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UFC 196: Cain Velasquez says title rematch with Fabricio Werdum will be a ‘back-and-forth war’

Not one for much talking, former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez heard from critics when he fell via third-round submission to current titleholder Fabricio Werdum at the UFC 188 pay-per-view (PPV) back in June 2015.

The prolific NCAA wrestler placed the blame solely on himself and a few months later he proclaimed he would once again strap gold around his waist. That opportunity came sooner than some expected, with an immediate rematch being granted to him at UFC 196 on Sat., Feb. 6, 2016.

Velasquez talks about his plans to exact revenge on “Vai Cavalo” in this extended video preview (via MMA Junkie):

“Just to get revenge on somebody that’s beaten me, I love it. It’s going to be a war back-and-forth and I’m going to keep pushing forward until I get that ‘W.’ … The pain of losing hurts, but you always got to take the positive from it. There’s nothing I can say to make it better, but I can do something. I got this rematch and I can go out there and beat him. In this rematch I’m just able to show people that this belt is mine and it’s not so much about what happened in the last fight, it’s about going out there and proving it to the world. And I’m going to do that.”

Prior to his lackluster performance against the dangerous Brazilian, the 33-year-old Velasquez fell just once in 14 professional outings. Eleven of his 13 victories have come by way of knockout, and if he didn’t land flush on an opponent, the relentless pace usually on display by the Mexican-American would overwhelm them.

Werdum, meanwhile, has aged gracefully and greatly improved his striking attack with the help of famed Muay Thai coach Rafael Cordeiro to notch six-straight UFC victories (nine of 10 overall).

Both student and teacher are as confident as ever, and have even lent Velasquez some valuable advice before their rematch in Las Vegas.

Previous foe to Velasquez and Werdum, ex-champion Junior dos Santos, is picking the former to reclaim his 265-pound belt. Who do you got?

For more UFC 196 news and notes click here.

Not one for much talking, former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez heard from critics when he fell via third-round submission to current titleholder Fabricio Werdum at the UFC 188 pay-per-view (PPV) back in June 2015.

The prolific NCAA wrestler placed the blame solely on himself and a few months later he proclaimed he would once again strap gold around his waist. That opportunity came sooner than some expected, with an immediate rematch being granted to him at UFC 196 on Sat., Feb. 6, 2016.

Velasquez talks about his plans to exact revenge on “Vai Cavalo” in this extended video preview (via MMA Junkie):

“Just to get revenge on somebody that’s beaten me, I love it. It’s going to be a war back-and-forth and I’m going to keep pushing forward until I get that ‘W.’ … The pain of losing hurts, but you always got to take the positive from it. There’s nothing I can say to make it better, but I can do something. I got this rematch and I can go out there and beat him. In this rematch I’m just able to show people that this belt is mine and it’s not so much about what happened in the last fight, it’s about going out there and proving it to the world. And I’m going to do that.”

Prior to his lackluster performance against the dangerous Brazilian, the 33-year-old Velasquez fell just once in 14 professional outings. Eleven of his 13 victories have come by way of knockout, and if he didn’t land flush on an opponent, the relentless pace usually on display by the Mexican-American would overwhelm them.

Werdum, meanwhile, has aged gracefully and greatly improved his striking attack with the help of famed Muay Thai coach Rafael Cordeiro to notch six-straight UFC victories (nine of 10 overall).

Both student and teacher are as confident as ever, and have even lent Velasquez some valuable advice before their rematch in Las Vegas.

Previous foe to Velasquez and Werdum, ex-champion Junior dos Santos, is picking the former to reclaim his 265-pound belt. Who do you got?

For more UFC 196 news and notes click here.

UFC Quick Quote: Ryan Bader ‘doesn’t think it’s a given’ Jon Jones recaptures UFC title over Daniel Cormier

“I will say with Cormier with these last championship fights, going out there and being tested like that and knowing how it feels to muster up the energy and mentality to get through those fourth and fifth rounds with (Alexander) Gustafsson…

“I will say with Cormier with these last championship fights, going out there and being tested like that and knowing how it feels to muster up the energy and mentality to get through those fourth and fifth rounds with (Alexander) Gustafsson and all that kind of stuff and having already fought Jones. I think it’s anybody’s fight really. I think DC can win that fight and I obviously know Jones can win that fight. I don’t think it’s a given that Jones just goes out there and beats Cormier again. Cormier is that much more seasoned and been through that much more since that last fought.”

Despite previously sharing unkind words with each other, UFC Light Heavyweight contender Ryan Bader leaves obvious bias aside when asked for his prediction (via FOX Sports) on the future 205-pound title rematch between champion Daniel Cormier and rival Jon Jones.

Bader, who in the past has unsuccessfully campaigned for a title shot, sees “DC’s” tough wins over Anthony Johnson and two-time title challenger Alexander Gustafsson coming into play when the duo eventually do the Octagon tango later in 2016.

However, “Darth” also recognizes what “Bones'” stands to benefit — or lose — from his implementation of a new strength and conditioning program. From the looks of it, what Jones may give up in speed, he would more than make up for in power.

If you ask the Jackson-Wink MMA fighter yourself, he might tell you he lost zilch. No word yet on when Jones and Cormier will have their next war.

You can catch the No. 4-ranked Bader taking on “Rumble” in the UFC on FOX 18 main event this Saturday night (Jan. 30, 2016). For more on that fight card click here and here.

Video: New SNL Promo Leads To Speculation That Ronda Rousey Is Engaged

https://youtu.be/b6S5EJNtP30

A new promo released to hype tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Live, which features UFC’s Ronda Rousey as the host, has led to speculation regarding the relationship status of the former Women’s Bantamweight Champion.
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ronda-rousey-snl-2

https://youtu.be/b6S5EJNtP30

A new promo released to hype tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Live, which features UFC’s Ronda Rousey as the host, has led to speculation regarding the relationship status of the former Women’s Bantamweight Champion.

As seen above, Rousey is featured in a new promo for this week’s edition of SNL, which shows the UFC star alongside musical guest Selena Gomez and SNL cast member Cecily Strong, wearing an interesting piece of jewelry.

While it should be taken strictly as a rumor until reported otherwise, there is speculation that the ring Rousey is seen wearing in the above video (see 0:13 mark) is an engagement ring from UFC Heavyweight contender Travis “Hapa” Browne.

The recent ESPN The Magazine feature on Rousey detailed the closeness of her relationship with the fellow UFC star. You can read Rousey and Browne talking about their relationship from the article in the aforementioned issue at ESPN.com.

You can check out an additional promo for tonight’s episode of SNL featuring Ronda Rousey by clicking here.

Dominick Cruz: Dillashaw Is Surrounded By A Bunch Of People Feeding Him Crap

The story lines were deep and abundant leading up to last weekend’s (January 17, 2016) highly anticipated bantamweight title fight between TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz in the main event of UFC Fight Night 81. On one side, we had the long awaited return of Cruz, a man who had only competed once over the

The post Dominick Cruz: Dillashaw Is Surrounded By A Bunch Of People Feeding Him Crap appeared first on LowKick MMA.

The story lines were deep and abundant leading up to last weekend’s (January 17, 2016) highly anticipated bantamweight title fight between TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz in the main event of UFC Fight Night 81.

On one side, we had the long awaited return of Cruz, a man who had only competed once over the last four years due to a plethora of injuries, and a man who had never technically lost his title.

On the other side, we had a defending champion in Dillashaw, who had recently left his longtime home at Team Alpha Male to head to Colorado, joining Team Elevation and Duane Ludwig.

In the end, it was Cruz who came out on top, reclaiming his title in a narrow split decision victory. With the dust now settled on the bout, questions have continued to arise on how much the change in gyms has impacted “Killashaw”.

“The Dominator” feels as if the former champion left a tremendous amount of loyalty behind in Sacramento at Team Alpha Male:

“I think that he did what he needed to do for himself in order to grow, but at the same time I think that he left a lot of loyalties behind. I mean it’s no question that Faber and that whole camp put a lot of money into him and to help and to try to create him into a champion, and when he became and achieved that championship with that camp, he took the title to another camp and gave them all the credit. Come on, you’ve got to have some sort of loyalty. You’ve got to have some sort of care of what they did for you to build you into that because they did build him into that.” Cruz said on a recent edition of Chael Sonnen’s Podcast.

Continuing on, Cruz reiterated the idea of loyalty, stating that Dillashaw isn’t training where he came from:

“One hundred percent you’ve got to remember where you came from, and one hundred percent, TJ did not come from where he is at right now.”

So what exactly is the difference between the two? According to Cruz, it’s that he stayed with what he knows best unlike the now former champion:

“I stayed with my roots. I stayed with what I knew, and the people that I knew were going to tell me the truth. That’s people that were not yes men, people who were not trying to benefit off of me coming to their gym. People who were not going to get a percentage of my win bonus. People who started when I grew up in the trailer and knew me from Arizona. People who had me when I would show up to fights with no management and no corner men, and believed that I could win then with no real skill set. Those are the people that I’ve stuck with my whole career. So even when you become great, they’re going to tell you what it is and who you are, and without those people around me, I’d probably be lost. But, they always keep me grounded, they always keep me driven, and I’m not surrounded by yes men feeding me a bunch of crap.”

Do you agree with “The Dominator” here?

The post Dominick Cruz: Dillashaw Is Surrounded By A Bunch Of People Feeding Him Crap appeared first on LowKick MMA.

UFC 196 video: Werdum vs. Velasquez II extended preview

Watch the UFC’s extended preview video of UFC 196’s top two fights: Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez II and Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson. The next UFC pay-per-view is the traditional Super Bowl weekend card in Las Vegas, Nevada. Re…

Watch the UFC’s extended preview video of UFC 196’s top two fights: Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez II and Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson.

The next UFC pay-per-view is the traditional Super Bowl weekend card in Las Vegas, Nevada. Reigning heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will rematch the man he defeated to win the undisputed belt, Cain Velasquez. Also featured is a pivotal welterweight co-main event between Stephen Thompson and former UFC champion Johny Hendricks.

You can watch the extended nine-minute preview clip (starring Joe Rogan!) at the top of the page. UFC 196 takes place on Saturday, February 6th at the MGM Grand. Here’s the current fight card:

Main Card (10 PM ET, PPV)

Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez
Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson
Roy Nelson vs. Jared Rosholt
Rafael Cavalcante vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Joseph Benavidez vs. Zach Makovsky

Preliminary Card (FS1, 8 PM ET)

Josh Burkman vs. K.J. Noons
Damian Grabowski vs. Derrick Lewis
Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer
Misha Cirkunov vs. Alex Nicholson

Preliminary Card (Fight Pass, 6 PM ET)

Mickey Gall vs. Mike Jackson
Artem Lobov vs. Alex White
Ray Borg vs. Justin Scoggins
Noad Lahat vs. Diego Rivas