Top 10 Boxing and MMA Texts of the Year: Bivol and Usyk Wins, Brad Pitt as a Gypsy Fighter, Worst Fighter in UFC History

Hey! These are ten posts for 2022 that have collected the most pluses in the martial arts section. Reread your favorites or discover new ones.

10. Freddie Mercury loved boxing: he studied at school, finished fights in the blood due to protruding teeth, and Queen performed in boxers at concerts +116

Many art stars of the 20th century were interested in boxing: David Bowie was a fan of Muhammad Ali, Jean-Michel Basquiat painted boxers, Elvis Presley played a fighter in the movies, and Andy Warhol created advertisements for Everlast, a brand of boxing equipment. However, Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury not only loved boxing, but also practiced it. A rock musician who was against violence in adulthood, at school he participated in bloody cuts from which he was rescued by friends.

Mercury became interested in boxing in India when he was in school and was even considered talented. But Freddie’s mother was against the bloody sport – she believed that her son did not need to get hit in the face. And it turned out to be right: the gifted boy left boxing and grew into a rock star, doing what he loved for the rest of his life.

9. The worst fighter in UFC history. The smiley lives on a farm with a top model, contains 63 souls (children and animals) and sets anti-records +118

Sam Alvey is a phenomenal fighter: usually they are fired from the UFC after 3-4 defeats in a row, but the American broke the system. He has not won since June 2018, having accumulated as many as 7 losses and 1 draw.

At the same time, the UFC regularly gives Alvey new rivals.

8. Manny Pacquiao knocked out. How the most famous Filipino sensationally lost the presidential election +133

One of the greatest boxers, Manny Pacquiao, failed the presidential election in his homeland. Despite the fact that a year ago it was he who was considered almost the uncontested favorite. After counting 98.32% of the votes, Pacquiao is gaining only 6.86%. 3.6 million voters voted for him. Race winner Bongbong Marcos has 31.1 million. Pacquiao’s result is third among 10 candidates. But in politics, as in boxing, only one place matters – the first.

Denis Puzyrev tried to understand how Manny, who knew no equal in the ring, lost this fight.

7. 💥 Bivol sensationally smashed Canelo and made him suffer in the new division. Only Floyd has ever defeated Alvarez +140

Didn’t believe? And it happened! Dmitry Bivol beat Saul Alvarez, having issued the 20th victory in the professional ring. And how beautiful this anniversary is: not a single defeat and the eighth title defense against the best boxer in the world, regardless of weight categories. Canelo believed that a second trip to the light heavyweight division would cement his legacy, but it added only a second career loss to Alvarez.

Bivol became the second boxer after Floyd Mayweather to defeat Canelo. And Dmitry is still the undisputed WBA Super champion!

6. The death of Arturo Gatti is one of the biggest mysteries in boxing history. What is known after 13 years? +146

Even those who have never been interested in boxing have heard of Arturo Gatti. A champion in two weight categories, an uncompromising grunt who knew bright victories and epic defeats – he attracted attention with a spectacular manner of fighting.

His fights aroused great interest and often received the status of “Fight of the Year”. Even the death of Gatti became a sensation and created a mystery that has not been solved until now.

5. You are all happy for Bivol, but how much do you know about him? He met his wife at 16, speaks English and is not afraid of star rivals +163

Until recently, many of us did not know about Dmitry Bivol, but now the boxer defeated the star Canelo, who had previously lost only 9 years ago to Floyd Mayweather.

Yes, Bivol’s victory is an upset for many, but his new status is not an accident, but a pattern. Dimitri is the new boxing superstar who has become real for several reasons.

4. The shameful fight of Muhammad Ali: in 1976, the boxer met with the Japanese legendary wrestler – and almost lost his legs +175

On October 1, the legendary Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki, who is considered the father of Japanese wrestling, died. In 1972, Inoki, who was only 29 years old, founded the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. And on September 10, 1973, he defeated Johnny Powers and became the NWF world heavyweight champion. The Japanese retained the championship for eight years, becoming a recognized wrestling star.

But the main event in the career of Inoki occurred in 1976. Then he went to fight against Mohammed Ali – already a famous boxer from the USA at that time. The heavyweight came to Japan for a fat fee, but ended up in one of the most scandalous fights in history.

3. Usyk defeated Joshua in a rematch, although the judges almost stole the victory. But Alexander is still a champion! +180

The rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua was the main poster of world boxing in 2022. And how cool that expectations did not differ from reality, because the ring turned out to be hot for 36 minutes, that is, for all 12 rounds!

According to their results, Usyk retained the WBA, WBO and IBF championship titles, adding to them the belt of The Ring magazine. But when the winner was announced, it was scary – one of the judges somehow saw the victory of Joshua.

2. Mohammed Ali was delighted with the USSR: he was fascinated by Soviet people and cuisine, and called the gift from Brezhnev the best in life +196

A special place in the biography of Mohammed Ali is his visit to the USSR in June 1978, at the height of the Cold War, in which everything is still not so simple. During the 10-day visit, Ali was delighted with Moscow, Tashkent and Samarkand, dispelling many myths about the Soviet system and even got into a fight with the best boxers in the country.

However, Ali quickly became disillusioned: immediately after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, he was at the forefront of those who called for a boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, although a year before that he had been its main ambassador.

1. How did Brad Pitt prepare for the role of a gypsy fighter in Snatch? The actor himself called Guy Ritchie, learned boxing and invented an accent for the hero +261

For the role of a fighter in Fight Club, Brad Pitt pumped up and surprised the audience with cubes. But he really plunged into the world of martial arts in “Snatch” – the cult film by Guy Ritchie. There, the actor played a gypsy fighter, for which he trained for more than a month with a top trainer from Los Angeles and mastered boxing techniques from scratch.