Latest news with #TheArielHelwaniShow
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Khalil Rountree learned how to not be 'afraid of the fire' in Alex Pereira fight, vows to be 'undeniable' at UFC Baku
Khalil Rountree Jr. will be a part of history in his first fight since challenging for UFC light heavyweight gold this past October. Among the three title challengers that former champion Alex Pereira fought in 2024, none gave him a tougher battle than Rountree, as the two collided in a back-and-forth bout that made the short list for Uncrowned's best of the year. Rountree ultimately came up short, leading him to a clash with former champion Jamahal Hill this Saturday in UFC Baku's main event. The card will be the first UFC event in Azerbaijan after a Hill injury sunk the originally scheduled date for UFC Kansas City in April. Advertisement Having been in Baku since last Saturday, Rountree is pleased with how everything turned out. "It's an arena that I've never experienced before," Rountree said on "The Ariel Helwani Show." It's nothing like any arena that I've ever been to in the States. It's nothing like the T-Mobile [Arena]. It's nothing like anything. It's got a very different feel to it. It definitely feels authentic to Baku. "I've just been in awe of everything that I've experienced here. The arena was just one of those experiences. It just feels like a special place, it's got a different energy to it. I can't even explain it. It's not high up. It's kind of, like, low ceilings, but the floor is really wide, and I would just imagine it being packed with people, and it kind of brought me some chills, man." Despite the five-fight win streak Rountree rode into his Pereira title fight, he was ranked No. 8 in the UFC's light heavyweight division at the time and a controversial choice to challenge for the belt. Yet the performance was arguably the best of Rountree's career, and a stock-raiser even in defeat. Advertisement If he gets the win over Hill, Rountree hopes to be close to a second crack at the title. "There's been talks of what we'd like after this, and I think that the UFC have their own ideas and thoughts on what they would want," Rountree said. "My plan is to put on a performance that makes a title shot again undeniable, if that makes any sense. "I'm definitely sure that I'm ready to be a champion, and I'm ready to be that champion. Everything that I'm working on and doing is to be prepared for that again. That's absolutely what I want and what I'm gunning for. So my plan is to put on an undeniable performance, so that I can get that chance again." Rountree's performance against Pereira felt like a "coming of age" type of moment for the fighter. Early on in his UFC career, which began with "The Ultimate Fighter 23" in 2016, Rountree often impressed with highlight-reel victories but failed to string together consistency. When tasked with an opponent that could get him over the hump into title contention, he fell short several times under the bright lights. Advertisement So the first title fight of his 20-fight career was an eye-opener, to say the least. "I saw how far I was willing to go," Rountree said. "I was really tested to the very end in that fight. I went as far as I possibly could. In my mind, I enjoyed the whole thing. I enjoyed it all the way through, and it was just something that I remember. I gave my absolute all in that fight, so I got to experience what that feels like. I think that it just helped me grow — and not necessarily be afraid of the fire, for lack of better words. I've been through the fire, and although I didn't make it out victorious, I've been there, and I felt that, I felt it. So I think it toughened me up a bit. Advertisement "No fight stands out to me like that one does as far as having to go into deep waters." The UFC light heavyweight division has obviously shifted at the top since Pereira vs. Rountree. In March, Pereira finally met his match at 205 pounds, dropping his belt to Magomed Ankalaev after a back-and-forth bout at UFC 313. The expectation now is for an immediate title rematch between the two in 2025. For Rountree, though, it's not about the opponent when it comes to another title shot. "To be honest, I really care who the champion is until it's me," Rountree said. "I think that [rematch with Pereira] would be a great fight. I'm sure that people would want to see a second fight between us for the belt again. I think that would be exciting, but it's nothing that I'm hoping for. "Whoever has it, I'm doing whatever I can to prepare to fight whoever has it."
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Julianna Peña fought Kayla Harrison at UFC 316 with 'pretty severe handicap'
Julianna Peña fought Kayla Harrison at UFC 316 with 'pretty severe handicap' According to Julianna Peña, she was compromised while fighting Kayla Harrison at UFC 316. Peña (13-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) lost her bantamweight title to Harrison in the UFC 316 co-main event earlier this month after being taken down and submitted in the second round. In an emotional interview, Peña discussed her struggles in fight camp, which almost had her contemplating pulling out. "I was plagued with several injuries leading up to that fight," Peña said Tuesday on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "It was not a good camp for me in that sense because I knew that I was going into the fight with a pretty severe handicap. It crossed my mind (to pull out), but it was not bad enough to the point where I would have to not fight because I knew I was going to be able to push through. "But it's a funny thing that my coaches probably didn't explain the severity of the situation to me, otherwise I would have thought more heavily on not competing. No, I don't regret competing. I put in too much time. I've taken away too much time from other people, from my daughter, from my coaches, and from their families. So I don't regret competing. I just wish I could have competed under better circumstances." Peña opened up on the extent of her injuries. "About the second week of May, I broke my thumb on my training partner, and it was swollen," Peña said. "It looked like someone hit me in the hand with a hammer, and it was really difficult to grip. It still is right now very difficult to grip and to have grip strength. But then the 29th of May, I took a really bad fall in the octagon, and I tore my elbow and broke off a ton of bone chips so that I wasn't able to straighten my arm or bend my arm fully. I worked on that for a few days before I left to fight week, but everyday it was just worse and worse and worse. "It looked like someone whacked me in the back of the elbow with a baseball bat. It was just so swollen, and the MRI, the x-rays showed a tear and a lot of bone chips in the back of that. So going into a fight 10 days out after having a tear like that and all those bone chips, it's just excruciating, and it's very painful. It's hard to throw a punch, it's hard to extend, it's hard to grip, it's hard to bend. It's just all-around very painful. I'm having surgery for that in July, and I'm going to clean that up."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cory Sandhagen, Paul Walter Hauser and Marc Raimondi in studio, On The Nose and more
Catch today's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show" live on Uncrowned and YouTube at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT/6 p.m. UK time as Ariel Helwani and the Boys In The Back set the table for the combat sports weekend with another eclectic lineup of guests. Wednesday's rundown can be seen below. 1 p.m. ET: Ariel kicks off the show by answering all your questions on the latest edition of On The Nose. Advertisement 2 p.m. ET: Cory Sandhagen previews his potential UFC title fight against Merab Dvalishvili. 2:30 p.m. ET: Old friend Marc Raimondi joins us in-studio to discuss his upcoming book, "Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Professional Wrestling's New World Order Changed America." 3:30 p.m. ET: Paul Walter Hauser — Golden Globe Award winner, Primetime Emmy Award winner, and up-and-coming professional wrestler — join us in-studio. Catch all new episodes of "The Ariel Helwani Show" live every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Uncrowned and The Ariel Helwani Show's YouTube page. To listen to every episode, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'I feel like a different person': Deontay Wilder goes deep on mental struggles ahead of boxing comeback
Nearly two decades into a professional boxing career that's seen him crowned heavyweight champion and then cast out as a shell of his former self, Deontay Wilder finds himself back where few thought he'd ever return: Preparing for another fight — and perhaps, another run at a heavyweight title. Wilder returns to the ring on June 27 in Wichita, Kansas, against the little-known Tyrell Herndon. "The Bronze Bomber" will end a one-year layoff for the fight, which he hopes will be the first of three bouts in 2025 as part of a rebuilding process following back-to-back defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. Advertisement At age 39, many believe Wilder has given all he can to the heavyweight division and the sport of boxing, Wilder, however, firmly believes that a new and improved version of himself awaits his rivals — a version that is free of pressure and expectations, and able to fight for himself and his own needs. "I feel like a different person," Wilder said on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show." "This Deontay Wilder, he's more at peace, mentally, physically, and emotionally. A lot of things that I was doing, I did for others. I was selfless. I took care of a lot of people. You can only do so much for so many people, and at certain times, you can do it for a certain length of time where it's really not [appreciated]. But you don't really understand anything until time passes, until situations happen, and you start lingering around and you start noticing certain things, and you start understanding things. And then you realize, it's time to let certain things go. "At this moment in time, I'm selfish. ... It's all about me having fun and going there and just having a great time. And that's the difference — I feel more free. When you do it for yourself, you ain't worried about letting anyone down, you ain't worried about making mistakes, you ain't worried about anything. Advertisement "If anyone has dealt with betrayal, you understand the feeling of it," Wilder continued. "You understand the pain that comes behind it, especially when you have done stuff for so many people. You took people to places where they never would have been without you in their lives, or present at any given time. And then when they betray you, it's like a dagger in your heart. I tell people it's 10 times worse than a heartbreak. But for me, it's just been a domino effect. Year after year after year." The former champion has parted ways with numerous people in his inner circle in recent years. He split from now-former trainer Mark Breland after Breland threw in the towel in the seventh round in the second of his three fights with Tyson Fury in 2020. In Wilder's most recent bout, longtime trainer Jay Deas was also not visible in the heavyweight's corner either, with Malik Scott now serving as head coach. Wilder additionally spent his peak years with Al Haymon's Premier -Boxing Champions, but his past two bouts came on Riyadh Season cards, and his next fight is being promoted by Global Combat Collective. "It's like an orange. People will squeeze you until they feel like all the juice is out of you," Wilder said. "And then, when all the juice is out of you, they'll throw away the hull. But the thing is, for one man's trash is another man's treasure. And if you understand anything about oranges and hulls and different things that you can use to cook, you know that the hull, you don't throw it away, because it can become edible. You can still use it. "You can't see that you got f***** heavy baggage around you. You can't understand that right now [you're trying to go up] and this motherf**** ain't going nowhere. Until you realize that, the people that are around, the baggage that you're holding, the burden that needs to be cut, [they're] still lingering around. Once you start cutting s***, you start floating up, you start elevating, you start rising." Advertisement "[The people around you] have benefited [from] you, the fruits of your labor," he continued. "You risk your life for others' entertainment. Everybody wants what you have, but don't want to put in the same amount of work that you have put in. They just want to benefit from you. There's no more." It's clear Wilder believes he was used by those he once trusted, that people who claimed to care about him were only on the journey for what he could give them while he was at the top of the sport. Once they felt he had nothing left to offer — no more victories, fame, or money — they discarded him. Advertisement However, Wilder is confident that what he's left with still has enough juice to fuel another run in the sport. And he plans to undergo that run with a smaller team, removing the deadweight in the process. Despite Wilder's struggles inside and outside of the ring, he insists that reports of him hanging up the gloves were wide of the mark. "I've never thought about giving up, I never thought about quitting," Wilder said. "I never thought about retiring. These are all rumors and stuff, and [this is what I'm] saying — people don't know [anything]. Most people want to be first [rather] than be correct. We are living in a world today where you want to put everything out on social media to get clicks and likes to make some money." While many continue to ask what's left for the American to accomplish in the sport, Wilder desires to be remembered as a fighter who strived to be the best. He said, after being pulled out by former trainer Breland in the second Fury fight, that he was willing to go out on his shield and die in the ring, if it came to it. "I want [people] to say that I [never gave] up at all," Wilder said. "I got up on these bended knees and I got up ... and got myself back out there, each and every time, because I wasn't satisfied with the last performance or the last thing I've done. In my life, I always feel like there's more to do in this world. No matter what I've obtained or what I may have in life, I still feel like there's more to do."
USA Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Sean O'Malley comes to 'embarrassing' realization about Cody Garbrandt's new look
Sean O'Malley comes to 'embarrassing' realization about Cody Garbrandt's new look Sean O'Malley was definitely annoyed watching Cody Garbrandt fight this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 69. Garbrandt (14-7 MMA, 9-7 UFC) said O'Malley "looked like sh*t" in his submission loss to bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili earlier this month. "No Love" didn't rule out the possibility of a future showdown with O'Malley but wound up losing to Raoni Barcelos this past Saturday. O'Malley (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) threw shade at both Garbrandt's performance and new look, which was a very similar appearance to his own. "I saw Cody Garbrandt saying I looked like sh*t against Merab," O'Malley said on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "That dude looked sharp in his fight. That's all I'll say. You know what was annoying? When I saw his hair was braided, and he's got those face tattoos, I was like, 'F*ck, that's how people see me.' It was just so embarrassing. Oh God, I need to f*cking get a new look. That was embarrassing. I was like, 'Holy sh*t.' That was an eye opener. I was like, 'God damnit it, that's how people probably look at me.' It was embarrassing." O'Malley and Garbrandt have been trading barbs for years and even had a heated exchange and faceoff during the UFC 269 pre-fight press conference in 2021. Both O'Malley and Garbrandt are on two-fight losing skids.
