As you may have heard, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is having quite the week.
Amid a ballyhooed tour promoting the release of her autobiography, the UFC’s biggest star was announced to be gracing the cover of the May 18th edition of Sports Illustrated magazine.
Oh, and SI also crowned her “the world’s most dominant athlete.”
Well, if Rousey sits at one end of the spectrum of greatness, guess who UFC president Dana White has holding the other end of the stick?
“I said a long time ago: Whenever somebody wins the belt at such a young age and the money and the fame that goes along with it, it’s going to be a tough ride,” White told Michael Landsberg Tuesday on TSN’s ‘Off the Record.’
“You either have the people that go the route of a Ronda Rousey or the people that have gone Jones Jones’. I’d say more people have gone Jon Jones‘ route than the Ronda Rousey route.”
To be fair to Jones has anyone else managed to go the Ronda Rousey route?
“It’s tough,” White continued. “It is what it is. This guy’s got to figure out his legal situation, get all his stuff handled and then decide whether he wants to fight again.”
With Jones seeming to have gone underground following the fallout of his incident, White was asked for his take on the former champ’s current state of mind.
Last week, Jones’ manager Malki Kawa told MMA Fighting we may have seen the last of the former champion in the Octagon.
“His mindset is that he needs to handle this legal situation,” White said. “He did a hit and run. He hit a pregnant lady, she broke her arm and now he’s facing a civil suit and he’s facing the charges for the hit and run so that’s what he’s focused on now. That’s what he needs to be focused on right now. When he gets past this he can decide if he wants to fight again.”
Asked if Jones was caught off guard by the UFC’s move to strip him of his title, White said the decision surprised everyone.
“I don’t think anyone saw that coming,” White said. “The fans, the media and probably even Jon Jones.”
5 MUST-READ STORIES
A little get together. Some of the most powerful managers in MMA are planning to meet next week in Las Vegas.
Yikes. Former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza says she ‘knows for a fact’ that WSOF champ Jessica Aguilar has used PEDs. ‘A friend of mine told me that they personally gave her shots in her butt or whatever.’
Beware the jinx. Dave Meltzer explains why Ronda Rousey’s place on the Sports Illustrated cover is historically significant.
More time off. Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis undergoes successful elbow surgery to repair torn ligaments.
Fortunes changed for five. See how Stipe Miocic, Robert Whittaker, James Vick, Jake Matthews and Sam Alvey move forward following UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Miocic.
MEDIA STEW
Stipe Miocic says don’t even throw the towel in for him.
Rousey tossing Jesse Palmer around on Good Morning America (via Bloody Elbow)
ABC News Videos | ABC Entertainment News
TMZ even managed to sexualize chicken wings.
Forrest Griffin doesn’t sound too worried about PEDs in MMA.
Urijah Faber’s fight music.
A bunch of people don’t think Ronda is too dominant.
(actually different videos)
Long watches.
TWEETS
Congrats.
Excited and honored to represent MMA on the cover of @sinow!!!! https://t.co/hHcA8L1m6q
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) May 12, 2015
#MyFightYourFight is released in bookstores today!! pic.twitter.com/y01IKziRCB
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) May 12, 2015
Beef.
I take that fight no prob, with proper Testing I’m in. Called her out for years. https://t.co/lbWyLbJXj9
— Carla Esparza (@CarlaEsparza1) May 13, 2015
Um, it was Fight Pass, and he was on the prelims… I’m the one who actually fights on Fox. https://t.co/Y3CdVCkZaI
— The Spartan (@EliasTheodorou) May 12, 2015
Cuttin’.
The weight cut is going well even on short notice. Thanks fuel_up for hooking me up snd helping me on… https://t.co/yrPMwcCwiv
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) May 13, 2015
On weight and feeling great. @Venumfight @Torque1net @ufc pic.twitter.com/EQqrCNSDQY
— Gegard Mousasi (@mousasi_mma) May 13, 2015
Bad guys.
With Chael Sonnen after his match at metamoris #stillcompetingstrong https://t.co/UG98POQ6Db pic.twitter.com/Hi8VlCE4Eh
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) May 12, 2015
Interesting.
@arielhelwani equivalent to politicians getting together to decide how the pie is going to be distributed in each other’s pocket
— Ryan Jimmo (@RyanJimmo) May 13, 2015
@arielhelwani if they were meeting to discuss the well being of the fighters they manage I think it would be a good thing
— Ryan Jimmo (@RyanJimmo) May 13, 2015
Still traveling.
Salutari de pe stadionul Dinamo din Bucuresti!!! My first time in Bucharest, what an amazing city! pic.twitter.com/37funr92wc
— Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) May 12, 2015
FYI.
I’m going to be in a movie. It’s going to be ridiculous. https://t.co/7wFaAFP5v4
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) May 12, 2015
Auctioning off Conor McGregor Official UFC Fight Gloves for #HaydensHugs http://t.co/o5jUTfWsEh @ufc pic.twitter.com/01tAjvVCZG
— Alexis Davis (@AlexisDavisMMA) May 12, 2015
open casting call for TV show Kingdom this Sunday from 1-4 pm @UFCGym Torrance. Spread the word! @joestevenson pic.twitter.com/Vs7WllUfw2
— KSOS (@KSOSufc) May 12, 2015
Outstanding.
— Coach (@CMPunk) May 12, 2015
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (May 12 2015)
Masanori Kanehara vs. Rani Yahya at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4 Finale
Jessica Andrade vs. Sarah Moras at UFC Fight Night: Duffee vs. Mir
Ericka Almeida vs. Juliana Lima at UFC Fight Night: Alves vs. Condit
Marlon Moraes vs. Sheymon Moraes at WSOF 22: Palhares vs. Shields
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes via Michael Shulski.
Poll: Should Referees or Cornermen Stop Fights?
Stipe Miocic’s beatdown of Mark Hunt sparked debate in mma communities that fighters who aren’t intelligently defending themselves should have either their corners ‘throw in the towel’ or have the referee stop the fight. Consider the following arguments:
1) It is a referee’s job to stop fights. A fighter’s corner is unlikely to stop a fight for fear of letting down the fighter themselves, and their fans. State athletic commissions could consider setting criteria for stopping fights. How many blows must a fighter absorb before a fight is stopped? This is a very difficult question as some strikes are more damaging than others. Would a criteria such as “16 unanswered blows” be sufficient? This line of reasoning reveals that a fight has qualitative aspects that aren’t necessarily quantified all that well. This further reveals that referees must be highly trained individuals.
…
Check out the rest of the post here.
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