Tag: Breaking News

Cris Cyborg to UFC Champion Ronda Rousey: ‘Step Up, B****’

Former Strikeforce women’s champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino wants everyone to know that she isn’t scared of Ronda Rousey.She just doesn’t want to fight while borderline comatose.That was one of a few grievances that the Brazilian featherweight …

Former Strikeforce women’s champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino wants everyone to know that she isn’t scared of Ronda Rousey.

She just doesn’t want to fight while borderline comatose.

That was one of a few grievances that the Brazilian featherweight highlighted in a fired-up letter to Dana White and Rousey on Instagram, calling Rousey a “b—-” and daring her to meet “halfway” at a 140-pound catchweight:

I am not afraid of Rhonda! I will fight her anywhere and anytime for free – everyone knows I barely make 145- but I am willing to sacrifice and meet her half way at 140- I can’t believe dana says I want nothing to do with Rhonda- what he wants me to do is fight Rhonda with both my hands tied behind my back or comatosed-so that she can have a chance-which is what making me fight at 135 is-

to finally shut everyone up – i will fight Rhonda with one hand tied behind my Back at 140lb and still kick her ass and prove that I’m the real champ not her- and let the winner take ALL come on rhonda step up bitch!

This recent outburst stems from an interview that White gave on a recent episode of UFC Tonight on Fuel TV, as the UFC president implied that Cyborg was just afraid to fight in uncharted territory at the 135-pound bantamweight limit.

[Bantamweight is] the only [women’s] division we have. It’s been real interesting. You know, I’ve been in the fight game since I was 19 years old and I’ve been doing this for 15 years and what I get out of this deal with Cyborg is that she wants nothing to do with Ronda Rousey. She does not want to fight Ronda Rousey.

No matter what Cyborg wants, Rousey has made it clear that she has no intention of moving up in weight to fight her rival.

Of course, Cyborg hasn’t helped her own position due to a positive test for anabolic steroids from January 2012, which resulted in the former champion being suspended for a year and stripped of her title.

As Rousey previously told Inside MMA, she believes the positive drug test is simply proof that Cyborg was “cheating for her entire career” and “not as awesome as she thinks she is.”

Regardless, that superfight could be snuffed out in the planning stages if Rousey loses her title to Liz Carmouche at the upcoming UFC 157 card on Feb. 23 at the Anaheim Honda Center.

Rousey was initially pegged as a 15-to-1 favorite when the match was first lined up—but according to BestFightOdds, that gap has widened even more, making Rousey an 18-to-1 favorite with some online sports books.

UFC 157 will also feature a co-main event title eliminator between Dan Henderson and former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, with the winner assumed to earn a title shot against the victor of Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 159.

Despite being the only fighter in the lineup with a title belt, Rousey has also drawn some heat from certain MMA fans for headlining UFC 157 in her first bout with the promotion. In turn, this marks the first time in five events over three years that “Hendo” has not main-evented an MMA card.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Judge Defends 30-27 Score in Guida vs. Hioki, Despite Being FB Friends with Clay

On Tuesday, a Bleacher Report article revealed that UFC featherweight Clay Guida is Facebook friends with judge Gabriel Sabaitis, which obviously doesn’t mean a whole lot on its own. That’s just the tip of the iceberg though, as Sabaitis was a jud…

On Tuesday, a Bleacher Report article revealed that UFC featherweight Clay Guida is Facebook friends with judge Gabriel Sabaitis, which obviously doesn’t mean a whole lot on its own. 

That’s just the tip of the iceberg though, as Sabaitis was a judge in Clay Guida‘s UFC on FOX 6 featherweight debut against Hatsu Hioki, which took place at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. 

Despite fans and analysts universally finding the fight to be very close, with many feeling Hioki got shafted with a split decision loss, Sabaitis scored the fight 30-27 in “The Carpenter’s” favor. 

The story caused enough of a stir that Sabaitis defended himself on the matter when he spoke to mixedmartialarts.com on Wednesday. 

“I felt all 3 rnds were real close. Guida has an awkward style to score. I felt his aggression and TD out weighed (barely) Hioki‘s effective striking in the 1st. I also marginally gave him rnds 2&3…barely. But there’s no half point scoring in MMA! There’s 3 Judges for a reason. If both Judges gave it 29-28 Hioki and I gave it 30-27 Guida, then YES!! I am the new Cecil Peoples! But one DIDN’T!! And he’s one of the most experienced Judges in the business!! He had it 29-28 Guida!! So that means he agrees with me more than the other Judge!! But this fight was so close it could’ve been 29-28 Hioki, no doubt. I respect everyone who believes Hioki won. I’m an open minded Judge, but I stand by my decision and it was made by using The MMA Judging Criteria NOT favoritism! My brother could be fighting and still wouldn’t give him an undeserved decision!!!”

Guida was outstruck 16-26 in the first round, and did little, if any, damage after he scored a takedown late in the opening frame.

Even those who believe the cardio-machine won the fight would have a tough time arguing that he won the first round. 

In an exclusive interview with MMA Weekly, Hioki blamed his lack of takedown defense and submission skills for the loss, not poor judging.

