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Showing posts from July, 2018

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

Karate Combat: Olympus full event video replay

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Karate Combat hosted their sophomore ‘Olympus’ event this past Saturday from Athens, Greece. The full-contact karate league’s second show went down at the historic Zappeion Courtyard, where the first modern day Olympics were held back in 1896. In a show of respect, the card opened up with a moment of silence for those affected by the tragic fires that have plagued the city of Greece. The top of the billing witnessed England’s Jerome Brown taking a first round TKO due to an unfortunate leg injury to France’s Davy Dona. Brown worked his leg attacks early in the fight with Dona looking to throw his hands. When Dona did decide to throw a kick, he connected on the shin of Brown, and instantly showed signs of an injury. The bout was called off shortly after. In the co-main event, Morocco’s Achraf Ouchen overcame early adversity to score a knockout of Ecuadorian karateka Franklin Mina. Mina started strong, dropping Ouchen with a laser-like right cross, before landing several more right

UFC on FOX 30: Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier 2 - Fights to make

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The UFC made good on a long standing promise to return to Calgary with a great fight card to make up for UFC 149. It may have taken 6 years to do it, but when they put together a card like UFC on FOX 30: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2, it was almost worth the wait. While no titles were on the line, three former champions looked to state their case to stay in contention among their respective divisions. And they did it against three well seasoned veterans who were all hunting for their first chances at UFC gold. So, who made the cut? Who has a coveted title shot within reach? And who fell back into the ever-churning sea of rising talent? To answer all these questions – and more – I’ll be using the classic Silva/Shelby fight booking model of years past. That means pitting winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured talent against one another. If you’d like to take your own swing and fantasy matchmaking glory, leave a comment below starting with, “ Keep the belt, I wil

Report: Ketlen Vieira vs. Tonya Evinger targeted for UFC Fight Night: Sao Paulo

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A pair of top women’s bantamweights will make an appearance at UFC Fight Night: Sao Paulo, as the undefeated Ketlen Vieira is slated to take on former Invicta FC champion Tonya Evinger. According to a report by Nolan King of MMA Today , a fight between Vieira and Evinger is being targeted for the event that takes place on September 22nd, though an official announcement has not yet been made by the UFC. Vieira (10-0) has found herself ranked at the number two slot at 135-pounds after just four fights in the UFC. “Fenomeno” most recently picked up a split decision win against former title challenger Cat Zingano, before that she defeated Sara McMann by second round submission. Evinger (19-6, 1NC) has only fought once in the UFC, losing to Cris Cyborg by third round stoppage back at UFC 214 in July 2017. Before her loss to Cyborg, Evinger hadn’t lost a fight in six years. The 37-year-old was supposed to fight Marion Reneau at UFC Austin in February, but an injury forced her out the fig

MMA event preview - RIZIN FF 11: Horiguchi rematches Ogikubo, Gomi takes on Guillard

Diggin’ Deep on UFC on FOX 30: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2 - FOX main card preview

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It feels awkward talking about Joanna Jedrzejczyk without her being involved in a title fight. Her last fight without a belt on the line was all the way back in 2014. Typically, a fighter doesn’t regain their title after a long reign, Jose Aldo being the only exception that comes to mind. But do we really believe Jedrzejczyk is done as an elite fighter? As of next month, she’ll be 31, hardly an age that indicates she’s left her best days in the past. Her road back to the title starts against Tecia Torres at UFC on FOX 30. The main card begins on FOX at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on Saturday. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-2) vs. Tecia Torres (10-2), Women’s Strawweight It’s hard to believe it’s been over a year since Jedrzejczyk successfully defended her title against Jessica Andrade . The woman formerly known as Joanna Champion seems to believe a win here against Torres will get her back in the title picture, but most have a hard time believing that given there are so many fresh opportunit

Mike Brown: Covington getting passed over for title shot is ‘devaluing the belts’

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Colby Covington may be the UFC interim welterweight titleholder, but he is not getting the next shot at current champion Tyron Woodley . Instead, “The Chosen One” will be facing number two-ranked contender Darren Till at UFC 228 on September 8 th . The decision was made on Tuesday, after it was revealed that Covington would be unable to fight on the said date due to a sinus condition, and these developments have caused frustration within his team. “I’m pretty bummed about it,” former UFC fighter and Covington’s coach Mike Brown told MMA Fighting . “I just feel like its devaluing the belts. You can’t just make every fight a title fight if it doesn’t go your way.” “It just doesn’t seem right; it doesn’t seem like it’s good for long-term value for the titles. That’s a big problem. That’s the bottom line, I think they’re devaluing the belts. Everybody sees it.” Brown said that Covington is “upset” with how the situation turned out, but the team remains assured that their fighter w

