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Herb Dean Reacts To Dustin Poirier vs. Eddie Alvarez Controversy

Herb Dean seems to be finding himself in a hotbed of UFC controversy quite often these days. The longtime MMA official, who has refereed some of the more high-profile bouts in the octagon, recently drew heat when he deemed the Dustin Poirier vs. Eddie Alvarez scrap at last Saturday’s (Sat., May 13, 2017) UFC 211 from

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Herb Dean seems to be finding himself in a hotbed of UFC controversy quite often these days.

The longtime MMA official, who has refereed some of the more high-profile bouts in the octagon, recently drew heat when he deemed the Dustin Poirier vs. Eddie Alvarez scrap at last Saturday’s (Sat., May 13, 2017) UFC 211 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas a no contest following what looked like some incredibly illegal knees from Alvarez.

The former champion had been in bad shape when “The Diamond” rocked him with some big shots, but somehow persevered to mount an unlikely flurry of his own, a true testament to his heart and determination. He ground Poirier and hit him with three knees along the fence, but with the State of Texas not yet utilizing the new Unified Rules of MMA, at just what threshold Alvarez’ strikes would be called illegal was unclear.

However, it was plain to see that Alvarez’ third knee was illegal by either set of rules as Poirier was clearly ground by both definitions, yet Dean still decided to call the bout a no contest when Poirier said he could not continue because he felt ‘something pushing on his eyeball’. Poirier has since declared his intentions to appeal the decision, but Dean recently defended the call when speaking to MMA Junkie:

“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.”

Photo Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Fair enough, but the rules are still the rules, and many, including octagon announcer Brian Stann, feel the knees were illegal and Poirier should have won by disqualification. For his part, “The Diamond” didn’t agree with Dean’s decision that Alvarez did it unintentionally, because in his mind, the act of hitting someone in a fight is always intentional:

“I’m protected by these rules. I think he’s trying to cover his own ass. Any time somebody strikes somebody with a blow, it’s intentional. I don’t understand. He didn’t trip me and kick me on the ground – he intentionally kneed me on the ground.”

As for Dean’s reaction, the official said he understood why Poirier would want to appeal and wouldn’t make this a personal issue of him vs. Poirier:

“I’m not personalizing this,” Dean said. “It’s not about me – it’s about him. He’s a fighter. I’m here just trying to do a good job and serve him and the other fighters. This is about him. I don’t take that personally. He should do everything he can. If he feels he needs to appeal, I think he should do that. I don’t take it personal on me. The fight is the most important fight of their career.”

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Derrick Lewis Doesn’t Care About Heavyweight Title: I’m In This For The Money

Derrick Lewis could care less if he never becomes the UFC heavyweight champion of the world. “The Black Beast” is currently on an impressive six fight win streak in which he has finished all but one of his opponents via knockout. His last Octagon appearance saw him defeat Travis Browne via second round knockout, after

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Derrick Lewis could care less if he never becomes the UFC heavyweight champion of the world.

“The Black Beast” is currently on an impressive six fight win streak in which he has finished all but one of his opponents via knockout. His last Octagon appearance saw him defeat Travis Browne via second round knockout, after surviving some nasty shots to his body that seemed to have him in trouble.

Lewis was recently in Dallas this past weekend for the UFC 211 pay-per-view (PPV), which saw UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic defend his title against Junior dos Santos in the main event, and spoke to the media regarding his upcoming bout against Mark Hunt in the main event of UFC Fight Night 110 from Auckland, New Zealand, on June 10th.

The trip is Lewis’ second overseas trip to perform inside the Octagon, and after having a bad experience his first time away from the states, he’s not really looking forward to it (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“I think I need to keep my mouth quiet,” Lewis said. “Because I think they heard me whenever I said that, and now they’re going to send me to the furthest place there is.

“I didn’t know anything about New Zealand at first, so they said New Zealand I said, ‘OK, something new.’ So I come to find out (Wednesday) that it’s going to be wintertime. I thought it was going to be hot. Now I have to pack extra, brah – keep myself warm. I don’t think I’m going to like it too much.”

