The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Hector Lombard for one year and slapped him with a fine after he tested positive for an anabolic steroid after his UFC 182 victory over Josh Burkman, according to Damon Martin of FoxSports.com. &…
The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Hector Lombard for one year and slapped him with a fine after he tested positive for an anabolic steroid after his UFC 182 victory over Josh Burkman, according to Damon Martin of FoxSports.com.
Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting provided a statement from Lombard in which the 37-year-old welterweight apologized for his actions:
However, during his hearing before the NSAC, Lombard stated that he “never knowingly put a banned substance into my body,” per ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto.
Although the failed test came in January, it wasn’t until today that the NSAC deliberated regarding the cases against both Lombard and Nick Diaz, who failed a drug test after UFC 183.
Lombard tested positive for desoxymethyltestosterone, and as a result, lost out on a potential bout with Rory MacDonald that would’ve been set for UFC 186, which is scheduled for April 25.
Given his age, a one-year suspension is a pretty significant punishment for Lombard. Taking a year off is tough even for fighters in their prime, and it becomes even harder for fighters in their late 30s.
Martin added that the ban retroactively goes into effect immediately after Lombard’s no contest with Burkman, so the earliest he could return to the Octagon would be January 2016.
Ronda Rousey is unlike anyone else in sports today.
Sometimes LeBron James misses his free throws—like he did yesterday against the Houston Rockets. Mike Trout doesn’t hit a home run every time he steps to the plate. Roger Federer and Rafael Nad…
Ronda Rousey is unlike anyone else in sports today.
Sometimes LeBron James misses his free throws—like he did yesterday against the Houston Rockets. Mike Trout doesn’t hit a home run every time he steps to the plate. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal haven’t pulled off the Grand Slam and probably never will.
Even the best have a bad day at the office sometimes. It happens.
It doesn’t happen to Rousey, though. By her standards, a bad day at the office meant winning in the third round instead of the first.
Sure, there have been fleeting moments in which Rousey‘s aura of invincibility was nearly destroyed. But in the end, she won and won decisively. Her victory over Cat Zingano at UFC 184 might be her most impressive yet.
Rousey made no secret of the challenge she expected to face from Zingano.
Some of her comments were probably the usual pre-fight puffery, but there’s no question Zingano appeared to be a game challenger, potentially capable of dragging the fight into uncharted territory for Rousey.
Instead, Rousey won in 14 seconds with an armbar, which tied a UFC record:
As MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz joked, it’s like Rousey is doing her best to ensure her fights are as easily accessible on social media as possible:
Some—especially those who paid $60 to watch UFC 184—might feel like it’s becoming boring and a waste of money to see Rousey fight. After all, a human can only pull off so many variations of the armbar. Where’s the suspense and excitement any more?
That viewpoint fails to properly do justice to Rousey. No other professional athlete is currently more guaranteed to deliver than her, and she’s making the toughest challengers in the world look like scrubs.
Zingano was 9-0 with five knockouts and three submissions before meeting Rousey. Alexis Davis and Sara McMann were also decorated fighters, but between the three, they lasted a combined 96 seconds in the Octagon.
It’s almost gotten to the point where UFC fans should count the seconds it takes Rousey to dispatch her opponent, Baron Corbin-style.
I’m certainly not the first to draw the parallel to Mike Tyson, but it’s the closest comparison you could make for Rousey. When Tyson was at his best in the late 1980s, he was a force of nature. The six fights before his loss to Buster Douglas all ended in knockouts, and none of them went past the seventh round.
When Rousey steps into the Octagon, you know something crazy is going to happen, and a ruined arm will be left in her wake. Every pay-per-view she’s on is a spectacle.
It’s tough to truly appreciate greatness in its own time. Years add perspective and an ability to fully analyze just how good an athlete was.
This kind of dominance by Rousey isn’t common, and every second of it should be truly appreciated.
Ronda Rousey needed all of 14 seconds to defend her UFC women’s bantamweight title and defeat Cat Zingano at UFC 184. Almost immediately after the opening bell rang, Rousey saw an opening and locked in her armbar. From there, Zingano had no choice but …
Ronda Rousey needed all of 14 seconds to defend her UFC women’s bantamweight title and defeat Cat Zingano at UFC 184. Almost immediately after the opening bell rang, Rousey saw an opening and locked in her armbar. From there, Zingano had no choice but to tap.
The result tied the UFC record for quickest submission:
Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that Rousey admitted the armbar was completely improvised in the middle of the Octagon, per MMA Fighting:
MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani noted how quickly the 28-year-old won her last three fights:
There is no other athlete in the world like Rousey right now. Nobody is as guaranteed to deliver as the women’s bantamweight champion.
She’s a force of nature, and it’s hard to see who could possibly stop her. And when you think she doesn’t have any surprises left, she taps out the No. 1 contender in 14 seconds.
Ronda Rousey remains the queen of the women’s bantamweight division after beating Cat Zingano at UFC 184 on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Rousey and Zingano headlined the card, which was originally supposed to feature a middleweight title fight betwee…
Ronda Rousey remains the queen of the women’s bantamweight division after beating Cat Zingano at UFC 184 on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Rousey and Zingano headlined the card, which was originally supposed to feature a middleweight title fight between Chris Weidman and VitorBelfort. Weidman got hurt in training, however, which meant cancelling that bout and elevating Rousey vs. Zingano.
Here’s a look at the main card results and some of the more notable reactions on social media during the pay-per-view.
UFC 184 Results
Reaction
Arguably one of the more talked about topics from Saturday night didn’t have anything to do with what happened in the Octagon. Brock Lesnar showed up cageside with UFC president Dana White, leading many to wonder if Lesnar is working on a return to the company. Dave Sholler, UFC’s vice president of public relations, snapped a photo of Lesnar and White talking in between fights:
Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times provided some clarification:
Although most were happy to see Lesnar near an Octagon, Wilmer Valderrama joked that the former heavyweight champion made for a better door than he did a window.
Of course, the star of the night was Rousey, who submitted Zingano in 14 seconds. The result was rather straightforward. Zingano attempted to take the fight right to Rousey, which was a bad idea. The champion quickly locked in her armbar, and that was all she wrote.
Her win tied the UFC record for quickest submission victory:
MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani made note of how long Rousey needed to prevail in her last three fights:
The result caught the attention of Justin Timberlake, who was simply in awe of Rousey‘s seeming invincibility:
Zingano was visibly upset after the fight and said that she wants another shot at Rousey, per Fox Sports:
Staying in the women’s bantamweight division, Holly Holm had a successful UFC debut, beating Raquel Pennington via split decision. The 33-year-old looked impressive, but it’s clear that she still needs a few more tilts before she can seriously challenge Rousey for the title.
Former mixed martial arts star Gina Carano felt Holm and Pennington put on a great show:
MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas thinks that it was a good thing Holm didn’t dominate in terms of setting up for a Rousey fight:
Earlier in the night, Jake Ellenberger choked out Josh Koscheck in the second round. It made for one of the more graphic submission victories, as replays showed Koscheck foaming at the mouth as he attempted to wriggle free.
Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden thought everybody would’ve been better off without seeing that image:
In the first two fights on the main card, Tony Ferguson earned a first-round submission victory over GleisonTibau, while Alan Jouban knocked out Richard Walsh in the first round.
It’s no secret that Brock Lesnar’s deal with WWE is nearing an end, and MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer reported that he and Vince McMahon don’t appear close on completing an extension. Should Lesnar and WWE part ways, a return to UFC wouldn’t be out…
It’s no secret that Brock Lesnar‘s deal with WWE is nearing an end, and MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer reported that he and Vince McMahon don’t appear close on completing an extension. Should Lesnar and WWE part ways, a return to UFC wouldn’t be out of the question for the former heavyweight champion.
Lesnar fanned the flames by making an appearance at UFC 184 on Saturday night. Dave Sholler, UFC’s vice president of public relations, snapped a photo of Lesnar talking with UFC president Dana White:
“I don’t know [why he’s here,]” said White regarding the reason for Lesnar’s presence, per Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole.
Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times reported that the 37-year-old is a guest of Lorenzo Fertitta.
Lesnar fought seven times in UFC, compiling a 4-3 record. His last bout came in December 2011, which was a defeat to Alistair Overeem.
Lesnar is scheduled to defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31, which takes place on March 29. It’s doubtful that UFC would announce any sort of contract with him before that, in the event the two sides reach an agreement.
After the injury to Chris Weidman, Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano will take center stage Saturday night in Los Angeles for UFC 184.
Weidman was originally supposed to headline the pay-per-view in a middleweight title bout with Vitor Belfort. Then, the ch…
After the injury to Chris Weidman, Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano will take center stage Saturday night in Los Angeles for UFC 184.
