Latest news with #MisfitsBoxing
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Darren Till and Luke Rockhold faceoff, Tony Ferguson, Dakota Ditcheva, Parrumpa, On The Nose The Ariel Helwani Show
Catch today's edition of The Ariel Helwani Show live as Ariel and the Boys In The Back set the table for another big combat sports weekend with huge lineup of guests. Wednesday's rundown can be seen below: 1 p.m. ET: Darren Till and Luke Rockhold go face-to-face ahead of their Misfits Boxing main event. 1:30 p.m. ET: Tony Ferguson previews his Misfits Boxing debut against Salt Papi. 2 p.m. ET: Ariel and the gang answer all your questions on the latest edition of On The Nose. 3 p.m. ET: ATT coach Marcos 'Parrumpa' DaMatta joins the show. 3:30 p.m. ET: PFL superstar Dakota Ditcheva is back after her latest highlight-reel win.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tony Ferguson goes off on 'washed up' criticism for Salt Papi fight: 'That's more fuel for my fire'
Tony Ferguson is ready to turn over a new leaf as a boxer. One of the most beloved MMA fighters of the past decade, Ferguson moved on from the UFC after his August 2024 fight against Michael Chiesa. The former interim lightweight champion initially planned to kick off 2025 by sticking to MMA with a matchup against Dillon Danis for the startup Global Fight League (GFL) promotion, however the GFL hit a snag prior to its debut events and now appears to be dead. Ferguson hasn't given up on his combat journey though, as "El Cucuy" instead shifted his focus to professional boxing. He's set to meet Nathaniel "Salt Papi" Bustamante at Misfits Boxing 22 on Aug. 30. "With the GFL and everything that was kind of going on, it was hit and miss," Ferguson said. "We would get a date and we would get a location, then nothing. Something would fall through. "I told Lloyd [Pierson], my agent, 'Hey, we've got to stay busy.' We reached out, we did some networking and made this happen [with Misfits]. "I've been wanting to box since I was little, and I was never allowed," Ferguson continued. "My dad said, 'You're going to have to play a sport where you can get a scholarship, and you can go do that because I'm not going to pay for that s***.' I wasn't able to box with UFC. Nothing against that. The focus was all on that. Now I get to put shoes on, I get to put on boxing gloves, and I get to not worry about other things I used to not worry about. This is fun because it's a whole new sport." Ferguson, 41, has been on a rough stretch since compiling one of the greatest runs in UFC lightweight history — a 12-fight undefeated streak from 2013 to 2020. The former interim champ has since lost eight straight, and parted ways with the UFC having set a new promotional record for its longest losing skid. Boxing will be a new foray for him, but Ferguson's violent striking style was a staple of his MMA game throughout his rise to prominence. And the chirping has already begun, as Ferguson and his debut opponent attended Wednesday's Misfits Boxing 22 pre-fight press conference in London. "I saw this guy face to face — he did not talk about knocking me out face-to-face," Ferguson said of Bustamante. "He didn't say the same thing when I was in front of him. I made sure I sized my hand up with his, and I made sure that he understood where I was coming from, that I'm not f***ing joking around. He has eight fights underneath his belt. I have zero [in boxing], but I'm going to take that one and it's going to be mine. "I'm excited because my weight has been low. I've been keeping it [low] instead of 200, 205, where I'm usually comfortable. Pops gave me the best recommendation when GFL was on the way — keep your weight low, so that way you don't have to keep making weight all the time and fluctuating weight. So I've been at 175 [pounds] steady, f***ing hungry and I'm ready to go. ... I don't f*** around." Despite going winless over the past six years, Ferguson's confidence doesn't appear to have wavered one bit. Instead, he's fueled by the new opportunity. And though the MMA community has pleaded with "El Cucuy" to call it a career, it's only motivated him further to pursue what he believes he's capable of. "90% of the f***ing comments out there are saying that I'm washed up, I'm old, and I should f***ing retire and all this other bulls***," Ferguson said. "They're saying that because they can't f***ing do this s*** that I'm doing. It's crazy. The other 20% is saying that 'Salt Papi' is going to knock me out. So 100% of you b****es are out there hating on me. You know what? That's more fuel for my fire. "I wouldn't say I feel completely disrespected because this age group is completely different, right? I'm talking to dudes that are interviewing me that started watching me when they were five, now they're 23. I'm old. I'm 41 years old and halfway to 82. When it comes down to it, I'm still moving like I'm f***ing young, and I'm not going to quit moving, dude. I've been doing this since I was four or three years old."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Darren Till, Luke Rockhold erupt over PEDs, 'weird' negotiations, more in fiery Misfits Boxing face-to-face
Tensions are already rising between former UFC middleweights Darren Till and Luke Rockhold. Timing never aligned for Till and Rockhold to collide while still under the UFC banner. Instead, they're now set to compete in a six-round, 193-pound boxing match at Misfits Boxing 22 on Aug. 30 in Manchester, England. Till and the former UFC middleweight champion met face-to-face for the first time on Wednesday at a pre-fight press conference in London. Afterward, their verbal jabs continued to fly on a heated virtual faceoff on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show," which led to Till accusing Rockhold of taking performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Till: "I'm gonna f***ing beat you up just for being a little juice head c***." Rockhold: "You're not 'Tilly,' you're 'T****es' now. You're f***ing 'T****es.'" Till: "I'm just like 'DC' (Daniel Cormier). 