Author: McKinley Noble

Gray Maynard on Injury: "My Knee Was Bothering Me for Three Years"

Most people probably couldn’t tell by looking at him, but UFC lightweight Gray Maynard has been pushing through pain during a great deal of his career.During an interview with host Ariel Helwani on Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight, Maynard discussed at lengt…

Most people probably couldn’t tell by looking at him, but UFC lightweight Gray Maynard has been pushing through pain during a great deal of his career.

During an interview with host Ariel Helwani on Fuel TV‘s UFC Tonight, Maynard discussed at length the injury that eliminated him from a UFC 155 main card fight with Joe Lauzon on December 29th in Las Vegas.

Maynard cited that his knee had a medial tear and lateral tear, both further complied with additional injuries and years of scar tissue. Although he tried to push through the pain for two weeks, Maynard chose to make an early call before it got too close to UFC 155:

I had a hamstring issue and then I had the knee issue. I’m actually going to fly from here to get a scope on my knee. I’ll be out for a month, so [it] left me no time to train. [I] wanted to tell [the UFC] kinda early, not “late”-late. They got a great guy in for me. That’s gonna be an awesome fight.

It’s been bothering me for about three years, to be honest. Then it happened again about two weeks ago, and then the hamstring and the knee. It was just—I couldn’t train. At all.

Maynard speculated that he would need some time to get his knee checked out and “heal up a bit” before returning to training. By his own estimation, the lightweight title contender could be back in fighting shape by early February at the soonest.

Maynard noted that there are speculations about fights with Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez, but didn’t indicate that anything was in the works just yet. Helwani pressed Maynard for a prediction on the upcoming UFC lightweight title fight between champion Ben Henderson and challenger Nate Diaz, but “The Bully” couldn’t decide between them on the spot.

Maynard’s last fight in the Octagon resulted in a critically-panned bout against Clay Guida, who was criticized for avoiding exchanges with his heavy-handed opponent.

Maynard would win a close split-decision nonetheless, snapping a two-fight winless streak from failed bids at then-champion Frankie Edgar’s lightweight title.

Despite a 1-1-1 record in his last three fights, Maynard is still considered by many publications to be one of the top five lightweights on the UFC roster.

Prior to challenging Edgar for the UFC Lightweight Championship, “The Bully” racked up an impressive undefeated streak (10 wins and one no contest) against high-profile opponents. After losing a semifinal exhibition match against Nate Diaz in Season Five of The Ultimate Fighter, Maynard rebounded with victories over the likes of Kenny Florian, Jim Miller and Roger Huerta.

Notably, Maynard is one of only two men to have defeated Edgar (the other being current champion Henderson). He also defeated Nate Diaz in a January 2010 rematch during a UFC Fight Night event.

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Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller Avoids Church Burglary Charges, Won’t Serve Jail Time

California’s Orange County Superior Court is showing Jason Miller some mercy, dropping burglary charges stemming from a break-in at a Mission Viejo church last August.MMA Fighting reports that the retired ex-UFC fighter will also have the incident…

California’s Orange County Superior Court is showing Jason Miller some mercy, dropping burglary charges stemming from a break-in at a Mission Viejo church last August.

MMA Fighting reports that the retired ex-UFC fighter will also have the incident removed from his record, as the case was dismissed on Wednesday:

When asked for a comment on the news, Miller only said, “God is good.”

Miller was arrested Aug. 13 in Mission Viejo, Calif., on burglary charges after he allegedly broken into a church, sprayed a fire extinguisher and broke many items. According to a spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Miller was found by police naked on a couch in the church. He was not intoxicated and was arrested without incident.

Miller’s mixed martial arts career came to an anti-climatic end following his promotion from Strikeforce to the UFC roster. After coaching Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter opposite middleweight title contender Michael Bisping, Miller went on to lose a one-sided fight during the TUF 14 finale last December.

Bisping finished Miller by TKO in the third round after punishing his foe for much of the main-event bout.

Another loss against CB Dolloway led to Miller being officially cut from the UFC, although Miller publicly stated that he would willingly retire if he lost his UFC 146 match.

Since then, Miller has returned to acting, playing a bit role in recent action-comedy film Here Comes the Boom, starring Kevin James. Miller appeared on the October 8th edition of The MMA Hour portraying his “Lucky Patrick” character, throwing host Ariel Helwani’s props around the recording studio and acting increasingly agitated during the interview.

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Erick Silva vs. Jay Hieron Confirmed for UFC 156 on February 2nd

An intriguing welterweight match with significant divisional relevance has been confirmed for UFC 156 by the promotion’s Brazilian wing.Erick Silva and Jay Hieron will clash this coming February on the still-growing Las Vegas card, which takes place at…

An intriguing welterweight match with significant divisional relevance has been confirmed for UFC 156 by the promotion’s Brazilian wing.

Erick Silva and Jay Hieron will clash this coming February on the still-growing Las Vegas card, which takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Both welterweights are coming off hard losses, but this fight should provide some critical support for the upcoming event.

UFC Brazil just made the call earlier today via its official Twitter account:

 

That makes the fifth official fight for UFC 156, which is currently headlined by a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar. Here’s how the card looks so far:

  • Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar
  • Rashad Evans vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
  • Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva
  • Jon Fitch vs. Demian Maia
  • Erick Silva vs. Jay Hieron

Erick Silva most recently turned heads with a gritty “Fight of the Night” performance in Rio de Janeiro, battling Jon Fitch to a decision at UFC 153. He put up a solid fight with tight submission attempts but eventually wilted under the pressure of Fitch’s consistent wrestling attack.

