It’s rare to see a fighter leave MMA before the sport leaves them, but Jordan Mein has officially put himself in that category.
The talented Canadian striker has brought his days competing inside the cage to an end. While it is uncommon for a 25-year-o…
It’s rare to see a fighter leave MMA before the sport leaves them, but Jordan Mein has officially put himself in that category.
The talented Canadian striker has brought his days competing inside the cage to an end. While it is uncommon for a 25-year-old fighter to walk away from the sport, the Alberta native was no up-and-comer. “Young Gun” has been competing as a professional since the age of 14 and logged 39 fights over the course of his decade-long run—the final five of which came under the UFC banner.
Despite only finding success in two of those showings inside the Octagon, Mein was regarded as a game fighter and one of the more versatile strikers during his time competing in the highly competitive welterweight fold. And even though the future looked bright for the talented young Lethbridge-based fighter, he has decided to put down the four-ounce gloves and turn his attention to teaching MMA, as he told Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com:
I’m ready to transition to a different part of my life. I’ve been at this for 12 years, 10 years professionally, so I’m just ready to move on in my life.
I really got into teaching. I love martial arts, it’s just the competition side of it, staying at that high intensity and high level, and I’m going to a different aspect of life. I just don’t want to compete anymore at the highest level. I still love to compete in the gym, and I’m more into wanting to teach and maybe even going a different route and getting away from martial arts and doing something else. I don’t know yet.
Mein‘s announcement on Wednesday sent a jolt of surprise throughout the MMA community, but he’s not the only fighter in his mid-20s to retire in the past seven days. New Jersey native Frankie Perez recently rode off into the sunset on a high note after notching a first-round TKO victory—the first UFC win of his career—against Sam Stout at Fight Night 74 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Just three days later Mein followed the same trend, and perhaps this signals an upswing in fighters getting out of combat sports well before brain cells and bodies reach a point from which they cannot bounce back.
Maybe that’s wishful thinking, but Mein‘s decision to walk away before his body gives out is a bold and admirable move for the talented young Canadian.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
Bethe Correia should receive high marks in the effort department.
The fiery Brazilian turned her dreams of a title shot into a showdown with phenom Ronda Rousey by tireless campaigning behind the belief she would be the one to finally dethrone the quee…
Bethe Correia should receive high marks in the effort department.
The fiery Brazilian turned her dreams of a title shot into a showdown with phenom Ronda Rousey by tireless campaigning behind the belief she would be the one to finally dethrone the queen of the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division. While all that chatter went up in smoke in quick fashion when the two squared off at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro and Correia became another quick-notes addition to Rousey’s resume, that hasn’t stopped her from wanting to keep her high-profile status intact.
First came her call for an immediate rematch with Rousey that sent shoulder shrugs and head scratches throughout the UFC community. The UFC has been known to throw out a surprise here and there in the run-it-back category, but for Correia to end up face down on the canvas after a furious 34-second beating and then make a play for another opportunity drifted out into the realm of the absurd.
Once the dominant champion was officially slated to face Holly Holm at UFC 195 at the beginning of 2016, the hard-charging striker needed to set her sights on another target. And Correia wasted zero time calling out fellow former title challenger Miesha Tate during her interview with Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour on MMAFighting.com:
[Tate] mocked me when I lost because she thought she would be fighting Ronda, so I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to mock her back. She called me rookie, but always wanted to fight me, campaigned on Twitter in the past. Who wants to fight a rookie? It would be terrible to get beat up by a rookie.
Thus far, Correia’s call for action has fallen on deaf ears, as Tate has avoided her request for a future matchup. Granted, Cupcake is currently filming a movie and has been on set, so Correia’s call-out could have missed her, but Tate has never been one to drift too far from social media. And when Tate didn’t answer on the first knock, Correia showed she is anything if not persistent by sending out the signal again:
Although Tate hasn’t officially responded to Correia’s request to meet inside the Octagon, the former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion did show interest in the fight earlier in the year.
It will be interesting to see which direction Tate decides to move following her being passed over for the title shot she was told she was getting, and perhaps a scrap with Correia may be the route she sees best to make her second shot at UFC gold come to fruition.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
In the five years since the WEC’s featherweight division merged into the UFC, the race for title contention in the 145-pound fold has never been more competitive than it is in 2015. While Brazilian phenom Jose Aldo came to the promotion holding the cro…
In the five years since the WEC’s featherweight division merged into the UFC, the race for title contention in the 145-pound fold has never been more competitive than it is in 2015. While Brazilian phenom Jose Aldo came to the promotion holding the crown, and still does to this day, a collective of talented and hungry potential title threats has emerged to make the featherweight fold one of the most exciting divisions under the UFC’s promotional banner.
Two of the most promising young talents currently burning their way up the 145-pound divisional ladder squared off on Sunday night, as Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira collided in the main event at Fight Night 74. The scrappy Hawaiian brought his six-fight winning streak into Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to face the Brazilian submission ace—who was riding a four-fight run of his own—in a bout that was set to determine which of the two would become a certified contender in the featherweight title picture.
Whereas Holloway and Oliveira were once highly touted prospects, their work inside the Octagon over the past two years has brought both to the brink of becoming major players in the 145-pound weight class. Their showdown at Fight Night 74 was the long-awaited opportunity for one to step up and earn passage into the title tier of the weight class, and it was Holloway who wound up moving closer to the divisional crown.
