Revenge is sometimes a dish best served cold.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey waited an entire year to get back at Floyd Mayweather Jr. Her grand moment finally arrived when she won the award for “Best Fighter” at the 2015 ESPYs.
After b…
Revenge is sometimes a dish best served cold.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey waited an entire year to get back at Floyd Mayweather Jr. Her grand moment finally arrived when she won the award for “Best Fighter” at the 2015 ESPYs.
After beating out Mayweather for the award, Rousey took a shot at the undefeated boxing legend’s history of domestic violence.
“I wonder how Floyd feels being beat by a woman for once,” she said.
Rousey has never been one to hold her tongue in the media. If something is on her mind, you can bet your bottom dollar she’s going to express it.
According to Rousey, the comments aimed at Mayweather have been a long time coming. She recently told TMZ Sports the idea came to her while swimming laps in a pool:
I planned it since he tried to get snarky with me the year before. So then I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to beat him one year and say something.’ So I would have waited another year if I didn’t win. I would have waited three years if I had to. I’m a patient girl.
Rousey is most likely referring to Mayweather’s interview with David Greisman of BoxingScene.com.
While discussing a potential fight with Amir Khan, Mayweather was randomly asked what he thought about Rousey. His response likely struck a nerve with the reigning UFC champ.
“I don’t know who he is,” Mayweather said.
Mayweather did issue an apology to Rousey after she took home an award for “Best Female Athlete” at the 2014 ESPYs. When speaking with Fight Hub TV, Mayweather claimed he really didn’t know who Rousey was at the time of the interview.
He does now.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
Urijah Faber was backstage handling his business in the ladies’ restroom when he was suddenly nose to nose with Conor McGregor.
Wait, what?
Let’s try that one again. By now, everyone knows McGregor and Faber can hardly stand to be in the same roo…
Urijah Faber was backstage handling his business in the ladies’ restroom when he was suddenly nose to nose with ConorMcGregor.
Wait, what?
Let’s try that one again. By now, everyone knows McGregor and Faber can hardly stand to be in the same room together without getting into some form of altercation. These guys simply don’t like each other—never have and most likely never will. Check out Faber’s social media jab at McGregor leading up to UFC 189.
With McGregor meeting Chad Mendes, Faber’s close friend and teammate, in the main event at UFC 189, it was only a matter of time before paths crossed and a Jersey Shore situation unfolded.
During an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of The MMA Hour, Faber detailed the incident that all started with a trip to the bathroom at the UFC 189 weigh-ins.
Unfortunately, the bathrooms in the backstage area of the weigh-ins only had one toilet.
A line had formed for the men’s bathroom, but the ladies’ room was vacant. So a fellow bro in the men’s line nonchalantly suggested Faber use the ladies’ room. After a bit of hesitation, Faber said he would do it if the guy promised to keep a lookout at the door.
An informal agreement was made, and Faber raced to the stall.
After handling his business, Faber was washing his hands when the doorknob suddenly began to turn. As fate would have it, McGregor had the same idea of skipping out on doing the wee-wee dance in the men’s line for the vacant female stall.
The first person Faber saw when he emerged from the bathroom was one of McGregor’s associates attempting to open the door, but a second turn put him face-to-face with “The Notorious” McGregor.
Fox Sports caught the incident on camera.
“He’s like, ‘What’s up little man?’ and he rubs my head,” Faber recalled. “And I grabbed his stomach and was feeling his ribs, his scrawny little rib. And I was like, ‘Man, are you gonna survive?’”
An odd and playful two-second standing wrestling match took place, and then it was over. Faber called the entire incident “super weird.”
“I hold both his arms against the wall. I don’t know if he’s going to use his chin or what’s in his head. He goes, ‘Get your f—–g hands off me.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, I don’t have my hands on you, m———-r,’” said Faber.
Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and the brief skirmish became an interesting story. Both men were announced on Sunday by UFC President Dana White as the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 22, which is set to debut on September 9 on Fox Sports 1. We can only imagine what that situation will be like.
As for the bathroom incident, there is a moral to the story. Never trust that random guy standing in line who promises to be a lookout.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
Fedor Emelianenko’s emotionless face was often the last thing his opponents saw before everything went black. The man is known by many names—The Last Emperor, legend, icon, destroyer. But for those who knew him best, Emelianenko was simply …
Fedor Emelianenko’s emotionless face was often the last thing his opponents saw before everything went black. The man is known by many names—The Last Emperor, legend, icon, destroyer. But for those who knew him best, Emelianenko was simply the greatest heavyweight in MMA history.
After spending three years in retirement, the former Pride heavyweight champion is coming back for another MMA run. BloodyElbow.com confirmed the news on Tuesday after speaking with multiple sources close to the situation.
The now 38-year-old Emelianenko claims he has maintained physical form during his time on the sidelines. But after working to help develop Russian MMA behind the scenes, he feels the time has come for him to step back into the ring:
During my time at the Ministry, I was able to work on the development of the sport, work closely with the presidents of sports federations, recognize the problems from within the sport, and as far as possible, try to solve them. But now I feel that it is time to return to the ring.
There is no word yet as to what promotion Emelianenko could be leaning toward in his return. Many would expect Bellator would be one of the top suitors given the MMA legend’s close working relationship with Bellator President Scott Coker from his days in Strikeforce.
After losing three consecutive fights in Strikeforce, Emelianenko finished his career competing in Russia and Japan. He officially retired from fighting in June 2012 after knocking out Pedro Rizzo in the first round of an M-1 Global event.
There is certainly more information to come. Stay tuned to Bleacher Report as more news becomes available in this developing story.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is theMMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
It’s rare that we see Chad Mendes taking large gulps of air in the first round of a fight. But there he stood in front of a sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night, desperately looking for takedowns and retreating flatfoote…
It’s rare that we see Chad Mendes taking large gulps of air in the first round of a fight. But there he stood in front of a sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night, desperately looking for takedowns and retreating flatfooted in complete exhaustion.
While Mendes only had a few weeks to train for the five-round title fight, his opponent, ConorMcGregor, endured months of preparation for UFC 189. McGregor was initially slated to face featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the main event, but the UFC got word that Aldo had sustained a rib injury in training that could potentially keep him out of the fight. Combate (per MMAFighting.com) broke the news.
So a plan B was created to ensure fans still received a title fight at UFC 189. If Aldo wasn’t able to compete, Mendes would step in as a late replacement against McGregor for an interim title. Plan B became official a week later, nearly two weeks out from the fight, when Aldo officially withdrew from the blockbuster bout.
UFC President Dana White appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter to break the news.
The fight seemed like a no-brainer for Mendes, who typically stays in shape year-round. When speaking with MMAFighting.com leading up to the bout, he said he felt “damn good” heading in against McGregor on short notice.
But the actual fight didn’t play out that way. Mendes gassed early in the bout and was run over by the same McGregor hype train that has claimed so many others.
After suffering his third career loss, Mendes had a different tone when speaking to the media at the post-fight press conference:
“I was pretty damn tired, honestly, at the end of [the second round], but I took that fight on short notice, and that’s the risk I was taking. I’d absolutely love to get back in there again with a full training camp and try that. So hopefully we can make that happen one day.”
There is no question we didn’t see the best version of Mendes, but I could counter that argument by also saying we didn’t see the best version of McGregor either. McGregor had months to prepare for Aldo, who is a completely different style opponent than Mendes.
Obviously, McGregordidn’t spend as much time defending takedowns in training as he might have if he knew he would be facing Mendes from the very beginning.
Though he wouldn’t go into detail about it, McGregor also opened up at the post-fight presser about a serious injury he suffered during training camp that moved most of his workout sessions to a physical therapy room.
Mendes gassing early was likely a result of the consistent shots to the body he was absorbing from McGregor. It’s no secret in combat sports that consistent damage to the body can really take a toll on a fighter’s endurance.
Mendes showed signs of fatigue in the first round. It’s hard to fathom a year-round, healthy fighter like him gassing in the first five minutes simply because he didn’t have a full training camp. Not to mention, he wasn’t too far off from his five-round camp for his bout with Ricardo Lamas in April.
Full training camps for both Mendes and McGregor would change the fight, but that doesn’t mean the outcome would be any different.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
Jose Aldo is a prime example that sometimes even the best fighters in the world don’t get to sit at the cool kid’s table.
Unlike his championship peers, Aldo has never had a filter when it comes to speaking his mind about the UFC. While hos…
Jose Aldo is a prime example that sometimes even the best fighters in the world don’t get to sit at the cool kid’s table.
Unlike his championship peers, Aldo has never had a filter when it comes to speaking his mind about the UFC. While hosting a Q&A session in Brazil, per MMAFighting.com, the featherweight champ said UFC athletes were treated unfairly. He claimed athletes basically pay to fight.
Taking things up a notch, he also recently called the six-year, $70 million Reebok deal “s–t,” when speaking with Combate (h/t BloodyElbow.com). Let’s just say the two sides haven’t necessarily seen eye to eye on things.
But it wasn’t until Aldo pulled out of his scheduled title fight with ConorMcGregor at UFC 189 that things really started to get out of hand. It was initially reported by Combate, per MMAFighting.com, that Aldo had fractured his ribs after being kicked in the midsection during a sparring session.
However, the UFC released a statement a day later claiming Aldo’s ribs weren’t broken. According to the statement, another doctor had reviewed Aldo’s CT scan and diagnosed the injury as a bone bruise and cartilage damage.
Even though the rib injury wouldn’t keep Aldo out long, the UFC hatched together an alternative scenario if Aldo was unable to compete against McGregor. Top featherweight contender Chad Mendes would step in as a late replacement for Aldo in an interim title bout.
When appearing on ESPN’s SportsCenter, UFC President Dana White noted that Aldo had pulled out of five title fights before announcing Mendes vs. McGregor for the interim featherweight title.
It was a slap in the face to the the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
So Aldo sat on the sidelines and watched White wrap UFC gold around McGregor’s waist on Saturday night at UFC 189. McGregor defeated Mendes in the second round by TKO in what White deemed the biggest event in UFC history at the post-fight press conference. The eagerness to put UFC gold in the hands of the promotion’s biggest star since Georges St-Pierre left Aldo hanging on an island.
Even though he released the actual X-rays of his injury, Aldo was looked at as a man making excuses not to fight McGregor. It also didn’t help that White claimed the images were from an old injury during a Q&A at the UFC Fan Expo, per MMAFighting.com.
“That was an old injury that was calcified white,” said White. “The real injury was the bruised rib and cartilage.”
MMA legend Wanderlei Silva released a video on Monday, which implored fans to take a stand against the UFC for mistreating fighters. He questioned whether the UFC paid a doctor to say Aldo’s injury was a bone bruise in a desperate attempt to get him to fight:
“It’s obvious that Aldo would never lie about an injury. So for me it’s absurd already that he had to prove it. But he did prove it and that still wasn’t enough. Then the event picks up some local doctor to say that the rib was not broken. But the x-ray doesn’t lie. So what’s going on, did they pay a doctor here to say that it wasn’t broken?”
Silva then took aim at White, calling him a liar:
“The big liar in this story is the promoter of this event. He’s the only one who has anything to gain by lying. He’s the business man who only cares about his bank account. He’s never been punched in the face, he doesn’t know what it’s like to train with a broken rib.
He doesn’t know what it’s to get stitches in the face, how it feels to break a nose and to have your blood spilled. He gets his money without being touched for it. How can someone who has never been slapped in the face talk about the greatest fighter of all times?”
It was unfortunate that Aldo once again found himself injured and having to pull out of a UFC title fight. This withdrawal in particular stung, considering all of the resources the promotion invested into the event.
There is no question that changes have to be made to Aldo’s fight preparation to increase his odds of staying healthy. However, Silva does make a lot of sense for the first time in a long time.
Leading up to UFC 189, White told ESPN’s Ryan Russillo that Aldo “probably would have made close to $4 million” to fight McGregor. It’s hard to believe that any fighter, let alone the greatest featherweight in MMA history, would purposely leave that kind of money on the table. No fight is worth competing with a serious injury.
It had to be tough for Aldo hearing White say things like “it’s his decision” and “I’m not too happy about it” when talking about the injury on SportsCenter. It’s never in the plans for anyone to get injured. But injuries do happen, and you have to figure out a way to deal with them.
The UFC had every right to be upset, but when a guy says he’s hurt, especially an MMA legend like Aldo, you need to take his word for it and move on.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
Rory MacDonald was beaten, thrashed, bludgeoned, pounded, smashed and whatever other euphemism out there that can describe the carnage from UFC 189. A co-main event title fight against Robbie Lawler served as a one-way ticket to the hospital for the 25…
Rory MacDonald was beaten, thrashed, bludgeoned, pounded, smashed and whatever other euphemism out there that can describe the carnage from UFC 189. A co-main event title fight against Robbie Lawler served as a one-way ticket to the hospital for the 25-year-old welterweight contender.
And he loved every second of it.
After throwing down with Lawler in one of the most exciting title fights in UFC history, MacDonald thanked his opponent on Twitter for what he deems “the best time” of his life. (Warning: The image may be disturbing to some):
If a bloodied face and broken bones is what MacDonald considers a good time, I’d hate to see what he calls a bad time. Thousands in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas stood on their feet cheering on both fighters in a back-and-forth slugfest. Chants of “USA” were replaced by chants of “Rory,” which then reverted back to chants of “USA.”
According to UFC President Dana White, per Greg Beacham of the Associated Press, MacDonald’s nose was broken in the first round, and he had trouble seeing and breathing throughout the fight.
Not only was his nose in shambles, but he was also fighting with a broken foot, according to MMA journalist Ariel Helwani after speaking with MacDonald’s head coach FirasZahabi.
Lawler found a home for his left straight early in the fight, which is typically the desired punch for a southpaw fighter against an orthodox opponent. MacDonald appeared completely baffled after having his jab nullified by Lawler’s southpaw tactics the first time the two met back at UFC 167 nearly two years ago.
But MacDonald was better prepared in the second outing. He didn’t lean so heavily on the jab and found more success in the open guard fight leading with a straight punch. However, Lawler did significantly more damage early in the fight, which left MacDonald’s face looking like a busted up can of red paint.
MacDonald turned the tide of the fight in the third round with a head kick that put Lawler on wobbly legs. The UFC champ’s spotless face suddenly had the markings of a man who had been in a dog fight. MacDonald’s rally continued all the way into the fifth round, where he got cracked in the nose with a straight left hand that ended his title bid.
According to a report from Fox Sports, MacDonald would have won a decision on the scorecards if he made it out of the fifth round.
MMAJunkie.com captured a brutal GIF(NSFW: Video contains graphic images) from the ending of the UFC welterweight title fight. It encapsulated all of the sacrifice that goes into being a fighter.
MacDonald gave everything he had until there was literally nothing left to give.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
Revenge is sometimes a dish best served cold.