What a battle! Monster Energy congratulates MMA athlete Sean Strickland on defeating Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in Newark. In the night’s Co-Main Event fight contested in the UFC’s middleweight division, the 33-year-old from Riverside, California, earned a split decision victory after battling his Brazilian opponent for five rounds.

UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier was contested in front of a capacity crowd of 17,834 spectators at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Celebrity guests inside the sold-out venue included actors, musicians, current and future UFC Hall of Famers, as well as former U.S. President Donald Trump. 

With five fights on the Main Card, the championship event was broadcast live on ESPN pay-per-view.

Monster Energy’s Strickland (29-6) came to Newark looking to recover from a split-decision loss against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 in January 2024, when he lost the title of UFC Middleweight Champion. Previously, Strickland had claimed the 185-pound division belt at UFC 293 in Australia in 2023, and now wants his title back!

Strickland’s opponent was former UFC Middleweight Championship contender Paulo Costa (14-4) from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. After suffering a loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 in February, Costa also wanted to get back in the winner’s circle to earn another shot at the title. 

From the opening bell, the UFC 302 co-main event unfolded with Strickland bringing the pressure – and never slowing his pace – over the course of five rounds. Walking his opponent down across the Octagon, Strickland remained in close pursuit as Costa found himself defending on the back foot.

While Round 1 saw Costa hurting Strickland’s lead leg with tactical calf kicks, the former champ found openings for precise body kicks while depleting the Brazilian’s battery. Strickland took the upper hand in the second round by sending Costa to the canvas with a stiff jab.

From there, the American maintained his pursuit as Costa grasped for ways to switch gears out of retreat mode. The Brazilian briefly stood his ground in Round 4 when he landed several significant strikes, but Strickland resumed the pressure in signature style, sniping tactical shots from an impenetrable defensive shell.

The final moments of the fight escalated after Strickland knocked Costa down with a head kick, followed by a barrage of strikes and body kicks all the way to the final bell. When all was said and done, the judges named Strickland the winner by split decision (46-49, 50-45, 49-46). Not without controversy: the ‘split’ decision was questioned on social media – audiences seeing Strickland as the clear winner – and blasted by UFC President Dana White in post-fight press talks.

“It was a boring fight, sorry guys,” said Monster Energy’s Strickland after the fight, adding: “That Brazilian goes backward fast. I’m not known for being athletic.”

Immediately after the fight, Strickland called for a rematch against current UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis. “I mean, obviously, I want the title fight, but, at the end of the day, I’m a fighter. I’m a prize fighter. So, you give me money, I fight, but that’s what I want. That needs to happen,” said Strickland. Stay tuned for more now that Strickland is back in the victory column!

Sean Strickland counts amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon Jones, Chris Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Marlon Vera, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Yair Rodriguez, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga Chikadze, Johnny Walker, Beneil Dariush, Gaston Bolanos, Brendan Allen, Jalin Turner, Zhang Weili, Raul Rosas Jr., Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, Alex Pereira, Daniel Zellhuber, Derrick Lewis, Belal Muhammad and Cameron Saaiman.

For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes, visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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By Geno McGahee

In 1999, Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield to become the undisputed heavyweight champion, but then the sanctioning bodies started their dirty tricks and split it up.  It’s taken 25 years to reach a point where we can say that we have one heavyweight champion in a fight that could go either way with neither man knowing what a defeat is.

WBC/Lineal Champion, Tyson Fury, 34-0-1, 24 KO’s, puts his title and recognition on the line as WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO Champion, Oleksandr Usyk, 21-0, 14 KO’s, in the “Ring of Fire” Saudi Arabia showdown.  It’s a battle of sizes, a battle of styles, a battle of motivations and there is some bad blood.  This fight has it all and it is going down this Saturday on pay per view.

In 2015, Fury upset the long-reigning champion, Wladimir Klitschko, to take the IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO titles but it was the rise before the fall.   Fury would leave the sport on top of the world after drug, alcohol and weight problems.  His story was sure to end in tragedy, but he turned it around and came back after three years to return to the ring and create an amazing new chapter. 

After two unimpressive return fights, Fury stepped into the ring with the then WBC heavyweight kingpin, Deontay Wilder, and survived being nearly knocked out to earn a draw.  He would go onto win a trilogy with Wilder and gain a lot of goodwill from the public, but some of that has changed.  The fans wanted Fury to face Usyk, but that wasn’t going to happen, even when Usyk agreed to very lopsided terms.  The fights that were given were the hugely mismatched third bout with Derek Chisora and unexpectedly difficult match with UFC star, Francis Ngannou.  The apparent refusal to give the public what it wanted has put Usyk in as the fan favorite going into Saturday.

