Thiago Tavares vs. Doo Ho Choi Set For TUF 23 Finale

UFC announced a couple of new fights for their International Fight Week events in July this week.

Added to The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale event is an exciting lightweight bout between Thiago Tavares and Doo Ho Choi.

Tavares (20-6-1) and Choi (13-…

thiago-tavares

UFC announced a couple of new fights for their International Fight Week events in July this week.

Added to The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale event is an exciting lightweight bout between Thiago Tavares and Doo Ho Choi.

Tavares (20-6-1) and Choi (13-1) are both coming off wins heading into the TUF 23 Finale event, which will be the second of three consecutive events during International Fight Week, which concludes with the landmark UFC 200 event.

Headlined by the UFC Women’s Strawweight Title fight between Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha, The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale takes place on July 8, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Anthony Birchak vs. Dileno Lopes Added To UFC Fight Night 90

This week, UFC announced a couple of new fights for their International Fight Week events in July.

Added to the UFC Fight Night 90 event is an exciting bantamweight bout between Anthony Birchak and Dileno Lopes.

Birchak (11-3) and Lopes (19-2) ar…

anthony-birchak

This week, UFC announced a couple of new fights for their International Fight Week events in July.

Added to the UFC Fight Night 90 event is an exciting bantamweight bout between Anthony Birchak and Dileno Lopes.

Birchak (11-3) and Lopes (19-2) are both coming off losses heading into the UFN 90 event, which will be the first of three consecutive events during International Fight Week, which concludes with the landmark UFC 200 event.

Headlined by Rory MacDonald vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, UFC Fight Night 90 takes place on July 7, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Video: Fans run wild at Rebook store for Khabib Nurmagomedov meet-and-greet

There’s no denying that mixed martial arts (MMA) is the fastest growing sport in the world. Besides soccer, it may already be the most acknowledged international platform in sports.
But sometimes, even despite how good it must feel to get the suppo…

There’s no denying that mixed martial arts (MMA) is the fastest growing sport in the world. Besides soccer, it may already be the most acknowledged international platform in sports.

But sometimes, even despite how good it must feel to get the support of the masses, sports fans take it a little too far. Just ask undefeated Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight title contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, who recently saw his Rebook meet-and-greet get taken over by a swarming hoard of 3,000 Moscow fight fans (video shown above).

After the unexpected turn of events, “The Eagle” took to Instagram to deliver his candid reaction:

Being aware of the fact, that many fans looking to meet me, take pictures and autograph, together with…

MMA Hitman: The former UFC fighter who became a dangerous contract killer

Karim Zidan delves into the post-MMA career of former UFC fighter Amar Suloev, who went from the UFC to contract killing. On a frosty Christmas Day in the small town of Rostov, Russia, a little-publicized hearing took place in a North Caucas…

Karim Zidan delves into the post-MMA career of former UFC fighter Amar Suloev, who went from the UFC to contract killing.

On a frosty Christmas Day in the small town of Rostov, Russia, a little-publicized hearing took place in a North Caucasian District Military Court. Sergei Zirinov, a Krasnodar parliamentarian and member of the Legislative Assembly, was on trial for the attempted murder of the deputy leader of the Anapa City Cossack Society, Nikolai Nesterenko. Zirinov was joined by five other defendants, each charged with either murder and attempted murder in aggravated circumstances, banditry and illicit arms trafficking, depending on the role they played. One of those defendants was 40-year-old Amar Suloev, a former UFC and Pride FC fighter.

It was a stunning revelation: Suloev, the Armenian-Russian with Yazidi origins dating back to Mesopotamia – the man who had faced Chuck Liddell at UFC 35 – was an alleged contract killer.

Amar competed professionally in mixed martial arts between 1999-2008. He began under the M-1 Global banner, where he lost by submission to Andrei Semenov, However, he then took part in a 11th edition of the World Vale Tudo Championship — a bare-knuckle tournament – and eventually won all three fights in a single night. His gutsy performance was featured in one of the first MMA documentaries ‘Rites of Passage.’

