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MMA’s first major trade became official this past Saturday. Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson was traded to ONE Championship for welterweight champion Ben Askren.

The sport is in a never-before-seen state because of the deal. The UFC has never traded a major star from the promotion. “Mighty Mouse” is arguably the most dominant champion in the promotion’s history. But he was curiously shipped off to a rising competitor two months after he lost his title in a thin split decision.

The decorated former champion touched on his UFC exit in an appearance with reporters via MMA Weekly’s Damon Martin this week. “Mighty Mouse” claimed he simply felt there was nothing left to accomplish in the UFC. With that said, he clarified that he was still on good terms with his longtime employer:

“I leave the UFC with no regrets, on good terms,” Johnson stated. “I believe I accomplished everything I could there, I defended the belt 11 times, I won every single way you can possibly think of — knockout, submission that nobody has ever seen before — I’ve done everything I can over there.”

‘Mighty’s’ Motivation

Moving his focus to his future in ONE Championship, Johnson brought up a different style of martial arts present in Asia. The pound-for-pound legend was excited for the many new possible match-ups and achievements ahead:

“I think me coming to ONE Championship, there’s a lot of new goals, a lot fresh things, a lot of fresh matchups. This is different. The guys in Asia have been doing it since they were three or four years old, they bring a different style of mixed martial arts to the table.”

Tired Of Trash Talk

“Mighty Mouse” delved into another reason why he was growing tired of the UFC. To him, the current focus on trash talk and belittling opponents on social media was not the spirit of martial arts he wanted to be involved with:

“I was always never the biggest fan of all the way people went about promoting their fights in North America. I thought of it in a way as some athletes using it as a way of bullying. A way of trying to gain followers. As athletes on Twitter, why haven’t you signed a contract yet to another athlete and to me I see that as a form of bullying.

“All that’s going to do is stir people to go to that person’s Twitter or social media to say ‘you’re scared’ or ‘you don’t want this’ or ‘you’re chicken’ and when I see professional athletes doing that, that are trying to embody the spirit of martial artists, it just puts a bad taste in my mouth.”

 

MMA’s True Spirit

Johnson expounded on his view of martial arts and MMA, noting that he was proud of how he carried himself throughout his tenure in MMA. He believes ONE is about respect and testing your skills against another top fighter rather than who can talk the most trash online. He felt he never really fit in the UFC’s current climate of promotion:

“I’m glad I don’t have to go through that whole thing and to be able to carry myself as a true martial artist. I felt I’ve always done that in my time in North America and it’s in everybody’s DNA in Asia.

“It’s always about respect and promoting the fight the correct way as two martial artists going in there, we’re going to test our skills against each other. I’m very looking forward to that way of promoting fights. That was something I just didn’t really fit in.”

True To Himself

“Mighty Mouse” had simply had enough with people telling him he needed to talk more trash in order to become a bigger star. He never resonated with mainstream pay-per-view (PPV) audiences in North America despite the UFC’s attempts to build him up as a star.

It’s obvious they want trash talkers in the mold of Conor McGregor, and Johnson’s critics told him to be just like that. The thing is, he isn’t, and he was tired of people telling to be someone he is not as a result. He’s a martial artist – focusing on the artist part of that statement – not a confrontational person who manufactures a beef that may or may not be authentic.

With that established, he’s looking ahead to a new style and a fresh start for his career (transcribed by MMAjunkie):

“People told me … there’s nothing worse than when I’m at the gym working out and somebody says, ‘Dude, if you want to sell more tickets and get your name on the (next box of) Frosted Flakes, you’ve got to talk more trash.’

“That’s not who I am. I’m not a confrontational person. I do mixed martial arts because it’s something I love, and it helps me express my feelings. I’m an artist when I get to compete. Artists don’t run their mouth and attack people or cause a big scene. They focus and put their energy on what they love to do, which is being a martial artist. What I love to do, which is being a martial artist. So I’m very much looking forward to it.”

The post ‘Mighty Mouse’ Reveals Reasons He Departed UFC For ONE Championship appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Artem Lobov lost a unanimous decision to Michael Johnson in the co-main event of last night’s (Sat., October 27, 2018) UFC Moncton from New Brunswick, Canada. The loss gave him three straight defeats in the UFC.

He hasn’t been demolished or finished in any of the losses. But he has lost each fight unanimously on all of the judges’ scorecards. His latest defeat predictably has online critics jumping on Lobov’s back. They claim he’s only in the UFC due to his longtime friendship with former champion Conor McGregor.

