But wouldn’t you know it, it seems that Diaz had a slight change of heart, and has now agreed to face McGregor at UFC 196 in a five round main event.
If you’ll excuse us for a moment….
The fight, which was first reported by Fox Sports and confirmed by Ariel Helwani shortly thereafter, will be a non-title fight contested at 170 pounds, marking the featherweight champion’s first trip up to the division. Diaz, meanwhile, hasn’t competed at welterweight since stringing together two stoppage victories over Rory Markham and Marcus Davis alongside a pair of decision losses to Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald between 2010 and 2011.
This…is an incredible, insane fight to put it simply, as well as the best possible scenario fans could have hoped for following the removal of Dos Anjos from the card. In McGregor vs. Diaz, you have two fighters who are, as Mike Goldberg would put it, virtually identical in a lot of ways. Both guys are tried-and-true finishers who compete at an absolutely insane pace and bring a diverse, punishing arsenal of strikes to the cage. It may not be the fight we were expecting, and it may be happening on two weeks notice, but McGregor vs. Diaz has “Fight of the Year” implications written all over it.
Not to mention, uhhh, this:
The amount of shit-talking that will take place during the fight alone is worth the price of the pay-per-view. Speaking of which, the UFC has scheduled a press conference for the two to face off for the first time, which will be broadcast at 4 p.m. EST today on UFC.com.
In either case, Rafael Dos Anjos has in fact pulled out of his UFC 196 main event due to a broken foot suffered during training, leaving the Notorious one in need of yet another last-minute replacement. And here’s where things are getting interesting…
In either case, Rafael Dos Anjos has in fact pulled out of his UFC 196 main event due to a broken foot suffered during training, leaving the Notorious one in need of yet another last-minute replacement. And here’s where things are getting interesting…
As you might expect, the first name to come up as a potential replacement for Dos Anjos was Frankie Edgar, who was unsuccessfully rallying for a fight against McGregor right up to the point that he was booked against the lightweight champion. Unfortunately, Ariel Helwani was the first to break the news that Edgar would be unavailable to fight due to a lingering injury, via Twitter.
Next in line was perennial lightweight contender Nate Diaz, who is fresh off an impressive win over Michael Johnson, wherein he called out McGregor in a profanity-laced post-fight interview. And for what it’s worth, it looks like Diaz is at least willing to face McGregor on short notice, but only under one condition…
Given the insanely long build-up and insanely short actual length of their last fight, booking Jose Aldo in a (non-title fight) rematch also seemed to make sense. When asked point blank if he would take the fight, however, Aldo revealed some interesting news via his manager and coach, Andre Pederneiras.
“Dana [White] called me, telling what happened and asking if Aldo was in shape to fight. I said he wasn’t and that there wasn’t enough time, and unfortunately he wouldn’t be able to fight next week,” said Pederneiras via MMAFighting.
While this notion seems to be in direct contradiction to a statement made by Aldo on Instagram a few weeks ago, it’s perhaps best that we just move on. The man is only two months out from a vicious KO loss, after all.
Of course, when all else fails, you’re left with Donald Cerrone. As we know, “Cowboy” happens to be one of the few fighters that is both perpetually ready to fight and has happened to mince words with McGregor in the past. While he may be coming off a win over Alex Oliveira that took place just two days ago, Cerrone has already verbally agreed to face McGregor. In fact, Cerrone has already begun to make the cut down from 170 pounds, posting an auspicious video on Instagram and writing on Twitter that “Anyone, anywhere. I’ll be ready. Just waiting on this call.”
So there are a couple sensible options out there to save UFC 196 — mainly Diaz or Cerrone — but the fate of the card now lies in the UFC’s hands. Let’s hope they don’t botch it.
While the triumphant freakshow that was Bellator 149 may be getting all the coverage, the UFC put on a decent little show of their own over the weekend. Though not without its fair share of unfortunate, injury-related withdrawals, Fight Night 83 wasn’t the worst night of fights by a long shot. And hey, no one almost died! (Too soon? Too soon.)
In the evening’s main event, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone dueled with late replacement Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira in the former’s first trip up to the welterweight division. Word had it that the loser of the match would have to change his nickname to “Ranch Hand” per a gentleman’s agreement made in the locker room, but that’s neither here nor there. In an effort to once again remind us that it’s not all head kicks and “fuck you kicks” when it comes to Donald Cerrone, the former title challenger took Oliveira to the mat early and, for lack of a better word, just tooled him from there.
