Three guys whose careers have been associated with one another… If Jones/Miocic ever happens, it will all come full circle.
WHR Heavyweight History: Top 10 All-Time Heavyweights
While WHR’s superiority as a current ranking system is in question, its ability to view the historical scene is probably unparalleled. To demonstrate, I took the Top 10 Heavyweights from the All-Time Rankings and dumped their WHR ratings, fight-by-fight, into a chart.
Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)
| Friday, August 15th 2025: PFL World Tournament 9: 2025 Finals | |||
 [#9 W125] Liz Carmouche | [#13 W125] Jena Bishop | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 6/20/2025 [Professional Fighters League] Last Opponent: [#23 W125] Elora Dana Last 5: W W L W W | Last Fight Date: 6/20/2025 [Professional Fighters League] Last Opponent: [#30 W125] Ekaterina Shakalova Last 5: W L L W W | ||
| Sunday, July 27th 2025: Super RIZIN 4 | |||
 [#1 W105] Seika Izawa |  [#27 W105] Yu Jin Shin | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 12/31/2024 [Rizin Fighting Federation] Last Opponent: [#166 W115] Lucia Apdelgarim Last 5: W W W W W | Last Fight Date: 12/29/2024 [Road Fighting Championship] Last Opponent: [NR] Seo Young Park Last 5: W W W W NC | ||
| Friday, August 1st 2025: PFL World Tournament 8: 2025 Finals | |||
 [#8 FW] Jesus Pinedo |  [#26 FW] Movlid Khaybulaev | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 6/12/2025 [Professional Fighters League] Last Opponent: [#23 FW] Gabriel Braga Last 5: W W W W W | Last Fight Date: 6/12/2025 [Professional Fighters League] Last Opponent: [#134 FW] Tae Kyun Kim Last 5: W W W W W | ||
Featured Fighters
| [#2 LW] |  Ilia Topuria | [#3 FLW] | Joshua Van | |
| [#1 LW] | Islam Makhachev | [#4 LW] |  Charles Oliveira | |
| [#12 LW] |  Paddy Pimblett | [NR] |  Conor McGregor | |
| [#1 FLW] | Alexandre Pantoja | [NR] | Khabib Nurmagomedov | |
| [NR] | Jon Jones | [#5 LW] | Max Holloway |
WHR… and how it really differs from Elo/Glicko
If you’re a frequent visitor, you may have noticed that we’ve added four purely mathematical variants of named rating systems to the ranking pages. Two versions of Elo, Glicko-1 and the latest being WHR.
You’ll see some basic info within our FAQ page and can Google for more. To make a long story super short, Elo is the grandfather of most like systems. It has been around for ages and is super simple. Elo doesn’t care about inactivity or inconsistencies. The process starts from day 1 and moves chronologically throughout time, every competitor starts with a starter rating, which is then modified with each result. Glicko-1 is a very similar system to Elo, except it has the concept of “rating deviation” which allows competitors’ ratings to deviate more or less, given when they fought last. There is also a second version of Glicko, which tosses in a factor called volatility — it is a major complication with extremely limited benefit.
In comes WHR. Again, it is based on Elo, but is setup to take numerous passes throughout history. With each pass, it “learns” from what happened in surrounding events. This makes it an excellent system for reviewing the past and in trying to determine when a competitor was really at their peak. Whether it paints a more accurate ranking picture… who knows?
Using the four systems we have in place, let’s take a look at the following events and the rankings at the end of the story.
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Would Reclaiming the Title from Stipe Miocic Cement Daniel Cormier’s Status as the UFC’s Greatest Heavyweight?
The world of heavyweight mixed martial arts is full of action-packed, adrenaline-fueled, one-punch drama. In turn, this unpredictability is what creates a lack of clarity regarding naming the division’s all-time great. So, let’s take a look at whether Daniel Cormier would cement his status as the heavyweight GOAT should he win his trilogy fight with Stipe Miocic.
The Need to Make Adjustments for Their Trilogy Fight at UFC 252
After a perfectly-timed right-hand shot landed on the exit of a clinch in the closing stages of round one during their UFC 226 superfight, Cormier claimed the heavyweight title for the first time with the Las Vegas-based organization. Following the triumph, which saw him become a champion in two different weight classes, Cormier established himself as an all-time great within the 265-pound division, having gone undefeated at heavyweight throughout his career.
However, during the highly-anticipated rematch at UFC 241, Miocic took revenge on the two-time light-heavyweight champion as he secured a fourth-round finish to reclaim the title from his opponent. Because of that, many now believe that their trilogy bout will determine who the greatest heavyweight of all time is. Fundamentally, this is down the fact that, if Cormier can avenge his defeat, his heavyweight record will include 16 victories and one loss.
Fight Matrix Program – UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Hooker (2020-06-27)
Lightweight (155)
[#3/#7DD] Dustin Poirier (25-6-0, -204) vs. [#7] Dan Hooker (20-8-0, +167)
Dustin Poirier is the All-Time #12 ranked Lightweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Dustin Poirier (2-1-0)
2019-09-07: L vs. [#1LW/#1DD/#3P4P] Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:06 of round 3
2019-04-13: W vs. [#2FW/#6DD] Max Holloway (21-5-0) via UD (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
2018-07-28: W vs. [#32WW] Eddie Alvarez (30-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:05 of round 2
Last 3 Fights: Dan Hooker (3-0-0)
2020-02-22: W vs. [#10LW] Paul Felder (17-5-0) via SD (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
2019-10-05: W vs. [#11LW] Al Iaquinta (15-6-1) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
2019-07-20: W vs. [#114WW] James Vick (13-5-0) via KO (Punch) in 2:33 of round 1
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Dustin Poirier | -204 | 64.18% | |
| Elo K170 | Dustin Poirier | 2256.46 | +184.10 | 69.87% |
| Elo Modified | Dustin Poirier | 2201.67 | +225.37 | 72.84% |
| Glicko-1 | Dustin Poirier | 2259.25 | +242.58 | 80.16% |
| WHR | Dustin Poirier | 2130.87 | +224.95 | 73.65% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Dustin Poirier 294, Dan Hooker 126
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Welterweight (170)
[#29] Mike Perry (13-6-0, -285) vs. [#149] Mickey Gall (6-2-0, +227)
Last 3 Fights: Mike Perry (1-2-0)
2019-12-14: L vs. [#21WW] Geoff Neal (13-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:30 of round 1
2019-08-10: L vs. [#19WW] Vicente Luque (18-7-1) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
2019-04-27: W vs. [#37WW] Alex Oliveira (21-8-1) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Last 3 Fights: Mickey Gall (2-1-0)
2019-08-03: W vs. [#339WW] Salim Touahri (10-4-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2019-03-02: L vs. [#63WW] Diego Sanchez (30-12-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:13 of round 2
2018-08-25: W vs. [#206MW] George Sullivan (18-9-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:09 of round 1
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Mike Perry | -285 | 70.76% | |
| Elo K170 | Mike Perry | 1697.47 | +206.64 | 71.99% |
| Elo Modified | Mike Perry | 1726.18 | +204.26 | 70.97% |
| Glicko-1 | Mike Perry | 1783.74 | +249.09 | 80.75% |
| WHR | Mike Perry | 1682.91 | +204.61 | 71.80% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Mike Perry 196, Mickey Gall 329
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Middleweight (185)
[#28] Brendan Allen (14-3-0, -304) vs. [#66] Kyle Daukaus (9-0-0, +248)
Last 3 Fights: Brendan Allen (3-0-0)
2020-02-29: W vs. [#49MW] Tom Breese (11-2-0) via TKO (Elbows and Punches) in 4:47 of round 1
2019-10-18: W vs. [#44MW] Kevin Holland (17-5-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:38 of round 2
2019-07-16: W vs. [#254MW] Aaron Jeffery (7-2-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:23 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Kyle Daukaus (3-0-0)
2020-02-01: W vs. [#168MW] Nolan Norwood (12-6-0) via Submission (Brabo Choke) in 4:36 of round 2
2019-09-21: W vs. [#255MW] Stephen Regman (9-5-0) via Submission (DArce Choke) in 0:50 of round 2
2019-06-25: W vs. [#261WW] Michael Lombardo (11-2-0) via UD ()
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Brendan Allen | -304 | 72.36% | |
| Elo K170 | Brendan Allen | 1818.28 | +198.59 | 71.25% |
| Elo Modified | Brendan Allen | 1825.72 | +152.53 | 66.10% |
| Glicko-1 | Brendan Allen | 1901.40 | +219.83 | 78.00% |
| WHR | Brendan Allen | 1748.31 | +133.58 | 64.80% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Brendan Allen 119, Kyle Daukaus 147
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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WHR Rating Update (Again)
Notable Info
- Bug related to draws in WHR framework is fixed (thanks to computerrank over at BoxRec). Also went back to the original plan of lumping non-unanimous decisions in with draws (see the Glicko post for supporting info).
