Category: MMA

UFC 249 canceled amid COVID-19 pandemic

Posted on by Ashley Ferris

UFC head Dana White had some high hopes for the sport even with the United States currently being the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. That included the UFC hosting weekly events on a private island until the pandemic passes.

It was not meant to be. White announced on Thursday that UFC 249, scheduled for next week, has been completely canceled. All future UFC events will also be postponed indefinitely.

To continue reading the full article, click HERE.

Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Vincent Frank | Last updated 4/9/20

Association of Ringside Physicians recommends ‘indefinite suspension’ of combat sports during coronavirus pandemic

Posted on by Ashley Ferris

It appears UFC boss Dana White is prepared to go against the advice of doctors if he plans to host multiple events during the spring and summer months. 

On the same day White announced Tony Ferguson would face Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight championship in the main event of UFC 249 on April 18 in an undisclosed location and told TMZ Sports that he’d secured a private island to host future cards, the Association of Ringside Physicians (ARP) called for the indefinite suspension of all combat sports:

It is our recommendation that all combat sporting events be postponed until further notice. This includes any and all events, regardless of the number of people involved.

Any combat sport taking place during this global pandemic places the athletes, officials, and anyone else involved in the event under unnecessary risk of infection and transmission of Covid-19. In addition, combat sports athletes often require medical attention after a bout, and we do not wish to see any additional strain on an already overwhelmed medical system.

To continue reading the full article, click HERE.

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 4/7/20

Conor McGregor wastes Cowboy Cerrone in 40 seconds at UFC 246

Posted on by Ashley Ferris

Conor McGregor against Cowboy Cerrone turned out to be the mismatch many believed it was.

McGregor destroyed Cerrone in 40 seconds to win via TKO at UFC 246 in Las Vegas on Saturday night. He caught Cerrone with a kick that stunned his opponent and then followed up with a big knee and a few punches that sent Cerrone into the cage. From there, McGregor overwhelmed Cerrone with multiple punches.

Cerrone ended up on the mat, and it was only a matter of time before referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight. Feeling Cerrone could no longer defend himself, Dean stopped the fight after 40 seconds, giving McGregor the win.

The TKO marked McGregor’s first win in the UFC since November 2016. The 31-year-old boxed against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017, lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018, and did not compete at all in 2019. He is now 22-4 in his MMA career and has finished 19 of his wins via a KO or TKO.

The attendance at T-Mobile Arena was over 19,000, and the gate was over $11 million, ranking it as the fourth-largest in UFC history. McGregor took home a Performance of the Night bonus for his effort.

The UFC seems eager to set up a McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal fight at some point in the future.

To continue reading this article, click HERE.

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 1/19/20

Floyd Mayweather says he is officially done with the ‘brutal sport’ of boxing

Posted on by Nick Cermak

The 42-year-old has a 50-0 record

Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather is done with boxing, for real this time. He says the “brutal sport” is behind him, according to Reuters.

Mayweather has retired before, first in 2007 and again in 2015, only to come back and extend his win streak and get paid. This time he claims he is officially hanging up his gloves, which means no rematches against Manny Pacquiao or Canelo Alvarez. 

The 42-year-old has a 50-0 record, and says he is receiving calls about fights but that ultimately, “my health is my wealth.”

Via Reuters:

“Boxing is a very, very brutal sport. In the last few years a lot of fighters have died inside that squared circle. You have got to know when to hang it up. I had a great career.”

This retirement does not mean he will leave the world of boxing completely.

“I’ll still travel and do exhibitions. I make great money doing exhibitions — between $10 and $30 million,” he said, adding in typical Mayweather fashion, “I think I make more doing that than most fighters make fighting.”

He is now focused on his Mayweather + Fitness gym franchise and promotion company Mayweather Promotions. 

Mayweather says he may venture more into MMA to “build his brand,” as he did with his fight against Conor McGregor, but for now believes boxing is king.

“Eventually I will move on to build my brand in MMA but for right now I’m in boxing, and boxing will always be at the top as long as I’m involved,” he said.

As far as his looking back on his career, Mayweather says he is “happy with how everything played out.”

