UFC legend Georges St-Pierre has not competed in the Octagon since November 2013, and while a return remains possible, GSP and his manager made it clear Thursday that reports of a comeback are premature.
According to Mookie Alexander of BloodyElbow.com…
UFC legend Georges St-Pierre has not competed in the Octagon since November 2013, and while a return remains possible, GSP and his manager made it clear Thursday that reports of a comeback are premature.
According to Mookie Alexander of BloodyElbow.com, Dan Pou of FM93 in Quebec, Canada, reported Thursday that St-Pierre is set to announce his return in the “coming days.”
However, per Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com, St-Pierre denied the report and took a shot at its credibility: “I can tell you with certainty that their their sources are not reliable.”
St-Pierre’s manager, Rodolphe Beaulieu, also reiterated that nothing is set in stone regarding the Canadian superstar’s potential return, according to Helwani: “[There are] still a lot of things that need to happen before he decides if he comes back or not.”
The 34-year-old veteran’s last fight came at UFC 167 when he defeated Johny Hendricks by split decision to retain the UFC Welterweight Championship.
He vacated his title and walked away from the sport with a record of 25-2, but St-Pierre admitted in October 2015 he was getting the itch to come back, per RDS (via Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com):
I’m starting to get the feeling, more and more, to come back. I watch the fights to see what’s going on in my division, and I’m staying in shape. It’s like a knife that I have to keep sharp just in case I ever decide to jump back in the mix. It’s not for sure that it won’t happen in 2015, but I’m not sure yet.
Should GSP ultimately decide to resume his career, there is no question it will be a major coup for the UFC and a huge source of interest for its fans.
With Ronda Rousey currently on leave while filming a movie, the UFC would benefit greatly from some additional star power.
St-Pierre would provide that in spades, but it appears as though the promotion cannot yet count on having one of MMA‘s biggest stars back in the fold.
Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor will clash in the main event at UFC 194 Saturday night, and the stakes couldn’t be much higher, as the UFC Featherweight title will be on the line.
Aldo and McGregor are as evenly matched as any two fighters in recent memor…
Jose Aldo and ConorMcGregor will clash in the main event at UFC 194 Saturday night, and the stakes couldn’t be much higher, as the UFC Featherweight title will be on the line.
Aldo and McGregor are as evenly matched as any two fighters in recent memory, as they are on a combined 32-fight winning streak. Despite their recent dominance, something has to give when they lock horns in Las Vegas.
Ahead of the highly anticipated champion versus interim champion clash, here is a closer look at the matchup, along with predictions for who will reign supreme at the end of the night.
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
When: Saturday, Dec. 12 at 10 p.m. ET (main card start time)
Neither Aldo nor McGregor have separated themselves significantly in the eyes of the oddsmakers, which is what makes the prospect of their fight so exciting.
Both combatants have been dominant over the course of their respective careers with only three losses between them, and neither has suffered a defeat in UFC.
Aldo is the only official featherweight champion UFC has ever had, which is one of the biggest mental hurdles McGregor must clear.
Despite that, the Irishman believes he has the edge in that department, and can’t envision a scenario in which his Brazilian opponent beats him, according to UFC Europe:
In fact, McGregor doesn’t think Aldo has any real interest in facing him, per Damon Martin of FoxSports.com:
I feel he feels like he’s handcuffed and forced into this. He doesn’t want to be here. I feel the man is forced to do this. That’s what I feel. I feel he’s confused, he doesn’t know where he is, he doesn’t know what’s going on, he just can’t wait for it to be over. That’s what I’ve seen when I looked at him yesterday.
Even so, Aldo seemed quite charged up during his stare-down with McGregor at weigh-in, as he taunted the man who usually portrays himself as the aggressor, as seen in this video courtesy of UFC:
In addition to his aggressiveness during the pre-fight festivities, Aldo made it clear that he intends to put the pressure on McGregor during the bout itself.
According to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, Aldo doesn’t have any plans to shy away despite McGregor‘s immense striking power:
“That’s my style,” Aldo said. “There’s no reason to change it. I’m going to be moving forward like I’ve always done.”
Aldo’s style has been very kind to him over the years, but it may turn out to be a disadvantage against a fighter of McGregor‘s caliber.
