Brad Tavares will unfortunately be back on the sidelines for a while. It was recently announced that Tavares would meet Antonio Carlos Junior in a middleweight encounter at UFC Brasilia on March 14. However, just a few days out from the announcement, Tavares has pulled out of the fight after suffering a torn ACL injury […]
Brad Tavares will unfortunately be back on the sidelines for a while.
It was recently announced that Tavares would meet Antonio Carlos Junior in a middleweight encounter at UFC Brasilia on March 14.
However, just a few days out from the announcement, Tavares has pulled out of the fight after suffering a torn ACL injury as per Combate. The UFC nor Tavares are yet to make any comment regarding the injury. It is also not known as of yet whether Carlos Junior will get a replacement opponent or also be pulled from the card.
However, it serves as a big blow for Tavares with ACL injuries usually keeping athletes out from six to 12 months. The Hawaiian only recently returned after a long layoff when he broke his foot in a unanimous decision defeat to Israel Adesanya back in the summer of 2018.
Tavares had an unsuccessful return, however, as he was knocked out by Edmen Shahbazyan in the first round of their UFC 244 encounter in November.
With this latest setback, Tavares will need to wait a while before he can hope to avenge just the second two-fight losing streak of his career.
Hopefully, he has a speedy recovery.
Who do you want to see step in and replace Tavares?
A former opponent of Israel Adesanya feels confident in his abilities if the two were to collide again. Adesanya captured the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title earlier this month. “The Last Stylebender” had a f…
A former opponent of Israel Adesanya feels confident in his abilities if the two were to collide again. Adesanya captured the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title earlier this month. “The Last Stylebender” had a five-round war with Kelvin Gastelum that had fans inside the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia buzzing. Adesanya took […]
UFC middleweight contender Brad Tavares is confident he can stop interim UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. The two fighters have a history as Tavares faced Adesanya on July 6, 2018, at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 27 Finale from the Pearl Theatre in Las Vegas Nevada. Tavares lost the fight via unanimous decision, which marked his […]
UFC middleweight contender Brad Tavares is confident he can stop interim UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
The two fighters have a history as Tavares faced Adesanya on July 6, 2018, at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 27 Finale from the Pearl Theatre in Las Vegas Nevada. Tavares lost the fight via unanimous decision, which marked his most recent fight inside of the Octagon.
During this five-round battle, he broke his arm. He would later have to undergo surgery in order to get it fixed. The injury ended up being more severe due to him waiting a few months to get the surgery.
While doing a recent interview with MMAJunkie, he made it known that he understands the mistakes that he made in his fight. Thus, he thinks if he can get a rematch booked then he can correct them and stop the surging champion.
“Put it this way: I went into that fight and I tried to box, just straight-up box, a badass professional kickboxer – a guy who’s been doing it years and has multiple fights,” Tavares said. “What does he have, like 80-something kickboxing fights? And he’s probably lost only like two, three? I don’t know. I know he has some crazy record, though. That’s the thing, I look at that fight and I’m like, ‘Hey, there’s things that – I know what went wrong there.’ And I’m not going to sit here and use my foot being broken as an excuse, you know. I tried to actually kick in that fight. I kicked him in his leg one time and my foot instantly blew up, swole up.
“I knew that, when I put it back down, I was like, ‘If I kick again there’s a chance that I can’t even stand on it.’ So kicking with the right leg is out of the question. And, for me, leg kicks and my kicks are one of the biggest parts of my game. But I was like, ‘You know what, let’s get through this, though. Let’s go box this guy.’ And didn’t end up working out in my favor. But, like you said, it makes me excited. Because I know I can beat that guy. I know what it takes and what I need to do to beat that guy, and he’s a champion now.”
Tavares will have to wait to get his rematch booked if he ever does. Adesanya is expected to fight UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker later this year.
Brad Tavares hasn’t had it easy with his broken arm. Tavares took on Israel Adesanya back in July. Adesanya turned in a one-sided performance, stuffing Tavares’ takedowns and having his way in the standup leading to a unanimous decision win…
Brad Tavares hasn’t had it easy with his broken arm. Tavares took on Israel Adesanya back in July. Adesanya turned in a one-sided performance, stuffing Tavares’ takedowns and having his way in the standup leading to a unanimous decision win. Tavares eventually found out that he broke his arm during the fight. Brad Tavares Speaks […]
Earlier today the mixed martial arts world was besieged by a strange online feud between UFC president Dana White and former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub.