UFC fighter rankings: Light heavyweight shook up by Germany event

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Most people looked at UFC Hamburg as a nothing show, especially considering that the main event featured an unranked late replacement and there were only five ranked fighters on the entire card. But a couple of surprising upsets did lead to big changes in the light heavyweight division, along with some other minor tinkering. So without further ado, here’s a look at the rankings changes for this week. P4P - Conor McGregor continues to bump up and down, and this week took a tiny step up - into a tie for the three spot with Max Holloway . Heavyweight - No changes. Light Heavyweight - Basically everything from three down is different this week. Ilir Latifi is up one to three. Jan Blachowicz and Jimi Manuwa are up one each to four and five respectively. Corey Anderson is up three spots to six after defeating perennial contender Glover Teixeira . Glover dropped a huge six spots to eight. Anthony Smith entered the list at nine after knocking out Shogun Rua. Shogun fell three to 1

Tyron Woodley opens as slight favorite over Darren Till for UFC 228 title bout

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The UFC has added a welterweight title bout to their UFC 228 show on September 8th in Dallas, and as is usually the case, a betting line didn’t come far behind the fight announcement. And unlike the other championship fight on the card, this one is actually somewhat close. Tyron Woodley will defend against Darren Till , and the champ has opened as the early favorite according to MMA Odds Breaker: Woodley (18-3-1, 8-2-1 UFC) will be returning to the Octagon for the first time in over a year, after a long recovery from a shoulder injury. He has successfully defended his title three times, most recently defeating Demian Maia by unanimous decision in July 2017. Till (17-0-1, 5-0-1 UFC) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Stephen Thompson in his hometown of Liverpool in May. However, he did not make weight for that fight and some scary footage of him trying to get to the welterweight limit surfaced in the aftermath. Nonetheless he will get his shot over interim champ Col

Tyron Woodley opens as slight favorite over Darren Till for UFC 228 title bout

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The UFC has added a welterweight title bout to their UFC 228 show on September 8th in Dallas, and as is usually the case, a betting line didn’t come far behind the fight announcement. And unlike the other championship fight on the card, this one is actually somewhat close. Tyron Woodley will defend against Darren Till , and the champ has opened as the early favorite according to MMA Odds Breaker: Woodley (18-3-1, 8-2-1 UFC) will be returning to the Octagon for the first time in over a year, after a long recovery from a shoulder injury. He has successfully defended his title three times, most recently defeating Demian Maia by unanimous decision in July 2017. Till (17-0-1, 5-0-1 UFC) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Stephen Thompson in his hometown of Liverpool in May. However, he did not make weight for that fight and some scary footage of him trying to get to the welterweight limit surfaced in the aftermath. Nonetheless he will get his shot over interim champ Col

Diggin’ Deep on UFC on FOX 30: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2 - Fight Pass prelims preview

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The Fight Pass prelims for UFC on FOX 30 feature three intriguing contests. Intriguing enough that I’d say the Fight Pass prelims feature better contests than the televised prelims on FOX. There’s a pair of young(ish) flyweights in Dustin Ortiz and Matheus Nicolau who could potentially break into the title picture. There’s a women’s flyweight contest between Alexis Davis and Katlyn Chookagian that could have title implications. And while the contest at women’s strawweight doesn’t seem to have any implications in the title picture, Randa Markos and Nina Ansaroff are two of the most consistently entertaining fighters in the division. Yeah…these prelims are better than what’s usually on Fight Pass. The Fight Pass prelims begin at 4:00 PM ET/1:00 PM PT on Saturday. John Makdessi (15-6) vs. Ross Pearson (20-14, 1 NC), Lightweight Makdessi and Pearson have seen better days. Granted, both have been around for a long time, so it isn’t a surprise they’ve declined at this point in

Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till nearly official for UFC 228

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A welterweight title fight — not involving interim champion Colby Covington — is nearly finalized for UFC 228. Champion Tyron Woodley is expected to defend his belt against top contender Darren Till at the September pay-per-view card, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported Tuesday afternoon. The title fight is almost a done deal, per the report. UFC officials have yet to announce the meeting. Of course, Woodley was initially expected to fight Covington, who won the interim title last month with a win over Rafael dos Anjos, but “Chaos” is still recovering from an injury and the UFC has opted to give Till a title shot instead. Woodley hasn’t fought since a July 2017 title defense against Demian Maia, whom he beat by one-sided decision. Prior to that, he defended the strap twice against Stephen Thompson; the first meeting resulted in a draw. “The Chosen One” won the 170-pound championship with a knockout of Robbie Lawler two years ago. Till is coming off the biggest win of his career — a con

Tecia Torres not relying on Rose Namajunas for tips on how to beat Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC on FOX 30

