Latest news with #TheArielHelwaniShow
USA Today
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Israel Adesanya thinks Jon Jones is 'rage-baiting,' will fight again in the UFC
Israel Adesanya is convinced that Jon Jones will come out of retirement. Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) relinquished his UFC heavyweight title and called it a career. As a result, Tom Aspinall was promoted from interim to undisputed champion. Adesanya isn't buying Jones' retirement. He thinks the all-time great will eventually come back, and only walked away because of the current legal issues he's going through, where he's alleged to have been involved in a hit-and-run situation February in Albuquerque. "I think he'll come back," Adesanya said on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "It's just the drama of it. ... What do they call it now? The kids call it rage-baiting. It's working. I don't agree with the fact of holding up the division. Tom defended the belt. That's a defense on his book. Let the division keep moving, and now it moves forward. Now this whole thing comes out because it happened in February or whatever. F*cking that's why he retired. "I think he'll go through this and then, again, he'll come back. I think he'll fight Tom. It's just too much money. They offered him what, $20 (million or) $30 million, I heard. Yeah, I think he'll come back. It'll even be bigger by the time he comes back because Tom would have had like two fights or three fights and then built up his own legacy, as well." Adesanya wasn't ready to say Aspinall is the guy to beat Jones, but dubs the Brit as legit as advertised. "I think Tom definitely is the guy," Adesanya said. "I've sat next to Tom and his father, and people say this about me on TV, 'Oh, you're so much bigger in person.' Tom is a huge dude, and the speed. It's the speed for me. For a heavyweight, I don't understand. I asked him about it, and he's like, 'I think fast.' I understand what he means neurologically. I do that, as well. When you're working, no matter how tired you are, you're still trying to give 100 percent in that moment on the Airdyne (bike) or whatever, just so your neurons are firing or wiring with that thing in mind."
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
UFC 317 predictions, odds, full card preview: Can Ilia Topuria take over lightweight?
Ilia Topuria's run to the top of the MMA mountain has been magical. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) International Fight Week 2025 in Las Vegas has arrived with UFC 317 and a pair of thrilling title fight matchups at lightweight and featherweight. In the evening's highly anticipated headliner, the undefeated former featherweight king Ilia Topuria collides with former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Violence is imminent in the vacant title tilt, as Topuria hopes to see his dominance translate full-time to 155 pounds. On the other side of the equation, Brazil's "Do Bronx" believes he still has one more title run in him after one of the most impressive and entertaining resurgences in MMA history that culminated with his first title win in 2021. Advertisement Speaking of dominant champions, flyweight's Alexandre Pantoja is on the hunt for his fourth consecutive title defense when tasked with Kiwi KO artist Kai Kara-France. Directly before that, the division will see the possible next title contender determined when Brandon Royval meets Joshua Van. There's a lot to like on the upcoming UFC summer slate, and it all begins with UFC 317. 👑 UFC 317's lineup Crown grade: B+. 👑 Betting odds courtesy of BetMGM. (Joseph Raines, Yahoo Sports) Charles Oliveira is ready to begin his second title run. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) (Jeff Bottari via Getty Images) 155 pounds, vacant title fight: Ilia Topuria (-450) vs. Charles Oliveira (+350) The thought of Topuria as a permanent injection into the mix of 155-pound killers is still almost too good to be true. Yet, here we are, starting him off with one of the most consistent deliverers of chaos. Advertisement Truthfully, Topuria did a great job of providing the breakdown work for us this week on Monday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show." As much as the world should all love Oliveira and his incredible improvements over the years, delivering banger after banger time in and time out, he's a match made in heaven for Topuria. It's no secret that Oliveira gets hit, and he plays possum better than most ever have, thanks to his world-class jiu-jitsu. But when you get hit by Topuria, you don't recover, and imagining the additional danger of his power at lightweight is a scary thought. In "El Matador's" previous lightweight appearance, he folded Jai Herbert like Sunday clothing. For the 35-year-old Oliveira to be as big of an underdog as he is should come as a surprise at first glance. He's the undeniable more versatile fighter of the two, possessing a Swiss-Army knife-like striking offense with that aforementioned submission game in his back pocket. Even the wrestling acumen of Oliveira shone in his recent victory over Michael Chandler. This isn't to say Topuria isn't also supremely well-rounded at the highest level. He is, and he's so damn good at what he does that he's expected to dogwalk an all-time great in a heavier division. As he indicated in his prediction for the fight, Topuria will live up to his nickname to the fullest, and his speed and power will execute Oliveira in another brilliant performance. This guy is the truth, and Oliveira simply has to hope he lands any eight points of contact first, or catches a wild submission mid-scramble. Advertisement Pick: Topuria 125 pounds: (C) Alexandre Pantoja (-275) vs. Kai Kara-France (+220) Pantoja has entered that territory of being so damn good that everyone knows it and doesn't seem to care. It's a sad reality that makes the "Cannibal" the most underrated fighter on Earth, but his fights are always must-see appointments. Against Kara-France, Pantoja is in a familiar position, with plenty of firepower coming his way. "KKF" has been a notorious threat on the feet at 125 pounds, particularly with his smooth and impactful boxing ability. Although that's the clear X-factor for Kara-France in this matchup, Pantoja's own striking acumen continues to get slept on as his reign extends. That's possibly a byproduct of the strikers he's beaten over the years, but he's more than willing to go to war when necessary. Advertisement Put that against Pantoja's X-factor, which is his superior grappling and top control. The flyweight champ is one of, if not the best scrambler in MMA. Pantoja getting hold of his challenger is inevitable, no matter who they are. He might not submit you, but he'll have his way for the most part, threatening at every turn. Outside of a puncher's chance, the chances are slim for Kara-France in the co-main event. Pick: Pantoja 125 pounds: Brandon Royval (+105) vs. Joshua Van (-125) After yet another Manel Kape withdrawal, UFC 317 gets one of its most compelling matchups with the short-notice addition of Van against one-time title challenger Royval. Advertisement This has all the makings to be the Fight of the Night, folks. Van has very quickly proven to be, or at least has every capability of being, a future champion. The 23-year-old has begun his run, riding a four-fight win streak into this huge potential title contender matchup, and put away Bruno Gustavo de Silva as recently as UFC 316 earlier this month. Talk about wasting no time. On the other hand, the perennial top flyweight Royval hasn't fought since October when he picked up a thrilling split decision win over Tatsuro Taira. "Raw Dog" doesn't know how to be in a bad fight, and against Van, he's playing the veteran role with far superior experience and level of competition. This matchup embodies too much too soon for the young Van, who has to get past the No. 1-ranked contender here. As a striker, Van is progressing at a wildly rapid pace. Royval is a gamer, ready to fight anywhere the action goes. I'm not sure we'll see a finish in this one, but it will be three rounds of chaos, seeing Royval comfortably take over and overwhelm the active youngster. Advertisement Pick: Royval Beneil Dariush and Renato Moicano are going to try this song and dance one more time. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC) (Cooper Neill via Getty Images) 155 pounds: Beneil Dariush (+100) vs. Renato Moicano (-120) We're going to rinse and repeat a bit with Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano, as the fight was supposed to first take place at UFC 311 in January. Ultimately, the last-second shakeup of Arman Tsarukyan pulling out of his title fight led to Moicano losing to the then-lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Outside of that, nothing has changed for these two contenders. Dariush has had an additional five months to recover and regather himself since his last appearance in December 2023. The layoff is certainly a concern, but for Dariush's position and the damage he took in his previous two bouts, it could have been the best thing for him. Accompanied by this matchup, Dariush is in a prime position to rebound. Advertisement Moicano himself has pointed out the hilarity of age claims towards Dariush when they're the same age. (That grey hair will get you, man.) Anyway, as for the fight itself, these guys are almost the same fighter, except Dariush does everything better than Moicano. His lone setback would be his durability, as well as whether his chin is cracked. Even then, Moicano isn't a finisher with strikes by any stretch of the imagination. I can see this looking similar to Dariush's win over Mateusz Gamrot, which had plenty of fun scrambles and grappling exchanges in it, but was primarily a display of Dariush controlling every aspect of the bout. Pick: Dariush 135 pounds: Payton Talbott (+150) vs. Felipe Lima (-185) Bantamweight prospect wars are the best kind of prospect wars. Advertisement Payton Talbott is not getting a cozy layup in his rebound attempt after career loss No. 1 to Raoni Barcelos in January. Felipe Lima has been perfect since he lost his debut fight, and he'll keep the ball rolling here against Talbott. Clearly, Talbott was exposed a bit in the grappling department thanks to Barcelos, and Lima will look to, and can, exploit that. We've seen some crazy striking exchanges and finishes from Lima, but he's been able to submit his opposition in impressive fashion, too. On the feet, Talbott is dangerous, but he will need to channel his aggression to help work in defensive grappling situations. Otherwise, he's in for another long night. Lima is just well-rounded and smart enough, with slightly more experience, to take the spotlight firmly off the Contender Series alumni. Pick: Lima Preliminary notes Somehow, Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez completely snuck up on me here. It's been 11 months since Cortez's main event loss to Rose Namajunas, and she enters this matchup with Araujo, who stylistically matches up very similarly. After that impressive Karine Silva performance, the odds for this fight confuse the hell out of me. Advertisement Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Terrance McKinney is your car crash of the night, so brace for impact. Jack Hermansson is finally back after slowing down the Joe Pyfer contender rise, and Niko Price looks to prove he still has something left in the tank. UFC 317 is lacking more star power than you'd hope for these annual events, but the violence potential is high for these prelims, and that couldn't be more needed after UFC Baku. (Let's never speak of it again.) Quick picks:
