#middleweight championship

[dukes-cassettetape]

UFC 287 - "The Last Stylebender" Israel Adesanya 🇳🇬

Record: 24-2-0

Height: 6' 4"

Weight: 184.5 lbs

Reach: 80"

STANCE: Switch

STYLE: Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Taekwondo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

[wrestlingmgc]

Campeón Nacional de Peso Semicompleto Bárbaro Cavernario

[losangelesnewsfeed]

"Regaining U.F.C. Title: Israel Adesanya Brings Moment of Stability to Middleweight Division"

The world of mixed martial arts is always filled with excitement, anticipation, and surprises. Fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) are always on the lookout for the next big event, and when it comes to championship fights, the anticipation is even higher. In recent news, the U.F.C. has witnessed a moment of stability as one of its top fighters, Israel Adesanya, regained his title. In…

[the-cimmerians]

Queer and trans folk around the world often take an interest in the athletes from our community, and Outsports even collects a database of all the the out LGBTQ competitors. While JK Rowling and 99 percent of conservative media were harassing two cis women boxers, 195 QT athletes represented 26 nations and none, but we’ll get to that. That makes this the queerest Olympics ever, beating out the total of 186 out athletes in Tokyo and, if Queer Nation granted citizenships, would be the 14th largest national contingent at the games. That hypothetical Queer Nation would also have placed sixth in the medal count, tying the Netherlands with 15 golds but falling neatly between the Dutch and host country France on the strength of silvers and bronzes.

One happy bit of news is that in both golds and overall medal count, Queer Nation beat out every single country in the world that criminalizes same-sex boinking. The only bad news seems to be that people competing in the men’s events seem a little underqueered compared to the women. Can’t we at least get a few interested in the Greco-Roman wrestling? Yr Wonkette is just asking.

...

Sure, justice in silver and gold for badass bisexual Black woman Sha’Carri Richardson, excluded from Tokyo on the basis of smoking legal weed in Eugene, Oregon, was as sweet as sativa; it was fun to see Diana Taurasi go out on the queer top with her sixth Olympic gold in a row (team USA’s eighth consecutive women’s basketball gold); and seeing the shoulders on those women rugby players was a dream come true. But we want to speak about someone who didn’t represent any country at all: Cindy Ngamba.

Ngamba is a middleweight (75kg) boxer originally from Cameroon. At 11 years old some family members fled to the United Kingdom as refugees, and brought Ngamba along. The family maintains it had the proper approval for Cindy, but that when her uncle returned to Cameroon it was lost. The UK Home Office has been threatening to deport her since the age of 16, when she was accepted to university and realized she couldn’t produce her visa for her college paperwork.

Despite the threats, Ngamba fought and won many times in the UK’s amateur boxing competitions, having started as a hobbyist in the local Bolton Lads and Girls Club program. She also went on to get an undergraduate degree with honors, all while threats of deportation hung over her head. After winning a UK national championship, she met then-PM Theresa May celebrating her win and the efforts of the Lads & Girls Club where she trained. One might think that the UK might eventually forgive an 11-year-old girl for not keeping track of her paperwork herself, but the Home Office has remained resolute denying Ngamba regularized status.

What makes all this both horrifyingly inhumane and also relevant to this article is that Ngamba is an out lesbian. She has been consistently denied a path to citizenship or even legal residency, only escaping deportation because of her ability to document horror after horror inflicted on queer residents of Cameroon. International law prohibits sending a refugee back to their nation of citizenship or previous residence if they would face persecution and risk of great harm, a crime called “refoulement.”

“If I was sent back, I can be in danger,” Ngamba said. “So, I was given the refugee status to be safe and protected."

