Former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy is 2-0 as an amateur MMA fighter, and his third fight is in the works for Dallas in February.
Hardy’s representatives, First Round Management, and the Legacy Fighting Alliance confirmed the plan to ESPN.com’s Brett O…
Former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy is 2-0 as an amateur MMA fighter, and his third fight is in the works for Dallas in February.
Hardy’s representatives, First Round Management, and the Legacy Fighting Alliance confirmed the plan to ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto on Wednesday.
Hardy won his first fight in early November and returned in December for his second first-round knockout in MMA competition. The former Pro Bowl defensive end has shown great strides in MMA since beginning training with American Top Team. Heading to one of the leading organizations for young talent is the next step forward.
The LFA has sent numerous talents such as Cynthia Calvillo, Eryk Anders, Rashad Coulter and Dominick Reyes to the UFC.
LFA CEO Ed Soares told Okamoto that he would be “very interested” in being the promoter for Hardy’s eventual pro debut when the time comes, but there is no date set by Hardy’s management for when that will be. The focus is on his development as a well-rounded fighter.
The two previous amateur opponents have yet to offer Hardy legitimate competition. His total fight time has been 2:08. Hardy has looked good inside the cage, but against overmatched fighters who were not prepared for his athleticism.
Hardy’s third amateur fight has no date officially set. LFA has yet to officially announce the proposed Dallas event, which would see the polarizing figure, who was convicted of domestic violence in 2014 before the case was dismissed in 2015, step inside the cage for another bout.
There is little doubt that the eyes of the MMA world will continue to watch Hardy’s evolution as a mixed martial artist. He could be the next big star waiting to make a statement under the bright lights.
The UFC made its first trip to mainland China as they took over Shanghai at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping was seeking to rid himself of the taste of defeat following UFC 217’s showing against Georges St-Pierr…
The UFC made its first trip to mainland China as they took over Shanghai at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping was seeking to rid himself of the taste of defeat following UFC 217’s showing against Georges St-Pierre, but instead, he took a worse loss at the fist of Kelvin Gastelum. He got viciously knocked out in the first round.
Gastelum made a statement and moved right back into the hunt at middleweight.
The storied career of the Brit seems to be drawing to a close, but MMA waits for no fighter. When one fighter is on his way out there are a handful of wild dogs fighting in the alley for any piece of leftover Thanksgiving food.
The other bouts were not much of note, but the athletes still brought their A-game. The 12-fight card saw seven other finishes along with Gastelum’s first-round KO. It was an exciting evening from start-to-finish.
Who came out as the real winners and losers as the UFC begins to close of the year? Well, let’s answer that question.
Full card results from UFC Fight Night 122 will be at the end.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk meets Rose Namajunas at UFC 217, and a victory will tie Joanna Champion with Ronda Rousey with six successful title defenses (she’s also creeping up on Rousey’s total number of days as champion record (1,074).
With such historical im…
Joanna Jedrzejczyk meets Rose Namajunas at UFC 217, and a victory will tie Joanna Champion with Ronda Rousey with six successful title defenses (she’s also creeping up on Rousey’s total number of days as champion record (1,074).
With such historical implications on the line for the Polish striker on the line it’s hard to ignore her place in MMA history. Even though she only debuted in MMA in 2012, and the UFC in 2014, she has vaulted herself into the discussion of the greatest ever.
Steven Rondina joins me in a discussion about Jedrzejczyk’s place in MMA history and where that argument goes if she has another successful title defense on Saturday.
Nathan: Steven, let’s first set the stage of who Jedrzejczyk (14-0) is even competing against for this honor. It’s really just Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg? Rousey (12-2) holds the current record for title defenses (6) against a strong slate of opposition that included mind-bending results. Meanwhile, Cyborg (18-1-1) has been a dominant force in MMA for more than a decade. She just lacks the level of opposition as her record is built on the backs of smaller competition. It’s an argument similar to the College Football Playoff: resume vs. eye test.
How’s Joanna Champion stack up before UFC 217 and where does a victory leave her in this discussion following Saturday’s event?
Steven: I could probably bend the truth here and make a case for a number of women’s MMA pioneers.
Japanese star Megumi Fujii was the first true women’s MMA standout, and her 22-0 run from 2004 to 2010 includes names that are still relevant today, like Carla Esparza and Seo-Hee Ham. Amanda Nunes—who crushed Rousey at UFC 207—will end up in the discussion before long, if she can continue holding on to the women’s bantamweight title. Gina Carano gets brushed off by many these days, but she’s a key player in the rise of women’s MMA in the west and wasn’t exactly a slouch in the cage.
We can also talk about “what if” scenarios where the Roxanne Modafferis, Takayo Hashis and Tara Larosas circa 2008 were transported into a future where women’s MMA wasn’t a regional sideshow attraction.
Really, though, you’re right. This is a three-horse race between Rousey, Cyborg and Jedrzejcyk. As with all sports, the competitors of today are bigger, stronger and more technical than the best of ten years ago and that prunes out a lot of the names from yesteryear.
In my opinion, you can already make a strong case for Jedrzejczyk being the greatest female fighter of all time, strictly based on strength of competition. Claudia Gadelha, Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz are all very good on every level and the other contenders she has beaten aren’t easy outs, either. Adding that “longest reign in women’s UFC history” feather to her cap just cements her claim to that throne.
Nathan: I would agree with you. Fujii is a nice name to add to the discussion for historical perspective, but the evolution of MMA really puts Jedrzejczyk ahead of her on any list without debate.
A victory at UFC 217 will only help her case for being the greatest of all-time, but there will be no doubt if she moves to 125-pounds in 2018 and captures gold. Which is not a leap. She has already shown a keen interest in moving up and it’s where she competed prior to arriving in the UFC. She was never a strawweight (115-pounds) until she made her UFC debut. Flyweight is her natural weight class.
If she becomes a two-division champion then there is no argument to be had. She will be the greatest of all-time without debate. Can she erase all doubt? It will be exceedingly difficult because of the talent level at flyweight including potential kickboxing nemesis Valentina Shevchenko.
Steven, for anyone who may still be new to Jedrzejczyk, which male MMA counterpart could she be likened to as to illustrate her skill level?
Steven: The UFC likes to compare Jedrzejczyk to light heavyweight darling Chuck Liddell and, well, that’s not really accurate because she’s actually a skilled striker while Liddell just kind of punched hard. If I were going to really compare her to anybody, it’d be Anderson Silva.
Both thrive going backwards, like working angles, have great counters and have a savage clinch game. What Jedrzejczyk lacks in kicks and knees, she makes up for in face-ruining elbows. And what she lacks in knockout power, she makes up for with utter brutality.
Nathan: That is an apt comparison even when factoring in Silva’s jiu-jitsu black belt and Jedrzejczyk’s lack of one. And Silva was considered the men’s GOAT for several years until the rise of Jon Jones and Demetrious Johnson.
Jedrzejczyk just turned 30 and is in the midst of her prime which is a scary thought for the women of 115 and 125. She’s already the greatest strawweight and has a case for being the greatest period. She’ll only add to that resume in the coming years.
When Joanna Champion finally decides to hang up her gloves, which we all hope won’t be in the near future, it’s unquestionable that she’ll have carved out her spot in history as the greatest of all-time. She will serve as the standard-bearer for the next generation.
Raquel “Rocky” Pennington’s battle with injuries continue following an ATV accident in Colorado.
First reported by Combate, Pennington confirmed the news to MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani on Friday.
Pennington told MMAFighting the ATV flipped as they …
Raquel “Rocky” Pennington’s battle with injuries continue following an ATV accident in Colorado.
First reported by Combate, Pennington confirmed the news to MMAFighting.com‘s Ariel Helwani on Friday.
Pennington told MMAFighting the ATV flipped as they were turning coming back from their hunting trip. The roll cage pinned her leg, and Pennington’s cousin helped lift the ATV enough to allow her to get free.
The bantamweight contender said that her calf was “totally smashed in.”
2017 has been an eventful year for Pennington even though she had not stepped foot inside the Octagon. Pennington was set to challenge bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes in December, but now the injury puts her on the shelf indefinitely.
Her shot at UFC gold will have to wait.
Pennington had multiple surgeries including her shoulder and wrist. She finished the final of those surgeries in April and proposed to her partner, UFC strawweight contender, Tecia Torres in May. After finally getting healthy, Pennington verbally agreed to the title fight at UFC 219.
“Rocky” has won four straight in the bantamweight division with her most recent victory coming at UFC 205 last November against Miesha Tate. Of the top five ranked UFC contenders, only Pennington has a multi-fight win streak to her credit leaving no sure contender behind her to fill the role against Nunes.
If Pennington suffers no setbacks she should return to training and action in the first-half of 2018.
A number of athletes fled the wildfires in Northern California over the weekend, and one of those athletes was UFC flyweight contender and Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo.
Former MLB pitcher Bret Saberhagen told the San Francisco Chronicle…
A number of athletes fled the wildfires in Northern California over the weekend, and one of those athletes was UFC flyweight contender and Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo.
Former MLB pitcher Bret Saberhagen told the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Susan Slusser that Cejudo did not evacuate from the Fountaingrove Inn in Santa Rosa and broke his ankle jumping from a second-story balcony to escape.
Athletes and celebrities were in Santa Rosa attending a fundraiser put on by NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott.
On Tuesday morning, Matheus Aquino, an MMA manager to Cejudo’s training partners who compete in Bellator, confirmed to MMAjunkie.com’s Chamatkar Sandhu that he broke his ankle fleeing the fires.
The injury puts his UFC 218 bout on December 2 against Sergio Pettis in jeopardy. The UFC and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, have yet to comment on the status of Cejudo (h/t MMAJunkie.com’s Mike Bohn). Cejudo is coming off an impressive second-round KO over Wilson Reis.
Bleacher Report will have more on Cejudo’s injury and fight status when more information is available.
Derrick Lewis is jovial and entertaining on social media, but when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Texas, Lewis showed off his heart. And the effects of that storm are still weighing on the UFC heavyweight contender.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani f…
Derrick Lewis is jovial and entertaining on social media, but when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Texas, Lewis showed off his heart. And the effects of that storm are still weighing on the UFC heavyweight contender.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani for MMAFighting.com, Lewis made no bones about where his mental state is heading into a fight with Fabricio Werdum.
“I’m not going to lie to you,” said Lewis. “I’m not focused.”
Lewis mentioned families that lost everything because they weren’t prepared for such a catastrophic storm. Some families did not have flood insurance, and streets are still lined with debris as Houston residents clear out their homes. Lewis said he was still delivering food to people in Houston as of last week. The recovery process is an ongoing battle.
It’s not just the situation in Lewis’ hometown that is affecting him heading into Saturday.
Lewis mentioned all the recent tragedies: Harvey, Irma, Maria, Mexico’s earthquake and the recent shooting in Las Vegas. All these events are taking a mental toll on one of the UFC’s most exciting fighters.
Is this concerning him? No.
Lewis said, “I’m gonna go out there and still fight [as] hard as I can. As long as my body is feeling good, my mind eventually will come around if I get punched in the face.” With a fight against former UFC heavyweight champion Werdum, Lewis can expect his mind to get right early in the first round.
The air is heavy after the tragedies, but Lewis will still take to the cage to attempt to provide a little entertainment at UFC 216 on Saturday.
