Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will do battle next Saturday night (March 4). “The Eagle” vs. “El Cucuy” is going to be contested for the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight title. The winner will likely meet 155-pound kingpin Conor McGregor in a unification bout later this year. No. 9 ranked UFC 155-pounder Beneil Dariush […]
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will do battle next Saturday night (March 4). “The Eagle” vs. “El Cucuy” is going to be contested for the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight title. The winner will likely meet 155-pound kingpin Conor McGregor in a unification bout later this year. No. 9 ranked UFC 155-pounder Beneil Dariush […]
Rashad Evans is ready to return to Octagon action. Evans’ last Octagon appearance saw him suffer a gnarly first round knockout loss to Glover Teixeira in their headliner bout at UFC on FOX 19 last April. The former light heavyweight champion attempted to make his debut at 185 pounds against Tim Kennedy at UFC 205
Rashad Evans is ready to return to Octagon action.
Evans’ last Octagon appearance saw him suffer a gnarly first round knockout loss to Glover Teixeira in their headliner bout at UFC on FOX 19 last April. The former light heavyweight champion attempted to make his debut at 185 pounds against Tim Kennedy at UFC 205 in New York, but was pulled from the fight due to a failed medical exam.
Their bout was rescheduled for UFC 206 in Canada but Evans was again unable to obtain a medical license to compete. Now Evans is expected to finally make his middleweight debut against Dan Kelly this weekend (Sat. March 4, 2017) at UFC 209.
Evans recently spoke to FOX Sports ahead of his clash with Kelly to detail how he felt during the period of time he was denied license to compete in New York or Canada:
“I never felt so much at the mercy of the other people in my whole life and it’s a very humbling thing,” Evans said. “I trained so hard and I put the work in and I did everything I could do on my end but then I had to sit back and be told that I can’t fight. Then I was told that I may never fight again. It was hard to deal with. For the last 14 years or so, I’ve been a fighter for so long I kind of forgot what it’s like to not have this as my biggest form of expression of who I am.
“For a brief second I was like it may be over and I was in denial for a long time. Even when they told me I couldn’t fight in New York, I was waiting for them to be like ‘oh we’re just kidding’. I couldn’t believe that it was actually going down that I was not going to fight. That it was not clearing up. I was in denial for a while. Then I got the chance to fight in Toronto and then it happened in Toronto where they didn’t even give me a second look. They were like ‘New York said no so we’re saying no’. It was a helpless feeling.”
When he was finally cleared by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) to compete this weekend, Evans almost got emotional upon receiving news that he would finally get to compete inside the Octagon once again in almost a year:
“I almost cried to be honest. It was an emotional thing for me because no fighter wants to go out like that, especially me,” Evans said. “I didn’t want to go out like that. I know one day this will be over and I feel like I’ll be able to handle it but I just wasn’t ready for it to end like that. I wasn’t ready for it to end without me having a chance to compete again and have the feelings of how you feel going into a fight.
“You’re battling yourself and you’re nervous and you have all those thoughts in your mind, all those things that happen when you’re riding that emotional roller coaster when you’re getting ready for a fight. Those are the things that you love most about fighting. To never experience that again, it was really hard to wrap my mind around. When the commission said I was able to fight, I was just relieved and I was happy.”
With the move down to 185 pounds Evans says he feels like he’s starting a new career and is getting a rush of ‘rookie feelings’ heading into his fight with Kelly:
“It definitely feels like a second career,” Evans said. “Because it feels like I’m starting all over. Almost every aspect of it. From training situations to just getting cleared to a new weight class, everything feels brand new.
“I feel like a new kid on the block. It’s refreshing. I’m excited, I’m nervous, I have all those rookie feelings but I know I can do it because I’ve done it before.”
Evans is looking to make a statement this weekend for those who have doubted him and already written him off, and plans to unleash a lot of pent up anger on Kelly to do so:
“I’ve definitely got something to prove. I want to go out there and show a lot of people that have doubted me and who really just stuck a fork in me and said that I’m done. That don’t think I can do it and say that I should quit. All those things they say when they think you don’t have it anymore,” Evans said. “The looks that they give you and the kind of snide remarks that people make. Things like that. I’ve definitely got something to prove and I’m going to go in there and release myself to say the least. Release a lot of anger and just have fun out there because at the end of the day, I’ve been at the top of the sport and I’ve been at the bottom. I’ve had some real hard setbacks in this sport and I learned to realize that you can’t really build who you are on what people say. That’s ultimately building your foundation in sand.
“People come and go and what they say doesn’t really last. I’m definitely looking forward to going out there and just letting people know that I’m not finished and when I’m finished is when I say I’m finished.”
