Author: McKinley Noble

UFC 156: Dana White Says ‘Yes’ on Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman Title Bout

Now that Rashad Evans has lost to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, he obviously won’t be challenging Anderson Silva next. That leaves the door wide open for Chris Weidman.During the UFC 156 post-fight press conference, Dana White confirmed that the undef…

Now that Rashad Evans has lost to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, he obviously won’t be challenging Anderson Silva next. That leaves the door wide open for Chris Weidman.

During the UFC 156 post-fight press conference, Dana White confirmed that the undefeated Weidman seems like the only contender that’s left for “The Spider” at the moment.

White further elaborated that Anderson Silva “does not care who he fights,” and will face any challenger the UFC puts forward.

In fact, while the UFC president said he wasn’t making any matches, he still answered the question quite directly, relayed by MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti:

 

Just a matter of months ago, it seemed like Silva had his pick of fights, as middleweights Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort, Hector Lombard, Tim Boetsch, Alan Belcher and Chris Weidman were all “in the mix” at one point or another.

But in that span of time, Bisping, Lombard, Boetsch and Belcher have all posted losses that have disrupted their respective winning streaks.

Out of all of them, Bisping has the most marketable name, but suffered a head-kick KO loss against Belfort at UFC on FX 7 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

To boot, Belfort is 3-1 since his own loss to Silva at UFC 126, also by a head-kick knockout.

However, “The Phenom” has his sights set elsewhere, as he used his last post-fight Octagon interview to call out current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for a rematch of their UFC 152 title bout.

That effectively leaves Chris Weidman as the “last man standing” in the division, although he’s spent the last month injured since pulling out of a UFC 155 match against Boetsch (via MMA Junkie).

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 156: Antonio Silva Shocks Overeem; Throws Heavyweight Division into Chaos

Antonio Silva just put the entire UFC heavyweight division on notice.In one of the most memorable upsets in MMA history, “Bigfoot” managed to do the seemingly impossible and defeat title contender Alistair Overeem by KO Saturday night in Las Vegas.Silv…

Antonio Silva just put the entire UFC heavyweight division on notice.

In one of the most memorable upsets in MMA history, “Bigfoot” managed to do the seemingly impossible and defeat title contender Alistair Overeem by KO Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Silva was down on points as the fight went past the first round, as Overeem beat him to the punch with slick striking and strong grappling.

It looked like the second round would be more of the same, but Silva amazingly battled back from getting dominated on the ground, catching Overeem on the feet with huge shots.

Sensing an opportunity, Silva pressed the attack on the international kickboxing champion, as hook after hook after hook got through Overeem’s guard, eventually dropping “The Demolition Man” to the floor like a bad habit.

And now, the entire UFC heavyweight division is in chaos.

Not only has “The Reem” been knocked out for the first time since 2007, but Silva’s victory wrecks an assumed game plan for heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.

However, “Bigfoot” may not be the clear contender.

After all, it wasn’t too long ago that Silva was smashed open by Velasquez during a horrifically one-sided loss at UFC 146, where he was bloodied on the Octagon mat just over three minutes into the first round.

Still, Saturday night belongs to Silva, and as a former Blackzilian who was ousted from the camp by Overeem’s arrival in Florida, victory couldn’t be sweeter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 156: Why Demian Maia Deserves a Shot at the GSP vs. Nick Diaz Winner

Sometimes, the arduous task of dropping a weight class turns you from a good fighter into a world-class elite threat.That’s exactly what happened to “elite strangle expert” Demian Maia, as he’s gone from middleweight title contention to welterweight ti…

Sometimes, the arduous task of dropping a weight class turns you from a good fighter into a world-class elite threat.

That’s exactly what happened to “elite strangle expert” Demian Maia, as he’s gone from middleweight title contention to welterweight title contention in less than four years.

It’s an incredible achievement for someone who was once an afterthought at 185 pounds.

Now, Maia has an extremely good case for challenging the next welterweight champion, whether it’s Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz.

Few men have completely dominated Fitch like Maia did on Saturday at UFC 156, and despite the rampant jeering from the bloodthirsty Las Vegas crowd, all 15 minutes of that fight was a breathtaking sight.

From the first round, Maia stuck to Fitch’s back like a curse, sinking in underhooks, dragging him to the floor, grabbing limbs and doing damn near everything he could to keep the advantage.

Poor Fitch just uncharacteristically looked out of his depth, even illegally grabbing the cage fence at two points in the match.

Only St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks have trounced Fitch so badly, and in each case, both men battered the American Kickboxing Academy veteran on the feet, with GSP making his foe look like a murder victim.

But if Maia can smother the best wrestlers in the division, maybe he can provide a stiff test for the division’s next champion.

With Georges St-Pierre, the question is whether “Rush” has the wrestling and the grappling skills to manage and stop Maia’s relentless, octopus-like jiu-jitsu attack.

But against Nick Diaz, the contest is just as multifaceted.

Not only is Diaz a high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, but he’s also a dangerous boxer who wears men down with volume attacks. Maia’s striking skills have come a long way, but with his expert ground game, there’s no telling where that fight would go.

If Joe Silva and Dana White aren’t going to give Hendricks his fair shot (or if “Bigg Rigg” loses at UFC 158), they need to get the next best thing going and put Maia into the title picture.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 156: Dana White Slams Tito Ortiz, Says Ronda Rousey ‘Smokes’ His MMA Career

Mainstream fame is a rare thing to see in the world of mixed martial arts. But if you ask Dana White, international judo champion Ronda Rousey is light years ahead of the pack.And that includes Tito Ortiz—even in his prime.On a recent episode of …

Mainstream fame is a rare thing to see in the world of mixed martial arts. But if you ask Dana White, international judo champion Ronda Rousey is light years ahead of the pack.

And that includes Tito Ortiz—even in his prime.

On a recent episode of The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting), the former UFC light heavyweight champion gave some pointed criticism that Rousey was buying into her own hype far too soon.

White voraciously defended his bantamweight women’s champion (via MMA Weekly), directly comparing both fighters’ credentials:

Tito Ortiz came out the other day and said, “What has Ronda Rousey [done]? Ronda Rousey hasn’t even proven herself yet. She hasn’t proven herself.” What the f—! Tito was a junior college wrestler. [Rousey‘s] an Olympic-level athlete who won a f—ing medal at the Olympics. Ronda Rousey‘s first nine fights have gone nine minutes and 28 seconds. Tito Ortiz’s first nine fights went 40 minutes and 45 seconds.

But as the UFC president continued on, he didn’t just refer to the pace of their early careers in their respective weight classes:

What the f— are you talking about, Tito? She blows you out of the water when it comes to accomplishing things at the same point in your age and career. She smokes you. She buries you. She’s in another universe. I get it–he’s a manager now and he’s got to get out there and say some goofy s—. But c’mon. Do your homework, Tito.

Ortiz is retired from MMA after 15 years in the sport that saw him win and successfully defend the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship five times over two years and seven months—a company record that has yet to fall.

But after suffering a 1-7-1 slide, Ortiz turned to the business side of MMA, where he currently represents former Strikeforce champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino. Despite a dominant career, Cyborg has been sidelined for over a year due to a positive test for anabolic steroids.

Although the UFC is trying desperately to put a super-fight together between Rousey and Cyborg, the two have been at an impasse on an agreed weight.

So far, Cyborg and Ortiz have claimed (via MMAInterviews.TV) that Cyborg is simply too large to cut down from her normal 170 weight.

Unfortunately for Cyborg, Rousey will only take the fight at her division’s 135-pound limit, while White suggested to Fuel TV that the Brazilian simply wants “nothing” to do with Rousey.

