Author: Dan Hiergesell

Greg Hardy will be given another shot to claim Octagon glory tomorrow night (Sat., April 27, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 8 live on ESPN+ from inside BB&T Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when he takes on heavyweight veteran Dmitrii Smoliakov.

To much surprise, Hardy is back in the co-main event spot. That is the same billing Hardy was given for his UFC debut this past January, which saw the former NFL star lose via disqualification when he landed an illegal knee on opponent Allen Crowder.

Hardy, who is currently 3-1 in his professional career, understands the opportunity at hand and how significant it truly is to be one of the main attractions on a UFC card.

“It’s like being in the Super Bowl back to back,” Hardy told MMA Junkie earlier this week. “It’s like being in a playoff game over and over again. It gives me confidence. I’ve got the opportunity to come out, show what I’ve got. The powers that be believe in me. It’s a great feeling.”

Despite his loss to Crowder just three months ago, Hardy still commands a promising future in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Having began his amateur career less than two years ago the budding heavyweight still has a lot of work to do. But with the right mindset and proper team around him, Hardy is making the necessary adjustments heading into UFC Ft. Lauderdale.

“We took some time, watched the film, calmed down after an aggressive fight, and just broke the fight down and moved forward,” Hardy said. “It was actually a fun process. … It was more just me being a young fighter. Not heeding all my coaches’ advice with all the adrenaline and this, this and the other. I don’t do nerves. I’ve been a professional athlete too long.”

Hardy, who has some of the best punching power you’ll see at the heavyweight level, believes he’s a bad matchup for anyone in the division. The 30-year-old certainly has some work to do when it comes to gaining the proper in-fight experience needed to ascend the weight class, but the massive prospect thinks the rest of his game will speak for itself.

“I don’t think I match up with anybody,” Hardy said. “I think I might be the biggest person in the UFC. Hopefully, I’m the fastest, one of the most athletic. I think the only difference between me and everybody else is my intelligence in the game and my training experience. I’ve been working every day tirelessly trying to catch up on that, but athletically and physically, there’s no comparison.”

If Hardy is able to take out Smoliakov tomorrow night at UFC Ft. Lauderdale he’ll likely be featured in yet another big spot in 2019. Maybe the former NFL star will even land on the massive UFC 239 pay-per-view (PPV) card this July.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 150 fight card, starting with the ESPN2 “Prelims” undercard bouts at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN “Prelims” at 7 p.m. ET, before the ESPN+ main card start time of 9 p.m. ET.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight contender Paulo Costa violated United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) protocol after all.

According to a press release early Friday, Costa accepted a six-month suspension after receiving prohibited IV infusions twice in 2017. The first unauthorized use occurred in June 2017 when the Brazilian fighter received an IV of more than 100 mL during a 12-hour period following a successful weight cut for his fight opposite Oluwale Bamgbose at UFC 212. The same unauthorized IV use occurred again in November 2017 for Costa’s battle with former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 217.

Because Costa did not receive a therapeutic-use exemption for either IV use, which included saline solution and a stomach medication, he was eventually suspended. Costa’s coach, Carlos Costa, was also suspended six months for administering the IV.

From USADA’s official press release:

USADA announced today that UFC Athlete Paulo Costa and one of his Athlete Support Personnel, Carlos Costa, of Contagem, Brazil, have each accepted a six-month sanction for violations of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy for use and administration, respectively, of a prohibited method.

Based on video and other corroborating evidence, USADA determined that on June 2, 2017, Paulo Costa, 27, received an intravenous infusion (IV) of permitted substances, including saline solution and a stomach medication, of more than 100 mL per 12-hour period after weigh-in for UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, without a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). On November 3, 2017, Paulo Costa again received an IV infusion of permitted substances of more than 100 mL per 12-hour period after weigh-in for UFC 217 in New York City, New York, without a TUE.

According to USADA, Costa’s suspension began back on Aug. 10, 2018 and ended on Feb. 10, which means the Brazilian fighter is currently eligible to return to action.

In addition to his suspension, Costa also accrued a financial penalty for his unauthorized IV use, per USADA:

Paulo Costa’s use of a prohibited method on June 2, 2017 also falls under the jurisdiction of the Comissão Atlética Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA), which has recognized USADA’s sanction and will additionally fine Paulo $4,000 (1/3 of the UFC 212 purse), all of which will revert to his opponent in UFC 212. In addition, the New York State Athletic Commission has resolved Paulo Costa’s case arising from the November 3, 2017, IV with no period of ineligibility and a $9,333.33 fine (1/3 of the UFC 217 purse). Neither Commission will impose any additional sanction on Carlos Costa.

Costa, 28, has dominated the competition since entering UFC back in 2017. The former Jungle Fight middleweight champion has earned four-straight Octagon wins, all by way of knockout, en route to pushing his undefeated professional MMA record to 12-0.

While Costa utilized these unauthorized IV infusions to help recover from strenuous weight cuts in 2017, the middleweight contender made good on his recent Octagon appearance against Uriah Hall back at 226 last year. That victory could line Costa up for a showdown with Yoel Romero later this year.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) added more wrinkles to its 2019 schedule earlier this week with an announcement to host events in Montevideo, Abu Dhabi, and Sao Paulo, per a recent report by MMA Fighting.

The first announced event will take place on Aug. 10 from Montevideo, Uruguay. It will be a Fight Night event and take place on ESPN+. This will mark the fourth South American country that has hosted a UFC event, with Brazil, Argentina, and Chile being the other three.

The second announced event will take place on Sept. 7 from Abu Dhabi, which hasn’t hosted a UFC card since Roy Nelson knocked out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira back in 2014 at UFC Fight Night 39. This return to Abu Dhabi is expected to be a pay-per-view (PPV) event and likely feature a lightweight title unification bout between current UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim king Dustin Poirier.

The third announced event will take place on Nov. 16 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which has hosted a UFC card every year since 2013. While no fights have been announced for this late-2019 event, it may very well feature the final Octagon appearance of former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

Stick with Mania for upcoming fight announcements for all three UFC events.

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is always on the look out for another shot at UFC gold, but the legendary Brazilian fighter isn’t holding his breath here in 2019.

Silva, 44, only has a few fights left on his current UFC contract. He intends to finish out each and every one of them, starting with a showdown opposite Jared Cannonier at UFC 237 this May in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

If his remaining fights result in a middleweight title shot then “Spider” will be happy to oblige. But at this point in his career, Silva is content to simply compete and put his heart on the line every time he steps inside of the cage.

“I never put something in my mind like, ‘Oh I need to fight again for the belt,’” Silva told reporters earlier this week ahead to UFC 237 (h/t MMA Junkie). “No. That’s a part in my life I passed. But I continue to fight. But I don’t know – maybe I have a new opportunity to fight for the belt. I don’t know.

“But I’m not putting my whole energy like, ‘Oh, I need to get back to fight for the title.’ No. That’s the (second) point for me, the first point is just continue to fight, continue to put my heart in the sport, then maybe I have a chance to fight for the belt again.”

Silva, who is still widely regarded as one of the best fighters of all time, is coming off an impressive performance against Israel Adesanya back at UFC 234 this past February. The Brazilian legend may have lost a decision to Adesanya, who has since gone on to defeat Kelvin Gastelum to win the interim UFC middleweight title, but Silva looked damn good considering the matchup and difference in age with “Last Stylebender.”

While most fighters would try to parlay a performance like Silva’s into another shot at a top contender, “Spider” isn’t looking to pick his shots en route to a title shot. He’s simply trying to provide everlasting memories for fight fans everywhere.

“Everybody talk about ‘fight this guy or this guy,’ but for me I think it’s more important you make something special for the fans,” Silva said. “In my opinion and my position now I’m trying to do something very special for my fans. When I fight Israel (Adesanya) everybody talk about, ‘Why you fight him? Why you take the fight?’ Because it’s a good challenge for myself, for my mind.”

