Welcome to the MMA India show’s inaugural weekly MMA round up. In this series, we will be curating the hottest MMA updates from the past week. Sign up for exclusive interviews, news, UFC and MMA updates.
The week of June 28 concluded with an electrifying UFC on ESPN 12 card. The card featured a pivotal lightweight main event as former interim champ Dustin Poirier prevailed over #5 ranked Dan Hooker.
Hooker started well however coasted later on in the fight as Poirier established his groove. The duo went to war for 25 minutes for a probable ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate.
That being said, today we round up the important updates that took place this particular week. The week featured happenings from Indian MMA scene to kingpins like Jones and McGregor throughout the globe. The weekly roundup is as follows:
1) Farhad Hazratzada: Afghan by birth, Indian at heart!
The MMA India Show in their quest to promote local talent reached the doors of an Afghan-born Indian bred superstar, Farhad Hazratzada. Born in the city of Gardez in Afghanistan, Hazratzada has made Pune as his base for future MMA as well as boxing career.
Hazratzada (5-2-0) made his pro-MMA debut at SFL 48 back in 2016. He took on veteran Sandeep Yadav and defeated him via first-round submission. He is also a professional boxer with a record of 0-0-1.
The MMA India Show asked about his journey from the world of economics to MMA, his decision to move to India, his preference between MMA and Boxing, his quarantine routine and much more.
You can read the full interview here.
2) Mike Tyson vs. Jon Jones for a superfight?
Iron vs. Bones, Why not? A jaw-dropping idea of a potential fight circulated across the combat community this week as boxing legend Mike Tyson called out P4P #1 ranked MMA fighter Jon Jones.
The former boxing heavyweight champion has been plotting for a comeback fight. And make no mistake, Tyson at 53, looks in amazing shape with lightning-fast hands. He is eyeing for a three to four round exhibition fight.
Jones, on the other hand, has been awaiting a fresh assignment as well. The UFC light heavyweight champ has achieved everything his division had to offer. Therefore, a transition to boxing against one of the best of all time certainly makes sense. Not to forget the revenue this fight will produce!
You can read the full article from the MMA India Show here.
3) Battle of best friends for the welterweight strap!
UFC 251 will feature a unique main event as teammates and best friends Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns will fight for the welterweight belt. The duo have been a staple of Team Blackzillians (now known as Sanford MMA) under the watchful eye of coach Henri Hooft.
However, division dynamics will make them forget their friendship for at the most 25 minutes. In a bittersweet position, head coach Hooft won’t be in the corner of either of the fighters. Thus to get some specific attention, champ Usman has shifted his camp to Denver, Colorado under coach Trevor Wittman.
Wittman has been instrumental in training champions like Justin Gaethje and Rose Namajunas. Though the switch does not show any beef between the two, it does add some interesting dynamics to the fight.
You can read the full article here.
4) Is the bad blood between McGregor and Khabib getting too personal?
Well, what’s an MMA update without the mention of former double champ ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor? McGregor associated with his arch-rival, champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, calls for some social media fireworks.
However this time around, things may have got a bit too personal. Nurmagomedov’s father was admitted with COVID-19 like symptoms a couple of months ago. That escalated into him going into a state of coma. Fortunately, he got off of it and has been recuperating since.
McGregor, however, pushed the trash-talking up a notch as he accused Khabib of using his father’s condition as an excuse of his inactivity. The statement obviously didn’t go well with the entire MMA community.
You can read the full article from the MMA India Show here.
5) Jon Jones enters police custody again!
UFC light heavyweight king Jon Jones entered himself in police custody as part of second ‘Driving under the influence’ (DUI) arrest.
Earlier this year in March, he was arrested and plead guilty in his hometown of Albuquerque on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, negligent use of a firearm, possession of an open container and no proof of insurance. Jones will have to serve four days in the community custody program.
You can read the full article from the MMA India Show here.
6) Mike Perry vows to prepare to fight Darren Till at middleweight!
Fan-favourite Mike Perry has been another fighter in the headlines this week. He made the baffling decision of having only one person in his corner, his girlfriend Latory Gonzalez. Nevertheless, Perry got the job done as he defeated Mickey Gall via a lopsided unanimous decision.
The decision obviously received some backlash from the UFC community with former welterweight title challenger Darren Till even making websites and pages to troll Perry. Though a friendly banter, Perry wishes to fight Till at middleweight.
Perry has jokingly claimed to be ‘scared’ of Yoel Romero. Perry thus vows to take Romero’s services in preparation to fight Till.
You can read the full article here.
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:%20Conor%20–%20Khabib%20rivalry%20heats%20up,%20Jones%20&%20Tyson%20discuss%20superfight%20and%20more "MMA India's Weekly Roundup (21-28 June): Conor - Khabib rivalry heats up, Jones & Tyson discuss superfight and more -")
