Tag: MMA

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

 

CM Punk Confirms Second MMA Fight Set For UFC 225

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UFC fighter/former WWE star CM Punk has confirmed he’ll be stepping into the octagon once again for a fight set to take place in Chicago.

Punk made the announcement while responding to a rude person on Twitter who asked, “So when are we gonna see you cry again in the Octagon?”

“June nine, after I win and lock eyes with my beautiful wife, embrace my coaches and shout out my entire team,” the ex-wrestler replied.

For those unaware, UFC 225 will take place at the United Center in Chicago.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya 3/3/18

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MAIN CARD

  • Cris Cyborg vs. Yana Kunitskaya WOMEN’S FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
  • Frankie Edgar vs. Brian Ortega
  • Sean O’Malley vs. Andre Soukhamthath
  • Stefan Struve vs. Andrei Arlovski
  • Cat Zingano vs. Ketlen Vieira

UNDERCARD

FS1 Prelims:

  • Hector Lombard vs. C.B. Dollaway
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Ashley Yoder
  • John Dodson vs. Pedro Munhoz
  • Beneil Dariush vs. Alexander Hernandez

UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims:

  • Bryan Caraway vs. Cody Stamann
  • Jordan Johnson vs. Adam Milstead
  • Mike Pyle vs. Zak Ottow

CM Punk Reportedly In Talks To Face Another Winless Fighter At UFC 225 In Chicago

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After competing in his first UFC fight on September 10, 2016, UFC is reportedly in discussions to have CM Punk return after a nearly two-year hiatus. According to MMA Fighting, UFC is planning on returning to Chicago for UFC 225 and have native CM Punk (0-1) fight Mike Jackson (0-1).

UFC announced on February 3rd that they will be returning to Chicago for UFC 225. Just moments later, Punk teased interest in competing on the card.

CM Punk made the decision to quit WWE, and subsequently wrestling altogether, after being involved in a feud with corporate Kane during the time of the 2014 Royal Rumble. Punk was the first entrant, and lasted over 49 minutes before being eliminated by Kane. Despite being scheduled to appear on RAW the following night, Punk never showed up, and decided to leave the company. Punk then set his sights on MMA and locked in a bout with Mickey Gall at UFC 203. Unfortunately, Punk tapped out via a rear naked choke 2:14 in the first round.

Following this fight, Dana White felt that he maybe should not have his next fight in the UFC.

“He probably shouldn’t have his next fight in the UFC,” the UFC President told Fight Network’s John Pollock. “Just like I said with Brock, having your first fight in the UFC is tough and you [saw] tonight, even if it’s against a guy who is 2-0. This is a tough place to learn.”

Now, White looks to be willing to give Punk another chance inside the Octagon.

“I like that guy. He’s a good dude,” White told the Associated Press in January. “He wants to give it another shot. I’m going to give it to him. He’s a completely different case than most normal human beings. So, I’m going to give him another shot.”

CM Punk and Mike Jackson share two glaring similarities. Along with both being 0-1 in the UFC, both lost to Mickey Gall in 2016 via rear naked choke in the first round. While Punk lasted over two minutes against Gall, Jackson submitted in only 45 seconds to a rear-naked choke.

Source: WrestlingINC

Jack Swagger Signs With Bellator MMA, Announces He’ll Fight Heavyweight In 2018 (Video)

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Former WWE star Jack Swagger is getting into the MMA world. He announced he’ll be fighting for Bellator in 2018 as a heavyweight.

Swagger made the announcement yesterday on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani and said he’s excited because stepping into the cage for mixed martial arts is something he’s always wanted to do.

“We have been working and talking with them [Bellator] through the summer, we started negotiations and whatnot, and it literally got finalized this weekend,” Jack explained.

The wrestler says he’s been MMA/boxing training for eight months and is under contract for six fights. A specific date for the first fight hasn’t been set, but we’ll keep you updated once it’s made official.

Check out the interview below:

UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre 11/4/17 Fight Card

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UFC 217
Bisping vs. St-Pierre
Date: November 4, 2017
Venue: Madison Square Garden
Location: New York, N.Y.

 

UFC 217 Fight Card

Main Card (Pay-Per-View at 10p ET / 7p PT)

  • UFC middleweight championship: Michael Bisping (c) (30-7) vs. Georges St-Pierre (25-2)
  • UFC bantamweight championship: Cody Garbrandt (c) (11-0) vs. TJ Dillashaw (15-3)
  • UFC strawweight championship: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (c) (14-0) vs. Rose Namajunas (7-3)
  • Stephen Thompson (13-2-1) vs. Jorge Masvidal (32-12)
  • Johny Hendricks (18-7) vs. Paulo Henrique Borrachinha (10-0)

Prelims ( FS1 at 8p ET / 5p PT)

  • James Vick (11-1) vs. Joseph Duffy (17-2)
  • Walt Harris (10-6) vs. Mark Godbeer (12-3)
  • Corey Anderson (10-3) vs. Ovince Saint Preux (21-10)
  • Randy Brown (9-2) vs. Mickey Gall (4-0)

Prelims (UFC Fight Pass at 6:30p ET / 3:30p PT)

  • Michał Oleksiejczuk (12-2) vs. Ion Cutelaba (13-3, 1NC)
  • Aleksei Oleinik (52-10-1) vs. Curtis Blaydes (7-1, 1NC)
  • Aiemann Zahabi (7-0) vs. Ricardo Ramos (10-1)

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