Usyk is a tremendous fighter that draws comparisons to Evander Holyfield.  Much like the “Real Deal”, he has moved up after conquering the cruiserweight division to take heavyweight gold.  Usyk outclassed Anthony Joshua twice and knocked out Daniel Dubois in his last fight.  Considering that both Joshua and Dubois were British heavyweights, the Fury fight becomes very important for the British fans, especially those that want the big fight between Fury and Joshua.

There are two things to address going into fight night that seem to be coming up as big factors going into this fight:

FRANCIS NGANNOU

Tyson Fury was roughed up, knocked down and nearly defeated by a guy in his first professional fight.  Some had Ngannou ahead on points at the end of ten rounds and it’s fair to say that he did far more damage than Fury.   The comments that Fury was shot or that his head wasn’t in the game was thrown around, but Fury clearly underestimated Ngannou and, for the first time, he let the event get to him. 

In the first round, Fury went frantically for the knockout.  He did not have confidence in himself in this fight and paid for it.  He had enough boxing experience to outpoint the UFC champion, but his reputation took a big hit and there are questions going into it.  This fight, followed up by rumors of being dropped in sparring, made many contend that he is not cut out for the game anymore.

THE DANIEL DUBOIS LOW BLOW/BODY SHOT

In his last fight, Usyk was the floor but it was determined to be a low blow.  The Dubois camp was not happy, insisting that it was a body shot and when you watch the replay, it’s very difficult to say with any confidence either way.  Whatever the case, this situation opens up the idea that Fury can easily win this upcoming fights with body shots and that Usyk will crumble like he did with Dubois. 

Although these fights are a focus and there is an argument to be made, I think both fights can be thrown out as we head into this fight.  Fury was not himself in the Ngannou fight and if the referee called the shot a body shot, Usyk would have gotten up and won the fight in the same manner he ended up doing. 

RED FLAGS

The Ngannou fight can be thrown out, but maybe not entirely.  The fight postponements raise concerns for Fury. The fact that Fury made demands prior to Saudi Arabia coming into play and Usyk accepted only to be ignored.   If Fury is on the downside of his career, this fight could be a “cash in and hope for the best” sort of match.

The big red flag that I see is Tyson’s father, John Fury, head-butting an Usyk fan unprovoked.  After the Ngannou fight, John said that he wasn’t happy with his son and his mindset going in. A head-butt to an Usyk supporter seems like an act of fear.  It may tell us that Tyson might be fit physically but not mentally for this one.

THE FIGHT AND PREDICTION

This fight is so hard to predict, but no matter what Tyson Fury we see, I believe we will see the best Usyk we’ve ever seen.  He is not only fighting for his legacy, he sees this fight as a bigger thing.  He is seeing this fight as a fulfillment of destiny and is doing it for his country that has been under attack.  This is the most difficult fight that Fury has ever faced and when you toss in his difficulty with smaller and quicker fighters, he’s got his work cut out for him.

When the bell rings, I expect Fury to move and keep distance and make Usyk pay when he tries to get in.  Fury is much taller and has 7 inches in reach advantage and exploiting that has to be part of the big plan to unify the titles.  It’s his best path to a victory.

Usyk will be more aggressive than usual in this fight.  I see him looking to exploit any doubt that Fury might have and closing the gap, doing damage when Fury is against the ropes.  Fury might be able to duck and dodge with his hands down with inferior opponents, but Usyk has timing and accuracy and can find his mark. 

When the bell rings, the fight will be edge of your seat excitement.  Fury is no stranger to hitting the canvas and he is no stranger to rallying back to win.  Usyk is so confident and is coming in bigger to be stronger that it’s pretty obvious that bringing power is part of this game.  We will most likely see both men hurt and both men down in this.

Predicting this fight is very difficult but it’s one of those heart versus head things.  My heart is screaming Uysk wins, but my head leans to the bigger man, Fury.  Fury will have to overcome a lot of obstacles to find a sustained path of attack.  He will try to find any weakness in the body of Usyk and maybe there is. 

Fury might start on the outside but as Usyk gets frisky, he will go into attack mode.  Size will matter and Usyk will get bullied and eventually he will not be able to fend off the Fury.  Fury will smell blood and use a combination of body shots and eventual uppercuts to batter Usyk down.  This is a Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield sort of fight, where a great big man will beat a great smaller man.  Fury will impose his size and will become the undisputed champion on Saturday.

