Tag: Breaking News

UFC 155 Live Streaming Pre-Fight Press Conference Video

Junior dos Santos won the heavyweight title by knocking out Cain Velasquez in November 2011. Now, the Brazilian will attempt to tie the record for consecutive heavyweight title defenses with a similar result in the main event at UFC 155.In addition to …

Junior dos Santos won the heavyweight title by knocking out Cain Velasquez in November 2011. Now, the Brazilian will attempt to tie the record for consecutive heavyweight title defenses with a similar result in the main event at UFC 155.

In addition to the heavyweight title fight, UFC 155 will also feature some important bouts in the lightweight and middleweight divisions.

At 155 pounds, Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon will attempt to take a step closer to the first title shot of their careers. Also, on the preliminary card, Melvin Guillard and Jamie Varner will attempt to bounce back from losses.

Tim Boetsch will attempt to maintain his standing as an elite middleweight against the rising Costa Philippou. Additionally, Alan Belcher could break through with a win over long-time contender Yushin Okami.

To promote UFC 155, which will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, a pre-fight press conference will be held on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. Event headliners Dos Santos, Velasquez, Miller, Lauzon and more will likely join UFC president Dana White for the presser.

Video of the press conference will be streamed live on the above video player. After the presser, stay tuned to Bleacher Report MMA for all the latest on UFC 155 and the rest of your MMA needs.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Mitch Clarke Looking to Build on Up-and-Down 2012

Mitch Clarke needs just two words—“roller coaster”—to describe the past 12 months.“Lots of ups and downs,” the 27-year-old Saskatoon product says. Clarke kicked off 2012 hard on the heels of his first career defeat&m…

Mitch Clarke needs just two words—“roller coaster”—to describe the past 12 months.

“Lots of ups and downs,” the 27-year-old Saskatoon product says.

Clarke kicked off 2012 hard on the heels of his first career defeat—his big-show debut against John Cholish at UFC 140—and followed that up with a split decision loss to Anton Kuivanen in July.

The loss would’ve been bad enough for Clarke, who was undefeated in nine bouts before signing with the UFC in 2011, but the former University of Saskatchewan walk-on wrestler blew out his knee 20 seconds into the bout.

But even the worst roller coasters go up, too.

Prior to Clarke’s second bout in the UFC, he found himself at the MMA Lab in Glendale and earlier this month, Clarke had his knee surgery and is preparing to return to the canvas in 2013.

It has been a trying year, to be certain, but Clarke, a man who watches more cartoons than many children, remains optimistic.

The loss, the injury, my personal life basically going down the tubes post fight led to an emotional time, says Clarke, who hopes to be back to 100 percent by mid-January. But it also helped strengthen a lot of personal relationships and build brand new ones, like meeting and training with Brian Cobb in the states and I found a new home for my training camps at the MMA Lab under John Crouch and Benson Henderson.

With a new “family” in Arizona to help him prepare for his return to the octagon, Clarke is hoping to make 2013—and the years to follow—everything that 2012 wasn’t.

“(In 2013, I) definitely want a win in the UFC,” Clarke says. “But I’d like to start carving out my legacy in the sport this year and hopefully be remembered for doing something in the sport.”

 

Ed Kapp is a Regina, Saskatchewan-based journalist. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations were obtained firsthand.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Carlos Condit Rips Rory MacDonald: “I Gave Him the Worst Beating of His Life”

Carlos Condit isn’t another undersized and over the hill fighter Rory MacDonald can use as a stepping stone.After dominating BJ Penn at UFC on Fox 5, MacDonald challenged Condit to a rematch of their epic June 2010 bout.Initially, Condit found the chal…

Carlos Condit isn’t another undersized and over the hill fighter Rory MacDonald can use as a stepping stone.

After dominating BJ Penn at UFC on Fox 5, MacDonald challenged Condit to a rematch of their epic June 2010 bout.

Initially, Condit found the challenge to be a bit odd. He felt like MacDonald came off as if some unjust act had been committed towards him. Perhaps there is a little resentment towards Condit, who handed MacDonald his first and only loss.

A part of it could also be how the fight ended.

Condit rallied after a rough start and stopped MacDonald in the third round with some of the most vicious ground-and-pound you’ll ever see in the Octagon.

