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Ryan Garcia explains why he skipped pre-fight faceoff with Conor Benn

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Ryan Garcia explains why he skipped pre-fight faceoff with Conor Benn

Ryan Garcia skipped a pre-fight faceoff with opponent Conor Benn and there were all sorts of questions about why it didn't happen.

Was Garcia blowing off his contractually obligated responsibilities to promote the fight? Was there a bigger issue at work that made Garcia skip the faceoff. Well, it turns out it was nothing that dramatic.

In fact, Garcia just flat out didn't want to be there so he skipped the entire event.

“I wasn't there because I didn't want to be†Garcia said during media day on Wednesday. “I mean look we got a faceoff at the press conference and then at the weigh-ins and then a final faceoff literally in the ring when the ref's giving you instructions.

“I've been doing this so long. I had fight weeks in Vegas before and I've never had to do a faceoff on Tuesday or Wednesday. I've never had to do that. I have a routine to do and it's just something I didn't want to do.â€

While Garcia was missing in action, Benn was there waiting on an opponent who never actually showed up.d

As much as Garcia would love to claim it was some great bit of mental warfare to get at Benn, that just wasn't his actual intention. Still if the side effect of missing the faceoff irritated Benn, then it was a happy accident and Garcia is happy to embrace that.

“It was funny seeing him staring at himself,†Garcia said with laugh. “But yeah, I mean I don't know if it affected him. I don't really care. I'm glad that people got a kick out of it.â€

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MMA

Dana White gives encouraging update on Raoni Barcelos

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Dana White gives encouraging update on Raoni Barcelos
Dana
White has addressed Raoni
Barcelos' concerning stoppage loss to Raul Rosas
Jr.

Barcelos was ahead on the judges' scorecards heading into the fifth
round of his
Ultimate Fighting Championship main event against Rosas Jr. at
Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Sept. 26. However, the Brazilian appeared
to lose consciousness during a wrestling exchange against the
Octagon wall, prompting the referee to stop the
UFC Vegas 121 headliner. He was later removed from the Octagon
on a stretcher.

Raoni Barcelos is conscious and walking as doctors await test
results

Barcelos was transported to a hospital, where he subsequently
regained consciousness. According to White, Barcelos is lucid and
able to walk while awaiting test results to determine what caused
the episode.

White said all pre-fight medicals were triple-checked before the
event. According to the UFC CEO, three ambulances and six doctors
were present at Meta APEX when Barcelos lost consciousness. White
also said Barcelos was sent directly to a Level I trauma center
rather than Valley Hospital.

“All the pre-fight medicals were triple-checked; everything was
good,†White said at the
Dana White's Contender Series Season 10
Week 8 post-fight presser. “There were six doctors here that
night, three ambulances. He was taken straight to the trauma
center, not to Valley. Everything was done the right way and the
outcome was good.â€

As for whether Barcelos will fight again, White said his primary
concern is the 39-year-old's health.

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MMA

Dana White blames UK resistance to his growing boxing role

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Dana White blames UK resistance to his growing boxing role
Dana White claims resistance to his involvement in boxing is
primarily coming from the United Kingdom.

Tyson
Fury and Anthony
Joshua are set to clash in a highly anticipated boxing bout on
Dec. 11 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The fight will
be broadcast on Netflix, which has announced that Turki Alalshikh's
The Ring and Dana White will collaborate to promote the event.
However, White's longtime rival, Eddie Hearn, disputes the
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO's involvement.

Dana White says British boxing figures are pushing back on his
involvement

White labeled traditional boxing promoters taking issue with his
involvement an “ego thing.†He admitted that boxing isn't what it
was in the United States two decades ago and claimed it has become
primarily a British sport. According to White, the complaints and
resistance surrounding his involvement are coming from the U.K.

“Boxing has taken a hit in the United States,†he said at the
latest
Dana White's Contender Series presser. “It's not as big as it
was here 20 years ago. It has become a very British sport. And the
sh*t that you're hearing, the crying and the b*tching and whatever,
is all coming from the U.K.â€

Despite Fury and Joshua signing contracts with Alalshikh and coming
through in their tune-up fights earlier this year, uncertainty
surrounded the bout until it was recently made official. While some
parties wanted the fight to take place in the U.S. to cater to a
global audience, Joshua and Hearn pushed for the fight to remain in
the U.K. Fury also publicly expressed doubts about the matchup
taking place until recently.

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MMA

Former NFL linebacker says UFCs star effect doesnt work on him

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Former NFL linebacker says UFC's 'star effect' doesn't work on him
Anthony
Wint believes his stint in the National Football League
prepared him to handle the spotlight in the UFC.

Wint (8-0) is scheduled to make his sophomore
Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance against Lucas
Armand (6-0) at UFC
332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The former New
York Jets linebacker says he isn't overwhelmed by being around UFC
stars or being viewed as a celebrity.

Anthony Wint says his NFL experience changed how he handles the
UFC spotlight

Wint has been training with several top-ranked and rising UFC
fighters, including Esteban
Ribovics, Gregory
Rodrigues, Anthony
Hernandez, Reinier
de Ridder and Roman
Dolidze. However, “Bow Down†isn't starstruck, having already
been around high-profile athletes in the NFL. Wint also learned not
to be overwhelmed by the spotlight after his NFL career didn't
develop as he had hoped.

“I played in the NFL and I'm used to being around the stars… I'm
used to people seeing me as a celebrity,†Wint said in an
interview. “And I train with Esteban [Ribovics]. My last fight, I
literally sparred three or four of the top-ranked guys in the
185-pound division: ‘Robocop,' I was around Anthony, RDR… I've done
countless rounds with him, even Roman; when I went to the P.I., I
got to roll around with him a little bit. So, you miss this star
effect of, ‘Dang, I'm in the UFC.' Because I already had that in
the NFL and I saw how it worked and it didn't work.â€

Wint earned his UFC contract on the ongoing season of
Dana White's Contender Series with a 34-second finish in
August. Wint refused to leave Las Vegas without getting his UFC
debut booked and made his Octagon debut 11 days later at
UFC Sacramento, where he earned a first-round submission
victory.

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