Previously on The Ultimate Fighter… UFC women’s bantamweight coach Ronda Rousey had the first fight pick, and opted to align her first female pick, 10-year-veteran Shayna Baszler against Team Tate’s first female pick, Julianna Pena, in a bout that would set the tone of the rest of the competition. Despite a series edge in experience and having controlled the first round with her grappling, Baszler came out flat in the second frame as Pena pushed the action, battering “The Queen of Spades” on the feet before sinking in a rear-naked choke late in the second round to give Team Tate the … Read the Full Article Here
Previously on The Ultimate Fighter… UFC women’s bantamweight coach Ronda Rousey had the first fight pick, and opted to align her first female pick, 10-year-veteran Shayna Baszler against Team Tate’s first female pick, Julianna Pena, in a bout that would set the tone of the rest of the competition. Despite a series edge in experience and having controlled the first round with her grappling, Baszler came out flat in the second frame as Pena pushed the action, battering “The Queen of Spades” on the feet before sinking in a rear-naked choke late in the second round to give Team Tate the … Read the Full Article Here
When you’re a fighter competing on the regional circuit, every time your phone rings, you can’t help but wonder if this is “The Call.”With each subsequent victory, as your winning streak grows – five, six, then seven, and then eight – hearing your agent or manager’s ringtone on your smartphone triggers an internal “Is this it?” reaction that can’t properly be put into words.A nervous energy courses through your body. Hopeful that you’re going to hear the words you’ve been waiting to hear, anxious that bad news awaits on the other end of the line, each call could be the one that brings your gre … Read the Full Article Here
When you’re a fighter competing on the regional circuit, every time your phone rings, you can’t help but wonder if this is “The Call.”With each subsequent victory, as your winning streak grows – five, six, then seven, and then eight – hearing your agent or manager’s ringtone on your smartphone triggers an internal “Is this it?” reaction that can’t properly be put into words.A nervous energy courses through your body. Hopeful that you’re going to hear the words you’ve been waiting to hear, anxious that bad news awaits on the other end of the line, each call could be the one that brings your gre … Read the Full Article Here
The UFC has held seven events in Brazil over the last two years. Over that span, there have been 61 bouts where a Brazilian fighter has shared the cage with a non-Brazilian opponent. From a statistical standpoint, that’s a pretty good sample size, and for the international fighters making the trek into the populous, UFC-loving nation, the accumulated data presents a daunting picture.In the two years since the Octagon first returned to Brazil, non-Brazilian fighters have a 13-48 record competing before the ravenous, chanting fans that have packed venues in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, J … Read the Full Article Here
The UFC has held seven events in Brazil over the last two years. Over that span, there have been 61 bouts where a Brazilian fighter has shared the cage with a non-Brazilian opponent. From a statistical standpoint, that’s a pretty good sample size, and for the international fighters making the trek into the populous, UFC-loving nation, the accumulated data presents a daunting picture.In the two years since the Octagon first returned to Brazil, non-Brazilian fighters have a 13-48 record competing before the ravenous, chanting fans that have packed venues in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, J … Read the Full Article Here
Well over a decade after his last appearance in the Octagon, and more than 15 years and 38 fights into a career that has taken him around the globe and back again, Josh Barnett is back in the UFC.If he were a Star Wars character, he’d be Boba Fett. If he were a Marvel comic book creation, he’d be Deadpool. Look at those fictitious individuals. The man known as “The Warmaster” is a mercenary – a hired gun tasked with doing a specific job, and paid an agreed upon price once the job is done.While some fighters would bristle at the label, the 35-year-old veteran who has spent the last decade as a … Read the Full Article Here
Well over a decade after his last appearance in the Octagon, and more than 15 years and 38 fights into a career that has taken him around the globe and back again, Josh Barnett is back in the UFC.If he were a Star Wars character, he’d be Boba Fett. If he were a Marvel comic book creation, he’d be Deadpool. Look at those fictitious individuals. The man known as “The Warmaster” is a mercenary – a hired gun tasked with doing a specific job, and paid an agreed upon price once the job is done.While some fighters would bristle at the label, the 35-year-old veteran who has spent the last decade as a … Read the Full Article Here
Walking through the bowels of Seattle’s Key Arena back in late July, Team Alpha Male flyweight standout Joseph Benavidez was singing the praises of his teammates.In town to watch Danny Castillo take on Tim Means and to serve as the featured fighter for another UFC Q&A session prior to Friday’s weigh ins, the conversation made its way to featherweight contender Chad Mendes. The former title challenger was back in Sacramento, preparing to do battle with Clay Guida a month later, in a fight that was originally set to take place this past April on FOX.The April show turned into a Team Alpha Male s … Read the Full Article Here
Walking through the bowels of Seattle’s Key Arena back in late July, Team Alpha Male flyweight standout Joseph Benavidez was singing the praises of his teammates.In town to watch Danny Castillo take on Tim Means and to serve as the featured fighter for another UFC Q&A session prior to Friday’s weigh ins, the conversation made its way to featherweight contender Chad Mendes. The former title challenger was back in Sacramento, preparing to do battle with Clay Guida a month later, in a fight that was originally set to take place this past April on FOX.The April show turned into a Team Alpha Male s … Read the Full Article Here
There is a tendency when writing features about athletes to push them to tell their full story a time or two, when it can have the greatest impact, only to relegate it to anecdotal status once you’re convinced the audience doesn’t want or need to hear about that element of the athlete’s life in great detail any longer.For UFC welterweight Court McGee, the fact that he is a recovering heroin addict and alcoholic who once was clinically dead following a drug overdose has become a “between two commas” descriptor – the story that was told in earnest during his introduction to the UFC audience on S … Read the Full Article Here
There is a tendency when writing features about athletes to push them to tell their full story a time or two, when it can have the greatest impact, only to relegate it to anecdotal status once you’re convinced the audience doesn’t want or need to hear about that element of the athlete’s life in great detail any longer.For UFC welterweight Court McGee, the fact that he is a recovering heroin addict and alcoholic who once was clinically dead following a drug overdose has become a “between two commas” descriptor – the story that was told in earnest during his introduction to the UFC audience on S … Read the Full Article Here