Author: McKinley Noble

UFC 158: GSP vs. Nick Diaz Press Conference Set for January 23

Last September, newly re-signed UFC welterweight Nick Diaz skipped a press conference in Toronto for an upcoming superfight with Georges St-Pierre.Nearly one year and four months later, we’re trying this whole thing again.As announced on Thursday by th…

Last September, newly re-signed UFC welterweight Nick Diaz skipped a press conference in Toronto for an upcoming superfight with Georges St-Pierre.

Nearly one year and four months later, we’re trying this whole thing again.

As announced on Thursday by the UFC, both GSP and Diaz will be due to appear at the first of several UFC 158 press conferences, with the first one scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 23 at Montreal’s Bell Centre.

Naturally, the immediate question is whether or not Diaz will show up.

If he doesn’t, the floor will be left to the welterweight champion and Tom Wright, the director of UFC operations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

However, it may be in Diaz‘s best interests to attend.

Although he’s slated to meet St-Pierre in the Octagon on March 16, Diaz actually had two separate chances to face the welterweight champion before now.

(And under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t be fighting GSP at all.)

After Diaz failed to appear for a second-straight press conference at the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Event Center on Sept. 7, 2011, UFC president Dana White immediately cut him from the UFC 137 card altogether.

Carlos Condit would wind up taking Diaz‘s place, but after GSP dropped from the event due to a knee injury, Diaz went back into the main event against B.J. Penn. After winning the match and being reinserted into a title shot against St-Pierre at UFC 143, another injury to the champion forced an interim title bout between Diaz and Condit.

Although the road to his title shot has ended in a loss, Diaz will nonetheless face off against St-Pierre despite not technically being the No. 1 contender for the belt. That distinction actually belongs to Johny Hendricks, who will be risking his status and five-fight winning streak against Jake Ellenberger.

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UFC Adds Heavyweight Josh Barnett’s Fighter Profile to Official Website

Update: Barnett has issued a statement about his recent addition to the UFC’s official website, with the following note just recently posted to his Twitter feed.But seriously, beyond my profile being up on UFC.com I am not signed to the UFC. Sorry…

Update: Barnett has issued a statement about his recent addition to the UFC’s official website, with the following note just recently posted to his Twitter feed.

Playing up the news for jokes, Barnett briefly teased a fake announcement that he had joined the UFC, later following up with the clarification that he was simply on their website.

Although it’s not official, it seems that one of mixed martial arts’ most legendary heavyweights is getting another shot in the sport’s largest promotion.

As of Thursday morning, a fighter profile for heavyweight veteran Josh Barnett was added to the official UFC website, complete with his MMA history and a brief biography.

Granted, this doesn’t mean that Barnett has been signed by the company.

It could simply be for historical and database purposes, as “The Warmaster” had a past stint with the UFC, including over five fights from 2000 to 2002.

However, that stretch was marred by a positive test for three banned substances, which occurred shortly after Barnett defeated Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 36. As a result, Barnett was stripped of the belt, although he’s still recognized as a former title-holder.

After being cut from the UFC following his drug test, Barnett also tested positive for steroids 10 days before a planned superfight with the legendary Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction: Trilogy. That effectively caused the entire card to be canceled, with much of the blame resting on Barnett’s shoulders for failing his medicals.

That incident infamously ended Affliction’s run as a regional MMA promotion, due to the cost of canceling the event.

But his past drug issues aside, Barnett has still managed to post a 32-6 MMA career record, with his most recent string of fights seeing him reach the finals in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix before losing to Daniel Cormier. Barnett’s last fight at Strikeforce’s final card ended in a one-sided victory over the unknown Nandor Guelmino.

If Barnett has indeed been signed by the UFC, he could be a very expensive addition to the company’s roster. During the last round of payouts for the final Strikeforce card (via MMA Junkie), Barnett was reportedly paid a flat $250,000 disclosed salary.

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Ronda Rousey’s Sandy Hook Twitter Post Wasn’t ‘So Horrible’ Says Manager

Following her controversial stance about the national media’s coverage of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Ronda Rousey has issued a public statement.Posting a short message on her Twitter feed, the women’s bantamweight champion is openly apo…

Following her controversial stance about the national media’s coverage of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Ronda Rousey has issued a public statement.

