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Johan Ghazali says he and Ramadan Ondash were never really friends ahead of The Inner Circle grudge match

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Johan Ghazali says he and Ramadan Ondash were never really friends ahead of The Inner Circle grudge match

Ramadan Ondash calls it a friendship. His opponent calls it something else entirely.

Johan Ghazali meets Ondash in a flyweight Muay Thai co-main event at The Inner Circle 24 this Friday, July 31, inside Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium.

The matchup traces back to this past May, when Ondash called Ghazali out moments after beating Suriyanlek Por Yenying in his flyweight debut. Ondash framed the request using words like brotherhood and mutual respect, and Ghazali accepted the fight without hesitation.

“After he called me out, I was like, ‘Okay, I thought, you want to be all brave and call me out,' which is fine. But don't say we're friends or any of that bullsh*t. Like, yeah, I know him. I would say we are friends at arm's length. That's what it is. We're not close friends. We used to fight in the same tournaments all the time. But we never really hung out. We did talk whenever we met, but I never thought of him as a super close friend,†Ghazali said.

“He knows this fight will be the biggest one yet for him. He has to get past me. I'm ready for a fighter of his style and his caliber. I love this type of brawl-style fight. This is always my bread and butter. I see Ramadan as a version of myself from two to three years ago in terms of an experience standpoint. I have the experience now, and I'm a little more mature than him heading into this fight.â€

Johan Ghazali questions Ramadan Ondash's maturity

Johan Ghazali has studied how Ondash handles adversity, pointing specifically to his lone promotional loss this past December. That defeat came against newly crowned ONE Interim Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Aliff Sor Dechapan.

Coming from a fellow 19-year-old, the assessment carries real weight heading into fight week.

“Ramadan fights very emotionally, and you can see in some fights that his confidence fades after he doesn't get what he wants. We all saw that against Aliff. Those clips tell a lot about his character and the person he is. For me, if I lose, I take it on the chin. I don't go around giving f**king excuses, saying people are running. But he clearly lost. He's not experienced enough or mature enough to be able to accept it,†Ghazali said.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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MMA

Daniel Cormier denies Jon Jones’ claims of amicable exchanges off-camera

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Daniel Cormier denies Jon Jones’ claims of amicable exchanges off-camera
Daniel
Cormier isn’t letting Jon Jones
rewrite their rivalry.

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer has dismissed
Jones’ recent claim that the two privately buried the hatchet while
filming a reality series in Thailand, insisting no such
conversation ever took place.

Daniel Cormier rejects Jon Jones’ reconciliation story

Jones recently told ALF Global that Cormier admitted their rivalry
was too lucrative for them to then publicly become friends, even if
there were no lingering issues between them behind the scenes.
“D.C.†rejected Jones’ version of events, insisting the
conversation never happened.

“That didn't happen,†Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “We did
not have that conversation… No. He's just my enemy all the time.
It just is what it is. It’s OK. As I have told you before, you can
go to bed at night with an enemy. You don't need the happy fairy
tale ending.â€

While Cormier acknowledged that their rivalry generated significant
paydays for both men, he stressed that the animosity was never
manufactured for business purposes. He compared their financial
success to other iconic combat sports rivalries, but maintained
that the bad blood between the pair was always genuine.

Cormier also admitted that time has eased some of the intensity,
saying the pair can now occupy the same room without immediately
wanting to fight. However, he insists there's too much history
between them for a friendship to develop. The UFC commentator also
questioned why Jones continues to revisit their rivalry.

“Generally, when you get older, you start to dislike people more,â€
Cormier added. “Jon Jones, I do still hate you and I always
will.â€

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MMA

Canelo Alvarez reveals what will finally make him retire from boxing

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Canelo Alvarez reveals what will finally make him retire from boxing
Saul “Canelo†Alvarez knows his legendary career is slowly
approaching its inevitable conclusion.

The former champion recently opened up about his retirement plans
during an appearance on CBS Mornings, saying he will let his
fitness determine how long to continue, not his age.

Canelo Alvarez opens up on boxing future and life beyond the
sport

Alvarez has already established himself as one of the sport's most
prominent figures with world titles in four weight classes. At 36,
the Mexican icon believes he still has plenty left physically, but
insists he won’t ignore the signs when his body begins to slow
down.

“When I’m there in the gym and I take a lot of punches and then my
body doesn’t respond in the same way, then I know,†Alvarez said.
“I’m not going to go and fight with that kind of training. Because
in the training, you can see everything in the training camp.â€

Alvarez, who has more than 60 wins in his decorated career, also
claimed that he has very little left to compete for. While he still
feels “good” during training sessions, he believes there’s “not
much left” for him to do in the sport and is already looking
ahead.

“I have other things to accomplish outside of boxing,†he
added.

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MMA

Undefeated flyweight calls for a long-term deal with MVP-PFL merger

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Undefeated flyweight calls for a long-term deal with MVP-PFL merger
The
Most Valuable Promotions and
Professional Fighters League merger already has top fighters
rallying for a spot on their roster, including a former
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight.

MVP and PFL recently announced a historic merger that has made
waves in the world of combat sports. The new league will operate
under the MVP banner, led by Jake Paul and
Nakisa Bidarian. Meanwhile, former PFL CEO John Martin will serve
as CEO and Board Member of the new company.

The new league vows to follow a fighter-first approach with
equitable compensation for athletes, along with the opportunity to
build their brands inside and outside of the cage.

Muhammad Mokaev eyes new home after PFL-MVP merger

Former UFC flyweight Muhammad
Mokaev (17-0) is already rallying for a spot on the new
league's roster if they have a flyweight division.

“If MVP & PFL Make 125 division I'm ready for long term deal,â€
Mokaev wrote on X.

Since MVP doesn't have a full-fledged roster and PFL didn't have a
men's flyweight division, it remains to be seen if the new union
introduces the 125-pound division for men.

A lightweight
title fight headlines PFL NY: Tune on Friday, July 31 at 7 p.m. ET
on ESPN.

Despite being on the cusp of title contention, Mokaev shockingly
left the UFC following a lackluster win over Manel Kape
in 2024 after the promotion opted against offering him a renewal.
While the reason for his exit was speculated to be issues outside
the Octagon, “The Punisher†claims he'd been warned to change his
wrestling-heavy fighting style.

Mokaev has finished three of four MMA outings since leaving the
UFC, along with a finish at Karate Combat. Notably, he was
scheduled to fight Adriano
Moraes at MVP's first MMA card this past June. However, the
Dagestani-Brit was pulled from the card a week before fight night
due to visa issues.

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