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Dana White Open to Renzo Gracie’s Return, Says to Give Him a Call

Renzo Gracie is a legend. As one of the few members of the “First Family of MMA” to truly throw himself into the sport, he was an early star in Japan’s Pride and RINGS promotions. He fought numerous stars of the present and future such as Oleg Taktarov…

Last month, Renzo told Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting that he was actively training and looking to make a comeback, saying:

Believe it, there’s nothing that I want to do more than to be back in the cage, to be back fighting. I just love doing that. Life has been pushing me everywhere but in that direction, but now I’m getting so tired and frustrated with everything else that I’m going to just bury myself into a mat and train the whole day, and do what I love, which is training and fighting. For sure, I’ll be fighting again.

While this may be exciting for some, it truly makes no sense.

At age 46, Gracie owns an incredibly successful string of gyms in the Northeast, has a family, and functions as a coach and trainer to many fighters in both MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. On top of that, he has not fought since 2010, losing a bout to former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes by TKO.

Reactions were both swift and negative. Gracie, though, would deliver a soundbite for the ages when he explained why he wanted to return, again per Helwani:

For having nothing to prove nor nothing to gain. To fight for what it is without reason, without greed, just for the passion to step once again in the arena and be an inspiration for a future generation of great fighters. To prove that age is only a handicap for the soft ones. And above all, because I love it.

Dana White, like most people, was initially perplexed and reluctant about the veteran returning. Gracie’s passionate plea, however, may have just swayed the UFC president. Speaking with Fox Sports Live, White invited Gracie to give him a call so they could discuss things, saying, “He’s got my phone number. If Renzo wants to fight, Renzo can call me.”

Gracie is undoubtedly well past his prime. He found himself unable to keep up with the previous generation of mixed martial artists like Henderson and Hughes years ago. Mixed martial artists have only gotten faster and stronger since then, making Gracie an underdog in every hypothetical fight with a UFC opponent outside the newest of newcomers.

Still, there are certainly throngs of fighters who would love to step into the cage with a legend like Renzo Gracie.

Upstarts like Gunnar Nelson and Kelvin Gastelum, as well as middling veterans like Josh Koscheck and Dan Hardy (should he get medically cleared to return), would all be well-served fighting him.

All that aside, it is important to remember that Gracie is free to sign with any promotion of his choosing. While he could fight in the UFC again, World Series of Fighting and Bellator would both almost certainly be willing to give him a top spot on one of their cards.

While Gracie certainly won’t make a title run, this is going to be very, very fun should it come to fruition. Make sure to keep an eye on how this new saga pans out.

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Fabricio Werdum: I’ll Submit Cain Velasquez If He Takes Me Down

UFC heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum has been chomping at the bit to get a shot at UFC gold ever since submitting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC on FUEL 10 in June.
Based on a recent interview with Fight Hub TV, it seems clear that “Vai Cav…

UFC heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum has been chomping at the bit to get a shot at UFC gold ever since submitting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC on FUEL 10 in June.

Based on a recent interview with Fight Hub TV, it seems clear that “Vai Cavalo” has his sights set on current champion Cain Velasquez, who has a rubber match with Junior dos Santos headlining UFC 166 this Saturday.

“I want the belt, but Cain Velasquez is a good fight for me because he takes down guys, and if he takes me down, I’m finishing him,” Werdum said, admitting that a matchup with the former two-time NCAA Division I All-American would be ideal.

While Velasquez was awarded his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu earlier this month, Werdum, a second-degree black belt in BJJ, is regarded as one of the best grapplers in the world.

Werdum, a 10-time gold medalist in top-tier gi and no-gi BJJ competitions before entering MMA, has submitted the likes of Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko inside the cage. Since making his return to the Octagon, the Brazilian native has put together three straight dominant performances against Roy Nelson, Mike Russow and Nogueira.

According to the UFC’s official rankings, Werdum is the No. 3 heavyweight fighter in the world.

Meanwhile, Velasquez’s only loss in 13 professional fights came against Dos Santos at the inaugural UFC on FOX event in November 2011, as he was knocked out early in the first round.

However, it didn’t take the American Kickboxing Academy staple long to earn his rematch with “Cigano” at UFC 155 last December, and he dominated his Brazilian counterpart for five rounds.

The two elite heavyweights look to settle their score this weekend, while Werdum anxiously awaits a matchup with the winner.

Werdum has already squared off with Dos Santos, suffering a brutal uppercut knockout early into their UFC 90 encounter back in October 2008, so a JDS victory this weekend could hurt Werdum’s chances at a title shot.

Would Werdum’s impeccable submission skills be too much for Velasquez to handle, or would the champion’s cardio, wrestling and ground-and-pound be enough to wear his Brazilian counterpart down?

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

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Junior dos Santos Suffered Facial Laceration, Received Stitches Ahead of UFC 166

Junior dos Santos nearly lost his opportunity to break a tie with heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 166 on Saturday.
During the UFC 166 open workouts on Wednesday, Dos Santos revealed to MMAJunkie.com and assembled media that he’d require…

Junior dos Santos nearly lost his opportunity to break a tie with heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 166 on Saturday.

During the UFC 166 open workouts on Wednesday, Dos Santos revealed to MMAJunkie.com and assembled media that he’d required three stitches for a facial laceration only three weeks ago.

“It was in the training (camp), and it was accidental,” Dos Santos said. “I’m OK already. I’m 100 percent already.”

Dos Santos will be able to go this weekend, sparing UFC officials from having to do some late scrambling in order to save a UFC 166 fight card that features the Brazilian in a heavyweight championship match. Nonetheless, a cut suffered only one month prior to a fight of this magnitude, especially above the eye, has to be concerning to Dos Santos and his team.

The stitches have been removed, but a noticeable scar remains above Dos Santos’ right eyebrow.

With a cut so recently healed, there is potential for the laceration to be opened again during competition. Facing an opponent like Velasquez, who turned Antonio Silva into a bloody mess at UFC 146, those chances are only increased.

In all other facets, Dos Santos appeared in prime condition on Wednesday. The former champion looked fit and ready while hitting pads during the open workouts.

Still, Dos Santos’ cut has become something worth paying attention to on Saturday.

Should Velasquez open that wound back up at UFC 166, Dos Santos will be dealing with one more obstacle he doesn’t need in his quest to reclaim the heavyweight championship.

At UFC 155, Velasquez alone proved difficult enough for Dos Santos to deal with. Adding vision problems due to draining blood could drive a dagger into Dos Santos’ UFC 166 title hopes.

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TUF 18: Jessamyn Duke Fighter Blog, Episode 7

Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Jessamyn Duke and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.
Living in the TUF house and dealing with the aftermath of a fight is a completely different sit…

Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Jessamyn Duke and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.

Living in the TUF house and dealing with the aftermath of a fight is a completely different situation than I’ve ever had to deal with before. Normally after a loss you are surrounded by your friends, family and the people closest to you, and they help you cope with the loss. Basically, they help pick you back up.

But at TUF, you don’t have those people. You can’t even talk to them on the phone. They are nothing but a memory at that point in time. After that loss, I was never more grateful for the team/family bond that those of us on Team Rousey had built. Those people were there for me during the hardest loss of my career and I’m forever thankful for the support they gave me.

I got back to the house and took a shower immediately before finally got a good look at my battle wounds. My eyes were already black and swollen, my nose was pretty smashed (I thought it was broken, but as it turned out, it wasn’t), and my heart had pretty well been stomped on. Since she had to get stitched up, Raquel didn’t get back to the house till a little bit later.

When she did get back, she came straight into my room, and we gave each other a hug and she thanked me for the fight. I said, “You really brought out the best in me,” and she said that I did the same. I’ve never been able to talk with an opponent like that after a fight. It was a pretty crazy experience. Having my opponent’s respect after a fight definitely helped to soften the blow.

We spent the rest of the night feasting on ice cream, s’mores, every other treat we had denied ourselves over the last few weeks and just reliving the fight and appreciating what we just went through.

On Father’s Day, Ronda Rousey and (assistant coach) Marina Shafir came over to the house and brought some gifts to all the daddies in the house, even the ones that weren’t on her team. I thought that this was an extremely thoughtful gesture and a testament to Ronda’s character.

Cody Bollinger had even been asking his coaches if they could maybe get him something for Father’s Day and they had told him no. So he was extremely appreciative when Ronda brought him a gift as well. It was a very emotional time for all the dads in the house and you could really tell that it was weighing heavily on their minds.

Back in the gym, Team Tate had apparently come up with another not-so-clever “prank” targeting Edmond (Tarverdyan, another assistant) and Ronda that involved posting pictures all over the gym. At this point, it had been more than a week since Dana (White, the UFC president) asked both teams to knock it off and focus on the athletes, and this was the second time Team Tate tried to instigate.

Fortunately, Dana caught wind of it this time and came down to the gym to do damage control. We had showed up for practice, but we weren’t allowed in the gym and we had NO IDEA why. They just didn’t let us in on time like normal and Team Tate was already long gone. So we really had no idea what had happened. Dana did his best to try clean it all up, but he had missed one picture in the sauna and we finally figured out what had went down.

Honestly, on our end, we don’t really know what happened past that. I know that Dana was sick of the “pranks” and that our coaches didn’t appreciate being poked at and not being allowed to respond. It caused a lot of tension, which is I guess what Team Tate’s goal was. I was just sick of all the childish stuff, honestly.

It seemed like a shallow attempt at being a “mean girl” on Miesha’s part and in my opinion was pretty immature. But in the end, nothing came of it. Dana dropped the hammer again and it was all back to business as usual.

Wootten vs. Josh…I was 100 percent confident in Wootten for this fight. I didn’t think it would be easy for him, but I knew he had the tools to win. The first round, Josh came out and did exactly what we expected him to do and he very nearly submitted Wootten for it. But Wootten kept his composure, worked out of some tough spots and by the end of the round had begun to find his range with Josh.

Second round, Wootten came out and threw a jab/right knee, which was the exact combo Edmond had told him to start the round with. You can even hear him screaming “Go, now, now!” when the round starts, and it landed cleanly and dropped Josh. I thought the fight might be over at this point but Josh showed a lot of resilience and survived the round. Now they were one and one.

Third round, Josh came out and threw a spinning back fist that resulted in him being taken down. Wootten finished the round on top raining down some serious ground-and-pound and I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that he had won the fight. It wasn’t easy, but he definitely proved he had the tools to beat Josh.

I was excited to see the next two matchups. Peggy vs. Sarah was gonna be interesting.

Peggy is the biggest 135-pound female fighter out there and poses some serious problems for any opponent based just on that. However, Peggy also had the most time to maintain weight and she was definitely working harder than anyone else to make sure that she made weight. Sarah’s game plan is no secret to anyone. She likes to take people down, ground-and-pound them and then submit them. So, winning the fight depended on Peggy’s ability to defend that.

Cody and Anthony make for a crazy exciting matchup. Anthony is scrappy, tenacious and doesn’t quit, and Cody was pretty much viewed as one of the toughest guys in the house. I was expecting a scrap that would possibly rival the kind of fight that Raquel and I had.

The dynamic in the house had started to change quite a bit at this point. Almost everyone had fought and the normal day-to-day routines had started to change. None of us really expected what was coming next. The whole experience was just impossible to predict. Stay tuned to find out why I say that.

**Tune in two weeks from now (next week is a recap episode) to hear Jessamyn’s thoughts on the continued tension between coaching staffs, more in-depth stories from the house and her thoughts on the fights between Peggy Morgan and Sarah Moras, as well as the bout between Cody Bollinger and Anthony Gutierrez.

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Roy Nelson Will Not Have to Shave His Beard for Fight with Daniel Cormier

It appears Roy Nelson has already defeated Daniel Cormier in one aspect of their upcoming grudge match at UFC 166, as his signature beard will be in full effect this Saturday night in Houston.
“Big Country’s” facial hair became a target of the undefeat…

It appears Roy Nelson has already defeated Daniel Cormier in one aspect of their upcoming grudge match at UFC 166, as his signature beard will be in full effect this Saturday night in Houston.

“Big Country’s” facial hair became a target of the undefeated former-Olympian-turned-mixed martial artist, Cormier, who filed a complaint with the Texas Athletic Commission requesting the former TUF winner be forced to shave or trim his beard before their co-main event tilt this weekend.

The 34-year-old Louisiana native cited a bit of gamesmanship in his attempt to throw Nelson off in the pregame buildup, but those efforts have been stamped out.

On Wednesday night’s edition of UFC Tonight on Fox Sports 1, Ariel Helwani reported Nelson will not be forced to shave or trim his beard due to the athletic commission not regulating such matters. Cormier had filed an official complaint, but with the issue not falling under a category the governing body covers, the commission has no grounds to impose action on Nelson.

Bleacher Report reached out to the bearded heavyweight to get his thoughts on the matter. To no great surprise, the scrappy veteran was indifferent to the entire situation as he refused to feed into the distraction and put his focus on more important matters, such as the hospitalization of his trainer Jeff Mayweather.

“Some times there are situations where people have to listen, but I had more important things on my mind,” Nelson said. “I had the worst camp of my career for this fight. I was more worried about Jeff Mayweather’s health and him being in the hospital than Daniel and his bull crap. I’m a people person.”

Nelson and Cormier have been trading barbs for the past several months, with each fighter landing jabs via interviews and social media.

The 37-year-old knockout artist publicly poked the former Oklahoma State wrestling standout for apparently turning down a potential matchup back in June—a charge Cormier deemed out of context, and the bout passed him by due to an injury he was dealing with at the time.

While Cormier couldn’t sign on the dotted line to face Nelson back in the summer and was eyeing a drop down to light heavyweight, the situation provided the motivation for “D.C.” to stick around the heavyweight ranks for one more go.

Nelson and Cormier will settle their differences on Saturday night at UFC 166 in a highly anticipated heavyweight showdown.

****Story updated with Roy Nelson’s reaction to the Texas Athletic Commission’s decision not to intervene.

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.

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Michael Bisping Happy to Teach ‘Petulant Child’ Nick Diaz a Lesson

It certainly didn’t take long for the war of words to ignite between Michael Bisping and Nick Diaz.
Over the last couple of days, the MMA community has bottled excitement over the possibility of Diaz coming out of retirement and moving up to 185 …

It certainly didn’t take long for the war of words to ignite between Michael Bisping and Nick Diaz.

Over the last couple of days, the MMA community has bottled excitement over the possibility of Diaz coming out of retirement and moving up to 185 pounds to challenge Bisping.

Gilbert Melendez, Diaz’s teammate, told MMAFighting.com at a media luncheon earlier in the week that Diaz would likely fight in the UFC again for the right opportunity. After hearing those comments, Bisping took to Twitter and challenged Diaz to a fight at middleweight.

The potential matchup even caught the attention of UFC President Dana White, who said he “loves that fight” on Twitter.

Fighters Only recently visited Bisping for an exclusive interview to get his thoughts on Diaz as an opponent.

I heard from a little bird somewhere that Nick Diaz kind of fancied fighting me, and if that is what he wants to do, great, Bisping says in the kitchen, while cooking a few steaks. I have nothing against Diaz, I don’t know the guy, I enjoy watching his fights and he’s a fan favorite. So, if he wants to fight me and he wants to come up to 185 then I’ll happily welcome him to the division.

Diaz announced his retirement from MMA in March after losing to UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

His reasoning for leaving has always been based around a growing discontent over the evolution of MMA and where the sport is currently headed. In a nutshell, Diaz has never been a fan of elaborate game plans and point scoring in fights.

Initially, it was thought that Diaz would never return. His post-UFC career had a promising start with the launch of WAR MMA, his own MMA promotion.

But during a recent interview with Fighters Only, Diaz admitted that it was “kind of hard to retire from MMA.” While he isn’t in any hurry to return, the former Strikeforce middleweight champ stated that he doesn’t mind taking big fights whenever they pop up.

Coincidentally enough, this is the same reason Bisping asked to fight Diaz in the first place.

“I think it would be a good fight. Obviously, it’s a fight I see myself winning quite handily, but Nick Diaz attracts a lot of attention and there’ll be a lot of eyes on that fight,” Bisping tells Fighters Only.

While Bisping believes the fight will garner a lot of attention, he sees himself as a terrible matchup stylistically for Diaz. There would be an obvious size disadvantage, and Diaz isn’t particularly a strong wrestler.

Bisping continues:

I think it’s a terrible fight, terrible fight for him and a good fight for me, but everyone has got an opinion. He’s not a bad [striker]. Obviously he’s got some power, he knocked out Paul Daley. Paul Daley is a tough kid so he’s no slouch. He’s good on the ground, not a particularly strong wrestler, but he’s a dangerous opponent for a lot of people.

I’ve never backed away from a fight in my life. If Nick wants to fight me, I’m certainly not going to turn down some petulant child of an MMA fighter. That’s how he gets on, a bit of a petulant child is how I would describe him. If he wants to fight and get taught a lesson then come on, who am I to say no? I would happily oblige.

Things have been relatively quiet on Diaz’s end thus far, but according to a Tweet from MiddleEasy’s Layzie the Savage, he has verbally agreed to fight Bisping.

One can only imagine what the pre-fight buildup for this bout would be like.

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