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🥊 The Dream Gets Bigger
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.
Fight News From Around The 🌍
High Risk - High Reward
Devin “The Dream” Haney will attempt to become a two division world champion tomorrow night, when he makes his 140 lbs debut against the WBC champion Regis “Rougarou” Prograis.
Following his vacating of the undisputed lightweight crown, the 25 year old has his sights firmly set on a new division and a new challenge.
And with a new challenge, comes a new risk.
Regis Prograis has only lost once in 30 professional fights, a razor close majority decision to Josh Taylor back in 2019. Taylor would go on to unify the entire division, and Regis gave him his toughest fight aside from the Scot’s loss to Teofimo Lopez.
Prograis then went on a 4 fight KO streak, which could have been extended to more had it not been for promotional difficulties holding him back from bigger opportunities.
When he did finally get his chance to regain a world championship, he took it with both hands, dominating and stopping Jose Zepeda in November of last year.
The Haney camp might be taking confidence from his latest outing, a lacklustre split decision win against the unheralded Danielito Zorrilla. To expect that same Prograis to show up tomorrow night, could be a very costly mistake.
Even with a more dangerous and fired up Prograis, Haney will be supremely confident in his abilities, as he always is.
He’s one of the most effective and cautious boxers in the world, and if he can execute his game plan against the older Prograis, he could well be on his way to 2 division champ status.
Regis Prograis however, is a very, very live dog in this fight. Write him off at your own risk…
Teddy and Ken did an in depth Fight Plan for Haney vs Prograis at the Trinity Boxing Club in NYC. Check it out below for a breakdown of the tactics either fighter is likely to use and of course, a final prediction from Teddy.
Fight Odds
Throwback With The Champ
We had the privilege of speaking with Regis after he won his world title last year. He’s a real student of the game and always great company. The interview kicks in from 46:30 of the episode below.
Last Minute Opportunity
Tomorrow night, #7 ranked UFC bantamweight Song Yadong takes on #14 Chris Gutierrez in a 5 round main event.
Gutierrez is a fairly late notice replacement for the injured Petr Yan and now the former champion’s misfortune could just be the American contender’s ticket to the big time.
Yadong will look to impose his will on Gutierrez with his well balanced and crisp striking. Gutierrez, whilst lacking Song’s natural power, is well versed in well timed leg kicks and octagon distance management. His aim will be to disrupt Song's rhythm and turn the tide if he successfully navigates the Chinese fighers power early on.
Whilst either fighter looking to go to ground is unlikely, Gutierrez may have the slight edge in terms of his well drilled underhook defense and grappling in the clinch. Should he be able to steal some rounds with good work on the floor, it could make things very interesting if it goes the distance.
A win for Gutierrez would propel him 7 places up in the rankings, so it’s all upside for him tomorrow night. Song wouldn’t gain the kind of ground he would have with a scalp like Petr Yan, but he’d maintain some good momentum going into a run for the title.
Either way, the UFC has served up another great fight night, regardless of the change of opponents.
Fight ⏰ for this weekend
Boxing: Haney vs Prograis (Saturday 9th/Sunday 10th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific | Main Event: 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 2am | Main Event: 4am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 11am Eastern/ 9am Western | Main event: 1pm Eastern/ 11am Western
Boxing: Billam-Smith vs Masternak (Sunday 10th/Monday 11th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 2pm Eastern/ 11am Pacific | Main Event: 5pm Eastern/ 2pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 7pm | Main Event: 10pm
🇦🇺 Full Card: 6am Eastern/ 4am Western | Main event: 9am Eastern/ 7am Western
UFC: Song vs Gutierrez (Saturday 25th/Sunday 26th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 10pm Eastern/ 7pm Pacific | Main Event: 12am Eastern/ 9pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 3am | Main Event: 5am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 2pm Eastern/ 12pm Western | Main event: 4pm Eastern/ 2pm Western