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Today’s Live on PRIME FIGHT HD- OCTOGON’29

Octagon 29 takes place Thursday, March 24, 2022 with 10 fights at Baluan Sholak Arena in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

In the main match of Octagon 29, David Kozma defended his title in the weight of the Velterkov against UFC veteran Bojan Veličkovič for the fourth time.

Watch Live Octagon’29 Only on Prime Fight HD

Jake Paul slams ‘b****’ Jorge Masvidal for ‘ambushing’ Colby Covington after UFC rivals involved in steakhouse brawl

JAKE PAUL called Jorge Masvidal a ‘b****’ for ‘ambushing’ Colby Covington in their alleged steakhouse altercation.

It was only this month Covington beat his former friend-turned arch rival at UFC 272 in Las Vegas.

But it appears their beef was not settled – and allegedly carried on at the Papi Steak restaurant on Monday night in the Miami Beach district.

According to TMZ, the incident took place after Covington, 34, had dinner with YouTube group The Nelk Boys.

Masvidal, 37, is reported to have landed two punches and fractured two of his rival’s teeth – leaving him accused of felony battery.

The alleged assault was slammed by YouTuber-turned prizefighting star Paul, 25.

He tweeted: “Masvidal is a b**** for ambushing Colby. Couldn’t hurt him in the cage so try to blindside him?”

Masvidal floored Covington in round four of their grudge match but was largely dominated over the rest of the fight.

It looked to have ended years of trash talk and feuding – but this week’s alleged incident suggests otherwise.

In footage obtained by TMZ, Covington is heard saying: “He’s over here swinging, trying to come at me, and I ran. How would he know I’m here?”

Breaking his silence, Masvidal said in an Instagram video: “Call this the show your face challenge, you know?

“What’s up, I’m from Dade County. You talk that shit, you gotta back it up. That’s how my city rolls man.”

Masvidal’s manager Malki Kawa tweeted: “I’m hearing that a someone not from miami who says he’s the king of it is missing a tooth.

“Can someone confirm this? I need the video asap.”

After losing to Covington, Masvidal warned an attack could be imminent.

He said: “If I see him out in the streets, I’m going to give him everything I’ve got to break his f***ing jaw.”

Masvidal has not been formally charged at this time, according to ESPN.

Jake Paul slams ‘b****’ Jorge Masvidal for ‘ambushing’ Colby Covington after UFC rivals involved in steakhouse brawl (thesun.co.uk)

Paddy Pimblett reveals he made $12,000 to show and $12,000 to win at UFC London

Paddy Pimblett may have been one of the biggest draws of the UFC’s record-breaking trip to London, but his paycheck wasn’t exactly breaking the bank.

The 27-year-old lightweight sensation revealed Tuesday in an interview with Barstool Sports that he earned a purse of just $24,000 for his first-round win over Kazula Vargas.

“Twelve and 12,” Pimblett said. “No, yeah, 12 and 12, so 12 to show and 12 to win.”

Purses for UFC athletes are generally concealed from public view for events the promotion runs outside of the United States, however fighters are still free to reveal their salaries.

Pimblett has been hailed as a rising star for the UFC after his first two wins in the promotion, both of which generated significant hype and interest. The Liverpool native was one of the promotional linchpins for the UFC’s return to London this past Saturday, an event that broke records with a $4.5 million gate — the most in the history of The O2 Arena — and prompted UFC president Dana White to call it “the biggest [UFC] Fight Night [event] of all-time.”

Pimblett also received a $50,000 bonus for his finish of Vargas.

On Tuesday, “The Baddy” indicated that he knew what he was getting into when he signed his current UFC contract.

“It goes up after every fight, but you’re in a contract, so it’s whenever they want to offer me a new one, they offer me a new one,” Pimblett said. “So it’s just one of those things.”

Pimblett’s performance certainly impressed White, as the UFC boss dubbed the Scouser as “the real deal” in the aftermath of UFC London and said the numbers generated by Pimblett’s fight on social media blew away the event’s headlining bout between English heavyweight Tom Aspinall and former Bellator champion Alexander Volkov.

“I’ll give you an example,” White said. “On my Instagram, I posted the faceoffs yesterday for the heavyweight fight [Aspinall vs. Volkov]. Did 120,000 views. Paddy’s faceoff did 1.3 million. So all the talk going into the fight about his walkout and all this s***, listen, it’s real.”

“His numbers say yes — he could headline a Fight Night [next],” White added.