This may be the end of Mayweather the boxer but he will no doubt continue to keep his hands in the sport in one way or another. 

https://www.cbssports.com/boxing/news/floyd-mayweather-says-he-is-officially-done-with-the-brutal-sport-of-boxing/

By: Shanna McCarriston

UFC Uruguay: Liz Carmouche on first fight with Valentina Shevchenko, expectations in title rematch, experience facing Ronda Rousey

Posted on by Nick Cermak

Liz Carmouche gets a rare opportunity on Saturday night when she battles Valentina Shevchenko for Shevchenko’s flyweight title in the main event of UFC Uruguay.

Carmouche (13-6) made MMA history when she was in the UFC’s first ever female fight when she headlined UFC 157 back in February 2013. Early on, Carmouche had Ronda Rousey in a bit of trouble, locking her in a standing rear-naked choke/face crank. But the UFC Hall of Famer escaped and won the thrilling affair late in the first round.

Realizing she was too small to compete at 135 pounds, Carmouche moved down to flyweight at the end of 2017. Moving down proved to be the right decision, as Carmouche has gone 2-1 to earn a crack at Shevchenko.

Days before her second shot at glory, Carmouche sat down with Sporting News to discuss her fight with Shevchenko in September 2010, if she thought she’d ever get to this point and what valuable experiences she took from taking on Rousey.

(Editor’s note: This interview was edited for clarity.)

Sporting News: How much do you remember from the first fight against Shevchenko?

Liz Carmouche: Not much because I was still so green. The biggest thing I took from the fight was that I was actually supposed to fight her sister and that’s who I signed the contract for. The organization was super shady and pulled one over on me when I arrived at the fight. I was able to pull off a win by an upkick and cutting her a bit. The doctor had to stop it because of the excessive blood loss.

SN: Since the fight took place so long ago, were you able to find any highlights to study from?

LC: Not at all. The organization was super shady. The fight wasn’t very well lit as it took place outside in a dark area on a reservation without any cell phone reception. I had friends and family at the fight as I liked having one of them to record my fights so I can have tape and study. I haven’t been able to find anything.

I showed up to the venue and Valentina was on the poster. After talking with the promoter, I was promised to pay her an extra couple hundred bucks and a daily per diem which they didn’t do.

SN: Looking back, did you ever think you’d be at this point in your career coming out of that fight?

LC: Not at all. Are you kidding me? At that point, I was still going to college full-time and dragging around my textbooks every time I had to go away for a fight. I was taking last-minute phone calls for matches, training, and working. I was doing all of that and not even sure if fighting was something that had a future for me. It really didn’t look like women were making a career out of it. So, I certainly didn’t know if that was something I could do. Fast forward to nine years later and where I am at, I could never have anticipated this. Ever.

I had zero interest in going to college. I used my GI Bill to help pay for training. I hated doing group projects or deal with people in the class who aren’t paying attention. That made me go insane. I was looking for any way out. My sanity was fighting. I looked forward to every day because of fighting. I had to keep my grades up or lose my GI Bill because it was paying for everything to help me train.

SN: Do you take anything from the Rousey fight that you could bring into Saturday?

LC: I took a lot from that Ronda fight. What that taught me was one – just how to manage my time. One of the things I had to do was that I was told by the UFC PR team that they need a minimum of two hours every day just to do interviews. I’m like, ‘That’s a lot of talking. Two hours every day. Are you kidding me?’ I figured out with those two hours how to budget my time. At night, I had to work and I was still going to school and doing all this stuff. I learned how to manage my time efficiently.

The other thing I learned is the adversity that I can face under everything I went through with the buildup to that fight. I knew I wanted that fight. I knew I could win that fight. I had no doubts about that in my mind. I wasn’t sure if I had a future in my fight career. Even though I lost that fight, I knew that there was plenty I could take away from the experience. I knew the work ethic I needed to put in to be that much better to learn from the lessons that were taught to me that day and how to take away and learn and grow as a fighter.

What I also took away was that I wasn’t even fighting in the correct weight class. When she rehydrated, she was enormous compared to me. I was still 135 when I walked into the Octagon. I’m genuinely a flyweight. Ronda looked like she was 155. I was thinking, “Oh my goodness, here we go again. I’m at another disadvantage.’

I’ve learned so much and grown from that fight. For me to focus on that fight would be taking a step backward and I’m only going forward.