Unable to represent the UK and unable to compete in qualifying competitions in Cameroon, Ngamba got an opportunity that no other stateless athlete had ever shared before 2016: she was named to the IOC Refugee Olympic Team. So far that team has only been allowed to compete in the summer games, and only in Rio, Tokyo, and this year in Paris. (They will be allowed to compete in the Winter Games for the first time in 2026.) Given the incredible barriers most refugees face, it is perhaps not surprising that no Refugee Team member has ever won a medal. But while Ngamba has faced incredible legal problems and a ruthlessly anti-immigrant government her entire time in the UK, she at least had better training facilities in her local Lads & Girls than most refugees can dream.

And the dreams paid off. Team Refugee got its first medal ever when Ngamba took home middleweight bronze. "I just want to tell every refugee out there, whether they are an athlete or not, to never give up,” she said after being asked to carry the Olympic flag at the opening of the games. When she won, the whole refugee team took to the internet to celebrate:

“The Refugee Olympic Team is incredibly proud of Cindy Ngamba, the first EOR athlete and the first-ever refugee medallist at the Olympics,” the team posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Today, we are speechless. Cindy did it. Refugees did it!”

Yes, yes you did.

[mypastnow]

Gordon Hazell vs Johnny Sullivan, British and Empire middleweight championship, 1954

[theanticool]

A Busy Week in Women's Boxing!

Was looking at the schedule for this week and there is so much happening in women's boxing so going to lay it all out in one convenient place.

Over on Boxxer and Peacock we have Collision Course. In the main event, the IBF and WBC welterweight championships will be on the line, as champions Natasha Jonas and Ivana Habazin face off. Jonas is a former standout GB amateur that has found huge success in the pros. She's a two weight world champion. She's recently got a win over fellow multi division champion Mikaela Mayer. At 40 years old, she's made a good career for herself. Habazin is a Croatian boxer that is probably known best for being the loser in high profile match ups - Shields, Harper, Braekhus, Lauren, etc. But she is a two time world champion, having recently won a world title after having a ten year title drought.

In the co-main, Olympic gold medalist Lauren Price gets a mandatory fight out the way. She is coming off the biggest win of her pro career, a dominant win over former undisputed welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill for the WBA title. She'll take on Colombian Bexcy Mateus. Card is on Saturday (Dec. 14) on Peacock for those in the US. On SkySports for those in the UK.

Over on DAZN, Golden Boy Promotions has a card going down on Saturday (Dec. 14) as well. On the undercard we will get to see the return of former Olympic bronze medalist and former united flyweight champion Marlen Esparza. Esparza is coming off a big loss, where she lost her title on the scale, and then proceeded to lose on the cards. She is now moving up to super flyweight (115lbs). She'll take on fellow former flyweight champion Arely Mucino. Mucino is a long time veteran of the pro scene as well as a 4x world champion. She turned pro back in 2008 and has been competing at the highest levels of the sport since 2010. It's a good crossroads fight between two 35 year old boxers that are looking for one last run at world championships.

Another former Olympian! Brazilian Beatriz Ferreira is back from her stint at the 2024 Olympic games. A silver medalist at the 2020 Olympics, she added a bronze medal to her cabinet this year. But she's also the IBW lightweight champion. It's a division that has suddenly filled up with interesting fighters - Caroline Dubois, Bo Mi Re Shin, Terri Harper, Imane Khelif, etc. So there are fights for someone like Beatriz to chase. But first, she'll have to get through Frenchwoman Licia Boudersa. Boudersa is one of those French fighters that has fought their whole career in France against meh opposition, so they have an impressive looking record just from staying active.

We have a rematch this week. The last time Esneidy Rodriguez and Sana Hazuki, there was some wonkiness with the scoring so they're running it again. Rodriguez is an undefeated Mexican fighter on the come up. Sana Hazuki is a Japanese journeywoman. She's fought for a couple of world titles and come up short. Her record looks bad (12-9) but that's part fighting in a division with a small pool of fighters and part constantly fighting world champions (Yokasta Valle, Nanae Suzuki, Mika Iwakawa, Eri Matsuda). A true youth vs experience style match up.

