Breaking News:
UFC president Dana White signed a deal to create a new boxing league with Saudi Arabian investors in the first half of March.
White will partner with Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA), who has led the way for Saudi investment in boxing over the past two years. The news follows years of speculation that investors from the world’s largest petroleum exporter had a keen interest in getting involved in the boxing world on the back of White’s expertise, having built UFC into what is currently the largest MMA promotion in the world.
Dana White explained why he is bringing his UFC expertise to boxing:
“I’m excited. I wouldn’t be where I am today without boxing. The sport of boxing is where I started,” commented the UFC CEO after the announcement.
The American has long been an admirer of Turki Alalshikh, a prominent adviser who is understood to have played a huge role in the hosting of UFC’s tournaments in Saudi Arabia throughout the past year.
“I felt like it was something that could never be fixed – until this guy [Turki Alalshikh] showed up. He has done more for boxing than any promoter of the sport combined,” White continued.
In their last tournament held in Riyadh, White and Alalshikh brought former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to face Nassourdine Imavov in the headline fight on the main card, while Russian prospect Sharabutdin Magomedov shared the octagon with Englishman Michael ‘Venom’ Page.
Speaking warmly of Turki Alalshikh, White said:
” He and I have become very close friends in a short amount of time and there aren’t a lot of people I would do a deal like this with.”
“There’s no people, actually, he’s the only guy!” he concluded with a smile.
The new deal came to fruition after White publicly criticised boxing promoters for deliberately abstaining from major fights because of Riyadh Season’s latest events, for example the recent rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. He also frequently directed his criticism toward boxing referees, questioning their judgement which he referred to as “atrocious”.
Following a short amateur career, White became established in the boxing business when he opened a gym in Boston in the early 1990s with Peter Welch. He recently described how the former Golden Gloves champion mentored a then very young White, tutoring him in the internal workings of combat sports.
In his final analysis, Alalshikh expressed his great enthusiasm for the venture:
“I am very happy today; I give the flag of boxing to the best man who can handle it.
‘We have a tough job now, but I am sure he will be delivering to the people and the fans the magnificent league and get boxing great again.”
The sports world eagerly anticipates a new era of boxing excellence.
UFC fans check in with ES Sport to stay in touch with the latest news.
UFC March Fight Card Highlights
March 1 UFC Fight Night 253 UFC Apex Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Two dramatic injury withdrawals in quick succession in February, left headliner Manel Kape without an opponent, forcing the UFC to scramble for a fitting replacement to preserve the Fight Night 253 lineup. The five-round fight was seen as a key matchup for the division as Manel Kape vs Asu Almabayev became the ultimate clash of the flyweights.
An entertaining preliminary card wrapped up with an explosive walk-off KO (right hand) at 0:39 of Round 2 of Austen Lane by heavyweight Mario Pinto, a Dana White Contender Series graduate on debut. Non-stop action shifted seamlessly to the main card lifting an already electrically charged atmosphere and vocal fans.
Kicking things off, Sam Patterson set the pace with his third straight first-round stoppage win, in this case over Danny Barlow since moving to welterweight. An enthusiastic crowd were then gripped by two high-energy battles in succession as advantage surged back and forth throughout. Both Hyder Amil and Nasrat Haqparast set a high bar for March’s ‘Fight of the Month’, as they emerged victorious from their respective bouts against William Gomis and Esteban Ribovics. Cody Brundage then returned to winning ways, stopping his former training partner, Julian Marquez by TKO (strikes) at 4:45 of Round 1 in the co-main event.
Finally, top 10 flyweights Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev got down to business in the main event and brought the evening to a thrilling close. Kape proved to be the superior fighter, dominant in the striking exchanges and adroitly defending all the takedown attempts offered by Almabayev, bringing the Kazakh’s 17-fight winning reign to a close with a third-round TKO (strikes) stoppage at 2:16.
March 8, UFC 313: Pereira vs. Ankalaev T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Illness struck UFC 313 late in the day, forcing heavyweight Curtis Blaydes and featherweight John Castaneda to pull out of their respective bouts which were consequently cancelled from the event, reducing the prelims to a rare five-fight presentation. Despite these last-minute scratches, the remaining competitors delivered plenty of entertaining action to an excited crowd.
Prelims
The opening bout of the evening was a straight out of the gates affair for Ozzy Diaz and Djorden Ribeiro dos Santos which set a Fight of the Night benchmark for the evening. Both fighters began patiently, feeling for range before quickly engaging in a hard-fought 15-minute battering from both men up to the final horn. Diaz emerged victorious on the scorecards.