Of McGregor‘s 18 career victories, 16 have come by way of knockout. Aldo is more apt to go the distance, but that may not be possible if he presses the issue too much.
It seems as though Aldo wants to impose his will on the boisterous McGregor, but that strategy will likely play right into the challenger’s hands.
Based on that, look for McGregor to stop Aldo with a third-round knockout and become just the second featherweight champion in UFC history in the process.
An official UFC featherweight champion will be crowned Saturday night in Las Vegas when incumbent titleholder Jose Aldo and interim champ Conor McGregor clash at UFC 194.
Aldo and McGregor have just three losses between themselves, and neither of them …
An official UFC featherweight champion will be crowned Saturday night in Las Vegas when incumbent titleholder Jose Aldo and interim champ ConorMcGregor clash at UFC 194.
Aldo and McGregor have just three losses between themselves, and neither of them has been defeated during his time in UFC. Both are widely regarded as two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, which is why their meeting is among the most highly anticipated fights in recent memory.
Before Aldo and McGregor weigh in and eventually lock horns, here is a look at both fighters, including the current odds for whom the bookmakers expect to come out on top.
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
When: Saturday, Dec. 12, at 10 p.m. ET (main card start time)
Watch: Pay-per-view
Updated Odds
What Aldo’s Saying
The 29-year-old Aldo rides an 18-fight winning streak into UFC 194, but it has been over a year since he last competed because of injury, which has caused many to question if he’ll be able to handle a fighter the caliber of McGregor.
Not surprisingly, Aldo is confident, though, and has had plenty to say about his chances leading up to the contest.
McGregor has done his best to get inside Aldo’s head, and one of his tactics was to tell the Brazilian star on UFC 194 Embedded(via Martin Domin of the Daily Mail) he had sent spies to his training camp.
Aldo turned it around on him, however, by claiming the so-called spies were watching a fighter who is primed to come out on top, per Fox Sports UFC:
There is no question that McGregor is among the top fighters in the world, but much of the publicity surrounding him comes from his outspokenness and brash attitude.
Aldo made it clear he isn’t allowing any of the outside noise to get to him as he is treating the upcoming fight like any other, according to Damon Martin of FoxSports.com:
Every fight the biggest fight of my career, the next one is always the biggest one, so I’m looking at this one as the biggest fight in my career because it’s the next one. To me he’s just the same. I’ve fought a lot of the top fighters out there, and to me he’s really just another opponent that I have to go in there and beat.
Among the two fighters, Aldo is by far the less boisterous competitor, but he has held his own in terms of not allowing McGregor to walk all over him.
Although it could be a different story in the Octagon, Aldo has proved capable of standing toe-to-toe with McGregor during the pre-fight festivities.
What McGregor‘s Saying
There is perhaps no bigger character in the world of mixed martial arts than McGregor, and that has been on full display in the weeks prior to his showdown with Aldo.
The 27-year-old Irishman is on an incredible roll in his own right with 14 straight wins, including four in a row by way of knockout.
Stopping his opponent is McGregor‘s preferred way to win fights, and as he told Jim Rome of CBS Sports, he doesn’t believe it will take long to do that to Aldo on Saturday:
Nobody has managed to solve Aldo over the course of his UFC career, yet McGregor doesn’t envision himself having any issues whatsoever.
According to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, McGregor believes he is better in all areas and will knock Aldo out regardless of where the flow of the fight takes them:
If the fight stays on our feet, I’m going to finish him. If it goes to the ground, I’m going to finish him. … I’ll be a ghost. He will chase me and I’ll not be there. Jose falls into the same patterns. He moves the same. He kicks and punches the same. It’s repetition. He does the same thing over and over. He’s too predictable.
There is little doubt that much of what McGregor has been saying is a tactic meant to throw Aldo off his game, but at the same time, he has always shown a great deal of confidence in himself.
It is hard to believe that he truly thinks beating an elite fighter like Aldo will be a cakewalk; however, McGregor has mowed down everyone who has stood in his way at the UFC level.
Aldo is unlike anyone he has faced to this point, but that fact doesn’t seem to faze McGregor one bit.
Prediction
Aldo and McGregor are two of the best in any weight class, and there is very little separating them in terms of their skills and what they have accomplished thus far.
That is why they are essentially on equal footing from a betting perspective as well. They are evenly matched, and it is easy to envision the fight playing out in any number of ways.
Perhaps the biggest factor that sets them apart, though, is power and finishing ability. Aldo is no slouch in the power department, but he largely relies on going the distance and beating his opponents on the scorecards.
McGregor, on the other hand, is an aggressive fighter who chooses not to tempt fate. That style could get him into trouble, although it hasn’t yet.
Aldo’s long layoff is another wild card that seemingly falls in McGregor‘s favor, as it has been over a year since the Brazilian has fought anyone, let alone someone like McGregor.
Because of all those factors, McGregor will continue to make his case as the male face of UFC with the biggest victory of his career Saturday by way of a third-round knockout.
Jon “Bones” Jones is preparing for a return to the Octagon after being reinstated by the UFC in October, and in his first lengthy interview in months, the former light heavyweight champion had no shortage of opinions on a multitude of hot-button topics…
Jon “Bones” Jones is preparing for a return to the Octagon after being reinstated by the UFC in October, and in his first lengthy interview in months, the former light heavyweight champion had no shortage of opinions on a multitude of hot-button topics.
Jones was stripped of his title and suspended for his role in a hit-and-run accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico in April.
Many have wondered why the 28-year-old star decided to flee the scene rather than waiting for law enforcement, and he explained his state of mind at the time to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting (h/t James Dator of SB Nation):
I was afraid. I freaked out. I was afraid to speak to the police at that time. I thought ‘Let me just get away from this.’ … I just had tunnel vision. I definitely hit hard and I’m sitting here thinking ‘I need to go. I need to get away from this.’ So I started running and got maybe five yards away from my car and I remembered I had a bowl, a marijuana bowl in my cup holder. I knew that if the police found that bowl in my car that everything was going to be so much worse than I thought it should be, I guess.
Jones certainly placed himself in a trying situation that could have cost him his career, but due to the perspective it gave him, he believes hitting rock bottom may have been precisely what he needed in order to turn things around:
In a way I’m grateful. I get to recognize my mistakes. I get to assess what’s made me not necessarily the best role model. I get to assess that and I get to alter that and go back into the game and do things better. To become a better role model, and a better athlete. I got to retire almost. Now I get to get back in the game still young enough, still fresh enough to have a serious future.
Ronda Rousey has been the talk of MMA during Jones’ absence, especially her shocking defeat at the hands of Holly Holm at UFC 193.
The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion has been under fire for her overconfidence entering the fight and poor game plan during it, but Jones had nothing but good things to say about her due to the manner in which she treated him when he was struggling:
Ronda has been very supportive of me. She texted me quite a few times. She even invited me to come and stay at her beach house in California. She said ‘Jon, you’re going to come back from this. If there’s anything I can do for you, let me know. If you want to get away I’ve got a house here that not many people know where it’s at and it’s your house until you get right.’ Stuff like that, it’s like man—this girl is on top of the world right now and she’s sitting here thinking of me at my darkest hour. That’s something I’ll never forget.
While Jones had mostly positive things to say about his impending return and change in attitude, he couldn’t resist taking a shot at his UFC 152 opponent—Vitor Belfort.
Chris Weidman accused Belfort of cheating in May due to inconsistencies in his testosterone levels, and Jones insisted to Helwani not only that Belfort was on steroids prior to their fight in 2012, but also that the UFC was aware of it (h/t Michael Hutchinson of SB Nation):
Vitor Belfort was on steroids when I fought him. The UFC was very well aware, way before the fight. They did nothing to penalize him. They let the fight go on knowing that I was fighting a guy on steroids, which is a hazard to my life. What do you do? … At his age and where he’s at in his career, I remember at the weigh ins I looked at his abs, and I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m several years younger than you and you look way tighter than me.’ And I knew I trained pretty hard for that camp.
Jones’ claims have never been substantiated, but it is clear that the Rochester, New York, native feels as though he was wronged by the very company that recently reinstated him.
While Jones certainly still has an eye toward the past, one can only assume that his focus will soon shift back to his pursuit of regaining the title he never truly lost.
Jones beat current UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in his last fight at UFC 182, and a rematch seems inevitable.