ANOTHER former Olympian! This time from Canada. 2020+2024 Olympian and former amateur world champion Tamm Thibeault will make her pro debut on Friday over on DAZN. Didn't even realize the Canadian had signed with MVP (Jake Paul's outfit) or was planning on going pro. Only 27 years old and in a division as shallow as middleweight, she's got the potential to go far. First she has to deal with journeywoman Natasha Spence.

Last we have a couple fights going down in Australia.

Kaye Scott is a 40 year old who is a pioneer of the sport in Australia. She was part of the first ever sanctioned women's fight in the country. She represented the country on the amateur scene for years, taking home silver medals up at light heavyweight in 2016 and 2023 at the world championships. She recently made her move pro in November 2023 and quickly rattled off 4 wins. Now she's getting a title shot. It's a rematch with Desley Robinson, a woman she beat earlier this year. Robinson is a known entity, having fought Lani Daniels for the LHW title as well.

Do you remember John Wayne Parr? Legend of Australian muay thai? Well his daughter, Jazzy Parr, is also a fighter. And a pretty good one at that. While she's done quite a bit of kickboxing and muay thai, she seems to have settled on boxing as her primary sport. At least for now. The 21 year old has run up a 6-0 record in the sport and looks poised to make a run at a world title at bantamweight. She is set to face her most experienced opponent to date, former world champion Shannon O'Connell.

There is more but I fear this might run long. But if you're even a tiny bit interested in any of these fights, I implore you to seek them out. It's a good week to start getting into women's boxing as there's a lot going on globally and a lot of it will be available on streaming or TV depending on where you live.

[lboogie1906]

Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was a boxer who competed (1952-72) and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion (1956-62). At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Born in Waco, North Carolina, he was one of eleven children. His younger brother Raymond became a professional heavyweight boxer.

In 1956 and 1960, he was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.

He took up boxing at age fourteen and was training with the Bedford-Stuyvesant Boxing Association Gym. He won the gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics as a middleweight. In 1952, he won the National Amateur Middleweight Championship and the NY Golden Gloves Middleweight Championship. #africanhistory365 #africanecellence

[onefootin1941]

Pier Angeli and Paul Newman in Somebody Up There Likes Me, 1956. Directed by Robert Wise. Written by Ernest Lehman, Rocky Graziano and Roland Barber.

Boxer Rocky Graziano's biopic, based on his autobiography, from childhood to his World Middleweight Championship title win at age 28 in 1947.

[endlich-allein]

Paul at the Velodrome, Berlin, during the WBO boxing world championship at super middleweight, 03-05-2014 © Robert Schlesinger

[redtsundere-writes]

since this will be the last chapter....

can you post a special sneak peek?

Jinx's Chapter 14 Sneak Peek.

“The UFC 300 fight card comes with a bang, as it will be a double championship night!” The host of a sports news program enthusiastically announced to a panel of experts.

“That's right! First, we’ll see The Snake de Medusa versus The Fury. Will The Snake be able to regain her title after her injury?” One of the drivers asked openly to the table to start the debate. 

“Are you nervous?” Choso asked me, leaving his empty plate on the glass table. 

“A lot, but I'll just get into the octagon, I'll do what I have to do, and I'll take down Maki no matter what,” I answered excitedly. 

“That's my girl,” Choso proudly placed a warm kiss on my cheek. 

In the time we have been together, my relationship with Choso has been the most beautiful and healthy one I have ever had in my life. He always cares about me, cooks for me and supports me in all my decisions. We had less than 3 months living together, and I still maintained the same opinion I had of him. It was a pleasure to wake up next to him every morning, do housework together and make love in the shower from time to time. I loved doing everything together with him. 

“I made you a green juice before I came here,” he said handing me one of my reusable bottles I had at home. I hated green juice, but I had to drink it for my own good.  

