Latest news with #'sContenderSeries
Boston Globe
7 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
A UFC fight at the White House? Dana White says it's happening as part of deal with Paramount.
'It's absolutely going to happen,' White told The Associated Press. 'Think about that, the 250th birthday of the United States of America, the UFC will be on the White House south lawn live on CBS.' Advertisement The idea of cage fights at the White House would have seemed improbable when the Fertitta brothers purchased UFC for $2 million in 2001 and put White in charge of the fledging fight promotion. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up White helped steer the company into a $4 billion sale in 2016 and broadcast rights deals with Fox and ESPN before landing owner TKO Group's richest one yet — a seven-year deal with Paramount starting in 2026 worth an average of $1.1 billion a year, with all cards on its streaming platform Paramount+ and select numbered events also set to simulcast on CBS. ESPN, Amazon and Netflix and other traditional sports broadcast players seemed more in play for UFC rights — White had previously hinted fights could air across different platforms — but Paramount was a serious contender from the start of the negotiating window. Advertisement The Paramount and UFC deal came just days after Skydance and Paramount officially closed their $8 billion merger — kicking off the reign of a new entertainment giant after a contentious endeavor to get the transaction over the finish line. White said he was impressed with the vision Skydance CEO David Ellison had for the the global MMA leader early in contract talks and how those plans should blossom now that Ellison is chairman and CEO of Paramount. 'When you talk about Paramount, you talk about David Ellison, they're brilliant businessmen, very aggressive, risk takers,' White said. 'They're right up my alley. These are the kind of guys that I like to be in business with.' The $1.1 billion deals marks a notable jump from the roughly $550 million that ESPN paid each year for UFC coverage today. But UFC's new home on Paramount will simplify offerings for fans — with all content set to be available on Paramount+ (which currently costs between $7.99 and $12.99 a month), rather than various pay-per-view fees. Paramount also said it intends to explore UFC rights outside the U.S. 'as they become available in the future.' UFC matchmakers were set to meet this week to shape what White said would be a loaded debut Paramount card. The UFC boss noted it was still too early to discuss a potential main event for the White House fight night. 'This is a 1-of-1 event,' White said. There are still some moving parts to UFC broadcasts and other television programming it has its hands in as the company moves into the Paramount era. White said there are still moving parts to the deal and that includes potentially finding new homes for 'The Ultimate Fighter,' 'Road To UFC,' and 'Dana White's Contender Series.' It's not necessarily a given the traditional 10 p.m. start time for what were the pay-per-view events would stand, especially on nights cards will also air on CBS. Advertisement 'We haven't figured that out yet but we will,' White said. And what about the sometimes-contentious issue of fighter pay? Some established fighters have clauses in their contracts that they earn more money the higher the buyrate on their cards. Again, most of those issues are to-be-determined as UFC and Paramount settle in to the new deal — with $1.1 billion headed the fight company's way. 'It will affect fighter pay, big time,' White said. 'From deal-to-deal, fighter pay has grown, too. Every time we win, everybody wins.' Boxer Jake Paul wrote on social media the dying PPV model — which was overpriced for fights as UFC saw a decline in buys because of missing star power in many main events — should give the fighters an increased idea of their worth. 'Every fighter in the UFC now has a clear picture of what the revenue more PPV excuses,' Paul wrote. 'Get your worth boys and girls.' White also scoffed at the idea that the traditional PPV model is dead. There are still UFC cards on pay-per-view the rest of the year through the end of the ESPN contract and White and Saudi Arabia have teamed to launch a new boxing venture that starts next year and could use a PPV home. White, though, is part of the promotional team for the Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford fight in September in Las Vegas that airs on Netflix. Advertisement 'It's definitely not run it's course,' White said. 'There were guys out there who were interested in pay-per-view and there were guys out there that weren't. Wherever we ended up, that's what we're going to roll with.' White said UFC archival footage 'kills it' in repeat views and those classic bouts also needed a new home once the ESPN deal expires. Just when it seems there's little left for UFC to conquer, White says, there's always more. Why stop at becoming the biggest fight game in the world? Why not rewrite the pecking order in popularity and riches and go for No. 1 in all sports? 'You have the NFL, the NBA, the UFC, and soccer globally,' White said. 'We're coming. We're coming for all of them.'
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
From 'Be Joe Pyfer' to figuring out exactly 'How good Joe Pyfer is' begins at UFC Mexico
Among the most famous and often repeated words of Dana White's over the years are the timeless classics 'Do you wanna be a f***ing fighter?' from the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter," and 'Never,' from when he was asked in 2011 when we'd see women in the UFC. (The correct answer was 2013.) A close third? Well, that's probably, 'Be Joe Pyfer.' Advertisement In 2022, when Pyfer showed up on the brink of being broke and destitute on "Dana White's Contender Series," White put those words out to the world as a sign of respect for all that Pyfer had endured to persevere. It was meant to say, be as hungry as Joe Pyfer — be just as dogged in your pursuits, and as relentless in your resolve. That's because a couple of years earlier Pyfer had appeared on DWCS and had his arm dislocated when Dustin Stoltzfus dumped him to the canvas, shutting him down for a year-and-a-half. It was a wicked, unfortunate turn. But it didn't deter nor derail him. If anything, it set up a memorable return. When Pyfer broke through against Ozzy Diaz two years later on that same program, he became Exhibit A for White to use for all young fighters coming up. Be Joe Pyfer. Fans still echo these words all the time. To the point that, when it's all said and done, Joe could pen a book with the title, 'ToeTagz and BodyBagz: What It's Like to Be Joe Pyfer.' Advertisement 'Yeah, a bunch of people always say it whenever they see me, they're like, 'Be Joe Pyfer,'' the man who is Joe Pyfer said. 'But yeah, I'm not really big on the whole 'Be Joe Pyfer' thing, to be honest. It's kind of weird for me. I don't want people to be me. I'm not a self-righteous d***head like that. I think what people need to understand about Be Joe Pyfer, Be Joe Pyfer was when I so emotional, and I put my heart on the line. I showed my raw emotion and I tried to finish the fight the whole time. And then when I knocked him out, you could see how passionate I was screaming and upset, bro.' Pyfer knocked Diaz out midway through the second round, you might recall. 'It was years of pain and suffering to try and get there and sacrifice. And I finally got there and that was my moment. And I think that's why the 'Be Joe Pyfer' became something, because if anybody knew about my career and how many injuries and surgeries and what I had to battle through while being broke and poor, I was about to be homeless that week if I hadn't won. That's what 'Be Joe Pyfer' means. It doesn't mean me.' Will we see another Performance of the Night from Joe "BodyBagz" Pyfer on Saturday at UFC Mexico? (Chris Unger via Getty Images) What's become far clearer about Pyfer, the Jersey-born middleweight who trains out of Philadelphia, is that he's running with it. He's gone a cool 4-1 since that breakthrough moment, with all his victories coming via knockout. His lone loss in that span — a fight with Jack Hermansson in early 2024 — was his first five-round fight, and he dropped a decision. The thing that fueled him through a hellacious mental and physical strain circa 2020-21 is still very much intact. Advertisement And if we're being honest, he carries a chip on his shoulder, too. He's not what you'd call a fight game 'romantic.' 'I lost to Jack Hermansson, yes, but I had a lot of ailments going into that, a lot of illness, and I still fought five rounds,' he said. 'So, I learned a lot and I lost 48-47. Let's just put that out there, too — it wasn't 49-46. It was close until I took an eye punch and then he did damage to my front leg. I really couldn't get going, and obviously he got the takedown late.' As the old adage goes, you take more from a single loss than you do a dozen wins. There weren't any long-term effects as far as Pyfer's confidence was concerned. In his return fight against Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 303 in June, he scored a quick first-round knockout, bringing his grand total to five KOs in the UFC. Now he's set to face the veteran Kelvin Gastelum on Saturday at UFC Mexico, which is the kind of fight that should tell us a lot about who Joe Pyfer really is. Advertisement Many have stood in against Gastelum over the years, including Pyfer's training partner Sean Brady. Some have looked entirely mortal against him. Others have found themselves being drowned by Gastelum's grinding strength, for he is built like a hydrant. There are some, like Tim Kennedy, who met with his unbudgeable frame and decided that enough was enough. Kennedy retired after his come-to-Jesus encounter with Gastelum in 2016. It's a thankless task, fighting Kelvin Gastelum. And yet of all those who've faced him, none have ever knocked Gastelum out. It's this last thing that speaks to a guy like Pyfer, who headhunts as a way of life. 'Absolutely, I mean, I pride myself on being a knockout artist,' he says. 'But it doesn't mean that I'm going to be negligent in the game plan to get the knockout. I'm going in there to beat Kelvin Gastelum. I want two checks. That's my main job. Get two f***ing checks. 