Not Just About Record

McGregor and Lobov’s Straight Blast Gym (SBG) coach John Kavanagh took offense to those doubters. He issued an emotional statement on Lobov on his Facebook page this afternoon. In it, he posed the question of whether or not a fighter’s win/loss record was the only determining factor for their overall body of work:

“Artem Lobov is only in the UFC because of his relationship with Conor McGregor. Maybe. Only for Conor he would not have been brought back after his preliminary loss on the Ultimate Fighter and, who knows, maybe quit. He has a losing record and just suffered another loss last night.

“If it’s just records you’re interested in, if someone’s win/loss record is as deep as your analysis is capable of then I’d stop reading now. Actually if you’ve never really tried to achieve anything yourself and instead enjoy making snide remarks and commentating on where the ‘the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better’ then I recommend Chuck Mindenhall’s recent article.”

A Fighters’ Fighter

Kavanagh went on to attest to Lobov’s toughness. That has never really been at question. The Russian has proven he’s willing to take five strikes to land one.

The coach claims Lobov never wanted an easy road to becoming a contender. Because of that, Kavanagh chose to focus on his view that Lobov is “a fighters’ fighter” who takes on the toughest challenge each fight:

“Artem is a rare breed of fighter. A fighters’ fighter. I’ve had conversations with top brass in the top organisations and they tell me it doesn’t matter who your guys fight, just get them winning records and we’ll take them on. That’s all that matters and has been commonplace in professional boxing for a long long time. Get them to 12-0 and we’ll sign them.

“That’s not Artem’s approach. Every fight was the toughest fight he could possibly find. Often times we would argue about that as I would try and guide him a little bit. He did not want to know. It is absolutely not the most efficient approach if you want to get to the ‘big organisations’. It’s one I’ve learned from but it’s also one that is impossible not to respect.”

Anyone At Anytime

You can’t deny that facing Johnson, a former lightweight who has fought the absolute best 155-pound challengers, was an extremely tough challenge for Lobov. But he showed his respect for Johnson taking the fight on short notice by offering to pay back the fine when “The Menace” missed weight. Johnson is approaching the gesture gingerly with skepticism, yet Lobov is steadfast he will pay it back.

Kavanagh finally admitted that he was writing his rant from a place of emotion due to the hate Lobov receives online. At the end of the day, he knows Lobov like few others do. He claimed a book written about his difficult life would be far more entertaining than Kavanagh’s own best-selling text:

“I’ll admit I’m writing this partially from a position of emotion. Artem is a friend and because I know about his incredibly tough life, I really hope he writes a book one day as it’d be far more interesting than the book I put out, it stings more than most. Plus his genuine ‘anyone, anytime’ attitude, often cited….so rarely true cannot help but impress the fan in me.

“As a training partner he will be incredibly tough on you, ruthlessly honest and would give you his last euro if you needed it. However that being said, I believe his performances in the cage against the highest level opposition in the world is worthy of a lot more respect that it gets.”

The post McGregor’s Coach Issues Emotional Statement On Artem Lobov appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC featherweight Michael Johnson picked up a hard-fought decision win over Artem Lobov in the co-main event of last night’s (Sat., October 27, 2018) UFC Moncton from New Brunswick, Canada.

The bout came with a ton of buzz and backstory. Johnson filled in on short notice for Lobov’s original opponent Zubaira Tukhugov. The teammate of Khabib Nurmagomedov was forced off due to his involvement in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl. Khabib said he would leave the UFC if Tukhugov was cut, and Lobov later said the same.

All that will be sorted out in time. Johnson came in to save the day in terms of keeping Lobov on UFC Moncton. He had to cut a ton of weight in a short amount of time to do so. “The Menace” missed weight by one pound as a result. Lobov said he respected Johnson’s efforts and would give him back his 20 percent fine.

Johnson Isn’t Sure

It was a rare gesture that is still apparently uncertain at the time. Johnson told MMAjunkie after his win last night that it has to go through the commission first. Then Lobov will have to give it back to him. He doesn’t sound like he fully believes that will happen:

“Apparently the commission has to take it out and give it to him. We’ll see if he’s a man of his word like he said, and he’ll give it back. My management team’s going to get with his management team, and we’ll see what happens.”

Johnson then dove into detail about his win over Lobov. Although “The Russian Hammer” pushed the pace, he didn’t land too many punches. On the flip side, he landed a ton of shots that bloodied the Russian striker. In fact, “The Menace” said the most damage he absorbed was from a headbutt:

“He hit me what, three times, maybe?” Johnson said. “I think the damage I have on my face was from a headbutt. He hit me with a few kicks, but that was pretty much it. I was in and out, and he really couldn’t touch me that much, and I did a lot of damage. I don’t see how he would have thought he would have won the fight at all.”

