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Anthony Joshua admits Ilia Topuria's shocking loss 'changed his mindset' ahead of Tyson Fury showdown

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Anthony Joshua admits Ilia Topuria's shocking loss 'changed his mindset' ahead of Tyson Fury showdown

Heavyweight boxing legend Anthony Joshua's mentality completely changed watching Ilia Topuria's shocking loss at the White House.

Ilia Topuria's unbeaten professional MMA career came to a shocking end on the White House lawn last month at UFC Freedom 250. In his first undisputed UFC lightweight title defence, Topuria lost to interim champ Justin Gaethje by TKO after entering the fight as a massive favorite.

Topuria's downfall came after weeks of confidence exuded, including his prediction of a quick knockout against Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250. For the first time in his career, Topuria left the Octagon without getting his hand raised, with his face busted open from the fight.

Heavyweight boxing great Anthony Joshua, who was watching UFC Freedom 250 as a fan, took a lot from watching Topuria's demise against Gaethje.

Anthony Joshua: Ilia Topuria's pre-fight celebration taught me the ‘seriousness' of fighting

In a recent interview with Combat Evolved, Joshua shared an interesting perspective on Topuria's loss to Gaethje.

“I think you've got to be in the fight game to truly know it's not lit. It's not what people think it is. It's not all fun and games; it's a serious, serious, serious job, man,†Joshua said of Topuria.

“When I watched that Ilia Topuria fight, and who was the other guy he fought? When I watched that fight, I stopped replying to people after that because I said, ‘Yo, it's not a joke.' I saw someone in Ilia who was destined to win; the stars aligned for him to be victorious. I think Ilia had beaten people that Justin had lost against. The odds were in his favor, and that's what I'm saying.

“Ilia, not that it was a bad thing, but I saw him celebrating before. He's entitled to do what he wants, but I just took something from it, and I said, ‘Get back to being untouchable, less accessible, because the fight game is so serious.'  You saw his face, what he went through,†Joshua continued. “That's not a joke, man. It's not a joke.†(h/t Bloody Elbow)

Joshua is set to fight UK boxing star Tyson Fury later this year after an upcoming tune-up fight. If he's victorious, Joshua will cement himself as one of the greatest heavyweights ever.

What is your prediction for Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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MMA

Jan Blachowicz says Jamahal Hill looks fat ahead of heavyweight move

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Jan Blachowicz says Jamahal Hill looks 'fat' ahead of heavyweight move
Jan
Blachowicz believes Jamahal
Hill is forced to move up a weight class in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship due to an undisciplined
diet.

Hill recently announced that he is moving up from light heavyweight
to heavyweight. “Sweet Dreams†certainly looks bulky, even by
heavyweight standards, in his recent videos. Blachowicz is not
impressed with how “fat†Hill is right now.

Why Jan Blachowicz believes Jamahal Hill’s move to heavyweight
is diet-related

Hill is currently out of action until late 2026 after undergoing
knee surgery. However, Blachowicz refuses to blame the surgery for
the American’s massive increase in size. The Polish 205-pounder
claims he has battled numerous injuries and surgeries without
bulking up like Hill. Blachowicz believes his fellow former
champion has gained weight due to an undisciplined diet.

“Did you see how fat he is right now? So, I'm not impressed,â€
Blachowicz told Home of Fight. “I've had a lot of injuries and
surgeries, and I've never looked so bad like him, so he just eats a
lot of sh*t, I think.â€

Hill (12-4) won the light heavyweight title against Glover
Teixeira in 2023. However, he was forced to vacate his belt
soon after, injuring his achilles tendon in a game of pickup
basketball. Hill has since suffered three losses in a row.

Meanwhile, Blachowicz (29-11) has two draws and two losses since
2022. The former light heavyweight champion was scheduled to fight
Bogdan
Guskov in a rematch at
UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1. However, Blachowicz has been left
without an opponent after Guskov accepted a short-notice
replacement fight against Magomed
Ankalaev at
UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25.

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Dustin Poirier details the strongest fighter he faced during UFC career

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Dustin Poirier details the strongest fighter he faced during UFC career
One of Dustin
Poirier's former opponents in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship felt like they weighed 1000
pounds.

Poirier (30-10) recently revealed that Khabib
Nurmagomedov (29-0) is physically the strongest opponent that
he has ever faced. They locked horns back in 2019 in the
penultimate bout of Nurmagomedov's career, and the experience
remains a memorable one for “The Diamond.â€

Dustin Poirier explains why Khabib Nurmagomedov was the
strongest opponent he ever faced

The former interim champion isn't sure if it was pure physical
strength or a combination of elite technique and strength that made
“The Eagle†feel so strong.

“[Khabib] was the strongest guy I've ever felt,†Poirier said on
“The Fight with Teddy Atlas” podcast. “And I'm not sure if it was
actual brute strength or it was a mixture of strength and technique
that just made him feel like he weighed a 1000 pounds.â€

Poirier made his first undisputed lightweight title bid against
Nurmagomedov at UFC
242 in Abu Dhabi. While Nurmagomedov mostly dominated the
fight, his American counterpart had his moments. Poirier caught
Nurmagomedov with a hard strike in the second round and put him in
a guillotine choke in the third round that looked tight.

However, Nurmagomedov popped his head out and made Poirier tap with
a rear-naked choke shortly after. The Russian defended his title
once more against Justin
Gaethje before retiring undefeated in 2020. Meanwhile, Poirier
went on to make two more unsuccessful bids for lightweight gold,
against Islam
Makhachev and Charles
Oliveira, before hanging up his gloves last year following his
defeat to Max
Holloway.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov: I’m a better wrestler today than during UFC title reign

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Khabib Nurmagomedov: I’m a better wrestler today than during UFC title reign
Khabib
Nurmagomedov believes he is a much better wrestler today than
during his time as the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion.

Nurmagomedov (29-0) defended the UFC lightweight title thrice
before retiring as the undefeated champion following a win over
Justin
Gaethje in 2020. Nurmagomedov's surprising retirement came
shortly after the demise of his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
“The Eagle†made good on a promise made to his mother not to fight
without his father in his corner.

Nurmagomedov has since devoted his time to coaching, among other
business ventures. All of his teammates admit that they still can't
get the better of him on the mats, especially after he gained more
weight.

The UFC Hall of Famer claims he hadn't even properly reached his
prime when he retired in 2020. While footage of Nurmagomedov's
fights still leaves many in awe of his wrestling, the former UFC
lightweight champion sees several flaws in his game while
rewatching his fights.

“People think my prime was between 2018 and 2020, but I wasn't in
my prime back then. I turned 32 in September 2020, and I retired in
October,†Nurmagomedov said on the “Smol Talk” podcast. “So, I
hadn't even really begun yet. My grappling has improved
tremendously since then. In 2026, it's much better than it was in
2020. I watch my old fights now and think, ‘How could I have made
that mistake here?' Meanwhile, people watching from the outside
say, ‘Wow, what a level.' But to me, that's not the level. My
grappling is far better now. And the guys who trained with me in
both 2020 and 2026 say the same thing.â€

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