- THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas
- Posts
- đź’Ž Pressure Makes Diamonds
đź’Ž Pressure Makes Diamonds
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Fight With Teddy Atlas Newsletter, your one-stop shop for all things combat sports, 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.
Fight News From Around The 🌍
Boxing Turns Team Sport
Boxing is by all accounts, an individual sport.
When all is said and done, it’s down to the lone fighter to forge his or her destiny. All the glory, and the failure, ultimately rests on their shoulders.
But tomorrow sees a new dimension added, with British promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren each acting as general managers of a team of their best fighters, who will be pitted against each other across a fight card.
The concept was meant to serve as a warm-up to the undisputed light heavyweight showdown between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, put on by boxing’s latest power broker Turki Alalshikh.
An injury to Beterbiev has not only postponed the fight, but it has pushed Bivol’s role on the card down a notch, given the lack of profile of his late replacement opponent Malik Zanid.
Bivol is expected to emerge victorious against Zanid and keep his undisputed ambitions on track, so attention then turns to the 5 vs 5 matchups, with each one being as close to a genuine 50/50 fight as you can get:
Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang (Heavyweight)
Two extremely hard-hitting heavyweights approaching the final years of their careers. This one is very unlikely to go the distance.
Daniel Dubois vs Filip Hrgovic (Heavyweight)
These two young, skilled heavyweights are looking to position themselves for either a stripped world title or a shot against the winner of the Fury vs Usyk rematch. Expect a chess match…whilst it lasts.
Craig Richards vs Willy Hutchinson (Light Heavyweight)
Richards is tried and tested at world level, whilst accomplished amateur Hutchinson will want to claim his first big scalp after moving up from 168 lbs. Youth vs experience could serve up a great fight.
Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball (WBA World Featherweight Title)
An underrated fight between a calculated technician in Ford and the aggressive pressure fighter Ball, made all the more enticing given it’s for a world title.
Hamzah Sheeraz vs Ammo Williams (Middleweight)
Two middleweights who are at very similar stages in their careers, just on the fringe of a world title opportunity. Neither fighter has been really tested so far, and tomorrow could be the night that all changes.
Teddy’s Top Picks
Last Chance Saloon
Tomorrow night, Dustin Poirier will get what is likely his final shot at a UFC title when he takes on the lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302.
Since his UFC debut in 2011, Poirier has risen through the ranks to become one of the most popular and respected fighters in the entire organisation, fighting for world titles and headlining huge PPV events.
His technical yet entertaining striking style, mixed in with a respectful demeanour and continued commitment to charity work in his community has cemented him as the “people’s champ”.
As proud as he may be of that moniker, the “Diamond” wants the real thing strapped around his waist tomorrow, and the one man who can stop him is one of the best fighters the division has seen in recent years.
Since his lone defeat in his 2nd UFC fight, Makhachev has beaten every opponent he’s faced on his way to capturing UFC gold, which he won back in October 2022 when he snapped Charles Oliveira’s 11-fight win streak.
His wrestling and ground game is of the highest level, as expected given his career-long proximity to Khabib and the AKA team. His striking has also come a very long way in the last few years, evidenced by his latest highlight reel knockout of Alexander Volkanovski.
A well-rounded, young and confident champion presents seemingly insurmountable odds for any contender, and it’s no different for Poirier.
Having said that, this fight means a lot more to him than it does to Islam.
Whilst it’s just another title defense for the champ, this is the culmination of a lifetime of work for Poirier. He’s fought the UFC’s very best across two divisions and has been doing so for over 15 years, and everything he’s done has led him here.
He knows that giving it everything he has inside that octagon tomorrow night will give him a massive chance of upsetting those odds and putting the finishing touches on his illustrious career.
It won’t be easy, but if diamonds are formed under pressure, then this one will shine bright tomorrow night.
Fight ⏰ for this weekend
Boxing: 5 vs 5 Card (Saturday 1st/Sunday 2nd)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 12pm Eastern/ 9am Pacific | Main Event: 6pm Eastern/ 3pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 5pm| Main Event: 11pm
🇦🇺 Full Card: 2am Eastern/ 12am Western | Main event: 8am Eastern/ 6am Western
MMA: UFC 302 (Saturday 1st/Sunday 2nd)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific | Main Event: 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 1am | Main Card: 3am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 10am Eastern/ 8am Western | Main event: 12pm Eastern/ 10am Western