The Hall at Live Casino

Deiveson Figueiredo | Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo hired Urijah Faber as his new manager after splitting with his longtime agent Wallid Ismail, and he hopes it leads to a big bump in pay. Still recovering from injuries to both hands and unable to re-enter the octagon anytime soon, Figueiredo said “numbers” were always his focus in MMA, and that’s the main reason why he’s shifting managers. “I’ve changed managers looking for someone that presents me great numbers in the UFC,” Figueiredo said on this week’s episode of MMA Fighting podcast Trocação Franca. “Faber has contacts in the company, is close to [UFC President] Dana [White], is American and lives there, knows the numbers and how it works, and I’m sure he’ll fight hard for me there.” “In a private conversation with him, he told me my numbers were too low. I knew that already, that my numbers don’t exist. Guys fighting for the belt get paid around $500,000, and defending [champions] get around $600,000, and my numbers would never go over $200,000. This last fight, I got paid [$100,000 to show and $100,000 to win] or [$100,000 to show, $50,000 to win], I don’t know. Totally embarrassing. I know it’s low. It was on desperate to get the title fight. I know it’s a good purse for someone challenging for the belt.” Figueiredo’s injury setback led the UFC to book an interim title fight between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France on July 30. With Faber as his manager, Figueiredo expects “great evolution, without a doubt, for my title defense.” However, his quest for better pay and recent threats to leave the division weren’t received well by flyweight peers. Moreno said “nobody cares” if the Brazilian is moving up to bantamweight or not, and Manel Kape called the champion “ungrateful.” “Brandon Moreno doesn’t interest me, he’s a racist, so he better stay quiet because racists deserve no attention,” Figueiredo responded. “I won’t even talk about him. He doesn’t exist to me. And Manel Kape is down there [in the rankings], he still has to work to get where I’m at. And if they don’t like money, I’m sorry, but I do, and I’ll fight to get a good purse.” As for his previous agent, who managed his career from his UFC debut back in 2017, Figueiredo said “Wallid simply goes on with his life, and I’ll go on with mine” after a series of disagreements during his past camp left the flyweight champion feel “disrespected.” “I thank him for everything he’s done for me,” Figueiredo said. “I haven’t done anything unfair with him, I’m sure of that, and I hope he never says otherwise, especially because I’ve always fought to give him money. As a company, he worked for me, and I always fought for what he’s got to me, and always paid him. And if I have to pay him something else after this, rest assured I’ll leave this work without owing hm anything.” “And there were some arguments — let me think here so I don’t say any crap, brother,” he added. “We were always arguing. I started to have some suspicions [of him], you know? I have no proof, I won’t even say what, but, I don’t know, he became someone I didn’t trust anymore, and that’s bad. When you don’t trust someone anymore, in order to avoid getting hurt or anything serious happening, we prefer to step aside immediately.”

Jake Paul | Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images Jake Paul and Tommy Fury have failed to end up in a boxing ring once again. Paul said he has moved on from Fury for his Aug. 6 fight in a tweet sent out Wednesday morning. Paul claims Most Valuable Promotions did everything it could to get Fury into the country after his reported visa problems caused last week’s press conference to be canceled. TMZ reported Fury’s visa issues were caused by his family’s link to suspected mobster Daniel Kinahan. Fury released a statement on Instagram. I’m gutted and disappointed in regards to the issues I have faced with entry Ito the USA. This is something that myself or my team could have never anticipated happening. This situation has been left with my lawyers as being denied entry to a country is obviously a very serious issue and it needs to subsequently be resolved. I am confident this fight will happen when this issue gets resolved and we come to a solution. I want to clarify that I will fight in a neutral country that both parties can enter. This can be anytime, any place, anywhere. Paul will now reportedly face Hasim Rahman Jr., according to SI, for the next month’s headlining bout at Madison Square Garden. An official announcement for Paul’s fight will be made Thursday. Paul and Fury were first supposed to fight last December but Fury pulled out of the fight with a chest infection and a broken rib. Paul went on to defeat Tyron Woodley for the second time via sixth-round knockout on Dec. 18, 2021.

Photo by Alejandro Salazar/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Israel Adesanya has received a lot of criticism about his winning performance over Jared Cannonier in the UFC 276 but now he’s firing back with actor Chris Pratt ending up directly in his crosshairs. Following the event this past Saturday night, Pratt sat with the UFC broadcast team where he gave his opinion on the fight as Adesanya cruised to victory over Cannonier in a one-sided decision. “I’m going to say this as humbly as I can — I’ve never stepped into the octagon,” Pratt said on the UFC 276 post-fight show. “I don’t know this game. I’m just an actor, but I’m not a fan, man. “I’m not a fan of coming out like, all that talk, and then just kind of putting on a little bit of a pitter-pat [performance]. I’m like, c’mon, man. You’ve got to cash on that promise of being so badass.” On Wednesday, Adesanya responded to Pratt with a post on social media where he blasted the Thor: Love and Thunder star along with a clip from his past movie Wanted where he took a computer keyboard to the face in a scene with James McAvoy. “Good morning,” Adesanya wrote. “I’m the man. You’re just some fan.” Good morning. I’m the man. You’re just some fan. pic.twitter.com/FNQx9tQHvY— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) July 6, 2022 In the aftermath of his fight, which was ultimately his fourth consecutive decision in a row, Adesanya has become much more vocal firing back at critics who took issue with his performance. His comments aimed at Pratt came after Adesanya also chastised the media for the coverage he received immediately after his fight on Saturday night “You guys have a job to do and I’m not criticizing you guys in particular, I kind of am, but remember I can do your job,” Adesanya said. “You can never do my job. Just remember that. I could do your job, trust me. “I appreciate you guys for what you do but not just for me but for other fighters, be mindful with your words. Be mindful with the way you clickbait. That s*** it weak.”

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Wednesday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time. 1 p.m. ET: A recap of International Fight Week, UFC 276 and Conner Burks’ extracurricular activities. 1:15 p.m.: Ian Garry returns to the show to talk about his win at UFC 276. 1:40 p.m.: Jalin Turner talks about his impressive submission win over Brad Riddell. 2 p.m.: Pedro Munhoz joins to discuss his no-decision against Sean O’Malley and the fallout of his eye injury. 2:25 p.m.: Bryan Barberena recaps his thrilling win over ex-champ Robbie Lawler. 2:50 p.m.: Rafael Fiziev previews his UFC Vegas 58 headliner against ex-champ Rafael dos Anjos. 3:10 p.m.: Best bets time as we go over all the plays for UFC Vegas 58. 3:30 p.m.: All your questions answered in the latest edition of On The Nose. For the latest episodes of The MMA Hour, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.

Josh Emmett | Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images Urijah Faber is standing by his fighter. The Team Alpha Male boss spoke to the media in Las Vegas this past weekend and spent much of his time deriding the UFC for what he considers disrespectful treatment of Alpha Male featherweight Josh Emmett. Emmett recently defeated Calvin Kattar by split decision in the main event of UFC Austin to record his fifth straight victory, but according to Faber you wouldn’t know that he was a potential title challenger given that Emmett’s presence was not promoted during International Fight Week nor UFC 276, which saw featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski put on a dominant performance in the co-main event. “I was super disappointed — and Josh was also — in the fact that he wasn’t treated that great this last week,” Faber said. “We were expecting for him to be there on the sideline. He’s beaten so many guys in dominant fashion, he’s had major injuries, and he needs that fight next, that 145-pound belt. He’s the guy that can match up well with Volkanovski, that can pack a punch that puts people out cold with one punch. He can handle volume, he’s wrestled his whole life, wrestled in college. That’s the matchup. “I was a human development major in college and they always taught us when you go in to teach elementary school kids, you’ve got to watch out for the guys that don’t have a loud voice. He’s kind of been overlooked. He’s ranked No. 4 in the world, beat some incredible people. Amazing performance against a killer and the other people in line would be a Brian Ortega or a Yair [Rodriguez] and they’ve both been beat by the top guys. Josh is the guy, we were hoping to get the camera on him, get him watching the event, and to be honest, it was kind of a mishap. He had a really bad experience. He was put way back in the seats, not even with the rest of the guys, and had to find his way by himself up the stairs because they have peons working security that are getting paid minimum wage that are like, ‘Hey, you can’t come this way,’ and he’s not a confrontational guy unless you’re paying him to beat someone up. So he was really upset that there wasn’t more made of the fact that he’s the guy in line. I’m going to talk to [UFC executives Dana White and Hunter Campbell] and let them know it’s really bulls***.” Faber added that there was a sort of ticket-related misunderstanding that contributed to Emmett and his family not receiving premiere seating at Saturday’s event at T-Mobile Arena, though he did not explain what the misunderstanding was. Asked if Emmett would take an interim title opportunity in the event that Volkanovski makes a move up to lightweight to chase a second title, Faber said that Emmett is up for anything. “Josh will jump on any opportunity,” Faber said. “He’s never said ‘no’ to anything. He’s literally the guy in Office Space that keeps getting moved to the basement. … And he just keeps knocking f****** out instead. Still, they don’t even have him front row to watch the guys that are top in his division after he comes off a dominant main event performance. It’s really BS. So he’ll take any opportunity. “Last night he was like, ‘You know what? F this. I wish they’d just release me. I get no respect, blah blah blah.’ He’s like, ‘I think I’m going to drop down to ‘35 and I’m going to fight O’Malley because that’s who’s getting all the credit.’ And I’m like, ‘First off, that’s not going to be good for your body to drop that weight. You’re right there knocking on the door. We just have to make it happen and I’m really sorry that you had such a bad experience.’” “He literally posted a picture from the rafters because he kept getting moved to the friggin’ MMA basement because of a miscommunication. So that was really frustrating to find out in the aftermath. Looking around, I figure he’s on the other side, doing some interviews or something. Nothing. Ghosted. It’s really sad. His wife was livid. He was livid and he’s just like, ‘What do I have to do to get a little bit of respect?’ So Dana, I hope you see this and understand that it’s Josh’s time.” Still, Faber hoped that Emmett would be pulled aside to do interviews at the very least, but he didn’t see the UFC promote him in any official capacity. The lack of effort is puzzling to Faber, given that Emmett has a fan-friendly style, and he wondered why Emmett isn’t being promoted in similar fashion to UFC Hall of Fame member Chuck Liddell, another fighter more known in-cage highlights than snappy quotes. “I think Dana just needs to be reminded you’ve got a silent killer,” Faber said. “You’ve got a guy that can be marketed. They do choose. They can easily put him in the front row and say, ‘Hey, what do you think about these guys?’ You ask him what he’s going to do, ‘I’m going to knock these m************ out.’ That’s what he’ll say, maybe not in those exact words, but he’s going to be thinking it, he’s going to be believing it and he’s shown that he can do it. “So for me, they need to choose to promote him a little bit more, they need to give him the right opportunities and just be present. Josh’s wife said, ‘It’s very apparent where we stand with the UFC. They don’t give a s*** about us, which is a s***** feeling.’” Watch Faber’s full media scrum, courtesy of Cageside Press.