🎄Merry Christmas Fight Fans!

December 24, 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.

Teddy Atlas and co-host Ken Rideout discuss the weekend of fights both in boxing and the UFC, and the card over on Showtime with Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley 2.

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Timestamps:…

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.

Fight News From Around The 🌍

Parker & Chisora Deliver The Goods

Don't get is twisted. Parker vs Chisora II was a one sided fight.

The former WBO champion Parker dropped Chisora 3 times en route to a unanimous decision, with scores of 115-110, 115-111, 114-112.

In fact, the scorecards were extremely favourable to Chisora, with the 114-112 scoreline being particularly scrutinised. The Brit put up a valiant effort and survived several instances of being very hurt during the contest, but he never delivered enough of a sustained attack to win more than 3 or 4 rounds.

Parker was landing his right uppercut all night long as Chisora bobbed and weaved his way into the line of fire. In fact, any sort of combination put together by the Kiwi eventually found success. The only criticism that could be placed on Parker could be that he lacked a real killer instinct to finish Chisora on the numerous occasions he was hurt.

Past the 10th round, he seemed content with the win and stepped off the gas somewhat, knowing that he was up against one of the toughest fighters, let alone heavyweights, of the last decade.

Chisora was beaten thoroughly, but he showed incredible spirit to be able to fight back and make it enough of a fight to entertain the crowd. He was determined to survive and not be stopped by a Parker who was on his A-game.

This determination wasn't enough to win, but it was enough to command immense respect and show the boxing world what Derek Chisora is all about.

Retirement could be next for Chisora (although he denies it). He has had a sensational heavyweight career, having faced generational talents such as Vitali Klitschko, David Haye, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.

In an era where heavyweights are often accused of biding their time in facing fellow big names, Chisora has embodied the "fight anyone" mentality that is so rare in the sport these days.

Parker, who is not even 30 yet, showed huge improvements from his last few performances. He'll be looking to become a 2x world champion, and time is on his side in that regard. A potential rematch with Dillian Whyte could be on the cards for him next, especially should the latter no longer be in the running for a shot at Tyson Fury next.

Whatever happens, it wouldn't be a shock to see Parker as one of the champions in the post Fury-Usyk era, or potentially even sooner.

These were two heavyweights at vary different stages of their careers. One reaching its end, and the other entering the next stage. But on one night, they produced a highly entertaining display of skill and spirit that defied all expectations.

Derrick Lewis Makes History

Derrick Lewis entered the UFC history books last weekend.

His first round stoppage of Chris Daukaus was his 13th in the UFC, taking him into top spot for all-time knockouts in the organisations history.

"The Black Beast" only made his UFC debut in 2014, which makes the achievement even more impressive considering the head start others on the all-time knockouts list (Vitor Belfort, Matt Brown, Rumble Johnson) had.

He was actually coming into this fight as a slight underdog. In hindsight, this may have been slightly unfair, considering he was coming off a loss against arguably the most naturally skilled heavyweight in the world and Daukaus was stepping up considerably in terms of talent compared to his previous opponents.

The Philly fighter may have lived up to his status as betting favourite had he actually tried to keep Lewis at range and take him into deep waters.

Instead, he pursued the worst possible tactic one can against Lewis: stand and trade in the pocket.

When it comes to raw KO power, it's going to be hard to contend with Lewis. He's been a top 5 contender for years, having just fallen short when it comes to claiming world title honours.

However, you get the feeling that with that god-given power, a stroke of good fortune may fall his way before his time in the UFC is up.

Hopefully for the Houston native, who is one of the most popular fighters on the roster, that good fortune comes in the form of UFC gold.

How To Make Fights Easier

Jake Paul made great use of a feint last weekend to produce a devastating KO of Tyron Woodley.

Teddy breaks down what makes feinting such an effective art within the sweet science, and how you can make fighting easier by using them.

Fight ⏰ for this weekend

Boxing: Mielnicki Jr vs Delomba (Saturday 25th/Sunday 26th)

  • 🇺🇸 Full Card: 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific | Main Event: 10pm Eastern/ 7pm Pacific

  • 🇬🇧 Full Card: 1am | Main Event: 3am

  • 🇦🇺 Full Card: 12pm Eastern/ 9am Western | Main Event: 2pm Eastern/11am Western

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

Merry Christmas folks and see you next week #BANG💥