Author: Shaun Al-Shatti

On the ninth episode of UFC 189 Embedded, a slew of notable fighters interrupt their pool party to give predictions on Saturday’s big fights, Chad Mendes drapes himself in an American flag onesie, Conor McGregor grabs a quick meal, then the two headliners of UFC 189 square off for the first time at Friday’s raucous weigh-ins. The crew also catches a look at the altercation between McGregor and Mendes’ teammate, Urijah Faber.

More Coverage: UFC 189 Results | UFC news

LAS VEGAS — Dana White doubled down Friday on the idea that Jose Aldo withdrew from UFC 189’s main event against Conor McGregor with a bruised rib and damaged cartilage, and not the broken rib many believed after Aldo’s team released x-rays of the injury that sunk the biggest featherweight fight in UFC history less than two weeks out from fight night.

“So what happened was, when the pictures went out onto the internet, right, and you saw this rib down here, that was an old injury,” the UFC president said. “That was an old injury that was calcified white. The real injury was the bruised rib and cartilage. He had a bruised rib and cartilage. And the big problem for Aldo in taking the fight, wasn’t the fight. It was making weight.

“He had to cut something like 24 pounds, and if he couldn’t physically do it the way that he does it, he was afraid that he couldn’t make weight,” White continued. “That was really the issue. But he did not have a broken rib. It was a bruise. Every x-ray he sent out was of an old injury. What you saw right there on his body was an old injury, not a new injury.

“It wasn’t UFC doctors (who cleared him), either. It was three different doctors.”

Aldo suffered the injury while sparring less than three week’s out from UFC 189. Initial reports from Brazil indicated that the rib may be broken, however the UFC released a statement on June 24 stating that it had “official medical confirmation from several doctors that Aldo did not suffer a broken rib,” and instead suffered “a bone bruise to his rib and cartilage injury” and had every intention of fighting McGregor on July 11.

Aldo ultimately withdrew from the fight one week later. Chad Mendes stepped in as a replacement and an interim featherweight title was placed on the line for UFC 189’s main event.

Aldo subsequently released x-rays of the injury, which he claimed was a “fractured” rib, and dismissed the UFC’s interim belt as “a toy.”

“For three months, I trained three times a day,” Aldo said in a statement. “I invested my time and money, bringing training partners from Brazil and other countries, to do the best training camp of my life so I would be ready to defend by belt for the eighth time on July 11. Unfortunately, I fractured my rib during a training session, which I can prove from an official medical report, and besides trying my best to fight, I was forced the other way and that made me really sad.

“I’m the UFC champion since April 2011, defended my belt seven times in four years, and will do it for the eighth time in 2015, an average of twice a year. And I’m not even mentioning WEC, a Zuffa-owned company, like the UFC, where I became the champion in 2009 and put my belt on the line twice in less than a year. That why I can’t agree with UFC’s decision to have an interim champion in my division citing the five opportunities that I couldn’t defend my belt.”

LAS VEGAS — Preparations for the spectacle of UFC 200 are already underway.

UFC President Dana White announced Friday that the milestone event is slated to take place July 2, 2016 during International Fight Week at the MGM’s new multi-million dollar arena, which is currently under construction on the Las Vegas Strip.

The arena, a $350 million, 20,000 seat project co-funding by MGM Resorts International and AEG Live, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2016.

And if UFC 100 was any indication, UFC 200 should be quite a show.

Featuring a championship doubleheader of Brock Lesnar and Georges St-Pierre, along with Dan Henderson’s legendary knockout of Michael Bisping, UFC 100 shattered the UFC’s pay-per-view record in 2009, drawing an estimated 1,600,000 buys.

Six years later, it remains the highest selling pay-per-view in UFC history.

LAS VEGAS — The biggest underdog of UFC 189 may surprise you. While Brad Pickett had an admittedly rough detour at flyweight, the longtime stalwart of the bantamweight division’s top-10 figured a return home to his natural weight class would at least earn him a little more respect. That’s not the case though, and Pickett is baffled to see oddsmakers pin him as high as a 10-to-1 underdog against undefeated Brazilian prospect Thomas Almeida ahead of the pair’s main card match-up.

“It’s crazy,” Pickett told MMAFighting.com on Thursday. “It’s not exactly like I don’t punch hard and I’m not a well-rounded fighter. I was ranked No. 5 at bantamweight before I went down to flyweight.

“I think [people are writing me off]. Obviously. Everyone is seeing an 19-0 guy who’s finished like 14 fights. Of course he got a little bit of a hype train. So for me, last time I fought an undefeated prospect was Demetrious Johnson, and I beat him. Demetrious Johnson has gone on to do great things, so I think Thomas Almeida is young and he will go on the do great things. But I think it’s my time to humble him and give him a learning curve.”

Now that it’s behind him, Pickett admits his journey down to flyweight was little more than a “failed experiment.” The 36-year-old hopped divisions in the hopes that his 2010 win over Johnson would earn him a quick road to the 125-pound title, but the weight proved difficult to adapt to. After winning a decision over Neil Seery in his debut, Pickett looked sluggish in losing back-to-back fights over Ian McCall and Chico Camus, ultimately heading back up to 135 with a sour taste in his mouth from a style he found all too prevalent in the UFC’s lightest men’s division.

“At that weight class — no disrespect because some people do — but a lot of people don’t hit hard enough to finish people,” Pickett said. “You don’t see a lot of finishes at flyweight like you do with the heavyweight weights. It’s all about hitting and running, hitting and running. Hit and don’t get hit. It’s a point scoring system. How can you outpoint that guy in that round? For me, I just want to get involved in a fight. I don’t want to be chasing someone around the cage. Strike, then it’s ‘oh, come on.’ I’m getting peppered [while I’m chasing them], and not to sound disrespectful, but I never thought in a zillion years that any of them could knock me out with that little pit-pat.

“So that’s why I’d like to go back up a weight class and fight guys who would stand in front of me a little bit more and play my game. I don’t mind being the smaller guy this time. And like I said, the first opponent I got is Thomas Almeida, and he’s a guy who’s going to stand right in front of me, I’m not going to find it hard to hit him, and we’re going to throw down.”

If Pickett was looking for a dance partner who’d throw down with him, he definitely found his huckleberry in Almeida. The 23-year-old Brazilian has crafted a striking game within the famed walls of Chute Boxe Academy that well exceeds his years, and despite just fighting twice inside the UFC, Almeida has already developed a reputation as one of the most feared prospects to rise out of 135 in quite some time.

It’s a perfect storm for the perennially brawl-minded Pickett, and exactly the time of fight he’s looking for at this point in his career.

All five of Pickett’s most recent losses came against top-15 ranked foes, with four of them — McCall, Michael McDonald, Eddie Wineland, and Renan Barao — coming against men ranked in their division’s respective top-6. So any rumblings of his demise may be premature considering that kind of strength of schedule.

But Pickett is more honest than most fighters. He admits he sees the twilight of his career fast approaching, so rather than mount any sort of 13th hour run at glory, he’d rather stick around for his few final days and entertain fight fans with his violent sensibilities and a handful of willing adversaries willing to bite down on their mouthpieces and satisfy some bloodlust.

“That’s the thing. I’m not really interested in making another run,” Pickett acknowledged. “I just want exciting fights. So I’ve got [Almeida] as an exciting fight, but if I beat him, yeah, of course he’s a prospect, he’s ranked No. 14 in the weight class, so it’s not going to propel me into the top-10 or anything, I’m not going to be going ‘oh wow, I could get a title shot.’ So I understand. Once I win this one this weekend, I look at the next fight: which is a fight that excites me?

“I’m not worried about [the title picture].”

After spending more than a decade in the game, Pickett concedes it’s a bit bizarre to see himself playing the role of spoiler, tasked with stopping the hype train of a young buck. It’s a role he’s more than happy to play, though he’s not exactly naïve to the dire straits a third consecutive loss could put him in.

“It is (strange), because I’d always want to compete at the highest levels. In my eyes, when the UFC are done with me, probably I’ll pack up my gloves and that’s it,” Pickett said. “I don’t have desire to go out of UFC and try to get back in. No. Once the UFC is done, I think I’m done.

“But for me, obviously, I love my job. I love what I do, so I’m going to try to hang onto this as long as I possibly can. I know age is a concern for people, but for me age is just a number. It’s how your body feels, and I feel good.”

LAS VEGAS — UFC 189 is called The McGregor Show for good reason. The sea of Irish green that’s suddenly flooded the Las Vegas Strip can attest to that. But nestled below the spectacle sits a mighty fine helping of welterweight violence, as Robbie Lawler puts his UFC strap on the line against Rory MacDonald in a rematch of a crackling 2013 contest that saw Lawler stun Canada’s soft-spoken son en route to claiming a split decision that few ever saw coming.

Much has changed in the 20 months since that first fight. Lawler blazed a trail to one of mixed martial arts’ most unexpected and uplifting comeback stories, capturing the UFC title with newfound aggression that occasionally bordered on insanity. MacDonald, meanwhile, fashioned the loss into fuel to at last emerge as the top-tier contender he always seemed destined to become. It’s as compelling of a rematch as one can find in this sport, and the odds have ping-ponged all week to reflect the true pick’em nature of the fight. So to add onto the fun, we’ve asked another slew of pros to weigh-in and call their shot for Saturday’s co-main event. Enjoy.

Daniel Cormier: I got Robbie, man. You know, I watched that last fight just the other night, which, it was a great fight. And it’s unbelievable how this fight is getting overlooked. But dude, when Robbie Lawler gets mad and gets physical with Rory, Rory pretty much s–ts his pants. He just starts diving for shots and he panics.

If Robbie does that, if Robbie fights Rory as he did Johny Hendricks, Rory can be in a lot of trouble. And I think that’s all Robbie knows at this point, is fighting as he fought Hendricks. So I pick Robbie Lawler. I think he’ll retain.

Ben Rothwell: Robbie Lawler is my boy. He’s going to go in there and knock this motherf–ker out.

Gunnar Nelson: Rory is going to win this time. I think Rory has a wider skill set. Robbie is very tough fighter, and if you haven’t fought him, you’re going to get in there and it’s going to be tough. That’s how it was the first time, and he lost that fight. But I think this time, he’s already gone against Robbie once and he has a lot more weapons. So I think he’s going to be able to defeat Robbie Lawler.

Jorge Masvidal: I got Robbie all day, man. All day. He did it the first time and I think he’s going to do it even better this time. I think he’s just going to put the pressure on him and break him. I think he might even stop him late in the fight.

Dustin Poirier: Of course Lawler, because he’s the champ. He’s already beaten this guy and he’s way better than he was when he beat him. He’s a workhorse, man. He’s always working on small things, tedious things in the gym. He’s fun to be around. Lawler, for sure.

Kenny Florian: It’s a tough one, man. I always said, I will never doubt Robbie Lawler again. However, I think now is the time for Rory MacDonald. He’s really putting his skills together, and I think mentally he’s a different fighter than what he was before. He learned a lot from that first fight against Robbie Lawler, so I’m going to go with Rory MacDonald. I think he gets it done. I don’t think there’s another fighter on the planet who can beat Robbie Lawler at 170 pounds — I think Rory is probably the only one, and I think he wins.

Jeremy Stephens: I’m going to go with Robbie, man. I’m an Iowa boy and I’m going with Robbie all the way.

Tim Means: I’ve been a Lawler fan since he fought Nick Diaz way back in the day. I was watching that fight back home when I was, like, 17. So I’m going to have to go with Lawler on that one. I like his style and I just like the guy overall.

Frank Mir: It’s very difficult to call. I think Rory is very talented, a very great athlete who has phenomenal takedowns. But I think that Lawler is just gritty. He’s hard to take down. He’s very hard to get on the ground, and he’s always looking to violently try and hit you very hard. I think Rory has always been a little bit suspect when getting caught with hard shots, and knowing that, Lawler is very hard to put away.

The only way I’ve seen Lawler get finished that I can think of is just submissions. People aren’t knocking him out. Nick Diaz was kind of a freaky one, so there’s one. But as a rule of thumb, he can take a beating. So over five rounds, I think he makes a connection. But that one is a hard one. I wouldn’t put money on it.

Brandon Thatch: S–t, man. I like both guys. I’ve trained with Rory and he’s an animal. I like Rory, he’s a nice guy. And I’ve been a fan of Robbie Lawler for a long time. I don’t even want to pick that one. But I think Rory is really hungry right now. He’s got that get-back mentality. He’s got to get that payback, so I’m going to go with Rory.

Cezar Ferreira: That’s going to be a war. Man, I don’t know. It’s like a surprise, but I think Lawler is going to win.