“Yuta Okkotsu was to face Toge Inumaki for the middleweight belt, but Inumaki suffered an injury that will prevent the fight from taking place. Do they already know who his replacement will be?” One of the commentators asked with curiosity. 

Yuta and Toge have always been friendly rivals. Outside the UFC they are almost always seen together at events and parties, but once they get in the ring, they are ready to kill each other. That energy of brotherhood and competitiveness makes their fights even more entertaining and among the bestsellers in the business. This rematch had been announced for 3 months. It was a shame that shortly before the event, Inumaki could no longer participate. I wanted to see the fight too. 

“It's a good thing you mentioned it, because we have exclusive news for Total Sport! Toge Inumaki's replacement will be no one more and no one less than Sukuna Ryomen!” At that name, I can't help but spit out the green juice. 

“What?!” I yelled as I got up from the sofa. 

“Just like that! Sukuna will finally go after a second title.” 

My mouth dropped open in shock. Sukuna and I would be at the same event! What wonderful news! After I moved to Nagoya, Sukuna hardly ever gave me any sign of life. He would either leave me on read or answer my messages weeks later. I sent hundreds of emails to Nanami to schedule a training session together, but I never received a reply. Every time Choso took me to one of his family events, I expected to see him there, in his fancy suit and expensive sunglasses. Unfortunately, Yuuji would always arrive alone and tell me that Sukuna was busy. It was frustrating to get in touch with him, but at last we would see each other again. 

“I'll get to see Sukuna fight live again, what a thrill!” I squealed in excitement as Choso wiped up the mess I had made with a napkin. 

“Are you that excited to see him?” I asked dryly. 

“Of course I am. I was his coach for a year, and he improved so much in such a short time. I want to see how much he has improved without me,” I answered wistfully. 

As much as I loved being back as a fighter, sometimes I liked to remember when I was his coach. The time when I could coexist in the mixed martial arts world and I didn't get hurt often. The best of both worlds. Even though I had my peace of mind, I missed Sukuna making me angry, laughing or crying with joy. 

“Do you miss him that much?” Choso asked me out of the blue, avoiding my gaze completely. 

“A little. It's just that it's been so long since I last saw him that I'm excited to see how he's doing,” I answered as I sat back down on the couch. 

It had been a year since we last saw each other. When we said goodbye after leaving his penthouse, I didn't think it would take me that long to see him again. If I was already excited to return to the octagon for my title, now I was happy to know that Sukuna would see me fight live for the first time. A smile crept onto my face at the idea.

I'll be posting the last chapter tomorrow at 8 pm PST!

[dukes-cassettetape]

A Legend is being born right before our eyes!

⚫🐉 Hēilóng "The Black Dragon"

👑 Last of the 3 African Kings

🌍 The Greatest African Fighter in UFC History

🌊🌬🔥⛰ The Last Stylebender⛰🔥🌬🌊

IS~R A~EL 🇳🇬🇳🇿 ADÉSÀNYÀ !!!

By the end of the year, with a win in his rumored upcoming fight vs Dricus de Plessis, Izzy will make history and officially be on his way to becoming the greatest Middleweight of All Time.

with the Dricus win he'll have:

🏅 12 title fights

🏅 11 PPV headliners

🏅 9 title fight wins

🏅 8+ fight bonuses

🏅 5 title defenses

🏅👊🏾 Most Knockdowns in UFC Middleweight History

🏆🏆🏆 3x Undisputed Middleweight Champion

he is on the verge of Middleweight GOAT status. once he beats Dricus, if he can win the Strickland rematch then turn around and beat the winner of Whittaker vs Chimaev, he'll have tied Silva in title wins at 11. couple that with his résumé, his strength of schedule, his activity, the fact that he did what Silva couldn't by recapturing the title twice, and all of the hype storylines behind a lot of his fights; he could be looking at a pretty strong case for having surpassed Anderson.

[wrestlingmgc]

Campeón Nacional de Peso Medio Guerrero Maya, Jr.