Everything Jones has said suggests he is ready to return to action and make an impact, but the fact that he has been away for nearly a year means there is no guarantee he will be his dominant self when he does officially come back.
Many MMA fans are already salivating at the thought of a rematch between new UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm and Ronda Rousey, but The Preacher’s Daughter isn’t putting any pressure on the former titleholder.
In an interview for AXS TV’s “…
Many MMA fans are already salivating at the thought of a rematch between new UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm and Ronda Rousey, but The Preacher’s Daughter isn’t putting any pressure on the former titleholder.
In an interview for AXS TV’s “Inside MMA,” Holm said it is important for Rousey to make the decision that is best for her (quote begins at 3:40 mark):
“I think that, as far as Ronda with the rematch, I feel like for her, do what you want do do,” Holm said. “If you’re passionate about it and want to get back and avenge that loss, then great. If you want to focus on other things, great. I’m supportive of any fighter kind of doing what they’re passionate about.”
After Rousey‘s shocking second-round knockout defeat at UFC 193, she posted on Instagram that she intends to return to the Octagon after taking some time away from fighting:
Rousey has a burgeoning movie career that includes the upcoming Road House remake, and her appearance at WrestleMania 31 has led to plenty of speculation that Rowdy could make the leap to WWE eventually.
After losing to Holm, though, Rousey has unfinished business to take care of in UFC.
When asked previously about clashing with Rousey for a second time on Bomani Jones’ ESPN Radio show, Holm said a rematch is on the table if her opponent wants it, per Damon Martin of FoxSports.com:
If she wants the rematch and they put it together, you’ve always got to give the rematch. That’s just how it goes. I’ve been on the other end of it before. I’ve been knocked out and I got to be able to get a rematch and avenge my loss.
I know I was glad to have that opportunity, and if you’re a real champion, you’re going to do that, you’re going to give them the rematch. Of course, I’m going to train even harder and better for the next fight ’cause I know she’ll be coming back swinging.
As one of the most competitive fighters in MMA, it is difficult to envision Rousey leaving quite yet.
Holly Holm’s knockout victory over Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 shocked the mixed martial arts world, but it didn’t stop there, as one of the most influential figures in professional wrestling was taken aback as well.
According to Simon Head of …
Holly Holm’s knockout victory over Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 shocked the mixed martial arts world, but it didn’t stop there, as one of the most influential figures in professional wrestling was taken aback as well.
According to Simon Head of the Sun, UFC President Dana White revealed on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that WWE Executive Vice President Paul “Triple H” Levesque texted him after Holm became the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion.
“Even Triple H—your boy Triple H—hit me up last night and said, ‘Wow!'” White said. “He goes, ‘What a show! And what a shocker!’ That’s what Triple H hit me with last night.”
Triple H has expressed his admiration for Rousey in the past, and the feeling is mutual as Rowdy has long been a huge wrestling fan.
That much was clear at WrestleMania 31 when Rousey made a surprising in-ring appearance with The Rock. It resulted in her taking out both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, and it generated a ton of speculation that she would be involved with WrestleMania 32 in Arlington, Texas.
Per Damon Martin of FoxSports.com, the former world champion made it clear she would like to try her hand as an active competitor in WWE one day:
What I would love to do: I got an Olympic medal, I would want to retire from MMA as one of the greatest of all time, I would love to have the chance to be the boxing world champion, and I would love to have the chance to be a jiu-jitsu world champion. I’d love to have the chance to be the Divas world champion and just be the best of everything at one point.
It is unclear what type of impact Rousey’s loss might have on her WWE aspirations, but she received a six-month medical suspension from the UFC after getting pummeled by Holm, per MixedMartialArts.com (via Elias Cepeda of FoxSports.com), which means she could be available in some capacity for WrestleMania 32 on April 3.
Although White described Rousey’s WrestleMania moment as “one-and-done” previously, per The Fight Network (via Nick Schwartz of For The Win), there is undoubtedly a lot of money to be made by both Rousey and WWE if they are able to do business in the future.
The 28-year-old fighter may no longer be the indestructible force she was presented as, but she still has no shortage of cachet, and Triple H would certainly jump at the chance to get her involved with a big WWE event.
Jose Aldo and