From there, Suloev compiled an eight-fight win streak that earned him an opportunity to fight in the UFC. His first opponent was none other than the ‘Iceman’ Chuck Liddell. Amar survived the dangerous striker’s onslaught and lasted long enough to lose a unanimous decision to the soon-to-be champion. He was given another opportunity in the UFC against Phil Baroni, who knocked the Armenian out within the first three minutes of the fight to put an abrupt end to his UFC tenure.

Suloev continued to fight for another seven years following his UFC exit. While training at Fedor’s future gym, Red Devil Fight Club in Stary Oskol – now know as Alexander Nevsky Club — Amar competed for the likes of Pride FC, Cage Rage, M-1 Global, and BodogFight before he eventually retired in 2008 with a 24-7 record. Suloev even had a submission named after him – a variation of the thigh slicer known as the The Suloev Stretch.

Following Suloev’s retirement eight years ago, he joined a private security company (VAN) in the Krasnodarsky Krai region of Russia. It was there that he met Sergei Zirinov, an ill-fated acquaintance that took Amar down a desperate spiral to the underworld of illegal activities. Zirinov, a Krasnodar legislative assemblyman, was later arrested for allegedly assassinating his political rivals. Sergei was also a member of President Vladimir’s Putin’s ‘United Party.’ Suloev appeared to be a rising member of his organized crime group.

The gang is believed to have killed the director of the Malaya Bukhta sanatorium, Vitaly Sadovnichy, and his wife Olga Ivankina, as well as businessman Salman Nabiyev. They had attempted to assassinate Nikolai Nesterenko but killed his driver instead and left the deputy wounded from the injuries.

The assailants, including Zirinov and Suloev, were arrested in 2013 shortly following this incident. One of the defendants, who offered a testimony in exchange for a shortened sentence, placed Suloev as the driver during the botched Nesterenko murder.

Over the following three years, the courts probed the case. Countless hearings took place, including a recent one at the start of 2016, around Christmas time. However, the hearing was cut short and a verdict was not handed down to the five defendants. One of them was very sick and needed desperate medical attention.

Amar Suloev appeared to be dying. The court was adjourned.

Instead of being sent to a medical facility, Suloev was returned to his jail cell, where he lost 48 pounds during the Christmas holidays. Prosecutors continued to deny him medical attention until he began to bleed internally. He even pled his own case:

“Your Honor, I am worse and worse. It’s a vicious circle. I could not participate in the process. From my judgment, I am returned to prison where nobody cares about my condition, and no one involved in my treatment. I’m not trying to make you pity. I can make anything you want. But what I want here? I really do not understand what is happening. I do not listen. I feel dizzy. Noise in the ears. Weight loss continues. I ask you to treat with understanding and adjourn.”

Suloev was taken to the hospital in Rostov and a gastroscopy that found an “aggravated ulcer” and “chemical burns in the esophagus” that had caused gastric bleeding. However, when it was time to examine the stomach tissue closely to ensure that there was no risk of stomach cancer, the doctors did not undergo the testing because of “technical issues.”

“The likelihood of cancer is quite large,” Amar’s lawyer, Alexander Pervach, said. “This can be seen even from a single endoscopy. The conclusions of this week are very disappointing. Our client is slowly dying, and ten lawyers and four public prosecutor can not possibly get medical treatment from the court.”

The trail is still ongoing. An April 12 hearing, the most recent one of note, was postponed indefinitely. Russian law does not place a limit on the amount of postponements of court hearings during criminal cases.

As the courts moved ahead at a snail’s pace, Suloev, a former World Champion turned contract killer, sat in his jail cell clutching at his stomach as he waited for his verdict, or death.

