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Anthony Joshua shuns durability concerns after surviving knockdowns to stop Kristian Prenga: "I got back up"

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Anthony Joshua shuns durability concerns after surviving knockdowns to stop Kristian Prenga: "I got back up"

Anthony Joshua isn't interested in hearing people question his punch resistance after defeating Kristian Prenga.

Joshua competed for the first time since being shaken up in a tragic car accident that killed two close friends of his. He went one-on-one with Prenga at the Jeddah Superdome this past Saturday. Prenga had every intention of playing spoiler, and he even managed to score two knockdowns.

“AJ†composed himself in the second round and sent Prenga crashing down to the canvas with a right hand. Prenga couldn't beat the 10-count, and Joshua was awarded the second-round knockout.

During an interview with The Sun's Wally Downes, Joshua dismissed the notion that his durability should be a concern going into a likely showdown with Tyson Fury (via BoxingScene.com).

“I got back up,†Joshua said. “That happened in, what, the first 20 seconds of round one? Got back up, took a beating, stood the storm, and come back in round two. Boxing's not pretty.â€

Joshua insisted that the knockdowns don't faze him as he realizes there is always a risk when stepping inside the boxing ring.

“If I expect to get in there and expect it to be pretty, I wouldn't get back up because it would be out of my thought process,†Joshua said. “I know it's gonna be tough in there. I know I'm gonna be up against livewires so… It's not so much about resistance, it's about [being] in the ring with strong, heavy-handed guys that are live and they want to come and win. Hit me with a good shot. So what? Roll it off, get up, take some more punches, keep going until it's my turn. Let's see who's tough now. Let's see who's the bad boy. Let's see who's rough and ready. I come out on top.â€

Now, UK boxing is on the verge of finally pulling off Joshua vs. Fury. “The Gypsy King†had his own tune-up fight in Pattaya this past Friday. Fury defeated Mariusz Wach at Max Muay Thai Stadium via seventh-round corner stoppage.

The location of Joshua vs. Fury has been a hot topic. Matchroom's Eddie Hearn insists that Joshua has the fight locked in for England, but the team can be swayed into moving the fight elsewhere under the right terms.

Do you think the knockdowns Anthony Joshua suffered on Saturday should be concerning? Drop your take in the comments below.

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UFC 330: 'Makhachev vs. Garry' Live Results and Highlights

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UFC 330: 'Makhachev vs. Garry' Live Results and Highlights

The Octagon returns to Philadelphia for tonight's UFC 330 event, a 12-bout fight card headlined by Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry.

Makhachev (28-1 MMA) will be looking to earn his first career welterweight title defense this evening at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Russian star captured the promotion‘s coveted 170lbs title this past November at UFC 322, where he earned a dominant unanimous decision win over Jack Della Maddalena. Islam will enter this evening's contest sporting a 16-fight winning streak, which includes recent triumphs over Renato Moicano, Dustin Poirier and Alex Volkanovski.

Meanwhile, Ian Machado Garry (17-1 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since scoring a unanimous decision victory over former division champion Belal Muhammad this past November in Qatar. Prior to that triumph, ‘The Future' was coming off an impressive win over Carlos Prates.

UFC 330 is co-headlined by a women's strawweight title fight featuring Mackenzie Dern taking on Gillian Robertson.

(via Zuffa LLC)

Dern (16-5 MMA) will be competing for the first time since capturing the promotion's then vacant strawweight world title this past October at UFC 321. The jiu-jitsu ace has won her last three Octagon appearances, which includes a submission victory over Amanda Ribas (see that here).

Meanwhile, Gillian Robertson (17-8 MMA) will enter her first career UFC title fight sporting a five-fight winning streak. ‘The Savage‘ was most previously seen in action this past March, where she scored a unanimous decision win over Amanda Lemos. Prior to that triumph, the Canadian standout was coming off a second-round TKO victory over Marina Rodriguez.

Also featured on tonight's UFC 330 main card lineup is a lightweight contest between Jalin Turner and Kauê Fernandes.

Turner (15-9 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since earning a first-round TKO victory over Edson Barboza this past December at UFC 323. That triumph snapped a two-fight losing skid for ‘The Tarantula', who had previously suffered stoppage losses to Renato Moicano and Ignacio Bahamondes respectively.

Meanwhile, Kauê Fernandes (11-2 MMA) will enter this evening's contest on a three-fight winning streak, with his latest victory coming by way of first-round TKO this past September against Harry Hardwick. The Brazilian has gone 3-1 since joining the UFC ranks in November of 2023.

If that wasn't enough to get you interested the first fight of the main card is a lightweight bout between Edson Barboza and Esteban Ribovics.

Barboza (24-14 MMA) will be looking to snap a three-fight losing skid when he takes to the Octagon this evening. The 40-year-old veteran has suffered losses to Jalin Turner, Drakkar Klose and Lerone Murphy in his most recent efforts. Edson's most recent victory occurred in October of 2023, where he outpointed Sodiq Yusuff in a ‘FOTN' affair.

Meanwhile, Esteban Ribovics (15-3 MMA) was most previously seen in action this past April, where he suffered a submission loss to Mateusz Gamrot. Prior to that setback, ‘El Gringo' was coming off a unanimous decision victory over Elves Brener.