The triangle that Cerrone locked up just over halfway through the round had Oliveira tapping faster than that time Sage Northcutt put an uncomfortably tight, ab-smothering turtleneck, so check out a full replay of the fight above (until it gets taken down).
After the jump:Chris Camozzi obliterates Joe Riggs‘ arms & face and the world feels sadder for having witnessed it.
While the triumphant freakshow that was Bellator 149 may be getting all the coverage, the UFC put on a decent little show of their own over the weekend. Though not without its fair share of unfortunate, injury-related withdrawals, Fight Night 83 wasn’t the worst night of fights by a long shot. And hey, no one almost died! (Too soon? Too soon.)
In the evening’s main event, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone dueled with late replacement Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira in the former’s first trip up to the welterweight division. Word had it that the loser of the match would have to change his nickname to “Ranch Hand” per a gentleman’s agreement made in the locker room, but that’s neither here nor there. In an effort to once again remind us that it’s not all head kicks and “fuck you kicks” when it comes to Donald Cerrone, the former title challenger took Oliveira to the mat early and, for lack of a better word, just tooled him from there.
The triangle that Cerrone locked up just over halfway through the round had Oliveira tapping faster than that time Sage Northcutt put an uncomfortably tight, ab-smothering turtleneck, so check out a full replay of the fight above (until it gets taken down).
Elsewhere on the Fight Night 83 card, UFC veterans Chris Camozzi and Joe Riggs faced off, and if you’ve been wondering how much “Diesel” has left in the tank (nailed it), then this fight will probably not be a fun thing to watch for you.
I know it’s been said before, but Joe Riggs has got to be the oldest looking 33-year-old since…people started living past 33, I guess. I understand that chopping one’s own dick off can’t be good method of preserving one’s youth (when you’re in you early 30′s at least), but someone needs to show that guy, like, moisterizer or something. I swear that I saw a fine layer of ash fly off his face when Camozzi landed that jab.
Main Card
Donald Cerrone def. Alex Oliveira via submission (triangle choke) (R1, 2:33)
Derek Brunson def. Roan Carneiro via first-round TKO (2:38)
Cody Garbrandt def. Augusto Mendes via first-round TKO (4:18)
Dennis Bermudez def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Chris Camozzi def. Joe Riggs via first-round TKO (0:26)
James Krause def. Shane Campbell via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Undercard
Sean Strickland def. Alex Garcia via third-round TKO (4:25)
Oluwale Bamgbose def. Daniel Sarafian via first-round KO (1:00)
Anthony Smith def. Leonardo Augusto Guimares via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Nathan Coy def. Jonavin Webb via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ashlee Evans-Smith def Marion Reneau via split-decision, (30-27, 28-29, 29-27)
Lauren Murphy def. Kelly Faszholz via TKO (Round 3, 4:55)
Shamil Abdurakhimov def. Anthony Hamilton via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Last week, we expressed the less-than-popular opinion that the booking of Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 5000 in the co-main event of Bellator 149 was perhaps the greatest matchmaking move in the promotion’s history. Our main argument was that, by booking such a clearly ridiculous, freakshow of a fight, Scott Coker was declaring once and for all that his promotion would not be attempting to compete with the UFC in terms of legitimate talent moving forward, but would instead be cashing in on the millennial driven, “so-bad-it’s-good” market that has begun to dominate the film and television industries in recent years.
With Slice vs. Dada now in the rearview mirror, we think it would be safe to say that we were right on the money.
Last week, we expressed the less-than-popular opinion that the booking of Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 5000 in the co-main event of Bellator 149 was perhaps the greatest matchmaking move in the promotion’s history. Our main argument was that, by booking such a clearly ridiculous, freakshow of a fight, Scott Coker was declaring once and for all that his promotion would not be attempting to compete with the UFC in terms of legitimate talent moving forward, but would instead be cashing in on the millennial driven, “so-bad-it’s-good” market that has begun to dominate the film and television industries in recent years.
With Slice vs. Dada now in the rearview mirror, we think it would be safe to say that we were right on the money.
How bad was Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 5000? Arguably one of the worst fights that the sport has ever seen, yet also on par for what you would expect from two near-40 year-old street fighters with limited MMA training. It was a fight wherein both competitors gassed out within the opening minute, yet valiantly continued (struggled) on for 13 more. It was a fight that appeared to take place underwater and was capped off by a hilarious non-finish that would’ve turned Ric Flair green with envy.
The reactions may have been scathing, but if there’s one thing that Slice vs. Dada did, it’s get us talking. Early indications are that Bellator 149 was a huge hit among its coveted demographics and the fight itself is still trending on Twitter. In its failure to entertain, Slice vs. Dada quickly became the most entertaining fight of the weekend for some of us, and you have to imagine that it was exactly what Scott Coker wanted when he booked it in the first place.
Of course, it didn’t come without a cost. Our gleeful takedown of the fight was soon followed by general concern for Dada 5000, who was carried out of the event on a stretcher and later rushed to critical condition due to renal failure. As it turns out, the 40 pounds that Dhafir Harris had dropped in the lead-up to the fight had taken its toll on his body, and he nearly lost his life as a result. It was a sobering turn of events, and one that has led to even greater backlash from the MMA community. While the finger rightfully has been pointed at Bellator for booking this fight, it could (and should) just as easily be pointed at the Texas athletic commission that allowed Harris to step into the cage after a 5-year absence when his body was clearly not ready for it.
At the end of the day, we highly doubt that Dada’s near-death experience will do anything to curb Bellator matchmaking moving forward. The promotion is shifting ever-further away from “legitimacy” in an attempt to give us guilty pleasure fights, and that’s exactly what it did last weekend. Regardless of how those fights turned out, you can bet your bottom dollar that the reputation of MMA’s second most popular promotion didn’t suffer in the slightest for it. I mean, what else could we have possibly expected? A high-level display of technical mixed martial arts? A slick submission? Outrage may be the fuel that powers the Internet, but it will ultimately be rendered meaningless as long as keep tuning in (and we will).
Of course, then came the evening’s main event, which pitted 49-year-old Ken Shamrock against 51-year-old Royce Gracie. Whereas Slice vs. Dada had at least the potential to end in crowd-pleasing fashion, this fight did not and played out accordingly.
What is there to even discuss, really? Gracie came out in the same flat-footed stance he’s been using since the early 90′s and Shamrock went down in the same mysteriously fishy fashion that he has in his last umpteen fights. Was Gracie’s fight-ending shot below the belt? Will Shamrock’s appeal see the light of day? Who gives a sh*t. We never needed Gracie vs. Shamrock III and we certainly don’t need a fourth go at it, so let’s just be thankful that this thing ended early and without either guy being carried out on a stretcher. In this latest incarnation of Bellator, that’s clearly a higher water mark than we’ll be able to set moving forward.
Main card
Royce Gracie def. Ken Shamrock via first-round TKO (2:22) (live blog)
Kimbo Slice def. Dada 5000 via third-round TKO (1:32) (live blog)
Derek Campos def. Melvin Guillard via second-round TKO (0:32)
Linton Vassell def. Emanuel Newton via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27 x2)
Emanuel Sanchez def. Daniel Pineda via split decision (28-29, 29-27, 29-28)
Undercard
Justin Wren def. Juan Torres via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jeremy Mahon def. Davis Sylvester via TKO (R3, 4:22)
C.J. Hancock def. Ruben Esparsa via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, 1:26)
Adrian Yanez vs. Ryan Hollis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Isaac Villanueva def. Richard Knepp via knockout (R1, 0:42)
Mike Trinh def. Angel Zamora via submission (armbar) (R1, 3:49)
Jason Langellier def. Anthony Ivy via submission (anaconda choke) (R1, 2:09)
Manny Lozoya def. Jacob Norsworthy via submission (guillotine) (R1, 2:33)
If you guys haven’t been following the lead-up to tonight’s battle between Kimbo Slice and Dada 5000, hooooo boy have you been missing out.
For starters, the fight is being billed as a matchup to determine the “King of the Streets” despite the fact that, you know, it’s being contested in a cage. Secondly, the trash-talk between the two Miami-based brawlers has been next level bonkers, with Slice calling out Mr. 5000’s “baby nuts” and challenging him to a literal dick-measuring contest at the event’s press conference earlier this week. Oh, and had we mentioned that the fight has been so heavily bet on by “three or four” mystery men that it literally forced bookmakers to shift the odds for the fight? It has been an outstanding series of events, to put it mildly.
Anyways, CagePotato recently weighed in on what this bizarre matchup means for the future of Bellator over at Uproxx, and wouldn’t you know it, we think it’s the best move that the promotion could have possibly made. Head after the jump for a little preview of our assessment and make sure to tune into what will surely be a ludicrous matchup at Bellator 149 tonight.
If you guys haven’t been following the lead-up to tonight’s battle between Kimbo Slice and Dada 5000, hooooo boy have you been missing out.
