Author: Kyle Symes

UFC President Dana White Says Tyrone Spong Wants to Fight in the UFC

The last time fans saw Tyrone Spong in action, the result was a horrific injury. Now, UFC President Dana White is hinting that the next time we see Spong fight, it could be inside the Octagon.
While speaking at the post-fight press conference for …

The last time fans saw Tyrone Spong in action, the result was a horrific injury. Now, UFC President Dana White is hinting that the next time we see Spong fight, it could be inside the Octagon.

While speaking at the post-fight press conference for UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandao, White surprised everyone by saying “The King of the Ring” Spong was in the building.

“I’ve got Tyrone Spong back here telling me, ‘Sign me for one fight,'” White said.

Spong last competed under the Glory promotion and suffered a tragic injury, snapping his leg in nearly identical fashion to what happened to former UFC champ Anderson Silva. Spong‘s injury came against his kickboxing rival Gokhan Saki.

The kickboxing great has only competed in two MMA bouts but was able to pick up two decisive victories in the World Series of Fighting promotion.

Spong has become a multisport star since crossing over to MMA. Kickboxing fans have known about the talented fighter for years, but it wasn’t until Spong fought at WSOF 1 in 2012 and Glory signed a TV deal with Spike TV that his popularity exploded within the MMA community.

Although Spong currently has a deal with the WSOF, it’s become pretty clear that the WSOF has no qualms about working with the UFC if the world’s top promotion wants a particular fighter.

He’ll obviously be on the sidelines for an extended period of time due to the leg injury, but getting Spong to appear on a UFC card would be a huge event for the promotion. There’s no shortage of highlight-reel moments to feature in the lead-up to a potential UFC debut.

Spong also has the benefit of working with one of the best MMA camps in the world, The Blackzilians. Training with fellow light heavyweights Rashad Evans and Anthony Johnson would give Spong the necessary preparation for a fight in the UFC.

The trade-off to Spong appearing in the UFC would be the fact he wouldn’t be able to compete in kickboxing events. Given that he has only appeared semi-interested in an MMA career, it might not make a lot of sense for him to give up his ability to compete in both MMA and kickboxing at the same time.

After all, Spong was even expressing interest in professional boxing prior to his fight with Saki. All those other avenues of competing in combat sports would be closed off with a UFC contract.

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Conor McGregor Agrees to UFC 178 Fight with Dustin Poirier If Poirier Shows Up

After picking up a win in front of his countrymen, Conor McGregor has no shortage of options for his next fight in the UFC.
That’s due in large part to the brash comments he has made on a regular basis since joining the UFC’s ranks. One man who wo…

After picking up a win in front of his countrymen, Conor McGregor has no shortage of options for his next fight in the UFC.

That’s due in large part to the brash comments he has made on a regular basis since joining the UFC’s ranks. One man who wouldn’t mind “whipping his a-s” is Dustin Poirier. Matt Erickson of MMA Junkie has the response from McGregor, and it’s what most people would expect from the Irishman.

That would be perfect for me. His teammate Cole Miller, he pulled out. You’re trying to tell me that Dustin Poirier, Nik Lentz, both top 10 guys, no fights scheduled, didn’t know about Cole’s injury? They would’ve known before the UFC would’ve known. And yet nothing. They didn’t campaign for this. This is a main-event slot. It’s a big, big event. And yet there wasn’t a peep out of both of them.

So I know he doesn’t want that fight. He can pretend that he wants the fight and send out tweets and this and that. Let’s do it. One by one, I’ll take every single one of them out.

McGregor was originally scheduled to face Cole Miller, but the American Top Team product had to pull out of the fight due to a thumb injury. Poirier last competed in April against Akira Corassani, winning by TKO in the second round. The bout earned both competitors Fight of the Night honors.

Meanwhile, Lentz rebounded from his first defeat at featherweight by taking out Manny Gamburyan in May. He was subsequently paired up with Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 50.

If McGregor vs. Poirier does materialize, it has the makings of a Fight of the Year candidate. Both Poirier and McGregor have fan-friendly styles and don’t know how to move anywhere but forward. The buildup to the fight would likely help secure some undecided buyers for a pay-per-view card as well.

It would be a quick turnaround for McGregor, but considering he’s been on the shelf since last year prior to his fight against Brandao, it’s a good bet the Irishman wants to strike while the iron is hot.

It’s the perfect opportunity for Poirier to stay busy while the top handful of fighters in the division wait on the health of Jose Aldo. Quite a few people in the division could be competing for the UFC title, and with Poirier seemingly on the outside looking in, fighting McGregor would give him a high-profile bout to take.

UFC 178 is scheduled for Sept. 27 in Las Vegas and already features a stacked lineup that will be headlined by the much-anticipated rematch between UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson.

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MMA: Top 5 Fighters Who Retired Too Late

The MMA game giveth, and the MMA game taketh away. This cruel and cold lesson has been learned by far too many in this sport.
There comes a time in any athlete’s career where he realizes it’s time to hang it up. In team sports, that time is usually pre…

The MMA game giveth, and the MMA game taketh away. This cruel and cold lesson has been learned by far too many in this sport.

There comes a time in any athlete’s career where he realizes it’s time to hang it up. In team sports, that time is usually preceded by a lack of athleticism, maybe an injury or two.

Unfortunately, in MMA that time tends to be preceded by some vicious knockout or bone-crushing submission loss. Far too many of MMA’s legends from “the old guard” have gone down in devastating fashion.

Some of the athletes were at the point where they had to fight to live rather than live to fight. Others simply couldn’t accept that time had passed them by. Regardless of how they went out, it was clear that the end came way too late.

The ranking for this list is based on how high the fighters reached in their careers combined with how hard they fell. Also included was the manner in which they left the sport.

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UFC Fight Night 45: Jessamyn Duke Suffers Nasty Broken Hand

Jessamyn Duke suffered a devastating defeat at UFC Fight Night 45 on Wednesday and also a pretty gruesome-looking injury.
The fighter posted an X-ray of the injury on her Instagram account. It’s easy to see that it doesn’t look like Duke will be steppi…

Jessamyn Duke suffered a devastating defeat at UFC Fight Night 45 on Wednesday and also a pretty gruesome-looking injury.

The fighter posted an X-ray of the injury on her Instagram account. It’s easy to see that it doesn’t look like Duke will be stepping in the cage anytime soon.

Despite the injury and the loss, Duke posted the image with a bit of humor.

“Prefight interview I said@lesliesmithmma had a brick head & could take a lot of punishment. Karma. #ufcfightnight45 #gunclub,” wrote Duke.

Duke was coming off a loss to Bethe Correia, while Leslie Smith was looking for her first win in the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 45. Both ladies came out looking to establish their strategy as Duke used kicks and jabs to keep Smith on the outside, while the smaller fighter worked to get inside the range of Duke.

The end came as Smith went into full-blown “button-mashing mode” by unleashing a series of strikes at Duke’s head and body. A stiff body punch dropped Duke, and the fight was quickly waved off.

The loss drops Duke to 1-2 in her UFC career, and she will need a win in her next Octagon appearance to maintain her roster status. Luckily for her, she’s part of the infamous “Four Horsewomen” and is at least a known name from her time on The Ultimate Fighter.

Smith is 1-1 now after the win and no doubt will showcase her exciting style in future UFC appearances. She owns four Fight of the Night honors from her time in the Invicta FC promotion.

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5 Fights the UFC Needs to Book to Close out 2014

After the summer months that featured a number of great performances, MMA fans are looking forward to what the UFC has to offer in the latter part of this year.
With a great lineup already set in place for most of the second half of 2014, the UFC will …

After the summer months that featured a number of great performances, MMA fans are looking forward to what the UFC has to offer in the latter part of this year.

With a great lineup already set in place for most of the second half of 2014, the UFC will be looking ahead toward 2015.

But a number of fights should be on the top of the priority list to get done right away. Whether they’re added to a card in 2014 or added to an event in 2015, the fights on this list need to get booked as soon as possible.

Many of these fights depend on a number of factors, so an upset here or there could throw a huge monkey wrench into the UFC’s plans.

If everything goes down the way most envision it, then these fights have to get put to paper for late 2014 or early 2015.

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UFC Fight Night 45: John Lineker Is Sure He Will Make Weight

John Lineker has a fight with Alptekin Ozkilic at this Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Miller, but he also has another battle on his hands.The Brazilian must first make the 126-pound weight limit for a flyweight contest, something Lineker feel…

John Lineker has a fight with Alptekin Ozkilic at this Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Miller, but he also has another battle on his hands.

The Brazilian must first make the 126-pound weight limit for a flyweight contest, something Lineker feels will happen without an issue, via Marcelo Russio of Combate.com (translated by Bloody Elbow).

I’m fine with my weight now, I’m only 0,8 pound above of the divisional limit. Fortunately, we did a very good job with a lot of professionals: physician, nutritionist and physiologist. I’m sure that I’ll be in the right weight with no problem. This first win is already mine

Lineker has struggled to make weight during his UFC tenure, missing weight on three occasions. The UFC has kept him around despite the weight struggles, mainly due to the lack of depth within the flyweight division and the fact that he’s been pretty exciting in his victories.

The Brazilian was on a four-fight winning streak with three of those wins coming by way of TKO before running into Ali Bagautinov at UFC 169.

Lineker has the makings to be a star in the division if he can get his weight struggles under control. He’s won his fair share of fights in exciting fashion, but the UFC won’t tolerate the guessing game on weigh-in day if the results aren’t there.

Hopefully, Lineker really does have his weight under control. The last thing he needs when facing Ozkilic, who will look to grind him down, is to tax his body even more in the sauna.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com