Tag: Breaking News

UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3 Sells Out in Less Than 3 Days

Houston—we don’t have a problem.
UFC 166 will land in the Texas city on October 19 with heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez battling former title holder Junior Dos Santos in the main event, and the fans in the area have made quick work of the tic…

Houston—we don’t have a problem.

UFC 166 will land in the Texas city on October 19 with heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez battling former title holder Junior Dos Santos in the main event, and the fans in the area have made quick work of the ticket sales.

The event, which is the third time the UFC has visited Houston in the last six years, sold out in less than three total days after going on sale to the public last Friday, August 2.

Houston has become a staple for the UFC in the times that they’ve landed there with huge crowds coming out for each event.

UFC 67, which featured the massive upset when Matt Serra knocked out Georges St-Pierre to win the UFC welterweight title, packed in 15,269 fans and scored an over $2.8 million dollar gate, which was the largest gate ever in Toyota Center history.

The next time the UFC landed in Houston was for UFC 136 in 2011 when Frankie Edgar met Gray Maynard for the third time, while Jose Aldo took on former lightweight contender Kenny Florian. That event drew 16,164 fans for a gate of $2.23 million—according to UFC president Dana White, the fourth largest draw in Toyota Center history.

This latest event once again drew a huge crowd from the Houston faithful as they will return to the Toyota Center to witness the epic trilogy between Velasquez and Dos Santos come to an end in the main event of the evening.

Also on the card, Daniel Cormier takes on Roy Nelson in the co-main event, while former Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez returns to face Diego Sanchez.

All told, UFC 166 features seven current or former champions from the UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator including Cormier, who was the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion.

UFC officials confirmed the sell out to Bleacher Report on Monday with fans turning out in droves to get tickets to the upcoming card. More tickets may be made available if the arena can configure more open seats, but that has not been determined as of now.

UFC 166 goes down on October 19 from Houston, and will also be broadcast on pay-per-view.

 

 

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UFC News: Roger Gracie a Free Agent After UFC Opts Not to Renew His Contract

Highly regarded Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Roger Gracie will be seeking a new employer after the UFC decided to pass on the option to renew his contract, as Combate’s Ivan Raupp first reported (translation by Fighter’s Only’s John Joe O’Regan)…

Highly regarded Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Roger Gracie will be seeking a new employer after the UFC decided to pass on the option to renew his contract, as Combate‘s Ivan Raupp first reported (translation by Fighter’s Only’s John Joe O’Regan). 

Gracie, a 10-time World Champion in BJJ, lost a fairly one-sided decision to fellow Strikeforce import Tim Kennedy at UFC 162 last month. 

Despite bringing the fight to the mat and taking Kennedy’s back in the first round, Gracie was unable to lock up a submission and the Jackson’s MMA fighter was able to get back on his feet. 

From there, Kennedy was able to dictate the pace of the fight, outstriking Gracie and even taking him down and maintaining top position on a few occasions. 

Apparently, the higher-ups of the UFC were so put off by the performance that they felt Gracie didn’t belong with the best fighters in the world at 185 pounds. 

The 6’4″ Gracie is apparently considering returning to the light heavyweight division, believing that the weight cut to middleweight was too taxing, via BJJEE.com.  

Bellator is said to be interested in acquiring Gracie’s services, according to the report, but there has not been any communication between the two parties. 

Gracie posted a 4-1 record in Strikeforce, notching three of those wins by way of submission. His only loss came at the hands of ex-promotional champ Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. 

After competing in hundreds of Brazilian jiu-jitsu matches, Gracie made his MMA debut in December 2006 and currently has a 6-2 record inside the cage. 

Will Gracie ever be able to compete at a high level in MMA or is his best bet at being successful in combat sports sticking to the mats? 

 

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

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Dan Henderson’s Coach: Vitor Belfort Will Regret Asking for This Fight

What to do with Vitor Belfort?
That’s one of the more pressing questions on the mind of UFC president Dana White these days. Belfort has four consecutive wins at middleweight, with three of those wins coming by knockout.
Belfort is one of the more popu…

What to do with Vitor Belfort?

That’s one of the more pressing questions on the mind of UFC president Dana White these days. Belfort has four consecutive wins at middleweight, with three of those wins coming by knockout.

Belfort is one of the more popular fighters on the UFC’s roster, and his late-career resurgence put him back in title contention long after most gave up on him. 

In two consecutive fights, Belfort faced an opponent that would have be given a title shot if they beat the Brazilian. Despite scoring highlight-reel knockouts over Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold, Belfort still hasn’t been given his second crack at the middleweight title. 

Of course, that’s mostly because a rematch between new champion Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva is one of the biggest money fights available to the UFC.

Belfort may be deserving of a crack at the gold, but there’s not a single person on the planet that would prefer seeing him face Weidman instead of Silva. 

Where does that leave Belfort?

The UFC offered him a fight with Tim Kennedy, but Belfort turned it down, saying that he’ll only fight for the championship at 185 pounds. He’s willing to fight anyone in any other weight class; he even offered to take a fight at heavyweight.  

What Belfort really wants, though, is a fight with Chael Sonnen. If he cannot get that fight (Sonnen is already booked to face Shogun Rua later this month), Belfort‘s wife said that her husband’s second choice is Dan Henderson.

According to Eduardo Cruz of Fighters Only, Henderson’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Ricardo Feliciano doesn’t mind the idea of Belfort vs. Henderson 2 at all: 

Hendo is already 205lbs, this is his normal weight. If this bout happens in November, it will be excellent if included in GSP’s card in Las Vegas. I will pump him up. Vitor will regret to have asked for this rematch!

On Oct. 21, 2006, Belfort and Henderson squared off at PRIDE 32. Held in Las Vegas, the fight was notable for its curious judging scorecards: Two ringside judges scored it 30-27 for Henderson, while a third awarded Henderson the win by a score of 30-24. 

Oh, and Belfort tested positive for 4-hydroxytestosterone after the fight and was suspended for a year; that failed test ultimately led to Keith Kizer—the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission—noting to Bleacher Report that he’d have a difficult time awarding Belfort an exemption for testosterone replacement therapy. 

I don’t see Vitor Belfort getting a TRT exemption from us. I really don’t and I feel kind of bad for him in some ways because if he has learned from his mistakes and now he’s trying to do it the right way and his levels are low with the treatment good for him and I hope he is doing that.

Because of Belfort‘s inability to secure a TRT exemption in Nevada, I’d be highly surprised if the UFC books the fight for UFC 167 in Las Vegas. If the promotion does elect to put Henderson in the cage with Belfort, I’d expect to see it take place in Brazil or anywhere else that isn’t governed by a strict commission. 

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Anthony Pettis Says Aldo’s Coach Is Stupid for Claiming He Faked Injury

Anthony Pettis isn’t even scheduled to face Jose Aldo, and still the barbs are flying between their respective camps.
Aldo’s long-time coach Andre Pederneiras told Brazilian radio show Mundo da Luta (via Guilherme Cruz of mmafighting.com)&nbs…

Anthony Pettis isn’t even scheduled to face Jose Aldo, and still the barbs are flying between their respective camps.

Aldo’s long-time coach Andre Pederneiras told Brazilian radio show Mundo da Luta (via Guilherme Cruz of mmafighting.com) on Sunday afternoon that he believed Pettis faked the recent injury that forced him out of the UFC 163 title fight with Aldo. Chan Sung Jung took Pettis‘ place in the fight and lost by TKO shortly after dislocating his shoulder in the fourth round of the fight. 

“In my opinion, [Pettis] never got hurt. He realized he’d never make weight, that it wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be.”

Pettis fired back at Pederneiras through his jiu-jitsu coach Diego Moraes on Monday morning: 

“It’s stupid of him to say something like that. It was a dream fight for me. My injury was real and the UFC took me from the fight.”

Pettis also went on to say that he plans on winning his next fight and then moving down to 145 pounds for the clash with Aldo.

The only problem with that scenario? Aldo has long discussed a move up to lightweight but has always deferred to his coaches and UFC brass to make the decision. Following Saturday night’s win, however, he was a bit more optimistic: 

“I don’t know, I would love it, but this is with Joe Silva,” Aldo told Fuel TV. “If he gives me the opportunity, I would go there and fight.”

A year ago, the idea of Aldo abandoning his championship belt and moving up for new challenges felt like a good one. Today, Aldo has more challengers than ever: Ricardo Lamas, Cub Swanson, Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar all remain close to contention.

Sure, Aldo has already defeated three of those four names. But Swanson is a much different fighter than the one who was decimated by an Aldo double flying knee back in the WEC days, and Mendes is on a three-fight win streak since Aldo beat him in early 2012. 

You can add Pettis‘ name to that list, provided he beats Henderson at UFC 164 later this month. That’s a tall order, of course. But if anyone can beat Henderson and Aldo in consecutive fights, it’s “Showtime.” 

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Brandon Vera to Brian Stann: ‘Learn How to Be an Unbiased Commentator B****’

Despite receiving plenty of praise from the masses, UFC heavyweight Brandon Vera thought Brian Stann did an awful job on color commentary at UFC 163 last night, at least during the co-main event of the evening. 
Shortly after Phil Davis, an Allian…

Despite receiving plenty of praise from the masses, UFC heavyweight Brandon Vera thought Brian Stann did an awful job on color commentary at UFC 163 last night, at least during the co-main event of the evening. 

Shortly after Phil Davis, an Alliance MMA teammate of Vera, was announced as the victor in his light heavyweight clash with Lyoto Machida, “The Truth” took to social media to call out Stann. 

“@philmrwonderful super awesome job boss…!!!!! U are the man!!! F*** you @brianstann learn how to be an unbiased commentator bitch. Don’t ‪#‎hate‬ cuz he beat Ur ass too!!!”

Davis defeated Stann back at UFC 109 in February 2010, winning a lopsided decision where “Mr. Wonderful’s” grappling pedigree was on full display.

For whatever its worth, Vera tweeted Stann this morning apologizing for his choice of words: 

Stann, like most media outlets, fans and fighters, seemed to believe that Machida controlled the majority of the action during the 15-minute fight and thought the former 205-pound champ would get the nod. 

However, the three judges scoring the bout disagreed. 

Davis, who entered the co-headlining match up ranked the seventh best light heavyweight in the world, according to the UFC’s official rankings, has now won three straight fights with a solid 12-1(1) overall record. 

Meanwhile, Stann formally announced his retirement from the sport last month after losing three of his past four bouts, citing a desire to spend more time with his family and continue his broadcasting career (via MMA Fighting).

After a 4-4(1) run at light heavyweight, Vera returns to the heavyweight division to take on Ben Rothwell at UFC 164, set for August 31 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Does Vera’s harsh criticism of Stann have any merit or was the outburst completely off-base and uncalled for?

 

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

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Jose Aldo Injury Woes Continue, Likely to Miss Rest of 2013 with Broken Foot

Jose Aldo will be out of action for at least the rest of 2013 after breaking his foot during his UFC 163 victory over Chan Sung Jung.
According to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz, X-ray results confirmed that the UFC featherwei…

Jose Aldo will be out of action for at least the rest of 2013 after breaking his foot during his UFC 163 victory over Chan Sung Jung.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz, X-ray results confirmed that the UFC featherweight champion fractured his foot in his title defense bout Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Aldo’s head coach, Andre Pederneiras, said, “He broke his foot two minutes into the fight. The first kick he threw landed on (Jung’s) knee…[His return] is up to the doctors now.”

The report also said that, “Aldo isn’t expected to fight again this year,” though a specific timetable is still uncertain pending discussions with doctors.

The biggest threat to Aldo’s UFC title reign is his own body. The 26-year-old champ (23-1) hasn’t lost in seven years, but several of his fights have gone by the boards after he got hurt.

In 2010, Aldo pulled out of his first UFC title defense at UFC 125 with a neck injury. His scheduled opponent, Josh Grispi, instead fought Dustin Poirier.

Before UFC 149 in July, an Aldo leg injury forced the UFC to reschedule his bout with Erik Koch to UFC 153 in the fall. His opponent for the match was later changed to Frankie Edgar. However, an injury Aldo sustained after being involved in a motorcycle collision later forced the UFC to scrap the bout altogether.

One of the top pan-divisional fighters in the sport, Aldo has only competed five times in the nearly three years since he joined the UFC. He has held the featherweight belt for the duration of that tenure, going 5-0 with three decision wins and two knockouts. 

At UFC 163, Aldo defeated “The Korean Zombie” Jung by TKO, but was assisted in the process when Jung suffered a separated shoulder after punching Aldo in the fourth round. 

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