For starters, the fight is being billed as a matchup to determine the “King of the Streets” despite the fact that, you know, it’s being contested in a cage. Secondly, the trash-talk between the two Miami-based brawlers has been next level bonkers, with Slice calling out Mr. 5000′s “baby nuts” and challenging him to a literal dick-measuring contest at the event’s press conference earlier this week. Oh, and had we mentioned that the fight has been so heavily bet on by “three or four” mystery men that it literally forced bookmakers to shift the odds for the fight? It has been an outstanding series of events, to put it mildly.
Anyways, CagePotato recently weighed in on what this bizarre matchup means for the future of Bellator over at Uproxx, and wouldn’t you know it, we think it’s the best move that the promotion could have possibly made. Head after the jump for a little preview of our assessment and make sure to tune into what will surely be a ludicrous matchup at Bellator 149 tonight.
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The more I think about it, the more I’m starting to realize that the booking of Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 5000 actually signals a rather brilliant shift in ideology by Bellator. Do you guys see it? Bellator knows that this fight is shit, and in fact, that’s why they booked it in the first place.
We are living in the era of nostalgia-driven, “ironic” entertainment — an era where more so-bad-it’s-good films, television shows, comics, and whathaveyou are being churned out than ever before, with the lone goal of gaining a “cult following” through pure, intentional ineptitude. Knowing that they may never top the UFC in terms of actually talent, Bellator isn’t simply lowering its standards, it’s adapting its business model to cash in on a proven trend among millennials that is already being exploited by every other entertainment industry. It’s as if Scott Coker wandered into one of the monthly screenings of The Room held at the Regent Theater, saw how people were reacting to it, and thought “Hey, maybe I can do this with MMA.”
So as someone who views Dream’s Super Hulk Grand Prix as the pinnacle of modern mixed martial arts, I was all in on the idea of Kimbo vs. Dada from the day one.
Read the rest of our thoughts on Slice vs. Dada over at Uproxx.
It doesn’t really matter all that much, because Wanderlei Silva has spent the past three years in exile from the sport (and, oh yeah, retired from it over 2 years ago), but the former Pride and UFC star’s long legal battle with the Nevada State Athletic Commission has finally come to an end. His sentence? THREE MORE YEARS OF IRRELEVANCY.
It doesn’t really matter all that much, because Wanderlei Silva has spent the past three years in exile from the sport (and, oh yeah, retired from it over 2 years ago), but the former Pride and UFC star’s long legal battle with the Nevada State Athletic Commission has finally come to an end. His sentence? THREE MORE YEARS OF IRRELEVANCY.
Sort of.
Details after the jump.
Yes, after initially being handed a lifetime ban by the commission for skipping out on a drug test prior to his UFC 175 bout with Chael Sonnen — a ruling that was later overturned by a Nevada District Court judge — Silva appeared before the NSAC earlier today to challenge the suspension. According to those present, Silva’s attorney, Saul Goodman, used the opportunity to lay into NSAC head Bob Bennett with a line of questioning that was deemed ”insulting” by the board. After some brief debate, Silva was hit with a three year suspension retroactive to May of 2014, meaning he will be free to compete in May of 2017. The $70,000 fine he received was also rescinded due to the fact that oh who gives a f*ck.
Speaking of drug test-related suspensions, you might recall that Gleison Tibau was hit a USADA notice of his own back in December, after flunking an out-of-competition drug test on the heels of his submission win over Abel Trujillo at Fight Night 77 (I know, contain your surprise). At first, it looked like the long-standing member of the lightweight division would be appealing, but just as quickly, Tibau pulled a rare move in MMA these days and publicly apologized for failing the test. Even crazier, he honest-to-God admitted to using EPO and subsequently ended his appeal, telling MMAFighting:
It’s going to be it. They asked me if I wanted to appeal, but it was too tiresome. Three months of meetings at the court, that’s tiring. I don’t want to appeal anymore. I’m done. I expected it to be easier, but that demands a lot from you mentally, physically and financially. If I wanted to continue the appeal, I would have to pay all the court costs from now on, I would have to pay my lawyer, and the suspension would probably go down only three or six months, I don’t know, so I decided not to appeal.
“I’m upset,” continued Tibau. “I have to apologize to my fans because it was a medical mistake. We used a substance we thought wouldn’t be anything, we used it out of competition. I have my conscience clear that I took it without imagining I was doing something wrong. It’s going to be hard for me, but I will pay the price for my mistake.”
Well at least his conscience is clear. I don’t know if I’d be able to live with the idea of a cheater who nearly strangled his last opponent to death having a case of the sads.
