It looks like UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum was only interested in proving that he is better than Cain Velasquez on February 6th.
After it became clear that Velasquez was out of the scheduled rematch with Werdum on 2/6, Werdum was informed that he would instead be defending his title against highly regarded contender Stipe Miocic.
Unfortunately for the UFC, that was apparently not a good enough replacement for the Brazilian champ.
Werdum announced on Monday afternoon that he was already dealing with an injury, and because Velasquez is out of the fight due to injury, he is going to pull out as well.
“I was already injured,” Werdum said. “I have a foot injury, and haven’t been able to throw kicks in training for two weeks. I would still fight Cain because I was injured the last time, but I also hurt my back last Friday. I went to the doctor, tried to continue training, but couldn’t spar as I should spar.
“I decided not to fight because I’m not 100 percent,” he continued. “If Cain was the opponent, I would go on. It’s not his fault, it’s nobody’s fault. Injuries happen. You can’t avoid them. I have no option. I made this decision because I’m not feeling 100 percent.”
Werdum says he’s “still confused” about everything that happened.
“I made this decision together with my team,” he said. “We decided not to fight. Cain can’t fight. I was going to hide the injury one more time, like I always did. I tried to hide it, but couldn’t this time. I can’t fight if I’m not 100 percent to put on a show like I always did.”
It looks like UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum was only interested in proving that he is better than Cain Velasquez on February 6th.
After it became clear that Velasquez was out of the scheduled rematch with Werdum on 2/6, Werdum was informed that he would instead be defending his title against highly regarded contender Stipe Miocic.
Unfortunately for the UFC, that was apparently not a good enough replacement for the Brazilian champ.
Werdum announced on Monday afternoon that he was already dealing with an injury, and because Velasquez is out of the fight due to injury, he is going to pull out as well.
“I was already injured,” Werdum said. “I have a foot injury, and haven’t been able to throw kicks in training for two weeks. I would still fight Cain because I was injured the last time, but I also hurt my back last Friday. I went to the doctor, tried to continue training, but couldn’t spar as I should spar.
“I decided not to fight because I’m not 100 percent,” he continued. “If Cain was the opponent, I would go on. It’s not his fault, it’s nobody’s fault. Injuries happen. You can’t avoid them. I have no option. I made this decision because I’m not feeling 100 percent.”
Werdum says he’s “still confused” about everything that happened.
“I made this decision together with my team,” he said. “We decided not to fight. Cain can’t fight. I was going to hide the injury one more time, like I always did. I tried to hide it, but couldn’t this time. I can’t fight if I’m not 100 percent to put on a show like I always did.”
UFC has released the complete “Road to the Octagon” special for this Saturday’s UFC On FOX 18 event, headlined by the title eliminator bout between Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Ryan Bader.
Featured above is part one of the special, which the UFC…
UFC has released the complete “Road to the Octagon” special for this Saturday’s UFC On FOX 18 event, headlined by the title eliminator bout between Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Ryan Bader.
Featured above is part one of the special, which the UFC released in three parts on their official YouTube channel. Below are parts two and three, which focus on the Josh Barnett vs. Ben Rothwell and Iuri Alcantara vs. Jimmie Rivera fights, respectively.
It looks like Cain Velasquez will not be getting the next shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
UFC President Dana White announced via social media on Sunday that Velasquez is out of his scheduled rematch against Fabricio Werdum.
Additionally…
It looks like Cain Velasquez will not be getting the next shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
UFC President Dana White announced via social media on Sunday that Velasquez is out of his scheduled rematch against Fabricio Werdum.
Additionally, White announced that UFC Heavyweight contender Stipe Miocic has been selected as the man who will replace Velasquez and challenge Werdum for the UFC Heavyweight Title on February 6th.
White tweeted the following:
Cain Velasquez is out with a back injury. Stipe vs Werdum for the heavyweight championship February 6th. pic.twitter.com/vPRJYJvOjL
While it may have taken a couple of months, UFC star Ronda Rousey finally congratulated Holly Holm on her victory at UFC 193 in November.
During her opening monologue as host of Saturday Night Live this past Saturday …
https://youtu.be/5fJ4nIu9gz4
While it may have taken a couple of months, UFC star Ronda Rousey finally congratulated Holly Holm on her victory at UFC 193 in November.
During her opening monologue as host of Saturday Night Live this past Saturday evening, Rousey offered a sincere message of congratulations to Holm, claiming she “deserved to win” the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship at the event in Melbourne, Australia.
“This is the first time I’m talking to my fans since I lost to Holly Holm in November — which by the way was a fight Holly deserved to win,” said Rousey during her SNL appearance. “I just wanted to take a minute and sincerely congratulate her.”
While it will be a while before fans see her back in the Octagon again, you can watch Ronda Rousey debut her sketch-comedy chops this Saturday evening, as the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion becomes the first UF…
https://youtu.be/G5_4wcVyGUc
While it will be a while before fans see her back in the Octagon again, you can watch Ronda Rousey debut her sketch-comedy chops this Saturday evening, as the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion becomes the first UFC fighter in history to host Saturday Night Live.
On Wednesday, SNL released the above video promo for this Saturday’s episode, which features Rousey as the host of the legendary late night program, becoming only the third fighter in general, boxers included, to take to the famous Studio 8H stage.
Later this year, Rousey will team with former SNL Head Writer and star of 30 Rock, Tina Fey, in “Do Nothing Bitches,” a movie based off of Rousey’s infamous catchphrase for non-independent women that has been green-lit by Universal.
As far as her fighting career is concerned, Rousey recently told TMZ that rumors of her walking away from the sport are untrue, and that she still fully intends to compete for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship in a rematch against Holly Holm at some point in the 2016 calendar year.
While from the start CM Punk has made it clear that his signing with the UFC would not turn out to be a celebrity one-and-done type of situation, but until recently, it wasn’t known just how many fights the former WWE Superstar would be committing to. Now, it is. Punk spoke with The U.K. Sun this week and revealed that he will be fighting “at least” eight times.
“I can’t honestly answer how many (fights) I’m gonna have,” Punk said to the U.K. media outlet. “We’ll wait and see how the first one goes. But there’s gonna be eight, at least.”
Following the announcement by the UFC regarding how they plan to handle his Octagon debut, we have learned more about Punk’s MMA endeavor in the last week than the several months that preceded it. It appears that during that year, while fans weren’t getting much information, Punk was, in fact, getting the training — and confidence — required to succeed in the sport.
“Can I say a thousand percent,” Punk said with a chuckle when asked how much he has improved after training intensely with Duke Roufus at the Roufusport Gym in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the past six months.
Punk continued, “Because I get better every day. And that’s what really kinda excites me about this whole thing – I know how much I’ve grown since the last time I talked to you. I know how much I’ve improved since the first time I stepped foot in Duke’s gym. And looking at June or July as a fight date I get kinda (excited) thinking how much better I’m gonna be from now until then. I get better every day.”
While UFC President Dana White recently claimed that the promotion would likely have Punk make his fighting debut at UFC 199 in June, as opposed to the landmark UFC 200 in July. Punk, however, prefers the big event because of the big money that comes with it, although he is quick to point out that it’s not the money that is fueling his competitive ambition.
“It’s really kinda weird,” Punk said. “Yeah, I’d rather be on (UFC) 200 because monetarily I’d be making more money, and that’s the big show. But I’m not doing this whole thing for money, so it almost kinda doesn’t matter to me. But since it’s only a month later it’s like ‘oh yeah, why don’t we push it?.'”
As noted, the UFC revealed their intentions for Punk’s UFC debut, announcing that at UFC 196 in February, Mickey Gall will be fighting Michael Jackson in a preliminary bout and with a win, will officially get penciled in as Punk’s first-ever UFC opponent. As Punk explains he doesn’t mind the fact that Gall called him out after his MMA debut, which was shown on Dana White’s “Lookin’ For A Fight” reality show, because where he comes from, that is standard procedure.
“Absolutely. It’s not like all the other guys talking behind a computer,” said Punk. “He recognized his audience, he knew he had Dana’s ear – he was front row and center for his first fight – and he called me out.”
Punk continued, “I wouldn’t say it was calculated. It was right place, right time and he did what he had to do. He didn’t let that opportunity slip through his fingers.”
Despite the WWE-like call-out, and the fact that Punk has confirmed he will be using his former WWE ring name of “CM Punk” instead of his real name (Phil Brooks), he insists that he won’t be “fabricating his persona” during the build-up to his Octagon debut.
“I have no plans to have any kind of a fabricated persona. But if it gets personal I’m sure I’d have a dozen quick-witted things to say. But I don’t really feel the need that it’s gonna get personal. I’ve got nothing personal against him. I’m gonna beat him up and choke him – and it’s just business.”
In another example of his rising confidence, Punk explained why whoever he fights will be in for a rude awakening when his first UFC fight is in the books.
“I’m a mystery,” said Punk. “A lot of people like to throw that pro wrestling card out there, like ‘he’s a fake wrestler’ and that’s great. That’s great for me. I want them to think that. I want them to think that I’m not training and they’re in for an easy night, because it’s the exact opposite. It’s going to be a rude awakening for whoever I fight, if that’s their attitude about it.”
In terms of people doubting him, Punk explains why they will be disappointed and if they put their money where their mouths are, they will come to realize they are backing the wrong horse.
