Tag: Breaking News

Report: Matt Hamill vs Thiago Silva to Take Place at UFC Fight Night 29

Matt Hamill takes his second bout since coming out of retirement against Thiago Silva on October 9 in Brazil.
News of the bout broke on Knockout Radio on MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday evening.
Hamill was last seen inside the Octagon defeating Roger Hollet…

Matt Hamill takes his second bout since coming out of retirement against Thiago Silva on October 9 in Brazil.

News of the bout broke on Knockout Radio on MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday evening.

Hamill was last seen inside the Octagon defeating Roger Hollett by unanimous decision. “The Hammer” will try to get on his first winning streak since winning five in a row between 2008 and 2010. The victory moved his professional record to 11-4.

Silva (15-3, 2 NC) made a successful return in June from a suspension for failing his post-fight drug test. The suspension was his second during his UFC tenure. Each Silva fight from now on will be placed under a magnifying glass until the post-fight testing results come out.

Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante was his opponent for UFC on Fuel TV: Werdum vs. Nogueira. The rivals threw down with Silva getting the last laugh at 4:29 of the first round. The fight earned him both Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night bonuses.

Both light heavyweights have once been toward the top of the division, but neither have been able to break through to title contention. A win for either man puts them in position to rejoin the rankings and challenge a top-10 fighter in their next outing.

This is an important bout for both light heavyweights, and the rest of the division will keep an eye on the outcome.

The card will be aired on the new 24-hour sports channel Fox Sports 1 that is set to debut on August 17. This is only the second scheduled bout for the card, and there will be many more to be announced as the weeks go on.

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Weidman ‘1,000 Percent in’ for Superfight with Jon Jones

In an ESPN article by Brian Campbell earlier this month, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman said he would love to take on UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
“I’ve got Anderson Silva on my mind, but if the fans wanted to see that fight…

In an ESPN article by Brian Campbell earlier this month, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman said he would love to take on UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

“I’ve got Anderson Silva on my mind, but if the fans wanted to see that fight [against Jones] and the UFC wanted it to happen, I’m 1000 percent in.”

The newly crowned 185-pound champion stated beforehand he was not the type who says “Hey, you wanna fight?” but did note that he already ask to fight Jon Jones once before. Weidman stated that he threw his name in the ring for UFC 159 after Dan Henderson dropped out due to injury. According to Weidman, “I wasn’t a big enough name at that point, so they were like, no.”

It is unclear whether Weidman meant the UFC or Jon Jones’ camp turned down the fight.

A superfight with Jones would surely please the hardcore fans of the sport. However, there is a question of whether the battle would actually be a superfight for the more casual fans.

After all, the interest of casual fans is often what propels the UFC to put on less logistically sound bouts. For example, Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz and Chael Sonnen vs. Jon Jones were each put on partially because it could draw in more casual fans.

The less devoted of the MMA community are only now realizing the talent that Weidman wields. A second win against Silva at UFC 168 is a start, but Weidman likely needs two or three more high-quality wins for the UFC to truly consider a possible bout with Jones.

A superfight only makes sense for the UFC if big money can be made, as a champion has to lose some clout by stomaching a loss on his record. So for now fans simply have to hope both champions keep winning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Stephan Bonnar Has Some Harsh Words for ‘Broke’ Tito Ortiz

Former UFC light heavyweight great Tito Ortiz has teased the idea of a potential comeback to MMA.
One of Ortiz’s fellow UFC Hall of Famers, Stephan Bonnar, has yet to hint at a return from retirement, although he apparently still enjoys stirring up fri…

Former UFC light heavyweight great Tito Ortiz has teased the idea of a potential comeback to MMA.

One of Ortiz’s fellow UFC Hall of Famers, Stephan Bonnar, has yet to hint at a return from retirement, although he apparently still enjoys stirring up friction.

Bonnar, who retired in October, less than a month after getting outclassed by Anderson Silva at UFC 153, wasted little time responding to Ortiz’s claim that he didn’t deserve his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Fan APE12A caught up with Bonnar at the UFC Fan Expo before UFC 162 and elicited this response from the runner-up of The Ultimate Fighter Season 1.

“I’m just gonna call it how it is. I’m gonna help him out. We all know he’s broke. We know Jenna took all his money. You know, Punishment Clothing—the only people I see wearing that nowadays are homeless people. His management company, you know—not making any money there. So I’m gonna help the poor guy get paid.”

Ortiz, the owner of Punishment Athletics, retired in July 2012 following his loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 148. In his last 10 fights, which included just one title bout (a loss to Chuck Liddell), Ortiz mustered a 2-7-1 record.

After a year of being comfortably retired, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” made his first genuine indication that he could return to MMA via Twitter on July 10.

“Nice 2be a free agent. Need 2make a big decision 4my future 4my kids future. Nice 2 have a great surrounding and 2be healthy. #Positive 7yrs.”

Bonnar tested positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone following his devastating loss to “The Spider,” and subsequently got banned for a year from the UFC.

In the wake of Bonnar‘s UFC 153 debacle, “The American Psycho” announced his retirement at the age of 35.

Bonnar got inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame alongside fellow The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 finalist Griffin at the UFC Fan Expo. Bonnar didn’t, however, suggest that he has plans for a comeback, even for the potential opportunity to settle things with Ortiz.

 

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Daniel Cormier Will Request Immediate Light Heavyweight Title Shot After UFC 166

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier is still pushing for a light heavyweight title shot. While he called out UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones back at the final Strikeforce event back in January, the former USA Olympic Wrest…

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier is still pushing for a light heavyweight title shot. While he called out UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones back at the final Strikeforce event back in January, the former USA Olympic Wrestling Team member has remained a force at heavyweight.

Speaking with UFC Tonight for their July 24 edition, he flatly stated that he was going to implore the UFC brass to let him jump the line for an immediate title shot at 205 lbs following his UFC 166 bout with Roy Nelson.

Though Cormier has been hinting that he wishes for shot at Jones’ belt, he has seemed relatively content working over top-10 heavyweights in the meantime. After beating Josh Barnett to cement himself as the top heavyweight in Strikeforce, he took on no-name light heavyweight Dion Staring in a heavyweight bout at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine.

While he would rough up Staring and call out Jon Jones, he wound up facing long-time UFC heavyweight title contender Frank Mir in his first bout in the Octagon. He is now slated to face off with new rival Roy “Big Country” Nelson. Nelson and Cormier have been beefing mightily over the last month, with Cormier saying he wants to fight Nelson “for Dana White”, with Nelson labeling it “an Uncle Tom move.

Cormier is a relatively small heavyweight in terms of his height and frame, and questions about a potential drop to 205 lbs have always lingered. The move seemed unlikely for a long while due to a near-death experience stemming from his weight cut for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. However, with his friend and teammate, Cain Velasquez, reigning as heavyweight champion, he feels like the light heavyweight division is the best place to make a run for the belt, and is confident he can safely make weight

Jones is currently scheduled to face Alexander Gustafsson in September at UFC 165. Cormier, meanwhile, will face Nelson at UFC 166 on a to-be-determined date (which will likely be in October or November).

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Chael Sonnen on the Golden Rule and How It Applies to Nick and Nate Diaz

Chael Sonnen has never met a microphone or camera that he doesn’t love. The man is a one man press machine; promoting himself, the UFC and the sport of MMA (usually in that order) every chance that he gets. If there’s a subject Sonnen doesn’t have an o…

Chael Sonnen has never met a microphone or camera that he doesn’t love. The man is a one man press machine; promoting himself, the UFC and the sport of MMA (usually in that order) every chance that he gets. If there’s a subject Sonnen doesn’t have an opinion on the MMA world has yet to find it.  

So, when Bleacher Report recently caught up with Sonnen we asked him his opinion on some other fighters that seem to get a lot of attention in the media, Nick and Nate Diaz.  It’s not a surprise that Sonnen had some thoughts to offer on the fighters from Stockton.

Sonnen is set to headline UFC on Fox Sports 1 first UFC card on August 17 opposite former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

 

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Chael Sonnen on the Golden Rule and How It Applies to Nick and Nate Diaz

Chael Sonnen has never met a microphone or camera that he doesn’t love. The man is a one man press machine; promoting himself, the UFC and the sport of MMA (usually in that order) every chance that he gets. If there’s a subject Sonnen doesn’t have an o…

Chael Sonnen has never met a microphone or camera that he doesn’t love. The man is a one man press machine; promoting himself, the UFC and the sport of MMA (usually in that order) every chance that he gets. If there’s a subject Sonnen doesn’t have an opinion on the MMA world has yet to find it.  

So, when Bleacher Report recently caught up with Sonnen we asked him his opinion on some other fighters that seem to get a lot of attention in the media, Nick and Nate Diaz.  It’s not a surprise that Sonnen had some thoughts to offer on the fighters from Stockton.

Sonnen is set to headline UFC on Fox Sports 1 first UFC card on August 17 opposite former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com