Author: John Heinis

Chael Sonnen: ‘Tim Kennedy Is One Cranky and Bitter Son of a B—h’

Former three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen feels that middleweight contender Tim Kennedy has complained about his latest loss against Yoel Romero for far too long and it’s time to move on. 
Of course, the silver-tongued “American Gangster…

Former three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen feels that middleweight contender Tim Kennedy has complained about his latest loss against Yoel Romero for far too long and it’s time to move on. 

Of course, the silver-tongued “American Gangster” said it with a little more colorful language than that on this week’s edition of his You’re Welcome podcast (transcription per MMA Fighting). 

Tim Kennedy is one cranky and bitter son of a b—h. Have you seen some of the stuff he’s saying lately? He’s threatening to never come back to the sport because he’s so upset about ‘stoolgate.’ This guy is one of these guys that, for me, he gets a pass. I’m an American, he’s an American hero. He served the country well. He did some things. He’s a hero. That’s where it ends. But the guy says some stuff that if he wasn’t a hero… Somebody needs to tell him to shut up. Tim, you gotta stop, man. You’re so bitter.

Fellow middleweight contender Michael Bisping, who lost a lopsided decision to Kennedy in April, was a guest on the podcast and stated that Kennedy should’ve taken the loss to Romero “like a man,” which Sonnen agreed with. 

Kennedy, the No. 7 middleweight in the world, according to the UFC’s official rankings, entered his UFC 178 matchup against Romero riding a four-fight win streak and was knocking on the door of title contention. 

Despite getting outwrestled and outstruck for the better part of the September contest, Kennedy landed a big flurry at the end of the second round that left the “Soldier of God” badly rocked. 

In between rounds, Romero spent an extra 25 seconds or so on his stool to recover before rallying back to score a TKO early in the third frame. 

In the aftermath of the controversial bout, Kennedy, a U.S. Army sergeant first class, said both referee John McCarthy and the Nevada State Athletic Commission dropped the ball and noted that he may not return to the Octagon following knee surgery, per MMA Fighting. 

Romero, the No. 6 fighter in the UFC’s rankings, is scheduled to take on surging ex-Strikeforce champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at UFC 184 in February in what could be an unofficial title eliminator fight.

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Conor McGregor Rips Frankie Edgar on Twitter, Calls for Next Shot at Jose Aldo

UFC featherweight contender Conor McGregor believes he should get the title shot at 145 pounds based on his ability to sell tickets, and he didn’t mind sharing that sentiment with fellow contender Frankie Edgar. 
Edgar, a former UFC lightweight ch…

UFC featherweight contender Conor McGregor believes he should get the title shot at 145 pounds based on his ability to sell tickets, and he didn’t mind sharing that sentiment with fellow contender Frankie Edgar. 

Edgar, a former UFC lightweight champion who lost to featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo at UFC 156 in February 2013, has many pundits calling for a rematch after he decimated Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57 last Saturday.

Swanson was riding a six-fight win streak heading into that matchup, and The Answer has now won three bouts in a row, but none of that seems to mean much to The Notorious based on what he tweeted Edgar on Sunday. 

While the numbers McGregor threw out there are not verified, there is no doubt the Irish striker has quite a fanbase and knows how to hype a fight.

As a matter of fact, UFC President Dana White recently said that McGregor was a bigger star than both incredibly popular former champs Georges St-Pierre and Brock Lesnar, per MMA Junkie. 

Currently the No. 5 featherweight in the UFC’s official rankings, McGregor has won 12 fights in a row—including four inside the Octagon—and is set to meet Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 59 in January. 

Although many feel it’s a forgone conclusion he will get a crack at Aldo with a decisive victory over Siver, Edgar’s resume is certainly a tough one to overlook. 

The No. 2 featherweight in the world, the New Jersey native is 3-1 at 145 pounds, and his past two finishes over Penn and Swanson were bloody, brutally one-sided affairs. 