Keep The Ball Rolling

“The Menace” depleted himself to make it to UFC Moncton. But he’s now on a two-fight win streak at 145 pounds after posting up-and-down results against the best lightweights in the world. He wants to keep that momentum rolling by fighting again soon. Johnson is aiming at December’s UFC Adelaide as a potential date:

“A great fight in December (is what I want next),” Johnson said. “The Australia card or anytime in December. I’m available, I’m here to fight. I’m a fighter, that’s what I do. I’m in the gym training 24-7, and whenever the UFC calls then I’m here for a short-notice fight, I’m going to take it. Nobody in mind. I just want to fight.”

He won’t be calling anyone out for the bout, however. After years of fighting the top lightweights in the world, he said he’s pat callouts:

“I’m done calling people out. I’m not one of these new guys that just came into the UFC and needs to call people out to make a name for himself. I’m a veteran. I’ve grown out of that aspect.”

The post Michael Johnson Skeptical Artem Lobov Returns Weigh-In Fine appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Former light heavyweight title contender Volkan Oezdemir threw down in a bloody slugfest with Anthony Smith (highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., October 27, 2018) UFC Moncton from New Brunswick, Canada.

It was a disheartening loss after Oezdemir had spent almost all of the year on the sidelines due to injury. That came after he lost his only fight of the year against current champion Daniel Cormier. Oezdemir also had many moments early on, landing some big punches and low kicks. His best moment came in the second when he took Smith’s back and controlled “Lionheart.”

But it turned around in the third when Smith ground “No Time.” He took Oezdemir’s back and locked in a fight-ending rear-naked choke for a thrilling come-from-behind win. Although Oezdemir was bloodied and beaten, he remained humble in defeat. Speaking on the FOX Sports-aired post-fight show Oezdemir said he was trying to take things easier than he did in the loss to Cormier.

That all went out the window, however, when he got hit on the nose. It re-broke for the third time this year:

“I wanted to take my time for once. I learned a lot from my last fight. And I wanted to pace a little bit. And I just wanted to take my time and lead my fight. I wanted to feel it and work my fight. But then I got caught on the nose.

“My nose broke twice this year in training camp twice in a row. And now I guess it was a little bit too soon for me to take that fight because my nose broke one more time.”

Oezdemir detailed when the injury initially happened and reoccurred. He also admitted he may not have been ready to get in the Octagon because he hadn’t sparred hard. he did begin sparring, but still wasn’t ready:

“The first time was while I was getting ready for Shogun. And then as soon as, when the fight switched to Gustafsson I broke my nose two weeks before also. So my nose wasn’t ready.

“And then I thought it was okay but I didn’t really spar too hard; I was just doing some move around. Then last two weeks, I start my sparring again, but I guess it wasn’t strong enough for a fight.”

He closed by saying that he wanted to show off his mat skills in addition to his feared stand-up. For a round he did, yet he still deemed it a mistake by him. But Oezdemir blamed no one and said he would be back:

“I wanted to take his back also. I wanted to submit him. As I said, I wanted to play it safe also. But I wasn’t being true to myself, as soon as I feel weakness, you know, I go for it. And I think that was a mistake from me, but I will definitely learn from it.”

The post Volkan Oezdemir Reacts To Submission Loss At UFC Moncton appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

It’s time Daniel Cormier predicts the winner of the awaited Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson main event at UFC 232.

Cormier will meet knockout striker Derrick Lewis in the main event of next week’s (Sat., November 3, 2018) UFC 230 from New York. But the focus of the double champ’s career seems to be looking towards his expected fight with Brock Lesnar.

Even better yet, even a potential trilogy fight with Jones. The UFC will strip Cormier’s light heavyweight title the moment Jones vs. Gustafsson II begins.

He isn’t necessarily happy about it, but Cormier is the consummate company man. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be fighting “The Black Beast” on short notice next weekend. He’s often discussed retiring after two more fights. Many fans feel it would be a shame if he never got to face his biggest rival Jones again. “Bones” beat Cormier by decision at UFC 182 and then knocked him out at UFC 217. He failed a drug test, however, putting the bout’s result in question.

Cormier’s Prediction

So Jones will have to make it to the fight, beat Gustafsson, and stay clean to have a shot at facing “DC” again. “Bones” obviously beat “The Mauler” once before in their classic first fight at September 2013’s UFC 165. Cormier told Luke Thomas on this week’s edition of The MMA Hour that he predicts his enemy to do the same in his latest return fight:

“I think Jones wins the fight,” Cormier said. “I’ve never once shied away from the fact that he’s a fantastic fighter. He’s a really talented guy. And it seems, I mean, obviously he can go with me and keep up with me, so he obviously has been putting in a lot of hard work, so he must be a hard worker in that sense.

