One day after Kimura Nova Uniao fighter Luiz de Franca was shot and murdered in Natal, another MMA fighter was brutally murdered in the city.
Guilherme “Kioto” Matos Rodrigues, a 30-year-old fighter from Pitbull Brothers team, was killed w…
Guilherme “Kioto” Matos Rodrigues, a 30-year-old fighter from Pitbull Brothers team, was killed while he was in a juice shop with some teammates on Tuesday night. According to the police, two men approached in a motorcycle and shot at “Kioto”.
Rodrigues was rushed to the hospital, but he died during surgery.
Guilherme Matos Rodrigues and Luis de Franca were both murdered in Natal, the city that hosts UFC Fight Night 38 card on March 23.
“I can’t imagine why someone would do that to him,” Rodrigues’ teammate and Bellator fighter Patricio “Pitbull” Freire told MMAFighting.com on Wednesday. “He was a handsome guy, everybody knew who he was, so maybe someone was jealous of him.
“He trains with me for 12 years, and I never saw him getting trouble with anyone.”
“Kioto” (19-9) last fought inside the Jungle Fight cage on Dec. 7, when he defeated Joao Piccirillo via unanimous decision. The lightweight, who won four of his last five bouts, competed against some of the best fighters in the Brazilian circuit, including UFC veterans Ronys Torres, Iliarde Santos and John Teixeira da Conceicao.
The police have no suspects of the crime thus far, according to “Pitbull”.
“Guilherme was in the best time of his life now,” he said. “He just majored in Physical Education and kept fighting. Everything he did was work and train. I have no idea who would do a brutality like that to him.”
Sometimes I wonder if we’ll ever do one of these chats and they’ll be basically nothing to talk about. Today, however, isn’t one of those days.
We’re just three days out from UFC Fight Night 36 where in the main event middleweights Gegard …
Sometimes I wonder if we’ll ever do one of these chats and they’ll be basically nothing to talk about. Today, however, isn’t one of those days.
We’re just three days out from UFC Fight Night 36 where in the main event middleweights Gegard Mousasi and Lyoto Machida will face off for what could be something close to a title shot eliminator.
We also had a regrettable situation this past week where UFC bantamweightJessica Eye tested positive for something almost entirely innocuous (marijuana) and compounded the problem in almost comically inept fashion by slandering reporters and lying about the entire thing.
The UFC also announced Tuesday they’ve changed their post-fight bonus system. They are keeping Fight of the Night, but Submission and Knockout of the Night are now gone. Taking their place is something called Performance of the Night. I don’t really know what the change will mean in actuality, but if this means we’re rewarding brawling over the skill required to finish, I’m not a fan. Still, I’ll reserve judgement until I see how it is handed out.
There’s a lot going on, so join me today to discuss all of this and more. In terms of today’s chat, anything is up for discussion, but I will lead with this and it all kicks off at 1 p.m. ET.
As is customary, I’ll post the video window here as the event draws near and I’ll answer any questions you may have if you post them in the comments section below. Be sure that you click the ‘rec’ button for those comments/questions you believe most deserve a response.
Be sure to link this page and use the hashtag #chatwrappers on Twitter or even Facebook when you’re watching this to let everyone know you’re taking part is this activity of ours.
The ex-wife of former UFC light heavyweight Thiago Silva has finally offered her side of the story regarding last Thursday’s alleged domestic violence incident that took place at Team Popovich Martial Arts and Fitness. Married to Silva from 2004 to 2012, Thaysa Kamiji told Brazilian website UOL (via MMA Fighting) that her ex-husband’s continued abuse of […]
The ex-wife of former UFC light heavyweight Thiago Silva has finally offered her side of the story regarding last Thursday’s alleged domestic violence incident that took place at Team Popovich Martial Arts and Fitness. Married to Silva from 2004 to 2012, Thaysa Kamiji told Brazilian website UOL (via MMA Fighting) that her ex-husband’s continued abuse of […]
It would certainly be no surprise if Lyoto Machida emerged from UFC Fight Night 36 with the next available middleweight title shot sewn up.
In fact, if you’re the kind of person who only reads the headlines, you might think it’s already sor…
It would certainly be no surprise if LyotoMachida emerged from UFC Fight Night 36 with the next available middleweight title shot sewn up.
In fact, if you’re the kind of person who only reads the headlines, you might think it’s already sort of a done deal.
So long as Machida defeats GegardMousasi in Saturday night’s main event, he’ll likely get the nod over the winner of the evening’s dueling 185-pound contender battle between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Francis Carmont.
Right?
Well, maybe.
That was certainly the predominant takeaway from Dana White’s appearance on Fox Sports 1 earlier this week, when the UFC president mentioned Machida as the likely candidate during a wide-ranging eight-minute interview with host Charissa Thompson.
“Yes,” White said at one point, “if Machida wins, he could possibly be next in line for a title shot.”
Makes sense. Machida certainly has the highest profile among the current crop of middleweight contenders, all of whom have had a hard time getting a word in edgewise as Chris Weidman, Anderson Silva and VitorBelfort have dominated the discussion during the last six months.
Despite the fact he’s got just a single win in the Octagon at 185 pounds, Machida is a former light heavyweight champion, a popular figure in the UFC landscape and a known commodity for matchmakers.
Guy once had an entire era named after him, for Pete’s sake.
Except.
Except.
