Author: Brian Oswald

Video: Watch UFC 190 Weigh-Ins Live, Featuring Ronda Rousey and Bethe Correia

Ronda Rousey took over the Internet this week—at least, in the sports corner of it—even Cosmo got in on the action. Rousey’s opponent, Bethe Correia, has been along for the ride.
She has definitely kept things interesting, to her …

Ronda Rousey took over the Internet this week—at least, in the sports corner of it—even Cosmo got in on the action. Rousey‘s opponent, Bethe Correia, has been along for the ride.

She has definitely kept things interesting, to her credit. Correia fought her way into this match by beating two of Rousey‘s friends in Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler but ruffled feathers with a discussion of Rousey potentially killing herself with a loss. Correia regretted the comment, per  of MMAFighting.com, but Rousey was having none of it.

Even in the fallout from that gaffe, Correia has remained unflappable, especially for someone who holds zero wins over top-10 opponents in the women’s bantamweight division. It’s like she knows something the rest of us don’t, or she just has the best poker face in the MMA world.

Correia is a massive underdog (+750), per Odds Shark. Maybe she has a Hail Mary pass in her—and anything that can happen inside an MMA cage usually does—but former UFC fighter and current commentator Kenny Florian succinctly summed up what’s at stake when he told Shaun Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com that he thinks a Correia win “would be the biggest upset in UFC history.”

The pre-fight media-day faceoffs took place Thursday. Correia got in Rousey‘s face and said a few words to her with intensity on her face. Rousey was having none of it. 

The big question on many people’s minds is this: What does Rousey have in store for Correia? She told TMZ Sports that she’s going to make Correia suffer:

If I beat you quickly, that’s me at my nicest and most merciful. … That means you get to go home unscathed with a paycheck. If I make the fight last longer, that means I don’t like you and I want you to go home looking different than the way you walked in…and I don’t like this chick.

The weigh-ins kick off at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, July 31. If you cannot stream the live video above, then follow along with our live blog for real-time text updates.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC’s Jon Jones Gives Motivational Talk to Kids at the Boys & Girls Club

TMZ Sports has released the first video of Jon Jones to surface since he appeared before a judge in late April for a felony hit-and-run charge.
In it, he tells a small group of kids at the Boys & Girls Club to work their hardest…

TMZ Sports has released the first video of Jon Jones to surface since he appeared before a judge in late April for a felony hit-and-run charge.

In it, he tells a small group of kids at the Boys & Girls Club to work their hardest until they achieve the goals they want to achieve in life.

“Know that you guys can do anything you want to do,” Jones says. “If I did it, you guys can totally do it.” 

Jones has remained relatively quiet over the last few months, and seeing him perform a public service is an encouraging sign for fans hoping he makes a return to the UFC. 

A few reports about Jones have leaked out over the last few months, mainly from current teammates who were asked about Jones’ status. One teammate, Igor Araujo, even mentioned that Jones had to clean the gym mats when the training session was over, per Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com. 

Araujo went on to tell Cruz that Jones is training every day, saying, “He’s always joking around and laughing. I spoke with him the other day and he’s cool, being positive.” 

On June 29, Steven Marrocco of MMAJunkie.com reported that the prosecutor in charge of the case “lacks two key pieces of evidence to move forward: medical records for the accident’s alleged victim and dispatch reports from the Albuquerque Police Department, according to the public information officer for the Bernalillo County (N.M.) District Attorney.”

Marrocco went on to report the following:

While a 60-day deadline to move forward on Jones’ case expires today, the prosecutor can still pursue charges against him. If the prosecutor’s office had met the deadline, the case would have gone before a grand jury, which would then decide whether or not to indict him and proceed with a criminal trial.

District Attorney PIO Kayla Anderson emailed MMAjunkie.com the following key info, per Marrocco: “We have requested both pieces of outstanding evidence and anticipate moving forward when we have a completed case investigation.”

It’s anyone’s guess as to how the court proceedings will play out. The district attorney could push for a felony conviction or plea it down to a misdemeanor with a deal.

Jail time is certainly possible, but it seems unlikely given how we’ve seen other high-profile cases with famous athletes turn out. It all comes down to how the district attorney wants to play it and how strongly the prosecution feels its case is. 

