Junior dos Santos never much fancied a dance with Alistair Overeem, but it appears he’s done fighting against it. An incredulous dos Santos responded to accusations of being “afraid” Monday morning by tagging several UFC officials in a tweet that demanded the promotion make the Overeem fight happen.
Dos Santos (17-3) is sidelined at the moment after undergoing dual knee and nose surgeries following his Dec. 2014 win over Stipe Miocic at UFC on FOX 13. He is targeting a return to action in November or December, and Overeem has already vowed to greet the Brazilian in his return.
The 35-year-old Overeem (39-14, 1 NC) hasn’t made his intentions a secret, either. “The Reem” has needled dos Santos unremittingly on social media for much of the past month, chiding the former UFC champion to stop delaying and sign a contract for the fight.
But now it looks like a rivalry that began in 2012, when Overeem was slated to challenge for dos Santos’ UFC championship, will finally be settled.
Overeem sunk that first match-up himself when he popped positive for elevated levels of testosterone in a pre-fight drug test and drew a nine-month suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission. Had he done similarly under the UFC’s new working partnership with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which the two heavyweights will compete under for their proposed fight, Overeem would’ve drawn a two-year suspension for his testing failure.
Dos Santos is 3-2 since the Overeem fight fell through, sandwiching wins over Frank Mir, Mark Hunt, and Miocic between a pair of devastating title losses to Cain Velasquez.
Overeem, on the other hand, has rebounded by picking up victories over Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve, marking the first two-fight win streak of his UFC career after being knocked out in three of his first four fights back from suspension.
Together, dos Santos and Overeem are the only two men to defeat current UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum since 2008.
Junior dos Santos never much fancied a dance with Alistair Overeem, but it appears he’s done fighting against it. An incredulous dos Santos responded to accusations of being “afraid” Monday morning by tagging several UFC officials in a tweet that demanded the promotion make the Overeem fight happen.
Dos Santos (17-3) is sidelined at the moment after undergoing dual knee and nose surgeries following his Dec. 2014 win over Stipe Miocic at UFC on FOX 13. He is targeting a return to action in November or December, and Overeem has already vowed to greet the Brazilian in his return.
The 35-year-old Overeem (39-14, 1 NC) hasn’t made his intentions a secret, either. “The Reem” has needled dos Santos unremittingly on social media for much of the past month, chiding the former UFC champion to stop delaying and sign a contract for the fight.
But now it looks like a rivalry that began in 2012, when Overeem was slated to challenge for dos Santos’ UFC championship, will finally be settled.
Overeem sunk that first match-up himself when he popped positive for elevated levels of testosterone in a pre-fight drug test and drew a nine-month suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission. Had he done similarly under the UFC’s new working partnership with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which the two heavyweights will compete under for their proposed fight, Overeem would’ve drawn a two-year suspension for his testing failure.
Dos Santos is 3-2 since the Overeem fight fell through, sandwiching wins over Frank Mir, Mark Hunt, and Miocic between a pair of devastating title losses to Cain Velasquez.
Overeem, on the other hand, has rebounded by picking up victories over Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve, marking the first two-fight win streak of his UFC career after being knocked out in three of his first four fights back from suspension.
Together, dos Santos and Overeem are the only two men to defeat current UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum since 2008.
Few people ever mentioned Amanda Nunes as a worthy title challenger for Ronda Rousey before this past Saturday. But after watching her dazzling display against Sara McMann, they certainly are now. Nunes blew the doors off of McMann at UFC Fi…
Few people ever mentioned Amanda Nunes as a worthy title challenger for Ronda Rousey before this past Saturday. But after watching her dazzling display against Sara McMann, they certainly are now. Nunes blew the doors off of McMann at UFC Fight Night 73, stopping the Olympic medalist with a rear-naked choke in less than three minutes, instantly vaulting her name into title contention.
Nunes is now 4-1 in the UFC. More impressively, all four of those victories ended inside the first round.
So when asked Monday whether his young pupil was ready for the challenge Rousey brings, American Top Team coach Mike Brown didn’t hesitate in his response.
“In my opinion, I think she is. I think her stand-up is light years ahead of Ronda’s,” the former WEC champ said on The MMA Hour. “But obviously Ronda is super talented. The best. [Amanda] would have to use good footwork and score and move and try to stay off the ground, because Ronda is a phenom on the ground. But I don’t think Ronda’s stand-up is at Amanda’s level.”
Miesha Tate is the likely front runner for the next shot at Rousey’s bantamweight title, but Nunes (11-4) has long been a dark horse in waiting. She exploded into the public consciousness in 2011 with a 14-second knockout of Julia Budd in Strikeforce, and has seemingly improved with every incremental step since.
Her quartet of early UFC stoppages include a first-round TKO over Rousey’s good friend Shayna Baszler. And even in her only Octagon stumble, Nunes nearly put Cat Zingano away early before succumbing to a volley of third-round strikes.
“She’s only been with us for the last couple fights, but I’ll say, 100-percent, this is the first girl I’ve ever seen in the gym where I looked and I was like, whoa,” Brown said. “I’ve seen her literally stop guys in the gym. Like, beating dudes up, making guys quit in the stand-up. And she, from an early age, has a grappling background.
“But I’ve seen her, like, make dudes quit (while) kickboxing in the gym. It’s impressive. … Professional fighters who are very tough, she’s beating up, and she can be mean too. She’s getting after them and the guys are timid, and she’s like the alpha, for sure. It’s pretty crazy.”
Nunes’ latest romp over McMann propelled her into the No. 4 spot on the UFC’s media-generated women’s bantamweight rankings. And there’s not much more higher she’ll need to get.
Even if the UFC decides to go forth with a Rousey-Tate trilogy, the general lack of depth in the division means that one more good win is likely all Nunes would need to land the next shot at the title.
“I think she could beat Ronda now,” Brown said. “I don’t know, maybe you try to build her a little more and get her a little more experience? But she’s more than capable.”
When it comes to the matter of Ronda Rousey’s next title challenger, the UFC certainly has options. Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino remains ever on the periphery of the discussion, and Brazilian veteran Amanda Nunes turned heads with her destructive win over Sara McMann at UFC Fight Night 73.
But Miesha Tate, who has twice lost to Rousey before, believes she’s earned the right to be called No. 1 contender.
“For one thing, I’ve been beating everyone who could potentially deserve a shot,” Tate said recently on The MMA Hour. “So you can’t tell me that there’s a single girl out there who deserves it more than I do right now. I’m confident in saying that because I told everyone that I would work my way back to the title and I would earn that, and I have. I’ve done it, and if there’s someone else who people are questioning, who’s like, ‘hey, what about this girl? She might deserve it more.’ Then okay, I’ll take her out too.”
Since stumbling to Rousey in the pair’s UFC 168 rematch, Tate has stuck true to her word, fending off all comers with a four-fight win streak over Liz Carmouche, Rin Nakai, McMann, and Jessica Eye. The final win of that run, a unanimous decision over Eye, showcased improved striking power from Tate. And now, after waiting in silence for over a year, she finally believes she’s earned the right to ask for what she wants most.
“I’m the only one to even give Ronda fight so far,” Tate said. “I think I’ve already proven that I have something that so far none of the other girls in the division have been able to prove that they have or they possess. Taking Ronda into the third round is no easy feat, but that gives me so much more confidence, and knowing what it feels like to be in there with her, knowing what I’m up against, gives me an insurmountable amount of confidence because I know exactly what I’m getting into.”
It’s true that Tate seems to approach Rousey differently than any other challenger. Two of the three longest contests of Rousey’s career belong to Tate, including Tate’s harrowing three-round rematch in 2013. That fight still stands as the only time Rousey has been taken past the first round — a fact which looks even more impressive in retrospect, considering that Rousey’s four wins since have come in a combined two minutes and 10 seconds.
All that success hasn’t caused Rousey to rest on her laurels, though. Rousey’s ruthless knockout of Bethe Correia at UFC 190 showcased the improved striking that is so often lauded by the champ’s trainers, but until then hadn’t been seen inside the Octagon.
Yet Tate is confident that when the time comes, her own improvements will rival those of the division’s queen.
“I think that Ronda’s striking has gotten better, and that she’s evolving,” Tate said. “But I think I’m catching up to her as far as being a better athlete. I think that’s one thing she had a huge advantage with, the type of training, having the experience being in the Olympics, the Olympic training center, things like that and the kind of programs they put those elite level athletes on. I didn’t have that before. I thought I was doing it right.”
Since her second loss to Rousey, Tate has revamped her strength and conditioning program at Phase 1 Sports in Las Vegas, training alongside professional athletes of various disciplines to help close the physical gap between herself and Rousey. She saw those results come to fruition against Eye, and now she hopes to be the first women who can successfully solve the Rousey puzzle.
“I don’t know how to answer the question because I haven’t done it yet,” Tate said. “Nobody knows the formula. I mean, there is no formula to beat anybody. So no, there’s no sure safe answer. There’s no, hey, you can only do it this way. It’s just one of those things. I guess that’s the beautiful thing about fighting, you don’t really know exactly how to do it. You can try to make a gameplan, you can try to do everything you can, but in an instant it can all change.
“That’s another strength that I have, that I know that I have. The ability to adapt to any situation and find my way through it. That’s what got me into the third round with Ronda Rousey, being able to make changes on the fly and have that experience to be able to do that and figure that out. So no, there’s no formula. There’s no for sure formula to beat anybody. But I think that’s I’m definitely the closest so far, and it motivates me. It makes me very confident.”
When it comes to the matter of Ronda Rousey’s next title challenger, the UFC certainly has options. Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino remains ever on the periphery of the discussion, and Brazilian veteran Amanda Nunes turned heads with her destructive win over Sara McMann at UFC Fight Night 73.
But Miesha Tate, who has twice lost to Rousey before, believes she’s earned the right to be called No. 1 contender.
“For one thing, I’ve been beating everyone who could potentially deserve a shot,” Tate said recently on The MMA Hour. “So you can’t tell me that there’s a single girl out there who deserves it more than I do right now. I’m confident in saying that because I told everyone that I would work my way back to the title and I would earn that, and I have. I’ve done it, and if there’s someone else who people are questioning, who’s like, ‘hey, what about this girl? She might deserve it more.’ Then okay, I’ll take her out too.”
Since stumbling to Rousey in the pair’s UFC 168 rematch, Tate has stuck true to her word, fending off all comers with a four-fight win streak over Liz Carmouche, Rin Nakai, McMann, and Jessica Eye. The final win of that run, a unanimous decision over Eye, showcased improved striking power from Tate. And now, after waiting in silence for over a year, she finally believes she’s earned the right to ask for what she wants most.
“I’m the only one to even give Ronda fight so far,” Tate said. “I think I’ve already proven that I have something that so far none of the other girls in the division have been able to prove that they have or they possess. Taking Ronda into the third round is no easy feat, but that gives me so much more confidence, and knowing what it feels like to be in there with her, knowing what I’m up against, gives me an insurmountable amount of confidence because I know exactly what I’m getting into.”
It’s true that Tate seems to approach Rousey differently than any other challenger. Two of the three longest contests of Rousey’s career belong to Tate, including Tate’s harrowing three-round rematch in 2013. That fight still stands as the only time Rousey has been taken past the first round — a fact which looks even more impressive in retrospect, considering that Rousey’s four wins since have come in a combined two minutes and 10 seconds.
All that success hasn’t caused Rousey to rest on her laurels, though. Rousey’s ruthless knockout of Bethe Correia at UFC 190 showcased the improved striking that is so often lauded by the champ’s trainers, but until then hadn’t been seen inside the Octagon.
Yet Tate is confident that when the time comes, her own improvements will rival those of the division’s queen.
“I think that Ronda’s striking has gotten better, and that she’s evolving,” Tate said. “But I think I’m catching up to her as far as being a better athlete. I think that’s one thing she had a huge advantage with, the type of training, having the experience being in the Olympics, the Olympic training center, things like that and the kind of programs they put those elite level athletes on. I didn’t have that before. I thought I was doing it right.”
Since her second loss to Rousey, Tate has revamped her strength and conditioning program at Phase 1 Sports in Las Vegas, training alongside professional athletes of various disciplines to help close the physical gap between herself and Rousey. She saw those results come to fruition against Eye, and now she hopes to be the first women who can successfully solve the Rousey puzzle.
“I don’t know how to answer the question because I haven’t done it yet,” Tate said. “Nobody knows the formula. I mean, there is no formula to beat anybody. So no, there’s no sure safe answer. There’s no, hey, you can only do it this way. It’s just one of those things. I guess that’s the beautiful thing about fighting, you don’t really know exactly how to do it. You can try to make a gameplan, you can try to do everything you can, but in an instant it can all change.
“That’s another strength that I have, that I know that I have. The ability to adapt to any situation and find my way through it. That’s what got me into the third round with Ronda Rousey, being able to make changes on the fly and have that experience to be able to do that and figure that out. So no, there’s no formula. There’s no for sure formula to beat anybody. But I think that’s I’m definitely the closest so far, and it motivates me. It makes me very confident.”
The Nevada Athletic Commission voted unanimously to suspend former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva for one year as punishment for a pair of failed drug tests in relation to his Jan. 31 bout at UFC 183. Silva was also fined his full …
The Nevada Athletic Commission voted unanimously to suspend former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva for one year as punishment for a pair of failed drug tests in relation to his Jan. 31 bout at UFC 183. Silva was also fined his full $200,000 win bonus, as well as 30-percent of his $600,000 show money, and his victory over Nick Diaz was overturned into a no contest.
The NAC handed down the sentencing at a hearing Thursday in Las Vegas. Silva’s suspension is retroactive to Jan. 31, meaning he’ll be permitted to return to professional fighting on Jan. 31, 2016 as long as he provides a clean drug test. Silva is also required to reimburse the commission for legal and additional testing fees.
Silva, 40, twice tested positive for drostanolone metabolites ahead of his UFC 183 fight against Diaz — first in a Jan. 9 out-of-competition blood test, then in a Jan. 31 fight night urine screening. Silva also tested positive for a second anabolic steroid, androstane, in the Jan. 9 test, along with temazepam and oxazepam, two benzodiazepines which are banned for in-competition use by the NAC without a therapeutic use exemption.
Drostanolone and androstane are classified as exogenous anabolic androgenic steroids, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency, meaning they are substances not naturally produced by the human body. Temazepam is commonly used as a sleeping aid, while oxazepam is commonly prescribed as an anti-anxiety medication.
Silva’s lawyer, Michael Alonso, argued that a tainted sexual enhancement supplement was the root of the two failed tests for drostanolone. Silva claimed he received the off-brand liquid supplement in a blue, unmarked vial that was purchased in Thailand and given to him by a former training partner, Marcos Fernades, because it was unable to be obtained in the United States or Brazil. The substance was frequently referred to as Cialis, though Silva was unable to produce a specific name for it when asked.
Silva’s defense claimed to have tested the sexual enhancement supplement independently, discovering that it contained trace amounts of drostanolone, but neither Alonso nor Silva’s expert, Paul Scott, brought any evidence of their findings to the hearing.
Silva said that he started taking the supplement prior to starting his fight camp and stopped taking it on Jan. 8. Following damning testimony from Dr. Daniel Eichner, Silva acknowledged that he also took the substance intermittently up until the week before the fight.
Silva added that he did not disclose the supplement on his pre-fight questionnaire because he was “uncomfortable” admitting it to the commission and did not expect the sexual enhancement formula to come to light — an omission which commissioner Pat Lundvall called “intentional falsification.”
Silva was largely evasive when it came time for questioning. At one point commissioner Anthony Marnell asked him straight, “Did it ever cross your mind that taking a clear substance in a blue vial from a friend that came from Thailand, being a fighter of your stature, and all that you have on the line and all that you’ve come back from, might not be a good move?”
“No, that didn’t go through my thought process,” Silva responded through his manager and translator, Ed Soares. “I’m human and I make mistakes, and this definitely was a mistake. If I would have known that this supplement that I was taking for something else would’ve had this sort of a problem, I would’ve never taken it in the beginning.”
Silva admitted to using the two benzodiazepines the night prior to the fight as a means to ease stress and help him sleep, claiming the medications were prescribed to him by a doctor in November for sciatic nerve pain.
Silva’s team was unable to explain the presence of androstane in the Jan. 9 test.
Alonso requested leniency throughout his defense, citing Silva’s status as a first-time offender while also appealing to alleged erraticism of NAC testing procedures by pointing to a pair of drug tests, one on Jan. 19 and one after the fight, which Silva passed.
The NAC ultimately rejected Silva’s defense and instead suspended the fighter under the commission’s former drug guidelines, which were in effect at the time of Silva’s failing.
Chairman Francisco Aguilar pushed for a 12-month suspension, the most severe suspension the commission could levy on a first-time offender. Aguilar cited the inconsistencies in Silva’s testimony and his belief that Silva failed to display adequate remorse during the proceedings.
Marnell concurred, stating, “I don’t know any other way to say it, but I don’t feel like we’re getting the whole story. I’m not going to say that’s a lie. I’m not going to say you’re not telling the truth under oath. But I’m not getting the whole picture here.
“I’m not taking anything away from Mr. Silva’s career. I think he’s done excellent things. He’s by far one of the top fighters in the world. But this is the first time he’s really been subject to enhanced testing, so it’s hard to put a lot of credibility into his prior test results — not his career, but his prior test results.
“I feel that there’s some intention here to use a product to come back from a devastating injury,” Marnell continued. “I feel that. I’m not saying that’s it, but I’ve got that feeling in my stomach that we’re not getting the whole story. There’s definitely knowledge of what’s going on here, and we’re just playing games. Hence my frustration for the last two hours with all of this soft testimony.”
Silva (34-6) is generally regarded as one of the greatest fighters to ever compete in the UFC. The legendary middleweight captured the UFC title in 2006, then held the belt over 16 straight victories and 10 straight title defenses — both UFC records.
Silva ultimately forfeited his title to a second-round knockout at the hands of Chris Weidman in 2013, then lost a rematch after suffering a broken leg midway through the bout.
Veteran referee Herb Dean was selected Thursday to oversee UFC 191’s flyweight title fight on Sept. 5 between Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson.
The selection was made at a meeting of the Nevada Athletic Commission in Las Vegas. Dean w…
The selection was made at a meeting of the Nevada Athletic Commission in Las Vegas. Dean was unanimously approved by the commissioners.
Johnson (22-2-1), the defending UFC flyweight champion, previously fought Dodson in Jan. 2013. The fight was the closest of Johnson’s reign as champion, however Johnson emerged with a narrow unanimous decision win.
Dodson (17-6) has won three fights since to earn his way to a rematch, highlighted by a pair of finishes over Darrell Montague and John Moraga.
Johnson is the only flyweight champion in UFC history. He has defended his title six times since claiming the belt in 2012.
Judges for the bout were also chosen. The fates of Johnson and Dodson will fall into the hands of Nevada regulars Derek Cleary, Marcos Rosales, and Tony Weeks.
UFC 191 takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card airs on pay-per-view.
UFC on FOX 17 is official for Dec. 19 at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL, the UFC announced Wednesday on UFC Tonight.
Without a year-end pay-per-view to follow it, the card is expected to be the final UFC show of 2015.
UFC on FOX 17 marks th…
UFC on FOX 17 is official for Dec. 19 at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL, the UFC announced Wednesday on UFC Tonight.
Without a year-end pay-per-view to follow it, the card is expected to be the final UFC show of 2015.
