It didn’t take long for Leon Edwards to fill up his wallet.
The British striker knocked out Seth Baczynski in just eight seconds on the prelims of UFC Fight Night: Cro Cop vs. Gonzaga on Saturday in Krakow, Poland. That was the second quicke…
It didn’t take long for Leon Edwards to fill up his wallet.
The British striker knocked out Seth Baczynski in just eight seconds on the prelims of UFC Fight Night: Cro Cop vs. Gonzaga on Saturday in Krakow, Poland. That was the second quickest knockout in UFC welterweight history and it earned Edwards a Performance of the Night bonus: $50,000.
Also earning a Performance of the Night bonus was Maryna Moroz for her 90-second submission over highly ranked women’s strawweight Joanne Calderwood. It was a huge upset — Moroz was a +550 underdog coming in.
The Fight of the Night went to the main event between Mirko Cro Cop and Gabriel Gonzaga. Cro Cop rallied after losing the first two rounds (and not looking good at all) to finish Gonzaga via TKO at 3:30 of the third. The MMA legend avenged a 2007 knockout loss to Gonzaga with the huge win.
Edwards (9-2) also enjoyed the biggest victory of his career. The England native lost in his UFC debut to Claudio Henrique de Silva last November. That was a tough split decision. The 23-year-old didn’t need the judges this time. He finished things nearly as quick as any other fight in UFC history.
Duane Ludwig currently holds the promotion’s welterweight (and overall) record with a six-second knockout of Jonathan Goulet in 2006. Edwards was just two seconds off and has won six of his last seven, looking like a very promising European prospect.
Mirko Cro Cop might not be all the way back. But at least he got the biggest loss of his career back.
The MMA legend finished Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO at 3:30 of the third round in the main event of UFC Fight Night Krakow on Saturday in Poland…
Mirko Cro Cop might not be all the way back. But at least he got the biggest loss of his career back.
The MMA legend finished Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO at 3:30 of the third round in the main event of UFC Fight Night Krakow on Saturday in Poland. After losing the first two rounds and looking largely listless, Cro Cop landed a vicious standing elbow that rocked Gonzaga in the clinch. Cro Cop poured it on with more hard elbows on the ground. Gonzaga was left a bloody mess and referee Leon Roberts stepped in.
Cro Cop (31-11-2, 1 NC) was knocked out via head kick by Gonzaga at UFC 70 in 2007. A win in that fight would have earned the highly touted Cro Cop a UFC heavyweight title shot against Randy Couture. The former PRIDE grand prix champion never lived up to his hype in the UFC and it all started with that stunning KO — Gonzaga finished Cro Cop the same way Cro Cop had done to so many previous opponents. It has gone down as one of the best knockouts and most stunning victories in UFC history.
Getting that loss back was one of the reasons Cro Cop, 40, cited for wanting to come back to the UFC in the first place. This was his first fight in the organization since 2001. Cro Cop, whose real name is Mirko Filipovic, seemed healthier in recent fights, including two wins over Satoshi Ishii in Japan last year. The second victory over Ishii came via head kick and it seemed like the Croatian had a little bit of his spunk back.
It did not look that way the first two rounds Saturday. Gonzaga took Cro Cop down and got to mount in both rounds relatively easily. Cro Cop didn’t do much offensively and seemed to be a shot fighter. Not so in the third. Cro Cop rallied with those big elbows and avenged the worst loss of his career.
Filipovic, who brought Stipe Miocic in for this training camp, looked emotional afterward. But he’s not going anywhere. When color commentator John Gooden asked if we’d see him again, Cro Cop said, “Of course.”
Gonzaga (16-10) has now lost three in a row after putting together a stretch of five wins in six fights.
In the co-main event, Jimi Manuwa didn’t start putting the pedal on the gas until the final minute of the fight, but he was still able to pull off a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) win over Jan Blachowicz. Every round was close with most of the action (or lack thereof) happening in the clinch, but Manuwa likely won all of them barely.
Manuwa (14-1) was coming off a broken foot that forced him out of a fight with Mauricio Rua in December. He fell to Alexander Gustafsson in March 2014 for his first career loss. The 35-year-old Brit is ranked in the UFC’s light heavyweight top 10 and said afterward he wants to begin picking off those top-ranked guys.
Blachowicz (18-4) had won six in a row coming into the fight, including a TKO of Ilir Latifi last October.
Pawel Pawlak pleased his hometown fans with a unanimous decision win over Sheldon Westcott. While Westcott wanted to stifle Pawlak against the fence, the Polish welterweight teed off on Westcott at distance with big punches, body kicks and knees. Pawlak (11-1) was coming off a loss in his UFC debut last year against Peter Sobotta. At 26 years old, he’s a solid European prospect.
Maryna Moroz pulled off the upset of the night in her debut, submitting Joanne Calderwood with an armbar in just 1:30. Afterward, Moroz got up on the Octagon and pointed at UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Moroz called out Jedrzejczyk in the post-fight interview and Jedrzejczyk got up out of her chair and made a bring-it-on motion.
Moroz (6-0), who was making her UFC debut, was actually lighting up Calderwood standing up before jumping an armbar and forcing the tap. It was a stunning, impressive performance for the 23-year-old Ukraine native.
On the prelims, Leon Edwards put on the performance of the night by knocking out Seth Baczynski in just eight seconds with a straight left hand. It stands as the second quickest KO in UFC welterweight history. Duane Ludwig still holds the record with a six-second knockout of Jonathan Goulet.
Aleksandra Albu of Moldova made her UFC debut with a guillotine choke victory over Izabela Badureak in the second round and Stevie Ray of Scotland pulled off a nice TKO of Marcin Bendel in the second round.
CM Punk reads his Twitter notifications. He knows the reaction of him transitioning from pro wrestling to MMA has been met with negativity. He also doesn’t really care.
“At the end of the day, it’s about me and not anyone else,” he told SI.com in a long Q&A this week. “But, yeah, I used to not be able to read or walk or ride a bike or drive a car. Those people who are down on me trying this? Shut the f*ck up and don’t watch the fight.”
Punk, the former WWE superstar turned UFC fighter, is currently training at Roufusport in Milwaukee with the likes of former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren. The 36-year-old is getting a crash course in MMA from coach Duke Roufus after a long career in pro wrestling. A day does not go by when he doesn’t wish he had started MMA much sooner.
“Every day,” Punk said. “‘Damn it, why didn’t I do this 10 years ago?’ I’ll watch an Anthony Pettis from five years ago and go, ‘He was good.’ Then I’ll watch him fight now and think, ‘Jesus he is like a totally different fighter.’ Thinking about all the knowledge I could have attained, yeah, I wish I had started earlier. But again, why dwell? Why not just fill my brain full of knowledge today.”
Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, doesn’t have an opponent named and is not sure when he will make his UFC debut. He said in the interview that it could be eight months or even a year from now. Originally, he seemed set on competing in the middleweight division, but now he’s leaning toward welterweight. Punk’s MMA workouts have melted off the pounds and he’s currently walking at just 190. The 6-foot-2 athlete will do a test cut to 170 before deciding for sure.
“And I’m sure more is coming off,” Punk said of his weight. “It’s just different. I’m not lifting heavy weights every day anymore. In wrestling it’s being as big as you can. That’s out the window. I have a weight to focus on.”
As far as the training part of it, Punk said that he has good days and ones in which he has been humbled.
“I don’t think I’ve learned much that I didn’t already know — apart from technique,” he said. “It’s not like the first day I got hit in the head and said, ‘This is actually hard.’ I know it was hard and I knew what went into it.”
More than anything, he’s enjoying the ability to just train full time. With WWE, he was on the road nearly 300 days per year. Now, he makes a 90-minute ride from his Chicago home to Milwaukee, trains two to three times per day and then goes home to sleep in his own bed.
“What an easy job, right?” Punk said. “It’s way better for me. I was burnt out on traveling, so over it. People think I’m crazy, living in Chicago and driving to Milwaukee every day to train. That’s the easiest thing in the world!”
Punk expects his length to be an advantage, especially if he fights at 170. He also thinks having the experience performing in front of 70,000 to 80,000 at times in WWE will help him with nerves heading into his first UFC fight.
He knows he could get booed and he’s certainly been booed before. Punk does not think going from WWE to the UFC is a major leap and doesn’t care if others do.
“The people who are mad or think this is an embarrassment to the UFC or the sport?” Punk said. “I used to not be able to ride a bike. So when I was learning how to ride a bike, does Lance Armstrong come up to me and say: ‘Who the f*ck are you, trying to learn how to ride a bike?’ My attitude is punk rock across the board: Oh, you don’t think I should do it? Well, I’m going to do it and I’m going to try to be the best I f*cking can.”
CM Punk reads his Twitter notifications. He knows the reaction of him transitioning from pro wrestling to MMA has been met with negativity. He also doesn’t really care.
“At the end of the day, it’s about me and not anyone else,” he told SI.com in a long Q&A this week. “But, yeah, I used to not be able to read or walk or ride a bike or drive a car. Those people who are down on me trying this? Shut the f*ck up and don’t watch the fight.”
Punk, the former WWE superstar turned UFC fighter, is currently training at Roufusport in Milwaukee with the likes of former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren. The 36-year-old is getting a crash course in MMA from coach Duke Roufus after a long career in pro wrestling. A day does not go by when he doesn’t wish he had started MMA much sooner.
“Every day,” Punk said. “‘Damn it, why didn’t I do this 10 years ago?’ I’ll watch an Anthony Pettis from five years ago and go, ‘He was good.’ Then I’ll watch him fight now and think, ‘Jesus he is like a totally different fighter.’ Thinking about all the knowledge I could have attained, yeah, I wish I had started earlier. But again, why dwell? Why not just fill my brain full of knowledge today.”
Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, doesn’t have an opponent named and is not sure when he will make his UFC debut. He said in the interview that it could be eight months or even a year from now. Originally, he seemed set on competing in the middleweight division, but now he’s leaning toward welterweight. Punk’s MMA workouts have melted off the pounds and he’s currently walking at just 190. The 6-foot-2 athlete will do a test cut to 170 before deciding for sure.
“And I’m sure more is coming off,” Punk said of his weight. “It’s just different. I’m not lifting heavy weights every day anymore. In wrestling it’s being as big as you can. That’s out the window. I have a weight to focus on.”
As far as the training part of it, Punk said that he has good days and ones in which he has been humbled.
“I don’t think I’ve learned much that I didn’t already know — apart from technique,” he said. “It’s not like the first day I got hit in the head and said, ‘This is actually hard.’ I know it was hard and I knew what went into it.”
More than anything, he’s enjoying the ability to just train full time. With WWE, he was on the road nearly 300 days per year. Now, he makes a 90-minute ride from his Chicago home to Milwaukee, trains two to three times per day and then goes home to sleep in his own bed.
“What an easy job, right?” Punk said. “It’s way better for me. I was burnt out on traveling, so over it. People think I’m crazy, living in Chicago and driving to Milwaukee every day to train. That’s the easiest thing in the world!”
Punk expects his length to be an advantage, especially if he fights at 170. He also thinks having the experience performing in front of 70,000 to 80,000 at times in WWE will help him with nerves heading into his first UFC fight.
He knows he could get booed and he’s certainly been booed before. Punk does not think going from WWE to the UFC is a major leap and doesn’t care if others do.
“The people who are mad or think this is an embarrassment to the UFC or the sport?” Punk said. “I used to not be able to ride a bike. So when I was learning how to ride a bike, does Lance Armstrong come up to me and say: ‘Who the f*ck are you, trying to learn how to ride a bike?’ My attitude is punk rock across the board: Oh, you don’t think I should do it? Well, I’m going to do it and I’m going to try to be the best I f*cking can.”
IRVINE, Calif. — Yoel Romero might be out, but Ronaldo Souza still wants to fight at UFC on FOX 15 on April 18 in Newark. And ‘Jacare’ has an opponent in mind, too.
Souza’s manager Gilberto Faria told MMAFighting.com on Friday night during …
IRVINE, Calif. — Yoel Romero might be out, but Ronaldo Souza still wants to fight at UFC on FOX 15 on April 18 in Newark. And ‘Jacare’ has an opponent in mind, too.
Souza’s manager Gilberto Faria told MMAFighting.com on Friday night during Bellator 136 at Bren Events Center that “Jacare” would be interested in fighting Michael Bisping on the card. There is one caveat: Bisping is booked to face C.B. Dollaway one week later at UFC 186 in Montreal.
“He’s the kind of guy that has balls and wouldn’t say no to a fight,” Faria said of Bisping. “Looking at all the other guys out there right now that would be a great fight for ‘Jacare’ and someone that would be ready by April 18. That person that crossed my mind to get people excited — to get ‘Jacare’ excited — is Michael Bisping. If that happens, it’ll be a great show. We’ll see.”
Romero pulled out of the Souza fight Friday. Faria would prefer ‘Jacare’ not wait around for another two or three months for a fight. The Brazilian middleweight star is coming off an illness that put him out of the fight with Romero at UFC 184 in February. Souza is ready to fight now, but it would have to be against someone ranked. Bisping is No. 9 among UFC middleweight contenders, while ‘Jacare’ is No. 1.
“‘Jacare’ is ready to fight the best,” Faria said. “‘Jacare’ is ready to fight the champ right now. He wants to fight someone at the top or else it makes no sense.”
Team Bisping, though, doesn’t seem too interested since the fight with Dollaway is already only two weeks away.
“We trained for C.B. Dollaway and that’s only a couple weeks out,” Bisping’s manager Audie Attar told MMAFighting.com. “To switch it out for ‘Jacare’ doesn’t make sense, but we’d love to fight him after this fight.”
Attar said the idea of fighting ‘Jacare’ appeals to Bisping and it is something they briefly thought about. The timing just is not right for “The Count.”
“Every body wants a piece of Bisping,” Attar said. “Bisping is so marketable. People just want that. They want that opportunity. It’s their right to want that and likewise. Mike definitely would love to face him. He’s definitely on the list.”
The other options near the top of the middleweight division are limited. Vitor Belfort is getting the next shot at champion Chris Weidman at UFC 187 on May 23 in Las Vegas. Lyoto Machida and Luke Rockhold are facing off in the main event of UFC on FOX 15. Anderson Silva is likely to be suspended for testing positive for steroids and Tim Kennedy’s career status is uncertain.
Thales Leites and Roan Carneiro might be available, but probably not big enough names to satisfy ‘Jacare’ at this point. Bisping is the name that keeps coming up for Faria.
“If Bisping is up to the task and I believe he might be because he’s not a guy that says no to challenges, it would be great,” Faria said. “It would be cool.”
IRVINE, Calif. — Yoel Romero might be out, but Ronaldo Souza still wants to fight at UFC on FOX 15 on April 18 in Newark. And ‘Jacare’ has an opponent in mind, too.
Souza’s manager Gilberto Faria told MMAFighting.com on Friday night during …
IRVINE, Calif. — Yoel Romero might be out, but Ronaldo Souza still wants to fight at UFC on FOX 15 on April 18 in Newark. And ‘Jacare’ has an opponent in mind, too.
Souza’s manager Gilberto Faria told MMAFighting.com on Friday night during Bellator 136 at Bren Events Center that “Jacare” would be interested in fighting Michael Bisping on the card. There is one caveat: Bisping is booked to face C.B. Dollaway one week later at UFC 186 in Montreal.
“He’s the kind of guy that has balls and wouldn’t say no to a fight,” Faria said of Bisping. “Looking at all the other guys out there right now that would be a great fight for ‘Jacare’ and someone that would be ready by April 18. That person that crossed my mind to get people excited — to get ‘Jacare’ excited — is Michael Bisping. If that happens, it’ll be a great show. We’ll see.”
Romero pulled out of the Souza fight Friday. Faria would prefer ‘Jacare’ not wait around for another two or three months for a fight. The Brazilian middleweight star is coming off an illness that put him out of the fight with Romero at UFC 184 in February. Souza is ready to fight now, but it would have to be against someone ranked. Bisping is No. 9 among UFC middleweight contenders, while ‘Jacare’ is No. 1.
“‘Jacare’ is ready to fight the best,” Faria said. “‘Jacare’ is ready to fight the champ right now. He wants to fight someone at the top or else it makes no sense.”
Team Bisping, though, doesn’t seem too interested since the fight with Dollaway is already only two weeks away.
“We trained for C.B. Dollaway and that’s only a couple weeks out,” Bisping’s manager Audie Attar told MMAFighting.com. “To switch it out for ‘Jacare’ doesn’t make sense, but we’d love to fight him after this fight.”
Attar said the idea of fighting ‘Jacare’ appeals to Bisping and it is something they briefly thought about. The timing just is not right for “The Count.”
“Every body wants a piece of Bisping,” Attar said. “Bisping is so marketable. People just want that. They want that opportunity. It’s their right to want that and likewise. Mike definitely would love to face him. He’s definitely on the list.”
The other options near the top of the middleweight division are limited. Vitor Belfort is getting the next shot at champion Chris Weidman at UFC 187 on May 23 in Las Vegas. Lyoto Machida and Luke Rockhold are facing off in the main event of UFC on FOX 15. Anderson Silva is likely to be suspended for testing positive for steroids and Tim Kennedy’s career status is uncertain.
Thales Leites and Roan Carneiro might be available, but probably not big enough names to satisfy ‘Jacare’ at this point. Bisping is the name that keeps coming up for Faria.
“If Bisping is up to the task and I believe he might be because he’s not a guy that says no to challenges, it would be great,” Faria said. “It would be cool.”
MMA Fighting has UFC Fight Night 64 results for the Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 event Saturday afternoon in Krakow, Poland.In the main event, Gabriel Gonzaga will square off against Mirko Cro Cop in a heavweight battle. Gonzaga defeated Cro Cop in…
MMA Fighting has UFC Fight Night 64 results for the Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 event Saturday afternoon in Krakow, Poland.
In the main event, Gabriel Gonzaga will square off against Mirko Cro Cop in a heavweight battle. Gonzaga defeated Cro Cop in their previous meeting at UFC 70 via first-round knockout.