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Israel Adesanya doesn't believe Jon Jones is really retired: 'I think he'll come back' and fight Tom Aspinall
Israel Adesanya isn't sold on Jon Jones' recent MMA retirement. Jones' legendary career came to an unceremonious end at a post-fight press conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, last Saturday night. The surprise announcement from UFC CEO Dana White ended a lengthy saga that left the MMA world waiting for a potential fight between now-former heavyweight champion Jones and UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. Advertisement Although Jones has since confirmed the announcement on social media, Adesanya isn't expecting it to last. "I think he'll come back," Adesanya said on Thursday's special edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show" from Las Vegas. "What do they call it now? The kids call it rage-baiting. It's working. I don't agree with the fact of holding up the division. Tom defended the belt, that's a defense on his book. Let the division keep moving, and now it moves forward. Now this whole thing comes out because [criminal charges stemming from an incident] in February or whatever. F***ing that's why he retired. I think he'll go through this and then, again, he'll come back. "I think he'll fight Tom. It's too much money. They offered him what, $20-$30 million? Yeah, I think he'll come back. It'll even be bigger by the time he comes back because Tom would have had like two fights or three fights and then built up his own legacy as well." Since England's Aspinall emerged as the interim titlist in November 2023, Jones has made it clear that he has little to no interest in that matchup. "Bones" instead went on to defend his title against the former two-time champion Stipe Miocic, whom he was initially booked against before an injury delayed the bout. Advertisement Over time, a hypothetical Jones vs. Aspinall fight gained significant hype, to the point where White claimed it would be the biggest heavyweight fight in the company's history. Having been virtually unstoppable throughout his last 12 fights, Aspinall has primarily been viewed as someone with the potential to defeat Jones. Adesanya said he tends to agree with that assessment. "I think Tom is definitely the guy [who can beat Jones]," Adesanya said. "I've sat next to Tom and his father, and people say this about me on TV, 'Oh, you're so much bigger in person.' Tom is a huge dude, and the speed. It's the speed for me. For a heavyweight, I don't understand. I asked him about it, and he's like, 'I think fast.' I understand what he means neurologically. I do that as well. When you're working, no matter how tired you are, you're still trying to give 100% in that moment on the airdyne [bike] or whatever, just so your neurons are firing or wiring with that thing in mind." Moving forward, Aspinall awaits his first title defense as the official undisputed heavyweight champion. But recently, rumors have surfaced about another former UFC champion being open to a return. Advertisement A fight between Jones and former champion Francis Ngannou appeared to be the biggest fight imaginable for Jones before Aspinall rose to prominence. However, Ngannou's relationship with the UFC dissolved through negotiations, and led to him leaving the promotion to pursue boxing while also signing an MMA deal with the PFL. "The Predator" was recently seen at UFC Atlanta alongside friend and former champion Kamaru Usman. Lacking notable contenders at heavyweight, Adesanya pointed out, an Ngannou return is exactly what the UFC should pursue. "I texted him right after [UFC Atlanta] and said, 'I love seeing you there,'" Adesanya said of Ngannou. "It made me feel like, 'This is where my boy belongs, man.' The best in the world. If you put him back in the mix. Him vs. Tom, crazy. That's the biggest fight. Dana said women will never fight in the UFC. Things happen. I've seen a lot of things happen in this game." Unfortunately, White has been unenthusiastic about welcoming Ngannou back. Advertisement As for the former two-time middleweight champion Adesanya, "The Last Stylebender" has fought once this year, losing via second-round TKO to Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia in February. Whoever Adesanya fights next, he'll be trying to snap a three-fight skid against. Ideally, he'd like to return in September or October, he said. In terms of opponents, Adesanya is most interested in getting redemption against the man who started his current slide, Sean Strickland. "The division's kind of stagnant," Adesanya said. "That [Sean Strickland] rematch is the only one I want, but then he hasn't responded. Probably because he got fat. People sent me a video of that as well. I was like, 'Oh, s***.' So, maybe he's going through something. "No question [he'd be ideal]. Look, he lost his last fight. I lost my last fight. All right, cool. Want a rematch? If he doesn't want to, that's fine. It's easy money, bro. You beat me already. Handedly. Five-nil. Come on, that's easy money. "I just feel like I could do better. If he beats me on my best, I could be like, 'F*** yeah. Good game.' And I'll leave it at that. But I know I can do better. Everything happens the way it's supposed to happen. I don't regret it."
