After making his UFC debut under less than ideal circumstances in February, former collegiate wrestler Pat Cummins will get an opponent who is a little more on his level.
He will face Francimar Barroso at the UFC Fight Night card on June 7 in Albuquerq…
After making his UFC debut under less than ideal circumstances in February, former collegiate wrestler Pat Cummins will get an opponent who is a little more on his level.
He will face FrancimarBarroso at the UFC Fight Night card on June 7 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The event is headlined by a lightweight tilt between former champion Benson Henderson and RustamKhabilov.
The UFC announced the bout via Twitter:
Cummins made his UFC debut in February as a late-notice replacement opponent for Daniel Cormier. Mere days before the fight, Cummins was working as a barista in a California coffee shop. He was on shift when he received a call from Dana White asking him to face Cormier and then famously was fired from his job for talking on the phone during work hours.
He went into the fight as a massive underdog, and rightly so. Cormier finished him in the first round, but Cummins made something of a name for himself by talking trash to Cormier in the days leading up to the fight.
With the loss, Cummins‘ career record fell to 4-1, but the light heavyweight has received constant praise from training partners such as ChaelSonnen and is a prospect to watch in the coming years.
Barroso has competed twice under the UFC banner, with one win and one loss. His last fight was against Hans Stringer last month, when he lost a split decision on the Shogun vs. Henderson 2 preliminary card. The loss ran his overall career record to 16-4.
Other featured bouts on the UFC Fight Night event in Albuquerque include Diego Sanchez vs. Ross Pearson and John Dodson vs. John Moraga.
For a brief period of time on Thursday night, issues between Josh Burkman and his employers at World Series of Fighting seemed untenable.
Burkman expressed his disappointment with vague issues on Twitter, asking to be released from his contract. WSOF m…
For a brief period of time on Thursday night, issues between Josh Burkman and his employers at World Series of Fighting seemed untenable.
Burkman expressed his disappointment with vague issues on Twitter, asking to be released from his contract. WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdelaziz responded to Burkman via Twitter, saying the promotion had been good to Burkman and had bent over backward for him.
On Friday, World Series of Fighting executive Shawn Lampman called Bleacher Report from the promotion’s Las Vegas office. On the line with Lampman were both Burkman and Abdelaziz. Over the next 20 minutes, the trio shed some light on the roots of Burkman‘s frustration with the promotion.
Abdelaziz told Bleacher Report that his issues with Burkman had been resolved and that Burkman would face the winner of the title fight between RousimarPalhares vs. Jon Fitch, which takes place this summer.
Burkman confirmed the news.
“We can get into this from time to time. Especially me and Ali, because it has happened multiple times,” Burkman said. “But once it’s resolved, it’s resolved and we move on. And I’m very happy that they made it right and that I’m next in line to fight Fitch or Palhares.”
Burkman told Bleacher Report that his issues with Abdelaziz and WSOF stemmed from his recent fight with Tyler Stinson. Burkman told Abdelaziz he wanted to fight on the card, but the promotion was already over its fighter-pay budget. Burkman insisted on fighting, however, and ultimately agreed to take lower pay than what his contract called for.
But though he agreed to take the pay cut, Burkman wasn’t happy. After he knocked Stinson out, Abdelaziz came in the cage.
“I love you, Ali, but I don’t like you,” Burkman told the matchmaker.
“That’s our relationship. I don’t think it’s going to change. I don’t think it’s the last run-in we’re going to have over contracts or fights,” Burkman said. “But at the same time, I appreciate the person that Ali is. Some things got blown out of proportion, and I didn’t want that to happen.
“I like Ali, but he’s kind of a pain in my ass sometimes. Which is kinda his job, right? What happens is that there are some changes and miscommunication in contracts, and I was unhappy about it. I should have voiced how I felt about it a little bit better, maybe before I fought Tyler Stinson. But I figured the time for me to voice my opinion was after I won. I probably should have done that before the fight instead of doing it after. We didn’t all see eye to eye on it, but we came to a common ground. I appreciate how this has been handled.”
Burkman said he was unhappy with his treatment after coming off a loss to Steve Carl last year.
“I didn’t really like how I was treated. But I think that’s how it is in our sport. When you win, everything goes smoothly. But when you lose, that changes,” Burkman said. “There was a little bit of miscommunication. I wasn’t real happy with the way it all went down.”
“World Series of Fighting is a new company. We’re about to announce a very big thing, and there are a lot of moving parts,” Lampman said. “There was just some lack of communication. I think Josh had a reason to be a little upset. But I talked to Josh and we figured it out.”
Lampman told Bleacher Report that the promotion on Friday paid Burkman the difference in what he should have contractually received for the fight.
“When a fighter is coming off a big win, they have an expectation. And I think sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. Not intentionally. I was talking to Josh, and I completely understood how he felt. On a couple of issues, we agreed to disagree, but we resolved it,” Lampman said. “I think now, as Ali said, we have the making of an epic fight. Either Fitch vs. Burkman 3, or a war with Palhares. And Josh has the tools to beat both of them. It’s an honor to have him in our company and as a friend.”
Abdelaziz addressed Burkman directly.
“Josh, listen, me and you are going to become best friends,” Abdelaziz said. “I’m going to come down there and maybe you can choke me a couple of times.”
Burkman and Abdelaziz both expressed some regret in the way the situation played out over Twitter, but both chalked it up to the often volatile nature of social media.
“I’m a very emotional guy, and I speak my mind very loud. And when I saw the tweet, I got a little bit hurt. I kinda feel bad about it, because everyone started talking about me and Josh,” Abdelaziz said. “And that’s what people want. They want drama. I think I should have texted him, and he should have texted me. Whatever happens, me and Josh respect each other because we always speak our mind. No regrets. That is part of life.”
Burkman agreed.
“I don’t have any regrets. I made sure I thought about what I was going to say, and that I knew what I was getting myself into. I never said anything derogatory about Ali. I just said that, yeah, he can be a pain in the ass to deal with. I never said anything about World Series of Fighting except that I was unhappy and that, contractually, something went wrong.
“Social media is something else. You say one or two things, and then people ask you questions. And then it turned into something very big. Which is why I posted that WSOF has been mostly good to me. The people involved there are good people. So I wasn’t trying to bash the WSOF in any way. I was just trying to get things fixed that I wanted to get fixed, and it has been done.”
When asked by a fan on Twitter if Burkman wanted to fight the winner of Palhares vs. Fitch for the championship, the fighter responded by saying he didn’t want the WSOF belt.
“Josh, let me ask you a question: Do you want that belt now?” Abdelaziz asked Burkman.
Burkman said he does, in fact, want the belt.
“I definitely am very competitive. I think that comes out in the way I fight and negotiate. Now? I’m very interested in the Fitch vs. Palhares fight,” Burkman said. “And I’m very excited for the opportunity to fight the winner. I want to be the best in this organization, and you need the belt to do that.”
For a brief period of time on Thursday night, issues between Josh Burkman and his employers at World Series of Fighting seemed untenable.
Burkman expressed his disappointment with vague issues on Twitter, asking to be released from his contract. WSOF m…
For a brief period of time on Thursday night, issues between Josh Burkman and his employers at World Series of Fighting seemed untenable.
Burkman expressed his disappointment with vague issues on Twitter, asking to be released from his contract. WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdelaziz responded to Burkman via Twitter, saying the promotion had been good to Burkman and had bent over backward for him.
On Friday, World Series of Fighting executive Shawn Lampman called Bleacher Report from the promotion’s Las Vegas office. On the line with Lampman were both Burkman and Abdelaziz. Over the next 20 minutes, the trio shed some light on the roots of Burkman‘s frustration with the promotion.
Abdelaziz told Bleacher Report that his issues with Burkman had been resolved and that Burkman would face the winner of the title fight between RousimarPalhares vs. Jon Fitch, which takes place this summer.
Burkman confirmed the news.
“We can get into this from time to time. Especially me and Ali, because it has happened multiple times,” Burkman said. “But once it’s resolved, it’s resolved and we move on. And I’m very happy that they made it right and that I’m next in line to fight Fitch or Palhares.”
Burkman told Bleacher Report that his issues with Abdelaziz and WSOF stemmed from his recent fight with Tyler Stinson. Burkman told Abdelaziz he wanted to fight on the card, but the promotion was already over its fighter-pay budget. Burkman insisted on fighting, however, and ultimately agreed to take lower pay than what his contract called for.
But though he agreed to take the pay cut, Burkman wasn’t happy. After he knocked Stinson out, Abdelaziz came in the cage.
“I love you, Ali, but I don’t like you,” Burkman told the matchmaker.
“That’s our relationship. I don’t think it’s going to change. I don’t think it’s the last run-in we’re going to have over contracts or fights,” Burkman said. “But at the same time, I appreciate the person that Ali is. Some things got blown out of proportion, and I didn’t want that to happen.
“I like Ali, but he’s kind of a pain in my ass sometimes. Which is kinda his job, right? What happens is that there are some changes and miscommunication in contracts, and I was unhappy about it. I should have voiced how I felt about it a little bit better, maybe before I fought Tyler Stinson. But I figured the time for me to voice my opinion was after I won. I probably should have done that before the fight instead of doing it after. We didn’t all see eye to eye on it, but we came to a common ground. I appreciate how this has been handled.”
Burkman said he was unhappy with his treatment after coming off a loss to Steve Carl last year.
“I didn’t really like how I was treated. But I think that’s how it is in our sport. When you win, everything goes smoothly. But when you lose, that changes,” Burkman said. “There was a little bit of miscommunication. I wasn’t real happy with the way it all went down.”
“World Series of Fighting is a new company. We’re about to announce a very big thing, and there are a lot of moving parts,” Lampman said. “There was just some lack of communication. I think Josh had a reason to be a little upset. But I talked to Josh and we figured it out.”
Lampman told Bleacher Report that the promotion on Friday paid Burkman the difference in what he should have contractually received for the fight.
“When a fighter is coming off a big win, they have an expectation. And I think sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. Not intentionally. I was talking to Josh, and I completely understood how he felt. On a couple of issues, we agreed to disagree, but we resolved it,” Lampman said. “I think now, as Ali said, we have the making of an epic fight. Either Fitch vs. Burkman 3, or a war with Palhares. And Josh has the tools to beat both of them. It’s an honor to have him in our company and as a friend.”
Abdelaziz addressed Burkman directly.
“Josh, listen, me and you are going to become best friends,” Abdelaziz said. “I’m going to come down there and maybe you can choke me a couple of times.”
Burkman and Abdelaziz both expressed some regret in the way the situation played out over Twitter, but both chalked it up to the often volatile nature of social media.
“I’m a very emotional guy, and I speak my mind very loud. And when I saw the tweet, I got a little bit hurt. I kinda feel bad about it, because everyone started talking about me and Josh,” Abdelaziz said. “And that’s what people want. They want drama. I think I should have texted him, and he should have texted me. Whatever happens, me and Josh respect each other because we always speak our mind. No regrets. That is part of life.”
Burkman agreed.
“I don’t have any regrets. I made sure I thought about what I was going to say, and that I knew what I was getting myself into. I never said anything derogatory about Ali. I just said that, yeah, he can be a pain in the ass to deal with. I never said anything about World Series of Fighting except that I was unhappy and that, contractually, something went wrong.
“Social media is something else. You say one or two things, and then people ask you questions. And then it turned into something very big. Which is why I posted that WSOF has been mostly good to me. The people involved there are good people. So I wasn’t trying to bash the WSOF in any way. I was just trying to get things fixed that I wanted to get fixed, and it has been done.”
When asked by a fan on Twitter if Burkman wanted to fight the winner of Palhares vs. Fitch for the championship, the fighter responded by saying he didn’t want the WSOF belt.
“Josh, let me ask you a question: Do you want that belt now?” Abdelaziz asked Burkman.
Burkman said he does, in fact, want the belt.
“I definitely am very competitive. I think that comes out in the way I fight and negotiate. Now? I’m very interested in the Fitch vs. Palhares fight,” Burkman said. “And I’m very excited for the opportunity to fight the winner. I want to be the best in this organization, and you need the belt to do that.”
Scott Jorgensen called his last UFC loss “bulls–t” and wanted it overturned, but that won’t happen after all.
Jorgensen’s management team, MMA Inc., announced on Friday via Twitter that the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA)…
Scott Jorgensen called his last UFC loss “bulls–t” and wanted it overturned, but that won’t happen after all.
Jorgensen’s management team, MMA Inc., announced on Friday via Twitter that the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) has reviewed the fight and concluded that Jussier Formiga’s non-intentional headbutt didn’t play a big enough factor in the finish, so they denied Jorgensen’s appeal.
CABMMA director Cristiano Sampaio confirmed the information to MMAFighting.com.
Formiga scored a first-round submission victory over Jorgensen at UFC Fight Night 38 in Natal, Brazil, on March 23, with a rear-naked choke.
“You can’t get away with it twice,” Jorgensen tweeted on Friday. “Fight me.” His management team also called for a rematch via Twitter.
Jorgensen holds a 3-4 record under the UFC banner, and Formiga improved to 2-2 with the win in his hometown.
MMA Fighting has Bellator 115 results for the Minakov vs. Kongo fight card Friday night at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev.In the main event, Vitaly Minakov will defend his Bellator heavyweight title against Cheick Kongo.Check out the …
MMA Fighting has Bellator 115 results for the Minakov vs. Kongo fight card Friday night at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev.
Main card (Spike at 9 p.m. ET) Vitaly Minakov def. Cheick Kongo via unanimous decision (48-46, 48-46, 48-46) Herman Terrado vs. Justin Baesman is a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28) Kelly Anundson def. Volkan Oezdemir via submission (neck crank) at 3:19 of round two Mikkel Parlo def. Johnny Cisneros via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Undercard (Watch Bellator 115 live stream online at 7 p.m. ET) Rudy Morales def. Jimmy Jones via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) Rick Reeves def. James Terry via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Freddie Aquitania def. Josh Appelt via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Sinjen Smith def. Jason Powell via submission (armbar) at 1:52 of round one Benito Lopez def. Oscar Ramirez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Patrick Cummins will have another chance inside the Octagon.
The UFC announced on Friday that Cummins, who stepped in on short notice to replace Rashad Evans against Daniel Cormier for the UFC 170 co-main event, returns to action against F…
Patrick Cummins will have another chance inside the Octagon.
The UFC announced on Friday that Cummins, who stepped in on short notice to replace Rashad Evans against Daniel Cormier for the UFC 170 co-main event, returns to action against Francimar Barroso at UFC Fight Night 42 in Albuquerque, N.M, on June 7.
Cummins (4-1) signed with the UFC as an undefeated prospect in the light heavyweight division, and now he will have a full training camp to prove he’s worth to be on the UFC roster. Prior to his first professional loss against Cormier, “Durkin” scored four first-round stoppages in regional promotions.
Barroso (16-4), a former Shooto South-American champion, tries to bounce back to the win column after suffering a close split decision loss to Hans Stringer at UFC Fight Night in Natal, Brazil, in March. With 13 wins over his last 15 bouts, “Bodao” made his UFC debut in 2013 with a decision victory over Ednaldo Oliveira.
UFN 42 card takes place at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque and features a lightweight clash between Benson Henderson and Rustam Khabilov in the main event.
After making his UFC debut under less than ideal circumstances in February, former collegiate wrestler Pat Cummins will get an opponent who is a little more on his level.
