Category: MMA

Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes set for UFC 200

Source: SB Nation Bloody Elbow

Contrary to what UFC president Dana White said last month, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate will not be making her first title defense against Ronda Rousey. In an announcement made on Wednesday’s episode of UFC Tonight, Tate will fight Brazil’s Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 at the newly opened T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The promotion’s big pay-per-view is set for Saturday, July 9th.

Tate (18-5) won the women’s bantamweight title with a dramatic 5th round rear-naked choke of Holly Holm in the UFC 196 co-main event. “Cupcake” was behind 38-37 on the scorecards, and while she nearly choked Holm out in (a 10-8) round 2, she successfully handed Holm her first defeat with just 90 seconds left in the fight. The 29-year-old started her UFC career 0-2, which included a 2nd loss to Ronda Rousey, but has since won 5 straight en route to becoming champion. Earlier this week, Tate signed a new contract with the UFC, which is quite the tale considering she was contemplating retirement over losing her initial title shot to Holm last year.

Nunes (12-4) is 5-1 inside the Octagon, with her only loss in the UFC is by 3rd round TKO to Cat Zingano. She opened the UFC 196 main card with a unanimous decision win over Valentina Shevchenko, although she faded badly in the 3rd round and had to hang on for the victory. Four of her UFC wins have come by stoppage, including an impressive 1st round submission win over former title challenger, Sara McMann, last August.

UFC 200 is headlined by a welterweight rematch between featherweight champion Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, which was the UFC 196 main event over Holm vs. Tate. Also on the card is an interim featherweight title between former champ Jose Aldo and ex-lightweight champ Frankie Edgar, in a rematch of a fight won by Aldo at UFC 156 back in 2013.

 

UFC Announces Ultimate Fighter Season For Championship Title Shot

Source: WrestlingINC

The UFC has officially announced season 24 of their reality show The Ultimate Fighter. This time, the company is pulling out some stops in order to regain some of the audience the show has lost.

Per a press released issued to us Tuesday, the show will hold a 16-man flyweight tournament in order to determine a number one contender for the 125-pound championship. The winner will get a title shot on the finale in December.

This format isn’t unheard of, as Matt Serra won season four on his way to earning a championship fight. Serra would go on to score one of the biggest upsets in MMA history by defeating Georges St-Pierre for the championship.

Season 20 was actually contested for a championship, with Carla Esparza becoming the first ever UFC Strawweight Champion in 2014.

Demetrious “Mighty” Mouse Johnson is the UFC’s dominant Flyweight Champion, and seems to be running out of contenders. He faces Olympian Henry Cejudo later this month at UFC 197, but has expressed his desire to break Anderson Silva’s consecutive title defense record of 10. Johnson is currently sitting at 7.

Tryouts will take place on April 25 in Las Vegas at Palace Station, with the season set for filming in June, and the broadcast premiere on August 31 on Fox Sports 1.

Daniel Cormier Injured, Out Of Title Defense Against Jon Jones At UFC 197

Source: WrestlingINC

The planned Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones UFC Light Heavyweight Title rematch won’t be happening — at least at UFC 197.

The current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Cormier has withdrawn from the planned fight against the former champion, as reported by BJPenn.com. No replacement has been announced yet, although Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson has been training in case of an injury.

Jon Jones Gets Five Tickets From Police Officer And Goes Off (Video), Jones And UFC Make Statement

Source: WrestlingINC

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones had yet another run-in with the police last week, and it wasn’t pretty.

Jones was ticketed for drag racing, and was pretty outspoken to the police officer who issued the ticket, who also didn’t shy away. The policeman claimed that Jones took off at a high rate of speed off from a stop in his Cadillac.

In the video, Jones can be heard going off on the cop, calling him a “pig,” and a “f–king liar,” before saying ‘you’re despicable.” The police officer later replied and said he felt the same way about Jones. Jones was given five tickets in total.

Jon Jones issued a statement maintaining his innocence, but says he regrets the terminology he used.

“I was not drag racing nor was I speeding. I did not get a speeding ticket. I was driving within the speed limit of the 35mph zone.”

