The "Notorious" Conor McGregor can add a new honor to his list of awards - this is your Fightful Fix Roundup.
Conor McGregor tops the Forbes charts
Despite the fact that he has only fought once this year, Conor McGregor's outside ventures have helped secure him as one of the highest-paid athletes in the world.
Forbes has McGregor at number one on their list, passing stars like Lionel Messi, LeBron James, and Tom Brady. McGregor earned over $180 million this past year. Over $150 million of it came from selling a majority stake of Proper No. 12. The rest are either from endorsements or what he made in the octagon.
McGregor ended up reflecting on this honor on social media.
"Baby we did it!! Uimhir a Haon Thank you Forbes for recognizing my role as an entrepreneur! It was a dream to lead this list with so many successful athletes! Onwards and upwards we go."
Chuck Liddell set to ref celebrity boxing match
Former UFC champion Chuck Liddell is ready to be on the other side of the action. Liddell will be the guest referee for a celebrity boxing fight between Lamar Odem and Aaron Carter. The event on June 11 will be hosted by Ice T and Coco and will take place in Atlantic City, NJ.
Liddell last fought competitively in 2018 when he lost to Tito Ortiz at a Golden Boy Promotions event.
Dan Hardy has a request for the UFC
Former UFC commentator Dan Hardy got his wish and was let go from his UFC contract. A free agent now, Hardy would be interested in fighting in Japan. While he has other opponents in mind, he wouldn't pass on an opportunity to fight Nick Diaz. Diaz, who announced he wants to fight again, does not have an opponent booked for him in the UFC yet.
Hardy posted on social media an offer to Dana White that can help both fighters out.
"If Uncle Dana doesn’t think @nickdiaz209 actually wants to fight, they should release him so we can fight on #Rizin in Japan. Oldschool #PrideFC style. The #GoldenAge of #MMA"
Hardy last fought in 2012 and is on a two-fight win streak.
Jason Miller pleads guilty to vandalism
After being charged with residential burglary and car theft in a related domestic violence case in August, Jason Miller is heading back to jail.
MSN is reporting that Miller, a former MMA fighter, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced to 364 days in jail in California. This is another occurrence of MIller being involved with the law; he plead guilty in 2019 thanks to a violation of a stay-away order from his girlfriend, who he abused in 2017.
Miller, who has been to jail multiple times, hasn't fought since 2016 and has competed for places like DREAM, Strikeforce, and the UFC.
Triller Fight Club to produce a new fight program
In an attempt to boost its combat sports audience, Triller will be teaming with TV producer Nigel Lythgoe for a "So You Think You Can Fight" competition series. Variety first reported the news.
“Triller has built something extraordinary, and they truly have their finger on the pulse of where live event entertainment is headed,” Lythgoe stated. “As a lifelong fan of music and boxing, I am thrilled to be getting into the ring with Ryan, Snoop and the whole Triller team to join their disruptive and innovative journey. Everyone is fighting for something in this world, and I’m excited to tell the many fascinating stories behind the raised gloves.”
“So You Think You Can Fight” will be similar to “So You Think You Can Dance," which Lythgoe co-created. A paid celebrity action star will be paired with a pro fighter, with an amateur boxer being selected through a talent search. There will then be a competition in several weight divisions, where these individuals will face off against one another. The winner from each division will compete on a Triller Fight Club card in order to create a true boxing career.
Triller has produced boxing events that have featured the likes of Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.
Dana White provides an update on the heavyweight division
The UFC's heavyweight division is in an interesting position right now. With Francis Ngannou as champion and Jon Jones moving up in weight, there are a lot of options in the division. Dana White, however, is still sticking to his guns, telling TSN's Aaron Bronsteter he is looking to book a rematch between Ngannou and Derrick Lewis. What about Jones?
The former UFC light heavyweight champion, Jones has been in a war of words with White over pay. White believes he is asking for too much while Jones believes he deserves a fair share of the pie. White discussed the situation with Jones and where it could lead.
“Whether Jon has a manager or not, Jon is going to do what Jon wants to do,” White said (h/t BJ Penn). “So it’s probably something that Jon Jones needs to work out with, you know I know that he and Hunter (Campbell) have a good relationship. So I think those guys are going to get together soon and talk.”
“Listen, you look at the last however many years and people ask me who I think the best ever is and I say Jon Jones. You know, Jon Jones is a massive part of the history of this company. He’s one of the best ever. No matter where you stand, whether you think it is him, Anderson, Khabib, GSP, wherever you stand on that, he’s one of the best of all time. Obviously, there is still some big fights that can be made with him and we would love to do it. You know, it’s not like we can’t get something done over here.”
Jones hasn't fought since February 2020, when he beat Dominick Reyes via unanimous decision.
Dana White opens up regarding Diego Sanchez
Recently, Dana White and the UFC parted ways with Diego Sanchez. The first Ultimate Fighter winner, Sanchez's manager Joshua Fabia caused issues with several associates within the UFC, forcing White's hand. Now, videos are being released of Sanchez's bizarre training camps with Fabia.
White wouldn't mind seeing Sanchez back in the UFC, but for now, wished him the best. He didn't think highly of Fabia, however.
“All these guys and girls are grown men and women and they can do whatever they want,” White told TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter (h/t MMA Weekly). “There are all these paths that we can choose to walk down in life and Diego has chosen this path. I wish him luck.”
“I always liked Diego. Diego’s been saying that he’s trying to talk to me. Diego could pick up the phone and talk to me whenever he wanted to. When he wanted to text me, he would text me. As far as that other guy (Fabia) I don’t even know him. I’ve never met him. Apparently, he knows a lot of things about me, but I don’t know anything about him.”
Sanchez was supposed to face Donald Cerrone last week before his release. The 39-year-old is 2-2 in his last four fights.
Anthony Joshua v. Tyson Fury reportedly set for August
After months of uncertainty, we may be closer to a heavyweight boxing unification fight. Matchroom Boxing's Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports that a clash between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will take place in August in Saudi Arabia.
"Aug. 7, Aug. 14, I think it's a very bad secret that the fight is happening in Saudi Arabia," Hearn said (h/t ESPN). "It's the same people we did the deal with for Andy Ruiz; that event was spectacular. As partners they were fantastic as well."
The two agreed in principle last year to fight one another, and earlier this year agreed to fight one another twice. Joshua beat Andy Ruiz Jr. in a rematch in Saudi Arabia to win back the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles. He last fought in December, beating Kubrat Pulev via KO. Fury, the lineal heavyweight champion, last fought in February 2020. He beat Deontay Wilder in a rematch to win the WBC heavyweight title.
The match has not been made "official" yet, but Hearn, Bob Arum, and others are confident the deal will get done.
Dana White will not be in the Jake Paul business
While several of his fighters have been calling out Jake Paul, UFC President Dana White will not be playing this game. Speaking with ESPN, White discussed the idea of a UFC fighter boxing a YouTube star in Paul. He was not for it, to say the least.
“First of all, I would never do business with those guys, just no,” White said (h/t BJ Penn). “No, this is not what we do. I’m not gonna f*****g loan them a guy for f****g what? There’s no way. You got plenty of f*****g goofballs out there that you can muster up to get in there and play these games that these guys are playing. Yeah, I’m not your guy.”
Paul has been making a major name for himself in the combat sports world. He recently beat Ben Askren via KO during a Triller Fight Club event. Askren got paid more than he normally would, at least compared to when he was in the UFC, and lost. Paul is bringing eyes to the sport and has MMA fans and fighters calling him out. White isn't buying the hype, however, or how the fight with Askren ended.
“Listen, you cannot deny the fact that this kid has inserted himself into the conversation with real guys,” White went on to say. “This guy has got three fights, and I gotta tell you that I don’t know if I truly believe the Ben Askren thing. I have a hard time wrapping by brain around that. Let’s see how long it takes before this kid’s 15 minutes are up, but they are being smart. They are keeping him away from anybody that could actually really do damage. I don’t know. The Ben Askren thing still blows my mind.”
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