Latest news with #InsideFighting
USA Today
31-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Reinier de Ridder dismisses Paulo Costa's callout: 'I don't think he's at my level'
Reinier de Ridder is not interested in fighting Paulo Costa right now. Costa (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) criticized De Ridder's split decision win over Robert Whittaker in Saturday's UFC on ABC 9 headliner in Abu Dhabi, where he survived a knockdown in Round 3 to win the fight. "With all due respect, I would knock out de Ridder 3 x wich round. All that said congrats for your win today, despite bad fight." An account under De Ridder's name on X responded by calling out Costa for a November showdown in Madison Square Garden. However, De Ridder's manager Ali Abdelaziz confirmed that the account was fake. "I think it was Paulo Costa himself – I think he had both accounts going on," De Ridder told Inside Fighting. Costa snapped a two-fight losing skid by defeating Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 – a week prior to De Ridder's win over Whittaker. De Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) currently has his sights set on a title shot, not Costa. "He's a funny dude. It would lead to a nice press conference and a nice build-up, but I don't give a f*ck what he says," De Ridder said. "You can call me whatever you want to call me. Call me gay every day of the week. I don't mind. Maybe one day (we'll fight). But at the moment, I don't think he's there. I don't think he's at my level – though he did do very well in his last fight. He does pretty well against southpaws with the body kick and the straight right hand. So, he's alright, but I think he has some work to do first."
USA Today
14-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Curtis Blaydes expects UFC to book undisputed heavyweight title fight without Jon Jones
Curtis Blaydes expects UFC to book undisputed heavyweight title fight without Jon Jones Curtis Blaydes doubts Tom Aspinall will get his UFC title fight against Jon Jones. Despite heavyweight champion Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) refusing to commit to a title-unification bout with Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), UFC CEO Dana White revealed last week that Jones agreed to fight Aspinall, but the paperwork is yet to be signed. Perennial contender Blaydes (18-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) isn't buying the talk and thinks Aspinall will end up fighting Ciryl Gane (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) next. "I do believe that'll probably go to Gane because I don't think Jon's ever going to fight Aspinall," Blaydes told Inside Fighting. Jones said in an interview on "Deepcut with VicBlends" that, "If I were to ever lose, I would be devastated. I would be angry, I'd be upset and depressed." Blaydes doesn't want to follow the narrative that Jones is ducking Aspinall but thinks the all-time great might not be willing to risk his legacy. "I'm not going to be disrespectful and say he's scared. He can't be scared," Blaydes said. "If he was honest with himself, he hasn't beat a real prime heavyweight. You beat Ciryl Gane, he's got obvious holes in the grappling, and you beat an old Stipe (Miocic), who was rusty, and who did have you. "There were moments in that fight where a younger Stipe maybe takes advantage of those. If Jon were to beat Tom, we would all be like, 'OK, he legitimately is the GOAT, he legitimately won the heavyweight title.' I think it would help him – even if he lost, bro, we get it, you're old, you're not a real heavyweight. We get it. You can lose. It's OK.'"
