Deontay Wilder may be in the ring again soon, but he continues to tease a move to MMA, part of a potential series with Francis Ngannou that would see the pair in the ring, then the cage. Chris Curtis met a Twitter troll ahead of UFC 289, meanwhile, but things actually went quite well frankly. And Conor McGregor scored a fresh KO… on an NBA mascot. It’s your Sunday MMA Quick Hits coming off a big night in Vancouver!
Chris Curtis meets Twitter troll ahead of UFC 289
Chris Curtis bumped into one of his “Twitter trolls” during UFC 289 Fight Week in Vancouver. Whatever said troll did to get Curtis to block him, the energy in person was much more jovial.
Not every day, you get to run into one of your Twitter trolls. Lol, they never keep the same energy. But it's fine. I love you guys, too. Man I love 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/r5Ryk6y0yG
— Chris Curtis The Action Man (@Actionman513) June 9, 2023
Deontay Wilder appears at PFL 4, talks Ngannou fights in boxing, MMA
While the MMA world awaits Francis Ngannou’s next move, one potential opponent turned up at Thursday’s PFL 4 card in Atlanta, GA.
That would be heavyweight boxer Deontay Wilder, who gave an update on his immediate future, and teased the potential of a cross-over series with Ngannou.
“This business is one of the most difficult businesses around, because it’s unstructured,” Wilder said of boxing. “We’re narrowing down. People should see me back in August, no later than September.”
As for the possibility of Wilder trying his hand at MMA, “That’s a good question,” he stated. “I’ve thought about this many times, even with Ngannou, us talking about getting together. You always see the MMA guys crossing over, but you never see the boxers crossing over. So I said I wanted to make it more interesting for the fans, and just the combat family as a whole. So I said, how ’bout you come to my backyard, and after we handle business, I can come to yours and cross over. And I really meant it.”
“Things are still up in the air, but I have seen myself on this side of the field. People will be very impressed with what I can do, my abilities.”
💣💣 BOMB SQUADDDDD! Deontay Wilder is in the building! #PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 ESPN+
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomD5xg pic.twitter.com/GQarHUcxhe— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 9, 2023
More Canadian UFC news coming?
Charles Jourdain wasn’t about to spill any tea at the UFC 30th Anniversary Q&A on Friday, but he did hint at something good coming Canada’s way.
“I think there’s some very good things coming for Canada. I cannot say a date, I cannot say anything, but you guys are going to be in for a treat soon when the information gets out,” teased “Air” Jourdain when asked by Cageside Press if we might see him on a Canadian card next.
UFC celebrating Mexican Independence Day with Las Vegas event
Per TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter, the UFC date booked for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 16 (first reported by MMA Junkie’s Nolan King) will be in celebration of Mexican Independence Day. There’s no word yet as to who will headline the card, which is not expected to be a PPV. But you can be certain plenty of fighters with Mexican heritage will take part.
Dana White confirms that the upcoming September 16th card at T-Mobile Arena will celebrate Mexican Independence Day.
He was regretful that the UFC didn't do a Cinco de Mayo card and has been hoping to do a card like this for years.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) June 10, 2023
PFL 4 draws 336,000 viewers on ESPN
For those curious about the kind of ratings the PFL draws, Thursday’s PFL 4 card in Atlanta drew 336K viewers on ESPN (ratings via Showbuzz Daily). That was good enough for the #31 spot on the night among original cable programming. That rank is based on the 0.11 share in 18-49 viewership, the demographic advertisers covet most.
Conor McGregor decks mascot at Miami Heat game
Before anyone gets up in arms, this was clearly a work. Conor McGregor was in the house for the NBA’s Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets game on Friday, promoting a pain relief spray.
And who showed up during McGregor’s promotional appearance but Burnie, the Heat mascot, sporting a pair of boxing gloves. Oops. McGregor dropped ol’ Burnie with a single heater, but followed up with a very unnecessary second shot while the mascot was down.
McGregor then sprayed his fallen foe with the pain relief spray in question as Burnie was dragged off the court. Hmm… does anyone have the rights to Mascot Fight League?
Now, this may have turned out to be a stunt gone wrong, as the mascot reportedly suffered minor injuries, per a follow-up ESPN report. Work gone wrong? Or another work.
