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UFC 213 Countdown Full Videos

Following a week off, the UFC rolls head-on into their packed summer event schedule with next weekend’s (Sat., July 8, 2017) UFC 213 pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, surging women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes will take on top contender Valentina Shevchenko in a rematch of their initial […]

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Following a week off, the UFC rolls head-on into their packed summer event schedule with next weekend’s (Sat., July 8, 2017) UFC 213 pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the main event, surging women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes will take on top contender Valentina Shevchenko in a rematch of their initial UFC 196 meeting where “The Lioness” emerged with a close decision victory to earn a bout with then-champion Miesha Tate. Nunes won that bout by shockingly dominating Tate, and then finished off the early stateswomen of the UFC’s initial foray into women’s MMA by running through former dominant champion Ronda Rousey in 48 seconds at last December’s UFC 207.

“Bullet” has racked up quite the impressive record of her own in the octagon, getting back in the win column by soundly defeating the woman who singlehandedly changed the trajectory of the UFC women’s landscape in Holly Holm at UFC on FOX 20 before submitting previously streaking contender Julianna Pena with a picture-perfect armbar at UFC on FOX 23 in January.

The rematch between the two best 135-pound women in MMA figures to be a closely-contested affair that reflects the purest look at MMA, and the UFC for that matter, with a surging champion taking on the clear top contender, and a rival to boot, in the main bout of UFC 213. Watch the full UFC 213 Countdown video for Nunes vs. Shevchenko II right here:

In the co-main, arguably the two best middleweights in the world will face off when Yoel Romero meets Robert Whittaker for the interim championship with champion Michael Bisping doing exactly the opposite of what the main event represents, at least according to many UFC fans.

“The Count” has been out of action since having knee surgery following a close decision win over then No. 14-ranked – and retiring – MMA legend Dan Henderson at UFC 204 last October, and even though he needs to heal up, he continues to chase a huge payday in the form of a title fight versus all-time great Georges St-Pierre, who has never fought at 185 pounds in his historic career.

With Bisping picking and choosing his fights, the surging Romero, who’s knocked off Chris Weidman, Jacare Souza, Lyoto Machida, and Tim Kennedy during a seven-fight win streak in the octagon, will battle a man whom many feel has the most momentum at 185 pounds in TUF: The Smashes winner Whittaker, who knocked out Souza and Derek Brunson to storm into title contender status. Watch the full Countdown video for the anticipated co-headliner right here:

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Top Lightweight Fires Back At Kevin Lee For Recent Comments

Edson Barboza heard what Kevin Lee had to say about him on FS1 last week. Lee earned his fifth straight UFC win last week (Sun. June 25, 2017) when he took home a controversial first round submission win over Michael Chiesa in the main event of UFC Oklahoma City. During his post-fight interview, Lee engaged […]

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Edson Barboza heard what Kevin Lee had to say about him on FS1 last week.

Lee earned his fifth straight UFC win last week (Sun. June 25, 2017) when he took home a controversial first round submission win over Michael Chiesa in the main event of UFC Oklahoma City. During his post-fight interview, Lee engaged in a war of words with No. 2-ranked lightweight Tony Ferguson, who was serving as an analyst for the card.

In the midst of their verbal encounter, No. 4-ranked Edson Barboza’s name was brought up, and the Brazilian was listening intently from his Florida home (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I wanted to sleep, but I thought I had to watch the post-fight show because I knew my name would be mentioned,” Barboza said. “Tony talked about me, that Lee had to face guys like me. (Lee) ie behind me in the rankings, and everyone behind me wants to fight me, just like I want to fight someone ahead of me.

“And Tony is clearly stepping aside [laughs]. He knows he’s ahead of me and I want to fight him. I want to fight everyone ahead of me.”

Edson Barboza, right, fights Tony Ferguson in a lightweight bout during The Ultimate Fighter finale Friday, Dec. 11, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Barboza and Ferguson fought inside the Octagon back in December of 2015, where “El Cucuy” was able to take home the second round submission win by using his patented D’Arce choke. The defeat remains as Barboza’s last loss under the UFC banner, as he has since gone on a three fight win streak.

Lee mentioned that Barboza is “already down the hill” during his spat with Ferguson, and although the Brazilian didn’t hear him say that, he knows Lee will calm himself down once he steps into the cage with the upper echelon of the division:

“Honestly, I didn’t (hear that), but he’s just another kid coming up, new blood, who thinks he has style, but he will learn things the hard way, getting beat up in the cage. He will calm down soon.”

“(Lee) only fought one guy in the top 15,” Barboza said. “Like Ferguson said, he wasn’t tested that much yet. I’m the No. 4 in the ranking, so I think he should… I don’t think anything, actually. I want to fight someone ahead of me. But if that doesn’t happen I’d fight him, no problem.”

“Honestly? I was not (impressed),” he said of Lee’s win over Chiesa. “He’s ranked, I think No. 11 or something like that. He’s one of the 15 best fighters in the UFC, and everyone is good everywhere at this level, so I wasn’t surprised.”

Current lightweight champ Conor McGregor is currently booked to make his professional boxing debut against, arguably, the greatest of all time in Floyd Mayweather next month (Sat. August 26, 2017). With McGregor putting the division on hold so he can attempt to make history in the world of boxing, Barboza said he wouldn’t be surprised if he finds himself in a title fight next:

“That would be great,” Barboza said. “That’s what everybody wants. But I don’t know. I think Ferguson really wants to fight Khabib and Khabib really wants to fight Ferguson, so it’s hard for me to fight any of them. It’s something person. And I’m the next in line.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know when Ferguson is going to fight and when Khabib is going to fight. I might fight for the interim belt next. Actually, that’s not the interim title my opinion because the other loud mouth is not the real champion. To me, the belt is vacant.

“(McGregor vs. Mayweather) is a lack of respect to the UFC and other athletes. I can’t understand this. (Germaine de Randamie) didn’t want to defend her belt against Cris Cyborg and automatically lost her belt, and this guy is fighting in a different sport, he left (the UFC), and doesn’t lose his belt. It’s hard for me to understand this.”

Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports

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Quote: It’s Not Money Motivating Conor McGregor Anymore

With the MMA world awaiting the biggest fight of the year that will ironically happen in a boxing ring when UFC champion Conor McGregor meets Floyd Mayweather on August 26, whispers of whether or not the Irish superstar will ever return to the cage are running rampant. Many have understandably speculated McGregor will take the […]

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Many have understandably speculated McGregor will take the massive payday from his fight with the aptly-named “Money,” which could rank in excess of $100 million, and call it quits on his decorated combat sports career.

But others, including UFC President Dana White, have insisted McGregor will return to the cage, even before the end of 2017. The polarizing exec and public face of the UFC recently suggested that McGregor wants a massive title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov in Russia, a monstrous bout that would have several hurdles to overcome before actually becoming a reality.

One man close to the situation believes that McGregor will return to the UFC for one huge fight or another, however, and that’s longtime coach and friend John Kavanagh. The Straight Blast Gym (SBG) front man recently appeared on an episode of The MMA Hour to discuss McGregor’s future, offering the belief that “The Notorious” will indeed return to MMA:

“I don’t see any reason why he would not. Certainly money would not be the reason why he would not do MMA again. He has said very clearly to me, ‘Get ready, we’re back in the cage in December.’ I hope someone out there has sparked the interest in him to make him excited about that.”

The reason for that if it did indeed happen, according to Kavanagh, is because McGregor is no longer motivated by the massive amounts of money he’s receiving for each bout (something that seems directly contradictory to everything he does and says), but is instead buoyed by the next big challenge in front of him:

“It’s not money that’s motivating him anymore. He could very easily make similar money from doing some movies or doing endorsements. It’s the challenge. That’s why he’s in the gym laughing every day. If he left the gym now and stopped fighting, what would he do with his free time? You can only sit in one car at a time, you can only have one meal at a time. Eventually you want to do something that’s enjoyable to you. And that would be Conor drifting back into the gym. It’s what’s enjoyable to him.”

It sounds like a noble scenario from Kavanagh to be certain, but if McGregor truly was only motivated by challenges and not money, then he probably wouldn’t be facing Mayweather without a single professional boxing fight on his record instead of defending his lightweight title – or any UFC title, for that matter – in an effort to silence the critics who say his title runs are illegitimate due to his lack of defenses.

To be frank, McGregor vs. Mayweather is a spectacle fight, one that was put together for the sheer amount of press attention and all-out profit it’s guaranteed to garner for all parties involved. Very few are giving McGregor much of a shot to beat a man whom many feel is the greatest boxer ever, a challenge that is indeed a new and one even if it seems to have been made for the money and the money alone.

With that said, Kavanagh at least acknowledged that the pay would be ‘nice’. In his eyes, it’s still the challenge that motivates his star client, however, and always will be:

“The motivation for this fight was not money, though of course it’s nice to be well paid for what you do. It was the challenge. And to be told again it’s impossible to do what he’s saying clearly what he is about to do.”

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Tonya Evinger Explains Why She Accepted Cris Cyborg Fight

For years, one of the talking points for hardcore women’s MMA fans has been Tonya Evinger’s absence from the UFC roster. She is one of the better fighters that competed in Invicta FC, but it all comes back to her poor performance on TUF 18 when she was submitted by Raquel Pennington in her opening […]

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For years, one of the talking points for hardcore women’s MMA fans has been Tonya Evinger’s absence from the UFC roster.

She is one of the better fighters that competed in Invicta FC, but it all comes back to her poor performance on TUF 18 when she was submitted by Raquel Pennington in her opening round bout.

To Evinger’s credit, she has proven the doubters wrong by going on a 7-0 (1 NC) winning streak. During that stretch, she made her debut for Invicta FC and picked up the promotion’s bantamweight title along the way.

There could be an argument that she is the best bantamweight not on the UFC roster. That’s no longer the case as she is set to make her UFC debut at UFC 214, but it will be no easy task as she is scheduled to fight top pound-for-pound talent Cris Cyborg in a featherweight bout.

Evinger told MMA Fighting that she expected nothing less if she ever got a chance to go to the UFC.

“I knew they weren’t gonna give me any kind of easy run,” Evinger said. “I knew I was going to get something as tough as they possibly could. But whatever, I’m here to fight.”

Even though the odds against her are stacked, she is still confident and went as far as saying that she believes she can and will be Cyborg’s toughest test to date.

“I think I’m her biggest challenge to date,” Evinger told MMA Fighting. “I’m not taking anything away from any of them other girls. All of them are good in their own right. It’s, just my style, anyway. I think I’m gonna be the toughest challenge for her.”

“You know what? I’m not a puss,” Evinger said. “I know it’s a struggle to get to 145 for her. I know what it is. It doesn’t matter, man. I’ll go home, and I’ll regret this for the rest of my life. ‘I could have beat her, maybe. I don’t know. Maybe I should have took the fight. Why was I such a puss?’ Was I scared to fight at 145? That’s not me, man. I’m not saying I’m gonna go out there and fight at 170 pounds tomorrow or the next fight or anything like that, but [145] is realistic. This ain’t too far off.

“I do think I’m really dominant at 135. I think I can definitely dominate at [145] and I think I can dominate at [125].”

She also had a few choice words for Germaine de Randamie’s decision to turn down a fight with Cyborg.

“There’s no way that being a champion you should be able to pick and choose your opponents. I’m there to fight. If I get beat, so be it. I’m not gonna not fight somebody to protect my championship belt. That’s ridiculous.”

UFC 214 takes place on July 29th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California and will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. Cris Cyborg vs. Tonya Evinger is scheduled to be one of two other title fights on the card, alongside Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia.

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Sparring Partner Makes Bold Claims About Conor McGregor’s Boxing Progress

Since the McGregor vs Mayweather fight was signed, speculation has run rampant over McGregor’s boxing skills. While he doesn’t have any formal boxing experience or a professional boxing record, he has won all of these flights using a striking and managed to knock out all time great featherweight Jose Aldo in a mere 13 seconds. […]

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Since the McGregor vs Mayweather fight was signed, speculation has run rampant over McGregor’s boxing skills.

While he doesn’t have any formal boxing experience or a professional boxing record, he has won all of these flights using a striking and managed to knock out all time great featherweight Jose Aldo in a mere 13 seconds.

One of his primary sparring partners as he prepares for 12 rounds of boxing against an undefeated legend, boxer Tiernan Bradley, spoke about McGregor’s progress, and what he had to say may surprise a lot of people:

“People laugh when they hear me saying I can replicate Mayweather,” Bradley told MMAFighting. “I guess nobody can move like Floyd, but I’ve been studying everything about the guy for the last 13 years.

“I know what way he moves and I know how he moves into his punches. I know how he reacts to getting hit. I feel like I’m able to bring that in to help Conor as he prepares for this fight.

“When I’m competing, I don’t necessarily use Mayweather’s style, but I definitely use some of his tools. The step-back right hand and check left hook are two techniques I use a lot. And of course, I use some of his defensive tactics to stop me getting hit.”

“Conor is a very good boxer,” Bradley said. He doesn’t move like any other boxer. He’s powerful, fast and light on his feet … He’s very good at getting in and out and connecting. He’s so quick on his feet it’s very hard to judge the distance with him.

“He’s so fast and unpredictable — that’s a very dangerous combination. I don’t think Mayweather has ever boxed anyone like that.”

Bradley’s statements on “The Notorious’” boxing skills is in stark contrast to fellow boxer-turned-sparring partner Chris van Heerden, who released video of McGregor that appears to show some slow progress in his boxing training.

But the 20-year-old Irish commonwealth youth silver medalist vehemently disagrees, noting that McGregor actually lifted him off the ground with a right-hand uppercut wearing 16-ounce gloves, a remarkable feet if it is indeed true considering that “The Notorious” is left-handed and will be waring 10-ounce gloves against Mayweather:

“My biggest takeaway from the rounds was the pace that we fought at and that he seemed unbreakable. I found it very hard to figure him out. I’ve got a black eye at the moment and I got that from him when he was wearing 16-ounce gloves,” Bradley said.

“I don’t know if you’ve seen the photo that he uploaded onto his Instagram after our session. People are talking about his left hand and whether the power will be there with 10-ounce gloves — he lifted me off my feet with a right uppercut in 16 (ounce gloves)!

“That shot came out of nowhere. It was so fast and powerful. I can tell you now that those kinds of shots would drop boxers, and that was his right hand. He will definitely keep his stopping power with 10-ounce gloves on.”

The anticipated Mayweather vs McGregor goes down on August 26 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

What do you make of Bradley’s comments on McGregor’s boxing?

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Why The UFC Messed Up With Women’s Featherweight

Earlier this year, the UFC announced the installment of its twelfth division: a women’s featherweight division. The only problem, however, is that it’s barely a division, and it may be fair to say that the UFC made a mistake by creating this division. To be honest, the division was created for one reason, or rather […]

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To be honest, the division was created for one reason, or rather for one fighter, and that’s former Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg Justino. The Brazilian slugger has long been considered to be one of the very best female fighters on the planet, if not the best period. She is also a massive featherweight, which is why her debut in the UFC came long after many had hoped it would.

Cyborg has had two UFC bouts to date, with both ending in stoppage victories for her, but with both also taking place at a catchweight of 140 pounds, and even at that weight limit, she had difficulty making weight. Given the star power she possesses, the UFC essentially created a division for her, which does make a bit of sense, although she did not fight for the inaugural title, which was odd.

At UFC 208, which took place this past February from Brooklyn, New York, Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie, two natural bantamweights, fought for the newly invented women’s featherweight title. This was the first mistake regarding the division, as the UFC essentially took two fighters from a different weight class and booked them against each other in a title fight because a main event was needed rather than wait for the fighter in which the division was created for.

The problems didn’t stop there, however. De Randamie went on to beat Holm in a lackluster and somewhat controversial bout before refusing to fight Cyborg and recently being stripped of her title.

After the decision to strip de Randamie of the title, the UFC essentially had a division, if it can even be considered that, without a champion and without a list of viable contenders.

Obviously Cyborg was going to fight for the now-vacant title, but it was difficult to find her an opponent because, once again, there are no contenders waiting. Eventually, she was booked against Invicta featherweight champion Megan Anderson at UFC 214 on July 29, 2017, which was an intriguing fight because Cyborg would actually be taking on a legitimate featherweight and contender.

Unfortunately, Anderson was forced to withdraw from the bout earlier this week, which led the UFC to replace her with Invicta bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger. While Evinger was likely the best option, and she certainly deserves credit for stepping up to face Cyborg when very few fighters are willing to, it seems as if we are back to square one, as Cyborg will essentially be fighting a smaller fighter.

It simply seems as if there isn’t a division at 145 pounds. Instead, it seems as if Cyborg is the rightful champion, and she is undoubtedly a championship caliber fighter, and the UFC will constantly be faced with the task of finding her an opponent, whether that be a be a featherweight, a bantamweight, or simply any female fighter willing to face the Brazilian.

In your opinion, did the UFC make a mistake by creating this division?

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