Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight! Welcome to Midnight Mania!
The higher ups of the UFC have never exactly loved many of the media members, but this is a new l…
Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images
Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
The higher ups of the UFC have never exactly loved many of the media members, but this is a new low! When a few members of the media attempted to call in to the UFC 242 media conference call for a chat with interim Lightweight kingpin Dustin Poirier, they were instead directed to a sex line.
Somehow, I have a feeling that the phone number dialed was not quite as “toll free” as advertised.
As it turns out, two of the numbers were simply swapped, resulting in the unintentional gaffe. Ultimately, it’s a fairly harmless mistake that gave me a very easy “weird and wild” headline, so I can only hope the next UFC mix up is even more indecent and entertaining.
The Show Money crew is back to spew their sometimes educated, sometimes random theories on the only show exclusively dedicated to the business of MMA. The Show Money crew is Paul the economist, Jason the lawyer, and John …
The Show Money crew is back to spew their sometimes educated, sometimes random theories on the only show exclusively dedicated to the business of MMA.
The Show Money crew is Paul the economist, Jason the lawyer, and John the man who knows everyone and everything in MMA.
In today’s episode, the guys are still in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the courthouse, to cover the first two days of the UFC Antitrust expert hearings. Paul and John breakdown what they call the “three phases” of of the second day of UFC lawsuit hearings…
Did the UFC start stronger today than yesterday?
What made John and other observers completely confused?
What financial numbers for UFC 200 and other events did we learn?
Tune in and find out. Follow along in the player above, as we give updates gleaned from the crew’s time in the courtroom today. Here are a few thoughts on what was going to be happening today recorded by Jason Cruz on the way into the courthouse this morning:
Yesterday, we had the first day of live testimony, which included the economic experts for both sides: Dr. Hal Singer for plaintiffs and Dr. Robert Toepel for Zuffa. Fighter wage share of revenue was a particularly hot topic brought up, which seems to be the biggest thing the UFC doesn’t want the public to know about. According to our own John Nash, “Apparently, fighter wage share of revenue was 26% in 2007, dipped to low 20’s, then dropped again after 2011, where its been around 18-19% since; another interesting tidbit, was how Zuffa internally projected fighter wage share would stay at 20% or less, with total pay estimated at $196m in 2020 (on $980m revenue).”
For more in depth information on Fighter Pay Details revealed during Monday’s hearing, check out John Nash’s article published today, right here:
The original class-action, antitrust lawsuit against the UFC for monopolization and anti-competitive business practices in the sport of mixed martial arts was launched by former fighters Cung Le, Nate Quarry and Jon Fitch in December, 2014 — since that time additional fighters have rallied to join the cause. Keep checking Bloody Elbow for more updates from the hearings this week. Be sure and follow Paul at @MMAanalytics, John at @heynottheface, and Jason at @dilletaunt for all of their twitter musings.
If you enjoyed our show, give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, or give us a “like”, share & subscribe over on one of our other BE Presents Channels: SoundCloud, YouTube, iTunes & Apple TV, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, TuneIn, OverCast, or Player FM – whichever one happens to be your listening platform of choice. While you’re there, don’t forget to subscribe to Bloody Elbow Presents; that way you’ll always be the first to get all of BE’s daily MMA offerings. For previous episodes of the show, check out our playlists on all of our BE Presents channels.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Oops! The UFC directed the media to something very different than they were expecting when they tried to call in to talk to Dustin Poirier. Everyone makes mistakes. And the UFC ma…
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Oops! The UFC directed the media to something very different than they were expecting when they tried to call in to talk to Dustin Poirier.
Everyone makes mistakes. And the UFC made a weird and humorous one when they attempted to set up a UFC 242 media conference call with headliner Dustin Poirier today.
According to multiple media sources, they attempted to call the number that was provided to them by the UFC. But they didn’t get Poirier. They got a sex hotline instead.
So, in attempting to get on the Khabib/Poirier call, the number UFC sent out was…… a phone sex line. They’ve since corrected it
— Sean Ross Sapp Of Fightful.com And The Twltter (@SeanRossSapp) August 27, 2019
It appears that it was just an innocent error, as two of the digits in the phone number were reversed in the original release. But that is a pretty embarrassing coincidence for everyone involved. Once the correct number was sent out, the call with Poirier went on as expected.
UFC 242 goes down on September 7th in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Poirier will challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title unification bout. The co-main event of the early show will see Edson Barboza taking on Paul Felder in another lightweight contest.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing a bevy of “Prelims” fights to ESPN this weekend (Sat., Aug. 31, 2019) when UFC Fight Night 157: “Andrade vs. Zhang” storms Universi…
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing a bevy of “Prelims” fights to ESPN this weekend (Sat., Aug. 31, 2019) when UFC Fight Night 157: “Andrade vs. Zhang” storms Universiade Sports Centre in Shenzhen, China. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC Fight Night 157 “Prelims” party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s Strawweight champion Jessica Andrade puts her belt on the line in hostile territory this Saturday morning (Aug. 31, 2019) when Shenzhen, China, hosts her inaugural title defense against local standout Weili Zhang. UFC Fight Night 157 will also see Welterweight bonus-winning machines Elizeu Zaleski and Li Jingliang duke it out in a potential “Fight of the Year” and Invicta standout Mizuki Inoue face Flyweight finisher Wu Yanan.
UFC Fight Night 157’s three ESPN-televised “Prelims” undercard bouts remain to be examined (check out the first batch here), so let’s get on that below:
145 lbs.: Movsar Evloev vs. Zhenhong Lu
Evloev (11-0) spent the entirety of his pre-UFC career in the M-1 promotion, where he claimed a Bantamweight title in 2017 and enjoyed three successful defenses. He made his Octagon debut in April, overpowering late replacement Seung Woo Choi on the mat en route to a unanimous decision.
Four of his seven stoppage wins have come by rear naked choke.
Lu (18-6) rebounded from a 2-4 skid to win 11 of his next 12, eight of them via stoppage. He last fought on June 13th, wrapping up a kimura for his sixth pro submission win.
He steps in for Mike Grundy, who failed to secure a visa, on just over a week’s notice.
This is actually a rematch of Evloev’s second pro fight back in 2015, which saw the green Russian dominate the majority of the fight on the mat. Comparing their recent efforts, I don’t expect it to be much more competitive this go-around. Evloev’s exquisite chain wrestling still gives him in the edge in Lu’s favored clinch exchanges and the former’s striking has developed to the point where he can ostensibly dominate wherever he chooses.
Evloev just seems to be better absolutely everywhere and should win every round with relative ease through slick kickboxing and top control. Grundy would have been an intriguing style clash, seeing as he’s got the wrestling credentials to challenge Evloev in his area of expertise, but expect the Russian to make the most of this easier ask with a one-sided victory.
Prediction: Evloev via unanimous decision
155 lbs.: Damir Ismagulov vs. Thiago Moises
Damir Ismagulov (18-2) — another M-1 champion — defended his Lightweight belt twice before joining UFC in Dec. 2018. His Octagon career has seen him win one-sided decisions over Alex Gorgees and Joel Alvarez, the latter of whom was riding a 10-fight finish streak.
He has knocked out nine professional opponents and submitted one other.
Thiago Moises (12-3) — the former Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) Lightweight champion — demolished Gleidson Cutis on “Contender Series: Brazil” to secure a UFC contract. He struggled against veteran Beneil Dariush’s wrestling in his debut, but used his own takedown prowess to claim victory over Kurt Holobaugh in May.
He stands one inch shorter than Ismagulov and will give up four inches of reach.
I picked against Moises in the Holobaugh fight by virtue of the Brazilian’s historical issues with pressure. Instead, he used his wrestling to defuse Holobaugh’s offense. It was the right thing to do, but we’ve seen what happens when that option isn’t available to him — both Robert Watley and the aforementioned Dariush managed to more or less dominate him by keeping him on the back foot and/or the mat.
Ismagulov’s a dangerous takedown artist in his own right and should be able to drag Moises to the mat as needed. From there, his top game is more than sufficient to ride out large chunks of each round. Unless Moises has considerably improved his wrestling, Ismagulov grinds him out without much issue.
Prediction: Ismagulov via unanimous decision
125 lbs.: Kai Kara-France vs. Mark De La Rosa
Kai Kara-France (19-7) scored the most impressive finish of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 24 with a 30-second knockout of Terrence Mitchell in the opening round, only to fall to No. 1-seed Alexandre Pantoja in the quarterfinals. After a decision loss to Tatsumitsu Wada — who recently gave Demetrious Johnson a tough out — “Don’t Blink” went on to win his last seven, including two in UFC.
He is 12-1 overall in his last 13 fights.
Mark De La Rosa (11-2) — husband of Flyweight contender Montana — lost his unbeaten record in his Octagon debut against Tim Elliott thanks to TUF 24 winner’s anaconda choke. “The Bumblebee” came back to win two straight before falling to Alex Perez in Philadelphia.
Five of his six submission wins have come by rear-naked choke.
This is practically a homecoming for Kara-France, who’s spent large chunks of his career fighting in East Asia, and it looks like it’ll be a successful one. In addition to his knockout power, Kara-France has shown quality takedown defense and scrambling during his Octagon tenure, ostensibly nullifying De La Rosa’s one area of superiority. If “The Bumblebee” can’t consistently get on top and work his way to the back, then he’s at the mercy of a more technically sound and devastating striker.
De La Rosa’s chokes are an ever-present threat, but Kara-France’s considerable stand up edge and ostensible ability to keep it on the feet should earn him a comfortable victory.
Prediction: Kara-France via unanimous decision
135 lbs.: Karol Rosa vs. Lara Procopio
A teammate of Jessica Andrade at Parana Vale Tudo, Karol Rosa (11-3) has seen seven consecutive fights end inside the distance. She has won three of her last four, most recently avenging an early-career loss to Giselle Moreira via third-round technical knockout.
She stands two inches taller than Lara Procopio (6-0) at 5’6.”
Nova Uniao’s Procopio is the latest double champ to enter the Octagon, claiming two titles in three Shooto Brasil appearances. Last year saw her defeat Rosa teammate Mariana Morais for the Bantamweight title in March, then drop 10 pounds to defeat future Queen of Pancrase Sidy Rocha five months later.
She has finished two professional opponents via first-round armbar.
I know I bang the “generalist vs. specialist” drum more than I probably should, but it’s an easy shorthand to describe a situation like this. Though Rosa looks to be the more comfortable and capable of the two on the feet, Procopio’s single-minded devotion to dragging opponents to the mat as soon as possible will make that advantage meaningless.
To her credit, Rosa does have some strong ground chops of her own and figures to at least be Procopio’s match in the wrestling. Unfortunately, she’s also been submitted twice while in top position, meaning any grappling engagement will be favorable for Procopio. Procopio’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu prowess and Rosa’s leaky ground defense result in a tapout finish before the midpoint.
Prediction: Procopio via first-round submission
Round up your coffee and amphetamines and join us for some early morning ruckus. See you Saturday, Maniacs!
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 157 fight card this weekend, starting with the ESPN “Prelims” that are scheduled to begin at 3 a.m. ET, then the main card portion that will stream on ESPN+ at 6 a.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Fight Night 157: “Andrade vs. Zhang” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Current UFC “Prelims” Prediction Record for 2019: 113-68
Despite his impressive win streak, Henry Cejudo isn’t a different fighter according to former title challenger Joseph Benavidez. UFC president Dana White recently revealed his plan was for Cejudo to defend his flyweight title next. Benavidez is the only challenger that makes sense at this point, and even holds a win over Cejudo. That was […]
Despite his impressive win streak, Henry Cejudo isn’t a different fighter according to former title challenger Joseph Benavidez.
UFC president Dana White recently revealed his plan was for Cejudo to defend his flyweight title next. Benavidez is the only challenger that makes sense at this point, and even holds a win over Cejudo.
That was back in 2016 when he outpointed “The Messenger” in a split decision win. Since then, Cejudo has gone on a five-fight winning streak which includes wins over Demetrious Johnson, TJ Dillashaw and Marlon Moraes.
However, Benavidez doesn’t think Cejudo has really changed his game compared to when they first fought:
“(He’s) not very different, honestly,” Benavidez told MMA Junkie. “His confidence has probably grown, because of what he’s accomplished. But it’s hard to say. He fought me really good. I fought DJ really good. … He just maybe executed a few little things better against DJ that probably wouldn’t work well on me.
“… He dominated (Sergio) Pettis and (Jussier) Formiga. He was really good when he fought me. He was really good in those fights. Just, the name he went and beat after that. Went and beat DJ. He’s really good, but I don’t think he looked different than he did in my fight. He looked really good in my fight, too. We just had a little more back-and-forth.
“Then he went and knocked out T.J. That was a thing. He got a good win, but it’s like, how did he look in that fight? We don’t know. He ended it in 30 seconds. Props to him.”
Even if Cejudo has improved, the same can be said for Benavidez. That is why he is confident of getting another win over the Olympian:
“I’ve gotten better, too,” Benavidez explained. “There was just little things, but I think 100 percent I can (beat him). That fight (the first bout), it was a stand-up war. He was basically trying to match volume for volume and clean strikes for clean strikes. We stayed in each other’s face, and no one really beats me at that game.
“So, yeah, I think I can beat him there. And then there’s even little adjustments that you can make to even make sure I beat him again.”
Dustin Poirier is hoping to become the new undisputed lightweight champion. And he has a fairly good idea on who his first title defense could be against. Currently holding the interim title, Poirier faces Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 242 which takes place September 7 in Abu Dhabi. Whoever wins on the […]
Dustin Poirier is hoping to become the new undisputed lightweight champion. And he has a fairly good idea on who his first title defense could be against.
Currently holding the interim title, Poirier faces Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 242 which takes place September 7 in Abu Dhabi. Whoever wins on the night could defend their title against two realistic options — Tony Ferguson or Conor McGregor.
Many would agree that Ferguson deserves the next shot especially as he’s on a 12-fight winning streak and never lost his interim title in a fight. However, there’s always the possibility of McGregor skipping the line because of how big a star he is.
For Poirier, however, only man deserves to get the next title shot:
“100 percent it’s Tony Ferguson without a second guess,” Poirier told MMA Fighting on the UFC 242 media conference call on Tuesday. “Without any argument, it’s Tony Ferguson. No doubt.”
However, if Poirier wants to be the one defending the belt against Ferguson, he must do what no other fighter has done — beat Nurmagomedov. That is one reason why he is not looking past UFC 242:
“Honestly I don’t think about that type of stuff because 25 minutes with Khabib is all I can focus on right now,” Poirier added. “I can’t disrespect the work that needs to be done Sept. 7.”
Do you think Ferguson will get then next shot? If so, who do you think he’ll end up facing?
