Author: Jordy McElroy

Donald Cerrone Plans to Call Out Nate Diaz for Rematch After Next Fight

Donald Cerrone has unfinished business with Nate Diaz.In an interview with Pro MMA Radio, the lightweight star opened up about his UFC 141 loss to the Cesar Gracie student. He didn’t have any excuses other than simply having an off night:I haven’t real…

Donald Cerrone has unfinished business with Nate Diaz.

In an interview with Pro MMA Radio, the lightweight star opened up about his UFC 141 loss to the Cesar Gracie student. He didn’t have any excuses other than simply having an off night:

I haven’t really watched the fight to tell you the truth. I was just real flat-footed, man I was just off. Some people have off nights and that was a hell of an off night, you know? I wasn’t fighting the way I fight. No excuses, he showed up that night and I didn’t.

Diaz seems to be showing up a lot lately. At UFC on Fox 3, he submitted Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Jim Miller and earned the right to challenge the winner of Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar for the UFC lightweight title.

Despite hordes of trash talk exchanged between the two, Cerrone has tremendous respect for what Diaz has been able to accomplish since returning to the lightweight division.

“My hat’s off to the dude. He looked real good against Jim Miller,” he said. “I’m a fan of the dude. As much [expletive] as we were talking, he goes out there and fights, that’s what he does.”

Cerrone tends to stick to the road less traveled, which is standing and banging it out on the feet. Diaz was the first fighter to ever oblige him in a stand-up war and best the exchanges.

Losing is bad enough, but being dominated in your own area of expertise can be discouraging.

For Cerrone, a rematch and the opportunity to redeem himself is a given. But for Diaz, it really doesn’t make a lot of sense. Why go backwards to fight a guy you already defeated so handily?

Cerrone plans on pulling out all the stops to get Diaz to accept the rematch. If he defeats Jeremy Stephens at UFC on Fuel 3, fans should expect an interesting post-fight interview:

After [the Stephens fight], I’m going to call him out and get him to fight me in a rematch in Denver, see if he takes the bait. He throws down, I would like to fight him again on the main card and get that fight of the night because it would be another scrap for sure.

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Georges St-Pierre: "I Believe Frankie Edgar Is No. 1 Pound-for-Pound"

Former UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, at least according to Georges St-Pierre.For years, the top spot in the pound-for-pound ranks has been a revolving door between Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, St-P…

Former UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, at least according to Georges St-Pierre.

For years, the top spot in the pound-for-pound ranks has been a revolving door between Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, St-Pierre and Jose Aldo. In October 2011, Edgar entered the conversation after his dramatic fourth-round knockout win over Gray Maynard.

“If you really look at what pound-for-pound means, you cannot deny that Frankie Edgar is No. 2,” UFC President Dana White said after the fight.

“The guy weighs 145-pounds and he’s beating guys at 155-pounds. He beat a guy who had him out of it, a guy who many believed had his number. He knocked him out tonight. I’m telling you man, I’ve never seen any [expletive] like that in my life.”

A little over four months ago, it would’ve been tough to argue with White, but in early February, Edgar was ousted in a unanimous decision loss to Benson Henderson.

Since the loss, the Edgar pound-for-pound talk has died down, and it would seem that he is becoming a forgotten memory.

St-Pierre, however, has not forgotten.

The French Canadian still believes Edgar deserves pound-for-pound recognition, despite the loss to Henderson. He’s even willing to take things a step further.

“If you talk about pound-for-pound, I believe Frankie Edgar is number one,” St-Pierre told “Showdown” Joe of Sportsnet’s UFC Central.

“I believe he is number one because he is very small. Frankie Edgar could fight at 145 probably. You talk about pound-for-pound, I believe Frankie Edgar. But there is also like Jon Jones and Anderson Silva, both from what they’ve done, they are very good, so yeah it’s hard to say.”

Where does Edgar rank on your pound-for-pound list?

 

Looking for some more MMA news, and perhaps a couple of laughs? Follow me on Twitter @JordyMcElroy.

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Dana White Says Urijah Faber Will Still Fight for Interim Title

Dominick Cruz may be out of UFC 148, but Urijah Faber and the bantamweight title will still be in, according to UFC President Dana White.In an episode of UFC Tonight on Fuel TV, White addressed the state of the bantamweight division.Cruz was set to def…

Dominick Cruz may be out of UFC 148, but Urijah Faber and the bantamweight title will still be in, according to UFC President Dana White.

In an episode of UFC Tonight on Fuel TV, White addressed the state of the bantamweight division.

Cruz was set to defend his UFC title against Faber on July 7 in the co-main event of UFC 148, but a serious knee injury suffered during training forced him to withdraw from the highly anticipated rubber match.

Given the severity of Cruz’s injury, White has decided to crown an interim champion to fill in for the time being.

“The answer is yes,” said White, when asked about an interim title bout. “So what’s going to happen is Urijah Faber will, he’s going to fight still. He’s going to fight on the same card. Now, I’m looking for the right opponent. The guy who deserves this shot at Urijah Faber.”

There are plenty of worthy contenders at 135-pounds, but the most notable has to be Renan Barao, who hasn’t lost in seven years. Ivan Menjivar and Michael McDonald have also come up in the conversation for an interim title shot.

McDonald is a name that should especially be fresh on people’s minds. The 21-year-old prodigy wiped the floor with former WEC champion Miguel Torres with a highlight reel first round knockout at UFC 145.

Even though Faber longs for another shot at Cruz, he believes the UFC is doing the right thing in crowning an interim champion. Cruz’s injury could keep him sidelined for a minimum of nine months, and he hasn’t defended his title since October 2011.

“I think that’s the best idea,” Faber told UFC Tonight. “Dominick’s been out since his last fight. He had his hand surgery. Now, he’s out with another surgery, so a year and a half, and I think Renan Barao or Ivan Menjivar or maybe Michael McDonald, but I’m not sure.”

As fate would have it, Barao was already slated to compete at UFC 148 against Menjivar. If the fighters agree, it wouldn’t be hard for the UFC to do a little shuffling to set the wheels in motion for a world title bout.

Faber is already sizing up Barao as a possible opponent. He believes the Brazilian is even more dangerous than Cruz.

“He’s as tough an opponent as Dominick, but a little more dangerous. A little bit slower on his feet, but he has a lot of ways to win,” said Faber.

 

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MMA: Dominick Cruz out of UFC 148

It looks like Urijah Faber will have to take a rain check on his rubber match with Dominick Cruz.The UFC bantamweight champion has been forced to withdraw from the highly anticipated championship bout scheduled for UFC 148.MMAWeekly.com broke the news …

It looks like Urijah Faber will have to take a rain check on his rubber match with Dominick Cruz.

The UFC bantamweight champion has been forced to withdraw from the highly anticipated championship bout scheduled for UFC 148.

MMAWeekly.com broke the news on Monday.

According to the source, Cruz was teaching his team of lightweights in the “Ultimate Fighter” on FX while also preparing for his bout with Faber at Alliance MMA.

Sources close to the situation are saying Cruz suffered an ACL injury while working with his team.

Cruz and Faber were expected to settle their ongoing rivalry in the co-main event of UFC 148 on July 7. The two served as coaches on Season 15 of the “Ultimate Fighter,” which is currently airing on FX.

The only loss on Cruz’s record came at the hands of Faber back in March 2007. Faber submitted Cruz in the first round to retain his WEC featherweight title.

After the loss, Cruz dropped to bantamweight and has been rolling ever since.

In July 2011, he avenged his loss to Faber and successfully defended his UFC bantamweight title for the first time in a bout many labeled “Fight of the Year.”

It is unknown whether or not Faber will remain on the card. If Cruz has indeed suffered a serious injury to his ACL, he could be sidelined for the rest of the year.

The UFC has three surefire top contenders at 135 pounds in Faber, Renan Barao and Michael McDonald. Depending on Cruz’s injury, the promotion could opt to crown an interim champion.

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report as more news becomes available in this developing story.

 

 

Looking for some more MMA news, and perhaps a couple of laughs? Follow me on Twitter @JordyMcElroy.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Pat Barry vs. Lavar Johnson Results: What We Learned About Johnson

Lavar Johnson is a destroyer and quite possibly the next breakout star in the UFC heavyweight division.At UFC on Fox 3, he overwhelmed Pat Barry in the first round to pick up his second consecutive knockout stoppage.”It just feels great. I’m on top of …

Lavar Johnson is a destroyer and quite possibly the next breakout star in the UFC heavyweight division.

At UFC on Fox 3, he overwhelmed Pat Barry in the first round to pick up his second consecutive knockout stoppage.

“It just feels great. I’m on top of the world right now,” Johnson told Ariel Helwani in his post-fight interview with MMAFighting.com. “Beating Pat Barry is an excellent achievement, probably the highest achievement of my career so far, and to be here in the UFC is just awesome.”

When it comes to hard-hitting heavyweights, it doesn’t get any better than Johnson. He has netted 15 knockouts in his professional career. None of his fights have ever gone the distance.

Along with his aggressive fighting style, Johnson has an intriguing story. He barely survived a shooting a few years back at a family gathering, and those battle wounds are displayed vividly on his torso today.

Johnson is a fighter through and through. He has overcome obstacles some us will never know. As a fan of the sport, it’s hard not to be drawn in by this kind of character.

Here are five things we learned about Johnson.

 

Looking for some more MMA news, and perhaps a couple of laughs? Follow me on Twitter @JordyMcElroy.

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Johny Hendricks vs. Josh Koscheck Results: What We Learned About Hendricks

The landscape of the UFC welterweight division has been forever changed by Johny Hendricks.For years, the upper echelon welterweight lineup has consisted of Georges St-Pierre, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck.It took Hendricks only six months to change it.A…

The landscape of the UFC welterweight division has been forever changed by Johny Hendricks.

For years, the upper echelon welterweight lineup has consisted of Georges St-Pierre, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck.

It took Hendricks only six months to change it.

After shocking the world with his first-round knockout over Fitch in December, Hendricks proved he was more than just a one-hit wonder in his split-decision victory over Koscheck at UFC on Fox 3 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

While it may not have been the most exciting bout, a win is a win, and after knocking off two of the top contenders in the division, Hendricks proved that he deserves a shot at UFC gold.

“Would you wait for the opportunity to make millions or would you take another fight?” Hendricks said to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com, when asked if he would wait around for a potential shot at the winner of St-Pierre and Carlos Condit.

Hendricks certainly makes a valid point, but with St-Pierre and Condit rumored for UFC 154 in November, he could be sitting cold on the sidelines for a long time.

The fact that he’s even in the conversation for a title shot is a major achievement for Hendricks, who has been underrated for far too long in the sport.

In his win over Koscheck, here are five things we learned about Hendricks.

Looking for some more MMA news, and perhaps a couple of laughs? Follow me on Twitter @JordyMcElroy.

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