During an interview with ESPN.com, Condit reminisced on what he calls the worst beating of MacDonald’s life.

I’ve just come off a loss, the biggest fight of my career. I’m fired up. I’m looking to come back with a vengeance. I’m also fired up because I was called out on national television. I gave [MacDonald] the worst beating of his life. I beat the snot out of him. He can come up with all the excuses that he wants. He’s got to fight me again.

Condit is coming off a tough unanimous decision loss to UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

Despite a dominant performance by the champ, the victory didn’t come without adversity.

Condit put forth a solid effort and nearly shocked the world after dropping St-Pierre with a head kick in the third round. It was a performance that showed the continued growth and maturity of Condit, who is only 28 years old.

A loss often teaches a fighter more than a victory. Condit believes he can grow from the experience and build an even better version of himself as he laid out in the aforementioned ESPN interview.

I proved that I can compete with the best in the world. I almost had the fight in the bag. With some adjustments and a few tweaks in my game, I’m going to be able to capitalize on those moments that I had in the last fight.

I think I did a pretty good job. I did the best that I could in preparing for Georges, knowing what I knew. Some things worked, and some things didn’t. Now we have to go back and refine. After a test like that, I have a lot of information to come back a much better fighter.

As for MacDonald, Condit has accepted the challenge, and the two welterweight stars are expected to meet in a rematch on March 16 at UFC 158.

Most fighters would walk around bitter and angry that they have to find a way to defeat the same dangerous opponent a second time, but as fans already know, Condit isn’t like most fighters.

He sees a rematch against MacDonald as a great opportunity to hop back into the title picture. MacDonald is currently looked at as the UFC’s golden child, and a win over him would all but guarantee a quicker path to another shot at UFC gold, as per ESPN:

Rory has a lot of hype behind him. People are talking about him. A win over him—another win over him—will put me right back in the [welterweight title] mix.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ronda Rousey on Recent Fame: ‘I Haven’t Had Less Sex in My Life’

UFC bantamweight women’s champion Ronda Rousey is one of the most outspoken personalities in the sport, so it should come as no surprise that she opened up about her sex life in an interview with Esquire magazine. “Rowdy,” who was ranked 43 out of…

UFC bantamweight women’s champion Ronda Rousey is one of the most outspoken personalities in the sport, so it should come as no surprise that she opened up about her sex life in an interview with Esquire magazine. 

“Rowdy,” who was ranked 43 out of 99 on AskMen.com’s “Most Desirable Women of 2013,” inevitably talked about how the dating scene has been treating her since becoming a household name.

I haven’t had less sex in my life … It’s really funny, actually. I either get men coming up to me like, ‘Oh, my God, baby, I love you!’ or else they’re too shy to approach me. Can I get just a little in between?

On that note, Rousey, the first female fighter signed by the UFC, discussed whether or not she would considering having a romantic relationship with a fellow fighter. 

Hell no I ain’t gonna hook up with no fighter. I know these guys. They’re like a sewing circle and everyone tells everyone everything.

These comments are even more interesting when considering what the 25-year-old said on an appearance on The Jim Rome Show last month: “I try to have as much sex as possible before I fight.” 

The former Olympic bronze medalist in Judo brings a perfect 6-0 record to the Octagon and will headline UFC 157 in February when she defends her title against Liz Carmouche. 

Rousey has never gone past the first round in her career, finishing all of her opponents with an armbar. 

Do Rousey‘s latest comments about her sex life come off as shocking but true or just downright unbelievable?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Champ Jon Jones Makes Top 20 List in ESPN 2012 ‘Cross-Sport’ Power Rankings

Following a dominant year of title defenses and star-making headline news, Jon Jones has been rated as one of the year’s Top 20 athletes across all sports.That list, compiled by ESPN, places the UFC light heavyweight king at No. 18 overall, ahead of mo…

Following a dominant year of title defenses and star-making headline news, Jon Jones has been rated as one of the year’s Top 20 athletes across all sports.

That list, compiled by ESPN, places the UFC light heavyweight king at No. 18 overall, ahead of more famous stars like Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings.

However, Jones is a long way from the peak of the list, which is topped by LeBron James of the Miami Heat, one of the highest-paid and most prolific athletes in the world.

Here’s how the list broke down, with several budding young stars and older veterans:

1: LeBron James (NBA, Heat)
2: Lionel Messi (Soccer, FC Barcelona)
3: Kevin Durant (NBA, Thunder)
4: Eli Manning (NFL, Giants)
5: Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer, Real Madrid)
6: Michael Phelps (Swimming)
7: Serena Williams (Women’s Tennis)
8: Miguel Cabrera (MLB, Tigers)
9: Anthony Davis (NCAA CBB, University of Kentucky)
10: Brittney Griner (NCAA Women’s CBB, Baylor University)
11: Usain Bolt (Track and Field)
12: Johnny Manziel (CFB, Texas A&M)
13: Gabby Douglas (Gymnastics)
14: Buster Posey (MLB, Giants)
15: Brad Keselowski (NASCAR)
16: Jonathan Quick (Hockey, Kings)
17: Rory McIlroy (Golf)
18: Jon Jones (UFC)
19: Adrian Peterson (NFL, Vikings)
20: Kobe Bryant (NBA, Lakers)

Even though Jones is towards the bottom of this year’s list, he’s the first combat sports athlete to be included in the Top 20 since ESPN first began compiling these rankings.

Previous year-end picks in 2010 and 2011 didn’t include any champions or notable rookies from MMA or boxing, making Jones a rare pick.

Like most athletes on this list, Jones had a career-making year in 2012, defeating former UFC champions Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort in two successful title fights and becoming only the fourth of 12 men to defend the UFC light heavyweight title four times.

Jones also made headlines in some notable controversies this year after crashing his Bentley Continental GT in a Binghamton, New York suburb and pleading guilty to a DWI charge.

“Bones” didn’t stop there, additionally playing a part in the cancellation of UFC 151 after refusing to face former middleweight contender Chael Sonnen on eight days’ notice.

Intended challenger Dan Henderson pulled out of the match due to a knee injury, setting off a chain of events that ended with Jones electing to drop the fight altogether when Sonnen appeared as a last-minute replacement.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Paul Daley Bar Brawl ‘100 Percent False,’ Visa Issue Nixes Bellator Tourney Bout

Bellator fighter and former UFC welterweight Paul Daley has responded to reports that he has been arrested due to a bar brawl, stating that the claims are false.Initially reported by ESPN, it seemed that Daley was facing up to two years in prison if co…

Bellator fighter and former UFC welterweight Paul Daley has responded to reports that he has been arrested due to a bar brawl, stating that the claims are false.

Initially reported by ESPN, it seemed that Daley was facing up to two years in prison if convicted of the charges.

Moreover, the charges were said to be the main thing barring Daley from leaving England.

However, “Semtex” has gone to his official Facebook profile to clear the air, stating he’s merely having Visa issues that won’t be cleared up in time for the start of Bellator’s next welterweight tournament:

“It seems as though a mass press release has gone out to the MMA media, stating I was involved in a bar brawl, arrested, and cannot obtain a P-1 visa to compete in the USA

…I am currently awaiting a decision on my visa, which is not expected until late April. Which means i am unable to compete in the season 8 Bellator tournament, as it starts in January.

I will be fighting in Europe in the coming months, so I am able to stay active while awaiting a decision on my visa status.

I was not involved in a bar brawl. This is 100% a false statement.”

Still, Daley notably doesn’t address whether or not he was arrested on an assault charge. According to ESPN, a spokesperson from Bellator MMA made the initial announcement about Daley being dropped from the “Season Eight” welterweight tournament.

Either way, it’s bad timing for Daley, as he will miss Bellator’s SPIKE debut on January 17, 2013. This will be Bellator’s first season after their run on the promotion’s official website and MTV2, as SPIKE was contractually unable to show non-UFC content on their channel during the past year.

Before signing with Bellator, Daley had previously fought in the UFC and Strikeforce, being involuntarily cut from the former.

During a UFC 113 title eliminator bout with Josh Koscheck, a frustrated Daley struck Koscheck after the final bell of the third round, frustrated at being controlled by the superior wrestler. UFC president Dana White promptly dropped Daley from the promotion, famously citing that Daley would never fight in the UFC again.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com