[importantwomensbirthdays]

Claressa Shields

Claressa Shields was born in 1995 in Flint, Michigan. Shields won gold medals in women's middlweight boxing at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. She also won gold in these events at the 2014 and 2016 World Championships. In 2022, Shields won the WBO middleweight title. This, along with her previous titles, made her the first boxer, male or female, to be an undisputed champion in three different weight classes.

[mmagoats]

MMA GOATS - Blog 1

The question “Who is the greatest of all time” or “Who’s the G.O.A.T” has always been a question asked anytime people are great at the things they do. In the realm of MMA especially, this question is one of the most heated and argued you could try and answer because of how the game is constantly evolving along with the fighters and their styles and also because of the sheer amount of fighters that have come and gone throughout the history of MMA. But in my list, I’ll chose fighters that I think are undeniably great that they stick out from the rest. So I'm going to try and rank all of the greatest fighters based on their achievements, what they brought and or meant to the sport of MMA and based on how they inspired me to get into combat sports.

In my goat tier list, the fighters are going to be placed between 1 and 10 with ten being the absolute top goat of MMA and one being at the bottom respectively. Also, each spot can and probably will hold more than one person because I believe that there has been too much talent throughout the history of MMA just to be put into a top 10.

With all that out of the way I want to state some of my honorable mentions before I start the list. 

Maurício “Shogun” Rua

Shogun Rua is definitely a great, competing in Pride where he held wins over big names such as Rampage Jackson, Alistair Overeem and Big Nog. It’s more because of who he took out and the age he did it that I find impressive enough to have me place him here, but definitely other have done it better.

Wanderlei Silva “Axe Murderer”

Fighting for reasons to be desirable, Wanderlei is one that sits comfortably in honorable mentions for claiming the middleweight championship at Pride, holding title defenses and competing for multiple grand prix. I find his story compelling and his drive being the aspect I wish I had (plus his nickname is cool).

TJ Dillashaw 

Arguably the best bantamweight champion the UFC had for his time, being a two time champion with multiple title defenses and an unrivaled underdog story. He’s here because he was the first great champion in his division so I almost feel obliged, but in my opinion is not the best in regards to the people that came after him.

“Big Nog” Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira

The big brother and other half of “Little Nog”, Big Nog fought in early Japanese fight promotion alongside people like Fedor and later fought in UFC and Pride. I think it’s his rivalry with his brother he always end up winning against that I can relate to.

Alistair Overeem 

Another name that deserves a place in honorable mentions, a man who learned martial arts to defend himself from bullies and held multiple heavyweight champion titles and the first to hold world titles in MMA and kickboxing at the same time. He’s here because he’s the first on the list that has reached double champ status, but did so in a division at a time that I think was pretty simple and boring, lacking technique and skill (but still, something about 200 pound men kickboxing makes for great entertainment that I’ll get my attention).

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson 

Rampage Jackson started as a wrestler at the age of 17, eventually trying out MMA after the success of other wrestlers, something that led to him getting multiple championships in the likes of UFC and Pride. Overall, he a great fighter but a better personality and I find him to be just a likeable person.

Chael Sonnen “The American Gangster”

Chael was a notorious figure during the early days of UFC in 1997 and a great villain for the scene, deserving a mention for not just his skill but his trash-talk and the eyes he brought to the game even though he never won a title. The only reason he’s here and not on the top is that I want to give a chance to the other fighters to be on my goat list of MMA, otherwise he would take over the entire thing.

[trauma-report]

two worlds colliding

Der fensterlose Raum, lediglich eingerichtet mit zwei langen Bänken, Spinden an einer Wand und einer leeren Garderobe wirkte wie ein Bunker. Ein Ort der Ruhe inmitten eines Sturmes, der losbrechen würde, sobald man die Tür durchschreiten und sich hin zu dem hier nur gedämpft vernehmbaren Murmeln, Rufen und Pfiffen bewegen würde. Raus auf die Bühne, wo jeder einen sehen und hören, beurteilen und unterstützen würde. Zu einem Ort, der einem das Blaue vom Himmel lobte oder einen tief zu Fall bringen konnte, wenn man auch nur einen Fehler machte. Einen einzigen, der fatale Folgen haben konnte. Wegen der Kameras, die auf einen gerichtet waren und die jede einzelne Bewegung, die man tat aufzeichneten. Sie zeigten jeden Makel, konnten für Schlagzeilen in den Boulevardmedien sorgen oder für Disqualifikationen sorgen. Und jeder würde es mitbekommen. Nicht nur wegen der Plakate, die städteweit über das Land verteilt die großen Auftritte ankündigten. Die Auftritte zweier Personen, die nur 120 Meilen , knapp zwei Autostunden voneinander entfernt waren. Die eine umringt von Fans, der andere von Unterstützern und Gegnern umzingelt. Und doch standen sie beide auf einer Bühne, zeigten sich selbst und das Talent, durch das sie ihren Lebensunterhalt verdienten. 

Während die weltweit gefeierte Popsängerin Elsie ein letztes Mal den Sitz ihres Bühnenoutfits überprüfte, mit dem sie in wenigen Minuten die Bühne des Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum betreten würde, justierte Artjom Kaminsky, seines Zeichens Trainer, ein letztes Mal den Sitz der fingerlosen Freefight Handschuhe seines Schützlings, seines Kämpfers in der UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship, der sich am heutigen Abend den Champion Titel der Middleweight Division holen wollte. Jakow Raptor Chernykh. 

Die Anspannung war deutlich spürbar. Die Aufregung vor dem großen Auftritt und der damit verbundenen Verantwortung, die man hauptsächlich sich selbst gegenüber innehatte, jedoch auch der, die man für sein Team, das hinter einem stand trug. Ob es sich nun um einstudierte Bühnenchoreografien oder monatelang trainierte Kampfstrategien, Schnelligkeit und Reflexe handelte, stellte da kaum einen Unterschied dar. Hinter beiden Szenarien steckten hauptsächlich viel Geld und die eigene Ehre, die man sich selbst versprach. Sowohl in Los Angeles, als auch in San Diego betraten heute zwei Größen auf ihre ganz eigene Bühne, die einen langen, teilweise beschwerlichen Weg hinter sich hatten, um dorthin zu kommen, wo sie heute standen. 

“Du weißt, was du zu tun hast.” 

Elsie hörte die Worte von ihrem Manager, dessen ordentlich gestriegeltes dunkles Haar und gleichzeitig blasses, hageres Gesicht wiederzuspiegeln schien, das ihm Profit wichtig war. Jakow hörte sie von seinem Trainer Artjom, vor ihm stehend, ihm ins Gesicht sehend, das fokussiert war und die innere Anspannung zeigte, die dem russisch-kasachischen MMA-Kämpfer innewohnte. Sie waren bereit. Sie waren beide kurz davor nach draußen zu gehen und konnten es nicht mehr erwarten, diese angestaute Energie, die das Lampenfieber verursachte, endlich raus zu lassen. 

Zwei Welten in zwei benachbarten Großstädten, von denen weder die eine, noch die andere Seite dem jeweils anderen Event große Beachtung schenken würde. Kaum einem war die Popsängerin nicht bekannt, deren Stimme die Leute verzauberte und in ein Traumreich aus tiefgehenden Songtexten führte. Ihre Fans reichten von den Kleinsten bis zu den Ältesten und die Charts hatte sie schon lange erobert. Sie wurde geliebt und selbst die, die ihre Karriere und ihre Musik nicht aktiv verfolgten, kannten ihre Lieder. Selbst wenn man sie nicht mochte, konnte man dennoch bei ihren berühmtesten Songs mitsingen und hatte ihre Melodien so schnell im Ohr, dass Ohrwürmer unvermeidbar waren. Ihr Auftreten in der Öffentlichkeit war stets warm, freundlich und andere Celebreties wären froh, mit ihr befreundet zu sein. Sie galt als Everybodys Darling, einer irischen Stimme, die einen abholte und Trost und Ansporn bieten konnte. Ihre Fans veröffentlichten im Internet Fanfictions über sie und in der Vergangenheit war es nicht nur einmal vorgekommen, dass Stalker ihr aufgelauert waren. Über ihr stand ein Music Management mit weitreichender Macht und ein PR-Team, das mit allen Mitteln versuchte sämtliche Skandale von ihr fernzuhalten. Ihr Leben war kontrolliert. Bestimmt davon, dass wenn sie einen Fuß vor die Tür setzte, Paparrazi nicht weit entfernt waren und auf den perfekten oder beabsichtigt unperfekten Schnappschuss von ihr nur warteten. 

MMA unterdessen eroberte zunehmend die Welt, war mit den Jahren immer bekannter geworden und Jakow Chernykh, der sich von ganz unten nach oben gekämpft hatte, war bereits jetzt eine lebende Legende in der Szene, hatte Fans und Hater, war berühmt berüchtigt für den Shittalk, den er außerhalb des Rings über seine Gegner von sich gab und galt im Oktagon als einer der besten Kämpfer, die die UFC zu bieten hatte. Einjeder von ihnen hatte Monate der Vorbereitung hinter sich. Während das Konzert in Los Angeles die neue Amerikatournee für Elsie startete und damit verbunden neue Choerografien einstudiert hatte, neue Songs für die Liveauftritte ausgearbeitet und bis zum Abwinken gesungen hatte, hatte sich Jakow gezielt auf den Kampf gegen den derzeitigen Middleweight Champion Conlin Kelly vorbereitet, seine Bewegungen und Kampfstrategien studiert und mit seinem Team darauf hingearbeitet, ihn endlich vom Thron zu stoßen. Er hielt bereits den Welterweight Gürtel in seinen Händen und nun würde er sich einen weiteren World Champion Titel holen. Doch das hatte eben auch Monate des peniblen Achtens auf Muskelaufbau, Gewicht und dem Vermeiden von Skandalen zur Folge gehabt und besonders Letzteres war für den Russen schon immer ein kleines Problem gewesen. 

Das Stadion von Los Angeles und die Arena von San Diego verdunkelten sich, einzelne Lichter tanzten über die Zuschauerränge und die Bühnen, während sich Elsie und Jakow bereit stellten. Sie direkt neben der Bühne, wo das Publikum bereits jetzt dem Auftritt entgegen fieberte und er in einem Gang, der gefolgt von seinem Team direkt in die Arena zum Oktagon führen würde. Tiefer Bass ertönte, brachte die Menge zum Jubeln, die nun bemerkte, dass etwas vor sich ging. 

“Schnapp ihn dir. Mach ihn fertig.” Artjom hatte das Gesicht seines angespannten, höchst fokussierten Kämpfers umfasst, sorgte dafür, dass er sich einen Moment lang nur auf seinen Trainer konzentrieren konnte. “Denk dran, Kelly ist groß, hat lange Arme. Bleib außer Reichweite, bis du dich reinkämpfen kannst. Geh auf den Körper. Bring ihn zu Boden. Lieber Submission als Knockout.” fasste er knapp die wichtigsten Punkte zusammen, auf die sie in den letzten Wochen gemeinsam hin trainiert hatten, dann ließ er ihn los und ihnen wurde ein Zeichen gegeben, dass der Russe nun in die Arena einlaufen konnte. 