Robbie Lawler vs. Rafael dos Anjos? Lightweight Champ Spells It Out

UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos is still looking to prove himself the most dominant 155-pounder on the planet. Having defeated Donald Cerrone in his first title defense at the tail end of 2015, he now has his sights set on Eddie Alvarez on a Fight Night card just two days before UFC 200. The Brazilian

The post Robbie Lawler vs. Rafael dos Anjos? Lightweight Champ Spells It Out appeared first on LowKick MMA.

UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos is still looking to prove himself the most dominant 155-pounder on the planet. Having defeated Donald Cerrone in his first title defense at the tail end of 2015, he now has his sights set on Eddie Alvarez on a Fight Night card just two days before UFC 200. The Brazilian has plenty of contenders to worry about at lightweight, especially Khabib Nurmagomedov who defeated dos Anjos back in 2014. The dialogue between the two rivals was reignited when ‘The Eagle’ made a successful return against Darrell Horcher, but threats from other divisions are ever present.

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Super fight?

Super fights in the UFC have become more of a pipe dream than an actuality during the promotion’s history, with only a select few ever coming to fruition. Very rarely do we see two titles on the line, but we did nearly see Conor McGregor attempt to make himself the first dual weight champion in the UFC. Fighters such as Randy Couture and BJ Penn had won belts in consecutive divisions, but never at the same time. The mark that would be left by such an unparalleled achievement are unfathomable, but surely the first man or woman to etch their names on to that coveted page of MMA history would rocket up everyone’s list of the ‘Greatest of all time.’

Rafael dos Anjos was the man that ‘The Notorious’ would have challenged for the 155-pound strap, until ‘RDA’ was forced off the UFC 196 card injured and replaced by Nate Diaz. The subsequent submission loss to Diaz scratched McGregor from any immediate plans for a two weight championship reign, but the talk of super fights is not done yet.

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Look one weight division above dos Anjos, and you have one of the most exciting UFC fighters, let alone champs, on the promotion’s roster. Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler has become a mixed martial arts icon with his thrilling UFC fights and subsequent rise to the top of the 170-pound division.

‘RDA’ is no stranger to this fact, and has made it obvious he wants to fight ‘Ruthless’ in the near future…

The post Robbie Lawler vs. Rafael dos Anjos? Lightweight Champ Spells It Out appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Referee John McCarthy says Conor McGregor was guaranteed $10 million for UFC 200

The whole Conor McGregor vs Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) thing should have its own news channel.
Having sparked such an enormous discussion around the mixed martial arts (MMA) community, the Irishman’s notoriety has grown tenfold, wh…

The whole Conor McGregor vs Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) thing should have its own news channel.

Having sparked such an enormous discussion around the mixed martial arts (MMA) community, the Irishman’s notoriety has grown tenfold, which is crazy considering how popular he already was. That’s what happens when you challenge the biggest MMA promotion in the world head on for missed press conferences and pay-per-view (PPV) billings.

But at the end of the day, whether McGregor was right in skipping his UFC 200 duties or not, the Featherweight champion will be losing a boatload of cash after being ripped from the biggest PPV card of 2016.

While many members of the MMA community have voiced their opinions on the situation, world-renowned MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy offers a little insight into the monetary side of things.

“I talked to Lorenzo Fertitta at UFC 197 standing in the back and we started talking,” said McCarthy on a recent episode of his podcast with Sean Wheelock, Let’s Get It On MMA (which can be listened to here). “And he said, ‘I never thought that when I had a guy guaranteed $10 million I would have a problem.’ If you don’t think $10 million is a lot of money to make for a fight, you are crazy. That is life changing money.”

Even in the eyes of losing money most of us won’t see over a lifetime, McGregor challenged UFC and UFC called his bluff. He gambled like no other fighter has ever gambled before. Unfortunately, the Irishman was unable to win the pot.

“That hand in poker, he lost,” added McCarthy. “That $10 million might not be $10 million the next time he fights because it’s not UFC 200.”

While it has yet to be seen if McGregor can come close to making $10 million guaranteed on a card outside of UFC 200, it’s safe to say the 27-year-old will make more than enough money over the next couple of years.