“I feel that police used a technicality to ticket me for drag racing, for simply revving my engine and acknowledging some of my local fans. I regrettably said words to the police officer out of frustration, for which I apologize for, but I do feel this was excessive.”

The UFC also issued a statement, saying “We are aware of the situation and are looking into the matter. We’ve also been in touch with Jon’s team regarding the matter.”

Jones was also cited for a traffic violation last month.

Cris Cyborg Joins The UFC, Set To Compete At UFC 198

Source: WrestlingINC

It’s official. Invicta FC Featherweight Champion and former Strikeforce Featherweight Champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino has joined the UFC.

The news was mentioned as a possibility a few weeks ago on UFC Tonight, as the company wanted to stack the UFC 198 card in Brazil. She’ll be on the show, taking on Leslie Smith (8-6-1) in a catchweight of 140 pounds.

A former Flyweight, Smith has competed at 135 pounds in the UFC, and is perhaps best known for her ear exploding during a fight with Jessica Eye in 2014.

The UFC released the following statement:

One of the most feared fighters in the world is finally making her way to the Octagon, as Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino faces Leslie Smith at UFC 198 on May 14.The bout, which takes place at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil, will be held at a catchweight of 140 pounds.

A native of Curitiba, the 30-year-old Justino (15-1, 1 NC) is unbeaten for over 10 years, and with 13 of her 15 pro wins coming by knockout, it’s not surprising that she has soared to the top of every organization she has competed in. Owner of victories over Gina Carano, Marloes Coenen (twice), and Shayna Baszler, the former Strikeforce champion has compiled a 5-0 record with five knockouts as a member of the Invicta FC roster.

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UFC 198 is indeed a loaded show, as Fabricio Werdum defends his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic. Also on the show are Anderson Silva, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Antonio Rogerio Noguiera and Vitor Belfort

Will Ronda Rousey Be At WrestleMania 32?

Is it possible that Ronda Rousey along with her 4 Horsewomen of MMA friends be at WrestleMania 32?

As noted earlier, 4 Horsewomen of MMA member Shayna Baszler will be appearing at the Shimmer 80 event on Saturday, April 2nd in Dallas, Texas the night before WrestleMania 32. And usually where we see Shayna we see other 4 Horsewomen of MMA member Jessamyn Duke and sometimes 4 Horsewomen of MMA member Marina Shafir. As we all know the 4 Horsewomen of MMA was at WrestleMania last year and we all know what happened with Rousey & The Rock and Triple H & Stephanie McMahon.

With The Rock set to appear at WrestleMania 32 in Dallas and with him teasing a Mania shocker, and the fact that Stephanie has been training, and Rousey’s plans being pushed back and with Baszler in Dallas during WrestleMania week with the possibility of Duke & Shafir also being in town, sparks speculation that Rousey just may show up at WrestleMania 32 for another Mania moment with The Rock involving Stephanie McMahon.

The idea of Rousey finally being able to get her hands on Stephanie a year later at WrestleMania is awesome, but we will just have to wait and hope that he happens.

Thanks to fellow Wrestling News Blog writer Vanessa with provided me with information for this post.

Shayna Baszler to appear on shimmer 

 Shayna Baszler’s journey to conquer the world of professional wrestling continues as she heads to the all women wrestling promotion known as Shimmer.

In a tweet sent out earlier today which you can see here:

Baszler Said:

 And the entire @SHIMMERwomen roster just got put on notice.

Baszler made her professional wrestling in ring debut in September and since then has took on the likes of Nicole Matthews, cheerleader Mellisa and has wrestled for promotions such as Stardom USA, ECCW, quintessential pro, Midwest all Pro and even made an appearance in ROH


It’ll be interesting to see what the Queen of Spades has in store for Shimmer. We’re sure whatever it is though it’s going to be good.

MMA finally becomes legal in New York 

  As of Tuesday evening the state of New York has become the 50th state to make mixed martial arts events legal. 

The final vote between New York lawmakers was 113 to 25. Now the bill heads to the desk of Governor Andrew Cuomo, who included MMA revenue in an executive budget proposal earlier this year and is widely expected it sign it into the law 

Bill NoA02604 “establishes protocols for combative sports; authorizes mixed martial arts events in this state; establishes procedures for applications for licenses; establishes penalties for violations; imposes taxes on gross receipts of such events.”

This is great news for fighters and fans alike. The possibilities are now endless and we’re sure to be getting some history making moments in the future 

The good, the bad and the ugly of being a fight fan: from the prospective of a fan turned friend 

If you’ve been following this site for the past 3 years you know that I’m the resident MMA fan in the crew. It was my accidental stumble into the fight world that allowed us to cover the sport of MMA on our site. Through interviews, social networking and some really crazy shit I found myself falling in love with MMA, even more so then professional wrestling. However if you would’ve asked me if I thought I’d be where I am now a few years ago I would’ve smiled and said “I wish”

This past weekend was InvictaFC16 and thanks to some really cool people I was there in Vegas as it went down live. This marked my second invicta event this year (and there’s many more where that came from) It was a fantastic card with every fight delivering.

For me personally there were lots of happy tears and lots of sad tears. Watching fights live is something I can’t really explain, you get so wrapped into it and you almost feel like you’re the one in the cage. That feeling intensifies when it’s your friend locked in there and in my case that happened twice.

First up was The Happy Warrior Roxanne Modaferri. Prior to the fight I had communicated with her via Twitter and Facebook. She was kind enough to be interviewed by me a few years ago but other than that we didn’t know much about each other outside of social media. That is until this past week of course. I met her for the first time the morning of weigh ins. She embraced me like she knew me for years

A few hours pass and before you know it is was time for the fighters to weigh in. As always Roxy had something awesome up her sleeve. She dressed up as Melina from Mortal Kombat and our friends accompanied her to the stage. It was the moment that stole the show and I was thrilled to be able to say “those guys are my friends”


The fill good moments of the weigh ins didn’t stop for me there though because up next on the scales where Jessamyn Duke and Irene Aldana. Again if you’ve been following this site you know the history with Jessamyn and myself goes deep. It’s been on my bucket list for quite sometime to see her fight live. I made a promise to myself that if I ever got that chance I would make her a sign and well I made  good on that promise.

 The sign reads “You’re my hero Jessamyn Duke” words that carry so much weight. I screamed loud and she looked right over at me and pointed. Later in the week I would find out how much that sign really meant to her and it’s a moment I’ll always be proud to have been a part of.

Friday night was fight night and from the moment I woke up my stomach was in knots. Two of my friends would be going to war that day and all I wanted was the best outcome. Roxanne’s fight was 5th on the card. Seeing her make her way to the cage as Deanna Bennett was staring her down did things to my heart that I didn’t think possible. Roxy ended up getting the split decision win against Benett and as expected my friends and I were overjoyed. She came out and hugged us all and even say in the crowd with us to enjoy the rest of the fights.

I couldn’t let my overwhelming sense of happiness distract me from the next fight though because it was time for Aldana and Duke to go to battle

 I watched on like my life depended on it. It’s a tough pill to swallow but Irene Aldana came out of the exchange victorious as she put Jessamyn Duke away with a TKO victory in the first round. I instantly felt the hot tears run down my face as my friend candy and Aldana’s family celebrated only a few inches from me. My heart broke for Jess and I felt like I too had lost.

The great thing about the fight world though is that as much as it hurts you know you can’t win them all. You know that it’s just another day in the life. You know that your fighter will bounce back. I got to see Jess right after her fight and we had a moment where we both cried. She buried her face in my shoulder. I told her she’d be back, she replied with an “I know” followed by “I’m so happy to have you in my coroner”.


That’s when it hit me…… I love this sport. I love the cheers, the tears, the violence, the sportsmanship, I love it all. I don’t know exactly how or why I got into this sport but I do know it’s where I am now and as long as I have a friend to cheer for I’m not going anywhere.

It’s the first time the my heart experienced pure joy and pure heartache all in the span of 30 mins. This sport will step on your heart more times than you count but it’ll also leave you with a sence of happiness and pride you’ll never be able to shake.

