There’s a st͏orm bre͏wing in the bantamweight divis͏ion as Merab Dvalishvili,͏ Umar Nurmagomedov, ͏and Aljamai͏n Sterlin͏g engage in pla͏y͏ful banter over alleg͏ations of͏ duck͏ing. Wan͏t͏ to know what it’s all abo͏ut? Then stick around as we are back with ano͏ther ͏episode of MMA͏ ͏Roundup, whe͏r͏e͏ we will cover all the juicy pieces͏ from ͏the last 24 hours in bite-sized segments. So͏, wi͏thout further ͏ado,͏ let’s get star͏ted!

͏After analyzing the bantamweight division fiasco, we are going to move forward to Israel Adesanya, who appeared to have made some grave allegations about NZ boxing politics. Finally, we will conclude our roundup with a piece of information about Renan Ferreira, who released the first statement after his loss against Francis Ngannou.

Umar Nurmagomedov responds to Aljamain Sterling after defending Merab Dvalishvili

U͏mar Nurmagomedov appears to be frustrated by the fact that Merab Dvalishvili wants to defend his title for the first time in March of next year. Now, you may ask, why is the Dagestani so angry about it? Well, it’s because it’s the Ramadan period for Muslins and it’s difficult for the challenger to fight during this period. The MMA community directed their ire to Dvalishvili, and Aljamain Sterling had to step in to defend his dear friend.

“You guys are exhausting. Constantly repeating stuff that makes NO sense. He just won the belt. Merab is Christian, not Muslim. Making one man’s religious beliefs the cause for “ducking” is baffling. How the heck is that Merab’s fault?? Make it make sense…That’s right, you can’t!” wrote Sterling on his X handle.

This statement by the former bantamweight champion has not been taken lightly by the Dagestani as he gave him a befitting reply, “He [is] ready to fight with sugar in November, but with me, not [no]. That’s why, Aljamain” Merab Dvalishvili’s reluctance to fight may have forced Nurmagomedov to fight a lower-level opponent and his frustration is highly palpable. Regardless, let us move on forward to Israel Adesanya, who appears to have called out the entire NZ boxing scene.

Israel Adesanya slams the NZ boxing for corruption

Israel Adesanya is a man who stands up for his friends when they are in need. That’s what he did when he called out the entire NZ boxing organization after his friend, Taj Kagho, lost a crucial boxing match because of poor judging despite dominating most of the rounds. The fight happened at the start of the month. We must note that this was the qualifier match for the Commonwealth Games. The former middleweight champ took to his Instagram handle to share this instance along with other instances to allege that NZ boxing consists of corrupt people.

“Corruption…still alive in NZ Boxing. I’ve had my share of daylight and night time robberies with boxing. A kickboxer with zero amateur fights whooping pros lol. But these young guys in the amateurs aren’t getting paid, all they have is a dream. To take a dream from young person who has EARNT his was is low as f**k. Olympic and commonwealth qualifying matches snatched away,” said Adesanya.

He further added, “All because they’re from @citykickboxing . We’ve noticed the pattern over the years, even on the judges scorecards. Give these young athletes a fair shake and stop taking their dreams away. Just think of it like this…if the best boxer actually goes to the world stage and wins then “WE ALL WIN!”

I͏n h͏i͏s post,͏ ͏Adesanya͏ ͏offe͏re͏d hope to ͏upcomi͏ng fighters, encouraging th͏em͏ n͏ot to lose hea͏rt due to͏ dec͏ision losses an͏d to conti͏nue strivin͏g for victory. A͏n official͏ statement from the organization has yet to be releas͏ed. We will  have to wait and see how this situation develops. Nevertheless, let us mo͏ve forwa͏rd to ͏Renan Ferreir͏a, who has i͏ssu͏ed his first statement following his loss.

Renan Ferreria releases first statement after heartbreaking loss

At ‘The Battle of the Giants’, Francis Ngannou knocked out Renan Ferreira in the very first round to be the first PFL heavyweight champion of the world. The build-up of their fight was insane with both the fighters coming guns blazing against each other. However, despite his bigger size and stature, Ferreria failed to even go into distance with the former UFC heavyweight champion.

Just days after his loss, Ferreira took to his social media handle to issue a statement for his loss, “Hey guys, Renan ‘Problema’ here, a bit broken. Yesterday wasn’t a good day at work, guys, but I’m very happy with all our dedication and everything that developed through our work. I’ve always had the mindset of never losing, for myself, to fight any lack of dedication and commitment, and thank God I have a clean conscience. I worked very hard there, showed up well to the fight, and was happy to return.”

He further added, “Unfortunately, my opponent [Ngannou] was superior. He managed to impose a game where that I couldn’t defend the takedowns, which led to very hard ground-and-pound to get through. And that’s it, life goes on, we’ll be back. I want to thank everyone for all the love and support, we’re always together. Hugs.”

Both the fighters showcased heavy power but Francis Ngannou had a different motivation behind his back to win the match. Regardless, what’s your take on their battle? State your thoughts in the comments below.

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