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UFC 184: Holly Holm Should Not Be the Next Opponent for Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey needed less than 30 seconds to put away Cat Zingano and retain the UFC women’s bantamweight crown. The former Olympic judoka defended her belt for the fifth time and pushed her record to 11-0.
As she looks down at the rest of the division …

As she looks down at the rest of the division chasing her, questions arise as to who will be her next opponent. There are a number of individuals to pick from, but Holly Holm should not be the answer.

When looking at the UFC rankings for the 135-pound women’s division it’s clear that Rousey has nearly cleaned out the entire group. She has soundly defeated all of the top five contenders to her title since moving over to the promotion in 2013.

Moments before Rousey‘s successful title defense, fight fans witnessed the promotional debut of Holm as she earned a split decision victory over Raquel Pennington. The former women’s boxing champion looked crisp in her striking technique but never put her opponent in any clear position of danger. Rousey may have mentioned her in the post-fight interview, but Holm should not be feed to the champion at this point in time.

Other options should include No. 7-ranked Bethe Correia and even current Invicta featherweight champion Cristiane Justino. UFC President Dana White has already nixed the potential rivalry bout with Santos.

Even though Rousey started her MMA career as a featherweight, it seems as if her fighting the Invicta featherweight champion, who had a dominant win of her own on Friday, is off of the books at this time. The conversation has turned to a catch-weight fight between the two, but White has called that off.

“Why would the champ go there? It just doesn’t make sense,” White said during the post-fight press conference, via MMA Fighting. “She’s the 135-pound champion here; she’s dominant. The champ doesn’t chance other people. If you want to fight the champ, you go to the champ.”

Correia has been on a run of her own that has included victims who are Rousey‘s training partners. Her last two wins, over Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke, were dominant victories that pushed her up the rankings ladder. Rousey mentioned her during her interview with Joe Rogan immediately after the fight, but White has not confirmed that she may be next in line.

“She’s been pretty aggressive about getting the fight,” White said. “She’s undefeated so we will see what happens.”

Even though Holm came into the event with a lot of hype, do not expect her to be the next to fight the champion.

“Listen a lot of hype came in around Holly. It’s her first time here,” White said during questioning. “When you come in here it is a completely different ball game. She went in there tonight and she performed. Let’s let her get a couple of fights and let her feel like the UFC is her home. She has some time to get there.”

“I would like to get my feet wet. I finally got this first UFC fight over with,” Holm responded when questioned about the potential to face Rousey next.

Media professionals such as Patrick Wyman took to Twitter to express their idea that Holm is not ready at this point in time.

Ronda Rousey continues to epitomize the idea of dominance in sports as she maintains her position as the women’s 135-pound champion. As the community awaits an announcement for her next challenger, Holly Holm should be given the opportunity to grow before being placed in the main event.

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Anthony Johnson Explains Prank on Dana White: ‘He Damn Near S— on Himself’

The crowd erupted in laughter when Jon Jones and Anthony Johnson met for a staredown at the “Welcome to the Show” press conference prior to UFC 184 on Saturday at The Event Deck at L.A. Live in Los Angeles.
Light heavyweight champ Jones and top-ra…

Light heavyweight champ Jones and top-ranked contender Johnson, who are scheduled to fight for the belt at UFC 187 on May 23, enacted a scheme to relive the press-conference brawl between Bones and Daniel Cormier at the MGM Grand in August.

And despite the fact that he was the victim of a prank, UFC President Dana White couldn’t help but join the crowd with a rosy-faced chuckle.

Johnson explained why he and Jones got together backstage and decided to pull the stunt.

“I just said, ‘Hey, we need to do something to get everybody going. He said, ‘Hey I could give you the whole headbutt like I did with Daniel,’ and I said, ‘Cool let’s do it, but where’s Dave.’ Dave Sholler was the one that was onstage whenever him and (Cormier) got into it. And he was like, ‘Dana’s up there, (so) we can’t do it.’ (But) I was like, ‘No, let’s do it.'”

