Although no announcements have been officially made, it appears that the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will soon have new owners.
According to Jeremy Botter and FloCombat.com, the UFC has accepted a bid in the amount of $4.2 billion to be sol…
Although no announcements have been officially made, it appears that the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will soon have new owners.
According to Jeremy Botter and FloCombat.com, the UFC has accepted a bid in the amount of $4.2 billion to be sold to the ownership group of WME-IMG, the Dalian Wanda Group, The Kraft Group and Tencent Holdings. The sale is not yet reportedly complete, but the bid has reportedly been accepted.
While this isn’t official, the belief is that the announcement will be held off until after the landmark UFC 200 event on July 9th, as to avoid taking any attention away from what is expected to be one of their biggest events in company history, if not the single biggest one-night event ever.
China Media Capital was also in the running, but their bid was said to be short of what the UFC was looking for in the deal.
Additionally, the Flo Combat article states that in 2015, the UFC’s television partner, FOX, made an offer to buy the promotion. The deal was turned down by the UFC, however, when the offer from FOX came in way under what they were looking for.
The belief is that the majority of the money to broker the deal is being put up by DWG and Tencent Holdings. WMG-IMG and The Kraft Group, however, would serve as the public faces of the group, especially in the North American market.
As noted in our previous report regarding the rumors of a UFC sale, the new owners do intend to keep current UFC President Dana White on in a significant role. White currently owns approximately nine percent of the UFC and his shares will be put up as part of the sale, however the belief is he will be offered a certain amount of shares from the new owners as part of a new deal to keep him aboard.
For months now, there have been rumors regarding the possibility of former UFC Welterweight king Georges “Rush” St-Pierre making a return to the Octagon. On Monday, things got a lot more interesting.
GSP appeared on Ariel Helwani’s “The MMA Hour” on Monday afternoon at MMAFighting.com and spoke about his latest feelings regarding a UFC fighting return.
St-Pierre had been rumored to be taking part in a test camp, and depending on how he felt afterwards, would ultimately decide if he did indeed want to make a return to the cage. Apparently that decision has been made and the only thing that could prevent his return from happening now is if he and UFC were unable to agree on deal points for a new contract.
“Exactly. That’s what I’m saying. I’m ready. I’m an emotional guy. My agents, even before I came on the show today, they briefed me. They said, ‘don’t say this, don’t say that.’ They briefed me, they said, ‘we’re in negotiations, remember, blah, blah, blah.’ Like, yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t worry, I’m not a kid. But I’m an emotional guy, and when I get emotional sometimes, I say things that are necessarily in the best of my interests, and I’m trying to not go overboard with that.
“But the only thing is, I love my sport and I still feel I’m at my best right now. The clock is running. I’m not getting any younger. I’m in the peak of my career and if there is a shot, there is another goal, another run, I better do it and do it quick, because it is time to do it now.”
With his friend and teammate, and fellow welterweight, Rory MacDonald no longer being in the top of the title picture at 170-pounds, GSP could return to make a run at the title or he could just take big fights, such as a potential 170-pound match against UFC 145-pound champion Conor McGregor, who is making his second welterweight appearance against Nate Diaz in August.
With that in mind, St-Pierre offered the following comments when asked what fights would interest him as a potential first match back.
“I have a lot to lose in this, because I finished on top,” St-Pierre said. “I finished as champion, and that’s the way everybody would like to leave the sport — on top, healthy, and wealthy — and I did it. If I go back and, it needs to be for something big. I think for my first fight, it needs to be for something big, and that’ll give me the swing and the momentum to do it again and again and again for another run.
“So it depends on what it going to happen, but I have a lot to lose, but the thing is also, the reason why I’ve been thinking of coming back, is I don’t want to end up at 80 years old and telling myself, ‘I should’ve done this, I should’ve done that.’ Because all of the things I regret in my life the most, it’s not the things that I have done. It’s the things that I have not done, the things that I regret the most. So I don’t want to end up where I’m too old and say, ‘aw, I should’ve done it. I was in great shape. My timing was impeccable, and I didn’t do it,’ so I would die with regret.”
St-Pierre (25-2), last fought at UFC 167 back in November of 2013, earning a tough, contested, split decision victory over Johny Hendricks.
For months now, there have been rumors regarding the possibility of former UFC Welterweight king Georges “Rush” St-Pierre making a return to the Octagon. On Monday, things got a lot more interesting.
GSP appeared on Ariel Helwani’s “The MMA Hour” on Monday afternoon at MMAFighting.com and spoke about his latest feelings regarding a UFC fighting return.
St-Pierre had been rumored to be taking part in a test camp, and depending on how he felt afterwards, would ultimately decide if he did indeed want to make a return to the cage. Apparently that decision has been made and the only thing that could prevent his return from happening now is if he and UFC were unable to agree on deal points for a new contract.
“Exactly. That’s what I’m saying. I’m ready. I’m an emotional guy. My agents, even before I came on the show today, they briefed me. They said, ‘don’t say this, don’t say that.’ They briefed me, they said, ‘we’re in negotiations, remember, blah, blah, blah.’ Like, yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t worry, I’m not a kid. But I’m an emotional guy, and when I get emotional sometimes, I say things that are necessarily in the best of my interests, and I’m trying to not go overboard with that.
“But the only thing is, I love my sport and I still feel I’m at my best right now. The clock is running. I’m not getting any younger. I’m in the peak of my career and if there is a shot, there is another goal, another run, I better do it and do it quick, because it is time to do it now.”
With his friend and teammate, and fellow welterweight, Rory MacDonald no longer being in the top of the title picture at 170-pounds, GSP could return to make a run at the title or he could just take big fights, such as a potential 170-pound match against UFC 145-pound champion Conor McGregor, who is making his second welterweight appearance against Nate Diaz in August.
With that in mind, St-Pierre offered the following comments when asked what fights would interest him as a potential first match back.
“I have a lot to lose in this, because I finished on top,” St-Pierre said. “I finished as champion, and that’s the way everybody would like to leave the sport — on top, healthy, and wealthy — and I did it. If I go back and, it needs to be for something big. I think for my first fight, it needs to be for something big, and that’ll give me the swing and the momentum to do it again and again and again for another run.
“So it depends on what it going to happen, but I have a lot to lose, but the thing is also, the reason why I’ve been thinking of coming back, is I don’t want to end up at 80 years old and telling myself, ‘I should’ve done this, I should’ve done that.’ Because all of the things I regret in my life the most, it’s not the things that I have done. It’s the things that I have not done, the things that I regret the most. So I don’t want to end up where I’m too old and say, ‘aw, I should’ve done it. I was in great shape. My timing was impeccable, and I didn’t do it,’ so I would die with regret.”
St-Pierre (25-2), last fought at UFC 167 back in November of 2013, earning a tough, contested, split decision victory over Johny Hendricks.
When the MMA community found out that Brock Lesnar was receiving an exemption from USADA for their retired fighters policy, the outage was almost unanimous. What most failed to realize, however, was that USADA was by no means going to “take it lightly”…
When the MMA community found out that Brock Lesnar was receiving an exemption from USADA for their retired fighters policy, the outage was almost unanimous. What most failed to realize, however, was that USADA was by no means going to “take it lightly” on Lesnar heading into his Octagon return on 7/9.
Lesnar, who comes out of MMA retirement to fight the number eight ranked heavyweight in the world, Mark Hunt, has apparently been tested five times already since his name was added to the USADA database two weeks ago, according to their official website.
Additionally, MMAFighting.com spoke with USADA Vice President of Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky, who points out that USADA will likely test Lesnar additional times prior to his fight in July.
“I’d expect there are even more to come as well before UFC 200,” Novitzky said.
Lesnar returns to fight former K-1 Champion and UFC heavyweight title contender Mark Hunt in the co-main event of the landmark UFC 200 event, which features Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier 2 for the UFC light heavyweight title in the main event.
UFC 200 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 9, 2016 from the brand new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Until recently, all the MMA world knew regarding Chad Mendes’ USADA issues was that he was flagged for a potential violation of the Anti-Doping Policy. Apparently more will soon be coming to light.
On Saturday evening, the former UFC title contender…
Until recently, all the MMA world knew regarding Chad Mendes’ USADA issues was that he was flagged for a potential violation of the Anti-Doping Policy. Apparently more will soon be coming to light.
On Saturday evening, the former UFC title contender took to social media, breaking his silence regarding the story and seemingly warming up the MMA community for the details that are likely to soon follow.
While it is still unclear what exactly Mendes did to violate the policy, it appears that he has been found to be guilty of something, as he wrote the following on Twitter:
I didn't do my homework and that was a big mistake. I own it and I'm going to pay for it.
The UFC Fight Night 89 event from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is now officially in progress. We will be providing quick-match results coverage of the event, so refresh this page often to view the latest updates.
