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

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3 months ago

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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

Rampage Jackson thinks King Green may have been saved from himself in UFC 332 loss: "

Published

11 hours ago

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October 4, 2026

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Rampage Jackson thinks King Green may have been saved from himself in UFC 332 loss: "
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Ciryl Gane shares first words since Tom Aspinall vacated UFC heavyweight title amid latest eye setback
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Quinton “Rampage†Jackson believes King Green may have been too tough for his own good this past Saturday.

Green collided with Esteban Ribovics on the UFC 332 main card in Salt Lake City. There was some bad blood going into this one after Green's team confronted Ribovics for missing weight. In the end, it was Ribovics who got the last laugh as he delivered several knockdowns to earn the first-round TKO finish.

While Green has said he wishes referee Herb Dean gave him more time to recover, Jackson told Nina Drama that the fan favorite lightweight was likely saved (h/t MMAMania).

“You put on a show before you worry about your own safety,†Jackson said. “We don't think about the wear and tear that we have on our body. That's what they be thinking about. Like, my brother, I wanted to see you win but that might have been a bad decision. What we don't think about in fighting is that s–t adds up.â€

Jackson made a rare appearance as a cornerman for Green, and he said it was difficult for him to deny the request.

“I don't really corner,†Jackson said. “Bobby asked me to corner him and all that stuff, I was like, ‘Ah, I don't wanna do all that stuff.' But, he's such a good guy, I didn't want to say no.â€

“Rampage†admitted that it was tough seeing Green suffer a TKO loss, but it comes with the territory of being a prizefighter.

“Bobby's an entertainer, he's going to bring it no matter what,†Jackson continued. “It's just, for me, he's my boy, he's like my brother. It just sucks seeing one of your boys get beat but it happens. It's part of the job.â€

Green will have to reassess what went wrong before his next outing, which likely won't be until 2027. His three-fight winning streak is over, but Green is no stranger to rebounding from defeat.

What do you think should be next for King Green? Let us know in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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Charles Oliveira-Diego Lopes BMF title fight headlines UFC 335

Published

1 day ago

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October 4, 2026

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Charles Oliveira-Diego Lopes BMF title fight headlines UFC 335
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship has a stacked year-ender taking
shape in Las Vegas.

Charles Oliveira will defend his BMF title against Diego Lopes
at UFC 335 in Las Vegas

During Saturday’s UFC
332 card, the UFC announced that Charles
Oliveira will make his Octagon return against Diego Lopes
with the honorific “BMF†championship on the line in the UFC
335 headliner. Oliveira (37-11, 1 NC; 25-11, 1 NC UFC) claimed
the BMF crown at UFC 326 after upending Max
Holloway on all scorecards. Prior to that, “do Bronxs†forced
Mateusz
Gamrot to tap to a face crank in their UFC Fight Night 261
encounter in October 2025.

Lopes (28-8, 7-3 UFC) had to weather the storm against Steve
Garcia in their UFC White House encounter, but he ultimately
scored a second-round knockout victory. The Lobo Gym MMA
representative bounced back after losing a one-sided decision to
Alexander
Volkanovski in their rematch at UFC 325.

On the same card, former two-division titleholder Alex
Pereira (13-4, 10-3 UFC) will try to score his first win at
heavyweight when he faces Sergei
Pavlovich. Pereira failed to become a three-division champion
when he lost to Ciryl Gane
in the UFC White House co-main event in June. Pavlovich (21-3, 9-3
UFC) smashed Tallison
Teixeira 39 seconds into the UFC Macau co-headliner. The winner
could be close to a shot at the divisional championship.

UFC 335 will take place in Las Vegas on Dec. 12. The card will also
feature a middleweight tilt between rising contenders Joe Pyfer and
Bo
Nickal.

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MMA

UFC 332: 'Silva vs. Wang' Live Results and Highlights

Published

1 day ago

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October 3, 2026

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UFC 332: 'Silva vs. Wang' Live Results and Highlights
Trending:

Ciryl Gane shares first words since Tom Aspinall vacated UFC heavyweight title amid latest eye setback

The Octagon returns to Salt Lake City for tonight's UFC 332 event, a 14-bout fight card headlined by Natalia Silva vs. Wang Cong.

