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    Jake Paul branded a ‘snake’ by UFC bad boy Colby Covington who insists YouTuber’s KO of Ben Askren was ‘a work’

    JAKE PAUL has been branded a ‘snake’ by UFC welterweight Colby Covington, who is adamant the YouTuber is ‘not a real fighter’.Former Disney star turned boxer Paul has taken the boxing world by storm and is making waves in the mixed martial arts community with his brashness.
    Jake Paul has ruffled plenty of feathers in the combat sports worldCredit: Reuters
    UFC welterweight Colby Covington has branded Jake Paul a ‘snake’ and a ‘bum’Credit: Getty
    His antics have irked UFC bad boy Covington, who, during an appearance on the latest episode of What the Heck, said: “Everything that’s going on with him is hilarious.
    “This guy’s an amateur. ‘Snake Paul’ is literally a bum. He’s a Disney, YouTube star.
    “He’s not a real fighter, he’s an amateur, he’s a nobody. I’d literally smack the pubes off his face.
    “What I make of him is he’s just looking to get hype and build himself up as a real fighter.
    “He’s not a real fighter, this guy’s a nobody from the streets.”
    Paul, 24, registered a brutal first-round knockout of former UFC welterweight Ben Askren last month to stretch his undefeated record to 3-0.
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    Jake Paul knocked out former UFC welterweight Ben Askren last monthCredit: Getty
    Covington, however, isn’t buying the social media star’s latest victory, adding: “That last fight with Ben Askren was a work. They made that a fix.
    “Askren took a dive for the money and that’s that.
    “I don’t really take much more from that circus of Triller. It’s literally a circus, it’s the clown show.
    “No one’s got time on their Saturday night at midnight to listen to an hour-f***ing special by Justin Bieber in between fights. Come on, this is a joke.”
    Askren has denied suggestions he took a ‘dive’, telling ESPN: “It definitely didn’t happen. I got hit.

    “The question I have for those people is, what do I gain by it? I told you guys what I made for this fight.
    “It was a very nice paycheck. I’m also not destitute and poor. What do I gain by that?
    “The answer is nothing. I would actually lose a lot. It’s not something that would ever cross my mind.”
    The brash Paul has called out a number of MMA fighters following his destruction of Askren.
    But Covington doesn’t foresee The Problem Child mentioning his name any time soon.
    Colby Covington doesn’t foresee Jake Paul calling him out any time soonCredit: Zuffa LLC

    The former 170lb title challenger said: “He wouldn’t do that. He’s not that stupid.
    “He’s only looking for old, retired, washed-up fighters.
    “He’s not looking for a guy in his prime who’s the top of the weight class who can actually throw hands.
    “He’s looking for wrestlers, jiu-jitsu fighters, guys that supposedly did MMA, but they’re literally 40- or 50-year-old virgins.
    “He’s not gonna call out someone that actually knows how to fight.”
    Dana White warns Jake Paul that he will get knocked out More

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    Joe Rogan reveals Daniel Cormier told Jake Paul he’d ‘f**k him up’ before security ended heated UFC 261 clash

