Latest news with #UFC294
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Michael Bisping chides Jon Jones for holding up UFC, Tom Aspinall: 'Defend or vacate'
UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping says it's time for heavyweight champion Jon Jones to defend or move on. Frustrations with Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) and his potential title unification bout against interim champion Tom Aspinall have been boiling over recently. The calls for Jones to either put his belt on the line against Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) have grown louder after the UFC officially announced the future slate of pay-per-view main events into the summer, which did not include the heavyweight title fight. While Aspinall has repeatedly voiced his frustration with the situation, Jones, who defended the heavyweight title for the first time against Stipe Miocic last July at UFC 304, has been publicly dismissive. "Bones" has even hinted that retirement is a strong possibility, while posting videos on social media of having fun in various locations. "That's great for him. That's all well and good, but if you're the heavyweight champion of the world, then you have an obligation to the sport, the fans, to the other fighters in the divsion," Bisping told MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn on "The Bohnfire." "Live your life, and if you are somewhat retired, just be honest and come out and say it. "Obviously, Dana (White) has been very adamant that the fight is going ahead. So I think maybe it's just Jon messing with Tom psychologically because he's a master of his craft, and he knows what he's doing. If he's not, and he has no intention of fighting, and he's just stringing it out for a while because he wants to hang on to the belt, then that's appalling to be quite frank." Aspinall became the interim heavyweight champion by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 294 in November 2023. With a title unification out of the picture, Aspinall was put in a position to defend the interim title, which he did successfully by stopping Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 last July. Nearly a year later, Aspinall has no clue what's next. "I feel for Tom here because Tom is in the prime of his life," Bisping said. "He's an absolutely incredible fighter. He's just dispatching of everybody with ease. He's the best finisher in all the sport right now, and he's in the prime. He should be fighting every few months. Every six months at least. Every four or five months, he should be back in there building his legacy and making money and just doing what he was put on this earth to do – what he's trained an entire life for. Yet, he's just sitting around on the sidelines waiting and waiting and waiting. "So, I'm sure it's extremely frustrating for Tom, the fans – because I've said this for a long time: I think Tom smokes him. I do. And I think Jon is probably very conscious of that threat as well. I'm not saying he doesn't think he can win, but he understands that this will be a tough fight, but they're all tough fights. They're all supposed to be tough fights." If Jones does decide to continue fighting, Bisping believes Jones should reflect upon his days as an up-and-coming light heavyweight contender. Immediately after beating Ryan Bader at UFC 126, it was announced he would fight for Mauricio Rua's title at UFC 128 just over a month later. Jones won the title to become the youngest UFC champion ever. He then recorded his first title defense six months later. Things moved very quickly for Jones in his early days as a champion, and Bisping would like to see that be repaid to Aspinall. "For Jon to not want to give this guy an opportunity where other people gave him an opportunity – he was the youngest champion in this sport, and he's always talking about there's always going to be younger guys coming along – well, what about when you were fighting for the belt and you were the youngest person to ever do it?" Bisping said. "You got that opportunity. When you become the champion, there is an obligation to do that. So, defend or vacate. It's that simple. "All these cryptic tweets and going out to Thailand and living his best life and sh*t, great. If that's what you want to do, go off and enjoy your life, but do the decent thing." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Micahel Bisping wants Jon Jones to meet obligations as UFC champion
USA Today
24-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Michael Bisping chides Jon Jones for holding up UFC, Tom Aspinall: 'Defend or vacate'
Michael Bisping chides Jon Jones for holding up UFC, Tom Aspinall: 'Defend or vacate' UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping says it's time for heavyweight champion Jon Jones to defend or move on. Frustrations with Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) and his potential title unification bout against interim champion Tom Aspinall have been boiling over recently. The calls for Jones to either put his belt on the line against Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) have grown louder after the UFC officially announced the future slate of pay-per-view main events into the summer, which did not include the heavyweight title fight. While Aspinall has repeatedly voiced his frustration with the situation, Jones, who defended the heavyweight title for the first time against Stipe Miocic last July at UFC 304, has been publicly dismissive. "Bones" has even hinted that retirement is a strong possibility, while posting videos on social media of having fun in various locations. "That's great for him. That's all well and good, but if you're the heavyweight champion of the world, then you have an obligation to the sport, the fans, to the other fighters in the divsion," Bisping told MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn on "The Bohnfire." "Live your life, and if you are somewhat retired, just be honest and come out and say it. "Obviously, Dana (White) has been very adamant that the fight is going ahead. So I think maybe it's just Jon messing with