SN: The fight ends and contemplating went wrong, did you think getting a title shot was possible since the company hadn’t implemented any more weight classes at that time?

LC: After the Ronda fight, I wasn’t sure what the UFC held for me. I think coming out of that fight, I didn’t know if losing that fight meant that I could get cut because I knew the rumors at the time was how easily fighters could get cut from the UFC. I didn’t know what that meant for me and also if I was kept on, how long it would take to get back into title contention. I certainly didn’t think at the time it would be at flyweight. I thought it would have to happen at bantamweight again or possibly have to go up a division.

SN: The consensus among MMA pundits is that Valentina is the second-best female fighter in the world behind Amanda Nunes. How do you view Valentina as a fighter?

LC: As the person standing in the way of my belt because that’s all I see.

Written By Steven Muehlhausen

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mma/news/ufc-uruguay-liz-carmouche-first-fight-with-valentina-shevchenko-what-she-expects-in-the-title-rematch-and-what-she-learned-from-facing-ronda-rousey/13yl4wr2r39am17tly6sgsyv9k

Demetrious Johnson’s next ONE Championship Flyweight Grand Prix opponent confirmed

Posted on by Nick Cermak

On Friday night in Manila, Philippines, Tatsumitsu Wada (21-10-2) defeated Gustavo Balart (8-1) and advanced to the semi-finals of the ONE Championship Flyweight Grand Prix.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of the Japanese mixed martial artist but the decision has proven to be controversial. Balart appeared to be the more effective of the two fighters in all three rounds. He used his patented forward blitz to close the distance and unload fast and powerful punches. He also scored with plenty of well-timed leg kicks throughout the bout. Wada had his moments too, but they were few and far between.

With his unanimous decision win against Balart, Wada has earned a three-round bout with former UFC champion Demetrious Johnson.

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson (28-3-1) recently moved forward to the semi-final round after he submitted Yuya Wakamatsu (10-4) with a brilliant guillotine choke at ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, Japan. Johnson was tested by the 24-year-old at times in the first round and it wasn’t exactly the walkover that many fans had anticipated before the event.

The other ONE Flyweight Grand Prix semi-final bout will see former ONE flyweight champion Kairat Akhmetov go head-to-head with former title challenger Danny Kingad.

The event and dates of these two flyweight bouts are yet to be announced.

Original Article

By: Jake Nichols

UFC 235 Predictions: Cody Garbrandt vs. Pedro Munhoz

Posted on by Nick Cermak

Cody Garbrandt is in the spot that former champions like Jose Aldo and Joanna Jedrzejczyk have also found themselves in, with two losses to the champion and no way to move upwards, but he’s also significantly less proven in the division than those two. Garbrandt’s title win over Dominick Cruz was a brilliant performance, but his path to the champion was somewhat questionable; knockouts over Almeida and Mizugaki allowed him to cut in front of the elite contenders to face Cruz. With Cruz’s constant injury issues, Garbrandt essentially has no relevant wins in the current landscape of the division; Cody has a point to prove going into his fight at UFC 235, and he’ll look to use his bout against Pedro Munhoz as an example of why he rocketed up the division in 2016.

Meanwhile, Pedro Munhoz has been quietly rising the ranks for a while now, with excellent wins over Rob Font and Bryan Caraway. “The Young Punisher” has looked sensational as a grappler and has shown off a vicious kicking game in his last two, losing only once in his last seven fights. Scheduled to be on a PPV main card for the first time in the UFC, Munhoz looks to bring his brand of violence to the former champion, and join the current bantamweight champion as the only fighters to professionally defeat Cody No Love.

No Love

Cody Garbrandt’s game is far deeper than it is broad; Garbrandt really only excels as a pocket boxer, but his ancillary skills do a good job funneling his opponents into the area of the fight where they can’t compete. Undefeated as an amateur boxer and undefeated on his road to the championship, Cody “No Love” became the last hope of Team Alpha Male to defeat a resurgent Dominick Cruz; Garbrandt delivered in sensational fashion, but two losses later, he needs a statement win to keep himself in the mix.

Garbrandt’s game is largely “wait for the other guy to swing, and then punch him until he stops functioning.” For an amateur boxer, Garbrandt’s arsenal is oddly narrow; his shot selection is largely limited to the 2-3 and the 3-2, but it worked until UFC 217 due to tight mechanics and insane speed. Garbrandt’s best-case scenario for a fight looks something like his sub-minute KO of Takeya Mizugaki, in which he was able to force exchanges out of his opponent at will and put him down with the first clean connection.

The Cruz performance wasn’t only surprising in the sense that a prospect off a lower-level win took out one of the most highly regarded bantamweights ever, it was also shocking in the sense that “quick KO artist without proven wrestling” seemed to be the perfect matchup for the elusive champion to shine. Garbrandt’s excellent scrambling allowed him to deny every one of Dominick Cruz’s reactive takedowns, and that left Cruz walking into the pocket without one of his primary threats to pit his loopy blows (better at long range when his opponent chases after him) against a faster and crisper puncher willing to wait on him.

As impressive as that performance was, Garbrandt didn’t really fight against type; standing in the pocket swinging 3-2s and 2-3s worked when Cruz didn’t have the fundamental soundness that Garbrandt did, and that allowed Garbrandt to showboat as Cruz swung his long hooks, counter cleanly, and follow Cruz out with flurries as he retreated. The same thing didn’t work against Dillashaw; TJ was able to hang in the pocket with Garbrandt, and that meant that he was able to feint and draw out the (relatively predictable) attack patterns of “No Love” to outdo him in exchanges. Also concerning was Garbrandt’s underdeveloped kick defense; while Garbrandt is one of the mechanically strongest boxers in the UFC, the narrowness of his game and his lack of adaptability meant that Dillashaw was able to outstrike him regardless.

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UFC 232 post-event facts: Jon Jones, Amanda Nunes sport GOAT-worthy resumes

Posted on by Nick Cermak

The UFC closed out its 2018 schedule on Saturday with UFC 232, which took place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Two new champions were crowned atop the card. Jon Jones (23-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) once again reclaimed UFC light heavyweight gold when he stopped Alexander Gustafsson (18-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) by third-round TKO in their anticipated rematch in the main event, while Amanda Nunes (17-4 MMA, 10-1 UFC) scored a stunning 51-second knockout of Cris Cyborg (20-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) to claim the UFC women’s featherweight championship in the co-headliner.

It was a historic event for the for the company on several levels, and the numbers back it up. For more, check below for 70 post-event facts to come out of UFC 232.

General

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $318,000.

Nunes, Ryan Hall, Alex Volkanovski and Chad Mendes earned $50,000 UFC 232 fight-night bonuses.

Debuting fighters went 0-1 on the card.

UFC 232 drew an announced attendance of 15,862 for a live gate of $2,066,604.

Betting favorites went 8-5 on the card.

Betting favorites improved to 23-15 in UFC headliners this year.

Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 1:54:14.

Main card

Jones’ 11 victories in UFC title fights are tied with Anderson Silva for third most in company history behind Georges St-Pierre (13) and Demetrious Johnson (12).

Jones’ six stoppage victories in UFC title fights are tied with Ronda Rousey for third most in company history behind Silva (nine), Matt Hughes (eight) and Johnson (seven).

Jones’ current 15-fight UFC unbeaten streak in light-heavyweight competition is the longest active streak in the division and longest in the history of the weight class. It’s also the longest UFC unbeaten streak among active fighters.

Jones’ 15-fight unbeaten streak in UFC competition is the second longest in company history behind Anderson Silva (16).

Jones’ 17 victories in UFC light-heavyweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Jones’ 10 stoppage victories in UFC light-heavyweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Jones’ 37 takedowns landed in UFC light-heavyweight competition are fourth most in divisional history behind Corey Anderson (52), Rashad Evans (50) and Ryan Bader (46).

Jones’ total fight time of 4:25:15 in UFC light-heavyweight competition is most in divisional history.

Gustafsson became the seventh fighter in UFC history to go 0-3 in championship fights. Dan Henderson, Chad Mendes, Kenny Florian, Urijah Faber, Pedro Rizzo and Chael Sonnen have also come up short in three title fights.

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By: Mike Bohn

Rizin FF 14 results: Mayweather KOs Tenshin in first, Horiguchi taps Caldwell

Posted on by Nick Cermak

Earlier in the day, Floyd Mayweather called his exhibition boxing bout with Tenshin Nasukawa a “9 minute walk thru.” As it turned out, he needed less than three.