Weidman was originally supposed to headline the pay-per-view in a middleweight title bout with VitorBelfort. Then, the champ got hurt in training and had to bow out. Belfortdeclined to fight LyotoMachida for the interim belt, which meant Rousey and Zingano would get top billing instead.
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole argued that this bout could be the tone-setter for the female division in mixed martial arts for years to come:
The Rousey-Zingano fight will attract a horde of celebrities who are coming out to watch what could be the match that, 10 years from now, 25 years from now, 50 years from now, is the one that all other women’s bouts are judged against.
Just as major boxing matches are measured by the standard of Muhammad Ali (31-0, 25 KOs) against Joe Frazier (26-0, 23 KOs) on March 8, 1971, it’s possible that future women’s MMA fights will be judged against Rousey-Zingano.
Given the level of skill for each fighter, there’s a good chance Rousey vs. Zingano could become something special.
The challenger enters with a perfect 9-0 record, with only one of those nine wins going the distance. She’s extremely strong and deadly on her feet. Rousey can’t afford to leave herself open like she has a few times in her previous fights, because one blow is all Zingano needs to turn the tide of a fight.
In addition, Zingano doesn’t tire as the fight goes on, as evidenced by the fact that three of her KO/TKO victories have come in the third round. The longer the bout goes, the more you might favor the challenger.
With that said, getting out of the first round won’t be easy.
Although everybody’s well aware of Rousey‘s dominant MMA record, it’s worth noting just how great she has been so far.
The only person in the world more skilled with the armbar submission might be Chris Jericho.
The best comparison one can make with Rousey is Mike Tyson when he was truly Iron Mike in the late 1980s. No professional athlete since then has had that same kind of aura of invincibility.
And people don’t exaggerate when they say that Tyson’s opponents looked defeated before the fight even began. Prior to Tyson knocking him out in the first round in 1988, Michael Spinks had the look of somebody seconds away from his own execution.
It was one of the few guys who didn’t fear Tyson that finally felled him.
Buster Douglas made no secret that his mother’s death 23 days before he was set to fight Tyson forced him to look at the grand scheme of things and put his title match into perspective.
Anthony Dominic of Columbus Monthly wrote a retrospective piece about that fight earlier this month. In the article, he called attention to the interview in the ring between Douglas and HBO’s Larry Merchant:
“Why did it happen, James?”
“’Cause I wanted it.”
“But why did you win this fight that nobody on this planet—”
“My mother. My mother. God bless her heart.”
After his mother’s passing, Douglas had nothing left to be afraid of in the ring. If Tyson beat him, then so what? That wouldn’t come close to the pain of losing a loved one.
“Fear was the champ’s weapon as much as his punching power and hand speed,” Dominic wrote. “But what did Douglas have to fear? The worst had already happened.”
Zingano has dealt with similar emotional pain in her life.
ESPN The Magazine‘s Allison Glock wrote an in-depth profile of the 32-year-old, chronicling how the death of her best friend in 2001 and husband’s suicide a little over a year ago impacted her outlook on everything. There was also the major knee injury in May 2013 that robbed Zingano a chance of facing Rousey and appearing on Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter.
In short, Zingano has faced plenty of adversity.
At the end of Glock‘s article, she drew a parallel to her and Rousey‘s shared experiences, arriving at the conclusion that their past helped make them the fighters they are today:
“You know, her father committed suicide,” Zingano says, alluding to Rousey‘s loss at 8 years old, the same age as Brayden. Zingano glances at the horizon, gives her neck a sharp pop. “I remember when I heard that about her, thinking, ‘Damn, that’s why she’s so good. She made it through that.'” Her lips curl at the corners, the hint of a smile. “If you can survive what we have, what’s a fight?”
When people call Zingano potentially the toughest challenge of Rousey‘s career, it’s not merely promotional hyperbole.
Skill-wise, Zingano is talented enough to push Rousey past the first couple of rounds and potentially to the scorecards. Mentally, she won’t be afraid of the armbar or let Rousey‘s reputation affect her fight strategy. Nothing Rousey can do will compare to the difficulties Zingano has faced.
All of this will sound silly in the event Rousey wins yet again with a first-round submission, but don’t be surprised if Zingano remains in the fight through the late rounds before succumbing to the champion.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Hector Lombard for one year and slapped him with a fine after he tested positive for an anabolic steroid after his UFC 182 victory over Josh Burkman, according to Damon Martin of FoxSports.com.