Silva and Cong will be competing for the vacant women's flyweight title, this after longtime champion Valentina Shevchenko was forced to vacate the belt due to injury.

Natalia Silva (20-5-1 MMA) will enter the contest sporting a 14-fight winning streak, with her most recent Octagon victory coming over Rose Namajunas this past January at UFC 324. The 29-year-old Brazilian has not tasted defeat since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Marina Rodriguez way back in December of 2017.

Meanwhile, Wang Cong (10-1 MMA) currently boasts a four-fight winning streak, with her most recent victory coming over Tracy Cortez this past July at UFC 329. ‘The Joker' suffered her lone career loss to Gabriella Fernandes via technical submission back in November of 2024.

UFC 332 is co-headlined by a men's bantamweight matchup featuring Deiveson Figueiredo taking on Payton Talbott.

Image via: samcasttroo on Instagram

Figueiredo (25-7-1 MMA) will enter the bout with hopes of snapping a two-fight losing skid. The former flyweight kingpin is coming off losses to Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong in his most recent efforts. ‘Figgy' has gone just 1-4 over his past five Octagon appearances overall.

Meanwhile, Payton Talbott (11-1 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since scoring a unanimous decision win over former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 323. The 28-year-old has gone 4-1 over his past five fights, with his lone loss in that time coming by way of decision to Raoni Barcelos.

Also featured on tonight's UFC 332 main card lineup is a lightweight bout between King Green and Esteban Ribovics.

Green (36-17-1 MMA) will enter the contest on a four-fight winning streak, this after scoring three straight finishes over Daniel Zellhuber, Jeremy Stephens and Terrance McKinney (see that here). The longtime veteran has gone 7-3 over his past 10 Octagon apperances overall.

Meanwhile, Esteban Ribovics (16-3 MMA) was most previously seen in action this past August at UFC 330, where he scored a second-round TKO victory over Edson Barboza. ‘El Gringo' has gone 3-2 over his past five fights overall.

Get all of tonight's live results and highlights below (refresh for updates):

UFC 332 Main Card (Paramount+, 8 p.m. ET)

Natalia Silva (125) vs. Wang Cong (124.5) – Silva def. Cong by unanimous decision (48-47 x2, 49-46)

Deiveson Figueiredo (135) vs. Payton Talbott (135.5) – Talbott vs. Figueiredo via TKO (punches) at 2:09 of Round 1

King Green (155.5) vs. Esteban Ribovics (156.5)* – Ribovics def. Green via TKO (punches) at 4:08 of Round 1

Khaos Williams (170) vs. Roberto Soldic (170) – Soldić def. Williams by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27 x2)

Ateba Gautier (184) vs. Roman Kopylov (185) – Kopylov def. Gautier via TKO (punches) at 3:12 of Round 1

UFC 332 Prelims (Paramount+, 6 p.m. ET)

Imanol Rodriguez (126) vs. Alden Coria (126) – Rodriguez def. Coria via TKO (front kick to the body and punches) at 3:11 of Round 1

Damian Pinas (185) vs. Andrey Pulyaev (185.5) – Pinas def. Pulyaev via KO (punch) at 1:15 of Round 1

Marcus McGhee (144.5) vs. Anthony Romero (145) – McGhee def. Romero via TKO (punches) at 4:58 of Round 1

Anthony Wint (236) vs. Lucas Armand (263) – Wint def. Armand via TKO (punches) at 0:23 of Round 1

UFC 332 Early Prelims (Paramount+, 4 p.m. ET)

Johnny Walker (242) vs. Mick Parkin (265) – Walker def. Parkin via KO (knee) at 3:35 of Round 1

Rafael dos Anjos (155.5) vs. Alexander Hernandez (155) – Hernandez def. Dos Anjos via TKO (punches) at 3:12 of Round 2

Marvin Vettori (185.5) vs. Ismail Naurdiev (184.5) – Naurdiev def. Vettori by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Jacobe Smith (171) vs. Bruce Whitehead (170) – Smith def. Whitehead via KO (punches) at 1:32 of Round 1

Court McGee (170) vs. Eric Nolan (170) – Nolan def. McGee via KO (punch) at 3:26 of Round 3

Who are you picking to win tonight's women's flyweight title fight between Natalia Silva and Wang Cong? Share your predictions in the comment section PENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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