Author: McKinley Noble

Anderson Silva Almost Retired and Left MMA Before Ever Fighting in the UFC

Although it seems impossible to imagine, Anderson Silva almost walked away from MMA years before becoming the most dominant champion in UFC history.Thankfully for the sport, the Nogueira brothers talked him out of leaving.During a Fuel TV interview wit…

Although it seems impossible to imagine, Anderson Silva almost walked away from MMA years before becoming the most dominant champion in UFC history.

Thankfully for the sport, the Nogueira brothers talked him out of leaving.

During a Fuel TV interview with MMA Heat’s Karyn Bryant, Silva talked about wanting to end his fighting days after the conclusion of his five-bout run in PRIDE, which ended in two submission defeats to Daiju Takase and Ryo Chonan.

As “The Spider” told Fuel TV, his dream was “lost” after competing on the international circuit, where he had “nothing” to show for his efforts:

One day, I talked to Rogerio and Rodrigo—”I no more fight, bro.” The time Rogerio and Rodrigo talked to me, I [had] nothing. My dream [was] lost. Rodrigo talked to me [and said], “Hey, come to my house. I’ll help you. No worry. Come here, train together.”

I finished my contract in PRIDE. I broke the team [up]. The guys talked to me [and said], “Hey, you no fight more in PRIDE.” What? I fight in PRIDE. Good fights. I have no problem in PRIDE. But Rodrigo helped me, for better fights.

Perhaps if it wasn’t for the Nogueria brothers, whom Silva says he loves like his own family, the entire landscape of the sport would’ve been different.

But Silva would eventually return to MMA, with his last fight in PRIDE turning out to be his legitimate loss in the sport (so far).

After a 3-1 campaign between regional promotions Cage Rage and Rumble on the Rock—marred only by a DQ loss to Yushin Okami—Silva found his way to the UFC middleweight division, dominating Chris Leben and starting his road to the title that he’s held ever since.

Fuel TV is currently running Silva’s interview with Byrant in short segments via YouTube, where you can see the pound-for-pound titan talk about being “the black Dana White” and why he doesn’t like to fight Brazilians in the Octagon.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Diego Sanchez Aiming to Return in Lightweight Bout at UFC 164, Opponent TBA

Coming off a successful return to the lightweight division, Diego Sanchez is expected to re-enter the Octagon at UFC 164 later this year.According to MMA Junkie, Sanchez confirmed the event for his next bout, although he still needs an opponent:
“I tal…

Coming off a successful return to the lightweight division, Diego Sanchez is expected to re-enter the Octagon at UFC 164 later this year.

According to MMA Junkie, Sanchez confirmed the event for his next bout, although he still needs an opponent:

“I talked to [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva yesterday, and he penciled me in for Aug. 31,” Sanchez said.

“We’re looking at opponents. I did like I always do and said, ‘Look, you’re the man, Joe. You’re the one who makes all these big matchups. And I’m, in my opinion, in the most stacked division in the UFC, and there are plenty of great fights out there, and you’ll hook me up with a good scrap.'”

Sanchez was last seen in action at UFC on Fuel 8 in Japan last March, where the Greg Jackson MMA team member outpointed Takanori Gomi in a controversial split decision win.

Although Gomi landed more total strikes (81-to-68 via FightMetric), Sanchez earned a pair of takedowns to win two of the judge’s scorecards.

Currently, there’s a wealth of UFC lightweights available who don’t have a scheduled fight.

Assuming that Sanchez is paired up with someone coming off a win, that would include Josh Thomson, Pat Healy, Jorge Masvidal, undefeated Myles Jury, Ross Pearson, Jamie Varner and Rustam Khabilov, just to name a few likely candidates.

Additionally, Gilbert Melendez, Nate Diaz, Jim Miller, Joe Lauzon and Matt Wiman are also waiting for opponents while recovering from losses.

UFC 164 is rumored to be heading to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Saturday, Aug. 31, as part of a 110th anniversary celebration of Harley-Davidson, a long-term business sponsor of the UFC (via MMA Weekly).

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Cheick Kongo’s Name Currently Missing on Heavyweight Roster at UFC.com

Update: Cheick Kongo hasn’t been formally cut, but UFC representatives have confirmed to Bleacher Report (as well as MMA Fighting) that UFC 159 was his last fight on-contract.Kongo is not expected to re-sign with the promotion, which should lead t…

Update: Cheick Kongo hasn’t been formally cut, but UFC representatives have confirmed to Bleacher Report (as well as MMA Fighting) that UFC 159 was his last fight on-contract.

Kongo is not expected to re-sign with the promotion, which should lead to his formal release.

Although it’s not yet official, it appears that veteran heavyweight gatekeeper Cheick Kongo may be the next big name cut from the UFC.

Bloody Elbow reports that the Frenchman’s fighter profile has recently been removed from the active heavyweight roster section on the official UFC website, which lists every heavyweight who is currently under contract with the promotion.

That seems to indicate Kongo will be let go as a result of his first-round “Knockout of the Night” defeat to Roy Nelson at UFC 159.

Carrying an 11-6-0-1 record in the UFC so far, Kongo has lost twice in his last three bouts, also dropping a surprising first-round knockout loss to Mark Hunt at UFC 144.

That’s never a good sign, as the UFC has been making cuts across the board, with an emphasis on eliminating aging, overly expensive talent.

If that turns out to be the case, the 37-year-old, 18-fight UFC veteran could see some demand on the regional MMA market, especially since Kongo is an extremely recognizable fighter.

However, promoters may also have trouble matching what he has so far been paid by the UFC.

Several of Kongo’s last matches haven’t seen his salaries disclosed to the media, but over the years, his rates have steadily gone upward.

According to MMA Junkie, the Wolfslair MMA Academy standout made a disclosed $140,000 for a critically-panned fight at UFC 137 in Las Vegas, which included a $70,000 win bonus for a mild decision win against an overmatched Matt Mitrione.

That may fit the mold of a fighter who’s on the downside of his career while simultaneously being “super f—ing expensive,” a term UFC president Dana White used when cutting former welterweight contender Jon Fitch (via MMA Junkie).

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 163: Demian Maia vs. Josh Koscheck Reportedly Targeted for Main Card

Demian Maia is continuing to climb the welterweight ladder, and his next stop on the way to a title shot goes through Josh Koscheck at UFC 163.MMA Fighting reports that sources close to them have confirmed the fight, with the UFC yet to make the bout o…

Demian Maia is continuing to climb the welterweight ladder, and his next stop on the way to a title shot goes through Josh Koscheck at UFC 163.

MMA Fighting reports that sources close to them have confirmed the fight, with the UFC yet to make the bout official.

Maia, a fourth-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, has torn a path right through the UFC’s 170-pound division ever since dropping from middleweight. He has racked up three straight wins against Dong Hyun Kim, Rick Story and Jon Fitch.

Maia is also a one-time title contender from middleweight, having dropped a surprisingly competitive, yet strangely paced match against Anderson Silva.

Although Koscheck (No. 10) holds a lower rank than Maia (No. 5) in the official UFC rankings, defeating the one-time title contender and 22-fight UFC veteran would arguably set up Maia for a future title shot against Georges St-Pierre—assuming that he still holds the belt by that time.

GSP is slated to face current No. 1 contender Johny Hendricks at a future event.

Despite spending his career as a perennial “Top 10” welterweight, Koscheck has seen his stock dip in recent fights, having dropped back-to-back losses for the first time in his career against Hendricks and Strikeforce import Robbie Lawler.

Lawler‘s return to the UFC against Koscheck was extremely emphatic, with “Ruthless” putting away “Kos” via technical knockout in one round at UFC 157.

Assuming that the Maia vs. Koscheck bout takes place, the home-field advantage will belong to Maia.

UFC 163 is set to have a featherweight title fight starring Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis, currently rumored to be taking place in Brazil at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

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Mark Hunt Scoffs at Dana, UFC for Only Promising Junior Dos Santos a Title Shot

Apparently, not every title shot within the UFC can be earned equally—especially not if you’re MMA veteran Mark Hunt.Despite being one of the only heavyweights in the promotion on a four-fight winning streak (with one of those victories coming ag…

Apparently, not every title shot within the UFC can be earned equally—especially not if you’re MMA veteran Mark Hunt.

Despite being one of the only heavyweights in the promotion on a four-fight winning streak (with one of those victories coming against formerly top-ranked Stefan Struve), the “Super Samoan” won’t be fighting for a title shot at UFC 160.

However, his opponent—Junior Dos Santos—will still get a crack at the belt if he wins.

Hunt went to Twitter to voice his disapproval at the news from the UFC 159 post-fight press conference, reacting to Dana White teasing the possibility of matching him up against Roy Nelson.

