This Saturday Shamrock FC 276 takes place at the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, MO. The main card features a battle of two Amateur fighters trying to become not only the Shamrock FC Bantamweight champion, but also earn a coveted Pro contract. Two young fighters working their way through the ranks trying to make that big step from Amateurs to Pro’s.
Travis Sumler is not your typical MMA fighter. In his own words, Travis is kind of “nerdy”. Don’t let his calm demeanor and non-boisterous personality fool you. With unique striking and a fantastic ground game Travis has built an impressive 6-2 record, with all wins coming by submission. Even though he has looked dominant on the ground, he is ready wherever the fight may go. ” We focus on the jiu jitsu part a bit, but I wouldn’t say it’s a specialty. I’d say its.., we kinda just train hard at everthing.”
Opponent, Eric Ellington, is focused and ready to take it to Sumler. An 11-1 record with 5 of his las 6 coming via T/KO, Ellington is starting to see the benefits to all of his hard work. A young man who travels more than an hour each way to get the best possible training he can. Even with all the success, Eric is being smart about his career progression in the sport and making sure he doesn’t rush things. “…if I’m not ready, ya know, I’m not gunna rush it. Your record means a lot on the Pro level. I wanna take that as serious as possible.”
Two men with totally different styles, both ready for whatever may happen. Listen to both interviews to find out what it’s like to be an Amateur on the verge of having all of your dreams come true. Make sure to watch Shamrock FC 276 this Saturday September, 24 2016 live from the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, MO.
This Saturday Shamrock FC 276 takes place at the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, MO. The main card features a battle of two Amateur fighters trying to become not only the Shamrock FC Bantamweight champion, but also earn a coveted Pro contract. Two young fighters working their way through the ranks trying to make that big step from Amateurs to Pro’s.
Travis Sumler is not your typical MMA fighter. In his own words, Travis is kind of “nerdy”. Don’t let his calm demeanor and non-boisterous personality fool you. With unique striking and a fantastic ground game Travis has built an impressive 6-2 record, with all wins coming by submission. Even though he has looked dominant on the ground, he is ready wherever the fight may go. ” We focus on the jiu jitsu part a bit, but I wouldn’t say it’s a specialty. I’d say its.., we kinda just train hard at everthing.”
Opponent, Eric Ellington, is focused and ready to take it to Sumler. An 11-1 record with 5 of his las 6 coming via T/KO, Ellington is starting to see the benefits to all of his hard work. A young man who travels more than an hour each way to get the best possible training he can. Even with all the success, Eric is being smart about his career progression in the sport and making sure he doesn’t rush things. “…if I’m not ready, ya know, I’m not gunna rush it. Your record means a lot on the Pro level. I wanna take that as serious as possible.”
Two men with totally different styles, both ready for whatever may happen. Listen to both interviews to find out what it’s like to be an Amateur on the verge of having all of your dreams come true. Make sure to watch Shamrock FC 276 this Saturday September, 24 2016 live from the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, MO.
Although there have been rumors to the contrary, former UFC title contender Alexander Gustafsson insists he is not hanging up his UFC gloves anytime in the near future.
Following back-to-back losses to Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Daniel Cormier, the Swedish MMA star recalled being “really pissed” but doesn’t remember ever using the dreaded “R” word to describe his future plans.
“It was just one of those things, when you lose — I don’t even think I actually said ‘retiring,'” said Gustafsson during his appearance on this week’s edition of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani. “I just came from a loss, I was really close to finishing [Cormier] and close to a win, and I was just pissed. I just lost a fight so I was really pissed, and maybe I said something about, like, maybe I wanted to take a break or something like that. Never retire.”
As Gustafsson continued, he explained that sometimes things like the recent rumors regarding his possible retirement from the sport just happen. In closing, however, he made sure to make it clear one final time that he isn’t “even close to retiring.”
“And you know, you say something, and something else comes out from the media. So it is what it is, but I never considered retiring and it wouldn’t happen, because it’s just one of those things you can’t just say, because it’s so much harder to really do it. This is what I do. This is what I am good at. It’s nothing that you just quit one day, so I wasn’t even close to retiring.”
Gustafsson returned to his winning ways following the two aforementioned losses to “Rumble” Johnson and Cormier by defeating Jan Blachowicz at the recent UFC Fight Night 93 event in Germany.
H/T to MMAFighting.com for transcribing the above Alexander Gustafsson quotes.
https://youtu.be/tOtBqhpTmRY
Although there have been rumors to the contrary, former UFC title contender Alexander Gustafsson insists he is not hanging up his UFC gloves anytime in the near future.