Pimblett’s teammate Molly McCann also had her own breakout moment at UFC London when she scored a spinning back elbow knockout of Luana Carolina that McCann told MMA Fighting on Monday “possibly changed my life forever.” McCann revealed to Barstool Sports that she believed she earned a purse of $40,000 to show and $40,000 to win for her performance, in addition to a $50,000 post-fight bonus for her finish.

As for a next step, Pimblett said he was unsure when or where his next fight will be, but considering his current contract, it makes sense why he declared on Saturday that he won’t accept a “top 15 fight” until the UFC adds “some more zeroes to my contract.”

Paddy Pimblett reveals he made $12,000 to show and $12,000 to win at UFC London – MMA Fighting

Results for the KOK Mega Series from Vilnius, Lithuania 19.03.2022

King of Kings held their second ever “Mega Series” event this past Saturday in Vilnius, Lithuania. These series of events are known for big fights, big crowds and high emotions and this event certainly did not disappoint. The main attraction of the evening was a four-man lightweight WGP tournament which was won by Poland’s Hubert Dylewski. Dylewski defeated current KOK Lightweight Champion Mindaugas Narauskas in the finals of the tournament. The card also featured the boxing debut of Lithuanian rapper Iron Vytas. Full results for the evening can be found below.

KOK Hero’s Series Results

-71 kg, Kickboxing Rules: Arnestas Naujokas (LT) def. Samuelis Sorochovas (LT) by TKO, 2nd rd (injury, cut)

+95 kg, MMA Rules: Arturas Kudresovas (LT) def. Giorgi Khubejashvili (GEO) by submission (guillotine choke), 2nd rd

-85 kg, MMA Rules: Erikas Golubovskis (LT) def. Kirill Andreev (FIN) by SD

-71 kg, Kickboxing Rules: Osvaldas Fedorovic (LT) def. Gustas Dimsa (LT) by UD

+95 kg, Boxing Rules, 3×2 min: Iron Vytas (LT) def. Andrejus Varnelo (LT) by UD

+95 kg, Tomas Pakutinskas (LT) def. Ion Grigore (RO) by submission (triangle choke), 1st rd

KOK Mega Series Results

KOK Lightweight WGP Tournamet, -73 kg, Semi-Final Results

Mindaugas Narauskas (LT) def. Teo Mikelic (HRV) by KO, 1st rd

Hubert Dylewski (PL) def. Ben Sabri (BEL) by decision

-71 kg, Kickboxing Rules: Ignas Barysas (LT) def. Filip Rządek (PL) by UD

-65 kg, KOK World Featherweight Title Fight, 5×3 min

Matas Pultarazinskas (LT) def. Oleg Moshin (PL) by SD (ex. rd)

KOK Lightweight WGP Tournament Final Fight

Hubert Dylewski (PL) def. Mindaugas Narauskas (LT) by SD

-95 kg, Kickboxing Rules: Sergej Maslobojev (LT) def. Nika Kulumbegashvili (GEO) by UD

KOK’s next event will be the 100th King of Kings event and it will take place in Tallinn, Estonia on 07.05.2022

Results for the KOK Mega Series from Vilnius, Lithuania 19.03.2022 (fightbox.com)

Violent riot erupts at Glory 80 as organisers cancel the event during Hari vs Wrzosek rematch

A night of elite-level kickboxing ended in disgrace following the breakout of a riot during Badr Hari and Arkadiusz Wrzosek’s highly-anticipated rematch at Glory 80.

The atmosphere at the Trixxo Arena in Hasselt (Belgium) was tense from the very get go, as large contingents of Badr Hari and Arkadiusz Wrzosek supporters made their presence felt early in the night. 

Expectations for the rematch were high following a legendary first fight between the two men back in September 2021.

On that occasion, Poland’s Wrzosek recovered from three early knockdowns to produce a devastating head kick in the second round and claim a historic comeback victory.

This Saturday night, the two men entered the ring for the penultimate fight of the Glory 80 event – acting as chief support for a main event which should have seen Dutchman Levi Rigters take on Morocco’s Jamal Ben Saddik.

Hari enjoyed a strong opening round, but was knocked to the canvas in the second after enduring a brutal flying knee. The Moroccan legend got up to his feet and made it though the round as fans anticipated a thrilling finale.

Instead, the third round never got going following the breakout of a riot outside the ring. Chair were thrown and panic ensued as security lost all control of the situation.

The fight was initially halted before an announcement confirmed the cancellation of the bout – and ultimately the show.

Despite pleas from Wrzosek and Melvin Manhoef, the situation showed no signs of stopping as chairs and bottles continued to be launched across the venue.

According to Dutch news outlet AD, Wrzosek was supported in the arena by Legia Warsaw fans – a club which the fighter himself supports. They were reportedly joined by ADO Den Haag supporters as fans of the two football clubs maintain a friendly relationship.

