UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, his challenger for the belt at UFC 182 on Jan. 3, kept it classy during Monday’s star-studded “The Time is Now” press conference, but there was plenty of tension between the…
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, his challenger for the belt at UFC 182 on Jan. 3, kept it classy during Monday’s star-studded “The Time is Now” press conference, but there was plenty of tension between the two fighters in several testy exchanges.No fight in MMA is more anticipated than the battle between these two, who have barely contained their disdain for each other in the months preceding the announcement that the two would finally meet – a battle between hated foes that came together when a training injury sidelined top contender Alex … Read the Full Article Here
Conor McGregor’s bravado was in the spotlight Monday at the UFC’s “The Time is Now” press conference at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, as the brash Irish superstar talked about his superiority in the UFC featherweight…
Conor McGregor’s bravado was in the spotlight Monday at the UFC’s “The Time is Now” press conference at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, as the brash Irish superstar talked about his superiority in the UFC featherweight division — and as a marquee name in the sport.
In anticipation of his next opponent, Germany’s Dennis Siver, at UFC Fight Night 59 in Boston on Jan. 18, the 26-year-old Dubliner put all his swagger on display, dismissing everyone in his division while taking shots at Ricardo Lamas’ assertion that McGregor “needs … Read the Full Article Here
Germany’s Dennis Siver faces the biggest fight of his career. After his victory against Charles Rosa at UFC Stockholm, the most successful German UFC fighter will meet Ireland’s Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC Fight Night 59 in Boston. It’s the…
Germany’s Dennis Siver faces the biggest fight of his career. After his victory against Charles Rosa at UFC Stockholm, the most successful German UFC fighter will meet Ireland’s Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC Fight Night 59 in Boston. It’s the first time that a German fighter is part of a UFC main event. We talked with Siver about his last and his upcoming fight.
What went through your mind when the UFC called and offered you the fight?That was surprising. Many have asked me whether I would fight him, but I did not think that it would happen that fast. I expected that I need to hav … Read the Full Article Here
In the main event of Bellator 131, Tito Ortiz narrowly defeated his latest nemesis, Stephan Bonnar, by split decision. The victory gives Ortiz his second straight, and there are only a few options that make sense for Tito’s next fight.
Bellator h…
In the main event of Bellator 131, Tito Ortiz narrowly defeated his latest nemesis, Stephan Bonnar, by split decision. The victory gives Ortiz his second straight, and there are only a few options that make sense for Tito’s next fight.
Bellator has announced the first three shows of 2015, and beyond those shows, they should book Tito Ortiz against either Quinton “Rampage” Jackson or “King” Mo Lawal. Either fight would register as significant with casual fans of mixed martial arts, and either would be worthy of headlining their first big “tent-pole” event of the new year.
The first reason Tito needs to fight one of these two is that there aren’t very many other fights that make sense. You could give Ortiz a title shot against the winner of Emanuel Newton vs. Liam McGeary, but he’d most likely get beat into a living death by either of them, as most people would anticipate, so beyond that fight he’d have little remaining value as a headliner once he were to lose.
Lawal has already lost to the champ twice, and he lost a close fight to Rampage earlier this year, so there aren’t a lot of valuable fights to him to take right now, either.
Per The MMA Report, at the Bellator 131 post-fight press conference, Lawal voiced his interest in fighting Ortiz, saying:
Now if you want some, you get some. I’m just saying. You fought Bonnar, no offense to Bonnar, but Bonnar has been gone for two years. That’s fine. I’ll Django your ass. Straight up, Django. I will bust your ass, straight up. I’m serious.
Although Lawal is confident that he’d beat the former UFC light heavyweight champion, he isn’t convinced that Ortiz will fight him, saying, “You ain’t going to fight me, I know that. You’re going to be, ‘My neck, my back, my knee.'”
The fight makes sense for both fighters, but if Tito is uncertain about getting in the cage with King Mo, he should fight the other former UFC light heavyweight champion on Bellator’s roster, Quinton Jackson.
Ortiz and Rampage were originally supposed to headline Bellator 106 before Tito had to pull out of the fight with a neck injury just a week before the event. The two then went on separate paths through the Bellator roster.
Rampage ran through Joey Beltran and Christian M’Pumbu and then won a narrow and controversial decision over Lawal in his three fights in the Bellator cage.
Ortiz came back from the neck injury and answered a challenge from then-middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 120, and put the Russian to sleep in the first round. Now that Bonnar is in his rear-view, the Rampage fight makes plenty of sense for Ortiz to take.
Since the departure of Bjorn Rebney from Bellator, Rampage Jackson’s fighting status has been up in the air. A recent Instagram post from Jackson indicated that he’s having problems with the new regime at Bellator but said he ultimately wasn’t done fighting. Regardless of what his qualms are, he originally signed with Bellator for a fight with Ortiz. He should have no problem facing Tito under Scott Coker’s new big lights and big entrance stage.
Even though Emanuel Newton is the champion and Liam McGeary is undefeated with every single victory coming by way of a stoppage, these three men are the biggest names in Bellator right now. It’s time for Ortiz to move away from the “freakshow” fights and the grudge matches, and face a legitimate challenge, which either Mo Lawal or Rampage Jackson could provide.
Kelvin Gastelum’s storybook ride from last pick of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen to top-10 welterweight became a stark reality on December 15. The TUF 17 winner submitted Jake Ellenberger at the end of their first round co-main …
Kelvin Gastelum‘s storybook ride from last pick of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen to top-10 welterweight became a stark reality on December 15. The TUF 17 winner submitted Jake Ellenberger at the end of their first round co-main event spot at UFC 180.
The No. 11 ranked Gastelum took on the seventh-ranked UFC welterweight in a fight that was set to prove one of two things. Either Gastelum was going to solidify himself as a top-10 welterweight contender, or Ellenberger was going to silence critics and put the breaks on the rising prospect. What happened was nothing short of astonishing. The 23-year-old Gastelumfinished The Juggernaut with a rear-naked choke in the closing seconds of the first frame, after a takedown and subsequent scramble.
Gastelum, a winner of four straight, was in trouble late, but brilliantly reversed the position and quickly took the back of the reeling Ellenberger. The Mexican fighter put on a great display of jiu-jitsu, but that wasn’t the only highlight. After it appeared that Ellenberger was getting the best of him striking-wise, Gastelum landed a critical takedown and was able to land a few powerful shots.
With the win over Ellenberger, Gastelum enters the top-10 of the 170-pound division and will require another elite test. Here are five potential opponents for the rising welterweight. For the purposes of this list, bouts were ranked based on their likelihood of occurring.
Kelvin Gastelum looked fantastic in his UFC 180 win over Jake Ellenberger on Saturday. After he weathered some big shots from The Juggernaut, a late first-round scramble allowed The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 winner to take his opponent’s back and end …
Kelvin Gastelum looked fantastic in his UFC 180 win over Jake Ellenberger on Saturday. After he weathered some big shots from The Juggernaut, a late first-round scramble allowed The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 winner to take his opponent’s back and end the bout with a rear-naked choke.
This result is significant for Gastelum, who should expect some opportunities to face bigger names in the near future. These four men would serve as interesting opponents for his next showing in the Octagon.
These opponents provide a mix of experience, fighting styles and abilities that could truly test how far Gastelum has come in his young mixed martial arts career.
In the main event of Bellator 131, Tito Ortiz