It was an anti-climactic finish due to Oliveira‘s crumbling over with an injury in the early stages of the fight, but Holloway still picked up his seventh-straight win in a crowded upper tier at 145. Let’s take a look at the good, bad and strange from Fight Night 74.
The Good
Expectations are never easy for a fighter to carry in combat sports. Any time a fighter generates a fair amount of hype, much bigger things are figured in their future, but actually validating the buzz and moving into the realm of title contention is a much different animal.
Max Holloway has been on the UFC scene for just north of three years, and what an incredible three years it has been for the 23-year-old scrapper. Holloway has competed 13 times over that stretch and has continued to evolve his game with each and every step forward. The current version of the Hawaiian featherweight is one that has dangerous knockout power that is set up by his versatile and accurate striking.
The proof of his effectiveness has shown in the six-fight winning streak that he added to with a win over Charles Oliveira at Fight Night 74. While the win won’t go into Holloway’s highlight reel due to Do Bronx getting injured and bringing the fight to an end, it still moves the former-prospect-turned-contender into striking distance of a potential title shot. And while the commentating team of Jon Anik and Brian Stann talked about an immediate rematch due to how this fight played out, the right move would be to pit him against No. 1 contender Frankie Edgar later in the year.
The Answer is anticipating a December date for his next showing, and with Holloway emerging unscathed from his bout in Saskatoon, an end-of-the-year showdown would make tremendous sense.
*** Neil Magny may have had his seven-fight winning streak snapped by Demian Maia at UFC 190 several weeks back, but he wasn’t interested in wasting any time getting things back on track. When Rick Story was forced out of his bout with Erick Silva at Fight Night 74, the Colorado-based fighter jumped at the opportunity to face the Brazilian striker. While he was the underdog coming into the tilt, Magny made the most of his four-day training camp, as he took the fight directly to the once highly touted prospect to pick up the split-decision victory.
*** Trends come and go in MMA, and the biggest trend of 2015 is the veteran resurgence. While Robbie Lawler, Frank Mir and Andrei Arlovski have resurrected their respective careers to become champions or potential contenders, Canadian MMA staple Patrick Cote is writing an impressive chapter of his own. The Predator has looked like a man reborn since dropping down to the welterweight division back in 2013, and he took another step in his climb back to the top on Sunday by levelling Josh Burkman in the final round of their shootout at Fight Night 74.
From the opening bell, Cote and Burkman began slinging heat, and each had success as they wobbled the other with big shots. The fight was up for grabs going into the third round, and an early firefight in the frame set the tone for insanity down the home stretch. Cote clipped Burkman with a stiff right hand and then pounded out the victory on the canvas to pick up his second consecutive win.
*** Despite a solid string of wins in the lightweight division, Francisco Trinaldo has been unable to gain any real traction in the 155-pound ranks. The wild-swinging Brazilian powerhouse accomplished that feat at Fight Night 74 by handing heavily favored Chad Laprise the first loss of his professional career via TKO in the first round of their tilt in Saskatoon. Although both men came out looking to strike, it was a left hand from Trinaldo that put Laprise on the canvas.
Once he had his opponent where he wanted him, Trinaldo unloaded a flurry of heavy shots that forced the referee to step in and stop the bout. With the win Trinaldo has now emerged victorious in four straight fights and will move closer to the next tier of competition in his weight class.
*** Olivier Aubin-Mercier may not have capitalized on his chance to become the next Ultimate Fighter, but he’s shaping up to be a solid addition to the UFC’s lightweight roster. The Quebec Kid was turned back by countryman Chad Laprise on the reality-based fighting tournament but has gone on to win all three of his showings inside the Octagon since. The Tristar representative picked up his third victory in as many outings on Sunday, as he out-worked and out-grappled Tony Sims to pick up the unanimous-decision victory. The fight was a grappling clinic from start to finish from OAM and will guarantee that his next bout will come against a more established name.
*** It hasn’t taken long for Valerie Letourneau to establish a reputation for being an exciting fighter in the ranks of the women’s strawweight division. Both of the Montreal native’s showings inside the Octagon leading up to her bout with MarynaMoroz at Fight Night 74 were knockdown, drag-out brawls, and Trouble continued that trend on Sunday night in Saskatoon. The American Top Team product wasted zero time making the fight a gritty affair and dropped Moroz with a clean shot in the early goings. Moroz would bounce back to make things interesting, but it wouldn’t be enough to stop Letourneau from picking up her third consecutive victory under the UFC banner.
*** Nikita Krylov has only been competing inside the Octagon for two years but the Ukrainian has already established a cult-like following among hardcore MMA fans. The 23-year-old light heavyweight is most likely your favorite writer’s favorite fighter, and the lore surrounding him will only increase following his first-round submission victory over Marcos Rogerio de Lima at Fight Night 74. Al Capone survived two failed guillotines to lock in a rear-naked choke of his own that brought Krylov‘s current winning streak to three straight. Granted, there was an obvious and illegal fence grab that came before the finish, but Krylov‘s mystique won’t be hindered by rules.
The Bad
At its best MMA is an exciting and inspiring piece of willpower and physical poetry, but at its worst it is a violent and brutal thing.
Sam Stout is 31 years old—the age most fighters are finding their physical primes—and already it appears that the best years he had to offer inside the cage are far behind him. While Hands of Stone held status as one of the scrappiest fighters in the 155-pound ranks for the better part of the past decade, recent years have signalled a sharp turn south for the savvy veteran.
Whereas Stout once got by on his grit and power inside the Octagon, those weapons have fallen dull on his most recent streak of fights as the once durable fighter began to hit the canvas at a frequent rate. He came into his bout with Frankie Perez at Fight Night 74 having suffered back-to-back losses where he was put away with strikes in each of those showings. Stout certainly needed to prove that he still belonged in the UFC on Sunday night, and being starched by a stiff right hand from Perez wasn’t the way to get that done.
Whether Stout’s current string of knockouts is a sign of his chin being eroded by a decade of wars or simply a sign of the Toronto native being passed up by the next generation of fighter, there is very little working for Stout in his current form. And even though fighters who struggle to find traction are prone to dropping weight or attempting to change things up stylistically, Stout’s approach was the same in Saskatoon as it was nine years ago in his UFC debut against Spencer Fisher.
That said, only Stout will know whether or not he’s ready to walk away, but it would be a shock if the UFC allows him one more go after losing all but one of his last five fights.
*** The time has officially come to certify the fact that Erick Silva is never going to be the world beater he was once figured to be. While the Brazilian powerhouse got off to a great start to his run in the UFC settling opposition in furious fashion, his lack of consistency when facing tougher competition has become a serious problem for the Team Nogueira fighter. And just when he finally started to build momentum with back-to-back victories, a lackluster showing against Neil Magny once again served to erase any traction gained. Although the bout was technically a split-decision loss, whatever judge gave two rounds to Silva probably felt bad for him, because Magny dominated the fight.
*** Yves Jabouin has seen better days inside the cage. Whereas Tiger was once considered one of the most game fighters in the lighter weight classes, Jabouin has struggled in recent years to find success at a consistent clip. The Tri-Star fighter came into his bout with Felipe Arantes on Sunday in desperate need of a victory but instead found himself off a fight-ending armbar late in the opening frame. With the loss Jabouin has now suffered setbacks in all but one of his past four showings, with two of those defeats coming on Canadian soil.
The Strange
In the mind of an up-and-coming fighter, there is nothing bigger than getting that first victory under the UFC banner. Just making it to the biggest stage in MMA is a huge accomplishment, but getting your hand raised after throwing down inside the Octagon is something everyone dreams of.
For New Jersey native Frankie Perez, not only was the first win the big one, but the drubbing he put on Sam Stout will be the only one.
Following his impressive first-round knockout over the tough-as-nails Canadian, the 26-year-old lightweight should have been riding a tremendous wave of momentum. Not only did he get the biggest victory of his career against Stout, but he did so in highlight-reel fashion, as a slick right hand separated his opponent from his senses. Those circumstances typically combine to create an ample amount of buzz around a young fighter, but Perez didn’t use his post-fight interview platform as most do.
He retired.
The Ricardo Almeida-trained fighter told Jon Anik that he was officially walking away from the sport, and social media platforms lit up across the MMA community. Perez—a fighter’s name few would have recognized coming into Fight Night 74 before his bout with Stout—suddenly became the fighter every fight fan was talking about following his shocking announcement.
Whereas most fighters are prone to staying around long after their primes have passed, to the point that they are being carried out more than Chinese food, Perez’s decision will ensure that he will not suffer the damages of time that are guaranteed to come from a career in combat sports. Although Perez didn’t share the reason for his retirement, his directness in the biggest moment of his young career showed it was a decision he had put a heavy amount of thought into.
So there it is. Perez stumbled in his first go, but made good in his second and walked away. Oh so strange, yet, oh so cool.
Moving on…let’s talk about Canada for a moment.
While it has been long figured that the loss of pound-for-pound superstar and one of the greatest fighters of all time Georges St-Pierre would hurt the MMA market in the “Great White North,” it seems the former welterweight king’s retirement has nearly killed the UFC’s juice throughout the Provinces. Over the past decade, the promotion rolled through a variety of Canadian markets and consistently did strong numbers, but the days of 55,000 strong at UFC 129 in Toronto are just a distant memory now.
And that all makes sense without GSP leading the charge, but should his absence really have done that much damage? Seems a bit strange to me.
Rory MacDonald is the biggest thing rolling north of the border, and even though the Red King is as gifted as they come on the current landscape of MMA, thus far there has been a disconnect between the British Columbia native and Canada’s fighting faithful. Granted, it could all be linked to MacDonald having yet to track down UFC gold, or his reluctance to really engage with media the way St-Pierre used to, but either way you break it down, the heat once generated from the Canadian market has fallen to lukewarm status.
Nevertheless, the lack of pop doesn’t just rest on the shoulders of the Canadian representatives on the UFC roster, as the promotion itself has really pulled back from giving them platforms to shine on their native soil. The two biggest Canadian markets, Toronto and Montreal, have struggled to lock down events, and the promised “make-up card” in Calgary has been put off so long that it’s become the stuff of MMA folklore. Instead, the UFC has decided to push into the uncharted waters of Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, where the Fight Night format has replaced the pay-per-views that typically served as the vehicles for Canada-based events.
Again, other elements, such as television rights being switched and the next wave of talent rising slower than previous generations, certainly play into how things have stalled out in Canada. But there has yet to be a tell-tale reason emerge for the decline, and it therefore remains a mystery.
Not more of a mystery than what exactly happened to Charles Oliveira in the main event, but a mystery nonetheless.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
A stranger in a strange land.
Although it is absolutely cliché to be saying it as an American traveling abroad and landing in the world of Islam, that doesn’t take any truth away from the sentiment. Immediately upon landing in the Kingdom …
A stranger in a strange land.
Although it is absolutely cliché to be saying it as an American traveling abroad and landing in the world of Islam, that doesn’t take any truth away from the sentiment. Immediately upon landing in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the reality of the differences between the culture I experience domestically and the one I would be spending the next three days in were stark. A variety of languages and dialects buzzed through my ears and my eyes did their best to decipher the signage.
In those moments, an immediate gratitude for arrows and symbols were felt and a much deeper appreciation for the simple things formed.
After spending 16 hours on multiple flights, I had finally arrived in Bahrain, and long after the taxi had ushered me to my hotel, exchange rates, time-zone jumps and airport Wi-Fi mishaps all cluttered the brain. All I knew going into this trip was that a new MMA team was forming and that Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad was leading the charge to bring the fastest-growing sport in the world to the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The only additional information received was that a collection of UFC fighters that included former lightweight champion and current featherweight contender Frankie Edgar and Dagestani smashing machine Khabib Nurmagomedov would also be involved, in addition to SBG Ireland coaching guru John Kavanagh bringing some of his young talent to Bahrain from Dublin to join KHK.
Also let’s not forget about Renzo Gracie simply because there is nothing about Renzo that is even slightly forgettable. As Edgar would say during his stay, “I’ve known Renzo for years and I’m still hearing new stories to this day.”
While those players being present were enough to spark the type of interest it takes to journey halfway around the world, the greater mystery that lingered above the light of the laptop on the first night on the shores of the Persian Gulf was how all of those pieces fit together. In less than 24 hours I would have those answers and get a front-row seat to see how a sport I’d covered for years was taking hold in a place where six months ago a footprint didn’t exist.
****
“It takes less than 40 minutes to travel from bottom to top in Bahrain.”
Those were the words the driver explained to me as we zipped north on the highway heading to the new KHK MMA Team gym. Due to flight delays and a couple swell times in customs, the nationally televised press conference that would be the grand unveiling of KHK was missed by yours truly. I was still able to catch a replay the next morning in my hotel room and can honestly say it was strange, albeit exciting to see MMA on such a platform.
On one side of Sheikh Khalid sat Renzo Gracie, on the other side Frankie Edgar, and they watched as every member of the newly formed squad came up one at a time to receive their official contracts. Granted, pageantry is commonplace where royalty and official kingdom business is concerned—and make no mistake about it, KHK’s growth will involve foreign relations—the point of the press conference was a straightforward announcement.
Watching the teleconference was my initial exposure to KHK, but I would get a much better understanding by seeing the fight team in action during my first full day in Bahrain.
Upon arriving at the training facility, I was greeted by Mohammed “The Hawk” Shahid, who is also the team manager and works hand-in-hand with Shaikh Khalid in how talent is groomed at the grass-roots level in Bahrain. Sheik Kalid and Shahid decided the best method of growing KHK was to do a series of public tryouts, with each drawing thousands of spectators.
“All of those people came to just watch the tryouts,” Shahid told Bleacher Report. “That really showed us how excited people are for MMA here. We know there is a lot of work to be done, but we are committed to building a great team here at KHK.”
The team at KHK is also advised by World Series of Fighting V.P. and MMA staple in the United States Ali Abdel-Aziz. While Abdel-Aziz doesn’t serve an official role in the system, his Middle Eastern roots and friendship with Sheik Khalid has created an avenue for up-and-coming Bahraini talent to gain exposure to some of the premier fighters competing around the globe. Abdel Aziz lends his assistance and knowledge about the sport to advise Sheik Khalid and Shahid on talent and team structure.
“I have accomplished so much in MMA but never contributed anything to the Middle East,” Abdel-Aziz said. “Now I have the opportunity to help a wonderful guy like Prince Khalid. I believe he has the right team in place. Mohammed Shahid is the team manager and he will do a great job for them. He is very passionate. I will help them with anything they want.”
That afternoon at the KHK gym, former UFC and current Titan FC fighter Alex Soto and his squad all hit the training mats for a grappling session. SBG Ireland’s highly touted prospects Frans Mlambo and James Gallagher worked out with a variety of fighters with Kavanagh rolling during the session as well. Midway through the practice, the Dagestani contingent led by Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev joined in. The Russian fighters had logged late hours in the facility the night prior and came back refreshed to hit Saturday’s run full tilt.
As Nurmagomedov walked around the mats offering his assistance and grappling expertise, the thud of Makhachev slamming his shins off of pads during a mitt session thundered through the gym. KHK team member and wrestling coach Eldar Eldarov hit the mats to instruct the fighters on technique, and it wasn’t long before bodies were literally flying through the air at various points of the practice.
Educations in MMA never come easily, and there were no shortage of lessons being handed out at KHK long after the desert sun, or as Kavanagh would later point out,” the last standing bit of mirage of an already downed sun,” disappeared.
An easy-natured vortex of philosophy and ideals, that John Kavanagh. An intriguing man indeed.
And while it was very clear that KHK is in the early stages of its conception, the team’s vision was also clear as well. The goal of the Bahrain-based collective is to build a unit formed of the best domestic talent available, all the while bringing in fighters like Nurmagomedov and Edgar to expose their roster to elite-level talent.
The ultra-talented Dagestan-born fighter has been a nightmare in the ranks of the UFC’s lightweight division since hitting the biggest stage in the sport back in 2012. He is potentially one fight away from a title opportunity, so having Nurmagomedov as a KHK representative will serve to bring spotlight to KHK in addition to the shared knowledge that comes from having the undefeated title contender training with the Bahrain-based squad.
That’s a strong move for a team whose focus is bigger than just building a great fight team in their home country as Shaikh Khalid’s vision is to bring MMA to Bahrain on a much larger scale. And from some of the things I witnessed firsthand, those efforts certainly appear to be working.
“I received a message from Mohammed Shahid telling me that Sheik Khalid was very interested in my joining the team,” Nurmagomedov said. “It is great for me, my family and teammates, and I will do everything I can to make our team at KHK one of the best in the world. Sheik Khalid has done a great job with giving his attention and creating a great opportunity for the fighters on this team. He wants to make his team in Bahrain one of the best in the world, and I believe we can make that happen.
“There is a lot of work to be done, but everyone in the gym is committed to working hard,” he added. “Joining KHK is great for me, my family and teammates. And it is great for MMA in Dagestan. I went to the U.S. to make my name in MMA and now we are doing our part to help share the sport around the world. We are focused on growing a great team in Bahrain and I believe that will happen.”
***
Although it would be impossible for a man of his stature to escape the essence that comes with royalty, Shaikh Khalid’s drive and focus in regard to KHK and MMA in general was absolutely noticeable. Not only did he attend the training session at KHK, but also participated in the practice as well. There is nothing soft about what goes into putting the human body through a grappling session and to watch a member of a royal family work past a closed guard was a sight to behold. Khalid’s tenacity and athleticism was impressive to say the least as the Sheikh rolled with a multitude of partners during the session.
As the training was drawing to a close, Mlambo squared off in a sparring session with one of his fellow amateurs while Khalid sat at the edge of the mat paying keen attention to the slick footwork involved in the Black Mamba’s striking attack. After several rounds and many straight right-hand counters and power slams were exchanged, the practice came to a conclusion and fighters and coaches floated around to assess the session with the KHK squad members because that is the culture that is being built at KHK.
Rather than scoop up a bunch of notable and experienced names to wear the logo and represent their fight team, the core group at KHK is focused on building things up from the ground level. They started with the formation of an amateur team, and now they are at a point where they are getting ready to shift that focus on the professional ranks. They aren’t just looking at the bigger picture the squad at KHK is willing to do the work it takes to establish themselves and Bahraini MMA as a fixture on the global scene.
It is going to take a lot of work to accomplish their goals, but the drive and the moxie to make that happen seems to be in large supply around KHK. Outside of the established names on the team’s roster, the rest of the collective talent is still in raw form, but that was the intention of the men behind the construction of KHK. They want to plant the seeds of a fight culture in Bahrain, and from what I saw over a several-day span on the island nation, that is currently underway.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
To say Khabib Nurmagomedov is eager to return to his hunt for the UFC lightweight title is an understatement of drastic proportions.
The Eagle is flat-out fired up to get back into the Octagon, and his excitement increases daily as the date and opponen…
To say KhabibNurmagomedov is eager to return to his hunt for the UFC lightweight title is an understatement of drastic proportions.
The Eagle is flat-out fired up to get back into the Octagon, and his excitement increases daily as the date and opponent for his return will soon be settled.
While there is yet to be a dance partner named for Nurmagomedov, the undefeated Dagestan-born phenom already has the ideal opponent in mind. The 26-year-old grappling ace wants to step in against recently dethroned former champion Anthony Pettis in a fight he believes every fight fan wants to see become a reality.
In addition to Nurmagomedov thinking Showtime would be the perfect opponent for his return bout, he also knows the date and event the bout should be slated on.
The UFC is set to return to Orlando, Florida, for UFC on Fox 17 on Dec. 19, and with the main event bout set to feature a 155-pound title clash between Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone, the Russian upstart is adamant that a bout with Pettis would not only make the card a perfect lightweight showcase, but his tilt with the Roufusport standout would steal the show.
“Anthony Pettis and I did have a conversation and we both want the fight,” Nurmagomedov told Bleacher Report. “I gave [an] interview before and [said] we [met] in a bus, and we did, but I don’t think it came out right. All the fighters there were going to a meeting and we all got on the bus to go there. Pettis and I sat down together and I asked him when he was going to come back. He told me the end of the year. I told him I could come back in October or November, but if the UFC [says], ‘You come back in December and fight Anthony Pettis,’ I can wait.
“I think everyone will agree with me that a fight between Pettis and I would be the biggest fight in the lightweight division right now. This fight would be bigger than Cowboy vs. RDA because RDA [smashed] him before. If the UFC put me and Pettis in the co-main event in Orlando in December, I believe that would be the real main event fight for the fans. I don’t know what the UFC plans to do, but this is what I think the fans want.”
While Nurmagomedov has been sidelined with a series of injuries that forced him to withdraw from his highly anticipated bout against Donald Cerrone at UFC 187, the surging lightweight talent has remained active in his recovery.
Nurmagomedov has been diligent in his efforts to rehabilitate his knee while taking great care not to push his body too far. His ultimate goal is to get his hands on the 155-pound crown, but he is well aware of how injury has hampered his ability to do so.
Even though certain elements in the upper tier of the division have changed in his absence, Nurmagomedov believes he’s never been off of the radar with fight fans who support his push for a title shot.
Since his official UFC debut back in 2012, Nurmagomedov‘s support from the passionate fighting faithful has grown with each of his six showings inside the Octagon, and he’s confident he will give the MMA community even more to get behind when his return to action comes to fruition.
“I think I have a lot of fans because I am a real fighter,” Nurmagomedov said. “I am no fake. I’m an interesting fighter who came from Russia to compete in the U.S. and have smashed a lot of top guys. In my last UFC fight, I beat the guy who is now the lightweight champion. We will see what happens, but I think I will come back with a strong performance to end this year and next year I [will] take [the] belt.
“I was in the best shape of my life for my last fight with RDA, but after that fight, I got hurt and had two surgeries in a row back-to-back. I haven’t fought in a year-and-a-half and have been in recovery. During that time, RDA kept going and he beat a lot of top guys. I think he’s a different fighter now and I think a rematch between us would be a tougher fight, but I believe in myself to get the victory. I believe in my wrestling and pressure. I believe I can beat anyone in this division.
“I’m young, I’m strong and now I have good experience,” he added. “I smashed RDA and he has smashed all the top guys in the division. I’m very exciting in combat. I’m going to be very exciting when I come back and I’m going to come back stronger than before.”
While the Dagestani smashing machine has set his sights on a bout with Pettis, there is one fighter in particular he’d love to get his hands on in Nate Diaz.
The younger half of Stockton, California’s brotherly duo and Nurmagomedov have quarreled for more than a year across social media platforms, and that beef recently came live and in living color at a recent World Series of Fighting event.
The two fighters crossed paths, and words and hands were exchanged in what broke out into a full-blown brawl that was caught on cameras and uploaded to YouTube. The Diaz brothers were banned from attending future WSOF events and Nate took to Twitter to antagonize Nurmagomedov further in the aftermath.
While he knows a bout with Diaz wouldn’t do much for his push toward the lightweight title, Nurmagomedov wouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to get the former title challenger into the Octagon.
“If the UFC gives me that fight, I’m happy to do it because I want to smash this guy,” Nurmagomedov said. “I want to take him down, smash his face with hard elbows and knock him out. I have to teach this guy respect. He started a fight with me at [WSOF] and there were a lot of women and children in the crowd. We are professional fighters and we are supposed to stay professional. I know sometimes you get emotional, but you have to stay professional.
“If someone wants to punch you and wants to smash you, then you have to protect yourself and that’s why I [fought] with him at [the] show. In the arena, I told myself to stay calm and not to fight. I kept calm and professional, but the second time he started a fight, I went crazy too. It was me and my team and him and his, but after his team started running, a lot of police came. I didn’t start the fight. He started it, but I have to protect myself.
“I’m a professional fighter,” he added. “I’m a UFC fighter and I can kill someone in the street. I could do it easily if I had to, but we are supposed to be professional. The skills we know aren’t supposed to be used that way and that’s why we have to always be professional because this is very dangerous. If the UFC gives me the chance to fight him inside the Octagon, I will do it because he needs to be taught a lesson.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The state of the UFC’s light heavyweight division is one that is wide-open, with a handful of hungry contenders looking to make their move into title contention. The main event tilt at Fight Night 73 between Glover Teixeira and…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The state of the UFC’s light heavyweight division is one that is wide-open, with a handful of hungry contenders looking to make their move into title contention. The main event tilt at Fight Night 73 between Glover Teixeira and Ovince Saint Preux featured two staples in that particular collective, in a fight where solidifying a place in the heated championship picture of the 205-pound fold was at stake.
Where Teixeira once rode a tremendous wave of momentum built by a five-fight winning streak to earn a shot at the light heavyweight strap, the heavy-handed Brazilian has experienced different results as of late.
A lopsided defeat against former 205-pound king Jon Jones, followed by a lackluster showing against Phil Davis, served to dull the hype that surrounded the former title challenger just a short time ago. Teixeira came into his bout against OSP determined to bring his two-fight skid to a halt and keep his elite-level status intact.
While his opponent came into Nashville on Saturday night looking to shed the pressure of a losing streak, Saint Preux entered the Octagon on a different trajectory.
The former University of Tennessee football player turned mixed martial artist had won all but one of his showings under the UFC banner prior to Fight Night 73, including back-to-back knockout victories over tough competition. Yet, the one thing Saint Preux’s resume lacked was a win over a big-name opponent, and he came into the Bridgestone Arena looking to make his next step up the ranks a big one.
On the flip side, a loss at the hands of the John Hackleman product would stall his passage into the division’s upper ranks for the foreseeable future.
Circumstances of that caliber will amplify the intensity of any fight inside the cage, and it was Teixeira who got the job done on Saturday night. The Brazilian veteran played to his greatest strength as he forced Saint Preux to work off his back while he utilized top control from a variety of positions. Teixeira continued his efforts on the ground for the majority of the first two rounds before he left a valiant Saint Preux sleeping on the canvas via a rear-naked choke.
