Author: John Heinis

Frankie Edgar Wants Jose Aldo Rematch at UFC on Fox 15 in Newark This April

UFC featherweight contender Frankie “The Answer” Edgar believes he’s earned another crack at champion Jose Aldo after one of the best performances of his career, and he wasn’t shy about letting his bosses know how he feels. 
Following an essential…

UFC featherweight contender Frankie “The Answer” Edgar believes he’s earned another crack at champion Jose Aldo after one of the best performances of his career, and he wasn’t shy about letting his bosses know how he feels. 

Following an essentially flawless performance Saturday against fellow contender Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57, The Answer—a New Jersey native—told UFC President Dana White and UFC Chairman/CEO Lorenzo Fertitta he wants Aldo on his home turf this spring. 

One of the most distinguished lightweights in company history, Edgar—who notoriously cut little to no weight to make 155 pounds—decided to finally make the drop to featherweight after two straight losses to Benson Henderson in 2012. 

While his debut at 145 didn’t go as planned, losing a hard-fought decision to Aldo at UFC 156 in February 2013, the highly touted grappler has rebounded with three definitive victories in a row. 

His third fight against BJ Penn in July was a brutal, bloody affair that ended with a TKO in Round 3 (the first time Penn had been finished with strikes in his career) and his matchup with Swanson was largely the same. 

The key difference was that Edgar locked up a neck crank with just four seconds remaining in their 25-minute affair, scoring the latest submission victory in UFC history. 

While Edgar, the No. 2 featherweight in the UFC’s official rankings, has made a solid case for another title shot, Irish sensation Conor McGregor‘s charisma and winning ways may cause him to leapfrog Edgar. 

McGregor is currently riding a 12-fight win streak, including a 4-0 mark inside the Octagon, and is widely regarded as the next title challenger at 145 if he can defeat Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 59 in January.

UFC on Fox 15 takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and as of this writing, neither White or Fertitta responded to Edgar’s tweet. 

 

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

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Diego Sanchez: Frankie Edgar Is the ‘Best Wrestler in MMA,’ Better Than GSP

UFC featherweight contender Frankie Edgar is receiving high praise from fans, reporters and fellow fighters alike after his brutal mauling of Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57, but the highest praise may have been that given by lightweight staple Diego…

UFC featherweight contender Frankie Edgar is receiving high praise from fans, reporters and fellow fighters alike after his brutal mauling of Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57, but the highest praise may have been that given by lightweight staple Diego Sanchez. 

Shortly after The Answer scored the latest submission in UFC history, tapping Swanson with a neck crank with just four seconds remaining on the clock, Sanchez took to Twitter to evaluate his performance. 

Georges St-Pierre, the longtime UFC welterweight champion who is currently on a hiatus from the sport, is notorious for being able to get his opponents down to the mat at will. 

Despite not having a decorated amateur wrestling background, St-Pierre’s takedowns have always been regarded as second to none inside the cage. 

Edgar, a standout Division I wrestler during his college days at Clarion University, put on a stunning wrestling clinic in his bout with Swanson. 

Also an assistant wrestling coach at Rutgers University, Edgar went seven for 10 on his takedowns and had no interest in letting the Greg Jackson’s MMA product back up once the bout hit the canvas. 

Additionally, the former UFC lightweight champ utilized slick guard-passing and vicious ground-and-pound before scoring a rare finish with a neck crank in the bout’s waning moments. 

Routinely undersized at lightweight, Edgar managed to score power double-leg takedowns against much larger opponents (such as Gray Maynard and Benson Henderson) on more than one occasion. 

 

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

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Nick Diaz on DUI Arrest: I Guess I’m Not Lodi Police’s ‘Favorite’

Former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz isn’t overly concerned about his pending DUI case stemming from an arrest in September, calling the situation a “big misunderstanding” between him and a notoriously tough police department. 
After…

Former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz isn’t overly concerned about his pending DUI case stemming from an arrest in September, calling the situation a “big misunderstanding” between him and a notoriously tough police department. 