Lewis takes on Mark Hunt, one of the hardest hitting heavyweights of all time, who he knows won’t be afraid to keep pressing forward and putting on an entertaining fight. Lewis also said he’s glad he doesn’t have to worry about Hunt trying to get him down or run from him:

“It’s one of the fights that I wanted, because I just knew Mark is going to come out and bang,” Lewis said. “He’s not going to try to hold me. He’s not going to try to run from me or anything like that, he’s just going to come forward. And coming forward, like he does, is going to make it an entertaining fight.”

Mandatory Credit: Michael Adamucci-USA TODAY Sports

While many UFC fighters’ ultimate goal is to become the champion of the world in their respective weight class, Lewis claims he could care less about the strap and is only interested in the financial benefits of competing under the UFC’s banner:

“I don’t care about the belt,” Lewis said. “The reason why I do want to fight for the belt is because that’s the guy who’s making all the money right now. So, if I never fight for the belt, I never get it, I don’t care.

“I’m not doing it for the top 10, I’m not trying to be the best fighter in the world. I’m not trying to be the prettiest fighting style out there. It ain’t nothing like that. I’m just doing it for the money. And just to take care of my family, that’s about it.”

Recently No. 5-ranked heavyweight Francis Ngannou called Lewis ‘slow’, but Lewis invites the Frenchman to get inside the Octagon with him and find out for himself. “The Black Beast” also has his eyes on fighters such as Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos if all goes well against “The Super Samoan”:

“That’s fine,” Lewis said. “That’s what everybody says. I’m a heavyweight. Just get up in there and whip me. He’s one of the guys I want to fight next, if everything goes good with Hunt. Him, (Junior dos Santos), Cain (Velasquez), I even want in with the guys for the belt.”

At this point in his career, Lewis is focused on taking on the most exciting fighters in the sport that can offer him the biggest paycheck, and if the belt is involved in one of those match-ups down the road, then that’s fine:

“I stack up right along with everyone else,” Lewis said. “I have a puncher’s chance, just like everyone else does. I’m just excited, and I’m happy that I’m on this roll – this six-fight winning streak right now. And I just want to fight – all the entertaining fighters. Nobody that wants to run and make a fight boring. I just want entertaining fights.”

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GSP Explains Why He’s No Longer Interested In Anderson Silva Fight

Georges St-Pierre doesn’t seem too interested in a superfight with Anderson Silva anymore. During their respective heydays, St-Pierre and Silva ruled as the cream of the crop in their divisions, with St-Pierre dominating the 170-pound weight class, while Silva terrorized those at 185 pounds. The only difference between the two – Silva’s reign came to

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Georges St-Pierre doesn’t seem too interested in a superfight with Anderson Silva anymore.

During their respective heydays, St-Pierre and Silva ruled as the cream of the crop in their divisions, with St-Pierre dominating the 170-pound weight class, while Silva terrorized those at 185 pounds. The only difference between the two – Silva’s reign came to a shocking end after a young Chris Weidman knocked him out in the second round of their match-up at UFC 162 back in 2013.

St-Pierre would retire just months after the Brazilian’s loss after taking home a controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. His win over “Bigg Rigg’ marked his ninth consecutive title defense at the time, one shy of Silva’s record of 10.

Since losing to Weidman, Silva has still been active inside the Octagon, however, he has only won three of his last four fights and his one win didn’t come without controversy. “The Spider” was given a controversial unanimous decision win over the young Derek Brunson in their UFC 208 meeting this past February.

Earlier this year it was announced that St-Pierre would be making his mixed martial arts (MMA) return after signing a new multi-fight deal with the UFC. He was scheduled to make his 185-pound debut and receive an immediate title shot against current division champ Michael Bisping. That match was later called off by UFC President Dana White, however, as St-Pierre said he wouldn’t be ready to compete until October.

In the midst of St-Pierre’s title bout still being on the docket, Silva expressed great displeasure with the decision. Silva was scheduled to take on Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 212 from Brazil but unfortunately Gastelum was removed from the contest after being flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Silva grew frustrated with the situation and went off on Dana White and the UFC, demanding an interim title bout with No. 1-ranked Yoel Romero – and threatened retirement if it was not granted.

What made the situation even worse, Silva says he was promised a superfight with St-Pierre once the Canadian decided to return to MMA, but that promise was broken as “Rush” was instead pencilled in opposite Bisping.

