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Dana White’s name booed mercilessly by crowd at Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua press conference

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Dana White’s name booed mercilessly by crowd at Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua press conference

UFC CEO Dana White was back at home in Las Vegas, but his presence still loomed large at the first Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua press conference on Wednesday.

The highly anticipated boxing match was made official just days ago but questions about White's participation in the event have continued to persist. Joshua's longtime manager and promoter Eddie Hearn stated repeatedly that no deal for the fight would get done if White was actually involved with the event.

On Tuesday night at The Contender Series in Las Vegas, White confirmed he wouldn't be attending the press conference but Turki Alalshikh — the money man behind the fight — mentioned the UFC CEO's name, the London crowd unleashed a chorus of boos.

“A big thanks to my brother, who is suddenly not here today, Dana White,†Alalshikh said during the press conference. “I want only one small advice, to Eddie [Hearn], don't watch ‘Braveheart' a lot, huh?â€

For his part, Hearn was smiling from ear to ear when White's name drew such a vocal reaction from the crowd.

Alalshikh also thanked TKO Group Holdings and Zuffa Boxing amd WWE executive Nick Khan, who actually was in attendance for the press conference.

The war of words between White and Hearn has lasted for months and for a time it appeared the friction between them could potentially ruin the fight between Fury and Joshua from actually happening.

But now the fight is official for Dec. 11 in Cardiff, and it remains to be seen if White plays any part in the event itself, which airs exclusively on Netflix.

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MMA

Merab Dvalishvili calls himself a decision machine before Yan trilogy

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Merab Dvalishvili calls himself a 'decision machine' before Yan trilogy
Merab
Dvalishvili can joke about his low finishing rate in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Dvalishvili is scheduled to challenge Petr Yan for
the bantamweight title in a trilogy bout at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. When a fan
recently asked him to predict the outcome, the former champion
jokingly suggested another decision victory.

Merab Dvalishvili jokes about his decision-heavy record ahead
of Petr Yan title fight at UFC 333

Dvalishvili is known for his relentless pressure and wrestling,
with 16 of his 21 career victories coming by decision. The Georgian
has recorded two finishes in the UFC: a technical knockout of
Marlon
Moraes in 2021 and a submission of Sean
O’Malley in his second title defense last year.

Asked how he would beat Yan, Dvalishvili described himself as a
“decision machine.â€

“There are three ways to win: knockout, submission, or decision,â€
Dvalishvili said in a brief
interview. “I’m a decision machine.â€

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MMA

10 UFC wins, zero finishes: Movsar Evloev defends his fighting style

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10 UFC wins, zero finishes: Movsar Evloev defends his fighting style
Movsar
Evloev rejects the notion that fans only want bloody
fights.

Evloev is scheduled to challenge Alexander
Volkanovski for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The Russian
challenger has won all 10 of his UFC bouts by decision but believes
fans appreciate his fighting style.

Movsar Evloev argues wrestling can entertain UFC fans ahead of
Volkanovski title fight

The recent departures of Michael
Page and Farid
Basharat have fueled debate about whether winning is enough to
secure a new UFC contract. Neither fighter was re-signed despite a
winning streak, though a lack of finishes has not been established
as the reason for either departure.

Evloev believes finishes are not the only measure of a fighter's
value. He says fans also appreciate tactics, skill and
wrestling.

“I have zero finishes in UFC, but I'm still in the UFC and I'm
fighting for the title,†Evloev told MMA Fighting. “That means only
finishes are not important. To show a good fight is also important.
If you have no finish, you can still show a good fight, an exciting
fight; you can show the beauty of wrestling. There are not just
fans of MMA who just wait for blood. There are so many good fans
who know MMA, and they understand, and maybe because of them I'm
still in the UFC.â€

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MMA

Undefeated fighter blasts UFC, Dana White for creating ‘bullsh*t narrative’ around Farid Basharat release

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Undefeated fighter blasts UFC, Dana White for creating ‘bullsh*t narrative’ around Farid Basharat release

Muhammad Mokaev knows how it feels to win in the octagon and still lose with the UFC.

In 2024, Mokaev experienced a similar rift despite having zero losses on his record, and he is now taking aim at White and the UFC's practices in defense of Basharat.

“When fighters are getting phone calls from bosses telling them, ‘If you keep wrestling like that, you're going to get cut,' then you're basically telling fighters how you want them to fight,†Mokaev wrote on Twitter. “At what point does that cross the line? Isn't that influencing the competition?

“And if you want to release a fighter, fine. But don't then publicly say he was ‘hard to deal with' or create some bullshit narrative about him that could damage his reputation and make other organizations think twice about signing him. Release fighters if you want. Just don't try to damage their careers on the way out.â€

Like Basharat, Mokaev employed a wrestling-heavy style that didn't always produce thrilling back-and-forth contests (though Mokaev did score submission victories in four of his seven UFC wins). The nail in the coffin for Mokaev was a disappointing decision win over Manel Kape at UFC 304, where both men produced little meaningful offense. Making matters worse, Mokaev and Kape had an altercation during fight week, with Mokaev admitting he threw the first punch.

Mokaev is 4-0 since parting ways with the UFC, having finished three of his past four opponents, but remains on the outside looking in with his competition going mostly unrecognized by fans in North America. The 26-year-old is currently No. 7 at 125 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.

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