Tyson Fury by 8^th round KO.

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What a finish! Monster Energy congratulates MMA athlete Derrick Lewis on defeating Rodrigo Nascimento at the UFC Fight Night in St. Louis. In the event’s headline fight contested in the UFC’s heavyweight division, the 39-year-old mixed martial artist from Houston, Texas, delivered a thunderous knockout finish less than one minute into Round 3 to extend his record as the all-time knockout leader in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Nascimento, also known as UFC on ESPN 56, was contested in front of a live crowd of 15,960 spectators at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. With six fights on the Main Card and seven fights on the Preliminary Card, the event was broadcast live to fans on the ESPN+ platform.

Monster Energy’s Lewis (28-12) came to St. Louis looking for redemption after suffering a loss to Jailton Almeida in the headline fight at UFC Fight Night in Sao Paulo in November 2023. Nicknamed ‘The Black Beast,’ Lewis is an eleven-year UFC veteran and holds the record for most knockout wins in UFC history. Saturday’s fight against a young opponent marked his twelfth UFC headline bout.

Lewis’ opponent was Rodrigo Nascimento (11-2) from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Stepping into his first UFC headline fight, the grappling expert was riding a three-fight win streak after most recently defeating Don’Tale Mayes at UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis in November 2023.

The pressure was high from the start when the two heavyweights collided inside the Octagon. Lewis attacked the Brazilian with fast kicks and punch combos, as Nascimento fired back with kicks and takedown attempts. After absorbing punishing elbows and knees to the body, Nascimento landed a takedown, and the two fighters ended the round grappling on the ground.

The second round opened with a clean right hook courtesy of Lewis before pushing Nascimento into the corner with follow-up punches. The two exchanged jabs and kicks, but it was Lewis doing more damage by finding openings for elbows and heavy punch combinations. In the final moments of Round 2, Lewis found himself taken down by the Brazilian, again finishing the round defending against Nascimento on his back. Ultimately, Lewis was not going to let that happen again…

Stepping into Round 3, Lewis came out swinging. Looking to shut his opponent down once and for all with powerful strikes, the ‘Black Beast’ had the Brazilian on the defense. Until a supercharged one-two combo landed and rocked Nascimento to his knees. From there, it was all over quickly as Lewis rained hammer punches on his stunned opponent from above until referee Jason Herzog called a stop to the contest at 0:49 minutes of Round 3.

Pronounced the winner by knockout, Lewis engaged the crowd in a victory parade in classic style. The brutal finish extends Lewis’ record for most knockouts in UFC history to 15 KO’s.

Stay tuned for more now that Lewis is back in the victory column!

Derrick Lewis counts amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon Jones, Chris Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Marlon Vera, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Yair Rodriguez, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga Chikadze, Islam Makhachev, Johnny Walker, Beneil Dariush, Gaston Bolanos, Brendan Allen, Jalin Turner, Sean Strickland, Zhang Weili, Raul Rosas Jr., Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, Alex Pereira, Daniel Zellhuber, Belal Muhammad and Cameron Saaiman.

For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes, visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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A historic night for mixed martial arts is in the books! Monster Energy congratulates 36-year-old Brazilian MMA athlete Alex Pereira on defeating Jamahal Hill to retain his UFC Men’s Light Heavyweight title at UFC300 in Las Vegas. In the night’s headline fight, the reigning champ lost no time by knocking out the challenger at 03:14 minutes of round one.

In the night’s Co-Main event, Energy’s 34-year-old Zhang Weili (25-3) from Handan, China, successfully defended her UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship against fellow Chinese athlete Yan Xiaonan in a five-round battle by unanimous decision victory (49-45, 49-45, 49-45).

UFC 300: Pereira vs. Hill was contested in front of a live crowd of 20,000 spectators inside sold-out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The historic event showcased twelve current or former champions on the card and drew celebrity guests such as boxer Mike Tyson, entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg, actors Jared Leto, David Spade, and Miles Teller, and a full house of UFC fighters, Champions and Hall of Famers.

With five fights on the Main Card and stacked Preliminary and Early Prelims cards, the Main Card was broadcast live to fans worldwide on ESPN pay-per-view, and preliminary fights streamed on ESPN+.

Men’s UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Pereira Defeats Hill, Defends Title

Energy levels were riding high for the night’s headline fight. Monster Energy’s Pereira (10-2) stepped into the Octagon for his first defense of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship title after claiming the vacant belt from Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 in November 2023. This marks the former UFC Middleweight Champion’s second career UFC championship belt, and he had no plans of letting it go in Vegas.

