Author: Kyle Symes

UFC Lightweights Anthony Pettis and Khabib Nurmagomedov Trade Twitter Barbs

Twitter has become a powerful marketing tool for fighters to improve their standing in the UFC’s ranks.
Surging lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov took full advantage of the social media platform by calling out UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pett…

Twitter has become a powerful marketing tool for fighters to improve their standing in the UFC’s ranks.

Surging lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov took full advantage of the social media platform by calling out UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis.

Things got started when Benson Henderson took a slight jab at Pettis in the post-fight press conference for being injured and not defending the lightweight title since winning it back in August.

While Pettis was focusing on his biggest rival in the lightweight division, Nurmagomedov let Pettis know there’s another man he should be concerned with.

Pettis responded by questioning the strength of Nurmagomedov‘s resume.

The exciting lightweight contender would then echo what Henderson mentioned by pointing out how injury prone Pettis has been thus far in his MMA career.

Although Pettis would remove the tweet, Bloody Elbow was able to capture Pettis saying that he’s not worried about Nurmagomedov because his car costs more than Nurmagomedov‘s house.

Nurmagomedov would then send a final two tweets toward Pettis in regard to his financial situation.

Although Pettis has become one of the most exciting fighters on the UFC roster, he has had a number of injury issues. Those injuries have caused Pettis to compete only five times since coming over from the WEC back in 2011.

Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, has yet to taste defeat in his MMA career with a record of 22-0. His latest win came over top-five-ranked Rafael dos Anjos, and the Dagestan native has been nothing short of must-see TV in the Octagon.

He’s also apparently a guy nobody wants to fight.

Pettis will be on the sidelines until later this year as he will be coaching opposite Gilbert Melendez on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. Nurmagomedov will likely take another high-profile fight to cement his status as a top contender, which likely means we haven’t seen the end of these two exchanging words.

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Nate Diaz’s Manager Deems Diego Sanchez Not Important Enough for a Response

Diego Sanchez is moving on from his controversial decision win with his eyes set on his next opponent.
Sanchez called out former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz following his win and said he’d like to have the fight in Mexico. Although Diaz hasn…

Diego Sanchez is moving on from his controversial decision win with his eyes set on his next opponent.

Sanchez called out former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz following his win and said he’d like to have the fight in Mexico. Although Diaz hasn’t responded yet, his outspoken manager Mike Kogan did have some words for Sanchez via text message to MMAMania.com.

“Diego isn’t important enough to warrant a response. He should count his lucky stars two retarded judges were watching Oprah reruns while he was fighting and then handed him a win.”

Sanchez set the Internet ablaze after winning at UFC Fight Night 42. After Ross Pearson thoroughly controlled the majority of the action, Sanchez was gifted the decision win.

Analysts and fans like to use the word “robbery” very liberally in this sport, but there was no denying this was nothing short of a robbery.

Just check the FightMetric numbers to clear any confusion about who actually won that fight.

Sanchez is just 2-3 in his last five fights, with both of those wins coming by way of split decision. He was also smoked in his losses to Gilbert Melendez and Myles Jury as well.

Diaz isn’t on any spectacular roll either, but he did look impressive in stopping Gray Maynard in devastating fashion in November.

Sanchez’s decline in athleticism combined with his lack of evolution in skills have become easily visible, but that hasn’t stopped the UFC from putting him in high-profile fights. There is some history behind the Sanchez call-out; Sanchez previously defeated Diaz‘s older brother, Nick, back in 2005.

Diaz had previously said he’s open to “fighting anywhere,” but that apparently doesn’t include Sanchez as a viable option.

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UFC: Vitor Belfort Releases Statement About February Drug Test Results

The wait is over. The much-discussed results of Vitor Belfort’s February drug test by the Nevada State Athletic Commission are in.
And it’s straight from the main source himself. Belfort released a statement on his Instagram account, providing the deta…

The wait is over. The much-discussed results of Vitor Belfort‘s February drug test by the Nevada State Athletic Commission are in.

And it’s straight from the main source himself. Belfort released a statement on his Instagram account, providing the details about the test and the fallout from it.

The results of the February 7, 2014, test indicated that my testosterone level was above the therapeutic range. While levels slightly outside the normal therapeutic range are not uncommon for some undergoing a TRT regimen, and my doctors immediately modified my therapy to return me to within the therapeutic range (as you can see the 22nd February test results was normal), I do want to acknowledge that the February 7, 2014 test indicated my level was above the range.

Belfort would go on to say he’s taken numerous tests since the initial one, and that he has been within the normal range for all of them. He also released the actual results from the tests in a link included with his post.

The Brazilian is synonymous with TRT and has had to deal with claims of cheating from both fans and fighters alike. However, through it all, Dana White never wavered in his support that Belfort was never in the wrong while fighting.

This echoes what Joe Rogan recently said in that the NSAC got rid of TRT exemptions because of the results from Belfort‘s random test.

While Belfort has finally said what all of us were already assuming and can move on from the February test, he’s not entirely out of the woods just yet. As Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting notes, Belfort will have to undergo a “comprehensive review” on Jun. 17 to ensure he will be able to face Chael Sonnen at UFC 175.

It marks the second failed test Belfort has had in Nevada, which doesn’t bode well for his prospects of competing there. The Brazilian had previously failed a test for elevated testosterone following his Pride 32 loss to Dan Henderson.

Belfort is attempting to step in to face Sonnen after Wanderlei Silva was removed from the contest. It’s widely believed that Belfort will receive the next title shot if he can defeat Sonnen at UFC 175.

Update: (h/t Bloody Elbow) Jordan Breen presents a breakdown of Belfort‘s testosterone ranges.

