Sonny Bill Williams returns to the ring next week. Photo / Getty Images
Christopher Reive looks at the week that was, and the weekend ahead, in combat sports.
If you enjoy footy players fighting footy players, are you in for a treat next week when Sonny Bill Williams returns to the ring.
The former All Blacks and Kiwis star will take on ex-AFL player Barry Hall in just his second boxing bout since 2016, with the two squaring off in Sydney next Wednesday.
Williams has been putting in plenty of work ahead of his return, working alongside the likes of Tyson Fury, Joseph Parker and David Nyika in the UK, with Andy Lee making the trip down to Australia with him.
Williams is the more experienced of the two fighters, with an 8-0 record to Hall's impressively unique 0-0-1, with his only bout being a draw with Paul Gallen (which has aged pretty well, to be fair).
Hall has had his own high-level training partner, getting in some work with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and his head coach Joe Lopez, and Hall's chat ahead of the fight has been quite fun; I imagine it stays that way until they step in the ring on Wednesday night.
There will be plenty of eyes on the fight; not just because Williams is a big name, but because of the intentions he signalled when the fight was announced. "I finished rugby and rugby league, and before I walk off into the wilderness with my family, I said to my wife that I think I want to give boxing one more crack, just to scratch that itch," he said.
Williams has talent in the ring, and holds a win over former world title contender Francois Botha - beating him the fight before Botha took on Joseph Parker. However, because of his busy schedule and commitments in other codes, he has never been able to dedicate himself to boxing and the potential he showed in the ring.
A win over Hall would open more doors, should he wish to walk through them - be it money fights against fellow big names or career progressing bouts; a loss against Hall, and that 'one more crack' will surely come to an abrupt end.
Dan Hooker is back where he started. After five years in the UFC lightweight division, the Hangman moves back down in weight this weekend to meet Englishman Arnold Allen at the sold-out O2 Arena in London.
His decision to move back was met with mixed feedback, with many questioning how the 32-year-old's body will take cutting 5kg extra, given he didn't always look great in the weight class when he first joined the UFC.
This isn't something Hooker has done on a whim. He has had conversations with coaches, dieticians and physicians, while he also did a trial weight cut late last year to see how his body would react. Everything has been considered thoroughly and professionally.
But if anyone still wanted answers as to how Hooker will perform back at featherweight, they'll get them against Allen.
Among the crop of featherweights, there are few more skilled fighters than the 28-year-old from Ipswich. Much like Hooker, Allen is well-rounded; with weapons to end the fight early with his striking or with his grappling, while he has the patience and ability to work his opponent over for three rounds.
Riding an eight-fight win streak since joining the UFC, Allen is the ideal test for Hooker's return to the weight class.
The two will fight in the co-headliner, which will be around 11am on Sunday (provided no fights drop off the card before then).
Last week I wrote about BJ Bland getting the biggest shot of his career with a spot in the Professional Fighters League challenger series this weekend.
This week I was concerned I would be writing about how he wasn't able to travel. After delays with his visa, that was close to being the case.
Bland fights on Saturday, and was still in New Zealand on Wednesday morning waiting on his documentation. Eventually he had to go down to the US Consulate to sort it out. He flew out of Auckland at 10:45pm on Wednesday night, landing in Orlando just two hours before he had to step on the scales and make weight for his fight.
In situations such as this, when a professional needs to fly abroad in order to represent the country and do their job, there should be systems in place to avoid it coming down to the wire like it did in this case.
Regardless, 17 hours of travel time didn't stop him from hitting the 70.3kg lightweight mark. His bout will be broadcast on Sky Sport 8, with coverage starting from 2pm.
Once in a while, we see something pretty scary in combat sports – zombie KOs (unconscious fighter remains upright and kind of just... hangs there) and broken limbs fall under this category.
Last weekend, we had an instance where Irish boxer Michael Conlan was knocked out of the ring in his bid to take the WBA featherweight title from Leigh Wood. By most accounts, Conlan was winning the fight as it headed into the 12th and final round – having knocked Wood down in the first and been the better fighter throughout.
But it only takes one punch or one exchange for things to drastically change and unfortunately for Conlan, that's what happened.
With just under two minutes remaining in the fight, Wood backed Conlan up to the ropes and planted a swift right cross as Conlan appeared to be ducking his head. It landed flush, and Conlan slumped over, before falling backwards and between the ropes. He was transported to hospital and cleared of serious injury, and has already asked for a rematch.
I know these types of instances divide sports fans – combat sports aren't for everyone – but for me, it just serves as a reminder of the bravery and commitment these athletes have every time they enter a bout. Combat sports athletes are cut from a different cloth, and I salute them.
Local show alert! On Saturday night, some of the country's rising talents will duke it out at Eventfinda Stadium on the North Shore in the latest Shuriken Fight Series show. Notable bouts include a professional bantamweight title between Logan Price and Lawrence Lui, and an extreme Muay Thai fight between recent King in the Ring winner Cameron Rowston and King in the Ring semifinalist Connor Woodman.
Further afield, the PFL Challenger Series is on Saturday afternoon, featuring BJ Bland; from 2pm on Sky Sport 8. The UFC, live from London and featuring Dan Hooker, is an early card this weekend due to location. Rather than being at a supremely friendly viewing time as usual, the preliminary card starts at 6am, with the main card from 9am (Hooker v Allen will be up about 11am) on ESPN and Sky Sport Now.
There's plenty of boxing to wrap your eyes around, but I'll highlight a couple. First – the IBF flyweight title is on the line when champion Sunny Edwards (17-0) takes on Muhammad Waseem (12-1). Waseem will have a reach advantage and statistics indicate he is probably the more powerful fighter, but Edwards is a terrific boxer and is yet to be figured out. A win for Waseem would see him become Pakistan's first boxing world champion, but Edwards has proven to be elusive with non-stop movement around the ring.
Second - remember The Mountain from Game of Thrones? Well, the bloke who played him - Hafþór Björnsson - is fighting strongman Eddie Hall in a 12-round bout this weekend at heavyweight – meaning no weight limit. Yes, that is a fight that is happening. The 6'9" Björnsson will tower over Hall (6'3"), and you would have to imagine that both guys hit like trucks. Should be fun.
Gallen and Williams will square off over eight two-minute rounds in Sydney in July.