Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For July 26, 2024, we’re taking a look at:
- Aspinall finally puts the petrol rumors to rest
- Sterling got his hand raised after clutching the match in the final seconds
- Holloway gives massive praise to UFC 304 fighter
Tom Aspinall Finally Admits That Strange Pre-Fight Preparations Was A Joke
Ahead of his interim heavyweight title defense at UFC 304, Tom Aspinall revealed a unique pre-fight process that he was putting himself through in preparation.
The Brit told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that he was following the methods of classic bare knuckle boxers by shadow boxing around haybales and dipping his hands in petrol each night.
Some instantly called it out that Aspinall was in fact trying to trick Helwani but after he didn't crack a smile at any point, others thought the champion might be telling the truth.
A video posted on fight week shows one half of this weekend's co-main event calling Helwani in the middle of the night to provide evidence of his preparations.
After leading him on for a bit longer, Aspinall confessed that it was all a joke and that he's having to tell the truth after people thought he was being serious about it.
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Aljamain Sterling Pulls Off A Clutch Win In Karate Combat Grappling Debut
Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling made his Karate Combat debut on July 25, where he got his hand raised in the final seconds of the contest.
Competing in the Pit Submission Series, he secured the win over Jay Jay Wilson at Karate Combat 48 in Nashville.
The contest was nearly about to end in a points draw but with the clock ticking down to the final seconds, Sterling was able to pass guard and take his opponent's back to score the winning point in the dying moments.
After the match, a fired-up Sterling said that his full focus is now on handing Movsar Evloev his first loss in a crucial featherweight match-up at UFC 307 in October.
Also of note for this grappling match is that Sterling weighed in at a staggering 171-pounds.
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Sterling even received praise from his former opponent and the current UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley who phoned in during the match.
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Max Holloway Praises The Fight IQ Of UFC 304 Fighter: 'Super High, Super Smart'
Max Holloway believes that the main event of UFC 304 will be a battle between two tacticians that rarely stray from their gameplans.
Both the welterweight champion Leon Edwards and his challenger Belal Muhammad aren't known for going out there and being involved in wars.
With a fight like this, it will come down to which man is able to implement their approach the best and with that in mind, Holloway is backing the champ to retain in Manchester.
He broke down the card during a recent YouTube video where "Blessed" spoke extremely high of Edwards's ability to read and control a fight.
Belal is a tactician. he’s a gameplanner. He does not stray away from his gameplan,” Holloway said. “But so does Leon, bro. Leon is a tactician. He’s a gameplanner. He sticks to his gameplan no matter what. … A lot of people were counting Leon out (ahead of the Covington fight) like he was gonna get grappled.
Leon is one of the very few IQs in this game that I respect, man,” Holloway continued. “His fight IQ is super high, super smart. It’s just hard to go against the champ here, bro. I think Belal puts on a fight. Early in the fight, I think it’s a tough fight. But then when we get to the third and then the championship rounds, I think Leon is gonna take over.
Read more on the story here.
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