There was also a large number of Hari’s supporters – known as ‘Badr Army’ – who followed the 37-year-old kickboxing and MMA legend to Belgium.

It is still unclear what instigated the riot, however a statement from Glory Kickboxing read: “GLORY deeply regrets that GLORY80 was interrupted by people exhibiting unsafe behaviour.

“We never condone or accept behaviour that endangers other fans that come to our events to enjoy a night of top sport.

“Upon the request of the police in the city of Hasselt, we stopped the event after the 2nd round of Hari – Wrzosek.

“We apologize to the fans who did not get to see the end of this bout and the Ben Saddik – Rigters matchup.

“Also to the athletes who trained so hard and did not get to compete. Martial arts is a sport of respect and fair competition inside and outside of the ring.”

Violent riot erupts at Glory 80 as organisers cancel the event during Hari vs Wrzosek rematch | PlanetSport

Dana White reveals he made UFC ‘offer’ to Jake Paul after YouTuber demanded MMA chief let him fight in the octagon

UFC president Dana has revealed he offered Jake Paul the chance to fight inside the octagon.

YouTuber turned boxer Paul has been publicly trolling White over fighter pay for the last six months but has vowed to stop his crusade if he fights inside the octagon.

And White quickly tested The Problem Child’s eagerness to set foot inside the cage by sending a lucrative fight offer his way.

The veteran promoter told Sky Sports: “I made an offer to him. He was talking s**t. I made an offer to him and, obviously, he didn’t want to do it. So it’s all good.

“There’s always going to be a market for what he does. For what he’s got going on, there’s going to be a market for that.

“This just isn’t the place.”

He added: “I deal with the best in the world. The absolute best fighting the best. You tell me where he fits into this puzzle.”

The majority of Paul’s jibes at White – many of which have gone viral – have come via Twitter.

But UFC supremo White pays little attention to them, saying: “No [I don’t pay attention to them]. Why would I?

“Because he’s popular I should take his tweets seriously? He just sold 65,000 pay-per-view buys.

“And I’m not s****ing on the kid. We’re the biggest fight-promotion company in the history of the world.

“No I don’t take his tweets seriously.”

Paul, 25, has been doing his best to goad MMA megastar Conor McGregor into fighting him in the cage or the boxing ring.

But White insists the fight doesn’t make sense for cruiserweight Paul, telling ESPN: “That kid couldn’t even make 170, that’s how big he is.

“I mean he’s calling out these guys.

“Do you want to see that fight? Then why are you even asking me? Why are we even talking about this?

“They’re not even remotely close to being in the same weight class. Not even remotely close.

“I mean, this kid’s 6’1, 210, Conor McGregor’s 155lb.”

He added: “Why isn’t he calling out Israel Adesanya? I know, I know and you know, everybody else knows and he knows, too.”

Dana White reveals he made UFC ‘offer’ to Jake Paul after YouTuber demanded MMA chief let him fight in the octagon (thesun.co.uk)

Improve Your Martial Arts Training With Knowledge From Outside

Seek wisdom from other sources to better understand your art.

A fellow who used to come to the dojo, one who was very taken with the spiritual aspects he saw in karate, once said that it was OK for him to miss training because he was practicing karate even when he played the guitar.

We were patient with the guy, though he was the butt of some jokes when he wasn’t around — no doubt polishing his reverse punch by twanging the chords of “Stairway to Heaven.” We weren’t that surprised when he quit.

Much has been published about how following a martial art will and should pervade other areas of your life. This has led to some silliness, such as believing that just because you strive to approach it with the same intent and feeling, playing a guitar is the same as sparring.

The fact that your balance, improved through karate, allowed you to cross the swift current of a river while swimming last weekend doesn’t mean a weekend playing in the river will improve your karate.

The same notion of transference has been applied to all the traditional do of Japan: budo,shodo (calligraphy), kado (flower arranging) and chado (tea ceremony). While they’re similar at their core, we must be careful not to draw far-fetched conclusions.

There’s a famous story about a master of the tea ceremony who inadvertently insulted a samurai and was challenged to a duel. In desperation, he went to an expert swordsman, who told him, “Make tea for me.” The tea master performed the ritual as if it was his last — which it might have been.

“Approach the duel with the same spirit in which you made that tea,” the swordsman said.

You can guess what happened. The tea master appeared for the duel, calm and composed, filled with the spirit of the tea ceremony, and the samurai lost courage and fled.

It’s a great story that makes a worthy point, but in reality, the tea master would’ve died. Spirit is wonderful, but it can’t replace technical skill. Want to become good at karate? Practice karate.

