Ronda Rousey’s first trip to the Octagon was highly successful, both in and out of the cage if early results are any indication. The first ever women’s UFC champion came out and put on a stirring performance, got caught in some tough situations courtes…
Ronda Rousey‘s first trip to the Octagon was highly successful, both in and out of the cage if early results are any indication.
The first ever women’s UFC champion came out and put on a stirring performance, got caught in some tough situations courtesy of her opponent Liz Carmouche and still finished the fight with her signature armbar submission with just seconds to go in the first round.
Almost like the story was written before the night ever started, Ronda Rousey‘s star was on the rise before Saturday night, but it absolutely launched into the atmosphere with her performance and the attention she received from the fight.
Like any champion in the UFC, however, Rousey won’t get to sit back and rest, relax and enjoy the victory too long before another contender comes along waiting to challenge her.
The UFC is still filling out its roster of the women’s bantamweight (135 pounds) division, but the upcoming fight at the Ultimate Fighter 17 finale in April could be just the ticket to punch a trip to face Rousey next.
“That would make sense,” UFC President Dana White said at the UFC 157 post-fight press conference when asked if the winner of Tate vs. Zingano would receive the next crack at Rousey.
Former Strikeforce women’s champion Miesha Tate, who lost the belt to Rousey in a hotly contested fight from last March, takes on undefeated prospect Cat Zingano in a pivotal match in the bantamweight division.
Tate has been chomping at the bit to get a rematch with Rousey ever since losing the title to her in 2012. Their rivalry received the most attention of any women’s fight at the time since the featherweight title match in Strikeforce between Gina Carano and Cris “Cyborg” Santos in 2009.
Zingano comes to the party with a little less hype, but a lot of talent. She carries a perfect 7-0 record and has a growing reputation as a very dangerous fighter with real finishing power, having only gone to the judges’ scorecards once in her career.
There’s even more incentive now for the two women when they face off at the Ultimate Fighter 17 finale, with the winner more than likely next in line for a title shot and a chance to beat Ronda Rousey.
Damon Martin is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
It didn’t take long for Jon Fitch to gain the interest of other mixed martial arts promotions following his release from the UFC earlier this week. Ali Abdel-Aziz, the vice president and matchmaker for World Series of Fighting, confirms to Bleacher Rep…
It didn’t take long for Jon Fitch to gain the interest of other mixed martial arts promotions following his release from the UFC earlier this week.
Ali Abdel-Aziz, the vice president and matchmaker for World Series of Fighting, confirms to Bleacher Report that they have begun preliminary discussions to potentially bring Fitch to the up-and-coming promotion in 2013.
While no formal offer has been made, Abdel-Aziz says that they have talked to Fitch’s management team since his release and are interested in the services of the former UFC welterweight contender.
“We would be honored to have Jon Fitch in our promotion,” said Abdel-Aziz speaking to Bleacher Report on Friday. “He is one of the top welterweights in the sport.”
Fitch’s UFC run came to a shocking end earlier this week when UFC president Dana White revealed that the former title contender had been released following his loss to Demian Maia at UFC 156 earlier this month.
Overall, Fitch went 14-3-1 with the UFC during his tenure with the promotion where he sat near the top of the welterweight division for much of his career.
His lone title shot came at UFC 87 in 2008 where Fitch lost to champion Georges St-Pierre. That story later became the subject of a documentary called Such Great Heights that followed Fitch from his training camp all the way to the title-fight loss to St-Pierre.
As soon as Fitch was released, many wondered how long it would take the American Kickboxing Academy welterweight to find a new home, and while Bellator president Bjorn Rebney said his promotion wasn’t interested in the services of the former UFC fighter, it appears other organizations are actively looking into signing him.
World Series of Fighting recently signed a multi-year, multi-show deal with NBC Sports Network to broadcast their shows. Their second card takes place on March 23 when two former UFC fighters square off as Andrei Arlovski meets Anthony Johnson in the main event.
Fitch has not been offered a contract yet with World Series of Fighting, but they are definitely interested in acquiring him if the right deal can be struck.
Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
Michael Bisping has been fighting at well less than 100 percent for some time now and he’s been just too stubborn for his own good to get the problem fixed. In a recent interview with ESPN in England, Bisping revealed that he’s suffering from a nerve p…
Michael Bisping has been fighting at well less than 100 percent for some time now and he’s been just too stubborn for his own good to get the problem fixed.
In a recent interview with ESPN in England, Bisping revealed that he’s suffering from a nerve problem in his neck that’s causing his right arm to atrophy. That means he’s losing muscle mass and strength because the nerves aren’t allowing proper signal to get to his body.
Bisping admitted at the time that he was looking to have surgery to correct the issue, and immediately the world wanted to know if that meant he would be missing out on his April 27 bout against Alan Belcher at UFC 159.
Bleacher Report spoke with Bisping‘s managers at Paradigm MMA Management on Wednesday and they verified that the British fighter’s surgery is nothing more than a minor outpatient procedure that will allow him to get back into the gym as early as the following day.
Bisping verified the information as well via text message to Bleacher Report and updated the situation via his Twitter account on Wednesday.
“Just to clarify I am not having surgery, my fight with Belcher is not in peril,” wrote Bisping. “I’m having a minor procedure maybe to fix an old problem.”
Bisping later stated that he’s hoping the procedure just involves some injections in his neck to help relieve the pinched nerve that’s causing all of the problems.
UFC welterweight David Mitchell experienced a similar issue in his neck that kept him feeling well less than 100 percent for the last few years of his career. He eventually had corrective surgery to repair the damage and is now working his way back to full strength.
Bisping‘s issue doesn’t seem to be as severe, and the minor procedure he’s undergoing will only help relieve the blockage being caused by the pinched nerve to allow his right arm to regain full feeling and muscle strength.
Bisping expects to have the procedure soon as he gets into full training mode again for his UFC 159 showdown with Alan Belcher on April 27 in New Jersey.
Damon Martin is featured columnist at Bleacher Report.
For most fighters in the UFC, earning a shot at a title is the most coveted moment in their careers, and championship bouts rarely happen for the majority of those under contract. So it’s a special time whenever the headline reads “Fighter promised nex…
For most fighters in the UFC, earning a shot at a title is the most coveted moment in their careers, and championship bouts rarely happen for the majority of those under contract.
So it’s a special time whenever the headline reads “Fighter promised next title shot with victory” and just about everyone gets hyped up about the added bonus attached to an upcoming bout.
The problem is those promised title shots are never guaranteed, and a great many times, something different happens that completely turns the situation on its head.
Back in 2010, just days before Jon Fitch battled ThiagoAlves on the main card of UFC 117, UFC President Dana White declared that with a win, Fitch would move into the No. 1 contender’s position and face the winner of the scheduled fight between welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and Josh Koscheck.
Fitch did his part and beat Alves soundly over three rounds, but when the night was over, and more importantly after St-Pierre beat Koscheck, the promised title shot disappeared like a puff of smoke. Now just under three years later, Fitch finds himself out of a job.
The same can be said for the hype surrounding the events at UFC on Fox 4 in August 2012. Without a title fight headlining the card, White upped the ante by declaring that the most impressive fighter of the evening’s two light heavyweight main and co-main events would then slip into a title shot against champion Jon Jones.
The four names included former UFC light heavyweight champions Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and LyotoMachida as well as Ryan Bader and Brandon Vera. When the night was over, Machida had the most impressive performance after knocking out Bader, and he was declared the new No. 1 contender.
The only problem is UFC light heavyweight champion Jones had no desire to face Machida less than a year after suffocating the Brazilian with a guillotine choke and leaving him laying like a heap against the cage at a bout they had in Toronto as part of UFC 140.
Technically, Machida did get offered a fight with Jones a month following his fight with Bader after Dan Henderson suffered a knee injury that forced him out of his bout at UFC 151. Machida was offered the fight with Jones, but ultimately turned it down because he would only have about three weeks to prepare for the championship rematch.