“And I know that Alex, for as good as he is, too, because he’s a good fighter, the only thing with Alex is he’s struggled in those big moments and this is a really, really big moment, and he’s going to have to fight to his level or above his level to try and win. The major issue is that Jones … he fought, I think, maybe more recently than Gustafsson did. That’s a crazy factor.”

Cormier rose to historic levels this summer by knocking out former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at July’s UFC 226. considering Jones’ two prior wins over ‘DC,’ you could make a case that was supposed to be Jones’ fight. But Cormier has made the biggest accomplishments of his career off of Jones’ mistakes. You can’t blame for something he cannot control.

Praise For Jones?

Jones’ outside-the-cage issues with drugs both recreational and performance-enhancing seems to be his biggest issue. Jones has obviously been peerless in terms of skill in the cage. Cormier admitted his intelligence and ability in MMA was insane:

“He’s a very smart guy,” Cormier said of Jones. “He works and he makes adjustments very well in there, and obviously it showed with him landing that kick. And it wasn’t even the kick. I mean, the kick hurt, it really put me on beat street, but it wasn’t even the kick. It was the finishing sequence. He’s one of those guys that, when he gets an opponent hurt, he has a really, really good ability to go find the finish.”

The post Daniel Cormier Predicts Jones vs. Gustafsson II appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Streaking UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith will participate in by far the biggest fight of his MMA career when he meets Volkan Oezdemir in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., October 27, 2018) UFC Fight Night 138 from the Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

The No. 10-ranked Smith will meet the No. 2 “No Time” in what is correctly perceived title contender bout in the shallow UFC 205-pound ranks. “Lionheart” has won five out of previous six UFC bouts, with each win (and the one loss) coming by knockout. Smith believes he should fight the winner of UFC 232’s Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson rematch should he defeat “No Time.”

After moving up to 205 pounds earlier this year, Smith has put an extra exclamation point on his last two wins. He knocked out former UFC champs Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua in the first round. The huge victories earned him a ton of momentum.

But there were also several detractors who simply wrote off Evans and Rua as washed-up one-time greats. Smith recently addressed that in an interview with UFC.com. Not surprisingly, Smith wants to use UFC Moncton as a vehicle to prove he’s more than beating aging greats:

“I’m really excited to be able to prove to everyone else what me and my team already know. The narrative has always been I’m knocking out guys that are past their prime and guys that are a little bit older and no one gives Rashad or Shogun any credit for the things they’re able to do and their own abilities.”

"I think the narrative is going to change it’s not about my opponents I think that people eventually they’re going to have to admit that I might just be that good."

Here's another clip from our interview with @LionheartSmith #UFCMoncton pic.twitter.com/Lo5XUzJlpA

— Gavin Porter (@PorterUFCnews) October 23, 2018

Something To Prove

Smith continued on with his belief that a win over recent title challenger Oezdemir would solidify just how good he really was in the eyes of many. Yet he didn’t think he needed to prove that, as he thought Rua would have beaten Oezdemir in the first place. The two were scheduled to fight in July until Smith stepped in on short notice.

In that sense, the opponent doesn’t matter to Smith. He knows everyone will soon realize his talents:

“And I think that after this fight it’s not going to be so much about how bad they are, it’s going to be maybe I’m really that good. I think that people are going to figure that out pretty soon.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with who I am fighting because I truly believe that Shogun would have beat Volkan and I still to this day believe that Shogun would beat Volkan just because of their styles. But I think the narrative is going to change; it’s not about my opponents. I think that people eventually they’re going to have to admit that I might just be that good.”

‘No Time’ Returns

There would be no room to deny ‘Lionheart’ is just that good if he gets by “No Time” in Canada. He railed off three straight victories over top opponents in 2017 to earn a shot at current champ Daniel Cormier. Oezdemir was dominated by “DC” at this January’s UFC 220, but there’s no much shame in that.

Oezdemir was then set to face Gustafsson and then Rua, but one injury or another put those bouts on hold. The Swiss striker’s comeback is clouded a bit due to his first UFC loss, the layoff, and the injuries.

Regardless, Smith will rise precipitously if he beats him. Then, and only then, will his doubters say he’s beating current contenders rather than aging ones.

The post Anthony Smith Out To Prove He’s More Than Just Legend Killer appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.