Even before his fight at UFC 300 with Jamal Hill, the promotion's bantamweight champion Alex Pereira talked about his desire to have his next fight at the organization's 301st event on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro. And now today, renowned journalist and insider Ariel Helwani reported that Pereira will not be making an appearance in his home country.
"I've been told, it's extremely unlikely that Alex Pereira will perform next month in Rio. As it turned out after the UFC 300 tournament, he broke his toe a few days before the fight and then broke his second toe in the fight," Helwani wrote on social media.
UFC featherweight champion Elijah Topuria has left a formidable message for former titleholder Max Holloway.
Last weekend at UFC 300 in Las Vegas, USA, Holloway scored a spectacular knockout victory over former interim division champion above Justin Gaethje.
"Congratulations on your performance, Max. I respect your history and all you've accomplished with your beautiful family. I hope to share the octagon with you for the rest of the year, and trust me - you're going to feel something you've never felt before. I'll be the first to put out your lights," Topuria wrote on his social media page X.
"Love, champ. See you soon," Holloway responded to this.
WBC, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev spoke about the upcoming fight with WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol.
Yesterday, April 15, at a press conference in London, it was announced that the fight for the title of absolute champion in the category up to 79.4 kg will take place on June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
"A knockout? It's important, but I won't be looking for it. We'll see what happens. As for age, I'm not old, I'm only 39 years old. I believe I'll prepare 100 percent, but I can't claim I'll do anything in the fight. Every fight is different. You prepare differently for every fight. I don't study my opponent for a long time, I've only recently watched a few fights with his participation. We will prepare," Beterbiev said.
On June 1 in Saudi Arabia, Deontay Wilder will face Zhang Zhilei in a heavyweight bout on the undercard of Queensberry-Matchroom's "5 on 5" evening, with Artur Beterbiev facing Dmitry Bivol in the main event. Wilder is representing Eddie Hearn, while Zhang is representing Frank Warren.
Also on the night, heavyweight Filip Hrgovic will face Daniel Dubois. Hrgovich represents Eddie Hearn, Dubois represents Frank Warren.
In the bantamweight division, Willie Hutchinson will face Craig Richards. Hutchinson represents Frank Warren, Richards represents Eddie Hearn.
In the middleweight division, Hamza Shiraz will face Ammo Williams. Shiraz represents Frank Warren, Williams represents Eddie Hearn.
Ray Ford will defend his WBA world featherweight title against Nick Ball. Ford represents Eddie Hearn, while Ball represents Frank Warren.
Eddie Hearn has selected Deontay Wilder as his captain in his fight against Zhilei Zhang, while Frank Warren has selected Hamza Shiraz in his fight against Ammo Williams. Two points in this tournament will be awarded for winning early, one point for winning by judges' decision. The points for captains are doubled.
Thus, the full Matchroom-Queensberry "5 on 5" Matchroom-Queensberry "5 on 5" card on June 1 in Saudi Arabia is as follows:
Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang
Filip Hrgovic vs Daniel Dubois.
Ray Ford vs Nick Ball
Craig Richards vs Willie Hutchinson
Ammo Williams vs Hamza Shiraz
WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol commented on the announcement of a unification bout with WBC, WBO and IBF belt holder Artur Beterbiev.
"Of course, I'm happy. It's just that when I signed my first contract and became a professional boxer, I had a goal to become an absolute world champion. The fight with Canelo was my pass to the big fights. I'm happy now.
I like challenges and I like to be tested. I have good skills and I believe in them. I've been boxing for 28 years and I love my job. I just believe that no one can beat me," - said Bivol at a press conference.
Recall, Bivol and Beterbiev will fight on June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
"At some point I lost my love for boxing and my passion for training," admitted Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs), who will face Zhang Zhilei (26-2-1, 21 KOs) in a fight for his future.
The manager of star Ukrainian super featherweight Oleksandr Usyk Egis Klimas shared his thoughts on the announcement of the bout for the title of absolute world champion in light heavyweight all between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
"It's always the right moment for a good fight. I believe this is a very good fight. Thanks to His Majesty for organizing it. I'm sure the fans will enjoy this fight. We have some very good names in the bantamweight division. I believe we will see a lot of good fights in the future.
Will the winner of this fight move up in weight? We'll see. I know these fighters personally, but I don't know that much about them: how hard they make weight, whether they make weight easily. That's hard to say. It's not like any of them have failed making weight. Maybe they are comfortable in this division and will continue to fight in it," Klimas said in an interview with YouTube channel Seconds Out.
Recall that the fight Beterbiev - Bivol will take place on June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Despite the fact that the fight between Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) will not ultimately have a championship belt at stake, the stakes are very high in this encounter. The sides will end up playing for the IBF heavyweight title as the mandatory challenger.
The presence of banned doping substances was found in the body of Evgeny Tishchenko (12-1, 7 KOs) after his fight with Leon Hart (22-5-1, 13 KOs). As a result, the result of the December fight for the WBA bantamweight belt, which took place in Dubai, was canceled.
Bob Arum was very disappointed with Saturday's fight between Jared Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) and Riad Merhi (32-3, 26 KOs). The American won on points, but the Belgian avoided open confrontation the entire fight and spoiled the spectacle with his defensive attitude.
The Top Rank executive published a post on social media in which he announced the collection of open applications of those willing to cross gloves with the undefeated Anderson.
"We are looking for a heavyweight who believes he can beat Jared Anderson. We need someone brave enough to get in the ring with Jared and give him a real fight. At this point, there is no one that Jared refuses to fight," Arum stated.
Anderson could fight Luis Ortiz in his next professional appearance, but the Cuban will have to lower his financial demands. Negotiations on this matter took place at the beginning of the year, but Ortiz demanded 2 million dollars for a fight with Anderson.