Cyborg replied with an extremely heated Instagram post, calling Rousey a “bitch” and daring her to fight at a 140-pound catchweight. For now, Rousey will be mostly occupied with her first title defense, as she faces off against Strikeforce and Invicta FC veteran Liz Carmouche at UFC 157.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 156 Video: Overeem to Silva at Staredown, ‘I’m Going to F—ing Destroy You’

International heavyweight superstar Alistair Overeem has been making a particular threat for months, but he finally said it straight to Antonio Silva’s face.Brrr.During photography and media scrums for Saturday’s upcoming UFC 156 card, “The Reem” went …

International heavyweight superstar Alistair Overeem has been making a particular threat for months, but he finally said it straight to Antonio Silva‘s face.

Brrr.

During photography and media scrums for Saturday’s upcoming UFC 156 card, “The Reem” went nose-to-nose while in the midst of a  heated trash-talking session with his rival, forcing Dana White to step in and separate the two.

According to Bloody Elbow, both men exchanged the following words:

Silva: “You better start respecting me.”

Overeem: “I’m going to f***ing destroy you.”

There’s clearly no love lost between either fighter, despite the fact that both of them were once (temporarily) part of the same fight camp.

As Overeem previously told the Las Vegas Sun, according to Case Keefer, he thought that Silva was being “stupid” for leaving the Blackzilians’ training camp in Florida, which is co-founded and headed by Rashad Evans.

Although “Bigfoot” had been with the group well before Overeem joined the team’s ranks last February, the presence of “The Demolition Man” was apparently disturbing enough for Silva to leave Florida altogether.

(Silva has been previously linked to American Top Team and Black House MMA.)

Now, both men will get a rare chance to settle their rivalry once and for all, although they’ll face off once more time at the UFC 156 weigh-ins on Friday.

Even though the match is billed as the No. 3 fight on the heavily stacked card, Overeem is expected to receive a title shot if he walks away with a victory. That same can’t be said for Silva, who is just a single fight removed from a gruesomely one-sided TKO loss to Cain Velasquez, the current (two-time) UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF 17: UFC Contracts Offered to Every Fighter on Team Jones, Team Sonnen

Although The Ultimate Fighter is claimed to be “The Toughest Tournament in Sports” today, it hasn’t always attracted the highest caliber of fighters.Obviously, that hasn’t been a problem in Season 17.Not only is the talent a solid notch above…

Although The Ultimate Fighter is claimed to be “The Toughest Tournament in Sports” today, it hasn’t always attracted the highest caliber of fighters.

Obviously, that hasn’t been a problem in Season 17.

Not only is the talent a solid notch above what’s been seen in many years, but there’s also an air of mystery surrounding claims that one fighter had the entire TUF house “terrified” to fight him.

According to MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, UFC president Dana White confirmed that all fighters on the show were offered a UFC contract, citing that he was immensely happy with their battles during show production.

 

White further elaborated on his approval of the show’s format nothing that while he still liked the “Live” concept from Season 15, various changes made by Fox had really improved the show overall.

Additionally, White addressed the difficulty of maintaining the sudden influx to the UFC roster, noting the added work it creates for matchmaker Joe Silva (via MMA Heat):

We have a lot of fighters. We have a lot of guys under contract, and it’s basically a math game. We have “X” amount of fighters, three fights a year. That’s why earlier on when TUF first launched, we were just building. We were building the sport, building the brand, building everything. Now we’re at a point where we’re doing fights all over the world.

This season is so f—ing good, and I was so happy with all the guys, I told them, “Every one of you guys are going to fight. You’re going to get one more chance in the UFC. Every guy here gets another chance in the UFC.” Joe Silva wants to f—ing kill me.

That means highly-anticipated talents like Uriah Hall, Tor Toreng, Clint Hester, Zak Cummings and 10 other members of the cast will potentially be joining the middleweight division.

However, it’s also possible that some fighters will move into different weight classes, either down to welterweight or up to light heavyweight. Either way, White has promised the 14-man cast that he could find spots for all of them, even if he has to add “one more fight on each card.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com