Pereira’s opponent, American Jamahal Hill (12-2) had previously owned the UFC Light Heavyweight belt briefly after defeating Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 in January 2023. But after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in July, Hill was forced to release the title, setting the stage for Pereira’s championship run and Saturday night’s title fight for the 205-pound belt.

From the start, both fighters circled to gauge their striking distance. Pereira kept using his legs to find the right range against Hill’s unorthodox stance. Once he found it, the action moved quick.

The fight’s pivotal scene unfolded when Pereira checked an accidental kick below the belt from Hill but refused the referee’s offer to stop the fight. Keeping the action going, Pereira dropped Hill to the canvas with a precisely aimed left hook. The Brazilian immediately pursued with heavy ground-and-pound until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 3:14 minutes of Round 1.

“I want to keep defending this belt,” said Pereira in his post-fight interview in Las Vegas, expressing plans to fight again on May 4 at UFC 301 in his native Brazil. “I talked a lot about fighting in Brazil. I won this fight. I’m not hurt. Nothing happened. I know there needs to be a lot of promotion behind a fight, but I want to fight at heavyweight.” Stay tuned!

Saturday’s first-round knockout and title defense mark another statement victory for Pereira, who has already claimed two UFC championships over the course of 12 professional fights and is now on a three-fight win streak.

Pereira is a former WGP Kickboxing Middleweight Champion of the World. He held Glory MMA Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion titles and ranks as a Glory MMA Hall of Famer. The Brazilian made his UFC debut in November 2021 at UFC 268 and soon claimed the UFC’s Middleweight Championship title by defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 281.

Women’s UFC Strawweight Championship: Zhang Defends Belt Against China’s Yan

In the night’s Co-Main event, Monster Energy’s 34-year-old Weili (25-3) from Handan, China, set out to defend her UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship belt after previously defending the title for the first time against Amanda Lemos at UFC 292 in August 2023.

In the first all-Chinese championship fight in UFC history, Weili faced 34-year-old breakout talent Yan Xiaonan (18-4) from Liaoning, China. Yan had earned her shot at the title by achieving wins against Mackenzie Dern and a first-round knockout of Jessica Andrade.

When the action unfolded in the Octagon, neither fighter knew they were headed for a five-round slugfest that would push both Zhang and Yan to the limits. At the start, Zhang dominated her challenger and rag-dolled Yan across the Octagon on the strength of her wrestling. In a controversial scene, Zhang caught Yan in a rear-naked choke towards the end of Round 1 until the bell, leaving her apparently unconscious and delayed in returning to standing.

“I really thought that she was out. I didn’t know when the bell rang how the referee was going to handle that. But she bounced back very quickly in the second round,” said Zhang after the fight.

Impressively, Yan remained in the fight and survived another close brush with TKO defeat in Round 2. Yan suddenly shifted the momentum in Round 3 to pressure Zhang with takedown attempts and knocking down the champ two times with strikes. But as the fourth round opened, the reigning champion asserted her dominance and controlled Yan while retaining the upper hand in grapples and exchanges.

When the 25-minute rollercoaster battle subsided, the judges proclaimed Zhang Weili the winner by unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45) to retain her UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship.

“Xiaonan is an amazing fighter, and she’s so tough,” Zhang said at UFC 300. “I have so much respect for her, and I want her and I to become friends after the fight. Thank you to everyone for supporting us Chinese girls.”

Asked about her future plans, Zhang said, “I definitely want to build my legacy. I still feel I’m some way to become a legend. I still have a lot to learn.”

Zhang previously held the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship from August 2019 until April 2021, making history as the first UFC Champion from China.

Prelim Card: Brazil’s Diego Lopes Scores Brutal Knockout Against Sodiq Yusuff

Earlier on the Prelims Card, all eyes were on 29-year-old Monster Energy fighter Diego Lopes (24-6) from Manaus, Brazil. In 2023, Lopes caught the attention of UFC fans worldwide by taking out Movsar Evloev in a short-notice fight, then stacking first-round stoppage wins over Gavin Tucker and Pat Sabatini before the end of the year.

In one of his toughest tests to date, the young Brazilian faced Nigerian Sodiq Yusuff (13-4). The graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series came to Las Vegas looking for a win after suffering a loss to Edson Barboza in October 2023. But Lopes had other plans.

The explosive opening round saw both fighters engage with aggression, but it was Lopes who broke through with a brutal uppercut that dropped Yusuff straight to the mat after less than one minute into the round. Lopes swooped in for the submission, but Yusuff narrowly escaped.

Not for long: Only seconds later, Lopes cracked Yusuff with another uppercut. This time, Lopes left no openings and sealed the win by raining ground-and-pound until the referee broke up the fight, announcing Lopes as the winner by TKO at 1:29 minutes of Round 1.

“I know that this a very important fight for me. I knew Sodiq is a tough fighter. I have the best coaches in the world and the result could not be any different,” said Monster Energy’s Lopes at UFC 300.

Lopes has now earned 15 first-round finishes in his professional MMA fights. For his next fight, the Brazilian called out Movsar Evloev. Stay tuned!

Alex Pereira, Zhang Weili, and Diego Lopes count amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon Jones, Chris Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Marlon Vera, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Yair Rodriguez, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga Chikadze, Islam Makhachev, Johnny Walker, Beneil Dariush, Gaston Bolanos, Brendan Allen, Jalin Turner, Sean Strickland, Raul Rosas Jr., Dan Ige, Daniel Zellhuber, Derrick Lewis, Belal Muhammad and Cameron Saaiman.

For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes, visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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Way to settle the score! Monster Energy congratulates MMA athlete Brendan Allen on defeating Chris Curtis at the UFC Fight Night 240 in Las Vegas. In the event’s headline fight, contested in the UFC’s middleweight division, the 28-year-old mixed martial artist from Beaufort, South Carolina, battled for five rounds to edge out a split decision victory (47-48, 48-47, 49-46).

UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Curtis 2, also known as UFC Fight Night 240, was contested in front of a live crowd at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas. With five fights on the Main Card and seven fights on the Preliminary Card, the event was broadcast live to fans on the ESPN+ platform.

Monster Energy’s Allen (24-5) came to Vegas on a seven-fight win streak after recently defeating Paul Craig via rear-naked choke submission at UFC Fight Night 232 in November 2023, earning a Performance of the Night award for the victory. Allen had faced Curtis in 2021 and suffered a knockout defeat, so he was hungry to settle the score.

In his most recent fight, 36-year-old Curtis (31-11) from Cincinnati, Ohio, defeated Canadian Marc-André Barriault via split decision at UFC 297 in January 2024. Curtis took the rematch against Allen on short notice after the initially slated Marvin Vettori withdrew from the fight on March 14. This set the stage for the Allen versus Curtis rematch.

From the start, both fighters held no punches in Saturday night’s headline bout. The fight mostly unfolded on the feet, with Curtis drawing on his boxing to land heavy strikes and Allen returning fire with precise punches and punishing elbows.

But ultimately, it was Allen who secured critical takedowns and proceeded to dominate his opponent by taking the back and locking in body triangles. Over the course of the 25-minute fight, Allen was able to convert six of 13 takedown attempts to assert his control.

A decisive moment in round three saw Allen dominating Curtis from the top and pressuring to lock in several rear-naked choke submissions. Curtis narrowly escaped and continued to throw punches but was slowed down by a hamstring injury toward the end of round five. In the final seconds of the fight, Allen hit Curtis with a flying knee against the side of the cage to inflict more damage.

After a relentless 25-minute battle, the judges announced Allen the winner by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46).

“I thought I won the fight. I didn’t think it was a split decision,” said Monster Energy’s Allen upon winning UFC Fight Night 240. “No matter, I’ve got a lot of love and respect for Chris. He’s a great human, a great fighter. He stepped up on short notice when nobody else would. That’s my guy.”

Looking ahead, Allen called for a shot at the middleweight division belt against reigning champion Dricus Du Plessis. “Where’s that title shot? Nobody’s got the streak I’ve got!”

Allen is currently on an eight-fight win streak in the UFC and has not lost a fight since facing Curtis in 2021. The South Carolina native became a professional MMA athlete in 2015. Before making his UFC debut in 2019, he competed in the Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he is a former Middleweight Champion.

Brendan Allen counts amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon Jones, Chris Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Marlon Vera, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Yair Rodriguez, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga Chikadze, Islam Makhachev, Johnny Walker, Beneil Dariush, Gaston Bolanos, Jalin Turner, Sean Strickland, Zhang Weili, Raul Rosas Jr., Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, Alex Pereira, Daniel Zellhuber, Derrick Lewis, Belal Muhammad and Cameron Saaiman.

For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes, visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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Still undefeated in Atlantic City! Monster Energy congratulates MMA athlete Chris Weidman on defeating Bruno Silva at UFC Atlantic City. In the Main Card fight contested in the UFC’s middleweight division, the 39-year-old mixed martial artist from Baldwin, New York, earned a technical decision win at 2:18 minutes of Round 3.

UFC on ESPN: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot, also known as UFC on ESPN 54, was contested in front of 12,000 spectators at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. With six fights on the Main Card, the event was broadcast live to fans on ESPN and the ESPN+ platform.

Monster Energy’s Weidman (16-7) came to Atlantic City looking for a victory after most recently suffering a loss against Brad Tavares at UFC 292 in March 2023. Considered an icon of the sport, Weidman earned the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2013 and has never been defeated in Atlantic City.

“Happy to be back in my old stomping grounds for UFC Atlantic City. This is where I started my career and I’m excited to keep my undefeated record in this city going strong tonight,” Weidman told his fans on X ahead of the fight.

Weidman’s opponent, 34-year-old Bruno Silva (23-11) from Brazil, also needed a win after losing against Shara Magomedov at UFC 294 in October 2023.

Energy levels ran high for the Main Card fight in Atlantic City. The first round unfolded with Weidman landing heavy kicks to the body and stinging Silva with a straight right hand. Drawing on his strong ground game, Weidman scored a takedown and proceeded to dominate from the top, landing left hands and knees from the back.

The second round saw Weidman doubling down on precise leg kicks to the body while blocking return fire from Silva. After a blocked takedown attempt, Weidman landed precise jabs and finished the round, pressuring his opponent against the fence with combination punches.

Round three started with both fighters exchanging body kicks before Silva received a timeout after suffering an eye poke. As the action continued, Weidman broke through with precise jabs and ultimately dropped Silva by landing a left hand. As Weidman kept raining punches from above, Referee Gary Copeland ended the fight at 2:18 minutes of the third round.

The fight was initially scored a TKO win for Weidman but changed to a technical unanimous decision victory after the judges detected a foul eye poke in their video replay and consulted the score cards (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

“I’ll never question a guy if he’s saying he got poked in the eye, but you can’t just drop every time you feel something is touching your eyeball,” said Monster Energy’s Weidman after the fight. “He poked me in the eye one time, and I stood there and took it. Unless the ref is going to say something, I don’t drop. I come from a wrestling background, and it’s a similar thing, you can’t look for the referee to help you.”

Weidman is the former UFC Middleweight World Champion and determined to continue his career after the victory in Atlantic City. “I still think I have a lot of potential, and I’ve had a lot of adversity and I still think I have it. So, until I don’t think I have it anymore, I’m here,” said Weidman in his post-fight interview on Saturday night. Stay tuned for more from the “All-American” MMA icon!

Chris Weidman counts amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon Jones, Rose Namajunas, Marlon Vera, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Yair Rodriguez, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga Chikadze, Islam Makhachev, Johnny Walker, Beneil Dariush, Gaston Bolanos, Brendan Allen, Jalin Turner, Sean Strickland, Zhang Weili, Raul Rosas Jr., Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, Alex Pereira, Daniel Zellhuber, Derrick Lewis, Belal Muhammad and Cameron Saaiman.

For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes, visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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Don King’s newly signed welterweight, Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (16-1-1, 10 KOs), has officially teamed up with esteemed boxing coach Justin Gamber. Together, they are working in harmony and the two seem to be a perfect fit for each other.

Known for his flashy style and explosive performances in the ring, Cobbs brings his unique flair to the partnership, while Coach Gamber provides the technical expertise and strategic guidance needed to take Cobbs’ career to new heights.

“I’m really liking the way things are going with Coach Justin,” stated Cobbs, who is a native of Philadelphia, PA, but now training out of Las Vegas.  “We’re putting in the work, day in and day out, and I can feel myself improving with each session. Together, I believe we’re unstoppable.”

“Blair has all the tools to compete at the elite level of boxing,” said Coach Gamber, seeing Cobbs’ unique talent. “He’s really hungry to get back in the ring and show everyone he still has a lot of fight left in him. I’m confident that we can achieve great things together.”

“Blair and Coach Justin make a dynamic team, and I’m thrilled to see them working together towards their shared goals,” Greg Hannely, CEO of Prince Ranch Boxing and Cobbs’ manager said. “There’s no limit to what they can achieve in the ring.”

The boxing world eagerly anticipates witnessing the progress of Blair “The Flair” Cobbs under the guidance of Coach Justin Gamber, as they continue to make waves in the welterweight division. A fight with Adrien Broner is being worked out behind the scenes and an announcement on who Blair Cobbs will fight next will be revealed shortly. 