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

UFC 330 Main Card (9pm EST on Paramount / PPV)

170 lbs: Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry –

115 lbs: Mackenzie Dern vs. Gillian Robertson –

155 lbs: Jalin Turner vs. Kaue Fernandes –

185 lbs: Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Dustin Stoltzfus –

155 lbs: Edson Barboza vs. Esteban Ribovics –

UFC 330 Televised Prelims (7pm EST on Paramount+)

170 lbs: Chidi Njokuani vs. Joel Alvarez –

125 lbs: Charles Johnson vs. Eduardo Chapolin –

185 lbs: Donte Johnson vs. Eric McConico – Johnson def. McConico via KO (punches) at 1:38 of Round 1

185 lbs: Vicente Luque vs. Tresean Gore – Gore def. Luque by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

UFC 330 Early Prelims (5:30 EST on UFC Fight Pass)

205 lbs: Rafael Tobias vs. Lucas Fernando – Fernando def. Tobias via TKO (knee and elbows) at 1:10 of Round 3

170 lbs: Neil Magny vs. Ramiz Brahimaj – Magny def. Brahimaj via TKO (punches) at 3:20 of Round 2

170 lbs: Jeremiah Wells vs. Myktybek Orolbai – Wells def. Orolbai via technical submission (ninja choke) at 1:24 of Round 3

Who are you picking to win this evening's welterweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Ian Machado Garry? Share you predictions in the comment section PENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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Ian Garry polices UFC 330 reporter questions, MMA media vet states, "that's not the way this works"

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Ian Garry polices UFC 330 reporter questions, MMA media vet states, "that's not the way this works"

Ian Garry wanted to avoid talking about personal subjects outside the cage during the media day leading into his first UFC title shot, but this was deemed improper protocol by one of MMA's most veteran media members. The Irish standout will compete against Islam Makhachev for the latter's welterweight crown in Philadelphia on August 15th. Ahead of the fistic fireworks this Saturday, Garry spoke to the credentialed media members assembled for the UFC 330 media day.

Kicking off his fight week media obligations in a fairly clear fashion, with an excerpt of the full scrum shared via X account @HappyPunch, Garry said,

“Before we start, I just want to make one thing abundantly clear. I have got the biggest fight of my life this weekend. I am absolutely completely f***ing focused on the fight. So let's stick to the professional stuff, yeah? Stick to the fighting, let's talk about the fighting. Let's talk about Islam [Makhachev], let's talk about the fight. Nothing else.â€

Luke Thomas noticed the clip posted by Happy Punch and then retweeted his thoughts regarding the proclamations of the brash Garry ahead of his bid for the 170-pound strap in the coming days. Articulating his viewpoint on this scenario in a quote tweet, Thomas stated,

“[Garry']s trying to politely dissuade what could be an onslaught of questions about irrelevant, prurient topics, but that's not the way this works. He can decline to answer, but not set the terms.â€

Ian Garry reflects on his journey in martial arts before this massive matchup at UFC 330

Islam Makhachev is regarded as the top pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts currently, and Ian Garry is relishing the nature of this moment as he mulls over this being such a seismic culmination of a broader journey in combat sports. Expanding upon these narrative pieces at the UFC 330 media day, Garry quipped [via MMA Junkie],

“I knew from the moment I started this sport, the talent that I had. I knew that with all the talent, the discipline, the sacrifice and the hard work I put in, I knew I'd get here, and I have gotten here. Nobody in the world has deserved a world title shot more than me. It still hasn't hit me yet. It'll be Friday when it hits me, ‘All right, this is it. He's here.' There's no more to do. There's no more weight cutting. No nothing. No media. It's just show up, face off at the ceremonials, and I know tomorrow we're fighting.â€

“I think then it will kind of come to reality that it's real. I've always said I want to fight the toughest fighters in the world, the best fighters in the world, because that's how you become great. You leave no question marks. You make no excuses. I've fought some of the greatest fighters walking this planet right now at welterweight.â€

“It's going to be a big honor to go out there and compete against Islam, the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the planet, a world champion. His legacy is set in stone. He's done so much in this sport. Beating him, it's exactly the challenge I'd want to become the champion of the world.â€

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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Anything but Fighting: Neil Magny

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Anything but Fighting: Neil Magny

PHILADELPHIA – UFC welterweight veteran Neil Magny speaks with MMA Fighting's José Youngs about not watching movies or TV, instead focusing his attention on a love of sourdough bread, remodeling homes, listening to audio books, and more on the latest episode of Anything But Fighting.

Magny competes Saturday at UFC 330 in what will be his 38th appearance for the promotion, matching a level of output tied with Donald Cerrone and surpassed only by Andrei Arlovski (42 UFC fights) and Jim Miller (47). He takes on Ramiz Brahimaj on the preliminary portion of the card.

The 16-year veteran holds numerous other notable records in the UFC, including the most wins and most appearances in the welterweight division, as well as being tied for the third-most wins in UFC history overall behind only Charles Oliveira (25) and Miller (28). He is tied for the fourth-most UFC welterweight stoppages ever with Matt Hughes (12), Vicente Luque (14), and Matt Brown (15), and is tied with Brad Tavares for the most decision wins (14) in UFC history.

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