MMA

UFC HALL-OF-FAMER Michael Bisping has revealed he wanted $1million to box YouTube star Jake Paul.The former middleweight champion was in the running to be the fourth opponent of Paul’s brief boxing career before his fellow MMA star Tyron Woodley signed on the dotted line.
Michael Bisping received a $500,000 offer to box YouTube star Jake PaulCredit: Getty
But The Count wanted $1million to ‘spank’ the YouTuberCredit: Getty
Bisping revealed to SunSport he was offered £360,000 to throw down with The Problem Child but responded by demanding a bigger purse of £725,000 to ‘spank’ the social media star.
The Count, 42, said: “With Jake Paul, yeah I did get an offer of $500,000 to fight him.
“We countered back with a million, but I was never really entertaining it.
“I was like, ‘Alright, let’s have some fun, let’s see what they say.
“And you never know, if they had came back with a million or higher, maybe I would’ve gone and spanked a YouTuber.”
Although the prospect of one last huge payday briefly enticed Bisping, the pride of Clitheroe is more than happy with his new life outside of fighting.
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SunSport’s latest pound-for-pound UFC rankings
He continued: “If there’s a million dollars in the table there, I’d be a fool not to pick it up.
“I’m not interested in that, I’m very happy, I’ve got so much going on in my retirement.
“I’m so bloody busy. But yeah, I’m very happy.”
Bisping, Britain’s first and only UFC champion, hung up his gloves in May 2018 following consecutive losses to Georges St-Pierre and Kelvin Gastelum.
The competitive spirit that spurred him on to UFC gold five years ago still burns somewhat, but not enough to convince him to lace up his gloves one more time
He said: “I’ve been there, done it and got the T-shirt. I’ve had a lot of fights.
Michael Bisping is Britain’s first and only UFC championCredit: Getty

“At the time of my retirement, I set a lot of records, won the belt.
“There’s nothing more to do. I’m in the bloody Hall of Fame, it’s unreal.
“I’m a competitor, though, and I still like to do it. But unfortunately, my body has failed me in many ways.
“I’ve had two total knee replacements, I surgery on my neck in January.
“They put a titanium plate in my neck, they want to go and put another two titanium plates. But fingers crossed it doesn’t come to that.
“Obviously I’m blind in one eye, I’ve got bloody this massive lump on the wrist – that hurts. So my body is a mess, but I still like to go in there and compete.
“So I go in and do some jiu-jitsu here and there. I might compete in some jiu-jitsu or something like that or some grappling.
“But yeah, my fighting days are over.”
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KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV said the Georges St-Pierre and Kamaru Usman fantasy fight is the UFC’s version of Mike Tyson vs Muhammad Ali. St-Pierre is considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time and the best UFC welterweight ever.
Current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru UsmanCredit: Getty
UFC legend Georges St-PierreCredit: Instagram @georgesstpierre
Usman is the division’s current ruler and on the road to surpassing GSP, according to UFC president Dana White.
The 170lb king, 33, has called out St-Pierre, 40, before but the former two-weight champion is deep into retirement, having not fought since 2017.
It leaves Nurmagomedov – who had already dreamed of facing GSP himself – struggling to split the pair.
He told UFC Russia: “It’d be wrong to compare it. It is like to think who’d win: Mike Tyson or Muhammad Ali?
“No one knows and no one will ever know.”
Tyson, now 54, and Ali, who died aged 74 in 2016, is the most hotly debated fantasy fight amongst fans.
But the heavyweight icons were several eras apart in their primes, whereas Usman became UFC champ once month before GSP retired in 2019.
Nurmagomedov, 32, who retired 29-0 last October, argued Usman would be the current favourite against St-Pierre, who is past his best.
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He said: “Right now, I think it is Usman because it is his prime time.
“What was the prime time of GSP? I believe it was 2009-2010. I think it would have been tough for Usman to fight with him back then.
“I think St-Pierre was the best at that time. So 2021 and 2010 are different times and a different level of competition.”
UFC legend Khabib NurmagomedovCredit: Alamy
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LOGAN PAUL has been urged by his trainer to fight Conor McGregor or rematch Floyd Mayweather on his boxing return. The YouTuber to the shock of many took American legend Mayweather the full eight-round distance in their June exhibition bout.
Logan Paul took Floyd Mayweather the distanceCredit: Getty
Conor McGregor was beaten by Floyd Mayweather in 2017Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Former UFC champion McGregor only survived ten rounds before he was stopped on his ring debut in 2017.
Paul’s trainer Milton Lacroix argued it sets the YouTuber up perfectly with the Irish UFC superstar.
Lacroix told former boxer Tony Jeffries: “We wouldn’t mind taking on that guy, Conor McGregor.
“We wouldn’t mind going a couple of rounds with him.
“I mean just think about it, Floyd beat him up and knocked him out, so why not fight someone who went the distance in Logan?
“Which would be a great fight.”
Paul’s younger brother Jake, 24, has continued to chase a fight with McGregor, 32, but to no prevail, despite predicting $50million purses each.
It leaves Lacroix opening the door to a rematch with Mayweather.
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He said: “If Floyd wants to do it again believe you me we don’t mind.
“If you feel that you knocked us out and beat us up let’s get back in the ring and start all over again. We’ll go for number two.”
Paul, 26, had only twice boxed beforehand, both against online rival KSI, 28, drawing the first in 2018 before losing the rematch a year after.
It left several, including heavyweight legend Mike Tyson, predicting he would be easily knocked out by Mayweather, 44.
But after scoring a moral victory by surviving until the final bell, Lacroix claimed there could have been more to come.

He revealed: “If he’d have calmed down during the earlier rounds it would have been a different fight because when you see Logan really fight you’re going to say, ‘Wow, this kid can really fight’.
“If only he would have done that to Floyd, and that’s what everybody’s going to be saying.
“But listen, 50 people tried before and 50 people got beat up and a lot of them got knocked the hell out.
“We didn’t get knocked out, we went the distance, we didn’t get hurt.”
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FORMER UFC star Paige VanZant claims she’s making more money from her members-only website than she did fighting in the UFC.VanZant set up her own fansite, which she aptly called PaigeFanZant.com, last February as an additional source of income.
Paigve VanZant launched her only exclusive members website in FebruaryCredit: Instagram / @paigevanzant
The former UFC star shares a variety of exclusive snaps on the members-only siteCredit: Instagram @paigevanzant
And she claims to have made an absolute fortune since setting up the siteCredit: paigevanzant/Instagram
The site has proven to be a huge hit, so much so her earnings from it have eclipsed her UFC paydays and her lucrative deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
The 27-year-old said: “I will say when I signed with BKFC, the bare-knuckle boxing, I was making more money than I had made in my entire UFC career.
“Now I’m making more money than my entire BKFC contract in like a month. It’s pretty crazy.”
VanZant has no immediate plans to call time on her days as a fighter but feels financially stable enough to no longer compete.
She said: “I don’t have to, when I’m done fighting, get a regular job and have to go back to work.
““I’m not planning for when I retire to go to college or try to figure out what’s next in my life.
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VanZant is currently in a financial position where she no longer needs to fight
“I’m able to just fight and save money and plan when I want to retire, I can just retire.”
VanZant was initially hesitant about going through with the money-spinning endeavour, saying: “There was always this back and forth. There’s two sides of it.
“I didn’t want to put myself in a position where I would lose business opportunities based on having an exclusive content site, but I feel like I’m already seen as a sex symbol in the sports world.
“I might as well have the monetisation behind it. I wanted to do it on my own terms. So I actually joined Fan Time, it’s a separate company.
“I’m not with OnlyFans. It’s PaigeFanZant.com and it’s my own website and I have a lot of control over what goes on there. It’s basically me doing exclusive things. I’m proud to say I’m part of it.
“I work hard for my body. I work hard for who I am, and there’s a side of me that’s extremely girly and feminine, and I get to share that on my fan site. Now I think it’s becoming a lot more acceptable.
Paige VanZant will face Rachael Ostovich at BKFC 19 on July 23Credit: BKFC

“Before, OnlyFans was seen more for just like porn stars. It was a little bit more X-rated, just the view from the public.
“Not saying that’s actually what people have on there, but I wanted to do it my own way.
“I wanted to do it professionally and have my own website and that’s what I’ve done.”
VanZant may be earning megabucks from her titillating content. but that hasn’t quenched her competitive thirst.
The former UFC flyweight will be back in action on July 23 at BKFC 19, rematching former rival Rachael Ostovich.
The American Top Team star lost her BKFC debut in February, suffering a unanimous decision defeat to Britain Hart at BKFC Knucklemania.
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JAKE PAUL was called out to a bare-knuckle fight by champion Hector Lombard, who is formerly of the UFC. Paul is 3-0 in his boxing career, all by knockout and has made a habit of calling out ex-UFC stars.
Tyron Woodley pictured next to Jake PaulCredit: Reuters

The YouTube star, 24, faces ex-champion Tyron Woodley, 39, on August 28 in his fourth and most challenging fight to date.
But he is already being challenged by Lombard, who recently won the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s cruiserweight title.
And the Cuban, who left the UFC in 2018 with an MMA record of 34 losses, ten wins, one draw and two no-contests, told Paul to choose the rules.
Lombard, 43, posted on Instagram: “We do it at bareknucklefc or we do it in a boxing match Jake Paul?
“I know you wanna make it happen the question is where do you want to do it??
“I know you want to do it in a boxing match.. but do you have the balls to do it at BareknuckleFC???”
Lombard won BKFC gold by beating fellow MMA veteran Joe Riggs, 38, but it was his post-fight brawl that grabbed the headlines.
After Lorenzo Hunt, 38, got in the ring during his post-fight interview, the American was hit with a one-two combination.

Paul most recently knocked out retired UFC welterweight Ben Askren, 36, in the first round of their fight in April.
It added to his two highlight-reel wins over online rival ‘AnEsonGib’ and ex-NBA point guard Nate Robinson, 37.
Woodley, who has seven KOs to his name, reigned the UFC’s welterweight division from 2016-2018 with four defences.
But he departed the promotion this year off the of four straight defeats, leaving him without a win in three years.
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JAKE PAUL is better than his brother Logan, said Rashad Evans as he warned Tyron Woodley to expect a ‘tough fight’ against the YouTuber. Woodley faces Jake on August 28 and will become the social media star’s fourth professional opponent.
Logan Paul with brother Jake and dad GregCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Former UFC champion Rashad EvansCredit: Getty – Contributor
The American influencer is 3-0 in his career, all by knockout, and will take in both a weight and height advantage.
Evans, 41, also warned his fellow ex-UFC champion that he is fighting the better Paul brother, but backed Woodley, 39, to win regardless.
He told ESPN: “This one is tough for me because my heart is with Tyron.
“I really, really want Tyron to win. But I think that this Jake kid, I think he’s got a little something. I think he’s better than his brother.
“I think Jake is better than his brother and I think he may punch a little bit harder than his brother. He may be a little faster and things like that too.
“So I think it may be a little bit of a tough fight because of the fact he’s going to be a little bigger than Tyron, but I can’t see Tyron losing.
“I really can’t see Tyron losing. This Tyron that is being engaged right now, I think that this is the Tyron that can go out there and show that he’s the Tyron that he’s always been, that he is the five-time defending world UFC champ, and all those things.
“Tyron’s got power, Tyron’s got hand skills, Tyron’s got all of those things.
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How Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley compare ahead of their boxing match

“So it’s just a matter of if Tyron doesn’t allow himself to be so caught up in the whole theatrics of it all, to get his mind away from what he needs to do inside the ring.”
Paul’s last win was a first-round KO over Woodley’s old training partner Ben Askren, 36, in April.
But Askren was two years retired and a renowned grappler with limited striking skills.
Paul, 24, also has victories against online rival ‘AnEsonGib’ and basketball player Nate Robinson, 37.
His brother Logan, 26, meanwhile drew and lost to British YouTuber KSI, 28, the rematch being his pro debut.
But in early June, he took boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, 44, the distance in an exhibition bout, avoiding a KO loss.
Tyron Woodley fights Jake Paul on August 28Credit: Reuters
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EX-UFC fighter Hector Lombard PUNCHED Lorenzo Hunt in the face during an interview after his bare-knuckle bout. The former Bellator MMA star had just beaten Joe Riggs for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship cruiserweight title.
Hector Lombard punched Lorenzo Hunt in the face during an interview
Hector Lombard had just beaten Joe Riggs for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship title

Afterwards, American Hunt, who is 6-1 in BKFC and 3-5 in MMA, got in the ring to confront the newly crowned champion.
But Lombard furiously reacted with a two-punch combination before security and his own opponent Riggs pulled them apart.
The Cuban, 43, is now 3-0 in bare-knuckle, having last fought in MMA in 2018.
He left the UFC after six straight losses, but was rival Bellator’s inaugural middleweight champ.
Fellow veteran Riggs, 38, also fought in the UFC and Bellator, but left the cage in 2019.
BKFC have a host of former MMA fighters on their roster, including Thiago Alves, 37, Paige VanZant, 27, and Chris Leben, 40.
Now, Diego Sanchez, the first Ultimate Fighter winner, could also make the move to BKFC after first debuting in boxing.

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Sanchez, 39, said: “If I ever get into the BKB, yeah, it would be fun. I never really liked the gloves in the UFC anyway.
“So, I think it’s better. You got to pick your shots. You got to be smarter. We got to probably do a boxing fight first, warm these hands up.
“We’re going to see. We’re going to keep everything open.”
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