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Dennis Siver on Conor McGregor: ‘I Will Punish Him’

Rather than ignore his silver-tongued opponent, Dennis Siver has chosen to engage in a war of words with Conor McGregor in anticipation of their showdown at UFC Fight Night 59 in January in Boston.
Perhaps Siver, the UFC’s eighth-ranked featherweight, …

Rather than ignore his silver-tongued opponent, Dennis Siver has chosen to engage in a war of words with Conor McGregor in anticipation of their showdown at UFC Fight Night 59 in January in Boston.

Perhaps Siver, the UFC’s eighth-ranked featherweight, has allowed fifth-ranked McGregor to get under his skin. Or maybe Siver just sees the need to hype their main event fight, one that many pundits have already counted him out of.

Either way, Siver doesn’t mind the notion that some experts consider him an amateur compared to McGregor in the realm of trash-talking, or fighting, for that matter.

After all, the Russian-born German citizen continues to play the Irishman’s games.

In an interview over the weekend with German-based MMA outlet Ground and Pound, Siver was asked if McGregor‘s taunts have served as extra motivation in his effort to try to pull off an upset.

I try to handle it in a professional manner. I’m trying to not rise to provocation. Of course, it motivates me. When he insults me, I want vengeance and I will do that in the fight. I will punish him for it. But he won’t be able to upset me. It’s probably his goal to break people mentally. He can’t do this to me. I’m not so sensitive in that matter. I prepare myself for the fight and will do my thing.

This doesn’t mark the first instance in which Siver fired back at McGregor on a public stage. In mid-October, Siver offered a surprisingly witty response to a McGregor insult.

Here’s a link to McGregor‘s initial statement (NSFW language) on Oct. 14 and a look at Siver‘s response a day later.

@TheNotoriousMMA Nice suit u #lametrashtalker #OscarMcGregor #GoldDigger #Goblin @danawhite @ufc @lorenzofertitta pic.twitter.com/1Dpcc91dh0

— Dennis Siver (@DennisSiver) October 15, 2014

McGregor scored his 12th straight win by KO’ing sixth-ranked Dustin Poirier in the first round at UFC 178 in September. During his winning streak, McGregor has won 10 times by form of KO and once by submission.

Siver, who made his UFC debut in 2007, has only tasted defeat twice in his past 10 bouts.

Siver defeated Charles Rosa by unanimous decision in his last bout at UFC Fight Night 53 in October. Siver and Rosa each pocketed $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses for their efforts.

Although he’s only fought five times as a featherweight, Siver has competed 18 times in the Octagon. In the UFC’s stable of featherweights, only Jeremy Stephens (19 fights) and Clay Guida (20) have more fights in the promotion than Siver.

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Dana White Says Cain Velasquez Will Lose UFC Title If He Doesn’t Return by March

The clock has started for UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez. If the Californian wants to keep the most coveted belt in MMA, then company president Dana White claims he must return to the Octagon healthy by March.
Velasquez, who last defended his bel…

Velasquez, who last defended his belt in October 2013, had to pull out of UFC 180 (what would have been his third straight title defense) after spraining his medial collateral ligament and tearing his meniscus in his right knee in mid-October.

As a result, the company’s brass had to call on fourth-ranked heavyweight Mark Hunt to face the opponent in line to face Velasquez, top-ranked Fabricio Werdum, in an interim title bout in the main event of UFC 180 in Mexico City on Saturday.

On Thursday’s weekly installment of The Download on UFC.com, White said he expects Velasquez to make his return by March, and if he can’t, the winner of the fight between Werdum and Hunt will be deemed heavyweight champ.

“We’re headed in that direction now,” White said. “This next fight in Mexico is for the interim title. So if Cain couldn’t compete again, the winner of this fight would be seen as the champion.”

Not surprisingly, the mild-mannered Velasquez shrugged off the notion that the fight between Werdum and Hunt represents a bona fide heavyweight title fight.

“It’s the interim belt, you know,” Velasquez said at the UFC 180 media scrum (per MMAFighting.com). “It’s the interim belt. We’re going to fight for the real one coming up. So I don’t think too much into it. When I have my chance to fight, we’ll fight for the real one. … That’s how I view it because it’s the interim belt. Interim belt, interim champion. Not the champion.”

The 32-year-old former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler last graced the Octagon at UFC 166, where he scored a fifth-round TKO over former champ Junior dos Santos.

Velasquez has won four straight fights since suffering his first and only career loss, a KO at the hands of dos Santos in the first of their three scraps at UFC on Fox 1 in November 2011.

Since his first title fight, a first-round TKO win over Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 in October 2010, Velasquez has fought just five times.

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5 Reasons to Watch UFC 180

The untimely injury of heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez in late October nearly derailed the UFC’s first event in Mexico.
Fortunately for the company’s brass, fearless and ambitious heavyweight contender Mark Hunt stepped up on late notice to replace Ve…

The untimely injury of heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez in late October nearly derailed the UFC’s first event in Mexico.

Fortunately for the company’s brass, fearless and ambitious heavyweight contender Mark Hunt stepped up on late notice to replace Velasquez and subsequently accept a daunting task in the night’s main event.

The fourth-ranked Hunt will face top-ranked submission wizard Fabricio Werdum in an interim heavyweight title bout in the main event Saturday night at UFC 180 at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City.

On a top-heavy card that includes fourth-ranked featherweight Ricardo Lamas and seventh-ranked welterweight Jake Ellenberger, the matchup between Mark Hunt and Werdum could prove a perfect ending to a captivating night.

Read on to get a glimpse of some of the alluring attractions that UFC 180 will offer.

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Fallon Fox Details Effects of Joe Rogan’s Words: ‘I Made Plans to Kill Myself’

Transgender women’s MMA fighter Fallon Fox has claimed she’s lived in perpetual angst as a result of the criticism UFC color commentator Joe Rogan hurled her way on a March 2013 episode of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience (via Fight Opinion)….

Nearly 20 months removed from Rogan‘s statements regarding the once-beaten featherweight, Fox broke her silence on the matter by penning a guest editorial for Bloody Elbow.

An emotional Fox began her over-1,500 word rebuttal to Rogan by writing:

It’s been almost a year since Joe Rogan first went on his rant where he said some of the most awful things about yours truly. People have asked me why I never responded back then to what he said. The answer? The world was wrongfully caving in on me, many of his fans attacked my social media repeating much of the hurtful rhetoric and misinformation that Joe said on the air. I was simply not feeling up to responding at that time. I also thought it might be possible that he would correct himself on a long enough timeline.

Fox then admitted that the colossal pressure of becoming the first openly transgender MMA fighter in the sport’s history, coupled with Rogan‘s comments, nearly drove her to suicide.

“I barely squeaked by when it all went down. Honestly, sincerely, I contemplated (and) even made plans to kill myself. I think that no matter how mentally tough you are, nothing can fully prepare one for coming out as trans on such a public stage regardless of preparation. That’s human.”

Later in her soliloquy, Fox attempted in long-winded fashion to correct what she perceived as inaccurate information regarding transgender athletes from Rogan. She then said Rogan essentially committed harassment by bringing the subject up and offering his opinions on it on several occasions on his podcast.

Fox wrapped up her message to Rogan by writing: “All of this ‘being corrected’ can just be avoided by him apologizing and correcting the misinformation. That would really make my day.”

The 38-year-old Fox, who was born Boyd Burton and grew up in Toledo, Ohio, was the middle of three children in a mixed-race household.

Fox drove an 18-wheeler for a period of two years before making the trek to Bangkok, Thailand, where she had gender reassignment surgery in 2006.

The Midwest Training Center product won her pro MMA debut in May 2012 by scoring a first-round TKO over Elisha Helsper at KOTC Wild Card.

Fox suffered her first loss in October 2013 when she fell to Ashlee Evans-Smith at Championship Fighting Alliance 12.

Fox has won each of her last two fights, with her latest win coming via first-round TKO over Tamikka Brents at CCCW: The Undertaking in September.

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Fallon Fox Details Effects of Joe Rogan’s Words: ‘I Made Plans to Kill Myself’

Nearly 20 months removed from Rogan‘s statements regarding the once-beaten featherweight, Fox broke her silence on the matter by penning a guest editorial for Bloody Elbow.

An emotional Fox began her over-1,500 word rebuttal to Rogan by writing:

It’s been almost a year since Joe Rogan first went on his rant where he said some of the most awful things about yours truly. People have asked me why I never responded back then to what he said. The answer? The world was wrongfully caving in on me, many of his fans attacked my social media repeating much of the hurtful rhetoric and misinformation that Joe said on the air. I was simply not feeling up to responding at that time. I also thought it might be possible that he would correct himself on a long enough timeline.

Fox then admitted that the colossal pressure of becoming the first openly transgender MMA fighter in the sport’s history, coupled with Rogan‘s comments, nearly drove her to suicide.

Fox wrapped up her message to Rogan by writing: “All of this ‘being corrected’ can just be avoided by him apologizing and correcting the misinformation. That would really make my day.”

The 38-year-old Fox, who was born Boyd Burton and grew up in Toledo, Ohio, was the middle of three children in a mixed-race household.

Fox drove an 18-wheeler for a period of two years before making the trek to Bangkok, Thailand, where she had gender reassignment surgery in 2006.

The Midwest Training Center product won her pro MMA debut in May 2012 by scoring a first-round TKO over Elisha Helsper at KOTC Wild Card.

Fox suffered her first loss in October 2013 when she fell to Ashlee Evans-Smith at Championship Fighting Alliance 12.

Fox has won each of her last two fights, with her latest win coming via first-round TKO over Tamikka Brents at CCCW: The Undertaking in September.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bisping on Fresh Cut Above Left Eye: ‘It’s Nothing at All to Be Worried About’

Fans itching to see the feud between Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold culminate in the Octagon breathed a sigh of relief when Bisping squashed the notion that a newly formed cut over his eye will affect his performance Friday.
Ninth-ranked UFC middlew…

Ninth-ranked UFC middleweight Bisping, who will face fifth-ranked Rockhold at UFC Fight Night 55 in Sydney, suffered a laceration over his left eye while grappling with a training partner earlier this week. The cut required three stitches.

Bisping nixed the idea that the fresh gash will hinder him in his five-round main-event bout with the former Strikeforce middleweight kingpin.

“(It’s) nothing at all to be worried about,” said Bisping at the pre-fight press conference for the event (per MMAJunkie.com). “He’s not going to land a glove on me. I could have had stitches all over my face. I had a tiny little cut. It was a clash of heads.”

The ever-confident Bisping then indicated that he believes Rockhold will attempt to take the fight to the ground early by saying, “For all of Luke’s talk, I’m pretty sure he’s going to shoot a takedown in the first round, so I was working on my takedown defense and (had) a minor clash of heads. But as I said, no problem on (fight) night.”

Rockhold retorted Bisping‘s claims with an equally self-assured response.

I haven’t practiced takedowns at all this whole training camp. I’m focused on the standup game, and that’s where it’s going to start and where it’s going to end. I don’t care who Michael’s sparring with. If he’s getting beat up like that, he’s in big trouble. Look at me. I’m sparring with Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier and the best guys in the world and the heaviest hitters (at American Kickboxing Academy). … I’m looking pretty clean. He better put some grease on that eye.

The Count, who holds a 15-6 record, has lost two of his last four fights and three of his last six.

Bisping won his last bout via fourth-round TKO over Cung Le in the main event of UFC Fight Night 48 in August.

Bisping has more UFC fights under his belt (21) than any other middleweight on the roster. Only former longtime champ Anderson Silva has more wins (16) in the UFC as a middleweight.

Rockhold dropped his promotional debut when he got KO’d by Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 8 in May 2013. He has since earned back-to-back wins, TKO’ing Costas Philippou in the first round at UFC Fight Night 35 in January before submitting Tim Boetsch in the first round at UFC 172 in April.

The main card will be aired on UFC Fight Pass, beginning at 10 p.m. ET. The prelims will begin on Fight Pass at 7 p.m. ET.

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