Originally, the UFC president had suggested that it would be unfair to deny Hunt a title shot after his brutal “Knockout of the Night” win against Struve at UFC on Fuel 8 in Japan, telling the media (via MMA Junkie) that Hunt was “next in line” for the title.

But with Nelson’s own “Knockout of the Night” victory over UFC veteran gatekeeper Cheick Kongo, White seems to have second thoughts.

Hunt’s status as a title contender is unusual given his MMA career, which stalled in a five-fight losing streak during his run in the Japanese promotions PRIDE and Dream.

But in a strange twist of fate, the UFC contractually owed Hunt money after acquiring his old contract from PRIDE, along with several other fighters—but rather than take a buyout, Hunt instead elected to earn his cash in the Octagon.

After a loss in his UFC debut, Hunt rallied back with four wins against Struve, Kongo, Ben Rothwell and Chris Tuchscherer, earning two “Knockout of the Night” bonuses and flipping his 5-6 pre-UFC ledger into a more respectable 9-7 record.

Hunt has been clamoring for a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship since his career revival, but as White hinted in the aftermath of UFC 159, he may not offer Hunt a chance at the 265-pound title even if he defeats JDS on May 25 in Las Vegas (via ESPN).

Me and Joe [Silva] never talk about fights the night of the fights, but we talked tonight. And we like Roy Nelson vs. [Daniel] Cormier; or Roy Nelson – if Mark Hunt wins – Roy and Mark.

If [Roy] wants to get close to the title, those are the guys he’s going to have to face. I know what he wants is a title shot, and I honestly think he deserves to get a fight with one of the top guys to get him closer to that or to get him that shot.

Hunt has since been retweeting messages from his fans and followers, some of whom are saying that both Hunt and JDS should be fighting for a title shot.

Dos Santos was originally slated to compete in a grudge match against Overeem on the UFC 160 main card, but Hunt stepped in as late replacement when “The Demolition Man” withdrew from the match due to a quadriceps injury (via MMA Fighting).

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Veteran Tito Ortiz Says That in His Prime, He Would Beat ‘Perfect’ Jon Jones

Supposing that a much younger Tito Ortiz in the midst of his light heavyweight title run could fight the current Jon Jones, the UFC Hall of Famer says that he would win.That’s how the former champion assessed his chances against “Bones” during a Monday…

Supposing that a much younger Tito Ortiz in the midst of his light heavyweight title run could fight the current Jon Jones, the UFC Hall of Famer says that he would win.

That’s how the former champion assessed his chances against “Bones” during a Monday interview on The MMA Hour, saying that his takedowns and “heart” would be enough to topple one of the sport’s most dominant stars.

Still, Ortiz admitted to host Ariel Helwani that he wouldn’t mind Jones breaking his record for consecutive title defenses.

But “The People’s Champ” insisted that were he younger, he could very well prevent Jones from replacing his spot in the UFC history books (via MMA Fighting):

“I do, of course,” Ortiz said with a chuckle on The MMA Hour. “I think I’d dominate him.

“Takedowns, of course. Clinch, striking. I don’t know. Big heart. I think Jon Jones is good though, man. If anybody’s going to beat my record, I would like him to beat it. I don’t think there’s anybody in this sport right now with the technique and skills that he has. I think he’s very mellow-mannered, he’s a soft-spoken guy, but his fighting shows how good he really is. I have nothing but respect for the guy, man.”

Ortiz currently saw his record for successful back-to-back defenses of the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion tied by Jones at UFC 159, where the young champion cruised to a first-round TKO stoppage against Chael Sonnen.

And he did it all despite suffering a gruesome broken toe midway through the fight.

Assuming that Jones makes a successful recovery from his injury, he will supposedly have the chance to formally break Ortiz’s record in his next Octagon appearance.

Considering that Jones has thoroughly beaten Shogun Rua, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans, his sixth title defense seems like a forgone conclusion, prompting Ortiz to joke about returning from retirement to stop him.

But as Ortiz admitted to Helwani, he’s most likely finished as an active fighter, citing “a lot of recovery” still ahead of him, including an ACL tear and upcoming knee replacement surgery on May 9 later this year.

Ortiz’s last run in the UFC resulted in a 1-3 stretch, where he dropped a set of losses to Forrest Griffin, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Rashad Evans—although his single win came in a shocking upset against top-ranked Ryan Bader.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com