UFC’s Anthony Johnson agrees to counseling, women’s charity donation after gym incident

Anthony Johnson will seek counseling and make a donation to a Florida-based women’s charity after an incident with a woman at his gym and a subsequent angry Facebook status last week, the UFC announced Monday.

In a statement, the UFC said that it was “extremely disappointed” with Johnson’s recent behavior. Johnson apologized to the woman for the incident and the “insensitive” social media post afterward, the UFC said. According to the UFC, the woman accepted the apology and wanted to put things behind her.

Last Tuesday, Johnson posted a nasty rant on Facebook, calling the woman “ugly” and saying she looked like a “bag of dry dog food.” “Rumble,” a UFC light heavyweight contender, was angry because the woman was allegedly stretching near where people were lifting at the gym. Most concerning was that Johnson referenced picking up the woman’s yoga mat from underneath her and throwing it.

Johnson, 31, apologized one day later and the UFC said it would be launching a third-party investigation into the incident.

“Rumble” has a history of domestic violence. He was suspended by the UFC last year and later cleared after a woman claiming to be the mother of his children accused him of abuse. In 2010, Johnson pleaded no contest to a separate domestic violence charge.

The UFC’s full statement from Monday is below:

Following a thorough investigation by a third-party law firm, UFC® is extremely disappointed with Anthony Johnson’s recent actions, as the organization does not tolerate behavior of this nature from any athletes under contract with the UFC. Johnson personally apologized to the woman he verbally offended at a Florida gym last week and for the insensitive comments he made on social media afterwards. The woman accepted Johnson’s apology and indicated a desire to put this unfortunate matter behind them. In order to ensure these situations do not happen in the future, Johnson has agreed to participate in counseling and UFC will support him through this process. Johnson has also agreed to make a donation to a Florida-based women’s charity.

Anthony Johnson will seek counseling and make a donation to a Florida-based women’s charity after an incident with a woman at his gym and a subsequent angry Facebook status last week, the UFC announced Monday.

In a statement, the UFC said that it was “extremely disappointed” with Johnson’s recent behavior. Johnson apologized to the woman for the incident and the “insensitive” social media post afterward, the UFC said. According to the UFC, the woman accepted the apology and wanted to put things behind her.

Last Tuesday, Johnson posted a nasty rant on Facebook, calling the woman “ugly” and saying she looked like a “bag of dry dog food.” “Rumble,” a UFC light heavyweight contender, was angry because the woman was allegedly stretching near where people were lifting at the gym. Most concerning was that Johnson referenced picking up the woman’s yoga mat from underneath her and throwing it.

Johnson, 31, apologized one day later and the UFC said it would be launching a third-party investigation into the incident.

“Rumble” has a history of domestic violence. He was suspended by the UFC last year and later cleared after a woman claiming to be the mother of his children accused him of abuse. In 2010, Johnson pleaded no contest to a separate domestic violence charge.

The UFC’s full statement from Monday is below:

Following a thorough investigation by a third-party law firm, UFC® is extremely disappointed with Anthony Johnson’s recent actions, as the organization does not tolerate behavior of this nature from any athletes under contract with the UFC. Johnson personally apologized to the woman he verbally offended at a Florida gym last week and for the insensitive comments he made on social media afterwards. The woman accepted Johnson’s apology and indicated a desire to put this unfortunate matter behind them. In order to ensure these situations do not happen in the future, Johnson has agreed to participate in counseling and UFC will support him through this process. Johnson has also agreed to make a donation to a Florida-based women’s charity.

UFC fighters will have to inform USADA of whereabouts three months in advance under new anti-doping program

A fighter’s location at almost all times must be accounted for under the UFC’s new anti-doping program.
UFC athletes will need to inform USADA of their whereabouts three months in advance under the promotion’s new drug-testing program, UFC v…

A fighter’s location at almost all times must be accounted for under the UFC’s new anti-doping program.