It’s foolish to believe that a sword expert could pick up a brush and automatically be a competent calligrapher or that an expert in flower arranging could perform a great katajust because their arts share a spirit with karate.

It would be equally ignorant to dismiss the parallels between Japan’s traditional do. Sometimes it takes an outsider’s perspective to shed light on what we do.

Sen Soshitsu XIV was the headmaster of the Urasenke style of the tea ceremony. He steered the ryu during the critical years from 1924 to 1964, when Japan emerged as a world power and was subsequently crushed during the second World War, only to be rebuilt into a modem nation.

It was his idea to plant the tea ceremony in Western cultures, where he traveled to present it. Sen Soshitsu was writing about the tea ceremony in the following paragraph, but you can read his words with the martial arts in mind:

“To those aspiring to follow the way of tea, guard against jealousy. Placing yourself at the center of things, envying or tempting others — these are unpardonable. Know your duty and immerse yourself daily in the way of tea, and you will find contentment. The more you look up to others, the clearer your own position in relation to them will be.

“Whenever something bad happens, people try to make themselves look as good as possible. But if we remember the humility of the host in the tearoom, someone who knows the spiritual taste of tea, then this constant craving of power for its own sake will be seen for what it is.

“Know what you know and know what you don’t know, for only then will the limits of your strength become evident. To attain spiritual power, seize the chance when it offers itself; devote yourself to study and practice.

“In life are many who feign knowledge and lead others astray. No action can be more reprehensible. The way is never exclusive. It is open to all to follow, but those who set out upon the path perforce need the way of those who have passed that way before.”

Did this master offer anything of value to karateka? He did practice the martial arts, namely judo and kendo, back when they were closer to combat than to sports. He was a powerful man, but he never did karate. He practiced the tea ceremony all day long.

He probably couldn’t shatter boards with his tea scoop or use it for self-defense, so one might mistakenly conclude that he couldn’t offer anything worthwhile to the education of a karateka.

Placing yourself at the center of things, being jealous of others, trying to look good when things go wrong — he was addressing these flaws in chadoka, not karateka.

When he advises us to remember the importance of humility and avoid craving power, it was meant to be applied in the tea hut, not the dojo.

Knowing how much you don’t know in order to appreciate and expand the limits of your own strength — surely there isn’t a lesson in those words for the karate student.

And those who fake knowledge and in doing so lead others astray? That’s a problem exclusive to the tea ceremony, surely not something we have to guard against in karate. Right. …

Maybe there are so many lessons to be learned in the dojo that we don’t need to investigate other ways or listen to the words of those who have pursued those ways.

Maybe, though, if we broaden our views on following a way, we’ll see that others who are on different paths might lead us more deeply into and further along our own.

Improve Your Martial Arts Training With Knowledge From Outside (blackbeltmag.com)

Dana White reveals death threat from alleged UFC pirate he put ‘out of business’

Since 2012, the UFC has been going after illegal streamers of its events. In 2014, the organization was able to successfully track down a supposed pirate and sue the individual for $12,000.

Almost a full decade later, the UFC remains ardent in its anti-piracy campaign. But according to Dana White, it didn’t come without repercussions.

The UFC president was a guest in a recent episode of Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast where he shared some of his experiences dealing with alleged illegal streamers.

“We caught a lot of people and prosecuted people for it. It’s a whole ‘nother f—ng ballgame. (One) guy’s calling me up, crying, begging me not to do it. And these were guys that were doing it in bars. Their bars were stealing,” he said.

According to White, things nearly got ugly and potentially fatal during one of his trips to Memphis.

“This is a true story. (We were in) Memphis, Tennessee, and we were doing Lookin’ For a Fight,” White recounted. “We were doing this wrestling thing and apparently, a guy on that street, I put his bar out of business. And they were threatening that if I walked out, they were gonna shoot me.

“If I walked out and did this f—ng skit we’re gonna do for Lookin’ For a Fight, they were gonna shoot me.”

White says the UFC spends “millions of dollars a year” for their anti-piracy efforts. And while he recognizes the difficulty considering how “kids are way ahead” of the game, he says getting caught is still not worth the risk.

“The kids are way ahead of it. You have to be persistent, and you really have to go after people. You can put that thing on the f—ng TV that says ‘If you get caught pirating this event…’ it’s a different story when you f—ng get caught.”

We can likely expect illegal streaming to remain prevalent, given the new PPV price hike at the beginning of the year. White, however, argues they shouldn’t be blamed for that third increase.

Dana White reveals death threat from alleged UFC pirate he put ‘out of business’ – Bloody Elbow