Fight Matrix Program – UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov (2020-06-20)
Heavyweight (265)
[#4] Curtis Blaydes (13-2-0, -332) vs. [#10] Alexander Volkov (31-7-0, +259)
Curtis Blaydes is the All-Time #38 ranked Heavyweight fighter.
Alexander Volkov is the All-Time #41 ranked Heavyweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Curtis Blaydes (3-0-0)
2020-01-25: W vs. [#7HW+] Junior dos Santos (21-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:06 of round 2
2019-09-07: W vs. [#19HW+] Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-6-0) via TKO (Elbow and Punch) in 2:22 of round 2
2019-03-23: W vs. [*] Justin Willis (8-2-0) via UD (30-27, 30-26, 30-25)
Last 3 Fights: Alexander Volkov (2-1-0)
2019-11-09: W vs. [#85HW+] Greg Hardy (6-2-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2018-10-06: L vs. [#5HW+] Derrick Lewis (23-7-0) via KO (Punches) in 4:49 of round 3
2018-03-17: W vs. [#14HW+] Fabricio Werdum (23-9-1) via KO (Punches) in 1:38 of round 4
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Curtis Blaydes | -332 | 73.39% | |
| Elo K170 | Curtis Blaydes | 2049.87 | +89.61 | 60.09% |
| Elo Modified | Curtis Blaydes | 2055.19 | +74.07 | 58.03% |
| Glicko-1 | Curtis Blaydes | 2128.70 | +83.82 | 61.84% |
| WHR | Curtis Blaydes | 2020.68 | +150.00 | 66.49% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Curtis Blaydes 147, Alexander Volkov 224
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Featherweight (145)
[#6] Josh Emmett (15-2-0, +112) vs. [#20] Shane Burgos (13-1-0, -138)
Last 3 Fights: Josh Emmett (2-1-0)
2019-07-13: W vs. [#34FW] Mirsad Bektic (13-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:25 of round 1
2019-03-30: W vs. [#82LW] Michael Johnson (19-16-0) via KO (Punch) in 4:14 of round 3
2018-02-24: L vs. [#17FW] Jeremy Stephens (28-18-0) via KO (Elbows) in 1:35 of round 2
Last 3 Fights: Shane Burgos (3-0-0)
2019-11-02: W vs. [#57FW] Makwan Amirkhani (15-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:32 of round 3
2019-05-04: W vs. [#24FW] Cub Swanson (26-11-0) via SD (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)
2018-11-03: W vs. [#398LW] Kurt Holobaugh (17-7-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 2:11 of round 1
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Shane Burgos | -138 | 55.14% | |
| Elo K170 | Josh Emmett | 1954.97 | +74.15 | 58.39% |
| Elo Modified | Josh Emmett | 1925.19 | +107.02 | 61.50% |
| Glicko-1 | Josh Emmett | 1992.69 | +139.91 | 69.11% |
| WHR | Josh Emmett | 1884.44 | +91.81 | 60.34% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Josh Emmett 343, Shane Burgos 231
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Women Bantamweight (135)
[#6] Raquel Pennington (10-8-0, -139) vs. [*] Marion Reneau (9-5-1, +114)
Raquel Pennington is the All-Time #46 ranked Women’s fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Raquel Pennington (1-2-0)
2020-01-18: L vs. [#2BW/#10DD] Holly Holm (13-5-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2019-07-20: W vs. [#4BW] Irene Aldana (12-5-0) via SD (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
2018-11-10: L vs. [#1BW/#8DD/#9P4P] Germaine de Randamie (9-4-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Last 3 Fights: Marion Reneau (1-2-0)
2019-03-09: L vs. [#13BW] Yana Kunitskaya (12-5-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2018-07-14: L vs. [*] Cat Zingano (10-4-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
2018-02-24: W vs. [#7BW] Sara McMann (12-5-0) via Submission (Triangle Choke) in 3:40 of round 2
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Raquel Pennington | -139 | 55.44% | |
| Elo K170 | Raquel Pennington | 1485.54 | +141.90 | 65.66% |
| Elo Modified | Raquel Pennington | 1463.43 | +69.96 | 57.60% |
| Glicko-1 | Raquel Pennington | 1434.04 | +4.39 | 50.63% |
| WHR | Raquel Pennington | 1485.75 | +86.15 | 59.72% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Raquel Pennington 154, Marion Reneau 469
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Raquel Pennington leads 3-1
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The 5 Best Fighting Video Games Ever
Boy, have video games changed over the years. Today’s video game technology has made it seem as if the player has been transported into the actual game, in real-time, no less. That makes playing casino games more fun. It’s completely insane. Thankfully, MMA video games have been fortunate enough to take advantage of the improvement of gaming technology and use it to make the best fighting games possible, all for your vicious bloodlust. There are lots of MMA/fighting games out there. MMA video games have been rising on popularity in recent times, another reason you might want to try them out. Here are my five favorite fighting video games in history – in no particular order.
UFC Undisputed 3
It was developed by Yuke’s and published by THQ in 2012 for PS3 and Xbox 360. This game is hands down the best MMA game till date. It is a sequel to UFC Undisputed 2010 and has been one of the most popular MMA games in recent years. It contains the well-known “Pride Mode.” This mode was added after the game was released, with its own rules and fighters. It also includes the Pride Grand Prix, so that you can have more than one fight in the same night, and move on to the next fight retaining your damage score.
WHR RATING UPDATE (#2)
Notable Info
- After recent changes were made, extensive testing of the w2 value suggests value used in WHR be changed to 42 (from 10). WHR ratings updated.
WHR Rating Update
Notable Info
- It turns out the WHR system that we recently rolled out does not properly handle draws — for every draw, it was adding a win AND loss. Since I lumped close decisions in with draws based on the research I did w/ the Glicko system, this caused a pretty large ratings issue. I started noticing strange patterns of fighters in draws and close decisions who both lost considerable points directly after the fight.
Further research is required to determine if this is a systemic problem or an implementation problem. In the interim, I updated the WHR ratings and tossed out all draws, along with no contests and disqualifications. Before, we were also treating split & majority decisions as draws in the WHR ratings, but we will now treat those as wins (for now). Furthermore, I increased the accuracy as the ratings now run until the convergence is below 0.00001 (vs. 1.0). Technically, this paints a more “accurate” picture.
Fight Matrix Program – UFC Fight Night: Eye vs. Calvillo (2020-06-13)
Women Flyweight (125)
[#3] Jessica Eye (15-7-0, +108) vs. [#8] Cynthia Calvillo (8-1-1, -132)
Jessica Eye is the All-Time #43 ranked Women’s fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Jessica Eye (2-1-0)
2019-12-14: W vs. [#11FLY] Viviane Araujo (8-2-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2019-06-08: L vs. [#1FLY/#2DD/#3P4P] Valentina Shevchenko (19-3-0) via KO (Head Kick) in 0:26 of round 2
2018-12-08: W vs. [#2FLY/#6P4P] Katlyn Chookagian (14-3-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Last 3 Fights: Cynthia Calvillo (2-0-1)
2019-12-07: D vs. [#10SW] Marina Rodriguez (12-0-2) via Draw (Majority) in 5:00 of round 3
2019-02-17: W vs. [#15FLY] Cortney Casey (9-7-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
2018-11-17: W vs. [#42FLY] Poliana Botelho (8-2-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:48 of round 1
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Cynthia Calvillo | -132 | 54.20% | |
| Elo K170 | Jessica Eye | 1640.33 | +34.72 | 53.96% |
| Elo Modified | Cynthia Calvillo | 1636.08 | +33.72 | 53.68% |
| Glicko-1 | Cynthia Calvillo | 1620.39 | +56.47 | 58.06% |
| WHR | Jessica Eye | 1601.28 | +10.37 | 51.18% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jessica Eye 182, Cynthia Calvillo 189
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Middleweight (185)
[#31] Marvin Vettori (13-4-1, -236) vs. [#40] Karl Roberson (9-2-0, +191)
Last 3 Fights: Marvin Vettori (2-1-0)
2019-10-12: W vs. [#63MW] Andrew Sanchez (10-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2019-07-13: W vs. [#58MW] Cezar Ferreira (13-8-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2018-04-14: L vs. [#1MW/#7P4P] Israel Adesanya (19-0-0) via SD (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Last 3 Fights: Karl Roberson (2-1-0)
2019-11-09: W vs. [#77MW] Roman Kopylov (8-1-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:01 of round 3
2019-07-13: W vs. [#76MW] Wellington Turman (16-3-0) via UD ()
2019-01-19: L vs. [#6LHW] Glover Teixeira (31-7-0) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 3:21 of round 1
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Marvin Vettori | -236 | 67.15% | |
| Elo K170 | Marvin Vettori | 1779.04 | +37.70 | 54.29% |
| Elo Modified | Marvin Vettori | 1816.14 | +25.40 | 52.78% |
| Glicko-1 | Marvin Vettori | 1851.64 | +56.88 | 58.11% |
| WHR | Karl Roberson | 1755.09 | +18.43 | 52.11% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Marvin Vettori 245, Karl Roberson 217
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Marvin Vettori leads 1-0
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Bantamweight (135)
[#21] Merab Dvalishvili (10-4-0, -865) vs. [#119] Gustavo Lopez (11-4-0, +567)
Last 3 Fights: Merab Dvalishvili (3-0-0)
2020-02-15: W vs. [#39BW] Casey Kenney (14-2-1) via UD (30-27, 30-25, 29-28)
2019-05-04: W vs. [#79BW] Brad Katona (8-2-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2018-09-15: W vs. [#363BW] Terrion Ware (17-11-0) via UD (30-25, 30-25, 30-25)
Last 3 Fights: Gustavo Lopez (3-0-0)
2019-08-23: W vs. [#496BW] Joey Ruquet (7-3-0) via KO (Punch) in 1:45 of round 1
2019-03-29: W vs. [#322BW] Jose Alday (12-5-1) via TKO (Punches) in 2:19 of round 1
2018-12-07: W vs. [*] Vicente Marquez Enriquez (4-6-0) via SUB in 0:50 of round 1
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Merab Dvalishvili | -865 | 85.67% | |
| Elo K170 | Merab Dvalishvili | 1744.39 | +318.21 | 81.06% |
| Elo Modified | Merab Dvalishvili | 1763.62 | +330.41 | 80.95% |
| Glicko-1 | Merab Dvalishvili | 1781.70 | +331.43 | 87.08% |
| WHR | Merab Dvalishvili | 1644.58 | +355.18 | 83.51% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Merab Dvalishvili 119, Gustavo Lopez 295
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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A Look Back on Our Favourite Weigh-In Antics
The build-up to a big fight is made even more exciting because of press conferences and media coverage of both camps. But the pinnacle of the anticipation is felt at the weigh-in when both fighters come toe to toe with each other. After weighing in, the two fighters are presented into each other. This serves as a way to stare into each other’s eyes and intimidate each other. Most times it is amicable while other times it gets a little heated. Let’s take a look back at the most entertaining weigh-ins.
Why Is There a Stare Down After a Weigh-In?
Most of the time, the staredown is all part of the production as a way to get people interested in the fight. Sometimes there is genuine hatred and animosity between the fighters, which makes the stare down a real affair. Other times, the staredown is exacerbated to make the fight more interesting and increase ticket sales or people purchasing the bout at home. The origins of these antics go back decades. Lots of fans point to Muhammed Ali’s teasing and hostility towards his opponent (which was often just an act and part of his tactics).