“I expect people to be disappointed,” Punk explained. “I expect all those people that think I’m gonna get knocked out in 10 seconds to be disappointed. I expect people to bet against me and lose their money. I expect people to get divorced because they’re upset that their wife wanted me to win and they wanted me to lose, you know?”
Punk concluded, “But the people who have stood by me and supported me know it’s business as usual. They know what kind of person I am and they know how I am at the gym. And once that cage door shuts it’s between one minute and 15 minutes before the fight ends and my hand gets raised.”
While from the start CM Punk has made it clear that his signing with the UFC would not turn out to be a celebrity one-and-done type of situation, but until recently, it wasn’t known just how many fights the former WWE Superstar would be committing to. Now, it is. Punk spoke with The U.K. Sun this week and revealed that he will be fighting “at least” eight times.
“I can’t honestly answer how many (fights) I’m gonna have,” Punk said to the U.K. media outlet. “We’ll wait and see how the first one goes. But there’s gonna be eight, at least.”
Following the announcement by the UFC regarding how they plan to handle his Octagon debut, we have learned more about Punk’s MMA endeavor in the last week than the several months that preceded it. It appears that during that year, while fans weren’t getting much information, Punk was, in fact, getting the training — and confidence — required to succeed in the sport.
“Can I say a thousand percent,” Punk said with a chuckle when asked how much he has improved after training intensely with Duke Roufus at the Roufusport Gym in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the past six months.
Punk continued, “Because I get better every day. And that’s what really kinda excites me about this whole thing – I know how much I’ve grown since the last time I talked to you. I know how much I’ve improved since the first time I stepped foot in Duke’s gym. And looking at June or July as a fight date I get kinda (excited) thinking how much better I’m gonna be from now until then. I get better every day.”
While UFC President Dana White recently claimed that the promotion would likely have Punk make his fighting debut at UFC 199 in June, as opposed to the landmark UFC 200 in July. Punk, however, prefers the big event because of the big money that comes with it, although he is quick to point out that it’s not the money that is fueling his competitive ambition.
“It’s really kinda weird,” Punk said. “Yeah, I’d rather be on (UFC) 200 because monetarily I’d be making more money, and that’s the big show. But I’m not doing this whole thing for money, so it almost kinda doesn’t matter to me. But since it’s only a month later it’s like ‘oh yeah, why don’t we push it?.'”
As noted, the UFC revealed their intentions for Punk’s UFC debut, announcing that at UFC 196 in February, Mickey Gall will be fighting Michael Jackson in a preliminary bout and with a win, will officially get penciled in as Punk’s first-ever UFC opponent. As Punk explains he doesn’t mind the fact that Gall called him out after his MMA debut, which was shown on Dana White’s “Lookin’ For A Fight” reality show, because where he comes from, that is standard procedure.
“Absolutely. It’s not like all the other guys talking behind a computer,” said Punk. “He recognized his audience, he knew he had Dana’s ear – he was front row and center for his first fight – and he called me out.”
Punk continued, “I wouldn’t say it was calculated. It was right place, right time and he did what he had to do. He didn’t let that opportunity slip through his fingers.”
Despite the WWE-like call-out, and the fact that Punk has confirmed he will be using his former WWE ring name of “CM Punk” instead of his real name (Phil Brooks), he insists that he won’t be “fabricating his persona” during the build-up to his Octagon debut.
“I have no plans to have any kind of a fabricated persona. But if it gets personal I’m sure I’d have a dozen quick-witted things to say. But I don’t really feel the need that it’s gonna get personal. I’ve got nothing personal against him. I’m gonna beat him up and choke him – and it’s just business.”
In another example of his rising confidence, Punk explained why whoever he fights will be in for a rude awakening when his first UFC fight is in the books.
“I’m a mystery,” said Punk. “A lot of people like to throw that pro wrestling card out there, like ‘he’s a fake wrestler’ and that’s great. That’s great for me. I want them to think that. I want them to think that I’m not training and they’re in for an easy night, because it’s the exact opposite. It’s going to be a rude awakening for whoever I fight, if that’s their attitude about it.”
In terms of people doubting him, Punk explains why they will be disappointed and if they put their money where their mouths are, they will come to realize they are backing the wrong horse.
“I expect people to be disappointed,” Punk explained. “I expect all those people that think I’m gonna get knocked out in 10 seconds to be disappointed. I expect people to bet against me and lose their money. I expect people to get divorced because they’re upset that their wife wanted me to win and they wanted me to lose, you know?”
Punk concluded, “But the people who have stood by me and supported me know it’s business as usual. They know what kind of person I am and they know how I am at the gym. And once that cage door shuts it’s between one minute and 15 minutes before the fight ends and my hand gets raised.”