“I hear a lot of people criticizing Guida’s strategy to lie on top; however, it was ultimately my lack of skills to get back on (to my) feet, stop these takedowns and submit an opponent who was staying tight while being on top to put myself on the losing end. I say this again: Guida won the fight fair and square. He was better than me at that night.”

Was allowing Sabaitis to officiate the fight of one of his fellow Illinois-natives a poor move by the athletic commission or not a big deal at all?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Dana White Rants on Bellator & Viacom, Says Spike TV Didn’t Build the UFC

Maybe UFC president Dana White isn’t “loving” the dealings going on at Bellator MMA after all.During a recent episode of UFC Tonight on Fuel TV, a visibly angry White unleashed a firestorm of heated words about his company’s promotional rival, pro…

Maybe UFC president Dana White isn’t “loving” the dealings going on at Bellator MMA after all.

During a recent episode of UFC Tonight on Fuel TV, a visibly angry White unleashed a firestorm of heated words about his company’s promotional rival, prompted in an interview lead by show host Chael Sonnen.

The lawyer for Bellator? He’s either the biggest moron in the history of the world or a liar. For this guy to go out there and say that Spike and Fox are exactly the same—that they’re comparable—is the most ridiculous statement ever made in the history of the world, to compare [the] Fox Network to Spike TV.

How many critically acclaimed programs does Spike TV have? What kind of numbers does Spike TV pull every week? Our prelims on FX pull bigger numbers than their live main events do! You know what I mean? On FX! Let’s not even talk about Fox. Fox shouldn’t even be in the discussion.

At a glance, White seems to be on the money when he describes the current discrepancy in total viewers between the two competing MMA promotions in 2013.

According to MMA Weekly, Bellator 86 averaged 812,000 viewers while Bellator 85 drew a company record-high average of 938,000 viewers in their SPIKE premiere.

By contrast, the UFC is doing much better on Fox’s networks (via MMA Weekly, Yahoo):

• Bellator 85—938,000 viewers
• Bellator 86—812,000 viewers

• UFC on FX 7 Prelims (Fuel TV)—255,000 viewers
• UFC on FX 7—1,900,000 viewers
• TUF 17, Ep. 1—1,512,000 viewers
• UFC on Fox 6 Prelims (FX)—1,200,000 viewers
• UFC on Fox 6—4,200,000 viewers

Clearly, the 2013 war for ratings is favoring the UFC.

However, the UFC also has the advantage of national distribution on larger networks. Additionally, most UFC programming is spread out on three channels, compared to Viacom’s sole efforts on SPIKE.

White also gave a vehement criticism of Viacom’s claims that they “built” the UFC, stating that misconceptions like is one of the main reasons fighters like free agent Eddie Alvarez suffer in contract disputes:

Eddie Alvarez is getting screwed big time. The judge? He’s not educated on television, television networks, on pay-per-view—I’ve said this before. The thing is too, that drives me crazy, it’s not Spike TV. It’s Viacom. There’s a pompous, arrogant clown that runs Viacom, his name is Philippe Dauman. This guy has claimed that he built the UFC. Claims he built the UFC. Let me remind everybody, the UFC was a time buy on Spike TV.

We paid 10 million dollars to be in a time buy on Spike TV. They act like they were these geniuses that saw this sport coming. Then, when we moved on to Fox—Fox is such a massive, incredible platform, a global, massive platform. No two play-per-views are created equal. Comparing Spike TV to Fox is a joke and it’s horrible what’s happening to Eddie Alvarez.

Bellator isn’t battling just for top-flight talent either, as the promotion recently struck a major deal with UFC Hall-of-Famer and former two-division champion Randy Couture.

Although Dana White claimed that he “loved” the news, the fact remains that Couture is one of the more famous men in MMA. His presence on Bellator and SPIKE programming could draw critical eyes to the UFC’s rival network over the years, even though the retired legend won’t be fighting in any tournaments.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Michael Bisping vs. Alan Belcher to Co-Headline UFC 159

Michael “The Count” Bisping and Alan “The Talent” Belcher will finally settle their ongoing feud at UFC 159, when they co-headline the night’s festivities. The event, which recently announced a bout between Phil Davis and Vinny Magalhaes as w…

Michael “The Count” Bisping and Alan “The Talent” Belcher will finally settle their ongoing feud at UFC 159, when they co-headline the night’s festivities. 

The event, which recently announced a bout between Phil Davis and Vinny Magalhaes as well, will be titled UFC 159: Twitter Beef. 

Okay, that last part wasn’t real, but with the recent addition of Bisping and Belcher, such a description is entirely believable. 

MMAjunkie.com and ESPN.com confirmed the bout, and Internet forums are bound to explode with predictions and chatter regarding this high-profile co-main event. 

Both men dropped tough contests in their most recent outings, and a title shot is no longer in either of their immediate futures. 

For his part, Bisping lost to Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 7. Had he emerged victorious in that bout, he would have set up a championship bout with longtime middleweight champion and pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva. 

In a way, Belfort‘s head-kick knockout actually saved Bisping some long-term brain damage, because Silva would have absolutely wrecked him. 

But, I digress.

