Paige VanZant nearly saw her awaited Octagon return fall apart. The fan-favorite women’s flyweight was set to face Rachael Ostovich at the UFC’s debut on ESPN+ set for January 19. The fight was to be her first after two losses and a yearlong layoff due to a broken arm. Then, a disturbing attack allegedly from […]
Paige VanZant nearly saw her awaited Octagon return fall apart.
The fan-favorite women’s flyweight was set to face Rachael Ostovich at the UFC’s debut on ESPN+ set for January 19. The fight was to be her first after two losses and a yearlong layoff due to a broken arm.
Then, a disturbing attack allegedly from Ostovich’s husband Arnold Berdon left her out of the fight with a broken orbital bone. Berdon is awaiting his next date in court on a second-degree assault charge. The Hawaiian contender sought a second opinion from a different doctor, however, and ultimately chose to follow through on the fight.
VanZant revealed to MMA Fighting that she nearly cried when she heard about the alleged attack on Ostovich. With Ostovich persevering and now set to fight, VanZant opened up on her new outlook on her opponent. She knows her opponent is extremely tough both mentally and physically because of what transpired:
“Of course, I don’t know all the details of what happened, I just knew a little bit,” VanZant said. “But I know that when she did come back and say, ‘I want to fight anyway,’ it gave me an alert, like ‘Hey, this girl is really tough.’
“So I know I’m fighting somebody that’s very strong and very mentally strong, because she’s gonna go in there and fight after going through some extreme trauma like this. It just tells me that I’ve gotta be ready for the fight and be ready for somebody to come out there and have a lot to fight for.”
An Important Platform
VanZant has been in similar situations in the past. Earlier this year, she penned a book called “Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life,” which detailed her own harrowing experience with being raped as a teen and a past abusive relationship. The card on which she’ll fight Ostovich was given even more weight when domestic abuser Greg Hardy was scheduled for his UFC debut alongside VanZant and Ostovich.
Because of their shared experiences, VanZant revealed she would like to address such sensitive topics publicly leading into the fight:
“Definitely, I would love to,” she said. “I hope that the UFC lets me and I hope the UFC really uses this to make a difference, because I know there has been other drama about the card and having some fighters on it. But I hope they use this moment to show powerful women, whether it just be her or whether it be both of us. To show you can fight through adversity and you can fight through these demons and still be a very successful person.”
Standing Up For Women’s Rights
VanZant knows that her and Ostovich, whom she said she likes outside of fighting, will have to ultimately fight. But that doesn’t mean they can’t use their platform to foster awareness for what they and countless other women have been through. To her, the platform she has is a prominent location to do so:
“At the end of the day, we’re gonna go out there and fight each other,” VanZant said. “We’re both trying to win a fight. But afterwards and even throughout the process, we can show how strong women are and use this to stand up for ourselves and stand up for women and women’s rights and everything that goes beyond — domestic violence and sexual abuse.
“Just use it to speak up. Even not changing anything, but just be a voice. I know we’re not the only ones who have been through it, it’s just ours are highlighted because we are on this platform.”
The UFC middleweight title picture is an uncertain one. Champ Robert Whittaker will face Kelvin Gastelum for the title at February’s UFC 234. Also on that same card, former champion Anderson Silva will fight rising star Israel Adesanya for the perceived next shot. Because of that, it’s time top contender Jacare sounds off on the […]
The UFC middleweight title picture is an uncertain one. Champ Robert Whittaker will face Kelvin Gastelum for the title at February’s UFC 234. Also on that same card, former champion Anderson Silva will fight rising star Israel Adesanya for the perceived next shot. Because of that, it’s time top contender Jacare sounds off on the dynamic.
The Brazilian veteran put on arguably one of his finest performance when he knocked out Chris Weidman in a back-and-forth bout at November’s UFC 230. After he did so, he said he would wait for a title shot. But when Dana White confirmed that Silva would receive that shot if he beat Adesanya, Jacare was possibly left out in the cold yet again.
The 39-year-old jiu-jitsu legend recently spoke up on the issue in a live chat with Portal do Vale Tudo last night. He offered his disgust at the current way UFC title shots are handed out. On top of that, he pointed out that Silva is coming off of a doping suspension and had been out of the rankings (translated via MMA Fighting):
”In my (jiu-jitsu) days, I competed in the state tournament to earn a spot in the World Championship. If I didn’t win the state champion, I didn’t fight the Worlds,” Souza said. “(If I won), no one would jump the line. Now, because the guy has a name and everything… The reality is, Anderson is coming off doping, man. Anderson is out of the ranking. Do you understand that?”
No Compromise
Jacare may have a good point. He knows that those who bark the loudest may get the title shot in this day and age. While trash talking may be king, however, he isn’t going to compromise his values as a respectful competitor:
”You see shits like that,” Souza said, “A guy jumping the fence to beat another one, and other shits, and you… I think I’ll start doping, I’ll start doing a bunch of shit, call everyone names. Maybe I’ll fight for the belt. But my conception is this, my principles and values are unnegotiable. If I deserve it or not, if they will give me (a title shot) or not, I won’t change. That’s the way I am and that’s my point of view.”
Souza then dove into his fight with Weidman and the mutual respect that they shared. It resulted in one of the best fights of 2018. He said that was what fans wanted to see, not a fighter coming from a doping ban outside of the rankings. To him, everyone sees that and believes it is ‘crap’:
”When Chris and I were going to fight, we respected each other. Everybody talked about our respect and everybody talked about our fight. What we do outside the Octagon, has nothing to do with what we do inside the Octagon. Inside the Octagon, Chris and I fought hard, we put our hearts in there to win, and that’s what people want to see. It’s not someone coming from doping, who is outside the ranking, who is famous because he’s one of the best in the world, to jump the line. The reality is everybody is seeing that and thinking it’s crap. And that’s the truth, it’s crap.”
Adesanya Undeserving
Finally, Jacare didn’t take it easy on Adesanya either. ‘The Last Stylebender’ carries some of the biggest hype in the UFC right now. Yet Souza pointed out he’s only beaten one top name in Derek Brunson – something he’s already done twice with ease:
”He doesn’t deserve it,” Souza said of Adesanya. “The only top middleweight he beat was Derek (Brunson), who was clearly scared. What he did to Derek, excuse me, I did twice and I did better than him, and I’m not even a striker.”
Overall, Souza acknowledged that Adesanya has everything to gain fighting Silva, but it wouldn’t be easy:
”I think Adesanya has everything to win, but Anderson is Anderson, right?” he said of the UFC 234 co-main event. “You can’t say he’s going to beat Anderson easily, that he will go there and make it happen. It’s Anderson. It won’t be easy for anyone to beat him. No one beats Anderson that easy.”
Max Holloway put on what one of the greatest performances in UFC featherweight division history when he bludgeoned Brian Ortega (full highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., December 8, 2018) UFC 231 from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fourth-round doctor’s stoppage gave Holloway an amazing 13 straight wins in the UFC. […]
Max Holloway put on what one of the greatest performances in UFC featherweight division history when he bludgeoned Brian Ortega (full highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., December 8, 2018) UFC 231 from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The fourth-round doctor’s stoppage gave Holloway an amazing 13 straight wins in the UFC. To put that in perspective, that tied him with all-time greats Georges St-Pierre, Demetrious Johnson, and Jon Jones. After the fight, Dana White understandably fast to praise his 145-pound champ, but still wanted him to move up to lightweight. After all, Holloway dealt with several injuries that had kept him out of action for all of 2018 until this week.
Holloway soon acknowledged that his boss’s plans for him in his own post-fight reaction, and he wasn’t so quick to confirm a move up. While he knows he has to play ball with his boss, he does think there’s a lot left for him at featherweight:
“I just heard Dana, you know he said he wants me at ’55. We talk to the boss, we’ll see what happens. You know, sometimes it’s not what I wanna do, it’s what they wanna do. We’ll go from there. I got some time on my hands now. We sit down and we talk, and we figure it out. There’s a lot, I still think there’s a lot at 45, there’s a lot at ’55, a lot of fun ones, and I just can’t wait. I’m the guy. I was waiting to fight one of the best on six days, you know? Who else will do that?”