If you actually listen to what White said during that much-publicized television appearance, it makes the division sound a lot more wide open than all that.
Focus a bit more on the “ifs” and “possiblys” during his 50-second answer to Thompson’s question on the subject and you come away feeling like JacareSouza has just as good a chance to end up as the next opponent for the Belfort-Weidman winner.
Certainly, the lion’s share of the story will be told this weekend, when both Machida and Souza enter their bouts as significant favorites, via Best Fight Odds.
If Machida falters against Mousasi, or even wins via the kind of tepid, unsatisfying decision that was often his calling card at 205 pounds, the No. 1 contender spot could be there for the taking.
And Jacare could be just the man to grab it.
You can’t argue with much about Souza’s resume. The five-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion flashed moments of greatness throughout his eight-fight run through Strikeforce, but really seemed to hit his stride as a mixed martial artist after coming to the UFC last May.
He’s looked good—borderline great—in crafting back-to-back victories over Chris Camozzi and YushinOkami. We’ve always known Souza was among the most decorated submission grapplers in the sport, but it was the Okami victory five months ago that served as his proper coming out party in the Octagon.
In that bout, Souza overwhelmed the perennial contender on the feet—kicks, winging punches, even a standing elbow—before dropping him with an overhand right and swarming until the referee stepped in.
If you didn’t know before, it was the sort of showing that proved Souza could be a problem for anyone in his weight class. Even at 34 years old, his athleticism allows him to look leaps and bounds better each time we see him, transforming himself bit by bit from a pure grappler into a competent, even dangerous striker as well.
Moreover, he’s been something Machida can’t always boast—exciting.
We all know that carries more weight in this sport than it probably should.
Against Carmont, Souza will get a stiff test of most of his faculties, including his ability to entertain the masses. Through six consecutive wins in the UFC (11 straight overall) Carmont has established a reputation as a man who wins through inactivity more than anything else.
He’s got stoppage wins over KarlosVemola and MagnusCedenblad, but has otherwise wrestled his way to the bulk of his UFC wins.
It’s the style more than the substance of Carmont’s attack that means nobody is mentioning him alongside Machida and Souza as a potential immediate title contender. That’s probably not fair, but it’s how our system currently works.
Because of that style—and because this fight is in Brazil—Souza will have considerable support, both from the live crowd and the UFC faithful watching at home.
If he can do something impressive against the decision-prone Carmont—a highlight submission or bonus-worthy knockout—then we shouldn’t take for granted that it’ll be Machida fighting for the title later this year.
Instead, it could be Souza grabbing all the headlines.
UFC president Dana White’s disdain for former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz is no secret, but now White admits digging into his own pockets to help settle the score.
Speaking with Los Angeles radio personality Big Boy, White says h…
Speaking with Los Angeles radio personality Big Boy, White says he awarded Lyoto Machida an undisclosed bonus after defeating Tito Ortiz following their bout at UFC 84 in May 2008. Asked if he ever became personally interested in seeing a certain fighter lose in the UFC, White explained the situation with Ortiz.
“There’s no doubt about it,” said White. “Absolutely. I can tell you this. Tito Ortiz is that guy [I wanted to see] get his ass whooped. The only time in 13 years, all the fights we’ve ever done, Lyoto Machida beat Tito Ortiz, I actually wrote him a personal check.
“I literally bonused [sic] him myself.”
While I guess it’s encouraging the instance is more the exception than the rule, it’s a bit odd to hear White talk about rewarding a fighter after beating another he has history with. On the other hand, it proves White’s ability to put personal issues aside, as Ortiz went on to compete in the UFC six more times, scoring just a single win. So, fair or foul?
Drug use.Thiago Silva’s ex-wife says the fighter’s drug use is to blame for him becoming increasingly violent and unstable. “The problem was cocaine. He always thinks he’s above the law.”
As some of you in BJJ community may have heard, Marcelo and Tati Garcia’s infant son Joey passed away today.
Official word came Josh Waitzkin, co-founder of the MG in Action website
“Dear MGA Family, I am heartbroken to say that Marcelo and Tati’s beautiful little boy, Joey, passed away today. As you all know, Joey and his sister Olivia were born dangerously premature, after just under 24 weeks of pregnancy. They both endured unbelievable hardships, more than most of us will know in our lives, in their first four months on this earth. Such strong spirits. Heart surgeries, lung surgeries, intestinal surgeries, eye surgeries, infections, and they fought on. Thankfully Olivia is doing well, growing, almost 5 pounds now, and will hopefully be able to come home in weeks. Her resilience has been incredible. Poor Joey’s heart gave out after a very complicated lung surgery. He died in peace, surrounded by love in Tati’s arms, his dad right there beside him.
There is no doubt that Bellator is the second biggest MMA promotion in the world. Obviously the UFC is the biggest.
Bellator has some high-level talent that can make it to the UFC, if they are given Bellator’s graces to leave. The promotion has fighter…
There is no doubt that Bellator is the second biggest MMA promotion in the world. Obviously the UFC is the biggest.
Bellator has some high-level talent that can make it to the UFC, if they are given Bellator‘s graces to leave. The promotion has fighters who rival those in the UFC, as seen with some of its champions and top contenders.
There is often an argument about who are the best fighters in Bellator. Well, let’s try and sort that out now and look at the 10 best fighters in the organization.
It would certainly be no surprise if 