When asked how many fights he has left on his current UFC contract, Silva couldn’t give an exact answer although he believes it’s three or four. Regardless, “Spider” is eager to make every single one of them count, whether we all like it or not.

“I feel good – I intend to do all of them,” Silva said with a laugh. “For the joy of some and sadness of others, I intend to keep bothering people.”

For more UFC 237 fight card news click here.

Alistair Overeem not only recorded a scintillating first-round TKO over Aleksei Oleinik yesterday afternoon (Sat., April 20, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 7 from Saint Petersburg, Russia, but “The Reem” also earned some extra cash in the process.

While Overeem’s main event finish was not included in UFC St. Petersburg’s post-fight bonus awards, the former UFC title challenger sill banked an extra $15,000 through the Reebok payout plan. It’s not going to set the 20-fight UFC/Strikeforce veteran up for life, but it’s a nice cherry on top of a great weekend.

In addition to Overeem, middleweight veteran Krzysztof Jotko walked away with $10,000 of his own. Jotko, who was riding a three-fight losing streak entering UFC St. Petersburg, used his main card spot to knock off promising youngster Alen Amedovski via unanimous decision. It was Jotko’s first Octagon win since taking out Thales Leites back in 2016.

But, that’s not all! Take a look at the entire Reebok payouts below (courtesy of MMA Junkie):

Alistair Overeem: $15,000
def. Aleksei Oleinik: $5,000

Islam Makhachev: $5,000
def. Arman Tsarukyan: $3,500

Sergei Pavlovich: $3,500
def. Marcelo Golm: $4,000

Roxanne Modafferi: $4,000
def. Antonina Shevchenko: $3,500

Krzysztof Jotko: $10,000
def. Alen Amedovski: $3,500

Movsar Evloev: $3,500
def. Seungwoo Choi: $3,500

Sultan Aliev: $4,000
def. Keita Nakamura: $10,000

Alexander Yakovlev: $5,000
def. Alex Da Silva: $3,500

Shamil Abdurakhimov: $5,000
def. Marcin Tybura: $5,000

Michal Oleksiejczuk: $3,500
def. Gadzhimurad Antigulov: $4,000

Magomed Mustafaev: $4,000
def. Rafael Fiziev: $3,500

Total: $111,500 (lowest of 2019)

According to the payout structure (see it), the more fights a fighter has accumulated — combined with UFC and the now-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Strikeforce promotions — the more coin he or she gets to fill his or her combat sports piggy bank. And the less fights a fighter has under the Endeavor umbrella … well, the less he or she gets.

If you have a problem with the structure, take it up with UFC … not Reebok.

According to the report, fighters will also receive royalty and payments up to 20 to 30 percent of any UFC-related merchandise sold that bears his or her likeness. That’s a great way for the Internet “morons” to help the cause.

For complete UFC St. Petersburg results and coverage click here.

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till was arrested this past Thursday in the Canary Islands for allegedly trashing a hotel and stealing a cab with four of his friends, according to a recent report by Daily Mail in England, citing an initial report from Spain’s El Dia.

Per the reports, Till and company were kicked out of their hotel for trashing furniture and emptying out fire extinguishers. After failing to gain entry into a second hotel, the Brits hailed a cab to leave. While the driver was loading their luggage into the cab the group of men allegedly jumped in the car and took off.

They were later caught and arrested in the Costa Adeje area of Tenerife, the largest island in the Canary Islands chain off the northwest coast of Africa.

There is no other news to report on the incident at this time.

Till, 26, is coming off a brutal knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal at UFC on ESPN+ 5 this past March in his home country of England. Before that, “Gorilla” suffered his first career defeat at UFC 228 this past September when he was submitted by then welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Despite both of those losses, Till remains one of the most promising contenders in the 170-pound division.

Stick with Mania as more details on Till’s arrest become available.