While nothing’s official, PRIDE veteran and current UFC heavyweight Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic has claimed on his official Facebook page he’s facing Anthony Hamilton next. UFC have not announced the fight nor has the news otherwise been confi…
While nothing’s official, PRIDE veteran and current UFC heavyweight Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic has claimed on his official Facebook page he’s facing Anthony Hamilton next. UFC have not announced the fight nor has the news otherwise been confirmed.
“It’s on,” Cro Cop wrote succinctly on his personal Facebook page. That short caption sits under a photo of the legendary Croatian heavyweight with Hamilton’s face beside and slightly behind him.
Cro Cop, 40, last fought at UFC Fight Night 64 in April where he stopped Gabriel Gonzaga via third-round TKO with heavy punches and elbows. His professional mixed martial arts record currently stands at a lengthy 31-11-2 with 1 no-contest.
Hamilton, 35, most recently competed at the same event as Cro Cop. He defeated Daniel Omielanczuk via unanimous decision. Should he face Cro Cop next, he’d do so with a 14-4 MMA record.
The UFC returns to Canada, this time on a Sunday night, with an important featherweight anchoring the show. The fight card features an array of Canadian up-and-comers or recognizable vets, only some of whom are in important, competitive cont…
The UFC returns to Canada, this time on a Sunday night, with an important featherweight anchoring the show. The fight card features an array of Canadian up-and-comers or recognizable vets, only some of whom are in important, competitive contests.
Where: SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
When: Sunday, the two-fight preliminary card kicks off on Fight Pass at 6 p.m. ET, the four-fight preliminary card starts on Fox Sports 1 at 7 p.m. and the six-fight main card begins at 9 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
I’ve been hugely impressed with the technical and strategic maturation of both fighters. They’re leagues beyond the fighters they were when they entered the UFC. That said, Holloway’s improvements seem to be more comprehensive. He isn’t as deadly in any one aspect as Oliveira is with his guard, but it may not matter. His ability to set up angles, strike and get out of the way, mix up attacks and adjust over the course of fight is some of the best in all of the UFC. If he isn’t careful, Oliveira easily has the ability to make Holloway pay, including with his own much improved striking at range. But that isn’t the likeliest of outcomes. Instead, Holloway will use his sensational movement and diversity to give cause Oliveira fits en route to a decision victory or late stoppage.
With a full camp, I’d feel better about Magny’s chances. That isn’t to say things are hopeless here. He didn’t take a physical beating in his last fight and continues to improve, but I’m usually dubious of these quick turnarounds. Silva takes too many risks, but should be able to keep Magny on the defensive with his power striking or takedown threats. It’s very possible Silva poorly manages the fight and the American stages a comeback, but all things being equal, this is Silva’s fight to lose.
Burkman’s second UFC run has been nothing to write home about, but he’s got big power and decent takedown defense against more conventional attacks. I also don’t think Cote’s ability to absorb damage is what it once was. If the American can frustrate Cote’s more recent interest in wrestling, he can easily bait a series of wild exchanges. On those terms, Burkman can still cause a ton of problems. It’s not the most precise prediction, but it’s not clear Cote’s more direct attacks are enough.
Trinaldo is a bit of a bull in a China shop, the opposite of the more measured, motion-based Laprise. Laprise has worked diligently on creating angles, dictating distance and getting out of the way. It doesn’t mean knockouts are impossible, but maybe rarer. Yet, Laprise’s style is more effective now than ever while Trinaldo seems to have plateaued. The Brazilian has bigger power, but won’t be able to match Laprise’s control over the fight’s terms.
Sims starts strong and has good command of range with his boxing. He can even effectively switch stances when given time to work. Sims’ guard is decent to good and, if needed, has the ability to pressure fence takedowns as well. While I like his ability to hurt or frustrate Aubin-Mercier early, I suspect he’ll fade under Aubin-Mercier’s pressure. Sims’ offensive depletion over the course of a fight is noticeable while Aubin-Mercier remains a steady presence in later rounds. In the end, that likely means the French Canadian should emerge the victor.
Letourneau is tough as nails and respectably well rounded, but Moroz is much more of an in-your-face from the opening bell type of fighter. Her style of fighting puts good fighters not merely on the defensive, but trying to technically play catch up in the fight. I suspect Moroz will back Letourneau into the fence, work a takedown and use striking to pass to set up submissions or more dominant positions. From there, her chances of closing the show are rather good.