With White standing in between them at center stage, Jones forcefully put his forehead to Johnson’s, which caused Rumble to feint a right hand at the champ. Because White wasn’t in on the joke, he responded by trying to stop what he perceived as another would-be catastrophe.

Although Jones and Johnson intended to punk UFC public relations chief Dave Sholler—the man who comically attempted to stop the Jones-Cormier brawl—they ended up fooling a totally unsuspecting White.

Johnson pointed out that the scheme would have made more sense had Sholler once again been the last line of defense, rather than White.

“Oh yeah, if Dave was up there it would have been perfect, but it is what it is. I think it’s even better, though, because it was Dana. Dana’s mister Billy bad ass, you know what I mean? You can’t do anything to him, but he definitely damn near s— on himself.”

The much-anticipated Jones-Johnson bout will serve as the main event on a card that includes a middleweight title fight between unbeaten champ Chris Weidman and former light heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort. The card will also include several other high-profile matchups, including a lightweight bout between second-ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov and third-ranked Donald Cerrone and a heavyweight tilt between third-ranked Travis Browne and seventh-ranked Andrei Arlovski.

All quotes were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report.

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Jon Jones, Anthony Johnson Prank Dana White by Reenacting Jones-Cormier Brawl

The UFC held a press event hours before Saturday’s UFC 184 entitled “Welcome to the Show.” It was similar to its “The Time Is Now” event held earlier this year, but this one focused on the next wave of slated fights.
And the eve…

And the event had a little comedy at the end. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones have jokes.

The press event saw headliners from most of the upcoming cards field questions from the media and fans alike. It was mostly upbeat and jovial in nature.

For a brief moment, all that looked to change when Jones and Johnson met eye to eye.

Last year, all the buzz was fueled by the hatred between Jones and contender Daniel Cormier. The two had a wild brawl during a press event to hype their title fight, and the video went viral.

At the tail end of Saturday’s press event, each pair of fighters got up for staredowns. Jones and Johnson were the final pairing, and out of nowhere there seemed to be a bit of a skirmish. UFC President Dana White jumped in to separate the two elite fighters, but it was quickly apparent that they were merely playing around with their boss.

Although it was all fun and games at Saturday’s event, Jones and Johnson will fight for real on May 23 in Las Vegas.

Johnson earned the title shot with a stunning January 24 knockout over top-ranked contender Alexander Gustafsson on Fox, putting him ahead of all other contenders. Jones is coming off a big win over Cormier and will return following an out-of-cage issue involving cocaine.

The laughing stops when the cage door shuts in late May. Another top-tier light heavyweight battle is upon us.

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NSAC to Begin Implementing Intensive Drug-Testing Procedures…on NSAC

(We hear that if you play that song backwards on loop, it lines up perfectly with the Wizard of Oz, maaaaaaan.)

Disclaimer: Guys, I am really digging the articles you’ve been sending in, but especially these Onion-style pieces ala “Ultimate Roided Fucking Killers League.” Here is another such article that’s just as hilarious. — Jared

By CP Reader Scott Johnson

Off the heels of the major announcement made by the UFC last Wednesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has decided to follow suit with a groundbreaking decision of their own. Beginning June 30th, NSAC will begin implementing a new drug testing policy upon itself in the hopes that it will curb the erratic, irrational behavior that has long plagued its decision making process. (See: everything from the past month)

The new policy will see representatives of the NSAC, which includes referees, judges and commission members, be subject to year round random drug tests as well as mandatory testing prior to any events or hearings. These new changes are expected to help to eradicate the poor decisions that have adversely affected all aspects of MMA.

“After reviewing the hearing that took place on February 17th of 2015, it was clear that changes needed to be made to ensure that the integrity and good name of the Nevada State Athletic Commission would remain intact,” said Francisco Aguilar without a hint of irony or self-awareness in his voice.

(We hear that if you play that song backwards on loop, it lines up perfectly with the Wizard of Oz, maaaaaaan.)

By CP Reader Scott Johnson

He continued, “What message would it send to the sports community if we had to admit that our drug testing had fallen so far behind that it made the UFC’s policies look progressive?”

Mr. Aguilar’s opinion on the initial outcome of this new policy mirrored that of UFC President Dana White’s statement from last week that things would most likely get worse before they got better.

We know that there will be an initial backlash from our representatives. I know for a fact that requiring the judges present at ringside to be sober at future events will present an issue as most of them don’t know much about the sport and show little to no interest in the events taking place in the cage.

“We are glad that the NSAC has chosen our facilities to provide their drug testing services,” said Dr. David “Tank” Throatkick, Chief Physician at the Foothills Anti-doping Research and Control Establishment and graduate of the highly vaunted Hollywood Upstairs Medical College.

“We remain on the edge of progressive anti-doping testing procedures by instituting the standard tests in place while researching new and inventive ways to identify any performance enhancing chemicals. To ensure the accuracy of our results we will be administering urine test as well as requesting samples of the subject’s blood, hair, saliva, snot, and semen.”

When summoned, members of the NSAC will be required to submit the necessary samples or be subject to penalties based on the egregiousness and recurrence the of the offense. Examples of these penalties will include (but not be limited to): fines, suspensions, required appearances on Ariel Helwani’s podcast, life coaching sessions with the Diaz brothers, mandatory attendance at Fox Sports 1 UFC events from prelim to main event and other terrible punishments.

“It’s about damned time!” proclaimed Joe Rogan, UFC color commentator, noted conspiracy theorist and alleged comedian. “Seriously, did you hear the things that were being said at that hearing? Placing microchips into the fighter’s gloves? It’s unreal! I’ve said some pretty wild shit on my podcast after a blaze session with Eddie but even I couldn’t believe the nonsense they were spouting.”

UFC President Dana White was equally jovial when discussing the decision, although it was difficult to tell at first due to the bitter hostility in his tone.

“This is the fucking best think the NSAC could have fucking done. Easily the best pound for pound fucking decision they ever made” said White. “It’s been the worst kept fucking secret in sports. Anyone could have fucking seen this fucking coming from the terrible judging to early stoppages to that stupid fucking shit Cecil Peoples does when starting a fight. Anyone who wants to be a part of making crucial decisions in officiating or regulating our sport will have to ask themselves the question “Do you want to be a fucking teetotaler?”‘

Upon the announcement of the new policy, the reinstatement application for refereeing on behalf of Josh Rosenthal was voluntarily rescinded by the applicant.

The Question: Does the UFC’s New Drug Testing Policy Reflect Real Change?

On Wednesday, the UFC announced what may be potentially sweeping changes to its performance-enhancing-drug policy. UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, President Dana White and head legal counsel Lawrence Epstein addressed the media from a ballroom at the Red Rock Casino Resort to announce the changes, which follow a string of high-profile test debacles, including the surprising failure of the legendary Anderson Silva.

What does it all mean? Does it indicate substantive change? Or is it just for show? Bleacher Report’s version of Sancho Panza and Don Quixote, lead writers Jonathan Snowden and Jeremy Botter, weigh in with their initial thoughts on what may end up being one of the most important decisions in recent MMA history.

Jonathan: Well Jeremy, the UFC held a press conference Wednesday to announce that it is, indeed, serious about eliminating the scourge of performance-enhancing drugs. Good cop Lorenzo Fertitta, calm, collected and professional, set forth what seems likely to be a sweeping program that will change the lives of his fighters forever. Bad cop Dana White yelled at the media and announced a title fight.

It certainly wasn’t boring.

It also wasn’t, once the smoke cleared and the mirrors were put back in storage, super informative. There were scant details provided. The future, though potentially quite bright, can be viewed only through the murky haze of doubt.