The 41-year-old Mayweather knocked down the 20-year-old Nasukawa three times in the opening round of their contest, which capped off today’s Rizin FF 14 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Mayweather showed little respect for his opponent at the start, miming real punches while waiting to see what Nasukawa could offer. With a smile on his face, Mayweather came forward and landed a pair of body shots that sent Nasukawa to the canvas for an early takedown. Nasukawa crawled back to his feet, struggling to mask the pain he obviously felt. Mayweather went quickly back to the attack and landed a huge right hand that dropped his foe once again. Clearly struggling to gather his wits, Nasukawa got to his feet once again, but a Mayweather left hook sent him flailing to the floor again, and the Japanese kickboxer’s corner was forced to throw in the towel.

In the night’s MMA main event, Kyoji Horiguchi (26-2) continued his incredible run in his native Japan, tapping out Bellator bantamweight champ Darrion Caldwell (13-2) to claim the Rizin FF title and notch his 11th consecutive victory.

The pace was quick to start, and Caldwell was able to close the distance and grab hold of Horiguchi, who nearly slipped through the ropes before he was able to briefly reverse position. Caldwell was unfazed, rotating and grabbing a kimura grip that he torqued even as Horiguchi’s arm did poke through the ropes. Caldwell eventually let go of the hold, and when he tried to capitalize on the Japanese ruleset with a knee to a downed opponent, Horiguchi slipped it and scrambled back to the feet.

Once on the feet, Horiguchi brought the crowd to life with a few impressive striking exchanges, darting in and out of his opponent’s eight-inch reach advantage to land and avoid the replies.

Caldwell was quick on the takedown again in the second, punching his way into the effort. Horiguchi was able to get back to his feet in rapid fashion, but Caldwell delivered a few crisp knees and then continued to control the positioning on the floor. A slippery Horiguchi made it tough for Caldwell to do much damage with strikes, though he did punch whenever possible. Instead, most of Caldwell’s focus was forced to remain on keeping hold of the fan favorite, while Horiguchi did his best to punch as often as possible while he tried to climb to his feet.

Horiguchi was energized to start the third, and he darted in and out of range with massive shots, including a big right to the body that landed clean. Caldwell responded by shooting forward, but as Horiguchi fell to his back, he latched in a guillotine choke and went for the squeeze. It didn’t take long for Caldwell to tap, giving Horiguchi the Rizin FF bantamweight title – and earning him a shot at Caldwell’s Bellator belt sometime in 2019.

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By: MMAjunkie Staff |

 

Quote: Conor McGregor Can’t Train Heart For Khabib Rematch

Posted on by Nick Cermak

Conor McGregor suffered a huge loss in his Octagon return earlier this month (Sat. October 6, 2018). “The Notorious” was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov in the fourth round via neck crank. It marked the second loss of McGregor’s UFC career and the biggest victory of Khabib’s. Since his defeat, the Irishman has remained adamant in his desires for an immediate rematch.

Given the lopsidedness of the contest, it’s hard to make the argument that such a fight makes any sense. UFC lightweight competitor Al Iaquinta, who has shared the Octagon with Khabib, recently commented on the matter during an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani MMA Show.” Iaquinta lost a unanimous decision to Khabib for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 223 in April.

You Can’t Train Heart

He knows what it’s like to deal with the grueling grappling dominance of “The Eagle.” Iaquinta said that McGregor fought well and has a lot a lot of skills. However, he could train for a rematch as much as he wants, but the one thing he can’t train is his heart (via MMA Mania):

“He fought good, definitely has a lot of skills. The rematch is not anything he can fix. You can train to defend takedowns, you can train to get back up, train for a million things. The one thing you can not train is to have heart when shit gets real tough,” Iaquinta said.

“When you feel like you are about to die, to figure out a way to live and not have the ref pull you off and save you. That is not going to get fixed if they fight in six months or a year or three years. That is still going to be there, that is not changing.

“His teammates aren’t going to help him in there and all of that money is not going to buy heart. So he can say whatever he wants, I sell real estate, I am number 11, but at the end of the day, he is definitely not tougher than me.”

By Jon Fuentes

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