While it wasn’t Teixeira’s cleanest performance of his career, he showed the type of grit and skill set that could give anyone in the light heavyweight division fits. Let’s take a look at the good, bad and strange from Fight Night 73.
The Good
Teixeira’s place in the light heavyweight divisional hierarchy may not be any more clear following his victory over Ovince Saint Preux at Fight Night 73, but his performance certainly proved he’s still a force to be reckoned with inside the Octagon.
The veteran powerhouse weathered some early adversity as he bounced back from getting wobbled by OSP in the opening round and found his groove in the rigors of the grind. The former title challenger was able to put the former Tennessee football player on his back at will throughout the fight, battering on Saint Preux early and often throughout the contest.
While Teixeira has shown a tendency to throw game plans out the window and engage in shootouts in the past, The Pit representative remained diligent and on task as he continued to attack on the ground.
The constant grind eventually zapped Saint Preux’s energy, and Teixeira put the finishing touches on a solid performance as he locked on the fight-ending submission. Following his win, Teixeira officially declared he’s back to his old form, and his showing in Nashville certainly supports that notion.
He will remain a major player in the light heavyweight fold and will be paying close attention to how his peers in the divisional title hunt fare over the next few months.
***Fights at the highest level of competition are won by the slightest of margins, and when those margins are determined by cageside judges, it’s anyone’s game.
Two of the lightweight division’s surging talents came front and center with this reality at Fight Night 73 as Beneil Dariush and Michael Johnson went the distance in a hard-fought striking battle. While The Menace appeared to have the edge in the early going, the Kings MMA representative found his groove in the fight’s final round and stunted Johnson’s movement by pumping his jab in the Blackzilian’s face relentlessly.
When the final bell sounded, it was clear Dariush had done enough to steal the final frame, but it seemed as if it would be too little too late for the Rafael Cordeiro-trained fighter. Then again, MMA judging is a slippery slope, and Dariush emerged victorious via a split decision. Johnson lost his mind, the crowd let their disdain fly and Dariush picked up his fifth consecutive victory in official but “I don’t know about all that” fashion.
*** A coveted top-10 ranking is what Derek Brunson is after, and the surging middleweight will move closer to that goal after his Nashville performance.
The North Carolina native pounded a dazed Sam Alvey from pillar to post as he attempted to put away the resilient veteran. Once Brunson had his opponent rocked, the Jackson-Winkeljohn product kept his foot on the gas until the referee stepped in to call off the beating. Alvey argued with Mario Yamasaki regarding the stoppage, but Brunson was already busy celebrating his third straight victory in the 185-pound division.
*** Amanda Nunes picked up the biggest victory of her career as she put away former women’s bantamweight title challenger Sara McMann in the first round of their bout at Fight Night 73.
The Lioness is well-known for her aggression, and she employed plenty of it in her assault on the former Olympic wrestler, as she pressed the action on McMann from the opening bell. When McMann was unable to get her to the mat, Nunes stung her with a clean shot on the feet and then finished the fight on the canvas with a rear-naked choke.
*** The flyweight division officially has a new threat emerging in Albuquerque native Ray Borg. The Tazmexican Devil picked up his third consecutive victory inside the Octagon as he outworked and outclassed Geane Herrera en route to earning the unanimous-decision victory on the judges’ scorecards.
Borg’s victory makes him successful in all but one of his showings under the UFC banner since hitting the sport’s biggest stage last year. With each outing the 22-year-old’s all-around game gets stronger, and Borg used his post-fight interview to commit to a future run at the flyweight strap.
While a thin roster could certainly force Borg up the divisional ladder quicker than he’d like, the FitNHB representative is certainly a fighter worth keeping an eye in the 125-pound collective.
*** Learning to let go of what others expect of him has proven to be a big step for Uriah Hall. After a few early stumbles out of the gates in the UFC pulled the bulk of the spotlight off him, the middleweight striker has shown marked improvements in his ability to thrive in the heat of battle.
While a questionable split-decision loss in his most recent outing against Rafael Natal stunted his momentum a bit, Prime Time jumped back on track in a big way by drubbing Oluwale Bamgbose on Saturday night in Nashville.
The Ultimate Fighter alum did exactly what he was supposed to by finishing the short-notice replacement in quick fashion as he earned the lightning-fast TKO stoppage in the first. And while defeating Bamgbose won’t catapult Hall up the divisional ladder, the win will allow him to taken another all important step in personal progression.
*** It was a debut one year in the making, but Scotty Holtzman made the most of his first showing inside the Octagon at Fight Night 73. Hot Sauce used the pop provided by a solid collection of his home state supporters inside the Bridgestone Arena to fuel his toe-to-toe brawl with Anthony Christodoulou.
Rapid-fire exchanges filled the first two rounds. The action was more of the same going into the the final frame until Holtzman locked on the fight-ending rear-naked choke to secure his first victory in definitive fashion under the UFC banner. The Province‘s E. Spencer Kyte credited Holzman with “blistering” his opponent:
*** Another Tennessee fighter looking to make good at Fight Night 73 was Franklin native Dustin Ortiz.
The Duke Roufus-trained fighter was eager to get back into the win column after suffering a setback in his most previous outing. He came into his scrap with Willie Gates determined to ignite another run toward the top of the flyweight fold. And while Gates was able to land a couple crisp shots early, it wasn’t enough to thwart Ortiz’s superior grappling.