Why is Holly Holm getting the nod over UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey? It’s not entirely clear, but upon closer examination, there is a certain logic to it all and it may be centered not on January 2nd for UFC 195, but July 2016 for…
Why is Holly Holm getting the nod over UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey? It’s not entirely clear, but upon closer examination, there is a certain logic to it all and it may be centered not on January 2nd for UFC 195, but July 2016 for UFC 200.
When the fighters at RFA 29 walk out to compete on Friday night on AXS TV, they’ll be an unusual difference from normal RFA events. Not only is the theme of RFA 29 a slide toward nationalism with a ‘U.S.A vs. Brazil’ framing, but the organiz…
When the fighters at RFA 29 walk out to compete on Friday night on AXS TV, they’ll be an unusual difference from normal RFA events. Not only is the theme of RFA 29 a slide toward nationalism with a ‘U.S.A vs. Brazil’ framing, but the organization is also requiring fighters to wear Adidas-made fight kits.
The UFC debuted Reebok-made fight kits in July, making it the first combat sports organization to sign an exclusive apparel deal for its athletes. RFA becomes the second in mixed martial arts.
“It seems ideal to do the RFA: USA vs. Brazil and kick it like that. [UFC welterweight champion Robbie] Lawler’s going to be the team captain for U.S.A. and Lyoto [Machida] is the team captain for Team Brazil. It’s just in the spirit of good fun and passion,” says Scott Viscomi, President of Adidas Combat Sports USA.
According to Viscomi, there are some key differences between what RFA is experimenting with and what UFC is doing. For starters, all fighters get to keep their sponsors. Fighters were asked to send their logos to RFA, who then had the gear made with everyone’s listed sponsors represented.
“We shot this thing out today and we sent it back to the fighter room and fighters,” says Viscomi. “We then delivered it to the printers so the fighters could basically get their logos put on there and collect their cash. I think it’s kind of done right and in the true spirit of things.” However, unlike the UFC’s arrangement with Reebok, RFA’s fighters are not being directly compensated for wearing Adidas gear for this event.
The other difference is that these kits are temporary. After Friday, there is no plan to keep the kits in use, although RFA isn’t ruling them out for future use either. Viscomi claims the kits were used this team because the team vs. team approach created an easy opportunity to explore the idea.
“This is something that is a good step forward. You will see us debuting our own Adidas MMA and Adidas Jiu-Jitsu no gi training looks here starting in September that will resemble this sort of composition, but there was an easy way to execute here and sort of ethos, aesthetic of the way we’re going to do things.
“We’re not going to try to go head-to-head with what Reebok and the UFC are doing,” he continues. “We just thought this was a great idea. It’s our take on it. It goes with the national sport theme. People can get nationalistic and fun and it’s meant in the true spirit of a fashion collab. This is meant to be fun, build some excitement and get people talking.”
Viscomi also believes this isn’t something done as a pivot off of UFC’s arrangement with Reebok or any other sporting apparel deal. For Adidas Combat Sports and RFA, this is little more than seizing an opportunity, one they believe is no-lose and beneficial for all stakeholders.
“This is not a f–k you to Reebok or the UFC or anything like that,” he argues. “This is just something that makes sense because we’re already doing RFA: U.S.A. vs. Brazil. We thought, ‘Wouldn’t this be a great thing to do for the fans and the fighters themselves and then get the team captains involved.'”
Donald Cerrone’s march to a UFC lightweight title shot is something to behold. Since losing to now-champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 27 in 2013, Cerrone has pushed through eight top contenders (including one former divisional cham…
Donald Cerrone’s march to a UFC lightweight title shot is something to behold. Since losing to now-champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 27 in 2013, Cerrone has pushed through eight top contenders (including one former divisional champ). He now has arguably the biggest fight of his career in a rematch in the main event of UFC on FOX 17 in December, yet, when hearing him speak about it or how he spends his time, he’s equal parts excited and nonchalant about the whole thing.
“All I needed was a date, now I got the date,” he told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s The MMA Hour.
