Tag: Fight

Recent WWE Signee Matt Riddle Admits He Misses MMA

The newly signed WWE star Matt Riddle admits he misses fighting in MMA, where he once competed under the UFC banner.

The post Recent WWE Signee Matt Riddle Admits He Misses MMA appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Matt Riddle has signed with WWE.

Riddle, a former competitor on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), fought all but one of his professional MMA fights in the UFC’s Octagon. Riddle would’ve had a four-fight win streak with the UFC at one point. Unfortunately, two of his victories were reversed to No Contests due to a pair of failed tests for *********.

Following his second failed test for *********, Riddle was released from the promotion. He fought once more in Titan FC, winning via second-round submission, before making the transition into professional wrestling.

Riddle had a tremendous amount of success on the independent scene before catching the attention of WWE. The professional wrestling juggernaut scooped Riddle up and inked him to a developmental contract. Riddle tells MMA Junkie that, despite his success in professional wrestling, he does miss fighting in MMA:

“I do miss it,” Riddle said. “I watch the fights. I watched Tyron Woodley dominate this week. I feel bad for the fighters and I know exactly – things are a little different now – but I know my world when I was in MMA, everything was tough.

“Life was just so tough. Everything was a struggle. Bills were a struggle. Even when you’re on top in the UFC, you only get paid a couple times a year. I’m just really glad to have that all behind me and focus on my craft.”

Riddle is one of several mixed martial artists who have made the switch over to professional wrestling. Most recently; Ronda Rousey, Jessamyn Duke, Tom Lawlor, Shayna Baszler, and many more have moved over. Riddle said that it takes more than just the ability to do moves and be athletic to be a wrestler – you need charisma:

“There’s a lot of people making the transition and doing it well,” Riddle said. “There are other guys that are doing great – and women – you’ve got Ronda and Shayna (Baszler), Jessamyn Duke. You’ve got Tom Lawlor, you’ve got me.

“There’s a lot of guys like ‘King Mo,’ for example, who is a big fan of professional wrestling, world-class fighter, world-class athlete, but I don’t think he’s the greatest pro wrestler. It’s more than moves and athleticism. It’s that charisma.”

The post Recent WWE Signee Matt Riddle Admits He Misses MMA appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Khabib & McGregor Finally Set For UFC 229 Presser In NYC

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor will finally come face-to-face before they clash at UFC 229.

The post Khabib & McGregor Finally Set For UFC 229 Presser In NYC appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov will finally come face-to-face.

The Irishman and Russian will headline UFC 229 on pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena next month (Sat. October 6, 2018). This will be McGregor’s first UFC fight in almost two years. He and Nurmagomedov have some very personal issues with one another.

Back in April, Nurmagomedov tried to intimidate McGregor’s close friend and training partner, Artem Lobov. This didn’t sit well with McGregor, who flew to New York himself and sought out “The Eagle.” McGregor threw a dolly through a window of a fighter bus that Nurmagomedov was on – injuring several other fighters in the process.

Now, McGregor and Nurmagomedov will get to settle their differences inside the cage with the 155-pound title on the line. Many have noticed, however, with the fight just weeks away not much press has been done for it.

Today (Wed. September 12, 2018) it was announced that McGregor and Nurmagomedov will finally meet at a press conference in New York next week. The press conference goes down live next Thursday (September 20, 2018) from the Radio City Music Hall in New York City at 5 P.M. ET.

McGregor, Nurmagomedov, and UFC President Dana White will be present for the event. The press conference will not be open to the public, as only credentialed media will be allowed to attend. It will, however, be streaming live on the UFC’s official YouTube channel.

The post Khabib & McGregor Finally Set For UFC 229 Presser In NYC appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Josh Barnett Plans For MMA Return Next Year

Josh Barnett is ready to get back to his fighting ways next year.

The post Josh Barnett Plans For MMA Return Next Year appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Its been two years since former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett has competed in mixed martial arts (MMA).

Barnett submitted Andrei Arlovski under the UFC banner in Germany, earning both Performance Of The Night and Fight Of The Night honors. Shortly after, Barnett had a falling out with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and subsequently came to terms with a release from his UFC deal.

He’s currently a free agent and ready to listen to offers for an MMA return that interests him. Away from fighting, Barnett is active in the worlds of grappling and professional wrestling. He is a commentator for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) on AXS TV.

Barnett is also a part of Kazushi Sakuraba’s team for an upcoming four-team Quintet show. At the Quintet 3 open workouts, Barnett spoke about a possible MMA return. He said fans can expect to see him back sometime next year (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“It’s got to excite me,” said Barnett. “It has to be the right name, the right time, the right setting, it has to fit in with the rest of my schedule.

“I’m not going to lock down to one promoter. I still want to fight, you’ll see me fight sometime next year, it’s just a matter of when and where.”

Bellator MMA has made a habit of picking up former UFC stars. They have signed the likes of Rory MacDonald, Gegard Mousasi, Benson Henderson, Matt Mitrione, and many more. Perhaps Scott Coker will ink Barnett down to a deal as well.

The post Josh Barnett Plans For MMA Return Next Year appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Ben Askren Calls Colby Covington “Poor Man’s Version Of Me”

Ben Askren has come to the defense of his teammate, Tyron Woodley, against expected opponent Colby Covington.

The post Ben Askren Calls Colby Covington “Poor Man’s Version Of Me” appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

With Tyron Woodley’s title defense against Darren Till in the rear-view, “T-Wood” can move on to a bigger and more personal feud.

Woodley is believed to be fighting Colby Covington for the welterweight title next. The pair are former teammates who have built up a ton of animosity towards one another in the past several months.

Recently, Woodley’s training partner from Roufusport Training Center, Ben Askren, took to Twitter to offer some comments on Covington.

The recently retired mixed martial artist said the following about Covington, who he described as “a poor man’s version of me”:

“Cmon is a poor mans version of me. Couldn’t accomplish in wrestling, got choked out by subpar Wallrey Alves and trash talking sounds like his IQ is 85(which it may be although I can’t confirm)!”

Shortly after his victory, Covington called out Woodley to fight at the upcoming UFC 230 pay-per-view (PPV). The Madison Square Garden card is currently without a main event. Woodley said that he believes he could make that date and called Covington an embarrassment to the sport.

Covington has yet to respond to Askren’s remarks on Twitter.

The post Ben Askren Calls Colby Covington “Poor Man’s Version Of Me” appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Nicco Montano Claims Valentina Shevchenko Is Scared To Fight Her

Nicco Montano has heard enough of Valentina Shevchenko’s criticism after UFC 228.

The post Nicco Montano Claims Valentina Shevchenko Is Scared To Fight Her appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Valentina Shevchenko has been very vocal about the events that transpired at UFC 228 fight week.

Initially, Shevchenko was expected to co-main event the pay-per-view (PPV) opposite Nicco Montano for the UFC women’s flyweight title. Unfortunately, Montano suffered complications during her weight-cut and was subsequently hospitalized.

She was deemed medically unfit to compete and removed from the card. Shevchenko, however, wasn’t buying it. She believes Montano was searching for a way out of their fight all along.

Shevchenko even foreshadowed these events happening with some comments during media day. “The Bullet,” said she’ll believe the fight is happening when Montano actually makes the walk to the Octagon. As we all know, that walk never happened.

Montano has finally offered her side of the story in a recent interview on “The MMA Hour.” She said that she believes Shevchenko was hoping for something like this because she’s scared to fight someone like her (quotes via MMA Mania):

“I think she lives in la la land for a reason. I think she really wanted that to happen, unless she’s another Mrs. Cleo and has a (psychic) job, because she’s good at that.

“But I think she was hoping for it. I think she’s a little scared to fight somebody like me. I think deep down she was hoping this fight was not going to happen so that she could have more ammo to be a cyber bully and she wouldn’t have to face me in the Octagon.”

As for Shevchenko, she’ll now be fighting for the 125-pound title after Montano was stripped.

UFC President Dana White teased he already has a name in mind for the match-up. Early speculation suggests that name is former 115-pound champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

The post Nicco Montano Claims Valentina Shevchenko Is Scared To Fight Her appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Tatiana Suarez Open To Potential Karolina Kowalkiewicz Fight Next

This fight could solidify Tatiana Suarez as the next challenger for the UFC women’s strawweight title.

The post Tatiana Suarez Open To Potential Karolina Kowalkiewicz Fight Next appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

There’s an interesting race going on right now for a UFC strawweight title opportunity.

At UFC 228 this past weekend, Jessica Andrade shut out Karolina Kowalkiewicz with a first-round knockout in the co-main event. The Brazilian expressed her desire to challenge Rose Namajunas for the 115-pound strap next.

Another woman with a claim to the next title shot is former Ultimate Fighter winner Tatiana Suarez. She made quite the statement Saturday night with a third round TKO win over former women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza.

Suarez dominated Esparza in the wrestling department and battered her with ground-and-pound. In the third round, she did enough for the referee to call the action off.

Should Andrade get the title nod before her, however, Suarez tells MMA Junkie she’s okay with a fight against Karolina Kowalkiewicz first:

“It’s up to the UFC, but I feel like (I could deserve a title shot) after a performance like that, against a former champion,” Suarez said.

“(Esparza) beat Rose in a dominant fashion, I beat (Esparza) in a dominant fashion. But if (Namajunas is) not who they give me, I’ll take whoever loses (between Andrade and Kowalkiewicz). Whoever wins that fight is probably going to get a title shot.

“I’ll go ahead and dominate (the loser), and then I’ll get my title shot.”

Suarez currently holds an undefeated record of 7-0. In that time she has finished five of those fights via either knockout or submission.

The 27-year-old has really impressed the MMA community with her ability, drawing comparisons to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov for her dominant grappling ability.

The post Tatiana Suarez Open To Potential Karolina Kowalkiewicz Fight Next appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.