Below are the current UFN 89 results:
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Results (UFC Fight Pass):
– Ali Bagautinov def. Geane Herrera via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
– Colby Covington def. Jonathan Meunier via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, :54)
– Randa Markos def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger via UD (30-27, 29-28 x2)
– Elias Theodorou def. Sam Alvey via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Card Results (FS1):
– Joe Soto def. Chris Beal via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, 3:39)
– Krzysztof Jotko def. Tamdan McCrory via first-round TKO (0:59)
– Misha Cirkunov (205.5) vs. Ion Cutelaba (202.5) (In Progress …)
STILL TO COME …
UFC Fight Night 89 Main Card (FOX Sports 1 at 10:30PM ET.):
– Rory MacDonald (170.5) vs. Stephen Thompson (170.5)
– Donald Cerrone (171) vs. Patrick Cote (170)
– Steve Bosse (205) vs. Sean O’Connell (205)
– Olivier Aubin-Mercier (155) vs. Thibault Gouti (156)
– Valerie Letourneau (125.5) vs. Joanne Calderwood (125.5)
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 2 at 8:30pm ET.):
– Jason Saggo (155) vs. Leandro Silva (155.5)
The UFC Fight Night 89 event from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is now officially in progress. We will be providing quick-match results coverage of the event, so refresh this page often to view the latest updates.
Below are the current UFN 89 results:
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Results (UFC Fight Pass):
– Ali Bagautinov def. Geane Herrera via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
– Colby Covington def. Jonathan Meunier via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, :54)
– Randa Markos def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger via UD (30-27, 29-28 x2)
– Elias Theodorou def. Sam Alvey via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Card Results (FS1):
– Joe Soto def. Chris Beal via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, 3:39)
– Krzysztof Jotko def. Tamdan McCrory via first-round TKO (0:59)
– Misha Cirkunov (205.5) vs. Ion Cutelaba (202.5) (In Progress …)
STILL TO COME …
UFC Fight Night 89 Main Card (FOX Sports 1 at 10:30PM ET.):
– Rory MacDonald (170.5) vs. Stephen Thompson (170.5)
– Donald Cerrone (171) vs. Patrick Cote (170)
– Steve Bosse (205) vs. Sean O’Connell (205)
– Olivier Aubin-Mercier (155) vs. Thibault Gouti (156)
– Valerie Letourneau (125.5) vs. Joanne Calderwood (125.5)
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 2 at 8:30pm ET.):
The UFC Fight Night 89 event from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is now officially in progress. We will be providing quick-match results coverage of the event, so refresh this page often to view the latest updates.
Below are the current UFN 89 results:
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Results (UFC Fight Pass):
– Ali Bagautinov def. Geane Herrera via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
– Colby Covington def. Jonathan Meunier via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, :54)
– Randa Markos def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger via UD (30-27, 29-28 x2)
– Elias Theodorou def. Sam Alvey via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Card Results (FS1):
– Joe Soto def. Chris Beal via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, 3:39)
– Krzysztof Jotko def. Tamdan McCrory via first-round TKO (0:59)
– Misha Cirkunov (205.5) vs. Ion Cutelaba (202.5) (In Progress …)
STILL TO COME …
UFC Fight Night 89 Main Card (FOX Sports 1 at 10:30PM ET.):
– Rory MacDonald (170.5) vs. Stephen Thompson (170.5)
– Donald Cerrone (171) vs. Patrick Cote (170)
– Steve Bosse (205) vs. Sean O’Connell (205)
– Olivier Aubin-Mercier (155) vs. Thibault Gouti (156)
– Valerie Letourneau (125.5) vs. Joanne Calderwood (125.5)
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 2 at 8:30pm ET.):
– Jason Saggo (155) vs. Leandro Silva (155.5)
The UFC Fight Night 89 event from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is now officially in progress. We will be providing quick-match results coverage of the event, so refresh this page often to view the latest updates.
Below are the current UFN 89 results:
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Results (UFC Fight Pass):
– Ali Bagautinov def. Geane Herrera via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
– Colby Covington def. Jonathan Meunier via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, :54)
– Randa Markos def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger via UD (30-27, 29-28 x2)
– Elias Theodorou def. Sam Alvey via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Card Results (FS1):
– Joe Soto def. Chris Beal via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, 3:39)
– Krzysztof Jotko def. Tamdan McCrory via first-round TKO (0:59)
– Misha Cirkunov (205.5) vs. Ion Cutelaba (202.5) (In Progress …)
STILL TO COME …
UFC Fight Night 89 Main Card (FOX Sports 1 at 10:30PM ET.):
– Rory MacDonald (170.5) vs. Stephen Thompson (170.5)
– Donald Cerrone (171) vs. Patrick Cote (170)
– Steve Bosse (205) vs. Sean O’Connell (205)
– Olivier Aubin-Mercier (155) vs. Thibault Gouti (156)
– Valerie Letourneau (125.5) vs. Joanne Calderwood (125.5)
UFC Fight Night 89 Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 2 at 8:30pm ET.):
