Tag: Instant Articles

Yesterday (Tues., January 29, 2019), UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was handed a nine-month suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) at their hearing in Las Vegas.

The sanction, which came with a hefty $500,000 fine, stemmed from Khabib’s involvement in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl. After submitting Conor McGregor in the fourth round of their awaited title fight last October, Khabib leaped into the crowd to assault McGregor’s close friend Dillon Danis. The action began a chain reaction of chaos that created perhaps the most infamous post-fight melee in UFC history.

McGregor was given a six-month suspension and a $50,000 fine for his part. He jumped onto the cage wall to mix it up with Khabib’s teammates Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov. They each received a one-year suspension. Khabib was not happy overall with his punishment. He released a short statement claiming it was all politics. Then, his manager revealed that Khabib was supposedly done fighting in Las Vegas. He planned to stay out of action until his teammates could return, aiming for Madison Square Garden. That meant he may not be in action until November.

White Reacts

So the hearing that was supposed to give some resolution to this mess arguably added more confusion to it. One name close to the situation is on Khabib’s side, as well. UFC President Dana White spoke up on last night’s ‘Sportscenter’ on ESPN to give his thoughts on how Khabib was punished (via MMA Fighting):

“I was obviously surprised how much they put on Khabib. It was a half-million dollars and six months if he does some PSAs. They had the whole thing contained in seconds. It was a little harsh in my opinion. It is what it is.”

Part Of The Game

The brawl was all-out chaos, but White is correct in saying they did have it contained in a matter of seconds. Khabib can return as early as April if he did an anti-bullying campaign, yet he appears unwilling to do so at this time.

White continued on that the beef between Khabib and McGregor was real, likening it to the classic boxing rivalry between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The NSAC wanted to cut down on such personal language like that used by McGregor before the fight, but White said it’s just a part of the fight game:

“It’s a fight. At the end of the day, it’s a fight,” he said. “Sometimes you come across people that don’t like each other and there’s a lot of bad blood. That was in the case in this fight. That’s what we do it’s the fight business.

“These guys are talking about fighters saying mean things to each other and all this other stuff. If you break it down and you go back to when Ali fought Frazier, and you look at the times when it happened, the stuff he said about Frazier and to Frazier was horrible. Horrible things you didn’t say to somebody else back then.”

Trash talk will always be part of the fight game, and policing what one fighter says to another is going to be tough. The NSAC has their hands full with issues like steroids. And at the end of the day, bitter rivalries sell far more than any other in MMA.

Could they have taken it easier on the champ?

The post Dana White Reacts To Khabib’s NSAC Suspension appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Alexander Hernandez had a golden opportunity heading into his featured preliminary card bout against Donald Cerrone at January 19’s UFC on ESPN+ 1 from Brooklyn, New York.

Instead of picking up by far his biggest win, “The Great” was systematically dismantled and stopped via second-round TKO. The fight was clearly Cerrone’s at a certain point, with Hernandez having only a few moments of success early. But Hernandez attributes the loss to those few scant moments.

Speaking to MMAjunkie Radio, he admitted the early shot he landed made him press the action too much:

“I could see him starting to question things, question himself, and instead of sitting back and being patient, I had this idea in my head I had to get the next one,” Hernandez said. “Where I pressed, he was patient. I pressed to my demise, I gave him shots.

“I was forcing shots that weren’t there instead of picking the ones that were readily available if I played a smarter game, I started exposing myself to shots, giving shots, letting that clinch game open. That was kind of the edge of the fight.”

The Turning Point

Hernandez pointed at an elbow landed as the turning point, believing it gave Cerrone the edge in the mental part of the fight. With that said, he admitted he should have slowed his pace:

“(I) landed a good elbow over the eye, and when you start to see someone leaking, it’s kind of this primal instinct and a big adrenaline buster. You can taste the blood and when you make eye contact, it’s like, ‘Mother(expletive), I just gave this guy the edge.’ He knew it, too. I didn’t stop bringing it, and I should have slowed down at times. I got him on his heels moving, and I had it in my hands. To my own demise, I fell on my own sword.”

Hernandez closed by being hard on himself. He admitted that he always expects to demolish his opponent. When it doesn’t happen, he said he gets impatient, and that’s a part of his game he needs to fix:

“I went in there, and I just expected to execute against (my opponent),” Hernandez said. “I know wholeheartedly that I’m capable of it, but when it doesn’t happen I start questioning, and I start forcing, and I get impatient, and that’s rookie (expletive) that needs to change.

