RIO DE JANEIRO — Everybody wants a shot at Conor McGregor.
Yan Cabral, who made his successful 155-pound debut with a second-round submission win over Naoyuki Kotani at Saturday night’s UFC 179 card in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is interested in fighting Irish star Conor McGregor.
“I just got to the lightweight division, so my goal is to train, evolve and fight the best. I’ll eventually get to the top,” Cabral told the media after the win. “There’s a guy that I want to fight, a guy that has been talking a lot, talking about Jose Aldo as well: McGregor. He fights at 145, but talked about moving up to 155 for a fight, and I also thought about fighting at 145. I want to beat him up one day.”
Slated to meet Dennis Siver in January, McGregor could be a win away from a title fight against Aldo, but Cabral believes he wouldn’t get past other Nova Uniao fighters.
“We have at least 10 featherweights at Nova Uniao that could beat him up,” Cabral said. “Until he gets to Aldo, there are more guys he has to beat. Hacran Dias would kill him.”
Back to the win column after suffering the first loss of his professional career, Cabral (12-1) wants to get back in action as soon as possible.
“It the UFC offers me a fight next month, or at the Barueri card (on Dec. 20), I’ll take it,” he said. “I have no injuries and I’m ready to fight again.”
RIO DE JANEIRO — Everybody wants a shot at Conor McGregor.
Yan Cabral, who made his successful 155-pound debut with a second-round submission win over Naoyuki Kotani at Saturday night’s UFC 179 card in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is interested in fighting Irish star Conor McGregor.
“I just got to the lightweight division, so my goal is to train, evolve and fight the best. I’ll eventually get to the top,” Cabral told the media after the win. “There’s a guy that I want to fight, a guy that has been talking a lot, talking about Jose Aldo as well: McGregor. He fights at 145, but talked about moving up to 155 for a fight, and I also thought about fighting at 145. I want to beat him up one day.”
Slated to meet Dennis Siver in January, McGregor could be a win away from a title fight against Aldo, but Cabral believes he wouldn’t get past other Nova Uniao fighters.
“We have at least 10 featherweights at Nova Uniao that could beat him up,” Cabral said. “Until he gets to Aldo, there are more guys he has to beat. Hacran Dias would kill him.”
Back to the win column after suffering the first loss of his professional career, Cabral (12-1) wants to get back in action as soon as possible.
“It the UFC offers me a fight next month, or at the Barueri card (on Dec. 20), I’ll take it,” he said. “I have no injuries and I’m ready to fight again.”
Phil Davis returned to the win column at UFC 179, but he could stay out of action for a long time.
Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) announced on Monday that two of the 22 UFN 179 fighters are suspended six months pending medical clearance after Saturday night’s fights. Phil Davis, who scored a unanimous decision victory over Glover Teixeira in the co-main event, needs clearance of his right hand before stepping back in the Octagon again. Scott Jorgensen, who suffered a first-round loss to Wilson Reis, could also be out 180 days with a rib injury.
UFC 179 took place Oct. 25, 2014 at the Maracanazinho gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro. A complete medical suspension list can be seen below.
Tony Martin: Suspended 14 days; 7 days no contact Fabricio Camoes: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Christos Giagos: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Gilbert Burns: Suspended 14 days; 7 days no contact Andre Fili: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Felipe Arantes: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Wilson Reis: Suspended 14 days; 7 days no contact Scott Jorgensen: Suspended 180 days, can return early pending physician clearance of left rib Naoyuki Kotani: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Yan Cabral: Suspended 14 days; 7 days no contact Neil Magny: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Willian Macario: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Beneil Dariush: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Diego Ferreira: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Darren Elkins: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Lucas Martins: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Hans Stringer: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Fabio Maldonado: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Phil Davis: Suspended 180 days, can return early pending physician clearance of right hand Glover Teixeira: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Chad Mendes: Suspended 60 days; 45 days no contact Jose Aldo: Suspended 60 days; 45 days no contact
Phil Davis returned to the win column at UFC 179, but he could stay out of action for a long time.
Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) announced on Monday that two of the 22 UFN 179 fighters are suspended six months pending medical clearance after Saturday night’s fights. Phil Davis, who scored a unanimous decision victory over Glover Teixeira in the co-main event, needs clearance of his right hand before stepping back in the Octagon again. Scott Jorgensen, who suffered a first-round loss to Wilson Reis, could also be out 180 days with a rib injury.
UFC 179 took place Oct. 25, 2014 at the Maracanazinho gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro. A complete medical suspension list can be seen below.
Tony Martin: Suspended 14 days; 7 days no contact Fabricio Camoes: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Christos Giagos: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Gilbert Burns: Suspended 14 days; 7 days no contact Andre Fili: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Felipe Arantes: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Wilson Reis: Suspended 14 days; 7 days no contact Scott Jorgensen: Suspended 180 days, can return early pending physician clearance of left rib Naoyuki Kotani: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Yan Cabral: Suspended 14 days; 7 days no contact Neil Magny: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Willian Macario: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Beneil Dariush: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Diego Ferreira: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Darren Elkins: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Lucas Martins: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Hans Stringer: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Fabio Maldonado: Suspended 30 days; 21 days no contact Phil Davis: Suspended 180 days, can return early pending physician clearance of right hand Glover Teixeira: Suspended 45 days; 30 days no contact Chad Mendes: Suspended 60 days; 45 days no contact Jose Aldo: Suspended 60 days; 45 days no contact
White and Fertitta had dinner with the former middleweight champion last Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, and they agreed to a new deal with the MMA legend.
“I had seven fights on my contract (after the Diaz fight). I met Lorenzo and Dana on Thursday and that contract was canceled. We signed for another 15 fights,” Silva told Combate. “To make Dana crazy, I signed for 15 more fights. And to make my family crazy, too.”
Silva, who meets Diaz in a middleweight contest in Las Vegas on Jan. 31, is also negotiating a new sponsorship deal. The MMA fighter is no longer sponsored by Nike, and he’s currently in negotiations with Adidas.
“I was always a Nike fan, I like the brand. The company gave me an opportunity to fulfill a dream. Thanks to Ronaldo and Corinthians, I was able to work with Nike,” he said. “It was great, I liked it a lot. I’ll miss them, always remember it.
“We’re in a good relationship with Adidas now. There’s nothing done, we’ll see what happens in the future.”
White and Fertitta had dinner with the former middleweight champion last Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, and they agreed to a new deal with the MMA legend.
“I had seven fights on my contract (after the Diaz fight). I met Lorenzo and Dana on Thursday and that contract was canceled. We signed for another 15 fights,” Silva told Combate. “To make Dana crazy, I signed for 15 more fights. And to make my family crazy, too.”
Silva, who meets Diaz in a middleweight contest in Las Vegas on Jan. 31, is also negotiating a new sponsorship deal. The MMA fighter is no longer sponsored by Nike, and he’s currently in negotiations with Adidas.
“I was always a Nike fan, I like the brand. The company gave me an opportunity to fulfill a dream. Thanks to Ronaldo and Corinthians, I was able to work with Nike,” he said. “It was great, I liked it a lot. I’ll miss them, always remember it.
“We’re in a good relationship with Adidas now. There’s nothing done, we’ll see what happens in the future.”
RIO DE JANEIRO — Fabio Maldonado returned to the win column at UFC 179, and it was a perfect night for the Brazilian brawler.
Maldonado, who finished Hans Stringer via TKO in the second round at Maracanazinho gymnasium on Saturday night’s pay-per-view card, squashed an old beef with former teammate Anderson Silva.
“He was yelling instructions during the fight,” Maldonado told the media after the fight. “When I swept Stringer and I saw Anderson in front of me, I thought ‘cool, even the champion is rooting for me.’”
In 2013, Maldonado criticized Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for not allowing him to open a Team Nogueria gym in his hometown, and Anderson Silva for using all the structure at X-Gym and Team Nogueira and not paying coaches a percentage of his fight purse, like fighters usually do.
When Maldonado finished Stringer, Silva crawled the fence to celebrate.
“He came close to the fence to celebrate and I said ‘come on, jump here,’ and I asked for apologies for not saying directly to him what I wanted to say instead of talking to the media about it,” Maldonado said. “I had my bad days, and I talk too much. I told him I was happy to see him and his family, and he said we’re good, so I kissed his bald head.
“I had my problems with him, but it was a mistake to bring it to the media,” he added. “I’m 34 now, so I’m more careful with what I tell the media. Nobody is perfect.”
Maldonado improved to 4-0 in the light heavyweight division since May 2013. His last loss, earlier this year, came in a short notice heavyweight clash with Stipe Miocic in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
“I haven’t knocked out anyone since 2010. I was feeling like a virgin again,” Maldonado said with a laugh. “Hans is a great fighter, has more wins and finishes than me, but I know how to use my energy better. Like (Gian) Villante, he came to try to hold me on the ground.”
RIO DE JANEIRO — Fabio Maldonado returned to the win column at UFC 179, and it was a perfect night for the Brazilian brawler.
Maldonado, who finished Hans Stringer via TKO in the second round at Maracanazinho gymnasium on Saturday night’s pay-per-view card, squashed an old beef with former teammate Anderson Silva.
“He was yelling instructions during the fight,” Maldonado told the media after the fight. “When I swept Stringer and I saw Anderson in front of me, I thought ‘cool, even the champion is rooting for me.’”
In 2013, Maldonado criticized Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for not allowing him to open a Team Nogueria gym in his hometown, and Anderson Silva for using all the structure at X-Gym and Team Nogueira and not paying coaches a percentage of his fight purse, like fighters usually do.
When Maldonado finished Stringer, Silva crawled the fence to celebrate.
“He came close to the fence to celebrate and I said ‘come on, jump here,’ and I asked for apologies for not saying directly to him what I wanted to say instead of talking to the media about it,” Maldonado said. “I had my bad days, and I talk too much. I told him I was happy to see him and his family, and he said we’re good, so I kissed his bald head.
“I had my problems with him, but it was a mistake to bring it to the media,” he added. “I’m 34 now, so I’m more careful with what I tell the media. Nobody is perfect.”
Maldonado improved to 4-0 in the light heavyweight division since May 2013. His last loss, earlier this year, came in a short notice heavyweight clash with Stipe Miocic in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
“I haven’t knocked out anyone since 2010. I was feeling like a virgin again,” Maldonado said with a laugh. “Hans is a great fighter, has more wins and finishes than me, but I know how to use my energy better. Like (Gian) Villante, he came to try to hold me on the ground.”
Belfort, who earned a shot at the UFC gold after three straight knockout wins in 2013, confirmed to the Brazilian media Friday that he will be facing Weidman on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles at UFC 184.
“On Feb. 28, I will be stepping inside the cage and winning this belt.” Belfort said. “It’s going to be good, right after Carnival.
“Los Angeles is a great place, the first place I lived when I moved to the United States,” he added. “It was the right place. I’m really happy with this news.”
Belfort, who was granted a license by the Nevada Athletic Commission after promising he wouldn’t fight anywhere but in Nevada, won’t fight there after all.
“The Phenom” and the “All-American” were initially scheduled to meet on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, but Weidman had to withdraw from the bout with a hand injury. Belfort admits that the champion was “active” in 2014, but once again defends an interim belt.
“He was active this year, but he got hurt twice,” Belfort said. “An interim title keeps the division moving. The only person that wins with it is (the champion) that got hurt. It’s frustrating for everyone – fighters, media and fans – to see that you won’t have a title fight.”
Belfort, who earned a shot at the UFC gold after three straight knockout wins in 2013, confirmed to the Brazilian media Friday that he will be facing Weidman on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles at UFC 184.
“On Feb. 28, I will be stepping inside the cage and winning this belt.” Belfort said. “It’s going to be good, right after Carnival.
“Los Angeles is a great place, the first place I lived when I moved to the United States,” he added. “It was the right place. I’m really happy with this news.”
Belfort, who was granted a license by the Nevada Athletic Commission after promising he wouldn’t fight anywhere but in Nevada, won’t fight there after all.
“The Phenom” and the “All-American” were initially scheduled to meet on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, but Weidman had to withdraw from the bout with a hand injury. Belfort admits that the champion was “active” in 2014, but once again defends an interim belt.
“He was active this year, but he got hurt twice,” Belfort said. “An interim title keeps the division moving. The only person that wins with it is (the champion) that got hurt. It’s frustrating for everyone – fighters, media and fans – to see that you won’t have a title fight.”
RIO DE JANEIRO — Jose Aldo remains the UFC featherweight champion, but Chad Mendes proved to be a great challenge at Saturday night’s UFC 179 in Brazil.
The first and only 145-pound champion, Aldo defended his title for the seventh consecutive time, the third in Brazil, and he feels even better when performing in front of his countrymen.
“With this sold out arena singing and chanting, I feel I’m unbeatable,” Aldo said on the post-fight press conference. “I respect everybody, but you have to kill me to defeat me in front of this crowd.
“Chad’s confidence had increased a lot, but that was good that he kept the fight standing because I knew the fight would be in my hands. I just stayed calm. I have to thank him for making this fight.”
Aldo clearly won the decision, but that doesn’t mean the fight ended without some controversy. The referee came in late when the first round was over, and Aldo almost knocked Mendes out with a couple extra punches.
“When the round was over, I thought the fight was over,” Aldo said. “When I connected the punches and the referee stepped in, I thought it was over. I was about to run into the crowd, but I’m glad I didn’t [laughs].”
“[Mendes] got hit after the bell. I think that threw a lot of people off,” UFC president Dana White told Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight. “People were going crazy that watched it on TV. But anybody that knows that was here live, you couldn’t hear it. I didn’t hear the bell go off.”
“I don’t think [the referee] heard [the bell],” he continued. “I didn’t hear it. I didn’t know either till after. My phone was blowing up from people were going crazy that were watching on TV saying how dirty that was that he got hit with two punches after, but it was so loud in this arena you couldn’t hear anything.”
Mendes, who rocked and knocked Aldo down a couple times in the fight, came up short in Rio de Janeiro, but the champion doesn’t think he’s done after going 0-2 in title fights.
“We’ve seen Frankie (Edgar) fighting Gray Maynard a third time, so I think it happens,” Aldo said. “I believe Chad won a lot with this fight. If there’s a third one, we’ll win a lot. He’s a great athlete and will always be fighting at the highest level. Him losing again doesn’t mean he doesn’t work anymore. He has a huge potential and we might meet again in the future. If we keep fighting, our pockets will be full.”
“There’s no revenge,” Aldo added when asked of his relationship with Team Alpha Male and Renan Barao’s recent loss to T.J. Dillashaw. “Aldo is one guy, Barao is another one. We’re friends, we’re teammates, but it’s a fight. Each one will defend his name. I represented not only my team, but the entire country tonight. There’s no revenge. If I fight for it one day, it’s time to stop. As long as I fight for myself, I will stay champion.”
RIO DE JANEIRO — Jose Aldo remains the UFC featherweight champion, but Chad Mendes proved to be a great challenge at Saturday night’s UFC 179 in Brazil.
The first and only 145-pound champion, Aldo defended his title for the seventh consecutive time, the third in Brazil, and he feels even better when performing in front of his countrymen.
“With this sold out arena singing and chanting, I feel I’m unbeatable,” Aldo said on the post-fight press conference. “I respect everybody, but you have to kill me to defeat me in front of this crowd.
“Chad’s confidence had increased a lot, but that was good that he kept the fight standing because I knew the fight would be in my hands. I just stayed calm. I have to thank him for making this fight.”
Aldo clearly won the decision, but that doesn’t mean the fight ended without some controversy. The referee came in late when the first round was over, and Aldo almost knocked Mendes out with a couple extra punches.
“When the round was over, I thought the fight was over,” Aldo said. “When I connected the punches and the referee stepped in, I thought it was over. I was about to run into the crowd, but I’m glad I didn’t [laughs].”
“[Mendes] got hit after the bell. I think that threw a lot of people off,” UFC president Dana White told Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight. “People were going crazy that watched it on TV. But anybody that knows that was here live, you couldn’t hear it. I didn’t hear the bell go off.”
“I don’t think [the referee] heard [the bell],” he continued. “I didn’t hear it. I didn’t know either till after. My phone was blowing up from people were going crazy that were watching on TV saying how dirty that was that he got hit with two punches after, but it was so loud in this arena you couldn’t hear anything.”
Mendes, who rocked and knocked Aldo down a couple times in the fight, came up short in Rio de Janeiro, but the champion doesn’t think he’s done after going 0-2 in title fights.
“We’ve seen Frankie (Edgar) fighting Gray Maynard a third time, so I think it happens,” Aldo said. “I believe Chad won a lot with this fight. If there’s a third one, we’ll win a lot. He’s a great athlete and will always be fighting at the highest level. Him losing again doesn’t mean he doesn’t work anymore. He has a huge potential and we might meet again in the future. If we keep fighting, our pockets will be full.”
“There’s no revenge,” Aldo added when asked of his relationship with Team Alpha Male and Renan Barao’s recent loss to T.J. Dillashaw. “Aldo is one guy, Barao is another one. We’re friends, we’re teammates, but it’s a fight. Each one will defend his name. I represented not only my team, but the entire country tonight. There’s no revenge. If I fight for it one day, it’s time to stop. As long as I fight for myself, I will stay champion.”
