Category: MMA

UFC Strips Jon Jones Of Title, Reinstates Daniel Cormier As Light Heavyweight Champion

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The UFC reinstated Daniel Cormier as its light heavyweight champion Wednesday night, in the wake of Jon Jones’ failed drug test prior to UFC 214 in July.

The announcement was made shortly after the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) officially changed the result of Jones’ third-round TKO victory over Cormier on July 29 to a no-contest.

In an appearance on UFC Tonight, Cormier (19-1) suggested he didn’t want the title back at first, but ultimately was going to fight for the belt either way and accepted reinstatement for financial reasons.

“I talked to [CSAC] and was like, ‘I lost. I lost the fight,'” Cormier said. “As a competitor, that’s how I felt. [UFC president] Dana White called me today and said, ‘If it’s a no-contest, then the fight didn’t happen.’

“Now, people will say stuff like, ‘You got handed the belt.’ He cheated. The reality is, for me to say, ‘I don’t want this title,’ when I was going to be [fighting] in a championship anyway, financially it’s just a big difference if I don’t fight as the champion as opposed to fighting for a vacant title.”

Jones (22-1) tested positive for metabolites of Turinabol, an anabolic steroid. He has denied knowingly taking any banned substances.

CSAC waited to change the result of the July 29 title fight until results of Jones’ “B” sample confirmed the failed drug test. The commission received those results Tuesday.

This is the second failed drug test of Jones’ career. He served a one-year suspension after testing positive for two anti-estrogenic substances in July 2016. Jones stated those substances were the result of a contaminated sexual enhancement pill.

Widely considered the greatest fighter of all time, Jones is facing a maximum four-year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for his second failed test. He has the right to appeal any suspension.

“He has to fight this. This is a death sentence,” Cormier said. “If this does what it says it can be, it’s a death sentence.”

The UFC has not yet announced a date for Cormier’s next title defense.

Information from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was used in this report.

Source: ESPN.com

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UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2 Fight Card 9/9/17

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Event: UFC 215: “Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2”
Date: Sat., Sept. 9, 2017
Location: Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Broadcast: Pay-Per-View (PPV), FOX Sports 1, UFC Fight Pass

UFC 215 PPV Main Event:

125 lbs.: UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg — CANCELED DUE TO ILLNESS — FULL STORY HERE

UFC 215 PPV Main Event:

135 lbs.: UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko

UFC 215 PPV Main Card (10 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Neil Magny
125 lbs.: Henry Cejudo vs. Wilson Reis
205 lbs.: Ilir Latifi vs. Tyson Pedro
145 lbs.: Gilbert Melendez vs. Jeremy Stephens

UFC 215 Prelims On FOX Sports 1 (8 p.m. ET):

135 las.: Sara McMann vs. Ketlen Vieira
135 lbs.: Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Sarah Moras
145 lbs.: Rick Glenn vs. Gavin Tucker
155 lbs.: Alex White vs. Mitch Clarke

UFC 215 Prelims On UFC Fight Pass (6 p.m. ET):

265 lbs.: Arjan Bhullar vs. Luis Henrique
155 lbs.: Kajan Johnson vs. Adriano Martins

UFC 215 Main Event For This Saturday Called Off

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Demetrious Johnson will not be defending the UFC flyweight championship against Ray Borg at UFC 215 this Saturday, MMAFighting.com has confirmed.

Borg had to withdrawal from the UFC 215 main event due to illness. The show, which is tomorrow night from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, will now be headlined by Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship.

“It wasn’t weight related,” Borg’s nutritionist Dr. Michelle Ingels of Perfecting Athletes told MMAFighting.com . “Ray has been getting progressively more sick each day this week and still wanted to fight so badly that he put on a game face and went to all of his fight week obligations.

“However, prior to beginning the bulk of his weight cut the UFC doctor examined Borg and concluded that he was too ill to fight this week and needed time to rest and get better.”

As of Thursday, Borg told MMAFighting.com he had eight more pounds to cut before Friday morning’s weigh-in. The plan is to re-book the flyweight title fight as soon as possible.

