Renato Moicano Earns Savage Doctor’s Stoppage Win Over Benoît Saint Denis

Posted on September 29, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Renato Moicano is celebrating a brutal victory…

Behind a savage first-round beating, the 35-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist defeated Benoît Saint Denis by doctor’s stoppage after two rounds on Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Paris.

Moicano denied the rabid fans at the Accor Arena a reason to celebrate, ravaging Saint Denis from the opening bell with vicious ground-and-pound.

Although Saint Denis survived the first round, his face was bloodied and battered with both eyes swelling at a rapid pace.

The Frenchman made a better account for himself in the second round, but the early beating he absorbed had already taken its toll.

With Saint Denis’ right eye swollen shut and his left eye not too far behind, the cageside doctor stepped in before the start of the third round and urged the referee to stop the fight due to Saint Denis’ inability to see out of his right eye.

Moicano (20-5-1 MMA, 12-5 UFC) entered the fight as the UFC‘s No. 11-ranked lightweight and picked up his fourth straight win. Afterward, he sent a message to the lightweight division.

“I want easy money — Paddy Pimblett and Dan Hooker,” Moicano said. “I don’t want fights that are tough, I want easy fights. I just beat a hell of an athlete. Everybody was talking about Benoît Saint Denis, but guess what, ‘Money’ Moicano is the man tonight.”

A loud and supportive crowd had been festive the entire night until Moicano’s stunning opening round. Moicano opened the fight as the aggressor and swooped in for a takedown just seconds into the fight. Before Saint Denis could react, Moicano had snaked around to his back, used a body triangle to transition to full mount and slammed elbows and punches into the Frenchman’s head. Accor Arena fell nearly silent as Saint Denis suffocated underneath Moicano’s heavy top control.

Wearing a crimson mask over a face that was quickly turning purple from the bruising, Saint Denis (13-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) sought to change his fortunes in the second round and made a good account for himself with his striking. But Moicano remained patient and worked behind the jab as both of Saint Denis’ eyes began to swell shut.

When Saint Denis returned to his corner, it was clear the damage from the first round had piled up. Saint Denis desperately tried to continue fighting, but the doctor made the call to end the fight when the Frenchman was unable to see.

Saint Denis, who is out of the Bayonne region in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France, has dropped consecutive fights for the first time in his career. He lost by knockout to Dustin Poirier in March and will likely drop in the lightweight rankings after the beating he took from Moicano.

Charles Oliveira to Fight Michael Chandler in Five-Round Co-Main Event at UFC 309

Posted on September 13, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Charles Oliveira has locked in his next opponent.

The 34-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist (34-10) will fight Michael Chandler in a five-round co-main event at UFC 309 on November 16 at Madison Square Garden, UFC president Dana White told Barstool Sports on Friday night.

The UFC had not yet announced a main event for that card, but an announcement was expected soon.

Chandler (23-8) was originally slated to fight Conor McGregor.

The news does not necessarily mean Chandler will not fight McGregor (22-6), whom he coached against on “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2023. The two were supposed to fight in June, but McGregor was forced to pull out of the bout because of a toe injury. It was the first time McGregor had ever pulled out of a

McGregor has claimed on social media he wanted to fight in 2024, even posting video of him training recently, but the UFC has publicly stated he would not fight until 2025.

“Chandler saw that takedown getting stuffed and mauled [on social media] and officially dipped,” McGregor wrote on X on Friday night, adding that he was drug tested earlier in the day.

He went on to write: “Give me my f—ing date!”

Chandler, a former lightweight champion in Bellator MMA, has not fought since a submission loss to Dustin Poirier in 2022, mostly because he elected to wait on a fight with McGregor.

The bout at UFC 309 will be a rematch of a vacant championship bout that took place in 2021.

Chandler hurt Oliveira with punches in the opening round of the fight before suffering a TKO loss to Oliveira in the second round. Oliveira went on to defend the belt twice before losing it to current champion Islam Makhachev.

Caio Borralho Defeats Jared Cannonier to Earn UFC Top-Five Ranking

Posted on August 25, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Caio Borralho has burst into the Top Five.

While it’s not easy to break into a top-five ranking in the UFC, but the 31-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist has made it happen in a relatively short time and without a blemish.

Borralho, a contender out of Sao Paulo, Brazil, recorded the biggest win of his career on Saturday, a unanimous decision over former title challenger Jared Cannonier.

The win improved his record in the UFC to 7-0 and immediately inserted his name into the middleweight title picture.

Cannonier was ranked No. 5 in the division going into the UFC Fight Night main event at the Apex in Las Vegas.

“I’ve been having amazing performances in the UFC for a long time, and it’s never been an easy road,” Borralho said. “All of my opponents were tough, and I think they all brought out the best of me in this cage and made me the athlete that I am. … I am the new face [of the division]. On Tuesday, I want to see my name ranked in the top five.”

All three judges scored the fight for Borralho: 49-45, 49-45 and 48-46. It was a convincing victory for the Brazilian, but it wasn’t an easy one. Cannonier, who turned 40 this year, hurt Borralho multiple times. He shot a stiff right hand through Borralho’s guard in the fourth, opening a cut under his right eye.

Borralho took it all in stride, however, and outlanded Cannonier in total strikes 141-84, according to UFC Stats.

Borralho bothered him with leg kicks in the opening minutes, so much that Cannonier switched his stance as early as the first round. Borralho put an exclamation point on the performance in the fifth, dropping Cannonier with a left hand and nearly finishing him with strikes on the ground.

It was another stellar performance by an athlete out of the Fighting Nerds gym in Sao Paulo, which has been steadily gaining notice over the past year.

Carlos Prates, another one of its students, became the first man to ever knock out Li Jingliang last week at UFC 305.

“We study this game a lot and put all of our soul into this game,” Borralho said. “Everything is on the line for us. … Everybody that sees [the gym’s trademark reading glasses] must be afraid. We are the Fighting Nerds and we’re coming to take over.”

Borralho, who signed with the UFC in 2021 after winning twice on Dana White‘s Contender Series, wasted no time calling for defending champion Dricus Du Plessis.

Nate Diaz Defeats Jorge Masvidal By Majority Decision in Professional Boxing Match

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

It’s sweet revenge for Nate Diaz.

It took almost five years, but the 39-year-old half-Mexican American mixed martial artist and professional boxer finally exacted revenge on Jorge Masvidal in a professional boxing ring on Saturday.

Diaz defeated Masvidal by majority decision in a 10-round match, which headlined a pay-per-view event at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Two of the three judges scoring the bout, which saw competitive, back-and-forth action, scored it for Diaz via scores of 98-92 and 97-93. A third scored it an even draw at 95-95.

The victory avenged Diaz’s third-round TKO loss to Masvidal from November 2019, when the two met in the UFC‘s first BMF title fight.

Masvidal won when a physician ruled Diaz couldn’t continue due to a cut; Diaz didn’t agree.

After Saturday’s win, Diaz called for two more rematches, Jake Paul, who defeated him in boxing last year, and UFC champ Leon Edwards.

“I’m going to beat Jake Paul’s f—ing ass and I’m down to fight the highest-ranked boxer I can find,” Diaz said. “My main objective is to be the best fighter in the world, so I want to go back and get a UFC title. [UFC welterweight champion] Leon Edwards, Jake Paul and anybody the f— else, you’re dead.”

Masvidal, 39, who retired from MMA in April but has already hinted at a possible comeback, said he disagreed with the scorecards and called for a third fight against Diaz.

“I thought I won,” Masvidal said. “I thought I hit the harder shots. We can do it again, we’re 1-1. We’ll find a place and do it again.”

It was a classic Diaz performance, as he simply overwhelmed Masvidal with volume over the course of the 175-pound fight. Masvidal appeared to land the harder shots, but Diaz’s notorious chin held up beautifully, and his pace was a weapon for him all night. At times, he laughed and turned his back to Masvidal, and the two continued to fire punches until the final bell.

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.

Filmax Acquires Rights to Ilia Topuria-Documentary “Matador”

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Ilia Topuria’s life story is headed to the big screen…

Filmax has unveiled its latest pickup, director Giampaolo Manfreda’s ultimate fighting documentary Matador, about the 27-year-old Georgian and Spanish world champion MMA fighter.

Produced by Señor Mono, with the support of Spanish pay television giant Movistar+ and Filmax, Matador will hit Spanish theaters on September. 19.

Having acquired international rights, Filmax is offering distributors in other territories the opportunity to release the film in their own markets around that same time.

Nicknamed El Matador, Topuria became the UFC world champion in February in a blockbuster match against Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski, ending a four-year title reign.

Matador documents eight months of Topuria’s career, beginning with his fight against Josh Emmett in Florida, which elevated him into the global top five of UFC’s fighter rankings, and culminating with his title match against Volkanovski.

The film demonstrates the incredible training and personal sacrifices a top fighter must endure to reach the highest levels of the sport. It was produced by a team that was given unprecedented access into Topuria’s personal and professional lives.

“There is a point when you become so concentrated on the training you forget about all the cameras around you, all the microphones, about everything,” Topuria has explained. “The good thing about this movie is that it’s exactly that. You’re gonna see Ilia Topuria without any filters. I hope everyone enjoys seeing that.”

During a Madrid presentation of the documentray, a clip was shown of Topuria cutting weight in which the soon-to-be champion is put through torturous starvation and dehydration techniques to get below the threshold needed to qualify for the bout. According to the fighter, what happens in the ring is fun and games, and a job he loves to do. Cutting weight, he said, is a more brutal foe than any fighter he can face in the octagon.

Several questions were asked about his future, including whether he could imagine acting in a fiction production someday.

“My dream was never just to become a champion. I want to be a legend. I want to leave my fingerprint on this sport and I won’t rest until I achieve that,” he answered with no hesitation.

According to producer Iñigo Pérez-Tabernero, “Producing this movie has been one of my life’s greatest gifts because it has allowed me to delve deep into the process of how a person becomes a star and manages to achieve everything that he always dreamed of. But even more important than that, it has allowed me to get to know and to portray the person behind the celebrity, a person who fearlessly opened the doors to their private life for the whole world to see.”

“We are sure we are going to have a very busy summer. I can’t think of a more interesting and attractive product for the international market than Matador, a film which so wonderfully portrays the process behind creating a legend and offers us a close-up look at one of the most attractive, powerful and magnetic figures in international sport and entertainment,” Ivan Diaz, head of international at Filmax, added. “Our clients have already started to show a lot of interest in the project, and we are sure that the film will make a big impact in the international marketplace from September until the end of the year.”

Alex Pereira Knocks Out Jirí Prochazka to Retain UFC Light Heavyweight Title

Posted on June 30, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Alex Pereira has struck again…

The 36-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) scored a vicious second-round knockout of Jirí Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) with a devastating head kick and brutal follow-up strikes to retain his light heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena.

The rematch between the two, who met last November with Pereira winning by second-round TKO, happened a lot sooner than expected as both were called to action on two weeks’ notice after Conor McGregor was forced out of his main event showdown with Michael Chandler because of a broken toe.

Both fighters had competed at UFC 300 and pulled off impressive knockout victories in their respective fights, with Prochazka taking out Aleksandar Rakic and Pereira impressively dispatching Jamahal Hill in defense of his title.

Both left with little damage, but a pair of broken toes was the only thing in the way of Pereira accepting the fight.

As it turns out, those broken toes would connect on the head of Prochazka in the rematch and put an end to the rivalry.

“I didn’t know how I was going to win, but I knew I was going to leave this Octagon happy,” Pereira said through an interpreter.

The fight was a striker’s paradise in the opening round, with Pereira landing leg kicks and Prochazka finding success with the left hook and using his awkward movement to create openings. But Prochazka played too close to the sun and ran into Pereira’s trademark left hook, which sent him crashing to the canvas at the end of the round. Although he tried to show he was unharmed, Prochazka’s legs said otherwise as he stumbled to his corner.

Pereira smelled the blood in the water and wasted little time finishing the job. He opened the second round by uncorking a violent head kick that sent the Czech fighter to the canvas again. But this time there would be no bell to save him as Pereira’s follow-up strikes finished the job just 13 seconds into the round.

What Pereira has been able to accomplish in two short years is nothing short of outstanding. He captured the UFC middleweight championship in just over a year after his promotional debut by knocking out Israel Adesanya and added the light heavyweight title a year after that when he stopped Prochazka.

With another successful defense under his belt, could Pereira chase an unprecedented championship in a third weight class at heavyweight?

“I think that’s in my future,” Pereira said. “I say it a lot. I’m here, I’m available and I think that’s in my future.”

A fight with current heavyweight champion Jon Jones might be the biggest fight that can be made in the UFC at the moment, and it’s clear that Pereira wants to continue to do the unthinkable during his remarkable run. But with Jones slated to face Stipe Miocic later this year, a fight with Pereira might have to wait.

For now, the MMA world is in the palm of his hand.

UFC’s Rising Featherweight Star Diego Lopes Defeats Dan Ige

Posted on June 30, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Diego Lopes continues his winning ways…

The 29-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and rising featherweight star defeated last-minute opponent Dan Ige by unanimous decision on Saturday (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), the culmination of a co-main event that had to be reworked four different times.

Lopes grabbed a decisive advantage with a strong first and second round, but Ige made a valiant effort in the third, catching the Brazilian with a number of hard blows and winning the round.

The fight was only made possible when Ige stepped in on the shortest of notices to replace Brian Ortega in the co-main.

Ortega, who himself wasn’t part of the card until June 13, was officially announced to be withdrawing during the preliminary card due to an illness that gave him a fever of 103 degrees, leaving the UFC to turn to Ige to face Lopes and save the card.

The fight, which was held as a 165-pound catchweight, was only possible because Ige was already scheduled to fight in Las Vegas in three weeks.

Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Jeff Mullen told ESPN that Ige’s medicals being up to date in the system allowed the body to legally approve the bout.

It’s hard to think of a fight set up at a later minute in UFC history. Ige told ESPN he was getting a massage when he started getting calls from UFC executive Hunter Campbell, manager Ali Abdelaziz and more

“Eight weeks, six weeks, four weeks, four hours. It doesn’t matter. This is what I live for. This is my dream. I get to wake up and do what I love. I was literally getting a massage and I had a call from Hunter, Ali and a bunch of people. They say ‘Hey, do you want to fight tonight?’ I was like ‘Man, this is an opportunity to become a legend.’ This is a story that I want to tell my grandkids.

“I couldn’t be happier with my performance.”

The loss can hardly be held against Ige, who likely earned as many points with UFC president Dana White as you possibly can just by showing up to the arena. The gate for the event was $15.9 million, fourth-highest in UFC history.

The experience was no easy journey for Lopes either, who was initially supposed to face Ortega in a featherweight bout before the veteran requested it be moved up to lightweight. Then a new opponent stepped in and made it 165. Just like Ige, Lopes said the chaos didn’t matter through an interpreter:

“Whomever, whenever, however, it doesn’t matter. I’ll fight anybody. I thought ‘Hey, 145.’ Then I got the news at 4 o’clock in the morning ’It’s going to be 155.’ And then today, 4 p.m., I found out that this fight was changing. It doesn’t matter.”

Now, both fighters have maximum brownie points with the UFC, and both said they wanted to use them to join the UFC 306 card at The Sphere in September.

Ronald Acuña Jr. Earns 2024 Espy Awards Nod for Best MLB Player

Posted on June 26, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Ronald Acuña Jr. is in the running…

The 2024 Espy Awards nominations have been revealed, with the 26-year-old Venezuelan baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves earning a nod.

Acuña, who won the National League Most Valuable Player Award lin 2023, is up for Best MLB Player.

Alex Pereira has also earned a nod.

The 36-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer is nominated in the Best UFC Fighter category.

Pereira is the current UFC light heavyweight champion and a former UFC middleweight champion.

Seniesa Estrada is up for Best Boxer; Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí is nominated for Best Soccer Player, Carlos Alcaraz has earned a nod in the Best Tennis Player category and Kamilla Cardoso and her fellow South Carolina Gamecocks are up for Best Team.

Winners will be announced July 11 in a ceremony hosted by Serena Williams at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. It will air on ABC live at 8:00 pm ET/ 5:00 pm PT.

Here is the complete list of 2024 nominees.

BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels / Los Angeles Dodgers
Scottie Scheffler, Golf
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS
Caitlin Clark, Iowa Women’s Basketball
Coco Gauff, Tennis
Nelly Korda, Golf
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
Haleigh Bryant, LSU Gymnastics
C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Juju Watkins, USC Women’s Basketball
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
49ers Christian McCaffrey scores a TD for a record breaking 17 straight games
Caitlin Clark becomes NCAA’s All Time Scoring Leader breaking Pete Maravich’s Record
Tara VanDerveer, Stanford Women’s Basketball – gets 1,203rd win to pass Coach K for most by any coach in NCAA basketball history
Max Verstappen wins record 10th consecutive race with victory at Italian Grand Prix

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
Michigan’s Blake Corum and Will Johnson, 2024 College Football National Championship MVPs
Kayla Martello, Boston College Women’s Lacrosse
Midge Purce, NJ/NY Gotham FC – NWSL Championship MVP
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics

BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE
Simone Biles, Gymnast
Paige Bueckers, University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball
Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns
Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans

BEST PLAY
Jayda Coleman calls GAME sending Oklahoma to their 4th Straight Championship – NCAA Softball 6/4/2024
Anthony Edwards Dunk of the Year – 3/18/24 – NBA
Alabama scores on 4th & 31 to win vs. Auburn 11/25/23
Lamar Jackson Caught His Own Pass & Ran With it – 1/28/24 – NFL

BEST TEAM
South Carolina Gamecocks, NCAA Women’s Basketball
Kansas City Chiefs, NFL
Michigan Wolverines, NCAA Football
Las Vegas Aces, WNBA
University of Connecticut Huskies, NCAA Men’s Basketball
Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA Softball
Boston Celtics, NBA
Florida Panthers, NHL
Texas Rangers, MLB

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS
Jayden Daniels, LSU Football
Zach Edey, Purdue Men’s Basketball
Ousmane Sylla, Clemson Soccer
Pat Kavanagh, Notre Dame Lacrosse

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS
Haleigh Bryant, LSU Gymnastics
Caitlin Clark, Iowa Basketball
Sarah Franklin, Wisconsin Volleyball
Izzy Scane, Northwestern Lacrosse

BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
Jaydin Blackwell World Champion Sprinter
Ezra Frech, World Champion High Jumper
Brenna Huckaby Snowboarding Champion
Oksana Masters, Cross-Country Skier/Hand Cyclist

BEST NFL PLAYER
Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

BEST MLB PLAYER
Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Corey Seager, Texas Rangers

BEST NHL PLAYER
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

BEST NBA PLAYER
Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

BEST WNBA PLAYER
Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx
Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

BEST DRIVER
Ryan Blaney, NASCAR
Matt Hagan, NHRA
Álex Palou, IndyCar
Max Verstappen, F1

BEST UFC FIGHTER
Islam Makhachev
Sean O’Malley
Alex Pereira
Zhang Weili

BEST BOXER
Terence Crawford
Seniesa Estrada
Naoya Inoue
Oleksandr Usyk

BEST SOCCER PLAYER
Aitana Bonmatí, Spain
Naomi Girma, USWNT
Vinicius Junior, Brazil/Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappé, France/Real Madrid

BEST GOLFER
Nelly Korda
Xander Schauffele
Scottie Scheffler
Lilia Vu

BEST TENNIS PLAYER
Carlos Alcaraz
Novak Djokovic
Coco Gauff
Iga Swiatek

Anderson Silva to Fight Former MMA Rival Chael Sonnen in Boxing Match This June

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Anderson Silva is preparing for a highly anticipated rematch… of sorts.

The 49-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist and professional boxer, a former UFC middleweight champion who holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days, is set to renew one of the greatest rivalries in mixed martial arts history next month.

Silva will face Chael Sonnen in a boxing match on June 15 in Brazil, the Spaten Fight Night promotion announced on Sunday.

Silva had been teasing his career finale earlier this week, claiming his final fight would take place next month in his birthplace of Sao Paulo.

Sonnen confirmed his participation via social media.

“Oh Anderson, yoohoo,” Sonnen said. “It’s me again. See you June 15.”

Silva (34-11) and Sonnen (30-17-1) produced one of the most memorable two-fight rivalries in UFC history.

Silva was in the midst of a UFC-record 16 consecutive wins when he ran into Sonnen in 2010. The outspoken title challenger from West Linn, Oregon, was a massive underdog going into their first meeting at UFC 117.

Sonnen shocked the world for 23 minutes of that fight, dominating Silva with takedowns and ground-and-pound before Silva secured a late triangle choke off his back. The UFC is set to induct that fight into its Hall of Fame in late June.

They met again two years later at UFC 148 in a blockbuster rematch in Las Vegas. Silva knocked out Sonnen with a knee to the chest after Sonnen lost balance throwing a spinning backfist.

Silva retired from the UFC in 2020, but has since boxed professionally four times. He is 2-1-1 in the ring, with the only loss coming to Jake Paul via decision in 2022. Sonnen retired from MMA in 2019 after five appearances in Bellator MMA. The former collegiate wrestler has never boxed professionally.

Silva was widely considered the greatest fighter of all time by 2010, but Sonnen’s ability to promote their rivalry with his trash talk of the Brazilian legend helped propel him to stardom.

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