    DANIEL CORMIER threatened to ‘f**k’ Jake Paul up during their heated clash last month, according to UFC commentator Joe Rogan.Former two-division champion Cormier had a heated exchange with the YouTuber last month at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida.
    UFC commentator Daniel Cormier walks over to to confront Jake PaulCredit: Reuters
    The former two-division champion gave both barrels to the YouTuberCredit: Reuters
    Daniel Cormier wagged his finger in Jake Paul’s face on several occasionsCredit: Getty
    A furious Cormier pointed his finger in Paul’s face and had to be separated from the former Disney star, who had branded him a ‘fat boy’ a few days earlier.
    Rogan recalled his fellow commentator’s clash with the younger Paul brother during a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, saying: “DC said, ‘Take my f***ing name out of your mouth.
    “‘I’m not a kid, I will f*** you up,’ and he was like, ‘Yikes.’
    “Look, it’s f***ing former UFC heavyweight champion of the world. That’s not what you want.”
    Paul, who knocked out retired MMA star Ben Askren in a boxing match last month, was greeted with a chorus of boos by fans in attendance at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
    And he repeatedly had to endure defeating chants of ‘f**k Jake Paul’.
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    Rogan, however, reckons the 24-year-old wasn’t bothered by the reception he received.
    He continued: “Let me tell you something, we were in Florida, Jacksonville, sold out arena, and they were all chanting ‘F*** Jake Paul.’
    “He’s filming it. He’s got his phone out, he’s like, ‘Yeah!’ (Because what he’s hearing is) money. He’s hearing ‘Cha-Ching! Cha-Ching!’
    “He’s making so much money, dude. He said it was 1.5 million PPV buys when he knocked out Ben Askren.
    “I don’t know if that’s true, Dana White says it’s nonsense, but maybe. He doesn’t – who has the f***ing receipts?
    UFC commentator Joe Rogan reckons Jake Paul revelled in the boos he received last monthCredit: YouTube
    “If he’s lying, why didn’t he say 2 million, why didn’t he say 3 million? Why’d he say 1.5?
    “Maybe he’s telling the truth and if he’s telling the truth, they made a f***ing considerable amount of money.
    “That’s bigger by more than double the very legitimate, three title fight UFC card of this past weekend because that apparently got 700,000 buys.
    “Granted, these are 700,000 ESPN+ verified, absolute buys. There’s no bulls***.”
    Paul recalled his encounter with Cormier during an interview with ESPN, in which he claimed the future UFC Hall of Famer of ‘b****ed out’ of his vow to ‘slap’ him.

    “He said ‘If I ever see Jake Paul, I’m going to slap him. I’m going to slap him in the face’, and then he sees me.
    “I’m right there, arm’s length and he does nothing. It’s funny, it’s funny to me.
    “I saw he said something about like, ‘Oh, I couldn’t have beat him up because I was at work and I would have gotten in trouble’.
    “Like, bro, are you about your s**t? Or are you not about your s**t?
    “Dana White wouldn’t have done anything if you wanted to lay hands on me.
    “You had your chance, and you bitched out, and it’s embarrassing, and you’re an embarrassment, and you’re not a man of your word.”
    Watch Jake Paul square up to Daniel Cormier at UFC 261 and give entire crowd middle finger in response to X-rated chant More

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    Mike Tyson was challenged to a DEATHMATCH by UFC’s Royce Gracie – but boxer refused as ‘there was no way I’d win’

    UFC icon Royce Gracie challenged Mike Tyson to a ‘no-holds-barred’ fight ‘to the finish’, a new memoir has revealed.The boxing legend tore apart the heavyweight division in the late 1980s before a rape conviction, along with excessive partying and further personal life problems, rocked his career.
    Brazilian MMA star Royce Gracie (right) was a pioneer of UFCCredit: Getty
    Mike Tyson was challenged to a huge match-up by the UFC legendCredit: instagram.com/miketyson
    While Iron Mike was preparing his comeback to the ring, the MMA promotion UFC was founded and Brazilian fighter Gracie, now 54, won three fights on its first night in late 1993.
    And his desire to be seen as the top fighter on Earth led to a stunning challenge for the Baddest Man on the Planet.
    In a memoir by sports writer Fiaz Rafiq,’ To The Top: Enter the Octagon, the Ring and Entertainment’, it is revealed: “[Tyson] was challenged by the Gracie Brothers, in particular Royce, back in the early 1990s.
    “The UFC champion’s perception was that Tyson was the best boxer in the world, but he refused to accept that Tyson was the best ‘fighter’.
    “The Gracies had a point. They had been beating all-comers from various styles long before the Octagon was first engineered.
    “And Royce wasn’t going to rest until he did everything within his means to provoke the heavyweight champion into accepting a real fight in a no-holds-barred setting.
    “To settle the matter once and for all, Royce formally challenged the most feared boxer of our time to a fight to the finish, and so did his elder brother Rickson.”
    Gracie felt that Tyson, 54, was beatable despite his huge frame and ferocity – yet the proposition was declined with Iron Mike feeling there was ‘no way he’d win’.
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    To The Top: Enter the Octagon, the Ring and Entertainment is out May 3
    Rafiq wrote: “For Royce, any fight was a matter of who could implement their own strategy, and much of the Gracie style was developed to avoid even the chance of their opponent landing a lucky punch.
    “What Royce lacked in brute force, he clearly made up for in technical skill, as his opponents – including a professional boxer – quickly discovered.
    “‘There’s only one way to find out,’ he told me, as a smirk crept across his face followed by loud laughter. Sadly for posterity, Tyson declined.”
    In fact, Gracie came back a few years later with a fresh proposal, which was dismissed by a boxing world that is now clamouring for YouTube brawlers such as Jake Paul and crossover events like Conor McGregor’s match with Floyd Mayweather.
    Rafiq continued: “In Iron Mike’s case, one rejection wasn’t enough for Royce.
    “In 1997 the Gracie’s challenge made the headlines again, after the publication of a one-page advert in Men’s Health in America, in which the UFC champion once again challenged the former heavyweight boxer ‘officially’. Anywhere, anytime, no rules!

    “Years later I asked Royce about the famous challenge, and discovered that the heavyweight had been, at least in theory, willing to put up.
    “‘I heard that my brother tried to bring him in [to the UFC],’ Royce explained. ‘He had accepted but people around him – the lawyers, managers, and the Commission – said no way, because boxing had too much to lose.
    “But he had accepted and he wanted to do it. I talked to him before and he’s like, ‘I’d love to try this stuff out, man’.
    “But people around him did not allow him to do it. If he lost a fight, if it happened, well, boxing was already in the decline in America so it wouldn’t be good for boxing’.”
    To The Top: Enter the Octagon, the Ring and Entertainment by Fiaz Rafiq is published by Pitch Publishing, released May 3 and priced at £20 in hardback or £9.99. Ebook available in bookstores and following this Amazon link.
    Mike Tyson reveals what it takes to be part of his entourage and will include anyone who has a purpose in life More

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    Inside Floyd Mayweather’s meeting with UFC boss Dana White and RIZIN chief as he plots next comeback fight

    FLOYD MAYWEATHER paved the way for an astonishing crossover event with MMA pioneers Dana White and Nobuyuki Sakakibara. The boxing legend set up a meeting 15 years in the making as he reunited promoters White and Sakakibara in his Las Vegas mansion.
    Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Dana White and Floyd MayweatherCredit: Twitter
    Tenshin Nasukawa was beaten by Floyd Mayweather in 2018Credit: AFP
    There, the boxing and MMA icons discussed working together on a crossover event alongside other ‘entertainment kingpins’.
    Sakakibara, CEO of Japanese promotion RIZIN, told SunSport: “Dana and I go way back to when I was the CEO of PRIDE.
    “Seeing Dana face to face again was one of the things on my bucket list after I got back into this business.
    “I would love to do a RIZIN event in Vegas in the future and my goal still is to try to get all organisations to work with each other to take the sport to the next step.
    “On top of that I have been working on putting together a chain of alliances from different fields of the entertainment industry from combat sports.
    “YouTubers, musicians including, Floyd, Steve Aoki and other entertainment kingpins to see if we can come up with a new kind of entertainment which would not only penetrate the Japanese market, but the international market as well.”
    PRIDE launched in 1997 and had ten legendary years as they competed with the UFC as MMA’s premier promotion.
    That was until the UFC’s then-owners Zuffa bought the company and merged their two stables together.

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    Sakakibara later founded RIZIN and in December 2018 welcomed Mayweather to Tokyo for an exhibition bout with kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa.
    So when the pair met up again to discuss another partnership, Sakakibara was stunned after Mayweather invited old friend White over too.
    He said: “I originally flew into Las Vegas to have a meeting with Floyd about what we can do together during these hard times.
    “We were at his house at the time, and Floyd told me he wanted to invite Dana over, then really Dana shows up.
    “It was a shocking moment because it’s been almost 15 years since we’ve last seen each other.
    “It was nothing but a surprise and caught both of us off guard. It was such a surprise for both of us.
    “We chatted and laughed about the old days and our struggles as promoters during the pandemic.”
    Floyd Mayweather with Nobuyuki Sakakibara before his 2018 exhibitionCredit: Reuters
    Floyd Mayweather pictured with UFC president Dana WhiteCredit: Splash News
    Mayweather, 44, was set to return to Japan for another exhibition last year but was unable to travel amid coronavirus restrictions.
    He will make his comeback to the ring after two years out, but in Miami, on June 6 against 26-year-old YouTuber Logan Paul.
    Sakakibara is still hoping to welcome Mayweather to RIZIN’s platform again but has to first wait for government clearance.
    He explained: “It would be great if he could.
    “But we need to know more on what the Japanese government decides with bringing in international athletes.
    “Fight or not, it would still be nice to do something with him as a business partner to improve the combat sports scene in Japan and bringing a big influence to the international market.”
    Floyd Mayweather v Logan Paul CONFIRMED as boxing superstar to take on YouTuber in unlikeliest crossover fight on June 6 More

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    Jake Paul WILL get KO’d and ’15 mins are almost up’, warns Dana White.. but UFC chief admits he doesn’t ‘hate’ YouTuber

    DANA WHITE has warned Jake Paul his 15 minutes of fame are ‘almost up’ and a humbling knockout loss ‘is coming’. But the UFC president admitted he feels no hatred towards the YouTuber-turned boxer, who has previously blasted the MMA promoter.
    Jake Paul and Daniel Cormier at UFC 261Credit: Getty
    UFC president Dana WhiteCredit: Reuters
    White told Mike Tyson he would bet $1million on Paul losing to ex-UFC welterweight Ben Askren.
    But the wager was never officially made, meaning the UFC boss has no plans to pay Paul after the internet star knocked out Askren in one round.
    White said on Morning Blitz: “Listen, at the end of the day, to be honest, I hate the dildos who pop in here and say ‘Hey, pay Jake Paul!’
    “I hate them worse than I hate Jake Paul. But, listen, whatever with this kid. The kid is making money, man.
    “He makes people care, he makes people give a s***. I honestly don’t hate the kid.
    “I know there’s a lot of people who are very excited for the day when he gets clipped and gets knocked out, and it is coming.
    “His 15 minutes are almost up but listen, the kid’s gonna make some money and good for him.”
    Paul recently blasted White for underpaying UFC fighters and claimed he earns more than any of his stable bar Conor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov.
    Jake Paul entered elite company
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    The 3-0 cruiserweight has targeted fights with McGregor, 32, and retired champion Daniel Cormier, 42.
    He even continued his rivalry with the UFC by turning up to their latest pay-per-view event in Miami, where he was booed by the crowd.
    But UFC fighters are banned from competing outside of the promotion without permission.
    And White threatened legal action to prevent Paul from trying to prize any of his MMA stable into the ring.
    “Why don’t you go fight a f****g boxer?” White told Yahoo Sports. “What the f*** do these guys keep talking to UFC guys for?
    “I’m gonna have to slap them with another f****g legal letter, these fucking idiots. Go talk to f****g boxers. What are you doing?”
    UFC chief Dana White claims Jake Paul is ‘full of s***’ and lied about 1.5m PPV buys for Ben Askren fight More

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    Tyson Fury backs Jon Jones to beat UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou and wants fight against ‘ugly dosser ASAP’

    TYSON FURY has warned UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou he’ll miss out on a mega crossover fight if he faces Jon Jones next.Ngannou revealed his eagerness to box The Gypsy King last month after ripping the heavyweight title from Stipe Miocic’s clutches at UFC 261.
    Newly-crowned UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou recently called out Tyson Fury
    But The Gypsy King has sent a warning to The Predator on InstagramCredit: INSTAGRAM@GYPSYKING101
    Fury, 32, is open to a crossover fight but has urged The Predator to face him before he sets foot inside the octagon with pound-for-pound king Jones.
    He wrote on his Instagram story: “@FrancisNgannou, if you fight @jonnybones he will 100% cent smash you [and] then it’s over!!!”
    The WBC heavyweight king also urged UFC president Dana White to make the fight as soon as possible.
    He wrote: “@DanaWhite @UFC let’s make me vs the ugly dosser Francis. ASAP.”
    Fury’s message to Ngannou came less than 24 hours after he reiterated his willingness to throw down with Africa’s first UFC champion and branded him a ‘dosser’ in a blistering rant.
    He said: “This is a message to Francis Ngannou and the UFC guys.
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    How Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou compare
    “Look, if you want some of this Gypsy King money, you know where to come find it.
    “You want some of this Gypsy King power, I’ll give it ya.
    “Any time, any place, anywhere. Seven days a week and twice on a Sunday you big ugly dosser.”
    Fury, 32, is currently preparing up for a multi-million-pound undisputed heavyweight title fight fellow Brit Anthony Joshua.
    The first instalment of Joshua vs Fury is set to take place in Saudi Arabia in the summer, although the pair’s long-awaited showdown has not yet been finalised.

    And that has prompted Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum to claim the biggest fight in the history of British boxing is ‘dead in the water’.
    The 89-year-old told The Daily Telegraph: “It will take months for the Saudis to do their due diligence on such a huge deal.
    “It is not just a site fee, there are ancillary demands from the Saudis stretching into the broadcast deals and other things, it could take months for it all to play out.
    “It could even take until 2022 the way it looks right now.
    “The fight in July or August is dead in the water as far as we are concerned.
    “The two fighters need to go and have other fights this summer while the negotiations for that fight in the Middle East conclude.”
    UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou warns Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury he wants to box More

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    Mike Tyson was challenged to DEATHMATCH by UFC legend Royce Gracie – but boxer refused as ‘there was no way I’d win’

    UFC legend Royce Gracie challenged Mike Tyson to a ‘no-holds-barred’ fight ‘to the finish’, a new memoir has revealed.The boxing icon tore apart the heavyweight division in the late 1980s before a rape conviction, along with excessive partying and further personal life problems, rocked his career.
    Brazilian MMA star Royce Gracie (right) was a pioneer of UFCCredit: Getty
    Mike Tyson was challenged to a huge match-up by the UFC legendCredit: instagram.com/miketyson
    While Iron Mike was preparing his comeback to the ring, the MMA promotion UFC was founded and Brazilian fighter Gracie, now 54, won three fights on its first night in late 1993.
    And his desire to be seen as the top fighter on Earth led to a stunning challenge for the Baddest Man on the Planet.
    In a memoir by sports writer Fiaz Rafiq,’ To The Top: Enter the Octagon, the Ring and Entertainment’, it is revealed: “[Tyson] was challenged by the Gracie Brothers, in particular Royce, back in the early 1990s.
    “The UFC champion’s perception was that Tyson was the best boxer in the world, but he refused to accept that Tyson was the best ‘fighter’.
    “The Gracies had a point. They had been beating all-comers from various styles long before the Octagon was first engineered.
    “And Royce wasn’t going to rest until he did everything within his means to provoke the heavyweight champion into accepting a real fight in a no-holds-barred setting.
    “To settle the matter once and for all, Royce formally challenged the most feared boxer of our time to a fight to the finish, and so did his elder brother Rickson.”
    Gracie felt that Tyson, 54, was beatable despite his huge frame and ferocity – yet the proposition was declined with Iron Mike feeling there was ‘no way he’d win’.
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    To The Top: Enter the Octagon, the Ring and Entertainment is out May 3
    Rafiq wrote: “For Royce, any fight was a matter of who could implement their own strategy, and much of the Gracie style was developed to avoid even the chance of their opponent landing a lucky punch.
    “What Royce lacked in brute force, he clearly made up for in technical skill, as his opponents – including a professional boxer – quickly discovered.
    “‘There’s only one way to find out,’ he told me, as a smirk crept across his face followed by loud laughter. Sadly for posterity, Tyson declined.”
    In fact, Gracie came back a few years later with a fresh proposal, which was dismissed by a boxing world that is now clamouring for YouTube brawlers such as Jake Paul and crossover events like Conor McGregor’s match with Floyd Mayweather.
    Rafiq continued: “In Iron Mike’s case, one rejection wasn’t enough for Royce.
    “In 1997 the Gracie’s challenge made the headlines again, after the publication of a one-page advert in Men’s Health in America, in which the UFC champion once again challenged the former heavyweight boxer ‘officially’. Anywhere, anytime, no rules!

    “Years later I asked Royce about the famous challenge, and discovered that the heavyweight had been, at least in theory, willing to put up.
    “‘I heard that my brother tried to bring him in [to the UFC],’ Royce explained. ‘He had accepted but people around him – the lawyers, managers, and the Commission – said no way, because boxing had too much to lose.
    “But he had accepted and he wanted to do it. I talked to him before and he’s like, ‘I’d love to try this stuff out, man’.
    “But people around him did not allow him to do it. If he lost a fight, if it happened, well, boxing was already in the decline in America so it wouldn’t be good for boxing’.”
    To The Top: Enter the Octagon, the Ring and Entertainment by Fiaz Rafiq is published by Pitch Publishing, released May 3 and priced at £20 in hardback or £9.99. Ebook available in bookstores and following this Amazon link.
    Mike Tyson reveals what it takes to be part of his entourage and will include anyone who has a purpose in life More

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    Anthony Joshua posts picture in solidarity with Francis Ngannou after UFC champ’s incredible Cameroon title parade

    ANTHONY JOSHUA posted a picture in solidarity with new UFC champ Francis Ngannou.The British heavyweight boxing star, 31, took to Instagram to share similar photos of his title parade in his parents’ homeland Nigeria two years ago after Ngannou’s own parade in Cameroon.
    Anthony Joshua shared this pair of photos on his Instagram story with the title parades for him and Francis Ngannou
    The UFC heavyweight champ but the belt on his mum at the celebrations
    The Predator secured a second-round knockout win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in March to win the heavyweight championship title.
    And he took to the streets of Douala for an incredible party parade.
    Ngannou took his mum along for the ride too and he even put the belt on her during the wild celebrations.
    He shared plenty of photos and videos from the day to his 2.7million followers on Instagram.
    Among them, the first Cameroonian UFC fighter was snapped waving to the crowds from an open truck.
    Fans lined the streets hoping to get a glimpse and a touch of the heavyweight hero.
    Ngannou wrote: “This moment is something I have been waiting for.
    “It is hard to put this feeling in to words. The belt is back home where it belongs.
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    “Dream come true – placing the belt on my Mom.”
    Ngannou’s incredible story included fighting rats for food, two two-hour journeys to get to school on an empty stomach and working at a sand mine before fleeing to France and earning his break, initially in boxing.
    Now a world champion and recognised across the world, he keeps himself humble and regularly returns to his homeland, visiting the places and people who have shaped him.
    The Cameroonian sensation had not even been UFC champ for a week when he turned his attention to a crossover fight with boxing giants Joshua and Tyson Fury after taking inspiration from Mike Tyson.
    And WBC king Fury returned the call-out with an explosive social media rant on Wednesday – before also challenging WWE’s Drew McIntyre and Joshua once again.
    He said on Instagram: “This is a message to Francis Ngannou and the UFC guys: Look, if you want some of this Gypsy King money, you know where to come find it.
    “You want some of this Gypsy King power, I’ll give it ya.
    “Any time, any place, anywhere. Seven days a week and twice on a Sunday you big ugly dosser.”
    Thousands of fans turned out on the streets of Douala to show their love for their hero
    He dethroned Stipe Miocic in emphatic fashion at UFC 260 in MarchCredit: Getty

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