Belcher provides a stiff test for the outspoken British fighter, and this matchup—on paper—is awesome. 

Both guys have proficient skills wherever a fight goes, but both prefer to stand and bang. In his most recent fight against Yushin Okami, Belcher‘s stand-up game was nullified, and The Talent was forced to fight the majority of the fight from his back. 

Against Bisping, this almost assuredly will not be the case, and I expect a show of high-quality, technical stand-up and grappling from each fighter. 

Both 185 lb. fighters desperately need a win to stay relevant in their ever-deepening division, and the night’s victor will throw himself right back into the thick of title contention. 

While I can see Bisping picking Belcher apart for the duration of this matchup en route to a unanimous decision victory, I think Belcher clips The Count early and finishes his dazed opponent with a rear-naked choke. 

Belcher, I feel, still has plenty to show, and UFC 159 will provide his first step back to the top of the middleweight division. 

 

For fans of MMA, heavy metal or general absurdity, . 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Weidman Offers Anderson Silva Immediate Rematch at MSG, Dana White Interested

Anderson Silva may not be interested in fighting Chris Weidman, but at the end of the day, it’s Dana White’s decision.During an appearance on FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight,” the UFC President talked about the middleweight title picture and whether or not Weid…

Anderson Silva may not be interested in fighting Chris Weidman, but at the end of the day, it’s Dana White‘s decision.

During an appearance on FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight,” the UFC President talked about the middleweight title picture and whether or not Weidman was being considered for the No. 1 Contender’s spot.

“I think [Weidman vs. Silva] is closer and more possible than people think. I actually thought that Weidman was going to be out a lot longer than he was because of his injury, but he’s healed up pretty well and is claiming he’ll be able to start training again in a couple of months.

So, we’re looking at a couple of different options right now, some options that we like, and Weidman is one of them.”

For months, Weidman has pleaded for an opportunity to challenge Silva, who is on an astonishing 18-fight win streak.

Despite his lack of notoriety, Weidman boasts an undefeated record, with his last pair of wins coming over top-10 opposition. He is still healing up from a shoulder injury, and the timetable for his return is set for July, which is the same time Silva is expected to compete again.

There really isn’t a single middleweight who stands out as a more deserving contender than Weidman.

Unfortunately, Silva’s camp doesn’t feel the same way.

Ed Soares, Silva’s manager, recently told CageFanatic.com that Weidman is a “phenomenal talent,” but he needs to wait until he’s had another fight or two to garner enough recognition for a title fight with Silva.

Instead of facing Weidman, Soares alluded to Silva possibly being interested in fighting former Strikeforce middleweight champ Cung Le.

The news didn’t go over so well for Weidman, who also made an appearance on “UFC Tonight.” In a last desperate plea, he decided to up the ante in his proposal:

“Perfect world? [I’ll be back] July fourth weekend against Anderson Silva, I’ll grant him an immediate rematch at Madison Square Garden, New York City, in a monumental event.”

Perhaps the Silva camp has finally run out of excuses.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Fox 6 Updated Ratings Released, 5.2 Million Tuned in to Main Event

UFC on Fox 6 drew an even larger audience than previously reported. Initially, the event’s rating stood at 1.8, with a peak of 3.75 million viewers, but updated data suggests a much larger audience tuned in to watch the action unfold inside the Oc…

UFC on Fox 6 drew an even larger audience than previously reported. 

Initially, the event’s rating stood at 1.8, with a peak of 3.75 million viewers, but updated data suggests a much larger audience tuned in to watch the action unfold inside the Octagon. 

Fox Sports recently released numbers that show a peak of 5.2 million viewers during the night’s main event between flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and challenger John Dodson, good for an average rating of 2.4. 

For comparison, here are the numbers for average viewership during the previous installments of UFC on Fox. 

UFC on FOX 1: 5.7 million (most watched UFC event ever)
UFC on FOX 2: 4.7 million
UFC on FOX 3: 2.4 million
UFC on FOX 4: 2.44 million
UFC on FOX 5: 4.4 million
UFC on FOX 6: 4.2 million

These numbers for UFC on Fox 6, which account for the varying time zones across the United States, are considerably higher than the originally released metrics, and they suggest that the event was even more successful than previously thought. 

In somewhat of a shocker to UFC fans, the night’s main event showed the highest viewership with an average rating of 3.1, beating out the night’s co-main event between MMA legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Glover Teixeira, which showed an average rating of 2.5. 

This suggests that people tuned in to the fights, stayed tuned in and invited friends or persuaded others to join in the experience. The high marks are a testament to the UFC’s marketing team and the quality of fights on display. 

Some people, myself included, felt that the exceptional preliminary ratings were caused by Rampage’s presence on the card, but that is clearly not the entire case after examining the new data. 

Johnson and Dodson lived up to their main-event status and drew the largest crowd of the evening. That is a huge victory for the UFC and the flyweight division as a whole. 

For their work and the work of the other fighters on the card, UFC on Fox 6 easily captured first-place honors over all prime time competition on Jan. 26, showing that the UFC has a bright future on the biggest stage in sports. 

For fans of MMA, heavy metal or general absurdity, . 

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