 

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Ronda Rousey Reacts to Seth Rollins Heel Turn on Monday Night Raw

Seth Rollins took every WWE fan’s heart Monday night and crushed it in an instant by turning on The Shield. UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey was among those who were horrified at what they saw on Monday Night Raw.
Rousey posted a video to he…

Seth Rollins took every WWE fan’s heart Monday night and crushed it in an instant by turning on The Shield. UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey was among those who were horrified at what they saw on Monday Night Raw.

Rousey posted a video to her Instagram account showing her live reaction to Rollins joining forces with Triple H and Randy Orton.

This was only 24 hours removed from Rollins and his Shield teammates, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, defeating Triple H’s stable, Evolution, at Payback. The match left all six combatants bruised, as there were plenty of big spots, including Reigns being held down across the steel steps while members of Evolution took turns using a kendo stick across his bare back.

The Shield burst onto the WWE scene in 2012 as mercenaries for hire and quickly became fan favorites due to their wrestling ability. The trio could put on a great match with virtually anyone they were up against.

2014 saw The Shield in high-profile feuds with The Wyatt Family and, most recently, Evolution.

Although a breakup of The Shield had been rumored for some time, it was commonly thought that Ambrose would be the one to break away from the group. He was viewed as the most natural heel of the group by most. That’s partly why the turn was so shocking—nobody saw Rollins being the guy to turn his back.

But what also made it so shocking was that all three men had gone to war for each other the previous night.

Rousey and her training partners, the self-proclaimed “Four Horsewomen,” are known to be big wrestling fans along with competing in MMA. Hopefully Rousey can recover from this heartbreak to hear the answer to the question on every fan’s mind: “Why Seth? Why?”

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Daniel Cormier Willing to Delay Surgery for UFC Title Shot Against Jon Jones

The drama surrounding Jon Jones’ next title defense adds a new wrinkle seemingly every day. This time it’s Daniel Cormier doing his part to oblige Jones’ request for a showdown in the Octagon.
Speaking on UFC Tonight, Cormier said he’d be willing to de…

The drama surrounding Jon Jones‘ next title defense adds a new wrinkle seemingly every day. This time it’s Daniel Cormier doing his part to oblige Jones’ request for a showdown in the Octagon.

Speaking on UFC Tonight, Cormier said he’d be willing to delay surgery on his injured knee if it meant getting a UFC title shot.

This comes on the heels of UFC president Dana White saying that Jones had yet to agree to a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson because the champ wants to fight Cormier. The former Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner believes Jones wants to face him because he wants nothing to do with Gustafsson.

“He had to reach so deep into his soul to win that last fight, I truly believe he doesn’t want to fight Alex again,” Cormier told Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports. “Alex took him somewhere he’d never been before and he doesn’t want to go there ever again.”

The talk among many MMA fans is that Jones is trying to duck Gustafsson, something the champ emphatically denied.

White has attempted to put Jones in check, claiming Gustafsson is the No. 1 contender. Obviously the champ doesn’t see it that way, as Jones is rolling with the “I already beat him” defense.

That’s despite their UFC 165 clash being one of the closest fights in UFC history. Many fans had Gustafsson winning, and Jones looked like anything but a winner of a fight.

Instead of getting an immediate rematch, as is the custom with so many close title fights these days, Gustafsson had to settle for Jimi Manuwa at UFC Fight Night 37. Jones, meanwhile, successfully defended his UFC light heavyweight title against Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 in dominant fashion.

Cormier‘s response gives Jones more leverage in his negotiations with the UFC, as if he needed more. Jones wants to fight Cormier, and Cormier wants to fight Jones. The only problem is that the UFC fans, the people who pay to watch Jones fight, want to see him rematch with Gustafsson.

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Report: UFC Fighters Rustam Khabilov and Ali Bagautinov Get into Real Fist Fight

Greg Jackson likes to portray his gym as a family atmosphere; guys who train with one another, day in and day out, often form a “brotherhood” of sorts. However, it now looks like Jackson will have to play the father role between UFC fighters Rustam Kha…

Greg Jackson likes to portray his gym as a family atmosphere; guys who train with one another, day in and day out, often form a “brotherhood” of sorts. However, it now looks like Jackson will have to play the father role between UFC fighters Rustam Khabilov and Ali Bagautinov.

There’s a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer (subscription required) saying the two were involved in a real fight behind the gym’s closed doors:

If that’s not bad enough, there was a real fight in the gym with Bagautinov and Rustam Khabilov. While everyone is publicly playing it down, everyone also admits it happened. The way we heard it was Khabilov, who is a lightweight, gave Bagautinov a beating, although not bad enough to cause him to pull out of the fight.

This isn’t the first incident between the two, either. Per Inside MMA‘s Twitter account, the two scuffled back in May and had to be separated. USA Today‘s Mike Bohn reported that Bagautinov would later avoid answering any questions about the incident.

If you look at the tale of the tape, Khabilov is a lightweight at 155 pounds, while Bagautinov is a flyweight at 125 pounds. It’s not uncommon for guys in different weight classes to spar or roll with one another, but that’s a big difference in weight that leads me to wonder what kind of training the two were actually doing.

I’m also wondering why, in a gym full of top MMA fighters, these two were not only allowed to be paired up with one another but that nobody was able to intervene before things got serious.

Considering both guys have high-profile fights coming up, it would lead me to believe that what happened is that one guy likely went harder than anticipated and one thing lead to another. Of course, that’s pure speculation on my part, but due to the time I’ve spent training in MMA gyms, I know that some guys don’t have any speed but 110 percent and can’t turn it down.

Luckily, Bagautinov wasn’t injured in the fight, as he’s slated to take on UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson at UFC 174 on June 14. Khabilov, meanwhile, will take on former lightweight champ Benson Henderson on June 7.

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