Chris Avila Pulls Off Upset Boxing Victory Over Anthony Pettis

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Chris Avila has pulled off an upset…

In a somewhat surprising result to many viewers, the Latino boxer (6-1) defeated former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (1-1) via unanimous decision (58-56, 59-55, 59-55) in a six-round 175-pound affair on the main card of the Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal-headlined boxing event.

Avila utilized a high-volume attack, much similar to a Diaz, as pointed out by commentator Sean O’Malley on the broadcast.

There were arm-punches galore, as Avila successfully implemented his unusual but effective approach.

Pettis hung in with Avila, but was unable to score much significant offense if any. Avila halted him on a multiple occasions with hooks that visibly threw Pettis out of rhythm.

The win for Avila was his sixth in a row since he lost his professional boxing debut in 2014.

Avila also holds boxing wins over MMA notables Jeremy Stephens and Anthony Taylor.

Pettis has fought all over the combat sports world since his UFC departure in 2020.

He remains under contract with PFL but also has competed in boxing and for Karate Combat.

Chris Avila to Fight Jeremy Stephens in Pro Boxing Match

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Chris Avila has lined up his next opponent…

The Latino pro mixed martial artist turned boxer, a longtime teammate of Nate Diaz, will face UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens in a pro boxing match on the undercard of the Jake Paul–Nate Diaz card on August 5 in Dallas.

The bout is contracted for 168 pounds over eight rounds, according to a release.

Avila, who first mentioned the fight Wednesday on The MMA Hour, is the more experienced boxer, but Stephens spent 14 years in the UFC.

Stephens made his pro boxing debut in April with a draw against UFC legend Jose Aldo. The San Diego resident fought in the PFL last year after departing from the UFC, where he was a heavy hitter with the second-most knockdowns in promotion history (18, tied with Anderson Silva).

Avila is 3-1 as a pro boxer and has won three in a row. The Stockton, California, native is coming off a four-round unanimous decision win over social media influencer Paul Bamba in April. Avila, who also has fought for the UFC and Bellator, was on Paul’s undercard last October, beating YouTube star Mikhail “Dr. Mike” Varshavski.

The Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) also announced Wednesday that Paul and Diaz will be taking part in its program for the August 5 bout.

Stephens vs. Avila is the second undercard bout announced for the event. In the semi main event, Amanda Serrano will put her featherweight titles on the line against Brooklyn rival Heather Hardy.

Antonio Carlos Jr. Earns No. 3 Seed in Professional Fighters League’s Light Heavyweight Playoffs

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Antonio Carlos Jr. is playoff bound…

The 32-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist (15-5) has earned a spot in the Professional Fighters League’s light heavyweight division playoffs.

Carlos, the 2021 champion, secured the No. 3 seed, with a decision win over Bruce Souto at PFL 4 on Friday.

He’ll face No. 2 seed Omari Akhmedov (23-7), who was a standout of the regular season.

Akhmedov knocked out Viktor Pesta in the regular-season opener and submitted Teodoras Aukstuolis in the second round on Friday.

Rob Wilkinson (15-2), of Australia, claimed the No. 1 seed with a first-round knockout of Pesta. He will meet Delan Monte (9-2), who snuck into the playoffs with a 1:32 knockout upset of 2019 champion Emiliano Sordi. Three of the four light heavyweights bound for the playoffs — Carlos, Akhmedov and Wilkinson — have competed previously in the UFC.

At lightweight, history repeated itself for fan favorite Clay Collard (21-10), who failed to make the playoffs for a second consecutive year thanks to a split decision loss to Alex Martinez. Collard came up just short of the 2021 playoffs, when he lost a controversial decision to eventual champion Raush Manfio. Collard disagreed with the scores and vowed to win the lightweight championship this year.

The bout between Collard and Martinez (10-2) was incredibly entertaining. Collard set a high pace on the feet, as he always does. He knocked Martinez down in the second round with a left hook and worked the body with effective combinations. Martinez took his back in the second round, however, and threatened with a choke. He won some grappling exchanges in a close, back-and-forth third round.

Former UFC champion Anthony Pettis currently leads the lightweight standings with six points. He’s scheduled for his second regular-season bout later this month. Pettis is already guaranteed a spot in the 2022 playoffs.

