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Yahoo
2 days ago
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UFC 318 takeaways: Max Holloway's chances vs. Ilia Topuria, Dustin Poirier's fitting exit
What mattered most at UFC 318 on Saturday from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans? Here are a few post-fight musings … 4) A sensational set of prelims The finishes came hot and heavy early in UFC's return to New Orleans after more than 10 years, with the first six bouts on the card ending in a knockout or submission. It was a welcome sign after some dreadful prelim lineups in recent months, and it was all favorites who held serve. Jimmy Crute getting his first victory in nearly five years was one of the top moments, as was the vicious first-round knockout of debuting welterweight prospect Islam Dulatov. The middleweight bout between Brendan Allen and Marvin Vettori was perhaps the most meaningful matchup on the preliminary-card lineup, with Allen getting the victory by unanimous decision in a very important moment in his career after consecutive losses. Credit to both men, however, because they delivered a fight worthy of their grudge, and the UFC brass agreed with each getting $50,000 for Fight of the Night. 3) Daniel Rodriguez and Kevin Holland deliver After three years of waiting to share the cage, Daniel Rodriguez and Kevin Holland made up for all that lost time with a welterweight classic that saw "D-Rod" emerge victorious by unanimous decision. It was an awesome fight, and one that extended Rodriguez's momentum into a three-fight winning streak, while Holland fell to 2-2 on the year, and was knocked down for the first time in his 28-fight UFC career. Both guys should get credit for what they produced in the cage, and probably should've been the rightful winners of Fight of the Night. It didn't happen, but the 15-minute war was an example of why both Rodriguez and Holland should be appointment viewing any time they enter the octagon. 2) Dustin Poirier a winner despite his defeat Dustin Poirier, of course, would've liked for his retirement fight to end in a winning manner with his hand being raised in front of a passionate crowd of fans, but fairy tale endings rarely exist in MMA. He nearly had that moment when he badly hurt and knocked down Holloway in the second round, but could not seal the deal, then fell short on the scorecards. Realistically, though, Poirier not winning the fight will be just a footnote in his retirement story. The real thing he should attach himself to is the treatment he received from the UFC, the fans and his fellow fighters both before and after the fight, which is a reflection of the widespread admiration he's earned for himself. It might be cliche at this point, but Poirier is the definition of a true fighter. His incentives for getting into this sport were not to get social media clout or be viewed as a cool, tough guy. His passion for fist fighting was his path out of a troubled youth, and he turned it into a sustainable career, and now, ultimately one that has given him financial freedom for life and generational wealth on top of it. That's the real win for Poirier after UFC 318, and he rightfully left the cage, his post-fight interviews and the arena with his head held high, knowing that he committed every part of his being to maximizing his time. He will still be around the sport as a voice, but from every explanation he gave about why he was doing this now, there will be no luring him back, and everyone should be happy he left on his terms. 1) What is lightweight Max Holloway capable of? Max Holloway played his role as the opposing force to Poirier's retirement fight pretty much perfectly from beginning to end. He handled the entire situation with class and dignity, and although the crowd obliged his call to be booed on multiple instances, not one of those boos was genuine. How could they be, really? Holloway is a class act and knows what he was going up against. He never tried to take away from Poirier's moment, even when the spotlight was all on himself after getting his hand raised to successfully defend the BMF title. The question for Holloway now, however, is what this win truly tells us about him at this stage of his career. On the positive end, the former featherweight champion has looked excellent overall in his past two appearances at lightweight against Poirier and Justin Gaethje. His speed is there, and as we've seen in him dropping both men, the power is present, too. That will only become a bigger threat as time goes on and he finds increased comfort at this weight class, but on the flip side, there's going to be persistent questions about whether his record amount of significant strikes absorbed in UFC competition will eventually catch up. There's already signs, because after going on the longest streak in company history without being knocked down, Holloway has found himself dropped and touching the mat at some point in his past three contests. The knockdown he never got back up from came against Ilia Topuria in October, as "El Matador" became the first to knock out Holloway. It's obvious that doesn't sit well with him, and Holloway is eager to get his chance at a rematch. Is there a ton of reason to think it would go any differently? Both men would be bigger and stronger than the previous encounter, and before he was stopped, a strong argument can be made that Holloway was finding more success against Topuria than anyone else on his recent run. Topuria has been a force of nature inside that octagon during his undefeated rise to winning titles in two divisions. He is not someone you pick against at this point in time, and still has many challengers ahead. Holloway might not get that rematch now or next, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. Would he be favored to defeat Topuria in a rematch? Certainly not. But Holloway is one of the greatest to ever do it, and anyone pretending someone of his skill, experience and motivation isn't capable of winning if he shows up in form on the right night? This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 318 takeaways: Can Max Holloway beat Ilia Topuria in rematch?