Four months is a long time, which means Cerrone gets to “do a lot of wakeboarding and screwing around” before the earnest work of camp starts. If ‘Cowboy’ is feeling any unique pressure, there’s not much evidence of it.
In fact, Cerrone admits he’s been lobbying UFC brass to make a fight official, but not this fight, necessarily. Almost anything would do, apparently. “I just wanted to go fight,” he explained. It didn’t matter if it was for the UFC lightweight title or in another weight class, he just wanted to be active for the sake of being active.
“I would literally call them for the last month telling them that,” Cerrone confessed, but noted he, “would’ve went to [1]70 [pounds]. It don’t matter to me. I don’t give a s–t. Makes no difference.”
While Cerrone doesn’t seem particularly concerned about this fight relative to others, management at UFC might. “Oh, they definitely won’t give me 155 when I’m in line for the title,” Cerrone said of his reasoning to offer his services at welterweight. “That was an immediate no. I figure 70 would be the next thing. I could go and fight, I don’t know, we’re just thinking stupid. Who cares? Why not?”
Cerrone’s attitude might be confused for being care-free, but he’s invested in his athletic career. Consider some of the pre-announcement chatter between he and the Brazilian champion. On Twitter, Cerrone hinted dos Anjos was on some form of performance-enhancing drug (PED) and couldn’t sign to fight because he needed to ‘cycle off’. The champion responded with promises of a severe beating.
As far as Cerrone is concerned, much of this was him doing so for the fun of it. “I was just getting a rise out of him. That’s all,” he contended. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s working hard and doing what he has to do. I was just pissing him off…just screwing around.”
But, he claims, his trolling was also done with a purpose: retaliation for what Cerrone sees as unsavory behavior. The two had interacted at a recent UFC show, which Cerrone contends was a pleasant experience until the champion later insulted him in the media.
“Yeah, and I was cordial with him. Everything was fine, but then he made comments like he’s going to beat my ass worse than anyone’s beaten anyone’s ass ever,” Cerrone recalled. “Oh ok, now when I walk away you’re going to start poking fun at me? Let’s go.
“So, then I went and called him Frankenstein and I told him he does steroids,” he noted, laughing. “It made me more upset that he was laughing and joking and cordial with me on the one hand,” Cerrone admitted. “I was just like, ‘Come on, man’.”
That might be as serious as Cerrone gets these days. He’s on a record-run at 8-0 and getting his first UFC title shot while competing on national television, but somehow isn’t anymore enthused about the fight than any other UFC could make for him. “Cool! Why not? Great. I don’t care,” Cerrone said of fighting on a platform as big as FOX.
That is cool, he agrees, but he’s not too picky about any of these trivial details. He’ll fight whenever, wherever against seemingly whoever at this point. For him, it’s part of the lifestyle. “I’ll be the first fight of the night on a Wednesday night fight card,” he claimed. “I don’t care. It don’t make no difference to me. FOX will be cool. Makes no difference to me.”
Perhaps more importantly, it’s not really what he’s focused on right about now. As Cerrone sees it, the champion was wound up and he’s got a date on the calendar with a time to place to meet him. Oh, and there’s also some time to kill before work gets serious. For ‘Cowboy’, this is about looking at life a little differently.
“All I knew was I was fighting in Orlando,” Cerrone said of the real appeal of fighting dos Anjos for the title on FOX. “I get to screw around at Epcot Center and Disney World and go wake boarding with all my wake boarding buddies. That’s what I thought.”
This is the Promotional Malpractice Live Chat.
It’s been a bit quiet(er) recently without a UFC or Bellator show appearing on every weekend, but that doesn’t mean lots hasn’t happened. In fact, something interesting has: UFC 194 is slowly turning i…
This is the Promotional Malpractice Live Chat.
It’s been a bit quiet(er) recently without a UFC or Bellator show appearing on every weekend, but that doesn’t mean lots hasn’t happened. In fact, something interesting has: UFC 194 is slowly turning into something of a super card. Obviously this assumes all of the pieces of the puzzle stay in place – a big ‘if’ – but there is some praise due for trying to put Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor, Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero vs. Jacare Souza. I also suspect they’re not done adding to this card. This is a departure from the 2012 strategy of building cards, but a welcome one just the same.
There’s also a UFC event this weekend, albeit on Sunday, not Saturday. Max Hollaway returns…
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