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PFL CEO John Martin already has Thad Jeans first title defense in mind

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PFL CEO John Martin already has Thad Jean's first title defense in mind

Professional Fighters League CEO John Martin saw several
fighters make a statement at
PFL Washington D.C.

The PFL put on a show at CareFirst Arena in the American capital,
where Thad Jean
(12-0) and Ernesto
Rodriguez (11-2) fought for the vacant welterweight title in
the main event. Rodriguez accepted the matchup on 48 hours' notice
after Jean's original opponent, Shamil
Musaev, pulled out due to weight cut issues.

The PFL CEO believes Shamil Musaev deserves the next title
shot

Jean survived a knockdown scare in the second round and pounded out
an exhausted Rodriguez to earn a stoppage win in the third period.
Martin appreciates Rodriguez for stepping up to save the main
event, although the Cuban was originally supposed to fight Aaron
McKenzie on the same card. Martin also praised Jean for
accepting a sudden change of opponent and would like to see him
defend his title against Musaev next.

“Let's start with Ernesto… 48 hours ago, he was preparing for a
different fight,†Martin said in an interview. “We approached him,
we gave him a huge opportunity and right on the spot he recognized
it and he wanted to do it. And he fought a pretty courageous fight.
He wasn't training to fight someone who is 6-foot-2 and he also
wasn't training to fight five rounds. Which is a different level of
preparation. You could also say the same about Thad Jean.
Obviously, he came out on top and fought a great fight. But he was
training for Shamil, who is a completely different fighter… I would
like to see him do that fight with Shamil.â€

Martin notes that the event was a great night for African talent as
Nkosi
Ndebele defeated Brandon
Davis via a dominant decision and Eliezer
Kubanza made Chris Mixan
tap to a Brabo choke. He was also impressed with Rasul
Magomedov’s hard-fought decision win over Sullivan
Cauley and Rafael
Xavier's first-round buzzer-beater knockout of Tyson
Pedro.

“Tonight was a good night for PFL Africa,†Martin added. “We had
two African fighters represent, and both of them came out with
really, really stellar victories… And then Magomedov — that was a
close fight, and Cauley fought very valiantly… And Xavier, that was
impressive — also can fight standing up, fight on the ground.
These weight classes are still evolving, but you see nights like
tonight, the winners are really putting themselves in positions for
title contention.â€

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Tyson Fury calls for trilogy bout with Oleksandr Usyk after Anthony Joshua 'sh*t his pants'

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Tyson Fury calls for trilogy bout with Oleksandr Usyk after Anthony Joshua 'sh*t his pants'

Tyson Fury is now turning his attention back to Oleksandr Usyk after talks to fight Anthony Joshua have fizzled out yet again.

Recently, Fury slammed Matchroom's Eddie Hearn, who represents Joshua, for creating issues in making the bout come to fruition. Hearn is now threatening legal action against Zuffa Boxing's lead man Dana White and TKO after claiming both parties tried luring Joshua to fight Fury behind his back.

Fury uploaded a new video on social media, and it appears he is done with entertaining the Joshua bout yet again. This time, “The Gypsy King†wants a third chance against Usyk,

“So, it looks like AJ has [expletive] his pants yet again,†Fury said. “After 11 years, he's finally [expletive] his pants yet again. So, this would only lead me to a fight with Oleksandr Usyk. Oleksandr, you, his trainer, and his sensei, and you know he's a weak-minded piece of [expletive], and he would never fight ‘The Gypsy King,' which you've had the guts to do twice, and you know how difficult it is in there.

“Listen, you got the decisions last time. Fair play to you. Good luck to you, but let's do it again. Let's run it back in November. The ball is now in your court, Oleksandr. Do you want to fight me this year in 2026, or are you calling it quits? Let me know because I'm now looking for a new opponent.â€

Many question how much interest there would be in Usyk vs. Fury 3. Usyk has defeated Fury twice, and while both fights were competitive, there wasn't much controversy with the results. Usyk also vacated his heavyweight titles, but he isn't committing to retirement just yet.