Yahoo
3 days ago
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UFC 318 pre-fight press conference faceoffs
All five main card matchups on Saturday's UFC 318, including Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier, had faceoffs following pre-fight press conference.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC 318 Results: Winners And Losers Holloway Vs. Poirier 3 Fight Card
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 18: (L-R) Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier face off during the UFC 318 ... More ceremonial weigh-ins at Smoothie King Center on July 18, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Zuffa LLC) The UFC is at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans for tonight's UFC 318 pay-per-view fight card. UFC 318 features a BMF title fight at the top of the card. In the headlining bout, BMF champ Max Holloway faces Dustin Poirier for the third time. Increasing the stakes of the Holloway vs. Poirier 3 matchup is the fact that it is Poirier's retirement fight in front of a hometown crowd. In the UFC 318 co-main event, Paulo Costa meets Roman Kopylov in a battle between ranked middleweight competitors. UFC 318 results, winners and losers and more will be updated live throughout tonight's UFC pay-per-view card. The main card for UFC 318 streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass. UFC 318 Results - Winners UFC 318 Results - Losers UFC 318 Fight Card Results UFC Tonight: UFC 318 Pay-Per-View Card Results Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier - Lightweight - For Holloway's BMF title Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov - Middleweight Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez - Welterweight Dan Ige vs. Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire - Featherweight UFC Tonight: UFC 318 Preliminary Fight Card Results Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira - Bantamweight Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen - Middleweight Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Veretennikov - Welterweight Ateba Gautier vs. Robert Valentin - Middleweight UFC Tonight: UFC 318 Early Preliminary Fight Card Results Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov - Welterweight Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio - Light Heavyweight Ryan Spann vs. Lukasz Brzeski - Heavyweight Brunno Ferreira vs. Jackson McVey - Middleweight Carli Judice vs. Nicolle Caliari - Women's Flyweight UFC 318 Results: Video Highlights UFC 318 Results: Fight Night Bonuses UFC 318 Results: Official Scorecards UFC 318 Main Event Preview: Max Holloway Vs. Dustin Poirier 3 NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 18: Dustin Poirier is interviewed during the UFC 318 ceremonial ... More weigh-ins at Smoothie King Center on July 18, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Zuffa LLC) Dustin Poirier (30-9-0-1) has been a UFC fighter since 2011. At the time he had a 7-1 record. Between 2011 and 2018, Poirier went 16-4-0-1, picking up notable wins over Max Holloway, Bobby Green, Jim Miller, Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, and Eddie Alvarez. His losses during that stretch came to The Korean Zombie, Cub Swanson, Conor McGregor, and Michael Johnson. Poirier's wins over Miller, Pettis, Gaethje, and Alvarez set him up to fight for the interim UFC lightweight title against then-UFC featherweight titleholder Max Holloway. Poirier was the No. 3 ranked fighter in the UFC 155-pound division at the time, April 2019. Poirier claimed the interim crown with a decision win. In September 2019, Poirier faced Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title unification bout. Nurmagomedov won that contest by third-round submission. Three wins after that, including two TKO victories over Conor McGregor, put Poirier in another lightweight title fight. He lost that battle to Charles Oliveira, falling to a rear-naked choke in the third round of their December 2021 matchup. The 36-year-old Poirier is 2-2 since that setback with wins over Michael Chandler and Benoit Saint Denis. Poirier's losses during that run came against Justin Gaethje for the BMF title and, most recently, opposite Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 302 in June 2024. Poirier has 15 fight-night bonus awards, which ties him for fourth all-time in that category. Poirier is the No. 6 ranked UFC lightweight. NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 18: Max Holloway is interviewed during the UFC 318 ceremonial ... More weigh-ins at Smoothie King Center on July 18, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Zuffa LLC) Max Holloway (26-8) has been with the UFC since 2012. If there's a stat that the UFC tracks, chances are Holloway is among the leaders. He holds the UFC featherweight record for wins (20), finishes (11), knockouts (nine), win streak (13 straight), total fight time (6:58:57), significant strikes landed (2,971), and total strikes landed (3,180). Holloway's overall UFC records include significant strikes landed (3,457) and total strikes landed (3,706). Holloway's run as UFC featherweight champ began in June 2017 when he knocked out Jose Aldo. Holloway entered that contest as the interim champ, a belt he won by knocking out Anthony Pettis in December 2016. He defended his title against Aldo (TKO), Brian Ortega (TKO), and Frankie Edgar (decision). He also attempted to win the interim UFC lightweight belt during that run, but he fell short, dropping a decision to Dustin Poirier. Holloway's championship run ended in December 2019 when Alexander Volkanovski beat him by decision. Volkanovski retained the title in an immediate rematch. Wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez earned Holloway another shot at Volkanovski and his title in July 2022, but the champ retained his belt with a decision win. Holloway followed that setback with wins over Arnold Allen, the Korean Zombie, and Justin Gaethje. The Gaethje victory, a fight that many voted 'Fight of the Year' and 'Knockout of the Year,' earned Holloway the BMF title. That fight took place at 155 pounds. Holloway followed his BMF title win with the first knockout loss of his career, falling to Ilia Topuria in a UFC featherweight title fight in October 2024. Holloway was recently removed from the UFC featherweight rankings per his request. He is ranked at No. 5 at 155 pounds and sits at No. 11 in the pound-for-pound rankings. UFC 318 Co-Main Event Preview: Paulo Costa Vs. Roman Kopylov NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 18: (L-R) Paulo Costa of Brazil and Roman Kopylov of Russia face off ... More during the UFC 318 ceremonial weigh-ins at Smoothie King Center on July 18, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Zuffa LLC) Paulo Costa (14-4) was 8-0 and coming off a defense of the Jungle Fight middleweight title when he joined the UFC in 2017. He opened his run with the promotion with four knockouts and one decision. That decision, an August 2019 win over Yoel Romero, earned Costa a shot at Adesanya in September 2020. Adesanya retained his title in that fight, knocking out Costa in the second round. Costa has not been an active competitor in the UFC. Between 2018 and 2022 he stepped into the Octagon once per year. He did not compete at all in 2023. In 2024, Costa went 0-2, losing a unanimous decision to former UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker in February and then dropping a split decision to ex-UFC 185 kingpin Sean Strickland in June. Costa has not competed since his loss to Strickland at UFC 302. Costa is 1-4 in his past five UFC outings. His only win during that stretch, which began with the Adesanya loss, was a August 2022 decision win over former UFC middleweight titleholder Luke Rockhold. A former Fight Nights Global middleweight champ, Roman Kopylov (14-3) joined the UFC in 2019 with an 8-0 record. Kopylov had seven straight knockout wins heading into his UFC debut, a fight he lost to Karl Roberson via submission. COVID-19 and visa issues kept Kopylov out of action until October 2021. When he returned to the Octagon, Kopylov dropped a decision to Albert Duraev. Kopylov seemed to find his footing after those back-to-back losses. Between September 2022 and September 2023, he went 4-0 with four knockout wins. That winning streak did not earn Kopylov a spot inside the top 15 of the UFC's middleweight division, but it did get him booked opposite the No. 15 ranked Anthony Hernandez at UFC 298 in February. Hernandez won that fight via second-round submission. Kopylov came back from that defeat to beat César Almeida at UFC 302. In his most recent outing, Kopylov stoppedChris Curtis via head kick, in a 'Fight of the Night' affair on A UFC Fight Night card in January 2025. UFC 318 Preview: Kevin Holland Vs. Daniel Rodriguez NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 18: (L-R) Kevin Holland and Daniel Rodriguez face off during the UFC ... More 318 ceremonial weigh-ins at Smoothie King Center on July 18, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Zuffa LLC) Kevin Holland (28-13-0-1) was 12-3 when he earned his shot at a UFC contract on a Dana White's Contender Series card in June 2018. Despite getting a win, UFC CEO Dana White did not offer Holland a contract. However, Holland got the chance to fight for the UFC in August 2018 when Thiago Santos needed a short-notice opponent. Holland has been one of the more active UFC competitors since losing that contest by decision, fighting at middleweight and welterweight. Holland followed the loss to Santos with an 8-1 run, a stretch that included five victories between May 2020 and December 2020. His last win of that run was a 'Performance of the Night' bonus-winning knockout of ex-Strikeforce champion Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza. Holland's career has been up-and-down since the highlight-reel win over Souza. He has a 7-8-0-1 record since then, never winning, or losing, more than two fights in a row. Holland is 2-2 in his past four outings, losing back-to-back fights to Roman Dolidze and Reinier de Ridder via stoppage before putting together a two-fight winning streak with victories over Gunnar Nelson and most recently, Vicente Luque. The 32-year Holland's two recent losses were at middleweight, his wins, both of which earned him a 'Performance of the Night' bonus, came at welterweight, where he is the No. 13 ranked fighter. Daniel Rodriguez (19-5) began his UFC career on a great run. Debuting with the promotion in 2020 with a 'Performance of the Night' bonus-winning submission win over veteran competitor Tim Means, Rodriguez went 8-1 in his first nine fights with the promotion. His only loss during that stretch was a decision setback to Nicolas Dalby in Rodriguez's fourth UFC fight of 2020. A September 2022 split decision win over Li Jingliang at UFC 279 put him in the co-main event of a UFC Fight Night card opposite veteran gatekeeper Neil Magny. At the time of that scrap, Magny was the No. 13 fighter in the UFC's welterweight division, while Rodriguez was No. 14. Magny turned back Rodriguez, submitting him in the third round. Rodriguez followed that setback with a TKO loss to Ian Machado Garry and a decision defeat to Kelvin Gastelum in a fight that was contested at middleweight after Gastelum had weight cutting issues. Rodriguez has bounced back from that three-fight losing skid with a decision win over Alex Morono in October 2024 and a TKO victory over Santiago Ponzinibbio in May. A win over Holland would likely put the 38-year-old Rodriguez back in the UFC rankings. UFC 318 Preview: Dan Ige Vs. Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 18: (L-R) Dan Ige and Patricio ''Pitbull' Freire of Brazil face off ... More during the UFC 318 ceremonial weigh-ins at Smoothie King Center on July 18, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Zuffa LLC) Dan Ige (19-9) earned a UFC contract during Season 3 of Dana White's Contender Series, which took place in 2017. Ige opened his UFC career with a decision loss to Julio Arce in early 2018. He put that loss behind him and went unbeaten in his next six outings. That stretch of victories secured him the No. 10 spot in the official UFC featherweight rankings, and a UFC Fight Night main event matchup against the No. 6 ranked Calvin Kattar in July 2020. Kattar won that scrap via unanimous decision. Since facing Kattar, Ige is 5-6 in the UFC. He has faced tough competition during that stretch and proven to be a game competitor. Ige raised his profile in 2024 when he agreed to meet Diego Lopes on the UFC 303 pay-per-view card on a few hour's notice. While Ige lost to Lopes in that fight, which served as the PPV co-main event, he took the rising Lopes the distance in an entertaining battle. Ige followed his loss to Lopes with a decision setback to Lerone Murphy at UFC 308. He is coming off a third-round knockout win over Sean Woodson at UFC 314. Freire (36-7) spent the bulk of his career under the Bellator banner. He made his promotional debut on the Bellator 15 card in April 2010. Freire first fought for the Bellator featherweight belt in 2013, losing by decision to Pat Curran. He got his revenge on Curran in September 2014, winning the belt via decision. Freire defended his title twice before dropping a decision to Daniel Straus in November 2015. He regained the belt in 2017, submitting Straus via