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Michael Bisping Still Thinks He’s Fighting Georges St-Pierre

The circus that is the UFC’s middleweight division continues to roll on. Earlier this year it was announced that former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre had singed a new multi-fight deal with the promotion to make his Octagon return. Rather than attempt to reclaim his 170-pound throne from Tyron Woodley, he decided to instead peruse

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The circus that is the UFC’s middleweight division continues to roll on.

Earlier this year it was announced that former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre had singed a new multi-fight deal with the promotion to make his Octagon return. Rather than attempt to reclaim his 170-pound throne from Tyron Woodley, he decided to instead peruse the middleweight championship currently held by Michael Bisping.

The bout was made official and a press conference was even held for the two men to promote the bout, however, no official date of venue was ever set for the contest. Earlier this month St-Pierre took to Instagram to announce he won’t be able to return to action until after October, leading UFC President Dana White to cancel the fight and name No. 1-ranked Yoel Romero the next challenger for the title.

Bisping took to his podcast, Believe You Me, to respond to that news and stated that he has yet to hear any official word of the fight being called off from UFC brass (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“Honestly, it’s news to me. I haven’t heard anything about it. I reached out to Georges and he said he hasn’t heard anything officially either, and I still haven’t heard anything from the UFC or Dana White. I know that a lot of people are complaining about this potential delay with Georges, so we’ll see what happens.

“So yeah, to clarify, as of right now, no official word from the UFC. I haven’t heard anything and Georges is still hoping for it, I’m still hoping for it. I’ll say this, I was offered the fight twice. I was offered the fight in October and it never materialized. I was offered the fight in January or February and it did materialize and we had a press conference and we shook hands and we stood there in Las Vegas and we talked a bit of shit. So okay, I haven’t had a bout agreement but that is the plan. That was the offer and I accepted and I kind of feel that once a deal is made, we should stick to it.”

St-Pierre has speculated that White stating Romero would get the next shot at the title could be a power play by the UFC to try and force him to return sooner. Bisping, however, doesn’t believe that’s the case and simply thinks the UFC is in need of more title bouts on its pay-per-views (PPVs):

“Maybe they need an active champion to fight sooner. I think that’s probably the top of it. I honestly don’t think they’re trying to put pressure on Georges. I think they need title fights on the pay-per-views, which I understand. I understand the frustrations from their side, just like a lot of the middleweight division are kind of frustrated. They need good title fights on their pay-per-views and waiting until November is a significant delay so I understand that. But like I said, we did have a deal so I’d like to speak with the UFC and find out what’s happening. “

The fact that the Canadian can’t compete until later this year is perfect for Bisping, who says he is currently dealing with lingering knee issues that won’t allow him to fight until down the road himself:

“It’s a blessing in disguise because I can’t fight anytime soon. I can’t exercise, I can’t train. My knee is giving me many, many problems. It was doing it in Thailand, it’s still getting no better. . . So long story short, what I’m getting at is I’m not going to be ready to fight anytime soon so again, that’s another reason why this plays into the perfect scenario for me.”

Until he hears otherwise, Bisping is still expecting to meet St-Pierre inside the Octagon, but understands the rest of the 185-pound division’s frustrations at the moment:

“[Rockhold] has no grounds to talk. Some people have, to be honest. Yoel’s been there for a bit now. I understand that. Robert Whittaker is there and Gegard as well but I’ve got a fight booked and until I hear anything differently from an official source, I’m expecting to fight GSP. “

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Five Most Controversial Herb Dean Errors

After a controversial ending to the exciting back-and-forth bout between Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez at last weekend’s (Sat., May 13, 2017) UFC 211 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, longtime MMA referee Herb Dean has fallen under an intense shroud of criticism from some of his MMA peers and many fans. Overall,

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After a controversial ending to the exciting back-and-forth bout between Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez at last weekend’s (Sat., May 13, 2017) UFC 211 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, longtime MMA referee Herb Dean has fallen under an intense shroud of criticism from some of his MMA peers and many fans.

Overall, Dean has been a consistent veteran referee of the sport, even once earning the high praise of Dana White as the ‘best in the sport.’ But even the best make mistakes from time to time, and his doubters would definitely have you believe that Dean is slowly losing his edge as the best due to a series of inconsistent decisions in recent years.

That may or may not be true, but there’s no doubt that Dean has made some head-scratching errors in the cage lately nonetheless. Let’s take a look at five of the worst.

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Dustin Poirier vs. Eddie Alvarez – UFC 211

We’ll get the freshest example of a Dean screw-up out of the way first. After the early part of this anticipated prelim card headliner saw “The Diamond” rock Alvarez with a bevy of big shots, the former champion rallied back impressively to actually land some big strikes of his own when it looked like he was finished.

He got Poirier to the ground, and with the current state of knees to a grounded opponent one of the biggest messes in MMA, unleashed three knees that two of which may have been legal under one set of rules of another, while the third was most definitely illegal.

It also injured Poirier to the point of where he said he could not continue, making it seem as if he won by disqualification. But Dean declared it a no contest, deeming Alvarez unintentional in his strike and saying he was simply caught up in the moment. But that could be said about any illegal strike in any fight, and the rules are in place for a reason. Many have agreed Dean made a huge error in calling this a NC, and Poirier is already appealing the decision.

Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber – UFC 169

This bantamweight title bout in February 2014 was a showcase fight for Barao, who at the time was considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. In a bit of hyperbole, Joe Rogan even called him the best.

Anyway, the Nova Uniao champion was having his way with Faber, who filled in for an injured Dominick Cruz, in the early-going of the fight, landing big shots and dropping the tough “The California Kid.” Faber may have been absorbing a lot of damage, yet he gave a clear thumbs-up to Dean while Barao was unloading a barrage of pitter-patter strikes on the ground that were nowhere near as damaging as his previous ones standing.

Now a thumbs-up from a fighter certainly isn’t enough to warrant a bout being continued, but it does show that Faber was at least coherent. Barao was exactly landing knockout blows, either. He also pled with Dean to stop the bout, signaling he needed some assistance with the job rather than leaving no doubt. Dean did that for him, and has since taken a ton of flack for what’s perceived as an early stoppage.

Chas Skelly vs. Maximo Blanco – UFC Fight Night 94

This featherweight match-up saw an absolutely brutal submission finish, but it didn’t have tor be that way if Dean had been a bit more attentive at his job. Skilled wrestler Skelly had used an excellent transition on the mat to lock on a tight Anaconda choke that had Blanco in very bad shape in the bout. Skelly told Dean his opponent was out as he lay there with his arms splayed out on the canvas not moving, but Dean still had to make sure he was when there was no way Skelly was trying to pull a fast one on him.

After he finally called it, Blanco was out for some time, and Dean drew a ton of heat for not calling the submission sooner.

Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Bubba Jenkins – Bellator 132

Like Skelly vs. Blanco, this bout is an example of Dean letting a fighter hold onto a choke for far too long. In this match, Karakhanyan locked up a tight standing guillotine choke on touted wrestler Jenkins that ended the bout rather quickly.

Like Skelly, Karakhanyan yelled at Dean that the fight was done, repeatedly yelling that he was out. But Dean didn’t believe him and let it continue on for some reason, letting Karakhanyan crank on the submission until Jenkins was out himself.

Not Dean’s finest moment, and another example of when he was unwilling to call a fight off by technical submission that resulted in a fighter’s health being put in jeopardy.

Photo Credit: Sean Porkorny for USA TODAY Sports

Uriah Hall vs. Derek Brunson – UFC Fight Night 94

This result, which also took place at UFC Fight Night 94, may be a bit more questionable, as Hall was clearly rocked by a big left hook from a charging Brunson.