What do you make of the latest holdup preventing Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua from fighting each other? Sound off in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria rematch under 'strong consideration,' UFC play-by-play ace Jon Anik believes

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Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria rematch under 'strong consideration,' UFC play-by-play ace Jon Anik believes

If Ilia Topuria gets an immediate rematch against Justin Gaethje, it would not surprise UFC commentator Jon Anik.

Topuria was battered in the first loss of his pro MMA career back in June. “El Matador†suffered a fourth-round TKO loss to Justin Gaethje via corner stoppage to conclude the UFC Freedom 250 broadcast. In the process, Topuria lost the UFC Lightweight Championship.

While Gaethje has said he doesn't think Topuria should get a rematch right away, does the UFC brass feel differently? In a video uploaded on the “Anik Bros†YouTube channel, Anik said he thinks there are real talks about a potential rematch between Gaethje and Topuria (via MMAFighting).

“I think there are internal conversations to potentially try to do Gaethje vs. Topuria 2,†Anik said. “A lot of people wonder aloud, ‘What is next for Ilia Topuria?' And there's certainly an obvious foundation for a fight between him and Paddy Pimblett. But if you have Ilia Topuria, as a fight promoter, would you not want to think about putting him back in a championship setting, given how big UFC Freedom 250 was?

“I think there's strong consideration there.â€

Gaethje has appeared to be more interested in getting a chance to avenge losses against Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira. At the moment, Oliveira doesn't have a fight booked, and Holloway is coming off the quick TKO win over Conor McGregor due to an injury.

“The Highlight†recently told SI that both of his hands are still injured and he won't be fighting again until 2027. That could leave the door open for Arman Tsarukyan to get a title fight if he's able to get past Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 on Sept. 19. If Tsarukyan falls short, it would be one less hurdle for Topuria to get a rematch.

Do you think UFC will book an immediate rematch between Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria, or do you see the promotion going in a different direction? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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Ex-UFC fan favorite Tony Ferguson booked for Misfits Boxing title defense in Miami on Sept. 26

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Ex-UFC fan favorite Tony Ferguson booked for Misfits Boxing title defense in Miami on Sept. 26

Tony Ferguson has his next bout set, and it'll be a title defense under the Misfits Boxing banner.

The promotion announced that “El Cucuy†is scheduled to face Kenzo Biyong inside the James L. Knight Center in Miami on Sept. 26. Ferguson's MF middleweight gold will be at stake. He captured the interim title when he defeated Salt Papi via third-round TKO back in 2025. Ferguson was promoted to main champion status when he later defeated Warren Spencer, and this will be his first attempt at a successful defense.

Ferguson has enjoyed success under the Misfits banner. His record with the promotion stands at 2-0. Ferguson's transition to the world of influencer boxing has been far more smooth than the latter part of his UFC run. “El Cucuy†made his UFC exit having lost eight fights in a row.

While some were calling for Ferguson to retire, the 42-year-old veteran has stuck around and now has a chance to win his third fight in a row. His upcoming opponent, Biyong, is a former pro soccer player looking to make his mark in the fight game. Doing so against someone as experienced as Ferguson is a tall task.

Ferguson recently told Bloody Elbow that during his UFC skid, both his legs were injured and even getting out of bed was painful. It also didn't help that Ferguson was going through mental stress.

“This was during the pandemic, around [the Gaethje fight]. I just did not prepare the same. When I prepared for Khabib we were not conditioning our shins and s—. I was preparing for sambo, I was going to throw this dude right on his f—ing back and embarrass him in his own sport.

“So they switch opponents up and my body took a f—ing healing. I wanted to go out there and demonstrate to people how f—ing tough we were as f—ing human beings. There was a lot that went on and a lot of mental weight that I thought I could handle.â€

Will you be watching Tony Ferguson's next Misfits Boxing match live, or will you see the highlights? Share your plans in the comments below?

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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