Posting a short message on her Twitter feed, the women’s bantamweight champion is openly apologizing to those offended by her support of a controversial clip from YouTube channel ThinkOutsideTheTV:

On Tuesday, the UFC women’s bantamweight title-holder drew a lot of negative reactions after retweeting “The Sandy Hook Shooting – Fully Exposed“—a widely circulated conspiracy video that suggests much of the media coverage around the Sandy Hook shooting was either faked or falsified.

Rousey posted the video on her own Twitter account, calling it “interesting” and a “must watch” clip before deleting it from her feed hours later. However, manager Darin Harvey tells MMA Junkie that the UFC star didn’t mean to “disrespect” victims of the massacre, stating that Rousey was simply questioning the mainstream press:

Ronda’s the kind of person that doesn’t take everything at face value, and doesn’t have 100 percent faith in all the news that’s put out there by the mainstream press.

I don’t think that she did anything so horrible. I think what she was doing is retweeting something that gave a different perspective as to what transpired on that day. I don’t think anything in that video denied that it happened.

Rousey herself has currently not made another statement about the video, although previous posts on Twitter regarding her original post stated that “criticism is always expected.” Another deleted tweet also noted her opinion that “asking questions and doing research is more patriotic than blindly accepting what you’re told.”

Although the controversy is still fresh, Rousey is in the midst of preparing for her UFC debut, a historic first defense of the promotion’s new women’s bantamweight championship.

Rousey will face off against top-ranked challenger Liz Carmouche during the UFC 157 main event at Anaheim’s Honda Center on Feb. 23, which will also feature Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida as the co-main event. It’s speculated that the winner of Henderson vs. Machida will challenge the winner of the upcoming Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen light heavyweight title bout at UFC 159.

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UFC on FX 7: Bisping Says Brazilian Fans Want Him to ‘Kill’ Vitor Belfort

Michael Bisping is supposed to be the hated foreigner stepping into enemy territory for his UFC on FX 7 bout against Vitor Belfort, but he’s actually being cheered.As one of the few non-Brazilian fighters on the card, the response from fans is a bit of…

Michael Bisping is supposed to be the hated foreigner stepping into enemy territory for his UFC on FX 7 bout against Vitor Belfort, but he’s actually being cheered.

As one of the few non-Brazilian fighters on the card, the response from fans is a bit of a surprise, as “The Count” tells MMA Junkie that the locals in Sao Paulo are actually rooting against their own countryman:

I’m shocked. I’m getting a lot of respect. I’m getting a lot of people rooting for me and not Vitor, surprisingly.

With that said, I’m still expecting them to boo me on Saturday night. But a lot of people are saying to me, “F— Vitor! Kill that motherf—er!” Seriously, I’ve got it on video of them chanting it at the mall yesterday. But yeah, I’m still expecting to get booed, of course.

Whatever the case, the story seems to fly in the face of typical behavior from Brazilian UFC fans.

As seen at events like UFC 134, UFC 142 and UFC 153, Brazilian fans cheer on fighters from their own country far more than anyone else. Even during post-fight interviews, the nationalism is so strong that Brazilians fighters themselves are booed if they speak in English and not Portuguese.

Then again, Bisping is one of the UFC’s most famous fighters. Not only is this his first event on Brazilian soil, but he’s also co-headlining the most important match on the card.

However, Bisping also notes that the card has been marked with a negative focus on Belfort, as his 35-year-old, 16-year veteran opponent recently dodged questions from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on whether or not he’s using testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Bisping, to put it mildly, is less than happy about the implications:

I’ll be honest: I’m very disappointed. I could be a little controversial here, but for someone who talks about honor and respect and f—ing Jesus and the Bible and all that, he’s been busted for steroids in the past, he’s dodging questions about TRT, and obviously he sounds like he’s on it. Otherwise he’d just be answering the question.

That’s disappointing. That said, I’m focused on what I’m going to do. It’s going to be a tough fight, but he could be on f—ing rocket fuel for all I care. Saturday night he’s in for an ass-kicking.

Should Bisping defeat Belfort on Saturday night, the Englishman will have finally earned a shot at UFC champion Anderson Silva, the man who’s held the middleweight title since October 2006.

Boasting an impressive 23-4 MMA career record, Bisping has been commonly known as a perennial contender in his division, actively campaigning for a title shot for years. His match against Belfort will mark his 18th professional bout with the UFC, in addition to three exhibition bouts during Season Three of The Ultimate Fighter.

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Dana White’s Ear Surgery Successful, UFC President in Recovery

Meniere’s disease has been plaguing UFC president Dana White for several years, but it looks like his suffering may be significantly reduced.On Tuesday, White flew into Los Angeles for surgery in an effort to mend a faulty nerve in his left ear. T…

Meniere’s disease has been plaguing UFC president Dana White for several years, but it looks like his suffering may be significantly reduced.

On Tuesday, White flew into Los Angeles for surgery in an effort to mend a faulty nerve in his left ear. That procedure required the removal and reattachment of White’s ear, where doctors then inserted a tube that would allow fluid to drain properly.

Meniere’s disease (according to Mayo Clinic), can cause sudden episodes of vertigo, as well as nausea, vomiting, hearing loss and more, with episodes that can last 24 hours. For White—a frequent flier and world traveler—it’s an issue that can prevent him from attending UFC events.

Upon waking from surgery at the Los Angeles House Clinic in California, White had the following exchange with his friend “Nick the Tooth,” who stood bedside by the UFC president:

Dana: It’s over. They did it. Dr. Tooth did a fantastic job. 

Doctor: This ear’s an inch lower than the other, but otherwise it’s a success.

Dana: Who cares? I was ugly anyway.

Although the surgery was a success, it won’t completely cure White’s condition. As he previously told USA Today (via MMA Junkie), the operation should still significantly reduce the chances of him having an attack:

There were only two options before. There was medicine, which gave you a 50-50 chance of never having an attack. Then there was cutting the nerve, which is a very serious surgery. That’s only 95% if they cut the nerve. Nothing is 100% for this thing.

There’s no official word on the timetable for White’s recovery.

However, the hardy UFC president reportedly aims to attend this week’s upcoming UFC on FX 7 card in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where English middleweight contender Michael Bisping is set to fight in a main-event title eliminator against Vitor Belfort on Saturday, Jan. 19 at the Ibirapuera Arena.

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UFC Star Ronda Rousey Tweets ‘Interesting’ Sandy Hook Shooting Conspiracy Video

Update: Rousey has now deleted her original retweet of “The Sandy Hook Shooting – Fully Exposed” video from her Twitter feed.Update: Rousey has elaborated further on the intent behind her post, stating on her Twitter feed that “asking questions an…

Update: Rousey has now deleted her original retweet of “The Sandy Hook Shooting – Fully Exposed” video from her Twitter feed.

Update: Rousey has elaborated further on the intent behind her post, stating on her Twitter feed that “asking questions and doing research is more patriotic than blindly accepting what you’re told.”

Additionally, the UFC women’s bantamweight champion noted that while she doesn’t know what to believe, mainstream national news “isn’t the only way to get info.“

Several UFC stars have landed in hot water over what they post on their Twitter feeds, and it seems that women’s bantamweight Ronda Rousey has joined the club.

In recent posting on her Twitter feed, Rousey highlighted a controversial clip from YouTube channel ThinkOutsideTheTV, calling it an “extremely interesting, must watch” video:

Rousey has not stated whether or not she agrees with the claims in the footage, which purports that fake images and falsified records were used to create the Dec. 14, 2012 massacre that reportedly left 20 children and six staff members dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Since the posting, Rousey has also updated her Twitter feed with a retweet from a fan, noting that she expected “criticism” over reposting the video:

Rousey is no stranger to controversy in the MMA community, though, as the women’s champion has also drawn backlash for telling MMA Junkie (via USA Today) that she would choke out one-time challenger Sarah Kaufman “until she’s actually dead.”

Even fighters outside of Rousey’s division have been fair game for the women’s bantamweight champion, as she’s also made a point to trash talk Georges St-Pierre for “ignorant” statements made by the welterweight title-holder.

Controversy will surely follow Rousey into her next fight at UFC 157, where the superstar will defend her title in the main event against Liz Carmouche in the first ever women’s MMA fight in UFC history. That match will headline the event at Anahiem’s Honda Center on on Feb. 23, where Dan Henderson will also fight Lyoto Machida in the co-main event.

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