However, he appeared to be intelligently defending himself by grabbing for a single leg, and immediately got back up to protest when the fight was called off.

Dean defended himself by saying Hall was wobbled and in trouble, but there’s certainly a case to be made for allowing the fight to continue for at least a few more seconds, something Dean obviously had no problem doing when the previous two mistakes on this list involved chokes being held onto far after a fighter had tapped.

It’s a fine line, true, but if Dean is going to allow fighters to be put in fight-ending submissions for a long while after they’ve tapped out, then you’d think he would want to give fighters who were rocked but still conscious a chance to fight back too. That’s what makes being a ref in MMA so tough, and while Dean has certainly proved his worth over many years, his calls have become inconsistent as of late.

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“DC” Isn’t Sorry For Calling Out Jones’ Drug Issues

Nothing is off limits when it comes to trash-talking for Daniel Cormier – nothing. The light heavyweight champion and Jon Jones are once again booked for their rematch inside the Octagon, but we’ve seen this same story once or twice before. Jones and Cormier were initially set to rematch at UFC 197 back in April

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Nothing is off limits when it comes to trash-talking for Daniel Cormier – nothing.

The light heavyweight champion and Jon Jones are once again booked for their rematch inside the Octagon, but we’ve seen this same story once or twice before. Jones and Cormier were initially set to rematch at UFC 197 back in April of last year, however, Cormier was forced out of the contest due to injury and was replaced with Ovince Saint Preux.

After Jones won the interim 205-pound title from “OSP” he was set to collide with “DC” in a unification bout as the main event of UFC 200 last summer. Unfortunately Jones ran into some trouble with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after testing positive for a banned substance.

Jones was suspended for one-year for the debacle, and is set to return to Octagon action at UFC 214 on pay-per-view (PPV) from Anaheim, California against Cormier for the title.

A UFC Summer Kickoff press conference was held to promote the biggest upcoming bouts of the summer this past weekend in Dallas for UFC 211, with Jones and Cormier sitting front and center. As you can imagine, the pair let off a slew of trash-talk towards one another which included Cormier poking fun at Jones’ history of drug abuse.

Cormier recently joined The Luke Thomas Show on SiriusXM to discuss if making light of Jones’ past struggles is going to far, to which the light heavyweight champion responded that he doesn’t believe it is (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“These things are so public. These instances are so public,” Cormier said. “If he was doing all this stuff to himself and by himself and not affecting people, I probably wouldn’t say anything. But his indiscretions and mess-ups have greatly influenced my career, too, in the way I’m perceived. A lot of people may say, ‘Well, you would never be the champion if he didn’t do those things.’ Maybe he would’ve beat me again, but we would’ve fought already to decide that.

“But even though I am champion, because of the things that he’s done to get in that situation, people never really, truly respect me as they should. Not only are they not respecting me as they should, they’re discrediting everything I have done. So, it’s not off limits. And my whole thing is this. …

“Some guy said this to me: ‘Daniel, if you knew the struggle, you would never say the things you say.’ And I said, ‘Well, I don’t know the struggle, because I know how dangerous it is. So I don’t mess with it.’ … You’re not born with addiction issues. You make the choice to start to mess with that.”

Cormier took his tirade against Jones one step further by insinuating that “Bones” has been cheating his entire career, stating that if he’s willing to do cocaine right before a fight then he’s probably willing to take a performance enhancing drug (PED):

“If you’re willing to do that right before a fight, and that’s something that can be detrimental to you going forward, why wouldn’t you do something that could help you?” Cormier said. “That’s my philosophy. I could be wrong. I do believe that this dude has been cheating his entire life, though. Why not?”

Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea for USA TODAY Sports

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Dustin Poirier Promises He’ll Stop ‘Silly’ Eddie Alvarez In Rematch

Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez were well on their way to a sharing “Fight of the Night” in the featured preliminary bout of UFC 211 last Saturday (May 13, 2017) from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, but a controversial no contest after what clearly looked like an illegal knee from Alvarez put a

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Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez were well on their way to a sharing “Fight of the Night” in the featured preliminary bout of UFC 211 last Saturday (May 13, 2017) from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, but a controversial no contest after what clearly looked like an illegal knee from Alvarez put a stop to the action and left fans wanting a rematch.

After the fight Poirier was respectful to the former champion, demanding the crowd not boo him. Once he had a chance to settle down, however, Poirier was none too pleased with the result, which saw his win bonus taken away from him and left him with stitches on his face. He revealed that he planned to appeal the result, but there’s not telling what that will produce, especially in Texas – a state that does not yet utilize the new Unified Rules of MMA, making the call even cloudier.

The controversy can of course be cleared up if and when the two rivals have a rematch, something that’s beginning to look quite obvious. Poirier and Alvarez got the trash talk starting online today, with “The Diamond” first asking when Alvarez wanted to fight before telling him he owed him some stitches:

Alvarez replied back an hour later to say the fight was a go, but warned Poirier not to get too excited, as he ‘wanted out’ at UFC 211:

Finally Poirier called Alvarez silly and promised to finish him in the second bout:

With the fight a clear choice, expect it to go down sometime in the summer or fall, with the winner advancing a decent way way up the already crowded and backlogged lightweight pecking order.

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Poirier will be looking for his sixth win in eight fights since going back to lightweight, and Alvarez is looking to get back on track after a one-sided loss to current champ Conor McGregor in the main event of last November’s UFC 205. Both fighters share the distinction of having been brutally finished by McGregor, and they will also need a win here to have even anything close to a shot at facing the seldom-seen Irishman again.

First things first, however, and both need to focus on the task at hand. Poirier obviously believes he deserves a win, but referee Herb Dean recently explained why he gave Alvarez a no contest in the heat of the moment:

“I would have disqualifed him if I believed they were intentional,” Dean said. “How I rule I knew that Eddie couldn’t see whether (Poirier’s) knee was down or not – that’s why I ruled it unintentional.

“There’s a lot going on in there, and that’s why (referees) give people a little bit of leeway with some of those rules. I reserve ‘intentional’ for someone acting out of the rules and being a bad guy, and they need to be disqualified. I don’t think (Alvarez) was trying to be a bad person. I think he was trying to fight within the rules – it’s just that it’s difficult.”

It is difficult to be sure, yet fighters’ health and safety are on the line in close calls like that, and few are surprised Poirier is appealing.

Will he get the win he believes he earned, or will he only be able to prove that in the rematch?

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Major Weight-Cutting Changes Coming To MMA This Summer

A huge step in weight-cutting regulation was taken today (Tues. May 16, 2017) by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC). A 10-point plan was passed to assist with extreme weight cutting and severe dehydration in mixed martial arts (MMA). The plan includes stricter fines for missing weight, the addition of new weight classes, and fight-day weight

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A huge step in weight-cutting regulation was taken today (Tues. May 16, 2017) by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC).

A 10-point plan was passed to assist with extreme weight cutting and severe dehydration in mixed martial arts (MMA). The plan includes stricter fines for missing weight, the addition of new weight classes, and fight-day weight checks.

Under the new plan, fighters will be fined 20 percent of all bonuses, which includes win bonuses. The full bonus fine will be awarded to the opponent who made weight. The current 20 percent rule for show money (half to the opponent, half to the commission) will remain in place.

Fighters who repeatedly miss weight will be recommended to move up a weight class.

Additional weight classes being added will be at 165, 175, 195 and 225 pounds. CSAC executive officer Andy Foster noted that stakeholders did not want to remove the 170-pound division due to its ‘iconic’ status in the sport.