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
UFC 317's Ilia Topuria gives update on Cristiano Ronaldo beef after firing F-bomb at footie icon during public spat
Ronaldo recently made a shock gesture towards the former UFC champ RON THE RIGHT TRACK UFC 317's Ilia Topuria gives update on Cristiano Ronaldo beef after firing F-bomb at footie icon during public spat ILIA TOPURIA insists he no longer has beef with Cristiano Ronaldo and that the pair are now "good". The former UFC featherweight champion took exception to the footie icon claiming he "talked too much" and that he'd yet to beat a serious name ahead of his title defence against Max Holloway last October. 4 Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria was involved in a spat with Cristiano Ronaldo last year Credit: GETTY 4 Ronaldo drew the ire if Topuria last October by claiming he 'talks too much' Credit: PFL 4 'El Matador' insists all is now 'good' between himself and CR7 Credit: CHISANGA MALATA He told El Partidazo Cope: "Cristiano, he always got something to say. I'm going to personally invite Lionel Messi because he lives there. 'El Matador' later added: "We have Messi, Ronaldo can f**k himself.' Topuria, however, no longer bears any ill will towards the Manchester United and Real Madrid legend. Speaking to SunSport at the UFC 317 media day, the Georgian-born Spaniard said: "Not at all, we're [all] good." READ MORE ON ILIA TOPURIA OFF ON THE RON FOOT Ronaldo made surprise gesture to UFC's Ilia Topuria after shock blast Ronaldo, 40, seemingly offered an olive branch to fan favourite Topuria by following him on social media. During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Topuria said of the row: 'I think he said something about me when he was in the backstage with Ngannou and it felt bad, to be honest. 'But then, he started following me. So we'll see. Maybe one day we'll meet and chat. 'This is what I said, once he meets me in person, he's not going to have that opinion about me. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 4 Ilia Topuria returns to the octagon on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 317 Credit: GETTY 'That I talk too much and this and that. But maybe that's the perception they have about me when they see me on social media. 'After all that, he started following me. Maybe he saw something different about me.' UFC star Ilia Topuria makes offer to Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso ahead of UFC 317 as Los Blancos eye Mbappe back-up The undefeated Topuria will be back in the octagon early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 317 in Las Vegas, where he'll vie for the vacant lightweight title. And he's vowed to become only the tenth fighter in UFC history to hold belts in two divisions with a brutal stoppage former 155lbs champ and fan favourite Charles Oliveira. He said of the pair's Sin City showdown: "Charles is a great fighter. "I'd say he's a legendary fighter, one of the few still active in the UFC. "But the truth is that his style fits perfectly with mine to put him to sleep in the first round. "Because he has no mobility, he doesn't move."
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
UFC 317's Ilia Topuria gives update on Cristiano Ronaldo beef after firing F-bomb at footie icon during public spat
ILIA TOPURIA insists he no longer has beef with Cristiano Ronaldo and that the pair are now "good". The former UFC featherweight champion took exception to the footie icon claiming he "talked too much" and that he'd yet to beat a serious name ahead of his title defence against Max Holloway last October. Advertisement 4 Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria was involved in a spat with Cristiano Ronaldo last year Credit: GETTY 4 Ronaldo drew the ire if Topuria last October by claiming he 'talks too much' Credit: PFL 4 'El Matador' insists all is now 'good' between himself and CR7 Credit: CHISANGA MALATA He told El Partidazo Cope: "Cristiano, he always got something to say. I'm going to personally invite Lionel Messi because he lives there. 'El Matador' later added: "We have Messi, Topuria, however, no longer bears any ill will towards the Manchester United and Real Madrid legend. Speaking to SunSport at the UFC 317 media day, the Georgian-born Spaniard said: "Not at all, we're [all] good." Advertisement READ MORE ON ILIA TOPURIA Ronaldo, 40, seemingly During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Topuria said of the row: 'I think he said something about me when he was in the backstage with Ngannou and it felt bad, to be honest. 'But then, he started following me. So we'll see. Maybe one day we'll meet and chat. 'This is what I said, once he meets me in person, he's not going to have that opinion about me. Advertisement Most read in MMA JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 4 Ilia Topuria returns to the octagon on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 317 Credit: GETTY 'That I talk too much and this and that. But maybe that's the perception they have about me when they see me on social media. 'After all that, he started following me. Maybe he saw something different about me.' Advertisement UFC star Ilia Topuria makes offer to Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso ahead of UFC 317 as Los Blancos eye Mbappe back-up The undefeated Topuria will be back in the octagon early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 317 in Las Vegas , where he'll vie for the vacant lightweight title. And he's vowed to become only the tenth fighter in UFC history to hold belts in two divisions with a brutal stoppage former 155lbs champ and fan favourite He said of the pair's Sin City showdown: "Charles is a great fighter. "I'd say he's a legendary fighter, one of the few still active in the UFC. Advertisement "But the truth is that his style fits perfectly with mine to put him to sleep in the first round. "Because he has no mobility, he doesn't move."
