Finally, the UFC brings another free title fight to national television as two of the fastest men in the Octagon battle for the flyweight championship at UFC on Fox 6.This Saturday at the United Center in Chicago, Demetrious Johnson …
Finally, the UFC brings another free title fight to national television as two of the fastest men in the Octagon battle for the flyweight championship at UFC on Fox 6.
This Saturday at the United Center in Chicago, Demetrious Johnson will make his first 125-pound title defense against The Ultimate Fighter 14 winner John Dodson. Both men have significant speed, but the real battle may come down to Johnson’s wrestling vs. Dodson’s knockout power.
In the co-main event, the arguable “real star” of the show could be seeing his last UFC fight as MMA legend Quinton Jackson takes on Brazilian slugger Glover Teixeira.
Additional fireworks are guaranteed in the next match on the main card, as Donald Cerrone battles in a lightweight title eliminator against Anthony Pettis. Both men are two of the sport’s most exciting fighters and carry plenty of experience as former WEC champions.
Finally, featherweights Erik Koch and Ricardo Lamas will be making their case for title shots in the 145-pound division, as they’ll open the Fox broadcast on Jan. 26.
Bellator MMA has a great event on SPIKE tonight, and we’re here at Bleacher Report MMA to give you the live results of each fight on the card.In the headliner for Bellator 86, the promotion’s 170-pound champion Ben Askren will put his Olympic wrestling…
Bellator MMA has a great event on SPIKE tonight, and we’re here at Bleacher Report MMA to give you the live results of each fight on the card.
In the headliner for Bellator 86, the promotion’s 170-pound champion Ben Askren will put his Olympic wrestling skills to the test against Season 6 welterweight tournament winner Karl Amoussou.
This card also features the return of former Strikeforce light heavyweight Muhammed Lawal, who will be fighting European underdog Przemyslaw Mysiala in the co-main event.
Bellator’s Season 8 welterweight tournament also rolls on, with Marius Zaromskis, Ben Saunders, Douglas Lima, Michail Tsarev and Brent Weedman vying for a shot up the ladder, attempting to win their way into title contention against the next champion.
After one single press conference, just about all the hype behind the upcoming George St-Pierre versus Nick Diaz superfight has been shot dead.There’s barely any “grudge” in this grudge match.There’s no hatred, no ill will, no fuel feeding this suppose…
After one single press conference, just about all the hype behind the upcoming George St-Pierre versus Nick Diaz superfight has been shot dead.
There’s barely any “grudge” in this grudge match.
There’s no hatred, no ill will, no fuel feeding this supposed fire that caused the UFC welterweight kingpin to call out his Stocktonian opponent.
And really, is anyone shocked? Because you shouldn’t be.
Although the tagline for UFC 158 may be “Bad blood runs deep,” deception runs even deeper.
During the UFC 137 post-fight press conference (via Heavy), Dana White led fans to believe that the mild-mannered GSP was out for Diaz’s blood following the main event of UFC 137, where Diaz called out the champion for being too “scared” to fight:
Georges St. Pierre flipped out tonight after Nick Diaz was in the ring, and Nick needs motivation, he’s got it. He’s going to fight Georges St. Pierre. (St. Pierre) said, and I quote —you’re going to think I’m full of s— but this is the truth—I quote, “He’s the most disrespectful human being I’ve ever met, and I’m going to put the worst beating you’ve ever seen on him in the UFC.”
Undoubtedly, those sounded like uncharacteristically bold words from one of the biggest non-trash talkers in the UFC.
And yet, they didn’t mean anything.
Instead, the UFC 154 press conference showed that we’re still dealing with the same, boring GSP who’s been seen at too many media functions.
Instead of mentioning any desire to beat up his challenger and teach him a lesson about humility or professionalism in the sport, a visibly nervous “Rush” simply stated that he wants to fight Diaz because he “believes” that Diaz is the “true” No. 1 contender.
Again, it’s same as always.
No bad blood or even the slightest tinge of dislike.
As usual, GSP just wants to fight the best guy in the division. He wants the “top guy” because it could be the greatest challenge of his career and blah blah blah blah blah.
Even Diaz, who’s said to be a really nice guy at heart, didn’t care to comment on any of the trash-talk during the UFC 158 presser, saying that he essentially has no beef with GSP anymore:
I like my opponent. That’s why I want to fight him. I don’t mean to say it like that, but he’s the No. 1 guy to beat. That’s what you want. I’ve been wanting his spot. He’s got the spot. He’s the guy to beat … I like him just fine.
And so, the UFC 158 show rolls on, with two guys who respect each other and just want to fight the No. 1 fighter for the right the wear that UFC championship belt.
It was all a swerve, and a masterful one at that.
There was less money to be made from GSP versus Johny Hendricks, and the Anderson Silva fight was a hasty plan that never came to fruition.
So, the UFC and St-Pierre went with their next best option.
Instead of giving the next title shot to the actual No. 1 contender, MMA fans were fed the idea of an angry George St-Pierre chomping at the bit to smash Nick Diaz into the Octagon canvas, booking the superfight as a grudge match for the ages.
It’s just too bad it isn’t.
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.
Dana White doesn’t think MMA fans should be so offended that Ronda Rousey found a Sandy Hook shooting conspiracy video “interesting” enough to post on Twitter.In fact, he wants everyone to stop “being pussies” about it and “get a life” instead.After al…
Dana White doesn’t think MMA fans should be so offended that Ronda Rousey found a Sandy Hook shooting conspiracy video “interesting” enough to post on Twitter.
In fact, he wants everyone to stop “being pussies” about it and “get a life” instead.
After all, White says, “Rowdy” was just stating an opinion.
During a media scrum (via The Fight Network) after the UFC 158 press conference, White talked about the blowback that his women’s bantamweight champion got over the Internet, defending Rousey’s comments about the infamous massacre:
Everybody has an opinion. She didn’t come out and say that the thing was a fucking hoax and all this shit. She tweeted something and said, ‘Look at this story.’ You know? People are fucking pussies is the problem. That’s the big problem. I didn’t call her to talk to her at all.
She didn’t write a fucking story saying the Sandy Hook thing was a hoax. She tweeted some video that’s out there that has 20 million views. So 20 million other people watched it, too. Her tweet isn’t anything like any of the negative tweets that have happened… As a human being she can have an opinion. And she didn’t even give her opinion, she just tweeted it. So people need to fucking calm down. If that’s the thing you’re most concerned [about] in your life, holy shit, man, you need to get a life.
Although the original offending post has since been deleted, Rousey stepped into a hornet’s nest on Jan. 15 when she posted a video on her Twitter feed called “The Sandy Hook Shooting — Fully Exposed”.
Fans reacted strongly to Rousey calling it a “must-watch” clip, as the footage alleged that many of the circumstances around the Dec. 14, 2012 shooting (via CBC News) at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., were faked or fabricated.
Rousey later added that “asking questions and doing research is more patriotic than blindly accepting what you’re told,” before apologizing to her followers.
Such a controversy will likely be mentioned again as Rousey makes the media rounds prior to her historic main-event title defense during UFC 157 on Feb. 23 at Anaheim’s Honda Center, as she battles top-ranked challenger Liz Carmouche.
Getting Nick Diaz to the UFC 158 press conference in Montreal at the Bell Center on Wednesday morning was just the hurdle.After all, with injuries, freak accidents and random situations, there’s still quite a lot that can derail his fight against welte…
Getting Nick Diaz to the UFC 158 press conference in Montreal at the Bell Center on Wednesday morning was just the hurdle.
After all, with injuries, freak accidents and random situations, there’s still quite a lot that can derail his fight against welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
But UFC president Dana White is also worried about the aftermath.
As he told the media during the UFC 158 presser, White would be devastated if Nick Diaz somehow defeated St-Pierre and subsequently tested positive for marijuana again (via MMA Mania):
Listen, I’m not his father. I mean, it would be crazy (if he tested positive again) but, it’s like when I talk to the media and stuff sometimes they’re like, ‘What are you going to do about steroids? Or what are you going to do about this, what are you going to do about that?’
[If Nick Diaz tests positive for weed], it would be (expletive) brutal. I don’t know what we would do. I would want to jump off a bridge.
There may be nothing that White can do about it, but Diaz has been in that situation before.
Back in 2007, Diaz defeated lightweight legend TakanoriGomi at Pride 33, pulling off a huge victory in a Fight of the Year candidate with a rare gogoplata submission.
Had that win stayed on record, it would’ve solidified Diaz as one of the pound-for-pound best in the division.
But, the Stockton bad boy later tested positive for marijuana, turning his biggest career win into a “no contest” result and sending him right into hot water with athletic commissions.
Diaz also got popped for marijuana metabolites following his UFC 143 loss to Carlos Condit, resulting in him serving a year-long suspension.
Should Diaz defeat GSP at UFC 158 and test positive for weed again, it would essentially disrupt one of the UFC’s longest and most prestigious title reigns for no reason, not to mention causing chaos anew in the increasingly back-logged welterweight division.
Well, that’s one less thing for Dana White and Georges St-Pierre to worry about.As announced on the UFC’s Twitter feed, welterweight title contender Nick Diaz and his brother Nate Diaz arrived in Montreal on Tuesday night for Wednesday’s first UFC 158 …
Well, that’s one less thing for Dana White and Georges St-Pierre to worry about.
As announced on the UFC’s Twitter feed, welterweight title contender Nick Diaz and his brother Nate Diaz arrived in Montreal on Tuesday night for Wednesday’s first UFC 158 press conference.
For the older Diaz brother, that’s actually an accomplishment.
Showing up for press events is a general requirement for UFC headliners, but Nick had issues doing so during 2011 in a chain of events that eventually cost him a title shot against St-Pierre at UFC 137.
However, Nick’s odd luck managed to swing in his favor, as an injury to GSP paved the way for B.J. Penn to step in as a replacement headliner against Diaz.
Unfortunately, Diaz’s win over Penn was followed by an interim title shot defeat to Carlos Condit.
But MMA is a strange sport, and at the request of the returning undisputed champion St-Pierre, Nick is back in the title picture for a superfight grudge match.
Now, all Nick has to do is make it to Montreal’s Bell Centre on Jan. 23 by 7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET.
But just in case the Stocktonian somehow misses the press conference (and others after it), Dana White may be more than ready to make a switch.
In a rarely-used tactic of “safety net” matchmaking, UFC 158’s main card will host three bouts between six of the top welterweights in the sport, with Carlos Condit rematching Rory MacDonald and Johny Hendricks putting his No. 1 contendership on the line against Jake Ellenberger.
Any one of those men could take Diaz’s place, should the need arise.
Hopefully, every fighter makes it to the card and the bouts stay intact. Barring unforeseen changes, UFC 158 will be held at the Bell Centre and broadcast on pay-per-view on Saturday, March 16.
After one single press conference, just about all the hype behind the upcoming George St-Pierre versus Nick Diaz superfight has been shot dead.