Photo by Kyle Terada for USA TODAY Sports

Three promotions; the UFC, Bellator, and Invicta FC, wrote letters to the commission in support of the new regulations, and The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) is also expected to recommend the new regulations to the entire ABC body during its annual meeting in July (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“The stakeholders were involved in this process,” Foster said. “I can say unequivocally that the promoters see this as a problem also. This is not just one-sided. This is a problem for them, this is a problem for the entire industry.”

While the promotions do support the regulations and the addition of new weight classes, that doesn’t mean they need to implement them immediately. As a matter of fact, Bellator MMA asked in its letter for gradual implementation of the new divisions.

More areas in the 10-point plan include making changes to the ABC matchmaking database so that it includes a weight class category, the continuation of early weigh-ins as well as dehydrations checks and specific gravity, and training for promoters, matchmakers, fighters and trainers on the dangers of extreme weight cutting.

Another point proposed was similar to what is done in the WBC for boxing, 30- and 10-day weight checks in order for doctors and promoters to see if it’s realistic for the fighter to make weight on the eve of fight night.

“If we have a fighter contracted for 155 and they’re 195 pounds 30 days out, maybe it’s time to get with the promoter, get with the medical committee and talk about this to see if it’s really appropriate for this fight,” Foster said. “It does happen.”

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Luke Rockhold Destroys Dana White For Double Standard

Recently, Dana White had a harsh response for former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold’s demand that the stacked UFC 185-pound division receive some official clarity after the entire roster had been put on hold for the not-so-anticipated Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre title fight, which was supposed to take place sometime after October. The UFC granted

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Recently, Dana White had a harsh response for former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold’s demand that the stacked UFC 185-pound division receive some official clarity after the entire roster had been put on hold for the not-so-anticipated Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre title fight, which was supposed to take place sometime after October.

The UFC granted that when White finally announced that Bisping vs. St-Pierre was off the table and “The Count” would taking on the real number one contender in surging Cuban wrestling specialist Yoel Romero. That seemed like what the rest of the middleweight division and a majority of the fans wanted, yet White seemed to take Rockhold’s request out of context when he fired back by  saying Rockhold had just been knocked out and didn’t deserve a title shot, comparing him to a welterweight who just earned one:

“Listen, I was thinking about this when I talked to some of the media here yesterday: A lot of the guys are talking about deserve, deserve, nobody deserves anything. You have to earn it here, you know what I’m saying?”

“These guys want to sit around, you got Rockhold screaming, “I deserve this…’ you got knocked out in the first round, you don’t deserve anything, you have to earn it and Maia earned it.”

Photo Credit: Jake Roth for USA TODAY Sports

While it’s true that Rockhold’s massive upset loss to Bisping in the main event of last June’s UFC 199 was the bout that set the division into its current state of upheaval, Rockhold was quick to respond that he didn’t say he deserved a title shot coming off of a loss.

All he wanted was a clear direction for the division, which could legitimately be described as one of the deepest in MMA right now; one that gave the many talented competitors in its ranks something definite to fight for. Having St-Pierre, who was of course the most dominant welterweight champion of all-time, fight for the middleweight belt coming off of a nearly four-year long layoff and never having fought in the division, wasn’t deserved in Rockhold’s mind:

White then responded to Rockhold, saying that while he never usually responded, St-Pierre never lost his belt, and it was a fight that both wanted (along with the fans, or so he said), so perhaps Rockhold should stick to fighting and leave the matchmaking up to the UFC:

There’s certainly no doubt that St-Pierre was and still is one of the company’s biggest stars and pay-per-view draws, so it’s really not that hard to imagine the UFC booking him in pretty much any fight he wants for his return, especially during a year so star-starved as 2017. It’s also hard to deny that his premature ‘return’ for a press conference announcing the bout in March was entirely too early with him planning on fighting in October or later, and that undoubtedly lead to the promotion being forced to cancel it in an effort to move the middleweight division along.

So while White may have a point or two, Rockhold didn’t specifically ask for a title shot, and it seems everyone is glad that Bisping will finally defend his title against a rightful number one contender.

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