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Back in the winner’s circle! Monster Energy congratulates MMA athlete Rose Namajunas on defeating Amanda Ribas at the UFC Vegas 89 Fight Night in Las Vegas. In the main event fight, which was contested in the women’s flyweight division, the 31-year-old mixed martial artist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, went the distance to earn the unanimous decision victory (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) after five rounds.

UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs. Namajunas, also known as UFC Vegas 89, was contested inside the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas. With six fights on the Main Card, the event was broadcast live to fans via the ESPN+ platform.

Monster Energy’s Namajunas (13-6) came to Las Vegas looking for a victory after most recently suffering a loss against Manon Fiorot at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Spivac in September 2023. Namajunas is a two-time UFC champion at strawweight and stepped into the Octagon in the flyweight division for the second.

Her opponent, 30-year-old Ribas (12-5) from Brazil, recently defeated fellow Brazilian Luana Pinheiro via TKO at UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Craig in November 2023. With years of experience fighting at flyweight, Ribas proved a challenge for Namajunas’ second fight in the division.

From the start, the night’s main event fight unfolded as a tight contest. Both fighters landed precise blows and avoided exposing themselves to massive damage, but Namajunas clearly held the top position whenever the action moved to the canvas.

Drawing on her experience as a former champion, Namajunas also controlled the range of strikes throughout the fight and landed almost 50 percent of her shots. She continued to control the action on the ground for almost seven minutes total and shut down Ribas’ takedown attempts.

When all was said and done, the judges pronounced Namajunas the winner by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) after five rounds.

“Man, it’s good to get your hand raised,” said Monster Energy’s Namajunas after claiming the victory in the headline fight in Las Vegas, adding: “I know I still have things to work on. She did really good, but I was able to just stay calm in there.”

When asked about her next challenge, Namajunas pointed out the winner of the fight between Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield. She also called out Maycee Barber as a possible opponent. Stay tuned now that “Thug” Rose is back to her winning ways!

Rose Namajunas counts amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon Jones, Chris Weidman, Marlon Vera, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Yair Rodriguez, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga Chikadze, Islam Makhachev, Johnny Walker, Beneil Dariush, Gaston Bolanos, Brendan Allen, Jalin Turner, Sean Strickland, Zhang Weili, Raul Rosas Jr., Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, Alex Pereira, Daniel Zellhuber, Derrick Lewis, Belal Muhammad and Cameron Saaiman.

For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes, visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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By Geno McGahee

Jake Paul, 9-1, 6 KO’s, is set to fight former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion, Mike Tyson, 50-6, 44 KO’s, on July 20^th on Netflix in a big event that is gaining a lot of attention.  It’s not taking long for many to forget the age of Tyson and how long he’s been out of the ring in a real fight and both Paul and Tyson are saying that this is a real fight.

I’m not totally immune to this hype as Tyson releases 30 seconds or so of him looking like his old self and hitting the mitts and asking Paul if he still wants to fight him.  Much like every other boxing fan my age, we have invested a lot into Iron Mike and followed his entire career.  He got so many, myself included, into boxing and we all want to see him return to form. 

When the two fight, if it’s a real fight as they note, Tyson will be 58 and he’s not been in the ring since 2020 when he fought an exhibition against Roy Jones, JR.  Mike looked good in that fight but he was also fighting another over the hill great fighter.  He’s going to be four years older and four more years inactive.   Since that time, Paul has had 8 fights.

It’s surprising to see so many dismiss Paul and are ready for Tyson to squash him and do it early and easily.  There is an argument to be made that the power is the last thing to leave a fighter and that Mike will still be dangerous, but speed and reflexes mean a lot too and looking at the two fighters face to face from the promo, Paul looks much bigger at this point.

Paul is a good fighter and he keeps getting better, but the haters cannot give him a break, noting that he only beats up MMA guys.  He moves on and fights boxers with winning records and now he’s only taking on tomato cans.  In this fight, he’s doing himself no favors by fighting Tyson.  If he wins, he beat up an old man.  If he loses, everyone is going to say I told you so. 

In 2020, I would actually favor Tyson to win by knockout over Paul, but he’s so much better now.   So, if the fight is a fight and Tyson tries to be Tyson, he’s going to have some issues, including and especially a new tool that Paul has discovered, the right uppercut.