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Tito Ortiz: ‘Cyborg’ Can’t Make 135, Ronda Rousey Fight Should Take Place at 145

UFC Hall of Famer/Bellator light heavyweight Tito Ortiz says his friend and former client Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino cannot possibly make the bantamweight limit of 135 pounds, so a superfight with UFC champ Ronda Rousey should take place at a catchweig…

UFC Hall of Famer/Bellator light heavyweight Tito Ortiz says his friend and former client Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino cannot possibly make the bantamweight limit of 135 pounds, so a superfight with UFC champ Ronda Rousey should take place at a catchweight or 145 pounds.

Speaking on Sunday’s edition of Submission Radio, the self-proclaimed “People’s Champion” said that the face of women’s MMA wasn’t being realistic about squaring off with Justino at bantamweight: 

I’m still very close friends with Cris. She was at my last fight, and I’d seen her after her last fight, and trying to get her down to 135 is almost impossible. … And if Ronda made it catchweight, I know Ronda doesn’t want to do it because she doesn’t want to lose. I see—I mean this is strictly my opinion—I just think that’s the only way that fight is ever going to happen, is if it’s at a catch weight. Because Cris is not gonna make 135. She’s never made 135. She’s always made 145 and that’s been her weight her whole career. … I mean she wanted to fight Gina Carano at 145 so what’s the difference of fighting Cris Cyborg at 145?

Justino, a career featherweight, is the reigning 145-pound champ for Invicta FC who scored back-to-back TKO’s with the promotion in 2013. 

The Brazilian slugger was expected to make her bantamweight debut Friday at Invicta FC 5, but she withdrew from the matchup last month due to an ankle injury, per Sherdog. 

Rousey and Justino have engaged in a very public feud for the past couple of years, with Rousey insisting that Justino could make 135 pounds if she stopped using performance-enhancing drugs.

Meanwhile, Justino has fired back that Rousey talks a big game, but she is afraid to step up to the plate when it counts, per Kirik Jenness of MixedMartialArts.com.

Ortiz was Justino’s co-manager when she cut ties with Zuffa LLC, the parent company of the UFC, in February 2013 when the two sides could not agree to a contract that included a showdown with Rousey at bantamweight. 

Rousey, 10-0, next defends her UFC championship gold against top bantamweight contender Cat Zingano at UFC 184 on February 28.

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

CM Punk: Vince McMahon Wouldn’t Let Me Participate in ‘Barbaric’ UFC Event

Former WWE heavyweight champion CM Punk recently went off on his former boss, WWE Chairman/CEO Vince McMahon, claiming that he would not allow him to walk Chael Sonnen down to the Octagon since MMA is too “barbaric” and somebody could “die.”
Speaking o…

Former WWE heavyweight champion CM Punk recently went off on his former boss, WWE Chairman/CEO Vince McMahon, claiming that he would not allow him to walk Chael Sonnen down to the Octagon since MMA is too “barbaric” and somebody could “die.”

Speaking on semi-retired pro wrestler Colt Cabana’s podcast (h/t MMA Fighting) on Wednesday, Punk—whose real name is Phil Brooks—discussed why McMahon never allowed him to walk his friend Sonnen out to his UFC on FOX 2 bout with Michael Bisping in his hometown of Chicago:

Oh my God, Phil. No, we can’t do that. That’s barbaric. Somebody is going to die. Then I had to remind him, “I don’t know if you remember Owen Hart or not, because he sort of died in your ring.”

“Tomorrow is the Royal Rumble so it’ll get some last-minute buys and whether Chael wins or loses, no offense to Chael, nobody is going to be talking about him. They’re going to be talking about the WWE champion walking him to the Octagon.”

Hart died in the WWE ring back in 1999 due to a tragic equipment accident as he was entering the ring from   an elevated harness grapple line. It malfunctioned as he was in mid-air.

In the same interview, Punk claims that the UFC gave him the green light to accompany Sonnen to the cage, adding that the WWE delivered his pink slip in the mail. He received it on his wedding day in June.

The 36-year-old, who hasn’t appeared on WWE programming since January, is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt under Rener Gracie. He also noted on Cabana’s podcast that his termination contract had a one-year no-compete clause that would prevent him from signing with the UFC.

Given Punk’s lack of combat sports experience, though, he would more than likely have to work his way up the regional MMA circuit before the UFC brass would take him seriously as a professional fighter.

Sonnen, who recently said on his podcast (h/t MMA Fighting) that he turned down a $5 million contract from the WWE, won the January bout with Bisping via a close decision.

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ferguson Native Tyron Woodley ‘Outraged’ by Violent Protests for Michael Brown

UFC welterweight contender Tyron Woodley, a native of Ferguson, Missouri, says he’s “outraged” and “ashamed” by the violent protests in his home city following a grand jury’s ruling to not indict police officer Darren Wilson after he shot and killed te…

UFC welterweight contender Tyron Woodley, a native of Ferguson, Missouri, says he’s “outraged” and “ashamed” by the violent protests in his home city following a grand jury’s ruling to not indict police officer Darren Wilson after he shot and killed teenager Michael Brown in August. 

In an interview with USA Today, T-Wood expressed his discontent with the city’s residents who have vandalized, looted and burned local businesses to express their discontent about the situation—visiting several damaged Ferguson locations firsthand. 

This is my city. This is specifically my city, and I’m outraged. … We didn’t get into the idea that we had to get into trouble to have fun. I hate seeing it, I hate watching it—more importantly, I hate people that don’t understand the environment: how small Ferguson is, how it’s really a sense of community and, ya know, it’s a good place. We shouldn’t be looting and rioting, tearing up our own city. I’m ashamed of the people that are looting and rioting. 

The Ferguson community reacted harshly after St. Louis County prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch announced on Friday that Wilson would not face any criminal charges, as car and business windows were almost immediately smashed and vehicles and buildings were also set on fire, as reported by the New York Times. 

As many in the black community have come out to support Brown and condemn the grand jury proceedings, an attorney for the Brown family simply called the decision not to indict Wilson “unfair,” per CBSNews.com.

Although a federal civil rights investigation of the August 9 incident continues, a CNN.com report indicates that protests, mostly of a peaceful nature, continue throughout major cities in the country.

In an exclusive one-on-one interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Wilson said he has a “clear conscious” over the situation and is confident he will not be charged as a result of the federal probe, either.

Woodley, a former two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at the University of Missouri, is 3-1 in his past four fights and squares off with surging contender Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 183 in January.

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Matt Brown: ‘What the F–k Has Conor [McGregor] Done’ to Get a Title Shot?

UFC welterweight contender Matt Brown isn’t boarding the Conor McGregor hype train any time soon, saying it is clear as day Frankie Edgar should get the next title shot at 145 pounds. 
Of course, “The Immortal” used a little more colorful language…

UFC welterweight contender Matt Brown isn’t boarding the Conor McGregor hype train any time soon, saying it is clear as day Frankie Edgar should get the next title shot at 145 pounds. 

Of course, “The Immortal” used a little more colorful language when expressing his opinion on The Great MMA Debate podcast Tuesday (transcription per Bloody Elbow). 

I can’t even believe this is an argument. What the f–k has Conor done compared to what Frankie’s done? Frankie deserves it. Period…I don’t hate that (he made himself famous). More props to him. But when you are talking about title shots—the opportunity of a man’s life—you gotta base it on realistic stats and facts. You can’t base it on this motherf—-r is gonna talk and sell some tickets.

Edgar, a former UFC lightweight champion, is coming off a stellar performance against fellow 145-pound contender Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57 on Saturday—tapping him with a neck crank with just four seconds left for the latest submission in company history. 

Although “The Answer” dropped a decision to featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 156 in February 2013, he has bounced back with definitive victories over Charles Oliveira, B.J. Penn and Swanson. 

Following the mauling of Swanson, Edgar sits at No. 2 in the UFC’s official featherweight rankings. 

Meanwhile, overnight sensation McGregor has won 12 fights in a row (11 knockouts), including four straight inside the Octagon. 

McGregor was able to silence some critics by knocking out perennial contender Dustin Poirier less than two minutes at UFC 178 in September. 

Still, many pundits are still skeptical of the Irish sensation’s ability to survive on the mat with a gritty grappler like Ricardo Lamas, Chad Mendes or Edgar. 

McGregor is currently booked to fight Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 59 in January and many fans and analysts alike believe a clear-cut victory there would punch his ticket for the next crack at Aldo. 

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com