The feud centered on UFC middleweight Israel Adesanya’s interpretation of Schaub’s recent assessment that high-level kickboxers rarely made a seamless transition to MMA, something that the rising
“Last Stylebender” took offense to on his personal Instagram. Schaub later clarified that he was talking about kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki, who was knocked out at last week’s UFC 226, but not before White intervened and went off on Schaub’s own credentials:
“Such a (expletive) tool!!!! What the (expletive) does this idiot know about the sport or the business??? @stylebender for u to be listening to one word from this MORON is a waste of ur time. Guy went 6-5 in the UFC!!! The only thing he could teach u is how to get KO’d. Tune idiots like this OUT.”
White was met with a comment from a fan that focused on Schaub’s verifiable success as a podcast host and stand-up comedian, to which White suggested was only because of his friendship with Joe Rogan:
“He’s successful? As soon as Rogan stops carrying him he’ll disappear.”
Apparently, Schaub had enough of White’s callout, as he issued an incendiary reply that went off on White’s so-called inability to run the UFC without his onetime partners the Fertitta brothers – something that may be coming true as UFC ratings and pay-per-view buys continue to slump. “Big Brown” focused on the UFC’s current attempts to regain mainstream success by booking fighters like CM Punk and Brock Lesnar as another sign White couldn’t do his job without Frank and Lorenzo:
The ‘eskimo brothers’ dig at the end of the flame-worthy post has the Internet ablaze based on the assumption that White also had sex with Schaub’s ex-girlfriend, Ronda Rousey.
While that’s quite the assumption with no evidence to back it up as of now, it’s safe to say Schaub is fired up and speaking his true feelings about White – many of which may hold at least some degree of truth as the UFC keeps struggling.
Regardless, the gloves are off, so don’t expect this to be the last update in this developing rivalry. Stay tuned fight fans.
Dana White just can’t let go of his infamous social media blowups.
Although the polarizing UFC president has largely shied away from going off on fans on Twitter during the current Endeavor-owned era of the UFC, he’s apparently not above going off on a prominent former fighter.
Such was the case when former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub dared to criticize hyped rising middleweight Israel Adesanya, who picked up his biggest win with a dominant showing at last Friday’s The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 27 Finale from Las Vegas.
Schaub wasn’t sold, however, urging listeners to pump the brakes on touted kickboxer Adensanya on his “Below the Belt” podcast this week:
“I think everybody is all high and mighty on these guys who come from kickboxing, boxing backgrounds. When they come over to the UFC, they expect them to be elite strikers. The distance, the combos, the head movement, the number of variables, it’s a completely different game. So to me that never translates.”
Adesanya took offense to the comments, however, posting a video on his Instagram account blasting Schaub’s offering the criticism before closing his laptop screen:
An understandable response from Adesanya, the undefeated prospect who absolutely looks like the real deal after debuting at No. 9 on the official UFC rankings following his win over veteran Tavares.
But Schaub’s hesitancy to crown “The Last Stylebender” the next big thing in MMA is justified as well, with high-profile kickboxers like Gokhan Saki, who was knocked out by Khalil Rountree Jr. in his second UFC fight at UFC 226, and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, whom Schaub knocked out and largely had an underwhelming career in the UFC after endless hype in Pride, coming up short in the world’s leading MMA outfit.
White didn’t agree with “Big Brown,” however, so much so that he actually got on to Adesanya’s Instagram to blast Schaub in the comments:
“Such a (expletive) tool!!!! What the (expletive) does this idiot know about the sport or the business??? @stylebender for u to be listening to one word from this MORON is a waste of ur time. Guy went 6-5 in the UFC!!! The only thing he could teach u is how to get KO’d. Tune idiots like this OUT.”
Schaub then replied with his own retort, blasting White in a big way by saying he had taken a break from ‘folding Ronda’s laundry’ before clarifying he was talking about Saki and his UFC loss rather than Adesanya, who already had a ton of success in mixed martial arts:
“@danawhite whoooooooa look who got a break from folding Ronda’s laundry to jump on instagram. Bravo sir. He’s right @stylebender what do I know listen to the bald fat guy who has never been in a fight in his life. Do that.”
“You’re a monster. I was referring to guy with Lil mma Experience (Saki) was my main point coming straight to UFC or major mma leagues. You have a ton of experience in mma before getting to the UFC.”
So perhaps it was a misunderstanding, but White wasn’t willing to let it go, blasting Schaub in response to a commenter who insisted he was successful by saying he was only riding Joe Rogan’s coattails:
The gloves are off between White and Schaub, and it appears the whole thing could have been avoided if only Schaub was allowed to explain his position on the matter, as he was talking more about Saki than Adesanya, who took major offense to a statement that supposedly wasn’t about him (and probably wasn’t).
White came to the defense of his current rising star, yet you have to wonder if the president of a company that sold for $4.2 billion two years ago really needs to be doing that – or why he has time to do so.
Welcome to the “entertainment era” in the UFC, fans, where trash talk is king. The jury’s still out if it’s actually entertaining, however.
#ithinkyoudbesurprised