'But I do think that I am more than capable of knocking out Kelvin Gastelum than anybody else. I think I'm one of the hardest hitting guys he's ever faced.' Advertisement Who is Joe Pyfer? He's a guy who puts in the work. He went out to Mexico City, which sits some 7,350 feet above sea level, a couple of weeks out from his fight to acclimate. He has been sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber for two months in preparation of the thin air, which has claimed many victims on the UFC's previous visits. He's undergone an intense running program so that his cardio won't factor in, and he's been doing extensive breath work. Quietly, Joe Pyfer is an obsessive worker. Like his Philly friend Brady — whom Pyfer calls his 'dirt bike brother,' as both share an affinity for unbeaten paths — he grinds, day in and day out. We saw what Brady looked like last weekend when he dominated Leon Edwards in London, one of the rudest treatments of a tea party in UFC history. To help keep 2025 the year of Philadelphia, it's left to Pyfer — who is fighting outside the United States for the first time in his career — to follow suit. Advertisement 'Listen man, I don't care about anything outside of the cage,' he said. 'All I care about is Kevin Gastelum in the cage. On the walkout I'll probably take it in, look around and enjoy the moment. I love the walkouts. They're very nostalgic to me. But other than that, nothing matters, man. Once I get in the cage, the only focus that I have is going to be on Kelvin and how I'm going to take him out and apply my game plan. 'I think I'm a bigger guy. I'm a more explosive guy. I think our speed's not really going to be a different, I'm very fast for a big guy and I think my fight IQ is what's going to carry me to the victory here. I think I'm a very smart person with my defense and my offense, and it's going to be a fun fight.' That's Joe Pyfer.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
From 'Be Joe Pyfer' to figuring out exactly 'How good Joe Pyfer is' begins at UFC Mexico City
Among the most famous and often repeated words of Dana White's over the years are the timeless classics 'Do you wanna be a f***ing fighter?' from the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter," and 'Never,' from when he was asked in 2011 when we'd see women in the UFC. (The correct answer was 2013.) A close third? Well, that's probably, 'Be Joe Pyfer.' In 2022, when Pyfer showed up on the brink of being broke and destitute on "Dana White's Contender Series," White put those words out to the world as a sign of respect for all that Pyfer had endured to persevere. It was meant to say, be as hungry as Joe Pyfer — be just as dogged in your pursuits, and as relentless in your resolve. That's because a couple of years earlier Pyfer had appeared on DWCS and had his arm dislocated when Dustin Stoltzfus dumped him to the canvas, shutting him down for a year-and-a-half. It was a wicked, unfortunate turn. But it didn't deter nor derail him. If anything, it set up a memorable return. Advertisement When Pyfer broke through against Ozzy Diaz two years later on that same program, he became Exhibit A for White to use for all young fighters coming up. Be Joe Pyfer. Fans still echo these words all the time. To the point that, when it's all said and done, Joe could pen a book with the title, 'ToeTagz and BodyBagz: What It's Like to Be Joe Pyfer.' 'Yeah, a bunch of people always say it whenever they see me, they're like, 'be Joe Pyfer,'' the man who is Joe Pyfer said. 'But yeah, I'm not really big on the whole 'Be Joe Pyfer' thing, to be honest. It's kind of weird for me. I don't want people to be me. I'm not a self-righteous d***head like that. I think what people need to understand about Be Joe Pyfer, Be Joe Pyfer was when I so emotional, and I put my heart on the line. I showed my raw emotion and I tried to finish the fight the whole time. And then when I knocked him out, you could see how passionate I was screaming and upset, bro.' Advertisement Pyfer knocked Diaz out midway through the second round, you might recall. 'It was years of pain and suffering to try and get there and sacrifice. And I finally got there and that was my moment. And I think that's why the Be Joe Pyfer became something, because if anybody knew about my career and how many injuries and surgeries and what I had to battle through while being broke and poor, I was about to be homeless that week if I hadn't won. That's what Be Joe Pyfer means. It doesn't mean me.' Will we see another Performance of the Night from Joe "BodyBagz" Pyfer on Saturday at UFC Mexico? (Chris Unger via Getty Images) What's become far clearer about Pyfer, the Jersey-born middleweight who trains out of Philadelphia, is that he's running with it. He's gone a cool 4-1 since that breakthrough moment, with all his victories coming via knockout. His lone loss in that span — a fight with Jack Hermansson in early 2024 — was his first five-round fight, and he dropped a decision. The thing that fueled him through a hellacious mental and physical strain circa 2020-21 is still very much intact. Advertisement And if we're being honest, he carries a chip on his shoulder, too. He's not what you'd call a fight game 'romantic.' 'I lost to Jack Hermansson, yes, but I had a lot of ailments going into that, a lot of illness, and I still fought five rounds,' he said. 