Tag: UFC

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

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:

Huge UFC Fight Is Reportedly Off

Source: WrestlingINC

What was set to be a huge, historic fight next week is now off the books for the time being, as Rafael Dos Anjos has pulled out of his UFC 196 title fight against Conor McGregor.

Kings MMA has confirmed that Dos Anjos broke his foot during a Friday sparring session. Dos Anjos kicked and connected with his sparring partner’s knee, effectively ending his participation in UFC 196.

This is the second straight year McGregor has had a championship opponent withdraw from a fight, as Jose Aldo pulled out of their planned UFC 189 bout last July. Aldo would face McGregor at UFC 194, where he was knocked out.

Former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, as well as highly ranked lightweight Tony Ferguson have volunteered to take on McGregor to fill in for the main event fight. It’s unlikely the company would institute an interim title fight, as RDA defended the championship three months ago.

UFC 196 still has a championship fight at the top of the card, with Holly Holm defending against Miesha Tate.

Kevin Randleman, Former UFC Champion & MMA Pioneer, Dead At 44

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin Randleman died of heart failure at age 44. Randleman was also a 2-time NCAA National Champion at Ohio St. in the early 1990’s.

Source: MMA Mania

In Oct. 1996, a 24-year old former Ohio State University (OSU) standout wrestler, Kevin Randleman, entered a one-night tournament in Brazil.

Randleman defeated Luiz Macial, Geza Kalman and future Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pride FC competitor, Dan Bobish, to win the tournament. Eight months later, “The Monster” would make his UFC debut, picking up a big win over former champion, Maurice Smith, to avenge his training partner and mentor, Mark Coleman. Randleman would lose in the finals of that tournament two months later to Bas Ruten in one of the more controversial decisions of the early mixed martial arts (MMA) era, but avenge Coleman once again by defeating Pete Williams to win UFC’s Heavyweight Championship.

That was the crowning achievement of Randleman’s career, but he would not be without other highlights. His most notable one was an astonishing knockout of kickboxer-turned-MMA practitioner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic with one of the biggest left hooks you’ll ever see. He nearly defeated Fedor Emelianenko in his very next fight, but “Last Emperor” was unbreakable back then, and Randleman’s astonishing highlight-reel suplex of the great Russian, which normally would send wheelchair salesmen into heart palpitations, was merely shrugged off and turned into a kimura one minute later.

It remains a defining moment for both men:

Sadly, word from nearly all segments of the Internet, specifically Sherdog.com, are that Randleman has passed away at age 44, leaving behind his wife and four children.

Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter is reporting that Randleman went to a local hospital with pneumonia and suffered from heart failure while undergoing treatment. A relative of his also made numerous Facebook posts in apparent outside confirmation.

CM Punk’s Opponent Responds To Fight Delay, Update On Punk’s Status

Source: WrestlingINC

News broke Wednesday of former WWE Champion CM Punk’s long-awaited UFC debut being delayed due to back surgery. Punk’s scheduled opponent, Mickey Gall, took to Twitter to comment on the injury

“Guys. It’s all good. The fight is still on. Minor surgery. I wish @CMPunk a healthy & speedy recovery. I want you at 100%, check that, #200,” Gall said, indicating that he wanted Punk at July’s UFC 200.

As it turns out, Punk’s surgery is a minor one, and as we’re being told, will likely only sideline Punk for 4-6 weeks. This would give him over three months to prepare for a fight at UFC 200.

CM Punk’s UFC debut delayed once again 

The former professional wrestler turned mixed martial artist can’t seem to catch a break.

CM Punk made the announcement in late 2014 that he would be debuting in the Octogan in 2015 but due to legal issues and a shoulder injury that wasn’t the case.

Last week Mickey Gall defeated Mike Jackson to earn his right to face Punk. The bout was slated to take place at UFC199 but now Punk is telling MMAfighting.com that is not the case.

Apparently the straight edge Chicago native with an (0-0) MMA record has been dealing with some nagging back pains and as per usual found himself working through them. Upon further investigation it appears that Punk has a herniated disk that will require back surgery, pushing his UFC debut back even further.

Injuries are never fun so we here at WNB would like to wish Punk a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

CM Punk’s first UFC opponent has been named 

In late 2014 former WWE superstar CM Punk announced that he would be transitioning from pro wrestling to MMA. The straight edge Chicago native hoped to debut in 2015 but due to legal issues and even an injury his debut kept getting pushed back.

Punk who has an (0-0) record in MMA received tons of mixed reactions when he made the announcement. Some fans were excited while others felt he didn’t deserve a spot on the UFC roster.

Whether you love or hate Punk it’s no secret that the fans have been waiting to find out who his first opponent would be and tonight at UFC Vegas we got our answer. His name is Mickey Gall.

Gall won the fight over Mike Jackson in quick fashion, dropping Jackson with a punch before following him to the ground and locking on a rear naked choke submission. CM Punk was at cageside watching the fight.

Gall was discovered on UFC President Dana White’s Looking For A Fight reality program, where he scouts talent from throughout the country. Highly touted prospect Sage Northcutt was also recruited on the show. After winning a regional bout, Gall told Dana White that he wanted to challenge CM Punk. An impressed White gave Gall the shot.

As for Gall he is now (2-0) in his MMA career and looks to square off against punk later this year.

Sorce: Wrestlinginc.com