Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Nolan King and Ken Hathaway

Amir Albazi brushes off Brandon Royval after UFC on ESPN 45 win: ‘I’m the next one for the title’

UFC Amir Albazi Brandon Royval ESPN ESPN 45 Alexandre Pantoja Brandon Moreno UFC 290 MMA Junkie

LAS VEGAS – Amir Albazi isn’t the backup fighter for the next UFC flyweight title fight, but he still sees himself as next man up.

Following a close UFC on ESPN 45 main event victory over Kai Kara-France by split decision Saturday, Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) brushed off tweets from fellow contender Brandon Royval, who will serve as the backup for the UFC 290 co-main event between champion Brandon Moreno and challenger Alexandre Pantoja on July 8.

“That was the top three-ranked flyweight in the world, and I got the win against him,” Albazi told MMA Junkie and other reporters afterward. “I went five rounds, so I know I can go with these guys for five whole rounds. I know I’m ready for the title. I just want to go on for the next one, get my belt, and keep climbing, keep becoming the king that I know I am.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
The 'World's Oldest' Bartender's Very Illegal Basement Bar
A recent profile of 103-year-old Irv Koch's basement bar highlights all the ways that modern zoning codes crush novel and fun third places.
Reason
Reason
Harry Potter and Cursed Child director pushed back on making play shorter: ‘I was dragged kicking and screaming’
Play, which originally opened in 2016 as two parts, has been condensed into one production
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Smokers have a lower risk of Parkinson’s – we may have found out why
Smoking is one of the biggest causes of ill health and early death. Yet smokers seem to have a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than non-smokers – by around half according to some studies.
The Conversation
The Conversation
NY Woman finds stolen Tamayo painting in trash; Sotheby’s sells it for $1.049 million
In 2003, Elizabeth Gibson found a brightly coloured painting in the rubbish on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She later discovered it was Rufino Tamayo’s 1970 work “Tres Personajes”, stolen from a Houston couple in 1987. Sotheby’s planned to auction it for up to $1 million.
The Times of India
The Times of India
Jaden Newman Leaked Video Controversy: Viral Post Claims LaMelo Ball Paid Her $250K for One Encounter
A viral post claimed LaMelo Ball paid Jaden Newman $250,000 after seeing a private video, but no reliable evidence supports the alleged payment, encounter or quote.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
His Wife Says Decades of Sleep Talking Nearly Went Quiet After Hypnosis Gave Her a One-Word Cue
A man's decades-long sleep talking faded after hypnosis gave his wife a librarian's "Shhhh" as a cue, a case report says. Here's what it shows.
Medical Daily
Medical Daily
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play