Category: MMA

Tito Ortiz And Chuck Liddell Agree To Fight

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Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz will meet for a third time, years removed from their first two bouts that helped set the groundwork for the UFC. According to a report by ESPN, the former champions will fight under Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy promotions banner on pay-per-view.

“I’m proud to announce we’ve signed a deal for the fight between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz,” De La Hoya said. “This will be huge for sports fans around the world. Ortiz and Liddell are two of the most recognized fighters in MMA history. They are legends in the sport. Everyone remembers their rivalry helped put the sport on the map, and we’re excited to host the next and final chapter of this historic rivalry.”

The first meeting took place in 2004, with Liddell scoring a finish. “The Iceman” also won the rematch, defending his light heavyweight title at UFC 66 with a third round knockout.

Source: WrestlingINC

UFC Announces Ronda Rousey Will Be The Next Inductee In The UFC Hall Of Fame On July 5

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During UFC 225 PPV in Chicago, it was announced that former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on July 5 airing live on UFC Fight Pass.

The announcement took place after CM Punk’s second loss to Mike Jackson at UFC 225.

You can check out the video announcement below courtesy of UFC.

 

CM Punk Not Completely Closing Door On Pro Wrestling Return, Reveals His UFC 225 Entrance Song

CM Punk spoke to MMAFighting.com ahead of UFC 225 this Saturday in Chicago. Punk, who will be facing fellow 0-1 fighter Mike Jackson on the main card of the event, admitted that he’s not sure what the crowd response for him will be, although he doesn’t expect it to be like his past WWE matches in the city. He also revealed that he will come out to the fight to Living Colour’s Cult Of Personality, which he used during his WWE and ROH runs.

Punk also talked about “All In” in September and noted that he will not be a part of the event, saying that “it’s not happening.” Punk also noted that he wasn’t directly asked to be a part of the event, or any pro wrestling show.

“Nobody has ever asked me, like straight up asked me, to come wrestle for them. Nobody.” Punk added, “[People have said] hey, if you ever wanna do anything… Nobody’s ever been like, ‘hey, here’s the deal, we’re having a show, we’re paying you X amount and you’re working this guy. Whaddaya say, yes or no?’ Nobody’s ever done that.”

Punk also stated that he doesn’t think that he would accept a real offer to return to pro wrestling, although he wasn’t completely closing the door on it.

“I don’t think so, it’s a hard question to answer, a lot’s happened this week,” Punk said. “I could definitely tell you if you asked me that question a week ago when I still felt like I had a foot in the grave, the answer [would have been] no, I don’t want anything to do with it. I feel like I’m out and the future is yet to be written, it’s a wide open book, it’s my story to tell. I’m just being real, I’m not going to sit here and be like, ‘No! No!’ Something might come up, some fun might be had.

“Right now my heart and my mind and my focus is 100% on Saturday and fighting. So does that mean fighting beyond Saturday? To me that means yes.”

Punk also discussed fighting in the UFC again, how this fight is different from his UFC debut, not knowing if he will fight again after Saturday and more. You can watch the whole interview at this link. We will have live round-by-round coverage of UFC 225 this Saturday, followed by a special Saturday night edition of the Wrestling Inc. podcast with Matt Morgan, Chris Featherstone and myself discussing Punk’s UFC return, NJPW Dominion and more.

Source: WrestlingINC

UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington 5/12/18

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MAY 12, 2018 JEUNESSE ARENA, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

 UFC FIGHT PASS EARLY PRELIMS 6:15PM/3:15PM ETPT, FX PRELIMS 8PM/5PM ETPT, PPV MAIN CARD 10PM/7PM ETPT

MAIN CARD

  • Amanda Nunes vs. Raquel Pennington (BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT)
  • Ronaldo Souza vs. Kelvin Gastelum
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Cooper
  • John Lineker vs. Brian Kelleher
  • Vitor Belfort vs. Lyoto Machida

UNDERCARD

  • Cezar Ferreira vs. Karl Roberson
  • Alexey Oleynik vs. Junior Albini
  • Davi Ramos vs. Nick Hein
  • Elizeu Zaleski vs. Sean Strickland
  • Warlley Alves vs. Sultan Aliev
  • Thales Leites vs. Jack Hermansson
  • Alberto Mina vs. Ramazan Emeev
  • Markus Perez vs. James Bochnovic

UFC Finalizes Multi-Year Deal With ESPN

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The UFC and Disney’s new Direct-To-Consumer & International segment along with ESPN, have reached a multi-year media rights agreement for exclusive live UFC content on ESPN+, as well as across a variety of ESPN’s television, social and digital platforms, in English and Spanish, taking effect in January 2019.

“One of our goals for ESPN+ is to bring sports fans of all genres content they love and are passionate about, and this agreement with UFC is illustrative of exactly that, ” said Kevin Mayer, Chairman, Direct to Consumer and International, The Walt Disney Company. “We look forward to providing UFC’s enthusiastic, growing fan base with a wide array of live events and building a lasting relationship with the industry leader in mixed martial arts.”

“UFC is a premier global sports property with legions of incredibly avid fans,” added Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN President and Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks. ” We are excited to be able to bring their world-class events and content to ESPN+ and the ESPN networks. This agreement shows the commitment we have to delivering fans the very best across our entire platform.”

While no deal with FOX has been announced, Variety reported in April that ESPN and FOX Sports were teaming up to bid for the UFC television package that would bring as many as 15+ fights to ESPN+. UFC’s current deal with FOX Sports expires in December. This deal provides for 15 live UFC events to stream exclusively on ESPN+ with a full card with 12 fights. The events will be branded “UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night” and will deliver a full card of 12 UFC bouts.

“I couldn’t be more excited to partner with The Walt Disney Company and ESPN on an agreement that will continue to grow our sport,” said UFC President Dana White. “UFC has always done deals with the right partners at the right time and this one is no exception. We will now have the ability to deliver fights to our young fan base wherever they are and whenever they want it. This deal is a home run for ESPN and UFC.”

Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) by downloading the ESPN App at ESPNPlus.com. In addition to the live UFC cards, other UFC content available to ESPN+ subscribers will include:

  • Exclusive, all new-seasons of “Dana White’s Contender Series” beginning in June 2019
  • A new original, all-access series produced by IMG Original Content
  • Exclusive pre- and post-event shows for all 15 “UFC on ESPN+ Fight Nights”
  • Non-exclusive access to UFC’s full archive of programming, including historic events, classic bouts, and original programming
  • Additional UFC-branded content, including “UFC Countdown” shows, press conferences, weigh-ins, and pre-and post-shows

In addition to the live events and content included in the ESPN+ subscription, fight fans will be able to purchase and watch UFC Fight Pass and UFC PPV events via ESPN+, for a separate cost. ESPN will also bring fans a variety of UFC content across ESPN’s linear and digital platforms, including an exclusive, 30-minute special on ESPN’s linear networks previewing upcoming bouts and breaking down match ups leading up to each UFC PPV; hundreds of hours of UFC library programming on linear networks; and re-airs of current UFC PPV events.

Source: WrestlingINC

FOX May Partner With ESPN For UFC Television Rights Bid

Over the past several months, there have been discussions of WWE potentially ending their relationship with USA in order to commence a partnership with FOX. WWE’s deal with NBC Universal expires on September 30, 2019, and CFO George Barrios said that the company hopes to announce their U.S. distribution plans between May and September of this year. In late 2017, Triple H had a meeting with executives of FOX Sports to potentially rekindle a partnership. WWE worked with the company in the past, airing a couple of episodes of Saturday Night’s Main Event, as well as a WrestleMania 11 special in 1995.

To make the bidding war more competitive, Variety reports that ESPN has partnered up with rival FOX Sports to bid for television rights for UFC. The two companies have recently proposed to split the UFC TV package, which would bring as many as 15 fight events to the new subscription streaming service, ESPN+. As a company, ESPN has agreed that it would be willing to pay $120-180 million per year to add UFC to the collection of live-event rights. In addition, FOX is willing to increase their contribution from $120 million to $200 million.

The effort in ESPN partnering with FOX aims to turn around the decline in UFC interest, as ratings dropped 22% in average total viewers from last year, falling to just under 2 million. The UFC Fight Night specials on FS1 also fell 17%, averaging 795,000 viewers.

In 2011, FOX signed a seven-year deal with UFC, which expires this year. A partnership with ESPN would keep the relationship with FOX and UFC alive, particularly since FOX is in the transition of selling the bulk of its entertainment divisions to Disney. In addition, this partnership would be a stronger presentation in the potential bidding war with WWE. The $200 million dollar bid from FOX to secure the UFC TV rights is far lower than the asking price of Endeavor, UFC’s parent company.

Source: WrestlingINC

Max Holloway out of UFC 223 main event against Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC 223 is having a rough week.

Featherweight champion Max Holloway has been pulled from Saturday’s main event fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov after being deemed medically unfit to compete. MMA Fighting confirmed the news Friday morning during UFC 223’s official weigh-ins following an initial report by ESPN.

MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported that commission doctors put a halt to Holloway’s weight cut in fear of his safety, however Holloway wished to continue. At the time of the decision, Holloway wanted to “keep pushing” and was “close,” a member of Holloway’s team told Helwani.

The loss of Holloway vs. Nurmagomedov marks the fourth fight to be scratched from UFC 223 over a 24-hour span, adding to the trio of fights lost on Thursday because of Conor McGregor’s attack on a fighter bus.

Holloway, 26, accepted the bout against Nurmagomedov on Sunday after an injury to Tony Ferguson derailed UFC 223’s main event six days out from fight night. Holloway’s nutritionist George Lockhart told MMA Fighting that Holloway’s impromptu weight cut was expected to be “tied for the largest weight cut” Lockhart had ever managed.

With Holloway out, the UFC is currently attempting to put together a replacement main event between Nurmagomedov and former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.

Pettis’ original UFC 223 fight against Michael Chiesa was cancelled on Thursday after Chiesa was injured in McGregor’s bus attack. Pettis has yet to weigh-in.

Update: Holloway tweeted out this statement Friday morning.

Source: MMAFighting

Conor McGregor Charged With Assault & Criminal mischief Following Backstage Melee At UFC 223 Media Day

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UFC Fighter Conor McGregor crashed the UFC 223 Media Day at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY with a group of people. McGregor was seen on video throwing a hand dolly through a window of a bus carrying UFC fighters.

UFC fighters Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg was injured. Chiesa had facial lacerations and Borg experienced problems with his eye from particles of glass.

McGregor turned himself into the New York Police Department. McGregor was charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of criminal mischief.

MMA fighter Cian Cowley, who was part of McGregor’s group has been charged with assaualt and criminal mischief.

UFC fighter Artom Lobov, who was with McGregor, has been pulled from Saturday’s UFC 223 card.

Three fights had to be cancelled due to the incident – Michael Chiesa vs. Anthony Pettis, Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno and Artom Lobov vs.  Alex Caceres.

UFC president Dana White calls McGregor’s behavior “the most disgusting thing that has happened” in UFC history. White also said that it was a “bad career move” for McGregor.

Max Holloway, Khabib Nurmagomedov Will Fight For Conor McGregor’s Belt, McGregor To Be Stripped Of UFC Lightweight Title, McGregor Responds

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Dana White said Wednesday that the UFC will be stripping Conor McGregor of the lightweight title.

As expected, McGregor isn’t going to go accept that without a fight.

“The Notorious” tweeted an ornery — and vulgar — response to White’s words early Thursday morning.

“You’s’ll strip me of nothing you’s do nothing c*nts,” McGregor wrote.

Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight Max Holloway in what the promotion is calling a UFC lightweight title fight in the main event of UFC 223 on Saturday in Brooklyn. The issue is that McGregor is still technically the lightweight champion and has been since November 2016. White has said that McGregor will cease to be champ as soon as the first punch is thrown this weekend at Barclays Center.

McGregor has not fought in the UFC since beating Eddie Alvarez for the belt at UFC 205. He had a blockbuster boxing match with Floyd Mayweather last year, but there are currently no firm plans for an Octagon return.

On Wednesday, White did say that McGregor would “100 percent” be back in the UFC this year.

Whether or not he’ll be holding a belt seems to be very much open for debate.

UFC 223 Fight Card:

MAIN CARD

  • Max Holloway vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov TITLE FIGHT
  • Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
  • Renato Moicano vs. Calvin Kattar
  • Anthony Pettis vs. Michael Chiesa
  • Al Iaquinta vs. Paul Felder

UNDERCARD

  • Joe Lauzon vs. Chris Gruetzemacher
  • Devin Clark vs. Mike Rodriguez
  • Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Felice Herrig
  • Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno
  • Bec Rawlings vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith
  • Artem Lobov vs. Alex Caceres
  • Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Kyle Bochniak
  • Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Evan Dunham

Source: MMAFighting

 

Dana White Says Brock Lesnar Will Be Returning To UFC

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Brock Lesnar is returning to UFC … at least according to Dana White.

White was a guest this evening on UFC Tonight and when asked if Lesnar would be returning said, “Yeah, Brock Lesnar’s coming back. I don’t know when, but yes he is.”

As we reported back in July, Brock made it clear to WWE officials that he did not plan to sign a new contract and would be leaving the company when his contract expires after WrestleMania 34.

It’s unclear if they’ve since come to a new agreement that would allow him to do both, but MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reports that a new UFC deal is already in place and Dana is confident that Lesnar’s WWE duties will be wrapped up soon.

Brock has not competed in UFC since 2016 when he fought Mark Hunt. After the bout, Brock failed a pair of drug tests and the decision was reversed to a no-contest. He was fined $250,000 and suspended for a year, but subsequently announced his retirement (which froze the suspension).

Watch the announcement below.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet