According to MMAJunkie.com, Sarah Kaufman will need an opponent after Sara McMann was forced to drop out of their upcoming bout at UFC Fight Night 27.
Kaufman vs. McMann was scheduled for the main card as a possible top-contender bout to face the winne…
Kaufman vs. McMann was scheduled for the main card as a possible top-contender bout to face the winner of Ronda Rousey vs. Meisha Tate. With McMann out of the picture, the opportunity to solidify the top position may be hampered unless the UFC can quickly find a quality replacement.
Amanda Nunes is the most likely option available.
She impressed with her first-round TKO victory over Shiela Gaff at UFC 163. Nunes sustained minimal damage and could easily be seen as a justifiable threat. A short training camp would not hinder her general fitness. However, visa and travel issues could create a snag.
Liz Carmouche could also replace McMann as she recently won her match at UFC on Fox 8, again sustaining minimal damage in doing so. A snag is that a rematch with Rousey may be a bit too soon for the former contender.
Outside of Nunes or Carmouche bouts, Kaufman is stuck with few worthwhile options. The UFC may well have to shop outside of known entities of the female divisions.
Because casual fans know so little about female competitors, giving Kaufman a difficult unknown fighter can only hurt the division. Handing Kaufman an easy matchup makes the division look weak.
That leaves the UFC handling a difficult decision with little time for strategy.
UFC 163 took place on Saturday, August 3 from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The card’s main event saw UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo defend his title with a fourth-round TKO victory over Chan Sung Jung.
That fight left both figh…
UFC 163 took place on Saturday, August 3 from the HSBC Arena in Rio deJaneiro, Brazil. The card’s main event saw UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo defend his title with a fourth-round TKO victory over Chan Sung Jung.
That fight left both fighters in bad shape. Aldo injured his foot with his first kick of the evening, and the TKO was preceded by Jung dislocating his right shoulder.
Those injuries left the two fighters with lengthy medical suspensions following the event. For full UFC 163 medical suspensions, see below.
Jose Aldo: Suspended for 90 days with no contact for 60 days due to fractured right foot.
Chan Sung Jung: Suspended for 180 days unless he has MRI on his right shoulder and gets cleared by a doctor.
LyotoMachida: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
Phil Davis: Suspended for 180 days unless he has his right foot X-rayed and cleared by a doctor.
CezarFerreira: Suspended for 14 days with no contact for seven days.
Thiago Santos: Suspended for 90 days with no contact for 60 days.
Thales Leites: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
Tom Watson: Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days.
John Lineker: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
José Maria: Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days.
Vinny Magalhaes: Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days.
Anthony Perosh: Suspended for 14 days with no contact for seven days.
Amanda Nunes: Suspended for 180 days unless she has her right rib X-rayed and cleared by a doctor.
Sheila Gaff: Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days.
Sergio Moraes: Suspended for 14 days with no contact for seven days.
Neil Magny: Suspended for 14 days with no contact for seven days.
Rani Yahya: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
Iliarde Santos: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
Ian McCall: Suspended for 180 days unless he has his right hand X-rayed and cleared by a doctor.
Josh Clopton: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
EdnaldoOliveira: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
FrancimarBarroso: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
ViscardiAndrade: Suspended for 14 days with no contact for seven days.
Bristol Marunde: Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days.
Lyoto Machida visualizes a rematch with Phil Davis in his immediate future.
After a disappointing and baffling unanimous decision loss at UFC 163 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, that many felt should have gone his way, “The Dragon” seeks resolution, a…
LyotoMachida visualizes a rematch with Phil Davis in his immediate future.
After a disappointing and baffling unanimous decision loss at UFC 163 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, that many felt should have gone his way, “The Dragon” seeks resolution, and his sights are set on Davis.
I don’t agree with this result…If the UFC can, I would like a rematch with Phil Davis, because I want to prove that I can beat him.
A victim of his own cautious, choosy style in this instance, Machida has come alive after his recent misfortune, clearly vocalizing his displeasure with the result of the fight and with the current scoring system in the sport.
I am very unhappy with MMA rules…I think they (the UFC) don’t prepare you enough for (how the judges) judge the fight. I don’t know what I have to do. Maybe I have to beat everybody to get a chance.
For somebody who has both won and lost close decisions prior to his UFC 163 tilt, one would think Machida would make an effort to finish fights to avoid a situation exactly like the one he finds himself in now. However, such a choice would compromise his fighting style, and a record of 19-4 is certainly tough to argue.
With the majority of the light heavyweight division’s top-10 fighters tied up at the moment, a rematch with Davis seems very reasonable. Making this case stronger, neither fighter was finished or badly injured during the bout, so the sequel could be arranged while the controversy is fresh in our minds.
Personally, I hope the UFC delivers us Davis vs. Machida II. At the end of Round 3 at UFC 163, I silently wished for two more rounds, so hopefully the world’s premier MMA organization can muster something even better: a rematch.
What do you think? Are you interested in a rematch, or does Machida need to shoulder the blame for his conservative fighting style and move on?
Ian McCall will fight you (and beat you) with one hand.
After his entertaining victory over Iliarde Santos at UFC 163, McCall took home the sought after Fight of the Night bonus, as well as something a little less desirable for a man of his profe…
Ian McCall will fight you (and beat you) with one hand.
After his entertaining victory over Iliarde Santos at UFC 163, McCall took home the sought after Fight of the Night bonus, as well as something a little less desirable for a man of his profession: a shattered hand.
McCall popped into the Mixed Martial Arts Underground forums post-fight, showing off the badly swollen, positively ridiculous looking results of a three-round war inside the Octagon.
With the picture, McCall said:
def broken haha
While McCall’s balloon hand provides a gnarly sight, it also brings with it a degree of respect for the flyweight’s performance Saturday evening in Brazil.
Against a physically larger and stronger opponent, McCall showcased excellent striking and footwork, outpacing and outpointing Santos for the bout’s 15-minute duration.
Re-watching the fight, it is unclear when exactly McCall breaks his hand, but he landed a considerable amount of significant strikes in each round, making it likely that he continued punching with his mangled paw.
My knuckle’s gone, so maybe (it’s broken), it doesn’t hurt that much. Me breaking my hand’s not going to stop me from punching him. I’ll just punch until it goes numb—maybe that’s what I did…Breaking your hand’s not a big deal—I’ve done it before—so it’s not going to stop me from hitting the person.
You’ve earned your mustache with those comments, sir.
After a rocky 0-2-1 start to his UFC career, “Uncle Creepy” may have saved his coveted roster spot with the win, and he battled through adversity and pain to do so.
The day Alistair Overeem signed with the UFC it was supposed to signify a change of the times as the former Strikeforce, DREAM and K-1 Grand Prix champion was expected to bolt to the top of the division and immediately contend for the title.
Overe…
The day Alistair Overeem signed with the UFC it was supposed to signify a change of the times as the former Strikeforce, DREAM and K-1 Grand Prix champion was expected to bolt to the top of the division and immediately contend for the title.
Overeem’s career accolades are pretty gaudy on paper, having won championships in virtually every promotion he’s ever competed in since moving to the heavyweight division, and the UFC belt was going to be the crown jewel on his resume.
Even when the UFC offered him a title shot on day one, Overeem passed so he could stay busy and not sit out for a long time. So instead of battling for the belt, Overeem battered former champion Brock Lesnar in a one-sided affair that officially served notice to the heavyweight division that there was a new threat in town.
Quickly, Overeem was matched up with then heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos at a mega-card slated for May 2012, and that’s when the wheels fell off the cart for the Dutch native.
A pre-fight drug screen executed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission found that Overeem had elevated levels of testosterone in his system, and he was yanked from the fight immediately. Not only that, but Overeem then had to sit out for nine months in an agreement with the commission following the positive drug test.
When Overeem returned, he was still being regarded as one of the best heavyweights in the UFC, and his scheduled fight against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva was seen as a formality as he charged back towards a No. 1 contender’s spot.
The fight was anything but a grand homecoming for Overeem after Silva knocked him out in emphatic fashion in the third round as the former K-1 champion watched his title shot hopes dissipate like a cloud of vapor.
It certainly wasn’t the path Overeem hoped to walk when he signed with the UFC almost two years ago, but as he approaches his next fight against Travis Browne at UFC Fight Night 26 on Fox Sports 1, he’s looking at this as a new beginning of sorts as he climbs back up the ladder.
“Yes absolutely (this is a fresh start),” Overeem told Bleacher Report. “I believe that both Browne and myself are top ranked fighters and the winner of this fight will be one step closer in getting a title shot, so in that sense I know this fight can put me right on track as I still have one goal in life and that’s becoming the UFC heavyweight champion.”
“I know there are more fighters going after that number one spot but with the nature of the sport anything can happen. So my main focus is my next fight and afterwards we will see who or when I will be fighting next.”
The scrutiny surrounding Overeem since coming to the UFC has multiplied exponentially from his days fighting in Japan. He didn’t make it easy on himself either with the positive drug test in 2012, but then after his last fight more personal information about Overeem was released as part of the commission’s testing process.
It was revealed after the fight with Silva that Overeem had dangerously low levels of testosterone in his body for the bout. Overeem was tested consistently by the Nevada Commission after his original test produced high results in 2012, and in the subsequent tests he came back with extremely low levels of testosterone, which can cause a myriad of health problems—many related to MMA.
As these issues hit the headlines, Overeem’s athletic career then interceded with his personal life because rarely does a fighter want to discuss any of this in an open, public forum. Overeem took it all in stride, however, saying that he signed up for this by deciding to become a professional fighter and once that line is crossed, privacy is a thing of the past.
“I don’t pay real attention to it all and it comes with the job anyway, being in the spotlight and fighting for so many fans over the world you become subject for personal things,” Overeem stated. “It’s not always nice but at the end it’s something you signed for when you wanted to be a professional fighter so it comes with the territory.”
While Overeem’s name in the headlines over the last couple of years has been as much about his out of competition life as what he’s done in the cage, he’s happy to turn the focus back on fighting.
Facing a very tough heavyweight in Travis Browne, Overeem knew this was a good way to get back into the title picture and erase the harsh memories of his last trip to the Octagon.
“Travis is a good fighter who has a pretty all-round game so he will be dangerous, I’m not going to underestimate him,” Overeem said. “I just wanted to fight as quick as possible and Travis made the most sense to put together. A lot of other ranked fighters had their fight or got a fight scheduled so it was the most logical choice for the UFC to make as I told them that I didn’t want to wait for a certain opponent.”
Overeem isn’t shy about his long-term goals of finally earning a shot at the UFC gold, but he’s not going out against Browne to really prove anything to anybody. His purpose is to put on the best performance possible, get a win, and make sure the fans are happy when he leaves the Octagon.
If that happens, Overeem knows the rest will work without him doing much of anything else.
“I don’t do predictions and I don’t want to make a statement to the rest of the fighters, I want to make a statement for the fans who bought the tickets and are watching the fight,” Overeem commented. “It’s them I want to please.”
Overeem and Browne will serve as the co-main event for the inaugural card on Fox Sports 1, so whether he’s trying or not he will certainly have a large platform to announce to the rest of the heavyweight division that he’s back.
A knockout victory over a competitor like Browne will certainly speak volumes.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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.
According to MMAJunkie.com, Sarah Kaufman will need an opponent after Sara McMann was forced to drop out of their upcoming bout at UFC Fight Night 27.
