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UFC 227: TJ Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt 2 - Main card preview

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I’ve been accused of being a UFC hater for how often I’ve criticized them in the past. Fair enough, as I do believe they’ve screwed up more than they’ve gotten right in the recent past given their resources. However, I’ll admit they tried to make UFC 227 worthwhile, but were unable to due to circumstances beyond their control. For instance, a contest between Alexander Gustafsson and Volkan Oezdemir would have been awesome. Derek Brunson and Antonio Carlos Junior wouldn’t have been at that level, but it wouldn’t have been bad either. There were even talks of Zabit Magomedsharipov and Yair Rodriguez throwing down too. None of those is happening on this card. In fact, outside of the two title fights, the only other fight worthy of being on a PPV main card is a featherweight clash between Cub Swanson and Renato Moicano. At least we have that…. The main card begins at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT on Saturday. Cub Swanson (25-9) vs. Renato Moicano (12-1-1), Featherweight Wait… haven’t we been ...
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UFC fighter rankings: Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier up at lightweight

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The UFC on Fox show in Calgary maybe didn’t provide the action people were hoping four outside of the two top fights, but there were a lot of interesting bouts that had an effect on the rankings of multiple divisions. Dustin Poirier’s emphatic finish of Eddie Alvarez puts him right below the Khabib/Conor/Ferguson trio, all but guaranteeing he should be fighting one of them next. The results also produced a new contender in the women’s flyweight division, and saw another lady crack the women’s strawweight top ten. Without further ado, here are the changes for this week. P4P - Lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov moves up one spot to eight, bumping former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic down to nine. Heavyweight - No changes. Light Heavyweight - Sam Alvey cracks the rankings at number 15. Middleweight - No changes. Welterweight - No changes. Lightweight - McGregor is the number one contender again for some reason, despite not fighting in forever. That drops Tony Ferguson one ...
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Cris Cyborg: It’s not fair to have me sidelined because Amanda Nunes ‘wants to go out on vacation’

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Over the past few months, there have been loud talks of a possible fight between Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes. And if it were up to “The Lioness”, the fight will take place in December to give more time to build it up. Cyborg, however, is not pleased with this timeline, as she hopes to get to compete more than once in 2018, and considering that Nunes may be her last fight in the UFC . “If you watch her interviews, it’s like she’s going out on vacation,” Cyborg told MMA Fighting . “My job is fighting. I want to fight. I don’t want to stay out for almost a year in my prime. I think it’s disrespectful. … Dana (White) took Colby Covington ’s belt. He won that belt two months ago and was stripped because Tyron Woodley wants to fight and he’s injured.” “How about me, who wants to fight? She challenged me six months ago and still needs six months? She said she’s going to travel with her girlfriend. No problem with that, but I’m ready to fight. A champion must be ready at all times. I wan...
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UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt 2 - Fight Pass prelims preview

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Youth is the name of the game for the Fight Pass portion of UFC 227. Marlon Vera is the most experienced member – in terms of fights in the UFC with 8 – and he’s just 25. In terms of age, Kyung Ho Kang is the oldest member on this portion of the card at 30. That isn’t exactly young, but he hasn’t seen his best days yet. Expect to see these guys moving up the pecking order of the card in the near future… except the flyweights. They’re permanently banned from the main card. The Fight Pass prelims begin at 6:15 PM ET/3:15 PM PT on Saturday. Alex Perez (20-4) vs. Jose Torres (8-0), Flyweight Perez and Torres are two of the more promising prospects in a division that is awaiting a fresh crop of challengers to make their way to the top. Perez made his way into the organization through the Contender Series last year and has impressed in his two subsequent fights officially in the UFC. Though he doesn’t appear to have any measurable standout physical characteristics, Perez has begun t...
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Shlemenko against Kremlin policy to raise retirement age in Russia

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On the opening day of the 2018 World Cup, Russia’s State Duma (lower legislative house) approved a bill that would raise the retirement age in Russia from 60 to 65 years for men and from 55 to 63 years for women. The bill, which was buried amidst a euphoric month of World Cup celebrations, has since led to a wave of demonstrations across 30 Russian cities . Rallies were held in Moscow, where protestors waved banners and signs questioning the government’s decision. The ruling United Russia party has also seen its approval ratings drop to levels reminiscent of the anti-Kremlin protests in 2011 . At the time, protestors rallied against Russian president Vladimir Putin’s third term as president. Among those who disapprove of the Kremlin’s latest policy shift is MMA fighter Alexander Shlemenko , who spoke out against the State Duma’s pension plan. “I do not support [the bill]. I think this is a bad initiative,” said Shlemenko. “Such a reform will cause discontent among the citizens of...
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Bethe Correia pulled from UFC 227, Irene Aldana won’t get replacement

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The first issues have struck UFC 227 . Just a few days before the card, it appears that the California State Athletic Commission has decided to pull women’s bantamweight fighter Bethe Correia from her fight with Irene Aldana . The reason? Something to do with her eye. MMA Brasil’s Matheus Costa on Twitter posted the news, with original credit to AG Fight: Bethe Correia is out of UFC 227. The CSAC has detected a problem in her left eye and made she pull out of the card. Aldana will be also removed from the card. First reported by @AgFight . https://t.co/zuXwscaBhm — Matheus Costa (@MatheusCostaMMA) July 31, 2018 The UFC has now also confirmed that the bout will not be taking place. Correia (10-3-1, 4-3-1 UFC) has just one win in her last five fights and was taking her first bout in over a year. Aldana (8-4, 1-2 UFC) picked up her first UFC win back in January when she defeated Talita Bernardo by decision. The bout had been scheduled for the televised Fox Sports 1 prelims, so...
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Bethe Correia pulled from UFC 227, Irene Aldana won’t get replacement

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The first issues have struck UFC 227 . Just a few days before the card, it appears that the California State Athletic Commission has decided to pull women’s bantamweight fighter Bethe Correia from her fight with Irene Aldana . The reason? Something to do with her eye. MMA Brasil’s Matheus Costa on Twitter posted the news, with original credit to AG Fight: Bethe Correia is out of UFC 227. The CSAC has detected a problem in her left eye and made she pull out of the card. Aldana will be also removed from the card. First reported by @AgFight . https://t.co/zuXwscaBhm — Matheus Costa (@MatheusCostaMMA) July 31, 2018 The UFC has now also confirmed that the bout will not be taking place. Correia (10-3-1, 4-3-1 UFC) has just one win in her last five fights and was taking her first bout in over a year. Aldana (8-4, 1-2 UFC) picked up her first UFC win back in January when she defeated Talita Bernardo by decision. The bout had been scheduled for the televised Fox Sports 1 prelims, so...
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