The 26-year-old grinder pounded Gates at every turn on the canvas until the referee stepped in to stop the pummeling midway through the final round. With the win and the overall lack of depth in the flyweight division, Ortiz will undoubtedly draw another of the 125-pound division’s best in his next outing. Bleacher Report MMA was impressed with Ortiz’s performance:
The Bad
It wasn’t all too long ago Sara McMann was being touted as the woman who would bring Ronda Rousey’s dominance in the women’s bantamweight division to an end.
The Maryland native had the Olympic credentials and her silver medal in freestyle wrestling was a step above the bronze Rowdy won in judo. McMann also had a flawless 7-0 record to her credit—one she built by flexing her superior wrestling skills all over her competition. Eventually the time came for the inevitable matchup to go down. McMann stepped into the Octagon at UFC 170 ready to fulfill a destiny she’d not quite asked for, but that the UFC promotional machine built for her.
McMann signaled to the referee she was ready to go. Then 1:06 later it was all over as the hype was crushed with a Rousey knee landed flush on her liver.
She would pop back to her feet the instant her body recovered from the shock of her liver briefly shutting down and would question the stoppage in the immediate aftermath, but McMann’s first official loss as a professional was already in the books. And while being defeated by Rousey isn’t anything to hang your head about because everyone loses to the pound-for-pound phenom, what was unclear following her first setback was how she would recover going forward in her career.
The way the fight with Rousey ended created a situation where McMann could have easily vaulted back into a rematch with another big victory, but a questionable split-decision win over Lauren Murphy in her next fight took that option off the table. Therefore she would have to beat someone formidable in her next outing, and that opponent was slated to be the perennial best-of-the-rest Miesha Tate at UFC 183 in January.
Tate was the key to another title opportunity and another shot at Rousey, but Cupcake outworked the workhorse that night to take the unanimous-decision victory. Suddenly the sheen surrounding McMann had all but vanished, and the focus shifted from her being a future title contender to her being an elite talent in the women’s 135-pound picture. Her bout against Amanda Nunes at Fight Night 73 was supposed to erase that doubt, but instead it only served to speed up her downfall as The Lioness first dropped then choked the 34-year-old into submission.
While Nunes celebrated the biggest victory of her career, McMann wore the face of someone who didn’t quite know what happened. Sure, she understood the mechanics of how defeat found her once again, but for someone so unaccustomed to losing, the familiar feeling of something once foreign was taking hold. There’s no doubt McMann will face up to that sting in the aftermath of Nashville, but there’s no telling what action she’ll take to stop her backslide.
That said, Beneil Dariush beat Michael Johnson via split decision, and Sam Alvey simply doesn’t know what to think about that.
The Strange
While the competitors inside the cage ultimately dictate the action on fight night, the crowd is responsible for setting the atmosphere. In places like Brazil and Ireland it’s a guarantee fans will show up as soon as the doors open and maintain the fervor until the final hand is raised, but consistent passion isn’t a common trait when it comes to audiences stateside.
Even in the bigger markets ,such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles, crowd enthusiasm can be hit or miss, and that is why when a smaller market like Nashville brings the noise, it stands out so much. Four years had passed since the Octagon last rolled through “Music City,” and that absence was apparently felt based on how lively the fighting faithful in attendance were on Saturday night.
Granted, the action kicked off with Knoxville native Scotty Holtzman throwing wild flurries of elbows, feet and fists, but there’s a good chance fans at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday would have been rowdy from the jump regardless.
Midway through the opening bout on the card, it sounded as if the facility was pumping out crowd noise behind press row as every strike that landed came with a roar of approval. A quick pivot verified the “hoots and hollers” were of human origin, and that sound quickly became a regular piece of the fight-night soundtrack in Nashville.
The level of noise coming from a relatively small gathering inside the Bridgestone Arena was impressive, and the fact there was very little name recognition up and down the lineup is another accomplishment. It shows that fans in Nashville just want to see some fisticuffs on a Saturday night, and the UFC would be wise to throw them a little of what the want on a more frequent basis.
Now onto some strangeness inside the Octagon.
Tom Watson came into his fight with Chris Camozzi facing a must-win situation in order to keep his place on the UFC’s middleweight roster. Camozzi ‘s circumstances were the same.
What transpired was by all means a fight, but it’s the type of fight it was that became the problem. No doubt both Watson and Camozzi are hard-nosed guys with heart for days, but rather than the action-packed, three-round ruckus it could have been, the actual tilt was light on the chaos.
There was blood and a few low blows, complete with a point deduction handed out, but the fight started, stopped and finished without really seeming like anything happened. And while that’s strange perhaps it’s always been happening or never happened at all? Maybe the top Leonardo DiCaprio spun is still spinning, and Watson and Camozzi are actually fighting in St. Elsewhere‘s snow-globe parking lot?
That last line may be a bit dated, but these are the deep questions evoked after watching whatever Jared Rosholt vs. Timothy Johnson was.
Duane Finley is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
It’s rare to see a fighter leave MMA before the sport leaves them, but Jordan Mein has officially put himself in that category.