A competitive encounter between, Mairon Santos and Francis Marshall followed, with Santos landing the hardest blows on a bloodied Marshall; the fight made for compulsive viewing throughout. Although the DWCS grad Marshall was more active, frequently breaking up momentum built by his opponent, Santos managed to swing what proved an unpopular split decision.
Crisp finishes from a pair of power-pack Brazilians followed, as Carlos Leal and Brunno Ferreira, put away Alex Morono TKO at 4:16 into round one and Armen Petrosyan via armbar at 4:27 into round two respectively.
Meanwhile, talented flyweight Joshua Van from Myanmar extended his winning streak to three as Rei Tsuruya, lost his unbeaten status. Van’s superior striking power, and overall athleticism made him quicker on his feet in space as he outhustled the persistent Japanese prospect to a unanimous decision.
Main Card
Justin Gaethje defeated Rafael Fiziev by a unanimous decision.
Ignacio Bahamondes defeated Jalin Turner via triangle choke at 2:29 into round one.
Amanda Lemos defeated Iasmin Lucindo by a unanimous decision.
Mauricio Ruffy defeated King Green via KO at 2:07 into round one.
And so, to the main event, Magomed Ankalaev fought a tactically astute bout to claim the UFC light heavyweight title and unseat Alex Pereira by a unanimous decision.
Pereira came out with a flurry of attacking low kicks, punishing the challenger’s lead leg in the first, as each man looked to find punching range. Ankalaev came forward to close with confidence in the second, landing several sharp punches throughout and leant on ‘Poatan’ along the fence just before the end of the round. He continued to take the fight to Pereira, but the third remained close and competitive, Pereira returning to the low kicks, while Ankalaev continued heavy punching with mixed connectivity.
Pereira started to exhibit signs of fatigue in the fourth as Ankalaev opted to close the distance and clinch with conviction. In the fifth, it was a different story as Ankalaev chose to stay in space early on, allowing the champion Pereira to make good contact with a high kick that rocked the challenger. Pereira landed additional strikes that seemed enough to sway the round in his favour.
After going the distance, it was the challenger Ankalaev who took the victory, ahead on all three scorecards to dethrone the Brazilian champion. Ankalaev, cementing his status as a rising force in the division, has now won three straight unanimous fights and extended his unbeaten run to 14. A competitive high-quality headliner between the two top talents, don’t be surprised at a rematch before the year is out.
March 22, UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Della Maddalena the O2 Arena, London, England
The event marked the promotion’s 16th visit to London and first since UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura in July 2023.
A welterweight bout between former UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards and Jack Della Maddalena was originally scheduled to headline the event. However, Maddalena was pulled from the contest to fight current welterweight champion Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 and replaced by Sean Brady.
Main Card Results
Welterweight: Sean Brady defeated Leon Edwards via guillotine choke (submission) at 1:39 into round four
Light Heavyweight: Carlos Ulberg Jan Błachowicz by a unanimous decision at 5:00 into round three.
Welterweight: Kevin Holland defeated Gunnar Nelson by a unanimous decision at 5:00 into round three.
Women’s Strawweight: Alexia Thainara defeated Molly McCann via rear-naked choke (submission) at 4:32 into round one.
Lightweight: Chris Duncan defeated Jordan Vucenic via guillotine choke (submission) at 3:42 into round two.
Featherweight: Nathaniel Wood defeated Morgan Charriere by a unanimous decision at 5:00 into round three.
Performance of the Night
Sean Brady, Kevin Holland, Alexia Thainara, along with Shauna Bannon from the Preliminary Card for an outstanding Women’s Strawweight victory over Puja Tomar via an armbar submission at 3:22 into round two.
March 29, UFC Mexico on ESPN 64 Mareno vs Erceg – Arena CDMX, Mexico City, Mexico
Brandon Moreno sent a rapturous Mexico City crowd home happy on Saturday at Arena CDMX as he outpointed former UFC title challenger Steve Erceg in a close technical five round fight.
Although Moreno looked to get the better of most exchanges, Erceg responded well in kind, which potentially cast an element of doubt in the judges’ minds. Moreno started strongly, but Erceg caught up rapidly.
Then the bout essentially became a succession of technical attacks and counterattacks from that point on. Ultimately, the three cage-side judges handed Moreno his triumph with a unanimous decision to the delight of a passionate crowd in Mexico City.
Upcoming Events in April
April 5, UFC on ESPN 65: Emmett vs. Murphy – UFC Apex | Las Vegas, Nevada
April 12, UFC 314: Volkanovski vs. Lopes – Kaseya Center | Miami, Florida
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