In his last two fights against Andre August and Ryan Bourland, Paul knocked them both out in the first and it was thanks mostly to his right uppercut.   Even Tyson in his prime was susceptible to the uppercut.  Tony Tucker stunned Tyson with an uppercut in 1987 and Buster Douglas knocked him out with one in 1990.  Razor Ruddock, Lennox Lewis, and even Tony Tubbs were able to find Tyson with uppercuts, but he will be easier to find now and Paul knows this.

When the bell rings, I will be there with my Mike Tyson “Savage Mode” T shirt and I will be hoping that the champion finds that left hook and wins early and then walk away for good, but the most likely scenario will be much different.   Without being hit in a long time and being so inactive, it’s fair to say that on top of being 58 year old, Tyson will be rusty and the punches that would have never made him flinch before will have a big impact on him.  When you look at the Evander Holyfield – Vitor Belfort match, the great “Real Deal” was totaled in a round by a non-boxer that would not have lasted thirty seconds with a prime Holyfield.  Father Time and many battles have taken their tolls on the former greats and I don’t believe that Iron Mike will dodge the effects.

So, there is time to go and there is a chance that the Tyson training videos will eventually make me change my mind.  I’m not immune to buying into the hype and no other fighter in history created such excitement.  I suspect I will debate with myself and eventually convince myself that Tyson will win, but I make that a big longshot.

I suspect that Tyson will be knocked out in the first two rounds with a right uppercut after Paul jabs and moves a little before settling in.  Tyson will be two or three steps behind as he stalks and looks to land his punches, but you cannot take such an older fighter without a fight in so long and put him in with an active fighter that has been getting better and can really hit.   Tyson should have started with Logan Paul. That fight he’d win.

So, out of respect for Iron Mike, I will watch and support and hope I’m wrong, but I think Paul knocks out Tyson in 2 rounds with the potential of a bad beating in the first round and it being stopped in the corner. 

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What an epic night for MMA in Mexico! Monster Energy congratulates MMA athlete Daniel Zellhuber on defeating Francisco Prado at UFC Fight Night 237 in Mexico City. In the lightweight division fight, the 24-year-old from Mexico City went the distance to claim a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) after three rounds.

UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Royval 2 was contested in front of 20,000 spectators inside Arena CDMX in Mexico City. With five fights on the card, the event was broadcast live to fans on the ESPN+ service.

Monster Energy’s Zellhuber (15-1) stepped into the Octagon on a two-fight victory streak. Nicknamed “Golden Boy,” the rising MMA star from Mexico City defeated Lando Vannata in April 2023, and earned a submission victory over Christos Giagos for a $50,000 bonus at UFC Fight Night 322 in September 2023.

Zellhuber’s opponent on Saturday night was 21-year-old Francisco Prado (12-2). The Argentinian MMA fighter most recently knocked out Ottman Azaitar at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Bueno Silva in July 2023.

Cheered on by the hometown crowd in Mexico City, Zellhuber opened the fight with confidence and strategy. Keeping his distance with fast footwork, Zellhuber hurt his opponent by landing precise jabs and body kicks while Azaitar fired big punches in a close first round.

The second round saw Zellhuber bloody Azaitar’s eye and nose, but the Argentinian returned fire and landed damaging shots. Nevertheless, Zellhuber retained the upper hand and dealt a punishing knee to the body and more hits to Azaitar’s swollen left eye.

The final round started with Zellhuber dealing a heavy knee to the shoulder. As Azaitar began swinging wildly with big shots, Zellhuber kept out of range, connecting precise jabs to the head. The crowd was behind their hometown hero in the final moments of the fight when both fighters unloaded until the bell.

When all was said and done, Zellhuber’s precision and control earned him the victory by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).

“Francisco is a very tough guy. I rocked him with some very hard shots, and he didn’t go down. Being able to do this in front of all my people, it’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Monster Energy’s Zellhuber upon winning his lightweight division fight at UFC Fight Night 237.

Zellhuber is now on a three-fight win streak with a 3-1 record in the UFC. After building a perfect 11-0 record in his professional career across Mexican fight promotions, he earned the chance to compete in Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. Zellhuber made his UFC debut in September 2022. Keep a close eye on this rising young talent!

Daniel Zellhuber counts amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon Jones, Chris Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Marlon “Chito” Vera, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Yair Rodriguez, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga “Ninja” Chikadze, Islam Makhachev, Johnny Walker, Beneil Dariush, Gaston Bolanos, Maycee Barber, Brendan Allen, Jalin Turner, Sean Strickland, Zhang Weili, Raul Rosas Jr., Dan Ige, Alex Pereira, and Cameron Saaiman.

For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes, visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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