'DC' was a big fat jack of potato, but he could still fight like f***. I'm the white 'DC.'" Rockhold: "Ask 'DC' how our boxing matches went. I made t****es fly. ... You better get in shape and shut up." Till first lobbed the PED accusations at Rockhold during Wednesday's pre-fight press conference, while Rockhold countered with similar accusations of his own toward Till. Throughout their professional combat sports careers, neither man has tested positive for any banned substances. "You can get the VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) involved," Rockhold said to Till. "I had local guys telling me everybody from your team has popped. And it's always the person accusing people the most who are on s***." From a purely fighting perspective, both have been known for their strong striking abilities, albeit in different respects. Rockhold will be Till's third pro boxing match (fourth overall), while Rockhold's lone boxing appearance was in a ill-fated bare-knuckle match with Mike Perry in April 2023. Although Till and Rockhold have both been knocked out in their MMA careers, they've each managed to avoid that fate in competition since leaving the UFC. Despite Till having the advantage in recent boxing experience, Rockhold remains confident that his chin will hold up better in their matchup. Till, of course, disagreed. "I can take every shot," Till stated. "Look at the shots I took from all the guys I fought at middleweight. No one knocked me out. Nobody knocked me out at middleweight, and I fought all the best guys. [Robert] Whittaker, Dricus [du Plessis], all them guys, [Kelvin] Gastelum. I laughed at everyone and I've got a f***ing chin. You got battered by Mike Perry, and let me just tell ya, I'm not even looking for the Mike Perry fight now. He's that much of a bum. He's the biggest bum out there. He's a bum." Historically, Rockhold has been the physically bigger fighter, competing as high as 205 pounds in the UFC light heavyweight division, while Till started out as a 170-pound welterweight. They'll meet in somewhat of a middle ground at 193 pounds for Misfits Boxing 22. Rockhold last competed at 195 pounds for his Karate Combat victory over Joe Schilling last year. That being said, Rockhold claims it wasn't easy landing on the match's weight. "This kid's been b****ing about everything," Rockhold said. "He wanted it 185. His last fight was 198, I believe. Then he said he wouldn't go above 188, which is just f***ing weird and dumb. It just shows weakness. Then, somehow, we b**** about that for a couple weeks and settle on 193. I don't know what these f***ing weights are he keeps coming up with. But let's pick a real weight. Have a pair of balls and let's just do this right. What are we b****ing about? We're all in the same thing. His last fights were much above weight, and he's just obviously scared and trying to take weight away to make things harder [for me]. Make himself up, try to say I'm slower, try to say I'm chinny. "I guarantee you I'm faster than you. I hit harder than you, I move better than you and I've got a bigger set of balls." Before Rockhold signed to make his Misfits Boxing debut, his first bout of 2025 appeared to be an MMA return for a would-be rematch against old rival Chris Weidman. That fight was set to be within the upstart Global Fight League (GFL), which never got off the ground due to ambitious financial promises. In hindsight, Rockhold admits he never knew whether he'd actually get a chance to fight for the promotion, but was happy to accept the money GFL offered him. He also isn't closing the door on the sport he made his name in, he just wants to focus on the sweet science for the time being. "I was there for the GFL to get paid," Rockhold said. "Everybody else thought it was going to happen. I was getting paychecks, I made money. I was getting paid, dog. They were dishing out seven-figure paychecks on the schedule that were made for non-UFC champions. You gotta think like, that's not going to be feasible. How are you going to keep that business up and running when those guys are getting paid that much? There's not enough revenue to counteract that. So, I was taking the paychecks and moving on. "Boxing is what I want to do, and I never close the door on MMA, but it's nice to take a break and I want to box for a little bit."
USA Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Video: Darren Till, Luke Rockhold physical in Misfits Boxing faceoff; Tony Ferguson chill
The first Misfits Boxing 22 faceoff between former UFC stars Darren Till and Luke Rockhold was as intense as you'd expect. Tony Ferguson, on the other hand, was cool as a cucumber. Misfits Boxing 22 takes place Aug. 30 at AO Arena in Manchester, England, and for the first time the main and co-main event fighters came together for a press conference Wednesday. Afterward, they faced off. In short, Till and Rockhold simply could not keep their hands off each other and had to be separated by security. The faceoff between Ferguson and Salt Papi right before that was chill. UFC legend Tony Ferguson squares off with Salt Papi at the first press conference for their Misfits Boxing match.🎥 @MisfitsBoxing Till, a former UFC welterweight title challenger, is 2-0 in two boxing matches this year. Rockhold, a former UFC middleweight champion, will make his boxing debut against Till after competing for BKFC in 2023 and Karate Combat in 2024. Ferguson, 41, parted ways with the UFC after a submission loss to Michael Chiesa in August 2024, his record eighth loss in a row. Ferguson was briefly contracted to the quickly-evaporated GFL and had been announced to fight vs. Dillon Danis for the promotion. Ferguson's fight with Salt Papi will be his boxing debut.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Darren Till and Luke Rockhold face-to-face, Tony Ferguson, Dakota Ditcheva, On The Nose and more
Catch today's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show" live on Uncrowned and YouTube at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT/6 p.m. UK time as Ariel Helwani and the Boys In The Back set the table for another big combat sports weekend with huge lineup of guests. Wednesday's rundown can be seen below. 1 p.m. ET: Darren Till and Luke Rockhold go face-to-face ahead of their Misfits Boxing main event. 1:30 p.m. ET: Tony Ferguson previews his Misfits Boxing debut against Salt Papi. 2 p.m. ET: Ariel and the gang answer all your questions on the latest edition of On The Nose. 3 p.m. ET: ATT coach Marcos 'Parrumpa' DaMatta joins the show. 3:30 p.m. ET: PFL superstar Dakota Ditcheva is back after her latest highlight-reel win. Catch all new episodes of "The Ariel Helwani Show" live every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Uncrowned and The Ariel Helwani Show's YouTube page. To listen to every episode, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.
