Tag: WMMA

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.

It’s official: Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha to coach TUF23 

  
The Ultimate Fighter Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia will kick-off on FS1 on Wednesday, April 20 with a two-hour season premiere airing at 10 p.m. ET as 32 competitors fight for one of 16 slots – eight in each weight class – available to be coached by two of the sport’s best. The season will continue with 11 one-hour shows Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET. The series is the highest rated and most watched original program since the network’s inception in August 2013.

Poland’s first UFC champion, Jedrzejczyk (11-0, fighting out of Olsztyn, Poland) stormed onto the scene in 2014 with her first Octagon appearance. Since then, she’s gone on to win five straight, won the strawweight title, cemented her place on the top pound-for-pound list and is widely considered as one of the best strikers in the sport. She’ll now lend her expertise to the next generation of athletes who hope to follow in her footsteps and one day wear UFC gold themselves. 

Gadelha (13-1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) trains at the renowned Nova Uniao gym, home to former champions Jose Aldo & Renan Barao. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist hopes to get another crack at current strawweight champion, Jedrzejczyk, who provided Gadelha with the only blemish on her record – a three-round split decision loss in late 2014. Their contrasting styles should provide for an entertaining season between the two teams. The Brazilian’s comfort zone is on the canvas and will provide a stark contrast to the Pole’s highly skilled striking attack brings a completely different skillset to the show. 

The series culminates on live on FS1 Friday, July 8 in Las Vegas as part of International Fight Week and will be headlined by Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha in a championship

Source: UFC.com

UFC 195: Lawler VS Condit 1/2/16

UFC 195: Lawler VS Condit Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Main Card PPV 10PM ET

Welterweight Title Fight: (C) Robbie Lawler VS #4 Carlos Condit

Miocic VS Arlovski

Larkin VS Tumenov

Brandao VS Ortega

Trujillo VS Sims

 

FS1 Prelims 8PM ET

McDonald VS Kanehara

Noke VS Morono

Kish VS Ansaroff

Holtzman VS Dober

 

UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims 6:30PM ET

Poirier VS Duffy

Soto VS Tanaka

Westcott VS Garcia

For more information on the event visit http://www.ufc.com

Claudia Gadelha next in line for strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk 

 During last nights post fight press conference for  UFC Fight night 80 president Dana White confirmed that Claudia Gadelha would be the next Challanger for undefeated Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

With the Strawweight division just one year young this fight has been an anticipated rematch amongst  the majority of fight fans.

In their first fight back in December of last year many believed that Gadelha won the fight while others believed it was a draw. Further more Gadelha’s only career loss was at the hands of Jedrzejczyk.

The rematch was originally set for UFC193 but due to a thumb injury Gadelha was unable to complete and was replaced by Valerie Letourneau. 

It would now seem Gadelha is cleared and ready to go but Jedrzejczyk is on a 6 month medical suspension after suffering a hand injury in her last title defense.

There is no exact timeline as to when this fight will take place but we here at WNB would put our money on UFC 200 during international fight week in July. Another title shot pegged for that monumental event is the rematch between Bantamweight champ Holly Holm and Ronda Rousey, so it’s possible that two women’s bouts could be headlining the card once more.

One things for sure whenever Gadelha vs Jedrzejczyk happens it’ll be one for the ages.

UFC 194: Aldo VS McGregor 12/12/15

UFC 194 – Sat. Dec. 12, 2015 – Las Vegas, Nevada

Main Card PPV – 10 PM ET

Featherweight Title Fight: (C) Jose Aldo VS (IC) #1 Conor McGregor

Middleweight Title Fight: (C) Chris Weidman VS #1 Luke Rockhold

Middleweight: #2 Ronaldo Souza VS #3 Yoel Romero

Welterweight: #6 Demian Maia VS #12 Gunnar Nelson

Featherweight: #5 Max Holloway VS #8 Jeremy Stephens

 

FS1 Prelims – 8 PM ET

Bantamweight: #4 Urijah Faber VS #13 Frankie Saenz

Women’s Strawweight: #5 Tecia Torres VS Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger

Warlley Alves VS Colby Covington

Lightweight: Santos VS Lee

 

UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims – 6:30 PM ET

Proctor VS Mustafaev

Makdessi VS Medeiros

McGee VS Alexandre

 

Ronda Rousey breaks her silence 

  Yesterday on ESPN.com an interview with former battemweight champion Ronda Rousey was released. The interview was conducted by Romana Shelburne and it will also be available  in the latest issue of ESPN Magazine on newsstands today.

This is the fist public interview since Rousey’s devistating TKO lost against Holy Holm at UFC193 and luckily we’ve got the answers we’ve been waiting for.

Is Rousey done? No. Rousey said “I have to come back I have to beat this chick: I don’t know if I’m going to get my teeth knocked loose or break my jaw or split my lip open again I don’t care I have to fu****** do it” 

But how long will it be before we see   The Rowdy one back in the cage? That remains unknown but she went on record saying “it’ll probably take 3-6 months before I can eat an apple again let alone take contact” in the interview the former champion also admitted to being “really fu***** sad about the loss. She stated that early into the first round Holm landed a hammer fist that left her loopy and she never fully recovered. Rousey said after the round was over she didn’t even wait for her corner to give her the bucket and she just spat the blood on the floor.

She continued by saying “that fight was a really poor representation of myself, I feel really embarrassed I wasn’t even Fu***** there” when asked about the backlash she’s been receiving she said she hasn’t even turned on her phone but could guess that “people are saying I’m a failure and I got what I deserved” 

So what’s next for Ronda Rousey? Here is what she had to say: “I guess it’s all going to be determined by what happens in the rematch,” “Everything is going to be determined by that. Either I’ll win and keep going or I won’t and I’ll be done with everything.”

You can check out the full interview here  http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/espnwrousey/in-exclusive-interview-ronda-rousey-says-not-losing-holly-holm

 so there you have it folks. This interview cleared up a lot of things but also left things hanging in the balance. I guess one fact remains: only time will tell 

Dana White confirms Ronda Rousey will get immediate rematch against Holy Holm

 UFC president Dana White stopped by the ESPN morning radio show mike and mike today where he confirmed Ronda Rousey will indeed get a rematch against Bantamweight champion  Holly Holm.

At UFC193 Holm handed Rousey her first career loss in a devastating KO victory in the 2nd round improving her career record to (10-0)

Dana white said, him and CEO Lorenzo Ferritia would probably lose their promoters license if they didn’t make this rematch. He also went on to say that before this loss Rousey (12-1) went undefeated beating opponents in 14 or 30 seconds so the rematch is what makes sence.

As far as when this fight will actually take place is unknown. Rousey is on a 6 month medical suspension and has prior movie commitments before she can step in the octagon again.

Some fight fans are upset about this news because they believe it’s unfair to Holly to have to sit on the sidelines, some even believe it’s holding up the rest of the division. While all that may be true at the end of the day the UFC is a business and Holm vs Rousey 2 is a good business move. There is no doubt it’s an anticipated rematch, and whether you’re  Team Holm or Team Rousey you’ll be turning into watch.

The Ultimate Fighter season 23 details

 According to Fox sports news new details have been released regarding the 23rd season of the Ultimate Fighter.

They’re will be 3 weight classes involved in the upcoming season. The weight classes include Women’s Bantamweight (135),  Women’s Strawweight (115) and Men’s Light Heavyweight (205)

Filming of season 23 will begin in January and last throughout April. There is no word yet on who will be coaching this season.

According to the UFC casting call, fighters must be between 21 and 34 years of age with a winning professional record and a minimum of at least three fights. Full details for the tryouts listed below:

Where:Red Rock Casino 11011 W. Charleston Blvd.Las Vegas, Nevada 89135

When:Monday, December 14, 2015

As always the new season will debut on Fox sports 1

UFC Strawweight champion Joanna  Jedrzejczyk sustains hand injury 

  Following her victory over Valerie Letourneau, UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk said she thought she broke her hand during the fight at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia. She was right.

Jedrzejczyk’s manager, Tiago Okamura, verified the champ’s broken hand to MMAfighting.com on Sunday, adding that she would once again need to undergo surgery.

This would be the champs 2nd injury this year. Jedrzejczyk broke her thumb in her first title defense against Jessica Penne this past July.

There was no specific timeline given for Jedrzejczyk’s recovery, but she returned from the broken thumb to defend her belt against Letourneau in less than five months. So, hopefully, she won’t be sidelined for long. We would like to wish the champ a speedy recovery.

GFW’s Lei’D Tapa To Make Her MMA Debut On New Year’s Eve

Global Force Wrestling’s Lei’D Tapa appeared Friday night at Bellator 145 and it was announced that she will make her MMA debut at the Rizin Fighting Federation event on New Year’s Eve.

GFW posted the following on their website:

“Queen of Rings” Lei’D Tapa to make her MMA debut on New Year’s Eve

As announced during Friday night’s Bellator 145 broadcast on Spike TV, “Queen of Rings” Lei’D Tapa will be making her professional MMA debut at the Rizin Fighting Federation New Year’s Eve event. She will face Gabi Garcia and the event will air live on Spike TV.

Rizin Fighting Federation’s debut show will take place during the Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix 2015. Tapa will be on a card headlined by MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. the event will take place in Saitama Super Arena, the former home of Pride Fighting Championships.

The Queen of Rings has been dominant in the rings of Global Force Wrestling and now she is looking to become a dominant force in the world of MMA.