Tag Archives: UFC

boxing, FNU Combat Sports Show, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC

FNU Combat Sports Show: Joshua vs. Klitschko Recap, Anderson Silva Threatens UFC Retirement

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The FNU Combat Sports show concentrates heavily on boxing this week with the big heavyweight bout between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko to review and discuss first. Then we move on to preview Cinco De Mayo weekend in The Sweet Science, which is headlined by a Saturday night fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Junior. Additionally, we discuss some additions to UFC 213, Anderson Silva’s retirement threat, the creation of a women’s featherweight division in the UFC for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, and the viral video featuring the demolition of a Tai Chi “Master” by an MMA fighter. Listen to the broadcast below.

 

Bellator, mixed martial arts, MMA, Spike TV

MONSTER ENERGY BELLATOR MMA FIGHT SERIES HITS CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOR MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE WEEKEND ON MAY 20

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ALSO, MMA LEGENDS TITO ORTIZ AND DAN HENDERSON TO MEET WITH FANS FOR AUTOGRAPH SIGNING ON MAY 19

 

LOS ANGELES – The Monster Energy Bellator MMA Fight Series visits Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race weekend on Saturday, May 20 and will feature several MMA bouts throughout the afternoon prior to the start of the on-track racing action. All bouts are set to take place between 3:30-5 p.m. ET at the Monster Energy display in the Charlotte Motor Speedway Fan Zone.

Additionally, fans will have the opportunity to meet two of the biggest names in the history of the sport onFriday, May 19, when former UFC champion Tito Ortiz and former PRIDE and STRIKEFORCE titleholder Dan Henderson will be available to sign autographs at the Monster Energy display in the Charlotte Motor Speedway Fan Zone between 3-4 p.m. ET.

Through Bellator MMA, along with longstanding partner Monster Energy, mixed martial arts will be included as a pre-race activation exclusively for fans in attendance. The lineup on Saturday will consist of four MMA bouts featuring some of the best regional up-and-coming talent, with the main event prospects in consideration to be signed to a multi-fight Bellator MMA contract.

The Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race takes place Saturday, May 20 at 8 p.m. ET, airing live on FS1. Tickets to the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star race are available at ‪NASCAR.com/tickets or by calling Charlotte Motor Speedway at 1-800-455-FANS (3267).

 

Updated Monster Energy Bellator MMA Fight Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway Fight Card:

Heavyweight Main Event: Allen Crowder (7-2, Mebane, N.C.) vs. Robert Neal (4-2, Jefferson, Ga.)

Welterweight Bout: Jeremie Holloway (8-2, Charlotte, N.C) vs. Jacob McClintock (8-2, Charleston, S.C.)

Lightweight Bout: Mike Stevens (6-3, Winston-Salem, N.C) vs. Lashawn Alcocks (6-8, Wilmington, N.C.)

Light Heavyweight Bout: Allen Bose (5-0, Jacksonville, N.C.) vs. Chris Crawford (8-5, Durham, N.C)

 

Please visit Bellator.com for details.

 

*Event schedule subject to change.

Bellator, boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC

FNU Combat Sports Show: “Raging” Al Goes Off on Dana White, Klitschko vs. Joshua Preview & Event Recaps

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It’s an early installment of the FNU Combat Sports Show this week since Co-host “Tornado” Tony Penecale will be busy in his role as the Phillies Superphan tomorrow night at the NFL Draft. We discuss “Raging” Al Iaquinta’s tirade against the UFC and Dana White, recap Bellator 178 and UFC Fight Night 108, and preview the big heavyweight boxing match between Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua on Saturday. We also discuss the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter and last week’s boxing events.

 

mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, UFC

Raging Al Iaquinta Interview By Ariel Helwani is Must See TV

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By: Rich Bergeron

UFC Lightweight Contender “Raging” Al Iaquinta (13-3) is certainly solidifying his nickname these days. From his dismantling of UFC Legend Diego Sanchez last Saturday night to his public disagreements with the most popular MMA league on the planet, Iaquinta is putting it all on the line lately.

 

Despite the fact that Iaquinta is on a five-fight win streak in the Octagon and has two more fights left on his UFC contract, he told Ariel Helwani in the above interview that it is “probable” he will not be fighting again in the near future.

 

Iaquinta’s self-imposed hiatus from the UFC has nothing to do with a lack of love for the sport, though. He’s just fed up with the politics and sick of being singled out for speaking his mind about fighter pay and other issues. He covers everything from weight cutting to the Reebok deal and unionization of fighters in the interview with Helwani. He also insists he would enjoy being fully involved in efforts to fix all these issues.

 

Perhaps the most outrageous and entertaining aspect of the interview is how Al rips UFC President Dana White. Using just as many expletives as “The Baldfather” himself likes to employ when he’s angry, Iaquinta gets most animated about White calling the plane ride home the best part of UFC Brooklyn. Iaquinta goes on to point out that White never had an injury in the sport of MMA and should keep his mouth shut about certain aspects of fighting that he has no clue about.

 

That part of Iaquinta’s argument sounds almost identical to the sentiment we shared here on Fight News Unlimited over a year ago with our “Open FU” to White. Back then we were criticizing the UFC President for his treatment of Holly Holm and her management team.

 

Listening to the Helwani interview is all the more entertaining and interesting if you can imagine a fighters’ association with Iaquinta as the president. It would be the best development possible to pay White back for all his own brash, in your face, tell-it-like-it-is ranting over the years. It would be fighting fire with fire, and listening to both of these characters argue with each other would be astronomically better than any of the debates that made up the chaotic 2016 Presidential Election in the United States.

 

It is highly unlikely that Iaquinta would be able to take on such a prominent role in such an association before his UFC contract officially runs out, though. Still, it is one of the most opportune times in the history of the sport of MMA for fighters to learn how to band together and exercise their solidarity to generate serious change. From the Reebok deal’s flaws to the new UFC owners taking a more insensitive corporate approach to management to the McGregor vs. Mayweather fight purse talks, there are a lot of motivating factors in place right now to force a major development on the union/association front.

 

And “Uncle Dana” can “go F$%k himself” (as Al Iaquinta might say) if he thinks he can stop that train from rumbling down the tracks. More fighters need to learn from Iaquinta and follow in his f-bombing footsteps if anything is really going to get better in the near future. Whether it involves foul language or not, though, the argument for change needs to generate more commentary from the fighters who are directly experiencing the difficulties of getting by on a typical MMA fighter’s salary.  The days of keeping your mouth shut and staying in line to make sure you get the best fights and the best opportunities for extra income are coming to an end. It’s truly time for more shortchanged fighters to knock the silver spoon out of Dana White’s mouth and get to work on improving the status quo by any means necessary.

Bellator, boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC

FNU Combat Sports Show: UFC Fight Night and Bellator 177 Recap and upcoming MMA and Boxing Schedule

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This week’s broadcast features recaps and previews of MMA and boxing events around the world. Tony, Tom and Rich also discuss politics and go off on a couple tangents here and there. We make it the whole episode this week without mentioning MacGregor vs. Mayweather even once.

We do break down some huge upcoming fights with Andre Berto taking on Shawn Porter in the main event on Showtime this week and a fourth MMA fight between Daniel Straus and Patricio “Pitbull” Friere at Bellator 178 on Friday night. We also have another UFC fight night to discuss and last week’s MMA results to go over.

 

Combate Americas, Fight Network, M-1, M-1 Challenge, mixed martial arts, MMA, One Championship, UFC

Fight Network Presents 5 Live Events Over 3 Days Starting Tonight, April 20

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For Immediate Release – April 20, 2017

Including UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. Lobov Prelims, ONE Championship: Kings of Destiny, LFA 10: Heinisch vs. Rota, M-1 Challenge 76 and Combate Americas 13

TORONTO – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 multi-platform channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, presents three action-packed days of live mixed martial arts, beginning tonight, Thursday, April 20, with Combate Americas 13 from Tucson, Arizona, kicking off globally with the live prelims at 8 p.m. ET and at 10 p.m. ET in Canada with the live main card, which follows a live edition of IMPACT Wrestling at 8 p.m. ET.

The action continues on Friday, April 21 at 8:30 a.m. ET with a live Canadian broadcast of ONE Championship: Kings of Destiny from Manila, Philippines. Later, at 9 p.m. ET, LFA 10: Heinisch vs. Rota emanates from Pueblo, Colorado and airs live on Fight Network in Canada and globally in over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

On Saturday, April 22, M-1 Global returns with a live doubleheader, beginning at 10 a.m. ET with M-1 Selection 76, which airs live in Canada, the U.S. and globally in over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The M-1 Challenge 76 main card airs live exclusively in Canada at 1 p.m. ET.

Finally, Fight Network will deliver extensive coverage of UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. Lobov across Canada on Saturday, April 22, starting at 7 p.m. ET with the live UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. LobovPRE-FIGHT SHOW leading into LIVE PRELIMS on Fight Network. The main card airs live on TSN5. TheUFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. Lobov PRE-FIGHT SHOW will feature UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and retired UFC lightweight contender Yves Edwards serving as desk analysts with host Karyn Bryant and reporter Laura Sanko conducting on-site fighter interviews.

At the conclusion of Saturday’s main card, the live UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. Lobov POST-FIGHT SHOW on Fight Network features highlights, analysis and post-fight interviews.

The stacked lineup for tonight’s Combate Americas 13, starting at 8 p.m. ET globally on Fight Network and 10 p.m. ET with the main card in Canada, includes:

-Roman Salazar (10-5) vs. Ricky Palacios (7-1)

-Irwin Rivera (5-2) vs. Kevin Natividad (2-0)

-Benny Madrid (9-3) vs. Chad Dietmeyer (8-2)

-Daniel Rodriguez (3-0) vs. Joel Champion (4-0)

-Erick Sanchez (7-3) vs. Randy Steinke (17-10-1)
-Victor Reyna (8-3) vs. Andrew Perez (5-4)
-Stephanie Alba (3-1) vs. Alesha Zappitella (2-0)

ONE Championship: Kings of Destiny, airing on Friday, April 21 at 8:30 a.m. ET across Canada, is headlined by lightweight kingpin Eduard Folayang defending his title against surging Ev Ting. The full card includes:

-Eduard Folayang (17-5) vs. Ev Ting (13-3) – ONE lightweight title
-Kevin Belingon (14-5) vs. Toni Tauru (11-4-1)
-Danny Kingad (5-0) vs. Muhammad Aiman (2-1)

-Eugene Toquero (8-4) vs. Stefer Rahardian (4-0)
-Chan Rothana (4-2) vs. Xie Bin (2-1)

-Gina Iniong (4-2) vs. Natalie Hills (2-4)
-Michelle Nicolini (3-1) vs. Irina Mazepa (2-0)

-Robin Catalan (4-3) vs. Jeremy Miado (6-0)
-Christian Lee (5-1) vs. Jianping Wan (2-2)
-Honorio Banario (11-6) vs. Jaroslav Jartim (6-5-1)

LFA 10: Heinisch vs. Rota, airing on Friday, April 21 at 9 p.m. ET across Canada and globally on Fight Network, features the following lineup:

-Ian Heinisch (7-0) vs. Lucas Rota (12-6)

-Nick Urso (9-3) vs. Brandon Royval (5-2)
-Zac Riley (5-3) vs. Jerome Rivera (5-0)

-Dominic Montoya (7-0) vs. Slobodan Maksimovic (12-5-1)

-Andrew Yates (9-2) vs. Andrew Tenneson (5-1)
-Adam Martinez (3-1) vs. Maikel Perez (1-0)

-Cody Yohn (3-1) vs. Mike Jones (4-2)

Saturday’s M-1 Global doubleheader begins with a live global broadcast of M-1 Selection 76 at 10 a.m. ET, which will include the following bouts:

-Javier Fuentes (9-3) vs. Khamzat Sakalov (4-2)
-Elnur Veliev (6-0) vs. Zalimbek Omarov (7-2)
-Anatoly Lyagu (5-1) vs. Abubakar Mestoev (4-0)
-Evgeniy Goncharov (5-2) vs. Daniil Arepyev (7-1)
-Alexey Valivakhin (10-5) vs. Ingishkan Ozdoev (0-0)

The M-1 Challenge 76 main card airs live across Canada at 1 p.m. ET and is headlined by a clash for the M-1 bantamweight championship. The full fight card includes:

-Movsar Evloev (6-0) vs. Alexei Nevzorov (12-2) – M-1 bantamweight title
-Khamzat Dalgiev (8-1) vs. Heliton dos Santos (15-5)
-Timur Nagibin (8-2) vs. Diego D’Avila (18-5)

-Sergey Morozov (6-2) vs. Fabricio Sarraff (22-9)

-Zalimbeg Omarov (7-2-1) vs. Elnur Veliev (6-0-1)

Saturday’s UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. Lobov PRELIMS air live on Fight Network across Canada at 8 p.m. ET. The star-studded four-bout card includes:

-Thales Leites (26-7) vs. Sam Alvey (30-8)
-Dustin Ortiz (16-6) vs. Brandon Moreno (13-3)

-Scott Holtzman (9-2) vs. Michael McBride (8-2)

-Jessica Penne (12-5) vs. Danielle Taylor (8-2)

For a full listing of Fight Network’s broadcast schedule, please visit www.fightnetwork.com, follow us on Twitter @fightnet, become a fan on Facebook and visit us on Instagram @fightnet.
Bellator, boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC

FNU Combat Sports Show: Johnson vs. Reis Preview, The Undertaker Retires, NASCAR Fights

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Rabble Rousin’ Rich Bergeron, “Psychic” Tom Padgett and Tony “The Tornado” Penecale discuss the news and events of the last two weeks in combat sports. From Rampage Jackson’s rough final fight in Bellator to Chris Weidman’s controversial loss to Gegard Mousasi we cover all the major MMA happenings. We also discuss the upcoming week’s boxing schedule and look back at some events in boxing from the last two weeks. We wrap up with a discussion about NASCAR and Bellator taking advantage of their common partnership with Monster energy drink. The two sports giants announced recently that Bellator will host fight cards at future racing events.

 

Fight Network, mixed martial arts, MMA, UFC

Fight Network Presents KSW 38 & TKO 38 Live Doubleheader this Friday, April 7, Plus Live UFC® 210 Coverage on April 8

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TORONTO – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 multi-platform channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, presents a thrilling live mixed martial arts doubleheader this Friday, April 7, beginning with KSW 38: Live in Studio from Warsaw, Poland at 3 p.m. ET followed by TKO 38: Ascensionfrom Montreal, Canada at 6 p.m. ET. Live fight coverage continues on Saturday, April 8 with the live PRE-FIGHT and POST-FIGHT shows for UFC® 210: CORMIER vs. JOHNSON 2.

KSW 38: Live in Studio will be televised live on Fight Network in Canada, the U.S. and globally in over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Meanwhile, TKO 38: Ascension airs live on Fight Network in Canada and streams globally on UFCFightPass.com.

Kicking off at 3 p.m. ET, a pair of top Polish featherweight stars will headline KSW 38: Live in Studio, asArtur Sowinski (17-8) collides with Lukasz Chlewicki (14-5-1). In the co-main event, Polish lightweightGrzegorz Szulakowski (7-1) welcomes Brazil’s Renato Gomes (20-9) into enemy territory. In other featured contests, Polish featherweight Roman Szymanski (9-3) meets Brazil’s Denilson Neves (11-4),Lukasz Rajewski (6-2) faces Sebastian Romanowski (11-7-1) in a battle of Polish featherweights, Kamil Selwa (10-5) tackles fellow Polish bantamweight prospect Anzor Azhiev (6-2), Antoni Chmiewlewski (32-15) and Lukasz Bienkowski (4-1) square off in a clash of Polish middleweights, plus Kamil Szymuszowski (15-4) and Grajcan Szadzinski (5-1) throw down in an all-Polish lightweight showdown.

TKO 38: Ascension gets underway at 6 p.m. ET and will be headlined by a massive lightweight matchup between Ontario’s Jesse Ronson (16-8) and Montreal’s Derek Gauthier (8-6). The bantamweight co-feature pits Michael Imperato (7-2) against Xavier Alaoui (7-1). In other marquee bouts, T.J. Laramie (5-1) takes on Alex Morgan (6-2) in a featherweight contest, Speedy Gym product Dimitri Waardenburg (12-7) meets American bantamweight David Sachs (10-3), once-beaten Canadian middleweight Marc-Andre Barriault (6-1) battles Frenchman Yacine Bandaoui (7-5), undefeated Canadian heavyweight Adam Dyczka (4-0) takes on debuting Bobby Sullivan (0-0), plus Tyler Wilson (1-0) faces Eric Daigneault (2-2) at 135 pounds, Charles Jourdain (3-0) faces Mathieu Morciano (3-2) at 145 pounds, Jeremie Capony (5-0) risks his perfect record against Kevin Genereux (2-2) at 155 pounds and highly touted flyweight prospect Tony Laramie (1-0) pursues his second professional triumph opposite undefeated Derek Falk (2-0).

In addition, Fight Network will deliver extensive coverage of UFC® 210: CORMIER vs. JOHNSON 2 on Saturday, April 8, starting at 1 p.m. ET with four hours of Fight Network’s original series UFC IN 60showcasing main event and co-main event stars Daniel Cormier, Anthony Johnson, Chris Weidman and Gegard Mousasi. At 5 p.m. ET, UFC 210 COUNTDOWN goes inside the lives and gyms of four athletes preparing for pivotal battles.

Fight Network will televise the live UFC® 210 PRE-FIGHT SHOW at 7 p.m. ET leading into live prelims on TSN2. The show features retired UFC contenders Kenny Florian and Yves Edwards working as desk analysts with host Karyn Bryant, along with reporter Megan Olivi conducting on-site fighter interviews.

At the conclusion of UFC® 210: CORMIER vs. JOHNSON 2, the live UFC® 210 POST-FIGHT SHOWfeatures highlights, analysis and post-fight interviews.

For a full listing of Fight Network’s broadcast schedule, please visit www.fightnetwork.com, follow us on Twitter @fightnet, become a fan on Facebook and visit us on Instagram @fightnet.
boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale

March 30, 2017 FNU Combat Sports Show: King Mo vs. Rampage Preview, Arum says UFC will take half of Conor’s purse against Floyd

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Tom, Rich and Tony break down last week’s big fights and preview the upcoming week’s combat sports cards. The main focus is Bellator 175 in MMA this week. We also discuss some of the latest news, such as a claim made by Bob Arum that the UFC wants to take half of Conor MacGregor’s purse when and if he fights Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match. We also have a good laugh about Rampage Jackson being mad at King Mo Lawal for “fat shaming” him..  Rampage’s defense is vintage Cartman from South Park: “I’m not fat, I’m just big boned.”

Bellator, boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale

FNU Combat Sports Show: UFC Recaps, Golovkin vs. Jacobs Results, Bellator 175 Preview

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Tom, Tony and Rich discuss the world of combat sports. Conor MacGregor will fight Floyd Mayweather, Jr. if you believe Dana White. We also chat about UFC Fight Night events featuring Jimi Manuwa and Kelvin Gastelum notching huge career wins. We look back at Golovkin vs. Jacobs and the unlikelihood of Canelo taking the fight with Golovkin now. We also preview King Mo Lawal vs. Rampage Jackson next Friday.

Listen to the broadcast below: