Tag: Breaking News

Anthony Pettis Withdraws from UFC on Fox 9, Johnson vs. Benavidez New Main Event

Anthony Pettis has withdrawn from his scheduled title defense opposite Josh Thomson at UFC on Fox 9, resulting in a major shakeup over the next two UFC cards, according to Fox Sports.
Word came out over the last few days that the newly-minted UFC light…

Anthony Pettis has withdrawn from his scheduled title defense opposite Josh Thomson at UFC on Fox 9, resulting in a major shakeup over the next two UFC cards, according to Fox Sports.

Word came out over the last few days that the newly-minted UFC lightweight champion suffered a knee injury, but UFC President Dana White, as he so often does, insisted the bout was still going to go down. Pettis was supposed to fight Thomson, the former Strikeforce lightweight champion who recently knocked out Nate Diaz, in the main event of the December 14 card. 

With the lightweight title fight nixed, the UFC has moved the flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez from The Ultimate Fighter season 18’s Finale to UFC on Fox 9’s top billing. Nate Diaz vs. Gray Maynard will be elevated to the main event of the November 30 card, replacing Johnson vs. Benavidez.

There is no word yet on the severity of Pettis’ knee injury, and how long he is expected to be out. As of Saturday, Pettis was in Las Vegas visiting the UFC’s preferred doctor for knee injuries, Dr. Steven Sanders. Pettis lives and trains in Wisconsin.

Additionally, it is unknown whether the UFC is committed to keeping Thomson as Pettis’ next opponent. Thomson was originally an injury fill-in for heavy-handed Canadian TJ Grant, and if the injury keeps him out of the cage for an extended period of time, it could put Thomson into the thick of a crowded upper tier of the division that also sees Gilbert Melendez, Rafael dos Anjos and Khabib Nurmagomedov all clawing towards a title shot.

Dominick Cruz is slated to finally make his return to the Octagon after two years out of action due to knee injuries. Here’s hoping Pettis doesn’t end up holding up a far-more-stacked lightweight division with a serious knee injury of his own.

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Dana White: Little Nog Never Accepted Fight with Alexander Gustafsson

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is getting a ton of flack for withdrawing from a matchup with top contender Alexander Gustafsson, but according to UFC President Dana White, the highly regarded Brazilian fighter never accepted the bout. 
White shed some l…

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is getting a ton of flack for withdrawing from a matchup with top contender Alexander Gustafsson, but according to UFC President Dana White, the highly regarded Brazilian fighter never accepted the bout. 

White shed some light on the matter at the UFC Fight Night 32 post-fight press conference, per MMA Fighting (transcription via Mixedmartialarts.com).

“The fight isn’t for four months, and he’s already determined he’s hurt,” White said regarding Nogueira. “I don’t understand that. The guy is always hurt. Every time you call him, he’s hurt. What happened was that night we decided to make the fight, Gustafsson said yes, and they couldn’t get hold of (Little Nog), so I said, ‘F— it,’ and just went with it and announced the fight. And of course, he’s hurt.”

According to the UFC’s official rankings, “Little Nog” is the fifth-best 205-pounder in the world, and rightfully so, after back-to-back wins over former champions Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans. 

Nevertheless, it is impossible to ignore Nogueira’s recent durability issues, only competing six times in the past four years. 

At 37 years old, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt may want to start considering retirement as the long-term training injuries continue to pile up. 

Instead of Nogueira, Gustafsson will now face undefeated prospect Jimi Manuwa in London on March 8 at a yet to be named event, per MMA Mania. 

UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones was critical of the initial matchmaking, stating that Nogueira vs. Gustafsson made no sense from a rankings standpoint, per MMA Fighting. 

Will Nogueira ever be able to turn back the clock and return to the vintage form he enjoyed inside the Pride ring, or are his best days as a fighter clearly behind him at this point? 

  

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com. 

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UFC Fight Night 31: Twitter Reacts to Dan Henderson vs. Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort continued his ascent in the middleweight division and scored his third straight KO with a brutal win over the fading Dan Henderson in a light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 32 on Saturday.
Belfort stunned the ever-durable “Hendo” ear…

Vitor Belfort continued his ascent in the middleweight division and scored his third straight KO with a brutal win over the fading Dan Henderson in a light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 32 on Saturday.

Belfort stunned the ever-durable “Hendo” early before rendering the former Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler unconscious with a vicious high kick just 77 seconds into the bout.

Becoming the first man to KO Henderson, who’s fought 40 times, impressed Dana White enough for the UFC president to rave about Belfort at the UFC Fight Night 32 post-fight presser:

Vitor’s a completely different fighter than he was when he was younger. He’s mentally there, he’s physically there, he’s more well-rounded than, yeah, I’m blown away by tonight’s performance, we’ll see what’s next.

Belfort lived up to his billing as a swift finisher when he cracked and dropped the iron-jawed Henderson with a left uppercut that landed flush on his chin roughly a minute into the fight.

Once he got a whiff of blood, Belfort shifted from first to fifth gear and began raining punches on the scrambling Hendo.

Henderson eventually got to his base and then back to his feet, where Belfort uncorked a left high kick that put one of the most resilient fighters in MMA history to sleep.

After the press conference, White made the most significant wave on Twitter by posting the following:

Here’s a look at some other interesting Twitter reactions to Hendo’s first KO loss.

Critics will continue to discredit Belfort because of his use of testosterone replacement therapy. However, it’s a futile argument to contest that any middleweight deserves to fight the winner of Anderson Silva/Chris Weidman II more than the 36-year-old Brazilian. 

The 43-year-old Hendo, who’s ranked sixth at light heavyweight, should reevaluate his future plans of continuing to compete against top-flight competition. After all, he finished his current contract on a three-fight losing streak, and it seems unlikely that a legend like Henderson would assume a gatekeeper role.

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Nick Diaz Turned Down Fight Offer and Remains Retired, Dana White Says

Welcome once again to another episode of “As The Diaz Turns.”
The latest out of Stockton, Calif., according to UFC president Dana White, is that wildly popular anti-hero Nick Diaz has turned down a new fight offer and remains firmly entrenched in his r…

Welcome once again to another episode of “As The Diaz Turns.”

The latest out of Stockton, Calif., according to UFC president Dana White, is that wildly popular anti-hero Nick Diaz has turned down a new fight offer and remains firmly entrenched in his retirement.

“I offered Nick Diaz a fight last week and his manager called me back saying he’s retired,” White told the media after the card at UFC Fight Night 32, according to a report from Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.

There were no additional details available on what fight Diaz was offered or when such a fight might have taken place.

White has long been open about his desire to lure Diaz, one of the sport’s most lucrative financial draws, back to the Octagon. Last month, the prez floated middleweight standout Michael Bisping as a possible return opponent for the Stockton bad boy.

That speculation came close on the heels of Diaz teammate Gilbert Melendez’s assertion that Diaz, a welterweight champion in the Strikeforce promotion, would return to the cage if given “the right opportunity.”

Apparently, the right opportunity hasn’t yet presented itself. Diaz originally retired following his loss to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in March but said he’d like a rematch with St-Pierre or a face-off with then-middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.

In the same post-fight news conference, Diaz surprised onlookers by offering what appeared to be an unsolicited admission of income tax evasion.

Over the years, the 30-year-old Diaz (26-9-1) has gained a huge following for his antagonistic boxing style in the cage, as well as a strange combination of public reticence and remarkable candor outside the cage.

Nick’s younger brother, Nathan Diaz, currently competes in the UFC lightweight division. Nathan Diaz, 28, will face fellow lightweight contender Gray Maynard later in November at the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 18. Nathan will likely receive plenty of questions about the status of his notorious older brother as his own fight approaches.

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Anthony Pettis Suffers Knee Injury, Fight with Josh Thomson Still on in December

Anthony Pettis seems to, more or less, have dodged a bullet.
Dana White, speaking with Fox Sports, confirmed on Saturday night that the newly crowned lightweight champion has suffered a knee injury. Luckily, the UFC president said that it was not sever…

Anthony Pettis seems to, more or less, have dodged a bullet.

Dana White, speaking with Fox Sports, confirmed on Saturday night that the newly crowned lightweight champion has suffered a knee injury. Luckily, the UFC president said that it was not severe enough to force a withdrawal from his upcoming title fight with Josh Thomson in December’s UFC on Fox 9 event, flatly saying “he’s going to fight…for sure.”

There is no word yet on whether this is a new injury or an aggravation of the previous knee injuries he suffered earlier in the year.

Pettis was forced to withdraw from a featherweight title bout against Jose Aldo at UFC 163 due to an injury to the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his left knee. He also suffered an injury in his right knee during his title fight with Benson Henderson at UFC 164. Despite the problem, he forced “Smooth” to tap to an armbar in the first round.

Injuries have stolen a great deal of Pettis‘ time in the UFC thus far. Shoulder surgery followed by a staph infection caused him to miss most of 2012, delaying his title hopes for more than 18 months. 

He is currently consulting with Dr. Steven Sanders, the go-to Las Vegas area orthopedist for the UFC. Dr. Sanders stated the injury would not require surgery.

UFC on Fox 9 is headlined by the lightweight title fight between “Showtime” and Thomson. Thomson is the former Strikeforce lightweight champion who surged back into relevance following his awesome knockout of Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox 7.

Stick with Bleacher Report for more updates when they become available.

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UFC Fight Night 32 Video: Vitor Belfort Hands Dan Henderson His 1st KO Loss

UFC Fight Night 32 went down Saturday night from Brazil. The main event pitted hometown favorite Vitor Belfort against fellow light heavyweight Dan Henderson.
At 36 and 43 years old, respectively, Belfort and Henderson are both defying the odds by even…

UFC Fight Night 32 went down Saturday night from Brazil. The main event pitted hometown favorite Vitor Belfort against fellow light heavyweight Dan Henderson.

At 36 and 43 years old, respectively, Belfort and Henderson are both defying the odds by even fighting professionally in a cage, much less at an elite level. (Many observers are quick to point out that both men are getting help on that front by receiving testosterone-replacement therapy exemptions.) 

In any case, entering Saturday’s main event, Belfort was the winner of two in a row, most recently by head-kick knockout in May against the younger, buzzier Luke Rockhold, in a bout that also took place in Brazil. Henderson, meanwhile, was a loser of two straight, both lackluster decisions to Lyoto Machida and then to Rashad Evans.

It didn’t take long for the two men to hash out the trend lines Saturday night. Belfort needed only 77 seconds to send Henderson to his first-ever knockout loss in professional MMA. 

The end began when Henderson charged forward in an attempt to land one of his notoriously heavy “H-bomb” right hands. But Belfort was ready, landing a pinpoint counter left uppercut so powerful it physically lifted the former Olympic wrestler off his feet, as if it were Popeye delivering the decisive blow to a hapless Bluto.

Henderson got to his feet, but was felled again by a head kick—the weapon rapidly becoming Belfort’s signature attack in this latest UFC run. A few ground strikes later and the referee had seen enough. 

UFC President Dana White indicated at the post-fight press conference (h/t Dave Doyle of MMA Fighting) that Belfort (24-10) would probably receive a shot at the UFC middleweight title following the much-anticipated rematch between Anderson Silva and new champ Chris Weidman, set for UFC 168 in late December.

The future is less certain for Henderson (29-11), a former dual-division champion in the Pride promotion and a sure-fire Hall of Famer, who will probably face questions now about his future in the sport.

In the meantime, here are some video highlights of Belfort’s handiwork in Saturday’s main event, courtesy of Fox Sports.

 

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