Tag: Breaking News

Michael Bisping Hopes Referee ‘Has the Balls’ to Stop Belfort’s Illegal Punches

Michael Bisping is making it clear that he expects Vitor Belfort to take advantage of a bad situation during their main event fight at UFC on FX 7.Whether it’s illegal punches to the back of the head or the possibility of being fueled by testoster…

Michael Bisping is making it clear that he expects Vitor Belfort to take advantage of a bad situation during their main event fight at UFC on FX 7.

Whether it’s illegal punches to the back of the head or the possibility of being fueled by testosterone replacement therapy, “The Count” says that Belfort‘s “bully” tactics will eventually start to fail him, UFC legend or not.

In Bisping‘s latest guest post penned at Yahoo Sports, the famed MMA Englishman outlines his hopes that Belfort won’t be able to cheat his way to a win:

I was disappointed Vitor Belfort started talking in tongues when asked about TRT recently. He had a little more to say on Monday when he was asked directly about my concerns that all his recent UFC fights were won by illegal punches to the back of the head. In between lengthy references to the New Testament, Belfort basically said he doesn’t care if he hits opponents behind the head.

How he’s gotten away with this in his career is a mystery to me, and I hope we have a strong referee who has the balls to do something about it – if it happens – with thousands of Belfort supporters screaming in the stands. And of course it is down to me to make sure I’m not put in a position where he can unloaded [sic] these kinds of shots.

Most notably, Belfort‘s latest instance of winning a fight with illegal back-of-the-head punches came at the expense of Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama, who went down to strikes in the first round of their UFC 133 bout.

To date, though, Bisping has only been stopped on strikes once, and that was a haymaker blow from one of the sport’s hardest punchers in Dan Henderson.

Fans will get to see whether Bisping‘s chin (or the back of his skull) can hold up against Belfort‘s striking soon enough, as the two top middleweights are still set to face-off at the Ibirapuera Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Should Bisping win, he’s expected to achieve a career-long dream and face Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title.

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Eddie Alvarez UFC Offer Included Pay-Per-View Share, Commentary Opportunities

The UFC would plan to give Eddie Alvarez an immediate title shot and a cut of the proceeds whenever he fights on pay-per-view, according to court documents.MMAJunkie obtained the documents, which were submitted as part of Bellator’s lawsuit against Alv…

The UFC would plan to give Eddie Alvarez an immediate title shot and a cut of the proceeds whenever he fights on pay-per-view, according to court documents.

MMAJunkie obtained the documents, which were submitted as part of Bellator’s lawsuit against Alvarez, their former lightweight champion and now a coveted free agent. 

The UFC’s contract offer is plenty lucrative from a pure financial standpoint, but it also contains several non-monetary provisions presumably designed to sweeten the deal.

Under the terms of the eight-fight deal detailed in the court document, Alvarez (24-3) would earn $70,000 in “show” money for each fight, plus a $70,000 bonus for each win with an additional $5,000 escalation for each additional win, to a maximum of $210,000. The UFC also offered a $250,000 signing bonus.

Along with the immediate title shot, the UFC proposal offers Alvarez, 28, a fight on a Fox card and three commentary opportunities.

In the dispute between Bellator and Alvarez, Bellator officials claim they matched the UFC’s offer, a claim Alvarez denies. That disagreement is at the heart of the current lawsuit, which Alvarez announced Monday on The MMA Hour broadcast.

Although Bellator may have matched the details of the UFC’s deal, a primary difference between the proposals necessarily lies in the PPV portion of the UFC offer. According to the court documents, the UFC is prepared to pay Alvarez $1 for every buy the UFC receives for each PPV event in which Alvarez appears. That number goes up to $2 per buy when total buys reach 400,000-600,000, and $2.50 when it exceeds 600,000.

Bellator is literally unable to match this provision, as Bellator currently does not air fights on PPV.

Bellator also offered Alvarez a $25,000 payout for appearing in a Spike TV show and a $100,000 payment for coaching in Bellator’s reality TV competition. He was also offered various appearances on other Bellator and Spike programming.