guillotine. Freire defended the title twice before adding the Bellator lightweight title to his trophy case. Freire's May 2019 TKO win over Michael Chandler earned him the Bellator 155-pound belt. Freire defended his featherweight crown three times as a two-division champ before losing a July 2021 submission to A.J. McKee. He never put the lightweight belt up for grabs, vacating the title in October 2021. The featherweight crown returned to Freire's mantle in April 2022 when he defeated McKee via decision. Freire defended the belt twice in his third stint as the 145-pound champ. His most recent fight was a March 2024 TKO win over Jeremy Kennedy in a title defense. Freire also dropped to bantamweight for a 2023 title shot against Sergio Pettis. Pettis won that contest via decision. In December, Freire told MMA Junkie he wanted to be done with Bellator, which the PFL purchased in November 2023. He signed with the UFC as a free agent in February 2025. Freire lost an uninspired unanimous decision to former interim UFC featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314. UFC 318 Preview: Michael Johnson Vs. Daniel Zellhuber NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 18: (L-R) Michael Johnson and Daniel Zellhuber of Mexico face off ... More during the UFC 318 ceremonial weigh-ins at Smoothie King Center on July 18, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Zuffa LLC) Michael Johnson (23-19) is one of the longer-tenured fighters on the UFC roster. The 39-year-old has been with the promotion since 2010 when he lost to Jonathan Brookins in the finals of season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter. Johnson has had an active, if up-and-down UFC career. While always game, he has a history of inconsistency. Johnson's longest winning streaks with the UFC are a four-fight run between 2013 and 2015 and a three-fight unbeaten stretch in 2012. Johnson went 0-4 between 2019 and 2021. He ended that run with a 2022 knockout win over Alan Patrick. Since then, Johnson is 3-2. He enters UFC 318 on a two-fight winning streak, beating Darrius Flowers and Ottman Azaitar. He has not fought since he knocked out Azaitar in December, winning a 'Performance of the Night' bonus in the process. Johnson is at the point in his career where the UFC is booking him as a gatekeeper against younger fighters or competitors who are relatively new to the promotion. Daniel Zellhuber (15-2) might be coming off a loss to Esteban Ribovics at UFC 306, but that fight was in the running for 'Fight of the Year' in 2024, and earned Zellhuber his third straight UFC Fight Night bonus. Zellhuber might have lost some momentum in that fight, but he did not lose much stock. He is looking for a bounce-back performance at UFC 318. Zellhuber moved his professional record to 12-0 in September 2021 when he defeated Lucas Almeida to earn a UFC contract on a Dana White's Contender Series card. UFC CEO Dana White praised both men for their performance that night, but offered the contract to Zellhuber, saying, "First of all, he's got an incredible chin, well-rounded game. He's only 22 years old, which usually I look for people who are a couple of years older, but he's 12-0 at 22 years old. You never see that. 'He said something about fighting like a real Mexican. This dude fights like a real Mexican. He's awesome. I love everything about him.' Zellhuber dropped his UFC debut, losing a decision to Trey Ogden by decision. He rebounded from that defeat with three straight wins before falling to Ribovics. Stay tuned for more coverage from the UFC 318 fight card. Including live UFC 318 results, reactions, recaps and video highlights during tonight's event.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Where to watch PFL Africa 1 2025: Live stream, start time for Cape Town event featuring Johnny Eblen, Dakota Ditcheva