Die Mengen tobten. Als Elsie die Bühne betrat und ihre ersten Noten sang, jubelte das ganze Stadion. Fans kreischten, andere begannen bereits jetzt aus voller Kehle mitzusingen, während die Lichtshow die Hauptakteurin und ihre Tänzer in Szene setzte. Als der MMA-Kämpfer die Arena betrat, begrüßten ihn volle Zuschauerränge. Der Boden unter seinen Füßen schien zu vibrieren unter dem Jubel der Fans und gleichzeitig auch Buhrufen der Kelly-Supporter auf der anderen Seite, doch das nahm Jakow kaum wahr. Alles, an das er denken konnte war das, was vor ihm lag und das, was er hinter sich hatte. Er hob beide Arme, hielt in jeder Hand eine Flagge über sich, während er voranschritt. Die von Kasachstan und die von Russland. Beide seiner Heimaten vereint. Zu Ehren seiner Mutter und seines Vaters. Denn auch wenn er außerhalb des Oktagons das Maul weit aufriss, kämpfte er im Grunde genommen von Anfang an für sie. Die Rufe der Massen berauschten, wirkten wie hypnotisierend und sagten Elsie und Jakow, dass sie am richtigen Ort waren. Zur richtigen Zeit. Als Jascha das Oktagon betrat und dort auf den Titelverteidiger wartete. Das Publikum dürstete nach Blut und der Russe wollte den Sieg. 

Zwei Welten, die unterschiedlicher nicht sein konnten und von denen die eine der anderen kaum Beachtung schenkte. Elsie’s Gesang bewegte die Mengen und deren Reaktionen somit sie. Das Dopamin griff nicht nur nach ihren Zuschauern, sondern auch nach ihr und brachten Erfüllung in dem, was sie tat. Sie berührte die Menschen und gab ihnen Hoffnung. Jascha’s Kampf war geprägt von Kontrolle bei etwas, das kaum als kontrollierbar galt. Die Gewalt rief in ihm einen ureigenen Überlebensinstinkt frei, durch den es nur noch ihn und seinen Gegner gab. Adrenalin ließ ihn den Schmerz bei jedem Schlag erst kaum spüren, auch wenn er durch jeden einzelnen davon angetrieben wurde. Er gab den Menschen das, was sie selbst niemals ausleben konnten, obwohl es doch jedem innewohnte.

Zwei Welten voller Gegensätze. Zwei Welten, die sich nicht vereinen lassen konnten. 

Oder? 

@ertraeumte

[theanticool]

Jarrett Hurd vs Erislandy Lara: April 7, 2018

Context - ProBox TV is a YouTube channel for boxing. They have talk shows, post news, and highlights but the thing that makes them unique is that they host fights. And not just random fights. While the hole PBC left when Showtime pulled out of boxing is slowly being filled, there were a lot of fighters in the umbrella PBC promotion that kind of just fell by the wayside. Former world champions that did not get picked up and did not have big time promoters behind them to help them build or rebuild their careers. And that's where ProBox shines as a boxing platform. They get legit world class fighters on the rebuild and give them an opportunity to get back to the world level, or in some cases breakout. If you watched the Crawford PPV, you might have seen David Morrell face off with a guy named Radivoje Kalajdzic. Kalajdzic is a ProBox vet who took out former world champion Sullivan Barrera earlier this year, lining him up for that fight. Their most successful rebuild story? Angelo Leo just had a KO of the Year contender to take a world championship up at featherweight. Another successful ProBox rebuild project. Cool stuff.

All that to say, if there's anywhere for a guy like Jarrett Hurd (23-5, 17 KOs) to go, it's ProBox. Hurd was once the super welterweight world champion and seemed to be on course to becoming a proper star in the sport. He was exciting, had big wins, and was knocking folks out. Then he got cracked. J-Rock dropped him en route to a decision loss and then he would lose two his next three. All of a sudden, Hurd is 2-3 in his last 5 after looking damn near unshakeable. So he's looking to rebuild his career up at middleweight. He is set to face off against another former super welterweight world champion on the rebuild path, Jeison Rosario (24-4-1).

Hurd and Rosario will fight on the ProBox TV YouTube channel this Wednesday (Aug 21).