Meanwhile, Martinez and Olivier Aubin-Mercier each punched their ticket to the playoffs. The fourth spot will either go to Jeremy Stephens or Stevie Ray.

The other weight classes will settle into their playoff matchups in the coming weeks, including heavyweight, featherweight, welterweight and women’s lightweight.

Yair Rodriguez In Final Talks to Fight Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night in November

Posted on September 26, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Yair Rodriguez is thisclose to returning to the Octagon…

The UFC is finalizing a featherweight matchup between the 28-year-old Mexican professional mixed martial artist and former champion Max Holloway.

Rodriguez and Holloway would headline an event on November 13, according to ESPN.

Contracts haven’t been signed, but the bout is expected to become official shortly.

It will serve as the main event of a UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.

The 145-pound contest was originally supposed to take place on July 17 in Las Vegas; however, Holloway was forced to pull out due to injury. Rather than book Rodriguez another opponent, the UFC elected to keep the matchup intact until Holloway made a recovery.

According to sources, Holloway accepted the date this week.

Rodriguez (13-2) has not fought since he defeated Jeremy Stephens via decision in October 2019. He was booked to fight Zabit Magomedsharipov in August 2020, but was forced to pull out because of an injury. The Mexican featherweight has only fought three times in the last three years, but is still the UFC’s No. 3-ranked featherweight.

Holloway (22-6) is already viewed as the division’s No. 1 contender. The former champion lost his title to current champion Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision in December 2019. The bout was razor close, and the two fought again in July 2020. Volkanovski won again, by split decision in a bout many observers felt Holloway won.

The 29-year-old Hawaiian fought Calvin Kattar in January, and delivered arguably one of the best performances in UFC history. He defeated Kattar via unanimous decision, and landed 445 total strikes in the process.

The winner of the November bout is virtually guaranteed a title shot.

Yair Rodriguez Reportedly Fighting Max Holloway in UFC Fight Night This Summer

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It looks like Yair Rodriguez will be heading back to the Octagon this summer…

The UFC is finalizing plans for a featherweight matchup between the 28-year-old Mexican professional mixed martial artist and Max Holloway for July, according to UFC president Dana White.

Contracts haven’t been signed, but the UFC is close to finalizing the 145-pound contest, according to ESPN. Once official, it is expected to headline a UFC Fight Night event on July 17 at a location to be announced, sources said.

Rodriguez (13-2) has not fought since he earned a decision victory against Jeremy Stephens in October 2019. He was scheduled to fight last August, but withdrew due to injury.

Rodriguez, of Chihuahua, Mexico, is 8-1 in the UFC overall. His only loss came in 2017 to former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

Holloway (22-6), a former UFC featherweight champion, is coming off arguably one of the greatest performances in UFC history in January. He landed a UFC record 445 total strikes in a five-round decision win over Calvin Kattar at the beginning of the year on Fight Island.

Fighting out of Waianae, Hawaii, Holloway, 29, is already considered in line for a 145-pound title shot, but the division is currently on a bit of a hold, as current champion Alexander Volkanovski is expected to face Brian Ortega at some point in the second half of 2021. With no title fight available, Holloway elected to remain active.

Oliveira Defeats Jeremy Stephens for Third Straight UFC Featherweight Win

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Make that three in a row for Charles Oliveira…

The 25-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist has run his featherweight win streak after defeating Jeremy Stephens.

Oliveira (19-4) dominated Stephens on the ground through two rounds and then survived a late onslaught in the third to take a unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight for Oliveira via scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

“I was training very hard for three months for this fight and he said something that I didn’t like and it made me only want to beat him more,” Oliveira said. “I came and struck with him despite an arm injury, and I was good on the ground, so it’s no doubt to me that I earned this win.”

The Brazilian did a great job of putting the power-punching Stephens (23-11) on his back foot early. He came forward at the start of the fight and shot on Stephens against the fence. Stephens defended the takedown initially, but when Oliveira fell to his back, Stephens obliged the submission specialist by dropping into his guard.

Stephens drops to 1-2 in 2014. He suffered a unanimous decision loss to Cub Swanson in his prior fight in June.

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