The Professional Fighters League continues to evolve as the promotion produces an event in Cape Town, South Africa. Here's how you can watch the event, including streaming options and TV channels to catch the preliminaries and the main card on pay-per-view. Where to watch PFL Africa 1 2025 Live stream: ESPN+ Fight fans can watch PFL Africa 1 on ESPN+. You can subscribe to ESPN+ for $11.99 on a monthly subscription and $119.99 on an annual subscription. PFL Africa 1 2025 start time Date: Saturday, July 19 Time: 2 p.m. ET (10 a.m. ET for prelims) | 11 a.m. PT Location: GrandWest Arena - Cape Town, South Africa PFL Africa 1 will be in Cape Town, South Africa on July 19. The prelims start at 10 a.m. ET. The main card starts at 2 p.m. ET, while the main event should begin around 5:30 p.m. ET, depending on how long the undercard fights last. The Road to Dubai event, led by PFL Africa Chairman Francis Ngannou, is the latest international league for the PFL. It features a tournament format similar to previous PFL cards as well as top-tier fighters. The main event will see John Eblen defend the Bellator middleweight title against Costello van Steenis. An NCAA wrestling qualifier, Eblen (16-0) was one of Bellator's top stars before the PFL took over. He won several PFL crossover events against Impa Kasanganay and Fabian Edwards. The 33-year-old asked to compete after being out of action since October, and he got his wish via PFL Africa. ESPN Van Steenis (16-3) is 2-1 in his last three fights, competing in various PFL events worldwide. "The Spaniard" has five wins via knockout and seven via submission. The co-feature will see the return of Dakota Ditcheva. The 26-year-old Ditcheva (14-0) is a two-time PFL champion, having won tournaments in Europe and the U.S. A Muay Thai champion, "Dangerous," with 12 wins via knockout, looks to be active in 2025. Ditcheva faces Sumiko Inaba (8-1), who is on a two-fight win streak and has four wins via knockout. Also on the card will be former Bellator champions A.J. McKee (22-2) and Corey Anderson (18-6, 1 NC). PFL Africa 1 2025 fight card Main Card Johnny Eblen (c) vs. Costello van Steenis for the Bellator middleweight title Dakota Ditcheva vs. Sumiko Inaba; Flyweights A.J. McKee vs. Akhmed Magomedov; Featherweights Makkasharip Zaynukov vs. Takeshi Izumi; Lightweights Corey Anderson vs. Denis Goltsov; Heavyweights Prelims Nkosi Ndebele vs. Mahmoud Atef; Bantamweights - PFL Africa Tournament Quarterfinal Maxwell Djantou Nana vs. Mickael Groguhe; Heavyweights - PFL Africa Tournament Quarterfinal Shannon van Tonder vs. Boule Godogo; Bantamweights - PFL Africa Tournament Quarterfinal Jashell Ticha Awa vs. Justin Clarke; Heavyweights - PFL Africa Tournament Quarterfinal Asiashu Tshitamba vs. Karim Henniene; Bantamweights - PFL Africa Tournament Quarterfinal Abdoullah Kane vs. Joffie Houlton; Heavyweights - PFL Africa Tournament Quarterfinal Frans Mlambo vs. Simbarashe Hokonya; Bantamweights - PFL Africa Tournament Quarterfinal Paul-Emmanuel Gnaze vs. Abraham Bably; Heavyweights - PFL Africa Tournament Quarterfinal Juliet Ukah vs. Ceileigh Niedermayr; Strawweights
The Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Manny Pacquiao vs Mario Barrios undercard thrown into chaos as fighter is rushed to hospital on eve of Las Vegas fight
MANNY PACQUIAO'S return fight has suffered a last-minute blow following a major change to the undercard. Pacquiao, 46, is scheduled to take on Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. 3 3 3 However, the fight card has been thrown into disarray following a very unfortunate incident. Angel Fierro was rushed to hospital and sadly had to pull out of his rematch with Isaac Cruz. Fierro, 26, and Cruz, 27, were set to face off in a super lightweight clash following the latter's victory in February. However, Fierro was deemed unfit after being taken to hospital due to health issues relating to his weight cut. Fierro's trainer Robert Garcia confirmed the unfortunate news by stating it would be "too dangerous" to continue cutting weight and insisted he has a responsibility to protect his fighter's health. Garcia tweeted: "I want to start off by apologizing to all the fans that made the trip to Vegas, to Pitbull and his team and everyone involved in the fight. "I made the decision this morning to not allow my fighter Angel Fierro to cut anymore weight and instructed our team to take him to the hospital. "I have a responsibility to not only prepare my fighter to fight, but also to keep him safe. "The last few lbs were going to be too dangerous for him to cut and I made the decision to pull him out. Again we apologize to everyone involved." Omar Salcido, who is scheduled to face Brian Gallegos on the same card, is said to be the frontrunner to replace Fierro in the fight against Cruz. Salcido's trainer Jose Benavidez Sr confirmed they are "ready" to step up to the plate after the boxing ace successfully made the 140lbs super lightweight limit Benavidez Sr told Boxing Scene: 'It's a big opportunity. We're ready. We're excited. 'We're just waiting on them [Premier Boxing Champions] to get it done.'
