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🥊 Tartan Takeover
The Fight Team
June 09, 2023
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.
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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 🌍
High Stakes Action In NYC
Saturday night in New York City will treat the boxing world to a brilliant matchup between WBO and The Ring world champion Josh “The Tartan Tornado” Taylor and the outspoken former undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez.
The Honduran-American Lopez will be fighting his third fight at 140, coming off a controversial decision win over Sandor Martin.
Whilst he definitely didn’t look his best last time out, he has to be commended for throwing himself right back into arguably the hardest fight in the division, against a man who not so long ago was the undisputed king of the light-welterweights, having captured all 4 titles in the space of 18 months.
Taylor himself is coming off an extremely controversial win against Jack Catterall, where he was dropped and outboxed for the majority of the contest.
Every champion is entitled to a bad day at the office, and he’ll be looking to show that that’s exactly what that was on Saturday, where a win against the hard hitting and talented Lopez would remind the division that the road to 140 lbs glory goes by way of Scotland.
Teofimo, with the controversy surrounding his last fight as well as his recent comments regarding his personal life, will feel a similar need to perform.
He hasn’t pushed on and had the kind of trajectory that was expected of him post-Loma, and a win against the consensus best 140 lbs fighter in the world would not only make him a two division world champion at 25 years old, but would re-affirm him as a force in boxing.
It’s high stakes for both former undisputed champions, and only one will come out on top in the big apple.
What to look for in the fight:
Body. Look for both men to target the body early. Taylor will particularly be looking to slow Teofimo down and keep him from setting himself to get power shots off. The Scotsman is a phenomenal body puncher, so he may have a slight edge in the fight if he’s able to get success here early.
Range. Teofimo showed the world his boxing ability in the first 7 rounds against Lomachenko, but there’s no doubt that he does his best work at short to mid range. Look for him to get off powerful hooks and uppercuts in between Taylor’s work.
Don’t take our word for it. Check out Teddy’s in depth preview of this great light-welterweight match-up below.
Brazil In The House 🇧🇷
Amanda “Leoa” Nunes, the greatest female fighter of all time, returns as the headliner at UFC 289 on Saturday night, taking on first time title challenger Irene Aldana in a scheduled 5 round fight for her Bantamweight belt.
Amanda Nunes reclaimed her bantamweight championship by decisively defeating Julianna Pena in the headline bout of UFC 277 last July, demonstrating that a determined and physically fit "Lioness" remains the most formidable competitor in women's MMA.
Nevertheless, considering the fact that the Brazilian athlete is now 35 years old, retirement has become more than just an afterthought, putting into question just how motivated she is in comparison to her seemingly unstoppable 2015-2021 run.
Aldana, also 35 years old, will be looking to channel the spirit of recent women’s MMA upsets by dethroning Nunes. She’s riding a two fight KO streak, with her last loss coming against Holly Holm back in 2020.
She’ll need to decisively step up her level of performance against Nunes, as her UFC career has seen her fall short when coming up against the upper echelon of female talent.
The co-main event sees former lightweight champ and firm fan favourite Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira take on rising contender Beneil Dariush
The UFC recently arranged a pay-per-view main event between Dustin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier, two brilliant competitors in the 155-pound division, contending for the "BMF" belt.
Oliveira holds back to back submission wins against both, a testament to his incredible ability. Even though he dropped his title to Islam Makhachev in 2 rounds last year, he remains one of the best lightweights on the planet, with a UFC record number of finishes and submissions.
Dariush’s rise to the top of the division has been more under the radar, but similarly as devastating, with eight consecutive victories, half of them coming via knockouts or submissions.
Similar to how Leon Edwards did it at welterweight, Dariush can secure his chance at the division's crown by giving matchmakers no other choice. A win over Do Bronx would practically guarantee him a shot at Islam.
Oliveira however, will be in no mood to do him any favours, and despite being the slight underdog, he’ll be confident that his last fight was just a blip in his incredible run through the most competitive division in the UFC.
Odds (via MyBookie.AG)
Fight ⏰ for this weekend
Boxing: Taylor vs Lopez (Saturday 10th/Sunday 11th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 10pm Eastern/ 7pm Pacific | Main Event: 12am Eastern/ 9pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 3am | Main Event: 5am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 12pm Eastern/ 10am Western | Main event: 2pm Eastern/ 12pm Western
MMA: UFC 289 (Saturday 10th/Sunday 11th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 10pm Eastern/ 7pm Pacific | Main Event: 12am Eastern/ 9pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 3am | Main Event: 5am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 12pm Eastern/ 10am Western | Main event: 2pm Eastern/ 12pm Western