Benson Henderson is close to kicking his toothpick habit to the curb. The current Bellator lightweight is known for being a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) title holder. He’s also known for holding a toothpick in his mouth while fighting. While Henderson has been “Smooth” when it comes to holding […]
Benson Henderson is close to kicking his toothpick habit to the curb. The current Bellator lightweight is known for being a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) title holder. He’s also known for holding a toothpick in his mouth while fighting. While Henderson has been “Smooth” when it comes to holding […]
Tyron Woodley will once again put his UFC welterweight title on the line in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., March 4, 2017) UFC 209 from Las Vegas, Nevada, in a rematch with No. 1-ranked Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. The two first met last November in the co-main event of UFC 205 where they went back-and-forth
Tyron Woodley will once again put his UFC welterweight title on the line in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., March 4, 2017) UFC 209 from Las Vegas, Nevada, in a rematch with No. 1-ranked Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
The two first met last November in the co-main event of UFC 205 where they went back-and-forth for five rounds in an all-out war that resulted in a majority draw. Woodley walked away with the 170-pound strap, but he felt as if he had done enough to secure a convincing win.
In the rematch, “The Chosen One” is gunning for a finish:
“He’s going to have to deal with my power. He’s going to have to deal with fighting in the pocket. He’s going to have to deal with my wrestling. He’s going to have to deal with my clinch. I don’t think he’s going to run around, and I’ll finish him this time. I need to go and close a chapter, put a stamp on it, and get him out of there. It’s go time now,” Woodley said during a UFC 209 promotional video.
Not only is Woodley looking for a finish, but the champion also appears to be interested in putting a serious beating on “Wonderboy”:
“I’m going to whoop ‘Wonderboy’ in the way that he will never ask to fight me again. I’m going to shut up every hater. I’m going to show that I’m the No. 1 welterweight on the planet earth. March 4th, I’m going to go out there and I’m going to beat ‘Wonderboy’ down so bad he’s going to wish he never stepped in the Octagon. He survived the last fight, he didn’t hurt me,” he said.
Holly Holm will have to get her revenge on Germaine de Randamie the old-fashioned way. After it was revealed ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ would appeal her highly controversial unanimous decision loss to de Randamie in the main event of February 11’s UFC 208 from Brooklyn, New York, Holm’s manager Lenny Fresquez has informed MMA Fighting that
Holly Holm will have to get her revenge on Germaine de Randamie the old-fashioned way.
After it was revealed ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ would appeal her highly controversial unanimous decision loss to de Randamie in the main event of February 11’s UFC 208 from Brooklyn, New York, Holm’s manager Lenny Fresquez has informed MMA Fighting that their appeal has been denied by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC).
Criticism and controversy arose for the newly-crowned UFC women’s featherweight champion de Randamie when she hit Holm with some powerful punches seconds after the bell in both rounds two and three and referee Todd Anderson failed to take a point. The inexperienced official appeared to overcompensate by stepping in between the two fighters after the fourth round, but the damage was done and he’s come under extreme scrutiny as a result.
De Randamie has since issued an apology to Holm claiming she’s not a dirty fighter, and even went as far as offering her an immediate rematch for the title, an odd situation given ‘The Iron Lady’ stated she needed some time off for surgery when faced with the prospect of facing Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino in her next fight.
Photo by Ed Mulholland for USA TODAY Sports
Holm’s team was accepting of the NYSAC’s decision, with Fresquez telling MMA Fighting they would move on to hope for the rematch de Randamie offered:
“We respect their decision and will not seek anything further, except a rematch from Germaine.”
Holm wasn’t as forgiving during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, however, noting that while many may think she’s whining and complaining about a fight she did little to win, de Randamie should own up to the fouls committed, which were intentional in Holm’s eyes:
“I’m not trying to be like a wuss about it and whine. That’s definitely not what I’m trying to do. I think that’s a hard spot for me. A lot of people keep saying, well, she hit you after the bell, how do you feel? Well, I’m a fighter. I’m not going to sit here and whine about it and complain. There’s a lot of things I could have done.
“At least own it. She knows she did it on purpose and one of them definitely rocked me.”
It remains to be seen if the rematch between de Randamie and Holm will come to fruition, but it’s hard to imagine a plausible scenario where anyone but Cyborg fights for the championship in the fledging division next.
Brad Pickett is a fighter known well and truly as a fan-favorite and will make his final appearance inside the Octagon in his hometown of London, England. “One Punch” recently spoke to WHOATV about his past, present and future in MMA. Pickett’s fun loving style and humorous nature have won him many fans in MMA. […]
Brad Pickett is a fighter known well and truly as a fan-favorite and will make his final appearance inside the Octagon in his hometown of London, England. “One Punch” recently spoke to WHOATV about his past, present and future in MMA. Pickett’s fun loving style and humorous nature have won him many fans in MMA. […]
Evans is looking to make a statement this weekend for those who have doubted him and already written him off, and plans to unleash a lot of pent up anger on Kelly to do so: