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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Rampage' Jackson reacts to Elijah Smith recreating iconic slam KO at UFC on ESPN 72
Quinton Jackson was, like many, in awe of Elijah Smith's incredible slam knockout at UFC on ESPN 72. Smith (9-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC)) delivered arguably the greatest slam finish in UFC history Saturday when he attempted to put Toshiomi Kazama (11-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) through the mat in the opening round of their bantamweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The way Smith hoisted Kazama out of a triangle choke position and into the air, put his arm across the face then slammed him into the mat before landing a couple vicious and unnecessary shots looked eerily similar to a famous finish from former UFC light heavyweight champion "Rampage" Jackson. Jackson produced arguably the most famous slam finish in MMA history under the now-defunct PRIDE FC banner in June 2004. A nearly identical sequence occurred in his "Critical Countdown 2004" matchup with Ricardo Arona in a highlight that has been played endlessly since. Many have tried to mimic "Rampage" throughout the years, but nothing has came as close as what Smith pulled off, and the man himself could only give praise to what the 22-year-old prospect pulled off (via Instagram): The respect between Jackson and Smith was mutual in the aftermath of his knockout win. Smith said he watched the Arona win many times over the years, and tipped his cap to the UFC legend after the viral result. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: 'Rampage' Jackson reacts to UFCs Elijah Smith recreating epic slam KO
USA Today
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Rampage' Jackson reacts to Elijah Smith recreating iconic slam KO at UFC on ESPN 72
Quinton Jackson was, like many, in awe of Elijah Smith's incredible slam knockout at UFC on ESPN 72. Smith (9-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC)) delivered arguably the greatest slam finish in UFC history Saturday when he attempted to put Toshiomi Kazama (11-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) through the mat in the opening round of their bantamweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The way Smith hoisted Kazama out of a triangle choke position and into the air, put his arm across the face then slammed him into the mat before landing a couple vicious and unnecessary shots looked eerily similar to a famous finish from former UFC light heavyweight champion "Rampage" Jackson. Jackson produced arguably the most famous slam finish in MMA history under the now-defunct PRIDE FC banner in June 2004. A nearly identical sequence occurred in his "Critical Countdown 2004" matchup with Ricardo Arona in a highlight that has been played endlessly since. Many have tried to mimic "Rampage" throughout the years, but nothing has came as close as what Smith pulled off, and the man himself could only give praise to what the 22-year-old prospect pulled off (via Instagram): The respect between Jackson and Smith was mutual in the aftermath of his knockout win. Smith said he watched the Arona win many times over the years, and tipped his cap to the UFC legend after the viral result.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC on ESPN 72 video: Elijah Smith shouts out 'Rampage' after insane slam knockout
Elijah Smith gave a shout out to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson just seconds after delivering perhaps the most vicious slam knockout in octagon history at UFC on ESPN 72. Smith (9-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) got the first massive highlight of his young promotional career on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He picked up Kazama (11-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) from bottom position and slammed him in an eerily similar way to Jackson's famous finish of Ricardo Arona under the PRIDE FC banner and slammed him to the mat, putting him out cold. The finish came at the 4:10 mark of Round 1, and after a number of scary moments with Kazama down on the ground, he regained consciousness and was taken out of the octagon while Smith was declared the winner. Check out the replay of the finish below (via X): Once the dust settled on the spectacular win, Smith, who is just the second second-generation fighter in company history after his father Gilbert Smith fought for the UFC, said he knew the slam KO was a path to the win. "Unfortunately, I had to slam him on his dome piece," Smith said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. "I knew I was going to be strong and powerful. I hope that slam gets in that conversation (for a bonus)." Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 72 results:
Black America Web
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
Witness Dwayne ‘The Rock' Johnson Like You've Never Seen Him Before In The Official Trailer For A24's ‘The Smashing Machine'
Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE Source: Courtesy / A24 Today (April 29th), fans worldwide were blessed with the official trailer for A24's highly anticipated film The Smashing Machine. Continue reading to get your first look at the biographical sports drama. The Smashing Machine, which was written, directed, co-produced, and co-edited by Benny Safdie (Heaven Knows What, Good Time, Uncut Gems) stars Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (Fast Five, Black Adam, Moana) as former wrestler and MMA star Mark Kerr. During his MMA career, he was a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner, and a PRIDE FC competitor. In addition, Kerr was a NCAA Division 1 Champion as a collegiate athlete and won gold and silver medals at the World Cup and silver at the Pan American Games. The film will chronicle his illustrious career and also tackle his struggle with substance abuse, his relationships with his then-girlfriend, various training partners, and much more. Alongside Johnson, the film stars Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, Oppenheimer) as Kerr's then-wife Dawn Staples. The cast also includes mixed martial artist Ryan Bader as Kerr's longtime friend Mark Coleman; former mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler Bas Rutten as himself; and professinal boxer Oleksandr Usyk as Igor Vovchanchyn. Alongside Safdie and Johnson, the film was also produced by Eli Bush and David Koplan. A24's The Smashing Machine will hit theaters on October 3rd! While we patiently wait for the release, check out our first look at Dwayne Johnson like we've never seen him before. Share your thoughts in the comment section. Witness Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Like You've Never Seen Him Before In The Official Trailer For A24's 'The Smashing Machine' was originally published on Source:A24 Source:A24
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Roman Dolidze, the late bloomer who became UFC's unlikeliest contender, ready to make good on second chance
There's a fellow from Batumi, the second largest city in the country of Georgia, who has a master's degree in management and economy. He owns several properties, including a quaint little grocery store called the Green Wood Market, just down from the Holy Christ the Savior Church on the Black Sea. He is a gentle soul by all accounts, friendly to the passersby and a proud member of his Georgian community. With a mother who's a doctor and a father who works as an engineer, he comes from an accomplished family, and he was lucky enough to inherit an athletic gene. In fact, Roman Dolidze was an accomplished soccer player, who spent three years as a goalkeeper on a professional team in Turkey. 'Let's say correct, football,' he says. 'When you are playing real football, you [have to] depend on how your team will play, especially when you are goalkeeper like I was. But here, everything's in your hands. Win or lose, it's everything up on you. And that works much better for me than anything else.' The 'here' he's talking about is fighting. About a decade ago Dolidze segued into the art of punching faces and ransacking human properties. Somewhere along the way he caught wind of a sport in which the competitors were the sole masters of their own fate, in total control of the chaos they themselves created. It was Fedor Emelianenko that first caught his attention, fighting monsters in the PRIDE FC ring in Japan. Dolidze watched intently as Fedor — who was the picture of cathedral calm before and after a fight, yet hell unleashed in between — took care of his business. The Great Emperor became the spark. 'After football, I [went] for education to Ukraine,' Dolidze says. 'And all my life I was in sport, and I still wanted to do something. And on YouTube, I saw the PRIDE competition fights. I didn't even know back then that it doesn't exist anymore. I was still watching it [thinking it was current]. "Fedor was [the] biggest star probably back then and I saw that he was doing combat sambo. Alright? And that, I was interested in. 'What is this?' And I go do sambo training ... I didn't like much what was going on in class [so] I started grappling. And after a couple years, when I was 27 or 28, and I started doing MMA.' That was back in 2016, the year Dolidze had his first pro fight at the age of 28. To put that into context, by the time he was 28 years old, Max Holloway had already been in 29 pro fights, including eight title fights and a sustained run as the UFC's featherweight champion. Dolidze got off to a very late start, yet he made up ground quickly, fighting a half-dozen times in two years in the Ukraine. 'The funniest part, I never thought that I would be fighting,' he says. 'I was doing grappling, and I was winning everything when I was doing World Champion Europe, Champion ADCC Asia, and a lot of interesting and good competitions. And I always was watching MMA through this. I was thinking, 'These guys hit each other — I don't like this kind of sport. I will never do this. I'm good in grappling, I will always grapple.' 'But one organization came to Ukraine called WWFC [World Warriors FC], and I fought there [for] six fights. After four fights they already offer me fifth fight for title. And they bring very good opponents always. Like my fifth opponent [Eder de Souza], he had, if I remember correctly, a record of 12-3, 15 fights. And I had only four fights and no amateur career. That's no amateur — directly, bro. And I won this fight. I knocked this guy out.' And after that? 'And after that they bring me another good guy, Polish guy [Michal Pasternak],' he says. 'He had also like 16 or something fights, and I also knock him out with a backfist. After this, UFC program saw me somehow and they offer me a contract. I signed directly with the UFC after two years of fighting. They needed guys with a name, and I had good name in Ukraine because of so many grappling competitions.' Dolidze, who's now 36 years old, fights on Saturday in a main event at the UFC APEX. It's his second-ever UFC main event, the first coming against middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov in February 2024. He has posted a record of 8-3 in the UFC and — with back-to-back victories over Anthony Smith and Kevin Holland — is currently ranked No. 12 in the promotion's official rankings. At one point he was moving up the rungs at a breakneck pace, only to be derailed by Marvin Vettori at UFC 286, in what was a debatable decision. So debatable, in fact, that the UFC is running it back. Italy's Vettori is all that stands in the way of Dolidze making headway toward the top five of the middleweight division, which is where he was headed in 2023 after piecing together four straight wins to make some waves. 'This is a fight that I wanted, but this is a fight that I didn't expect that UFC will offer,' he says. 'I definitely think I won the first fight. But I didn't expect that UFC will offer me him. And I was very glad when I heard his name, and I was very glad that he also agreed to fight. Now I have [the] opportunity to give answers to all [the] questions we [still] have.' The main question: Is Dolidze a true contender? Can he be like his fellow countryman, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, and bring another title back to Georgia? Or did he come to MMA a little too late to make a serious run at a belt? 'I think after this fight, I will get somebody from top five,' he says. 'And top five is very messy now — messy in a good way. It's a lot of guys who are waiting [for] their title shot and they deserve it. But anyway, I will get somebody from there who [are] already waiting their title shot. I will just take their spot and I will be the next contender. That's all.' First thing's first, though, the rematch with Vettori. This time the fellow from Batumi won't be trying to knock the Italian's head off his shoulders. He promises to be more discerning in how he delegates his power. 'I think I fought with anger with him last time,' he says. 'With every punch, I was trying to knock him out. Every punch. Now I understand more what I need to do. And he also surprised me last time because he didn't go forward at all. All his fights, he always goes forward. But with me, he was stepping back and moving around but not going forward, and I didn't expect that. Now I'm ready for anything what he can offer."