Jeremy: Perhaps it was because I was in the room and had the benefit of being able to speak to some of the actual folks who will end up making these changes happen on the ground level, but I came away from yesterday’s news conference thinking two things:

1. This sport just changed, drastically.

2. That the UFC went above and beyond even what I expected it to do.

We all know four-year bans for first-time offenders won’t end up being the actual punishment handed down once the UFC partners with an outside doping agency. It will be two years, which is still a major deterrent and also an improvement over what it currently has. And we don’t know a lot of the specifics about the testing because it hasn’t picked an outside agency to handle it yet, though I would bet my last dollar that it will be the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

I think we got this news conference on Monday because the UFC wanted to send a message, not just to the public at large, but also to its fighters. It said, “hey, you have approximately six months to get all of the crap you’re currently taking out of your system. If you fail after July 1, that’s your fault. We’re giving you the time you need to get clean.”

The fact that White was relegated to a sideshow, the guy who said a few things in his usual style, while the rest of the actual business was handled by Fertitta and Ike Epstein? That says a lot. That says they mean business, and this isn’t just another deal where Dana says words and then goes back later and claims he didn’t say those words. When big daddy Lorenzo alights from his second-floor ruling space in the Zuffa office, you know business, in the immortal words of my friend Jim Ross, just picked up.

Jonathan: The truth is, the UFC has been all over the map on this issue. The intensity of its press conferences doesn’t impress me. I’ll be impressed with the intensity of its testing—should it actually occur.

After its on-again, off-again love affair with testosterone replacement therapy, its inconsistent approach to testing and the way it’s consistently given drug cheats opportunities, to include title shots, immediately upon their return from suspension, UFC has zero credibility in this space. It has to earn it.

We’ll see what happens. But it’s certainly not in the UFC’s interest to cancel fights and suspend top fighters. And with it running its own testing, there will always be questions about just how real its testing is.

This might be a gold-standard program. But it might be a pro wrestling program, a public relations ploy the promotion certainly hopes the athletes don’t take too seriously. We don’t really know—because the most interesting part of the UFC’s announcement was the complete lack of specifics provided.

Jeremy: I think you saw a lack of specifics because it put it together in a hurry. It abandoned the testing program it’d planned, and then Anderson Silva went and took all of the drugs in the world, which forced it to admit it had a problem and that it probably needed to take a strong stance.

And I do think it was a strong stance, despite the lack of specifics. Fertitta even admitted on two occasions that things were going to get worse before they got better. He noted that Joe Silva and Sean Shelby would have to be more creative matchmakers, and that if they lose main event or championship fights because of the new policies they’re putting into places, well, they lose main events.

That doesn’t sound like lip service to me. It sounds like someone who knows his company is about to take a hit. And believe me when I say that the UFC will take a major hit once this policy goes into effect, if the eventual policy is indeed identical to what Fertitta discussed on Wednesday morning.

But you are right in saying it has to earn our trust on this issue. It does. If it puts this program in place, and if it is open and honest about results and failures, it will go a long way toward building that trust.

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UFC Deserves Credit for Taking Steps to Clean Up Sport

Damned if they don’t, damned if they do.
That’s the feeling I had at the conclusion of Wednesday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship news conference on performance-enhancing drugs.
For years, observers of mixed martial arts have scoffed at the UFC’s seemi…

Damned if they don’t, damned if they do.

That’s the feeling I had at the conclusion of Wednesday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship news conference on performance-enhancing drugs.

For years, observers of mixed martial arts have scoffed at the UFC’s seemingly lackadaisical efforts to control PEDs. Rightly so. While it was never an official stance, it felt like the promotion didn’t care so much about PEDs in mixed martial arts unless it affected their bottom line.

Even then, Dana White famously trumpeted they were regulated by the government, as though those were the magic words that eliminated all of the tough questions about drugs and testing for drugs and whether or not a good portion of the UFC roster took PEDs.

The line about “the government” was intended to silence critics, but it had the opposite effect. Commissions around North America routinely suspend fighters for just nine months for their first offense. That includes the Nevada Athletic Commission, long considered one of the gold standards in athletic regulation.

A nine-month suspension is barely a deterrent for a fighter trying to determine if the risk of taking PEDs is worth the reward of moving up the ladder more quickly and making more money.

Waiting on athletic commissions to clean up the sport was just another way of passing the buck, and fans knew it. They harped on the mostly easy punishments for those who were caught. They demanded more testing. They wanted a clean sport.

On Wednesday, the UFC took a drastic and responsible step. Spurred on by recent high-profile test failures, they decided to take matters into their own hands. To underscore the seriousness of the situation, they placed Lorenzo Fertitta and Zuffa chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein on a dais with White, and they promised to clean up the sport.

Fertitta revealed that beginning July 1, every fighter on the roster would be subject to random drug testing.

But the moment Fertitta revealed he would be supportive of two- or four-year punishments for test failures was the moment everything changed. I do not imagine we’ll ever see a four-year suspension for a PED failure in mixed martial arts. As of January 1, WADA code allows for four years, but it’s also designed for Olympic athletes.

Four years essentially prevents cheaters from competing at one Olympic Games; in mixed martial arts, a four-year suspension would instantly end many careers.

I believe we’ll see the UFC settle on a two-year suspension for first-time offenders. And make no mistake: if they follow through with what they promised to do, the UFC will have one of the gold standards for sports drug testing in North America.

It will instantly change the sport.

Fighters will change weight classes. Fighters who once dominated will perhaps not be as good as they once were. If the UFC follows through, the sport will look drastically different in 18 months than it does today.

So the UFC announces that they’ll be seeking longer suspensions that will serve as true deterrents for cheaters. They announced that they’ll do random testing for their entire roster. In short, they promised to do everything we always wanted them to do. It should have been cause for celebration, especially for those who would prefer mixed martial arts to be a truly clean sport.

One look at Twitter would tell you the opposite.

Granted, Twitter is a fickle beast. It is far cooler to complain about things on Twitter than it is to be positive. I get it. On Twitter, negativity thrives, and the positive stuff dies on the vine. I used to be that guy, the one who tweeted snarky stuff. I got reactions and retweets and favorites, and those felt important. They felt like validation. A lot of people share that same mindset, and so you see plenty of negative on Twitter.

But this? This was ridiculous. Before the announcement, the UFC needed to institute random drug testing and longer punishments. If they didn’t, it proved they didn’t care about the sport. They only cared about their bottom line.

After the UFC announced random drug testing and longer punishments, the story suddenly changed. Two or four years was way too severe. Random drug testing was an invasion of privacy. The UFC needed to stop messing with the lives of the fighters on its roster. The fighters needed to form a union to protect their rights (which isn’t a bad idea, in and of itself).

And so on, and so forth.

The UFC is not perfect. During the news conference, White answered a reporter’s question by claiming he never said the UFC was getting rid of their drug testing program.

He did, in fact, say that they were abandoning plans for a random drug testing program. I was sitting in a chair four feet away from White when he revealed the news, which was surprising and came out of nowhere.

He said they weren’t going to do the program because their experience with Cung Le’s botched test showed that the promotion shouldn’t be handling the drug testing side of regulation.

“What we’ll do is we’ll help fund it, so they can do more drug testing,” he said that day. “Our legal department screwed that whole thing up. We’ve got no business handling the regulation.”

When missteps like this happen, White and the UFC should be called on the carpet. They should be critiqued. But they should also be commended when they are clearly taking steps to clean up a drug-addled sport.

Wednesday’s news conference was not the ultimate solution to MMA‘s drug problem. We won’t know for months whether or not Zuffa will follow through with the plan they laid out on Wednesday.

It was, however, a promising start to what might ultimately be a real and positive change in mixed martial arts. And it’s okay to say so, even if it means getting less attention on social media.

Jeremy Botter covers mixed martial arts for Bleacher Report

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