While Johnson has yet to comment, his coach, Matt Hume, stated the following on Facebook:

“We are beyond disappointed that we won’t be able to accomplish the goal this Saturday, but the end result is inevitable,” Hume wrote. “We will refocus and show the world the greatest Mixed Martial Artist that ever existed. To be continued…”

Source: WrestlingINC

Ronda Rousey Wedding Photos

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Ronda Rousey posted photos from her wedding this past weekend in Hawaii to UFC Heavyweight Travis Browne, which you can check out below:

 

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor Fight Card 8/26/17

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DATE: August 26, 2017
LOCATION: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada

CARD

MAIN CARD (PPV)Light Middleweight (154 lbs.): Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor

Super Featherweight (130 lbs.): Gervonta Davis vs. Francisco Fonseca

Light Heavyweight (175 lbs.): Nathan Cleverly vs. Badou Jack

Cruiserweight (200 lbs.): Andrew Tabiti vs. Steve Cunningham

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX)

Welterweight (147 lbs.): Thomas Dulorme vs. Yordenis Ugas

Welterweight (147 lbs.): Juan Heraldez vs. Jose Miguel Borrego

Super Middleweight (168 lbs.): Kevin Newman vs. Antonio Hernandez

Super Middleweight (168 lbs.): Savannah Marshall vs. Sydney LeBlanc

Daniel Cormier On Jon Jones Failing Drug Test

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Daniel Cormier issued the following statement to MMAFighting.com following the news of Jon Jones failing a post UFC 214 USADA drug test:

“It’s hard to find words to describe how I’m feeling right now,” Cormier said. “I’m disappointed to hear the news. It’s very emotional.”We as athletes are entitled to due process, and I will refrain from saying much more until I know exactly what happened.

“In my mind, on July 29, I competed and I lost. I thought Jon Jones was the better man that day. I don’t know what to think anymore. I can’t believe we are going through all of this again. We will see what happens next.

“Thank you to all my fans who have supported me during this dark time. I love you all very much.”

Jon Jones Failed Post UFC 214 Drug Test

Dana White indicated in Las Vegas on Tuesday after the news broke that Jon Jones failed an in-competition drug test in conjunction with his fight against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 last month that there were big plans for the UFC light heavyweight championship. According to White (via MMAJunkie), they were talking about a heavyweight clash between Jones and UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. The tentative date for such a bout would have likely taken place at UFC 218 in Detroit, MI. Obviously if Jones’ failed drug test holds up, all of those plans are off.

– The USADA issued a statement to MMAFighting.com regarding the situation with Jon Jones, urging to let due process play out. Jones’ failed drug test was from a sample collected on July 28, 2017 after the UFC 214 weigh-ins. Jones previously passed out-of-competition drug tests leading into the fight, with tests on July 6 and July 7 by the USADA coming back negative. There were reports on social media he passed a fight-night drug test on July 29 but neither the USADA nor the California State Athletic Commission would confirm that to MMAFighting. The testing body would also not confirm TMZ’s report that Jones tested positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol.

Source: WrestlingINC

Heated Backstage Altercation Between American Top Team’s Dan Lambert and Jeff Jarrett (Video)

Image result for Heated Backstage Altercation Between American Top Team's Dan Lambert and Jeff Jarrett | #LastWord

Heated words between Jeff Jarrett and Dan Lambert of American Top Team almost incites an all out brawl backstage at Destination X. James Storm also got involved in the altercation.

Update on Possible Ronda Rousey/WWE Plans

It was previously reported that Ronda Rousey is reportedly interested in a WWE run, and that she was referred to Brian Kendrick for training. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter confirms the initial reports and that she has been working with Kendrick. With Shayna Baszler participating in the Mae Young Classic, Jessamyn Duke also training and Marina Shafir being introduced on NXT as Roderick Strong’s girlfriend, it looks like they will do a Horsewoman vs. Horsewoman feud. But the end game will be to get a singles match out of Rousey at WrestleMania. The original idea was always Rousey vs. Stephanie McMahon in a singles match after the 2015 angle at WrestleMania in Santa Clara.

Source: 411Mania

Jon Jones On Possibly Appearing At WWE SummerSlam

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones tweeted that appearing ringside at WWE’s upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view has crossed his mind.

The comments came after a follower on Twitter asked the newly-crowned UFC titleholder if he planned on showing up ringside at the event in Brooklyn, New York.

“It’s crossed my mind,” Jones tweeted.

Jones defeated Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 last month in Anaheim, CA and immediately called out former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. Lesnar immediately commented on Jones’s challenge:

“Be careful what you wish for, young man,” Lesnar replied to The Associated Press.

Brock will face Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman in a Fatal Four-Way Match for the WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam in less than two weeks. He remains under contract with WWE through April 2018.

A super-fight pitting Jon Jones against Lesnar is something the UFC reportedly wants to do, however, it’s not without its obstacles. Lesnar has to finish out serving a one-year suspension after failing two drug tests in connection with his fight against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 last year. When Lesnar retired from MMA, his suspension was frozen. He must be back in the testing pool for a full four months before he’s able to fight. Last time he fought he was granted a testing exemption, which resulted in two failed drug tests, a suspension and a civil lawsuit filed by his opponent.

UFC President Dana White said shortly after Jones called out Lesnar that a fight between the two happening anytime soon was not a reality.

“It’s fun to talk about, but the reality of it happening anytime soon, it’s not a reality,” White said.

Source: WrestlingINC