There’s been a lot of talk about Holloway’s weight cut, yet he focused on the fact he had never missed the 145-pound limit. Still, he admits it’s a tough cut so a move up to lightweight may be inevitable. He also told reporters after the fight (via MMA Mania) that he wants to keep defending his belt:
“When a king leaves a throne and his village, someone tries to come and invade. So I’m here to stay. I’m here to stay, this was the easiest weight cut of my life. We’ll see what happens though. I keep hearing the boss, this guy keeps talking to the media before me, he keeps saying we’re talking about 155. Sometimes you can’t get what you want. He’s the boss and if he wants me up, so be it. We’ll go up there. But I want to defend. But there’s a lot of interesting fights for me at 155, for sure.”
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
There are a ton of interesting fights available for Holloway at lightweight right now – that much is true. The huge fights against Khabib Nurmagomedov and/or Conor McGregor will always be the highest-earning options. There are some amazing fights still left at featherweight as well, however. The title bout Holloway pulled out of against No. 3 Frankie Edgar at March’s UFC 222 is always there. Edgar pulled out of his own match with Chan Sung Jung at November’s UFC Denver, but his overall resumé could earn him one more title shot.
There’s also a bout with surging under-the-radar contender Renato Moicano. He was supposed to be a backup fighter for Holloway vs. Ortega but actually missed weight by one pound in a strange turn of events. Regardless, he’s one of the most dangerous contenders in the division.
Finally, two-time title contender Chad Mendes is also back. He’ll face lesser-known but dangerous No. 10 contender Alexander Volkanovski soon. A vicious finish by either man could make them a solid contender for Holloway even though “Blessed” would be justifiably favored. Mendes is closer; Volkanovski would arguably have to pick up one or two more impressive wins.
Either way, Holloway isn’t wrong when he says there are some great fights for him left in his original weight class. He’s young and one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC, so a move up to lightweight can most likely wait.
Max Holloway put on what one of the greatest performances in UFC featherweight division history when he bludgeoned Brian Ortega (full highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., December 8, 2018) UFC 231 from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fourth-round doctor’s stoppage gave Holloway an amazing 13 straight wins in the UFC. […]
Max Holloway put on what one of the greatest performances in UFC featherweight division history when he bludgeoned Brian Ortega (full highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., December 8, 2018) UFC 231 from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The fourth-round doctor’s stoppage gave Holloway an amazing 13 straight wins in the UFC. To put that in perspective, that tied him with all-time greats Georges St-Pierre, Demetrious Johnson, and Jon Jones. After the fight, Dana White understandably fast to praise his 145-pound champ, but still wanted him to move up to lightweight. After all, Holloway dealt with several injuries that had kept him out of action for all of 2018 until this week.
Holloway soon acknowledged that his boss’s plans for him in his own post-fight reaction, and he wasn’t so quick to confirm a move up. While he knows he has to play ball with his boss, he does think there’s a lot left for him at featherweight:
“I just heard Dana, you know he said he wants me at ’55. We talk to the boss, we’ll see what happens. You know, sometimes it’s not what I wanna do, it’s what they wanna do. We’ll go from there. I got some time on my hands now. We sit down and we talk, and we figure it out. There’s a lot, I still think there’s a lot at 45, there’s a lot at ’55, a lot of fun ones, and I just can’t wait. I’m the guy. I was waiting to fight one of the best on six days, you know? Who else will do that?”
There’s been a lot of talk about Holloway’s weight cut, yet he focused on the fact he had never missed the 145-pound limit. Still, he admits it’s a tough cut so a move up to lightweight may be inevitable. He also told reporters after the fight (via MMA Mania) that he wants to keep defending his belt:
“When a king leaves a throne and his village, someone tries to come and invade. So I’m here to stay. I’m here to stay, this was the easiest weight cut of my life. We’ll see what happens though. I keep hearing the boss, this guy keeps talking to the media before me, he keeps saying we’re talking about 155. Sometimes you can’t get what you want. He’s the boss and if he wants me up, so be it. We’ll go up there. But I want to defend. But there’s a lot of interesting fights for me at 155, for sure.”