Tom psychologically because he's a master of his craft, and he knows what he's doing. If he's not, and he has no intention of fighting, and he's just stringing it out for a while because he wants to hang on to the belt, then that's appalling to be quite frank." Aspinall became the interim heavyweight champion by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 294 in November 2023. With a title unification out of the picture, Aspinall was put in a position to defend the interim title, which he did successfully by stopping Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 last July. Nearly a year later, Aspinall has no clue what's next. "I feel for Tom here because Tom is in the prime of his life," Bisping said. "He's an absolutely incredible fighter. He's just dispatching of everybody with ease. He's the best finisher in all the sport right now, and he's in the prime. He should be fighting every few months. Every six months at least. Every four or five months, he should be back in there building his legacy and making money and just doing what he was put on this earth to do – what he's trained an entire life for. Yet, he's just sitting around on the sidelines waiting and waiting and waiting. "So, I'm sure it's extremely frustrating for Tom, the fans – because I've said this for a long time: I think Tom smokes him. I do. And I think Jon is probably very conscious of that threat as well. I'm not saying he doesn't think he can win, but he understands that this will be a tough fight, but they're all tough fights. They're all supposed to be tough fights." If Jones does decide to continue fighting, Bisping believes Jones should reflect upon his days as an up-and-coming light heavyweight contender. Immediately after beating Ryan Bader at UFC 126, it was announced he would fight for Mauricio Rua's title at UFC 128 just over a month later. Jones won the title to become the youngest UFC champion ever. He then recorded his first title defense six months later. Things moved very quickly for Jones in his early days as a champion, and Bisping would like to see that be repaid to Aspinall. "For Jon to not want to give this guy an opportunity where other people gave him an opportunity – he was the youngest champion in this sport, and he's always talking about there's always going to be younger guys coming along – well, what about when you were fighting for the belt and you were the youngest person to ever do it?" Bisping said. "You got that opportunity. When you become the champion, there is an obligation to do that. So, defend or vacate. It's that simple. "All these cryptic tweets and going out to Thailand and living his best life and sh*t, great. If that's what you want to do, go off and enjoy your life, but do the decent thing."
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC 317 Main Event: Topuria Vs. Oliveira Opening Odds
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 26: Ilia Topuria of Spain reacts after a knockout victory ... More against Max Holloway in the UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will fight at lightweight for the first time since 2022 when he faces former UFC 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317. The bout will serve as the main event of the June 28 pay-per-view card, which is the centerpiece of International Fight Week in Las Vegas. With UFC CEO Dana White making the contest official earlier this week, we look at the opening betting odds for the Topuria vs. Oliveira matchup. When BetOnline first published the opening odds for the UFC 317 main event, Topuria was a -300 betting favorite over Oliveira, who opened as the +250 betting underdog. The betting line has already shifted for the June 28 matchup. Today, Topuria is -350, while Oliveira comes in at +285. Topuria wasted no time engaging in some social media trash talk with his UFC 317 opponent, while taking a shot at soon to be former champion Islam Makhachev, writing on X, "On June 28, another dream will come true. I'll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles, my apologies in advance… I'm just fighting for my dreams. It's unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0 ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 21: Islam Makhachev of Russia reacts after his knockout ... More victory against Alexander Volkanovski of Australia in the UFC lightweight championship fight during the UFC 294 event at Etihad Arena on October 21, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) In the lead-up to UFC 316, the speculation was if Belal Muhammad retained his UFC welterweight title with a win over Jack Della Maddalena, then UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev would remain at 155 pounds and defend his title against Ilia Topuria. The reason for this thinking being that Makhachev and Muhammad have trained together and that they would not be willing to face each other inside the Octagon. However, with Jack Della Maddalena defeating Muhammad, that opened the door for Makhachev to move to welterweight. The thinking now being that he will get an immediate title shot against Maddalena in the freshly crowned champ's first title defense. Makhachev's manager Ali Abdelaziz spoke to MMA Junkie about the situation. 'If Belal were to win, Islam was never going to fight Belal, and he's going to stay in the (lightweight) division. But now Jack wins,' Abdelaziz said. 'Islam has beaten everyone in this division, literally. Dan Hooker, Arman (Tsarukyan), Charles Oliveira, he's on a 15-fight winning streak, finished nine of his last 10 opponents. (There's no one who) deserves to go fight for a second title than Islam, and the reason he wasn't going to do it because Belal was the champion.' On Tuesday, White announced the plans for Della Maddalena vs. Topuria, but did not announce a date for the 170-pound title fight. With that, the UFC lightweight title will most likely become vacant the moment the UFC 317 main event begins. ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 26: Ilia Topuria of Spain reacts after a knockout victory ... More against Max Holloway in the UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Topuria is a former Cage Warriors champion. He joined the UFC in 2020 with a 9-0 record. It did not take him long to make a name for himself. He was ranked No. 14 in the featherweight division after three UFC bouts at 145 pounds and one contest in the 155-pound division. Three of those scraps ended with Topuria winning via knockout. In his first fight as a ranked featherweight, Topuria dispatched Bryce Mitchell via submission in the second round, earned his first 'Performance of the Night' bonus and moved to No. 9 in the rankings. A matchup with No. 5 ranked Josh Emmett followed the Mitchell win. Topuria picked up a decision in a 'Fight of the Night' scrap. Topuria's next fight, saw him face Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 298. Topuria entered that bout as the No. 3 ranked featherweight. He left as the champion after knocking out Volkanovski in the second stanza. In his first defense of the UFC featherweight crown, Topuria made history, becoming the first fighter to finish former 145-pound champion Max Holloway via strikes, knocking out the ex-champion in the third round of their UFC 308 meeting in October 2024. When Topuria decided to move to lightweight and give up his featherweight title, he vowed to sit until he got a 155-pound title shot. That fight takes place at UFC 317. Topuria has a 16-0 record with eight of those wins coming under the UFC banner. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 16: Charles Oliveira of Brazil looks on against Michael Chandler in a ... More lightweight fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Charles Oliveira (35-10-0-1) has been fighting with the UFC since 2010. He won the vacant lightweight title with his win over Chandler and defended the title once, beating Dustin Poirier. He was booked to face Justin Gaethje in his second title defense, but Oliveira missed weight for that fight, which he won by submission, losing the title on the scale. Oliveira had a chance to regain the belt in October 2022, but Islam Makhachev submitted him and claimed the vacant belt. Since that loss, Oliveira is 1-1, beating Beneil Dariush by TKO in June 2023 and losing to Arman Tsarukyan via split decision in April of this year. Oliveira is coming off a November 2024 decision win over Michael Chandler. Oliveira is the No. 2 fighter in the official UFC lightweight rankings. We will have more on the UFC 317 fight card and the UFC 317 main event between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira as fight night approaches.
USA Today
05-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Joaquin Buckley vs. Kamaru Usman: Odds and what to know ahead of UFC on ESPN 69 main event
Joaquin Buckley vs. Kamaru Usman: Odds and what to know ahead of UFC on ESPN 69 main event Joaquin Buckley will look to emerge as a title challenger when he meets a former champion at UFC on ESPN 69. Joaquin Buckley vs. Kamaru Usman preview Since dropping back down to 170 pounds, Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) is unbeaten in the octagon. "New Mansa" is coming off a TKO of Colby Covington in the UFC on ESPN 63 headliner this past December. Usman was among three names Buckley called out after his win. Kamaru Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) will look to rebound from a three-fight losing skid. The former UFC welterweight champion hasn't competed since a majority decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev in a short-notice middleweight fight at UFC 294 in October 2023. Joaquin Buckley vs. Kamaru Usman odds According to BetRivers, Buckley is a moderate -235 favorite to beat former champion Usman, who's a -185 underdog. How to watch Joaquin Buckley vs. Kamaru Usman at UFC on ESPN 69
USA Today
01-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Charles Oliveira's coach: Ilia Topuria 'a better selling fight' than Islam Makhachev
Charles Oliveira's coach: Ilia Topuria 'a better selling fight' than Islam Makhachev Charles Oliveira's coach Diego Lima admits Ilia Topuria would be a bigger fight than UFC champ Islam Makhachev. The upper echelon of the lightweight division awaits Makhachev's (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) next opponent to be announced. Former featherweight champ Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who recently vacated his belt, says he was promised an immediate lightweight title shot by the UFC. Justin Gaethje called out Makhachev after defeating Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313. Meanwhile, Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) wants his rematch with Makhachev after losing their first title fight by submission at UFC 280. Oliveira was booked to run things back with Makhachev at UFC 294 in October 2023, but Oliveira withdrew and was replaced by Alexander Volkanovski. Since losing to Makhachev, Oliveira has gone 2-1, with wins over Beneil Dariush and Michael Chandler. Many are speculating that the delay for Makhachev's next fight announcement largely looms on the outcome of the upcoming welterweight title fight between champion Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena May 10 in the UFC 315 headliner. Makhachev and Muhammad won't fight each other, but if Della Maddalena wins, his long-desired move up to welterweight could be next. "Everybody knows that Charles wants to fight for the belt during International Fight Week," Lima told Sherdog. Despite gold being the goal, the Chute Boxe head coach admits Topuria would be a more lucrative fight – as long as it's also for the title. Oliveira and Topuria have recently been trading barbs. "Charles wants to fight for the belt, no matter if it's against Topuria or Makhachev," Lima said. "But since you asked me who would be a better selling fight, I have to answer Topuria. He is doing an excellent job promoting his arrival in the new division. On the other hand, Makhachev disappeared a little bit from the spotlight with his indecision. One day he wants to go up, another day he wants Topuria, another day Gaethje. That's not good for the sport. But we are doing our part getting ready for the UFC's call."
