💎 Diamond Goes For Gold

December 10, 2021

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Fight With Teddy Atlas Newsletter, your one stop shop for all things combat sports related, brought to you by Teddy and The Fight team.

Every Friday, we bring you:

  • A combat sports news digest with all the headlines you need to know from Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts.

  • Highlights from the podcast and across the fight world.

  • Fight times and information you need to know ahead of time.

  • How to’s and tips for Boxing from Teddy himself.

‎Teddy Atlas and co-host Ken Rideout discuss the weekend of fights in both boxing and the UFC, some recent boxing news from both Jake Paul and Teofimo Lopez, and the upcoming UFC 269 with Poirier vs Oliveira.

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Fight News From Around The 🌍

The Matrix Returns

Vasily Lomachenko is on a mission.

He could have easily dropped down to Super-Featherweight and picked up where he left off in 2017.

But he's decided to stay at Lightweight and cement himself once again at the top of the division.

And even though the former champion who bested him, Teofimo Lopez, is now belt-less at 135lbs, Loma has been looking to show that his defeat to the 23 year old was a fluke, and that he remains the vastly superior fighter.

He sent a message along those lines when he completely outclassed and stopped the game Masayoshi Nakatani in 9 rounds. This is the same fighter who pushed Teofimo hard only a few years prior.

He'll look to repeat the same trick this weekend when he takes on the former IBF champion, the hard hitting Richard Commey. Commey was knocked out by Lopez in 2 rounds back in 2019.

Against Loma, it could very much be a case of the age old saying "styles make fights", with Commey presenting more of a threat than Nakatani did due to his punching power.

We've seen Loma dropped before at lightweight (against Jorge Linares), so it'll be interesting to see how he alters his approach, especially after coming back from a shoulder injury.

Whilst Loma has shown that he can be hurt, and even beaten, he still remains arguably the most natural talent in the sport, with dazzling footwork, ring IQ and punching power that sneaks up on his opponents, wearing them down round after round until they are stopped or dominated to a decision.

Should he beat Commey, he'll be positioning himself to be the main man to challenge the new king of the division, George Kambosos.

Then again, anything can happen in boxing's new glamour division. Watch this space.

UFC Ends 2021 In Style

21 combined years of hard work have all lead to this.

Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira are both the embodiment of consistency and patience in the fight game. Both have practically been raised by the UFC, with Oliveira making his debut in 2010 and Poirier in 2011.

Not all of it was smooth sailing for either. Both are former Featherweights who suffered multiple losses before going on title-shot worthy winning streaks. Oliveira most notably was knocked out by Paul Felder and decisioned by Max Holloway, whilst Poirier suffered a brutal knockout by Michael Johnson back in 2016 before rebounding to go on his title run, which included finishes over three former UFC lightweight champions.

Speaking of finishes, the defending champ Oliveira holds the record for the most finishes in UFC history, with 17 finishes. Should he win this weekend, he'll enter double digits in terms of win streak, approaching the Lightweight record of 12 consecutive wins shared by Tony Ferguson and Khabib.

From a stylistic point of view, the fight is one of the most intriguing title match ups we've seen for a while.

Both men are accomplished grapplers and will be comfortable on their backs should the fight go to the ground. Not content with just holding the record for most finishes, Oliveira also holds the record for the most submissions in UFC history, so he may have the slight edge when it comes to the grappling.

Dustin is the more accomplished striker and has more natural power than Oliveira, which could end up being the decisive factor in the fight. Having said that, the champions striking has become more and more polished throughout the years, as shown by his pitch perfect left hook that was the writing on the wall for Michael Chandler back in May.

Both these warriors have earned their spot at the top of the bill by sheer hard work, persistence and of course, talent. Whoever wins on Saturday night, both men will have cemented themselves as modern day legends of the sport, and an example to all up and coming fighters of the power of staying dedicated to your craft.

Fight ⏰ for this weekend

Boxing: Lomachenko vs Commey (Saturday 11th/Sunday 12th)

  • 🇺🇸 Full Card: 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific | Main Event: 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific

  • 🇬🇧 Full Card: 2am | Main Event: 4am

  • 🇦🇺 Full Card: 1pm Eastern/ 10am Western | Main Event: 3pm Eastern/12pm Western

Boxing: Benn vs Algieri (Saturday 11th/Sunday 12th)

  • 🇺🇸 Full Card: 2pm Eastern/ 11am Pacific | Main Event: 5pm Eastern/2pm Pacific

  • 🇬🇧 Full Card: 7pm | Main Event: 10pm

  • 🇦🇺 Full Card: 6am Eastern/ 3am Western | Main Event: 9am Eastern/6am Western

MMA: Oliveira vs Poirier (Saturday 11th/Sunday 12th)

  • 🇺🇸 Full Card: 7pm Eastern/ 10pm Pacific | Main Event: 9pm Eastern/ 12am Pacific

  • 🇬🇧 Full Card: 3am | Main Event: 5am

  • 🇦🇺 Full Card: 2pm Eastern/ 11am Western | Main Event: 4pm Eastern/ 1pm Western

Don't forget to tune in to the latest episode 🎧

Thanks for being with us and see you next week #BANG💥