During a recent interview with TSN, St-Pierre commented on the possibility of sharing the Octagon with Silva, but admitted it doesn’t have the same luster as it once did (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“It could happen; it depends on the condition (because) fights are about timing,” St-Pierre said. “Sometimes the guys stock are higher, and sometimes it’s lower. You want the guy that the stock is the highest. It fluctuates. I don’t think his stock right now is very high. He’s a legend for the stuff he has done in the past, but he’s not the same as he was back in the day.”

After this past weekend’s UFC 211 pay-per-view (PPV), Dana White commented on the possible superfight between Silva and St-Pierre, which he brushed off as unrealistic due to the fact that Silva doesn’t compete at 170 pounds:

“I told ‘GSP’ obviously it’s not worth talking about right now until we look at the landscape,” White said. “He needs to figure out what he wants to do in the 170-pound division, who he wants to fight there. I don’t know if he wants to move up in weight and fight these murderers at 185. I think he liked the Bisping fight. I think he saw that as a fight that was winnable and saw Bisping as the guy who is beatable.”

You can check out St-Pierre’s interview with TSN here:

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Joanna Jedrzejczyk: Maybe I’m The Baddest Chick On The Planet

On Saturday night (May 13, 2017), in the co-main event of UFC 211 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, reigning 115-pound champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk tightened her rattle snake like grip on the strawweight division, scoring a dominant one-sided decision victory over the tough and gritty Jessica Andrade, beating the Brazilian in every round

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The win marked the fifth defense of Jedrzejczy’s title and she accomplished this victory in impressive fashion, repeatedly peppering Andrade with a lightning quick jab as well an effective combination of elbows, knees and kicks.

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

After such a victory, the Polish striker should’ve been on top of the world, but she ended her night leaving the post-fight press conference in tears after she was asked a question by MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani regarding her coach Kami Barzini, who will be making his departure from American Top Team.

Once again speaking with Helwani on today’s (May 15, 2017) edition of The MMA Hour, Jedrzejczyk said that her sadness stemmed from the fact that Barzini is her ‘master’:

“It’s amazing how he changed my wrestling, how he changed my takedown defense,” Jedrzejczyk said. “You can see that in my last fight. That’s the thing. I’d like to work with him. And he’s such a good person. He’s a master of wrestling — he’s my master. But he’s like such a good spirit. He’s like a doctor.

“Before this fight, he said I’m like a lion. I felt like a lion.”

Jedrzejczyk’s wrestling has certainly improved, as she stuffed a plethora of Andrade’s takedown attempts, while springing back up instantly when taken down.

Since joining American Top Team late last year, the 29-year-old champion has clearly continued to elevate her skills and Barzini appears to have been a big part of that process. Overall, however, Jedrzejczyk admits that she’s well taken care of at ATT:

“It’s not just about the work,” Jedrzejczyk said. “They really take care of me. They’re with me all the time. They ask me how I feel after the training, before the training. We hang out together.”

In her next fight, Jedrzejczyk will look to tie Ronda Rousey’s record for the most consecutive title defenses made by a female fighter and some have already begun to consider her the best female fighter in the world. She agrees this may be true, but that doesn’t mean she lacks emotion. Respect also seems to be important to the woman dubbed “Joanna Champion” and she urged all of her fans to show respect:

“Good people connect with good people and this is what happened with us,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Maybe I’m the baddest chick on the planet, maybe I’m the baddest woman in the Octagon, but I’m definitely emotional. I believe in people so badly and I love when people treat me the same way. It’s not just about the money.”

“It’s all about the right relationships with people,” she told Helwani. “To all of you, remember — one day you can be a champion, you can be the richest person in the world, you can be the boss or the director of some big company, but remember the next day you can be at the beginning again. So, respect people and it’s all about the right relationships.”

Do you consider Jedrzejczyk to be the baddest woman on the planet?

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Dana White Rips Luke Rockhold: You Don’t Deserve Anything

In mixed martial arts, some fighters are quite verbal, willing to speak their mind and say whatever it takes in order to get what they want. Other fighters, on the other hand, are willing to remain quiet and are content with letting their fighting speak for them. Demian Maia, the No. 3-ranked welterweight contender in

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Demian Maia, the No. 3-ranked welterweight contender in the world, is a fighter completely against trash talking. He doesn’t say much, but he has quietly racked up seven consecutive victories, most recently scoring a split-decision win over No. 6-ranked Jorge Masvidal at UFC 211 this past weekend (May 13, 2017) in Dallas, Texas.

After the victory, Maia knelt before UFC President Dana White, begging for the title shot he so obviously deserved. White appeared to grant the Brazilian grappling guru his wish, saying after the event that ‘Maia earned it.’

While being verbal has seemed to help some fighters in today’s day and age, White also said that some fighters feel as if they deserve everything. The UFC boss specifically noted former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, who hasn’t competed since being knocked out by Michael Bisping last June, but recently voiced his displeasure with the UFC’s matchmaking in the 185-pound division:

“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?” explained White during the post fight presser.

“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,” he added.

While Rockhold may have a point, as Bisping has experienced quite a strange title reign since winning the title, perhaps White is on to something here. The UFC has seemed to have strayed away from a rankings system in recent memory, making some question the legitimacy of the sport.

Maia receiving a title shot, however, could once again validate the UFC as a legitimate league. While being more verbal could have certainly propelled him to a title shot faster, the soft spoken and humble Maia has stuck to his guns, refusing to drift away from the values and morals that are buried so deeply inside of him. Instead, he’s taken out each contender the UFC has put in front of him since May 2014, submitting three of them.

Now, reigning welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has unsurprisngly expressed interest in fighting other marquee names in an attempt to land the most lucrative matchup possible, but it seems as if Maia is the next challenger in line and as White said, he earned it.

What do you make of White’s comments? Do you feel as if Rockhold should take a different approach in landing a big fight, or is it reasonable that he would attempt to follow the lead of the many stars who have increased their verbal output in MMA over the last few years?

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To No Surprise, Woodley Reveals Why Maia May Have To ‘Take A Backseat’

In today’s UFC landscape, it’s not uncommon to see a champion attempt to land a fight with a marquee name rather than a legitimate No. 1-contender. It’s why Demian Maia, a man who has won seven straight fights at 170 pounds, still may not receive the next welterweight title shot despite UFC President Dana White

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Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley commented on the potential bout with the humble and soft spoken Maia after UFC 211, but he recently told ESPN that Maia may have to take a ‘backseat’, as fights with former longtime champion Georges St. Pierre and former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz are ‘real’ possibilities:

“I think those fights are way more real than you guys realize,” Woodley said. “I was teasing everyone for several weeks, but that wasn’t for giggles. Those are realistic options that could make Demian Maia take a backseat for a little bit.”

St. Pierre hasn’t competed since winning a highly controversial decision over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in 2013, while Diaz hasn’t competed since dropping a decision (later changed to a no-contest) to Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in Jan. 2015, although both men are still massive stars in the sport of mixed martial arts.

Woodley continued on, saying that he’s heard there’s interest from Diaz. If the money is right, “The Chosen One” feels as if the ‘fight will happen’:

“The interest is there,” said Woodley, on what he’s heard from Diaz’s associates. “I don’t know if it was in the past. I don’t think he had interest to fight anyone. We all know he’s not scared, but he didn’t think he was being compensated for what he thought he was worth.

“It’s a different game now. People are making real money. I think if it’s a good card that makes sense, that fight will happen.”

While Maia may not present the most lucrative option for Woodley, he could present a legitimate test, as he represents one of the very best submission artists in MMA history. Woodley even called him a ‘specialist’, similar to the champion’s previous opponent, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, an elite level striker who Woodley didn’t enjoy training for:

“He is one of the last specialists in the UFC,” Woodley said. “He and Stephen [Wonderboy] Thompson are two of the last specialists in the sport and they just so happen to be in my weight class, right near the top. Training for Wonderboy’s karate, two times in a row — they were the most annoying camps of my life. He’s so good at what he does.

“I was a little frustrated with people at the FOX studios this weekend. They were laughing and jumping on my back like Maia does in fights — when I fight these specialists, I can’t be free in camp. I can’t be free in a fight. I can’t fight the way I normally would against a traditional, freestyle fighter. Now, I might have to go back to a similar training camp.”

Should Maia be leapfrogged once again, or is it time that the Brazilian receives his well-deserved title shot?

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