 Invicta16 is an experience I’ll never forget. Not only did it enforce my motto of Loyalty is everything but it also reminded me that life is filled with good and bad moments and those moments shape you into the person you are. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m 100% completely in love with the world of MMA. I’ve gained so many amazing friends and although we may not always agree we know that the fight world created a bond that can never be broken.

It’s one invicta in the books and another one is just around the corner. On May 7th the promotion returns to California as Tonya Evinger will defend her Bantamweight title against Colleen Schneider. A fight that will have me torn. Both Evinger and Schneider have been nothing but kind to me.

I had breakfast with Evinger for 3 straight days while in Vegas. I’ve seen Schneider train and have connected with her because of Shayna and Jessamyn. I already told myself that I’m simply just watching this fight. No matter the outcome one friend wins while the other looses. It’s going to be s bitter sweet moment but one that I’m prepared to face because I love these moments


 If I could give any advice to a fight fan I’ll say this. It won’t always go the way you want it to. Your favorites will fight your favorites and in my case friends will fight friends, but don’t let that discourage you. Live it up. Cheer who you want to cheer. Boo who you want to boo, but know that every man or woman who steps in that cage is human too. One with real feelings and a life to live. They do it because the love what they do. Just like we love what we do! Love the sport, be a smart fan and remember Loyalty is everything.

WWE Announcer Signs On To Host MMA Show For AXS TV

WWE SmackDown announcer Mauro Ranallo has signed on to be host of a MMA show on AXS TV:

AXS TV released the following:

RENOWNED COMBAT SPORTS PERSONALITY MAURO RANALLO JOINS AXS TV AS NEW HOST OF ‘INSIDE MMA’ BEGINNING MARCH 25

LOS ANGELES – March 9, 2016 – AXS TV FIGHTS today announced renowned combat sports personality and broadcaster Mauro Ranallo will be the new host of INSIDE MMA, the longest running and only independent MMA news series on television, beginning Friday, March 25. A veteran broadcaster with over 30 years’ experience, Ranallo will bring his energetic broadcasting style and opinionated views on the world of combat sports to INSIDE MMA alongside UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten and correspondent Ron Kruck Friday nights at 9:30 p.m. PT/12:30 a.m. ET following AXS TV FIGHTS’ weekly live MMA and Muay Thai broadcasts.

Ranallo is best known for his play-by-play commentary for prestigious organizations such as Pride Fighting Championships, which he called alongside his new co-host Rutten for several years; Showtime Boxing, where he recently called the international feed of the historic Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight; and Strikeforce, which was home to MMA superstars like Ronda Rousey, Daniel Cormier and Luke Rockhold. In 2015, Ranallo helped AXS TV launch its hit pro wrestling series NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING calling matches alongside former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett, before signing with WWE as the new voice of Smackdown.

“Mauro Ranallo’s contributions to the success of New Japan Pro Wrestling on AXS TV were undeniable and we are confident he will take INSIDE MMA to new heights,” said AXS TV FIGHTS CEO Andrew Simon. “The opportunity to pair the ‘dream team’ together of Mauro and Bas Rutten is exciting and I can’t wait to see what happens when these two super-charged personalities are reunited on March 25.”

“AXS TV would like to thank longtime host Kenny Rice for his dedication to growing INSIDE MMA since our launch in 2007,” Simon continued, “and we plan to continue a relationship with him as a special correspondent.”

Said Ranallo, “In a year in which I landed a dream job with WWE, my dream to once again cover MMA and work with my broadcasting brother Bas Rutten has also come true. Filling the shoes of consummate pro Kenny Rice won’t be easy but I can’t wait to return to AXS TV for some strong style MMA coverage!”

“I am super stoked to work with Mauro again,” said Rutten. “We had such a great time in Japan for Pride Fighting Championships, so get ready for the craziness! Kenny Rice and I have become great friends over the years, so I am happy that, despite his busy schedule, he will still be involved with INSIDE MMA.”

Said Rice, “I am excited to step into the new role as a special correspondent, continuing to bring the exclusive access to our viewers that has been synonymous with Inside MMA over the past ten seasons. It’s a true team at Inside MMA and I welcome longtime friend Mauro Ranallo to it.”