UFC athletes will need to inform USADA of their whereabouts three months in advance under the promotion’s new drug-testing program, UFC vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky told Ariel Helwani on last Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. If a fighter does not fill out or inaccurately fills out the online form multiple times, he or she could face sanctions.

Novitzky said that fighters will be required to fill out their whereabouts over the coming months every quarter with a USADA website tool. Fighters will then be instructed to download a mobile app to update their location if any changes need to be made. Novitzky said USADA expects fighters to inform them of where they’ll be staying overnight and where they will be during the day (at a gym, job or school, etc.), so they can be subjected to random, out-of-competition drug testing.

“It is an inconvenience, but it’s necessary,” Novitzky said. “In order to run a good program and be able to test 365 days a year, it’s one of the sacrifices our athletes need to make, so that they can tell the world that we have the strongest anti-doping program in it.”

The new UFC exec said the process is user friendly and updating through the mobile app takes “20 to 30 seconds.” Novitzky added that USADA has plenty of experience using this system with its Olympic athletes.

If a fighter does not fill out his or her information or punches in incorrect data with regards to his or her whereabouts in the system, that fighter could face sanctions, Novitzky said. A fighter will get three strikes over a rolling, 12-month period and on the third strike he or she could be disciplined.

“This program wants to catch the intentional cheaters,” Novitzky said. “But we also have to have things in place so that if an athlete says, ‘I’m not gonna fill out my whereabouts or it’s not gonna be accurate, I don’t really care about it,’ we need to prevent that from happening.”

Novitzky said that if USADA informs him a fighter has received his or her first strike, Novitzky will be on the phone with that fighter immediately to see what happened. If a fighter gets a second strike? Novitzky said he would be on a plane to wherever that fighter is to “trail them” for one or two days to make sure they fill out their whereabouts information.

“That’s gonna be, I think, a big part of my role coming up,” Novitzky said.

The UFC’s anti-doping program under USADA began officially July 1, but it has not hit full steam yet. In October, a public website with drug-testing statistics will be launched. Novitzky said the transparency is what adds to this program being the “most comprehensive” in sports worldwide.

“Everything is out there in the open,” he said.

Jorge Masvidal vs. Dong Hyun Kim, Mirko Cro Cop vs. Anthony Hamilton added to UFC South Korea

The UFC has added some big names to its first card in South Korea.
Mirko Cro Cop will take on Anthony Hamilton, and Jorge Masvidal faces Dong Hyun Kim, at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Alves on Nov. 28 in Seoul, the UFC announced Sunday nig…

The UFC has added some big names to its first card in South Korea.

Mirko Cro Cop will take on Anthony Hamilton, and Jorge Masvidal faces Dong Hyun Kim, at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Alves on Nov. 28 in Seoul, the UFC announced Sunday night during UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Oliveira.

Cro Cop (31-11) said on his Facebook that he would be fighting Hamilton earlier this weekend. The Croatia MMA legend has won three straight and is coming off a third-round TKO over Gabriel Gonzaga in his UFC return in April. Hamilton (14-4) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Daniel Omielanczuk in April. He’s 2-2 in the UFC.

Masvidal (29-9) knocked out Cezar Ferreira in his welterweight debut last month. He has won four of his last five and called out Kim following the win over Ferreira. Kim (20-3-1), a South Korea native, has won five of his last six fights and is coming off a third-round submission win over Josh Burkman at UFC 187. His lone career losses have come against Tyron Woodley, Demian Maia and Carlos Condit — all top-10 welterweights.

Also added to the card was a matchup between Asian MMA luminary Yoshihiro Akiyama, a pop culture star in South Korea, and Alberto Mina.

UFC Fight Night 79 will be headlined by a welterweight contender fight between Benson Henderson and Thiago Alves. The card will take place at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena.

Report Card: Max Holloway gets a high grade in win

There is still plenty of action to break down from Sunday’s UFC Fight Night inside SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Canada. Check out my list of grades for the entire card below.
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  Read the Full Article Here

There is still plenty of action to break down from Sunday’s UFC Fight Night inside SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Canada. Check out my list of grades for the entire card below.
Read Full Article
  Read the Full Article Here

UFC Saskatoon results: Max Holloway wins after Charles Oliveira’s first-round injury

Max Holloway picked up a huge win. It just wasn’t the way anyone wanted it to happen.
Holloway won by TKO when Oliveira injured his shoulder or neck at just 1:39 of the first round the UFC Fight Night 74 main event Sunday night in Saskatoon,…

Max Holloway picked up a huge win. It just wasn’t the way anyone wanted it to happen.

Holloway won by TKO when Oliveira injured his shoulder or neck at just 1:39 of the first round the UFC Fight Night 74 main event Sunday night in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

“Send your prayers to Charles,” Holloway said afterward. “It’s part of the game. It’s sad to see that happening. This is how we make a living.”

Holloway (13-3) looked good for the first 90 seconds of the fight and was a major favorite. But winning like that was anticlimactic. The Hawaiian has now won seven in a row and has put himself in position for a big fight in the featherweight division. Holloway even pitched the UFC on a bout between him and Frankie Edgar in Hawaii.

Oliveira (20-5) had won four in a row before Sunday night. The Brazilian was coming off a third-round submission over Nik Lentz in May.

After getting schooled just three weeks ago by Demian Maia, Neil Magny could have used a big, bounce-back win. And he got it.

Magny defeated Erick Silva via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27) in the co-main event Sunday in a fight that he controlled throughout. One judge had Silva winning the fight, but it was hard to imagine how anyone could come to that conclusion.

Magny (15-4) started slowly, but by the end of the first round he was throwing Silva around the Octagon. Magny landed his jab at will throughout and followed it up with straight rights and uppercuts. He even won most grappling exchanges after the first few minutes.

It was a signature win for Magny, 28, who won seven straight before losing to Maia at UFC 190 on Aug. 1. Maia absolutely exposed Magny on the ground, but this was a big victory to get the Team Elevation fighter back on track. Silva (18-5), who was supposed to face Rick Story in this bout, had won two straight after beating Josh Koscheck in March. Silva, 31, has not beaten a single fighter currently in the UFC.

Josh Burkman had never been finished by strikes in his long MMA career. Until Sunday night. Patrick Cote stopped the durable Burkman at 1:26 of the third round in one of the best fights of the night in Saskatchewan. Cote wobbled Burkman in the first round and then finished the job in the third, both with big right hands.

Afterward, Cote (22-9) called out Hector Lombard. The 35-year-old Canadian has now won two in a row and five of his last six fights. Burkman (27-11) is 0-2 with a no contest (formerly a loss to Lombard) during this second UFC run.

Stunning the Canadian crowd, Francisco Trinaldo finished Chad Laprise by TKO in just 2:43 of the first round. Trinaldo landed a big left hand to drop Laprise, took Laprise’s back and then pounded away from dominant position. Referee Herb Dean had to step in.

Trinaldo (18-4) has now won four straight fights, but this was the first one of that stretch not in Brazil. Laprise (10-1), the former The Ultimate Fighter Nations winner and Ontario native, had been impressive in his two UFC wins previously.

Olivier Aubin-Mercier won his third straight fight in the UFC in a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) over Tony Sims. Aubin-Mercier (7-1) dominated every round with his wrestling and grappling. Sims (12-3) had his four-fight winning streak snapped.

Maryna Moroz’s prospect bubble burst in the main card opener. Valerie Letourneau played spoiler in the women’s strawweight division with a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) victory. Letourneau dropped Moroz with a right hand in the first round and outstruck her the entire fight in one of the best performances of her career.

Moroz (6-1) came in highly touted and undefeated after a first-round submission win over Joanne Calderwood in April. Letourneau (8-3) has now won four straight and the former bantamweight has only ever lost to Claudia Gadelha, Alexis Davis and Sarah Kaufman in her career.

On the prelims, Frankie Perez knocked out Sam Stout in just 54 seconds and then abruptly retired after the fight. Perez (10-2) is just 26 years old and that was his first UFC win.

Felipe Arantes finished Yves Jabouin via armbar submission in the first round and Nikita Krylov choked out Marcos Rogerio de Lima in the first. Misha Cirkunov finished Daniel Jolly via first-round TKO, Shane Campbell beat Elias Silverio by unanimous decision and Chris Kelades defeated Chris Beal via split decision.

Roger Huerta: Famous Sports Illustrated cover ‘wasn’t monumental’ for me

Roger Huerta was the first MMA fighter to ever grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. But if you enter Huerta’s home in Thailand today, that 2007 issue will be nowhere to be found.
It has been eight years since it came out and only one other…

Roger Huerta was the first MMA fighter to ever grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. But if you enter Huerta’s home in Thailand today, that 2007 issue will be nowhere to be found.

It has been eight years since it came out and only one other mixed martial artist has been on the cover since: Ronda Rousey earlier this year. Even so, Huerta doesn’t think it’s a big deal at all.

“It wasn’t monumental for me, I suppose,” he told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “If I would have won a UFC world title, f*ck that would have been definitely monumental. Because you actually work really hard for that.”

The UFC belt no longer crosses Huerta’s mind. He lives in Phuket now, trains and coaches at Tiger Muay Thai and hasn’t even entered the United States in two years. Huerta has not fought in the UFC since 2009.

Huerta’s dreams of winning a UFC title have now been passed along to his students, Mairbek Taismuov and Zuhaira Tukhugov. As for him, “El Matador” is now gunning for the ONE Championship lightweight strap. In his next bout, Huerta will meet Koji Ando at ONE: Dynasty of Champions in Shanghai, China. He’s hoping a win will earn him a shot against ONE lightweight titleholder Shinya Aoki.

“You set goals for yourself,” Huerta said. “I want to finish him in the first round and then go after Shinya.”

Huerta (22-7-1, 1 NC), now 32 years old, was once one of the brightest prospects in all of MMA. His third-round submission win over Clay Guida in 2007 not only won Fight of the Year and earned his place on the Sports Illustrated cover. It also vaulted him into the UFC lightweight title discussion.

But he lost his next two bouts, against Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard, and just like that he was out of the UFC. Huerta won his first fight in Bellator in 2010, but then lost four straight, including his ONE debut against Zorobabel Moreira via soccer kick knockout in 2012.

It took Huerta two years to return to the cage after that devastating KO. And he almost didn’t at all.

“I was already willing to call it quits,” Huerta said. “After that soccer kick, I was like ‘Alright, that’s it for me.'”

Huerta focused at that point at developing the team at Tiger Muay Thai and it has thrived with guys like Taisumov, Tukhugov, Nick Hein and others. After resting his body and having his teammates tell him he should give it another go, Huerta returned in August 2014 and knocked out Christian Holley in the third round at ONE: Reign of Champions. It was his first win in four years.

Recently, Huerta signed a four-fight contract extension with ONE. He didn’t even consider another promotion. The Austin, Texas native is happy in Asia with his team and enjoys traveling the world. Huerta is out of touch with anything going on back home.

“To be quite honest with you, I don’t pay attention to the U.S.,” Huerta said.

No, Huerta never got to achieve his dream of winning a UFC title, but he doesn’t seem to mind at all. He is happy in Thailand and content to live the rest of his life overseas. If Huerta could advise the 25-year-old version of himself, he would reassure him.

“I would tell that guy, yeah it’s all gonna be good,” Huerta said. “It all works out.”

The Huerta who was on the Sports Illustrated cover seems far removed. Then again, maybe that person didn’t really exist in the first place. Huerta never really thought of it as a major accomplishment anyway.

“It wasn’t a goal, I guess,” he said. “It wasn’t a goal I was setting for myself, like I want to be on the cover of this. It wasn’t that.”