower T.J.” With a victory in his upcoming bout against Song Yadong on Saturday, Sandhagen aims to re-enter the championship picture. He would also dearly love to one day face either Dillashaw or Sterling across the cage.

According to sources quoted by ESPN, Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford have reached an agreement, and the only elements that need to be verified are the fight's targeted date of November 19, 2022 in Las Vegas. Terence Crawford accepted the suggested financial terms by Al Haymon, the creator of the PBC, regarding revenue sharing, but the agreement has not yet been finalised since lawyers from both parties need to clean up the legal language in the bout agreement, according to ESPN. There will be a rematch clause in the contract for both athletes. The contract for this fight includes a rematch clause for both fighters. The loser can request a rematch right away, and the victor receives the largest payout in the follow-up bout. The weight limit for the fight is 147 pounds. While Crawford only has the WBO belt to display, Errol Spence Jr. presently owns the WBC, WBA, and IBF championships. The promotion of this fight will be a joint effort between Spence Jr.'s Man Down Promotions and Crawford's TBC Promotions for the PBC pay-per-view. This matchup between both the fighters might just be the biggest showdown in the history of boxing as such is the level of both the boxers. They are also at their peak of the powers and the world wants to see who really is the undisputed welterweight champion of the world. Let us know in the comments who do you think has the upper hand going into this mega fight?

The fight card for this weekend's UFC Vegas 60: Sandhagen vs. Song has been reduced by one fight after a women's bantamweight matchup had to be canceled. The troubles Aspen Ladd is having with the scales don't seem to be over. Going all the way back to 2016, the top-ranked bantamweight has experienced difficulties getting to the 136-pound limit of the category. The 27-year-UFC old's debut was postponed on fight day due to a suspected sickness related to her weight-cut, making a total of four fights canceled during fight week, three after she entered above the bantamweight limit. Following a particularly challenging weight cut before her fight with Germaine de Randamie in 2019, Ladd had her license to compete in the state of California suspended. The CSAC stated that Ladd exceeded the commission's mandated 15% tolerance by regaining 18% of her body weight after weigh-ins. Ladd was noticeably emaciated and on the point of passing out when standing on the scales, despite making weight and making it to the bout. In response to criticism from former bantamweight Miesha Tate following the cancellation of a bout with Macy Chiasson in 2021, Ladd stated that she will be making efforts to make things right. But whatever she's been doing doesn't seem to have made the issue go away. For her upcoming fight at UFC Vegas 60: Sandhagen vs. Song versus Sara McMann, Ladd checked in two pounds overweight. The bout she was supposed to compete in has been canceled. And there is no news whether the bout will be rescheduled to a later date. Should Aspen Lad move to the featherweight division after a history of weight cutting struggles?

Before his UFC 280 title fight against Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov fired an unprovoked shot at Charles Oliveira in his latest tweet. Islam Makhachev will face Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight championship at UFC 280 next month. Oliveira technically isn't the champion, but he's been the best 155-pounder on the planet ever since he won the title by defeating Michael Chandler. Many people have different ideas about how the fight will play out, and while Makhachev appears to have the superior ground game, counting out 'Do Bronx' has proven to be a mistake throughout his incredible 11-fight win streak. Their fight in Abu Dhabi is arguably one of the most anticipated fights of the year, with other fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, heavily invested. Everyone knows that 'The Eagle' is Islam Makhachev's close friend and training partner, and as such, he will always support him. However, some of his comments since the fight's announcement have been quite surprising. Some speculated that the post was so out of character for Nurmagomedov that it was actually written by his manager, Ali Abdelaziz. The Dominance MMA owner is frequently accused of using his fighters' social media pages instead of his own to amplify certain messages, and this example appeared to be just that. It was also reported earlier this week that Beneil Dariush will serve as a backup for the UFC 280 main event. Maybe that made Khabib think that there might be something wrong with Oliveira due to which the UFC are already planning backup fighters. Dariush is also set to face Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280 in a crunch battle. UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who is looking for another belt, is another fighter who plans to serve as a backup for the vacant lightweight title fight. When Dana White was asked about Volkanovski's plans, the UFC president seemed unconcerned, responding "sure." As we get closer to the event the things are starting to spice up between Oliveira and Makhachev and we won't be surprised if we get to see more back and forth from the fighters camps until they finally meet on October 22nd.

Tony Ferguson has responded to Daniel Cormier's recent comments following Tony's loss at UFC 279. Tony Ferguson failed in his attempt to beat Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 279 last weekend in Las Vegas. 'El Cucuy' had his moments, but it just did not look like that he was a danger to the stockton slapper. Ferguson lost his fifth consecutive fight in a submission loss to Nate Diaz in this past Saturday's UFC 279 main event, and many, including Cormier, who commentated on the fight, blamed him for his recent decline. Many have questioned whether he should retire from the sport, but the man himself stated in his post-fight interview that he felt 'back' after what he called a fun fight with a fellow veteran. Ferguson responded to Cormier's recent criticism, saying he doesn't understand why he's always trying to bring him down. “When I feel like I’m ready to retire, I will retire,” Ferguson told ESPN. “But right now it’s a little bit different, a little bit more interesting. DC and all these commentators that just keep repeating the same sh*t in the past couple of years because that’s what they want me to do. They want the public eye to see me like that and they want to see me as a quitter and so on and so forth. El Cucuy also claimed that he does not cheat during the weigh-ins like Daniel Cormier did back at UFC 210. I never cheated to get on the scales to retain my championship like DC – hashtag ‘towel gate,’ these guys grabbing the towel, trying to lift some pounds off the scale. Cormier is known for his strong opinions in the world of mixed martial arts, which is not surprising given that he works as an analyst and commentator for the UFC. Ferguson, on the other hand, has always been defiant, and he's always held himself to a high standard in terms of what he can produce inside the cage.

Marlon Moraes has ended his retirement sooner than everyone expected. According to his manager Ali Abdelaziz, the 34-year-old former UFC championship contender has signed a contract with PFL to compete in the promotion's 2023 campaign. Moraes, a former bantamweight, intends to compete at 145 pounds. Moraes is the third UFC veteran to sign a contract to compete in the 2023 PFL season, following Shane Burgos and Thiago Santos. Moraes went 11-0 in the World Series of Fighting, where he won the Bantamweight title and successfully defended it five times, before signing with the UFC in 2017. Following MMAX Investment Partners' 2017 acquisition and restructuring of the WSOF, the World Series of Fighting is currently known as the PFL. Aljamain Sterling, the current UFC bantamweight champion, and Jose Aldo, the former WEC and UFC featherweight champion, were the victims of Moraes' biggest victories in his UFC career. Following a first-round knockout loss to Song Yadong at UFC Vegas 50, which extended his UFC losing run to four straight, Moraes declared his retirement from mixed martial arts in April of last year. What do you guys think? Is it a decision based on the money PFL are offering or Moraes has reignited the fire inside of him to once again compete with the top dogs and prove a point? Let us know in the comments.

Beneil Dariush, a lightweight contender in the UFC, might compete for the title sooner than anticipated. The 33-year-old hasn't competed since winning by decision over Tony Ferguson in May of last year. Dariush has since had a failed encounter with Islam Makhachev. Thought to be a title eliminator, the fight was abandoned when the Iranian fighter became hurt. The lightweight division has changed drastically since the 33-year-old has been out of the ring. In May, the previous champion Charles Oliveira had his lightweight gold removed. Next month, the Brazilian will compete for the vacant title against Makhachev. Dariush says he has been instructed to be ready in case something happens to either of the main event competitors as he gets ready for his own fight against Mateusz Gamrot on the same card on October 22. “That’s what [my manager] Ali [Abdelaziz] told me, I was the backup for this,” Dariush revealed in an interview with MMA Fighting. “If something goes wrong, they would put me in.” Alexander Volkanovski, the featherweight champion, hinted that he would compete in the main event's backup matchup before UFC 280. But it doesn't seem to be the case. Dariush appears to be the backup right now. To prevent high-profile main events from unraveling in the days preceding the show, the UFC has recently either scheduled a fight in the same weight division or hired a fighter to act as a backup. During the pandemic, the practice was often used when athletes, coaches, or teammates tested positive for COVID-19, necessitating multiple last-minute adjustments to competitions. Now, just to be on the safe side to avoid losing a major main event, the UFC has a "just-in-case" policy. The extra weight needed to cut for a title fight won't be a problem for Dariush as he prepares for Gamrot as part of the undercard; he encountered a similar situation when he appeared on the same card as Oliveira, who at UFC 262 took on Michael Chandler for the vacant lightweight title. “Yeah, of course [I’ll make 155 pounds],” Dariush said. “It’s not that hard. I make 156. Last time in Texas [at UFC 262], I was pretty much 155 when I fought. Let us know about your thoughts regarding this decision of UFC to make Beneil Dariush as a backup fighter for the Lightweight Championship.

October will feature a crucial featherweight championship main event. The UFC Fight Night match between competitors Arnold Allen and Calvin Kattar has been verbally agreed upon on October 29 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Although the contract has not yet been released, it is anticipated that it will be sent out and signed soon. The fight was just revealed to MMA Junkie by two sources with knowledge of the planned booking, who requested to remain anonymous since the organization has not yet made an official announcement. The story broke on Wednesday on ESPN. The fight will take place in Phoenix on the same night as the boxing showdown between former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and internet sensation Jake Paul. After defeating Dan Hooker in London in March, Allen (18-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) is feeling good. Allen used a TKO to defeat Hooker in 2:33 and suggested a matchup with Kattar. Allen, who has yet to lose in the UFC, has had several setbacks in recent years due to the injury bug. Despite this, Allen has amassed 11 straight victories. “I want to be in the top five and I think he’s top five,” said Allen in his post-fight interview (video provided by MMA Fighting). “That’s a fight that would put me there. We got offered that fight for the main event spot last year or earlier in the year, but I was out with an injury. I think it works well. He’s less tall than this guy, so that works out. He’s predominantly a boxer, I’m predominantly a boxer, so it’s a fan-friendly fight and I think I’m the better boxer.” As for Kattar, he is coming off a contentious decision defeat to Josh Emmett in Austin, Texas, in June (23-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC). On split scorecards, Kattar lost the bout despite having support from several spectators and media members. In his last five fights, Kattar is 3-2, including a convincing victory over Giga Chikadze in January

Eddie Hearn, the promoter for Matchroom Boxing, claims that Jake Paul will defeat Anderson Silva, who was just inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame when they square off in the ring. The legendary Anderson Silva will be Jake Paul's opponent in his next bout, it was announced earlier this week after much discussion. Paul would be facing off against a fighter with professional boxing experience for the first time in this fight, but despite their prior disagreements, Hearn predicted Paul will win for the sixth time in his budding pugilist career. Hearn said on The MMA Hour that despite not knowing much about Silva's past, Paul's youth and agility will help him prevail on October 29. 'I don't know enough about Anderson Silva but he can box a bit by the sound of things,' Hearn said. 'To defeat Anderson Silva, while boxing is still a very impressive part of his repertoire, he's still not a boxer, and he's 47 years of age. But he's a tough guy, he has a huge profile, he can box, and I think he'll be competitive. 'I don't think he beats Jake, because I think Jake is young, and I think he can punch a bit, and I'm intrigued to watch, and I like what Jake's doing. It's kind of him against the world.' The Matchroom boxing promoter praised Paul's efforts to establish himself as a fighter by challenging experienced opponents. I just believe that Jake has been unlucky because he was attempting to take on Hasim Rahman Jr. and Tommy Fury, which would have allowed him to assert, "Actually, you now have to respect me as a fighter." Hearn's comments on the social media sensation turned aspiring boxer hasn’t always been nearly so positive, though. Paul was described as an "average" fighter by Hearn in May, and Hearn argued that this description was "quite positive" to his abilities. The longest-reigning middleweight champion in the UFC, Silva had a successful career there, winning 16 straight matches from 2006 to 2012. The Brazilian has dabbled in boxing throughout his career, compiling a 3-1 record since making his debut in 1998. In the ring, Silva's biggest victory came when, in Mexico last year, he upset former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on points.

According to his longtime manager and coach Andre Pederneiras, Jose Aldo will likely compete in the octagon for the last time on Jan. 21 at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After losing a decision to Merab Dvalishvili in August, Pederneiras said the former two-time UFC featherweight champion has just one fight left on his contract with the organization and views the next weekend in Rio de Janeiro as a fantastic opportunity to "finish" his career. Pederneiras acknowledges that when Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 to earn the interim championship and the organization declined to schedule a rematch with Conor McGregor, he gave Aldo the advice "to retire a long time ago." He said “He [Jose] didn’t need it since that fight, much less now,” Pederneiras said. “I’d tell him to stop. I think Aldo has already conquered a lot and it won’t be this last fight [against Dvalishvili] that will take away his legacy in the sport.” Pederneiras stated that he will meet with the UFC on September 24 in Las Vegas to learn what the organisation has in store for the Brazilian and talk with Aldo about his future plans. Although the head of Nova Unio indicated he would like to face Dominick Cruz next, he does not believe the fellow UFC and WEC legend would consent to a match in Brazil. Pederneiras concurs that Aldo should retire now, despite the fact that he feels "trapped" in a contract and unable to return to compete in other sports in the future, such as professional boxing and Muay Thai, if he so chooses. “I’ve seen many retire and want to fight years later,” Pederneiras said. “Most of them are like that. Thales [Leites] left the UFC, fought his last fight against Hector Lombard [and said] ‘brother, I don’t want this sh*t anymore’. Two, three years have passed, and now he’s calling me to get him a fight. I’ve seen that my whole life. And it will happen with him.” Do you think that we might see Jose Aldo in the octagon at UFC 283?