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“In professional sports, the day starts to come where all of our heroes start to get old, and ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone is getting there.”

UFC veteran Donald Cerrone plans to leave the UFC on his own terms, but head president Dana White says ‘everything is on the line’ for ‘Cowboy’ later tonight in the UFC Vegas 11 co-main event.

Speaking to MMA Junkie ahead of Cerrone’s welterweight bout with Niko Price at UFC Fight Night 178, White implied that Cowboy’s career could be at stake if he doesn’t pick up a win against ‘The Hybrid’.

“I would say everything is on the line for Cowboy,” White told ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” according to MMA Junkie. “In professional sports, the day starts to come where all of our heroes start to get old, and ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone is getting there. He needs a win. He needs a win badly.”

Cerrone is on a four-fight skid but doesn’t feel he needs to prove his worth to anyone. With that said, the 37-year-old is planning to put on a hell of a show in what could be his final fight in the UFC.

“This fight’s for me, man. All the naysayers, all the people that say, ‘You’ve lost four in a row, you don’t belong, you should be retired.’ … I don’t give a shit,” Cerrone said (h/t MMA Fighting) “I don’t care if I need to prove anything.”

“Just go and fight my fight and love every second of it and have fun and enjoy it. And that’s why I’m gonna be victorious.”

UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley takes place later tonight, Sept. 19 at the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir hasn’t signed with BKFC yet.

Earlier this week it was reported that ex-UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir had signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) but, according to Mir’s manager, Malki Kawa, those reports were premature.

Kawa confirmed earlier this week that Mir has not yet signed with the bare knuckle fight promotion.

“He def hasnt signed yet but good work all of you for jumping the gun,” Kawa posted on Twitter on Friday.

Mir is one of the most well-known and accomplished fighters in MMA, having fought in the UFC for sixteen years and winning two world titles. The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt headlined one of the biggest pay-per-view events in UFC history in 2009, when he fought WWE superstar Brock Lesnar in the UFC 100 main event. Mir lost via second-round TKO.

Mir was released from the UFC in 2017 and subsequently signed with Bellator MMA the following year. The Las Vegas-based fighter earned a decision win over Roy Nelson at Bellator 231 but suffered two consecutive stoppage losses to Fedor Emelianenko and Javy Ayala at Bellator 198 and Bellator 212. Mir (19-13 MMA, 16-11 UFC, 1-2 Bellator) left Bellator earlier this year after his contract expired.

Expect Mir to officially sign with BKFC in the coming days.

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Check out the betting odds for tonight’s UFC Vegas 11 card, where Colby Covington is heavily favored to beat the former welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley, in the main event.

It’s fight day for UFC Vegas 11, which kicks off tonight (September 19th) from the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card’s headliner entails a welterweight showdown between the former welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley, and the company’s #2 ranked 170-pounder, Colby Covington. The rest of the card enjoys some well-known action fighters like Donald Cerrone and Jonny Walker, plus some talkative up and comers like Kevin Holland and Khamzat Chimaev. Bloody Elbow is here to bring you the betting lines for these fighters, as well as the rest of the UFC Vegas 11 lineup.

It’s Colby Covington who is fancied by the oddsmakers over Tyron Woodley in the main event — and by quite a bit at that. Covington’s straight up moneyline is currently offered up for around -305, leaving Woodley as the largest betting underdog of his career at +275. Woodley’s closest underdog tag was a +200 opening betting line when he challenged Robbie Lawler for the strap, although that line shriveled down to around +110 by fight-night.

According to the betting odds, this 25-minute matchup is going the distance. The exotic bet ‘Fight goes to decision’ holds a favored line of -180, with a +150 comeback on the ‘Fight doesn’t go to decision’ option. Furthermore, Covington winning on points has been deemed the most likely outcome here. The proposition ‘Covington wins by decision’ can be scooped up with a favored moneyline of -170, with ‘Not Covington by decision’ sitting at an underdog mark of +140. Going back the other way, the ‘Woodley wins by decision’ wager owns a hefty dog value of +950, with ‘Not Woodley by decision’ trending at an astounding cost of -1700.

If it’s going to happen for Woodley, then it’s likely going to have to be by way of finish, and even then the odds reflect Covington being the fighter more likely to end this early. Gamblers can take the price on ‘Woodley wins inside distance’ for a value of +380, or lay the price on ‘Not Woodley inside distance’ for a lofty cost of -520. On the flip-side, the prop bet ‘Covington wins inside distance’ comes with a slightly less lucrative betting line of +370, with ‘Not Covington inside distance’ on deck at -510.

In the UFC Vegas 11 co-main event, longtime MMA veteran Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone finds himself as a +125 underdog to Niko Price, who is favored at -135. Before that, the double-booked Khamzat Chimaev is the event’s heaviest betting favorite at -410 over Gerald Meerschaert and his plus line of +365. In the light heavyweight division, explosive striker Johnny Walker holds a -120 betting line to the streaking +110 Ryan Spann. At -165, Mackenzie Dern is favored over Randa Markos at +155, and Kevin Holland is a stout -260 favorite over the +240 Darren Stewart.

Check out the UFC Vegas 11 betting odds, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com:

For an in-depth breakdown of each UFC Vegas 11 matchup, check out The MMA Vivisection with Bloody Elbow’s own Zane Simon and Connor Ruebusch. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date with all of our live video content. Stay glued to Bloody Elbow for all of your event coverage including play-by-play, results, highlights, and more! Happy hunting!

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight rivals Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley will finally clash TONIGHT (Sat., Sept. 19, 2020) at UFC Vegas 11 inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The personal build up to this fight has been political, racial and at times, downright ugly. There is little doubt that these two genuinely very much want to punch one another in the face, yet there’s so much more on the line than any beef. After giving Kamaru Usman his toughest test to date but ultimately coming up short, Covington is on the hunt for a second title shot. Meanwhile, Woodley is desperate to prove that his days in the sun are not yet over, as the 38-year-old former champion simply has not performed at all in his last two bouts.

Let’s take a closer look at the keys to victory for each man:

Colby Covington

Record: 15-2
Key Wins: Robbie Lawler (UFC on ESPN 5), Rafael dos Anjos (UFC 225), Demian Maia (UFC Fight Night 119), Dong Hyun Kim (UFC Fight Night 111), Bryan Barberena (UFC on FOX 22)
Key Losses: Kamaru Usman (UFC 245), Warlley Alves (UFC 194)
Keys to Victory: Covington is constant. He does not stop ever, whether we are referring to his stuttered trash talk or his actual fight style. In the Octagon, Covington is a nightmare opponent, an endless barrage of punches and wrestling transitions.

Even with both men coming into the cage following defeats, there is a clear advantage in momentum and confidence for “Chaos.” The Welterweight antagonist has been performing quite well, whereas Woodley is infamously struggling to pull the trigger and has lost 50-consecutive minutes of combat.

The fight may not have started yet, but Covington is in the lead! There is absolutely no reason why he should allow Woodley even a second to grow comfortable inside that Octagon. At the literal first bell, I’d like to see Covington flick out a jab and shoot for the lead leg.

Covington’s goal here is to force Woodley into his bad habits. If “T-Wood” finds himself jammed into the fence and forced to work damn hard immediately, he may revert back into his defensive shell before either man is breathing heavy. Plus, even if Woodley’s mind is fixed, exhausting his opponent along the fence as much as possible is the original game plan anyway.

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Tyron Woodley

Record: 19-5-1
Key Wins: Robbie Lawler (UFC 201), Stephen Thompson (UFC 209, UFC 214), Demian Maia (UFC 214), Kelvin Gastelum (UFC 183), Darren Till (UFC 228)
Key Losses: Kamaru Usman (UFC 235), Gilbert Burns (UFC on ESPN 9), Rory MacDonald (UFC 174), Jake Shields (UFC 161)
Keys to Victory: Woodley is not a complicated fighter. An extraordinary athlete with tremendous wrestling credentials, Woodley figured out early in his UFC career that his right hand was a pretty uniquely devastating weapon. Over time, Woodley actively wrestled less and less often, looking instead for the knockout.

Also worth-mentioning: it’s much more realistic to be a wrestling-focused fighter at 30 than 38.

Beyond the painfully obvious key of “THROW STRIKES” that Woodley and his coaches are certainly well aware of, footwork is the most important factor. Woodley has always been willing to sit along the fence, but against such a dedicated chain wrestler, that’s risking disaster even if Woodley is more active than ever.

Against Darren Till, Woodley was active with his side-to-side movement and direction changes. If he can replicate that movement, his chance of gaining an angle on Covington and dropping that right hand increase dramatically.

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Bottom Line

This is a huge fight.

Covington is fighting for his status as a contender. If he wins, a rematch with Usman would sell. Maybe not right away given the crowded state of the 170-pound division, but Covington is at most one more victory away from another shot at gold. In short, a win puts him in great position.

A loss, however? Getting flattened by the former champion would be absolutely devastating to Covington’s position in the division. It’s never good to lose consecutive bouts, but it’s a dramatically worse situation given the prolonged smack talk and bad blood.

As for Tyron Woodley, he’s already being counted out by a quite a large portion of the combat sports world. Many see him as halfway to retirement. This main event slot is perhaps his final chance to prove otherwise, as Woodley is not likely to find himself given another high-profile fight should he come up short a third time.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 11 fight card this weekend, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ 8 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 11: “Covington vs. Woodley” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

At UFC Vegas 11, Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley will duel in the main event. Which man will earn the victory?

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Dana White is very excited about adding Michael Chandler to the UFC roster.

UFC president Dana White can’t wait to see what Michael Chandler can do in the Octagon now that the former three-time Bellator lightweight champion is finally ‘part of the UFC family’.

White, who signed Chandler on Thursday, is ‘very excited’ about Chandler’s future in the UFC and confirmed that the 34-year-old is on standby for the UFC 254 main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje.

“Very excited about him. Very excited. And now that I’ve got to know him a little bit, he’s a great guy. So I’m happy for him and I’m happy that he’s part of the (UFC) family,” White told TMZ Sports in a recent interview.

“He will be there for that fight. He will be training, he will be cutting weight, and he will weigh in just in case anything happens to Khabib or Justin. We’re excited about that. Great kid and he is now part of the UFC family,” he added.

The UFC is thought to have offered Chandler a co-headlining slot opposite Dustin Poirier at UFC 254 but, according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, ‘The Diamond’ turned the fight down.

Chandler (21-5 MMA) is humbled by the opportunity to fight in the UFC.