Following back-to-back losses to Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Daniel Cormier, the Swedish MMA star recalled being “really pissed” but doesn’t remember ever using the dreaded “R” word to describe his future plans.
“It was just one of those things, when you lose — I don’t even think I actually said ‘retiring,'” said Gustafsson during his appearance on this week’s edition of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani. “I just came from a loss, I was really close to finishing [Cormier] and close to a win, and I was just pissed. I just lost a fight so I was really pissed, and maybe I said something about, like, maybe I wanted to take a break or something like that. Never retire.”
As Gustafsson continued, he explained that sometimes things like the recent rumors regarding his possible retirement from the sport just happen. In closing, however, he made sure to make it clear one final time that he isn’t “even close to retiring.”
“And you know, you say something, and something else comes out from the media. So it is what it is, but I never considered retiring and it wouldn’t happen, because it’s just one of those things you can’t just say, because it’s so much harder to really do it. This is what I do. This is what I am good at. It’s nothing that you just quit one day, so I wasn’t even close to retiring.”
Gustafsson returned to his winning ways following the two aforementioned losses to “Rumble” Johnson and Cormier by defeating Jan Blachowicz at the recent UFC Fight Night 93 event in Germany.
H/T to MMAFighting.com for transcribing the above Alexander Gustafsson quotes.
Long before Georges St-Pierre was considered one of the greatest of all-time, he faced BJ Penn at UFC 58. At the time ‘The Prodigy’ was yet to embark on his mission as lightweight champion, but had already won the welterweight championship two years prior against Matt Hughes. In a 170-pound welterweight title eliminator, ‘Rush’ defeated Penn
Long before Georges St-Pierre was considered one of the greatest of all-time, he faced BJ Penn at UFC 58. At the time ‘The Prodigy’ was yet to embark on his mission as lightweight champion, but had already won the welterweight championship two years prior against Matt Hughes. In a 170-pound welterweight title eliminator, ‘Rush’ defeated Penn by split decision and went on to win the belt from Hughes at UFC 65. The Hawaiian would return to lightweight and win the belt before once again facing ‘GSP.’
This time around St-Pierre held the welterweight championship, and Penn was attempting to become a two-division (at the same time) champion. After a grizzly beating the fight was ended by corner stoppage at the end of the fourth, and so ended Penn’s rivalry with ‘Rush.’ Following that second meeting, their careers went in very different directions. Remaining champion for the best part of the next five years, the Canadian national hero would retire in late 2013. Penn would defend his lightweight strap two more times before losing it to Frankie Edgar, winning just three of his next nine fights before retiring in 2014.
Comebacks
After nearly three years away from the UFC, Georges St-Pierre is heavily rumoured for a return in Toronto at UFC 206. Penn has decided to make a comeback too, and will square off against Ricardo Lamas in a featherweight tilt on October 15. The former lightweight and welterweight champion would try to set up a third fight with ‘GSP,’ but the consensus greatest 170-pounder of all-time wasn’t having any of it.
“It’s an unnecessary risk for my legacy, for my career to take to fight a guy like him right now,” St-Pierre said. “It has nothing that will be good for me right now. I think he’s very dangerous. If it would be a walk in the park, I would do it.”
Penn’s Response
Clearly frustrated by St-Pierre’s refusal, BJ Penn fired off a few shots about his old foe. As quoted by Bloody Elbow, ‘The Prodigy’ is steaming off those comments. Check it out:
“I remember when I fought him the first time, when he was nobody, I didn’t think about it being risky for my legacy,” Penn said in an interview with Rapid Fire. “That’s why I believe, when all this is said and done, that’s why I’ll be remembered but he will never be remembered.”
“You know, Anderson Silva was there, he could have fought Anderson Silva, but he never fought Anderson Silva for his legacy. Just as a rule of thumb, for myself personally, I don’t live thinking about my legacy. I’ll fight. I want to fight anyone, you know?”
Future
Now 37-years of age, it’s an unsure future in the fight game for BJ Penn. The last time we saw him fight was a tough spectacle to watch. ‘The Prodigy’ looked shaky at featherweight, and Frankie Edgar scored a brutal TKO to send Penn to retirement. Will he be able to overcome ‘The Bully’ in Manilla? If so, perhaps he’ll make leeway towards that third fight with Georges St-Pierre.
