It’s been a long time coming for “Ill Will” Brooks.
Back in May, it was revealed that Brooks had been released from his Bellator contract despite holding the promotion’s lightweight title at the time. While not exactly a shock given Brooks’ very public clashes with the promotion in recent months, it was still surprising to see that Bellator would be willing to let their champion and a man on an 8-fight win streak go in favor of, I dunno, guys like this.
According to Bellator President Scott Coker, however, “It was very simple.”
“Will Brooks’ contract is ending, and we made a decision not to renew it. We’re going to give him a full release, so we’re not going to be in the Will Brooks business any longer,” said Coker to MMAjunkie.
Insightful stuff. Anyways, many of us imagined that it’d only be a matter of time until Brooks signed with the UFC, and last night, it was announced that he’d done just that.
It’s been a long time coming for “Ill Will” Brooks.
Back in May, it was revealed that Brooks had been released from his Bellator contract despite holding the promotion’s lightweight title at the time. While not exactly a shock given Brooks’ very public clashes with the promotion in recent months, it was still surprising to see that Bellator would be willing to let their champion and a man on an 8-fight win streak go in favor of, I dunno, guys like this.
According to Bellator President Scott Coker, however, “It was very simple.”
“Will Brooks’ contract is ending, and we made a decision not to renew it. We’re going to give him a full release, so we’re not going to be in the Will Brooks business any longer,” said Coker to MMAjunkie.
Insightful stuff. Anyways, many of us imagined that it’d only be a matter of time until Brooks signed with the UFC, and last night, it was announced that he’d done just that.
UFC officials have announced that Brooks has in fact signed a six-fight deal with the UFC, and better yet, will face tough-as-nails veteran and TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson at the TUF 23 Finale next month.
As we mentioned earlier, Brooks will be carrying an eight-fight winning streak into the matchup with Pearson, which includes a pair of title defenses over the likes of Dave Jansen and Marcin Held at Bellator 136 and 145, respectively. Pearson, on the other hand, will be looking to secure his first two-fight streak since 2013, having recently scored a split decision victory over Chad Laprise at Fight Night 85 in March.
We now go to the man himself, Will Brooks, for comment…
The TUF 23 Finale goes down on July 8th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
(“You feel that breeze? That’s all you’ll need to do to make me quit. BEAST OUT.”)
I might be alone in this, but I was under the impression that Bob Sapp had retired from professional fighting and disappeared off the face of the earth the minute after he was ambushed by Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. As it turns out, Sapp actually emerged from hiding last year and picked up a victory over Akebono in a kickboxing match at Rizin 2. So technically, this means that Bob Sapp has scored more victories in the past year than Anthony Pettis and Renan Barao combined. What a world.
Anyways, it appears that Sapp will be returning to the cage for the first time since 2013 next month, where he’ll face off with Aori “The Heavyweight Supernova” Gele in an openweight MMA bout under the Road FC banner. While promoting the event at a press conference this morning, Sapp nearly came to blows with Gele and forced Hong Man Choi, of all people, to break up the action. I don’t mean to spoil it, but suffice it to say, the UFC 178 media day brawl it was not.
(“You feel that breeze? That’s all you’ll need to do to make me quit. BEAST OUT.”)
I might be alone in this, but I was under the impression that Bob Sapp had retired from professional fighting and disappeared off the face of the earth the minute after he was ambushed by Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. As it turns out, Sapp actually emerged from hiding last year and picked up a victory over Akebono in a kickboxing match at Rizin 2. So technically, this means that Bob Sapp has scored more victories in the past year than Anthony Pettis and Renan Barao combined. What a world.
Anyways, it appears that Sapp will be returning to the cage for the first time since 2013 next month, where he’ll face off with Aori “The Heavyweight Supernova” Gele in an openweight MMA bout under the Road FC banner. While promoting the event at a press conference this morning, Sapp nearly came to blows with Gele and forced Hong Man Choi, of all people, to break up the action. I don’t mean to spoil it, but suffice it to say, the UFC 178 media day brawl it was not.
So, yeah. Sapp and Gele will do battle (or something resembling it) at a Road FC 32 on July 2nd. Be there or be…anywhere else, really.
Yes, it’s a sad fact that the world of stylistic guard passes are, well, more style than substance when it comes right down to it, but that’s something Russian lightweight Dzhihad Yunusov was looking to change while competing at an Akhmat event this morning. Squaring off against Konstantin Veselkin and finding himself stifled by his opponent’s guard, Yunusov opted to skip the foreplay and get right to the main event — to deliver an incredibly muddled metaphor — back-flipping over Veselkin’s legs and right into side mount in one of the sickest sequences you’ll see this year.
As if that wasn’t enough, Yunusov then went on to submit Veselkin with a god dang Ezekiel choke in the closing moments of the second round. I think it’s safe to say that we should all probably be keeping an eye on this kid.
After the jump The full fight between Yunusov and Veselki.
Yes, it’s a sad fact that the world of stylistic guard passes are, well, more style than substance when it comes right down to it, but that’s something Russian lightweight Dzhihad Yunusov was looking to change while competing at an Akhmat event this morning. Squaring off against Konstantin Veselkin and finding himself stifled by his opponent’s guard, Yunusov opted to skip the foreplay and get right to the main event — to deliver an incredibly muddled metaphor — back-flipping over Veselkin’s legs and right into side mount in one of the sickest sequences you’ll see this year.
As if that wasn’t enough, Yunusov then went on to submit Veselkin with a god dang Ezekiel choke in the closing moments of the second round. I think it’s safe to say that we should all probably be keeping an eye on this kid.
After the jump The full fight between Yunusov and Veselki.
Fact: The single greatest moment in the history of MMA was captured in the above image, on the night of July 11, 2009 at UFC 100. It came approximately three minutes and eighteen seconds into the second round of a fight between Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping, and as luck would have it, so did nearly every red-blooded American who happened to be witnessing it.
A little backstory. You see, prior to this orgasm-inducing moment, Henderson and Bisping had been engaged in a war of words while coaching opposing teams as part of the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. And by war of the words, I mean that Bisping spent the majority of the show talking trash, while Hendo opted to just kind of stand around silently while counting down the moments until he would lay a whoopin’ on this arrogant Brit’s ass. When the two finally met in the octagon, well, you know what happened.
Last weekend at UFC 199, both Henderson and Bisping picked up huge, incredibly violent wins over Hector Lombard and Luke Rockhold, respectively. But with the former nearing 50 and the latter suddenly finding himself the middleweight champion, rumblings have once pop up around the web of a potential rematch between the two.
Fact: The single greatest moment in the history of MMA was captured in the above image, on the night of July 11, 2009 at UFC 100. It came approximately three minutes and eighteen seconds into the second round of a fight between Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping, and as luck would have it, so did nearly every red-blooded American who happened to be witnessing it.
A little backstory. You see, prior to this orgasm-inducing moment, Henderson and Bisping had been engaged in a war of words while coaching opposing teams as part of the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. And by war of the words, I mean that Bisping spent the majority of the show talking trash, while Hendo opted to just kind of stand around silently while counting down the moments until he would lay a whoopin’ on this arrogant Brit’s ass. When the two finally met in the octagon, well, you know what happened.
Last weekend at UFC 199, both Henderson and Bisping picked up huge, incredibly violent wins over Hector Lombard and Luke Rockhold, respectively. But with the former nearing 50 and the latter suddenly finding himself the middleweight champion, rumblings have once pop up around the web of a potential rematch between the two.
It all started when MMAWeekly’s Erik Fontanez, after speaking with Henderson’s camp, tweeted out the following:
Being told by Dan Henderson's camp that he wants another crack at Michael Bisping.
Bisping then doubled down during an interview with ESPN by claiming that “As of right now, Luke Rockhold will not be my first defense. That’s a fact. I had to go away and beat three more guys before I got a second shot at Luke. Certainly, after his behavior on Saturday, he should have to go away and do the same. He wasn’t even close.” He also doesn’t seem interested in facing Chris Weidman, which makes sense considering that he’s coming off a loss and shouldn’t have been given an immediate rematch with Rockhold in the first place.
Obviously, a rematch between Bisping and Henderson would make absolutely zero sense from a rankings perspective. Even if he is coming off one of the most brutal wins of his career (which is really saying something for the man), Henderson is a whopping 2-3 in his past five bouts and has been stopped 4 times in 6 defeats dating back to 2013. That being said, DANA PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN AND WE’LL NEVER SPEAK ILL OF YOU AGAIN. Anyone worth their salt seems to agree:
Friday night before UFC 199: "Why is Hendo still fighting? I hope Lombard doesn't kill him."
So there you have it: Hendo vs. Bisping is the match that the people want, and since that’s all that matters when handing out title shots, we fully expect to see this fight booked before the weekend is over. Make it happen, Dana.
(Father. Fighter. Undercover cowboy. Legend. via Getty.)
There are a dozen or more ways I could describe my feelings as I write this post, but I think “heartbroken” says it best. Kimbo Slice is dead, and I’m honest-to-God heartbroken to be delivering this news to you.
It may sound overly dramatic considering how tangential of a connection we shared with the guy, but to hear that the street fighting legend has passed away at just 42 years of age and just three months after his last appearance in the cage is so sudden, so bewildering, that it seems to hit with a greater weight than many of the unfortunate deaths we’ve reported on over the years.
(Father. Fighter. Undercover cowboy. Legend. via Getty.)
There are a dozen or more ways I could describe my feelings as I write this post, but I think “heartbroken” says it best. Kimbo Slice is dead, and I’m honest-to-God heartbroken to be delivering this news to you.
It may sound overly dramatic considering how tangential of a connection we shared with the guy, but to hear that the street fighting legend has passed away at just 42 years of age and just three months after his last appearance in the cage is so sudden, so bewildering, that it seems to hit with a greater weight than many of the unfortunate deaths we’ve reported on over the years.
Details after the jump.
Of course, a huge part of my sadness can be attributed to the content of Kevin Ferguson’s character. To many, he may have looked like your run-of-the-mill street thug (which is understandable, given how he made his name in the first place), but beneath that glorious beard and do-rag was a kind and genuine human being with a surprisingly perceptive head on his shoulders. Ferguson was a family man, a humble man — someone who truly captured the American dream that we so often find ourselves chasing. He started with nothing and carved his own path to success, becoming one of the most recognizable and universally beloved figures in the sport despite having less actual training in it than 90% of his peers. How do you sum up a person like that?
Bellator President Scott Coker attempted to do as much last night via an official statement released through Bellator, which you can read below.
We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family.
One of the most popular MMA fighters ever, Kimbo was a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport.
Outside of the cage he was a friendly, gentle giant and a devoted family man. His loss leaves us all with extremely heavy hearts, and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ferguson family and all of Kimbo’s friends, fans, and teammates.
No official cause of death has been listed as of this write-up, but some reports seem to indicate that Slice suffered a heart attack late last night and was unable to be revived after being rushed to a Florida hospital. He is survived by his six children and his fiance, Antionette Ray.
R.I.P Kimbo. You taught us that tapping was for bitches, so here’s hoping that you’re tapping bitches in heaven now.