Since that time, Machida has just gone back on the pile of contenders hoping to land a title shot in 2013.
The latest attempts to crown a No. 1 contender have left the light heavyweight division in a state of confusion.
Just a couple of weeks ago, White announced that if Henderson is victorious against Machida at UFC 157 this weekend, he would receive the next shot at the title. Then, just two weeks later, White proclaimed that with a win at UFC on Fuel 9, Alexander Gustafsson would be granted a shot at the belt.
Then on Thursday prior to UFC 157, White again shifted gears and threw Henderson vs. Machida back in the mix as the real No. 1 contender’s fight.
“I think the fight is going to be a great fight, and this fight is all about the winner,” said White during the UFC 157 pre-fight press conference. “The winner gets a shot at Jon Jones.”
Listen, I get it—title shots are big business, and whenever the label “No. 1 contender’s match” is attached to a fight it gets a lot more attention. Title-shot stories make splashy headlines and it gets everyone buzzing about what’s coming next.
The problem is more often than not title shots aren’t determined until after a fight happens, and it’s really not guaranteed until the ink is dry on a contract.
At the heart of it all is the issue with declaring anyone a No. 1 contender before all of the fights necessary in the division play out.
Even if Henderson goes out and smashes Machida in the first round of their fight at UFC 157, Jones and ChaelSonnen don’t fight for the UFC light heavyweight title until late April. By then, Gustafsson will have faced former Strikeforce champ GegardMousasi and a whole other scenario could play out.
As reporters, we love to hear White declare this guy or that guy getting a title shot next because it’s a good headline and great writing material. The expectations rarely live up to the reality of any situation, however.
In a perfect world, the fights would speak for themselves and fighters are welcome to shout to anyone that will listen that they should be next in line for a title shot, but that’s where it should stop. There is no gravity in the fight game until bout agreements are issued and signed by both fighters.
It doesn’t matter if one fighter is in line for a title shot because two days later a deal could be struck completely out of left field that will leave both the fighter and everyone at home scratching their head wondering what happened.
No. 1 contender fights should be approached as just fodder for conversation and nothing more. Winning alleged No. 1 contender fights have often not resulted in a shot at the gold, and that trend will likely continue.
So this weekend when Henderson battles Machida at UFC 157, think of it as a great fight between two of the best light heavyweights in the world and when it’s over, the winner will undoubtedly call out for a shot at the title and that’s fine. Until that winner has a contract in hand, however, we should all sit, wait and just appreciate the fights.
Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report
The UFC released 16 fighters this week in an effort to purge a bloated roster, and more cuts are on the way. UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch was probably the most shocking name on the list, but other UFC mainstays like Jacob Volkmann also found th…
The UFC released 16 fighters this week in an effort to purge a bloated roster, and more cuts are on the way.
UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch was probably the most shocking name on the list, but other UFC mainstays like Jacob Volkmann also found themselves without a job as of Tuesday.
With a list of Strikeforce fighters coming to the UFC, a brand new women’s division and 14 fighters from this season of The Ultimate Fighter all promised at least one more bout in the UFC, the promotion has a huge roster right now.
Somebody has to go.
If you were shocked with this week’s releases, UFC president Dana White says hold on because the UFC isn’t done handing out pink slips yet.
“We have 470-something guys under contract. We have over 100 guys, too many on the roster right now,” White explained when speaking to reporters after the UFC 157 pre-fight press conference ended. “The blood has not all been spilled yet. There’s more coming.”
A standard fight contract in the UFC states that a fighter will receive three bouts within a calendar year. Obviously, injuries and other situations arise that could prevent a fighter from actually competing that many times, but matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby are required to get as close to that number as possible with every fighter under contract.
With nearly 500 fighters under contract and just over 30 shows per year with 12 fights per card, some additional bloodletting will be necessary to trim the fat and make room so everybody has the chance to fight.
