There’s been a ton of speculation on if Eddie Alvarez could be returning to Bellator MMA.
Bellator MMA President Scott Coker was asked about the matter by MMA Fighting at Bellator 206 media day. In regards to seeing Alvarez back in Bellator, Coker said it doesn’t seem likely at this point. He admitted Bellator personnel spoke to Alvarez, but nothing came out of it :
“It doesn’t seem likely at this point,” Coker said. “I think that they had a conversation with Eddie and I’m not sure where it’s at. But I don’t think it took a second, it wasn’t like it was something that was picking up any steam so I’m not sure.”
Alvarez was previously with Bellator and was essentially the face of the promotion. He even competed on Bellator 1 in 2009. “The Underground King” put on a pair of absolute classic 155-pound title fights with Michael Chandler.
Unfortunately, the Philadelphia native didn’t get along too well with former promotion President Bjorn Rebney. He was later released from his contract in 2014 before signing with the UFC. Alvarez defeated Rafael dos Anjos via first-round knockout to win the UFC lightweight title in July of 2016.
Later that year, Alvarez would be one-half of one of the biggest fights in UFC history. He headlined the UFC’s first card from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Unfortunately for him, he dropped the 155-pound title to Conor McGregor via second-round knockout.
Alvarez fought out the final bout on his UFC contract this past July. He put on a heavy-hitting affair with Dustin Poirier in Calgary, which he lost via TKO. It will be interesting to see where “The Underground King” winds up.
What a weird, wild ride it’s been for Anthony “Rumble” Johnson for the past 18 months. He’s gone from being a welterweight prospect with an insanely high ceiling (and an even bigger weight cut), to a high-profile UFC castoff, to a star for the fledgling World Series of Fighting promotion at light-heavyweight. After his spectacular knockout of journeyman Mike Kyle on Saturday night — which fulfilled the last fight on his WSOF contract — there was plenty of speculation among the MMA community on where he’d end up next.
Somehow, Rumble Johnson has become the hottest free agent since Hector Lombard. The WSOF, the UFC, or Bellator (or maybe all three) is going to offer him a big money deal because of one thing: Anthony Johnson is the only unsigned light-heavyweight in the world right now who looks like he could be a relevant fighter in the top tier of the 205-pound division. But the reality is, that’s only because he hasn’t had to face anyone that would suggest otherwise; the current buzz around Johnson wasn’t exactly built on quality of competition.
Bloody Elbow’s Mookie Alexander wrote a terrific piece on why the UFC needs Johnson, if only to bolster its dwindling, aging LHW roster, but I’d argue that Johnson isn’t the sort of high-profile fighter we think he is right now. You could never call him “elite” because he hasn’t fought anyone of note (with the possible exception of Andrei Arlovski, who he fought at heavyweight). In his best moments, Johnson looks like he could actually pass for a UFC title contender, but that could also be the result of some kind matchmaking by World Series of Fighting and Johnson’s management team.
(In case you missed it, here’s what Rumble did to Mike Kyle on Saturday. Props: Arquivo El)
What a weird, wild ride it’s been for Anthony “Rumble” Johnson for the past 18 months. He’s gone from being a welterweight prospect with an insanely high ceiling (and an even bigger weight cut), to a high-profile UFC castoff, to a star for the fledgling World Series of Fighting promotion at light-heavyweight. After his spectacular knockout of journeyman Mike Kyle on Saturday night — which fulfilled the last fight on his WSOF contract — there was plenty of speculation among the MMA community on where he’d end up next.
Somehow, Rumble Johnson has become the hottest free agent since Hector Lombard. The WSOF, the UFC, or Bellator (or maybe all three) is going to offer him a big money deal because of one thing: Anthony Johnson is the only unsigned light-heavyweight in the world right now who looks like he could be a relevant fighter in the top tier of the 205-pound division. But the reality is, that’s only because he hasn’t had to face anyone that would suggest otherwise; the current buzz around Johnson wasn’t exactly built on quality of competition.
Bloody Elbow’s Mookie Alexander wrote a terrific piece on why the UFC needs Johnson, if only to bolster its dwindling, aging LHW roster, but I’d argue that Johnson isn’t the sort of high-profile fighter we think he is right now. You could never call him “elite” because he hasn’t fought anyone of note (with the possible exception of Andrei Arlovski, who he fought at heavyweight). In his best moments, Johnson looks like he could actually pass for a UFC title contender, but that could also be the result of some kind matchmaking by World Series of Fighting and Johnson’s management team.
Right now, Rumble is just starting to tap into the potential he showed when he was first in the UFC. And right now he’s mimicking Lombard’s career in that he looks like a Top 10 fighter because he’s been destroying guys who aren’t in his league, and who are far from UFC-caliber — even by the lowered definition of “UFC-caliber” that we’re now experiencing in the Royston Wee Era. Two of Johnson’s past six wins have come against fighters without Wikipedia pages. Mike Kyle’s a solid opponent, but his best days are well behind him. Jake Rosholt and David Branch are journeymen who had a cup of coffee in the UFC and probably won’t make it back, either.
Johnson has looked the part of a savage killer because he’s been able to get the sort of highly winnable fights he needed before (and during) his stint in the UFC. Without a taxing weight cut taking up most of his training camp, he’s facing limited competition at his ideal weight. This is the fighter we’ve seen glimpses of over the years and who now looks to have found his place in the sport.
Johnson’s an easily likeable fighter — everybody loves a knockout artist, after all — and he seems like a decent person outside the cage too. He’s in the right moment at the right time to have found a groove. Other than Alexander Gustafsson, the light-heavyweight division is so bereft of fighters who could conceivably beat Jon Jones that Johnson immediately looks like an attractive prospect simply because everyone else has failed the Bones Test. Jones is nearly out of challenges, looking upwards for more worlds to conquer, and Johnson coming into the UFC gives Zuffa more time to keep their nascent superstar at what’s traditionally been its marquee weight class. Bellator makes a big splash with him in their division and WSOF would be thrilled to retain its first real star.
As long as Johnson sticks at 205 pounds, there will be no worries about him blowing weight like he repeatedly did when he was trying to convince himself he was a welterweight, then a middleweight. But just because you look elite relative to your competition doesn’t mean you could roll into the UFC, for example, and start knocking off Top 5 contenders. And just because there are no other light-heavyweight free agents floating around to get excited about, it doesn’t mean we all need to get excited about Rumble Johnson again. Not yet, at least.
(Bjorn Rebney: Putting the “backhand” in “backhanded compliment” since 2008.)
You gotta love the Bellator business model, Nation. Two aging, injury-prone UFC stars who are 3-7 in their past 10 combined? BUILD A PPV AROUND THEM, DAMMIT. A longstanding (albeit incredibly boring) champion who has dominated every last opponent placed before him? LET HIM SPREAD HIS WINGS AND FLY, DAMMIT.
And so goes the Bellator career of welterweight champion Ben Askren, who was released into the murky waters of unrestricted free agency earlier today. A press release sent out this morning has the details:
Ben Askren is now an unrestricted free agent after Bellator released the undefeated welterweight. The Bellator Welterweight World Title will be vacant until Douglas Lima faces the winner of the Season 9 Welterweight Tournament later this winter when the new Bellator Welterweight Champion will be crowned.
“I’ve said it many times, Ben’s a completely one-dimensional fighter who is utterly dominant in that dimension,” (Ed note:BUUUUUURRRRNNNN?!) Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “I had a number of discussions with Ben and it became clear it was time for both parties to move in different directions. We’ve relinquished any right to match here and Ben can sign with whoever he chooses to sign with. Ben’s been at Bellator since the start of his career, I respect him and what he’s accomplished and wish him the best wherever he goes.”
(Bjorn Rebney: Putting the “backhand” in “backhanded compliment” since 2008.)
You gotta love the Bellator business model, Nation. Two aging, injury-prone UFC stars who are 3-7 in their past 10 combined? BUILD A PPV AROUND THEM, DAMMIT. A longstanding (albeit incredibly boring) champion who has dominated every last opponent placed before him? LET HIM SPREAD HIS WINGS AND FLY, DAMMIT.
And so goes the Bellator career of welterweight champion Ben Askren, who was released into the murky waters of unrestricted free agency earlier today. A press release sent out this morning has the details:
Ben Askren is now an unrestricted free agent after Bellator released the undefeated welterweight. The Bellator Welterweight World Title will be vacant until Douglas Lima faces the winner of the Season 9 Welterweight Tournament later this winter when the new Bellator Welterweight Champion will be crowned.
“I’ve said it many times, Ben’s a completely one-dimensional fighter who is utterly dominant in that dimension,” (Ed note:BUUUUUURRRRNNNN?!) Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “I had a number of discussions with Ben and it became clear it was time for both parties to move in different directions. We’ve relinquished any right to match here and Ben can sign with whoever he chooses to sign with. Ben’s been at Bellator since the start of his career, I respect him and what he’s accomplished and wish him the best wherever he goes.”
In all seriousness, it’s not *that* difficult to follow Bjorn’s line of logic here. For the past three years, Bellator’s welterweight division has been stuck in a state of purgatory, so to speak, hopelessly cycling between fighters that stood no chance of defeating their increasingly hard-to-watch champion. Bjorn & Co. have been hinting at Askren’s possible release for a little while now, and while we originally thought it was just an attempt to draw the UFC into a bidding war, it seems that, for once, Bellator has mutually ended a relationship with one of its fighters.
We will keep you updated as to any offers the UFC makes Askren (if they make him an offer, that is) as the information becomes available.
MMA’s top free agent Dan Henderson sat down Monday with Clinch Gear Radio to talk about a number of topics including his last fight with Fedor Emelianenko, whether or not he thinks the Russian fighter can return to his former glory and where his own career stands as of now.
For those of you whose ADHD makes it impossible to pay attention or whose workplace Internet filters make it impossible for you to watch YouTube videos, we have you covered with the transcription of the meat and potatoes after the jump.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/ClinchGear)
MMA’s top free agent Dan Henderson sat down Monday with Clinch Gear Radio to talk about a number of topics including his last fight with Fedor Emelianenko, whether or not he thinks the Russian fighter can return to his former glory and where his own career stands as of now.
For those of you whose ADHD makes it impossible to pay attention or whose workplace Internet filters make it impossible for you to watch YouTube videos, we have you covered with the transcription of the meat and potatoes below. You’re welcome.
Whether or not he thinks Fedor can return to form:
“I think that he could recapture that [former glory], for sure. It takes a little bit of time once you get re-motivated. He probably took a couple years where he let the sport go past him a little bit. It’s gonna take him a little bit of time to play catch-up. I think he’s very dangerous and well-rounded and a tough guy, so I don’t see him having trouble getting back in there, no problem. I do think that his size is a little bit of…He’s right between light heavy and heavyweight and he’s a small heavyweight and he might not like to cut weight, so…we’ll see.”
Where his KO of “The Last Emperor” ranks on his list of career accomplishments:
“I guess as far as accomplishments go, it ranks right up there at the top. I think I just hit him right on the button. He wasn’t expecting anything at all to come from that angle and I hit him right on the chin, so I think it caught him so off guard that I think it knocked him face-first into the ground. It was something that I was definitely happy to have happen.”
Whether or not he was disappointed that Fedor said their fight was stopped early: “I wasn’t disappointed at all [when he said the fight was stopped early]. I think at the time that the ref finally pushed me all the way off he started to kind of come to a little bit, but had the ref not gotten involved at all, he would have been knocked out. I can see his point, but it doesn’t disappoint me at all. I know the position I had him in and I know that with him falling face-first out cold for a second or two, I think the ref definitely made the right call. I just think that he should have been a little more aggressive getting me off of him.”
Whether or not he feels that there are any viable contenders left for him to fight in Strikeforce now that the UFC has picked the carcass:
“I definitely feel that there’s still the possibility for me to defend that belt in Strikforce, but I think now that the UFC has bought Strikeforce and they need to make money and I need to make money, so we’ll see what happens. I’d like to work out a deal where I’m fighting in both promotions.”
Whether it’s more lucrative for him to fight in the UFC because of pay-per-view bonuses he could negotiate as part of his new deal:
“For me it’s about the money and about the fights as well. I think both organizations definitely have the fights, but we’ll see. The pay-per-view [percentage] definitely could make a difference as well and I think either way, I’m hoping to get a pay increase after my last three fights, bt you never know.”
Where he wants to fight more:
“There [are] definitely some interesting fights over there [at Strikeforce]. Obviously they’ve got a little bit more depth over at the UFC, but there [are] definitely some guys that would be a tough fight and an interesting match-up in Strikeforce. I would love to be able to defend my belt in Strikeforce and be able to go over and unify belts in the UFC and get a couple fights over there.”
The UFC’s deal with Fox:
“I think it’s great for the sport and I think, obviously Fox wouldn’t have signed such a big deal if they [didn’t know] the viewership that the UFC brings. I’m excited about it as well. For me it’s a matter of being in front of new fans.”
Whether or not he was close to rematching Anderson Silva on the Fox debut show:
“You’d have to ask Anderson Silva’s camp, but I don’t think it was close at all because I don’t think he wants to fight me. It was something that was talked about and I said, ‘Sure, no problem. I’d do that.’ I’d cut down to 185 to fight him, but nobody else.”
If that is the rematch he wants most out of any of his losses:
“Probably. Especially the way he fights most the time. He’s disrespectful to his opponents and the fans at the same time.”
His current relationship with UFC president Dana White:
“I think he likes me, just because I don’t get in between him and his dinner.”
How he feels about the current state of his MMA career:
“I feel pretty good where I’m at. I feel I’m able to compete with anyone in the world at any weight class, especially the 135-pounders.”
How his career now compares to his heyday in PRIDE:
“Obviously the feeling was good back then as well, but if I compare the fighter I was then to the fighter I am now, I’m much more improved. I’ve learned, I’ve progressed with the sport and just continued to try to improve. My conditioning has been a focus in my last three fights and I think it showed.”
How he feels health-wise at age 41:
“Good. I’ve been real smart my last few training camps and my body’s been feeling pretty good. Knowing when to kinda back off and let my body recuperate has been a huge adjustment.”
Whether or not he’s interested in fighting Mauricio “Shogun” Rua:
“Yeah, I think that would be a great fight. Obviously the fight that I would want, and I think the fans would want even more, would be to see a title unification between whoever’s the UFC champ at light heavy and me. I would like for that to happen, but there’s a ton of fights over there. Shogun would be one of them. He just came off of a pretty big win and it would be something that all of the old school PRIDE fans would like to see, I’m sure.”
When he wants to compete again:
“Ideally, I would like to fight some time in December, even on the New Year’s Eve show would be great. But no later than that. Then again in probably February-March and again in June. I want the summers off.”
Whether or not he enjoys being a free agent since he seems to do it so much:
“It’s nice to not have to think about [where you’re next fight will be] and know what it is, but it’s also exciting to do that good ole’ negotiating phase and see what my next fight’s gonna be all at the same time in the negotiations. I don’t know. I’m just enjoying the moment and where I am right now.”
When he thinks he’ll have a new deal in place with Zuffa/Forza LLC:
“I’m sure we’ll figure out a deal within the next month, two weeks. I would love to be able to fight in the UFC and defend my belt in Strikeforce.”
Well, Cris “Cyborg” Santos is officially a free agent, which either means that Strikeforce was unwilling to pay her what she felt she was worth, or that Zuffa has decided against continuing to promote women’s MMA under the SF banner. Either way, it’s a blow to the promotion’s women’s division.
A source we spoke to today received confirmation from Cyborg’s management that Zuffa’s exclusive negotiation period with the 10-1 Curitiba, Brazil fighter ended yesterday and that the parent company of Strikeforce and the UFC failed to come to terms with the Strikeforce women’s middleweight champ before she became a free agent at the stroke of midnight.
Well, Cris “Cyborg” Santos is officially a free agent, which either means that Strikeforce was unwilling to pay her what she felt she was worth, or that Zuffa has decided against continuing to promote women’s MMA under the SF banner. Either way, it’s a blow to the promotion’s women’s division.
A source we spoke to today received confirmation from Cyborg’s management that Zuffa’s exclusive negotiation period with the 10-1 Curitiba, Brazil fighter ended yesterday and that the parent company of Strikeforce and the UFC failed to come to terms with the Strikeforce women’s middleweight champ before she became a free agent at the stroke of midnight.
According to Santos’ former manager Ken Pavia who helped negotiate the deal that was fulfilled with her last fight with Jan Finney on June 26, 2010, there was a champion’s clause in her contract, which he said he thought would extend her deal. But according to another we spoke to who is close to the situation, the clause had a one-year expiration date and when Strikeforce failed to re-sign her or offer her a fight by June 26, they waived their right to exercise the option.
You may recall that former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields had a similar proviso in his contract, but when Scott Coker and co. figured there was little chance of resigning him, they granted him a release rather than make him sit out the one-year waiting period.
We’re told that Cris is in serious discussions with a promotion that we’ve been asked not to name until the deal is finalized and that she could have a new contract in place as early as this weekend. Wherever Gina Carano is, she’s thanking her lucky stars.
We will have updates the situation when we are given the go-ahead to release them by the parties involved.