Anderson Silva: Jon Jones ‘has been through several difficulties’ and ‘deserves our respect’

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It can be said that former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones isn’t exactly the best ambassador for the sport of mixed martial arts. His professional career in the UFC alone has been marred by two failed drug tests, as he now remains uncertain about when he will be able to fight again. But according to fellow ex-champion Anderson Silva, “Bones” still merits a generous amount of respect. “I’m his close friend, I have a big affection for him, I see him as a younger brother, and I hope this moment he’s going through is a moment of reflection. He’s young and has everything it takes to come back and reclaim what’s his. I’m rooting for him, as always,” Silva told MMA Fighting. “He’s an amazing guy, a guy that has been through several difficulties, several problems, and deserves our respect.” “The Spider” also had some opinions about another beleaguered company superstar, Conor McGregor, whom he feels might be tarnishing the sport because of certain antics. “Man, I think that not

Former UFC champion Miesha Tate: Amanda Nunes could be the one to beat Cris Cyborg

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UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg has been calling for a fight against fellow titleholder Amanda Nunes. It is a matchup that she thinks will be the last one in the UFC , which “The Lioness” is willing to take on before the year ends . This brewing super fight has garnered a bit of buzz, and one of those who has taken notice is former UFC women’s 135-pound champion Miesha Tate. In a recent interview with MMAjunkie , “Cupcake” gave her assessment of the fight, based on her own experience. “I think Amanda could be the one to beat Cyborg,” Tate said. “The reason that I say that is because I’ve been hit by Amanda. I’ve never been hit by Cyborg, and I’m sure she hits like a truck, but I can definitely attest to the power that Amanda has and she’s deceptively lengthy.” “She’s very long. You think you’re out of her range and you’re not. She’s someone who could actually probably hurt Cyborg.” Tate believes Cyborg is still favored to win, but not without a tough fight from Nune

The MMA Circus: JDS back on track, Miocic wants DC rematch, UFC Hamburg preview

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EPISODE 171: The MMA Circus, hosted by Nick Baldwin and guest co-host Alex K. Lee, is back for your listening pleasure. Discussion Topics: UFC Boise recap — In the main event, former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos returned to the winning column with a decision victory over Blagoy Ivanov. Sage Northcutt won in the co-headliner, and former featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes returned to action on the main card, winning in violent fashion. Stipe Miocic unhappy with Brock Lesnar ‘sh-t show,’ wants Daniel Cormier rematch — Former heavyweight champ Miocic said earlier this week the only fight he’ll accept is a rematch against new titleholder Cormier, who is expected to face Lesnar early next year. Cris Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes: will it happen? — A superfight between women’s featherweight champ Cyborg and women’s bantamweight champ Nunes is targeted for later this year, but the two fighters — and the UFC — can’t seem to agree on a date. UFC Hamburg preview — In the m

UFC’s Paige VanZant undergoes second surgery on broken arm

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Paige VanZant went under the knife a second time on Thursday. The UFC women’s flyweight underwent a second surgery on her broken arm, which lasted nearly four hours and took place in Las Vegas, per MMAjunkie.com . In the operation, bone fragments from her hip were moved to her arm in hopes of finally healing the long-lasting injury. VanZant suffered the arm injury in a January bout against Jessica-Rose Clark at UFC Fight Night 124, which she lost via unanimous decision. She had her first surgery that month, but months later, doctors discovered her arm hadn’t healed at all. VanZant said in a social media post last month that she likely returned to training after the first surgery too quickly, not giving her arm enough time to heal. The second surgery would be “more serious,” VanZant said at the time, adding that a larger plate would be placed in her arm, too. VanZant is now recovering and expected to return home to Portland on Monday, per the report. At this time, it’s unclear when

UFC’s Paige VanZant undergoes second surgery on broken arm

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Paige VanZant went under the knife a second time on Thursday. The UFC women’s flyweight underwent a second surgery on her broken arm, which lasted nearly four hours and took place in Las Vegas, per MMAjunkie.com . In the operation, bone fragments from her hip were moved to her arm in hopes of finally healing the long-lasting injury. VanZant suffered the arm injury in a January bout against Jessica-Rose Clark at UFC Fight Night 124, which she lost via unanimous decision. She had her first surgery that month, but months later, doctors discovered her arm hadn’t healed at all. VanZant said in a social media post last month that she likely returned to training after the first surgery too quickly, not giving her arm enough time to heal. The second surgery would be “more serious,” VanZant said at the time, adding that a larger plate would be placed in her arm, too. VanZant is now recovering and expected to return home to Portland on Monday, per the report. At this time, it’s unclear when