Hieron is coming off a loss against Jake Ellenberger at UFC on FX 5, but unlike previous UFC appearances, the former Bellator competitor is not getting bounced after one defeat. Hieron is currently on his third UFC stint with prior runs ending in one-and-done losses against Georges St-Pierre and now-retired Jonathan Goulet.

Both Silva and Hieron are still hot commodities in the welterweight division despite recent setbacks. Silva may even find himself entering the title hunt with a win—the young Team Nogueira fighter entered the UFC on a 10-fight winning streak and hadn’t legitimately lost a fight in the promotion before facing Fitch.

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Chris Weidman Sidelined for 3-6 Months with Injured Shoulder

It seems that UFC middleweight Chris Weidman will be out of action for the remainder of the year, as an injury in training has pulled him off the upcoming UFC 155 card.MMA Fighting reports that the initial diagnosis with Weidman’s physician is a t…

It seems that UFC middleweight Chris Weidman will be out of action for the remainder of the year, as an injury in training has pulled him off the upcoming UFC 155 card.

MMA Fighting reports that the initial diagnosis with Weidman’s physician is a torn labrum “with a possible shoulder dislocation or separation” due to a miscued double-leg takedown.

This has not been a kind year to Weidman, who also suffered in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy—a Category 1 storm that tore apart the Eastern Seaboard during the last week of October this year. As Weidman lamented to MMA Fighting, the chain of events is disheartening:

“My biggest fear was something happening to me before this fight,” Weidman said. “I wanted this fight so bad, what with the hurricane and our house, and on top of that, it’s the biggest fight of my career. 

“Everything happens for a reason. Hopefully, this will be [a] blessing.”

Notably, this is the third injury reported by the UFC in the last week.

Heavyweight Shane Carwin pulled out of his Ultimate Fighter main-event fight with Roy Nelson just a week ago, citing another knee injury. Matt Mitrione has since stepped up to rescue the card on short notice.

Additionally, lightweight competitor Gray Maynard found himself ousted from a UFC 155 match against Joe Lauzon. Jim Miller will take Maynard’s place on that card this December.

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UFC-Bound Sara McMann Says Contract ‘In the Works’

In the rush to build a credible women’s bantamweight division for the UFC, fans can expect to see Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann in the Octagon soon enough.At an undefeated 6-0 record in her mixed martial arts career, McMann has seen a sharp rise …

In the rush to build a credible women’s bantamweight division for the UFC, fans can expect to see Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann in the Octagon soon enough.

At an undefeated 6-0 record in her mixed martial arts career, McMann has seen a sharp rise in competition culminate with an Invicta FC main event match against top-ranked opponent Shayna Baszler. According to McMann’s Twitter account (via MMA Junkie), her camp is currently in talks with Zuffa about a contract:

 

So far, the UFC has only officially signed Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, although several other female fighters have been rumored as likely additions to the 135-pound roster.

Of female bantamweight fighters currently on contract with soon-to-be-defunct promotion Strikeforce (owned by UFC parent company Zuffa), the list includes former champions Miesha Tate and Sarah Kaufman, as well as Liz Carmouche, Julia Budd, Alexis Davis, Julie Kedzie, Amanda Nunes, Cat Zingano, Germaine de Randamie, and Japanese standout Hiroko Yamanaka.

UFC president Dana White confirmed that he was focusing solely on a 135-pound women’s division. No one else in the promotion has yet cited any firm evidence of building other weight classes.

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UFC Middleweight Chris Weidman out of UFC 155 Bout vs. Tim Boetsch

Update: According to MMA Mania’s Mike Bohn, Chris Weidman suffered a dislocated shoulder while performing a double-leg takedown during his training camp in Arizona.I hit a double-leg and that’s it, my shoulder landed weird and I felt a pop. I can’t eve…

Update: According to MMA Mania’s Mike Bohn, Chris Weidman suffered a dislocated shoulder while performing a double-leg takedown during his training camp in Arizona.

I hit a double-leg and that’s it, my shoulder landed weird and I felt a pop. I can’t even move my arm.

Another UFC card, another injury.

Surging middleweight title contender Chris Weidman is reportedly out of UFC 155, according to Newsday Sports.

So far, the nature of the injury has not been disclosed by Weidman’s camp or the UFC, although this thankfully doesn’t leave Tim Boetsch without an opponent for his main event match on December 29th. Instead of Weidman, “The Barbarian” will now face Costa Philippou.

“It’s awful,” trainer Ray Longo said.

Instead, Boetsch will fight Costa Philippou, a teammate of Weidman’s with Longo and Matt Serra. Philippou was supposed to fight this past Saturday against Nick Ring at UFC 154 in Montreal, but the bout was canceled that morning when Ring fell ill.

Philippou is currently 4-1 in the UFC on a four-fight winning streak, after a long undefeated stretch in regional promotion Ring of Combat. Philippou has also gone to decision three times in that span, while Boetsch has done the same.

It’s not clear whether this fight will have title implications for either competitor due to the change in schedule. However, Boetsch is coming off a huge win against former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard, who debuted against Boetsch at UFC 149 in a highly anticipated match.

Boetsch vs. Philippou will should still retain their position on the main card at UFC 155 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Arena.

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