In the waning hours of April 27, Chael Sonnen stood inside the Octagon, beaten and disappointed, but highly complimentary of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.With 27 seconds remaining in the opening round and Jones landing punches and elbows on the downed Sonnen, referee Keith Peterson stepped in to stop the fight. For the third time in as many years, the chance to claim championship gold had escaped Sonnen’s grasp.As Joe Rogan pressed for answers and explanations of what went wrong, the 36-year-old from West Linn, Oregon had nothing but praise for the young champion that had just thor … Read the Full Article Here
In the waning hours of April 27, Chael Sonnen stood inside the Octagon, beaten and disappointed, but highly complimentary of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.With 27 seconds remaining in the opening round and Jones landing punches and elbows on the downed Sonnen, referee Keith Peterson stepped in to stop the fight. For the third time in as many years, the chance to claim championship gold had escaped Sonnen’s grasp.As Joe Rogan pressed for answers and explanations of what went wrong, the 36-year-old from West Linn, Oregon had nothing but praise for the young champion that had just thor … Read the Full Article Here
Mike Pyle had his summer all figured out.After earning a hard-fought split decision victory over Rick Story at UFC 160, the veteran welterweight was ready to press pause on his climb up the divisional ladder in order to prepare for the birth of his first child. In the midst of the best run of his UFC career, the 37-year-old with a sweet mullet and Southern drawl was intent on spending time with his growing family, and – let’s be honest – putting his black belt in fly fishing to good use.But you never know when opportunity is going to knock on your front door. When it does, the best laid plans … Read the Full Article Here
Mike Pyle had his summer all figured out.After earning a hard-fought split decision victory over Rick Story at UFC 160, the veteran welterweight was ready to press pause on his climb up the divisional ladder in order to prepare for the birth of his first child. In the midst of the best run of his UFC career, the 37-year-old with a sweet mullet and Southern drawl was intent on spending time with his growing family, and – let’s be honest – putting his black belt in fly fishing to good use.But you never know when opportunity is going to knock on your front door. When it does, the best laid plans … Read the Full Article Here
Cody Donovan was starting to work his way around to accepting that it was time to hang up his gloves and bring his fighting career to an end.It’s not a straight-line journey for a fighter.Very few athletes that wrap their hands with visions of stepping inside the UFC Octagon wake up one morning and know definitively that they’ve reached the end of the line. The process of getting to that point comes in fits and starts for most fighters – a gradual, reluctant acknowledgement that ambitions of competing on the biggest stage of the sport might be as close as they come to standing under the bright … Read the Full Article Here
Cody Donovan was starting to work his way around to accepting that it was time to hang up his gloves and bring his fighting career to an end.It’s not a straight-line journey for a fighter.Very few athletes that wrap their hands with visions of stepping inside the UFC Octagon wake up one morning and know definitively that they’ve reached the end of the line. The process of getting to that point comes in fits and starts for most fighters – a gradual, reluctant acknowledgement that ambitions of competing on the biggest stage of the sport might be as close as they come to standing under the bright … Read the Full Article Here
Say Team Alpha Male, and you immediately think of Urijah Faber; blonde locks, Colgate smile, and a championship pedigree.Former title challengers and perennial contenders Chad Mendes and Joseph Benavidez are the next two members of “The No Shirt Nation” most fight fans will identify, with surging bantamweight prospect and former Ultimate Fighter contestant T.J. Dillashaw rounding out the opening quartet.New head coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig has already become synonymous with the Sacramento, California-based outfit, in part because he’s a respected veteran in the fight game, but also because the t … Read the Full Article Here
Say Team Alpha Male, and you immediately think of Urijah Faber; blonde locks, Colgate smile, and a championship pedigree.Former title challengers and perennial contenders Chad Mendes and Joseph Benavidez are the next two members of “The No Shirt Nation” most fight fans will identify, with surging bantamweight prospect and former Ultimate Fighter contestant T.J. Dillashaw rounding out the opening quartet.New head coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig has already become synonymous with the Sacramento, California-based outfit, in part because he’s a respected veteran in the fight game, but also because the t … Read the Full Article Here
Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Chiesa is looking forward to his rematch with Seattle.Late last year, the 25-year-old Spokane, Washington representative was scheduled to make his post-TUF debut in “The Emerald City” as part of the December UFC on FOX event. It was the closest thing he was going to get to a hometown fight; an opportunity for friends and family to come out and watch him compete on the biggest stage in the sport, but it wasn’t meant to be.Just days before the event, Chiesa was forced to withdraw due to illness, giving the city a technical decision over the ambitious lightweight.“ … Read the Full Article Here
Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Chiesa is looking forward to his rematch with Seattle.Late last year, the 25-year-old Spokane, Washington representative was scheduled to make his post-TUF debut in “The Emerald City” as part of the December UFC on FOX event. It was the closest thing he was going to get to a hometown fight; an opportunity for friends and family to come out and watch him compete on the biggest stage in the sport, but it wasn’t meant to be.Just days before the event, Chiesa was forced to withdraw due to illness, giving the city a technical decision over the ambitious lightweight.“ … Read the Full Article Here
“I think when you have a goal, you have to live from that goal; you can’t just see it as a far-fetched thing,” says Chris Weidman, 29 years on Long Island tinting his voice. “You’ve got to live from it. If you wanted to buy a really nice house, but you don’t have the money for it, you have to visualize yourself in that house, in those nice rooms for a long time before you live in there. That’s the way I’m taking this fight.”From the time he made the decision to shelve his Olympic aspirations in favor of forging a career in the cage, Weidman has had his sights set on Anderson Silva.When he was … Read the Full Article Here
“I think when you have a goal, you have to live from that goal; you can’t just see it as a far-fetched thing,” says Chris Weidman, 29 years on Long Island tinting his voice. “You’ve got to live from it. If you wanted to buy a really nice house, but you don’t have the money for it, you have to visualize yourself in that house, in those nice rooms for a long time before you live in there. That’s the way I’m taking this fight.”From the time he made the decision to shelve his Olympic aspirations in favor of forging a career in the cage, Weidman has had his sights set on Anderson Silva.When he was … Read the Full Article Here