After the UFC’s Time is Now press conference on Monday, Diaz briefly addressed his encounter with Lodi, California’s finest, per Marc Raimondi of Fox Sports. 

Where I live, everybody knows how it is in Lodi. You can’t even drive through town at the wrong hours without getting stopped. I was just having a real bad night. I wasn’t really getting along with the officer very well. There’s a lot to that story that people don’t understand. I haven’t really been having a lot to say about it. It’s not a big deal to me. It is a big deal, of course, but there’s a lot to the story that people don’t understand. … I’m not their favorite, I guess.

As the Lodi News-Sentinel originally reported in September, Diaz was arrested by Lodi police on September 6 on suspicion of DUI, obstructing a police officer and driving with a suspended license. 

Diaz was described as being polite during the ordeal though he allegedly made himself vomit in the bathroom of the Lodi City Jail, netting him the obstruction charge, according to the report. 

“The Stockton Bad Boy” was hit with similar charges in a November 2013 arrest in Lodi, where he was charged with DUI, DUI with an alcohol or drug level above .08 and unsafe speed for prevailing conditions, also per Fox Sports. 

The Cesar Gracie Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt retired from mixed martial arts after a failed title bid against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 in March 2013 though finally signed a three-fight deal with the UFC in July, per MMA Junkie. 

Shortly afterwards, it was announced that Diaz would fight former longtime UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva at UFC 183 on January 31. 

The matchup, Diaz’s first bout at 185 pounds, will headline the pay-per-view event, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

 

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

Anthony Pettis Defends Duke Roufus in Light of Dennis Munson, Jr.’s Death

UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, one of the most notable members of Milwaukee’s Roufusport fight camp, is defending team founder Jeffrey “Duke” Roufus in the aftermath of the death of one his fellow gym goers.
Ever since the Milwaukee Journal S…

UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, one of the most notable members of Milwaukee’s Roufusport fight camp, is defending team founder Jeffrey “Duke” Roufus in the aftermath of the death of one his fellow gym goers.

Ever since the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an article about the death of Dennis Munson, Jr., a Roufusport amateur kickboxer, in March, former Roufusport team members have lashed out against the coaching methods of the gym, per Bloody Elbow. 

On Wednesday, “Showtime” did an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel saying that he considers Roufus a father figure and that Munson’s death should not be blamed on him (transcription per MMA Fighting). 

It just upsets me that people are taking to the blogs and their websites to directly attack the coaching as being the factor in what happened. There’s a lot of things that made that outcome. It wasn’t one person’s fault. It wasn’t his[?] fault, it wasn’t the referee’s fault. It was a combination of a lot of things that led for this to happen … The thing that gets to me is that they’re attacking guys that I look at as fatherly figures. My family, to me. This is a family here … For every bad story there’s 100 people training in the gym that love the culture and love what’s going on here.

Pettis, 27, has trained at Roufusport since he was 18 years old and is arguably their most successful fighter with a 17-2 overall record and a UFC title to his credit. 

The innovative striker, with an underrated submission game off his back, is 4-1 since coming over to the UFC from the WEC, getting upset in his company debut against Clay Guida in June 2011. 

Since then, he has scored four straight victories over lightweight notables Joe Lauzon, Donald Cerrone and Benson Henderson – who he captured the UFC title from at UFC 164 last August. 

Pettis has been absent from the Octagon since then, as injuries and a head coaching gig on season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter have left him unable to compete. 

He will make his long-awaited return to fighting at UFC 181 on December 6, where he squares off with former Strikeforce 155-pound champ Gilbert Melendez – who is coming back from a 15-month layoff of his own. 

 

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

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Frankie Edgar: Conor McGregor ‘Hasn’t Been in Deep Water’ Yet

Former UFC lightweight champion and current 145-pound contender Frankie Edgar believes Conor McGregor’s grappling chops haven’t been tested yet, and he won’t worry about the surging contender until that happens. 
During yesterday’s edition of&nbsp…

Former UFC lightweight champion and current 145-pound contender Frankie Edgar believes Conor McGregor‘s grappling chops haven’t been tested yet, and he won’t worry about the surging contender until that happens. 

During yesterday’s edition of UFC Tonight, “The Answer” said he is focused on his UFC Fight Night 57 headlining bout with Cub Swanson on Saturday, which many believe is an unofficial featherweight title eliminator bout. 

While Edgar said he’s unsure who will get the next crack at 145-pound kingpin Jose Aldo, his main priority right now is just getting through Swanson (transcription per Fighters Only):

I’m not focused on any of that. If I don’t win this fight, none of that matters. I’ve got to win this fight, then I go bug Dana about that. … Lots of guys are talking. They’re following Conor’s lead. I’m just going to let my fighting speak for myself and make it so they have to give me my shot. … [McGregor‘s] going to be [tested] eventually, then we’ll all have the answers. There’re still lots of unknowns. He’s handling it tremendously. But he hasn’t been in deep water and hasn’t fought a wrestler yet.

Edgar is 2-1 at featherweight after a controversial failed lightweight title bid against Benson Henderson at UFC 150 in August 2011—a close bout that most pundits agree Edgar should’ve won. 

After losing a competitive but clear-cut championship bout against Aldo at UFC 156 in February 2013, Edgar has since rallied back with decisive wins over Charles Oliveira and BJ Penn. 

As impressive as his resume is at lightweight, scoring wins over Penn (three times), Gray Maynard and Sean Sherk, Edgar is lacking a win over a top-10 featherweight. A victory over Swanson would do just that. 

According to the UFC’s official rankings, Swanson is the No. 2 lightweight in the world, while Edgar is right behind him at No. 3. 

Swanson, a Greg Jackson MMA fighter, has rattled off six wins in a row (four knockouts), looking like a completely different fighter than the one knocked out by Aldo in nine seconds back in June 2009. 

Should the winner of Edgar vs. Swanson get the next featherweight title shot, or should that right be reserved for charismatic trash-talker/knockout specialist McGregor—assuming he gets past Dennis Siver 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

‘Cyborg’ Laughs at Rousey’s Bare-Hands Killing Remark, Proposes Fight at 140

Invicta FC women’s featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino found Ronda Rousey’s most recent call-out quite amusing, despite the “Rowdy” one saying she would “kill her with my bare hands.” 
The UFC women’s bantamweight titleholder spoke w…

Invicta FC women’s featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino found Ronda Rousey‘s most recent call-out quite amusing, despite the “Rowdy” one saying she would “kill her with my bare hands.” 

The UFC women’s bantamweight titleholder spoke with B/R’s own Jeremy Botter yesterday, where Rousey once again led a spirited attack against Justino for her previous failed drug test for the anabolic steroid stanozolol after a quick TKO win in December of 2011, per MMA Junkie. 

The Brazilian knockout specialist responded succinctly in a post on Mixedmartialarts.com, better known as The Underground, challenging Rousey to a catchweight bout at 140 pounds. 

From: criscyborg
Hahaha, you say you want to try and kill me in the cage? but you are scared about 10 lbs? lets meet in the middle at 140lbs, I’m tired of the bully talking. Cat Zingano if you are looking for a training partner let me know, I can not wait to see you shut this girls mouth.

Justino, a hulking featherweight, was set to make her bantamweight debut at Invicta FC 10 on December 5 but had to withdraw after suffering an ankle injury earlier this month, per Sherdog. 

Meanwhile, Rousey, who is still unbeaten (10-0) and has only seen a fight go beyond the first round once, next defends her championship gold against Cat Zingano at UFC 184 in February.

Zingano is also undefeated (9-0) and has only seen the judges scorecards once, earning a title shot by scoring a TKO over Amanda Nunes at UFC 178 in September.

Rousey and Justino have been engaging in verbal warfare for years now, with both top-tier competitors remaining adamant that her archnemsis is scared to settle their differences inside the cage.

With a win over Zingano, there are few intriguing fights left for Rousey on the UFC roster outside of Holly Holm or possibly Bethe Correia.

Will 2015 finally bring the women’s superfight between Rousey and Justino, or has the ship sailed on this dream matchup a long time ago?  

 

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