Adding still more intrigue to the proceedings is one small but important word in the UFC’s offer. According to a tweet from MMAJunkie reporter Steven Marrocco, the UFC offer does include wiggle room in what it proposes:

 

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UFC’s Hector Lombard: ‘Let’s Cut the Bullshit’ About Fight vs. Anderson Silva

Hector Lombard isn’t happy that he’s being overlooked for a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship, and he’s calling out every title contender.During an interview with News.com.au, “Lightning” Lombard essentially called out every top 185-pounder in …

Hector Lombard isn’t happy that he’s being overlooked for a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship, and he’s calling out every title contender.

During an interview with News.com.au, “Lightning” Lombard essentially called out every top 185-pounder in the division, stating that he wants to leave no guess to who should really getting the next crack at the MMA pound-for-pound kingpin:

I just don’t want to fight guys that they say: “[Oh,] that was [an] easy match-up for him.” I want to fight the hardest match-up. I wish they (the UFC) could go now and make a pool of the toughest guys at 84kg that no one wants to fight and I want to fight that guy.

Not many people want to fight Palhares. Before we had the fight people were saying: “Hector is gone, Phalares [sic] is taking Hector’s leg back to Brazil.” I would like to fight Chris Weidman, he’s a big name. I’ve been asking for (Yushin) Okami, I’ve been asking for Okami but they (UFC) won’t give him to me because of his chin. Okami has no chin, he can’t cop the punches. And where’s Jake Shields? He’s been around forever, he beat Dan Henderson. Those are the guys I want to fight.

Originally, the UFC seemed to be angling Lombard towards title contention after a high-profile contract signing that brought the Cuban-Australian fighter up from Bellator’s own middleweight division.

But despite a long reign with Bellator’s middleweight title, three regional MMA titles, an extremely decorated Judo background and a gaudy 32-3-1 record (with one “No Contest”), a past upset to loss Tim Boetsch took away much of Lombard’s steam.

However, Lombard says that the UFC just won’t give him Anderson Silva, despite his hyped arrival into the promotion and dominant 25-1-1 stretch over nearly six years:

Let’s cut the bullshit, let’s be honest, they won’t give me Anderson Silva. We have to be realistic and talk about things that might happen.

I’ve got to take one fight at a time and one-by-one I can take them out and by the end of the year people are going to say he deserves the title shot. I want it to just be my hard work. I want people to say that no one deserves the title more than him.

Future plans aside, Lombard will have the chance to improve his 1-1 UFC record when he faces Yushin Okami during the main card of UFC on Fuel 8, taking place on March 3 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

That fight will support a heavy card of matches, including a main-event bout between Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann.

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UFC 158: Sean Pierson vs. Rick Story Added to Welterweight Heavy Card

MMA Weekly reports that Sean Pierson vs. Rick Story will be the sixth welterweight fight on the UFC 158 fight card, set to take place in Montreal on March 16. The card is headlined by Georges St-Pierre’s long awaited title defence against Nick Di…

MMA Weekly reports that Sean Pierson vs. Rick Story will be the sixth welterweight fight on the UFC 158 fight card, set to take place in Montreal on March 16.

The card is headlined by Georges St-Pierre’s long awaited title defence against Nick Diaz, while Rory MacDonald gets a chance to avenge his loss to Carlos Condit in the co-main.

Pierson adds to the Canadian flavour of the card. A former Toronto police officer, Pierson has gone 2-2 in his last four matches. Having lost two back-to-back fights in 2011 against Jake Ellenberger and Kim Dong Hyun, he did well last year with two wins against Jake Hecht and Lance Benoist.

Going against him is Story who—between 2010 and 2011—was rocketing towards a title shot by winning six straight fights and defeating the likes of Thiago Alves and current top welterweight contender Johny Hendricks.

However, he’s gone 1-3 since, losing to Charlie Brenneman, Martin Kampmann and Demian Maia in his last match, leaving his future at the promotion in a precarious situation.