Anthony Johnson: Robbie, dog. I have a lot of respect for Robbie, because to me, he has a story just like mine. He started from the bottom and worked his way up, knocking fools’ heads off left and right, going through the battles, going through the fire, and he became champ. I hope he keeps that title. I love his style. I love his style, but Rory has a different style, for sure. He’s got more of a, he’s got a nice flow to his stuff, you know what I’m saying? So I know Rory will go out there and give him a test. He’s going to test him. But Robbie, to me, is on another level. That man is on fire.

Joseph Benavidez: Oh man, that’s good fight. It’s hard to look at that fight. I mean, Robbie already beat him so you have to give the advantage to him. He beat him last time, and he’s looked good in every fight. Rory, obviously there’s revenge factors there. It’s mental, the vengeance part of it. But you know, I always give the advantage to the champions, just because they’re champion for a reason.

Matt Brown: Robbie. He beat him once, so that’s really the only reason. This sport comes down to match-ups a lot of times. Obviously he can do it once, so I don’t know why he couldn’t do it again. He has five rounds to land that big punch. He only had three rounds the first time and he got it.

Kevin Lee: I’m going to go Rory. I think Rory gets either a late stoppage or a decision. You know Rory, he comes with Firas Zahabi. Firas is a master game-planner. They’re going to look at that first tape, they’re going to go back and they’re going to make the necessary adjustments.

And Robbie is just a guy, he just gets in there and he fights. When you put gameplan versus the fighter mentality, especially when they’ve already had that fight before — Rory is somebody who doesn’t mind executing that gameplan to the tee while Robbie goes off of emotion, so I think Rory will take it, an easy, kind of boring decision probably. But a decision nonetheless.

Michelle Waterson: Robbie. I just like Robbie. I’m a fan of Robbie Lawler.

John Howard: I’m going Robbie. Robbie is a great striker. He’s very hard to take down. He’s hard to keep down. And he beat Rory before. I know Rory was injured when that fight happened, but I just think Robbie is a better striker and he’s harder to take down, so I’m going with Robbie on this one.

Dennis Bermudez: I got Robbie. I like Robbie, man. He’s tough, man. I’ve seen him get clipped by Hendricks and he was just standing there, smiling and throwing it back. Like, jesus. He’s ruthless.

Cathal Pendred: Agh, I’m a big Robbie fan. I really hope Robbie wins. But if I was to put my money on it, I would think Rory. I just think he’s a bit more complete. The only advantage Robbie has is mentally. I think Rory can be a little bit wishy-washy. Robbie is an unbelievable fighter — I really hope Robbie wins — but I think Rory is one of the few guys who’s under 30 in the top-15 and I think he’s going to be around for a while.

Brad Pickett: I’ve got Robbie. He’s a champion. He’s confident now. He’s had a little bit of time off to recoup his body, he’s training really well. It’s going to be a great fight, because Rory MacDonald is a great opponent, but I’m going to have to go with Robbie.

Rose Namajunas: I think Rory is really talented, but Robbie Lawler seems to be stronger and more experienced, so I give it to him.

Stipe Miocic: I think Rory gets better every fight. And Lawler, he’s been around, man. Lawler hits hard. Rory is just one of those guys, he’s such a good, technical fighter, he has such a good gameplan when he comes into a fight. But I just have to say, I think if Lawler does what he does every fight, just bring the fight to you, put the pressure on, it’s going to be a long night for Rory.

Johny Hendricks: If I’m Robbie Lawler, I want to fight on the inside. I want to get inside, I want to bring it in the fight, just like it was in the third round of the first fight. Right? Bring it in close, hit him a couple times, put him on his back. And if I’m Rory MacDonald, I want to keep him at range like he has in his last few fights. Keep him at range, throw kicks, and if they do move inside his comfort zone, use your wrestling to take him down.

Now, who can stop that? If Rory MacDonald can stop Robbie Lawler from getting inside, it leans more towards Rory MacDonald. If Rory MacDonald can’t stop Robbie Lawler from getting inside of his range, then it starts leaning more towards Robbie Lawler. So that’s sort of the big question. Who knows? I don’t care. I want to fight either one of them.