Like a horror movie from the ’80s, White’s cut-and-slash plan with the UFC roster means nobody is safe. When talking about why former welterweight contender Jon Fitch was cut, White said he was a fighter making a lot of money who was dropping down the rankings instead of moving up.
One interesting name that came up during the discussion on Thursday was former WEC champion Urijah Faber, who battles Ivan Menjivar on Saturday at UFC 157. Faber is a perennial contender but has lost in his last five title fights between the UFC and WEC.
White isn’t saying Faber’s on the cut line, but his point is no one is guaranteed a job right now. “The California Kid” could join Fitch if certain situations play out.
“He’s in one of those situations, too,” White said about Faber. “Saturday could be a bad day for him.”
The message is clear, and White isn’t pulling punches with the fighters on his roster.
“Any guy out there. Let me tell you what you better do—you better fight your f—king ass off and make it good and win,” White said emphatically. “That’s the only way people want to see you.”
Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise note.
The mixed martial arts world reacted with great shock on Wednesday when UFC President Dana White revealed a list of 16 fighters released from the promotion with former welterweight contender Jon Fitch leading the way. Fitch fought for the UFC welterwei…
The mixed martial arts world reacted with great shock on Wednesday when UFC President Dana White revealed a list of 16 fighters released from the promotion with former welterweight contender Jon Fitch leading the way.
Fitch fought for the UFC welterweight title in 2008 and has been ranked among the top fighters in the division for several years. He amassed a 14-3-1 record as well, but with a 1-2-1 record over his last four fights, Fitch found himself without a job this week.
White explained when speaking to reporters from Bleacher Report on Tuesday why Fitch was let go, and he says it was nothing more than simple business.
“This is a f—king sport just like NFL, Major League Baseball, NBA or any other sport. The Green Bay Packers just cut (Charles) Woodson, and a million other guys are getting cut, traded and everything else. Jon Fitch is ranked No. 9, whether you think it’s right, it’s wrong, the rankings are bulls—t or whatever, he’s ranked No. 9 right now. Now this isn’t a case where Jon Fitch was ranked No. 9, No. 7, No. 6, No. 4, No. 2 and then we cut him. He was ranked No. 1, he fought for the title, then he was ranked No. 2, then he was ranked No. 3, 6, 7 and now he’s 9. That’s called the downside of your career,” White explained.
“He’s lost two fights, one draw and won one fight (in his last four).”
When Fitch’s release was revealed, there were a million conspiracy theories as to why he was let go from the UFC. Was it Fitch’s wrestling style that resulted in more than a few decisions that traditionally were not very exciting? Did it have to do with a contract dispute that Fitch had with the UFC a few years ago where he didn’t want to sign over likeness rights to the promotion for a video game that resulted in his short-term termination?
White shoots down all of the accusations being launched at him following Fitch’s dismissal and says it had nothing to do with a personal grudge or anything else. According to the UFC President, Fitch was a fighter making a lot of money and he was likely headed to the preliminary card on the downside of his career.
His release meant nothing more and nothing less.
“Jon Fitch gets paid a lot of money to put Jon Fitch on a f—king prelim, or to put Jon Fitch over here. The difference between Jon Fitch and Charles Woodson that just got cut, Jon Fitch can get a couple more fights and come back to the UFC. Happens every f—king day. There’s nobody in the history of this business that I hated worse than Tito Ortiz. Every time I’d sit down in my chair and watch a fight, I’d be like ‘beat his ass’. That’s how bad I hated this guy. He ended his career in the UFC,” said White.
“I don’t have one ounce of hate for Jon Fitch. I don’t hate the guy at all, I don’t even dislike him. I like Jon Fitch.”
White says the door isn’t closed for Jon Fitch to return to the UFC, but he can happily go out now and test the free-agent market and see where he can land. This wasn’t personal, it was just about business, and White promises it won’t be the last fighter they have to part ways with.
“He can go out on the free market and find out exactly what he’s worth,” said White. “This isn’t the first guy we’ve ever cut.”
Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