The remaining fights on the UFC 158 card will also feature Canadian welterweights. Patrick Côté takes on Bobby Voelker, and Jordan Mein takes on Dan Miller.

Côté will be making his welterweight debut after losing to Cung Le last July and then winning by disqualification due to punches to the back of the head against Alessio Sakara. He was expected to rematch Sakara, but has instead decided to drop down a division.

UFC 158 will be a big night for the whole division. Not just because the champion defends his belt once again but because the No. 2 contender, Johny Hendricks, will also be fighting for his shot.

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Wanderlei Silva Destroys Training Partners in Preparation for Brian Stann

Is the “Axe Murderer” of old back? Not to be ants at a picnic (yes, I said that), but no, the gloriously ferocious Wanderlei Silva of Pride fame is probably not back.In fact, he’ll never be back, because the human brain simply isn’t designed to ge…

Is the “Axe Murderer” of old back? 

Not to be ants at a picnic (yes, I said that), but no, the gloriously ferocious Wanderlei Silva of Pride fame is probably not back.

In fact, he’ll never be back, because the human brain simply isn’t designed to get scrambled like Sunday morning eggs and continue to function properly. 

That said, it sure is fun to watch him beat up on his training partners at Wand Fight Team, isn’t it? 

In the video, courtesy of bjpenn.com, “The Axe Murderer” looks quick and spry, and his partners clearly cannot match his intensity. Silva claims these partners are all “first-class fighters,” but they certainly look to be more parts punching bag than professional fighter in this clip. 

Is the video just a pump-you-up promotional piece from Wandy’s camp leading up to his bout with Brian Stann at UFC on Fuel TV 8? 

Probably. 

There’s nothing wrong with that, though. The matchup is already as tantalizing as any in the near future, so what’s the harm in fueling the already-raging fire? 

I like to watch Wandy succeed, and as a fan of mixed martial arts, I enjoy myself a healthy dose of controlled rage—so this video is A-OK by me. 

What do you make of it? Is Wandy better than ever, or is he just sparring some nobodies?

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Greg Jackson Talks Upcoming Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis Bout

UFC on Fox 6 is set for Jan. 26,  and will feature a flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson.Though the night’s main event promises to deliver, perhaps the most anticipated bout of the evening comes in the form of a l…

UFC on Fox 6 is set for Jan. 26,  and will feature a flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson.

Though the night’s main event promises to deliver, perhaps the most anticipated bout of the evening comes in the form of a lightweight scrap between two former WEC title players, namely Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis.

Both Cerrone and Pettis have made waves in the UFC since making the jump to Zuffa’s primary promotion, and their impending bout is one that will have nostalgic MMA fans salivating. Each fighter is highly regarded for their respective skill levels, but it’s the flare they fight with that has earned each man his fan favorite label.

Cerrone‘s trainer and cornerman Greg Jackson expects the match to be a good one, something he recently expressed to Sherdog:

I don’t think it’s going to be a typical fight anywhere just because both of these guys are so talented. It’s going to be one of those fights where you have to fight for small things and try to get the advantage where you can. It’s a real war. I’m really looking forward to the fight. Pettis is amazing. He comes from a great camp, and I think it’s going to be a hell of a fight.

Jackson went on to comment on Cerrone‘s preparedness for Pettis‘s unorthodox techniques, like the “Showtime Kick,” noting that “Cowboy” will “be ready for that.” 

And he’ll have to be, if he hopes to slow the dynamic Pettis who seems no farther than two wins from a shot at Ben Henderson’s lightweight crown. Indeed, a victory for “Showtime” at UFC on Fox 6 might just ensure a redo of the WEC‘s last ever fight.

Cerrone himself isn’t too far removed from the lightweight title either. He’s 6-1 since hooking up with the UFC, and is coming off a spectacular knockout of Melvin Guillard.

Between title implications riding on both sides, the immense talent shared by Cerrone and Pettis and the strong likelihood that it will be an action-packed affair, Greg Jackson seems to be very much on the mark in his assessment of the contest.

“It’s going to be one hell of a fight.”

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