Tag: Breaking News

Alexander Gustafsson Officially out of UFC on Fuel 9 Main Event

The long saga surrounding Alexander Gustafsson’s status for this weekend’s UFC on Fuel 9 card has finally been determined by the Swedish MMA Federation, and it appears Gegard Mousasi will have a new opponent for Saturday night. Doctors have decided aga…

The long saga surrounding Alexander Gustafsson‘s status for this weekend’s UFC on Fuel 9 card has finally been determined by the Swedish MMA Federation, and it appears Gegard Mousasi will have a new opponent for Saturday night.

Doctors have decided against clearing Gustafsson for action on Saturday’s card after the Swedish-born fighter suffered a cut over his eye just days away from his scheduled bout.

According to a press release emailed to Bleacher Report on Tuesday, the Swedish MMA Federation doctors first checked out Gustafsson‘s condition on March 30, but at the time had no recourse to decide if he would be able to fight or not.

“According to SMMAF regulations the competitors in a match shall be examined by the certified appointed match doctor prior to the match,” read the release. “The examination is always carried out the day before the match, this is to safeguard that a competitor shall never be cleared for a match earlier than the day before the match.

“In the case of Alexander Gustafsson there was a request for an early indicative medical examination, which was immediately performed on March 30th (Easter Eve). The federation doctors that performed the examination informed Gustafsson that his injury was of such a nature that it was very unlikely that he would be medically cleared for a match in the near future. These doctors did not have a mandate to stop the match at the time of that examination.”

The news of Gustafsson‘s pending removal from the upcoming fight card first surfaced on Sunday, when reports out of Sweden began leaking that he had suffered a cut in training and his status for Saturday’s fight card was in jeopardy.

Since that time, UFC officials including president Dana White have gone on the record on numerous occasions stating that the fight between Gustafsson and Mousasi was going ahead as planned.

Still, rumors persisted that Gustafsson might not gain clearance in time to fight on Saturday, and the doctors in Sweden decided to follow up with a second check on Tuesday and made the final call that he would not be allowed to compete this weekend.

“The SMMAF Medical Committee has today reviewed the circumstances regarding Gustafsson and his injury,” the commission stated via press release. “The SMMAF Medical Committee recognizes that a competitor cannot be medically cleared earlier than the day before the match. However, bearing in mind that a correct medical examination that met the regulatory demands has been performed, nothing in the SMMAF regulations hinders the SMMAF Medical Committee from making a decision to stop Gustafsson from competing. As it is clear that Alexander Gustafsson will not be fit to compete as planned and cannot be medically cleared on Friday the 5th of April, the SMMAF Medical Committee has today decided that Alexander Gustafsson will not be allowed to participate in the planned match on April 6th.”

The unfortunate side of this news is the fact that Gustafsson‘s exit from the card happens just four days away from the event, and the options have to be limited for what the UFC can do to even possibly replace him by fight night.

His opponent Gegard Mousasi is already in Sweden and obviously awaits word like the rest of the world on what happens next. UFC officials have yet to make any statement about the UFC on Fuel 9 main event.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

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Gegard Mousasi Calls Wanderlei Silva ‘Idiot of the Year’ and a ‘Jackass’

At least one individual was anything but amused by Wanderlei Silva’s April Fool’s joke saying he was fighting Gegard Mousasi at UFC on FUEL 9 Saturday: Gegard Mousasi. “The Dreamcatcher” took to Twitter almost immediately after hearing the ne…

At least one individual was anything but amused by Wanderlei Silva‘s April Fool’s joke saying he was fighting Gegard Mousasi at UFC on FUEL 9 Saturday: Gegard Mousasi. 

“The Dreamcatcher” took to Twitter almost immediately after hearing the news, bashing “The Axe Murderer” for a prank he clearly believed to be in bad taste:

 

 

The Armenian-Dutch fighter accepted a fight with Silva yesterday, so he obviously at least thought fighting the PRIDE legend was a realistic possibility 

For the time being. Mousasi is still set to face Alexander Gustafsson in the evening’s main event, though that could change in a matter of hours if “The Mauler” isn’t cleared by the Swedish MMA Federation.

Mousasi makes his UFC debut on the heels of a 5-0-1 run in his past six fights, most recently submitting Mike Kyle with a rear-naked choke at Strikeforce’s final event in January.

Meanwhile, Gustafsson is riding a six-fight win streak, including four finishes, earning him the No. 2 spot on the UFC’s official light heavyweight rankings. 

Should he be forced to withdraw from the headlining bout this weekend in front of his Stockholm, Sweden home crowd, Gustafsson would miss a golden opportunity to earn a title fight next. 

As of early Tuesday afternoon, Silva has not responded to Mousasi‘s disparaging remarks. 

Was Wanderlei‘s April Fool’s joke just a fighter having fun, or was it actually a really poor idea to begin with given the situation at hand?

Additionally, could this ordeal open the doors for a Silva vs. Mousasi matchup regardless of if the former Strikeforce and DREAM champ wins Saturday night?

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Dominick Cruz: Having UFC Bantamweight Title Taken Away Would Be ‘Devastating’

In case you were wondering, Dominick Cruz is still the UFC Bantamweight champion. No, he hasn’t stepped inside the Octagon to defend that title since he defeated Demetrious Johnson back on October 1, 2011, but he remains the owner of that ti…

In case you were wondering, Dominick Cruz is still the UFC Bantamweight champion. 

No, he hasn’t stepped inside the Octagon to defend that title since he defeated Demetrious Johnson back on October 1, 2011, but he remains the owner of that title.

Cruz was set to defend that title against his nemesis, former WEC champion Urijah Faber, but a torn ACL during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter Live scuppered that fight.

Things went from bad to worse for Cruz when his body said, “I see what you’re trying to do here, but, no sale” to the cadaver ACL that was used to repair his injury. The rejection of that ACL forced Cruz to go under the knife a second time in December 2012.

Cruz is once again on the mend and hoping to get back in the Octagon to defend his title before the end of 2013.

And Cruz hasn’t been sitting around eating bonbons during his rehab.

He’s been visible on UFC TV broadcasts. He has been able to start some light rehab work. And he’s immersed himself in coaching the fighters at Alliance Training Center.

In Cruz’s absence, Renan Barao has captured the Interim UFC Bantamweight title. Cruz has nothing but good things to say about Barao and the job he has done as interim champion, but Cruz made it clear he believes he thinks he is the best 135-pounder in the world.

Cruz recently spoke to Rick Lee about his situation. Check out the video as the champ talks rehab, Urijah Faber, yoga, being weird and his upcoming meeting with the UFC.

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Wanderlei Silva Says Fighting Gegard Mousasi Was April Fool’s Joke

Former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva had a good portion of the MMA community believing that he was filling in for an injured Alexander Gustafsson and fighting Gegard Mousasi at UFC on FUEL 9 this Saturday in Sweden. However, a tweet from “The Axe…

Former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva had a good portion of the MMA community believing that he was filling in for an injured Alexander Gustafsson and fighting Gegard Mousasi at UFC on FUEL 9 this Saturday in Sweden. 

However, a tweet from “The Axe Murderer” Tuesday morning confirmed what certain fans and analysts (and even UFC President Dana White) were saying all along: April Fools!

 

 

The Brazilian brawler’s name came into play when rumors swirled on Easter Sunday that Gustafsson suffered a facial cut and would be forced to withdraw from Saturday’s headlining bout. 

The 36-year-old sent out a tweet yesterday stating he was offered and accepted a fight with Mousasi and even updated by saying that he was flying out to Sweden for the event. 

Oddly enough, Mousasi seemed to be just as in the dark as the fans, indicating that he would be open to fighting Silva if “The Mauler” wasn’t able to go. 

Despite calls for his retirement in recent years, Silva showed he still has some gas left in the tank by scoring a brutal knockout over Brian Stann at UFC on FUEL 8 last month in the show’s main event. 

Silva has now won two of his past three bouts, as well as three of his past five. His two most recent wins, over Stann and Cung Le, came by (T)KO. 

While it has been established that Wanderlei won’t be fighting, Gustafsson‘s status remains up in the air as he is yet to have his cut cleared by the Swedish MMA Federation. 

As of this writing, all that can be said for sure is that Mousasi still plans on fighting Saturday night. 

“The Dreamcatcher,” currently listed as No. 10 in the UFC’s official light heavyweight rankings, makes his UFC debut on the strength of a 5-0-1 run in his past six fights.

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Alexander Gustafsson’s Injury to Be Examined Today, Definite Resolution in Sight

Ever since news broke about the possibility of Alexander Gustafsson’s cut, rumors have began to swirl about the Swede’s chances of competing in his scheduled contest at the UFC on Fuel TV 9 event. His fight also happens to be the card’s main event…

Ever since news broke about the possibility of Alexander Gustafsson‘s cut, rumors have began to swirl about the Swede’s chances of competing in his scheduled contest at the UFC on Fuel TV 9 event. His fight also happens to be the card’s main event and only major draw on the card.

Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting spoke to George Sallfeldt, the president of the Swedish MMA Federation, and he revealed that Gustafsson‘s cut will be examined today. It also seems like a conclusion to the big mystery may have a definite ending by today.

“If the medical committee feels there is a sufficient information to make a  decision, I’m sure they will,” Sallfeldt said. “They understand that having this hang in  the air until Friday is not ideal, so that is why they are working on him now.”

Sallfeldt noted that they were informed of the cut on March 30. He confirmed that three doctors examined the cut shortly thereafter and all three came to the same  conclusion.

“They felt it would be very unlikely that he would be medically cleared,” he said. “However, they don’t have a mandate  to stop the fight.”

That goes along with what UFC president Dana White has been saying all along—that Gustafsson wants to fight and hasn’t been told he can’t fight. Yet. Although Sallfeldt remained distant when pressed about his belief of when a decision would be made, he is expecting a quick resolution.

“I personally feel that it would be unlikely that the medical  committee would let this wait until Friday,” he said. “That’s just my personal opinion. That would surprise me.

“I hope that they would be clear by the end of [Tuesday].”

The mystery surrounding Gustafsson‘s cut, which was reportedly suffered in training, has caused quite a bit of speculation about not only the Swede’s chances of fighting but also who would be able to step in on such short notice to face his opponent, Gegard Mousasi.

However, the speculation doesn’t seem to be bothering Mousasi‘s camp.

“We are waiting for information,” Mousasi‘s manager Lex McMahon said. “Our position is Gegard is ready  to fight, he just needs an opponent. He’ll fight Gustafsson, Vitor,  Wanderlei, Thor, Odin, it just doesn’t matter. Gegard is the baddest man  in Stockholm and he’s ready for a fight.”

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Dana White on Silva Fighting Mousasi: ‘Gus Is Still Fighting!’

UPDATE: Seems like this was an April Fools’ joke after all, as per updated tweet from Wandy: 
I catch you wand the best April first ever!! But I would like this to be true!!! O melhor primeiro de… instagram.com/p/Xmr70Dkq4A/— Wanderle…

UPDATE: Seems like this was an April Fools’ joke after all, as per updated tweet from Wandy:

 

 

Wanderlei Silva seems to have pulled off the MMA April Fools’ prank-of-the-day Monday after he suggested that he would step in to replace Swedish MMA fighter Alexander Gustafsson against UFC light heavyweight newcomer Gegard Mousasi.

Gustafsson, a rising star in the 205-pound division, was due to welcome the former Strikeforce and DREAM light heavyweight champion, Mousasi, to the UFC on the next UFC on Fuel TV event taking place Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden. But on Sunday, it was widely reported that the hometown boy suffered a cut in training, fueling speculation that he was out of the main event.

That prompted a tweet from Silva that the promotion’s top brass had contacted him to step in and he had accepted. However, despite the fact that the claim was made on April 1 and that UFC president Dana White had already said that Gustafsson would still fight, the media continued to run with the story that Silva was practically on the plane to Sweden.

Such speculation hasn’t been helped by the MMA veteran Silva himself, who’s continued to drip-feed stories to the media that he’s getting ready for only his second bout at 205 pounds since 2008.

Indeed, Mousasi, who seems to have been out of the loop as much as anyone else, accepted the Silva fight before being told that the fight against Gustafsson was even off. He tweeted Tuesday (h/t Yahoo! Sports):

Hey mr Silva, if this is true and you are ready to fight me than I accept the fight, It’s an honor for me Much respect for you.

But there could be a reality check for everyone just around the corner. On Tuesday, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani posted a message on Twitter that White himself had told him that Silva’s claims were nothing but an April Fools’ joke, and the bout between Gustafsson and Mousasi was still on.

That tweet is still unconfirmed by the UFC, but then so, too, is the speculated bout between Silva and Mousasi.

Silva is a legend of the sport but since 2006, has struggled to put together more than one win in a row. In 2010, to pull back from a terrible 1-5 losing record, the Brazilian dropped down a weight division, but even there he’s struggled, losing to Chris Leben and then Rich Franklin at 190 pounds catchweight.

However, last month he returned to 205 pounds to put on a superlative performance against another sometimes middleweight, sometimes light heavyweight, Brian Stann, knocking him out in the second round. The performance harked back to his glory days in Pride and was made all the sweeter that it took place in Japan where Silva made his name.

That win could have been enough to entice him back to 205 pounds permanently. However, a match against Mousasi to replace Gustafsson would be a huge step forward for Silva, as both of those fighters are currently ranked in the UFC’s Top 10 in that division and both are looking for a shot at the title.

Mousasi is undefeated in six fights and would have an unblemished record had it not been for an illegal up-kick in his match against Keith Jardine in April 2011, which cost him a draw. Gustafsson has also been on a tear, winning six straight, capped with a dominant win over former UFC champion Mauricio Rua last December.

Should the Swedish golden-boy win Saturday, he has already said that he will call out current title-holder Jon Jones. That’s if he really is still fighting.

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