The wait is over. Former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger ‘The Bad Guy’ Chael Sonnen has decided to come out of retirement and once again compete in mixed martial arts (MMA), but this time he’ll be competing under the Bellator banner. Sonnen told the associated press that he has signed a multiyear, multi-fight
Former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger ‘The Bad Guy’ Chael Sonnen has decided to come out of retirement and once again compete in mixed martial arts (MMA), but this time he’ll be competing under the Bellator banner.
Sonnen told the associated press that he has signed a multiyear, multi-fight deal with Scott Coker and Bellator. When asked why he lied about having no interest in returning to the sport after being asked multiple times over the years, ‘The Bad Guy’ had this to say:
“I’m a heel. Heels lie.”
Sonnen is expected to discuss his signing with the organization in a conference call tomorrow afternoon according to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani:
Sonnen, the newest member of the Bellator roster, is expected to talk to the press tomorrow afternoon via conference call. What a year.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto also reported that UFC President Dana White has confirmed that the UFC granted Sonnen’s release in order for him to sign with Bellator:
Dana White confirms UFC recently signed Chael Sonnen's release.
24-year-old Mickey Gall picked up the third victory of his professional mixed martial arts career at last weekend’s (September 10, 2016) UFC 203 by destroying former professional wrestler CM Punk in the very first round of their main card bout. During his post-fight interview with color commentator Joe Rogan, Gall said that he was interested
24-year-old Mickey Gall picked up the third victory of his professional mixed martial arts career at last weekend’s (September 10, 2016) UFC 203 by destroying former professional wrestler CM Punk in the very first round of their main card bout. During his post-fight interview with color commentator Joe Rogan, Gall said that he was interested in fighting ‘killers’ from now on, specifically calling out fellow young gun “Super” Sage Northcutt for a clash at November 12’s UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden in New York.
UFC President Dana White was quick to comment on the idea, saying that Northcutt’s team was also interested in the fight and that the UFC would make it happen, although that doesn’t seem to be the case as of now.
According to Jonathan Shrager, who recently spoke with Northcutt’s father, Mark, “Super Sage” was never approached regarding the potential scrap and he’s also currently dealing with a staph infection and will be unable to compete at UFC 205:
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I’ve been in contact with Sage Northcutt’s dad, Mark, who informed me that “No one from UFC has called us yet about Mickey Gall fight”
Northcutt is coming off of a decision victory over Enrique Martin at July 9’s UFC 200, a win that extended his UFC record to 3-1. Prior to that, he had suffered a disappointing loss to Bryan Barberena last January. “Super Sage” has competed both at lightweight and welterweight, but as his father said, he’d be willing to meet Gall at 170-pounds when the time is right.
The bout certainly makes sense given the stage each fighter is at, but obviously Northcutt will need to return to full health before the two could sign on the dotted line.
Former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion and former pound-for-pound king Jon Jones is currently dealing with a possible anti-doping violation that forced him to be pulled from his scheduled UFC 200 (July 9, 2016) title fight with bitter rival and current champion Daniel “DC” Cormier. The situation has yet to be resolved, but “Bones” has
Former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion and former pound-for-pound king Jon Jones is currently dealing with a possible anti-doping violation that forced him to be pulled from his scheduled UFC 200 (July 9, 2016) title fight with bitter rival and current champion Daniel “DC” Cormier. The situation has yet to be resolved, but “Bones” has hinted that positive news could be coming. If the ex-champion does indeed avoid a two-year suspension, he’d likely return to the 205-pound division where he appears to have some unfinished business, but he may not remain there forever.
In fact, Jones has teased a possible jump to heavyweight in the past, and it could be a very realistic possibility. “Bones”, when he does fight, has come dangerously close to cleaning out the light heavyweight class, and he also has the size to compete at heavyweight.
If he were to indeed make the move up, he’d likely find himself in a huge right off the bat, and he recently touched on a potential title fight with reigning champion Stipe Miocic on his official Twitter account. When asked about the possible scenario, “Bones” said that he’d be the ‘challenge of a lifetime’ for Miocic:
I’m starting to realize the hype is real with that guy. He’s legit, I would be the challenge of a lifetime https://t.co/ybke2pAtAC
The reigning heavyweight king secured the title with a brutal first round knockout over Fabricio Werdum last May. He followed that performance up with another first round stoppage over Alistair Overeem in his first title defense this past weekend (September 10, 2016) at UFC 203.
Would you like to see Jones and Miocic one day do battle in the Octagon?