“I’m the most aware person I know, and I think cognitively. I’m above any of these guys. And I know if there’s anybody who can make these (expletive) adjustments, it’s me.”

The post Alexander Hernandez Reveals Reasons He Lost To Donald Cerrone appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson is respected as one of the most lethal strikers in the UFC.

But without a knockout win since his TKO of Johny Hendricks in early 2016, much of the shine has worn off the once-touted former title contender. He’s gone a pedestrian 1-2-1 in his last four bouts and has been out of action since last May. Many felt he won his last bout against Darren Till, but it ultimately went down as a loss on his record.

While most scored that fight for him, Thompson knows there are some things he can change about his gameplan. He has a big fight set for March 23’s UFC on ESPN+ 6 from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. There, Thompson will take on former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in an unlikely-but-promising match of flashy strikers. Thompson has been criticized for looking for the perfect shot rather than pressing the action.

Speaking on a recent episode of the ‘UFC Unfiltered’ podcast (via MMAjunkie), Thompson knows he needs to change that:

“One of the things I’ve worked on is being a little more aggressive. Not overly aggressive when you see guys run out there and get knocked out, but stepping out there, letting them feel my presence the same way I did Johny Hendricks.

“That was a mindset I had when I stepped out there. I had a lot of respect for Johny Hendricks, but I didn’t care. I just went out there and did my own thing. Didn’t really care what he was going to do, which I think the last fights I really was (caring).”

A Clash Of Styles

His fight with Pettis seemingly came out of nowhere when ‘Showtime’ called him out for an unexpected fight. Thompson was surprised but excited at the prospect of facing a similar striker to himself. Thompson is the larger fighter and should be the favorite. But he insists Pettis is a fighter who knows his style perhaps better than anyone.

With that said, he doesn’t believe it will be an easy fight whatsoever. He knows Pettis and his coach Duke Roufus believe they have the plan to beat him due to teammate Tyron Woodley’s win over “Wonderboy”:

“I think out of everyone I’ve faced so far in the welterweight division, he is going to be the one most familiar with my style than any of them, because he’s a taekwondo specialist and you’ve seen him fight,” he said. “His distance management is off the chart. He’s very good. He familiar with that style growing up in taekwondo.

“Do I think it’s going to be an easy fight? No, not at all. I’m going to be prepared for the best, for a five-round war with this guy. Even though he’s fought (at) 145, 155 (pounds) – like he said, a straight shot to the chin can take anyone out no matter how big you are. It feels different. Him and his coach, I think they took the fight because they think they have my number.”

The post ‘Wonderboy’ Training To Be More Aggressive Against Anthony Pettis appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Next week’s (Tues., January 29, 2019) Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) hearing is bound to be a busy one.

The agenda released by the commission today (Thurs., January 24, 2019) confirmed that Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, and Jon Jones are all scheduled to appear. Khabib and McGregor, of course, will supposedly appear to receive their punishments for their involvement in the chaotic UFC 229 post-fight brawl last October.

After Khabib submitted McGregor in the fourth round of their main event, pandemonium broke out when ‘The Eagle’ soared into the crowd to assault McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis. For his part, McGregor attacked Khabib’s cornermen Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov after they rushed into the Octagon to confront him.

The NSAC will conduct separate disciplinary complaints against both fighters. In the ‘alternative,’ the commission will hear proposed settlements from both sides. It’s unclear if Khabib and/or McGregor will be in attendance. Khabib has repeatedly said he will not attend the hearing when asked. However, NSAC chairman Anthony Marnell confirmed that both will be required to attend the hearing if they do not reach a settlement with the NSAC before it happens.

Potential Punishments

Both will face potential suspensions, fines, and community service for their involvement in the brawl. The NSAC is still withholding $1 million of Khabib’s $2 million disclosed purse from UFC 229. Marnell said he estimates Nurmagomedov made $5-6 million in total from the fight per MMAjunkie. McGregor’s pay was not withheld, but it would have been had the commission known his full involvement in the brawl that night.

Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov will also appear to have their proposed settlements heard. Interestingly, Danis will not appear even though he received a temporary suspension from the NSAC for his involvement.

Jones On The Docket

Also scheduled to appear is frequent drug test explainer Jon Jones. “Bones” won the UFC light heavyweight title back by defeating Alexander Gustafsson at December 29’s UFC 232. But it wasn’t without controversy yet again. News arrived that Jones had tested positive for trace amounts of the metabolite for anabolic steroid Turinabol in a December 9 out-of-competition USADA test. He also reportedly tested positive for the same thing in tests dating back to August and September.

Because word of the test broke so close to the holidays, much of the NSAC was on vacation. Because of that, they were unable to hear the case. Jones was unable to be licensed. UFC 232 was move from Las Vegas to California as a result. Jones had already been licensed in the state.

Of course, Jones was found to have tested positive again for the exact same metabolite in a Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) test. It was hardly a surprise. The metabolite is supposedly sticking around from his UFC 214 failure, for which he received a 15-month suspension. The amount is minuscule. But strangely enough, Jones passed his post-fight USADA tests at UFC 232. Jones will not receive any sanctions from the CSAC or USADA for the latest failure.

It will be interesting to see how the NSAC chooses to deal with Jones. They haven’t let on what they are planning to do with him if anything. Regardless, controversy surrounding performance-enhancing drugs continues to follow “Bones” wherever he goes.

The post Khabib, McGregor & Jones All Set For NSAC Hearing Next Tuesday appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Demetrious Johnson is drawing a line in the sand.

The record-breaking former UFC flyweight champion is currently awaiting his anticipated debut with Asia’s ONE Championship. ‘Mighty Mouse’ was ‘traded’ to ONE for their former welterweight champ Ben Askren last year. He had just lost his title, one he defended a record 11 consecutive times, to Henry Cejudo two months prior.

The trade prompted speculation that the UFC was dissolving their flyweight division for good. And they still might. But it’s still hanging around for now, as Cejudo defended the belt by knocking out TJ Dillashaw in a controversial 32-second bout at last weekend’s UFC on ESPN+ 1 from Brooklyn, New York. You might think that would get to Johnson, who has been in Japan filming promotional spots for ONE.

Quite the opposite is true, in fact.

Johnson told ESPN.com that he’s moved on from the UFC flyweight division. For him, it was never his but rather theirs. He believes he’s headed for bigger things, but he is happy for Cejudo and Dillashaw:

“It was never my division, it’s the UFC’s division. I’ve moved on to bigger and better things, in my opinion. I am legitimately happy for Henry Cejudo, TJ Dillashaw and the flyweight division. Once I became part of ONE Championship, that’s where my focus went. But I’m happy for the opportunity those guys got. They deserve it.”

A New Focus

“Mighty Mouse” then opened up about the differences between his new home in ONE and the UFC. The obvious difference was the current focus on over-the-top trash talk to sell pay-per-view buys in the UFC, something Johnson never excelled at. He says he never felt safe in the UFC. They were always threatening to dissolve the flyweight division, something he’s not worried about in ONE. He can simply focus on competing there:

“It’s not about trying to create drama over here,” Johnson said. “I always felt like in the UFC, your star power is based on how many pay-per-views you sell. When Dana White comes to you and says, ‘We’re thinking about getting rid of your division,’ and you’re on your ninth title defense, it kind of makes you wonder. But you never have to worry about that here. It’s a different vibe.

“When you’re not worried about selling a f—ing pay-per-view and just competing — and everyone is happy with it — that’s what it’s all about.”

Never Going Back?

Johnson wasn’t worried about the result of last weekend’s main event in Brooklyn. He didn’t watch the fight live, and his wife informed him of the result after the fight had ended. You might think he has some sort of bad blood with Cejudo based on the fact he took his title, but that’s not the case.

He owns a dominant win over “The Messenger” and Cejudo narrowly beat him by split decision at UFC 227 last August. But even though there’s no bitterness there, Johnson wouldn’t rule out a third bout with the current champion. It just won’t be in North America, because Johnson isn’t going back:

“At the end of the day, you never know what could happen,” Johnson said. “I’ll tell you what, though, I’ll never go back to North America. So the only way we’d compete against each other is if he came over here. It all depends on what happens in the UFC. A lot of things would have to fall in order, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.”

Johnson will make his ONE Championship debut against Yuya Wakamatsu at March 31’s ONE: A New Era.

The post Demetrious Johnson Will Never Return To Fight In North America appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.