It will be interesting to see if and when Jones comes back to the UFC.

Back in May, Jones’ manager, Malki Kawa, told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour (via MMAFighting.com) that Jones would “take the time to do whatever he’s gotta do. And if it’s the last time we’ve seen him fight, it’s the last time we’ve seen him fight. And I’m OK with that.”

If Jones does in fact retire from the sport at just 28 years old, he will still go down as one of the all-time greats to have competed inside the MMA cage. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ronda Rousey: I’m Not a ‘Do-Nothing B—H’

It’s Ronda Rousey week on the Internet. That means everything she says and does is a possible talking point. And anything anyone famous says about her is potential fodder, too. 
Last night, the UFC released Episode 2 of UFC 190 Embedded. The embed…

It’s Ronda Rousey week on the Internet. That means everything she says and does is a possible talking point. And anything anyone famous says about her is potential fodder, too. 

Last night, the UFC released Episode 2 of UFC 190 Embedded. The embedded series is a fairly popular video blog series that the UFC puts out in the lead-up to a big fight card. It follows the fighters around as they gear up for Saturday night’s festivities. 

Rousey always seems to have something fresh to throw into the fold.

This time, she drops a term of hers that she uses for the kind of woman her mom raised her to not be—she calls it a ‘do nothing b—h,’ or a ‘DNB.’ It is a label she has for the kinda “chick” (her words, not ours) who tries to be pretty and be taken care of by somebody else. 

Whatever you think of Rousey and her moxie, she’s never been one to pull her punches. Some may even laud Rousey for setting a good example for other women to follow. She’ll certainly never be mistaken for a Stepford wife. 

Rousey goes on to talk about her body being considered masculine by some. She finds the notion hilarious and says that just because her body was built for a purpose other than “f–king’ millionaires” doesn’t make it masculine. “I think it’s femininely bad ass as f–k,” she exclaims. 

Rousey fights in Brazil this weekend at UFC 190 versus Brazil’s own Bethe Correia. From the looks of it, though, Rousey may have more support than any Brazilian competing on the card. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Lebron James Admits He Was Scared to Say Hello to Ronda Rousey at ESPYs

Just when you thought Ronda Rousey’s star couldn’t possibly shine any brighter…enter one LeBron James. The best basketball player on the planet, and one of the stars of the new movie Trainwreck, recently responded to a fan on Twitter who asked him, “…

Just when you thought Ronda Rousey’s star couldn’t possibly shine any brighter…enter one LeBron James. The best basketball player on the planet, and one of the stars of the new movie Trainwreck, recently responded to a fan on Twitter who asked him, “How long would you last in the ring with Ronda Rousey?”

James seems to get that he’d be at her mercy for as long as she allowed, before deciding to end it. He went on to say that he wanted to say hello to her at the ESPYs but didn’t want her to kick his butt.

It’s worth noting Rousey retweeted his tweet, so that must mean she approves.

We won’t delve into the “could Rousey beat a man…could she beat Mayweather?” silliness by breaking down how she’d fare against James. Shaquille O’Neal already admitted he’d only last 45 seconds against her, and he’s been training in jiu jitsu for years now.

Given that the two are both now getting into the movie making business, maybe they’ll end up on the same set together one of these days. Perhaps we’ll see James cageside at one of Rousey’s upcoming fights. Wherever and whenever their paths cross, King James and Rowdy Rousey seem destined to collide at some point.

Rousey fights in Brazil this weekend at UFC 190.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 69 Primer: Watch Joanna Jedrzejczyk Destroy Carla Esparza

She may have the hardest name in MMA to pronounce, but it’s worth learning to say it since the newest UFC champion may be sticking around for a while. 
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (9-0) wrested the women’s strawweight belt away from Carla Esparza (10-…

She may have the hardest name in MMA to pronounce, but it’s worth learning to say it since the newest UFC champion may be sticking around for a while. 

Joanna Jedrzejczyk (9-0) wrested the women’s strawweight belt away from Carla Esparza (10-3) at UFC 185 in March with a brutalizing striking incursion. Esparza’s wrestling-based attack was no match for the combined takedown defense and muay thai arsenal of Jedrzejczyk. 

She continued to punish Esparza with punches and elbow strikes until the referee finally waved it off with 44 seconds left in Round 2. 

Jedrzejczyk is set to defend her newly acquired belt at UFC Fight Night 69, which goes down this weekend in Germany. She’ll face No. 3-ranked Jessica Penne (12-2).

Penne is a well-rounded fighter who can attack from both the standing and grappling position. She’ll likely look for an opportunity to take the fight to the ground, as Jedrzejczyk is a six-time world champion in the striking discipline of muay thai. Penne has found good success with her ground game, as seven of her 12 wins have come by way of submission. 

Jedrzejczyk vs. Penne headlines UFC Fight Night 69, which will be streamed on the UFC’s online platform Fight Pass.

It was an interesting choice by the fight promotion to feature its newest champion on its digital network. One might think the UFC would rather continue to build up such an exciting fighter on pay-per-view or the Fox network. But the company needed a worthy main event for the Berlin show when Alexander Gustafsson vs. Glover Teixeira fell through. 

If Jedrzejczyk wins, she’ll likely be keeping a close eye on Claudia Gadelha vs. Jessica Aguilar. The UFC recently signed Aguilar, who is considered by many the best strawweight in mixed martial arts. Gadelha dropped a split decision to Jedrzejczyk in December 2014.  

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

3 Potential Fights for Cain Velasquez Following His UFC 188 Loss to Werdum

Most MMA pundits didn’t think it could be done. The notion of Cain Velasquez falling down—and not getting back up—was something our binary brains registered as inconceivable.
The chink in Velasquez’s seemingly impenetrable armor w…

Most MMA pundits didn’t think it could be done. The notion of Cain Velasquez falling down—and not getting back up—was something our binary brains registered as inconceivable.

The chink in Velasquez’s seemingly impenetrable armor was that he’d been out of action for 20 months, due to injury upon injury. And also the fact that Velasquez, despite his infamous cardio, maybe hadn’t given himself enough training time in Mexico City’s punishing altitude.

Fabricio Werdum was confident heading into this fight, so much so that it was a bit unnerving. Did he have some sort of ace up his sleeve? He clearly knew something that the rest of us didn’t.

It turns out what he knew was that he’d simply go out there and outwork and outpace Velasquez; he’d outstrike him and break him down, and the ace up his sleeve was his guillotine choke—the same high card he used to foil the great Fedor Emelianenko. 

Following his jaw-dropping performance, Werdum told Ariel Helwani of FoxSports.com that he’d like to offer Velasquez a rematch. Perhaps the UFC goes that route, but there are other worthy contenders out there who deserve their shot at Werdum. 

Velasquez can lick his wounds and bounce back by taking a fight with a heavyweight that’s a little bit farther down the totem poll. Whom should that be? Let’s explore three potential options. 

 

Travis Browne 

Oftentimes, the UFC likes to pair up two fighters who are both coming off losses. The highest-ranked heavyweight coming off a loss, after Velasquez, is No. 5-ranked Browne.

The 6’7″ striker was most recently on the losing end of one of the greatest rounds in MMA history. Browne has lost two of his last three, having beaten down Brendan Schaub and gotten beaten up by Werdum. 

The opportunity to knock off an all-time great in Velasquez would be a huge opportunity for Browne. But it also might be a nightmare matchup, and a loss would leave him reeling. For Velasquez, though, a win over Browne might be just what the doctor ordered. 

 

Mark Hunt 

Hunt is coming off back-to-back (TKO) losses to Werdum and Stipe Miocic.

A fight with a vengeful Velasquez would probably be the worst thing in the world for seventh-ranked Mark Hunt right now. But this article is about what makes sense for the fallen champ, and facing off with a fighter who doesn’t have the world’s best takedown defense could translate into a walk in the park for Velasquez. 

 

The Roy Nelson vs. Josh Barnett Loser 

This fight may actually be a loser-leaves-town match.

Nelson has taken a ton of punishment over the course of his career, and he has lost four of his last five. Barnett last fought back in December 2013, and it felt like he might never come back before taking this fight out of nowhere. 

If Barnett loses, he may ride off into the sunset. If Nelson loses, he may be put out to pasture. But if the loser is a glutton for punishment then they could be fed to a Velasquez who’d likely have little trouble grinding either out. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com