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
There are a ton of interesting fights available for Holloway at lightweight right now – that much is true. The huge fights against Khabib Nurmagomedov and/or Conor McGregor will always be the highest-earning options. There are some amazing fights still left at featherweight as well, however. The title bout Holloway pulled out of against No. 3 Frankie Edgar at March’s UFC 222 is always there. Edgar pulled out of his own match with Chan Sung Jung at November’s UFC Denver, but his overall resumé could earn him one more title shot.
There’s also a bout with surging under-the-radar contender Renato Moicano. He was supposed to be a backup fighter for Holloway vs. Ortega but actually missed weight by one pound in a strange turn of events. Regardless, he’s one of the most dangerous contenders in the division.
Finally, two-time title contender Chad Mendes is also back. He’ll face lesser-known but dangerous No. 10 contender Alexander Volkanovski soon. A vicious finish by either man could make them a solid contender for Holloway even though “Blessed” would be justifiably favored. Mendes is closer; Volkanovski would arguably have to pick up one or two more impressive wins.
Either way, Holloway isn’t wrong when he says there are some great fights for him left in his original weight class. He’s young and one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC, so a move up to lightweight can most likely wait.
The fight game is awaiting the end results of the infamous post-fight brawl at October 6’s UFC 229 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, one fan who intervened already knows his. David Martin, the McGregor fan who leapt into the cage to ‘help’ McGregor avoid any harm from opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team, has […]
The fight game is awaiting the end results of the infamous post-fight brawl at October 6’s UFC 229 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, one fan who intervened already knows his.
David Martin, the McGregor fan who leapt into the cage to ‘help’ McGregor avoid any harm from opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team, has been banned from future UFC events in the United States.
Martin informed For The Win (via MMA Junkie) that he had not heard from the UFC. That is, until this week, when they barred him from attending future American UFC events. He originally broke word of the ban via his Instagram. However, that page is currently unavailable.
He released a lengthy statement on the ban. In it, he suggested that his ban was a banning of ‘peacekeeping’ and ‘doing the right thing.’ You can read his full statement here:
“This evening (Dec 6th at 4:42pm PST) I received a “NOTICE of Action by Zuffa, LLC dba UFC” by email from UFC’s Chief Legal Officer and Executive VP, banning me from future UFC events for entering the Octagon on October 6th. The following is that letter and my official response to the UFC.
Dear Mr. Campbell, On Saturday, Oct 6th in the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas NV, I witnessed an individual (Conor McGregor) being “stormed” and assaulted after the UFC 229 main event had officially ended. Simultaneously I witnessed the lapse in security to prevent or properly address the “storm” followed by the assault in a timely or an appropriate manner. I understood the majority of security were involved in an alternate incident outside the cage. It was my perception and understanding that the individual (Conor McGregor) was in a life threating situation and was left defenseless after being likely exhausted from his fight. Irrespective of what was legal or not, my actions and priorities were to protect that individual (Conor McGregor) from harm and possible death and therefore I positioned myself appropriately, as any Irish man in my seat would have likely done.
With that said, I fully understand it is absolutely unacceptable for persons not directly involved with the event to enter the Octagon. The last thing we want to incite or trigger is a riot, with members of the public storming the Octagon. This is why I jumped onto Daniel Cormier’s back and held him with all my strength and pleaded with him not to enter the Octagon. You see, Daniel was extremely upset with what was transpiring on the other side of the Octagon, something he admitted in a post-event interview. I was screaming at Daniel, in his ear, as I was wrapped around him. The last thing I wanted was an upset heavyweight involved in a brawl. Thankfully Daniel agreed to calm down and not enter.
I am certain once you review the footage from the aftermath, which has not been made public, you will also see and hear me prevent Khabib from returning to the Octagon by holding the door and rejecting the requests from security to let him return. You should also hear me ask Daniel Cormier (who had since entered the Octagon himself) to ensure Khabib is pinned and doesn’t move as security was still failing at this point and Khabib was saying he wanted to attack Conor McGregor.
In that unreleased footage, you will also see me holding Conor McGregor and hear me speaking to him asking him to breathe and stay where he is with me.
Once it was clear things were in control and Conor McGregor was not at risk of being violently assaulted by thugs, I exited the Octagon and returned to my seat.
While I wholeheartedly respect and support the imperative requirement that nobody should under any circumstances enter the Octagon, I do firmly believe my actions the night of October 6th, in the T-Mobile Las Vegas arena, were of a unique circumstance, they contributed to the peace in the arena and ultimately to the well being and safety of the athletes, the attendees, and arena employees.
This ban is not just a ban on attendance, it’s a ban on protecting others from violent physical assault, it’s a ban on peacekeeping, it’s a ban on doing the right thing. In the spirit of the bigger picture and to set a clear and proper example to the attendees that they should under no circumstances enter the Octagon, I accept the ban. But under the circumstances that once it is lifted, I get the seat of my choice for the next Conor McGregor card.”
Fight fans around the world just want to see Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega actually happen in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., December 8, 2018) UFC 231 from Toronto. But we just can’t be certain that will be the case until Holloway and his top challenger are locked into the cage. That’s obviously because […]
Fight fans around the world just want to see Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega actually happen in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., December 8, 2018) UFC 231 from Toronto.
But we just can’t be certain that will be the case until Holloway and his top challenger are locked into the cage. That’s obviously because Holloway has been forced out of an incredible three fights this year. The featherweight champ was on top of the fight game last year, but a leg injury before UFC 222 began a trend.
‘Blessed’ was then pulled from a short-notice fight against lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 the next month. He attempted to make it to a third fight of the year when he was scheduled to meet Ortega at UFC 226 in July. When he was pulled for having odd ‘concussion-like’ symptoms, he was out of an unprecedented third fight in seven months. His fighting future was on the shelf as a result.
Yet here we are. Holloway is set to return before the end of the year, and the fight game awaits that return tentatively. Ortega revealed he isn’t all the way sure Holloway will make the fight during today’s open workouts. The champion reacted to the statement via MMA Fighting, noting that Ortega can say what he wants. What truly matters is what happens on Saturday:
“Shit happens,” Holloway said. “I don’t know. Whatever mindset, whatever he says, that’s him, no control over what he can say. At the end of the day, I’ll show up. We’ll see what happens when I show up and we meet in the Octagon. I can’t wait to see it.”
Never Missed Weight
Holloway of course has to show up first. He said he is ‘very close’ but wouldn’t give a number. The MMA world will be waiting on pins and needles to see if he makes weight tomorrow (Fri., December 7, 2018) morning. But ‘Blessed’ wanted to point out he has never missed weight:
“I never missed weight,” Holloway said. “Everybody keeps talking about this weight thing, and blah blah blah. Have I ever stepped on the scale and missed weight? That answers your own question.”
The cut to 145 pounds is getting tougher and tougher, however, and he’s teased a move up to lightweight many times.
Due to that, Holloway said he has discussed moving up with his boss Dana White. Ultimately he wants to defend his featherweight title for now. If and when he moves up, he claims it will be for good:
“We talked a little bit about it,” Holloway said. “Not too much, not too crazy, you know? At the end of the day, I’m a champion. I’m a champion. I wanted to be a defending champion, now I want to be a pound-for-pound champion.
“If it’s going up a weight class, then it’s going up, if it’s staying here and defending my belt a couple of times, it’s staying here; if it’s fighting my good friend [Daniel Cormier], ‘The Kung Fu Panda’, ‘The Daddest Man on the Planet’, so be it. I want to be the best ever.”
Based on that, Holloway said this absolutely is not his last fight at featherweight:
