UFC lightweight Michael Johnson (15-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has pulled out of his fight with Josh Thomson (20-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at UFC on Fox 12 with an injury. MMAJunkie.com reported the news on Friday.
Update: UFC.com has reported that B…
UFC lightweight Michael Johnson (15-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has pulled out of his fight with Josh Thomson (20-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at UFC on Fox 12 with an injury. MMAJunkie.com reported the news on Friday.
Update: UFC.com has reported that Bobby Green will be stepping up on short notice to face Thomson. Green was originally slated to face Abel Trujillo, in a fight that was moved from UFC 176 to UFC Fight Night 47 in Bangor, Maine.
The card, which is headlined by a welterweight showdown between top contenders Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown, is set for July 26 in San Jose, California. The scrap between the two Top 10 lightweights was set as the opening bout of the main card.
The 35-year-old Thomson is coming off a narrow split-decision loss to Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 10 back in January, and he has gone 4-3 in his last seven fights dating back to 2010. Despite the mixed results, the always-competitive Thomson is ranked No. 3 on the UFC.com rankings.
Johnson is riding an impressive three-fight winning streak, which includes wins over Joe Lauzon, Gleison Tibau and Melvin Guillard. A win over a veteran like Thomson would have propelled him that much closer to title contention.
Taking a fight on two weeks’ notice is a lot to ask in the UFC’s lightweight division, especially against a crafty veteran like Thomson, who has had a full training camp for this fight. It’s a big step up in competition for the No. 12-ranked Green, who will be looking to make it 4-0 inside the Octagon after wins over Jacob Volkmann, James Krause and Pat Healy.
The details of Johnson’s injury aren’t known at this point, and there is no time frame on when he’ll be able to return to action.
Schadenfreude is the German word for taking pleasure from the misfortune of others, and aside from scheisseporn it’s pretty much the best word to come out of Germany untranslated. The German fußball team gave us some textbook definition schadenfreude action when they crushed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup earlier this week, and everyone on the internet delighted in watching the host nation weep like little bitches during the meltdown.
Evil pleasure aside, there’s something fascinating about seeing another human wallowing in sadness. And outside of a choking team’s arena or third world country, I’d argue there’s no better place to stare sadness in the face than at a UFC post-fight press conference.
While most of the defeated fighters on a card get to skip the conference and ruminate on their losses in private, the loser of the main event is expected to show up and answer sharp questions from our crack MMA media like “How do you feel right now?” and “What is next now that you’ve failed?”
The look on their faces as they struggle to answer will hit you right in the feels. Or trigger dat schadenfreude if you’re a dick. Since I am definitely a dick, allow me to be your sadness sommelier on this tour through the saddest sadfaces at UFC post-fight press conferences…
(“I am not impress wit my performance” – Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting)
Schadenfreude is the German word for taking pleasure from the misfortune of others, and aside from scheisseporn it’s pretty much the best word to come out of Germany untranslated. The German fußball team gave us some textbook definition schadenfreude action when they crushed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup earlier this week, and everyone on the internet delighted in watching the host nation weep like little bitches during the meltdown.
Evil pleasure aside, there’s something fascinating about seeing another human wallowing in sadness. And outside of a choking team’s arena or third world country, I’d argue there’s no better place to stare sadness in the face than at a UFC post-fight press conference.
While most of the defeated fighters on a card get to skip the conference and ruminate on their losses in private, the loser of the main event is expected to show up and answer sharp questions from our crack MMA media like “How do you feel right now?” and “What is next now that you’ve failed?”
The look on their faces as they struggle to answer will hit you right in the feels. Or trigger dat schadenfreude if you’re a dick. Since I am definitely a dick, allow me to be your sadness sommelier on this tour through the saddest sadfaces at UFC post-fight press conferences…
After three failed runs at the lightweight title, Kenny dropped down to 145 for one last attempt at a UFC belt. Unfortunately he ran into the buzzsaw that was prime Jose Aldo and lost the fight 49-46 on all three judges’ scorecards. I’m pretty sure he would have shed a few tears if his body had the moisture to spare after cutting down to featherweight.
It seemed pretty damn obvious to everyone except BJ Penn that he was gonna get tool time’d by Frankie Edgar in their third fight. It wasn’t until the post-fight conference that the reality of his situation hit BJ in the face harder than anything Frankie threw in the cage. “I shouldn’t have come back.” Welcome to everyone’s conclusion from nine months ago, BJ.
Georges is the only winner to make it onto this list for the epic sadface he pulled after his ‘victory’ over Johny Hendricks. First off, you know a guy as OCD as GSP was aware he didn’t exactly perform to his typical flawless standard. Secondly, he not only had those ‘personal problems’ to deal with, his awkward out of the blue retirement in the cage went over about as well as a fart in church. That all led to St Pierre giving us a little glimpse of what things are like in his dark place.
For all the hype and accolades Lyoto got out of this fight, he knows the score: he’s 36 years old, and only managed to secure this title shot by default because the rest of the middleweight division turned out to be on steroids. Unless he’s willing to push his career into Randy Couture territory, we probably just witnessed his last kick at the title shot can.
Here’s a twofer that proves the only thing worse than choking and losing a title fight with two minutes remaining is choking and losing a title fight in the second round. Not pictured: the sad face Chael has now as he sits on his couch with his withered testicles in one hand and a lifetime prescription for TRT in the other.
It only took 16 seconds for Dana White and the UFC brass to realize they were in trouble—UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was much, much better than anybody they could match her up with.
Months prior to Rousey’s UFC 175 matchup with A…
It only took 16 seconds for Dana White and the UFC brass to realize they were in trouble—UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was much, much better than anybody they could match her up with.
Months prior to Rousey’s UFC 175 matchup with Alexis Davis, White and company were looking to sign some much-needed talent to their shallow women’s roster to challenge their trailblazing superstar.
They attempted to lure former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion and now silver-screen action hero Gina Carano back inside the cage, but they failed.
Meanwhile, fans urged the promotion to find a way to sign another big name to the team, like Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino. They failed again.
Instead, in comes former professional boxing champion and now undefeated women’s mixed martial artist Holly Holm to serve as one of the few quality challengers Rousey has left.
It’s unlikely Holm gets an immediate title shot, regardless of her boxing and MMA accolades. She’ll likely have to step inside the Octagon against an established opponent and prove she won’t just be another body for Rousey to toss or another arm for her to bar break.
Keep reading to see the top three opponents for Holm’s UFC debut.
UFC 176 is the second event in the “modern” era of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to suffer the fate of being cancelled. The news of Jose Aldo’s injury threw the mixed martial arts world into immediate speculation as to what the p…
UFC 176 is the second event in the “modern” era of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to suffer the fate of being cancelled. The news of Jose Aldo’s injury threw the mixed martial arts world into immediate speculation as to what the promotion would do to recover.
The announcement that this event would be scrapped didn’t come as a great surprise to anyone who follows the industry. However, the situation is cause for some concern and negativity, but the benefits of cancelling UFC 176 will be felt at the same time.
The Negative Effects of Cancelling UFC 176
Having to cancel the event due to an injury is a glaring example of how the combination of the current schedule and lack of star power is an issue that needs to be addressed.
With Aldo going down to injury, the UFC scrambled to try to find a replacement main event. Joe Rogan was thrown under the bus when he asked Ronda Rousey if she would be able to compete, even though she had just fought moments earlier at UFC 175. Chris Weidman is also on the shelf. Johny Hendricks is injured. Demetrious Johnson just fought and isn’t the draw the UFC wants him to be. Jon Jones, T.J. Dillashaw, Anthony Pettis and Cain Velasquez are all tied up in other commitments to the UFC.
So who does that leave? No one, and that is the issue.
The UFC doesn’t have the luxury of company men such as Rich Franklin or Chael Sonnen to step up to compete last minute. Plus, there aren’t many other fighters who don’t carry titles who fans would be willing to spend money on a PPV to see. Had the promotion decided to move forward with the card, the show was widely expected to have abysmal numbers. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer (via BJPenn.com) reported that UFC 174 had buy rates lower than Bellator’s premiere on PPV, and the UFC does not want to go through that situation again.
Ten UFC events were planned to be held between July and August, which ties up a large number of fighters that could have been inserted into this slot. The UFC is pushing very hard to interject as much content into the sports world as possible, and that has created a schedule that has stretched their star power and viewer interest very thin.
Unable to find any names that would garner attention in three weeks forced the company to pull the plug.
The Positive Effects of Cancelling UFC 176
The event’s card featured a number of bouts that were highly anticipated. Now that the show is not being held, though, the UFC is forced to move the fights to other events, and the additions will strengthen those cards substantially.
The majority of the fights have been moved to either the UFC Fight Night event on August 23 or UFC 177. The Ronald Souza vs. Gegard Mousassi fight is expected to become the main event of said UFC Fight Night, which improves that card drastically.
One of the main complaints about the UFC planning so many cards at once is that the quality of fights was being diminished. The cancellation of UFC 176 is a short term solution to that problem. The remaining cards are immediately improved, and the potential presents itself that they will now get more viewership than they would have if UFC 176 had not been cancelled.
Chad Mendes versus Jose Aldo II is an important fight in the UFC, but unfortunately, fight fans will have to wait to see what happens the next time these competitors step in the cage.
While the initial response was negative, there are benefits to the cancellation of UFC 176 that should be celebrated, including the immediate improvement of other UFC events in August.
First, it was Vitor Belfort’s elevated levels of testosterone in February. Next came Wanderlei Silva’s refusal to be tested in May. It all came to a climax only Shakespeare could pen when Chael Sonnen tested positive for human growth hormone, among a f…
“They randomly test three dudes and all three fail,” Kennedy first told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “All in my weight class. All dudes I could potentially be fighting. I went from just being vocal about drug use, to saying to myself, ‘I have to make a stand about this.'”
Kennedy’s set to duke it out with former Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero at UFC 178 in Las Vegas. He won’t be taking any chances this time around—he wants random testing leading up to his middleweight clash.
Though Kennedy isn’t necessarily accusing Romero of cheating the sport, the recipient of the Army’s Bronze Star Medal with the “V” device isn’t so sure about any of the other fighters currently competing under the Zuffa banner.
“The first time [the NSAC] randomly tested people, everybody failed,” Kennedy told Okamoto. “Imagine what that looks like across 450 athletes. Are we talking about 60 or 70 percent? I really believe it’s somewhere in that range of fighters that are using.”
Kennedy went to Twitter to reiterate what his request was truly all about
This isn’t the first time that a high-profile UFC fighter has publicly requested extensive drug testing before a fight. Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre first requested testing by VADA—the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association—leading up to his bout with current UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. Jon Jones also went ahead and requested random testing prior to his championship fight with Glover Teixeira at UFC 172.
Though the UFC has already agreed to open up the checkbook to fund the testing—which comes out to a whopping $45,000 per fight—Kennedy originally offered to pay for his half of the bill.
“Whatever it takes to ensure we are moving forward toward having a clean sport, which we are nowhere near right now,” Kennedy told Okamoto. “Something has to change.”
Currently ranked sixth in the UFC’s middleweight division, a decisive victory over an up-and-coming fighter in No. 11 Yoel Romero could put Kennedy a few inches closer to a highly coveted opportunity at UFC gold. A decisive victory against performance-enhancing drugs at UFC 178, and all future events, could inch Kennedy and the UFC a bit closer to a highly coveted opportunity to wield credibility and transparency.
Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.
The former No. 1 contender for Ronda Rousey’s UFC women’s bantamweight title will make her return to the cage at UFC 178 in Las Vegas on September 27.
Cat Zingano (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who has been out of action since defeating Miesha T…
The former No. 1 contender for Ronda Rousey’s UFC women’s bantamweight title will make her return to the cage at UFC 178 in Las Vegas on September 27.
Cat Zingano (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who has been out of action since defeating Miesha Tate at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale in April 2013, will take on Amanda Nunes (9-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the Octagon when the UFC returns to the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Kevin Iole from Yahoo Sports first reported the news.
After earning a coaching spot opposite Ronda Rousey on the 18th season of TUF, Zingano was forced off the show with a knee injury and was replaced by Tate, who also filled in for Zingano against Rousey at UFC 168 in December, losing by third-round armbar.
The injury wasn’t the only thing that kept Zingano sidelined, as she has also had to deal with the suicide of her husband, Mauricio Zingano, earlier this year. The 32-year-old returned to training back in May and has been anxious to step back inside the Octagon.
Despite Zingano’s No. 1 contender status, it makes sense that she gets another fight under her belt before mixing it up with the ultra-dominant Rousey, who just made quick work of highly touted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Alexis Davis at UFC 175. She isn’t exactly getting a tune-up fight in the Brazilian Amanda Nunes, who has finished both of her UFC fights with first-round TKOs.
Should Alpha Cat get past Nunes, she would most likely be the next challenger for the women’s bantamweight title, as there are no clear-cut standouts in the division, and the UFC has yet to sign either Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino or Gina Carano to vie for Rousey’s title.
UFC 178 is headlined by Jones vs. Gustafsson II and also features the return of former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who is returning after a three-year layoff from the sport.
UFC lightweight Michael Johnson (15-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has pulled out of his fight with Josh Thomson (20-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at UFC on Fox 12 with an injury. MMAJunkie.com reported the news on Friday. 
