Category: UFC

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The current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Cormier has withdrawn from the planned fight against the former champion, as reported by BJPenn.com.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 

Paige VanZant Joins Cast Of ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 22

Source: Fox Sports

UFC strawweight Paige VanZant has joined the cast of “Dancing with the Stars” season 22, with the show set to debut on March 21 on ABC.

VanZant joins another all-star cast of celebrities and sports stars on the show this season including Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, “Fuller House” star Jodie Sweetin, Football legend Doug Flutie and Super Bowl champion Von Miller.

The 21-year-old joins Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture as UFC fighters who have appeared on the show, but she is the first ever to join the series as an active competitor.

VanZant last fought in December, when she lost by rear naked choke to Rose Namajunas at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.

Prior to that loss, VanZant had won her first three fights in the UFC as she climbed into the top 10 rankings at 115 pounds.

“Dancing with the Stars” will kick off in March with the show running all the way through May for the celebrities who make it all the way through the elimination-style competition.

Before she was a fighter, VanZant was actively involved in dance and cheerleading so this seems like a natural fit for the Team Alpha Male fighter.

VanZant is expected to compete on the show while still training for her return to the Octagon later this year. While nothing has been booked, VanZant has targeted UFC 200 for her next fight but she’ll look to knock out a “Dancing with the Stars” championship first.

UFC 196: McGregor VS Diaz: 3/5/16

UFC 196: McGregor VS Diaz – Holm VS Tate

March 5, 2016 – MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada

MAIN CARD (PPV, 10 PM EST)
Conor McGregor (Featherweight Champion) VS Nate Diaz (#5)

UFC WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Holly Holm (c) VS Miesha Tate (#2)

Gian Villante (#13) VS Ilir Latifi (#14)

Corey Anderson (#13) VS “Filthy” Tom Lawlor

Amanda Nunes (#4) VS Valentina Shevchenko (#11)

PRELIMS (FS1, 8 PM EST)
Brandon Thatch VS Siyar Bahadurzara

Erick Silva VS Nordine Taleb

Vitor Miranda VS Marcelo Guimaraes

Darren Elkins (#11) VS Chas Skelly

EARLY PRELIMS (UFC FIGHT PASS, 6:30 PM EST)

Diego Sanchez VS Jim Miller

Justin Salas VS Jason Saggo

Julian Erosa VS Teruto Ishihara

 

 

Conor McGregor Moving Up 2 Classes To Fight Fill-In Nate Diaz

Source: ESPN

With a lightweight championship fight off the table, Conor McGregor has opted to move up two weight classes and now will meet Nate Diaz in a non-title welterweight fight at UFC 196 on March 5.

UFC president Dana White broke the news on SportsCenter. The fight, which will be contested at 170 pounds, will headline the UFC 196 pay-per-view event scheduled to take place at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The current 145-pound champion, McGregor (19-2) was originally scheduled to challenge defending 155-pound champion Rafael dos Anjos (25-7) on March 5, but that bout fell through when dos Anjos officially withdrew with a broken foot. He is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks.

Here is the UFC 196: McGregor VS Diaz press conference highlights video: