UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has officially made the cover of the May 18th edition of Sports Illustrated magazine. The news was announced Tuesday by Sports Illustrated as well as the UFC:
Rousey is the first UFC fighter to grace the cover of the magazine while being the feature story as well. Former UFC lightweight Roger Huerta also appeared on the cover of the magazine in 2007, but with two critical differences. First, the cover story was about the sport’s rise, less about Huerta. Second, he was featured was part of an action shot, not as a cover model.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has officially made the cover of the May 18th edition of Sports Illustrated magazine. The news was announced Tuesday by Sports Illustrated as well as the UFC:
Rousey is the first UFC fighter to grace the cover of the magazine while being the feature story as well. Former UFC lightweight Roger Huerta also appeared on the cover of the magazine in 2007, but with two critical differences. First, the cover story was about the sport’s rise, less about Huerta. Second, he was featured was part of an action shot, not as a cover model.
Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza isn’t exactly sure when she’ll return to the Octagon after losing her title at UFC 185 to Joanna Jedrzejczyk. But there are a few names more intriguing than others, not least of which is …
Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza isn’t exactly sure when she’ll return to the Octagon after losing her title at UFC 185 to Joanna Jedrzejczyk. But there are a few names more intriguing than others, not least of which is WSOF women’s strawweight champion Jessica Aguilar.
“I’d fight her, for sure,” Esparza told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s The MMA Hour. “I’d definitely be willing to fight her.”
For now, Aguilar isn’t going anywhere. She’s in the WSOF for the forseeable future, but if anything about her contractual situation were to change, Esparza is happy to welcome her to the Octagon.
There’s two reasons for that. First, Esparza lost to Aguilar via split decision at Bellator 46 in 2011. Second, there’s a personal dispute that needs to be handled.
“I saw her talk smack before my [UFC 185] fight,” she noted. “She’s saying like, ‘Even if Carla wins, guess who’s still no. 1?’ I’m like, ‘Get over yourself, girl.’
“You haven’t fought any of the top ten girls in, like, who knows how long. How can you even call yourself no. 1 if you fight people who aren’t even ranked? Who don’t give you a real challenge? Not to disrespect who she has fought. They’re game to fight and everything, but just as far as rankings go, do you feel like you’re really challenging yourself and can really call yourself no. 1? No, you cannot.”
Outside of how Aguilar deserves to be ranked, though, is another issue for Esparza. Specifically, Esparza believes Aguilar hasn’t achieved everything as cleanly as one should and believes the WSOF fighter has used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).
“I know she does some extra stuff, which I feel like she is a cheater, to be totally honest,” she claimed. “I’m trying to say that she’s a cheater and I don’t think because of what she’s done she can call herself no. 1 ever because of who she’s fought, even since she’s beaten me years ago. I feel like if you cheat then you never even won that fight, so whatever.
“I know for a fact, but I’m not going to get into that. It doesn’t really matter,” Esparza explained. “If she’s not getting popped or she hasn’t been tested, there’s not really anything anyone can say or do, so I’m not really going to sit here and harp on it. She’s talked so much trash on me, I almost feel like not even putting her on blast, but personally messaging her, ‘Really? How can you call yourself a martial artist and how can you sit here and talk trash on me and how you’re no. 1 if you’re going and doing these things?'”
Whatever her desire to get into the details of Aguilar’s alleged use of PEDs, Esparza is certain it has happened. And more to the point, is certain that it undercuts whatever claims Aguilar makes of herself.
“Oh, I know she was [using],” Esparza alleged. “Because a friend of mine told me that they personally gave her shots in her butt or whatever. Whatever, girl. You’re not no. 1. You’ve never been no. 1, so get over it.”
When contacted by MMAFighting.com, Aguilar declined to comment on Esparza’s allegations.
By hook or by crook, the Monday Morning Analyst is back. At least, on video. Look, the production values for this thing absolutely blow, but a) it’s better to have some content than no content (I hope?) and b) I’m working with SBN Studios to turn this thing into a real deal podcast.
For the time being, we’re up and running. On this week’s episode, we delve into the weird-sometimes awesome-sometimes horrible Metamoris 6 broadcast as well as the action from UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt.
Other news and notes from the combat sports world:
By hook or by crook, the Monday Morning Analyst is back. At least, on video. Look, the production values for this thing absolutely blow, but a) it’s better to have some content than no content (I hope?) and b) I’m working with SBN Studios to turn this thing into a real deal podcast.
For the time being, we’re up and running. On this week’s episode, we delve into the weird-sometimes awesome-sometimes horrible Metamoris 6 broadcast as well as the action from UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt.
Other news and notes from the combat sports world:
News broke this week with details about the UFC’s new sponsorship program with Reebok. Specifically, payment tiers for fighters made their way onto social media platforms and news sites. The feedback was mixed, but largely negative as many fighters objected either to losing the right to find their own sponsors or the downgrade they faced in expected pay.
The question isn’t simply how this will affect the UFC and the fighters who compete there, but the sponsorship market generally. In addition, how will this affect the Viacom-backed Bellator, a much smaller organization, but one that doesn’t use a sponsorship tax or other heavy-handed sponsor screens?
To get answers to those questions, MMA Fighting spoke with Bellator President Scott Coker about these various issues. In this exclusive interview, Coker opens up about the UFC-Reebok sponsorship, his views on how it could impact Bellator, what it would mean for a fighters’ union to be established and much more.
Now that the details are public, what are your thoughts about the UFC-Reebok sponsorship program?
I think that people really have to take a step back and understand that this is a business that everybody here’s trying to run. The UFC is a business. Bellator is a business. Both of these are businesses and just like the fighters – they’re a business of their own, a brand business. I think the UFC felt that was the number that made it work for everybody.
I think for the fighters, from what I’m reading, it’s a hard pill to swallow, but at the end of the day, I think UFC had to do what they had to do.
What I don’t understand is why did they have to do it? They were making money from the sponsor tax. Sponsors were helping to offset some of the complaints of low fighter pay. What is so necessary about it?
I think that’s something you’ll have to ask them. I can only speculate. Their corporate strategy really is something you’ll have to talk to them about. They’re definitely heading into a different direction than the sport’s been going the last 25 years. Let’s see if it’s something that’s going to be there for the term of the contract or for many years from now.
I can tell you I feel with our fighters, this is an individual sport. The fighters in our league are going to have the ability to get their own sponsors as long as there’s no conflict with our corporate sponsors that support Bellator.
Does Bellator now employ, even in an administrative way, any sort of sponsor screen?
That’s the only limitation. We don’t have any sponsorship tax on our athletes. As long as they don’t conflict with our main sponsors – like Miller, like Dave & Buster’s, Monster Energy Drink, there’s a couple others – then everything else is fine. If they can go negotiate a deal that pays them a million dollars a year, that’s up to them.
They’re independent contractors. They have their own ability to go make those deals.
What is the status with Monster Energy Drink and Bellator?
Business as usual. They’ve been a great sponsor, a great partner. We have a great relationship with them. We’re looking forward to doing business together for many years.
What do you think the UFC’s program is going to do to the sponsorship market in MMA, generally?
I think there’s been some situations that have been explained to me where fighters were making $50-60,000 a fight from all their sponsors [are] now making $10,000 or $15,000 or $20,000. You’d have to talk to UFC to see how they’re going to handle that situation, but I’m sure they’re going to do something. The fighters are not going to be happy if it’s taking out $150-$200,000 a year in sponsorships from their pocket.
I think they’re going to have a situation on their hands that they’re going to have to deal with.
I will tell you this, the phone’s been ringing. I just tell people, ‘Listen. We’re not going to engage in any kind of dialogue with you on any level unless you’re a free agent. When you’re free, give me a call.’
When you say the phone’s been ringing, you mean from fighters and managers?
Managers and fighters. A lot of questions are, ‘What’s your policy on sponsorships?’ I say, ‘Look, I can’t engage in any kind of conversation with you guys. When you’re free, give me a call.’ But the phone’s definitely been ringing.
You’ve stated a commitment to signing free agents, but realistically, you only have so many shows a year. Realistically, how eager are you to sign additional fighters at this point?
I will say we’re eager. If you’re a free agent and you’re the type of fighter that we want, then we’re extremely eager. Not everybody’s going to be a fit for us. Some people have a fit in a different home and they’re happy or if they’re not happy, then they may have a fit here. We’re looking for a certain athlete and a certain fighting style. Those are the kind of fighters that we want. If they become free agents, we’ll have a conversation.
How many fighters do you have on the roster at the moment?
I believe it’s like 150.
So how much more could you accommodate now if you wanted to?
Well, this year, the answer to that is probably 140 (laughs), but we’re going to have an announcement, I’d say, in a couple of months. We’re going to expand our schedule next year and do some really fun stuff and cool stuff. We’re excited about 2016 and beyond.
When you were the head of Strikeforce, but after Zuffa had purchased it, were there talks at that time of instituting a uniform for fighters?
No.
Stated plainly, then, is what the UFC’s doing good for Bellator or not?
I think time will tell. I think it depends on a couple of things and one is how the UFC will take care of the fighters that are losing money on the deal. It’ll depend, but all I can say is, I can’t speak for their business because that’s their business. I can only speak to, ‘Hey, we’re open for business. If you’re a free agent, give us a call.’ If there’s a fit, there’s a fit, but trying to analyze their business or think about their corporate strategy, I’m just thinking about our strategy. My philosophy is there’s going to be more room than for just one player. I think that in the 11 months I’ve been here, I think we’ve done some great work. We’ve done some fun stuff. I’m excited about the next three years or four years that we’re going to build this brand and put on great fights and drive TV ratings and put butts in seats. That’s the business we’re in. That’s my comment on that.
Do you know what sort of range of the average Bellator main card fighter earns in sponsorship money?
You know what? Honestly, I don’t even know. I’m sure we could find out and get that information back to you, but when Monster took these deals with these athletes like Michael Chandler or I know some of these other guys have deals with other sponsors that aren’t these sponsors, we really don’t get involved. That’s really between them.
Monitoring social media, there’s a lot of talk about whether now is the time for a fighter’s union. What is your view on the potentiality of something like that happening?
This is all speculation, right? We can only talk about hypotheticals, but allI can say is this. When I was in business with the Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment Group and half the company was owned by the group that owns the San Jose Sharks, we kind of set up our pay structure based upon like a hockey union would do. We paid minimum 68 percent of our gross income to our athletes pay structure. If there was a union, I don’t think that would take us off guard by any means because when we structured Strikeforce, we structured based around kind of like if there was a union.
My guys felt very strongly that this is something we should do. If it became real today, we would act accordingly and move forward.
Bellator’s still a work in progress with your vision. Is that arrangement something you want to set Bellator to do as well?
We can very easily do that. It’d be a similar adjustment and we’d move forward. I just don’t know if a union in an individual sport like MMA will really come to fruition at some point or not. There’s a lot of hurdles there because this is an individual sport and not a team sport.
News broke this week with details about the UFC’s new sponsorship program with Reebok. Specifically, payment tiers for fighters made their way onto social media platforms and news sites. The feedback was mixed, but largely negative as many fighters objected either to losing the right to find their own sponsors or the downgrade they faced in expected pay.
The question isn’t simply how this will affect the UFC and the fighters who compete there, but the sponsorship market generally. In addition, how will this affect the Viacom-backed Bellator, a much smaller organization, but one that doesn’t use a sponsorship tax or other heavy-handed sponsor screens?
To get answers to those questions, MMA Fighting spoke with Bellator President Scott Coker about these various issues. In this exclusive interview, Coker opens up about the UFC-Reebok sponsorship, his views on how it could impact Bellator, what it would mean for a fighters’ union to be established and much more.
Now that the details are public, what are your thoughts about the UFC-Reebok sponsorship program?
I think that people really have to take a step back and understand that this is a business that everybody here’s trying to run. The UFC is a business. Bellator is a business. Both of these are businesses and just like the fighters – they’re a business of their own, a brand business. I think the UFC felt that was the number that made it work for everybody.
I think for the fighters, from what I’m reading, it’s a hard pill to swallow, but at the end of the day, I think UFC had to do what they had to do.
What I don’t understand is why did they have to do it? They were making money from the sponsor tax. Sponsors were helping to offset some of the complaints of low fighter pay. What is so necessary about it?
I think that’s something you’ll have to ask them. I can only speculate. Their corporate strategy really is something you’ll have to talk to them about. They’re definitely heading into a different direction than the sport’s been going the last 25 years. Let’s see if it’s something that’s going to be there for the term of the contract or for many years from now.
I can tell you I feel with our fighters, this is an individual sport. The fighters in our league are going to have the ability to get their own sponsors as long as there’s no conflict with our corporate sponsors that support Bellator.
Does Bellator now employ, even in an administrative way, any sort of sponsor screen?
That’s the only limitation. We don’t have any sponsorship tax on our athletes. As long as they don’t conflict with our main sponsors – like Miller, like Dave & Buster’s, Monster Energy Drink, there’s a couple others – then everything else is fine. If they can go negotiate a deal that pays them a million dollars a year, that’s up to them.
They’re independent contractors. They have their own ability to go make those deals.
What is the status with Monster Energy Drink and Bellator?
Business as usual. They’ve been a great sponsor, a great partner. We have a great relationship with them. We’re looking forward to doing business together for many years.
What do you think the UFC’s program is going to do to the sponsorship market in MMA, generally?
I think there’s been some situations that have been explained to me where fighters were making $50-60,000 a fight from all their sponsors [are] now making $10,000 or $15,000 or $20,000. You’d have to talk to UFC to see how they’re going to handle that situation, but I’m sure they’re going to do something. The fighters are not going to be happy if it’s taking out $150-$200,000 a year in sponsorships from their pocket.
I think they’re going to have a situation on their hands that they’re going to have to deal with.
I will tell you this, the phone’s been ringing. I just tell people, ‘Listen. We’re not going to engage in any kind of dialogue with you on any level unless you’re a free agent. When you’re free, give me a call.’
When you say the phone’s been ringing, you mean from fighters and managers?
Managers and fighters. A lot of questions are, ‘What’s your policy on sponsorships?’ I say, ‘Look, I can’t engage in any kind of conversation with you guys. When you’re free, give me a call.’ But the phone’s definitely been ringing.
You’ve stated a commitment to signing free agents, but realistically, you only have so many shows a year. Realistically, how eager are you to sign additional fighters at this point?
I will say we’re eager. If you’re a free agent and you’re the type of fighter that we want, then we’re extremely eager. Not everybody’s going to be a fit for us. Some people have a fit in a different home and they’re happy or if they’re not happy, then they may have a fit here. We’re looking for a certain athlete and a certain fighting style. Those are the kind of fighters that we want. If they become free agents, we’ll have a conversation.
How many fighters do you have on the roster at the moment?
I believe it’s like 150.
So how much more could you accommodate now if you wanted to?
Well, this year, the answer to that is probably 140 (laughs), but we’re going to have an announcement, I’d say, in a couple of months. We’re going to expand our schedule next year and do some really fun stuff and cool stuff. We’re excited about 2016 and beyond.
When you were the head of Strikeforce, but after Zuffa had purchased it, were there talks at that time of instituting a uniform for fighters?
No.
Stated plainly, then, is what the UFC’s doing good for Bellator or not?
I think time will tell. I think it depends on a couple of things and one is how the UFC will take care of the fighters that are losing money on the deal. It’ll depend, but all I can say is, I can’t speak for their business because that’s their business. I can only speak to, ‘Hey, we’re open for business. If you’re a free agent, give us a call.’ If there’s a fit, there’s a fit, but trying to analyze their business or think about their corporate strategy, I’m just thinking about our strategy. My philosophy is there’s going to be more room than for just one player. I think that in the 11 months I’ve been here, I think we’ve done some great work. We’ve done some fun stuff. I’m excited about the next three years or four years that we’re going to build this brand and put on great fights and drive TV ratings and put butts in seats. That’s the business we’re in. That’s my comment on that.
Do you know what sort of range of the average Bellator main card fighter earns in sponsorship money?
You know what? Honestly, I don’t even know. I’m sure we could find out and get that information back to you, but when Monster took these deals with these athletes like Michael Chandler or I know some of these other guys have deals with other sponsors that aren’t these sponsors, we really don’t get involved. That’s really between them.
Monitoring social media, there’s a lot of talk about whether now is the time for a fighter’s union. What is your view on the potentiality of something like that happening?
This is all speculation, right? We can only talk about hypotheticals, but allI can say is this. When I was in business with the Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment Group and half the company was owned by the group that owns the San Jose Sharks, we kind of set up our pay structure based upon like a hockey union would do. We paid minimum 68 percent of our gross income to our athletes pay structure. If there was a union, I don’t think that would take us off guard by any means because when we structured Strikeforce, we structured based around kind of like if there was a union.
My guys felt very strongly that this is something we should do. If it became real today, we would act accordingly and move forward.
Bellator’s still a work in progress with your vision. Is that arrangement something you want to set Bellator to do as well?
We can very easily do that. It’d be a similar adjustment and we’d move forward. I just don’t know if a union in an individual sport like MMA will really come to fruition at some point or not. There’s a lot of hurdles there because this is an individual sport and not a team sport.
Josh Barnett’s MMA future remains uncertain, but his grappling present is in cruise control. The former UFC heavyweight champion is two-for-two in Metamoris competition after submitting Ryron Gracie at Metamoris 6 on Saturday night in Califo…
Josh Barnett’s MMA future remains uncertain, but his grappling present is in cruise control. The former UFC heavyweight champion is two-for-two in Metamoris competition after submitting Ryron Gracie at Metamoris 6 on Saturday night in California.
The bout started with hand fighting and searches for collar tie set-ups, but a snapdown from Barnett got things going on the mat. Gracie was able to maintain half guard even after being passed occasionally, He even secured full guard for a time despite giving up 60 pounds. Barnett was able to pass, however, after faking a knee cut and then changing directions. Gracie attempted a reverse triangle from bottom, but ultimately was submitted by a toehold after Barnett escaped and locked up Gracie’s legs.
“We had a game plan, but the biggest thing was we had to figure out who we were dealing with,” Barnett stated after the match. “He stayed on the feet with me, which I appreciate.
“Opportunity. Opportunity,” Barnett said of his plan heading into the fight. “We have a different way of approaching leg locks,” he continued. “Nothing was an easy give.”
In the co-main event. UFC and MMA veterans Renato Sobral and Chael Sonnen competed to a draw. Sonnen was able to secure top position, but never passed guard. Sobral worked tirelessly underneath for armbars, kimuras and deep half guard attempts, but never got close to anything.
UFC veteran Joe Lauzon came up short against Marcelo Garcia black belt Dillon Danis on the card. Danis was able to secure the back of Lauzon for a long stretch of the bout despite desperate attempts from Lauzon to get free. Danis eventually tried to transition to an armbar attempt from the back, but failed as Lauzon stood up and escaped. However, in the scramble, Lauzon ended up trapped in a deep d’arce choke Danis secured and twisted into with his hips, which forced the tap.
Keenan Cornelius and Xande Ribeiro battled in a gi with the match ending in a draw. Cornelius worked his patented worm guard for much of the match, securing sweeps and the occasional long-step guard pass, but Ribeiro had his own moments. He used pant grips on Cornelius’ pass attempts to reverse position. In fact, he briefly threatened with a cross choke on Cornelius, but was never able to secure anything that truly changed the trajectory of the match.
In perhaps the most competitive bout on the card, black belts Roberto Satoshi and Clark Gracie competed to a draw (also in a gi), but not after an action-packed performance. Gracie routinely used de la Riva guard with opposite sleeve control to attempt and even land the occasional oma plata, but Satoshi has was never deterred. He managed to avoid the worst of the problems, land his own oma plata and threaten with torreando passes over and over. Satoshi even attempted a flying triangle, but was unsuccessful. Neither ever put the other in real danger, but both pushed the dynamism of the action for the full duration of the match.
In the opening main card match, last-minute replacement to Jeff Monson, Evandro Nunes competed to a draw with Road to Metamoris winner Jimmy Friedrich. In the no gi contest, Friedrich worked his patented leg attacks, but never got very close to anything other than sweeps or reversals.
Monson tweeted Saturday night he had to withdraw from the contest after the death of his mother.
In preliminary card action, Michael Liera, Jr. drew with Morgan Neidlinger while Francisco ‘Sinistro’ Iturralde submitted Greg McIntyre with an armbar.
Get full Metamoris 6 results here with live blog action here.
The UFC’s Fight Night series carries on as they return ‘Down Under’ with a heavyweight collision between top-ranked contenders. Stipe Miocic is looking to get back on the winning track, but so is Mark Hunt. The winner hasn’t been promised an…
The UFC’s Fight Night series carries on as they return ‘Down Under’ with a heavyweight collision between top-ranked contenders. Stipe Miocic is looking to get back on the winning track, but so is Mark Hunt. The winner hasn’t been promised anything, but can’t be far from a title shot.
Will Miocic prove he’s the next best thing in the heavyweight division or is Hunt prepared to show he’s got one last run in him?
What: UFC Fight Night 65 (UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt)
Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, Australia
When: Saturday, the eight-fight Fight Pass preliminary card starts at 7:45 p.m. ET and the four-fight main card kicks off on Fight Pass at 11 p.m.
Stipe Miocic vs. Mark Hunt
If you look at the cases in the UFC where Hunt has lost a striking battle, it’s been attacks from lower body extremities. Perhaps Fabricio Werdum’s flying knee or Junior dos Santos‘ spinning heel kick were just coincidence. Or maybe not. In the case of JDS, it allowed him to work at range after battling in boxing distance. In the case of Werdum, the entire flying knee attack was a total surprise. If you’re more likely to just throw hands, your risk jumps pretty dramatically against Hunt. His speed is underrated, his power is seemingly still all there as are his finishing instincts.
Still, I think Miocic will use his legs to set himself up for success here. He has a great jab, an incredible ability to take a shot and plenty of power punching of his own. He’s also got decent wrestling if he needs it, strong and consistent footwork and more. He takes risks, yes, but that might work in his favor this time.
This is an extremely close contest, at least on paper. Whittaker is probably better in the clinch and has the better punching power as well as the slightly more unusual striking skills. Tavares is a bit more meat and potatoes, but has more bases covered in terms of the totality of the mixed martial arts game. A call for either is easily justifiable, but I’ll ever so slightly lean Tavares. I think he’ll largely be able to stay away from Whittaker’s power punching with consistent footwork, tie up when he needs to and perhaps even work from top position after a lengthy takedown battle against the fence. It may not be pretty, but it might just work.
I can’t say I’m particularly high on either guy, but despite his advanced age, the proactive offense of Perosh is probably enough to get the job done. O’Connell packs a punch and can withstand a war, but Perosh is probably better at putting combinations together. He’s also demonstrably better on the ground should the fight end up there. I like the Hippo’s chances here.
This is a close fight, if we’re being honest. Vick is probably a little quicker than Matthews, a touch more polished in the grappling department and has more UFC fights under his belt. Matthews has shown flashes of brilliance, but is still rough around the edges. That said, I don’t think Vick has the wrestling to truly trouble Matthews. I also believe Matthews age means his growth curve between fights is huge. For those reasons, I’ll side with the native Australian.
