Tag: 39

GSP’s Coach Wants ‘Huge Fights’ With McGregor & Bisping

Although he hasn’t fought since he vacated his title in 2013 following a highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks, former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre announced late last week that he had inked a new deal with the promotion and would finally be returning to the Octagon he once ruled. His return

The post GSP’s Coach Wants ‘Huge Fights’ With McGregor & Bisping appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Although he hasn’t fought since he vacated his title in 2013 following a highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks, former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre announced late last week that he had inked a new deal with the promotion and would finally be returning to the Octagon he once ruled.

His return fight has not yet been set, but there are no shortage of opponents waiting for St. Pierre, as he still remains one of the biggest names in the sport.

He was in talks to fight middleweight champion Michael Bisping late last year, which is still an option, as is a potential superfight with lightweight champion Conor McGregor. Both of these options interest his coach, Firas Zahabi, who recently offered his opinion on the sure-to-be-hot topic:

“My ideal scenario, I don’t know if it’s still up for grabs, but I was really happy when there was a buzzing of Bisping or McGregor,” Zahabi told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “I thought those two would be two epic fights. One, he would go a little lower [in weight]; one, he would go a little higher. But those are really, really intriguing fights. Of course, Tyron Woodley, he’s the [welterweight] champion and et cetera, but he has his fight with ‘Wonderboy’ [Thompson]. And if ‘Wonderboy’ wins, then they’ll have a trilogy. And of course we don’t want to fight with ‘Wonderboy,’ we go way back together.

“So I think the welterweight title is not really something he (St-Pierre) is thinking about right now because of the current landscape, but there is always the 185-pound belt. And of course, McGregor is such a mega-star that if you put those two on a main event, I don’t think that anybody in the world wouldn’t watch that. I think that even non-MMA fans would watch that. But again, I don’t do the match-ups, I don’t do the managing, I’m just talking as a trainer.”

Do either of these options interest you, or would you rather St. Pierre face a different opponent in his long-awaited comeback fight?

The post GSP’s Coach Wants ‘Huge Fights’ With McGregor & Bisping appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Video: Derrick Lewis Challenges Mark Hunt, Explains Stomach Pain In Browne Fight

Soon after taking the first solid kick from longtime UFC Heavyweight contender Travis “Hapa” Browne in their main event bout at UFC Fight Night 105 on Sunday night, Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis was holding his stomach off-and-on for the remainder of the fight. During his appearance on the official UFC Fight Night 105 Post-Fight […]

Soon after taking the first solid kick from longtime UFC Heavyweight contender Travis “Hapa” Browne in their main event bout at UFC Fight Night 105 on Sunday night, Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis was holding his stomach off-and-on for the remainder of the fight. During his appearance on the official UFC Fight Night 105 Post-Fight […]

Video Highlights: Mauricio Alonso TKOs Josh Koscheck At Bellator 172

At the Bellator MMA event at the SAP Center on Saturday night, Josh Koscheck finally made his fighting debut for the promotion. Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well for “Kos.” Koscheck, who hadn’t fought since his loss to Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 62 back in March of 2015, lost his sixth straight fight […]

At the Bellator MMA event at the SAP Center on Saturday night, Josh Koscheck finally made his fighting debut for the promotion. Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well for “Kos.” Koscheck, who hadn’t fought since his loss to Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 62 back in March of 2015, lost his sixth straight fight […]

Matt Mitrione Falls Ill, Bout With Fedor Emelianenko Has Been Canceled

Fedor Emelianenko won’t be fighting tonight (Feb. 18) at Bellator 172 against Matt Mitrione after all. Emelianenko was set to compete against Matt Mitrione inside the SAP Center in San Jose, California. That’s no longer the case.   More details coming. Refresh this page for updates …

Fedor Emelianenko won’t be fighting tonight (Feb. 18) at Bellator 172 against Matt Mitrione after all. Emelianenko was set to compete against Matt Mitrione inside the SAP Center in San Jose, California. That’s no longer the case.   More details coming. Refresh this page for updates …

Matt Mitrione: ‘I’m Gonna do my Damnedest to Steal Fedor Emelianenko’s Legacy’

Matt Mitrione wants to have a memorable moment tonight (Feb. 18). Mitrione steps inside the Bellator cage for the third time. He’ll battle mixed martial arts (MMA) icon Fedor Emelianenko inside the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The heavyweight contest serves as the main event of Bellator 172. Before the big match-up, the former […]

Matt Mitrione wants to have a memorable moment tonight (Feb. 18). Mitrione steps inside the Bellator cage for the third time. He’ll battle mixed martial arts (MMA) icon Fedor Emelianenko inside the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The heavyweight contest serves as the main event of Bellator 172. Before the big match-up, the former […]

Germaine de Randamie Responds to Holly Holm’s Dirty Punch Claims at UFC 208

UFC fighter Holly Holm claimed in her post-fight press conference that Germaine de Randamie intentionally hit her after the bell following both the second and third rounds during their matchup at UFC 208.
On Thursday, De Randamie dispute…

UFC fighter Holly Holm claimed in her post-fight press conference that Germaine de Randamie intentionally hit her after the bell following both the second and third rounds during their matchup at UFC 208.

On Thursday, De Randamie disputed those claims.

“I never threw any dirty shots,” she said in a Thursday conference call, per Dave Doyle of MMAFighting.com. “I never threw any cheap shots around the referee. As soon as he stepped in and put his arm in, I stopped. Of course, I try to hear the bell and stop, but sometimes when you’re in the heat of the moment you’re in the fight. You get hit, you hit somebody.”

“It was never intentional. That’s what upsets me so much,” she added. “People try to say I’m a dirty fighter. I’m not a dirty fighter. It really hurts me when people say that. I never had any bad intentions, I truly respect Holly. I respect the UFC. I respect Holly’s camp.”

De Randamie won the five-round thriller between the two fighters, with the judges ultimately giving her the 48-47 advantage and making De Randamie the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight champion. 

But Holm pointed out that referee Todd Anderson didn’t dock De Randamie a point the second time she hit Holm following the conclusion of a round.

You can see Holm’s full comments below:

Holm took it a step further after the fight, filing “an official complaint with the New York State Athletic Commission, hoping to get the result overturned,” per Doyle. De Randamie disputed any suggestion that the result shouldn’t stand, not surprisingly, but did offer Holm a rematch:

If Holly believes the point deductions are the reason she lost the fight, and she’s looking to make it a no-contest or a draw, she should simply put out the offer for a rematch I put out. If she feels that way there’s nothing I can say much about. I respect everyone’s opinion, I truly do. I believe I was the fair winner, I believe I had the better shots, I believe I dominated the standup. I understand Holly is sad she lost the fight. I’m sad certain occasions happened during the fight that was not in my plan and not intentional. … I believe justice will be served and the athletic commission will make the right decision.

Holm might want to take her up on that offer. She’s now 0-3 since shocking the world by upsetting Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 and acknowledged in her post-fight press conference that she would take any fight she could get in the wake of her recent struggles.

It’s certainly hard to imagine any fans complaining about a rematch between the two fighters after their excellent battle at UFC 208. And the rematch would also give De Randamie another opportunity to prove that she’s a clean fighter whose win wasn’t tainted, and Holm the chance to prove she’s the better fighter of the two.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com