Josh Thomson: UFC’s Dana White could be the next target of #MeToo movement

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UFC president Dana White and retired heavyweight fighter Brendan Schaub have been at odds as of late. The two men went at it on one of Israel Adesanya ’s Instagram posts, but it was Schaub who was able to get the last word in with his “Eskimo Brothers” comment . But apparently, White’s alleged involvement with other women also extends to other fighters and their partners, at least according to Bellator lightweight fighter Josh Thomson . In a recent episode of his very own Sammy and the Punk podcast, Thomson alleged that the UFC executive used his powers as leverage to get even with fighters, after an unsuccessful pursuit of their girlfriends or wives. “There are people that I’ve been close with, that have fought for the UFC for a long time, and they have had very similar problems to what Brendan’s having right now,” Thomson said (transcript via MMA Mania ). “Where he was dating a girl that maybe Dana was trying to date or either dating at the time and that girl kind of liked some

Invicta FC 30’s Felicia Spencer says co-main slot is a dream come true

Amanda Nunes wants Cris Cyborg bout in December: We need time ‘to make this huge’

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Amanda Nunes still longs for that super fight. Although the UFC women’s bantamweight champion challenged to a September bout by featherweight titleholder, Cris Cyborg, she was forced to turn it down due to an injury in her right foot. However, as ‘The Lioness’ explained during her appearance on ‘ Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show ’, she would still like to take on her fellow Brazilian at the end of this year. If fact, Nunes believes UFC 232 in December would be the perfect date for it, as there would be enough time to build up the event. “This is the fight that makes sense right, for all of us,” Nunes said. “For me, for her, for the UFC. They offered me (the fight) in September, but I have an injury, you know? I’m still recovering from my last fight. If she wants Amanda Nunes at 100%, she has to give me time. Why can’t she give me this time? If we fight now, we won’t have time to promote the fight. We need some time to make people excited, to make this huge.” Good MMA article from bloodyel

Invicta FC 30’s Felicia Spencer says co-main slot is a dream come true

UFC fighter rankings: Mendes back in at 145, Dos Santos up at heavyweight

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While UFC 226 flipped the UFC rankings upside down to a degree, UFC Boise didn’t have quite the same effect. When the main event is a returning former champ fighting a guy making his UFC debut, you can be sure that not a lot is going to happen rankings-wise. But there were a couple of breakthrough performances at featherweight - particularly the return of Chad Mendes . And Liz Carmouche established herself as a contender at women’s flyweight. So without further ado, here are your rankings changes for this week. P4P - Conor McGregor dropped from a tie for three with Max Holloway to take over the four spot on his own. Tyron Woodley moved up to seven, sending recently-deposed UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic down to eight. Heavyweight - Dos Santos is up one to seven, passing Mark Hunt . Light Heavyweight - No changes. Middleweight - No changes. Welterweight - No changes. Lightweight - Nate Diaz dropped from a tie for eight down to nine on his own. Featherweight - Me

Dana White’s Contender Series 2018 - Week 5 live results and discussion

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Tonight (July 17th) is week five of the second season of Dana White ’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, which will highlight up-and-coming talent as well as some former UFC fighters looking for a second crack at the big time. Winners aren’t guaranteed a UFC contract, but it certainly helps to both win and impress at the same time. Bloody Elbow is your place for live discussion of this five-fight event at The Ultimate Fighter gym in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event is a women’s strawweight bout between unbeaten prospect Maycee Barber and season one Contender Series competitor Jamie Colleen Miller, who won vs. Tiffany Masters but did not get a UFC contract. As is the case for the whole of this eight-week run, Dana White’s Contender Series streams live on UFC Fight Pass , starting at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. For a complete preview of tonight’s show, check out Victor Rodriguez’s preview . The full fight card is as follows: Maycee Barber vs. Jamie Colleen Miller Vince Morales vs. Domingo Pilar

Hindsight - UFC Boise: Dos Santos vs. Ivanov in retrospect

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Most people who viewed UFC Boise from beginning to end walked away from the event feeling like the judges turned in one of the worst evenings in recent memories. There were at least three decisions that were deemed as robberies — were they really or were they simply controversial decisions? Plus, there were a couple of unique maneuvers on the card. A helicopter spin, though incredibly rare, has been seen before. But a finish from hammer fists off the back? Can’t recall that. Oh yeah, Junior dos Santos also won a fight that was completely unmemorable in the main event. Probably why I didn’t mention until just now. Here’s a breakdown of every contest on UFC Boise. I’ll cover the important parts of the fight, some of the techniques I noticed that were either effective or ineffective, and where the fighters appear to be going. Jessica Aguilar defeated Jodie Esquibel via unanimous decision A veteran of MMA since 2006, Aguilar has been a pioneer of women’s MMA. She’s also dealt with