Cris Cyborg Tests Positive For Banned Substance, USADA Sentence Pending

The post Cris Cyborg Tests Positive For Banned Substance, USADA Sentence Pending appeared first on Cagepotato.

The Cyborg Who Cried Wolf

Cyborg is a beast. No matter how you want to slice it she’s dominated women’s MMA and is the best women’s fighter to date. However, her legacy has always been marred with rumors. Because of her insanely muscular physique, especially for a female fighter, there has always been questions as to whether the former Invicta FC champion was using PED’s.

Well The Brazilian striker isn’t exactly helping her case. Cyborg and her team released a statement Thursday that she has in fact tested positive for a UFC banned substance, and could possibly facing a one year suspension from USADA.

The substance is called spironolactone and is a diuretic commonly used to treat heart, liver, and kidney issues, as well high blood pressure and potassium issues. However, it has always been linked to masking performance enhancing drugs which is why it’s on the banned list.

Cyborg and her team claim the diuretic was doctor prescribed as therapy from damage done by 3 brutal weight cuts she had to endure this year. Two of which were fought at a catch weight of 140lbs – cutting down from a 170lb frame.

She also claims the treatment was the reason for her passing up a title shot in February due to her doctor advising her to lay off competition for 90 days. It doesn’t appear Cyborg applied for a TUE (therapeutic use examination) which would’ve allowed her to use the substance.

Cris Cyborg has been tested 14 times by USADA previously (11 times this year) and has never tested positive. She has even been looked at in the MMA community as an advocate against PED’s which makes this news even more alarming. The sample was taken in a random out of competition test on December 5th and could lead to a minimum one year suspension.

The post Cris Cyborg Tests Positive For Banned Substance, USADA Sentence Pending appeared first on Cagepotato.

Could This Guy Be The Future In MMA Striking?

The post Could This Guy Be The Future In MMA Striking? appeared first on Cagepotato.

Don’t Say We Never Told Ya

Traditional martial arts has become a huge comeback nowadays. With fighters like Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Lyoto Machida, Justin Scoggins, George St. Pierre and Conor McGregor, arts like karate and taekwondo that were recently thought impractical are now making a resurgence in the sport of MMA. If you still aren’t convinced traditional arts have a place in the sport, let us introduce you to exhibit A: Galondo Bofando.

The real life street fighter is a sports karate expert and his striking is simply unreal. With athleticism for days, Bofando performs moves thought possible only through a video game console with ease. Check out this video of Bofando hitting the heavy bag

We know what you’re thinking. Anyone can look good hitting a heavy bag because heavy bags don’t hit back. Fair play. So check out this next video of Bofando in competition. Something tells me the kicks at 1:14 is going to grab your attention.

Still though, that’s a karate competition right? He couldn’t possibly pull off those moves in the octagon with an actual crowd and something greater at stake. Those things are reserved for practice and lower rung matches…right? We’ve got one more video that might prove otherwise.

Exactly. Galore Bofando is currently fighting in the UK under the UCMMA banner in the 170lb weight class. He’s 4-2 with his two losses coming by DQ, so in our minds (just like Jon Jones), he’s undefeated. What do you guys think of Galore Bofando’s striking, is he the future of MMA?

Hit us up in the comments section below.

The post Could This Guy Be The Future In MMA Striking? appeared first on Cagepotato.

Fights We Want To See: Rose Namajunas Calls Out The Karate Hottie

The post Fights We Want To See: Rose Namajunas Calls Out The Karate Hottie appeared first on Cagepotato.

Please make this happen.

Michelle Waterson won the biggest fight of her career last saturday. After defeating the much hyped Paige Vanzant in a shocking first round submission, the “karate hottie” was on top of the world. She had a big win, a big bonus, and her family there to boot. But as in true MMA fashion, the question on everyone’s lips was who she would fight next? Well there was one name we just found undeniable, and that name was Rose Namajunas.

What’s great about this fight is that these ladies are both vastly improved strikers with a wicked ground game. Although Rose Namajunas was momentarily derailed by Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 202 she’s very much still in the hunt; and with Waterson’s high profile victory against Paige last weekend you’ve got to think she’s now in the straw weight conversation. Rose delivered a polite but no nonsense call out to the former atom weight after the fight.

First off I want to congratulate @karatehottiemma on a SPECTACULAR performance! You showed tremendous growth and hunger as a fighter/mother/wife/cool person since knowing you so hats off to you! Secondly I want to acknowledge the messages I’ve been getting from my fans that this is the next matchup y’all want to see! Me too! Make it happen @danawhite @ufc

She’s right Dana, we all want to see it, make it happen! Coming from a 105lb weight class, Waterson is the smaller fighter, and although her jiu jitsu seems to be firing on all cylinders, Rose is a beast to get to the ground. Even if you get her there, she’s not exactly a Sage Northcutt, with 5 wins by submission (3 RNC, flying armbar, Kimura) the fights not exactly over. And with a nickname like “Thug Rose” Namajunas, what’s not to love?

By hook or by crook, this fight needs to happen, and hopefully fairly soon. Let us know what you think of this potential matchup, are you guys interested or is it a pass?

The post Fights We Want To See: Rose Namajunas Calls Out The Karate Hottie appeared first on Cagepotato.

Ronda Rousey Bashes McGregor And Mayweather. Is She Right?

In this day and age combat sports are changing drastically. While boxing loses favor, kickboxing sits in limbo, and mixed martial arts grows more popular, the landscape is ever evolving and shifting with the times. As such there are a bunch of individuals who have their own ideas on the state of combat sports and what it truly stands for. One of those individuals is a little known fighter named Ronda rousey.

The post Ronda Rousey Bashes McGregor And Mayweather. Is She Right? appeared first on Cagepotato.

By now everyone must have heard the comments that former UFC women’s bantamweight champion has made. If you haven’t just wait for the quote at the jump, by the gist of it is that the purity of combat sports is being compromised by one specific and all important element.

Money.

For the exact comments that Rousey made, just take a look at the quote below.

“If money is the motivation, then f— that,” she says. “All these Money people… Money [Floyd] Mayweather, Money [Conor] McGregor. I see they’re trying to do an angle or whatever. People buy it.

The worship of money in our society is so deep. But just because that’s the easiest way to keep people’s attention or entertain them doesn’t mean that’s the right way.”

Now, while I can agree with this statement to an extent, we have to unpack things to get a clear understanding of Ronda Rousey and her stance. The reality is that despite the fact that money shouldn’t be a motivation for being the greatest fighter in the world from a purest standpoint, the endeavor of professional fighters is prize fighting. For some, the prize is the most important thing not even certainly becoming the best of the best.

But is it so wrong to want to be the best of the best while at the same time getting paid as such? Would Conor McGregor or Floyd Mayweather be better men if they decided to burn their prize money and simply say “the win is all I need.” I’m going to go out on a limb and say no.

Let’s also not forget that Rousey has profited a great deal from her winning ways. Sure, she may have cared more about winning her fights than the money and that’s certainly commendable. But all those big wins she’s collected has allowed her to make a tremendous amount of money and even transcend the sport allowing her other opportunities to make a lucrative income outside of fighting. Not all fighters get that kind of opportunity.

So while she may disagree with people who are obsessed with making more money, she has to remember that like it or not she’s included in that crowd and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s about what you do after making all that money that shows a person who they really are.

What’s your thoughts on the comments made by Ronda Rousey?

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

Source: http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/espnw-rousey161215/how-ronda-rousey-preparing-return-ufc-amanda-nunes

The post Ronda Rousey Bashes McGregor And Mayweather. Is She Right? appeared first on Cagepotato.

Video: Cruz May Have Won The Battle But Who Wins The War?

The post Video: Cruz May Have Won The Battle But Who Wins The War? appeared first on Cagepotato.

First Blood

In case you haven’t realized, Dominick Cruz is a shit talker. Not the brass, off the cuff, charismatic shit talk of a Conor McGregor, but the cold, calculated, pinpoint accuracy of a cerebral assassin. And it all started with Urijah Faber and team Alpha ~~fail~~ Male.

At UFC Fight Night Sacramento, a lot happened. Alan Jouban defeats Mike Perry via unanimous decision, Mickey Gall submits Sage Northcutt in the 2nd round and Michelle Waterson followed suite with a rear naked on Page Vanzant in Round 1. But probably the biggest news was Urijah Faber’s win over Brad Pickett and eventual retirement. During the Post fight show Faber and longtime nemesis Dominick Cruz buried the hatchet and all seemed geared up for a happy ending. But while one fire was being put out, another was already burning bright.

During a fight Break Jon Anik interviewed Cruz and his new alpha male wonder boy opponent Cody Garbrandt. Although Cody is the well known power puncher, it was Cruz delivering all the knockout blows.

” I was able to buy a house with all the wins from your team”

– Cruz

Savage. But besides the verbal assault what impressed me most was how unemotional Cruz got during the whole thing, even staying present enough to correct Garbrandt when he got a little excited and dropped an F-bomb. This is a far cry from the earlier days of Cruz. I always felt Faber was the more Alpha male (sorry, couldn’t help myself) of the two and held his space a lot better than Cruz during verbal quips. Cruz always seemed a bit emotional. But then the 3rd fight came, and Cruz turned a corner. Though still a bit clunky in the Dillashaw matchup, his set-up is on point in this video and his retorts seem to flow naturally. Garbrandt simply gets owned in this one.

“They’ll be busting on your face – Cruz

“I hope so” – Garbrandt

“It’s going to be fun” – Cruz

“Imma eat everything you got” – Garbrandt

Yeah, things got a bit weird. The real question is will this trash talk get inside of Garbrandt’s head? If he gets emotional and starts swinging for the fences, I can see it being a long night for Cody. But something tells me he’s the type of guy that’s use to fighting emotional and this won’t faze him one bit. Either way the next 13 days will be fun to watch with these two.

Dominick Cruz defends his title against Cody Garbrandt on December 30th on the UFC 207 Card.

Check out the video and let us know what you think.

The post Video: Cruz May Have Won The Battle But Who Wins The War? appeared first on Cagepotato.

Fallout: Hype Train Destruction Of Vanzant, Northcutt, And Perry

Michelle Waterson, Alan Jouban and Mickey Gall all had something in common last Saturday night. Each of them in their own way were responsible for shutting down some major hype trains. Waterson, Jouban, and Gall each had the responsibility of battling fighters who have considerable upside. That’s not to say that Paige Vanzant, Mike Perry, and Sage Northcutt don’t have a future. In fact, if nothing else the losses these three sustained were absolutely necessary for their career advancement.

The post Fallout: Hype Train Destruction Of Vanzant, Northcutt, And Perry appeared first on Cagepotato.

For Sage Northcutt the message was simple: stay at 155 lbs. Sure, Mickey Gall called out the young talent, but it wasn’t reason enough to fight the New Jersey native. It was a high risk, moderate reward situation that forced Northcutt to fight at a weight class that he hasn’t done very well in this far. Sage Northcutt’s handlers should have looked at the bigger picture and understood that having the twenty year old build slowly in the right division is going to be the key to the young man’s success. That and the fact that his ground game, take down and grappling defense included, needs a ton of work if he’s still hoping to be the UFC’s youngest champion.

In Mike Perry’s case he had to learn the hard way that talking trash does little in the way of winning fights. The reality is that Perry’s aggressive come forward style has the potential to be exciting but will ultimately become a double edged sword. At this point of the game you coming forward, tucking your chin, and throwing bombs does not an elite fighter make. Perry had flashes of success but his inability to adapt and change his game plan proved to be his undoing. Jouban showed that he was willing to make improvements in his own game in between camps and during the fight itself. If Perry hopes to become elite then he’ll have to be willing to change his approach and avoid his usual emotional style in order to elevate his game. If he’s able to reign in his ego, Perry truly can become a force in the UFC.

The third humble pie recipient was Paige Vanzant who has little time to show any improvements in her game outside of her footwork. Vanzant had great movement while the fight lasted on the feet, but it still was done with little purpose with no set ups for potential angles. Waterson herself showed just how dangerous she has become since her last fight inside the octagon. The head and arm throw which so rarely works in MMA was performed with such technique and power it showcased just how advanced Waterson’s game is becoming. While Vanzant will once again be forced to reevaluate, Waterson will see her star rise as her rear naked choke victory sets her up as another potential challenger for the strawweight strap.

What were your takeaways from UFC on Fox 22?

The post Fallout: Hype Train Destruction Of Vanzant, Northcutt, And Perry appeared first on Cagepotato.