Latest news with #flyweight
The Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Galal Yafai vs Francisco Rodriguez Jr: Start time, live stream, TV channel, tickets and full card for huge title fight
OLYMPIC gold medalist Galal Yafai and Francisco Rodriguez Jr have been drafted in to headline a huge Birmingham bill - and the WBC interim World Flyweight title is on the line! Shabaz Masoud's bout against Peter McGrail was the initial main event before Masoud withdrew due to a training injury. 1 Meaning that even more eyes will be on champ Yafai to see whether he can extend his impressive 9-0 record. The Englishman's last dance ended with him blowing away Sunny Edwards in six rounds who immediately announced his retirement after the November 2024 fight. And Yafai has been tipped to retain his crown against Rodriguez Jr, particularly with his strong knockout record of seven in nine encounters. However, his Mexican opponent Rodriguez Jr has a staggering 45 fights under his belt, so he knows a thing or two about navigating around the ring. When is Yafai vs Rodriguez Jr? Gala Yafai vs Francisco Rodriguez Jr will take place on Saturday, June 21. The ring-walks are scheduled for approximately 10:15pm BST with the first bell expected to go off 15 minutes later at 10:30pm BST. Coverage of the main card should get underway from 7pm BST. BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham is the chosen venue for this huge event and it can host approximately 15,685 spectators. What TV channel is Yafai vs Rodriguez Jr on and can it be live streamed? Galal Yafai vs Francsico Rodriguez Jr will be broadcast LIVE on DAZN. The whole fight card will stream live on DAZN in over 200 countries across the globe via a DAZN subscription. If you are not currently a DAZN member, then monthly and annual subscription options are available to watch over 185 fights a year across boxing, bare knuckle boxing, MMA and kickboxing. An Annual Super Saver subscription is a one-off payment of £119.99 / $224.99 for 12-months access (£14.99 / $19.99 per month if paying in monthly instalments). A Monthly Flexible pass, which can be cancelled at any time, is £24.99 / $29.99 per month. Yafai vs Rodriguez Jr FULL card What has been said? Galal Yafai has had to battle his way to the top, and he has his eyes set on a huge world title fight. The WBC champ said 'It's been a long journey to just get here. 'It's not finished yet, not even close.'
Forbes
7 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC 317: Brandon Royval Vs. Joshua Van Opening Betting Odds
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 12: Brandon Royval reacts after a victory against Tatsuro Taira of Japan ... More in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) UFC 317 picked up an eye-opening flyweight fight earlier this week when the UFC booked Joshua Van to step in on short notice to face Brandon Royval shortly after Royval's initial opponent, Manel Kape, dropped off the card due to a foot injury. Royval enters the June 28 pay-per-view card as the No. 1 ranked UFC flyweight, while Van is riding a four-fight winning streak. UFC 317 takes place on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The PPV card is the centerpiece of this year's UFC International Fight Week festivities. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 07: Joshua Van of Myanmar enters the octagon before the flyweight bout ... More against Bruno Silva of Brazil during UFC 316 at the Prudential Center on June 07, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo) Kape, who is the No. 6 ranked UFC flyweight broke the news that he was out of his UFC 317 matchup opposite Royval on social media. "With great regret, I come to inform that I am out of the next #UFC317 competition. "I suffered a foot fracture during the training &, after medical evaluation, I was instructed to have surgery & focus 100% on recovery. "It's not easy to stay out of something I've been preparing for with so much dedication, and without a doubt this would be the most advantageous fight of my career but I understand that this is just another challenge on the way and I trust the plans that Allah has for me! 'I sincerely thank everyone who is with me - we remain firm, stronger with each obstacle. The battle was only postponed... I'll be back soon!' Kape wrote on X. Kape and Royval were scheduled to meet in March 2025, but Royval withdrew from that fight due to concussions. Kape stayed on the card, beating Asu Almabayev by TKO. The win was Kape's second straight TKO win and improved his record to 6-1 dating back to August 2021. 'Manel Kape is out, Joshua Van is stepping in,' Royval said on Instagram. 'I have zero idea of the extent of Manel Kape's injuries but I do know I have the hottest prospect and probably the most exciting UFC flyweight in front of me. Really nothing changes for me as far as what's in front of me. I've got a gangster that's ready to take my head off and earn his name off of me.' Van confirmed Royval's statement, saying on X, 'I'll be fighting Royval June 28!!!' Royval last fought in October 2024 when he scored a split decision win over Tatsuro Taira in a 'Fight of the Night' bonus-winning performance at the top of a UFC Vegas fight card. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 12: Brandon Royval prepares to face Tatsuro Taira of Japan in a ... More flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) When BetOnline published the opening betting lines for the Royval vs. Van matchup, Van opened as the -260 betting favorite over Royval, who was the +220 betting underdog. Those odds have shifted in a big way since then. Today, Royval is the -132 betting favorite over Van, who is currently the +122 betting underdog. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 07: Joshua Van of Myanmar reacts after a knockout victory against Bruno ... More Silva of Brazil in a flyweight bout during the UFC 316 event at Prudential Center on June 07, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) The timing of the Royval vs. Van fight is excellent. The co-main event of UFC 317 finds the flyweight title on the line, as champion Alexandre Pantoja faces Kai Kara-France in that matchup. The winner of the Royval vs. Van fight, which is currently booked for the UFC 317 prelims, could determine who faces the winner of that Pantoja vs. Kara-France matchup. Van spoke about that fight. "Kai is a very powerful guy. So I feel like if Kai doesn't show him too much respect, I think he can get it done," Van said. "But if Pantoja bullies him in there, it's done. It's over. 'It would be ideal if I fight Pantoja because nobody's ever beaten him as the champion. So if I go out there and beat him, that would be [great]. May the best man win.' Royval faced Pantoja in a title fight in December 2023. Pantoja won that contest by decision. The two also faced each other in a non-title bout in August 2021. Pantoja earned a submission win in that scrap. Royval has a September 2020 submission win over Kara-France. The UFC officially announced the five-fight line-up for UFC 317 during the UFC 316 broadcast. Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira - For vacant UFC lightweight title Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France - For Pantoja's UFC flyweight title Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov - Middleweight Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano - Lightweight Jhonata Diniz vs. Justin Tafa - Heavyweight We will have more on Royval vs. Van and the UFC 317 fight card as fight night approaches.
Forbes
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Joshua Van: A Win Over Brandon Royval At UFC 317 Puts Me At No. 1
Joshua Van has accomplished a lot during his relatively short MMA career. At UFC 317, the 23-year-old tackles his biggest assignment yet when he faces No. 1 ranked UFC flyweight contender Brandon Royval on short notice at UFC 317. The news that Royval had lost his original opponent for UFC 317, which takes place on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, broke earlier this week when Kape revealed he suffered a broken foot during training. Royval was the one who informed fight fans that Van was stepping in on short notice as a replacement. Van was fresh off a TKO win over veteran UFC competitor Bruno Silva when he accepted the Royval fight. The Silva stoppage at UFC 316 gave Van a four-fight winning streak and moved him to the No. 10 spot in the official UFC 125-pound rankings. After his win at UFC 316, Van called for a fight against former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno, who is ranked No. 2 in the division. 'If I win this fight, I'm No. 1," Van told Ariel Helwani. "No [UFC hasn't said that], but who am I supposed to fight next? If I beat the No. 1 guy, I'm the No. 1 [guy]. So that's what I'm thinking right now. 'The only reason I called out [Brandon] Moreno [after UFC 316] was because everyone in the top 15 had a matchup and stuff like that. It was just me and him that were left, and he said he wanted to fight on Noche UFC, I want to fight in Texas. But if they give me a title [fight after UFC 317], hell yeah, I'll take the title.' "When they called me Sunday, it's just an opportunity that I can't say no. I told the media I want to fight as soon as possible, so the UFC gave me a matchup, and I have to say yes,' Van added. The timing of the Royval vs. Van fight is excellent. The co-main event of UFC 317 finds the flyweight title on the line, as champion Alexandre Pantoja faces Kai Kara-France in that matchup. The winner of the Royval vs. Van fight, which is currently booked for the UFC 317 prelims, could determine who faces the winner of that Pantoja vs. Kara-France matchup. Van spoke about that fight. "Kai is a very powerful guy. So I feel like if Kai doesn't show him too much respect, I think he can get it done," Van said. "But if Pantoja bullies him in there, it's done. It's over. 'It would be ideal if I fight Pantoja because nobody's ever beaten him as the champion. So if I go out there and beat him, that would be [great]. May the best man win.' Royval faced Pantoja in a title fight in December 2023. Pantoja won that contest by decision. The two also faced each other in a non-title bout in August 2021. Pantoja earned a submission win in that scrap. Royval has a September 2020 submission win over Kara-France. We will have more on Royval vs. Van and the UFC 317 fight card as fight night approaches.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'I know what I'm doing' - Namajunas staying at flyweight
Rose Namajunas says she has no plans to move back down to strawweight as she is still targeting becoming a two-weight UFC champion at American is a two-time strawweight champion and considered one of the best fighters ever at 115lb, but her fortunes at flyweight (125lb) have been mixed with a 2-2 record since 32, faces Miranda Maverick on Saturday in Atlanta and says she would only return to strawweight for a big fight."I know that people try to tell me what to do or advice about my career. I know myself and I know what I'm doing. Yeah maybe I had some mixed results. But there are a lot of factors that go into it, that people don't know about," Namajunas said at a UFC media day."I've already got to the top of [the strawweight division]. With the time I have left in my career, this is the next biggest challenge."It got to the point at 115lb I had so many rematches and I was fighting the same people. I have that goal of becoming two-division champion."Namajunas lost a points decision to Erin Blanchfield in her last outing in November, describing it as hitting a "speed bump" and has also been beaten by title contender Manon Milwaukee native, who is 13-7 overall in her MMA career, says her goal is to earn a title shot."I still feel like it's possible and it's very in reach. I was actually in this position before at 115lb where I was making a title run and I fought Karolina [Kowalkiewicz] in Atlanta many years ago," she said."I thought I was getting that title shot right after that and I lost and I had to rebuild myself. Here I am again." Namajunas makes Shevchenko v Weili & Harrison v Nunes predictions Namajunas may soon welcome an old rival to the strawweight division with champion Zhang Weili tipped to move up and fight flyweight belt holder Valentina is also chasing a bout with Shevchenko and has two wins over Weili at how she thought that fight could go, she said: "Weili has a chance, she probably has a better chance than most other people."Valentina, she's my favourite. I look up to her, she's amazing. I believe she's the better martial artist and I think that would make the difference in the fight."Another big fight on the horizon in women's MMA is Kayla Harrison v Amanda champion Nunes will come out of retirement to fight new bantamweight champion Harrison."It would be interesting to see how Kayla Harrison deals with Amanda's striking."That might be the big question. Kayla, her striking is getting better and better every time she gets in there. It will be interesting if Kayla can get her hands on Amanda."But Amanda has got great jiu-jitsu and she's super strong."
Forbes
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC 317 Fight Card Gets Major Update With Injury
The No. 1 ranked fighter in the UFC's flyweight division saw his initial UFC Atlanta opponent fall off the June 14th fight card, only to pick up a surprise short-notice replacement who is coming off a big win at UFC 316. On Monday, Brandon Royval announced that his UFC 317 fight against the No. 6 ranked Manel Kape was off. The No. 1 ranked UFC flyweight also announced that his replacement opponent would be Joshua Van, who entered UFC 316 as the No. 14 ranked 125-pound contender. Van knocked out the No. 12 ranked Bruno Silva at the top of the UFC 316 preliminary card. Van is likely to jump in the rankings, thanks to that victory. "With great regret, I come to inform that I am out of the next #UFC317 competition. "I suffered a foot fracture during the training &, after medical evaluation, I was instructed to have surgery & focus 100% on recovery. "It's not easy to stay out of something I've been preparing for with so much dedication, and without a doubt this would be the most advantageous fight of my career but I understand that this is just another challenge on the way and I trust the plans that Allah has for me! 'I sincerely thank everyone who is with me - we remain firm, stronger with each obstacle. The battle was only postponed... I'll be back soon!' Kape wrote on X. Kape and Royval were scheduled to meet in March 2025, but Royval withdrew from that fight due to concussions. Kape stayed on the card, beating Asu Almabayev by TKO. The win was Kape's second straight TKO win and improved his record to 6-1 dating back to August 2021. 'Manel Kape is out, Joshua Van is stepping in,' Royval said on Instagram. 'I have zero idea of the extent of Manel Kape's injuries but I do know I have the hottest prospect and probably the most exciting UFC flyweight in front of me. Really nothing changes for me as far as what's in front of me. I've got a gangster that's ready to take my head off and earn his name off of me.' Van confirmed Royval's statement, saying on X, 'I'll be fighting Royval June 28!!!' Royval last fought in October 2024 when he scored a split decision win over Tatsuro Taira in a 'Fight of the Night' bonus-winning performance at the top of a UFC Vegas fight card. The UFC has not officially announced the Royval vs. Van matchup for UFC 317. The UFC officially announced the five-fight line-up for UFC 317 during the UFC 316 broadcast. Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira - For vacant UFC lightweight title Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France - For Pantoja's UFC flyweight title Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov - Middleweight Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano - Lightweight Jhonata Diniz vs. Justin Tafa - Heavyweight We will have more on the UFC 317 fight card as fight night approaches. UFC 317 takes place on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