USA Today
05-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Stephen Thompson picks Joaquin Buckley to beat Kamaru Usman: 'Guy's evolving every time'
Stephen Thompson picks Joaquin Buckley to beat Kamaru Usman: 'Guy's evolving every time' Stephen Thompson is impressed with the evolution in his former UFC foe's game. Thompson (17-7-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) was knocked out by Joaquin Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in his most recent outing at UFC 307 this past October. Buckley went on to stop former interim champion Colby Covington, and now draws former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) on June 14 in the UFC on ESPN 69 headliner at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. "Wonderboy" finds it hard to bet against Buckley. "Buckely's been on a tear, man," Thompson told Inside Fighting. "The guy is hungry, he's got great wrestling. You saw what it did to Colby Covington. I think it's going to be a tough night for both. But I think Kamaru Usman is going to do the same old jab, shoot for the leg, maybe a little bit of boxing. Buckley, you don't know what he's going to pull out of the hat. "The guy's evolving every time I see this guy fight, so that's what's going to make this fight so interesting for sure. Buckley's wanted it. He's wanted to move up the rankings, and Kamaru Usman is kind of working his way down a little bit, but he's still part of the welterweight division and in the top five. I'm kind of leaning towards Buckley." Former title challenger Thompson will look to rebound from his loss to Buckley when he takes on rising welterweight Gabriel Bonfim (17-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 70 on July 12 from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
USA Today
29-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Joaquin Buckley: Islam Makhachev 'going to give a lot of guys issues' at welterweight
Joaquin Buckley: Islam Makhachev 'going to give a lot of guys issues' at welterweight Joaquin Buckley believes former UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev's skill set will translate well to 170 pounds. Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) vacated his lightweight title for a move up to welterweight and is expected to challenge recently crowned champion Jack Della Maddalena later in the year. Top contender Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC), who meets Kamaru Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) on June 14 in the UFC on ESPN 69 headliner at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, sees Makhachev hanging with the welterweight division's elite. "I think compared to some of the welterweight fighters, he matches up very well," Buckley told Inside Fighting. "With his strong grappling, with his strong submission game, being able to be somewhat confident on the feet, he's going to give a lot of guys a lot of issues. That being said, I think he'll do just fine at welterweight." Regardless of what happens in the next title fight, Buckley expects a win over former champion Usman to guarantee him as the No. 1 contender. "This is it," Buckley said. "I truly believe that, with the performance that I put on against Kamaru Usman on June 14 here in Atlanta, there's no doubt that the UFC should allow me and whoever else to fight for the title. The next one is the belt at the end of the day. It doesn't matter who it is. That opportunity, that title is going to be around my waist."
USA Today
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Video: Nate Diaz, Jake Shields involved in wild brawl on Russian reality show
Video: Nate Diaz, Jake Shields involved in wild brawl on Russian reality show Unfortunately we only got part of the fight footage in Thailand but here I am breaking down what I have with Jon Jones and Nate Diaz — Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) May 21, 2025 Nate Diaz can add Thailand to his melee passport. During the recent filming of a Russian fight-related reality series, "ALF Reality," Diaz and his entourage engaged in a scuffle with one of the contestants. Diaz's longtime friend and training partner, Jake Shields, was also present and released video clips of the brawl on social media Wednesday. "ALF Reality" is a similarly-themed show to "The Ultimate Fighter." It's previous season featured Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan as coaches. This time, it was Nate Diaz and Jon Jones. "He's going to come over to Nate and start talking crap," Shields said in the narrated video. "Now he's talking to the boss. Right here he comes to Nate, and he starts saying, 'Oh, I'm a gangster,' kind of flashing Nate a little bit. You see Nate flash him back. That guy's running his mouth. I wasn't paying attention. I should've been. My fault. Luckily our guy Jose right there, he was watching. You can see him in the situation." The video shows a light physical exchange between Diaz and the contestant, as show-runners, fighters, and entourage members jump between. The physicality increased as the contestant appeared to take a couple shots before putting his fists up to seemingly square off with any and all comes. "Now the guy tried to spazz out and started acting crazy as people circled him," Shields said. "I didn't know this guy was known for fighting. ... Had I been smart and watched the show, I'd realized this guy has been constantly being in fights. There are videos of him constantly coming up and choking people from behind." Shields said the incident took place in a mansion, with multiple other rooms stemming off from where the melee took place. Diaz stood back, alongside Jones, as the contestant was restrained only for him to return moments later in a rage. Eventually, an Inside Fighting reporter grabbed hold of the irate contestant, who eventually charged and tackled the media member. Clips showed people pulling and pushing, grabbing and shoving as the brawl was sorted out. Shields, 46, shared video of him on the ground, being kicked and grabbed by the angry mob – which he says was not limited just to fighters. "They tried telling me that the fighters jumped me," Shields said. "But to me, it was very clear to me that it was the staff and the workers. That was one of those moments where I was like, 'OK, I better diffuse the situation because what you see there is just a small percentage of the guys who were there. There were over a hundred Chechen and Dagestani guys. So I was like, 'Maybe instead of trying to fight these guys on an excluded island or a beach, it's better to calm it down a little."