'So, I learned a lot and I lost 48-47. Let's just put that out there, too — it wasn't 49-46. It was close until I took an eye punch and then he did damage to my front leg. I really couldn't get going, and obviously he got the takedown late.' As the old adage goes, you take more from a single loss than you do a dozen wins. There weren't any long-term effects as far as Pyfer's confidence was concerned. In his return fight against Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 303 in June, he scored a quick first-round knockout, bringing his grand total to five KOs in the UFC. Now he's set to face the veteran Kelvin Gastelum on Saturday at UFC Mexico, which is the kind of fight that should tell us a lot about who Joe Pyfer really is. Advertisement Many have stood in against Gastelum over the years, including Pyfer's training partner Sean Brady. Some have looked entirely mortal against him. Others have found themselves being drowned by Gastelum's grinding strength, for he is built like a hydrant. There are some, like Tim Kennedy, who met with his unbudgeable frame and decided that enough was enough. Kennedy retired after his come-to-Jesus encounter with Gastelum in 2016. It's a thankless task, fighting Kelvin Gastelum. And yet of all those who've faced him, none have ever knocked Gastelum out. It's this last thing that speaks to a guy like Pyfer, who headhunts as a way of life. 'Absolutely, I mean, I pride myself on being a knockout artist,' he says. 'But it doesn't mean that I'm going to be negligent in the game plan to get the knockout. I'm going in there to beat Kelvin Gastelum. I want two checks. That's my main job. Get two f***ing checks. 'But I do think that I am more than capable of knocking out Kelvin Gastelum than anybody else. I think I'm one of the hardest hitting guys he's ever faced.' Advertisement Who is Joe Pyfer? He's a guy who puts in the work. He went out to Mexico City, which sits some 7,350 feet above sea level, a couple of weeks out from his fight to acclimate. He has been sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber for two months in preparation of the thin air, which has claimed many victims on the UFC's previous visits. He's undergone an intense running program so that his cardio won't factor in, and he's been doing extensive breath work. Quietly, Joe Pyfer is an obsessive worker. Like his Philly friend Brady — whom Pyfer calls his 'dirt bike brother,' as both share an affinity for unbeaten paths — he grinds, day in and day out. We saw what Brady looked like last weekend when he dominated Leon Edwards in London, one of the rudest treatments of a tea party in UFC history. To help keep 2025 the year of Philadelphia, it's left to Pyfer — who is fighting outside the United States for the first time in his career — to follow suit. Advertisement 'Listen man, I don't care about anything outside of the cage,' he said. 'All I care about is Kevin Gastelum in the cage. On the walkout I'll probably take it in, look around and enjoy the moment. I love the walkouts. They're very nostalgic to me. But other than that, nothing matters, man. Once I get in the cage, the only focus that I have is going to be on Kelvin and how I'm going to take him out and apply my game plan. 'I think I'm a bigger guy. I'm a more explosive guy. I think our speed's not really going to be a different, I'm very fast for a big guy and I think my fight IQ is what's going to carry me to the victory here. I think I'm a very smart person with my defense and my offense, and it's going to be a fun fight.' That's Joe Pyfer.
CBC
17-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Niagara Falls and Burlington fighters added to UFC Fight Night card in Des Moines
Canadians Gillian (The Savage) Roberson and Serhiy Sidey have been added to a May 3 UFC Fight Night card in Des Moines, Iowa. Robertson, ranked 12th among UFC strawweight contenders, will face No. 9 Marina Rodriguez of Brazil while Sidey tackles American bantamweight Cameron (The Baby-Faced Killer) Smotherman. The main event at Wells Fargo Arena pits American Cory (Sandman) Sandhagen, ranked fourth among bantamweight contenders, against No. 5 Deiveson Figueiredo of Brazil, a former flyweight champion now campaigning at 135 pounds. Robertson (15-8-0) won all three of her fights in 2024, defeating Brazilians Polyana Viana and Luana Pinheiro and American Michelle (The Karate Hottie) Waterson-Gomez. The 29-year-old Robertson, who dropped to strawweight from flyweight (125 pounds) in early 2023, improved to 4-1-0 at 115 pounds. She is 12-6-0 in her UFC career. Robertson was seven when her family left Niagara Falls, Ont., for Florida so her mother could take a nursing job. Robertson is now based out of Miami. Rodriguez (17-5-2) has lost two straight and four of her last five. Before that she went 6-1-2 in the UFC. Sidey (11-2-0) is 1-1-0 in the UFC after earning his contract in September 2023 with a KO win over American Ramon (The Savage) Taveras on "Dana White's Contender Series." Taveras won the rematch via split decision at UFC 297 in Toronto in January 2024. The 28-year-old from Burlington, Ont., bounced back in November with a split-decision win over American Garrett Armfield.
