It was only a matter of time.
Late last week UFC lightweight Reza Madadi received an 18-month prison sentence for his alleged role in the burglary of high-end Swedish handbag store Bottega Veneta. Madadi spent the past two months in jail awaiting the verdict, and according to police, broken glass matching the scene of the crime was discovered on Madadi’s person.
Over the weekend, UFC President Dana White revealed that Madadi would likely be released from the promotion, and on Monday UFC officials made it official.
“Following his conviction by a court of law in Sweden, the UFC organization has elected to terminate its relationship with Reza Madadi based on its Fighter Code of Conduct and the provision of its promotional agreement concerning fighter conduct,” read a brief statement posted on UFC.com.
Unless Madadi’s potential appeal proves successful, “Mad Dog” exits the UFC with a 2-1 record, having dropped a split decision to Cristiano Marcello between submission victories over Yoislandy Izquierdo and Michael Johnson. The latter performance earned the 35-year-old ‘Submission of the Night’ honors.
4 MUST-READ STORIES
Madadi released. As expected, the UFC officially cut Reza Madadi from its lightweight roster. Madadi received an 18-month prison sentence in Sweden last week after allegedly breaking into a high-end handbag store and stealing merchandise.
The MMA Hour. Ariel Helwani and The MMA Hour return with another loaded Monday edition featuring Lyoto Machida, Carlos Condit, Eddie Alvarez, Wallid Ismail, Jon Anik and Kyra Gracie.
Alvarez: Bellator deal ‘fair enough.’ Eight months of anger, resentment and legal roadblocks came to a tidy conclusion last week when Eddie Alvarez reached a settlement with Bellator. But could a compromise really heal all those old wounds?
Rua update. Following his first-round loss to Chael Sonnen at UFC Fight Night 26, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua issued a press release stating, among other things, “I still want many victories; I still want to become the world champion again. Who decides when I will stop (fighting) or not is myself, no one else.” Meanwhile, Shogun’s brother said the problem partially lies in the fact that Rua “has a lot of shady persons around him, people trying to take advantage of him.”
MEDIA STEW
So, this is a thing now. What do you think?
These Phantom Cam highlights are always great. Crank this baby to 720p and watch in all its HD splendor.
It’s been too long since we’ve included a thunderous moment from the heavyweight regional scene. So, here’s my gift to you:
(HT: KnockoutFootage)
One more? Okay, we’ll do one more.
This has nothing to do with MMA, but it’s just so endearing I had to include it.
UH-OH
Being a mgr/trainer in the Fight Game is such roller coaster. #Blessed w/a great group of fighters. Tuff day some Great news & Some BAD news
— Duke Roufus (@dukeroufus) August 20, 2013
MAYBE NEXT TIME
Well, it’s official: no replacement opponent would take the fight so I’m off #UFN27. I’m devastated about pushing my @ufc debut back.
— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) August 19, 2013
@jasondaymma absolutely. Sucks to be peaked and ready without a fight, but ill just keep improving and be that much better for next time
— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) August 19, 2013
IN NO MOOD
@jackshand92 fuck off man
— uriah hall (@UriahHallMMA) August 18, 2013
YOU DON’T SAY?
@danawhite Hey boss, Anytime you are going to go shoot a long gun make sure you bring me along. #SpecialForcesSniper
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) August 19, 2013
PERFECT LOGIC
If #NASCAR is a sport, then #CallOfDuty is a sport; because I’ll play that shit & hold my pee for 5 hours too. #HardCore
— Yves Edwards (@thugjitsumaster) August 19, 2013
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Monday, August 19, 2013):
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes to us from AndrewHH, who believes: McGregor passed many tests on Saturday; should fight Poirier/Koch winner or Lentz next
Conor McGregor entered the octagon on Saturday with a lot of hype. His first UFC appearance was a dominating knockout win over the tough Marcus Brimage, and in the months that followed, he became MMAs latest obsession. His quotes made headlines, his persona captivated the community, and his skills backed it all up. He even rode around in a black Ferrari with “The Don.”
As his hype train picked up steam, pressure built for the Irishman’s second UFC bout. Anything other than domination would be a setback, and thus, expectations were high. He didn’t get the finish he wanted against Max Holloway, but he passed several tests on Saturday.
1 – He didn’t succumb to the pressure.
Conor McGregor never let it affect him, but he was under a huge amount of pressure for his sophomore promotional outing. He had his own media day, countless interview requests, special treatment from the UFC boss, a pay-per-view style walkout, a whole country on his shoulders, and a tough Hawaiian waiting to spoil the party. All this for a fighter on the undercard.
Conor took it all in stride, and focused on what really mattered: the fight. “I just listen to my team, listen to my trainer, listen to the people in my circle,” he said at the post-fight presser. “Everyone else, they don’t exist. I know the support I have, and I just have to go with the flow.”
2 – He showed the ability to adjust strategy mid-fight.
Conor has long been known by his Irish fans as a dangerous and creative counterstriker, but he showed off a smooth ground game against Holloway. It wasn’t necessarily by choice, though.
McGregor injured his knee passing guard in the second, prompting him to employ a more grappling-heavy strategy for the remainder of the contest. “As soon as we stood up, midway through second round, it was just wobbly,” he said. “I threw a kick and nearly lost my balance. I was trying to hide it, I had to change it up and go for the takedown.”
“That’s why I don’t have a game plan, because anything can happen in this game,” he said, emphasizing a spontaneous approach. “You have to adapt and you have to be able to adjust in the moment.”
3 – Most importantly, he won.
No amount of hype matters unless you go out there and win. Despite the pre-fight pressure, an in-fight injury, and a formidable opponent, McGregor went out there and dominated without taking any damage. It was also the sole decision of his career; before Saturday, his longest fight had been a nine-minute, ten-second submission victory over Dave Hill in 2010.
The ‘X factor’ in this fight is McGregor’s knee injury, and pending layoff. Although he moved well on his feet for the rest of the fight, and wasn’t limping afterwards, we still don’t know if it will require surgery or extensive rehab. Assuming all goes well, he could return by the end of the year.
Found something you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me on Twitter @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s column.