LAS VEGAS — Another title fight, another absolute destruction. In what is becoming a familiar refrain, Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino defended her Invicta FC featherweight title with a sub-one-minute knockout over Faith Van Duin in the main event of Invicta FC 13, then called out her ever elusive rival: UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

“I want to fight Ronda Rousey. Stop running,” Justino proclaimed to the packed crowd at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

This time around, Justino’s mastery was as clinical and ferocious as the last time around. After defending her title with a 46-second crushing of Charmaine Tweet in February, “Cyborg” bested her own time by a single second on Thursday, trapping the unheralded Duin against the cage, dropping her with a monstrous volley of punches, then landing a few more concussive blows to call it a night. The final time of the finish clocked in at 45 seconds.

A fight between “Cyborg” and Rousey remains the most lucrative available option for either woman, although it’s proven difficult to put together with “Cyborg” unwilling to drop down to 135 pounds and Rousey unwilling to meet her rival at a 140-pound catchweight. UFC President Dana White stated several times in the lead-up to Invicta FC 13 that Justino’s next fight is expected to be her first venture into bantamweight, however when asked in her post-fight interview, “Cyborg” was noncommittal about the idea of dropping down in weight.

Elsewhere on the card, Tonya Evinger (16-5) put a savage and sustained beating on Mexican prospect Irene Aldana (5-2) in the night’s co-main event, capturing the vacant Invicta FC bantamweight title with a fourth-round TKO stoppage from mount.

A veteran of the sport for nearly a decade, Evinger stormed out from the opening bell and made her gameplan clear, muscling the 27-year-old Aldana onto the mat, quickly climbing into mount, then unloading punches and elbows on her overmatched foe. Evinger transitioned into an armbar and appeared to nearly snap Aldana’s arm in two, but Aldana persevered through it only to eat another relentless series of punches from mount.

From there it was wash, rinse, repeat, as Evinger battered Aldana with strikes from top position for the ensuing three rounds before finally securing the merciful finish with a salvo of blows at 4:38 of the fourth frame, giving Evinger her seventh straight victory and the major title that has eluded her throughout her career.

“F you to all you guys who said I was going to get my ass kicked,” a smiling Evinger said afterward. “It’s about time. Thank you guys.”

In the night’s third and final championship fight, Japan’s Ayaka Hamasaki (12-1) employed a steady diet of trips and takedowns to upset Herica Tiburcio (9-3) and steal away the Invicta FC atomweight title.

While the fight was largely uneventful, Hamasaki survived a nasty first-round guillotine choke and spent the closing minutes of the third round defending a slew of rear-naked choke attempts. Other than those two moments, though, Tiburcio had no answer for the 33-year-old’s takedown attack, as Hamasaki continually waded into the clinch, wrestled Tiburcio to the mat, and went to work with a slow procession of strikes and advances.

The judges ultimately scored the contest 48-47, 49-46, and 47-48, awarding Hamasaki the Invicta 105-pound title via split decision.

Featherweight rookie Amber Leibrock (1-0) scored the card’s biggest stunner in the first fight of the night, flooring the youngest member of Ronda Rousey’s Four Horsewomen crew, Marina Shafir (1-2), with a thunderous right hand to pick up a 37-second knockout in her professional debut.

Shafir took the center of the cage early, but was quickly downed by the 27-year-old and ate a barrage of punches before referee Steve Mazzagatti saw fit to stop the contest. Leibrock grabbed the fence to avoid a Shafir leglock during the finishing sequence, however Mazzagatti failed to see it.

The loss marked Shafir’s second straight 37-second loss, as Shafir suffered a similar knockout at the hands of Amanda Bell last August.

“I told everybody I was here to make a statement. 145ers have a new problem on their hands and it’s me,” an elated Leibrock said.

“My hands are fire, and I proved it tonight.”

In early action, Swedish bantamweight Pannie Kianzad (8-0) put on a striking clinic to sweep the scorecards over Jessica-Rose Clark (5-2), while New Mexico native Amber Brown (5-1) set an ominous tone for the Irish weekend, dominating the previously unbeaten Catherine Costigan (5-1) with punches and elbows from mount before sealing the deal with a rear-naked choke at 3:34 of the first round.

Strawweight prospect Jamie Moyle (3-0) rounded out the night, taking a split decision over Amy Montenergo (6-2) in a spirited back-and-forth contest to preserve her undefeated record by judges’ scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29.